12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

The year was 1995. Saturday Night Live had wrapped up its 20th season with a whimper, with fans and critics alike speculating that the king of late-night sketch comedy was in the middle of a creative slump. There existed a power vacuum in that time slot, and when October came around, so did a vibrant, garish, crass menagerie of sketch comedy misfits, rejects, and hellraisers bearing the name “MAD” and donning a red-haired, grinning, gap-toothed mascot as their symbol.

Some of you may not know, but MADtv was born from MAD magazine. And some of you really might not know that Cracked.com was also born from Cracked magazine, itself a second-banana to MAD magazine. We’ve all come a long way.

Anyway, the original MADtv lasted 14 seasons before cancellation, with a 20th anniversary special and a rebooted 15th season coming years later. Here are some entries from MADtv’s tumultuous history in the shadow of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.