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

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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