Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
NFL Video Countdown- foreign-born special teamers sing “We Are Kickers”
— Some funny moments during Walter Payton’s intro, with the titles of music videos that football teams have put out.
— The Superbowl Shuffle-esque “We Are Kickers” is really funny and memorable, especially the simplistic, broken english lyrics.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
deja vu episodes reveal Joe hasn’t fully recovered from his concussion
— Pretty funny straightforward bit with his concussion causing him to repeatedly state exactly what he had said earlier.
STARS: ***
ADOBE
— Rerun
BAR
in a bar, Tommy Flanagan & Walter compare their football achievements
— Another Tommy Flanagan sketch.
— A laugh from Flanagan talking about his inside-out scar.
— Walter was really stiff in his imitation of Flanagan’s liar shtick at the end, but for some reason, that made it funnier to me.
— I like the constant “and yet it happened” lines between Flanagan and Walter.
— Not sure if this is correct, but I recall that this ends up being Tommy Flanagan’s last appearance for a long time. After how overused he’s been, we get a much-needed long break from him.
STARS: ***
THE HONEST MAN
sincere guy Stu (Joe) interferes with bone-jumping plans of (PHH) & (JAH)
— Some laughs from Phil and Jan’s inner thoughts.
— Immediate big laughs from Joe’s inner thoughts being exactly what he has just said aloud.
— And there goes the classic line “I’ll be in my room masturbating” that instantly makes this sketch memorable, and was the perfect way to end this.
STARS: ****½
CRACK
gymnast (DAC), executive (KEN), dancer (JAH) are Crack Achievers
— This is getting hilarious after the “crack generation” reveal, with all the action now getting crazy and being shown in fast motion.
— Great scenes with Jan attacking a dog, Kevin rapidly exercising himself into a heart attack, and Dana’s gymnast rapidly spinning on the parallel bars to the degree that he catches on fire.
STARS: ****
THE NFL TODAY
a Neil Young (DAC) interview; Jimmy The Greek’s (PHH) pick
— This sketch makes its debut, which would go on to be a semi-recurring sketch from this era that I’ve always liked.
— Very funny detail with Kevin achieving Brent Musberger’s droopy slant-eyed look by simply holding down the sides of his eyes.
— I like how they keep doing a replay of Joe’s concussion incident, much to his chagrin.
— LOL at some of SNL’s audience being heard booing at Joe’s slam about how the Giants don’t win often.
— Ha, Joe begins repeating a statement from the beginning of his interview, as a callback to the gag from the monologue.
— Dana’s Neil Young impression is dead-on and hilarious.
— Funny Mickey Mouse song from Dana’s Neil Young.
— Love the voice Phil’s using as Jimmy the Greek.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “French Kissin’ in the USA”
MACE
multiple escape attempts by hostage (KEN) flummox his captor Mace (PHH)
— The debut of Mace, one of Phil Hartman’s more forgotten recurring characters.
— I got huge laughs from Kevin’s initial failed attempt to wrestle the gun away from Phil as soon as Phil’s back is turned. Great reaction from Phil as well, especially the initial speechless look on his face (last screencap above).
— I’m loving Phil’s aggression throughout this.
— Phil’s threatening delivery of “I’m a bad, bad mother” slayed me for some reason.
— Overall, this sketch had me in stitches. I loved the execution, Kevin’s repeated foolish attempts to thwart Mace, and Phil’s comically aggressive delivery.
— I recall them later doing a sequel of sorts to this sketch, where Mace is trying to get in bed with a woman, but gets repeatedly annoyed by Kevin as a random guy constantly peeking in through the window.
STARS: ****
WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ says her baby daughter Scarlett’s nods & headshakes predict 1987
an electric football game shows what to expect from Super Bowl XXI
AWB examines how race relations have changed since MLK’s times
— Very funny joke about Chinese communist leader Hoo Yoo Bang (sp?).
— Oh, is this going to be yet another Victoria Jackson commentary where the joke is that her “investigative report” video just turns out to be a home video of her playing with her baby?
— Hmm, the premise of this particular Victoria/baby commentary actually seems pretty promising, with her daughter supposedly being able to predict the future when fed Cheerios.
— Victoria’s overall commentary ended up being okay, and was enough of a change of pace from the last two baby video commentaries she did.
— LOL at the audience’s reaction to Dennis’ jokingly mean-spirited, sexist punchline to the story about Corazon Aquino being Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year (“Congratulations. Now get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich”).
— Much like the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots bit last season, Dennis does another rip-off of a bit Joe Piscopo already did years earlier, where we’re shown a Denver Broncos practice session, represented with an electronic football game. This fell VERY flat tonight.
— A. Whitney’s getting some good laughs defending white trash.
— Another overall solid Big Picture commentary from A. Whitney.
STARS: ***½
CHICK HAZARD, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
Chick Hazard busts Eddie Spimozo- singer Nancy Maloney (VIJ) is underage
— Good to see the return of the Chick Hazard/Eddie Spimozo sketch.
— I always like Jon’s delivery of “I gotta go, I GOTTA GO!!” in these sketches.
— Victoria’s song is actually really funny, especially her suddenly changing her pitch ridiculously low in the middle of the song. This is probably the most Victoria has made me laugh during her SNL tenure so far.
— Third episode in a row with Dana working the line “Why, I oughta pound yooouuu!” into a black-and-white sketch. This time, the audience actually somewhat applauds when he says it, as if even THEY recognize that it’s starting to become a catchphrase of his.
— Love the heated back-and-forth between Phil and Jon, culminating in Jon yelling “I didn’t touch that fish!”
— I said this in an earlier review, but I always love the authenticity this cast brings to these 1930s/40s-era sketches.
STARS: ***½
SUPER BOWL GAMBLING MEMORIES
despite losing, Dallas beats the spread
— An okay quick bit overall. Nothing else to say besides that.
STARS: ***
CHURCH CHAT
hosts’ football lingo is naughty; Church Lady catches a pass
— What’s this doing on so late tonight?
— Why has the usual guest couch been replaced with computer chairs?
— Good casting of Jan as Shirley MacLaine.
— Church Lady’s naughty description of football is funny.
— Another really good laugh, this time from Church Lady’s very suggestive detailing of the process of snapping the ball.
— Ha, Joe has a very amusing suggestive description of his own when describing how a football play typically goes.
— The mini-football game between Church Lady, Joe, and Walter is fun, especially Church Lady running out into the audience to catch a pass.
— Good ending with Church Lady, Joe, and Walter all doing the superior dance.
— Overall, this was the first Church Lady sketch that I felt was really strong. Hopefully, these sketches have officially taken off with tonight’s installment.
STARS: ****
THE MICHAEL JACKSON WORKOUT TAPE
the pop star (Walter) is pumped up
— An initial laugh from the visual of Walter playing Michael Jackson.
— Walter’s delivery in this is pretty rough with his constant pauses.
— The effeminate hand mannerisms and somewhat lispy voice are a bit much. This vaguely gay portrayal of Michael Jackson comes off strange in hindsight nowadays, which is the same gripe I had with Eddie Murphy’s MJ impression from back in the day. Then again, in Eddie and Walter’s defense, I guess there wasn’t much about Michael’s personality to make fun of yet back in the 80s. Oh, how that would soon drastically change…
— I like the inclusion of a random llama.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Love With Love”
UNITED WAY
the United Way is there for those impoverished by heeding Jimmy The Greek
— Pretty funny premise.
— Joe started out okay in this, but after a while, he’s now looking pretty lost with his delivery and has begun stumbling quite a bit.
— Overall, this sketch started out fine, but fizzled out a little after a while, and Joe’s performance didn’t help.
— This would later get removed from all reruns and be replaced with, IIRC, a Buster Poindexter musical performance from dress rehearsal (he was bumped from the live show, for the second time this season).
STARS: **
GOODNIGHTS
— In the live version I’m watching of this episode, Don Pardo’s voice-over during these goodnights mentions that the Weekend Update from the October 18, 1986 broadcast (Malcolm-Jamal Warner episode) used the name Eddie Fontaine, and Pardo explains it was meant to be a fictitious character, not a real person. I pointed out in my review of that episode that Fontaine’s name would later get bleeped out in reruns. I guess Pardo’s voice-over in these goodnights was basically an on-air apology after the legal trouble I’m assuming SNL got into for using Fontaine’s name in a negative manner.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An overall pretty solid episode, though the quality took a dip towards the end. A lot of good sketches tonight. For athlete hosts, Joe Montana and Walter Payton weren’t too bad. Despite the obvious stiffness, as well as their line delivery being distractingly rough during their respective final sketch (Michael Jackson Workout and United Way), they were likable and got some laughs.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (William Shatner):
— a mild step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Paul Shaffer
Not to be a buzzkill, but Tommy’s got two more appearances this season. Then he takes a two-year break.
“Sincere Guy Stu” cracks me up to this day.
I’m glad this season’s cast was so good because aside from the three episode stretch in the middle (Kinison/Williams/Three Amigos), a lot of this season’s hosts were not noted for comedy or were kind of inexperienced sketch performers (some of them, like Shatner, turned out fine, and none were truly awful). I think in a lesser cast you would end up in a kind of slog season.
The cast definitely does the heavy lifting in a lot of this season’s episodes.
I love the “We are the Kickers” song so hilarious…unfortunately, it’s nowhere to be found online. Sincere Guy Stu is also hilarious. This episode features two of Phil’s lesser known, underappreciated characters: Chick Hazard and Mace, always good to see them.
And I agree that although already a popular character at this point, this episode marks where Church Lady has become fully formed and really starts to take off.
I think I’ve unlocked the secret to this cast: they all had different comedy backgrounds (standup, improv, writing, theater), none of them has ever said they were HUGE fans of The show prior to being hired, and they came from different parts of the country. Just like the original cast (who couldn’t be fans of the show prior to working there, since it didn’t exist). Re-living these shows through your reviews, I’m shocked by how consistently excellent they are, even when the hosts aren’t comedians. Lorne knew how to bring out their best. Oh if only we could have gotten Pamela Sue Martin and Robert Culp and John Madden THIS season. (kidding)
Pretty solid show. Joe was great for an athlete he had a lot of charisma and wasn’t a brick. Payton not so much but he was a nice guy.. the show could easily worked if Montana had hosted by himself. The monologue and NFL Today bit are gold and made for a nice back to back bit. The Honest man skit’s gold.. who thing works as an akward mess then Joe goes off at the end with that one liner lmao. Hooks’s reaction makes it work.
The Honest Man skit cracks me up every time. Montana delivers it so straight which is awesome. If he played it for the laugh it wouldn’t have been as funny.
Part of the Michael Jackson sketch would end up being showcased in a later video documentary on Payton, entitled “Pure Payton”, in 1997. Make of that what you will.
Watched the live version of this a few days ago…I had mostly just seen a few sketches in isolation. It’s a solid show – like a lot of 86-87, it’s not quite as good as you would hope for or expect considering the caliber of writers and performers, but they still keep you through the 90 minutes.
Probably the oddest part, which I didn’t even really notice until someone in the stream pointed it out, was that Joe and Walter don’t do the monologue together. I suppose it makes sense – they weren’t related, or romantically involved, so rather than go to the trouble of having to write for two non-actors, they just give Walter the LFNY and give Joe the monologue. They should have done this with a few actual couples who crapped out in the monologues (looking at you, Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger…).
The cold open has aged horribly – it’s almost 34 years old, so there’s no point in getting on a high horse, but fucking hell did it make me go into a full cringe.
The Sincere Guy Stu sketch is just great, and another example of the flawless, natural chemistry Jan and Phil shared (possibly the most natural chemistry any duo have ever shared on SNL). The version shown in repeats is stronger, as the punchline is somewhat muffled live, but it’s still great.
I wonder why they felt the Jimmy the Greek charity sketch was so bad it needed to be replaced. It’s nothing special, but nothing worth having to include the 48549th Buster Poindexter performance (nothing against Buster…).
The Michael Jackson sketch is kind of amusing – Walter Payton is clearly having fun, and this was before so many of the uglier scandals and secrets about Michael began to come out, so there’s an odd innocence to the piece. (you can tell how old it is because they joke about his family beating him but make no mention of his father – In Living Color in particular had a field day with that topic)
This B&W sketch is a bit clunky for me…the smoother beginning parts with Phil and Nora don’t mesh well with the usual Lovitz bromides. Victoria is hilarious, but otherwise I prefer some other version of this (if I remember correctly the one with Jon and Sean Penn is good).
I wish we got more of Phil as Chick Hazard (which he auditioned with). I did not know until recently that the photo used for Phil’s Wikipedia page was him in character as Chick Hazard. I just thought it was Phil looking very fly, 1978 style. There’s another Chick photo around which looks more like Torgo from Manos, Hands of Fate…
Speaking of Chick, Phil did a variation of the character in several phone commercials (complete with a few SNL alum of his era).
I’ll add that the live version of “French Kissing in the USA” is a particular favorite. I’m not sure why, but it sounds markedly better than the recorded version (which isn’t bad, but …)
I will say that Joe Montana’s lack of acting skill allows him to nail the Sincere Guy Stu sketch more than any other actual host or cast member could.
I love in Church Chat how Church Lady calls Montana, “Joey.”
Also Hu Yu Bang is in the 1980s Trivial Pursuit. My family used to play it all the time and I remember it came up and my one brother laughed like twenty minutes at the name. Until this episode, I never saw it/heard it again.
Incidentally, one of my other brothers (I have 6) looked exactly like Montana when he was younger.
RIP Walter
As a general rule athletes don’t make good comedians but the Michael Jackson bit was good. My version of the episode had a Bruce Poindexter sketch, and they removed the Crack sketch. And some were out of order but otherwise the same. I liked it. Decent episode considering the hosts.
Here’s an excerpt from Michael Cader’s Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years (Houghton Mifflin, 1994). It’s James Downey’s account of “a memorable near-mishap” which might explain Joe Montana stumbling through the “United Way” sketch:
“There was one time when Joe Montana hosted the show and the show was almost over. It was like a quarter after twelve, and I just stopped by his dressing room to talk to him. He was relaxing because most of his work was over at that point, but there was one piece remaining. There’s a call box in the host dressing room where Joe Dicso gives them warnings—like, “five minutes.” “three minutes.” and so on—and Montana’s lawyer had it had turned it off because it does get distracting.
I should have known better, but I just got to sitting and talking to him. and apparently they were frantically trying to call him until with about thirty seconds to go he wasn’t out there. Joe Dicso comes bursting into the door, screaming, “They’re about to go on camera. where are you?” So the pages have cleared a path for him and here was Joe Montana, sprinting from his dressing room into the studio and hitting his mark at a dead run just as the red light went on. He was a little thrown just for the first twenty seconds but he got there in time, and it was just a great thing to see Joe Montana do.”
I see no reason to subtract a half-star from Sincere Guy Stu. IMO it’s a five-star classic all the way.