Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
CAROLING
carollers Marty & Bobbi work pop songs into their Christmas medley
β An interestingly out-of-the-ordinary use of The Culps. Not only are they out of their usual setting, but theyβre being shown from a first-person perspective.
β I like Anaβs quiet laugh.
β And now, to make this Culps installment even more out-of-the-ordinary, we get the Culps being joined by two additional singers, played by Helen Hunt and Tim. This is the debut of Timβs recurring Spanish teacher character from these sketches.
β Lots of funny lines among the pre-song pleasantries the Culps are trying to have with the off-camera person whoβs perspective weβre seeing.
β I absolutely love how the Culps transitioned from the βtwo turtle dovesβ part of the β12 Days of Christmasβ song into Princeβs βWhen Doves Cryβ.
β Another great song transition, with Nat King Coleβs βThe Christmas Songβ turning into β99 Luftballoonsβ.
β Overall, I feel this is the best Culps sketch Iβve reviewed up to this point.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
Jack Nicholson [real] responds to castmembersβ impressions of him
β Pretty funny bit spoofing Helenβs hairstyle similarities with Hanson, by having her claim sheβs the oldest member of Hanson, complete with a doctored photo being shown of her singing with them.
β Very funny Jack Nicholson impression from Jim, especially the facial expressions heβs making.
β Ha, Colinβs about to try a Jack Nicholson? Well, this sure is going to be a case of βso bad, itβs funnyβ.
β Hmm, Colinβs impression actually wasnβt all that terrible, showing that anyone can do a Nicholson (except Cheri Oteri, apparently, though her impression was still pretty funny).
β Surprisingly, this is the first time Jack Nicholson has ever appeared on SNL.
β Another good facial expression from Jim, this time when silently reacting to Jack confronting him with the obligatory quote from βA Few Good Menβ.
STARS: ***
COOKIE DOUGH SPORT
Rerun from 10/4/97
THE DELICIOUS DISH
Margaret Jo & Terry drink eggnog & welcome rock & roll pastry chef (host)
β Ha, judging from the unusual demeanor of Mollyβs character at the beginning of this, is she tipsy on eggnog?
β Yep, she is. This is going to be an interesting change of pace for this recurring sketch.
β A pretty good laugh from when, after Molly timidly says βIβm a little tipsyβ, Ana bluntly says βIβm totally wasted.β
β Funny part with a tipsy Molly getting called out on saying something βmeanβ and βout of lineβ by her tame standards.
β Great twist with Ana and Molly finding out that the eggnog theyβre drinking is actually non-alcoholic, meaning theyβre not drunk like they had thought.
β Funny opening line from Helen in regards to her name Trudy.
β Some amusing features of Helenβs Graceland gingerbread house.
β I got a good laugh from Ana and Mollyβs story about how their failed attempt at building a gingerbread house βgot really uglyβ¦ we almost killed ourselvesβ, which is followed by an uncomfortably long silence between all three ladies.
β Overall, one of my favorite Delicious Dish installments.
STARS: ****
TV FUNHOUSE
βFun With Real Audioβ by RBS- Jesus searches for holiday spirit
β Hereβs what would go on to be known as a classic TV Funhouse.
β I love Jesus making warning gestures behind various televangelists, and the televangelists attempting to get rid of him.
β A huge laugh from how one televangelist scene just has Jesus coming in, immediately kicking a televangelist whoβs trying to βhealβ a man in a wheelchair, and immediately leaving.
β Hilarious bit with a black choir breaking out into an energetic rendition of βHallelujahβ as soon as Jesus makes Kathie Lee Gifford disappear.
β Excellent twist with Linusβ Jesus speech from a Peanuts Christmas special being the only thing that Jesus agrees with, moving him to tears.
β A legendary ending visual of Jesus doing the Peanuts dance down the street.
STARS: *****
THE LADIESβ MAN
Leon & skank (host) field callersβ lovelife questions
β Yet another change of pace for a recurring sketch tonight, with this being the very first Ladiesβ Man sketch to have a guest.
β A big laugh from Leon Phelps asking a caller βMedically speaking, just how dinky is your wang?β I also like how right afterwards, the caller is heard muttering βNot very medicalβ¦β under his breath.
β Iβm surprised this sketch is already wrapping up. It felt like it was only about two-and-a-half minutes long.
β Good ending reveal from Leon that his definition of βdinner and a movieβ is having sex and videotaping it.
STARS: ***Β½
BASEBALL DREAMS
major leaguers sour youngsterβs (CHK) dream of becoming a baseball player
β Here comes another classic piece tonight.
β Chris always makes a convincing child.
β I love how comically out-of-hand the number of entering athletes is getting.
β Chrisβ increasingly disillusioned attitude towards the athletes is great.
β Very funny line about how Ken Griffey Jr. stopped at a strip joint down the street.
β A particularly strong part with Will entering as a random guy, Ted Brogan, who played a little minor league in the 80s.
β Ted Brogan, to Chrisβ mom: βI got rolling papers if you got weed!β
β When police sirens are heard, I love Brogan handing his gun to Chris and asking him to hide it.
STARS: *****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs βMMMBopβ
WEEKEND UPDATE
COQβs inebriation derails his International Monetary Fund commentary
β (*sigh*) Well, this is it. The final Norm Macdonald Weekend Update, which Norm himself was not aware of at the time.
β For obvious reasons, itβs very interesting in retrospect that Colin does a commentary as himself in Normβs last Update. The even more interesting thing about this is that Norm himself did a commentary in the final Update anchored by the man who he would succeed as an Update anchor: Kevin Nealon. Two unintentional passings of the torch.
β Colin does a variation of the drunk commentary he did in the preceding season.
β I like Colinβs line about not getting his own movie deal βlike The Roxbury Twins or whateverβ.
β Funny ending visual of Colinβs commentary, with him standing up with half of his face covered in eggnog, after having his face shoved against the eggnog-covered Update desk a little earlier.
β An all-time classic Norm Update joke right now, about the percentage of two pie charts not adding up to 100% because the math was done by a woman. The audienceβs reaction is priceless, which Norm follows up by telling them βFor those of you hissing at that joke, it should be noted that that joke was written by a womanβ¦. Now you donβt know what the hell to do, do ya?β, and then, after letting the audience react to that, casually adds in βNah, Iβm just kidding, we donβt hire womenβ before immediately attempting to move on with the next joke.
β A strong final joke from Norm, regarding Don Johnson dating a 71-year-old.
β Sad seeing Norm sign off at the end of this Update when you know that heβs unaware this is his last sign-off.
β And thus ends Normβs last-ever Weekend Update. Before SNL comes back from Christmas break, Norm, along with Update producer Jim Downey, would infamously be abruptly fired from Update by NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer. Everything that can be said about that notorious situation has already been said many times over the years, and will probably continue to be said in the comments section of this review. I have nothing new to add; I just want to question why, if Ohlmeyer was going to fire Norm from Update underservedly, couldnβt Ohlmeyer have at least had the decency to wait until after the season ended? Did he really feel that ratings for Update were so dire that Norm needed to be yanked from Update pronto right in the middle of the season, right after the holidays to boot, and not even letting him know in advance before he went on the air for what ended up being his final Update?
β Seeing Norm go is particularly difficult for me, as heβs tied with Dennis Miller as my personal favorite Weekend Update anchor of all time. Itβs been a joy to cover his three-and-a-half-year stint as an Update anchor. Although the quality of his Updates slowed down a bit during this final season of his, they were still enjoyable and he got to go out with a solid final Update, which contained an all-time classic joke (pie chart percentage).
STARS: ****
THE ROXBURY GUYS
therapist (host) counsels Roxbury Guys about how to interact with others
β Meh, these guys again.
β Interesting turn with the club music stopping as Cheri goes on an angry rant at the Roxbury Guys and calls them out on needing professional help.
β Now we get an actual scene of the Roxbury Guys in therapy. Another good shake-up to the format of this recurring sketch.
β A rare occurrence of the Roxbury Guys actually speaking full dialogue, which only happened in one earlier sketch they were in.
β My god, Jack Nicholsonβs attempt at doing the Roxbury Guys head bop is LAUGHABLY bad. Epic. Clearly, Will and Chris agree on how laughably bad it is, as after Jack exits, they nod to each other in character before sharing an uncontrollable chuckle.
β The ending was too predictable.
STARS: ***
JOAN RIVERSβ 1997 FASHION WRAP-UP
skeletal Joan Riversβ fashion critiques dismay Jodie Foster (host)
β A huge laugh right from the start, with the opening visual of Joan Rivers being portrayed by a talking skeleton. Great concept.
β Solid Joan Rivers vocal impression from an off-screen Ana.
β Spot-on casting of Helen as Jodie Foster.
β Due to her SNL ties (as bitter as they are), it feels odd seeing Janeane Garofalo as one of the celebrities in this sketch whoβs photo is being harshly critiqued (last screencap above).
β Pretty funny ending gag with the Joan Rivers skeleton head popping off her body.
β Despite some laughs, something felt kinda underwhelming about this overall sketch.
STARS: **Β½
A BURT REYNOLDS CHRISTMAS
dirty jokes & pranks preclude festivity
β I actually thought this was a real NBC commercial at first, until Norm showed up as Burt Reynolds.
β Normβs Burt Reynolds is slaying me as always.
β I like Will-as-Jerry-Reedβs disgust at one dirty joke that Burt wants him to read off of a card.
STARS: ***Β½
CHRISTMASOFT
Bill Gates (CHK) announces that Microsoft has merged with Christmas
β The return of Chrisβ childlike, mildly-effeminate take on Bill Gates.
β Amusing concept of Gates merging Microsoft with Christmas.
β Wow, this sketch is ending ALREADY, after only 30 seconds?
β Never mind, I was mistaken.Β This sketch isnβt over yet.
β The creepy mechanical message from a computerized Santa cracked me up.
β I love the security camera footage of Jimβs Fidel Castro and his men partying to Chumbawumbaβs βTubthumpingβ. Just hearing that song in this sketch makes this feel like such a time capsule for 1997.
β Hmm, maybe this sketch shouldβve ended early after all, like I mistakenly thought it would 30 seconds into this. After about two minutes, this sketch is now starting to feel oddly stretched out and is going on too long. Feels like Chris is just vamping for time by this point, which he is not doing well. This sketch is slowly dying.
β Weak ending.
STARS: **
TORTURING HANSON
vengeful (WIF) & (host) repeatedly subject musical guest to βMMMBopβ
β Our obligatory Hanson sketch appearance of the night.
β I love Helen sternly pointing out to Hanson how overplayed βMMMBopβ was during the spring and summer of 1997. Brings back memories of how much 13-year-old me hated that song with a fiery passion back in β97. Both that AND the Spice Girlsβ βWannabeβ song were the musical bane of 13-year-old meβs existence.
β Great concept of Helen and Will brutally torturing Hanson by forcing them to listen to an endless loop of βMMMBopβ.
β Iβll give credit to Hanson for being good sports to participate in this.
β I can excuse the overacting from the two Hanson brothers who are acting out a mental breakdown.
β I love the dark ending with Will being shot off-camera, complete with blood being seen on the wall behind him when the elevator doors open back up.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs βMerry Christmas Babyβ
GOODNIGHTS
host & castmembers end the show from Rockefeller Center skating rink
β Skating rink goodnights! Always a treat to see.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
β A fairly solid Christmas episode; better than I had remembered, in fact. The first half was very impressive, with two five-star classics (TV Funhouse and Baseball Dreams) and a few other strong sketches. Things slowed down in the second half, but there were still some good things there, especially the Torturing Hanson sketch. I also like how tonightβs episode shook things up with the recurring characters, by refreshingly having them do something different for a change.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF βBEST OFβ MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Nathan Lane)
a very slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
We enter the year 1998, with host Samuel L. Jackson, and the beginning of a new era of Weekend Update
Downey said on the 90s special that he found out he was fired and that Farley had died on the same day.
Hate to be a killjoy but yeah a bunch of the recurring characters in this era still donβt do it for me. Sorry Culps. Even Delicious Dish is solid but far from one of my favorites. I will admit itβs performed fantastically by Ana and Molly but I donβt know.. never made me laugh much.
Baseball players sketch really is great. I will take a guess and say McKay wrote it
Norm has also stated that he found out about his dismissal from Update on the day Chris died.
damnβ¦
I remember 14 year old me staying up late to watch this one live (or maybe it was a rerun of this episode?) either way I distinctly remember the TV Funhouse and Torturing Hansons sketches.
Also, I remember at the end of this WU that Norm was carried away by guards? As soon as he took off his microphone and stood up he was hurried away from the desk.
My mom let us stay up late to watch it too because we were Hanson fans! At least this episode wasnβt too particularly racy.
The edges were more or less permanently knocked off SNL during this period which is perhaps why the funniest, edgiest cast member had to booted off so abruptly. It may also explain why the the recurring characters are mostly so underwhelming, though Iβve always had a soft spot for Oteriβs brand of wackiness: the overmedicated lady, the oversexed lady and of course Simma Down Nah!
This may be parallel universe levels of wishful thinking; but Iβd like to think that if NBC held off on firing Norm & Downey for a little while longer, MAYBE they mightβve earned a stay of execution thanks to all the jokes they couldβve told during the impending Clinton/Lewinsky scandal that would happen a few episodes from hereβall the OJ jokes could take a backseat for a little while, and Olhmeyer mightβve cooled down a little. Alas, it wasnβt meant to be.
One other thing Iβll addβand this is about Hansonβif you look beyond all the teenybopper stuff, theyβve actually turned out to be a pretty decent Adult Contemporary band; if youβve got a few minutes to kill, check out this profile on the song mmmβbop, and what they did afterwardβ¦
I totally agree that the timing of the firing of Norm was awful, both since everyone was grief stricken over Farleys death, AND because Norm just misses the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Honestly, though, he would have probably been brutal, and that might actually have made the entire country more politically polarized than it already was. So thatβs one silver lining in all this, perhaps; that we DIDNβT become more polarized?
Iβm also wondering if Ohlmeyer wasnβt suddenly panicking with the impending loss of Seinfeld, which I think was announced sometime between Thanksgiving and this episode, if memory serves. So he decided to throw his weight around and fire Norm. Didnβt he also fire Warren Littlefield, or undercut some key decisions, around this time? I seem to recall that from Warrens book
This episode always bummed me out when it got re-ran.. Norm had no idea it was his finale behind the desk but he went out on a high note. Way better farewell than Chevyβs was but not as good for me as Dennisβs was. Norm shoulda been allowed some decency and been allowed to finsh. Donβs a grade A creep and should be ashamed.
Itβs also an utter shame this is the one time that Jack ever appeared on a regular SNL show, and it had to be a dying repeating character skit. Lorne should be ashamed of himself for using Jack that way.. he shoulda hosted WAY before this. Jack in 1975/77 or 1987 even woulda been amazing on the show.
Normβs classic Letterman appearance the week after his firing announcement was made public.
Noticeably you start getting a lot more characters and less stand-up commentaries once Norm leaves Update. Here Norm explains why he preferred stand-up guys like Jim and Colin visiting the desk most of the time over characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNx7fPCzmm8
The best thing to come out of Norm getting kicked off WU is Norm going in full βDONT GIVE A FUUUUHHHHH-CK!!!β mode for most one his appearances that are left. As much as Norm said he hated doing sketches and only was interesting in doing Update, his sketches were often my favorite things of this era.
Thanks for the links. This explains why he seemed so zoned out of the Cinder Calhoun bits. I do remember there being more and more non-standup pieces on Update again from this point on β ranging from Jimmy Fallon Is So Adorable Isnβt He to Chris Kattan Falls Downβ¦LOL!! Not saying non-standup pieces on Update are bad, of course. Just donβt remember loving many in this time period. Maybe Iβll be surprised.
That was a nice interview with Norm and Letterman. Norm seemed extremely nervous, which could have made the whole thing go haywire if Dave hadnβt taken so much care. Norm talking about how bad he is in sketches I just had to shake my head at, but hopefully he knows how well many of those have held up.
While his last few Updates had been a swing back toward better quality, I do think there were some rough patches and if heβd bowed out this season it may have been for the best. It just shouldnβt have gone down the way it didβ¦it also put Colin Quinn (someone I always enjoyed on SNL) in a bad starting position and meant Update would never fully be seen as his.
Dave saying Normβs Update was often the only good part of the show reminds me of just how long people have said that type of remark. Sometimes I forget how many just tune in for Update and then switch off.
I just realized that the next episode has one of my favorite Norm sketches: the one where he plays Quentin Tarantino getting interviewed by Bravo.
This is a fun and at times excellent Christmas episode until we get to that weak Roxbury guys sketch. This is one of the best Culps pieces (with Helen absolutely perfect in her role β thereβs something about Helenβs aloof persona which clicks with SNL for some reason and makes me wish sheβd hosted more), and also a classic Delicious Dish (I love that they think theyβre drunk and then realize they arenβt). Also the best Ladies Man up to this point, and a good (unintended) last Update for Norm β as you mentioned itβs strange how often we get these unintended torch-passing or poignant moments on SNL. Iβm glad we at least have a few more episodes of sketches with him before his era is fully over.
The Roxbury Guys I generally donβt have a big problem with, but this one is so much weaker (and also way too long) than what comes before that it breaks the momentumβ¦and the momentum is then stomped into the ground by that awful Chris Kattan screechfest. The Joan Rivers sketch in-between is interesting, as I donβt remember SNL going for the throat so heavily by this point in its lifespan. I kept wondering if Tina wrote this sketch, or possibly Paula, or both? This aired during a time period Rivers was notorious for her scathing fashion critiques (sometimes going far beyond talk about fashion), which probably made them see her as fair game. The idea is interesting, and Anaβs performance stands out, but this is more of a curio piece than much else. I do like the Burt Reynolds Christmas, but it also feels more like an idea than a sketch.
The Hanson sketch is clever and entertaining. A good way to close out the night, but I do wonder why it was put at the very end of the episode.
I always like seeing them skate for Christmas. I would be happy if they did every season.
I canβt recall which episode, but thereβs a cold open down the line that portrays Joan Rivers as a witch with wings. Someone in that writersβ room was NOT a fan.
Oh I think I remember that now. Isnβt she on the red carpet and gradually devolves into a creature?
This is a good, fun episode. The monologue is lots of fun, kind of shocking that Jack Nicholson never hosted the show.
Anyway, I do like the Baseball players sketchβ¦but the pace gets messed up with all the applause each time a player enters and says his name (and so much of it seemed obligatory applause)β¦and many times the guys donβt wait until the applause dies downβ¦and their line gets drowned out. Oh well, itβs still a funny sketch, and Will is great in it.
I was getting prepared to write a farewell for Normβ¦but then realizedβ¦heβs still on the show for a couple more months! Iβll wait until he officially leaves. Itβs been said before, but the firing of Norm was a terrible move. I agree, if youβre going to fire him, just wait until the end of the season. Or, if youβre going to fire himβ¦just get rid of him entirely! They fire him from Update, but kept him in the castβ¦the decision just makes no sense. As Letterman said about Don Olmeyer when Norm was on the show after the firing βheβs an idiotβ Indeed. π
βHi, sweetheart. Iβm Mark Grudzielanek!β I could never not think of that whenever seeing him play from that point in his career onward.
Also probably the most personality Scott Rolen ever showed publicly. He actually did have a dry, deadpan sense of humor, though it only occasionally came out during his career
This season was the first and only one where I made a real effort to watch the shows liveβ¦and then they fired Norm, which infuriated me and left a very bad taste in my mouth about SNL for years.
If SNL has a βjump the sharkβ moment (and Iβm not convinced it does), firing Norm from update might just be it. Regardless of what some might think of his humor β and Iβve gone hot and cold on him over the years β the way it went down was a total betrayal of him and the fans of the show at the time.
All of Normβs appearances on the letterman show have been compiled in five parts. Iβm something of a Norm super-fan so Iβm biased, but I think virtually all of it is worth watching or hearing.
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXPu-Sta5a0&t=54s
After Norm and Colin Q, Update would later evolve to safer showcase of SNL. I prefer the Norm years.
It seemed like Norm had more years left as an Update anchor. The way he was treated was terrible.
Glad he got to return after this.
Needless to say, Iβm sad and shocked of his passing.
Oral history of the baseball player sketch:
https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/12/13/23506851/saturday-night-live-baseball-dreams-come-true-sketch-oral-history