Rhoda : "Rhoda's Wedding"

Season 1, Episode 8

Original Airdate: October 28,1974

Writers: Norman Barasch, James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, David Davis, Carroll Moore, David Lloyd, Lorenzo Music

Director: Robert Moore

Producers: David Davis, Lorenzo Music

Cast: Valerie Harper, David Groh, Julie Kavner

Before it became a model for what not to do with a successful sitcom, the first season of “Rhoda” was pure magic. The character, who became a fan favorite on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was being spun off into her own sitcom. But instead of just providing viewers with a watered-down version of its sister sitcom (sexy single woman tries to balance dating and a professional career), “Rhoda” was a family affair, centering on the title character’s quirky relatives while also pairing her off in a romance with Joe, a really great New Yorker who she would quickly fall for. The writing was incredibly crisp and Rhoda lost none of her edge in the transition between second banana and leading lady.

The first season featured a fantastic opening, with Rhoda (Valerie Harper) speaking to the camera, confessional style. In just a few seconds we know our main character (“I had a bad puberty. It lasted seventeen years”), know her family (“I decided to move out of the house when I was 24. My mother still refers to this as the time I ran away from home.”) and know the show we are about to watch (“Now I’m back in Manhattan. New York, this is your last chance”). Seriously, whoever made this intro deserved an Emmy.

Rhoda and Joe’s courtship (quickly) blossomed into an engagement, which resulted in this episode, the best crossover in the history of television. Most of the cast from “The Mary Tyler Moore” show came from Minneapolis to New York City for Rhoda’s vows, and the results are sitcom magic. So much could (and more often than not, does) go wrong when two world collide like this. Would the different humor styles of the shows match? Would the cast of “Mary” overwhelm the newer cast of “Rhoda”? Or would the cast of “Mary” be so marginalized that viewers would be annoyed at their inclusion at all? Somehow, the episode’s multitude of writers strike the perfect balance between the worlds, creating a beautifully written hour of television that manages to pay homage to all Rhoda’s history on “Mary” while still being an enjoyable episode of her own sitcom. It’s all so good that you can actually forgive the two minutes of clips that appear around the halfway point.

This wonderful balance certainly comes in part from the fact that this is a special hour-long installment. The added running time gave the writers additional scenes where Rhoda can interact with everyone important in the cast. There is a fantastically funny scene where Rhoda and her sister Brenda (Julie Kavner) slowly, horrifyingly, realize that their mother (Nancy Walker) has ignored her daughter’s wishes of a small intimate ceremony and invited over 70 people. The way Walker balances breaking the news to Rhoda while remaining in control of the situation is superb, something that would recur wonderfully over the show’s first two seasons.

The crew from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” arrives, including Phyllis (Cloris Leachman), who hates Rhoda but is determined to prove that she doesn’t by going to the wedding despite not being invited. At this point we expect that the slew of guest stars (Moore, Leachman, Ed Asner, Georgia Engel, Gavin MacLeod) to take over the proceedings, but instead the writers still allow for a barnburner of a scene between Rhoda and Joe the night before the wedding. You don’t expect the scene, but once you see it you cannot imagine the episode without it -- there’s a sweet emotional honesty between the characters that you would never expect on a sitcom. There are a few punchlines, but they are almost beside the point. The moment is about Rhoda laying herself bare in front of Joe, presenting herself as the imperfect individual she is and allowing Joe to embrace her for those imperfections. It’s sweet, makes you root for the couple and anchors an episode that might have easily embraced too much hype for its own good.

What comes next is truly one of the funniest sustained sequences in all of television. Abandoned in her apartment by Phyllis (because of course Phyllis forgot to pick her up), Rhoda crosses Manhattan and heads to the Bronx...all while wearing her wedding dress. First she’s on the subway but must walk the last half mile herself. These hilarious sight gags (shot on location) are made even funnier by the intercutting with the waiting guests. Phyllis arrives at the ceremony just long enough before Rhoda to get her life threatened by Rhoda’s mother and make the moment all about her, begging for forgiveness and getting none from anyone but Georgette, who warns Phyllis that she better get the heck out of there before Rhoda arrives. It’s perhaps the crowning comedic achievement in the entire franchise (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” and “Phyllis.” The dramatic “Lou Grant” doesn’t really count), rivaling even Chuckles’ funeral, Phyllis slamming the oven door and the group hug. Of course Rhoda gets there and gets her happy ending. It was the happy ending we rooted for. The happy ending Rhoda deserved. And it was all very, very funny.

Until, of course, it wasn’t.

In “Rhoda’s” third season the writers made the abhorrent decision to separate Rhoda and Joe before they ultimately got a divorce. Why? Apparently nothing spells “comedy” more than the slow meltdown of a marriage audiences loved. To make matters even worse, Walker and Harold Gould (Rhoda’s father) were written out, making the familial unit that felt so honest in the series nonexistent. Harper got tan, lost weight and got an entirely new wardrobe toshow off her body. She struggled with dating and juggling that life with her job, all while confiding in her sister/best friend, who was unlucky in love. In other words, “Rhoda” became a watered-down clone of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” something the first season celebrated being so different from. Viewers abandoned it like they would the Titanic, and the show was cancelled by the middle of its fifth season, with four episodes never even aired. Such a shame that a show this good could have dissolved into something that predictable and bland, because it has damaged the legacy of the show, whose first season should be ranked among the best written, performed sitcoms in history.

“Rhoda’s Wedding” is available on HuluPlus and DVD.

Arrested Development - "Meat the Veals"

Season 2, Episode 16

Original Airdate: April 3, 2005

Writers: Richard Rosenstock, Barbie Adler

Director: Joe Russo

Executive Producers: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Mitchell Hurwitz, David Nevins

Cast: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Tony Hale

Telling a single funny joke is infinitely more difficult than telling a single unfunny one, and filling 22 minutes with funny jokes is nearly impossible, no matter what a laughing studio audience would have you believe. “Meat the Veals” is as close to a perfect comedic episode of television I’ve ever seen. Every single joke is funny, and every time I watch the episode I am as entertained as I was the first time. And yes, I write this fully acknowledging that the title is horrible. For me, it’s the pinnacle of “Arrested Development,” a show with many creative peaks.

Plus, there’s Mrs. Featherbottom.

Plus, we’re introduced to Franklin the puppet.

Though now it seems like everyone knows and loves the show (and likes to boast that they watched it when it was originally on air. As if.), the series was an underground movement from the start…the type of program that four hipsters in Brooklyn watched but were afraid to tell others about because it would mean admitting they had a television. Even I, the guy who watched all three episodes of “The Return of Jezebel James,” didn’t start watching until the beginning of the second season. And, truthfully, it’s easy to see why its many eccentricities turned off new viewers. Instead of self-contained, simple A-and-B stories, any given episode had about ten continuing storylines going on. Instead of giving viewers easy jumping-on points for prospective viewers, it filled its half-hours with dozens of in-jokes new viewers would not understand. This craziness is what makes the show great, of course – and are a huge reason why it has flourished on DVD and Netflix (where viewers can watch from episode one and not miss a beat). But for the show’s original audience, the inside-baseball gags were just another reason we loved it. It was like we were part of an elite club that most of the world was not privy to.

Of course being part of a small, elite club watching a broadcast sitcom doesn’t guarantee it’ll have a long and successful run, but that’s beside the point.

The main story of “Meat the Veals” (let me reiterate how much better the episode is than its name suggests) involves George Michael (Michael Cera), to his father Michael’s (Jason Bateman) chagrin, wanting to get pre-engaged to his girlfriend Anne (Mae Whitman). Meanwhile, Oscar (Jeffrey Tambor) wants to throw an anniversary party for his missing twin brother (Tambor again) and Lucille (Jessica Walter). Meanwhile, Tobias (David Cross) has been thrown out of the house by Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and, in order to see his daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat), dons the persona of a British housekeeper named Mrs. Featherbottom. Meanwhile, Maeby tries to keep her dual life as a studio exec hidden from her family. Meanwhile, GOB (Will Arnett) wants to re-introduce the family to Franklin, a racist black puppet that mocks George Michael’s “cracker ass,” among other non-bleeped things. Like I said, it’s a little complex for a half-hour sitcom. But then again, half the fun is watching the multiple storylines crash into one another in ways much cooler than “Crash.”

Like I wrote, every single joke lands. Also, this happens, which is my favorite bit of physical television comedy in the past decade. I can’t watch the episode without rewinding Mrs. Featherbottom’s fall multiple times. It’s difficult to pick a favorite bit of dialogue…maybe this one?

Lindsay (re: Mrs. Featherbottom): “You do realize that’s Tobias, right?”Lucille: “If he’s going to get into my closet, he’s going to work for it.”

Or this one?

Mrs. Featherbottom: “Who’s up for a banger in the mouth?”

I’d mention more, but then I’d just start listing, which is only fun if it involves Roger Ebert quotes.

What struck me during this viewing is how varied the actors’ different styles of comedy are. In series like “Fraiser,” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” every actor seems to be hitting the same comedic notes in any given episode. Often when a different comedic style is introduced on sitcoms, a’la Urkel on “Family Matters” or Fonzie in “Happy Days,” they tend to take over the show and shift the comedy to their strengths. I don’t write that as a criticism of those shows, just an observation in order to underline how special it is that “Arrested Development” can marry all those brands of humor into one cohesive whole. Cera’s quiet, awkward humor couldn’t be further removed from Cross’ broad slapstick, and yet when they are in the same room together, it feels right.

This leads me to the question of whether this is the best comedic ensemble in television history. Surely the casts of shows like “I Love Lucy,” “Seinfeld” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” were, in their own ways, perfect…but this cast is also perfect. And bigger. And while those sitcoms ostensibly had the title star at their center, here there is no true lead. Yes, Michael is our way into the show, but in many ways he’s just as demented as the rest of his family (it’s just not as obvious) – and just because you play the straight man in a comedy sketch does not mean you are central to it. So yeah, as to the question posed above, I’ll call this troupe the once-in-a-lifetime, lightning-in-a-bottle, other-cliché-chesnut, best cast in the history of television.

And I’m so happy that “Arrested Development” has crossed over garnered the popularity it always deserved. I remember being in college when I discovered it, and putting on DVDs of the first season for my friends while we were eating Papa Johns and whipped ice cream. In a way, helping others discover the program and the greatness contained therein was part of the fun – like handing a great novel to someone and whispering “you’ll thank me later.”

“Meat the Veals” is available on DVD, Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes and Hulu. And now, seven years after the show was cancelled midseason by Fox, it has been revived by Netflix. The fourth season will be available in May.

The Dick Van Dyke Show - "The Curious Thing About Women"

Season 1, Episode 16

Original Airdate: January 10, 1962

Writer: David Adler

Director: John Rich

Executive Producers: Ronald Jacobs, Sheldon Leonard, Carl Reiner, Danny Thomas

Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam

The wonderful thing about “The Dick Van Dyke” show is that it never seems to push its audience. Almost every other sitcom seems to shove into its punchlines and gags, but this show operates at an even pace. The characters say funny things to one another, but there never seems to be an exclamation point at the end of their sentences to lead into audience laughter. The characters have big personalities but never go over the top like every other sitcom from that era, from “I Love Lucy” to “Leave it to Beaver.” It all feels…well…real. Like we are actually watching an American family going through their trials and tribulations, which makes the climax to “The Curious Thing About Women” one of the definitive moments in all of television comedy.

 The episode concerns a quick marital spat between Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) after she keeps opening his mail without his permission. Rob turns the spat into a sketch for “The Alan Brady Show” where a caricature of Laura (who shares her name) receives a box addressed to her husband and can’t stop herself from opening it…only to discover there is an inflatable raft inside. Laura is teased by all her friends about the sketch and yells at Rob, only to discover a suspicious box in the mail the next day addressed to him.

It’s interesting to note that most sitcoms follow the classic two-act structure. Lucy wants to be on television (1) and then she gets drunk while practicing the commercial she has been cast in (2). Mary admonishes people for laughing about Chuckles’ death (1) and then laughs at his funeral (2). Michael is encouraged to set up a “diversity day” at the office (1) and ends up being extremely racist (2). But “The Dick Van Dyke” show is different. In almost every episode, it follows a three-act structure instead. Here, you have Rob writing the sketch as Act One, Laura melting down as Act Two and the mysterious package as Act Three. This structure allows the show to have a faster pace than most sitcoms and, as a result, throw in some twists and turns on the way to the climax…

…which, of course, is Laura verses the box. The episode’s writer, David Adler, is brilliant in the way he sets this moment up because we have already heard a variation on this routine twice. Incredibly, the moment is much funnier because of its long set-up, not watered-down because of its repetition. When we first heard Rob pitching out the story he talks about how the box is almost magnetic to the wife -- a bit we see come to life with Laura when she exits the living room and then we see the swinging door swing fully just once before Laura reenters to stare at the box again. When Laura is actually watching the skit with her neighbors, they mention that the female is using her teeth to desperately pull open the box, and later that’s exactly what Laura does. The familiarity of the details make it so much more funny, especially considering the high horse Laura put herself on only moments before.

Also of note is the fact that Adler has made us wait almost twenty minutes for this moment, circling back to it and, in some ways, pounding us over the head that it’s coming, but only to underline how much we’ll enjoy it when it actually gets here. A lesser writer (and most modern sitcoms) would try to put some kind of twist on Mary opening the box, but Adler was smart to just give us the payoff we were expecting in the way we were expecting it. It makes the laughter more genuine because it doesn’t feel like a cheat.

Aside from the three-act structure, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was quick and eager to embrace (at the time) daring storytelling techniques. It was quick to use frame stories, or create stories within stories if it served the characters and humor well. This was a much more adult show than most other comedies on television and the writers trusted that the viewers would be able to follow along when they tried something a little different or took the story in a surprising direction. It was also very successful at being both a work sitcom and a family sitcom. Other shows, most notably “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” tried the same juggling act before finally giving in and becoming one or the other. “The Dick Van Dyke” show, on the other hand, always kept the balance and, as a result, some of its best comedy came when the two world collided in twisted, uncomfortable ways. Look at this episode or when Laura accidentally lets it slip that Rob’s boss is actually bald.

Anchoring everything is Van Dyke and Moore, who share an easy, charming chemistry with one another that is never more evident than when they are arguing. Their speaking patterns and delivery allows them to deliver long mouthfuls of sentences from the script, and the fact that they are both tall and lanky results in some create physical comedy throughout the episode, first with Rob pretending to be Laura and later when Laura is fighting with the box. More than that, they never seem like anything less than smart, intelligent people, a trap so many great sitcoms fall into regularly by dumbing down their characters.

Though I only laughed once during “The Curious Thing About Women,” it was a long and fulfilling belly laugh that had been building the entire episode. And the rest of the time I was smiling widely. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” isn’t classic television because of its punchlines, but because it’s smart enough to know that punchlines are only part of what makes a great comedy.

“The Curious Thing About Women” is available on the first season DVD of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” on iTunes, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

30 Rock : "Believe in the Stars"

Season 3, Episode 2

Original Airdate: November 6, 2008

Writer: Robert Carlock

Director: Don Scardino

Executive Producers: Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Robert Carlock, Marci Klein

Cast: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski

Every television show can land a guest star, but only a few know how to use them. “Believe in the Stars” was produced at the zenith of “30 Rock’s” popularity (this is a relative term since, though it was always a critical and pop culture darling, it never lit up many Nielsen boxes) when some of the best popular and character actors out there were regularly appearing on the show. Oprah Winfrey was the special guest star here, and the next few episodes would feature Jennifer Aniston, Steve Martin, Elaine Strich and Salma Hayek in roles just as engaging and memorable as anything they could have found on film or stage.

Winfrey appears as herself in the episode, sort of. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) must fly quickly to Chicago to get out of jury duty (by pretending she is Princess Leia) before “TGS” implodes for the umpteenth time. Turns out she is seated next to Oprah Winfrrrrrrrrrrrrrey (and yes, her classic vowel elongation is poked fun of early and often) on the flight back, which of course triggers immediate and complete overshare, made all the funnier because I’m pretty sure everyone would do just about the same thing in the situation.

Though it got off to a rocky start, “30 Rock” quickly became one of the most consistently great comedies on television, and has remained that way since (its seventh and final season begins in the fall). The show is certainly an odd, eccentric duck even considering what other modern comedies have hit the air in the past decade. Part of this is because it carefully toes the line between screwball, emotionless humor and more grounded, heartfelt storytelling. The Jenna (Jane Krakowski) and Tracy (Tracy Jordan) stories and subplots often fly off into space tonally (Jenna decides to marry a prince so disfigured he has ivory hands, Tracy decides he wants to go into space…right now), but the friendship between Liz and Jack (Alec Baldwin) gives the show its heart, pulling us back and making us care no matter how crazy the shenanigans get. 

This episode is one of the funniest in the show’s history, with writer Robert Carlock supplying viewers with a steady stream of quotable quotes. Like this one:

Tracy: “I watched ‘Boston Legal’ nine times before I realized it wasn’t a new ‘Star Trek’.”

Or this one:

Jack: “Did you know President Bush’s approval rating was almost as high as 15 percent following the Olympics?”

Shut up! Okay, one more:

Jenna: “How can you defame someone who was arrested in three Chucky Cheeses?”

The Winfrey scenes in particular merit multiple viewings to even begin to even get all the gags. In the entire 21 minutes, there is only one (one!) joke that doesn’t quite land (a late one involving Kenneth that doesn’t merit being written here because the rest are so good). More than that, Carlock was brilliant in the way he bled Winfrey’s presence into the subplot involving Jenna and Tracy bickering over who has it harder in America, women or black men.

Both call Liz while she is on the runway to talk about how they are right. Tracy screams into the phone:

“It’s about race! It’s about being a woman! It’s about money! And being on TV! No one understands all that!”

At that exact moment, Oprah sits down next to Liz. Perfection. This being “30 Rock,” Carlock takes the battle to the extreme, putting Jenna in black-face and Tracy in white-ish face (with a hand-claw because they ran out of make-up).

The twist that comes later is that Liz was in a drug-induced haze and hallucinated that Oprah was a feisty tween (if only my hallucinations were half as fun), which gives the entire sequence on the plane another layer of humor. At first, it just seems as if Oprah is mocking herself (and, of course, she is), but the twist gives Carlock the opportunity for even more gags later when Liz remembers all the things she really Really REALLY should not have done (like showing her boobs or forcing wine on the girl). Because I love you, dear reader, I’m going to provide you with the genius word vomit Liz unleashes on “Oprah” the moment she sits down. 

“I’m trying to adopt a baby but my job is making it impossible because my work-self is suffocating my life-me. I’m Liz Lemon and I lost my virginity at 25. I saw the show about ‘Following Fear’ and it inspired me to wear shorts to work. It didn’t go great. Do you know Tracy Jordan? Meh, I took a pill earlier. I didn’t get my September issue of ‘O Magazine’ do you have the number for subscriptions? Haha, why would you? Blah! I eat emotionally. One time at summer camp I kissed a girl on a dare but then she drowned! Aaaand here comes some more stuff. I hate my feet, and one time I had a sex dream about Nate Berkus but then halfway through he turned into Doctor Oz. Has that ever happened to you?”

Tired from her monologue.

Any one of these lines would have been enough to make the show memorable, but schmushed all together into one fantastic monologue is enough to make the episode a masterpiece. But then there’s another yet to come, where Oprah sends up her “Favorite Things”:

“Here, try this. It’s salt water taffy from Rhode Island. I have so many wonderful favorite things this year. Sweater capes, calypso music, paisley tops, Chinese checkers, high heeled flip flops that lift your butt and give you a workout.”

The list is funny already, but later becomes even funnier when we see Liz and other “TGS” employees wearing the high-heeled flip-flops (which, apparently, do exist outside the episode). Carlock has written some of the best episodes of the series “Apollo, Apollo” and “Today, You Are a Man” come to mind), and seems to approach the series with a “no amount of jokes is too many” mentality, which suits “30 Rock” and its fast-talking cast wonderfully. At times it can feel like “Bringing Up Baby,” in the best possible way.

When I watch an episode of “30 Rock,” I never feel like I’m being talked down to. The dialogue is fast and furious, but it’s also smart. The plotlines are interesting even if you are over the age of ten, and it’s not afraid to throw in archaic references that you may or may not understand…because if you do it’s still damn funny. It’s the little show that could, and has already earned its place on the shelf next to other classic workplace comedies like “Cheers” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” All that and Oprah Winfrey? What more could you ask for in a show? 

“Believe in the Stars” is available on the third season DVD of “30 Rock,” on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and is probably being re-run on Comedy Central right now-ish.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show : “Chuckles Bites The Dust”

Season 6, Episode 7

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.”

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.

"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.

“Chuckles Bites the Dust” is available on Hulu Plus (ugh), the sixth season DVD of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” on iTunes and on Youtube for free. You’re welcome.