Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
pom-pom girls teach some unorthodox cheers to the new girl (host)
— The bad cheers being demonstrated are pretty funny.
— Teri’s overly-wordy, long-winded cheer was delivered really well.
— An overall decent piece, but felt a little odd in the cold opening slot.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— No Jim Belushi credited tonight. This must be the episode I heard he took off early in his tenure, I’m assuming because of being tied down to a play he was doing at the time, “True West”. I wonder if that’s also the reason he didn’t officially join the cast until the third episode of the season.
MONOLOGUE
host thinks she remembers the audience but isn’t quite sure
— Not the best idea for a monologue, but something about it works pretty well with Teri, and at least they’re actually GIVING her a monologue this time, unlike in her previous episode.
— Pretty funny reaction from her when she asks the audience to tell her their name.
STARS: **½
MISTER ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
a nutrition lesson from stolen groceries
— Looks like tonight’s another episode where Eddie will be appearing on tape all night.
— The stolen grocery bag reveal is pretty funny.
— Great part with the comparison with the chicken and the hidden t-bone steak.
— A pretty solid Mister Robinson installment overall.
STARS: ***½
THIRSTY GUY
Thirsty Guy contraceptive sponge- designed for the quicker picker-upper
— I’m already finding this contraceptive sponge premise funny.
— The cream test that Robin demonstrated was hilarious.
— Really good piece overall.
STARS: ****
HISTORY: THE REAL STORY
obnoxious Abraham Lincoln (JOP) provokes assassination
— I’ve been noticing lately that Tim always seems to play the host of shows like this.
— Joe is perfect in this role. His obnoxious behavior as Lincoln is absolutely hilarious, especially his bad “Gettysburg address” joke.
— Poor Julia stuck in yet another role with no lines.
STARS: ****
DION’S
Blaire gets upset when he sees Dion Dion kissing customer (ROD)
— Good to see the team-up of Dion Dion and Blair again.
— LOL at Eddie’s reaction to flubbing a line.
— I really like the interesting turn this has taken with Robin trying to start a relationship with Dion.
STARS: ***½
CORONET MAN
educational film narrator Dwight MacNamara (GAK) speaks at an assembly
— Hilarious reveal of Gary’s educational film narrator speaking in the same manner as the bad quavering audio from old educational films shown from a projector. Gary’s imitation is dead-on, and I also like how he’s even vocalizing the opening music of a typical educational film in the same manner.
— And the sketch is quickly over. This was a really funny blackout gag.
STARS: ****
DOPEBALL
a song about drugs in professional athletics
— I think this is the first time Joe has done an SNL Sports bit outside of the news segment since season 6.
— This “Dopeball” song is fantastic.
— Okay, this song is turning out to be pretty long, though still funny. I feel like this should be a little shorter, though.
— I like how they included a clip from one of Joe’s earlier SNL Sports commentaries, where he pours cocaine onto the news desk.
— Really funny part with a wind-up bowling ball walking across a line of cocaine.
STARS: ***½
CAFFEINE ACHIEVERS
caffeine achiever host gets increasingly agitated while making commercial
— Interestingly, Teri mentions Jane Curtin among celebrities who like coffee.
— The constant re-takes are kinda funny.
— The still-photo montage of blown takes isn’t doing anything for me.
— I didn’t care much for this sketch as a whole. It started off fairly promising, but ran out of steam halfway though for me. This also ruined the streak of solid segments the show had going after the monologue.
STARS: **
JOEL HODGSON
Joel Hodgson [real] does an explosive card trick & imitates Batman
— He’s already making me laugh here with his sullen delivery.
— Haha, the card “trick” bit was very funny.
— What was with the brief audience applause when he asked director Dave Wilson how much time he has left?
— Very funny fake-out with the dove.
— Good ending with the sideways Batman climbing bit.
— Overall, a hilarious debut segment for Joel Hodgson, with just about every gag in this getting a big laugh from me. I’m definitely looking forward to his later appearances this season.
STARS: ****
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Linda Ellerbee (JLD) talks about being fired from NBC News Overnight
GAK reviews Star 80 & shows off a sexy camisole from the film
Ann Landers (MAG) reads a letter from El Salvador & gives military advice
TIK shows Chicago Sun-Times readers what to expect from Rupert Murdoch
— I like the brief “viewer roll” Julia’s Linda Ellerbee is showing to thank her loyal viewers, especially the subtle joke with two of those viewers apparently being her own parents (judging from their last name).
— Julia’s commentary had a decent punchline at the end.
— Gary’s commentary seems to slowly be turning into him once again detailing how skimpily-dressed some of the women in the movie he’s reviewing were.
— LOL, Gary upped the ante from his last commentary of this nature, by pulling off his wardrobe to reveal the lingerie that was worn in the movie he’s reviewing.
— Mary’s overall Ann Landers commentary was really short. I liked her voice as Landers, but the commentary itself wasn’t anything special to me.
— A lot of Brad’s jokes are bombing BADLY tonight.
— Lots of guest commentaries tonight, while there’s very few jokes from Brad. Probably a good thing, though I can’t help but see this as the writing being on the wall for Brad regarding his soon-to-come mid-season firing as anchorperson.
— Funny part of Tim’s Salute to Journalism commentary with the Heineken kidnappers.
— Decent ending to Tim’s commentary with the cat litter box bit.
STARS: **
KENNEDY: THE MAN BEHIND THE WOMAN!
Marilyn Monroe (host) gives JFK (JOP) advice about the Berlin crisis
— Two sketches tonight about former presidents, though I think the reason for this JFK one is because at this time, it’s around the 20th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.
— Joe and Gary are hilarious playing off of each other in their fast-talking Kennedy accents.
— Good casting of Teri as Marilyn Monroe.
— Decent premise with Teri’s Marilyn secretly giving JFK intelligent advice on the Berlin situation.
— Teri’s Marilyn impression is turning out to be kinda disappointing. She’s not really nailing the whispery, sultry voice; it sounds too much like her normal voice.
— The interplay between Joe and Gary is now getting even funnier, with the frequent “the ah, the ah, the ah” bits.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Tonight”
SARCASTIC MOTHER SUPERIOR
a nun’s (MAG) sarcasm gets her in trouble with Father Alexander (TIK)
— There’s Mary once again playing her favorite type of role: a nun.
— Mary’s constant sarcasm is pretty funny.
— The ending was very weak and predictable.
STARS: **½
SHE’S A WITCH
(GAK) claims wife (JLD) will turn him into a rabbit when they get home
— I’m liking Gary’s sudden “Help me, she’s a witch” reveal about his wife.
— Funny twist that Gary’s “rabbit transformations” were all just a bogus prank from his wife, and I liked Gary’s delivery of “I am so gullible”.
— An overall interesting random sketch for this late in the show.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Way Down”
WHAT’S THE STUPIDEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE?
answers to “What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?”
— I like one guy’s answer being he set fire to his grandmother’s house.
— A few funny answers here, but not as much as these Man on the Street segments usually have. I’m getting more laughs from the quirkiness of a lot of the interviewees than from their actual answers.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)
GOODNIGHTS
— Teri confirms that Jim Belushi indeed had to miss tonight’s episode due to “True West”, and then the camera pans over to show that he’s onstage, looking like he literally just arrived in the building.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Much like the previous week’s episode, this was an overall pretty solid show with a strong, impressive first half and a drop-off after Saturday Night News. This was also a big improvement over the previous episode Teri hosted.
— I feel like with these last two episodes, this season has really begun taking off.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Betty Thomas):
— about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Jerry Lewis