This, in my opinion, was one of the funniest of all the MTM episodes.
Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night. God said, "Let Newton be!" and all was light.
I agree. The scene with Mary in the restaurant is amazing.
If only someone would hit Victor Newman in the face with a pie.
Al - Alicia
An - Andrew
Jo - Joseph
Be - Benjamin
This is my absolute favorite series of all time....forever. I vaguely recall Braeden guesting on the show, but I don't quite recall this episide. What was the plot, and please describe this "funny scene".
I so adore this show. Just READING some lines from it, which are found in Trivia sections here for the show, crack me up.
It was in season 7. The station manager hires an overbearing critic named Carl(Braeden) to do critiques on the news. The man hates everything. The station continues to get angry phone calls, but the station manager sees it as a positive thing.
Carl asks Mary out on a date. He pitches an unholy fit because he thinks the wine is bad. Mary is shrinking under the table with embarrassment. When the manager balks at his complaints, Carl screams that if they don't begin listening to their customers, they won't be in business long. Everyone in the restaurant begins to applaud. Mary then smugly criticizes the fish for not being fresh and walks out with Carl.
Al - Alicia
An - Andrew
Jo - Joseph
Be - Benjamin
I can't be certain that writer David Lloyd intended this, but I think he did...
One of Mary's central characteristics is that she doesn't like to make a scene or call attention to herself.
In the restaurant, Carl Heller ("The Critic") shows Mary that it is sometimes justified to make a scene - that criticism has value - and that it is wrong to remain silent while you are being treated badly. As they leave the restaurant Mary is emboldened to criticize the fish for not being fresh.
This change in Mary's character can be seen to pay off later when she takes the initiative away from Lou and Murray and it is she who is the one to tear apart Carl Heller with criticism. Heller has actually taught Mary the very lesson that she needed to learn in order to tell him off.
As a result, I think the title of the episode, "The Critic," may have been of a double meaning. Sure, it is most obviously a reference to Carl Heller, but, at the end of the episode, it is Mary who has become "The Critic."
It's my dave episode ever. I think the world needs more Carl Hellers & fewer wusses like Mary. Of course, the show would have us believe he goes "too far". I beg to differ lol
Marriage is between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others.
I believe the climactic scene, where the furious Ted comes out of the studio and flawlessly pushed Sue Ann's hand so that the custard pie went straight into that SOB's face was an impromptu one, known only by Ted Knight and Betty White.
Certainly, the reactions of Lou and Mary don't have that "rehearsed" look.
I don't know if the director was in on the joke, but I'm glad the scene was retained.
If you look at it closely, I think this is a rare occasion where they played with the editing a bit.
When Carl Heller gets hit with the pie, Eric Braeden is actually having a hard time trying not to laugh himself. He unexpectedly tries to lick his mustache clean.
They then cut to a reaction shot of Lou and Mary, but that reaction is from moments earlier, before he licks his mustache. They break into genuine laughter when he does that.
They cut back to a wider shot where Braeden is still obviously trying to stifle laughter and keep in character by shaking his head to suggest that he's chagrined.
To me, it looks like they may have to have needed to cut to Mary and Lou because Braeden cracked a smile after licking his mustache, and that's what Ed Asner and Mary are reacting to. It's sort of a blooper that has been fixed by editing. I think that's why their reactions look so genuine.
[deleted]
'Certainly, the reactions of Lou and Mary don't have that "rehearsed" look.'
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The idea of good acting is not have a rehearsed look. They would also not throw a pie into an actor's face as a joke on a disciplined show like this. Without it being scripted, it would not have the punchline with Ted's sense of non-modesty after Eric Braden says "only a fool (or some word) would throw a pie".
I have only seen this guy in three things.
1.) His long standing role on "The Young and The Restless" (from 1980 to 2015 according to Imdb.One thing I could see about doing Soaps is that it is a regular gig and you get to wear expensive, beautiful clothes all day, and get love/sex letters from millions of people who are unemployed, housewives, hotel maids, residents of insane asylums, the elderly or prisoners.
2.) The third installment of the original Planet of the Apes series, where Cornelius and Zira flash back to the 20th Century. Actually a good movie in my opinion if you liked the original Apes franchise. Braeden plays the villain in this film.
3.) Mary Tyler Moore show.
Never did Hogan's Heroes, although he was a working character actor by then. That was too bad.
I first remember seeing him in the recurring role of Capt. Hans Dietrich on "The Rat Patrol" back in the 1960's. He was the perpetually thwarted Nazi antagonist in most of the episodes.
Interestingly, he used his real name, Hans Gudegast, on "The Rat Patrol." It was only when he played the lead in his first feature, "Colossus: The Forbin Project," that he adopted the name "Eric Braeden."
This was kind of confusing to me as a kid. "Isn't that the guy from Rat Patrol? Can't be. His name is different."
Here's Eric... er, Hans... in the opening credits of "The Rat Patrol."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUzKkmGgsB4
its an interesting episode because the station is only interested in ratings and not quality, eric is a jerk but hes pulling the rating up so thats all that matters.
shareThis plot / story was later "recycled" on an episode of TAXI. Elaine (Mary Lou Henner) goes to a high end hair studio and gets a terrible choppy haircut by a prissy snobbish hair stylist (Ted Danson ....1 or 2 years before Cheers). The gang all go back to confront him and when he's threatened by the gang physically -- his double talk has them all backing down -- except for Louie who dumps a bowl of hair coloring glop over his head in the final shot.
"The ENEMY of my ENEMY is my FRIEND"