Ten TV Series That "Everybody" Watched Including Me: Mary Tyler Moore Show (#3)

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Seriously, I didn't mean this to be coincidental. Yesterday's series was The Dick Van Dyke Show, which co-starred the star and namesake of today's show on my list of classic series that were big hits. Not manipulated (and when you see the top you you'll realize it couldn't be manipulated), but here we are! #3: Mary Tyler Moore Show Let me begin with music trivia. You know that song, "I Fought the Law"? The same man who wrote that wrote and sang the theme song to this series. And what a series it was! The late 60s were a time of change in society, especially for women. TV mirrored this, transitioning from the "dutiful housewife" (mentioned by someone as being personified by Samantha Stephens in Bewitched) to the single-but-not-all-that-successful woman (Marlo Thomas' series That Girl). In 1970 The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered, showing the next step in womanhood: the successful, happy, single woman. She takes a job as an associate producer of a TV station's news program and shows spunk ("I hate spunk!" Lou snapped at her in a classic pilot episode moment), respect (she always calls her boss "Mr. Grant" while everyone else calls him "Lou"), confidence, and a balanced private life that didn't involve her "needing" to be married. Moore's Mary Richards character was only part of the fun, though. This was one of the best ensemble casts of the 70s (or since, if you ask me). The perfection each actor brought to his or her character is what makes this a joy to watch in reruns, nearly 50 years after its debut. From Ted Knight's self-absorbed yet dimwitted anchorman (who turned out to be the only person kept when the TV station was sold in the series finale) to the wisecracking Murray (Gavin McLeod), the series' creator, the brilliant James L. Brooks (who also created Taxi and the groundbreaking Room 222), gave us a world where love was all around. And I still laugh every time I watch "Chuckles the Clown Bites the Dust." Mary Tyler Moore Show Aired on CBS 1970-1977 The classic opening song, performed live by its author (with an explanation as to how he came to write it):