via IMDB
"I want to win, Lord!"
-- Season Six of Mad About You concludes with this sextet of episodes that I'm just kind of meh about. Paul and Helen aren't bad in this batch, there's a somewhat fascinatingly structured installment and the supporting and guest actors are overall quite strong, but on the whole, I'm not especially impressed. It doesn't help that we've got an episode where Paul worked my last nerve. Just a season and a half to go ...
-- We begin with "The Baby Video," directed by Michael Lembeck and written by Roger Director (his last episode). Jamie's trying to make a good impression with the mother-child play group she, Sarah and their daughters are members of. Claire is a fan of "Teeny Tunes," which features a woman in a housecoat singing as she irons. Jamie's not impressed, calling the video "baby opium." Ira points out that it wasn't expensive to make and is making a ton of money, so he and Jamie get the idea to make their own baby video.
-- Meanwhile, in the Burt and Sylvia plot, his hearing has improved as a result of taking ginko biloba drops. He now knows that his favorite song is, "The Last Time I Saw Paris." As it turns out, Burt and Sylvia have been supporting a Thai child, Eddie Wu. They consider him Paul's brother. Back in the video story, Jamie and Ira are having creative differences. She wants the central character to be the Sandman, who will teach kids about sleep. I kinda like that Jamie can be just as pretentious about her work as Paul is. Anyway, Jamie's lyrics for the Sandman's song stink. She guilt trips Paul into playing the Sandman. As a children's performer, he's a heck of a director. Jamie doesn't think Paul's good enough at frolicking.
-- "Video" isn't outright awful, but it is contrived. There's too much attention devoted to the pointless subplot of "Will a curious Paul try Jamie's breast milk?" For whatever reason, the Sandman video is also broadcast on TV. Claire and the other children are terrified of Paul, which does lead to a funny bit where Jamie and Baby Nora stare at each other. Anyway, because the video was seen by a wide audience, Paul is recognized by countless scared kids. Claire is forced to wear a blindfold when she visits the Buchmans. Sarah reveals to Jamie that she's been asked to skip a couple meetings. "Was I just thrown out of play group?"
-- The Sandman video only sold two copies, and one because a guy needed an extra cassette. Well, no wonder, since it's already been seen and rejected by TV viewers. Eddie Wu, who looked up to Paul, is also upset. For the first time, Sylvia is ashamed of Paul. He and Jamie realize the Sandman must die. They end up making a movie where Paul takes off the costume, jumps on it and otherwise acts silly. Now he has a new problem, with kids -- and at least one father -- constantly wanting him to be silly.
-- I loathed Paul in "Fire at Riff's," the last episode from Jonathan Leigh Solomon. It's also the first episode directed by longtime producer Craig Knizek. Paul's been "a prince" lately, putting up with Jamie's work responsibilities. Still, she's going to quit soon. Meanwhile, Paul's dismissive of accepting a teaching position with the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Ira's hitting it off with Mindy (Darcy DeMoss) after she learns he's having a sandwich named after him. It might even be the tongue sandwich. It turns out Jamie forgot about her lunch date with Paul. She's also waffling about quitting.
-- "Fire" marks Suzie Plakson's penultimate appearance as Joan. It's been interesting watching her over the last two seasons. Early in Season Six, it seemed like Suzie/Joan would become a prominent member of the ensemble. The subplot in "Letters to Mabel" is just as much from her point of view as it is Ira's. For whatever reason, though, MAY put the brakes of going much further into Debbie and Joan's relationship. Things pick up pretty significantly in "Fire," though. Debbie's mad that Joan's appearing in a magazine as one of New York's most eligible bachelorettes. She finds it disgusting, betraying and insulting, not "groovy" like Paul thinks.
-- Paul, Jamie, Ira, Debbie and Joan go to Riff's. ... Mindy, not seeing the Ira sandwich on the menu, dumps him. Ira sees Ursula in the kitchen, which results in a menu catching fire. She drops it in the trash, fans the flames instead of smothering them and accidentally throws grease instead of water. Paul, meanwhile, went to the bathroom before the fire started. Jamie, who quit her job before coming, listens to Debbie and Joan fight over Joan being treated like property. Later, outside Riff's, Paul learns that he went to rescue Jamie for no reason. She immediately vacated the restaurant. Which is exactly what you're supposed to do during a fire, Paul. I know it's presented as Jamie forgetting about Paul, but he's able-bodied. Would Paul have rather Jamie have stuck around so they both could possibly get burned. If that's the case, he really is a selfish fuck.
-- Things are happier for Joan and Debbie. Joan proposes and the pair's kiss gets to be in a closeup. Ira and Ursula also have promise. She's grateful that he saved her life and will do anything he asks. Ursula is noticeably more serious as she promises to get the Ira sandwich on the menu. Shortly after, Paul and Jamie admit the fire made them take stock of things. He wants to go to Scotland. She wants to continue working. What's happening to Paul's support for Jamie? "You left me in a burning building." The dark side of relationships has caught up to the lesbians. Joan wants Debbie to sign a prenup. On the other hand, Ira and Ursula had sex. Her afterglow includes realizing that Tony Curtis was also in drag in Some Like It Hot.
-- Anyway, Jamie gets her job back. James Carville can't spend too much time talking to her, as he's busy with Bill Clinton. Debbie and Joan's engagement party is a lavish affair. Debbie figures that if she spends a lot of Joan's money, there will be less to deny her access to. Jamie, in one of her finest moments of the season (and maybe ever), calls Paul's bluff about moving to Scotland. Of course, there are things to consider, like quarantining Murray. Has Paul thought about that? He claims he has. Still, while he gets things in order, Jamie tells him that she'll continue to work. In the end, everyone but Paul is happy. "I'm alright."
-- Next up, "Mother's Day," directed by Helen Hunt and written by Susan Dickes. Paul, who was going to give Jamie either a scarf or nut clusters, is shamed by Ira's planned gift of a rocking chair. Marvin: "Oh Paul, ye of little imagination." Marvin's giving his mom a personalized message on the Astrovision at One Times Square. Paul likes this idea and plans to tell Jamie, "You're some kind of mom." It pales in comparison to the heartfelt and more than a little Oedipal message Marvin has planned for Cassie Bluestone. Nevertheless, Paul and Marvin pay for their gifts. Deadpan clerk: "(Paul's message is) the best one we'd had."
-- Paul and Jamie's holiday guests include Debbie, Burt and Sylvia, who's feeling left out. Whoops! Paul forgot to get her a present. Sylvia insists "It's nothing," which of course means it's something. Alone in the living room, she stages a "leg-breaking fall" from Jamie's rocking chair. "Finish your cake, then we'll worry about me." At the hospital, x-rays are arranged. Burt's mad at the Amish for making the chair. Jamie, who left with the rest of the family, comes back and catches Sylvia out of her bed. Sylvia admits to Jamie that she's jealous. Jamie says she won't blow the whistle on Sylvia, who muses about whether she should have given her more of a chance over the years. "No. What's done is done."
-- Meanwhile, Marvin and Cassie fought when she flirted with their taxi driver. He asks Ira to talk to her and we get more "this guy's clearly too attached to mom" jokes. Marvin knows that sleep will just be a shallow, sarcastic illusion while he's estranged from Cassie. Back at the hospital, Jamie just manages to deflect Paul and Debbie's suspicions of Sylvia. Even though her x-rays reveal no break, she's still prescribed a cast. Back at Buchman's, Ira reveals that Cassie forgives Marvin ... and she's got a date with Ira. Paul and Jamie make it to the Marriott Marquis in time. She's not impressed by "You're some kind of a mom," but figures that Marvin's message is for her. Paul goes along with this, kissing Jamie to keep her from seeing the ending.
-- I actually didn't hate "Paul Slips in the Shower" as much as I thought I would. In fact, I vaguely remember watching its original broadcast. Directed by David Steinberg and written by Paul Reiser and Victor Levin, the episode is largely presented in a stream of consciousness style. Paul's accident causes his life to flash before his eyes. Naturally, Paul comes to the conclusion that it doesn't matter if he wins as long as he's got Jamie and Mabel. What, no Murray? Paul ends up admitting to Jamie that he ate a package of Milano cookies, then lied about what happened to them, out of a want to lie to Jamie. But he doesn't want to lie to her. Jamie, for her part, is struck by the fact Paul ate 15 cookies by himself.
-- Unless I missed it, there are no clips from old episodes in "Shower." Paul remembers a TV host (Gordon Hunt) explaining that a life before one's eyes experience may include the mundane. We go from Paul drinking a Fresca to vignettes of his potential (racing, success with the "Let's Wipe Out Everything Bad" campaign) to Sylvia and Burt's parenting through the years. Soon after, the idea of whether or not Paul can be wrong, or lose, emerges. As a boy, he hid Playboys. As an adult, he hides Milanos. Fran makes her penultimate appearance, talking with Paul about how you can never get anything past Jamie. Paul could lie when he was younger. He once hooked up with a girl from Cleveland on the strength of a story about sailing with Burt.
-- I know only a few things about Season Eight of Mad About You, like the fact that Ira's still around. This takes the edge off Paul's fantasy of his now-elderly cousin having gotten fat since he has no one to keep himself in shape for. (Well, maybe Murray.) Could Paul's feelings about food be sexual? And where does Sylvia fit in? A boxing ring, facing off against Jamie. What does it all mean? "I just want to win, Lord!" "What if you can't?" God asks. There are much more important things, like dancing with Jamie.
-- Gordon Hunt goes back behind the camera for "Nat & Arley." Hank Azaria's Emmy submission and Lili Taylor's last episode, it's also the last with a story by David Steven Simon and a script by Moses Port and David Guarascio. Like "The Baby Video," there's a good amount going on without much of a payoff. Paul's been feeling exhausted lately. He's not sure he'll be able to take Jamie to her office's disco night. Nat thinks Paul might have "the apnea." Nat's in need of advice of his own. He's attracted to Arley, who's not like his usual girls. They're debutantes, socialites, girls who treat Nat like a toy. Nat is nervous about asking Arley out. Paul advises Nat to let Arley make a move on him.
-- Ira, for apparently the first time*, includes a mirror as part of lovemaking. Disgusted by his body and how it moved ("a sick walrus climbing over a rock"), Ira resolves to never again see himself naked again, nor have sex. He's throwing out all his dirty books and videos, including a taped-over copy of Buchman, as well as an eggbeater and beanie he's used as accouterments. Back at the Buchmans', Arley wants to seduce Nat. Jamie advises her to let Nat make the first move.
*Since, after all, he didn't have sex with Marianne in Atlantic City.
-- Eugene Levy's in "Nat & Arley," playing a sleep doctor with a voice resembling Rockin' Mel Slirrup's. Like so many of the men in Paul and Jamie's lives at the moment, the good doctor is slightly disturbed. He has an unusual attachment to the clinic's simulated sleeping partner, Betsy the pillow. Paul ultimately can't resist Betsy. It turns out Paul had a normal night of sleep. Could Jamie have "the apnea"? Meanwhile, Ira abandons his bonsai garden when he realizes he'd rather have sex. As for Nat and Arley, after resisting as long as he could (by excessively grooming Murray), Nat lets out his feelings.
-- Jamie, who had to miss disco night so her sleep could be recorded, is discovered to be the problem. She's been beating up Paul in the middle of the night. As it turns out, it's not on purpose. Jamie just wants to get down! All things considered, this was one of the better ways to have non-physical comedienne Helen Hunt do physical comedy. And Paul Reiser's not bad as Paul attempts to move in sync with Jamie before eventually giving up.
-- Finally, "The Finale," directed by Gordon Hunt and written by Victor Levin. It's headlined by Ellen DeGeneres (whose sitcom, minus burnoffs, ended the week earlier), with special appearances by James Cameron (who had just won the Oscar for directing Titanic) and special vocal cameos by James Carville and Mary Matalin (making their last "appearances" on MAY). This one wasn't too bad of an episode. Ellen added a boost to the proceedings, even though she mostly interacted with Paul rather than both Buchmans.
-- Paul and Jamie want to make Mabel laugh. Meanwhile, he's directing a parasitic project, The Making of The Making of Titanic (which would actually be a funny title for a retrospective on how hyped that movie was). Anyway, Paul has little luck getting crew members to sound interesting and matters aren't helped by Mabel being fussy. Nancy the caterer (Ellen) is able to stop Mabel's crying, but unfortunately, Nancy wasn't paying attention to her Creole sauce. The fire alarm -- and sprinkler -- goes off. Over at Jamie's office, James and Mary are fighting and Henry's had it. He's done being nice. "Pentagon on line 3. Who gives a crap?" Paul and Jamie, arguing over whether or not to hire a nanny, accidentally leave Mabel alone in a descending elevator. Luckily, they reach her within three floors.
-- Back at Paul's shoot, Nancy's been fired. She passive aggressively jokes about the experience. I'll admit, "Finale" plays interestingly in light of Ellen's current bad publicity about being unlikable to her staff. Anyway, Nancy continues to work wonders with Mabel. Paul, who's stuck with outtakes of James Cameron looking bored, whittling, scratching his ass, picking his nose, trying to decide on his lunch order and showing his love of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, notices Nancy's skill. He has an idea. She doesn't want to be a nanny in the "old Ukrainian lady who hasn't bathed" sense. More like Mary Poppins. Jamie comes around to the idea. She and Paul end up jealous of Nancy, who successfully got Mabel to laugh. They try their luck again in the middle of the night. "Give it a rest."
-- Blooper: Looks like the boom mike's briefly in view as Paul and Jamie are at the elevator bank ("Finale").
-- Hey, It's 1998!: If doing an episode loosely related to Titanic wasn't enough, there's an ad for Sphere under the Mother's Day messages ("Mother's Day"). Paul (badly) lied about reading Angela's Ashes ("Shower").
-- The Total Waitress: Ursula, misunderstanding when Paul says "I'm waiting for my wife," tries to fix him up with Mindy. Ursula also doesn't remember who Jamie is.
-- The Buchmans Go Broadway: The posters at Riff's include Side by Side by Sondheim and Beauty and the Beast ("Fire"). Debbie took Sylvia to see The Scarlet Pimpernel ("Mother's").
-- Continuity Corner: Mark and Fran are still together and sent Jamie flowers ("Mother's"). Burt started his career at $60 a week, giving himself a bonus to $80 a week when he had kids. Paul was also 13 years old after the moon landing, which tracks with Paul Reiser's actual age ("Shower"). Ira claims to have no ass, which isn't exactly true for those of us who saw To Live and Die in L.A. ("Nat"). Also, I don't want to know too much about Season Seven, but is Mabel's bedroom going to keep being the living room ("Finale")?
-- Supporting Scores: Ira's in all six episodes, followed by Burt, Sylvia and Debbie in three, Henry in two and Joan, Ursula, Marvin, Sheila, Fran and Nat in one each.
-- Before the Credits: Paul uses Jamie's breast pump to groom Murray ("Video"). Paul learns that a black tie event is tomorrow ("Fire"). Jamie shakes up Paul's soda can, but ends up being the one sprayed ("Mother's"). Jamie's not impressed by Paul blowing on Mabel's tummy ("Shower"). Jamie gives Paul literally only "half a cup" ("Finale").
-- Under the Credits: Paul, after trying Jamie's breast milk, wants cookies ("Video"). Ira did get a sandwich named after him, the egg salad at Riff's ("Fire"). Ira's been rejected by Cassie ("Mother's"). Paul puts slip guards in the bathtub ("Shower"). Ira, the newest sleep clinic patient, gets acquainted with Betsy ("Nat"). A custodian cleans up around a sleeping James Cameron ("Finale").
-- Ratings Roundup: A range of 7.7 and 10th for "Shower" to 10.4 for "Finale." MAY will never again do that well on a Tuesday.
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