22 February 2015 | Lejink
Such a shame that this Mary Tyler-Moore vehicle for the 80's failed. The format was similar to her smash hit 70's show, with a strong supporting cast and sharp writing, only this time she's relocated to Chicago and is in publishing, not television, but it didn't get past 13 hard-to-find episodes, more's the pity.
Also passing through were Katey "Peg Bundy" Sagal as her acid-tongued chain-smoking co-worker Jo, James Farentino as her matter-of-fact, good-looking editor Frank, Carlene Watkins, who I loved in another forgotten 80's gem "Best Of The West" and her boy-friend, James Tolkan resembling and generally putting it about like a latter-day Daddy Warbucks gone slightly bad and best of all John Gomez from "The Addams Family" Astin as the blow-hard theatre critic, "Lasalle, Ed Lasalle", extends handshake...
I still remember funny lines from the show 30 years on and would love to track down more than the few episodes I've managed to trace so far, they're quite as funny as I remember them originally. As before Tyler-Moore's own delivery is spot-on and if you don't like all her ticks, flicks and kicks by now, then don't bother tuning in. Sure the show revolves around her but she's such a good pivot that just like in the 70's you care about her and all the people in her world even as you're laughing both at and with them.
The 80's really was a golden era for American situation comedy, but not all of them survived the distance - I'm thinking of short-lived series like "The Associates", the previously mentioned "Best Of The West" and very definitely this one. Hopefully they're out there in the ether somewhere and will turn up in the future on some Retro Gold channel or two. That sounds like TV heaven to me.
