Month: March 2019

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January 25, 1986 – Dudley Moore / Al Green (S11 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
monks break their vow of silence & discuss their yearly Super Bowl bet

— Funny hearing Dennis Miller using his typical delivery in this monk role.
— The Super Bowl twist is okay.
— I recall hearing that Damon is one of the monks in this (and it ends up being his only appearance of the whole night), but I can’t spot him. Must be a non-speaking role, which makes this yet ANOTHER example of this season wasting Damon’s talents. No wonder he was so miserable working at SNL.
— Overall, a pretty meh cold opening. Didn’t care too much for this as a whole.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
host plays classical variants of Bridge On The River Kwai theme on piano

— I like how he mentions that he previously hosted exactly 10 years ago on this exact Saturday (January 24, 1976), even though this leads into a variation of the obligatory “I did such a great job (insert large number here) years ago, they couldn’t wait to have me back” joke, as well as a joke that his next hosting stint will be 10 years later in 1996.
— Fun bit with the piano so far, and I like the different ways he keeps breaking into the march song from The Bridge On The River Kwai.
— I like how into it he’s getting.
— The camera showed an interesting low undershot of Dudley at the end, a rare type of camera angle that would be repeated in the monologue of the George Wendt/Francis Ford Coppola episode later this season.
— Overall, a pretty entertaining monologue.
STARS: ***½


MISS PREGNANT TEENAGE AMERICA
(JOC) & Cabrini Green compete in Miss Pregnant Teenage America Pageant

— Kind of a cringey joke having Roman Polanski as host of a pregnant teen pageant.
— The opening “Let’s Hear It For the Boy” dance number is kinda cute, but is going on WAY too long for something that doesn’t contain any jokes.
— Here’s our Terry Sweeney drag role of the week.
— Terry’s scene came off kinda awkward.
— An interesting, different way to use Danitra’s Cabrini Green.
— A technical error with the microphone not being on when Danitra first speaks into it.
— Robert’s scene was okay.
— Joan’s bad poem to her baby is making me laugh.
— Dudley seems to be making lots of little ad-libbed asides throughout the sketches tonight, and I’m not sure it’s working for me.
— I liked the bit about if the winner shall bring disgrace upon this pageant.
— Overall, for something that came off as a big production, this didn’t quite pay off for me. I didn’t laugh all that much throughout this, and it felt weird how it wasted Cabrini Green in a largely silent role.
— This sketch would later get removed from all reruns and be replaced with some repeated pre-taped segments and a cut dress rehearsal sketch titled Just Like Phoebe. I wonder why this was removed from reruns, especially considering how elaborate it was and how many extras were heavily involved.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Going Away”


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
poses that build self-esteem; Jackie Stewart (host)

— Pat Stevens’ demonstrated advice to strike a pose while reading Vogue Magazine is pretty funny.
— I like Pat’s bad ways of relating Dudley’s stories to something that happened to her.
— This ended abruptly. I recall getting more laughs from the dress rehearsal version that’s shown in reruns, where the sketch was longer and Dudley was given funnier dialogue.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
Tommy Flanagan says he saw Ferdinand Marcos’ war heroics first-hand
a ten second gap of blank air, courtesy of SNL & Ronald Reagan

— Kinda chilling hearing a joke about Space Shuttle Challenger, as this is just a few days before the infamous Challenger disaster. For this reason, the first half of this Update would later be replaced in reruns with the dress version, where Dennis doesn’t do the Challenger joke.
— Dennis’ joke about Herb from Burger King’s “Where’s Herb?” campaign was hilarious, as was his ad-libbed aside afterwards.
— Interesting seeing Tommy Flanagan in an Update commentary.
— Flanagan’s line about flying Japanese sand tigers was really funny
— Some laughs from Flanagan’s obvious doctored photo.
— Flanagan’s overall commentary was pretty solid, with some fun lies as usual.
STARS: ***


THE LIMITS OF THE IMAGINATION
comic’s (host) audience is over-responsive

 

— The usual good laughs during Randy’s Floating Head intro, especially the part where he electrocutes an off-camera person and we hear them scream wildly.
— The debut of Jon’s Mephistopheles character, though his costume has some minor differences from the one he would later wear regularly.
— Seemed to be a miscue with one audience member in the club being heard starting to ask “How cold is it?” earlier than they were supposed to.
— This is hilarious with the over-responsive audience ruining Dudley’s jokes by asking him non-stop questions in unison after every little thing he says, which eventually drives Dudley mad.
— Overall, my favorite Limits Of The Imagination installment so far.
STARS: ****


NAME THAT TUNE
contestants (JOC) & (host) fail to identify simple songs

— Awkward silence at the beginning, where I’m assuming the “Name That Tune” theme music failed to play.
— The bidding part was really funny.
— Nice little detail of Joan picking lint off of her outfit while Jon is explaining the game rules to her.
— Overall, they managed to get a decent amount of humor out of a such a simple, one-note premise.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “True Love”


MASTER THESPIAN
a rehearsal with rival actor Sir Roger Tewksberry (host)

— Tons of airtime for Jon Lovitz tonight. And in this episode alone, we’ve gotten the three recurring characters that Jon’s probably most remembered for nowadays (Tommy Flanagan, Mephistopheles, and Master Thespian).
— LOL at Don Pardo doing a dignified thespian accent during his opening voice-over. I don’t remember him doing that in the previous installment of this sketch earlier this season.
— Classic blooper where Dudley’s thrown shawl unintentionally lands on the chandelier behind him, resulting in Dudley giving “wink-wink”-type looks to the laughing audience while Jon ad-libs a great “Thank you for the lampshade!”
— Jon’s stretched-out delivery of “The gooooooaaaaaaatsssssssss” was pretty funny.
— Did I just hear Dudley call Jon by the name “Tewksberry”? Tewksberry is supposed to be the name of Dudley’s character, not Jon’s.
— A pretty good laugh from Dudley’s character coming to the realization that he’s “stabbing” Master Thespian with a feather.
STARS: ***½


DUDLEY MOORE AND THE SNL BAND: “I GOT YOU”
host & SNL Band mix Tchaikovsky with “I Got You”

— Loved Dudley’s facial reaction to the SNL Band unexpectedly breaking out into “I Feel Good”.
— I like how Dudley’s joining in on “I Feel Good” by playing classical piano notes in tune to the song.
— Nice touch with SNL Band member Leon Pendarvis constantly looking back at Dudley with amused expressions.
— Overall, another pretty entertaining piano number tonight.
STARS: ***


DIE FOREIGNER DIE!
— Rerun


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A decent episode with a nice flow that felt very consistent, even though there were a few subpar things in the first 25 minutes (cold opening, Miss Pregnant Teenage America). While the overall episode wasn’t as strong as the consecutive three-episode Herman/Lithgow/Hanks run, this will still probably end up standing out at the end of the season as one of the better 1985-86 episodes by default.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Harry Dean Stanton):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Ron Reagan

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January 18, 1986 – Harry Dean Stanton / The Replacements (S11 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
solemn, wheelchair-bound Herb (RAQ) explains why he’s never had a Whopper

— Interesting use of Dennis’ anchorman role outside of Update.
— A cold opening based on Burger King’s “Where’s Herb?” campaign about the only man in America who’s never had a Whopper.
— I laughed at Randy smiling pathetically at the camera while a simple graphic of the name “Herb” is displayed under him.
— Randy’s specific explanation of his refusal to try a Whopper has some laughs here and there, especially the part about the glue in the burgers.
— Overall, despite a few laughs, this cold opening was too dry and slow-paced for its own good. The whole thing badly died off toward the end.
STARS: **


OPENING MONTAGE
— The theme music is in a MUCH faster tempo than usual. In a way, I kinda feel like it fits this opening montage more than the slower-tempo theme does.
— The shots of Anthony, Jon, and Terry have been changed to shots that would be used for the rest of the season. This is actually the second time they’ve changed Terry’s shot, and the one introduced tonight is a definite downgrade; I’ve never liked that cheesy big smile in his pic. (comparisons between each of the three performers’ various shots are below)


MONOLOGUE
host & SNL Band perform “Baby What You Want Me To Do”

— Yeah, you can tell right off the bat that he’s drunk. Reportedly, he was drinking backstage with The Replacements before the show.
— At least the speaking portion of this monologue was short, before he launched into a blues song, where he’s coming off more in his element.
— Very cool how he’s climbing up the fire escape into the rooftop to join the SNL Band.
— Feels like the first time all season that G.E. Smith has gotten major face time, something that he’ll regularly be getting in the upcoming SNL era that starts next season.
— Overall, even though the musical number didn’t contain any intended comedy, this was pretty fun and likable.
STARS: ***


GULF COAST FURNITURE WAREHOUSE
Double R & son have a “stink sale” to move death-scented furniture

— Hilarious concept of a “stink sale” of furniture plagued with the scent of Double R’s dead father’s body.
— I like the pictures of Robert showcasing the bad-smelling furniture while disgustedly covering his nose.
— Robert’s goofy clapping dance at the end is pretty funny.
STARS: ***½


CLEVELAND VICE
(host) & (RAQ) investigate a rash of bowling ball thefts

— Are the women’s “pregnant” bellies supposed to be concealed bowling balls?
— Yep, I guess they ARE, since bowling ball thefts has turned out to be a part of the sketch’s plot.
— Reportedly, Randy’s delayed entrance (“Sorry I’m late”) wasn’t in the script. He took longer than usual changing from his Double R costume to his Cleveland Vice costume.
— A way-too-long, dull parody of the Miami Vice opening credits, though I got a laugh from the “In Mono” graphic with half a headphone set.
— I like how they’re using the SNL home base stage for a street scene in this.
— Some laughs from how Randy and Harry have to bring the suspect to the police station by bus.
— A pretty funny Joan Rivers impression from Terry, but WHAT IN THE WORLD was it doing in this sketch? It had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the sketch, and she wasn’t even shown with either of the two main characters. A complete non-sequitur.
— This sketch is getting way too long and repetitive, and the whole thing has really lost steam.
— Weak ending.
— An overall poor sketch that highlighted some of the problems with this season’s writing.
STARS: *½


DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER
Bat Masterson (RAQ) schedules showdown with (host)

— Randy Quaid has been extremely busy tonight, appearing in a lead role in EVERY SINGLE SKETCH so far.
— Damon’s stereotypical-speaking servant character is just plain cringeworthy, especially knowing Damon’s behind-the-scenes frustration working at SNL.
— The extended chair-creaking part made me laugh.
— Haha, the random train set bit was really funny.
— I’m liking the direction of this. This is coming off as a good, silly writer-ly piece.
— Overall, a funny sketch that reminds me a little of two other solid writer-ly pieces from earlier this season: Vlad the Impaler and U.S.S. Cameron.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bastards of the Young”


NEW PARENTS
new father (JOL) is mad about what wife (JOC) said about him during labor

— An okay line from Jon about how all newborn babies look like Edward G. Robinson.
— LOL at the line about how Joan called Jon a “wimpy jew” while in labor.
— Sloppy delivery from Danitra, messing up the last name of Joan’s character a few times.
— Strange how they’re using a real newborn baby in the scene.
— This overall sketch didn’t work as a whole. Not sure what, but it felt like a lot was missing from this.
STARS: **


WEEKEND UPDATE

— Tonight’s Update opens with the Dick Van Dyke Show theme song. At this point, I think safe to say that it’s become a regular thing for each of Dennis’ Updates to open with a different non-news-related song, though he’s only been using movie/TV theme songs so far. I wonder at which point he starts using rock songs, which I remember his Updates from seasons 12-16 opening with.
— Dennis’ “Goetz Gets Off” joke was hilarious.
— Dennis’ jokes in general are really good so far tonight.
— Overall, a very short but solid Update. Like I recently said, I’m enjoying how this season’s revamped version of the news is focusing very little on guest commentaries, of which there were none tonight.
STARS: ***½


THAT BLACK GIRL
Latoya Marie’s (DAV) agent Seymour (TES) gets her a part

— Great concept, and I love the That Girl-style opening credits.
— Funny performance from Damon as the boyfriend.
— I like Jon’s characterization as the lenient landlord.
— An overall decent sketch, led by a great performance from Danitra.
STARS: ***


SAM KINISON
Sam Kinison [real] does stand-up about honesty in relationships

— Love the bit about a donut shop worker snapping and going postal.
— Some laughs from the part about women discreetly offering him pleasure.
— Lots of funny lines from the whole part about relationships.
— Overall, a good stand-up performance and an improvement from Sam’s more hit-and-miss appearance from earlier this season.
STARS: ***½


BIG BALL OF SPORTS
footage of the 1914 Balkan Dirt Diving Championship

— “Balkan Dirt Diving” is a pretty funny random concept.
— I almost thought the scratchy black-and-white footage truly was an old film, before realizing this is newly-filmed footage made to look old. Great job with the authentic look of this.
— I like Al Franken’s voice-over in this.
— Haha, this film is weird as hell so far, but hilarious.
— I’m getting a lot of laughs from the different vocalization each competitor makes right as they’re about to dive.
— Freakin’ hilarious part with the second diver having his dislocated shoulder be PAINFULLY snapped back into place, resulting in him screaming in agony.
— I like how when the announcer says “A hush falls upon the spectators”, the cutaway to the hushed crowd shows a close-up of a man chomping into a hot dog (or a similar-looking food) while eagerly watching the dirt diver in anticipation.
— LOL, holy hell at third diver flatly landing face-first into the dirt, dying instantly. Haha, this film is an absolute riot.
— Overall, a hilariously random film that had me in stitches.
STARS: ****


NO OFFENSE
in a bar, drunk (host) bothers patrons (RDJ) & (JOC)

— Harry Dean Stanton playing a drunk? Not much acting involved there, I see…
— This sketch has been going nowhere for me so far.
— Overall, wow, I have nothing interesting to say here. This whole sketch just washed right over me, with nothing particularly funny or noteworthy standing out.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Kiss Me on the Bus”


JACK’S DISCOUNT EMPORIUM
a store insensitively uses MLK Day as an occasion to stage a white sale

— Very funny with Jon as a spokesperson touting a Martin Luther King Day “white sale”.
— The cutaways to various badly-impersonated famous historical figures such as George Washington and Sitting Bull are fun.
— A lot of laughs from Jon inappropriately using MLK-related phrases to hype up his store’s sales.
STARS: ***½


SAY NO TO THE ARMY
— Rerun. This Anthony Michael Hall-starring commercial is serving as a reminder that tonight’s episode is the beginning of Anthony’s two-month SNL hiatus while he’s filming “Out of Bounds”.


GOODNIGHTS

— They forgot to update the 1985 copyright year into 1986. (last screencap above)

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Not a very good episode, though not a terrible episode either. There were enough highlights to make the overall episode merely underwhelming rather than outright bad. The middle of the episode at least had a nice streak of good segments from Weekend Update to Big Ball Of Sports.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Teri Garr):
— a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Dudley Moore

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December 21, 1985 – Teri Garr / The Cult, The Dream Academy (S11 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Cabrini Green takes a Christmas gift to a rapper wrapper (DAW)

— Damon’s rapping started out okay, but this bit has quickly gone downhill, especially once Danitra joined in on the rapping.
— Why is Danitra dressed as her Cabrini Green character? Nothing about Danitra’s role in this sketch is specific to that character; she might as well be dressed as a generic unnamed character.
— Okay, I did get a laugh from Damon’s jokingly-awkward “…yeah…” ad-lib after he messed up a verse.
— Overall, a weak way to start tonight’s show, even if the rapping in this wasn’t QUITE as cringeworthy as I had remembered it being.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
host & Father Guido Sarducci do “I Got You Babe” as Popes Lois & Maurice

— A continuation of Father Guido Sarducci/Maurice’s People’s Catholic Church commentary from Weekend Update.
— This monologue hasn’t been working for me, especially now that they’ve broken out into a rendition of “I Got You Babe”. Meh.
STARS: **


CRITIC
— Rerun


A DOZEN EGGS
island residents (RAQ) & (host) discuss the latter’s price in eggs

— Nice opening overhead camera angle.
— The opening egg/bacon conversation between Randy and Jon has some laughs.
— Boy, this sketch sure has looooong stock-footage transition shots between scenes.
— Overall, despite some okay lines, I didn’t care much for this sketch. Perhaps this would’ve come off better in the 10-to-1 slot, but certainly not as the lead-off sketch of the night. This doesn’t bode well for the rest of tonight’s episode (and we’ve already been off to a bad start with the cold opening, monologue, and this sketch).
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Dream Academy performs “Life In A Northern Town”


TIME MACHINE TRIVIA GAME
(AMH)’s time-travel excursions affect his parents’ Trivial Pursuit game

— What’s with Jon’s gray hair dye?
— Anthony Michael Hall makes his first live appearance in weeks.
— Pretty good premise, with some funny altered trivia question answers after Anthony’s constant history-changing.
— After Anthony picked up the phone, the camera seemed like it didn’t know who to follow, first following a walking-away Randy before immediately awkwardly panning over to Anthony talking on the phone.
— Overall, a pretty good sketch, even if the execution felt a little sloppy, not to mention a typically weak performance from Anthony. (Thankfully, tonight’s the last episode we’ll be seeing Anthony for quite a while, as he misses the next two months of episodes)
STARS: ***½


HILDY
the Deavers’ maid (TES) rewards herself for saving Christmas

— This sketch has the same living room set that was just seen in the Time Machine sketch that preceded this. I’m aware, however, that the sketches didn’t originally air in this order; the order has been shuffled around in the rerun version I’m watching. In the original live airing, the Time Machine sketch was the final sketch of the night.
— Yet another drag role for Terry. This particular one seems to be a parody of the 50s/60s sitcom Hazel.
— I liked Joan’s line to Hildy just now: “Without you, I’d have to get my life together and be a real mother.”
— Is that a real blooper with Terry having an extended amount of trouble finding Robert’s gift under the tree?
— I got a laugh from Jon slapping Robert on the head after Robert says “Yeah, we knew you’d like it” to Hildy.
— This audience is liking this sketch a lot more than I am.
— The ending was actually okay, but most of the rest of the sketch didn’t work for me (I feel like I’m saying that a lot in this review).
— It kinda feels like this was set up to become a recurring sketch, but thankfully, it ended up never returning.
STARS: **


WEEKEND UPDATE
poorly-obscured mob informant (DON) doesn’t have interesting information

— Tonight’s Update opens with the theme music from Bonanza.
— Always weird seeing Don Novello in a non-Father Guido Sarducci role.
— Some laughs from the censor bar that the camera is superimposing over Don’s eyes, and how it’s doing a bad job of following him whenever he moves his head.
— Man, this Novello commentary going on WAY too long, and the censor bar gag has completely lost its novelty.
— Okay, Novello’s Ted Koppel comment made me laugh.
— Overall, kind of an unnoteworthy Update for Dennis Miller standards, though he still got in a few of his usual random one-liners that made me laugh.
STARS: **½


A ROY ORBISON CHRISTMAS
NBC broadcasts the six unaired minutes of A Roy Orbison (RAQ) Christmas

— Nice use of the SNL Band.
— Randy’s doing a good impression of Roy Orbison’s singing voice.
— The sound mixing is pretty bad during the “Santa’s Little Surfer Girl” number, as you can hear the backup singing from the SNL Band much more than you can hear the actual main vocalists.
— The overall “Santa’s Little Surfer Girl” number was okay, but nothing funny even happened in it.
— Danitra’s Leslie Uggams reading a letter from a mental patient is really funny, especially as the letter eventually begins a descent into nonsensical madness. Also, a funny touch with Danitra turning the crazed letter in a slow, circular motion as she’s reading off of it.
— Good casting of Anthony as Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, as Anthony does have a pretty strong resemblance to him.
— Overall, this could’ve been a lot funnier. Most parts of this felt too much like a real holiday special. Danitra provided most of my only real laughs.
STARS: **


PENN AND TELLER
Penn & Teller [real] take turns being The Incredible Electric Boy

— Funny explanation from Penn about how Teller became the Incredible Electric Boy, and how lonely his life has been since then.
— Nice fire-eating stunt from Penn.
— Interesting turn with Penn calling out Teller for overplaying the bit and “ruining” the trick.
— Overall, this was fine, but I didn’t find this quite as enjoyable as Penn and Teller’s usual SNL stuff.
STARS: ***


THE BIG TREE
a disaster movie about a huge, unsafe Christmas decoration

 

— The long cast intro at the beginning of the sketch feels unnecessary and is ALREADY getting this sketch off to a bad start.
— Being familiar with Nora’s five-year SNL tenure, it feels kinda strange in hindsight seeing her playing a flaky high-pitched drunk in this sketch. Very different from the type of roles Nora usually played on SNL.
— Jon has wore gray hair dye in just about every sketch he was in tonight. Reminds me of how Dan Aykroyd would sometimes do that in some episodes from the original era.
— This feels like the very first non-Update appearance Dennis Miller has ever made.
— Boy, I am NOT enjoying this sketch so far.
— This sketch illustrates the problems of having such a young cast this season. I find it hard to buy Robert Downey in the high-profile role of a construction company owner when he looks like he’s still in high school.
— The repeated throwing-drinks-in-faces bit is just plain dumb and has come off under-rehearsed.
— Jesus Christ at Anthony’s VERY obvious cue-card reading after whipping off his sunglasses during his argument with Robert. There’s even an awkward brief pause while we have to wait for Anthony to actually find his line on the cue card.  This is almost unintentionally hilarious in how bad it was. In the “Live from New York” book, Anthony recalls a friend of his once humorously compiling a tape of Anthony’s most blatant cue card-staring moments from his SNL tenure. I’m guessing a clip of this sketch was DEFINITELY included.
— Now we get a sudden random gunshot ending, which is our “cliffhanger”. Bah. I only chuckled at that part because of someone’s (Joan, I think) loud scream after the gunshot goes off.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL GUEST INTRO

— Before segueing into an introduction to the musical guest’s performance, we’re comically told that due to audience disinterest, there will be no “part two” of the Big Tree sketch. All I have to say is: thank god.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
The Cult performs “She Sells Sanctuary”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Oof. A very rough episode. Pretty much as bad as I remembered it being from my past viewings. Very little in this episode was worthwhile, and even the better stuff wasn’t particularly great. It says something when even Penn and Teller and Dennis Miller’s Weekend Update weren’t as strong as they’ve usually been.
— After having just gone through three strong consecutive episodes, this episode was a hard crash back into the reality of the troubled season 11. This is the most negative review I’ve given in a long time; probably since season 6.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tom Hanks):
— a huge step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
We enter 1986, with host Harry Dean Stanton

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December 14, 1985 – Tom Hanks / Sade (S11 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Entertainment Tonight- Brooke Shields (JOC), George Michael (RDJ), others

 

— Right at the beginning of his first SNL appearance, Tom Hanks is ALREADY coming off funny by humorously vocalizing along to the Entertainment Tonight theme song.
— The cutaway to Terry nodding (in drag, of course) made me laugh.
— The various inane polls are pretty funny.
— The repeated cutaways to the same shot of Terry nodding reminds me of the joke they always did with Harry Shearer’s Robin Leach in the preceding season.
— I’ve always liked the part with Anthony, on the set of his movie “Out of Bounds”, explaining that the reason he wasn’t in the previous week’s SNL episode is because his parents grounded him. A good way to get humor out of Anthony’s absurdly young age for an SNL cast member. Also, this ends up being Anthony’s only appearance tonight, meaning he wasn’t there live in the studio that week either.
— I got a big laugh from Tom doing a sad vocalization of the Entertainment Tonight theme during the in-memoriam part.
— Okay, the constant cutaways to Terry nodding are gradually losing their humor.
— Boy, this cold opening is long. They seem to be going out of their way to work in every cast member.
— Okay, the “Terry nodding” cutaway has made me laugh again, only because of the absurdity of how it was shown during an interview with Terry playing another role (Joan Collins).
— Overall, parts of this could’ve been better, but this had a fun energy that I really liked.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Finally, after the overly-simplistic, low-budget, still-photos opening montage used in the prior episodes from this season, we get a new live-action montage.

 

— The opening overhead shot of the city (first screencap above) is different from the one that would be shown in the modified version of this montage in this season’s subsequent episodes.
— Dennis casually hopping onto the back of a passing garbage truck has always been my favorite part of this montage.
— The text showing the cast members’ names looks a bit different from how it would soon look in the modified version of this montage in later episodes. In tonight’s montage, the lettering of the cast’s names aren’t bolded, which makes some of them kinda hard to read, especially in Danitra’s shot (third-to-last screencap above).
— For the first time in SNL history, the host isn’t the first person announced in an opening montage. Starting tonight, the repertory cast is announced first, then the host, then the rest of the night’s guests, and then lastly, the featured players.
— Overall, a solid set of opening credits, and I like the unique format, showing the perspective of the host traveling in a limo from the airport to Rockefeller Center.


MONOLOGUE
host wants to watch himself on TV while doing the monologue

— Lots of good little lines from Tom so far.
— Funny how he’s achieving his desire to watch himself on TV while hosting SNL by excitedly looking at himself in the monitor.
— The compact mirror bit has made this even funnier.
— Overall, a good first monologue for Tom Hanks, and he handled this with ease.
STARS: ***½


TROJANS
a message about the importance of freedom from Trojans

— The sudden Trojans reveal at the end after all the noble freedom talk was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


LIARS
Tommy Flanagan & brother Earl (host) visit mom (NOD) for the holidays

— Interesting premise, showing Tommy Flanagan’s family.
— Jon’s mention of Pathological Liars Anonymous receives some scattered recognition applause from the audience.
— I like Nora listing off various lies of Tommy Flanagan’s childhood, all of which Nora believes as true.
— Good casting of Hanks as Tommy Flanagan’s similarly-lying brother.
— I like Jon and Tom ganging up on Robert, calling him out as a liar. I remember in my first viewing of this sketch years ago, I hated Robert’s part because I had felt that he ruined the flow of the sketch, from the great chemistry we were seeing between Jon, Tom, and Nora, and I felt that Robert couldn’t measure up to their solid performances. Watching this sketch again now, I see that I was too harsh on Robert back then. He’s fine in this sketch and isn’t “ruining” anything.
— Pretty solid sketch overall.
STARS: ***½


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
how to hail a cab; Louis Farrakhan (DAW) cries

— Man, between Tommy Flanagan and Pat Stevens, this season has been relying on the same recurring sketches an awful lot so far (and it only gets worse as the season goes on).
— Pat Stevens’ cab-hailing demonstration was okay, but not as funny as her past demonstrations in prior installments of this sketch.
— Damon as Farrakhan: “I like a woman so black, she’s blue! With blonde hair.”
— Haha, Damon clearly keeps trying not to crack up throughout this sketch. He keeps lowering his head whenever he starts smirking.
— Damon’s emotional breakdown was pretty funny.
— Funny bit with Nora-as-Pat’s reaction to the napkin that Damon blew his nose into.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Is It A Crime”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM tries to explain the GE-RCA-NBC merger with a fridge, dog, peacock
DEM’s Sports Fantasy- fulfilled wish to be a boxing referee goes wrong

 

— This is the second Weekend Update in a row to use a famous TV/movie theme during the Update intro (we get the Mission: Impossible theme tonight), which makes me wonder if I was wrong in my last episode review where I said it’s not until next season where it becomes a weekly thing for each of Dennis’ Updates to open with a different song.
— The bit with Dennis breaking down the G.E./RCA merger using toys is pretty funny, especially his various ad-libbed side comments.
— Even though it got a good audience reaction, I didn’t like Dennis’ corny Sardi’s joke.
— Dennis’ mini-rant about record censorship labels was okay and made a good point, even though I normally abhor preachiness in comedy.
— Hmm, a follow-up to the “Dennis Miller’s Sports Fantasy” bit from the season premiere.
— Tonight’s Sports Fantasy segment is basically using the same joke of the first one, presenting stock footage of a real sports injury as something that happens to the Sports Fantasy participant. This one wasn’t as funny.
— I did like Dennis’ funny comments about the Sports Fantasy participant during the live outtro.
— I didn’t get the punchline of the “alternate ending to Clue” joke. Maybe because I haven’t seen that movie in ages.
— Loved the Bernard Goetz joke.
— No guest commentaries in tonight’s overall Update. One of the things I like about this season’s revamped version of the news is that it’s been light on guest commentaries so far, which is refreshing after I’ve had to deal with the Ebersol era being so overly reliant on guest commentaries, often focusing far more on them than on the actual news jokes from the anchorperson.
STARS: ***


FANTASY
(host) has thought about what life will be like after his wife (JOC) dies

— You can already tell this sketch is going to get good just from Tom’s “Well… here’s something…” in response to Joan saying that nothing about Tom’s fantasies will shock her.
— Great line with Tom bluntly telling Joan “I sometimes have this fantasy that… you die.”
— I love how overly detailed and lecherous Tom’s fantasy is getting.
— Good facial reactions from Joan as well.
— Also some humor out of Tom trying to downplay how often he thinks about Joan’s death.
— Funny breakdown from Terry after accidentally stabbing Joan.
— Great ending.
— An overall fantastic sketch that was so perfect for Tom Hanks. Reportedly, this sketch was originally attempted with every male host this season (well, I’m guessing not Pee-Wee) prior to Hanks, but always kept getting cut after read-through. Definitely a good thing in hindsight that it didn’t make it on the air until Hanks came along. Lithgow would’ve been fine in this sketch, but probably not quite up to Hanks’ level. And as for Chevy? NO. Well, I admit 1975 Chevy probably would’ve killed with this sketch, but certainly not 1985 Chevy.
STARS: ****½


STAND-UPS
stand-up comics (host), (JOL), (DAW) do observational humor backstage

— I’m really liking the Jerry Seinfeld-esque delivery from Tom and Jon.
— Great addition with Damon now getting involved in the Seinfeld-esque musings.
— Genuinely funny observational humor here, especially the Miami Vice part.
— A strong, fun sketch overall.
STARS: ****


STEVEN WRIGHT
Steven Wright [real] does stand-up & sings a song about his girlfriend

— Our first (and only, I think) returning stand-up guest performer from the Ebersol era.
— Some of my favorite random one-liners so far tonight are the ones about his girlfriend doing her nails with white-out, him asking what’s another word for thesaurus, and his revelation that he stole all the erasers to all the miniature golf pencils in the world.
— Nice change of pace with him doing a guitar song now.
— I love the (false) title to the song about his girlfriend: “They’ll Find Her When The Leaves Blow Away, Cuz I’m Not Raking Till The Spring”.
— Another one-liner that made me howl was the whole bit about his girlfriend having poison ivy on the brain.
— Great explanation of how having sex with his girlfriend is like being at a concert.
STARS: ****


HOLIDAY MOMS
(NOD) & (JOC) take a break from shopping for their kids’ Christmas toys

— Some pretty funny realistic humor here during Nora and Joan’s conversation.
— I’m surprised this sketch ended as early as it did.
— An overall decent slice-of-life piece with good performances from Joan and (especially) Nora. I can easily picture this sketch being done with Gilda and Jane in the original era.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “The Sweetest Taboo”


FISHERMEN
fishermen (host) & (RAQ) react after the sea gives them a treasure chest

— Some laughs from Tom and Randy’s angry Italian gestures when “cursing” the sea.
— Half of Randy’s fake mustache has peeled off, causing him to start laughing.
— Haha, Randy’s mustache is now gradually coming off even more. This is causing the audience to laugh through Randy’s long speech right now. This sketch is getting completely derailed in a good way.
— Good ad-lib with Randy’s “I think I can hear the sea laughing already”.
— The very end of this sketch seemed to get cut off in the live version I’m reviewing. The show must’ve been running late.
— Overall, thank god for that mustache blooper, because this sketch would’ve been pretty much completely worthless without it.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Another great episode, which makes this three in a row now. Aside from the weak final sketch, the segments in this episode ranged from good to fantastic. And just from this episode, you can see why Tom Hanks would go on to be one of SNL’s greatest recurring hosts of all-time.
— The fact that we’ve now had three very solid episodes in a row must’ve lulled then-current viewers into a false sense of security, making them think that after a slow first two episodes, this season has officially taken off and things are going to be alright. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last. The trouble this season was in during the first two episodes soon returns.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Lithgow):
— a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Teri Garr hosts the Christmas episode

Posted on

December 7, 1985 – John Lithgow / Mr. Mister (S11 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (RAQ) won’t heed Dr. Lizardo’s (host) Halley’s Comet alert

— John Lithgow’s energy and accent in this is great.
— Geez, Randy looks as un-Reagan-like as ever in this sketch. I believe next season is the first season where SNL finally made it an unwritten rule to always make the performers look like the celebrities they’re playing.
— The science lab set in this sketch looks like the one that I once pointed out was used in a few sketches from late in the Ebersol era (Robin Duke’s Turkey Lady sketch being one of them).
— Randy’s getting some laughs with his performance.
— I’ve always loved Lithgow’s wild “Live from New York…” delivery in this.
— Overall, while this cold opening wasn’t too bad and featured mostly solid performances, a few parts here and there kinda disinterested me.
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
host sings “Getting To Know You” to cope with stress caused by live show

— Lithgow thinking this is dress rehearsal is a really good concept.
— Funny reveal that the reason for Lithgow’s mix-up is because he forgot to change his watch from L.A. time.
— Lithgow is doing an excellent silent gradual descent into horror when realizing he is indeed live.
— I have to wonder how they did this monologue in the actual dress rehearsal earlier that night, since the premise obviously wouldn’t have worked as well there.
STARS: ***½


WHERE YOU’RE GOING
— Rerun


POSTERIOR ARTHROPOD
(host)’s outlook improves after getting the bug removed from his butt

 

— Already, this is coming off as a perfect role for Lithgow.
— Funny little gag with Damon leaving from his doctor’s appointment with an uncomfortable stiff walk.
— LOL at the audience already laughing as soon as Lovitz puts on gloves for what appears to be a rectal exam.
— Some good laughs from the bug-removal from Lithgow’s “posterior”.
— I like Lovitz’s list of bug-up-the-butt symptoms, especially “Are you an attorney?”
— Overall, this was a pretty well-written sketch, and had a well-structured format that feels rare for this season.
STARS: ***½


MASTER THESPIAN
Master Thespian (JOL) has an acting duel with mentor Baudelaire (host)

 

— The debut of one of Lovitz’s signature characters. Debuting this in a John Lithgow-hosted episode is great, considering Lithgow’s soon-to-be recurring Baudelaire character is the perfect scene partner for these sketches.
— I love Lithgow’s constant “I was merely… acting!” reveals after playing various tricks on Lovitz.
— Funny fencing match between the two of them.
— Great line with Lovitz revealing “I am dead and merely ACTING alive!”
— Overall, this was a fantastic debut.
STARS: ****


DOUBLE R ROLLS
Double R (RAQ) & son (RDJ) sell the Rajneesh’s Rolls-Royces

— Pretty funny premise, and good characterization from Randy.
— Robert’s walk-on is pretty funny, though I recall his character being a little funnier in the subsequent installments of this soon-to-be recurring sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Broken Wings”


AD COUNCIL
Wasting Your Time In Various Ways For No Good Reason

— Nice cinematography in this, especially the opening shot of the energy plant.
— The constant scenery shifts are a good parody of the type of ad cliches from that era.
— The close-up of the spokesman delivering a random “Mmm! That’s cracklin’ good!” is the part that I’ve always remembered the most from this ad.
— Good “wasting your time” tagline at the end.
STARS: ***½


CLICHES
(host) can only offer his daughter (JOC) cliches in her time of need

— Another perfect role for Lithgow tonight. He’s pulling this off well with his cheesy dad-type delivery of cliches in response to everything Joan says to him.
— I got a laugh from Lithgow’s absurd “windshield sneaking up on a bug” analogy.
— Pretty good ending with Lithgow’s character mixing Joan’s name with the name of one of his other daughters.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
DAW discusses Reagan-Gorbachev summit & where the arms race will lead

— Instead of opening with typical news-sounding theme music that all of Dennis’ prior Updates have opened with, this Update opens with the famous music sting from Jaws. Seems to be an early glimpse of what will later go on to be a weekly thing where Dennis’ Updates each begin with a different famous song. I think it’s next season where that becomes a regular thing.
— Great “Punch Mary Lou Retton in the Teeth” lottery bit, which got a big audience reaction.
— I really like the whole bit about the body of Cap’n Crunch being found.
— Dennis is on fire tonight.
— Dennis even managed to save the “president stuffing the turkey” joke from being a typical bad photo-based gag, with his comments to the audience afterwards.
— Good to see return of Damon as Update’s political correspondent.
— Funny line from Damon about “terrorists hijackin’ the planet in the name of Allah”.
— Another amusing line from Damon, this time regarding rapping to women about what’s left of their hair.
— Loved the quick Mod Squad bit Dennis did with Damon after Damon’s commentary.
STARS: ***½


VEGAS NANCY
Nancy Reagan (TES) sings & dances “That Old Black Magic” Vegas-style

— Another President Reagan sketch tonight? And much like the cold opening, I see SNL still can’t be bothered to make Randy look a thing like Reagan.
— At least we get to see Terry’s Nancy this time.
— Interesting concept, with us now going into Nancy’s fantasy sequence.
— Terry’s interactions with the backup dancers during the number is pretty funny.
— Fun turn with Terry-as-Nancy’s skirt-lifting “Fire!” part.
— Amusing touch with Terry clearly being out-of-breath when the Vegas fantasy sequence has ended and we’re shown him as Nancy still sitting next to Randy’s Ron in the White House.
STARS: ***


SAM KINISON
Sam Kinison [real] does stand-up about bitterness caused by his breakup

— The debut of Sam Kinison as SNL’s newest stand-up comedian guest performer.
— I love his intro, explaining how he’s different from SNL’s other stand-up acts by suddenly going into the audience and screaming into one audience member’s face.
— Good interaction with the couple in the front row.
— The “Bloopers, Bleeps and Blunders” bit fell flat.
— I’m getting some good laughs from the whole bit about how Jesus was the only guy who didn’t scare people when coming back from the dead.
— Overall, some laughs here, though this was a lot more hit-and-miss than Kinison’s stand-up material usually is. Reportedly, the dress rehearsal version of this went much better, which would later replace the live version of this in reruns. (I’m reviewing the live version of this episode)
STARS: ***


U.S.S. CAMERON
captain (host) has valid reasons not to give in to mutineers’ demands

— I love the concept of this. Seems like this will be the type of solid writer-ly sketch that I always enjoy.
— I like how writer John Swartzwelder is playing a character with his same last name. I guess the name “Swartzwelder” DOES have a pirate shipmate-type sound to it.
— Love Randy’s off-camera angry yelling outburst to the other sailors.
— Amusing blooper where the rug in front of the door has become bunched up, making it hard for the performers to re-enter the room.
— Funny characterization from Lithgow, who I’m assuming is doing a Charles Laughton imitation. I’m liking the comments Lithgow keeps making about how cold his food is getting.
— Haha, there’s some good unintentional laughs from Randy’s real-life difficulty in closing the door, thanks to the aforementioned bunched-up rug in front of it.
— The ending didn’t work for me, but this overall sketch was pretty solid.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Kyrie”


THE LIMITS OF THE IMAGINATION
fish fry is literally “all-you-can-eat”

— Randy as the Floating Head demonstrating some of the “amazing” things they can do in his universe always makes me laugh in these sketches. There was especially a funny one tonight with him showing how he “can make you change the channel” by disgustingly digging in his nose.
— Good dark turn with Danitra explaining that the advertised “all you can eat” dinner is very literal.
— Funny visual of various tortured customers simultaneously being force-fed fish by waiters.
— Overall, a huge improvement over the Limits Of The Imagination installment from the season premiere.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

— I just realized while watching these goodnights that Anthony Michael Hall was nowhere to be seen all night. Probably explains why Robert Downey seemed to get more airtime than usual. This is the first of what will be quite a lot of episodes that Anthony will be missing this season, due to a movie he was filming at the time.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— While this didn’t have quite the fun vibe the preceding episode with Pee-Wee Herman had, this was still our second consecutive solid episode of the season. Aside from the cold opening, every single segment in this episode worked, though the only one that stood out as particularly great was Master Thespian.
— John Lithgow was a great host, and the show utilized him perfectly, giving him the type of roles that played to his strengths as a performer. I’m looking forward to his next two hosting stints from later this decade.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Pee-Wee Herman):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
The solid hosting choices continue, as Tom Hanks makes his hosting debut

Posted on

November 23, 1985 – Pee-Wee Herman / Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band (S11 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
cast watches as host walks a tightrope between World Trade Center towers

— The visual of the Pee-Wee toy model spinning around was really funny.
— It’s amazing how wildly the audience is reacting to every little thing in this, though their energy is infectious.
— Overall, a very simple and short cold opening, but it worked with Pee-Wee.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Don Novello and Dan Vitale have been added to the credits as featured players


MONOLOGUE
host wears various types of big shoes & dances to “Tequila” & “Fever”

— Very energetic beginning with Pee-Wee making the audience give him a standing ovation.
— Love the “I’m in your living room!” part.
— The “nicknaming the audience” bit is too repetitive, but still cute.
— Oh, here’s his famous Tequila shoe-dancing bit.
— Him awkwardly trying to do the Tequila dance in the big high-heeled shoes is a pretty funny visual.
— Good part with him badmouthing his movie’s biggest competition, Back to the Future.
— An overall very fun, charming, and energetic monologue. Paul Reubens has such an impressive way of captivating audiences with this character.
STARS: ****


SAY NO TO THE ARMY
(AMH) says “no” to Army despite (RDJ) & (Bruce McCulloch) peer pressure

— Young Bruce McCulloch!
— Meh at the “say no to the army” twist, after such a long build-up. I know I’m in the minority, but I never cared for this ad. I’ve always felt the army twist was weak.
— I did find this ad well-filmed, though, perfectly capturing the look and vibe of then-contemporary mid-80s anti-drug PSAs.
STARS: **


LOCKER ROOM
(RAQ) is interested in a hooker, but he can’t figure out how to tell host

— Pee-Wee’s various bad, far-fetched guesses as to what Randy’s trying to hint at him are quite fun.
— Good ending.
STARS: ***


PEE-WEE’S THANKSGIVING SPECIAL
Brooke Shields (JOC) & Diana Ross (TES) on host’s Thanksgiving Special

— Fun idea.
— Oh my god at the initial sight of Terry as Diana Ross.
— I admit, though, Terry is actually really funny in this role.
— It’s often said that you can see former cast member Robin Duke in the studio audience during Terry’s Diana Ross number. I’ve never been able to spot her during my past viewings of this sketch, but let’s see if I have better luck this time.
— Ah, THERE’S Robin! (you can see her in the bottom row of audience members in the third screencap above) Feels weird seeing her in this context, but it’s nice to see her on SNL again in any capacity.
— Hilarious brief scene with Anthony and Robert as Hall and Oates. Probably the first time all season Anthony gave me a legitimate laugh.
— This sketch wasn’t as long as I had remembered it being.
STARS: ***½


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
dealing with runway drool; depression expert (RAQ)

— This has ALREADY become recurring after only one episode.
— Good part with Nora showcasing various faces in the Italian magazine. Nora has a way of making the littlest things she says as this character funny.
— Even better part with Nora’s “drool on the runway” demonstration.
— Some good laughs from Randy’s overly depressed demeanor. His facial expressions alone are really cracking me up.
STARS: ***½


DIE FOREIGNER DIE!
a gun-filled Sylvester Stallone & Chuck Norris movie

— LOL at the title of the film.
— I like the hyped-up, fast-paced vibe of this.
— The scrolling list of foreign nationalities who will be killed in the film has some laughs, especially “Indians [both kinds]”.
STARS: ***


JAIL CELL
cellmates Tommy Flanagan & host trade fibs while waiting to be bailed out

— Probably the role I most remember Dan Vitale for, which still isn’t saying much as it’s the usual type of un-noteworthy role he was always stuck with. This sketch probably contains most lines he ever had in a single sketch, however.
— Tommy Flanagan is another character tonight making its return after debuting in just the last episode.
— I like how Pee-Wee’s joining in on the false storytelling.
— Good part with Flanagan saying “I saw that accident” in response to Pee-Wee’s obvious made-up story about an accident.
— Funny how Pee-Wee is now filling in the blanks in Flanagan’s story, which is reminiscent of the Willie and Frankie sketches that Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest did the previous season.
— Overall, probably one of the more memorable Tommy Flanagan sketches ever.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
footage of Nancy Reagan & Raisa Gorbachev at Wardrobe Limitation Talks
DEM critiques David Bowie & Mick Jagger in “Dancin’ In The Street” video
Father Guido Sarducci declares schism- he’s People’s Catholic Church pope

 

— Troll Dolls existed in 1985? I thought they weren’t around until my childhood in the 90s, where they were EVERYWHERE.
— The Cherry Coke joke got a very interesting reaction from the crowd.
— I love the various ways Dennis always plays off the audience’s reactions.
— Very promising idea of Dennis deconstructing the Jagger/Bowie “Dancing In The Street” music video.
— I absolutely LOVED Dennis’ overall “Dancing In The Street” takedown, which is probably the most Dennis Miller-esque we’ve seen Dennis in his SNL tenure so far.
— Father Guido Sarducci makes his first Weekend Update appearance in years.
— Sarducci’s whole People’s Catholic Church bit is fairly funny. This is where we get his (temporary) name change into Maurice, which ends up carrying over into a later episode from this season.
— The bit with Sarducci explaining individual pieces of the pope costume is kinda dragging, though there’s some laughs from the portion with him talking about the female version of the costume
— I liked Dennis telling Sarducci he wants to be known as “Pope Shecky”.
STARS: ***


DINOSAUR TOWN
host looks for a mouse in a bottle of Coke to save (RAQ)’s Dinosaur Town

 

–Funny how Randy’s sarcastic, half-hearted suggestion to find a bottle of Coke with a mouse in it is being taken so seriously.
— I’m enjoying the silliness of this whole sketch.
— LOL at Damon’s performance as a pimp. Though I have to ask, what’s with this season constantly pairing Damon and Anthony together as urban characters?
— I liked the line from Anthony trying to compensate for the lack of a Coke containing a mouse by offering similar oddities: a Big Mac with some car keys in it, and a cream soda bottle with a cigar butt.
— Terry as an exec professionally displaying a suitcase containing “a million billion zillion “ dollars is pretty funny.
— Overall, charming execution of such a silly idea. This was another sketch that could only work in a Pee-Wee Herman-hosted episode.
STARS: ***½


LOVE LETTER
host’s love for his teacher Miss Patterson (JOC) is reciprocated

— Pee-Wee’s passion in this is pretty funny to watch.
— Wow, strange but interesting turn with Joan’s dark “love” monologue.
— An overall nicely done sketch with a softer tone. Easily Joan’s best performance so far this season.
STARS: ***


PREGNANCY TIPS
Cabrini Green gives expectant mothers tips on smoking, alcohol, drugs

— Another sketch with Danitra’s Cabrini Green delivering a message from the home base stage.
— Pretty funny premise, advising expectant mothers on what kind of cigarettes and booze their fetus will prefer.
— This ended up being another unusually short Cabrini Green sketch, but it was still pretty good for what it was.
STARS: ***


MONEY MAGNETISM SEMINAR
Hal Fisher’s (RAQ) Money Magnet Method- real estate & motivated sellers

— Randy is dead-on in his portrayal of a shady real estate promoter, but there haven’t been ANY laughs in this sketch so far.
— Okay, the comment just now about mentally incompetent people made me laugh.
— Robert’s look in his initial walk-on made it seem like his segment was going to have promise, but it ended up not containing any comedic lines.
— Overall, what exactly was the joke of this sketch? They might as well have just played a tape of a real get-rich-quick seminar, and the result would’ve been almost exactly the same.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS
host & cast sing & dance to “Sex Machine”

— A great deviation from the normal goodnights, having Pee-Wee and the cast dance to Sex Machine.
— Ha, right before the goodnights cut off early in the live version I’m reviewing, you can see an uncooperative Damon ducking out of the musical number by leaving through the doors on the stage. I guess he’s the Norm Macdonald of this season when it comes to having an aversion to participating in full-cast musical numbers.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Our first successful episode of the season. This episode was very fun, no doubt due to Pee-Wee Herman, who gave the show a huge boost. One of those rare experimental episodes, where letting the host take over the show and make it their own actually works. The overall episode had plenty of solid and memorable pieces, despite a (very) few glimpses of the weak writing we’ve often been seeing this season, like that baffling seminar sketch at the end.
— The musical guest’s performances were removed from the copy I reviewed of this episode, which is why there were no mentions of them during my actual review.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chevy Chase):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
John Lithgow

Posted on

November 16, 1985 – Chevy Chase / Sheila E. (S11 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
fireman (CHC) leads his men on a door-checking mission in a smoky hallway

— Chevy’s constant “check that doors”s are kinda making me laugh, mostly due to his delivery.
— The second hallway the firemen are shown in looks like the same hallway set used in the second Willie and Frankie sketch last season where they were night watchmen.
— Okay, all the “check that door”s are losing their humor and seem to be the only joke, though I did like the variation with him asking one of the firemen “What do you want, your check?”
— Chevy “passing out” from the smoke felt like a weak, tacked-on variation of his trademark pratfalls.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
JOL asks CHC if he has any words of advice for the new cast

— Chevy jokingly ordering the removal of one particularly enthusiastic-sounding audience member is pretty funny.
— Not too crazy about most of the jokes here so far. They’re pretty weak and Chevy’s delivery is coming off fairly sloppy.
— The barbecue advice to Jon Lovitz was okay.
— I did like the ending of the monologue, with Chevy calling tonight’s musical guest S. Eisenberg.
STARS: **


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
feminist stripper Harriet De Lafayette (DAV)

— Nora Dunn gets her very first comedic showcase, after not having any in the season premiere. (She was the only cast member I never got a chance to mention in my review of that episode)
— The Pat Stevens character is already coming off pretty funny with her clueless statements so far.
— A good initial laugh from Danitra’s occupation as a feminist stripper, as well as her explanation of what she does.
— Just now, the light on the city backdrop briefly turned off before immediately turning back on. Strange.
— Danitra has quite a lot of funny lines here.
— I like the pointless “exercise” routine that Nora has Danitra and viewers do.
— Overall, a pretty solid debut for these Pat Stevens sketches.
STARS: ***½


FORD & REAGAN
Gerald Ford (CHC) gives Ronald Reagan (RAQ) advice about Soviet meeting

— Nice way to work in the return of Chevy’s Gerald Ford impression, pairing him with Randy’s Reagan.
— As usual, Terry’s Nancy Reagan is coming off hilarious so far
— Strange how the painting of Randy as Reagan has Reagan’s real hairstyle, but Randy himself never does whenever he plays him.
— I like the repeated background gag of Terry’s Nancy struggling with the dog.
— The whole role-playing part with Ford and Reagan isn’t working much for me.
— Much like the monologue, Chevy seems a little off here.
— I do like Chevy’s trademark pratfall over the paintings.
— Overall, a few highlights, but the sketch was kind of a letdown.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “A Love Bizarre”


PATHOLOGICAL LIARS ANONYMOUS
Tommy Flanagan (JOL) of Pathological Liars Anonymous tells his life story

— Lots of Mark McKinney voice-overs introducing sketches tonight.
— The debut of what would go on to be one of Jon’s signature characters.
— There’s the very first utterance of “That’s the ticket!”
— The “I did kill myself” line was great.
— There’s a distracting huge boom mic shadow that has just shown up in the background.
— Overall, a funny sketch and Jon came off great as this character right out of the gate. This also feels like the very first role where Jon was really allowed to show his comedic chops, considering he mostly just played it straight in the season premiere.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
DAW suggests selling MX missiles to Iran & Iraq to generate mo’ money

— For the second episode in a row, Dennis starts Update with another funny random opening comment, this time telling Don Pardo he finds him so “fresh… exciting”.
— While none of the news jokes have stood out as particularly memorable so far tonight, I’m enjoying them and Dennis is still coming off really well with his delivery.
— Damon Wayans gets the honors of being the first guest commentator during the Dennis Miller era of Update.
— I absolutely love Damon’s demeanor and how he’s coming off in this.
— There’s the immortal words “mo money”, which Damon would later make famous the next decade.
— Wow, Damon’s overall commentary was very strong and gave me a lot of big laughs.
— I liked Dennis’ comments about Damon after Damon’s segment ended.
— Dennis ends tonight’s Update with “That’s the news, I’m gone”. Still experimenting with the ending tagline, I see.
STARS: ***½


JOSE CUERVO’S PARTY SCHOOL BOWL
students answer very easy questions
The Jose Cuervo Institute rehabilitates those with party-related injuries

— I liked Joan pronouncing “synonyms” as “cinnamons”.
— Some aspects of this are kinda reminding me of a Community College Bowl sketch SNL would later do in a Jeff Daniels-hosted episode from 1991. Both sketches even have a contestant with the last name Hygaard or Hoigaard (played by Robert Downey in this sketch, and Mike Myers in the 1991 sketch). I’m guessing both sketches were written by the same person.
— Jon’s delivery of his answer “Ron Berger, Oldsmobile” was really funny.
— Hmm, now this sketch is showing a video showcasing one of the colleges, which is exactly something the aforementioned 1991 Jeff Daniels sketch did as well. Yeah, both sketches DEFINITELY must be from the same writer.
— An early Robert Smigel and A. Whitney Brown sighting among the students drinking and partying with the University of Colorado team.
— Interesting format break, now going to “commercial” to show a related ad for The Jose Cuervo Institute, starring Randy.
— The overall sketch was okay. A little better than the aforementioned Jeff Daniels version, which I remember being pretty one-note.
STARS: ***


THOSE UNLUCKY ANDERSONS
(CHC) prescribes butter for his ill-fated family

— I love the reveal of the lottery ticket-eating cat now being frozen. Good line from Chevy: “We’ll never get the tickets out of him this way.”
— I like the repeated advice of “Put some butter on it” being given for every situation.
— Chevy randomly works his Gerald Ford klutz shtick into this sketch when opening the door for Jon. Felt very unnecessary.
— Minor nitpick: Nora’s eyepatch is on the wrong eye. It was her other eye that “fell out” earlier in the sketch.
— An overall pretty solid sketch with several good random gags. It was also amusing how the various misfortunes were treated so casually by the family.
STARS: ***½


CRAIG SUNDBERG, IDIOT SAVANT
Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant (AMH) judges a violin recital in Moscow

— Anthony’s far-fetched excuse for not having his homework is pretty funny.
— Okay, I don’t care for where this sketch is going now. This violin competition judging scene hasn’t been working for me.
— There have been a lot of parts throughout tonight’s episode where this season’s infamous habit of sweetening audience reactions in reruns have been very noticeable, but it’s PARTICULARLY obvious in this sketch, because there’s absolutely no way the real audience is laughing so hysterically over THIS.
— Second sketch in a row ending with Dan Vitale in a walk-on role as one of two cops dragging a character away.
— Right before the camera freeze-frames at the end, Anthony accidentally bumps Jon in the face with his hand, resulting in Jon giving Anthony a very stern glare (though that last part was probably just Jon acting in character).
— Overall, I didn’t like this sketch, though at least it was short. If this is an example of the type of character work Anthony’s going to be bringing to the table this season, we’re screwed. This felt like a typical bad character that Pete Davidson would play nowadays.
STARS: *½


DRUMS DRUMS DRUMS
CHC plays selections from his three album collection

— The joke of the advertised tunes all having the exact same sound when played on drums was fairly funny initially, but this sketch doesn’t seem to be offering anything else.
— Okay, the “techno classics” bit right now was pretty funny, where Chevy just pressed a button on a drum machine.
— Overall, not too great. Impressive drumming from Chevy, though (which is a talent I don’t recall him ever displaying on SNL during his cast member years).
STARS: **


THE BLUE, THE GRAY, AND THE YELLOW
cowardly brothers are Civil War enemies

— The introductory screen bubbles of Anthony and Robert fearfully running away are kinda funny, but boy is Robert hamming it up with his overly-goofy facial expressions.
— Here’s the very first of what would unfortunately be many maid roles for Danitra this season.
— Oh, god, does Danitra have to play the role with such a cringeworthingly over-the-top, old-timey stereotypical voice?
— This sketch’s set looks like the same one from the Reagan/Ford sketch earlier tonight, only redecorated to have a more Civil War-era look.
— Boy, is Robert continuing to mug the camera like crazy.
— Okay, I finally got one legitimate laugh, from Randy’s overly-wordy, long-winded way of calling Anthony and Robert cowards.
— Anthony seems to keep having trouble putting his sword away in his sword case.
— Joan is yet another performer who’s overacting really badly in this sketch. Man, what was Lorne THINKING when hiring so many young kids for this season’s cast?
— Overall, this sketch was rough as hell, and exposed the weaknesses of this season’s younger performers (especially Anthony). It felt like Randy was the only thing holding this sketch together.
STARS: *½


THE LIFE OF VLAD THE IMPALER
Transylvanian prince has doubts

— Nice detail with that random huge boil on Randy’s face.
— This sketch is really tickling me so far, particularly Randy’s casual, overly-relaxed delivery, and the general conversation between him and Chevy.
— Randy’s look into the camera at the end was great.
— Overall, a very funny and clever writer-ly piece. This obviously wasn’t the type of sketch that was going to get a lot of laughs from SNL’s studio audience, but was something that comedy nerds like me can appreciate.
— I think I recall hearing this sketch was written by then-new writer Jack Handey. If this is the very first SNL sketch he got on the air, it’s a definite sign of many great things to come from him.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Much like the season premiere, this wasn’t a particularly terrible episode, but it wasn’t good either. This may have actually been a little worse than the premiere, considering the string of consecutive bad sketches towards the end of the show. We did at least get some promising debuts of future big recurring characters (Pat Stevens, Tommy Flanagan), and a few good absurd pieces in the post-Update half (Those Unlucky Andersons, Vlad The Impaler). But between the underwhelming season premiere and tonight’s episode, we haven’t exactly been seeing an encouraging sign of things to come this season.
— I can’t imagine the cast was in the best spirits by the end of that week anyway, considering Chevy’s notorious horrible treatment of them behind the scenes. I also noticed that Chevy seemed kinda off his game tonight, which is starting to feel par for the course whenever he hosts. Even his intentional gibberish-speak during his goodnights speech tonight fell flat.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Madonna):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Pee-Wee Herman

Posted on

November 9, 1985 – Madonna / Simple Minds (S11 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Brandon Tartikoff [real] says drug tests will end substance abuse at SNL

— I like Tartikoff’s opening mention of this being the beginning of SNL’s second decade, as well as the mention of Lorne Michaels’ return.
— Kinda funny how the mere mention of SNL having trouble in the past with drugs receives some audience applause.
— Good line from Tartikoff about how his method of using the honor system to keep the cast off drugs was a failure.
— Not sure we needed to see the tray of the cast’s “urine samples”. Seems like a cheap sight gag. I do find it kinda amusing, though, how the urine cups have an NBC logo on them.
— Figures that Anthony Michael Hall is the first new cast member we see. All I can say in response to his initial walk-on is, what in the world possessed Lorne to think a 17-year-old Brat Pack member would make a good live sketch comedy performer?
— Overall, this isn’t exactly how I would’ve started off a new SNL era, but this had its share of decent lines here and there. It seems strange in hindsight that this opening would end up getting censored from reruns, as it seems so tame by today’s standards.
STARS: **½


OPENING MONTAGE

— Hoo, boy. Needless to say, this new montage is quite a disappointment and a huge downgrade from the incredible montage used the previous season. This is probably the cheapest-looking opening montage SNL would ever use. Thankfully, we soon end up getting a much better and more extensive montage a few episodes into this season. I wonder if that montage was intended to be used right from the beginning of the season, but perhaps the graphics department took a lot longer with it than expected, thus necessitating the use of a different, cheaper montage to use as a placeholder in the meantime.
— Great new theme music, though, which SNL would go on to use all the way until 1994(!).


MONOLOGUE
home movies show Father Guido Sarducci marrying host & Sean Penn (RDJ)

— I really like the new home base stage, especially the big theatre marquee with the host and musical guest’s names on it.
— For this episode only, the host makes their entrance through the “theater” doors in the middle of the stage (underneath the aforementioned marquee). I believe in all the subsequent episodes this season, the hosts make their entrance through the “store” door all the way at the right end of the stage.
— The beginning of the monologue was okay, but this is picking up with the pre-taped wedding video.
— Robert Downey is pretty funny as Sean Penn.
— The repeated mentions of potato salad are falling flat.
— I got a good laugh from the brief part with Madonna’s Cyndi Lauper-esque cousin.
— I like the part with the “press” arriving, represented by stock footage of helicopters while “Ride of the Valkyries” plays.
— Random Father Guido Sarducci appearance as the priest performing the wedding.
— When ending this monologue with the usual “We got a great show” spiel, Madonna adds in a random “I’m not pregnant”, which receives audience laughter. Was that addressing then-current rumors about her?
STARS: ***


WHERE YOU’RE GOING
God knows where self-absorbed yuppies are going- straight to Hell

— Great way to feature the entire new cast all at once.
— Good realistic-sounding commercial jingle.
— It feels strange seeing Jon Lovitz so young and thin, and Damon Wayans with actual (albeit receding) hair.
— The sudden “you’re going to hell” twist and accompanying visuals of the yuppies burning in hell is hilarious. When I was younger, I used to think this twist was dumb and cheesy, but I can appreciate it a lot more now.
— Good ending with “A message from Almighty God”.
STARS: ****


NATIONAL INQUIRER THEATRE
JFK (RAQ) kills Marilyn Monroe (host)

— Probably an obvious statement, but after I’ve gotten so used to the faces in the cast from the last few seasons, it feels weird seeing an entirely new cast throughout tonight’s episode, even moreso than how it felt when I reviewed the season 6 premiere.
— Funny line from Jon about how “two half-truths add up to a whole truth”.
— Boy, do I not like Joan Cusack’s strange slow delivery in this.
— Not too crazy about Madonna’s delivery as Marilyn Monroe, either.
— A very slow and uninteresting beginning to the enactment scene so far.
— Okay, seems to be some potential now with with Randy Quaid entering as JFK.
— Awkward long pause after one of Anthony’s lines.
— I like the random inclusion of “Elvis” coming to save Marilyn.
— Danitra Vance’s possessed-type face just turning out to be her yawning was a funny bit.
— Overall, aside from a few laughs, this was weak. There were too many negative things going against it.
STARS: **


PINKLISTING
a gay actor (TES) pretends to be macho in order to get work

 

— Feels refreshing hearing the voice of Al Franken again (during the opening voice-over of this sketch), after a five-season absence.
— The sighting of stage manager Joe Dicso has been the only familiar face from previous seasons that I’ve spotted so far tonight.
— Terry Sweeney’s overly macho actions are making me laugh.
— Funny reaction from Terry when seeing the Judy Garland/Liza Minelli headline.
— Maybe it’s more because of how he’s performing the character, but it’s amazing how just a pair of glasses can make the late-20s Jon Lovitz look the part of a stuffy middle-aged network censor.
— They seemed to botch the bit where the stage light is supposed to fall, as the sound effect of it “crashing” as well as Terry’s reaction to it happened before the light actually fell.
— For some reason, I laughed at the abruptness of Madonna immediately coming to realization that Terry’s gay just because of his girly scream when the stage light fell.
— The intravenous drug user ending fell flat and wasn’t the best way to end this otherwise okay sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Alive & Kicking”


CRITIC
a movie about controversial film reviewer Victor LaSalle (JOL)

 

— Funny seeing Jon Lovitz as the title character in an ad titled “Critic”, considering a certain Fox animated series he would star in 10 years later.
— I like the scene with the drunk critic admitting the only reason people become film critics is because they’re talentless failed actors who are envious.
— Another good part, with an exec in a limo sternly ordering someone to “unplug the S.O.B.’s word processor”.
— An overall pretty funny and well-shot fake movie trailer.
STARS: ***


THE JONES BROTHERS
Jones Brothers’ (AMH) & (DAW) merchandise is cheap- middle man eliminated

— I’m already liking this just for the fact that Damon’s character is clearly a prototype to his funny hobo character from In Living Color.
— Weird seeing Anthony Michael Hall of all people doing a “black” voice, though he surprisingly isn’t bad at it.
— Pretty funny concept, and Damon in particular is pulling it off well.
— I like the look on Robert’s face and the slow way he walked in with the computer.
— While probably funny in theory, it’s kinda cringeworthy hearing Don Pardo attempting an urban voice (“Two Junkies be located at… etc.”) during his ending voice-over.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
UN delegate (JOL) demonstrates new, safer version of “the old heave-ho”
DEM’s Sports Fantasy- realized batting dream goes awry

   

— Good to see that the title “Weekend Update” is finally back, as I never liked having to call SNL’s news segment by different titles the last few seasons (SNL Newsbreak, Saturday Night News, etc.).
— Right out of the gate, Dennis Miller opens his first Weekend Update with a great ad-lib, sarcastically saying “Thank you, Don Pardo for… whipping them into a frenzy” when this Update strangely opens with no audience applause. That ad-lib would later get ruined in reruns, where SNL adds in canned applause at the opening, which causes the sarcasm of Dennis’ comment to make no sense.
— Feels strange seeing the news screen now being on the left side, after I had gotten used to seeing it on the right side the last three seasons.
— Dennis is off to a good start with his jokes so far, especially the “oral/anal sex banning” joke.
— Loved the joke about the last remaining section of Orson Welles dying.
— Didn’t care for the pre-taped segment with Jon demonstrating “the new heave-ho”.
— Another great Dennis Miller ad-lib, with him telling the audience “Thank you for applauding the carnage” after their response to one particular violent joke.
— I didn’t get the punchline of the news story about an illegal alien winning the lottery.
— This “Sports Fantasy” segment seems interesting.
— LOL at the guy immediately getting conked on the head with Goose Gossage’s pitched ball.
— I absolutely LOVED Dennis’ whole jokingly-sincere “Hey… I care” heart-to-heart talk with us viewers at the end of this.
— Dennis closes tonight’s Update by saying “That’s the news, I’m outta here” and then making a very mild swipe move off of a sheet of paper with his pencil. This is an early prototype to what would later go on to be his trademark tagline for Update.
— Overall, wow, what an impressive anchorman debut for Dennis. He came off so refreshing after all the terrible, bland anchorpersons I’ve had to suffer through when reviewing the last five seasons. Dennis immediately made this segment his own, had a laid-back persona that had never been regularly seen from an SNL anchorman, and got lots of laughs all throughout tonight’s Update. It feels good to consistently laugh during SNL’s news segment again, after how mediocre it was the last five seasons.
STARS: ***½


EL SPECTACULARE DE MARIKA
some songs & a visit from El Pato Loco

— I remember really not liking this sketch the times I’ve watched this episode in the past, but the positive reviews I’ve read of it since then has me wondering if I’ll enjoy it more this time.
— What’s with the microphone feedback squeaks during Madonna’s opening number?
— Kinda interesting having a sketch being spoken entirely in Spanish.
— I’m liking the “El Pato Loco” scene.
— I don’t know what in the world to think during the somber musical number that’s being performed right now.
— Overall, I didn’t laugh much during this, though I was impressed by the performances and how this was pulled off. This feels like a sketch that would’ve been funnier if they waited to do it a few years later during the height of SNL’s renaissance in the late 80s.
STARS: **½


PENN AND TELLER
Penn & Teller [real] perform simultaneous card trick & water tank escape

 

— The SNL debut of Penn and Teller, who would go on to be frequent guests this season (and a little of next season).
— I like the idea of this seemingly-dangerous stunt, with Penn informing us that Teller will die if he’s kept in the tank after a certain amount of time.
— Amusing cutaway to a stone-faced Teller just watching from inside the tank while Penn is doing his bit with the audience member.
— Very funny with Teller frantically waving the key in the background after time has run out.
— A good casually delivered “My partner is now dead” from Penn.
— Ha, excellent twist with the now-“dead” Teller having the correct card in his goggles.
— Overall, a very strong debut for Penn and Teller.
STARS: ****


ROYAL VISIT
Nancy Reagan (TES) boozes during royal visit by Charles (JOL) & Di (host)

 

— Randy’s Ronald Reagan impression is actually making me laugh. In my past viewings of this season, I used to hate his impression. It’s coming off a lot funnier to me now, for some reason.
— Even in this first outing, Terry’s Nancy Reagan is ALREADY really funny and is stealing the sketch.
— I like the escalation of Terry’s Nancy getting increasingly drunk with each passing scene.
— Madonna’s “treat me like a person, not a thing” rant is straddling the line between mildly funny and quite annoying.
— I did laugh at how Jon followed the above-mentioned rant by sympathetically saying to Madonna “You poor thing”.
— Didn’t care for the ending, which dragged.
STARS: **½


THE LIMITS OF THE IMAGINATION
crazed (JOL) calls (host)’s car phone

— The debut of another season 11 staple. As someone who’s become a Twilight Zone buff in recent years, I think I’m going to appreciate these sketches more than I used to.
— Randy’s cheap demonstrations of how he “can achieve anything” are making me laugh.
— This is different from the subsequent Limits Of The Imagination sketches, in that this one is actually pre-taped
— Overall, wow, I don’t even know what to say about this one. It didn’t even even seem to be trying for laughs. The horror movie aspects were well-done, but this really didn’t work as an SNL piece.
STARS: *½


COLORING BOOK
teenage mom Cabrini Green (DAV) & her I Don’t Want A Baby Coloring Book

— Yet another season 11 staple makes its debut.
— Right out of the gate in this, I’m liking how well Danitra is coming off in her performance, where you can tell this is a character she had been doing long before SNL.
— The “I Don’t Want a Baby” coloring book is pretty funny.
— It’s over already? The ending was abrupt and this overall sketch felt rushed. I wonder if the show was running long and Danitra was told before the sketch to rush through it.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Needless to say, a very different-feeling SNL from what I had gotten used to in the preceding era. And as usual when I cover the start of a new era, I had an exciting feeling while watching this. As for the actual quality of this episode, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t as terrible as I had remembered it being. Knowing this is going to be a troubled season, this wasn’t exactly the worst premiere. That being said, it’s still not an episode I can call good, either. Despite some highlights, it felt like quite a lot of the sketches were either average, forgettable, or underwhelming. The audience was also noticeably quiet at times, which gave parts of the show a strange hollow feel. Still, this season premiere was a little better than its notorious reputation.
— Of the new cast, Randy Quaid and Jon Lovitz are immediately showing potential as versatile leader-types. Terry Sweeney probably provided the most laughs for me in this episode, with his performances in Pinklisting and Royal Visit. It felt like the rest of the cast wasn’t seen much.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1984-85):
— a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Chevy Chase

Posted on

April 13, 1985 – Howard Cosell / Greg Kihn (S10 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
on the SNL set, boom mike operators Willie & Frankie talk about pain

— I know these characters have been overused this season, but considering how much I loved their first few appearances before their shtick started running out of steam, it’s good to see them one last time tonight. I also like how their entrance here is getting a huge audience reception.
— This meta premise with Willie and Frankie getting a job as SNL boom mic operators feels like a very appropriate way for these characters to go out.
— Some good gruesome stories here. The unicorn one especially got a great audience reaction.
— Very clever way of doing “Live from New York…”.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like how he’s talking in his famous slow, verbose announcer’s voice.
— He brings up his failed ABC variety series “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” (the title of which is the reason why SNL had to go by the name “Saturday Night” for its first season-and-a-half). Funny comment from him about his show being reviewed by “licensed idiots”.
— An overall short, straightforward monologue, but I enjoyed how perfectly Cosell-esque it was.
STARS: ***


HOSPITAL
case of mistaken identity puts hospital patient Ed Grimley on mob hitlist

 

— Some funny interaction between Grimley and Jim’s mob boss character.
— Freakin’ hilarious bit with Grimley getting bit by his goldfish.
— Yes! There’s Grimley’s priceless triangle dance again, which never fails to crack me up.
— Jim’s mob boss character’s last name, Fraraccio, is an inside reference, as its the last name of the SNL crew member (Bobby Fraraccio) who famously filled in for Barry Manilow in a Fernando’s Hideaway sketch earlier this season.
— Funny chase sequence between Grimley and Christopher.
— Memorable entrance from Cosell as Ed Grimley’s similar-looking uncle. A clip of his entrance would be shown at the end of a Norm Macdonald-anchored Weekend Update 10 years later, as a tribute to Cosell after his then-recent death.
— I love how Cosell is still using his trademark Cosell voice while saying Grimley-isms (“I must say”, etc.).
— Christopher gets to display some hilarious extended physical comedy after getting injected with the syringe he intended to kill Grimley with.
STARS: ****


INSIDE OUT
easily-surprised (JLD) fires spit-takes at her guests

— Oh, here’s a well-known sketch that’s gone on to be the most remembered thing Julia ever did on SNL.
— Julia’s first spit-take was absolutely perfect.
— Funny part with Julia stopping Mary’s story for a few seconds just so she can refill her cup of coffee.
— Nice visual of Mary with her now-frazzled, wet wig after getting spit on repeatedly.
— Perfect ending with Julia going absolutely wild, simultaneously throwing coffee all over the place, spitting out coffee in the air above her, and dumping the pitcher of water all over herself.
— Overall, fantastic execution of such a thin premise, and this was one of the rare times during her SNL tenure that the underutilized Julia Louis-Dreyfus got to display the great comedic skills we’d later come to know her for in her post-SNL career. Considering tonight’s her last episode, this was a strong way for her to go out.
STARS: ****


RUN, THROW & CATCH LIKE A GIRL OLYMPICS
host covers the sissy boy events

 

— Pretty funny concept.
— Another Larry David sighting, this time as the judge in the middle. He’s always easy to spot in sketches this season, with his Larry-from-the-Three-Stooges hairstyle.
— Good part with Pamela being exposed as a girl dressed in drag, which disqualifies her from the competition.
— I love the sleazy look of Rich’s proprietor character.
— Great turn with Mary and Julia as two feminists bombing the event from a plane. Funny use of old WWII stock footage as well.
STARS: ***½


BAR MITZVAH
at his bar mitzvah, host’s parents (host) & (BIC) learn his career plans

— Larry David in yet ANOTHER sketch tonight, this time shown from the back as one of the family members doing a Jewish circle dance at the beginning of the sketch. Again, his hair makes him unmistakable. I’m gonna miss the joy of spotting him in sketches after this episode.
— Ha, Frederick Koehler (the frequent child extra of this season) is doing a surprisingly great job with the Howard Cosell voice. I wonder if he already knew how to do the Cosell impression on his own, or if Billy had to coach him on it.
— Having Billy play Cosell’s similar-sounding mother is a much better use of his Cosell impression than that weak Uncle Howard Cosell sketch from the season premiere.
— Quite a visual of Cosell and Billy simultaneously saying the same things during their heated rant to each other.
— Funny blooper with Cosell’s kissing of Billy’s shoulder causing Billy to crack up, which prompts a great ad-lib from him: “That’s more tongue that’s on some of the plates!”
— This overall sketch was a little too long for my likes, but I admit it was still pretty well-done for what it was.
STARS: ***½


SPORTS BEAT
70 year-old Tony Minetti trains for his return to the ring

— Another pre-taped segment tonight. After going light on these in the second half of the season, they’re coming back in full force in tonight’s season finale.
— Billy’s old-age make-up is pretty horrifying-looking. I think this is the same former boxer character Billy played in one of his one-man-show character pieces from earlier this season. If so, SNL seems to have aged this character quite a lot since that sketch. He was nowhere near as decrepit in that sketch as he is tonight.
— I got a good laugh from the way Billy’s voice sounded when speaking with his mouth guard still in.
— For some reason, I find the name of Christopher’s character (Angie Quidaciolu) amusing.
— Christopher’s description of Billy’s diet is really funny.
— Overall, despite the highlights listed above, I wasn’t all that crazy about the film as a whole. Too many parts came off fairly uninteresting. A rare misfire for this season’s short films.
STARS: **½


FERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
host talks about his experiences in broadcasting

— Three Billy Crystal showcases in a row tonight?
— I’m not all that crazy about seeing this sketch tonight, as I was hoping the great installment with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan would end up being the final one.
— I like Fernando doing a rundown of the various guests we saw him interview over the season. Among those names, he mentions Siskel and Ebert, which initially made me go “When did he interview THEM?” before I remembered it wasn’t in a regular SNL episode; it was in an SNL Film Festival special that aired the previous month.
— Quite a story about an incident where an ill Cosell puked on fellow announcer Don Meredith’s shoes during a Monday Night Football game.
— I liked Fernando’s comments about watching Adrienne Barbeau running in slow-motion during Battle of the Network Stars.
— Overall, surprisingly not bad for the final Fernando sketch. While this doesn’t hold a candle to the Mr. T and Hulk Hogan one, I found this more enjoyable than I had been expecting.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
a list of which Frenchmen want more sex
Nathan Thurm defends the creators of Ringling Brothers’ Living Unicorn
Dwight MacNamara explains why dirt shows up on the ChromaKey screen
Robert Latta (RIH) has baseball cards that show the ballplayer & himself

   

— What’s with the shaky camera during Christopher’s opening joke?
— OH, NO. We get another Brian Doyle-Murray-esque “long screen crawl” gag, this time listing off the names of Frenchmen that want more sex. Ugh. Considering tonight is the final episode of the Ebersol era, at least this is the last time I have to deal with any remnants of the dreaded Brian Doyle-Murray season of SNL’s fake news segment.
— Not too thrilled to see Nathan Thurm is back in his usual Saturday Night News setting, after they refreshingly took him out of that setting and gave him his own sketch a few episodes ago.
— I did love Thurm’s line to Christopher just now, about how “ASPCA should condemn you… for being so uninteresting facially.”
— Christopher’s slipping into Thurm’s routine by defensively telling him “I know that!” was a pretty funny moment.
— Tonight’s overall Thurm commentary wasn’t as tired as I was worried it would be.
— Another Dwight MacNamara-behind-the-news-screen segment?
— Gary’s projector voice never fails to crack me up, but this whole segment is just an unnecessary rewrite of this character’s preceding appearance.
— Ha, now we get a random Robert Latta walk-on from Rich. They seem to be bringing out ALL the Saturday Night News favorites tonight. At least Latta is something I actually LIKE seeing again.
— I like Rich-as-Latta’s use of a dustbuster.
— The baseball cards with Latta wandering in the background are fairly funny, if an obvious joke.
— And thus ends the last-ever edition of Saturday Night News. I certainly can’t say I’m going to miss it OR Christopher Guest’s tenure as an anchorperson. I’m of the opinion that Dick Ebersol never knew what he was doing with SNL’s fake news segment. He’s made so many baffling decisions with it over these last four seasons.
STARS: **½


GOOD SEX WITH DR. RUTH WESTHEIMER
Dr. Seuss (RIH) bothers host

— Nice to see Mary’s Dr. Ruth in a setting outside of Saturday Night News for once.
— What a visual of Rich as a Cat in the Hat-looking Dr. Seuss.
— More great visuals, this time with the silly Seuss-esque food props shown on the table, especially “a rodent hanging from a noose”.
— Rich is hilarious in this sketch, though the audience is strangely silent so far.
— LOL at a Yink bird puppet suddenly appearing behind Cosell.
— Good ending with a horny Cosell hitting on Mary’s Dr. Ruth.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Boys Won’t”


A COUPLE OF RED GUYS
A Couple Of Red Guys (GAK) & (JIB) decide to defect during their rap

— A variation on Jim’s recurring upper-class rapper character.
— I love the part with Jim and Gary doing the Russian leg-kick dance in unison.
— Quite a sight of Gary in that bald cap and huge mustache.
— Haha, Gary’s warbly dancing is really funny.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lucky”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— The Ebersol era ends with a solid episode. While not as strong as the preceding episode, there were lots of things to like tonight, we got two particularly memorable sketches (Ed Grimley, Inside Out), and a very minimal amount of weaker bits. A nice way for this era of SNL to go out. I wish this episode had more of a feeling of closure for this era like the original era’s final episode did, but I understand that people at the show didn’t know this would be the end. I believe it was expected at the time for the Ebersol era to continue into next season.

— Season 10 as a whole was very enjoyable. It’s always had a reputation for being strong, and I feel it lived up to the hype. While the second half of it wasn’t quite as consistently strong as the first half was, the season as a whole was still a big win. Even my least favorite episode of the season, Ringo Starr, was merely subpar rather than all-out bad. No doubt, the season benefited from the new all-stars who joined the cast, and the increased usage of strong and memorable pre-taped material, though I was surprised to see that the latter wasn’t quite as prominent throughout the season as legend has always had it. In fact, the reliance on pre-taped material seemed to shrink more and more as the season went on. The new all-stars of the cast added an exciting and much-needed new feel to the show. Martin Short and Christopher Guest in particular were delightful additions; Guest especially impressed me with his very wide range and ability to disappear into roles. Billy Crystal, however, I had some issues with. I admit, though, that whenever he did anything that worked for me, it gave me some really good laughs. He was very hit-and-miss overall, but I’d say he had a little more hits than misses. Most of the non-all-star new players and returning veterans contributed some good work whenever they were allowed to. I was especially fond of the uniqueness that Rich Hall brought to the table. All in all, I’m really going to miss this cast, especially considering the cast that immediately follows.

— With my completion of this season, I’m proud to say that I’ve officially reached my goal of familiarizing myself with the first 10 seasons. You see, before I started this “One SNL a Day” project, I had only seen a small handful of episodes from each of the first 10 seasons, which is something that I was always ashamed to admit as a diehard SNL buff. One of the many reasons I was eager to start my SNL project is that it gave me a perfect excuse to FINALLY acquaint myself with those first 10 seasons, and I’m so happy that I’ve now officially accomplished that. It was a lot of fun discovering so many sketches and episodes that I had never seen before. I’m already familiar with all the seasons from 1985-2018 (the reason it ends at 2018 is because I actually stopped watching new episodes a few months after the current 44th season began, partly due to disinterest in SNL’s current quality and partly due to wanting to have something new to look forward to when I reach the modern era in my SNL project), though there are still a handful of sketches I’ve never seen from 1985-1990 and, to a lesser extent, 1995-2000. 1990-1995 and 2000-2014, on the other hand, are the SNL years that I’m most well-versed in; I know those years inside and out.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christopher Reeve):
— a slight step down


HOW THIS SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1983-84):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
A completely revamped version of SNL debuts, with a brand new cast and the return of original producer Lorne Michaels. And much like the previous time I covered a revamped SNL with an entirely new cast (season 6), this season turns out to be a troubled and infamous one.

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April 6, 1985 – Christopher Reeve / Santana (S10 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
A.D. 13, Part V, A New Beginning- biblical miniseries has all-star cast

 

— Judging from the font used for the “13” in the title of this sketch (screencap below), I think the overall title is based on “Friday the 13 Part V: A New Beginning” (which came out that same year, though I’m not sure of the exact date). This interests me because, as I said in my last review, I’m an aficionado of the Friday the 13th movie series.

— For some reason, I particularly love Julia’s Joanne Worley sword bit.
— Very funny recurring bit throughout this with Guest’s James Mason slapping his assistant with various things presented to him.
— Jesus, here’s Billy Crystal playing a SUPER-stereotypical Asian role.
— This is a really fun impression showcase, a type of sketch that feels kinda rare in this era.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
while wearing Easter bunny suit, host narrates pictures of his past roles

— Nice entrance from Reeve, dressed in an Easter bunny costume.
— Aw, ANOTHER “career photo montage” monologue this season. These are always dull.
— During the picture of Reeve with Katharine Hepburn, I liked Reeve’s meta line about how Hepburn is “doing her impression of Ed Grimley”.
— Great segue into the next sketch, with Reeve setting up how he got the part of Superman while he’s walking over to the sketch’s set.
— Overall, this monologue was surprisingly a little better than the usual “career photo montage” monologues.
STARS: ***


SUPERMAN AUDITIONS
host, (GAK), (RIH) perform their own stunts at the Superman auditions

 

— Fast costume change for Reeve.
— I loved Gary’s over-the-top, corny laughter when Jim jokingly says about him “I think we found our Superman”.
— I like how the dangerous bullet-catching stunt is casually treated as a normal, everyday audition practice.
— Rich flawlessly “catching” the bullet with his teeth was great.
— Another great trademark Gary Kroeger pratfall, this time with him crashing back into folding chairs when getting shot.
— Overall, a fantastic sketch, with a lot of funny moments and great performances from everyone involved (especially Gary).
STARS: ****½


STEVEN WRIGHT
Steven Wright [real] does stand-up about many different topics

— Yes!
— Hmm, he already used that “actual-size U.S. map” joke in one of his previous SNL appearances.
— I’m recognizing some of these other jokes too.
— I absolutely loved the bit about him getting a humidifier and de-humidifier for his birthday.
— Overall, I didn’t find myself consistently laughing QUITE as hard as I usually do during Steven Wright’s stand-up pieces, and there were also too many reused jokes, but the stuff that DID make me laugh hard in this were priceless.
STARS: ***½


ESCAPING THE GERMANS
in WWII, a sergeant (JIB) comes up with dumb ways to escape the Germans

 

— It feels like they do a lot of war/army sketches this season.
— Very funny how Gary immediately got massacred as soon as he stepped outside in his nun disguise.
— This “war soldiers ask each other movie trivia questions” premise is reminding me of another sketch, but I can’t figure out which one.
— The whole part with the Cary Grant/Clark Gable mix-up was hilarious.
— Overall, a good, silly sketch that played well to Jim Belushi’s strengths as a performer.
STARS: ***½


JACKIE ROGERS JR.’S $100,000 JACKPOT WAD
Rajeev Vindaloo spins for money

 

— Oh, here’s one of my all-time SNL favorites.
— I like Mary’s nervous stare during the introductory shot of her.
— Great opening musical number from Jackie Rogers Jr.
— I’m surprised to see Pamela, as I had no recollection of her role in this sketch as Jackie Rogers Jr.’s wife, despite how many times I’ve seen this sketch in the past. Sadly, me having forgotten that is an accurate representation of how “memorable” Pamela’s SNL tenure was.
— Jim’s gradual aggression during his and Mary’s back-and-forth Q&A is great. “HE IN-TRO-DU-CES THE ACTS!!”
— The immediate “chocolate babies” answer from Guest’s Rajeev Vindaloo was classic.
— I loved the “pass” bit after Billy-as-Sammy-Davis-Jr.’s suggestive description of asparagus to Vindaloo.
— Man, this whole back-and-forth between Vindaloo and Davis Jr. is freakin’ priceless.
— Memorable visual of Vindaloo spinning on the wheel.
— Overall, a masterpiece as I had remembered.
STARS: *****


PALISADES NURSING HOME
old Superman (host) tells fellow nursing home resident (BIC) of past fame

— Interesting premise with Reeve as an elderly Superman in a retirement home.
— Some funny lines from Billy (who’s basically playing a variation of his Lew Goldman character), and I’m liking Reeve’s characterization of elderly Superman.
— Overall, there wasn’t much to say about the sketch, but it was pretty good.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
dissatisfied with AT&T’s services, JIB protests with air horn blasts
Paul Harvey (RIH) shows CHG some edible copies of “We Are The World”
Buddy Young, Jr. gripes about the movies; Calvert DeForest cameo

— Christopher Guest’s delivery is particularly bad tonight. I said this back in his first Saturday Night News, but his delivery tonight is so overly dry and dull that you can’t even tell when the punchlines of his news jokes have been delivered. Thank god I only have one more episode to put up with him as an anchorperson.
— Okay, Guest’s unicorn joke was fairly funny.
— A sudden return of Jim’s famous airhorn, this time using it to express his anger at the phone people.
— I like the bit with Jim complaining about getting a check for 25 cents.
— Christopher Guest’s bit showcasing “Francis the Talking Bible” was random but decent. Guest has slowly been overcoming his bad start from earlier in this Saturday Night News.
— The gameshow bit with Don Pardo was pretty funny.
— Yet another Paul Harvey commentary from Rich.
— I like Rich-as-Harvey’s edible “We Are the World” records.
— Rich’s overall commentary was one of his better Paul Harvey appearances.
— Funny complaint from Billy’s Buddy Young Jr. regarding music videos, with his line about how while the lead singer is singing, “somebody else is putting a midget in a blender”.
— Billy’s Buddy Young Jr. makes another sudden visit to the studio audience, though unlike last time, there doesn’t appear to be any celebrities in the crowd.
— Oh, turns out Billy DOES come across a celebrity in the audience tonight: Calvert DeForest, a.k.a. Larry “Bud” Melman from Letterman’s then-current Late Night show.
STARS: ***


TALK BACK
fake Amish men discuss their objections to the movie Witness

— Some good laughs from the whole “building a whorehouse” bit.
— Loved Gary’s claims about how Amish women have hooters “out to here” while holding his hands out far in front of him.
— Funny twist with Gary being exposed as a fake.
— Ha, I like Rich coming on as another “Amish” man to do the same thing Gary did, only for Guest to immediately expose his scheme after Rich’s line about baby-selling.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Right Now”

— This appears to be the second musical performance, judging by how Reeve introduced this by saying “Once again, Santana!” But where the heck was their first performance? Why is my copy of this episode airing Santana’s second number before their first?
— Okay, now that I’m looking at the time length of my copy of this episode, I notice it’s a few minutes shorter than a typical SNL episode. I guess Santana’s first performance is missing from my copy.


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A great episode, and the best one in a while. We got one classic (Jackie Rogers Jr.’s Jackpot Wad), a few near-classics (Superman Auditions, A.D. 13 Part V), and a lot of solid stuff rounding out the rest of the show. Nothing was particularly weak tonight; even Saturday Night News was okay for once, despite a bad start.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
It’s the end of an era, folks. We get the last hurrah of Dick Ebersol and every member of this cast. Howard Cosell is our season finale host.