The station gets a new program director. She is very attractive and very competent. Lou resents her at first because she is a woman. Since they need to work together so much, an attraction develops, especially from her. She confides in Mary and things start to get complicated. Rhoda is no help because her standards are quite different. Lou has a long marriage and Mary begins to get in the way to disrupt their time together. Things have changed. Ted talks about giving a little brunette in the elevator the old "pincherino." This episode is a little uncomfortable, but it does make one think how recently women in authority were accepted, and the stuff they had to put up with.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (TV Series)
What Do You Do When the Boss Says 'I Love You' (1973)
User Reviews
Review this title3 Reviews
Office romance
Rrrobert29 September 2019
OK episode.
The new program director is a woman (Lois Nettleton). Lou is not too worried about having a woman for a boss, until she develops an attraction for him.
Mary Tyler Moore does some great comedy acting here. The subplot has Ted (who's more obnoxious than usual) worried that the new 'secretary' he pinched is the program director. He then embarrasses himself with some unsublte attempts to impress her.
The new program director is a woman (Lois Nettleton). Lou is not too worried about having a woman for a boss, until she develops an attraction for him.
Mary Tyler Moore does some great comedy acting here. The subplot has Ted (who's more obnoxious than usual) worried that the new 'secretary' he pinched is the program director. He then embarrasses himself with some unsublte attempts to impress her.
New Boss Likes Lou
Christopher37031 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Lois Nettleton guest stars as Barbara Coleman, the new Program Director at WJM who develops feelings for Lou but smartly discusses her feelings with Mary rather than impulsively acting on them.
Mary is then caught in the middle while the three are working late one night and her efforts to stick around and defuse things fail as Lou rushes a worried Mary out of the office to go home and get sleep.
Nothing wound up happening between the two, but Barbara does admit to the married Lou the next day at work that had he initiated anything towards her the evening before, she would have accepted his advances. Yet I didn't wind up disliking her after making that bold and unapologetic admission to him. In fact, I found her to be more interesting.
I thought Nettleton displayed much charm and charisma that I found myself wishing the show had kept her on as a recurring character or even a regular cast member after this. I believe she blended seamlessly with the other characters and think she would have fit in perfectly in the show.
And in the next season when Lou & his wife Edie wound up parting ways, I think the relationship between Lou and Barbara could have then been explored further. Also with Rhoda leaving for NY soon, she could have been a new confidant to Mary who pretty much didn't have anyone after Rhoda split.
I just feel it was a missed opportunity, and watching this episode I wondered how great it could have been had we seen more of Barbara in the series because I found her to be such an appealing character and a nice fit with the rest of the cast.
Mary is then caught in the middle while the three are working late one night and her efforts to stick around and defuse things fail as Lou rushes a worried Mary out of the office to go home and get sleep.
Nothing wound up happening between the two, but Barbara does admit to the married Lou the next day at work that had he initiated anything towards her the evening before, she would have accepted his advances. Yet I didn't wind up disliking her after making that bold and unapologetic admission to him. In fact, I found her to be more interesting.
I thought Nettleton displayed much charm and charisma that I found myself wishing the show had kept her on as a recurring character or even a regular cast member after this. I believe she blended seamlessly with the other characters and think she would have fit in perfectly in the show.
And in the next season when Lou & his wife Edie wound up parting ways, I think the relationship between Lou and Barbara could have then been explored further. Also with Rhoda leaving for NY soon, she could have been a new confidant to Mary who pretty much didn't have anyone after Rhoda split.
I just feel it was a missed opportunity, and watching this episode I wondered how great it could have been had we seen more of Barbara in the series because I found her to be such an appealing character and a nice fit with the rest of the cast.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
