Murray Slaughter’s Slaughter

I enjoy old TV shows, for the sake nostalgia, and for the little cultural gems that can be found in them.

Take for example, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. At the time, it was very much adult comedy, that explored new territory (such as a happily single, unmarried working woman.) But even the salacious, sexual innuendo have a cute quality to them by today’s standards.

But in the episode “Not With My Wife, I Don’t“, the cultural surprise isn’t the sexual jokes, but rather the scene where reporter, Murray Slaughter (played by Gavin MacLeod), returns from researching a gun story, armed to the teeth with machine guns and bandoliers. Even allowing for the idea that the character was sent to do this for the sake of reporting, the light-hearted tone has a different quality to current sensibilities.