Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
NIGHTLINE
Bob Dole (NOM) is willing to change to beat Bill Clinton
— SNL has gotten a lot of good mileage this season out of Darrell’s Ted Koppel impression.
— This feels like the first time we’ve seen Darrell’s Clinton impression in quite a long while. Hell, I think his last appearance was way back in December when he did his “The American President” review on Weekend Update.
— Very funny announcement from Darrell’s Clinton that he’s resigning from the presidency so he can focus on his presidential campaign.
— Another hilarious announcement from Darrell’s Clinton, that he’s now divorcing his wife.
— I like Norm-as-Dole’s bad, outlandish attempts to one-up Clinton’s big announcement, especially him announcing he’ll be converted into a beam of energy, which is made even funnier by Darrell’s Koppel asking him to go into details of how that can be possible.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
to please an audience member, host reverts to his popular catchphrases
— This monologue is already starting off funny and unique with Carrey’s echo-ish, alien-esque announcement to the audience.
— A particularly funny line during Carrey’s above-mentioned announcement to the audience: “Talking out of one’s buttcrack is a sign of one’s personal confidence.”
— Carrey’s even managing to make his “movie catchphrase quotes” bit with Adam McKay funny.
— I love Carrey throwing in some Fire Marshall Bill at the end.
STARS: ***½
WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Craig & Arianna welcome an exchange student (host) to their squad
— I like the opening foreign dialect bit between Carrey and Mark.
— Carrey is adding a lot of fun life to this overused recurring sketch.
— Arianna: “He’s foreign. That means he has an accent and is kinda stinky.”
— I like the turn with Carrey being exposed as taking performance enhancing pills.
— I’ve always loved the “I Like Big Butts” number the Cheerleaders do at the end. Probably my single favorite moment from any Cheerleaders sketch.
STARS: ***½
THE ROXBURY GUYS
(host) & fellow Roxbury Guys work their moves in non-traditional venues
— After the first Roxbury Guys sketch from earlier this season used a song I didn’t recognize, tonight’s installment opens with the very catchy “What Is Love” song making its very first Roxbury Guys appearance, thus kicking off what ends up being THE definitive Roxbury Guys installment.
— Koechner, in what ends up being his final SNL episode, makes his ONLY appearance of the night in a silent bit role as a bartender who mostly stands in the background and then VERY briefly appears in front of the camera when ushering the Roxbury Guys out of the club after they start getting out of control (screencap below).
This appearance from Koechner is very easy to miss when watching the sketch, which is what led to the common misconception that he doesn’t appear in his final episode. Still, even though he does appear, this is a VERY sad way for him to go out, especially for someone who added a lot to this season and had such a strong first year.
— I love how this Roxbury Guys sketch is going much further than the embryonic version of this sketch that appeared earlier this season. So many things are fun and infectious about this sketch: the music, the head-bopping, the various changes of scenery, the brief car scenes interspersed throughout the sketch, etc.
— Very funny turn with the music in the car temporarily stopping when there’s dust on the CD.
— This sketch is getting funnier and funnier, with the Roxbury Guys now trying to pick up ladies at a retirement home.
— Great ending to this all-time classic sketch with Carrey proudly holding up his elderly date’s dentures as a “souvenir”.
STARS: *****
JACUZZI LIFEGUARD
an overprotective lifeguard (host) monitors jacuzzi-goer (WIF) closely
— A perfectly Jim Carrey-esque premise that I can’t picture anybody but him selling.
— Loved Carrey’s throwaway line about a “bloated carcass stuck in the filter”.
— A lot of laughs from how seriously Carrey’s character takes his job, even needlessly using binoculars and a bullhorn towards Will when he’s right in front of him.
— Carrey is killing in me this sketch.
— A great increased absurdity with Tim now coming in to briefly do laps in a divided part of the jacuzzi.
— I’ve always used this sketch as a prime example of what a great straight man Will always makes, and how underrated he is in that role. I especially love his exasperated “I’M OKAY! I AM OKAY!” response after receiving CPR from Carrey.
STARS: *****
WEEKEND UPDATE
— Norm is on fire tonight with a lot of great jokes so far.
— Ha, we get ANOTHER O.J. joke a few minutes after we already got one.
— Wow, no guest commentaries at all in tonight’s overall Update. I’m glad, though, because not only did that mean we got an entire uninterrupted Update of pure Norm jokes, but I feel this is one of Norm’s strongest Updates of all time. A nice rebound after a string of good-but-not-great Updates in the last few preceding episodes.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
— A great Roxbury Guys-themed intro to the musical guest.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pretty Noose”
I’LL SEE YOU IN HELL
(host) says “I’ll see you in Hell” so much, the phrase loses its impact
— I love Carrey’s first outburst of “I’LL SEE YOU IN HELL!”, even though I’m aware of where this sketch is going.
— Yep, Carrey’s endless repetition of “I’ll see you in hell” is losing its humor in theory, but Carrey is so damn funny that I’m still finding myself laughing at it.
— I got a laugh from Will starting to tell Carrey “Okay, that worked for you once…”
— Okay, this sketch is starting to work less and less for me. Oh, well; I guess even a classic episode like tonight’s needed one subpar sketch.
— This is winning me back over with Carrey’s sudden heart attack.
— I love the screen card saying “78,043,721,902 years later”.
— Good ending.
STARS: **½
SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS looks back at some of his Hollywood Minutes
— Well, this is it. The last hurrah of David Spade.
— I love the idea of Spade doing a “year in review” of this season’s cast.
— I particularly like Spade’s harsh-but-funny quote for Mark’s picture: “Hi, I’ve been in 40 sketches this season, name one.”
— As soon as Spade brings up Tim, the audience actually applauds. I love that. It shows what an effective year Tim has had and how he’s finally become known to the audience as a reliable veteran in a mostly unfamiliar cast.
— For some reason, Jim is the only new cast member this season who Spade didn’t comment on here.
— I love that we’re now getting a montage of Spade’s best Hollywood Minute moments from over the years. This montage is actually kinda touching in a way. A good way for Spade to go out.
STARS: ***½
THE JOE PESCI SHOW
Jimmy Stewart (host) & Jim Carrey (MAM)
— Carrey is priceless as an old, decrepit Jimmy Stewart.
— While I sometimes find SNL’s “cast member does an impression of a celebrity in front of the real celebrity” trope to be corny, I am often a sucker for the specific trope of “cast member does an impression of a celebrity while the real celebrity does an impression of another celebrity” (e.g. Mike Myers as Mick Jagger alongside Mick Jagger as Keith Richards), like we’re seeing here between Carrey and Mark.
— Carrey’s Jimmy Stewart to Mark’s Jim Carrey: “Smoke a lot of dope, do ya, son?”
— Some great self-deprecating humor with Carrey’s Stewart doing an unflattering Jim Carrey impression (e.g. “I need attention 24 hours a day! Look at me!”).
— I love Carrey’s Stewart telling off Breuer’s Pesci, then saying in regards to a bat “I wonder what it would look like… BURIED IN YOUR ASS!”, and then proceeding to beat the living daylights out of Pesci with the bat. The way this sketch is ending almost feels like this should’ve been the final Joe Pesci Show sketch.
— Overall, this has always been my favorite Joe Pesci Show installment.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Burden In My Hand”
JIMMY TANGO’S FAT BUSTERS
heat beads & crystal meth remove pounds
— Yet another perfectly Jim Carrey-esque premise, even if this sketch was originally intended for an earlier season, from what I heard.
— Great line from Carrey about how when he closes his eyes, all he sees are spiders and snails.
— I said it earlier in this review, and I’ll say it again: Carrey is freakin’ killing me in this sketch.
— I love the whispery “Ride the Snake” voice-over.
— Nancy’s cheerful delivery of the side effects she suffers is funny, especially her line “I cry in my sleep and I burn symbols into my housepets with a curling iron!” I’m glad Nancy’s getting some laughs in what unfortunately ends up being her final SNL appearance as a cast member.
— Much like Carrey, Will is playing a perfectly Will Ferrell-esque insane character. In my eyes, you can never go wrong with a batshit crazy Will Ferrell performance like we’re seeing here.
— All throughout this episode, it’s been fascinating seeing Carrey and Will interacting with each other, considering Carrey’s comedy star status at the time and the big comedy star Will himself would later go on to be known as. And it’s particularly fascinating seeing their interaction in this sketch. I love the face-off between them, and Will’s head suddenly bleeding is HILARIOUSLY insane.
— Overall, not only one of the best 10-to-1 sketches in SNL history, but one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time. I could not have asked for a better way for this season to end.
STARS: *****
GOODNIGHTS
host announces stage manager Joe Dicso’s [real] retirement
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— And thus ends one of my favorite SNL episodes of all time. In fact, this seems to be a favorite episode among many SNL fans, and it’s easy to see why. Between the very memorable sketches that dominated the night, some of this era’s biggest recurring sketches each having one of their best installments ever (especially The Roxbury Guys), and comedy superstar Jim Carrey bringing down the house with his trademark comedic style and expert sketch comedy experience, this episode is a true keeper. An outstanding way to end the season.
— Season 21 as a whole was the big turnaround that SNL desperately needed after the notorious season 20. This season delivered a solid new cast and a refreshing new writing style, all of which resulted in an overall enjoyable year that got better and better as it progressed, culminating in a strong final three months in which there was only one episode that I feel didn’t qualify as above average (Christine Baranski). Even this season’s heavy overuse of certain popular recurring characters (Cheerleaders, Mary Katherine Gallagher, The Fops) was understandable, as that was just part of what SNL needed to regain their relevancy and popularity after losing all of it in season 20. My favorite aspect of this season is the way it embraced weird sketches that contained creative, absurdist humor; stuff like Wake Up And Smile, Bill Brasky, Hi-C & Turkey, etc., which are among my favorite sketches of the season, as you’ll see a little later in this review. (Unfortunately, SNL’s increased focus on absurdist humor ends up being short-lived, IIRC, as SNL moves away from it starting next season.)
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christine Baranski)
a step up
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS (Note: These picks were hastily made off the top of my head and will naturally be missing some deserving sketches. I don’t have enough time to do full, thought-out “Best Of” picks for this whole season)
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1994-95)
a huge step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 22 begins, with Tom Hanks as host, and two new cast members joining the show
This might be the best season finale SNL has had. Usually finales have an air of tiredness throughout, but it felt like the entirety of S21 was building up to this episode, in a way. This one definitely seems to be a classic among a lot of viewers, both casual and die-hard.
Ruby, I think it was the BEST.
This might be my favorite SNL season of all time. It had so much energy and everyone was so young and hungry and everything was so inventive and new. This is why I’ve always argued they should do more cast reboots. It was almost infectious how much fun the new kids were having driving around in Lorne’s dusty old car. I don’t think every episode was amazing but even in the ones that missed I could still appreciate what they were trying.
Thanks for recapping this season and also this especially important episode. I will never forget where I was the first time that I watched it. I was like, wow, SNL just because a watercooler show again. It hasn’t been that way for a while. The Jim Carrey episode (especially that Roxbury sketch) was the thing that brought SNL back to the mainstream again. It was no surprise at all that they brought back The Roxbury Guys almost immediately at the start of the next season. That was the sketch that everyone was talking about over the summer.
I really like the next season too. Looking forward to reading your recaps about it. Thanks again!
P.S. Lorne, if you’re reading this in 2019, please reboot your show. Look how fun it can be again.
P.S. “Hey, how about that? Bob Dole, Chinaman! Hard working, good at math!”
Man, I miss Norm. His Bob Dole was the weirdest creation.
Oh I definitely remember seeing this live and it being the talk of pretty much every kid in middle school that week. In my lifetime, I don’t think anyones ever been a bigger comedy star Jim Carrey hot off In Living Color and becoming an instant movie megastar. It’s too bad he didn’t host more in his prime, he came back decades later but it didnt have the same excitement as it would’ve in the 90s.
I recently had a conversation with someone about how they had no idea Will Ferrell was on “SNL” as early as 1995 and they didn’t really catch the era of Jim Carrey being the hottest comedy mega-star of the time- which made me feel super-old since I can remember back to Steve Martin’s run in that role
I agree not only that this is an outstanding episode but that season 21 is the best season that the show would have for a long time. Not only are we not as tired of the recurring characters as we would soon become, but as you say there is a remarkable run of quality oddball 10-to-1 sketches with Lampreys, Taddli, and Fat Busters being my favorites. And there is Koechner and not too much Kattan. Solid.
Fantastic episode that made the show the talk of the summer in 96. I was just finishing 11th grade when this episode and it was discussed endlessly and we all loved Carrey.
I wouldn’t go far to say this is one of the best seasons ever but it’s certainly one of the most important. Looking back it did save the show.
Fatbusters was originally intended for 93-94 I believe, right? I’d guess Fred Wolf wrote it
Jay Mohr mentioned on his podcast that Herlihy and Spade wrote it, and that it originally had a pre-tape with Farley at a drive-thru (Mohr also had a funny Norm story regarding the rewrite session for that scene).
Weird they waited 2 and 1/2 years to bring back a cut sketch ike that
Maybe they dug it out because it was Spade’s last show, and perhaps it was a favorite cut sketch of his?
And now that this season is over I have to admit I might have been too hard on this cast in the past. I guess I was just younger and felt loyal to the previous era.
I still think there are problems with this era. Way too many recurring characters, too much mugging for the camera, repetitive writing but it was better than I remembered or gave it credit for at the time
The problem is it’s difficult to separate season by season with memories of an entire run until you get to what Stooge has done with the reviews. For instance, I assumed from memory that Molly Shannon was all over this season. I was surprised that she actually takes a distant second to Cheri, and at times is barely above Nancy. I also assumed that Hammond was already heavily doing the impressions that used to work my nerves, like his Clinton, by this point, only to realize he only has about a half-dozen or so appearances across the season. Watching this way doesn’t change my overall mixed feelings about this era, or about the flaws of this cast (flaws that were somewhat masked this season), but it does allow me to see more of the positive. So does being able to skip the dregs of the recurring characters.
Too bad about Koechner. He mostly flew under the radar for me on SNL though I always liked the fops and of course his Willard Scott asking if he can hook up with Bryant Gumbel’s bee-yatches….
Here’s Norm MacDonald praising Koechner and then doing a fairly awkward interview with him on Norm’s old podcast…
https://youtu.be/-AJ3eY-1uxU
95-00 is the era I grew up with as a kid, so it’s definitely the most nostalgic for me, this season especially since it when I first started watching. I think that era def woild have befitted from having a couple for seasons of Koechner. At least he made a friend in Will Ferrell, who’s managed to have Dave as a sidekick in a majority of his movies.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-08-13-9608130324-story.html
Here’s an article right before the 96-97 started from August 96 about Dave as one of the new SNL cast, as of that time interview it didn’t seem like he knew he wasn’t being brought back.
I’ve heard Dave’s story a lot on why he was fired, has Nancy ever spoken about her time at SNL? She’s not really someone I’ve seen interviewed with much over the years. Something kinda bugs me out how she’s pretty much just reduced to being referred to as “Steve Carell’s wife” during the red carpets who stands there and gets ignored whenever you see Steve interviewed before the Emmys or whatever, she’s an accomplished comedian herself, shes more than just Steve’s wife! Her run on The Daily Show was underrated, used to be a big fan of those “We Love Showbiz” Access Hollywood parodies her and Steve used to do.
Am I correct in that Carrey would have been seen as THE biggest host of the year? Maybe in the last couple of years? Usually SNL tends to choose a laidback veteran to finish the year, but it’s cool here that they brought in a big comedic gun.
I also agree about reboots. The year after Wiig and Samberg left, there was what I’d call a “soft reboot” season when they did more experimental things, but now we’re at the point where almost everyone’s a veteran again.
Without question he was the biggest host. He was the twenty million dollar man at this point, he was the biggest comedy star in the world. Just getting him on SNL was an enormous get. This episode would have been an enormous deal even if it hadn’t been good.
This episode comes to show what a great host can do. Jim makes this show work as much as the cast did.. really more so. Jim was so good he coulda made any group look good with good writing, he happened to have a good writing staff to work with on this one. I agree it’s an all time great show.. that Roxbury skit never gets old as does I’ll see in you hell and the lifeguard skit. He even managed to make the cheerleaders worth watching, not easy to do.
Soundgarden also delivered big time as well, Pretty Noose is one of the all time great performances on the show, that guitar solo at the start never fails to give me chills.
I think I began to really watch SNL and become familiar with it around the time I was 8 years old which actually would’ve been during season 22….and it was often me staying up late to watch without my parents knowing.
I also began watching tapes of previous eras so I became something of an SNL historian before I was even 10 years old.
I will always hold a fondness for this era despite the overuse of some of these recurring characters, but I do think season 21 was an interesting snapshot of the show feeling so fresh and quirky and vibrant before it settled into a more static (though often enjoyable) stride for the next few seasons.
David Koechner is someone I used to not be too crazy about but I’ve grown to respect a lot more in recent years. He brought such an interesting energy to the show and I think it was well worth keeping him around.
Nancy Walls often gave off a sincere or nervous energy but she is also very funny…and her famous husband still feels she is way funnier than him and he does seem to truly feel that. In some ways, Walls reminded me of Mary Gross a little in terms of how energy came off…and in a season like this, I can see why it may have been decided to let her go. I adore Ana Gasteyer though so at least someone like that was hired in her place.
I do really like this season and this episode was such a stellar moment for the show. It’s one of the best episodes in the show’s history and I think the jacuzzi sketch is one i would easily rank among the funniest ever.
I’ll be curious to relive the next four seasons because a lot of these I haven’t seen in 15-20 years.
I think I began to really watch SNL and become familiar with it around the time I was 8 years old which actually would’ve been during season 22….and it was often me staying up late to watch without my parents knowing.
I also began watching tapes of previous eras so I became something of an SNL historian before I was even 10 years old.
I will always hold a fondness for this era despite the overuse of some of these recurring characters, but I do think season 21 was an interesting snapshot of the show feeling so fresh and quirky and vibrant before it settled into a more static (though often enjoyable) stride for the next few seasons.
David Koechner is someone I used to not be too crazy about but I’ve grown to respect a lot more in recent years. He brought such an interesting energy to the show and I think it was well worth keeping him around.
Nancy Walls often gave off a sincere or nervous energy but she is also very funny…and her famous husband still feels she is way funnier than him and he does seem to truly feel that. In some ways, Walls reminded me of Mary Gross a little in terms of how energy came off…and in a season like this, I can see why it may have been decided to let her go. I adore Ana Gasteyer though so at least someone like that was hired in her place.
I do really like this season and this episode was such a stellar moment for the show. It’s one of the best episodes in the show’s history and I think the jacuzzi sketch is one i would easily rank among the funniest ever.
I’ll be curious to relive the next four seasons because a lot of these I haven’t seen in 15-20 years.
As someone who blew hot and cold on Carrey when he was on In Living Color (he had tons of energy but I just found him one-note many times), I was happy to enjoy him so much in this episode. He was still full of energy, but didn’t try to showboat, which meant others (like McKinney in the Joe Pesci sketch) got a chance to shine. And he committed just as much, if not more, to the sketches which could have been throwaways, like the “I’ll see you in hell” piece (mostly made what it was by his performance and a good ending). He was a first rate host, perfect for this point in time.
Indeed, the only bit of the night that I could have done without was one of the moments that didn’t involve him – the cold open. After enjoying many in the 3/4 of the season, especially the willingness to have different topics on display, the constant political cold opens even when there is no material there reminds me of the show’s current approach and of why I’ve struggled with their political handling over the last 25 years. There was also something unintentionally funny about a sketch that was premised on Bob Dole saying things you aren’t supposed to say now being so dated because of other comments that at the time were seen as no big deal. Anyway, I always enjoy Norm’s Dole, and he did his best with what he had here.
My favorite sketch of the night was probably the Joe Pesci Show, because Carrey does some of his absolute best work here. The Jimmy Stewart impression is fun, accurate enough, and perfectly built up into the violent mania we see at the end. It reminds me of what Bill Hader would accomplish with Herb Welch 15 years later. I agree that this should have been the last Joe Pesci bit.
Norm’s Mother’s Day joke was probably his best OJ joke.
I wonder why the writers of this period seem to be much more natural in the Q&A monologues than the more established writers of the early ’90s.
I felt bad about laughing at a few of Spade’s barbs (the ones about Mark McKinney and Colin Quinn), but he went out on a good note. This season was the long goodbye for him, to the point where I wonder if he would have been better off going halfway through, but these last few were some of his best. You can’t picture SNL of the early/mid ’90s without thinking of Spade. He has never entirely shaken the show, and the show has never entirely shaken – to this day you can hear the line deliveries and attitude he mastered in so many cast members. Some are better, some are worse, but most of them likely wouldn’t have been what they are without him.
I am going to miss David Koechner and Nancy Walls…on the one hand, Nancy was replaced by Ana Gasteyer, one of the finest comedians SNL ever had, but you have to wonder why SNL was forced to stick to such a rigid system that only 3 women could be cast members. Nancy brought a nerviness and physicality along with a classic beauty – so much potential we never got to see. As for David, I think we’ve already discussed him many times, but I’ll just say that his exit starts the decline of the male cast, bit by bit, until we really start hitting the doldrums in 2003-2005. He is easily one of the best one-season wonders, and I’m very glad he has continued to find work and praise in the industry.
I agree with you 100% about Carrey. I never liked him on In Living Color. For me that show was always the Damon Wayans showcase and everyone else was just a side player. But he had refined his act a little between then and SNL which is why I found him much more palatable here.
Like many others have said, this episode felt like a grand declaration of SNL’s re-emergence, even if the show had already been hitting its marks with the Grier, Goodman and Hatcher episodes. Looking back, it’s really fascinating to watch a show featuring the likes of Carrey, Norm, Ferrell and Spade (not to mention Meadows, Koechner and Mckinney) – there are some very disparate legend-status comedians to be found here.
I liked the use of Spade this season. With the cast changeover, his presence was a welcome, if unnecessary insurance policy. At it’s worst, the Spade In America feature was a pleasant enough time filler. At it’s best (Aniston, Penn and Hatcher), it created classic moments unique in the show’s history. I think his 94-95 season was as bad as anybody’s, but there was a bit of a redemptive bounce back here for him. I know he was always a bit one-note, but when he returns in 98 and especially 05, we’ll be reminded about how much of an ace with timing he really is. The show could use a few more distinctive voices these days. Love him or hate him, Spade’s comic voice was entirely his own.
There is plenty of justification for keeping Nancy Walls. She was a rock solid performer. Unfortunately, the show had a weird “three women only” thing going on at this time and we can’t deny that Gasteyer – the very best of her era – was a significant upgrade. Walls had a very solid season but if push comes to shove, I think we all take Gasteyer over her (although Ana’s first season is definitely her worst). Oh well, we’ll always have Wake Up And Smile.
Koechner is probably the most stunning one-and-done in the show’s history. Nearly everything he did was the perfect balance of quirky and accessible and it’s baffling that the show didn’t have a place for him. I think it speaks volumes that while Kattan popped early outside of SNL with A Night At The Roxbury and Corky Romano, it’s Koechner who forged lasting working relationships with his old SNL pals (Anchorman, Dirty Work). No one really collaborates with Kattan anymore, while Koechner has forged a very worthy career as a comedic character actor (he’s great in Twin Peaks).
Although Koechner’s firing was absurd, I think the show was able to maintain its momentum into the next season. There are other one-and-done cast member firings where SNL more blatantly shot themselves in the dick – specifically Jerry Minor, Michaela Watkins and Tim Robinson. Those hasty firings each set SNL back several seasons.
Oh yeah forgot Dave was in Dirty Work. That was probably the first big thing I remember seeing him in after SNL, then in Norms sitcom not long after. Norm was one of his early supporters.
Not long after SNL Nancy was in another short lived sketch show in the late 90s, which also had Jim Gaffigan, the underrated Jerry Minor (like Dave, a huge mistake getting rid of him after only one season) and a few of the guys from The State in the cast. I used to have a bunch of them downloaded, it seems to be harder to come by now except for one lone episode on YouTube.
Thanks for finding the video. I remember a not very positive TV Guide review of this show back in the day but had never seen it. That episode was perfectly pleasant, with one or two standout moments. Too bad it didn’t last longer.
A few questions:
Why does Fred Wolf only last 2 episodes before leaving in 96-97? Why come back for just 2 episodes?
When does the backstage tension start between Norm and Kattan start? Always heard the Pamela Anderson episode but I think there were some underlying issues before then
Eh, Wolf leaves after Pullman. So he only lasts 3 episodes
Mary Katherine Gallagher was cut from Update. Maybe didn’t need another appearance, but definitely curious how she was worked into this format.
https://www.gettyimages.com/license/144682606
Molly was the only woman Norm seemed to enjoy working with while on the show. (Though he and Melanie Hutsell are surprisingly chummy in some 93-94 goodnights.)
Also, Colin Quinn is in the opening credits, but absent from the episode. Highly possible that a commentary of his was cut, resulting in the guest-less finale Update.
According to Norm, Molly was the only castmember who spoke out for him backstage when the Ohlmeyer deal went down in s 23
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see this one live…but a friend of mine taped this for me…and I pretty much wore out the VHS watching it so many times. 🙂
Easily the best episode of the season…and I daresay one of the best episodes of all time. Just about everything here is gold. Best Spartans sketch, hands down. Best Roxbury sketch, no contest. And I would agree that this is best installment of Joe Pesci Show. Jim is wonderful as the Jacuzzi Lifeguard, and Jimmy Tango’s Fat Busters is hilarious. Man, Jim Carrey was just fantastic here. One wonders how different the show would have been if they would have hired him back in the early 80s.
Love this episode! I would agree that this episode put SNL back on the map after struggling the past couple of years.
And farewell to David Spade. David’s last season was incredibly weird, Lorne kept him around ostensibly for continuity and to help ease the transition to the new cast…and then they just had him do “Spade in America” and rarely (if ever) interact with the new cast. Just an odd choice. Anyways, Spade’s sarcasm and acerbic wit served him well on the show and definitely put a stamp on the tone of the Bad Boys era of SNL.
Farewell to Nancy Walls. Nancy probably should have allowed to stick around for another season or two…but I’m not too sorry to see her go. Her performances seemed mostly bland for me, but she had a couple stand-outs. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much opportunity to be successful on the show.
Farewell to David Koechner…his firing was a terrible mistake. In his short time with the show, he created some memorable recurring characters (Fops, Bill Brasky’s buddy, Gary MacDonald, and Gerald Tibbins) and showed a lot of promise. Definitely one of the best one-season cast members (outside of Dick Ebersol’s “ringer” year). Hate that the show basically dumped him once they hired Chris Kattan.
Here are the five star sketches from the 95-96 season:
NFL on NBC (Chevy Chase)
Grayson Moorehead Securities Parts 1 and 2 (David Schwimmer)
Clara Turley’s Bible Challenge (Quentin Tarantino)
Old Glory Insurance (Laura Leighton)
The Rocky Roads (David Alan Grier)
Today (David Alan Grier)
Wake Up and Smile (David Alan Grier)
Buckwell’s Follies (Alec Baldwin)
Airport Bar – Bill Brasky (Alec Baldwin)
Hi-C & Turkey (Danny Aiello)
The Real World (John Goodman)
Holiday Inn – Bill Brasky (John Goodman)
Monologue (Phil Hartman)
The Roxbury Guys (Jim Carrey)
Jacuzzi Lifeguard (Jim Carrey)
Jimmy Tango’s Fat Busters (Jim Carrey)
16 sketches (I combined a couple multi-part sketches). A pretty significant bounce back. There are some other sketches I really love but most of those got ****1/2, so I can’t really complain. Maybe I like Spade In America more than Stooge.
Here are the average ratings for Season 21:
*may not represent review’s perception*
2101: 7.0 (Mariel Hemingway)
2102: 6.5 (Chevy Chase)
2103: 7.5 (David Schwimmer)
2104: 6.7 (Gabriel Byrne)
2105: 6.4 (Quentin Tarantino)
2106: 6.5 (Laura Leighton)
2107: 7.3 (Anthony Edwards)
2108: 8.1 (David Alan Grier)
2109: 6.6 (Madeline Kahn)
2110: 7.7 (Christopher Walken)
2111: 7.0 (Alec Baldwin)
2112: 6.9 (Danny Aiello)
2113: 5.1 (Tom Arnold)
2114: 6.7 (Elle MacPherson)
2115: 7.8 (John Goodman)
2116: 7.4 (Phil Hartman)
2117: 7.4 (Steve Forbes)
2118: 7.2 (Teri Hatcher)
2119: 6.3 (Christine Baranski)
2120: 8.1 (Jim Carrey)
Best Episode: 2108 (David Alan Grier) + 2120 (Jim Carrey)- 8.1 (tie)
Worst Episode: 2113 (Tom Arnold)- 5.1
Season Average: 7.0
I’m curious what Vax Novier’s list of average ratings would look like if it was ranked from best episode to worst, so I’ll do it below:
2108: 8.1 (David Alan Grier)
2120: 8.1 (Jim Carrey)
2115: 7.8 (John Goodman)
2110: 7.7 (Christopher Walken)
2103: 7.5 (David Schwimmer)
2116: 7.4 (Phil Hartman)
2117: 7.4 (Steve Forbes)
2107: 7.3 (Anthony Edwards)
2118: 7.2 (Teri Hatcher)
2101: 7.0 (Mariel Hemingway)
2111: 7.0 (Alec Baldwin)
2112: 6.9 (Danny Aiello)
2104: 6.7 (Gabriel Byrne)
2114: 6.7 (Elle MacPherson)
2109: 6.6 (Madeline Kahn)
2102: 6.5 (Chevy Chase)
2106: 6.5 (Laura Leighton)
2105: 6.4 (Quentin Tarantino)
2119: 6.3 (Christine Baranski)
2113: 5.1 (Tom Arnold)
For fun, here are this season’s episodes ranked from best to worst based on the “Immediate Post-Show Thoughts” that I wrote in my reviews:
Jim Carrey
David Alan Grier
John Goodman
Christopher Walken
David Schwimmer
Anthony Edwards
Steve Forbes
Teri Hatcher
Gabriel Byrne
Mariel Hemingway
Phil Hartman
Danny Aiello
Alec Baldwin
Laura Leighton
Christine Baranski
Quentin Tarantino
Madeline Kahn
Chevy Chase
Elle MacPherson
Tom Arnold
And finally, I never got around to doing a tally of sketches I rated four-and-a-half stars this season, as a companion piece to Carson’s list, so here they are:
Weekend Update (Chevy Chase)
Elevator (David Schwimmer)
Bugoff (Quentin Tarantino)
All Aboard! with Chester Millbrush (Quentin Tarantino)
Grimaldi Classic Creations (Anthony Edwards)
The Joe Pesci Show (Anthony Edwards)
Nightline (David Alan Grier)
Wedding Vows (Madeline Kahn)
The Continental (Christopher Walken)
Execution (Christopher Walken)
Petchow (Tom Arnold)
Recording Session (Elle MacPherson)
Acting Workshop (Phil Hartman)
Unabomber Class Reunion (Steve Forbes)
Nightline (Steve Forbes)
The Princess and the Homeboy (Teri Hatcher)
Spade In America (Teri Hatcher)
New Traits (Christine Baranski)
Weekend Update (Jim Carrey)
Good year for “In Living Color” veterans.
I’m surprised they didn’t start off the next season with Keenan or Jamie Foxx.
According to Getty Images, there was supposed to be an MKG appearance during Weekend Update: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/episode-20-pictured-norm-macdonald-molly-shannon-as-mary-news-photo/144682606
The A.V. Club had a look back the 95-96 season since yesterday (Sept. 30) marked the 25th anniversary of Will Ferrell’s debut.
https://tv.avclub.com/was-will-ferrell-s-first-season-on-snl-a-bomb-or-a-brea-1845156468
That was a deeply weird article.
Those guys didn’t like the midget sketch? Couldn’t take them seriously after that. Norm fidgeting with the cigarette alone still makes me laugh to this day.
This episode in particular is noteworthy because of Carrey’s first hosting gig. It’s been noted how he had auditioned to be on the show way back in the early 80’s and he was a breakout star from In Living Color (one of the only other comedy shows that can be mentioned in the same breath as SNL during that time). This may be a rumor, but I’ve heard that SNL was being considered for cancellation after the disastrous 20th season and this episode in particular helped save it.
Tired: Jody capitalized word sale and avmon’s non-remembrances.
Wired: Aaron’s bleeding obvious Wikifacts SNL 101 posts on the most in-depth SNL nerd page on the web
I don’t know how I missed this comment until now, but it’s gold.
Fuck, that should read “Jody’s capitalized word salad”
Thank God Carrey’s out as Biden. One of my favorite comedic actors of all time, but he was NOT suited for that role.
Here’s Variety on Carrey leaving the Biden role: https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/jim-carrey-joe-biden-saturday-night-live-departure-1234867021/
Man, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have an actual cast member playing the president again. Hope Alex kills it.
This episode (deservedly) ended up in first place in the “Top 50” marathon Comedy Central ran before transferring syndication rights to E! in ’04. What a mistake that ended up being in the long run…
I finally found CC’s edit of this episode online (in fact, it was taped during the aforementioned “50 Greatest” marathon. While I already heard about how this episode’s cold open was shown later, I wasn’t expecting it to be buried all the way at the end of the show! It fades out on Darrell’s Ted Koppel disapprovingly shaking his head after hearing Norm’s Dole compare himself to the Chinese.
A couple of other observations:
-The “catchphrase” portion of the monologue with Adam McKay is trimmed down slightly. Even though the missing dialogue stood out to me after seeing it numerous times, the edit was executed well-enough to where a first-time viewer probably wouldn’t notice it.
-“I’ll See You in Hell!”, Update and Spade in America are cut
-TWO pre-taped ads are included (Bug-off and Petchow)
-I was surprised that much of the licensed music was kept intact. I heard some of the CC edits from this era were notorious for replacing them with generic soundalikes.
-While I figured most of the bumper photos would be omitted, there was one at the end of the Cheerleaders sketch.
Aside from the relocated cold open, this edit turned out much better than I anticipated it.
Another small edit I forgot to mention- they cut about a minute’s worth of dialogue in the Nightline “cold outro”.
For anyone who’s morbidly curious about the strange edits in some of Comedy Central’s 60-minute shows, a recording featuring this episode and three others was recently posted onto the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/goodwill-tape-182-50-greatest-snl-episodes-on-comedy-central-2004-line-of-fire-6-abc-action-news
Episode Timestamps:
0:00:00- Cameron Diaz (9/26/98)
00:57:00- David Duchovny (5/9/98)
01:56:20- Christopher Walken (4/8/00)
02:57:05- Jim Carrey (5/18/96)
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christine Baranski, as of January 13, 2022)
a fairly big step up
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1994-95, as of January 13, 2022)
a colossal step up
LFNY Counter:
Tim Meadows: 6
Norm MacDonald: 5
Darrell Hammond: 3 (2 solo, 1 with Cheri)
Will Ferrell: 2
Nancy Walls: 1
Mark McKinney: 1
Cheri Oteri: 1 (With Darrell)
Phil Hartman: 1
Rudy Guliani: 1 (With George Pataki)
George Pataki: 1 (With Rudy Guliani)
What blows my mind is that Jimmy Stewart was very much alive when this aired (albeit for only another year). And is fun to imagine that he’d seen this. Wild!