Month: April 2019

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December 12, 1987 – Angie Dickinson / David Gilmour, Buster Poindexter (S13 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
incompetent translator (KEN) covers his mistakes during Gorbachev speech

— A lot of laughs from Kevin’s bad translations, especially him pulling out a language translation book at one point.
— Ha, now he’s making up stuff in his translations to cover the fact that he messed up.
— Phil’s response to Kevin’s long-winded, absurd, convoluted explanation was very funny, with him simply uttering a taken-aback order to “…….Get out.” He also had another fantastic line right afterwards, with his offended “Not ONLY have you disgraced the Fox Network…”
— Great “Live from New York” variation, with Kevin’s translation of one Gorbachev statement being “Live out of New York, it’s night, this Saturday!”
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— What’s with A. Whitney Brown’s picture constantly changing this season? He’s had a different one in almost every episode this season. (comparisons below)


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— An extremely short monologue, where nothing noteworthy was said. Still, Angie at least came off likable and showed good enthusiasm for doing the show.
STARS: **½


DOCU-FRESH
Docu-Fresh rids your historical documents of constitution odor

— The “constitution odor” voice-over cracked me up.
— Pretty solid commercial overall. I really liked the randomness of this concept.
STARS: ***½


WEDGIE FEVER!
masochist contestant (JOL) gives wrong answers on purpose

— There’s the name Dale Butterworth, making it obvious who wrote this.
— The concept of this is hilarious.
— Funny walk-on from Kevin as last week’s winner, especially the line about there no longer being a chance of him having children.
— Jon’s repeated, increasingly-higher-pitched yells of “Ooooklahoooma!” are priceless.
— I like it gradually being revealed that Jon is losing on purpose.
— Overall, I really liked this sketch. Makes sense that Andy Breckman wrote it, as it’s reminiscent of the type of conceptual gameshow/talk show sketches he often wrote for the show in seasons 9 and 10. I can especially picture this sketch appearing in season 9.
STARS: ****


DONAHUE
Raisa Gorbachev’s (NOD) popularity bugs Nancy Reagan (JAH)

— Donahue listing off unpleasant things about Nancy Reagan has some laughs.
— Funny part with the Donahue audience’s disappointed “Aww”s when Raisa announces “We have no intention to take over your country.”
STARS: ***


CHRISTMAS PARTY
guests at a party accidentally bring up each other’s traumatic memories

— This sketch opens with a shot of the same blonde female extra who I erroneously thought may have possibly been Brynn Hartman in the Wall Street Week sketch from this season’s Sean Penn episode. However, I’m told that Brynn DOES appear as an extra in a close-up during a Sweeney Sisters sketch in the very next episode. I’ll try to see if I can spot her when reviewing that episode.
— I had almost forgotten about tonight’s host until now. Why is this the first sketch Angie Dickinson is appearing in all night?
— Pretty funny premise of every innocent comment somebody makes turning out to remind somebody else of a traumatic incident in their life. However, I can’t help but notice the similarities to a certain classic Carpool sketch the show would later do with Alec Baldwin and Kristen Wiig (the “Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother” sketch).
— The ending was kinda weak.
— Overall, this was a decent sketch. However, while it’s probably unfair for me to compare the quality of this to a sketch that hadn’t even aired yet at the time, this pales in comparison to the aforementioned Baldwin/Wiig sketch.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ’s star-rating system complicates her review of Three Men & A Baby
Stephen King (JOL) types rapid-fire while DEM interviews him
AWB draws parallels between deals with the Soviets & Native Americans

 

— Victoria’s confusing rating system is pretty funny.
— Wait, that’s it??? Victoria’s whole commentary is over already? That was short as hell and, while I got laughs from the rating system, it felt like this commentary was supposed to go further.
— I liked the audience’s negative reaction to Dennis’ lame “Three Wise Men and a Baby” joke, followed by Dennis ad-libbing “settttlllleeee” to the crowd.
— Like last week, some of Dennis’ jokes have been surprisingly weak and are getting tepid audience reactions. Some jokes have been working tonight, though.
— I like the visual of Jon as Stephen King.
— The very brief writer’s block part of Jon’s commentary was funny.
— A. Whitney’s overall Big Picture commentary from tonight was decent, though no particular comment really stood out to me, besides maybe the “history repeats itself” bit towards the end.
— Tonight’s overall Update was marginally better than the disappointing outing in the last episode, but that’s not saying much. Dennis still appears to be in a slump.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Buster Poindexter performs “Hot Hot Hot”


POLICE WOMEN
Mary Beth Lacey (NOD) goes undercover a la Pepper (host)

— Interesting idea of a Cagney and Lacey/Police Woman crossover.
— Jon’s “Oh my god, get outta here!” as soon as he sees Nora’s unattractive Lacey enter his office was hilarious.
— Jon has so many funny lines in general towards Nora’s Lacey. There’s also some good laughs from his general sleaziness.
— Nora’s getting some pretty good laughs herself.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
David Gilmour performs “Song For My Sara”


AIRPLANE
stewardess (host) discreetly checks if anyone on board can land the plane

— I like the subtle hint that the plane needs an emergency pilot.
— Okay, after a promising beginning, this sketch is starting to drag badly.
— Okay, they’re slowly starting to win me back. The part with Angie smothering Jan with a pillow was hilarious.
— The ending with Phil’s helpful character turning out to be a lunatic was very funny.
— Overall, a slow, dull build-up, but ended up having a funny payoff.
STARS: ***


THE ASSIMILATED JEW’S HANUKKAH
Henry Kissinger (ALF) touts record album

— Another good use of Al Franken’s Kissinger impression.
— The “Assimilated Jews Hanukkah” record title was worth a laugh.
— I’m enjoying this premise of Hanukkah-ized classic Christmas songs.
— Okay, this is starting to kinda run out of steam after the joke was established. Still fairly funny, though.
STARS: ***


DRUNK MAN
alcohol-fuelled hero (DAC) has superhuman confidence

— Funny entrance from Phil as a shady-looking tough guy.
— Interesting “Drunk Man” turn this sketch has suddenly taken.
— Drunk Man’s theme song is the same instrumental that would later be used as Norm Macdonald’s Weekend Update theme music from 1995-1997 (his Updates had a different theme during his first season as anchorperson in 1994-95). SNL would also re-use this instrumental as the theme song to another superhero sketch: Young Superboy, starring Macaulay Culkin.
— Good drunk performance from Dana.
— Loved Phil’s panicky reaction to Drunk Man pointing the gun at him.
— An overall okay sketch, if nothing particularly great.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Eh, an okay episode, I guess. But I dunno… I can’t help but feel it had a forgettable quality to it. I came out of this episode not having too exciting a feeling for what I just watched. Still, I guess I can’t complain TOO much, as there wasn’t anything that I strongly disliked, and there were two segments I felt were great (Wedgie Fever and the Gorbachev Translator cold opening).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Danny DeVito)
— a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Paul Simon hosts the Christmas episode

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December 5, 1987 – Danny DeVito / Bryan Ferry (S13 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) takes Mikhail Gorbachev (host) on movie-related tour

— Interesting casting of Danny DeVito as Gorbachev.
— Very funny bit with Reagan confusing the Jefferson Memorial for The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
— The war room bit was pretty funny.
— Decent cold opening overall.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
Bruce Springsteen went to high school with host- his yearbook proves it

— Immediately, Danny is coming off as funny as usual.
— Some good laughs from the alleged yearbook photos of himself and Bruce Springsteen.
STARS: ***½


HANDI-OFF
get rid of those unwanted extra digits with Handi-Off & Toe-Rific

— Hilarious initial reveal of Victoria’s extra digits.
— Love the time lapse of the extra digits rotting and falling off.
— Overall, an excellent and very memorable commercial, and one of the best Victoria Jackson showcases.
STARS: *****


AT THE MOVIES
Siskel (KEN) & Ebert (PHH) review all-male adult movies

— I recall it being said that this is the only time on SNL where Kevin Nealon’s real-life baldness was on full display (he’s notorious for allegedly wearing a toupee for most of his career).
— Great concept of Siskel and Ebert reviewing all-male adult movies.
— Funny touch with the boom mic blatantly entering the shot during the Pizza Boy porn clip.
— Amusing how every film clip ends in a massage.
STARS: ***½


CHURCH CHAT
host sings “Here Comes Santa Claus,” Church Lady is on drums

 

— Some really funny comments from Church Lady detailing Jessica Hahn’s Playboy picture.
— Nice use of G.E. Smith and Cheryl Hardwick.
— Here’s a classic moment I’ve always remembered with Danny and Church Lady performing a Christmas number together.
— Fantastic display of Dana’s real-life drumming talent.
— Memorable Church Chat installment overall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Stuff”


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN cycles through cliches instead of talking about airplane accidents

— Boy, a lot of Dennis’ jokes are getting a tepid audience reaction so far tonight.
— *groan* Yet ANOTHER topic-changing commentary from Kevin.
— A few funny comments from Kevin, particularly how the next best thing to being with your girlfriend is being with someone who looks like her. But, man, at this point, I am BEYOND tired of the topic-changing portions of his commentaries. Please stop with these.
— Interestingly, we get a joke about Joe Piscopo, with him being represented by a picture of the Michelin Man.
— Wasn’t crazy about tonight’s overall Update. Hate to say it, because I usually really like Dennis’ Updates, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s in a slump lately. The last few Updates before tonight’s episode were overly average, and now we get this disappointing Update tonight.
STARS: **


ANN LANDERS’ PLAYHOUSE
how to ward off a fresh date (host)

— I liked Nora sternly telling a horny Danny, regarding herself “This cow’s milk isn’t free.”
— The ending with Danny forcibly being on top of Nora was kinda funny, but ehh, this overall sketch didn’t work for me. Felt empty, like a lot of things were missing or like this was only half-written.
STARS: **


MONA LISA
(PHH) appraises worthless items for a white trash couple (host) & (JAH)

— The bit with the obviously-fake tiny stradivarius was funny.
— This is getting increasingly funnier with the reveals of what Danny and Jan’s other “valuables” really are.
— Didn’t care too much for the ending twist with the Orlov Diamond.
STARS: ***½


JUNGLE ROOM
Nancy Maloney returns to Eddie Spimozo’s Jungle Room to sing again

— Some laughs from Jon’s questioning to his mother over the phone.
— Nice continuity by mentioning Joey Spimozo, the character that Sean Penn played in the last installment of this sketch.
— Man, I’m getting REALLY tired of the repeated joke in these Spimozo sketches with Jon telling Kevin “Shut up!” every time he says something. Is that gag really worth repeating 50 damn times in every installment of this sketch?
— Victoria’s character badly singing a song while constantly changing her pitch is a gag that was already used in an earlier Eddie Spimozo sketch, and wasn’t necessary to repeat.
— Overall, I didn’t like this Spimozo installment too much. I’m surprised by how down I was on this, considering how much I usually love these authentic black-and-white sketches from this era. I’m starting to notice that these Spimozo sketches have gradually been getting weaker and weaker lately.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Kiss & Tell”


DOORMAN
just before (PHH) moves out of doorman’s (host) building, they reminisce

— Not sure where this sketch is going so far.
— Amusing visual of Phil entering the scene in that wig with a big gray patch in it.
— I like the descriptions of odd occupants who live in the building.
— I’m gradually enjoying this sketch more and more.
— Overall, this sketch was hard for me to figure at first, but it turned out to be a likable, softer, slice-of-life piece with good understated humor. The ending was especially nice.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
host says “hi” to wife Rhea Perlman [real] in audience

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a mixed episode. There was some really strong material, mainly in the fast half, but there was also some really subpar material, mainly in the second half. Even Update had an off night. This all balances out to an average episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Candice Bergen)
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Angie Dickinson

Posted on

November 21, 1987 – Candice Bergen / Cher (S13 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
George Bush (DAC) announces to nation “I’m no wimp, I’ve staged a coup”

— First instance of Dana’s George Bush impression being front-and-center in his own sketch. This is often mistaken as the debut of his Bush impression; it actually debuted in a small role during the first cold opening of this season.
— This is odd to watch in hindsight. Dana’s Bush is almost NOTHING like how it would go on to be. There are mildly exaggerated hand movements here, but that’s it.
— A decent opening overall, with some humor from Bush’s ways of proving he’s not a wimp.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
while holding a turkey, host talks about her childhood walking bird

— A unique monologue entrance, coming out holding a live turkey.
— Very good story from Candice about her childhood pet turkey, especially the funny ending regarding the turkey’s inability to fly off a roof.
STARS: ***½


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
a look at flabby man Helmut’s (PHH) faults

— This sketch officially becomes recurring. Strange how these characters went from being the final sketch of the night in their first appearance to being the lead-off sketch in their second appearance, especially considering their first appearance didn’t kill with the audience.
— The audience is now starting to slowly latch on to the “We want to pump… (*clap*)… you up” catchphrase, giving recognition laughter as soon as the line starts to come up, and doing the “(*clap*)” in unison with Hans and Franz.
— Love Phil’s walk-on as Helmut.
— Some good laughs from Hans and Franz doing a breakdown of Phil’s flabbiness.
— Funny line from Kevin threatening to wring his sweaty sweatshirt into a glass so he can make us drink it.
— Overall, an improvement over these characters’ debut.
STARS: ***½


ANNE BOLEYN
after considering execution options, Anne Boleyn (host) is decapitated

— A lot of laughs from Candice’s overly specific questions about what happens to her head after she’s beheaded.
— Great part with Phil’s details on the process of being drawn and quartered.
— Very funny absurd question with Candice asking if her severed head will be shot through a cannon at her body.
— This sketch’s dialogue in general is absolutely hilarious.
— The beheading sequence is priceless, with the blood squirting onto the spectators while Candice is heard giving exaggerated screams and groans off-camera.
— Even the screen crawl epilogue at the end has some really funny lines.
— Overall, I absolutely loved this entire sketch.
— I’m aware that this sketch’s inclusion on Phil’s “Best Of” has baffled some people, who feel this sketch comes off out of place in a Phil Hartman highlights compilation because this is centered more on Candice Bergen than on Phil. I disagree. I understand EXACTLY why this sketch was put in Phil’s “Best Of”: it’s a perfect display of his very funny knack for delivering absurd dialogue in such a straight manner.
STARS: ****½


MANUFACTURERS OF MACHINE PART COMPONENTS UNITED TO SAVE OUR COURTS
Judge Anthony Kennedy’s stance on machine part tax has dire implications

— The overly complicated wordiness in this ad is providing some good laughs, as is the seriousness that such a minor subject is being treated with.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “We All Sleep Alone”


MAYFLOWER MADAM
prostitution at the first Thanksgiving; Sydney Biddle Barrows cameo

— A fairly interesting intro.
— Funny touch with Candice’s dramatic hand-biting gesture at end of one scene.
— Good part with Phil’s Miles Standish unconvincingly posing as an Indian.
— Jon being found dead with a big smile on his face (because he died while having sex) was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


CHING CHANGE
Ching Change dislikes Loose’s positive-stereotype boyfriend (PHH)

— Please, no.
— Hmm, interesting how tonight’s installment of this sketch is actually openly addressing how Ching Change is, as this installment calls, an insulting caricature and a damaging stereotype.
— And now we get Phil as “Matthew Chen, Positive Ethnic Role Model”. Yep, it’s official: tonight’s Ching Change installment is definitely intended to address criticisms that I’m assuming the show had been receiving back then for Dana’s offensive portrayal.
— I really like Phil’s portrayal of his comically-PC character.
— Some laughs from Ching Change awkwardly trying to speak normal like Phil’s character.
— Candice to Ching Change: “You ARE a fairly broad caricature, but nothing beyond the realm of possibility.” A lot of meta commentary in this sketch.
— Overall, one of the better Ching Change sketches by default, for being fully self-aware and, in a way, apologetic. I doubt it’ll last, though.
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE
lack of counterpoint hampers DEM’s attempt to debate Gorbachev address

— The bit with a sperm-blocking procedure being represented by a clip from a football game fell flat.
— Very odd moment just now. During his Gorbachev rant, Dennis throws to a guest correspondent to do a counterpoint, but looks to his left and sees that nobody has shown up (last screencap above). Dennis is then told something by someone who’s off-camera. Dennis then amusedly ad-libs to the camera “I’ve always waited for this to happen. Three years and a sketch blew up on live TV”, and then he moves on with the remaining news jokes. I recall once reading an explanation of what happened: there was supposed to be a point/counterpoint segment with Dennis debating himself, played by Dana (which would’ve been the debut of Dana’s impression of Dennis), but Dana didn’t show up because he erroneously thought the segment got cut. I honestly don’t understand how that kind of mistake can happen. Aren’t there stage managers at SNL who inform performers when they need to get ready for a segment? How’d they let THIS one slip through?
STARS: ***


THOUGHT BUBBLE
visible thought balloons reveal what (PHH) & (host) are really thinking

   

— I like how Phil and Candice’s respective thought bubbles are becoming more and more random, especially Candice visualizing Hitler and footage of a baboon.
— I’ve always considered this a companion piece to the Slide Whistles sketch from this season’s Steve Martin episode. In fact, before doing these reviews, I used to sometimes get both sketches confused for each other, thinking the Steve Martin sketch had the thought bubbles and the Candice Bergen sketch had the slide whistles. I wonder if both sketches were written by the same person.
— Very funny thought bubble from Kevin as the waiter.
— Good ending with Candice’s earlier visual of a man crashing through a window turning out to happen for real as she pushes Phil out the window.
STARS: ***½


PEEPING TOM
peeping tom (KEN) interrupts Mace’s attempts to do it with hooker (JAH)

— I loved the first Mace sketch from the previous season, so I’m looking forward to this follow-up.
— I like Jan as the uninterested hooker (her second prostitute role of the night, by the way).
— Phil’s various intense outbursts at Kevin are hilarious.
— Some good laughs from Phil’s forced ways of segueing back into his foreplay with Jan.
— Funny visual of an upside-down Kevin peeking in through the window. I wonder how they pulled that off.
— Not sure if I liked the ending or not.
— Overall, while I didn’t like this sketch as much as Mace’s first sketch, I still enjoyed this, despite a somewhat dead audience.
STARS: ***


COUNTRY THROUGH AND THROUGH
singer Lonnie Braddox (DAC) is ashamed to be “Country Through & Through”

— Funny disturbing details about Dana’s father, especially the surprising line about a molestation attempt.
— I like how this has eventually turned into a blatant anti-country song.
STARS: ***


EINSTEIN EXPRESS
— Rerun from last season.
— I forgot to point this out the first time I reviewed this, but the nameplate on Phil’s desk says Harry Butterworth (screencap below, though the nameplate is hard to read in it), which is a giveaway that Andy Breckman wrote this commercial. But why “Harry Butterworth” instead of the usual “Dale Butterworth”?


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Found Someone”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently good episode, even if nothing stood out as particularly strong besides the Anne Boleyn sketch. Couldn’t help but feel, though, that Candice Bergen was a little underutilized as the host, especially in the last quarter of the show where I don’t think she was in ANY sketches. Still, it was nice to see her on the show again after such a long hiatus, and to see how she worked with a completely different cast than the one she’s worked with before.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robert Mitchum)
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Danny DeVito

Posted on

November 14, 1987 – Robert Mitchum / Simply Red (S13 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The Rolling Paper Chase- what Douglas Ginsburg (JOL) was like in the ’70s

— Good reveal of Jon playing Douglas Ginsburg, or as he calls himself, “Captain Toke”.
— Funny premise for a Paper Chase parody, which makes this SNL’s second parody of that show during this calendar year.
— I like the fake freeze-frame while we see an epilogue on what each character went on to do.
— The look on Dana’s face during his fake freeze-frame close-up is hilarious. (last screencap above)
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like how his only understanding of doing SNL is “In 90 minutes, I go to a party”.
— A very short, to-the-point monologue, which seems to be becoming the norm lately.
STARS: ***


COMPULSION
cleanliness-obsessed (JAH) uses the Calvin Kleen disinfectant

 

— This is a fantastic, dead-on, and memorable parody of a famous Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) from this time period. The real Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) is actually one of my earliest memories ever (I was 3 years old at this time in 1987), so seeing this SNL parody of it is very nostalgic for me.
— Dana’s especially funny in this, particularly him getting slapped by Phil right before the camera cut away.
STARS: *****


DEATH BE NOT DEADLY
private eye Philip Marlowe (host) narrates film noir

— Some really good laughs from Robert unknowingly speaking his inner narration out loud, while a confused Kevin can hear.
— The constant “and?” stuff from Robert is funny.
— This is getting even funnier with Robert’s increasingly poor attempts to hide his spoken narration.
— Great part with Kevin and Robert’s speak overlapping for a while.
— I like the subtle joke of there being an Eleanor Roosevelt Clinic.
— Good ending with Robert’s inner narration spouting off a string of poor analogies.
— An overall very spot-on and memorable film noir spoof.
STARS: ****½


THE MOUNTAIN MAN
Mountain Man’s (DAC) odd outdoor wisdom alienates (JOL) & (VIJ)

— A good laugh from Dana’s “You’ve got some set of ovaries, woman” comment to Victoria.
— Loved Dana’s very random “I bet you have a teeny weenie peenie” line to Jon.
— I really like Dana’s increasingly absurd “Have you ever…” questions throughout this sketch.
— Yet another very funny line from Dana, this time telling Jon “It’s mini men like you who make women turn lesbo.”
— Overall, a hilarious, forgotten, underrated Dana Carvey gem.
STARS: ****


TEAM XYNEX
— Rerun from last season


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Thing”


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ shows a clip of her daughter Scarlett keeping in shape
AWB explores the link between marijuana & the nation’s ills

— Victoria’s advice to women had some okay lines, but was nothing special. Also, I didn’t care for the overlong video of her baby daughter exercising.
— A. Whitney Brown makes his first appearance of the whole season. Strangely, he was credited in the opening montage of this season’s first two episodes, but was nowhere to be seen in either of them.
— A. Whitney’s first Big Picture commentary of the season has turned out to be a strong one as usual. I particularly liked the comments about pot being a cure for PMS, blaming pot on America’s financial problems, and selling pot to the Japanese to make the quality of their products go down to match ours.
STARS: ***


SWEENEY’S COMEBACK
Liz averts Sweeney breakup by getting Candy’s mind off (host) with medley

— Very surprised to realize a minute into this sketch that Jan is playing her Candy Sweeney character. This sketch is a huge change of pace for the Sweeney Sisters.
— Interesting premise with Jan’s Candy not wanting to be a Sweeney Sister anymore.
— I like the way the Sisters’ tension is being worked into their medley.
— Nice moment with the Sisters breaking out into their usual Trolley Song when Candy decides to become a Sweeney Sister again.
— Very charming installment overall.
STARS: ***½


OUT OF GAS
by Trina Mitchum- host & Jane Greer [real] relive film noir

— Interesting-seeming film.
— Nice twist with the gas cap necklace.
— Overall, while there wasn’t much to say about this, this was a well-done film and yet another spot-on film noir spoof.
STARS: ***½


ANDRE & REX: MACHO HAIRSTYLISTS
Andre (PHH) & Rex (host), Macho Hairstylists are visited by the gay mafia

— Ehh, not to sure about this concept, though I liked the opening voice-over announcing the title.
— Pretty funny outburst from Phil over the missing cap on his sculpting gel.
— The bad haircuts reveal at the end was weak.
— Overall, despite a few okay moments early on, this wasn’t too great a sketch.
STARS: **


BEAUTYBATH
Corazon Aquino (JAH) escapes from her worries by taking a BeautyBath

— This is a funny topical concept for a beauty bath commercial, and it’s also a good use of Jan’s Corazon Aquino impression.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Suffer”


MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN
a beggar (host) tells his rich son (DAC) about how he obtained a jewel

— Love how Phil’s butler character is randomly named Sprinkles.
— Some laughs from Robert’s dramatic story about the bee in his car.
— Funny unexpected turn with Robert casually pulling out a human hand from his bag.
— Overall, a kinda strange sketch, but a decent one for this late in the show.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly solid episode, and had a few very memorable gems (Compulsion, Death Be Not Deadly) as well as one forgotten gem (The Mountain Man). I also liked the classy, old-timey atmosphere Robert Mitchum’s presence gave this episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dabney Coleman)
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Candice Bergen makes her hosting return after an 11-year absence from the show

Posted on

October 31, 1987 – Dabney Coleman / The Cars (S13 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Lifestyles Of The Rich, Famous, & Scary- Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)

— I like this concept, and the opening credits sequence is pretty fun with the photos of terrifying celebrities.
— Nice inclusion of Elvira.
— The joke of Ric Ocasek being mistaken for Keith Richards was already used in a Church Chat sketch from last season.
— An overall decent if somewhat short cold opening, and an appropriate way to kick off tonight’s Halloween episode.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Another short segment tonight, but Dabney had some good lines and he came off funny as expected.
STARS: ***


NATURE’S BROOM
Peggy Lee (NOD) sings “Fiber” to encourage use of bran, “Nature’s Broom”

— Random but funny subject matter for this Fever spoof.
— Very catchy song, and a lot of the altered lyrics are funny.
STARS: ***½


CAMPFIRE STORIES
a scoutmaster (host) tells a scary campfire story about his ex-wife

— Ha, now I see where Dabney’s “beautiful woman in white” story is going.
— I’m noticing that Jon is still coughing frequently tonight, just like how I pointed out he did throughout the previous episode. He must still have a cold.
— Yep, I was right about the direction of Dabney’s story turning out to be about how sour his marriage to his wife has gotten, a story that Dabney is pulling off  well.
— Loved Dabney’s line about instead of retaining water, his wife retains Twinkies and Old Milwaukee.
— Funny ending with the moral of the story being “women are no damn good”.
STARS: ***½


THE WINNING SPIRIT
a blind man (host) is bitter about his disability

— I like Dabney hinting that the cause of his blindness was “porcupine-oriented”.
— Love Dabney’s constant bitterness and sarcasm over his blindness.
— Funny little part where, after Jan forcefully makes Dabney feel her face with his hand, Dabney worriedly tends to his hand and asks “Did I get it in your nose?”
— Jan’s emotional breakdown after Dabney’s mocking blind dance is very good.
— Very funny line from Dabney explaining that one positive aspect of blindness is “You can look right at an eclipse”.
— Strong sketch overall.
STARS: ****


COUNT DRACULA, SELF-TAUGHT AUTO MECHANIC
Dracula (JOL) fixes a couple’s car

— Jon’s menacing fang-baring facial expression during an instance of thunder cracked me up.
— Heh, “Count Dracula, Self-Taught Auto Mechanic”. The title alone has a feel that’s representative of this SNL era’s style.
— I like how when Dana asks Dracula what the price for his service is, Dracula responds that he will drink some of Dana’s blood, and Jan explains to Dana “Well, honey, he DID fix the car.”
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Strap Me In”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM reads from “Howl,” thinking that it was written by Douglas Ginsburg

 

— Second episode in a row where Dennis sports an uncharacteristic neatly-combed hairstyle.
— Loved Dennis’ line about vice president George Bush being “the Barney Fife of world politics”.
— Very random but amusing bit with Dennis bringing out a ventriloquist dummy as if he’s about to do some kind of routine, only for Dennis to immediately go “No, no, what the hell am I doing?” and then put the dummy away. By the way, that looks like the same ventriloquist dummy that Christopher Guest’s Senor Cosa always used in the Joe Franklin Show sketches from season 10. (side-by-side comparison below)

— Strangely, Dennis has now been delivering a very long string of jokes straight ahead to the camera without using the news screen.
— Just now, something appeared to be edited out when the shot abruptly cut from Dennis speaking towards the straight-ahead camera to him now speaking towards the side camera.
— What? Update’s over already?!? Yeah, something was DEFINITELY removed from my copy, because I noticed before the aforementioned abrupt cut, as the camera was on a shot of Dennis speaking towards the straight-ahead camera, you can see the shadow of an off-camera Elvira seated next to him (the tall hair on the shadow gave her away). A commentary of hers must’ve been removed from reruns. Anyone know why?
STARS: ***


DON’T GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT
rational actions help catch an axe killer

   

— Jon has the same overall look he had in the Pinklisting sketch from the season 11 premiere.
— Wow, this feels like the first time we’ve seen Phil Hartman all night, though now that I think of it, I just remembered he had a minor role as one of the backup singers/dancers in the earlier Nature’s Broom piece. Still, it’s very odd to see him appearing so little in an episode.
— The constant questioning of why Dana and Victoria are in their underwear is pretty funny.
— Strange sketch overall. I feel like I should find it kinda weak, but I dunno, I found it had an enjoyable charm that’s typical of this era, even if I don’t fully understand what this sketch was going for.
STARS: ***


MARRIAGE COUNSELOR
marriage counselor (host) ignores (NOD), gets chummy with (KEN)

— I like Dabney slowly siding with Kevin while slowly acting nasty towards Nora.
— I got a big laugh from Dabney sternly ordering Nora to “sit your big fat butt down” when she tries to get up to leave.
— Loved Nora’s “I will leave you now to measure your penises!” before exiting.
STARS: ****


MASCOT IDEAS
the student council of a new high school tries to come up with a mascot

— Dana’s idiotic “tiger fight” line was funny, especially his delivery.
— Jan’s character is reminding me of her Nancy Simmons character from the future Wayne’s World sketches.
— Dana’s ridiculous mascot suggestion of “The Communists” was hilarious.
— Haha, I absolutely loved Jon’s idea of “The Frozen Caveman”. Not just because of the inherent silliness of the idea, but because in hindsight, it unintentionally alludes to a certain future recurring character of Phil Hartman’s.
— I like how a lot of Jon’s mascot titles inexplicably begin with “the flaming”.
— Strong ending.
— Great silly sketch overall, and I really enjoyed the way this progressed.
STARS: ****


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
out-of-body shopping experience; a furrier (host)

— For some reason, I kinda liked Pat Stevens’ “out-of-body experience” demonstration, even if I didn’t really laugh.
— Funny entrance from Dabney in all those furs.
— Overall, ehh. Pretty much the same reaction I have to most Pat Stevens sketches after getting burned out on her during her season 11 overexposure. Not even Dabney could do much for this sketch.
STARS: **


ED’S SECRET LIFE
(no synopsis available)

 

— Well… this is weird. I guess I can’t help but always initially find it kinda off-putting seeing these outside-source SNL films that have no involvement from anyone on the show. However, I’ll try to be open-minded towards this.
— This film must’ve been added to reruns, because I’m noticing there’s no sounds at all from SNL’s studio audience. Maybe SNL added this to replace the cut Elvira commentary from Update. This era so far has a weird habit of doing things like this, where they cut a sketch in reruns to replace it with a film made by an outside source. And 9 times out of 10, I find myself not caring at all for those outside-source films. If you ask me, there’s a REASON these films weren’t deemed good enough to air during live episodes.
— What the hell? A random Heather Locklear appearance? I never knew she appeared on the show prior to her 1994 hosting stint.
— Overall, this film didn’t do much for me. It didn’t help that in the recording I’m watching of this episode, there were terrible screen glitches during portions of this film, which made them almost impossible to follow. Didn’t look like I missed much anyway, though.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Double Trouble”


INVESTMENT FIRM
after losing $78,000 on Black Monday, (JOL) confronts his broker (host)

— Good delivery from Jon during his angry rant.
— I’m not sure where this sketch is going.
— Nice little touch with Dabney brushing the plant dirt off his table while speaking to Jon after Jon angrily broke a plant on Dabney’s desk.
— This sketch ended a bit abruptly in the copy I’m watching of this episode. It appears whoever recorded this copy cut off the very end of this sketch right when the audience was about to begin applauding.
— Overall, a hard sketch to figure. I have no idea what this was going for. I think I liked this overall sketch more for the acting (particularly from Dabney) than anything else. Maybe that was the intention? However, if this was supposed to be a subtle, slice-of-life acting piece with some scattered humor thrown in, it didn’t hit its mark. SNL has done much better attempts at that kind of sketch.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a wildly varying episode. Some pieces were just average. Some pieces were this season’s first misfires. And some pieces were great (namely The Winning Spirit, Marriage Counselor, and Mascot Ideas). I will say Dabney Coleman gave the show a boost, as he was a fantastic host. And I liked the way the show used him, putting him front-and-center in lots of original writer-ly sketches, which played to his strengths. I also loved the heavy Halloween theme in this episode, though the theme seemed to subside in the second half of the show. Still, it was enough to make me wish SNL did live episodes on Halloween much more often than they’ve done in their 44-year history.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sean Penn)
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Robert Mitchum

Posted on

October 24, 1987 – Sean Penn / LL Cool J, The Pull (S13 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Fatal Attraction II- former prison lover Alex (L.L. Cool J) stalks host

— A good Fatal Attraction turn this has taken.
— Very funny use of LL Cool J.
— An overall pretty solid cold opening and a good way to spoof Sean Penn’s time in jail. For some reason, though, this didn’t feel like I was watching SNL. After a while, I had kinda forgotten what show I was watching until they cut to the opening montage.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Love how Don Pardo immediately goes “During this program, the taking of photographs is strictly forbidden.”
— Funny mock-dramatic turn when Sean’s about to explain why he hates photographers.
— Good monologue overall.
STARS: ***


WALL STREET WEEK
Future Man (KEN) had no trouble with Black Monday

— Our first of what I’m assuming will be several mentions tonight of the infamous disastrous stock market crash (a.k.a. Black Monday) that happened earlier that week.
— During the opening sequence, I like the casual announcement of someone named Future Man being a special guest.
— An online SNL fan once had a theory that the blonde female extra shown talking to Jon at the beginning might be the now-notorious Brynn Hartman. (screencap below) I can’t confirm whether this is true or not, as I have no familiarity with what Brynn looked like, besides having blonde hair.

— I love Phil’s panicky characterization. He’s reminding me a little of Martin Short’s Nathan Thurm. He even threw in a “I know that!” at one point.
— Jan’s speech had a really funny payoff.
— Some noticeable audio issues right now as Sean has begun speaking. I guess this is another result of the technicians strike.
— Sean’s utterly bizarre performance…. oh my god. I once read this performance of his be described as “so bad, it’s good”, and after watching it now, I’d say it’s definitely living up to that description.
— Funny visual of Kevin as Future Man.
— Sean’s character asking for the nearest “porcelain convenience” was a good line, again made funnier by Sean’s horrible acting in this.
— I got a really good laugh from Future Man explaining that his reason for not stopping Sean’s character from committing suicide is simply because “I didn’t like him.”
— Overall, this had some strong moments and was well-written, though I felt the execution of it came off a little slow and awkward, at least in the live version I’m reviewing of this episode. Maybe this sketch comes off a little tighter in reruns.
STARS: ***½


CHURCH CHAT
host punches Church Lady after she takes his picture

— This season’s first appearance of last season’s biggest breakout sketch.
— The interview with Jon was very good.
— I like Church Lady’s various ways of egging Sean on to lose his temper.
— I’ve been noticing throughout tonight’s episode that whenever its mentioned that Sean is married to Madonna, you can hear a guy in the audience exclaiming “Yeah!” in response.
— Great moment with Jon’s Iranian diplomat character offering Sean foreign money for “the dancing woman” after a racy Madonna music video clip is shown.
— And there goes the legendary moment with Sean suddenly punching Church Lady in the mouth, knocking her out of her chair.
— Wow, this has built into an epic and hilarious fight between Church Lady and Sean.
— Perfect way to end this sketch.
— Overall, this Church Lady installment was freakin’ classic.
STARS: *****


PITMAN AND BULLOCK
Pitman & Bullock investment firm has the tenacity of a ferocious dog

— A bit unusual how they’re showing a pre-taped fake ad right after a commercial break in the first half of the show.
— Decent overall ad, and the pitbull footage served as a nice analogy.
STARS: ***


TEENY CAFÉ
in the Teeny Cafe, Babette & (JOL) perform skewed “The Way We Were”

— Not excited at all to see this sketch again.
— Some more audio issues tonight, this time during Kevin’s long-winded detailing of how the veal is prepared.
— Sean’s DeNiro impression is funny, and I’m enjoying his dialogue.
— Loved Sean-as-DeNiro’s line about how he had two vertebrae removed to make him shorter for a movie.
— I like how Nora and Jon’s song is introduced as being translated from English to French and back to English.
— I’m enjoying this song a little more than the song Nora and Jon performed in the first Teeny Café sketch, as this one has some really amusing re-re-translated lyrics.
— Overall, an improvement over the first Teeny Café sketch.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN uses cliches to illustrate the lesson of Black Monday

— After sporting an even more 80s hairstyle than usual in the season premiere, Dennis surprisingly has his hair neatly combed tonight.
— Great bit with Dennis displaying a stock market chart to explain Black Monday.
— Not sure I’m too excited to see Kevin’s topic-changing commentaries return this season. I started getting a little tired of these towards the end of the previous season. However, these usually always have some funny lines.
— Kevin’s overall commentary tonight indeed turned out to have some funny lines, especially about it being a coincidence that Lou Gehrig contracted Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and the story about Kevin’s farmer relative owning a whole bunch of cattle and just half an acre. I’ve realized that I would like these Nealon commentaries more if he would just stick to the funny lines and ditch the topic-changing portions, which lost its novelty for me after a few iterations.
STARS: ***½


AFTER THE DATE
Don (PHH) & Marge Keister frustrate (host) with their poor memories

— The second appearance of Marge Keister’s family.
— Some pretty good laughs from the story about accidentally backing over the family dog with a car.
— The “manly” part between Phil and Jan actually had heart to it and was a sweet moment.
— Overall, this followed the same structure as the Keister family’s previous appearance with Steve Guttenberg, but this was still decent.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
L.L. Cool J performs “Go Cut Creator Go”


DISCOVER
Peter Graves (PHH) is clueless when it comes to snakes

 

— I like the visual of Sean sitting very stiffly in the snake pit while repeatedly warning Phil’s Graves in a quiet monotone manner so as not to disturb the snakes.
— Good part with Phil’s Graves ignorantly banging on the outside of the snake pit.
— Overall, this was shorter than most Discover installments, though still quite funny. However, I don’t think any of these Discover follow-ups will ever top the first one.
STARS: ***½


JOEY COMES HOME
Eddie Spimozo’s WWII vet brother (host) wants to work at The Jungle Room

— Interesting change of setting for Jon’s Eddie Spimozo character.
— Does Jon have a cold tonight? He keeps coughing all throughout tonight’s episode (it was especially noticeable during the Wall Street Week sketch whenever the camera was on somebody else).
— Some really funny lines from Jon.
— Overall, some pretty solid work here, even if I didn’t find this one quite as memorable as past Eddie Spimozo sketches.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
The Pull performs “This & That”


CAT DENTIST
Peggy has a cavity filled by Dr. Daniel Rudolph, Cat Dentist (TOD)

— I like the unique concept of this.
— Funny use of an obviously stuffed cat while we see the cat having its cavity filled.
— I see from the film’s ending credits that Andy Aaron was involved. He made a few SNL shorts in the past, usually involving the demolition of a building (e.g. the Push Button to Explode Building short).
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A consistently good episode. While I didn’t find this to be quite as strong as the season premiere, and I had an unusually hard time coming up with things to say about the post-Update sketches, this didn’t have any subpar segments at all and there was at least one very memorable sketch in Church Chat.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Steve Martin):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Dabney Coleman hosts SNL’s second of only three episodes that fell on Halloween

Posted on

October 17, 1987 – Steve Martin / Sting (S13 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) clubs Robert Bork (JOL) a la The Untouchables

— Interesting build-up.
— From what I remember hearing, this is a parody of a scene from the movie The Untouchables, which came out that same year. I’ve never seen the movie myself, though I’m familiar with the original TV series from the 60s.
— The little-known debut of Dana’s George Bush impression. He kinda does a nasal voice here as well as a bit of a hand mannerism, but it’s nothing like how his Bush would later famously go on to be.
— Good sequence with Phil’s Reagan brutally beating Jon’s Bork with a bat.
— I liked Jon’s “It’ll take more than that to make me quit” after the bloody beatdown.
— Decent way to start the season, if not the most exciting way.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— It’s the same montage from last season.
— Kevin Nealon has been promoted from a featured player to a main cast member, and has gone from having just a still photo in the montage to now having a moving shot like the main cast members. (screencap below)

— The featured players, guests, and SNL Band’s still photos are now shown in black-and-white instead of in color.


MONOLOGUE
host’s big dance number “I Bite Down Hard” is shot from the waist-up

 

— While the home base stage is still the same from last season, there are some minor changes, mainly the removal of those pipe ladder-looking things (not sure what they were) on the left and right ends of the stage.
— Some really funny typical Steve Martin humor here.
— Interestingly, when talking about SNL, he nicely mentions the fact that “all the regulars are back; none of them were fired”, which must’ve been a big deal at the time considering the frequent cast turnover the show experienced from seasons 10-12.
— I liked the gag with a cue card error leading Steve to pronounce tonight’s musical guest as “Stingy”.
— We get a mention that there’s a technicians strike going on. What is it with so many strikes affecting season 13 anyway? Unlucky number 13?
— Hilarious how his song is randomly titled “I Bite Down Hard”.
— Great sequence with him dancing around the stage while the camera stays in one place the whole time due to the aforementioned technicians strike. I mentioned in earlier reviews that Steve’s style had mellowed down by the mid-80s, but in this I Bite Down Hard number, he’s coming off as his wild 70s self.
— And now the musical number has gotten even funnier with the use of obviously fake legs on the bottom of the screen.
— Overall, one of my favorite Steve Martin monologues.
STARS: ****½


GARY HART
Gary Hart’s effect on women- “You can’t get him out of your mind”

— At first, the dramatic camera angles and the use of Jan had me thinking this was going to be the famous Calvin Klein Compulsion commercial, but this instead turned out to be about Gary Hart. Good reveal. I guess the Compulsion ad doesn’t debut until later this season.
— I love the cinematography and music in this.
— Pretty good ad overall.
STARS: ***½


COMMON KNOWLEDGE
correct answers are those given by high school seniors

— Funny reveal that the answers were determined by high school seniors.
— I like Nora finally catching on to how the game is played.
— Dana’s hair has really grown out over the summer.
— The lightning round part is really good.
— A good laugh from the consolation prize being a yearly subscription to TV Guide.
— An overall strong and memorable gameshow sketch.
STARS: ****


SLIDE WHISTLES
slide whistle sound effects reflect thoughts of daters (VIJ) & (host)

— I’m liking this premise.
— LOL at Frank Stallone being one of the celebrities Steve’s company represents, which of course results in a down slide whistle sound effect from Victoria.
— Very good aversion with a neutral slide whistle sound effect being played when Victoria is confused over two of the celebrities Steve has mentioned.
— The orthodox bit with Jan and Jon was hilarious.
— Great ending reveal of Steve’s height.
STARS: ***½


THE NFL TODAY
during players’ strike, George Plimpton (DAC) has success
Sip-N-Save Beer’s You Make The Call- very many men on the field penalty

— What are those velcro sounds I keep hearing throughout this? Is that coming from Kevin’s mic?
— Dana’s George Plimpton impression is hilarious.
— Funny part about female football players, especially the picture of the old lady shown as one of the players.
— This sketch was good overall, though I didn’t like it quite as much as the NFL Today sketch from the previous season.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “We’ll Be Together”


PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY
officers of a ship regret giving underlings permission to speak freely

— Steve immediately going off on a heated, insult-filled rant towards Jon when given permission to speak freely is really funny.
— Haha, Steve is getting so into his rant that at one point, he visibly spits on Jon’s face by accident, which gets a very funny reaction from Jon.
— Wow, that’s it? I’m very surprised by how short this was. Probably a good thing, though, because this might’ve gotten old if it kept going on any longer.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF exposes Bruce Babbitt’s [real] abuse of supermarket express lanes
VIJ sings “I Am Not A Bimbo” & dances on the newsdesk

 

— Dennis’ 80s mullet is looking more 80s than EVER this season.
— I see Dennis is continuing his running gag from last season where he uses a random unrelated punchline about George Steinbrenner firing Lou Pinella.
— Hmm, Al Franken eager to start a political scandal by exposing skeletons that politicians have in their closet. Can’t help but notice the unfortunate irony there.
— Interesting and pretty funny video with Al interviewing Bruce Babbit and then showing a videotape of Babbit causing trouble at a supermarket.
— Our very first instance of a Victoria Jackson Weekend Update song.
— Ah, it’s the classic “I Am Not a Bimbo”, probably Victoria’s most famous SNL song.
— Nice effortless catch from Dennis when Victoria kicks her skirt off into the air while standing on the desk.
— A fantastic overall song from Victoria.
STARS: ****


ADVENTURES IN THE LOST REALM
a dinosaur takes its time eating (JOL)

— The use of obvious dolls and puppets to represent Jon being eaten by a dinosaur is fairly funny.
— I like some of the cutaways to Phil and Steve doing and talking about trivial things during Jon’s slaughtering.
— Didn’t care for the ending.
STARS: **½


BULLETS AREN’T CHEAP
thrifty James Bond (host) battles musical guest

— I love this concept of Steve playing James Bond.
— Great use of Sting as a Bond villain.
— Why do the lights keep briefly dimming intermittently?
— Is Victoria playing herself? She was addressed by her own first name for some reason. Speaking of Victoria, she’s surprisingly been getting tons of airtime tonight. I’m not used to seeing her so prominent in an episode.
— Loved the Scorpion conversation between Steve and Sting.
— The close-up of Steve’s hand pouring the champagne back into the bottle during the lovemaking scene was a strong ending.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Little Wing”


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
the musclemen (DAC) & (KEN) insult viewers

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Interesting how this debuted as a 10-to-1 sketch, which shows they definitely had no idea how big these characters would become.
— The opening “Pumping Up With Hans & Franz” title graphic (first screencap above) is different from the one that would later be used in these sketches.
— Weird not hearing the usual big audience response when they first utter the phrase “We want to pump… (*clap*)… you up.”
— Strange seeing them in red outfits during the videotape clip.
— Overall, this was very generic compared to future installments of this sketch. Just from watching this inaugural installment, you’d never guess that these characters would go on to be so huge. Judging this inaugural installment on its own merits without comparing it to future installments, it was just okay but nothing special at all really. Kinda felt like a typical 10-to-1 sketch. These characters would definitely improve over time.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A solid season premiere. Very smooth-feeling too, where you can tell the show and cast had really found their stride after last season. Nothing was particularly terrible tonight, and we got at least four memorable segments with the monologue, Common Knowledge, Bullets Aren’t Cheap, and Victoria Jackson’s I Am Not a Bimbo song.
— There’s a story about how this is the only episode in SNL history to not have a dress rehearsal.  Supposedly, right when this episode’s scheduled dress rehearsal was to begin, a fire broke out in a nearby studio, forcing Studio 8H to be evacuated. SNL had to cancel the dress rehearsal, and that combined with the evacuation left the SNL cast and crew distraught.  (Sorta adds on to what I said earlier about this season being unlucky number 13) The live show later that night reportedly went on at Steve Martin’s insistence.  However, I once read an online post from an SNL fan who claimed that story is mostly false.  Said fan was supposedly an audience member for this episode’s dress rehearsal and explained that, while it’s true that a fire indeed broke out in a nearby studio right before dress rehearsal and forced an evacuation, the dress rehearsal still went on after everyone was allowed back into 8H.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1986-87):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Sean Penn

Posted on

May 23, 1987 – Dennis Hopper / Roy Orbison (S12 E20)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
after Easy Rider, Billy (host) & Captain America (DAC) regroup

— Good premise so far, showing the two main Easy Riders characters exiting a clinic after a clip is shown of what happened to them at the end of the movie.
— The debut of Phil’s great Jack Nicholson impression.
— Loved Phil-as-Nicholson’s delivery of the line “Maybe we should vacate these environs and motor north to Gotham.”
— Hopper’s motorcycle tricks in front of an obvious greenscreened background are fairly funny to watch.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Much like in Robin Williams’ monologue earlier this season, the regular home base stage is blocked by the brick wall that’s usually only reserved for this season’s musical guests. Still don’t understand why.
— Some funny drug jokes at the beginning.
— Wow, this is over already? This was extremely short and had very little focus on humor. It was basically just him mentioning how he’s clean and sober.
STARS: **½


CHURCH CHAT
Jenny Baker is defensive; host talks about his wilder days

— Funny line flub with Church Lady mistakenly pronouncing “Jessica” as “Jessikey” and then excusing herself for having “a little Satan” in her mouth.
— Didn’t care at all for the way Victoria’s interview ended.
— Some good laughs from Church Lady’s description of an orgy.
— The insane clip shown from Blue Velvet cracked me up.
— Overall, not one of the best Church Chat sketches and felt slower-paced than most installments, but this was still enjoyable, and the Hopper interview had a likable, fairly fun vibe.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Crying” & “Pretty Woman”


FRANK BOOTH’S “WHAT’S THAT SMELL?”
Judd Nelson (JOL) is the champ

— Very funny concept for a gameshow sketch, and a nice use of Hopper’s Blue Velvet character.
— I’m already laughing at Jon’s Judd Nelson impression just from his look.
— Jan’s Tammy Faye Bakker detailing a hallucination of hers, culminating in her declaring “Demonic sweaters, I rebuke you!” is a blatant and inferior re-write of her classic rant about demonic raisins in the Church Chat sketch she appeared in. As I said in a recent review, I always hate when SNL takes something that got a big laugh the first time and then basically re-do the exact same material, beat-for-beat, hoping lightning will strike twice.
— I’m getting a kick out of all of Hopper’s angry outbursts throughout the sketch.
— What an insane ending. I love it.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
Oliver North’s lawyer Tommy Flanagan says his client is innocent
AWB shows the class of ’87 how to juggle all their concerns & commitments

 

— Nice callback to the Nancy Reagan/Riddler joke from the previous episode, by showing an actual picture of Nancy as The Riddler this time.
— I guess I can’t complain about the appearance of Tommy Flanagan, as this IS the first time we’ve seen him in a while, compared to how frequently he was used last season. Also, from what I was told by a commenter on this site, this ends up being Flanagan’s last appearance for TWO years.
— Interestingly, Flanagan starts to say his usual “That’s the ticket”, but cuts it off and instead says “Isn’t that special?” A sign that Church Lady had eclipsed Tommy Flanagan in popularity this year.
— Flanagan’s overall commentary had some laughs, but yeah, the routine is still coming off fairly tired. I’m looking forward to that two-year break from him.
— I like how it’s becoming a yearly tradition for A. Whitney Brown’s season finale Big Picture commentaries to focus on that year’s graduates.
— Interesting change of pace with A. Whitney using several balls as a visual to make his point.
— Wow, it’s impressive to see A. Whitney successfully juggling several balls.
— At the end of this Update, during his end-of-season sign-off, Miller takes a picture of us viewers by snapping a flash photo at the camera. Didn’t Bill Murray get in trouble for doing the same thing in the final Weekend Update of the original era? Unlike in his case, however, Miller’s photo flash doesn’t leave a burn mark in the middle of the screen.
STARS: ***


PROBLEM DRINKERS FROM OUTER SPACE
alcoholic aliens land in Washington

 

— Some amusing stock footage of a flying saucer drunk-driving.
— I remember once reading a review that pointed out Hopper’s drunk voice in this sketch sounds like a bad Bill Cosby impression. I can’t unhear that while watching this now.
— Good reveal that the alcohol-loving aliens have two livers.
— Overall, ehh. While there were some highlights as pointed out above, and Phil’s delivery was funny, this overall sketch was too slow for my likes and it dragged.
STARS: **


THIS WEEK WITH DAVID BRINKLEY
Sam Donaldson (KEN) leans in chair

 

— Funny seeing this open with a shot of the Capital Building, considering the preceding sketch (Problem Drinkers From Outer Space) ended with stock footage of a flying saucer crashing into the roof of the Capital Building.
— Phil’s David Brinkley voice is making me laugh.
— In the live version I’m watching of this episode, the first instance of Kevin leaning back and almost falling out of his chair was marred by a camera delay where they cut to Kevin too late. I’m assuming this is fixed in the rerun version.
— This is a really silly, one-note sketch, but it’s making me laugh.
— I like how when asked if he’d be willing to switch chairs with Sam Donaldson, Dana’s George Will sternly responds in that stiff George Will delivery “No. This is my chair, I’ll sit here.”
— How are they pulling off this effect with Kevin’s chair repeatedly bouncing on the edge without actually falling over?
— I liked Jon’s “You gotta admit, that was amazing” in response to one of Donaldson’s near-falling-overs.
— Overall, a decent sketch despite the very thin and dumb premise. This had the type of Kevin Nealon silliness that I always like; the type of humor that very few people other than him can sell. I’m sure he wrote this sketch himself, as it felt like his style.
STARS: ***


CANNIBALISM INTERVIEW
questions posed during job interview check whether (host) is a cannibal

— A good laugh from Kevin’s first sudden cannibalism question to Hopper, as well as Hopper’s speechless reaction.
— I like how the cannibalism questions are hinting at sinister plans the execs seem to have.
— An overall okay sketch, though I felt it had potential to be even funnier. This feels like the type of sketch that, if it were done a year or so later when this SNL era fully hit its stride, would’ve been a brilliant absurd sketch that would be a cult favorite among comedy nerds like me. As the sketch stands, it was merely adequate and felt like something was missing.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Dreams”


LAST CHANCE
mechanics (host) & (JAH) beat investment broker (PHH) at his own game

— I got a laugh from Hopper’s bad “investment broker/broken car” joke.
— Hopper’s “If you see us gettin’ smaller, it’s because you’re leavin’” line got a good audience reaction.
— Overall, another sketch tonight that was merely okay. Not particularly hilarious or memorable, but had a nice charm to it.
STARS: ***


SWEENEY SISTERS
Liz & Candy Sweeney sing a medley to say “goodbye” for the summer

— Who was that doing the opening voice-over introducing the Sweeney Sisters? The voice didn’t sound familiar at all. Strange that they didn’t use Don Pardo for that.
— A different set up for the Sweeney Sisters, and I like this meta premise with them saying goodbye to this season of SNL.
— During the medley, I especially liked how they segued from The Trolley Song to So Long Farewell.
— Great screechy long note from Jan at the end.
— Overall, an entertaining and fitting way to end a season. I always appreciate any time SNL ends a season with something special and meta like this, instead of just ending a season with a normal generic sketch.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An average season-ender, and it actually felt kinda underwhelming. While there’s not much in the episode to really complain about, this wasn’t the most exciting way for a solid season like this to end. Most of the sketches tonight were merely okay and rarely rose above that level. Even Church Chat was just average. Almost nothing tonight stood out as really strong, and there’s not much about this episode that I’ll remember in the future. Considering this was both a season finale and a third-consecutive-live-week episode, maybe the people at SNL were understandably a little burned out and eager for their summer vacation.
— Season 12 as a whole was a very good inaugural year for this SNL era. This season did a fantastic 180 from the poor quality of the season 11; in fact, I’d call this the best rebound year in SNL history. This season also provided a good amount of classic moments, and we got an excellent new cast that puts a lot of other SNL casts to shame. All that being said, this season was not quite as strong as this era would later get. There were some things about this season that come off a bit odd and maybe even a little questionable compared to later seasons in this era. That’s understandable, as the tone of this era wasn’t set in stone yet; they were finding their voice this season.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Garry Shandling):
— a step down


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1985-86):
— a huge step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 13 begins, with host Steve Martin

Posted on

May 16, 1987 – Garry Shandling / Los Lobos (S12 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
senators try not to upset Robert McFarlane (PHH) at Iran-Contra hearings

— Second episode in a row with a sketch set at the Iran-Contra hearings, and with Phil playing a person being questioned. Both sketches even have Akira Yoshimura as one of the senators.
— I like the senators sugarcoating their criticisms while coddling Phil as a suicidal Robert McFarlane. By the way, the only reason I’m familiar with Robert McFarlane and his then-infamous suicide attempt is because of jokes that were made about it in some of the earlier Weekend Updates this season. Otherwise, I’d be completely lost during this cold opening.
— Kevin’s delivery is particularly funny as one of the coddling senators.
— Great part with the senators all gasping in unison when Phil’s McFarlane slowly reaches in his pocket for something, as if he’s going to pull out a gun to commit suicide, only for it to just be a tissue to wipe off his sweat with.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about girlfriends past & present

— Very funny story about meeting a girl who’s hair is on fire.
— When talking about making love to a woman for 1 hour and 15 minutes, I love the reveal that it was the day you turn the clocks ahead.
— I like this meta premise of his monologue material being him doing stand-up about not knowing what to do for his monologue.
— Great ending with him walking off the stage, going across the studio, and arriving at the next sketch’s set after he decides not to do a monologue and to just move on to the sketches. Excellent way to segue into the next sketch.
STARS: ****


RETURNING A SWEATER
host screws up a department store sketch by breaking character & 4th wall

— The great meta theme of tonight’s episode continues in this sketch, with Garry constantly breaking the fourth wall, speaking to the camera, addressing cast members by their real name instead of their character name, etc.
— Phil is absolutely hilarious as a Frank Nelson-esque (a.k.a. the “Yeeessssssss?” guy) character.
— Ha, and now Garry stops in the middle of the sketch to flat-out do a direct-to-camera stand-up routine about sweaters.
— Phil’s angry, exaggerated delivery of “Thank you for shopping at BAAAAAMBEEEERGERRRRRRS!!!” absolutely slayed me.
STARS: ****½


THE PUPPY
jewel thief’s (DAC) canine mannerisms evade detective (PHH)

 

— I’m already getting a laugh just from Phil’s snooty Brit mustache, which looks as if it’s on upside-down.
— The gradual reveal of Dana’s puppy-esque actions are well-done.
— I’m especially laughing right now at Dana repeatedly jerking his head to the side as a hint to Phil that he’d like Phil to throw the ball again.
— Pretty solid and well-performed sketch overall, and Dana was very funny as the lead character.
STARS: ***½


SUPPORT GROUP
(host) tells his support group terrible, false stories about his mother

 

— I like Dana’s delivery in this. There are also hints of his Garth voice from the future Wayne’s World sketches in there. I think I recall hearing Dana based this voice on his own little brother.
— Love all these horror stories we’re told about Garry’s mother.
— I’m enjoying the progress of this sketch, with the outraged group members now heading over to Garry’s mother’s house to confront her.
— Very funny shocking reveal that the professor Garry had a sexual relationship with is his own father.
— Some really good reactions the group members have to Garry revealing he knew the professor was his father all along and that it’s what made their sexual relationship so exciting. Dana’s agoraphobic character especially has a funny response to that: “I love my apartment. I’m never going out again.”
— Wow at the reconciliation between Garry and his mother gradually turning into a passionate make-out session. Nice touch with Jon peeking in through the window after he and the other group members have left in disgust.
— Another fourth-wall break tonight, with Garry dropping character to humorously tell us “This is the worst character I’ve ever had to play.”
— An overall hysterical sketch that got funnier and funnier the more disturbing it became. This was fantastic.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Is That All There Is”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Jimmy Stewart (DAC) dislikes the colorization of black & white movies

— Already starting off hot with a very strong Gary Hart/Donna Rice joke.
— In the rerun version I’m reviewing, there was a VERY obvious cut after Dennis’ Oliver North/Fawn Hall underwear joke. Right when Dennis turns to the straight-ahead camera to say something, there’s an abrupt cut to him facing the side camera as he starts the next joke. What was removed?
— Dana’s Jimmy Stewart is making some good arguments about why it’s wrong to colorize old black-and-white films, but where are the laughs here?  This commentary is kinda coming off as what people today would consider preachy or “clapter bait”.
— Okay, now the Jimmy Stewart commentary is finally getting funny with him getting worked up, threatening to kick the ass of anyone who colorizes any of his films, and warning Dennis not to push him.
— I like how it’s become a running gag these last two Updates for Dennis to talk about a random story in the news and then suddenly reveal it prompted George Steinbrenner to fire Lou Pinella.
STARS: ***


TEENY CAFÉ
Babette’s exclusive, pricey Teeny Cafe seats only five people

— I usually don’t care for this Babette character, but this particular sketch seems quite different and interesting.
— A laugh from the visual of Dennis Miller playing a hair-in-ponytail dignified waiter.
— The cutaway to Kevin eating in a closet was really funny.
— Not crazy at all about the song being performed now, even if Jon has some fairly amusing lyrics.
— Overall, this sketch started out interesting, but gradually devolved into a big ol’ pile of meh, which this Babette character is no stranger to.
STARS: **


HOLLYWOOD MOM
actress’ (Tracy Ullman) neglected baby gets even

   

— Random Tracey Ullman-starring film.
— This is already providing some good laughs right from the start, and unsurprisingly, Ullman is giving a funny performance.
— I like the sounds heard from SNL’s studio audience when the baby gets a hold of a big pair of scissors.
— Some more amusement from other dangerous things happening to the baby due to Ullman’s neglectful handling.
— Heh, the audience seemed too disturbed to laugh at the baby getting ahold of a gun. Guess that’s where the audience draws the line.
— Good dark ending with the baby shooting Ullman off-camera and then somehow driving away in a car.
STARS: ***½


REDNECK AIRLINE
(host) & (VIJ) are drenched with spit in plane’s chewing tobacco section

 

— Some funny gross-out humor from the initial visual of fake chewing tobacco liquid being sprayed onto Garry and Victoria from off-camera.
— Phil’s characterization here is great.
— Loved the reaction Phil’s character had to accidentally swallowing his chewing tobacco.
— A decent overall sketch, even if it didn’t really go much farther than the initial joke that was established early on.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “One Time, One Night”


HAPPY COUPLE
reconciliation & argumentation marks couple’s (DAC) & (JAH) anniversary

— I liked Dana’s overly-calm “Don’t do that again… don’t EVER do that again” to Jan.
— Whoa at Dana unexpectedly throwing a drink in Jan’s face.
— A good laugh from Jan putting out her cigarette in Dana’s meal and ordering him to “eat around it!”
— Garry’s funny as the pleasant waiter, especially his friendly “No necking!” when he walks in on Dana angrily strangling Jan.
— Yet another fourth-wall break tonight, with Garry as himself just casually informing Jan and Dana that the sketch is over. Proper way to end tonight’s episode in general.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A consistently solid episode. Teeny Café was the only thing all night that I didn’t care for. The rest of the sketches ranged from good to fantastic to hilariously disturbing. This episode was also helped by the unique touch Garry Shandling gave the show, with his meta, fourth wall-breaking style adding a great change of pace to SNL’s format.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mark Harmon):
— a fairly big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 12 comes to an end, with host Dennis Hopper

Posted on

May 9, 1987 – Mark Harmon / Suzanne Vega (S12 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The New Charlie’s Angels- they eliminate presidential front-runners

— Clever topical concept.
— Great reveal of “Charlie” being a face-hidden Ted Kennedy.
— Loved Phil-as-Kennedy’s line about women being “harder to open than a liquor store in Nebraska”.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Certainly one of the more unique attire a host has ever made their monologue entrance in.
— The Mother’s Day/towel story was pretty funny.
— Is it an intentional joke that the audience keeps applauding at every mention of him winning Sexiest Man Alive?
— Ah, this has segued into a related sketch, much like William Shatner’s monologue earlier this season.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE 1986
Peter Graves (PHH) & Pat Stevens crown host People’s Sexiest Man Alive

— Interesting use of Phil’s Peter Graves impression outside of the Discover sketches.
— Similarly, this is a rare instance of seeing Pat Stevens outside of her talk show setting. At least she fits more in this sketch than in the Cabrini Green school assembly sketch she randomly appeared in the previous season.
— What’s with Nora’s dress occasionally fading transparently into the background behind her, as if she’s a hologram? I guess she’s being greenscreened into the shot.
— Dana is hilarious in this. This is my first time reviewing his John Travolta impression, though this isn’t its debut. According to the SNL Archives site, Dana actually debuted this impression in the last episode, but it was in a sketch that was removed from my rerun copy.
— Good line about intelligence costing the contestants points with the judges.
— Funny performance from Jon as F. Murray Abraham.
— I like the amusing touch with Mark and Jon holding hands in suspense when the winner’s going to be announced.
— The closing winner’s song performed by Phil’s Graves is making me laugh.
STARS: ***½


VERY SMART THEATER
young Attila The Hun (host) wants to make mobiles

— An initial laugh from the obviously fake library background behind Jon.
— Heh, and now they’ve jokingly acknowledged what I pointed out above, by having Jon slip a book into a book-shaped hole in the obviously fake library background.
— Phil angrily throwing an axe into Tom Davis’ back was hilarious, as was Tom’s reaction.
— Oh, god. Where is this going now with Mark’s Atilla the Hun breaking out into a sudden musical number?
— The studio audience is more amused by this sketch than I am so far.
— Man, that “preview of next week’s episode” scene at the end was just as weak as the rest of the sketch.
— Okay, Jon got me laughing at the end by lighting his cigarette with a bust.
— Overall, this sketch started out okay, but ended up really boring me, and the unnecessary mid-sketch musical number didn’t help. It’s way too early in the episode for a sketch this dull and slow.
STARS: *½


IRAN-CONTRA HEARINGS
senators change focus of Iran-Contra hearings to the Hart-Rice affair

— A sketch like this feels weird seeing in the middle of an episode. Feels more like I’m watching a cold opening that was moved to later in the episode. Adding to the confusion is that the following week’s episode actually DOES have a cold opening that’s similarly set at the Iran-Contra hearings.
— Another issue I have with this sketch is that it’s TOO topical and vague. The people in the sketch keep going on and on about “the senator” and “her”, without ever mentioning the names of the senator and woman in question. The only reason I know that they’re Gary Hart and Donna Rice is because of my familiarity with the Gary Hart scandal.
— I liked Dennis’ blunt comment about how Donna Rice’s face is “kinda goofy”.
— Another Akira Yoshimura sighting, and with some dialogue too.
— Proving my earlier point that this sketch is probably a rejected cold opening, this ends with Jon asking Phil “Are there any other statements you’d like to make?”, as if he was setting Phil up to say “Live from New York…” But of course, Phil’s response ended up being something completely different, which was probably a last-minute change if I’m correct that this was moved from the cold opening spot.
STARS: **½


EINSTEIN EXPRESS
when it has to be there the day before yesterday

 

— I love Phil’s intentionally exaggerated, cartoonish portrayal of Jon’s angry boss.
— Fantastic concept.
— A particularly funny part with Kevin’s panicked request to give birth control pills to his girlfriend 4 months in the past.
— Strong commercial overall. I’ve always considered this and the Jiffy Express commercial from the early 90s (a commercial about a delivery service that specializes in taking the blame for packages you send late) to be counterparts to each other. Wonder if they were both written by the same person.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Luka”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM reads the Montgomery Clift Notes for Moby Dick
for new Americans, AWB clarifies what the American dream is really about

— Love the long string of Gary Hart jokes.
— Dennis is on fire with the speed he’s going through the jokes.
— A. Whitney’s overall Big Picture commentary had some good comments as usual, especially the bits about the Columbia Record Club, the meek inheriting the earth, and the Elvis Presley fake-out. I also liked how he signed off with an oddly long-winded, verbose way of saying “The Big Picture”.
STARS: ***½


SALMON SPAWNING
after swimming upstream, salmons (host) & (VIJ) meet & decide to spawn

— Interesting concept.
— The salmonella STD joke was a groaner but a pretty funny one.
— Mark and Victoria did a good job playing off of a real flub where Mark mistakenly jumped ahead of the script while Victoria was speaking.
— Cute sketch overall, even if I wasn’t laughing all that hard.
STARS: ***


DAVE’S PARTY
by Richard Goldstone- adult concerns fill kids’ minds

 

— A unique short film for SNL. Something about this feels like a bit of a precursor to the Look Who’s Talking movies.
— I like the part with the foreign-accented sunglasses-wearing girl.
— Overall, this was well-made, but was another piece that was more cute than funny. This started losing its novelty for me after a while.
STARS: **½


AD COUNCIL
— A rerun… from LAST season. This feels really out of place in this season.


PET CHICKEN SHOP
Ching Change fights gang leader boyfriend (host) of sister Loose (NOD)

 

— Oh, dear god.
— Now Ching and his sister Loose are doing a bad Who’s On First parody using stereotypical Asian names. Groanworthy as hell.
— Okay, I actually got a laugh just now, from the gangsters briefly breaking out into a choreographed swan-type little dance when making their entrance.
— Wow, I’m actually enjoying this fight scene, especially the blatantly fake hits.
— LOL at the part with Ching pulling out Kevin’s heart.
— Unfortunately, they lost me at the end with Ching breaking out into song. Why do these sketches always have to end with Ching singing?
— Overall, probably the best Ching Change sketch ever, by default. I’m sure this recurring sketch will go right back to its usual unwatchable quality in the next installment.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Marlene on the Wall”


MYOWLING BIBLE
now you can share the religious experience with your cat

— Yet another piece tonight that’s more cute than funny. However, as a cat person, I can’t help but get a bit of a kick out of watching this.
— Overall, just an okay-at-best piece, but didn’t really feel necessary.
— In more recent years, SNL once did a fake ad titled The Bird Bible, starring Kate McKinnon and Mike O’Brien. In the review I did of that episode back when it originally aired (this was during my years as a reviewer of newly-aired SNL episodes), I dismissed the Bird Bible piece as a poor rip-off of this Myowling Bible sketch. Sometime later on, I came around on the Bird Bible piece and began appreciating the humor in it, whether it was intended as a Myowling Bible copy or not. In fact, I’d now say Bird Bible is the better of the two pieces, as it at least had actual jokes.
STARS: **½


PORTRAIT ARTIST
a novice sketch artist (KEN) makes countless mistakes on (VIJ)’s portrait

— I like Kevin explaining that even though he’s new at doing portraits, there’s no need to worry because he’s seen it done a lot.
— A good laugh from Kevin immediately drawing Victoria with a bulbous nose when saying he’s good at drawing noses.
— Nice touch with Kevin adding missing teeth to Victoria’s portrait when being told hockey is her favorite sport.
— I love the increasing amount of black smudges on Victoria’s face each time Kevin turns her head a certain way.
— I’ve always considered this overall sketch a sister sketch to Kevin’s Police Sketch Artist piece from earlier this season in the Bronson Pinchot episode.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Pretty underwhelming. There were some good things, but the overall episode felt forgettable and below standards for this season. The second half of the episode also had too many sketches lacking in intentional big laughs (I started losing count of the number of pieces I described as “more cute than funny”); one or two sketches like that in an episode is fine, but half of an episode filled with sketches not going for hard laughs is a bit much.
— The copy I reviewed of this episode is missing a sketch called He’s The One. Turns out the repeated Ad Council fake ad was added in reruns to replace it.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Larroquette):
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Garry Shandling