Patty Duke , Marlo Thomas , and Mary Tyler Moore
ask her boss Lou Grant why she is making less than the man she replaced even though she is doing a better job . She grows into her role , developing news sense and good judgment , solving problems , becoming a valued member of the team , and representing the aspirations and lifestyle of the modern woman . Jacquelyn Michard regards the Mary Tyler Moore Show as the “ cultural-watershed sitcom that brought us the unsinkable Mary Richards , a single career woman over 30 who didn ’ t need a man to support her .” “ Demure but sexy ,” Michard adds , “ Mary was one of TV ’ s first women to let a boyfriend sleep over ” ( Mitchard ). Ending in 1977 , the series lasted seven seasons , during which time Mary is put in charge of the newsroom while Lou is away , gets arrested for refusing to name a source , is promoted to producer , plans and writes many news shows , and ultimately , along with others in the newsroom , is laid off at the age of thirty-seven when someone new buys the station . The show , which grappled with more serious issues such as prejudice , sexual mores , gender inequities , and news ethics , struck a balance between Mary ’ s work life and personal life , providing a favorable portrait of the modern professional woman .
Beginning in their tweens and teens , baby-boom girls gravitated to The Patty Duke Show , That Girl , and The Mary Tyler Moore Show over a span of fourteen years , and decades later , still recall their catchy theme songs and the window on the world that they provided . Audiences seek from television what they need , and young females discovered a trifecta of sequential sitcoms that pushed , ever so slightly , the gender boundaries of the 1960s and 1970s and described what would become for many of them their own trajectories . In their personalities , Patty Lane , Ann Marie , and Mary Richards were bubbly , relatable , girl-next-door types rather than aggressive trailblazers , and their comedy sometimes depended on act-
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