# Possible Return of 'Mad About You'... thoughts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376 "2018-03-28T21:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/21 "2018-03-29T03:53:28Z")
I never watched it, so I don’t care. Not that I have a problem with reboots, but what all ~15-30 year old shows are they rebooting? Full house, Roseanne, Will & Grace, Mad about you, Gilmore Girls. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/22 "2018-03-29T04:15:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Any others? I forgot Boy meets world, Mr Show and The X-files. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/23 "2018-03-29T05:03:35Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yeah, but weirdly it pops up at the top of the page if you google “Charlotte Rae net worth”. As you say it is incorrect - there are two Charlottes that are billionaires on that list, both heiresses( Campbell Soup and H & M ). Charlotte Rae isn’t either one. Spoofed by “alternative facts”. But I’ll still maintain that Julia Louis-Dreyfus made _Seinfeld_ watchable. If it was just Jason Alexander being obnoxious, Michael Richards overdoing a dumb schitck, and Jerry Seinfeld just being himself, it would have died quicker than the show within the show. Dreyfus brought killer timing to an otherwise mediocre cast. My cite is the fact that Dreyfus has since headlined two shows, one of which has been widely critically acclaimed while Alexander has done a bunch of voice and guest work and starred as himself in _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, Seinfeld was panned for his _Bee Movie_ despite massive promotion and now does a barely-worth-watching web series, and Michael Richards tanked his vanity project and then went on a racist screed assuring the only roles he can now get are courtesy of old friends. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > You know what’s weird? I remember watching this show every week when it was on, but I don’t remember any dang thing about it. Not story lines, not episodes, not characters, not anything. The only thing I remember about it was…no, wait, that was Seinfeld. Or maybe Friends. > > This show is a completely vacant memory for me. It had a dog. And I think Carol Burnett and Carroll O’Connor guest starred on an episode as someone’s parents. So…I think that’s everything worth remembering. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/24 "2018-03-29T07:20:30Z")
Mad About You could be interesting if they shift the focus to a suburban family. Seeing Paul and Jamie in that role would be interesting Paul and Jamie were the ultimate chic, childless couple. Focused on themselves, friends, and the current trends A lot of newlyweds start their married life like that. Eventually the children are born. The cool apartment is too small. The compact gets replaced by a SUV. Life changes. That would happen to Paul and Jamie. The characters should still be familiar, but more mature and focused on family. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/25 "2018-03-29T12:00:04Z")
I’ll watch it on one condition: Leelee Sobieski takes the role she was born to play as Helen Hunt’s daughter, even though the timeline doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/26 "2018-03-29T14:26:38Z")
I’ll watch, I loved that show. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/27 "2018-03-29T14:36:27Z")
If you think there’s a niche for a new sitcom about a married couple, then make a new sitcom about a married couple. It’s not like it’s an unusual premise. People aren’t going to look at the new show and say “oh, that’s just a ripoff of _Mad About You_”. They’ll look at it and say “Oh, a new sitcom”. They’d at least have a case for something like _Cheers_, because “sitcom set in a bar” is more distinctive. But of course, you’d probably have entirely new patrons, with just occasional cameos from the old-timers. It’d basically be _Cheers: The Next Generation_. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/28 "2018-03-29T14:51:32Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > No Murray no sale. Murray shuffled off his mortal coil and was replaced with a look alike for the daughter’s sake. “That’s not Murray. He would be 140 in dog years.” ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/29 "2018-03-29T14:57:26Z")
I’ll say it again. People have forgotten how to write. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/30 "2018-03-29T15:40:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Mad About You could be interesting if they shift the focus to a suburban family. Seeing Paul and Jamie in that role would be interesting. What a novel idea. A sitcom…set in a suburban home. I don’t think that has ever been done before in the history of television. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I’ll say it again. People have forgotten how to write. No, there are plenty of talented writers working in television, and most of them start in the sitcom ghetto because it is a job anyone with an ear for dialogue and an ability to write in format can get. Charlie Kaufman (_Being John Malkovich_, _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_) started his career writing for sitcoms like _Get a Life_, _The Dana Carvey Show_, and _Ned & Stacey_. (There is a rumor he wrote an on spec episode of the latter where the characters all stalk each other and end the episode and presumably the show in a mutual bloodbath, which is probably every sitcom writer’s fantasy.) It is television executives who see a guaranteed profit in a locked in audience; even if the show burns out in one series, they can at least be assured of selling advertising spots for the first half-order. And for Netflix and other subscription-based services, it is a relatively cheap way to keep people subscribing out of nostalgia and/or morbid curiosity; even if the show sucks, people are already subscribed and will look at other content until they find something they like. It makes sense from a business standpoint but tends to suck any amount of creativity out of the process, and thus you get shows like _King of Queens_ or _Everybody Loves Raymond_ which have no reason to exist other than to bloat out television schedules and serve as filler between commercials. When the commercials are literally more entertaining than the show they are sponsoring, things are bad. And that has been true since at least _Three’s Company_. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/31 "2018-03-29T15:49:01Z")
I loved MAY and feel it is under appreciated. Yeah the last few seasons kind of limped along but when the show was good it was great. About a year or so ago I had noticed that FXX was repeating it in order several times a day so I DVR’ed about 80% of the episodes and would watch them over the summer. The show has dated references of course but not as many as you would expect and its humor holds up. All of that said, I would NOT want a reboot. I would prefer maybe they create a brand new show about two young New Yonkers in 2018 who are newly married and make it 75% as good as MAY and I would watch that show. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/32 "2018-03-29T18:23:45Z")
Sitcoms based in suburban homes are common. Primarily because that’s where people with children typically choose to raise families. The difference here is we knew Paul and Jamie as single, carefree, newlyweds. 15 years have passed. Are they still stuck in the same apartment with the same single friends? Their daughter is in high school. Were other children born? Is Paul’s filmmaking career doing well? Is he away from home too much? Is it straining the marriage? There’s so many areas to explore in this new stage of this couple’s life. It’s a unique opportunity. I hope the writers don’t waste it. I agree there’s no reason to bring back the original show unless it’s going to focus on the changes that have occurred in these character’s lives. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/33 "2018-03-29T18:44:04Z")
In my favorite episode, the bathroom doorknob falls off, and Paul is to dumb to open the door. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/34 "2018-03-29T19:01:40Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Spoofed by “alternative facts”. But I’ll still maintain that Julia Louis-Dreyfus made _Seinfeld_ watchable. If it was just Jason Alexander being obnoxious, Michael Richards overdoing a dumb schitck, and Jerry Seinfeld just being himself, it would have died quicker than the show within the show. Dreyfus brought killer timing to an otherwise mediocre cast. My cite is the fact that Dreyfus has since headlined two shows, one of which has been widely critically acclaimed while Alexander has done a bunch of voice and guest work and starred as himself in _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, Seinfeld was panned for his _Bee Movie_ despite massive promotion and now does a barely-worth-watching web series, and Michael Richards tanked his vanity project and then went on a racist screed assuring the only roles he can now get are courtesy of old friends. The best Seinfeld episodes had multiple story lines spinning all around but in the end managed to tie them together into one. (My go-to example of that is [S5E14, “The Marine Biologist”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marine_Biologist).) and Curb Your Enthusiasm often does, except over the course of a season. So I think Larry David was probably the single person most responsible for the brilliance of Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/35 "2018-03-29T19:15:10Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The best Seinfeld episodes had multiple story lines spinning all around but in the end managed to tie them together into one. (My go-to example of that is [S5E14, “The Marine Biologist”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marine_Biologist).) and Curb Your Enthusiasm often does, except over the course of a season. So I think Larry David was probably the single person most responsible for the brilliance of Seinfeld. I have never seen Seinfeld, but I have wondered, “What does it mean, soup Nazi?” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/36 "2018-03-29T19:28:47Z")
Maybe they could really shake things up and have Jamie doing time for murder. Paul’s raising their daughter in the city, while Jamie is having wild hijinks in the big house. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/37 "2018-03-29T19:43:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have never seen Seinfeld, but I have wondered, “What does it mean, soup Nazi?” Take-out soup restaurant has extremely good soup, long lines of people wait to buy it. The owner/chef has rules to try to keep the lines moving as quickly as possible, such as having your order ready when you reach the counter instead of waiting and staring at the menu, and no modifying your order after you have made it. Do anything that can slow things down, you may be temporarily or permanently banned from buying there. People conciser this a very harsh punishment given how much they like the soup, they act in fear of being punished. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/38 "2018-03-29T19:46:00Z")
But back to _Mad About You_, were we supposed to find Jamie likable or charming? Because if I had to spend much time around her, then _I_ might be the one doing time for murder. She was a neurotic, high-maintenance superstitious flake. Possibly even less likable than her sister. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/39 "2018-03-29T19:47:40Z")
Paul Reiser was producer and then ex producer (last seasons) on Mad About You. He’s credited with writing 15 episodes. He has a created by credit for all 162 episodes. He won’t bring this show back unless there’s a very clear vision for new stories. I think this show could have a very good short run. Maybe 12 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/40 "2018-03-29T19:48:34Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have never seen Seinfeld, but I have wondered, “What does it mean, soup Nazi?” Seriously? There was an episode of the show where the owner of, for lack of a better word for it, a “soup restaurant” (based on a real person and restaurant), made what was considered the best soup in New York City, and there was always a line out the door, but the customers had to follow a very strict set of rules, along the lines of, “Place your order immediately - no staring at the menu board trying to decide once you’re at the front of the line - then move down to the cashier, pay, collect your soup, and leave,” and he could refuse your order (his catchphrase was, “No soup for you!”) at the slightest whim. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376.md?page=3)