Product Details

• Actors: Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt, Maui, John Pankow, Leila Kenzle
• Directors: Barnet Kellman, Craig Knizek, David Steinberg, Gordon Hunt, Linda Day
• Writers: Adam Markowitz
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: February 8, 2005
• Run Time: 491 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006SGYLU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,455 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > Television > Mad About You

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In the early to mid-1990s, Mad About You was about as good as sitcoms got. As newlywed couple Paul and Jamie Buchman, stars Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt crackled with rapid-fire wit, and a chemistry that created some genuinely moving moments. The Mad About You Collection is a set of 21 highlight episodes from all seven seasons; Reiser and Hunt selected the episodes and introduce each with a 4- to 6-minute Q&A. From the first season are the pilot and the story of how they first met. From the second season are Paul's encounter with Christie Brinkley in a virtual-reality investment opportunity and the recap of the marriage proposal. From the third season are the zany family Thanksgiving dinner in which Murray the dog eats the turkey, Paul's attempt to create an "honest" 15-minute film about a day in their lives (this was before the reality-TV craze), and Carl Reiner's guest appearance as a TV legend. From the fourth season are Yoko Ono playing herself and the three-part finale in which some hints of infidelity lead to serious marriage problems. Mel Brooks appears as Uncle Marty ("Firm embrace!") in the fifth season, and Bruce Willis makes a goofy guest appearance in the two-part season finale, "The Birth."

It's well-known that TV series that try to keep themselves relevant by making momentous changes usually go quickly downhill (a phenomenon known as "jumping the shark"). In Mad About You's case, it was the birth of baby Mabel, or perhaps it was that the lead characters' neuroses simply began to wear thin. Either way, the later seasons became more erratic, and it might not be a great loss to see only a few episodes from them. The selections from the sixth season focus on Jamie and Paul writing letters to Mabel, and Paul directing his parents in The Pirates of Penzance while Jamie battles postpartum depression. In the seventh-season episodes, Paul and Jamie ask their therapist about resuming sexual activity, they try to teach Mabel to go to sleep by herself, and Paul runs over his mother-in-law. Then in the series finale, Janeane Garofalo plays a grown-up Mabel telling how her parents discovered they weren't really married, and what happened over the following years.

In addition to the episode intros, the set's bonus features are enjoyable and informative commentary tracks by the two stars on the first and final episodes, a blooper reel, and featurettes on the guest stars and the theme music (you can see Reiser playing the piano). The involvement by the stars might appease the frustrated fans who bought the first two complete seasons on DVD then waited in vain for the third. DVD fans have become accustomed to having complete seasons, because no matter how well highlight episodes are selected, some favorites are bound to be missing (how about the what-if-they-hadn't-met episode, or the Rashomon-like taxi ride?). On the other hand, the previous sets had no bonus features, and a fan boycott that results in poor sales might mean no more Mad About You DVDs at all. That would be a shame, for even with its shortcomings, The Mad About You Collection reminds us that the series had a special ability to make us laugh and cry. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
22 of the stars favorite episodes. This is not a season box set. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/20/2005 Starring: Helen Hunt Run time: 491 minutes Rating: Nr

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What kind of release strategy is this?, December 6, 2004

By	J. Cummings "artgeekseattle" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand what Sony has in mind with this upcoming release. They release season one with a low bit rate, inexpensive 2 disc set, then season two in a better quality 3 disc set and now they're doing a "best of" set that has Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt participating in some of the extras and commentaries. Why weren't they involved from the beginning and then just release the series season by season? Does mean that this new set is the final word on Mad About You and that we will see no more season sets? Will they continue with "best of" collections? It's a perplexing way to treat a classic television show.

Before "Friends" was available in season collections they tried doing "best of" discs. I've noticed that those discs are now in the $5 pile at various electronics stores. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for this kind of format.

115 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not gonna happen my friend!, February 14, 2005

By	J. SHARP (Alabama - United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really can't believe Sony did this. I have dutifully bought Seasons 1 and 2 and have been patiently waiting for Season 3. What does Sony go and do? A "Best of.." hodgepodge?

I know that Season 2 sales were very low and they put this product together with Hunt and Reiser in order to draw in the non-cult crowd. Boycotting this set may guarantee there are never any other releases of any seasons. But I'm afraid that ship has already sailed or they wouldn't have done this "Best of..." to start with.

Yes, these episodes are all great but I still don't like it because:

a) It's just stupid, and
2) I want Season 3!

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, it's a start..., February 4, 2005

By	G. Hough "antique bird book collector" (Rowan U, Glassboro NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a long-time fan of Murray and the gang, I was waiting anxiously for Season 3 to be released on DVD. The good old taped copies pale in comparison to professional editing quality. So I'm happy that the series is still being considered for release and isn't dead in the eyes of Sony.

There are some really nice episodes here, like Giblets for Murray, and a blooper reel. So it's not Season 3, but it's a good start. I'll probably cough up the cash to ensure the new releases, then watch it gather dust when the rest of the show is released seasonally.. oh well. It's still one of the funniest comedies to come out of NBC, and the best NYC-based comedy (far better than those Seinfools and their LA eccentricities in my opinion).

Oh, and here are the disc contents if you're curious:

Disc 1
The Pilot (Season 1)
Met Someone (1)
Virtual Reality (2)
Cold Feet (2)
Giblets for Murray (3)
Special Features:
Extra stuff from Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser

Disc 2
Our Fifteen Minutes (3)
The Alan Brady Show (3)
Yoko Said (4)
The Finale (Parts 1, 2, & 3; Season 4)

Disc 3
Citizen Buchman (5)
The Penis (5)
The Birth (Parts 1 & 2; 5)
Letters to Mabel (6)
Moody Blues (6)

Disc 4
Le Sex Show (6)
The Conversation (6)
Paved with Good Intentions (7)
The Final Frontier (series finale)