Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

dansview I try not to review old stuff from a present day perspective, because those films and shows were meant primarily for people at the time they were made.Having said that, I love to watch old stuff to revel in the cultural tidbits from bygone eras. L.A. from '77-'82 was still America. People all over town were born in America and were mostly white or black. It was not yet Tijuana , or some other Third World satellite.I love to see the typewriters, old phones, old cars, etc., but I realize that at the time, nothing was old, it was all state-of-the-art.I also enjoyed seeing the lifestyle of Reporters and Editors on salary. They were not chained to a desk. They could take a long lunch or go about town interviewing people at their leisure. As long as it relates to a story. I like to see how the show incorporates vignettes at restaurants and bars, because they used to play an important role in the Reporter lifestyle.The mission of a Reporter is to hold the feet of people in power to the fire, or keep them in check so to speak. So yes, investigative reporters would often be hunting down corporate types, cops, the military, etc. That would be the case whether they are liberal or otherwise. Of course this show was developed during the Carter administration and influenced by the general Liberal mentality of that 70s era.The first episode was more balanced than I expected. Cops are accused of sleeping with teen aged girls, but they claim that the girls looked like women. A reporter with a dad who is a cop, brings in a teenage girl whom everyone thinks is a grown woman. This shows that there was some truth to their claim.Say what you want about Asner being a blow-hard, but he did play this role with a good deal of intensity and compassion. I don't remember all the social issues brought up, but I don't doubt that they were presented from a Liberal perspective. It's all part of the Hollywood indoctrination process. They used T.V. and film to brainwash multiple generations. But you could say that conservative shows of the 50s and early 60s presented a world view too. The Rifleman comes to mind.I also loved the presentation of a Newspaper being enormously important as the heartbeat of a city. Again, I am saying this while watching old VHS reruns in the present day. When it was made, Newspapers were kings and no one knew that the Internet was coming in 20 years. So I am watching it as nostalgia. It was not meant as nostalgia when it came out.Overall, a good ensemble cast, a fun and interesting workplace setting, and some intellectual grit for subject matter. Nice job. It could have been worse.

rcj5365 In the final episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"(CBS-TV:1970-1977),when everyone but idiotic anchorman Ted Baxter was fired from station WJM-TV in Minneapolis in 1977,Mary Richards and her fellow casualties were left reeling. It was a bittersweet finale for the beloved series after seven seasons. Then Mary's old crusty boss,station news director Lou Grant,made a smooth transition. Within weeks,he had blown Minneapolis and snagged a good job in Los Angeles as the city editor of The Tribune. That's right:Lou Grant went from the glamour and glitz of TV news(such as it was at bumbling WJM) to embrace print journalism. At The Tribune,the formerly comic Lou(still played by Edward Asner)got serious about news. What resulted was "Lou Grant," a superlative drama series that became one of the greatest dramatic shows ever to embrace the mid-1970's. This was a grand series that arrived in the blazing afterglow of Watergate coverage and the rehealing from the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The bracing message of that era: Two dogged reporters(and a newspaper that backed them up)could change the world-and earn the public's adoration.Anti-press fulminations from the Nixon administration were largely nullified by scandals and disgrace in the White House. It was only later that an anti-media crusade took hold,drawing the battle lines between the press and the government,and breeding suspicion among much of the citizenry. It was later,as well,that newspapers were obliged to adapt to emerging,unimagined challenges:new media platforms,"citizen journalists",and information-dispersing gadgets with global reach that anyone could buy. The Trib reporters were spared these distractions and identity crises. For them,news still took the form of ink on paper,preferably with comics,crosswords puzzles,and horoscopes were part of the deal. The zeitgeist of "Lou Grant" was set forth in the clever opening sequence and this show celebrated it. Sure it may seem primitive that,in its first season,Trib reports were getting information and their sources with pencil and paper and banging out their stories on the typewriters. But "Lou Grant" was breaking ground from its debut on September 20,1977 producing 114 episodes for CBS-TV until the series finale on September 13,1982. Produced under Mary Tyler Moore's production company,MTM Productions.Reconfiguring a half-hour sitcom into a hour long drama was risky. The show dared to populate "Lou Grant" with a full-out ensemble cast which not only included Ed Asner,but also Robert Walden who played driven young investigate reporter Joe Rossi;Mason Adams as Managing Editor Charlie Hume;Linda Kelsey as reporter Billie Newman determined to make good in what was at the time a male-domination profession along with another ambitious young girl reporter Carla Mardigian portrayed by Rebecca Balding(who lasted one season). Also on board was the glorious Nancy Marchand(later,of course Tony's craven mother on "The Sopranos")was Mrs. Pynchon,who was the genteel owner of the Trib. Taking full advantage of its news-oriented setting,this was a brilliant series that dealt with issues ranging from nuclear accidents to religious freedom,media ethics and civil and social rights. This was a big-hearted series that won 13 Emmys,two Humanita Prizes and a Peabody award among many honors. This was drama-comedy hybrid that emerged from the series creators:James L. Brooks and Allan Burns(the writers-producers from "Mary Tyler Moore"),along with Gene Reynolds(who was not only the principal behind the TV incarnation of "M*A*S*H",but also was the producer of such shows as "Room 222"). This was a series that broke ground in the way television dramas are depicted and to this day it still holds the title some 30 years later.

gregoryshnly I'd love to see Lou Grant on DVD soon,it was only shown in some areas of the UK but Channel 4 ran it in the 80s and I loved it. Looking now at the "Mary Tyler Moore Show",Ed Asner's terrific performance throughout,as the complex Lou Grant,was a character,crying out for a spin off and what a great idea to turn a sitcom character, into a dramatic lead! I loved the relationship between Mrs Pynchon and Lou,I love it,in early episode when Lou is waiting for a bus to view a house,Mrs Pynchon says she can drive him here,he says its too out of her way,she agrees and drives off!I was surprised when Carla was replaced by Linda Kelsey as Billie,I liked her but read the powers that be,thought she was too young,so wanted an older actress for the Tribune's female reporter.Rossi was a great character,not likable but complicated too,maybe Lou saw something of himself deep down in Rossi,and liked him although he'd never admit it.

grunsel In the UK this series was not networked, but in the regions of the country it was shown it collected a devoted following. Ed Asner played his roll with gusto, but with help from the excellent cast, the show began to resemble more of a documentary than a drama, as it bravely tackled contemporary social issues and concerns. American import shows had never been like this, living a fantasy world of copsnrobbers, witches and talking horses, but this was perhaps the start of a new wave? which would include shows like 'Quincy' and 'Soap'. It was apparent when this was being run in the UK that the American far right did not like the show one bit! regarding it as wet liberalism . However in countries where it was shown, it possibly showed a compassionate side of America in which it did have concerns for the ' loosers ' as well as the winners in life. Theme tune must be a classic also? Don't think it could be made in the USA today?