''Mental Engineering'' was a public

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

where show creator and host John Forde leads a panel discussion featuring critical and humorous analysis of

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s. The show originated as a

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

cable TV program on the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1997.

Notable guests

Nationally-known comedians and satirists frequently appeared as panelists. Past guests include

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

Lizz Winstead Lizz Winstead (born August 5, 1961) is an American comedian, radio and television personality, and blogger. A native of Minnesota, Winstead is the co-creator of ''The Daily Show'' along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer. Ear ...

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

Greg Proops Gregory Everett "Greg" Proops (born October 3, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his guest appearances on the U.K. and U.S. versions of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. He has also voiced the ...

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

, Paula Poundstone,

Merrill Markoe Merrill Markoe (born August 13, 1948) is an American author, television writer, and occasional standup comedian. Early life Markoe was born in New York City. Her family moved several times including stays in Miami, Florida and San Francisco, ...

Naomi Klein Naomi A. Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, left-wing politics and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism ...

, and

Jeff Cesario Jeff Cesario (born March 30, 1953) is an actor, comedian, producer and writer who has written and produced for ''Dennis Miller Live'' and ''The Larry Sanders Show''. He has appeared on ''Adam Carolla'', ''The Larry Sanders Show'', ''The Tonight Sho ...

History

Forde started ''Mental Engineering'' in 1998 on cable access in St. Paul. Mental Engineering is considered by some sources to be the first public-access television show to air nationally. By September 2001, the program was airing on various public TV outlets including WGBH in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 2002, the episode ''Super Commercials: A Mental Engineering Special'' followed

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

featured guest personalities

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

and

along with other guests from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. By the end of 2008 140 episodes had been produced.

Reviews and recognition

The series received positive reviews from several news outlets, including the New York Times, which called it "brilliant."

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

called it "the most interesting weekly half hour of social commentary and criticism on television," and PBS host Charlie Rose interviewed Forde on the ‘Charlie Rose’ show.

Funding History

As underwriters fund public broadcasting shows and are recognized in the show credits, ARNAN.com was the show's first carded underwriter when production moved to

KTCA Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two PBS member television stations, KTCA-TV (channe ...

. Early funding assistance came from the Lutheran Brotherhood, a fortune 500

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

life insurance company that is now part of Thrivent Financial, and from PBS. Seeking broader funding, the show suspended production for 2003-2004, and returned to public TV in 2005.

Similar concepts

Two somewhat similar television shows aired on public TV stations in the 1960s: ''Public Broadcast Laboratory'' and ''Your Dollar's Worth'', both sponsored by the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

The Gruen Transfer ''Gruen'' (previously known as ''The Gruen Transfer'') is an Australian television program focusing on advertising, which debuted on the ABC on 28 May 2008. The program is hosted by Wil Anderson and produced by Andrew Denton's production co ...

, a similar program deconstructing advertisements, was launched by the Australian public television network in 2008. The show is currently being marketed by Fox Look under the name "The Big Sell".

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

''Mental Engineering''
official website * {{IMDB title, tt0487067 PBS original programming Television in Minnesota 2000s American television series American television commercials American public access television shows