Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - The Complete Series Coming from Shout! Dec. 2013 (1 Viewer)

[streeter]

There are indeed some great guest stars, many of which I wasn't expecting. Michael Keaton, Sid Haig, Harry Dean Stanton, Elsie Downey, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley Jr, James Cromwell, etc...

Not all of the Mary story lines interest me that much - it's hit and miss. I think the Haggers are more consistently funny and interesting compared to the Hartmans. Again, since we'll probably never see it, if anyone has recollections of Forever Fernwood, I'd love to read them. There is so little information to be found.

 

[chas speed]

I finished the set last November and loved it. I remember seeing one episode of Forever Fernwood on Nick at Night. I think the series could have worked, but they just changed the show too much. The pilot for Forever Fernwood didn't even have one of the old sets from the original series.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

I've watched up to disc 22 and have watched episodes up to the Christmas episode. I'm thrilled the character of Mary Hartman isn't having a breakdown so much any more. I love seeing her more in control. as with soap operas some storylines really drag out. i can only imagine how crazy this show seemed when it first aired. When I tell friends about what is going on with the stories once I say it out loud I can't only laugh because then it sounds really insane. I recently watched the original pilot of The Bob Newhart Show that is on the bonus disc of the Shout Complete series box set and Louise Lasser made an appearance and it was shocking to me seeing her out of the wig and as a differbt character. At times it is hard for me to separate Louise from Mary so when I read a story that Louise at first said she didn't want to play Mary etc I could see why but she certainly created an iconic TV character. I still need to see the early films she made with Woody Allen.

 

[JohnMor]

I've watched up to disc 22 and have watched episodes up to the Christmas episode. I'm thrilled the character of Mary Hartman isn't having a breakdown so much any more. I love seeing her more in control. as with soap operas some storylines really drag out. i can only imagine how crazy this show seemed when it first aired. When I tell friends about what is going on with the stories once I say it out loud I can't only laugh because then it sounds really insane.I recently watched the original pilot of The Bob Newhart Show that is on the bonus disc of the Shout Complete series box set and Louise Lasser made an appearance and it was shocking to me seeing her out of the wig and as a differbt character. At times it is hard for me to separate Louise from Mary so when I read a story that Louise at first said she didn't want to play Mary etc I could see why but she certainly created an iconic TV character. I still need to see the early films she made with Woody Allen.

Jack, Louise was also in a great episode from season three of The Mary Tyler Moore Show where she played a bank officer keeping Mary from withdrawing her savings account. She was great.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

Thanks John will have to break out that episode!

 

[classicmovieguy]

And don't forget, Louise Lasser later reunited with MH player Marian Mercer (Wanda Rittenhouse-Jeeter) in the second season of "It's a Living".

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

I'm at Episode 233 And the whole Glorious Guardians of Good and honestly they are losing me lol WOW talk about a show jumping the shark! Hopefully it turns out to be interesting or passes very quickly. Aside from that bizare club I am enjoying the episodes. I like how Mary is very much control of herself while others seem to be having the issues.

 

[Lecagr]

I bought the Mary Hartman DVD set soon after it was released, great job by Shout Factory although two episodes are edited, #174 and #204 are not complete episodes. Mary Hartman is a bizarre show, probably the most bizarre show Norman Lear created. To me though, the first season, episodes 1 to 130, is much better than the second season, episodes 131 to 325. The difference is in the writing. The first season has top notch writing, the episodes flow along one after the other and keeps you interested in what's going on. In the second season, different writers must have taken over because the writing takes a nosedive, the series becomes even more bizarre and less interesting. The second season starts off dull with Mary in the loony bin, this goes on for several episodes until she finally gets out, as the season goes along it does have it's moments but overall never really gets on track. Ratings of the show were declining during the 2nd season, I believe some TV markets didn't stay with the series till seasons end, pulling it from the schedule because of low ratings. Sgt. Foley returned towards the end of season 2 and was back on the show for the last 50 episodes or so, but it was too little too late.

This is probably a longshot to get released, but I would like to see Shout Factory release on DVD the complete series of Forever Fernwood. The writing in this show was better, more on a par with Mary Hartman's first season.

 

[Mark Tay]

I did just come across a cut episode from season 2 episode 174. It comes in at around 17 minutes. I'm still thrilled with the Mary Hartman set, but would love to know why this episode was cut.

Shout Factory cut out a 5 minute scene that takes place in a bar with Johnny Cash music playing in the background. Music licensing fees prevented the inclusion of this scene.

 

[Lecagr]

Shout Factory cut out a 5 minute scene that takes place in a bar with Johnny Cash music playing in the background. Music licensing fees prevented the inclusion of this scene.

I can only imagine that it was too cost prohibitive to clear the Johnny Cash music so the scene was deleted from the DVD. There's also a scene deleted in episode 204 but I don't know why, probably again due to some music that couldn't be cleared.

I would like to see the complete uncut versions of episodes 174 and 204. I love the DVD set but the two edited episodes annoy me.

 

[streeter]

When I played the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman board game with Tom and Mary Hartman last year, I asked Greg Mulavey about some of the storylines of Forever Fernwood because I haven’t been able to see a single episode. He mentioned one plot line that involved him making a big Mary Hartman doll because he missed Mary.
Unlike the two other MH follow up series, Forever Fernwood is a show that you can’t find anywhere. Even the Paley Center doesn’t have a single episode.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

Thanks for sharing, Michael.

With all of the obscure things that show up on YouTube, I've been surprised not to see even a couple of episodes of Forever Fernwood turn up at some point. I have the 1st episode, which TV Land aired once during a special night of programming years ago when the channel was still worth watching, but that's all I've seen. I'd hoped Shout Factory would release it, but it probably would have been best to put it out within a year of the MH release when there would have been the most interest, with buyers of the MH set wanting to see the continuation. At this point I doubt anything will ever be done with the series. Tom creating a Mary doll sounds hilarious and wonderfully twisted.

Had no idea there was an MH board game.

 

[Lecagr]

The only Forever Fernwood video that I currently find on You Tube is the closing credits for one episode, recorded in 1977 from WFLD TV Chicago. The music playing as the credits roll is the same theme from Mary Hartman, so they must have retained the theme music from Mary Hartman and used it for Forever Fernwood also.



If Shout Factory was going to release Forever Fernwood on DVD, I agree they probably would have done it within a year or so after the Mary Hartman set came out. But I won't give up hope completely, would be awesome if Shout Factory would release it because I really want to see this series.

 

[Lecagr]

View attachment 48766

When I played the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman board game with Tom and Mary Hartman last year, I asked Greg Mulavey about some of the storylines of Forever Fernwood because I haven’t been able to see a single episode. He mentioned one plot line that involved him making a big Mary Hartman doll because he missed Mary.
Unlike the two other MH follow up series, Forever Fernwood is a show that you can’t find anywhere. Even the Paley Center doesn’t have a single episode.

Awesome photo, it's cool that you spent some time with Louise and Greg, also cool that they appear to be friends and still spend some time together. I didn't know there is a Mary Hartman board game, that is awesome as well.

I hope there isn't a problem with the Forever Fernwood episodes, hopefully all the episodes exist and are in good shape. Shout Factory really should release this series on DVD since they released Mary Hartman. I'm still holding out hope that we'll eventually get Forever Fernwood on DVD.

 

[Lecagr]

One thing that I remember from Forever Fernwood is Shelley Fabares joining the cast as replacement for Louise Lasser. Shelley played the role of Eleanor Major, new love interest for Tom. Some of what went on in the episodes dealt with the Tom/Eleanor relationship. Orson Bean was in the series too, playing the role of a reverend. Other than that I don't recall any specific story or plot lines of the episodes, I just remember the writing being improved compared to Mary Hartman's 2nd season.

Forever Fernwood has 130 episodes, so if Shout Factory would release a DVD set, it could be a 13 disc set with 10 episodes on each disc. Sounds do-able to me as long as there isn't a problem with any episodes and they're all in good shape.

So come on Shout Factory, let's get this done, bring Forever Fernwood out of the darkness and release it on DVD.

 

[Lecagr]

Wikipedia has an article about Mary Hartman and it mentions Forever Fernwood. The article says that in Forever Fernwood's final episode, Tom marries Eleanor's sister Penny. While I don't remember this, I seem to recall now that in earlier episodes of Forever Fernwood, Tom has a relationship with Eleanor but in later episodes he develops a fondness for Penny. So if that's how the series ends, with Tom finding a new wife, I would say it was a fitting and appropriate ending.

If a DVD set would be released, other things would be found out such as what becomes of Charlie and Loretta Haggers.

 

[Mark Tay]

I believe this is the synopsis for the final week of Forever Fernwood:

Week 26 (March 27 1978 to Mar 31 1978)
From Soap Opera Scene by Steven H. Schueuer (Winnipeg Free Press):
Penny is finally secure with Tom and agrees to marriage. Battling for Martha, Mel also tangles with George’s ghost. Merle comes to his senses and realizes he needs Wanda. Loretta and Charlie have quintuplets.

 

[Lecagr]

So Charlie and Loretta had quintuplets? LOL, that is funny but it sounds like an appropriate ending for them. I hope Loretta went on to make millions as a country singer because it requires money to raise five kids.

In the Wikipedia article, it also mentions that Mary's sister Cathy ends up married to a gangster. That sounds appropriate for her too.

 

[Jerry Horne]

The first episode of 'Forever Fernwood' is on YouTube:

 

[bmasters9]

Unlike the two other MH follow up series, Forever Fernwood is a show that you can’t find anywhere. Even the Paley Center doesn’t have a single episode.

Why would Forever Fernwood be MIA?