Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
Robert DeNiro (host) isn’t amused
— I’m sure this won’t quite live up to the outstanding first Letterman sketch from earlier this season, but it’s still nice to see this become recurring.
— Once again, Norm’s Letterman impression is killer.
— Tonight’s new Letterman catchphrase, “Ehhhh, you enjoying your shrimp?”, doesn’t hold a candle to the previous Letterman sketch’s classic catchphrase, “Uhhhhh, y-ya got any gum?”.
— Good to see the return of Alec’s spot-on and funny Robert DeNiro impression from the last time he hosted.
— Pretty weak Top 10 list from Alec’s DeNiro so far.
— Why did the Top 10 list end at #5? Shouldn’t Alec’s DeNiro have waited until the #1 entry of the list to say “Live from New York”, instead of saying it as the fifth entry?
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
host goes backstage to demonstrate how SNL is a wholesome, family show
— I love the banjo music randomly playing when Alec is going on about how what makes SNL important is the people who put the show together.
— Fun monologue with Alec going all around the studio to show the crew.
— A rare Don Pardo appearance! We also get a mention that it’s Don’s birthday.
— I like Alec’s “Don is very old” aside to the camera after the only thing Don Pardo responds to Alec’s questions with is “It’s Saturday Night Live!”
— Funny scene with Molly teaching Darrell how to read. The kiddie voice that Darrell is using sounds very similar to the voice he would later use for Jerry Mathers in the Pulp Fiction Screen Tests sketch in the following season.
— Another backstage sketch with Tim hugging Lorne, a charming running gag this season.
— A good laugh from the “Irish Need Not Apply” sign.
— Interesting seeing Alec getting dressed into a wig and costume while still speaking to the camera.
— After the brief bit with Tracy randomly acting like an army general, I love Alec telling the camera in a deadpan manner “I have no idea who that man is.”
— Alec is stumbly with some of his line deliveries here (and he literally stumbled off the home base stage by accident when walking off of it), but I’ll cut him some slack, as it must not be easy to navigate through such a busy monologue where he has to go all around the studio while talking to the camera the whole time.
— The sketch that Alec was shown getting dressed for turns out to be yet another Roxbury Guys sketch, a recurring sketch that I’m afraid my fair tolerance for may have slowly begun waning in the last one with Marin Short. Though it’s at least pretty fun how this monologue transitioned into the sketch. I guess I’ll review the Roxbury Guys sketch as a separate segment below.
STARS: ****½
THE ROXBURY GUYS
(host) is more successful with women than are his fellow Roxbury Guys
— We at least get a change of pace for these Roxbury Guys sketches, with Alec’s Roxbury Guy easily getting chicks. It’s still not doing much to stop my gradual slowburn towards this recurring sketch as a whole, though.
STARS: **½
DRESSING ROOM
musical guest’s advice brings Mary Katherine Gallagher out of her shell
— Cheri is dead-on as an overemotional, hysterical, adolescent fangirl.
— A nice premise with Mary Katherine Gallagher meeting Tina Turner.
— Tina: “I want you to feel deep inside yourself.” Mary Katherine Gallagher: “My grandmother says I’m not supposed to do that.”
— I love MKG getting really into her singing of “Private Dancer”, imitating Tina’s voice.
STARS: ***½
THE QUIET STORM
while on-air, Chris Garnett has turf war with station newscaster (host)
— I love the running gag with the increasingly urban-sounding black names Tim reads off during a report (e.g. Shaquanda, Tonjaniqua, etc.).
— Some laughs from Tim constantly interrupting Alec’s report with raunchy, smooth-voiced announcements.
— I love Tim’s character telling Alec, in his typical smooth R&B radio announcer voice, “If you don’t like it, you can kiss my black ass.”
— There’s something I find humorous about the fact that SNL made a recurring role out of Tracy’s silent, minor character in these Quiet Storm sketches, who’s only shown happily slow-dancing with his woman.
STARS: ***½
TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- Tom Snyder stalks Dolly Parton
— I love how Tom Snyder and Dolly Parton’s conversation is heard casually continuing even as Snyder is shown gradually becoming a creepy stalker towards Dolly through a passage of time.
— Funny cutaway to an underwear-clad Snyder sitting in a Dolly Parton shrine. Why is his foot in what appears to be a tissue box? (as seen in the second-to-last above screencap for this cartoon) Or do I not wanna know?
— I’ve been loving these fast-moving, gag-filled Fun With Real Audio cartoons of Smigel’s.
STARS: ****
THE GOSSIP SHOW
Julie Brown (CHO) publicizes co-workers’ dirty laundry
— Not sure this will work as a recurring sketch.
— They’re even having Alec play the same columnist (Rex Reed) that Phil Hartman played in the last installment of this sketch, and Alec is being given the same type of harsh dialogue towards celebrities.
— Good gag with Cheri’s audio getting cut off while she’s detailing a particularly dirty secret about the audio guy in her crew.
— This overall sketch isn’t working quite as well as the “Julie Brown gives out secretive nuclear arms info” premise from the first installment of this sketch earlier this season (which I now feel I underrated a bit in my review).
STARS: ***
WEEKEND UPDATE
Howard Stern [real] gives his opinion of SNL & shows Private Parts clip
— Another Update where Norm’s voice sounds unusually hoarse. I’ve noticed that it seems to happen every time he has played David Letterman earlier in the night. Is doing the Letterman voice a strain on Norm’s voice or something?
— A big guest appearance from Howard Stern.
— Interesting that Stern’s allowed to bluntly criticize SNL during this commentary, and declare Norm the only good thing about the show (a comment that receives applause from the audience).
— I’m getting a big laugh from Stern detailing his dark and tasteless rejected sketch about Elizabeth Taylor’s tumor.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Your Wildest Dreams”
LONG ISLAND GIRLS
Long Island phone sex operators are aroused by callers, not vice versa
— The third and final edition of this era’s series of accent-based phone sex line sketches.
— A good laugh from Cheri’s cramps bit.
— I feel the New York accents premise kinda pales in comparison to the funnier Australian and Michigan accents premises of the previous iterations of this sketch, but it’s still providing laughs.
— Ha, it figures that real-life New Yorker Colin Quinn would be cast in this particular sketch.
STARS: ***
SENTIMENTAL YARD SALE
at yard sale, couple (host) & (MOS) unloads sentimental items for pennies
— Hmm, I have no memory of this sketch from my previous viewings of this episode.
— A laugh from Alec still offering the wedding ring to Jim and Ana for a cheap price, after going on about the huge sentimental value it holds to him.
— This premise kinda feels like the reverse of the Sentimental Value Pawn Shop sketch that Phil Hartman did in the late 80s.
— Okay, this sketch is getting too repetitive and one-note, though it’s being very well-acted by Alec.
STARS: **½
WONG & OWENS, EX-PORN STARS
Don & Reggie discover that their new boss (host) was also a porn star
— Predictably, this sketch is taking the same turns that the first installment of this sketch from earlier this season did. It’s not working as well for me in a second sketch.
— We at least get a new turn with Alec also turning out be a former 1970s porn star. That’s still not making this sketch all that great, though.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Proud Mary”
BILL BRASKY’S FUNERAL
the drunk businessmen eulogize Bill Brasky at his funeral
— This sketch opens on a shot of the “McKay Funeral Home”, a self-reference from a certain SNL writer who pens these Bill Brasky sketches.
— Tonight’s heavy usage of recurring sketches continues. However, this is one sketch that I am always ecstatic to see.
— Feels a bit empty seeing this sketch without David Koechner, after I’ve gotten used to seeing him in these Bill Brasky sketches when recently reviewing the previous installments.
— A funeral is a very interesting out-of-the-ordinary setting for a Bill Brasky sketch.
— One line about Brasky that I particularly like: “He had dandruff the size of mice!”
— A big laugh from Alec’s random aside “I’m a convicted sex offender!”
— Another particularly great line about Brasky, as told by all three of the guys: “He hated Mexicans…” “…and he was half-Mexican…” “…and he hated irony.”
— Great ending with Brasky’s drink-holding hand bursting through his coffin, demanding a refill of his drink.
STARS: *****
RAIN
the miniseries features an as yet undramatized natural disaster
— At first, I thought this was a real NBC commercial that was left in the copy I’m reviewing of the live version of this episode, until I recognized Will. The NBC promo logo on the corner of the screen is part of what fooled me.
— A funny rain reveal, after such an overdramatic set-up to what the panic is about.
— A well-done and very funny parody of then-contemporary disaster movies.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
— Surprisingly, these goodnights air literally right after the Rain fake ad ends, with no commercial break in between. A huge rarity for SNL to go from the final sketch to the goodnights without cutting to commercial.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I’m not too crazy about this episode as a whole. Actually, there were some strong and solid things, but I dunno, something about the overall show had a bit of a below-par feel for an Alec Baldwin-hosted episode. It was also awfully heavy on recurring sketches (Sentimental Yard Sale was literally the ONLY non-recurring sketch all night), which itself isn’t too big of a problem with me, as I’ve gotten used to season 22’s heavy reliance on recurring sketches, but the problem I have is that a lot of tonight’s installments of said recurring sketches were a step down from preceding installments (including the Letterman cold opening, even though it still worked).
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chevy Chase)
a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Sting
Great episode top to bottom!
Funny, this is my least favorite Baldwin episode. Some decent bits, but I have no interest in seeing Baldwin play along with the Roxbury guys or MKG.
I kinda have to agree with you. The monologue was fun and I enjoyed the tone of Sentimental Yard Sale, but I’ll go ahead and be controversial (if that’s the right sentiment) and say I enjoyed the previous episode better.
I think it was Breuer (?) who said the women Stern brought with him to the show were very popular at the after party that night. I think Kattan never left their side
Now I’m starting to see what people mean about this era being way too recurring character heavy. Not the biggest fan of the current era of SNL all that much, but I will say it’s probably the least recurring character heavy the shows ever been. I guess with YouTube and all they know everyones seen the stuff before so they can’t really get away with doing the same stuff over and over again like they did in the past.
I know they did at least one more Norm as Letterman sketch, it was a travesty replacing McKinney’s perfect Paul Shaffer with fucking Chris Kattan doing it. I remember Norm seemed kinda checked out during most of that one, halfway through it seemed like he dropped character and just turned into Norm, I think his chair almost broke and it threw him off or for the rest of the thing. Lovitz as Marv Albert was funny at least, and I liked that they included Tracy as a perfectly-cast Biff Henderson this time. Still though, kinda wished that stayed as a one time classic one-off.
They even just lazily repeated the “…ya got any gum?” from the first one, rather than writing something different. At least this one did something a little bit different in that area with the “shrimp” variant.
Norm has said he didn’t like doing the Letterman sketches because he didn’t want Dave to think he was making fun of him
“They even just lazily repeated the … Ya got any gum? from the first one” Repeated? You mean like how Letterman repeated a bit or non-sequitur ad infinitum for a while and then moved on to the next one. Seems to me like they were parodying an aspect of The Late Show. Hell, for over thirty years Dave threw a pencil into the cityscape behind him triggering a glass breaking sound effect.
Well, why the variation on the bit here then? Changing it up here with “shrimp” and then going back to “gum” in the third one just felt like a lazy rehash (and typical of other recurring characters) to me. I dunno, that’s just my take on it.
I get it about Letterman running things into the ground, but I have to agree about the Season 23 sketch. It just felt phoned in. Norm and Kattan didn’t have the same dynamic as when McKinney played Shaffer. It also bugged me to see Jon Lovitz as Marv Albert (and more or less rehashing the same material) after Norm had played him in the season premiere
I wonder if the phoned-in feeling of the sketch in the Lovitz show has to do with Norm possibly still filming Dirty Work in Toronto.
The third Letterman installment did at least give me one of my all-time favorite SNL throwaway lines at the beginning from Norm “Welcome back to the big show folks.. Let me just put away this doll of steak!”
The Letterman sketch was definitely a four or five star bit. The shrimps line was ok, but Norm sold it with the crazy look on his face. The top ten list was stupid and funny and ended at the right moment. Great impression from Baldwin and McKinney was perfect as Schaffer, as noted elsewhere.
Baldwin’s sluggish, stumbling performance in the monologue sums up the episode. There was nothing particularly bad but not much to treasure either – the cold open and the Bill Braskey near the end are probably about all you’d need to see (I did like the Quiet Storm well enough but it worked better the first time around – this one tried a little too hard to knock out some of the quirks).
The most interesting part of this episode for me was the rain pre-tape. It’s one of the first pieces I can remember seeing from the Lorne era that feels closer to the production style of the last decade or so – up to this point most pre-taped material was either fake ads, or the short films by Schiller, Weis, etc. Even in this limited setting you get a glimpse of what might have been (Cheri’s less frantic performance).
The little bit in the monologue where Paula Pell says she’s Lorne’s wife is the type of thing that used to drive me batty back in the day, as viewers would have known that she was not his wife, given her frequent appearances on the show over the last two seasons. Similar to Tom Davis appearing as a man attending the show with his wife in George Clooney’s monologue. It feels very silly to complain about now, I realize, but it just always annoys me for some reason.
Speaking of that, the fakeouts they use to deal with how badly overused their recurring characters are seriously pushed my buttons with the Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch here. For about a minute or so you think maybe they’re going to have Tina Turner in something new or fun, then you see MKG and that numbness washes over you. I wasn’t even the biggest Ed Grimley fan but going from Grimley to this isn’t a step down as much as it’s a full trip down several flights of stairs.
I have to give Cheri some praise for how hard she worked in trying to keep the Gossip Show afloat. There was zero reason for this to return and there just isn’t anything inherently funny about her dishing dirt on employees or her boss.
They seemed to have tried to add “wacky” music to the porn star sketch to get viewers to laugh.
Their trying so hard to make Baldwin look unattractive in the Roxbury sketch only to have all the women want him was a bit odd.
Stern’s women groping each other and making out was a little far even for that late into the night. I wonder if NBC got any complaints.
RIP Tina Turner
The last Ms. Turner had three iconic moments on “SNL”-1. making a surprise appearance with musical guest Rod Stewart on a duet of “Hot Legs”. 2. appearing with Martin Short’s Ed Grimley during the show’s 10th season and 3. here with Molly Shannon’s Mary Catherine Gallager. R.I.P.
I meant to write “late” between “the” and “Ms.”.