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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Yesterday was a look at MAD and Cracked's take on Welcome Back, Kotter, now we'll see Crazy and Sick's versions...
A CRAZY LOOK AT THOSE KOOKY KOTTER KIDS
Crazy #29, September 1977
WELCOME BACK, KUTTER
Crazy #18, July 1976
w: Len Herman
a: Ernie Colon
This sitcom was a vehicle for stand-up comic Gabe Kaplan, who had a show based on one single routine he did a few months earlier. The premise was that Gabe Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) is now a teacher and has returned to the school where he grew up ten years earlier, and now teaches the gang of juvenile delinquents that he once belonged to known as The Sweathogs. The principal of James Buchanan High School was Mr. Woodman (John Sylvester-White)
The Sweathogs were Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta), Freddie “Boom-Boom” Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), Juan Epstein (Robert Hegyes), and Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo)
WELCOME BACK, KNOTHEAD
Sick #110, June 1976
a: Dick Ayers
One thing Crazy didn't use was Gabe's at-home life with his wife Julie (Marcia Strassman)
“Up your nose with a rubber hose” was one of their catchphrases. More of their catchphrases and recurring motifs are in the video above.
WELCOME BACK, KRUDDER
Sick #115, June 1977
w:Arnold Drake
a: Jack Sparling
Gabe telling one-liners to his wife at the beginning and end of each episode was another regular theme. Charlie Tuna was the mascot for Star-Kist tuna and their catchphrase was “Star-Kist wants tunas that taste good”
The Sweathogs were always dropping in on Mr. Kotter at home, usually climbing into his window.
As a palatte cleanser, here's a TV Guide cover by Jack Davis.
SPACED 1999
MAD UK #185, c. 1977
w: Hitch Hitchings
a: Alf Saporito
Here's another look at the future of the past. This was a series about Moonbase Alpha, a nuclear waste storage site stationed there in 1999. An explosion sends the moon out of Earth's orbit and the series centers on situations involving worlds the station encounters.
The base was led by Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) and John Koenig (Martin Landau), with Victor Bergman (Barry Morse), their science advisor.
The next to last panel has various British 70's TV personalities such as the casts of Are You Being Served? and the UK version of General Hospital. Barry Morse had also been on US's The Fugitive.
The other versions of Russell and Koenig that they see are Landau and Bain's characters from Mission:Impossible, their previous series. The “planet” is Lew Grade, producer. And the punchline is the characters are the Thunderbirds, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's show before this. The Andersons had done many sciene fiction shows before this, but this was the first to be done with live actors.
SPACE: 1998
Cracked #133, July 1976
a: Sururi Gumen
Allen Carter (Nick Tate) was the chief pilot of Moonbase Alpha.
The “instruments” gag was later used in Airplane!. An obvious joke anyone could come up with but funnier in the latter because it was in and out quicker.
Star Trek may have been considered a fly-by-night series in the seventies but sure came back with a vengeance. In a while we'll be devoting two entire weeks to the franchise.
SPACE $9.99 MARKED DOWN FROM $22.68
Crazy #20, October 1976
w: Len Herman
a: Ernie Colon
THE SIX MILLION DOLLARS, MAN!
MAD #172, March 1975
w: Lou Silverstone
a: Angelo Torres
All children that were alive in the seventies know of The Six Million Dollar Man, how Col. Steve Austin (Lee Majors) got in a bad accident astronauting and was rebuilt by the government as a cyborg, costing six million dollars to make him robotic. His origin is explained in the opening credits.
”Verner Won Ton” is a play on Werner Von Braun, a former scientist for the Nazi party that was brought to the U.S. during our Space Race with Russia. 'Eastworld' is a play on 'Westworld', a movie about a robot amusement park long before it was a TV series. The tennis player is Bobby Riggs, referring to Billy Jean King, who beat him in the well-publicized Battle of the Sexes game.
Steve Austin's supervisor at the Office of Strategic Operations, a CIA stand-in, was Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson).
WFL was the World Football League. Mark Spitz was the Olympic champion swimmer.
Dr. Balsawood is Martin Balsam, who only co-incidentally was Steve Austin's doctor in the pilot episode.
From MAD's “Whatever Became of”... TV Characters Edition in #266, October 1986, by Mike Snider.
Cracked did several parodies and mash-ups, just as they did of a lot of TV shows and movies. Here are two:
THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN
Cracked #120, October 1974
a: John Severin
Mr.Phelps was the lead character on Mission:Impossible
THE FAR-OUT FOUR
Cracked #123, March 1975
a: Polly Titian (John Severin)
Gerald Ford and VP Nelson Rockefeller have enlisted the aid of Henry Kissinger, Steve Austin, Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin), and Kwai Caine (David Carradine)
Henry Kissinger had a reputation for being a ladies' man.
At one time, politicians actually did their job of getting things done rather than hating the other party. Billie Jean King is called “Billie Joe” here. I'm not sure if that was intentional or just out of ignorance.
But that's not all! Tomorrow a look at even more Cracked takes on The Six Million Dollar Man, including a Star Wars mashup!
THE $6,000,000 MAN-IAC
Crazy #18, July 1976
w: Len Herman
a: Ernie Colon
