Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Queen Elizabeth (MIM) lists the terms of the Charles & Di separation
— This starts off with no context given for what Mike’s Queen Elizabeth is talking about; she just immediately launches into a listing-off of “Charles will keep (insert thing here), she will keep (insert thing here).” I’m aware that this is about the separation between Prince Charles and Princess Diana, but I wonder if other viewers watching this in reruns are lost at first.
— I’m liking how the listed-off terms of the separation are getting more and more outlandish, such as Charles and Diana’s son Henry being raised by apes, and Diana doing a porn scene with Fergie.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— Dana Carvey has been removed from the montage, though he hasn’t officially left the cast yet. We will not be seeing him make any appearances tonight, nor will he be appearing in the next episode (though he IS credited in the montage in that one).
MONOLOGUE
people from host’s hometown sing a “Silver Bells” variant with her
— Unique monologue with Glenn bringing out actual community workers from her hometown. Very generous and classy of Glenn to do this.
— I particularly like the part with the self-described incredibly shy market owner mouthing along to a dubbed singing voice.
— An overall very charming and fun monologue.
STARS: ****
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY?
game show features directions-giving New Englanders
— Funny Boston accents here. Adam is especially nailing his and has been having lots of funny lines.
— I love Phil’s rambly, more old-fashioned New Englander.
— Some good laughs from Glenn always trailing off into travel tips during her answers.
— Tim’s bushman character speaking with tongue-clicking sounds would go on to be something that Tim would always do whenever he would speak in African language during sketches.
STARS: ****
COFFEE TALK WITH LINDA RICHMAN
sister Judy (host) discusses Linda’s daughter’s engagement
— Two drag roles for Mike in just the first half of tonight’s episode alone.
— The return of this sketch is, to me, the one downside of Mike’s return after his long hiatus.
— Some self-deprecating humor with Linda Richman complaining about her daughter Robin’s non-Jewish fiancee, as Mike Myers is referring to himself there, considering the Linda Richman character is based on the mother of Mike’s then-fiancee Robin.
— As usual, I didn’t care for this overall sketch, but it was at least fairly short.
STARS: **
A MESSAGE FROM MICHAEL EISNER
Michael Eisner’s (PHH) holiday reminder- don’t forget about tax increases
— I liked Phil-as-Eisner’s greeting: “Last week, I made 200 million dollars. How are you?”
— A VERY brief sketch that ended almost as soon as it began. This felt almost pointless, even if it did have one or two funny lines.
STARS: **
BAND SHOT
going to commercial, KEN & G.E. Smith [real] play guitar
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sometimes Salvation”
WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN gives a subliminal editorial about British royal family’s troubles
Operaman sings, is reunited with brother (JOL) & his new wife (host)
— Kevin’s subliminal commentary on the royal separation was merely good; a step below the usually great Mr. Subliminal material. I can’t help but feel the peak of Kevin’s subliminal routine is far behind us, as I haven’t been all that crazy about the last few occurrences. I did love the topical Letterman mention at the end of this one, though.
— Billy Ray “Sear-us”? Did I seriously just hear Kevin pronounce Billy Ray Cyrus as that? He has a bad habit of absurd name mispronunciations on Update in general.
— As usual, lots of great news items from Operaman. The Amy Fisher one was especially funny, and I loved the melody of the “Au revoir, sayonara, etc.” bit directed towards Prince Charles and Princess Diana (I know that melody is from a classical song, but I don’t know the name of it).
— Interesting change of pace with Operaman’s brother appearing from under the desk. Great use of Jon Lovitz (in the final occurrence of his frequent early 90s cameos) and his operatic-trained voice.
— Fitting addition of Glenn to the Operaman reunion segment.
— Another rare occurrence of a Kevin Nealon-era Update ending with a guest commentary.
STARS: ***½
TOAST TO SCROOGE
Bob Cratchit’s (PHH) wife (host) still doesn’t like changed man Scrooge
— Very solid performances from Phil and especially Glenn.
— I normally don’t have a problem with Mike Myers (aside from Coffee Talk, I guess), but his performance in this sketch kinda makes me see why some SNL fans are annoyed by his so-called mugging tendencies.
— Overall, not the most exciting sketch, but I can appreciate the subtle approach this took and it was perfect for Phil and Glenn’s acting styles, who both sold this material well.
STARS: ***
TORI
Aaron Spelling’s spoiled daughter (MEH) touts 90210 fragrances
— This sketch makes its second and final appearance.
— I like the addition of Tim as The Love Boat’s Ted Lange.
— Funny line about how it’s in Jason Priestley and Luke Perry’s contract to sleep with Tori (“Thank you, daddy”, replies Melanie’s Tori).
— Despite some laughs, this was an overall fairly forgettable installment, kinda like the last time they did this sketch.
STARS: **½
ORGASM GUY
the least bit of pleasure causes Orgasm Guy (ROS) to climax
— Rob’s phenomenal season continues with his hilarious performance in this sketch.
— Some really funny subversions with some things not eliciting the orgasmic reaction from Orgasm Guy that you’d expect.
— Great part with David’s long statement that mentions a whole bunch of Orgasm Guy’s favorite things that were brought up earlier in the sketch, just so David can get a rapid succession of orgasmic reactions from him.
STARS: ****
LESBIAN CHRISTMAS PARTY
lesbians & sperm donor (KEN) share politically-correct holiday gathering
— Fourth episode in a row with a gay-themed sketch.
— I like Kevin describing his sperm-providing process as “I just took a normal event, put it in a Tupperware cup, and put a lid on it.”
— Funny line from Melanie about an all-women production of 12 Angry Men.
— Quite a lot of guitar-playing from Kevin throughout tonight’s episode.
— Not 100% sure what to make of this sketch as a whole, but I did find it had a charm and a nice slice-of-life approach.
STARS: ***
DAILY AFFIRMATION WITH STUART SMALLEY
Stuart prepares to visit his dysfunctional family
— Several funny lines from Stuart about his dysfunctional family.
— Nice callback with a mention of Stuart’s sister Jodi, who we met in a previous installment of this sketch, where she was played by Roseanne.
— I really like the part with Stuart’s “disease/dis-ease” confusion.
— He repeated the “I’m ‘should-ing’ all over myself” line from an earlier installment, but the way he said “should-ing” this time really made it sound like the actual swear word that it’s based on. I almost did a double-take.
— Lots of funny indecisive back-and-forths from Stuart at the end.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Non-Fiction”
DRUMMER BOYS
drummer boys ADS, TIM, MIM, DAS, KEN, ROS, CHF, CSR slap their stomachs
— I like Adam’s build-up at the beginning, where he slowly walks to the center of the home base stage and very gradually reveals what he’s going to do.
— Ha, I absolutely love this, with all the guys slapping their stomachs to the tune of Little Drummer Boy. A fun random segment, made even funnier with the gag of Farley fidgeting, pulling his own hair in a fit, and nervously looking back at the guys behind him throughout the song.
— Surprisingly, this 10-to-1 sketch is Farley’s first and only appearance of the night. There’s a sad backstory that may explain this. After being out of rehab for a month, Farley relapsed badly earlier this week when he was distraught over a big sketch of his bombing at the readthrough (I think the sketch was called Puppy Lawyer). He then got busted with drugs in his office, and Lorne reportedly considered firing him before deciding that he should be sent back to rehab over the holidays. Because of this, we won’t be seeing him appear in the next episode.
— This is also Rock’s first and only appearance of the night, but that’s no surprise. Given how many episodes he’s been completely sitting out this season, he’s sometimes lucky to even be in ONE sketch in an episode.
— I wonder why Phil is the only male cast member missing from this.
— There’s some little touches that make this musical number even more charming for me, such as Rob oddly holding his shirt up with his mouth and Rock chewing gum throughout the song.
STARS: ****½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A decent episode, but feels really average and kinda unexciting. Thinking back on it, however, the episode quality was actually a little better than it feels. While there were a few weak spots, we got some solid things, a few really strong things, and a few pieces that, while not hilarious, had a nice Christmas-y charm. Overall, not the best Christmas episode in SNL history, but certainly had enough good things to still make this episode worth watching.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tom Arnold)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
We enter the year 1993, with host Danny DeVito
In the .Farley bio it’s briefly mentioned that Glenn got along great with the cast backstage. She even told Farley he was an “incredible guy” or something of that nature. You could sort of see that during this episode as she just seems super happy and excited to be there
They must have liked her, as this episode is a wonderful showcase to her talents. I didn’t notice it at first because the material was all over the place, but she got broad comedy, gritty drama, slice-of-life pieces, and she got to sing – twice. That’s something many hosts never came close to reaching. I’m sorry she never hosted again, but this was a pretty good way to go out.
I was confused as to who the woman with Ellen Cleghorne in the lesbian holiday sketch was. At first I thought it was a writer, but she had so much more dialogue than the writers usually do. Finally I got it in the goodnights, when Glenn Close thanked the woman in the dress and called her “Mary Beth.” Mary Beth Hurt, Close’s best friend, and highly acclaimed film and theater actress. Pretty amazing that SNL was able to get her to pop in for a sketch, huh?
I also saw Christine Zander in this sketch, but who was the other woman?
I remember the first time I saw this sketch, in a repeat years after it aired, I was impressed with SNL for writing about a group of lesbians without getting crass or ugly. Yes, there are stereotypes, but this is still a subtle, compelling snapshot into a makeshift family – no jeering, no homophobia. I especially like the inclusion of Kevin Nealon as the sperm donor who has such an uneasy place in the family and clearly wants to have more of a relationship with his son.
This episode has quite a few sketches uploaded on Youtube – Opera Man (of course), but also, more randomly, the lesbian sketch and the Tori Christmas sketch (does anyone take Tim’s role in this one to be a meta statement on his position at SNL).
The usual sound issues kind of marred Close’s monologue, but I still liked the gentle holiday spirit and the enthusiasm. I wonder if those were actual workers or just extras. At first I thought one was Don Pardo. Speaking of Pardo, was Kevin saying the “get well” message to him?
I wonder if the orgasm sketch was Schneider’s way of getting back at the censors who caused so much hassle with the Sensitive Naked Man sketches. Other than the weak ending, this was fine (the best part was Kevin and Close slyly winding him up), but it could have used a trim. Ditto for Myers’ cold open, which I did enjoy (the Windsors and their trashy lives were nonstop headline news in 1992 so it’s only fitting SNL closed out the year making fun of them).
I was going to call out Myers for his hammery in that Christmas Carol sketch but for once it was probably meant to fit the piece.
I wonder if Phil was getting tired of playing game show hosts and wanted to do more character work. He’s pretty good in the Boston game show sketch. The Eisner sketches pop up repeatedly in his last two seasons but for me they never quite land.
One of the strongest of the Stuart sketches. His sister ends up being in the movie (not played by Roseanne…).
John, I’m sure the workers in Glenn’s monologue were real, especially since they were all onstage during the goodnights.
Phil as Eisner conjures up bad memories of the pending Nancy Kerrigan episode.
Phil rarely, if ever, did sketches where male cast members were shirtless or “nude” even. He wasn’t in the Woody Harrelson beach sketch, the penis sketch with Matthew Broderick, or any of those types of sketches.
So was Farley ‘clean’ for the remainder of his tenure after this second rehab stint? Or did Lorne feel that Farley’s increasing popularity made him indispensable to the success of the show, so he just put up with his addiction for the remainder of his time?
I’ve read from misc sources regarding Farley rehabs stints (at least 17), that there were more than a few times where Lorne cut him out of a sketch due to his condition though this wouldn’t be until at least the next season, as him and Sandler were fired at the end of 94-95 season I believe? And it was Farley that broke the news (or knew they got canned) before Sandler, even though for several years pre and post Farleys death, Sandler would play it off as he quit the show to move on to bigger things.
From viewing the past two and a half seasons, Farley seems in decent shape, like with the Tom Arnold PSA sketch w spade, Farley isn’t sweating or sniffling and is composed fine, as he has been most of the season I’ve seen so far.
This is also just my POV as an ex junkie (though I would have been 4 or 5 when this premiered, I experimented w hard drugs at 15/16 years old and stopped cold Turkey at 22, but it was tame in contrast, as I just did pills (methadone, oxy, xanies, and lots of cocaine, freebasing). I managed to keep my habit under control, with the exception of rusty pipes in class, and having to do some key bumps to keep myself from failing asleep from the downers I had. I remember the crazy amount of sweat I’d wake up from thinking I’d wet the bed, just from the amount of drugs in my system that wanted to escape my body. And I am a naturally lanky girl, with a slightly lower bmi even as an adult.
I read that Farley was always overweight but he used his weight as a weapon as he felt he wouldn’t be funny if he got healthier, so he consumed more food, more drugs, more excess to achieve what he assumed bigger laughs. If you continue as the seasons progress leading up to his finale appearance as a host in 96 or 97, he looks like a Boy Scout here.
Also it seems from my POV that Lorne had such love for Dana Carvey and Hartman early on, and I wasn’t a Jon Lovitz fan but find it messed up when he asked Lorne for some time off to do a movie but Lorne said no (which is why he showed up so much the following season), because Lorne said if he allowed that it wouldn’t be fair to other cast members. But then flash forward a few years, he allows Mike Myers to take 3 months off to film a non Lorne Michaels movie, which just seems like he had now gone in a diff direction and felt like cast members were dispensable, with lesser talent, as Spade was no Carvey, and this need to replace what was once funny was now consumed with “too big not funny” male dominated skits. The only thing to me that kept the following years alive was Al Franken as SS and Phil Hartmans long run, with occasional appearances with Jan Hooks and Carvey. Gap Girls was funny, and the much earlier chipanddales sketch w PS and CF remains one of the best along w shmitts gay.
I also think that many of Myers roles were bad, never been a fan of sprockets so I always tune that out, him as a kid in the bathtub total waste of other talent that could have been put to use. Wayne’s world was the only one I liked, and that’s at least half due to Carvey.
Sorry to get off tangent, a bunch of times, still got that ADD…
But yea to my knowledge I don’t think Lorne had made any stern rehab threats yet, but would be interested who his “drug” posse was at the time outside of his SNL buddies, (Sandler and Farley were known for their late night shenanigans while maybe drinking, but aside from booze, Sandler Spade and Rock were not known at all to be doing any drugs (I’m sure anyone smoked weed and drank, but at this era the hard stuff was really a part of the old SNL).
Farleys drug use was likely introduced by outsiders in the entertainment industry riding on his coat tails and offering him anything that would give him that extra boost, or push it on him.
I had my own clique of real friends and then my drug hookups and remember being under the influence with an older boy I had a crush on who lured me into doing it with him…most of these people were unknown to my circle of friends if that makes sense?
I wonder who Farley dated or if he just had groupies and escorts, cause he had genuine charm that showed, and he didn’t seem like he needed to pay for it, but perhaps the bad posse took advantage of his vulnerability and encouraged more savaged behavior…?
I know Andy Dick was a connection to Farley and a “friend.” He was even there with another drug pal of farleys the night he hosted in 97? To give him his stash of cocaine as a “guest.” And an ongoing feud ensued for years with spade and him because he is a bad influence and bad guy, and spade was protective of his best friend, so I can’t blame him, but as a former junkie, if you want it enough, nothing and nobody is gonna stop you from getting your fix. Farley also apparently left his recent rehab stint where he was in the process of detoxing and left against doctors orders to host the 97’ show, back off the wagon.
During a Fly on the Wall Podcast episode, I recall David Spade saying that he and Chris Farley were in the same friend group (unsurprisingly). Occasionally weird people would pop up, who only Chris seemed to know, and these individuals weren’t friends with anyone else, and they’d heap Farley with overtly fake praise. David mentioned that these strangers were the ones supplying Chris with drugs.
Weird seeing Mike and Adam next to each other considering how their film careers would take off
I never realized how few sketches there are that have Mike and Adam interact with each other. I’m sure there are more but The Drummer Boys skit is the only one I can think of at the moment.