First it dusted SNL . . . then it became SNL
Written: Nov 13 '00 (Updated Nov 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: None left
Cons: Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive
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| geenius's Full Review: MadTV |
For the first couple of seasons, MadTV was the best sketch comedy to be seen on television since the original Saturday Night Live. It was anarchic, unpredictable, off-the-wall and, most of all, fresh. The ensemble cast was great, the claymation segments were gut-bustingly funny, and even the recurring shticks, such as the "Lowered Expectations" dating service videos and "Cabana Chat," were loose enough to allow a lot of variation.
Then something bad happened.
The cast changed -- not a problem in and of itself, except that several very versatile performers were replaced by performers who were not as versatile. (The crucial element in ensemble sketch comedy is every actor's being able to play a straight role.) Much worse, the writing changed. Suddenly MadTV was succumbing to the same phenomenon that had plunged recent seasons of SNL into cringeworthy humorlessness: the Recurring Character.
You knew exactly what you were going to see every week on SNL: A Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch. A sketch with those two loser club guys. A cheerleader sketch. The same actors came back week after week and did the same characters over and over, long past the expiration date on the lid.
MadTV was doomed when it became apparent that every one of its episodes was also going to be the same: A Vancome Lady sketch. A UBS Guy sketch. A Stuart sketch. A Swan sketch (what an offensive character, not to mention singularly unfunny). A James Brown sketch (Aries Spears doesn't even do James Brown well). A sketch featuring whoever that lady who can't sit still or pay attention to anything is supposed to be. Enough, already! The only advantage MadTV still has over SNL is that it shows two sketches in between each commercial break instead of only one (for which SNL would deserve no stars, if such a thing were possible).
Oh, how I long for the days when a simple dressing-down of an executive assistant by his boss could blow up into a manic exchange featuring such over-the-top lines as: "God? God is not here! Your report was so insanely disappointing, it drove God away!" Alas, it is not to be. Bye-bye, MadTV.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
geenius
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Member: Geenius at Wrok
Location: Oak Park, Ill.
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
A brain powerful enough to peel paint.
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