She's got spunk!

July 13, 2023 11:23 AM

Eight Characters In Search Of A Sitcom [58m] is a 2003 character-by-character, actor-by-actor profile of the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Cast members, writers, directors all sharing their joy and love for the show.

BONUS: Best Mary Tyler Moore Show Bloopers [11m25s]

posted by hippybear (8 comments total)

A little song,
A little dance,
A little seltzer
Down your pants
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:18 PM on July 13, 2023 [7 favorites]

Oh gawd that Chuckles the Clown episode is sidesplitting. Peak hilarity.
posted by whatevernot at 2:51 PM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

It really was a cultural turning point show IMO.

And it had MTM as the main character, and Ed Asner, and Ted Knight, and Gavin MacLeod, and Valerie Harper, and Chloris Leachman... EDIT: And Betty White. What a cast.

I will never want to be a "quizmaster"...
posted by Windopaene at 8:08 PM on July 13, 2023

And looking at the wikipedia page, all of them are no longer with us...

What a bummer.
posted by Windopaene at 8:15 PM on July 13, 2023

A while ago, someone asked on the green for individual TV episodes that were total, absolute feelgood, no meanness or anything uncomfortable. I recommended the Chuckles the Clown episode and Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid, because they are such perfect examples of the best kind of character-based humor, the best writing, the best acting. Just absolutely exquisite television. This show meant so much to me as a young girl and I’m really looking forward to watching the video.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:09 AM on July 14, 2023

Extremely topical in light of the writers' / actors' strike. What a great reminder that yes, great writing and great acting is needed and worth paying for.
posted by NedKoppel at 12:39 PM on July 14, 2023

Sadly, there’s no residuals paid to the actors or writers if you watch this on YouTube. The guy says he doesn’t make any profit—well, no one else does either.
posted by Ideefixe at 1:31 PM on July 14, 2023

Most of them are dead at this point. All the actors are. Brooks is, too. This is an artifact from basically my entirely lifetime ago, and even if residuals were paid by YouTube, which I am not sure they are although maybe YouTube plays of movies "free with ads" are a part of this current negotiation, unless there's a mechanism by which someone dead's estate gets payment, that's not happening.
posted by hippybear at 1:43 PM on July 14, 2023