Craig Knizek Movies

Though they're still working overtime to bring the magic back into their marriage, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) discover that it is more beneficial to sleep apart. Meanwhile, Ira (John Pankow) tries to turn his timorous employee Marvin (Jeff Garlin) into a pro wrestler. And yes, that's "Macho Man" Randy Savage, in the flesh and then some. ~ All Movie Guide

The sixth season of Mad About You was marked by flagging ratings and ever-increasing audience dissatisfaction over the self-indulgences perpetrated by the series' creators and stars, which reached a summit (or nadir) with the single-take, "real-time" episode, "The Conversation." Nonetheless, NBC wanted to hold on to the Emmy-winning sitcom, especially since the demise of Seinfeld had passed the cudgel of offbeat comedy to Mad About You. So eager was the network to keep the series on its schedule that it offered both Paul Reiser (Paul Buchman) and Helen Hunt (Jamie Buchman) a daunting 1,000,000 dollars per episode -- a salary increase that, astonishingly enough, neither actor had requested. Once Reiser and Hunt had acquiesced, Mad About You was a firm go for a seventh season, remaining in its familiar Tuesday-night berth (albeit one hour later). While John Pankow, Louis Zorich, and Cynthia Harris were back as, respectively, Paul Buchman's cousin Ira and Paul's parents, Burt and Sylvia, several other longtime regulars were conspicuous by their absence, notably Leila Kenzle (Fran Devanow), who had joined the cast of the new UPN sitcom DiResta. Anne Ramsay -- now billed as Anne Elizabeth Ramsey -- made only guest appearances as Jamie Buchman's sister, Lisa; ditto Robin Bartlett as Paul's gay sibling Debbie. The emphasis of the series was weaned away from the Buchmans' baby daughter, Mabel, refocusing on the relationship between Paul and Jamie -- a relationship that proved to be far more fragile than in previous seasons. Despite the efforts to return to its roots by concentrating on Paul and Jamie's romantic travails, Mad About You continued its precipitous ratings plunge, prompting NBC to move the series from Tuesday to Monday evenings. Thanks to constant pre-emptions, the series was barely seen at all during March and April of 1999, and when it finally returned with new episodes, it was greeted with almost universal indifference. The program briefly rallied with its one-hour finale, a futuristic episode wherein the grown-up Mabel Buchman (Janeane Garofalo) looked back upon the lives of her parents (and their friends) during the first two decades of the 21st century. Perhaps because everyone knew that the series was on its last legs, Mad About You received no Emmy awards for its 1998-1999 output, though guest star Mel Brooks was honored at the American Comedy Awards ceremony. ~ All Movie Guide

Not surprisingly, most of Mad About You's sixth season was built around little Mabel Buchman, newborn daughter of leading players Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt). Many longtime fans of the series felt that the introduction of Mabel was the "jump the shark" moment, in which the quality of the writing began sliding downhill. Conversely, the series garnered a whole new crop of fans, else why would NBC cease its "football" treatment of the property, uncharacteristically allowing Mad About You to remain in the same (Tuesday night) time slot for two consecutive seasons? (For the record, its competition included CBS' JAG, ABC's Soul Man, FOX's Tuesday-evening movie package, and UPN's Clueless.) The series "new" regulars this year out were not all that new. Graduating from recurring character status, Robin Bartlett was now seen on a weekly basis as Paul's gay sister, Debbie; likewise, Louis Zorich's and Cynthia Harris' appearances as Paul's parents, Burt and Sylvia, became more frequent. Also, Paxton Whitehead, who had played the Buchmans' snooty British neighbor, Hal Conway, during season one, returned to the role, which for the last several years had been essayed by Jim Piddock. Still an Emmy Award "magnet," Mad About You earned Helen Hunt her third Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and Mel Brooks his second statuette for his recurring guest appearances as Paul Buchman's philosophical Uncle Phil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After enjoying a year's worth of high ratings by virtue of its "Must See TV" Thursday night time slot, Mad About You entered its fourth season in a new prime-time berth on Sunday evening, opposite CBS's Cybil and ABC's Lois and Clark. The move neither helped nor hurt the series, which resurfaced on Tuesdays when season five rolled around. Beyond the addition of a few new recurring characters -- among Gates McFadden as Paul Buchman's new boss, Allison Rourke; Alan Ruck as Jamie's new employer, Lance Brockwell; and Hank Azaria (the then boyfriend of series star Helen Hunt) as Nat the dogwalker, Mad About You embarked on some fresh story tangents as well. Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) was hired as a documentary filmmaker for the Explorer Channel cable service, Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) and her friend Fran Devanow (Leila Kenzle) opened their own PR firm, and so forth. The biggest new development was the pregnancy of Jamie Buchman -- or rather, the non-pregnancy, since actual conception was held off as long as the scriptwriters (and the audience) were able to endure the weight. Having scored excellent ratings in past seasons by offering such pop-icon guest stars as Carl Reiner and John Astin, the series continued in this vein throughout season four, most memorably in the episodes featuring Yoko Ono and several former regulars of the 1960s variety show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. In addition to maintaining its loyal viewership during its fourth year on the air, Mad About You also garnered another Emmy award, this one for series regular Helen Hunt as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide