James Cameron's Hilarious Cameo In A Beloved '90s Sitcom Is Perfect For Titanic Fans

In the "Mad About You" episode "The Finale" (May 19, 1998), Paul (Paul Reiser) is deep at work on his latest documentary film, "The Making of the Making of Titanic," a project he has a lot of faith in. In May of 1998, "Titanic" was still playing in theaters (!), having already made a billion dollars at the box office. "Titanic" mania was sweeping the nation, and many had seen the "HBO First Look" episode "Heart of the Ocean: The Making of Titanic," which aired in December of 1997. Paul felt that if "The Making of Titanic" was so intriguing, then he could delve even further and unpack the making of the making-of documentary. He has even secured the participation of Maynard (Steven Hack), the editor of "The Making of Titanic." 

(It should be noted that Maynard is a fictional character, and the actual editors of "Heart of the Ocean" were named Douglad Blush and Peter G. Parise.)

Paul immediately finds that there is a central error in his idea, however. Maynard had access to director James Cameron, of course, but when looking for something new and fascinating about the director, there was no new or interesting footage that Maynard had previously cut out. All the good stuff, he explains, went into his movie already. All the additional footage was essentially James Cameron having downtime or engaging in random conversations that had nothing to do with "Titanic." 

It may have been because Paul Reiser worked with Cameron on his 1986 hit film "Aliens," but as a favor, Cameron actually appeared in a cameo (on a TV monitor) in "Mad About You." He provided a few minutes of himself doing nothing, and also talking about "Austin Powers." It's pretty damn funny.

While Paul is talking to Maynard, they turn their attention to a video monitor to see what kind of insight can be gleaned from James Cameron's B-roll, and they simply stare at him stratching his butt and picking his nose. Cameron briefly uses little cartoon voices to re-enact a scene from "Titanic." He orders lunch. He changes his mind and orders something else. Then he changes his mind again and orders the first thing. The more mundane it is, the more hilarious it becomes. We're laughing at the Paul character for his sad plight in not being able to use this footage, but also at the fact that Cameron agreed to appear in such a capacity. 

Then Maynard presents a second clip of Cameron, this time when he was conversing with a man at the "Titanic" catering table. Cameron is filling a plate with food, yapping at a disinterested "Titanic" crew member about the 1997 comedy "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Cameron, it seems, was very tickled by the term "Shagalicious," and tried to do his best Austin Powers impersonation, much to his companion's chagrin. It's all delightfully awkward.

Cameron may be the highest-grossing filmmaker of all time, but his "Mad About You" cameo proved that he's at least willing to make fun of himself a little. It's unknown if Cameron is an "Austin Powers" fan, but he was willing to at least pretend for a 1998 sitcom. The following year, Cameron would prod himself again in Albert Brooks' 1999 comedy "The Muse," wherein he — again, playing himself — needed to be convinced that making "Titanic 2" was a bad idea. What a sport. 

"Mad About You" was revived in 2019.