Tag: Brendan Fraser

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

JANET’S BEDROOM
in her bedroom, girlish Janet Reno (WIF) has a Bill Clinton (DAH) fantasy

— A funny childlike scenario for Will’s Janet Reno. Also a humorous detail with the Jonathan Taylor Thomas poster on her wall in the background.
— I love Reno’s line “I have nails for dinner, and for dessert, I eats A-bombs! Aoow-oww!”
— Interesting voice that Tim is using as John Conyers.
— John Conyers: “What are you going to wear to the justice department?” Janet Reno: “My one blue dress.”
STARS: ***½

OPENING MONTAGE
— The new theme music from the first two episodes of this season has been replaced with a different one tonight, which is the one that will be used for the remainder of this season. This new theme music fits this opening montage decently enough, but I personally have never cared much for this music, which I guess is even more fitting, since I don’t care for this opening montage.

MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Interesting out-of-the-ordinary entrance from Brendan Fraser, with him entering by swinging on a rope, ala George of the Jungle.
— I’m enjoying this monologue’s unconventional, laid-back premise of Brendan just listing off the many things he likes, especially when his likes start getting random and absurd.
STARS: ***½

LEMON GLOW
Lemon Glow floor cleaner convinced wild (MOS) to settle in suburbia

— A solid Molly Shannon showcase, and lot of laughs from how her details of her disturbing, troubled past is being interspersed with dissonant shots of her pleasantly showcasing the shine that Lemon Glow is giving her floor.
— Great detail with the seedy tattoo being seen on Molly’s arm.
STARS: ****

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
fight between Xena (MOS) & Urswina (host) contains hints of lesbianism

 

— I’m liking Ana’s performance as Gabrielle.
— A funny opening spiel from Brendan when he makes his entrance.
— A classic blooper right now, where Molly accidentally yanks off Brendan’s wig, and Brendan, after getting thrown to the floor, frantically tries to put his wig back on in a hurry. This blooper causes both Brendan and Molly to uncontrollably laugh their way through the rest of the sketch. Without this great blooper, this would be a forgotten sketch.
STARS: ***

ISSUES
stoners (host) & Jeff (JMB) lose focus when topic’s not legal pot

— After two seasons of Joe Pesci and Goat Boy, Jim attempts a new recurring sketch, in a role that he was born to play: a stoner.
— I’m aware that Brendan’s giggling is purely in character, as he’s playing someone who’s high, but I wonder if some of it is genuine leftover giggliness from the Xena wig blooper that happened mere minutes ago.
— Accurate stoner characterizations from Jim and Brendan.
— I got a laugh from Brendan’s line “Bake sale? I’ll be there.”
STARS: ***

THE DELICIOUS DISH
Margaret Jo & Terry talk gourds with controversial squash expert (host)

— Very scattered recognition applause from the audience at the beginning of this.
— Amusing bit with Ana and Molly looking at vacation photos that we can’t see, while making very vague comments about them.
— A laugh from Brendan’s passing mention of his squash-inspired haikus.
— I love Ana’s playful “We can get in a lot of trouble for this show; I hope the censors aren’t listening” line after Brendan brings up something very tame and innocent.
— Very funny how the trivia segment is only one question, which Brendan already answered earlier in the sketch.
— For the very first time, a Delicious Dish sketch has a caller that’s NOT Cheri or the recently-departed Mark McKinney. This time, it’s Tim.
— Overall, one of the better installments of the always-good Delicious Dish.
STARS: ****

THE GOLORDS
Golords beat robots but fail to save NYC from Bill Gates’ nuclear warhead

— I’m surprised to see this so early in tonight’s episode, considering its debut in the preceding episode aired towards the end of the show, and that’s where I remember most of these Golords films airing.
— I didn’t realize until now how catchy that Golords theme song is.
— I got a huge laugh from the male Golord telling Bill Gates “Hands up, dickweed!”
— Another laugh-out-loud line, this time from Bill Gates bragging “I use $100 bills to wipe my ass!”
— Very funny scene with the female Golord trying to make the robots go haywire by taking off her clothes, suggestively eating a banana, and washing a car.
— Odd fourth-wall break with Bill Gates pandering to the live SNL audience by praising New York City’s crowd, resulting in SNL’s audience being heard cheering in response. Not sure what the point of that is, unless it’s a reference to something Bill Gates said in real life.
— Overall, The Golords continue to be a solid new addition to this season.
STARS: ****

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Frank Gifford (DAH) mixes NFL & personal matters; Eric Dickerson cameo

— There are some laughs from Darrell’s Frank Gifford ranting endlessly in a professional sportscaster voice about problems in his personal life, but this sketch is pretty one-note.
— When talking about problems he has with his wife Kathie Lee (who’s identity he thinly hides here by substituting her name with “the Jacksonville Jaguars”), I like Frank Gifford’s passing reference to “that K-Mart sweatshop thing”.
— Boy, Eric Dickerson’s cameo has been met with DEAD SILENCE from the audience.
STARS: **

PHARMACY
Colette Reardon explains her medication needs to pharmacist (host)

— Cheri’s Colette Reardon character officially becomes recurring.
— I like this character of Cheri’s, but is it necessary to have her second appearance be in the exact same pharmacy setting that her first appearance was in? Seems kinda lazy. At least in her subsequent appearances, they place her in different settings, such as Weekend Update, her home, and a school classroom.
— When seeing Brendan’s pharmacist character, Colette asks “Where’s Cliff?” I wonder if Cliff is the pharmacist that John Goodman played in the first installment of this sketch. If so, at least we’re getting some continuity in this recurring sketch.
— Brendan: “What kind of dog is he?” Colette Reardon: “He’s an amputee.”
— Colette Reardon on her menopause: “Menopause, you know, meaning no chance of gettin’ pregnant.” Brendan: “I think that’s good news for all of us.” Colette Reardon: “Ha ha haaaa! Yeah!” Brendan: “I’m serious.”
STARS: ***½

WEEKEND UPDATE
Harry Caray’s (WIF) World Series analysis mostly deals with team mascots

— Boy, Norm’s first few jokes tonight are getting a very tepid audience reaction. However, their reaction isn’t quite as bad as I had remembered. My memory of this Update had Norm’s first two jokes getting literally ZERO laughs from the audience.
— Weird seeing Will’s Harry Caray appearing for the second consecutive episode, though he has an excuse to appear tonight, with that year’s World Series going on.
— As always, tons of funny kooky lines from Harry Caray, especially the whole bit regarding scalps and Indians.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bachelorette”

BIOGRAPHY
Jack Perkins (DAH) drinks during Courtney Love (MOS) profile

— Darrell’s drunken Jack Perkins is always worth some laughs. I worry, though, that this joke might get a little old if they do one more Biography sketch, but IIRC, the only remaining Biography sketch is a bit of a different one where Darrell’s Perkins is bitter because he’s being replaced by a new host, Harry Smith, and thus, Perkins does a very slanderous biography on Smith.
— I love the part with Courtney Love’s mother revealing that Courtney invented crack as a child.
— Funny contradictions between Courtney and Brendan’s respective interviews regarding Courtney’s stint as a stripper.
— Haha, holy hell at Jack Perkins’ line “They call that shotgunning a beer… and it was a shotgun that Courtney’s husband Kurt Cobain used to BLOW HIS HEAD OFF!”
— I never can get enough Frank Sebastiano sightings on SNL (the sixth above screencap for this sketch).
— Wait, former SNL stage manager Joe Dicso?!? (the last screencap above) What’s he doing here? I thought he left after season 21. And no, his (pre-taped) appearance in this Biography sketch isn’t a clip from the Courtney Love Show sketch that he appeared in back in the Christine Baranski episode from season 21. Even though he gets wildly kissed by Molly’s Courtney Love in both this sketch and the season 21 Courtney Love Show sketch, they’re both different scenes. Maybe this scene is from a cut dress rehearsal sketch from back when Dicso was still working at SNL? That’s the only explanation I can think of.
— The ending felt a little abrupt. I was expecting more scenes.
STARS: ***½

MANGO
(host) becomes obsessed with enigmatic male stripper Mango (CHK)

— Ohh, boy. Right from the start of this sketch, I can already tell which dreaded character is about to enter.
— Yep, there he is. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut! I feel wrong for saying that with an exclamation point, as if I’m excited about that. It’s merely a catchphrase of mine that I copy-and-paste whenever I reach the debut of a particularly big recurring character, whether the character is good or bad.
— As I often do when covering the debut of this era’s most polarizing recurring characters, I’m going to approach this Mango debut by treating it as a standalone sketch, pretending that I’m unaware it’s the first of a series of sketches.
— I do like Brendan’s befuddled facial expressions when Mango is seducing him.
— Aaaaand the sketch is now over, with me having said practically nothing about it. Geez, even in its first installment, this Mango sketch already wasn’t good. I will admit that I did kinda appreciate what the format and narrative of this sketch was going for, but it just wasn’t very funny or entertaining. I did notice, though, that Chris’ take on Mango was lower-key here compared to how exaggerated and cartoonish his characterization of Mango would gradually become over time.
STARS: **

THE SHARK CHANNEL
Shark Channel programming only partially reflects network’s implied focus

— I’m enjoying the absurd escalation from normal shark programming to increasingly un-shark-like programming, especially the shark-themed teen pregnancy show.
STARS: ***½

BUDDY SONGS
creeped-out cast watches as host sings about his new best friend WIF

 

— Very interesting premise, and I almost always like the rare times that post-1985 SNL has a sketch that takes place on the home base stage. That was much more common in SNL’s first 10 seasons.
— Geez, I keep forgetting that Colin is even a cast member this season. He’s JUST NOW making his first and only appearance of the night, in a small supporting role in this 10-to-1 sketch, and he’s obviously only appearing in this because it’s a (sorta)full-cast sketch. Will somebody please remind me why SNL promoted him to repertory player this season? We’re three episodes into this season, and he has done jack squat except for that Friends sketch from the preceding episode. Hell, I think he got more airtime back when he was just an occasionally-credited featured player.
— But hey, at least Colin’s actually appearing tonight, which is more than I can say for poor Tracy, who isn’t in ANY sketches tonight (which is something he’ll sadly have to get used to these next few seasons, as this is far from the last time this will be happening to him). Hell, Tracy gets far more face time during this episode’s goodnights than he does during the actual show, which reminds me of a certain important Weekend Update commentary he would do as himself in the very next episode (you’ll find out what commentary that is when we get to it).
— I’m loving this sketch, and there’s a lot of amusement from Brendan’s sappy buddy song. And something about the simplicity, innocence, and friendliness of the song lyrics make this sketch feel connected to Brendan’s “Things I like” monologue from earlier tonight.
— Great touch during the song with Will just sitting there with a frozen smile on his face the entire time while having his hand placed on Brendan’s leg.
— When the camera pans across each cast members’ disturbed facial reaction to the song, I love how the shot ends on Norm with a big gleeful smile on his face. (Unfortunately, this “camera panning across a group of people who are weirded-out by what they’re witnessing, except for one individual who’s actually enjoying it” gag would go on to be overused in later SNL eras.)
— Funny line about Colin’s Hip Hop Napoleon sketch getting cut.
— Norm’s very awkward delivery of his line about growing apart from his buddy is unintentionally hilarious in the way that only Norm could make it.
— More laughs from Norm, this time with his badly out-of-sync attempt to sing in harmony with Will and Brendan.
STARS: ****

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode. A lot of fairly solid segments, a few great segments, and not too much that didn’t work for me.

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

 

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Matthew Perry)
a mild step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
A near-death Chris Farley