Too many fans seem to be blown away

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

When this show first premiered in January 1976 it gave Saturday Night Live a run for its money in being one of the most daring and inventive shows that had been aired. Louise Lasser's deadpan delivery as the often put-upon, under-appreciated Mary was delightful, and the show had a very talented supporting cast.Besides doing a great job of satirizing the problems of life in the 70's, it was a deft parody of soap operas in general, such as when Martin Mull returned as Barth Gimble, the twin brother of Garth Gimble, who had just died. Dabney Coleman was also great as the mayor, a true cynic who was much more interested in staying mayor than actually accomplishing anything. This show also gave birth to that great satire of the talk shows, Fernwood Tonight. Life probably wasn't too far from art in this case, since the first season ended with Mary in a mental institution, and I think putting out a new episode every night, just like an actual soap opera, took its toll on the whole cast, and Louise Lasser in particular. If you happen to remember the episode of Saturday Night Live that Louise Lasser hosted during that time, you know what I mean - the stress really showed.People looked forward to each new episode - just like a real soap opera - and there were 130 episodes in the first season alone. The finale of the first season, with Mary having a nervous breakdown while on live national television as a guest on a Phil Donohue-type daytime talk show. was one of the most absolutely brilliant pieces of comedy I have ever seen.

This had to be one of the wildest shows from the mind of Norman Lear. To me this was one of those shows that you either loved or hated and when it first came on I didn't have any opinion of it because I really couldn't understand it, probably because when it debuted I was only ten years old at the time. The show was supposed to be a comedy, but because it didn't have a laugh track or studio audience I never knew what the funny parts were. Also, besides the titular Mary Hartman, the characters were so bizarre that it made it difficult to be a fan of this show.Also, on interesting fact about this show is that Norman Lear was so enamored with it that it caused him to pay less and less attention to his more successful shows at the time such as "All in the Family" and "Good Times". In fact, when John Amos publicly complained about it it lead to his firing from "Good Times". Maybe if Lear had paid more attention to the shows that made him a success their quality wouldn't have suffered.

This was indeed a work of art for many reasons. First, it was done tongue-in-cheek, but believe it or not really depicted real situations, which actually continue to happen in American life.For example it is astounding that a recent survey found that something like 20% of Americans actually believe that the Sun revolves around the earth. Another example of just plain dumb, or totally uninformed people, can be found by remembering that during the early World War II years, polls showed that in spite of ads, posters, war campaigns, and other national information efforts, about 25% of Americans still had no idea who Franklin D. Roosevelt or Adolph Hitler were.Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was a classic because it warned us that we still have a long way to go, if we want to be accepted as an informed society.I would love to get a copy of the entire production, so I could play it for my grand children. We, and they, need to know that these types of people are still out there, and must be understood and dealt with on a daily basis.Luis J. Orozco, II

I was totally hooked on this show back in the 70s. Way out there, really dry. There are times when they'd set up a joke for several episodes running then spring the punchline on you. They tried to clone this into that show SOAP, but they added a laugh track that had the effect of killing the humor (at least for me). They really went out on a limb. That episode where Dabney Coleman stares silently into the camera for five minutes may be the most I've ever laughed at a TV show ("Look me in the eye and decide if Merle Jeter should be the next mayor of Fernwood"). I'm amazed that someone let them get away with this show.For a while the Lifetime channel brought this back. I wasn't sure if it would be as hilarious a second time around but it was. After a few weeks Lifetime pulled it for Unsolved Mysteries. TVLand made a better attempt a few years ago. It went on longer and they got Martin Mull and Fred Willard to emcee. Great stuff !! Once again it didn't go on too long. I don't know what useless stuff is in its place. If anyone hears of this one getting replayed or made available on DVD, send me an email !