Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
DISCLAIMER
Those Incredible TV Shows will not be seen tonight
— Oh, great, now this season is taking a stab at the original era’s opening disclaimer gags…
COLD OPENING
David Rockefeller (CHR)- “the USA is going co-op, prepare to be evicted”
— Funny premise with America “going co-op” and how the poor will receive a note evicting them from the country.
— Ugh, I HATED Charles’ LFNY delivery, and what the hell was with his goofy bug-eyed stiff head-bopping and frozen open-mouthed smile? (screencap below)
— Overall, a pretty good cold opening.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)
— Well, this was short, but Ellen had great energy and came off likable, which provided a good start to the show.
STARS: **½
ED MCMAHON SCHOOL OF LAUGHING
yuk it up like the king of second bananas
— Joe’s very first commercial pitchman role, which he would go on to often play on the show.
— Pretty funny concept and an overall decent commercial.
STARS: ***
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT
Pinky & Leo Waxman ask host about her movie roles
— The return of this promising sketch from the season premiere.
— So far, this one has the same premise as the first installment, where the host constantly gets cut off by Denny and Gilbert, but this one is going pretty well so far.
— Liked the line about how the audience at a dinner theater “put down their forks and wept” during a play.
— Gilbert randomly assuming Ellen is “probably a bisexual” was a really funny turn.
STARS: ***½
ROCKET REPORT
CHR exposes ferry passengers’ secret sexual behavior
— This segment now has a new, fancier title screen, after the simplistic, plain one that was used in the last episode.
— Funny idea with Charles thinking that everybody on the ferry has spent all day having sex.
— I got a good laugh from the “beaucoups of sex” line from the first guy being interviewed.
— Strangely, the studio audience hasn’t been laughing at all so far.
— I like Charles’ doubtful looks at the camera when people are telling him their occupation.
— Okay, I’m starting to hear audience laughter now.
— Overall, a pretty good Rocket Report, though it’s a few steps down from the last one.
STARS: ***
VIDEO DATE
Paulie Herman (JOP) records an interview tape for a video dating service
— I wonder why the camera’s hiding Joe’s face at the start of this. I guess we’re getting some kind of reveal.
— Okay, now that we see the goofy look on Joe’s face, this appears to be the debut of his Jersey Guy character.
— Yep, there it is: “I’m from Jersey! Are you from Jersey?”
— Joe’s voice is sounding almost Jay Leno-esque at times.
— Overall, a good debut for this character. However, I’m wary about approaching his future appearances, as this seems like a character that I’m going to get tired of pretty fast. Same reason I’m dreading having to eventually cover a certain other Joe Piscopo recurring character later on: The Whiners.
— Tonight’s episode in general has surprisingly been starting off well. Every single sketch has been good so far.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Aretha Franklin performs “United Together”
WEEKEND UPDATE
JOP remarks on Roberto Duran’s “no mas” performance vs. Sugar Ray Leonard
Raheem Abdul Muhammed (EDM) denounces quotas for white basketball players
Dr. Calvin Zukow (GIG) has first-hand proof that women don’t have orgasms
— A few changes have been made to the Update set. It certainly looks better.
— Charles’ first joke tonight, about Gerald Ford not knowing where Poland is, got a pretty tepid audience reaction, but at least SOME people laughed, which is more than I can say about any of Charles’ jokes from the last Update.
— Oh my god, that Reagan hand-farting joke was AWFUL. Are they kidding me with that?
— I admit to laughing at the Dolly Parton “Secretary of Milk” joke, even though it was kinda cheap.
— Some of Charles’ last few jokes have been met with complete silence, which is serving as a bad reminder of his disastrous last Update.
— The heavyset “photo” of Roberto Duran that Joe showed was pretty funny.
— Joe’s about to bring on a guy named Raheem Abdul Muhammad? Oh my god, that means…
— Yep, there’s he is: Eddie Murphy! In his very first speaking role! I’m surprised to see this, because he has yet to be credited as a featured player so far this season. I guess Doumanian’s plan is to work Eddie into the show very gradually, first giving him a non-speaking role as a background extra in the preceding episode, and now giving him an uncredited big speaking role in an Update piece.
— Wow, Eddie’s KILLING IT so far in this commentary. His delivery is great, his lines are funny, and he’s getting lots of laughs from the audience; more laughs, in fact, than almost any of the actual cast members have gotten so far this season. No wonder SNL eventually adds this kid to the cast.
— Loved Eddie’s comment about how white people’s next method of copying blacks will be to go on welfare.
— The ending with Eddie bringing out the boombox was great.
— Overall, what a fantastic debut for Eddie Murphy, and it feels great witnessing the very beginning of his emergence as SNL’s breakout star. The fact that it was a 19 year old kid performing this great Update commentary makes it all the more impressive.
— In a way, it’s fitting that Eddie’s first speaking role had him paired with Joe, as those two would go on to make a great team on the show.
— Now we’re right back to the usual Update awfulness, as Charles follows the great Eddie/Joe segment with a “This bulletin just handed to me” bit that received absolute SILENCE from the audience.
— Heh, Charles’ “touching Lilian Carter’s face” joke was actually pretty funny.
— Hmm, there seems to be a malfunction with the Update news screens, as the Weekend Update logo has been visible behind the news pictures during the last few jokes.
— Charles’ joke about Ed Koch kissing Bella Abzug was hilarious.
— Is Gilbert going to appear in EVERY Update this season? And strangely, I think each of his commentaries so far have been as a different doctor character.
— Gilbert’s female orgasms commentary didn’t really work for me, and I’m starting to get a little tired of seeing him on Update every single week. None of his bits have been all that great so far.
— Overall, a bit of an improvement over the disastrous last Update. Charles’ jokes were marginally better this time, though he still had a good number of weak jokes that completely bombed. He has a long way to go before his Updates can even be considered HALF-decent.
STARS: **
OUR FRONT DOOR
suburban family eagerly learns about junkie’s (CHR) life
— I like Joe’s performance as a cheesy suburban dad; he’s reminding me of the way Dan Aykroyd played these roles in the original era.
— The subtle joke of Charles putting the coffee spoon into his pocket got no reaction from the audience. (boy, how many times have I pointed that out about Charles tonight?)
— Charles’ line about his potholders being made by speed freaks was pretty funny.
— Is that soon-to-be-added-to-the-cast Patrick Weathers as the sniper guy? (last screencap above)
— Overall, I found the initial concept to be somewhat intriguing, but the resulting sketch did not work. In the end, I’m left wondering what was this sketch was even going for.
STARS: **
PEPE GONZALES
by Leon Ichaso- NYC’s only bullfighter (GIG) is profiled
— A short film starring Gilbert. This looks to be very interesting.
— Funny gag with Gilbert gulping down an entire bottle of Scope.
— A New York street bullfighter. Funny concept.
— The narration is adding an interesting, if not funny, touch.
— Overall, I was kinda let down by how this turned out. The idea was funnier than the execution. (again, I feel like I’m repeating myself tonight) I think I got more entertainment just from all the great outdoor shots and the general cinematography than from the material itself.
STARS: **½
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Vickie & her friend Debbie (DED) visit (host) at Planned Parenthood
— This is the first Vickie valley girl sketch where she’s paired with her friend, played by Denny.
— The portion of the sketch asking about orgasms is particularly funny.
— Overall, a pretty good sketch, and this established Gail’s character much better than her underwhelming debut in the season premiere did.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Aretha Franklin performs “Can’t Turn You Loose”
LESSON
Mary Louise’s (DED) sock puppet Sam The Snake terrorizes tutor (host)
— I said this before about Denny when talking about her Amy Carter impression in the season premiere, but once again, she looks and acts very convincing as a little girl.
— There’s Ann. This almost feels like the first time we’ve seen her all night. In fact, she hasn’t been appearing much this season in general so far. Are the writers having a time figuring out what to do with her?
— Overall, this sketch was pretty weird, but I guess I liked it enough and got some laughs from Denny’s lines.
STARS: ***
THE TONI TENNILLE SHOW
Jean Harris’ (DED) innocence claims ignored
— Guess I spoke too soon about Ann being underutilized. Looks like she gets a lead role here. Maybe NOW I’ll finally be able to form an opinion of her.
— Ann’s speaking in a kinda flat, stilted delivery. Eh, maybe that’s just a part of her Toni Tennille impression.
— Overall, this sketch wasn’t terrible, but I wasn’t crazy about it and I didn’t care for Ann’s performance; she was too bland and stiff for my likes. (though, again, there’s a slight chance that’s just her mimicking Tennille) I’ve been saying I’m trying to get some kind of impression of what Ann’s like as a performer, but the impression I got from this sketch was not good.
STARS: **
FISH HEADS
by Bill Paxton- a musical tribute to the seafood discards
— I’ve always heard great things about this Bill Paxton short.
— Haha, this is delightfully weird so far, and the song is very catchy.
— Overall, wow, I LOVED just about every single thing about this bizarre little music video, even the very 1980 feel to it. Looks like my list of personal favorite SNL short films has a new addition.
STARS: *****
BLAME THE KIDS
parents (CHR) & (ANR) blame divorce on kids (Mitchell Kriegman) & (GLM)
— I see Ann STILL has that stilted, flat delivery. So much for me giving her the benefit of the doubt by assuming that was just part of her Toni Tennille impression.
— Charles as the dad is coming off Bill Murray-esque in this (though nowhere near as good).
— Whoever the guy playing the son is strangely reminds me of modern-day SNL cast member Kyle Mooney.
— I like the cruelness of this sketch’s concept, and it’s being executed well.
— Why did the lighting suddenly get really dim just now?
— The ending should’ve had a little more to it.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Keith Sykes performs “B.I.G.T.I.M.E.”
LONELY OLD LADY
young girl (GLM) finds that old lady (host) is more lonely than scary
— A lot of sketches tonight with cast members playing children.
— Gail’s voice in this sketch sounds EXACTLY like how Laraine Newman sounded whenever she would play a little girl.
— Gail’s story about the rumor of what Ellen does with cats is really funny.
— The ending was great and had a sentimental feel that I really liked.
— Overall, a well-done attempt at the type of realistic, quiet, semi-dramatic, slice-of-life pieces the original SNL era was so good at doing. If this sketch aired in that era, I’d probably just give it a three-and-a-half star rating, but it comes off stronger in a questionable season like this, which bumps up the rating.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Wow, I’m surprised by how good this episode was. Most of the sketches worked, nothing was too terrible, and the show in general had a nice, positive vibe to it, which feels odd to see in a season 6 episode. Easily the best of the three episodes so far this season, and a complete turnaround from what we just saw in the episode right before this.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Malcolm McDowell):
— a huge step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Jamie Lee Curtis
Make no mistake, Doumanian did not have a “plan” to phase Eddie into the show gradually. She didn’t want him. Eddie was so damn persistent she finally relented, and when he absolutely KILLED, she begrudgingly put him in the show more and more often, and she took her sweet time. Right after this Update, he should have been promoted to main cast the very next week. He had to wait mid-season until he finally became featured player. Doumanian did not understand comedy AT ALL.
I wonder how many of the corny jokes were attempts to make the sketches more acceptable to Jean Doumanian (who actually wrote “make it funnier” as one of her notes back to the writers).
Definitely one of the best episodes of the season, which of course isn’t to say it was stellar or anything. We do get a lot of solid sketches with promise, but more trouble lies ahead.
Ann Risley simply wasn’t a fit for SNL and the fact that she was something of a protege of Woody Allen, whose best friend at the time was Jean, meant that probably played a huge factor in her selection. The sad thing is that Toni Tennile performance is probably one of the best she will give on her 12 show tenure.
Fishheads was a song by Barnes and Barnes…a comedic based musical duo featuring fictional twin brothers….one of them was Bill Mumy who played Will Robinson on the tv show “Lost in Space” and also the kid who sent people to “the cornfield” in the creepy Twilight Zone episode.
Okay show; anything was better than the McDowell show. That’s easily one of the most demoralizing shows SNL’s ever had.
Eddie saved this episode pretty much as it easily coulda bombed again with Update but he and to a smaller point Joe woke the audience up and made them more open minded and saved the skits ahead. That ending skit was pretty heartfelt and worked like the slice of life skits did the previous few years.
Eddie was not liked by Jean. He was WAY more nice to her at the 40th anniversary show than she deserved. She quite frankly did not want him. She wanted Robert Townsand and had to be talked solidly into going with Eddie. Eddie was Neil Levy’s choice; Eddie shoulda been good to him instead. I agree, once Eddie did this he shoulda been promoted then and there because he was that damn good. Thankfully the next few shows especially Carradine’s show he gets used a lot from the Caine skit to the KFC one. He made himself a name by this show though.
I just watched the full episode on Internet Archive. I remember seeing the 60 minute Comedy Central version probably 25 years ago and thinking this really isn’t bad for an 80-81 episode, and now having seen the full 90 minutes I think this episode is probably tied with the Karen Black episode as the best of the season. I’d even say it’s better than a bunch of the 79-80 episodes. All the recurring characters in this were hilarious, especially the Jersey Guy. Even the junkie sketch, which I know caused controversy I thought was clever, and the 9 spoonfulls of sugar line I thought was really funny. And I normally don’t like Ann Risely at all, but the Toni Tenille sketch is the one sketch I’ve seen that I think she really shines in. I heard Toni Tenille had a real show at the time that was bombing that it was a spoof of, so knowing that puts it more into context than if you don’t know watching it years later. And the old lady sketch at the end of the show is one of Gail’s and the season’s best sketches.
Yeah – “The Toni Tennille Show” was a legitimate, awful show. Ann’s version wasn’t too bad in light of the actual thing.
SNL staffer and occasional bit player Mitchell Laurence played the son in the divorce sketch. Kind of an odd casting choice, but I guess no one else could convincingly play a teenage boy.
The Tennille sketch is Ann’s sole highlight as an SNL cast member. Her status as the third-worst cast member ever on that 2015 Rolling Stone list was justified.
Heystu, I remember you from TVTome(later Tv.com)
Hello David! What was your screen name?
One further thing: it was pretty cool for Adam Driver to cameo in “Fish Heads” three years before he was born.
Actually, that was Mitchell Kriegman as the son. That was only his live appearance on the show, but did appear in some pre-recorded sketches this season. He was fired after the David Carradine episode.
Kyle, there’s an interview with Mitchell Kriegman that I’ll find here a minute that he says that he was in fact fired DURING the David Carradine episode, right during WU. He says his parents were even there that night.
(He went on to create Clarissa Explains It All, and direct at least one of the Rugrat movies, so at least the story has a good ending)
It’s a good look into what the Doumanian period was like and a good hour spent: https://youtu.be/wv1hiWhIdtw
The Video Date sketch was the first time I really noticed Joe Piscopo and I remember initially liking Paulie Herman. But I can see why one might get soon tired which is why I’m relieved Paulie only lasted a few sketches. One thing I will say is he’s not as one-note as future cast member Rob Schneider’s Richmaster…
Happy 40th anniversary to Eddie’s official debut!
The rest is history.
After editing the episode to my preference for future viewing I saved:
COLD OPENING
David Rockefeller (CHR)- “the USA is going co-op, prepare to be evicted”
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT
Pinky & Leo Waxman ask host about her movie roles
ROCKET REPORT
CHR exposes ferry passengers’ secret sexual behavior
VIDEO DATE
Paulie Herman (JOP) records an interview tape for a video dating service
The Weekend Update joke about Dolly Parton being Secretary of Milk
Fish Heads, the song, was a staple on the Dr. Demento Show since it was recorded in 1977. Great to have its video on SNL.
Eddie’s real debut – no doubt about it, the future of SNL had arrived at that moment! And when he put that boombox down on the Update desk, it’s like the exclamation point at the end of the sentence.
Just watched Eddie’s Cecil B. DeMille speech at the Golden Globes. He seemed mostly serious about thanking various people who helped him in showbiz (not mentioning Jean Doumanian or Dick Ebersol). Then he gave three advices to the young people of which the last was not to “f…… mention Will Smith’s wife”!
This to me seems like an example that under better times and lower expectations, this season’s cast and crew could establish a perfectly fine formula. This episode has some stabs at getting recurring character tics going (Waxmans, Jersey Guy, Raheem); some rather nasty or brutal satire; and also some more low-key character work.
For some reason, two of this season’s best episodes feature dramatic actresses not really noted for being funny (Burstyn and Karen Black). That said, one of the worst hosts is another person who fits that bill, Sally Kellerman.