"Beatrice Arthur's Maude, liberal, libertarian and libber, is superb." - Cleveland Amory, TV Guide, December 9, 1972
"Miss Arthur is right up there as a candidate for an Emmy in a role she realizes so naturally that it hardly seems to tax talents ..." - Variety, September 30, 1972 |
From: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
she realizes so naturally that it hardly seems to tax talents ..." - Variety, September 30, 1972
Maude: Complete First Season
Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Iconic and Controversial TV Series Starring Emmy®-Winner Bea Arthur, Adrienne Barbeau, Conrad Bain, Rue McClanahan and Esther Rolle
DVD Debuts March 20 with All 22 Episodes on Three Discs
Culver City, CA (January 8, 2007) - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates the 35th anniversary of Maude, the iconic and controversial TV series, with the March 20 DVD debut of Maude: Complete First Season. Created by producing genius Norman Lear and starring the legendary Bea Arthur (who received five Emmy® nominations for her performance, winning once), the three disc collection features all 22 episodes from the critically acclaimed comedy series' top-rated first season. Also starring Golden Globe®-nominee Adrienne Barbeau (TV's "Carnivale"), Bill Macy (Analyze This), Conrad Bain (TV's "Diff'rent Strokes"), Rue McClanahan (TV's "The Golden Girls"), and Esther Rolle (TV's "Good Times"), the DVD will be available for $29.95 SRP. Bea Arthur (TV's "The Golden Girls") in the character of Maude was originally introduced as Edith's (Jean Stapleton) cousin in two episodes of All in the Family, generating such positive viewer feedback that the network spun her off into her own series. Excluding the common denominator of outspokenness, Maude was the complete opposite of prejudiced, narrow-minded Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor). She was an upper middle class liberal feminist on her fourth husband and willing to speak her mind on any issue. Maude usually got the last word in her many arguments, in the form of her trademark catchphrase, "God'll get you for that."
Lear's penchant for mingling realism and provocative social issues with humor resulted in the series broaching several highly controversial topics, including women's liberation, pornography, political campaigning, race relations, and marijuana laws. By far, the biggest controversy was raised by the two-part episode "Maude's Dilemma," which featured the 47-year-old Maude discovering she's pregnant, and, after much debate, deciding to have an abortion (the first show to ever have the lead character make that decision). While some viewers picketed or protested by phone calls and letters, only two affiliates refused to carry the episodes. By the time the viewer mail was tallied, the network found audience reaction was six to one in favor of the subject matter and the way the topic was resolved.
In addition to Maude, the other characters included her fourth husband, appliance salesman Walter (Bill Macy), her divorced daughter from her first marriage, Carol (Adrienne Barbeau), Carol's son Phillip (Brian Morrison), Walter's best friend and next-door neighbor Arthur (Conrad Bain), and Maude's best friend Vivian (Rue McClanahan). Esther Rolle appeared as Florida, Maude's maid, a character that obtained such popularity with viewers that, like Maude itself, was spun off into its own series, the long-running "Good Times."
Maude premiered as a series on September 12, 1972, and over the course of its six-season, 141-episode run, was nominated for a total of 12 Emmy Awards, as well as eight Golden Globe nominations. By the end of the series' first season, the show was number 4 in the overall ratings and remained a fixture in the top 10 for most of its subsequent run. As its famous theme song pointed out, "And then there was ... Maude."
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