Mary Tyler Moore
I made a post on here some months back when I viewed the episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust." After that, the curiosity bug got the best of me, so I started to look at a few more episodes of the series and think it's absolutely hysterical.
I can't say enough about the cast. All of them are just perfect from Lou -the kind of boss we've all had, but you still love him, Sue Ann, a sweetheart on the outside but a complete bitch on the inside, and my personal favorite - Ted Baxter, the bumbling buffoon of WJM-TV who thinks he's the biggest thing since sliced bread. This is the kind of cast that isn't very common in TV. All of them have their moments and add so much to the show with their own bits of comedy.
I haven't had a favorite episode, but there are definitely some hilarious moments that I want to quote:
[Mary just gets through talking to a guy on the phone, who she's interested in meeting.]
Mary: I've never met Mr. Cooper in person, just over the phone. I've only met his voice.
Murray: Well what's his voice like?
Mary: Interesting!
Murray: Be prepared to be disappointed.When I started at this station there was a guy who sounded great on the phone but when I met him he turned out to be a complete and utter dud.
Mary: Who was that?
[Ted enters]
Ted: HI GUYS!
Ted: Mary, you know that ratings graph you're working on that shows us how good we're doing against competition?
Mary: Ah, yes, Ted, here it is, the red line on that sheet of paper is us.
Ted: Heyyyyy, we're on top!
Mary: No, Ted, you're holding it upside down.
Ted: Ohhh... who believes in those damn ratings anyway?
Mary: The people on the top.
Sue Ann: I always tape my Christmas show in advance, so I can spend a season of joy and goodwill with my only sister in Florida.
Mary: Oh, isn't that nice.
Sue Ann: She's kind of a creep, but she's got a pool.
A great scene involved Mary slipping and spraining her ankle. She can't walk, so Lou is carrying her. At one point, she gets a phone call, so Lou carries her back to the desk so she can talk on the phone. Now she's getting too heavy, so he actually tosses her up in the air for a second to get a better hold on her. That gave me a huge laugh, because it looked as if it was totally improvised. Mary then asks Lou to lower her down so she can hang up on the person she's talking to.
There was another I saw on YouTube which involved Phyllis and Sue-Ann. Phyllis in in the middle of a crisis, because she thinks her husband is having an affair. Sue Ann just puts something in the oven and tells her that she can't talk because it's a critical time. Phyllis gets up and says, "I'm sorry it's a very critical time for me too!" and she opens the oven door then slams it shut. Sue Ann takes out whatever it was she was preparing and holds it so delicatly say, "Ohhhh, my poor baby!" but just boots the oven door shut.
Word is the rest of the show is going to be released on DVD in a complete series box set. I think I may be persuaded to get it. I've got such a love for classic TV that I think this one would make a good edition to my DVDs.
But yes, a great show. I can see why it's held in such high regard.
I made a post on here some months back when I viewed the episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust." After that, the curiosity bug got the best of me, so I started to look at a few more episodes of the series and think it's absolutely hysterical.
I can't say enough about the cast. All of them are just perfect from Lou -the kind of boss we've all had, but you still love him, Sue Ann, a sweetheart on the outside but a complete bitch on the inside, and my personal favorite - Ted Baxter, the bumbling buffoon of WJM-TV who thinks he's the biggest thing since sliced bread. This is the kind of cast that isn't very common in TV. All of them have their moments and add so much to the show with their own bits of comedy.
I haven't had a favorite episode, but there are definitely some hilarious moments that I want to quote:
[Mary just gets through talking to a guy on the phone, who she's interested in meeting.]
Mary: I've never met Mr. Cooper in person, just over the phone. I've only met his voice.
Murray: Well what's his voice like?
Mary: Interesting!
Murray: Be prepared to be disappointed.When I started at this station there was a guy who sounded great on the phone but when I met him he turned out to be a complete and utter dud.
Mary: Who was that?
[Ted enters]
Ted: HI GUYS!
Ted: Mary, you know that ratings graph you're working on that shows us how good we're doing against competition?
Mary: Ah, yes, Ted, here it is, the red line on that sheet of paper is us.
Ted: Heyyyyy, we're on top!
Mary: No, Ted, you're holding it upside down.
Ted: Ohhh... who believes in those damn ratings anyway?
Mary: The people on the top.
Sue Ann: I always tape my Christmas show in advance, so I can spend a season of joy and goodwill with my only sister in Florida.
Mary: Oh, isn't that nice.
Sue Ann: She's kind of a creep, but she's got a pool.
A great scene involved Mary slipping and spraining her ankle. She can't walk, so Lou is carrying her. At one point, she gets a phone call, so Lou carries her back to the desk so she can talk on the phone. Now she's getting too heavy, so he actually tosses her up in the air for a second to get a better hold on her. That gave me a huge laugh, because it looked as if it was totally improvised. Mary then asks Lou to lower her down so she can hang up on the person she's talking to.
There was another I saw on YouTube which involved Phyllis and Sue-Ann. Phyllis in in the middle of a crisis, because she thinks her husband is having an affair. Sue Ann just puts something in the oven and tells her that she can't talk because it's a critical time. Phyllis gets up and says, "I'm sorry it's a very critical time for me too!" and she opens the oven door then slams it shut. Sue Ann takes out whatever it was she was preparing and holds it so delicatly say, "Ohhhh, my poor baby!" but just boots the oven door shut.
Word is the rest of the show is going to be released on DVD in a complete series box set. I think I may be persuaded to get it. I've got such a love for classic TV that I think this one would make a good edition to my DVDs.
But yes, a great show. I can see why it's held in such high regard.
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