Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (CHR) discusses whether Frank Sinatra (JOP) is a hoodlum
— Oh, man, yet another cold opening starring Charles’ terrible Ronald Reagan impression. Stop trying to make Charles Rocket as Ronald Reagan happen, season 6.
— Geez, Charles’ impression sounds even worse tonight. What’s with the raspy/scraggly voice?
— That’s it? This overall cold opening was a pointless waste, and also a waste of Joe’s Sinatra impression.
STARS: *
OPENING MONTAGE
— SNL episode guides usually always list Funky 4 + 1 More (the very first rappers to ever appear on SNL, I believe) as the musical guest of this episode. However, I’ve noticed that they’re not credited at all in tonight’s montage. I guess their appearance tonight just counts as a cameo and not as the official musical guest, which is why I’m not going to list them as the musical guest in my title for this episode review.
MONOLOGUE
host reveals her roots & Cupid (EDM) shoots an audience member
— The cutaway to Deborah’s blonde-wigged “parents” in the audience wasn’t all that funny.
— Ha, Eddie’s entrance in that cupid outfit…
— I ask once again, that’s it? This was short as hell, contained almost nothing of note, and was a total write-off, which seems to have become status quo for the monologues these last two episodes. This season’s writers seem to have completely given up with the monologues.
STARS: *½
DON’T LOOK IN THE REFRIGERATOR
a horror movie about scary leftovers
— Another very quick bit that just came and went. I usually enjoy the “presenting a mundane, everyday annoyance as the subject of a horror movie” comedy trope, but this one just washed right over me.
— Good horror movie-esque scream from Deborah, though.
STARS: *½
LIVELYS
Phil Lively considers putting his father (DOP) in a nursing home
— This looks to be the return of the Livelys.
— Yep, it is. As I said in my review of this sketch’s first installment, I’m not sure if this’ll work as a recurring sketch.
— I do like the involvement of an unseen Don Pardo as Gail’s dad.
— Pardo’s voice-over delivering an angry “Somebody get my fork, I dropped my fork!!” cracked me up.
— Okay, I’m starting to notice that Pardo’s interjections are my ONLY laughs in this so far. Yeah, this whole “gameshow family at home” routine ain’t working a second time.
— The rehash of the gag with Gail vocalizing the Jeopardy theme wasn’t necessary.
STARS: **
NEWSBREAK
EDM reports on Jean Harris, Las Vegas fires, Poland
— What the hell? What’s this? Eddie Murphy for “Newsbreak”? Almost feels like a Weekend Update substitute. Does this mean the Rocket/Matthius Update has been dropped tonight, due to how horribly it’s been doing lately? If so, good riddance.
— Yeah, this segment is definitely coming off as an Update substitute so far.
— Eddie: “Stay tuned later tonight for a full report on Weekend Update.” Aw, dammit, so much for my hope that Update was dropped from tonight’s show.
— Overall, this segment was okay, I guess, and Eddie did fairly well, but I’m still baffled over why this is in the show and what this possibly means for Update.
STARS: **½
WHERE’S COOTER?
Tennessee Williams Authority deems Cooter (GIG) & kin a one-act play
— Ohh, boy, here comes an infamous sketch that I’ve always heard terrible things about. I’m curious to see just how bad this really is.
— As was pointed out a few days ago by a commenter in reply to my Gary Busey episode review from season 4, this sketch has the same set from the Muck-Jumper sketch from the Busey episode.
— I’m a minute into this sketch, and I’ve been hating pretty much everything I’ve seen so far. What IS this???
— Man, is this dialogue annoyingly repetitive.
— WTF at Gail’s bizarre entrance?
— Oh my god at Gail’s delivery of her lines. I usually like Gail, but GOOD GOD is she annoying the hell out of me here. And the fake baby crying she’s doing into her arms – WTF??? I now feel like I’m seeing her play a rejected Laraine Newman character.
— Seriously, what the hell am I WATCHING in this sketch?
— The twist with this turning into a Tennessee Williams play is doing absolutely nothing to save this sketch for me. I hated the first half SO much that there needed to be a much funnier twist than THIS to excuse it.
— Overall, all I can say is: My god. That sketch definitely lived up to its negative reputation. If it weren’t for Commie Hunting Season, I’d probably consider this sketch to be the absolute bottom of the barrel for the season 6 episodes I’ve covered so far. Man, did I hate this.
STARS: *
ROCKET REPORT
CHR finds the answer to “How scary is Central Park?”
— I’m already liking this Central Park premise. Looks like this will be a return to form, after the last two mediocre Rocket Reports.
— Charles’ overdramatizing of everything in the park isn’t coming off as funny as I would’ve expected.
— Charles falling backwards onto the ground when running away in a panic was pretty funny.
— Overall, I think I need to stop saying “Hopefully tonight’s Rocket Report is an improvement over the subpar last one”, because I always end up being disappointed once again. Tonight’s Rocket Report had a few more decent moments than the last two Reports, but the overall film was still below par. What’s going on? Why have these usually-reliable Rocket Reports been so consistently forgettable lately? Are these segments only good when Charles just goes around interviewing random people face-to-face, like he used to do in the earlier films?
— I know I’m almost at the end of Charles’ short-lived SNL tenure, so I’m hoping to see at least ONE more good Rocket Report before his firing. I know there’s one Rocket Report he does with upcoming host Charlene Tilton in a subway train that has always looked kinda interesting to me, but I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
— I just realized that I have yet to like any segments so far tonight. None of the sketches have gotten higher than a mere two-and-a-half-star rating from me yet.
STARS: **½
CARD CORNER
Paulie Herman meets a girl from Jersey (host) in a card shop
— The return of Jersey Guy, or as I call, proto-Jay Leno.
— Here comes the obligatory “recurring character meets its similar counterpart played by the host” sketch that a lot of quirky recurring characters eventually do. Deborah’s doing a good job with the Jersey Guy-esque voice.
— Overall, a fairly good sketch, and I like how this was kept short enough. First decent sketch of the whole night.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Love TKO”
WEEKEND UPDATE
arch-conservative (GIG) claims there are no poor people in America
Polish ambassador (Andy Murphy) is ecstatic about the invasion of Russia
JOP interviews boxing & rapping hand puppet Weindulah (Marc Weiner)
— Just when I thought tonight’s episode was finally starting to pick up a bit, here comes along Weekend Update to kill the momentum.
— Oh my god at Charles slapping his desk while hammily fake-laughing after his first joke. Jesus Christ. Lately, I’ve been starting to see that the reports I’ve always heard about Charles desperately resorting to hammy over-the-top antics in his later Updates were 100% true. It’s sad to watch.
— Man, they need to stop these unfunny “audio clip” gags that Charles keeps doing this season. They ALWAYS fall flat and get no audience reaction.
— As usual lately, the studio audience is NOT into these awful jokes so far (neither am I, for that matter).
— First in a long time we’ve seen Gilbert at the Update desk. This Reagan philosopher character of his looks seems like it has potential, and hey, Gilbert’s actually showing energy in his delivery for once.
— Unfortunately, Gilbert’s bit just came and went with no laughs and no real point. A letdown.
— Yikes, Gail’s Reagan/“I forgot about it!” joke was particularly awful.
— Here’s something different. Mock breaking news from Charles that “Poland has invaded Russia”. Hmm.
— Hey, an Update commentary from frequent SNL extra Andy Murphy! Feels odd to see him in such a big speaking role.
— The Andy Murphy commentary ended up being another bit that initially looked interesting but turned out to be a forgettable letdown.
— Here’s our weekly Joe Piscopo SNL Sports commentary.
— A follow-up to the preceding episode’s Rocko Weineretto bit.
— Ha, I’m liking this early 80s-sounding rap song from “Weindullah”. I might be biased because I always get a kick out of hearing any kind of early 80s hip-hop. Same reason I’m looking forward to seeing tonight’s NOT!musical guest Funky 4 + 1 More.
— Big extended audience applause break after Weindullah’s rap.
— Joe announces a boxing match that we’ll be seeing in the next episode, between Weineretto and Weindullah.
— Overall, an even worse Update than usual this season, which is really saying something. The guest commentaries are usually the only saving grace this season, but even most of those managed to underwhelm tonight. And the Rocket & Matthius portions of Update continue to go further and further down the tubes, especially with Charles’ newfound desperation of hamming it up during certain jokes. Man, it’s almost becoming DEPRESSING to watch Update gradually die like this over the course of the season. I have to ask, is this the absolute worst state Weekend Update has EVER been in SNL’s 40+ year history? Then again, I haven’t gotten to the upcoming Brian Doyle-Murray “SNL Newsbreak” era yet, which supposedly is also terrible…
STARS: *½
BIG BROTHER
shy Big Brother (GIG) uses telescreen to ask prole (host) out on a date
— I’m getting an unintentional laugh from the giant lego-looking background behind Gilbert.
— Some awkward dead air before some of Deborah’s line deliveries.
— Gilbert’s line about feeling like a “schlep” made me laugh.
— Good twist with Gilbert suddenly turning Deborah down for being “too easy”.
— Overall, there were some issues that made this feel a little sluggish, but this was an overall decent sketch. Better than I thought it would be. Nice showcase for Gilbert as well.
STARS: ***
SWEET HEARTS
by Leon Ichaso- laundry robbers turn on one another
— Interesting-looking film.
— Oh, that’s Deborah as the female gangster. Took me a whole minute into this film to realize that. I didn’t even recognize her at first.
— Wait, IS that Deborah? In some angles, it looks like her, while in some other angles, it DOESN’T look like her. Hard to tell.
— I’m liking how this looks and feels like a genuine 1930s gangster flick.
— The bank-esque robbery of a laundromat is pretty funny.
— Okay, they’ve completely lost me. I don’t understand what’s been going on ever since the laundromat robbery scene ended. The random blow-up doll at the party, the three main characters holding a Mexican standoff over a pair of heart boxers… none of this makes sense to me.
STARS: **
SOHO LESBIANS
Pinky & Leo Waxman discover that niece (host) has a lesbian lover (GLM)
— Curious to see how this goes. For years, I’ve always assumed just from the title “Soho Lesbians” and the fact that it’s from way back in the 1980s that this was a crazy, wild, raunchy sketch.
— The audience laughs at Deborah and Gail simply telling each other “I love you” (which I doubt was intended to get laughs). The audience’s amusement at that shows how rare it was to see gay couples on TV back in these days.
— Hey, it’s Denny and Gilbert’s “What’s It All About” characters. Very interesting to see them in a different setting for once.
— They seem to be relying on the usual premise of Denny and Gilbert’s characters constantly cutting off others during a conversation, like they always do with their guests on “What’s It All About”.
— Wow, that’s it? This was actually a nice, realistic, low-key scene, and didn’t go the crazy, wild, “homosexuals are weird sex freaks” route I had always assumed this would go. I’m pleasantly surprised.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Come Back Jonee”
NEWSBREAK
people on the streets of NYC weigh in on Poland’s invasion of Russia
EDM reveals the premeditated nature of Poland’s invasion plan
— I’m still baffled why we need these Newsbreak segments when there’s already a full Weekend Update in this episode.
— Eddie throws to a remote segment with random people on the street being interviewed about the Poland/Russia invasion.
— That one guy’s “I thought they were going to go into France” comment gave me a pretty good laugh.
— Eddie’s delivery is coming off pretty sloppy, with constant line flubs. And honestly, he looks out of his element in this setting. If these Newsbreak segments are the show’s way of kinda “auditioning” Eddie as a potential Weekend Update anchor, I can see why he doesn’t end up getting hired for that spot.
— Speaking of Eddie, it feels like these Newsbreak segments are the only thing he’s been doing on the show tonight. This is a waste of him.
— The picture of Poland soldiers heading towards Arctic Circle is pretty funny.
STARS: **½
KING KONG SYNDROME
Fay’s (host) date with a “big ape” (JOP) ends in the style of King Kong
— Heh, with Joe’s anger at playfully being called a “big ape” and his freaking out over seeing the Empire State Building statuette, I can see where this is going.
— And now I just realized Deborah’s wearing the white Fay Wray dress.
— Joe’s “transformation” into an ape is fairly funny.
— I do like Deborah unintentionally taunting Joe with a toy plane.
STARS: **½
DROPOUT
Vickie shuns Debbie while catching up with high school dropout (host)
— A Vickie valley girl sketch. Where’s Denny’s character?
— Oh, there’s Denny.
— Overall, this was unfortunately another sketch tonight that just washed right over me, with nothing in it standing out. Very forgettable. Knowing that the end of Gail’s SNL tenure is approaching, I wonder if this ends up being the last appearance of this character. If so, it’s sad that this usually-good recurring sketch ended in a whimper with both this and the weak Tommy Torture one with Ray Sharkey.
STARS: **
FUNKY 4 + 1 MORE: “THAT’S THE JOINT”
Funky 4 + 1 More performs “That’s The Joint”
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Yet another tepid episode, in what’s been a fairly lengthy string of them, starting with the Robert Hays episode. A very unremarkable show tonight where absolutely nothing stood out as particularly great, and most of the ratings I gave tonight’s sketches were in the unimpressive two-to-three star range. Most of the pre-Update half of the show was particularly weak, and it also doesn’t help that this episode contained one of my absolute least favorite sketches I’ve covered so far in my SNL project (Where’s Cooter). Update was also pretty much a disaster tonight. Even the highest-rated sketches were just things I found merely decent.
— Up until these last three episodes, I’ve been feeling that this season is a LITTLE better than its negative reputation, but man, I now seem to have reached a point where this season kinda bottomed out and pretty much just gave up. And from what I remember seeing of the infamous next episode (I saw the butchered Netflix version of it years ago, where about 50% of the sketches were edited out), things don’t get any better.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sally Kellerman):
— a very slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Charlene Tilton, a.k.a. the notorious “I’d like to know who the fuck did it” episode
Don’t give up yet. Charlene Tilton is a middle-ground episode (not too bad, not fantastic), but Bill Murray is Karen Black-level good.
There’s definitely a growing desperation you can feel during this episode. The biggest plus the episode has, at the very least, is that Deborah Harry is a more appealing host compared to Sally Kellerman and Robert Hays even though she has her rather questionable performances (the stalled line deliveries in Big Brother or her debatable choices in King Kong).
But I do agree that the Charlene Tilton episode improves a little in some ways and that Bill Murray is the other season highlight.
BTW, Weekend Update was mostly written by Brian Doyle-Murray this season, so SNL Newsbreak is pretty much the same with him at the helm.
I think calling the Andy Murphy bit in WU a “forgettable letdown” is far to charitable; it’s crap! One of the most familiar extras finally gets a speaking part, and it’s literally him saying “what a hell of a night” over and over again like he’s trying out line-readings. Pathetic and cringeworthy. Poor guy.
Although it’s a very ho-hum episode, it’s a slight improvement over Robert Hays and Sarah Kellerman because Blondie is such a likeable host, and does well in the Paulie sketch (which is probably the best sketch of the night – yikes, shows how sub-par this episode is). I can’t believe they wasted Eddie this episode on the Newsbreak segments. That was all he appeared in? Why? This season just makes one terrible decision after another. I agree with you, if this was an attempt to “try out” Eddie as Weekend Update anchor, it fell flat on it’s face. Eddie would not have been a good anchor at all. Maybe in hindsight, it’s a good thing they tried this out instead of just plopping him behind the desk starting next season.
As I see it, the Funky 4+1 number was the only reason Debbie Harry was there. She was at a low point in her recording career – Blondie was burned out after AutoAmerican and had all but split, and she hadn’t made her solo album yet – so had very little else to offer at the time.
However, she was a significant early promoter of rap music and I think it was Debbie who personally got Funky 4+1 some airtime, even if it was at the 10-to-1 spot.
The singles from AutoAmerican were all over the radio at that time though (“The Tide Is High” reached #1 in January 1981, “Rapture” would follow in April).
Wha?! Blonde the band was still very much together after “Autoamerican.” It was during the making of “The Hunter” in ‘82 when they imploded and split up. At the time Debbie hosted, “The Tide is High” had just gone to number one on the Billboard chart and “Rapture” would repeat the feat a month later. At this point Debbie was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet and heavily touted as the face of the Eighties. It didn’t work out like that (sadly) but this was in no way her low point.
Card Corner with Paulie Herman and Deborah Harry as the Jersey girl is the definite highlight of this particular ep!
I’m partial to season 6 and I’m also fond of Debbie Harry, so I would naturally have a hard time having a negative opinion of this episode. I do think it has a sluggish feel, not helped by this season’s running problem of treating the cold opens and the monologues as afterthoughts. I would have cut the Poland runner entirely (only the “man on the street” section works for me – one of the better versions of this bit), but if it had to be included, use Eddie’s intro for the cold open and free up time for something else. I also would have put Debbie in the Livelys sketch instead of Ann, and made it less of a retread of the first, while putting Ann in the 1984 sketch and giving it a more serious ending (the goofy tone as she’s dragged away doesn’t mesh well with the buildup or the callousness Gilbert’s character treats her with).
With that out of the way, overall I think this is a decent episode which at times feels very current (Gilbert’s sneering, poor-hating caricature; the lesbian sketch; the 1984 sketch). Being current doesn’t mean being good, but these ideas are also well-executed, for the most part, and there are several other pieces I enjoy even if they aren’t the greatest (the King Kong sketch is good dumb fun, and Rocket Report is worth it for the scenery and for Charles effortlessly recovering from his fall. There are also some very fascinating curio pieces here, like the Matthew Laurance film I’d love to know more about.
I get why people don’t care for Where’s Cooter, but I have to admit I’m surprised it’s seen as such a notorious sketch. It’s lazy, but no more than countless other generic elitist pieces about “rednecks” in sketch comedy over the decades. Gail and Charles do overact (although it sort of works for Gail, and Charles isn’t so bad that it ruins the whole thing for me), but Ann and Gilbert are surprisingly good. The biggest flaw in this for me is the length, and the setup. There’s too much time spent on gawking at redneck parodies and not enough spent on making fun of the people who are gawking at them. A better idea would have been having the redneck characters behaving less like caricatures before the gawking elites came in – the latter would then get them to act more stereotypical as it’s what they want to see. I have put too much thought into this sketch…
On the recurring front, again, I don’t think there was much need for a Livelys reprisal, but this may be my favorite of the Jersey Guys (it’s very sweet and Debbie and Joe are well-matched) and this Vickie is interesting for world-building and a certain emotional honesty about the school experience, even if it feels slightly thin. This is one of Debbie’s stronger performances of the night, along with the Jersey Guy sketch. I’m also struck by how much she looks like Sherilyn Fenn on Twin Peaks. When I first saw this repeat on Comedy Central a long time ago, the main thing I paid attention to was the Waxmans sketch, because I was genuinely shocked at such a progressive sketch in 1981 (this wasn’t long after you had grotesque films like Windows which painted lesbians as predatory and psychotic). It’s very tenderly written, and beyond any ‘lesson’ element, it also feels very real in how some people talk (I love the lines about the cousin who if she gets one more nose job will just have holes to breathe out of). Denny Dillon’s acting skills often did a lot with a little, but here, she’s given a jewel of a script to work with, and she shines.
The last thing I’ll say about the episode is that while I know the conventional wisdom about Gilbert’s tenure on SNL is that he was out of place and didn’t give his best (even he may agree with that), I think they used him very effectively this time in the way he could play sullen and dark characters, and it shows what might have been.
Dom Irrera, whose brief appearance in the cold open is probably the only highlight (aside from probably the only time we get a Sinatra impression on SNL that isn’t jazzed up), mentioned in an old interview that he was actually hired for 3 episodes.
https://theinterrobang.com/unmasked-with-comic-dom-irrera/
Ron Bennington: So, how did you make that transition? You’re teaching, you’re doing improv. How do you make the transition into standup?
Dom Irrera: I got hired for Saturday Night Live in 1980, when Eddie Murphy got the show. I got hired for 3 shows, and I got on one of them, but just as an extra. I had a bit called The Mean Grocer, where I was just angry with fruit. And they fired the producer. And when they fired the producer, we all got fired. We got paid and all. But I thought, you’re giving up so much power when you just act. And I thought, I could do stand-up, I knew I could. And I was a terrible waiter. My girlfriend, I used to be with this French-Canadian girl, and she was like Benjamin Franklin in being good at everything. But I wasn’t good at anything but one thing. So it’s so much easier to focus when you’re mildly retarded, but have one strong point. And I have such confidence because I know I’m not good at anything else. It’s not like “Well, if I didn’t do this, I could certainly do this.” No, I couldn’t.
I have seen this episode once in the 60 minute CC rerun, I think, but John’s comments are spot on based on my memory. So many of the issues (length, execution, etc) could have been addressed by a seasoned producer and head writer working together. Though by this point, I think there was no camaraderie anymore and it would have been impossible to fix anyway.
I love Dom Irrera, and just picturing him as an angry grocer is already making me laugh. Imagine if Ebersol had retained him, too.
I think the “Where’s Cooter?” sketch was born out of the improv classes that the cast were now attending with legend Del Close. I think it was their attempt to just do some character work with little to no concern for a set plot. It’s a slight step up from the season’s usual problem of underdeveloped plotting AND underdeveloped characters, but it still lingers a little too long with no real standout moments, though. I’d give it an E for effort, though. In an episode run on flop sweat and full of tangibly broken spirits, “Where’s Cooter?” is one of just a few moments where the Cool Kids Clique (the non-Eddie & Joe cast) is actually trying.
In real life, Deborah Harry was adopted and her biological mother didn’t want a relationship with her.
Confession time: I actually really enjoy “Where’s Cooter?” The bizarre line readings, particularly by Charlie, Gilbert, and Gail are out there enough to be outre and memorable (“You oughta be out back workin’ on that Dodge!/“I ain’t doin’ nuthin’”/“Mmmmmomma!!!”) but relatable enough to the final payoff that they become satisfying. As an absurdist piece it works for me.
I rewatched this recently and feel like it’s the most I’ve disagreed with you on a review (which isn’t a bad thing.) While this wasn’t a great episode, it’s definitely above average to me. Update and the Newsbreak were the only segments that flopped.
I like how they bring back almost all of the recurring characters (Livelys, Vickie & Debbie, Waxmans, Jersey Guy) but throw them mostly into mellower, slice-of-life-ish pieces. This cast was really good at that kind of tonality, and I wish that was what was commonly associated with this season rather than its more desperate and offensive aspects. And I love the concept of the Big Brother sketch even if it could’ve been executed better. Seeing Charles fall on his ass in the Rocket Report is also a good goofy highlight.
I can’t bring myself to hate Where’s Cooter either. I agree with @Jzbass72 that it’s just such an absurd performance that I can definitely find humor and appreciation in it. It nearly reminded me of something from Exit 57, had it not had that ending. I used to hate Gail’s “mmmMAMA!” bit but on rewatch I suddenly loved it for some reason. There’s an indeterminate weirdness to this season and a lot of the early Ebersol era that I really enjoy, and might be my favorite brand of SNL when it comes to the Ebersol seasons.
It might just be contrarianism but I don’t see much drastically wrong with season 6 outside of Commie Hunting and weak Update jokes. There are parts that clearly needed improvement but overall I think there’s more good than bad to be found.
@Ruby, when I complete my SNL project, I’ll be making a special final post that will, among many other things, have two separate lists of things that I now feel I underrated or overrated in my reviews. In the “things I underrated” list, I’ve been planning on saying something about the Where’s Cooter sketch and season 6 in general that I think you’ll agree with, judging from your comment. I’ll go into much more detail then, but until then, just let me say that I’ve never hated season 6 as a whole. IIRC in my reviews, I found the first half of that season to merely be hit-and-miss rather than outright bad. It’s just that I found a big chunk of the second half of the season (the stretch of episodes from Robert Hays to Charlene Tilton) to be very rough and disheartening to get through, especially since it immediately followed the solid Karen Black episode.
Cool, very excited to read that when the time comes. It definitely goes without saying that perspectives can change when reviewing this for two(!!) years, especially when getting the broader context of the show.
I know my own personal reappraisal of this era had to do with comparing it to the then-current season 45, where I was starting to lose interest because of how bland and comfortable it was getting, contrasted with how varied and decidedly un-comfortable season 6 is.
Watching this episode now, and just wanted to say – count me in the pro-“Where’s Cooter?” camp. The silliness and repetition worked for me. It should have ended immediately after the family was declared a play, but other than that I thought it was a breath of fresh air for this not-so-stellar season.
After editing the episode to my preference for future viewing I saved:
COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (CHR) discusses whether Frank Sinatra (JOP) is a hoodlum
ROCKET REPORT
CHR finds the answer to “How scary is Central Park?”
CARD CORNER
Paulie Herman meets a girl from Jersey (host) in a card shop
Rocket’s Reagan impression isn’t good, of course,. But I put more of the blame on the producers for failing to find someone who COULD play Reagan than on Rocket himself. I guess they thought Rocket could BS his way through with a non-impression like Chevy with Ford (and Reagan!), but only Chevy could get away with that. Still I’d give the cold open two stars, not one. It is at least short, something I appreciate a lot about this season is you don’t get too many interminable sketches that just won’t end.
Starting this season with six repertory castmembers instead of seven was a big mistake. Talent got spread too thin doing things outside their wheelhouse. Joe carved out a nice niche as the Aykroyd/Hartman/Hammond impressionist and glue guy but the other five were pulled in too many directions. Should have hired Jim Carrey, made Ann a featured player, and hired Catherine O’Hara from the beginning.
Gilbert Gottfried showed later in his career that he was a surprisingly good impressionist. I wish they had him try to be Ronald Reagan. He couldn’t have done any worse than Charles Rocket. Gilbert even kind of looks like a funny Ronald Reagan.
Among the future stars that just missed making the cast in Season 6:
Jim Carrey
John Goodman
Paul Reubens
Robert Townsend
Mercedes Ruehl
These are at least the ones I know of from interviews, Wikipedia, etc. Does anyone know any others?
I watched the live broadcast of this episode but only made it to the Jersey Guy sketch (which I find charming and love the applause break when Deborah did Joe’s catchphrase, weirdly my memory thought Gail was Jersey girl).
Just realized I watched “Where’s Cooter?” back then and caught a year earlier the Strother Martin monologue; that’s two SNL pieces that went over my 9-10 yr old head because I didn’t know who Tennessee Williams was…
I may have read somewhere that Piscopo did that King Kong impression in his stand-up thus the inspiration. and I agree with @John that the sketch is just dumb fun. (I’ve warmed up to “your bullet killed my date”)
Check in the audience caption shot after the Waxman sketch, you can spot at-the-time Broadway actress/not-yet movie actress/future host Glenn Close:
https://imgur.com/zXuvEGG