Monthly Archives: November 2008

“This is what I’m saying!” The Great Mad About You Rewatch

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So I had this whole plan. I was going to make a list of my top 10 episodes, sprinkle them with some video clips and post it here. Except, the Internet is severely lacking in Mad About You videos. (Internet, get on that!) Even the videos you’d expect to see, like footage from The Alan Brady Show, or the great scene in Two Tickets to Paradise where Jamie pretends to be French. (Seriously one of the funniest things to ever air on TV.)  But, no.

So instead, I’m pretty much only doing descriptions. Sorry, readers. And now, the blog:

After writing my theme song blog, I got a hankering to watch Mad About You again. It was one of my favorite shows growing up, and yet,I could really only remember one thing: the episode where Paul and Jamie go on vacation as Burt and Sylvia Buchman. Splink splink! That just wasn’t right. And thus began the Great Mad About You Rewatch.

So here’s the thing about this show: The first four years or so, it’s fantastic. It’s brilliant. It’s funny. It’s sweet. It’s realistic. I’ve never lived with a boy in a romantic setting myself, but I imagine it’s a lot like that – you and your partner are constantly adorable and hilarious, with your banter and smittenness.

That’s the good news.

The bad news? It takes a down turn after season four. I’m sorry, but it has to be said. I don’t want to sugar coat it for you all. There are still some standout episodes, and some moments that made me cry from laughing so hard. But for the most part, it’s just…not as good. They relied too much on over-the-top guest stars, got into therapy, and started acting more neurotic and crazy than necessary.  

After I got to season five, and things weren’t going as well as I thought they would, I suddenly remembered: Mad About You was the first show to disappoint me. It was the first show I had watched consistently, and loved, that took a turn for the worse in its later years. Series that followed include Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 7), Angel (seasons 4-5) Gilmore Girls (seasons 6-7), Lois and Clark (season 4), Scrubs (everything after season 5), and ER (after making Carter a fucking drug addict…no I am still not over that) among others. The few shows that never crossed over? Northern Exposure, Sex and the City, Cheers, and Friends. (Yes, Friends. Take a second look at those later episodes.)

But anyway. So there’s that. However, in its heyday, the show was pretty much perfect, and the early seasons remain some of the best TV I’ve ever seen.  So with that in mind, I give you my top 11 episodes.

11.) The Alan Brady Show: Paul’s doing a documentary on the history of television, and wants Alan Brady (played by Carl Reiner, who reprises his role from The Dick Van Dyke Show) to narrate it. The only problem? “He’s just so mean!” After Brady throws a fit and quits the project, Paul and Jamie hatch a scheme to get him back – which includes a hilarious parody of The Dick Van Dyke Show, complete with Helen Hunt’s spot-on impression of Mary Tyler Moore. One of my favorite parts of the episode is the cold open, which never fails to crack me up.

10.) New Sleepwalking PLUS: This is the season 4 opener. Jamie and Paul decide to start trying to have kids. Other things happen in the episode – Paul interview for a new job, Jamie has a pregnancy scare – but that’s all you really need to know. The final scene in the episode is this great discussion about when to start, when the timing is right, is the timing ever right, should I take this job so our kids will have money– so we’re really going to do this? And somehow, it remains funny. This episode also has a great cold open. I love it because it’s so something that would happen to me. In fact, this HAS happened to me.

9.) Weekend in LA: This is one of the gems from later in the series. Its from season 7. Paul is wooed by a fancy LA agent, and the two take a trip out west to meet with him. They leave baby Mabel at home for the first time. At first, Jamie misses her dearly. But after awhile, she gets out of “Mom mode” and remembers her life before kids. This comes to a climax when, while in a hot tub on a jet, (don’t ask, it makes sense in the context of the episode) Jamie blurts out, “Why did I ever have a baby?” Paul, understandably, gets upset, decides to cut the trip short, and goes home – without Jamie. A few hours later, Jamie comes home, all apologetic and gives this heart-wrenching speech about being a parent and looking back on her old life – a speech that reminded me why Helen Hunt won 4 Emmys. The show ends with Jamie singing “You Are My Sunshine” to Mabel. It’s all very sweet.

8.) The Finale: So technically, this is three episodes, but I’m just going to group them all into one. This is the finale – THE finale – the one where Paul and Jamie almost break up. This is on the list for a couple of reasons – the first of which is that it’s impeccably acted. Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt always do a good job – but they are on firing on all cylinders in these episodes. I loved the episode, but after watching an interview with Reiser and Hunt about it, I appreciate it even more. In a nutshell, Reiser says, “First of all, we knew they weren’t going to break up. But we wanted to show people – look these people are crazy, head over heels for each other, and if even THEY have problems, marriage is really hard. It’s something you have to work on constantly.” I liked that. Maybe you have to hear the actual words from Reiser himself, but he really sold me. Plus it has one of my favorite endings to a season ever, one that does everything a season finale should: gives the audience hope and anticipation, and sets up the next year. And yeah, the music is cheesy, but I love it anyway.

7.) The Conversation: Another episode late in the run – Paul and Jamie decide to let Mabel cry herself to sleep, and spend the entire episode outside their bedroom door, waiting for her to stop crying. This is the famous “one shot” episode. However, that’s not why I like it. Sure, it is impressive. But more important, it’s a return to the earlier seasons. There’s no crazy family interrupting them, no flashy guest stars. It’s just Paul and Jamie, sitting on the floor, talking. Topics include winning a bunch of pasta at the grocery store, Jamie’s crush on Tom Brokaw, Paul discovering he’s shrinking, and whether or not they should move to the country. It’s both funny and sweet, and reminded me just how great Reiser and Hunt are together.

6.) Cold Feet: The episode where we learn how and when Paul proposed to Jamie. It’s one I wish there were clips for, because my words do not suffice. This episode has some hilarious throwaway lines and scenes, including Paul’s realization that, in a certain light, Jamie looks like Hannibal Lector, Jamie’s reaction to finding out Paul is going to propose (“He’s going to propose? Tonight? OH MY GOD!” — only she says this completely panicked). After talking to Ira, Paul decides against proposing, only Jamie thinks he IS proposing, so she’s all nervous, expectant, and then disappointed. In the end, he asks for her hand in marriage, and she, as we all know, says yes. Hands down one of the funniest episodes in the series.

5.) Cake Fear: The episode opens on Paul’s birthday, and the story weaves in and out from his current one to the previous four. There was the birthday where Jamie threw a surprise party and Lisa gave him sleeping pills; the one right after Mark left Fran; the one with a freak snowstorm in May where no one showed up; and the one right after Paul and Jamie got engaged. Jamie gets angry when Paul goes on his annual birthday walk alone. They fight, but Paul smooths things over:

I’m going to tell you what I was thinking about, the whole time I’m out there. I’m walking along and I’m looking back at the year and I’m going ‘Hey! Remember this? Hey! Remember that?’ and I see all these people, they’re looking at me because I’m talking to myself but they don’t know I’m talking to you! And all of a sudden, I realize I’ve figured it out — I now have somebody else to walk with, for the rest of my life. That’s what I was thinking about. But you know what? You’re right, you’re right, it’s my birthday, I don’t have to discuss it if I don’t want to.I’m going to have cake.

4.) How to Fall in Love: Another episode that focuses just on Paul and Jamie. It opens at Riffs, where Paul is trying to write a script for a how-to video on picking up girls. Jamie scoffs at the idea, especially at the thought of Paul having any knowledge on the subject. So they spend the episode trying to pick each other up. Paul finally gets her in the end, telling her all about his wonderful wife. Sweet and simple.

3.) Two Tickets to Paradise: See above, in the introduction. LOVE this episode. It’s the only one I remembered years after watching the show. (Though, to be fair to all other episodes, once I started The Great Rewatch, plot lines, characters, lines, etc. came flooding back to me.) Everything about this episode is golden, from Jamie’s hilarious French accent, to Paul acting like his father, to the dancing in the room, to everyone thinking Paul is crazy …four words: Guava, guava, splink splink! LOVE IT. Here’s just some of the brilliance:

2.) Same Time Next Weekend:  It was a hard decision to put this at the number two slot. It could be number one.  In this episode, Paul goes out of town for six weeks to shoot a movie in Chicago. He comes home on the weekends. It’s a wonderful representation of how we get used to living with someone, and how we get used to living alone. The first week, Jamie is all excited for him to come home, and he enters the apartment, enraged at a cab driver. Week two, he has grown a beard, which Jamie hates. Week three, he gets snowed in and has to stay in Chicago. Week four, his mother shows up after Jamie told her Paul would be gone for the weekend. Week five, they discover they’re used to sleeping on their own, and week six they both surprise one another – she goes to Chicago, while he finishes his movie early so he can be home with her sooner. And so they’re apart for one more night. Here’s a bit of dialogue from week three. It’s all in the delivery, really, but this is a bit I had to rewind several times, it was so funny:

Paul: I’m nibbling your ear..
Jamie: Oh, I like that.
Paul: And I’m going down your body..
Jamie: I love that!
Paul: And I’m kissing your knees..
Jamie: What niece? I don’t have a niece.
Paul: Your KNEES!
Jamie: Oh, my knees! I’m sorry!

and the number one episode is….(drumroll, please)

1.) Met Someone: The story of how Paul and Jamie met: At a news stand, they both want the last copy of The New York Times. Jamie gets it, but drops her dry cleaning receipt. Paul picks it up and goes in search of “J. Stemple.” He shows up at her office the next day with her dry cleaning, and asks her out. They attend her company Christmas party, and discover odd coincidences, like they live on the same block and have never met. (How When Harry Met Sally of the writers.) Before leaving the party for the night, Jamie spontaneously kisses Paul, then denies it. And the rest is history.

Some honorable mentions:

Best cold open of all time:

Favorite Lisa moment:

Hell yeah, we can:

Whoaaaa!

and last but not least: I am so Jamie in this scenario:

~~~~~

Video(s) of the Day: I’m going out of town tomorrow, joining the millions of others on the road for Thanksgiving. So I don’t imagine I’ll be updating again until December.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am grateful for many things, including my family, my friends, a good job, a kick ass apartment, President-Elect Obama and, among the frivolous: YouTube, my DVR, my iPod, musical theater, NPH, Tina Fey, 30 Rock, the beauty of Michael C. Hall, the remote for my computer, and The West Wing. With that in mind:

and

Happy Thanksgiving!

Still, I always shock them when I answer, “Hi, my name’s Amanda”

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Last night, I saw Amanda Palmer live at the 9:30 Club. My immediate and day-after reaction: Oh my fucking god. (In a good way!)

First things first: This was sort of a monumental night for me anyway – Despite living in the DC area for 20 of my 27 years, I had never been to the 9:30 Club. It all stems back to 8th grade, when ALL OF MY FRIENDS got to go see Smashing Pumpkins and The Offspring there, and I wasn’t allowed to go, despite the fact that it’d be chaperoned. This is second only to being forbidden to go downtown on New Years Eve 1999, which I only wanted to do to see Bono. I didn’t care about any of the other hoopla. Fifteen years after the Smashing Pumpkins/Offspring show, I say: Mom, Dad, I would have been perfectly safe. It’s a friendly, all-ages club, with kick-ass food and free pitchers of water set up on the bar. The point of that story is, for years, the 9:30 Club has always been some mythical place to me. I wasn’t allowed to go there when I was 13. It must be some dangerous, mysterious place! Well, it’s not. But it’s pretty awesome.

Back to Amanda Palmer. Say what you will about her – I’ve had more than one person say they can’t get behind her voice. Fair enough. Personally, I think it’s amazing, but I get it – the Bright Eyes syndrome. However, even if you think she sucks, you can’t deny she puts on a good show. She’s got enough energy for 10 people, as do her fellow performers. And she is an amazing piano player.

This was my third time seeing Amanda Palmer. The first two were when she was playing as a Dresden Doll. I didn’t think that last year’s concert at a freaking SYNAGOGUE could be topped -the most amazing acoustics ever – which totally makes sense, right, cause it’s a church building – but who thinks to play a show there?

Even though they were two completely separate performances, in tone, in songs, in bands, I have to say, she kicked last year’s performance’s ass last night. I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my life – Smashing Pumpkins (I managed to see them later that summer), U2 about five times, Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Wilco, Jump Little Children… I would put this in the top two performances ever – just behind U2, and after Jump Little Children and Ben Folds.

And what a performance it was. In a way, I’m glad that Amanda P isn’t a huge superstar, because I’ve gotten to see her in small venues. Her show wouldn’t work in a big stadium, or even a semi-larger venue. But, she gets that, and takes advantage of the closer quarters.

So, her solo record is called Who Killed Amanda Palmer, right? There were three opening acts, and before each one, this dude would come out and remind us all that Amanda fucking Palmer is fucking dead, and get the audience to be sad, blah blah blah. At that point, I wasn’t convinced. I mean, I get it, she’s a morbid chick who likes death and goth and stuff. That’s cool. But it just seemed kinda lame. Until she was finally on, and the guy came out again to remind us that Amanda fucking Palmer was fucking dead, and then invited violinist Lyndon Chester onto the stage to play a sad song. About halfway into his song, the voice of Neil Gaiman came on, reading the liner notes in the album about Amanda Palmer’s death, and, well, here’s what happens next. (Note: I don’t think these videos can do justice to just how awesome the show was – it has to be seen live to get the full impact.)

Note 2: Our show was even cooler, as my friend and I were standing a bit back from the crowd, so we didn’t see her walk up, and there were no steps up to the stage, so the Danger Ensemble – that’s those four people you see – lifted her up onto the stage. So fucking cool! Oh, like this:

So that’s how it started, and it rocked from there on out. This crew, The Danger Ensemble, is I guess this troupe from Australia, who’s touring with her for no money. It sounds silly, but they add so much to the show. It’s the kind of thing that could be stupid, but all four of them take it so seriously, and are so convincing, that the audience buys into it and it becomes pretty powerful. And the violinist – this Chester dude – he’s astounding. I would just see him live.

They played for about an hour and a half. My only gripe is that the show had to end early – so we didn’t get to see the full set. I’m not sure if this is because they were the early show (Amanda kept on talking about a curfew) or if it’s because the gang was going to see the Eagles later that night…maybe a combination of both. Either way, they cut it short. I’m not sure what I missed, but I would pay again in a heartbeat to see the full show. Really though, I’m not sure why they even brought it up – the audience wouldn’t know we got a short show. So really my problem is the fact that they decided to share it with us. What did we miss?? I’ll never know.

Despite this, it was fanfreakingtastic. Some of the highlights include this song – which I wasn’t crazy about on the record, but live it was something else. I didn’t know the back story. Knowing back story can make all the difference.

That somber performance was followed up by something light, frivulous and rockin:

Get it? Guitar hero?

One of my favorites of the night was a new song – lyrics by Neil Gaiman, music by Amanda P. Hilarious. Side note: During this song my friend went to use the bathroom. After it got going, and I discovered it was hilarious, I thought, “Oh no! She’s missing it!” She came back a few minutes later, laughing, as she heard the song loud and clear, because the 9:30 Club has speakers in their bathrooms! Pretty cool, huh? (Ok, this might be totally normal, but I haven’t been to a small music club in ages, and was very impressed.)

Anyway, here’s what she didn’t miss:

She did some old Dresden Doll favorites – Coin Operated Boy (I didn’t think it’d be as good without Brian, but The Danger Ensemble put their own unique spin on it), Mrs. O, and Bad Habit. She did Ampersand. Her dad came on stage and they sang a song together. (He’s lives in Chevy Chase. Neighbors! I live right down the road, Papa Palmer!) The last song she sang was this one, which is my favorite from the new album, so I was stoked.

All and all, a fantastic night. If you have the chance to catch Amanda and The Danger Ensemble on tour, I highly recommend it. It’s really something, and it’s really something you have to EXPERIENCE to understand. Here’s her tour schedule – check to see if she’s coming near you!

As for the 9:30 Club, I like you, new friend. I shall return soon. As in Monday, when new DC resident Liz and I go see Sondre Lerche. Woo!

Video of the Day: My life mantra since last year, after seeing Dan in Real Life. Live, and in person on Monday! Woot!

I do enjoy lists

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Things that are awesome:

  • Federal holidays that allow me to not only clean the apartment and go grocery shopping, but finally catch up on the DVR, Netflix and computer downloads.
  • The last couple of episodes of Dexter. (Jimmy Smits, there is a part of me – I’m not sure where it comes from – that wants to dislike you. But alas, you are kicking so much ass playing the role of Miguel Prado that I cannot.
  • The third season of Friday Night Lights. And that’s all I will say about that.
  • Last week’s episode of 30 Rock. “It’s Barpo!”
  • TV Boyfriend NPH being number 25 in Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Entertainers of the Year.
  • Having a job that lets me know about documentaries and other movies/radio series/TV specials I would otherwise miss. Like this.
  • This restaurant. I went last week, and man, oh man was it good. Some of the best chips and salsa I’ve ever had. Those who know me know that’s saying a lot.

Things not-so-awesome:

  • The moderator at the Amy Sedaris event last week. Girl came out wearing short black leggings (???) and a sparkly purple over-sized t-shirt. Who does she think she is, Claudia Kishi? Unfortunately, the wardrobe reflected her personality, loud, inappropriate, and in a world of her own. Amy did the best she could, but, well…see above.
  • How on earth is NPH only number 25? Did they not see ALL of Dr. Horrible?
  • Having my transit card SNAP IN HALF yesterday. (I know it’s not media related, but, seriously? Seriously, Metro?)
  • Forgetting to DVR Steve Carell on The Tonight Show last night. As Liz Lemon would say: Aw, nerds!
  • After finishing She’s Come Undone last week, I decided my next book needed to be light. I decided to go with Love is a Mix Tape, a book that my mom got me over the summer, thinking, I know – mix tape, music mixes, music mixes relating to life – this is up Sarah’s alley. So I pick it up from my shelf without reading the back cover, only to discover…this is perhaps the most depressing book EVER, as it’s all about this dude’s wife that died and he deals with his grief by listening to mixes she made him and remembering their relationship….yeah. Don’t worry, I quickly switched to Queen of the Oddballs. So far, it’s appropriately light.

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I usually write these from work (shhh!) and it’s been busy. Sometime, I’ll try the whole blogging from home thing.

Video of the Day: Number 25 my ass.

I’ve got something to say!

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In a couple of hours, I’m going to go see Amy Sedaris – she of Strangers With Candy, craft books, and tumbling. BFF to Sarah Jessica Parker, longtime pal to Stephen Colbert and sister of David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris is one of the most oddly talented people living today.

I have no idea what sort of show she is going to put on. I’ve heard that it’s to promote her book on hospitality, and she does little craft demonstrations. But honestly, I don’t know.

I am psyched.

And if she does do craft presentations, I hope it’s for these – word on the street is, she was behind this Colbert Report segment.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

I’ll let you all know how it turns out.

Video of the day (Of the week? Of the Year?) What I already consider a Classic TV Clip – if you look closely, you can see them crying.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

I work at The White House

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Not to get all political on you, but….getting a little political on you…

This weekend, the parents and I finally continued our West Wing watching. (First time for me, second for them. It’s only taken us two years to get through three seasons and one episode!) We watched the season four opener, “20 Hours In America.”

There’s a lot I loved about this episode. Lily Tomlin, Charlie getting a decent story line again, Lily Tomlin, the fact that Josh, Donna and Toby just didn’t rent a damn car, Lily Tomlin, Josh screaming into the phone for Sam to wake up, CJ mourning the loss of Mark Harmon, any time President Bartlet spoke…

But what surprised me the most about this episode is how much it relates to our world today. It originally aired in September, 2002 – roughly six years ago. Not too far in the past, but far enough for the resemblances to be sort of striking.

– They are facing an economic crisis, with the Dow plunging over 200 points.
– It’s election season.
– The show opens up with a campaign stop in Indiana, where Josh, Donna and Toby are left behind, and have to interact with farmers and the people of rural America, or, shall we say, Real America.
– Toby and Josh spend most of the episode arguing over what is the best campaign strategy – being elite or playing to the masses.

You could say that Aaron Sorkin was a visionary, or you could say that things never really change, but either way, I was both blown away and touched by the similarities, and how the characters handled their respective situations.

What I was most blown away by was the similarities to fictional president Jed Bartlet and real-life presidential candidate Barack Obama. Particularly in this scene. (Which also had me thinking, how on earth did Martin Sheen lose to James Gandolfini EVERY YEAR?)

Compare his fictional speech to this real one:

It seems like something Aaron Sorkin would write, but it’s reality.

By the end of today, this guy could actually be our president-elect. He could run the country for the next four years. It’s like having the real President Bartlet in office. The dude even has a Charlie!

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

And if he should lose, at least there is always Aaron Sorkin’s fictional world. (Which, considering it contains Josh Lyman, ain’t too bad.) (OMG, if Obama wins, I hope he gets a Josh Lyman.)

Video of the Day:From the same episode, why Richard Schiff and Aaron Sorkin are awesome.