Mary (1985 TV series)
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''Mary'' is an American
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
television series that aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from December 11, 1985, to April 8, 1986. The series stars
Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
in her return to series television after an absence of over six years, during which time she appeared on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and in the dramatic film ''
Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upper ...
''. After ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...
'', her subsequent ventures into series television on the variety shows ''
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
'' (1978) and ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Hour ''The Mary Tyler Moore Hour'' is an American sitcom-variety show starring Mary Tyler Moore, Dody Goodman, Michael Keaton and Joyce Van Patten that aired on CBS from March 4, 1979, to June 10, 1979, with a total of 11 episodes spanning over one se ...
'' (1979) had been short-running ratings disasters, and Moore decided to return to the sitcom format which had brought her the greatest television success; the sitcom nonetheless met the same fate as the variety shows.


Synopsis

In ''Mary'', Moore plays Mary Brenner, a 40-ish divorcée working at a second rate tabloid, the ''Chicago Eagle''. She was formerly a high-profile writer at a
fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion jour ...
named ''Women's Digest'', which recently went out of business, and she is now reduced to writing a
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...
-assistance column, "Helpline", helping to expose substandard business practices and products and the often uncaring reaction of government to these problems. Her boss, Managing Editor Frank DeMarco (
James Farentino James Farentino (February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 100 television, film, and stage roles, among them '' The Final Countdown'', ''Jesus of Nazareth'', and ''Dynasty''. Career Born in Brooklyn, Ne ...
), concentrates on sensationalism as he is convinced that that is what really sells papers. He is also quite a ladies' man, and is attracted to Mary, as she is to him, but she finds dealing with that situation to be quite awkward. Also working at the ''Eagle'' are the cynical, chain-smoking columnist Jo Tucker (
Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Henne ...
), the condescending theater critic Ed LaSalle (
John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising th ...
), and Tully (David Byrd), a copy editor who can scarcely function because he is going blind but knows he isn't going away; his job has strong protection from the
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. Neighbors include Susan Wilcox (Carlene Watkins), Mary's good friend, whose fiancé Lester Mintz (
James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as Marshall Strickland in ''Back to the Future Part ...
) seems to be somehow "
connected Connected may refer to: Film and television * ''Connected'' (2008 film), a Hong Kong remake of the American movie ''Cellular'' * '' Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'', a 2011 documentary film * ''Connected'' (2015 TV ...
".


Change of name

The newspaper was originally called ''Chicago Post''. Chicago alderman
Richard Mell Richard F. "Dick" Mell (born May 5, 1938) is an American politician. A Democrat, he served on the Chicago City Council from 1975 to 2013. He retired in 2013 and was succeeded by Deb Mell, his daughter. Early life Mell was born and raised in Musk ...
, who owned a newspaper by that name, asked that the name be changed because "The ''Chicago Post'' is not a sleazy newspaper." The producers changed the name before airing.


Airing

Throughout its run, ''Mary'' was paired with the sitcom ''
Foley Square Foley Square, also called Federal Plaza, is a street intersection in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, which contains a small triangular park named Thomas Paine Park. The space is bordered by Worth Street to th ...
'' starring
Margaret Colin Margaret Colin (born May 26, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Margo Hughes on ''As the World Turns'' and as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on ''Gossip Girl''. Early life Margaret Colin was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and w ...
, which also premiered on December 11, 1985, and aired at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays immediately after ''Mary'' at 8:00 p.m. Neither show ever really found much of an audience, and after ''Mary''s tenth episode aired on February 19, 1986, ''Mary'' went into hiatus, as did ''Foley Square'' after its eleventh episode was broadcast on February 26, 1986. Still paired, the two shows moved to Tuesdays and a later time slot in the hope of boosting their ratings. Broadcasts of both shows at the new day and time resumed on March 25, 1986, with ''Mary'' at 9:00 p.m. and ''Foley Square'' at 9:30 p.m. On ''Mary'', Susan and Lester were written out and Marys personal life was generally downplayed in favor of her business one. There were some favorable reviews, although some critics pronounced it as more or less a clone of her previous sitcom ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...
''. With the two shows still suffering from poor ratings in their new time slots, CBS broadcast only three more episodes of each before cancelling both of them after the thirteenth episode of ''Mary'' and fourteenth episode of ''Foley Square'' aired on April 8, 1986.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 364.


Cast

*
Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
as Mary Brenner *
John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising th ...
as Ed LaSalle * David Byrd as Vincent Tully *
James Farentino James Farentino (February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 100 television, film, and stage roles, among them '' The Final Countdown'', ''Jesus of Nazareth'', and ''Dynasty''. Career Born in Brooklyn, Ne ...
as Frank DeMarco *
Derek McGrath Derek McGrath (born June 4, 1951) is a Canadian actor and writer. Life and career McGrath was born in Timmins, Ontario. His career began as Linus in ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''. He is known for his roles in '' Cheers'' as Andy Schroed ...
as Ronnie Dicker *
Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Henne ...
as Jo Tucker *
James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as Marshall Strickland in ''Back to the Future Part ...
as Lester Mintz *
Carlene Watkins Carlene Watkins (born June 4, 1952) is an American actress best known for such television series and films as ''Best of the West'', ''Bob'', '' Dear John'', ''The Tortellis ''The Tortellis'' is an American sitcom television series and the fir ...
as Susan Wilcox


Episodes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mary (1985 Tv Series) 1985 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings 1980s American workplace comedy television series 1980s American sitcoms CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series about journalism Television shows set in Chicago Television series by MTM Enterprises