Gizmodo Misses Point of MadTV's Apple Parody

Since when did Ebeneezer Scrooge start writing for Gizmodo?  The popular gadget site recently posted a YouTube video of MadTV's latest Apple parody, and journalist Brian Lam ain't laughing.  Gizmodo's writer calls the clip "terrible, cliché'd, and somehow inaccurate at the same time."

Inaccurate?  It's fairly clear Gizmodo has completely missed the point of MadTV's sketch.  Breaking down the show's intended victims, you might consider it an 80% rip on the Iraq mess and maybe 20% concerned with Apple or CEO Steve Jobs.

As MadTV actor Michael Macdonald (playing Jobs) starts stuffing various "i-items" into the "iRack", the gags clearly steer away from simple pokes at Apple's products (cough, SNL).  It's when the fake Steve Jobs begins hearing his audience scream "don't put more in the iRack, it'll collapse on itself," that the laughs begin.

Granted, the bit about an iMicrowave or iVacuumCleaner is fairly tired.  However, in this Gizmo writer's opinion, that 80% politics + 20% gadget goofery = 100% funny.  Relax, Gizmodo.  Have a fudgesicle, lay in a hammock, listen to ambient music.

And, take a break from your iPods.

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3 comments
Posted by ca on March 14,2007 at 8:10 PM
good article
Posted by Alissa on March 13,2007 at 1:37 PM
Wow, you would think this is the first time someone did bad parody of either the Iraq war or Apple products.  What's to get fired up about either way?  Dooger is right, it's not terribly funny or unfunny, it's just dull.  If anything, using the apple segue into the Iraq war was  more creative than most, but still not too impressive.  

Brian Lam's disclaimer on Gizmodo not to hit the play button on this video was warranted - and while we're at it, just switch off MadTV too.   Zzzz...
Posted by Dooger on March 13,2007 at 10:17 AM
I didn't find the skit to be terribly funny or unfunny (I'm kinda bored with all this lame late-night political humor and MadTV is often the worst offender), but the Apple spoof is clearly just used as a vehicle for a political sketch and shouldn't be critiqued as if it was the purpose of the skit. The portrayal of Jobs leaves more than a little to be desired, but you can't call the iMicrowave joke "terrible, cliché'd, and somehow inaccurate" if you actually step back and realize that it is a vital premise for the skit (that the "iRack" is already at a breaking point and can't handle an increased load of anything).