There's only one episode of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman left on the box set and now I want to die. I don't know if I can watch it, because then it'll all be over. Damn you, Sony! What have you done this to me? I demand the other 310 episodes!
I know I tend to obsess over things, but I didn't expect to care about Mary and the people of Fernwood so much. And I'll never get to see some of the classic moments (except of youtube, but still... no context!) like the coach drowning to death in a bowl of chickens soup after taking too many Seconol with whiskey. I'll never see Martin Mull's character (who hasn't even appeared yet) die by impalement on an aluminum Christmas tree.
Also, in the episode I just watched, Loretta (played brilliantly by Mary Kay Place, who I've always loved anyway) seems to be paralyzed after crashing into a station wagon full of nuns. But she was on her way to nashville to become a huge country star! No!
I'm obsessed with getting Mary Kay Place's album now. Yes, that's right. She released an album as her character, Loretta Haggers. From Wikipedia:
"Mary Kay Place was nominated for a Grammy Award for the album Tonite! At the Capri Lounge, Loretta Haggers on which she sang as her MH2 character, Loretta Haggers. The album featured cameo appearances by Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, and one of its songs, "Baby Boy", climbed to the Top 60 on Billboard's Pop Charts, and #3 on the country charts, in 1976. Place also won an Emmy Award for her performance on the show. The show's writers realized Loretta Haggers' newfound fame made it harder to keep her character in Fernwood, so they devised a storyline wherein the country and western star makes an anti-semitic, career-shattering remark on the Dinah Shore talk show."
That anti-semitic comment was apparently something along the lines of, "My agent is so nice. It's hard to believe his people killed our lord!" Amazing.
Here is the cover:
I did manage to find Mary Hartman's nervous breakdown on youtube. In case you didn't read the earlier entry, legendary television producer Norman Lear once stated that Louise Lasser gave the best performance in television history on the season finale of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. He was talking about this nervous breakdown, which happens on national television when Mary is asked to appear on a talk show and discuss being a typical housewife. It's devastatingly sad and surreal, and I totally agree with Norman Lear now:
If you don't have 11 minutes, at least watch this 30 second video of Mary saying her daughter's name, "Heather", over and over again. It's pretty amazing too.
I have to try my hand at writing a serial. I've just got to.
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