After responding to a review pitch for Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic (linked to my review) for review, I promptly downloaded season 1 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show**. I invited my teen daughter to watch with me, wanting to know her thoughts on it, since I was her age or younger when I watched reruns of the beret-throwing “modern woman” who was going to make it on her own.
I was on the fence about the book. I remembered liking the show and was interested to read the angle about how Mary Tyler Moore (actually the fictional Mary Richards) changed the face of the culture, but I didn’t know how much I cared. But as I said in my review of Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, the book exceeded my expectations, and so did the show.
The show is relevant (even 40 years later — yes FORTY years), funny, smart, and clean. There are a few allusions to Mary’s love life — tame by even “YA” media standards — and some over-imbibing, but it’s a show that I’m proud to watch with my daughter. The sets and clothes are vintage, making them cool in the eyes of a teen.
I’m glad that I read the book and that I’m revisiting the series.
So I ask you — Are you a fan of old TV? Have you recently watched Mary Tyler Moore or something else you’ve enjoyed? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to know which shows you’ve found stand the test of time, or those that don’t. You can also let me know how you find/watch these shows.
**I love watching old TV via Netflix or the free Amazon Prime instant video or to be able to purchase instant video on my Roku, so I ordered it online. However, at this time the first 3 seasons are under $10 on amazon (affiliate link), so I ordered seasons 2 and 3 that way so that we can keep watching. The digital price of almost $20 is a little steep for me to commit to continue watching, but to get seasons 2 and 3 both for that price, I’m in!
Somehow, I’ve made it through forty years of life without watching “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”! I’d better fix that. It sounds like a goodie.
“I Love Lucy” is the gold standard for me when it comes to old TV. I loved it as a kid and it is hilarious as ever. Lucille Ball was such a trailblazer, both as a female comedian and as a businesswoman.
A series I’d love to show my own kids — I think my six-year-old would really like it — is “The Brady Bunch.” I haven’t been able to find it on TV, though — anyone know how to get it? I wouldn’t put it in the same class as “Lucy,” but I adored it when I was growing up and it teaches good values to kids.
My parents were just telling me about how they started re-watching “The Waltons,” and what a great show it was. I don’t remember it at all but they love it for its portrayal of a close family.
I look forward to seeing what other people share!
Brady Bunch would be great! I haven’t seen it on TV, but it does look like it’s on DVD
Dick Van Dyke is another classic I love.
We have a station here that plays “oldies,” and I have caught it there occasionally. Might try to do that more now that “summer reruns” are on of the things we usually watch.
We’ve enjoyed watching old episodes of Cosby (on Netflix, also sometimes shown on TVLand), Boy Meets World (my son had to buy those on iTunes), and Star Trek (though we laugh a lot at those).
My son and his wife (in their mid-twenties) went through the Donna Reed show not long ago.
My daughter has caught a couple of Boy Meets World and liked them, so I bought them recently when I saw a great deal.
I used to watch every show. Oddly enough, I was flipping through the channels last night and saw a good one. Mary was invited to play tennis with a new “friend”. Mary found out that the new friend was putting down Rhoda for being Jewish and poor! Mary did not let Rhoda down. She stood by her friend and her convictions. Proud of her!
That’s what I love about Mary. She’s strong, but she’s NICE!
Hi Jennifer – as a new reader of your blog I though I’d just hop on and leave a quick comment here to say I’ve been enjoying it a lot. Thanks! Shaun
Thanks! Always love to hear from people enjoying the site.