Ted Baxter
Ted Baxter | |
---|---|
First appearance | " Georgette Franklin Baxter |
Children | David (son) Mary Lou (daughter) |
Ted Baxter is a fictional character on the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977). Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish, vacuous TV personality. Knight's comedic model was actor William Powell, and he also drew on Los Angeles newscasters, including George Putnam, to shape the character.[1] The role was originally conceived for Jack Cassidy, but Cassidy turned it down; he later appears in the season two episode "Cover Boy" as Ted's equally egocentric brother Hal.[2] Ted Baxter has become a symbolic figure often referenced when criticizing media figures, particularly news anchors hired for style and appearance rather than journalistic ability.[3]
Character
Ted Baxter is the pompous and narcissistic nitwit anchorman at fictitious station WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Satirizing the affectations of news anchormen, the character speaks in a vocal fry register parody of the narrator of the Movietone News film reels shown in movie houses before the television era. While his narcissism fuels his delusions of grandeur, Baxter's onscreen performance is buffoonish. The character's incompetence is a running joke on Mary Tyler Moore, characterized by a steady stream of mispronunciations, malapropisms, and miscues. In constant fear of being fired, Baxter is, ironically, the only survivor of massive station layoffs in the series' final episode.[4]
In the show's early seasons, Knight plays the character broadly for comic effect; he's a simpleton who mispronounces even the easiest words on camera. Knight gradually grew concerned that the show's writers were abusing the character and considered leaving the MTM cast. In response, the writers rounded out Knight's character, pairing him with love interest and eventual wife Georgette, played by Georgia Engel, who brings out some of Baxter's more lovable characteristics. [5]
Reception
Knight earned two
Allusions
In popular culture
Recurring anchorman character
See also
References
- ^ O'Halloren, Bill (January 3, 1981). "Ted Knight...Too Close for Comfort". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09..
- ISBN 0-446-39531-5.
- ERICEJ470266.
- ISBN 0-7914-6569-1.
- ^ Andrew Szym (2000). "Georgia Engel: Georgette Franklin Baxter". Mary Tyler Moore Show. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (1980-11-03). "Television: The Bodies in Question". Time. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Characters". Bravo. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ Stephanie Woo (December 2004). "The Scoop on The Simpsons: Journalism in U.S. Television's Longest Running Prime-Time Animated Series" (PDF). Ijpc.org. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ Chris Kaltenbach (July 16, 2004). "The legend of Ted Baxter - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ Wells, John (September 2016). "Bullies and Blowhards of the DC Bronze Age". Back Issue! (91). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 16–18.
- ^ Virtel, Louis. "5 Things I Loved (!) About Last Night's "The Newsroom"". Afterelton.