Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
host says “hi” to CHC on way into studio; LOM haggles with musical guest
— This opened strangely with Don Pardo’s voice-over explaining that “portions of the following program have been pre-recorded”. You could hear some people in the audience awkwardly chuckling afterwards.
— Oh, an outdoors cold opening. I guess that explains the special Pardo intro.
— ANOTHER Chevy cameo?!?
— The joke of Chevy being a down-and-out street performer in his post-SNL career is pretty funny, I admit. But man, with him appearing in the first two episodes after his departure, it doesn’t feel like he’s even left yet.
— I love how Lorne and George Harrison’s conversation is referencing Lorne’s famous Beatle Offer sketch.
— Paul Simon’s doubts to Lorne about the monologue is pretty funny, especially when you know what the monologue is going to be.
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
turkey costume-wearing host complains to LOM about his wardrobe
— This is a famous monologue that’s often shown in SNL’s annual Thanksgiving compilation special.
— The visual of Paul seriously singing “Still Crazy After All These Years” in that ridiculous costume is simply great.
— I’m getting a lot of laughs from Paul’s angry complaining to Lorne, and Lorne is equally hilarious not understanding Paul’s anger.
— Overall, a classic monologue.
STARS: *****
QUARRY
all-natural Quarry cereal is full of minerals because it’s made of rocks
— A very funny concept.
— I love the loud crunching sound effects.
— Overall, a strong fake ad.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (PAUL SIMON)
BABA WAWA AT LARGE
Henry Kissinger (JOB) talks about his career
— Another Baba Wawa talk show sketch.
— Some of John’s deadpan facial reactions are pretty funny.
— Baba Wawa: “Have you any final words for the Amewican pubwic?” Kissinger: “(bluntly) No.”
— Overall, an okay sketch, though I’m beginning to tire of the constant Baba Wawa talk show sketches.
STARS: ***
THE TWILITE ZONE
Rod Serling (DAA) joins three starlets in a hotel room
— Dan is doing an absolutely flawless imitation of Rod Serling’s voice. I feel Dan doesn’t get enough credit for being such a strong impressionist in general.
— A funny unplanned part when the camera panned over to Dan too late after he had stopped speaking, then after an awkward silence, Dan just smiled really big at the camera.
— I had been wondering where this whole thing was going, but the reveal at the end was pretty funny. Still feels like this Twilight Zone parody could’ve been funnier, though.
STARS: ***
WEEKEND UPDATE
LAN reports from a Long Island diner full of Nazi war criminals
JAC asks viewers to suggest how Morris The Cat should kill himself
GAM reports on a new strain of gonorrhea that kills penicillin
— Jane’s porn star cocktail joke was great, made even funnier by Jane’s apologetic comment immediately afterward: “It’s my job, mom, I’m sorry.”
— The whole Morris the Cat bit is fantastic, especially Jane urging viewers to send in ways to kill him.
— I believe this is Garrett’s very first commentary at the Update desk.
— The old black-and-white cartoon footage representing penicillin is pretty funny. As I said sometime before, I always get a kick out of when SNL does stuff like that.
— The “Loretta” punchline of Garrett’s commentary was hilarious.
— Yay, no mid-WU break!
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (PAUL SIMON AND GEORGE HARRISON)
CRACKERBOX PALACE
musical guest performs “Crackerbox Palace” in music video
— Not sure if I should rate this, since this is just a George Harrison music video.
— Despite that, this is fun to watch and the song is very catchy.
— I also like knowing that Eric Idle directed this; I can definitely see his influence in the video’s style.
STARS: N/A
BILLY PAUL
Billy Paul (host) fights for civil rights in an ice cream parlor
— Surprisingly, this is the first actual sketch Paul has appeared in all night.
— I like the shifting backgrounds behind Paul.
— That sure looks like 70s era Shelley Duvall as one of the diner patrons. (lower right corner of the third screencap above) That can’t be her, though, can it? Wouldn’t she have been too famous at the time to randomly appear as a silent background extra in an SNL sketch? In fact, doesn’t she actually host later this same season?
— Dan crushing ice cream cones during Gilda’s terrible singing is pretty funny.
— Hilarious gag when the door immediately slammed back into Paul’s face after he busted the door open.
— Paul’s cracking me up with his performance as an over-dramatic tough guy character.
— I like how this ended with the characters marching off the set and continuing to march through the studio.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (PAUL SIMON)
TOMORROW
it’s clear that Tom Snyder (DAA) has no idea who host is
— The return of Dan’s hilarious Tom Snyder.
— Pretty funny with him constantly mixing Paul up with other people.
STARS: ***
THIS SONG
musical guest performs “This Song” in a musical courtroom
— Another George Harrison music video.
STARS: N/A
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (PAUL SIMON)
GOODNIGHTS
— Paul: “My special apologies to Michael O’Donoghue, he knows why.” Did a segment of Michael’s get bumped?
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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A strange episode, in how a majority of the show was taken up with musical performances and George Harrison music videos. Those were all fine in themselves, but that combined with the low amount of sketch content brought back not-too-fond memories of Paul’s season 1 episode, which consisted of almost nothing but musical performances. Tonight’s episode wasn’t nearly as extreme, but still left me craving more sketches.
— I guess I can’t complain too much. After all, what we got in this episode was still good, there weren’t any sketches I disliked, the monologue was a memorable classic, and as always, Paul Simon did a very good job and had a likable presence.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dick Cavett):
— a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
14-year-old Jodie Foster