From the Mary Tyler Moore Show episode “Not a Christmas Story” (November 9, 1974). Murray (Gavin MacLeod) has written a new opening for Ted (Ted Knight):
“Good evening. This is Ted Baxter, with news from around the world and around the corner.“But Ted thinks it would be better the other way around:
“Good evening. This is Ted Baxter, with news from around the corner and around the world.“And, of course, an argument follows. Perhaps the show’s writers themselves had disagreed about how the line should go.
Who do you think has it right — Murray, or Ted? Which opening sounds better to you, and why? Anyone teaching a writing class: you might bring this question in and ask your students which and why.
Related reading
All OCA MTM posts (Pinboard)
[The episode is at YouTube. The first scene has the argument, but the line is a subject of discussion as the episode continues.]
comments: 10
I like the former, as long as it's delivered with correct emphasis, as follows:
"Good evening. This is Ted Baxter, with news from around the world — and around the corner."
I think it better highlights the "around the corner," much like how a big-name star may be the last credited actor in the opening credits of a movie or TV show.
Your thoughts?
I’ve gone back and forth, so I want to hear what readers think. I like the emphasis of ending with “around the world,” but there’s more of a twist in ending with “around the corner.”
It seems odd to me that no one reads it with the pause, which would signal a twist.
(I’ve added a link to the episode at YouTube.)
Emphasis: ending with a stressed syllable. Around the corner, around the world.
I'm with Joe. It sounds better to go with world first, pause, and then emphasize the parallel phrase about news closer to home. Starting with news from around the corner seems just sounds wrong to my ear. Not a good reason, I know... I'm trying to come up with an explanation, and not finding one.
Maybe because there’s a change in how “around” works? Spanning the globe vs. turning the corner and seeing what’s happening on the next street?
Canadian comedy legends Wayne and Shuster had a routine about whether it should be “Wayne and Shuster” or “Shuster and Wayne”. Sound- and flow-wise W&S wins out. “World and corner” or “corner and world”? I think the latter flows better. Plus it gives a better chance to use dramatic, and Ted is nothing if not dramatic, pausing “corner ... and world”.
Steven
To my ear "around the world" implies big stories and comprehensive coverage. "Around the corner" implies unseen or unrevealed and/or local. It's interesting how the sentence, in either configuration, when written is somehow different than when spoken.
For me, part of what makes it fun is the possibility that Ted Baxter might be right about something.
Wayne and Shuster: that’s the better choice to my ear. Two trochees: / x / x.
The reason I prefer Murray's version is that this sequence implies that we might learn how news on the global front relates to matters closer to home. But that's just me. [wink]
Murray is winning.
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