Month: July 2020

Posted on

October 7, 2006 – Jaime Pressly / Corinne Bailey Rae (S32 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

A MESSAGE FROM THE SPEAKER
Dennis Hastert (DAH) tells of Mark Foley’s deep interest in page program

— Not caring all that much for the lines about Mark Foley’s love for teenage male pages. My only chuckles from this are very mild. This tepid material isn’t helped by the way it’s being presented, with this being YET ANOTHER cold opening with Darrell doing a dull, non-comedic impression of some boring politician sitting behind a desk and delivering a straight-to-camera address to the nation. Yawn.
— Overall, very meh.
STARS: **


OPENING MONTAGE
— The new SNL logo introduced in the preceding episode has been altered tonight. Not only are the words “Saturday Night Live” now displayed vertically instead of horizontally, but the look of the logo’s font is slightly modified to look EXACTLY like the 1981-1985 Dick Ebersol-era SNL logo. (comparisons below between the Ebersol-era logo and tonight’s logo)

       

I remember finding this logo alteration quite jarring when this episode originally aired. Whenever an SNL bumper photo of Jaime Pressly or Corinne Bailey Rae would appear onscreen each time this episode came back from a commercial break, the SNL logo in the bumper made me feel like I was watching an early 80s rerun, making me half-expect to see a young Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo in the about-to-air sketch. (I remember actually kinda liking that, especially since it was somewhat rare back then to see SNL episodes from the early 80s.) This switchover to the Ebersol-era logo would only last for tonight’s episode. In the next episode, the logo goes through a third and final alteration.
— The way the musical guest and host’s photos are displayed in this opening montage has also changed. They’re displayed as a full-screen shot tonight (which would remain a regular thing for the rest of this opening montage’s run), whereas in the season premiere, they were displayed as a smaller shot in front of a live-action NYC backdrop.


MONOLOGUE
host’s song is interrupted by cast members dressed as southern stereotypes

— Kenan, dressed as Uncle Remus, bitterly saying “Zippety-do-dah, my ass!” while making his exit gave me a good laugh.
— A guilty laugh from Fred’s KKK hood bit.
— I love Bill randomly and slowly entering in the background dressed as Colonel Sanders during Jaime Pressly’s singing of “Fever”. Between dressing as Colonel Sanders in both the Unsolved Mysteries sketch from the preceding season’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus episode and now this monologue, I remember thinking at the time tonight’s episode originally aired that SNL was going to make a long-standing running gag of Bill dressing as Colonel Sanders, but we end up never seeing it again after tonight’s episode.
— Jason’s portrayal of a redneck is very funny.
— I love how this is yet another instance this season of the entire cast being worked into a sketch, once again showing how refreshingly small this cast is compared to the preceding season’s bloated cast.
— An unintentional laugh from the mistiming of Andy’s banjo strumming, which Andy makes a comical facial reaction to.
STARS: ***½


NANCY GRACE
interviewees (ANS), (host), (KET) dodge accusations from Nancy Grace (AMP)

— This is using the same opening theme music that was used as the theme music for the Situation Room cold opening in the preceding season’s Lindsay Lohan episode. I assumed back when I reviewed that Lohan episode that that music was the actual Situation Room theme music, but now I take it that’s just stock music SNL uses for some of their political talking head show sketches? I do love hearing that epic music, though.
— Amy’s portrayal of Nancy Grace is good.
— The occasional unrelated comments from Amy’s Nancy Grace about her chair being moved come off baffling and random at first, though thanks to having already seen this sketch before, I’m now aware of where it’s going.
— Some good laughs from Amy’s Nancy Grace constantly reaching to find seediness about every little thing.
— Great bit with Kenan as a janitor suddenly being mic’ed and sat down for an interview, much to his complete confusion. Kenan can always sell stuff like this well.
STARS: ***½


NEW YORK CITY STORIES
Martin Scorsese (FRA) & Rosie Perez (AMP) on NYC

— Interesting format to this piece.
— A good and amusing Martin Scorsese impression from Fred. And I absolutely LOVE the voice Amy’s using as Rosie Perez. I’m finding her Rosie Perez voice both funny and oddly endearing.
— A very funny brief Do The Right Thing-esque cutaway to Amy’s Rosie Perez dancing in the street.
STARS: ***½


JON BOVI
record exec (host) hears antonym-based lyrics of Jon Bovi (JAS) & (WLF)

— The debut of Jason and Will’s Jon Bovi characters. Unless I’m forgetting something, this ends up being the only non-Weekend Update appearance they would ever make on SNL.
— As I said in a recent review, I’m usually a sucker for whenever Will or Jason individually do comical singing in a sketch, so as you can imagine, this Jon Bovi bit is pretty much comedy gold to me. While the comedy of this is incredibly dumb, Will and Jason make it the absolutely right kind of dumb, and they’re a blast as a duo in this.
— I love the repeated sayings of “Where the eff do we sign?!?” “We brought our own peeeeeeeens!”
— A very fun, silly conceit of Jon Bovi singing opposite lyrics of hit songs.
— Such a funny little detail with the random countdown numbers Will and Jason keep doing before each song.
— The completely nonsensical bit about Will having lost his pens in his butt is hilarious.
STARS: ****


WVIR NEWS
TV reporter Michelle Dison (KRW) awkwardly hits on interviewee (host)

— Early on in this, Kristen manages to get a good laugh just from the simple bit with her looking Jaime up and down, before we realize the comedic conceit of this sketch.
— A good laugh from Kristen’s out-of-nowhere comment about how Jaime must look coming fresh out of the shower.
— Some more good amusement from Kristen’s increasingly lustful-but-nervous compliments about Jaime’s looks.
— Decent ending with how Kristen’s embarrassment from the Jaime situation increases when bird poop from above randomly drops onto Kristen’s shoulder while she’s still on camera. Her drawn-out, mostly-silent awkward reaction to that is the type of thing Kristen is always so good at getting laughs out of.
STARS: ***½


NEW YORK CITY STORIES
Lou Reed (FRA) & Patti Smith (AMP) on CBGB

— I like how not only is this a runner, but each segment features Fred and Amy playing a different pair of celebrities.
— I’m really enjoying the format of these New York City Stories pieces, and I love the way this particular one is shot, including the black-and-white screen filter.
— Overall, my favorite of these New York City Stories pieces so far.
STARS: ****


ST. AMBROSE SCHOOL
principal (BIH) meets with unruly (host)’s stepmom Virginiaca (KET)

— Kenan In A Dress alert.
— Ugh, the debut of Kenan’s Virginiaca character, the nadir of Kenan’s annoying and constant drag in these earlier seasons of his SNL tenure. I think I’ve said this before, but old stuff like this sketch makes you really appreciate how much more mature Kenan is as a performer nowadays.
— I can’t find anything else to say about this sketch while I’m suffering through it.
STARS: *


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Put Your Records On”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Peter O’Toole (BIH) thinks Mark Foley is unworthy of the term “alcoholic”

Fugly Betsy (FRA) stars in Ugly Betty knock-off produced by Charo (MAR)

— I love the idea of Bill doing a commentary as a drunk Peter O’Toole.
— Bill is killing it here, and I feel this is one of the best things he’s done by this point of his SNL tenure. At the time this originally aired, I remember considering this to be the type of brilliant, mature comedy that I knew Bill was capable of, and that I wanted SNL to let Bill display much more often.
— Even the post-commentary bit with Bill’s O’Toole is funny, with him having to be told which direction to exit in.
— Seth’s joke about how Bill Frist “is the guy who thought we could still fix Terri Schiavo” got a VERY interesting and initially-hesitant audience reaction. I also remember it getting LOTS of praise on some of the SNL message boards at the time, for how edgy and daring the joke was perceived to be, and it was because of this that a lot of people on those message boards started coming around on Seth as an Update anchor. I admit to following the hype back then, regarding the love for Seth’s Terri Schiavo joke. Nowadays, I have absolutely no idea how to react to that joke, and I’m someone who can enjoy a good edgy, tasteless Update joke (after all, Norm Macdonald is one of my all-time favorite Update anchors).
— I love Seth’s Iran/masturbation joke.
— Meh, this commentary with Fred as an Ugly Betty knock-off doesn’t seem like it’ll be something I’ll like. If anything, at least this, in retrospect, serves as a time capsule of when Ugly Betty was the big new hit show.
— I did get a laugh from Fred-as-Fugly-Betsy’s “Aaaaaaaaaand…” when trying to think of another thing she did in her acting career besides play a bludgeoning victim once. Otherwise, yeah, just as I predicted, I’m not caring for this Update commentary.
— The return of Maya’s Charo impression. I still can’t understand a word she’s saying, much like in the Charades sketch from the preceding season’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus episode.
— Another winner from Seth tonight: his delivery of the eye laser surgery joke.
STARS: ***


THE NASCARETTES
Nascarettes (host), (FRA), (KRW), (AMP), (MAR) dance on the racetrack

— A laugh from Amy’s line about being the girl who held the cards between rounds at cockfights.
— I love the brief cutaway to Kristen helplessly still doing her dance move while panickedly looking for her lost earring on the track.
— Okay, I am not enjoying where this sketch is going.
— Ugh. Yeah, this is an unfunny endless repetition of a joke that didn’t work all that well to begin with.
— Very weak ending.
STARS: *½


NEW YORK CITY STORIES
Fran Lebowitz (FRA) & Yoko Ono (AMP) opine

— Not quite as funny as the last two editions of this, but Fred’s delivery and performance are keeping this amusing for me. He’s so good at making fun of pretentious people like this.
STARS: ***


BIG WIGS
ceiling fan cuts down corporate consulting of Big Wigs (host) & (AMP)

 

— What the heck is this? So-called “big wigs” literally having big wigs? Are they kidding me with this grade-school-level comedy?
— Is half of this episode being written by James Anderson, because I’ve been getting an awfully big James Anderson vibe from the Virginiaca, Nascarettes, and Big Wigs sketches. (I think I heard he indeed wrote Nascarettes, but I’m not sure about the other two. He would also later write a few sketches that are in a very similar vein to Nascarettes, including a really wretched sketch from Lindsay Lohan’s season 37 episode.) And all three of these sketches represent so many things I despise about Anderson as a writer.
— Man, what the hell am I watching? This sketch is awful.
— Not even the Ball Busters ending with Maya and Kristen could save this for me. At least this sketch was short, though.
— When this episode originally aired, an online SNL fan said this sketch had a HUGE season 6 vibe (and he or she certainly didn’t mean that as a compliment). Back in 2006, I wasn’t able to accurately agree or disagree with that SNL fan’s comment, because at the time, I had barely seen anything from season 6, though from all the things I had heard about that season back then, I could see that SNL fan’s point about Big Wigs. Now that I’m very familiar with season 6 after having reviewed the entire season earlier in my SNL project, I can definitely agree with that comment about Big Wigs feeling like a season 6 sketch. It especially would’ve fit right at home in that season’s bad-pun-filled Malcolm McDowell episode (Serf City, Jack the Stripper, etc.). Regardless of which season 6 episode this sketch would’ve appeared in, I can easily picture Jason, Andy, and Bill’s roles as the businessmen being played by Charles Rocket, Gilbert Gottfried, and Joe Piscopo, Jaime and Amy’s roles as the Big Wigs being played by a female host and Gail Matthius (the latter doing her Roweena’s Cut ‘n’ Curl/Bobby’s World “Don’cha know” voice), and Maya and Kristen’s roles as the Ball Busters being played by Ann Risley and Denny Dillon. Alternately, you can switch Gail and Denny in each other’s roles, as I can also easily picture Denny as one of the Big Wigs, and I can kinda see Gail as one of the Ball Busters. Or, if this sketch appeared in a season 6 episode without a female host, then both Gail AND Denny could’ve played the Big Wigs, and Ann and Yvonne Hudson could’ve played the Ball Busters. Okay, I am thinking WAY too hard about this, but hey, I’m far more entertained by imagining Big Wigs as a bad season 6 sketch than I am by watching the ACTUAL bad season 32 version of the sketch.
STARS: *


KUATO
vile Kuato (ANS) in (BIH)’s abdomen creeps out fellow partygoers

— Uh…okay. Certainly an out-of-the-ordinary Total Recall-inspired premise. This does seem like something Andy can make work, though.
— I’m now halfway through this sketch, and I’m not sure how to feel about it so far. I’ve been liking some of Andy’s lines, and the off-beat concept is growing on me, but at the same time, I’m not laughing at this sketch as much as I feel like I should.
— I love Bill’s exaggerated delivery of “DAMN YOU, KUATO WHO LIVES IN MY STOMACH!”
— No. NO! Not the return of Darrell’s awful Ahnuld impression. Ugh.
— A terrible ending that felt unnecessary.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Like A Star”


PORCH TALK
daft & indiscreet (host) & (KRW) sip hot cider on a pleasant fall evening

— Another example tonight of the type of role that Kristen is always great at selling perfectly. She has been really solid, reliable, and fun in these early seasons of her SNL tenure so far.
— I’m enjoying the bizarre and disturbing facts about themselves that Kristen and Jaime are very calmly and affably sharing with each other in between their sips of cider.
— A very funny random and casual ending reveal from Jaime of “I peed in the cider.”
— Overall, short and sweet.
STARS: ***½


A MOMENT WITH THE OUT-OF-BREATH JOGGER FROM 1982
The Out-Of-Breath Jogger’s (ANS) moment from 1982 is a time capsule

— A very Andy Samberg-y premise (one that he auditioned for SNL with), and the type of stupidity and inanity that only he can sell.
— I particularly love the little part with Andy just randomly yelling out “Pet rock!” as a non-sequitur sentence.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A bit of a hard show to figure. The show both started and closed with a string of good pieces (minus the weak cold opening), but there was a string of truly AWFUL things in the middle of the show (not counting Weekend Update): Virginiaca, Nascarettes, and Big Wigs. Even the Kuato sketch, which I didn’t exactly hate, left me a little cold, despite some aspects of it that I liked. The good does outnumber the bad in this overall episode, but boy, was that middle BRUTAL. And even with the highlights this episode had, this episode didn’t have many strong pieces that I found to be worthy of a 4 or 5-star rating, unlike the preceding episode. I do like how this season is continuing to have a new, experimental feel, including a continued refrain from relying on any recurring characters (which I forgot to point out in my review of the preceding episode, which I’m surprised at, given how I remember heaping praise for it in the review I wrote back in 2006 when that episode originally aired, a review that’s sadly not available anymore).


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dane Cook)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
John C. Reilly

Posted on

September 30, 2006 – Dane Cook / The Killers (S32 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COMPTROLLER RALLY
unpopular George W. Bush (WLF) is sidelined at minor GOP campaign event

— Hmm, an unexpected way to open a new season.
— Fred and Maya even manage to get laughs just from the simple way they nod their heads lightly and smile politely when they’re introduced by Jason’s character.
— Oh, so we get a random inclusion of Will’s President Bush, which I guess is why this is the cold opening.
— A good way to work almost the entire cast into the season premiere’s cold opening (I think only Darrell and Kenan are missing from this, not counting the now-Weekend-Update-only Seth), immediately showing how much smaller this new season’s cast is compared to the preceding season.
— This odd use of Will’s Bush could, in retrospect, be seen as a sign of the beginning of the end for Will’s run as Bush. He makes only one more appearance as Bush two episodes later (in another odd usage of him) before the Bush role is given to a certain other cast member.
— I love Will-as-Bush’s delivery of “Taliban is back, that’s a burn.”
— A funny reaction from Will’s Bush to Andy’s “Politics” line.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.

   

— We get a new SNL logo for the first time in 11 years. As you might have noticed among the above screencaps, the words in this new logo are displayed differently from how it would soon go on to be, as the words are displayed horizontally tonight instead of vertically. This 2006-2014 SNL logo will be going through some noteworthy changes the next few episodes before SNL settles on the now-familiar style of it.
— Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and Kristen Wiig have all been promoted from featured players to repertory players.
— No new cast members this season.
— The final shot of this opening montage, with the camera showing a tilted shot of the NBC Studios sign (the last above screencap for this opening montage), seems like it might’ve been inspired by a shot shown in the cold opening from the preceding season’s Steve Martin episode (side-by-side comparison below).


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about negative people, liars, suicides, car wrecks

— The monitors on the left and right side of the home base stage still display the preceding season’s SNL logo and a still from that season’s opening montage. This would eventually be changed to reflect this season’s new logo and montage.
— Welp, here comes another round of Dane Cook stand-up I have to endure in this SNL project.
— Like I said in my review of Dane’s last monologue, I really dislike his trademark stand-up delivery.
— The suicide bits about “Karaoke Kevin” and “Limbo Linda” are decent.
— The bit about how everything is on YouTube now (and to think, this was before our more current days, where truly almost everything CAN be found on YouTube) is memorable and funny, mainly the “A:F6” part.
— A laugh from Dane’s “Ma’am, you can drive through ghosts” comment.
— Overall, I’m surprised by how much I laughed at this Dane Cook stand-up monologue, and this thankfully lacked some of the more annoying aspects of Dane’s previous monologue.
STARS: ***


SIDE NOTE: No post-monologue fake commercial in tonight’s season premiere? Can’t remember the last time prior to this where a season premiere went without one.


AIRPORT SECURITY SEMINAR
(host) & (JAS) instruct airport security workers regarding liquids & gels

— A fun ensemble piece for the lead-off sketch of the season.
— Dane and Jason make a good duo here, and I’m really liking Jason’s delivery.
— A good laugh from the whole bit with Fred trying to claim that a turkey sandwich can count as a liquid.
— I love Will and Kenan simultaneously saying the same answer to the question of why someone would put a turkey sandwich in a blender: “Well, if your jaw was wired shut–”
— All of the asinine questions the employees are asking are very funny.
— Maya seems like she’s playing a variation of her Jackie character from season 26, who, in one of her appearances, actually did work at an airport (she worked at a post office in her other appearance).
— The “You mean producing a liquid?” “Or a gel” exchange is a particularly hilarious and memorable part of this sketch, made even funnier by Kenan making a classic “Kenan reacts” face in the background.
— A great stern and blunt delivery of “No” from Dane in response to Maya asking if a meatball can count as a liquid.
— Here’s the first sign that I noticed tonight’s episode has a new director (Don Roy King): this sketch ends with a cutaway to an exterior shot of an airport, which I remember feeling was an odd choice when this episode originally aired, especially given the fact that this sketch didn’t open with an exterior shot of anything.
— Overall, a very strong sketch, and a promising way to lead off the new season.
STARS: ****½


HUGO CHAVEZ POLITICAL ROUNDUP
heads of state bash USA & its leader

— Right out of the gate, Fred’s exaggerated gestures and facial expressions as Hugo Chavez are freakin’ slaying me. I can definitely see some people being annoyed by this, but it has me practically on the floor.
— The debut of Amy’s Kim Jong Il, my first reminder that Horatio Sanz is no longer in the cast, as he used to play this role.
— I recall an online SNL fan back at this time (possibly fellow SNL reviewer and fellow SNL blogger The Doc, but I can’t remember for sure) pointing out Amy’s voice and accent as Kim Jong Il in this sketch sounded like the character Dexter from Cartoon Network’s 90s animated series Dexter’s Laboratory.
— The performances in this sketch are very fun, and that, coupled with the silly atmosphere of this sketch, is making the dialogue much funnier than it actually is.
— Holy hell at Dane’s Saddam Hussein voice. Is he attempting to imitate the gruff voice Alec Baldwin used as Saddam the preceding season? I recall an online SNL fan back at this time (not sure if it was the same fan I mentioned above) saying Dane’s Saddam voice sounded like Cookie Monster with a foreign accent.
STARS: ***½


CUBICLE FIGHT
(host) fiercely guards territory from new employee (BIH)

— Funny “Cubicle Fight” reveal.
— Jason is great as the boss with his occasional interruptions during Bill and Dane’s wild fight.
— Solid bit with Bill using Dane’s tongue to lick an envelope.
— Good bit with the pencil sharpener.
— I love the little strut Dane does when he’s turning around as he’s about to stab Bill with a knife.
— Uh…okay. A very odd, speechless, abrupt ending to this short after Dane’s violent and very bloody off-camera stabbing of Bill. Half of me actually kinda loves that, as a Michael O’Donoghue-esque weird, dark, and disturbing way of ending this short, while the other half of me is just left baffled.
STARS: ***½


AL PACINO CHECKS HIS BANK BALANCE
operator (KRW) helps excitable Al Pacino (BIH) check his bank balance

— Fun concept for a sketch showcasing Bill’s killer Al Pacino impression, which we last saw a year prior in Bill’s breakout performance in his very first episode.
— A lot of funny lines from Bill’s Pacino throughout his phone conversation, helped by his very funny delivery.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “When You Were Young”


NEW CO-ANCHOR
crestfallen Brian Williams [real] learns that SEM is AMP’s new co-anchor

— Wow, a change of pace, with a pre-Weekend Update intro segment, or a Weekend Update cold opening.
— I see we have a new Update set.
— Very strong premise of the real Brian Williams mistakenly thinking he’s Amy’s new Update co-anchor.
— I love Brian’s reactions to finding out SNL decided to go with Seth as the co-anchor instead of him. We’re seeing early signs of the surprisingly solid SNL host Brian would be the following season.
— Great exit line from Brian, and I love the detail of how he gives Seth a rude, dismissive shoulder bump as he walks past him.
— Odd how the show has gone back to a commercial break right after this short piece, instead of immediately cutting to the Update opening title sequence. However, the copy I’m watching of this episode cuts out all the commercial breaks, which makes it look like SNL does go immediately from this Brian Williams piece to the Update opening title sequence.
STARS: not sure this segment even warrants a rating, but if it does, I’ll give it a very high ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bill Clinton (DAH) refires passion of old flame Condoleezza Rice (MAR)

George Allen (JAS) says he’s an inventor of silly words, not a racist

Dustin Diamond (ANS) hopes to raise money with his unappealing sex tape

— A new Update era officially begins.
— I’m not crazy at all about Amy’s opening joke. Feels like nothing has changed with her from the dire Fey/Poehler era that preceding this.
— A better second joke from Amy tonight.
— Right out of the gate, I’m finding myself liking Seth’s delivery as an Update anchor. His opening joke deserved a much better audience reaction.
— We’re already getting our first Update commentary, after only about three Update jokes?
— Interesting how Darrell and Maya are paired together in this Update commentary in the season premiere, because I remember how, after the somewhat large exodus of season 31 cast members over the summer of 2006, I was disappointed to learn that Darrell and Maya survived the purge, as I was of the opinion that, of all the returning cast members for season 32, Darrell and Maya were the ONLY two that should’ve went out the door with Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, etc. In hindsight, I’m now aware that season 32 ends up being Maya’s best season in a long while. Darrell, on the other hand? Meh.
— Interesting how Darrell’s Bill Clinton is going right to the point as soon as he shows up in this commentary, bypassing his usual habit of drawing out the beginning of his Update commentaries by making flirtatious comments towards the female anchorperson and milking laughs over little things.
— Maya’s “smirk” as Condoleezza Rice is pretty funny.
— Darrell’s Clinton continues to come off more streamlined tonight, as he surprisingly waited until the end of this Update commentary before he broke out his trademark thumbs-up and lip-bite moves. I appreciate how he saved that for the end, because, while I generally like Darrell’s Clinton, he does usually have a habit of relying on certain things too much as a crutch to get easy audience laughter and applause.
— Seth has been impressing me more and more with his delivery as an Update anchor in his debut tonight. A breath of fresh air from Tina Fey’s later years at the desk. Right out of the gate in his first Update, Seth is coming off so comfortable and sharp.
— Jason is always fun in Update commentaries.
— I’m not too crazy about a lot of the dialogue itself that Jason has here, but his delivery is making it work for me.
— The casting of Andy as Dustin Diamond/Screech seems fitting.
— I like the Saved By The Bell-themed names Andy’s Dustin Diamond/Screech gives for his sex acts.
— Amy’s Miss Cleo/lesbian joke really rubbed me the wrong way. Am I the only one?
— A fun closing joke from Seth.
— Overall, things are looking up for Update in this new era. Seth had a surprisingly very solid debut, and the writing of the jokes was a little better from the last few seasons. Amy still had some iffy moments that reminded me a little too much of her typical Update performance the preceding two seasons, but I’m seeing small signs of improvement in her. I found tonight’s Update alone to be better than literally any Fey/Poehler Update.
STARS: ***


POLAND SPRING DELIVERY MEN
empty bottles belie claims of thirsty water deliverymen (host) & (WLF)

— Right out the gate, we open on a hilarious and odd visual of Will and Dane chugging gallon jugs of water.
— I love Dane poorly and bizarrely making up an excuse that he’s busy “boning” some lady right now, and Will then telling Dane that was a good cover.
— I got a huge laugh from Will’s meek delivery of “I like to watch”, in regards to Dane “boning” his lady.
— Kristen is a great stern straight man here.
— This is such a strong oddball Will Forte sketch as usual. It’s so good, that even Dane Freakin’ Cook is coming off really well here, and his typical delivery style is actually working well in this material instead of hurting it. And who knew he would make a great duo with Will?
— A very memorable and classic sequence right now with an ENDLESS number of water jugs falling out of the closet. Very much in the “Sideshow Bob rake sequence” category of comedy.
— I’m really liking the very meta turn this sketch has taken, with Will detailing his plan to get this whole situation adapted into an SNL sketch. We also get a mention of NBC having two new SNL-based shows at this time: 30 Rock and Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. This was an interesting time to be an SNL fan.
— A solid self-deprecating ending line from Will about how the funny part of this sketch “ended a looooong time ago”.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bones”


FARRAH FAWCETT FOR OCEAN SAVE
flighty Farrah Fawcett’s (AMP) pro-ocean message lacks focus

— Random idea for a sketch, but I like that we’ve been getting quite a lot of randomness in tonight’s season premiere.
— I’m not 100% sure if the bit with one of Amy’s fake breasts falling down her dress was intentional, as I recall some online SNL fans back at this time questioning if it was a genuine accident. It seemed planned to me, but if it was an accident, then Amy did a good job playing it off like it was part of the sketch.
— Yet another very meta turn tonight (which is another theme in this episode), with Amy-as-Farrah-Fawcett’s rambling getting interrupted by the camera pulling away from this sketch and panning over to the set for the next sketch, all the while Amy’s Farrah Fawcett worriedly follows the camera and asks where it’s going. The audience seems sooooo confused over this, judging from their awkward silence, but I am LOVING this. Such a unique transition into the following sketch. I also love how Amy’s Farrah ends this transition by randomly saying “I’m gonna do this scene now” as the screen fades to black.
STARS: ***½


CLOSING TIME
jerks (host) & (JAS) forcibly eject patrons from a bar at closing time

— Another Jason Sudeikis-starring sketch that takes place in his (I think) real-life hometown of Kansas City, much like the Once In A Lifetime Jewelers sketch he did the preceding season.
— Jason and Dane make yet another solid duo tonight.
— Solid execution of this sketch.
— Another good way tonight to work this entire cast into a sketch.
— Amy’s Farrah Fawcett, in her only line of this sketch: “She’s getting married, and I’m Farrah Fawcett.”
— I love the bit with Fred, which is a great way to end this sketch.
STARS: ****


GEICO
Geico customer’s (ANS) tale is augmented by wreck Whitney Houston (MAR)

— A funny way to spoof the Geico commercials from this time that each had a comical testimonial with an average citizen paired with a celebrity.
— I’m usually not all that crazy about Maya’s Whitney Houston appearances, but it’s working more for me in this format, with her always following up a straitlaced brief anecdote from Andy by saying a crazy brief anecdote.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very solid season premiere. I enjoyed literally EVERY SINGLE SEGMENT in this episode, the whole show had a fun vibe, two of the sketches were particularly strong (Poland Spring Delivery Men and Airport Security Seminar), and I liked all the different, out-of-the-ordinary, meta things the show tried. A promising start to a different-feeling SNL season so far. Speaking of a different-feeling SNL season so far, when this episode originally aired, I considered this the start of a new era. There were various things that gave this episode such a “new era” vibe for me back then, which include a new opening montage, a new Update co-anchor and Update set, a new director, the unusual lack of a pre-taped commercial for a season premiere, Weekend Update having a “cold opening”, the aforementioned focus on breaking-the-fourth-wall, meta humor, how unusual it felt seeing the show have a much smaller cast than the extremely large cast of the preceding season, and even a change of the formatting of the post-Weekend Update commercial breaks (though that’s probably more an NBC thing than an involuntary SNL thing). Speaking of the much smaller cast, I remember when I first watched this episode the night it originally aired, I was so used to the preceding season’s large cast that I kept getting an empty feel regarding the smaller cast in this episode. Not necessarily empty in a bad way, but in a way that I kept wondering why the heck it feels like one-third of the cast hadn’t appeared in any sketches yet, until I had to keep reminding myself that one-third of the cast is now gone. It took me an episode or two to get used to this season’s smaller cast, though I definitely appreciated the cast having a more streamlined feel this season (something modern-day SNL in 2020 could learn from). I really like how there were several segments in this episode where SNL used the entire cast (or most of them), showing how much smaller, cohesive, and comfortable-seeming this cast is than season 31’s bloated, mish-mashed cast.
— I was surprised by Dane Cook’s performance as a host in this episode. Unlike his first hosting stint, where I ran hot and cold on him all night (much more cold than hot towards the end of that episode), Dane didn’t bother me at all in any of the sketches he was in tonight (the closest was his odd Saddam Hussein voice in the Hugo Chavez sketch, but that was harmless and only a small part of that sketch), and he also worked well when paired with certain cast members, such as Will Forte and (especially) Jason Sudeikis. Even Dane’s monologue was decent tonight, after an iffy first two minutes.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2005-06)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Jaime Pressly

Posted on

May 20, 2006 – Kevin Spacey / Nelly Furtado (S31 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ANDERSON COOPER 360
Arnold Schwarzenegger (DAH) on immigration

— Kenan is pretty funny here in his laid-back performance.
— Ugh, the return of Darrell’s weak Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.
— Rachel putting her Boston accent routine to good use here, even long after Jimmy Fallon’s departure.
— It’s almost as if SNL heard my criticisms of how bland and unfunny of a straight man Seth’s Anderson Cooper was in the previous Anderson Cooper 360 cold openings this season, because I’ve noticed that he’s making a lot more funny comments tonight.
— A subversion from how these Anderson Cooper 360 sketches usually end with Seth’s Cooper saying “Live from New York…”, as Rachel gets to be the one to deliver the LFNY this time, obviously because SNL was aware that tonight’s season finale was most likely Rachel’s final episode. She would indeed leave with Tina over the summer to do the show 30 Rock (Rachel was originally cast as the character Jenna), but, IIRC (though I’m not sure, so take this with a grain of salt), it wasn’t 100% confirmed yet as of this episode’s original airing if NBC was picking 30 Rock up (which is why I said SNL was aware that this was most likely Rachel’s final episode). Rachel leaving SNL for the show 30 Rock is sad in hindsight, knowing what would go on to happen to her in regards to that show (NBC would demand a re-casting of the role of Jenna, because they felt Rachel wasn’t “hot” enough to play the character).
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
host sings an American Idol-friendly version of “For Once In My Life”

— Could’ve done without Kevin Spacey’s little political jab at George W. Bush when making an analogy between the number of voters of American Idol and the last presidential election. Hey, I don’t like Bush either, but this little jab from Kevin felt way too out-of-place and shoehorned into this monologue, and took me out of the point he was trying to make about American Idol.
— Meh, not too crazy about this premise of Kevin enacting his ideal version of an American Idol performance. Feels like a waste of his comedic talents. Hopefully, he can still make this fun, though.
— Kevin’s executing this well, but I’m not laughing.
— Okay, I finally got a laugh just now, from how Kevin refers to Paula Abdul.
— The singing-on-the-floor bit is okay.
— I’m aware that Kevin deciding to finish his song “as a black person” is off-putting to some SNL fans nowadays. I’m not off-put or offended; my problem is that it’s not particularly funny.
STARS: **


TWO A-HOLES AT A CRIME SCENE
detective (host) interviews A-holes about a car theft they witnessed

— I like how this appears to be using the same set from the very first Two A-holes sketch, the one where they try to buy a Christmas tree.
— A huge laugh not only from the Two A-holes randomly requesting to have some of the cop’s donuts (which he doesn’t even have), but from the subsequent cutaway to Kevin’s deadpan, silent facial reaction to that request.
— Now Kevin is making absolutely hilarious deadpan, silent facial reactions straight into the camera.
— Kevin continues to be a fantastic straight man towards the Two A-holes’ hilarious lines; by far the best straight man these Two A-holes sketches have ever had.
— Ha, even Kevin’s execution of the very brief phone call was priceless.
STARS: ****½


OPRAH WINFREY’S LEGENDS BALL SPECIAL
black women plus John Travolta (DAH)

— As usual in sketches with Chris as a voice-over announcer, he has some funny lines here. I just now came to the sad realization this is the final episode we’ll be hearing Chris’ fantastic voice-over work on SNL. In my opinion, to this day in 2020, SNL has yet to find a cast member as strong of a sketch voice-over performer as Chris ever since his departure. Bill would pretty much take over Chris’ role as the go-to cast member for sketch voice-overs, but, as much as I love Bill, I’ve honestly never cared at all for his voice-over work on SNL. I like Cecily Strong’s voice-over work in more recent seasons, but not even she compares to Chris in that department.
— Kenan In A Dress alert.
— Finesse In A Dress alert. Good god.
— Jesus Freakin’ Christ, now we get another Kenan In A Dress alert…IN THE SAME SKETCH.
— Oh fucking no. Now we get the return of Darrell’s absolutely god-awful John Travolta impression. Okay, you know what, JUST END THIS SKETCH ALREADY.
— Oh, and between Ahnuld and now John Travolta, what’s with Darrell bringing back two of his worst celebrity impressions (besides Bush) in not only the same episode, but a season finale of all episodes? Given the fact that he was one of the cast members who online SNL fans at the time speculated over that summer would leave the show (then again, that was pretty much a tradition among online SNL fans during EVERY summer of Darrell’s later seasons, given how incredibly long he was on the show), Darrell doing two of his worst celebrity impressions would’ve been a poor way to end his long SNL tenure if this had indeed ended up being his final episode.
— I finally got a laugh just now, from Katie Holmes being billed as Katie Cruise-Hubbard.
— Funny Tom Cruise impression from Seth, without even saying a single word.
STARS: *½


CAROL!
at a restaurant, on-the-rebound (host) is captivated by crude Carol

— The fact that this is Horatio’s swan song and the fact that we had gotten a bit of a break from this character after her last appearance makes tonight’s installment a little more tolerable to me.
— I like Jason’s response to Kevin referring to Carol as an enchanting creature.
— It took Amy’s character that long to figure out what DILF stands for?
— Seth’s delivery as the waiter is pretty funny when he’s giving Carol her various bags of food in intervals.
— We get a PARTICULARLY energetic and exaggerated delivery of “iiiiiiiIIIIII’M CAROL!” from Horatio just now. I would say that’s a sign that Horatio is fully aware that this is the final Carol sketch and his final episode as a cast member, but I doubt it, as he actually gets fired over the summer due to budget cuts; it wasn’t his choice to leave. I remember an online SNL fan later saying sometime around 2010, in a negative manner, “If Horatio had his way, he’d still be on the show today.” Sadly, that’s very true. It would’ve taken us AGES to get rid of Horatio if it was up to him when he got to leave. A lot of us SNL fans should be very grateful for those 2006 budget cuts Lorne was forced to make, even if that meant we also lost the solid Chris Parnell in the process (though, honestly, I feel it was the right time for Chris to go, especially with Jason and Bill now in the cast).
— I got a laugh from Carol’s line about being a model for plus-sized coffins.
— Overall, for the final Carol sketch, I got some chuckles, though this sketch as a whole was still nothing great to me, and I’m a little disappointed that I never fully came around on the “So bad, it’s good”-ness that some people enjoy from these Carol sketches.
STARS: **½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- administration claims produce spit-takes

— A laugh from a congressman spitting out an entire bowl of soup onto Donald Rumsfeld.
— Larry King spitting out an entire lung when doing a spit-take while sipping an ice cream sundae had me freakin’ HOWLING. Hell, even just the randomness of Larry King drinking an ice cream sundae while conducting an interview on his show is hilarious in itself.
— I remember an online SNL fan back at this time suggesting that if this cartoon had appeared in the preceding episode, hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, they could’ve somehow worked Julia’s memorable spit-take talk show host character from 1985 into this cartoon, given the spit-take theme of this cartoon.
STARS: ***


ANDY’S EXCUSE
ANS snows host with a Keyser Soze-worthy yarn to explain why he was late

— An interesting and out-of-the-ordinary backstage sketch.
— I love Kevin’s slow burn while sipping from a drink when he comes to the realization of what Andy had just pulled on him.
— An absolutely hilarious The Usual Suspects-esque turn with Kevin seeing all the visuals in the room that Andy made up his on-the-spot lie from.
— The “I Lied!” fax that Kevin receives at the end is very funny.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Timbaland [real] perform “Promiscuous”


WEEKEND UPDATE
excitable American Idol finalist Taylor Hicks (JAS) breaks into song

on TIF’s advice, AMP escapes from an alligator by pretending to be asleep

TIF extends her heretofore correct predictions regarding Britney Spears

Whitney Houston (MAR) leads a salute to TIF on her 180th show

— The final Tina Fey-anchored Weekend Update.
— When pointing out someone’s at the Update door, it sounds like Amy calls Tina “Betty”. At first, I thought to myself “Huh?”, until I remembered Elizabeth is Tina’s real first name (she gets the name Tina from her middle name, Stamantina), and Betty is commonly used as a nickname for the name Elizabeth.
— Great to see the return of Jason’s hilarious impression of Taylor Hicks.
— Like last time, lots of funny lines and singing outbursts from Jason’s Hicks.
— A rare Tina/Amy interaction piece on Update that actually works, as I really like the very random alligator bit. A good way for Tina/Amy Update interaction pieces to go out, considering this is our final one.
— Amy introduces tonight’s Women’s News segment from Tina by saying it’s the second-ever edition of it. Not even close. Tina actually did several editions of these Women’s News segments back in her earlier seasons, but I guess everyone at SNL, including Tina herself, only remembers the famous one about Britney Spears from Tina’s very first Update.
— Another big hint that this is Tina’s final Update, as we get a clip of the aforementioned Britney Spears-centered Women’s News segment from Tina’s very first Update.
— Funny to see how different Tina looked back in 2000 in the aforementioned clip, which 2006 Tina then gets in a self-deprecating jab at, by saying “I was really rockin’ that David Spade haircut.”
— I’m really enjoying Tina’s whole speech towards Britney Spears during tonight’s Women’s News segment. This is easily some of the better material Tina has performed on Update in a long time.
— Tina, towards Britney Spears: “In 10 years, you’ll be president.” Considering who actually does end up becoming president 10 years later, Tina’s joking comment about Britney Spears becoming president no longer seems as far-fetched as it would’ve back in 2006.
— Seems to be a bit of a fat baby theme in tonight’s Update.
— You can tell from looking at Tina right after she did her final Update joke that it was a significant moment to her.
— Amy mentions this is Tina’s 180th show at SNL (I’m assuming that’s including her pre-cast member years as a writer?), and brings out a celebration for Tina. This is actually a thinly-veiled way to give Tina a sendoff, but I’m assuming they’re not coming right out and saying this is her final episode, because, as I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t a 100% sure thing yet if the show 30 Rock was going to get picked up, and Tina probably wanted to keep SNL as an open option to stay on in case NBC decided to pass on 30 Rock. She probably saw what happened to Paula Pell, who left at the end of the preceding season (and got a big deal made about that during the goodnights) to work on an upcoming NBC sitcom, only for that sitcom to end up not even making it to air, leading Paula to come crawling back to SNL after about half a season.
— I love how in the middle of Maya-as-Whitney-Houston’s tribute song to Tina, Maya’s Whitney brings out who she incorrectly assumes are Tina’s favorite characters: Frondi, Vasquez Gomez-Vazquez, and Qrplt*xk.
— And thus concludes Tina’s…uh, rather varying tenure on Weekend Update. Honestly, I didn’t like being so negative about her in my reviews of these past few seasons, given how strong, consistently funny, witty, and refreshing she was in her first two seasons at the Update desk, and what a breath of fresh air her and Jimmy Fallon’s version of Update was from the Colin Quinn era it succeeded (though I ended up hating the Fey/Poehler era so much that my dissatisfaction with the Quinn era now feels absolutely trivial in hindsight). But, hey, I have to be open and honest about my opinions in these reviews, and I personally felt that Tina gradually went badly downhill as an Update anchor starting in season 28, culminating in the absolutely unwatchable final two seasons of her Update stint, the most dire that I feel Update had been since the rock-bottom 1980-1982 years of Update/SNL Newsbreak. I’m glad Tina at least went out on a bit of a high note, as she had some actual good moments in 3 of her final 4 Updates (the exception of those 4 Updates being the one from the Tom Hanks episode). And now, I say: BRING ON THE NEXT UPDATE ERA!
STARS: **½


THE FALCONER
quest to save Donald via time machine produces 14 copies of The Falconer

— This ends up being the final Falconer sketch.
— I love Donald squawking a dirty joke to The Falconer, which gets an offended reaction from The Falconer.
— Jason and Bill as Falconer clones in the first back-in-time scene is great.
— Oh, I am absolutely LOVING the absurd and ambitious escalation of this. This is becoming absolutely INSANE in the most perfect way.
— Hilarious how this sketch has gotten to the point where it has to resort to using female and black cast members to play Falconer clones, due to having used up so much of the cast.
— Various Falconers in unison throughout this sketch: “TO THE TIIIIIIME MACHIIIIINNNNNE-AH!”
— A very funny subversion with one scene being a completely unrelated bit involving Abraham Lincoln chopping wood, because the various Falconers went too far back in time.
— The visual of almost the entire cast dressed as the Falconer and speaking in unison is unforgettable.
— Overall, wow. An absolute masterpiece. And this was such a perfect way for The Falconer sketches to go out. SNL would actually attempt another Falconer sketch sometime after this, but it wouldn’t make it past dress rehearsal. The premise of that cut Falconer sketch was very meta, having something to do with Will’s Falconer character finding out that his life is a sketch on a comedy show. As much as tonight’s Falconer installment was such a perfect way to end this recurring sketch’s run, that cut sketch sounds like it would’ve also been a very fitting way to end The Falconer’s run.
— I only wish that 1) tonight’s Falconer sketch included Tina, so this would’ve been an ENTIRELY full-cast sketch (though it’s not a big deal that she’s not in it, as I guess you can still argue it’s a full-cast sketch in regards to regular sketch performers), and 2) it was placed as the final sketch of this season finale. Closing the season with a full-cast sketch of this nature would’ve been absolutely epic, and this already-classic sketch would’ve gone down as one of the best season-ending sketches in SNL history.
STARS: *****


ANDY WALKING
ANS belittles correct man-on-the-street quiz responses

— Another display of Andy’s Adam Sandler-esque ability to milk laughs out of incredibly stupid humor. I especially got a laugh from the “Are you McSure?” bit.
— I love the bit with SNL writer John Lutz as a passerby.
— Overall, this was fine in itself, but way too average for a season finale Digital Short. Considering the huge first year they had on SNL, you’d figure Lonely Island would go all out on their season-ending Digital Short.
STARS: ***


LEGENDS OF HISTORY
inventor of sarcasm (host) confuses English in 1100s

— Perfect casting of Kevin as this inventor of sarcasm.
— Oh, I absolutely LOVE the voice Bill is using.
— Believe it or not, this is the very first and only time in Chris’ entire SNL tenure where he has dressed in drag. An odd and fitting coincidence how this is occurring in what ends up being Chris’ final episode. You’d think this coincidence was intentional, as a way to scratch off the last thing on the list of things Chris never did during his SNL tenure (besides break character), but, much like Horatio, it wasn’t planned at the time for this to be Chris’ final episode. He was another casualty of the budget cuts Lorne was forced to make over the summer.
— Some good laughs from Kevin’s sarcastic remarks throughout this sketch.
— Hilarious reveal of Stonehenge having gotten built just because of a sarcastic thing Kevin told his men to do.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Maneater”


I DO NOT AGREE WITH MANY OF THIS ADMINISTRATION’S POLICIES
Neil Young’s (host) new album contains unsubtle political commentary

— Sadly, this is the ONLY celebrity impression Kevin has done all night. A letdown compared to the wide array of spot-on and very funny celebrity impressions he memorably did in his first hosting stint. Not only that, but his Neil Young impression in this sketch isn’t even particularly good. I see what he’s going for, but I’ve seen much better Neil Young impressions.
— The laughs in this sketch are only mild AT BEST. This is no way to close a season finale.
— Overall, an extremely meh sketch. I once again argue that SNL should’ve closed out this season with that epic Falconer sketch.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An overall average season finale. There were a few REALLY strong points, but a number of average or weak pieces brought the episode down to just an okay level. Kind of a forgettable episode compared to Kevin Spacey’s phenomenal season 22 episode. Spacey himself, despite a disappointing monologue and a mediocre Neil Young impression, brought a lot of solid performances tonight, even if, again, this hosting stint of his does not hold a candle to his season 22 hosting stint.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
a step down


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


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2004-05)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 32 begins, with Dane Cook as host, a more streamlined cast size, and Amy Poehler being joined by a new co-anchor on Weekend Update

Posted on

May 13, 2006 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Paul Simon (S31 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

PARALLEL EARTH
on a parallel Earth, everything is great under president Al Gore [real]

— Right from the opening intro sequence of this, it looks like we’re in for an out-of-the-ordinary cold opening.
— Very fun concept of the real Al Gore being president in a parallel universe, and Gore has proven himself in the past to be a good presence on SNL.
— So much great and inspired ironic humor here, and this is both very well-written and well-performed.
— Ha, there goes a lockbox mention.
— A particularly funny line about California no longer existing, and having been replaced by Mexifornia.
STARS: ****½


MONOLOGUE
Jason Alexander [real] thinks JLD has broken the Seinfeld [real] curse

— It feels very nice to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus back on SNL for the first time since her departure from the cast in 1985.
— I like that Julia starts this monologue by bringing up the little-known-among-more-casual-viewers fact that she was once an SNL cast member. I wish she talked a little more about that here, but she would later do that in her season 41 monologue.
— We also get a mention that Julia has the honor of being the first female cast member to host. I remember how, before this, a lot of online SNL fans were surprised that in SNL’s then-31 years on the air, there had yet to be a female cast member who has come back to host. Thankfully, after Julia’s hosting stint in tonight’s episode, there have been much more female cast members who have hosted.
— Very funny mockery of men’s maturity levels with the various working titles Julia says that her show The New Adventures Of Old Christine originally had.
— I absolutely LOVE how we’re getting a Seinfeld-esque pre-taped outdoors scene with Julia and Jason Alexander.
— Great scene with Julia and Jason, especially the sudden car collision ending.
— Now we get a Jerry Seinfeld cameo! Even the odd raspiness in his voice here is making me laugh a lot.
— A noticeable absence of a Michael Richards cameo. Either he wasn’t available, or SNL somehow looked into the future and saw that he was soon going to gain extreme notoriety with his infamous Laugh Factory incident later in this same year.
STARS: ****½


TECH PACK
wired vest organizes electronic devices but looks terroristic

— I recall this getting cut from many dress rehearsals this season before finally making it on the air in tonight’s episode.
— I like how the only performers in this are two of the newbies.
— Amusing how the Tech Pack that Jason is demonstrating to Kristen looks unintentionally like a terrorist’s bomb strap, complete with a detonator.
— Very funny ending with Jason running through the airport with his bomb strap-looking device, scaring the hell out of the other people at the airport.
— Overall, short and sweet.
STARS: ***½


BUM ATTENTION
insecure (JLD) is upset she isn’t being harassed by a lewd bum (BIH)

— Feels interesting seeing Julia paired with this female cast after having gotten so used to seeing Julia’s female cast mates being Mary Gross, Robin Duke, etc. when I reviewed her SNL era earlier in this project of mine.
— Julia’s disappointment at not getting sleazily hit on by Bill’s disgusting hobo character like her friends did is very funny.
— A great crass performance from Bill.
— I love the long, suspenseful buildup to the comment Bill is going to make to Julia.
— A hilarious dirty line that Bill eventually says to Julia, much to her poorly-disguised pleasure.
STARS: ****


THE MORNING SHOW
everything goes wrong during live television broadcast

— It certainly feels odd but interesting seeing this pairing of Kristen and Horatio front and center in this sketch. Watching back this season in retrospect years after it originally aired, it kinda blows my mind now that Kristen and Horatio’s SNL tenures overlapped for a season, as that’s easy to forget when watching this season, partly due to them rarely interacting with each other onscreen, partly due to the very different SNL eras they represent respectively, and partly due to how Horatio’s presence has gradually diminished this season while Kristen’s presence gradually increased.
— I absolutely love how literally EVERY SINGLE THING is going wrong in this morning show. SNL has done this premise with some other news or morning show sketches (e.g. a sketch from Britney Spears’ season 27 episode, and one from Andy Roddick’s season 29 episode), but it’s being particularly executed well here.
— Two hilarious running gags throughout this sketch, one with a deceased staff member and another with the show’s theme song randomly playing at the wrong times.
— A rare solid performance from Horatio at this late stage of his SNL tenure.
STARS: ****½


MYSPACE SEMINAR
students in (ANS)’s Intro To MySpace class are mostly sexual predators

— In retrospect, an interesting time capsule of the MySpace craze still going strong at this time.
— Great reveal of the class being mostly full of sexual predators in their 40s.
— Is Will playing an early version of Jeff Montgomery, his later and well-remembered sex offender character from season 34 (most famously in a sketch with Jon Hamm where Montgomery is a trick-or-treater)? Will’s even wearing the exact same jacket in this MySpace sketch that he would later wear in the Jeff Montgomery sketches.
— Oh, that’s right, Seth Meyers is still a cast member. Lately, he’s been joining Maya and Horatio in the “They’ve been appearing on the show so little lately that it feels like they’ve already left the cast” department.
— I love Seth’s line about using 1991 in his username because 1,991 is supposedly his favorite number.
— Hilarious bit with Will pretending to type on this laptop when he says he’ll change his “NaughtyGirlHotStuff” username after being told that username will attract a lot of teenage boys.
— Seth’s Dateline question is fantastic.
— Ha, something about Chris’ mere delivery and facial expression during his bit about having his face altered is cracking me up.
— I love all the guys immediately clearing out of the room in a panic when a cop shows up.
— After the cop leaves, we get an absolutely priceless reveal of Horatio hiding very poorly behind a small potted plant. Speaking of Horatio, wow, between the Morning Show sketch and now this, he’s having by far the best night he’s had in a LOOOOOOONG time.
— Overall, such a perfect sketch.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “How Can You Live In The Northeast?”


WEEKEND UPDATE
AMP & Al Gore [real] do a Point-Counterpoint about global warming

TIF’s grandfather (FRA) tries to sign up for Medicare benefits via phone

FIM gives fashion tips to young men regarding appropriate prom attire

David Blaine (ANS) fails in his attempt to hold his breath for 9 minutes

— A big laugh from the mostly-blacked-out global warming report that Al Gore displays.
— Ugh, words cannot express how much I absolutely HATED Amy “flipping” the “You ignorant slut” routine when Gore was about to say it during his and Amy’s Point-Counterpoint. Amy’s corny, cutesy delivery of “You ignorant slut” didn’t help. Way to piss all over a great, long-standing SNL tradition, Amy.
— A somewhat interesting change of pace for Update with the segment involving Fred as Tina’s grandfather, Wolfgang.
— I admit to getting a cheap laugh from Fred’s Wolfgang muttering “I got the damn cleaning lady” when the phone operator speaks in Spanish.
— Finesse appears in his final Update commentary.
— I loved Finesse’s “You are a magician” bit, as did the audience. The rest of this commentary, on the other hand? Meh. At least it’s not as painfully unfunny as Finesse’s last Update commentary before this about angry black women.
— I like Rachel’s lines as the phone operator in the second segment with Fred’s Wolfgang.
— This Update feels like it’s going on FOREVER.
— The whiny, gaspy voice Andy is using after he as David Blaine failed to complete his magic trick sounds very Adam Sandler-esque.
— Andy’s David Blaine commentary is pretty dumb on paper, but it’s the kind of dumb that Andy can execute well (which is another similarity Andy has to Adam Sandler), which he is doing here.
— Tired, past-their-prime, and about-to-leave SNL veterans having a better night than usual seems to be a theme tonight, because not only has Horatio been having a surprisingly strong episode, but Tina has had what is probably her best night in a while in tonight’s overall Update, though it’s still a far cry from her glory days on Update back in 2000-2002. Amy, on the other hand, was as horrible tonight as she usually is in the Fey/Poehler era of Update, maybe even moreso, especially that absolutely god-awful dolphin joke of hers tonight.
STARS: **½


CHARADES
contestants’ (AMP) & (JLD) pantomime is sexually suggestive

— Fitting casting of Darrell as impressionist Rich Little.
— I like Chris always responding to Darrell-as-Rich-Little’s hacky and shoehorned celebrity impressions by immediately shutting him down or just quickly moving on in a clearly-unamused manner.
— Some good laughs from the increasingly suggestive-looking charade gestures Amy and Julia have to do, and how the celebrity contestants can easily guess Amy’s gestures, but constantly mistake Julia’s gestures for sex acts.
— Maya’s Charo is getting increasingly unintelligible as this sketch goes on.
— I love the look Kenan’s Nipsey Russell gives Maya’s Charo after she says “You are me – Charo!” (which makes at least one line of hers that I could decipher) in response to one PARTICULARLY dirty-looking charade gesture of Julia’s.
STARS: ***½


UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
Unsolved Mysteries re-enactor (JLD) doesn’t believe (KRW)’s alien story

— I remember the absolutely befuddled reaction among online SNL fans back at this time in regards to SNL’s decision to do an Unsolved Mysteries sketch in 2006, years after Unsolved Mysteries had stopped being relevant.
— I also recall how I and other online SNL fans back at this time got a VERY Mo Collins (from MADtv) vibe from Kristen’s twitchy, psychotic character in this sketch, back in the days before us SNL fans got very accustomed to seeing Kristen play twitchy, psychotic characters.
— It’s cracking me up how, among the cartoonish ghoulish off-camera voices, one of the voices is literally just saying “Ghoooosts” in a quivery, spooky voice.
— The increasingly bizarre movie characters showing up during the scene being filmed are pretty funny.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Outrageous”


PEYOTE
peyote leads to street-level suicide jump threat drama with (ANS) & (WLF)

— This is the ONLY time I can remember that a Lonely Island-made Digital Short, billed on the air as such with the “An SNL Digital Short” title screen, has ever aired as the last segment of an episode, but I can’t say for sure.
— A hilarious ending reveal of Andy not standing on the high ledge of a building like we were led to believe, but rather standing on a sidewalk against a building, and Will being crouched down right in front of him.
— Much like at the end of the Lettuce Digital Short from earlier this season, we get a very brief Jorma Taccone appearance as a passerby.
— Speaking of Lettuce, tonight’s short has a similar twist ending, with peyote being the subject matter instead of lettuce, which is very funny after the aforementioned reveal of Andy and Will both bizarrely being on ground level.
— This may be the shortest Lonely Island Digital Short of all time.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS
(Not included in the copy I’m reviewing of this episode. For anyone keeping count, this is only the third time in my SNL project that the copy of an episode I reviewed cut off abruptly before its existing goodnights were shown. The previous two episodes were Christopher Walken’s season 21 episode and The Rock’s season 27 episode. Unlike those two, tonight’s episode isn’t followed by an Alec Baldwin-hosted episode, so at least I know there’s not some kind of curse going on.)

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong episode, and one of the absolute best of this season. This episode was almost completely flawless, minus Weekend Update, though even THAT was a little better than it’s usually been in the Fey/Poehler era. The first half of this episode was especially phenomenal, with almost EVERY SINGLE SEGMENT receiving a rating ranging from 4-5 stars. Very impressive. Almost everything in the first half of this episode seemed so “on”, especially the inspired writing. And as I mentioned earlier, even some tired veterans in the cast had their best night in a while in this episode.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tom Hanks)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 31 comes to an end, with host Kevin Spacey. It’s also the final episode for Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Finesse Mitchell, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz, as well as the final episode of Seth Meyers’ tenure as a regular sketch performer.

Posted on

May 6, 2006 – Tom Hanks / Red Hot Chili Peppers (S31 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE GAS PLAN
Bill Frist (host) sells his new gas rebate plan to George W. Bush (WLF)

— Not caring for Will-as-President-Bush’s whole spiel about wishing for May to turn into June. The audience is amused by this tepid comedy far more than I am.
— Ha, I got a huge laugh from Will-as-Bush’s off-color line to Darrell’s Dick Cheney, “That Frist plan went down so fast, it was like YOU shot it in the face.” Darrell’s Cheney also has a very funny facial reaction to that line.
— Great to see Tom Hanks in the cold opening in his long-awaited return as host after a 10-year hiatus.
— Finesse stuck in his typical useless, brief non-speaking role that might as well have been played by an extra. Only two episodes left for Finesse to suffer through the hell of SNL’s awful utilization of him.
— Bill Frist: “Let’s say that a gallon of gas hits $4 a gallon.” President Bush: “Heh, oh, it’s GONNA.”
— This turning into a Magic Mop infomercial is fairly funny, but nothing great and certainly not something I’d call sharp political satire.
— How do you have Tom Hanks still onscreen at the end of a cold opening and NOT have him say “Live from New York…”? Did we really need Will Forte saying LFNY as Bush for the 150th time when Hanks was RIGHT THERE?
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host takes DaVinci Code questions from religious figures in the audience

— I recall someone who used to work at SNL (I forget who) once famously revealed that SNL relies on questions-from-the-audience monologues whenever the writers don’t know what to do with a host for their monologue (if that’s true, then season 19 had A LOT of hosts that the writers didn’t know what to do with). I shudder to think that’s true for this particular episode, because if so, shame on this writing staff. How do you not know what to do with Tom Freakin’ Hanks?
— SNL writer Liz Cackowski continues to be the Sarah Silverman and Paula Pell of this era’s questions-from-the-audience monologues.
— Pretty funny subversion with Fred-as-the-priest’s alleged hard-hitting, stern religion-related question just turning out to be “What’s the deal with your hair?”
— Chris’ passive-aggressive line is very funny.
— Hilarious bit with Bill as an albino monk.
— The Flying Nun bit with Rachel was just dumb and didn’t work for me AT ALL.
— Didn’t care for the drawn-out bit with Darrell as the pope, and it needed a funnier punchline than a mention of Vince Vaughn.
— Very funny initial cutaway to Jason as Jesus, and Jason is always great at milking laughs from the audience without saying a word whenever the camera first cuts to him as a character in a questions-from-the-audience monologue, like in Natalie Portman’s monologue a little earlier this season.
— Jason’s natural resemblance to Kiefer Sutherland is coming off particularly noticeable to me here.
— The whole back-and-forth between Tom and Jason is absolutely fantastic, especially it ending with Tom, after calling Jason out on the gall he has as an SNL newbie to insult both the son of man and Steven Spielberg, sarcastically telling Jason “I’m sure we’ll see you in September.”
STARS: ***


WHEEL OF FORTUNE
dumb contestants (AMP), (FRA), (KRW) can’t solve puzzle

— A thin premise, but the execution isn’t too bad so far, and I like Tom’s performance as the straight man.
— Meh, this is now getting old, and the audience is agreeing with me, judging from their silence during some comedic parts. What is this sketch doing in the lead-off spot?
— Tom-as-Pat-Sajak’s long, frustrated spiel towards the end after he’s given up is great, and deserved to be in a much better sketch.
STARS: **


KAITLIN’S IGUANA
Kaitlin’s enthusiasm about taking care of (host)’s iguana levels off

— It feels odd seeing Horatio, because, once again, I keep forgetting he’s even still in the cast, given how much his airtime has (mercifully) diminished lately.
— This ends up being the final Kaitlin sketch with Horatio’s Rick character. The only remaining Kaitlin sketch appears towards the end of the following season, when Horatio is long gone from SNL.
— I like the suspenseful background music and unique camera angles during the sequence with a fearful Kaitlin having second thoughts about taking care of the iguana.
— Tom’s exit line was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


ARIEL & EFRIM
in their early ’90s music video, (host) & (ANS) fear for their testicles

— When this episode originally aired, I remember it strangely took me halfway through this short to recognize Andy Samberg and Tom Hanks as the two lead singers. Until then, I seriously thought the two lead singers were played by special guests who I wasn’t familiar with. I guess it was something about the way Andy and Tom looked in those bald caps that made me not recognize them.
— So I take it from Liz Cackowski’s appearance in this Digital Short (assuming she hasn’t appeared in a Digital Short prior to this) that she and her future husband Akiva Shaffer have hit it off by this point?
— Maya makes her first appearance in three episodes. Much like Horatio, it’s become easy to forget Maya is even still in the cast by this point.
— The wraparound segments with Chris, Will, and Kenan are very similar to the wraparound segments of a pre-SNL Lonely Island music video called Bing Bong Brothers. Even the ending wraparound segment of both that short and this one feature a character saying “I did NOT like that” in response to the music video that was just shown.
— Overall, this was a fun Right Said Fred take-off, but not quite as strong as I remembered it, and pales a little in comparison to the other Lonely Island music videos that have appeared on SNL prior to this. Still good, though.
STARS: ***½


UNIVERSAL THEME PARK
while in a theme park line, (host) & (FRA) yell at their lost ma (RAD)

— Hoo, boy. I recall this being a WRETCHED sketch.
— Fred appears to be wearing his Tony Danza wig.
— A laugh from Tom, when complaining about E.T. not having called Tom by his name during one ride, dismissively saying “E.T., he’s dead to me.”
— Who the holy fuck at SNL thought a sketch with Fred and Tom yelling “MA!” over and over at the top of their lungs for the entirety of a FIVE-MINUTE SKETCH would be worthy of not only making it to air, and not only making it to air in a TOM HANKS-hosted episode, but airing in the freakin’ pre-Weekend Update half of a Tom Hanks-hosted episode?
— I will admit that Tom’s yelling is actually making me smirk at parts, as awful as this material is. A testament to how terrific Tom Hanks is. Imagine how even worse this sketch would’ve been with a different host.
— The roller coaster bit is kinda funny, I guess.
— Ugh, this sketch is going on and on and on and on and on…
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Dani California”


WEEKEND UPDATE
TIF asks Rosie O’Donnell (HOS) about joining Star Jones on The View

Patrick & Gunther Kelly debate the immigration controversy with a song

— What is that bizarre off-camera noise while Tina is delivering her opening joke? The off-camera noise sounds like a pig squealing. The fuck? I don’t recall any pigs being involved in any of the subsequent sketches in this episode. Am I watching a rerun of Dennis Miller’s Weekend Update from the season 14 Ted Danson episode, where Dennis got interrupted at one point by the off-camera sounds of squealing pigs who were about to appear in the sketch that followed?
— Ugh, the return of Horatio’s Rosie O’Donnell. At least this is the last time we’ll ever see it.
— This Rosie O’Donnell commentary is as insufferable as I expected.
— Didn’t Rosie O’Donnell’s tenure on The View, which tonight’s Update mentions was soon going to start, end up being very short-lived? Not saying this is the sole reason her tenure was short-lived, but I recall her being in the news for some controversy she got into at one point for an Asian stereotype bit she did on The View. (Sounds like the type of thing celebrities would get “canceled” for nowadays.)
— When listing off similarities she has to Star Jones, Horatio’s Rosie ends with “and we both have gay partners”. Not only a lame joke, but Tina goes “Ohhhhh!” in response, as if it was some sick burn, which bugs me, because I’m sure Tina wrote that “sick burn” herself, as she seems obsessed with making fun of Star Jones and did write those View sketches back in the day. If she indeed wrote that “sick burn” that Horatio’s Rosie delivered here about Star having a gay partner, then Tina going “Ohhhhh!” in response is yet ANOTHER example of her patting herself on the back for an “edgy” joke of hers.
— Yikes, the string of Update jokes from Tina and Amy after the Rosie O’Donnell commentary is…just…Jesus Christ, how does stuff like this make it on the air?!? (*sigh*) Only two episodes left until Update gets a bit of a much-needed revamp.
— We haven’t seen the Patrick & Gunther Kelly characters in a fairly long time.
— Even though these Patrick & Gunther Kelly commentaries use the exact same joke every single time, it still works for me, especially after we’ve gotten a fairly long hiatus from these characters. I especially love how, in tonight’s commentary, Will’s musical high-pitched “Yuh”s are being done in time to the complicated background music.
STARS: *½


CLAREMONT YOGA CENTER
in a yoga class, (RAD) is unhappily partnered with sweaty & gross (host)

— A funny character for Tom.
— Liz Cackowski has appeared in THREE sketches tonight. How did SNL not eventually make this woman a cast member? Also, she’s gotten far more airtime tonight than actual cast member Seth Meyers, who is nowhere to be seen in this entire episode. Seth’s decision to decrease his own airtime this season to concentrate more on his new behind-the-scenes job as a head writer has reached a crescendo this week.
— Tom’s “Anus to anus” line was hilarious, as was him then saying, in response to him and Rachel doing the “anus to anus” move, “Boy, this would cost ya 20 bucks in Thailand.”
— Tom’s disturbing stories towards an uncomfortable Rachel are providing lots of laughs.
— Good line from Rachel about trying not to breathe in OR out while a sweaty Tom is hanging above her in a yoga position.
— I love the angry look on Rachel’s face at the end as the camera zooms in on her between Tom’s legs.
STARS: ****


COLIN’S PLACE
Colin Powell (KET) fields State Department overtures a la Fred Sanford

— As someone who used to be an avid watcher of Sanford & Son reruns, I appreciate this idea of doing a Colin Powell/Fred Sanford hybrid. It also kinda feels like a precursor to a fairly well-remembered sketch SNL would later do where Fred’s Barack Obama and his family star in a take-off of The Cosby Show, though I recall that sketch having better writing than this one.
— Kenan’s attempt at a Redd Foxx-type voice could be better, but Kenan was never known as a good impressionist in these earlier seasons of his.
— If I played a drinking game during this sketch, taking a drink every time Finesse’s Lamont Sanford-esque Michael Powell says “Come on, Pop!”, I’d be passed out before the sketch ended. I don’t recall “Come on, Pop!” being something the actual Lamont said THIS frequently on Sanford & Son.
— I like Maya playing a Condoleezza Rice/Aunt Esther hybrid.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Give It Away”


TENNIS PLAYERS
tennis players have one (host), two (WLF), three (CHP), seven (BIH) arms

— A great snob voice from Will.
— Will unconvincingly trying to act like Tom’s missing arm isn’t the reason he’s dropping him as his tennis partner is pretty funny.
— After Tom’s line “You’re going to throw away 25 years of tennis and lovemaking?”, Will starts to say his reply, but pauses in an odd way after a second, then continues his reply. I’ve seen some people theorize that Tom’s mention of lovemaking was an ad-lib, and that Will paused so oddly during his response because he was genuinely taken aback by the ad-lib.
— I love Chris entering as Will’s new three-armed tennis partner.
— A very fun increasing absurdity to this sketch.
— I am absolutely LOVING how the only performers in this sketch are Tom Hanks, Will Forte, Chris Parnell, and Bill Hader. Some of my all-time favorite sketch comedy performers, all in one sketch together! And to make it even better, the sketch they’re appearing together in is a very well-written absurdist one.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— For the first Tom Hanks-hosted episode in 10 years, this unfortunately had a bit of a flat feel. The episode actually wasn’t all that bad, and there were a few strong pieces in the post-Weekend Update half, but 1) this episode as a whole didn’t have the special feel it should’ve had for Tom Hanks’ big hosting return, 2) there were a few really lousy sketches placed so bizarrely early in the show, and 3) the episode as a whole was largely forgettable, even with some of the highlights. Tom Hanks himself did not disappoint, though, giving the A+ performances and commitment he can always be relied on to give on SNL. After tonight’s episode, he sadly wouldn’t host again for another 10 years, but unlike tonight’s episode, THAT one actually ends up being worth the 10-year wait.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Lindsay Lohan)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Julia Louis-Dreyfus becomes the very first female cast member to host the show