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MARY HARTMAN
MARY HARTMAN
VOL. 1
Sony/DVD
"Hilarious soap spoof!"
TV Guide, 1976
Those with an open mind, perhaps
some wacky tabacky, and certainly too
much time on your hands are familiar
with the cult mid 70s take-off on the
soaps, entitled, Mary Hartman, Mary
Hartman.
Brought to the screen by a guy who for
sure had an open mind-and a brilliant
and revolutionary way at looking at the
medium-in the person of Norman Lear,
Mary Hartman was almost too, too way
ahead of its time, such was the biting
satire if evoked.
Created/written by Gail Parent, Ann
Marcus, Jerry Adelman and Daniel
Browne, the series was a smorgasbord
of the bizarre, yet retained an uncanny
insight into the human condition, albeit
that of the mid-America lower middle
class during the me-decade.
The story lines through these 25 first
season episodes run the gamut of
mundane and mad home life, infidelity,
indecent exposure, mass murder,
country music, dreams and nightmares,
bad girls, randy cops and social
workers, and nutty neighbors.
Starring a what appears to be a totally
sedated Louise Lasser, the comedy is
sometimes so subtle, so sophisticated,
that if you do not watch closely, you just
might think it is stupid, or even worse, a
regular soap opera.
Lasser, once a Mrs. Woody Allen for a
while, may have even had her ex pinch
an idea for one of his films, from her
Mary Hartman.
In a story-line involving a hostage taking
by the local mass murderer, Mary and a
local Fernwood cop end up tied back to
back, a scene that Woody would later
modify for his 1983 flick, Broadway
Danny Rose.
And of course the fictitious Fernwood,
Ohio where Mary Hartman and crew
resided, also became the inspiration for
th equally cult-and equally
hilarious-mocktalk Fernwood Tonight,
which unfortunately, has not made it to
DVD, yet.
Interestingly, of the fine cast featured in
Mary Hartman Vol. 1, only Mary Kay
Place, who plays an aspiring if not
delusional country music singer
wannabe to a T, would go on to figure
large in the in the business, at least
outside of TV sitcoms.
This 2 DVD set is basically a bare-bones
one, with no extras, no booklet, and no
5.1 audio mix, although the video is
crisp, and color vivid.
And considering that the show, which
aired weekdays from January 1976 until
March 1977 and totaled 307 episodes,
the 25 installments offered here seem
way too stingy.
Let's hope that the next release from
Mary and the gang includes at least 50
episodes, and includes some historical
content and perspective by the way of
interviews with many of the actors and
producers.
MARY HARTMAN
VOL. 1
Sony/DVD
"Hilarious soap spoof!"
TV Guide, 1976
Those with an open mind, perhaps
some wacky tabacky, and certainly too
much time on your hands are familiar
with the cult mid 70s take-off on the
soaps, entitled, Mary Hartman, Mary
Hartman.
Brought to the screen by a guy who for
sure had an open mind-and a brilliant
and revolutionary way at looking at the
medium-in the person of Norman Lear,
Mary Hartman was almost too, too way
ahead of its time, such was the biting
satire if evoked.
Created/written by Gail Parent, Ann
Marcus, Jerry Adelman and Daniel
Browne, the series was a smorgasbord
of the bizarre, yet retained an uncanny
insight into the human condition, albeit
that of the mid-America lower middle
class during the me-decade.
The story lines through these 25 first
season episodes run the gamut of
mundane and mad home life, infidelity,
indecent exposure, mass murder,
country music, dreams and nightmares,
bad girls, randy cops and social
workers, and nutty neighbors.
Starring a what appears to be a totally
sedated Louise Lasser, the comedy is
sometimes so subtle, so sophisticated,
that if you do not watch closely, you just
might think it is stupid, or even worse, a
regular soap opera.
Lasser, once a Mrs. Woody Allen for a
while, may have even had her ex pinch
an idea for one of his films, from her
Mary Hartman.
In a story-line involving a hostage taking
by the local mass murderer, Mary and a
local Fernwood cop end up tied back to
back, a scene that Woody would later
modify for his 1983 flick, Broadway
Danny Rose.
And of course the fictitious Fernwood,
Ohio where Mary Hartman and crew
resided, also became the inspiration for
th equally cult-and equally
hilarious-mocktalk Fernwood Tonight,
which unfortunately, has not made it to
DVD, yet.
Interestingly, of the fine cast featured in
Mary Hartman Vol. 1, only Mary Kay
Place, who plays an aspiring if not
delusional country music singer
wannabe to a T, would go on to figure
large in the in the business, at least
outside of TV sitcoms.
This 2 DVD set is basically a bare-bones
one, with no extras, no booklet, and no
5.1 audio mix, although the video is
crisp, and color vivid.
And considering that the show, which
aired weekdays from January 1976 until
March 1977 and totaled 307 episodes,
the 25 installments offered here seem
way too stingy.
Let's hope that the next release from
Mary and the gang includes at least 50
episodes, and includes some historical
content and perspective by the way of
interviews with many of the actors and
producers.