With this show I've learned a valuable lesson: Trust any program HBO sees fit to put on. I quickly dismissed Larry Sanders, Sex and the City, and Mr Show. I was not interested in Mind of the Married Man for it's first couple of episodes believing it to be nothing more than the male Sex and the City. A negative review in People didn't help its case either.
Because it was sandwiched in between Band of Brothers and Curb Your Enthusiasm for its first few weeks I was forced to catch little bits and pieces here and there. Eventually it started to catch my attention and before I knew it I eagerly awaited each episode.
Like all HBO shows it earns points for doing things that broadcast programming can't get away. Subjects, namely sex, are dealt with bluntly and openly without trying to delicately skirt the issue. How many shows can you name where you'd see a woman bobbing her head up and down in her husband's lap while he snickers at the Three Stooges on TV? I don't think you'll see a subplot about a guy contemplating whether or not to get a "happy ending", a euphemism for a handjob, from a masseuse on Must See TV either.
The continuing story across the entire season is very well executed. The developing sexual tension between Mickey and Missy his assistant and how it affects his relationship with his wife kept me hooked. The final episode of the season had what I considered to be one of the best comic payoffs in which it is revealed that Mickey's Japanese masseuse isn't as she appears to be. I suspect that the framework for the entire season of episodes was worked out far in advance. It's not as though week to week an effort is made to fudge the storyline together.
The comedy, like other elements in the show, is played subtly at least as compared to that of most sit-coms where you can almost hear the actors and writers cry out, "Laugh! Laugh! Damn you!" Married Man doesn't really care whether you get everything and if you do it's not going to wait until you finish laughing before moving on to the next thing.
The characters like people in real life don't always have the right thing to say at the right time. You can almost see, in Mike Binder's portrayal, Mickey searching for his words when placed in tense situations.
Ivana Milicevic, who plays Missy, came as a complete surprise. Because she looks as though she must have had a career as a runway model I assumed that she was a.)not intelligent b.)not a good actress. As conventionally beautiful as she is the show doesn't merely see fit to use her as set dressing. Missy is afforded a fair amount of depth. Of course there is hardly an ugly woman in the cast and yet the aim of the show is not to merely parade an attractive cast for a drooling audience.
If there is a criticism I could level at the show it is in regards to the show's setting and occupation of the characters. Almost all romantic comedies take place in some large metropolitan area usually New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Married Man is set in Chicago. These urban environments aren't presented as most of us would see them as fairly dirty, crowded, and stress filled places. Confrontational strangers are only there to provide some comedy. Main characters never have jobs most middle Americans would have, instead plying their trade in some form of the media/publishing business. Mickey works for a newspaper. However given the quality of the show this is relatively easy to overlook.
Because it was sandwiched in between Band of Brothers and Curb Your Enthusiasm for its first few weeks I was forced to catch little bits and pieces here and there. Eventually it started to catch my attention and before I knew it I eagerly awaited each episode.
Like all HBO shows it earns points for doing things that broadcast programming can't get away. Subjects, namely sex, are dealt with bluntly and openly without trying to delicately skirt the issue. How many shows can you name where you'd see a woman bobbing her head up and down in her husband's lap while he snickers at the Three Stooges on TV? I don't think you'll see a subplot about a guy contemplating whether or not to get a "happy ending", a euphemism for a handjob, from a masseuse on Must See TV either.
The continuing story across the entire season is very well executed. The developing sexual tension between Mickey and Missy his assistant and how it affects his relationship with his wife kept me hooked. The final episode of the season had what I considered to be one of the best comic payoffs in which it is revealed that Mickey's Japanese masseuse isn't as she appears to be. I suspect that the framework for the entire season of episodes was worked out far in advance. It's not as though week to week an effort is made to fudge the storyline together.
The comedy, like other elements in the show, is played subtly at least as compared to that of most sit-coms where you can almost hear the actors and writers cry out, "Laugh! Laugh! Damn you!" Married Man doesn't really care whether you get everything and if you do it's not going to wait until you finish laughing before moving on to the next thing.
The characters like people in real life don't always have the right thing to say at the right time. You can almost see, in Mike Binder's portrayal, Mickey searching for his words when placed in tense situations.
Ivana Milicevic, who plays Missy, came as a complete surprise. Because she looks as though she must have had a career as a runway model I assumed that she was a.)not intelligent b.)not a good actress. As conventionally beautiful as she is the show doesn't merely see fit to use her as set dressing. Missy is afforded a fair amount of depth. Of course there is hardly an ugly woman in the cast and yet the aim of the show is not to merely parade an attractive cast for a drooling audience.
If there is a criticism I could level at the show it is in regards to the show's setting and occupation of the characters. Almost all romantic comedies take place in some large metropolitan area usually New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Married Man is set in Chicago. These urban environments aren't presented as most of us would see them as fairly dirty, crowded, and stress filled places. Confrontational strangers are only there to provide some comedy. Main characters never have jobs most middle Americans would have, instead plying their trade in some form of the media/publishing business. Mickey works for a newspaper. However given the quality of the show this is relatively easy to overlook.