LOU GRANT REVIEWED
“Lou Grant” has to be the oddest spin-off in American TV history. While the Minneapolis crew in Mary Tyler Moore were far more funny and interpersonal, Lou Grant was serious as hell. Heavy journalism ethics, social commentary and headlines of the day were tackled. It’s really hard to find a modern parallel for the tonal shift, so I’ll make one up. It would be like if “30 Rock” ended and a Jack Donaghy “House of Cards” style show as made. But, nothing was played for laughs.
What’s even stranger is how hugely popular the show was with such changes. While the show only lasted five years, it spent most of that time in the Top 10 highest rated shows in the country. Tearing through the first season episodes, I found something intriguing. Almost everything presented in the material has become the gold standard for the modern TV drama. So much credit gets lobbed on “St. Elsewhere”, but “Lou Grant” had it beat. MTM knew what they were doing.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- New Interview with Ed Asner
A/V QUALITY STATS
- 1.33:1 standard definition transfer
- Dolby Digital 2.0