Summary of "The 2nd Season - Season 2": After all these years the series still stands up as fall down funny, and happily, Columbia-Tristar has taken a few steps to improve overall quality of the second season set when compared to the first season set. Not that there was anything wrong with the first season set - it was a good set - but a few issues, such as putting more episodes on less discs at the cost of picture quality, have been addressed, making season two a better set.
Extras would certainly be nice, but there is an obvious cost to gathering, arranging, digitally preparing, and presenting them, so their absence on a disc set that doesn't cost a fortune is understandable. But the lack of chapter points, for easier navigation within an episode, I'd pay an extra buck for that. (read entire review)
The 1st Season - Scenes From A Marriage (10/28/2002)
Summary of "The 1st Season - Scenes From A Marriage": It was a pleasure to watch these episodes all over again. To be delighted and entertained by the comedy, and to feel the romance and the adventure of Paul and Jaime's new marriage. To see all over again the shows so special that Entertainment Tonight singled them out prior to their first airings as something special to watch for: episodes like "Met Someone" and "Love Among the Tiles". The question really comes down to this: does the DVD release do the series any justice?
This release brings into focus one of the primary issues with TV-on-DVD sets: Price vs. Performance. Is the studio trying to cater to the high-end, Hi-Definition crowd with "definitive" releases of "historical television", or are they putting out something "decent and cheap" for the vast number of interested parties to pick up at their local Wal-Mart or Target?
We all have our favorite TV shows. Mad About You has always been among one of mine. As a "hi-def crowd" kind of person, I prefer "definitive" releases: I want to see this series (and all my favorites) on DVD in quality that is BETTER than broadcast TV. And with lots of supplements: trivia, outtakes, next-on trailers; the whole enchilada. I don't mind paying a bit more for all of that.
But the problem is, a lot of people DO mind. Not everyone who counts this series among their favorites can afford 7 seasons of The Buchmans at $50 a pop! Columbia/TriStar recognizes that, and to that end they are putting out TV-on-DVD season set products that can effectively sell at a retail price more in the $20 range. They're not even trying to "meet in the middle"; they want that $20-ish price point.
To do that, though, compromises are being made: Fewer discs. More compression. Less of a bit-rate on the video. No supplements at all. Bare-basics packaging. Thin on the ease-of-navigation features.
Mad About You: The Complete First Season is a DVD release that clearly falls into this mass-market mentality. DVD purists probably will reject this package, as it is hardly "definitive" by standards such as The X-Files. Will the studio worry about it? Probably not. Because they know that the vast majority of Mad About You fans will be glad to find this for roughly $20 at most stores. With all the episodes and "good enough" video.
Yep, this release is "good enough"; worth owning for fans of the show. (read entire review)
"TV's Funniest Couple" (Entertainment Weekly) Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt Are Together Again on DVD February 6
MAD ABOUT YOU: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
24 Episodes on Three Discs Include Emmy-Winning... (read entire news item)
11/27/2006
We've Got The Release Date For Mad About You's Long-Awaited 3rd Season!
A couple of weeks ago we brought you exclusive news that Mad About You would return to DVD in season sets, with a long-delayed 3rd season set that would come out sometime in the first quarter of 2007.... (read entire news item)
11/15/2006
Whaaaaaat?! Season 3 News!
We've often been asked why we don't keep a list of "canceled shows on DVD," and this news illustrates the reason perfectly; just when you think something is gone for good, the studio schedules another... (read entire news item)
11/29/2004
Announcement of 'The Collection': date, episode list, box, menus, more!
Back in September, we revealed that a new multi-disc box set of Mad About You episodes was being developed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Columbia/Tristar), but that it would *not* be a... (read entire news item)
9/29/2004
More episodes coming, but it's not a season set
Recently we've had a number of readers email us a response they received from Columbia TriStar when they asked about more Mad About You sets. The response mentions that more episodes will be coming in... (read entire news item)
11/27/2002
Mad About You...Season 2!
Columbia's "Classic TV" Web Page informs us in the middle bottom block for "Mad About You" that the Complete Second Season is COMING SOON.
There is no official information besides that tease, but we... (read entire news item)
8/16/2002
Street date pushed up
Columbia has just announced a new street date for Mad About You: The First Season. The emmy-award winning show's first DVD release will be a week earlier than originally planned: October 22, 2002. Here... (read entire news item)
8/06/2002
First Season Announced
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has just announced "Mad About You: Season One" for release on October 29th. This set will contain the show's first season (22 episodes) presented in full frame with... (read entire news item)
