The Mind of the Married Man

This is a great show. I love it, and I know that in time this will be seen as one of the top comedies on HBO. I find it so funny. It's on Signature now in reruns and coming back this summer and I for one can't wait. Mike Binder and Sonya Walger give such a realistic look at the imperfection of marriage. I am a big fan of his and wrote a review here of his HBO movie and I feel that I should weigh in on his show as well. He's getting the guy side of marriage an airing and I know that upsets a lot of people but my wife and I think it's funny and healthy for this side to be shown. ( I sit through Sex in the CIty with her, it's only fair) Watch the show. It's brilliant.

I was reluctant to watch this show at first, fearing it would be overly manly and leaking with testosterone(yes I am a guy) as a sort of opposite to Sex in the City or maybe even a retaliation to such a program. To my pleasant surprise, though, the show packs plenty of humor, smart writing, and top notch acting. I had never been one to watch HBO original series, feeling they were out of place on a channel now inappropriately named Home Box Office that was originally meant to air uncut movies. This show turned me around though, and I look forward to when it comes on.

The main character, Micky(played by Mike Binder) is a man that I think most of us guys can identify with somehow, whether it be through his constant questioning of his own commitment to his beloved wife or, for a change of pace, not his trouble understanding woman, but in understanding himself as a man. Claims that the show is unrealistic are only true in that a lot of us may not take the chances that Micky takes and that his two friends seem to be very much playing his Id and Super Ego almost too perfectly. The lack of realism in those ways, though, is a blessed thing, for if they wasn't there, the viewer would not be able to truly understand the importance of fidelity, of love, and sacrifice which make up the theme of the series. I mean, if the show were completely realistic, then we may as well stick to our own mystifying experience and enjoy our lack of answers. The show is designed just so that it retains those necessary pieces of realism, but also takes the viewer out of reality for the purposes of showing where men make their mistakes, when they do something right, and when, most importantly, they think they are doing something wrong which is completely natural and forgivable.

Mike Binder, also the creator and director of the show, gives us a chance to truly peer into Mickey's mind and allows us to witness what may happen if we did, in fact, happen to take that invitation into an attractive strangers apartment. He shows us what his fantasies are, where his guilt comes from, and how much he truly does love his wife and strives to be the perfect husband, as well as father. Overall, the show has a message that is both positive and heart warming. It gives hope to the worrisome man, and insight to the confused wife. The acting is superb, as well as the writing. I would go into more detail, but I'm spent. Give it a chance. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Mind of the Married Man is yet another great HBO series. Where Sex and the City has a definite female point of view and focus, Married Man plays with mans struggle to keep his inner "caveman" in check and remain happily married. As a married man I find the characters completely believable. In fact I see a lot more truth in the show than I care to admit. Married Man does seem to owe something to its predecessor "Dream On" but its different enough that the similarities didn't even occur to me until someone else pointed them out. My only criticism would be the transparent child of the Married Man who magically appears every breakfast scene only to disappear for the remainder of every episode with no effect on the lives of the two main characters.

Bottom line is that Married Man is funny, revealing, and heads above any sit-com on network TV. Married guys will love this series!

This is the best show I've seen on t.v. in a long time. I just don't understand the negativity that i've seen in reviews (NY Post reviewer had already made up her mind by reading the script)and by comments on message boards. I'm a 32 year old professional and the conversations these characters have ring true. The only reason I can come up with that people don't like this show, is 1) they are threatened women, 2) they are threatened women masquerading as men, 3) think that "Friends" is a real hoot, 'nuff said on that one. If HBO doesn't renew this show for another season, then what? Oooohhhh, I can't wait for another showing of Short Circuit 2, or please anything with Steve Gutenberg! Come on people, the reason that entertainment is in such a sorry state is that people just hate to think and be entertained at the same time. I can't believe I wasted time writing this, but wanted to balance the negative reviews. Mind of the Married Man rocks! If you like Woody Allen, Animal House, Caddyshack, Dean Martin Roasts, Golf, NFL, NHL, and HATE Barbra Streisand, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Kmetko, Alec Baldwin (any Baldwin for that matter), Men's Health Mag, Al Gore, and Hillary, then give it a try.

I simply cannot understand some of the criticisms of this show, specifically that the characters are unrealistic. I see these character types all the time, from the cheating alpha male (Jake) to the loyal but whipped Doug. Binder's own character is stuck in the middle like most of us, he wants to please his wife without defering to her on every issue. The constant struggles between love and boredom, power and submission, and monogomy and straying is played out in depth every week. The writing is witty, intelligent and focused, it often takes the unexpected turn. Hopefully it can maintain its quality.