Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
INVESTMENT TIPS
Hillary Clinton’s (JAH) investment advice- cattle futures yes, land no
— Michael McKean seemed to miss his cue to speak at the beginning (new cast member greenness?), causing this cold opening to awkwardly begin with him, Julia, and Kevin just sitting there in extended silence before he finally speaks.
— Reruns of this cold opening add in canned applause when the camera first cuts to Jan’s Hillary.
— Feels good seeing Jan for the first time since the first half of the season. She must be busy this season, as she hasn’t been making anywhere near the amount of special guest appearances that she made the preceding season.
— Some pretty good laughs from Hillary’s tips all being stuff she obviously learned from the Whitewater scandal.
— That’s it? This overall cold opening felt unusually short and, while still decent as a whole, didn’t feel like it used Jan’s Hillary to its full potential.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— The montage and theme music would later be replaced in reruns with the dress rehearsal version, as would Kelsey Grammer’s entrance. The reason is because when the opening montage ends in the live show, the camera crossfades to an accidental shot of the studio audience instead of crossfading to the usual close-up of the SNL logo on the home base stage’s “rooftop”.
— Speaking of the SNL logo on the home base stage, there’s an odd difference between the dress rehearsal and live versions of tonight’s episode: the dress version shown in reruns has the city skyline from the Frasier logo imprinted in the middle of the SNL logo (a practice that was common this season, in which the SNL logo on the home base stage would have something imprinted in its middle that pertains to that night’s host or a holiday that’s approaching), whereas the live version has NOTHING in the middle of the SNL logo (side-by-side comparison below).
Why did they remove the Frasier skyline logo in between dress rehearsal and the live show???
MONOLOGUE
host denies he’s wearing a wig until Sy Sperling [real] confronts him
— I like Kelsey casually entering in a wig and not even addressing it when starting his monologue.
— A good laugh from him claiming his famous receding hairline on Frasier is just him wearing a very convincing bald cap.
— Very funny part with some kind of grabbing tool entering the shot from off-camera, attempting to remove Kelsey’s wig, and it eventually being revealed that a ladder-perched Chris Farley is the one doing that.
— A decent Sy Sperling cameo.
STARS: ***½
MAJESTIC CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE
Majestic Caribbean Cruise Line has it all, including Manute Bol [real]
— A delightfully random use of Manute Bol, and there’s some good laughs from him being everywhere on the ship, much to Rob and Melanie’s growing discomfort.
STARS: ***½
INHIBITED DANCE PARTY USA
the least introverted couple is (host) & (MEH)
— A lot of good accuracy in everyone’s inhibited performances, and as a painfully shy person myself, I can relate to this premise.
— Despite being able to relate to this sketch, I’m still not enjoying it all that much. It feels a little too dull and slow for the lead-off sketch of the night.
— Good turn with the unexpected wild dancing from Melanie and Kelsey.
— I don’t get the ending with Adam laughing mockingly at Melanie and Kelsey, and Chris sarcastically telling them “Great job”. That makes no sense to me. I thought the whole point was to be the least inhibited couple.
STARS: **
YANKEE STADIUM OPENING DAY
Rudolph (KEN) & Andrew (CHF) Giuliani at a Yankee game full of foul balls
— The return of Kevin and Chris’ Rudy and Andrew Giuliani impressions, from a memorable cold opening earlier this season.
— Boy, this sketch has been AWFUL so far, and is completely devoid of what made the Giuliani Inauguration cold opening work. And I don’t like how they’re trying to make a recurring character out of an impression that should’ve remained a one-off, as it was originally just intended as a caricature of how Andrew Giuliani acted at the real inauguration.
— The increasingly-unfunny one-joke premise of Chris in the stands constantly getting hit by baseballs from off-camera feels like a precursor to a season 20 sketch that I’ve always considered to be a microcosm of a lot of things wrong with that season, in which Chris is in the stands at SeaWorld and constantly gets splashed by water from off-camera, always resulting in him yelling “SON OF A BITCH!” (which would pretty much be Chris’ catchphrase that season).
— The repeated joke of Chris’ crying abruptly stopping when Kelsey brings him food is getting really old.
— I hate to say it, as Chris is still somewhat in my good graces by this point of his SNL tenure (unlike in the upcoming season 20), but he’s annoying the HELL out of me in this sketch.
— I finally got a laugh, during the part with Tim’s David Dinkins pointing out the unusual place he and his wife are seated.
— Boy, I almost feel sorry for Kelsey, who’s playing a completely useless role in which all he does is repeatedly get up and say in an irritated manner “I’ll be right back” whenever Andrew Giuliani requests a snack. Hell, a featured player could’ve played Kelsey’s role here. Jay Mohr, where you at?
STARS: *½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pocket of a Clown”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Mustafa Mohammed (TIM) says that today’s problems are caused by whiteness
CHF & DAS offer takes on their spring break trip to Cancun
— I love the use of the famous talk show clip of Jim Rome getting shoved backwards out of his chair by an angry Jim Everett. I never get tired of seeing that clip.
— Boy, do I hate Kevin’s habit of ad-libbing pointless addendums (e.g. “Something to think about”) to jokes that receive a tepid audience reaction. He’s had that habit for quite a long time, but it’s been particularly rampant this season. That shows he has no confidence in some of the material he’s performing. (*sigh*) Only three episodes left until Norm takes over……..
— Tim’s overall “white” rant was delivered well, and I got a laugh or two.
— The punchline to Kevin’s Zima Taste Test bit (“Tastes like zhit”) was funny, but according to an old SNL newsgroup post from this time in 1994, that punchline was already a very common joke on the internet before SNL used it. (The newsgroup post is here. By the way, read the whole thread if you’re curious what SNL fans in 1994 thought about tonight’s episode back when it originally aired).
— Chris and David’s commentary is very silly, but I’m getting some laughs from some of the demonstrations they do when going “You were like…..”.
— David, regarding how pointless his and Chris’ commentary is: “Everyone at home’s going ‘hmm?’” Chris: “No, they’re going ‘click!’ (*mimes pressing a button on a remote control*)”. Considering the declining ratings this season, that’s probably very true.
— I didn’t like the ending of Chris and David’s commentary, with them just carelessly hamming it up to obnoxious degrees. I know that was just a brief bit with them having fun, but that feels like a precursor to their (and Sandler’s) obnoxious, crass, self-indulgent, unprofessional performances that will be part of what plagues the upcoming season 20.
— I loved Kevin’s line after Chris and David left: “Those two should’ve gone to Singapore. They could use a good caning”, referring to the infamous then-recent Michael Fay caning incident (which would be spoofed in the cold opening of the following week’s Emilio Estevez episode).
STARS: ***
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
Captain Nemo (host) tries to explain units
— What’s with the awkward camerawork at the beginning of this sketch, as Mike, Phil, and Rob are waiting a very long time for Kelsey to stop playing the organ? That’s making the beginning of this sketch feel very dead.
— Hilarious and dead-on Peter Lorre voice from Rob.
— Phil’s Kirk Douglas voice is also very funny.
— Mike seems kinda out of place being paired with Rob’s Lorre and Phil’s Douglas, as he hasn’t been adding much of value. This is also his only appearance of the whole night. Kinda symbolic of the step down he’s taken lately in general, which only gets worse the following season.
— This is a polarizing sketch. People either hate it and find it to be a stupid, unfunny one-joke sketch, or people find that the sketch works because of its stupidity and one-joke nature. I’ve always gone back-and-forth on which side I fall on, but during this current viewing right now, I’m on the “The sketch works because of its stupidity and one-joke nature” side. This is the type of “stupid people fail to grasp a simple concept” sketch that usually tickles me. Kelsey’s growing frustration as Captain Nemo is also cracking me up.
— I love an irritated Captain Nemo telling Phil’s character “You are not allowed to speak any more!”
— I’m getting some good laughs from the epilogue ending with the screen crawl, in which “20,000 leagues” is used as practically every other word (made even more amusing by the fact that it’s being read in Phil’s funny Kirk Douglas voice), followed by audio of Kelsey’s Captain Nemo being heard yelling “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
STARS: ***½
SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES KURALT
sex with women met on the road
— Excellent makeup on Norm. I remember the first time I saw this sketch, I spent most of it racking my brain trying to figure out which cast member that was playing Charles Kuralt, before just giving up.
— Great reveal of what Kuralt will miss the most about his life on the road: the sex.
— So many laughs from Kuralt’s slowly delivered, long-winded stories, and how they each end with him having sex with the woman who he has just described in kind detail. This is killing me.
— I like the fake-out with Kuralt bringing up the name of a man, making you think that’s the next person Kuralt will reveal he had sex with, only for it to be revealed that the man convinced his wife to have sex with Kuralt while he watched.
— I loved Norm’s delivery of the line “None of them were very attractive… even by backwoods standards.”
— A hilarious ending line about autoerotic asphyxiation.
— Very strong sketch overall.
STARS: ****½
SOMETHING SMELLS GOOD IN STINKVILLE
(host) & (ELC) sniff it
— Really, SNL? Are you kidding me with this premise?
— Boy, this is dead so far.
— Okay, I admit to getting a laugh from the turn with a fed-up Kelsey saying “That’s it, honey – get me the cat’s ass”, but this sketch is still dumb, dumb, dumb.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Fast as You”
FOOT LOCKER
Captain Jim (TIM) & Pedro (ADS) compete for a job at Foot Locker
MMK tells how you can read more about Captain Jim & Pedro
— The debut of a short-lived Meadows/Sandler recurring sketch.
— Uh… interesting voice on Adam.
— I’ve never known how to feel about these weird Captain Jim & Pedro sketches, but I think it’s safe to say I’ve never liked them much. I want to like their absurdity, and I typically enjoy Adam’s mindless, silly-humored, goofy-voiced shtick in his earlier seasons, but I’ve always been of the opinion these Captain Jim & Pedro sketches pretty much mark the official point where that shtick of Adam’s finally wore out its welcome (your mileage may vary). That opinion of mine has not changed during this current viewing.
— Captain Jim reading his very silly acceptance speech in such a dramatic manner is kinda making me smile, as is the cutaway to a crying Pedro giving a thumbs-up in the audience.
— I didn’t feel the post-sketch bit with Michael advertising Captain Jim & Pedro books was necessary.
STARS: **
DEEP THOUGHTS BY JACK HANDEY
— It’s sad how scarce these Deep Thoughts have become this season.
SOMETHING SMELLS GOOD IN STINKVILLE
it could be the sandwich
— Oh, no, a runner. I’m getting unwanted flashbacks to the trilogy of terrible Disney sketches from the then-recent Nancy Kerrigan episode.
— Kelsey cracking up during his line “Oh, shut up and get me the cat’s ass!” completely saved this weak piece. I’m sure Kelsey’s laughing because he’s fully aware that this sketch is stupid.
STARS: ***
IRON JOHN: THE MUSICAL
(host) & other manly guys sing “I Am A Man” from Iron John, The Musical
— In an episode filled with dumb, sophomoric premises and one-joke material, a sketch like this with an interesting, unconventional, and mature-seeming concept is very welcome.
— I could do without Chris’ overacting, which is a bit much and doesn’t fit the tone of this sketch. All my negative comments about Chris tonight make me wonder if, much like Adam, we’ve officially reached the point where his shtick has finally run out of steam. Just wait till I get to the following week’s Emilio Estevez episode, in which I have to deal with TWO back-to-back sketches that feature Chris screaming his way through.
— Hmm, not sure what to think of this sketch so far. I admire what they’re doing, but I haven’t been all THAT entertained. I think I just kinda like it merely because it’s so different from the dumb, juvenile sketches that have been dominating the night.
STARS: **½
SOMETHING SMELLS GOOD IN STINKVILLE
the town name changes
— Why even bother with a third one of these, when they’ll never be able to top Kelsey’s gaffe in the second one?
— Rob’s delivery of his lines about Michael being an insane liar are kinda making me laugh.
— When Kelsey says to Ellen “Even though the cat doesn’t stink anymore, we’ve always got your smelly–”, his line suddenly gets cut off by a mock disclaimer, warning viewers of the following word that Kelsey’s going to end his sentence with, which makes you think the word is going to be a certain part of the female anatomy (it instead just innocently ends up being “feet”). I wonder if that’s supposed to be a subtle jab at Martin Lawrence’s controversial feminine hygiene rant from a few episodes earlier. Either way, this bit isn’t working for me.
STARS: *½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Well, I see this season’s upswing in quality with the preceding episode was short-lived, as we’re sadly back to mediocrity. While not as rough as some of the then-recent episodes, this was still a pretty drab episode. The theme of tonight seemed to be dumb, sophomoric humor and thin, one-joke concepts (in other words, the type of material that would dominate the upcoming season 20). Even one of the few sketches I actually liked, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, had a thin, one-joke premise (though it actually worked in that sketch’s favor, which is more than I can say for stuff like that Giuliani baseball sketch). Overall, a pretty dead-feeling episode, with the show only really coming alive for me in the first 8 or so minutes and in the first two post-Weekend Update sketches (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt).
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Helen Hunt)
a fairly big step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Emilio Estevez