Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THE BOBBITT TRIAL
Tonya Harding (MEH) whacks John Bobbitt (MIM) in the groin on Court TV
— After being misled by such a quiet and overly serious start, we get an outrageous and very funny sudden twist with Tonya Harding crashing the Bobbitt Trial and repeatedly whacking Mike’s John Wayne Bobbitt in the groin. I love this mash-up of two different huge scandals going on at the time.
— Good line from Julia about the Menendez brothers now changing their plea to a claim that their parents were beaten by Tonya Harding.
— I like how they kept this short and sweet.
STARS: ****
OPENING MONTAGE
— The theme music would later be replaced in reruns with the dress rehearsal version. Same goes for the following monologue.
MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)
— The whole “sick with the flu” thing is a pretty meh premise for this monologue, and isn’t being executed all that well.
— I did get a laugh from Sara’s line “Just tell them that that Urkel kid hosted.”
— Considering the very short length of both the cold opening and monologue, this monologue must’ve ended around the same time that a typical cold opening nowadays would still be in progress.
STARS: **
HIBERNOL
Rerun from 2/20/93, making this season 19’s THIRD repeated commercial from season 18
ROOMMATES
(ROS) claims to be a girl, but his female roommates won’t shower with him
— The concept isn’t bad, the execution is flat so far.
— I’m also iffy about Rob’s questionable character choice to speak in an exaggerated stilted delivery the whole time. It’s very hit-and-miss with me, more miss than hit.
— Weak ending.
STARS: **
SIMON
in the tub with dad’s girlfriend’s filthy daughter (host)
— First time we’ve seen this sketch in a whole year, and it feels odd seeing it at this point in the show’s run, especially with the new visual look this season has suddenly started having with the preceding week’s Jason Patric episode.
— Some funny comments from Simon about Sara’s physical dirtiness.
— Decent bit with Simon’s various euphemisms for his genitals.
— Why is Sara’s eyepatch on the wrong eye in the drawing of her (the third above screencap for this sketch)?
— This overall Simon installment started losing steam for me halfway through, though there was a bit of a charm to this piece as a whole.
STARS: **½
TATER JUNCTION
Gap girls Kristy & Lucy hang out with boss Cindy (CHF) at Tater Junction
— Nice to see these characters in a new setting.
— A legendary moment just now, with Chris’ sudden deep-voiced threat of “Lay off me, I’m starving!” while grabbing David by the throat.
— Another memorable moment just now, with David’s meta “I can’t believe we’re all wearing the same thing we did four days ago” line. I’d like to think that was an ad-lib, but I’ve never been sure. Does anyone know?
— During the phone conversation that David acts out, I liked the touch of him miming phone dialing sounds.
— Funny running bit with Chris’ character’s inability to tell a joke or insult.
— A fun sketch overall, and is probably the most iconic, quintessential Gap Girls sketch.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “‘Round Here”
WEEKEND UPDATE
NOM thinks that there’s too much figure skating on TV
SAS talks about stuff that happened to her during the week
— Some good laughs from Norm using his commentary to shoehorn in complains about figure skating, and negatively putting it on the same level as the violence of the Tonya Harding incident. Not the funniest Update commentary Norm will do this season, but it’s still solid.
— Kevin’s delivery of some of his jokes tonight is pretty awful. He sounds like he’s reading them for the very first time. I’m telling you, Norm’s stint as Update anchor can’t come soon enough for me.
— Sarah Silverman’s Update commentary finally makes it on the air. Believe it or not, this commentary had constantly been getting cut after dress rehearsal almost all season long, starting with the John Malkovich episode way back in October.
— Sarah’s commentary about news in her personal life feels out of place as an Update feature in this era, but I do kinda like the idea of this being a way for SNL to introduce her to us. There’s some sadness to that in retrospect, though, considering this would end up being Sarah’s ONLY claim to fame during her SNL stint.
— The humor in Sarah’s commentary feels like a primitive version of the type of standup she’d later become famous for, and the occasional interactions with Kevin feel too shoehorned in, but I’m getting some good laughs here. I loved the part about her sister thinking of shortening her long married Jewish surname to just “Jews”, and the pap smear/gagging bit. Her imitation of a high school best friend posing for a picture is also a memorable part.
— Some strong jokes from Kevin near the end of tonight’s Update, especially the memorable David Copperfield/Claudia Schiffer one.
— Two Update commentaries got cut after this episode’s dress rehearsal. One where Al Franken showed footage of himself and his family playing football with President Clinton, and another where Tim played a smooth-talking correspondent who constantly got distracted by the beauty of the women in the audience.
STARS: **½
BLOSSOM
dad’s (KEN) proud Blossom’s (MEH) having sex, but driving is out
a music video features Joey Lawrence (MIM) singing his hit song “Whoa”
— This is a sketch I’ve always hated in my past viewings. I’ll keep an open mind during this particular viewing, especially since I now have much more tolerance for Melanie Hutsell than I used to have. As the sketch goes along, I’ll list off the problems I’ve always had with it in past viewings.
— PROBLEM #1: The simple fact that Melanie Hutsell is starring in it. That was enough to make me dislike this sketch during the days when I couldn’t stand her.
— PROBLEM #2: The recreation of the Blossom opening credits. I guess it’s kinda cute seeing the SNL performers in the Blossom actors’ roles in it, but there are absolutely no jokes; it’s just a straight recreation of the credits. What’s the point?
— I am getting laughs from Sara’s take on Six/Jenna Von Oy.
— Melanie’s performance and delivery are actually making me chuckle throughout this.
— PROBLEM #3: The joke with Blossom’s dad having initially-shocked-then-accepting reactions to finding certain things in Blossom’s purse, a joke I used to find really dumb.
— I like how Sara keeps claiming that things Blossom’s dad finds in her purse are “balloons… for a party!”
— PROBLEM #4: The terrible and unnecessary ending with Mike-as-Joey-Lawrence’s “Whoa!” music video, which has a strangely shoddy season 20 feel (not a good thing).
— Overall, I’m happy to say after this viewing that I didn’t hate this sketch nearly as much as I did in the past. However, I still didn’t find it anything great. Plus problems #2 and #4 listed above still bugged me. I’m iffy on where I now stand with problem #3.
STARS: **½
LUNCHLADY LAND
ADS plays guitar & sings “Lunchlady Land” amongst dancing cafeteria food
— Here comes a Chris Farley/Adam Sandler classic.
— Weird and perhaps kinda telling of the show’s declining quality that two very popular Chris Farley performances tonight involve him in drag (Gap Girls and this sketch). Plus, there was that Blind Melon bee girl thing in the last episode.
— Very solid, funny storytelling from Adam’s lyrics, while Chris is great acting out the song.
— I love how things start to get ramped up when the song starts REALLY kicking in.
— Now this already-fun piece is getting even more fun with other performers playing embodiments of lunch items. I’m absolutely loving this.
— This feels kinda different for a sketch from this era.
STARS: *****
FAMILY VACATIONS
only EuroDisney can satisfy a sullen teen’s (host) vacation requirements
— Here comes Sara evidently doing a Jason Patric impression.
— Boy, this sketch is really flat. Little-to-no laughs from me so far.
— This is another thing tonight that seems to have a season 20-like atmosphere (again, not a good thing).
— I got an unintentional laugh from Jay’s awkwardly-delivered straight-to-camera “Welcome to the Pleasure Dome!”
— In the Gap Girls sketch earlier tonight, David riffed on the fact that they were wearing the same clothes in a scene that supposedly took place four days later. We could’ve used some riffing like that in this Family Vacations sketch, as this family wears the same clothes every YEAR.
— I did like Kevin’s line “But [Madonna’s] having sex with two midgets. I thought you’d like that.”
— Very weak punchline of EuroDisney being the only place that satisfies Sara.
— My god, this is Phil’s FIRST appearance all night (not counting the rerun of the year-old HiberNol ad), and we’re in the last 30 minutes of the show! I know they’ve been phasing him out this season, but relegating him to a small appearance in the last 30 minutes of an episode is inexcusable.
— Geez, it’s sad that Phil made his first appearance of the night just for THAT. They didn’t even bother to give him any good lines in his small scene. And, boy, am I getting tired of those “a message from Michael Eisner” pieces they keep shoehorning into this season.
STARS: *½
ROB SCHNEIDER’S GIRLFRIEND THEATER
KEN & host act out her evilness
— Creative premise.
— Kevin appears to be going for an imitation of Rob’s voice during his portrayal of him, but the voice sounds NOTHING like Rob.
— Despite the interesting idea, this is unfortunately turning out to be yet another sketch tonight with a pretty flat feel.
— The titles for each act in this play aren’t that funny.
— I do like Phil (in his second and final small appearance of the night, by the way; a damn shame) as the devil being appalled at Rob’s girlfriend’s evilness.
— Overall, this sketch sadly didn’t work for me as much as it should have.
— Rob’s been having a weird season so far. After a very strong year in season 18 where he could do no wrong for me, he’s taken a step down this season. While he still has been doing some really solid work, he’s been a lot more hit-and-miss. He’s also been kinda invisible lately, and in fact has been mysteriously absent from two episodes (Nicole Kidman and Jason Patric).
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mr. Jones”
20 QUESTIONS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL
host is repeatedly asked “Why?”
— I’ve been mentioning season 20 harbingers an awful lot throughout tonight’s review. Well, here’s another one, though this is a much more minor point: the font used for the words “20 Questions” in this sketch’s logo looks like the same font SNL would use a season later for their own 20th anniversary logo (side-by-side comparison).
— Tim is just NOW making his first appearance of the night, in the 10-to-1 sketch.
— Pretty funny froggy voice from Tim’s Bryant Gumbel.
— Unfortunately, Tim’s aforementioned voice has been the only thing that’s been closely resembling anything funny in this sketch. This is an awful one-joke sketch that’s falling horribly flat. Guess that’s yet another season 20 harbinger tonight.
— What was with the bit at the end with Tim’s shoe?
— Tim would later disclose in the “Live from New York” book that this sketch was the most uncomfortable he’d ever been while performing a sketch in all his years on SNL, due to how badly this sketch bombed with the audience. Tim even mentions in that part of the book that he was sweating a lot during this sketch because of how uncomfortable the dead atmosphere made him.
STARS: *
APOLOGY
ROS apologizes to his girlfriend for the sketch earlier in the show
— A pointless, unnecessary brief piece, though the lawsuit comment just now was kinda funny.
STARS: *½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty blah episode for me, especially the post-Update half, where there was an endless string of sketches that I found to be either iffy, dull, or downright bad, minus Lunchlady Land. In fact, this was a pretty flat episode all around, aside from two memorable highlights with Gap Girls and the aforementioned Lunchlady Land, and a funny outrageous punchline in the cold opening. I’ve also noticed that, similar to the infamous preceding episode with Jason Patric, there was a pretty quiet, low-energy feel to this episode (though not as bad tonight as it was in the Patric episode), which seems as if it will be the theme of the second half of this season.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jason Patric)
a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Patrick Stewart
I always liked the Blossom sketch If you watched that show growing up like I did it kinda nails the tone. It’s not outrageously funny but it hits on a technical level.
Gap Girls and Lunchlady are classics (or borderline ones). Rest is pretty bad.
Kind of jarring how far Rob has fallen off this season. Maybe that’s why there’s a perception he was terrible on the show
Iirc Norm and Sara are very friendly with one another in the goodnights. Norm was a writer on Roseanne before he joined the cast. Very rare to see Norm act like that on the show
The Blossom opening credits to me are sort of iconically silly, so I can see why they would want to parody them (it is somewhat indulgent, of course).
The Lunchlady sketch is a perfect use of Adam and Chris, which in a better season, would be perfect–they get to do some wacky comedy, while the rest of the episode has different styles of humor. Here, it stands out more as a comedic oasis.
I do feel like this is the season that helps cement Rob Schneider’s somewhat unfavorable image as a SNL cast member. His stuff this season is generally poor, and I think this creates a ripple effect in which we unfairly judge his earlier work through this perception.
I would love to see shorter cold openings nowadays–they are frequently way too long.
Yeah, there’s a lot of harbingers of S20 here–the overly long sketch crafted around one joke (to the point where the vacation sketch requires numerous cast members and sets); the self-indulgence (I can accept Blossom’s opening credits, but the music video at the end?); and the kind of frat boy-esque vibe (both of Rob’s main sketches in this episode have this feeling).
I feel bad for Kevin–he was on paper a great fit for WU and he worked hard at times at making his anchor more of a “news anchor” feel, but he proved on the whole uncomfortable in his tenure.
A marginal improvement over Jason Patric (thanks to Gap Girls and Lunchlady Land). Sara came off a little awkward as host, but she was only 19 or 20 years old.
Yeah, Rob has definitely been having a tough year. The college roommate sketch was NOT good. I agree with you that on paper the sketch should have worked, but Rob’s stilted delivery was baffling and didn’t help. The Blossom parody was also kind of a chore to get through and the tacked-on Joey Lawrence music video was incredibly lame and unnecessary. Simon was OK. I believe this is the final Simon sketch.
Yeah, and hardly any Phil this episode. Man, this was a tough one. But thankfully it least had the wonderfully memorable Lunchlady Land and also the best Gap Girls (although I will say that the clip used in Best of Chris Farley doing the “lay off me I’m starving” line probably saved this sketch from falling into obscurity) 🙂
Sara is basically playing Darlene Connor in the Disney sketch
After this show I believe there is only one Gap Girl sketch left. Courteney Cox in season 20. They didn’t do that one as much as I remembered
I didn’t like this episode but it’s marginally better than the Jason Patric one. Gilbert was a better host and there were just a few more bits that worked (Lunchlady Land, Gap Girls, the Update correspondents.) Neither episode was a 1995-esque funeral dirge, but it’s getting there.
You touched on something about this episode that plagues the back half of this season and almost all of ‘94-‘95, which is how strangely low energy the mood is for a lot of these shows. They do a lot of overly long, multi-set, or just very expensive looking sketches in this era but it still lacks that sense of fun. It almost doesn’t feel live.
I think that’s why Lunchlady Land feels like it’s from a different season of the show, like ‘82-‘83 or something. It’s very high energy, clean, and sincerely un-cynical in an era that has a lot of the opposite traits.
100% agree. There is a lack of energy and live feeling. The live energy starts to come back in spots on the tail end of Season 20, but not fully until Season 21 (Wake Up and Smile). Even the SNL Band’s music during the commercials begins to lack energy during this time.
Btw, the Joey Lawrence video was based off a real one aired after an episode of Blossom. NBC was desperate to create a new teen sensation since they hadn’t really had one since Michael J Fox. They were going all the way with him and of course it ended up backfiring on them
I think they actually did this sort of thing TWICE.
This whole episode is a mix of recurring characters and one-joke premises stretched way too thin. There are some sketches I actually did enjoy much of the way through (like the Rob Schneider’s Girlfriend play) that were hurt by not knowing when to end (in this case the last scene with the devil). There is something that I can enjoy in most of these loop sketches (Myers and Gilbert in the Blossom parody, and also I liked the credits recreation; the sex club interlude in the Eurodisney sketch had a few genuinely funny moments), but they all get dulled out by repetition.
Watching the Simon sketches again, I try to tune out the catchphrase overkill and focus on the stuff I’d never noticed, like what a terrible father Simon is. I’m half-surprised none of the hosts ever played him (maybe they did and I forgot). This was probably the only chance Gilbert had all night to have fun (aside from that Jenny Van Oy impression). I was a fan of Sara’s when she was on Roseanne; by this time I’d gotten tired of the show, and was also on a break from SNL, so I never knew until recently that she’d even hosted. I’m glad at least it wasn’t a bad episode, and she mostly got material she could competently play.
Mad TV did a sketch where Michael McDonald pretended to be a woman so he could date a lesbian – it was much more willing to go into crass ridiculousness than the man-in-a-girl’s-dorm-room sketch here. The whole thing just felt so half-hearted, and, yes, Schneider’s performance was very off.
Speaking of off performances, I thought Farley dragged down the Eurodisney (not that that took much) and to a degree the Gap Girls (Sandler also helped with that) with his overacting. That sinus-y tee-heeing he does over and over by this point just…I understand why he became this way and I know how talented he was, it’s just too bad how these last few seasons had to go. Anyway, there were some parts of the Gap Girls sketch I enjoyed, especially the continued attempts to blend serious issues into their shallow lives.
I hadn’t ever watched Lunchlady Land because I thought it was just going to be the usual but I was pleasantly surprised at how genuinely fun and entertaining the whole thing was.
Sarah Silverman’s Update commentary was pleasant enough and she has a great deal of charisma. She isn’t really a big part of the show, to say the least, but I’m surprised they didn’t give her another season.
I had forgotten Norm was a writer on Roseanne, which explains why he is way up front this week, but if it isn’t a harbinger for what’s coming next season, then nothing is.
I’m not sure what you mean by that last paragraph. Do you dislike Norm?
Alarming to see you suggest that Farley drags down the Gap Girls sketch. I know Farley had his affectations and they would be stretched beyond the threshold that any reasonable person could enjoy, but this ain’t it. Then again, I’ve always found that “nya-hee-nya-hee” laugh quite endearing. Also, it’s a drag sketch, so there’s going to be an element of camp to the performances. This edition of the Gap Girls finds its perfect level.
I just saw this from nearly a year ago (!) and realized I never replied. I’m a fan of a lot of Norm’s tenure (especially his sketches, which are both extremely rough cuts of the time and also fascinating to watch even all these years later) and I think he was, overall, critically important for such a moribund period for the show, giving it a kick in the ass without being a showboat. I was just trying to say, in a clunky manner, that his being up front for the goodnights so early on the way he was could serve as something of a harbinger for his path on the show. Norm becomes more and more important to the show in the back half of season 19.
Haha, all good dude. I think I was being very protective of Norm. Also, when I think of the word “harbinger” I tend to have negative connotations. But it is true, I think SNL recognized what they had with Norm pretty early in his tenure (remember, he stars in the last Schiller Reel too), but I don’t think Norm really became vital until the show veered a bit more toward the middle with the new cast, allowing Norm to act as a sort of palette cleanser to all the crowd pleasing material. From 93-95 he made a mark, but was surrounded by too many similarly-ilked performers.
Farley must have made the husky octave of “Lay off me, I’m starvin’!” deeper just for the live show, judging by Sandler’s raised-eyebrows/stifling-laughter reaction and Chris’s penchant for saving surprises for air. Spade’s “4 days ago” line may have been ad-libbed as late as dress, but in the live show, the cast seems to know he is going to say it.
Looks like I’m in the minority in liking the Rob Schneider roommate sketch, hehhhh. Somehow the weird robotic delivery works for me, and I like the character’s apparent rationale that he only needs to change his voice for his plan to easily work. No other effort is put into his plan. That’s how sure he is. Dumb, yes, but silly enough for me to enjoy.
Despite many highlights in his final season, Rob was definitely burning out this year: sitting out 2 shows and rehashing one-note bits like weed guy, Microscopic Elvis, and Girlfriend Theater. Hard to tell if he would have salvaged season 20 or brought it down more. With Spade, Sandler, and Garofalo giving lifeless readings throughout 94-95, Rob’s always-committed performances may have breathed some soul into the “don’t give a fuck” aura. As it stands, I agree with those who say he doesn’t get enough credit for his overall stellar tenure.
I kinda like the Schneider sketch too, the choices made seem deliberately goofy, keeping the tone light. Then again, I’m probably going to be the token commenter to defend the next season. I mean, it’s truly wretched for the most part, but there’s a lot that really works or nearly works for me, despite the air of lethargy.
I read in an interview with David Spade that the line “I can’t believe we’re all wearing the same thing we did four days ago.” was not ad-libbed. The Gap Girls and Blossom sketches were the highlight of this show in my opinion. I add Melanie Hutsell to my list of “Cast Members I Never Cared For”, however, this is the ONLY thing in her SNL “career” that I enjoyed…AT ALL. Oh and look there’s Norm Macdonald, another cast member who I felt was very overrated. Didn’t care for his humor or his Weekend Update anchor stretch.
I do agree with the fact that this season was slowly coming to a crawl with the weakened enthusiasm from the cast and, believe it or not, the SNL band. It’s VERY clear in this episode!
Side note: Sarah Silverman is so hot!!!
I know everyone has a democratic right to be wrong, but just like Trump supporters, I will never understand the mental gymnastics it takes to be a comedy fan and NOT enjoy Norm Macdonald.
Norm MacDonald IS funny, but he hardly needs your pretentious blessing.
Haha, OK. Thanks Carl.
Could Sara host again to promote The Conners?
Imagine if they got Laurie Metcalf?
By the way, I wonder how “that Urkel kid” would have turned out as host, even in and out of character.
Considering they’re having a Cartoon Network holiday special with him, maybe it’s a convinient excuse to have him host.
Speaking of the “Blossom” sketch, could Mayim Bialik host SNL now that she has a new sitcom coming on? Maybe she could do a parody of the ’90s show.
I actually think Mike is the best part of the Blossom sketch.
Melanie Hutsell was on Fly on the Wall and said Mayim Bialik was not happy about the Blossom sketch. Hutsell would apologize to her in person years later.
I watched that sketch semi recently on YouTube for the first time in years and geez, I really didn’t remember the prosthetics they used being so grotesque, seemed a bit mean-spirited on the make-up people or whoever was in charge of thats part lol
As someone who’s grown to hate Bialik because of her consistently awful work as host of Jeopardy!, the fact that Bialik was offended by that sketch makes me very happy.
Mayim Bialik wrote about the Blossom spoof in Variety.
https://variety.com/2023/tv/focus/mayim-bialik-jewish-nose-1235758505/
I’m with Mayim here. It was unjust of that critic to berate a teen Jewish girl’s appearance.