The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Difference between revisions

* [[The Alcoholic]]: Lou, though this is mostly played for laughs.

* [[Assumed Win]]: The "Teddy Awards" episodes.

* [[Back for the Finale]]: Rhoda and Phyllis.

* [[Cousin Oliver]]: Literally: Ted and Georgette's adopted son David is played by Robbie Rist, who played Oliver on ''[[The Brady Bunch]]''.

* [[Covert Pervert]]: Mary sometimes hints at this.

'''Mary''': Sure. }}

* [[Cute Kitten]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm6x91utqJo Mimsie], the MTM [[Vanity Plate]].

* [[The Eponymous Show]]

* [[Executive Meddling]]: A common plot on the show, as the station managers at WJM mess with the news show's format or try to make personnel changes. Somewhat subverted in that Ted's news show is so bad that the executives may have a point in wanting to change it.

* [[Freudian Slip]]: Mary: "I'd love to interview Robert Redford, if the opportunity ever arouse... arose."

* [[The Fun in Funeral]]: "Chuckles Bites the Dust"

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: During the "Chuckles" episode, Mary is horrified at her co-workers' jokes revolving around the titular deceased clown. Fast-forward to the funeral, where they remain appropriately solemn while she completely cracks up at the eulogy.

* [[Inadvertent Entrance Cue]]: Happens numerous times, mostly with Ted.

'''Ted''': ''[entering]'' [[Catch Phrase|Hi, guys!]]<br />

'''Murray''': [[Lampshade Hanging|Nice timing, Ted.]] }}

* [[Kavorka Man]]: After Lou's wife divorces him, he demonstrates a surprising ability to attract women. One episode ends with him caught between two women and deciding to date both of them at once, Sue Ann has a crush on him, and in the next-to-last episode even Mary has to admit she's interested in Lou.

* [[Knock-Knock Joke]]: Ted got stuck trying to come up with one using the name "[[wikipedia:Anna Maria Alberghetti|Anna Maria Alberghetti]]". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evPZLtQxo8A He finally figures out a punchline by the end of the episode]:

* [[Large Ham]]: Phyllis is this in-universe, managing to turn everything into life-or-death drama, even Ted's failed campaign for City Council:

* [[Last-Name Basis]]: Everyone calls Lou by his first name except Mary, who insists on calling him "Mr. Grant." She only calls him "Lou" when she's angry at him or, in one of the last episodes, when they go on a date.

* [[Left It In]]: In one episode, Mary is interviewing a male author with the intention of cutting in a tape of Murray asking the questions later. At the end, the author asks Mary out. The final result that is broadcast shows Murray being asked out by the author.

* [[Naive Newcomer]]: Mary kind of started out as one.

* [[Never My Fault]]: Phyllis.

* [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]]: Lou's explanation for why Sue Ann's constant advances make him so nervous.

* [[Oh, Mr. Grant!]]: [[Trope Namer]].

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Georgette. She sounds like [[The Ditz]] but is much smarter than Ted, and she frequently gives level-headed advice to other characters.

* [[The Odd Couple]]: Lampshaded in the episode "Where There's Smoke, There's Rhoda":

* [[Official Couple]]: Ted and Georgette starting in the third season.

** In season 6 there was an attempt to give Mary a regular boyfriend, played by Ted Bessell, but the character was [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|dropped without explanation]].

** 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]]'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.

'''Phyllis''': Oh, Mary, you little goose! That was just to cover their tracks! }}

* [[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...

* [[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]]''.

* [[That Didn't Happen]]: Mary and Lou are both completely squicked out after they kiss.

** Les (Jerry Van Dyke) had the idea to broadcast the ''WJM 6:00 News'' from the newsroom...an idea many later newsshows 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.

* [[Wacky Guy]]: Ted verges on this. Most of the wackier plots and tropes involve him.

* [[Welcome Episode]]

* [[We Want Our Jerk Back]]: Any time Lou acts unusually nice or considerate, his employees take it as a sign that there's something very wrong.

** Averted in the episode in which Ted has a minor heart attack on the air which changes his personality. The gang likes the new Ted and start to adopt his new outlook just as he snaps out of it.

* [[What Does She See in Him?]]: Brought up by Mary in the episode where Georgette marries Ted.

'''Georgette''': Of course, Mary. ''Somebody'' has to! }}

* [[Whole-Plot Reference]]: "The New Sue Ann," where a young [[Loony Fan]] of Sue Ann plots to take over her show, is a take-off on ''[[All About Eve]]''.