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The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 1973 - 1974
Episode 1
The Lars Affair
Sat, Sep 15, 197330 mins
Mary is hosting a large party at her apartment. One of her guests, Sue Ann Nivens, who hosts the Happy Homemaker Show at the station, is offered a ride home by an unlikely source: Lars, Phyllis' husband. A few hours later, Lars telephones with a story about why he has yet to return home, a story that is obviously a lie to Mary and Rhoda, but to which Phyllis is seemingly oblivious as to the implication of something going on between Lars and Sue Ann. Every indication is that Lars and Sue Ann are having an affair, which is confirmed by a series of Lars/Sue Ann sightings. Phyllis is still oblivious to the affair until a clueless source spills the beans directly in front of her. To save her marriage, Phyllis' initial reaction is to become more like a real happy homemaker. But she decides to take more direct action, with support from Mary.
Episode 2
Angels in the Snow
Sat, Sep 22, 197330 mins
Impulsively, Mary starts dating a man named Stephen Linder, who she met at the market. Despite the two having a good time together doing impulsive things like making angels in the snow, Stephen is, according to Rhoda, not quite Mary's type - he's a little short... in the age department. The idea that Stephen is a few years younger doesn't bother Mary, until she confirms that he is exactly eight years younger than she is. In anticipation of meeting Stephen's friends at a party at his place, Mary tries to compensate for their age difference. With Rhoda along at the party for moral support, Mary comes to a realization about whether dating this mid-twentysomething has a long term future.
Episode 3
Rhoda's Sister Gets Married
Sat, Sep 29, 197330 mins
Rhoda invites Mary to accompany her for an exciting weekend in New York City to attend the wedding of Rhoda's younger sister, Debbie Morgenstern. The weekend doesn't end up being quite what Mary expected when she agreed to go. Instead of staying at a hotel, Mary is invited to stay with Rhoda's parents. And as the impartial third party, Mary ends up being the mediator between Rhoda and Ida in what is the major issue of the weekend. As Debbie is her younger daughter, Ida believes that Rhoda is unhappy being the proverbial old maid. So Ida does whatever she can to ruin Debbie's wedding to make Rhoda happy. Rhoda, in turn, is happy for her sister and does whatever she can to leave before the wedding so that Ida won't ruin Debbie's wedding. The cycle between mother and oldest daughter goes full circle when Ida believes Rhoda's want to leave is because of her unhappiness in Debbie getting married first, which strengthens Ida's resolve to ruin Debbie's wedding. A thirty year old letter may give both mother and oldest daughter a little perspective in the situation. Meanwhile, back at the newsroom, Ted is filming a series of new promotional spots to make him seem like an anchorman who is active in the pursuit of news stories. The filming doesn't go quite as easily as Lou had hoped.
Episode 4
The Lou and Edie Story
Sat, Oct 6, 197330 mins
Lou is three and half hours late coming back from lunch, in the process missing an appointment. He implies that he didn't actually eat, but makes up an excuse regarding his whereabouts and the reason for being so late. He finally confides in Mary and Murray that because things have been bad between himself and Edie, they have been going to see a marriage counselor. Lou doesn't like the outcome of the process: the counselor is suggesting a trial separation. As such, Edie is planning on moving out of the house. Leading up to her leaving, the gang at the office don't know what to say to Lou. Before she leaves, Lou tries to understand why she feels the need to leave.
Episode 5
Hi There, Sports Fans
Sat, Oct 13, 197330 mins
After Mary complains to Lou that she doesn't have enough responsibility to match her associate producer job title, Lou willingly gives Mary more responsibility. Her first two tasks are to hire a new sportscaster, and fire the existing sportscaster, a Lothario of a man named Ed Cavanaugh. Mary doesn't relish having to do the firing, even if Ed gives her good reason. And despite knowing little to nothing about sports, Mary places much effort into the hiring. Every male she knows wanting the job and pressure from Lou to hire his candidate of choice (although he states that she is free to do what she feels best) doesn't make her job any easier. Mary ends up hiring who she truly believes is the best applicant for the job, but after all is said and done, the end result isn't quite what she was hoping.
Episode 6
Father's Day
Sat, Oct 20, 197330 mins
At the newsroom, Mary takes three telephone messages from a man stating that he's Ted's father, who wants to see Ted while he's visiting from Gary, Indiana. It surprises Mary since Ted's never mentioned his father before. Ted doesn't take the news well, since he hasn't ever really seen the man since his father ran off when Ted was two. Ted doesn't want to see his father for a variety of reasons - primarily fear and anger - and does whatever he needs to hide out from him. But they do meet. In Ted's mind, the unknown was better than the man he meets. The worst part in Ted's mind is that the reason his father came to see Ted was to ask to borrow $2,000. Before his father leaves Minneapolis, Ted has to decide if blood truly is thicker than water.
Episode 7
Son of 'But Seriously, Folks'
Sat, Oct 27, 197330 mins
Mary's former boyfriend and Chuckles the Clown's ex-writer Wes Callison stops by the newsroom. After quitting the writing job for Chuckles and trying to find himself, he returns applying for a recently vacated writing job in the newsroom. Although Mary and Wes' relationship was never serious - at least on Mary's side - Mary feels she has to put in a good word for Wes (despite not thinking deep in her heart that he's right for the job) since she feels guilty about the wayward way of Wes' life. She secretly fears that Wes still has feelings for her, which she knows she will never return in kind. It ends up being worse as Wes begins to smother her, she who doesn't have the heart to tell him so. She feels he's only doing it because of lack of confidence in himself, and as a result this need to feel miserable. Despite doing a good job at work, Wes also faces other issues with Chuckles, who, in turn, is smothering Wes with informal request after informal request to help him write his show.
Episode 8
Lou's First Date
Sat, Nov 3, 197330 mins
As usual, Lou orders two tickets to the Broadcasters Man of the Year awards banquet, but unlike previous years, he has no wife to accompany him, which makes Mary and Murray curious as to who his date - the first since his separation - will be. Lou has no date, with the order of two tickets being force of habit. So he decides to ask Edie - who has reverted to using her maiden name of McKenzie - which results in the awkward situation of her having to tell him that she's already got a date for the banquet. Lou figures two can play that game. So he makes Mary find a date for him. The person she finds is Martha Dudley, a friend of Rhoda's who she's never met. Mrs. Dudley doesn't end up being quite what Mary and/or Lou expect, which will make for an interesting evening, not only on the date itself, but how it will appear to Edie.
Episode 9
Love Blooms at Hemples
Sat, Nov 10, 197330 mins
After meeting him at the store and after a slow and uncertain start, Rhoda starts dating Doug Hemple, the son of the store owner. Rhoda was initially insecure about their relationship because she considers him "better" than her, and she has never really been happy in any of her previous relationships as she has dated primarily guys who Mary classifies as feebs. But after a week, Rhoda, who seems truly happy about the relationship, is talking marriage. Mary cautions her to take it slowly. But Rhoda can't help but being totally open about her feelings, hoping that Doug feels the same way. Meanwhile, a documentary that Mary produced and Murray wrote is getting rave reviews, even from the television critic. The one person who doesn't like it is Ted, only since he wasn't asked to narrate it. The documentary's subject, however, takes a liking to Ted.
Episode 10
The Dinner Party
Sat, Nov 17, 197330 mins
Congresswoman Margaret Geddes just appeared on a show that Mary produced. In general niceties over the telephone, Mary invites the Congresswoman to her place for dinner the next time she is ever in town. What Mary is unaware of when she extends the invitation is that the Congresswoman will be in town tomorrow. Mary is concerned not only about the short time frame to get a dinner party arranged, but also about the confirmation that she gets from Rhoda, and later from others, that her parties are generally disasters. With advice from Rhoda, Mary decides to hold a small, elegant dinner party for six, the number of people she can fit at her dining room table. On Murray's advice, Mary decides to ask Sue Ann for advice on the food. The first problem arises even before the party with the invitation list, some who invite themselves and some who are hurt not to be invited despite the aforementioned previous disasters at Mary's parties. When the party starts, there are potential problems on the horizon, such as food timing issues, portion control and sizes, and unexpected guests among those problems. Will this party destined to be yet another of Mary's disasters, or will she be able to overcome these early issues?
Episode 11
Just Friends
Sat, Nov 24, 197330 mins
Ever since Lou and Edie's break up, Mary's been helping Lou with many of his domestic duties. She doesn't really even mind him showing up every night for dinner, unannounced, but, thinks he's taking her willingness too far, when he asks her to spy on Edie and report back to him.
Episode 12
We Want Baxter
Sat, Dec 1, 197330 mins
Phyllis, Chair of the Concerned Democrats of Minneapolis, is in charge of choosing a prominent citizen to endorse for the city council primary. Her choice?: Ted. Despite Mary being blunt about Ted not being the brightest light, Phyllis feels she can be the brains behind the man, who has a good chance of winning solely because of his high profile. Despite being a Republican, Ted agrees, which means, according to Lou and FCC regulations, Ted has to resign as anchor, which he does. Lou, however, leaves his job open for him if and when he loses. By election day, it looks like Ted may have a chance of winning since many voters believe his bumbling answers are actually Ted being witty. Will Ted and Phyllis' optimism sweep them into victory?
Episode 13
I Gave at the Office
Sat, Dec 8, 197330 mins
After a casual and informal conversation between Lou, Mary and Murray about needing someone to do menial tasks around the office such as making coffee, Mary has no problem making the unilateral decision to hire Bonnie Slaughter, Murray's fifteen year old daughter, as the office's Girl Friday, especially after Murray says that Bonnie is looking for her first ever job. This decision causes many problems in the office. First, Lou, without even seeing Bonnie's work, wants Mary to fire her as he knows he can't be his curse spewing self around a teen-aged girl, especially the daughter of a friend. Second, Murray can't help but do whatever he can to make Bonnie's life as easy as possible, even at the expense of his own work. And third, Bonnie's small and not so small gaffes cause some issues in other areas of the newsroom, even with the on-air newscast. Despite Mary's support for Bonnie, will she ultimately cave in and fire Bonnie, and if so how will that affect Murray's working relationship with Mary and Lou?
Episode 14
Almost a Nun's Story
Sat, Dec 15, 197330 mins
A heartbroken Georgette catches Ted making out with another woman in his dressing room. Georgette initially believes the lie Ted tells her about the supposedly innocent reason why they were in the position they were in, but once Georgette figures out it's a lie, she decides to leave Ted. She has to figure out how to get what little self-esteem she had back. She initially believes she needs to explore the wild side of life, which she's never done. But when she decides that being wild is not in her basic nature, she decides to go totally in the opposite direction: she's going to become a nun. With Mary and Rhoda's help and the advice of a Catholic nun, Georgette comes to some conclusions about her future. Meanwhile, Ted too is heartbroken over his and Georgette's split. He has to figure out how to get her back, or how to move on with life without her.
Episode 15
Happy Birthday, Lou!
Sat, Dec 22, 197330 mins
Lou receives what look like greeting cards in the mail at the office. Mary suspects and does confirm that it's his birthday. She also figures that he may be feeling a little depressed on this day since it will be his first birthday since he and Edie separated. As such, she decides to throw him a last minute surprise party at her place. The plan is to invite him over for a quick drink that evening, with all the guests to show up after his arrival. A few snags occur in pulling off the party. First, Sue Ann hijacks the party planning and implementation, with nobody's input meeting her exacting standards. Second, Lou arrives a little earlier than expected, which means that Mary has to keep him there a little longer than expected. And third, Lou drops a bit of news before everyone's arrival which may make Mary want to hide all the guests when they arrive. Regardless of everything happening around him, Lou ends up handling the evening in his own way.
Episode 16
WJM Tries Harder
Sat, Jan 5, 197430 mins
Mary has just started dating Ross Nelson, the successful anchor of Channel 8 news, the number one news program in Minneapolis. They met at an awards dinner. Mary is happy about dating Ross until she visits the Channel 8 newsroom, which has ten times the staff, ten times the equipment, and as a result has ten times the sophistication as WJM. That visit shows Mary that WJM is the little station that couldn't. So, for the first time in her life, Mary feels embarrassed by her job when Ross later comes to visit her at WJM. As a result, Lou, in speaking to the station management, receives a modest increase in budget to compete better with their competitors, namely Channel 8. They collectively hope that with or without that increased budget that they can scoop Channel 8 just once in their lives.
Episode 17
Cottage for Sale
Sat, Jan 12, 197430 mins
An excited Phyllis has just received her real estate license, and turns to her friends and acquaintances as her first possible contacts. To her, the newly separated Lou, probably no longer needs to live in such a big house by himself, and after initial hesitation, he agrees to let Phyllis sell his house. Phyllis manageso to find some serious buyers, who agree to Lou's asking price. But after he agrees to the sale, Lou begins to have second thoughts. Meanwhile, Mary has been receiving obscene telephone calls. And the newsroom is one of several offices in the building which has a been burglarised.
Episode 18
The Co-Producers
Sat, Jan 19, 197430 mins
Mary's anxious for Lou to attend this week's production managers' meeting because her idea of a Sunday afternoon talk show is being presented. Mary learns that a pilot show has been green-lighted, and when Mary tells Rhoda, Rhoda reminds Mary the concept was originally her idea. An apologetic Mary offers Rhoda to co-produce the show, which Rhoda accepts. The next step is bad news; the station manager wants Ted and Sue Ann to hosts. Mary and Rhoda run into problems dealing with the 2 divas; Ted and Sue Ann, who want to do things their way.
Episode 19
Best of Enemies
Sat, Jan 26, 197430 mins
Rhoda comes by the newsroom to pick Mary up and Rhoda mentions that Mary lied about being a college graduate on her application for her newsroom job. Although no one, including Lou, cares, Mary's upset, and Rhoda doesn't understand why it's such a big deal, while Mary can't believe how insensitive she believes Rhoda is about the subject. This disagreement leads to a fight - the first fight in their years of being best friends.
Episode 20
Better Late... That's a Pun... Than Never
Sat, Feb 2, 197430 mins
Mary has to work on rewriting the obituary files she accidentally threw out. With Rhoda's help. The pair get punchy from working so long, and one obit they wrote as a joke is read by Ted on the air. Lou has no choice but to reprimand Mary for what happened. Instead of firing her, he gives her 2 week unpaid suspension. On Murray's urging, Mary speaks to Lou about the reprimand, feeling the suspension is treating her like a little kid. As such, Mary vows not to return to work if the suspension holds. This act may be the end of Mary's job at WJM.
Episode 21
Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite
Sat, Feb 9, 197430 mins
After six consecutive losses, Ted is certain he's going to win the Teddy Award this year as best newscaster. His plan to win is to overexpose himself - which includes hiring Rhoda to come up with a marketing campaign - with all the extra public appearances making him look like a humanitarian, however inappropriate or insincere his sentiments are. Everyone is therefore looking forward to seeing Ted lose even more this year. Miraculously, Ted wins. He wants to capture everything about the historic night to be able to remember it forever. However, by the next day, Ted wonders why his world is no different than it was before he won the award. But a visitor to the newsroom, who is not there specifically to see Ted, may make him believe that today is just the start of the next phase of his rising broadcast career.
Episode 22
Lou's Second Date
Sat, Feb 16, 197430 mins
Lou asks a reluctant Mary to find him a date for a work function. When she can't find anyone, she agrees to be his date But when Lou comes to pick up Mary, she can't go since she's il, and Rhoda agrees to fill in for Mary. At first, Lou's leery. but afterwar@, he admits he had a good time, so much so he wants to ask her out again. She accepts. The second date leads to a third and more. Although both Lou and Rhoda see what they're doing as just having fun together, Lou wonders if everyone knows something he himself doesn't yet know. Meanwhile, Ted starts coloring his hair, and believes the change is so subtle, no one will notice.
Episode 23
Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer
Sat, Feb 23, 197430 mins
Ted believes an anchorman doesn't write, until he learns that some of the "big ones", such as Walter Cronkite, write their own copy. When Ted decides he'll sit in on Mary's creative writing class, he thinks he can breeze through the course, but finds his first assignment is more difficult to write than he imagined. A day before the assignment is due, and Ted hasn't even started, so he asks Mary to write his paper for him, which she refuses. But Ted will do anything to make himself look good in front of the class, even at the expense of Mary.
Episode 24
I Was a Single for WJM
Sat, Mar 2, 197430 mins
Lou wants to do a location feature. After brainstorming with Mary, Murray and Ted, Lou decides on Murray's idea; life at a single's bar called Valentino's. Lou plans to send Mary and Murray to the bar to do undercover background work at the bar for a week before sending in a camera crew to do the story live. Marie feels uncomfortable about Murray frequenting a a singles bar, so Lou reluctantly agrees to let Mary do the recon visits on her own... sort of. But after several visits, meeting the regulars, and hearing their storie, and experiencing how singles act, Mary and company still don't have anything for the piece. They decide to let the regulars tell their own stories on the air, and hope they'll have something - anything - to say.
