Mad #396

Mad's August 2000 issue centers on a gloriously unhinged caricature — cover art by Mort Drucker — of a wild-eyed, cigar-chomping figure tearing open his shirt to reveal a stitched surgical scar shaped like a face, labeled as item #7 in "The Ugly Aftermath of David Letterman's Surgery." That image alone sets the tone for the issue's main feature, "Mad's 50 Worst Things About TV," promising a gleefully irreverent tour through television's most cringe-worthy offenses. Teasers along the top — MTV's Tom Green, Angel, and Regis' new co-host — hint at just how wide a net Mad is casting at the pop-culture landscape of 2000.