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The Best Episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4

Every episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4!

Binge this in 10h 0m•Peaking at 8.9/10

30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 1 - The Lars Affair
    8.9/10(361 votes)

    #1 - The Lars Affair

    S4:E1

    Phyllis finds out that Lars has been having an affair with Sue Ann Nivens, the star of WJM-TV's The Happy Homemaker show.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 2 - Angels in the Snow
    7.4/10(228 votes)

    #2 - Angels in the Snow

    S4:E2

    Mary's boyfriend is younger than she is and she and Rhoda discover there is a generation gap when they go and visit his friends at a party.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 3 - Rhoda's Sister Gets Married
    7.7/10(217 votes)

    #3 - Rhoda's Sister Gets Married

    S4:E3

    Rhoda and Mary fly to New York for Rhoda's younger sister's wedding. Rhoda's mother downplays the whole thing fearing that Rhoda is envious.

    Director:Jerry Belson
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 4 - The Lou and Edie Story
    8.0/10(216 votes)

    #4 - The Lou and Edie Story

    S4:E4

    On the advice of their marriage counselor, Lou's wife, Edie, decides to move out. Lou is heartbroken by the prospect.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Treva Silverman

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  5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 5 - Hi There, Sports Fans
    7.7/10(197 votes)

    #5 - Hi There, Sports Fans

    S4:E5

    In this episode Dick Gautier guest stars briefly as Ed Cavenaugh, a sleazy sportscaster. Have a look at his website at Dick Gautier.com. Gordon Jump, later of MTM Enterprises' ""WKRP"" is seen for a few minutes playing one of the sportscaster applicants. When Ted asks Mary to order tweezers and other assorted supplies for his personal use, she gets more than a little flustered and asks Lou to give her something challenging to do. At the drop of a hat, he assigns her the task of hiring a new sportscaster...and firing the old one. In order to let Ed Cavenaugh down easy, she invites him to lunch and he tries to mesmerize her with his suavity with the opposite sex. Then Mary learns a lesson: don't fire the current sportscaster until you've hired another one. After days of screening applicants, listening to demo tapes and perusing their eight-by-ten glossies, she decides on Andy Rivers.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Jerry Mayer

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  6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 6 - Father's Day
    7.4/10(183 votes)

    #6 - Father's Day

    S4:E6

    Ted meets his father, who deserted him as a baby.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 7 - Son of But Seriously Folks
    6.4/10(191 votes)

    #7 - Son of But Seriously Folks

    S4:E7

    Mary's former boyfriend, Wes Callison, gets a job in the newsroom but his affection for Mary gets in the way of his work.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 8 - Lou's First Date
    8.5/10(235 votes)

    #8 - Lou's First Date

    S4:E8

    Lou gives Mary the task of finding him a date for an awards' ceremony. A name mix-up means that Lou winds up taking out an 80-year-old woman.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 9 - Love Blooms at Hemples
    7.7/10(195 votes)

    #9 - Love Blooms at Hemples

    S4:E9

    Rhoda begins dating the boss of Hemple's and falls deeply in love with him. She wants to tell him how she feels, but Mary warns her to take things slowly.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 10 - The Dinner Party
    8.9/10(309 votes)

    #10 - The Dinner Party

    S4:E10

    Mary invites Congresswoman Geddes to a fancy dinner at her home, trying hard to ensure that everything is perfect.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 11 - Just Friends
    7.5/10(170 votes)

    #11 - Just Friends

    S4:E11

    Lou is still heartbroken over Edie's departure and asks Mary to help them get back together.

    Director:Nancy Walker
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 12 - We Want Baxter
    7.7/10(172 votes)

    #12 - We Want Baxter

    S4:E12

    Phyllis persuades Ted to stand for local government. Ted agrees and goes so far as to quit his job at WJM-TV.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:David Lloyd

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  13. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 13 - I Gave at the Office
    7.5/10(185 votes)

    #13 - I Gave at the Office

    S4:E13

    Murray's daughter, Bonnie, is looking for a job and Mary is persuaded into giving her one but Bonnie is not as efficient as everyone had hoped.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writers:Don Reo, Allan Katz

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  14. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 14 - Almost a Nun's Story
    7.7/10(168 votes)

    #14 - Almost a Nun's Story

    S4:E14

    Georgette finds Ted making out with a woman in his dressing room. She then decides to enter a nunnery, but the head nun talks her out of it.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 15 - Happy Birthday, Lou!
    8.3/10(192 votes)

    #15 - Happy Birthday, Lou!

    S4:E15

    Lou is closing in on fifty and today is his birthday. Mary can't stand the thought of the now-separated Lou celebrating his birthday all alone, so she arranges a surprise party for him. That evening, she invites Lou over for a drink and the doorbell rings just as he tells her how much he appreciated her not throwing an office party for him that afternoon. Gordy is at the door with an envelope...full of hats. Others are out in the hallway, too. Lou is furious and tries to get out using the back door...but there is no back door. Mary asks Lou's permission to invite Murray in. He enters, miffed at Lou's actions. Next Rhoda, and finally Ted, get to come in. Lou admits that he hates displays of affection...then reluctantly agrees to let the remainder of the guests in. While they all file in, he files out and down to MacKluskey's bar where....they throw a surprise party for him. Later he returns to Mary's place to apologize...evidently the guests opened his gifts (at Ted's urging) and they a

    Director:George Tyne
    Writer:David Lloyd

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  16. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 16 - WJM Tries Harder
    7.9/10(182 votes)

    #16 - WJM Tries Harder

    S4:E16

    Mary begins dating the anchorman from Minneapolis's top news show and becomes ashamed of WJM-TV's smaller news operation.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 17 - Cottage for Sale
    7.5/10(169 votes)

    #17 - Cottage for Sale

    S4:E17

    Phyllis, who has gotten her real estate license, persuades Lou to sell his house. However, Lou hasn't really made up his mind whether he wants to move.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 18 - The Co-Producers
    8.2/10(190 votes)

    #18 - The Co-Producers

    S4:E18

    Mary and Rhoda are given permission to develop a new show for WJM but their dreams begin to fade when they find out that the hosts will be Ted and Sue Ann, who both begin to interfere with their plans.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writers:David Pollock, Elias Davis

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  19. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 19 - Best of Enemies
    7.9/10(190 votes)

    #19 - Best of Enemies

    S4:E19

    Rhoda tells the secret of Mary's that she never graduated from college, as she claimed on her job application, and their friendship is suddenly put at risk.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 20 - Better Late . . . That's a Pun . . . Than Never
    8.7/10(215 votes)

    #20 - Better Late . . . That's a Pun . . . Than Never

    S4:E20

    To relieve her boredom, Mary jokingly writes a humorous obituary of one of the people in the WJM-TV file. Coincidentally, the same person dies the following day and the obituary is read on the air. Lou has no choice but to suspend Mary, but she threatens to quit in response.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Treva Silverman

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  21. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 21 - Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite
    8.5/10(203 votes)

    #21 - Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite

    S4:E21

    After a heavy self-promotion campaign, Ted wins his first Teddy Award. When Walter Cronkite comes to the newsroom, Ted assumes that he will be hired by the networks.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 22 - Lou's Second Date
    8.2/10(186 votes)

    #22 - Lou's Second Date

    S4:E22

    Lou and Rhoda find they have a lot in common and begin seeing each other on a casual basis but everyone assumes that the romance is serious.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 23 - Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer
    8.3/10(204 votes)

    #23 - Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer

    S4:E23

    Ted joins Mary at a night-school class in creative writing, and winds up plagiarizing her assignment.

    Director:Nancy Walker
    Writer:David Lloyd

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  24. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 24 - I Was a Single for WJM
    7.7/10(187 votes)

    #24 - I Was a Single for WJM

    S4:E24

    Mary goes to a singles bar to research a documentary, but on the night the crew arrives for filming, the same people who were willing to tell Mary everything don't want to be seen on camera.

    Director:Mel Ferber
    Writer:Treva Silverman

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"The Lars Affair" is the best rated episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" season 4. It scored 8.9/10 based on 361 votes. Directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/15/1973. This episode is rated 1.5 points higher than the second-best, "Angels in the Snow".