Author: Stooge

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November 14, 1987 – Robert Mitchum / Simply Red (S13 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The Rolling Paper Chase- what Douglas Ginsburg (JOL) was like in the ’70s

— Good reveal of Jon playing Douglas Ginsburg, or as he calls himself, “Captain Toke”.
— Funny premise for a Paper Chase parody, which makes this SNL’s second parody of that show during this calendar year.
— I like the fake freeze-frame while we see an epilogue on what each character went on to do.
— The look on Dana’s face during his fake freeze-frame close-up is hilarious. (last screencap above)
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like how his only understanding of doing SNL is “In 90 minutes, I go to a party”.
— A very short, to-the-point monologue, which seems to be becoming the norm lately.
STARS: ***


COMPULSION
cleanliness-obsessed (JAH) uses the Calvin Kleen disinfectant

 

— This is a fantastic, dead-on, and memorable parody of a famous Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) from this time period. The real Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) is actually one of my earliest memories ever (I was 3 years old at this time in 1987), so seeing this SNL parody of it is very nostalgic for me.
— Dana’s especially funny in this, particularly him getting slapped by Phil right before the camera cut away.
STARS: *****


DEATH BE NOT DEADLY
private eye Philip Marlowe (host) narrates film noir

— Some really good laughs from Robert unknowingly speaking his inner narration out loud, while a confused Kevin can hear.
— The constant “and?” stuff from Robert is funny.
— This is getting even funnier with Robert’s increasingly poor attempts to hide his spoken narration.
— Great part with Kevin and Robert’s speak overlapping for a while.
— I like the subtle joke of there being an Eleanor Roosevelt Clinic.
— Good ending with Robert’s inner narration spouting off a string of poor analogies.
— An overall very spot-on and memorable film noir spoof.
STARS: ****½


THE MOUNTAIN MAN
Mountain Man’s (DAC) odd outdoor wisdom alienates (JOL) & (VIJ)

— A good laugh from Dana’s “You’ve got some set of ovaries, woman” comment to Victoria.
— Loved Dana’s very random “I bet you have a teeny weenie peenie” line to Jon.
— I really like Dana’s increasingly absurd “Have you ever…” questions throughout this sketch.
— Yet another very funny line from Dana, this time telling Jon “It’s mini men like you who make women turn lesbo.”
— Overall, a hilarious, forgotten, underrated Dana Carvey gem.
STARS: ****


TEAM XYNEX
— Rerun from last season


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Thing”


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ shows a clip of her daughter Scarlett keeping in shape
AWB explores the link between marijuana & the nation’s ills

— Victoria’s advice to women had some okay lines, but was nothing special. Also, I didn’t care for the overlong video of her baby daughter exercising.
— A. Whitney Brown makes his first appearance of the whole season. Strangely, he was credited in the opening montage of this season’s first two episodes, but was nowhere to be seen in either of them.
— A. Whitney’s first Big Picture commentary of the season has turned out to be a strong one as usual. I particularly liked the comments about pot being a cure for PMS, blaming pot on America’s financial problems, and selling pot to the Japanese to make the quality of their products go down to match ours.
STARS: ***


SWEENEY’S COMEBACK
Liz averts Sweeney breakup by getting Candy’s mind off (host) with medley

— Very surprised to realize a minute into this sketch that Jan is playing her Candy Sweeney character. This sketch is a huge change of pace for the Sweeney Sisters.
— Interesting premise with Jan’s Candy not wanting to be a Sweeney Sister anymore.
— I like the way the Sisters’ tension is being worked into their medley.
— Nice moment with the Sisters breaking out into their usual Trolley Song when Candy decides to become a Sweeney Sister again.
— Very charming installment overall.
STARS: ***½


OUT OF GAS
by Trina Mitchum- host & Jane Greer [real] relive film noir

— Interesting-seeming film.
— Nice twist with the gas cap necklace.
— Overall, while there wasn’t much to say about this, this was a well-done film and yet another spot-on film noir spoof.
STARS: ***½


ANDRE & REX: MACHO HAIRSTYLISTS
Andre (PHH) & Rex (host), Macho Hairstylists are visited by the gay mafia

— Ehh, not to sure about this concept, though I liked the opening voice-over announcing the title.
— Pretty funny outburst from Phil over the missing cap on his sculpting gel.
— The bad haircuts reveal at the end was weak.
— Overall, despite a few okay moments early on, this wasn’t too great a sketch.
STARS: **


BEAUTYBATH
Corazon Aquino (JAH) escapes from her worries by taking a BeautyBath

— This is a funny topical concept for a beauty bath commercial, and it’s also a good use of Jan’s Corazon Aquino impression.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Suffer”


MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN
a beggar (host) tells his rich son (DAC) about how he obtained a jewel

— Love how Phil’s butler character is randomly named Sprinkles.
— Some laughs from Robert’s dramatic story about the bee in his car.
— Funny unexpected turn with Robert casually pulling out a human hand from his bag.
— Overall, a kinda strange sketch, but a decent one for this late in the show.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly solid episode, and had a few very memorable gems (Compulsion, Death Be Not Deadly) as well as one forgotten gem (The Mountain Man). I also liked the classy, old-timey atmosphere Robert Mitchum’s presence gave this episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dabney Coleman)
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Candice Bergen makes her hosting return after an 11-year absence from the show

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October 31, 1987 – Dabney Coleman / The Cars (S13 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Lifestyles Of The Rich, Famous, & Scary- Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)

— I like this concept, and the opening credits sequence is pretty fun with the photos of terrifying celebrities.
— Nice inclusion of Elvira.
— The joke of Ric Ocasek being mistaken for Keith Richards was already used in a Church Chat sketch from last season.
— An overall decent if somewhat short cold opening, and an appropriate way to kick off tonight’s Halloween episode.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Another short segment tonight, but Dabney had some good lines and he came off funny as expected.
STARS: ***


NATURE’S BROOM
Peggy Lee (NOD) sings “Fiber” to encourage use of bran, “Nature’s Broom”

— Random but funny subject matter for this Fever spoof.
— Very catchy song, and a lot of the altered lyrics are funny.
STARS: ***½


CAMPFIRE STORIES
a scoutmaster (host) tells a scary campfire story about his ex-wife

— Ha, now I see where Dabney’s “beautiful woman in white” story is going.
— I’m noticing that Jon is still coughing frequently tonight, just like how I pointed out he did throughout the previous episode. He must still have a cold.
— Yep, I was right about the direction of Dabney’s story turning out to be about how sour his marriage to his wife has gotten, a story that Dabney is pulling off  well.
— Loved Dabney’s line about instead of retaining water, his wife retains Twinkies and Old Milwaukee.
— Funny ending with the moral of the story being “women are no damn good”.
STARS: ***½


THE WINNING SPIRIT
a blind man (host) is bitter about his disability

— I like Dabney hinting that the cause of his blindness was “porcupine-oriented”.
— Love Dabney’s constant bitterness and sarcasm over his blindness.
— Funny little part where, after Jan forcefully makes Dabney feel her face with his hand, Dabney worriedly tends to his hand and asks “Did I get it in your nose?”
— Jan’s emotional breakdown after Dabney’s mocking blind dance is very good.
— Very funny line from Dabney explaining that one positive aspect of blindness is “You can look right at an eclipse”.
— Strong sketch overall.
STARS: ****


COUNT DRACULA, SELF-TAUGHT AUTO MECHANIC
Dracula (JOL) fixes a couple’s car

— Jon’s menacing fang-baring facial expression during an instance of thunder cracked me up.
— Heh, “Count Dracula, Self-Taught Auto Mechanic”. The title alone has a feel that’s representative of this SNL era’s style.
— I like how when Dana asks Dracula what the price for his service is, Dracula responds that he will drink some of Dana’s blood, and Jan explains to Dana “Well, honey, he DID fix the car.”
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Strap Me In”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM reads from “Howl,” thinking that it was written by Douglas Ginsburg

 

— Second episode in a row where Dennis sports an uncharacteristic neatly-combed hairstyle.
— Loved Dennis’ line about vice president George Bush being “the Barney Fife of world politics”.
— Very random but amusing bit with Dennis bringing out a ventriloquist dummy as if he’s about to do some kind of routine, only for Dennis to immediately go “No, no, what the hell am I doing?” and then put the dummy away. By the way, that looks like the same ventriloquist dummy that Christopher Guest’s Senor Cosa always used in the Joe Franklin Show sketches from season 10. (side-by-side comparison below)

— Strangely, Dennis has now been delivering a very long string of jokes straight ahead to the camera without using the news screen.
— Just now, something appeared to be edited out when the shot abruptly cut from Dennis speaking towards the straight-ahead camera to him now speaking towards the side camera.
— What? Update’s over already?!? Yeah, something was DEFINITELY removed from my copy, because I noticed before the aforementioned abrupt cut, as the camera was on a shot of Dennis speaking towards the straight-ahead camera, you can see the shadow of an off-camera Elvira seated next to him (the tall hair on the shadow gave her away). A commentary of hers must’ve been removed from reruns. Anyone know why?
STARS: ***


DON’T GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT
rational actions help catch an axe killer

   

— Jon has the same overall look he had in the Pinklisting sketch from the season 11 premiere.
— Wow, this feels like the first time we’ve seen Phil Hartman all night, though now that I think of it, I just remembered he had a minor role as one of the backup singers/dancers in the earlier Nature’s Broom piece. Still, it’s very odd to see him appearing so little in an episode.
— The constant questioning of why Dana and Victoria are in their underwear is pretty funny.
— Strange sketch overall. I feel like I should find it kinda weak, but I dunno, I found it had an enjoyable charm that’s typical of this era, even if I don’t fully understand what this sketch was going for.
STARS: ***


MARRIAGE COUNSELOR
marriage counselor (host) ignores (NOD), gets chummy with (KEN)

— I like Dabney slowly siding with Kevin while slowly acting nasty towards Nora.
— I got a big laugh from Dabney sternly ordering Nora to “sit your big fat butt down” when she tries to get up to leave.
— Loved Nora’s “I will leave you now to measure your penises!” before exiting.
STARS: ****


MASCOT IDEAS
the student council of a new high school tries to come up with a mascot

— Dana’s idiotic “tiger fight” line was funny, especially his delivery.
— Jan’s character is reminding me of her Nancy Simmons character from the future Wayne’s World sketches.
— Dana’s ridiculous mascot suggestion of “The Communists” was hilarious.
— Haha, I absolutely loved Jon’s idea of “The Frozen Caveman”. Not just because of the inherent silliness of the idea, but because in hindsight, it unintentionally alludes to a certain future recurring character of Phil Hartman’s.
— I like how a lot of Jon’s mascot titles inexplicably begin with “the flaming”.
— Strong ending.
— Great silly sketch overall, and I really enjoyed the way this progressed.
STARS: ****


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
out-of-body shopping experience; a furrier (host)

— For some reason, I kinda liked Pat Stevens’ “out-of-body experience” demonstration, even if I didn’t really laugh.
— Funny entrance from Dabney in all those furs.
— Overall, ehh. Pretty much the same reaction I have to most Pat Stevens sketches after getting burned out on her during her season 11 overexposure. Not even Dabney could do much for this sketch.
STARS: **


ED’S SECRET LIFE
(no synopsis available)

 

— Well… this is weird. I guess I can’t help but always initially find it kinda off-putting seeing these outside-source SNL films that have no involvement from anyone on the show. However, I’ll try to be open-minded towards this.
— This film must’ve been added to reruns, because I’m noticing there’s no sounds at all from SNL’s studio audience. Maybe SNL added this to replace the cut Elvira commentary from Update. This era so far has a weird habit of doing things like this, where they cut a sketch in reruns to replace it with a film made by an outside source. And 9 times out of 10, I find myself not caring at all for those outside-source films. If you ask me, there’s a REASON these films weren’t deemed good enough to air during live episodes.
— What the hell? A random Heather Locklear appearance? I never knew she appeared on the show prior to her 1994 hosting stint.
— Overall, this film didn’t do much for me. It didn’t help that in the recording I’m watching of this episode, there were terrible screen glitches during portions of this film, which made them almost impossible to follow. Didn’t look like I missed much anyway, though.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Double Trouble”


INVESTMENT FIRM
after losing $78,000 on Black Monday, (JOL) confronts his broker (host)

— Good delivery from Jon during his angry rant.
— I’m not sure where this sketch is going.
— Nice little touch with Dabney brushing the plant dirt off his table while speaking to Jon after Jon angrily broke a plant on Dabney’s desk.
— This sketch ended a bit abruptly in the copy I’m watching of this episode. It appears whoever recorded this copy cut off the very end of this sketch right when the audience was about to begin applauding.
— Overall, a hard sketch to figure. I have no idea what this was going for. I think I liked this overall sketch more for the acting (particularly from Dabney) than anything else. Maybe that was the intention? However, if this was supposed to be a subtle, slice-of-life acting piece with some scattered humor thrown in, it didn’t hit its mark. SNL has done much better attempts at that kind of sketch.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a wildly varying episode. Some pieces were just average. Some pieces were this season’s first misfires. And some pieces were great (namely The Winning Spirit, Marriage Counselor, and Mascot Ideas). I will say Dabney Coleman gave the show a boost, as he was a fantastic host. And I liked the way the show used him, putting him front-and-center in lots of original writer-ly sketches, which played to his strengths. I also loved the heavy Halloween theme in this episode, though the theme seemed to subside in the second half of the show. Still, it was enough to make me wish SNL did live episodes on Halloween much more often than they’ve done in their 44-year history.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sean Penn)
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Robert Mitchum

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October 24, 1987 – Sean Penn / LL Cool J, The Pull (S13 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Fatal Attraction II- former prison lover Alex (L.L. Cool J) stalks host

— A good Fatal Attraction turn this has taken.
— Very funny use of LL Cool J.
— An overall pretty solid cold opening and a good way to spoof Sean Penn’s time in jail. For some reason, though, this didn’t feel like I was watching SNL. After a while, I had kinda forgotten what show I was watching until they cut to the opening montage.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Love how Don Pardo immediately goes “During this program, the taking of photographs is strictly forbidden.”
— Funny mock-dramatic turn when Sean’s about to explain why he hates photographers.
— Good monologue overall.
STARS: ***


WALL STREET WEEK
Future Man (KEN) had no trouble with Black Monday

— Our first of what I’m assuming will be several mentions tonight of the infamous disastrous stock market crash (a.k.a. Black Monday) that happened earlier that week.
— During the opening sequence, I like the casual announcement of someone named Future Man being a special guest.
— An online SNL fan once had a theory that the blonde female extra shown talking to Jon at the beginning might be the now-notorious Brynn Hartman. (screencap below) I can’t confirm whether this is true or not, as I have no familiarity with what Brynn looked like, besides having blonde hair.

— I love Phil’s panicky characterization. He’s reminding me a little of Martin Short’s Nathan Thurm. He even threw in a “I know that!” at one point.
— Jan’s speech had a really funny payoff.
— Some noticeable audio issues right now as Sean has begun speaking. I guess this is another result of the technicians strike.
— Sean’s utterly bizarre performance…. oh my god. I once read this performance of his be described as “so bad, it’s good”, and after watching it now, I’d say it’s definitely living up to that description.
— Funny visual of Kevin as Future Man.
— Sean’s character asking for the nearest “porcelain convenience” was a good line, again made funnier by Sean’s horrible acting in this.
— I got a really good laugh from Future Man explaining that his reason for not stopping Sean’s character from committing suicide is simply because “I didn’t like him.”
— Overall, this had some strong moments and was well-written, though I felt the execution of it came off a little slow and awkward, at least in the live version I’m reviewing of this episode. Maybe this sketch comes off a little tighter in reruns.
STARS: ***½


CHURCH CHAT
host punches Church Lady after she takes his picture

— This season’s first appearance of last season’s biggest breakout sketch.
— The interview with Jon was very good.
— I like Church Lady’s various ways of egging Sean on to lose his temper.
— I’ve been noticing throughout tonight’s episode that whenever its mentioned that Sean is married to Madonna, you can hear a guy in the audience exclaiming “Yeah!” in response.
— Great moment with Jon’s Iranian diplomat character offering Sean foreign money for “the dancing woman” after a racy Madonna music video clip is shown.
— And there goes the legendary moment with Sean suddenly punching Church Lady in the mouth, knocking her out of her chair.
— Wow, this has built into an epic and hilarious fight between Church Lady and Sean.
— Perfect way to end this sketch.
— Overall, this Church Lady installment was freakin’ classic.
STARS: *****


PITMAN AND BULLOCK
Pitman & Bullock investment firm has the tenacity of a ferocious dog

— A bit unusual how they’re showing a pre-taped fake ad right after a commercial break in the first half of the show.
— Decent overall ad, and the pitbull footage served as a nice analogy.
STARS: ***


TEENY CAFÉ
in the Teeny Cafe, Babette & (JOL) perform skewed “The Way We Were”

— Not excited at all to see this sketch again.
— Some more audio issues tonight, this time during Kevin’s long-winded detailing of how the veal is prepared.
— Sean’s DeNiro impression is funny, and I’m enjoying his dialogue.
— Loved Sean-as-DeNiro’s line about how he had two vertebrae removed to make him shorter for a movie.
— I like how Nora and Jon’s song is introduced as being translated from English to French and back to English.
— I’m enjoying this song a little more than the song Nora and Jon performed in the first Teeny Café sketch, as this one has some really amusing re-re-translated lyrics.
— Overall, an improvement over the first Teeny Café sketch.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN uses cliches to illustrate the lesson of Black Monday

— After sporting an even more 80s hairstyle than usual in the season premiere, Dennis surprisingly has his hair neatly combed tonight.
— Great bit with Dennis displaying a stock market chart to explain Black Monday.
— Not sure I’m too excited to see Kevin’s topic-changing commentaries return this season. I started getting a little tired of these towards the end of the previous season. However, these usually always have some funny lines.
— Kevin’s overall commentary tonight indeed turned out to have some funny lines, especially about it being a coincidence that Lou Gehrig contracted Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and the story about Kevin’s farmer relative owning a whole bunch of cattle and just half an acre. I’ve realized that I would like these Nealon commentaries more if he would just stick to the funny lines and ditch the topic-changing portions, which lost its novelty for me after a few iterations.
STARS: ***½


AFTER THE DATE
Don (PHH) & Marge Keister frustrate (host) with their poor memories

— The second appearance of Marge Keister’s family.
— Some pretty good laughs from the story about accidentally backing over the family dog with a car.
— The “manly” part between Phil and Jan actually had heart to it and was a sweet moment.
— Overall, this followed the same structure as the Keister family’s previous appearance with Steve Guttenberg, but this was still decent.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
L.L. Cool J performs “Go Cut Creator Go”


DISCOVER
Peter Graves (PHH) is clueless when it comes to snakes

 

— I like the visual of Sean sitting very stiffly in the snake pit while repeatedly warning Phil’s Graves in a quiet monotone manner so as not to disturb the snakes.
— Good part with Phil’s Graves ignorantly banging on the outside of the snake pit.
— Overall, this was shorter than most Discover installments, though still quite funny. However, I don’t think any of these Discover follow-ups will ever top the first one.
STARS: ***½


JOEY COMES HOME
Eddie Spimozo’s WWII vet brother (host) wants to work at The Jungle Room

— Interesting change of setting for Jon’s Eddie Spimozo character.
— Does Jon have a cold tonight? He keeps coughing all throughout tonight’s episode (it was especially noticeable during the Wall Street Week sketch whenever the camera was on somebody else).
— Some really funny lines from Jon.
— Overall, some pretty solid work here, even if I didn’t find this one quite as memorable as past Eddie Spimozo sketches.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
The Pull performs “This & That”


CAT DENTIST
Peggy has a cavity filled by Dr. Daniel Rudolph, Cat Dentist (TOD)

— I like the unique concept of this.
— Funny use of an obviously stuffed cat while we see the cat having its cavity filled.
— I see from the film’s ending credits that Andy Aaron was involved. He made a few SNL shorts in the past, usually involving the demolition of a building (e.g. the Push Button to Explode Building short).
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A consistently good episode. While I didn’t find this to be quite as strong as the season premiere, and I had an unusually hard time coming up with things to say about the post-Update sketches, this didn’t have any subpar segments at all and there was at least one very memorable sketch in Church Chat.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Steve Martin):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Dabney Coleman hosts SNL’s second of only three episodes that fell on Halloween

Posted on

October 17, 1987 – Steve Martin / Sting (S13 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) clubs Robert Bork (JOL) a la The Untouchables

— Interesting build-up.
— From what I remember hearing, this is a parody of a scene from the movie The Untouchables, which came out that same year. I’ve never seen the movie myself, though I’m familiar with the original TV series from the 60s.
— The little-known debut of Dana’s George Bush impression. He kinda does a nasal voice here as well as a bit of a hand mannerism, but it’s nothing like how his Bush would later famously go on to be.
— Good sequence with Phil’s Reagan brutally beating Jon’s Bork with a bat.
— I liked Jon’s “It’ll take more than that to make me quit” after the bloody beatdown.
— Decent way to start the season, if not the most exciting way.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— It’s the same montage from last season.
— Kevin Nealon has been promoted from a featured player to a main cast member, and has gone from having just a still photo in the montage to now having a moving shot like the main cast members. (screencap below)

— The featured players, guests, and SNL Band’s still photos are now shown in black-and-white instead of in color.


MONOLOGUE
host’s big dance number “I Bite Down Hard” is shot from the waist-up

 

— While the home base stage is still the same from last season, there are some minor changes, mainly the removal of those pipe ladder-looking things (not sure what they were) on the left and right ends of the stage.
— Some really funny typical Steve Martin humor here.
— Interestingly, when talking about SNL, he nicely mentions the fact that “all the regulars are back; none of them were fired”, which must’ve been a big deal at the time considering the frequent cast turnover the show experienced from seasons 10-12.
— I liked the gag with a cue card error leading Steve to pronounce tonight’s musical guest as “Stingy”.
— We get a mention that there’s a technicians strike going on. What is it with so many strikes affecting season 13 anyway? Unlucky number 13?
— Hilarious how his song is randomly titled “I Bite Down Hard”.
— Great sequence with him dancing around the stage while the camera stays in one place the whole time due to the aforementioned technicians strike. I mentioned in earlier reviews that Steve’s style had mellowed down by the mid-80s, but in this I Bite Down Hard number, he’s coming off as his wild 70s self.
— And now the musical number has gotten even funnier with the use of obviously fake legs on the bottom of the screen.
— Overall, one of my favorite Steve Martin monologues.
STARS: ****½


GARY HART
Gary Hart’s effect on women- “You can’t get him out of your mind”

— At first, the dramatic camera angles and the use of Jan had me thinking this was going to be the famous Calvin Klein Compulsion commercial, but this instead turned out to be about Gary Hart. Good reveal. I guess the Compulsion ad doesn’t debut until later this season.
— I love the cinematography and music in this.
— Pretty good ad overall.
STARS: ***½


COMMON KNOWLEDGE
correct answers are those given by high school seniors

— Funny reveal that the answers were determined by high school seniors.
— I like Nora finally catching on to how the game is played.
— Dana’s hair has really grown out over the summer.
— The lightning round part is really good.
— A good laugh from the consolation prize being a yearly subscription to TV Guide.
— An overall strong and memorable gameshow sketch.
STARS: ****


SLIDE WHISTLES
slide whistle sound effects reflect thoughts of daters (VIJ) & (host)

— I’m liking this premise.
— LOL at Frank Stallone being one of the celebrities Steve’s company represents, which of course results in a down slide whistle sound effect from Victoria.
— Very good aversion with a neutral slide whistle sound effect being played when Victoria is confused over two of the celebrities Steve has mentioned.
— The orthodox bit with Jan and Jon was hilarious.
— Great ending reveal of Steve’s height.
STARS: ***½


THE NFL TODAY
during players’ strike, George Plimpton (DAC) has success
Sip-N-Save Beer’s You Make The Call- very many men on the field penalty

— What are those velcro sounds I keep hearing throughout this? Is that coming from Kevin’s mic?
— Dana’s George Plimpton impression is hilarious.
— Funny part about female football players, especially the picture of the old lady shown as one of the players.
— This sketch was good overall, though I didn’t like it quite as much as the NFL Today sketch from the previous season.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “We’ll Be Together”


PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY
officers of a ship regret giving underlings permission to speak freely

— Steve immediately going off on a heated, insult-filled rant towards Jon when given permission to speak freely is really funny.
— Haha, Steve is getting so into his rant that at one point, he visibly spits on Jon’s face by accident, which gets a very funny reaction from Jon.
— Wow, that’s it? I’m very surprised by how short this was. Probably a good thing, though, because this might’ve gotten old if it kept going on any longer.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF exposes Bruce Babbitt’s [real] abuse of supermarket express lanes
VIJ sings “I Am Not A Bimbo” & dances on the newsdesk

 

— Dennis’ 80s mullet is looking more 80s than EVER this season.
— I see Dennis is continuing his running gag from last season where he uses a random unrelated punchline about George Steinbrenner firing Lou Pinella.
— Hmm, Al Franken eager to start a political scandal by exposing skeletons that politicians have in their closet. Can’t help but notice the unfortunate irony there.
— Interesting and pretty funny video with Al interviewing Bruce Babbit and then showing a videotape of Babbit causing trouble at a supermarket.
— Our very first instance of a Victoria Jackson Weekend Update song.
— Ah, it’s the classic “I Am Not a Bimbo”, probably Victoria’s most famous SNL song.
— Nice effortless catch from Dennis when Victoria kicks her skirt off into the air while standing on the desk.
— A fantastic overall song from Victoria.
STARS: ****


ADVENTURES IN THE LOST REALM
a dinosaur takes its time eating (JOL)

— The use of obvious dolls and puppets to represent Jon being eaten by a dinosaur is fairly funny.
— I like some of the cutaways to Phil and Steve doing and talking about trivial things during Jon’s slaughtering.
— Didn’t care for the ending.
STARS: **½


BULLETS AREN’T CHEAP
thrifty James Bond (host) battles musical guest

— I love this concept of Steve playing James Bond.
— Great use of Sting as a Bond villain.
— Why do the lights keep briefly dimming intermittently?
— Is Victoria playing herself? She was addressed by her own first name for some reason. Speaking of Victoria, she’s surprisingly been getting tons of airtime tonight. I’m not used to seeing her so prominent in an episode.
— Loved the Scorpion conversation between Steve and Sting.
— The close-up of Steve’s hand pouring the champagne back into the bottle during the lovemaking scene was a strong ending.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Little Wing”


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
the musclemen (DAC) & (KEN) insult viewers

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Interesting how this debuted as a 10-to-1 sketch, which shows they definitely had no idea how big these characters would become.
— The opening “Pumping Up With Hans & Franz” title graphic (first screencap above) is different from the one that would later be used in these sketches.
— Weird not hearing the usual big audience response when they first utter the phrase “We want to pump… (*clap*)… you up.”
— Strange seeing them in red outfits during the videotape clip.
— Overall, this was very generic compared to future installments of this sketch. Just from watching this inaugural installment, you’d never guess that these characters would go on to be so huge. Judging this inaugural installment on its own merits without comparing it to future installments, it was just okay but nothing special at all really. Kinda felt like a typical 10-to-1 sketch. These characters would definitely improve over time.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A solid season premiere. Very smooth-feeling too, where you can tell the show and cast had really found their stride after last season. Nothing was particularly terrible tonight, and we got at least four memorable segments with the monologue, Common Knowledge, Bullets Aren’t Cheap, and Victoria Jackson’s I Am Not a Bimbo song.
— There’s a story about how this is the only episode in SNL history to not have a dress rehearsal.  Supposedly, right when this episode’s scheduled dress rehearsal was to begin, a fire broke out in a nearby studio, forcing Studio 8H to be evacuated. SNL had to cancel the dress rehearsal, and that combined with the evacuation left the SNL cast and crew distraught.  (Sorta adds on to what I said earlier about this season being unlucky number 13) The live show later that night reportedly went on at Steve Martin’s insistence.  However, I once read an online post from an SNL fan who claimed that story is mostly false.  Said fan was supposedly an audience member for this episode’s dress rehearsal and explained that, while it’s true that a fire indeed broke out in a nearby studio right before dress rehearsal and forced an evacuation, the dress rehearsal still went on after everyone was allowed back into 8H.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1986-87):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Sean Penn

Posted on

May 23, 1987 – Dennis Hopper / Roy Orbison (S12 E20)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
after Easy Rider, Billy (host) & Captain America (DAC) regroup

— Good premise so far, showing the two main Easy Riders characters exiting a clinic after a clip is shown of what happened to them at the end of the movie.
— The debut of Phil’s great Jack Nicholson impression.
— Loved Phil-as-Nicholson’s delivery of the line “Maybe we should vacate these environs and motor north to Gotham.”
— Hopper’s motorcycle tricks in front of an obvious greenscreened background are fairly funny to watch.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Much like in Robin Williams’ monologue earlier this season, the regular home base stage is blocked by the brick wall that’s usually only reserved for this season’s musical guests. Still don’t understand why.
— Some funny drug jokes at the beginning.
— Wow, this is over already? This was extremely short and had very little focus on humor. It was basically just him mentioning how he’s clean and sober.
STARS: **½


CHURCH CHAT
Jenny Baker is defensive; host talks about his wilder days

— Funny line flub with Church Lady mistakenly pronouncing “Jessica” as “Jessikey” and then excusing herself for having “a little Satan” in her mouth.
— Didn’t care at all for the way Victoria’s interview ended.
— Some good laughs from Church Lady’s description of an orgy.
— The insane clip shown from Blue Velvet cracked me up.
— Overall, not one of the best Church Chat sketches and felt slower-paced than most installments, but this was still enjoyable, and the Hopper interview had a likable, fairly fun vibe.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Crying” & “Pretty Woman”


FRANK BOOTH’S “WHAT’S THAT SMELL?”
Judd Nelson (JOL) is the champ

— Very funny concept for a gameshow sketch, and a nice use of Hopper’s Blue Velvet character.
— I’m already laughing at Jon’s Judd Nelson impression just from his look.
— Jan’s Tammy Faye Bakker detailing a hallucination of hers, culminating in her declaring “Demonic sweaters, I rebuke you!” is a blatant and inferior re-write of her classic rant about demonic raisins in the Church Chat sketch she appeared in. As I said in a recent review, I always hate when SNL takes something that got a big laugh the first time and then basically re-do the exact same material, beat-for-beat, hoping lightning will strike twice.
— I’m getting a kick out of all of Hopper’s angry outbursts throughout the sketch.
— What an insane ending. I love it.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
Oliver North’s lawyer Tommy Flanagan says his client is innocent
AWB shows the class of ’87 how to juggle all their concerns & commitments

 

— Nice callback to the Nancy Reagan/Riddler joke from the previous episode, by showing an actual picture of Nancy as The Riddler this time.
— I guess I can’t complain about the appearance of Tommy Flanagan, as this IS the first time we’ve seen him in a while, compared to how frequently he was used last season. Also, from what I was told by a commenter on this site, this ends up being Flanagan’s last appearance for TWO years.
— Interestingly, Flanagan starts to say his usual “That’s the ticket”, but cuts it off and instead says “Isn’t that special?” A sign that Church Lady had eclipsed Tommy Flanagan in popularity this year.
— Flanagan’s overall commentary had some laughs, but yeah, the routine is still coming off fairly tired. I’m looking forward to that two-year break from him.
— I like how it’s becoming a yearly tradition for A. Whitney Brown’s season finale Big Picture commentaries to focus on that year’s graduates.
— Interesting change of pace with A. Whitney using several balls as a visual to make his point.
— Wow, it’s impressive to see A. Whitney successfully juggling several balls.
— At the end of this Update, during his end-of-season sign-off, Miller takes a picture of us viewers by snapping a flash photo at the camera. Didn’t Bill Murray get in trouble for doing the same thing in the final Weekend Update of the original era? Unlike in his case, however, Miller’s photo flash doesn’t leave a burn mark in the middle of the screen.
STARS: ***


PROBLEM DRINKERS FROM OUTER SPACE
alcoholic aliens land in Washington

 

— Some amusing stock footage of a flying saucer drunk-driving.
— I remember once reading a review that pointed out Hopper’s drunk voice in this sketch sounds like a bad Bill Cosby impression. I can’t unhear that while watching this now.
— Good reveal that the alcohol-loving aliens have two livers.
— Overall, ehh. While there were some highlights as pointed out above, and Phil’s delivery was funny, this overall sketch was too slow for my likes and it dragged.
STARS: **


THIS WEEK WITH DAVID BRINKLEY
Sam Donaldson (KEN) leans in chair

 

— Funny seeing this open with a shot of the Capital Building, considering the preceding sketch (Problem Drinkers From Outer Space) ended with stock footage of a flying saucer crashing into the roof of the Capital Building.
— Phil’s David Brinkley voice is making me laugh.
— In the live version I’m watching of this episode, the first instance of Kevin leaning back and almost falling out of his chair was marred by a camera delay where they cut to Kevin too late. I’m assuming this is fixed in the rerun version.
— This is a really silly, one-note sketch, but it’s making me laugh.
— I like how when asked if he’d be willing to switch chairs with Sam Donaldson, Dana’s George Will sternly responds in that stiff George Will delivery “No. This is my chair, I’ll sit here.”
— How are they pulling off this effect with Kevin’s chair repeatedly bouncing on the edge without actually falling over?
— I liked Jon’s “You gotta admit, that was amazing” in response to one of Donaldson’s near-falling-overs.
— Overall, a decent sketch despite the very thin and dumb premise. This had the type of Kevin Nealon silliness that I always like; the type of humor that very few people other than him can sell. I’m sure he wrote this sketch himself, as it felt like his style.
STARS: ***


CANNIBALISM INTERVIEW
questions posed during job interview check whether (host) is a cannibal

— A good laugh from Kevin’s first sudden cannibalism question to Hopper, as well as Hopper’s speechless reaction.
— I like how the cannibalism questions are hinting at sinister plans the execs seem to have.
— An overall okay sketch, though I felt it had potential to be even funnier. This feels like the type of sketch that, if it were done a year or so later when this SNL era fully hit its stride, would’ve been a brilliant absurd sketch that would be a cult favorite among comedy nerds like me. As the sketch stands, it was merely adequate and felt like something was missing.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Dreams”


LAST CHANCE
mechanics (host) & (JAH) beat investment broker (PHH) at his own game

— I got a laugh from Hopper’s bad “investment broker/broken car” joke.
— Hopper’s “If you see us gettin’ smaller, it’s because you’re leavin’” line got a good audience reaction.
— Overall, another sketch tonight that was merely okay. Not particularly hilarious or memorable, but had a nice charm to it.
STARS: ***


SWEENEY SISTERS
Liz & Candy Sweeney sing a medley to say “goodbye” for the summer

— Who was that doing the opening voice-over introducing the Sweeney Sisters? The voice didn’t sound familiar at all. Strange that they didn’t use Don Pardo for that.
— A different set up for the Sweeney Sisters, and I like this meta premise with them saying goodbye to this season of SNL.
— During the medley, I especially liked how they segued from The Trolley Song to So Long Farewell.
— Great screechy long note from Jan at the end.
— Overall, an entertaining and fitting way to end a season. I always appreciate any time SNL ends a season with something special and meta like this, instead of just ending a season with a normal generic sketch.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An average season-ender, and it actually felt kinda underwhelming. While there’s not much in the episode to really complain about, this wasn’t the most exciting way for a solid season like this to end. Most of the sketches tonight were merely okay and rarely rose above that level. Even Church Chat was just average. Almost nothing tonight stood out as really strong, and there’s not much about this episode that I’ll remember in the future. Considering this was both a season finale and a third-consecutive-live-week episode, maybe the people at SNL were understandably a little burned out and eager for their summer vacation.
— Season 12 as a whole was a very good inaugural year for this SNL era. This season did a fantastic 180 from the poor quality of the season 11; in fact, I’d call this the best rebound year in SNL history. This season also provided a good amount of classic moments, and we got an excellent new cast that puts a lot of other SNL casts to shame. All that being said, this season was not quite as strong as this era would later get. There were some things about this season that come off a bit odd and maybe even a little questionable compared to later seasons in this era. That’s understandable, as the tone of this era wasn’t set in stone yet; they were finding their voice this season.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Garry Shandling):
— a step down


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1985-86):
— a huge step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 13 begins, with host Steve Martin

Posted on

May 16, 1987 – Garry Shandling / Los Lobos (S12 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
senators try not to upset Robert McFarlane (PHH) at Iran-Contra hearings

— Second episode in a row with a sketch set at the Iran-Contra hearings, and with Phil playing a person being questioned. Both sketches even have Akira Yoshimura as one of the senators.
— I like the senators sugarcoating their criticisms while coddling Phil as a suicidal Robert McFarlane. By the way, the only reason I’m familiar with Robert McFarlane and his then-infamous suicide attempt is because of jokes that were made about it in some of the earlier Weekend Updates this season. Otherwise, I’d be completely lost during this cold opening.
— Kevin’s delivery is particularly funny as one of the coddling senators.
— Great part with the senators all gasping in unison when Phil’s McFarlane slowly reaches in his pocket for something, as if he’s going to pull out a gun to commit suicide, only for it to just be a tissue to wipe off his sweat with.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about girlfriends past & present

— Very funny story about meeting a girl who’s hair is on fire.
— When talking about making love to a woman for 1 hour and 15 minutes, I love the reveal that it was the day you turn the clocks ahead.
— I like this meta premise of his monologue material being him doing stand-up about not knowing what to do for his monologue.
— Great ending with him walking off the stage, going across the studio, and arriving at the next sketch’s set after he decides not to do a monologue and to just move on to the sketches. Excellent way to segue into the next sketch.
STARS: ****


RETURNING A SWEATER
host screws up a department store sketch by breaking character & 4th wall

— The great meta theme of tonight’s episode continues in this sketch, with Garry constantly breaking the fourth wall, speaking to the camera, addressing cast members by their real name instead of their character name, etc.
— Phil is absolutely hilarious as a Frank Nelson-esque (a.k.a. the “Yeeessssssss?” guy) character.
— Ha, and now Garry stops in the middle of the sketch to flat-out do a direct-to-camera stand-up routine about sweaters.
— Phil’s angry, exaggerated delivery of “Thank you for shopping at BAAAAAMBEEEERGERRRRRRS!!!” absolutely slayed me.
STARS: ****½


THE PUPPY
jewel thief’s (DAC) canine mannerisms evade detective (PHH)

 

— I’m already getting a laugh just from Phil’s snooty Brit mustache, which looks as if it’s on upside-down.
— The gradual reveal of Dana’s puppy-esque actions are well-done.
— I’m especially laughing right now at Dana repeatedly jerking his head to the side as a hint to Phil that he’d like Phil to throw the ball again.
— Pretty solid and well-performed sketch overall, and Dana was very funny as the lead character.
STARS: ***½


SUPPORT GROUP
(host) tells his support group terrible, false stories about his mother

 

— I like Dana’s delivery in this. There are also hints of his Garth voice from the future Wayne’s World sketches in there. I think I recall hearing Dana based this voice on his own little brother.
— Love all these horror stories we’re told about Garry’s mother.
— I’m enjoying the progress of this sketch, with the outraged group members now heading over to Garry’s mother’s house to confront her.
— Very funny shocking reveal that the professor Garry had a sexual relationship with is his own father.
— Some really good reactions the group members have to Garry revealing he knew the professor was his father all along and that it’s what made their sexual relationship so exciting. Dana’s agoraphobic character especially has a funny response to that: “I love my apartment. I’m never going out again.”
— Wow at the reconciliation between Garry and his mother gradually turning into a passionate make-out session. Nice touch with Jon peeking in through the window after he and the other group members have left in disgust.
— Another fourth-wall break tonight, with Garry dropping character to humorously tell us “This is the worst character I’ve ever had to play.”
— An overall hysterical sketch that got funnier and funnier the more disturbing it became. This was fantastic.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Is That All There Is”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Jimmy Stewart (DAC) dislikes the colorization of black & white movies

— Already starting off hot with a very strong Gary Hart/Donna Rice joke.
— In the rerun version I’m reviewing, there was a VERY obvious cut after Dennis’ Oliver North/Fawn Hall underwear joke. Right when Dennis turns to the straight-ahead camera to say something, there’s an abrupt cut to him facing the side camera as he starts the next joke. What was removed?
— Dana’s Jimmy Stewart is making some good arguments about why it’s wrong to colorize old black-and-white films, but where are the laughs here?  This commentary is kinda coming off as what people today would consider preachy or “clapter bait”.
— Okay, now the Jimmy Stewart commentary is finally getting funny with him getting worked up, threatening to kick the ass of anyone who colorizes any of his films, and warning Dennis not to push him.
— I like how it’s become a running gag these last two Updates for Dennis to talk about a random story in the news and then suddenly reveal it prompted George Steinbrenner to fire Lou Pinella.
STARS: ***


TEENY CAFÉ
Babette’s exclusive, pricey Teeny Cafe seats only five people

— I usually don’t care for this Babette character, but this particular sketch seems quite different and interesting.
— A laugh from the visual of Dennis Miller playing a hair-in-ponytail dignified waiter.
— The cutaway to Kevin eating in a closet was really funny.
— Not crazy at all about the song being performed now, even if Jon has some fairly amusing lyrics.
— Overall, this sketch started out interesting, but gradually devolved into a big ol’ pile of meh, which this Babette character is no stranger to.
STARS: **


HOLLYWOOD MOM
actress’ (Tracy Ullman) neglected baby gets even

   

— Random Tracey Ullman-starring film.
— This is already providing some good laughs right from the start, and unsurprisingly, Ullman is giving a funny performance.
— I like the sounds heard from SNL’s studio audience when the baby gets a hold of a big pair of scissors.
— Some more amusement from other dangerous things happening to the baby due to Ullman’s neglectful handling.
— Heh, the audience seemed too disturbed to laugh at the baby getting ahold of a gun. Guess that’s where the audience draws the line.
— Good dark ending with the baby shooting Ullman off-camera and then somehow driving away in a car.
STARS: ***½


REDNECK AIRLINE
(host) & (VIJ) are drenched with spit in plane’s chewing tobacco section

 

— Some funny gross-out humor from the initial visual of fake chewing tobacco liquid being sprayed onto Garry and Victoria from off-camera.
— Phil’s characterization here is great.
— Loved the reaction Phil’s character had to accidentally swallowing his chewing tobacco.
— A decent overall sketch, even if it didn’t really go much farther than the initial joke that was established early on.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “One Time, One Night”


HAPPY COUPLE
reconciliation & argumentation marks couple’s (DAC) & (JAH) anniversary

— I liked Dana’s overly-calm “Don’t do that again… don’t EVER do that again” to Jan.
— Whoa at Dana unexpectedly throwing a drink in Jan’s face.
— A good laugh from Jan putting out her cigarette in Dana’s meal and ordering him to “eat around it!”
— Garry’s funny as the pleasant waiter, especially his friendly “No necking!” when he walks in on Dana angrily strangling Jan.
— Yet another fourth-wall break tonight, with Garry as himself just casually informing Jan and Dana that the sketch is over. Proper way to end tonight’s episode in general.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A consistently solid episode. Teeny Café was the only thing all night that I didn’t care for. The rest of the sketches ranged from good to fantastic to hilariously disturbing. This episode was also helped by the unique touch Garry Shandling gave the show, with his meta, fourth wall-breaking style adding a great change of pace to SNL’s format.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mark Harmon):
— a fairly big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 12 comes to an end, with host Dennis Hopper

Posted on

May 9, 1987 – Mark Harmon / Suzanne Vega (S12 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The New Charlie’s Angels- they eliminate presidential front-runners

— Clever topical concept.
— Great reveal of “Charlie” being a face-hidden Ted Kennedy.
— Loved Phil-as-Kennedy’s line about women being “harder to open than a liquor store in Nebraska”.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Certainly one of the more unique attire a host has ever made their monologue entrance in.
— The Mother’s Day/towel story was pretty funny.
— Is it an intentional joke that the audience keeps applauding at every mention of him winning Sexiest Man Alive?
— Ah, this has segued into a related sketch, much like William Shatner’s monologue earlier this season.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE 1986
Peter Graves (PHH) & Pat Stevens crown host People’s Sexiest Man Alive

— Interesting use of Phil’s Peter Graves impression outside of the Discover sketches.
— Similarly, this is a rare instance of seeing Pat Stevens outside of her talk show setting. At least she fits more in this sketch than in the Cabrini Green school assembly sketch she randomly appeared in the previous season.
— What’s with Nora’s dress occasionally fading transparently into the background behind her, as if she’s a hologram? I guess she’s being greenscreened into the shot.
— Dana is hilarious in this. This is my first time reviewing his John Travolta impression, though this isn’t its debut. According to the SNL Archives site, Dana actually debuted this impression in the last episode, but it was in a sketch that was removed from my rerun copy.
— Good line about intelligence costing the contestants points with the judges.
— Funny performance from Jon as F. Murray Abraham.
— I like the amusing touch with Mark and Jon holding hands in suspense when the winner’s going to be announced.
— The closing winner’s song performed by Phil’s Graves is making me laugh.
STARS: ***½


VERY SMART THEATER
young Attila The Hun (host) wants to make mobiles

— An initial laugh from the obviously fake library background behind Jon.
— Heh, and now they’ve jokingly acknowledged what I pointed out above, by having Jon slip a book into a book-shaped hole in the obviously fake library background.
— Phil angrily throwing an axe into Tom Davis’ back was hilarious, as was Tom’s reaction.
— Oh, god. Where is this going now with Mark’s Atilla the Hun breaking out into a sudden musical number?
— The studio audience is more amused by this sketch than I am so far.
— Man, that “preview of next week’s episode” scene at the end was just as weak as the rest of the sketch.
— Okay, Jon got me laughing at the end by lighting his cigarette with a bust.
— Overall, this sketch started out okay, but ended up really boring me, and the unnecessary mid-sketch musical number didn’t help. It’s way too early in the episode for a sketch this dull and slow.
STARS: *½


IRAN-CONTRA HEARINGS
senators change focus of Iran-Contra hearings to the Hart-Rice affair

— A sketch like this feels weird seeing in the middle of an episode. Feels more like I’m watching a cold opening that was moved to later in the episode. Adding to the confusion is that the following week’s episode actually DOES have a cold opening that’s similarly set at the Iran-Contra hearings.
— Another issue I have with this sketch is that it’s TOO topical and vague. The people in the sketch keep going on and on about “the senator” and “her”, without ever mentioning the names of the senator and woman in question. The only reason I know that they’re Gary Hart and Donna Rice is because of my familiarity with the Gary Hart scandal.
— I liked Dennis’ blunt comment about how Donna Rice’s face is “kinda goofy”.
— Another Akira Yoshimura sighting, and with some dialogue too.
— Proving my earlier point that this sketch is probably a rejected cold opening, this ends with Jon asking Phil “Are there any other statements you’d like to make?”, as if he was setting Phil up to say “Live from New York…” But of course, Phil’s response ended up being something completely different, which was probably a last-minute change if I’m correct that this was moved from the cold opening spot.
STARS: **½


EINSTEIN EXPRESS
when it has to be there the day before yesterday

 

— I love Phil’s intentionally exaggerated, cartoonish portrayal of Jon’s angry boss.
— Fantastic concept.
— A particularly funny part with Kevin’s panicked request to give birth control pills to his girlfriend 4 months in the past.
— Strong commercial overall. I’ve always considered this and the Jiffy Express commercial from the early 90s (a commercial about a delivery service that specializes in taking the blame for packages you send late) to be counterparts to each other. Wonder if they were both written by the same person.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Luka”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM reads the Montgomery Clift Notes for Moby Dick
for new Americans, AWB clarifies what the American dream is really about

— Love the long string of Gary Hart jokes.
— Dennis is on fire with the speed he’s going through the jokes.
— A. Whitney’s overall Big Picture commentary had some good comments as usual, especially the bits about the Columbia Record Club, the meek inheriting the earth, and the Elvis Presley fake-out. I also liked how he signed off with an oddly long-winded, verbose way of saying “The Big Picture”.
STARS: ***½


SALMON SPAWNING
after swimming upstream, salmons (host) & (VIJ) meet & decide to spawn

— Interesting concept.
— The salmonella STD joke was a groaner but a pretty funny one.
— Mark and Victoria did a good job playing off of a real flub where Mark mistakenly jumped ahead of the script while Victoria was speaking.
— Cute sketch overall, even if I wasn’t laughing all that hard.
STARS: ***


DAVE’S PARTY
by Richard Goldstone- adult concerns fill kids’ minds

 

— A unique short film for SNL. Something about this feels like a bit of a precursor to the Look Who’s Talking movies.
— I like the part with the foreign-accented sunglasses-wearing girl.
— Overall, this was well-made, but was another piece that was more cute than funny. This started losing its novelty for me after a while.
STARS: **½


AD COUNCIL
— A rerun… from LAST season. This feels really out of place in this season.


PET CHICKEN SHOP
Ching Change fights gang leader boyfriend (host) of sister Loose (NOD)

 

— Oh, dear god.
— Now Ching and his sister Loose are doing a bad Who’s On First parody using stereotypical Asian names. Groanworthy as hell.
— Okay, I actually got a laugh just now, from the gangsters briefly breaking out into a choreographed swan-type little dance when making their entrance.
— Wow, I’m actually enjoying this fight scene, especially the blatantly fake hits.
— LOL at the part with Ching pulling out Kevin’s heart.
— Unfortunately, they lost me at the end with Ching breaking out into song. Why do these sketches always have to end with Ching singing?
— Overall, probably the best Ching Change sketch ever, by default. I’m sure this recurring sketch will go right back to its usual unwatchable quality in the next installment.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Marlene on the Wall”


MYOWLING BIBLE
now you can share the religious experience with your cat

— Yet another piece tonight that’s more cute than funny. However, as a cat person, I can’t help but get a bit of a kick out of watching this.
— Overall, just an okay-at-best piece, but didn’t really feel necessary.
— In more recent years, SNL once did a fake ad titled The Bird Bible, starring Kate McKinnon and Mike O’Brien. In the review I did of that episode back when it originally aired (this was during my years as a reviewer of newly-aired SNL episodes), I dismissed the Bird Bible piece as a poor rip-off of this Myowling Bible sketch. Sometime later on, I came around on the Bird Bible piece and began appreciating the humor in it, whether it was intended as a Myowling Bible copy or not. In fact, I’d now say Bird Bible is the better of the two pieces, as it at least had actual jokes.
STARS: **½


PORTRAIT ARTIST
a novice sketch artist (KEN) makes countless mistakes on (VIJ)’s portrait

— I like Kevin explaining that even though he’s new at doing portraits, there’s no need to worry because he’s seen it done a lot.
— A good laugh from Kevin immediately drawing Victoria with a bulbous nose when saying he’s good at drawing noses.
— Nice touch with Kevin adding missing teeth to Victoria’s portrait when being told hockey is her favorite sport.
— I love the increasing amount of black smudges on Victoria’s face each time Kevin turns her head a certain way.
— I’ve always considered this overall sketch a sister sketch to Kevin’s Police Sketch Artist piece from earlier this season in the Bronson Pinchot episode.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Pretty underwhelming. There were some good things, but the overall episode felt forgettable and below standards for this season. The second half of the episode also had too many sketches lacking in intentional big laughs (I started losing count of the number of pieces I described as “more cute than funny”); one or two sketches like that in an episode is fine, but half of an episode filled with sketches not going for hard laughs is a bit much.
— The copy I reviewed of this episode is missing a sketch called He’s The One. Turns out the repeated Ad Council fake ad was added in reruns to replace it.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Larroquette):
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Garry Shandling

Posted on

April 18, 1987 – John Larroquette / Timbuk 3 (S12 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Pagan Easter Special- Casey Kasem (DAC) offers wife Jean (JAH) to Moloch

— Boy, this is a weird cold opening so far.
— Some good lines from Dana’s Casey Kasem, who has provided my only laughs so far.
— What is the point of this long, unfunny dance sequence with Dana and Jan?
— Overall, I was not crazy about this cold opening at all. Easily my least favorite opening of the season so far.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Some pretty good laughs from his claims of how much SNL begged him to host.
— Okay, I know the constant “two Emmies” mentions are an intentional joke, but it’s starting to be done TOO much.
— The overall monologue was mostly decent.
STARS: ***


SOLD-OUT GOLD
album contains classic hits made into commercials

— Second episode in a row with Jon’s David Crosby impression.
— Funny concept with an album of commercial jingle-ized 60s hits. Reminds me a bit of those record ads SNL used to do a lot in the Ebersol era (e.g. Heil Hits).
— The voices performing the commercial jingles are doing pretty funny impressions of the various 60s singers.
STARS: ***


MOTHER-IN-LAW
bad-ass mother-in-law (PHH) brawls with son-in-law (host)

— I like the hint of a barbecue incident that happened to Larroquette’s character as we’re shown a gruesome grill burn on his shoulder.
— The debut of what is probably Phil Hartman’s most forgotten recurring character: a woman who always gets into a huge physical fight with her daughter’s husband/boyfriend.
— Feels unusual to see Phil playing a character like this, but is also strangely refreshing in a way. He’s pulling this role off really well.
— Man, Larroquette’s punches to Phil’s face actually look real, made even more convincing by the fact that there aren’t any comically-fake punch sound effects being played; we’re instead hearing what sound like real-life punching sounds.
— Wow, the escalation of this brutal fight is getting INSANE. I love it.
— Entertaining sketch overall. That being said, I recall this character’s second (and final) sketch having an even crazier fight that, at one point, involves guns.
STARS: ***½


COLLECTING EVIDENCE
homicide detective (host) shows skill at handling evidence with a pencil

— Geez, A. Whitney Brown plays his SECOND dead body of the season. Really makes you wonder why they bother crediting him as a featured player in every single episode this season, when you can see how much they’re struggling to work him into sketches. I can see why in A. Whitney’s subsequent seasons, they only credit him as a featured player on occasional weeks, whenever he does a Big Picture commentary on Weekend Update.
— A pretty good laugh early on from a minor bit with Kevin’s various ways of saying the murder victim was a loner.
— I really like Larroquette picking up increasingly difficult evidence with a pencil, and the joy the other cops are getting in seeing this.
— LOL at Larroquette actually sharpening his pencil in preparation of picking up an eyelash.
— I liked the part with Larroquette tumbling over onto the floor while managing to still keep the eyelash-carrying pencil upright.
— Funny turn with Larroquette accidentally killing the not-actually-dead-yet “corpse” with his pencil.
— Overall, a very good sketch with a nice escalation and a strong performance from Larroquette.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Robin Leach (DAC) talks about Fernando Valenzuela’s lucrative contract
Babette imagines she’s being seduced by a tax auditor

— Good to see Dana’s Robin Leach in his own Update commentary.
— Funny line from Dana’s Leach about tacos only filled with caviar.
— Wow, I’m surprised the Robin Leach commentary ended up being so short.
— I didn’t get Dennis’ joke about Reagan having five national security advisors. Must be an overly-topical bit that hasn’t aged well.
— I particularly liked Dennis’ Handcuffs Across America joke.
— Wow, Dennis is speeding though the last few jokes. I like that for some reason.
— Not excited to see Babette once again.
— Ehh, as expected, I ended up not caring for this overall Babette commentary at all, and this ended the exact same way her last few appearances did. I am SO tired of this character.
STARS: ***


HEAVEN
recently-deceased (host) finds that Heaven’s database has all the answers

— Oh, this is a sketch I’d always had a fondness for, but had completely forgotten about until now.
— I liked Larroquette’s reaction to hearing he once unknowingly walked over a buried treasure chest at a beach.
— I love the escalation of the type of questions Larroquette is eagerly asking Dana about his own life. I’d love to find out the same kind of info about myself.
— Very funny bit with Dana revealing Hitler is still alive, but “don’t worry, we’re really gonna nail him.”
— Hilarious reveal that Bruce Willis made a deal with the devil.
— Overall, a very solid sketch with low-key, relatable humor. This was just as good as I had remembered it being.
STARS: ****


THE AMAZING ALEXANDER
— Rerun


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Just Another Movie”


INSTANT COFFEE WITH BILL SMITH
married actors (host) & (JAH) in a musical about Kennedys

— The return of a forgotten talk show sketch that launched the Sweeney Sisters.
— Some good subtle laughs from how some of the (fictional) theaters being mentioned are named after random famous actors.
— Larroquette’s Jews in New York comment was funny.
— Interestingly, the format of this is the reverse of the previous Instant Coffee sketch. In that one, the talk show guests (the Sweeney Sisters) performed their act on stage first and then did an interview with Kevin’s character afterwards, whereas tonight’s installment is doing it in the opposite order with the interview first and performance second.
— Some good laughs from Jan and Larroquette’s odd way of “finding their characters”.
— What was with the abrupt ending? Why didn’t Kevin wrap up the show, or why wasn’t there at least an on-screen graphic of the “Instant Coffee with Bill Smith” title before the sketch faded to black?
— Overall, a pretty good sketch. While the whole musical/performance art-type thing Jan and Larroquette performed onstage isn’t really my type of humor, I can appreciate Jan and Larroquette’s comical performances, and I did get some laughs there.
STARS: ***


ICM
showbiz agents in NYC struggle to cope with a massive Los Angeles quake

— Very interesting set-up.
— Funny seeing (or hearing, in this case) Phil’s Charlton Heston impression so soon after Heston himself hosted the show.
— Good part with Jan’s rapid-fire rundown of which actors are alive or dead.
— A pretty well-done sketch overall.
STARS: ***½


CRACK
— Another rerun


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hairstyles & Attitudes”


UNDER THE THINKING CAP
(no synopsis available)

 

— Uh, wow. What the heck is THIS???
— I don’t hear any audience laughter at all during this. Is the audience not miked during this, or are they just silent because they’re as weirded-out as I am?
— Overall, this strange film started growing on me a little towards the end, though that’s not saying much. I can kinda appreciate the creative oddball inventions that were presented throughout this, and something about the overall look and vibe of this film strangely had the feel of some of the Nickelodeon shows from my childhood in the early 90s, but I can’t say I laughed a single time during this entire film.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS / AL CAMOIN TRIBUTE
career retrospective marks cameraman Al Camoin’s [real] retirement

   

— Interestingly, the usual goodnights proceedings are interrupted with a special send-off for retiring SNL cameraman Al Camoin, who’s been with the show since the very beginning in season 1.
— Ha, when Victoria is giving a speech to Camoin, you can hear a male audience member wolf-whistling at her.
— Pretty funny video package of Camoin’s work over the decades, and they managed to get in yet another mention of the show “Hullabaloo”, which was also mentioned during the Francis Ford Coppola episode’s Grand Finale where Master Thespian was detailing the history of Studio 8H.
— Oh, wow. At the end of these goodnights, the camera actually slowly pulls away from the home base stage until it reaches all the way to SNL’s backstage, where two NBC pages then proceed to close the studio doors in front of the camera (last screencap above) as a reverse of how NBC pages are usually always shown opening the studio doors whenever this season’s opening montage ends. A very nice touch, and I believe this is the only goodnights in SNL history that ended this way.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Fairly solid episode. I hadn’t remembered much about this episode from my past viewings, which had me going into tonight’s viewing not expecting too great a show, a feeling that only got worse during that really weak, baffling cold opening. However, afterwards, I was pleased to see a consistently enjoyable episode. I also like how there were creative, interesting premises in quite a lot of the sketches. And I felt that John Larroquette added a likable air to the episode with the way he handled his roles.
— My copy of this episode is missing a sketch called Enigma. Apparently, the Under The Thinking Cap short film (as well as the two repeated fake ads) was added in reruns to replace the Enigma sketch, which may explain why there were no audience sounds heard during the film.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Lithgow):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Mark Harmon

Posted on

April 11, 1987 – John Lithgow / Anita Baker (S12 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
stupid Marines (DAC) & (KEN) let spies into the USA embassy in Moscow

— Dana and Kevin’s excitement over getting some “fine soviet fur tonight” is hilarious.
— For some reason, this doesn’t feel like a cold opening I’m watching.
— I like Dana and Kevin’s obliviousness to the fact that they’re among spies.
— Nice to see a rare instance of a host appearing in the cold opening, though it makes this feel even more like I’m not watching a cold opening.
— I like how Lithgow has gotten to say “Live from New York…” in both episodes he’s hosted so far.
— An overall pretty good sketch, but felt kinda strange as a cold opening. Perhaps this was based on a news story at the time, which I guess would explain its placement as the cold opening (though I’m well aware that not every cold opening back in these days had to be political or topical, which is more than I can say for SNL nowadays).
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
a too-low boom mike blows the show’s chances of winning a Benchley award

— Some good laughs from Lithgow’s giddiness about this episode being up for a Benchley Award.
— Love his slowburn after the boom mic ruined the shot (“There goes the award-winning John Lithgow show!”), eventually getting so upset he works himself into an anxiety attack.
— An overall solid monologue that was perfect for John Lithgow. He’s great at pulling off a gradual reaction to something, like his last monologue when he had a slow descent into horror when realizing he’s on the air live and is not at dress rehearsal.
STARS: ****


ADOBE
— Rerun
[ADDENDUM: According to episode guides, this wasn’t even in the original airing of this episode. Was this added into reruns to replace something that got removed? All the originally-aired segments in this episode seem to be intact in the rerun version, judging from the episode guides.]


REVEREND DWIGHT HENDERSON, WORLD’S MEANEST METHODIST MINISTER
(host) is World’s Meanest Methodist Minister

— This is already a funny concept, and seems perfect for Lithgow.
— Only John Lithgow could make the sarcastically-delivered line “Enjoy your turkey and Cheez Whiz” sound so damn funny.
— I like him having the married couple dismissed from his office simply because their marital problems isn’t a subject that interests him.
— Nice touch with Lithgow and his visitors being separated by a pole barrier.
— LOL at Lithgow doing the imaginary violin miming during Jan’s sad story.
— I liked Nora’s line that ends with her calling Lithgow a “butthole”.
— The ending came off pretty weak.
STARS: ***


MASTER THESPIAN
Baudelaire teaches his protege how to replace Olivier

— Glad to see this in tonight’s show, as the best Master Thespians are always the ones with Lithgow’s Baudelaire character.
— I got a laugh from Lithgow’s throwaway line about a “question du jour”.
— I really liked Master Thespian trying to outdo Baudelaire by doing the “there’s a spot on your shirt” trick on himself.
— Overall, a strong sketch as expected. Lithgow is so perfect for these sketches, and it’s so much fun to watch him and Lovitz play off of each other in these.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sweet Love”


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
Halston’s (PHH) name doesn’t mean what it used to

— Well, I guess I can’t complain much about seeing this again, considering they’ve really cut back on the number of these Pat Stevens sketches this season. We’re pretty much in the homestretch of season 12, and this is only the third time Pat Stevens has appeared all season. Compare this to season 11, where Pat Stevens was in about 60% of the episodes.
— What’s with the faint tinkly music I keep hearing in the background while Pat’s addressing the viewers?
— Good characterization from Phil.
— Some laughs from the cheap products that Halston’s name is now on.
— Overall, this had its moments, but ehh, I’m still feeling a little burned out on the humor of these sketches.
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN’s editorial on surrogate motherhood is sprinkled with cliches
AWB questions the values underlying the Baby M case

— Looks like this is going to be yet another Kevin Nealon commentary where he constantly changes subjects.
— Kevin’s overall commentary had some funny lines, but these subject-changing commentaries of his have slowly been losing their luster for me lately.
— Okay, what the HELL just happened? As Dennis pulled out a pair of Jim Bakker brand shorts, audio suddenly played of somebody announcing “The winner is Paul Newman”, which is followed by the sound of a crowd applauding, then the audio suddenly gets cut off. Dennis looks a bit perplexed for a second, and then amusedly responds in a head-shaking kind of way “That Betty”. What in the world?!? Was that whole thing some kind of reference to that year’s then-recent Oscars? A non-sequitur? Was the “Betty” that Dennis referred to Bette Davis? Why was that audio played during a completely unrelated bit about Jim Bakker’s clothing line of shorts? Was that some kind of bizarre technical error? So many questions…
— A. Whitney’s commentary is already stating off with strong with his “masturbating into a cup” comments, even if I had no idea what that was referring to until he soon made it clear it’s a reference to a topical news story.
— A. Whitney’s overall commentary was particularly good. Probably one of his best so far.
STARS: ***½


LARAMIE VICE
Crockett (host) & Tubbs (KEN) smell drugs in the Wild West

— Dennis’ attempt at an Old West accent is hilariously bad. A. Whitney’s attempt, on the other hand, is surprisingly strong.
— Another Miami Vice parody. Ehh, I’m not too eager to see one after the awful Cleveland Vice sketch from the previous season.
— At least the opening credits sequence didn’t go on forever like Cleveland Vice’s opening did. I also liked the detail of Kevin Nealon being credited as “Kevin Michael Nealon”, ala Phillip Michael Thomas.
— Love Phil’s gravelly voice.
— Dana’s Scarface-esque performance is hilarious.
— Clever detail with the “Mary Todd Lincoln Rehab Center”, as an old-timey version of the Betty Ford Clinic.
— My biggest laugh of the whole sketch didn’t come until the very end, during the “preview of next week’s episode” scene where Lithgow badly lip-syncs to Don Johnson’s “Heartbeat” with a hilarious intense look on his face (second-to-last screencap above). I also got a huge laugh from the ensuing shot, where Dana getting impaled by a bull is pulled off VERY poorly with an extremely cheap-looking effect.
— Overall, while I enjoyed this more than the Cleveland Vice sketch, this still was nothing great as a whole. I’m thinking SNL needs to stay away from doing extensive, long-winded Miami Vice parodies. They’re 0-for-2 so far.
— IIRC, this sketch was originally placed as the post-monologue lead-off sketch during the original live airing. I can see why they pushed this into a much later timeslot in the rerun version I’m reviewing.
STARS: **½


DISCOVER
Peter Graves (PHH) doesn’t really comprehend bacteria

— Phil-as-Graves’ bad similes are cracking me up, especially the comparison between invisible bacteria and Heather Thomas’ breasts.
— Funny part with Phil’s Graves randomly getting caught inhaling from a gas tube.
— Overall, this was solid, but doesn’t quite compare to the classic first installment from earlier this season.
STARS: ****


THE FIGHTER
wealthy (PHH) hires washed-up boxer (host) to hit son (DAC)

— Good to see yet another black-and-white sketch this season.
— They seem to be going for even more authenticity than usual in this one, using a grainy visual effect that makes this look exactly like something from the early days of TV.
— Particularly good delivery from Nora in this.
— I remember a review I once read of this episode pointed out how Dana seemed to be doing a Jon Lovitz impression in this sketch. It’s true. The voice Dana is using as Phil’s son is eerily Lovitz-esque. So much so, that there’s no way that WASN’T intentional. Must’ve been some kind of inside joke between Dana and Jon.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Same Ole Love”


CROSS COUNTRY
cab driver (host) gets (JOL) from New York to San Francisco in 9 minutes

— Of the last three episodes, this is the second to end with a taxi sketch.
— I like how a mere $20 bill convinces Lithgow to do the ridiculous task of driving all the way to San Francisco.
— Very funny greensceen effect of the taxi driving insanely fast. I like how the greenscreen is randomly using black-and-white stock scenery.
— Also a very funny use of a model toy car to represent weather changes the taxi is driving through.
— Good ending with Lithgow beginning to head all the way back to Lovitz’s home just because Lovitz forgot his wedding ring.
— Very fun overall sketch that I’ve always loved.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Fun episode. While not perfect, I got a lot of enjoyment from the show as a whole, and the presence of John Lithgow certainly helped. He is now 2-for-2 in solid episodes.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Charlton Heston):
— a moderate step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
John Larroquette, our second consecutive host named John L.

Posted on

March 28, 1987 – Charlton Heston / Wynton Marsalis (S12 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
God (host) shows up in Oral Roberts’ (PHH) office looking for his money

— Jan’s wearing Ana Gasteyer’s future Bobbi Mohan-Culp dress, which Julia Louis-Dreyfus also seemed to favor a lot back in the Ebersol era.
— Perfect casting of Charlton Heston as God.
— A very topical cold opening. The only reason I “get” it is because of the many jokes this season’s Weekend Updates have been making about the Oral Roberts/money/God situation.
— Funny performance from Phil.
— I liked Phil’s “Oh, father, who art in my office” line.
— The way Jan ran when hurrying to the phone cracked me up.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Huge extended applause break for Charlton to start this monologue off.
— Funny line about him aging 10 years just this one week.
— I’m getting some good laughs from his disapproval of the “new school” way of doing things, as he details the laziness he’s witnessed behind the scenes at SNL.
STARS: ***


THE FRUITING
a horror movie about a house under siege by citrus

— I love how what seems to be a fruit commercial is slowly turning into a horror movie with people being attacked by fruit.
— Overall, a strong fake ad that I had completely forgotten about until now.
STARS: ****


THE NEW PAPER CHASE
a professor (host) teaches future croupiers at UNLV

— Good reveal that this “tough” course turns out to be for blackjack.
— I like Charlton as the very stern professor.
— I got a cheap laugh from how after Charlton says “If you have time for basketball…”, the camera does a cutaway to the one black student in the class.
— The jackpot questions that Phil’s being quizzed on are pretty funny.
— Good line about Phil’s uncle being Jimmy The Greek.
— Boy, this ending scene showing a “preview” of next week’s episode is almost as long as the main part of sketch itself was.
— A well-written and well-performed sketch, though the ending scene could’ve used some shortening.
STARS: ***½


THE PRESIDENT HAS MUSTARD ON HIS CHIN
sloppy leader (host) in miniseries

— Funny concept.
— I’m getting some amusement from the seriousness of the talk between Charlton and his aides, all the while the camera is on a close-up of him with that ridiculous mustard stain on his chin.
— Pretty good sketch. They would later do a follow-up to it in Charlton’s next hosting stint in season 19, titled The President Is Illiterate, though that sketch is more fleshed-out than this one was.
STARS: ***


CHURCH CHAT
Jim (PHH) & Tammy Faye (JAH) Bakker discuss their troubles

— A lot of laughs from Church Lady breaking down Jim Bakker’s 15 minutes in the motel with Jessica Hahn.
— Jan’s hilarious detailing of her hallucinations gives us the classic line “Demonic raisins, I rebuke you!”
— Jan’s Tammy Faye crying with mascara running down her face is very memorable. There are some versions of this sketch that show an accidental early shot of Jan applying the fake running mascara onto her face, and some versions that don’t show it. The version I’m watching is the latter. I think the former version can be seen on Dana’s “Best Of” special.
— Phil’s pleading to viewers is really funny.
— Great ending with Church Lady’s message to anybody currently involved in a famous scandal.
— Overall, one of the best Church Chat sketches of all-time.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “J Mood”


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ lies on the newsdesk & recites her poem “The Life Of A Rug”

 

— Loved Dennis’ opening bit about Jim Bakker and Jessica Hahn.
— Good bit with Dennis explaining various religious terms.
— The first half of Victoria’s commentary with her laying on the desk while rambling about nonsense was very off-putting to me, but she won me over in the second half where she, while still laying on the desk, recites a poem about the life of a rug.
— Nice random bit with Dennis doing an impression of the lead singer from The Bangles, which just involves him shifting his eyes in a tight close-up. (last screencap above)
— Overall, the second Update in a row where Dennis was on fire with his jokes.
STARS: ***½


BROOKFIELD ZOO BANQUET
Sweeneys sing a medley to celebrate the opening of a new primate house

— This sketch is rough so far. Phil’s obnoxious rambling story isn’t working for me at all, as much as it pains me to say ANYTHING negative about something performed by Phil Hartman.
— The visual of a deadpan Dennis Miller in a monkey mask provided a laugh. (second screencap above)
— This is the second time a Sweeney Sisters sketch had a long, misleading beginning before they appeared.
— The Sweeney Sisters appeared one week too late. I’m still of the opinion that they should’ve been paired with Nick the Lounge Singer in the previous week’s Bill Murray-hosted episode.
— The Sisters’ overall medley of monkey-related songs was particularly good tonight. If only the pre-Sweeney Sisters half of this sketch weren’t so bad…
STARS: ***


THE HUSTLER OF MONEY
a movie about flamboyant young bowler Wince (BES)

 

— Out of nowhere, we suddenly get a random short film starring a young Ben Stiller, two years before he would begin a (very short-lived and forgotten) featured player stint on the show.
— We also get an appearance from John Mahoney.
— Stiller’s Tom Cruise impression is funny, especially the facial expressions.
— Did I just see Danny Aiello in a quick cutaway? (last screencap above)
— Overall, a well-done and entertaining film. Just from this one piece, I can see why SNL would later hire Stiller as a cast member (too bad that doesn’t end up working out in the long run, though).
STARS: ***½


THE SLAVE DRIVERS
(host) debriefs the guys after the pyramid is complete

— The concept of this is tickling me.
— Funny part with Kevin being presented with the Golden Bullwhip Award.
— I liked Dana saying his named is spelled “owl, wavy lines, falcon”.
— Decent part with Charlton’s accidental creation of a right-side-up pyramid.
— Overall, a hard sketch to figure as a whole. I know I pointed out several highlights above, but don’t let that fool you: there were long stretches where things just dragged, and the sketch as a whole felt very long. While the performances were solid and, again, there were several highlights, they weren’t enough to justify the tedious long length of this sketch.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Juan (E. Mustaad)”


UNLV
KEN clarifies- UNLV not a good school, Rebel cagers not good students

— Why is Kevin speaking into a microphone? Seems kinda unnecessary in the setting of this sketch.
— Kevin’s defense of the Paper Chase sketch is providing some pretty good laughs.
— I like Kevin’s “to sum up” recap at the end.
— Overall, Kevin was perfect for this. This wouldn’t have worked as well with most other performers. Kevin has a type of delivery that always makes material like this funny.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty average episode. There were good things and we got one classic sketch (Church Chat), but the overall show wasn’t as strong as it felt like it should’ve been. Some sketches suffered from their length (particularly The Slave Drivers) or from having too many different unrelated things going on (Sweeney Sisters).
— Charlton was a decent host and his performances came off much more slick than his performances in his second hosting stint years later in season 19, where he was kinda sloppy and came off lost at times (though that’s understandable; after all, he was quite old by then). That being said, I feel his season 19 episode is the stronger and more memorable of his two episodes, which is kinda surprising because SNL was in much worse shape in season 19 than they were in season 12.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Bill Murray):
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
John Lithgow