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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 416866" data-attributes="member: 23">Mary Tyler MooreSeason SevenMurray Can’t Lose / Mary’s Insomnia / Ted’s Temptation / Look At Us, We’re Walking / The Critic / Lou’s Army Reunion / The Ted And Georgette Show / Sue Ann Gets The Axe / Hail The Conquering Gordy / Mary And The Sexegenarian / Murray Ghosts For Ted / Mary’s Three Husbands / Mary’s Big Party / Lou Dates MaryWatchable as Season Seven has been, I do feel ready for the series to end. That could be partly influenced by knowing the series is about to do just that, but there is a sense of repetition that pervades, from the award show where someone is convinced they’re about to win to the one (or is it ones) where Mary threatens to quit yet again.A couple of the episodes have felt very long as well. I think it was The Ted And Georgette Show where I mistook the mid-episode fadeout for the one that comes a few minutes before the end.It’s interesting to see the use of a clip show as well, though I can forgive this one quite easily as leaning into the sense of fond reflection that has given this season in particular a very specific sense of history.Murray’s constant snarkiness towards Ted has been somewhat addressed. In one of the Sue Ann episodes (I think the earlier one with her sister), Murray commented that he missed his banter with her because she’s an intellectual equal, whereas it’s too easy with Ted. It’s a comment that made him seem a little crueller, because he continues to undermine Ted certain that it’s not an equal battle. Then in one of the episodes (possibly the ghostwriter one), Murray told Ted that he respected him.Gordy’s return was a nice touch. It’s good to see the character doing well and so effectively being given an upbeat ending after just fading from view before.Helen Hunt is now Murray’s daughter, so that’s been a nice surprise. David Ogden Stiers has made a nice recurring guest as the station manager.Given the progress within the series and in the real world during the run of the series, it felt a little surprising that Mary has been objectified by her colleagues in a couple of episodes. Mary’s Three Husbands was good fun, and it felt that all the cast were having a ball with acting out these scenarios. I can buy, too, that these three colleagues might have some vague fantasy about being married to Mary, but none of this stopped it feeling retrogressive.And then this very idea was mocked in the Lou Dates Mary episode which sounded awful on paper, but in execution addressed how weird it would be to try and force a romantic relationship from a platonic one, and turned out quite a sweet episode. Incidentally, when Lou said about the one time he’d thought of Mary “that way”, I thought it was going to be a reference to the first episode where I seem to remember him coming to her home drunk and making a clumsy pass.Lou wasn’t Mary’s only (or oldest) older man in this run. There’s also Murray’s dad. I’m not sure what this tells us about Mary (apart from possible daddy issues). Lou Ayres - certainly at this point - was pleasant enough but I didn’t feel the charisma which made for a most unconvincing match. I feel the casting relied on the audience knowing a little about him and his earlier projects in order to sell it.I’ve enjoyed the ongoing references to Mary’s terrible parties, and Johnny Carson’s cameo is certainly one of the more intriguing. Is there any kind of story behind this (non)-appearance? I assume it was just an audio recording he’d made for this episode,  but I’ll be even more impressed - and bewildered - if it turns out he was actually in the darkened studio with the cast.And here we are in March 1977, with only The Last Show remaining. I don’t mind admitting I’m a little nervous about diving in. Since everything I’ve read about it has been overwhelmingly positive, there’s a lot riding on this.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?