and for some of them, mary tyler moore was like a port of entry. >> i'm doing as good a job as he did better. >> better! and i'm being paid less than he was because -- >> you're a woman. >> the television female could be a hero. she could be the main event. >> rita. all right. >> out loud! >> the first script written by allen burns and jim gricks had mary coming to minneapolis divorced. and very quickly cbs says, no, no, no, no, no. >> at the beginning of the decade, divorce was considered somewhat scandalous. >> she went on dates with a lot of guys. >> but the guys were really important. >> we seem to be hitting it off. and i just thought -- >> you just thought? >> she's not obsessed with finding a husband. >> don't forget to take your pill. >> i won't. >> i won't. >> this was about people coping with one another. and the workplace was like a family. >> i told ted to close with the copy for sue ann. >> oh, my god. >> what's wrong? >> i told the projectionist it was the other way around. >> oh, my god. >> local pig farmers served notice today that rising corn prices are forcing them t

>> "the mary tyler moore show" changed everything.y brought a lot of women into the business. >> here you go, ready? action! >> they wanted to make a truthful story about a single woman in her 30s. and i think that jim brooks and allen burns realized that if we want to have the right details, we need to ask women what the stories are here. >> you look different. i like it. >> yeah? >> yeah. i like it back here, too. >> i've got a feeling he's going to kick my tires. >> women are so important in the bigger world of comedy, because our experience is different and there's that much more to mine for humor. >> i don't know what you two are laughing at, but i'll take a chance it's dirty. >> betty white on "mary tyler moore" is one of my favorite characters of all-time. i mean, what a viper. >> wherever did you find a party hat made of skin? >> she was sort of fun to play, because something betty might be shy about doing, she would do in a heartbeat. >> tell me one good thing about me, anything at all. >> you're attractive, very attractive.

. >> look at these old black and white shows where like dick van dyke and mary tyler moore had to sleeps buttoned down. it was very, very different. >> you couldn't say pregnant in sitcoms before. >> lucy had a baby and they could never acknowledge she was pregnant. >> you're bound to be a little cranky in your condition. >> i am not cranky. >> continuing the species, that's filthy, that's dirty. >> start at the toes. >> you got it. >> cable allowed a whole different type of story telling we'd never seen on television. >> creators could push the boundaries in ways they hadn't pushed it in the sex arena. anytime you can push boundaries it allows ways for you to be funny. >> i'm a little concerned about the cholesterol. >> martin? >> right. >> with the rise of hbo, there was a certain amount of freedom that came with not worrying about being politically correct in any way. >> the woman part of sex was different. that was what was freeing about "sex in the city." it was women saying and doing things we hadn't seen them say or do on investigation or in film, talking about lives and sexual m