Editing Mental Engineering

{{Short description|Television series}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
'''''Mental Engineering''''' was a public [[television series]] where show creator and host John Forde leads a panel discussion featuring critical and humorous analysis of [[television commercial|TV commercial]]s.  The show originated as a [[public-access television]] [[cable TV]] program on the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]] in 1997.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==Notable guests==
Nationally-known comedians and satirists frequently appeared as panelists.  Past guests include [[Al Franken]], [[Lizz Winstead]], [[Sam Simon]], [[Greg Proops]], [[Louis C.K.]], [[Paula Poundstone]], [[Merrill Markoe]], [[Naomi Klein]], and [[Jeff Cesario]].

==History==
Forde started ''Mental Engineering'' in 1998 on cable access in St. Paul.<ref name="nytimes-2000">{{cite news |last1=Schoemer |first1=Karen |title=TELEVISION/RADIO; Making TV By Biting the Hand That Feeds It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/arts/television-radio-making-tv-by-biting-the-hand-that-feeds-it.html |work=The New York Times |date=16 April 2000}}</ref>
Mental Engineering is considered by some sources to be the first public-access television show to air nationally.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}  By September 2001, the program was airing on various public TV outlets including [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and [[WNET]] in [[New York, New York|New York City]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 2002, the episode ''Super Commercials: A Mental Engineering Special'' followed [[Super Bowl XXXVI]] featured guest personalities [[Aisha Tyler]] and [[Lizz Winstead]] along with other guests from [[Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mental Engineering - Aisha Tyler, John Forde, Lizz Winstead |date=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/super-commercials-aisha-tyler}}</ref><ref name="latimes-2002">{{cite news |title=Super Bowl Ads Get 'Mental Engineering' on PBS |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-feb-01-et-brian1-story.html |access-date=31 January 2023 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1 February 2002}}</ref>

By the end of 2008 140 episodes had been produced.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==Reviews and recognition==
The series received positive reviews from several news outlets, including the New York Times, which called it "brilliant."   [[Bill Moyers]] called it "the most interesting weekly half hour of social commentary and criticism on television,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mentalengineering.com/ |title=Mental Engineering |access-date=2023-01-31}}</ref> 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]].  Early funding assistance came from the [[Lutheran Brotherhood]], a [[fortune 500]] [[non-profit]] [[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 Gruen Transfer]], 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".

==See also==
*[[Advertising in the Super Bowl|Super Bowl Advertising]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Citation |first=Stephanie |last=Lash |date=September 4, 2000 |url=http://www.current.org/prog/prog0202me.html |title=Forde's ad literacy, humor fight against consumer lust. |work=Current|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213063048/http://www.current.org/prog/prog0202me.html |archive-date=2005-02-13 }}
* {{Citation |date=January 28, 2002 |url=http://www.current.org/prog/prog0202me.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213063048/http://www.current.org/prog/prog0202me.html |archivedate=2005-02-13 |title=PBS goes for ''Mental Engineering'' on Super Bowl Sunday. |work=Current}}
* {{Citation |first=Catherine |last=Reid Day |date=September 2001 |url=http://www.edgenews.com/issues/2001/09/day.html |title=One Cultural Creative's Journey through the Between. |work=EDGE News}}
* {{Citation |first=Brian |last=Lambert |date=November 12, 2000 |url= http://www.mentalengineering.com/pioneerpress.htm |title=Ad Nauseam: With healthy skepticism, St. Paul's ''Mental Engineering'' bites the advertising hand that feeds most of TV programming. |work=[[Saint Paul Pioneer Press]]}}
* {{Citation |first=Neal |last=St. Anthony |date=October 3, 2005 |title=Neal St. Anthony: Deconstructing advertisements |work=[[Star Tribune]]}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mentalengineering.com/ ''Mental Engineering''] official website
* {{IMDb title|tt0487067}}

[[Category:PBS original programming]]
[[Category:Television in Minnesota]]
[[Category:2000s American television series]]
[[Category:American television commercials]]
[[Category:American public access television shows]]