make the list of TV's 50 Greatest Characters Ever
TV Guide, October 16-22, 1999
Mary Richards: #21
Raymond? Get over yourself, pal. Everybody loves Mary. She was the steadfast, twinkling light at the center of the WJM newsroom.
She may not have had the drive and the New York Edge of her career-gal predecessor, That Girl's Ann-Marie,
and she certainly didn't have Donald--but she had spunk (we love spunk) and she had sex appeal and that
way about her. And she was the best of friends--she was a daughter to Lou; a sister to Rhoda; an image of perfection
to Murray, someone to block his view of Ted. She had the worst parties, a huge smile, and that big M on the wall.
She was the one character in TV history that absolutely everybody wanted to hug, each for his or her own reason. And if she
had found that special guy and settled down, her daughter would probably be Ally McBeal. Mary Tyler Moore got us to
love her as Laura Petrie, but when she reemerged as Mary Richards, we simply fell all over ourselves adoring her.
Like the song said, she could take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile. And when she would
throw that hat of hers up in the air...well, there went our hearts with it.Ted Baxter: #29
Yes, it all started at a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, but we fell for him as the preening, insecure anchor on
WJM-TV in Minneapolis, who once tried shoptalk with Walter Cronkite ("So, Walt, what words do you have trouble
pronouncing?" ) With his carefully modulated voice and hair, the bombastic Ted was a loveable laughingstock
we liked to root for, whether it was to win that elusive Teddy award or to marry sweet, emptyheaded Georgette.
Long after that last group-hug, Tipperary-teary moment, he is still a luminary of sorts, a 5,000-watt boob.
Last updated:
Sitemaster: Andrew Szym, esq. webmaster@mtmshow.com
© 2000, Benteen Fort Industries