MADtv (season 1)

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</gallery> The first season of MADtv aired from October 14, 1995, to June 22, 1996, with 19 episodes.

Contents

[edit] Season summary

The Vancome Lady during Season One of MADtv.
The Vancome Lady during Season One of MADtv.

MADtv's first season premiered in the 1995 television season, on October 14 at 11 p.m., thirty minutes before the time-slot of its chief rival, Saturday Night Live.

The original MADtv repertory cast members were Bryan Callen, David Herman, Orlando Jones, Phil LaMarr, Artie Lange, Mary Scheer, Nicole Sullivan, and Debra Wilson, with Craig Anton as a featured player. The first season's cast was a mixture of seasoned television and film veterans like LaMarr, Herman, and Scheer, and relatively unknown newcomers like Callen, Jones, Lange, Sullivan, and Wilson. The cast was one of the most ethnically diverse sketch comedy casts of the 1990s, with one Native American (and half Irish) male, one Jewish-American male, two African-American males, one African-American female, two white males and two white females.

Season one of MADtv relied heavily on the fan base of MAD Magazine. Each episode featured the use of the MAD logo (which is still used today), Alfred E. Neuman images and puns, the Spy vs. Spy cartoons, and the catchphrase "What...me worry?" The first season also established some of the series' landmark characters like Jaq the UBS Guy (LaMarr), The Vancome Lady (Sullivan), Clorox (Anton), Mrs. Jewel Barone (Scheer) and Momma (Lange) from That's My White Momma. This season also produced several enduring celebrity parodies like Oprah Winfrey (Wilson), Tom Hanks (Herman) in Gump Fiction, and Dennis Rodman (Jones) making a public service announcement.

Unlike Saturday Night Live, MADtv had no celebrity hosts during its first season. However, the show did have special guests including Kato Kaelin, Joe Walsh and Dean Stockwell, Peter Marshall, Michael Buffer, Adam West, Gary Coleman, Jamie Farr, Ken Norton, Jr, David Faustino, Claudia Schiffer, Kim Coles, Bruce McCulloch and Harland Williams. Musical groups like Poison, Pharcyde and The Presidents of the United States (who were the show's first musical guests) also made appearances on the show.

The show was renewed for 24 more episodes the following season and the full cast was invited back to headline season two.

[edit] Opening montage

The title sequence begins with several fingers pointing at a bomb. The bomb explodes and several different pictures of Alfred E. Neuman appear on the screen, followed by the MADtv logo. The theme song, performed by the hip-hop group Heavy D & the Boyz, begins. Cast members are introduced alphabetically with their names appearing in caption over live-action clips of each performer. More pictures of Alfred E. Neuman appear between the introduction of each cast member. When the last cast member is introduced, the music stops and the title sequence ends with the phrase "You are now watching MADtv."

[edit] Cast

[edit] Repertory players

[edit] Featured player

[edit] Episodes

Episode Airing Date Guest(s) Sketches Other notes
#101 October 14, 1995 Kato Kaelin and Poison Executives desperately search the streets of Los Angeles for cast members for a new sketch comedy show; Spy vs. Spy: Bombing/Pogo Stick; Forrest Gump meets Pulp Fiction parody; MTV Week With Poison; Star Trek: Deep Stain Nine; Ice-T and Ice Cube rap First episode
#102 October 21, 1995 Kato Kaelin, Joe Walsh and Dean Stockwell Spy vs. Spy: Gorilla/3D Movies; Quantum Dream Team; Crimson Tide II; The Air Guitar Shop
#103 October 28, 1995 Peter Marshall, The Rolling Stones (musical guest) Spy vs. Spy: Microbomb; 13 Apollo/Friday the 13th; First to a Million; Outing Dummy; and Like a Rolling Stone
#104 November 4, 1995 Michael Buffer, Adam West and Gary Coleman Spy vs. Spy: Umbrella/Down the Drain; E.R. parody features has-been celebrities trying to revive their careers; Woody Allen Action Flick and Life With Buffer
#105 November 11, 1995 Spy vs. Spy: Beach Girl; Billy Crystal (Phil LaMarr) struggles having a platonic friendship with a whale in romantic comedy When Harry Met Willy; Larry King Gone Mad; a Hare Krishna breaks up with his band at the airport and goes solo
#106 November 18, 1995 Neve Campbell, Jamie Farr, Matthew Fox, Dana Gould, Scott Wolf Spy vs. Spy: Slinky/Sun Rays; QVC Fine China Hour; Calvin Klein; Oprah; Clueless of the Lambs; Party of Five; and Vague
#107 November 25, 1995 Billy Barty, Dave Foley, Ken Norton Jr Spy vs. Spy: Arcade Game/Boat Bomb; Hard to Oppress: Dark Territory; Don Martin Department: Water Skiing/My Wife's Fat
#108 December 9, 1995 Quincy Jones, LL Cool J, RuPaul Spy vs. Spy: Prison Escape/Dream Research 1; Daytime Jane; Lottery Losers; Lottery-Producers; Monologue-L.L.Cool J.; Don Martin-Scalpel; Scat Chat; UBS Promotion; Daytime Jane-Ed; Ejaculation Monologue; Don Martin-Rescue Plane; Lady Madness; Sweatin' to the O.G.s;; Octoroon; and Gump Fiction
#109 December 16, 1995 Pauly Shore Spy vs. Spy: Toilet Plunger/Tank Bomb Vancome Lady: Department Store Santa; Wonder Rake 5000 Fruitcake Vs Santa Raging Rudolph College Advisor The Bank Monologue-Pauly Shore Donut Shop Happy Go Lucky Phil Last Call Easy to Assemble and The Christmas Santa Forgot Christmas episode
#110 January 6, 1996 Andy Kindler, Rip Taylor Spy vs. Spy: Spaghetti Door/Training Fleas Clintfeld; Stress US Commercial Get Smarty Knowledge Handicapped Toilet Police The Go-Between Improv Don Martin-Brick Layers Mafia Management Monologue-Andy Kindler Line of Duty Emotional Prostitute Don Martin-Cake Machine Mime Psychiatrist and Handicapped Toilet Police
#111 January 13, 1996 Tony Orlando, The Presidents of the United States (Musical Guest) Spy vs. Spy: Macaroni/Lab Fly Windows of the Soul Candidate #1 The Presidents of the United States Commercial Lounge Lawyer Office Window Don Martin-Civil War Candidate #2 I Could Do That Candidate #3 Time Manager Big Game Dan Take a Letter Joe Don Gets Cable Coffee and Dana Don Martin-Bear Hunt MAD About Jew
#112 February 3, 1996 David Faustino, Pharcyde Spy vs. Spy: Magnet/Typewriter; Martin Luther King (Phil LaMarr) struggles to prepare his speech in a parody of Martin. Rap group Pharcyde and David Faustino star in a spoof of The Three Stooges against a backdrop of urban violence. The Linder family auditions to appear on an episode of Rescue 911, but the parents (David Herman, Mary Scheer) frequently embarrass their son Mark (Bryan Callen). A loudmouth (David Herman) tells a story to his friends, then tells everyone else to stop looking at him. A psychiatrist (Nicole Sullivan) doesn't make her patient (Mary Scheer) feel any better when she discusses her relationship troubles. While looking for a target to take out, a hitman (David Herman) tries to think of the song that plays in his head.
#113 February 10, 1996 Spy vs. Spy: Falling Rocks; The XXX-Files; Jim Carrey School of Acting and Vista Militia
#114 February 17, 1996 Whoopi Goldberg, Brian Austin Green Spy vs. Spy: Hair Dryer; News reporters remain callously umsympathetic while reporting on dangerous events. Michael Jackson (Phil LaMarr) promotes a seminar tape on how to be famous. Two wannabe gangstas (David Herman, Nicole Sullivan) rethink their ways when they are introduced to White Chocolate (Brian Austin Green). A woman (Mary Scheer) is rude to everyone on an airplane. A parody of Davey and Goliath has Davey forced by his dog Goliath to dish out harsh discipline to sinners with a gun. A discussion about Casino erupts into a fight. A man (Artie Lange) suffers from a disease that makes him act like a sports fanatic. A coffee addict (Bryan Callen) doesn't understand that his girlfriend (Nicole Sullivan) wants to break up with him. Two cops (David Herman, Artie Lange) try different tactics to get one of their suspects (Orlando Jones) to confess to a crime. A fan who look like Whoopi Goldberg accosts the actress/comedienne backstage.
#115 March 9, 1996 Dave Higgins, Doug Llewelyn, Barry Williams Spy vs. Spy: Tank Dream/Device; A player (Phil LaMarr) claims to be too good to be a bachelor on Lowered Expectations. Roseanne Barr (Artie Lange), Drew Barrymore (Nicole Sullivan), Whitney Houston (Debra Wilson), and Barbra Streisand (Mary Scheer) star in Terms of Imprisonment, a women-in-prison film spoof. Eddie Murphy (Orlando Jones) tries to convince director Spike Lee (Phil LaMarr) to work with him.
#116 March 16, 1996 Chris Hardwick Spy vs. Spy: Basketball; In the latest installment of X-News Marsh's roommate (Bryan Callen) takes over while the two newscasters (David Herman, Nicole Sullivan) deal with their own problems. In a parody of Casino and Encino Man, Nicky Santarone (Artie Lange) helps Dave (Bryan Callen) and Stony (David Herman) become big shots at their school.
#117 April 6, 1996 Claudia Schiffer and Kim Coles Spy vs. Spy: Brain Swap; Artie Lange introduces the cast in announcer fashion. An interview with O.J. Simpson (Orlando Jones) contains outrageous bloopers. Parody of Levi's commercials. Mrs. Curtis (Artie Lange) catches her daughter (Debra Wilson) smoking cigarettes on That's My White Mama. A news reporter (Mary Scheer) repeats nearly verbatim everything her colleagues say. Parody of Lethal Weapon where Murtaugh (Orlando Jones) works with a new partner, Montell Jordan (Phil LaMarr). Claudia Schiffer stars in a parody of James Bond films. Two homegirls (Kim Coles, Debra Wilson) work as surgeons. A gangster (Artie Lange) poses as a businessman who sells stolen products, then harasses his partner (Bryan Callen). The high school's valedictorian (Nicole Sullivan) makes reference to grim, historic events during graduation day.
#118 May 25, 1996 Bruce McCulloch Spy vs. Spy: Safe Trick/Fallen in Love/Projector Babe-Watch; Drug Bust; Beauty Pageant and Funeral DJ.
#119 June 22, 1996 Harland Williams (special guest) Spy vs. Spy: Briefcase; Two clueless martial artists (Bryan Callen, Artie Lange) have a sparring match. The ficitious Spishak Company promotes its margarine. Two parents (Artie Lange, Mary Scheer) are oblivious that their daughter (Nicole Sullivan) is a lesbian, and that her "friend" (Debra Wilson) is her lover. Lowered Expectations bachelors include one who's very uptight (David Herman), one with a special talent (Orlando Jones), and one who's looking for a spiritual relationship (Debra Wilson). A fugitive with missing limbs is on the loose, but several cops are able to find the body parts and other pieces of evidence. Kids have their slumber party ruined by the host's father (David Herman). A claymation parody of Gumby involves the curious clay figure looking through a Playboy-like magazine. A scamming little league bookie (Artie Lange) strikes up deals with children. Two employees (Mary Scheer, Nicole Sullivan) settle their rivalry by threatening to kick each others' asses. Two goofy performers (David Herman, Mary Scheer) look to get their big break. Season finale

[edit] DVD releases

All 19 episodes from season one were released on DVD on September 21, 2004, in a boxed set entitled MADtv: The Complete First Season. The audio track included on this release was a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mix. Extra features included the 200th episode of MADtv (from season nine), the best of MADtv's commercial, movie, television, music video and animation parodies, a reel of season one bloopers, nine unaired sketches and a preview of MADtv: The Complete Second Season.

The season one box set remains the only complete season DVD release of the MADtv series. However, a compilation of select sketches, entitled MADtv: The Best of Seasons 8, 9 & 10, was released on October 25, 2005.

[edit] External links


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