MovieChat Forums > Mary Tyler Moore (1970) Discussion > Third Season is Actually Quite...Meh

Third Season is Actually Quite...Meh

posted 8 months ago by Garyandfilm (513)
7 replies | jump to latest

I have always loved this series since its first-run days when I was a kid. I was always less fonder of the last few seasons - new, less enchanting apartment, no Rhoda, then no Phyllis, too much Ted, etc.

During the pandemic, I purchased the entire series on DVD for $40!! Couldn't refuse. But in rewatching the series over the last several years, I have found the third year to be just...okay. Still crisp, strong writing, but each offering isn't particularly memorable. It's bizarre. Every time I reach for a disc from the third year, I need to look up the storyline on Google, as I don't recall what an episode is about by title alone.

What's weird is that the third season of "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched" and "Get Smart" are my respective faves from those shows. Why not with MTM?

Again, I can't think of a bad offering from the third year. I just find them unmemorable.

[–] clucka (221) 8 months ago

I disagree
But even in its worst episodes, MTM show is better than most shows, modern or vintage, on their best.
This show is fantastic

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 8 months ago

Just last night, I watched "Lou's Place." Again, strong writing, but it's an episode I won't be watching anytime soon.

And, yes, a little of Ted goes a l o n g way. Ted-focused episodes are a real drag. In a show populated with "real" characters, he's too cartoonish and, frankly, unlikeable.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 8 months ago

I've been watching season three since you mentioned it the other day. Some episodes are just okay and kinda forgettable. But I do think there are some gems.

I like all the episodes with Mary's parents. Bill Quinn (Bob Newhart's father-in-law) was one of my favorite character actors. The third episode featuring him is also the one with Mary's old beau Dan who promptly breaks his engagement and pursues Mary. It's a funny episode, but Mary was smart not to accept the proposal of such a fickle man!

The episode with Rhoda's parents is quite funny owing to the talent of Nancy Walker.

And I really enjoy the episode with Phyllis's brother. It's fun to watch Phyllis lose her mind over the thought of her brother spending time with Rhoda. "RHoda the Beautiful" is also a great showpiece for Valerie Harper as she sheds her frumpy image.

I also enjoy the episode "It's Whether You Win or Lose" when Mary organizes a poker game to cheer up Lou when he can't go on his Las Vegas trip after a snowstorm closes the airport. Lou's rant about snow is funny. This episode has one of the single funniest endings ever. Murray loses big to Ted and decides to go "double or nothing". He bets Ted that he will blow the name Hideko Kawasaki when he reads the story about Japan devaluing the yen. After saying it correctly all day, he ends up saying "Hideko Sawakaki" and yelling "damn" on the air.

I like the Georgette story where the girls try to get her to stand up for herself and stop being a doormat.

"Farmer Ted and the News" is one of my favorites. But since you don't care for that character at all, I can see how you wouldn't like it.
Some of the dumb things Ted does just provide great comedy fodder for Lou, like when he says, "After Farmer Ted is through with the news, have him mosey his keister into my office."

I have no trouble with Ted being dumb. He's dumb, but he's not SO dumb. He managed to parlay good looks and a booming voice into a highly paid gig as an anchorman. I know some people who are lawyers and doctors who do some of the dumbest things! And they are still in practice.

"Operation:Lou" is funny when he goes to the hospital to have a piece of old shrapnel removed. Mary asks, "Where were you wounded?" and Lou replies, "Let's just say France."

It's a nice twist that Lou and Ted become close and Mary and Murray are on the outs. Of course Ted ruins the friendship with his on air tribute to Lou at then end of the news broadcast.

I also think "Romeo and Mary" is funny. Stuart Margolin was another favorite character actor of mine. He makes a total pest of himself trying to convince a meek Mary to fall in love with him only to have her finally assert herself when he is proposing to someone else.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 8 months ago

All examples of great writing (I like "Farmer Ted and the News", btw), it's just that none of these are super faves. I was surprised by how much I didn't care for the two eps with Mary's Parents. Nothing wrong with the actors, they're just somehow lackluster offerings to me. And Rhoda suddenly has a sister we never see or hear about again???? Guess she ran off with the brother Chuck from "Happy Days."

I LOVE "My Brother's Keeper." One of my top-ten faves. I don't like "Romeo and Mary", as it simply doesn't hold up. Today, Mary would've reported this whack job for being a stalker!

I enjoy Ted, but not when the show is focused on him. He's a bit too much, although I know I'm in the minority.

Another ep I dislike is the one with the teenage boy, "It Was Fascination, I Know." The kid is just too young, and it makes me uncomfortable.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 8 months ago

About "Romeo and Mary", yes today she could report a stalker. But back then there were no stalking laws. No one really thought in terms of unwanted attention as being "stalking".
I like to read true crime books and the books by John Douglas who helped create the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit ( like what TV's Criminal Minds show is based on). They all say that back then law enforcement just didn't take stalking seriously. If you reported that a guy was always calling you and sending flowers and gifts, then you should be "flattered" by the attention.

Of course in the MTM episode, Warren wasn't a criminal. He was just a pest! Again, I just always liked Stuart Margolin. I thought he made the episode funny.

I just watched "It Was Fascination" and I enjoy that one because of Wes Stern's performance. He was an obnoxious, sex crazed young guy. It was funny how his Uncle Lou made it clear to him that he was to stay away from Mary.

As far as Rhoda's sister, yes, Deborah disappeared when Rhoda got her own show. In an earlier episode Rhoda also mentions a brother. In another episode when Ida visits, she tells her that she is going on to Chicago to see Rhoda's sister.

It's happened with other characters when they are spun off into their own TV series. The writers change details about the character's life to fit the new show. In the case of Deborah, I think Brenda was a much better character for Rhoda to play off of. She was the frumpy. insecure type character which Rhoda played on MTM. Rhoda got to assume the more "Mary" type character on her own show.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 8 months ago

We've both made mistakes. The ep with Mary's bad day IS from season three, not two. And the ep I referred to about Rhoda's sister is from season FOUR.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 8 months ago

Still a good show even if we mess up the seasons where the episodes occurred!