One of the highlights, in terms of ratings, has been the final episode of "Home Improvement", a show I never really cared very much for. "Melrose Place", after years of scheming machinations on the part of every single cast member, is also shucking off its primetime coil, moving into syndication heaven. But the one show I will truly miss that is never coming back is "Mad About You".

I know it's not fashionable to profess to be a fan of Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt's long-running sitcom, but for those of us who were fans from day one, the show's just gotten better through the years. As the entire team of writers and talent before and behind the cameras have worked through the seven years, synergy has happened. The series finale, entitled "The Final Frontier", bucks finale conventions by eschewing flashbacks or clip-filled shows by flashing forward. In this one hour episode, directed and co-scripted by Helen Hunt, Janeane Garofolo guest stars as the grown up Mabel Buchman, a documentary filmmaker who looks back on her life with her neurotic, bickering parents. A large portion of the cast returns, including the delightful Cyndi Lauper, who, it turns out, eventually re-marries Ira. What I particularly liked about the finale was the closure it offered fans of the show - by going forward and telling us what eventually becomes of Jaime and Paul Buchman, it presented a complete picture of characters and their lives few TV shows ever have the opportunity to mount. And what a future/history Paul and Jaime endure. A rebellious daughter emotionally estranged from Jaime, who becomes the sort of mother she would have hated herself, a loving Paul who finally loses his patience with his wife and leaves her, the death of Paul's father and the effect it has on his mother - not the stuff of typical sitcom finales.

The beauty of "Mad About You" has always been the little nuggets of truth hidden beneath the veneer of comedy, the nudging acknowledgement that Paul and Jaime's perfect, blissful world was always on the brink of collapse, pulled apart by their very human struggles against the world and sometimes against each other. Sure they were in love, but they also fought constantly and disagreed, and by creating a character like Jaime, who's difficult, stubborn and who can sometimes be cruel (albeit in hilarious ways), Paul Reiser's straight man had something real and dramatic to play off his comedy. The show's progress mirrored the trajectory of their relationship, from newly-weds to tempted spouses (who can forget that emotionally powerful and resonatingly real series finale where Paul and Jaime split up over mutual betrayals) to new parents, and in this aspect, it provided many invaluable moments of joy to many other real-life couples who laughed at and with the characters.

This past year has seen the ratings for this once strong show sag - what a pity, since it's actually been as good as it has ever been. Perhaps it really was time for the show to move on. In any event, moved on it has, and TV land will be a less maddeningly entertaining place for this viewer.

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