User Reviews

This one is so much fun. Mary comes back to her apartment and realizes that she has been burglarized. Rhoda makes a frantic call to the police, saying that they are being robbed and the guy has a gun. Two of Minneapolis's finest show up. Well, they're not exactly the finest, but once again, one of them gets all caught up in Mary's beauty. He starts to play the tough detective and tries to reassure her. He is also scared to death of her. Anyway, there is wonderful byplay between the characters, especially Phyllis and Rhoda. Phyllis tries to be the staunch liberal, but she is not good at it. When Mary is robbed again the next day, things ramp up. One of the funniest episode. Very recognizable is Vic Tayback, Mel from the show "Alice." See this one if you can.

Fun episode even if being burgled and losing all your clothes, and then everything else, would be devastating in real life.

With the crime wave, Mary enjoys dedicated service from two policemen who are both really funny. Vic Tayback is the more cynical cop and Bob Dishy the more bumbling with his attempts at detective work.

Dishy's character seems enamoured with Mary, a much repeated angle in the series. Here it is played for laughs and they don't overwhelm things by turning it into a mushy 'dating' episode.

All the regulars get some good lines in. I enjoyed the closing 'SCARD meeting' sketch with Phyllis.

A longtime favorite episode of the series. Everybody contributes to the laughs, and there are so many of them! Like giggling at Chuckles' funeral, it seems inappropriate to laugh at Mary getting burglarized--twice!--but it's just hilarious.

All the elements that make the series special are here, from Mary's plaintive cry of help, to Rhoda's call to the police, to Phyllis' rivalry with Rhoda. At the office, everyone gets good lines and the camaraderie among them was strengthened by everyone pitching in to help Mary (even Ted with a manual ice-crusher).

Every line in the episode was a winner except for the forced and awkward scene where Phyllis pathetically tries to coerce Mary into coming to Lars' SCARD meeting. That fell flat with a thud. Another misstep was the dangling plot thread of Mary's aunt coming into town that served no real purpose in the plot and set the audience up for a never-delivered payoff.

The breakout star in this episode was Bob Dishy as Officer Tully, the number two cop who's trying harder. Why didn't this affable and abundantly talented actor enjoy greater success? He struck a perfect balance between being overeager without ever becoming a buffoon. He was sincere and somebody I thought could be a serious romance for Mary. I loved how Rhoda called him a coward after he chickened out from putting his comforting arms around Mary. He coulda been a contender, but alas, it was not to be.

Also excellent was Vic Tayback, playing a good guy for a change, albeit a gruff one (paving the way to playing Mel on ALICE). I loved the scene where these two cops step aside for some petty squabbling. You sure didn't see that on ADAM 12! And speaking of Seventies cop shows, every time I enjoy this episode I think of how Dishy would have been a wonderful addition to the cast of BARNEY MILLER, where Wojo took up Dishy's indefatigable drive to make detective. Dishy never returned to MTM, but he did the next year play a strikingly similar character on an early episode of COLUMBO, "The Greenhouse Jungle."

"Second Story Story" is an all-around excellent episode featuring the entire ensemble cast, a pair of standout guest stars, and Burt Mustin to boot! Not even twenty episodes in and the series was already steady on its feet and building its reputation as a classic.

This is a decent,average episode of a mostly very-good tv show,if you can get past a few minor weak points and annoying snippets (in my opinion). Check it out and tell us what YOU think ! 🌞

When the episode begins, Mary returns home from work to find she's been burglarized and many of her possessions, and all her clothing, has been stolen. A few days later, the same crooks apparently returned and stole pretty much everything else! Now Mary is feeling violated and doesn't know what to do next. One thing is certain...one of the cops investigating is smitten with Mary.

This is an okay episode but a glaring problem is the lack of laughs. The situation itself isn't funny but perhaps they could have made it funny. But you like the characters, so it's still worth seeing even if it's a bit of a letdown.