The Last Show (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
| "The Last Show" | |
|---|---|
| The Mary Tyler Moore Showepisode | |
 The station crew's poignant farewell | |
| Episodeno. | Season 7 Episode 24 |
| Directed by | Jay Sandrich |
| Written by | James L. Brooks,Allan Burns,Ed Weinberger,Stan Daniels,David LloydandBob Ellison |
| Original air dates | March 18, 1977(Canada) March 19, 1977(US) |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Last Show"is the 168th episode andseries finaleof the televisionsitcomThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,and it was written byAllan Burns,James L. Brooks,Ed Weinberger,Stan Daniels,David Lloyd,and Bob Ellison. Internationally, it was first aired in Canada onCBC Television,March 18, 1977 at 8 p.m.[1]In the U.S., it was one day later on Saturday, March 19, onCBS.
The episode won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.In executive producerAllan Burns'Outstanding Comedy Seriesacceptance speech at the29th Primetime Emmy Awards,he stated, "We kept putting off writing that last show; we frankly didn't want to do it. I think it said what we wanted it to say. It was poignant, and I believeThe Mary Tyler Moore Showwas, in the long run, important for many women. "
Plot summary[edit]
The new station manager of WJM-TV, Mr. Coleman (guest starVincent Gardenia), is firing people left and right, and wants to do something about the Six O'Clock News' low ratings. Surprisingly, Lou, Mary, Murray, and Sue Ann are fired, but the person widely perceived as the cause of the Six O'Clock News' low ratings,Tedis retained.
Everyone takes the news pretty hard, except for Ted, who saunters back into the newsroom, but it is Mary who takes the news hardest. To cheer her up, Lou arranges for her old friends Rhoda Morgenstern and Phyllis Lindstrom to fly to Minneapolis for a surprise visit at Mary's apartment. Time had failed to tame their rivalry, however. Both agitate for Mary to move with them to New York and San Francisco, respectively, but they compromise that she stays in theTwin Cities.Rhoda gets to the heart of the matter and comforts Mary, then reluctantly allows Phyllis to do the same.
At one point, Ted threatens to resign if they fire the rest of the staff. However, he caves in quickly when pushed. This causes Murray to quip, "When a donkey flies, you don't blame him for not staying up that long."
On their final broadcast together, Ted gives his colleagues a sincere on-air sendoff by obliviously quoting "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".Afterward, the Six O'Clock News' staff, along with Georgette, gather in the newsroom to say goodbye to each other. The memorable and oft-parodied scene culminates in an emotional huddle, during which nobody wants to let go, and needing some tissues, the group shufflesen massetoward a box of tissues on Mary's desk. After final goodbyes, everyone exits the newsroom singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".Finally, a very emotional Mary looks back, then bucks up and smiles before turning off the lights and closing the door, officially concludingThe Mary Tyler Moore Showin doing so.
The original broadcast included acurtain callbehind the closing credits, during which Mary Tyler Moore introduced her co-stars to the live audience as "the best cast ever." This was omitted from the final CBS repeat (on September 3, 1977) and syndicated airings, but is available on the season 7 DVD release. This is the only episode ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Showin which all eight of the regular series characters (Mary, Lou, Ted, Murray, Rhoda, Phyllis, Georgette, and Sue Ann) appear, and the curtain call is the only time the eight actors are all seen together at the same time.
Reception[edit]
When the architects of the sitcomFriendswere about to write their series finale, they watched several other sitcom finales.[2]Co-creatorMarta Kauffmansaid that ' "The Last Show" was the "gold standard" and that it influenced the finale ofFriends.[3]
In 2011, the finale was ranked #3 on theTV Guide NetworkspecialTV's Most Unforgettable Finales.[4]
On the original broadcast, the episode scored a 25.5 rating, ranking #6 for the week.[5]
References[edit]
- ^Miller, Jack, "It's Mary's agony or The African Queen", The Toronto Star, March 18, 1977, P E3
- ^Hartlaub, Peter (2004-01-15)."'Friends' challenge – finding right words to say goodbye ".San Francisco Chronicle.Retrieved2010-02-06.
- ^Zurawik, David (2004-05-14)."It's just hard to say goodbye".Baltimore Sun.Retrieved2010-02-05.
- ^TV's Most Unforgettable Finales - Aired May 22, 2011 on TV Guide Network
- ^"Ratings march 1977".The Courier-News.26 March 1977. p. 26.