MADtv Recurring Characters - Stuart Larkin

Stuart Larkin

Stuart Douglas Larkin (Michael McDonald) is a little boy with a constantly dazed and vacant look on his face. His wacky, borderline alcoholic, thick Wisconsin-accented mother Doreen (Mo Collins), nags, scolds and screams at him for getting into mischief. One of her tagphrases is "What does Momma say about ____, Stuart? What does Momma say?" For example, he is often seen eating different junk foods, and when his mother inquires about them, he simply replies that he found them on the floor, then shoves them in his mouth before Doreen can stop him. Even though Stuart appears very antisocial, and naïve about the world it was mentioned in some episodes (such as "Stuart Takes Piano Lessons") that he is a genius. This was further shown when he had shown exceptional piano talent on only his second lesson.

Stuart's childhood traumas, such as his father leaving the family, are often mentioned. No matter when the sketch takes place, Stuart's dad has always left the previous Tuesday, after meeting an Asian woman through the internet.

Stuart tends to kick anyone who he does not want near him; he lies on the floor and uses his long legs to keep them away from him, sometimes using a violent kick. Stuart occasionally calls his genital area his "danger zone", or calls his genital his "googoo". When pushed too far, his boyish falsetto is replaced by a deep, demonic voice. This voice is used when Stuart enters his "dark place", a glimpse into Stuart's inner turmoil.

When people become sufficiently annoyed by Stuart, he will often try to distract them by saying, "Look what I can do!" and performing a strange spasmodic dance. He also will often take his pants off for no discernible reason.

Several skits showed Stuart annoying his obese next-door neighbor, Harvey Muckenthaler (Paul Vogt), who apparently cannot stand him.

Catchphrases:

• "Look what I can do!"
• "Let me do it!"
• "Dooooon't!"
• "I don't wanna say!".

Since Collins left the show, Stuart had appeared in only one sketch per season.

Stuart appeared 36 times during the run of MADtv. He was in seasons 4-12. There was also a sketch used in the series finale that Mo pre-taped the voice of Doreen and they did a montage of Stuart.

Doreen appeared 31 times during the run of MADtv. She was in season 4-10. Collins came back for the series finale and recorded the voice of Doreen during a montage of Stuart.