[MADtv] Episode S02E08 (Aired 1996-12-07)

[Miss Information]

Cast: Bryan Callen, David Herman, Orlando Jones, Phil LaMarr, Artie Lange, Mary Scheer, Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson

Guest Starring: French Stewart

• Lowered Expectations-Deidre (Mary-Deidre, Debra-Lowered Expectations Host)
  
• Opening-Host: French Stewart (French Stewart-himself, Nicole-herself)
  
• Serenity Acres (Bryan, Artie, Mary)
  
• Talk Faster (French Stewart, Artie, Debra)
  
• Pizza Parlor (Bryan-Timmy, Artie, Mary)
  
• Cosmetic Surgeon in a Box (Bryan-Tony Bright, David-Mike Lawson)
  
• Lowered Expectations--Sammy Hagar (Bryan-Sammy Hagar)
  
• Cosby's Crib (Orlando-Bill Cosby, Phil, Debra)
  
• Make a Good Impression (French Stewart-Frank, Phil, Mary, Debra-Anne)
  
• Spy Vs Spy-Mirror **animation**
  
• My Boyfriend the Bank (Nicole-Sally Kenerson)
  
• Lowered Expectations-Kyle (Orlando-Kyle)
  
• Close: French Stewart

[mizzimad]

Have I ever mentioned to you that one-off sketches are generally my fave "MADtv" moments? Well, now I have, wisenheimers, so shut the f**k up, already! Anyhoo, Ep 208 is chock full of one-offers--and we get "Third Rock From the Sun" alum French Stewart to boot. What more could one ask for? Well, I mean besides untold wealth, good health, lasting world peace, and...aw, hell, you f**kers know what I mean!

I should mention here that I'm reviewing this ep shortly after doing the (dis)honors for the somewhat inconsistent Ep 201. However, whereas my Ep 201 review took about five gajillion paragraphs for me to review properly, Ep 208's review will be quite simple: IT ROCKS--the end! All right, all right, wordsmith that I am, I can't stop there. Suffice it to say, though, that nearly everything works here. In fact, the only things here that don't quite come off are the so-so "Lowered Expectations" bits. (Orlando's bit, IMHO the funniest of the three bits, is also the grossest; so beware, mon frere!) Everything else, however, is top-drawer, top-shelf, top-fill-in-the-f**kin'-blank. (Pardon mon francais.)

As I said before, this ep is primarily a collection of very hilarious, well-acted one-off sketches. Well, O.K., there is the Bill Cosby bit, perhaps not so much a one-offer as a TV parody; however, despite borrowing heavily from the Coz's mammoth '80s sitcom, the sketch still works quite well (esp. at the end, when O's Coz goes on a verbal rampage that's not to be missed). French Stewart's bits (including the show opening w/ Nicole) are all hilarious; if I didn't know better, then I'd assume ol' Frenchy was a regular cast member once upon a time warp. "Pizza Parlor" gives Artie Lange a real chance to shine (for once) as a rather unsanitary and deceptive pizza man. The "Serenity Acres" retirement-village commercial parody and the "Incredible Findings" infomercial parody aren't quite as hilarious as French's bits--which is to say, quite hilarious in their own right. Even "Spy vs. Spy" ("Mirror") held my attention for more than a mere than a mere microsecond.

Still, despite Mr. Stewart's brilliance and the high LOL quality of most of the rest of the show, Ep 208's best moment is--quelle surprise!--Nicole S.'s performance in "My Boyfriend the Bank." All right, I realize that mine will probably not be looked at as a very objective opinion (anything but, more than likely); however, there's just something about putting Sully and an ATM in the same sketch that guarantees comedic fireworks every time. In this sketch, Nic plays the "jilted ex-girlfriend" of the aforesaid ATM--need I say more? If I do, then you're either a brand-spankin'-new "MADtv" fan--welcome aboard!--or one of those grisled vets of Seasons 4+ who don't quite understand what all the Nicole fuss is about. To both I say the following: watch this sketch before you die!!! It's a must, I must say.

Overall ep rating: 5/5 stars. Quelle frickin' surprise, eh? All right, French lesson over. Now shut the f**k up before I turn you into a French Stewart...d'ooh!...French fry...d'ooh!...French poodle. (Pardon my French.)

[KayceeJ]

Lowered Expectations: Deidre
This really didn't work. I like Lowered Expectations but I didn't like this one.
2.5/5

Opening: French Stewart
I liked this opening. Liked French's costume, liked the story, and I liked Nicole's facial expressions in this opening. Funny stuff. Not perfect though.
4/5

Serenity Acres
I didn't think this was really funny. I think it could have been a lot better. This may earn weakest sketch of the episode.
2/5

Talk Faster
This one I liked. I like how artie couldn't talk fast and when he finally talked fast, he was using big words. French was good and Artie was good too. The short appearence of Debra, with her really fast talking, was good.
5/5

Pizza Parlor
Didn't really care for this one. It was basically the same thing over again. The guy making the pizza does something, Timmy (Bryan) yells for his mom. Yadda yadda yadda. Not that good
2/5

Cosmetic Surgeon In a Box
This I liked. I like these type of sketches. I don't really have anything else to say about this other than it was funny.
5/5

Lowered Expectations: Sammy Hagar
Lowered Expectations is 0-2 right now as I didn't care for this one either. I don't really like Bryan Callen that much. He's cute but not funny. This sketch shows that.
1.5/5

Cosby's Crib
One of my favorite TV parodies of the earlier seasons. I actually liked Orlando's Bill Cosby better than Aries'. This sketch was hilarious. Good solid parody of the cosby show's first episode. Good performances from Phil, Orlando, and Debra.
5/5

Make a Good Impression
This sketch, I would consider tie for best of the episode. The other one comes later. Anyways, I liked French and Mary's performances here. French portrays and crazy person quite well. Very funny.
5/5

My Boyfriend the Bank
This is the other Best of the Episode sketch. Great performance from Nicole who is one of the most funniest females I have ever seen on TV. This sketch shows her funniness and a little bit of crazyness. Very hilarious.
5/5

Lowered Expectations: Kyle
Finally. After two bad Lowered Expectations bits, we finally have one that I liked. And it's all thanks to Orlando's performance. Good job. This wasn't perfect however. It could have been funnier.
3.5/5


Best Of The Episode: Make A Good Impresson & My Boyfriend The Bank

Worst Of The Episode: Lowered Expectations: Sammy Hagar

Overall Episode Grade: C

[Rurry]

Lowered Expectations: Deidre: A pretty good Lowered Expectations. Mary performed really well, as usual. Probably the best LE from this episode.
Open: French Stewart: A REALLY funny and strong open. French Stewart performed well, and Nicole was funny here, too. Awesome opening sketch. ½
Serenity Acres: Pretty good, but the concept, which was great, wasn't executed as well as it could've been. Still a pretty good commercial, though. ½
Talk Faster: Another strong one-off with good performance from pretty much everyone. Hilarious-ness.
Pizza Parlor: Usually, I don't like these kinds of one-offs (where basically one incident is done over and over and over again, getting more crazy each time...they can be found a lot in Seasons 6/7)... but this one managed to work, and wind up being hilarious, too. Yet another awesome one-off. Oh, and is it me, or were Mary and Bryan's characters kind of like a majorly toned down Stuart/Doreen? ½
Cosmetic Surgeon In a Box: Another strong sketch. Nothing can top "Dentist in a Box", but this was still really funny, even if Bryan's Australian(?) accent in these is always WAY off...still,
Lowered Expectations: Sammy Hagar: Didn't really see the joke in this, at all. Weakest Lowered Expectations of the episode and also the weakest sketch of the episode. Even still, though, this sketch wasn't unbearable, especially since it was so short. ½
Cosby's Crib: Oh man, this was HILARIOUS, from the show itself, to Bill Cosby's rant at the end, to Orlando's impression, just a definite 5-star sketch all-around, and one of the best of the episode.
Make a Good Impression: Got off to a slow, boring start, but things quickly picked up once he did the impression of his boss, and it wound up being a hilarious one-off in the end, like most of the other sketches of this episode. I really enjoyed this sketch. ½
My Boyfriend the Bank: This was EXCELLENT. Excellent writing, excellent performance from Nicole...awesome! Now excuse me while I go destroy it in the MADtv Ultimate Sketch game. Anyway, a definite 5-star sketch, and without question the best of the episode.
Lowered Expectations: Kyle: Pretty good Lowered Expectations, but not the best. The LE brought this episode down a bit.

Overall: A really awesome episode. Nothing bombed, and the only "meh" things were the LE sketches (which did bring the episode down a bit, like I said), but they were still ok. Really strong episode, one of the best from Season 2.

9/10