The Buchmans Paul Buchman and Jamie Buchman. A typical couple in the city of New York reside in 11D in a building overlooking the World Trade Center. A ‘typical couple’, I say as they have everything that is ordinary and common. A dog, nosy neighbours, overbearing moms and moms in law, ever bragging dads and fathers in law (each other) jobs with bothering bosses, favorite neighbourhood café- ‘The Riffs’, siblings, a cousin and 2 close friends to pitch in during virtually anything. They met at the newsstand one morning and after a couple of months were happily married and moved in together. BTW This is Created and Produced by: Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson Casting: Helen Hunt as Jamie Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman Leila kenzil as Jamie’s bosom pal Fran Anne Ramsay as Jamie’s sister Lisa. John Pantrow as Paul’s cousin Ira. Lisa kudrow as the irritating forgetful waitress at the Riffs. Are a few others in this MAY milieu.
Background:
Jamie was into PR in a big firm. After a major hassle and discomfort, she quit and the sat at home for a couple of months and bugged the life out of everyone around her. She desperately (and hilariously too) tried to engage everything from baking to playing badminton to writing to hair dressing and painting her apartment until she decided she’d return to school. Paul is remarkably understanding and a very adjustable person. He is film director. He has an amazing way of proving his point. He gets angry and is sensitive at the right times in the right amounts Jamie is a very organized and through woman. She is very good at remembering stuff, maintains herself and each of her belongings very well and is very touchy about it. Paul is the more happy go lucky easygoing kinds. Together they make a lovely couple. They are polar opposites. They fight like dogs and love like doves. They are similar in very many aspects. They have issues with their nosy, loving but at times overbearing moms, they are both disastrous cooks, endless skirmishes with their English neighbours, they are both not very good at typical family issues simply coz they have been single, independent unencumbered and unquestioned all their life. They have a loving yet hilarious relationship. They are no typical protagonists. They have their pluses and stumbling blocks. Hey BTW their dog Marie too has a great role to play. They are neither melodramatic nor too ambitiously self involved. They know each other in and out. They love each other permissive of the other’s flaws. The way fate brings them at times they think they should go different ways. The whole phenomenon of ‘holy matrimony!’. Everything is not necessarily right at all times. When he drops the ball, she picks it up. They have their prides and varied vivid schools of thought and do not give them up totally. Each of them has their stand and carry on as the 2 wheels of the cart of a married couple. Hey, arguing is their forte!
The bottom line is that they are not perfect, they are not impeccable, they are just in an attempt to bring a smile on our face.
They go through everything that any person next door would. Only they, do it with a little more comedy and panache. I guess the idea of these kinds of serials is to add a little giggle to our daily lives and break the monotony so we don’t end up in drudgery. It is not soap and so you can any episode as and when time permits. You can see how some routine thing like may be taking the subway, or grabbing a parking spot, watching a movie or a play or even the Rainbow room are given new light in this serial. They both disparage their bosses. So if you are among those who watch TV for plain entertainment, you are thinking comedy, not something facetious but Light hearted and not brain racking. That‘s the best I find in MAY. The brand new season of Mad About You is here. They’ve been married 2 years and have had a disastrous thanksgiving, one anniversary when they wanted to be alone but ended up having lunch 4 times, birthdays, locked in the bathroom on valentines day and the lock getting jammed, new year and a lot other episodes with nothing special happening yet nice and entertaining.
Watching it is not strenuous. You needn’t have to keep track of previous episodes or complex machiavellian plots. This is on, Mon thru Thurs at 9:00am on Zee English here in India.. Do visit the Buchmans once. PS: may be the grass is a totally different shade from the eyes of a married person but from my point of view it looks green! A lot of ppl I personally know do not find it all this interesting. I beg to differ and …..Well do fill me in…..on what you think…..