Getting To The Bottom Of The Bottle: 25 Best Bottle Episodes

Photo: NBC via YouTube

Mad About You – “The Conversation”

Perhaps the bottley-iest of all the bottle episodes ever, “The Conversation” is mentioned in almost every single discussion about the genre. It is the purest in form and definition, and pretty much is the model for all contemporary bottle episodes. It was unusual for a sitcom to take such a risk, and they handled the format deftly and wisely.

Mad About You doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It aired for seven seasons and earned a Golden Globe and an Emmy nom. However, it’s largely forgotten about in the family comedy canon, but in its day it regularly pushed the conventions of the typical sitcom. Nowhere is this more true than in this sixth season gem. In an unprecedented move, director Gordon Hunt, just sat the camera on the floor, and let the 20 minute conversation of its two main players flow, uninterrupted.

Jamie and Paul sat on the floor outside the door of their baby Mabel, as she cried herself to sleep. The camera never panned, even as the two got up to move in and out of frame. The two were always in earshot, even though all audiences saw as the closed door. The results were a powerful narrative that turned out to be revolutionary in its execution.