Mary's boyfriend of the week is a guy named Wes (played by Jerry Van Dyke, Dick's brother). I always felt he was cast in parts because people felt sorry for him. He was in a show called "My Mother the Car" where his dead mother comes back as a car. Need I say more. Anyway, he is the script writer for the "Chuckles the Clown Show." Now that's funny. Apparently, Chuckles had a real mean streak and kept firing his writers. Anyway, when Wes quits the Chuckles show and doesn't get another job at the station, he decides to try standup comedy. It's a total disaster where even his friends can't find anything to laugh about. But there is one terrific bit where Mary is crying and Lou follows her into the bathroom. It is worth watching the whole show just to see that.
3 Reviews
Boyfriend of the week
Rrrobert20 August 2019
On paper I should really dislike this one. It plonks in Wes (Jerry Van Dyke), a serious new boyfriend for Mary who is suddenly dropping by the news room a lot (he's a writer on the Chuckles the Clown show), but we've never seen or heard of him before. (Maybe he was Mary's overnight date in the previous episode?) He is kind of goofy and annoying too.
When Chuckles fires Wes in a bout of temperament, Mary revives Lou's "great idea" for a comedy round-up in each edition of the news as a new job for Wes...
This season's opener 'The Good-Time News' had management impose a fun, jokey co-anchor style news format on Lou, who hated it and was glad when it failed. Then in 'Who's in Charge Here?' one of Murray's new but no-so-good ideas was a comics section in the news. Then the subplot of 'Just Around the Corner' was light stories about giant turnips and the like - an idea Lou hated. So the light news bit here seems pretty incongruous.
Wes also tries a standup show, which flops. The scenes are tragic but are well acted so you really feel some sympathy here. The extended bit where Lou consoles a blubbering Mary is a masterclass in tragedy meets comedy plus sight gags. This last part works really well.
When Chuckles fires Wes in a bout of temperament, Mary revives Lou's "great idea" for a comedy round-up in each edition of the news as a new job for Wes...
This season's opener 'The Good-Time News' had management impose a fun, jokey co-anchor style news format on Lou, who hated it and was glad when it failed. Then in 'Who's in Charge Here?' one of Murray's new but no-so-good ideas was a comics section in the news. Then the subplot of 'Just Around the Corner' was light stories about giant turnips and the like - an idea Lou hated. So the light news bit here seems pretty incongruous.
Wes also tries a standup show, which flops. The scenes are tragic but are well acted so you really feel some sympathy here. The extended bit where Lou consoles a blubbering Mary is a masterclass in tragedy meets comedy plus sight gags. This last part works really well.
A take it or leave it episode...
ronnybee211213 February 2023
Dick Van Dyke's brother Jerry makes a guest-appearance on this episode of MTM. This actor is somewhat of an enigma. He wasn't on tv that much,(compared to his brother) but for some reason,whenever Jerry Van Dyke was cast on a TV show of any sort,he invariably played a part of a socially-inept,slow-witted,stuttering,
bumbling goofball that was in a jam of some sort.
This character/plot idea wouldn't be bad,but the slow-witted/stuttering part of the act is always overdone and overplayed until it gets annoying and old-which is a shame. I have noticed this dynamic in several of the small parts JVD has played-in over the many years,so this show episode is just another 'one of many' examples.
This makes me wonder,what was the real deal with Jerry Van Dyke? Was he cast in silly roles because he was likely to be stuck in his brother's shadow no matter what acting roles he did,anyway?
Was JVD simply less committed to acting,and did he treat acting more as a hobby than brother Dick Van Dyke did?
Was JVD actually a bit slow-witted? Did JVD stutter in real-life? Did DVD get JVD all of his jobs,ie was JVD a nepotistic Hollywood 'charity-case'?
I honestly have no idea,folks.
JVD is an enigma to me.
This MTM episode just isn't very-good. It is overdone in the wrong spots and I didn't think it was very funny.
This isn't the worst MTM episode by any means,but it isn't particularly good or memorable either. 7/10.
This character/plot idea wouldn't be bad,but the slow-witted/stuttering part of the act is always overdone and overplayed until it gets annoying and old-which is a shame. I have noticed this dynamic in several of the small parts JVD has played-in over the many years,so this show episode is just another 'one of many' examples.
This makes me wonder,what was the real deal with Jerry Van Dyke? Was he cast in silly roles because he was likely to be stuck in his brother's shadow no matter what acting roles he did,anyway?
Was JVD simply less committed to acting,and did he treat acting more as a hobby than brother Dick Van Dyke did?
Was JVD actually a bit slow-witted? Did JVD stutter in real-life? Did DVD get JVD all of his jobs,ie was JVD a nepotistic Hollywood 'charity-case'?
I honestly have no idea,folks.
JVD is an enigma to me.
This MTM episode just isn't very-good. It is overdone in the wrong spots and I didn't think it was very funny.
This isn't the worst MTM episode by any means,but it isn't particularly good or memorable either. 7/10.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
