The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Season 3
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Tyler Moore Show DVDs
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In this third season, Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), she of the
"bright smile and infectious vivacity," got to display some of that
celebrated "spunk" of hers. In the season-opener, "The Good-Time
News," she demands to be paid the same amount of money as her
predecessor. In "The Georgette Story," she defies her boss, Lou
Grant (Ed Asner), and vainglorious anchorperson Ted Baxter (Ted
Knight) by counseling Ted's new girlfriend, whom he takes for
granted. And in "Romeo and Mary," she finally stands up to an
overzealous suitor (guest star Stuart Margolin), which hilariously
backfires on her.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show endures because its timeless comedy is
drawn from the wellspring of its fully drawn characters, who were
allowed to grow beyond one-note caricatures. Mary's best friend,
Rhoda (Valerie Harper), who was in danger of becoming this series'
Sally Rogers, really blossomed this season. In "Rhoda the
Beautiful," the slimmed-down Rhoda is empowered to enter a beauty
contest, and in "My Brother's Keeper," she catches the eye of
Phyllis' (Cloris Leachman in an Emmy-nominated performance) brother,
which devastates Phyllis, setting the stage for yet another
disastrous Mary Richards party (and a dénouement that must have been
daring in 1973). Wise-cracking Murray (Gavin McLeod) reveals new
depths in "Murray Faces Life," in which he sinks into depression
after hearing that a former college classmate has won the Pulitzer
Prize. Even Ted manages to surprise. In "Operation: Lou," a
hospitalized Lou Grant finds a new appreciation for Ted, who
graciously and uncharacteristically, presents him with an expensive
bottle of scotch. Moore, Harper, and Knight were each honored with
Emmys this season. Joining this august core ensemble is Georgia
Engel as Georgette, who makes a delightful first impression in
"Rhoda Morgenstern: Minneapolis to New York." Even hard-boiled Lou
softens in her presence. "You're a real cutie, you know that?" he
tells her in "The Georgette Story." Despite Lou's insistence to the
contrary in "The Good-Time News," The Mary Tyler Moore's job was to
make people laugh. But it could also be surprisingly moving, as in
the laugh-free dramatic climax of "Remembrance of Things Past," in
which Mary is reunited with an ex-boyfriend (Joseph Campanella), who
has broken her heart in the past. This three-disc set contains no
extras, but any of these episodes can take a nothing day and
suddenly... well, you know the rest. --Donald Liebenson
