When I was little, we had to draw portraits of famous people for art class, and I chose Mary Richards. She was long-haired, young and fresh—effortless for a budding gay boy to capture, and to worship. I was unsure about it at first, but once I held it up, her sunniness shone bright to the rest of the class and I immediately felt completely confident standing next to it. Her infectious optimism was just that powerful. So, how come that bitch Rhoda Morgenstern ran off like that to get her own sitcom? I don't know. But the fact is she did, and so in the fifth season, without a best friend, Mary's sunniness was for the first time left without a direction to shine, and the character without a direction to go.
In the first episode on the DVD, the show tries to get its footing, and has characters repeatedly refer to Mary as a daughter of whom anyone would be proud, after she goes to jail for not revealing a source. It's a nice sentiment, but really, an awkward one, since Moore is for sure showing her age. Also, as the show progresses, and we see Mary at home, and her boss and co-workers popping in at random, seemingly always interrupting a life we're not sure actually exists, it is clear that this version can't last. Finally in the fifth episode, “The Outsider,” however, when a hotshot young man comes into the newsroom for the express purpose of getting the ratings up, MTM shines again. The hotshot states definitively that the number they got is the best they can ever be—depressing everyone by stamping their fates. Mary, it seems decided, is just one in a gang defeated.
After this, many episodes follow members of the cast losing. Not even being nominated for awards they've won in the past, breaking engagements and fondue pots, unable to find work, etc. A few of the episodes are even expressly built around the fact that a recession is happening (Mary's rent goes up a whopping $30!). And in a most memorable moment, Mary's idea for a documentary of a clean politician tanks, and she realizes her whole job is dependent on immoral people of the world creating stories for her to produce. Lou (Ed Asner) compounds this with yet another moment appropriate for the season, assuring Mary that they just did a lousy job, which she can easily believe.
There's a kind of sick pleasure that comes with seeing Mary become believably docked. Many episodes even see her orating her shortcomings, or a story from childhood, in order to make clear why she's unable to do something in the present e.g. not care what people think of her, or speak up for herself “You know the book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)?," she says, quivering, "I was afraid to ask for the book.” By this point, the responsibility for Mary Richards to be perfect by this point is clearly off her shoulders. Tellingly, Mary is also shame-faced when she comes in sixth in a WJM-News search—a search for a girl just like her.
The great thing is that while in most cases self-parody means less-than, in the case of MTM we know it isn't true. While this season may be uneven from growing pains, the successful fruits of this evolution, like “Not A Christmas Party” where Sue Ann (Betty White) tortures the snowed-in gang with carols and funny hats, are top-notch, and still mimicked by shows like The Office. And after all, it's not until season 6 that "Chuckles Bites the Dust," and goes down in television history.
DVD Bonus Features
Adding to the loser feeling of the season, there are no extras, and actually there isn't even as much as an episode guide insert. Luckily, through the power of the internet, we can always just create our own DVD extras, so here's two separate interviews about how well-endowed Ed Asner is.
Asner also says he spent seven years lusting after Moore, which combined with the well-endowed fact, will give a whole new meaning to "turn the world on with her smile."
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fifth Season" is on sale October 6, 2009 and is rated NR. Comedy. Directed by Jay Sandrich, Peter Baldwin. Written by James L. Brooks, Allan Burns. Starring Edward Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore, Ted Knight.
