Review of 6-6-1998 episode (Original Air Date: 12-6-1997) ===================== ==================================================== Spishak Suppositurkeys: Instead of eating turkey, why not shove a "suppositurkey" up your butt? That's the basic premise of this commercial parody. Not as good as "Spishak Cola," but well within the Spishak tradition and a worthy segment. Good way to start the show. Opening Segment: This guy Chris Hogan annoys me, but this segment where he comes out an introduces the show is not overly annoying, so I give it a reluctant thumbs up. Love Titanic: What if they did a cross between the James Cameron epic movie "Titanic" and "The Love Boat?" That's the idea behind this sketch, and although it's an idea virtually anyone could have thought of, the execution is pretty good. Chris Hogan steps comfortably into the role of Stubing, and Pat Kilbane is good as Doc. They also show that on Mad TV, there are no sacred cows: Nicole Sullivan as Julie, the Cruise Director, often sniffles, undoubtedly a reference to Lauren Tewes' real-life cocaine addiction. Lowered Expectations: Ms. Swan is featured this time, in several segments interspersed throughout the show. She delivers her trademark line, which is about all we had come to expect from Ms. Swan by this time. Not my cup of tea, I must admit. Furious George: I think this was the first "Mad TV Classic," which is basically an excuse for the producers and writers of "Mad TV" to deliver to the viewers something less than 100 percent new content. "Furious George," however, is quite funny, especially the gerbil being forced to watch Pauly Shore. Chelsea Clinton: Chelsea Clinton (Alex Borstein) is presented here as a thug with Secret Service agents (Will Sasso, Phil LaMarr, Chris Hogan) as her enforcers. It was one of the few examples of political satire from the first half of the season (to the extent that doing a sketch about the president's daughter qualifies as "politcal" satire), and is actually pretty good. Big John's Shirt Barn I: Big John (Will Sasso) and his wife Thelma (Debra Wilson) advertise Big John's Shirt Barn. Looks something like those folksy commercials one sometimes sees on cable television. Not overly funny, but still good. Dating Tips (Guys Love That): Girl (Debra Wilson) wants to steal a guy (Phil LaMarr) away from another girl (Nicole Sullivan), and to this end gives the other girl really bad dating tips. The denouement here is that the advice actually attracts the man to her. A sketch well worth watching, and not just because it features Nicole Sullivan making farting noises with her underarm. Alex Borstein is also good as a depressed girl. Sketch comedy lives! Planet of the Vancome Ladies: This sketch starts out with an interesting concept: a future world dominated by the Vancome Lady - and goes downhill from there. I know this is just a sketch, but are we expected to believe that the people of Earth would declare a woman a god merely because she slept with them, and just as easily depose her because the UBS Guy shows up? This is in my opinion the weakest Vancome sketch of the season. I did, however, like the part at the beginning where they showed a clip from "Vancome Lady: ER" and then the Vancomes begin chanting "Chaaaah - you know what" in unison. Parker Sisters: The first of the Parker Sister sketches. These repulsive hillbillies (Chris Hogan, Lisa Kushell) succeed in repelling virtually everyone in the bar in which the sketch takes place. I found it pretty funny, although a little over my head. UBS Guy: The UBS Guy (Phil LaMarr) was one of the more underused recurring characters this year. This was the third one this season and was pretty much up to the usual UBS Guy standard. The UBS Guy catches his boss (Chris Hogan) committing an act of marital indiscretion, but he seems pretty clueless about what is going on; nevertheless, in typical UBS Guy fashion, he succeeds in spite of himself, and manages to triple his salary. Not the funniest sketch I've seen, but quite acceptable fare. ================================== ========================================= After the season had gotten off to an excellent start, here in the December 6 broadcast things start to slow down a bit. There are several good, even excellent segments, but most of the recurring character segments were not very good - especially the Vancome Lady and Ms. Swan. And, please, no more Mad TV classics, which in my opinion are a shameless way to recycle old material better left to a "Best of" special. In the final analysis, this show falls into the middle rank of "Mad TV" episodes, with the strong and weak segments roughly equal in quantity. It was something of a let-down, especially after they had set such a high standard in the first nine episodes or so (this was the tenth). Next week: Mad TV #308; Gilbert Gottfried on Funky Walker, Dirty Talker; Weekend at Tupac's; Buffy the Umpire Slayer; Walker, Texas Ranger, Funeral Wizard. [Date of Original Broadcast: November 15, 1997] Web site update: Added Vancome Lady: Betty Ford Clinic and Vancome Lady: Casino Dealer. Remember to watch Nicole Sullivan on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 10th! ============================================ =============================== Number Six | http://www.nic.com/~dzien/nicole sullivan/ dzien@nic.com | (Unofficial Nicole Sullivan Tribute Page) ============ =============================================================== ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ