What Makes ‘Mary’ Unique? (Hint: It’s More Than Rhoda)

TV historians praise Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) for being different from other TV women of her time: She’s 30 and unmarried by choice--and she doesn’t mind being alone.

Come on. How tough can that be when your theme song is “Love Is All Around”?

Mary’s colleagues adore her. The guys she goes out with adore her. Kids adore her. Even other women’s boyfriends adore her.

If it weren’t for Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), there would be a little too much love all around. It’s a good thing Mary and Rhoda live in the same building and become friends--after they skirmish over a cute, vacant apartment. Mary, of course, gets the place. How could she not, when her own theme song tells her, “You can have the town, why don’t you take it?” If she’s the kind of woman who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile, isn’t it natural that she’s going to be the one with the better apartment--and the better show?

This week you can compare the early days of each sitcom. Nickelodeon airs the first two episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” tonight and Friday at midnight; the next four are Sunday through Wednesday. TV Land airs a “Rhoda” marathon from 5 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday; the first 10 episodes constitute the first five hours.

Take note of the second “Mary Tyler Moore,” which guest-stars Richard Schaal--Harper’s real-life husband at the time--as an overzealous admirer of . . . Mary. (You had to know it wasn’t going to be Rhoda.)

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” began in 1970 and ran seven years; “Rhoda” premiered in 1974 and lasted four years (Mary wins again).

During those four years, Rhoda has trouble focusing. She marries, divorces, changes jobs, changes friends. But the changes seem less like life than a way to find something that clicks with viewers.

You’ll also find that “Mary” ages better than “Rhoda.” And it won more Emmys (though for the 1974-75 season, Harper beat out Moore for best lead actress in a comedy series).

DETAILS, DETAILS: What Oscar-winning actress played Murray Slaughter’s daughter on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”? Answer next week. Answer to last week’s quiz (Where did “Big Valley” character Eugene go to college--before he disappeared from the show and was never spoken of again?): UC Berkeley.

Set Your VCR

A couple of experts at getting out of trouble join WGN’s weeknight lineup: MacGyver and Ben Matlock. “MacGyver” is on at 8, starting Wednesday; “Matlock,” which begins Monday, airs at 10. Both runs begin with the pilot.

Andy Garcia has come a long way since he played a street tough on the two-hour pilot of “Murder, She Wrote” (Monday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on A&E;), from 1984. A&E;, which is adding the show to its weekday lineup--at 8 a.m., repeating at 2 p.m.--is also having a “Murder, She Wrote” marathon Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What are the chances?: Just as Jack and Janet need a new roommate because Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) is nursing her ailing mom in Fresno (actually a contract dispute), her attractive cousin shows up on “Three’s Company” (Tuesday at 3:30 a.m. on TBS). Cindy Snow (Jenilee Harrison) wouldn’t be Jack and Janet’s last roommate, though.

And David McCallum, best-known as a Russian-speaking agent on “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” is a Frenchman on “Perry Mason” (Friday at noon on KDOC). He’s the defendant in the episode, which originally aired seven months before “U.N.C.L.E.” premiered.