Mary voices her displeasure to Lou when she finds out that the previous associate producer made $50/week more than she does solely because he was a man, married and had a family to support, despite Mary doing a better job than he ever did. So when Mary disagrees with Lou at a station manager's meeting - Mary agreeing with general manager Jack Stoneham's idea that the news would benefit by a new, more casual and relaxed format - Lou thinks Mary is just saying it to prove she has a mind of her own and is worth $50/week more. Mary takes over running the new format, which includes a new set, new blazers but more importantly co-anchors. Mary sells Lou on the idea that Gordy would make a perfect second anchor, as he is warm, funny and bright, everything that Ted is not. In rehearsals, it becomes evident that Ted is the thankless straight man to Gordy's funny guy, evident to everyone except Ted. When Ted learns what his role is in the pairing, Ted does whatever he can to prove that he too ... Written by Huggo

Mary is nervous about an upcoming interview she has with newspaper columnist Mark Williams, who has asked her for the interview since she is sole female working in a position of authority in the newsroom. Her nerves are solely about representing herself and the newsroom well, until everyone tells her that he hates everything associated with television, and he uses his position primarily to increase his social standing. Because of Mark's reputation, Lou would rather Mary not do the interview, but feels it is too late for her to back out. And Ted, despite Mark's reputation, does whatever he can to make himself the focus of the article. Without yet having seen the printed article, Mary, who likes Mark as a person, agrees to go out with him. The article, which doesn't turn out quite the way she had hoped, may make her change her mind about the date, especially after an unexpected move by Mark which totally baffles her. Written by Huggo

Despite the increase in pay, Lou isn't too happy about his promotion as the station's new Program Manager, as it is a job he will have to work hard at to succeed. He's also not happy about naming his News Director successor. When she learns that Lou plans on promoting within, Mary initially states she doesn't want the job despite Lou not having offered it to her. But after some reconsideration, Mary decides she does want the job, but finds out that Lou has given the job to Murray instead. Mary quietly fumes about not getting the job in large part because she's a woman, and about her increase in workload anyway as Murray gets adjusted to his new position. But the dynamic in the news room may change based on Murray and Mary's individual wants as well as the whims of the new Program Manager. Written by Huggo

Rhoda's parents, Martin and Ida Morgenstern, are in Minneapolis for a visit. This visit marks the first time Mary meets Mr. Morgenstern, who she immediately likes. Ida is afraid that Mary's reaction is the reaction that all other women have to Martin, who she thinks is having an affair. As such, she thinks their marriage is on the rocks, despite Martin having no idea that Ida feels that way. So he is totally surprised when Ida walks out on him. From Ida's perspective, she wants Martin to be happy and she thinks that means him being free to pursue other women. Both Rhoda and Mary are caught in the middle of the marital crisis between Martin and Ida, although sometimes Ida and Martin wish Mary wasn't there, even though they want to have their discussion in her apartment. Can Martin and Ida come to the same understanding about the status of their marriage? Written by Huggo

A blizzard is sweeping through Minneapolis, which means that Lou can't take his trip to sunny, warm Las Vegas. As it was supposed to be a boys' gambling weekend away, Lou is talked instead into a gathering of boys at the station to play poker. Murray initially doesn't want to play, but decides at the last minute to join when he learns that one of the players is novice Ted, whose money is too enticing to pass up. Mary later finds out from Marie that Murray is a compulsive gambler who can't stop once he starts. So Mary has to go down to the station to stop Murray from playing without divulging the reason why to any of the other players. Murray's reemerging gambling compulsion and the money involved by association becomes just as big an issue for Mary. Written by Huggo

Using the Calorie Counters program with fellow weight-loss colleague Murray, Rhoda has managed to achieve her goal weight which is twenty pounds lighter than when she started. Despite looking great which everyone - including Phyllis - tells her, Rhoda's unable to celebrate her weight loss, as she feels she no longer has her weight to hide behind as the issue for whatever her problems in life. Even when Rhoda is chosen as one of the 10 semifinalists for Hempel's Department Store's Fabulous Ms. Hempel beauty pageant for store employees, Rhoda goes to extremes to be self-deprecating about her looks. Her self-deprecation is strengthened when she's announced as one of the 5 finalists. Rhoda's reaction to Mary and Phyllis about the pageant causes some surprises amongst her friends, until... Written by Huggo

Instead of hearing the news directly from her parents, Mary learns by reading the newspaper that her father, Walter Richards, a renowned surgeon, has retired. In actually speaking to her mother, Dottie Richards, on the phone to get more news about the retirement, Mary further learns that her parents have decided to move from their small hometown of Roseburg to Minneapolis. Mary is initially excited by the news, but after Walter and Dottie spend a week in Minneapolis, Mary thinks that her parents moving so close to her is too much of a good thing. That is why Mary is dismayed to learn that the apartment they've rented in just around the corner from hers. With them constantly telephoning and coming over, Mary feels like they're treating her like a child. The last straw for Mary is the telephone calls checking up on her - she assumes from her mother - then hanging up without saying a word. After Mary finds out exactly what's going on in her parents' minds, they have to come to an ... Written by Huggo

Mary is dating Wes Callison, the writer for Chuckles the Clown's show. The job is less than ideal for Wes as beyond Chuckles being a tyrannical boss, Wes really wants to be a performer, more specifically a stand-up comedian. After one temper tantrum too many by Chuckles, Wes quits. Mary believes Wes would be perfect to write and host a five minute segment on the news on the lighter side of life. Lou agrees to let Wes tape a test spot. After viewing the spot which Mary loves, Lou believes Wes' whimsical brand of humor isn't what the show needs. Lou leaves it to Mary to break the bad news to Wes. Following, Wes gets a job doing stand-up at the Melody Lounge, which he fails to mention is in a bowling alley. He invites the gang from the newsroom to his opening night as he wants a supportive crowd. Mary feels Wes' success or failure almost as much as Wes himself, to which Lou can attest. Regardless of Wes' success or failure, he will at least have had a chance to see if his dream of being ... Written by Huggo

Ted refuses to sign his standard new contract as he wants a raise, which irks not only Lou, but also Mary and Murray, the latter who is already angry at what Ted makes compared to him. Ted even tries to bribe Mary to talk to Lou on his behalf. But when Ted brings in his new agent, an elderly and seemingly sweet woman named Bella Swan, to discuss the contract with Lou, Lou agrees to the one demand Bella has: to remove the non-exclusivity clause from the contract so Ted is able to pursue other work in the entertainment field, such as, 'movies and Broadway'. Lou, Mary and Murray have a good laugh about Ted's potential (or lack thereof), for work in these fields. But Ted and Bella may have the last laugh, when Ted does pursue other entertainment-themed work, namely in local television commercials, where Ted's soon appearing in commercials no dignified news anchor should do. The last straw for Lou, is when one of these commercials airs during the newscast. Lou, feeling behind the 8-ball, ... Written by Huggo

Mary believes that her long time friends, Jack and Linda Foster, are the perfect married couple. It thus comes as a shock to her when she learns from Jack that he and Linda are separating. As Mary goes out with Jack to console him about his new found separated status, Rhoda believes that the get-togethers are a pretense for Jack actually dating Mary, which makes Mary feel uncomfortable. But when Mary finally comes to the realization that she is attracted to Jack and that Jack in turn is attracted to her and is indeed looking to date her, Mary has one last hurdle to overcome before she will allow herself to be officially Jack Foster's girlfriend. Meanwhile, Rhoda is going through a relationship issue of her own, which is dragging out longer than she originally planned. And Ted sports a new look. Written by Huggo

Three weeks into her parent's move to Minneapolis, Mary notices that her mother, Dottie, is adjusting to life in the big city, but that her father, Walter, is not adjusting not only to life in the big city but not adjusting to his life as a retired surgeon. He has yet to make any friends and is doing things out of the ordinary just to keep busy. Mary thinks that things will change once he does meet some people he can call his own friends, and she tries to help that process along. But after a somewhat disastrous lunch with her two favorite men in the world - Walter and Lou - Mary thinks that before her father should meet new people, she should become a better friend to him. Written by Huggo

Phyllis is so excited about Bess dating a young man named William Campbell, that she wants Mary to meet him. William takes Mary up on her offer to come to the newsroom to do a story about the newsroom for the school newspaper. But William seems more interested in Mary than in the newsroom. Mary realizes that he is interested in her, but doesn't realize how much until he breaks it off with Bess because of them. Mary doesn't know what to do as she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. Mary hopes that she can straighten out the situation when she agrees to have lunch with William at a romantic French restaurant, but it may be difficult to convince a stubborn William that things can't work between them. Written by Huggo

Lou is going into the hospital for minor surgery - to have some war shrapnel removed - which he doesn't want anyone to know about, since he doesn't want anyone to make a fuss. But Mary, Murray and Ted do eventually find out. During Lou's hospitalization, he appoints Mary to be in charge. This appointment eventually places a strain on the friendship between Mary and Murray as Mary, in her new responsibility, starts to edit his copy. While Mary and Murray's friendship disintegrates, Ted and Lou becomes best friends as Ted seems to be a caring, thoughtful person in helping Lou through his hospital stay. Their new friendship extends to their professional relationship once Lou returns to work, he who doesn't want everyone to always blame Ted for all the on-air mistakes. Are both Mary and Murray, and Lou and Ted's new relationships permanent? Written by Huggo

Despite it being a good professional move, Mary is unbelieving that Rhoda has accepted a job at Bloomingdale's in New York City. Mary doesn't believe that Rhoda would give up her Minneapolis life just for a job. Even as Rhoda prepares for the move including packing and letting Phyllis show her apartment (including to one person who Mary does not relish thinking about as a potential neighbor), Mary doesn't believe it's going to happen and that Rhoda will eventually change her mind. But as Mary takes Rhoda on a bon voyage dinner the day before she is scheduled to leave, Mary comes to the true realization that Rhoda may actually be leaving. So when Rhoda makes an announcement mid dinner, Mary has to figure out what to do about what will be happening at her apartment later that evening. Meanwhile, Ted thinks he's met a woman who likes him and who he likes in return. He therefore gets quite a surprise at the end of their meeting. Written by Huggo

Mary runs into her old journalism teacher and one time boyfriend, Dan Whitfield. She is happy to see him in a somewhat romantic way until she learns that he is engaged, with his fiancée, Judy Conrad, being the woman standing right behind her. Regardless, Dan invites Mary and Rhoda to their engagement party. Mary isn't sure why she ends up going, but upon her and Rhoda's arrival, it is obvious that Judy doesn't want her there and that Judy and Dan have been fighting about her. Mary ends up being the reason for Judy and Dan breaking up. In turn, Dan and Mary start dating again. Everything between them is moving very quickly, with Mary believing that Dan is soon going to ask her to marry him. Although she thinks she loves Dan and loves him more than any man she has ever known, she gets the feeling that he's more in love with the idea of being in love than he is with her. If that is indeed the case, Mary and Dan have to figure out if there is any future for them at all. Written by Huggo

During a dinner break in a late working night, Lou takes Mary to his favorite hangout, an Irish bar called McCluskey's. The bar just isn't the same since the death of its owner, McCluskey. Since it's for sale and since Lou mentions that he's always dreamed of owning a bar, Mary convinces him that he should buy it. He's $1,500 short of the $10,000 down payment. He reluctantly accepts the offer of the only person who can make up the difference: Ted. Beyond Ted being a not so silent partner who wants to nickel and dime his way to a fortune, Lou finds that owning a bar isn't what he thought, and it just isn't pulling in the patrons like it used to. Lou quickly learns that what made McCluskey's successful was McCluskey, a real people person. So Lou tries to transform himself into a McCluskey. But not being a McCluskey by nature, Lou goes slightly overboard. Written by Huggo

Phyllis' brother, Ben Sutherland, is coming to town. Phyllis, who adores him, wants him and Mary to meet so that they will start dating each other and get married. It's love at first sight... for Phyllis, who upon seeing the two together for the first time believes even more strongly that they are meant for each other. But Phyllis' pressure becomes too overwhelming for Mary to even know if there is an attraction. No such pressure exists when Rhoda enters Mary's apartment when Ben is there, Rhoda who is immediately attracted to him despite their difference in interests. Rhoda and Ben start spending all their time together while he's in town. Phyllis is appalled, and Rhoda, who knows Phyllis is appalled, can't help but pour salt in Phyllis' wound. Are Rhoda and Phyllis destined to be in-laws? The unfortunate recipient of Phyllis' ill feelings is Mary's lavish once a year party. Written by Huggo

Ted and Georgette's relationship looks like it's at a serious stage. However, Ted treats her poorly - making her do his laundry and often putting her off - as if he's taking her for granted. Mary and Rhoda don't like how he's treating her, and decide that they will try and set Georgette up with other men. Ted is upset about what Mary is doing to him, he who has an unexpected supporter. Regardless, Mary won't back down. But much to Mary's dismay, Georgette seems always to go back to Ted despite how he treats her. After Mary sees the aftermath of a date she set up for Georgette with a friend, Mary comes to the conclusion that the problem may not be all Ted's fault. Perhaps what Georgette needs is not to be set up with another man, but to gain a little confidence in herself as a nice person who's worth caring for. Written by Huggo

Rhoda sets Mary up on a blind date, the two who are to double date with Rhoda and her date, Lowell. Mary's blind date is Warren Sturges, Lowell's friend. Because of that fact, Rhoda knows that both she and Mary will have a terrible time because Lowell mentions that Warren is just like him. Rhoda fails to tell Mary that Lowell, and by association, Warren is boorish, until just before their arrival for the date. By the end of the evening, Mary tells Warren in no uncertain terms that there is no future for them. However, Warren has the exact opposite reaction: he has fallen in love with her. Warren pulls one crazy stunt after another to win Mary's heart, but Mary is too afraid to confront him in fear of making a scene. So when Warren's stunts suddenly stop, Mary lies and waits for what she believes will be the big doozy stunt of all stunts. Written by Huggo

The station's latest program director, to who Lou reports, has just been fired. Lou is nonplussed about the news as a program director is a program director, to who he pays little attention regardless. Mary thinks that he'll not think quite that way when she learns that the new program director is a woman, Barbara Coleman. Lou doesn't give Mary the satisfaction of seeing him uncomfortable by the news. As two female executives, Barbara and Mary bond. That's why Barbara feels comfortable enough in telling Mary that she's fallen in love with Lou despite the fact that he's married. As such, Mary feels like she needs to be Barbara and Lou's chaperon to make sure nothing happens between them, but if something does happen, she doesn't want to know. Being the person in the middle, Mary however does become Lou's confidante as well. Written by Huggo

Chris Matthews, a local Minneapolis reporter, has made good by winning the Pulitzer Prize. Everyone seems happy for Chris, except Murray, who is depressed, although he can't put into words what's bothering him. As he starts to discuss the issue with Mary and Lou, Murray comes to the realization that Chris' success, he who was a classmate of Murray's, is just the tip of the iceberg in feeling like his life is nowhere near what he envisioned it would be when he was just starting out. The troubled thoughts about his current lot in life include not only work but also the state of his marriage despite loving Marie. Lou tries to help him by giving him some on-air duties, which doesn't seem to help. This midlife crisis may ultimately be something that Murray has to work out for himself. Meanwhile, Mary is having a good laugh as she does a personal side job for Ted: transcribing his memoirs. Written by Huggo

Mary receives a telephone call from Tom Vernon, an old flame who is in town for a short visit. Mary has mixed feelings about Tom's call: she was in love with him and still may very well be, but was always frustrated in their relationship as he didn't seem to be there for her as much as she wanted which left her angry after their dates, but pining for his calls after that anger subsided. After to-ing and fro-ing, Mary decides to see Tom. Their reunion brings back all those old feelings, both the good and bad which haven't changed. Conversely, Tom still too seems to be in love with her. But if things haven't changed, Mary has to decide if they have any future. Meanwhile, Ted has a business trip to Washington D.C., where he expects to be able to interview the President. Written by Huggo

The Teddy Awards are upcoming, and Mary is nominated. Beyond the nomination, Mary doesn't seem to be having a very good time for the few days leading up to the awards ceremony as she runs into a string of bad luck. By the time the awards ceremony arrives, she's in no shape to attend. Despite the continuing trouble she has even getting ready for the ceremony, she decides to attend anyway. In her rough shape (and looking like she is in rough shape), will she want to win to let all the important people in the Twin Cities media see her? Written by Huggo

Mary dreams about buying a new car - a convertible - but since her old car is still running perfectly fine, she decides against it. So Rhoda is not averse to asking Mary to borrow some of the money Mary would have used to buy said car - $995 - for a business venture: to open a plant store. After Mary sees what a green thumb Rhoda has, Mary agrees. Rhoda vows to return the money within five weeks. Mary starts to get worried about the amount when Rhoda increases the amount requested by $300. Beyond problems of getting the money out of her term savings account, Mary becomes concerned about getting her money back as she has not seen a dime six and a half weeks later, despite Rhoda implying the store is doing booming business. What's worse for Mary is when she sees that Rhoda has bought herself a whole new wardrobe, and when Rhoda tells her that her car isn't running well after she borrows it, which may mean that Mary has to buy the convertible after all. Mary has to decide if she'll ... Written by Huggo