History of MADtv (1995-2000)

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1 MADtv (1995-2000): The Alfred E. Neuman era
- 1.1 Name
- 1.2 Creation of MADtv
2 The Alfred E. Neuman Era Season Breakdown
3 MADtv Sketches (1995 - 2000)
- 3.1 Recurring characters
  - 3.1.1 Recurring Celebrity Impressions
  - 3.1.2 Public Figure Impressions
- 3.2 Recurring animated sketches
4 Sources
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] MADtv (1995-2000): The Alfred E. Neuman era

Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine was heavily featured on MADtv for the first three seasons.

[edit] Name

Some fans of the show have dubbed this period the "Alfred E. Neuman Era" because the show made more frequent reference to its connections with MAD Magazine than it does today.

[edit] Creation of MADtv

[edit] In Living Color

The genesis of MADtv can be traced back to the Fox Broadcasting Company executives' desire to produce a show which could successfully rival Saturday Night Live. In 1990, FOX achieved their desired success with In Living Color, which was created and produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans. In Living Color lasted for four seasons with Wayans as Executive Producer and was a cult success. However, after the fourth season, Wayans left the show and most of the cast (including all of his siblings) left with him. Despite the fact that the new cast had stars like Carol Rosenthal from FOX's other (short-lived) sketch comedy show, The Edge, and Anne-Marie Johnson, Season 5 failed to obtain enough support from the viewers and the show was cancelled in 1994.

[edit] House of Buggin'

At that point, the quest to find a replacement series began. In 1994, FOX executives gave John Leguizamo a chance to fill the void which In Living Color left with his show, House of Buggin'. However, many critics and viewers believed that House of Buggin' lacked the edginess and creativity of its predecessor. As a result, the show was not renewed at the end of the 1994-1995 season. After the failure of House of Buggin' , FOX decided to try once more at creating a weekend night based comedy sketch show. This time, in lieu of trying to exactly imitate the success of In Living Color, FOX decided to create a union between its former show's creative team and a magazine widely regarded as an icon of comedy and parody.

[edit] MADtv

Fax Bahr and Adam Small, two of the most successful writers on In Living Color teamed up with multi million dollar producer, Quincy Jones and David Salzman and they all came up with the idea of creating an edgy sketch comedy show that was based on MAD Magazine. MAD Magazine had been around lampooning celebrities, movies, television shows and politicians since the 1950s. Thus, there was already a cult following for the show. But to make this union successful, the show would have to stay true to the fan base of MAD Magazine, while at the same time, stay true to the hip edgy and racy sketches which had come to define shows like In Living Color, as well as the sharp political humor that had defined Saturday Night Live. As a result, it was decided that characters from MAD Magazine, like Alfred E. Neuman and Spy vs. Spy, and the "MAD" logo would be incorporated into the show to act as a continuity link between the new show and the faithful readers of the magazine. Moreover, FOX signed a deal with Klasky-Csupo, (the animation company behind The Simpsons (1987-1992) and Rugrats ) to provide the animation for the Spy vs. Spy cartoons during the show.

[edit] Casting

Given the success of the racial and ethnic diversity of In Living Color, it was decided early on that the MADtv cast would also be diverse. In addition, the producers wanted to have a mixture of veterans of movie and television comedy, people with sketch comedy experience, and others with stand-up comedy experience. To fill the desire to have seasoned veterans on the cast, FOX executives added David Herman to the cast. Herman was already familiar with FOX executives because he was one of the few popular cast members from John Leguizamo's House of Buggin'. Herman also had an extensive television career and he had appeared in films like Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July. The next television veteran to join the cast was Phil LaMarr. In addition to being a graduate of Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood and Yale University, LaMarr was also an alumnus of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings and he has studied improv at Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. Like Herman, LaMarr also had an extensive career in television and film. He had appeared in the movies It's Pat and Bio-Dome. He had also appeared in Pulp Fiction in the small but memorable role of Marvin, the man whom John Travolta's character accidentally shoots in the face.

After securing the television veterans of the series, FOX then focused on lining up the newcomers to the television medium. FOX executives looked towards The Groundlings alumnus Mary Scheer to fill one of the cast vacancies. Scheer had limited experience in television and film, appearing in film's like It's Pat (along with Phil LaMarr), Not of This Earth and Under a Killing Moon. Her television credits included appearances in Seinfeld, Party of Five, and Beverly Hills 90210. The next cast member was Nicole Sullivan.

[edit] The Alfred E. Neuman Era Season Breakdown

[edit] MADtv Sketches (1995 - 2000)

[edit] Recurring characters

The following is a list of some of the most popular sketches featuring recurring characters that premiered during this era of MADtv.

For more details on this topic, see MADtv recurring characters.

Sketch	Character	Cast Member	Other notes
Al Casdy Motivational Speaker	Al Casdy	Bryan Callen
Al Casdy Motivational Speaker	Bill	Phil LaMarr
Incredible Findings	Tony	Bryan Callen
Incredible Findings	Mike Lawson	David Herman
X-News	Marsh	David Herman
X-News	Amy	Nicole Sullivan
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars	El Asso Wipo	David Herman	Seasons 1-2
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars	El Asso Wipo	Chris Hogan	Season 3
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars	El Asso Wipo	David Arquette	Season 4 (guest appearance)
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars	El Diablo Negro	Aries Spears
Jaq The UBS Guy	Jaq	Phil LaMarr
Funky Walker Dirty Talker	Desperation Lee	Phil LaMarr
Savante	Savante	Phil LaMarr
Rick the Player	Rick	Phil LaMarr
That's My White Mama	Momma	Artie Lange
That's My White Mama	Shaquana Curtis	Debra Wilson
That's My White Mama	Robert	Phil LaMarr
The Eracists	Steve	Phil LaMarr
The Eracists	Debbie	Nicole Sullivan
The Eracists	Hugh	Will Sasso
The Eracists	Anne	Alex Borstein
Cabana Chat	Dixie Wetsworth	Mary Scheer
Cabana Chat	Pool Boy	Bryan Callen	(Seasons 1-2)
Cabana Chat	Dexter St. Croix	Orlando Jones	(Seasons 1-2)
Cabana Chat	James Brown, Jr.	Aries Spears	(Season 3)
Darlene McBride	Darlene McBride	Nicole Sullivan
The Vancome Lady	Kathy the Vancome Lady	Nicole Sullivan
Antonia	Antonia	Nicole Sullivan
Antonia	Roger	Phil LaMarr
Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson	Bunifa	Debra Wilson
The Klumps		Aries Spears	Jameel
The Son of Dolemite	Dolemite, Jr.	Aries Spears
The Son of Dolemite	Cocoa Latite	Debra Wilson
The Son of Dolemite	Black Belt Jones	Phil LaMarr
The Son of Dolemite	Sheriff	Will Sasso
The Son of Dolemite	Deputy	Pat Kilbane
The Son of Dolemite	Nympho	Mo Collins
Will's Little Sister	Jameel	Aries Spears
Miss Swan	Ms. Bunny Swan	Alex Borstein
The Rocket Revengers	Nick Bendix/Captain Dutch Anderson	Pat Kilbane
The Rocket Revengers	Lincoln Willis/Lt. Abraham Jefferson	Phil LaMarr
The Rocket Revengers	Big Roy Rasmussen/Lt. Tiny Malone	Will Sasso
The Rocket Revengers		Aries Spears
The Rocket Revengers	Tukah, Queen of the Chinese	Debra Wilson
The Rocket Revengers	Professor Betty	Mo Collins
Susan Whitfield	Susan Whitfield	Lisa Kushell
Susan Whitfield	Mrs. Whitfield	Nicole Sullivan
The Parker Sisters	Vonda Parker	Chris Hogan
The Parker Sisters	Wanda Terry-Ann Lainier Parker	Lisa Kushell
Stan the Java Man	Stan McNer	Pat Kilbane
Lorraine Swanson	Lorraine Swanson	Mo Collins
Lorraine Swanson	Karl Swanson	Paul Vogt
Stuart Larkin	Stuart Larkin	Michael McDonald
Stuart Larkin	Doreen Larkin	Mo Collins
Rusty Miller	Rusty Miller	Michael McDonald
Marvin Tikvah	Marvin Tikvah	Michael McDonald
Marvin Tikvah	Shelly	Mo Collins
The Stick Chicks	Champagne	Nicole Sullivan
The Stick Chicks	Autumn	Debra Wilson
The Stick Chicks	Echo	Alex Borstein
The GAP Troll	GAP Troll	Alex Borstein
Behind the Song	Jasmine Wayne Wayne	Alex Borstein
Behind the Song	Michael Macleod	Will Sasso

[edit] Recurring Celebrity Impressions

The following is a series of lists of some of the most popular celebrity impressions (from the worlds of music, film, television, sports and entertainment), that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

Celebrity	Cast Member(s)	Season(s)	Other notes
Fiona Apple	Lisa Kushell	3
Tisha Campbell	Debra Wilson	1, 5
Tommy Davidson	Phil LaMarr	3-5
Sheila E.	Debra Wilson	3-5
Mel Gibson	Pat Kilbane	3-5
Danny Glover	Aries Spears	3-10
Mary Hart	Mo Collins	4-9
Ice Cube	Orlando Jones	1-2
Ice Cube	Aries Spears	3-10
Janet Jackson	Phil LaMarr	3-8
LaToya Jackson	Debra Wilson	2-8
Michael Jackson	Phil LaMarr	1-5
Tito Jackson	Phil LaMarr	3
Martin Lawrence	Phil LaMarr	1-2
Martin Lawrence	Aries Spears	5-10
Rosie O'Donnell	Alex Borstein	3-7
Kenny Rogers	Will Sasso	3-7
William Shatner	Will Sasso	3-7
Joel Schumacher	David Herman	1-3
Snoop Dogg	Orlando Jones	1-2
Jennifer Love Hewitt	Brooke Totman	5

[edit] Public Figure Impressions

The following is a series of lists of some of the most public figure impressions (from the worlds of politics, business, news and the media), that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

Celebrity	Cast Member(s)	Season(s)	Other notes
Mary Bono	Alex Borstein	3-5
Bill Clinton	David Herman	1
Bill Clinton	Bryan Callen	2
Bill Clinton	Will Sasso	3-7, 9
Bob Dole	David Herman	1-3
Al Gore	Bryan Callen	1-2
Al Gore	Pat Kilbane	3-5
Kenneth Starr	Chris Hogan	3
Kenneth Starr	Andrew Bowen	4
Clarence Thomas	Orlando Jones	1
Newt Gingrich	Artie Lange	1
F. Lee Bailey	Artie Lange	1
Timothy McVeigh	Bryan Callen	1
Tim Allen	David Herman	1

[edit] Recurring animated sketches

Spy v. Spy

The following is a list of some of the most popular sketches featuring recurring characters that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

For more details on this topic, see MADtv recurring characters.

Sketch	Cast Member Voice(s)	Season(s)	Other notes
Spy vs. Spy	None	1-3
Clops	David Herman, Nicole Sullivan, Phil LaMarr, Pat Kilbane and Aries Spears	1-5