Review of 11-11-2000 episode (MD-606; some spoilers) This review can also be found at: http://www.nic0lesullivan.org/md606.txt ========================================================================== Opening Segment: Nelson Ascencio talks about how it's great to be the first Latino (Cuban-American) cast member of "Mad TV," and how he's part of the "Latin explosion," which is interspersed with scenes of Latinos in subservient positions: e.g. a sweatshop, someone with a camera strapped to their back. This may have originated as an idea for a TV promo for the show. This was pretty good; not the most brilliant idea (though the irony of someone hiring someone to perform menial tasks being lauded for being committed to diversity is noted), but funny enough and it doesn't last very long anyhow. NYPD Blue: Andy Sipowicz (Will Sasso) and Danny Sorenson (Andrew Daly) try to solve a murder case, an endeavor which is made frustrating by their incoherent rambling - e.g. "You figure it's him?" "A possibility is what it is" "With him?" "No, with the other - I don't know no more." They interview a potential witness/suspect (Nelson Ascencio), who offers to tell them whatever they want if Sipowicz conjugates a sentence, which was probably the funniest moment of this segment. They are not really poking fun of the show as a whole as much as one element of it, and considering that most of the parody centers around their circumlocution, the cast and writers got some good mileage out of this one. Although Daly's Sorenson is somewhat generic, Sasso's Sipowicz is very good; he even waddles off camera at the end, stooped over in an exaggerated manner, for a few more laughs. Mickey: That rather odious Michael McDonald recurring character Mickey is back, this time to unnerve guest star Mandy Moore (herself) with some unsavory questions: e.g., is she afraid her parents will run off with all her money; is she afraid Britney Spears will have her killed. Finally, even the congenial Moore gets annoyed and (predictably) has Mickey ejected from the studio by two security guards. [If only Mr. McDonald could be ejected from the studio for real, never to return! Wishful thinking, I suppose.] Considering that I am not a fan of either Michael McDonald or his recurring characters, this actually didn't go too badly for me; still the show could have done better without this character, perhaps with Ms. Moore doing a monologue a-la SNL or something like that. Lorraine: The "Gahd, that's cute" lady is back, this time to ruin a father (Michael McDonald) and son miniature golf game. As with the previous Lorraine sketches, most of the humor here is physical. This time, she winds up stuck in a windmill on the miniature golf course, and her foil ends up leaving her stuck on the windmill, slowly rotating up and down on the blade. But they weren't content to rely merely on physical comedy; I liked the part where she asks the kid if he has a Farrah Fawcett poster, as if she has to prove she's twenty years behind the times. Lorraine sketches usually deliver and this is no exception. The Littlest Hoochie: Shirley Temple (Dannah Feinglass) goes to an inner-city school and learns how to be a hoochie mama in this Shirley Temple/gangsta crossover. As a period piece this is not bad (in general Mad TV fares pretty well with these); what is funny is that although this is meant to be a parody, it might not be that far off the mark - some film experts have said that if some of these Shirley Temple shorts were released today, they might be considered child pornography, considering their somewhat unwholesome content along with the rather vague legal definition of child porn in the U.S.A. I cite the 1933 short, "Polly Tix in Washington," which casts a very young Shirley Temple as a vamp attempting to corrupt a Senator into supporting the castor oil lobby, as an example of a Shirley Temple film with somewhat questionable content. It is uncertain whether this is what the writers had in mind when they wrote this bit (probably not), but even if they didn't, this segment deserves some credit for its originality. Alex Borstein and Will Sasso at the Charlie's Angels Premiere: Admittedly, I was never much of a fan of these segments in which Borstein and Sasso go to an awards ceremony or movie opening and interview celebrities - it seemed too obvious a means for cutting costs and killing time that could be better used for a sketch. But I actually liked this bit. Maybe its just the fact that I saw "Charlie's Angels" for the first time that very day and it put me in a good mood, or maybe I just liked the mix of celebs here, which included Drew Barrymore (also the producer), Tom Green, Allison Sweeney, Michelle Tractenberg and Patrick Fugit. [It should be noted that Green's role, though small, was good; there's no doubt in this fan's mind that the Chad was great.] They got all three angels here - Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu, and a bonus: Jaclyn Smith. We also get a plug of "Normal, Ohio" from Joely Fisher, and a confusing comment from Drew Barrymore about how her chi on her tongue has fire. Funniest line: Will Sasso commenting that the more events they cover, the further behind they get in this game called Hollywood. Ms. Swan: Ms. Swan (Alex Borstein) gives a customs agent (Christian Duguay) a hard time, claims that she has medicinal marajuana when she doesn't, and reveals herself to be from a nonexistant country near the North Pole. There was some speculation that the Garry Marshall sketch would be the last Swan sketch ever; while you have a better chance of seeing God than seeing Mad TV retire a successful recurring character (although the Vancome Lady hasn't been around for while), this more than justifies the character's return and should satisfy most hardcore Swan fans. Win a Date With Mandy Moore: Mandy Moore (herself) and her manager (Debra Wilson) meet the winner of the "Win a Date With Mandy Moore" contest - a chain-smoking thirty-eight year old man (Will Sasso). He seems like such a loser that there doesn't seem much of a chance that he's a successful songwriter, as he claims, so at her manager's prompting, Ms. Moore walks out on him - but three weeks later, she hears Madonna singing the same song on the radio, and she fires her manager. Funny moment: the date winner gives Ms. Moore two Atari cartridges that are probably older than she is. It's good to see for once they came up with a decent sketch so that a celebrity appearance was not wasted, unlike the Catherine O'Hara bit from last season and a number of other bits over the last few seasons. Also we get a good performance from Sasso as a middle-aged long-haired doofus. Mannequin Manslaughter: This is a sequel to the mannequin sketch from last season in which a man posing as a mannequin kills store employees. This time, the cops (Christian Duguay, Nelson Ascencio and extras) are investigating the crime scene, and the mannequin (Michael McDonald) manages to kill one of them. The original sketch was mediocre at best and this one wasn't much to write home about either; in fact this was pretty much D.O.A. Other than the fact that it almost seems intended as a homage to those fans that actually bother to watch the show week after week (casual fans would have appreciated this sketch even less), there isn't much to recommend this one. Mandy Moore: I consider Britney Spears and her progeny (we can essentially consider most of the teen phenoms to attain success in her wake to be her progeny, I suppose) to be a modern-day equivalent of bubblegum music and therefore pay little attention to them. Still, there are gradations of quality even in bubblegum music. Mandy Moore is not as popular as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera - as far as I know, Ms. Moore still has not reached platinum sales levels. But her performance of "Candy" here suggests that she may have a more promising future than either of the reigning teen pop divas. It's not that the song is an instant classic or even memorable - it is as disposable as any popular music of today. No, what distinguishes Ms. Moore's performance is that I can listen to her sing without cringing. [True story: I got about 51 seconds into the first Britney Spears album, then had to listen to a vintage Cheap Trick album to make the pain go away.] In fact, if she can make generic pop like that palatable, she might move on to bigger and better things after all. Closing Segment: The cast (minus Nicole Sullivan), lead by Michael McDonald, close the show. "We hope you had as much fun watching the show as we had making it." Then we cut to Lorraine, still on the windmill. This was OK. ========================================================================== After last week's slide into mediocrity, this week the show bounced back with what is arguably the best show of the season. The only sketch that really bombed was the mannequin sketch, and the others were generally funny and, for the most part, original. While I am not a fan of Mandy Moore, her contributions to the show was creditworthy as far as guest stars go. The absence of Nicole Sullivan likely bothered some (actually, she seems to have been featured less and less since the first episode, like some kind of contractor that shows up the first day of work and then goes off to other jobs). Most likely this trend will continue, especially once the taping of her new sitcom begins in January. But for the time being the show seems to have weathered her absence in stride. [7/10] ========================================================================== Number Six | dzien@nic.com | http://www.nic0lesullivan.org OR | (The Unofficial Nicole Sullivan Tribute Page) info@nic0lesullivan.org | ==========================================================================