Original Airdate: October 25, 1975
Writer: David Lloyd
Director: Joan Darling
Executive Producers: James L. Brooks, Allan Burns
Cast: Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Ted Knight
“Chuckles Bites the Dust” is a joke where everyone knows the
punch line. However, in this case that doesn’t make it any less funny. In fact,
knowing exactly what will climax the episode makes the first two acts that much
funnier. The show’s writer, David Lloyd (who also coincidentally wrote the
“Frasier” episode in my last entry), has pulled a hat-trick by making an
episode of television funnier with every subsequent viewing, which is a
near-impossibility.
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was in its sixth season, but
while earlier seasons (beautifully) balanced the work and home life of Mary
Richards (Moore), after the departures of her neighbor characters from the show
(both to their own lucrative spin-offs) the series tipped its balance into a full
workplace comedy. Oddly enough, this reinvigorated the show creatively instead
of seeming like it was past its peak. Many of the very best episodes, leading
up to one of the greatest series finales in history, came in these later years,
and this installment is no exception.
Of course, as the title suggests, “Chuckles Bites the Dust”
concerns the death of the barely-seen network clown after he was waylaid by a
rogue elephant at the circus after dressing up like a peanut. Seriously. But
this revelation doesn’t come until about eight minutes in. Before that, most of
the humor is surprisingly flat. Sue-Ann Nivens (Betty White) “gifts” Mary a
hanging mobile of food and Ted is thinking of quitting the show because Lou
won’t let him go to the circus. It’s all funny-ish, but the show has had much
better gags, and there’s only one genuinely laugh-out-loud moment…when Sue-Ann
tells Mary what she should do with the food mobile:
“Why don’t you put it in the bedroom? You need something to relieve the tedium.”
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| An actress at her peak of comedic powers. |
But the moment Lou (Edward Asner) walks into the office to
deliver the news of Chuckles death, the episode transforms into something
great. I have absolutely no idea how Asner could have delivered the lines with
a straight face, especially considering the audience reaction, but his delivery
is priceless. Lou races onto set during a commercial and tells Ted (Ted Knight)
that he has to improv the story…and we watch as Ted comes to terms with death
live on the air, stumbling his way through half-memories of a man he barely
knew. Watching his spiel is like watching a slow-motion car crash, only funnier
and without the brains on the asphalt. It went a little something like this:
"Ladies and gentlemen, sad news. One of our most beloved entertainers, and close personal friend of mine, is dead. Chuckles the Clown died today from…from…he died a broken man. Chuckles leaves a wife. At least I assume he was married, he didn't seem like the other kind. I don't know his age, but I guess he was probably in his early sixties; it's kind of hard to judge a guy's face especially when he's wearing big lips and a light bulb for a nose. But he had his whole life in front of him, except for the sixty some odd years he already lived. I remember, Chuckles used to recite a poem at the end of each program. It was called ‘The Credo of the Clown,’ and I'd like to offer it now in his memory – ‘A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.’ That's what it's all about, folks, that's what he stood for, that's what gave his life meaning. Chuckles liked to make people laugh. You know what I'd like to think, I'd like to think that somewhere, up there tonight, in his honor, a choir of angels is sitting on whoopee cushions.”
The fact that the producers were comfortable enough and trusting enough
to just put the camera on Knight (with a few cutaways to the cast in the
newsroom) and let him ramble the monologue shows how much confidence they had
in Lloyd as a writer and Knight’s charisma, and the scene alone would make the
episode noteworthy. But there is still so much more to come…
Of course the ludicrousness of everything about the
situation begins to creep into conversation. Murray (Gavin MacLeod) makes the
first off-color joke, and Lou finally gives in and laughs. Lloyd gave Lou a
very interesting, reflective, human moment as he considers gallows humor
just before the jokes begin to fly full force.
“It’s a release. A defense mechanism, like whistling in a graveyard. You laugh at death, because you know death will have the last laugh on us.”
The episode didn’t “need” that beat, but it’s a release for
the characters, making their laughter okay. Of course Mary is infuriated by all
this, telling them how horrible they are being with their relentless laughter.
And then the funeral happens.
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| "That bitch is NOT laughing right now." |
It’s fascinating to watch the funeral again. I wonder if
audiences originally had a sense of what was coming, or if Mary’s inadvertent
laughter took them completely by surprise. The gag has been reused so many
times since (on lesser shows) that it’s hard to look at it with fresh eyes…and
yet it’s still one of the greatest moments of television comedy. It’s all about
Mary’s face and the range of emotions that hits as she begins to giggle. She’s
furious with herself, then horrified, then angry – but the giggles keep coming.
It’s a master class in comedic timing, and I have to wonder if it was done in
front of a studio audience or if they used a laugh track for the day. The
audience laughter is more muted and short than the situation deserves, making
me think her facial expressions weren’t as visible or that a PA had his finger
on a dial making sure Mary’s laughs didn’t bleed into the audience’s.
The reverend makes Mary stand and tells Mary that Chuckles
would have wanted her to laugh. That his life was about laughter, and he would
have been happy to make someone smile, even in consideration of his death. This
is, of course, completely true and makes Marie start bawling. And the viewer is
crying too, because at this point the laughter has begun to hurt. And you know
that’s the sign of a masterpiece.
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ReplyDeleteAnd we all know that it could have been worse . . . he could have gone to the circus parade dressed as Billy Banana and a gorilla might have peeled him to death! :-D My favorite sitcom episode EVER!!! I saw it the night it first aired, and I was only ten years old - I've always loved it! :-D
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