Mad (TV series)

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Not to be confused with MADtv.
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Mad
"MAD" TV Show Title.JPG
Title card of the show
Genre Sketch comedy
Surreal humor
Created by Kevin Shinick
Developed by Kevin Shinick
Mark Marek
Written by Kevin Shinick
Aaron Blitzstein
Susan Clarke
Marly Halpern-Graser
Ben Joseph
Heather Maidat
Mason Steinberg
Voices of Kevin Shinick
Hugh Davidson
Mikey Day
Larry Dorf
Rachel Ramras
Gary Anthony Williams
Theme music composer Devin Flynn
Opening theme "Mad!"
Ending theme "Mad! (Instrumental)"
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 104 (78 aired) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Sam Register
Producer(s) Kevin Shinick
Mark Marek
Running time 11 minutes
Production company(s) Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Picture format SDTV, HDTV
Original run September 6, 2010 (2010-09-06) – Present
External links
Website

Mad is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities, and other media using various types of animation (CGI, claymation, stopmotion, etc.) instead of the usual animation style that Warner Bros. Animation is known for. The series premiered on the evening of September 6, 2010 on Cartoon Network.[1] It has been described as a "kid-friendly version of Robot Chicken".[2]

Contents

Recurring sketches

The series has some recurring sketches:

  • A Mad Look Inside - A short piece in which viewers see a magical world inside a celebrity. This only played during Season 1.
  • Alfred E. Neuman for President - During the Election of 2012, there were campaigns for Alfred E. Neuman's presidential election.
  • Ask the Celebrity - Where various celebrities respond to fan letter questions, which the answers are always absurd. Such as Miley Cyrus, when asked what she did to put on a good concert performance, states that she rubbed cats on herself and walked on wool carpeting.
  • Bad Idea # - This presents a scenario from the long list of possible bad ideas.
  • Celebrity Birthdays - This segment shows the birthdays of fictional characters and other people in show business. Only one section of this type has been shown, though.
  • Celebrities Without Their Make-Up - The segment shows what real and fictional celebrities would look like without their make-up. For example, Zach Galifianakis is Benson from Regular Show without his make-up, Russell Brand is a wooden nutcracker without his make-up, Robert Pattinson is Alfred E. Neuman without his make-up, Iron Man was C-3PO without his make-up, and SpongeBob SquarePants is a fruitcake without his make-up.
  • Commercials - There are some commercials for fictional items and programs on every episode.
  • Dear Reaper: Letters from children and letters from the Grim Reaper about their death.
  • Don Martin - Adaptations to comics strips by long time Mad cartoonist Don Martin.
  • Drawn-Out Dramas - After one of the primary sketches of the episode concludes, the Mad "wallpaper" will appear and "rip open" to reveal a Sergio Aragones-style sketch in front of a colored background, often using a version of Alfred E. Neuman in some capacity.
  • Gross and Beyond Gross - Differences between gross and beyond gross.
  • MAD News - A newsman ends up delivering the recent news. This sketch originally began broadcasting randomly in the middle of an episode usually interrupting another sketch. Starting with episode 9, the sketch now serves as a cold opening for every episode.
  • MADucation 101... - Lessons in any subject.
  • Mike Wartella - Animations by cartoonist M. Wartella.
  • Rejected - A segment revealing rejected ideas within various pop culture properties like Rejected Transformers, Rejected Superheroes, Rejected Audition Tapes, Rejected Pokémon, Rejected Toy Story 3 Characters, Rejected Smurfs, and more.
  • Security Cam - A presentation of surveillance footage of things that happens at public places during nightly closing hours. Each video features supernatural occurrences that suggests would never happen during the day.
  • Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions - An adaptation of Al Jaffee's reoccurring magazine feature, it features a scenario when a person asks a question regarding something that obviously presented, resulting the in the person or people who were asked to give a sarcastic response that suggest otherwise.
  • Spy vs. Spy - An adaptation of the long running comic series Spy vs. Spy.
  • Super-villains for Your... - A parody of the PSA segments from the Super Friends. Here various super-villains from the Legion of Doom present themselves as moral guidance to some child or children. However, as they are villains, they always manage to swindle, double cross, or betray the children resulting in them dying at the villain's hand or suffering some unforeseen related event.
  • This Day in History - A look at an achievement on the day of the initial broadcast. Most cases it will involve a lesser known person of historical significance doing or coming up with something in the shadow of another well-known historical figure.
  • What's Wrong with this Picture? - A game depending on what is virtually incorrect about the picture shown on the screen, but tells the correct or least likely things shown hyped as the wrong thing.
  • Where's Lady Gaga - A Where's Waldo type sketch featuring pop superstar Lady Gaga who is hiding at a small time public function. The viewer is asked to try and find her only to see at the end that she is always cleverly disguised as a prop to blend in perfectly with her surroundings.

Episodes

Main article: List of Mad episodes

Awards and Nominations

2012 Emmy Awards

Outstanding Short Format Animated Program for "Kitchen Nightmares Before Christmas / How I Met Your Mummy" (Nominated)

2012 PAAFTJ Television Awards

Best Animated Series (Nominated)

Principal cast

Guest voices

DVD release

The DVD Mad - Season 1, Part 1 was released on September 20, 2011 with a matted 1.33:1 picture and an English stereo track. The extras on the DVD are trailers for Young Justice, the 2011 ThunderCats, and The Looney Tunes Show.[3] The rest of the first season was released on January 17, 2012.[4]

References

  1. ^ http://www.thewrap.com/television/column-post/cartoon-network-will-premiere-two-new-series-labor-day-20389
  2. ^ http://www.comicvine.com/news/review-mad-season-one-part-two-dvd/144206/
  3. ^ Gord Lacey (September 9, 2011). "Mad - Season 1, Part 1 Review". TV Shows On DVD. 
  4. ^ David Lambert (September 21, 2011). "Mad - Cartoon Network/Warner Announces 'Season 1, Part 2' on DVD!". TV Shows On DVD. 

External links

General
Editors
Lists
Related
Warner Bros. animation and comics
Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies
DC Comics
Scooby-Doo
Other cartoons
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