It's not the greatest sitcom in the world but it did has it moments. It will forever be associated with having a female character that wasn't married and didn't really pursue marriage.
The main story lines in the first 3 or 4 seasons was on Mary's relationships with the other 2 female characters Rhoda and Phyllis. Ed Asner said in an interview that he was a little frustrated that the workplace wasn't really featured in those years and I agree with him. The later years were the best seasons.
Still, the stories all through the run were different and more fresh than most sitcoms pre 1970, and the interaction between the characters are better than most sitcoms up to that point.
The reason for the feminine point of view is obvious. There were a lot of female writers on this show, more than I have ever seen before. This doesn't affect the shows quality but it is still clear that the male characters are softer than they usually were up to that point.
The main story lines in the first 3 or 4 seasons was on Mary's relationships with the other 2 female characters Rhoda and Phyllis. Ed Asner said in an interview that he was a little frustrated that the workplace wasn't really featured in those years and I agree with him. The later years were the best seasons.
Still, the stories all through the run were different and more fresh than most sitcoms pre 1970, and the interaction between the characters are better than most sitcoms up to that point.
The reason for the feminine point of view is obvious. There were a lot of female writers on this show, more than I have ever seen before. This doesn't affect the shows quality but it is still clear that the male characters are softer than they usually were up to that point.