Mary is amazed when she realizes how much others in the newsroom are giving of themselves in their spare time. She and Rhoda go to a women's group meeting where the assistant to the governor is the main speaker. When the two return home the guy calls and asks to have lunch with Mary. What ensues is some pretty funny stuff with Lou asking Mary to shop for a birthday present for his wife. Unfortunately for Mary, the guy is at the beck and call of the Governor. Every time they have a date or a lunch, something comes up. The comedy involves Rhoda's great comments and Phyllis's meddling. It's a pretty funny episode with a really hilarious last minute. That is worth seeing the rest of it.
4 Reviews
Well the dress does look great
Rrrobert24 May 2019
Interesting historical context
pmicocci-1890819 July 2021
Mary Tyler Moore, widely hailed as a feminist, does a show where her character is stalked by an "Important Man", whom she has no qualms about trying to date after he gets her personal info by way of a State Trooper, then gets guilt tripped by her boss to buy his wife a gift (he usually just gives her money to buy her own gift), and another coworker whines that it's unfair, because then she should also buy her othercoworkers gifts for their own wives (or his mother, as he's single).
And all of this seems perfectly normal to everyone involved.
I grew up watching this show, but nowadays I find it increasingly difficult to watch sitcoms from the '50s, '60s and '70s due to the implicit sexism. And The Mary Tyler Moore Show touched (very lightly and unevenly) on the issue of racism, such as when Gordy (John Amos) has to remind people, including his own station manager, that he covers weather, not sports.
But despite both Mary's and Phyllis' occasional complaints about sexism, they both seem terribly complant, not to mention the husband-hungry Rhoda, who gives the impression she would marry the first rest stop (male) acquaintance who proposed to her.
But one should remember, this was an era in which feminism somehow also included Helen Gurley Brown, with her theory about "mouseburgers" and how subservient they needed to be in order to catch a man.
And all of this seems perfectly normal to everyone involved.
I grew up watching this show, but nowadays I find it increasingly difficult to watch sitcoms from the '50s, '60s and '70s due to the implicit sexism. And The Mary Tyler Moore Show touched (very lightly and unevenly) on the issue of racism, such as when Gordy (John Amos) has to remind people, including his own station manager, that he covers weather, not sports.
But despite both Mary's and Phyllis' occasional complaints about sexism, they both seem terribly complant, not to mention the husband-hungry Rhoda, who gives the impression she would marry the first rest stop (male) acquaintance who proposed to her.
But one should remember, this was an era in which feminism somehow also included Helen Gurley Brown, with her theory about "mouseburgers" and how subservient they needed to be in order to catch a man.
Stalk me, I'm yours
zafrom18 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This episode aired on 1 January 1972, when Mary Tyler Moore remains 4 years older than Mary Richards. Hey, Mary, I'd be happy to date 34 year old women like you. And also 32 year old Valerie Harper. Even both of you at the same time. Anyway, as much fun as these episodes are, watching them long after they were first aired can sometimes be cringe-inducing.
One evening Mary and Rhoda go to a "Women For Better Government" meeting. It turns out that, in the meeting's auditorium, there is only one man among the woman -- one of the governor's assistants, who Mary and Rhoda had never met before. After the meeting, when Mary and Rhoda are back in Mary's apartment, the guy phones Mary. How did he get Mary's number? Mary's babbled explanation: "He got my license plate number as we were driving away. And then he stopped a highway patrolman and had him call in and get my name, address, and phone number." All those of you who were women in 1972, what would you have thought of a stranger getting your name, address, and phone number that way?
Maybe it was innocent enough in 1972, even though Mary Richards is less than anonymous as a TV station's Associate Producer, with her name likely appearing in the closing credits of some programs. 17-1/2 years later, in the real world, on July 18, 1989, actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed. Per Wikipedia's Rebecca Schaeffer page, which goes into a little more detail than IMDb's biography of her, her killer had paid a detective agency $250 to find Schaeffer's home address in California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records.
So the governor's assistant couldn't be bothered to ask the head of the WFBG to contact Mary, who could then have gotten Mary's permission to give out her contact info. If you're thinking it's A Man's World, the episode's end has a funny bit which could change your opinion, perhaps for the better.
One evening Mary and Rhoda go to a "Women For Better Government" meeting. It turns out that, in the meeting's auditorium, there is only one man among the woman -- one of the governor's assistants, who Mary and Rhoda had never met before. After the meeting, when Mary and Rhoda are back in Mary's apartment, the guy phones Mary. How did he get Mary's number? Mary's babbled explanation: "He got my license plate number as we were driving away. And then he stopped a highway patrolman and had him call in and get my name, address, and phone number." All those of you who were women in 1972, what would you have thought of a stranger getting your name, address, and phone number that way?
Maybe it was innocent enough in 1972, even though Mary Richards is less than anonymous as a TV station's Associate Producer, with her name likely appearing in the closing credits of some programs. 17-1/2 years later, in the real world, on July 18, 1989, actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed. Per Wikipedia's Rebecca Schaeffer page, which goes into a little more detail than IMDb's biography of her, her killer had paid a detective agency $250 to find Schaeffer's home address in California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records.
So the governor's assistant couldn't be bothered to ask the head of the WFBG to contact Mary, who could then have gotten Mary's permission to give out her contact info. If you're thinking it's A Man's World, the episode's end has a funny bit which could change your opinion, perhaps for the better.
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