The site’s been experiencing problems again all day, preventing me from posting my latest review. In fact, I haven’t been able to post anything on here until this message just now, which I was only able to do by working around some issues. I still can’t see anything on the actual site; I keep getting a 504 Gateway Timeout message. Me and my helpers are doing what we can to fix this site.
Site problems again
I’ve been trying since this morning to post my newest review, but my site is having problems again. I’m currently getting some help to try to fix it.
Stay tuned
My apologies for not posting a review these last few days. This site had recently been experiencing some problems and, me not being savvy when it comes to that kind of stuff, it took me several stress-filled days to find out what was causing the site problems and how to fix them. The problems are solved now and the site should be fine.
I’ve only gotten a chance to take a quick peek at some of the comments that some of you readers have left over the last day in the comments section of my last new review, and I see there’s worries of where I’ve been lately and if I’m okay. I appreciate your concern very much, and this post of mine should put away any worries.
I will now resume doing SNL reviews, the next of which should be posted tomorrow morning. Thanks for your patience.
December 12, 1998 – Alec Baldwin / Luciano Pavarotti with Vanessa Williams (S24 E9)
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
APOLOGY
Bill Clinton (DAH) lapses into seduction while stressing his remorse
— Some good laughs from Darrell’s President Clinton delivering various “sorry”s to the camera, in light of senate recently voting to impeach him.
— Very funny line from Clinton about having the board game Sorry in his office.
— I love how Clinton is now using different camera angles, lighting, and background music to prove the sincerity of his “sorry”s.
— Now this is getting even funnier with Clinton’s “sorry”s turning to him seducing us.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
John Goodman [real] & JIF fuel host’s SNL fire a la A Christmas Carol
— Funny beginning with Alec complaining about this being his 8th time hosting “this friggin’ show”, because all the stuff going on with the president’s impeachment makes Alec question what the point is of doing comedy.
— Ha, John Goodman makes YET ANOTHER cameo this season. I think it’s safe to say that he’s gotten more screen time so far this season than cast member Tracy Morgan. By the way, tonight is the THIRD episode this season that Tracy ends up being completely absent in (the other two episodes being Ben Stiller and Jennifer Love Hewitt). Just let that sink in, people: we’re only halfway through this season, and Tracy has already been absent in THREE EPISODES.
— I like the bit with Lorne telling Darrell that they’re gonna have to let him go if Alec has a bad show tonight.
— In the “Live from New York” book, Alec mentions how John Goodman flubbing a line in this monologue resulted in an upset Alec muttering “asshole” under his breath. This incident must’ve happened at dress rehearsal, because it’s nowhere to be seen in the live version I’m currently watching.
— Jimmy’s only been on the show for half a season at this point, and he already gets a good amount of applause from the audience when walking on in this monologue as himself.
— A now-famous aspect of this monologue is SNL accurately predicting that Jimmy would go on to host SNL in December 2011. The exact date is a little off, though, as this monologue states that it would be on December 12, whereas it ended up being on the 17th.
— Fun seeing a future rendition of SNL’s opening montage.
— Hilarious gag in the future opening montage with John Goodman being a cast member.
— Interesting how this 2011 rendition of SNL has Don Pardo replaced by a “Don Pardo 9000” robot. SNL probably thought back in 1998 that there was no way the real Pardo would still be announcing for SNL in 2011, or even be alive. Little did they know…
— A very strong and fun monologue overall.
STARS: ****½
NBA ON NBC
NBC’s NBA lockout coverage puts an exciting spin on negotiations’ tedium
— A funny concept of this ad, presenting NBA lockout negotiations in the style of a typical hyped-up “NBA on NBC” promo.
— I like the various fake-out announcements of featured guests such as “Michael Jordan…..’s agent”.
STARS: ***½
MORNING LATTE
chitchat of Tom & Cass gets into (host)’s personal life
— I like Will and Cheri’s reaction to hearing Alec explain what Global Warming is.
— Funny bit from Cheri about an apology letter that her husband wrote to her for cheating on her.
— We get a variation on the usual “You stupid bitch!” outburst from the producer character in these Morning Latte sketches, by having him tell Will and Cheri to take the gingerbread cookies and “shove ’em in YOUR ASS!” That line only worked for Alec’s great delivery of it.
STARS: ***½
CHILDREN’S CLOWN
mannish 6 year-old girl (host) engenders lust in hospital clown (MOS)
— A very bizarre and interesting premise, with Alec playing a six-year-old girl who supposedly has a condition that makes her look like a grown man.
— Alec’s little girl characterization is funny in how he’s casually just playing it as his normal self.
— Holy hell at Molly and the “six-year-old girl” suddenly making out with wild passion.
— I’m enjoying the disturbing and twisted nature of this sketch, though I can see it being off-putting for some people. I also recall some SNL reviewers from this time in 1998 comparing this to the notorious Canteen Boy sketch that Alec appeared in, though this Clown sketch is pretty tame compared to that.
— I like Molly’s mock-dramatic soliloquy after she gets fired.
— Boy, not only was Ana’s nurse character suddenly making out with the “six-year-old girl” a predictable and unnecessary ending, but it died with the audience.
— Not sure whether or not I like the ending screen crawl revealing that the “six-year-old girl” was later proven to be a 42-year-old man. It kinda felt like a cop-out to avoid a Canteen Boy-like controversy. I did like the last part of that screen crawl, with the screen crawl voice-over (Parnell) saying “Ain’t love a kick in the pants?”
STARS: ***½
TV FUNHOUSE
by RBS- at the first Christmas, Harlem Globetrotters & Jesus play hoops
— A funny and spot-on parody of the Harlem Globetrotters animated series from the 70s.
— I love the low-budget laugh track heard all throughout this, with the exact same audio being played of a man literally saying a monotone “Ah ha ha ha ha.”
— Funny visual of Baby Jesus dunking a basketball.
— Nice touch with the ending credits of this TV Funhouse being displayed in a special fancy style.
STARS: ***½
10-10-1776-5-28-1830-242-3-316-68-22
long distance code mnemonic comprises USA human-rights violations
— A great spoof of those long-distance phone commercials from this time period.
— Hilarious how Alec and Ana are treating the complicated breakdown of the insanely-long phone number as if it’s simple.
— I love the very random historical events being used to help you remember each section of the long phone number. This is a very strong piece.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guests perform “Adeste Fideles”
WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ details the maneuvering surrounding the Bill Clinton impeachment vote
TIM, Vanessa Williams, Janice Pendarvis [real] do a sexy Kwanzaa carol
— Some funny vocal impressions from Colin during his opening straight-to-camera rant about President Clinton’s impeachment. I especially like Colin’s Richard Lewis impression.
— Funny unscripted bit with Colin hiding his face with his hand in amused embarrassment (the fourth above screencap for this Weekend Update) over butchering the foreign name of an Olympian.
— A strong and memorable comment from Colin about a now-safe-and-clean New York: “New York has become your crazy drinking buddy who got married and had kids.”
— Here comes Kwanzaa Timmy! This is a popular commentary of Tim’s.
— This Kwanzaa Timmy song is fantastic. Also, nice use of the “Kwanzettes” backing up Tim.
— I like Colin’s exclamation of “Yes!” when Kwanzaa Timmy asks him “Are you in?”
STARS: ***½
THE DELICIOUS DISH
Margaret Jo & Terry salivate over Pete Schwetty’s (host) holiday balls
— Needless to say, here comes a legendary sketch. This is airing much later in this episode than I would’ve expected it to, not only because of what a classic it would go on to be, but because the Delicious Dish sketches in general are usually always placed upfront in the first half of the episodes they appear in.
— This is the first time in a while we’ve seen the Delicious Dish ladies back in the NPR studio, after their last two sketches took place outdoors.
— I love Molly’s brief mention of her “excessive rat problem” at home.
— Aaaaaand there’s the epic turn, with Alec’s line “The thing I’d most like to bring out is my balls.”
— Ana: “My mouth’s watering just thinking about those balls.“ Molly: “It’s been years since I’ve seen any balls.”
— Every single line about Pete Schwetty’s balls is a freakin’ RIOT. I can’t quote anymore lines, or I’d literally end up quoting the entire conversation in this sketch.
— Okay, I do want to quote what is probably universally known as the signature line of this sketch: “No one can resist my Schwetty Balls.” Perfectly delivered by Alec.
— Another thing that makes this sketch great is when you remember that Delicious Dish is a radio show, and you wonder what it must sound like to listeners of this show hearing all of the suggestive talk of “balls”.
— Speaking of what the “balls” talk must’ve sounded like to listeners, I’m surprised this overall sketch didn’t have a moment with either of the Delicious Dish ladies going “Wow, the phone lines are really lighting up tonight.” Maybe I missed it during tonight’s viewing due to laughing so hard throughout the sketch; I could swear from my past viewings that this sketch had that part in it. Maybe I’m thinking of the far inferior sequel they’d later do to this sketch, where Alec’s character promotes his Schwetty Wieners.
STARS: *****
IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS
impeached Bill Clinton’s (DAH) defenders assail his character at hearings
— Feels odd seeing a topical Impeachment Hearings sketch being buried towards the end of an episode, but understandably, SNL didn’t want to place this too close to the solo Clinton cold opening.
— Jimmy’s look as Alan Dershowitz is cracking me up.
— Ha, now Kattan’s look is even funnier as David Kendall.
— Tim playing O.J. Simpson as one of the speakers is worth a laugh.
— A black female extra can be seen playing Maxine Waters on the panel of representatives. Oh, come on, SNL, are you trying to snub Tracy? Tracy played Maxine Waters in the Impeachment Hearings cold opening from the last episode, so naturally, that should’ve been a perfect excuse to have him make AT LEAST one appearance tonight. Is he out sick this week or something?
— Although I’m enjoying this sketch, some parts of it are dragging a little.
STARS: ***
CHANUKAH HYMNS
album features very-unfestive Jewish holiday songs
— I like the accent Alec’s using in this sketch.
— Will’s stiff singing is very funny.
— Some good laughs from all of the bad Chanukah songs being advertised.
STARS: ***½
BULL & BEAR
the drunk businessmen honor Bill Brasky’s Wall Street prowess
— The return of Bill Brasky, after a year-long absence! This ends up being the final installment of the regular run of Bill Brasky sketches. Decades later, it would be revived for one night only, in a Paul Rudd-hosted episode.
— Fun seeing Alec Baldwin AND John Goodman appearing together in a Brasky sketch, considering the host who appeared in the previously-aired Bill Brasky installments was either just Alec or John. By this point, SNL had pretty much no choice BUT to do a Brasky sketch with both hosts present, as all of Will’s castmates who regularly played Brasky buddies (David Koechner, Mark McKinney) were long gone.
— Alec: “Brasky went public with his own buttocks and made 7 million!”
— Alec, in the middle of Will’s Brasky story: “I masturbate to the Teletubbies!”
— Will, on Brasky: “He has a toenail on the end of his penis!”
— Will: “Brasky named the group Sha Na Na! They did not wanna be called that!”
— John: “They use Brasky’s foreskin as a tarp when it rains in Yankee Stadium!”
— I like that this Brasky sketch is going on longer than usual.
— Hey, why’d this sketch end without Tim ever showing up as his usual “Hey, are you guys talking about Bill Brasky?” character? After all, they had Ana show up as her usual “You men smell awful!” character, so where was Tim?
STARS: *****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very solid Christmas episode and Alec Baldwin episode. Not only was this episode strong, and not only were there no sketches that I found weak, but we got a great one-two punch of classics Kwanzaa Timmy and Schwetty Balls airing back to back with each other. I also like how the novelty of having Luciano Pavarotti as a musical guest gave this episode a special feel, as did the use of a full orchestra being shown playing music in the studio during some of the commercial breaks.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Vince Vaughn)
a moderate step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
We enter the year 1999, with host Bill Paxton
November 21, 1998 – Jennifer Love Hewitt / Beastie Boys (S24 E7)
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
REENACTMENT
Monica Lewinsky (MOS) & Linda Tripp (John Goodman) gab on phone & pig out
— A John Goodman cameo for the second consecutive episode, and for the third overall episode this season so far. Does he live in Studio 8H this season?
— I love Parnell on the other phone line as a desperate Kenneth Starr.
— I like the bit with Tripp and Lewinsky lying to each other about what they’re eating.
— A disgusting but funny part with Tripp being heard on the toilet during her and Lewinksy’s phone conversation.
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
host & Ben Willis (Muse Watson) sing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”
— Nice touch with the SNL Band in the background wearing pilgrim outfits, due to this episode being near Thanksgiving.
— Funny reveal of the co-star who Jennifer Love Hewitt says she’s feuding with turning out to be the killer from the I Know What You Did Last Summer movies.
— Pretty funny visual of Jennifer holding the killer’s hook hand while he apologizes sincerely to her.
— I typically don’t care for musical numbers in monologues, but this one is fairly charming enough.
STARS: ***
THE LADIES’ MAN
Leon gives inappropriate advice & plugs Skanksgiving Day
— Funny bit with Leon Phelps mentioning his “Skanksgiving Dinner” event.
— Interesting turn with Leon actually showing emotions and getting teary-eyed when telling a caller about how important family is during Thanksgiving.
— Funny story from Leon about how he once shot his brother with a gun during one Thanksgiving dinner.
— Great ending with a rapidly-scrolling list of all the ladies Leon made love to this year. Some interesting names I caught in the rapidly-scrolling list were Jane Doe, Dolly Parton, Tawny Kittain [sic], and Balinda Carlise [sic].
STARS: ***½
MORE DUETS THAT PROVE THAT I AM THE BEST SINGER IN THE WORLD
Celine Dion’s (ANG) duets album proves she’s the best singer in the world
— I got nervous at first, thinking this was going to be another installment of the one-note Celine Dion Show talk show sketches, before remembering that this is a duets album sketch.
— Here’s our weekly spot-on Jimmy Fallon impression. His imitation of Michael Stipe’s dancing is particularly funny.
— Interesting that Jennifer is playing Jewel, just one episode after Jewel herself was a musical guest on SNL.
— Horatio’s Meat Loaf is cracking me up.
— While this sketch is basically repeating the same joke from the Celine Dion Show sketches, it’s coming off more fun in this different setting.
STARS: ***½
THE HOW DO YOU SAY? AH YES, SHOW
Antonio Banderas (CHK) paws coed (host)
— Unfortunately, unlike the preceding Celine Dion sketch, this does turn out to be the return of a one-note talk show sketch. I liked the first installment of this Antonio Banderas sketch enough, but can tell it will not hold up as a recurring sketch.
— After playing the main band member in the first installment of this sketch, Horatio is mysteriously absent in tonight’s installment. Jimmy’s mostly-silent band member from the first installment has now taken over Horatio’s place as the main band member and is given the same type of dialogue that Horatio had, and Darrell has been added as a new mostly-silent band member who’s basically doing what Jimmy did in the first installment. I’ve always wondered if the reason Horatio dropped out of this sketch is because he (or SNL) perhaps felt bad about playing such a broad Mexican stereotype so early into his tenure as SNL’s first Hispanic cast member.
— Some laughs from Kattan’s Banderas treating Jennifer’s breasts like two people.
— After one of the many times he teases taking off his shirt, I like Banderas briefly putting his hands on the top of his pants and asking if he should bring out his “friend”, referring to his penis.
— Overall, not quite as bad as I was expecting, but I still didn’t enjoy this as much as the first installment.
STARS: **½
MATERNITY WARD
candy stripers Craig & Arianna stumble upon pregnant classmate (host)
— The Cheerleaders make their first appearance in a quite a long while (for their standards). This ends up being their ONLY appearance this entire season, then they only appear once in the following season and that’s the last we ever see of them.
— I wonder if the only reason they’re doing a Cheerleaders sketch tonight is to keep up the tradition of doing these sketches whenever a Party Of Five cast member hosts in this era (Neve Campbell, Scott Wolf, and now Jennifer Love Hewitt).
— Interesting how Jennifer is playing Alexis, a previously-unseen character who Arianna usually always shouted at to off-camera in previous Cheerleaders sketches.
— Funny line from Craig about how this is only the second time he’s ever seen a vagina, the first being when his grandmother fell in the tub.
— A good use of Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock.
STARS: ***
TV FUNHOUSE
by RBS- The Ambiguously Gay Duo misses the subtext of fans’ letters
— Tonight’s recurring-heavy episode continues, as we get an Ambiguously Gay Duo cartoon, for the first time this season.
— Ah, a change of pace, with Ace and Gary reading fan mail.
— Big laughs from the increasingly perverted letters Ace and Gary are reading off.
— Very funny bit with the X-Ray Specs.
STARS: ****
WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ relates credentials of those involved in Clinton impeachment hearings
— A particularly good amount of funny lines during Colin’s opening straight-to-camera rant.
— Ah, finally, Colin ends an opening straight-to-camera rant with an actual segue into the Update opening title sequence, instead of SNL just abruptly cutting to the title sequence after Colin finishes a sentence in his rant.
— Colin is more marble-mouthed than ever in tonight’s Update, and that’s saying something.
— No guest commentaries in tonight’s overall Update.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “3 MC’s and One DJ”
CLEAN TEEN DEODORANT SPOKESPERSON SEARCH
Clean Teen Deodorant Spokesperson Search finds Mary Katherine Gallagher
— Tonight’s recurring-heavy episode continues. Seeing the Cheerleaders and Mary Katherine Gallagher in the same episode makes this feel like an episode from 1996, back when both recurring sketches were at their peak of popularity and frequently appeared on the show. Am I in for a Roxbury Guys or Goat Boy sketch next, to complete the 1996 feel of tonight? (Obviously not, as Jim Breuer is no longer on the show at this point, and SNL retired the Roxbury Guys after their movie bombed earlier this season.)
— This Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch reminds me an awful lot of the one with Elle MacPherson, where MKG competed in a teen modeling contest. We even get Will playing the contest emcee in both MKG sketches, and doing a solid job both times.
— A good laugh from Cheri quickly doing an “f you” arm gesture towards the camera when she doesn’t get chosen as one of the finalists.
— Overall, some laughs, but MKG’s antics in this sketch had a bit of a tired feel, and this MKG installment paled in comparison to the similar one with Elle MacPherson. Even the Cheerleaders came off fresher tonight than MKG did, though it’s obvious that we’re nearing the end of the road for both recurring sketches. I can’t remember how many remaining MKG sketches there are during Molly’s tenure as a cast member. Off the top of my head, I can only remember the Black Angels one with Gwyneth Paltrow later this season (one of the better MKG sketches) and the Jewish basketball team one with Jerry Seinfeld at the beginning of the following season, plus a special quick musical number MKG performs with the SNL Band in Molly’s final episode as a cast member.
STARS: **½
LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
Hollywood players (WIF) & (host) pitch to LOM
— Hey, an actual original sketch tonight.
— The use of slots reminds me of another gameshow sketch in this era: Food, Sex, or Cars.
— Speaking of the slots in this sketch, former one-season SNL cast member David Koechner can be seen among the rapidly-scrolling pictures of celebrities in one of the slots (screencap below).
— Speaking of former cast members, when a picture of Harry Anderson popped up in one of the slots, I actually thought that was Dana Carvey at first.
— I love the premise of this sketch, and it’s being executed well.
— I like the randomness of “the sound of a producer being serviced by a prostitute” being used to signal the show to go to the “Ultimate Pitch” round.
— This sketch now gets very meta, with Lorne being who Jennifer and Will have to pitch a movie to.
— A fun and solid sketch overall.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sabotage”
HUSSEIN’S HIDEAWAY
Saddam Hussein’s (WIF) private bunker is marked by adolescent trappings
— Always good to see Will’s Saddam Hussein impression.
— Some good amusement from the inspectors teasing Saddam over the personal items they find in his bunker.
— A funny and charming mock-sentimental turn this sketch takes towards the end.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not as good as the long string of solid episodes that preceded this. This is the first episode all season that I don’t have a bunch of positive things to say about. That’s certainly not to say that this was a subpar episode, as I still enjoyed a good amount of the show, but the overall episode was a little too recurring-heavy for my likes, and there were barely any standout strong segments.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Joan Allen)
a step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Vince Vaughn
November 14, 1998 – Joan Allen / Jewel (S24 E6)
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Bill Clinton (DAH) & Newt Gingrich (CHP) dance & sing “Opposites Attract”
— Will already gets a laugh right from the start, with his Bob Livingston smugly laughing while replacing Newt Gingrich’s desk name plate with his own.
— A hilarious slyly-delivered greeting from Darrell’s President Clinton: “Hey, guys, just came to see if I’m impeached yet!”
— I love Will’s Livingston shoving Parnell’s Newt Gingrich while walking out of the office.
— A great line about “sick, illiterate kids with gunshot wounds”.
— Funny turn with Clinton and Gingrich breaking out into a romantic musical number, especially when they begin traveling around the studio and dancing in front of a green-screen with constantly-changing scenery.
— Parnell gets to show off his nice singing voice here.
— And there goes the obligatory kiss between Clinton and Gingrich. I used to find that funny, before man-on-man kissing in comedy (especially on SNL) became an overused and hacky crutch.
— Only six episodes into his featured player stint, and Parnell already gets his first “Live from New York…”.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— This season’s ever-changing theme music has been changed back to the one used in the Lucy Lawless episode from earlier this season. SNL finally ends up settling on this as the regular theme music, as it will be used for all of the subsequent episodes this season and the following season.
MONOLOGUE
host’s theater experience leads (WIF) to think she’s the band Steppenwolf
— Will’s long gray-haired fan of the band Steppenwolf is pretty funny.
— The premise of this monologue is simplistic and fairly lazy, but Will is making the best out of it with his funny performance.
STARS: ***
THE JENSON MINT
stick it to panhandlers with The Jenson Mint’s Fake Change For Vagrants
— I like that Parnell gets to star in the post-monologue fake ad two episodes in a row (with Mercury Mistress being the first ad).
— The fake coin is hilarious, especially the side with the middle finger.
— A big laugh from the Pat Buchanan dollar bill with the words “Suck it!”
STARS: ****
MARTHA STEWART LIVING
Martha Stewart’s (ANG) mother (host) is a source of Thanksgiving friction
— I love the bitter tension between Ana’s Martha Stewart and her mother.
— Joan is great as Martha Stewart’s testy mother.
— I’m enjoying the whole back-and-forth between Martha and her mother regarding a childhood Thanksgiving memory of Martha’s.
STARS: ****½
VH1 SPIRITUALITY AWARDS
transcendent celebrities receive acknowledgment
— I like Christ being casually included in the middle of the announced list of featured guests.
— Kattan’s Andy Dick impression makes its debut.
— Very funny pairing of Tracy’s Maya Angelou and Jimmy’s Marilyn Manson.
— When a graphic of Alanis Morissette’s name is supposed to show up onscreen as Cheri’s Alanis Morissette accepts her award, SNL accidentally puts up a graphic that states “Linda Ham, NASA Flight Director” (the third above screencap for this sketch). Haha, that graphic is intended for a Harry Caray sketch later tonight.
— Cheri’s Alanis impression is weak. Even male cast members Jim Breuer and Jimmy Fallon have previously done better Alanis impressions than that.
— I love Will’s Jesus looking laid-back in a casual pair of glasses.
— Very funny bit with Will’s Jesus about to open an envelope containing the name of the winner, only to go “Why am I even opening it? I’m all-knowing.”
— Speaking of weak celebrity impressions, Tim as Will Smith.
— Kattan’s mean-spirited one-liners as Andy Dick are cracking me up (and would later start a public feud between Kattan and Dick).
— Joan could not look any less like Madonna, but her performance as Madonna is solid and she has a lot of funny lines.
— Joan’s Madonna to Molly’s Courtney Love: “The goal of Buddhism is to attain nirvana, not break it up.”
— Overall, one of the rare SNL award show sketches that I actually really liked.
STARS: ****
TRIAL
defense attorney Suel Forrester cross-examines witness (John Goodman)
— I love Parnell’s look when the camera first cuts to him (the first above screencap for this sketch).
— Surprisingly, this is the first time Kattan has played Suel Forrester since season 22. This character completely skipped season 23. This weird pattern for Forrester continues, as he skips the following season 25, then comes back in season 26. Probably a good thing this character only appears every other season, as it keeps him fresh.
— Our second of many John Goodman cameos this season.
— I like Tim’s ‘“Did you just call me a chicken?” response to Forrester’s unintelligible yell of “Objection, your honor!”
— A particularly funny unintelligible line from Forrester, with him saying what sounds like “Can you tie a titty?”
— I like Goodman’s confused facial reactions to Forrester.
STARS: ***½
SPACE, THE INFINITE FRONTIER
in death, Harry Caray (WIF) remains goofy
— The final installment of this sketch, and the first time Will is playing Harry Caray after Caray’s death earlier that year.
— Given the “Linda Ham” technical error from the Spirituality Awards sketch earlier tonight, it would’ve been funny if this Harry Caray sketch accidentally put an Alanis Morissette name graphic onscreen when Joan’s Linda Ham was introduced.
— Linda Ham: “Please forgive me for asking this, but… didn’t you die?” Harry Caray: “Yes, I did. What’s your point?” I love how after that exchange, the sketch immediately goes on like normal, as if nothing is strange about a dead Harry Caray hosting a talk show.
— A big laugh from Caray randomly exclaiming “LINDA HAM!” several times in a row, then asking her “Does your name ever make you hungry?”
— I love Caray offering Linda Ham to make “sloppy martian love” with him in the back of his dune buggy on Mars.
— I can’t tell if Joan is laughing for real right now or if it’s in character (the last above screencap for this sketch).
— Overall, a riot. To me, none of the Space The Infinite Frontier follow-ups equal the classic first one with Jeff Goldblum, but tonight’s came very close.
STARS: ****½
WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ discusses Iraq inspection tensions & the possibility of war
ultramedicated Colette Reardon previews upcoming prescription drugs
— Colin’s “catering mistake” joke about the movie Babe has always been one of my all-time favorite Update jokes of his.
— Nice to see Cheri’s Collette Reardon in a new setting.
— Colin’s a stiff straight man to Collette Reardon.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hands”
LEARNING WITH JENNIFER TILLY
host & French Stewart (JIF) drop in
— While this is yet another case of SNL’s lazy trope of putting a celebrity impression into their own talk show sketch, I am interested in the bizarre, unconventional atmosphere of this particular sketch. Plus, I have the benefit of knowing in hindsight that this sketch never becomes recurring.
— I’m getting laughs from the wacky “wiggle” music that Cheri’s Jennifer Tilly is dancing to.
— I hate to criticize a second celebrity impression of Cheri’s tonight, but her Jennifer Tilly voice isn’t high-pitched enough. I’ve seen much better impressions of her. Between Tilly, Alanis Morissette, and Cheri’s weak recurring Fran Drescher impression, I didn’t realize until now how bad Cheri is at doing celebrity impressions (Barbara Walters notwithstanding).
— Funny bit with Tilly saying she learned to use a fancy computer, which just turns out to be an Etch-A-Sketch.
— This portrayal of Jennifer Tilly as a learning-obsessed simpleton seems kinda random to me, but perhaps this portrayal is based on how she comes off in interviews.
— I like Joan finding a way out of the interview by faking an emergency phone call.
— Ha, Jimmy as French Stewart, the role he was born to play. His look as him is uncanny, and he’s doing a spot-on imitation of his voice.
— Speaking of Jimmy’s look as French Stewart, something about the facial expressions Jimmy’s making kinda remind me of Mike Myers for some reason.
STARS: ***
SOUTHERN GALS
(host) & other hick tourists think their NYC adventure is just great
— The return of the Southern Gals characters from the preceding season’s Claire Danes episode.
— I like the New York location for these characters, after they toured in Paris in their previous sketch.
— Like last time, a lot of funny little comments from the ladies all throughout this.
— Funny ending with a New York rat suddenly appearing on Molly’s shoulder.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Down So Long”
TARMAC TALK
(TIM), (host), Jerry Seinfeld (JIF) are blown around runway
— Yet another talk show sketch tonight, but I love the very random setting of this one.
— I like the various effects SNL is using to give off the illusion that this sketch is really taking place in a tarmac.
— Jimmy displays yet ANOTHER dead-on celebrity impression, this time doing a funny Jerry Seinfeld. So far in his SNL tenure, Jimmy has been carving out a great niche for himself as a reliable impressionist.
— I love Jimmy’s Seinfeld constantly questioning the logic of this show.
— Great visual of Tim hanging on to a pole when a particularly strong wind from a nearby airplane blows everything away.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Yet another in a long line of solid season 24 episodes. This season has been on a roll. Tonight’s episode had a nice consistency to it, and there weren’t any segments that I disliked. There was also a good number of standout strong segments.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (David Spade)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Jennifer Love Hewitt
November 7, 1998 – David Spade / Eagle-Eye Cherry (S24 E5)
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THERAPY
DAS complains to his therapist (Brad Pitt) about the curse of fame
— I got a good laugh from how, as an example of how he can’t remember the names of the newer SNL cast members, David says he kept calling Tim Meadows “Jim” all week, and then you remember that Tim was David’s castmate for years.
— Random Brad Pitt cameo. It’s surprising that, to this day in 2019, this is the only time he’s ever appeared on SNL.
— You can tell this cold opening is pre-taped, as the reveal of Pitt’s presence would’ve gotten a bigger audience reaction had he been there live in the studio.
— Lots of pretty funny lines from David throughout this.
— A funny subtle gag with Pitt needing to glance at his pad to remember David’s name, after David went on and on about his own stardom.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— This season’s ever-changing theme music has been changed back to the one used in the Kelsey Grammer episode from earlier this season.
MONOLOGUE
DAS does stand-up about a polar bear mauling & the archetypal Cops perp
— I love David’s opening line, regarding coming back to SNL as a host: “(in a sly voice) Now the pupil has become the teacher!”
— Funny bit about a drunk guy hallucinating a bear signaling him to come over.
— I love David’s rundown of every redneck stereotype seen in every episode of Cops.
— Surprised this is over already. I wanted more stand-up.
STARS: ****
MERCURY MISTRESS
the Mercury Mistress is the car you can both drive & have sex with
— A fake ad that would end up never being re-aired, as it was deemed too raunchy at the time.
— A very juvenile but hilarious concept, and Parnell is perfect for this. Speaking of which, this is the very first of what would be quite a number of perv roles that SNL would cast Parnell in over the years.
— I love the visual of a blurred-out hole on the car.
— Hilarious bit with Horatio as a car burglar getting busted trying to have sex with Parnell’s car.
— The ending bit felt a little unnecessary, as the visual of Parnell humping the car started to get a little old.
STARS: ****
PRESS JUNKET
Monica Lewinsky (MOS) & publicist (DAS) screen potential interviewers
— A fun excuse to bring in a lot of celebrity impressions.
— Our first time seeing Darrell’s Phil Donahue impression in a few seasons.
— I love Ana’s Diane Sawyer saying, in regards to Barbara Walters, “That whore” and “Walters, I will KICK YOUR ASS!”
— Very funny bit with Cheri’s Barbara Walters coming back in while badly disguised as Sally Jessy Raphael.
— David is perfectly cast in this role.
— Jimmy displays yet another solid celebrity impression, though I recall him later saying that he feels his Howard Stern sounds more like Alan Alda.
— I love Molly-as-Monica’s childlike gleeful reaction to receiving a box of Snackwells.
— Great bit with Tim’s Oprah being carried in by a group of worshipers chanting her name.
— A good laugh from Tim’s Oprah mentioning how her movie Beloved is “eating it hard at the box office”.
STARS: ****
MACK NORTH
Mack North (WIF) relishes victory in exorbitant post-election attack ad
— Hilarious how Will’s politician is taking out a mean-spirited post-election ad to obnoxiously brag about his victory over his opponent. A perfect Will Ferrell role.
— I probably shouldn’t share this, but I remember when I first saw this, in a Comedy Central rerun, Will’s delivery of “Hey, you ate it! Now eat me!” made me laugh so uncontrollably hard that I seriously almost went to the bathroom on myself.
STARS: ****
ACCRUING EQUITY AND MAKING HOT, SWEET LOVE
finance & fornication mingle
— A very unconventional and creative concept.
— David looks very funny in that wig and mustache.
— I love the use of sensual lighting and soft background music when each panelist is describing their love-making.
— Ana’s love-making story has a lot of hilarious details and word choices.
— David’s love-making story about sex on a Wendy’s rooftop has a lot of funny bizarre turns.
STARS: ****
MACK NORTH
Mack North accosts vanquished opponent Fred Peete (CHP) in a parking lot
— Again, Will’s obnoxious demeanor in this is slaying me.
— A big laugh from Will’s particularly harsh line to his opponent: “Your kids are that extra kind of chubby that you just KNOW that they’re gonna grow up fat.”
— I love the scene with Will confronting his opponent (Parnell) in a Target parking lot and childishly harassing him.
— Good ending with Will saying to his camera crew “Let’s get ‘im! Let’s GET ‘im!” when his opponent drives away in a hurry.
STARS: ****
DRILL SERGEANT
drill sergeant (WIF) aggressively solicits love-life advice from recruits
— Man, tonight’s episode is on a roll.
— Will is perfect as a typical loudmouthed drill sergeant.
— Will’s insults towards the soldiers are hilarious.
— Will is great at mixing sensitive requests for relationship advice and abusively screaming at his soldiers.
— A classic example of Will trying to make a scene partner break during a sketch, as he tries to make David crack up by repeatedly bumping his own hat against David while David is giving a long speech to him.
STARS: ****½
MANGO & KIWI
new dancer Kiwi (DAS) seems to have stolen Mango’s magic; CSR cameo
— I guess I spoke too soon about tonight’s episode being on a roll. Here comes Mango.
— Mango gets an obligatory “recurring character meets a character with similar traits, played by the host” sketch.
— Chris Rock cameo!
— Fun seeing Rock, Tim, and David appearing in a sketch together for the first time since the early 90s when they were castmates.
— Rock’s mesmerized reaction to David’s Kiwi character is cracking me up.
— A laugh from how the only admirer Mango has left is an old homeless man.
— Overall, a bit more fun than usual Mango sketches, though I still wasn’t too crazy about this as a whole.
STARS: **½
MACK NORTH
Mack North uses a Fred Peete mask to further rub in the election results
— A somewhat funny concept of Will’s politician using a cardboard cut-out of his opponent’s face to speak as him, but this third ad feels a little unnecessary and they should’ve just left these Mack North ads at two.
STARS: **½
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA
kids’ attempts to wish grandma “Happy Birthday” via phone displease (WIF)
— Wow, is tonight The Will Ferrell Show? He’s had a lead role in almost EVERY SINGLE SEGMENT so far tonight. I’m certainly not complaining, though I’m sure that some viewers back then who didn’t like Will were complaining when this episode originally aired (I can just picture them saying “Ugh, ANOTHER sketch tonight with Will Ferrell screaming his way through?”).
— I love Will interrupting the kids’ first singing of “Happy Birthday” to tell them calmly with a smile “Don’t half-ass it, okay?”
— Sketches with Will playing an angry father berating children never fail to crack me up. I’d like to think that the dad he’s playing in this particular sketch is the same dad from the “Get off the shed!” sketches.
— Kid: “Is grandma gonna die?” Will: “She is if you don’t nail it this time!”
— Odd how this is the second sketch tonight with Will using “horses ass” as an insult.
— Great turn with Will now directing his anger towards his mother on the phone, telling her “You can go straight to hell! I’m a lawyer! I go to court… and… talk with big words! You’re the devil!”
STARS: ****
WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ analyzes the gifts given by Bill Clinton to Monica Lewinsky
Hollywood Minute- DAS & lookalike hand puppet engage in celebrity gossip
— Colin’s opening straight-to-camera rant tonight is funnier than usual.
— I believe this is SNL’s very first mention of Osama Bin Laden (who Colin calls “Osam Bin Laden”). Little did they know at the time what a frequently-uttered name that would become on their show a few years later…
— I love the exuberant German accent Colin uses to pronounce “Der Spiegel” (and throwing in an obligatory utterance of the word “folks” after it, for good measure).
— Colin’s “Gucci knock-off” joke was excellent, and is one of his best Update jokes ever.
— Spade returns with the Hollywood Minute!
— Interesting concept with David using a hand puppet of his early 90s-era self to do tonight’s Hollywood Minute.
— The use of the hand puppet is helping save some of the weaker jokes in tonight’s Hollywood Minute and allows for David to make lots of fun ad-libs towards his puppet.
— Uh-oh! An Eddie Murphy photo has now popped up during the Hollywood Minute commentary.
— Ha, after David’s hand puppet’s Holy Man/holy crap joke about Eddie, David references the controversy over his own Eddie slam from an earlier Hollywood Minute by telling the puppet “Don’t say that. We’re friends now” (which the puppet responds to with “That’s not what I heard!”).
— Funny blooper with David briefly forgetting to change his voice when speaking as the hand puppet.
— A random but funny gag with the camera doing a cutaway to SNL’s cue-card guy holding up tiny cue cards for the hand puppet.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Save Tonight”
FELICITY
(DAS) ruins Felicity scene by also speaking Keri Russell’s (MOS) part
— Tim, as the Felicity director: “I have a good feeling this could be the episode that makes people turn on the TV and say ‘Hey, there’s a show on TV called Felicity.’”
— Another good line from Tim, after David ruins the filming of a scene: “That was perfect, and yet, not good at all.”
— The concept with David’s character speaking Molly-as-Keri-Russell’s lines is getting really one-joke, one joke that isn’t all that funny and is having no escalation in humor as it goes on.
— Tim continues to provide most of my only laughs in this sketch, though his delivery of his lines is now starting to get a little stumbly.
STARS: **
DR. LAURA
Dr. Laura Schlessinger (ANG) berates callers to her radio program
— Ana’s bitchy, unlikable portrayal of Dr. Laura is good. I have no familiarity with the real Dr. Laura, but from what I remember reading in old 1998 SNL reviews of this episode, SNL’s parody is pretty spot-on.
— I love the dark humor with Ana’s Dr. Laura driving an emotional caller to suicide, complete with a loud gunshot being heard.
— Hilarious line from Will as a caller talking about going online and ordering up Dr. Laura’s “Steamed clam special”, referring to her nude photos that were recently leaked online.
— David is well-cast as an obnoxious child.
— Surprised that the sketch is over already. This was pretty short, and I kinda wish David had more to do. Seemed like kind of a waste to bring the host on for just the last minute of a sketch, and not give him much to say or do.
STARS: ***½
BACHELOR PARTY
chaperone (DAS) lays down the ground rules for bachelor party attendees
— The shirt that David’s wearing is the same one Tim wore in a season 22 sketch where he played a character named Jerry Steve Dave, The Magic Man (side-by-side comparison below).
— Yet another role tonight that David is perfect for. And there are some laughs from him telling the guys what nasty things they’re allowed to do to the strippers while also urging them to treat the strippers with class. I doubt these lines would be as funny if any host besides David Spade were delivering them.
— The fun performances from all the guys are elevating the material. And the various statements that Tim’s shouting out in excitement throughout the sketch are hilarious.
STARS: ***
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly consistently solid episode. The first half had an impressive long string of great pieces, though the quality slowed down a little in the post-Update half. David Spade fit back into the show perfectly and, as I kept stating throughout the review, was cast into roles that fit him to a T.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ben Stiller)
a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Joan Allen