Along with “All in the Family,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and a handful of other series, “Mary Tyler Moore” helped usher in a new era of situation comedy on television.
Let’s not forget that “MTM” premiered in 1970, the same year the campy “Flying Nun” show ended its three-year run. And when “MTM” wrapped up in 1977, “Cheers” was only five years away. I’d argue that “MTM” paved the way for smart, adult shows like it. TV moved a lot closer to “Cheers” than “The Flying Nun” over the course of those few years and I’d maintain that “MTM” was a big reason why.
“MTM” wasn’t groundbreaking, especially compared to “All in the Family,” but did seem, at the time, to perfect the three-camera, live before a studio audience, form of the genre.
Set at a Minneapolis TV station, the show followed the antics of Moore, playing 30-something single woman Mary Richards, and her co-workers. The series featured some of the best and, for their time, funniest, episodes of any sitcom, including the legendary funeral for the TV station’s kid’s show host, Chuckles the Clown.
Unlike some bloated, extended finales, the last episode of “MTM,” airing in 1977, stuck to the half-hour format that served the show so well.
The show opens with Mary, Lou and Murray worried that the new TV station owner will fire Ted, the dumb and pompous anchorman for the station’s newscast. But very quickly they find out that they’re the ones whose necks are on the chopping block, along with man-hungry “Happy Homemaker” Sue Anne (Betty White).
Some random observations:
The staging of the show was always spot-on, complete to the group shuffle over to Mary’s desk to get tissues.
Likewise, the comedic timing of the cast is perfect, with everyone tossing off their lines with fine-honed glee.
My god, how did I forget that Ted and Georgette had adopted Cousin Oliver (Robbie Rist) from “The Brady Bunch” as the show wound down?
And how gimmicky and annoying was Cloris Leachman, beloved from “Blazing Saddles,” as Mary’s friend Phyllis? It’s hard to imagine they built even a short-lived spinoff around the character, who returned for the “MTM” finale.
And Valerie Harper’s Rhoda character – who also came back for the final show – wasn’t a lot better. Both characters made Moore and her character seem like models of low-key comedic restraint.
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