Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
on the SNL set, boom mike operators Willie & Frankie talk about pain
— I know these characters have been overused this season, but considering how much I loved their first few appearances before their shtick started running out of steam, it’s good to see them one last time tonight. I also like how their entrance here is getting a huge audience reception.
— This meta premise with Willie and Frankie getting a job as SNL boom mic operators feels like a very appropriate way for these characters to go out.
— Some good gruesome stories here. The unicorn one especially got a great audience reaction.
— Very clever way of doing “Live from New York…”.
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)
— I like how he’s talking in his famous slow, verbose announcer’s voice.
— He brings up his failed ABC variety series “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” (the title of which is the reason why SNL had to go by the name “Saturday Night” for its first season-and-a-half). Funny comment from him about his show being reviewed by “licensed idiots”.
— An overall short, straightforward monologue, but I enjoyed how perfectly Cosell-esque it was.
STARS: ***
HOSPITAL
case of mistaken identity puts hospital patient Ed Grimley on mob hitlist
— Some funny interaction between Grimley and Jim’s mob boss character.
— Freakin’ hilarious bit with Grimley getting bit by his goldfish.
— Yes! There’s Grimley’s priceless triangle dance again, which never fails to crack me up.
— Jim’s mob boss character’s last name, Fraraccio, is an inside reference, as its the last name of the SNL crew member (Bobby Fraraccio) who famously filled in for Barry Manilow in a Fernando’s Hideaway sketch earlier this season.
— Funny chase sequence between Grimley and Christopher.
— Memorable entrance from Cosell as Ed Grimley’s similar-looking uncle. A clip of his entrance would be shown at the end of a Norm Macdonald-anchored Weekend Update 10 years later, as a tribute to Cosell after his then-recent death.
— I love how Cosell is still using his trademark Cosell voice while saying Grimley-isms (“I must say”, etc.).
— Christopher gets to display some hilarious extended physical comedy after getting injected with the syringe he intended to kill Grimley with.
STARS: ****
INSIDE OUT
easily-surprised (JLD) fires spit-takes at her guests
— Oh, here’s a well-known sketch that’s gone on to be the most remembered thing Julia ever did on SNL.
— Julia’s first spit-take was absolutely perfect.
— Funny part with Julia stopping Mary’s story for a few seconds just so she can refill her cup of coffee.
— Nice visual of Mary with her now-frazzled, wet wig after getting spit on repeatedly.
— Perfect ending with Julia going absolutely wild, simultaneously throwing coffee all over the place, spitting out coffee in the air above her, and dumping the pitcher of water all over herself.
— Overall, fantastic execution of such a thin premise, and this was one of the rare times during her SNL tenure that the underutilized Julia Louis-Dreyfus got to display the great comedic skills we’d later come to know her for in her post-SNL career. Considering tonight’s her last episode, this was a strong way for her to go out.
STARS: ****
RUN, THROW & CATCH LIKE A GIRL OLYMPICS
host covers the sissy boy events
— Pretty funny concept.
— Another Larry David sighting, this time as the judge in the middle. He’s always easy to spot in sketches this season, with his Larry-from-the-Three-Stooges hairstyle.
— Good part with Pamela being exposed as a girl dressed in drag, which disqualifies her from the competition.
— I love the sleazy look of Rich’s proprietor character.
— Great turn with Mary and Julia as two feminists bombing the event from a plane. Funny use of old WWII stock footage as well.
STARS: ***½
BAR MITZVAH
at his bar mitzvah, host’s parents (host) & (BIC) learn his career plans
— Larry David in yet ANOTHER sketch tonight, this time shown from the back as one of the family members doing a Jewish circle dance at the beginning of the sketch. Again, his hair makes him unmistakable. I’m gonna miss the joy of spotting him in sketches after this episode.
— Ha, Frederick Koehler (the frequent child extra of this season) is doing a surprisingly great job with the Howard Cosell voice. I wonder if he already knew how to do the Cosell impression on his own, or if Billy had to coach him on it.
— Having Billy play Cosell’s similar-sounding mother is a much better use of his Cosell impression than that weak Uncle Howard Cosell sketch from the season premiere.
— Quite a visual of Cosell and Billy simultaneously saying the same things during their heated rant to each other.
— Funny blooper with Cosell’s kissing of Billy’s shoulder causing Billy to crack up, which prompts a great ad-lib from him: “That’s more tongue that’s on some of the plates!”
— This overall sketch was a little too long for my likes, but I admit it was still pretty well-done for what it was.
STARS: ***½
SPORTS BEAT
70 year-old Tony Minetti trains for his return to the ring
— Another pre-taped segment tonight. After going light on these in the second half of the season, they’re coming back in full force in tonight’s season finale.
— Billy’s old-age make-up is pretty horrifying-looking. I think this is the same former boxer character Billy played in one of his one-man-show character pieces from earlier this season. If so, SNL seems to have aged this character quite a lot since that sketch. He was nowhere near as decrepit in that sketch as he is tonight.
— I got a good laugh from the way Billy’s voice sounded when speaking with his mouth guard still in.
— For some reason, I find the name of Christopher’s character (Angie Quidaciolu) amusing.
— Christopher’s description of Billy’s diet is really funny.
— Overall, despite the highlights listed above, I wasn’t all that crazy about the film as a whole. Too many parts came off fairly uninteresting. A rare misfire for this season’s short films.
STARS: **½
FERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
host talks about his experiences in broadcasting
— Three Billy Crystal showcases in a row tonight?
— I’m not all that crazy about seeing this sketch tonight, as I was hoping the great installment with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan would end up being the final one.
— I like Fernando doing a rundown of the various guests we saw him interview over the season. Among those names, he mentions Siskel and Ebert, which initially made me go “When did he interview THEM?” before I remembered it wasn’t in a regular SNL episode; it was in an SNL Film Festival special that aired the previous month.
— Quite a story about an incident where an ill Cosell puked on fellow announcer Don Meredith’s shoes during a Monday Night Football game.
— I liked Fernando’s comments about watching Adrienne Barbeau running in slow-motion during Battle of the Network Stars.
— Overall, surprisingly not bad for the final Fernando sketch. While this doesn’t hold a candle to the Mr. T and Hulk Hogan one, I found this more enjoyable than I had been expecting.
STARS: ***
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
a list of which Frenchmen want more sex
Nathan Thurm defends the creators of Ringling Brothers’ Living Unicorn
Dwight MacNamara explains why dirt shows up on the ChromaKey screen
Robert Latta (RIH) has baseball cards that show the ballplayer & himself
— What’s with the shaky camera during Christopher’s opening joke?
— OH, NO. We get another Brian Doyle-Murray-esque “long screen crawl” gag, this time listing off the names of Frenchmen that want more sex. Ugh. Considering tonight is the final episode of the Ebersol era, at least this is the last time I have to deal with any remnants of the dreaded Brian Doyle-Murray season of SNL’s fake news segment.
— Not too thrilled to see Nathan Thurm is back in his usual Saturday Night News setting, after they refreshingly took him out of that setting and gave him his own sketch a few episodes ago.
— I did love Thurm’s line to Christopher just now, about how “ASPCA should condemn you… for being so uninteresting facially.”
— Christopher’s slipping into Thurm’s routine by defensively telling him “I know that!” was a pretty funny moment.
— Tonight’s overall Thurm commentary wasn’t as tired as I was worried it would be.
— Another Dwight MacNamara-behind-the-news-screen segment?
— Gary’s projector voice never fails to crack me up, but this whole segment is just an unnecessary rewrite of this character’s preceding appearance.
— Ha, now we get a random Robert Latta walk-on from Rich. They seem to be bringing out ALL the Saturday Night News favorites tonight. At least Latta is something I actually LIKE seeing again.
— I like Rich-as-Latta’s use of a dustbuster.
— The baseball cards with Latta wandering in the background are fairly funny, if an obvious joke.
— And thus ends the last-ever edition of Saturday Night News. I certainly can’t say I’m going to miss it OR Christopher Guest’s tenure as an anchorperson. I’m of the opinion that Dick Ebersol never knew what he was doing with SNL’s fake news segment. He’s made so many baffling decisions with it over these last four seasons.
STARS: **½
GOOD SEX WITH DR. RUTH WESTHEIMER
Dr. Seuss (RIH) bothers host
— Nice to see Mary’s Dr. Ruth in a setting outside of Saturday Night News for once.
— What a visual of Rich as a Cat in the Hat-looking Dr. Seuss.
— More great visuals, this time with the silly Seuss-esque food props shown on the table, especially “a rodent hanging from a noose”.
— Rich is hilarious in this sketch, though the audience is strangely silent so far.
— LOL at a Yink bird puppet suddenly appearing behind Cosell.
— Good ending with a horny Cosell hitting on Mary’s Dr. Ruth.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Boys Won’t”
A COUPLE OF RED GUYS
A Couple Of Red Guys (GAK) & (JIB) decide to defect during their rap
— A variation on Jim’s recurring upper-class rapper character.
— I love the part with Jim and Gary doing the Russian leg-kick dance in unison.
— Quite a sight of Gary in that bald cap and huge mustache.
— Haha, Gary’s warbly dancing is really funny.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lucky”
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— The Ebersol era ends with a solid episode. While not as strong as the preceding episode, there were lots of things to like tonight, we got two particularly memorable sketches (Ed Grimley, Inside Out), and a very minimal amount of weaker bits. A nice way for this era of SNL to go out. I wish this episode had more of a feeling of closure for this era like the original era’s final episode did, but I understand that people at the show didn’t know this would be the end. I believe it was expected at the time for the Ebersol era to continue into next season.
— Season 10 as a whole was very enjoyable. It’s always had a reputation for being strong, and I feel it lived up to the hype. While the second half of it wasn’t quite as consistently strong as the first half was, the season as a whole was still a big win. Even my least favorite episode of the season, Ringo Starr, was merely subpar rather than all-out bad. No doubt, the season benefited from the new all-stars who joined the cast, and the increased usage of strong and memorable pre-taped material, though I was surprised to see that the latter wasn’t quite as prominent throughout the season as legend has always had it. In fact, the reliance on pre-taped material seemed to shrink more and more as the season went on. The new all-stars of the cast added an exciting and much-needed new feel to the show. Martin Short and Christopher Guest in particular were delightful additions; Guest especially impressed me with his very wide range and ability to disappear into roles. Billy Crystal, however, I had some issues with. I admit, though, that whenever he did anything that worked for me, it gave me some really good laughs. He was very hit-and-miss overall, but I’d say he had a little more hits than misses. Most of the non-all-star new players and returning veterans contributed some good work whenever they were allowed to. I was especially fond of the uniqueness that Rich Hall brought to the table. All in all, I’m really going to miss this cast, especially considering the cast that immediately follows.
— With my completion of this season, I’m proud to say that I’ve officially reached my goal of familiarizing myself with the first 10 seasons. You see, before I started this “One SNL a Day” project, I had only seen a small handful of episodes from each of the first 10 seasons, which is something that I was always ashamed to admit as a diehard SNL buff. One of the many reasons I was eager to start my SNL project is that it gave me a perfect excuse to FINALLY acquaint myself with those first 10 seasons, and I’m so happy that I’ve now officially accomplished that. It was a lot of fun discovering so many sketches and episodes that I had never seen before. I’m already familiar with all the seasons from 1985-2018 (the reason it ends at 2018 is because I actually stopped watching new episodes a few months after the current 44th season began, partly due to disinterest in SNL’s current quality and partly due to wanting to have something new to look forward to when I reach the modern era in my SNL project), though there are still a handful of sketches I’ve never seen from 1985-1990 and, to a lesser extent, 1995-2000. 1990-1995 and 2000-2014, on the other hand, are the SNL years that I’m most well-versed in; I know those years inside and out.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christopher Reeve):
— a slight step down
HOW THIS SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1983-84):
— a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
A completely revamped version of SNL debuts, with a brand new cast and the return of original producer Lorne Michaels. And much like the previous time I covered a revamped SNL with an entirely new cast (season 6), this season turns out to be a troubled and infamous one.
Something about this episode always nitpicked me a little and I could never get an answer about it–so let’s try here:
Considering most TV shows end their seasons in May, Was it always the intention for This season to end a Month early, was the end of the show forced upon by the network, or something else?
well, there was going to be a full 20 episodes, but budget issues forced their hand.
As such, there were 3 episodes that did not get produced: One with Eugene Levy and John Candy hosting (musical guest Hall & Oates), One with JOE PISCOPO hosting, and one with DAVID LETTERMAN hosting. Man imagine an episode hosted by 80s David Letterman. That would’ve honestly been pretty amazing.
Between the s10 finale in April and the s11 premiere in November, the summer of 1985 was a loooooong slog for a young SNL junkie like myself. (In hindsight, I should have further embraced the David Letterman viewing that helped me through it….)
I’ve been watching reruns of Match Game ’75 and ’76 on Buzzr lately, and Howard Cosell is always a frequent target of jokes among the panelists, generally with regards to his toupee, but often because of his short-lived variety series. Did he ever stop catching hell for that one?
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell featured the Prime Time Players 🙁 that’s where Herb Sargent got the idea for the Not Ready For Prime Time Players) Brian Doyle Murray, Bill Murray, and Christopher Guest. They barely got on, but apparently Howard fought to get them airtime. John Belushi and Jane Curtin auditioned together for it.
This season was cut short by a strike, I believe? The next episode was meant to be John Candy and Eugene Levy.
The strike happened in March, I believe. I recall hearing the reason this season ended early is because of budget cuts.
The strike was in March; the Levy/Candy/Hall & Oates show was supposed to be March 9th, 1985.
In spite of the precious and few five-star sketches, the bevy of 4 1/2 and four-star sketches more than make up for it. This is one of my favorite seasons of SNL, even though something about the cast and writing staff feels oddly homogeneous. (With one exception, the writers were all-male.) Based on the credits, I did not realize Eliot Wald was promoted from the writing staff, which probably contributed to his rift with Nate Herman.
The news today of both Dan Levy hosting and John Krasinski getting a second shot after his episode last year got cancelled just further reminds me how much of a damn shame it is Eugene Levy never got to host. It must at least be very gratifying to see his son host.
Eugene should make a cameo on Dan’s show. Better yet, he should host the finale!
Based on how Stooge’s reviews always manage to coincide with modern-day, I’m going to guess Eugene shows up for a monologue cameo.
For a way-out-of-left-field prediction, I’ll say Will Ferrell cameos so he and Eugene Levy can do a Dueling Trebeks Celebrity Jeopardy sketch.
This teaser of the upcoming Dan Levy episode has a rare sight clip from SNL Film Festival with his father Eugene and the late John Candy:
Here are the five star sketches from the mighty 84-85 season. This should be good:
Synchronized Swimming (no host)
Walking After Midnight (Ed Asner)
White Like Me (Eddie Murphy)
Jackie Rogers Jr’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad (Christopher Reeve)
Four sketches. FOUR SKETCHES??? Listen, I appreciate that Stooge is a stickler, but that’s only two more than the 80-81 season. I could get this baby up to double digits and beyond in no time. Wow.
WOAH- I am surprised, too. Probably some of these will be in honorable mention, but for the first time since season 5, I feel like there’s a lot to choose from… Lifestyles of the Relatives 1, Wheel of Fortune audition, the nuclear reactor sketch (Asner), Black History Minute, 60 Minutes, David Byrne Fashion Report, Superman Audition, Jackie Rogers Jr., the Question is Moot, night watchmen Willie & Frankie, the Folksmen, Fernando Barry Manilow, Buddy Young in the audience, chess coach, Mary Tyler Moore, Macadouglass-Drummond, Good Cop Bad Cop (Scheider), I am Also The World… and I’m surprised none of the Joe Franklin sketches made it.
I would add personal favorite deep cuts Kelly Cola, undecided voter, Kate & Ali.
Oh I mid-typed Jackie Rogers Jr… sorry!
Also, I’ve somehow never seen the Julio Iglesias commercial, but that seems to be a favorite of many people
I’m even more surprised than you guys about the low five-star turnout, since season 10 is one of my all-time favorite seasons, as I’ve cited several times on this site. By this point in Carson’s project, I’ve learned to stop making such a huge deal about the distinction between my five and four-and-a-half star ratings. The five-star lists haven’t been accurately representing how I feel about a lot of seasons.
For comparisons sake, I went and tallied fellow SNL reviewer Ben Douwsma‘s five-star ratings from season 10, and his list is the exact same as mine, except his included The Folksmen interview and the Fernando’s Hideaway sketch with “Barry Manilow”. It’s nice to know I have good company in the stickler department. By the way, going through his reviews, he’s an even tougher grader than I am. I’m surprised by how many well-loved sketches only got a mere three-and-a-half star rating from him.
As a companion piece to Carson’s list, here’s an Honorable Mentions list compiled of all the sketches I rated four-and-a-half stars this season:
The Bulge (no host)
Monologue (Jesse Jackson)
“Barry Manilow” on Fernando’s Hideaway (Michael McKean)
The Folksmen Interview (Michael McKean)
David Byrne Fashion Report (Michael McKean)
Chess Coach (George Carlin)
Mary Richards In Syndication (Ed Asner)
Superman Auditions (Christopher Reeve)
For anyone interested, here are all the sketches under 2 stars from the last five years
Season 6
MONOLOGUE (Elliott Gould) *1/2
COLD OPENING-EXECUTION (Malcolm McDowell) *
WEEKEND UPDATE (Malcolm McDowell) *1/2
AMERICAN MILK ASSOCIATION (Malcolm McDowell) *1/2
THE LEATHER WEATHER REPORT (Malcolm McDowell) *1/2
COMMIE HUNTING SEASON (Malcolm McDowell) *
ROYAL STRIPPERS (Malcolm McDowell) *
COLD OPENING-THE MEAN MAJORITY (Jamie Lee Curtis) *
BADGER CONVENTION (Jamie Lee Curtis) *1/2
TORTU-MATIC (Jamie Lee Curtis) *1/2
OSSELOTS (Jamie Lee Curtis) *
DOPENHAGEN & HAPPY DAZE (David Carradine) *1/2
TOMMY TORTURE (Ray Sharkey) *1/2
PRE-SUPERBOWL PRE-GAME PREVIEW (Robert Hays) *1/2
THE FOREIGN FILM (Robert Hays) *1/2
DISCO MELTDOWN (Robert Hays) *
RAVI SINGS (Robert Hays) *
CUT ‘N’ CURL (Robert Hays) *1/2
DREAM DATE (Robert Hays) *
NATIONAL ENQUIRER (Robert Hays) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Sally Kellerman) *
WAS I EVER RED (Sally Kellerman) *
COLD OPENING-SINATRA INTERVIEW (Deborah Harry) *
MONOLOGUE (Deborah Harry) *1/2
DON’T LOOK IN THE REFRIGERATOR (Deborah Harry) *1/2
WHERE’S COOTER? (Deborah Harry) *
WEEKEND UPDATE (Deborah Harry) *1/2
PORK PARADE (Charlene Tilton) *
GILLIE AND CHARLENE (Charlene Tilton) *1/2
SPEAKING OUT (Charlene Tilton) *1/2
SUBMISSIVE SUGAR DADDIES (Charlene Tilton) 1/2
CHAP STICK (Bill Murray) *1/2
BAG LADY (no host) *1/2
Season 7
ANDY WARHOL’S TV (no host) *1/2
MCDONALD & WIFE (Susan Saint James) *1/2
LIFEBOAT (Susan Saint James) *1/2
ANDY WARHOL’S TV (Susan Saint James) *
UP AND AT ‘EM (George Kennedy) *
SNL NEWSBREAK (Donald Pleasence) *1/2
TALES FROM THE HIP (Donald Pleasence) *1/2
MEN’S ROOM (Donald Pleasence) *1/2
ANDY WARHOL’S T.V. (Donald Pleasence) *1/2
BITTER PEOPLE (Lauren Hutton) *
“COLD OPENING”-TEXXON (Bernadette Peters) *1/2
BEDTIME STORY (Bernadette Peters) *
MAN RAY AND MIC (Bernadette Peters) *
SNL NEWSBREAK (Bernadette Peters) *1/2
WILD WILD WILD WEST (Robert Conrad) *1/2
SNL NEWSBREAK (John Madden) *1/2
MAFIA NAME GIVER (John Madden) *1/2
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES (James Coburn) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Elizabeth Ashley) *1/2
AFRICAN TOUR (Elizabeth Ashley) *1/2
LOW CLASS ITALIAN THEATER (Robert Urich) *1/2
SNL NEWSBREAK (Robert Urich) *1/2
BLYTHE’S PLEA (Blythe Danner) *1/2
WHINERS (Daniel J. Travanti) *1/2
HILL STREET BLUES (Daniel J. Travanti) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Robert Culp) *
SUNKEN SUBMARINE (Robert Culp) *
Season 8
THE INTERESTING FOUR (Louis Gossett Jr.) *1/2
“COLD OPENING”-BUREAU OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES (Ron Howard) *
WHINERS (Ron Howard) *1/2
WHY (Ron Howard) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Michael Keaton) *1/2
MASTERFUL THEATRE (Robert Blake) *1/2
TRUCK DRIVING WOMEN (The Smothers Brothers) *
TV (The Smothers Brothers) *1/2
THE INSIDE STORY (The Smothers Brothers) *
HERPES GONE BANANAS (Eddie Murphy) *1/2
COFFEES OF THE WORLD (Lily Tomlin) *1/2
WHINERS (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) *1/2
WHINERS (Sid Caesar) *1/2
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS (Sid Caesar) *1/2
BATTERED HUSBAND (Beau and Jeff Bridges) *1/2
TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS (Susan Saint James) *1/2
DUNG IN THE OVAL OFFICE (Susan Saint James) *
WHINERS (Ed Koch) *
Season 9
ETHEL’S DINER (Brandon Tartikoff) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman) *1/2
THE AMOS ‘N ANDY SHOW (Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman) *1/2
BODY GUARD (Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman) *1/2
COLD OPENING-ASTRONAUT (Betty Thomas) *1/2
DREAMLAND (The Smothers Brothers) *1/2
HOUSE OF MUTTON (Michael Palin) *1/2
REAGAN WORKOUT (Jamie Lee Curtis) *1/2
SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS (Jamie Lee Curtis) *1/2
TV’S FOUL-UPS, BLEEPS, BLUNDERS, BLOOPERS, PRACTICAL JOKES, AND POLITICAL DEBATES (Michael Douglas) *1/2
FRANKIE PACE (George McGovern) *1/2
Season 10
GRANDPA HOWARD (no host) *1/2
LOST & FOUND (Bob Uecker) *1/2
JOB INTERVIEW (Ringo Starr) *1/2
LISHMAN’S DELI (Eddie Murphy) *1/2
BOXER (Kathleen Turner) *1/2
COLD OPENING-INAGURATION (Roy Scheider) *1/2
POWER FROM GIVING (Alex Karras) *1/2
TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS (Alex Karras) *1/2
DYNASTY’S GREATEST FIGHTS (Pamela Sue Martin) *1/2
TOM, DICK AND HORNY (Pamela Sue Martin) *
TRASH TALK (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan) *
Great stuff Vox! I certainly didn’t want to do this, but I’m glad someone did. I think the quality of the 84-85 season is better understood here, though I’m still baffled by how underrated it was.
Here are the average ratings for Season 10:
*may not represent review’s perception*
1001: 6.7 (no host)
1002: 5.7 (Bob Uecker)
1003: 6.7 (Jesse Jackson)
1004: 6.9 (Michael McKean)
1005: 6.8 (George Carlin)
1006: 7.1 (Ed Asner)
1007: 6.2 (Ed Begley Jr.)
1008: 5.7 (Ringo Starr)
1009: 6.7 (Eddie Murphy)
1010: 5.5 (Kathleen Turner)
1011: 6.2 (Roy Scheider)
1012: 5.8 (Alex Karras)
1013: 6.6 (Harry Anderson)
1014: 5.3 (Pamela Sue Martin)
1015: 5.7 (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan)
1016: 7.3 (Christopher Reeve)
1017: 6.5 (Howard Cosell)
Best Episode: 1016 (Christopher Reeve)- 7.3
Worst Episode: 1014 (Pamela Sue Martin)- 5.3
Season Average: 6.3
I’m curious what Vax Novier’s list of average ratings would look like if it was ranked from best episode to worst, so I’ll do it below:
1016: 7.3 (Christopher Reeve)
1006: 7.1 (Ed Asner)
1004: 6.9 (Michael McKean)
1005: 6.8 (George Carlin)
1001: 6.7 (no host)
1003: 6.7 (Jesse Jackson)
1009: 6.7 (Eddie Murphy)
1013: 6.6 (Harry Anderson)
1017: 6.5 (Howard Cosell)
1007: 6.2 (Ed Begley Jr.)
1011: 6.2 (Roy Scheider)
1012: 5.8 (Alex Karras)
1002: 5.7 (Bob Uecker)
1008: 5.7 (Ringo Starr)
1015: 5.7 (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan)
1010: 5.5 (Kathleen Turner)
1014: 5.3 (Pamela Sue Martin)
Biggest surprises:
— Ringo Starr not being ranked a little lower, considering that both it and Kathleen Turner were the only two episodes this season that I felt were flat-out weak.
— I wish the rating average of the season as a whole was higher. A 6.3 is also what season 1 got, and season 10 is definitely better than season 1.
Had to chuckle at Guest’s unintentional stumbling over the word “scheduled,” first saying it with his natural British pronunciation then correcting it with the way Americans say it.
OK, so I ranked Stooge’s five star sketches of the 70s, now I’ll do my personal rankings for the 80-85 era.
1 and 2. Special Report: Buckwheat Shot (Bruce Dern) &
Cold Open: John David Stutts (Robert Guilaume)
A two episode runner that amounts to the greatest sketch SNL ever produced. All these years later and I still believe that. This sketch capitalizes on the strengths of its two biggest stars at the time while also delivering some of the show’s strongest satire and the perfect degree of repetition. This era is clearly the weakest era of SNL, but Ebersol was able to hit with the show’s all-time greatest sketch.
3. Synchronized Swimming (no host)
…And it’s second greatest sketch as well. Guest sows the seeds of a style he wouldn’t latch onto again for almost 15 years and there isn’t a single element here that has aged poorly. For a guy who is almost always at a 10, Martin Short is operating at an 11 here. The perfect mix of big and small laughs.
4. Ebony & Ivory (Olivia Newton-John)
The quintessential “Eddie and Joe Show” sketch. Two performers at the top of their game working with some really terrific writing. “You are blind as a bat and I have sight / Side by side, you are my amigo, negro, let’s not fiiiiight.”
5. James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party (Betty Thomas)
Quick, silly and oh so joyful. The beat Eddie takes after he says “Well, well, well, well…” is about the finest bit of timing you will ever see on SNL.
6. Jackie Rogers Jr’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad (Christopher Reeve)
OK, so the black and brown face may not hold up – and it’s offset by Short doing Albino face! – but this is nearly every strength of the 84-85 season rolled into one sketch. Also, I think Jackie Rogers is my favorite sketch character of all time.
7. Witness Relocation (Don Rickles)
Possibly the best example of fucking around in SNL history. Don’s looseness is a hoot.
8. Walking After Midnight (Ed Asner)
One of many brilliant brilliant films from 84-85. A great concept and a great execution from two of SNL’s most underrated performers. I probably still like three or four short films from this season more than Walking After Midnight, but this one is till terrific.
9. Monologue (Don Rickles)
Unparalleled energy for a monologue. The loosest, most freewheeling monologue you will ever see. No other performer has matched Don’s carefree spontaneity. We’ll forgive some of the iffier jokes.
10. Larry’s Corner (Brandon Tartikoff)
A beautiful dumb blackout scene that still makes me laugh today.
11. Merry Christmas, Dammit (Eddie Murphy)
Stacked with all the heavy hitters, but it’s Julia and Gary’s Donny and Marie that steals the sketch.
12. Script In Development (Bill Murray)
A very Second City-type sketch, but proof that the doomed 80-81 class could do something that approximates a classic.
13. Hotel (Sid Caesar)
Also a super Second City-type sketch, but it’s well-written and well-executed.
14. Kannon AE-1 (Stevie Wonder)
Cute. Definitely the era’s strongest commercial parody.
15. White Like Me (Eddie Murphy)
Technically a great piece of satire, but I sometimes think this is directly responsible for Eddie Murphy’s worst tendencies in the future. It’s not terribly hard to jump from White Like Me to Norbit.
16. Buh-weet Sings (Susan Saint James)
Definitely a classic, but there’s not much here on paper. This is all Eddie.
17. Needleman (Billy Crystal, Betty Thomas et al)
I love Gary Kroeger and I like this one just fine, but it also feels like more of a Weird Al bit than an SNL bit.
18. Club Dolittle (Joan Rivers)
Really fun breaking here, not much of a sketch otherwise.
19. Video Victims (Chevy Chase)
A decently strong piece, but I can think of about a dozen short films from this era that are far more memorable. Like, is this actually better than Prose and Cons or 60 Minutes or Chess Coach???
20. Saint Don of Verona (Don Rickles)
More Rickles nonsense. In a vacuum this is great, loose fun. In the context of the episode, it’s just overkill.
21. Fish Heads (Ellen Burstyn)
This sketch is great as a trivia question, but that’s about it. Suitably weird in a very 1980 way. Not a ton of fun though.
Not seen:
Spinal Tap Interview (Barry Bostwick)
Can someone help me with this last one?
Presenting my top 10 Season 6-10 sketches that did NOT receive five stars from Stooge or as I like to call it “Justice for the 84-85 Season”:
1. Profiles In Sports (George Carlin)
Basically all these picks are going to be 4 to 4.5 star selections that I feel are elite nonetheless. So don’t expect and major curveballs (though there are a couple). This short film remains a favorite, with a truly brilliant premise (a parody of Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight) and a brilliant performance (Jim Belushi, who was basically born to perform a parody of Bobby Knight). The beats are pretty brilliant throughout and it’s a strong testament to Belushi’s underrated run on SNL.
2. 60 Minutes (Ed Asner)
Martin Short’s single best SNL creation. I know the rest of the sketch is a little mild, but not cloyingly so. Shearer is as great as ever, but yeah, this is Short’s other masterpiece.
3. SNL Fashion Report (Michael Mckean)
More people should impersonate David Byrne. On a stacked cast, Rich Hall often found interesting ways to standout. As a sort of proto-Norm Macdonald, he liked to underperform a bit before stunning you with a total knockout impression.
4. Fernando’s Hideaway (Michael Mckean)
Was it planned? Was it improvised? I guess it doesn’t matter. Say what you will about Billy Crystal, who was shameless, this piece totally knocks it out of the park. The Fernando character is whatever to me, but I always loved what this sketch was going for.
5. Monologue (Rev. Jesse Jackson)
The best monologue of the entire era by leaps and bounds. Jackson charms off the hop, but when the meat of the piece kicks in, it’s as funny and smart a piece as SNL’s ever done.
6. Superman Auditions (Christopher Reeve)
Perfectly executed and my first moment where I thought, “Wait, is Gary Kroeger actually awesome?”
7. Nick Rivers (Bill Murray)
I didn’t get to discuss the Nick The Lounge Singer sketches too much in my list for the previous era, but this was one character that never sagged. I know the Star Wars one is the big one, but for my money, the Kirk Douglas one and this, from Murray’s miraculous first hosting experience, are even better.
8. Cold Opening (Ringo Starr)
As good a host sketch as you’re ever going to see. My favorite cold open of the season. Simple but perfect.
9. Houses of Shame (Mr. T and Hulk Hogan)
OK, it’s a protracted prison rape joke, but still…it’s really protracted and that’s really funny too me.
10. Thickeness and Health (George Carlin)
Missing from Stooge’s copy of the George Carlin episode. Hunt it down (it’s actually linked to in the comments of that episode). More low-key genius from Harry Shearer. I could happily watch tape of his solo SNL sketches.
OK, that’s 10. My apologies to a handful of really good Eddie Murphy sketches (Prose and Cons, The Fifth Beatle, Black History Minute, Firing Line), they’re all classics, you already know that. Like I said, justice for the 84-85 season!
You know, it’s a shame Budget Cuts made it so DAVID FUCKING LETTERMAN never hosted SNL, and probably will never host one ever (unless I am missing something, I’m not a Die-hard SNL fan, so please correct me), thanks to the Late Night wars of the early 1990’s.
There’s many reasons Dave never hosted. The two biggest are that he had such an awful experience with sketch work on the “Mary” (Tyler Moore) variety show in 1978, he always declined. (Dave mentioned this during his 2017 appearance on “Norm Macdonald Live,” I believe). The other reason is that he was either booked or approached for the season 18 finale, but declined given his issues with NBC at the time. Maybe others who are more knowledgeable can chime in with specifics.
Definite highlight was Inside Out with Julia spit-taking like there’s no tomorrow!
Billy Crystal had a novelty hit a few months after he left SNL with “You Look Marvelous”, using his Fernando Lamas character.
It peaked No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just came across some info that I thought I would share… Remember how there were excerpts from Mike Nesmith’s “Elephant Parts” shown in season 6? It turns out, NBC aired several episodes of a standalone version (“Television Parts”) in the summer between seasons 10 and 11. The final one was 90 minutes and aired in SNL’s time slot (July 1, 1985). In the Hill/Weingrad book, and probably mentioned here, NBC considered replacing SNL at some point in ’85 with a variety show hosted on a rotation by Billy Crystal, Letterman, and Piscopo. I wonder if “Television Parts” might have been used for the fourth week of shows (much like “Weekend” filled the off-weeks for SNL in season 1)? One other connection to SNL: “Television Parts” is where “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey” originated.
Who from S10 should Lorne have reached out to, or at least consider, for S11? I think a lot of people from this season would have made S11 better than what it turned out.
Well, Gary Kroeger, Mary Gross, and especially Julia Louis-Dreyfus come to mind especially considering those perfect spittakes the latter did during “Inside Out”.
This season of SNL is so excellent. I hate that it only got 17 episodes and no follow up season. In a perfect world, the entire cast from Season 10 comes back for 11 then leaves, and Season 12 starts with Hartman, Lovitz, Hooks, Carvey, etc.
I know Billy Crystal is typically the posterchild for this season, but the MVP for me was Christopher Guest. He brought a real intelligence to the material, and I believe was the creative force behind much of the great pre-recorded material. Add to that his impeccable character work and he was a standout in every sense of the word. I understand he didn’t exactly like working at SNL, but he brought so much to the show.
Gary, Rich Hall, and Pamela deserved to stay on for the Lorne years. Especially Gary, his style of humor and excellent ensemble skills would have been perfect for the 86-95 era. Can you imagine him with Hartman and Carvey? It would have been an absolute riot. Gary was great even in straight or small roles, just like Phil. Actually, Gary would have been a great fit in any of the subsequent eras of SNL, it’s very unlucky for him that he was stuck in the Ebersol era. He was a sign of things to come in the second Lorne era and resembled that style of humor way more than the Ebersol era attempts at humor.
I liked some of what Pamela brought to the table this season and she was a step up from Robin in my view (Robin did a few good things but Pamela was a better fit for the show IMO). I would haven taken Pamela over Victoria easily — she could have done most of Victoria did and a lot more, and I think she could have played off Jan and Nora well. Some of Pamela’s impressions were a bit dodgy but she had pretty good range and the show let her be funny.
Julia and Mary did improve a bit this year but I think they basically ran their course on SNL. Jim Belushi as well.
Christopher Guest could have thrived in the Lorne years too but he had his sights set on other things, I think.
I just remembered in the “Live from New York” book, Billy Crystal mentioned that Bradon Tartikoff offered him a permanent hosting job on the show. Crystal told him if he made that official, he’d quit the movie he was scheduled to do (Running Scared) and prepare for the next season. Needless to say, it wasn’t, Crystal started his movie career when he did that film, Ebersol said he’d only do another season if he could do mostly prerecorded stuff and waited until midseason which was rejected, and Michaels eventually was allowed to hire a new cast and also agreed to premiere the following November. If what Crystal was offered had actually happened, the show would be literally “The Billy Crystal Show” in everything but name though I’m guessing that might have happened as well possibly the following season…