Ep 6. Father's Day

In this episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, entitled "Father's Day," Mary and her coworkers at the WJM newsroom prepare for a special Father's Day broadcast. In the opening scene, Lou Grant is visibly distracted and preoccupied, leading Mary to suspect that he might be having marital problems with his wife Edie. However, it turns out that Lou is actually dealing with a more personal issue: he hasn't spoken to his grown daughter in years, and the upcoming Father's Day holiday has him feeling particularly down.

Throughout the episode, Mary and the gang try to help Lou reconnect with his daughter, who is now living in California with her husband and two kids. They come up with various plans to lure her back to Minneapolis for a surprise visit, including having a pilot friend of Mary's fly her in on a private plane and cooking up a fake news story that would require her expertise as a journalist.

Meanwhile, Mary is also dealing with her own complicated feelings about fatherhood. Her own father passed away when she was young, leaving her with a sense of loss and longing. When she tries to express this to Lou, he initially dismisses her concerns, saying that she can't possibly understand what it's like to have an adult child you've lost touch with. However, as the episode progresses and Lou's attempts to reach out to his daughter repeatedly fall flat, he begins to realize that Mary's feelings are more valid than he initially gave her credit for.

While the bulk of the episode is focused on Lou's attempts to reconnect with his daughter, the show also makes time for some of its trademark lighthearted moments. In one scene, Ted Baxter tries to impress Mary by showing off his "modern" new apartment, complete with a mirrored ceiling and a giant aquarium filled with plastic fish. In another, Rhoda and Phyllis team up to make homemade ice cream, only to be left with a giant mess in the kitchen after their hand-churned efforts go awry.

Ultimately, Lou is able to reconnect with his daughter in a heartwarming phone call. The episode ends with the WJM news team gathered together to watch their Father's Day special, which features moving interviews with fathers and sons from all walks of life.

Overall, "Father's Day" is a classic episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show that showcases the series' ability to mix comedy and heart in equal measure. Through Lou's struggles with his estranged daughter and Mary's own complex feelings about fatherhood, the episode manages to explore some real emotional depth while still delivering plenty of laughs.