The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Memorable episodes

• "Love Is All Around" (September 19, 1970) The very first episode in which Mary Richards, 30, moves to Minneapolis after rebounding from a broken romance. She finds an apartment in the same building as her old friend Phyllis Lindstrom and becomes friends with her upstairs neighbor, native New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern. She also gets a job as associate producer for The Six O'Clock News at WJM-TV, where her co-workers include her tough boss with a soft side, Lou Grant (Edward Asner), newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), and buffoonish anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight).
• "Support Your Local Mother" (October 24, 1970) Mary finds herself caught between Rhoda and her mother Ida when Mrs. Morgenstern, a member of the keep-them-feeling-guilty school of child rearing, comes to Minneapolis for a visit and Rhoda refuses to see her.
• "The Lars Affair" (September 15, 1973) Phyllis makes a desperate bid to win back her husband Lars when she finds out that he's having an affair with Sue Ann Nivens, the star of WJM's Happy Homemaker series. The character of Sue Ann Nivens, played by Betty White, was introduced in this episode. This episode was ranked #27 on TV Guides The Greatest Episodes of All Time.
• "Chuckles Bites The Dust" (October 25, 1975) The ludicrous death of WJM's Chuckles the Clown, crushed by an elephant while dressed as Peter Peanut, provokes a torrent of black humor which has everyone in the newsroom but Mary convulsed in laughter. Mary's suppressed laughter comes out at an inopportune moment: at Chuckles' funeral. This episode was ranked #1 on TV Guides The Greatest Episodes of All Time.
• "The Last Show" (March 19, 1977) The new owner of WJM re-evaluates the news operation and, unable to determine the reason for the low ratings, arbitrarily fires everyone in the newsroom except for the supremely incompetent Ted. The tag of this episode shows Mary Tyler Moore introducing the other seven regular cast members to the audience as "the best cast ever."