alt.tv.mad-about-you Episode Guide for Season #5
Ramaswamy
Archive-name: tv/mad-about-you/season5
Posting-frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 97-01-05
Version: 5.2
URL: http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~witelski/may-eg5.html
Copyright: (c) 1994-1997 by Ramaswamy [ra...@ultranet.com]
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Episode Guide for Season #5 of "Mad About You"
for the Usenet newsgroup alt.tv.mad-about-you
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Archive-name: tv/mad-about-you/season5
Posting-frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 97-01-05
Version: 5.2
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This Episode Guide for the TV Comedy show "Mad About You" is,
as a collection of information,
Copyright (c) 1994-1997 by Ramaswamy [ra...@ultranet.com].
All Rights Reserved.
This document may be freely distributed in electronic form for
personal use only, provided it is distributed in its entirety
and with all original author and copyright information intact.
Distribution by any other means must be by permission of the
copyright holder. This material is for non-commercial use only
and any sale for profit is expressly forbidden. It may not be
included in any commercial documents, archives or CD-ROMs, nor
uploaded to any BBS or online service without the permission
of the copyright holder. The removal of this copyright notice
is prohibited.
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The MAY Episode Guides:
Episode Guide for Season #1
Episode Guide for Season #2
Episode Guide for Season #3
Episode Guide for Season #4
Episode Guide for Season #5
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The Fifth Season
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Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Supporting Characters
The Production Team
5.1 (501) 96-09-17 Dr. Wonderful [Season Opener]
5.2 (502) 96-09-24 The Grant
5.3 (503) 96-10-15 Therapy
5.4 (506) 96-10-22 The Clip Show
5.5 (507) 96-10-29 Burt's Building
5.6 (504) 96-11-12 Jamie's Parents [100th episode]
5.7 (508) 96-11-19 Outbreak
5.8 (510) 96-11-26 Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
5.9 (505) 96-12-17 The Gym
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Cast of Characters
Paul Buchman . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Reiser
Jamie Buchman . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Hunt
Lisa Stemple . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Ramsay
Fran Devanow . . . . . . . . . . . . Leila Kenzle
Ira Buchman . . . . . . . . . . . . John Pankow
Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maui
Supporting Characters
Burt Buchman, Paul's father . . . . Louis Zorich
Sylvia Buchman, Paul's mother . . . Cynthia Harris
Debbie, Paul's sister . . . . . . . Robin Bartlett
Theresa Stemple, Jamie's mother . . Carol Burnett
Gus Stemple, Jamie's father . . . . Carroll O'Connor
Joan Golfinos/Herman . . . . . . . . Suzie Plakson
Lance Brockwell, Mayoral candidate . Harry Groener
Troy, Jamie's gopher at work . . . . Patrick Bristow
Vladimir, theonewordman . . . . . . Elya Baskin
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5.1 Dr. Wonderful [Season Opener]
With Mark Devanow in Europe, Jamie and Paul have to look around for
a gynecologist and Debbie tries to set them up with her girlfriend.
Meanwhile the elder Buchmans finally get to meet Debbie's friend.
Written by: Victor Levin and Larry Charles
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tag: Sylvia and Burt talking to Debbie, about Joan.
Expression: "Get outta here!"
Words: Poetic, magical, sublime, good; Strapping.
Keys: Buzzing baby, pee-on-a-stick, Ira as Jose, debating
discussing or speculating, the woman thing, Dr. N-O-H
(or Dr. Roh), Dr. Green too (not Anthony Edwards), Ira's
long quest - girlfriend, bakery girl, finally the maid,
bottom of the totem pole, the fish knife, casserole dish,
garlic press and (silently) a whisk, exploring options,
Rhinebeck dishes, soy cheese and aspic, Joan of Oratory.
The debut of Joan Golfinos.
- Debbie: "So... only 96 hours, 15 minutes and 12 seconds
until Mom and Dad finally meet Joan."
Jamie: "Relax. I'm sure the big news is that you've
a girlfriend."
Paul: "Now you've given them a face to attach to the
sleepless nights spent crying..."
Debbie: "Thank you Paul. See how nice I am when you
come out of the closet."
Paul: [uncertain, to Jamie] "What does she mean by that?"
- Jamie: "All right, you guys, what should we drink to?"
Joan: [to Debbie] "To your family!"
Debbie: "My family... Dysfunctional, judgemental, intolerant,
oppressive, petty and small."
Paul: "Yes, but we get everything when they die!"
Supporting Cast: Sylvia, Burt and Debbie.
Guest Characters:
Dr. Joan Golfinos . . . . . . . . Suzie Plakson
Dr. Von Derphal . . . . . . . . . John O'Hurley
Ira's girlfriend . . . . . . . . . Victoria Hoffman
Girl at the bakery . . . . . . . . Jann Karam
Consuela, Ira's maid . . . . . . . Norma Maldonado
5.2 The Grant
Jamie tries to stay awake, avoid coffee and continue to manage
Brockwell's campaign. And while Paul is figuring out how to use
a sizeable grant that has come his way, their uncle Phil asks
Paul and Ira to visit him in Brooklyn.
Written by: Jenji Kohan, Victor Levin, Richard Day and Larry Charles
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tease: Paul and Jamie doing the Macarena, or at least Jamie.
Tag: Uncle Phil rattling off the melons he's got.
Expression: "Got Milk?"
Word: Sifting.
Keys: Eating for 2 (or 3), sound bites or sound gulps, Berkus
in Albany, the wow kiss (coffee, not cajun), looking for
Kinko's, talking of Java Men, etimology of stupid, Colombian
drug lords at Java Hut, moving the Eagle couch, Foim embrace
all around, Tom Brokaw as a blur, the intrusive peach, cleft
or cliff, a legal pad and 2 sharp Eberhardt #2s.
The debut of Troy and Vladimir, and the second Lance Brockwell.
- Paul: "We even have Yah-tzee?"
Jamie: "Yes, we've Yah-tzee! It's right under here."
Paul: "Okay, a little yah-... You *would* *not* believe
the stories he was telling me - we had this welterweight
in our family, this guy who was a fighter in the Thirties,
apparently like, not that great, but he... I mean, like
all these people... What a great idea for a movie! It's
like... my family! Just... Buchmans! That's the name of
the film. You know, over the years, how the Buchmans
came to this country and converged and scattered and
then coursed through the veins of America... to me
that's a great movie, don't you think?"
Guest Characters:
Uncle Phil . . . . . . . . . . . . Mel Brooks
Lance Brockwell . . . . . . . . . Harry Groener
Troy, Jamie's gopher . . . . . . . Patrick Bristow
Brockwell's speechwriter . . . . . Gedde Watanabe
Jamie's co-worker . . . . . . . . Arnetia Walker
Vladimir, theonewordman . . . . . Elya Baskin
A Campaign worker (blue shirt) . . John Freeland Jr.
Kinko's customer . . . . . . . . . Nick Toth
A Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . Deborah Guyer Greene
5.3 Therapy
Months after setting it up, Jamie and Paul decide to keep their
appointment with the therapist Fran referred them to, but doing
so delays Paul's shoot of his parents' reminiscences, with some
interesting consequences.
Written by: Richard Day
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tag: The therapist dictating her take on the Buchmans.
Word: Bibliotheque.
Keys: Loving Abbott and hating Costello, the barking disapproval,
reversal of selves, hearing a tone, the Prozac connection,
the Equal moment, a bottle-fed baby, marbled pot-roast at
Emilio's, facing down the other Costello, and finally --
a reckoning.
- Jamie: "I like it, I think it is unique."
Paul: "Unique is not the same thing as good."
Jamie: "You hate it?"
Paul: "Not to the point of barking at it, but I don't like it!"
- Jamie: "I called the therapist today and told her
we weren't coming back."
Paul: "That's good... isn't it?"
Jamie: "I guess... it was stupid to go, right?"
Paul: "Well, nah... it wasn't stupid. You didn't know!"
Supporting Cast: Sylvia, Burt, Lance, Troy and Vladimir.
Guest Characters:
Herb Buchman . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Charof
The therapist . . . . . . . . . . Mo Gaffney
Paul's cameraman . . . . . . . . . Kenny Moskow
5.4 The Clip Show
Having chosen the residents of Apartment 11-D as its parents, the
baby in the making deals with musical interludes and parental cooing,
and with lots and lots of choice moments from their years together.
In other words, a clip show.
Written by: Jonathan Leigh Solomon and Leslie Caveny
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Retrospective Sequences by: Chuck Workman
Words: Her and him.
Keys: Whats and wows, kisses and looks, chanting and warbling,
entrances and more entrances, Warren and Ursula, Y. Ono
and Christie, Lisa and Sylvia, slaps and spits, Fran and
Mark, Mark and Fran, Ira on generations, Murray in life,
dancing and giddyap to the future, First Trimester movement.
- Jamie: "Tell you what was a big hit -- the sound-track
of "Guys and Dolls!"
Paul: "Really?"
Jamie: "See, her daddy loves show-tunes. I thought
she ought to know!"
Paul: "Well, thank you! Did you play him your Hungarian Chants?"
Jamie: "Bulgarian."
Paul: "Whatever."
Jamie: "Yes."
Paul: "And?"
Jamie: "Loved it."
Paul: "Really?"
Jamie: "Yes."
Paul: "How do you know?"
Jamie: "Because I'm the mommy! I can tell."
5.5 Burt's Building
Filming of Paul's documentary takes him and Burt back for the day
to their old apartment building, and events conspire to make Paul
late for an appointment at Joan's office to hear the baby's
heart-beat for the first time.
Written by: Ron Darian, Victor Levin and Larry Charles
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tag: The Sounds of Paulie.
Expressions: "At this point, yes!" and "I'm your *father*."
Keys: Hold button and switch-hooks, call waiting, the 5:00PM
appointment, combinations of 435-45 Pelham Parkway,
wrought iron railings and stoops, Hitchcock's cameraman
(who can field-strip an Uzi), a story in flashback with
an arc and a structure, 4-D or 4-E, olives and monikers,
Fallout Shelter sign, The Fugitive search after a
little stroll, Trudy's Soda Fountain, Tom Brokaw's early
Evening News, 5-pack of Bazooka gum, Rusty the cocker spaniel,
the growth door, the 10 to 39 spurt, and the first heartbeat.
- Joan: "Is he here yet?"
Jamie: "Not yet. Is there anything else you can do?"
Joan: "Well, I've seen all my patients, finished all my
correspondence, alphabetized my files... I'm thinking of
taking up painting!"
Jamie: "I'm sorry! I'm going to *kill* him!"
Joan: "Well, then you couldn't yell at him, what with
him being dead and all."
- Burt: "Don't you think I know which one is the hold button
and which one is the switch-hooks?"
Paul: "I.. I know it. I thought you did, I knew that!"
Burt: "I was just done talking to you, that's all."
Paul: "Which.. which I know now, I understand."
Supporting Cast: Burt and Joan.
Guest Characters:
Akiba, Paul's cameraman . . . . . Christopher Darga
Osofsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allan Corduner
Paul, as a youngster . . . . . . Adam Weisman
Irwin, storekeeper in 1964 . . . Zane Lansky
Howard, storekeeper in 1996 . . . Markus Redmond
Artie Zeitlin, the neighbor . . . Floyd Levine
5.6 Jamie's Parents
The Stemples arrive at Paul and Jamie's apartment for a 2-day visit
with a surprise, and another soon follows. And Lisa makes her first
appearance of the season.
Written by: Maria Semple
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tease: Paul dealing with Jamie's reaction to the sight
and smell of food.
Tag: Theresa helping Gus locate some Tums.
Keys: Shopping with Thelma and Louise, Tang and Swiss Miss,
shoplifting arrest, powdered beer or candy corn for Poppy,
Da Noise Da Funk, mother jumper (no swearing), separate
entrances, the Stemple buzzing code, sports, politics and
the stock market (Pittsburgh, Perot and IBM), table assembly,
dinner ding and plates over the heads, a 37-year marriage,
interesting mildew patterns, a long talk at the Jets game
(another loss), a short talk back home.
Appearance of the third pair of actors playing the Stemples.
- Jamie: [the door-bell buzzes and she bumps into furniture]
"Aaaow! Fu.." [starts singing] "..or crying out loud!"
Paul: [approvingly] "For the baby?"
Jamie: "Yes, for the baby!" [shouts at the door] "COMING!"
Paul: [hurrying after her] "Oh, oh, tell me again with
your mother because I blew it the last time... when
she says something is bad, that means it is good?"
Jamie: "No, no, no! When she says it is good, it is bad."
Paul: "Good is bad."
Jamie: "Good is bad, like is loathe, love is hate.
When are you going to get this?"
Paul: "I got it, I got it. So when is it actually good?"
Jamie: "Nobody knows." [she opens the door]
Guest Characters:
Theresa Stemple . . . . . . . . . Carol Burnett
Gus Stemple . . . . . . . . . . . Carroll O'Connor
5.7 Outbreak
The Buchmans decide on the time and place of their grand announcement
but the leaks start early this Thanksgiving week, at the elevator.
The pace is fast and furious and the saga ends with a surprising
connection. And Fran makes her first appearance of the season.
Written by: Richard Day
Directed by: David Steinberg
Tease: Jamie clueing Paul in, puzzle-wise.
Tag: Monkeys in Africa figuring out how they heard the news.
Keys: The glow one can read by, the first telling, 4 steps from
Marlon Brando, the Mickey Rourke bomb, a Thanksgiving Day
date, third-degree under lights, Sanford's secret, Slotkin's
dry scalp, Arturo's mousse, Theresa's scream, Debbie's pie,
the poker game, non-picture of non-grandson, a $100 bribe,
the gathering, the Conways' friends, and Burt's hurt look.
Place and Time of Day captions throughout, "Outbreak" style.
- Arturo: [to Paul] "You see this mousse? You put this in,
it disappears, no one knows you wear it, makes you look
handsome, no one knows WHY!"
- Ira: "Paulie, would you just give it up? This is like a virus,
this information is spreading all over the place! You know,
there's a monkey in Africa that knows you're pregnant."
[a bit later]
Debbie: "Two things -- 1) Congratulations, Paulie, this is
wonderful news. I'm so happy I could cry, 2) You're a
son-of-a-bitch!" [she leaves the apartment]
Paul: "Hey, Deb..."
Maggie: [regards him from the doorway] "What have you
done to your hair?"
Paul: "I'm so tired of you." [closes the door]
Supporting Cast: Burt, Sylvia, Debbie, Joan, Theresa and Maggie.
Guest Characters:
Woman in the elevator . . . . . . Joanna Daniels
Arturo, hairdresser to many . . . Jose Zuniga
WDED-FM disc jockey . . . . . . . Carol Rosenthal
Campanella, the proud grandpa . . Ralph Manza
Mel Slotkin . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Rocco
As himself . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Bacon
5.8 Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
While Ira counsels against it, Paul contemplates abstinence until
July; however Jamie has other ideas and talks Paul into a trip
upstate where they chance upon a dessert item with magical powers.
Written by: Victor Levin
Directed by: David Steinberg
Tease: Paul explaining Baseball to the baby.
Tag: Murray fudging his way to a starry-eyed state.
Keys: The fragile Jamie, Ira's experience, Paul's adventure, the
Jack Palance push-ups, baby Leon's yard, reaction to a kiss,
last time alone, funky parents, the Estrogen therapy, the
calm Paulie, Gruber's Country Store goodies, the surprise
back at 11-D, crooked picture, mallomars a poor substitute.
- Jamie: "You're not going to break anything."
Paul: "How do you know?"
Jamie: "Because I know, I asked, I read, the fact is
having sex is good for me."
Paul: "Really?"
Jamie: "Yes! It allays anxiety, it fights cramps,
it builds muscle-tone and it's aerobic."
Paul: "When done properly, yes."
- Jamie: [entering the store] "Well, now I'm only starving."
Paul: "All right, let's get you something to eat."
Jamie: "This place is great, isn't it great?"
Paul: [holding up a prop] "Hey! Get me! I'm Eddie Albert!"
Jamie: "I see pitchforks, I see birdhouses, I see
shaving mugs, I see no food at all."
Supporting Cast: Sylvia, Burt and Maggie.
Guest Character:
Mrs. Gruber . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Patterson
5.9 The Gym
Paul so likes playing the Mystery Man at a local gym that he talks
Jamie out of working out there, whereupon she hands over her free
pass to a homeless acquaintance from the neighborhood.
Written by: Victor Levin, Richard Day and Larry Charles
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Tease: Making hot fudge sundae in the middle of the night.
Tag: Dreaming about the Mystery Man.
Word: Discerning.
Keys: Books-A-Plenty closing Weatherby's, some contradictory
recommendations, 10-visit free pass to the oasis, being
nobody's anything, untowering Inferno, lacrosse shoes,
two guys in bad shape, no 2-syllable words, vegan bookseller,
the pass for "Ask the Dust," Ira's proposition at the
library, Jamie's confrontation at the gym.
- Jamie: "What do you think about this?"
Paul: "Oh, I'm so happy not to be in this coversation!"
Jamie: "Yeah, well..."
Paul: "I think it is.. y'know, it is one of those
situations where truly there are no winners."
Jamie: "Wow, could you be more wishy-washy?"
Guest Characters:
Virgil . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bruno Kirby
Dante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Parducci
Virgil's friend . . . . . . . . . John Toles-Bey
Italian customer at the gym . . . Alfonso de Rose
Gym clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Larou
Clerk at Books-A-Plenty . . . . . Karen Gracey
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The Production Team
Created by: Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson
Executive Producers: Larry Charles, Paul Reiser, Danny Jacobson
Co-Executive Producer: Richard Day
Supervising Producer: Victor Levin
Producers: Bob Heath, Helen Hunt, Craig Knizek,
Jenji Kohan, Maria Semple
Coordinating Producer: Mary Connelly
Associate Producer: David Craig
Script Supervisor: Victoria Weisbart
Production Coordinator: Linda Demeduk
Costumes: Howard A. Sussman and Maureen Gates
Art Direction: Robert Strohmaier
Photography: Bobby Byrne
Editing: Sheila Amos
Sound Mixing: Peter Damski
Writers: Leslie Caveny, Larry Charles, Ron Darian, Richard Day,
Jenji Kohan, Victor Levin, Paul Reiser and
Jonathan Leigh Solomon
Directors: Michael Lembeck and David Steinberg.
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