Product Details

• Actors: Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Betty White, Ted Knight, Gavin MacLeod
• Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MTM Enterprises
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000B41HCK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,557 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"Chuckles Bites the Dust" is an episode of the television situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show which first aired October 25, 1975. The episode's plot centers on the fictictious WJM-TV staff's humorous reaction to the absurd death of Chuckles the Clown, an often-mentioned but seldom seen character who starred in an eponymously titled show at the station. Chuckles is hired as the grand marshal for a circus parade, after news anchor Ted Baxter is ordered by Lou Grant to turn down the honor. Ted is upset and tries to rally Mary to his side. Mary agrees that Lou was perhaps too hasty in his order, but then tells Ted that Chuckles the Clown had been asked and has accepted the honor as grand marshal. The next day, as Mary and Murray are watching Ted deliver the live newscast, Lou rushes into the newsroom in shock and tells the staff that Chuckles has been killed during the parade. He had dressed as the character Peter Peanut, and a rogue elephant tried to "shell" him, causing fatal injuries. The unusual circumstances of Chuckles' death provoke a wave of jokes, especially by Lou, Sue Ann Nivens, and Murray Slaughter (e.g., "You know how hard it is to stop after just one peanut!" and, "He could've gone as Billy Banana and had a gorilla peel him to death"). Meanwhile, Ted tries his best to ad lib a eulogy for Chuckles, whom he admitted he didn't know very well. Everyone continues their uncontrollable laughter, with the exception of Mary, who is appalled by her co-workers' apparent lack of respect for the deceased. At the funeral, the jokes continue until the services are about to start, at which time a final scolding by Mary encourages all of the attendees to become properly somber. However, Mary alone begins to laugh uncontrollably as the minister recounts Chuckles' comedy characters and comic routines. She tries to stifle her emotions, but simply cannot contain herself during the eulogy. In 1997, this was ranked #1 on TV Guide's "100 Greatest Episodes Of All Time".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Just as described, September 12, 2009

By 

Edwin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mary Tyler Moore Show "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (VHS Tape)

The video tape was rated as "Acceptable" and that's exactly what I got. And I have no qualms about that. I needed to see this episode for a project that was coming up, and I'm glad that I purchased it.