Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) and Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) are a young NY couple. He's a indie documentary filmmaker. They bicker and love their way thru the days with their dog Murray. Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay) is her unstable sister. Ira Buchman (John Pankow) is his cousin. There is Jamie's best friend Fran Devanow (Leila Kenzle) and her ex Mark (Richard Kind).There isn't some crazy job or crazy structure. It's the very ordinary family life that produce the biggest laughs. This is truly Paul Reiser's show. I also love the rest of the cast. They all have great chemistry. Considering it had 7 seasons, it should be considered a great success. But I get a sense that it's often overlooked.

My wife and I have been watching collections of some great comedies (Seinfeld, I Love Lucy, Friends, Frasier, Dick Van Dyke) and have found "Mad About You" (at least the first 3 seasons) to be on par with all of them. The show is funny and great at exploring relationship idiosyncrasies. Paul Reiser is very funny and the writing is outstanding. There are certainly some sappy moments but all shows have that at one point or another. The chemistry between Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt is excellent and that chemistry gives the show more believability. I wish Sony would release the entire series (or at least group the first 3 seasons in a collection). This show is definitely worth watching.

I only started watching this show about two weeks ago on ABC1 (Re-Runs Obviously) and already I'm hooked! The show is very funny perhaps only due to the great talents of Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser. There on-screen buzz is believable and so is much of the things they do. One/Two episodes I simply did not understand, however, is when the newstand where they met is burnt down and the whole show seems to move to what it would be like if they hadn't met. But when this weirdness had ended there seemed to be no indication of what had happened and whether it was a dream or whatever. Still, it is a fantastic show and seen as though I am new to MAY I still have many episodes and series to enjoy! By the way, ABC1 is on UK Freeview so if anyone is thinking of getting it, Mad About You is an excellent reason to! Fantastic!

I suddenly really started to miss this show when I realized that, for me, there is currently about 99% trash on television, and probably only about three television shows a week that I look forward to watching anymore (which is on one hand, depressing, but on the other hand, a good thing in that I look for other ways to spend my time). "Mad About You" was one show that you could (almost) always count on to be entertaining, and represents a sitcom now lost in the wave of trashy television (burdened most abundantly with garbage talk shows and "Reality" TV).A great directorial and production team developed a pretty good show that lasted seven years. The premise was simple--that of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt), a couple who lived in New York. The Buchman's made a really great sitcom couple, and one that was able to really transcend the television conventions even as the years went on. Paul was not the doofus or arrogant husband, and Jamie was not his demeaning wife. Their friends were not catty and their parents (save some things that Paul's mother often did towards Jamie) were not berating to their children or hateful towards each other (as clearly, Ray's parents are in 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' for example). They were a simple couple that, save a few exceptions, most younger (like 30s and 40s) married couples could either identify with, or at least enjoy the charisma and likability of these two main characters from the time the show began to the very last episode. While each episode focused on some kind of daily event, whether it be visiting with the parents, or something going on at work, it also took you through some of the rise and falls in the Buchman's marriage (during sweeps week, no doubt, but still...) such as the time that Jamie and Paul first met, the time that they almost divorced, and the token sitcom season where Jamie gives birth to their daughter, Mabel (who conveniently disappears in later episodes after the baby craze died off). But, more often than not, despite these pitfalls, the Buchmans often had some hilarious adventures (and misadventures) in so much as most things that they did could be called "Adventures." The supporting cast, too, was just as great with my particular favorites being John Pankow (Paul's cousin, Ira), Hank Azaria (Nat, the dog walker), Anne Ramsay (Jamie's sister, Lisa), Cyndi Lauper (who was a regular guest star in the last season as Marianne), and Louis Zorich (Paul's dad, Burt).And, even with all of the little lessons about life and marriage and so forth that came into full understanding among the characters by the end of each episode, it was not done too dramatically, not too cloyingly, and certainly not in a pathetically sentimental manner. The writers, directors, and performers were able to make just the perfect balance of all elements. And I think that was why it survived as long as it did. Viewers, male or female, could like the Buchmans.In the meantime, catch the old shows on DVD or reruns if you can, for a brief reminder of how good television shows USED to be.