History Trivia / MadTV1995

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PhilLamarr makes no secret of his disappointment in the show abandoning it's "alternative ''SNL''" idea as early as its second season to just become "diet ''SNL''."

** Aries Spears didn't seem to get along with anyone (with the notable exception of Debra Wilson, whom he was often partnered with in sketches), accusing Creator/AlexBorstein of racist remarks. In turn, both Creator/JordanPeele and Creator/KeeganMichaelKey claimed he was cold to them and oftentimes difficult to work with. The show itself may have been inspired by the goings-on backstage when it had Creator/NicoleSullivan and Spears re-enact (what they claimed to be) an actual TV Guide article reporting tensions between the two of them (the show was known at the time for playing with {{Kayfabe}}, including a sketch where ProfessionalWrestling/BretHart attacking the cast members).

** Aries Spears didn't seem to get along with anyone (with the notable exception of Debra Wilson), accusing Creator/AlexBorstein of racist remarks. In turn, both Creator/JordanPeele and Creator/KeeganMichaelKey claimed he was cold to them and oftentimes difficult to work with. The show itself may have been inspired by the goings-on backstage when it had Creator/NicoleSullivan and Spears re-enact (what they claimed to be) a TV Guide article reporting tensions between the two of them.

* HostilityOnTheSet: According to interviews with both Creator/JordanPeele and Creator/KeeganMichaelKey, cast member Aries Spears (one of the show's longest-running black cast members) was cold to them and oftentimes difficult to work with.

* SiblingRivalry: Josh Meyers (a cast member on ''[=MADtv=]'' for the show's eighth and ninth seasons) is the younger brother of [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Weekend Update]] anchor Creator/SethMeyers in RealLife, making Creator/SethMeyers the only cast member to have a sibling on a rival sketch show. Made evident when Seth Meyers appeared on Weekend Update to talk to his dad and tells him to turn off ''Series/{{MADtv}}''.

* ActorAllusion: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H37vGQYJu2M This skit about]] a SubvertedKidsShow talking about wild conspiracy theories has Creator/GeorgeCarlin as "Ticket-Taker Sam", doubtlessly a reference to his role as Mr. Conductor on ''Series/ShiningTimeStation''.

** Particularly egregious are the Crafty Gal sketches. There are 5 of these sketches, and all feature Denise (Crista Flanagan) and Kendra (Arden Myrin) as two unattractive girls who sell crafts at a booth, and during the process talk about being sexually harassed and/or their willingness to date any man. A man or two will approach them and the sketches end with the girls going home with the man. There is virtually no variation between these sketches with the exception of the men they go home with and the place.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release anymore [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. Don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since . Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles[[note]]maybe a few that have Fox or CW station [=ID=] bugs {or even station ID bugs from Canada, like the now-defunct [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E!_(Canadian_TV_system) CH]]}, but those are rare[[/note]]), and the [=iTunes=] store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans[[note]]a lot of which are former disillusioned fans of ''SNL''[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, detractors, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who stayed from 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Mary Scheer, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release anymore [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. Don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since . Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles[[note]]maybe a few that have FOX or CW station [=ID=] bugs, but those are rare[[/note]]), and the [=iTunes=] store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.
** As of 2020, HBO Max has seasons one to 14 of the show. However, of the 329 episodes (that's the FOX version, the 20th anniversary special, and the short-lived CW revival) that have aired, 114 episodes are missing[[note]]with season six (the 2000-2001 season) missing ''19'' episodes out of 30[[/note]] due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD with the entire fifteenth season being missing), leaving 215 episodes that have cleared.

* ActorAllusion: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H37vGQYJu2M This skit about]] a SubvertedKidsShow talking about wild conspiracy theories has Creator/GeorgeCarline as "Ticket-Taker Sam", doubtlessly a reference to his role as Mr. Conductor on ''Series/ShiningTimeStation''.

*** [[https://youtu.be/3qk6AHEj7v8?t=170 According to Joey Diaz]], after the first Series/TheSopranos parody sketch blew up, the cast was more than ready to make a second one when Jamie-Lynn Sigler hosted, but someone from the Sopranos production team stopped them.

** Now mostly averted as of 2020: HBO Max has seasons one to 14 of the show. However, of the 329 episodes (that's the FOX version, the 20th anniversary special, and the short-lived CW revival) that have aired, 114 episodes are missing[[note]]with season six (the 2000-2001 season) missing ''19'' episodes out of 30[[/note]] due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD with the entire fifteenth season being missing), leaving 215 episodes that have cleared.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release anymore [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. Don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since [[note]]in contrast, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is still airing new episodes, has hour-long reruns on most Saturday nights, airs seasons 1-5 and 30 to whatever current season is out on Hulu, has seasons one to the current season [46, as of 2020] on Peacock, and their classic and newer sketches are on an official [=YouTube=] channel[[/note]]. Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles[[note]]maybe a few that have FOX or CW station [=ID=] bugs, but those are rare[[/note]]), and the [=iTunes=] store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.

** Now mostly averted as of 2020: HBO Max has seasons one to 14 of the show. However, of the 329 episodes (that's the FOX version, the 20th anniversary special, and the short-lived CW revival) that have aired, 114 episodes are missing[[note]]with season six (the 2000-2001 season) missing ''19'' episodes out of 30[[/note]] due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD, and the fifteenth season being missing [[FanonDiscontinuity might be considered a good thing since those episodes were considered bad]]), leaving 215 episodes that have cleared.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans[[note]]a lot of which are former disillusioned fans of ''SNL''[[/note]], boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' had fewer black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20 and counting] and one male Asian-American cast member [Creator/BobbyLee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Creator/BowenYang, who is Chinese] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Korean, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any other East Asian country...at least not yet], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, while SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and four lesbians [Denny Dillon, Danitra Vance, Kate [=McKinnon=], and, as of 2020, Punkie Johnson]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since ''SNL'' isn't ending anytime soon, is on the look-out for more racially and sexually diverse cast members, and most of their former cast members are still alive and one of them can make headlines by coming out, just like what happened with Denny Dillon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL has (so far). ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, Johnny Sanchez, and (from the short-lived revival season) Michele Ortiz while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, detractors, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who stayed from 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Mary Scheer, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* ActorSharedBackground: Stephanie Weir, who would frequently do impressions of Anna Nicole Smith, was born in the same town, on the same day as Anna Nicole Smith.

* DeniedParody: Alex Borstein has flatly denied that Ms Swan is an old Asian woman, and claims she's based on her grandmother. [[SarcasmMode Uh huh. Sure.]] (The Vancome Lady thinks she's Icelandic.)

** Stephnie Weir (the ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' cast member known for recurring character Dot[[note]]a mentally unstable girl who's parents abuse her because she's not smart like her sister[[/note]] and her impression of Anna Nicole Smith[[note]]and, startlingly, being from the same Texas town and born on the same day as her[[/note]]) originally auditioned to be a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member. She was passed up on ''SNL'' in favor of Rachel Dratch.

* NoExportForYou: Narrowly averted with the first run. {{Creator/Fox}} didn't plan to air the show in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} because the ''local'' SketchComedy show ''Series/AlmostLive'' (the show that made ''Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy'' popular before he had his own educational series on PBS) was well-established and wildly popular at the time.

*** Creator/JordanPeele also auditioned to be on ''Saturday Night Live'' during the hiatus brought on by the 2007-2008 Writers' Guild strike when Creator/LorneMichaels used the time off to find a cast member who could play Barack Obama. Peele and another black male cast member (Creator/DonaldGlover) were passed up in favor of Fred Armisen (to much controversy) until September 2012, when Jay Pharoah was chosen. The joke's on ''SNL'' as [[HilariousInHindsight Jordan Peele played]] UsefulNotes/BarackObama on Comedy Central's ''Series/KeyAndPeele''.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release anymore [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. Don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since [[note]]in contrast, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is still airing new episodes, has hour-long reruns on most Saturday nights, airs seasons 1-5 and 30 to whatever current season is out on Hulu, has seasons one to the current season [46, as of 2020] on Peacock, and their classic and newer sketches are on [=YouTube=][[/note]]. Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles[[note]]maybe a few that have FOX or CW station [=ID=] bugs, but those are rare[[/note]]), and the [=iTunes=] store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.
** Now mostly averted as of 2020: HBO Max has seasons one to 14 of the show. However, some episodes are missing due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD). Also, season 15 (which was the eight-episode revival that aired on The CW in 2016) isn't included ([[FanonDiscontinuity though, for some, that might be a good thing]]).

* ApprovalOfGod: Although there's no way to ''prove'' it with her dead, Debra Wilson has claimed that Music/WhitneyHouston was a fan of Wilson's celebrated impression of her. ("She didn't take herself too seriously", Wilson says.) Creator/OprahWinfrey, on the other hand, made no secret of her displeasure of Wilson's impression of ''her'', not that it ever stopped her.

* ApprovalOfGod: Although there's no way to ''prove'' it with her dead, Debra Wilson has claimed that Music/WhitneyHouston was a fan of Wilson's celebrated impression of her. ("She didn't take herself too seriously", Wilson says.) Creator/OprahWinfrey, on the other hand, made no secret of her displeasure of Wilson's impression, not that it ever stopped her.