Monday, April 6, 2020

Thoughts on Mad About You, episodes 6-10

via IMDB

 I'm re-running my previous Thoughts On posts for MAY before picking up where I left off.


"You got a beautiful wife?"
"Yeah."
"You love her?"
"Sure."
"Does she love you?"
"Yeah."
"You got more than three pairs of pants?"
"Yeah."
"There you go."
"Where?"
"To the future. I'll mind the past, and you giddyup to the future."
-- I never realized it, but you could split Mad About You into three or four parts. Working backwards, we have "Parents" (1997-1999), "Pre-parents" (1995-1997), "Not-so Newlyweds" (1993-1995) and, of course, "Newlyweds" (1992-93). I can't fault the show for still working out its kinks, but I have to admit I'm not especially engaged with this period. The acting is fine and the writing's strong. I especially loved the black comedy in "The Apartment" and the from bad to worse elements of "Neighbors from Hell." But it also feels like the writers haven't completely got a feel for certain characters. I'm surprised to say Jamie's the most prominent example, which I'll explain shortly.
-- "I'm Just So Happy for You," directed by Barnet, is the first script from Billy Grundfest. He would write-produce through season four, then return for season seven. Paul and Jamie are lining up for career-changing projects. He's got a documentary on Vacky (Phil Leeds*), a Yankee Stadium peanut vendor, submitted to PBS. She's got a presentation to Computron, an account she's been trying to land for three months. Fran couldn't land the account, and she tried for three years. Jamie gets this, and it's an office with windows. She doesn't have much patience, but can still explain exactly what Paul does. He fails at explaining public relations. "It means you relate publicly."
*Surprisingly, this was Leeds' only appearance on MAY. In my opinion, he's also too recognizable for the "wisdom from an old man" ending to fully work.
-- Paul fails. Jamie succeeds. Jamie tries to cheer Paul up. "We're a team. We're like the Yankees. You strike out, but I hit a home run. Tomorrow I'll strike out, and you'll hit a home run." "Then let's have the party tomorrow." Barely feigning joy in Jamie's success, Paul abandons it to straight-up wallow. Lisa knows the experience all too well. "I have so much pain inside me that I can cry at will."
-- A Yankee program autographed by Ethel Merman, Jamie's gift to Paul, adds to the tension. It's going to remind him of his failure, not her success. Selby adds to the discomfort: "That's what's perfect about you guys. You dropped the ball, she picks it up and she scores." Paul eventually pulls everyone into his pity party, which Jamie escapes by checking out her office. When she returns, Paul is genuinely sorry, Jamie is forgiving and Vacky declares that because his wife went to every one of his games, Lou Gehrig really was the luckiest man on Earth. "Nah, the second luckiest."
-- "Happy" is the last episode for Art Evans and Kerri Green as Ike and Stacey, two of Paul's employees. No huge loss, although Ike had his moments. "So, what, you know everything your wife does at work, right?" "Well, I know enough to fake it." Mark and Fran's role as the older and ostensibly wiser couple solidifies with the introduction of their son, Ryan (Spencer Klein). I get what they were going for, having Ryan be a brat who Paul and Jamie struggle to tolerate, but it's a mostly one-joke idea. I did laugh at Paul shutting up Ryan, who's been singing over the telephone. "Ryan, the muffin man's dead."
-- Luck plays a part in "Token Friend," directed by Paul Lazarus. It's the first script from the team of Sally Lapiduss & Pamela Eells, who departed after this season for The Nanny. Paul is avoiding the subway because he doesn't want to see Howie (Steve Buscemi), a token taker**. They were classmates at film school. Jamie's scored VIP seats at the circus -- including back tent passes -- but she's also invited Fran, Mark and Ryan.
**If this wasn't enough of a timestamp, consider that Reservoir Dogs had just been released. I'd love to know the overlap of people who saw it in theaters and also watched MAY.
-- In the subway station, Paul reveals why Howie could resent him. Their senior projects were due the same day, but because Paul got to the editing room first, he had the better equipment. Howie not only didn't finish his film, he also dropped out of school. The episode itself is partially based on an incident early in Reiser and Buscemi's careers, where the latter man bombed as a stand-up. Anyway, Howie does recognize Paul, inviting himself and Jamie into his booth. After accusing Paul of coming by to laugh and gloat, Howie storms off from his stinking hellhole. Paul and Jamie, still motivated by his guilt and her unwillingness to leave him, disastrously attempt to sell tokens and give directions.
-- Howie returns and Paul's done feeling guilty. The truth bomb goes off and a shaken Howie says he knows what he has to do. It looks like he's going to jump in front of a train ... but he actually went traveling through the tunnels for a few days. It's inspired his newest film, Tunnel of Hate. Not only did it inspire a frenzied Hollywood bidding war, but Howie's supervisor Raoul is the producer. Paul: "Over my dead body!"
-- Last summer, my sister got married. She relocated across the state for her wife. I thought about them while watching "The Apartment," directed by Barnet and written by Jacobson & Paymer. Paul's near-death experience after being run down by a bike messenger leads he and Jamie to prepare their wills***. He can't look at death as a wonderful adventure. There's also the matter of who's getting possessions like the stereo and the couch. It's all a prelude to the real bicker-banter regarding the possibility of euthanasia. Paul doesn't want anyone pulling his plug. Jamie wants Paul to be the one pulling hers. "If not you, who?" "I don't care. Your sister. Let her earn that couch."
***Al Ruscio, as cigar smoking, roast beef-eating Uncle Jules, is another member of the surprisingly one-and-done club.
-- Paul keeps financial records at his pre-marriage apartment, a sensitive subject for Jamie. She wants him to get rid of it. She's tired of him having a security blanket. "What upsets you? Because I slept with other women there? Because I had a life before you?" "What bothers me is you're still hanging onto that life instead of committing to this one." Jamie had a life before Paul, too. She was with a jock who could have snapped Paul like a twig. He gets rid of the apartment, she gets rid of the jersey. Jamie increases the pressure by literally tossing her past to the wind. When Paul's away, she calls Eddie (the doorman?) to get it back for her.
-- The love bugs' bliss is interrupted by Selby, who invokes his and Paul's history in that apartment. Jamie wants Paul to want to give up the place, not because she badgered him into doing so. It takes a visit with the new tenant -- Kramer (Michael Richards, who scores a special appearance credit and some decent recognition applause) -- to set Paul straight. Paul gives him the apartment and Kramer gives him both a Cuban and a lesson in moving on. Jamie and Paul end the episode with a practice run at cryogenic freezing, namely leaning into the freezer. "Ooh, we have ice cream."
-- Jamie's past is further explored in "Riding Backwards," directed by Barnet and written by Jeffrey Lane. Everyone's getting out of town for Thanksgiving. Fran, Mark and Ryan are heading to New Rochelle. Jamie, Paul, Lisa and Selby are off to the Stemples in New Haven, which a still off-screen Sylvia isn't pleased about. There's little love lost between mother and daughter-in-law, as Jamie's not above claiming they're off to her funeral. Hey, it got Carol Ann Susi (last seen at Dwayne and Whitley's first married Thanksgiving) to give up her seat.
-- Paul wants the lowdown on what to expect. The Stemples eat around 3-4 p.m., compared to the Buchmans at 1. "And there's definitely turkey, right?" "No, we usually have bologna sandwiches." Lisa, preparing for a relapse of her eating disorder -- God, save me from '90s sitcoms at their most edgy! -- has drafted Selby to pose as her boyfriend. Fran and Mark recall their first married Thanksgiving and, as usual, Mark says too much. "It was years ago. (My sister) loves you now, okay?" Fran refuses to see Mark's family.
-- Selby's considering donating his sperm to anonymous lesbians. It would give him something until the right thing comes along. That's the lead-in for Paul and Jamie separately telling the story of when they knew they were in love. Him: It was one of their first dates and she ordered a veal chop. He knew she knew who she was and he could love her. Her: She already knew the relationship wasn't going anywhere, so she decided to order the most expensive thing on the menu. Jamie ended up getting sick from the veal. He came in with her, staying all night to nurse her back to health. They fell asleep at sunrise, woke up at sunset and everything began. Lisa: "I'll just tell them (Selby) makes me laugh."
-- Paul returns to find Jamie finishing a reunion with Hap Evans. They knew each other from high school. He was the lead in The Music Man while she was in the orchestra. Actually, their relationship goes deeper than that. They were engaged in 1979, but his flirting caused her to break it off that Thanksgiving. Jamie went from her failed engagement to time in a convent. "It was like a preparatory thing for novices ... I was very confused." "I'll say. You're not even Catholic." Anyway, everyone ends up eating in New Haven ...
-- ... It's mostly a disaster, although Fran and Mark are back together. Jamie, bringing her cello back to Manhattan, is furious that Sylvia sent a turkey. Selby overdid it with the phony affection, announcing he and Lisa are engaged. Paul was insulted by Hap showing up, which led to a full performance of the Music Man score. "And I'll tell you something, babe. '76 Trombones' was not written for the cello." "Says who?" "The title." Jamie dreamed of being able to bring her husband to the family Thanksgiving. Selby liked being in the middle of all that warm family stuff, and admits he didn't want it to end.
-- The same lesson from the previous episode -- live in the moment and keep moving on -- is repeated. Paul and Jamie almost make up, then genuinely do. They improvise a Thanksgiving story for Ryan. ".. The point is that they had come together and they knew that they were in this thing together for the whole nine yards no matter what." "And for that they gave thanks."
-- Finally, there's "Neighbors from Hell," a one-and-done for director Dennis Erdman (a former NBC executive). Written by Reiser and Grundfest, it introduces Hal and Maggie. While Judy Geeson will reoccur throughout MAY, Paxton Whitehead is a one-and-temporarily-done until he returns in 1997.
-- The Buchmans can never change their pizza order. Jamie wants pineapple, Paul wants half mushroom, half pepperoni. Their order gets switched with the Conways. Paul and Jamie make the switch, and the faux pas accumulate. 1. The door knocker falls off. 2. The Conways reveal they can sometimes hear the Buchmans ("Oh, my god." "That's her."). 3. The Buchmans aren't sufficiently well-versed on ancient Greece or dog breeds. 4. Hal and Maggie have come down with food poisoning (not Paul and Jamie's fault, but the Conways don't know that). 5. Jamie accidentally whacks Hal with the kitchen door. 6. Jamie brings flowers, except Maggie's allergic to any type.
-- Jamie, who has fond memories of life in a neighborhood, vows to make the Conways like her even if it kills them. Lisa bursts Jamie's bubble by reminding her that neighbor and mowing partner Billy Slater just liked her because she showed him her boobs. Numerous people in Connecticut disliked her, even if Lisa was known as "that awful Stemple girl." Meanwhile, Paul is caught with Maggie's panties on his head (#7) and Murray ends up getting intimate with Sophie, the Conways' show dog -- on a brand new couch (#8). Jamie can't stand to have someone hate her, so it's time for a dinner party. Maggie: "I'm afraid. Let's run away." Hal: "We don't want to agitate them. Look what they do when they're trying to be nice." The guests include Fran and Mark, whom Paul was trying to get out of socializing with when the episode began.
-- "You know who I always found handsome? Omar Sharif." Despite Mark's eccentricity, he and Fran grow on Hal and Maggie. The Devanows are also not above saying a bad word about the Buchmans. "No, you're not wrong. Paul and Jamie can be very peculiar. Especially Paul." "I love Paul." "So do I, but he can be very peculiar." As it turns out, Mark, Fran, Hal and Maggie all enjoy the opera. The Conways also finally come to the point, admitting they don't like Paul and Jamie. "I can't believe it. They really don't like me." "Go show them your boobs."
-- Fun with Product Placement: Paul and Jamie drink Olgers Coffee ("Apartment"). Jamie's reading Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher after leaving New Haven ("Backwards").
-- Additional Continuity Corner: Paul and Jamie's song is "Color My World" ("Token"). Fran proposed to Mark ("Apartment").
-- Wonderful Town: Paul can't imagine Howie's got a great working environment. "I mean, every day stuck in a cramped, airless cage. And the noise and the fumes, the bodily fluids everywhere." "Just because someone works in a subway doesn't mean they're miserable." "No, I'm sure he's the happiest man under the earth" ("Friend"). Fran asks Ryan if he needs to make tinkle. Paul: "He can go in the subway like everybody else" ("Friend"). Two more: Jamie sends an impatient, hoity toity woman to the South Bronx ("She'll be dead in two hours."). Finally, a tourist couple asks to get to the Statue of Liberty. "Take the number one train straight to hell."
-- Before the Credits: Jamie is sick of Paul's coin-sorting process ("Token"). Most of the previews in this batch are directly related to the episode's plot. "Neighbors" doesn't even have a one.
-- Ratings Roundup: This batch spanned from late October-early December 1992. ABC, which was already winning Wednesday nights, wasn't above plugging in big ticket sweeps programming opposite MAY. The show was hurt by things like an Oprah behind the scenes special and the conclusion of The Jacksons: An American Dream. Beginning in November, Coach moved to Wednesdays. Luckily for Paul and Jamie, NBC wasn't ready to throw in the towel.

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