Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Forgotten TV: MAD ABOUT YOU





MAD ABOUT YOU was on television for seven years from 1992-99. It concerned the marriage of a young couple played by Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser. He was a documentary film-make and she a publicist. Also featuring large in the stories was her sister played by Anne Ramsay, Jamie's business partner played by Leila Kenzle, and Paul's cousin played by John Pankow.

The show often played out like a stage play and was inventive in its use of time and space. It wasn't afraid of a lot of dialog, a certain tweeness in the story lines. If you were of a certain age, a certain milieu the series spoke to you. Although they moved onto parenthood by the end of the run, it felt like it had already run its course and the Buchmans were forever creatures of the nineties.

7 comments:

George said...

I really liked MAD ABOUT YOU in the early years. Helen Hunt was never better in that role. But, as you point out, the series ran out of steam at the end. The only episode that I disliked intensely was the one where Helen Hunt "cheated" on her husband. Nothing rang true to me with that episode.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Boy, I don't remember that one at all. It's on FXX so maybe I will catch it.

Anonymous said...

Another show that would have been better if it had ended sooner, instead of trying to continue after it had run its course. Also, like a lot of other series, it began to take itself too seriously.

Mad About You, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, The Drew Carey Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena Warrior Princes, and even Daria all became unwatchable (IMHO) after they turned into pretentious, self-indulgent soap operas.

George said...

That "cheating" episode happened in SEASON FOUR. It's called "The Finale."

Anonymous said...

I liked it a lot the first three years. The moment they began the "trying to get pregnant " shows it lost me - I think that was when the cheating episode came in - and when they had the baby they lost me for good.

Also, I thought the stuff with Lisa Kudrow as the incompetent waitress was painfully unfunny.

Jeff M.

Barrie said...

I only watched the first couple of years and really enjoyed those. I

Ron Scheer said...

Had a very New York feel to it, which I enjoyed. It was probably shot in Burbank.