Television. One DVD at a Time.

"We thought of the difficulty of being thirty, single, and female in the very tough world of the 1970's, and we wanted to find the comedy - but also the meaning - in that." - James L. Brooks and Allan Burns

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete First Season DVD Review

By Jonathan Boudreaux

When The Dick Van Dyke Show left the air in 1966, costar Mary Tyler Moore decided to use that show's immense popularity to launch a film and stage career. It must have seemed like a foolproof plan. Surely the talented actress who won two Emmy awards for her role as Laura Petrie would be able to successfully transfer her talents to other mediums. But several movie bombs (like Change of Habit - a bad Elvis movie even by bad Elvis movie standards) and one Broadway disaster (a musical version of Breakfast at Tiffany's which literally closed before it opened) later, and her career appeared to be doomed.

Then, in 1969, old pal Dick Van Dyke came to the rescue. He was doing a special for CBS called Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman which was filled with the kind of song, dance, and comedy that Moore could do so well. She agreed to appear on the show, which became an artistic and ratings success.

At that time, CBS was desperate to change its image. Its schedule was filled with high rated shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Hee Haw that - unfortunately for CBS - appealed largely to an unfashionable "rural" audience. After Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman, CBS executives felt that Moore was the type of performer they needed to help attract a sophisticated urban audience.

Moore and her television executive husband, Grant Tinker, agreed, but under one condition - and it was a big one. Moore and Tinker would have complete creative control over the creation, casting, and production of the series. CBS consented, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show was born.

In the pilot episode, "Love is All Around," we are introduced to the basic premise of the series. Moore plays Mary Richards, a single woman in her thirties who moves to Minneapolis to begin a new life after dumping her doctor boyfriend. When Mary arrives in town, she visits her old friend Phyllis Lindstrom (played by Cloris Leachman) who insists on showing Mary an apartment in her building. Mary is dismayed to learn that pushy Phyllis has already signed a lease on her behalf, mostly to keep upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) out of the apartment. Priggish Phyllis and tough, plain-talking New York transplant Rhoda do not get along, and although Rhoda is upset that Mary stole her apartment, they soon become the best of friends.

Mary answers a newspaper ad for a secretarial position at WJM-TV. Gruff but soft hearted Lou Grant (Ed Asner) informs her that although the secretarial position has been filled, they have an opening for an Associate Producer. It means $10 less a week, but Mary takes the job. Her desk is next to that of news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod) who, while perfectly friendly to Mary, always has a caustic word for the dim bulb anchorman, Ted Baxter (Ted Knight),who always manages to mangle Murray's perfectly written copy.

Over the course of the first season, Mary grows ever closer to this motley group of coworkers and friends, and groundwork is laid for several of the series' most popular recurring themes. It is in this season that Mary throws her first disastrous party ("We Closed in Minneapolis"), the gang first attends the Teddy Awards ("Bob and Rhoda and Teddy and Mary"), Rhoda's mother Ida (Nancy Walker) comes for a visit ("Support Your Local Mother"), and Lou's marriage woes come to light ("The Boss Isn't Coming to Dinner").

Casual viewers may not realize that the characters of Sue Ann Nivens and Georgette Franklin, played by Betty White and Georgia Engel respectively, do not appear in season one. Georgette did not appear until the third season and Sue Ann the following season. Both characters were added, in part, to help prepare for the spin-off bound departures of Phyllis and Rhoda. While viewers of the DVD may be denied The Happy Homemaker and Ted's sweetheart, at least we can revel in the fact that Phyllis and Rhoda make more substantial appearances here than in some subsequent seasons.

The 24 episodes that make up season one are divided onto three of the four DVDs in the set. The fourth DVD holds all of the extras with the exception of the three commentaries. The DVDs are housed in a foldout cardboard digipak case which fits into a cardboard slipcover. The front of the slipcover features a large stylized "M"and a full length shot of Moore dressed in a sailor suit-styled evening gown. When the digipak is slid out, it reveals another shot of Moore in the same dress, this time flanked by Harper and Leachman. The digipak also showcases nice pictures of the rest of the cast. The four DVDs are imprinted to spell out "Mary" in the same stylized font as the "M" on the slipcase. Also included is a booklet which features background notes and an episode guide (synopsis, writer/director credits, original air dates, commentary participants when applicable, and chapter stops). The booklet fits into a folder panel on the foldout case.

The menu designs on the DVDs are simple and effective. From the main menu, each episode on the DVD is numbered in airdate order. Clicking on a title brings up that episode's individual menu screen which features shots from that episode. From here, the episode options (chapter stops, subtitles, audio/language, commentary when applicable) can be chosen and the episode can be played. Each episode is divided into 10 chapters, with the main titles and end titles given their own chapters.

Video and Audio

Fans accustomed to seeing The Mary Tyler Moore Show in syndication and on cable will be pleasantly surprised by the episodes in this boxed set. For years we have been stuck watching the show with ugly, washed out color. The episodes in this set, however, shine with bright, vibrant color. It truly is a revelation to see these cleaned up episodes. The contrast is even more stark with a direct comparison between an episode taped from cable and the same episode on DVD. What looks bleached and wan on cable looks cheery and new on the DVD. It will frankly be difficult to watch old tapes of the show after viewing these spiffy episodes on DVD.

That said, the episode "We Closed in Minneapolis" does have problems. It is noticeably darker than any of the other episodes. Still, this only reinforces the fact that all of the other episodes look so good.

All of the episodes are presented in English Mono, French Mono, and Spanish Mono. The only exception is "We Closed in Minneapolis" which does not have French audio. The sound quality is consistent with other shows of its age. The volume seems a little low, but this may be the fault of my DVD player.

Be sure to listen to an episode using the French audio to hear an instrumental version of the theme song.

Extras

Chief among the extras is the all new 90 minute documentary She Turned the World on with Her Smile: The Making of The Mary Tyler Moore Show which features new interviews with the cast as well as many members of the original creative team. This is the best of the recent "Making of MTM" specials that have run on CBS, TV Land, and A&E since it goes beyond the actors' reminiscences and delves into both the importance of those behind the scenes people responsible for shaping the show and the show's cultural importance. So while we do hear from all of the living cast members, we also get insights from creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, writers David Davis, Susan Silver, Stan Daniels, and David Lloyd, director Jay Sandrich, and many others. Perhaps the documentary's only flaw is the slightly mawkish music that insistently plays throughout.

Three of the episodes contain commentaries. Ed Asner, Allan Burns, and Jay Sandrich participate in "Love is All Around," Allan Burns and David Davis in "Support Your Local Mother," and David Davis and Paul Sand in "1040 or Fight". The commentaries are rather disappointing, ranging from dull to embarrassing. No one really has anything to say, and much of what they say is riddled with mistakes. Sure, they are trying to remember things that happened over 30 years ago and memories fade, but perhaps it would have been better to skip the commentaries altogether. The only interesting comments occur at the tail end of "Support Your Local Mother," when we are treated to the story of how the MTM kitten logo was created.

In the "All-Star Trivia Challenge," the stars and members of the creative team take turns asking trivia questions. A correct answer plays a clip from the series which affirms the answer. An incorrect answer leads to clips from the series that have been cleverly culled to berate the player. While it will not exactly "challenge" hardcore fans, this extra is fun nevertheless. With only ten or so questions, though, this extra's long-term usefulness is questionable.

The "Photo Gallery" contains a variety of items, including Ted Knight headshots, a couple of candid shots of the creative team, pictures of original audience tickets, and shots of script covers and pages.

The show won four Emmy Awards in its first season, and the set also includes Emmy Award Clips showing acceptance speeches. These short clips are a nice addition to the set. Especially amusing is the banter between Lucille Ball and Jack Benny as they present Ed Asner and Valerie Harper with their awards.

Six CBS Promos are also included. These promos are not for specific episodes of the series - they do not even contain footage from the show - but were instead were part of CBS' "We're Putting it all Together" fall 1970 preview ad campaign. It is great to be able to see exactly how CBS tried to sell its shows back in the 1970s.

Summary

This set is a must have for television fans. The Mary Tyler Moore Show featured some of the best writing and character development in the history of television. Unlike many shows that take a season or two to reach their peak, MTM debuted almost fully realized - and the characters grew even more rich and nuanced as the show progressed.

Unfortunately, we might not be able to see the remaining seasons on DVD. In interviews, Fox officials have indicated that sales for season one have been disappointing, and that they should have possibly released a "Best of." compilation instead. An insert in the season one boxed set announced a tentative release date of March 2003 for season two, but that date has come and gone, and there has otherwise been no indication that season two will actually be released.

That would truly be a shame. In subsequent seasons the characters came to life in ways that most other sitcoms cannot even attempt to duplicate. From Lou and Edie's divorce (and her subsequent remarriage) to Ted's development into a caring father, the laughs became even more grounded in reality. The show eschewed standard sitcom hijinks for something much more meaningful, laughs that grew out of our love for these characters, this group of friends that became OUR friends. Hopefully full season releases are still on the horizon, even in a pared down, no frills form.

7/1/03