New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bobby Southworth" data-source="post: 436772" data-attributes="member: 4960">So, I've been enjoying this thread, and read through many messages, but decided at like page 10 or so to jump ahead, and post my own thoughts on MTM. Hopefully I don't steal too many other posters ideas, or thoughts, since I skipped ahead, so apologies in advance, and I do plan on going back and reading the posts I skipped.I enjoy all of the MTM show, with the first season possibly being my least favorite, just because I feel like the show was still finding itself. There is something appealing about the first year, but to me, it just wasn't quite that funny yet, and some of the characters were still being developed; so, they weren't necessarily written or played in the way I would come to appreciate. The 2nd season somehow feels like the first real season of MTM, the series I would come to know and love. Some of that might just be the change to the opening intro, but it's the overall feel of the show.  The character development, or at least enough of it had formed. Mary was still the nice character we came to like the 1st season, but this "niceness" would slowly start to transition some in season 3, and continue throughout the series. I liked both versions of Mary, but she did become more sarcastic, which was funnier, and worked, but the wide eyed, somewhat innocent charm of her earlier years would be missed too. It seems like a pretty natural progression, though. She was seasoned by the world, and growing up.The years without Rhoda work for me because I always enjoyed Mary's interactions with the newsroom most. They became her family(as Mary said herself in the final episode.) This was a single woman's family, and in a sense, a family for Mr. Grant after his divorce. They all just played so well among one another. That's not to take away from Mary and Rhoda because they had some hilarious and heartfelt antics as well. I guess I'm ok with just having 4 seasons of that, and then things progressing more to just WJM. They could have tried to give us some new characters for Mary's neighbors when she moved, but outside of Penny Marshal being used minimally, no one else is really standing out. It's ok, though because the show didn't really need new characters to fill the void of Rhoda, and or Phyllis, when they had such talent as they did still left. That said, Georgette was fine as Ted's girlfriend/wife, but if she was intended to take the place of Rhoda, which it kind of seems, at least to an extent, that was not going to happen, and I'm glad they didn't really push too hard for Mary and Georgette to be besties. It could have worked had they tried to add a new character or two at Mary's new apartment, or even someone new in the newsroom, but then it could have failed miserably as well; so, I'm kind of  glad they didn't tarnish the show by mixing things up that way. I'm also glad, if Georgette was meant to be Mary's new Rhoda, that this wasn't overly blatant. I feel like they played their cards well, and the show managed to be pretty top notch to the end. It might have ended at just the right time, as the show dropped to...#39 or something like that from #19 the previous season, and #11 the one before that(season 5). Even though the show was still hilarious, I think times were changing for TV, and MTM had been going for 7 seasons; so, probably best to stop on your own terms, and when the show was still good. Saying that, I personally would have loved at least another year.</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?