Mad TV season 8
The eighth season of Mad TV, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on the Fox Network between September 14, 2002, and May 17, 2003.
Summary
With fan-favorite cast members Alex Borstein, Will Sasso, and Andrew Daly gone, MADtv scrambled to find new talent to fill the void. Jill-Michele Meleán and Bobby Lee were upgraded to repertory status while previous season featured performers Kathryn Fiore and Taran Killam were let go. New faces in the cast for this season include: Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Josh Meyers, Christina Moore, Ron Pederson, and Paul Vogt.With Sasso gone, Frank Caliendo became the latest cast member to play George W. Bush. Newcomer Ron Pederson played Dick Clark, Woody Allen, Saddam Hussein, and Entertainment Tonight anchor Mark Steines. Vogt replaced Will Sasso as James Lipton and impersonated classic sitcom stars, such as Edward Asner, Jackie Gleason, and Charlotte Rae. Like their counterparts Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on Saturday Night Live, long-time pals Ike Barinholtz and Josh 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, Nick Nolte, and Mark Walberg. At the same time, Meyers offered offbeat impersonations of Eminem, Matthew McConaughey, Owen Wilson, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel, and some *NSYNC members. In her short time on the show, Jill-Michele Meleán was known for her Drew Barrymore impression and her recurring turn as one of the Glamazon Huntresses.
This would be the last season for longtime original cast member Debra Wilson, who would leave the show after 8 years following the season finale; making her the show's longest-serving original cast member.
Guests this season included: former In Living Color cast members Tommy Davidson and David Alan Grier; former Saturday Night Live cast member, Jay Mohr; comic actor Fred Willard, That '70s Show cast members Mila Kunis, Danny Masterson, and Wilmer Valderrama; and former MADtv cast member, Nicole Sullivan.
Opening montage
The title sequence begins with the Mad TV 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 shot of the cast member slightly moving 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 Mad TV".Cast
;Repertory cast members- Frank Caliendo
- Mo Collins
- Bobby Lee
- Michael McDonald
- Jill-Michele Meleán
- Aries Spears
- Stephnie Weir
- Debra Wilson
Writers
- Bryan Adams
- Ike Barinholtz
- Dick Blasucci
- Kal Clarke
- Chris Cluess
- Steven Cragg
- John Crane
- Lauren Dombrowski
- Brian Hartt
- Michael Hitchcock
- Jennifer Joyce
- Bill Kelley
- Scott King
- Karen Maruyama
- Bruce McCoy
- Michael McDonald
- Josh Meyers
- Sultan Pepper
- Tami Sagher
- David Salzman
- Devon Shepard
- Dino Stamatopoulos
- Rich Talarico
- Bryan Tucker
- Stephnie Weir
- Maiya Williams
- Jim Wise
Episodes
Home releases
As of 2024, there is no season 8 complete season DVD release. However, this season's best sketches and segments have been used in the compilation DVD Mad TV: The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10.When HBO Max streamed this series, episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 were omitted.