| Mary Tyler Moore | |
|---|---|
Opening title |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | James L. Brooks Allan Burns |
| Starring | Mary Tyler Moore Edward Asner Valerie Harper Gavin MacLeod Ted Knight Georgia Engel Betty White Cloris Leachman |
| Theme music composer | Sonny Curtis |
| Opening theme | "Love Is All Around", written and performed by Sonny Curtis |
| Composer(s) | Patrick Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 168 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | James L. Brooks Allan Burns |
| Producer(s) | David Davis Lorenzo Music Ed Weinberger Stan Daniels |
| Running time | 25–26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MTM Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 19, 1970 – March 19, 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Rhoda Phyllis Lou Grant Mary and Rhoda |
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known simply by the name of the show's star, Mary Tyler Moore) is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. The program was a television breakthrough, with the first never-married, independent career woman as the central character: "As Mary Richards, a single woman in her thirties, Moore presented a character different from other single TV women of the time. She was not widowed or divorced or seeking a man to support her."[1]
It has also been cited as "one of the most acclaimed television programs ever produced" in US television history.[1] It received high praise from critics, including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975–77), and continued to be honored long after the final episode aired.
Contents |
Mary Richards (Moore) is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis after breaking off an engagement with her boyfriend of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at TV station WJM, but is offered the position of Associate Producer for the station's "Six O'Clock News." She befriends her tough but lovable boss Lou Grant (Edward Asner), newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). Mary later becomes Producer of the show.
Mary rents a third floor studio apartment in a Victorian house from existing acquaintance and downstairs landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman), and becomes best friends with upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper). Characters introduced later in the series are acerbic, man-hungry TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White) and Ted Baxter's girlfriend, sweet-natured Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel). At the beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis have moved away, Mary moves to a one bedroom high-rise apartment.
In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex and homosexuality are woven into the show's comedic plots. In the fourth season, such subjects as marital infidelity and divorce are explored with Phyllis and Lou, respectively. In the fifth season, Mary refuses to reveal a news source and is jailed for contempt of court. While in prison, she befriends a prostitute who seeks Mary's help in a subsequent episode. In the final seasons, the show explores humor in death in the classic Emmy-winning episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" and juvenile delinquency; Ted deals with intimate marital problems, infertility, adoption, and suffers a heart attack; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills. Mary dates several men on and off over the years, two seriously, but remains single throughout the series.
In 1995, Entertainment Weekly said that "TV's most famous bachelorette pad" was Mary's apartment.[2] The fictitious address was 119 North Weatherly, but the exterior establishing shots were of a real house in Minneapolis at 2104 Kenwood Parkway. In the real house, an unfinished attic occupied the space behind the window recreated on the interior studio set of Mary's apartment.[3]
Once fans of the series discovered where exterior shots had been taken, the house became a popular tourist destination. According to Moore, the woman who lived in the house "was overwhelmed by the people showing up and asking if Mary was around".[4] To discourage crews from filming additional footage of the house, the owners placed an "Impeach Nixon" sign beneath the window where Mary supposedly lived.[3] The house continued to attract 30 tour buses a day more than a decade after production ended.[4]
In 2007, TIME magazine put The Mary Tyler Moore Show on its list of "17 Shows That Changed TV." TIME stated that the show "liberated TV for adults—of both sexes" by being "a sophisticated show about grownups among other grownups, having grownup conversations."[5] The Associated Press said that the show "took 20 years of pointless, insipid situation comedy and spun it on its heels. [It did this by] pioneer[ing] reality comedy and the establishment of clearly defined and motivated secondary characters."[6]
Tina Fey, creator and lead actress of the 2006-debut sitcom 30 Rock, explained that Moore's show helped inspire 30 Rock's emphasis on office relationships. "Our goal is to try to be like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where it's not about doing the news," said Fey.[7] Entertainment Weekly also noted that the main characters of 30 Rock mirror those of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.[8]
When the architects of the sitcom Friends were about to write their series finale, they watched several other sitcom finales.[9] Co-creator Marta Kauffman said that the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the "gold standard" and that it influenced the finale of Friends.[10]
The show has remained popular since the final episode was broadcast in 1977. Several songs, films and other television programs, including The Simpsons, reference or parody characters and events from the show, including the memorable "...can turn the world on with her smile" line from the title song. Parodies include shows such as Saturday Night Live, MadTV, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which was produced in Minneapolis). Barbara Kessler and Relient K are two artists who have referred to the show in their songs. The show has been mentioned in film as well, such as in Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, when the characters argue with each other while exclaiming "I'm the Mary and you're the Rhoda." Frank Decaro of The New York Times wrote that this was the highlight of the film.[11]
The show's Emmy winning final episode has been alluded to many times in other series' closing episodes, such as the finale of St. Elsewhere (including the group shuffle to the tissue box), Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Just Shoot Me!.
When Moore was first approached about the show, she "was unsure and unwilling to commit, fearing any new role might suffer in comparison with her Laura character in The Dick Van Dyke Show, already cemented as one of the most popular parts in TV history."[12] Moore's character was initially intended to be a divorcée, but as divorce was still controversial at the time, and the network was afraid viewers might think that Mary had divorced Rob Petrie, Laura's husband on The Dick Van Dyke Show, the premise was changed to that of a single woman with a recently broken engagement.[13] According to co-creator Allan Burns, Minnesota was selected for the show's location after "one of the writers began talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the Vikings."[14] A television newsroom was chosen for the show's workplace because of the supporting characters often found there, stated co-creator James Brooks.[14]
The opening title sequence features many scenes filmed on location in Minneapolis in both summer and winter, as well as a few clips from the show's studio scenes. The sequence changed each season, but always ended with Mary tossing her hat at an intersection in downtown Minneapolis. The hat toss was ranked by Entertainment Weekly as the second greatest moment in television.[15] On May 8, 2002, Moore was in attendance when cable TV network TV Land dedicated a statue to her that captured her iconic throw. In 2010, TV Guide ranked the show's opening title sequence #3 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.[16]
The theme song played during the opening, "Love Is All Around," was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
No supporting cast members are credited during the show's opening. The ending sequences show snippets of the cast and guest stars from the show with the respective actors' names. Other on-location scenes are also shown during the closing credits, including a rear shot of Mary holding hands with her date, played by Moore's then husband, Grant Tinker. The ending sequence music is an instrumental version of "Love is All Around." The ending finishes with a cat meowing within the MTM company logo.
The show spun off three television series: the sitcoms Rhoda (1974–1978) and Phyllis (1975–1977), and the one hour drama Lou Grant (1977–1982). In 2000, Moore and Harper reprised their roles in a two-hour ABC TV movie, Mary and Rhoda.
Two retrospective specials were produced by CBS: Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show (1991) and The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion (2002). On May 19, 2008, the surviving cast members of The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunited on The Oprah Winfrey Show to reminisce about the series. Winfrey, a longtime admirer of Moore and the show, had her staff recreate the sets of the WJM-TV newsroom and Mary's apartment (seasons 1-5) for the reunion.
| Season | Day & Time | Preceded or Followed by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (1970-1971) | Saturdays at 9:30 pm | Arnie at 9:00 pm (September 19, 1970) |
| 2 (1971-1972) | Saturdays at 9:30 pm (September - December 11, 1971) Saturdays at 8:30 pm (December 18, 1971 - March 4, 1972) |
The New Dick Van Dyke Show at 9:00 pm All in the Family at 8:00 pm |
| 3 (1972-1973) | Saturdays at 9:00 pm | The Bob Newhart Show at 9:30 pm |
| 4 (1973-1974) | ||
| 5 (1974-1975) | ||
| 6 (1975-1976) | ||
| 7 (1976-1977) | Saturdays at 9:00 pm (September 25 - October 30, 1976) Saturdays at 8:00 pm (November 6, 1976 - February 12, 1977/February 26 - March 19, 1977) Monday at 8:00 pm (February 14, 1977) |
The Bob Newhart Show at 9:30 pm The Bob Newhart Show at 8:30 pm Busting Loose at 8:30 pm |
| Season | Rank† | Rating | Episodes | Broadcast year | Region 1 DVD release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #22 | 18.6 | 24 | 1970–1971 | September 24, 2002 ‡ |
| 2 | #10 | 23.7 | 24 | 1971–1972 | July 26, 2005 ‡ |
| 3 | #7 | 23.6 | 24 | 1972–1973 | January 17, 2006 |
| 4 | #9 | 23.1 | 24 | 1973–1974 | June 20, 2006 |
| 5 | #11 | 24 | 24 | 1974–1975 | October 6, 2009 |
| 6 | #19 | 21.9 | 24 | 1975–1976 | February 2, 2010 |
| 7 | #39 | N/A | 24 | 1976–1977 | October 5, 2010 ‡ |
† Annual rank among all television shows.
‡ Season 1 DVD includes these features: Audio commentary on select episodes; The Making Of Season 1; CBS promos and Emmy Awards clips; Trivia Challenge game. Season 2 DVD includes: Audio commentary on select episodes; Mad Magazine Parody: The Mary Tailor-Made Show; All-Star Trivia Challenge. On the season 7 DVD, the last episode's "final curtain call", broadcast only once on March 19, 1977, was included at the request of fans.[17] However, some of the season 7 sets did not include the curtain call; a replacement disc is reported to be available from the manufacturer.[18]
In addition to numerous nominations, The Mary Tyler Moore Show won 29 Emmy Awards. This was a record unbroken until Frasier earned its 30th in 2002.[19]
Wins:
The show was honored with a Peabody Award in 1977. In presenting the award, the Peabody committee stated that MTM Enterprises had "established the benchmark by which all situation comedies must be judged" and lauded the show "for a consistent standard of excellence – and for a sympathetic portrayal of a career woman in today's changing society."[20]
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