For eight seasons (1992-9), NBC's Mad About You was a breezy, delightful domestic sitcom. However, the network wasn't entirely comfortable with where to place it on the schedule. First, it was on Tuesdays, then Mondays, and, finally, Thursdays as part of the Must See TV block, which needed a little retooling after The Cosby Show had given way to Friends, and Cheers had segued into the spin-off, Frasier. And, of course, there was also Seinfeld. The network tried to be cute and create a pocket universe in which Mad seemed to be occupying space with Seinfeld and Friends.
Series star/co-creator Paul Reiser (ex-My Two Dads) also composed the show's theme song. "The Final Frontier", with Don Was of Was (Not Was). The late Andrew Gold performed the theme initially, before R & B singer Anita Baker recorded an alternate version for season 6. Gold's earlier hit, "Thank You For Being a Friend", had been co-opted for another NBC series, The Golden Girls, some time earlier.
Mad also provided a recurring role for Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), which could've been bigger if but for his commitments to the Fox series.
Following is a sample open:
My folks used to watch this in syndicated reruns, right alongside repeats of Seinfeld, but for some reason never could bring themselves to watch the network first-runs.
Rating: B.
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