Mad About You: Season 3 brings together one of the best of the seven seasons this series had to offer. Season 3 starts off with "Escape from New York" where the couple feel they need to get away for a weekend and want to go out to a restaurant they haven't been to in years. The only problem is, they don't know what it's called. Season 3 also contains major events like Buchman's Sporting Goods being handed down to Ira (Paul's cousin) instead of Paul in "Legacy", and "Cake Fear" where we see exactly why Paul hates his birthdays.
Another good episode that goes back and shows how things used to be is "Mad About You" (Parts 1 and 2). Here Paul and Jamie reminesce about the months leading up to their wedding day and the stress of not only appeasing their parents, but arranging seating, food, clothing, a band and all of the rest of the details. In the end ... well I won't ruin it for you if you haven't seen it, but the ending of this episode fits very well into the flavor that is Mad About You.
This season also contains one of my favorite two-parters from the series, "Up in Smoke" where Paul and Jamie find the newspaper stand they met at burned down. What is unusual about this is that somehow the two have slipped into a world where, because the stand burned down, they never met. Paul and Jamie get a peek at what their respective lives would have been like had they never fallen in love. In this It's a Wonderful Life-like episode, we see Jamie as a partner at her old PR firm, but miserable and still attached to her old boyfriend, while Paul is alone and living with Ira. Then, of course, there are tons of appearances from Paul and Jamie's parents, sisters, best friends and neighbors who all add just a little bit more to the overall comedic feel of the show.
There were various events throughout the set that really helped to date the 1994-1995 season. In one episode, Paul pulls out an original Game Boy (yes that's right, the old mono-chromatic brick), and in another show, "The City" concludes with a message from a very young Mayor Giuliani about how great New York City is. All of these events really helped to put me in the right mood for this boxed set, because I had really forgotten how long Mad About You was on the air.
Mad About You: Season 3 is a great addition to any Helen Hunt or Paul Reiser fan's collection. But then again, if you are a fan of that combination already, then you probably have the first two seasons on your DVD rack. If you aren't all too familiar with the show, but are willing to give it a try to see what all the hubbub was about, then this season is a good place to jump in. Paul and Jamie are just coming out of their newlywed phase and haven't yet gotten pregnant with Mabel, so you get a good slice of what life for the Buchmans is like for most of the series. Unfortunately, Season 3 doesn't contain any special features. I know the series ended quite a few years ago, and this season was early on, but maybe a commentary or two, or a "Making Of" would have been nice.
