Mind of Mencia

Last updated
Mind of Mencia
MindOfMencia.jpg
Also known asMind of Mencia with Carlos Mencia
Created by Carlos Mencia
StarringCarlos Mencia
Joseph Mencia
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52
Original release
Network Comedy Central
ReleaseJuly 6, 2005 (2005-07-06) 
July 23, 2008 (2008-07-23)

Mind of Mencia is an American comedy television series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by comedian Carlos Mencia, it aired over the course of four seasons from July 6, 2005 to July 23, 2008.

Contents

History

The first season of Mind of Mencia ran from July 6, 2005 to September 28, 2005, premiering on Comedy Central with an initial order of ten episodes. Soon after that the series was renewed for a second season, set to air in winter of 2006. [1] Season 2 premiered on March 22, 2006. The first season was released on DVD on March 21, 2006 to coincide with the premiere. The second season became Comedy Central's ninth highest rated program. [2]

In a May 2006 Wall Street Journal article, Mencia said he initially resisted requests by his network to take a deal to do a stand-up comedy album on the Comedy Central label, but would now likely appear on one. [3]

The series ended in 2008 after four seasons when Mencia decided against filming a fifth season, explaining "It would have felt repetitive and redundant." There's a lot of different doors that are opening for me...I truly have no idea what's next." [4]

Cast members

Guest appearances

Recurring characters and sketches

Punji

Punji is a Hindu storekeeper who insults customers with obvious physical and/or social problems, before telling them to "get the park out of my store". He often expresses the wish to be reincarnated as something the person is not likely to ever see/use (for example, he says "I hope I am reincarnated as your feet, so you will never see me again" to an obese woman). Before going on his tirades, he begs for forgiveness from various Hindu gods such as Shiva and Vishnu. Punji has been a storekeeper at "Heaven-11", a store that sells wives, and an electrical store.[ citation needed ]

Carlosaurus Rex

Carlosaurus Rex is a call-in kid's show that deals with serious/mature matters. The show is a parody of Barney & Friends and was originally hijacked from a Barney-like character, Larry the Lizard. Examples of the mature matters the show deals with include:

Rock-a-bye, Billy,
Time for sleep!
You've washed your face,
You've brushed your teeth.
Now grab some lotion and that crunchy sock.
Think of Jessica Alba while stroking your-- "...Listen kids I'm trying to tell you!"[ citation needed ]

Judge Carlos

Carlos plays a judge, and with the help of the ghost of Johnnie Cochran looks at real life recent court cases.[ citation needed ]

The Adventures of Carlitos

An animated cartoon based on Carlos' life as a child.[ citation needed ]

DVD releases

Each DVD set includes uncensored versions of each season's episodes with bonus features including commentary, a behind the scenes featurette, and deleted scenes.

SeasonDVD release dateEpisodes
1March 21, 200612
2April 3, 200715
3October 23, 200715
4November 11, 200810

Related Research Articles

<i>Barney & Friends</i> American childrens television series

Barney & Friends is an American children's television series targeted at children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series first aired on PBS on April 6, 1992, and features Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. The series ended on November 2, 2010, although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015, and from December 17, 2018 to January 25, 2020 on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6, 2015, the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in 2017, but that season was cancelled. A CGI-animated series will air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and stream on Max.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Osteen</span> American televangelist and author (born 1963)

Joel Scott Osteen is an American pastor, televangelist, businessman and author based in Houston, Texas. Known for his weekly televised services and several best-selling books, Osteen is one of the more prominent figures associated with prosperity theology and the Word of Faith movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Landesberg</span> American actor (1936-2010)

Stephen Landesberg was an American actor and comedian known for his role as the erudite, unflappable police detective Arthur P. Dietrich on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller, for which he was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Mencia</span> American stand-up comedian

Ned Arnel "Carlos" Mencía is a Honduran-American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race relations, Latin American culture, criminal justice, and social class. He is best known for a controversy involving being a joke thief and therefore “Carlos Menstealia” and as the host of the Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia (2005–2008). Around the time of the show's cancellation, several comedians accused Mencía of plagiarism and stealing jokes.

<i>How I Met Your Mother</i> American sitcom (2005–2014)

How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends in New York City's Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in 2030, recounts to his son, Luke, and daughter, Penny, the events from September 2005 to May 2013 that led him to meet their mother. How I Met Your Mother was a joint production by Bays & Thomas Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, and syndicated by 20th Television.

<i>Barney in Concert</i> 1991 American film

Barney in Concert is a Barney & the Backyard Gang stage show, which released on video on July 29, 1991, in the United States and France. It also features the TV show Barney & Friends.

"Nuestro Himno" is a Spanish-language version of the United States national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". The debut of the translation came amid a growing controversy over immigration in the United States.

<i>Barneys Great Adventure</i> 1998 American film directed by Steve Gomer

Barney's Great Adventure is a 1998 musical comedy adventure film based on the children's television series Barney & Friends, featuring Barney the Dinosaur in his first feature-length film. The plot follows Barney, along with three young children named Cody, Abby, and Marcella, as they discover a magical egg in a barn. After learning that the egg is a dream maker, Barney and the gang must return the egg to the barn before it hatches. The film was written by Stephen White, directed by Steve Gomer, produced by Sheryl Leach and Lyrick Studios and released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment on March 27, 1998 at Radio City Music Hall in New York and worldwide on April 3, 1998 in the United States and Canada at the height of Barney's popularity.

"Killing All the Right People" is the 26th episode of the sitcom Designing Women. Originally airing on October 5, 1987, as the fourth episode of the second season. It features Tony Goldwyn as Kendall Dobbs, a young gay man dying of AIDS who asks the Sugarbaker ladies to design his funeral. Series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's mother died of AIDS and her experience with her mother's disease and the prejudice associated with it inspired the episode.

John Rowland (<i>Desperate Housewives</i>) Fictional character on Desperate Housewives

John Rowland is a fictional character portrayed by actor Jesse Metcalfe and created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is introduced as the teenage gardener of one of the titular housewives, Gabrielle Solis, with whom she cheats on her husband, Carlos Solis.

Hack is a term used primarily in stand-up comedy, but also sketch comedy, improv comedy, and comedy writing to refer to a joke or premise for a joke that is considered obvious, has been frequently used by comedians in the past and/or is blatantly copied from its original author. Alternatively, it may refer to a comedian or performance group that uses hack material or similarly unoriginal devices in their act. Since comedians and people who work with comedians are typically exposed to many more jokes than the general public, they may recognize a topic, joke or performer as hack before the general public does; as a result, even performers who do well on stage may be considered hacks by their peers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Williams (comedian)</span> American comedian

Brad Williams is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows. He was born with achondroplasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erica Hahn</span> Fictional character

Erica Hahn, M.D., F.A.C.S is a fictional character from the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actress Brooke Smith. Hahn was a recurring character through the show's second and third seasons, and joined the main cast in the fourth season. Prior to assuming the role, Smith observed heart surgery being performed, and admitted to finding it stressful to continually portray a medical professional realistically.

"Fishsticks" is the fifth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 186th overall episode of the series, it was originally broadcast on Comedy Central in the United States on April 8, 2009. In the episode, Jimmy writes a joke that becomes a national sensation, and Cartman tries to steal the credit while rapper Kanye West, believing himself to be a "genius", becomes frustrated due to his failure to understand the joke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men on…</span> Television comedy sketch

"Men on ..." is the umbrella title for a series of comedy sketches that appeared in episodes of the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. The sketch featured two gay cultural critics, Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather, commenting on aspects of popular culture, including movies, art and television.

"The Rebound Girl" is the 11th episode of the seventh season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 147th episode overall. It aired on November 21, 2011.

"Anklebiters" is a song by American rock band Paramore, and is the tenth track from their self-titled fourth studio album. The song was written by the band's lead singer Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.

"How Your Mother Met Me" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and the 200th episode overall. This is the only episode of the series in which the episode title was used instead of the usual opening that featured the cast and series' title; the usual photos of Ted and his four friends enjoying themselves are replaced with analogous snapshots of the Mother and her friends.

"Daisy" is the twentieth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 204th episode overall. It was written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, directed by Pamela Fryman, and aired on March 10, 2014.

"11 Years Later" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American sitcom Will & Grace. The episode was first broadcast on September 28, 2017, on NBC, and was watched by 10.2 million people during its original broadcast. It was written by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, and directed by James Burrows. Airing over 11 years after the original series finale, the episode's intro scene effectively retcons many of the events of the finale out of existence as a daydream Karen experiences.

References

  1. "Carlos Mencia Can Sit Back And Count The Beans", TheFutonCritic.com, 31 October 2005.
  2. "Comedy Central delves deeper into the 'Mind of Mencia' and orders third season". Comedy Central . Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  3. Joe Flint. "Comedy Central Corners The Laughs Business," The Wall Street Journal , May 8, 2006.
  4. Sessa, Sam (December 20, 2008). "For Mencia, It's Mind Over Matter". Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.