# 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:** 3
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/41 "2018-03-29T19:58:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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. Thanks! ---
**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, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/42 "2018-03-29T20:17:07Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So I think Larry David was probably the single person most responsible for the brilliance of Seinfeld. Oh, of course Larry David was the essential brains behind _Seinfeld_; I don’t think anyone disputes that, least of all me, and I’m not really a big Larry David fan. But I was referring specifically to the on screen talent and the delivery at which Louis-Dreyfus was so much better than everyone else on that show it was kind of hard to watch. I’ll give Jason Alexander props for playing an unlikeable, Larry David-esque character in a really deliberately unlikeable way (and actually being an otherwise talented performer in many respects), but Jerry Seinfeld never seemed very comfortable and Michael Richards was pure ham. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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. You all realize that the show is a pretty transparent ripoff of _When Harry Met Sally_ right down to casting actors and creating characters that pretty closely look and sound like the eponymous leads in that film, right? The entire premise of the show is essentially a follow-on to that film, and while those characters were bearably entertaining for a couple of hours with a story spread over a decade (Billy Crystal basically mastered the character of the obnoxious guy you want to sucker punch but makes you laugh anyway) they were intolerable for years on end of their obnoxiously pointless daily lives. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/43 "2018-03-29T20:24:32Z")
I watched that all the time, but the only episode I really remember is the one they went through half a dozen turkeys trying to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table. That and ‘Get the mouse, Murray!’ ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/44 "2018-03-29T20:24:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In my favorite episode, the bathroom doorknob falls off, and Paul is to dumb to open the door. I know you are being sarcastic but I actually really enjoy that episode. A few other favorites: The one where the entire episode takes place at a wedding and Paul and Jamie are fighting. The one where it inter cuts between a party that has gone bad and the ride home. The Flashback to when they first met. The alternate history episode where they never met. The one where Paul says “This is what I’m saying…” I’m kidding, that’s all of them. ---
**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, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/45 "2018-03-29T20:36:47Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > You all realize that the show is a pretty transparent ripoff of _When Harry Met Sally_ right down to casting actors and creating characters that pretty closely look and sound like the eponymous leads in that film, right? I’ve never watched _When Harry Met Sally_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/46 "2018-03-29T20:53:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ve never watched _When Harry Met Sally_. Wisecracking New York guy meets cute but insufferably high-maintenance blond girl and they annoy each other until they fall in love. Best remembered for [the scene in Katz’s Deli.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bsf2x-aeE) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/47 "2018-03-29T21:29:31Z")
But will they bring back Hank Azaria as Nat Ostertag, the dog walker? ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/48 "2018-03-29T21:59:58Z")
I remember when this show was on that NBC would have these silly “Theme Nights”. One I remember was a black out. I _think_ it started with Mad About You where one of them short circuited a breaker box, and then every other show that night had a black out. I remember Friends had Chandler stuck in an ATM Vestibule with … umm… some super model. I would actually think it funny if NBC did that again one night - create a theme night and have a one off episode of some of the shows from that era. Mad about You, Friends, and Seinfeld. I’d especially like it if they merged in some modern shows, say Breaking Bad (I know, not NBC, but think of the possibilities!) ---
**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, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/49 "2018-03-29T22:13:29Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I remember when this show was on that NBC would have these silly “Theme Nights”. One I remember was a black out. I _think_ it started with Mad About You where one of them short circuited a breaker box, and then every other show that night had a black out. I remember Friends had Chandler stuck in an ATM Vestibule with … umm… some super model. Jamie was attempting to steal cable and Chandler was [trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1&ei=1mS9WsjsPNH0swXom6SABg&q=%22trapped+in+an+ATM+vestibule+with+Jill+Goodacre%22&oq=%22trapped+in+an+ATM+vestibule+with+Jill+Goodacre%22&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30k1.9892.13591.0.13879.2.2.0.0.0.0.766.766.6-1.1.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.1.764....0.ciYShBt1Qm0). ---
**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, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/50 "2018-03-29T22:13:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Wisecracking New York guy meets cute but insufferably high-maintenance blond girl and they annoy each other until they fall in love. > > Best remembered for [the scene in Katz’s Deli.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bsf2x-aeE) Also one of the best Romantic comedies ever made which created the template for almost all the ones that came after it. ---
**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, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/51 "2018-03-29T22:18:58Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I would actually think it funny if NBC did that again one night - create a theme night and have a one off episode of some of the shows from that era. Mad about You, Friends, and Seinfeld. I’d especially like it if they merged in some modern shows, say Breaking Bad (I know, not NBC, but think of the possibilities!) I hate to be the one to break this to you, but _Breaking Bad_ is done, and not in a “Maybe we can bring it back for a reunion show someday” fashion. RIP Hank Schrader; you never got to to retire and open up that [microbrewery](http://awesomenessbyvolume.com/2012/11/schraderbrau-breaking-bad/), hombre. The world is poorer for you premature departure. Stranger ---
**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, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/52 "2018-03-29T22:28:29Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > 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 So, they haven’t forgotten how to write, just how to pitch series to lazy, fucktard executives? ---
**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, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/53 "2018-03-29T23:04:20Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ve never watched _When Harry Met Sally_. To its credit, it is the least creepy of all Nora Ephron-penned films (excepting _Silkwood_, which is supposed to be disturbing) and basically a template for all mismatched couple rom-coms ever since. Also, Carrie Fisher’s film best role. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > So, they haven’t forgotten how to write, just how to pitch series to lazy, fucktard executives? How do you explain quantum mechanics to kindergarteners? Stranger ---
**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, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/54 "2018-03-29T23:07:07Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But will they bring back Hank Azaria as Nat Ostertag, the dog walker? Probably not. Didn’t Azaria marry and divorce Helen Hunt? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/55 "2018-03-29T23:13:04Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Kill this wave of TV nostalgia. > > Kill it with fire. Include Paul Reiser. He was at his best in Aliens, when horrifying aliens killed him. ---
**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, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/56 "2018-03-29T23:35:58Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Include Paul Reiser. He was at his best in Aliens, when horrifying aliens killed him. _So now, if I went in and made a major security issue out of it, everybody steps in. Administration steps in, and there are no exclusive rights for anybody; nobody wins. So I made a decision and it was… wrong. It was a bad call, Ripley. It was a bad call._ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/57 "2018-03-30T01:01:43Z")
I always liked that show except for that one awful Ferberizing Mabel episode. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/58 "2018-03-30T01:32:30Z")
I don’t remember watching it, with the exception of an episode where Paul Reiser takes a Viagra pill, then has to hurry home before it wears off. Hilarity and funny walks ensue. I think I can live without it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/59 "2018-03-30T02:09:00Z")
I liked that show, or at least the two leads. I’ll admit, the supporting characters were a mixed bag. Paul had a co-worker I liked all right. A: Paul Reiser haters are not obligated to watch it. And two: some of you are being–what’s that word? puerile?–that doesn’t sound right. Some of you are being childish. And get out of my house! ---
**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 30, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376/60 "2018-03-30T02:21:31Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I always liked that show except for that one awful Ferberizing Mabel episode. I loved that episode. Single 22 minute shot, very good technically and artistically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-return-of-mad-about-you-thoughts/811376.md?page=4)