Love is all around
Posted: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV
How is the standing ovation not still going on in Hollywood? Much has been written about the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night, with Julie Andrews receiving a lifetime achievement award from her "Mary Poppins" co-star, Dick Van Dyke. But the moment for me that still sticks in my head is when the cast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" came out on stage to present an ensemble comedy award to the cast of another hilarious workplace comedy, "The Office."
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Growing up in the Twin Cities, I knew exactly where the Mary Tyler Moore house was (and secretly longed to buy it every time it came up for sale, but never had the money -- still don't.). When I worked in downtown Minneapolis, a group of us once took a photo on Nicollet Mall tossing hats up in the air, mimicking Mare's famous toss outside Dayton's. (There's now a statue there that does the same thing.) I dined in Basil's Restaurant in the IDS Crystal Court where Mary and real-life husband Grant Tinker were seen eating in the opening credits (their exact table is marked with a plaque).
Once while working for Mpls.St. Paul Magazine, I interviewed one of the schoolkids who follow Mary, and a school patrol member, across the street, also in the opening credits. (He told me that some of his friends scattered and ran when the producers tried to get them to do the walk -- I wonder if those kids cursed that decision every day after that.)
Sure, I was fascinated with "MTM" because it supposedly took place in my hometown, but even as a kid, I also recognized what a great show it was. Work and adulthood seemed threatening and scary, but not if you could live as Mary did, with friends like Rhoda and co-workers like Murray and a boss like Mr. Grant, who might be crotchety, but was an old softie at heart. And the show was never coarse, never reached for the cheap laugh. Even bumbling ol' Ted Baxter made you care about him, even in the final episode, when everyone but Ted lost their jobs. There was just not a weak spot in the entire cast.
Seeing those faces, all (except for the late, and dearly missed, Ted Knight) thankfully still with us, on the SAG Awards stage -- well, it was more of a thrill than any of the individual awards, and possibly more of a thrill than anything the Oscars can promise. We know the character names as well as the actor names, maybe more so. Mary. Rhoda. Mr. Grant. Murray. Sue Ann. Ted. Georgette.
And it was somehow refreshing to see that the award they presented went to the cast of "The Office," like "MTM," a beautiful workplace comedy that reminds us all of the craziness -- and occasionally, the comfort -- that can be found on the job. "Office" boss Steve Carell knew what an honor it was, and properly thanked the comedy legends (you can watch it here, if the You Tube video stays live). The gang at Dunder-Mifflin paper are truly deserving descendants of the WJM-TV news crew.
I spent some time this weekend watching "Office" DVDs, and noted that my appreciation for the show only grows when I viewed several episodes in order. In one scene, Michael tries to pretend he's been reading employee suggestions weekly, only to be caught out immediately when the first note out of the box asks what the office is planning to do about Y2K. In another, with the boss away, the office stages a Dunder-Mifflin Olympics, complete with yogurt-lid medals and Flonkerton, a sport where they try to race with giant boxes full of paper strapped to their feet.
And I still laugh when I remember the scene in which Jim and Pam successfully convince bumbling Dwight that a Thursday is really a Friday, leading to him ruining his perfect work attendance record. It's not hard to imagine mischievous Murray doing the same thing to gullible Ted Baxter. For once in television, a torch has been properly passed, and we all got to see it happen.
