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by Sean Conover Published: August 26, 2005
 When “The Mind of a Married Man” started airing on HBO in 2001, I watched an episode here and there. As a married man myself, I thought it would be interesting to see what creator and series star Mike Binder thought was on our minds. I don’t know about any other married men out there, but he sure put the same irrational fears that I had (and still have) about marriage, women, and children into the scripts. It was an enjoyable show, but for some reason it never got into my repertoire. With Season One coming to DVD August 30, the opportunity to watch the show from the pilot to season finale is finally here.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, Mike Binder created, executive produced, wrote many of the scripts, and stars as Mickey Barnes, a Chicago newspaper columnist, father, and husband. We follow Mickey as he starts each workday walking to work and talking with his co-workers and best friends Doug (Taylor Nichols) and Jake (Jake Weber). Throughout the show, Doug and Jake might as well be the angel and devil on Mickey’s shoulders, as the happily married Doug tries to persuade Mickey to do the right thing while the constantly cheating Jake continually advises to live life to its fullest. Along the way Mickey has to fall somewhere in between as he deals with life and his headstrong wife of eight years Donna (Sonya Walger), who on top of all things is British, so not only is a woman but has a slightly different view of culture. As we see Mickey deal with all these elements, we occasionally get a glimpse into his thoughts and dreams which are sometimes quirky and funny, but most of the time reflect how most of us (“us” being married men) would like to react to certain situations. Sometimes acting on those thoughts and dreams, and sometimes not, Mickey continually learns from his mistakes, and although sometimes it doesn’t work out, he takes the good and the bad, usually with a laugh. If there’s anything to compare it to, it’s almost a masculine version of “Ally McBeal,” but instead of dancing babies, since we’re talking about the married man’s mind, we’re treated to daydreams of Mickey wanting to have sex in the middle of his office with his beautiful assistant at work. Because this is HBO, the glimpses are a lot racier than network television. In fact, most of the thoughts and dreams we are privy to deal with sex in some way or another. Trying to keep his work life and home life separate, with a beautiful wife at home and a sexy assistant at work, Mickey strives to be a faithful husband while still wanting to be desired by younger women, he fantasizes about sex with other women but doesn’t act on them, although he’s constantly tempted. As the season progresses, the episodes don’t necessarily get any deeper in meaning or moral, but the central characters do get more interesting. In particular, Randall (M. Emmett Walsh), Mickey’s boss at the newspaper, continually grows funnier and more poignant in Mickey’s life. His short scenes and dialogue in each episode are most often the highlight of each episode. His wisdom and humorous anecdotes lighten up the sometimes difficult situations we find Mickey in, and his screen-time is perfectly balanced. The show doesn’t ever reach any unique insights into the male mind, and that’s where it falters. It’s pretty common knowledge that married men look at other women, and the relationships between a husband and wife are sometimes strained, so while the insights are sometimes funny, they never display any profound questions that can’t be answered. The aspect of Doug and Jake are also rather straightforward and are the ying-yang to Mickey’s conscious. In later seasons before the series was cancelled, these two characters are given a little deeper treatment and the consequences of their actions are portrayed more than they are in Season One. Overall, ten thirty minute episodes go by rather quickly. The characters really drive the show and are fun to watch, particularly Mickey’s female counterparts. His wife Donna and his assistant Missy (Ivana Milicevic) are two beautiful women and very sexy each in their own rights. Mickey is a lucky man to have both women, and I can imagine myself in his shoes. As a married man, I guess these thoughts are pretty common, but they’re still fun to think about. Bonus Features When it comes to bonus features on DVD’s, there is a somewhat broad area from where the extras are too overwhelming to where there are not enough. This set falls on the low end, since there are only a few deleted scenes and a few commentary tracks. There are one or two deleted scenes from each episode, and two commentary tracks for the pilot and a very revealing one on disc two (for Episode 10, the season finale). On that commentary, Mike Binder reveals that the series debuted on September 11, 2001, and he was actually on TV being interviewed by Diane Sawyer about the show when the first plane hit the World Trade Center and they cut away from his interview. Unfortunately for the series, this gives us some insight into why the show never really caught on. The times had changed overnight, and a series debut needs to capture an audience from the get-go. Hopefully, the series gains a larger audience from the DVD releases since it really is a warm-hearted - and funny - show at its core. Season Grade: B Bonus Content Grade: C+
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