Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
footage of wrestling match between Andy Kaufman & Jerry Lawler teased
— Just a quick, straightforward announcement of an Andy Kaufman wrestling match we’ll be seeing later in the episode.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)
TALENT ENTRANCE
MONOLOGUE
Christopher Lloyd, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch [real] bow
— Danny’s already getting lots of good laughs right off the bat. I had forgotten what its like to have an actual funny actor hosting this season, after the endless string of non-comedic hosts we’ve had in the second half of this season.
— The audience boos loudly when Danny announces that ABC has just canceled Taxi.
— Very nice idea having the Taxi cast show up to take the final bow they never got to do on their show.
— Oh, this is during Andy’s neckbrace phase.
— Lots of great infectious energy from the one-by-one entrances of the Taxi cast.
— The studio audience is actually giving a standing ovation now.
STARS: ****
TAXI
Louie DePalma (host) takes a taxi to ABC headquarters & blows up building
— Ah, Taxi’s opening credits. Considering it’s been a very long time since I last watched a rerun of that show, it’s making me very nostalgic seeing these credits & theme song again.
— LOL at the sight of Danny moping outside ABC’s headquarters.
— Ha, Danny blew up the ABC building! Hilarious.
STARS: ****
WHINERS
(host) is stuck next to Doug & Wendy Whiner on an airplane
— Ohhh, the Whiners officially become recurring characters. Their return actually received APPLAUSE from the audience tonight.
— I got a good laugh from Mary as the stewardess forcibly throwing another passenger’s blanket at the Whiners when they complain about how cold they are.
— Another good laugh from other passengers eagerly requesting a headset in unison when Mary’s handing them out.
— Great ending with Danny purposely wrecking the Whiners’ box of china after they spent the whole sketch telling him to be careful with it.
— Overall, probably one of the more tolerable Whiners sketches ever, just due to all the various funny things happening around them, whereas in the first Whiners sketch, Tony was the only thing holding it together.
STARS: **½
EXECUTIVE STRESS TEST
(host) has to pass an unannounced stress test to get promoted
— Boy, those are some disturbingly exaggerated sexual moans from Mary over the phone.
— Great appearance from Eddie as a no-nonsense drug dealer.
— Haha, holy hell at the herpes revelation from Christine.
— Good twist with the stress test reveal.
— The knife ending was kinda weak in theory, but Danny’s acting made it funny.
— Overall, a pretty solid sketch and featured strong performances from all involved.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mickey Mouse”
SNL NEWSBREAK
Dr. Jack Badofsky lists types of rabies
MAG reports from Central Park that she’s found Annie’s Sandy
Argentine responses to a Falklands ink blot test
Lou Grant (TOR) gives the weather report
— I’m starting to realize that Christine’s delivery as an anchorperson is just wrong for SNL Newsbreak. She’s so OVERLY professional-sounding that it kills the humor.
— Yet another Dr. Jack Badosfsky appearance.
— During these last two Badofsky appearances, I’m noticing a trend where his commentaries start out not working for me at all, and then after about a minute or so, I find myself starting to actually laugh at some of his puns. I don’t know if this means he always uses his weakest, corniest puns up front before getting to the better material or what, but it’s just something I’ve been noticing.
— Good risque ending to Badosfky’s commentary, with Linda Lovelace-induced rabies being named “Fellabies”.
— Yet another “Mary interviews the wrong person” gag. This routine is getting tired.
— What’s with the dog’s growling? Or is that a sound effect they’re playing?
— Mary’s overall commentary didn’t work for me at all.
— Oh, no, Brian has begun listing off responses to a Falklands ink blot test. Here comes our dreaded weekly “long screen crawl” gag.
— I admit, some of the early entries in this screen crawl list are actually pretty funny, but I just know this crawl is going to get tired fast.
— Yep, I was right.
— Once again, Brian’s ends his spiel long before the accompanying screen crawl stops scrolling, forcing him to stall for time.
— Christine’s Rely tampon joke was actually really funny.
— Tony’s Lou Grant impression seems to have improved, or maybe it’s just growing on me.
— The Lou Grant weatherman segment was okay overall, but nothing special.
— Overall, for this season’s standards, tonight’s SNL Newsbreak was actually somewhat short. I’m glad it didn’t go on forever like it did in the last few episodes.
STARS: **½
PUDGE & SOLOMON
Solomon does his dance while Pudge plays his new song
— Good to see these characters back.
— Feels like Eddie hasn’t been appearing much in tonight’s show; a contrast to how much he dominated the last few episodes.
— Eddie’s comments about John Hinkley are really funny.
— I’m also getting laughs from Eddie and Joe’s conversation about “Puerto Ricans” being in the Falklands.
— Joe’s “I want a meal, not a snack” insult was hilarious.
— Nice to see Danny getting involved in this, though he’s not as good at doing the type of “black voice” that Eddie and Joe are effortlessly doing.
— Good ending with Eddie’s doing “his dance”.
STARS: ***½
ENZO
Enzo mouthwash- it can freshen even Ozzy Osbourne’s (TIK) breath
— Oh my god at Tim’s look as a bloody-faced 80s-era Ozzy Osbourne. And the casting decision to have HIM of all cast members play Ozzy seems pretty random.
— While this overall commercial had a decent idea, the result didn’t really work for me. This was very forgettable.
STARS: **
COME ON OUT AMERICA
— Rerun
TABLE TALK
TOR shows how to intimidate the wine steward
— I’m really liking Tony’s outbursts at the waiter and his subsequent Vic Salukin-esque sadistic laughter into the camera afterwards.
— Overall, a pretty solid showcase for Tony.
STARS: ***½
NO MORE WRESTLING
wrestling match between Andy Kaufman & Jerry Lawler [real] causes injury
Andy Kaufman [real] apologizes to wrestling fans, retires from the mat
— A Brian Doyle-Murray-conducted interview with Andy.
— Haha, I always crack up at Jerry Lawler’s whole fast-talking “Andy Kaufman, you’re about to get hurt, son” rant, as I’ve seen that clip multiple times before, in a documentary about Andy’s wrestling career that Comedy Central used to air an endless amount of times back in the day. (I think the documentary is titled “Andy Kaufman: I’m From Hollywood”)
— Some big laughs from Andy’s constantly ducking in and out of the ring when Lawler’s about to begin wrestling him.
— Lawler: “Are you here to wrestle or act like an ass?!?!”
— Seeing Andy repeatedly getting brutally pile-driven head-first into the ring floor is really making me wince, even if I know he didn’t REALLY get injured from it (his use of a neckbrace in the present-day scenes is just an act, IIRC, as is the whole rivalry between him and Lawler).
— LOL at the loud “Ohhh!”s from the crowd during the second pile driver Andy received (which looked PARTICULARLY painful).
— Oh, geez, now they’re replaying those wince-worthy pile drivers in slow-motion. I can’t look.
— After the wrestling video package ends, Andy gives a sincere apology for his entire wrestling shtick and announces he’ll never wrestle again, which receives genuine applause from SNL’s audience.
STARS: ***½
LOOKS AT BOOKS
(TIK) claims that the Beatles stole ideas from the Nazis
— Was it intentional to reuse the title of a Jane Curtin-hosted recurring talk show sketch (I believe Chevy hosted it at one point too) from the original era?
— A decent laugh from the record covers and titles shown.
— Overall, while the premise of the Beatles stealing their music from the Nazis was really promising, the sketch ended up being a little forgettable. This felt like a weaker prototype of two better sketches they would do later this era: the “Heil Hits” sketch where Tim advertises an album of Hitler-ized hit songs and the famous talk show sketch with Eddie claiming the Beatles originally had a black member (him).
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Predict”
GOODNIGHTS
host’s mom Julia [real] curses out ABC in Italian
— Great bit with Danny’s mother cursing out ABC in Italian.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— One of the better episodes of the second half of this season, which I was expecting considering the host. While nothing was really classic tonight, the show had a nice flow with mostly solid material. Even The Whiners and SNL Newsbreak were a little more tolerable and didn’t hurt the show as much as usual.
— Danny DeVito did an unsurprisingly fun job hosting and you can see why he would go on to be a fairly frequent host for the rest of the 80s as well as the 90s. I’m definitely looking forward to reviewing his other episodes.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robert Culp):
— a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Season 7 comes to an end, with host Olivia Newton-John
Did any of the other Taxi cast members ever host?
Tony Danza would later host twice within the decade
I mainly remember seeing musical guest Sparks in only two things on TV: this ep and the movie Rollercoaster! They were entertainingly weird! Oh, and I also just remembered the music video “Cool Down” with Jane Weidlin…
Sparks was also featured in 80s cult movie RAD
Promo: Danny DeVito teases the Looks At Books sketch
Tony Danza is the only other cast member that got to host SNL.
He hosted the show twice in the 80s.
Wouldn’t next season be a perfect time for Danny DeVito to host “SNL” again?
And get Sparks to be the musical guest again, since they have two new movies out (doc by Edgar Wright and a movie written by them with their music).
Last night I saw the documentary The Sparks Brothers about Sparks, and it showed a couple brief clips from this episode, so naturally I got curious and dug it up. Here’s my review of Sparks’ performances:
Musical Performance #1: “Mickey Mouse”
-This performance opens with a monologue from keyboardist/songwriter Ron Mael regarding the nature of mice. His intentionally stilted reading is cracking me up, as is Danny’s reaction, alternating between being baffled and humoring him.
-I like the keyboard’s tone, and the chugging guitar. Very new wave.
-Russel Mael, the band’s leader singer, has got a lot of energy. His glittery gold suit is very eye-catching, as well.
-Haha, the squeaky voice effect when Russell sings the name “Mickey Mouse” caught me off-guard.
-Catchy chorus. I particularly like how the keyboard riff doubles the vocal melody.
-Two things are amusing me here- the contrast between Ron standing stock-still and Russell moving all over the stage (fairly typical of their performances), and how passionately Russell is singing the names of these cartoon characters.
-Strong bridge, and good choice to start it on the sixth chord, I believe (then again, why am I bothering to pull out my music student cred over a pop song…)
-Hahahaha the cutaways to Ron staring off into space with that disturbing grin on his face…
-Yes, Ron gets to break out the dance moves! Funny to see him go from animated to so composed a few seconds later.
-Ron’s got a great side-eye when Russell comes up to sing near him.
-The repetition of the chorus to the end gives this song a majorly uplifting, joyful feel, despite the superficial lyrics .
-Perfect closing shot.
Stars: ****
Musical Performance #2: “I Predict”
-You can see Danny dancing along as the camera pans away to the side stage. Haha.
-Russell’s glittery pink suit is just as eye-catching as his gold one. For that matter, the whole band is glittery now (except for Ron).
-Lol @ Ron randomly standing there eating a banana.
-A slightly different feel than the last song- I can’t put my finger on what exactly this is reminding me of, but it’s less anthemic- there’s almost something punk to it.
-I love how unabashedly silly these lyrics are.
-Ron’s alternating eighth notes on keys are adding a nice flavor to the song.
-Once again, the random cutaways to Ron’s deadpan face are killing me.
-“And the song will fade out, I predict.” And then it doesn’t…
-WHOA, those chords on the keyboard are intense. I’m guessing that’s Ron doubling the other keyboardist’s part (don’t remember his name, sadly).
Stars: ***
I’ll admit, I don’t know nearly enough about Sparks as I wish I had before I saw the documentary. But I do know that their music makes me incredibly happy.
As for the funny parts… well… Sparks actually gave me the most laughs, because I did not care for this episode. I want to give this era of SNL a fair chance, but I haven’t loved what I’ve seen from it so far. I did get a kick out of the running “fuck you, ABC” streak that the monologue, the pre-taped bit afterwards, and even the goodnights had. It was pretty heartwarming seeing the cast of Taxi receive the bows they never got on the show. And hey, if you have Andy Kaufman there, why not show clips of his fight with Lawler… I couldn’t care less about wrestling but that whole chapter of Andy’s life endlessly fascinates me. Andy’s apology sounded sincere, almost to the point of being uncomfortable… but did he mean it? Doubt it.
Anyway, “Pudge and Solomon” intrigued me enough to want to see other sketches with them (glad to hear it’s recurring), and I liked Tony’s performance in “Table Talk,” but other than that… This was only my second time seeing The Whiners and I already loathe them. Yeah, the characters are supposed to be annoying, but they’re annoying to the point where that subsumes any sense of humor I might feel. And oh, Weekend Update, what happened to you… I still hope I can find some gems during this era, but it’ll take some time to identify them in the rough.
Yeah, Sparks are great. Check out any of their 70s albums – Kimono My House, Propaganda, No. 1 in Heaven. You won’t be disappointed.
I also like a lot of Sparks more recent mid-aughts albums like Lil Beethoven and Hello Young Lovers. Very impressive that they were able to still put out such strong material later in their career.
Their lyrics are incredibly clever and witty, and at time friggin hilarious. Check out their songs Metaphor or Rock Rock Rock (the latter is an especially fun spoof of hard rock bands who try to make more “mature” music and meet resistance from their narrow minded fans).
I usually have a soft spot for bands like Sparks who can combine good music with genuinely funny lyrics. It’s an incredibly hard thing to do. A few other artists I like who can sometimes pull this off are The Tubes, Was (Not Was), The Roches (who achieve the even tougher feat using self-deprecating humor without coming off as self-pitying), Fountains of Wayne, and Warren Zevon.
I definitely heard several of Sparks’ albums around the house when I was younger, as my father is a huge fan, but I remember thinking at the time that they were just too weird (it was mostly the 2000’s stuff I was hearing). Then I heard Kimono My House and Angst In My Pants and started digging it. But until I saw the documentary, I knew them the most from their collaboration with Franz Ferdinand, which was my pick for album of the year at the time (I don’t feel that way anymore but it’s definitely in my top five from 2015). Now I want to dive into everything they’ve ever made.
Fountains of Wayne and Warren Zevon are good calls, @Frederick. I never saw The Roches as being particularly humorous but I need to listen more.
Yeah The Roches most well known tune, “Hammond Song”, is pretty serious (though with a few wry turns of phrase), but many of their deeper cuts are very funny in a self-deprecating way. Like Mr. Sellack (about returning home with their tail between their legs, and super low expectations, after a bid for Hollywood stardom fails), or Big Nuthin’ which pokes fun at themselves for failing to leverage their high profile TV appearances like on SNL into mainstream success (“I never realized how BIG nothing could be” is a simultaneously funny and bitterly cathartic line, and I’ve applied it to several disappointments in my own life). Many others as well.
Yeah, The Roches can be pretty funny/clever, although I prefer tracks like “Hammond Song” (my pick for the greatest song of the 70s) and “Losing True,” which emphasize the voices and arrangements over the quirk.
Back in the 90’s, we published a fanzine and website that was considered to be the most complete and detailed information site about Sparks. With the growing number of people getting interested in Sparks, I’ve revived this website: http://www.fanmael.nl.
Ruud
Danny DeVito and Marilu Henner recently appeared in Haunted Mansion but had no scenes together. In fact, Ms. Henner seemed wasted in her brief role as a tour passenger with only a few lines for about a minute. Really, Disney, couldn’t you have at least tried to have DeVito and Ms. Henner have one scene together?