'Mad About You' Revival Episode 6 could dial up the tension as Jamie hints at the future looking bumpy
Arguably, the 'Mad About You' revival seems to be unnecessary. In a world that has changed a lot in the past 20 years -- on the technological as well as the social front -- how could a sitcom from the 90s be relevant in an era that is inundated with too much TV?
But, the revival does offer longtime fans a nostalgic trip back to a time they considered simpler. For those who argue today's TV shows (and movies) are too politically correct, the 'Mad About You' revival offers a reprise of sorts. That is not to say that the show is still white as ever -- the revival has taken some steps to include characters of color, the most notable (and the only one you might remember after bingeing) being Tonya, Mark's new wife.
With the inclusion of Tonya, the revival also fixes another aspect that was quite problematic during its original run -- the lack of quality female friendships. Paul had Mark and Ira (his cousin, but still counts as a solid friendship), while Jamie, at best, had Fran -- and their friendship seemed to lack a certain warmth.
We see Tonya offering Jamie the kind of support Paul is not able to in the first few episodes. But it is when Jamie starts working again after many years, that Tonya's and Jamie's friendship truly flourishes.
The revival seems unnecessary, because though the premise promised that we would see Paul and Jamie at a new phase in their lives -- as empty-nesters -- as if they were starting their lives together again, most of the problems the two face in the revival are quite convoluted and seem to have been written just for the sake of punchlines.
Most of it is about each of their individual relationship to Mabel -- who, despite Abby Quinn's ability to portray the character, just seems annoying -- or small fights when empty-nesters arguably have worse problems going on. While the revival dealt with Jamie's menopause, this again seemed to be written with jokes in mind, rather than making a quality comedy, that if it were done well, it would have been appreciated a lot.
In the sixth episode, we see Paul's mother, Sylvia who is at a retirement home, as Paul and Jamie travel to visit her. Jamie's relationship with her mother-in-law has often provided a lot of material in terms of jokes, and the situation remains the same.
And while everything seems well and good, in the very meta final moments of the sixth episode, Jamie breaks the fourth wall and announces things are going to get bumpy when the revival comes back with new episodes in December, as a confused Paul looks on.
We hope by bumpy they mean something serious because whatever issues Paul and Jamie face in the first six episodes seem quite trivial. We also hope Mabel gets painted in a better light, something to make her endure to the audience, especially for the longtime fans of the show.
The first six episodes of the revival are now streaming on Spectrum's On-Demand Platform. The next six episodes will be released on December 18th.