What, ‘Mad TV’ Worry? Fox Confident Alfred E. Neuman Will Deliver Viewers
Beaming MAD-man Alfred E. Neuman, posing as a freckle-faced David, aims his slingshot tonight at “Saturday Night Live.”
Should NBC’s shrunken giant worry about “MAD TV”?
Maybe. If ….
If Fox Broadcasting Co.’s new comedy hour can bring MAD magazine’s spirit to television without betraying the subversive roots of mascot Alfred E. and his fellow MAD travelers.
If “MAD TV” can satisfy MAD readers while attracting viewers unfamiliar with the tilted world of “Spy vs. Spy” and other magazine fixtures.
If the TV audience hasn’t abandoned hope of finding fresh, amusing satire after prolonged disappointment from “Saturday Night,” a shadow of its once-inventive self.
And if Fox, badly burned by Chevy Chase’s failure in weeknight late-night comedy, can stand by “MAD TV” while it finds its footing and tries to build an audience.
The opening is there: Despite “SNL” steward Lorne Michaels’ promise to re-energize the show, the season premiere earned only a 6.5 rating - down from last year’s 7.0 season average - and scathing reviews.
“I would never be the one to say ‘Saturday Night Live’ is dead. It’s too long a heritage,” said Fox entertainment chief John Matoian.
But he’d concede vulnerability: Matoian notes that a World Wrestling Federation special drew about a 4 rating against “SNL’s” Sept. 30 debut. He’s hoping for a 5 rating to start from “MAD TV.”
Each ratings point represents 959,000 viewers. That would be an audience of just under 5 million.
For what it’s worth, the attitude of what-me-worry kid Alfred E. Neuman seems to have rubbed off on “MAD TV” executive producer David E. Salzman.
“We love it,” he said, sounding chipper about the competition with “Saturday Night.”
“Our attitude is, if you were to say which network has the best chance of delivering an audience for a new comedy franchise show, it would be Fox,” Salzman said in a reference to its young-skewing audience.
“MAD TV” also has timing on its side: It starts a half-hour earlier (at 11 p.m. on most Fox stations) than “Saturday Night.”
It’s not live, which Salzman counts as an advantage. Sketches performed before a studio audience are taped and edited, while more elaborate comedy bits are given full-blown film treatment.
Oh, and the show is witty, thought-provoking and wickedly cutting, Salzman says, like the magazine that’s providing its brand-name identity. But not just like the magazine, he cautions.
“In no way are we attempting to translate the magazine to TV, because I don’t think it does,” he says. “The magazine, to a certain extent, has a tried-and-true formula, in somewhat of a time warp, but it works.
“It’s geared to younger men and older boys. Our television show is for men and women. … It has to be much broader. It has to really be ‘90s and hip,” Salzman said.
To accomplish that, he brought in producers with sketch comedy experience, Fax Bahr and Adam Small (of Fox’s “In Living Color” and “House of Buggin’).
They assembled an eight-member cast with roots in improvisation and acting: Bryan Callen, David Herman, Orlando Jones, Phil LaMarr, Artie Lange, Mary Scheer, Nicole Sullivan and Debra Wilson.
“MAD TV’s” fast-paced pilot included skits about a snobbish cosmetics saleswoman and a “Star Trek” spaceship laundry room, along with a “Gump Fiction” film parody.
There’s no weekly host or musical act, although celebrities and music will be woven into the show. Salzman suggests a “Laugh-In” approach, with novelty names (including the ubiquitous Kato Kaelin) popping up.
There are venerable MAD elements in the show: Neuman’s countenance and animated versions of “Spy vs. Spy” and several Don Martin cartoons - Martin, of course, being among the maddest, most eccentric of the MAD bunch.
TV, film and ad parodies are part of the mix, as they’ve always been with the magazine.