Where’s Mary?
29 January 2008 - 23 שבט 5768 by Huw
I’ve just watch the 4th Season of Mary Tyler Moore in its entirety. As a child watching these shows in first run - and as a college student watching them in late night syndication on WNBC in New York, I never noticed how painfully skinny Mary was. OMG. She’s like a toothpick in high-fashion.
Season Four is rather better than season one (which I own) and the first part of Season 2 (which I also own). The main characters are developed enough that plot foils are introduced (Sue Ann Nivens, and Edie & Lou’s separation, etc) without worrying about how the main storylines will hold up. Several standard tropes are fully present - Mary’s inability to throw a party, etc - and several adult themes (for TV in the early 70s) are broached: the season’s opener involves an extra-marital affair, mid-season is the death of a marriage and the finale takes place in a singles’ bar.
The writing is very good: most episodes included one or two full-on laughs. Thus unlike most modern TV and movies which warrant a giggle every now and then.
MTM used to go to Luigi’s jazz dance studio on the same floor as an office I worked in in NYC. I think she must weigh about 90 lbs tops. Of course, I can’t let the story go w/o mentioning the grossest part of it (nothing to do with MTM) which was that none of these spaces had their own bathrooms, and the dancers would strip and wash themselves off using the common sinks…so NOT what you want your clients to see before, during, or after a business meeting.