Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
The parody of a soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman debuted in January of 1976, to become the "Bicentennial Soap"—much like Rocky became the Bicentennial movie. But while Rocky hearkened back to a simpler type of hero, Mary Hartman was at oncesimple—the long-suffering successor to radio's "Mary Noble"—yet complex, for her struggles involved dealing with outlandish crises such as a neighborhood mass murder, the "exposure" of her grandfather as the notorious "Fernwood Flasher," and the basketball coach's drowning in a bowl of her chicken soup.
Also, like Rocky, this was the underdog which initially no major network would touch, until producer Norman Lear sold the show to independent stations and produced an unexpected hit which became a cultural phenomenon. The Wall Street Journal deigned it "the funniest show in the history of television."
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman originated in the mind of sitcom producer Norman Lear, who was riding the wave of success with both All in the Family, and its spin-off, Maude, when he bought the rights to an old radio serial, The Bickersons, intending to update and adapt it into a TV sitcom. In the process of development, Lear determined that he wanted to create an unusual hybrid: a straight soap with continuing characters and situations—but one which would simultaneously satirize the medium.
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