The Mary Tyler Moore Show (TV Series) Ted's Change of Heart (1976) User Reviews

Touching

[Ralpho · 8/10 · 17 March 2012]

This is an unusually good episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ted has a mild heart attack, causing him to appreciate life all the more. His colleagues are frustrated with him at first but eventually come to feel the same way. Lou and Mary tell each other how much they are appreciated. No joke about it. And it works well. Murray realizes he is a lucky man to have a wife and kids and friends. The episode ends with the three of them simply admiring a sunset from the heretofore unseen WJM film library. I was reminded of a movie Mary made in 1968 called "What's So Bad About Feeling Good," in which a South American bird infects New Yorkers with a virus that makes them happy all the time. One wonders if episode writer Earl Pomerantz was influenced by "What's So Bad About Feeling Good" in the creating this great episode.

Ted Spreads and Infection

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 2 March 2017]

Ted Baxter has a mild heart attack while delivering the news. There is a hilarious scene where the man coming to fix the Xerox machine is mistaken for a doctor. After Ted recovers, he begins to look at all aspects of life as miracles. Pretty soon he is driving everyone crazy, until one at a time they begin to see the beauty in what is in the world and how little time we have to appreciate it. This turns into a really touching episode as the seventh season rolls toward the end. The final scene is extremely touching.

"Mary has worked here seven years now..."

[Rrrobert · 7/10 · 4 March 2020]

Ted's mild heart attack prompts him to reevaluate life and start appreciating beauty in the simple things. This initially drives the newsroom crazy. Then they begin to see his point.

Well acted poignant scenes. The funniest bit for me was when Ted forced everyone to close their eyes and meditate for a count of five.

Explicit references to how long Mary has known Lou seem connected to the decision to make this the final season.