Awesome / The Mary Tyler Moore Show

• Mary's iconic, hat-tossing "YEAH!" Shot at the end of the opening credits (shown right).
• The first episode of the series, when Mary's ex-boyfriend comes to Minneapolis to try and woo her back, only for her to realize what a boor he is and how he kept her strung along for two years. She finally tells him "goodbye," getting the closure she deserves.
  Bill: Take care of yourself.
  Mary: I think I just did.
• One of the show's best Moments of Awesome comes from possibly the last character you'd ever expect. In "The Critic", the station hires a pompous prick of a professor with impossibly high standards in everything to critique anything he feels like. The man starts out by dismissing Minneapolis as a cultural wasteland filled with simpletons. This pisses off everybody except the station manager, who feels that controversy is good publicity for the station and decides to put him on TV more frequentlyinvoked. He doesn't let up one bit as the episode goes on, nor does he endear himself to any of his coworkers. Then someone gets the bright idea to have him say what he thinks of what's on television, and he starts out by tearing into the WJM crew. "Let's face it," he says, "WJM is the biggest offender in [hiring incompetents]. From the dowdy frumpery of The Happy Homemaker Show, to the bumbling, foot-in-the-mouth delivery of a certain anchorman. And backing them up right down the line are dull writing, inept staging, and high school production methods..." Needless to say, everybody is enraged, and Lou wants to kick his assinvoked. But he smugly talks everybody in the room out of doing anything to him by saying that if they react negatively, it means that they can't handle honest criticism and that everybody knows what he said was the truth. Cue an enraged Sue Ann Nivens storming into the newsroom brandishing a pie. He isn't worried and tells Sue Ann—with the pie inches from his face—that he knows she and the rest of them are sensible, rational people and that people like that do not throw pies or punches. As he says this, Sue Ann appears to be having second thoughts, and is just holding the pie there. "Only a fool would vent his frustration in those ways," he concludes. And that's when Ted enters the room, sees the pie, and shoves it into the bastard's face.
  • The pie moment doubles as Hilarious in Hindsight as both Ted's actor Ted Knight and the critic's actor Eric Braeden have both made guest appearances on Combat! as Nazi German soldiers.
• The end of Season 4's first episode, "The Lars Affair," culminates in an unexpectedly badass moment when Phyllis begs Mary to keep Sue Ann from wrecking her marriage. Mary launches into a fast, businesslike lecture to Sue Ann pointing out that her affair with Lars is already well-known at the station, that it isn't the image they want for their "Happy Homemaker" show, and that if Sue Ann continues to see Lars, Mary will see to it that the affair becomes public knowledge and Sue Ann will lose her job. At the end of the speech, Mary runs off to work on a news segment, and the audience applauds enthusiastically. Who knew that nice, non-confrontational Mary had it in her? It was certainly a sign of her character's growth over the series.
  Mary: So you see, it comes down to a choice: either Lars, or your show. (to Phyllis) I've gotta go, I will see you later.
• An unexpected one occurs in the middle of Season 5's "A Girl Like Mary". When a job for a new editorial position opens up, Ted remarks that anyone could do it, regardless of talent. Murray, seeing yet another opportunity to humiliate Ted, sets up a bit of exposition for another put-down, asking if Ted is sure that any half-wit could do the job. Ted agrees, apparently succumbing to his usual naïveté. Murray perpares to go in for the final insult... only for Ted to gleefully pipe up, "But don't you bother to audition for the job, Murray. Lou wants a girl!" Murray is left utterly shocked by Ted's rare comeback, and Ted ecstatically sprints away pointing and shouting "I did it! I got him! I finally got him!" repeatedly. Ted may not always be sympathetic around the office, but it sure was something to see him rise above status of The Chew Toy every once in a while.
  Murray: I just lost a battle of wits to an unarmed opponent.

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