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Mad About You: Ranking all Thanksgiving episodes

By Shana Lieberman

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BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 07: (L-R) Peter Tolan, Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser of “Mad About You” attend The Paley Center for Media’s 2019 PaleyFest Fall TV Previews – Spectrum at The Paley Center for Media on September 07, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 07: (L-R) Peter Tolan, Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser of “Mad About You” attend The Paley Center for Media’s 2019 PaleyFest Fall TV Previews – Spectrum at The Paley Center for Media on September 07, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) /

2. Mad About You Season 5, Episode 7: “Outbreak”

After a successful checkup, Paul and Jamie decide to finally start telling family and friends that Jamie’s pregnant, but one mishap after another leads to the big secret going viral. Despite Paul and Jamie’s best efforts at running around town and trying to control the “outbreak,” by Thanksgiving Day, “it’s not big news, it’s old news,” as Fran puts it.

And, of course, Fran’s right. Anyone who’s ever had the misfortune of trying to keep a big secret—or even a little one, really—from family should know the feeling.

This is one of those Mad About You episodes that’s just so perfect for explaining the series to non-viewers—everyday, relatable, circumstances gone hilariously awry.

Highlights:

  • “Sometimes, you and the baby get a little bit clique-ish.”
  • Paul explaining the Kevin Bacon Game to Jamie, only for Kevin Bacon himself to show up during the tag scene and reveal that he, too, knew the Buchmans were pregnant. (So much for telling a random stranger in an elevator having no consequences.)
  • Paul and Ira’s interaction at Buchman’s Sporting Goods, as Paul tries to convince his cousin to skip a big date without revealing that Jamie’s pregnant…only to crack the second Ira shines a light on him. Ira? The smart one? You love to see it.
  • Really, every time Paul and Ira get together, there’s magic.
  • “It’s the worst with your mom.” (Jamie) “Most things are.” (Paul)
  • Top moment: Jamie’s mom (Carol Burnett) sobbing along to “She’s Having My Baby” when she hears it on the radio, then absolutely losing it when she hears the dedication. Honestly, is there anything about Carol Burnett’s performance as Jamie’s mom not to love?

Not-so-much highlights:

  • If we’re being nitpicky here: There was a typo on one of the date and time stamps, I think? “Buchman’s Apartment,” considering two Buchmans (and Murray the dog) lived there, should’ve been “Buchmans’ Apartment.” What did they do, reuse the “Buchman’s Sporting Goods” text and just replace Sporting Goods with Apartment? Or were they only counting the place as Paul’s? I always thought there were two (human) Buchmans in 11-D, but…guess not.
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