Review of 9-19-1998 episode (some spoilers) =================================== ================================================= Opening Segment: This time, with Howard Stern (Pat Kilbane) making rude comments about all the cast members. This was actually pretty funny, especially the ending with the midget transvestite. Seigfried and Roy: The Vegas lion tamers are now crime fighters. Not a bad sketch, especially the duo's emotionless delivery. Memorable line: "Flaming is our middle name." Meatbeaters: It's a powdered meat substitute that allows you to beat your meat. This is the first time I laughed really hard. Worthy of the old Mad TV. Marvin: Marvin (Michael McDonald?) is a fat slob who gets a personal trainer (Debra Wilson) in this rather funny sketch. He's so out of shape that he can't even do a sit-up. Watching this fat bastard roll around is a pleasure in itself. News at Six: This sketch was almost funny enough to make me forgive them for reviving this segment after the departure of Chris Hogan and Nicole Sullivan. Alex Borstein's reprisal of Sue Napersville is right on the mark; the ending is reminscient of the show's better days (remember Manic Depressive Stripper?), and overall the effect is pretty good. JC Penny: A very good commercial parody. JC Penny has a variety of bullet-proof clothing available at their back-to-school sale, all in designer colors. Funny and topical. Kenny and James Cooking Show: Kenny Rodgers (Will Sasso) and James Brown (Aries Spears) host a cooking show. I never found Sasso's Kenny Rogers impression that funny and this is no exception; Spears' Brown is better although this sketch is not particularly inspired. Rocket Revengers: A parody of old science fiction shows, which is filled with bad acting, cheesy special effects, and although there are self-righteous exhortations about peace and understanding between races, the plot is ultimately racist (the villians are Chinese). We even get an anachronism (the villians are destroyed by an atomic explosion, although in the false reality of the sketch, the "Rocket Revengers" series was filmed between 1938 and 1941, several years before nuclear weapons were invented). The segment is introduced by Nicolas Cage (Andrew Bowen?), which was a good impression, although it made me nostalgic for Dave Herman's equally good Cage impression from last year (this guy bears a little bit more of a physical resemblance to Cage, though, I think). A well-written segment and a good example of what sketch comedy can achieve in its better moments. Titanic Survivor: President Clinton (Will Sasso) presides over an awards banquet for Happy Folger, who "wanted to live very badly"; this entailed killing an Italian steward and a crippled woman. When Clinton punches him, his approval ratings plummet. Not bad; there seems to be more political humor this season, which will probably continue if these various and sundry political scandals continue. Gangsta Shop Quartet: I used to criticize "Mad TV" for shamelessly repackaging these old segments; now that Nicole Sullivan and Mary Scheer are gone, these sketches make me nostalgic for the old days. Neither Sullivan nor Scheer are in this one, but we do get Dave Herman, Bryan Callen, Pablo Francisco and Tim Conlon (the last two not being cast members but helped out when "Mad TV" was a little shorthanded) as members of a barber shop quartet doing gangsta rap. I always thought this one was hilarious, especially when Bryan Callen curses (I think he says "motherf*cker"). If they made rap music like this, I probably would be more likely to listen to it. By the way, this was from Bryan Callen's last episode! Expectant Mother: A pregnant woman (Alex Borstein) meets an old acquaintance (Mo Collins) who works as a receptionist at an obstetrician and who broods over her inability to have children. Apart from the fact that one ponders over the logic of a woman so obsessed with the issue working for an obstetrician (which in itself is funny), the performances of the two cast members are actually pretty good as well, especially Collins. And the sketch ends on a high note, with the receptionist breast-feeding a small dog (at least that's what I think it was). Spy vs. Spy: This was an old one, with the white spy getting guillotined. Pretty much old hat. On the whole, not a bad show. The series might last the season yet (they beat Howard Stern the last two weeks in a row, and last week they closed to within 1.2 ratings points of Saturday Night Live). However, it probably would have been much better if Nicole Sullivan were in the cast. Furthermore, the Fox Network has done irreparable public relations damage by failing to publicly explain the absence of the most popular and MOST TALENTED Mad TV cast member. I only hope that she succeeds wildly in all future endeavors. ÿÿÿÿ