Review of 4-11-1998 episode (new show; some spoilers)

Since last week I began with a haiku, here's another:

	Why?

Bryan Callen rules!
Manic depressive stripper,
Why were you fired?

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Lonnie Bell, Attorneys-At-Law: Phil LaMarr as a sleazy attorney, in
this spoof of those lawyer commercials. He's both a civil and
criminal attorney, helping all manner of slime escape justice.
For Mad TV, this is about average.

Opening Monologue: Done this time by Aries Spears. Not unlike that
which has been done by stand-up comics on cable television time
after time, but still better than the random cast member coming out and
saying "we have a great show tonight."

Darlene and Kids: Darlene McBride (Nicole Sullivan) returns with some
ultra-right wing songs for children. We get such tunes as "Bingo" 
(about Indian casinos), "Clinton's Pants are Falling Down," and
"Janet Reno" (about Waco). Possibly the funniest of the Darlene McBride
segments, although "Let's Take America Back to 1955" was pretty good, too.
Was "Darlene McBride" inspired by the late Tammy Wynette?

The Wedding: Bride to be (Lisa Kushell) and her fiance (Will Sasso) 
discuss the wedding; he tends to get really upset, and eventually wets
his pants. Only mildly funny - until Sasso wets his pants; this is 
hilarious. Pat Kilbane is good as the waiter, who blocks the flow of the
urine with a food cover and then puts it back on the plate, and serves
it to another patron.

Dharma and Greg: A parody about "Dharma and Greg" parodies - we get Dharma
(Nicole Sullivan) and Gregory Peck, Dharma and Gregory Hines, Dharma and Greg Louganis, etc. I don't watch this show but I gather it's some type of romantic comedy; not very original parody, but this was better than the last parody of an ABC show (Grace Under the Influence). Sullivan's (as Jenna Elfman) comment that "Dharma and Greg is the only show on ABC approaching a hit" is very funny, especially in light of the fact that Fox recently moved ahead of ABC in the ratings, leaving ABC as the fourth-rated network. And Nicole Sullivan looks a lot like Jenna Elfman, which helps.

Ritalin Room: I think this segment was held back from a previous show, because
(a) I remember seeing it in the program guide at www.foxworld.com
several weeks ago, and (b) if you look at Aaron Greenhouse's Mad TV Episode
Guide at http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~aaron2/fox/titles/madtv.html 
you will notice that "Ritalin Room" is listed as one of the segments in
the February 7, 1998 broadcast, although I don't remember that segment having
aired in this broadcast of Mad TV. With all due respect to Aaron Greenhouse,
the Mad TV Episode Guide which can be accessed at the abovementioned web site
contains several errors, which is probably due to the fact that it is based
on what Fox says is going to air, rather than what actually airs on a given
date (to make matters worse, often the two websites, the official Mad TV
website at www.madtvonfox.com and www.foxworld.com often have conflicting
information, although www.foxworld.com is generally more reliable; the
trailers are also generally accurate).

As far as the segment itself is concerned, this seems to be a play on words
(i.e. "Romper Room," the excellent children's show, becomes "Ritalin Room").
This is what a children's television show would be like if it were geared
towards hyperactive children. This is a good concept though somewhat
unoriginal; nevertheless, the denouement, with Chris Hogan throwing down
his hat and saying "God, I hate kids" was pretty funny.

Suddenly Millenium: The producers of Mad TV have failed to heed my 
warnings about including old segments in supposedly "new" episodes.
"Suddenly Millenium" is apparently a crossover between "Suddenly Susan"
and "Millenium," the sci-fi show produced by Chris Carter. It is an
interesting concept an ably carried off by Mary Scheer and Bryan Callen,
though hardly deserving the appellation "classic".

Stan the Java Man: Stan McNer (Pat Kilbane) is fixing for a cup of coffee,
but first he has to get through the checkout line at the supermarket,
a task which is frustrated by dawdling customers (Aries Spears, Mary Scheer),
and a guy whose credit card keeps getting rejected by the machine.
I didn't think it was that funny, but it didn't bomb, either;
especially funny is when Stan picks up a copy of the (Kenneth) Starr,
a reference to an earlier segment about the Whitewater special prosecutor.

Gumby Old Men: "Grumpy Old Men" as a Gumby claymation segment. Corky Quakenbush
comes through once again. Though not as funny as some of his earlier work
(e.g. "Raging Rudolph", "CLOPS"), Quackenbush is
secure enough to resist the temptation of merely repeating his earlier successes,
and conceptually, "Gumby Old Men" works quite well (especially when Gumby
gets chewed on by a rat). 

Power Friend: Power Friend (Phil LaMarr) is a superhero with a twist - he
can only use his super powers three times, and he's already used them twice.
Therefore, he has to choose very carefully when to use his powers. He won't
help his friends (Aries Spears and Nicole Sullivan, again wearing Nike stuff)
save a bus full of kids, and then wastes his powers to change the channel
on his TV set. Probably the funniest sketch of the show, ably executed by the cast.

Spy vs. Spy: Black spy wins by giving white spy bucket of gasoline to
douse a fire. Good.

Hat for Fat, Ugly, Stupid People: Lisa Kushell in a commercial parody.
This one was a little over my head.

Anti-Depressercize Minute, Jr: Charlotte (Nicole Sullivan) returns in
what is essentially a reprise of the original Anti-Depressercise Minute, only
this time instead of Tony Little, a giant panda bear (Will Sasso) comes out,
takes some pills, and starts crying, lamenting that he will never be as
popular as Barney. Also features Mr. Whistles, a hand puppet. Good acting
by Nicole Sullivan.

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An above-average show marred only by the appearance of a "Mad TV Classic."
Several good segments, including some featuring underutilized recurring
characters (Darlene McBride, Charlotte of the Anti-Depressercise Minute).
Did anyone notice that many of the sketches here had to do with kids (Darlene
McBride and Kids; Ritalin Room; Anti-Depressercize Minute Jr.; Power Friend)?

Next Week's Show Is Gonna Be Like: A rerun of #304 (originally aired October
11, 1997).