ted baxter

One of my favorite episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show is "Put On a Happy Face" from season three. It's the one where Mary is nominated for a Teddy Award, but everything in her life suddenly starts going wrong. It starts with a "hair bump," then moves on to a sprained foot, a nasty cold, a dress that comes back from the cleaners with a horrible purple spot on it, a broken hairdryer, and Ted as a date for the awards ceremony.

So Mary ends up going to the event with a dress borrowed from Rhoda that looks like something a grandmother (back then) might wear. It starts raining so the slipper she's wearing on her sore foot gets soggy, and then her false eyelash comes off just as they announce her name as the winner. Seriously, Mary still looks pretty fantastic even when her life goes to heck.

There aren't many shows that can make you laugh out loud even when you're watching them by yourself. The Mary Tyler Moore Show is definitely one of a kind. Here's the episode, straight from our sister site, SlashControl.

As Bob mentioned in his DVD post this week, The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fifth Season was released in a 3-disc set on Tuesday. I have fond memories of watching this show as a kid, and the clips after the jump confirm once again that it featured one of the best casts in TV history.

Not only was each actor perfect for their role, but their timing and delivery of lines was second to none. I also love all of the 1970s-era props, clothes and decor, because of course, the show was made in the 1970s.

OK, not her actual house, but the show she "lived in" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It really is in Minneapolis, and it's on the market for $3.6 million.

Of course, this house was only used for exterior shots on the show. The actual sets for Mary's apartment and Rhoda's oh so funky 70s bachelorette pad (remember those beaded curtains and the colors?) were on a Hollywood lot. The home is an 1892 Victorian, bought for $1.1 million by the current owner, and he has spent even more fixing it up. I think it looks really nice in the pic, and I'm sure with the location and the classic TV connection, someone will snatch it up.

Though I'd wonder about tourists. As the article says, past owners have been annoyed by people coming by and taking photos. Maybe they should charge to tour the place. Nah, that wouldn't work. People would just say "hey, this looks nothing like Mary's apartment!" Then they'd leave in a huff and go try to find the offices of WJM-TV.

[via TV Tattle]