Tag: 1987-88

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February 27, 1988 – Judge Reinhold / 10,000 Maniacs (S13 E13)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Pumping Up With Hans & Franz- USA Olympic skier (host) isn’t very pumped

— During their simulated pummeling, I like how Hans and Franz are rapidly repeating “pummela pummela pummela” over and over.
— Memorable part with Hans and Franz’s chests moving in unison.
— I got an unintentional laugh from how the box of “Weaties” is noticeably spelled without the “h”. (last screencap above) I’m assuming that’s for copyright reasons, kinda like how when some of the fake ads from the Ebersol era would use real brand names, they’d spell it slightly differently (e.g. Buddweiser, Foldger’s Crystals).
— Overall, not too bad in itself, but to be honest, I’m starting to get kinda tired of these characters. Until doing this SNL project of mine, I never realized how one-note Hans and Franz are. After a few installments, you start to realize that their shtick isn’t all THAT funny. Did we need to see these one-note characters so frequently this season?
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
host whistles a cowboy song

— Interesting turn this has taken, with the home base stage being darkened and stagehands putting up western-like set pieces as Judge describes a story.
— This whistling song kinda has a charm, but it’s going on far too long for my likes. Some of the brief stuff Judge is doing in between the whistling is fairly funny, though.
STARS: **


WILSON TRAP DOORS
they reliably remove unwanted people from your office

 

— Even though I’ve never seen tonight’s episode before, I’m very familiar with this fake ad. I must’ve seen this in one of the “SNL Goes Commercial” compilation specials.
— Love Jon’s nervous smile when Phil looks at him after noticing his failed trap door attempt.
— Dana’s scream when falling down the trap door was very funny.
— Excellent part with an innocent guy suddenly crashing leg-first through the floor while he was casually walking towards Jon’s desk. I also love how Jon angrily bangs his fists on his desk during that part.
— This commercial is freakin’ hilarious so far.
— Great ending with Kevin, and I absolutely LOVED his scream when falling down the trap door. That scream of his had me howling.
— This overall commercial has always been one of my absolute favorite SNL fake ads of all-time, and is usually one of the first things that come to mind whenever I think of how great the fake ads in this era were.
STARS: *****


CHURCH CHAT
televangelists Pat Robertson (ALF) & Jimmy Swaggart (PHH)

— Good to see Al Franken’s funny Pat Robertson impression back. That smile alone always cracks me up.
— Pat Robertson: “Hitler’s brain is being kept alive in Paraguay.”
— Very funny entrance from Phil as an over-the-top crying Jimmy Swaggart.
— Some really great lines from Church Lady towards Swaggart.
— Phil’s performance is hilarious.
— The back-and-forths between Robertson and Swaggart are cracking me up.
— The “If You’re Happy and You Know It” number was an okay ending to the sketch.
STARS: ****½


JORGE GARCIA, NICE GUY DICTATOR
absolute power hasn’t corrupted Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator (host)

— They seem to like doing this type of sketch in this late 80s/early 90s era. In the preceding season 12, John Lithgow had that Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister sketch, and several years later, Tim Robbins stars in a (terrible) sketch titled Sweet Jimmy, The World’s Nicest Pimp.
— I liked Judge’s modest “sorry” after angrily yelling “SILENCE!”
— I got a laugh from Judge sternly ordering his soldiers to give Phil a ride home.
— This sketch is too slow-paced for my likes.
— Very weak and abrupt ending.
— This overall sketch as a whole didn’t work for me, despite some laughs early on.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Like the Weather”


WEEKEND UPDATE
electrical storm cuts one-man mobile uplink unit ALF’s Florida report

— Nice addition of a neck brace on one-man mobile uplink unit Al Franken.
— Excellent sight gag with Al suddenly getting struck by lightning.
— I already like this idea of A. Whitney doing an analysis of each of this year’s presidential candidates, where I can already tell there’s going to be some good lines.
— Very good bit about A. Whitney and his daughter each coming up with a lie against his wife.
STARS: ***½


DEREGULATED AIRLINE
(host) flies on a filthy, crime-ridden post-deregulation airline

— This kinda reminds me of the tobacco-spitting airline sketch from the previous season’s Garry Shandling episode.
— Some really good visuals in this sketch.
— Good part with Jan’s stewardess character suddenly tearing open her blouse when flirting with Judge.
— Decent ending with Jon as a preacher touting a bible.
STARS: ***


THE COP & THE PROSTITUTE
unlikely couple has career clash

— Judge’s cop being overly accepting towards Victoria’s profession is fairly funny so far.
— Not sure I care for where the rest of this sketch has been going.
— Overall, the audience seemed really tickled by the normalcy that Judge and Victoria’s odd relationship was being treated with, but I found myself fairly bored throughout this.
STARS: **


WHEN GREAT MINDS MEET
temporally disparate historical figures waste time

— The set-up of this reminds me of a really bad sketch the show would do several years later with Jeff Goldblum, titled History’s Great Over-Thinkers, where Goldblum tries to interview a panel of important historical figures like Leonardo DaVinci and Thomas Edison.
— I like how this is turning into the historical guests trying to get each other’s names straight.
— Some good laughs from the guests’ confusion whenever one guest casually mentions something that wasn’t around yet in the other guests’ respective time periods.
— I love Jon’s frustration.
— Good sketch overall. This was pretty much a far better version of the later History’s Great Over-Thinkers. Or more accurately, I should say History’s Great Over-Thinkers was a much worse version of this earlier sketch.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What’s the Matter Here”


PIRATES
pirates (KEN) & (DAC) prefer birds other than parrots on their shoulders

— I love the visual of Dana and Kevin’s pirates having a penguin and swan on their shoulder instead of a parrot.
— Hilarious walk-on from Judge, with his shoulder having a bird perch with three small parakeets on it.
— I liked this overall sketch a lot. Something about the escalating silliness of it embodied what I love about this era of SNL.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Considering this ends up being the unintended final episode of the season due to a writers’ strike, this was not the best way for the season to end. There were still some really good things tonight, particularly a strong installment of Church Chat, but I felt the weaker segments weighed down the show quite a bit. Still, I found more good than bad in this overall episode; I just wish this season could’ve gone out with more of a bang.
— Season 13 as a whole continued the growth of this still-somewhat-new era, but the season was honestly not quite as strong as I had been expecting. I was kinda surprised to see that it was a little more on the average side than I had remembered. A majority of the episodes were just good or average, not great. Aside from Paul Simon and Tom Hanks, there weren’t any episodes that I feel stand out as classics or near-classics. However, on the other hand, there at least weren’t any particularly terrible episodes either. Angie Dickinson is probably my least favorite episode of the season by default, and even that episode was merely forgettable rather than outright weak. There’s plenty of things to like about this overall season, but much like the preceding season 12, it feels like SNL is still taking steps towards the full potential that this era eventually reaches.


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


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1986-87)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
After a long writers’ strike and summer break, SNL finally makes its return, in what I feel is possibly SNL’s greatest season EVER. Season 14 kicks off with host…… Tom Hanks?!?! Wow, didn’t we literally just see him host? I’m certainly not complaining, though. He’s indeed THAT good to bring back so soon.

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February 20, 1988 – Tom Hanks / Randy Travis (S13 E12)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Dick Buttons (PHH) loves (host)’s cowboy-themed figure skating routine

— Love Phil’s look in this.
— Funny use of Tom Hanks.
— Amusing little part with Tom skating to the Bonanza theme.
— A good laugh from all of the low scores Tom receives.
— Tom being too out-of-breath to speak during his interview is a bit that would later be reused in another Olympic ice skating cold opening starring a host: Jason Priestley. Never realized until now that that Priestley cold opening was basically a variation of this one, though that one is still good in its own right.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like Tom’s excitement over his freedom of being able to do whatever he wants on live TV.
— Some pretty funny reasons from him for not wanting to vote.
— When listing off this year’s presidential candidates who’s names he can’t remember, I love how he referred to Jesse Jackson as “Jermaine Jackson”.
STARS: ***½


THE BEAN CAFE
customers at The Bean Cafe narrowly avoid telling jokes about flatulence

— Funny concept of a cafe that serves just beans.
— I’m loving all the fake-outs with a potential fart reference turning out to be something innocent.
— Characters: “Beans, beans, good for your heart… beans, beans, GREAT for your heart!”
— Hilarious part with Tom using a lighter by a bending-over Kevin to make sure his pants don’t have wet paint on them.
— Great sketch overall.
STARS: ****


GIRL WATCHERS
desensitized losers (host) & (JOL) take female rejection in stride

— The debut of Jon and Tom’s Girl Watchers characters.
— Nice touch with Jon having a unibrow.
— Jon and Tom’s confident, smug, slow delivery when putting themselves down is freakin’ great.
— Didn’t care too much for the ending with Kevin by himself.
STARS: ****


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
GOP wives Elizabeth Dole (JAH) & Barbara Bush (PHH)

— I thought Phil’s Barbara Bush didn’t debut until a Pat Stevens sketch from the upcoming season 14 premiere, where Pat interviews both Barbara Bush and Kitty Dukakis.
— Hilarious exchange with Pat telling Barbara, regarding George Bush, “You must be so proud of your son”, and Barbara having to inform her that George is her husband. Again, that’s an exchange that I mistakenly thought was in the aforementioned Kitty Dukakis sketch.
— Some pretty funny unintentionally insulting comments from Pat towards Barbara.
— Okay, after watching this entire sketch, I’m now both curious and wary to re-watch the upcoming Kitty Dukakis sketch, to see if it’s a carbon copy of this sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Forever & Ever, Amen”


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN fumbles for words & gets numbers wrong during Olympic report
sick of dumb blonde image, VIJ recites “serious” poem about Daniel Ortega
JOL strays from budget topic to declare viewers should “Get to know me!”

— This is SNL’s very first mention of George W. Bush, or “George Bush Jr.” as Dennis referred to him tonight. Funny seeing how young GWB looked back then. (first screenap above)
— Oh, please don’t tell me Kevin’s commentary is going to be yet another one of his topic-changing bits. The set-up has me thinking this is going to be different.
— I was right. Thankfully, Kevin’s commentary is going in a completely different direction from his topic-changing routine.
— Funny part with Kevin confusing the word “preliminaries” for “suppositories”.
— The rest of Kevin’s commentary has had other pretty funny bad guesses for words/names he can’t immediately remember, especially him naming Connie Chung as the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
— Another Victoria commentary with her doing a “The Life Of A (insert object here)” poem.
— Oh, wait, it turns out this is the famous commentary where Victoria removes her blonde hair, ditches the high-pitched voice, and reveals she’s a dark-haired, normal-pitch-voiced, intelligent woman who’s only been doing the dumb blonde bit as an act. I’ve always wondered what episode this came from, after seeing a clip of it in the “SNL in the 80s: Lost and Found” documentary.
— For some reason, I love how Victoria’s poem is titled “Ortega’s Mustache”.
— Victoria’s performance here is great. She’s very committed to the bit and is coming off SCARILY convincing in her characterization.
— Hmm, interestingly, Victoria’s commentary ends with her removing her dark-haired wig and going back to her high-pitched voice, revealing the dumb blonde bit IS her true self after all. I almost feel that was unnecessary, though I have to laugh at the absurdity of the fact that Victoria was wearing a wig under a wig.
— Boy, this is an unusually long Update. Probably the longest one Dennis has ever had so far.
— Feels weird seeing Jon doing a commentary as himself.
— The debut of Jon’s memorable “Get to know me!” routine. This is another thing tonight that I thought wasn’t performed until next season.
— I like the reveals of which celebrities wrote the letters that Jon reads from people who were nothing before they “got to know me!” Funny enough, one of the letters is revealed to be from Donald Trump, which makes this the second SNL episode in a row that mentioned him.
STARS: ***½


GIANT BUSINESSMAN
Giant Businessman (PHH) deals with noisy neighbors without using his size

— Yes! I’m very excited to finally see this sketch, as I’ve always read great things about it.
— I’m already loving this, just from the interesting greenscreen work in the opening scene, and the opening credits sequence & theme song.
— Great visual of Phil in that tiny living room set.
— Tom is perfect for this role as a rowdy neighbor.
— Tom’s threatening delivery of “I’m not gonna forget this, Giant Businessman!!!” cracked me up.
— Funny ending with Giant Businessman fearfully calling the witness relocation program simply because Tom yelled at him.
— I loved the silliness of this overall sketch.
STARS: ****


APPLE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
tech support operator (KEN) guides (host) through computer confusion

— Tom’s panicky demeanor is making me laugh.
— A good laugh from a confused Tom freaking out when the computer turns on.
— Nice ending.
STARS: ***


CASEY KASEM SINGS THE BEATLES
countdown king (DAC) covers the Fab Four

— Hilarious concept.
— I love the part of Helter Skelter where Dana’s Kasem vocalizes the guitar and “boing” sounds.
— SNL seems to get quite a lot of mileage out of doing these “out-of-place people cover Beatles songs” ads, with other examples being the Cuban Beatles ad from season 5 and the “Beatles Songs You Kind Of Know The Words To” ad that appears next season.
STARS: ***½


DELIVERY ROOM
expectant father (DAC) misinterprets sounds coming from the delivery room

— Funny premise with Dana constantly hearing something from the delivery room that makes him think his wife has given birth, only for him to find out that what he heard pertains to something completely unrelated. This sketch has a silly, charming feel that I find very representative of this SNL era. Also, something about this premise almost feels like a companion piece to tonight’s earlier Bean Cafe sketch.
— Great meta turn with Tom revealing they can’t come up with an ending to this sketch, and then proceeding to bash this sketch’s quality.
— Good ending line with Tom’s “Goodbye, you poorly-developed characters, you.”
STARS: ****


SENTIMENTAL VALUE PAWN SHOP
a pawn shop owner (PHH) pays full sentimental value for personal items

— I’m liking the trivial things that Phil gladly pays full sentimental value for.
— Funny bit about Kevin’s tiny piano being worth more when Kevin’s mother is dead.
— I’m enjoying Phil’s voice and characterization in this.
— Another funny little bit, with it being revealed that a bronze shoe Nora chooses is from an adopted baby.
— Pretty good ending regarding the ashes of a phone caller’s father.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What’ll You Do”


STAND-UPS
(DEM) & other observational stand-ups continue their act backstage

— Oh, yeah, I had forgotten that they briefly continued this recurring season 11 sketch two seasons later.
— I’m glad to see them doing this sketch in tonight’s episode, because out of all the performers in the earlier installments of this recurring sketch, I found Tom Hanks to be the funniest at doing the Seinfeld-esque delivery.
— Great bit about “What do you say to God when he sneezes?”
— I liked the cream/milk fight between Jon and Dennis.
— The whole Gilligan’s Island “three hour tour” bit is very funny.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently solid episode, and definitely one of my favorites of the season. As I said in my last review, I had never seen this (nor the next) episode before, but I’ve always figured this must be a good episode, knowing 1) how well Tom Hanks usually works with this particular cast, and 2) how soon they bring him back for his next hosting stint. I was not let down tonight. And I like how some of this episode’s one-off sketches were so perfectly suited for Tom Hanks, to the degree that it’s hard to imagine another host pulling off those sketches as well as he did. Also, something I always love about Tom’s hosting stints from this era is that his chemistry with this cast is so good that at times, he comes off as an honorary member of the cast, basically being to this late 80s cast what Steve Martin was to the 70s cast.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Justine Bateman)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 13 comes to a premature end, thanks to a writers’ strike. Judge Reinhold hosts.

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February 13, 1988 – Justine Bateman / Terrance Trent D’Arby (S13 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Bob Dole (DAA) dominates the Republican presidential candidates’ debate

— I like that they’re doing a republican version of the debate sketch from the last episode.
— Hmm, there’s not as many candidates in this one as the previous episode’s democratic debate sketch had.
— Love the smile on Al Franken’s Pat Robertson.
— Dan Aykroyd! Surprisingly, this is the first time he’s appeared on SNL since leaving the cast a decade earlier. This is also the debut of his Bob Dole impression.
— Dana’s Bush impression continues to grow, with him further developing the exaggerated hand movements, though they’re still fairly tame compared to what would later come.
— Dead-on Dole voice from Dan. While I’ve always preferred Norm Macdonald’s later take on Dole, I can still appreciate Dan’s.
— Funny part with Nora’s Pat Schroeder telling Al’s Pat Robertson “It’s easy to remember your name”.
— Hilarious voice and mannerisms from Al’s Robertson impression.
— Robertson’s list of things he’s accomplished is really funny.
— Strange but amusing seeing Bush being portrayed uncharacteristically angry and defensive. Is he still in BushWhacked mode from the previous episode’s cold opening? Or maybe this is how the real Bush acted at the actual debate.
— Great line from Dole sarcastically asking healer Pat Robertson to “heal” Dole’s right arm.
— Assuming Dan’s “Pete/Pierre DuPont” mix-up was a genuine line flub, he saved himself afterwards with an ad-lib.
— Dole to Bush: “George, how would you like this pen stuck right in your neck?”
— Overall, another very funny debate sketch, though I felt the democratic one was a bit funnier. This was still solid, though.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Nothing really to say here. This monologue kinda just came and went fairly quickly with no particular huge laughs.
STARS: **


FAMILY TIES
nested flashbacks document barely-averted Keaton disasters

   

— Great Michael J. Fox voice from Dana.
— I love Victoria’s crazy wig as Jennifer.
— Hilarious blooper with half of Kevin’s fake beard hanging loose off of his face (third screencap above), which got a great audience reaction.
— I’m loving this format of flashbacks within flashbacks, and I also love how you can tell these flashbacks are being performed live.
— Good running gag with Victoria-as-Jennifer’s only dialogue throughout the sketch being “Yeah”.
— Some good laughs from the family’s casual acceptance of the fact that Jennifer’s dying.
— Mallory: “The doctor said we could do far more good for Jennifer if we just stay here in the kitchen.”
— Freakin’ hilarious with the family throwing to a flashback of a Jeffersons clip, with George and Weezie themselves throwing to a flashback. The insanity of this sketch is getting funnier and funnier.
— I’m enjoying the craziness of how each flashback is now undoing itself back into the preceding flashback.
— Overall, an excellent sketch and one of my all-time favorites.
STARS: *****


LEARNING TO FEEL
Denise Venetti again advises “look at yourself”

— They’re making this recurring ALREADY? They just debuted this sketch two episodes ago, and it’s way too one-note to make recurring.
— Even Jon’s character is basically the same as his character from the first installment of this sketch.
— Okay, I got one laugh so far, from Nora telling Phil “If you looked at yourself, you wouldn’t want to masturbate.”
— Overall, as expected, this hit the same basic beats from the first installment and came off tired. Felt unnecessary.
STARS: *½


WEEKEND UPDATE
one-man mobile uplink unit ALF reports on New Hampshire primary weather

— Quite a lot of airtime for Al Franken tonight. Wonder why he never receives a featured player credit for any of his appearances this season and last. They don’t begin crediting him as a featured player again until next season.
— Some funny lines from Al about each presidential candidate’s weather preference.
— Nice taped sequence of Al riding on the road in a snowmobile.
— Hmm, a Trump joke.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Wishing Well”


TALKING BEHIND HER BACK
(host)’s paranoia is justified- perfect people at a party do laugh at her

— Okay, I wasn’t sure about this premise at first, but I’m now liking the absurdity of all the high-class party guests talking about Justine’s stupidity.
— The ending left me wanting this to go further.
STARS: ***


FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS
host & George F. Will (DAC) chat awkwardly

— The awkwardness of Dana and Justine’s conversation KINDA has some chuckles, but what is the point of this?
— And now, out of nowhere, an SNL bumper picture abruptly cuts this sketch off while it was still in progress. We’re nowhere near the end of tonight’s episode in the copy I’m watching, but I remember when NBC aired this episode on “Classic SNL” back in 2006 (where the ending of this sketch was also cut off), this sketch was at the very end of the episode, which I assume is where it originally aired during the live broadcast. If so, then the show probably ran long, which would explain this sketch’s premature cut-off.
— After the abrupt non-ending, all I can find myself saying about this overall sketch is: what the hell??? Instead of being humorously awkward, this sketch was just… awkward. Not to mention dull as hell.
STARS: *½


INSPIRATION
Derek Stevens’ muse of a girlfriend (host) wants him to move out

— Another Derek Stevens sketch.
— There’s too much of a sameness to all of Justine’s roles so far tonight. She’s basically just playing the same generic character in every sketch, and SNL’s not even ATTEMPTING to give her anything comedic to do.
— This sketch isn’t working for me so far.
— Overall, boy, was this a flop (our second one in a row tonight). Thankfully, I think it’s the last we ever see of Derek Stevens, who never should have been made recurring after his legendary original one-off sketch.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Under My Thumb”


ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE
(KEN)’s “foolproof” bank robbery plan is “in & out, nobody gets hurt”

— I’m liking Jon’s overly specific questions.
— Very funny part with Kevin substituting “in and out, nobody gets hurt” with a rhythmic “ba ba ba, ba-ba-ba-ba” to help his henchmen remember it.
— I absolute LOVE Phil’s aggressive outbursts throughout this.
— A good laugh from the mix-up with a revolving door as explained in the epilogue screen crawl ending.
— Overall, I liked this sketch a lot. Also, the premise and writing had a very Kevin Nealon-y feel, where you can tell he wrote this himself. The “ba ba ba, ba-ba-ba-ba” part especially seemed like something out of his playbook.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— This episode is hard for me to figure as a whole. What was good in this episode was particularly great, but what was weak was absolutely terrible. Very mixed episode with almost no middle ground, but I’d say the good slightly outweighed the bad.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Carl Weathers)
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Tom Hanks. I’m excited to see this as well as the episode after that (Judge Reinhold), because, out of all the episodes from season 11 to early season 44 (up to the Steve Carell episode), this season’s Hanks and Reinhold episodes are the only ones I’ve never seen before starting this SNL project of mine.

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January 30, 1988 – Carl Weathers / Robbie Robertson (S13 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
BushWhacked!- George (DAC) uses Morton Downey-like approach to seem tough

— Unlike in his first two appearances, Dana’s Bush is now starting to physically look like how we remember him today. The voice is slowly getting there, but still sounds very different from what we’re now used to.
— I love how this is Bush doing a Morton Downey Jr.-esque talk show in a desperate attempt to prove he’s not a wimp.
— I got a huge laugh from a crowd member being heard exclaiming “Moron!” during Phil’s trade policy explanation.
— Good part with Bush’s crowd being confused by his unsure explanation of a report, and Bush following that silence by awkwardly saying “……I’m talkin’ tough!”
— Funny touch with Dana-as-Bush’s “Live from New York” being followed by Phil dropping him onto the ground.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host sings a high-pitched rendition of “What About A Rainbow”

— Another rare instance of G.E. Smith speaking on-camera.
— I love the juxtaposition of Carl Weathers of all people breaking out into a sappy rainbow song.
— An overall solid monologue. Carl’s high-pitched singing was really funny, and I loved his commitment to the bit.
STARS: ****


HANDI-OFF
— Rerun


THE NFL TODAY
Jimmy The Greek (PHH) overcompensates for his prior racism
King Cobra’s You Make The Call- yes, Kenny Stabler threw like a racist

 

— Amusing how the football montage that’s usually shown during the NFL Today opening credits has been replaced with out-of-place clips of important black figures in history, due to controversy over comments Jimmy The Greek made about blacks.
— Nice touch with a now-overly-PC Jimmy The Greek wearing a Jesse Jackson ’88 button on his suit.
— The racially-based You Make the Call segment is funny.
— Great part with Phil’s Jimmy The Greek starting to go off on a uncomfortable tangent about black athletes mating with physically strong black women, which gets cut off by a “Please stand by” screen.
STARS: ***½


DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 88
Pat Schroeder (NOD) moderates Democratic presidential candidates’ debate

 

— The debut of Jon’s Michael Dukakis impression, which will go on to play a huge part in election-related sketches next season where he’s the democratic nominee.
— I love the look on Phil’s face as Bruce Babbitt.
— Nora’s maniacal crying-hiding laughter is great.
— When asked what he was listening to when smoking pot, I knew Kevin’s Al Gore was going to answer Pink Floyd.
— Funny “oil and vinegar” speech from Jon’s Dukakis.
— Not sure what Kevin’s going for with that mouth thing he’s doing as part of his Gore impression, though it IS funny.
— Carl-as-Jesse-Jackson’s speech is really funny, and Carl is nailing Jesse’s speaking style, if not the voice itself.
— Nora as Pat Schroeder: “Senator Simon… why the bow-tie?”
— Excellent part with us hearing the inner thoughts of each candidate. I especially liked Jesse Jackson’s inner thought being (regarding Dick Gephardt) “Boy, he is not funky AT ALL”, and Gary Hart’s inner thought being him checking out a woman in the audience.
— Overall, a strong democratic debate sketch with lots of funny moments and impressions. I’m looking forward to the republican counterpart of this debate sketch that appears in the next episode.
STARS: ****


MOTHER-IN-LAW
tension between boyfriend (host) & bad-ass mother-in-law causes shootout

— The second and final appearance of Phil’s now-forgotten mother-in-law character. She has a bit of a different look in this sketch, especially with the new addition of glasses.
— Phil’s coughing laughter cracked me up.
— I liked Phil’s shocked facial reaction to seeing Jan’s boyfriend is black.
— Wow, this has quickly escalated into an insane shootout fight.
— At the end, right before the camera faded to black, a photo can be seen falling off the wall in the background, I’m guessing due to all the “gunshots” the set sustained earlier in the sketch.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Testimony”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Phantom Of The Update DEM removes his mask to reveal a nasty scar
VIJ recites her poem “The Life Of A Table” while imitating one
AWB gives his thoughts about battles between the Israelis & Palestinians

— Nice random change of pace with this Update beginning with Dennis doing a Phantom of the Opera bit.
— I got a big laugh from Dennis’ incredulous reaction to the pain he unexpectedly experienced when peeling off his fake scar, only to reveal that he was just “Acting!” ala Master Thespian.
— Good overall Life Of A Table commentary from Victoria, and featured her doing some impressive table-walking on the desk at one point.
— A. Whitney’s overall Big Picture commentary had some funny comments as usual, especially his crucifixion suggestion and his comment about Israel being smaller than Long Island while having a lower percentage of Jews.
— Boy, Dennis’ “Rocky” joke about Sylvester Stallone’s marriage was TERRIBLE.
STARS: ***½


SITCOM ACTRESS
actress’ (JAH) pimp-like agent (host) thwarts her attempt at a new life

— Strong acting from Jan when detailing what she has to deal with at auditions.
— I’m really liking the intensity between Carl and Jan.
— Funny turn with Phil’s interest in Jan immediately diminishing as soon as he learns she’s an actress in videotaped sitcoms.
— Overall, an interesting sketch that featured great performances.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Somewhere Down The Crazy River”


MASTER THESPIAN
Master Thespian envies Ching Change’s ability to play Othello (host)

— Carl explaining how he pulls off a Chinese look is pretty funny.
— Surprisingly, Carl is coming off as a natural for a Master Thespian sketch.
— Funny part with Master Thespian’s absurd beans advice to Carl.
— For some reason, SNL episode guides (including the one that I borrow sketch synopses from in my reviews) consider Dana’s Chinaman character in this sketch to be Ching Change. I don’t understand why. This is clearly NOT Ching Change. He has a different name and everything. The only similarity is the voice, but that’s only because it’s probably Dana’s go-to voice for every stereotypical Asian role.
STARS: ***


THE GARDEN
by Tom Radtke- hairdresser (NOD) makes art with dead clients

— Hmm, “A film by Nora Dunn”.
— I like Nora’s voice in this.
— Overall, not sure what to think of this strange film. If it was supposed to be funny, it didn’t succeed in making me laugh much nor did it really appeal to me, but it did come off as a well-done character piece.
STARS: **½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid episode. The quality died down a little towards the end, but otherwise, this was a consistently good episode, and the first half in particular had some really strong material. I also liked Carl Weathers as the host and felt he had a lot of good energy.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robin Williams)
— a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Justine Bateman

Posted on

January 23, 1988 – Robin Williams / James Taylor (S13 E9)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Pumping Up With Hans & Franz- the duo criticize Jimmy The Greek’s remarks

— This again so soon? While it’s good that these characters are continuing to gain popularity, do we really need them two episodes in a row? Granted, SNL had a month-long Christmas break between these last two episodes, but I’m watching/reviewing these SNL episodes in chronological order on a day-to-day basis, and thus it feels like Hans and Franz literally just appeared.
— Interesting change of pace at least, with Hans and Franz here to talk about controversial statements Jimmy The Greek recently made about black people having superior thighs to white people.
— I got a big laugh from them mentioning Webster (Emmanuel Lewis) as proof that black people aren’t stronger than white people.
— An overall decent cold opening with some funny comments toward Jimmy The Greek.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about safe sex & the importance of using condoms

— I absolutely LOVE Robin’s entrance in this, busting through the doors and immediately going into a very extended, energetic, fun dance sequence all around the stage as the SNL Band continues playing the theme music (first screencap above). This has always been my personal all-time favorite entrance that a host has ever made for their monologue. Hell, this entrance of Robin’s was so epic that SNL even used a clip of it for an In Memoriam to Robin that was added to a season 39 summer rerun when Robin died in 2014.
— Robin’s whole talk about prophylactics has tons of funny lines.
— Now he’s making me laugh even more with his bit about Shakespearean actors in porn.
— Incredible monologue overall. I loved this just as much as Robin’s season 12 monologue. You can tell the audience found this phenomenal as well, judging from their particularly huge applause at the end.
STARS: ****½


COMPULSION
— Rerun


BIRTH TAPE
to recommend birth filming, (host) shows video of wife (VIJ) having baby

— I’m really liking this premise.
— Very funny reveal that Victoria’s the one holding the camera while she’s in labor.
— Memorable and hilarious part with Robin stretching out his mouth to imitate what Victoria looks like “down there” in her labor-induced state.
— I like the use of an obvious doll that Victoria has birthed.
— A fun overall sketch and was absolutely perfect for Robin.
STARS: ****


LEARNING TO FEEL
Denise Venetti (NOD) tells patients “look at yourself”

— Nora’s intense hand-on-face expressions when giving her guests advice are pretty funny.
— I liked Nora’s rapid, confusing, back-and-forth “Look at Glenn, look at Ann” to Phil and Jan.
— This overall sketch was okay and Nora gave a good performance, but you got the joke of the sketch really quickly and it didn’t expand from there. I’m not looking forward to this sketch eventually becoming recurring.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Never Die Young”


WEEKEND UPDATE
one-man mobile uplink unit ALF reports on the caucuses from Iowa

— Loved Dennis’ opening line, where he vaguely addresses the aforementioned controversial Jimmy The Greek statement by saying “So what if their thighs are bigger than ours? It’s that other thing that eats at me.”
— Lots of rapid-fire random one-line jokes from Dennis so far tonight.
— The debut of Al Franken’s one-man mobile uplink unit, a bit that I’ve always liked.
— A good laugh from Al professionally detailing the pain he’s in from carrying around all the gadgets.
— Good overall commentary from Al.
— Great ad-lib from Dennis after a blown joke resulted in deadly silence from the audience.
— Dennis’ random “What IS normal heterosexual sex?” bit didn’t work at all.
STARS: ***½


THE 8TH ANNUAL ACE AWARDS
reruns, tickers, infomercials get their due

— Dana is very funny in his impression of stand-up comedian Gallagher.
— I have no idea who Robin is playing, nor why the camera keeps cutting to such an extreme close-up of him whenever he speaks.
— Strange sketch so far.
— Jon’s acceptance speech has a few laughs, which is more than I can say for almost anything else in this sketch so far.
— The clips they’re showing are making less and less sense. If that’s the joke, it’s not working.
— I’m enjoying Nora’s impression of Shelley Duvall.
— For some reason, I liked Phil’s grumpy facial reaction when he’s announced as the winner.
— Overall, despite a few bright spots, I was not a fan of this sketch. The randomness in it just didn’t work. SNL usually has a poor track record with award show sketches, and this one is no exception.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Sweet Potato Pie”


I WUV YOU
(host)’s inability to sincerely say “I love you” irks girlfriend (JAH)

— A promising use of Robin’s knack for doing different voices.
— If you know me, you’ll know I loved the quick part with Robin doing Three Stooges voices.
— The ending was… okay, I guess.
— Overall, ehh, I wasn’t too crazy about this sketch as a whole. Not sure what about it didn’t work for me.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Lonesome Road”


DISCOVER
Peter Graves (PHH) interviews spirits channelled through (host)

— Some particularly funny bad analogies from Phil’s Graves early on in this.
— Some big laughs from Robin’s channeling of Lambda’s spirit.
— Robin channeling a random Jewish guy from Pittsburgh is pretty funny.
— This is strange for a Discover sketch. For once, the humor is more focused on the guest than on Phil’s Graves.
— Overall, this was okay for what it was, but I definitely prefer the previous Discover sketches. It didn’t feel right seeing Graves as basically a straight man for once, when the appeal of these Discover sketches has always been Graves’ idiotic statements and actions.
STARS: ***


60TH BIRTHDAY
on his 60th birthday, host is visited by chip-off-the-old-block son (DAC)

— Love this concept of Robin playing himself as an old man in the future.
— When it’s announced that Ronald Reagan is still alive at age 106, I loved a surprised Robin commenting how he assumed in the past that all that would be left of Reagan in the future is a wig and a colon.
— Another great line from Robin, this time remarking how future Michael Jackson looks like a photo negative of Katharine Hepburn.
— Very fun and dead-on Robin Williams impression from Dana.
— After a very long run of wacky ad-libs from his son, I love Robin’s only response to that being “I should’ve worn a prophylactic.”
— Some funny lines about where Robin’s career has gone in the future.
— Lots of great back-and-forths between Robin and Dana throughout this sketch.
— Absolutely loved the line about Dennis Miller being a U.S. Senator. Even funnier in hindsight, considering that prediction ended up coming true for another SNL performer from this era.
— After the aforementioned Dennis Miller mention, Dana works in his impression of him. Robin’s response has me wondering if that was an ad-lib on Dana’s part.
— Robin, after his son has left: “I don’t have the heart to tell him he’s a foster child.” That hilarious line was not only a killer way to end this sketch, but was also a perfect end to tonight’s episode in general. However, I’m aware that this sketch originally aired earlier in the show during the original airing, and was moved to the end of the show in the rerun version I’m reviewing.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty fun episode, as is usually the case whenever Robin Williams hosts. However, I’m not as big a fan of this episode as I was of Robin’s season 12 hosting stint. That episode was pretty much flawless in my eyes, whereas tonight’s episode had a disappointing post-Update half, aside from the 60th Birthday sketch. That being said, what worked in this episode worked well, and there were some memorable moments.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Paul Simon)
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Carl Weathers

Posted on

December 19, 1987 – Paul Simon / Linda Ronstadt with The Mariachi Vargas (S13 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
the apostles prepare a surprise party for Jesus’ 30th birthday

— I like the humorously casual discussion the apostles are having about Jesus.
— Very funny bit with Jon wanting Jesus to turn the pitcher of water into wine.
— Jan’s abrupt “Live from New York” had no real segue and seemed awkwardly shoehorned in. That, coupled with the fact that host Paul Simon appeared in this, makes me wonder if this wasn’t the cold opening in dress rehearsal.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Much like in the previous season’s Christmas episode (William Shatner), the SNL Band plays a snippet of “Joy to the World” at the beginning of the opening montage before segueing into the regular theme music.


MONOLOGUE
host & senator Paul Simon [real] tell how their engagements are confused

— Great start with Paul making his monologue entrance alongside senator Paul Simon.
— Some good laughs from the mix-up over which Paul Simon was supposed to host, as well as them recalling times where one of them mistakenly showed up at an event meant for the other.
— An overall funny, charming, and memorable monologue.
STARS: ****


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
(no synopsis available)

— These characters are now officially popular, with them immediately getting a good amount of audience applause while they’re introducing themselves at the beginning of this.
— Some laughs from them forcing an injured Paul to do a workout.
— Nice to see the reappearance of Phil’s flabby Helmut character.
— Good continuity, updating us on Helmut’s physical progress since his last appearance, even showing still photos of his last appearance.
STARS: ***½


MASTER THESPIAN
Master Thespian improvises while tackling Santa role at Macy’s

 

— Funny moment with the camera pulling back and revealing that Master Thespian’s journal writing has been taking place in a men’s bathroom.
— Love seeing another appearance of Phil as a Frank Nelson-esque boss (“Eee-Yeeessssssss?”).
— The “pull my finger” bit was hilarious, especially Phil’s grossed-out vocalization. Only this era could get away with that kind of fart humor without it coming off groanworthy.
— I like this premise of Master Thespian as a mall Santa.
— Very funny overdramatic reaction from Master Thespian when he gets fired.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Los Laureles” & ” La Cigarra”


CASTAWAYS
(host) is amazed by craftsmanship of gifts given by fellow castaway (VIJ)

— Good laughs from Victoria revealing she made Paul’s watch herself, detailing the complicated process of how she made it with limited resources.
— More solid humor from how cheap Paul’s gifts look in comparison to Victoria’s.
— Great ending with the reveal of a hidden motor scooter.
— An overall very strong and charming sketch. One of Victoria’s best.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
the people say Gary Hart’s crazy for re-entering the presidential race
NBC’s shocking find is a clip of Jerry Lewis
DEM & Dennis Miller (DAC) debate whether Gary Hart’s decision was sound

 

— Decent bit with “The People” giving their opinion on Gary Hart.
— Dennis is coming off a little marble-mouthed at times tonight.
— Hilarious random bit with Dennis presenting a goofy 1950s clip of Jerry Lewis as “shocking and disturbing” footage.
— Dennis’ message towards Donna Rice was great.
— Yes! The debut of Dana’s Dennis Miller impression. As I mentioned earlier this season in my review of the Candice Bergen episode, Dana’s Dennis impression was supposed to debut that night in a similar point/counterpoint debate on Weekend Update, but there was a mix-up with Dana erroneously thinking the segment got cut, leading Dennis to awkwardly abort the segment on-air.
— Dana’s impression of Dennis is freakin’ dead-on and hilarious. I’ll ignore the bad wig, though.
— An overall excellent commentary from Dana’s Dennis.
— A very strong overall Update from Dennis, and a great comeback after the slump his Updates have been in the last handful of episodes.
STARS: ****


SUBWAY
(PHH) solicits money on a subway car by changing his story with each pass

 

— Love the turn with Phil revealing his hobo bit was just an act for a play he’s performing in.
— I really like where this is going, with Phil constantly switching his story and personality. This is a great showcase of Phil’s talents.
— Excellent ending with Phil changing his act to a stick-up robbery.
STARS: ****


SKI LODGE
in a ski lodge, Sweeney sisters “treat” host to a medley of his songs

— Okay, here’s the sketch that commenter Rssk informed me that the now-notorious Brynn Hartman appears as an extra in (and supposedly is even shown during a close-up at one point). Even though it will probably feel kinda chilling seeing her, I’ll keep my eye open on which female extra may possibly be her. I’m not very familiar with what she looked like, though. All I have to go on is the fact that she had blonde hair.
— I like the Sweeney Sisters launching into a Paul Simon medley, accompanied by a shot of Paul looking uncomfortable.
— Funny part with the Sisters forcing a reluctant Paul to join in during the name parts of the 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover chorus.
— A very solid Sweeney Sisters sketch overall.
— Okay, so… which blonde female extra was Brynn? The ski accident victim in the leg cast (seen in the first screencap above, as well as in the background of the last two screencaps above) or the woman in the winter sweater (seen in the background of the fourth screencap above)? I’m guessing it’s the former. Can anyone confirm?
STARS: ****


SUCCINCTLY SPEAKING
Tonto (JOL), Tarzan (KEN), Frankenstein (PHH) opine

— The debut of Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein.
— I like Nora casually introducing Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein as her talk show guests, as if it’s perfectly normal to have them on.
— This is sometimes inaccurately remembered by SNL fans as being a Pat Stevens sketch. Nora is actually just playing a generic, non-recurring talk show host here.
— I like Nora suddenly going from asking Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein simple questions to asking them about the INF treaty.
— There goes the most well-remembered part of the sketch, and a legendary SNL moment in general: Phil suddenly busting out laughing uncontrollably one of the times he’s supposed to say “Fire bad!” Absolutely classic, made even more noteworthy by the fact that it’s a usually-unflappable pro who’s breaking character so badly. While Phil would go on to have a (very) few minor instances of laughing out of character in later seasons (most notably a Matt Foley sketch from the Martin Lawrence episode, where an absurd line flub from Chris Farley causes every cast member in the scene, including Phil, to lose it and crack up), they were nowhere near as major as his character break in this sketch.
— The hilarity continues as the sketch concludes with Phil’s Frankenstein walking around destroying the set while Phil is still laughing out of character. It almost feels like getting up and destroying the set was an ad-lib from Phil in an attempt to divert attention away from his character breaking, though it’s obviously not, because the wall he tears through is clearly a breakaway prop.
STARS: *****


SEASON’S GREETINGS
Tonto, Tarzan, Frankenstein sing “Away in a Manger”

— And with the debut of debut of Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein in the preceding sketch, we now get the debut of a recurring segment with them performing a holiday song.
— This is great. It’s kinda hard to explain why this is so funny, especially as it eventually becomes a recurring bit, but it just works and has a silliness that I love about this era of SNL.
— For some reason, a stagehand is seen mopping in the background throughout this.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host & musical guest perform “Under African Skies”


TEXAS DINER
at the truck stop, Anita & friends reflect on the events of the past year

— Hmm, here’s a sketch that I have no memory of from my past viewings of this episode.
— I think this is the same diner waitress (Anita) that Jan played in a well-done slice-of-life sketch from the Willie Nelson episode the previous season. Never knew this was a recurring character. I wonder if it’s also the same character Jan plays in the memorable Sexual Tensions Diner sketch with Alec Baldwin.
— Interesting argument these people are making of why 1987 was such a bad year (Black Monday, televangelist scandals, Oliver North, etc.).
— I like Jan’s character occasionally speaking in uncharacteristic intelligent, complicated terms.
— Overall, this was a nice, low-key, realistic piece, which is something this cast is always great at pulling off. Jan, in particular, shined here, as she usually does as this character.
STARS: ***½


A MESSAGE TO FUTURE VIEWERS
JOL uses sci-fi cliches to address those watching the show in syndication

— Here’s another sketch I have no memory of ever seeing in the past. I thought I remembered tonight’s overall episode really well.
— I love this premise of Jon delivering a message to future generations watching this episode in syndication. I always get a kick out of this type of thing, as well as seeing what people in the past thought the future would be like.
— Some funny wild assumptions Jon is making about the future, and I liked his line threatening to invent a time machine so he can come and kill us future viewers.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A great episode. Easily my favorite of the season so far, and was very welcome after a string of episodes ranging from average to forgettable (the Bergen, DeVito, and Dickinson episodes). Everything in tonight’s episode worked for me, and there were lots of memorable sketches and moments, as well as a fun, feel-good vibe, all of which are things I always love to see in an SNL Christmas episode.
— I’d like to add that Phil Hartman had a particularly fantastic night. I think he appeared in literally every single sketch except for Castaways and Message To Future Viewers. This episode was one of the finest displays of Phil’s strengths, versatility, and “glue”-like skills. And to put it over the top, he had an all-time legendary moment with his Succinctly Speaking character break.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Angie Dickinson)
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter 1988, with host Robin Williams

Posted on

December 12, 1987 – Angie Dickinson / David Gilmour, Buster Poindexter (S13 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
incompetent translator (KEN) covers his mistakes during Gorbachev speech

— A lot of laughs from Kevin’s bad translations, especially him pulling out a language translation book at one point.
— Ha, now he’s making up stuff in his translations to cover the fact that he messed up.
— Phil’s response to Kevin’s long-winded, absurd, convoluted explanation was very funny, with him simply uttering a taken-aback order to “…….Get out.” He also had another fantastic line right afterwards, with his offended “Not ONLY have you disgraced the Fox Network…”
— Great “Live from New York” variation, with Kevin’s translation of one Gorbachev statement being “Live out of New York, it’s night, this Saturday!”
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— What’s with A. Whitney Brown’s picture constantly changing this season? He’s had a different one in almost every episode this season. (comparisons below)


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— An extremely short monologue, where nothing noteworthy was said. Still, Angie at least came off likable and showed good enthusiasm for doing the show.
STARS: **½


DOCU-FRESH
Docu-Fresh rids your historical documents of constitution odor

— The “constitution odor” voice-over cracked me up.
— Pretty solid commercial overall. I really liked the randomness of this concept.
STARS: ***½


WEDGIE FEVER!
masochist contestant (JOL) gives wrong answers on purpose

— There’s the name Dale Butterworth, making it obvious who wrote this.
— The concept of this is hilarious.
— Funny walk-on from Kevin as last week’s winner, especially the line about there no longer being a chance of him having children.
— Jon’s repeated, increasingly-higher-pitched yells of “Ooooklahoooma!” are priceless.
— I like it gradually being revealed that Jon is losing on purpose.
— Overall, I really liked this sketch. Makes sense that Andy Breckman wrote it, as it’s reminiscent of the type of conceptual gameshow/talk show sketches he often wrote for the show in seasons 9 and 10. I can especially picture this sketch appearing in season 9.
STARS: ****


DONAHUE
Raisa Gorbachev’s (NOD) popularity bugs Nancy Reagan (JAH)

— Donahue listing off unpleasant things about Nancy Reagan has some laughs.
— Funny part with the Donahue audience’s disappointed “Aww”s when Raisa announces “We have no intention to take over your country.”
STARS: ***


CHRISTMAS PARTY
guests at a party accidentally bring up each other’s traumatic memories

— This sketch opens with a shot of the same blonde female extra who I erroneously thought may have possibly been Brynn Hartman in the Wall Street Week sketch from this season’s Sean Penn episode. However, I’m told that Brynn DOES appear as an extra in a close-up during a Sweeney Sisters sketch in the very next episode. I’ll try to see if I can spot her when reviewing that episode.
— I had almost forgotten about tonight’s host until now. Why is this the first sketch Angie Dickinson is appearing in all night?
— Pretty funny premise of every innocent comment somebody makes turning out to remind somebody else of a traumatic incident in their life. However, I can’t help but notice the similarities to a certain classic Carpool sketch the show would later do with Alec Baldwin and Kristen Wiig (the “Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother” sketch).
— The ending was kinda weak.
— Overall, this was a decent sketch. However, while it’s probably unfair for me to compare the quality of this to a sketch that hadn’t even aired yet at the time, this pales in comparison to the aforementioned Baldwin/Wiig sketch.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ’s star-rating system complicates her review of Three Men & A Baby
Stephen King (JOL) types rapid-fire while DEM interviews him
AWB draws parallels between deals with the Soviets & Native Americans

 

— Victoria’s confusing rating system is pretty funny.
— Wait, that’s it??? Victoria’s whole commentary is over already? That was short as hell and, while I got laughs from the rating system, it felt like this commentary was supposed to go further.
— I liked the audience’s negative reaction to Dennis’ lame “Three Wise Men and a Baby” joke, followed by Dennis ad-libbing “settttlllleeee” to the crowd.
— Like last week, some of Dennis’ jokes have been surprisingly weak and are getting tepid audience reactions. Some jokes have been working tonight, though.
— I like the visual of Jon as Stephen King.
— The very brief writer’s block part of Jon’s commentary was funny.
— A. Whitney’s overall Big Picture commentary from tonight was decent, though no particular comment really stood out to me, besides maybe the “history repeats itself” bit towards the end.
— Tonight’s overall Update was marginally better than the disappointing outing in the last episode, but that’s not saying much. Dennis still appears to be in a slump.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Buster Poindexter performs “Hot Hot Hot”


POLICE WOMEN
Mary Beth Lacey (NOD) goes undercover a la Pepper (host)

— Interesting idea of a Cagney and Lacey/Police Woman crossover.
— Jon’s “Oh my god, get outta here!” as soon as he sees Nora’s unattractive Lacey enter his office was hilarious.
— Jon has so many funny lines in general towards Nora’s Lacey. There’s also some good laughs from his general sleaziness.
— Nora’s getting some pretty good laughs herself.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
David Gilmour performs “Song For My Sara”


AIRPLANE
stewardess (host) discreetly checks if anyone on board can land the plane

— I like the subtle hint that the plane needs an emergency pilot.
— Okay, after a promising beginning, this sketch is starting to drag badly.
— Okay, they’re slowly starting to win me back. The part with Angie smothering Jan with a pillow was hilarious.
— The ending with Phil’s helpful character turning out to be a lunatic was very funny.
— Overall, a slow, dull build-up, but ended up having a funny payoff.
STARS: ***


THE ASSIMILATED JEW’S HANUKKAH
Henry Kissinger (ALF) touts record album

— Another good use of Al Franken’s Kissinger impression.
— The “Assimilated Jews Hanukkah” record title was worth a laugh.
— I’m enjoying this premise of Hanukkah-ized classic Christmas songs.
— Okay, this is starting to kinda run out of steam after the joke was established. Still fairly funny, though.
STARS: ***


DRUNK MAN
alcohol-fuelled hero (DAC) has superhuman confidence

— Funny entrance from Phil as a shady-looking tough guy.
— Interesting “Drunk Man” turn this sketch has suddenly taken.
— Drunk Man’s theme song is the same instrumental that would later be used as Norm Macdonald’s Weekend Update theme music from 1995-1997 (his Updates had a different theme during his first season as anchorperson in 1994-95). SNL would also re-use this instrumental as the theme song to another superhero sketch: Young Superboy, starring Macaulay Culkin.
— Good drunk performance from Dana.
— Loved Phil’s panicky reaction to Drunk Man pointing the gun at him.
— An overall okay sketch, if nothing particularly great.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Eh, an okay episode, I guess. But I dunno… I can’t help but feel it had a forgettable quality to it. I came out of this episode not having too exciting a feeling for what I just watched. Still, I guess I can’t complain TOO much, as there wasn’t anything that I strongly disliked, and there were two segments I felt were great (Wedgie Fever and the Gorbachev Translator cold opening).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Danny DeVito)
— a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Paul Simon hosts the Christmas episode

Posted on

December 5, 1987 – Danny DeVito / Bryan Ferry (S13 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) takes Mikhail Gorbachev (host) on movie-related tour

— Interesting casting of Danny DeVito as Gorbachev.
— Very funny bit with Reagan confusing the Jefferson Memorial for The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
— The war room bit was pretty funny.
— Decent cold opening overall.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
Bruce Springsteen went to high school with host- his yearbook proves it

— Immediately, Danny is coming off as funny as usual.
— Some good laughs from the alleged yearbook photos of himself and Bruce Springsteen.
STARS: ***½


HANDI-OFF
get rid of those unwanted extra digits with Handi-Off & Toe-Rific

— Hilarious initial reveal of Victoria’s extra digits.
— Love the time lapse of the extra digits rotting and falling off.
— Overall, an excellent and very memorable commercial, and one of the best Victoria Jackson showcases.
STARS: *****


AT THE MOVIES
Siskel (KEN) & Ebert (PHH) review all-male adult movies

— I recall it being said that this is the only time on SNL where Kevin Nealon’s real-life baldness was on full display (he’s notorious for allegedly wearing a toupee for most of his career).
— Great concept of Siskel and Ebert reviewing all-male adult movies.
— Funny touch with the boom mic blatantly entering the shot during the Pizza Boy porn clip.
— Amusing how every film clip ends in a massage.
STARS: ***½


CHURCH CHAT
host sings “Here Comes Santa Claus,” Church Lady is on drums

 

— Some really funny comments from Church Lady detailing Jessica Hahn’s Playboy picture.
— Nice use of G.E. Smith and Cheryl Hardwick.
— Here’s a classic moment I’ve always remembered with Danny and Church Lady performing a Christmas number together.
— Fantastic display of Dana’s real-life drumming talent.
— Memorable Church Chat installment overall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Stuff”


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN cycles through cliches instead of talking about airplane accidents

— Boy, a lot of Dennis’ jokes are getting a tepid audience reaction so far tonight.
— *groan* Yet ANOTHER topic-changing commentary from Kevin.
— A few funny comments from Kevin, particularly how the next best thing to being with your girlfriend is being with someone who looks like her. But, man, at this point, I am BEYOND tired of the topic-changing portions of his commentaries. Please stop with these.
— Interestingly, we get a joke about Joe Piscopo, with him being represented by a picture of the Michelin Man.
— Wasn’t crazy about tonight’s overall Update. Hate to say it, because I usually really like Dennis’ Updates, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s in a slump lately. The last few Updates before tonight’s episode were overly average, and now we get this disappointing Update tonight.
STARS: **


ANN LANDERS’ PLAYHOUSE
how to ward off a fresh date (host)

— I liked Nora sternly telling a horny Danny, regarding herself “This cow’s milk isn’t free.”
— The ending with Danny forcibly being on top of Nora was kinda funny, but ehh, this overall sketch didn’t work for me. Felt empty, like a lot of things were missing or like this was only half-written.
STARS: **


MONA LISA
(PHH) appraises worthless items for a white trash couple (host) & (JAH)

— The bit with the obviously-fake tiny stradivarius was funny.
— This is getting increasingly funnier with the reveals of what Danny and Jan’s other “valuables” really are.
— Didn’t care too much for the ending twist with the Orlov Diamond.
STARS: ***½


JUNGLE ROOM
Nancy Maloney returns to Eddie Spimozo’s Jungle Room to sing again

— Some laughs from Jon’s questioning to his mother over the phone.
— Nice continuity by mentioning Joey Spimozo, the character that Sean Penn played in the last installment of this sketch.
— Man, I’m getting REALLY tired of the repeated joke in these Spimozo sketches with Jon telling Kevin “Shut up!” every time he says something. Is that gag really worth repeating 50 damn times in every installment of this sketch?
— Victoria’s character badly singing a song while constantly changing her pitch is a gag that was already used in an earlier Eddie Spimozo sketch, and wasn’t necessary to repeat.
— Overall, I didn’t like this Spimozo installment too much. I’m surprised by how down I was on this, considering how much I usually love these authentic black-and-white sketches from this era. I’m starting to notice that these Spimozo sketches have gradually been getting weaker and weaker lately.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Kiss & Tell”


DOORMAN
just before (PHH) moves out of doorman’s (host) building, they reminisce

— Not sure where this sketch is going so far.
— Amusing visual of Phil entering the scene in that wig with a big gray patch in it.
— I like the descriptions of odd occupants who live in the building.
— I’m gradually enjoying this sketch more and more.
— Overall, this sketch was hard for me to figure at first, but it turned out to be a likable, softer, slice-of-life piece with good understated humor. The ending was especially nice.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
host says “hi” to wife Rhea Perlman [real] in audience

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a mixed episode. There was some really strong material, mainly in the fast half, but there was also some really subpar material, mainly in the second half. Even Update had an off night. This all balances out to an average episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Candice Bergen)
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Angie Dickinson

Posted on

November 21, 1987 – Candice Bergen / Cher (S13 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
George Bush (DAC) announces to nation “I’m no wimp, I’ve staged a coup”

— First instance of Dana’s George Bush impression being front-and-center in his own sketch. This is often mistaken as the debut of his Bush impression; it actually debuted in a small role during the first cold opening of this season.
— This is odd to watch in hindsight. Dana’s Bush is almost NOTHING like how it would go on to be. There are mildly exaggerated hand movements here, but that’s it.
— A decent opening overall, with some humor from Bush’s ways of proving he’s not a wimp.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
while holding a turkey, host talks about her childhood walking bird

— A unique monologue entrance, coming out holding a live turkey.
— Very good story from Candice about her childhood pet turkey, especially the funny ending regarding the turkey’s inability to fly off a roof.
STARS: ***½


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
a look at flabby man Helmut’s (PHH) faults

— This sketch officially becomes recurring. Strange how these characters went from being the final sketch of the night in their first appearance to being the lead-off sketch in their second appearance, especially considering their first appearance didn’t kill with the audience.
— The audience is now starting to slowly latch on to the “We want to pump… (*clap*)… you up” catchphrase, giving recognition laughter as soon as the line starts to come up, and doing the “(*clap*)” in unison with Hans and Franz.
— Love Phil’s walk-on as Helmut.
— Some good laughs from Hans and Franz doing a breakdown of Phil’s flabbiness.
— Funny line from Kevin threatening to wring his sweaty sweatshirt into a glass so he can make us drink it.
— Overall, an improvement over these characters’ debut.
STARS: ***½


ANNE BOLEYN
after considering execution options, Anne Boleyn (host) is decapitated

— A lot of laughs from Candice’s overly specific questions about what happens to her head after she’s beheaded.
— Great part with Phil’s details on the process of being drawn and quartered.
— Very funny absurd question with Candice asking if her severed head will be shot through a cannon at her body.
— This sketch’s dialogue in general is absolutely hilarious.
— The beheading sequence is priceless, with the blood squirting onto the spectators while Candice is heard giving exaggerated screams and groans off-camera.
— Even the screen crawl epilogue at the end has some really funny lines.
— Overall, I absolutely loved this entire sketch.
— I’m aware that this sketch’s inclusion on Phil’s “Best Of” has baffled some people, who feel this sketch comes off out of place in a Phil Hartman highlights compilation because this is centered more on Candice Bergen than on Phil. I disagree. I understand EXACTLY why this sketch was put in Phil’s “Best Of”: it’s a perfect display of his very funny knack for delivering absurd dialogue in such a straight manner.
STARS: ****½


MANUFACTURERS OF MACHINE PART COMPONENTS UNITED TO SAVE OUR COURTS
Judge Anthony Kennedy’s stance on machine part tax has dire implications

— The overly complicated wordiness in this ad is providing some good laughs, as is the seriousness that such a minor subject is being treated with.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “We All Sleep Alone”


MAYFLOWER MADAM
prostitution at the first Thanksgiving; Sydney Biddle Barrows cameo

— A fairly interesting intro.
— Funny touch with Candice’s dramatic hand-biting gesture at end of one scene.
— Good part with Phil’s Miles Standish unconvincingly posing as an Indian.
— Jon being found dead with a big smile on his face (because he died while having sex) was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


CHING CHANGE
Ching Change dislikes Loose’s positive-stereotype boyfriend (PHH)

— Please, no.
— Hmm, interesting how tonight’s installment of this sketch is actually openly addressing how Ching Change is, as this installment calls, an insulting caricature and a damaging stereotype.
— And now we get Phil as “Matthew Chen, Positive Ethnic Role Model”. Yep, it’s official: tonight’s Ching Change installment is definitely intended to address criticisms that I’m assuming the show had been receiving back then for Dana’s offensive portrayal.
— I really like Phil’s portrayal of his comically-PC character.
— Some laughs from Ching Change awkwardly trying to speak normal like Phil’s character.
— Candice to Ching Change: “You ARE a fairly broad caricature, but nothing beyond the realm of possibility.” A lot of meta commentary in this sketch.
— Overall, one of the better Ching Change sketches by default, for being fully self-aware and, in a way, apologetic. I doubt it’ll last, though.
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE
lack of counterpoint hampers DEM’s attempt to debate Gorbachev address

— The bit with a sperm-blocking procedure being represented by a clip from a football game fell flat.
— Very odd moment just now. During his Gorbachev rant, Dennis throws to a guest correspondent to do a counterpoint, but looks to his left and sees that nobody has shown up (last screencap above). Dennis is then told something by someone who’s off-camera. Dennis then amusedly ad-libs to the camera “I’ve always waited for this to happen. Three years and a sketch blew up on live TV”, and then he moves on with the remaining news jokes. I recall once reading an explanation of what happened: there was supposed to be a point/counterpoint segment with Dennis debating himself, played by Dana (which would’ve been the debut of Dana’s impression of Dennis), but Dana didn’t show up because he erroneously thought the segment got cut. I honestly don’t understand how that kind of mistake can happen. Aren’t there stage managers at SNL who inform performers when they need to get ready for a segment? How’d they let THIS one slip through?
STARS: ***


THOUGHT BUBBLE
visible thought balloons reveal what (PHH) & (host) are really thinking

   

— I like how Phil and Candice’s respective thought bubbles are becoming more and more random, especially Candice visualizing Hitler and footage of a baboon.
— I’ve always considered this a companion piece to the Slide Whistles sketch from this season’s Steve Martin episode. In fact, before doing these reviews, I used to sometimes get both sketches confused for each other, thinking the Steve Martin sketch had the thought bubbles and the Candice Bergen sketch had the slide whistles. I wonder if both sketches were written by the same person.
— Very funny thought bubble from Kevin as the waiter.
— Good ending with Candice’s earlier visual of a man crashing through a window turning out to happen for real as she pushes Phil out the window.
STARS: ***½


PEEPING TOM
peeping tom (KEN) interrupts Mace’s attempts to do it with hooker (JAH)

— I loved the first Mace sketch from the previous season, so I’m looking forward to this follow-up.
— I like Jan as the uninterested hooker (her second prostitute role of the night, by the way).
— Phil’s various intense outbursts at Kevin are hilarious.
— Some good laughs from Phil’s forced ways of segueing back into his foreplay with Jan.
— Funny visual of an upside-down Kevin peeking in through the window. I wonder how they pulled that off.
— Not sure if I liked the ending or not.
— Overall, while I didn’t like this sketch as much as Mace’s first sketch, I still enjoyed this, despite a somewhat dead audience.
STARS: ***


COUNTRY THROUGH AND THROUGH
singer Lonnie Braddox (DAC) is ashamed to be “Country Through & Through”

— Funny disturbing details about Dana’s father, especially the surprising line about a molestation attempt.
— I like how this has eventually turned into a blatant anti-country song.
STARS: ***


EINSTEIN EXPRESS
— Rerun from last season.
— I forgot to point this out the first time I reviewed this, but the nameplate on Phil’s desk says Harry Butterworth (screencap below, though the nameplate is hard to read in it), which is a giveaway that Andy Breckman wrote this commercial. But why “Harry Butterworth” instead of the usual “Dale Butterworth”?


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Found Someone”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently good episode, even if nothing stood out as particularly strong besides the Anne Boleyn sketch. Couldn’t help but feel, though, that Candice Bergen was a little underutilized as the host, especially in the last quarter of the show where I don’t think she was in ANY sketches. Still, it was nice to see her on the show again after such a long hiatus, and to see how she worked with a completely different cast than the one she’s worked with before.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robert Mitchum)
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Danny DeVito

Posted on

November 14, 1987 – Robert Mitchum / Simply Red (S13 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The Rolling Paper Chase- what Douglas Ginsburg (JOL) was like in the ’70s

— Good reveal of Jon playing Douglas Ginsburg, or as he calls himself, “Captain Toke”.
— Funny premise for a Paper Chase parody, which makes this SNL’s second parody of that show during this calendar year.
— I like the fake freeze-frame while we see an epilogue on what each character went on to do.
— The look on Dana’s face during his fake freeze-frame close-up is hilarious. (last screencap above)
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— I like how his only understanding of doing SNL is “In 90 minutes, I go to a party”.
— A very short, to-the-point monologue, which seems to be becoming the norm lately.
STARS: ***


COMPULSION
cleanliness-obsessed (JAH) uses the Calvin Kleen disinfectant

 

— This is a fantastic, dead-on, and memorable parody of a famous Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) from this time period. The real Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) is actually one of my earliest memories ever (I was 3 years old at this time in 1987), so seeing this SNL parody of it is very nostalgic for me.
— Dana’s especially funny in this, particularly him getting slapped by Phil right before the camera cut away.
STARS: *****


DEATH BE NOT DEADLY
private eye Philip Marlowe (host) narrates film noir

— Some really good laughs from Robert unknowingly speaking his inner narration out loud, while a confused Kevin can hear.
— The constant “and?” stuff from Robert is funny.
— This is getting even funnier with Robert’s increasingly poor attempts to hide his spoken narration.
— Great part with Kevin and Robert’s speak overlapping for a while.
— I like the subtle joke of there being an Eleanor Roosevelt Clinic.
— Good ending with Robert’s inner narration spouting off a string of poor analogies.
— An overall very spot-on and memorable film noir spoof.
STARS: ****½


THE MOUNTAIN MAN
Mountain Man’s (DAC) odd outdoor wisdom alienates (JOL) & (VIJ)

— A good laugh from Dana’s “You’ve got some set of ovaries, woman” comment to Victoria.
— Loved Dana’s very random “I bet you have a teeny weenie peenie” line to Jon.
— I really like Dana’s increasingly absurd “Have you ever…” questions throughout this sketch.
— Yet another very funny line from Dana, this time telling Jon “It’s mini men like you who make women turn lesbo.”
— Overall, a hilarious, forgotten, underrated Dana Carvey gem.
STARS: ****


TEAM XYNEX
— Rerun from last season


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Thing”


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ shows a clip of her daughter Scarlett keeping in shape
AWB explores the link between marijuana & the nation’s ills

— Victoria’s advice to women had some okay lines, but was nothing special. Also, I didn’t care for the overlong video of her baby daughter exercising.
— A. Whitney Brown makes his first appearance of the whole season. Strangely, he was credited in the opening montage of this season’s first two episodes, but was nowhere to be seen in either of them.
— A. Whitney’s first Big Picture commentary of the season has turned out to be a strong one as usual. I particularly liked the comments about pot being a cure for PMS, blaming pot on America’s financial problems, and selling pot to the Japanese to make the quality of their products go down to match ours.
STARS: ***


SWEENEY’S COMEBACK
Liz averts Sweeney breakup by getting Candy’s mind off (host) with medley

— Very surprised to realize a minute into this sketch that Jan is playing her Candy Sweeney character. This sketch is a huge change of pace for the Sweeney Sisters.
— Interesting premise with Jan’s Candy not wanting to be a Sweeney Sister anymore.
— I like the way the Sisters’ tension is being worked into their medley.
— Nice moment with the Sisters breaking out into their usual Trolley Song when Candy decides to become a Sweeney Sister again.
— Very charming installment overall.
STARS: ***½


OUT OF GAS
by Trina Mitchum- host & Jane Greer [real] relive film noir

— Interesting-seeming film.
— Nice twist with the gas cap necklace.
— Overall, while there wasn’t much to say about this, this was a well-done film and yet another spot-on film noir spoof.
STARS: ***½


ANDRE & REX: MACHO HAIRSTYLISTS
Andre (PHH) & Rex (host), Macho Hairstylists are visited by the gay mafia

— Ehh, not to sure about this concept, though I liked the opening voice-over announcing the title.
— Pretty funny outburst from Phil over the missing cap on his sculpting gel.
— The bad haircuts reveal at the end was weak.
— Overall, despite a few okay moments early on, this wasn’t too great a sketch.
STARS: **


BEAUTYBATH
Corazon Aquino (JAH) escapes from her worries by taking a BeautyBath

— This is a funny topical concept for a beauty bath commercial, and it’s also a good use of Jan’s Corazon Aquino impression.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Suffer”


MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN
a beggar (host) tells his rich son (DAC) about how he obtained a jewel

— Love how Phil’s butler character is randomly named Sprinkles.
— Some laughs from Robert’s dramatic story about the bee in his car.
— Funny unexpected turn with Robert casually pulling out a human hand from his bag.
— Overall, a kinda strange sketch, but a decent one for this late in the show.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly solid episode, and had a few very memorable gems (Compulsion, Death Be Not Deadly) as well as one forgotten gem (The Mountain Man). I also liked the classy, old-timey atmosphere Robert Mitchum’s presence gave this episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dabney Coleman)
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Candice Bergen makes her hosting return after an 11-year absence from the show