MADtv: The Complete First Season (1995)
Film:
DVD:

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

Features:

• All nineteen first season episodes
  
• Bonus, unaired sketches
  
• Bloopers
  
• Best-of parodies
  
• Bonus episode: the 200th
  
• Preview of the second season
  

Released by: Warner Brothers
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Rent it.

There was a time when Saturday Night Live was the funniest show on television. I know some of our young readers may have no freaking clue what I'm talking about, but trust me: that show's halcyon days were a testament to the power of bringing sick people together. However, the show atrophied and has continued to do so with only a few bright spots here and there. While it's sometimes gotten a pulse back, it's never gotten anywhere near the quality of its original Not Ready for Primetime Players. In fact, it's a testament to the original years of the show that their momentum has carried it--even today--through the rough, lame patches.

It seems like it would be a natural thing to step up and try to take SNL's current crown. But really, very little has been done to try and challenge the beast. Other sketch comedy shows were restricted to cable or were simply going for a different audience. Enter Fox with their contender. And really, it makes sense: take an already well established property-- Mad Magazine--and try to adapt its humor and sensibilities to television.

Does it work? Well, it's certainly worked better than it does here--and by that I mean the show has gotten better with time. This is, after all, square one for these guys and almost any show is destined to flail around a lot as it tries to get its shite together. That's not to say that there aren't some bright points in the season. Nicole Sullivan is the bright spot of the entire cast, even outshining others who have launched perhaps a little higher, like Orlando Jones or Artie Lange. There's also some lovely parodies like a rap song in which the Brothers Ice complain about their life as pampered stars or even Gump Fiction, which is just wrong. Just...wrong.

Some of the elements don't translate well, though. Don Martin's stuff just isn't funny and "Spy vs. Spy" has to work really damn hard to even get me to smirk. Ah well, it was funny when I was eight, what can I tell you?

The bonus bits are a mixed bag. The unaired sketches were, like 98% of all additional footage, unaired for obvious reasons. They don't bring the funny. Also surprisingly unfunny is the blooper reel, which is almost useless except for Orlando Jones, who can at least be funny when the whole thing is going to hell.

They also mine their entire history, like most TV on DVD releases, to beef up their features list. You get roughly a half-hour of parodies--and while they're generally top dollar, it's just a preview of future sets to come. There's also the 200th episode, which features some cast members coming back to roost.

Fans of the actors involved or the show itself would find this worth a rental. However, the show did not hit its stride until later, and the features unique to this set aren't winners. Everything else will eventually be released on their own. Thus only the hardcore should permanently plonk down their coin.