"The Cockatoo" -- The bird is clearly someone's harmless pet, yet rather than close the windows and calmly lure it into a confined space (does Murray have a kennel cage?) where it can be given food and water till its owner is found, Paul repeatedly swats at the poor bewildered thing. (Lucky he didn't break its wing!) Then, still making no effort to find its owner, he tries to sell the bird, then tries to give it away. (How would he like it if Murray got lost and was treated that way?) Thanks to sheer luck, all is well by the end of the episode, but it wasn't a fun ride.
As for the other plot, where Jamie notices some suspicious behavior among campaign staff members, was that ever resolved? Seems like, as the manager, she should have investigated.
This episode also highlights a minor aspect of the series that has puzzled me from the beginning: Haven't people in New York heard of window screens? OK, perhaps they're not legal on windows where there's a fire escape, but that reminds me of another puzzler: I'm pretty sure that in an early episode someone mentioned there being no fire escape on the living-room window. But even though one does seem to have been added later, there are still no fire escapes on the building in exterior shots.
"The Touching Game" -- Seemed to me like Jamie's half of the episode belonged on I Love Lucy. Her awkwardness is ridiculously exaggerated FAR past what I've ever observed in a real-life pregnant woman, yet she never seems to notice the havoc she's wreaking. Paul's behavior (trying to be helpful to someone he thinks is a pregnant woman) is perhaps more understandable, but it too was exaggerated and prolonged till I lost patience.
This show seemed at its best when it primarily dealt with Paul and Jamie's interactions with each other. Rather than dividing each of these episodes into separate "his" and "hers" stories, they might have been better off picking one and fleshing it out more to involve both of them.
reply
share
stevewyzard (1612)
a year ago
Re: window screens.
No matter the show, TV windows NEVER have screens on them because a) they don't look good on camera regardless of the lighting or filming technique, and b) people standing behind them or the view beyond them can't be seen clearly by the viewers.
Thanks, by the way, for all your recent observations about this mostly forgotten show. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with Mad About You, mostly because while I think they had some good ideas/performances, it ran far too long and tried just a little too hard to be hip/edgy. It's a show I really wanted to like, but the execution (broad comedy vs social commentary) left much to be desired.
reply
share
CarolTheDabbler (575)
a year ago
Thanks for your explanation regarding window screens! I had been half-assuming it was because most shows are produced in the Los Angeles area, where I don't recall seeing as many screens in real life (presumably because there aren't nearly as many bugs as here in the Midwest). But production values are a far more comprehensive explanation.
And you're right, it didn't seem to occur to them that they might alienate (or minimally, confuse) their audience by abruptly switching from their established "real life" mode into farce. Of course the show was originally aired one episode per week, so it might not have been such a jolt back then, but we've been watching two episodes every evening, so it was about like being hit in the face with a pie.
reply
share