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Line 2: [[File:Marytylermooreshow.jpg\|thumb\|The main cast]] {{quote\|''"Sometimes I get concerned about being a career woman. I get to thinking my job is too important to me, and I tell myself that the people I work with are just the people I work with and not my family. And last night, I thought, what is a family, anyway? They're just people who make you feel less alone, and really loved. And that's what you've done for me. Thank you for being my family."'' \|'''Mary Richards''', \|[[Grand Finale\|"The Last Show"]]}} Legendary 1970s [[CBS]] comedy created by [[James L. Brooks]] and Allan Burns, starring (of course) [[Mary Tyler Moore]], which forever reshaped sitcoms. Every [[Work Com\|workplace sitcom]] since bears its influence. Line 10: The show was also one of the first to feature a single woman as the central character, and focus on her career rather than her love life. As originally scripted, Mary was to have been recently divorced. This was considered too controversial in 1970 (plus, in a case of classic [[Executive Meddling]], network brass was afraid [[Viewers are Morons\|viewers would think]] that Moore's ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show\|Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' character, Laura Petrie, had gotten divorced from Rob), so her [[Backstory]] was changed to one of rebuilding her life after a broken engagement. ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' was the first series produced by MTM Enterprises (founded by Moore and then-husband Grant Tinker), which would be responsible for several of the most popular and acclaimed shows of the '70s and '80s. The show won 29 [[Emmy ~~Awards~~Award]]s (a record that held until ''[[Frasier]]'' won its 30th in 2002) and a [[Peabody Award]], and spun off three other series: ''[[Rhoda]]'', ''Phyllis'' and ''[[Lou Grant]]'' (the latter being one of the few instances where a comedy series spawned a ''drama''). One of its episodes, "Chuckles Bites the Dust", is [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-tv-episode-is-considered-the-greatest-of-all-time-1.5155531 widely considered] to be [[Crowning Moment of Funny\|one of the funniest sitcom episodes ''ever''.]] One of the many tropes it established was the recurring gag about Mary's disastrous parties. ''[[Friends]]'' similarly has built continuity around its Thanksgiving episodes, and ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer\|Buffy]]'' typically had ruinous birthdays. According to a book by [[J. Michael Straczynski]], if a writer watches this show and ''[[Fawlty Towers]],'' they will have had the best possible grounding in how to write comedy. Ultimately ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' is best remembered for the depth and humanity of its characterizations, while never sacrificing the funny. Oh, and the hat-throwing scene in the intro. Line 26: * [[Assumed Win]]: The "Teddy Awards" episodes. * [[Back for the Finale]]: Rhoda and Phyllis. * [[Big Ego, Hidden Depths]]: Former [[Trope Namer]] ([[Ted Baxter Close Up]]). * [[Black Comedy Burst]]: "Chuckles Bites the Dust". * [[Bland-Name Product]]: Mary buys Bess a "Fast Wheels" racing car set (Hot Wheels). Line 70: '''Murray''': [[Lampshade Hanging\|Nice timing, Ted.]]}} * [[Informed Attractiveness]]: Mary is consistently portrayed in-universe as, in Murray's words, "so terrifically attractive and desirable that she can probably have any man she wants." ** What, she wasn't? We ''are'' talking about ''Mary Tyler Moore'' here, right? * [[Intimidating Revenue Service]]: In "1040 or Fight", Mary gets audited, and to make matters worse the IRS agent develops a crush on her. ** In a later episode, Ted splurges on buying gifts for his friends with an undeserved tax refund check which the IRS later wants back. Line 107 ⟶ 108: * [[Required Spinoff Crossover]]: Mary appeared in several episodes of both ''[[Rhoda]]'' and ''Phyllis''. For Rhoda's [[Wedding Day]] two-parter on the former, ''all'' of the ''MTM'' regulars (save for Ted and Sue Ann) showed up. ** Averted hard however on ''[[Lou Grant]]''. The only character from ''MTM'' to appear was three-time guest character Flo Meredith (Mary's aunt), played by Eileen Heckart. * [[Reunion Show]]: There were ''two'': ''Mary and Rhoda: The Mary Tyler Moore Show Reunion'' from 2000, a less comedic take in which Mary and Rhoda meet up again after many years. 2002's ''The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion'', which was a [[Documentary]] instead of a [[Sequel]] * [[Running Gag]]: The Teddy Awards, Mary's disastrous dinner parties (lampshaded in later episodes), Ted's speech about the "five-thousand-watt radio station in Fresno, California", Lou's drinking, etc. * [[The Scrooge]]: Ted. The show had a seemingly endless supply of gags about his reluctance to spend any money, even though he's the highest-paid employee at the station. * [[Ship Sinking]]: Toward the end of the series, the writers addressed the Mary/Lou 'shipping that had become popular among fans (and even among some of the writers) by having Mary and Lou try dating... and break into giggles after they kiss, realizing that they will never work as a romantic couple. * [[Show Within a Show]]: The news program, of course.▼ * [[Shout-Out]]: In later seasons, the opening credits feature two scenes in which Mary is seen interacting with people connected with the show. The first scene shows Mary walking in the park when two joggers run by her: creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. The second scene shows Mary dining at a restaurant with an older man: Moore's then-husband, Grant Tinker, who also served as co-founder and president of the show's production company, MTM Enterprises, and would later become even more well known as "the man who saved [[NBC]]", when he served as the network's chairman and CEO from 1981 to 1986. The opening also has a scene of Mary washing her car while donning a Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings QB) jersey. If you look closely at the WJM program grid on the wall of the Station Manager's office, you'll see ''[[My Mother the Car]]'' is shown several times a day. This is an in-joke to the [[Old Shame]] shared between Brooks and Burns. ▲* [[Show Within a Show]] * [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis]]: Phyllis, for Rhoda. * [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: Ted Baxter, the former [[Trope Namer]]. Line 122: Lou's friend does a heck of a [[Gerald Ford\|Betty Ford]] imitation. Technically, Cloris Leachman was never a full-time regular on the show, and was always billed as "Special Guest Star" for her appearances. * [[Spin-Off]]: There were three - ''[[Rhoda]]'', ''Phyllis'' and ''[[Lou Grant]]''. ** And oddly enough, that last one was a ''[[Genre Shift\|drama]]'' and it was the most successful one! * [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]: Ted was the focus of a hugely increased number of episodes in the last few seasons. * [[Stepford Smiler]]: Sue Ann is so into her TV persona as the sweetly helpful "Happy Homemaker" that she acts like that all the time, onscreen and off, smiling even when saying the meanest or dirtiest things. * [[Stock Sitcom Grand Finale]]: The [[Trope Maker]]. * [[Straw Critic]]: Karl Keller ([[The Young and The Restless\|Eric Braeden]]) in "The Critic" embodies this trope in its purest form, a [[Smug Snake]] who hates everything except obscure European art movies. ** Another Straw Critic was, as far as I recall, never physically shown, but Murray had written a play, the crew performed it, and this guy '''savaged''' it in his review. Mary was the only one whose performance he had anything good to say about. Everyone was devastated -- until Mary discovered that this critic had been equally vitriolic about some of the most highly praised (by everyone else) theatrical performances of the last twenty years or so.<ref>He said ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' "died" on its first night. As for [[Richard Burton (actor)\|Richard Burton]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'', it wasn't just Burton's acting he didn't like; he thought the '''[[William Shakespeare\|script]]''' stunk!</ref> Basically, if he said it was bad, it was almost guaranteed to be good. Everybody brightened up as Mary read them hilarious quotes that revealed how '''wrong''' this fellow always was. And then she stopped to wonder if this meant '''her''' acting wasn't any good. * [[Straw Feminist]]: Phyllis, who considers herself a great progressive, can be this on occasion. {{quote\|'''Phyllis''': ''[after Mary is fired]'' It's obviously a case of sexual discrimination. Line 135 ⟶ 133: * [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: When Phyllis is worried about her brother and Rhoda spending a lot of time together, she reasons that saying anything to dissuade them will probably just bring them closer together. To prevent that from happening she resolves to be "passive, even kindly", and when Rhoda walks into the room a moment later... {{quote\|'''Phyllis:''' "Rhoda...I want you to know, dear...that I am ''not'' sick to my stomach over you and Ben."}} * [[Take That]]: The writers would sometimes put in disparaging references to the cheesy late-'60s sitcoms this show was rebelling against, including ''[[Gilligan's Island\|Gilligans Island]]'', ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' (re-named [[Expy\|"The Clancy Clan"]]) and co-creator Allan Burns's own [[Old Shame]] ''[[My Mother the Car]]''. * [[The Talk]]: One episode has Phyllis enlisting Mary to give this to her daughter Bess. * [[That Didn't Happen]]: Mary and Lou are both completely squicked out after they kiss. * [[Thematic Theme Tune]]: "Love Is All Around", written and sung by Sonny Curtis. A different version was used beginning in the second season. * [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]: Lou's idea to have a cameraman ride along in a policecar to film an on the spot arrest predated ''[[COPS (series)\|COPS]]'' by about 15 years. In one episode Ted looked for Coffee Bags ... guess what Folgers and other companies now make. ** Les (Jerry Van Dyke) had the idea to broadcast the ''WJM 6:00 News'' from the newsroom...an idea many later news-shows adapted, most notably ABC's ''[[World News Now]]''. * [[Unlimited Wardrobe]]: Mary, despite references to her limited clothing budget. [[Lampshade Hanging\|Lampshaded]] by Ted a couple of times. {{quote\|"Georgette keeps asking me why you have more clothes than she does. I tell her it's because all your outfits are reversible."}} Line 162 ⟶ 155: {{reflist}} {{TV Guide's 50 Greatest}} [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼ [[Category:Comedy Series]] [[Category:Work Com]] Line 167 ⟶ 161: [[Category:American Series]] [[Category:TV Series]] [[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1970s]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Tyler Moore Show, The}} ▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]