YouTube Spotlight for Season 10-3 Maude: Spectacular TV theme song tribute at the 1985 Emmys

Remember that the Emmy Awards broadcast was not just a way to celebrate The Mary Tyler Moore Show each year. It was supposed to be an entertaining television production in its own right. Many times, one way or another, it succeeded. There was a time when the Emmys weren't afraid to be brassier, bolder, and campier than the average piece of network programming. Case in point: This jaw-dropping presentation from the 1985 ceremony:

Mike and I could do an entire bonus episode on this segment (don't think we will rule it out), but for today, here are some of my favorite parts:

*There's Maude! She's just walking across the stage and barely singing, but she's there!

*Who is your favorite non-singer? Is it Ed Asner, who just seems to want to get it over with?

*Or is it Gabe Kaplan, who looks stuck in the ambiguous region between "this is a bit" and "I really don't know what I'm doing here." I can't decide if his expression is supposed to say he's in on some joke (He IS the first non-singer in the medley) or if he has genuine discomfort.

*How about Redd Foxx, who I can't help but think is struggling against every fiber of his being in an effort to keep himself from blurting out a dirty joke.

*Then you have the "really into it" brigade headed by the likes of Linda Lavin and Loretta Swit!

*I think maybe my personal favorite is the charming appearance of Dick Van Dyke.

The whole thing is a glorious piece of TV history climaxing in a bunch of stars standing on stage despite not being part of the medley. What are they all doing there? I would love to see Tony Danza, for example, singing the theme from Taxi. Maybe they saved that moment for the 1986 Emmys.