Thoughts on Mad About You, episodes 11-15

via IMDB

Whoops, almost forgot today's entry ...

"Oh, my God. Have we run out of conversation?" 
"What do you mean?"
"Do we have nothing to talk about? This isn't supposed to happen for another 40 years."

-- Not one, but two episodes in this batch are devoted to Paul and Jamie's courtship. My problem isn't that it's still early in Mad About You's run, it's that the episodes would have benefited from consistency. "Met Someone" and "The Wedding Affair" have different writers and directors and it shows. For the record, "Someone" was written by Danny Jacobson and directed by Barnet Kellman. "Affair" was written by Billy Grundfest & Paul Reiser and directed by Linda Day.
-- It started a couple nights before Christmas with a lie at the newsstand. Jamie cons Paul out of the last Sunday Times, claiming it contains her parents' obituary. She drops her dry cleaning information, one of the resources Paul uses to find her. Jamie, meanwhile, is upset about being dumped. Never mind that she was going to dump Ted after the holidays, it's still depressing. Paul, who consulted receptionists on 33 floors in search of a pretty and pushy woman, arrives at Jamie's office.
-- Jamie nearly succeeds at sending Paul away, but they do end up attending her office party. "(Mark) seems very nice. I like him." "God, you're really on first date behavior, aren't you?" Because Google and social media aren't yet a thing, Jamie has to rely on direct questioning, having Mark get some more information ("You ever been with a man?" "She already asked.") and having Paul's credentials faxed over. The cynicism is undercut by an especially cute reveal, that Paul and Jamie live across the street from each other on West 81st Street. Things are so natural for Paul and Jamie that it's easy to use "honey" as a term of endearment and share a kiss when they've only been dating for maybe an hour.
-- Attempting a mid-episode tonal shift, "Affair" goes from comedy of discomfort to outright drama. Paul and Jamie's friends, the ones who bought the Buchmans a cheap pasta maker, get married. Because Paul's wearing a black tuxedo, he'll easily be confused for one of the reception's waiters. Jamie has no problem with switching her and Paul's seating arrangements. Those minor faux pas are topped by Paul casually revealing to the father of the bride that the couple were already living together for over a year. "Now, when you say he has a heart condition, just to clarify ..." Shunned by the guests, Paul and Jamie end up doing some silly cat-themed dance by themselves.
-- The Buchmans start discussing secrets. Jamie knew Paul lied about working on a Sunday and that he really lost $400 while in Atlantic City with Ira. Finding out Jamie has a secret, Paul badgers her to find out. She's not having an affair, she didn't buy a hat ("What am I, Lucy?") and she didn't attempt to poison his mother. Two weeks before moving in with Paul, Jamie dated and slept with her co-worker, Stan Franklin. It was out of fear because the door was closing on one chapter in her life. "But why didn't you just tell me two years ago?" "If I did, would we be sitting here now?" "Yes." "I'm not so sure." "Well, now we'll never know." MAY would have better dramatic episodes later in its run.
-- For better or for worse -- I crack myself up -- "Affair" has a place in MAY history. It's the first episode for Ira (John Pankow). Jamie's annoyed at him for possibly ruining her and Paul's wedding. "He said your grandmother started that." I'm trying to remember if and when Jamie stops being icy toward the ubiquitous Ira. Buchman's Sporting Goods is still a gleam in the writers' eyes, so Ira appears to be a full-time musician. "I didn't get my money back from your last three demos." "Well, one more, we got a box set." In addition to fooling around in the coatroom with bridesmaid Cheryl, Ira also unwittingly reunites Paul and Jamie. Having brought the bride and groom together, the Buchmans get to lead a dance.
-- A few years back, I wondered what would happen if Taxi had Alex and Elaine as a couple. Could they cope with living and working together? That scenario is explored in "Togetherness," directed by Kellman and written by Steve Paymer. In charge of the "I Still Love New York" campaign, Jamie wants Paul to direct a commercial with the feel of a documentary showing off the authentic city. "They're gonna let you show the real New York garbage and traffic?" "Not that real. Let's let the tourists be surprised." It's never explained why, but Paul's commercial ends up being shot on a set with what appears to be the most un-documentary premise ever, various types emerging from a taxi.
-- Those quintessential New Yorkers include representatives from the British super-musicals. The Phantom of the Opera is joined by a Cat and briefly an urchin from Les Miserables, which Paul fell asleep at. The urchin is fired because reserved tourism bigwig Al (Jerry Hardin) doesn't want any homeless people. What Al wants is a man dressed as the literal Big Apple. Despite creative and personal differences, the ad is a success. Al wants Paul to film five more. Jamie doesn't want to keep working with Paul. The couple realized they pureed their lives. They especially missed being able to come home and complain about what kind of a day they had.
-- Paul and Jamie escape the stress of the city in "Weekend Getaway," directed by Day and written by Daryl Rowland & Lisa DeBenedictis. An spontaneous trip to Pine Junction, Vermont, leads to more evolution in attitudes. Overworked and overwrought, Jamie initially has trouble getting into vacation mode. And after she went to the trouble of pretending to know the hotel chain's chairman of the board ... Poor Jamie is so worked up, she's concerned about the stress Barnaby Jones is under. "It's not right. The man's 150 years old. They shouldn't have him running around like this. He just captured a sniper half an hour ago. Now they have him chasing after plutonium smugglers. It's too much pressure. What do they want from him?" Paul has an idea: they'll swim with the Polar Bear Club. "Maybe what we need is a little crazy."
-- It's as if they switched bodies in that frozen creek. Jamie is invigorated while Paul would like to regain feeling in his testicles. Certain they could live like kings, Jamie tries enticing Paul into buying a four-bedroom home in the country. It's got an orchard, a pond and a shed. The biggest problem in their community is missing bicycles. It's the perfect place for a farm, just like in The Grapes of Wrath. Uh, Jamie, that wasn't an upbeat story. Inability to have dinner after 8:30 p.m., not to mention the lack of good Chinese food, snaps her out of the fantasy.
-- Finally, there's "Maid About You," directed by Kellman and written by Rowland & DeBenedictis. The Buchman place is a pigsty. Jamie hires Fran's maid Masha (Beata Poźniak) to clean once a week. Originally from Minsk, Masha served in the Russian Navy and once killed a wild boar with her bare hands. Uneasy about having a maid, Paul ends up befriending Masha. "Thank you, Mr. Paul. I go scrub toilet."
-- Friendship leads to flirting. Masha develops a crush on Paul, even painting a sexy-ish portrait of him. Jamie: "She's obviously never seen your chest." Lovesick, Masha isn't much use for the Devanows. "For three days she has been moping around and crying her eyes out." "Oh, that's terrible." "You're telling me. My house is a disaster. Dishes piled to the ceiling. Egg hardens as we speak. And I just know you have something to do with it." Paul and Jamie visit Masha. He tries to let her down easy, but it's Jamie's understanding of male attitudes that does the trick. "It's a whole show they put on." "They do not realize the hell they bring to us?" "Of course they do. That's why they do it."
-- Supporting Player Watch: Fran and Mark are pretty important in "Someone" and "Maid." Selby doesn't matter much in "Someone" or "Maid." Lisa only appears in "Getaway." Ira debuts in "Affair." Of the four, Fran seems to be the most fully formed and essential. We've got seven episodes left of the season ...
-- A few years back, Captcha Reader mentioned that Mark has a few ambiguously gay moments through the series. We're at three so far, with his wearing of bikini briefs ("Sofa's Choice"), observation of how handsome Omar Sharif is ("Neighbors from Hell") and now admittance of having a sex dream involving Pierce Brosnan ("Someone").
-- Hey, It's 1989!: Selby tries interesting Paul into seeing Driving Miss Daisy or She-Devil("Someone"). Another different times moment includes Jamie enjoying the view from her finally clean living room window ("Maid"). "Did you know they finished the World Trade Center?"
-- Hey, There's ... Lisa Kudrow as Karen, the date Paul doesn't click with ("Someone"). A year later, she's Ursula. Murphy Dunne as Ned, temporarily deceived manager of the Babcock Inn ("Getaway").
-- Under the Credits: We've got vignettes and outtakes. I preferred the latter. It's sweet to see Reiser crack up Hunt by referencing In the Company of Darkness ("Togetherness"). "Look at this. Community Chest. You get a movie of the week." Ditto the whole cast doing that cat dance ("Affair"). As for the vignettes, we have Mr. Gantz telling his story of playing in the Rose Bowl (as a musician, not an athlete) for the umpteenth time, Murray amassing one each of every pair of socks and the Chinese delivery man (just arrived from NYC) walking uncertainly through the Babcock.
-- Awards Watch: Hunt was one of only two actors from a freshman TV show to score a nomination at the 50th Golden Globe Awards. The other was Earl Holliman for Delta. While Hunt lost to Roseanne, Reiser was unable to compete in an overstuffed category. Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series had seven nominees.
-- Ratings Roundup: From a low of 8.6 ("Togetherness") to a high of 10.7 ("Affair"), according to TV Tango. Beginning in February, MAY aired at 9:30 on Saturdays rather than Wednesdays. The lead-in changed from Seinfeld to Empty Nest and the lead-out changed from Law & Order to Sisters. The move worked: "Affair" came in fourth for Feb. 6, 1993.