Review of 10-30-1999 episode (MD-506; some spoilers)

As always, this review can also be found at:

        http://www.nic.com/~dzien/nicolesullivan/md506.txt

Did anyone see the Wall Street Journal article about the Fox Network,
and how it's been foundering in the ratings race? It was a pretty good
article about how, due to a variety of factors, Fox is now in fourth
place, how shows like "Action" and "Ryan Caulfield" have failed miserably
in the ratings, and how veteran shows like "BH 90210," "Party of
Five" and "The Simpsons" have also been on the decline. They didn't
mention "Mad TV" at all, but after all the focus was mainly on prime
time - besides, if they did mention "Mad TV," the show might be in danger
of losing its exalted status as the bastard child of the Fox Network.
This probably does not auger well for "Mad TV," as Fox will probably focus
on its bottom line - the prime time lineup - and eventually see
competing on Saturday night (I won't say competing against SNL only
because "Mad TV" starts 30 minutes earlier) as something of a luxury.
And since they will now have 100 episodes in the can now, enough
for syndication, they won't have much of an incentive to keep it on
the air at all.

Anyhow, on with the review:

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Opening Segment: Alex Borstein reads a really scary story. And that
annoying guy from last week's show, Mickey (Michael McDonald) is in
the audience, and of course, he's laughing like an imbecile. It's
a sad day when "Mad TV" has gotten to the point where every mildly
amusing character is recurred. Eventually the security guards drag him
away - too bad they can't beat up the writers if they don't come up
with better ideas; perhaps a return to the days of corporal punishment
might solve the creativity problems. This was probably the worst opening
segment so far this season; in any case, it certainly isn't a contender
for the best opening segment.

The Today Show: Katie Couric (Nicole Sullivan) interviews Debra Wilson
(herself) to commemorate the 100th episode of "Mad TV." The real humor
here is derived from Al Roker (Aries Spears), who is right outside the
studio (we can see him through the window), and who is accompanied by
a bunch of people carrying signs with phrases like "I Love U Grandma" on
them (apparently, they have nothing better to do with their time than
to try to be on TV). Two of the people begin to fight with each other;
when Roker tries to break it up, they turn on him, then the crowd turns
on one of the people injured in the fight. Finally, the crowd is attacked
by a giant space ant, which is ultimately killed by Roker with a machine
gun - all while Couric interviews Wilson (and, of course, even when the
machine gun is fired, no sound is heard in the studio, even though they
are only a few feet away). Although this isn't really heady stuff, the
writers do manage a bit of irony: when Wilson mentions she has developed
friendships with Phil LaMarr and Nicole Sullivan, Couric replies, "I
hear she's lovely." Interesting is that it's not too far off from some
of the stuff Roker has to put up with, since he's often put "on location"
somewhere, surrounded by a bunch of screaming people. [I even heard
a rumor that off-camera he told a bunch of people to shut up once.]
Spears' Roker is good, and it's also good to see Sullivan expand her
repetoire once again, especially since she does a good job with the
newscasters/talk show hosts: e.g. Kathie Lee Gifford, Coffee With Dana,
Diane Lawyer-Trabajo, etc. Overall, there's enough here to merit
a thumbs-up.

Illeana Douglas I: Illeana Douglas (from "Action") talks with Andy Kessler
(Pat Kilbane), the executive producer. (Hey, I thought Marvin was the
executive producer - did he get fired?) Kessler walks in and heaps
blandishments on Douglas but does not know when he sketch is taping -
a prototype of the useless executive. This was OK; you really have
to see it with the other Douglas segments, of course, to fully
appreciate it.

Vancome Lady: The Vancome Lady (Nicole Sullivan) insults trick or treaters
on Halloween. Although this sketch runs a bit long (which is true of
almost all sketches this season), it's still easily the funniest segment
of the show. While this may be more because of the fact that this
wasn't such a good show, this was still a really good sketch. Instead
of over-exerting themselves by trying to do something new with this
character, the writers focus on what this character does best - making
politically incorrect insults - and because the insults are good, this
sketch soars. We even get another Robert Downey, Jr. reference, the first
in a Vancome sketch in almost two years! (Not to mention an amusing
remark regarding Bob Dole's impotence.) I liked when
Kathy, seeing what she assumes to be facial hair on a trick or treater
(Alex Borstein), suggests that she procure an industrial-sized Epilady.
But by far the best part was her insults directed at a gay couple
(Michael McDonald, Aries Spears) who have apparently adopted two children
("It takes a village to raise a child - not the Village People.") It
might not be an exaggeration to say that there were more laughs in this
sketch than in the rest of the show combined. Also funny is when the
Vancome Lady sights an angry mob approaching her house (represented by
stock footage of a mob), and immediately leaves, reflecting that she's
lived in the neighborhood for six months, which isn't so bad.

Illeana Douglas II: Illeana Douglas is cornered by a writer (Will Sasso),
who tries to get her to agree to changes in the script. When she points
out that the changes don't make sense, he leaves in a fit of pique.
This is much funnier than the previous Douglas segment, and funnier
than the third and fourth for that matter. I liked the part where the
writer wants to mention Tommy Lee after a line about "biting the big
one;" when Douglas doesn't get it, he says that it's well-known that
Tommy Lee has a huge penis. Even scatalogical humor is welcome at this
point, since at least it's better than sitting through a decidedly unfunny
five minute sketch.

Hoppy Potty: In this video parody, Hoppy Potty does a parody of "Thriller" -
and as if there were any doubt, the snotty guy (Pat Kilbane) tells us
at the end of the video. The song is the same as the song from the first
Hoppy Potty segment, only with different lyrics. And this segment doesn't
really add anything new to Hoppy Potty, other than to confirm their
status as recurring characters. I did not find this segment too humorous,
either.

Richard Simmons - Dreammaker: Richard Simmons (Will Sasso) hosts a show
which purports to make the dreams of contestants come true. The
contestant in this show is a woman (Nicole Sullivan) who needs a
mere one thousand dollars for an operation that will restore her
sight (she's ninety percent blind). Instead, Simmons gives her tickets
to Sealand, a shopping spree (at which she does miserably
because she can't see), and an eye patch makeover (a decal
that looks like an eye). This segment had a lot
of potential but falls short in some respects. The Simmons impression was
good - he's got the effeminate mannerisms down, and the voice seems fairly
accurate (at least he does a bit of a lisp), but the real Simmons probably
wouldn't be as physical as that (e.g. throwing rolls of paper towels around
and yelling), though I could be wrong. And the segment drags on for far
too long, even broken up by a commerical break. Still, this was OK. Also
we get good acting by Sullivan as an older woman.

Illeana Douglas III: Illeana Douglas is now cornered by cast member Michael
McDonald, who tries to get her to get him a role on "Action." This
segment was the one part of the show that made the least sense - why
would McDonald want a part on a show that has been pulled from the
schedule, and which in all probability will not last the season? Then
you realize that this segment was probably taped before "Action" was
pulled from the lineup. This segment earns several demerits for forcing
us to watch McDonald and his bony ass in his underwear (please, some
of us are trying to eat while we watch the show). Still, it had its
moments, with Douglas referring to Stuart as "that retarded kid" and
ultimately yelling at McDonald.

Illeana Douglas IV: The producer (Pat Kilbane) returns and Douglas vents
at him: e.g. the writer cornered her, and she never got her coffee. This
was OK.

VH1 Storytellers: Lenny Kravitz (Phil LaMarr) is the subject of this
parody; he tells us that his songs are about love - in the face of
oppression and injustice. The funny thing here is that the Kravitz and
the audience members try to impute sublime significance to Kravitz's
lyrics, but they seem to be inspired mainly by Dr. Seuss, and even
if they're not, they certainly don't seem to be derivative of anyone
as exalted as Maya Angelou (as Kravitz claims). We even get a song
parody here - "Oblivion" seems to be a parody of Kravitz's hit from
last year, "Fly Away." This wasn't really an outrageously funny
segment, but once again they did a very good job of parodying a TV
program, and LaMarr's Kravitz seems to be dead-on. Aries Spears is
also good as an obsequious fan.

Illeana Douglas V: The TV executve (Pat Kilbane) is in the parking lot,
and tells Aries Spears that the Illeana Douglas segment has been cut.
She is still in her dressing room; by now she is trying to sleep.
This was OK; the Pat Kilbane character seems somewhat similar to the
boss from the "Milton" cartoons on SNL.

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I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that last night's show
was the worst show of the season so far. It's obvious, though,
that the writers aren't making much of an effort to get us to
continue to watch the show. On the plus side, we didn't get a
"Mad TV Classic," although that was only because we got an Illeana
Douglas segment squeezed in between about eight minutes of
commercials. The best segment was the Vancome Lady sketch; much
of the rest of the show was retrograde stuff no better than season
four material. Minus the Vancome sketch, it's definitely the worst
of the season. (5/10)

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