Review of 10-21-1995 episode (MD-102) ========================================= ====================================================== PC Cops: It's like "Cops," only these cops (Bryan Callen, Artie Lange) never use a politically incorrect word like the N-word or the K-word. In this brief segment they shake down two N-words (Orlando Jones, Phil LaMarr). This was pretty funny if not entirely original. Nicole's Room: Nicole Sullivan is feeling a little homesick, so the cast has the contents of her room shipped all the way from New York and recreates her room on the set of the show. What follows is a series of progressively more embarassing revelations: a cache of condoms spills onto the floor when Dave Herman overturns a pillow; Bryan Callen discovers some drug paraphernalia (she dated a drug dealer for a couple of months, she explains), and Orlando Jones finds a porn movie that in which she appeared (the drug dealer was also a filmmaker - uh, film student, we are told). The cast is non-judgmental towards Sullivan, but when they find out she had a sex-change operation in her sophomore year of high school, they treat her like a pariah and leave the set (except for Orlando Jones, who is still looking at the porn movie - I don't quite get it; was he hoping that she would do for him what she had done in the porn movie?). This was hilarious and I wish the current show could come up with something as good. Quantum Dream Team: It's a parody of "Quantum Leap," only instead of a physicist time traveling, it's F. Lee Bailey (Artie Lange), Johnnie (sic?) Cochran (Phil LaMarr) and Robert Shapiro (Dave Herman) - the core of O.J. Simpson's much-vaunted "dream team" of defense attorneys who are forced into a time vortex by Judge Ito (who is the only person from the present time they can communicate with, much like Dean Stockwell in the actual show), and they end up in 1969 right after the Manson murders. They skillfully defend Manson (Bryan Callen) (read: they fulminate with a series of half-baked conspiracy theories that are enough to convince the judge to dismiss the case). This was a lot more topical when it first aired in 1995, but watching it recently, I still found it extremely funny, especially the way the attorneys keep high-fiving each other. Also the not-so-subtle message that if the dream team were at Manson's disposal, he would have been acquitted hits home, so this parody works at many levels. This sketch is further evidence that sociopolitical satire in the first season of "Mad" was far edgier than anything on SNL, who in 1995-96 actually had Steve Forbes guest hosting one week. PowerBook #1 (Gingrich/Jane Doe): The first of several parodies of Apple's PowerBook. Newt Gingrich (Artie Lange) tells us what he keeps on his PowerBook (amongst other things, the latest chapter of his new sex thriller, and a contract with the PowerBook company giving him controlling shares of PowerBook stock. A homeless woman (Mary Scheer), on the other hand, keeps on her PowerBook "snot, drool, and my ass because it's warm." The first appearance of Lange's Gingrich and a worthy parody that could measure up to any parody SNL has done. Don Martin Department (Ice Cube): A man is placed in a refrigerator in order to anesthisize him; when he comes out, he is frozen solid, and when he falls out of the refrigerator, the patient shatters. The doctor slinks away sheepishly. Not bad. Virtual Homeless: I almost yearn for the days when politicians proposed grandiose schemes for reforming government, the economy, etc. just so that they can provide fodder for sketch comedy shows. In 1995, Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House of Representatives, and he quickly became the butt of jokes, some of which were quite funny. This parody is quite funny: in it Gingrich (Artie Lange) and an assistant (Phil LaMarr) demonstrate to a group of assembled reporters (Mary Scheer and others) the Virtual Habitat 2000 - a virtual-reality helmet that homeless people can wear so they can have "virtual reality" homes - it provides them with the sensory experience of having a home, even though they don't. The not-so-subtle message here is that Gingrich (and perhaps, by extrapolation, all politicians) are not really interested in solving the homeless problem, only in appearing to do something about the problem (something that might win them a few middle-class votes). If this isn't funny enough, the homeless man (Dave Herman) whom they used to demonstrate the helmet wanders out into the street (wearing the helmet) and gets hit by a truck. Compare this to Sasso's recent Clinton parodies, and one can only conclude that the political satire of late has lost its edge somewhat. Bryan Callen's Monologue: Bryan Callen (who was not even in any of the sketches in the first show) tells us how lucky he is to be on Mad TV: when he went to the audition, he was up against someone more talented and better looking than him, but once Callen beat his competitor up, he won the part by default. This was pretty good as far as the monologues went. He certainly has the physical comedy down to a science (almost). UBS Guy (Pick Up and Delivery): The first ever UBS Guy sketch. The UBS Guy goes to pick up an overnight letter at the office of a lawyer (Mary Scheer), he hits on her, but to no avail - she is married with kids. The writing is run-of-the-mill but LaMarr's physical comedy gives this sketch the edge - he makes wildly exaggerated movements, he can't sit still for a minute, and I agree with the lawyer: watching him gives me a headache! Actually I once worked for someone like this who couldn't sit still for a minute so I know what that's like. Not bad for a first sketch, but the best was yet to come. Spy vs. Spy: The white spy has a gorilla to protect HQ; the black spy thinks he has the answer when he feeds the gorilla banannas, but the white spy puts on a gorilla costume and dresses up the real gorilla as the white spy to get the better of the black spy. This is one of those ones where the spy who looked like he was going to win actually loses. This kept my attention. Phil LaMarr's Monologue: Phil LaMarr complains that he doesn't get "real" black roles; he tries to prove that he can act black by doing an impression, but then someone throws a basketball at him. This was OK, but you can tell LaMarr is essentially an actor, not a comedian (whereas Lange's monologue leaves no doubt that he is a comedian). Crimson Tide II: Shirley McLaine (Mary Scheer) and Whoopi Goldberg (Debra Wilson) star in a movie about the all-female crew of a nuclear submarine. Everyone in the crew (except Goldberg, I suppose) is having PMS at the same time, so they want to launch nuclear missiles at Russia. This was OK; what really makes this one worth watching is Wilson's dead-on (in my opinion) impression of Goldberg and the fact that is LOOKS like a movie parody because they apparently used location filming. Post Office Massacre: A postal worker (Dave Herman) shows up to work with a gun; the supervisors (Orlando Jones, Debra Wilson, Artie Lange) in charge of the post office are afraid to fire him even though he is in violation of postal rules - so they delegate the responsibility to a supervisor trainee (Phil LaMarr). The trainee fires the worker, then drops to his knees as the worker waves the pistol menacingly at him. It turns out, however, that the supposed worker is actually a postal inspector sent to monitor compliance with regulations. He fires the supervisors for delegating the responsibility to a trainee who promptly shoot the inspector. The ending becomes predictable - one the worker reveals his identity you pretty much know how it's going to end - but this is still funnier than any of the sketches from the first show. PowerBook #2 (Shakur/Snoop Doggy Dog): Tupac Shakur (Phil LaMarr) and Snoop (Orlando Jones) reveal what they have on their PowerBooks (they both have a list of 'hoes Eazy-E slept with [a brother's gotta protect what he's got left - not that it would have made any difference for Shakur, anyway]. This was even funnier than the first PowerBook parody, in my opinion. Don Martin (Frog Legs): Frog legs are served to a princess but when they touch her lips, they turn into human legs (guess they were from a prince). The satire is dead-on. Good stuff. New Neighbors: A young couple (Dave Herman, Nicole Sullivan) who are moving into a house they have just purchased discover that their neighbor (Artie Lange) is a convicted sex offender. They are concerned, especially since they have a young son, but they resolve to stay in the neighborhood. What we have seen up to now is almost sitcom-ish, and there's even an almost cathartic moment when the couple hugs. What happens next is what sets it apart: the doorbell rings again; it's Kato Kaelin, and he wants to rent the guest house. They slam the door in his face and start packing. This may be the best sketch of season one bar none. When I first saw this sketch back in 1995, I laughed and laughed. Mainly it's just a well-written sketch, albeit one that was quite topical (Megan's Law had been passed only a year earlier). But the performances, especially by Lange as the perverted neighbor, were good as well. Mary Scheer's "Monologue": Mary Scheer wants to combine her love for Korean folk art and gymnastics into a segment that will air on national television, but the segment gets cut off and there is a cut to a commercial. When we come back from commercial, Scheer is thanking the producers for allowing her the opportunity to make her dream come true; etc. This was OK. Air Guitar Store: Two airheads (Dave Herman, Bryan Callen) go into a store in which the proprietor (Artie Lange) sells air guitars. In other words, for about three minutes they pantomime handling and playing guitars. This was pretty good; I had some fun trying to identify the music (I recognize Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and Foghat's rendition of "I Just Want to Make Love to You"). Joe Walsh shows up at the end for a little added excitement (Mad TV has always distinguished themselves somewhat by having these wierd cameos, and this one and the earlier one by Kaelin are two examples). Spy vs. Spy - Train: White spy stops at drive-in movie theater, but it's a trick played by the black spy and he gets run over by a train. Once again, black spy - 1, white spy - 1. Succinct but effective. PowerBook #3 (McVeigh/Unabomber): Timothy McVeigh (Bryan Callen) shows us what's on his PowerBook (my favorite: remember, in prison, "bitch" is a compliment), and so does the Unabomber (Dave Herman) - he's going to destroy his PowerBook; it's technology! (Then we get to see it happen.) One of the more memorable moments from the early series; it's hard to believe none of this computer commercial parodies made their way onto any of the best of Mad TV specials. Closing Segment: The cast is back in Nicole's "room" and now they're reading her diary - from 1986, the year she had the sex change operation. They point out errors in orthography and assert that she's read too many trashy novels. This was a pretty good ending - I liked the way they tie together the opening and closing segments. ========================== ===================================================================== With the second episode, the forces behind "Mad TV" put together an episode even better than the pilot. Those who chose to tune in a second time after all the hype surrounding the first episode were justly rewarded (or maybe you were like me - I missed the pilot episode, and watched for the first time on October 21, 1995). One of the features that I liked about this episode was the way they had individual cast members come out and do monologues - something they would continue to do in the first season, and one of the elements that distinguished the show from both SNL and the present-day "Mad TV." But the main staple here are the sketches (this is, after all, a sketch comedy show), and most of these are quite good, especially the "New Neighbors" sketch. And although Nicole Sullivan was destined to be the breakout star of the show, by the second episode it was Dave Herman who was slowly emerging as the heart and soul of "Mad TV" in the early days. (10/10) ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ