madtv

Somebody is still watching MADtv, because the FOX's late night series of wacky sketches and parodies has been given a thirteenth season.

According to the press release, the series is most popular among teens. That seems to be the best explanation as to why it's still on the air; I don't know anyone my age or older who still watches the series.

Not unlike the magazine it's vaguely based on, MADtv works almost exclusively in parody (I'm thinking of the old Mad I used to read, I haven't picked up a copy in many years), which is one thing that sets it apart from other sketch comedy shows, but also why it probably doesn't attract older viewers more in tune with the sensibilities of satirical shows like South Park and The Daily Show.

Of course, it is possible to enjoy more than one type of show, but it makes perfect sense that younger folks would be drawn to MADtv. It's goofy and a bit over the top, and it's not too difficult for me to think back to a time when that kind of humor was right up my alley.

You would probably end up with something like this skit from MADtv, which is particularly humorous and pretty much on target. And that's coming from someone who is a casual viewer of both series. It has all of the elements you would find in both medical dramas. From the Grey's side you have the schmaltzy soap-opera and characters that only think of themselves. While on the House side you have the caustic, arrogant doctor himself who thinks his own fecal matter doesn't have an aroma.

Michael McDonald portrays House in this skit. Even though he really didn't get the character's voice down he has all of the mannerisms that Hugh Laurie portrays on the actual show. This is the second MADtv skit where I've seen McDonald really nail the character he's playing. The first one was when he portrayed the Danny Tripp character on MADtv's send-up of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The other actor who really did a fine job was Bobby Lee, who portrayed the Sandra Oh character. My Lord, those two could be twins!

And, to dispel rumors that comedy doesn't teach us anything, this sketch reveals that their is a hierarchy of guys whose nicknames begin with 'Mc' that are needed to be bedded down in order to reach McSupremy, who apparently lives in a castle in France. So, know you know. Video after the jump.

• At 8, FOX has a new Cops.
• TLC has two new episodes of Moving Up starting at 8.
• AMC is really stretching the meaning of movie "classics" as they have Catwoman at 8, followed by Lake Placid.
• Also at 8: Emeril cooks "Fast Food" on a new Emeril Live on Food Network.
• At 9, FOX has a new America's Most Wanted.
• Suze Orman talks about her new book on CNBC at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• HGTV has a new Design on a Dime at 10.
• At 11, FOX has a new Mad TV, with guest Rob Corddry.
• Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed!

Check your local TV listings for more.

Popular YouTube star Lisa Nova, real name Lisa Donovan, will be joining the cast of MADtv on Saturday, February 17. Donovan originally auditioned for MADtv upon moving to Los Angeles, but didn't make the cut. She then started her own production company and started putting her short films on YouTube. Those shorts were seen by a casting director at MADtv and Donovan was given another shot.

Of course, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise, since MADtv's main competition, Saturday Night Live, also dipped its ladle into the internet comedy pot to bring the Lonely Island boys to the show, and with impressive results. We'll see if MADtv can duplicate some of that success as well, or if they'll force Donovan to play the same three characters over and over and over again, which I'm fairly certain is written into everyone's contract on that series.

I have never been a big fan of MADtv; however, whenever I catch it while flipping channels what I see isn't too bad. This is especially true when the show parodies television shows. For example, a few weeks ago I saw a skit featuring Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane wondering how his show would have looked as a live-action comedy. It was quite amusing (and I wish I could find a clip of it on the Internet).

So, when TV Squad fan SJ (yes, we have fans!) hinted us about a parody that MADtv did of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip I decided to take a look. The name of the parody is Studio 69 on Van Nuys Boulevard. Instead of focusing on a fictional late-night comedy show the parody focus on a fictional late-night porn show filmed in front of a live studio audience and transmitted to millions of service men around the world. The MADtv writers were frighteningly accurate when emulating all of Aaron Sorkin's traits. There's the caustic, yet charming and funny, director of the porn show, plenty of walk-and-talks, and even a prayer circle scene, reminiscent of one we saw in the second episode of Studio 60.

The video can be found after the jump. By the way, I'm going to be copyrighting that 'live porn in front of a studio audience' thing. So, you can all just step back!

• At 8, FOX has a new Cops, followed by a repeat episode and a new America's Most Wanted.
• ABC has college football at 8, Notre Dame vs. USC.
• Emeril cooks some of his mother's holiday recipes on Food Network at 8.
• At 9, TLC has a new Flip That House.
• Hallmark has March of the Penguins at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• There's a new Trading Spaces on TLC at 10.
• HGTV has a new Design on a Dime at 10.
• White Christmas airs at 10 on TCM.
• Also at 10: the Travel Channel has a new 5 Takes, featuring Memphis, TN.
• At 11, FOX has a new Mad TV, followed by a new Talk Show with Spike Feresten.

Just because I'm introspective and I walk among the shadows, it doesn't mean that I can't hear you. -- Hope

Crista Flanagan, a writer and performer on MadTV, has teamed up with the fellas behind AskANinja.com for a new Web series called "Hope is Emo" that features Flanagan as Hope, a brooding high school emo chick with plenty of angst and depression to spare, and I'm guessing more than a few albums by The Cure. In the first episode, which you can view after the jump, she tearfully pleads to her listeners to stop destroying words by erasing or deleting them. She's so serious about this, in fact, that she made an urn to hold the chalky remains of words that have been callously wiped from the chalkboards at her school. Well, it's not so much an urn as it is a fondue pot, but you get the idea. Also, and perhaps even more importantly, freshmen and sophomores can't go to prom, and it's a rule people really need to learn to obey. I found it quite humorous, and I'm looking forward to more.

• At 8, ABC has Remember The Titans.
• CBS has repeats of CSI: Miami and Without A Trace, then a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• NBC has the disaster flick 10.5 (to warm you up for the sequel coming up, I guess) at 8.
• Over on FOX, two new episodes of Cops, followed by a new America's Most Wanted.
• Cartoon Network has a new Zatch Bell at 8, followed by a new Naruto.
• Also at 8: HBO has Batman Begins, the best one so far.
• At 10, IFC has a new ep of The Henry Rollins Show.
• There's a new Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo on Cartoon Network at 10.
• At 11, FOX has a new Mad TV.
• NBC has the season finale of Saturday Night Live at 11:30, with Kevin Spacey and Nelly Furtado.
• Also: TV Land is showing an Andy Griffith Show marathon all weekend.

• "I'll take 'Jap Anus Relations' for two-hundred." - Darrell Hammond's Sean Connery to Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek on SNL, refering to 'Japan U.S. Relations' category of Celebrity Jeopardy skit.
• "You don't scare me. I'm not afraid of you. There's only one thing I'm afraid of and that's rottweilers...and expired mayonnaise." - Ryan Reynolds, playing a security guard, on Mad TV.
• "When he breaks something of mine, I break something of his. That's just the rules of the house." - Sister, talking about her little brother, on Nanny 911.
• "Rory, the penal system isn't something to enjoy, it's something with a name that makes us giggle." Lorelai, after Rory gets out of jail, on Gilmore Girls.
• "I think talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God." - CBS president Les Moonves, explaining why the network canceled Joan Of Arcadia and instead picked up Ghost Whisperer.
• "I've seen 300 pound linebackers holding up the Super Bowl trophy with tears streaming down their faces." - Kendra of The Apprentice, answering to Donald Trump's problem with her joyful crying at the conclusion of her final task.