Review of 10-31-1998 episode (MD-406; tons of spoilers) With all this hoopla about KISS, you may not have noticed that their latest effort, "Psycho Circus," is rapidly sliding down the Billboard charts (down to #75 after only five weeks on the charts). This album may not do much better than "Carnival of Souls," their final album with the 1992-97 lineup (with Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer). And this in spite of the fact that "Carnival" was not promoted very much at all! But enough of this; let's talk about the show: NOTE: Nicole Sullivan rejoined the cast in this episode. The cast now consists of: Alex Borstein, Andrew Bowen, Mo Collins, Pat Kilbane, Phil LaMarr, Will Sasso, Aries Spears, Nicole Sullivan, and Debra Wilson. NOTE: Aries Spears and Nicole Sullivan also co-anchored coverage of the KISS concert which followed the broadcast of Mad TV (at least on the East Coast). ============================================================== ============================ Opening Segment: With the Vancome Lady (Nicole Sullivan). Some people say the Vancome Lady does not make them laugh, but I got a good laugh when she insults a member of the audience, saying "I thought the two-dollar whore look was out." Then she is joined by fellow New Yorkers KISS (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss). A very memorable opening. The appearance of the Vancome Lady - the first on the show in over six months - was pretty appropriate for such a pivotal show, especially since the Vancome Lady dates back to the earliest days of Mad TV! Ms. Swan: This time, she goes to a video store. They used that line again ("He looka like a man."). Best line: Mo Collins, when Ms. Swan says she wants a movie featuring that man who looks like a man, replies "OK; so it's not Leonardo DiCaprio." I never liked this character that much but have to admit the last couple of sketches have improved in quality. Moreover, they got out of the rut they were in when all the sketches were about was how Chris Hogan's character reacted to Ms. Swan. It gets a little anti-climactic at the end but was still pretty good. KISS Action Figures: Having KISS on the show was a pretty good idea, but I can't believe the writers couldn't come up with a better way to work them into the show. Actually, with the quality of writing this season, I can believe it! Still, the part at the end where the mother (Nicole Sullivan) wants to borrow Paul Stanley was pretty funny. Puff Daddy and Mase: Puff Daddy (Phil LaMarr) performs and song and he is promptly killed. There's at least one good line here ("how about I sample you?") and the impressions are pretty good. Kenny Rogers Duets: I never really thought Will Sasso's impression of Kenny Rogers was that funny; still, they hit a home run with this one, especially the duet with Marilyn Manson ("hey, what's going on down there?"). The murderer returns, and eventually kills Marilyn Manson and Bjork (Alex Borstein). Stewart: Stewart (Michael McDonald) is back, and he's trick-or-treating with his mother (Mo Collins) pulling on his goo-gool (sic?). His fixation with underwear continues, and his signature line ("look what I can do") is here. This was pretty good, especially when he says he has to make brown bubbles. Then Antonia (Nicole Sullivan) shows up at the same house; the occupant (Debra Wilson) of the house gets annoyed and gives her all the candy, then she expands her vocabulary to include these words: "That's the motherlode." Robert Englund: He's with Scary Spice (Debra Wilson), who is promptly killed by the killer, who this time shows up in a "Scream" mask. Pretty well-written stuff. KISS Prom Date: Man (Will Sasso) is taken somewhat aback when his daughter's (Nicole Sullivan) prom date is Kiss - all four of them. They did a little bit better of a job with this sketch than the first KISS segment; still, not much to care for. Murderer: KISS saves the day by defeating the killer, Michael Jackson (Phil LaMarr). This is actually poetic justice, since the decade which Jackson dominated (the 1980's) was also a decade in which KISS did not have a Top 40 hit at all! (Look it up if you don't believe me.) This segment was a little cheesy, but on the whole was pretty good. I liked the line "Oh my god, they killed Kenny - you bastards!" (after they kill Kenny Rogers) Kiss: Kiss comes back in a parody of the old Peanuts Halloween special. This was OK, I guess. Little Nestor: Little kid goes to an ex-convict's house to trick-or-treat and is promptly killed. Predictable but funny! Corky Quackenbush lives! ====================================================== ===================================== We're now six episodes into the season, and we've already seen what seems to be the low point: the rather dismal season opener. Now the show seemingly roars back, with a Halloween show featuring KISS, the return of both Nicole Sullivan and Corky Quackenbush (cf. the closing credits), and having Robert Englund on didn't hurt either. But it is hard to see what real benefit all this had. The segments featuring KISS were not that good from a critical standpoint, and since the show isn't going to have them on the show every week, the writers are going to have to face the need to write solid material on a consistant basis, which they have failed to do so far this season. Having Nicole Sullivan back is good, but the segments featuring the Vancome Lady and Antonia served little purpose other than to reassure us that these characters are back. It will probably be at least a few weeks before we can really assess whether or not the return of Nicole Sullivan has a net positive effect on the show, and even if it does, she cannot single-handedly save the show. Still, even though the quality of the sketches was uneven, and having KISS on was a bit of a distraction (contrast the flashiness of this episode with the low-key approach the show employed in its first two seasons, when the show admittedly achieved only mixed results ratings-wise but also produced a lot of good comedy, and you may also conclude that you'll probably be nostalgic for "The Happy Happy Storytime Lady" or "Kenny Kingston with OJ" long after you've forgotten about this Halloween spectacular), it was a good show (dare I say, Hallo-cool) and KISS may provide them with a ratings boost (can't wait to see the Nielson ratings for this one). ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ