Reports are circulating that Mary and Rhoda may be reuniting in a brand-new TV sitcom.
That's Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern, of course.And, as crazy as that may sound, Mary Tyler Moore herself pretty much confirmed the rumors during a recent appearance on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." Moore told O'Donnell that she's shopping the idea around and that a couple of networks are interested.
If a Mary-and-Rhoda show actually did make it on the air - and there's absolutely no guarantee at this point - it would be all-but unprecedented, bringing back characters who haven't done an original TV episode in 20 and 18 years, respectively. ("Mary Tyler Moore" went off the air in 1977; "Rhoda" left in 1979.")
There have been similar reappearances of TV characters. James Garner turned up in "Bret Maverick" in 1981, 21 years after he left "Maverick." And Gene Barry reappeared in "Burke's Law" in 1995, 19 years after the show's first run ended.
But if Moore and Harper actually pull this off, it would be the first time that a character who was spun off from a show into her own series was reunited with the character she left behind - let alone one she left behind 23 years ago.
("Rhoda" was launched in 1974, just as "Mary Tyler Moore" entered the fifth of its seven seasons.)
There's no title attached, although "Mary & Rhoda: Golden Girls" would seem a possibility, given the fact that both Moore and Harper are both, at least techinically, senior citizens.
Hey, how about bringing back Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) and making it a threesome? Or bringing back Nanette Fabray as Mary's mother, making the parallel to "The Golden Girls" complete?
Or, in a move that would be all but surreal, how about adding Betty White to the cast? White, of course, played Sue Ann Nivens on "Mary Tyler Moore" and Rose Nyland on "The Golden Girls."
Actually, it's exciting to think that we might have Mary and Rhoda back again. And there are whole new generations who love those characters through their exposure in the Nick at Nite lineup.
But let's just hope that if this does come about, they hire really good writers. Nothing would be worse than to bring back Mary and Rhoda in something that would besmirch the memory of those great characters and great shows.
KSL'S CARTER LEAVING: Ray Carter, Ch. 5's news director - or, more properly, vice president of news - is leaving the staion to become news director at station WSB in Atlanta.
It's a definite move up - WSB is a strong station in the nation's fifth-largest TV market. (Salt Lake City is No. 36.) But it leaves KSL searching for a replacement.
By itself, Carter's departure after 3 1/2 years at KSL is no big deal. But in a market noted for its stability in news operations, he's the third local news director to leave his post in just over four months.
In July, Con Psarras left KUTV-Ch. 2 and was replaced by Pat Costello. Tom Sides took over at Ch. 4 only this week, following the ousting of longtime KTVX-Ch. 4 news director John Edwards.
All the change leaves KSTU's Geoff Roth as the dean of local news directors, with two years and three months at Ch. 13 station.