The third season (1972-73) of Mary Tyler Moore (or, more commonly if inaccurately, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) sheds its last vestiges of '60s sitcom sensibilities with episodes that are impressively adult, sometimes sophisticated, and almost always funny. This change is noticeable not just in Mary (Moore) and Rhoda's (Valerie Harper) early-'70s wardrobe, and Moore's final abandonment of that Jackie Kennedy hairstyle, but in the show's scripts as well.

This is most obvious in the humanization of local news anchor Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) and especially Mary's boss, gruff newsman Lou Grant (Ed Asner). Both had started out as broad caricatures, with Ted the hopeless idiot newsreader more concerned with his (non-existent) fan base than doing a good job, and Lou the intimidating, hard-drinking ex-newspaper editor, a Front Page Walter Burns for the Watergate Age.

In Year Three writers would begin to explore Mary and Lou's beguiling relationship, which here begins to stretch beyond merely a boss-employee one into something a little different if still intangible. Ted, meanwhile, begins a relationship with a bubbly admirer, Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), Rhoda's fellow window-dresser at Hemphill's Department Store. A Gracie Allen type, she'd soon prove an inspired character to pair goofball Ted with, and Engel's wide-eyed performance was instantly ingratiating. Further, stories involving Ted and Georgette expanded the scope of the show away from the Mary-Rhoda and sometimes neighbor Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) scripts that accounted for about half of the first two seasons' shows.

Apparently this was deliberate. For MTM's creative team, there was simply too much talent, too many great characters, to limit to just one show, and within two seasons Rhoda moved back to New York, while Phyllis would move to San Francisco for that ill-fated spin-off. Seeing the writing on the wall, Mary Tyler Show's writers were hedging their bets. Even the episode that introduces Georgette, "Rhoda Morgenstern: Minneapolis to New York," plays like a dry run for Harper's departure.

Season highlights include "The Good-Time News," written by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, an ahead-of-its-time episode with Lou pressured to "lighten up" the evening news with chummy co-anchors and a more casual, less serious attitude. Mary initially likes the idea, but when Ted feels threatened by weatherman Gordy's (John Amos) promotion to co-anchor, the results are hilariously disastrous, and anticipate Brooks' spot-on satire Broadcast News (1987).

Another highlight is Rhoda the Beautiful, a Treva Silverman show about Rhoda's mixed emotions after successfully losing 20 pounds. Everyone compliments her about her new look, but she's unable to enjoy it in a show that surprises with its insight and emotional honesty.

Guest stars this season include Nancy Walker and Harold Gould (as Rhoda's parents), Nanette Fabray and Bill Quinn (as Mary's), Jerry Van Dyke, Bert Convy, Beth Howland, Florida Friebus, Jack Riley, Gordon Jump, Robert Moore, Stuart Margolin, Lois Nettleton, Joseph Campanella, Herbie Faye, and Louise Lasser.

Video & Audio

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Third Season is presented in its original full-frame format, with 8 shows on each of the three discs. The transfers look great, a marked improvement over Season One. The English Dolby Digital 2.1 mono soundtrack is also fine; optional audio and subtitles are available in English and Spanish but not French.

Extra Features

Alas, no extras at all this time.

Parting Thoughts

During its seven-season run, Mary Tyler Moore only seemed to get better and better, and so if you enjoyed the first two season sets, you'll probably like this even more.

Stuart Galbraith IV is a Kyoto-based film historian whose work includes The Emperor and the Wolf - The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune and Taschen's forthcoming Cinema Nippon. Visit Stuart's Cine Blogarama here.