February 20, 1993 – Bill Murray / Sting (S18 E14)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Beverly Hills residents question Bill Clinton (PHH) about his policies

— Amusing detail of Kevin-as-Michael-Eisner’s Mickey Mouse tie.
— Sting’s Rod Stewart impression is really funny.
— Impressions aren’t usually Farley’s strong suit, but I like his Rob Reiner.
STARS: ***

OPENING MONTAGE
— Father Guido Sarducci is credited as a featured player, for the first time since season 11.

MONOLOGUE
BIM talks about the good vibes of the past week as the truth scrolls by

— As always, a fun, energetic entrance from Bill.
— I appreciate Bill pointing out names of familiar faces from the original SNL staff who are still working there today.
— It’s the classic Buck Henry screen crawl monologue gag! I love that they’re doing this for a Bill Murray monologue, as it truly makes it feel like a throwback to the old days.
— I always like when Bill speaks in what I call his “Bill Murray-isms” (it’s a little hard to describe, but he just has a certain distinctive way of wording things).
— A lot of laughs from the screen crawl refuting every positive thing Bill is saying about then-modern-day SNL. The “He made Kevin Nealon cry” disclaimer especially got a huge laugh.
— Great how Bill is doing a very Nick the Lounge Singer-esque rendition of I Will Always Love You, which is nice compensation for the fact that we’re not getting a Nick the Lounger Singer sketch tonight.
STARS: ****

HIBERNOL
long-term cold & flu medicine lets (CHF) sleep through sickness

— Great visual of the oversized cup of medicine.
— Strong concept for a fake ad, and I like the graphic showing the colds and flus coming and going through Farley’s body as he sleeps through the winter.
— Very funny visual of Farley waking up with his hair, beard, and fingernails all being long.
— Overall, the early 90s era knocks one out of the park again with yet another very memorable fake ad.
STARS: ****½

THE WHIPMASTER
a not-so-proficient actor (BIM) takes over the title role

 

— Hilarious reveal of Farley with red marks all over his face after Bill’s repeated attempts to whip the cigar out of his mouth.
— Lots of funny instances of Bill’s unskilled whipping.
— I love Phil’s reaction to getting whipped in the crotch.
— Very funny bit with Bill using his whip to knock down an obvious dummy of Julia.
— Nice touch immediately after this sketch, with G.E. Smith and the SNL Band being shown playing an instrumental version of the Whipmaster theme song.
STARS: ****

FREQUENT FLYER
Frequent Flyer (BIM) gives unsolicited tips to his fellow passengers

— Second sketch in a row with Bill playing a character with his own theme song.
— Some trivia: this sketch was cut from the preceding week’s Alec Baldwin episode, where the Frequent Flyer character was played by Phil. Alec played the role that Mike is playing here.
— Bill’s getting laughs from his constant tips to fellow passengers. Not a hilarious concept, but Bill is solid in this role and is making this sketch work. I can’t help but be curious how Phil’s unaired version of this character compares to Bill’s. I’m sure Phil pulled off this role well in his own right.
— I like the ending with Frequent Flyer even giving tips to a terrorist hijacker.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”

WEEKEND UPDATE
moron Hank Fielding gives perspective on Bill Clinton’s economic address
Father Guido Sarducci reviews Groundhog Day & relates a recurring dream
Hollywood Minute- Steve Martin [real] gives DAS his comeuppance

— After getting cut after dress rehearsal many times since his first appearance earlier this season, Robert Smigel’s Hank Fielding character finally makes it on the air again.
— I haven’t been enjoying tonight’s Hank Fielding commentary quite as much as the first one, but there are still laughs from this, especially him naming Gomer Pyle as an example of gays in the military.
— I like the idea of Father Guido Sarducci doing a review of Bill’s new movie Groundhog Day.
— Much like a lot of his commentaries from the past, tonight’s Guido Sarducci commentary is going on a really long time. However, he’s cracking me up throughout this one, with a lot of funny little comments.
— David’s Hollywood Minute is providing the usual laughs, especially the comment about Stevie Nicks. However, I didn’t get David’s “I don’t care what he said, I never touched the freak” quote when Brooke Shields’ pic came up.
— A memorable Steve Martin appearance during David’s Hollywood Minute, even if it is the type of “sneaker-upper” bit (I think that’s what it’s called, when a celebrity makes a “surprise” appearance to confront a cast member making fun of them) that would go on to be a tired, corny SNL trope.
— We’ve gotten quite a number of nice throwbacks to the original era in tonight’s episode, between Bill Murray’s presence, a Buck Henry-esque monologue, a Father Guido Sarducci commentary on Update, and now a Steve Martin appearance.
— What was with Steve at the very end of this Update? After signing off, Kevin turns to Steve and tries to start a conversation, but Steve snubs him by rudely turning away with an arrogant look on his face. I’d like to think that was just Steve doing a “bit”, but it doesn’t make any sense in this context.
STARS: ***½

MEN’S JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Tommy Two-Step (BIM) readies men’s jazz dancing ensemble for big show

— The pre-taped rehearsal montage is pretty fun.
— A good laugh from the ending of Bill’s inspiring story, where he reveals he puked into the orchestra pit.
— I love the goofy gleeful looks on Farley and Mike’s faces during their simultaneous choreography at front of the stage during the big show at the end of the sketch.
— An overall charming, cute, and enjoyable sketch, even if it wasn’t intended to be all laugh-out-loud funny. The next time Bill hosts in 1999, they do a sketch that feels like a spiritual successor to this, in which Bill is the leader of an all-male group of Knicks City Dancers performing for an unruly crowd. Unfortunately, I recall that sketch being really weak, though I haven’t seen it in ages, so maybe my opinion will change when I eventually cover that episode. I used to think that episode in general was surprisingly pretty wretched for a Bill Murray-hosted show, but now that I’m thinking back on it, I can recall a number of pretty solid things from that episode.
STARS: ***½

COFFEE TALK WITH LINDA RICHMAN
Linda & neighbor (BIM) discuss the year’s Oscar nominations

— Funny line about how Barbra Streisand deserves an Oscar just for keeping her nose.
— Bill’s character discussing that year’s Oscar nominees makes me have a disappointed realization that we didn’t see Bill do his trademark Oscar picks tonight. It would’ve been a treat to see that again.
— Overall, I kinda liked Bill’s characterization, but this sketch as a whole kept me largely uninterested, as usual for Coffee Talk.
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Love Is Stronger Than Justice”

I’M CHILLIN’
today’s mother joke & a plug for Bitch Come Running cologne

— First time this recurring sketch has appeared all season. This also ends up being the last time we’ll ever see this sketch during Farley and Rock’s tenure as cast members (not counting when they bring the sketch back in Rock’s season 22 hosting stint, in which Jim Breuer replaces Farley’s character).
— A big laugh from the sponsor Bitch Come Runnin’ Cologne.
— I liked Farley’s line “Marky Mark ain’t nothin’ but Vanilla Ice in his drawers.”
— Very funny confused look that Rock gives Farley after Farley namedrops Gertrude Stein.
— Rock unfortunately stumbled over his delivery of the Mother Joke of the Day.
STARS: ***½

MCDONALD’S
to get free food, Honker poses as meat inspector testing for tainted beef

— Always nice to see Bill’s lesser-known Honker character.
— Bill’s delivery as this character always consistently cracks me up, especially the way he just now repeatedly said “salt” with his mouth full of food.
— Honker’s scheme to getting free food is pretty funny.
— During Ellen and Rob’s grossed-out reactions to Bill jamming a thermometer into the burger’s “rectum”, I liked Rob repeatedly saying “Shouldn’t have done that!”
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Every Breath You Take”

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fairly solid episode. There were no real classics, but this was a fine and consistently good episode (minus Coffee Talk). Bill Murray was a great, fun, laid-back, and expert host as always, and it’s always interesting seeing him work with different casts whenever he comes back to the show.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Alec Baldwin)
a mild step down

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
Our annual John Goodman episode