Oddity Archive: Episode 260 - Mad Magazine…’s Forays Into Other Media

[@OddityArchive]

Yes, I mispronounced Linda Lavin's last name. Now, will the torch-wielders on my front porch please disperse? Also, I neglected to mention the Spy Vs. Spy board game and the (apparently lame) MAD card game. I am being punished accordingly. As for the Cartoon Network series...I couldn't care less.

[@thekidfromiowa]

The Disco Clap is a rare STD occurring only amongst patrons of Studio 54.

[@nicholastosoni707]

What can one say? VD is for everybody.

[@albear972]

No mention of the *Totally MAD* 7-disc CD-ROM box set that contained all the MAD magazines printed from 1952-1998 plus all the MAD recordings. It's a gas! I, incidentally, bought it back in 98', when I was a younger MADhead, still have it.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

although, unfortunately, if my memory is correct, the scan quality isn't great due to space constraints

[@TheGreenMeanie]

@@noneofyourbusiness4616 It's not, the quality was pretty bad, but they came out with a revised 2-DVD set back in 2004 that's much better.

[@J.S.3259]

Playboy did that as well, except with a flash drive

[@richardgadberry8398]

RIP Al Jaffee (March 13, 1921-April 10, 2023)

[@7snap]

The kids in my neighborhood were baffled by the song that changed endings each time you played it. Thanks for that memory.

[@imrustyokay]

Wait, Mad was a Magazine? In all seriousness, another great episode! I will have to mention the OTHER MAD TV show after MadTV (but before the revival) called MAD on Cartoon Network. It was a 15 minute sketch comedy and lasted for 4 seasons. It lasted from 2010 to 2013, and you can tell. Of course I'm actually kind of a fan of it, mainly because it was kind of a favorite show of mine growing up, even if the humor has not aged well.

[@warj.3577]

Yeah, CN Mad was a pretty neat show. It was actually my first proper introduction to the whole MAD franchise.

[@jamesborlan2850]

I love the cn mad show as well Honestly the humor was a product of its time and to be fair mad is no stranger for some of its satire being products of the decade For every decade there’s going to be satire that can only work within that said decade Plus they got the guys who worked on kablam and el Tigre that’s a high respect in my book

[@alexstockwell4349]

You should do an episode on promotional records. The one that comes to mind immediately is "I'm A Boinger"/"U Stink But I Luv U" from the Bloom County collection "Billy and the Boingers Bootleg".

[@rodriguez1025]

For your listening pleasure...kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqGucpqerd5jbcU

[@RobLives4Love]

OMG yes please

[@mightyfilm]

To me, the biggest Mad oddity has to be the short lived (and for a reason) Mad Kids magazine. If you were expecting it to have parodies of then popular kids' shows they wouldn't publish in the magazine proper, you'd be dead wrong. It was basically a slightly, very slightly more snarky version of D*sney Adventures or Nickelodeon Magazine, with meh articles and maybe a couple almost Mad-ish gags and a couple activities that feel bog standard from any magazine. The second attempt to get a Mad for kids project was the Cartoon Network series, simply named Mad. It was much better, but came off as a kid friendly Robot Chicken, and some parody segments felt off because they based some parodies off the trailers. Even game the game away in the final episode where they had an original character come out and outright say they only saw the trailer and rushed a parody out while the reference was still fresh.

[@ccateni28]

Funny how I grew up with the Mad CN show then later found out about everything else to do with Mad.

[@jamesborlan2850]

I remember owning one issue of mad kids It’s just an off brand version of Nickelodeon magazine with spy vs spy jr (a child friendly version of spy vs spy) As for the mad cartoon on Cartoon Network I love the show it’s a perfect representation of the mad magazines of the 2010s It still holds up especially since for every decade mad will always change with the times to poke fun at things Plus some people would later work on teen titans go, thundercats roar among others They even got former people who worked on kablam and el Tigre

[@mightyfilm]

@@jamesborlan2850 I find it funny that the kid's cartoon version of Mad was closer to the magazine than the sketch comedy series, but I do remember the first season of MadTV at least trying to be sort of like the magazine with long form movie trailer spoofs. Sure, they'd still have a show or movie or something spoof here and there, but it was mostly a FOX rival to SNL.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

@@mightyfilm Early Fox MadTV episodes also had cartoons based on the magazine like Spy vs. Spy.

[@MissSallyB1]

Names don't need symbol censoring.

[@vivaeljason]

Eerie timing, given the recent death of Al Jaffee. Love this channel, Ben!

[@OddityArchive]

For what it’s worth, this was completed before his passing. Just unfortunate timing.

[@vivaeljason]

@@OddityArchive I figured; I saw the Ben's Junk last week. I was pleased to see mention of the board game in this episode...seeing last week's half episode compelled me to pull my copy out of storage.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@OddityArchive Yeah, didn't think you'd invoke the imagery of a rotting corpse in this context on purpose.

[@TeeVeeGames]

"It's a Gas" became forever burned in my brain when Mad put out the 7 CD box set (the one from Broderbund that came with the toilet paper). They chose that song to serve as the menu background music. Also, I think there was a Mad card game alongside the Parker Brother's board game.

[@collegeman1988]

I remember that box set, but unfortunately I didn’t have the money to buy it. 🙁

[@TeeVeeGames]

@@collegeman1988 They updated it was a one-disc DVD version, adding in later issues. However, way less whimsical. It was essentially just PDF files, a few and little else.

[@collegeman1988]

@@TeeVeeGames Yes, I know. It’s a one disc DVD-ROM and I have it. It contains all issues of MAD magazine through 2005. The Super Special editions only contain pages that were exclusive to those editions and don’t have the items from previous articles.

[@ronaldwayne7092]

There was a Mad card game. It was just a re-skin of Uno.

[@dshafterh3897]

How can you deny the musical genius of Alfred E. His legacy will be appreciated one day.

[@OddityArchive]

Didn’t think I was denying it.

[@redlion517]

I'm surprised Ben didn't even make a passing mention of the Cartoon Network show from the early 2010s. I can see why he wouldn't, though - doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would be up his ally.

[@nicholastosoni707]

There was a MAD pinball machine as well. I remember seeing it in an Arby's somewhere and we never played it. UPDATE, 4/28: Might have been Tales from the Crypt.

[@otaking3582]

The Cartoon Network show was great. You could definitely tell that the writers were fans of the stuff they were spoofing and weren't just trying to make it "Robot Chicken, but for kids".

[@OzRetrocomp]

Back in the day, did anyone else try The MAD Computer Program from issue #258? All I remember is that it took ages to type into my C64, and I must have made at least one typo because it looked nothing like any of the screenshots that are now online.

[@michaelcarpenter2498]

"I am not covering Mad tv." The crowd cheers. As a devotee of Dr. Demento I loved the "songs." Was Linda Lavine's performance before Barney Miller or concurrently with it. RIP Al Jaffee. Thank you Ben. I needed a smile and laugh today.

[@OddityArchive]

The stage show was about a decade before Barney Miller, the performance I excerpted would’ve been around the time Alice started.

[@michaelcarpenter2498]

@@OddityArchive that is what I was thinking. Great actress.

[@perrybarton]

22:29 Wait, no love for future Karate Kid Ralph Macchio?

[@JanusCycle]

I had the It's A Super-Spectacular Day flexi-disk and always wondered how the eight different endings were randomly chosen when playing. I eventually did work it out, very clever record.

[@BuckFudweiser]

I saw your video about The Archive being discontinued. Happy to find more recent videos!

[@cpnscarlet]

Great episode! Hilarious fun! Thanks for bringing all this together. An OE classic!

[@austinreed7343]

I wonder if a lesser-known Muppet series (perhaps the various UK based series) could end up here? Some of them, like The Ghost of Faffner Hall, would be right up your alley.

[@brianhebert6152]

Yeah, like Animal Jam (for the US ones) and Mopatop's Shop (for the UK ones). Maybe some of the lesser-known post-Muppets sale Henson productions could be there too, like Frances.

[@austinreed7343]

@@brianhebert6152 The Hoobs, Mother Goose Stories, The Animal Show, and so on.

[@Fluteboy]

Jazz artist Bob Brookmeyer released an album *The Dual Role Of Bob Brookmeyer,* which features a track entitled *Potrezebie.*

[@ArthurAllen2]

I remember when Up the Academy reached HBO. Normally they start movies with a long ten second segment where they warn you that the movie is rated R and that HBO will only show the movie at night. Instead they didn't say what the movie's rating was, and that it was a special edition provided for the producers of pay TV. HBO had a viewer question and answer segment back then, so they answered the concern about HBO showing an edited movie. They said that they removed a trademark from the title sequence and briefly from the middle of the movie. That made even less sense. I found out later that the official MPAA title of the movie was Mad Magazine Presents: Up the Academy. When Bill Ganes removed Mad's name from the movie, he changed the title. Every time a movie changes its title, it loses its MPAA rating. Warner Bros wasn't going to spend another dime on this turkey to get it rerated, so it went out confusingly with no rating. Knowing this made Mad's own parody of the movie even funnier.

[@Metlhd313]

3:32 Is that (A very young) Bill Gaines?

[@sf-dn8rh]

I remember up the academy, one of the few movies Mann theater chain yanked after 2 weeks or release. I seen a little of it on CBS late movie near the end of that blocks run before infirmercials took over,

[@derekroberts6654]

Well, now i know who Weird Al owes his career to…. aside from the Rutles, of course.

[@williamcrowe2576]

The only time I read "Mad Magazine Resents Throw Up the Academy" was in the trade paperback Mad About the Movies. And by the way, I rented the NES Spy vs Spy game once.

[@J.S.3259]

I’m still trying to get one of those zeppelin models that they sold in the 60’s. I used to collect a lot of MAD memorabilia

[@rjonzun5828]

Alright! More MAD! I just found my old MAD magazine collection in the attic. RIP Al Jaffee.

[@brianhebert6152]

16:19 They wouldn't have had the issue of car manufacturers not wanting to sponsor it if Volkswagen were the sponsor, given that their advertising back then was known for making humorous quips about their cars' shortcomings while also highlighting their positives (e.g. an ad where Wilt Chamberlain failed to fit into a Beetle)

[@freemanconnell8134]

All these years I never knew Up The Academy was ‘from’ Mad magazine, watched it years ago on VHS.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

The composer of the 20th Century Fox fanfare was composed by Alfred Newman, who is also Randy Newman's uncle.

[@Betapvnk]

My buddy has a screener copy of the Mad TV Special

[@Jared_Wignall]

Mad Magazine was amazing back in the day and seeing how it expanded outside of magazines to various degrees of success is interesting. Thanks for the video Joe, keep up the great work!

[@yournamehere6002]

I loved UP THE ACADEMY when I was a kid.

[@man_mojack]

Is that Richard Kind in the MAD Magazine board game commercial?

[@jamesborlan2850]

Who would’ve thought that Hanna barbera made a mad magazine special Pretty cool and this is before the Fred siebert era where Hanna barbera made more original cartoons viva the spike and mike film fest shorts Then again in the 80s Hanna barbera was obviously experimenting with animation outside their childrens output Such as the series joke book

[@dorourke105]

10:04 you mean that claymation music video where the wolf gets killed by Rambo at the end? yeah I guess it could've been better vocally.

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

Is that a young Linda Lavin second from the left at 12:53

[@adrienfourniercom]

I only knew "What me worry" because of the Corman's movie "Carnosaure"

[@JepMasta]

POTRZEBIE! What an amazingly fershluggunir video!

[@TheGreenMeanie]

"Up The Academy" is such an interesting case to me, I wish the story about it was documented more, because I have sooooo many questions about everything that happened. One thing I did do was add Martika's song "Toy Soldiers" to the intro credits: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXrZdYp9h72HebM

[@mightyfilm]

It seems like they were trying to go for a National Lampoon type label. I'd like to think that even they realized how much of a stinker the film was and Mad was their second choice.

[@J.S.3259]

Robert Downey, Sr. was a fascinating filmmaker.

[@luisreyes1963]

Wonder if any of those crazy MAD Magazine tunes made it into the Dr. Demento radio show? 😆

[@jorgezarco9269]

Very informative. The Girl From Ipanema is a great song.

[@elizabethsmith3374]

There was also a cartoon from the 2010s called Mad that was on Cartoon Network and is a short cartoon based off of Mad magazine but obviously age appropriate

[@jeffthevideoguy23]

I had the super spectacular day disc. Pretty crrepy deaths lol

[@SailorCallie]

Appropriate timing because we've just lost Al Jaffee earlier this week at 102.

[@neilforbes416]

13:02 The lady in the middle looks like Joanne Worley, later of *Laugh-In* fame.

[@hiredgun7186]

I think I am one of maybe 30 people who saw Up the Academy in a theatre when it came out

[@madtendo6482]

14:49 can some give me a link to the playlist

[@OddityArchive]

kzbin.info/aero/OLAK5uy_mNgwktfDAs6TUP5MW9i77mE4rsFvowtMo

[@GabrielleCenter2000]

Happy Oddity Thursday!

[@brianhebert6152]

6:53 I'm guessing Jasmine couldn't get a hold of the original master tapes for the albums and had to resort to poor vinyl rips

[@OddityArchive]

In my experience, Jasmine releases are almost always needledrops (lossy mp3-sourced, no less). I tend to avoid them unless there's no practical alternative--and I wasn't about to drop several hundred dollars rounding up all the original vinyl.

[@MrSmith1984]

It's no surprise that Mad Magazine tried multiple spin-off ideas. Especially when they have spent most of its history under the ownership of Warner Brothers Discovery & their predecessors. Who are of course involved in Film & Television (& previously Magazines & Music). Of the biggest question is, despite being the odd one out in WBD, how home the latter has kept MAD Magazine around?

[@ColeWalker]

I’m surprised you didn’t include the MAD Cartoon Network show.

[@nintendolunchbox]

Rip al jaffee

[@fromthesidelines]

22:20- With that parody, they made lemonade out of a very *putrid* lemon! 😆 {I saw the movie when it was released, and wasn't satisfied with the way it turned out, either!}

[@neilforbes416]

14:18 *AHA!* It WAS Joanne Worley! *"CHICKEN!!!!!!!!!"*

[@RickinBaltimore]

Ben, rather appropriate you ran this episode this week with the passing of Al Jaffee. Also was that Mad Twists Rock and Roll sung by the 5 Neat Guys?

[@OddityArchive]

I consider it rather unfortunate serendipity. This has been pegged for this date on the release schedule for almost a month.

[@thekidfromiowa]

As well as last week's episode shortly before he passed.

[@GeoNeilUK]

I think the Mad TV game has nothing to do with MAD magazine. It looks like another game in the vein of A Rock Star Ate My Hamster, a game that probably could have got a MAD magazine link had it ever launched in the USA, I think A Rock Star Ate My Hamster was Europe (or even UK) only.

[@edbateyjr.517]

I still feel Fox regrets cancelling Mad Tv. I still miss that show, it was SNL's enemy.

[@catholiccontriversy]

I think the media that captured Mad Magazine's humor was the Mad cartoon on Cartoon Network.

[@CaptNRetro]

Green jello are legendary..get on board bro

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

I remember when I stopped reading MAD and started reading Viz, because I felt I'd grown out of MAD. Turns out I hadn't really grown out of MAD so much as my mind was getting increasingly dirty thanks to teenage hormones. I guess Viz wasn't a thing in the US, though. Just thought I'd mention it as Benny Boy comes across as the only American I know of who'd appreciate Viz.

[@EvaFull]

VIZ is a Manga & Anime company in the US Market.

[@brianhebert6152]

​@@EvaFull Actually, he's referring to the UK adult comics magazine Viz.

[@jeffthevideoguy23]

Lavin is with a soft a. Not layvin

[@dougbennett4825]

Worry? what, me worry?

[@Feslmogh]

I think Mad from Cartoon Network executed better than MadTV.

[@sf-dn8rh]

What us, worry? :)

[@neilforbes416]

Oscar Hammerstein's surname should rhyme with "Fine", not "bean". (12:35)

[@nobodyyouknow1065]

9:10 I agree, Ben, you shouldn’t. But it does indicate that your heart isn’t as black as the Ace of Spades just yet if you do.

[@JL-sm6cg]

Okay, so you didn't cover the two attempts at a variety sketch show (the most recent resembling Robot Chicken), but you also forgot there was a Mad Magazine Card Game as well. The board game was funny. I actually WANTED to be Alfred to collect that $1 million plus dollar amount. Maybe so I didn't lose a turn. I don't know.

[@hordakalpha]

I have to agree about the MAD tv special. The longer segments sort of sucked the pacing out of the program when I watched it recently and were a bit underwhelming in their humor. I guess MAD was more for the printed page where it worked much better in decades long past.

[@andevil777]

Hmmmm, can't say as i didn't think A.E.N. sounded like that.

[@yournamehere6002]

Blow Up had two great songs. "Kickin' Up a Fuss" and "Beat The Devil" are both catchy, so I disagree.

[@bradmad8346]

I guess I was too square for Mad, I never could really find it funny, and I never liked comic books, sorry took to long for my short attention span, I am a commie I guess.

[@albear972]

You goddamned pinko, godless, soviet, lennin-loving commie! *KIDDING!* 😀

[@zetametallic]

I'm from the UK, have heard of it in passing but like you don't find it funny.

[@robmclean4352]

14:21 It's "laa-vin", not "lay-vin". (Google "linda lavin pronounce".) Also, cast member Paul Sand had his own sitcom on CBS, "Friends and Lovers", in 1974. Despite good reviews and decent ratings -- thanks to a timeslot in between "All in the Family" and "Mary Tyler Moore" -- the show was considered a disappointment and cancelled after only 15 episodes.

[@perrybarton]

Right. Rhymes with “Laugh-In,” which is ironic in this context.