MAD-TV
MAD-TV airs Saturday nights at 11pm (10 Central) on FOX. Starting a half-hour earlier than NBC's Saturday Night Live, MAD-TV reflects the more in-your-face, sharp-edged attitude of the show. This willingness to attack things head-on is why FOX's MAD-TV has been far more successful than ABC'c short-lived, though critically aclaimed, Fridays was.
Of course while it helped to have the irreverent reputation of MAD Magazine backing MAD-TV, the television show has the strength to stand alone. In addition to great comedy writers, the cast and featured players have been some of the greatest character craftsmen around.
Unlike Saturday Night Live, no single star rises above the cast. The best remembered cast members are those with the longest tenure, suggesting that any extra prestige they have comes from long, hard and consistant work, and not some flash-in-the-pan quality exploited by the producers.
The long tenure of the cast members also adds to the longevity of the show. While none of the original cast members remain, there's no single season that marks a big change. While it's possible to tell what season a show is from by reviewing the cast list, it's hard to pin a show down to a particular "era" except by listening to the curent event references in the jokes. You could play back-to-back reruns from, say, season 2 and season 8, and someone out of the room at show-change time may not even realize they've watched two shows created so far apart.
This consistancy in quality means that the show will survive long after any of the current cast members have left the show as well. Expect MAD-TV to be part of your Saturday night for many more years.
| MAD-TV: The Complete First SeasonThe sketch comedy series MadTV makes its long-awaited DVD debut in a three-disc set that compiles its first season, along with choice skits and outtakes culled from its entire network run. Like its magazine namesake, MadTV earned its stripes on the strength of its parodies of pop culture, which included clever potshots at Hollywood ("Gump Fiction"), rock & roll, children's animation ("Gumboy and Pokey") and politics. The irreverence of the skits was well served by its versatile cast, which included future breakout performers Orlando Jones, Nicole Sullivan, and Artie Lange in the first season (1995-96) lineup. Though MadTV rarely landed celebrity guests on par with its main competition, Saturday Night Live (first-season highlights are ex-Kids in the Hall Dave Foley and Bruce McCullough), the quality of the writing and performances really didn't require added star power to earn its laughs. In addition to all 19 episodes of the first season, the 3 disc set includes a 9 unaired skits, numerous bloopers, the series' 200th episode (from season 9), which features the return of several first-season players, commericals, two animated shorts and a collection of parodies from all 10 seasons. | |
| MADtv: The Best of Seasons 8, 9 & 10The Best of MADtv Seasons 8, 9 & 10 contains three hours of the most hilarious sketches from irreverent hit comedy show MADtv. MADtv is a late night sketch-comedy show based on the humor of the popular MAD magazine. Material includes celebrity impersonations, music video, commercial, movie, and TV show parodies, recurring characters, musical guests, and the occasional mock cartoons. The show competes against another popular sketch-comedy show, the long-running Saturday Night Live, but the show is aimed at a younger audience. With the show's revolving-door cast of talented, comedic actors and numerous Emmy Award nominations, MADtv is truly a success story. |
Cast List
C - Cast Member F - Featured Player
| MAD TV Season: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 95 96 |
96 97 |
97 98 |
98 99 |
99 00 |
00 01 |
01 02 |
02 03 |
03 04 |
04 05 |
|
| Craig Anton | F | F | F | |||||||
| Nelson Ascencio | F | C | ||||||||
| Ike Barinholtz | F | C | C | |||||||
| Alex Borstein | C | C | C | C | C | |||||
| Andrew Bowen | C | |||||||||
| Frank Caliendo | C | C | C | C | ||||||
| Bryan Callen | C | C | ||||||||
| Mo Collins | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||||
| Tim Conlon | F | |||||||||
| Andrew Daly | F | C | ||||||||
| Christian Duguay | C | |||||||||
| MAD TV Season: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Dannah Feinglass | F | |||||||||
| Kathryn Fiore | F | |||||||||
| Pablo Francisco | F | |||||||||
| Daniele Gaither | F | C | ||||||||
| Simon Helberg | F | |||||||||
| David Herman | C | C | C | |||||||
| Chris Hogan | C | |||||||||
| Orlando Jones | C | C | ||||||||
| Keegan-Michael Key | F | C | ||||||||
| Pat Kilbane | C | C | C | |||||||
| Taran Killam | F | |||||||||
| MAD TV Season: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Lisa Kushell | C | |||||||||
| Phil LaMarr | C | C | C | C | C | |||||
| Artie Lange | C | C | ||||||||
| Bobby Lee | F | C | C | C | ||||||
| Michael McDonald | F | C | C | C | C | C | C | |||
| Jill-Michele Melean | F | C | ||||||||
| Josh Meyers | F | C | ||||||||
| Christina Moore | F | |||||||||
| Nicole Parker | F | C | ||||||||
| Melissa Paull | F | |||||||||
| Ron Pederson | F | C | C | |||||||
| MAD TV Season: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Jordan Peele | F | C | ||||||||
| Jeff Richards | F | |||||||||
| Will Sasso | F | C | C | C | C | |||||
| Mary Scheer | C | C | C | |||||||
| Aries Spears | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| Nicole Sullivan | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||||
| Brooke Totman | F | |||||||||
| Gillian Vigman | F | |||||||||
| Paul Vogt | F | C | C | |||||||
| Stephnie Weir | F | C | C | C | C | |||||
| Debra Wilson | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| 95 96 |
96 97 |
97 98 |
98 99 |
99 00 |
00 01 |
01 02 |
02 03 |
03 04 |
04 05 |
|
| MAD TV Season: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |