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<blockquote data-quote="Snarky Oracle!" data-source="post: 399482" data-attributes="member: 57984">The cusp of the &#039;60s/&#039;70s had an organic-ky heartbroken flavor to the world, and that manifest itself in a lot of montage-y things that were terribly evocative and nakedly poignant (think the silent snow angels sequence in LOVE STORY and the entire HAROLD &amp; MAUDE film, as well as the first season opening theme design and orchestration for MTM). Mary has a quality, as does the show around her, that taps into that melancholy vibe as much as any TV series did at the time (although there were ubiquitous symptoms of it all around back then). The first season feels the most that way.That first year is a wee bit &quot;loud&quot; (everybody speaks like it&#039;s still a stage-y sitcom or variety show from the &#039;60s) but that adjust quickly by the second season, and the humor becomes more sophisticated (they stop getting jokes out of just Ted mis-pronouncing proper names -- although, of course, he still does it). MTM develops as nicely as any show ever does, changes to some degree as it goes on (as indeed it does) and it never slides. It&#039;s good to the end. Betty White starts popping up here-and-there in the fourth season before becoming a regular.In the States, it&#039;s generally regarded as perhaps the best sitcom of its decade, back in an era where character-based comedies series -- good ones -- were unusual, and not the assembly-lined &quot;clever&quot; genre it became by the late-&#039;80s and beyond.Be forewarned, however: there is a minority of people who utterly despise THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- and let&#039;s just say they tend to drink a lot of black coffee. It&#039;s called both, really. But Mary once said in an interview that they left off the THE and the SHOW because &quot;it seemed cozier.&quot;I&#039;ve seen that. I never picture a big window behind the camera, and I envision Mary&#039;s potty room as being round and in that turret.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Snarky Oracle!, post: 399482, member: 57984"] The cusp of the '60s/'70s had an organic-ky heartbroken flavor to the world, and that manifest itself in a lot of montage-y things that were terribly evocative and nakedly poignant (think the silent snow angels sequence in LOVE STORY and the entire HAROLD & MAUDE film, as well as the first season opening theme design and orchestration for MTM). Mary has a quality, as does the show around her, that taps into that melancholy vibe as much as any TV series did at the time (although there were ubiquitous symptoms of it all around back then). The first season feels the most that way. That first year is a wee bit "loud" (everybody speaks like it's still a stage-y sitcom or variety show from the '60s) but that adjust quickly by the second season, and the humor becomes more sophisticated (they stop getting jokes out of [B]just [/B]Ted mis-pronouncing proper names -- although, of course, he still does it). MTM develops as nicely as any show ever does, changes to some degree as it goes on (as indeed it does) and it never slides. It's good to the end. Betty White starts popping up here-and-there in the fourth season before becoming a regular. In the States, it's generally regarded as perhaps the best sitcom of its decade, back in an era where character-based comedies series -- good ones -- were unusual, and not the assembly-lined "clever" genre it became by the late-'80s and beyond. Be forewarned, however: there is a minority of people who utterly [B]despise [/B]THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- and let's just say they tend to drink a lot of black coffee. It's called both, really. But Mary once said in an interview that they left off the THE and the SHOW because "it seemed cozier." I've seen that. I never picture a big window behind the camera, and I envision Mary's potty room as being round and in that turret. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?