Ep 2. I Am Curious Cooper

Mary Richards is a news producer for the local TV station WJM in Minneapolis. In "I Am Curious Cooper," the second episode of the second season of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Mary has a new intern named Betty Cooper who is very enthusiastic about her new job. Betty's eagerness to please everyone around her, especially her coworkers, makes Mary and the others at the station feel a bit uneasy.

Betty's behavior begins to disturb the work environment at the station as she tries to do too much and oversteps her boundaries. She continuously volunteers for tasks that aren't part of her job and even goes the extra mile to please the people she works with, which ends up causing problems and delays in projects. Mary tries to gently guide Betty, but her eagerness cannot be easily curbed.

Meanwhile, Mary is assigned to produce a segment for the station's "PM Magazine" series about the latest fashion trends. As Mary works to research the latest fashions and track down a fashion expert, she realizes that she doesn't know much about fashion and is not comfortable with the material she has to cover in her segment. Ted Baxter, the anchorman at WJM, offers to help Mary out and teach her a thing or two about fashion.

Ted's fashion sense proves to be less than desirable, and Mary quickly realizes that he might not be the best person to help her with her segment on fashion. Feeling stuck, Mary turns to Lou Grant, the news director at WJM, for help. Together, they brainstorm some ideas and come up with a way to create a segment that is not only on-trend but also interesting for viewers.

As the team works hard to produce the segment, Betty tries to prove herself by volunteering for additional responsibilities. Despite Mary's warnings, Betty oversteps her boundaries by trying to schedule an interview with a fashion designer for the segment, which causes more complications and delays. After a brief argument, Mary takes Betty off the project to prevent any further mistakes and delays in the production.

During her time working on this project, Mary realizes that Betty is just like her when she was an intern, just as eager to please and prove herself to everyone. The experience makes her realize how much she has grown since her days as an intern and how much she has learned over the years.

"I Am Curious Cooper" is an episode that highlights the challenges of working in a fast-paced newsroom while providing the audience with fun, witty dialogue and relatable characters. It emphasizes the importance of boundaries, communication, and teamwork to achieve a common goal while also acknowledging the value of personal growth.