For the past few days, I’ve been running an informal poll here to determine which episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show — minus acknowledged classic “Chuckles Bites the Dust” — is the favorite among fans. The official result of our very unofficial survey has determined that “The Last Show,” the series’ phenomenal finale, is your favorite, so surprise given how often it’s cited and referenced whenever any big sitcom approaches the nearly impossible task of a satisfying end.
Enjoy it again here:
Since that, too, is such a celebrated episode, I wanted to mention the runner-up in our poll as well, basically the favorite run-of-the-mill, weekly, no-gimmicks episode, which is the one I often name in interviews as close to my heart: “Rhoda the Beautiful,” in which our favorite sidekick loses 30 pounds, begrudgingly enters a beauty pageant, and even more begrudgingly wins.
Watch that here: