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Mad About You




  Show Name Mad About You
  Caption Helen Hunt & Paul Reiser
  Format Sitcom
  Runtime approx 22 minutes
  Creator Danny Jacobson <br> Paul Reiser
  Starring Paul Reiser <br> Helen Hunt <br> Anne Ramsay <br> Leila Kenzle <br> John Pankow <br> Richard Kind
  Country USA
  Network NBC
  First Aired September 23 , 1992
  Last Aired May 24 , 1999
  Num Episodes 164
  Imdb Id 0103484


''Mad About You'' is a United States Sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 23 , 1992 , to May 24 , 1999 . It is currently being released on DVD and rerun in Syndication across the globe.

The popular show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a recently Married couple living in New York City . Reiser played Paul Buchman, a Documentary Film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a Public Relations specialist. Near the end of the show's run, the couple had a baby daughter named Mabel.

The series focused mainly on the newly-married couple's interaction, while dealing with everything from daily minutia to major struggles. The show's willingness to find comedy in realistic situations and observational dialogue garnered it camparisons to '' Seinfeld '', another NBC comedy about thirty-somethings in New York City. ''Mad About You'', however, was known to take on a more serious and sentimental tone from time-to-time.

In its final seasons, the series faced a decline in the ratings, with many critics accusing it of relying too heavily on slapstick humor and " Very Special Episode s".

The show's theme song, ''Final Frontier'', was composed by Reiser and Don Was . The theme was originally performed by Andrew Gold , but a version performed by Anita Baker made its debut midway through the 1997 season. Baker's version was used for the rest of the show's run and appears on the show's soundtrack album. (Gold's version is available on the collection ''Thank You For Being A Friend: The Best Of Andrew Gold''.)


MAIN CHARACTERS



Jamie Buchman

Mrs. Buchman was welcomed into the family by her parents, Gus and Theresa Stemple, and her puerile sister Lisa. After starting (and ending) relationships with her seven boyfriends at Yale University , Stemple met Paul Buchman by stealing his copy of The New York Times .


Paul Buchman

Buchman was conceived on the table that his mother served "mushed" potatoes on. After attending the New York University Film School, he became a lucrative filmmaker in New York City . His wife, dog, and daughter, reside with him in Greenwich Village .


Fran Devanow

Fran Devanow is Jamie's best friend. She held the position as Regional Vice President at Farrer-Gantz Public Relations and hired Jamie as her assistant. Near 1989 Fran quit Farrer-Gantz to spend time with her five-year-old son and husband. (Jamie was then promoted to Fran's position). Fran and Mark's relationship lasted 10 years, and their separation was a shock to Jamie and Paul.


Lisa Stemple

Three years older than her sister Jamie, Lisa has unfathomable psychological issues. Jamie is referred to as "Stella" in a book written by Lisa's therapist: "It was Stella's over protectiveness that suffocated her ability to relate to others, and tethered her to a lifetime of insecurity and neurosis." After an envious rage, she blamed Jamie for all of her problems in an interview with her shrink that became a chapter of a book called "Manics." With no place else to go, she does her laundry at Paul and Jamie's apartment while scavenging through her sister's clothes and food. Every visit from her parents triggers her eating disorder.


Ira Buchman

A "ubiquitous" individual, Paul's cousin Ira first appeared in Mad About You in "The Wedding Affair" episode. Ira is a native of Long Island who worked for Paul's father, Burt, at Buchman's Sporting Goods. Paul and Ira have a close friendship, but their hidden rivalry came out when Ira obtained the store when Burt retired.


Mabel Buchman

The arrival of Paul and Jamie's daughter was a turning point in the show. She was finally named when Jamie's overbearing mother proclaimed that "Mothers '''A'''lways '''B'''ring '''E'''xtra '''L'''ove."


CAST


Main



Regular guests



Guest stars



ON THE AIR

Lifetime used to air reruns of ''Mad About You''. Currently, ''Mad About You'' airs on Lifetime Real Women and Nick At Nite . In addition, the series is syndicated and may be found on individual television stations around the U.S., such as New Haven, Connecticut 's & Syracuse, New York 's UPN affiliate, WCTX & New York City 's WWOR .


TRIVIA

  • Helen Hunt was the first person to win an Oscar while still doing a weekly TV show.

  • On September 12 , 1999 , Helen Hunt won her fourth consecutive Emmy Award for her performance in ''Mad About You''.

  • The role of Jamie Buchman had been offered to Bonnie Hunt , who turned it down. Helen Hunt was awarded the role over Teri Hatcher who was also considered.

  • Helen Hunt's father, Gordon Hunt , won a Director's Guild Award for directing "The Alan Brady Show" in ''Mad About You'''s third season. It was named one of the greatest episodes in TV history by '' TV Guide ''.

  • Lisa Kudrow played Ursula , the forgetful waitress at Riff's. She also played Phoebe in '' Friends '', who was Ursula's twin sister. Ursula, played by Kudrow, appeared as a recurring minor character in ''Friends''. (See "Connections to other sitcoms," below.)

  • ''Mad About You'' was produced in association with TriStar Televsion Inc. under Sony . Hunt currently owns her own production company called Hunt/Tavel Productions under Sony .

  • Lifetime Television paid USD $58 million for the rights to broadcast ''Mad About You''.

  • Hunt's favorite episodes of ''Mad About You'' are: "Our Fifteen Minutes" in season three and in season six "Moody Blues." (She won her third Emmy Award for the latter.)

  • Both Hunt and Reiser have written episodes of ''Mad About You''. Helen Hunt also directed five episodes, including the series finale, which was called, appropriately enough, "The Final Frontier."



AWARDS

''Mad About You'' has been honored with one Golden Globe Award , a Peabody Award , a Genesis Award , five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, and was chosen Best Quality Comedy by the Viewers for Quality Television.


SOUNDTRACK

In 1997, Atlantic/Wea released a Mad About You sountrack. The soundtrack from and inspired by the sitcom, is composed of fun and sentimental songs and clips from the show. The tracks are organized chronologically marking the milestones of the couple's relationship. The album is bookended by the two versions of Paul Reiser's song Final Frontier--the first track is the classic version fans are used to, and the last track is Anita Baker's jazzy, full-length rendition, with Reiser on keyboard. The 21 tracks are as follows:

1. Final Frontier (TV Theme) - Andrew Gold

2. Who I Am - Faith Hill

3. No Pressure - Paul Reiser & Helen Hunt

4. I've Been Lonely Too Long - The Young Rascals

5. At Last! - Etta James

6. That's Marriage? - Paul Reiser & Helen Hunt

7. Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan

8. I Love The Way You Love Me - Eric Martin

9. Nobody Knows Me - Lyle Lovett

10. Sneaky Feelings - Elvis Costello

11. A Talk In The Park - Paul Reiser & Helen Hunt

12. Love And Forgiveness - Julia Fordham

13. A Magic Moment - Paul Reiser & Helen Hunt

14. The Things We've Handed Down - Marc Cohn

15. Lullabye For You - Bebe Winans

16. She Crawls Away - Hootie & The Blowfish

17. My First Child - Nil Lara

18. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - John Lennon

19. Baby Girl - The Tony Rich Project

20. Unconditional Love - Paul Reiser & Helen Hunt

21. Mad About You - The Final Frontier - Anita Baker


DVD RELEASES



CONNECTIONS TO OTHER SITCOMS

''''' had the recurring role of Ursula , a flakey Waitress at a local restaurant/cafe that Paul and Jamie frequented. Kudrow went on to star in the NBC sitcom '' Friends '', playing the also somewhat flakey character of Phoebe Buffay , and for a time both series' shared the same Thursday night line-up. While not originally intended, the characters of Ursula and Phoebe were later found to be identical twin sisters. In one episode of ''Friends'', as part of a night of NBC sitcom "crossovers", Jamie and Fran walk into the Central Perk and mistake Phoebe for Ursula.

''''' of '' Seinfeld ''. (''Seinfeld'', however, twice contradicted this connection, one even featuring a running joke about a character's distaste and his fiancees fondness for watching ''Mad About You'')

''''' reprised the role of Alan Brady from the 1960s sitcom (a series acknowledged as an inspiration for ''Mad About You''). The episode made several references to the older show, such as Jamie at one point crying and whining ""Ohh Paul!!!" - a signature move by Mary Tyler Moore 's character Laura Petrie .


''MAD ABOUT YOU'' OUTSIDE THE U.S.

From January 3 , 2005 , ''Mad About You'' is shown regularly on the United Kingdom digital terrestrial channel ABC1 . In Latin America , the show is still running on Sony Entertainment Television at daytime slots.

Sony Pictures sold the rights to produce a Chilean local version of the show. Called ''Loco Por Tí'', it has aired on TVN .

All episodes of ''Mad About You'' have been dubbed into German, where the series is called ''Verrückt nach dir''. The German episodes were first broadcast by the Austrian TV station ORF starting in January 1996, but ORF cancelled the series about one year later, showing only the first two seasons. All six seasons were broadcast in German by the German station RTL between September 1997 and March 1999.


EXTERNAL LINKS