Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Michael Reagan (JIB) denies using his connections to wage personal wars
— I immediately got a laugh just from the opening voice-over saying “Ladies and gentlemen, the adopted son of the president of the United States”.
— Jim’s eagerness to embarrass his family members had potential, but they ended that bit too early.
— Overall, didn’t care much for this. I’m usually not a fan of these one-person, straight-to-camera, address-the-nation cold openings.
STARS: **
MONOLOGUE
host roller-skates onto the stage, shoots a scene for St. Elsewhere
— Wow, great entrance with Ed busting onto the stage while smoothly roller-skating around.
— He’s already coming off very comfortable and loose in front of a live audience.
— Now he’s being told he has to film a scene for St. Elsewhere right there on the spot. Pretty funny idea.
— Wow, he’s doing everything in this monologue, now doing a bit where he literally “drops” the Jr. from his name.
— Overall, a very busy monologue, but it was certainly entertaining and Ed came off likeable.
STARS: ***½
KATE & ALI
Hepburn (MAS) & Muhammad (BIC) have typical sitcom problems
— Great concept for a Kate & Ali parody, replacing the title roles with Katharine Hepburn and Muhammad Ali.
— Yet another blackface role for Billy Crystal, but I can’t help but always like his dead-on Muhammad Ali.
— Good sketch overall.
STARS: ***½
STRATEGIC AIRBORNE CONTRACEPTIVE
— Rerun
BOOK BEAT
(GAK) tries to defend against (JIB)’s charges of plagiarism
time traveller (host) has come to SNL on a mission- fondle JLD’s breasts
— Another good instance of Jim playing an aggressive character.
— Gary’s defense of his plagiarism is pretty funny.
— Strange turn this has taken, with the sketch being “interrupted” by Ed teleporting into the scene as a man from the year 2096.
— Nice breaking the fourth wall with Ed being shown walking off the set and going through SNL’s backstage.
— Heh, WTF? The “important” thing that Ed’s character has come to do turns out to just be him squeezing Julia’s breasts while making a silly vocalization, and then walking off. Uh, wow, what a random direction for this sketch to go.
STARS: ***
SEVENTH WEDGE
(MAS)’s life depends on beating the Grim Reaper (host) at Trivial Pursuit
— LOL at the grim reaper entering as soon as Martin eats a supposedly non-poisonous worm.
— Seems to be a trivial pursuit theme throughout tonight’s episode.
— I liked a stumped Ed responding to the Lou Gehrig question by saying “I should know that – he’s dead”.
— Julia showing more interest in hooking up with the grim reaper than hearing about her boyfriend’s (Martin) pending death is pretty funny.
— An overall pretty well-written and well-performed sketch, with a good premise and funny jokes.
STARS: ***½
REFRIGERATOR MAGNET SAFETY ADVISORY BOARD
— Another rerun
LET’S WATCH T.V.
Chi Chi & Consuela talk about their favorite shows
— The return of Mary and Julia’s Chi-Chi and Consuela characters, now hosting their own TV show.
— Julia’s been getting a lot of airtime so far tonight.
— I liked the cheerfully-delivered line “Okay, let’s criticize some more shows”.
— Fairly funny how Julia was easily persuaded into giving all the drama shows a perfect rating.
— Overall, there were some laughs and the usual good chemistry between Mary and Julia, but this wasn’t much of an improvement over these characters’ not-too-great Ghostbuster Show appearance earlier this season.
STARS: **½
MARTY
Chayefsky characters Angie (BIC) & Marty (JIB) try to decide what to do
— This sketch has been going on for a while, and I still can’t figure out what exactly the joke is supposed to be here.
— Okay, I finally got my first laugh of the sketch, from Billy’s random Inuit idea.
— I’m liking how more and more outlandish and unrealistic Billy’s ideas for fun activities are getting, only for Jim to always uninterestedly shoot them down by saying he doesn’t feel like doing that. Kinda reminds me of that “Nah!” sketch (a.k.a. Our Generation) that Gary did back in season 8.
— This overall sketch had a slow build-up but ended up becoming a decent piece.
STARS: ***
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
CHG comments on John Gavin’s claim that Ronald Reagan is not “gaga”
RIH gives some home economy tips concerning free stuff you can get & use
GAK tries to prevent teen suicide by sharing his list of reasons to live
CHG interviews Nathan Thurm (MAS) about his company’s artificial organs
— After almost an entire year of a revolving door of guest anchors, Saturday Night News finally gets a permanent anchorperson in Christopher Guest. While I’m glad to no longer have to put up with seeing out-of-place guest hosts trying to come off as anchormen, I’m aware that Christopher’s anchorman tenure ends up being a huge disappointment.
— Boy, Christopher’s delivery is ALREADY coming off extremely dull, to the point where you can hardly tell when he delivers a punchline.
— Fun piece with Rich showcasing free stuff you can get from stores, which is a nice display of Rich’s usual quirky brand of humor. I like the “visible hand puppet” (which is just a clear plastic bag) and especially him demonstrating a foot-measuring device being used as a football field for roaches.
— Gary’s list of reasons to live is fairly funny, though I was kinda expecting the list entries to be funnier.
— Martin’s Nathan Thurm character returns, after making his debut in just the last episode.
— As usual, the Nathan Thurm bit is tickling me, even if his lines are basically a rewrite of his previous appearance in the last episode.
— And so ends tonight’s Saturday Night News. Christopher did not have a good first outing as anchorperson AT ALL. In theory, his knack for giving dry, deadpan performances seems like it would be a perfect fit for SNL’s news, but it just doesn’t come together at all. He makes Brad Hall’s anchorman delivery seem exciting by comparison.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Rock Me Tonight”
VAUDEVILLE FUNERAL
(MAS) & (BIC) musically eulogize their meshugana vaudeville-partner dads
— At first, I didn’t recognize Christopher in that wig and glasses.
— Fairly funny concept of a double funeral for a comedy team.
— I’m really liking the teaming of Martin and Billy during their vaudeville-esque biography of the deceased comedy team.
— Not much here in terms of laughs , but it’s impressive and fun seeing Martin and Billy performing this, and their chemistry is great.
STARS: ***
EYEBALL TO EYEBALL
loonies (MAS) & (CHG) interview museum curator (host)
— Martin’s random, overly-specific questions are increasingly cracking me up.
— Interesting reveal that Martin is only pretending to be the show’s host.
— Christopher’s performance here is great, with him initially seeming like the voice of reason but subtly turning out to be even weirder than Martin’s character. Now THIS is where Christopher’s knack for dry, deadpan performances pays off.
— I’m especially liking the part with Christopher showcasing his “treasure” of an insulation jacket.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “All Night Long”
ELEVATOR STOOL
architect (host) won’t compromise when (HAS) wants elevator stool removed
— Harry Shearer finally makes his first (and I guess only) appearance of the night. Man, it’s a shame how much the show has been struggling to find ways to work him into live sketches this season.
— Ah, here’s the sketch that’s famous for being the only Larry David-written piece to make it on the air during his entire one-season stint as a writer.
— Also, Larry would later re-use this sketch’s premise in a Seinfeld episode.
— This sketch is already cracking me up with the overly-specific questions being asked about the elevator operator’s use of the stool, such as does he get off the stool when he sees someone heading towards the elevator or does he wait until they’re actually IN the elevator?
— Man, it would’ve been fucking perfect if Julia were given a role here, considering the very Seinfeld-ish nature of this sketch.
— LOL at Harry and Ed’s childish physical fight on the floor.
— I liked Billy’s desperate “Call me” when leaving the office.
— Overall, a very solid writer-ly piece, even if this played to almost complete silence from the audience.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A good episode, though a drop in quality from the streak of strong episodes that preceded it. Still, there was quite a lot to like here, especially some of the more interesting and conceptual pieces in the second half of the show.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ed Asner):
— a step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Ringo Starr
I wonder WHO would make the better Weekend Update anchor. My first instinct was Rich Hall, but he seems better for the guest commentaries. Billy, Martin, Harry, Pamela, Julia, and Jim don’t seem like the right people–Gary might be, but also seems like a better guest commentator. Mary did Update before and was so-so. What’s interesting is that almost 10 years into the show, and there’s hardly anybody who was good at Update! (Chevy, Jane, Bill)
I think Gary coulda done a good job honestly. He was a loveable guy on the show and needed something to do I think he coulda shined in that spot. He woulda been a lot like Bill was in his 2 years. He was a more personable and likeable version of Brad Hall. I think Jim maybe could have too but he was better at guest spots. Chris’s problem is he was too dry for it, very bland and forgettable anchor.
Ebersol’s one major fault that year was not finding someone to do Update during the summer and letting him/her go and gain experience from show #1 on.. that’s what helped Chevy, Dennis, and Norm as they found theirselves after just a few shows. However that could backfire too like with Rocket and BDM. It just depends on who they woulda got.
I think Julia could have done a decent job on Update (or Saturday Night News as it was called back then). They should have also stuck with the set and graphics that were used in the Season 10 premiere.
Billy Crystal and Muhammed Ali were very close friends. Ali loved his impression of him.
Julia didn’t know it at the time but 22 years later when she hosts for the first time, her breasts would again be touched, this time by-I think-Horatio Sanz…
I found the full 90 minute version on Internet Archive, and just watched it now. I had only seen a 60 minute Comedy Central version probably close to 25 years ago and I remember thinking it was the only bad episode of 1984-1985. I still think it is the weakest show of the year, but it was slightly better overall than I thought it would be. The Grim Reaper sketch is hilarious. I think Julia Louis Dreyfus is kind of acting like Elaine in that sketch, and I was glad to see her and Mary do another Chi Chi/Consuela sketch. Martin and Chris’s “Eyeball to Eyeball” sketch was better than I remembered it. I still think the Funeral Vaudeville sketch was horrendous, and Larry David’s one sketch that made it on the air with the elevator stool I still didn’t laugh at at all. Overall this episode had a more offbeat feel than the rest of the shows. I’d rank this episode a C+.
I think Harry would have been a tremendous Update anchor. He seems tailor-made for that job, honestly.
Totally agree. In the “LFNY” book, Martin Short argued that the best way to integrate Harry into the show would have been to give him a few minutes every week where he could completely dictate content with a minimum of interference. Anchoring “Update” would have played to all of Harry’s strengths, as he proved on “Le Show” for years. Harry not anchoring is one of the great “What Ifs” in SNL history.
When “the Tracey Ullman Show” debuted on Fox a few years later, Harry was originally scheduled to have his own short segment each week – this did not come to pass, as they decided to go with a cartoon segment instead (which, of course, would be the Simpsons!)
I haven’t watched this whole season and I’m not sure I’ll be able to as it’s a mix of bad writing, things that they tried to change and aren’t working and just missing elements that aren’t there.
I watched this mainly because of 2 things, one to see Billy Squier perform. I like listening to his few hits, particularly his biggest which I think is stroke me. It would have been better had he done that as his second song, or yet just done a third song as I feel like most of the sketches feel like I’m watching the same thing.i think Julia shined on SNL though probably not during this season as this cast is hit or miss.
Didn’t mind the news but I think the best part was Riches part. Still confused why they changed the name to Saturday night news, only to have it go back to weekend update a few years later..
Was surprised how much screen time it seemed the host had. I recognize him and have seen him appear in a movie or so I’m sure but the only thing I can really think of that I remember him was him as an awful cheating husband that gets it coming, in the classic Rosanne & Merryl Streep movie “She Devil.”
The other reason I was intrigued to watch this episode was because of the infamous elevator sketch. Unfortunately that never aired in the version I found on the archive website. Luckily I was able to watch it after on YouTube. It definitely screams Larry David…I think that was a genius piece and actually I think the host, Crystal, and I forgot the other cast members name, but they all did a great job, particularly the host!
The Julia Louis Dryfus sketches seventh wedge and let’s watch tv looked like she was wearing the same costume, or she had switched opposite her cast member in the tv sketch. The order of these obviously didn’t correlate with the version I watched but none the less a pretty forgettable episode.
Julia and Ed would both star in Arrested Development but share no scenes.
I don’t know why, but when I first saw this episode, I thought the person playing the time traveler was Brad Hall. He and Julia were dating at the time. I guess I thought it be funny that Brad would come back to 8H and interrupt a live show just to cop a feel.
Larry David was definitely ahead of his time, and like most such people, usually frustrated when he’s not successful.