‘MAD’ Comes to Cartoon Network
For those who missed it (including us, to be honest), on Labor Day, a funny thing happened; at 8:30 PM, Cartoon Network aired a ‘MAD‘ cartoon. And guess what? It wasn’t a one-time fluke! Our friends over at HeroComplex snagged the new animated sketch show’s producers Mark Marek (of Crank Yankers fame) and ‘Emmy winner’ Kevin Shinick (of Robot Chicken) and sat them down for an interview. For those who are too lazy to click that link and read their awesome interview, allow us to give you the 411:
The show is a 15 minute sketch cartoon show meant to carry the programming of Cartoon Network’s normal schedule to it’s [ironically bumpered] Adult Swim block of shows. Taking a ‘film festival’ approach to presentation, the MAD cartoon show will feature short cartoon sketches in a variety of styles. Mimicking the work and look of long time MAD contributors like Sergio Aragonés, the late Don Martin, and Al Jaffee, as well as including anything animated ranging from photo montages, flash animation, to stop motion sketches all in a single episode. Crediting the writing to “the Usual Gang of Idiots” means the material featured will provide wonderfully skewed takes on current events… targeting an audience that’ll range from the ‘kiddies about to say goodnight’ crowd to the ‘college frat kids just waking up’ demographic.
The show comes as a welcome surprise, as the last “MAD” penned show, Fox’s MADtv did little to take the real MAD brand to the masses. For those who tried to forget, we implore you to recoil in horror as you remember that the show provided the world with a sub-SNL quality sketch show with even more annoying repetitive characters (The UPS guy! Ms. Swan!), and literally no material ever gleaned from the pages of the long-running magazine. OK, that’s a bit of a lie. The show did feature a ‘Spy vs. Spy” cartoon, but it was cut after the second season, we assume because the average Fox viewer at the time was too confused by the high brow humor and subtle racial undertones of ‘Spy vs. Spy’.
Well, let’s wash our minds of that dreck, and check out ‘MAD’ on Cartoon Network… Mondays at 8:30 CST. I mean, if the show is as good as we think it’ll be, dare we say it… “What, Me Worry?”
Check out Cartoon Network for a short sneak preview.
MADtv wasn’t all that bad, it just had little to nothing to do with the magazine.
I loved MAD as a kid, and I DVRed the premiere of the cartoon on Monday and I wasn’t impressed at all. I love cartoons, I loved MAD, but I didn’t think that cartoon was particularly entertaining. Of course, I’m not the target audience either.
The current MAD Magazine has little or nothing nothing to do with the classic MAD Magazine.
Indeed….the modern MAD is a toothless shadow of its former self. I’m glad I still have all the issues from the 70s that my brother handed down to me, and the 80s issues I bought off the rack in my youth.
I started reading MAD with (what i didn’t know was) the ninth anniversary issue in 1961.
By the end of the 1970s i was seeing a definite decline in the sophistication and range of the humour.
If you can find a copy of “National Lampoon”‘s MAD parody, definitely check it out – particularly “Citizen Gaines”, a note-perfect parody of a MAD movie parody that also touches on why MAD was in decline.
MADtv wasn't all that bad, it just had little to nothing to do with the magazine.I loved MAD as a kid, and I DVRed the premiere of the cartoon on Monday and I wasn't impressed at all. I love cartoons, I loved MAD, but I didn't think that cartoon was particularly entertaining. Of course, I'm not the target audience either.
The current MAD Magazine has little or nothing nothing to do with the classic MAD Magazine.
Indeed….the modern MAD is a toothless shadow of its former self. I'm glad I still have all the issues from the 70s that my brother handed down to me, and the 80s issues I bought off the rack in my youth.
I started reading MAD with (what i didn't know was) the ninth anniversary issue in 1961.By the end of the 1970s i was seeing a definite decline in the sophistication and range of the humour.If you can find a copy of "National Lampoon"'s MAD parody, definitely check it out – particularly "Citizen Gaines", a note-perfect parody of a MAD movie parody that also touches on why MAD was in decline.
I enjoyed it. It came off like Robot Chicken lite, with a couple classic Mad gags (the Don martin and Spy vs Spy were pulled the magazine) and some good parodies. CSIcarly was inspired, and worked well.
The Regular Show kicked massive ass, and I look forward to more.
I’m with you, Vinnie. I enjoyed the first two episodes, although I had the feeling that if it had been a half hour instead of 12 minutes, I would have been bored. They’re as faithful to the spirit of the magazine as they could be, and I actually made it to the end of down episodes, something I haven’t been able to do with the magazine in decades.
It’s not that I pine for the classic Mad Comics or the classic Mad Magazine. I pine for the attitude those publications had, an attitude that since moved over to Beavis and Butt-Head, The Simpsons, South Park, and Robot Chicken.
Mad Magazine has become a comedy eunuch. It would be easy to fix, but they’d have to grow a pair of balls. Or several.
I enjoyed it. It came off like Robot Chicken lite, with a couple classic Mad gags (the Don martin and Spy vs Spy were pulled the magazine) and some good parodies. CSIcarly was inspired, and worked well.The Regular Show kicked massive ass, and I look forward to more.
I'm with you, Vinnie. I enjoyed the first two episodes, although I had the feeling that if it had been a half hour instead of 12 minutes, I would have been bored. They're as faithful to the spirit of the magazine as they could be, and I actually made it to the end of down episodes, something I haven't been able to do with the magazine in decades.It's not that I pine for the classic Mad Comics or the classic Mad Magazine. I pine for the attitude those publications had, an attitude that since moved over to Beavis and Butt-Head, The Simpsons, South Park, and Robot Chicken. Mad Magazine has become a comedy eunuch. It would be easy to fix, but they'd have to grow a pair of balls. Or several.
Mad is now my 9-year old son’s favorite show, and I (a former Mad magazine fanatic) love it too. Their inspired Avatar spoof “Avaturd” was vintage Mad-style, down to the inclusion of everything blue (Blues Clues, Papa Smurf, etc). As a Justin Beiber hater, he also loved the “Beiber Bowl” faux commercial. The spoofs are on target and brief enough to leave you wanting more. Will be watching a new episode tonight.
Mad is now my 9-year old son's favorite show, and I (a former Mad magazine fanatic) love it too. Their inspired Avatar spoof "Avaturd" was vintage Mad-style, down to the inclusion of everything blue (Blues Clues, Papa Smurf, etc). As a Justin Beiber hater, he also loved the "Beiber Bowl" faux commercial. The spoofs are on target and brief enough to leave you wanting more. Will be watching a new episode tonight.
this show is completely inappropiate for kids. the audience is mainly children around 10 years old, and you people are putting in bad language and crude situations kids shouldnt be exposed to.
i really want to see the humans that like that horse crap….DANG Some people r really nut jobs i hope cartoon network cancel it. i am praying for it to be removed
this show is completely inappropiate for kids. the audience is mainly children around 10 years old, and you people are putting in bad language and crude situations kids shouldnt be exposed to.
i really want to see the humans that like that horse crap….DANG Some people r really nut jobs i hope cartoon network cancel it. i am praying for it to be removed
this show is completely inappropiate for kids. the audience is mainly children around 10 years old, and you people are putting in bad language and crude situations kids shouldnt be exposed to.
Waaaah protect the kids!Stop being such moral crusaders.
Waaaah protect the kids!
Stop being such moral crusaders.
Waaaah protect the kids!Stop being such moral crusaders.
I could care less about whether or not it’s appropriate for kids, but it is completely unforgivably unfunny. I am unable to coax out even a bemused chuckle at any point when this show comes on, and I wish nothing but unhappiness and boredom upon it’s creators.
I could care less about whether or not it's appropriate for kids, but it is completely unforgivably unfunny. I am unable to coax out even a bemused chuckle at any point when this show comes on, and I wish nothing but unhappiness and boredom upon it's creators.
I don’t have a problem with the show. I just don’t believe it should be aired in a time frame in which children under 14yrs of age would be watching Cartoon Newtwork. Now I will admit I am a fan of Adult Swim, yet When I’m watching tv with my 6yrs old niece she shouldn’t be exposed to a show like “MAD”.
I don’t have a problem with the show. I just don’t believe it should be aired in a time frame in which children under 14yrs of age would be watching Cartoon Newtwork. Now I will admit I am a fan of Adult Swim, yet When I’m watching tv with my 6yrs old niece she shouldn’t be exposed to a show like “MAD”.
I don't have a problem with the show. I just don't believe it should be aired in a time frame in which children under 14yrs of age would be watching Cartoon Newtwork. Now I will admit I am a fan of Adult Swim, yet When I'm watching tv with my 6yrs old niece she shouldn't be exposed to a show like "MAD".
Honestly, I loved the first couple of episodes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Spy and Spy, but the rest of it…
but soon after, the Shorts beacame boring-er and boring-er, and after seeing the monstrocity spoofs they did of some of my old favorite shows – Pokemon and Naruto, I decided to stop watching.
Lately the only amusing short has been the adventure time/Marvel crossover.