MADtv
This article is about the Fox sketch comedy TV series. For the Greek music channel, see MAD TV (music TV).
MADtv is an
American sketch comedy television series based on the popular humor magazine,
Mad. First broadcast on
October 14,
1995, the successful show is the
FOX Network's only late night program. The one-hour show airs Saturday nights on Fox and is in syndication on
Comedy Central. It was created by Fax Bahr and Adam Small, who wrote for
In Living Color and are also responsible for
Gary and Mike and
Blue Collar TV, and is produced by
Quincy Jones.
Created by the makers of Playboy and Telletubies,the format of
MADtv is a mixture of scenes shot live for a studio audience, and pre-taped short films—both place a heavy emphasis on pop culture
parody. Skits and sketches are performed in a manner similar to other variety shows. In the early days animated shorts of
Don Martin classics and
Spy vs Spy would be shown between sketches. Strangely enough, besides the occasional appearances of
Alfred E. Neuman in the opening credits,
Spy vs Spy would be the only direct connection between the magazine and the TV series.
MADtv spoofs other shows, such as the long-running
game show The Price is Right, with actors playing
Bob Barker and the late
Rod Roddy, and it also takes on other celebrities, like
Wayne Brady,
Kenny Rogers and
John Madden. One recurring skit is the
show-within-a-show called
Real **********ing Talk with Dollar Bill Montgomery, which is a spoof of other forum-style shows such as
Hardball with Chris Matthews and
Real Time with Bill Maher. Maher made a cameo appearance on a 10th-season episode, opposite cast lead
Aries Spears.
Real **********ing Talk is known for its excessive use of (censored) foul language.
Comparisons with
NBC's
Saturday Night Live are inevitable, given the two shows' similar formats and close airtimes on Saturday night (
MADtv runs from 11:00 p.m. to midnight, while
SNL runs from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., both Eastern time).
|
The current MADtv cast. (Top Row, Left to Right) Frank Caliendo, Michael McDonald, Arden Myrin and Keegan-Michael Key. (Middle Row) , Crista Flanagan, Ike Barinholtz, Frank Caeti, Jordan Peele and Nicole Randall Johnson (Bottom Row) Daniele Gaither, Bobby Lee and Nicole Parker (seated). |
Current Cast
For the eleventh season of
MADtv, there are thirteen cast members (eleven repertory players and two featured players. The following is a list of the current repertory and featured members of the cast.
Repertory players
*
Ike Barinholtz (2002 – Present)
*
Frank Caliendo (2001 – 2006)
*
Crista Flanagan (2004 – Present)
*
Daniele Gaither (2003 – 2006)
*
Keegan-Michael Key (2003 – Present)
*
Bobby Lee (2001 – Present)
*
Michael McDonald (1998 – Present)
*
Arden Myrin (2005 – Present)
*
Nicole Parker (2003 – Present)
*
Jordan Peele (2003 – Present)
Featured players
*
Frank Caeti (2005 – Present)
*
Nicole Randall Johnson (2005 – Present)
For a full list of past and present cast, see
MADtv Complete Cast List.Notable tenures
Although the
MADtv cast has changed quite often over the seasons, some performers have had long tenures with the show. Few have broken the seven-year barrier. Among the longest serving repertory players are:
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Original MADtv Cast
Like the
Not Ready for Prime Time players of
Saturday Night Live, or the original cast of
SCTV, the original cast of
MADtv was a mixture of seasoned performers and newcomers to comedy. However, unlike the aforementioned casts, the
MADtv performers were all under 33 years old when the show premiered on
October 14,
1995. Thus, the
MADtv cast had more of a willingness to explore very racy and controversial skits that appealed to younger generations as opposed to its more established counterparts. The first
MADtv cast consisted of nine racially/gender diverse performers. The original cast of
MADtv were as follows:
*
Bryan Callen*
David Herman*
Orlando Jones*
Phil LaMarr*
Artie Lange*
Mary Scheer*
Nicole Sullivan*
Debra WilsonFeaturing*
Craig AntonHistorical Synopsis
The following are a series of links to pages which shall give a detailed account of the history of
MADtv.
=MADtv Era Breakdown
=For a historical overview with a detail analysis of each era of
MADtv (cast members, sketches, animation, etc.) please see one of the following links below:
*
1995 â€" 2000:*
2000 â€" 2005:*
2005 â€" Present= MADtv Season Breakdown
=For a detailed analysis of each individual season of
MADtv (cast members, sketches, animation, etc.) please see one of the following links:
*Michael Hitchcock, perhaps most famous for his role as Hamilton Swan in the movie
Best in Show, has made many uncredited appearances on the show, most notably as game show announcer Simeon Thyson in the recurring sketch
The Lillian Verner Game Show.
*Unlike
Saturday Night Live, the show is not live.
*
Bryan Callen was added to the original cast at the last minute, replacing
Craig Anton as the eighth cast member. This explains why Anton appears in the opening sketch and Bryan does not. Anton remained on the show as a featured player for three years.
*
Daniele Gaither made an appearance on Season 2 as Dolemite Girl #1 on episode #202.
*The man yelling
"MADtv! MADtv!" during
Alex Borstein and
Will Sasso's red carpet interviews at the
Billboard Music Awards in Season 5, episode #512, is actually Alex's husband
Jackson Douglas.
*Episode #701's closing was re-filmed with
Mo Collins at a later tape date, paying tribute to
September 11th.
*
Josh Meyers' brother,
Seth Meyers, is a cast member on
MADtv's competition,
Saturday Night Live.
*In episode #812, Josh Meyers became the Spishak spokesperson. The role was previously played by
Pat Kilbane.
*Frank Caliendo is a self-taught dancer.
*
Paul Vogt has a twin brother, Peter Allen Vogt.
*For an unknown reason, cast member
Jordan Peele did not appear in the first four episodes from Season 10, though he's credited as a regular member of the show.
*
Mary Scheer left the show to attend motherhood. Currently, she voices all female characters on Spike TV's cult hit
MXC.
*In a skit where Ms. Swan gets her eyes checked, she reads "Live From New York! It's Saturday Night", an opening phrase of
SNL. The doctor told her that it's the wrong show.
*As of the eleventh season,
Aries Spears,
Debra Wilson and
Michael McDonald share the record for being cast members the longest at eight seasons each.
*Thirty-six stop motion animated shorts were produced and directed for
MadTV by
Corky Quakenbush of which seven were screened at the Sundance Film Festival giving Quakenbush the record for the greatest number of films screened at the festival by a single director.
*
Jeff Richards is the only actor to have been on
MADtv and
Saturday Night Live.
*
Pamela Anderson was a special guest on the 250th episode.
*
Ms. Swan was based on a combination of Alex Borstein's actual grandmother and
Björk.
* According to TV Guide Spot, the animated program
Family Guy was originally intended to be a sketch for MadTV
*Two animated shorts written by Blaine Capatch and directed by Corky Quakenbush,
Clops and
Clops, Too, were screened at the Guggenheim Museum as part of a retrospective on social satire in cinema.
*
Crista Flanagan is currently involved with an internet
podcast series called
Hope is Emo. The podcast was created by Beatbox Giant Productions, the same team responsible for the hit podcast series
Ask A Ninja.
*
MADtv website*
} at
The Internet Movie Database*
PlanetMADtv News & Forum Portal*
TV.com Page for MADtv*
Jump The Shark - MADtv*
Corky Quakenbush
