May 14, 1983 – Mayor Ed Koch / Kevin Rowland & Dexy’s Midnight Runners (S8 E20)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OPENING MONTAGE
— For the first time in SNL history, an episode doesn’t have a cold opening, and just goes straight into the opening montage. I’m not 100% sure, but I think the only other instance of this would later happen in the Pamela Sue Martin episode from season 10.

MONOLOGUE
host lists things about Ronald Reagan that bug him

— He immediately starts this off with his “How’m I doin’?” catchphrase, which he also started off his monologue with in the season 4 episode hosted by the Rolling Stones.
— Good premise with him freely saying what he REALLY thinks about the president.
— He’s coming off funny and likable in this.
— Who was he referring to when talking about how someone who once insulted him on the street ended up becoming governor?
— Pretty funny ending with him lamenting having to host this “cockamamie comedy show”.
STARS: ***

WHAT’S THE MOST DISGUSTING THING YOU’VE SEEN IN NEW YORK?
responses to, “What’s the most disgusting thing you’ve seen in New York?”

  

— Some really funny anecdotes here so far. I especially like one person’s answer being seeing Bella Abzug naked.
— Uh, wow at that anecdote about a guy who committed suicide by jumping off a building and had to have his body carried away in multiple bags. The sicko in me kinda likes how that dark story contrasted against all the other stories told here so far.
— What was with the sappy, non-comedic ending with one guy going against the grain by saying there’s nothing wrong with the city and he’s proud to live in it? I guess Koch being in the building tonight had some influence on SNL’s decision to end this film like that.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)

MISTER ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
an inventory of stolen goods

  

— At first, I got excited and mistakenly thought this was going to be the installment where Ed Koch fills in for Mister Robinson. I guess that’s from next season.
— They’ve noticeably been relying on this sketch less and less lately. It’s surprisingly only appeared twice all season. Maybe Eddie’s getting tired of doing these.
— A good laugh from “entrepreneur” being spelled “ontapanure” on Robinson’s famous “Word of the Day” board.
— I love the part with him displaying a stolen earring with a chunk of ear still attached to it.
— The fire escape ending felt weak.
— Overall, not one of the better installments of this sketch, though it was still watchable. I wonder if these are running out of steam, though.
STARS: ***

LEDGE
host & Frank Sinatra (JOP) try to talk (EDM) down from a ledge

     

— WTF? Another sketch with Eddie about to jump off a ledge? I liked the first one they did earlier this season, but is this REALLY necessary to turn into a recurring sketch?
— Koch: “How’m I doin?” Eddie: “I’m about to jump off this ledge and you ask me ‘How’m I doin”?!?”
— I like Eddie’s rapid-fire listing-off of all the things he finds wrong with New York.
— Satisfying part with Eddie shoving the Little Orphan Annie girl off the ledge.
— Haha, the quick part with Brad appearing out of nowhere as a ruined stockbroker and immediately jumping off the ledge slayed me.
— Pretty funny random inclusion of Joe’s Sinatra.
— Not sure how to feel about the whole “Start Spreading the News” performance from Koch, Eddie, and Joe. It’s a fun performance, but it’s not comedic, and I was kinda enjoying where this sketch was going before then.
— Since Eddie’s character fell off the ledge at the end (which was a weak and lazy gag), hopefully that’s the end of this recurring sketch.
STARS: **½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Come On, Eileen”

THE ENQUIRER
— Rerun

BALD NO MORE
Bald No More hair stimulant gives host a mane like Don King’s [real]

   

— Koch is getting more laughs here.
— Another Don King cameo, after his appearance in that heavily-hyped Marc Weiner hand puppet boxing match from season 6.
— A good laugh from the sloppy goop being put all over Koch’s head and it dripping onto his face.
— How does Eddie get his tongue to look so freakishly big when he sticks it out like that? He did the same thing in that Casablanca ski lodge sketch earlier this season.
— Fairly funny visual of Koch in the Don King wig.
STARS: ***

LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
Gumby visits; Marv Albert cameo

     

— Good to see another sketch with Joe’s dead-on Letterman impression.
— I like the part with him taking us through a tour of the NBC men’s room.
— Him describing SaniWrap as being a “protective shield against god knows what” made me laugh.
— I like how Tom Snyder’s voice was heard from inside the bathroom stall yelling “Get the hell out of here” to Joe’s Letterman and then doing his trademark laugh.
— Gumby returns as Letterman’s guest, after the great sketch they did together in the season premiere.
— Interesting-seeming odd part with a claymation blooper reel from Gumby movies.
— Hmm, the first blooper clip with Marvin Hamlisch wasn’t too funny.
— Okay, the second blooper clip is funnier, especially Gumby’s yell of “Oy!” when seeing boulders falling towards him.
— Overall, a pretty good sketch, but I felt this was a step down from the Gumby/Letterman sketch from the season premiere.
STARS: ***½

HARRY ANDERSON
Harry & Leslie Anderson [real] escape strait jacket & ropes, respectively

   

— Loved Harry’s “I appreciate the estimation” ad-lib to the female volunteer when she gave him too much crotch room when tying the crotch strap part of Harry’s straitjacket.
— Great part with Harry shoving his female assistant’s chair away to prevent her from untying herself before him.
— Overall, as usual, a fun Harry Anderson performance.
STARS: ***½

WHINERS
Wendy Whiner recalls Doug’s experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam

   

— Ugh, another Whiners sketch ALREADY? Didn’t we just see them a mere three episodes ago when Joan Rivers hosted?
— Because we apparently haven’t gotten ENOUGH offensive Asian stereotypes on the show lately, here’s yet another season 8 sketch with cast members playing cartoonish, over-the-top Asian caricatures. Ugh, you’re killing me with this, Ebersol-era SNL.
— Boy, this overall sketch was fucking TERRIBLE, even worse than the usual Whiners dreck. Not even Eddie could save this.
STARS: *

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Celtic Soul Brothers”

SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Patti Lynn Hunnsacker complains about her nightmare prom date
Havnagootiim Vishnuuerheer lists ways to tell if you’re stupid
MAG gets her dander up about network programming
Don King [real] promotes upcoming fights while JOP cuts his hair

       

— Oh my god, Brad’s cringeworthy Mexican voice during his Fernando Valenzuela joke made me groan like crazy.
— Julia’s story about her terrible prom date has some okay lines, but as usual with her commentaries as this character, the whole thing is just stereotypical teenage 80s humor (maybe it was funnier to people in 1983 than it is to me in 2019). This character feels like a real waste of Julia’s talents, knowing the comedic greatness she would later go on to achieve in her post-SNL career.
— Here’s Saturday Night News’s obligatory Tim Kazurinsky appearance of the week. For anyone keeping count, this is the NINTH consecutive episode where he does a news commentary. Wow. Let’s see if this impressive streak carries over into the beginning of next season.
— What in the world did I just hear an unseen audience member loudly yelling out at the beginning of the Havnagootiim Vishnuuerheer commentary?
— Oh, I see, the audience member yelled the correct pronunciation of Havnagootiim’s name, as a correction to Brad’s (intentional) butchering of the name when introducing the segment. Brad and Tim are doing a good job playing off of that audience member’s interjection.
— Tim’s “how to tell if you are stupid” topic seemed like it would be an interesting change of pace for this character, but this one didn’t end up going as well as the usual Havnagootiim commentaries do. Several parts of his listed-off signs of stupidity fell flat.  Nice ending, though, where they did a clever crossover with Tim’s recurring “Salute to Journalism” commentaries, by having Havnagootiim slam the New York Post.
— All throughout tonight’s Saturday Night News, Brad keeps randomly uttering some weak ad-libs in a silly high-pitched voice. This made me come to a realization that something I REALLY don’t like about Brad as an anchorperson is that he’s too hokey in his delivery and tries too hard when doing some of his goofier bits and ad-libs. Even when intentionally mispronouncing Havnagootiim Vishnuuerheer a few minutes ago, Brad delivered it too over-the-top and cartoonish.
— WTF was with Brad’s “The correct time” bit?
— As usual, some good complaints from Mary during her Spittin’ Mad rant. I especially liked her gripe about The New Odd Couple: “Why not do a white Diff’rent Strokes or a Japanese Jeffersons?”
— What was Mary referring to when she explained Laverne and Shirley recently got canceled because “Laverne bit somebody!” Is that referring to something Penny Marshall got in trouble for doing in real life?
— Tonight’s Saturday Night News feels like it’s going on forever.
— Fun payoff to Joe’s SNL Sports commentary with him cutting Don King’s trademark tall hair while King promotes an upcoming boxing match.
STARS: **

BIRTHDAY A GO-GO
a women’s club watches an exhibitionist (TIK) deliver a strip-o-gram

   

— LOL at the part of Tim’s strip act where he did an Egyptian dance while wearing a t-shirt over his head like an Egyptian headdress. That’s been the only part of his strip act that’s made me laugh so far.
— Good twist with Tim turning out to be an escaped mental patient posing as a stripper.
— So this ends up being our final sketch of the season? Not the best note for season 8 to end on, but at least it didn’t end with a repeated fake ad like season 7 frustratingly did.
STARS: **½

GOODNIGHTS

  

---

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— I pointed out in my last review that SNL has been following a never-ending “fun episode, lesser episode” cycle during the last few months of this season. And since yesterday’s episode was a fun one, I was worried it meant that if the aforementioned cycle continued, tonight’s episode would be a lesser one. Unfortunately, I turned out to be right. This episode was pretty forgettable for a season finale, and despite a few pretty solid segments, I can’t think of anything that stood out as really great. We also had a particularly dreadful Whiners sketch and an even weaker Saturday Night News than usual.
— Season 8 as a whole was surprisingly a blast for me to review. It was FAR from one of the best seasons ever, but there was a more comfortable and assuring feel to the overall show than the preceding season 7 had.   There was also a surprisingly good amount of episodes that had a very fun atmosphere, particularly the Joan Rivers one. This season also had a much more impressive roster of hosts than the preceding season did, especially during the stretch of episodes from December to February where we got a long consecutive string of comedy greats helming the show (The Smothers Brothers, Eddie Murphy, Lily Tomlin, Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas, Sid Caesar, and Howard Hesseman). Another thing that made this season a joy to review is the show’s star Eddie Murphy reaching his absolute peak in both performance quality and airtime. After getting so used to his consistently strong showing this season, I’m sure it’s going to feel a little odd seeing Eddie’s extremely reduced airtime next season while he’s busy filming movies in Hollywood.
— This season was also apparently good enough for Dick Ebersol to make no firings from the cast afterwards, which makes this the first season in years where everybody in the cast came back the next season. Though I do recall reading a Gary Kroeger article a few years ago where at one point, I think, he explains that Ebersol actually originally fired him after this season due to his lack of airtime and not having any breakout roles, before an irate Brad Hall talked Ebersol into rehiring Gary. However, my memories of that story are fuzzy, so I’m not sure how accurate my re-telling is.

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Stevie Wonder):
— a fairly big step down

HOW THIS SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1981-82):
— a step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Season 9 begins, with host Brandon Tartikoff