Search - The Mary Tyler Moore Show - TV Starter Set (The Best of Season 1) on DVD

Robbi C. (silverscreensilent22) from WEBSTER GRVS, MO
Reviewed on 2/21/2011...

This made for a nice little trip into the past. Good for casual fans who aren't interested in collecting the whole season/series. Nice choice of episodes.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jane H. (Janie) from SPRING HILL, FL
Reviewed on 12/16/2009...

Vintage Mary...takes one back to a simpler time!

For "Starters", Check Out These Four Terrific MTM Episodes!

David Von Pein | Mooresville, Indiana; USA | 03/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On March 22, 2005, Fox Home Entertainment released this "TV Starter Set" DVD consisting of four of the best episodes from Season #1 of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". This one-disc "Starter" Pack is nice for those people who are not at all familiar with the MTM Show (and would just like to see a "sample" from the series), or for those who are already fans of Mary's show, but don't want to dig too deep into their pocketbooks and purchase the full-season, 24-episode DVD boxed set of the first MTM season, which is a compilation which also earns a perfect "Five-Star" rating from this writer.

Unlike the deluxe 4-Disc "Complete First Season" DVD set of "TMTMS", there aren't any special bonus features on this "Starter" disc -- just the four episodes (listed below). But it's still a very good deal, IMO, at the bargain price offered.

The video quality for these four stellar MTM episodes is simply SUPERB! I doubt these shows could look any better. The colors are perfect and vibrant and there's no annoying video "noise" or artifacts (that I can detect at any rate).

Each episode here gets its own "Chapter" sub-menu on the disc, with 10 chapter stops per show! Video is presented in the original TV ratio of 1.33:1; the audio sounds just fine via the disc's English Dolby Digital soundtrack (of the 2.0 Mono variety). There are even two foreign-language tracks included (in Spanish 2.0 Mono and French 2.0 Mono); plus Subtitles in English and Spanish. Unfortunately, there is not a "Play All" feature included.

There's also a very short "Mary Tyler Moore TV Spot" included on this disc. This is not an original 1970 CBS-TV promo for TMTMS, however. It's a brief 15-second ad pitching the 4-Disc "Complete First Season" set of The MTM Show.

A 12-page insert (DVD advertising booklet) also comes with this Starter Set, featuring many ads for other FOX TV-On-DVD products.

Here's a glance at the four episodes that make up this "MTM Starter Set" (with original CBS-TV Air Dates in parenthesis)............

1.) "Love Is All Around" (09/19/1970)
2.) "Support Your Local Mother" (10/24/1970)
3.) "Toulouse-Lautrec Is One Of My Favorite Artists" (10/31/1970)
4.) "The Snow Must Go On" (11/7/1970)

"Love Is All Around" is the debut episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and does a great job of introducing the viewing audience to "Mary Richards", "Rhoda Morgenstern", "Phyllis Lyndstrom", "Lou Grant", "Murray Slaughter", and "Ted Baxter".

Everybody in this series was first-rate all the way, with the show picking up more steam as the first season progressed; and it got even better in Season #2.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was one of the most popular and successful TV comedy series ever aired on network television, accumulating an amazing 67 Emmy nominations during its seven-year period on the airwaves (1970 to 1977). The series won 29 total Emmy Awards, including four during its rookie season.

This MTM "Starter" disc is a fine supplementary addition to the DVD collection of anyone who loves flat-out good TV shows."

Get the point.

K. Steinhouse | Virginia | 06/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think that most of the reviewers for this are completely missing the entire point of this release. It's not for people who already like Mary Tyler Moore. Those people will buy the complete seasons. It's for people like me who have never seen an episode of it but would like to check it out. The DVD has a few episodes of the classic show that will hopefully get the viewer "hooked" so that he or she will buy the whole season. With a $10 coupon for the first season included in the package, this 'Best of' is essentially a pretty smart marketing technique to get you to see the show (because you're only down ten bucks if you don't like it) and then (since they're convinced you will like it) buy the whole season. It is in no way, shape, or form meant to replace or even really supplement the first season. It is meant to get the curious consumer to buy the first season. So I give it five stars. Because that's a pretty ingenious idea."

Who on earth authorized the 'starter set' concept?

Robin Orlowski | United States | 03/02/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I personally had liked the selected episodes, but must add my voice to the chorus of people who also see marketing flaws for what they really are.

Because FOX had not promoted MTM: Season One and was asking lots of money, the DVD sales were slower than expected in 2002. Rumors now circulate that Season 2 will eventually be released, but I have to question the genius of including a coupon for the Season 1 release inside this specific package.

If people who are happy to have this starter set then already have all the Mary Tyler Moore which they want and series fans will buy the complete season releases anyways, the 'starter set' concept will not serve as a 'bridge' to increasing overall MTM DVD interest. Casual fans are not going to buy additional DVDs for something which they found only mildly interesting.

Barring the VERY unusual and isolated case, people are not going to first buy this release and then the traditional DVD set. Since those people do not make up a market majority, I am curious how FOX believed this approach would power overall series sales.

I could see the starter set in the mid 1990's or only selected episodes being released in lieu of entire seasons. I must question the relevancy of that strategy in 2005 and also in addition to full season releases of a series.
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