The past couple years I have been watching more and more of MAD TV and really liking it. Unline SNL at least some of their skits really fire on many cylinders. So this season they have this new set with no stages. they seem to have no more live skits except when they play themselves in front of the audience and do something as themselves which isn't very funny. all their skits now come via previously taped. i don't like it at all.

anyone else noticed this?

mad what?

wait, they still produce that? wow.

MAD TV has never, to my knowledge, had live skits.

I was at the Henry Fonda Theater last night, and noticed that they filmed Mad TV there. I was like, where the hell do they put the sets ? Seeing as how Scott 1598 says, there's no live skits, I can see why + they have a full bar going on too.

I haven't watched the show since Artie Lange got fired, many moons ago, but what's being described sounds like the way they used to do Mr Show.

I'm really disappointed with the new format. It includes stand-up now? The guest last night was in what, one skit? No musical guests? No recurring characters? Why so much out in the real world crap (red carpet stuff, Rice & Beans tour, etc)?


BTW, anyone notice that the new female cast member's stand-up routine was stolen from other stand-up chicks? Her delivery was terrible too. Also, was she even in any of the skits?

So far this season, at least half of the humor has been racial stereotype stuff...and lame.


It's been awhile since I felt SNL was better than MadTV, but looks like this is the turn around season. Too bad neither are really all that good any more.

Yup, I noticed it right away and it's a shame, last season was actually pretty funny. It just feels off now.

I agree about it just feeling "off" now...the whole thing just underwhelms me now.

I think you're right, but they used to tape most of the stuff in front of an audience which gave it a certain feel. Now they just film the skits and play them for the audience.

You're right Grenier. At least before, it was filmed in front of an audience. Now it's YouTube in a bar.

Loved last season, and so far this season has been very disappointing.
And whats with the bar thing? They just happen to have random "celebrities" hanging out there, and then they interact with them, its just not very funny.

I completely agree. It took me a while to warm up to some of the newer cast members after the departures of some of their better post-2000 cast (Mo Collins, Stephnie Weir, etc.), but last season, I really was liking a lot of what they were doing. But this new format has destroyed that. Filming the skits in front of a live audience improves the timing, so when something really pops, the cast can allow the audience to react to it before going on to the next line, so it's not drowned out. Or, in my favorite example, on last season's Xmas show, in the Connie & Maury skit, they had a real pig who relieved itself on set. The reactions of the cast and the audience were so hysterical, they left that in and just ended the sketch there (the continuation of how it should have gone was aired at the end of the show). No possibility of something like that happening again. I can only hope they decide to end this new format ASAP (how about after the WGA strike ends?!), or, at least, not keep it after this season. The only thing that really worked within this format was the Britney skit that opened the season premiere, because the stage was perfect for a performance.