Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
George Bush (DAC) uses animal metaphors to communicate with Iraqis
— Bush address cold openings seem to be the go-to for season openers and season enders lately, starting with the season 14 finale.
— Nice touch with the Iraqi subtitles on the bottom of the screen.
— Dana’s Bush is getting the usual good laughs.
— A particularly funny spiel from Bush right now regarding entrails becoming food for hogs.
— A pretty good laugh from Bush’s awkward “goodnight” at the end of his address.
— Interesting deviation from the usual Bush address cold openings, with us now being shown an Iraqi panel doing an analysis of Bush’s address.
— Jan’s voice here is really funny.
— Good bit at the end with Phil plugging an upcoming airing of a Kojak episode.
— The Bush half of this cold opening would later be replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage!
— Don Pardo’s mic isn’t working at first when he begins saying “It’s Saturday Night Live!”, causing us to hear him only saying “Live!”
— Despite this being the 16th season, they’re still using the 15th anniversary SNL logo from the previous season, presumably because the calendar year 1990 is technically still the 15th anniversary of SNL’s debut. They eventually stop using the anniversary logo as soon as we enter the 1991 half of this season.
— Chris Farley and Chris Rock have been added to the cast as featured players.
— Speaking of featured players, for the first time ever, there are two separate categories of featured players. The featured players in the first category (which is where Farley and Rock are credited) each have a live-action shot in the montage and are credited every week, whereas the featured players in the second category only have a still photo shot in the montage and are only credited sporadically.
— I love this overall opening montage, even though it’s pretty non-descript compared to some other SNL montages (particularly the 1988-1990 one that preceded it). I may be biased towards this montage because I was exposed to it a lot during my early SNL fandom days of watching Comedy Central reruns.
MONOLOGUE
host gets in trouble after casually revealing who killed Laura Palmer
— Kyle says “I don’t know if they’ve done this before” when he announces he’s going to open up the floor to questions. I think this is indeed the very first time a monologue had “audience members” asking the host questions, unless I’m forgetting something. Considering how often this trope would go on to be used over the years and become a monologue cliche, it’s surprising that it wasn’t first used until 16 seasons into the show’s run.
— Hilarious how casual Kyle is about revealing who Laura Palmer’s killer is, as if it’s no big deal.
— Absolutely priceless part with a howling mad David Lynch screaming cartoonish insane gibberish to Kyle over the phone, accompanied by a picture of Lynch.
— When Kyle runs to and from the control room, you can see him pass by a mini-set where the dancing Statue of Liberty from Dennis Miller’s Weekend Updates is (it’s to Kyle’s left in the screencap below).
I’m a bit surprised to find out that SNL apparently does that dancing Statue of Liberty WU intro shot live every week, instead of just pre-taping a shot that they can use in every episode.
STARS: ****½
BAD IDEA JEANS
denim wearers don’t realize the folly of their decisions
— The frequent cutaways to a “Bad Idea” screen is adding even more humor to the already-funny bad decisions the guys announce.
— My favorite bad ideas are writer Bob Odenkirk’s kidney donation one and writer David Spade’s condom/Haiti one.
— Funny little reveal at the end that the guys are unwisely playing against a black team.
STARS: ****½
SPROCKETS
Dieter & (host) watch Germany’s Most Disturbing Home Videos
— Love this Germany’s Most Disturbing Home Videos deviation from the usual Sprockets format.
— Hilarious intro sequence to Germany’s Most Disturbing Home Videos, with the screaming guy’s moving upper teeth.
— Dieter, to Kyle MacLachlan’s character: “You are beautiful and angular, and if you were a gas, you would be inert.”
— Dieter: “I am so full of anticipation that my genitals have sucked up into my body cavity.”
— There’s the birth of Dieter’s now-famous “I am as happy as a little girl” bit.
— The disturbing videos are all very funny, especially the guy puking after getting kicked in the crotch and the reveal of a corpse’s face being covered with “ants ants ants”.
— Kyle’s bizarre dancing in the background during the “Now’s the time on Sprockets when we dance” bit is hilarious.
STARS: ****½
TWIN PEAKS
Dale Cooper (host) ignores clues pointing to Leo (CHF)
— Some funny random lines from Kyle’s opening recorded note, especially the line about injecting insulin after eating a whole bunch of donuts.
— Chris Farley’s very first line on SNL already gets a big laugh: “I’m ready to do my time; get me a beer!”
— Chronologically going through SNL’s timeline during this SNL project of mine, it always feels both unusual and exciting whenever I see a new cast member making their debut, especially when it’s a cast member who you’re aware goes on to be very popular, like in Farley’s case.
— Phil’s crying dance is hysterical.
— Excellent part with Victoria’s ribbon-wrapping mouth bit.
— A particularly classic part after Jan’s initial exit, where Kyle is told he won’t be hearing from the Log Lady “because there’s only two women left on Saturday Night Live and we already used them both up”, a great meta joke that gets big applause from the audience. A clever way to address the lack of a third female cast member.
— The aforementioned meta bit is immediately followed by a comically out-of-breath Jan running in as the Log Lady anyway.
— Very funny ending with Mike as the backwards-speaking dwarf.
STARS: *****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Three Babies”
WEEKEND UPDATE
one-man mobile uplink unit ALF is lost in the Saudi Arabian desert
— Ha, Dennis got a haircut! His trademark 80s mullet is gone! (though it gradually grows back over the course of the season)
— Great use of One-Man Mobile Uplink Unit Al Franken in a Saudi Arabian desert.
— Funny gruesome make-up on a dehydrated Al’s face.
— Hilarious ending to the Franken segment, with a vulture pecking at an unconscious Al’s face.
— Dennis: “Can you believe Washington mayor Marion Barry got off? It’s surprising, because I’ve heard that when you do that much blow, you can’t get off.”
STARS: ***½
2 LIVE CREW PARTY
white record execs give Luther Campbell (CSR) lyric suggestions
— It feels so refreshing to finally see a black cast member after the four-year drought from 1986-1990.
— Funny use of Akira Yoshimura as a 2 Live Crew member.
— Phil’s suggested “Do it in the butt” lyrics are very funny, especially the smile on his face during it.
— Jan’s suggested lyrics are very funny as well, as is Mike’s bad attempt at beatboxing during it.
— I love Chris Rock’s whole “A bitch bitch here and a lick lick there” spiel when complaining about the lyrics people have suggested to him.
— Kyle’s angry “lick my blood” rant is PRICELESS.
STARS: ****
ALL THINGS SCOTTISH
Stuart Rankin’s son (host) doesn’t want pop’s All Things Scottish store
— A big night for Mike Myers tonight. I guess this is a by-product of Jon Lovitz not being in the cast anymore.
— The debut of All Thing Scottish, though Mike’s Stuart Rankin character already made its debut in a Weekend Update commentary from two seasons earlier. Unlike there, he’s sporting the gray hair that people today remember him as having, though he’s missing the glasses from his first and future appearances.
— “Our slogan is: If it’s not Scottish, it’s CRAP!”
— Nice touch with the bagpipe door chime whenever a customer enters the store.
— I love how Victoria’s claim that Irish and Scottish are the same thing sends Stuart Rankin into an angry tantrum, going as far as pulling out a map to show Victoria the difference between Ireland and Scotland.
— Kyle, when complaining about how disgusting Scottish food is: “It’s like all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare!”
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance”
GEORGE & FRANK
Frank Sinatra (PHH) gives George Michael (DAC) advice about fame
— The debut of Phil’s Frank Sinatra impression. He’s wearing a lot more make-up here than he later would.
— This would also be the final appearance of Dana’s George Michael impression while Dana was in the cast (it would later be brought back in some of Dana’s cameos and hosting stints). I guess this sketch can be considered a passing of the torch regarding the Michael and Sinatra impressions. Either way, I’m liking this pairing of them.
— Even in its first appearance, Phil’s Sinatra is coming off fantastic here, and he’s having so many good lines.
— George Michael’s sudden “Would you look at my butt?” request to Frank Sinatra is hilarious.
— More laughs from George going on about how old Frank’s butt is.
— Great ending.
STARS: ****
THE CATTLE SONG
k.d. lang (host) & lonesome cowboys sing about cattle’s ultimate fate
— I like the sudden “And they’re gonna lose their heads and die” lyric, after how gentle the song lyrics were beforehand.
— Some good laughs from them detailing the disturbing cattle slaughtering process through song.
— I’m enjoying how this song is actually kinda getting strangely touching towards the end.
— Great reveal at the end that Kyle was playing K.D. Lang all along.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong start to the new season. This episode was flawless, and most of the sketches were great. Kyle MacLachlan was also a very solid host and fit in the show perfectly.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1989-90)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Susan Lucci