Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
with GIR’s help, hospitalized CHC simulates a fall via phone
— They’re making a big deal addressing Chevy’s absence, which goes to show you how important he was seen as being to SNL.
— I almost thought Gilda actually was going to do the pratfall, before the phone interruption.
— Ha, it’s the voice of Chevy calling from his hospital room, accompanied by a still photo.
— Great ending with Gilda making the phone do a pratfall, followed by Chevy’s voice saying LFNY.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— Pardo announces Chevy as “The voice of Chevy Chase”.
MONOLOGUE
stars of host’s sitcoms [real] feign reverent attitudes toward their boss
— Something about the way Norman Lear looks is reminding me of future cast member Bill Murray.
— Going by the disclaimer on screen now, I guess the gag with the sound cutting out is a topical reference to something that happened at one of the Ford/Carter presidential debates.
— Wow, it feels strange hearing Jean Stapleton’s normal voice, which sounds so drastically different from her Edith voice.
— Hilarious when the mustached actor (sorry, I don’t know his name; I do recognize Bernadette Peters next to him) was being held back from hitting Norman.
— It’s funny seeing Jeffersons-era Sherman Hemsley casually dressed in a normal t-shirt & jeans, which you would NEVER see him wear on The Jeffersons.
— Haha, the ball-and-chain revelation was perfect.
— I’m absolutely loving seeing these on-the-set interviews of some of my all-time favorite 70s sitcoms.
— The water-dumping bit was very funny, especially Norman having no reaction to it.
STARS: ****½
PAID POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Jimmy Carter (DAA) says his lusty heart perpetuates Democratic tradition
— Just from the “sexual performance in the White House” line early on, I can already tell I’m in for a good sketch.
— This audience is loving this.
— Overall, this whole sketch was very funny.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
THE SNAKEHANDLING O’SHEAS
host’s sitcom about a family with odd traits
— A very funny title to the fictional sitcom.
— I’m liking the absurdity of this sitcom scene.
— A good laugh from each of the family members chanting to their snakes; Dan’s chanting and John’s facial expression are especially funny to me.
STARS: ****
NEXT WEEK
GIR announces that Eric Idle [real] will be hosting next week’s SNL
— Hey, it’s Eric Idle!
— I’m not sure why exactly he’s doing what he’s doing with the newspaper. Still making me laugh though.
STARS: N/A
WEEKEND UPDATE
LAN reports from Times Square about lack of activity during Rosh Hashanah
— Ah, Jane makes her temporary-for-now-but-soon-to-be-permanent debut as an Update anchor.
— It feels so weird to see someone else doing Update, after I’ve gone day-after-day of seeing Chevy as the anchorperson in all the episodes I’ve reviewed so far. That’s one of the things I love about the idea of going through SNL’s timeline in my ‘One SNL a Day’ project: it’s going to feel so interesting to me whenever there’s a big change on the show. And so far, I think this is the very first big change I’ve had to cover in SNL’s timeline.
— LOL at Jane’s ‘golden shower’ opening phone conversation.
— Jane’s delivery started a little slow at first, but it’s getting better now.
— I was mistaken when I said in my review of last season’s Candice Bergen Christmas episode that Victoria Jackson would later (in 1989) do a complete knock-off of the Times Square New Years commentary that Laraine did in that episode’s Update. Looking at the description of Victoria’s commentary in the SNL episode guide, the holiday Victoria reported about the inactivity of was Rosh Hashanah, so it was actually tonight’s Laraine commentary that Victoria’s commentary ripped off. I still wonder if the writer of Laraine’s bit complained to the show in ’89 for stealing his/her material, because as I mentioned in the Bergen review, Victoria’s commentary was mysteriously removed from all reruns.
— Weird seeing a news story about Elton John coming out as “bisexual”. I guess he wasn’t ready back then to announce that he’s 100% gay.
— The “Women’s Wear Daily Magazine” joke about Elton’s coming-out is another Update joke that would probably be considered too un-PC nowadays.
— The “Speedy Alka Seltzer” suicide jokes were absolutely great.
— Yay, no mid-WU fake ad break tonight!
— Overall, Jane did fine in her first night as Update anchor, even if she doesn’t quite have the personality that Chevy added to the desk.
STARS: ***
NORMAN PULLS A CHEVY
host takes a fall to make up for CHC’s absence
— Norman’s pratfall came out of nowhere and was surprisingly good.
STARS: N/A, because this was just a quick set-up to the following sketch
CHEVY’S GIRLS
singing Chevy’s Girls GIR, LAN, JAC wish CHC was falling for them
— Oh, this is a classic, well-known sketch.
— I love how the song is referencing all of Chevy’s SNL trademarks, even his Generalissimo Francisco Franco running gag.
— The girls are doing a great job and the song has a very catchy 70s sound.
— Gilda’s solo was very funny.
STARS: *****
THE METRIC LEISURE WEEK
Joseph Franklin describes the effects of metric time conversion
— It’s Dan’s decabet guy from last season. I didn’t know this was a recurring bit.
— Also, didn’t he have dark hair last time? Now he has gray hair.
— I get the feeling this is going to pale in comparison to the decabet sketch.
— The sleeping habit comment was funny.
— I’m liking this more and more as it’s going along.
— Love the concept of the Government Adrenaline Supplement.
— The dramatization is taking this into a different direction from the first one.
— Overall, while not quite as strong as the decabet sketch, I still enjoyed this a lot.
STARS: ****
SIGHT GAG
Gary Weis [real] hums “Yankee Doodle Dandy” as SNL cast does slapstick
— WTF at the sudden quick cutaways to a different cast member having something zany happen to them, in time to the music. This is actually cracking me up, as random as it is.
— Overall, I liked the structure of this, and this was surprisingly laugh-worthy for a Gary Weis film.
STARS: ***
WIFE ABUSE
divorce lawyer (JOB) abuses (GIR) while coaching her testimony
JOB breaks character & attacks host during skit
— Meh, I’m not crazy about how this seems to be yet another sketch with John beating up Gilda while he’s showing her how to do something, just like in that director sketch from last season.
— Him yanking Gilda by the nostrils made me laugh right now, I admit.
— Haha, I love how this suddenly broke the fourth wall and has turned into John dropping character and violently going off on “Mr. Lear” because he’s sick of the overexposure of Lear’s sitcoms. That redeemed this whole sketch.
— One has to wonder how John would’ve felt about the overexposure of Chuck Lorre sitcoms in more recent years. I’m sure some of us wouldn’t mind seeing Chuck Lorre get the same treatment that John gave Lear in this sketch.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
PEACE TALKS
Henry Kissinger (JOB) uses song while mediating Rhodesian negotiations
— I think I heard Lorne’s voice just now, once again playing an unseen reporter asking a question in a press conference setting.
— I think I remember seeing this sketch before. Doesn’t this have a scene toward the end with John and some other guys crouching on the table while bickering like kids, or singing in a drunken manner, or something like that?
— This feels like the first real thing Garrett has done all night, and we’re near the end of the show!
— Dan’s dignified accent is pretty funny.
— I think Dan has had that same gray dye in his hair in every sketch he was in tonight, starting with the Jimmy Carter sketch early in the show.
— Garrett seems to like saying “umbwebwe” as a nonsense African word. He did the same thing several times in the Idi “V.D.” Amin sketch last season.
— Dan and Garrett’s insults to each other are cracking me the hell up!
— LOL at Dan’s line flub, exclaiming “You can’t look at a white man like that!” (in response to Garrett eagerly looking at a woman in a Playboy magazine) when he meant to say “white woman”, not “white man”. Garrett correcting him afterwards made me laugh a lot, too.
— Ah, there’s John crouching on the desk, like I had remembered. However, my memory of it was a little fuzzy, getting some of the sketch details mixed together.
— Hilarious ending.
— Overall, I liked this sketch a lot. The silliness of it appealed to me, and the performances were fun.
STARS: ****
NORMAN’S JOKE
host & an audience member try to tell a joke together
— Did the girl really screw up the joke set-up, or is this part of the act?
— Oh, never mind, it appears to be part of the act.
— Nice ending with Norman revealing that the girl is actually his daughter.
STARS: ***
SPANISH PEANUTS
by John Brister- stop-motion nuts have a celebration
— Another home movie using peanuts and stop-motion. Is this a sequel to last season’s peanut movie?
— The visuals are well-done, but not exactly funny or all that interesting so far.
— Okay, I’m getting bored now……
STARS: **
GOODNIGHTS
— I didn’t notice this in the season premiere goodnights (probably because I was distracted by all the Antler Dancing going on), but “Danny” Aykroyd and John Belushi have been added to the writing staff this season, as well as an unfamiliar name: Bruce McCall. I wonder if Dan and John’s addition to the writing staff is just temporary to make up for Chevy’s absence.
_______________________________
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very solid episode, even better than the preceding week’s season premiere. This season has been having a strong start so far.
— I was curious how Norman Lear would fit into the sketches. While he ended up playing either himself or variations of himself all night, he did fine in his performances and came off as a pretty likable host.
— I was very eager to see how the show would feel without Chevy, though with the phone call cold opening and the Chevy’s Girls song, it didn’t feel like he was all that absent. Maybe his presence will be less felt in the next episode.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Lily Tomlin):
— a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Eric Idle
The man with Bernadette Peters is Richard Crenna. They were in the “one-and-done” Lear sitcom “All’s Fair.”
Actually, I believe this was Aykroyd and Belushi’s first episode as credited writers; I think they were credited for the rest of the season, and Aykroyd would be credited for seasons 3 and 4. Bruce McCall was another National Lampoon alumnus, though I think he was only there for the first part of this season; he pops up as a moderator in one of the debate sketches.
Bruce McCall was a long-running National Lampoon/New Yorker magazine writer/illustrator who didn’t enjoy writing sketches – he leaves halfway through the season and is replaced by Jim Downey starting with the Ralph Nader episode in January.
Elton John was bisexual in those days. He did have relationships with women too…in fact he was married for a while. So at the time…bisexual made sense.
Yeah although probably one of the reasons Chevy’s Girls is classic and well-known is because of that Sonic parody haha I wrote that yeah I introduced Amy, Sally, and Mina to the world.
Fun story with the daughter sketch. Norman Lear had been doing that bit with his daughter for years, and had asked Lorne to put it in the show for his daughter’s sake. But after dress, Lorne told Lear it would be cut in favor of a cartoon.
When Lear went out on stage, he was supposed to introduce the cartoon, but was looking out at his daughter in the audience and felt terrible that her bit had been cut. So he invited her up on stage and ignored the cartoon.
Apparently Lorne was seething and absolutely furious, but never said anything to Norman Lear. But Lear says he believes he was unofficially banned from SNL after that move.
I had heard that, too, so I wonder: was there a segment that had to be cut? Because clearly “Spanish Peanuts” did get introduced and air, but it was rare back then for the show to end with something pre-taped, right? There must have been some other live segment planned between “Spanish Peanuts” and the goodnights that had to be cut because of the routine with Lear’s daughter
That explains why he kept repeating something like “Lorne and the writers didn’t want me to do this”
While her comedic persona made doing Update an obvious fit, I wonder if there was some concern about giving a very prominent solo portion of the show to Jane, arguably the most invisible of the cast members in the first season. I don’t know what the backstage discussions were like–I know Jane herself has said it helped her immensely because from that point on she didn’t have to worry about screen time as much.
She certainly makes the most obvious choice for a newswoman, but that hasn’t stopped SNL from putting awkwardly fitting people behind the desk (such as Dan next season).
I’ve always thought Jane got a raw deal by having to replace Chevy midseason. Every Update anchor, from Jane to the Colins, to the revolving door of hell that was the Doumanian/Ebersol news eras, who has had to go in that role has suffered for it. Since she didn’t get the best fan response, she had to then have a co-anchor for the rest of her tenure. For all the show’s wariness of her in the role, I’d say her style remains the definitive Update persona, with Norm a close second.
Ah the Snake Sketch reminds me of the Snake Pastors in Tennessee, lol.
also, Norman Lear was talented, while Chuck Lorre gave us only two good things, Cybill, and the quote “I believe I’m growing skeptical of cynicism.”
Here’s my review of the musical performances
Lowdown
— Gosh, Boz has a HUGE band with him. Three background singers, five horn/wind players, and two drummers, plus a guitarist, bassist, a percussionist, and a keyboardist. Surprised they can all fit on the stage!
— I like this song but prefer the slower tempo in the studio version to this performance. The faster tempo here feels rushed. You’re supposed to wallow in the sleaze suggested by the lyrics, which is better with a slow tempo.
— Not crazy about the guitar solo.
— Boz himself is doing fine and his vocals are about the same quality as the studio version.
— He stands and sings behind the background singers for a little while which I found unusual.
— Wow, the outfits here are very…70s.
STARS: ***
What Can I Say
— Some nice shots of the legendary Jeff Procaro on one of the drum kits to kick off the tune.
— I like the energy of this performance. Might be better than the studio version. Procaro is doing some nice work on the hi-hat toward the end of the song to bring it home.
STARS: ***1/2
Love the Boz Scaggs performance on these songs. It’s time for a critical reappraisal of Silk Degrees.
I don’t know where Rolling Stone rates Silk Degrees on their greatest albums list, but I know it’s not high enough.
The best singer in the world is BozScaggs!
Boz Scaggs’ performance is great on this episode. What a band! That is Jeff Porcaro on drums and brother Steve Porcaro on keyboards. They soon after formed Toto. Will Lee is on bass; he was a well-known & in-demand session player, but gained fame for playing on the Letterman show for many years with Paul Shaffer (you can really only see him in the second number, “What Can I Say”. He goes around and high-fives other members at the end). The horns & flute, of course, are supplied by the SNL band, including later Blues Bros members Lou Marini (on flute here), Alan Rubin and Tom Malone (who also doubles flute at times; he is 6’3″ by the way, and towers over the other guys). Elliott Randall is on guitar, and I keep seeing criticism of his solo on “Lowdown,” with people saying it’s “coke fueled” and “out of place.” I’m a little surprised, because I find it short & sweet and totally on point. I rewatched a couple of times and am not seeing what the deal is. That is his signature sound, by the way. Most would know him as the guitarist on Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years,” which is epic. The Porcaros also contributed to Steely Dan.
RIP Norman Lear
Can we assume if “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and the late Norman Lear’s “All in the Family” hadn’t existed, we wouldn’t have gotten “Saturday Night Live” in the first place? R.I.P. (Maybe I should also include “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” in that list)
Weekend Update came directly from Laugh-In. As well as the development of the cast.