October 8, 1977 – Madeline Kahn / Taj Mahal (S3 E2)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
pie-thrower (JOB) attacks Lee Harry Oswald (BIM) a la Jack Ruby

   

— Some technical gaffes with the opening disclaimer.
— After only one episode, Dan’s mustache is already back (temporarily, I think), though it’s lighter than his mustache from the first two seasons.
— The Oswald/Ruby gunshot being replaced with a pie hit was a funny twist that gave me a big laugh, though it made this kinda feel like an opening they would’ve done with Chevy Chase. At least this time, Belushi managed to actually hit his target, unlike the last time a cold opening ended with him throwing a pie.
STARS: ***½

OPENING MONTAGE
— Only the second episode of the season, and there’s ALREADY been major modifications made to the opening montage.

   

— For starters, this montage takes place when it’s dusk outside, while the montage from the season premiere took place when the sky was pitch black.
— The camera is farther back from the jumbotron and you can see more of the surrounding Times Square area than you could in the season premiere.
— Some of the animated graphics in between the guests’ names weren’t seen in the preceding episode, such as a hand playing with a yo-yo and then pulling a mouse’s tail.
— The way each cast member is shown is completely different this time, and I like it a lot better than the semi-creepy, ghostly way they were shown in the premiere.
— From my knowledge of what little I’ve seen from this season years ago, I think the first month or so of this season would film a new version of the jumbotron opening montage each week. They eventually would stop doing that and would stick to a static, unchanging version of the jumbotron montage that would be used for the remainder of the season, presumably because filming a new version of the montage each week was becoming too expensive.

MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— The “we are all going to die” part was pretty funny.
— The monologue’s over already??? That it??? This was barely a minute long and felt pointless.
— I get the feeling this monologue was hastily rewritten after dress, because you can’t tell me THIS is the best “comedic” monologue SNL’s writing staff at the time could conjure up for Madeline freakin’ Kahn.
STARS: **

SWILL
BIM prefers Swill, the viscous mineral water dredged from Lake Erie

   

— A famous fake ad from this era.
— Why are some of Bill’s lines very blatantly dubbed in?
— A lot of great little touches in this, such as the way the ketchup ironically poured very quickly onto the burger, the use of the song “Anticipation” while the disgusting-looking “swill” was very slowly pouring out of its bottle, a soda can top being seen in the “swill”, and Bill adding a lemon twist to the drink for good measure.
— Overall, an all-time classic and Bill was a perfect spokesman for this. And as proof of how timeless the comedy in this is, the ad would later be re-aired decades later in a 1999 episode that Bill hosted.
STARS: *****

BAD OPERA
(host) suffers larynx lock during Die Goldenklang performance

   

— I’m not used to seeing the “Bad” showcase sketches so early in the show.
— Dan’s Leonard Pinth-Garnell voice sounds gruffer than usual.
— Nice use of Garrett’s knack for singing opera.
— I thought Madeline’s non-stop high note would go on longer. Also, the bit wasn’t all that funny since we already saw it coming due to Dan spoiling it in his intro.
— Ha, the garbage can failed to close when Dan let go of the lid at the end of this.
— Overall, not one of the better “Bad” showcase sketches.
STARS: **½

ANYONE CAN HOST
LOM announces the Anyone Can Host Contest

 

— Ah, our introduction to the famous Anyone Can Host contest.
— I liked the quick reference to the Beatles offer.
— Some funny lines from Lorne, but I don’t think I’m going to rate this mostly-straightforward segment.
STARS: N/A

BIANCA JAGGER AND THREE OR FOUR OF HER CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS
Bianca Jagger (host) talks with “close personal friends” at dinner table

— Madeline’s delivery is top-notch in this, but man, what the heck am I watching???
— Overall, I didn’t understand what this sketch was going for and it became a chore to sit through after a while. For all I know, maybe the mockery of Bianca Jagger was spot-on but just hasn’t aged well at all.
STARS: *½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

THE ACID GENERATION: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
by TOS- old hippies reminisce

   

— Our very first Schiller’s Reel! Hopefully, this means Gary Weis is no longer making films for the show.
— The joke of hippies from a decade earlier already being very old is funny, as is hearing these mild-mannered-looking old people recalling their wild acid-taking days.
— Wow, that was short. I was expecting more.
STARS: ***

WEEKEND UPDATE
NBC Dancing N hands DAA a bulletin- fevers should be raped & strangled
DAA uses fake Russian to narrate faux footage of the launch of Sputnik
BIM advises Marie Osmond to drop her sexy new image
DAA announces that it is former Weekend Update anchor CHC’s birthday

       

— This Update oddly opens with 1970s-sounding squeaky synthesizer sounds within the news theme music, which is reminiscent of the same squeaky synthesizer sounds the show has been using in the opening montage theme music this season. Like I said in the preceding episode’s review, we seem to have reached the point in the 70s when that type of synthesizer music was all the rage.
— What the hell? This Update ALREADY begins on a bad note with Dan’s inexplicable delays at the beginning: first, he seemed to miss his cue to say his sign-on, thus there was just dead air as Jane was waiting for him to say it, then when he did finally say it, he could not have said it any more awkwardly (“I’m Dan………. uh…………… Aykroyd”) and then he practically buries his face into his hands in response (first screencap above).
— And now, there’s even more awkward dead air as Dan fails to realize that it’s his turn to do the next news story. His ad-libbed “I’m going home” response was kinda funny, but man, he is doing TERRIBLY tonight.
— Very random but funny bit with the NBC dancing N.
— And now, as if he hasn’t been having enough of a rough Update, Dan’s clip-on mic has fallen off and we have to wait for him to reapply it.
— The bit with the camera catching Dan doing a disguised voice-over for the Russian rocket launch video was fairly funny, but they already used that joke countless times back when Chevy Chase was the anchorperson.
— Right off the bat at the beginning of Bill’s commentary, we get his “now get out of here” catchphrase.
— Overall, Bill was his usual funny self and I like how it’s become a recurring Update segment for him to do movie/TV show reviews.
— A mention of Chevy Chase’s birthday. They wish him a “happy 37th”, which the audience laughs at in response. I’m not sure what exactly the joke there was, considering Chevy’s real age at the time wasn’t too far removed from 37.
— After saying his sign-off (and he even did THAT awkwardly), Dan ends this Update by jokingly laying across the desk, probably in exhaustion from barely making it through this Update.
— Overall, tonight’s Update had a few funny jokes here and there, but boy was the overall segment marred by an absolutely terrible, clumsy performance from Dan. He was a mess and you can tell he knew it. It feels weird being so down on him, considering that while reviewing this era of SNL, he’s become my new personal favorite member of this cast. But people were not kidding when they said he made for one hell of an awkward Update anchor. It appears that I’m in for one rough season of Update this year.
STARS: **

SILVER BALLS & GOLDEN PINS
(host) sings “Silver Balls & Golden Pins” during (BIM)’s bowling sermon

   

— What the heck am I watching with Madeline as… some kind of singing trophy, I think?
— I don’t get this sketch at all. The musical interludes with Madeline are just weird and is boring me. I admit that the song has a very nice melody, however.
STARS: **

REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
(JOB) & blind African-American (GAM) compete to get into law school

   

— Lots of Bill Murray tonight.
— Funny turn this has suddenly taken with everybody fooling blind Garrett into thinking John is black. Everybody’s stifled laughter when pulling off this scheme is also funny.
— Great ending with Garrett’s two huge bodyguard-looking brothers finding out about John’s lie.
STARS: ***½

AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
by Gary Weis- host sings while seeing the sights

   

— ANOTHER song from Madeline?
— This wasn’t introduced as a Gary Weis film, but I get the bad feeling it IS one; this has his fingerprints all over it. Man, I was hoping he was gone this season; I’ve gotten so tired of his films. And with Tom Schiller now behind the camera, there’s no real need for Weis anymore.
— Come to think of it, didn’t Weis already do a film in season 2 with various people around the city singing this exact same song (Autumn in New York)?
— The film itself isn’t terrible, but man, I’ve had beyond my fill of singing sketches for the night.
— I’ll admit, the ending shot was beautiful, with the camera zooming out on Madeline in the middle of the Times Square jumbotron. Plus, that reminds me of this season’s opening montage.
STARS: *½

THE PINK BOX
(LAN) tries to figure out what (GIR)’s ultra-personal feminine product is

 

— It doesn’t feel like we’ve seen much of Laraine or Gilda tonight.
— An overall pretty solid ad with a good premise of the girls not even knowing that what the product they’re touting is. I feel like SNL went on to reuse that premise in a sketch or commercial years later, but I’m not sure which sketch/commercial I’m thinking of.
STARS: ***½

HERCULES
(DAA) dubs a Hercules (JOB) movie into English by doing all the voices

   

— Gilda’s Italian speaking is making me laugh.
— Haha, I love the part with the cast acting out the film in reverse by moving and talking backwards as the video was being being “rewound”. For some reason, I always get a kick out of seeing stuff like that in sketches, where performers act out a video being fast-forwarded, rewound, played in slo-mo, etc.
— Dan’s dubbing is hilarious.
— Funny that Bill is in this sketch, because the premise reminds me of a sketch I’ve always liked that the show would do years later when Bill hosted in 1987: “Il Returno De Hercules”.
— Overall, a simple but funny sketch that I’m surprised didn’t go further. It ended unusually early.
STARS: ***½

DAME EDNA
host interviews British stage actress Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries)

— Well, I can tell THIS is going to be a strange segment.
— All I can say so far is that it’s a little weird seeing what Dame Edna looked like in the 70s, as I’m more familiar with her from the 90s and onward.
— Madeline’s performance in this is odd and I’m not liking that.
— Ugh, this is another segment tonight that feels like a chore to get through. Nothing in this has been enjoyable to me.
STARS: *

POCKET PAL
the Pocket Pal warns passenger (DAA) of an impending midair collision

  

— A very funny concept.
— Love the way Dan suddenly went from professional spokesperson mode to screaming in horror in a comically stiff manner.
— Overall, a great ad with a hilarious payoff. This season has had a lot of strong pre-taped commercials so far.
— After that brutal Weekend Update, I’m glad Dan has been having a great second half of the show, which is serving as a reminder of why he’s my favorite of this cast.
STARS: ****

PHONE CALL
(GIR) & (host) tell each other secrets while waiting for a man to call

— I smell a Marilyn Suzanne Miller slice-of-life piece.
— This had a slow start, which worried me after how underwhelmed I’ve been with a lot of this episode, but this is now getting better and I’m really enjoying the fun chemistry between Gilda and Madeline.
— Gilda’s questioning of why women who cry in movies never have to blow their nose is pretty funny.
— Overall, a pretty well-done, realistic piece with a sweet ending that had heart.
STARS: ***½

GOODNIGHTS

 

— They seemed to be running very short on time, judging from how Madeline was barely given time to say anything before the goodnights music kicked in.

---

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Boy, this was surprisingly a fairly tough episode for me to sit through. Several sketches left me very bored, and there were an awful lot of times throughout the episode where I found myself asking “What am I watching?” Thinking back on the show as a whole, it was more up-and-down rather than consistently weak; there were several highlights, but they weren’t enough to make up for the underwhelming parts that kept popping up during the night.
— Madeline is usually a great host, but her overall hosting performance tonight was a step down from her preceding one from 1976. It felt like there was too much of a sameness to her performances in tonight’s sketches, and I also could’ve done without all the joke-less singing from her. I can’t help but notice that a lot of the segments I gave low ratings to happened to be ones that had her in the starring role, while most of the segments that received a high rating didn’t have any appearances from her. It feels kinda wrong to be so down on a Madeline Kahn hosting stint, but what can I say? She wasn’t given much strong material tonight, and a lot of her performances left a little to be desired compared to her season 1 episode.

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

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Hugh Hefner