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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NYPD BOOBS
MAD #329, July/August 1994
w: Stan Hart
a: Mort Drucker
The cover has Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), Laura Kelly (Sherry Stringfield), John Kelly (David Caruso), Lt. Arthur Fancy (James McDaniel), Janice Licalsi (Amy Brenneman), and producer Stephen Bochco.
The conceit of NYPD Blue, and what made it stand apart from other police shows, was that it flouted regular TV standards and had profanity and nudity, hence the title, and featured a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode.
The man who accidentally walked in is Alan Rachins, who played a character on L.A.Law, a previous series of Steven Bochco. Rev. Donald Wildmon was the head of a Christian media watchdog group called the Americam Family Association, obsessed with filth on TV.
The Rodney King tape was one of the first home videos to show police brutality before such a thing was exposed every day. The background of the panel with Giuliani has his son Andrew who as a kid was known for upstaging his father on TV. “Only your own base matters” isn't a joke that ages well considering what's happened in the intervening thirty years.
Sipowicz was the swearing, bigoted “bad cop” of the show. John and Laura Kelly used to be husband and wife. Nicholas Turturro, who played James Martinez, is drawn in one panel because he isn't used anywhere else in the parody.
NYPD BLUE MOON
Cracked #293, October 1994
w: Lou Silverstone
a: Walter Brogan
The comedy world was obsessed the Lorena Bobbitt incident in the nineties. I guess the idea of someone cutting their husband's penis off does write jokes for itself.
Detective Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) was a character added to the cast later.
The neighbor Wilson on Home Improvement was a character you only saw on the other side of the fence from the eyes up.
Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) was a radio call-in psychiatrist whose father lived with him.
SeaQuest was a series that took place in the near future (i.e. now) about undersea exploration that focused mainly on a dolphin character. Terry Rakolta was head of Americans for Responsible Television (there were a lot of these groups in the eighties and nineties) that started with her offense at Married: With Children.
FLAKIER
MAD #329, July 1994
w:Dick DeBartolo
a: Paul Coker
Spinoff from Cheers that lasted just as long. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was originally a guest star as one of Diane's boyfriends and became a regular character that got married, with his wife becoming a regular as well. On this show he has relocated from Boston to Seattle and is a call-in radio psychiatrist with a family and a maid.
Niles (David Hyde-Pierce) is his brother who is also a psychiatrist and intellectual. It is true that he has played similar roles in almost everything else. Martin (John Mahoney) is the blue-collar father who lives with Frasier. Daphne (Jane Leeves) has been hired for the upkeep of the house and to take care of Martin, despite his thinking he doesn't need to be taken care of. Roz Boyle (Peri Gilpin) works at the radio station producing his show and screening calls. Eddie is the dog filling the role in the time-honored sitcom tradition of pets who are just as smart as the rest of the cast. Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) fills the role in the time-honored sitcom tradition of former cast members from previous programs who show up sporadically in their spinoffs.
Niles, despite the time-honored sitcom tradition of unrequited and one-sided love for Daphne, has a wife Maris, who fills the role in the time-honored sitcom tradition of recurring characters you never see. Norm and Cliff, regulars from Cheers, also had invisible wives.
FROZEN
Cracked #297, March 1995
w: Greg Grabianski
a: Walter Brogan
-Kurt Cobain committed suicide two years earlier.
-"I'm Listening" was how Frasier always greeted callers on his radio show.
Kelsey Grammer is well-known for being a conservative.
Wilson on Home Improvement is another recurring character that's never seen.
WHEN THE BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD PHENOMENON SPREADS INTO POLITICS
MAD #325, February 1994
w: Desmond Devlin
a: Sam Viviano
I figured 25 years would be long enough that when public figures were mentioned, they'd be long gone by now. I didn't know he'd be the president.
(“Woodrow” or “Woody” was often what they called an erection on the show)
Who knew Clarence Thomas (the judge with the pubic hair on the Coke can) would still be a judge?
(Mario Cuomo was Governor of New York).
These guys, at least, are obscure to most people under 40 now.
(Ross Perot was a businessman who ran for president as an independent, Jack Kemp was a member of congress. William Bennett was a conservative pundit. Bob Dole was a Senator who also ran for President).
Dan Rather and Connie Chung are still around, but mostly retired.
(The interviewee is Boris Yeltsin, then the premier of Russia. The tattoo reference is to Gorbachev, the previous premiere, who had a prominent birthmark).
WHEN BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD GROW OLD
MAD #335, June 1995
w: Desmond Devlin
a: Sam Viviano
This article's just as much about the culture of 1995 growing old as much as it's about Beavis and Butt-Head. Let's see how accurate they were.
They start of with one wrong prediction. That Michael Jackson would still be alive when this takes place.
Jim Carrey's still around, but they also wrongly predicted that Sonny Bono would still be alive.
They were half right that we'd realize naming sports teams after ethnic groups is wrong, but rather than argue about the proper names about what any of them should be called, it wasn't even considered at all.
Because of Snoop Dogg at least we now know this is supposed to take place in 2058.
Butt-Head is now kept alive with his head in a jar at this point. Who knows if that will be possible then?
Half the show was an MST3K-like roast of them in front of the TV watching videos and making comments, possibly to justify their presence on MTV.
With that in mind, that's how Cracked did their parody. It was also an opportunity to do several parodies in one article.
SKEEVIS AND BUTT-FACE
Cracked # 287, January 1994
w: Andrew Osborne
a: Walter Brogan
They're watching Frasier, then Beverly Hills 90210
They're making fun of Shannen Doherty's asymmetrical face. All our faces are asymmetric but her features are more obvious. Gabrielle Carteris was playing a high school student at 33, thus a middle-aged person in the crowd.
American Gladiators
In pro-basketball, Dennis Rodman was known for dressing in drag as a way of showboating.
After the commercial is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Then Lois & Clark, Then Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I don't know if this is a name-change or just a misspelling.
After constant flipping through channels, they finally find something they like.
