The Mary Tyler Moore Show

At the end, when Mary is looking at the picture that Bess did in art and gushing over how beautiful it is and all the color in it, you can see through the back of the paper that it is a giant drawing of a clown's face.

In this episode, the interior of Phyllis' apartment is shown for the first time.

Lou Grant comes across as out-of-character in this episode by seeming less devoted to his wife and more obsessive about leering as he comments on woman after woman who applies for a job. This episode portrays him more as a male chauvinist, which is not why audiences love him.

We learn in this episode that Ted has been working for WJM News for four years.

When Ted goes over to the coffee maker, he picks up a standard, unmarked cup. However, when the camera angle changes, it turns into a personalized mug that says "TED".

We find out in this episode that Mary graduated from high school in 1959.

Ted mentions to Mary that his parents would only buy one of each toy and that he & Hal had to compete for it. But in the Episode #78 "Father's Day", we learn that Ted's father abandoned Ted as an infant, so shouldn't Ted have said parent??

Goof: The camera shows what is supposed to be the outside of Rhoda's apartment within the Victorian where she and Mary live, before panning inside to Mary and Rhoda. owever, from the inside, the leaves on the trees outside are red and orange, while the ones outside are green. Also, the position of the branches do not line up from outside versus inside.

Goof: In the second-to-last scene, when Bess is talking to Mary but facing the camera, a crew member's shadow passes very visibly over the armchair on which Bess is leaning.

Mary's apartment is slightly altered in appearance from the previous season. In addition to minor changes in furniture, there is an extra set of carpeted steps in the middle of the low shelves that separate the upper level from the sunken living room.

A new version of "Love is All Around" debuts with this episode and will be used for the remainder of the series' run.

According to this episode, Bess is in the 8th grade and has a boyfriend.

Pat Finley, who played Twinks in this episode, also played Sparkie earlier this season in "Divorce Isn't Everything".

This episode marks the first, but not the last, of Lou's marital woes coming in part because of his wife Edie's need for fulfillment and accomplishment in life, particularly as empty nest syndrome settles in.

Continuity Goof: According to this episode, Marie Slaughter is 7 months pregnant. But in "Just a Lunch," which aired only 2 weeks earlier, Marie is not pregnant.

Mary reveals in this episode that she lives four hours from her mother's house.

This episode features the famous shot of Mary hugging Lou, Murray, and Ted, accidentally crushing Ted's hat. It was featured on the opening credits starting with Season 2. This scene was updated and re-filmed for the credits starting with season four.

It is revealed in this episode that Mary's annual income the year prior was $8,000. That would have been roughly the median for women in 1970, depending on age and demographics.

This is the first MTM episode where the closing credits roll on top of an actual scene (Ted's acceptance speech in the middle of the newsroom as everyone rolls their eyes and walk away). This would eventually become standard sitcom practice two decades later, employed by Roseanne, The Drew Carey Show, Ellen, etc.

The "Tinker Award" that Lou gives to the newsroom staff at the end of the episode was presumably named after Grant Tinker, the head of MTM Enterprises and who was at the time Mary Tyler Moore's husband.