It's no secret that the former cast members of Mad TV have not, for the most part, had much success since they left the show (with the exception of Artie Lange, and, to a certain extent, Orlando Jones). Perhaps this is why they went all out to help make this show one for the archives. The show starts with a musical number performed by ex-cast member Orlando Jones (fresh from his recently-axed FX talk show). Then we get a mixture of new sketches featuring old cast members interspersed with clips from vintage Mad TV sketches. I fast-forwarded straight to Nicole Sullivan's first appearance. She reprised her much-celebrated recurring character, the Vancome Lady, in a send-up of The Bachelorette. She rejects every potential suitor with a series of amusing, politically incorrect insults (she won't select the Chinese man - "too small portions" - and the black man is someone she would only pick "out of a lineup"). She indicates that all of these rather pathetic men have driven her to the verge of lesbianism - and then in walks Lorraine (Mo Collins). Lorraine rejects Kathy's initial advances, but the Vancome Lady suggests that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and they walk out of the room together. As she attempts to kiss Lorraine, Vancome refers to the Britney Spears-Madonna kiss, but whereas the latter seemed to be contrived mainly for shock value (unless it really was spontaneous, in which case it was merely slutty behavior conducted by two sluts), the former was truly funny, and was in keeping with the persona of this catty cosmetics saleswoman.

Nicole Sullivan next appears in a Stuart sketch in which Doreen Larkin (Mo Collins) takes Stuart (Michael McDonald) to buy a new pair of shoes. She can't afford the cowboy boots which he wants, but she expects the saleswoman (Nicole Sullivan) to play along by letting him try on the boots and then switching them with cheaper shoes later. If you don't like the Stuart character, you won't care much for this sketch, and quite frankly, it's a bit surprising they're still using it after five and a half seasons. It's not as if this was grade-A material to begin with, and the writers have beaten this concept to death so much that there isn't much left. Perhaps they assume that the twelve-year old viewers who apparently constitute Mad TV's core demographic category haven't watched the last five years of the show? Anyhow, Nicole Sullivan fans will at least appreciate the fact that she is out there giving it the old college try, just like in the old days.

The Stuart sketch immediately gives way to the camera panning out into the audience, and we see none other than Michael McDonald and Nicole Sullivan, reprising their role as the "Literally" duo, lambasting the previous sketch and claiming that Mad TV's studio audience is padded out with drunks (which is not too far from the truth; the network had a hard time filling the studio when the show started its run back in 1995). Although the brief dialogue causes one to wonder about the wisdom of these endless Michael McDonald/Nicole Sullivan pairings, it was entertaining in its own way.

Rather than trying to please everyone all of the time, the producers apparently sought to offer a little something for everyone. For fans who liked the early years, there were enough clips from the first few seasons, and of course, Nicole Sullivan, Orlando Jones and Artie Lange were on hand. But there were also some more recent clips, as well as more recent cast members such as Alex Borstein and Will Sasso. Fellow New Jerseyan Artie Lange delivered one of my favorite moments of the show. As you might recall, Lange abruptly departed the show in the middle of season two, a departure that was initially shrouded in mystery - one week he was there; the next week he was gone. We soon found out that he was fired from the show after he was arrested outside the Mad TV studios for possession of drugs - some accounts indicated that he took a swing at one of the cops as well. Lange (and the rest of us) can look back at this and laugh, because not only did he clean up his act, but he went on to become the most successful ex-cast member, landing roles as Norm McDonald's sidekick in Dirty Work and The Norm Show, and eventually landing the job of head writer on the syndicated Howard Stern Show, replacing Jackie Martling. He tells us that his counselor tells him it's OK to have a drink on special occassions - such as the 200th episode of Mad TV. His brief monologue offered only a flash of the brillance he has exhibited on Mad TV and elsewhere (he is probably the only man in the history of television to claim to have masturbated while thinking about Ogee from Magilla Gorillia). Similarly, Ms. Sullivan's relatively brief appearances in this episode will leave her die-hard fans hungry for more (although far more satisfying than her typical King Of Queens appearances). Nevertheless, for one brief moment, I felt as if it was 1995 again. Netscape 2.0 is my browser of choice, Nowhere Man is my favorite new show, and a young actress by the name of Nicole Sullivan is fast on her way to becoming an overnight sensation.

Video clips (in Windows Media 8.0 format):

• Vancome Lady: The Bachelorette. (4 minutes 2 seconds; 1.0 MB) A clip featuring The Bachelorette parody in its entirety.