Deciding who I like most: Mary Tyler Moore, Ally McBeal, Molly Dodd, or Murphy Brown? Who wins in the end? To be fair to the genre, I also must add Marlo Thomas in That Girl.
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Oh my God! Molly Dodd – I had totally forgotten about that show. Loved it!
Were you a fan of "Thirtysomething"? I adored that show. Just like Hope I married a sensitive, creative Jew. Every Hannukah I remember that scene where Hope is holding Baby Janey as they light the menorah. Michael walks in, and in the glow of the candlelight he realizes that Hope has resolved her issue of what faith the family will follow. I've been waiting for a DVD release, but according to the creators Herskovitz and Zwick (sp?) there is some trademark issue with rights for the music used throughout the series…
I can't choose a winner from the four women you present. Love them each in their own inimitable way.
Ally McBeal. 110%. Neurotic but smart and strong.
Mary Tyler Moore – she broke molds, was able to do everything she wanted to (pretty much) before everyone else did it, and without being too bitchy and offending anyone. I'm not sure if that's really possible, but it's something to shoot for!
Ally McBeal. Loved her. And I love Kitty on Brothers and Sisters too. And I love Harrison Ford. And Raiders of the Lost Ark. And Sean Connery, and Julie Andrews, and Julia Roberts, and Jacklyn Smith, and Valerie Bertanelli, and…oh god. Sorry.
From the field, I choose Mary Tyler Moore…but then again I am not one of the eight people that watched Molly Dodd. If I had a write in, (and we really need one here) it would have to be Claire Huxtable, head and shoulders she wins.
A fantastic career, charismatic, a great mother and wife. I am not sure where she could have been more successful. She might have literally inspired a generation.
~GINA
Funny you mention this cause I was just thinking about where I catch old episodes of Ally McBeal. My vote's on her!
Team McBeal here.
Ally McBeal- she kept it real.
Oh my goodness… Murphy Brown, totally.
MTM all the way!
Molly Dodd for sure, pushed over the top by the awesome theme music! Although Mary runs a close second with the hat flinging.
Definitely Mary Tyler Moore! I would watch her show and daydream about having a life like hers. Needless to say, daydreams are just that… dreams.
Molly Dodd!
Ally McBeal FTW!
I'd have to say MTM, but I'd also have to say a LOT of that is because of the Dick van Dyke show. (Which doesn't count, in the context of the other women in the list…)
I always liked the fact that one episode of Mad About You had Alan Brady on, thus pulling Dick Van Dyke into the entire Seinfeldverse. Following this logic means that no one in Friends could talk about the Dick van Dyke show because there is no Dick van Dyke. There would only be a writer named Rob Petrie. This also means that Rob Petrie could never watch Friends. But, technically, Laura Petrie could watch the Mary Tyler Moore show.
Wait a minute … what was the question again?
Murphy Brown. Hands down. Especially the early years before she became so narrow-minded. But of the bunch, I loved Brown. Never got McBeal's appeal. It debuted my junior year in college and most of the women I knew adored it. I found her annoying. I do like Mary Tyler Moore. And I don't know who Molly Dodd is.
Murphy Brown!!!
Charlie Hills is onto something. Something Big and Cosmic.
Mary Tyler Moore all the way. She and her co-stars created one of the greatest ensemble sitcoms ever. imho, that is.
Ally, Ally, Ally… I would love to be able to watch that show again. Should buy it on DVD.
MARY! She paved the way. First to choose to be unmarried, though still looking. (Other single women were divorced or husbands died.) First to let the audience know she was on the pill. Committed to her work, but never lost her humanity.
The rule of thumb I was taught is that all dialogue and action has to advance the plot. Not so with Mary. Sometimes, there was a moment just to let us know more about Mary and her "family." It broke a rule, but broke it well.
For me, it's a tie between Mary Tyler Moore and Murphy Brown. Both were smart, strong, independent women who never apologized for who they were or pretended to be anything less. Ally McBeal was pathetically neurotic. I liked the show, but sometimes, I just wanted to shake her.
Ally McBeal definitely!
It's a really close toss up between Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas. I'm leaning slightly more towards MTM. Both great gals!
Are you smoking crack? Murphy Brown by a landslide! Despite the heinousness that was her shoulder padded suits and teased to their brittle hair; it was cool to see a show created by a strong woman about a strong woman. She as opinionated, appropriately feared, respected, and quirky in a way that didn't make you want to slap her throw hot grits on her face. You admired her but didn't envy her in an unapproachable way.
And her name was Murphy, not Kitty or Tawny or Georgia.
Molly Dodd – hands down.
Murphy Brown. I honestly never watched MTM, but from what I know secondhand, she kicks ass. Murphy was real, unapologetic about being smart and powerful, without coming across as a narcissit wannabe. Also, I clearly remember her, from when I was in the 7th grade, talking about being on assignment in a Central America jungle with terribble PMS but trudging on. That suck with.
As for Ally McBeal, I watched her show. I honestly cannot describe it any better than erose– I liked her, but I kept wanting her to snap out of it. Also, didn't half of the women who came onto the show leave looking like they had an eating disorder. I prefer a woman who eats ribs and keeps it down, so on that issue alone, Ally can never win.
Not on your list – but I liked Rhoda, she was great and could handle her screw-ups! The 'Designing women' were good too. I was sad when Molly Dodd was cancelled after a short run.
Murphy Brown
That girl! First time poster. Good luck.
Molly Dodd was one of the first "dramedies." I'm a few years younger than Blair Brown, but I could relate to the dreaminess of Molly; her lingering passion for her ex-husband the jazz musician, her attraction to quirky non-committal men and her need to find herself in the 80's when women were wearing ties and sneakers with their skirts.
Ally was great for the first few seasons and then when David Kelly no longer wrote the scripts, the show turned weird.
MTM-brilliant ensemble show; I still laugh at the reruns. Marlo Thomas was adorable despite the suspended reality.
Let's not forget Elaine from Seinfeld. Yes, she was bitchy and self-centered but she was surrounded by these whiny neurotic guys and was a riot.
I see we've added stephanieklein.com …. to the choice in the collage