[MADtv] Are these recurring segments retired?

[koolboee cdmo87]

It's been 10 episodes, but a lot of recurring segments haven't been continued yet. It seems that they have toned down the recurring characters for season eight, usually only having one or two (if any at all) recurring segments per episode (except for episode #809). Have they decided that they were too overdependent on the recurring characters last season? Obviously though, Ms. Swan and Embarrassing Parents were retired because of Alex Borstein and Kathryn Fiore leaving the show.

Well anyway, say what you think about the possibility of the following segments being retired..

Politically Incorrect - I think if this segment was retired, it was because Andrew Daly left. But I think they should still continue it, and just have someone else play Bill Maher, since the majority of the sketches centered around the guests, not really Bill Maher himself. These were very funny in season seven, and it was a great way to showcase impressions. Again, I hope it returns.
Fightin' Ron - I didn't really like this character. Not to say that he was bad, but he was boring and repetitive. And I don't think anyone will miss this character too much anyway.
Drama Queen - I really hope they keep this character, she's so funny. And it really showcases Stephnie's talents. I know some people complain that it was overused last season, which I kind of have to agree, it had five (I think) appearances last season. But still.
[b]Walter and Amber (the crack addicts) - Like Fightin' Ron, I thought these characters were boring and repetitive. And also like Ron, I don't think they will be missed either.
Depressed Persian Tow Truck Man - This character delivered some funny lines here and there, but on the whole I found him annoying. I will admit, the group therapy sketch in episode #723 was pretty funny, but that's because he was out of his usual format. Anyway, this character definitely needs to be retired.
Rusty - I found Rusty to be VERY annoying. He was annoying in normal sketches, and I found This 'n' That very boring, and in seasons six and seven, that was the format he was usually in. I REALLY hope this character was retired.

Anyway, your thoughts?

[Cat_Named_CeCe]

Drama Queen - I really hope they keep this character, she's so funny. And it really showcases Stephnie's talents. I know some people complain that it was overused last season, which I kind of have to agree, it had five (I think) appearances last season. But still.

My favorite one was the Lender's Bagels commercial. You know, the one where she was in her dressing room getting all worked up into an emotional prep...and then she came on set and it was a 5 second Lender's Bagels commerical. That one was GREAT! Her other ones were good too, but that was by far my favorite Drama Queen sketch.

Rusty - I found Rusty to be VERY annoying. He was annoying in normal sketches, and I found This 'n' That very boring, and in seasons six and seven, that was the format he was usually in. I REALLY hope this character was retired.

Me too. The only good Rusty sketch that I've ever seen is the one where it is his 18th birthday and his dad sends him a prostitute (played by Susan Sarandon). But, This N' That With Rusty was just a sad, uncreative excuse to work celebrities into the show. I hope that Rusty is retired, it is WAY past his time.

[Kai]

They did Politically Incorrect sketches before Andrew Daly was on the show, so I suppose if they were keen enough they could still do them.

[Mad Dog]

They're not even 1/2 way through the season yet. PI was cancelled. W and A wasn't very likable with audiences.

[koolboee cdmo87]

Yeah, but they ALWAYS show the recurring characters from past seasons in the first 10 episodes, and most of them start in the Top 5. Especially Rusty, who is a major recurring character. Even Fightin' Ron, who only gets two sketches a season, appeared in episode #709. Unless, of course, it's a character that only shows up once a season (like Mickey, GAP Troll, Shauna, Allison, Paul Timberman, Jasmine Wayne-Wayne and Michael McLoud). Unless they did that with Rusty, Drama Queen, Fightin' Ron, and Walter and Amber, but I doubt it - especially Rusty and Drama Queen, since they appeared so often.

Cat, I agree with you - that's my favorite Drama Queen sketch too. Talk about a bizarre actress :o But I also loved that sketch where she bumped into a "former lover" (a little boyfriend she had in elementary school) lol
And yeah, I pretty much agree, that's the only Rusty sketch that I really liked, but it was pretty much only because of Susan Sarandon herself, not Rusty. I've never found This 'n' That remotely funny. And whenever he's in regular sketches (which is extremely rare), he's incredibly annoying.

Oh, and Kai - as far as I know, they only did one Politically Incorrect sketch before season seven, and it was in episode #503, where they had Phil LaMarr play Bill Maher (which is strange, but he was still good). But it wasn't a recurring segment until season seven.

[Mad Dog]

Well in season seven (discluding season 6 holdovers), Bunifa appeared for the first time about 20 episodes into the season or something like that so you never know. I could see them ending Fightin' Ron/ Tow Truck Guy because of too many McDonald characters but keeping Rusty because he's classic. I thought I read somewhere he was going to interview Bon Jovi? Maybe they cut that sketch. Walter and Amber were just annoying and know one seemed to know who they were. The Drama Queen I think is done because there's nothing too appealing to last more than a season about her. As for Mickey, he will probably make his annual appearance later this year if he's not cut yet.

[koolboee cdmo87]

You can't exclude the season six holdovers last season though, because they were aired as new material. They aired that Bunifa sketch in what was the sixth new episode shown in the season, so they didn't need to show again until later.
I can see what you're saying about Rusty, he's been on the show since the season four premiere. However, even if that's the case, he's really not THAT major of a character.. he's nowhere near the popularity that Vancome, Swan, Bunifa, Lorraine, Stuart, etc. all were. And it seems now that the only times they pulled him on the show was to interview a celebrity via This 'n' That, since he only had one normal sketch in season seven, and none in season six.
You could be right about the Bon Jovi thing though.. I seem to remember hearing something about that. Maybe they cut it out of episode #810 cuz it wasn't Christmas-y enough. I also think there was a Jenny Jones sketch was that was cut.. I remember in episode #805, they had Jenny Jones (Mo) saying "watch 'MadTV' next week with our very special guests The Strokes!" Since they had Jenny Jones (Mo) say this, you would assume they would be on a Jenny Jones sketch, but unfortunately we just got two godawful musical performances from them, which leads me even more to believe that they had to cut it out, because there's no reason for two musical performances.
And you could be right about the Drama Queen, she wasn't very well defined, which is surprising considering how much she was on last season. But still, because she WAS so frequent last season, and this character gives Stephnie a chance to show off, I'm a little skeptical of its retirement.