Tag: Aerosmith

Posted on

March 17, 2001 – Julia Stiles / Aerosmith (S26 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

MARTHA STEWART LIVING
homey tips class up St. Patrick’s Day

— A refreshing choice for a cold opening, and a rare non-political cold opening for this season.
— This feels like the first Martha Stewart Living sketch in quite a long time.
— A big laugh from Ana’s Martha Stewart translating an Irish message as “You must be Irish, ’cause my penis is Dublin.”
— As usual, lots of funny lines from Ana’s Martha all throughout this, even if there’s a bit of a one-note feel to all of the drinking-related stuff after a while.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
TRM hopes he & host can reprise interracial kiss from Save The Last Dance

— Julia Stiles quickly mentions in passing that this is SNL’s 500th episode, before immediately getting interrupted by Tracy. I remember being bothered at the time that SNL didn’t make a much bigger deal about this being their milestone 500th episode, and also didn’t get a more SNL-related host for it.
— A Tracy Morgan-centric monologue in the tradition of Charlize Theron’s monologue and the backstage sketches that Tracy did with Garth Brooks and Jamie Foxx. And just like in those, Tracy is a riot just being his natural self. He’s effortlessly funny in stuff like this.
STARS: ***½


HOMOCIL
Rerun from 2/17/01


WAKE UP WAKEFIELD!
Megan (MAR) & Sheldon (RAD) emcee middle school show

— This soon-to-be-recurring sketch makes its debut.
— Already some pretty good laughs right out of the gate from the shy awkwardness of Rachel’s Sheldon character.
— This sketch and the performances in it are accurate at portraying a typical awkward middle school atmosphere. There’s a charm to this.
— I like Sheldon’s line “Things are weird at home.”
— I remember when this episode originally aired, Horatio’s teacher character reminded me so much of the Driver’s Ed teacher that I currently had at the time. Horatio’s character reminded me of him not just in personality, but even in looks. Watching Horatio’s character now, all these years later, takes me back to those high school days of mine.
— The second segment in a row tonight with someone hyperventilating into a brown paper bag at one point, with the first instance being the rerun of the Homocil commercial.
— I like Sheldon’s little hand salute when signing off at the end.
STARS: ***


POST OFFICE
(host) gives attitudinal postal worker Jackie a taste of her own medicine

— Oh, no. Not the return of these tepid characters from the airport sketch in the Mena Suvari episode. Thankfully, though, this ends up being their final on-air appearance. There was another sketch of theirs planned for the following season’s Derek Jeter episode, in which Maya’s character, Jackie, works at the ticket booth at Yankee Stadium (Jerry’s character wasn’t in the sketch, obviously, as he was no longer in the cast that season), but the sketch got cut after dress rehearsal.
— Odd how the first two lead-off sketches tonight, Wake Up Wakefield and this, both star featured player Maya and a fellow featured player (Rachel in Wake Up Wakefield, Jerry in this). It’s not very common for an episode to lead off with so many featured player-starring sketches.
— I see Maya’s Jackie character has replaced her groan-worthy sassy line from her first sketch, “If ya put up a fight, ya ain’t gettin’ on the flight”, with another equally groan-worthy sassy line: “If you wanna whine, you’re goin’ in the back of the line.”
— What’s with the Jungle Fever theme tonight? In the monologue, Tracy referenced Jungle Fever and sang the theme song from it, and now Maya’s Jackie character in this sketch hums the Jungle Fever theme song while filing her nails.
— This sketch is so dull that Kattan’s line flub “It’s not a letter… it’s not a package, it’s a letter” has made me chuckle more than a lot of the actual scripted material in the sketch.
— Now Parnell gets an unintentional chuckle from me with a line flub of his own: “This has got to the most…… LEAST organized government-run office in the city!”
— Julia is at least doing a good job with her sudden use of Ebonics when telling Jackie off.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Jaded”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Arnold Schwarzenegger (DAH) tells why he should be California’s governor

David Copperfield [real] magically makes words appear on cue cards

 

— Uh-oh. Right out of the gate, we get technical snafus, as the news picture graphic doesn’t show up next to Jimmy (the first above screencap for this Update).
— And now, the graphics are screwing up throughout this Update in general. Quite distracting. Are the people in the control room doing a little St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the job, if you catch my drift?
— Jimmy now actually stops mid-joke and acknowledges how out-of-hand the graphics screw-ups are getting (the fourth above screencap for this Update).
— Darrell’s Arnold Schwarzenegger commentary is pretty funny, especially his whole bit about how, to make himself a natural born American, he would go inside a fat woman’s womb and come out head-first waving an American flag.
— Tina, after detailing the convoluted changes that different armies are each making to their berets: “In a related story, these guys need a war!” Be careful what you wish for, Tina, considering what ends up happening soon enough…
— Quite a lot of fun jokes from Jimmy and Tina tonight.
— A random David Copperfield cameo as SNL’s cue card guy.
— What exactly was the point of Copperfield’s whole bit?
— Tonight’s overall Update was the first somewhat normal-length Update in quite some time, though it still felt a little on the short side.
STARS: ***½


OLD HOLLYWOOD
in the 1920s, movie director Suel Forrester bewilders his cast & crew

— Wow, is this Will’s first appearance all night (not counting the rerun of the pre-taped Homocil commercial)? Very odd for him, but I guess that’s a by-product of tonight’s episode focusing heavily on the featured players.
— Surprisingly, this is the first Suel Forrester sketch in two seasons. This also ends up being the final Suel Forrester sketch.
— This sketch features the usual laughs that ensues from Suel’s unintelligible utterances and everyone’s confusion over them. I especially like the “Lick a turkey leg” bit.
— Parnell, when thinking Suel Forrester has called him a Jew: “Sir, I am not a Jew!…. anymore.”
— This Suel Forrester installment feels like it’s going on a little longer than it needs to.
STARS: ***


BEPPI & BUSHKA
immigrant janitor Beppi (RAD) trumps woes of office workers (ANG) & (MAR)

— Yet another featured player-dominated sketch tonight.
— Julia and Rachel’s immigrant characters relating Maya and Ana’s problems with their own far-worse problems that they experienced in their home country is providing some good laughs. Rachel is particularly funny in her performance and delivery here.
— Rachel’s whole rant about a particular horrible thing that once happened to her is very good, as is her eventually revealing that she stole it from a Lifetime movie.
STARS: ***½


THE DOBERMAN!
by Adam McKay- (WIF) receives house call from vicious dog

— Ha, I like the little detail of Saved By The Bell being heard playing from Will’s TV at the beginning of this.
— Hilarious randomness of some German nihilist-looking guy showing up at Will’s door and siccing a dog on Will.
— Will’s high-pitched screaming during one portion of the dog attack is absolutely slaying me.
— Great bit with Will forcing himself to jump off his balcony to escape the dog, only for the dog to actually jump off the balcony onto Will.
— The intentionally low-budget look to occasional portions of this film is adding to the humor.
— Very good reveal at the end that Will actually ordered a door-to-door doberman attack.
STARS: ****


APOLLO AMATEUR NIGHT
whitebread (host) plies cheerleader moves at Apollo Theater amateur night

— Maya continues to be very dominant in tonight’s episode.
— Maya’s mockery of the singing style of soulful female singers kinda feels like a precursor to her famous National Anthem sketch from later in her tenure.
— Ana and Parnell’s corny Wisconsin accents are fairly amusing.
— Tracy has a lot of funny little one-liners throughout this sketch.
— Not caring at all for where this sketch has been going once Julia’s character has taken the Apollo stage.
— Yeah, this sketch has taken a sharp turn for the worse. Not even Jerry in a somewhat-rare noteworthy comedic role is doing anything to save this sketch.
— And the sketch is now over. What was even the point behind this?
STARS: *½


WILLY SLUGGS’ EYE POPPERS
Willy Sluggs (JEM) pushes magic tricks in lame self-produced infomercial

— Wow, yet ANOTHER sketch tonight starring a featured player.
— Julia: “You may recognize me from earlier in this commercial.”
— Will managed to get a good laugh from his delivery of “Thank you for the cognac and grapefruit juice.”
— Unlike the preceding Apollo sketch, Jerry is really in his element in this sketch. I’m really enjoying his performance, his intentionally-stilted infomercial acting, and his character’s quirks, more than the audience seems to.
— The bad testimonials are pretty funny.
— During the occasional shots of the “Willy Sluggs’ Eye Poppers” title graphic, I love the voice-over saying “Eye Poppers! Haw, haw, hawww!”
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Big Ten Inch Record”


DER LACHELN BEHERRSCHT
German “smile masters” populate scary kids show

 

— Ooh, right out of the gate, we see that this is going to be a VERY bizarre and dark sketch. I’m already on board.
— I love the insane opening credits sequence, with the spooky-sounding German singing and the odd random photos thrown in.
— The German-accented skeleton singing an “I’m inside every one of you!” song to the frightened kids is hilarious, especially when you’re aware that that’s Tina Fey’s voice.
— Overall, I absolutely LOVE this sketch. One of the most hilariously fucked-up things that SNL has ever aired. I love that this sketch was basically just an excuse to throw in every bizarre, dark, and scary thing that the writers could come up with.
STARS: *****


HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY
for St. Patrick’s Day, Van Morrison (JIF) sings & overimbibes Guinness

— Hmm, a change of pace with this unusual segment on SNL’s home base stage.
— I’m not the right one to judge the accuracy of Jimmy’s Van Morrison impression, but considering celebrity impressions are one of Jimmy’s specialties, I’m assuming his Van Morrison impression is good.
— Ehh, a minute later, I’m not caring much for this sketch.
— Overall, no idea what to say, except that I didn’t laugh, though I kinda appreciate how Jimmy put his all into how wild he went at the end of this.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An up-and-down episode. There was a little more good than bad, but this episode as a whole isn’t particularly noteworthy or memorable. It was interesting and pretty refreshing, though, how much SNL let the featured players (Rachel Dratch, Jerry Minor, Maya Rudolph) dominate this episode, something that I wish SNL wouldn’t be hesitant to try more often.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Conan O’Brien)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Alec Baldwin

Posted on

March 22, 1997 – Mike Myers / Aerosmith (S22 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

BARBARA WALTERS OSCAR SPECIAL
Barbara Walters (CHO) prefers to interview in-character Oscar nominees

— After playing along with Cheri-as-Barbara-Walters’ constant “Show me the money” references, I like Tim’s Cuba Gooding Jr. suddenly saying a very stern “Seriously, STOP.”
— Feels a bit weird to review Mike Myers again for the first time since I covered season 20, but that’s something that’s always fun about covering episodes hosted by former cast members in this SNL project of mine.
— Mike’s insane, incoherent rambling as Geoffrey Rush is cracking me up.
— Funny Sling Blade impression from Darrell, but the material he’s been given isn’t the greatest.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
cast parades behind MIM as he sings about what it’s like to return to SNL

— According to Mike here, he took a lot of time off after leaving SNL to be with his family. I had always wondered why there was a two-year gap between him leaving SNL and him starring in movies. During that two-year gap, did SNL fans assume he was yet another SNL star who sadly faded into obscurity after leaving the show?
— Among some of the former cast members that Mike mentions have come back to host the show, Mike says “Chevy, Dan, Bill Murray…” Uh, Dan had yet to host by this point of the show’s history.
— I love the cast’s comically-gleeful jumping off the stage in the background when Mike begins traveling around the studio while singing.
— Catchy melody to Mike’s song.
— A very fun monologue, kinda feeling like a throwback to Steve Martin’s classic “Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight”. I’m always a sucker for this type of cold opening/monologue. I believe Nathan Lane does a monologue in the same vein the following season, but I haven’t seen it in ages, so I’m really looking forward to revisiting it.
— Hilarious visual of Norm getting whipped with a ruler for having a bad dress rehearsal.
— A memorable and funny part with Mike thinking Tim has visited the show to support him, only to be told by Tim “Uh, actually, I’m still in the cast.”
— After the aforementioned “I’m still in the cast” line, Mike asks Tim “Didn’t you leave with Farley and Spade?” I wonder if Mike was supposed to say Sandler instead of Spade, as Farley and Spade left an entire year apart.
— A very funny song from Tim bemoaning his hard-to-break 30-year SNL contract.
— I love Mike’s fake tap-dancing onstage.
— Fantastic touch with Mike being lifted in the air. Also a nice touch with the Canadian and American flags being displayed in the background.
— Overall, a phenomenal monologue that pulled out all the stops and has always been one of my personal favorites.
STARS: *****


AUDITION
Mary Katherine Gallagher auditions for a part in musical guest’s video

— Right from the start of this sketch, it’s noticeable that the brick wall in the background is oddly missing most of its bricks (as seen in some of the screencaps above). There’s a story behind this that Molly would later disclose in the “Live From New York” book. During the commercial break preceding this sketch, the crew members didn’t have enough time to finish setting up the fake brick wall for a pratfall Molly is supposed to do during the sketch. Before the show came back from commercial, Molly was so distraught over the unfinished brick wall that Lorne had to come over and console her, which lifted her spirits and gave her the confidence to perform the sketch in spite of the unfinished wall.
— Mike’s wonky-eyed supporting character is perfect for him, as it’s a very Mike Myers-esque character that I can easily imagine him having played when he was a cast member.
— While I’m enjoying this sketch, it’s starting to become a bit of a crutch to have Mary Katherine Gallagher meet celebrities, between her last appearance where she met Tina Turner, and now tonight’s appearance where she meets Aerosmith.
— I like MKG’s wild dancing to “Sweet Emotion”.
— In addition to the aforementioned backstory about this sketch’s unfinished brick wall, I believe there’s another interesting backstory about this sketch: I think I recall reading somewhere (possibly in the same “Live From New York” book mentioned earlier) that the NBC censors didn’t want Molly to lick Steven Tyler up and down during this sketch, but Molly defied the censors and did it anyway in the live show.
— Like a pro, Molly still sells her pratfall through the unfinished brick wall.
STARS: ***½


COFFEE TALK WITH LINDA RICHMAN
Linda & her cousin (ANG) sing their Oscar predictions

— The upbeat nostalgic vibe that Mike Myers’ return has brought tonight has put me in such a pleasant mood that I’m not even upset at seeing the return of Coffee Talk, a recurring sketch that I never cared for when reviewing Mike’s years as a cast member. It probably helps that I haven’t had to review a Coffee Talk sketch in quite a long while.
— Mike shows a bit of rustiness at the top of this sketch by flubbing his own character’s name.
— Ana seems perfectly cast as a Coffee Talk guest.
— The musical Oscar medley at the end, while normally not my type of thing, is harmless enough and actually has somewhat of a charm to it, and Ana in particular is performing it well (which is no surprise, given her musical background).
— Feels weird hearing a Coffee Talk sketch make a reference to the internet, showing how times have evolved since the last time this sketch appeared regularly.
— I’m glad this overall Coffee Talk sketch kept the number of utterances of the “I’m feeling verkelmpt, tawk amongst yuhselves” catchphrase down to only one. Back during Mike’s tenure as a cast member, there were some instances of that catchphrase being used as much as THREE damn times in individual Coffee Talk installments.
STARS: ***


PRIME MINISTER’S QUESTIONS
John Major (MIM) gives insulting responses to British MPs’ questions

— This sketch feels out of the ordinary for this era.
— Some really funny British characterizations from the cast.
— Hilarious visual with Mark’s ghastly British teeth.
— Good running gag with Colin constantly setting Mike up to be blown up by a bomb.
— Will’s out-of-place Oasis obsession is pretty funny.
— I’m enjoying the increasing absurdity of this sketch.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
maintenance man Dominican Lou (TRM) hasn’t seen Oscar-nominated movies
Bill Clinton (DAH) dislikes Absolute Power’s “dead mistress” plot

— Does Norm have a cab to catch? He’s absolutely speeding through his Update jokes so far.
— Okay, Norm is starting to slow down now.
— We get the debut of Dominican Lou, which would go on to be Tracy’s first big solo recurring character.
— A fairly short commentary from Dominican Lou, but made me laugh enough, even if it was nothing special.
— Oh, no, not another Bill Clinton movie review. (*groan*) These always follow the EXACT SAME PATTERN, and it only worked for me the first time.
— Well, at least this Clinton movie review is going in a bit of a different direction, with Clinton actually hating the movie he’s reviewing and NOT mentioning anything about a dead First Lady.
— Goddammit, I spoke too soon. Now Darrell’s Clinton goes on about how the movie should’ve had the president’s wife get killed. Yawn. Next, please.
— Okay, I did like the Vince Foster suicide cover-up allusion that Darrell’s Clinton made just now.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Falling in Love”


SPROCKETS
Dieter & lover Helmut (WIF) present The Insane Academy Awards

— Unlike Coffee Talk, THIS is a Mike Myers recurring sketch that I genuinely like a lot.
— Interesting seeing Will playing a guest in a Sprockets sketch. That’s always one of the things I find fun about a former cast member coming back to host: seeing people in the current cast appearing in the former cast member’s old recurring sketches.
— Ha, when Will tries to pet Dieter’s monkey, it jumps out of the shot, which clearly isn’t part of the script.
— During Dieter’s interviewing of Will’s character, why do Mike and Will keep distractedly looking at the off-camera monkey? The audience is laughing hysterically too. We unfortunately can’t see whatever funny thing the monkey is doing. Mike is mugging up a storm in response to the monkey’s antics. Is Mike imitating a facial expression that the off-camera monkey is making?
— I love the bizarre Oscar nominees.
— Overall, this sketch was okay, but I wanted it to be longer and more fleshed-out. It felt a little too forgettable and truncated compared to the Sprockets sketches from Mike’s tenure as a cast member.
STARS: ***


SCOTTISH SOCCER HOOLIGAN WEEKLY
Andy & Ian recall regurgitation episodes

— Interesting to see this sketch back. It debuted in what was both Mike’s final episode as a cast member and Mark’s second episode as a cast member, and seemed to be intended as a passing-of-the-torch, as if SNL thought Mark would pick up the mantle that Mike would leave as a cast member. As we know now, Mark’s SNL tenure ended up going in a VERY different direction.
— Boy, that is one fake-looking headbutt.
— I can appreciate the blood, gore, and vomit of this sketch a little more tonight than I did in the previous installment of this sketch in season 20, considering that by this point in 1997, SNL has long moved away from the blood-gore-and-vomit shock humor that unfortunately dominated season 20.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Nine Lives”


PREMATURELY GRAY
young silverhairs discuss impact of colorless locks

— Some funny lines from Tim during his interview.
— I like the comically dour turn this sketch takes with Mike and Ana’s tragic plane story, and Molly attempting to keep the interview lighthearted.
— Another funny line from Tim, saying with a smirk, “I’m a dirty little dog.”
— A good laugh from Mark’s unintentionally tasteless joke towards Mike and Ana.
— Overall, this sketch ended up being better than I initially thought it would. I also like how it felt like the type of talk show panel sketch that would’ve appeared on SNL in the late 80s/early 90s years (which I guess is fitting, considering who’s hosting tonight).
STARS: ***½


I GOTTA EAT, TOO
Tito Jackson’s (TRM) album & video are meant to put food on his table

— I love Tracy-as-Tito-Jackson’s sudden stern delivery of “You damn right!” after he lightheartedly says we probably think he’s desperate to achieve the money that his younger brother gets.
— A pretty good solo sketch for the underused Tracy Morgan, which makes this his second big showcase of the night.
— A good laugh from Tito only playing the bassline of a certain song before ending the scene by suddenly singing the words “I Want You Back”.
— I like Tito’s bad imitation of Michael Jackson’s trademark dance moves.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Another good season 22 episode. As has been common lately, barely anything stood out as particularly great in this episode (the monologue was the only thing all night that I gave a rating over three-and-a-half stars to), but I felt that every single sketch worked, and the monologue is an all-timer for me. It was also fun seeing the return of old Mike Myers sketches; even Coffee Talk came off a little more tolerable after a fairly long hiatus. Mike also did a solid job in the original sketches he appeared in tonight, coming off just like he was a cast member again.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sting)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Rob Lowe

Posted on

October 9, 1993 – Jeff Goldblum / Aerosmith (S19 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
musical guest & other artists sing to protest Michael Jordan’s retirement

— These We Are the World-esque sketches this era does are always a winner.
— There’s something I like about the fact that this era’s We Are the World-esque sketches never display a name graphic revealing which singer each cast member is playing. It’s fun to instead try to guess which singer they’re playing.
— I like how each singer is singing a modified version of a hit song of theirs.
— Mike and new SNL writer Norm Macdonald are really fun as The Proclaimers.
— Ellen as Dr. Dre?!? That is giving me a weird laugh, though.
— Adam’s Eddie Vedder is spot-on and very funny.
— New SNL writers Jay Mohr and Sarah Silverman (both making their very first onscreen SNL appearance) appear in this as Billy Idol and Natalie Merchant, respectively, but have no actual lines and are presumably just there to make the group of singers look more complete.
STARS: ****½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Writers Norm Macdonald and Jay Mohr have officially been added to the cast as featured players.


MONOLOGUE
Laura Dern [real] & other audience members think Jurassic Park was real

— Uh-oh, here comes the first of WAY too many questions-from-the-audience monologues this season, where audience members all ask the same question as each other.
— Jim Downey’s question is making me laugh, mostly because of his delivery.
— After Downey’s bit, Norm also made me laugh with his delivery.
— I like Jeff initially responding to Laura Dern’s idiotic question with a dumbfounded long silent pause, then deciding to play along by giving her a false answer.
— Overall, considering this is only the first “audience members take turns asking the same dumb question” monologue this season, this came off kinda charming and fairly fun. Unfortunately, I’m aware of how quickly tired and frustrating this type of monologue will increasingly become over the course of this season.
STARS: ***


NERF CROTCH BAT
— Rerun from 5/8/93


SUBWAY MUSICIAN
subway musician’s (ROS) lyrics contradict what he says while not playing

— A pretty good laugh from Rob denying claims that he’s accepting money from passersby, by explaining he just so happens to keep his change in his open guitar case.
— I love Rob’s ridiculous deep singing voice. Sounds very different from his normal speaking voice.
— Very funny escalation to this, with Rob constantly following up his claims that he’s not a beggar by singing increasingly specific lyrics that make it seem like he wants Jeff to give him money. I’m also getting good laughs from Rob’s various justifications for why he’s singing those kinds of lyrics.
— I really like the ending with Rob’s violent lyrics towards fellow subway musician Adam.
STARS: ****


WAVE STARTER
at a baseball game, wave-starter (host) feels fans don’t appreciate him

— A simple premise, but Jeff is selling this role well and is making the sketch work.
— Funny reactions from Phil to the inane things Jeff is telling him.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Cryin'”


WEEKEND UPDATE
ELC suggests she could find Aidid- foreign men are attracted to her
NOM figures that the worst thing about going to prison is anal rape

— Kevin’s Where’s Waldo-esque Where’s Aidid bit was pretty funny.
— Ellen’s overall commentary did not work for me, though her pizza delivery man comment kinda made me laugh.
— When introducing Norm Macdonald’s commentary, Kevin’s bad penchant for flubbing lines on Weekend Update is on full display, as he bungles his Norm intro so badly that he actually has to stop in the middle of it, apologize to us, and then repeat the whole intro all over again. When he finally gets through it, he tells Norm “Sorry, Norm”, which made me (and Norm) kinda laugh. There’s something kinda symbolic about Kevin badly flubbing his intro to Norm’s debut, considering Kevin’s constant flubs is just one of several frustrating things about this season of Update that make Norm replacing him as anchorperson next season a breath of fresh air.
— As always during this SNL project of mine, it feels exciting to see a showcase for a new cast member, especially when I’ve gotten so used to the already-existing cast I’m reviewing.
— A huge laugh from Norm revealing that the worst thing about prison is “the, uh… you know, the, uh… anal rape.” I also love the audience laughter after that reveal.
— You can tell Norm’s commentary is from his stand-up, and it feels a bit odd as an Update commentary, but it’s an absolutely hilarious piece. I especially love him acting out an entire conversation between two prison mates.
— Overall, Norm’s piece was a riot and I cannot think of a more perfect way for SNL to introduce him and his brand of humor to us.
— We get our first of many Menendez Brothers references this season, and Kevin’s joke about them just now was hilarious.
— Some really strong jokes from Kevin in general towards the end of this Update.
— Tim had an Update commentary cut after this episode’s dress rehearsal, in which he talks about Michael Jordan and compares him to all the great white players in the NBA. The commentary ends in a meta fashion with Tim telling Kevin he’s just happy to get some airtime.
STARS: ***½


BAD DANCER
other club patrons make (host) feel self-conscious about his bad dancing

— I like the turn with the club band actually stopping their music during Jeff’s bad dancing, and the guitarist of the band (Mike Myers) actually approaching Jeff to ask if the band is playing wrong.
— Weird how this is the second sketch tonight with somebody accusing a Jeff Goldblum character of being paranoid by thinking everybody’s actions are directed toward him, after Rob made those claims about him in the Subway Musician sketch.
— I’m enjoying the growing absurdity of this sketch, with several club members now wearing masks of Jeff’s face.
— This sketch died really badly towards the end. The Aerosmith bit fell completely flat, and then afterwards, the sketch ended on a sour note.
STARS: **½


KARL’S VIDEO
host rents a porno from name-dropping video store owner Karl (DAS)

— I’m loving David’s performance as this character. He’s very solid here.
— David’s constant defensive “I’m not gonna do anything with it” whenever he reveals he has certain celebrities’ phone numbers/credit card numbers/etc. are cracking me up.
— A big laugh from David talking about how Bob Saget is a frequent customer and a “big porn freak”. That’s also funny in hindsight, considering they later end up bringing this sketch back (with much less successful results) when Bob Saget himself hosts next season, and he appears as himself in it (yet he and David’s character act like they’ve never met before… so much for continuity).
— Ellen’s real-life daughter Akeyla steals the sketch with her “Mom, is he a pervert?” line.
— I loved the line from David about Gabe Kaplan: “Good guy… rents Faces Of Death… kinda weird.”
— Very funny brief walk-on from Chris.
STARS: ****


GARAGE SALE
at a garage sale, (host) & other neighborhood adults mock Canteen Boy

— Boy, I’m not caring for this sketch at all so far, and the guys’ constant teasing of Canteen Boy not only isn’t getting any laughs, but has a particularly unpleasant, mean-spirited vibe that signifies the crass, nasty tone that will often plague SNL both this and (especially) next season. And it hurts seeing Phil being wasted in a weak role like this; an early example of how poorly utilized he’ll often be this season.
— No idea what to think about the very random brief close-up of Canteen Boy letting out a bizarre yelp into the camera (the fourth above screencap for this sketch) when Jeff tells him he wants to buy his canteen.
— We surprisingly meet Canteen Boy’s mom (played by Rob in drag), AND we find out what Canteen Boy’s first name is: Alan.
— Adam seems genuinely amused by Rob’s walk-on, as he’s visibly stifling his laughter.
— I guess the nasty, mean-spirited tone of earlier portions of this sketch is supposed to be vindicated by the fact that Canteen Boy gets revenge on his tormentors in the end, but that still didn’t work for me. And WTF was with that “He who laughs last” ending?
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sweet Emotion”


CHRISTOPHER WALKEN’S CELEBRITY PSYCHIC FRIENDS NETWORK
Christopher Walken (JAM) & Celebrity Psychic Friends want to visit you

— New cast member Jay Mohr’s Christopher Walken impression debuts.
— This sketch was actually cut from the preceding episode, and Jay talks about it in one part of his SNL book (titled Gasping For Airtime). According to him, the cut version of this sketch had Shannen Doherty playing Sean Young as one of the guests, dressed in a sexy Catwoman costume. The sketch was cut after dress rehearsal because Doherty started having second thoughts about potentially getting on Sean Young’s bad side, given Young’s notorious reputation at the time. Needless to say, Jay was not pleased at Doherty when he found out, especially since the sketch was supposed to be his big SNL debut. In tonight’s version of the sketch (which replaces Doherty’s Sean Young with David’s Crispin Glover), Sean Young is actually mentioned (and pictured) among several celebrity psychic friends who Jay’s Walken lists off.
— Wow, right out of the gate in this sketch, Jay’s Walken impression is coming off spot-on and is killing me.
— Walken and the guests’ constant silence while waiting for the phone to ring are really funny.
— David’s Crispin Glover impressions is absolutely priceless.
— I can’t help but think the picture they showed of “The guy who attacked Monica Seles” (screencap below) resembles then-recent SNL host Harvey Keitel.

— An overall very strong and memorable sketch, and a very promising start for Jay Mohr.
STARS: ****½


HISTORY’S GREAT OVER-THINKERS
(host) can’t decide which mind should talk

— Very good makeup on Rob, which renders him almost unrecognizable.
— Adam seems really miscast as Orville Wright. That’s one of the problems with SNL increasingly giving the Farley/Sandler/Spade group more and more airtime and focus this season. That group doesn’t have the strong versatility and range the Carvey/Hooks/Lovitz/etc. group before them had.
— I can see what this sketch is going for, but the execution of it is not working AT ALL. Oof.
— Not helping this sketch’s struggles is the fact that you can practically hear a pin drop in the studio during this. The audience is DEAD. That’s something we’re going to have to get used to, as I recall quite a number of really bad sketches this season that have that uncomfortable, notorious, dead atmosphere.
— It’s almost laughable that Rob went through so much extensive makeup for such a short, lousy sketch that had no payoff.
STARS: *


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An episode with a solid first half, but a wildly inconsistent second half. The second half seriously had a pattern where a really bad or iffy sketch was immediately followed by a great sketch, which was immediately followed by a really bad/iffy sketch, which was immediately followed by a great sketch, and so on. (I recall an online SNL fan once making an interesting point that the wildly inconsistent nature of the second half of this episode is a good microcosm of this season as a whole) And most of the bad/iffy sketches in that half of the show were particularly brutal (Canteen Boy, History’s Great Over-Thinkers). However, the good in this overall episode outweighs the bad, we got a very promising start from the two new cast members, and Jeff Goldblum was a likable host, even if there was a sameness to all his roles, where he basically just played Jeff Goldblum in every single sketch.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Shannen Doherty)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
John Malkovich hosts one of my personal favorite episodes of all time

Posted on

February 17, 1990 – Tom Hanks / Aerosmith (S15 E13)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Donald (PHH) defeats Ivana (JAH) via thorough Trump prenuptial agreement

— Phil’s Trump impression has really improved from the previous times he played him.
— Very funny part with Donald telling Ivana that the contract she signed has allowed Donald to have mistresses, provided they are younger than Ivana.
— Ha, a mention of Donald Trump’s board game (“Trump: The Game”), something that I’m aware existed in real life only because I’ve recently been seeing commercials for it during some of the copies of live episodes I’ve been reviewing from this season.
— Great part with the Three-Card Monty trick.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— This is the first live episode that uses SNL’s 15th anniversary logo in the opening montage.

— Here’s another update that’s been made to the montage tonight: featured player Mike Myers has been promoted to a regular cast member! And he now has a live-action shot in the montage like the rest of the regular cast members (screencap below) instead of just a still photo like he had during his featured player days.


MONOLOGUE
host has an out-of-body experience after banging his knee backstage

 

— Good premise with Tom having hurt his knee backstage before making his entrance.
— Very funny reveal of Tom’s inner thoughts saying a monotone-but-pained “It hurts so much”, managing to name-drop some of his own hit movies, and begging God to make the pain stop.
— Hilarious visual of Tom’s ghost dancing delicately around the studio while having poetic inner thoughts.
— Most of this monologue would later be replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns. One big difference is that in the live version, Tom’s ghost doesn’t go into the control room, whereas he does in the rerun version.
— Another difference between the live and rerun versions of this monologue: the way Phil and Victoria are dressed. In the live version, Phil’s still dressed as Trump from the cold opening and Victoria is wearing casual clothes. In the rerun version, Phil and Victoria are both dressed in their outfits from the Mr. Short-Term Memory sketch that appears later tonight. (side-by-side comparison below)

— A classic part right now with Abe Lincoln telling Tom “You’re an incredible pussy!”
— An overall great monologue that was perfect for Tom’s style.
STARS: ****½


MCDONALD’S
the Red Square McDonald’s offers Happy Meals containing basic necessities

— Hilarious how the prizes in the Happy Meal are things like a bar of soap, toilet paper, etc.
— Funny ending tagline from Jan’s happy spokesperson: “Good times, great taste, SOAP!”
STARS: ****


WAYNE’S WORLD
musical guest plays thanks to Garth’s roadie cousin (host)

— HUGE cheering from the audience at the beginning of this sketch.
— I like Nora sarcastically singing the Wayne’s World theme song when complaining about how she’s not allowed to appear on the show.
— Wayne freaking out about Aerosmith being in his breakfast nook is great, especially the line “Aerosmith is sitting where I eat my Nut & Honey everyday.”
— There’s the very first Wayne’s World utterance of the phrase “Monkeys might fly out of my butt”.
— And there’s Tom’s odd-but-now-immortal utterance of the term “sibilance” when doing a mic check.
— Fun seeing Aerosmith show up on the Wayne’s World set while an excited Wayne and Garth are doing the “We are not worthy” bowing-down to them.
— The Q&A segment is very funny, especially the Aerosmith members’ intelligent, verbose answers to the complicated question about socialism and the climate.
— Absolutely legendary part with Wayne, Garth, and Aerosmith performing a fleshed-out version of the Wayne’s World theme song. That propels this sketch into a popular classic and is pretty much what officially cements Wayne’s World in general as an untouchable recurring sketch.
STARS: *****


TALES OF RIBALDRY
(VIJ) & (JAH) enlist services of a bootblack (host)

— Great to see this sketch back.
— The heated, sensual boot-polishing sequence with Tom and Jan is very funny, especially when the camera later returns to the scene to show a now-sweaty Tom still polishing the boot.
— The delight from Jon’s character during his various reaction shots are priceless as usual, especially the camera catching him peeking at the boot-polishing scene through a hole in the wall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Janie’s Got a Gun”


WEEKEND UPDATE
one-man mobile uplink unit ALF is discovered during Medellin cartel deal

 

— Seems to be an unusually high amount of corny, picture-based jokes from Dennis so far tonight.
— I love this idea of tonight’s One-Man Mobile Uplink Unit commentary, with a whispering Al showing us a cocaine transaction.
— Excellent payoff to Al’s commentary with him being spotted by the cartel and frantically running away from their gunshots while still reporting to the camera.
— Funny little blooper with one of the sheets of paper on the Update desk almost falling before Dennis catches it.
— The very first SNL mention of Dick Cheney, who’s mentioned tonight as a defense secretary.
— Ha, was Dennis’ random “Dude looks like a lady” bit ad-libbed?
— Overall, Dennis had some of the usual solid jokes, but there were too many picture-based jokes tonight for my likes. Still a slight improvement over Dennis’ surprisingly dire Update in the preceding episode.
STARS: **½


MR. SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Mr. Short-Term Memory visits an injured friend (PHH) in the hospital

— Nice to see this officially become a staple for Tom Hanks’ SNL appearances.
— As usual, Tom is selling this perfectly and is making it very fun. I can’t see anyone else pulling off this character quite as well as him.
— I like how his bad memory has now gotten to the point where he suddenly doesn’t even recognize his friend (Phil), after having just spoken to him for most of the sketch and having no trouble recognizing him then.
STARS: ****


EYE ON CHEST HAIR
hirsute celebrities show off follicular endowments

— An amusingly random talk show concept, made even more random by Martina Navratilova being the host.
— Interesting how Tom is playing Randy Travis, considering Randy Travis was a musical guest in one of Tom’s earlier episodes. I wonder if casting Tom as him tonight was an intentional reference to that.
— Pretty funny with the guys each saying what they see in each other’s chest hair, like it’s some kind of psychology test.
— Dana’s Joel Siegel impression is cracking me up, even though I have no familiarity with what the real Joel Siegel is like.
— An absolutely hilarious unexpected bit with red ants being seen in a close-up of Gene Shalit’s chest hair.
— Good part with Kevin as an also-shirtless Kenny Rogers performing a (obviously lip-synced) song, especially the casual reveal of him having many gray patches of hair on his back.
— Seeing a studio audience full of shirtless guys reminds me of the Nude Talk Show sketch that’s coming up later this season.
— Funny bit regarding Tom Davis and chest hair implants.
STARS: ****


JENSEN SYRINGE COMPANY
drug-awareness ad imagery belies intent of Jensen Syringe Company spot

— Uh…….. okay. This was so brief and indescribable that I’m left wondering what I just watched.
STARS: *


THE MOB
personal testimony of (NOD) recalls how the mob saved her business

— Funny reveal of Nora having joined the mob to help her financial issues.
— Some good laughs from the professional way that this, of all things, is being presented, and from Nora’s nonchalant attitude towards the mob’s actions.
STARS: ***½


JENSEN SYRINGE COMPANY
reliable Jensen Syringes are thrown at dartboard in more drug ad imagery

— Okay, at least this one had more of a comedic point with the use of the syringes as darts, even if this still isn’t particularly hilarious.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Monkey on My Back”

— Just now, Steven Tyler noticeably uttered the lyric “(something something) fuckin’ monkey off my back”. While most of the words in that lyric were unintelligible (as are most of Tyler’s lyrics in this performance), the “fuckin’” was loud and clear. It would later get muted out in reruns.


GIRL WATCHERS
the desensitized losers try to work a cruise ship full of elderly women

— Here comes what would end up being the final appearance of these characters.
— Love how the Girl Watchers’ bad luck with the ladies has gotten to the point where they’re forced to resort to hitting on women in a cruise ship for elderly singles.
— Jon’s unibrow from the first installment of this sketch has returned, after not being used in the second installment.
— The usual very funny comments from Jon and Tom.
— Great part with one old lady slowly passing by with a walker and then suddenly speeding past the Girl Watchers just to get away from them.
— Loved Tom’s smug “We… are iiiiiin hell” at the end.
STARS: ****


BLACK HISTORY MOMENT
Andy Rooney (PHH) on George Washington Carver

— Hilarious idea of a Black History Moment being presented by Andy Rooney, fresh off a controversial statement he made about black people, even if I’m not familiar with what exactly the controversial statement was (there was also a reference to it in the previous episode’s Weekend Update).
— Haha, the ending “It’s f*gs I hate” line was so wrong but was a killer punchline.
STARS: ****


JENSEN SYRINGE COMPANY
Jensen Syringes seen washed up on beach are “fresh as a mountain stream”

— Ehh, a step below the last one, which is saying something. This also felt like a poor man’s version of the McDonnell-Rand commercial from the previous season’s Matthew Broderick episode.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

— Tom Hanks at the end of his goodnights speech: “He shoots, he scores!” I can’t think of a better way to sum up his overall performance in tonight’s episode.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The usual strong Tom Hanks episode, and a return to form for this SNL era after the previous week’s underwhelming Quincy Jones episode. Tonight gave us one all-time classic (Wayne’s World Meets Aerosmith) and tons of very solid pieces. The back half of the show was structured strangely, though, with an unusually high amount of filler and mini-segments, though the only ones I wasn’t satisfied with were the Jensen Syringe Company pieces.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Quincy Jones)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
A 13-year-old Fred Savage