History Series / MadAboutYou

Quite simply, a DomCom about a married couple, with a ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''-esque interest in meaningless conversations, and minor fiddling events over big important ones. Rather unusual in that the couple is composed of two intelligent, attractive, well-adjusted and financially well-off people who are deeply in love and rarely argue. Except over [[SeinfeldianConversation whether the floor is slanted]].

* ThemeTuneCameo: Paul walks past an ''ACappella'' group singing the theme song, which he'd cowritten. To further mess with the wall, he mentions its familiarity. At the end of the episode, Paul and Jamie listen to the same group singing the theme again as the end-credits play. This time, Paul recognizes the tune and grins with satisfaction, but does not identify the tune out loud.
* TimeSkip: The series finale jumps around a lot. These scenes range from funny (teenage Mabel and jamie having a door-slamming competition), to...not so funny, such as the funeral for Paul's father, Paul and Jamie's miscarriage, and subsequent '''breakup'''. Creator/JaneaneGarofalo guest-stars as Adult Mabel.

** Even more Kent Brockman, Jaimie's Boss was played by AlanRuck (of SpinCity and FerrisBuellersDayOff) but inexplicably changes between seasons 4 and 5.
* ParanormalEpisode: The series had an incident like this where the place the couple met, had burned down. As the episode goes on, the pair start to forget about each other for an unexplained reason.

* GodwinsLaw: Paul uses this in "The Glue People" as a reason to vote for a different Mayor than Jaimie.

** Likewise, in one episode, Paul runs into real-life Jerry Seinfeld, and tells him that Jaime "loves your show".
** NBC also liked to do cross over stunt nights when all the sitcoms in that night's line up would be self contained stories related to a larger arc (Generally to boost ratings during sweep periods). In one such instance ''MadAboutYou'''s Jamie tries to steal cable tv reception and manages to black out New York City. The characters of ''{{Friends}}'' and ''MadmanOfThePeople'' then dealt with the blackout in their own shows. Somewhat typically, ''{{Seinfeld}}'' didn't participate in the gimmick, and just ran a regular episode.

* DitzyGenius: Murray is indeed a little weird and appears to be a bit think sometimes, but it's also suggested several times that he is ''far'' more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for, sometimes even outsmarting his owners.

* CrossOver: Sort of; early on, Lisa Kudrow played Ursula, a scatterbrained waitress at Riff's. After Kudrow landed the role of Phoebe on ''{{Friends}}'', Ursula was revealed to be Phoebe's twin sister. Jamie and Fran have a cameo in one episode of the latter show, where they go to the coffee shop where they see Phoebe and mistake her for Ursula. The fact that Phoebe, being a customer and not a waitress, doesn't take their order only further convinces them that she's Ursula.

* ActorAllusion: Ursula (played by Lisa Kudrow) compliments Lisa on her name.

* AsHimself: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McGwire Mark McGwire]], post-Home Run record.

* CatchPhrase: For Paul listing things - "Ok first number 1 (first item) and then B (second item)."

*** "This is what I'm saying!"
* CoolOldGuy: Mel Brooks guest-stars as Uncle Phil ([[FreshprinceOfBelAir no relation]]) in a few episodes.

*** Likewise, in one episode, Paul runs into real-life Jerry Seinfeld, and tells him that Jaime "loves your show".

* FamousLastWords: Paul's uncle dying on-camera. "[=Hoooooooooooooo...Mooooooooooooooooooos!=]"

* FunWithAcronyms: After a full episode of back-and-forth debate over the baby's name, Paul and Jamie are hit with inspiration when they hear this adage: '''M'''others '''A'''lways '''B'''ring '''E'''xtra '''L'''ove. Bingo.

* MeaningfulEcho: In a flashback to Paul and Jamie's introduction to each other, Jamie's ForcefulKiss is followed by this non sequitur:

* TheOtherDarrin: Their next door neighbor Maggie (Judy Geeson) was married to a man named Hal (Paxton Whitehead). Early on, they switched the actor playing Hal (to Jim Piddock) in an implicit "Other Darrin" situation. Much later, they switched ''back,'' and retconned that they were two ''different'' Hals (Paxton-Hal was her first ''and third'' husband), thus un-Othering the Darrin.

* RunningGag: The kitchen floor bump.

* ThanksgivingEpisode: One memorable Thanksgiving, Paul and Jamie go through seven or eight replacement turkeys after Murray eats the first one.

* TimmyInAWell: Murray's very good at this. After he communicates that the toilet is overflowing, Paul quotes the trope.
** Murray acts this out during the final credits of a Valentine's Day show as he gets Mark and Fran to rescue Paul and Jamie who have spent the entire episode [[BottleEpisode trapped in the locked bathroom]].

* SpecialEditionTitles: "Film/{{Speed}} Baby".

* SpecialEditionTitles: "Speed Baby".

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue

** Jamie is invited to play ''{{Twister}}.''

* YokoOhNo: Actually not this Trope, instead Yoko Ono appears AsHerself as the subject of one of Paul's documentaries. He actually worships her, being a documentary film director. Jaimie on the other hand wants to talk about Music/TheBeatles.

* ThemeTuneCameo

** Paul is once asked if he had ever seen the ''{{Alien}}'' movies. "Just the first one".

* HankAzaria: Nat, the Dog Walker. His accent work is to die for!

* YokoOhNo: Actually not this Trope, instead Yoko Ono appears AsHerself as the subject of one of Paul's documentaries. He actually worships her, being a documentary film director. Jaimie on the other hand wants to talk about TheBeatles.

* CrossOver: Sort of; early on, Lisa Kudrow played Ursula, a scatterbrained waitress at Riff's. After Kudrow landed the role of Phoebe on ''{{Friends}}'', Ursula was revealed to be Phoebe's twin sister. Jamie and Fran have a cameo in one episode of the latter show, where they go to the coffee shop where Phoebe works and mistake her for Ursula. The fact that Phoebe, being a busker and not a waitress, doesn't take their order only further convinces them that she's Ursula.

The well of inspiration [[SeasonalRot ran dry]] in the final season ([[RagingStiffie Viagra overdoses]] and breast implant jokes abound), but the series managed to wrap up with a [[AuthorsSavingThrow truly heart-rending finale]].

* AsHimself: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McGwire Mark McGwire]], post-Home Run record.

** It also turns out that Paul used to live in the apartment now inhabited by ''{{Seinfeld}}'''s Cosmo Kramer, which becomes weird when a later season finds that program's George and Susan in bed watching an episode of ''{{Mad About You}}''!

** NBC also liked to do cross over stunt nights when all the sitcoms in that night's line up would be self contained stories related to a larger arc (Generally to boost ratings during sweep periods). In one such instance ''{{Mad About You}}'''s Jamie tries to steal cable tv reception and manages to black out New York City. The characters of ''{{Friends}}'' and ''{{Madman of the People}}'' then dealt with the blackout in their own shows. Somewhat typically, ''{{Seinfeld}}'' didn't participate in the gimmick, and just ran a regular episode.

* FamousLastWords: Paul's uncle dying on-camera. "[=Hoooooooooooooo...Mooooooooooooooooooos!=]"

* FunWithAcronyms: After a full episode of back-and-forth debate over the baby's name, Paul and Jamie are hit with inspiration when they hear this adage: '''M'''others '''A'''lways '''B'''ring '''E'''xtra '''L'''ove. Bingo.

* MeaningfulEcho: In a flashback to Paul and Jamie's introduction to each other, Jamie's ForcefulKiss is followed by this non sequitur:

* MelBrooks: Played Paul's Uncle Phil. You can tell that most of his scenes are just him improvising most of his lines, the credit stingers actually have different takes with the cast cracking up.

-->'''Judge:''' Case dismissed!

* ThanksgivingEpisode: One memorable Thanksgiving, Paul and Jamie go through seven or eight replacement turkeys after Murray eats the first one.