Mary Richards is no Moore.

The secret’s in the smile. It’s as wide and gleaming as the Milky Way. It radiates an honest, an innocent, goodwill that asks for nothing in return, except maybe another smile. And frequently, just at the corners, or in the eyes above it, it suggests the fragility of fine china —and the imminence of failure. It’s the smile of a Homecoming Queen who knows her handsome escort will be disappointed before the night is over, because he won’t get to first base. To a world quite likely to misunderstand it, the smile says: “Hold my hand but (please?) don’t hurt my feelings. Stand up to me, but (if you don’t mind) don’t walk over me. And for goodness’ sake, can’t we be friends?”

The smile belongs to Mary Tyler Moore, and every Saturday night for the past seven years she has lent it out to her alter ego Mary Richards, producer of The Six O’Clock News on Minneapolis’ mythical Channel 12, WJM-TV. The smile, and the show, will rerun forever in syndication and in the hearts of some thirty million faithful viewers. But those will only be emanations from a distant, darkened star. On March 19, Mary Tyler Moore broadcast the last new show in its series.

RC

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Richard Corliss

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The secret’s in the smile. It’s as wide and gleaming as the Milky Way. It radiates an honest, an innocent, goodwill that asks for nothing in return, except maybe another smile. And frequently, just at the corners, or in the eyes above it, it suggests the fragility of fine china —and the imminence of failure. It’s the smile of a Homecoming Queen who knows her handsome escort will be disappointed before the night is over, because he won’t get to first base. To a world quite likely to misunderstand it, the smile says: “Hold my hand but (please?) don’t hurt my feelings. Stand up to me, but (if you don’t mind) don’t walk over me. And for goodness’ sake, can’t we be friends?”

The smile belongs to Mary Tyler Moore, and every Saturday night for the past seven years she has lent it out to her alter ego Mary Richards, producer of The Six O’Clock News on Minneapolis’ mythical Channel 12, WJM-TV. The smile, and the show, will rerun forever in syndication and in the hearts of some thirty million faithful viewers. But those will only be emanations from a distant, darkened star. On March 19, Mary Tyler Moore broadcast the last new show in its series.