Mary Hartman: The Complete Series
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
When this first aired, it was shown late at night in my local tv market. I was 20 and this was considered hip, weird, and wonderfully demented. How has it held up? In some ways, very well; in other ways, not so well. First of all, the performances are great. The main characters do a fantastic job of acting. Louise Lasser is such a perfectly weird, neurotic, insecure Mary Hartman that it makes me wonder how much of this was acting and how much of it was how Louise Lasser this really was. She makes the show. Her delivery is so on target – she hits a bulls-eye each time she speaks. Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Greg Mullavey, etc. are all extraordinarily good.
When MH2 is working, it’s funny, fascinating, and addictive (and I’m not a soap opera fan). When it’s not working, it’s tiresome, boring, forced, and even depressing (we are watching MH have a long mental breakdown, after all – and it seems too realistic/unsettling at times. At times, the show doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go and what it should be. Should it be a serious soap opera? A parody? Social criticism? At other times, it hits a sustained groove of clever and note-perfect satire – as if the “Simpsons” met “Days of our Lives.”
352 episodes is an awful lot of MH2. I’ll watch them all; I knew this was going to be a huge investment – and I didn’t expect every episode to be essential viewing. Having missed 3/4 of the show when it first was aired, I wanted to fill in that void. Is it worth it? Yes, but it’s uneven. I don’t regret my purchase but I was tempted to fast forward through some episodes. Overall, I give it an 82 out of 100.
This boxed collection is for die-hard fans and those who were intrigued enough by the first released set of episodes that they wanted to get their hands on the complete series. Shout Factory has done a good job of transferring – just keep in mind that these were filmed on videotape not HD film.
UPDATE 3/31/16: I stopped watching this after episode 180. Why? It was too much of a downer. I think the writers thought that focusing on serious problems was a sign of sophistication. It can also be a sign of a sadistic streak if you like tormenting and humiliating your characters. Stopped being amusing. And ended up feeling like spending time with an acquaintance whose life is always on the skids and in chaos.
– Ingles
I got my set in November and it’s great! It comes in a nice sturdy case that is only 4 inches wide and also includes a wonderful booklet with a complete episode guide. The picture quality is superb. One thing that shocked me about the series was how much music Shout Factory had to clear to get this series on DVD. Characters on the show (especially Dody Goodman) were always singing a few lines from a classic song to themselves at the start of scenes. Loretta and her alter ego Lulu also covered a lot of songs and then there was music being played on records and the jukebox. Shout Factory has managed to clear the rights to about 99.99% of these songs. They have also corrected the problems from the first season that started with episode 22 that were screwed up in reruns on Lifetime, TV land and the last DVD release. I thought season one seemed perfect. but did notice a few cuts on season 2. Episode 174 is missing a few minutes because they couldn’t clear the rights to two Johnny Cash songs for a scene (thanks to Jared for this info) and episode 204 is missing a few minutes. I could not locate any other cuts in the entire series. I’m extremely pleased with the set and I am very grateful that this classic show can finally be seen again.
– robert allee
I am enjoying reliving the series. Louise Lasser is wonderful as Mary. I watched the bonus disc where the show is discussed by Ms.Lasser, Norman Lear and Mary Kay Place. MKP was right, the casting would not have worked without Louise Lasser. The two most memorable storylines were about the problems with the Hartman marriage and the waxy yellow build-up and the Easter storyline about Loretta Haggar’s faux pau on the Dinah Shore show. Loretta says she forgives us Jews for what happened to Jesus. In the 70’s it was shocking. Using my Blu-Ray player, it is upconverted. I think on my old TV from the 70’s with a standard DVD Player it would look different since this set is square. Ms.Lasser is supported by the late Dodi Goodman, DebraLee Scott, Victor Killian and Phillip Bruns. DebraLee Scott went on to star again as the Sister of the character, Angie, played by Donna Pescow from Saturday Night Fever and Airplane’s, Robert Hayes of Airplane fame. Ms.Scott then became a staple on Match Game. Greg Mullavey did a nice job with the role of Tom Hartman. Character actors Dabney Coleman and Marian Mercer star as Merle and Wanda Jetter, the politicos of the series. Another daring storyline for the times wasa KKK type group that featured another of my favorite actors, Sid Haig. the show also tackled wife abuse featuring then unknown, Martin Mull as Garth Gimble. After the series ended Martin Mull and Fred Willard went on to star as Barth Gimble and Jerry on Fernwood Tonight. Finally, another actor we saw a lot over the years was Graham Jarvis as Charlie Haggarrs. People like Martin Mull and Mary Kay Place went on to become important stars and Ms.Place also became a Movie Director. Ms.Place forever will be associated with the Goldie Hawn film, Private Benjamin. Louise Lasser for years was associated with Woody Allen. In the bonus disc Ms.Lasser explained why it took so much convincing to make her Mary Hartman. You will find a lot to laugh about even if you weren’t around at the time the show first aired.
-Ms. Susan L. Silverberg
DVD Wholesale Main Features:
Directors: Joan Darling
Region: Region 1
Rated: Unrated Not Rated
Studio: Shout! Factory
ASIN: B01GWDITM4
