Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
NIGHTLINE
everyone is shocked by Michael Jackson’s (TIM) divorce
— I love the way they’re exaggerating the shock and impact of the Michael Jackson/Lisa Marie Presley breakup, complete with stock footage of girls crying and people rioting in the streets.
— Cheri still hasn’t quite found her Barbara Walters voice yet.
— Nancy’s Diane Sawyer has a lot of funny lines, especially her going on about the “raw sexuality” she witnessed from MJ when she interviewed him and Lisa Marie.
— Jim’s brief scene as Stephen Hawking slayed me.
— Tim’s MJ going on about how he loves women’s “short brown hair, 60-pound bodies, and the way they like to play with action figures” gave me a good laugh.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
new father host expresses his emotions with the help of Lucien & Fagin
— After getting so used to frequently reviewing Alec Baldwin episodes from the late 80s/early 90s era, it’s going to feel a little weird seeing him host in a completely new era with a new cast. Even just seeing him standing on this season’s new home base stage feels unusual. I’m sure I’ll have all of these same feelings when reviewing the John Goodman episode from later this season.
— The Fops return once again.
— Not the greatest monologue in itself, but The Fops are as funny as always, even if this has started going really heavy on their trademark “eerrrrrrr” sounds.
STARS: ***
MARSHALL POWER TOOLS
Rerun from 10/28/95
CHESS TOURNAMENT
Glen (MAM) asks Craig & Arianna to stop pepping up a chess tournament
— The concept of the Cheerleaders cheering at a chess tournament, of all places, is pretty funny.
— This installment has been very standard so far, but I do like the “Bobby Fisher, where is he?” number right now.
— (*sigh*) The inevitable Cheerleaders fatigue is slowly starting to set in for me. I’m feeling the very beginnings of me getting sick of these sketches. After having an open mind and goodwill during the previous two installments of this sketch, my slow burn towards the Cheerleaders has officially begun tonight, folks.
— I do like Mark’s performance during his small appearance as an angrily-ranting chess nerd.
STARS: **½
THE JOE PESCI SHOW
Robert DeNiro (host) watches abuse take place
— This sketch officially becomes recurring, giving the underused Jim Breuer some much-needed job security.
— Funny passing line from Jim’s Pesci about dyeing his hair blonde for Leathal Weapon so his head doesn’t match his “grill” (*points to his crotch*).
— Alec’s Robert DeNiro impression is hilariously dead-on.
— I love when Alec’s DeNiro gives Will’s cue-card guy some money for telling off Pesci.
— Very random casting of Spade as Brad Pitt. Also, this reminds me that tonight’s episode surprisingly has no Spade In America segment, for the first time all season.
STARS: ****
LITERARY THEATRE
bubbleheaded (MOS) & (NAW) display Dense & Densibility
— The Fops AGAIN tonight? Look, I like these characters, but yeeeaaaaahhhh, you’re pushing it, SNL.
— Some pretty good laughs from Molly and Nancy’s dense actions.
— I liked Alec’s “It appears as though my John Thomas has joined the military” line when looking down at his crotch while pointing out how sexually aroused he is.
— Ehh, this sketch has kinda fizzled out after a while. It’s been almost two minutes since I’ve really laughed at anything.
— A fairly funny ending with a bare-assed naked Fops.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Caught A Lite Sneeze”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Joe Blow says more about his blue-collar life & tries to connect with NOM
— Joe Blow officially becomes a recurring character. Strangely, SNL writer Colin Quinn has still yet to be credited as a featured player, despite all of this big airtime he’s consistently been getting on Update. I kinda wonder if this is the first time in SNL history where an uncredited SNL performer has had their own lead solo recurring character, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s at least one or two examples I’m forgetting.
— Like the last time Joe Blow appeared, there’s a lot of really funny ranting from him about personal news in his life.
— I like the running joke in Joe Blow’s commentaries, where he asks “When we gonna go for that beer, Norm?” This time, Norm reluctantly even sets a date for that beer (April 11th).
STARS: ****
BUCKWELL’S FOLLIES
gubernatorial candidate (host) makes devastating public relations errors
— Oh, here comes a sketch I’ve always absolutely loved. A favorite of mine.
— The Lassie-shooting reveal is hilarious.
— Priceless part with Alec unintentionally directing his angry “Kiss my ass!” outburst to a baby.
— I love all of the off-camera angry heckling while Alec’s giving his speech. Koechner’s goofy-voiced yells of “You shot Lassie!” are particularly funny.
— Note to the UFO sketch from the preceding season’s Deion Sanders episode: this is the right way to do a sketch that features frequent newspaper headlines.
— Alec’s horrible decisions are getting increasingly funnier.
— A rare example of a text crawl ending actually being really funny. A great way to end this sketch.
STARS: *****
FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
mugging people by “playing pirate”
ACCIDENTALLY SHOT BY HUNTERS
guests tell about run-ins with sportsmen
— The setting of this sketch has an almost season 16 feel. Maybe because I’m being reminded of the Slapped By Beaver Tails and What Animal Were You Raised By sketches from that season.
— A nice visual of Mark’s insane deer-like hair.
— Will’s constant apologies in the audience are pretty funny.
— A short and simple sketch.
STARS: ***
BELATED SEASON’S GREETINGS
host sends belated season’s greetings with a generic video Christmas card
— A good little laugh from Alec referring to Christmas as Voodoo Day.
— I’m enjoying Alec’s generic season’s greetings, covering all the bases of the different recipients.
— Another short and simple sketch.
STARS: ***½
SHE
seamen (MAM) & (host) use feminine pronouns, except when appropriate
— A very busy night for Mark, who has appeared in a majority of tonight’s sketches. Is this SNL’s way of making up for him not appearing at all in the preceding episode?
— Mark and (especially) Alec’s delivery is selling this sketch fairly well, but there’s not much to this material, especially the “referring to a child as ‘it’” punchline at the end.
— Wow, yet ANOTHER short and simple sketch, though not as funny this time.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hey Jupiter”
AIRPORT BAR
drunk businessmen (DAK), (WIF), (host), (MAM) mythologize big Bill Brasky
— Words cannot express my excitement right now. We get the debut of Bill freakin’ Brasky, one of my all-time favorite recurring sketches.
— Wow, Mark’s busy night continues. He’s been ALL OVER tonight’s episode. I sure hope he’s enjoying all of this airtime, because this is as good as it’s going to get for him. It’s all downhill for him next season.
— So many funny little details in this sketch, especially the big overbites on all the drunk businessmen, their gruff voices, and their comically-oversized drinking glasses.
— This sketch is a prime example of how well Alec can disappear into character at times, as he sounds and acts absolutely nothing like himself during this sketch.
— Waaaay too many hilarious one-liners for me to single out in this review.
— After Koechner randomly blurts out a stream of gibberish while Will’s telling a story, Will continues speaking but you can tell he’s trying not to crack up.
— I am loving every single second of this insane, bizarre sketch. Such a beautiful piece of nonsensical absurdity.
STARS: *****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An okay episode, but not great, and far from one of Alec Baldwin’s best. What did hit in this episode hit really well, though, as this contained two of my favorite sketches of the entire season (Buckwell’s Follies and the Bill Brasky debut). The second half of this episode had an odd structure, with the string of unusually short sketches towards the end, though I do like how the brevity of those sketches gave me an “early season 1” vibe. And I was impressed by how immediately well Alec Baldwin worked with this new cast. He shifted from the early 90s cast to this cast without missing a beat.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christopher Walken)
a mild step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Danny Aiello