Here's an episode of the MARY series that David Isaacs and I created for Mary Tyler Moore in 1985. Thanks to reader Benson for posting it on YouTube. This is the episode that features Katey Sagal singing. We knew she was a terrific singer (she was one of Bette Midler's Harlettes) but the character she played in the show was a real curmudgeon, not the kind of person who would just break into song.
So we constructed a story to justify it. The episode was directed by Ellen Falcon, written by me and David, and Richard Gilliland was the guest-star.
I enjoyed this series and was disappointed when it was cancelled. My theory was that sitcom audiences couldn't accept a character who was essentially still Mary Richards transplanted into an unsupportive if not outright hostile work environment.
ReplyDelete(Though had "Mary" gotten the long run it deserved, Katey Sagal wouldn't have been free to do "Married," and Married wouldn't have evolved the way it did. So things happen for a reason.)
The episode featuring the debut of drama critic John Astin's play is still one of my all-time sitcom episode faves.
Oh, Rob!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting it. I liked the show. I thought it had promise and it was gelling by the end of the season. But CBS was bouncing it all over the place. I wish it would come out on DVD. Or even Hulu.
ReplyDeleteKatey can sing her buns off. They use her sometimes on Sons of Anarchy. Her version of "Bird on a Wire" for the musical montage at the end of a recent episode was aces.
ReplyDeleteThat's memorable..
ReplyDeleteHer singing was excellent in the concluding episode of the original "Futurama" series, when her character Leela was dragged in to sing in the opera with the Robot-Devil that Fry wrote for her. In fact her voice skills were put to great use in that series (and missing the regional accent).
ReplyDeleteAs for Mary, I think the problem is it seems too familiar, too soon. She should have worked somewhere in contrast to a newsroom atmosphere - like she's a tv producer, in Burbank, and the series is about a woman character who is single...
Used the search engine on this blog and this answered both my question and some of the points brought up by others.
ReplyDeleteCBS wanted an updated version of her old show, believing that Mary’s audience would only accept a more mature version of Mary Richards. We listened to them instead of doing our original idea. That was our first mistake.
The premise everyone agreed upon was that Mary, a high class fashion writer found herself unemployed when her magazine folded. She winds up working at a Chicago tabloid, the kind that views the Sun-Times as if it were the NY Times. We tried to put her in a much funkier, edgier arena than WJM. And we tried to give her a love interest. Our inspiration was HIS GIRL FRIDAY. We wanted someone who was handsome, charming, and kept Mary completely off guard. Was he a cad or just pushing her to be better? We hired James Farentino who was GREAT.
Hey Benson,
ReplyDeleteEmail me. bossjock@dslextreme.com.
thanks.
Ken
Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" as "our song...." Priceless.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this.
It's always worth it when funny takes the risk to be unfunny. Doesn't happen enough, if ever, in sitcoms anymore.
ReplyDelete