Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THE 1994 NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE
New York governor hopefuls Mario Cuomo (PHH) & Howard Stern (MMK) debate
— Hmm, interesting casting of Melanie. This seems like the type of role that Julia would normally play.
— Fantastic Howard Stern impression from Michael. Easily the best thing he’s done during his SNL tenure so far.
— I always love Phil’s Mario Cuomo impression, but he’s just being used in a boring straight role here. I guess it wouldn’t be a season 19 episode without Phil Hartman being poorly utilized. Considering he’s playing the foil for Michael McKean in this cold opening, maybe this is intended to be a passing of the torch between the two of them.
— A pretty funny and accurate spoof of Stern’s behavior.
— An overall good sketch, but not quite as strong as I had remembered.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— The theme music sounds quite different. The SNL Band would also use this different sound for the theme music in the following week’s season finale. Is this a sign of the SNL Band getting prepared for new SNL theme music next season?
MONOLOGUE
host comes clean to his mother about things he did as a kid
— John is sporting his dark Fred Flintstone-type hairstyle during tonight’s hosting gig, as he’s promoting the live-action Flintstones movie.
— He mentions in passing that this is his fifth time hosting. A shame they aren’t making a bigger deal of that.
— His confessions to his mother are not particularly funny so far.
— Okay, I finally got a laugh from a confession of his, with the one about grandma being kept locked in the basement.
— After a slow start, this monologue has been getting funnier. I like the bit regarding John’s mom once leaving him on the side of the highway when he was a kid.
STARS: ***
MAJESTIC CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE
Rerun from 4/9/94
DOUBLE DATE
Captain Jim & Pedro go on a date with (host)’s daughters (MEH) & (SAS)
PHH asks for pledges to support Captain Jim & Pedro programming
— Did we need these characters returning after only TWO episodes? Also, why in the world is this the lead-off sketch of the night this time, especially when their previous appearance was in a more fitting spot late in the show?
— Much like these characters’ previous appearance, I’m not caring much for tonight’s installment so far. These sketches have the type of goofy charm that I usually get a kick out of, but like I said in my review of the first installment of this sketch, Adam’s silly-humored, goofy-voiced shtick has officially reached the point in his SNL tenure where it’s run out of steam for me.
— Nice continuity with Captain Jim mentioning recently getting hired at Foot Locker, which is a reference to the previous sketch these characters appeared in.
— I hate to ever criticize John Goodman, but he’s kinda bland as the straight man here. Kelsey Grammer made a much better straight man in the first installment of this sketch.
— I admit to smiling at Pedro’s ending line “A monkey will eat dirt… if you make him!” Don’t know why; it just made me smile. I guess as tired as I feel Adam’s goofy shtick has been starting to get at this late stage of his SNL tenure, there’s still an innocent charm left in it at times.
— The post-sketch bit with Phil doing a PBS-esque pledge drive is actually an improvement over the post-sketch bit they did with Michael McKean in the first Captain Jim & Pedro sketch. There’s some good humor in the fact that they’re holding such a big pledge drive for something as silly and mindless as a Captain Jim & Pedro piece.
— I love the visual of Phil wearing a goofy lobster hat while having that trademark straitlaced Phil Hartman smile (last screencap above).
STARS: **½
AMERICAN SPORTSMAN TODAY
Rush Limbaugh (CHF) & Ron Wood (MIM) hunt
— Mike’s unintelligible Ron Wood impression is cracking me up in this sketch. His impression works much better in a supporting role like this than in those terrible sketches they would later give him a starring role in the following season, where he interviews equally-unintelligible celebrities.
— Farley’s certainly no impressionist, but I kinda like his Rush Limbaugh.
— I got a good laugh from the visual of a cow blowing up.
— I love Phil-as-Charlton-Heston’s delivery of the line “Let’s clean it up and put it on the grill.”
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Night In My Veins”
WEEKEND UPDATE
DAS dislikes bands that have the balls not to play their hits at concerts
— Wow, this Update oddly starts with no audience applause AT ALL. Absolute dead silence in the studio.
— David, who’s apparently gotten tired of doing Hollywood Minute, debuts a new recurring Update segment in which he gripes about concerts he’s recently been to.
— I’m conflicted on David’s commentary. He has a lot of funny lines here, but I’m put off by his particularly lazy and half-assed delivery here, which is serving as an unwanted reminder of the bad, mailed-in performances he would often give in the upcoming season 20. I’m also finding his frequent “pure balls” comments in tonight’s commentary to be complete overkill. Still, he’s been making a lot of funny observations here.
— Kevin’s joke about Arsenio Hall retiring from his talk show to get some “stanky on his hangdown” has always been one of my personal favorite Kevin Nealon Weekend Update jokes of all time. Kevin has certainly had some struggles as an Update anchor over the years (especially this season), but that particular joke is a perfect use of his straitlaced, deadpan delivery. Not bad for what ends up being Kevin’s penultimate Weekend Update.
STARS: ***
REAL STORIES OF THE ARKANSAS HIGHWAY PATROL / COPS
Real Stories Of The Arkansas Highway Patrol- Bill Clinton (PHH) womanizes
Cops- Bill (PHH) & Hillary (JAH) Clinton are mum after a domestic dispute
— Interesting sketch, and I find the format fun. And as I mentioned in a recent review, it feels like a rarity in this era to see pre-taped outdoors footage (not counting fake ads).
— I love the camera zooming into Phil’s Bill Clinton gleefully giving the “okay” sign when Michael makes a woman he’s questioning bend over.
— A good laugh from Bill being heard sleazily saying his famous “I feel your pain” phrase while having sex with a woman in the back of a police car. Speaking of which, this entire scene (which involves Chris as a cop guarding a police car while Clinton and a woman are inside of it having sex) would later be removed from Comedy Central’s 60-minute version of tonight’s episode. My guess for the reason behind that removal is time reasons, because the sketch as a whole is quite long and Comedy Central probably needed a shorter version.
— Funny silent nervous facial expressions from Phil’s Bill throughout the phone call Rob takes from Hillary Clinton.
— And now we get a sudden turn with this segueing into a Cops parody. I’m enjoying how we’re getting two sketches in one, which feels like another rarity for SNL.
— I love the tense atmosphere in the domestic dispute scene with Bill and Hillary.
— Sadly, this would end up being the last of Jan Hooks’ frequent special guest appearances from seasons 18 and 19. Another sad last: this is the final appearance of Phil’s Bill Clinton impression, as tonight is Phil’s penultimate episode as a cast member. (*sigh*) What makes all of this hurt even more is knowing in retrospect what a HUGE misfire SNL’s attempt to replace the Bill and Hillary Clinton impressions the following season turns out.
STARS: ****
THEATRE STORIES
Christopher Walken (JAM) & Michael Caine (PHH) on panel
— Feels kinda late in the night for this recurring sketch to be appearing.
— This ends up being the final installment of this sketch, even though, unlike Phil, Mike isn’t leaving next week (though he certainly should be).
— Julia’s Dame Sarah Kensington character looks different than usual. Also, this is Julia’s first appearance of the whole night, pretty late in the show. Sadly, that’s common for her lately, though at least she’s actually playing a comedic role this time and isn’t just being wasted in yet another dull straight man role.
— Great to see Jay’s Christopher Walken impression finally become recurring.
— I loved the random “A man who needs no introduction” bit as the camera just shows John as an unknown character silently looking at the camera with his tongue goofily sticking out between his lips.
— Speaking of John, he actually appeared in a previous Theatre Stories sketch, but the character he played in that one is apparently different from the one he’s playing tonight, as both characters have a different name.
— This is the first time Phil’s funny Michael Caine impression has been seen in years. I think the Mary Tyler Moore episode from way back in season 14 was the last time it appeared.
— What was the point of Phil’s Michael Caine randomly sneezing in the middle of his story?
— Never mind; I see now that the point of Caine’s random sneeze was apparently so Mike’s character would imitate it when repeating the entire story that Caine had just told.
— I liked Jay’s Walken saying “That reminds me of a very funny story…..”, then just staying completely silent.
— This installment of Theater Stories has been featuring funny randomness as usual for these sketches, but there’s kind of a “been there, done that” atmosphere to this installment. Probably a good thing this ends up being the final installment.
STARS: ***
PLUCKY NINJAS
beaten, incompetent ninjas regroup & plan their next encounter
— I love the format of this. A good and fun ensemble piece. I’ve always felt this is an underrated sketch.
— A lot of funny lines in the guys’ suggestions.
— Hilarious reveal of Adam having a ninja star stuck in his forehead. I also like the facial reactions from Rob and Mike.
— I know some people are bothered by the extended use of movie stock footage at the end, in which a guy kicks the asses of an entire army of ninjas one-by-one, as some people feel that’s extreme laziness on SNL’s part (especially since the sketch also opened with different stock footage of a group of ninjas getting their asses kicked), but I personally have no complaints. At least this stock footage is entertaining, in a “cheesy 80s/90s ninja movie” way, and I feel it matches up with the live portion of the sketch humorously.
STARS: ****
PHILADELPHIA ACTION FIGURES
Another rerun tonight, this time from 2/5/94
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Michael Bolton (KEN) album contains non-original songs
— I always like Kevin’s Michael Bolton impression.
— Some good laughs from Bolton’s “original” songs just being another artist’s famous song with only one word changed.
— Pretty funny duet between Bolton and his “father” Nat King Cole.
— Good ending with Bolton “creating” the Happy Birthday melody by pressing random keys on a piano.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I’ll Stand By You”
FLINTSTONES NAMES
host explains how to convert regular names into Flintstones names
— The format of this, mainly the use of placards, reminds me a little of Tim Kazurinsky’s Dr. Jack Badofsky commentaries from the Dick Ebersol era.
— A few funny bits early on, like Sharon Stone’s Flintstones name being Sharon Miller, and the meta bit with Chris Farley’s Flintstones name being Chris Rock.
— After the two aforementioned funny bits, this sketch has lost steam FAST.
— John’s trying, but I can tell he knows this material is bad. This sketch is dying.
STARS: *½
TAXI TRIVIA
while (host) & (JUS) are in his cab, (ROS) talks of killer taxi drivers
— I love the disturbing premise, and I like the idea of Rob being cast as an unsettling-but-friendly character, but I’m being disappointed by the execution so far, which feels kinda flat and one-note.
— The sketch at least ended on a good note, as I absolutely loved the ending with the creepy close-up of Michael turning to the camera with a sinister smile. Michael’s had a strong night tonight in general.
STARS: **
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A decent episode, especially compared to most episodes in the back half of this season. Not an outstanding episode, but I felt a lot of the sketches tonight ranged from okay to pretty good, and there were two sketches I felt strongly about (Plucky Ninjas and Real Stories of the Arkansas Highway Patrol / Cops). Even the Captain Jim & Pedro sketch, while still nowhere near great to me, was a little better than usual. The show ended on a disappointing note with two sketches that fell flat, but aside from that, the overall episode wasn’t weighed down too much by the usual season 20 warning signs that have been dragging down a lot of the latter season 19 episodes. John Goodman added his usual solid, likable vibe 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 (Emilio Estevez)
a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 19 comes to an end, with host Heather Locklear. It’s also the end of the road for several cast members, including the amazing Phil Hartman.
I can’t remember where I read it (the old saturday-night-live board?) but supposedly McKean can imitate Howard Stern from any era of his career.
A recurring thought over these past few reviews: “Was *anyone* excited to see this stuff?” Were there people in 1994 who were looking forward to Farley screaming himself hoarse, Sandler speaking in a silly voice or Spade acting aloof? For all I know, there were fans writing into/calling NBC or participating in focus groups that couldn’t get enough of this stuff, but it just comes across like amateur night.
I was initially surprised that “I’ll Stand By You” was the second song, but that was the order of The Pretenders’ singles. It would go on to be a hit that summer.
I think that came up when Michael had to play a shock jock on the Simpsons – they asked him to imitate Howard Stern, and he asked WHICH Howard Stern they’d prefer.
I was reminded over the last year, especially with Sandler’s return, just how many love this era for Farley/Sandler/Spade and insist this was the last time SNL was any good. A few days ago I saw a tweet saying SNL was last good in 1994. I did a double take, but it’s a common view.
The ratings were not good at this time, but I guess the young, vocal fans who loved these guys were seen as a valuable demo, and I think Lorne has tried (and generally failed) to bring this vibe back a few times now.
In the tail end of this era, it sometimes feels like the (male) cast are just enjoying themselves way more than anyone else is. I have seen a lot of S20 defenders too, though.
Here’s an extremely nerdly take on Theatre Stories: Just before this episode originally aired, I watched “Sleuth” with my parents for the first time. I remember wishing they had used Hartman’s Caine as the Olivier expert, and dispensed with having Goodman there at all. But then, he WAS the host — it wouldn’t have made any sense. Too bad — I liked the Caine impression then and now.
@Francis — most of the SNL fans I knew in the early 90s (my fellow middle- and high-school students) LOVED the Farley/Sandler pieces… they bought the comedy albums, went to see Black Sheep and Tommy Boy and Billy Madison in the theater multiple times and quoted them endlessly. So I guess Lorne/NBC/the writers did feel that they were giving the people what they wanted.
Fair enough, Kubelsky. I should note that my middle school/high school era coincided with Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz’ heyday and I’ll admit to eating that stuff up with a spoon. It’ll be interesting to see how well it’s aged when Stooge gets to those episodes.
All the Sandler/Farley hate on here gets old.. it’s not that bad, honestly. Both 1993 and 1994 seasons have some good shows, but they have a few bad ones and people gravitate towards that. I’ll take any of those 2 years over all of Ferrell’s era in a heartbeat though. Those years were too sanitized and bland, they didn’t have a wild nature to them. Only post 1995 years I enjoyed were the mid 00’s, but I was in high school by then. From 2005-first half of 2008 was consistent viewing for me.
This show’s not too bad, very few duds. For a near the end of the season who it coulda been a lot worse. Pretenders were way better here than in their 1986 appearance, it was hard to hear what they were singing on my copy of that show. The Clinton skit in particular was very fun, Phil’s last great skit and the whole white trash twist was perfect.
This aired on my first birthday, I was born the day before Applegate’s show.
I think the Farley/Sandler hate gets overstated too, but they kind of feel like the first group where you kind of have to take the good with the bad. Sometimes their stuff worked and sometimes it really was obnoxious, mean-spirited and #problematic (it was the 90s, a lot of that shit went unchecked – watch these episodes with that in mind). Since then, basically every cast member has shown positive and negative traits (with, for me, Ferrell and Forte being notable exceptions). I’m able to watch this season and season 20 and enjoy what parts of the “dumb” humor work while also recognizing how too much of the same vibe will drain all of the energy. The late-80s group were all aces, and the 90s dudes provided incredible bench strength and while I think Sandler et al were the ones to emerge because they had the ability to pop with the crowd (totally earned BTW), they really weren’t fully developed performers. They were niche performers being asked to carry the show. They get the lion’s share of the blame for season 20’s failures, but they STILL were the only one’s who could pop. Sweeney and Garofalo’s criticisms were and are bang on, but…it was kind of up to them to provide a better alternative too. Like, Garofalo is right about everything she said and the vibe of the 94-95 season is legit toxic, but also, she was HORRIBLE…like, possibly the all-time worst. We talk about how poorly served the women of this era are, but there’s a reason they kept bringing Jan Hooks back; this is a thin group. I’m a Sweeney booster and like Stooge I’ve softened on Hutsell, but they simply are not on the level of who came before and who came after. When the female performers got stronger (Shannon, Oteri, Gasteyer), the show’s balance of power shifted. I don’t doubt for a second that the “Bad Boys” were all toxic bros (although Sweeney made a point of saying how generous Spade was as a collaborator) and I see it in so many of these sketches, but they were the only ones in this era who had the ability to kill.
I still think the 94-95 season is truly horrible on the whole, but man, there are some absolutely abysmal seasons that totally get overlooked by the larger public (04-05, 09-10, 13-14, 18-19).
Think Janeane has said she liked Spade as well in 94-95. Years think here main problem(s) were with Sandler and Farley
And yeah 04/05 is a truly wretched season that doesn’t get talked enough about how bad it was
I have mixed feelings about both periods. The best of 93-95 I’d take over most of the late ’90s, as the political humor declines markedly and so does the quality of recurring characters…it’s just the worst of 93-95 is really, really terrible. Either way, watching episode by episode has changed my opinion from past years – generally I’ve found Sandler much easier to watch than I did at the time.
I also was junior high/high school age at this time and Farley/Sandler/Spade were all incredibly popular with everyone at school. We basically worshiped them. Remember this was arguably the first time in the show’s history where they were outwardly trying to appeal to teenagers.
remember on the 90s special, Tom Davis and Norm both said Lorne probably didn’t get Sandler’s humor at all but he knew kids loved it so he featured it prominently
oh and let’s be honest Sandler becoming one of the biggest stars in the world probably makes people think fondly of this era even if they were small children or weren’t even born yet
Phil looks enough like Beck Bennett in the cold open that I actually paused the video for a few seconds. Eerie.
I notice in these Goodman episodes how often he seems to slot into the everyman role, which makes sense given how very busy he was in these years, but it always feels like a waste of an extraordinary talent. Still, he’s more than amiable, which goes a long way in filler pieces like the Flintstones plug.
Mike Myers is hammy in the Theater Stories sketch in a way that rivals the most unprofessional performances I can remember on the show – the thing barely seems to be written this time around, relying on Mohr, Sweeney and Hartman to mine laughs where they can, but he barely even lets them have that. Sad way for this sketch to go out and a prime example of why I’ve soured on his work in my rewatch.
Sarah Silverman is used in a way that a writer not credited as a featured player, like Christine Zander, may have been used in past seasons. I’m not entirely sure why she was even made a featured player. Her lack of use goes beyond many of the more wasteful Lorne moments and fall more under the lengthy lapses Robin Duke and Julia Louis Dreyfus suffered under Ebersol.
I liked the ninja sketch – it reminded me of something from the late ’80s.
McKean is pretty good in this episode, but I never can shake the feeling that he just belongs on a different show.
This spring, Drew Gooden made a video about the problems of SNL. I agreed with some of his comments (especially his praise for Beck and Kyle Mooney), but one criticism that stood out for me was when he said it’s not that SNL has become more political, but that their political commentary is now meaner than it ever was before. I was baffled, and wondered if they’d ever seen this sketch. Seeing it in full again for the first time in years only confirms my view. This sketch (which yes was based on some real life accusations) involves Clinton in:
– having his state troopers profile and harass women for his pleasure
– proceeding with activities even as they say they are in pain
– regularly promoting officers to jobs they were very unqualified for
– being beaten on a regular basis by his wife
Was I offended by this? No. I think it’s a brilliant sketch. Do I think it’s mean as hell? Absolutely. It’s one of the most vicious political sketches I’ve ever seen on the show. Nothing like this would get on the air today. It just shows how much scrutiny, and standards, have changed, to where very glib, empty political material like what we get today is pushed as being “too far.”
Seeing Jan Hooks give us what is essentially a final “goodbye” in the goodnights of this episode is one of those little moments that stays with you. Goodbye to an identity for the show – an identity that it would never get back, and never will.
Jan and Phil represented an intelligence, a coolness, and a respect – for themselves, their scene partners, and most of all, the audience. They were never desperate to get viewers to like them, and as a result, many viewers did love them, from start to finish.
There will never be a new Jan Hooks, just as there was never anyone like Jan Hooks before she was cast. She was incredibly special, and I’m glad she remained a part of the show for as long as she did.
I’ll be honest, I always liked the “Flintstone words” sketch. XD
It’s interesting because there was a character named Sharon Stone in the Flintstones movie, played by… wait for it… Halle Berry. Originally, Sharon Stone was going to play the character. Which I think would’ve been funnier and meta.
Does anyone who was older than high school age at the time, like these last 2 season? Is nostalgia at play?
My parents would have been 43 and 37 at the time and this is the era where they went from regular viewers to casual ones— maybe 2-3 times a month, and just for the first 30-60 minutes, instead of watching/taping the show every week since ‘75. And they are still casual viewers. I think they recognized the show had shifted its target audience, but still found it funny.
I will say, if not for the emphasis on the “bad boys,” what would we have had? Julia with a quieter piece each week, and maybe Mike with something odd and eclectic? It would have been 90 minutes of 10-to-1 sketches. Still enjoyable, but not a juggernaut. Maybe a better balance could have been struck by letting Norm, Sarah Silverman and even Phil have some more input this season, but I can’t imagine what else they could have done with the cast and writers as they were. Now, if they had brought Jan back, and revived the Franken & Davis Show, and Christine Zander or the Turners has stayed… that would have been a huge shift.
Yeah, I want to say that while I don’t love these seasons, I can recognize the good in them and that I like Spade/Sandler/Farley etc. as performers. The problem is that I think they work better as performers in an ensemble with different comedic styles (they’re excellent in the early 90s seasons, for example) and I don’t think anyone would deny their work becomes more undisciplined as the seasons go on.
I should note that I think this is pretty normal cyclical, like nothing particularly unique about these guys. When Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig started on the show, I liked them as performers, and grew to gradually detest their recurring performances and mugging.
There should be a mathematical equation for how increased exposure on SNL is directly proportional to increased insufferability. Call it the Wiig index.
While the Farley/Sandler crew struggled to give depth to the show, it was the departure of major writers like Handey and especially Smigel that completely handcuffed the show. Some of the performers from 93-95 knew how to kill, but basically none of the writers did. That’s the big trouble.
Smigel leaving really hurt the show. Especially Sandler who always leaned on him. Sandler was never really the same on the show after Smigel left
It seems to me that most everyone’s favorite SNL era is the era when they were pre-teens/teenagers and watched the show when their parents wouldn’t let them, etc. 🙂
I was born in 1983. I had older brothers that watched the show, and I would sneak up to stay late and watch stuff like Church Chat, Hans & Franz, Wayne’s World, etc. The “Bad Boys Era” 1990-1995 is the cast I “grew up” with…so they are my favorite.
I will say that even I realized back then the decline in quality by Season 20. Farley, Spade, and Sandler worked better when they were in small doses from 1990-1993/94 or so. When they were the main attraction in 94-95…it didn’t work too well. I think Michael Cheyne uses a great word to describe their work in Season 20…undisciplined. The schtick had gotten old. I will say that there is stuff from Season 19 and Season 20 that I really like, but the season’s lows are really LOW. It’s really not surprising at all that both Farley and Sandler were fired at the end of Season 20. I love this era, but I’ll admit that nostalgia bias is certainly a factor why I like it so much.
Oh yeah, the best era for SNL is probably “the era RIGHT before you started watching on a regular basis.” As in–you’re seeing clips of the show on specials and best of VHS/DVD’s (so you’re only seeing the “best” material) and every so often your parents might let you stay up for the first half hour or something (or you sneak watching), so your perceptions are skewed.
As for the episode…I’d say it’s pretty good. Arkansas Highway Patrol is good political satire and really goes for the jugular to the Clintons. Ninjas sketch is up there as well. I love Myers’ performance as Ron Wood, and even the 10-to-1 sketch is pretty amusing.
I started watching when I was around 11 during season 8 after hearing about how greta the 1st 5 years were. I thought the show was awful then. The 1st season I enjoyed, even though it was uneven, was season 10. Its took me a while to get back into it after season 11, but I loved the 2nd golden era and felt the Sandler cast ruined the show, but I may be generally atypical. My favorite seasons are 2 and 3, which I watched years after they aired.
That sketch with the track team from the Bob Saget episode feels like it’s almost trying to emulate this ninja sketch, but failing insanely hard.
So sad that this was Jan’s swan song… I just found this interview of Phil from Tom Snyder’s Late Late Show, conducted near the end of season 20. Phil he comments how SNL tried “10 different women” and could never replace Jan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thBO3PG5GPQ
He also makes an interesting point about season 20’s troubles: he felt there needed to be more utility players (which is becoming rapidly apparent through your reviews, Stooge).
Phil also comments on his planned variety show, and how so many of them had been failing at that time.
Watching the interview is also heart-breaking because even though he has a chance to savage the show, he remains absolutely classy and positive; what a kind soul. Also reminds me what a great interviewer Snyder was. Near the end, he thanks Phil for all his kindness “over the years”… I have to assume that means Phil appeared on Tom’s radio and CNBC shows in the early 90s?
Spade’s “pure balls” commentary does get a little grating, but I can say I experienced my own “pure balls” moment a few months after this aired. I saw Blind Melon open for the Rolling Stones, and they didn’t do “No Rain.” Definitely pure balls!
The footage used in the ninja sketch is from the 1993 Chuck Norris/Joe Piscopo classic, Sidekicks.
I was in the 4th grade when I first started watching Season 15 of SNL. My older brother used to record the late 80s/early 90s SNL episodes on VHS. My first episode was Rick Moranis, who was huge with the Ghostbusters movies and Honey I Shrunk the Kids as well as Parenthood with Steve Martin.
Season 15 was also the year a lot of popular regular hosts first started hosting: Goodman, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, and I think that was Woody Harrelson’s first year too.
I always considered this episode to be Phil’s real final episode, with Locklear and the So Long, Farewell piece being a sort of epilogue. He’s all over this show, gets to do Clinton one more time, and Jan’s there. When you consider Locklear and
Goodman flip flopped because of scheduling issues, it makes even more sense.
Or maybe I just tell myself this because it irks me to no end that Phil is really barely present in the Locklear finale.