# What was the most popular movie or TV show that Mad Magazine \_didn't\_ do a parody of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [May 10, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392 "2024-05-10T20:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/1 "2024-05-10T20:43:54Z")
After all they only published iirc 10-12 editions per year so they couldn’t cover everything. Particularly, were there any that in your opinion were inexplicably skipped in favor of far less worth entries? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/2 "2024-05-10T22:18:53Z")
There were MAD spoofs of two Wes Anderson films (“Flushmore” and “The Royal Paininthebums”), but none after that. I would have liked to see their take on _Moonrise Kingdom_ or _The Grand Budapest Hotel_… ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/3 "2024-05-10T22:39:22Z")
I’ll confine myself to television shows. I presume that you don’t want to include non-American television shows. I presume that you don’t want to include shows that ended before _Mad_ began in 1952 or began after _Mad_ ended in 2018. I presume that you don’t want to include non-fiction shows like news programs and game shows. I presume that you don’t want to include animation shows. I presume that you don’t want to include programs that are strictly for children. I presume that you don’t want to include anthology drama shows (which were common in the 1940s to 1960s). I presume that you don’t want to include shows that consisted mostly of comedy sketches. I presume that you don’t want to include shows that were mostly collections of videos shot by viewers and sent in. I presume that you don’t want to include talk shows. So look at this website and pick which ones you would include: > **[America's most popular TV shows of all time, ranked](https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/most-popular-tv-shows-america-ranked/)** > > What's No. 1? Polling data reveals the answer. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/4 "2024-05-10T23:28:49Z")
_ **The Munsters** _ but not _ **The Addams Family** _? 😲 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/5 "2024-05-10T23:34:38Z")
They probably respected **_The Addams Family_.** ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/6 "2024-05-10T23:35:45Z")
Though they did spoof the film adaptation (as “The Adnauseam Family”). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/7 "2024-05-11T00:27:00Z")
> **[List of television show spoofs in Mad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_show_spoofs_in_Mad)** > > A typical issue of Mad magazine will include at least one full parody of a popular movie or television show. The titles are changed to create a play on words; for instance, The Addams Family became The Adnauseum Family. The character names are generally switched in the same fashion. > These articles typically cover five pages or more and are presented as a sequential storyline with caricatures and word balloons. The opening page or two-page splash usually consists of the cast of the show introd... > **[List of film spoofs in Mad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_spoofs_in_Mad)** > > This list of film spoofs in Mad includes films spoofed (parodied) by the American comic magazine Mad. Usually, an issue of Mad features a spoof of at least one feature film or television program. The works selected by the staff of Mad are typically from cinema and television in the United States. > The authors parody the original titles with puns or other wordplay. Characters are caricatured, and lampooned with joke names. > These articles typically cover five pages or more, and are presented as a... ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/8 "2024-05-11T00:52:35Z")
I don’t see _Avatar_ in that list. Huge and eminently spoofable. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/9 "2024-05-11T01:00:15Z")
**Parks and Recreation** , but not **The Office**. Here’s an interview where a MAD editor explains why they never spoofed **Philadelphia** or **Schindler’s List** (as if that needed explaining): > **[Furshlugginer! MAD Magazine's impact on pop culture continues to nauseate! –...](https://www.popcultmag.com/posts/furshlugginer-mad-magazines-impact-on-pop-culture-continues-to-nauseate/)** > > This interview with former co-editor Nick Meglin focused on how the famed humor magazine would be changing with the times. Several years later, they went beyond what we discussed here: first, a switch to better paper stock and color ink (not a... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/10 "2024-05-11T01:00:34Z")
I think _ **Bewitched** _ (the TV show) is missing from the list. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/11 "2024-05-11T01:24:47Z")
Crazy to see them so sometimes multiple film parodies a month in the 70s, 80s, and 90s then in the late 2000s they just kind of give up and there’s an entire year of no movie parodies. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/12 "2024-05-11T01:33:45Z")
And what’s with all the spoofs of 50s and 60s TV shows between 1985 and 1987? Did they run out of contemporary shows to spoof? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/13 "2024-05-11T13:52:06Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I don’t see _Avatar_ in that list. Huge and eminently spoofable. ISTR that Sergio Aragones did a series of _Avatar_ vignettes. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/14 "2024-05-11T15:33:46Z")
Yeah even if they didn’t do a full on plot parody of a movie you would get the occasional “A Mad Look At” or one shot movie parodies. They never did a The Thing multi-page parody but I do remember a two page spread where all of Kurt Russells characters met each other and The Thing Kurt Russel was among them with his own jokes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/15 "2024-05-11T16:21:59Z")
_ **It Takes a Crook** _, _ **Manneccch** _, and _ **Jugg for the Defensive** _ (December 1968) were all stripped “mini-satires.” IIRC, they took up just one spread, 1–2–3, from top to bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/16 "2024-05-11T17:35:07Z")
Are you aware that there’s a YouTube collected video website that contains (at the moment) 79 of the _Mad_ issues, which you can find at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM80arr3uis&list=UULFWNpSnqe2J7CSporj1ElSRQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM80arr3uis&list=UULFWNpSnqe2J7CSporj1ElSRQ) ? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/17 "2024-05-11T17:58:09Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yeah even if they didn’t do a full on plot parody of a movie you would get the occasional “A Mad Look At” or one shot movie parodies. > [@terentii](#): > > _ **It Takes a Crook** _, _ **Manneccch** _, and _ **Jugg for the Defensive** _ (December 1968) were all stripped “mini-satires.” IIRC, they took up just one spread, 1–2–3, from top to bottom. There was another trio of shorter than usual satires, a page or two for each, in the Eighties when I was a subscriber. Pretty sure I still have that issue somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-popular-movie-or-tv-show-that-mad-magazine-didnt-do-a-parody-of/1001392/18 "2024-05-15T14:45:37Z")
Second Question (rather than start a new thread). Was Alfred E. Neuman ever assigned an official IQ score (possibly in the negative number range)?