A-Z GUIDE TO MOVIES AND TV SHOWS PARODIED BY MAD, CRACKED, CRAZY, ETC. UP TO 1996. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. SPOILERS AND OTHER NON-SEQUITURS, TOO. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE WORDS OR SITUATIONS WE DON'T USE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'RE OLD.
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Friday, September 17, 2021
FAMILIAR MATTERS
FAMILY MATTERS
ABC-CBS 1989-1998
MAD #307, December 1991
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Mort Drucker
You'll have to forgive me for not knowing who Lt. Mudrock is supposed to be. I didn't watch much TV around this time. I couldn't find anything in the 1990 or 1991 schedules with a character that had a name even close. Usually in the caricatures there would be a label giving a clue but nothing here.
But I know enough about the characters from Family Matters he was investigating. The lead was Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson), his wife Harriette (Joe Marie Payton), Laura (Kellie Shanygne Williams), Mother (Rosetta LeNoire), Rachel (Telma Hopkins) her son, Eddie (Darius McCrary), and Steve Urkel (Jaleel White).
Urkel started out as a date with Laura the first season and was so popular he became the breakout star like the Fonz and added to the main cast. He always hung around initially because of his crush on Laura.
That's Robert Stack in the first panel
The last page is supposed to show how the accusers are saying the characters are derivative of their characters, but theirs are derivative of previous characters as well. Estelle Getty, Roseanne Barr, Dick Van Patten, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and David Leisure all had precedents on other sitcoms. Malcolm Jamal-Werner did too, the fact that he's black doesn't matter.
The "Air France" button Jerry Lewis is wearing refers to how he's supposedly considered a genius in France.
As I mentioned earlier, Steve Urkel became the breakout character. There was merchandising of him, and even a dance...
FAMILIAR PATTER
Cracked #265, September 1991
w: Lou Silverstone
a: Walter Brogan
Saturday Night Live is always criticized for being "not as funny as it used to be" but I'll always argue that it's been the same since the beginning, you just have the best memory of it from when you were in high school. Something they even say themselves. It's wildly inconsistent but there's always at least one sketch that's top notch even if most the show is just plain unfunny.
My favorite recurring bit they did a while back was their parodies Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney did of 80s sitcoms. They did about five that were usually cut for time, and had the chance to be timed well because they were pre-recorded. The character played by Kyle Mooney here is based on Urkel.
Lt. Mudrock was a character on the show, but not a regular. The real name was Murtaugh, and the actor's name was Barry Jenner. He's in the Cracked parody too, but he isn't named.
Lt. Mudrock was a character on the show, but not a regular. The real name was Murtaugh, and the actor's name was Barry Jenner. He's in the Cracked parody too, but he isn't named.
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