Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 416881" data-attributes="member: 5079">Yes as I&#039;ve pondered here before, scripted shows rarely have an agreeable life beyond five to seven seasons.&nbsp; After that, it&#039;s either stale repetition or changes that make the show unrecognizable.&nbsp; MTM ended on relatively good terms -- the quality and humor were still mostly solid -- but the writers were clearly out of ideas.I think this is also where it becomes obvious just how hard the loss of Rhoda and Phyllis hit the show.&nbsp; The series was too boxed in on Mary&#039;s worklife.&nbsp; If the show had successfully introduced a lasting boyfriend or one of the would-be Rhoda replacements, there could have been more storylines to play with.I like that the writers used a final episode to have a pleasant and long overdue reconciliation between Murray and Ted.&nbsp; Although there were only a few episodes left anyway, I think the writers even stuck to it -- I don&#039;t recall there being as many zingers from Murray to Ted after this.&nbsp; The scene is also great evidence of what a fine actor Ted Knight was, and how he brought such shading to what could have been a one-dimensional buffoon role.&nbsp; I love how intently Ted stares at Murray&#039;s mouth, waiting for the compliment to turn into an insult; and how relieved he was at the sincerity.And with that, we can wrap up one of the great recurring (non) themes of MTM: (the lack of) Mary&#039;s love life.&nbsp; It&#039;s surprising in retrospect that Mary&#039;s dating life was never more prominent and this was not an intentional choice to make a statement about working women.&nbsp; The producers wanted Mary to have a recurring beau, but each time a new one was introduced they were disappointed by the results.&nbsp; There was only one candidate the producers thought was &quot;worthy&quot; of Mary: Lou Grant.&nbsp; Burns and Brooks were keen on introducing a romance between the two as far back as S4; possibly why they split Lou from Edie.&nbsp; They saw it was a Tracy-Hepburn match.&nbsp; There was just one problem.&nbsp; Mary Tyler Moore who, though was the star and co-owner of the show, rarely contradicted her producers and writers, on this she was unmovable: she would not allow a romance between Lou and Mary Richards.&nbsp;&nbsp; Only at the end did she relent, and then only to prove out why it would have been a bad idea.One of the show&#039;s writer&#039;s used to work for Carson, and the episode was written as an intentional inversion of the usual celebrity guest appearance -- never actually seeing said guest star.&nbsp; (I must admit every time I watch this episode, I think it&#039;s a Johnny Carson impersonator rather than Carson himself.)Although I like the episode itself, this contains my single biggest pet peeve of the entire series.&nbsp;&nbsp; Lou&#039;s admission to Mary that he originally hired her out of pity not only contradicts the first episode but undermines it.&nbsp; Lou hired Mary due to her &quot;spunk&quot; (even if he hated it).&nbsp; The show always had some sloppy continuity and gentle revisionisms, but this is a total misunderstanding of early Mary Richards.&nbsp; She was never a pitiable waif in need of saving.&nbsp; In the first episode alone she stood up to Lou, Rhoda and her ex-fiancé -- all with a gentle decency rather than a flinty assertiveness.&nbsp;&nbsp; This seems like the writers making concessions to the feminists of the day, who endlessly groused that Mary was too soft, but it&#039;s a shame the show endorsed that silly viewpoint.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 416881, member: 5079"] Yes as I've pondered here before, scripted shows rarely have an agreeable life beyond five to seven seasons. After that, it's either stale repetition or changes that make the show unrecognizable. MTM ended on relatively good terms -- the quality and humor were still mostly solid -- but the writers were clearly out of ideas. I think this is also where it becomes obvious just how hard the loss of Rhoda and Phyllis hit the show. The series was too boxed in on Mary's worklife. If the show had successfully introduced a lasting boyfriend or one of the would-be Rhoda replacements, there could have been more storylines to play with. I like that the writers used a final episode to have a pleasant and long overdue reconciliation between Murray and Ted. Although there were only a few episodes left anyway, I think the writers even stuck to it -- I don't recall there being as many zingers from Murray to Ted after this. The scene is also great evidence of what a fine actor Ted Knight was, and how he brought such shading to what could have been a one-dimensional buffoon role. I love how intently Ted stares at Murray's mouth, waiting for the compliment to turn into an insult; and how relieved he was at the sincerity. And with that, we can wrap up one of the great recurring (non) themes of MTM: (the lack of) Mary's love life. It's surprising in retrospect that Mary's dating life was never more prominent and this was not an intentional choice to make a statement about working women. The producers wanted Mary to have a recurring beau, but each time a new one was introduced they were disappointed by the results. There was only one candidate the producers thought was "worthy" of Mary: Lou Grant. Burns and Brooks were keen on introducing a romance between the two as far back as S4; possibly why they split Lou from Edie. They saw it was a Tracy-Hepburn match. There was just one problem. Mary Tyler Moore who, though was the star and co-owner of the show, rarely contradicted her producers and writers, on this she was unmovable: she would not allow a romance between Lou and Mary Richards. Only at the end did she relent, and then only to prove out why it would have been a bad idea. One of the show's writer's used to work for Carson, and the episode was written as an intentional inversion of the usual celebrity guest appearance -- never actually seeing said guest star. (I must admit every time I watch this episode, I think it's a Johnny Carson impersonator rather than Carson himself.) Although I like the episode itself, this contains my single biggest pet peeve of the entire series. Lou's admission to Mary that he originally hired her out of pity not only contradicts the first episode but undermines it. Lou hired Mary due to her "spunk" (even if he hated it). The show always had some sloppy continuity and gentle revisionisms, but this is a total misunderstanding of early Mary Richards. She was never a pitiable waif in need of saving. In the first episode alone she stood up to Lou, Rhoda and her ex-fiancé -- all with a gentle decency rather than a flinty assertiveness. This seems like the writers making concessions to the feminists of the day, who endlessly groused that Mary was too soft, but it's a shame the show endorsed that silly viewpoint. [/QUOTE]

Verification

Who played JR Ewing?