The Mary Tyler Moore Show

This was my favorite show of the 1970s. I loved this series from the first time I saw it in 1970. This was a show that had it all. Humor, pathos, great scripts and great direction. The initial cast was one of the best in television history. Along with incomparable Mary we had Valerie Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman. Each one of these performers put a unique spin on characters which were allowed to be three-dimensional and grow. After a few seasons, when several of the main characters were spun-off into their own series, new characters, such as Georgette and Sue-Ann were introduced. Geogia Engel as Georgette was sweet and adorable, and Betty White, as memorable man-trap Sue-Ann were marvelous in their parts. A true classic that bears multiple viewings.

Mary Tyler Moore - a great comedic actress & a great long running sitcom. This show was incredible. The writing always seemed to set up funny situations. The pace of the show was just perfect.

Where & how did they get so much talent in one cast? Besides Mary, there is Gavin McCloud who is brilliant as Murray Slaughter. Ed Asner is the same as Lou Grant, Mary's boss. Where did they find Ted Knight? Ted Baxter is one of the great send-up characters of all sit-Com's & Knight played him brilliantly. Knight made it big with this series, went on to his own series, Too Close For Comfort, & also scored big in the original CADDYSHACK.

Then, the is Rhoda & Phyllis who spun from here into their own series. While their series were not as good as this one, they definitely contributed to this one. Let's not forget Betty White as the indomitable Sue Ann Niven. This show was good enough to her, & she played her character brilliantly. This was her springboard for Golden Girls later. She is even better than this.

Not only did Mary turn the world on with her smile, she widened the world a lot by introducing a lot of great character actors in their best career roles. This show could be touching & sentimental at times as well. This show has it all.

This truly was one of the first ensemble driven situation comedies in the history of television. Even though Mary Tyler Moore was the star of the show, the fact was that the series truly revolved around her relationships with not only her friends at home, but her friends on the job and when those two worlds collided, sparks usually flew. Also, this show was really funny when Valerie Harper was still on the show playing Rhoda. She and Mary were polar opposites (Mary the cheerful optimist and Rhoda the angry cynic). However, those differences was what made their relationship shine. Cloris Leachman was also perfect as the over bearing Phyllis Lindstrom. And lets not forget the other characters; cynical Lou, the optimistic Murray and, of course, dimwitted Ted Baxter. This show definitely one of the all time classics and made Saturday nights worth staying home.

Another interesting fact about this show is the fact that it debuted during the final season of the original series about a single woman trying to make it, "That Girl". However, while Ann pretty much was still an innocent little girl at heart that had a boyfriend and often still relied on him and her parents to get her out of jams, Mary Richards proved that she could be single and live her life on her own terms.

I always enjoyed The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The characters were all funny, especially the goofy fights between Ted Baxter and Murray Slaughter. Lou Grant ("I hate spunk!") was always good for a laugh, especially the episode where he ended up drunk on Mary's doorstep!

Of course, the real two stars of the series were Mary Tyler Moore (duh) as Mary Richards and Valerie Harper as her best friend, Rhoda Morgenstern. My all-time favorite episode is the second one, where the two host a small gathering at Mary's apartment for two potential suitors, and everything goes wrong!

A true classic, and it earned every Emmy it got.

As i am writing this review (February of 2011), i have been watching all the episodes of the MTM show nonstop actually for some time now although i m just midway through season 5. I live in Greece and although we do love our US TV shows here too, Mary Tyler Moore was not exactly our icon through the 70's especially if you consider all the problems my country was going through at least up to 1974. I m 31 now (born in 79), and i ve known of MTM for quite some time and was always aware of the show and had heard from a lot of American friends and the web of course that the specific show was somewhat of a TV legend or a "sacred cow" especially for the people who watched it while it was on the air, and you know what?? I couldn't agree with them more! I LOVE THIS SHOW! i cannot find one thing that i don't like no matter how hard i try. i ve been laughing or at least smiling nonstop for 5 seasons now something that has happened (to me at least) only with a couple of shows p.e. Friends, Will and Grace. The feel of it, the look, the theme song, the opening credits, the characters, the actors (OMG!), and of course the writing. Quick, sharp, very very funny and with some subtext in a lot of cases considering the era! One thought that has occurred to me is that Mary Tyler Moore is the least egocentric actress in her or any other lifetime. I ve never seen an actress as famous as her, with her own show by the way, that didn't at some point sooner or later become obnoxious or cocky or have the writing serve her look or status. (God bless her but Lucille Ball take a bow!) Concluding i would like to say that it is incredible for a show to stand the merciless test of time (40 years!), and in 2011 i m proud to say that i d watch reruns of the MTM show any day than spend time watching some trash reality show about putting your hand in a box of cockroaches with order to win money. and you know what? i might just make it after all !