MADtv (season 9)

The ninth season of "MADtv" aired from September 13, 2003, to May 22, 2004, with 25 episodes.

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After Debra Wilson left the show at the end of last season, season nine was the first without any original cast members. Former featured players Ike Barinholtz, Josh Meyers, Ron Pederson, and Paul Vogt were upgraded to repertory status. (This would be Meyers' last season on "MADtv", but he later appeared on the FOX sitcom "That '70s Show".)

Among season nine's new cast members was Daniele Gaither, a member of Groundlings who was trained by Michael McDonald before appearing on "MADtv". (Gaither had previously appeared in season two sketch as one of Bob Dole's girls) Her celebrity impersonations included Eve, La La, and Tyra Banks. The second new cast member was Nicole Parker, who became known for her impersonations of Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Ellen DeGeneres, Renée Zellweger, and Judy Garland (as the character Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" parodies).

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele joined the show as featured cast members. Peele created several hilarious characters (such as Funkenstein) and offbeat impersonations (such as Ja Rule). Both Key and Peele were promoted to repertory players the next season.

New cast members Melissa Paull and Gillian Vigman (known for celebrity impersonations including Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, and Pamela Anderson) were introduced in the ninth season, but left at season's end.

Season nine included the show's 200th episode; several former cast members returned to mark the occasion. Orlando Jones appeared as Andre 3000 of Outkast performing a parody of "Hey, Ya." Nicole Sullivan reprised characters such as the Vancome Lady and impersonations of Meg Ryan and Judith from "Literally". Alex Borstein made her first appearance since season seven and portrayed the beloved character Miss Swan and Dot Goddard's twin sister, Karen. Will Sasso revived his famous impersonations of Bill Clinton and Kenny Rogers. Cast veteran Artie Lange (now a regular on "The Howard Stern Show") recorded a monologue of his life since leaving "Madtv". Former original cast member Phil LaMarr also appeared during season nine as character Kalvin Mudflap Clarke in the "Real Mother****ing Talk" sketch.

Season nine introduced a recurring sketch, "The Lillian Verner Game Show", with Paul Vogt playing flamboyant host Dale Priskett. This mock game show involved contestants vying for products that are spoofs of Lillian Vernon products. A recurring character, Gail Cinder (played by Stephnie Weir), would always return as the show's reigning champion. This sketch also featured "MADtv" writer Michael Hitchcock as the game show's announcer. The "7am Condo Report",a sketch about retired elderly people residing in a Florida condo, debuted; it featured Stephnie Weir as Muriel (a woman who suffers recurring strokes), Ron Pederson as Clifford (an angry, bitter old man in a wheelchair), Daniele Gaither as Jelly (an old African-American woman who is obsessed with her grandchildren and black culture), and Paul Vogt as the nurse. Other season highlights were appearances by Jessica Alba ("Honey") as pop star Jessica Simpson, Tommy Davidson and Fred Willard as the hosts of "Real Mother****ing Talk", boxers and WWE wrestlers (including Sugar Shane Mosley and Trish Stratus), professional skater Tony Hawk promoting his fictional restaurant, Jeff Probst hosting a celebrity edition of "Survivor", Cedric the Entertainer ("Johnson Family Vacation") co-starring in a blaxploitation version of "Frankenstein" as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Frankie Muniz ("Agent Cody Banks 2") returning in a sketch with Stephnie Weir's Dr. Kylie Johnson, Tom Bergeron in a parody of his show "Hollywood Squares", and Groundlings alumnus Jennifer Coolidge.

Mo Collins announced that she would leave the show at the end of the ninth season.

Opening montage

The title sequence begins with the "MADtv" logo appearing above the Los Angeles skyline. The theme song, performed by the hip-hop group Heavy D & the Boyz, begins and each repertory cast member is introduced alphabetically, followed by the featured cast. The screen dissolves into three live-action clips of an individual cast member. The three screens multiply until they occupy the entire screen. A still photo of the cast member appears on the screen with a caption of his/her name superimposed on it. When all cast members and guests are introduced, the music stops and the title sequence ends with the phrase "You are now watching "MADtv".

Cast

*Ike Barinholtz
*Frank Caliendo
*Mo Collins
*Daniele Gaither
*Keegan-Michael Key
*Bobby Lee
*Michael McDonald
*Josh Meyers
*Nicole Parker
*Melissa Paull
*Ron Pederson
*Jordan Peele
*Aries Spears
*Gillian Vigman
*Paul Vogt
*Stephnie Weir

Episodes

DVD releases

Season nine of "MADtv" has not been released on DVD. However, several sketches from the 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"]