Louise Lasser for starring as the neurotic, unhappy housewife Mary Hartman in the serialized satire "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" appearing on the covers of "Newsweek", "People", and "Rolling Stone" during the run of the show. "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" aired five nights a week for two seasons from 1976-1977. In his autobiography, producer Norman Lear says that the casting of Lasser took less than a minute after Charles H. Joffe told him there was only one actress to play the part of Mary Hartman and Lear met the former Mrs. Woody Allen. Lasser refused the role at first. Of the casting process,
When She Was Bad scored a higher 3.1 million household rating. Noel Murray of "The A.V. Club" gave "When She Was Bad" a mixed review. While he praised the opening and closing scenes as well as other smaller moments, he felt that it dealt with the characters' emotions "erratically" and was not positive towards Buffy's attitude and carrying over the Master plotline. A review from the BBC called "When She Was Bad" "another excellent episode", praising its tying up plot threads from the first season and developing the relationships between characters. When She Was Bad "When She Was Bad" is the first episode in