I never caught MTM when it was originally on. I didn't watch much television and the idea of a sitcom about a single woman had no interest to me. Then, after it was cancelled, a local TV station started showing two shows a night, back to back, and I started watching. At first I wasn't impressed. The early 70s fashions and hairstyles were horrific, the acting uneven, the topics dated and Moore occasionally overacted. But, as the series progressed, the writing got better, the cast got more comfortable with their roles and Moore toned it down a little. I still don't like the first season too much. It does introduce us to all the characters but it just seemed kind of forced. Also it was somewhat sexist. At one point Moore actually does Lou Grants' laundry! OK OK--his wife had left him but still... After the first season though the series picked up speed and just got better and better. It also showed a single woman living alone and liking it--a rarity for TV on those days. It even hinted that she had an off screen sex life. It also found humor in some taboo subjects. When Chuckles the Clown is inadvertently killed in one episode they actually made his death seem funny! Supposedly (according to Moores' autobiography)no one wanted to do it and some crew people were "sick" the week it was filmed. That episode went on the win a few Emmys and is considered a true classic. Also Moores' character got more liberated--especially during the last season. She got a steady boyfriend (Ted Bessell) and, at one point, gives him a long passionate kiss right in front of Lou Grant, Ted Baxter and Murray Slaughter. It all ends perfectly in the last episode. No one was killed but everybody (except for Ted Baxter) is fired and they all leave the office singing! A true classic of TV. Well worth seeing.
Review of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
