Country of origin United States Original network Fox | No. of episodes 25 | |
Original release September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) – May 17, 2003 (2003-05-17) | ||
The eighth season of Mad TV, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on the Fox Network between September 14, 2002, and May 17, 2003.
Contents
Summary
Alex Borstein, Andrew Daly, and Will Sasso left at the end of season seven, and new featured players Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Josh Meyers (younger brother of SNL cast member, Seth Meyers), Christina Moore, Ron Pederson (the show's only Canadian cast member), and Paul Vogt (MADtv's only homosexual cast member and the second cast member after season six's Nelson Ascencio who has an identical twin brother) were added. Jill-Michele Meleán and Bobby Lee were upgraded to repertory status, but Melean left midway through.
With Sasso gone from the cast, Frank Caliendo began playing George W. Bush. The comic also reprised his impersonations from past seasons, including Al Pacino, John Madden, and Robin Williams. Pederson played Dick Clark, Woody Allen, Saddam Hussein, and Entertainment Tonight anchor Mark Steines. Vogt replaced Sasso as the James Lipton impersonator and impersonated classic sitcom stars, such as Edward Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Jackie Gleason (The Honeymooners), and Charlotte Rae (Diff'rent Strokes/The Facts Of Life). Like their counterparts Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on Saturday Night Live, long-time pals Barinholtz and Meyers would frequently appear in sketches together and play off each other's chemistry. Separately, Barinholtz performed celebrity impersonations such as Joe Millionaire's Evan Marriott and Nick Nolte, while Meyers offered offbeat impersonations of Eminem, Matthew McConaughey, Owen Wilson, and some *NSYNC members. Jill Michelle Meleán performed impersonations of Drew Barrymore, but left Mad TV midway through the season.
In Living Color cast member Tommy Davidson returned to Mad TV seven years after his first host appearance, this time playing a frequently featured character on Real Motherfucking Talk named Woogie Jones-Johnson. Another alumnus of the '90s sketch variety show, David Alan Grier, made an appearance as 60 Minutes anchor Ed Bradley. Comic actor Fred Willard appeared as recurring character Gene St. John, a movie critic who curses uncontrollably after each installment of Real Mother****ing Talk. That '70s Show Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderamma returned for another parody of CHiPs with co-star Mila Kunis. For the first time since her departure in 2001, Nicole Sullivan appeared in the season finale as Mindy Tikvah, equally randy daughter of Michael McDonald's Marvin Tikvah.
Opening montage
The title sequence begins with the Mad TV logo appearing across a black screen. The theme song, which is performed by the hip-hop group Heavy D & the Boyz, begins and each repertory cast member is introduced alphabetically, followed by the featured cast. Several split-screens appear showing live-action clips of cast members performing recurring characters. When the last cast member is introduced, the music stops and the title sequence ends with the phrase "You are now watching Mad TV."
Home releases
There is no season 8 complete season DVD release. However, this season's best sketches and segments have been used in the compilation DVD Mad TV: The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10.