1970 CBS "Mary Tyler Moore Show" preview

This fascinating...an alternate version of the theme, along with a totally different take of the famous interview scene on a different set, with a laugh track instead of a live audience.

 

I'm glad they tweaked the theme song and ditched the laugh track. Gawd, how I hate laugh tracks! On the other hand, I do like spunk!

 

This is so delightful! Thanks for posting. Would be cool if someone made a good HD transfer of that film. I assume it was sent out on 16mm prints to advertisers or affiliates? So cool. Man she was so lovely with that long, dark hair and stylish clothing, before 70s styles became ridiculous.

dan c

 

I'm curious if that was always the intention but this was made during pre-production before live filming took place. Interesting though.

dan c

 

I thought the same thing at first, but they are promoting the show airing, so the pilot was already done and approved.

 

She looked great ! Always had a thing for her.

 

Was there in fact a "pilot" (back then usually shot in December)?

Maybe CBS just bought the script with MTM attsched

 

I'd love a Blu-Ray set with a full restoration.

 

After Mary Tyler Moore appeared on the CBS Special of DICK VAN DYKE AND THE OTHER WOMAN (1969), CBS offered her a one-year series deal of 24 episodes, no questions asked, and no pilot needed. The above film is indeed a strange one - obviously made before a lot of things were set in stone. Among the things that ultimately changed were the set of Lou Grant's office, the theme song lyrics, and the fact that the show was being promoted as a Tuesday night show. MARY TYLER MOORE premiered, and ran for years on Saturday nights.

 

Apparently, the brass at CBS were so unimpressed with this show they had committed to sight unseen, that they intended to dump it after 13 eps on Tuesday nights....but then Fred Silverman came in, liked what he saw, and moved it to the (for then) high profile Saturday night slot.

 

Dirwuf,

MTM debuted on Saturday, not Tuesday.

1970, so 730/630 was still network. CBS had Mission:Impossible, then the geriatric My Three Sons. Then another new show, Arnie. Arnie would make it for two seasons. Then MTM at 930/830. Then Mannix. Decent lineup overall.

MTM was opposed by Engelbert Humperdinck on ABC and a movie on NBC.

 

I know it debuted on a Saturday...my point is that it was originally slated for Tuesdays before Silverman stepped in.

 

Seems more like a pitch reel for a show that was green lit from the beginning and didn't even need a pitch reel!

Def. worked better as a 3-cam live set up than a 1-cam studio shot production.

 

I'm assuming this was a promo intended either for affiliates or critics (or perhaps for a promo preview show). Did the networks have private preview showings of the upcoming season for critics in those days? It's in B&W, btw - which is curious. I get the feeling that this was a one-off re-enactment of this one scene filmed specifically and quickly for the promo.

 

It's in color. Just a faded print.

 

There are flashes of colour - some tans and bluish-greens - showing through. Ii could be a faded print, but I suspect rather it indicates some kind of processing of colour to B&W. (I see the same sort of effect a lot in old B&W still photographs reprinted as B&W using colour settings.) I presume it was filmed in colour, but transferred to B&W or recorded off of a B&W monitor or other equipment.

 

It's not black and white....just a crappy telecine of a very faded print.

 

This looks to me like part of a season preview that all of the networks put together for their affiliates to fill a half-hour before the new season, and this was the section for this show. That's a standard CBS network announcer at the start and end.

This situation is not unlike the 1966 ABC Promotional show called 'SEVEN NIGHTS TO REMEMBER' and featured Batman and cast introducing each of the nights. During the Wednesday portion, they promoted a show called WILD COUNTRY which was apparently the working title of the series which would officially be titled THE MONROES. Here's that promotional film - go to Wednesday at 8:00 PM is it doesn't start there:

 

no, it’s close, but not quite the first season version.

 

And then Sonny Curtis cut this version for Ovation Records. It got a little bit of airplay and faded into obscurity.

 

The scene with Mr. Grant itself was part of the bonus stuff on the 1st season set. The opening was not part of that set. The opening theme is similar, but sounds like it was re-recorded for the 1st season.

 

Given that the source of that anecdote is likely Fred Silverman himself, I take it with more than a grain of salt.

CBS had three new sitcoms in 1970, replacing three cancelled ones. The cancelled ones were Get Smart, Petticoat Junction, and The Tim Conway Show. Get Smart had come over from NBC for its final season. Petticoat Junction had its lead actress die a while before. The Tim Conway Show was a replacement for Bob Denver sitcom The Good Guys.

The new sitcoms were MTM, Arnie, and Andy Griffith show Headmaster. MTM and Arnie replaced two other sitcoms on Saturday Night. Those were Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. Junction was cancelled, as I said. Green Acres moved to be paired up with Beverly Hillbillies.

Headmaster went to Friday night, where it replaced Hogan's Heroes, which moved elsewhere. Headmaster was a huge flop and cancelled mid season. It was replaced by The New Andy Griffith Show, which made it through the rest of the year. There were two other replacement CBS shows that season. One was All In The Family. That replaced the cancelled The Governor and JJ. The other show cancelled and replaced was The Tim Conway Hour. This was a variety show, not the sitcom Tim had the prior year. This was replaced by "The Honeymooners", apparently re-runs of Jackie Gleason's variety show that featured Honeymooners skits.

Other than MTM, the CBS sitcom that lasted the longest from the start of the 1970 season was Here's Lucy. CBS had an aging sitcom lineup. They were not typically quick to cancel shows at the time. They only had three new sitcoms on board. One of these actually sucked (Headmaster) and actually should have given the network pause. So the idea that some unnamed network exec or execs wanted MTM to simply be "burned off" prior to it ever reaching the air has no credibility to me, and is a fanciful tale told to make Fred Silverman look good.

 

I just love alternate possibilities like this.