A longtime favorite episode of the series. Everybody contributes to the laughs, and there are so many of them! Like giggling at Chuckles' funeral, it seems inappropriate to laugh at Mary getting burglarized--twice!--but it's just hilarious.
All the elements that make the series special are here, from Mary's plaintive cry of help, to Rhoda's call to the police, to Phyllis' rivalry with Rhoda. At the office, everyone gets good lines and the camaraderie among them was strengthened by everyone pitching in to help Mary (even Ted with a manual ice-crusher).
Every line in the episode was a winner except for the forced and awkward scene where Phyllis pathetically tries to coerce Mary into coming to Lars' SCARD meeting. That fell flat with a thud. Another misstep was the dangling plot thread of Mary's aunt coming into town that served no real purpose in the plot and set the audience up for a never-delivered payoff.
The breakout star in this episode was Bob Dishy as Officer Tully, the number two cop who's trying harder. Why didn't this affable and abundantly talented actor enjoy greater success? He struck a perfect balance between being overeager without ever becoming a buffoon. He was sincere and somebody I thought could be a serious romance for Mary. I loved how Rhoda called him a coward after he chickened out from putting his comforting arms around Mary. He coulda been a contender, but alas, it was not to be.
Also excellent was Vic Tayback, playing a good guy for a change, albeit a gruff one (paving the way to playing Mel on ALICE). I loved the scene where these two cops step aside for some petty squabbling. You sure didn't see that on ADAM 12! And speaking of Seventies cop shows, every time I enjoy this episode I think of how Dishy would have been a wonderful addition to the cast of BARNEY MILLER, where Wojo took up Dishy's indefatigable drive to make detective. Dishy never returned to MTM, but he did the next year play a strikingly similar character on an early episode of COLUMBO, "The Greenhouse Jungle."
"Second Story Story" is an all-around excellent episode featuring the entire ensemble cast, a pair of standout guest stars, and Burt Mustin to boot! Not even twenty episodes in and the series was already steady on its feet and building its reputation as a classic.
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