Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Frank Sinatra (PHH) & Nancy (JAH) Reagan cuckold Ronald (PHH)
— Great reveal of the delivery boy being Sinatra in disguise.
— Very funny part with Sinatra flimsily disguising himself as a coat rack.
— Sinatra to Nancy Reagan, regarding the First Ladies he’s slept with: “You got the best rack, but a guy could eat off of Bess Truman’s ass.”
— Funny decision with Nancy choosing to have Ronald’s address to the nation playing on the TV during her and Sinatra’s lovemaking.
— Good gag with parts of the ceiling caving in on Ronald from the raunchy lovemaking going on in the room above him.
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
improv troupe translates host’s song based on Presumed Innocent
— Unsurprisingly, Catherine is coming off as a total pro here and is getting good laughs from lots of little things.
— Her interaction with the SNL Band has some really funny moments.
— I love her bizarre-yet-strangely-catchy foreign language singing, as well as the translations from the improv group.
STARS: ****
THE DANCER
— Rerun
SPROCKETS
actress’ (host) films involve rusty metal box & caribou
— I like the titles shown of Catherine’s various movies, such as “Pasta & Screams” and “This Squid Has One Too Many Arms”.
— Dieter: “I feel spent, like a man who is forced to wear his genitals like a pendant.”
— The bizarre movie clips starring Catherine are all very funny, especially “He Loves Me, He Loves My Caribou”.
STARS: ****
MTV SPRING BREAK 1991
drunken Kennedys & partygoers mix at compound
— Very funny how this is being held live from the Kennedy Compound.
— I like how Phil as a drunk and rowdy Ted Kennedy is the guest VJ.
— Rock is cracking me up as Flavor Flav, and he fits the role more than Tim did earlier this season.
— Some good laughs from Jan’s performance as a very old Rose Kennedy.
— Kinda surprised this sketch has ended already. I had remembered this being longer and involving more of the cast. Maybe I’m getting parts of this mixed up with the U.K. Spring Break sketch from Miranda Richardson’s episode two seasons later.
STARS: ***½
IT’S PAT
druggist (host) fails to discern androgynous Pat’s sex from purchases
— This is only Pat’s third appearance, and the character is already getting recognition applause. That’s more than I can say for Richmeister in HIS third appearance from the previous week’s episode.
— We get the debut of the “It’s Pat” opening title sequence and theme song.
— I like how in the opening title sequence, the headshot circles shown of various people reacting to Pat remind me of Mr. Short Term Memory’s opening credits, where we see headshot circles of various people reacting to him. (comparison below)
— This one guy in the audience has a very distinctive laugh that stands out far above the rest of the audience’s laughter.
— I got a good laugh from Catherine suggesting Secret deodorant to Pat because, as the deodorant’s slogan goes, “Strong enough for a woman but made for a man.”
— Overall, not my favorite Pat sketch so far, but still decent and featured a good straightman performance from Catherine.
STARS: ***
DEEP THOUGHTS BY JACK HANDEY
on what to do upon falling from Sears Tower
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Losing My Religion”
WEEKEND UPDATE
DAS gives more thoughts on what’s in & what’s out
— Dennis’ lethargic delivery from the last two Updates has pretty much become a regular weekly thing now. It’s sad seeing this legendary Update anchor limp towards the finish line of his SNL tenure. I will say that his delivery is slightly less lethargic tonight, and the jokes themselves aren’t bad.
— Good to see David’s “What’s in and out” segment return.
— Hmm, this edition of “What’s in and out” isn’t as good as David’s previous one.
— Okay, I got a big laugh from David just now, with his bit about not enunciating the phrase “gettin’ some pussy” so the censors can’t bust him.
— Another big laugh from David, with his bit about “kissing ass to the host so you can get into the Home Alone sequel”. That’s even funnier in hindsight, considering a certain castmate of David’s would end up getting a part in that very same Home Alone sequel.
— I always love the camaraderie between Dennis and David whenever David’s Update commentaries end. Something about it feels like there was an intended passing-of-the-torch between them (you can particularly see it in the screencap below).
After all, both Dennis and David have a similar laid-back, wiseass, meta, self-aware sensibility. Makes one wonder what it would’ve been like had young David succeeded Dennis as an Update anchor instead of Kevin Nealon. And before anyone says that a Spade-anchored Weekend Update might’ve been too much like the dreaded “Spade in America” segments from season 21, I’m talking about 1991 David Spade, back when he was new, fresh, and actually gave a damn and put effort into his snarky performances. “Spade in America”-era David Spade, on the other hand, was at a time when David’s snarky shtick had gotten beyond played-out and he was giving lethargic, tired, and half-assed performances all the time… hmm, kinda like Dennis Miller himself at the point we’re currently in, at the homestretch of HIS tenure.
— David’s overall commentary tonight began slow, but took off after a while.
— I loved the mean-but-funny punchline to Dennis’ “Tales From the Crypt” joke about Jon Lovitz playing a desperate down-and-out actor in an upcoming episode: “Hmm, since when did HBO start doing documentaries?”
— Hmm, a child actor from “Eight is Enough” was recently arrested for trying to rob a pharmacy? I’m betting SNL’s writers were kicking themselves for not including him as one of the criminals in the recent America’s Most Wanted Child Stars sketch. By the way, what the hell is with so many former child stars robbing stores around this time anyway? First Dana Plato, now the “Eight is Enough” guy.
— Very odd, random mock-serious bit with Dennis having varying reactions to learning Merv Griffin may possibly be gay. Not quite sure what to make of that bit.
STARS: ***
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Fantastic Woman’s (host) flight scrutinized by Justice League of America
— Something about the visual of Chris Rock in a lizard costume constantly moving his tongue in and out in a lizard-esque manner is priceless to me.
— Tom Davis’ superhero character being revealed as “The Incredible Kiss Ass” was worth a laugh.
— This sketch in general isn’t too funny so far.
— I kinda got a laugh from the line about Catherine using her x-ray superpower to ruin people’s film.
— Kevin looks completely unrecognizable in that zombie make-up (last screencap above). I can only tell it’s him by the voice.
— A very weak ending to an overall dud of a sketch. Seriously, what was the POINT of this sketch? Not even Catherine’s usually reliable sketch comedy skills could do anything for this.
STARS: *½
FRANK GANNON, P.I. P.I.
politically incorrect P.I. (KEN) investigates murder of a black professor
— The debut of a short-lived but memorable Kevin Nealon recurring character. I love the “Politically Incorrect Private Investigator” concept. As I often say about Kevin Nealon sketches, this is a very Kevin Nealon-y premise that could only have come from him (though I stand corrected if this sketch was written by somebody else).
— Kevin’s great at playing this jackass character, with his various idiotic assumptions and incredulous reactions due to his sexist and racist viewpoints.
— This sketch is ending ALREADY?
— The “preview of next week’s episode” scene with Kevin trying to wrap his mind around the concept of same-sex parents (played by Jan and Julia) was decent.
— Overall, this was definitely fine, but I prefer the second installment they’d later do in a Woody Harrelson-hosted episode from next season. It was much more fleshed-out and had even funnier lines.
STARS: ***½
IN CONCLUSION THEATRE
last act of play doesn’t make sense; RAQ cameo
— I feel like I’m saying this a lot tonight, but I love this sketch’s concept.
— We get another occurrence of Jack Handey’s great fake sponsors trademark. My favorite of the sponsors tonight was Post-Coital Chewing Gum.
— Ha, a random Randy Quaid appearance! Feels kinda weird reviewing him again for the first time since I regularly reviewed him when covering season 11.
— It also feels weird seeing Randy Quaid and Phil Hartman in the same scene, standing beside each other, considering their similarities as SNL utility men who’s tenures were back-to-back.
— I love the gag with Randy’s tiny legs.
— A gruesome but very funny visual of Dana with his eye hanging out of his socket. Great make-up there.
— I’m enjoying all the bizarre, unanswered visual details in general.
— Great part with a crutches-confined Farley getting shot out of nowhere.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Kate Pierson [real] perform “Shiny Happy People”
DAILY AFFIRMATION WITH STUART SMALLEY
the Kurds should forgive George Bush & Saddam Hussein
— Random observation: Stuart Smalley has the same hair that Catherine O’Hara has had tonight. Same style, color, and everything. (side-by-side comparison below)
— Stuart’s message to the Kurds has some pretty good laughs.
— This overall sketch felt a little too short and a bit empty, though still decent.
STARS: ***
WEDDING AND A FUNERAL
(host) causes ritual dilemma by wearing wedding dress to fiance’s funeral
— I like the opening conversations between various funeral guests, especially the exchange between Farley and Rock.
— An odd but clever turn with Catherine suddenly entering in a wedding dress, forcing Mike to do a clumsy hybrid of a wedding speech and a funeral speech.
— Very interesting structure to this sketch. Doesn’t feel typical for this era. In my previous viewings, I found this sketch a little too hard to understand what it was going for, but I’m appreciating it more now.
— Catherine’s frozen, oblivious smile throughout this is good.
— I got a laugh from Mike’s emphasis to Catherine when saying, as part of his wedding/funeral speech, “…stand here ALONE!”
— Hilarious part with the guests simultaneously screaming in horror when Catherine throws the bouquet behind her.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
— Dennis holds up a sign saying “LOVITZ- I WAS JUST KIDDING”, as damage control for the earlier harsh-but-good-natured joke about Jon Lovitz on Weekend Update.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly good episode. As one might expect, Catherine O’Hara was an ideal host and the show utilized her talents pretty well, catering to her comedic styles in creative and oddball stuff like the monologue, Sprockets, In Conclusion Theatre, and Wedding And A Funeral.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jeremy Irons)
a very slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Oh, no. STEVEN FREAKIN’ SEAGAL.
I was also wondering if Spade was considered as a choice to replace Dennis. Maybe he just seemed too similar to Dennis’ persona. There couldn’t have been many choices–aside from doing an anchor team, I could only think of Nealon, Spade, and maybe Tim Meadows as a straight anchor who would have worked as an Update anchor at the time.
I…liked Spade in America. It wasn’t batting 1000 or anything but I thought there were about a half dozen great ones. Didn’t realize they were “dreaded.”
I’m with you there. I was shocked when Stooge said that.
I thought Spade in America was probably the best use of his talent, but by the last few years he did them he was also in a number of sketches most weeks that had the exact same sneering tone and delivery. For me it just helped contribute to the overall sour feeling of that era.
John, I think you’re getting Spade in America confused with Hollywood Minute. You say “by the last few years he did them he was also in a number of sketches most weeks—”, but Spade in America was only in David’s final season and he typically didn’t appear in sketches anymore by that point.
For the record, I love Hollywood Minute and agree with you that it was the best use of David’s talent.
To the other commenters, I called Spade in America “dreaded” because I was under the impression that a lot of SNL fans generally considered it weak, tired, and felt it got in the way of that season’s episodes. I stand corrected if it’s more well-liked than I thought. I generally disliked the segment, but I have no problem admitting there’s a number of installments of it that I felt were solid (the Teri Hatcher one, the Christopher Walken one, the Sean Penn tattoo one, etc.).
I feel like Spade In America is Lorne’s best case scenario for succession planning/retooling. He basically kept Spade as a source of continuity from the previous regime, adding a bit of carry over star power. McKinney and Shannon were the innocent bystanders and Norm was the only one bringing in any actual momentum. Meadows was the risk, but he was pretty blameless for the previous season’s flaws too. The only other one I would’ve hung onto was Jay Mohr, who basically could have done what Jim Breuer did. But yeah, keeping Spade around was probably needless, but it was a wise bet when doing a cast rebuild. And I found Spade in America to be a welcome part of the show anyway.
Was thinking the same, guess I’ve never really thought about the common consensus on them but I always enjoyed most of them.
I don’t know if it’s true or not but I once saw a comment about the wedding/funeral sketch which said it was written by Catherine and some of the cast weren’t thrilled to mostly just be background players in it.
Catherine is one of my favorite sketch comedians of all time. I’m always going to be a little disappointed she was never a cast member, but at least she got to host twice. (I’d love to see her host again, unlikely as that is) You can feel her presence very heavily in this episode, from the improv-inside-joke nature of the monologue, to the Sprockets piece (which has heavy SCTV vibes), to the wedding sketch. Yet she doesn’t shrug off her everyday roles in most of the other sketches.
The Kennedys have become so irrelevant to modern politics and pop culture, sometimes I can forget just how much SNL used to go after them (especially Ted).
I enjoyed the superhero sketch more than you did. I doubt this was the reason for the sketch’s existence, but it used to annoy the hell out of me when some superhero teams would nitpick members or potential members to death over the dumbest thing. That was how I took this piece.
Sorry, I meant to post this with the other – it’s rehearsal footage for REM in this episode.
What was the audience reaction like for Randy Quaid? Also, who is playing Nelson with David Spade? Looks like A. Whitney Brown, who I thought left a few episodes ago? There’s an extra in the top row of “Free Range Chickens” who is kind of like an all-purpose British-looking Rock Star…. if it’s not AWB as part of Nelson, it could be this extra I always notice in “Free Range Chickens.”
And I always felt like Spade In America was a nice breather; I enjoyed the ones with Farley and the one where he’s mocking Prince for flaking
Kubelsky-
* Quaid surprisingly received no applause AT ALL when the camera first showed him. Just some laughter.
* I mentioned this in the recent Alec Baldwin review: the Nelson besides David Spade is a young Spike Feresten, who was an uncredited writer at the time. As I explained in the Baldwin review, I too used to think that was A. Whitney Brown in that Nelson role. Glad to see I’m not alone.
* A. Whitney Brown didn’t leave a few episodes ago. Although he made his final on-camera appearance back then, he still remained in the writing staff until the season ended.
Great Sprockets in this episode. IIRC, Catherine’s husband was originally going to direct the “Dieter” film before it was abandoned by Myers.
Spike Feresten was already writing for Late Night with David Letterman by the time this episode was made, but since both shows were recorded on the same building it probably wasn’t a problem for him to still appear as a extra on SNL. And, of course, in addition to that, Late Night wasn’t taped on saturdays anyway.
I’m actually very surprised Catherine hasn’t hosted recently, or at least co-hosted with Eugene Levy. Schitt’s Creek is a very popular Netflix show, and that would be the perfect excuse to bring her back as a host. Maybe one or both of them would have hosted if not for the pandemic.
Why did Quaid cameo here? It’s so random to see him after so long and he has such a tiny bit part. Very odd, not like Lovitz or Jan Hooks’ cameos.
I’m surprised no one mentioned Bob Odenkirk’s appearance in the monologue. He was a writer on SNL at the time.
No one mentioned it because it was fairly common for Odenkirk to make onscreen appearances during his years as a writer.
Is this the show where Carole King did I Feel the Earth Move during commercial break?
Yes.
Around this time, Randy also starred in the “Coach Dobbs” sketch that aired as part of SNL’s Toonces the Cat special, which I believed aired on NBC several months later. Possibly he could’ve been hanging around SNL studios that week because this was likely around the time Jack Handey (who it seems most likely wrote the sketch in this episode) was in the middle of making the special.
Coach Dobbs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf9cZPJT6Dk
Is that Steve Higgins as the umpire?
Good catch, it is Steve!
I should’ve realized it with Dave Gruber Allen right next to him and all, we got 2/3 of “Higgins Boys & Gruber” in there, I guess David (Steve’s brother, better known today as Craig Feldspar on Malcom in the Middle) was busy that day? Could this be where Steve first got on Lorne’s radar, perhaps? He started working there just a couple years later and moved up to co-head writer pretty fast once he got there.
The copy of this episode that’s online starts with a funny station promo with Dana doing his Bush voice.
Catherine O’hara was special. She was supposed to be one of the not ready for primetime players at some point but that fell thru. The Christina Applegate impression is funny knowing she’ll actually be on next season. I swear that’s Ami Dolenz in the background. I remember when the news broke that Teddy’s compound was basically a giant drunken orgy. The news and stand up comedians and SNL had lots of fun with that information. Even Mad Magazine did a piece on it. I still hate Pat.
The P.I. sketch could have gone on longer. Again, good premise, needed more jokes. Same with the super heroes court. Could have had multiple defendants up for various crimes. I thought it was cool they brought back Randy Quaid. Make it clear there’s no hard feelings after firing him along with 10 other people who were just doing their best. I love Kate Pierson, she looks great and she sounds great.
Catherine O’hara is such a great host and this was a solid episode. Its a shame knowing what comes next.
Catherine O’hara and Jan should have done something together