Author: Stooge

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November 16, 1985 – Chevy Chase / Sheila E. (S11 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
fireman (CHC) leads his men on a door-checking mission in a smoky hallway

— Chevy’s constant “check that doors”s are kinda making me laugh, mostly due to his delivery.
— The second hallway the firemen are shown in looks like the same hallway set used in the second Willie and Frankie sketch last season where they were night watchmen.
— Okay, all the “check that door”s are losing their humor and seem to be the only joke, though I did like the variation with him asking one of the firemen “What do you want, your check?”
— Chevy “passing out” from the smoke felt like a weak, tacked-on variation of his trademark pratfalls.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
JOL asks CHC if he has any words of advice for the new cast

— Chevy jokingly ordering the removal of one particularly enthusiastic-sounding audience member is pretty funny.
— Not too crazy about most of the jokes here so far. They’re pretty weak and Chevy’s delivery is coming off fairly sloppy.
— The barbecue advice to Jon Lovitz was okay.
— I did like the ending of the monologue, with Chevy calling tonight’s musical guest S. Eisenberg.
STARS: **


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
feminist stripper Harriet De Lafayette (DAV)

— Nora Dunn gets her very first comedic showcase, after not having any in the season premiere. (She was the only cast member I never got a chance to mention in my review of that episode)
— The Pat Stevens character is already coming off pretty funny with her clueless statements so far.
— A good initial laugh from Danitra’s occupation as a feminist stripper, as well as her explanation of what she does.
— Just now, the light on the city backdrop briefly turned off before immediately turning back on. Strange.
— Danitra has quite a lot of funny lines here.
— I like the pointless “exercise” routine that Nora has Danitra and viewers do.
— Overall, a pretty solid debut for these Pat Stevens sketches.
STARS: ***½


FORD & REAGAN
Gerald Ford (CHC) gives Ronald Reagan (RAQ) advice about Soviet meeting

— Nice way to work in the return of Chevy’s Gerald Ford impression, pairing him with Randy’s Reagan.
— As usual, Terry’s Nancy Reagan is coming off hilarious so far
— Strange how the painting of Randy as Reagan has Reagan’s real hairstyle, but Randy himself never does whenever he plays him.
— I like the repeated background gag of Terry’s Nancy struggling with the dog.
— The whole role-playing part with Ford and Reagan isn’t working much for me.
— Much like the monologue, Chevy seems a little off here.
— I do like Chevy’s trademark pratfall over the paintings.
— Overall, a few highlights, but the sketch was kind of a letdown.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “A Love Bizarre”


PATHOLOGICAL LIARS ANONYMOUS
Tommy Flanagan (JOL) of Pathological Liars Anonymous tells his life story

— Lots of Mark McKinney voice-overs introducing sketches tonight.
— The debut of what would go on to be one of Jon’s signature characters.
— There’s the very first utterance of “That’s the ticket!”
— The “I did kill myself” line was great.
— There’s a distracting huge boom mic shadow that has just shown up in the background.
— Overall, a funny sketch and Jon came off great as this character right out of the gate. This also feels like the very first role where Jon was really allowed to show his comedic chops, considering he mostly just played it straight in the season premiere.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
DAW suggests selling MX missiles to Iran & Iraq to generate mo’ money

— For the second episode in a row, Dennis starts Update with another funny random opening comment, this time telling Don Pardo he finds him so “fresh… exciting”.
— While none of the news jokes have stood out as particularly memorable so far tonight, I’m enjoying them and Dennis is still coming off really well with his delivery.
— Damon Wayans gets the honors of being the first guest commentator during the Dennis Miller era of Update.
— I absolutely love Damon’s demeanor and how he’s coming off in this.
— There’s the immortal words “mo money”, which Damon would later make famous the next decade.
— Wow, Damon’s overall commentary was very strong and gave me a lot of big laughs.
— I liked Dennis’ comments about Damon after Damon’s segment ended.
— Dennis ends tonight’s Update with “That’s the news, I’m gone”. Still experimenting with the ending tagline, I see.
STARS: ***½


JOSE CUERVO’S PARTY SCHOOL BOWL
students answer very easy questions
The Jose Cuervo Institute rehabilitates those with party-related injuries

— I liked Joan pronouncing “synonyms” as “cinnamons”.
— Some aspects of this are kinda reminding me of a Community College Bowl sketch SNL would later do in a Jeff Daniels-hosted episode from 1991. Both sketches even have a contestant with the last name Hygaard or Hoigaard (played by Robert Downey in this sketch, and Mike Myers in the 1991 sketch). I’m guessing both sketches were written by the same person.
— Jon’s delivery of his answer “Ron Berger, Oldsmobile” was really funny.
— Hmm, now this sketch is showing a video showcasing one of the colleges, which is exactly something the aforementioned 1991 Jeff Daniels sketch did as well. Yeah, both sketches DEFINITELY must be from the same writer.
— An early Robert Smigel and A. Whitney Brown sighting among the students drinking and partying with the University of Colorado team.
— Interesting format break, now going to “commercial” to show a related ad for The Jose Cuervo Institute, starring Randy.
— The overall sketch was okay. A little better than the aforementioned Jeff Daniels version, which I remember being pretty one-note.
STARS: ***


THOSE UNLUCKY ANDERSONS
(CHC) prescribes butter for his ill-fated family

— I love the reveal of the lottery ticket-eating cat now being frozen. Good line from Chevy: “We’ll never get the tickets out of him this way.”
— I like the repeated advice of “Put some butter on it” being given for every situation.
— Chevy randomly works his Gerald Ford klutz shtick into this sketch when opening the door for Jon. Felt very unnecessary.
— Minor nitpick: Nora’s eyepatch is on the wrong eye. It was her other eye that “fell out” earlier in the sketch.
— An overall pretty solid sketch with several good random gags. It was also amusing how the various misfortunes were treated so casually by the family.
STARS: ***½


CRAIG SUNDBERG, IDIOT SAVANT
Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant (AMH) judges a violin recital in Moscow

— Anthony’s far-fetched excuse for not having his homework is pretty funny.
— Okay, I don’t care for where this sketch is going now. This violin competition judging scene hasn’t been working for me.
— There have been a lot of parts throughout tonight’s episode where this season’s infamous habit of sweetening audience reactions in reruns have been very noticeable, but it’s PARTICULARLY obvious in this sketch, because there’s absolutely no way the real audience is laughing so hysterically over THIS.
— Second sketch in a row ending with Dan Vitale in a walk-on role as one of two cops dragging a character away.
— Right before the camera freeze-frames at the end, Anthony accidentally bumps Jon in the face with his hand, resulting in Jon giving Anthony a very stern glare (though that last part was probably just Jon acting in character).
— Overall, I didn’t like this sketch, though at least it was short. If this is an example of the type of character work Anthony’s going to be bringing to the table this season, we’re screwed. This felt like a typical bad character that Pete Davidson would play nowadays.
STARS: *½


DRUMS DRUMS DRUMS
CHC plays selections from his three album collection

— The joke of the advertised tunes all having the exact same sound when played on drums was fairly funny initially, but this sketch doesn’t seem to be offering anything else.
— Okay, the “techno classics” bit right now was pretty funny, where Chevy just pressed a button on a drum machine.
— Overall, not too great. Impressive drumming from Chevy, though (which is a talent I don’t recall him ever displaying on SNL during his cast member years).
STARS: **


THE BLUE, THE GRAY, AND THE YELLOW
cowardly brothers are Civil War enemies

— The introductory screen bubbles of Anthony and Robert fearfully running away are kinda funny, but boy is Robert hamming it up with his overly-goofy facial expressions.
— Here’s the very first of what would unfortunately be many maid roles for Danitra this season.
— Oh, god, does Danitra have to play the role with such a cringeworthingly over-the-top, old-timey stereotypical voice?
— This sketch’s set looks like the same one from the Reagan/Ford sketch earlier tonight, only redecorated to have a more Civil War-era look.
— Boy, is Robert continuing to mug the camera like crazy.
— Okay, I finally got one legitimate laugh, from Randy’s overly-wordy, long-winded way of calling Anthony and Robert cowards.
— Anthony seems to keep having trouble putting his sword away in his sword case.
— Joan is yet another performer who’s overacting really badly in this sketch. Man, what was Lorne THINKING when hiring so many young kids for this season’s cast?
— Overall, this sketch was rough as hell, and exposed the weaknesses of this season’s younger performers (especially Anthony). It felt like Randy was the only thing holding this sketch together.
STARS: *½


THE LIFE OF VLAD THE IMPALER
Transylvanian prince has doubts

— Nice detail with that random huge boil on Randy’s face.
— This sketch is really tickling me so far, particularly Randy’s casual, overly-relaxed delivery, and the general conversation between him and Chevy.
— Randy’s look into the camera at the end was great.
— Overall, a very funny and clever writer-ly piece. This obviously wasn’t the type of sketch that was going to get a lot of laughs from SNL’s studio audience, but was something that comedy nerds like me can appreciate.
— I think I recall hearing this sketch was written by then-new writer Jack Handey. If this is the very first SNL sketch he got on the air, it’s a definite sign of many great things to come from him.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Much like the season premiere, this wasn’t a particularly terrible episode, but it wasn’t good either. This may have actually been a little worse than the premiere, considering the string of consecutive bad sketches towards the end of the show. We did at least get some promising debuts of future big recurring characters (Pat Stevens, Tommy Flanagan), and a few good absurd pieces in the post-Update half (Those Unlucky Andersons, Vlad The Impaler). But between the underwhelming season premiere and tonight’s episode, we haven’t exactly been seeing an encouraging sign of things to come this season.
— I can’t imagine the cast was in the best spirits by the end of that week anyway, considering Chevy’s notorious horrible treatment of them behind the scenes. I also noticed that Chevy seemed kinda off his game tonight, which is starting to feel par for the course whenever he hosts. Even his intentional gibberish-speak during his goodnights speech tonight fell flat.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Pee-Wee Herman

Posted on

November 9, 1985 – Madonna / Simple Minds (S11 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Brandon Tartikoff [real] says drug tests will end substance abuse at SNL

— I like Tartikoff’s opening mention of this being the beginning of SNL’s second decade, as well as the mention of Lorne Michaels’ return.
— Kinda funny how the mere mention of SNL having trouble in the past with drugs receives some audience applause.
— Good line from Tartikoff about how his method of using the honor system to keep the cast off drugs was a failure.
— Not sure we needed to see the tray of the cast’s “urine samples”. Seems like a cheap sight gag. I do find it kinda amusing, though, how the urine cups have an NBC logo on them.
— Figures that Anthony Michael Hall is the first new cast member we see. All I can say in response to his initial walk-on is, what in the world possessed Lorne to think a 17-year-old Brat Pack member would make a good live sketch comedy performer?
— Overall, this isn’t exactly how I would’ve started off a new SNL era, but this had its share of decent lines here and there. It seems strange in hindsight that this opening would end up getting censored from reruns, as it seems so tame by today’s standards.
STARS: **½


OPENING MONTAGE

— Hoo, boy. Needless to say, this new montage is quite a disappointment and a huge downgrade from the incredible montage used the previous season. This is probably the cheapest-looking opening montage SNL would ever use. Thankfully, we soon end up getting a much better and more extensive montage a few episodes into this season. I wonder if that montage was intended to be used right from the beginning of the season, but perhaps the graphics department took a lot longer with it than expected, thus necessitating the use of a different, cheaper montage to use as a placeholder in the meantime.
— Great new theme music, though, which SNL would go on to use all the way until 1994(!).


MONOLOGUE
home movies show Father Guido Sarducci marrying host & Sean Penn (RDJ)

— I really like the new home base stage, especially the big theatre marquee with the host and musical guest’s names on it.
— For this episode only, the host makes their entrance through the “theater” doors in the middle of the stage (underneath the aforementioned marquee). I believe in all the subsequent episodes this season, the hosts make their entrance through the “store” door all the way at the right end of the stage.
— The beginning of the monologue was okay, but this is picking up with the pre-taped wedding video.
— Robert Downey is pretty funny as Sean Penn.
— The repeated mentions of potato salad are falling flat.
— I got a good laugh from the brief part with Madonna’s Cyndi Lauper-esque cousin.
— I like the part with the “press” arriving, represented by stock footage of helicopters while “Ride of the Valkyries” plays.
— Random Father Guido Sarducci appearance as the priest performing the wedding.
— When ending this monologue with the usual “We got a great show” spiel, Madonna adds in a random “I’m not pregnant”, which receives audience laughter. Was that addressing then-current rumors about her?
STARS: ***


WHERE YOU’RE GOING
God knows where self-absorbed yuppies are going- straight to Hell

— Great way to feature the entire new cast all at once.
— Good realistic-sounding commercial jingle.
— It feels strange seeing Jon Lovitz so young and thin, and Damon Wayans with actual (albeit receding) hair.
— The sudden “you’re going to hell” twist and accompanying visuals of the yuppies burning in hell is hilarious. When I was younger, I used to think this twist was dumb and cheesy, but I can appreciate it a lot more now.
— Good ending with “A message from Almighty God”.
STARS: ****


NATIONAL INQUIRER THEATRE
JFK (RAQ) kills Marilyn Monroe (host)

— Probably an obvious statement, but after I’ve gotten so used to the faces in the cast from the last few seasons, it feels weird seeing an entirely new cast throughout tonight’s episode, even moreso than how it felt when I reviewed the season 6 premiere.
— Funny line from Jon about how “two half-truths add up to a whole truth”.
— Boy, do I not like Joan Cusack’s strange slow delivery in this.
— Not too crazy about Madonna’s delivery as Marilyn Monroe, either.
— A very slow and uninteresting beginning to the enactment scene so far.
— Okay, seems to be some potential now with with Randy Quaid entering as JFK.
— Awkward long pause after one of Anthony’s lines.
— I like the random inclusion of “Elvis” coming to save Marilyn.
— Danitra Vance’s possessed-type face just turning out to be her yawning was a funny bit.
— Overall, aside from a few laughs, this was weak. There were too many negative things going against it.
STARS: **


PINKLISTING
a gay actor (TES) pretends to be macho in order to get work

 

— Feels refreshing hearing the voice of Al Franken again (during the opening voice-over of this sketch), after a five-season absence.
— The sighting of stage manager Joe Dicso has been the only familiar face from previous seasons that I’ve spotted so far tonight.
— Terry Sweeney’s overly macho actions are making me laugh.
— Funny reaction from Terry when seeing the Judy Garland/Liza Minelli headline.
— Maybe it’s more because of how he’s performing the character, but it’s amazing how just a pair of glasses can make the late-20s Jon Lovitz look the part of a stuffy middle-aged network censor.
— They seemed to botch the bit where the stage light is supposed to fall, as the sound effect of it “crashing” as well as Terry’s reaction to it happened before the light actually fell.
— For some reason, I laughed at the abruptness of Madonna immediately coming to realization that Terry’s gay just because of his girly scream when the stage light fell.
— The intravenous drug user ending fell flat and wasn’t the best way to end this otherwise okay sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Alive & Kicking”


CRITIC
a movie about controversial film reviewer Victor LaSalle (JOL)

 

— Funny seeing Jon Lovitz as the title character in an ad titled “Critic”, considering a certain Fox animated series he would star in 10 years later.
— I like the scene with the drunk critic admitting the only reason people become film critics is because they’re talentless failed actors who are envious.
— Another good part, with an exec in a limo sternly ordering someone to “unplug the S.O.B.’s word processor”.
— An overall pretty funny and well-shot fake movie trailer.
STARS: ***


THE JONES BROTHERS
Jones Brothers’ (AMH) & (DAW) merchandise is cheap- middle man eliminated

— I’m already liking this just for the fact that Damon’s character is clearly a prototype to his funny hobo character from In Living Color.
— Weird seeing Anthony Michael Hall of all people doing a “black” voice, though he surprisingly isn’t bad at it.
— Pretty funny concept, and Damon in particular is pulling it off well.
— I like the look on Robert’s face and the slow way he walked in with the computer.
— While probably funny in theory, it’s kinda cringeworthy hearing Don Pardo attempting an urban voice (“Two Junkies be located at… etc.”) during his ending voice-over.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
UN delegate (JOL) demonstrates new, safer version of “the old heave-ho”
DEM’s Sports Fantasy- realized batting dream goes awry

   

— Good to see that the title “Weekend Update” is finally back, as I never liked having to call SNL’s news segment by different titles the last few seasons (SNL Newsbreak, Saturday Night News, etc.).
— Right out of the gate, Dennis Miller opens his first Weekend Update with a great ad-lib, sarcastically saying “Thank you, Don Pardo for… whipping them into a frenzy” when this Update strangely opens with no audience applause. That ad-lib would later get ruined in reruns, where SNL adds in canned applause at the opening, which causes the sarcasm of Dennis’ comment to make no sense.
— Feels strange seeing the news screen now being on the left side, after I had gotten used to seeing it on the right side the last three seasons.
— Dennis is off to a good start with his jokes so far, especially the “oral/anal sex banning” joke.
— Loved the joke about the last remaining section of Orson Welles dying.
— Didn’t care for the pre-taped segment with Jon demonstrating “the new heave-ho”.
— Another great Dennis Miller ad-lib, with him telling the audience “Thank you for applauding the carnage” after their response to one particular violent joke.
— I didn’t get the punchline of the news story about an illegal alien winning the lottery.
— This “Sports Fantasy” segment seems interesting.
— LOL at the guy immediately getting conked on the head with Goose Gossage’s pitched ball.
— I absolutely LOVED Dennis’ whole jokingly-sincere “Hey… I care” heart-to-heart talk with us viewers at the end of this.
— Dennis closes tonight’s Update by saying “That’s the news, I’m outta here” and then making a very mild swipe move off of a sheet of paper with his pencil. This is an early prototype to what would later go on to be his trademark tagline for Update.
— Overall, wow, what an impressive anchorman debut for Dennis. He came off so refreshing after all the terrible, bland anchorpersons I’ve had to suffer through when reviewing the last five seasons. Dennis immediately made this segment his own, had a laid-back persona that had never been regularly seen from an SNL anchorman, and got lots of laughs all throughout tonight’s Update. It feels good to consistently laugh during SNL’s news segment again, after how mediocre it was the last five seasons.
STARS: ***½


EL SPECTACULARE DE MARIKA
some songs & a visit from El Pato Loco

— I remember really not liking this sketch the times I’ve watched this episode in the past, but the positive reviews I’ve read of it since then has me wondering if I’ll enjoy it more this time.
— What’s with the microphone feedback squeaks during Madonna’s opening number?
— Kinda interesting having a sketch being spoken entirely in Spanish.
— I’m liking the “El Pato Loco” scene.
— I don’t know what in the world to think during the somber musical number that’s being performed right now.
— Overall, I didn’t laugh much during this, though I was impressed by the performances and how this was pulled off. This feels like a sketch that would’ve been funnier if they waited to do it a few years later during the height of SNL’s renaissance in the late 80s.
STARS: **½


PENN AND TELLER
Penn & Teller [real] perform simultaneous card trick & water tank escape

 

— The SNL debut of Penn and Teller, who would go on to be frequent guests this season (and a little of next season).
— I like the idea of this seemingly-dangerous stunt, with Penn informing us that Teller will die if he’s kept in the tank after a certain amount of time.
— Amusing cutaway to a stone-faced Teller just watching from inside the tank while Penn is doing his bit with the audience member.
— Very funny with Teller frantically waving the key in the background after time has run out.
— A good casually delivered “My partner is now dead” from Penn.
— Ha, excellent twist with the now-“dead” Teller having the correct card in his goggles.
— Overall, a very strong debut for Penn and Teller.
STARS: ****


ROYAL VISIT
Nancy Reagan (TES) boozes during royal visit by Charles (JOL) & Di (host)

 

— Randy’s Ronald Reagan impression is actually making me laugh. In my past viewings of this season, I used to hate his impression. It’s coming off a lot funnier to me now, for some reason.
— Even in this first outing, Terry’s Nancy Reagan is ALREADY really funny and is stealing the sketch.
— I like the escalation of Terry’s Nancy getting increasingly drunk with each passing scene.
— Madonna’s “treat me like a person, not a thing” rant is straddling the line between mildly funny and quite annoying.
— I did laugh at how Jon followed the above-mentioned rant by sympathetically saying to Madonna “You poor thing”.
— Didn’t care for the ending, which dragged.
STARS: **½


THE LIMITS OF THE IMAGINATION
crazed (JOL) calls (host)’s car phone

— The debut of another season 11 staple. As someone who’s become a Twilight Zone buff in recent years, I think I’m going to appreciate these sketches more than I used to.
— Randy’s cheap demonstrations of how he “can achieve anything” are making me laugh.
— This is different from the subsequent Limits Of The Imagination sketches, in that this one is actually pre-taped
— Overall, wow, I don’t even know what to say about this one. It didn’t even even seem to be trying for laughs. The horror movie aspects were well-done, but this really didn’t work as an SNL piece.
STARS: *½


COLORING BOOK
teenage mom Cabrini Green (DAV) & her I Don’t Want A Baby Coloring Book

— Yet another season 11 staple makes its debut.
— Right out of the gate in this, I’m liking how well Danitra is coming off in her performance, where you can tell this is a character she had been doing long before SNL.
— The “I Don’t Want a Baby” coloring book is pretty funny.
— It’s over already? The ending was abrupt and this overall sketch felt rushed. I wonder if the show was running long and Danitra was told before the sketch to rush through it.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Needless to say, a very different-feeling SNL from what I had gotten used to in the preceding era. And as usual when I cover the start of a new era, I had an exciting feeling while watching this. As for the actual quality of this episode, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t as terrible as I had remembered it being. Knowing this is going to be a troubled season, this wasn’t exactly the worst premiere. That being said, it’s still not an episode I can call good, either. Despite some highlights, it felt like quite a lot of the sketches were either average, forgettable, or underwhelming. The audience was also noticeably quiet at times, which gave parts of the show a strange hollow feel. Still, this season premiere was a little better than its notorious reputation.
— Of the new cast, Randy Quaid and Jon Lovitz are immediately showing potential as versatile leader-types. Terry Sweeney probably provided the most laughs for me in this episode, with his performances in Pinklisting and Royal Visit. It felt like the rest of the cast wasn’t seen much.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1984-85):
— a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Chevy Chase

Posted on

April 13, 1985 – Howard Cosell / Greg Kihn (S10 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
on the SNL set, boom mike operators Willie & Frankie talk about pain

— I know these characters have been overused this season, but considering how much I loved their first few appearances before their shtick started running out of steam, it’s good to see them one last time tonight. I also like how their entrance here is getting a huge audience reception.
— This meta premise with Willie and Frankie getting a job as SNL boom mic operators feels like a very appropriate way for these characters to go out.
— Some good gruesome stories here. The unicorn one especially got a great audience reaction.
— Very clever way of doing “Live from New York…”.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like how he’s talking in his famous slow, verbose announcer’s voice.
— He brings up his failed ABC variety series “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” (the title of which is the reason why SNL had to go by the name “Saturday Night” for its first season-and-a-half). Funny comment from him about his show being reviewed by “licensed idiots”.
— An overall short, straightforward monologue, but I enjoyed how perfectly Cosell-esque it was.
STARS: ***


HOSPITAL
case of mistaken identity puts hospital patient Ed Grimley on mob hitlist

 

— Some funny interaction between Grimley and Jim’s mob boss character.
— Freakin’ hilarious bit with Grimley getting bit by his goldfish.
— Yes! There’s Grimley’s priceless triangle dance again, which never fails to crack me up.
— Jim’s mob boss character’s last name, Fraraccio, is an inside reference, as its the last name of the SNL crew member (Bobby Fraraccio) who famously filled in for Barry Manilow in a Fernando’s Hideaway sketch earlier this season.
— Funny chase sequence between Grimley and Christopher.
— Memorable entrance from Cosell as Ed Grimley’s similar-looking uncle. A clip of his entrance would be shown at the end of a Norm Macdonald-anchored Weekend Update 10 years later, as a tribute to Cosell after his then-recent death.
— I love how Cosell is still using his trademark Cosell voice while saying Grimley-isms (“I must say”, etc.).
— Christopher gets to display some hilarious extended physical comedy after getting injected with the syringe he intended to kill Grimley with.
STARS: ****


INSIDE OUT
easily-surprised (JLD) fires spit-takes at her guests

— Oh, here’s a well-known sketch that’s gone on to be the most remembered thing Julia ever did on SNL.
— Julia’s first spit-take was absolutely perfect.
— Funny part with Julia stopping Mary’s story for a few seconds just so she can refill her cup of coffee.
— Nice visual of Mary with her now-frazzled, wet wig after getting spit on repeatedly.
— Perfect ending with Julia going absolutely wild, simultaneously throwing coffee all over the place, spitting out coffee in the air above her, and dumping the pitcher of water all over herself.
— Overall, fantastic execution of such a thin premise, and this was one of the rare times during her SNL tenure that the underutilized Julia Louis-Dreyfus got to display the great comedic skills we’d later come to know her for in her post-SNL career. Considering tonight’s her last episode, this was a strong way for her to go out.
STARS: ****


RUN, THROW & CATCH LIKE A GIRL OLYMPICS
host covers the sissy boy events

 

— Pretty funny concept.
— Another Larry David sighting, this time as the judge in the middle. He’s always easy to spot in sketches this season, with his Larry-from-the-Three-Stooges hairstyle.
— Good part with Pamela being exposed as a girl dressed in drag, which disqualifies her from the competition.
— I love the sleazy look of Rich’s proprietor character.
— Great turn with Mary and Julia as two feminists bombing the event from a plane. Funny use of old WWII stock footage as well.
STARS: ***½


BAR MITZVAH
at his bar mitzvah, host’s parents (host) & (BIC) learn his career plans

— Larry David in yet ANOTHER sketch tonight, this time shown from the back as one of the family members doing a Jewish circle dance at the beginning of the sketch. Again, his hair makes him unmistakable. I’m gonna miss the joy of spotting him in sketches after this episode.
— Ha, Frederick Koehler (the frequent child extra of this season) is doing a surprisingly great job with the Howard Cosell voice. I wonder if he already knew how to do the Cosell impression on his own, or if Billy had to coach him on it.
— Having Billy play Cosell’s similar-sounding mother is a much better use of his Cosell impression than that weak Uncle Howard Cosell sketch from the season premiere.
— Quite a visual of Cosell and Billy simultaneously saying the same things during their heated rant to each other.
— Funny blooper with Cosell’s kissing of Billy’s shoulder causing Billy to crack up, which prompts a great ad-lib from him: “That’s more tongue that’s on some of the plates!”
— This overall sketch was a little too long for my likes, but I admit it was still pretty well-done for what it was.
STARS: ***½


SPORTS BEAT
70 year-old Tony Minetti trains for his return to the ring

— Another pre-taped segment tonight. After going light on these in the second half of the season, they’re coming back in full force in tonight’s season finale.
— Billy’s old-age make-up is pretty horrifying-looking. I think this is the same former boxer character Billy played in one of his one-man-show character pieces from earlier this season. If so, SNL seems to have aged this character quite a lot since that sketch. He was nowhere near as decrepit in that sketch as he is tonight.
— I got a good laugh from the way Billy’s voice sounded when speaking with his mouth guard still in.
— For some reason, I find the name of Christopher’s character (Angie Quidaciolu) amusing.
— Christopher’s description of Billy’s diet is really funny.
— Overall, despite the highlights listed above, I wasn’t all that crazy about the film as a whole. Too many parts came off fairly uninteresting. A rare misfire for this season’s short films.
STARS: **½


FERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
host talks about his experiences in broadcasting

— Three Billy Crystal showcases in a row tonight?
— I’m not all that crazy about seeing this sketch tonight, as I was hoping the great installment with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan would end up being the final one.
— I like Fernando doing a rundown of the various guests we saw him interview over the season. Among those names, he mentions Siskel and Ebert, which initially made me go “When did he interview THEM?” before I remembered it wasn’t in a regular SNL episode; it was in an SNL Film Festival special that aired the previous month.
— Quite a story about an incident where an ill Cosell puked on fellow announcer Don Meredith’s shoes during a Monday Night Football game.
— I liked Fernando’s comments about watching Adrienne Barbeau running in slow-motion during Battle of the Network Stars.
— Overall, surprisingly not bad for the final Fernando sketch. While this doesn’t hold a candle to the Mr. T and Hulk Hogan one, I found this more enjoyable than I had been expecting.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
a list of which Frenchmen want more sex
Nathan Thurm defends the creators of Ringling Brothers’ Living Unicorn
Dwight MacNamara explains why dirt shows up on the ChromaKey screen
Robert Latta (RIH) has baseball cards that show the ballplayer & himself

   

— What’s with the shaky camera during Christopher’s opening joke?
— OH, NO. We get another Brian Doyle-Murray-esque “long screen crawl” gag, this time listing off the names of Frenchmen that want more sex. Ugh. Considering tonight is the final episode of the Ebersol era, at least this is the last time I have to deal with any remnants of the dreaded Brian Doyle-Murray season of SNL’s fake news segment.
— Not too thrilled to see Nathan Thurm is back in his usual Saturday Night News setting, after they refreshingly took him out of that setting and gave him his own sketch a few episodes ago.
— I did love Thurm’s line to Christopher just now, about how “ASPCA should condemn you… for being so uninteresting facially.”
— Christopher’s slipping into Thurm’s routine by defensively telling him “I know that!” was a pretty funny moment.
— Tonight’s overall Thurm commentary wasn’t as tired as I was worried it would be.
— Another Dwight MacNamara-behind-the-news-screen segment?
— Gary’s projector voice never fails to crack me up, but this whole segment is just an unnecessary rewrite of this character’s preceding appearance.
— Ha, now we get a random Robert Latta walk-on from Rich. They seem to be bringing out ALL the Saturday Night News favorites tonight. At least Latta is something I actually LIKE seeing again.
— I like Rich-as-Latta’s use of a dustbuster.
— The baseball cards with Latta wandering in the background are fairly funny, if an obvious joke.
— And thus ends the last-ever edition of Saturday Night News. I certainly can’t say I’m going to miss it OR Christopher Guest’s tenure as an anchorperson. I’m of the opinion that Dick Ebersol never knew what he was doing with SNL’s fake news segment. He’s made so many baffling decisions with it over these last four seasons.
STARS: **½


GOOD SEX WITH DR. RUTH WESTHEIMER
Dr. Seuss (RIH) bothers host

— Nice to see Mary’s Dr. Ruth in a setting outside of Saturday Night News for once.
— What a visual of Rich as a Cat in the Hat-looking Dr. Seuss.
— More great visuals, this time with the silly Seuss-esque food props shown on the table, especially “a rodent hanging from a noose”.
— Rich is hilarious in this sketch, though the audience is strangely silent so far.
— LOL at a Yink bird puppet suddenly appearing behind Cosell.
— Good ending with a horny Cosell hitting on Mary’s Dr. Ruth.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Boys Won’t”


A COUPLE OF RED GUYS
A Couple Of Red Guys (GAK) & (JIB) decide to defect during their rap

— A variation on Jim’s recurring upper-class rapper character.
— I love the part with Jim and Gary doing the Russian leg-kick dance in unison.
— Quite a sight of Gary in that bald cap and huge mustache.
— Haha, Gary’s warbly dancing is really funny.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lucky”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— The Ebersol era ends with a solid episode. While not as strong as the preceding episode, there were lots of things to like tonight, we got two particularly memorable sketches (Ed Grimley, Inside Out), and a very minimal amount of weaker bits. A nice way for this era of SNL to go out. I wish this episode had more of a feeling of closure for this era like the original era’s final episode did, but I understand that people at the show didn’t know this would be the end. I believe it was expected at the time for the Ebersol era to continue into next season.

— Season 10 as a whole was very enjoyable. It’s always had a reputation for being strong, and I feel it lived up to the hype. While the second half of it wasn’t quite as consistently strong as the first half was, the season as a whole was still a big win. Even my least favorite episode of the season, Ringo Starr, was merely subpar rather than all-out bad. No doubt, the season benefited from the new all-stars who joined the cast, and the increased usage of strong and memorable pre-taped material, though I was surprised to see that the latter wasn’t quite as prominent throughout the season as legend has always had it. In fact, the reliance on pre-taped material seemed to shrink more and more as the season went on. The new all-stars of the cast added an exciting and much-needed new feel to the show. Martin Short and Christopher Guest in particular were delightful additions; Guest especially impressed me with his very wide range and ability to disappear into roles. Billy Crystal, however, I had some issues with. I admit, though, that whenever he did anything that worked for me, it gave me some really good laughs. He was very hit-and-miss overall, but I’d say he had a little more hits than misses. Most of the non-all-star new players and returning veterans contributed some good work whenever they were allowed to. I was especially fond of the uniqueness that Rich Hall brought to the table. All in all, I’m really going to miss this cast, especially considering the cast that immediately follows.

— With my completion of this season, I’m proud to say that I’ve officially reached my goal of familiarizing myself with the first 10 seasons. You see, before I started this “One SNL a Day” project, I had only seen a small handful of episodes from each of the first 10 seasons, which is something that I was always ashamed to admit as a diehard SNL buff. One of the many reasons I was eager to start my SNL project is that it gave me a perfect excuse to FINALLY acquaint myself with those first 10 seasons, and I’m so happy that I’ve now officially accomplished that. It was a lot of fun discovering so many sketches and episodes that I had never seen before. I’m already familiar with all the seasons from 1985-2018 (the reason it ends at 2018 is because I actually stopped watching new episodes a few months after the current 44th season began, partly due to disinterest in SNL’s current quality and partly due to wanting to have something new to look forward to when I reach the modern era in my SNL project), though there are still a handful of sketches I’ve never seen from 1985-1990 and, to a lesser extent, 1995-2000. 1990-1995 and 2000-2014, on the other hand, are the SNL years that I’m most well-versed in; I know those years inside and out.


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


HOW THIS SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1983-84):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
A completely revamped version of SNL debuts, with a brand new cast and the return of original producer Lorne Michaels. And much like the previous time I covered a revamped SNL with an entirely new cast (season 6), this season turns out to be a troubled and infamous one.

Posted on

April 6, 1985 – Christopher Reeve / Santana (S10 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
A.D. 13, Part V, A New Beginning- biblical miniseries has all-star cast

 

— Judging from the font used for the “13” in the title of this sketch (screencap below), I think the overall title is based on “Friday the 13 Part V: A New Beginning” (which came out that same year, though I’m not sure of the exact date). This interests me because, as I said in my last review, I’m an aficionado of the Friday the 13th movie series.

— For some reason, I particularly love Julia’s Joanne Worley sword bit.
— Very funny recurring bit throughout this with Guest’s James Mason slapping his assistant with various things presented to him.
— Jesus, here’s Billy Crystal playing a SUPER-stereotypical Asian role.
— This is a really fun impression showcase, a type of sketch that feels kinda rare in this era.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
while wearing Easter bunny suit, host narrates pictures of his past roles

— Nice entrance from Reeve, dressed in an Easter bunny costume.
— Aw, ANOTHER “career photo montage” monologue this season. These are always dull.
— During the picture of Reeve with Katharine Hepburn, I liked Reeve’s meta line about how Hepburn is “doing her impression of Ed Grimley”.
— Great segue into the next sketch, with Reeve setting up how he got the part of Superman while he’s walking over to the sketch’s set.
— Overall, this monologue was surprisingly a little better than the usual “career photo montage” monologues.
STARS: ***


SUPERMAN AUDITIONS
host, (GAK), (RIH) perform their own stunts at the Superman auditions

 

— Fast costume change for Reeve.
— I loved Gary’s over-the-top, corny laughter when Jim jokingly says about him “I think we found our Superman”.
— I like how the dangerous bullet-catching stunt is casually treated as a normal, everyday audition practice.
— Rich flawlessly “catching” the bullet with his teeth was great.
— Another great trademark Gary Kroeger pratfall, this time with him crashing back into folding chairs when getting shot.
— Overall, a fantastic sketch, with a lot of funny moments and great performances from everyone involved (especially Gary).
STARS: ****½


STEVEN WRIGHT
Steven Wright [real] does stand-up about many different topics

— Yes!
— Hmm, he already used that “actual-size U.S. map” joke in one of his previous SNL appearances.
— I’m recognizing some of these other jokes too.
— I absolutely loved the bit about him getting a humidifier and de-humidifier for his birthday.
— Overall, I didn’t find myself consistently laughing QUITE as hard as I usually do during Steven Wright’s stand-up pieces, and there were also too many reused jokes, but the stuff that DID make me laugh hard in this were priceless.
STARS: ***½


ESCAPING THE GERMANS
in WWII, a sergeant (JIB) comes up with dumb ways to escape the Germans

 

— It feels like they do a lot of war/army sketches this season.
— Very funny how Gary immediately got massacred as soon as he stepped outside in his nun disguise.
— This “war soldiers ask each other movie trivia questions” premise is reminding me of another sketch, but I can’t figure out which one.
— The whole part with the Cary Grant/Clark Gable mix-up was hilarious.
— Overall, a good, silly sketch that played well to Jim Belushi’s strengths as a performer.
STARS: ***½


JACKIE ROGERS JR.’S $100,000 JACKPOT WAD
Rajeev Vindaloo spins for money

 

— Oh, here’s one of my all-time SNL favorites.
— I like Mary’s nervous stare during the introductory shot of her.
— Great opening musical number from Jackie Rogers Jr.
— I’m surprised to see Pamela, as I had no recollection of her role in this sketch as Jackie Rogers Jr.’s wife, despite how many times I’ve seen this sketch in the past. Sadly, me having forgotten that is an accurate representation of how “memorable” Pamela’s SNL tenure was.
— Jim’s gradual aggression during his and Mary’s back-and-forth Q&A is great. “HE IN-TRO-DU-CES THE ACTS!!”
— The immediate “chocolate babies” answer from Guest’s Rajeev Vindaloo was classic.
— I loved the “pass” bit after Billy-as-Sammy-Davis-Jr.’s suggestive description of asparagus to Vindaloo.
— Man, this whole back-and-forth between Vindaloo and Davis Jr. is freakin’ priceless.
— Memorable visual of Vindaloo spinning on the wheel.
— Overall, a masterpiece as I had remembered.
STARS: *****


PALISADES NURSING HOME
old Superman (host) tells fellow nursing home resident (BIC) of past fame

— Interesting premise with Reeve as an elderly Superman in a retirement home.
— Some funny lines from Billy (who’s basically playing a variation of his Lew Goldman character), and I’m liking Reeve’s characterization of elderly Superman.
— Overall, there wasn’t much to say about the sketch, but it was pretty good.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
dissatisfied with AT&T’s services, JIB protests with air horn blasts
Paul Harvey (RIH) shows CHG some edible copies of “We Are The World”
Buddy Young, Jr. gripes about the movies; Calvert DeForest cameo

— Christopher Guest’s delivery is particularly bad tonight. I said this back in his first Saturday Night News, but his delivery tonight is so overly dry and dull that you can’t even tell when the punchlines of his news jokes have been delivered. Thank god I only have one more episode to put up with him as an anchorperson.
— Okay, Guest’s unicorn joke was fairly funny.
— A sudden return of Jim’s famous airhorn, this time using it to express his anger at the phone people.
— I like the bit with Jim complaining about getting a check for 25 cents.
— Christopher Guest’s bit showcasing “Francis the Talking Bible” was random but decent. Guest has slowly been overcoming his bad start from earlier in this Saturday Night News.
— The gameshow bit with Don Pardo was pretty funny.
— Yet another Paul Harvey commentary from Rich.
— I like Rich-as-Harvey’s edible “We Are the World” records.
— Rich’s overall commentary was one of his better Paul Harvey appearances.
— Funny complaint from Billy’s Buddy Young Jr. regarding music videos, with his line about how while the lead singer is singing, “somebody else is putting a midget in a blender”.
— Billy’s Buddy Young Jr. makes another sudden visit to the studio audience, though unlike last time, there doesn’t appear to be any celebrities in the crowd.
— Oh, turns out Billy DOES come across a celebrity in the audience tonight: Calvert DeForest, a.k.a. Larry “Bud” Melman from Letterman’s then-current Late Night show.
STARS: ***


TALK BACK
fake Amish men discuss their objections to the movie Witness

— Some good laughs from the whole “building a whorehouse” bit.
— Loved Gary’s claims about how Amish women have hooters “out to here” while holding his hands out far in front of him.
— Funny twist with Gary being exposed as a fake.
— Ha, I like Rich coming on as another “Amish” man to do the same thing Gary did, only for Guest to immediately expose his scheme after Rich’s line about baby-selling.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Right Now”

— This appears to be the second musical performance, judging by how Reeve introduced this by saying “Once again, Santana!” But where the heck was their first performance? Why is my copy of this episode airing Santana’s second number before their first?
— Okay, now that I’m looking at the time length of my copy of this episode, I notice it’s a few minutes shorter than a typical SNL episode. I guess Santana’s first performance is missing from my copy.


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A great episode, and the best one in a while. We got one classic (Jackie Rogers Jr.’s Jackpot Wad), a few near-classics (Superman Auditions, A.D. 13 Part V), and a lot of solid stuff rounding out the rest of the show. Nothing was particularly weak tonight; even Saturday Night News was okay for once, despite a bad start.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
It’s the end of an era, folks. We get the last hurrah of Dick Ebersol and every member of this cast. Howard Cosell is our season finale host.

Posted on

March 30, 1985 – Mr. T and Hulk Hogan / The Commodores (S10 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Prince (BIC) sings “I Am Also The World” with his bodyguards (hosts) near

— Yikes, right from the start of the show, I can see that the visual quality of the copy I’m reviewing of this episode is TERRIBLE. My apologies for how bad my screencaps for this episode will look.
— I liked the opening “Polka for Africa” bit.
— The initial dramatic close-up of Billy as Prince at the beginning of his performance made me laugh.
— Billy’s singing voice sounds NOTHING like Prince.
— Haha, Gary is really funny in his Bruce Springsteen impression.
— Pretty funny recurring gag with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan roughing up any singers who try to duet with Prince.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
Mr. T puts the “sleeper” hold on an audience member

— Tons of energy from Mr. T and Hulk here.
— LOL at the outrageous bit with an angered Mr. T roughing up a heckler in the audience.
— Overall, I’m not quite sure what to say about the monologue as a whole. The “wrestling promo” format of this felt weird and out-of-place in an SNL monologue, though I did get a small handful of laughs and, as I implied above, I loved T and Hulk’s energy.
STARS: **½


AFFAIR
Nathan Thurm’s mistress’ (MAG) husband (JIB) comes to confront him

— Hmm, Martin’s Nathan Thurm character starring in his own sketch? Interesting. Hope this is a change-up from his last few appearances, which suffered diminishing returns and couldn’t measure up to his great debut in that 60 Minutes short.
— Mary and Julia always seem to be paired together this season.
— I got a big laugh from Mary doing a humping motion with her leg while making out with Thurm.
— I’m liking how we’re seeing a different side of Thurm in this.
— The ending was kinda weak, but the overall sketch was better than I was expecting.
STARS: ***


CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE
(CHG) tries to sell (GAK)’s parents on Crystal Lake- Friday The 13th camp

— Haha, I love Gary coming to the horrible realization that the camp Christopher’s promoting is the same camp from the Friday the 13th movie series. As a huge Friday the 13th buff, I’m really enjoying this sketch’s premise.
— Some good laughs from Christopher’s ways of trying to downplay Jason Voorhees’ murders at the camp.
— Gary’s character recalls a scene in a Friday the 13th movie where Jason harpooned a guy through the eye. I wonder if that’s just SNL’s writers making up a scene, because the only harpoon-through-the-eye incident I remember in a Friday the 13th movie is from the third film, and it happened to a girl in that one, not a guy.
— LOL at the horror music sting and famous Friday the 13th “ch-ch-ch, ah-ah-ah” sound effect (which is actually Jason saying “ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma”) playing during Christopher’s sudden sinister turn when the family turns down his offer.
— Having Hulk Hogan enter the scene as Jason made good use of Hulk’s build. The “family’s hair standing on end” gag didn’t work for me, though.
STARS: ***½


FERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
hosts talk about upcoming Wrestlemania extravaganza

   

— We get Fernando for the second episode in a row, and back in his old talk show setting this time. Normally, I’d complain, but I’ve always wanted to see this particular installment, due to a famous blooper that I’ve seen as a clip in several SNL specials.
— Ha, in response to Fernando badly quoting Mr. T’s “fool” catchphrase, Mr. T can be seen briefly flashing a big, toothy, out-of-character smile before immediately getting back into character. This is just a small glimpse of the famous blooper that’s coming up later in the sketch.
— I’m enjoying the juxtaposition of Mr. T/Hulk’s macho wrestling talk and Fernando’s lighthearted unrelated questions.
— Haha, here we are, the aforementioned famous blooper: After one particular ad-lib from Billy, Mr. T and Hulk just look at each other and then absolutely bust out laughing uncontrollably. Freakin’ hilarious. Immediately afterwards, Billy points out how Hulk’s chest muscles bounce up and down when he laughs, which causes Mr. T to once again bust out laughing even harder. This is all priceless. It’s quite a sight seeing these two huge, intimidating-looking men being reduced to uncontrollable giggles.
— Overall, a rare strong installment of this sketch. Assuming this ends up being the final installment (after all, this season only has two episodes left), this was a great way for the sketch to go out.
STARS: ****


HOUSES OF SHAME
(CHG) courts (MAS) in an example of fin-de-siecle prison homosexuality

— Interesting casting of Pamela at the beginning and, hey, they actually tamed her usual crazy 80s hair into a normal style for once (assuming that’s not a wig she’s wearing). (screencap below)

— I like Christopher’s walk-on as the old-fashioned gentlemanly-looking “Bull”, after the big build-up of him supposedly being an intimidating character.
— The whole interaction between Martin and Christopher is really funny so far, and Christopher is giving a fantastic performance.
— I love how there’s a randomly-placed porch swing in the middle of the prison.
— Classic line from Christopher: “(in a dignified, old-timey manner) Would you wear my pin… and be my bitch?”
— Good ending with Martin and his tough cellmate (Jim Belushi) giddily talking about Martin’s date like teenage girls at a slumber party.
STARS: ****


OHIO SAVINGS & LOAN
don’t worry about depleting your Ohio S&L funds- you can’t access them

— This seems to be another overly-topical season 10 sketch that’s completely lost on me as a modern-day viewer.
— Despite having no familiarity with the news story that this sketch is based on, I’m still finding myself getting a few laughs, and the audience seems to like it.
— I like the aggressive background yelling from Mary and Gary.
STARS: **½


THE JOE FRANKLIN SHOW
Irving Cohen (MAS) & Liberace [real]

— Another recurring bit making its return tonight after appearing in just the last episode. This particular recurring sketch is usually solid, but do we really need it two episodes in a row?
— I love how one of the sponsors Billy’s Joe Franklin plugs at the beginning is “Raymond Burr’s Nipple Rouge”.
— Random Liberace cameo.
— Liberace answering a blunt “No” to the question “Would you like to be that old?” (referring to Irving Cohen’s age) is a bit eerie in hindsight, considering Liberace’s passing just two years later.
— I liked Billy-as-Joe-Franklin’s way of connecting all the various sponsors into one single promotional piece.
— Martin’s Irving Cohen just walking off in the middle of his rant is really funny.
— Overall, there were some good moments, but the laughs weren’t as consistent as this sketch usually provides, and this was kind of a letdown from the particularly strong installment of this sketch in the preceding episode.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Night Shift”

— What was with the beginning of the performance, with Mr. T being onstage among the Commodores and then awkwardly being dismissed?


SUBSTITUTE TEACHER
during writers’ strike substitute teaching gig, BIC uses comedy on toughs

— Billy mentions a recent writer’s strike that had just happened. This explains why there was such a long gap between the preceding episode (which aired in mid-February) and tonight’s episode (which aired in late March).
— I like the montage of the bad neighborhood while “Rock Around the Clock” plays.
— A good somewhat-meta bit with Billy asking the kids to review Eddie Murphy’s comedy album. Some funny lines here.
— The turn with Billy teaching the kids about comedy is actually pretty charming.
— Overall, this was actually a pretty nice and well-done film, even if it felt like typical Billy Crystal self-indulgence.
STARS: ***


TOXIC WASTE
Fisherman Bob (JIB) says you can catch lots more fish with toxic waste

— For some reason, the set-up of this is reminding me of a fishing ad that Robert Downey does in next season’s Ron Reagan-hosted episode.
— A somewhat funny idea to use toxic waste to catch fish, though this ad is nothing too great.
STARS: **½


STEVE LANDESBERG
Steve Landesberg [real] does stand-up about professions Jews don’t enter

— I remember this guy from the sitcom Barney Miller. He’s good at doing lots of different voices.
— Interesting tidbit about how he was originally supposed to host this episode.
— The bit about certain professions Jews don’t take up is fairly tepid. I’m not getting much laughs here.
— A nice mention of this being the 10th anniversary of SNL, even if the way he brought it up was abrupt.
— His bit about a redneck mistaking three black girls for the Supremes and asking them to do a number was okay.
— Overall, despite a few laughs, this wasn’t one of the better stand-up guest performances I’ve seen on SNL. He displayed a lot of good accents, but I wasn’t laughing much during this.
STARS: **


TRASH TALK
Rowdy Roddy Piper & Bob Orton [real] talk trash at hosts in absentia

— Wow. I thought tonight’s earlier monologue was too WWF-feeling for SNL, but this Rowdy Roddy Piper video takes the cake. What’s this doing on SNL?
— Now Mr. T and Hulk are doing a rebuttal to Rowdy Roddy Piper’s trash talk video. This doesn’t even appear to be a comedic bit. Where are the jokes?
— Overall, what was the point of this whole segment? Just there to hype up the then-upcoming Wrestlemania?
STARS: *


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Animal Instinct”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A strange-feeling episode. While there were some good things throughout the show and not TOO many terrible segments (though there was a drop-off in quality towards the end of the show), I dunno, I’m not too crazy about what I just watched. At times, it felt like this episode was going for an SNL/WWF hybrid, which didn’t work too well tonight. (If you want to see an episode where that DOES work well, watch the episode that The Rock hosted in season 25) Mr. T and Hulk Hogan barely even felt like hosts; they basically just occasionally popped up throughout the show to hype up the next day’s Wrestlemania.
— I also just realized, there was no Saturday Night News AT ALL, for the second time this season. It’s always weird the rare times the Ebersol era does away with the fake news segment, which is usually an important SNL staple.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Pamela Sue Martin):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Christopher Reeve

Posted on

February 16, 1985 – Pamela Sue Martin / The Power Station (S10 E14)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OPENING MONTAGE
— For the second and (to this day in 2019) last time in SNL history, an episode begins with no cold opening. Tonight’s show just abruptly starts at the beginning of the opening montage.


MONOLOGUE
host points out former Dynasty co-star Joan Collins (JIB) in the audience

— I like the audience being heard murmuring “Show it!” when Sue Martin is hesitant to show candid photos of Joan Collins.
— Fairly funny, if cheap, sight gag of Jim as Joan Collins.
STARS: ***


STRATEGIC AIRBORNE CONTRACEPTIVE
— Rerun


THE JOE FRANKLIN SHOW
Jackie Rogers, Jr. & Red Skelton (CHG)

— Hmm, we get four guests this time instead of the usual three.
— Gary’s initial facial expression during his intro as the Alan Alda impersonator is really funny.
— Another initial big laugh, this time from the visual of Christopher’s great make-up as Red Skelton.
— As usual, Martin is hilarious as Jackie Rogers Jr.
— In that get-up, Pamela Sue Martin looks like future cast member Jan Hooks dressed in character.
— Haha, Gary’s Alan Alda voice is DEAD-ON.
— Sue Martin’s inane psychic shtick is quite funny. Good reactions to her from Billy as well.
— I’m liking Gary’s use of out-of-place M*A*S*H quotes.
— Great line with Jackie Rogers Jr. saying “Jackie’s getting a chubby” when holding hands with Sue Martin.
— Jackie Rogers Jr.’s dance and lip-sync sequence is a freakin’ riot.
— Overall, a particularly strong Joe Franklin Show installment that was even better than these sketches usually are. A lot of really funny performances, especially from Christopher and Martin.
STARS: ****


THAT WHITE GUY & HIS WIFE
half of A Couple Of White Guys & his wife (host) do some more white rap

— The return of Jim’s upper-class white guy rapping character.
— His and Sue Martin’s “tight walk” in unison is pretty funny.
— Overall, while I didn’t find this to have quite the infectious goofy charm that the first one with Alex Karras did, this one was still good and arguably had better-written lyrics than the first.
STARS: ***


NIGHT OF 100 STARS
Fernando talks to Teri Garr, Susan Lucci, Lynn Swann, Ann-Margret [real]

— Fernando in another new setting, though like I said last time, there’s only so much I can take of him.
— I did laugh at him pronouncing “herpes” as “jerpes”.
— Haha, Rich’s Robert Latta out of nowhere, wandering into another random setting! I like how it’s become a weekly gag on SNL for Rich’s Latta to pop up in a random place.
— Overall, this felt as tedious as I was worried it would, and the appearances from the various celebrities didn’t give this the boost that one might expect.
— During his live outtro, Fernando interestingly segues into a Rich Hall stand-up piece, which takes us to our next segment.
STARS: **


PLEXIGLAS
RIH does stand-up by employing various pieces of plexiglass

— Interesting idea of doing “plexiglass impressions”.
— I’m already loving this. Very funny so far.
— The bit with the oversized contact lenses is particularly funny.
— All of the variations of car windows are very good.
— Overall, a great segment. It’s amazing how Rich got this much humor out of a simple plexiglass prop.
STARS: ****


CALLED SHOT
(Clarke Gordon) tells of JIB making good on Babe Ruth-like promise to boy

— Interesting beginning, with (who I’m assuming is) an SNL crew member telling us stories about the original cast. I like the comical bit about how “Jane, you ignorant slut” was originated.
— Funny how Jim’s so-called biggest fan tells him “I love it when you do Buckwheat”.
— I like the extensive pre-taped scene with Jim at the children’s hospital. Turns out there wasn’t going to be any pre-taped portions back when this sketch was originally planned for a few episodes earlier. There’s a backstory from SNL writer Kevin Kelton about how he was confronted by a fuming Jim Belushi, who absolutely WENT OFF on him for suggesting that this sketch be postponed until a little later in the season in order for them to pre-tape portions of it. And then it turned out that the finished product of the sketch went so well that afterwards, Jim ran up to Kelton backstage and happily gave him a big ol’ bear hug.
— I really like how this sketch is getting even more extensive and ambitious, now showing the preparation of Jim’s “Aunt Willoughby” sketch, complete with shots of a (fake) unresponsive audience. I’m loving all of this.
— Great build-up to Jim’s big entrance as Aunt Willoughby.
— Good payoff with Jim’s dance routine receiving an absurdly positive reception.
— Overall, a fascinating, unique, and well-done sketch.
STARS: ****


MESSENGERS
messengers Willie & Frankie talk about pain while waiting for an elevator

— At least they waited a while since the last appearance of these frequently-used characters.
— Though this is still paling a little in comparison to the first few Willie and Frankie sketches, I’m getting more laughs than I did in their last appearance. I especially like the line from Billy about shoving an Empire State Building statuette up his nose, as well as the bit about him sitting in the garbage disposal.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
CHG & Dwight MacNamara have different explanations of how ChromaKey works

— Christopher is seen casually drying off and combing his hair at the beginning, as if there was a close call with there almost being a repeat of what happened in the last episode, where Christopher was stuck anchoring Saturday Night News with horrible-looking disheveled hair.
— Christopher’s Orson Welles joke was pretty funny.
— Funny how the kiddie letter asking about pictures on the news screen turns out to be from David Letterman, right after Christopher refrained from doing a viewer mail segment because “That’s what David Letterman does”.
— The return of Gary’s educational film narrator character from that assembly sketch last season.
— Boy, that hilarious warbly narration voice Gary does gets me every time.
— Fairly funny bit after Gary’s commentary, where Christopher’s doing a news story but the picture on the news screen is out-of-focus, so Christopher taps the side of the screen to correct it.
— Whaaaa? Saturday Night News is over ALREADY??? Wow, this was short as hell and featured no actual guest commentaries at the desk.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Some Like It Hot”

— Hey, the group’s saxophone player is Lenny Pickett, mere months before he ends up joining the SNL Band in season 11!


FIRST DRAFT THEATER
how The Holy Bible came to reach its current form

   

— Fairly funny bit with the narration beginning in a Star Wars-esque manner, only for the author (Gary Kroeger) to dismiss it as being no good.
— Uh-oh. Here’s an infamous blooper, where off-screen narrator Christopher Guest accidentally drops some of the pages of his script right when he’s in the middle of a sentence, resulting in about 15-20 seconds of PAINFUL dead air while he retrieves the script and tries to find where he left off. Yikes! As you can imagine, this is BAD; actually kinda fascinating in a trainwreck-y way. Heh, at one point, you can even hear Christopher embarrassedly whispering an out-of-character “I know” to someone.
— The sketch awkwardly carries on when Christopher FINALLY continues his narration. Needless to say, the blooper has really thrown this whole sketch off.
— I’m liking Gary’s various different ways of “erasing” his typos on the stone he’s carving his script into.
— Ugh, they’re REALLY overdoing the gag with the camera cutting to a close-up of Billy just shrugging at the camera with a puzzled look whenever he gets called out on something. He’s done it about 4 times in this sketch so far, and it’s less funny with each repetition.
— Okay, I like the ending with Billy’s Adam and Eve story getting all raunchy and pornographic, as well as the accompanying shot of said raunchy story being frantically written (or carved, rather) by Gary.
— Overall, a letdown. This sketch was nowhere near as well-written as the prior First Draft Theater sketches were, and it goes without saying how much this was marred by Christopher’s dropped-script blooper.
STARS: **


DYNASTY’S GREATEST FIGHTS
Linda Evans (host) & Joan Collins (PLS) feud as they plug catfight album

— Wow! Pamela Stephenson sure is giving us a nice eyeful of her… uh… well, you know…
— Loved Stephenson’s funny over-the-top scream when Sue Martin pulls her wig off.
— Overall, the two Pamelas were fine in their performances, but the sketch itself was really weak and felt underwritten.
STARS: *½


TOM, DICK AND HORNY
teen sex comedy stars Hanks, Hulce, Cruise

— Okay, wow, well, that sure was short. No idea what to say about the overall piece other than it didn’t make me laugh, came off as filler, and in hindsight, only serves as an interesting snapshot of a time when the now-known-for-starring-in-big-Oscar-bait-dramas Tom Hanks was known for mostly just starring in silly, raunchy comedies.
STARS: *


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Get It On”


SHOOTOUT AT THE ZEPPLIN CORRAL
a high-society party exists inside a wild westerner’s bullet

— What the hell is this?!? I actually thought this was a real commercial at first, before realizing this must be an SNL piece.
— I can’t understand where this is going. Seems to be a whole bunch of random, indiscernible things happening, with some weird kind of tie-in to the Hindenburg disaster.
— And it’s over. Yeah, I have no idea what in the world I just watched, nor do I know what this was going for.
STARS: ??????


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— I came into this expecting an odd and pretty weak episode, after the reviews I had read over the years. After now watching the episode, I certainly agree about the odd vibe of the episode, with strange factors like the lack of a cold opening, the Called Shot sketch being so extensive and having a very non-SNL feel, a cast member (Rich Hall) randomly getting to do the type of stand-up segment that guest performers usually do, an unusually brief Saturday Night News, the infamous moment in First Draft Theater with Christopher Guest’s dropped-script blooper producing 15 seconds of horribly-awkward dead air, and the show ending with a bizarre artsy animated short that only succeeded in leaving me baffled. So yes, quite a weird vibe to the overall show. As for the actual quality, the first half of the show was actually pretty good and featured quite a lot of things that I liked, but man, the quality fell off a cliff HARD in the second half. Once Saturday Night News (which itself wasn’t all that great, though that’s nothing new) ended, there weren’t ANY good segments left for the rest of the show. Despite the things I liked in the first half, the overall show averages out to kind of a lesser episode for this season’s high standards.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Mr. T and Hulk Hogan

Posted on

February 9, 1985 – Harry Anderson / Bryan Adams (S10 E13)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
while Ronald Reagan is addressing Congress, Robert Latta (RIH) wanders in

— LOL at the random walk-on from Rich as Robert Latta, with his name professionally being displayed on the bottom of the screen as “Robert Latta, wanderer”.
— Interesting how they’re puling this off, greenscreening Rich’s Latta into actual footage of the State of The Union address. This is the type of thing they SHOULD’VE done with that Reagan Inauguration cold opening from a few episodes earlier.
— I got a pretty good laugh from Rich’s Latta randomly presenting Reagan with a birthday cake.
— And just now, the Alka Seltzer bit was even funnier.
— An overall pretty funny, short, and unique cold opening that made interesting use of Rich’s impression.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
despite promising “no more geek stuff,” host eats Skippy The Guinea Pig

— I liked the callback to some of his previous SNL appearances, accompanied by a picture montage of those appearances. One of the pictures shown was of Harry’s gruesome “needle through the arm” trick that I remember made me wince like CRAZY.
— Ha, the audience groans at his mere mention that the guinea pig does acrobatic tricks.
— Harry, regarding the guinea pig: “He can’t work with a caucasian drummer.”
— Wow, holy hell at Harry stuffing the guinea pig into his mouth and chewing it. Amazing. How in the WORLD did he pull that trick off?
STARS: ****


THE KATE & ALI VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL
a Valentine’s Day Special for Hepburn (MAS) & Muhammad (BIC)

— I enjoyed the first Kate & Ali sketch, but I’m not sure it needs to be recurring.
— I like the random detail of their Valentine’s special being three hours long.
— The bed scene is pretty funny and is taking this into a different direction.
— Overall, not bad.
STARS: ***


AMERICAN PROFILES
Herb (CHG) & Al (BIC) Minkman at Mets Fantasy Camp; Bud Harrelson cameo

— I love seeing the Minkman Brothers again.
— Strangely, I laughed at how their first names (Al and Herb) were displayed on the bottom of the screen in quotation marks for whatever reason.
— This is the first pre-taped short we’ve gotten in a while. I’ve been noticing that this season (especially the second half) hasn’t been as heavy on pre-tapes as legend has it.
— I got a good laugh from the part with them explaining that their fake plastic vomit now comes with “40% more peas”, and how they named the vomit “Mr. Queasy”.
— This baseball training footage with the Minkmans is fun.
— Good trick with the Minkmans’ remote-controlled baseball.
— Pretty solid film overall, even if it doesn’t measure up to the Minkman Brothers’ 60 Minutes short from earlier this season.
STARS: ***½


DUELING MAGI
host & Doug Henning (RIH) try to out-illusion each other

— Clever premise for a Dueling Banjos parody.
— Something about the look of Rich’s Doug Henning is even funnier than usual in this one.
— Once again tonight, I’m stumped over how they pulled off a certain magic trick; this time, it’s the trick with Pamela magically appearing inside the fake house box.
— Great ending with Harry just bluntly shooting Rich’s Henning in the back of the head.
STARS: ***½


WHILE YOU WERE GONE
after coming home 20 minutes late, (JIB) finds his wife (MAG) remarried

— A man’s life changing drastically when he’s only been out for 20 minutes is a good premise, even if it reminds me of some sketch premises I’ve seen other times over the years (not just on SNL).
— I liked the hard, overemphasized “t” Mary pronounced at the end of her line “Life is for the prompt!”
— Pretty good sketch overall.
STARS: ***


RONALD REAGAN JEANS
guaranteed to voluntarily shrink by five percent

— A fairly funny idea presenting footage of a Reagan speech as a Calvin Klein Jeans ad.
— Good tagline: “Guaranteed to shrink by 5%”.
STARS: ***


OSCAR TALK
Ricky & Phil play Trivial Pursuit, predict Academy Award winners

— Billy’s “underwear/waistband” insult to Christopher made me laugh out loud.
— I’m liking the idea of these guys doing Oscar picks.
— Great look on Christopher’s face when being told that the character Pinocchio is just a cartoon.
— This sketch is going on for an awfully long time.
— Like last time, Christopher and Billy start cracking each other up at the end (at one point, Christopher almost spit out what he was drinking when Billy made an apparent ad-lib).
— Overall, a kinda hit-and-miss sketch and wasn’t consistently funny like these characters’ last appearance was. This one still had its moments, but the sketch desperately needed to be shortened. The tedious lengthiness of this sketch is another sign of Ebersol giving Billy Crystal too much freedom in doing whatever the hell he wants to on the show.
STARS: **½


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Caspar Weinberger (RIH) is holding his breath until he gets $285 billion
a montage shows the Reagans & other prominent people kissing & embracing
Buddy Young, Jr. describes his unpleasant Hawaiian restaurant experience
Buddy Young, Jr. & Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Christopher Reeve [real]

 

— Good lord, Christopher’s hair looks fucking TERRIBLE. He had his hair greased back in the last sketch, so I’m guessing the make-up people hurriedly tried to un-grease and comb it back into its normal style, but weren’t able to make it in time before the show returned from commercial, thus leaving it looking like THAT. Yikes. He would’ve been better off just keeping the greased-back style from the last sketch.
— Also, right before saying his intro, Christopher noticeably looks up at his hair in the monitor and makes a “WTF?” squinty-eyed look. (first screencap above)
— For some reason, even just the initial sight of Rich as Casper Weinberger is making me laugh. It’s something about Rich’s wig combined with his usual skinniness and lankiness.
— I like Rich deciding to childishly hold his breath until he gets his 285 billion dollars. Nice touch with him occasionally looking at his watch during the breath-holding.
— Oh, no, a lengthy picture montage of political figures being affectionate? Ugh, I see Saturday Night News STILL seems to be occasionally relying on leftover Brian Doyle-Murray “SNL Newsbreak” scripts from season 7.
— Haha, great visual of a still-holding-his-breath Rich now having fake, cartoonish bulging eyes.
— Good payoff with a balloon of Rich’s overinflated head popping.
— Billy’s Buddy Young Jr. character from that short film earlier this season returns in a live setting this time.
— Billy’s doing good at playing off of the audience reactions.
— Interestingly, Billy now goes into the studio audience, where he interacts with some of the celebrities in the front row: Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. Good to see the latter on SNL again, as I found him to be a fun host back in season 7.
— And now, we see in the row behind Jennings and Cash is Christopher Reeve (who ends up hosting the show a few episodes from now).
— After almost bumping crotch-first into the desk as he’s making his return to the Saturday Night News set, Billy ad-libs “Whoa, I was almost Jewish AGAIN.”
— Another ad-lib, with Billy calling out Christopher’s disheveled hair by asking him “Who does your hair, Chris, a tornado?”
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Somebody”


SALEM WITCH TRIALS
during Salem trials, (MAS) tries to defend (GAK) against witch charges

— Rich is coming off particularly Norm Macdonald-esque in this sketch, with his humorously casual, uncommitted, “I don’t give a damn”-type performance. Speaking of Rich, he’s surprisingly been getting a lot of airtime tonight, which is great to see considering how underutilized he often is.
— Martin’s giving a strong performance as an anachronistic 20th century-style lawyer in a colonial setting.
— Haha, I got a huge laugh from how Jim’s big speech, after a long, silent, dignified build-up, just turned out to be him pointing at Gary while shouting “WIIIIIIIIITCH!!!”
— The whole goat bit with Pamela is hilarious.
— Funny ending with Gary’s devilish chanting as his hand burns through the bible it’s placed on.
STARS: ****


HATS
host shows how a ring of felt can be shaped to make many kinds of hats

— Nice self-made baseball cap trick.
— I’m liking the many varieties of hats he’s making out of the felt piece.
— Fairly charming ending.
STARS: ***½


SMALL TIME AGENCY
singer (JLD) can’t go solo because Aunt Helen (MAG) saved her life twice

— I like the look of Gary’s old-timey agent character.
— Amusing characterization and performance from Mary here.
— Very funny ridiculous use of stock footage in the flashbacks of life-saving events.
— Mary fighting with the fake snake is hilarious.
— An overall strong sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Run to You”


GOODNIGHTS
host proves Skippy’s OK, brings Carol Burnett [real] on-stage

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Good episode with a lot of solid material, especially in the second half of the show. Nothing much to complain about, though Billy Crystal’s freedom to do overly-long, loose bits was very apparent tonight and had varying degrees of success.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Alex Karras):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Pamela Sue Martin

Posted on

February 2, 1985 – Alex Karras / Tina Turner (S10 E12)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Prince (BIC) via Hulk Hogan (JIB)- “replace host with musical guest”

— For the first time since season 8, we get a continuation of the running joke of Gary Kroeger’s sketches always getting cut.
— I usually always enjoy backstage cold openings in this era, though they don’t seem to appear much anymore at this late stage in the Ebersol years.
— Haha, when “Prince” shows up, Larry David is seen as the poor sap who Jim-as-Hulk-Hogan roughly throws out of the way.
— Jim Belushi as Hulk Hogan seems like perfect casting on paper, though he’s not really pulling off the voice, instead just going for a generic gruff voice.
— Yet another blackface role for Billy Crystal, though I can’t help but crack up at the visual of him as Prince. Also, it would become quite common for non-black SNL performers to be cast as Prince; he would later be played by Chris Kattan and, most famously, Fred Armisen.
— I loved Jim’s angry “Who the hell’s that?!?” when being told Alex Karras is tonight’s host.
— The running gag of Prince whispering his statements into Hulk Hogan’s ear so Hogan can relay them aloud is something that would later go on to become a regular part of Fred Armisen’s Prince sketches.
— Billy’s actually pretty funny as Prince, especially the intense, long stare he gave the camera as he walked away after making out with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
— The football game footage of Alex Karras features the voice of Billy himself doing the Howard Cosell impression we heard him do in the season premiere.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— He makes a passing joke about his wife calling him “Dergabil” (not sure how to spell it). I didn’t get that joke at all, though the name is certainly funny-sounding.
— Wow, he sure seems to giggle at himself a lot.
— Nothing else to say about his monologue, overall. Much like Roy Scheider’s monologue in the last episode, it was short, straightforward, and unnoteworthy.
STARS: **


MISS MALONE
Ed Grimley’s neighbor Miss Malone (musical guest) comes to borrow oranges

— Grimley’s triangle dancing is freakin’ hilarious!
— Very funny visual of his fridge overflowing with onions.
— Good interaction between him and Tina Turner.
— The dummy of Tina Turner flying into the apartment from the open window gave me a good laugh.
— Solid ending with Tina joining Grimley in his triangle dance. She surprisingly looks right at home doing that dance.
— Overall, a strong and memorable installment of this recurring sketch.
STARS: ****


TIME
Time magazine is proud of its shoddy journalism

— Funny satire of Time Magazine so far.
— Clever ending.
STARS: ***


A COUPLE OF WHITE GUYS
A Couple Of White Guys (host) & (JIB) deliver their upper-class white rap

— Interesting the way this was introduced by Pamela as herself, as if the group we’re about to see is an actual musical act that’s guesting on SNL.
— The return of Jim’s rapping routine, though at least this is a different outing for it.
— I like that Alex is joining him this time.
— Their dancing is actually making me laugh.
— Love the part where this suddenly turns into a brief parody of Grandmaster Flash’s The Message.
— There are some pretty good laughs from Jim and Alex’s lyrics proclaiming their whiteness, and this has a really infectious goofy charm that I can’t help but like.
STARS: ***½


KELLY COLA
abusive Kelly Cola founder (host) finds tasty ingredient- (BIC)’s sweat

— Mary’s overly basic explanation of sales was pretty funny.
— I liked Gary’s pathetic slogan “It’s a cola AND an aluminum can!”
— What a visual of Billy’s profusely-sweating wig, a gag that would go on to be used several more times on SNL throughout the decades.
— Hmm, the name of Billy’s character is revealed to be Dale Butterworth. Ah, it’s our Andy Breckman-written sketch of the night.
— Funny part with Billy implying he killed 27 men at an Alka Selzer factory (accidentally?) and then doesn’t even go into detail of how it happened.
— Ha, Billy drinking his own sweat in a cup is  pretty insane.
— Billy seems to be having a hard time keeping a straight face throughout this sketch.
— Good sketch overall.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What’s Love Got To Do With It”


POWER FROM GIVING
the book helped federal employee (JIB) find Ed Meese

— Well, THIS is certainly relying on very topical humor that’s completely lost on me as a viewer from 34 years later.
— Overall, this was way too topical for its own good. Not sure what the joke here was supposed to be, but whatever news story this was referencing must’ve been something that ended up quickly becoming lost to time.
STARS: *½


NEW YORK ON FIVE DOLLARS A DAY
Bernhard Goetz (RIH) shows you how

— Nice to see the return of Rich’s Bernard Goetz impression, and now starring in his own sketch. Now THIS is a topical bit that I actually get, as the Subway Vigilante incident had enough infamy to last through the decades.
— His favorite movie scenes being famous insane violent scenes is an obvious but pretty funny joke.
— Of the two tough-looking black guys that show up, the one to Rich’s right is actor Damon Evans, best known as the second Lionel from The Jeffersons. Feels weird seeing him on SNL. How’d he go from a co-starring role in a hit sitcom to a silent extra in an SNL sketch?
STARS: ***


FRITZ’S BAIT AND TACKLE
back in Minnesota, Walter Mondale’s (GAK) sobbing attracts moose

— A random return of Gary’s Walter Mondale, months after his election loss.
— Something about Julia’s face looks different in this.
— I liked Gary’s goofy, gleeful, tongue-sticking-out smile after being told “You would’ve made a good president”.
— Pretty funny background animal sounds during Gary’s weird crying.
— Alex, Billy, and Christopher are making me laugh as the goofy giggling rednecks.
— Strange ending. Felt like there should’ve been more to this.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Robert Latta (RIH) wanders onto the set & shows photos of his other trips
nervous weasel Nathan Thurm defends the Tobacco Growers of America
JIB’s restaurant review betrays his affinity for air horn blasts

— Nice opening callback to the Kelly Cola sketch, by having tonight’s Saturday Night News be sponsored by Kelly Cola’s “Brow Brew”.
— Ha, a joke of Christopher’s gets randomly interrupted by a walk-on from Rich as the strange Robert Latta.
— Also, funny in hindsight how Christopher’s interrupted joke was about “real estate mogul” Donald Trump.
— I like the doctored photos of Rich as Latta wandering into various big events.
— Another return of Martin’s Nathan Thurm.
— Tonight’s Nathan Thurm commentary is pretty much washing right over me. Hate to say it, but Thurm has been suffering diminishing returns every time they bring him back. From my past viewings of this season, I had remembered Nathan Thurm always being a hilarious character, but now that I’m reviewing this season, I’m coming to the realization that he was only really funny in his first appearance in that pre-taped 60 Minutes piece. None of his subsequent appearances have measured up; they’re basically just him repeating the same lines he did in his first appearance.
— What’s with the Captain Kangaroo jacket on Jim?
— Ha, just now, he actually mentioned how his jacket makes him look like Captain Kangaroo.
— I got a laugh from Jim saying he doesn’t want to hear a male gay couple’s sexual conversation while he’s eating a bratwurst.
— The return of Jim’s airhorn, after using it in his Saturday Night News commentary from the last episode.
— Some funny lines during Jim’s loud outburst.
— Jim’s commentary had kind of had a weak payoff.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Better Be Good To Me”


TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS
on Vince McMahon’s (RIH) show, Captain Lou Albano (host) talks politics

— Good casting of Rich as a young Vince McMahon, as he actually does facially resemble McMahon here.
— Alex’s walk-on as Captain Lou Albano is quite funny, complete with rubber bands.
— Boy, this sketch is weird so far.
— I’m surprised to find out from this sketch that “midget” was considered an un-PC term even back then in the 80s. Thought that wasn’t until more recent years.
— Man, this sketch is not working so far, and the execution is coming off awkward.
— Billy once again breaks character and laughs during a sketch tonight.
— I do like the breaking-the-fourth-wall right now, with Alex chasing Billy off the set and around SNL’s audience, knocking over the cue card guy in the process.
— Pamela appearing out of nowhere as a ranting and raving Cyndi Lauper. I think this is Pamela’s first actual sketch appearance of the whole night, by the way (her intro to Jim and Alex’s rap performance from earlier tonight doesn’t count).
— Overall, aside from the chase sequence, this sketch did nothing for me, and the whole thing was kind of a mess.
STARS: *½


NEW AUCTIONEER
an auctioneer (CHG) uses unorthodox methods to sell antiques

— Haha, wow at Christopher suddenly throwing the expensive finger bowl behind him, breaking it against the wall when nobody bids for it.
— For some reason, the sudden cutaway to Gary and Mary as rich snobs silently observing Christopher is cracking me up.
— I love how the madness of this is escalating, with Christopher now presenting angora kittens in a sealed box containing one minute of air, much to the anger of the bidders (Julia calls Christopher the Anti-Christ).
— LOL at where this is now going, with Christopher bringing out a silver bullet.
— Good dark ending.
— An overall strong, quintessential Christopher Guest sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Private Dancer”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An okay episode, though felt only average for this season’s standards. There were a few strong pieces (Ed Grimley, New Auctioneer), but there were also a few things I found pretty awful as well (Tuesday Night Titans, Power From Giving).


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Harry Anderson

Posted on

January 19, 1985 – Roy Scheider / Billy Ocean (S10 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
inaugural preview has Nancy prompting Ronald Reagan during oath of office

— Not too great-seeming a premise of altering footage of President Reagan’s inauguration by dubbing in “Nancy” whispering Ronald’s lines to him after the chief justice says them.
— Yeah, the gag is ALREADY getting one-note and old.
— That sounds like Pamela doing the dubbed-in voice of Nancy. Strange that they didn’t get Mary to do the voice, considering she actually played Nancy on the show before.
— An overall strange and weak choice for a cold opening. I can’t think of any other cold opening in SNL history that relied entirely on stock footage, though I may be forgetting one or two.
STARS: *½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— The punchline to the Knicks story was okay but nothing great.
— I did like the joke about no republicans in New York.
— An overall pretty short, straightforward monologue.
STARS: **½


SUPER SUNDAY
Ricky & Phil (CHG) temper their insults because it’s Super Sunday

— The return of Billy’s “unbelievable” character Ricky.
— I always like seeing Christopher and Billy teamed together.
— Christopher and Billy’s back-and-forth name-calling is funny, especially the “smegma” remark.
— As expected, I’m really enjoying the way both performers are playing off of each other here.
— Surprised to hear the word “douchebag” in a sketch from 1985.
— Christopher: “You smell like a rhino’s nipples.”
— A pretty good laugh from Christopher buying Pez for dessert.
— Hmm, what happened just now? When reading off the titles of various porno tapes that he rented, Christopher comes across one particular title that makes him laugh out of character and, while showing Billy the title, asks “Are you gonna say it?”, which came off like an ad-lib. Billy starts laughing out of character too, and neither of them end up reading the title aloud. Wonder what happened. Did someone at SNL jokingly slip in a particularly dirty porno title that couldn’t be uttered on national TV?
STARS: ***½


GOOD COP, BAD COP
(host) wants to do “good cop, bad cop” on (JIB), but Lawrence is inept

— Good to see another Lawrence sketch.
— Feels strange seeing Jim Belushi again for the first time in a while. This is his first episode back as a rehire after being fired a few episodes ago.
— In the version I’m watching, there appeared to be a brief edit when Roy angrily pulls Lawrence to the side after his “sad cop” routine. I wonder what was edited out.
— Jim’s smart-assed remarks to Roy are pretty funny.
— I’m enjoying Lawrence’s constant failure to understand what “bad cop” means when he and Roy are doing the “good cop/bad cop” routine.
— I like Roy snapping and insanely going into both the good cop AND bad cop routine, much to Jim’s confusion.
STARS: ***½


STEVEN WRIGHT
Steven Wright [real] does stand-up about his hobbies, imitates bowling

— His delivery always KILLS me.
— Overall, this was a fucking riot as his SNL appearances usually are. Some of my favorite random one-liners tonight were the ones about being afraid of widths instead of heights, his dwarf friend posing for trophies, his “imitation” of a bowling ball going in the gutter, and him owning a picture of Houdini having his keys locked in his car.
STARS: ****


FOLDGERS CRYSTALS
— Rerun from last season


IN PRAISE OF WOMEN
Julio Iglesias (GAK) gets fresh with 3 unsexy females

— Decent scenario for Gary’s Julio Iglesias impression.
— Pamela looks completely unrecognizable in that wrinkly, old make-up.
— Funny bit with Gary having Julia sit on his knee to tell him about her book.
— The sketch is getting fairly one-note, but Gary’s giving a strong performance and is making me laugh with his constant sleazy, passionate comments about what he loves about women.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Ann Landers’ (MAG) poll shows 97% of guys prefer “the act” to hugging
CHG says “no ads,” so Paul Harvey (RIH) fools him by talking in Russian
British journalist Angela Bradleigh likes football players’ bodies
JIB says “follow my rules in movie theater or receive an air horn blast”

— This is the earliest that Saturday Night News has been on in a while.
— Much like Mary’s last Ann Landers commentary, I didn’t care too much for her overall commentary tonight and nothing really stood out to me in this one.
— Rich’s Paul Harvey has been appearing an awful lot this season.
— Ha, Rich angrily muttering “Punk!” to Christopher made me laugh out loud.
— I’m not caring for how Rich is using the exact same promotional props from his last appearance.
— You can hear one particular audience member’s loud laugh all throughout tonight’s Saturday Night News, especially during Christopher’s “dunces marching in the inauguration” joke just now.
— Pamela’s dirty sexual comments about football players are providing a few laughs, and is at least taking this into a different direction from the previous commentary she did as this character.
— Geez, FOUR guest commentaries tonight?
— Jim’s loud outbursts here are pretty funny.
— Some good movie theater rules from Jim, especially the “Leave the baby at home” one.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Caribbean Queen”


SCALPER
(host) won’t accept less than $5,000,000 for his 2 Super Bowl XIX tickets

— LOL at Roy charging an insane amount of 50 million dollars for two Super Bowl tickets.
— Love the way a smugly-satisfied Roy keeps deadpan-ly saying “Five. Million. Dollars.”
— Rich’s offer of bearer bonds is really funny.
— I’m loving Jim’s increasing desperation in the ridiculous things he’ll offer just to get those tickets.
— Interesting turn with a despondent Roy returning home.
— Haha, holy hell at Roy suddenly getting struck by lightning and being reduced to a smoking pile of clothes on the floor.
— Overall, I really liked this. A very well-written and well-executed sketch.
STARS: ****


THE FLAMING PARROT
transvestite lounge pianist Penny Lane (BIC) talks with (host)

— Billy as a drag queen?
— I like Billy playing the Jeopardy theme on the piano while trying to guess Roy’s name.
— More good uses of Billy playing certain famous tunes on the piano to relate to the various situations during his and Roy’s conversation.
— Surprisingly, I’m actually liking Billy’s characterization here.
— A touching turn this has suddenly taken.
— An overall surprisingly good sketch.
STARS: ***½


MENTAL HOSPITAL
in a mental hospital, Consuela visits self-admitted patient Chi Chi

— Nice to see these two characters in a normal setting instead of a talk show for once.
— Gary is hilarious as a wildly-dancing mustached mental patient who thinks he’s John Oates.
— A decent amount of funny little lines during Mary and Julia’s conversation. I especially liked Julia explaining she covered for Mary by absurdly telling their friends Mary’s having warts removed at a mental hospital.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Loverboy”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A (mostly) consistently good episode, with a pretty fun vibe throughout. The cold opening and Saturday Night News were the only things I wasn’t crazy about.
— I’ve been noticing that for a season that has a reputation for being insanely heavy on filmed pieces, they’ve been going really light on them these last few episodes. I don’t think there were ANY short films in the last two episodes. Honestly, it feels like this season has been gradually relying less and less on pre-tapes with each passing month. Makes me wonder if it was only the first few episodes that earned this season its reputation for being pre-tape heavy.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Alex Karras

Posted on

January 12, 1985 – Kathleen Turner / John Waite (S10 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
in Donahue green room, Fernando asks Bernie Goetz (RIH) to be on Hideaway

— Yet another Fernando sketch, though at least he’s in a new setting this time. Still, there’s only so much of this character I can take.
— I do kinda like his excitement over the green room having “two midget transvestites and a nazi!”
— Some of his comments to the dwarf transvestites (played by frequent Ebersol-era extras Butch and Pepe) are pretty funny.
— Funny seeing Rich as the infamous Bernard Goetz (a.k.a. The Subway Vigilante).
— When talking about how rough things have been going for his show lately, Fernando makes a reference to the recent Manilow cancellation incident.
— The tense part with Fernando asking Goetz for a quarter is a good reference, though probably too topical for the modern-day viewers who have no familiarity with Goetz’s subway incident.
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
pictures of host’s movie roles show a trend of increasing sexiness

— As she points out, she’s the first female host of the season, which is pretty crazy considering we’re halfway through the season. Even stranger, I think this season goes on to have only one more female host (Pamela Sue Martin). This has to be an all-time record for lowest number of female hosts in a single season.
— The mud-in-hair/brunette joke was terrible.
— She calls out Jack Nicholson in the audience, who turns out to be some random curly-haired guy. A decent gag, I guess, though I feel like SNL did a similar gag one other time (can’t remember when).
— Uh-oh, looks like this is turning into another boring “career photo montage” monologue from this season.
— Yep, I was right, unfortunately.
STARS: **


MACDOUGLASS-DRUMMOND
military supplier MacDouglass-Drummond’s products are basic yet costly

— I’m surprised this is the first time this season that we’re seeing Harry in a commercial pitchman role, considering how often he did these roles to perfection during his earlier stint in season 5. It’s great to see him back in this role.
— Loved Harry’s “But, wait, there’s less!” line
— Another great one-liner, with Harry’s fast-paced delivery of “It boils, it boils, it even boils!”
— An overall strong and smart satirical ad.
STARS: ****


WATERSKIING
Willie & Frankie talk about pain while taking part in a water-ski pyramid

— I love this very random setting for Willie and Frankie.
— I like the continuity of how these sketches always make a mention of the secretary at Sheidelman Suits who Billy’s character has the hots for.
— Nice reveal at the end when the camera pulls back and shows how this sketch was pulled off.
— Hate to say it because I usually really like these characters, but the formula of their sketches is starting to get stale due to how heavily SNL has been relying on these. None of Willie and Frankie’s gruesome stories stood out in tonight’s overall sketch, and quite a number of their stories kinda washed over me with me just chuckling at them by default.
STARS: **½


NOSE HAIR TRIMMER
nose hair trimmer Walter sells (CHG) on importance of groomed nostrils

— Always nice to see Gary’s underrated Walter character.
— This appears to be a variation of Walter’s “shoe tier” sketch from last season’s Flip Wilson episode, only this time, Walter’s bizarre occupation is “nose hair trimmer”. I’m loving this strange concept.
— Christopher appears to be playing the same character he played in the Jewish Deli sketch in the last episode.
— LOL at Billy’s walk-on with long, braided nose hairs.
— Absolutely hilarious ending with Rich casually walking by and tripping over Christopher’s (invisible) long nose hair that Walter is pulling, sending all three men crashing onto the ground.
STARS: ***½


SAFECO
Joan Collins (PLS) proves the strength of Dura Guard II plate glass

— Pamela is perfectly cast as Joan Collins.
— Pretty funny concept of a plate glass company using Joan Collins as battering ram against her will.
— This overall commercial didn’t end up playing out quite as funny as I was expecting.
STARS: **½


HYPNOTISM BY FIRE
to ensure daughter’s safety, Brad Allen (MAS) hypnotizes boyfriend (BIC)

— Pretty funny detailed look for Martin’s character, giving him a huge belly, bald cap, and glasses.
— Some good physical work from Martin throughout this.
— Holy hell, Billy’s wig almost came right off after Martin smacked the back of his head a second time.
— Haha, Billy’s now-uneven wig looks ridiculous.
— While talking to Martin and Julia, Billy stops mid-line as the audience keeps laughing hysterically at his uneven wig. He doesn’t seem to realize what the heck is going on until Martin and a chuckling Julia both adjust his wig for him, which causes him to crack up. An absolutely fantastic blooper here.
— Also, we get some really good back-and-forth ad-libs from Martin and Billy right afterwards.
— For some reason, I laughed at Mary’s off-camera delivery of “Nooooooo!” when asked if she’s going to come downstairs.
— An overall mostly forgettable and overlong sketch that was boosted by a classic blooper.
STARS: **½


PREDICTIONS
Jeane Dixon (MAG) tells what the stars predict for 1985

— Mary looks kinda freaky in this. Her facial expressions are kinda creeping me out.
— I’m pretty sure I just heard the voice of Larry David playing yet another off-camera heckler, this time as a guy who yells “That already happened!” in response to Mary’s Elvis prediction. I guess even back in 1984-85, SNL saw the comedic potential in Larry David’s shouty voice.
— I liked Mary casually pronouncing “holocaust” as “holycoast”, as a clever callback to her preceding prediction that a celebrity will mispronounce “holocaust” and not be aware of it.
— Interesting meta bit with Mary predicting host Kathleen Turner’s mind will wander in the next sketch.
— Overall, despite Mary giving her all, this wasn’t too great and quite a number of the predictions fell kinda flat.
STARS: **½


THE JOE FRANKLIN SHOW
Doug Henning (MAS) & Alan Arkin (CHG)

 

— The initial sight of Martin as a buckthoothed Doug Henning cracked me up.
— I’m enjoying Christopher’s Alan Arkin voice and general grumpiness.
— I like how in these sketches, Billy’s Joe Franklin always has to work in a plug for Matzos by Streit’s.
— Kathleen’s bad lip-syncing of her own song is funny.
— Overall, another good Joe Franklin sketch, and each performer got their share of laughs. Lately, I’ve been appreciating these Franklin sketches more than I used to when I was younger, back when I dismissed these sketches as being kinda boring.
STARS: ***½


BOXER
punchy retired boxer Tony Minetti (BIC) reminisces while vending peanuts

— OH, NO. Here’s our second Billy Crystal one-man-show character monologue of the season. I’ve already talked earlier this season about how much I dislike these.
— Also, man, tonight’s episode has been going REALLY heavy on Billy Crystal. Aside from the MacDouglass-Drummond and Predictions sketches, Billy has been in literally EVERY SINGLE SKETCH in this episode so far, and almost all of his appearances have been lead roles.
— I did get one chuckle so far, from the line about a boxer starting to bleed at the weigh-in.
— Overall, aside from the above-mentioned line, I got absolutely no laughs from this sketch. This was even worse than the one-man-show character piece Billy did earlier this season.
STARS: *½


FAST LOVE
maneater (host) manipulates jilted (MAS) into pursuing a relationship

— Funny part with Kathleen implying she’s a multi-orgasmic woman.
— I like the overly 80s look of the various party-goers. You’d almost think this was a modern-day piece set in the 80s, judging by how stereotypically 80s so many people in this sketch are dressed.
— Speaking of which, it’s funny how a plain-dressed Larry David (in yet another background extra role this season) sticks out like a sore thumb among the trendily-dressed background extras.
— Kathleen’s out-of-nowhere “Lucky for you, I’m ovulating tonight” was hilarious.
— An overall pretty nice, realistic piece.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
a summary of recent appointments to Reagan administration posts
GAK shows off his 1985 “Kroeger A Month” beefcake calendar
Reagan financial advisor Doug Henning (RIH) makes CHG cough up some dough

— I see this is yet ANOTHER episode this season where Saturday Night News is oddly buried towards the end of the show [ADDENDUM: And yes, this is how the episode originally aired], which serves as more evidence of Ebersol’s diminishing confidence in the segment.
— The rundown of which White House staff members are being replaced with which celebrities has some laughs, but the bit is too long-winded for my likes. Brings back bad memories of the overlong bits Brian Doyle-Murray regularly did on SNL Newsbreak back in season 7.
— Very funny concept of Gary’s commentary, with him showcasing his self-made “Kroeger A Month” beefcake calendar for the year 1985.
— Funny calendar pictures of Gary here, and some good little self-deprecating lines thrown in throughout this.
— Christopher actually made me laugh, with his deadpan “That’s very sad” response to Gary’s overall commentary.
— Rich Hall takes over the Doug Henning impression that we had just seen Martin Short playing earlier tonight, making this a rare instance of two different performers playing the same celebrity in two separate sketches in the same episode.
— Rich makes a meta comment about what I just pointed out above, by commenting how it’s “amazing that there are two Doug Hennings on this show”.
— Haha, Rich’s fake buck teeth fell out!
— Nice save with Christopher handing Rich a spare pair of fake buck teeth.
— Rich’s Henning getting Christopher to magically cough up money into the bucket is pretty funny. Not sure how that trick was pulled off in real life.
— What was with the ending of this edition of Saturday Night News? Christopher didn’t even sign off. It just ended with the audience’s applause after Rich’s Henning commentary was over, as Christopher just silently stares at the camera completely deadpan. WTF?
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Saturday Night”


STRICTLY FROM BLACKWELL
(MAS) in dinner theater version of Irma La Douce

— What’s with the oddly silent beginning during the “Strictly From Blackwell” title screen?
— I liked Harry’s random line about “the James Franciscus Theater”.
— Hmm, Martin’s character is named Bobby Bouchet (last name pronounced “boo-SHAY”). Heh, isn’t that the same name of Adam Sandler’s character in the movie The Waterboy?
— As usual, Harry’s Mr. Blackwell voice is cracking me up, and there are lots of low-key funny back-and-forths between him and Martin.
— Martin’s reveal that his biological parents are JFK and Marilyn Monroe is really funny.
— Pretty solid sketch overall.
— Unfortunately, this turns out to be the end of the road for Harry Shearer’s second SNL tenure. After this episode, Dick Ebersol fires him for a backstage incident that happened earlier that night after dress rehearsal, where Harry reduced a beloved female staffer to tears when chewing her out over a minor issue. Harry had a reputation for being too demanding and stern behind the scenes at SNL, and I guess the aforementioned incident was the final straw for Ebersol. This makes Harry the second cast member to be fired in the middle of this season ALONE. Boy, Ebersol sure doesn’t play around. However, unlike the first fired cast member this season (Jim Belushi), Harry doesn’t eventually get rehired. He’s gone for good, folks. Considering how much he famously hated working at SNL, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to get rehired anyway. Too bad, as I’ve always loved what he brought to the show during both his SNL stints (seasons 5 and 10).
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An overall disappointing episode, especially when compared to the usual quality this season. I did like the memorable bloopers tonight (Billy Crystal’s wig in Hypnotism By Fire, Rich Hall’s fake buck teeth in Saturday Night News), but the show was dominated by lots of forgettable sketches. Aside from the two Harry Shearer sketches, no segments stood out as particularly great tonight. This episode was also too heavy on Billy Crystal for my likes, with him receiving Kristen Wiig levels of overexposure.
— Strange scheduling tonight too, with Saturday Night News and John Waite’s first (and ONLY) musical performance not coming on until the last 20 minutes of the show. I wouldn’t be surprised if a second musical performance was originally scheduled but ended up getting cut at the last minute due to the show running long. Maybe it was all the aforementioned bloopers that threw off the scheduling of the show.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Eddie Murphy):
— a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Roy Scheider