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Mary Richards Got REALLY Mean towards the Final Seasons

posted 4 years ago by jasonmovieguy (182)
4 replies | jump to latest

I can't help but notice that Mary Tyler Moore's performance seemed to harden and grow colder as the seasons progressed. Some might think Mary Richards was getting a back bone, but I found her unbearably nasty, uptight and passive aggressive. She was much more lax the first three seasons, and while still snooty and "polite", she still came off much warmer. By season 5, however, it was evident that Mary was coming across rude and boorish (not to mention the obvious plastic surgery). I especially didn't like her treatment of Ted, especially in "Ted's Temptation"- where he really needed her advice about the woman trying to seduce him, and she just blew him off- repeatedly acting indifferent and uncaring towards his situation. If Rhoda had still been in Minneapolis, she would have scolded Mary for acting worse then Phyllis.

Anyone else notice the hardened performance of Moore? By the last season, I couldn't even stand to watch her try hard to be funny. Like when she was ever lying to Mr. Grant, she would start OBVIOUSLY moving her left leg up and down. Not funny. Not sure if it was the direction or Moore herself- but she was not likable. I can see why Robert Redford cast her in Ordinary People. He saw through her uptight and heartless nature and knew if he put her in a family situation that dealt with a suicide, the aloof character would work- and it did brilliantly. Unfortunately for Mary Richards, she was no longer turning the world on with her smile towards the final seasons. More so, she was hardening and turning me off with her cruel and "all work no play" attitude. I'm glad the new station owner told her he especially wanted her fired in the series finale. Thoughts on this?

[–] TrentnQuarantino (9187) 4 years ago

I didn't notice that. I liked the show all the way through. I was a teen
when it came out and by the end of the series had moved out of the house,
so to me it represented the last times me and my family all got together,
often over dinner and watched TV and talked together.

You seem to have a misogynist kind of attitude that over-reacts to
women who you perceive as a threat.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I wouldn't say she was mean. She was, however, more assertive than in early seasons but that was because the character of Mary Richards was evolving.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

The thing is if the character you are supposed to root for isn’t likable then there’s no reason to root for them.

I saw this show a lot when I was a kid and now I’m rewatching it, I’m only in season 1 and I think she’s a well written character and hopefully my opinion doesn’t change later.

[–] [email protected] (5902) 3 years ago

It's a show I'll always love and watch no matter how mean Mary got! ha!

Actually in the first few seasons, some of Mary's stammering and hesitating got on my nerves. I wanted her to grow a backbone. She started out as a pushover.

We learn in the pilot episode that Mary waited years for her boyfriend to complete medical school to marry her as he promised. He backed out and Mary had the gumption to leave town and start over. But it took her several years to stop being a doormat for everyone else.

Mary finally developed the attitude that some women grown into. Females are taught from early on to be "people pleasers" and "good little girls" until finally, something snaps! Mary's sharp comments were no meaner than Murray's constant putdowns of Ted.