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Show:		9.0
Picture:		6.0
Sound:		7.0
Extras:		1.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Jay Sandrich
Writer(s):	James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, David Lloyd
Starring:	Betty White • Edward Asner • Gavin MacLeod • Mary Tyler Moore • Ted Knight • Valerie Harper • Georgia Engel
Genre:	Comedy
Release Date:	February 02, 2010

List Price:	DVD - $17.99
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Considered one of the all-time classic sit-coms, this show was still going strong during its sixth season, which contains the series' most popular episode “Chuckles Bites the Dust”. Mary Tyler Moore started her career on another legendary sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show and graduated to her own series, which is just as well regarded and won its share of Emmys. The 1970s were a great decade for situational comedies (All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Bob Newhart Show, etc.) and this series certainly held its own with the best of them.

Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, the series lasted seven seasons but there was no discernible reduction in quality over the years. The Mary Tyler Moore Show follows the trials and tribulations of Mary Richards, who flees a bad relationship and moves to Minneapolis in order to start a new life. She gets a job as a producer for a small, semi-competent TV station called WJM TV, where she is surrounded by a colorful and eclectic group of co-workers.

This show has one of the best ensemble casts of any TV sitcom ever. Cast members came and went during early seasons, but by the 1975-76 season, the show had settled on a talented group of six core people. Aside from Mary herself, the odd crew of WJM includes Lou Grant (played by Emmy Award winner Edward Asner) Mary’s gruff but secretly soft-hearted boss. Gavin MacLeod, who would later star in his own popular series The Love Boat, plays sarcastic news writer Murray Slaughter. Murray’s perpetual foil is the egotistical but inept anchorman Ted Baxter (hilariously played by Emmy Award Winner Ted Knight). Ted’s wife is sweet but not-too-bright Georgette Franklin Baxter (Georgia Engel). Rounding out the crew is the self-centered and eternally randy Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White) who has a TV cooking show on WJM and never misses a chance to insult Mary or flirt with Lou.

Recurring characters for year six include Mary’s nurse neighbor Paula (Penny Marshall) and Mary’s charismatic aunt Flo (Eileen Heckart), a veteran newswoman who sees WJM as the amateur hour. Also popping in for a visit during season six are such future stars as May Kay Place, John Ritter, Jeff Conaway and Dabney Coleman. Another notable appearance is by former B-movie star Beverly Garland as Lou’s old flame.

Highlights of year six include Ted and Georgette’s spontaneous wedding in Mary’s apartment in “Ted’s Wedding”, and Lou’s date with the aggressive Sue Ann in “The Happy Homemaker Takes Lou Home”. But the high point of the season, and in fact the whole series, is the classic episode “Chuckles Bites the Dust”.

In “Chuckles Bites the Dust”, a beloved TV clown named Chuckles is killed by an elephant while dancing in a peanut costume. Most of the WJM crew seems to find the circumstances of his death funny and can’t resist making jokes about it. Mary, however, finds their humor tasteless and chastises them for their callous behavior. But when the day of the funeral comes, and the minister starts talking about the goofy antics that made Chuckles famous, the bizarreness of the situation finally hits Mary and she breaks out in uncontrollable laughter at the worst possible time. The final priceless moment is when the minister encourages her to unleash her laughter in honor of Chuckles, but Mary instead begins crying her eyes out. The whole thing is wonderfully done and remains a hilarious and classic moment in television. Although it doesn’t seem overly outrageous today, at the time it was a groundbreaking bit of morbid humor.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show debuted during the 70s women’s rights movement and Mary Tyler Moore became a feminist icon for a new generation. Ironically, she’d played the usual housewife and mother role in her previous series the Dick Van Dyke Show, but she became the role model of many 1970s women with her portrayal of the strong, smart, independent producer of WJM. Although Mary Richards did spend much of her time looking for love, she still managed to thrive without a steady man in her life. Mary was the rock for her oddball friends. She was the calm in the heart of the storm of weirdness that was WJM.

It’s been over thirty years since the series aired but it still remains beloved today. It's one of the few shows that did not dwindle in quality as the seasons went on and year six provides some wacky but heartfelt entertainment.

The DVD package contains three discs, which feature all 24 episodes of year six.

DVD Bonus Features

Sadly, there are no DVD extras. But the acclaimed series stands on its own.