MADtv (season 8)

The eighth season of "MADtv" aired from September 14, 2002, to May 17, 2003, with 25 episodes.

eason summary

Alex Borstein, Andrew Daly, and Will Sasso left at the end of season seven, and new featured players Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Josh Meyers, Christina Moore, Ron Pederson, and Paul Vogt were added.

With Sasso gone from the cast, Frank Caliendo began playing George W. Bush. The comic also reprised his impersonations from past seasons, including Al Pacino, John Madden, and Robin Williams. Pederson played Dick Clark, Saddam Hussein, and "Entertainment Tonight" anchor Mark Steines. Vogt replaced Sasso as the James Lipton impersonator and impersonated classic sitcom stars, such as Edward Asner ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show"), Jackie Gleason ("The Honeymooners"), and Charlotte Rae ("Diff'rent Strokes"/"The Facts Of Life"). Like their counterparts Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on "Saturday Night Live", long-time pals Barinholtz and Meyers would frequently appear in sketches together and play off each other's chemistry. Separately, Barinholtz performed celebrity impersonations such as "Joe Millionaire"'s Evan Marriott and Nick Nolte, while Meyers offered offbeat impersonations of Eminem, Matthew McConaughey, Owen Wilson, and some *NSYNC members. Jill Michelle Meleán performed impersonations of Drew Barrymore, but left "MADtv" midway through the season.

"In Living Color" cast member Tommy Davidson returned to "MADtv" seven years after his first host appearance, this time playing a frequently featured character on "Real Mother****ing Talk" named Woogie Jones-Johnson. Another alumnus of the '90s sketch variety show, David Alan Grier, made an appearance as "60 Minutes" anchor Ed Bradley. Comic actor Fred Willard appeared as recurring character Gene St. John, a movie critic who curses uncontrollably after each installment of "Real Mother****ing Talk". "That '70s Show" Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderamma returned for another parody of "CHiPs" with co-star Mila Kunis. For the first time since her departure in 2001, Nicole Sullivan appeared in the season finale as Mindy Tikvah, equally randy daughter of Michael McDonald's Marvin Tikvah.

Opening montage

The title sequence begins with the "MADtv" logo appearing across a black screen. The theme song, which is performed by the hip-hop group Heavy D & the Boyz, begins and each repertory cast member is introduced alphabetically, followed by the featured cast. Several split-screens appear showing live-action clips of cast members performing recurring characters. When the last cast member is introduced, the music stops and the title sequence ends with the phrase "You are now watching "MADtv"."

Cast

*Ike Barinholtz
*Frank Caliendo
*Mo Collins
*Simon Helberg
*Bobby Lee
*Michael McDonald
*Jill Michelle Meleán^
*Josh Meyers
*Christina Moore
*Ron Pederson
*Aries Spears
*Paul Vogt
*Stephnie Weir
*Debra Wilson

"^ Performer left mid-season."

Episodes

DVD releases

Season eight of "MADtv" has not been released on DVD. However, several sketches culled from this season appear on "The Best of MADtv Seasons 8, 9 & 10", released on October 25, 2005.

External links

* [http://www.madtv.com/ "MADtv" - Official Website]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt{1|0112056}/ "{2|MADtv}"] at The Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.tv.com/madtv/show/725/summary.html "MADtv"] at TV.com
* [http://www.jumptheshark.com/m/madtv.htm Jump The Shark - "MADtv"]