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Mary And Lou And Rhoda And Ted: And All The Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show A Classic (2013)

by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong(Favorite Author)
3.71 of 5 Votes: 1
ISBN
1451659202 (ISBN13: 9781451659207)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Simon & Schuster
review 1: This is an atrocious book. For a more detailed explanation as to why this book really stinks, see Mediaman's review. In any event, the book contained numerous factual errors, focused too much attention on some of the female writers, gave the show way too much credit for changing television and, more absurdly, society as a whole, and went down some rabbit holes for no particular reason other than that the author wanted to shoehorn in some of her interviews. The best example of the latter was the repeated reference to a New England fan who wrote long letters to the show's staff after each episode. I kept waiting for the guy to become relevant, but he never did. Bizarre. While it is not altogether too surprising that the author focused a lot of attention on the female wr... moreiters - who were apparently some of the first on TV - their story never went anywhere - especially as these writers appeared to have achieved virtually no success after end of the show. In terms of the show’s impact on TV and society, I'll say only this. After the show ended, TV reverted to a series of lighter fare that tackled virtually no important societal issues - such as the Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charlie’s Angels, Threes Company, Happy Day's, etc. And, of course, it wasn't even, as the author repeatedly suggested, the first sitcom with a female lead - see I Love Lucy, or more relevantly, That Girl, which, unlike MTM, realistically depicted Marlo Thomas's actually efforts to take a run at show business on her own. The book also glossed over most of the foibles of the main actors. MTM was/is notoriously aloof, was a Reagan Republican, and did not run the company that bore her name - Grant Tinker did. Gavin McLeod and, ever more so, Valerie Harper, were famously difficult with whom to work - Harper having been fired and replaced by Sandy Duncan from a show of her own name. And Lou Grant was not cancelled because of Ed Asner's support of the communists in Central America (although that support was pretty misguided for a guy in his position). Rather, the show was cancelled because it fell pretty far in the ratings in its final year and only twice was rated in the top 30, in any event. While the book does contain some interesting anecdotes, it's not worth the time to read the thing.
review 2: As a fan of the show, it was a pleasure to read about behind-the-scenes info on how The Mary Tyler Moore Show came to be and what made it tic, but even if you're not a fan, it's still an interesting time capsule at the changing face of the sitcom in the early-to-mid '70s, as well as a look at many of the women behind the scenes (as well as in front of the camera) of what is very much a groundbreaking show. less
Reviews (see all)
Smileybunnies
If you loved the Mary Tyler Moore show - and I did - here's the background, gossip and all.
capricorn
A fun and interesting read for any fan and maybe even someone who isn't.
negar
What can I say? I'm a classic TV buff and enjoy the back-stories!
Angie
So much material available and yet the book did so little with it!
kenneth
Enjoyable background info...
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