Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Hands Across America participants won’t let one-legged runner (RAQ) pass
— After not laughing much for the first minute or so of this, I’m liking Randy’s sudden entrance as a one-legged runner.
— Randy introduces himself as Kevin Brennan, which also happens to be name of a future SNL writer from season 25 who would do occasional A. Whitney Brown-esque political commentaries on Weekend Update.
— I like the running theme with a different person responding “What, those bums?” when being told Hands Across America is supporting the homeless.
— Randy’s overall presence added some laughs, but his scene ended really poorly and awkwardly.
STARS: **
OPENING MONTAGE
— For the first (and last, obviously, since this is the season finale) time this season, Al Franken is credited as a featured player.
— Damon Wayans is back as a featured player! Despite being fired two months earlier for an incident in the Griffin Dunne episode, Damon was brought back by Lorne tonight for one night only, to perform some stand-up. In the “Live from New York” book, Damon theorizes that the reason he was allowed back is because “(paraphrased) deep down inside, Lorne loves a rebel.”
MONOLOGUE
backstage, Billy tells Mephistopheles (JOL) & Anjelica that he’s changed
— Anjelica’s joke about the Academy Award “curse” leading to her hosting SNL tonight appears to be yet another self-deprecating joke about SNL’s poor quality this season.
— Throughout his talk with Billy Martin, Anthony annoyingly keeps clearing his throat. I’ve noticed in the last handful of episodes that he has a bad habit of doing this throughout sketches.
— Out of the two performers on my screen right now, it says something that the one with zero acting experience (Billy Martin) is coming off more comfortable on camera than the one who’s an actual actor and paid cast member of a sketch comedy show (Anthony Michael Hall).
— For some reason, I liked Billy going “You again?” upon seeing an evilly-laughing Mephistopheles show up.
— Overall, a decent set-up to tonight’s running storyline between Billy and Mephistopheles.
STARS: ***
THE PEOPLE’S SECOND CHOICE AWARDS
Ed McMahon helps honor runners-up
— Bah, this isn’t funny to me. Just a long screen crawl of many celebrity names, with not enough funny ones thrown in.
— Okay, I kinda got a laugh just now from one of the sponsors being “Big boned girls who don’t speak much at first”, accompanied by a picture of two girls.
STARS: *½
MOMENTS OF DOUBT
(RAQ) & (Anjelica) silently worry about uncertainties
— I like Anjelica’s random thought about if she put the car keys in the ceramic chicken.
— The dog’s obviously-fake bark provided a laugh.
— Overall, I kinda liked the format of this sketch, but felt the inner thoughts should’ve been funnier.
STARS: **
GLAMOROUS DRINKING
a sketch pulled from last week’s show excessively glamorizes drinking
liquor council spokesman’s (RAQ) rebuttal- drink a lot, but not too much
— Interesting intro from Lorne.
— I kinda like the detail of Billy’s oversized drinking glass.
— This sketch hasn’t been working too much for me so far. While I’m liking the idea of the comically absurd levels of alcohol glorification seen throughout the piece, I feel the sketch is coming off fairly dull.
— Okay, I’m interested in this sudden turn, with Randy as a spokesperson for the National Council of Liquor and Spirits offering a rebuttal to the sketch.
— I’m getting some pretty good laughs from Randy’s lines, especially him advising us to “drink, drink, drink, and then just before it gets really bad, stop…. and then maybe start drinking again.” Funny dialogue here, helped even more by Randy’s usual reliable delivery.
STARS: **½
ACTORS ON FILM
Jimmy Chance & Ashley Ashley extol the virtues of Top Gun
— The return of this unnecessary recurring sketch that should’ve been left a one-off in the George Wendt/Francis Ford Coppola episode.
— That’s it? The sketch is over? This didn’t work for me AT ALL. I enjoyed the first appearance of these characters in the aforementioned Wendt/Coppola episode, and though they suffered diminishing returns in their second appearance in the Oprah Winfrey episode, I still got some laughs there (mostly just from Robert). But this third appearance completely washed over me. I didn’t even get so much as a chuckle from this.
STARS: *
HALLMARK
Maerose Prizzi (Anjelica) reads some Hallmark Organized Crime Cards
— I think I recall hearing this is a character Anjelica previously played in a movie, but I can’t remember which movie it is.
— An overall simple but pretty funny sketch with some laughs from the mafia greeting cards that Anjelica read off.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs medley including “Let’s Take It To The Stage”
WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF gives an update on his decade & asks viewers to go see his new movie
AWB talks about the ill-educated, flag-waving class of 1986
Weekend Update Dancers & Father Guido Sarducci honor Statue of Liberty
— Dennis mentions that 6 years ago behind this very desk, Al Franken declared the 80s the Al Franken decade (actually, that happened 7 years ago, not 6, but that’s a nitpick), which leads us into an appearance from the man himself.
— Good to see the return of the old running gag with Al periodically saying “me – Al Franken” while a graphic of his name is displayed.
— A laugh from how the naked pictures of Al’s children have censor bars over private areas. Also, one of the pictures is of Al’s then-baby son Joe, who we’ll be meeting on the show three years later in the final episode of 1989, in a memorable Update commentary where Al passes the Al Franken Decade torch and declares the then-approaching 90s the Joe Franken Decade.
— Now Al has gotten to the main point of his commentary, which is just him plugging his and Tom Davis’ upcoming movie One More Saturday Night. Some laughs over Al going into excessive and desperate detail on which theaters are showing the movie. Feels a little weird watching this in retrospect, though, knowing what a flop the movie would end up being.
— I really liked A. Whitney’s line about illiterates who can’t read USA Today, which makes him wonder “Maybe they’re the ones who are writing it.”
— A. Whitney’s overall commentary had some really witty backhanded comments about the intelligence level of the graduating Class of ’86.
— After a two-episode break, we get an unwelcome return of the Weekend Update Dancers, in what will thankfully end up being their final appearance ever. This time, they’re changing things up by rhythmically acting out a Father Guido Sarducci-read story about the Statue of Liberty.
— Hey, this Weekend Update Dancers appearance is actually kinda making me chuckle in a weird way, just for the humorous incongruity between their dancing and Guido Sarducci’s narration.
— Funny post-Weekend Update Dancers visual of Dennis in that headdress.
— I liked the “knock knock” bit Dennis did to commemorate the end of this season. Stuff like this shows why I’m so glad he made Weekend Update fun again this season, after the dire condition it was in the previous five seasons.
STARS: ***
LESBIAN PICK-UPS
both (JOC) & her fiance (RDJ) are picked up by lesbians in a bar
— Nora plays her very first of what I recall being quite a number of lesbian roles over the course of her SNL tenure.
— I’m getting some good laughs from Nora’s confident determination in proving to Joan she’s just as good for her as any man is.
— Pretty funny turn with Joan easily being persuaded in going home with Nora.
— I had liked where this was going, but it petered out for me during the whole bit with Robert and Anjelica. Cute ending, though, with them romantically slow-dancing their way off the set.
— I think portions of this sketch is replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns. I’m reviewing the live version of this episode, but from my recollection of the rerun version, there was an abrupt cut in this sketch during Robert’s reaction to finding out his girlfriend walked off with a lesbian, as if something was inserted from dress rehearsal around that time.
STARS: **½
BOCCE BALL MY WAY
Father Guido Sarducci shows how in instructional video
— Fairly funny premise with Father Guido Sarducci hosting an instructional bocce ball videotape. And there’s something about the words “bocce ball” that just sound funny in Sarducci’s accent and voice.
— Wait, that’s it??? It’s over already? Nothing even happened in this! Okay, the scrolled list of topics covered on the tape was kinda amusing, but this overall piece could’ve been pretty funny if it actually went somewhere.
STARS: *½
BACKSTAGE
Mephistopheles tries to intimidate Billy & tempts him with alcohol
— For the second time this season, a non-Tommy Flanagan recurring character of Jon’s briefly breaks out into a Tommy Flanagan voice when telling a lie. Hmm. But, hey, to be honest, I’d take this over a full-fledged appearance of the overused Flanagan.
— Haha, when trying to tempt Billy, Mephistopheles mentions how “glamorous” liquor is, as an amusing callback to the Glamorous Drinking sketch from earlier tonight.
— Boy, this ended awkwardly as HELL. Something seemed to go wrong after Mephistopheles exited the scene. Anthony showed up afterwards to literally do NOTHING but awkwardly pause as if he or Billy forgot what to do next, and then the sketch just ended. What the hell? I guess that’s what happens when you do a live scene where the only two performers are a non-actor and an 18-year-old non-comedian.
— Speaking of Anthony, are these backstage sketches the ONLY things he’s going to be in tonight? He hasn’t appeared in character during any actual sketches in this episode. I should be thankful for that.
STARS: ***
DAMON WAYANS
DAW does stand-up about racism & how he won childhood insult contests
— During her intro, it sounds like Anjelica butchered the pronunciation of “Wayans”. Reminds me of Betty Thomas messing up Joel Hodgson’s last name when introducing his stand-up segment in the season 9 finale.
— Great to see Damon back on SNL. Also, his grown-out hairstyle here looks better than the shorter, receding hairstyle he had throughout the season.
— The watermelon bit was hilarious, and I loved Damon’s white redneck imitation.
— He mentions growing up with a clubbed foot and having to wear orthopedic shoes, which reminds me of an autobiographical animated series he would later star in during the mid-90s titled Waynehead, which aired on the WB network. (Any other 90s kids besides me remember that show?) The show was about Damon’s childhood in the inner city, and he was memorably always shown wearing a big-ol’ black shoe with a metallic brace due to his clubbed foot.
— I liked Damon enacting his child self telling his mother that his orthopedic shoes “look like Herman Munster shoes, mama.”
— I feel bad for laughing at his imitation of a mentally-handicapped bully, because it’s very un-PC by today’s standards.
— Great ending to the “dirty dozens insult contest” portion, where Damon delivers a hilarious and impressively wordy, long-winded, run-on insult without messing up.
— Overall, a very solid stand-up segment from Damon as expected.
STARS: ****
BOOK MINUTE
(DAV) reads real-life nursery rhymes for inner-city children
— I love Danitra’s character name in this: Aquanetta Feinstein.
— Good premise with Danitra presenting her own nursery rhymes for inner-city children.
— Some of these cruel nursery rhymes are really funny, especially the “Humpty Dumpy Dead” one.
— This ended on kind of a weak note with the repetitive string of “now he dead” endings to various stories.
— Overall, despite the weak ending, this was a pretty solid sketch and Danitra always seems to excel in these one-person talking-to-the-camera sketches.
STARS: ***½
MOVIE THEATRE
loud talk of Patti LaBelle (TES) & aunt (DAV) irks moviegoers
— I groaned SO LOUD at Terry’s entrance as a blackface Patti LaBelle.
— Earlier this season, I excused Terry’s previous appearance in blackface drag when he played Diana Ross in that Pee-Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special sketch, but THIS is way too damn much. His Patti LaBelle characterization is racially stereotypical as all hell, and if his make-up were any darker, it would LITERALLY be the color black.
— Also, why place this sketch immediately after two solo performance pieces each starring a black cast member (Damon’s stand-up segment and Danitra’s Book Minute sketch)?
— Oh, geez, as if this sketch hadn’t ALREADY lost me, now we’re resorting to the “black people being loud in a movie theater” trope, one of the most cliched, unfunniest, hackiest comedy premises imaginable.
— I also don’t feel too comfortable with this general premise of white people being annoyed by the behavior of black people. I can’t help but see unfortunate implications there, which is made even worse by the fact that one of said black characters is played by a white performer.
— Overall, ugh, this sketch was fucking TERRIBLE in every way possible. Hands down, one of the worst sketches of the whole season, which is really saying something considering the quality of this year.
— I’d like to think that even Billy Crystal would shake his head at this sketch, but nah, that’s probably giving him too much credit.
STARS: *
MY FRIEND
LOM fires Billy after he shows up drunk for a Colonel Sanders sketch
— I like the mysteriousness of Joan’s many descriptions of her friend.
— Funny Colonel Sanders reveal. Billy looks completely unrecognizable in that costume. I can only tell it’s him by the voice.
— Good breaking-the-fourth-wall twist with Billy being drunk and causing the sketch to get derailed.
— An upset Lorne enters the scene, calls Billy out on his unprofessionalism, and fires him on the spot. I can’t help but picture this being exactly what it looked like (only with R-rated language) when Lorne fired Damon Wayans on the spot in real life after Damon’s impromptu “gay cop” routine earlier this season.
— The repeated joke throughout tonight’s episode with Mephistopheles laughing himself into a coughing fit is getting old, and is another cliched joke that’s been done to death in comedy.
— Pretty solid sketch as a whole, and another nice continuation of tonight’s running storyline.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs medley including “Do Fries Go With That Shake”
FIRE / GOODNIGHTS
Billy creates a cliffhanger by setting season-ending cast party ablaze
— Okay, here comes the most famous part of the episode, and one of the most famous parts of the whole season.
— LOL at some of these cast members being so pumped for next season, when you know in retrospect that most of them ain’t gonna be there.
— Hilarious reveal with Billy outside the cast’s room, setting it on fire.
— Oh, here comes what is by far the most well-remembered part of this whole piece…
— And there it is: upon realizing that if Billy sets the cast on fire, they wont be able to do the show next season, Lorne enters the smoky room as if he’s going to rescue the whole cast, only to exit a few seconds later with season 11 savior Jon Lovitz as the only person he’s brought out, telling him “Go down to my limo, sit there and wait for me”, and then Lorne just lets the rest of the cast continue to burn in the room! Mean but classic.
— Haha, and then to add a cherry on top of the cake, Lorne leads SNL’s writers into the burning room. The writers here are portrayed as the same three comically preppy, mega-whitebread characters who showed up as the writers in the That Black Girl piece from the Francis Ford Coppola episode earlier this season.
— I’m getting some unintentional amusement from the cheesiness of the really cheap-looking fire graphic that’s being superimposed onto the bottom half of the screen.
— Right now, in the live version I’m reviewing of this episode, there’s a big difference from the rerun version: when the camera cuts to Anjelica Huston and the musical guest all on the home base stage ready to start the goodnights, you can hear VERY LOUD mic’ed running footsteps coming from off-camera, which is actually a delayed Billy Martin rushing towards the home base stage to make his entrance. Billy’s delayed entrance and overly-loud mic’ed footsteps result in a very long awkward pause from a nervously-laughing Anjelica, who then proceeds to comically ad-lib a “cut” gesture to someone off-camera. Billy then finally shows up in burnt, smoky clothing.
— Love the classic visual of the cast burning in the smoky, fiery room while text is displayed onscreen asking “Who will survive? Who will perish? Tune in October 11th”
— Good touch with a question mark being added at the end of every single name in the scrolling ending credits.
— Funny seeing the cast ham it up among the smoke and flames.
— Overall, what an amazing, unique way to end a season, while also acknowledging the troubles of this particular season.
STARS: *****
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— The Billy Martin/Mephistopheles running storyline was fun, and we got an absolutely classic conclusion with the cast being set on fire as a season-ending cliffhanger. However, other than those, plus Danitra Vance’s Book Minute sketch and Damon Wayans’ stand-up routine, this episode was actually a little on the underwhelming side. A lot of sketches were just meh and fell pretty flat with me, and then there was that horrid Patti LaBelle sketch. For this season’s standards, however, tonight was probably one of the more passable episodes by default.
— Needless to say, most of the cast ended up getting dumped over the summer. The only cast members who would be brought back next season are Jon Lovitz (of course), Nora Dunn, Dennis Miller, and featured player A. Whitney Brown. I’d say Lorne definitely made the right call bringing back those four. Jon and Dennis in particular had a very strong year and probably made lots of viewers back then hopeful for SNL’s future.
— Going through the departed cast members one-by-one, in order from my least favorite to most favorite:
-
- Anthony Michael Hall being brought in as an SNL cast member was a mistake, plain and simple. He turned out to be an extremely ill fit for the show, came off green as a live performer, gave us lots of awkward moments, had a bad tendency to mug the camera and overact, and had one horrible excuse for a recurring character (Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant). While Anthony had a few okay-ish moments here and there, they were nowhere near good enough to redeem him. He, hands down, gets my vote for one of SNL’s worst cast members of all-time.
- Robert Downey wasn’t much better, but he did have his occasional moments where he actually showed potential and cracked me up. I especially liked his two big showcases in the George Wendt/Francis Ford Coppola episode, particularly the bizarrely-funny Confrontational Suitcase Monologue piece.
- Joan Cusack was a little better than I expected her to be. While I can’t think of many times she actually made me laugh, and she had a bad tendency to sometimes rely on a mentally-challenged-sounding slow delivery as a strange acting choice, she was usually always pretty good at the thankless task of playing normal, straight roles in sketches. She also showed a few flashes of charm, especially in the Unconditional Love sketch from the Tony Danza episode. Still, I can’t really say I would’ve wanted a second season of her, especially if it would’ve prevented the hiring of Jan Hooks.
- Terry Sweeney often provided some pretty good laughs for me, though his tendency to constantly do drag could be a bit much the times he played multiple women in a single episode. Despite being reliable for some laughs, I don’t think I would’ve wanted Terry to come back next season. His seemingly very limited range might’ve gotten old in a second season or so.
- Danitra Vance wasn’t used too much, but she was usually always very solid whenever she was given a chance to shine. I especially enjoyed so many of her solo pieces throughout the year. It’s too bad her dyslexia issues made it difficult for SNL to write for her, because out of all the fired cast members this season, she’s the only one who I actually would’ve wanted to come back next season (not counting Damon Wayans, as he was already fired earlier in the season and was only brought back in tonight’s season finale as a one-time thing).
- Randy Quaid had a really good year. In my past viewings of this season when I was younger, I used to unfairly dismiss him as a poor man’s predecessor to Phil Hartman (much like how Michael McKean is always dismissed as a poor man’s successor to Phil Hartman). However, watching and reviewing this season these last few weeks has given me a whole new appreciation for Randy’s SNL stint. He was a very solid and underrated utility player this season, was reliable even in some of the weaker sketches of the year, and was usually always good for providing laughs in comedic roles. All that being said, I wouldn’t have wanted him to come back next season. Why? Simply because we wouldn’t have gotten Phil Hartman. Sure Randy was a strong leader this season, but when it comes to doing utility work on SNL, NOBODY compares to Phil.
— Season 11 as a whole lived up to its poor reputation, even if I didn’t find its quality to be QUITE as horrible as legend has it. There was a noticeably higher number of weak sketches than a typical SNL season, as well as a lacking number of truly strong sketches. The first several months of the season, however, were mostly up-and-down rather than flat-out bad, and surprisingly had a slightly higher number of good episodes than poor ones. For a while, that made me start to wonder if this season isn’t all that deserving of its reputation as one of the Infamous Three Seasons of SNL. However, a turning point occurred with the mid-season Jerry Hall episode, which started a string of weak episodes that made me feel I had officially reached the true badness of season 11. The season never fully recovered after that. There were very few good episodes in the last few months of the season. Aside from the experimental George Wendt/Francis Ford Coppola epic, even the better episodes from the last few months of the season weren’t too great. On the other hand, aside from Teri Garr, the worst episodes of this entire overall season were merely bad; not frustratingly awful like the worst episodes of the two other Infamous Three Seasons (seasons 6 and 20). In fact, if I were to rank the Infamous Three Seasons from least worst to absolute worst, my personal ranking would be: season 11, season 6, season 20. This may be subject to change when I eventually review season 20.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jimmy Breslin):
— a moderate step up
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1984-85):
— a big step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
A retooled season of SNL debuts with a fantastic cast of mostly-new hires, kicking off an era that turns out to be a huge renaissance for SNL
Such a crazy season but definitely the best of the three infamous ones.
Also, the character you mentioned that Anjelica Huston was playing is Maerose Prizzi from Prizzi’s Honor, the role she had just won an Oscar for.
Thanks for the info.
IIRC, According to the Shales/Miller book (Page 306 of the 2014 edition, for the curious), Damon Wayans mentions his appearing on the last show of the year doing the Club Foot bit he did…yet bizarrely, he mentions that the host of the episode was Dudley Moore, who also walked with a limp due to a Club Foot and may have been offended by the bit in rehearsal. This raises a few questions now that I’m reading this & the review:
1. Did Damon confuse Moore for either Ms. Huston or Mr. Martin (and for that matter, did either of them have a club foot)?
2. Was the bit meant to air on Moore’s episode that January, but was cut until that May?
or
3. Total coincidence, and Damon simply has the dates mixed up?
Your rankings of the departed cast members are accurate. In a “what if?” thing, I would have liked to have seen Wayans and Vance stick around and get more creative input; they would have added a different style to the otherwise flawless late 80s cast.
Waynehead, Waynehead, your 4-1-1- for fun!
That line from the theme song is literally the only thing I remember from the show.
Robert Smigel (who wrote the cliffhanger ending, and I believe it saved him from the chopping block) did mention in a podcast that Dennis was pissed he wasn’t saved along with Lovitz on the segment, then later at the afterparty forgave Smigel (“babe, I love you..I’ll get what you were doing…” he may have been drunk…)
Excellent wrap up of the Season. I agree with you that this season isn’t quite as bad as it’s legacy suggests. However, it’s pretty dismal. The cast just didn’t gel, never had that “ensemble” vibe, didn’t have good chemistry. Randy Quaid was good, but stuck out like a sore thumb. Hall (especially Hall) Downey, and Cusack stunk up the joint with their hamminess and “trying too hard” for laughs (they were just a little too green and inexperienced honestly). Terry Sweeney did have limited range, but frankly, he was probably too ahead of his time. Sadly, I don’t think 80s America was ready for an openly gay man on TV (especially in comedy), and fact that he cross dressed so many times fed the 80s stereotype that gay men wanted to be/acted like women and created a culture on the show where his roles were limited to drag. Danitra was good, but underused, sounds like the dyslexia contributed to that. Her solo sketches made it hard for her to fit in with the rest of the cast as well.
Jon was good obviously, but it wasn’t until I read your reviews that I realized how often they used Tommy Flanagan and Master Thespian this season. Nora was decent, Pat Stevens was a hit, but they ran it into the ground. She probably only survived this season because she was so “friendly” with Lorne. Dennis and Weekend Update was the saving grace this season.
Very excited for you to go through the next several seasons. The SNL I grew up with (and too young for your parents to let you watch it) and therefore the best era! ?
Eh, you were too harsh on this show. It wasn’t great but for the 2nd half of the year it’s one of the more watchable ones. Moments of Doubt’s a fun WTF type skit. The Movie Review skit is pretty fun, RDJ kills it there and it’s his best role on the shpw. I agree on the rest though especially the theater skit.. that one’ s horrendous. Ending’s one of the best ever for a show, better than the lobster skit.
When thinking about this season I always think back to what A. Whitney Brown said on the 80’s doc: “If the cast had another year with more solid footing, they coulda found their way.” I agree with that mostly. A majority of this group was really talented at sketch comedy, another part not so much. If the writing itself had been more consistent I think that woulda helped the season out a lot more. You get a lot of goofy skits that were bold but just didn’t know how to get there. If this group had more experienced then maybe they would have. Who knows maybe by 1987 they could have, NBC just wasn’t patient but they made the right move.
Lorne screwed up in part by picking the cast. He meant well but he went too young. Here’s how I view them:
-Cusak was great for sex appeal and she added a unique style to the roles she played but she was just a little too goofy for me. She was like the 80’s version of Melanie Hutsell. She got better as the year went along and wasn’t as odd. Kinda meh on her overall; she coulda lasted I guess. My fav skit of hers is the teacher skit from the Pee Wee show.
-RDJ was a suprise. I expected him to be painful to watch and while it took him a bit to get going once Hall got lazy and made that movie it allowed him to take off. Best thing that coulda happened as he became a character guy. Loved his movie reviewer skit, he was solid in everything. Did a decent George Michael. Maybe if he had a little more sketch training prior to the show he coulda lasted. Not a bad 1 yearer though.
-Dunn’s the most solid of the girls she was versatile from the start. She’s more of a Mary Gross style performer but she always had an edge to her.
-Hall is one of the worst cast members to ever be on the show. Not entirely his fault as he wasn’t a fit for the show but he sure didn’t help himself. Lorne picked him for the attention and it worked for a bit but then it faded fast. Once he left to make that bomb of a movie the show picked up and once he came back it went down for good.
-Lovitz is Lovitz, one of the all time greats of SNL he helped carry the show on his back in a lot of shows. Lorne was smart to keep him and build the ’86 season around him.
-Love me some Miller. He saved Update from being forever worthless.
-Quaid imo is one of the more underrated SNL cast members. I personally think he coulda stayed and lasted a few years and still allowed Hartman to be on just fine. He helped carry the load a lot this year and did the rough work no one else could have. It’s a shame he’s been forgotten in the grand scale.
-Sweeney may be a nice guy but as a whole he’s pretty bad on here. He made himself into a streotype hole and just couldn’t get out. He was amusing for a while but it got old near the end, you can tell they were burnt out by the Huston show. He only coulda done Reagan or Rivers so many times before it got stale.
-Vance the same. She’s okay but she was a gimmick that I was meh on. She deserved better but she just wasn’t a good fit. In Living Color perhaps I see her doing better on.
-One of SNL’s tragic wastes was how they did Wayans. He deserved better. He coulda been huge by 1988 if Lorne had treated him and used him. He shoulda had Hall’s spot if we’re being honest. Quaid was a solid enough name to bring in appeal. Just imagine how awesome it woulda been seeing Wayans make SNL his show with Phil and Dana.. damn.
I’m excited for 1986; really had a blast with those shows back in January.
You could really have an even better s12 cast with this lineup:
Carvey
Hartman
Hooks
Miller
Wayans
Vance
Dunn
Cusack
Featured: AWB, Nealon, Franken (it was weird that Nealon was an FP for his first year, as he got just as much airtime as anyone else)
Whoops – I forgot Lovitz! Switch him with Cusack
Have any of the one-season folks from this year ever returned to the show in any form (hosting, cameo, anniversary shows)?
Wayans hosted in 1994-95, RDJ two seasons later. Quaid made a random cameo in a sketch from Catherine O’Hara’s ’90-91 episode. Those are the ones off the top of my head.
Cusack was in the 15th anniversary cold open, I think? And Sweeney was in the Lost and Found doc (which isn’t technically part of the show, but at least he agreed to be part of SNL in some way). Compare that to season 6; I don’t think anyone aside from Joe and Eddie has appeared in anything? Surprised Gilbert hasn’t even made a cameo (although I thought he made a voice cameo at one point?).
For this cast, AMH should have been a featured player at best. Or maybe even a host if he was so hot. Vance should have been a recurring guest like Andy Kaufman, and done her one-woman pieces. And Wayans should have been allowed to develop characters of his own (obviously) instead of being shoe horned into extra roles. Also, the writers tended toward The Simpsons-like premises (no surprise since many of them would join the Simpsons staff in the future). There needed to be more people with improv/stage backgrounds (as would happen in season 12)
BK – Denny and Gail were both in the Lost And Found doc as well. And, if it counts, Charles Rocket was a main character in “It’s Pat: The Movie.” Gilbert did a cameo in the TV Funhouse ‘Titey’ cartoon, too.
Good catch, thx!
How would Cusack or Vance have faired with Hooks and Dunn as opposed to Victoria Jackson between ’86 and ’90?
I think Vance could’ve done well with that female cast. Cusack, on the other hand, I just can’t picture being in that female cast, but that may be because I’ve always kinda felt Jan Hooks was her replacement.
Either one (or both) would have been a big improvement over Victoria and worked well with Nora and Jan. Neither one probably would have lasted through the entire ’86-91 period – Cusack was already getting film work (she was nominated for an Oscar for “Working Girl” in ’88!) and Vance probably would have left to focus on doing another stage show for her characters (which probably would have been picked up by Broadway and/orHBO.)
The movie character she’s playing is from Prizzi’s Honor, hence the name. She won an Oscar for it.
I still maintain that season 20 is the better disaster season than 80-81 and 85-86 (and maybe 04-05). For me, 85-86 simply doesn’t pop – some good hosts (Hanks, Herman, Lithgow) and some strong episodes (Wendt/Coppola) but not enough actually “great” moments. It never goes to the depths of the other two seasons, but it almost never reaches the heights of 94-95 (Dennis Miller excepted). Season 20 is wildly inconsistent, to its detriment and it’s benefit. It showcases some of the worst entire episodes of SNL, but it has more quality too.
Long story short, I’d take a 94-95 best of over an 85-86 best of.
Of the three “bad” seasons (s6, s11, s20), I find season 11 to be the “best” – comparatively speaking, its main sin is being more “boring” than anything else. Season 6 is quite awful, but keep in mind the writers/cast/producer had little experience at this level. Season 20 is in my mind SNL at its worst – that year had very experienced writers/cast/producers, so there was no excuse for the show being so awful.
Here are the five star sketches from 85-86, what’s generally considered the “best” of SNL’s unholy trinity:
Grand Finale (George Wendt/Francis Ford Coppola)
Fire/Goodnights (Anjelica Huston/Billy Martin)
Two sketches and a couple “necessity is the mother of invention” sketches at that. Both sketches really only work for their cumulative effect, as in I can’t imagine Grand Finale actually working in a vacuum. Neither is really a straight sketch, they’re more like successful Hail Marys. Don’t really know if I’d add anything else, though I think the Ron Reagan cold open is stronger than Stooge did.
85-86 is a season that plants the seed of promise and probably doesn’t bottom out as heavily as 80-81 and 94-95, but I don’t really think it has much in the way of notable peaks outside of the “more than the sum of its parts” George Wendt episode.
Surprised one of the Pathological Liar sketches didn’t make the list.
As a companion piece to Carson’s list, here’s an Honorable Mentions list compiled of all the sketches I rated four-and-a-half stars this season:
Fantasy (Tom Hanks)
Penn and Teller Upside-Down Act (Ron Reagan)
Only four sketches (and really, only one proper sketch) got a higher rating than four stars. That’s less than the 80-81 season and in almost twice the episodes. Kinda tells you the whole story, don’t it?
Finally found this episode online. My favorite part is Danitra Vance grabbing Terry Sweeney’s hand when they say goodbye for the summer. I truly wish Vance could’ve been held over for the phoenix season (According to Wikipedia, Vance chose to leave at the end of the 11th season) If they had better writers, she could’ve been a great Claire Huxtable, or maybe Denise Huxtable (with all the Cosby Show drama) dare I say Oprah?
Here are the average ratings for Season 11:
*may not represent review’s perception*
1101: 5.8 (Madonna)
1102: 5.5 (Chevy Chase)
1103: 6.2 (Pee-Wee Herman)
1104: 6.7 (John Lithgow)
1105: 6.7 (Tom Hanks)
1106: 4.7 (Teri Garr)
1107: 5.8 (Harry Dean Stanton)
1108: 6.0 (Dudley Moore)
1109: 6.6 (Ron Reagan)
1110: 4.8 (Jerry Hall)
1111: 5.1 (Jay Leno)
1112: 5.2 (Griffin Dunne)
1113: 6.9 (George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola)
1114: 5.4 (Oprah Winfrey)
1115: 5.9 (Tony Dana)
1116: 5.5 (Catherine Oxenberg and Paul Simon)
1117: 5.2 (Jimmy Breslin)
1118: 5.3 (Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin)
Best Episode: 1113 (George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola)- 6.9
Worst Episode: 1106 (Teri Garr)- 4.7
Season Average: 5.7
I’m curious what Vax Novier’s list of average ratings would look like if it was ranked from best episode to worst, so I’ll do it below:
1113: 6.9 (George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola)
1104: 6.7 (John Lithgow)
1105: 6.7 (Tom Hanks)
1109: 6.6 (Ron Reagan)
1103: 6.2 (Pee-Wee Herman)
1108: 6.0 (Dudley Moore)
1115: 5.9 (Tony Danza)
1101: 5.8 (Madonna)
1107: 5.8 (Harry Dean Stanton)
1102: 5.5 (Chevy Chase)
1116: 5.5 (Catherine Oxenberg and Paul Simon)
1114: 5.4 (Oprah Winfrey)
1118: 5.3 (Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin)
1112: 5.2 (Griffin Dunne)
1117: 5.2 (Jimmy Breslin)
1111: 5.1 (Jay Leno)
1110: 4.8 (Jerry Hall)
1106: 4.7 (Teri Garr)
My only surprise is the Huston/Martin and Jimmy Breslin episodes not being a little bit higher in the ranking.
For fun, here are season 11’s episodes ranked from best to worst based on the “Immediate Post-Show Thoughts” that I wrote in my reviews.
George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola
Tom Hanks
Pee-Wee Herman
John Lithgow
Ron Reagan
Dudley Moore
Tony Danza
Harry Dean Stanton
Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin
Jimmy Breslin
Catherine Oxenberg and Paul Simon
Madonna
Chevy Chase
Oprah Winfrey
Jay Leno
Griffin Dunne
Jerry Hall
Teri Garr
Here are the 25 highest-rated episodes from SNL’s Silver Age – The Middle Kingdom – The Trial-n-Error Era, or “Trial-n-Era.” (1980-1986)
25. 4/13/85: Howard Cosell / Greg Kihn (6.5)
24. 5/5/84: Barry Bostwick / Spinal Tap (6.5)
23. 10/2/82: Louis Gossett Jr. / George Thorogood & The Destroyers (6.5)
22. 2/8/86: Ron Reagan / The Nelsons (6.6)
21. 2/9/85: Harry Anderson / Bryan Adams (6.6)
20. 4/9/83: Joan Rivers / Musical Youth (6.6)
19. 1/17/81: Karen Black / Cheap Trick, Stanley Clarke Trio (6.6)
18. 12/14/85: Tom Hanks / Sade (6.7)
17. 12/7/85: John Lithgow / Mr. Mister (6.7)
16. 12/15/84: Eddie Murphy / The Honeydrippers (6.7)
15. 10/20/84: Jesse Jackson / Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps (6.7)
14. 10/6/84: (no host) / The Thompson Twins (6.7)
13. 5/12/84: Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci, and Betty Thomas / The Cars (6.7)
12. 3/7/81: Bill Murray / Delbert McClinton (6.7)
11. 11/10/84: George Carlin / Frankie Goes To Hollywood (6.8)
10. 2/25/84: Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang (6.8)
9. 10/23/82: Howard Hesseman / Men At Work (6.8)
8. 9/25/82: Lack of Chevy Chase / Queen (6.8)
7. 3/22/86: George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola / Philip Glass (6.9)
6. 11/3/84: Michael McKean / Chaka Khan (6.9)
5. 12/1/84: Ed Begley Jr. / Billy Squier (7.1)
4. 12/5/81: Tim Curry / Meat Loaf (7.1)
3. 4/6/85: Christopher Reeve / Santana (7.3)
2. 5/7/83: Stevie Wonder (7.3)
1. 1/28/84: Don Rickles / Billy Idol (7.5)
Obviously, the scores here are 0.5 lower than the original era’s 25 best, but I’m more forgiving than most are of these years. That’s why I call it “The Silver Age:” the overall value is significantly lower, but it’s still precious to some people.
Of this 25, 4 from season 11; 9 from season 10; 4 from season 9; 5 from season 8; 1 from season 7; 2 from (that’s right) season 6.
Dan Vitale was recently interviewed about his experiences this season. Among other details (such as George C Scott nearly hosting instead of Pee Wee Herman), he says that Anjelica was nearly a cast member. That would make sense considering the “name” or “quasi-name” makeup of this group, and she hadn’t quite hit the big time yet. It makes you wonder who wouldn’t have been cast. My guess is Nora Dunn, as they share a bit of a type. Nora is one of my all time favorite cast members so I’m glad we never had to find out.
https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/dan-vitale-snl-interview.html
If George C. Scott had hosted someone would have written a moderately funny Mussolini sketch that wouldn’t hold up well to 2020 criticism, but since it would have trafficked in Italian stereotypes it would’ve given Dan Vitale a chance to be on screen.
It would have been interesting to see Anjelica Huston in the same cast during the ’85-’86 season. Then again, I’m not sure if Lovitz would have been able to carry a lot of the load during that season, and if the show would have come back the following year. Any thoughts?
I’ve seen Al Franken and Tom Davis’ One More Saturday Night. It’s not bad.
Personally, I agree with you wholesale about wanting Danitra Vance and Damon Wayans come back. Randy Quaid was also strong this season, seemingly, but like you said, nothing can compare to Phil Hartman. Maybe Randy Quaid can come back to host an episode soon…maybe.
Here’s a strange “what if” question…
What if there was no cast revamp for next season? What everyone from season 11 came back for season 12? How would they all fair? Could more new people come on board in the cast? Could even some quit on their own accord?
Just had a thought given how season 29 turned out to be just as bad as this season, but didn’t have any changes save for one public departure.
I don’t think Randy or Anthony would have wanted to stay for another season. I’m not as sure about anyone else…
Given the show’s “three” rule for women in most of these years, they probably wouldn’t have added any new women. I guess Phil and Dana might have joined (Phil to replace Randy, and Dana because I think Lorne would have hired him no matter what as he was so clearly suited for SNL).
It’s hard to guess who would have fared well in a second season – I’d like to say Danitra, but that may just be my wishful thinking. I think RDJ would have had a good second season, with being a bit older and being less nervous.
Downey said the on the Stern show that Lorne offered him to comeback for a second season but he would only agree if Hall was brought back as well. When Hall was fired he declined
Thanks. I didn’t know that. I do wonder if Anthony had wanted to go he would have stayed…probably not. (I’m kind of surprised Anthony had to be fired – surely his people would have known it was NOT working out)
As mentioned earlier yeah George C. Scott hosting the Pee Wee show makes sense with the Mussolini miniseries airing in November of 85. Funnily enough RDJ has a small role in the series. I vaguely remember watching that as a kid. I was 6.
Lorne touched on replacing the cast from S11 on that infamous New York magazine piece:
“Michaels, though he goes on at great length about the overstuffed cast’s being part of his strategy, admits that a big reason for the logjam is that a complete overhaul is too much work for him. He did it once, changing nearly the entire cast—including Anthony Michael Hall, Terry Sweeney, and Joan Cusack—after the wipeout season of 1985–’86, when SNL was on the brink of cancellation. “The, ah, task of replacing an entire cast was very hard,” Michaels says. “And I think that maybe the trauma of that had this impact, had this effect on me, the effect that I did not want to ever be in the position of having to replace everyone.” Never mind that when he did exert himself and bring in Carvey, Nealon, Jan Hooks, and Phil Hartman, the show rebounded almost instantly.”
https://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/47548/
Also never mind that not everyone from S11 was even replaced as very few came back for S12.
Considering what happened with Randy Quaid these past 11 years, I can’t really see him hosting an episode in the near future.
That being said, I definitely wonder what Randy’s thoughts were on his time on SNL
The Fire sketch at the ending was missing from the episode on Peacock and Nbc.com. I haven’t been able to find it on Google either, where can I watch it?
Also, Thomas Dolby performs with P-Funk during their first medley.
Having just finished watching this entire season, I agree with most of what’s been said here: This season mainly suffered from consistent mediocrity, with very few great moments and very few awful ones. Most of the sketches were watchable but bland. The cast just didn’t fit together well, which probably explains why they did so many “variety show” sketches this season, as they allowed the performers to do solo bits within a sketch.
My thoughts on the performers:
Joan Cusack: A likable girl with a pretty face who showed some potential, but not ready for SNL. While she went on to have a successful acting career, it was probably for the better that she only lasted one year on this show, as I don’t think it suited her that well.
Robert Downey Jr: Rolling Stone named him the worst cast member in SNL history a few years ago, but I don’t get the hate. He wasn’t even the worst cast member this season. While he didn’t do much to distinguish himself on the show, he was at least serviceable for the most part.
Although the “Actors on Film” sketches weren’t great material, I enjoyed his performances in them, as he got to display some range. It is kind of odd to see him paired with Nora Dunn, though, since she’s 13 years older than him in real life. Speaking of which…
Nora Dunn: I’m glad they kept her, as I think she was the strongest actress among the women this season. While Pat Stevens was a bit overused, Nora proved herself to be a good utility performer, a role she served well with the renaissance cast.
Anthony Michael Hall: The weakest cast member of the season. Too young, too hammy, not funny enough, and just not a good fit.
Jon Lovitz: The breakout star of the season, and with good reason. He was often the only one in the sketch who made me laugh. One of SNL’s all-time greats. Keeping him was a no-brainer.
Dennis Miller: Another SNL legend, and I’m glad they kept him. I’ll take his ironic detachment as Weekend Update anchor any day. He did it just right.
Randy Quaid: Did his job as the utility guy, but as you say, he’s no Phil Hartman. My biggest criticism of him is that he had too much of a “country” vibe (understandable, as he’s from Texas), so while he had a strong presence, he didn’t always come across as sophisticated as he might have. Phil was just better for that type of job.
Terry Sweeney: A gimmicky performer, though I must admit he’s very good at that gimmick. I think he’s best as a one-season wonder, since he seems to have taken his routine as far as it could go.
Danitra Vance: So many people seem to look at her as one of SNL’s great “what ifs,” but I think it was probably for the best that she only lasted one season. I was impressed by what a talented and charming performer she was, but she was best suited for performing solo, as her chemistry with the rest of the cast was lacking, and her acting chops weren’t the greatest.
And really, she may have had too many strikes against her demographically, as SNL’s target audience at the time probably wasn’t going to connect with her lower-class black female characters very well. I agree with the person who said that her talents probably would’ve been a better fit on a show like In Living Color. Speaking of which…
Damon Wayans: A shame it didn’t work out with him, as he demonstrated his comedic talent whenever he got the chance. But as with Danitra, maybe SNL just wasn’t the right vehicle for him, since they couldn’t seem to find much for him to do. And of course, he ended up creating In Living Color, so in the long run, he got to do a sketch show where he had more creative control, and maybe that wouldn’t have happened if he’d stayed on SNL.
Overall, SNL Season 11 is an interesting animal. While revamping the cast afterwards was a necessary move, I’m glad we got to see this group of performers all in one place for a season, at least. It proves that pure talent isn’t enough to make great entertainment, and it also serves as a time capsule of several stars at a time when they were young up-and-comers.
After watching hollowed-out versions of SNL on Peacock, I think season 11 should be viewed on a different plane from seasons 6 and 20 (and I guess 29 and 30).
Instead, compare season 11 to season 7: both were awkward but laudable attempts to revitalize the show.
Take the cast members:
Danitra Vance and Robert Downey – like Christine Ebersol and Tony Rosato – were excellent performers, but were not naturally funny, so were completely dependent on the writers;
Anthony Michael Hall – like Brian Doyle Murray – has been good in numerous movies, but on SNL is … just … bleh.
Joan Cusack – like Mary Gross – had potential but a mediocre first year. If Joan’d been given another chance, she would’ve gotten better with time.
Terry Sweeney – like Robin Duke – I don’t know. I just didn’t see much in him.
Randy Quaid – like Joe Piscapo – was the most dependable from the start and made everything look easy.
Nora, Lovitz, and Dennis – like Eddie and Tim – were the surprise hits.
Don’t know if this has been cited before in the comments but Anjelica Huston in the “Hallmark” sketch was reprising her Prizzi’s Honor character which she had won the Oscar for a few weeks previous…
Hmm never heard that about Downey. It doesn’t surprise me though at all; he honestly gained the most out of all the one year wonders that year. By the end of the season he gained so much confidence that he was full on carrying pieces by this episode. He really sticks out the best out of the non returning people in this show. The AOF and Bar skit he’s really good in. That being said it was a dumb move of him to do by sticking up for Hall. Hall gave up on the show early; he didn’t wanna be there after a few eps. I understand the being friends aspect and all but that’s just a dumb move. That being said he had a lot of luck and got the Pick up Artist and Less than Zero not long after he left. He was gonna succeed regardless.
However I woulda loved to seen what he would do with Phil and Carvey. More than likely I see them not having Nealon on if Downey stays. Carvey was too good to pass up on and Phil was gonna have Randy’s spot as he looked burned out by the end of the season. There’s really nowhere to put Kevin; he’d probably come in 1987 once Robert leaves. I see RDJ being a 2 year wonder more than likely.
I also wish they’d kept Joan for at least another year if not longer. She has grown a bit on me since re-watching these shows the last couple of months. She honestly is a perfect mix of Gail Matthias and Melanie Hutsell. She was a looker like Gail but she had the weird tendencies of both plus a solid stage presence. She was miles better than Jackson was; never understood why Lorne picked her and dumped Joan. She coulda filled the loud roles a lot better than Victoria. It woulda been a fun rivalry between her and Jan too; Nora woulda kinda get left out.
I honestly think a cast of Carvey, Cusack, Downey, Dunn, Hartman, Hooks, Lovitz, and Miller woulda been as good as the one we got. Victoria wasn’t much of a loss. Kevin would be but with Downey’s increased confidence and rising star power I don’t see it being as bad of a loss as it coulda been. The 86 season would be a less nerdy one with RDJ in it.