Thoughts on Mad About You, episodes 67-71

 

via RetroNewsNow

"I'm wearin' the tiara!"

-- Season Three of Mad About You ends with a canon-centric batch of episodes. They're all directed by Michael Lembeck and they all have to do with Paul and Jamie's past and present. It should feel like overkill, and there's some interesting flaws in the later episodes, but it's an overall strong group.
-- Cyndi Lauper won an Emmy for reprising the role of Marianne in "Money Changes Everything," written by Victor Fresco. Back from Luxembourg, Marianne is a wealthy widow. As she later reveals, she's got memories, a title and more money than Canada. Marianne can't deny that her late husband had a good life, with fun, not to mention that he got to be a count. On the other hand, she's grieving. "Oh, Paulie. He was so classy. *mourning jag* ... So, how's Ira?" Paul still holds a grudge on behalf of Ira. Speaking of Ira, there's forward motion in his professional and personal lives. Buchman's Sporting Goods is about to enter the mail order market and Ira bought new towels for himself and Susannah. She's a little overwhelmed by how fast the relationship is progressing. Paul, meanwhile, is trying to finance a documentary about Boston Garden's closure.

-- The contessa shows up at Paul and Jamie's just as they're about to go out with Ira and Susannah. Like before, she's getting along with everybody but Paul, and even then, the aggression is one-sided. Ira plans to accept Marianne's interest-free loan. The problem is, silent partner Paul is also required to agree to it. He refuses, causing tension between the men that continues at a Knicks game. Patrick Ewing demands they lighten up, because it's throwing off his playing. Paul ends up starting a fight, which at least doesn't last as long as his nearly weeklong estrangement from Ira. The cousins attempt to draw blood from each other, with Ira reminding Paul that he already has a mother and that he didn't like his button documentary. Paul mentions Ira and Jamie's previous bad blood (points for continuity!). Fran's gonna get the hose for all three of them.

-- Marianne may say how much she loves Susannah, but she appears to be okay with coming between her and Ira. One way or another, Marianne's also going to bankroll one of the Buchman men. Paul accepts her loan, but then turns over the money to Ira, so Ira won't need to accept anything from Marianne. She's impressed that Paul pulled off such a coup. She also reveals that Ira has a power over her, when it's been assumed it was the other way around. Ira ends up requiring Paul and Marianne to go have dinner.

-- Next up is "Cake Fear," Reiser's Emmy submission and written by Jeffrey Lane. Paul's anticipating that as usual, there'll be a misfortune on his birthday. Since his reservation is intact and he's not likely to choke on a fishbone, the new favorites are being poisoned or getting hit by a bus. There's a history of this type of thing. When Paul was making a wish on his 15th birthday, he fell down the well. Dinner companions Ira and Susannah show up fighting. His cat ate her bird.

-- Jamie threw Paul a guest-filled surprise party in 1994. His birthday coincided with an exhausting project. Paul arrives home early and Lisa, trying to keep him from finding out about the party, ends up giving him a maximum strength sleeping pill. By the time Jamie finds out, Paul's taken the pill. In 1993, Paul's birthday party is a way to keep newly-single and clearly depressed Fran occupied. A freak spring blizzard broke out in 1992, trapping Jamie at her office and resulting in a party where the guests are just Paul, three catering employees, Sid and Aunt Lolly. It's apparent that the old folks are attracted to each other. In 1991, Paul's still getting used to being known as Jamie's fiancé. He also introduces her to his grandfather's birthday tradition, involving drinking a glass of port and then taking a walk to figure things out. Jamie doesn't like that Paul wants to take the walk by himself, or at least not with her.

-- When Paul returns, he finds Jamie's packed her things. She's leaving him tomorrow, not tonight, so it won't ruin his birthday. "Make a wish. I have to separate our books." Paul reveals that what he figured out is that he has someone to walk with. The couple toasts to the future. In 1992, Sid and Aunt Lolly leave the party early to go hook up. We end up finding out it was a one-nighter and he didn't have the decency to call her after. In 1993, Fran's made a drunken spectacle of herself, culminating with her finishing the bottle of port. In 1994, the sleeping pill is already working, resulting in Paul falling into the Conways' and later, his cake. In 1995, Ira's ready to jump from a ledge to make things up to Susannah. It's ultimately Roscoe the cat, chased by Murray, who makes the leap -- onto Paul.

-- Eric Stoltz returns for "My Boyfriend's Back," written by Victor Fresco & Victor Levin. Paul's newest documentary is devoted to New York's last milkman. It requires him to be on a different schedule from Jamie for at least a week. She and Fran, meanwhile, have taken on diner owner Ralphy (Jon Polito) as a client. Ralphy's hired Alan to do the artwork. Alan's also advancing professionally. He's about to debut a new comic book. Jamie and Alan insist they can work together and despite tension -- most prominently over Alan's idea of a cartoon dog as the mascot -- it appears they can at least complete the assignment. Still, though, it's clear that the time bomb's going to burst.

-- Alan's comic, Mega Void, has the chance to be bigger than the X-Men. Jamie plans to give him a framed first edition as a gift. Ira and Lisa try to prevent Jamie from discovering that Alan's used her likeness for "Talon, evil queen of the universe." Mega Void immediately catches on, with Jamie getting attention from her classmates. "There was this one sophomore that I dismembered, but hey, a girl's gotta eat, right?" Paul, who previously navigated the minefield of how jealous he should be regarding Jamie and Alan working together, tries to calm her down. She insists she's taking the high ground, but that's abandoned when a pizza place wants to put her on the wall of stars*. Eh, it's not as bad as Ira's suggestion of having Jamie do a Comic Con.

*I recognized Kelsey Grammer, David Leisure and Rock Hudson. Jamie would apparently go between Alan Alda and Brenda Vaccaro.

-- Jamie crashes Alan's issue signing. She claims that Alan took the bad things that happened in their relationship and put them in outer space. It's interesting (and flawed) that Paul's not in this scene. Either he or Alan could justifiably asked Jamie, "Hey, why do you hang onto memories from all these years ago? Do you maybe want this to be all about you?" Like she did in "The Ride Home," Jamie makes it clear that she's the one saying goodbye to Alan. And yet he can't stop having the last, filler-ish words. Back at the Buchmans, Paul is sticking to his and Jamie's planned date, even if it's without pizza. Jamie's touched and an animated sequence (created by Sony Imageworks) occurs. Jamie/Talon can toss Alan/Mega Void into the sun, but there's also Paul to bring her back to normal. Based on Alan's sigh in the penultimate panel, it's clear that he wants what Paul and Jamie have. 

-- Five writers -- Jeffrey Lane, Andrew Gordon & Eileen Conn, Jeffrey Klarik and Jack Burditt -- are credited to "Up in Smoke," an hour-long episode I want to like more than I do. I liked Reiser and Hunt's performances, there's one of Ursula's all-time best scenes plus a good last hurrah for Anne Bobby as Susannah and the ending's a tearjerker. But I also felt like the story wasn't executed as well as it should have been. Official synopses indicate "Smoke" is an homage to The Twilight Zone, which should have been clear from the get-go. As it exists, "Smoke" is 40 percent straight, 60 percent gimmick.  

-- Paul and Jamie are celebrating their anniversary. Presents from Sylvia (a cashmere sweater for Paul and "vibrant" sportswear for Jamie, plus a whole lotta desserts) inspire the pair to agree to buy little gifts for each other. The thing is, though, neither knows what to get the other. While Fran tries to convince Paul to buy a nice platter, Lisa (whose employee discount is being used for Jamie's gift) is lobbying for glass grapes. Meanwhile, Jamie and Ira discuss her options. She's considering an antique inkwell and also randomly flips to a weed whacker. Jamie agrees to let Ira pick out Paul's gift. The night of the anniversary, Lisa arrives with the glass grapes, which Paul doesn't want to give to Jamie. Ira, who's shown up with Paul's present, suggests Paul take Jamie somewhere. Meanwhile, Paul opens his present. It's a large poster for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, the first movie Paul ever saw. Jamie doesn't like the poster and is barely able to conceal it. "She's got a bus in her uterus." Jamie receives a slip from Paul entitling her to one magical night. This evolves into assumed reservations for six at the most romantic place in the city, the exclusive Twilight Room.

-- Riding to the Twilight Room with their guests, Paul and Jamie find the newsstand where they met. It's being operated by a man who's smoking. Paul and Ira have no luck with a headwaiter (Edward Hibbert), so the party ends up going to Susannah's favorite club. During a temporary lull in the noise, Jamie finds out the truth. She claims she wanted something from the heart. Paul reveals he picked out the 50 Foot Woman poster. The Buchmans end up arguing over whether or not to minimize or maximize their problem, halting when they find the now burnt down newsstand. If it had happened five years ago, Jamie said, they never would have met. Yes, Jamie, but that fire didn't happen until now, so please get over yourself. Anyway, she leaves a rose bought by Paul at the Twilight Room at the newsstand wreckage. The flower's torn apart by the wind and "Smoke" shifts into magic mode.

-- Paul and Jamie arrive home to find his key doesn't work. Not only that, but the Conways live in 11D. Actually, they live in 11C and 11D, as they achieved their goal of breaking down the wall between the apartments. Mr. Wicker doesn't know who the Buchmans are. Paul's license has his old address. Jamie is known as Jamie Stemple. She lives at Central Park West and is a partner at her old firm. In an admittedly funny gag, Paul discovers a condom among his possessions. In this new timeline, he still gets around. Jamie has several condoms. "Apparently so do you." Leaving Riff's, which they never ate at before they met, the Buchmans agree to split up, find out what's going on and reconvene in an hour.

-- "Smoke, Part II" begins with Paul and Jamie taking in their new/old surroundings. Paul shares an apartment with Murray and Ira. Shortly after arriving, his wedding ring disappears. Shortly after that, his memory is cleared. Meanwhile, Jamie's got a cushy office, with a fat and dowdy Fran as her assistant. She's also still involved with Alan. Jamie's memory is cleared shortly after she slaps Alan, gets him jealous and still breaks up with him. This feels like a waste of Eric Stoltz, but whatever. Alan can't hang around, because we're teased with the idea of Jamie and Ira. Before that, we're teased with Paul and Ursula and very briefly, Paul and Lisa. Staying with Lisa, Jamie says that if there's someone for her, he's out there. Drawn to Buchman's Sporting Goods, Jamie accepts a date with Ira.

-- Jamie, Ira, a woman who barks after downing her drinks (Cady Huffman) and eventually Paul are at Scamp's, the same club everyone ended up after not getting into the Twilight Room. Susannah's also there. She's supposed to perform that night, but she's sans a band. Enter Ira of "Ira and the Nightcaps." Ira asks Paul to keep an eye on Jamie. As Susannah sings "Where Have You Been (All My Life)," Paul stands behind Jamie. Neither sees each other's face, but they appear to be aware of the other. It's a total so close, yet so far, kind of moment.

-- Ira's clearly going to end up with Susannah. Back at the apartment, Paul wonders if he ever gets tired of being single. All he knows is, he's gotta get a newspaper. Over at Lisa's, Jamie is taking stock of men. The guy for her isn't Ira. It wasn't Alan. She's unsure if looking is worth it. She ends up taking a walk. Paul and Jamie stop at various newsstands, neither feeling they're at the right location. They end up back at their stand. It's their reality again. Paul and Jamie are aware of what's happened. They don't know what to say. Paul just wants to go home. I highly doubt the powers that be were worried about MAY getting cancelled in 1995, but if it had, this would have been a fine last moment. Honestly, the last six minutes or so of "Smoke" are flawless. It's everything else that I have a problem with.

-- The Total Waitress: Ursula informs Jamie and Ira that Riff's is out of the chicken, then says there's no substitutions when he points out they were going to split a club sandwich ("Smoke, Part I"). In "Part II," she's erased most of a chalkboard menu by holding it too close to herself. Paul helps restore the menu, which according to Ursula contains "du jour" soup, "chicken with kites," "meat" and a salmon special that she can remember in detail. "Now put a line through it, because we're all out of that." Ursula holds the newly "restored" menu too close to herself as she leaves.

-- The Buchmans Go Broadway: An ad for The Who's Tommy can be seen in the montage of Mega Void mania ("Back"). Riff's has a poster for A Little Night Music. Lisa is interested in seeing an eel production of Guys and Dolls at the aquarium. The marquee for Miss Saigon is seen during Paul and Jamie's journey back to their newsstand ("Smoke, Part II").

-- Today in Classic TV: Wearing a sleep mask, Paul jokes that he's Arlene Francis ("Back").

-- Hey, It's the Mid '90s!: The teaser in "Cake" takes place in front of a bus stop-sized Tommy Hilfiger ad. Paul's charade at the 1992 party is The Silence of the Lambs. Lisa reads Entertainment Weekly's Best of 1994 issue ("Back"). This one doubles with Fun With Being Cheap: it's quite apparent that they cheaply superimposed the graphics for a comic book store over an actual video store's façade. Posters for The Shawshank Redemption and Quiz Show can be seen ("Back"). The only magazine I could easily identify from the end of "Smoke, Part II" was the Jan. 16, 1995 edition of People, with cover boy JFK Jr.

-- Great Moments in Shilling: Ads for Nobody Beats the Wiz and NBC are seen at the game ("Money"). At the the same time, they're drinking Not Diet Coke ("Money" and "Smoke, Part II"). For whatever reason, most likely because it also was one of Sony's current TV productions, Ira's watching The Nanny ("Smoke, Part II").

-- Bloopers: The mike shadow can be seen before Paul leaves his and Ira's ("Smoke, Part II").

-- Continuity Corner: Ira missed out on a music scholarship in 1974 (because he did peyote, given to him by Marianne, the night before) and a job with Nike in 1992 (because he wore PF Flyers to the interview) ("Money"). Jamie's different hairstyles throughout "Cake" might not completely match how she looked in earlier episodes, but I'll give the show credit for not having her look the same throughout. At the same time, "Cake" establishes Paul's birthday as after his and Jamie's anniversary in 1993, when it's before the anniversary in 1995. Hal reads Jughead ("Back").

-- Before the Credits: Paul nearly walks in on Jamie and Lisa possibly doing something private and naughty in the kitchen ("Money"). Jamie knows Paul doesn't have the tickets, because she does ("Cake"). Paul requires Jamie to kiss him like he's never been kissed before ("Back").

-- Under the Credits: While Jamie's wearing her "other" crown, Paul reveals he plans to fund his movie by suing Patrick Ewing for a supposed injury ("Money"). Paul is serenaded with "Happy Birthday to You" while riding in an ambulance ("Cake"). Sylvia wants to know more about why Talon is so evil ("Back").

-- Ratings Roundup: MAY came in at No. 5 for much of this batch, except for "Smoke," which ranked No. 4. The only other point of interest is that, perhaps to test the waters, CBS aired a rerun of Murder, She Wrote at 8 p.m. Thursday during this time. It didn't do so well, which should have been a hint to the powers that be.