Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Michael Reagan (JIB) denies using his connections to wage personal wars
— I immediately got a laugh just from the opening voice-over saying “Ladies and gentlemen, the adopted son of the president of the United States”.
— Jim’s eagerness to embarrass his family members had potential, but they ended that bit too early.
— Overall, didn’t care much for this. I’m usually not a fan of these one-person, straight-to-camera, address-the-nation cold openings.
STARS: **
MONOLOGUE
host roller-skates onto the stage, shoots a scene for St. Elsewhere
— Wow, great entrance with Ed busting onto the stage while smoothly roller-skating around.
— He’s already coming off very comfortable and loose in front of a live audience.
— Now he’s being told he has to film a scene for St. Elsewhere right there on the spot. Pretty funny idea.
— Wow, he’s doing everything in this monologue, now doing a bit where he literally “drops” the Jr. from his name.
— Overall, a very busy monologue, but it was certainly entertaining and Ed came off likeable.
STARS: ***½
KATE & ALI
Hepburn (MAS) & Muhammad (BIC) have typical sitcom problems
— Great concept for a Kate & Ali parody, replacing the title roles with Katharine Hepburn and Muhammad Ali.
— Yet another blackface role for Billy Crystal, but I can’t help but always like his dead-on Muhammad Ali.
— Good sketch overall.
STARS: ***½
STRATEGIC AIRBORNE CONTRACEPTIVE
— Rerun
BOOK BEAT
(GAK) tries to defend against (JIB)’s charges of plagiarism
time traveller (host) has come to SNL on a mission- fondle JLD’s breasts
— Another good instance of Jim playing an aggressive character.
— Gary’s defense of his plagiarism is pretty funny.
— Strange turn this has taken, with the sketch being “interrupted” by Ed teleporting into the scene as a man from the year 2096.
— Nice breaking the fourth wall with Ed being shown walking off the set and going through SNL’s backstage.
— Heh, WTF? The “important” thing that Ed’s character has come to do turns out to just be him squeezing Julia’s breasts while making a silly vocalization, and then walking off. Uh, wow, what a random direction for this sketch to go.
STARS: ***
SEVENTH WEDGE
(MAS)’s life depends on beating the Grim Reaper (host) at Trivial Pursuit
— LOL at the grim reaper entering as soon as Martin eats a supposedly non-poisonous worm.
— Seems to be a trivial pursuit theme throughout tonight’s episode.
— I liked a stumped Ed responding to the Lou Gehrig question by saying “I should know that – he’s dead”.
— Julia showing more interest in hooking up with the grim reaper than hearing about her boyfriend’s (Martin) pending death is pretty funny.
— An overall pretty well-written and well-performed sketch, with a good premise and funny jokes.
STARS: ***½
REFRIGERATOR MAGNET SAFETY ADVISORY BOARD
— Another rerun
LET’S WATCH T.V.
Chi Chi & Consuela talk about their favorite shows
— The return of Mary and Julia’s Chi-Chi and Consuela characters, now hosting their own TV show.
— Julia’s been getting a lot of airtime so far tonight.
— I liked the cheerfully-delivered line “Okay, let’s criticize some more shows”.
— Fairly funny how Julia was easily persuaded into giving all the drama shows a perfect rating.
— Overall, there were some laughs and the usual good chemistry between Mary and Julia, but this wasn’t much of an improvement over these characters’ not-too-great Ghostbuster Show appearance earlier this season.
STARS: **½
MARTY
Chayefsky characters Angie (BIC) & Marty (JIB) try to decide what to do
— This sketch has been going on for a while, and I still can’t figure out what exactly the joke is supposed to be here.
— Okay, I finally got my first laugh of the sketch, from Billy’s random Inuit idea.
— I’m liking how more and more outlandish and unrealistic Billy’s ideas for fun activities are getting, only for Jim to always uninterestedly shoot them down by saying he doesn’t feel like doing that. Kinda reminds me of that “Nah!” sketch (a.k.a. Our Generation) that Gary did back in season 8.
— This overall sketch had a slow build-up but ended up becoming a decent piece.
STARS: ***
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
CHG comments on John Gavin’s claim that Ronald Reagan is not “gaga”
RIH gives some home economy tips concerning free stuff you can get & use
GAK tries to prevent teen suicide by sharing his list of reasons to live
CHG interviews Nathan Thurm (MAS) about his company’s artificial organs
— After almost an entire year of a revolving door of guest anchors, Saturday Night News finally gets a permanent anchorperson in Christopher Guest. While I’m glad to no longer have to put up with seeing out-of-place guest hosts trying to come off as anchormen, I’m aware that Christopher’s anchorman tenure ends up being a huge disappointment.
— Boy, Christopher’s delivery is ALREADY coming off extremely dull, to the point where you can hardly tell when he delivers a punchline.
— Fun piece with Rich showcasing free stuff you can get from stores, which is a nice display of Rich’s usual quirky brand of humor. I like the “visible hand puppet” (which is just a clear plastic bag) and especially him demonstrating a foot-measuring device being used as a football field for roaches.
— Gary’s list of reasons to live is fairly funny, though I was kinda expecting the list entries to be funnier.
— Martin’s Nathan Thurm character returns, after making his debut in just the last episode.
— As usual, the Nathan Thurm bit is tickling me, even if his lines are basically a rewrite of his previous appearance in the last episode.
— And so ends tonight’s Saturday Night News. Christopher did not have a good first outing as anchorperson AT ALL. In theory, his knack for giving dry, deadpan performances seems like it would be a perfect fit for SNL’s news, but it just doesn’t come together at all. He makes Brad Hall’s anchorman delivery seem exciting by comparison.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Rock Me Tonight”
VAUDEVILLE FUNERAL
(MAS) & (BIC) musically eulogize their meshugana vaudeville-partner dads
— At first, I didn’t recognize Christopher in that wig and glasses.
— Fairly funny concept of a double funeral for a comedy team.
— I’m really liking the teaming of Martin and Billy during their vaudeville-esque biography of the deceased comedy team.
— Not much here in terms of laughs , but it’s impressive and fun seeing Martin and Billy performing this, and their chemistry is great.
STARS: ***
EYEBALL TO EYEBALL
loonies (MAS) & (CHG) interview museum curator (host)
— Martin’s random, overly-specific questions are increasingly cracking me up.
— Interesting reveal that Martin is only pretending to be the show’s host.
— Christopher’s performance here is great, with him initially seeming like the voice of reason but subtly turning out to be even weirder than Martin’s character. Now THIS is where Christopher’s knack for dry, deadpan performances pays off.
— I’m especially liking the part with Christopher showcasing his “treasure” of an insulation jacket.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “All Night Long”
ELEVATOR STOOL
architect (host) won’t compromise when (HAS) wants elevator stool removed
— Harry Shearer finally makes his first (and I guess only) appearance of the night. Man, it’s a shame how much the show has been struggling to find ways to work him into live sketches this season.
— Ah, here’s the sketch that’s famous for being the only Larry David-written piece to make it on the air during his entire one-season stint as a writer.
— Also, Larry would later re-use this sketch’s premise in a Seinfeld episode.
— This sketch is already cracking me up with the overly-specific questions being asked about the elevator operator’s use of the stool, such as does he get off the stool when he sees someone heading towards the elevator or does he wait until they’re actually IN the elevator?
— Man, it would’ve been fucking perfect if Julia were given a role here, considering the very Seinfeld-ish nature of this sketch.
— LOL at Harry and Ed’s childish physical fight on the floor.
— I liked Billy’s desperate “Call me” when leaving the office.
— Overall, a very solid writer-ly piece, even if this played to almost complete silence from the audience.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A good episode, though a drop in quality from the streak of strong episodes that preceded it. Still, there was quite a lot to like here, especially some of the more interesting and conceptual pieces in the second half of the show.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ed Asner):
— a step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Ringo Starr