I've never had that sensation, although I was invited. But, as I read "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted" by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, I discovered it's not easy to read a book that I, at one time, had attempted to write myself.
If you're a regular follower here, you will know that I have told the story of how, a few decades ago, my friend Djinn From The Bronx and I began the process of writing the ultimate book on the beloved "Mary Tyler Moore Show." We did the research. We started the layout. We had even begun the task of contacting folks to interview for the book.
Of course, if you remember, the idea was dropped after I had a wonderful thirty-minute phone call with Grant Tinker. At the time of our conversation, he was running NBC. I was truly traveling on very high clouds. But, Mr. Tinker told me that Mary Tyler Moore herself was not looking to relive this time of her life and would be unlikely to participate in the book's creation. Without the star, we were likely sunk.
And we put it all reluctantly away.
So, in 2013, writer Jennifer Keishin Armstrong does what we wanted to do. And I knew that the toughest critic for her book on the show would be me. This work would have to be Pulitzer-Prize-worthy to get my ultimate thumbs up.
It's not and it doesn't. Indeed, I was astounded at how far off the mark the writer lands. Focusing on Mary Richards in Minneapolis, Armstrong somehow winds up in Bumfuk, Alabama.
The main problem with this book is the author herself. She claims to be a fan of the show and watches reruns over and over. But you don't get that feeling from the content. Armstrong is focus-less. She wants to honor the Mary Tyler Moore Show but is not in the right position to do so. She has no clue what she wants the book to be.
Looking at Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's background, you can almost predict what you will get in this work. She apparently spent ten years writing for Entertainment Weekly. Okay, that's not exactly a great resume starter. But she's also the founder of some website called sexyfeminist.com. And allegedly an expert on pop culture.
In her career, Armstrong has clearly meandered. And that's exactly what she does in "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted." The book winds up being part tribute to the show and part commentary on society in the 70s with a specific focus on women. As a result, it masters neither theme. Pick a direction and stick with it. Armtrong absolutely fails to do that.
With regard to accessibility to show principals, it doesn't look like the author got Mary to participate either. She cites specifically only Valerie Harper, show co-creator Allan Burns, plus female writers Treva Silverman, Pat Nardo, and Gloria Banta as being great resources. In the acknowledgements, the author vaguely thanks others for being open in e-mails, etc.. But she doesn't specify. So, did she interview folks like Ed Asner, Gavin McLeod, and Cloris Leachman? You can't really tell. Meanwhile, there are over 290 footnotes from magazine articles on the series. Does most of her content come to us second-hand? It sure looks like it.
Our version of this book would have included an extensive depiction of the show's creation and the gestation problems it endured on its way to become a hit. Here, Armstrong doesn't disappoint. It's all there and includes some anecdotes that I had not heard before. But, then the author completely goes off the rails. While no book on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" would be complete without spending some time on the female comedy writers that the show embraced and encouraged, Armstrong spends an inordinate amount of time on them. While it's great to hear from folks like Treva Silverman and Susan Silver on their roles contributing to the MTM legacy, Armstrong doesn't let them go. When you spend almost a complete chapter reading about Silverman's European vacation, you know that the author has lost her way.
In another off-course segment, Armstrong comes in contact with a MTM super-fan named Joe Rainone. Allegedly, when the show was first-run, Rainone was this 19-year-old geek who sent show producers unsolicited critiques of the series after every episode. Back in the more open 70s, the show staff became engaged with Rainone's actions. Today, there would likely be a temporary restraining order. Armstrong spends an awful lot of her page time on Rainone and the reader doesn't really give a damn about him.
In a book like this, you crave stories about the production of various episodes. You get a few, but you're dying for more. Perhaps more extensive interviews and less magazine references would have provided that. Meanwhile, any book saluting any formidable TV show screams for the inclusion of an in-depth episode guide. In "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted," there is none. Shockingly omitted. It would have been the centerpiece of our book. It's not in Armstrong's. The author was likely too under-informed or perhaps not interested enough in giving this to true fans of the MTM legacy.
I can keep going. It's in a book like this with access to the powers-that-be that I hoped to get my long-held MTM questions answered.
Why did the show writers go to the trouble of introducing Mary's parents and move them nearby and then completely drop them after two episodes?
Why did they significantly play up Ted Bessell as Mary's most serious boyfriend and then drop him with no explanation?
What were the reasons for Cloris Leachman's limited use in episodes after Season Two? I always assumed it was her film work, but I want to know definitively.
There are about a dozen or two other questions a fan like me still has about the show. And there remain no answers.
Meanwhile, fact checkers can have a field day with Armstrong's sloppy timeline and research. She mishandles dates and events to work in accordance with the point she wants to get across. She talks about First Lady Betty Ford's cameo appearance in "the waning days of the series." Um, no. That happened in the season before. She talks about a post-series Mary being bored at home while husband Grant was running MTM Enterprises and creating the likes of "Newhart" and "St. Elsewhere." Um, they were already divorced by then. There's mis-information on practically every page.
But, if you want to know what Treva Silverman had for dinner in Florence, no worries.
At the end of "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted," I was more sad than even I expected to be. This is a TV show that had a strong impact on my life. It deserves to be preserved and saluted in a great book. Unfortunately, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong was not the one to do that.
I sure wish I remember what I did with my episode guide notes.
Dinner last night: Roast beef and Thai noodles at the New York residence.
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