November 3, 1979 – Bill Russell / Chicago (S5 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Chappaquiddick looms as Ted Kennedy (BIM) makes campaign announcement

   

— After having an epic graying beard in the first two episodes of the season, Garrett is now seen clean-shaven. Makes sense, as I’m aware this episode has one of his obligatory drag roles later on.
— Haha at Laraine doing the Kennedy accent.
— LOL, Bill is great as Ted Kennedy.
— Right off the bat tonight, we’re seeing big speaking roles for several writers.
— I like Jim Downey in this.
— The story about Ted diving into the river to swim all the way to his campaign headquarters is very funny.
— A pretty good laugh from Bill pulling out the damp paper from his pocket.
— I like Jane’s stiff, frozen smile during Bill’s whole speech.
— The Ted Kennedy speech has some funny lines, especially the “so what?” part regarding his past.
— Overall, very solid stuff, and the best cold opening of the season so far.
STARS: ****

OPENING MONTAGE
— No featured players are credited tonight.

MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Wow, is he SNL’s tallest host ever?
— By the way, for the rest of this episode review, I’ll be referring to him and Bill Murray by their last names, so as not to cause any mix-ups for readers. I’ll be doing the same in any future episodes where the host has the same first name as a then-current cast member.
— The comparisons between basketball and an SNL week are okay.
— Overall, this monologue was kinda quick and nothing special, but he handled himself fairly well for a non-actor.
STARS: **½

BANSHEE
Ed Herlihy [real] endorses the Banshee surrogate mourning device

  

— LOL at over-the-top loud crying from the Banshee device.
— Love the examples of different-accented Banshee models, especially the one for black people.
— Overall, a funny lesser-known commercial.
STARS: ***½

THE BLACK SHADOW
white basketball team keeps coach (host) out of trouble

        

— Ha, tons of writers appearing in this one.
— Franken: “You guys think we should take off our uniforms before we shower?” All: “Nah.”
— I think the guy in the #8 jersey is writer/soon-to-be-credited featured player Peter Aykroyd (he’s the guy standing behind Franken and Davis in the third screencap above), but I’m not 100% sure as I’m not familiar with what he looks like. Unlike the many other writer-featured players this season who I already feel like I know well due to them making frequent on-camera appearances in the first four seasons, Peter Aykroyd has never appeared on-camera prior to this season (as far as I know).
— All of the players have single-digit jersey numbers. Is that an intentional subtle joke?
— Gilda’s walk-on as a pregnant character gets a big audience reaction.
— There’s the aforementioned Garrett Morris drag role of the night.
— In the SNL “The First Five Years” documentary, I remember Franken mentioning how surprised he was by just how good Garrett was as the dramatic mother in this sketch and how it made him think “Why don’t we use this guy more?”
— Russell asking “It’s because I’m black, isn’t it?” EVERY time someone points out a fault of his is increasingly funny.
— HAHA at the (fake, it turns out) reveal from Jane that the reason for Russell being fired is because he’s black.
— I always enjoy a good fake freeze-frame at the end of an SNL sketch.
— I like the Bill Murray-sung ending theme song, and how it has the same melody as the “Mercy Killers” theme song from the previous season.
— Overall, a very well-done extensive sketch.
STARS: ****½

THE LANDERS FILES
Ann (JAC) dramatizes etiquette for widow (GIR)

     

— Jane’s voice is great.
— Paul Shaffer was really funny in his small scene.
— The multiple choice answers are fairly funny.
— Jane’s having difficulty not tripping over her lines while pronouncing her s’s in that odd way.
— Having no familiarity with Ann Landers, I feel like parts of this overall sketch went over my head, but I was still able to get some enjoyment out of this.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I’m a Man”

WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW

WEEKEND UPDATE
(TOS) & (GIR) stage a Korean Surprise dinner party during LAN interview
a century after its invention, BIM sings “Happy Birthday” to a light bulb

    

— This is the first Laraine remote segment in what feels like a long time.
— Boy, those stereotypical Asian accents from Tom Schiller and Gilda…….
— WTF at Schiller shooting Gilda out of nowhere as a “surprise”.
— Overall, I have no idea WHAT to think of that whole Korean segment. All I know is I got zero laughs from it.
— A reference from Murray to the “Find the Popes in the Pizza” contest. Murray’s joke was weak, though.
— Murray doing his traditional smarmy Happy Birthday song to an Edison lightbulb is funny stuff as usual, especially the great visual of the lightbulb sticking out of a birthday cake.
— We didn’t get any desk pieces from any Update guests tonight. No problem with me. After all, if we DID get a desk piece, it probably just would’ve been someone from this era’s trio of overused recurring Update characters (Sarducci, Rosannadanna, Escuela).
STARS: **½

NICK BOREALIS
Nick “Borealis” & Swankmates entertain black soldiers at Greenland base

     

— A Nick the Lounge Singer sketch.
— Funny part with Nick asking his all-black audience about seeing “Blacula”.
— Are they trying to pass off Yvonne Hudson (seated next to Bill Russell) as a male soldier?
— I love Murray’s singing of the “War (Uh!) What Is It Good For” song, especially his exaggerated “Uh!”s.
— Overall, this was okay, but there have been much better Nick the Lounge Singer sketches. This also went on too long for my likes.
STARS: ***

THE CONTINUING CORRESPONDENCE OF ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Eleanor Roosevelt’s (JAC) correspondence to creditors suggests lesbianism

   

— Another sketch tonight starring Jane Curtin behind a desk. The voice she always uses as Eleanor Roosevelt is pretty funny.
— Where in the world is this sketch going?
— Oh, so Harry Shearer IS in this episode. After being uncredited in tonight’s opening montage and not appearing as one of the many basketball team members in the Black Shadow sketch, I assumed he wasn’t going to be in tonight’s episode.
— Overall, boy, I did not get what this sketch was going for AT ALL. I went through this entire thing without laughing a single time (except an initial mild chuckle from Jane’s voice). What a bore.
STARS: *

MR. BILL STAYS HOME
by Walter Williams- Mr. Hands’ home remedies harm

     

— *groan*
— Overall, I have found nothing to say about this. I was pretty much glazed-over during this entire thing. Didn’t laugh a single time. (second sketch in a row I’ve said that tonight) And I’ve already said more than enough times lately how burned out I am on the redundant humor in these insanely-overused Mr. Bill shorts.
STARS: *

SPORTS HOTLINE
to host’s surprise, callers to (BIM)’s radio show focus on obscure sports

 

— Murray’s dismissive response to some of the callers are funny.
— Overall, this had a promising idea with the fake-sounding sports, but I wasn’t crazy about the result at all. Man, tonight’s episode is LOSING me. The show has been dying during the last few segments.
STARS: **

PEOPLE LOSING MONEY FOR PEOPLE
you’ll get a rebate after buying two Chryslers, says Joe Garagiola (HAS)

 

— What was with Harry being transparent in front of the chroma-key screen at the beginning? (screencap below) Seemed to be a technical error, since they fixed it after a few seconds.

— A solo sketch for Harry? Hmm, he DEFINITELY should’ve been credited in tonight’s opening montage.
— Overall, a pretty funny concept and, while this wasn’t great, it was certainly a few steps above the last few duds that preceded this. I’m always down for a Harry-Shearer-as-a-pitchman commercial with low-key humor.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Street Player”

BARRY WHITE’S BIG AND TALL THAT’S ALL
mall woes are affecting Barry White’s Big & Tall That’s All store

     

— Strange that an unknown actor is playing Barry White. He looks a little familiar; is he one of the then-current SNL Band members?
— I liked the Barry White theme song.
— Funny line from Russell about how fat people never see commercials because that’s when they go to the refrigerator.
— Didn’t even realize Garrett’s character is supposed to be fat until just now when he walked away and his padded belly became more noticeable.
— The acting in this is kinda awkward so far.
— Ah, I see this is yet another sketch that exists in the same universe as Scotch Boutique, as we’re now getting a cameo from Gilda’s Scotch Boutique character and Murray’s Barber Shop character. If only they could get Maureen Stapleton to show up as her Candy Store character, then this sketch would feel complete.
— Overall, this started kinda slow, but got a little better as it went along, and ended up being a decent continuation of the “New Mall” series of sketches. I still felt this one could’ve been a little better than it was, though.
STARS: ***

GOODNIGHTS

 

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Not too great overall. The first half had a few noteworthy segments, especially The Black Shadow and the cold opening. But, kinda like the preceding episode, the show hit a REALLY rough patch after Update. Even Update itself wasn’t all that great. Hell, even Nick the Lounge Singer had probably one of his weaker appearances by default (still watchable, though).
— For an athlete host, Bill Russell wasn’t too bad. He certainly had his stiff moments, but he came off likable and I enjoyed him a lot in the Black Shadow sketch.
— Three episodes in, and there has yet to be a really good episode this season. I also notice I haven’t felt much enjoyment from watching this season; a huge contrast to how I felt watching the first four seasons.

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Eric Idle):
— a moderate step down

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Buck Henry