Tag: 1995-96

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January 13, 1996 – Christopher Walken / Joan Osborne (S21 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE BLIZZARD OF ’96
Rudolph Giuliani & George Pataki [real] make apologies for tonight’s SNL

— For some reason, I like how they’re making such a big deal of that week’s huge blizzard.
— Some pretty good laughs from Giuliani and Pataki blaming the cast’s hard work in clearing the snow on why tonight’s show might be lackluster.
— Right from this very first SNL appearance of his, Giuliani is coming off as a total natural; a good sign of things to come for his future SNL appearances. But, boy, Pataki, on the other hand, has awkward and stilted delivery here. He and Giuliani have fun chemistry, though.
— I like the New York City/State debate between Giuliani and Pataki.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
snowdiggers NAW, MOS, CHO join host as he dances & sings about snow

— Is Christopher’s hair redder than usual?
— I love Christopher mentioning his family complaining about the gruesome things he does as a movie villain.
— Christopher’s musical monologues are always very entertaining, and this Christmas medley is particularly fun, charming, and infectious.
— Cheri is coming off particularly adorable during her brief appearances throughout this.
STARS: ****


FRONT PORCH
Rita Delvecchio tries to get neighbor (host) to clear her walk

— Rita Delvecchio officially becomes a recurring character.
— At the very beginning of this sketch, are we supposed to see Christopher just stiffly standing awkwardly next to Rita Delvecchio’s house as the camera slowly zooms in on Rita?
— I always love Rita’s conversations with her off-camera friends.
— Christopher’s Italian wiseguy voice is freakin’ hilarious.
— I love Christopher’s odd threats to the snowball-throwing kids, especially “See how funny it is… when I bury your FACE… in the yellow SNOW.”
STARS: ***


THE CONTINENTAL
The Continental once again tries to charm a female visitor

— Of all the Continental sketches I haven’t reviewed yet, this is the only one I’m not all that familiar with, so I’m really looking forward to this one.
— A bit of a sad realization that this is the last time the trademark Continental stock voice-over intro from Phil Hartman will be used during Phil’s lifetime. All of the subsequent Continental sketches that use Phil’s voice-over are after his death.
— As always, it’s a riot whenever The Continental frantically jumps in front of the door when the woman tries to make a mad dash out of the apartment.
— Christopher’s “mmm mmm” sounds when enjoying the taste of caviar is a hilarious little Walken-esque touch.
— I love that The Continental is continuing to eat caviar while a piece of caviar is smooshed to his forehead.
— A huge laugh from The Continental saying “I have fallen for you and I can’t get up!” in a high-pitched voice when expressing how his heart feels.
— Hilarious reveal of The Continental having his head under the woman’s dress when we were led to believe he was tending to the fireplace.
— The visual of an unkempt-haired Christopher Walken with his head thrown back as the woman grabs him by the throat is the one part of this sketch that I’ve always remembered from past viewings. It’s a priceless visual (the last above screencap for this sketch).
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “One Of Us”


WEEKEND UPDATE
JMB personifies relationship between the stomach & alcoholic beverages
Jesse Jackson (DAH) explains relationship between civil rights & laughter

— Yeesh, what happened to Norm’s voice? He sounds hoarse as hell. Flu from that week’s blizzard, I take it?
— Feels like the first big thing we’ve seen Jim Breuer do in quite a while. I thought the debut of the Joe Pesci Show sketch a few episodes ago would turn things around for him, but he’s STILL been struggling badly for airtime since then.
— Pretty fun bit with Jim doing various voices for the alcohol having a party in your stomach. I especially like the Scottish and Mexican voices Jim’s doing.
— Haha, some of Norm’s jokes are getting the audience really riled up.
— The debut of Darrell’s Jesse Jackson impression.
— So… yeah… blackface. But I can ignore that aspect of Darrell’s Jesse Jackson impression, as his impression is fantastic and he is killing with both me and the audience, especially when his speech randomly turns into a powerful sermon about The Flintstones.
— Between his Weekend Update commentaries as Phil Donahue, Bill Clinton, and Jesse Jackson, Darrell has been Update gold so far this season.
STARS: ****


CONNIE STINSON TALKS
Connie Stinson (host) puts words in guests’ mouths to provoke

— Christopher expressing his guests’ thoughts is hilarious. I also like the guests’ puzzled reactions to that.
— I love Christopher’s various statements using the insult “fat hog” towards the fat female guests.
— This is such a perfect sketch for Christopher. I can’t picture anybody else selling this material.
— This is such a dead-on parody of this type of trashy daytime talk show from this era.
— The cue cards make an accidental cameo in the background just now (screencap below).

— The “sit on my face” bit is hilarious.
STARS: ****


GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
Mary Katherine Gallagher dreams of dancing with guidance counselor (host)

— Was Christopher late arriving for this sketch? Not only does this sketch open with an abnormally long exterior shot of a school, but then when the camera does finally cut to Christopher, it looks like he’s still finishing putting on his outfit and is trying to get into character. It’s a pretty funny sight.
— A big unintentional laugh from Christopher opening the folder in his hand to make it look like he’s going through it, only to quickly put the folder aside when realizing there’s nothing in it. Haha, you can tell that wasn’t intentional. I guess this sketch was so ill-prepared, the prop people forgot to put paper in the folder.
— Very interesting turn with a black-and-white musical fantasy involving Mary Katherine Gallagher and Christopher dancing around the SNL studio. This is fun, and I especially love when they go to SNL’s home base stage.
— It feels weird hearing the audience still have a fairly muted reaction towards Mary Katherine Gallagher. This is her third appearance, yet the audience STILL doesn’t seem to be 100% on her side yet. By contrast, The Cheerleaders have only appeared twice by this point, and the audience already seems to absolutely love them. I wonder which installment it is where Mary Katherine Gallagher starts becoming a popular crowd-pleaser.
STARS: ***½


SPADE IN AMERICA
without realizing he’s on-air, DAS reports from outside

— A big change of pace, with Christopher sitting in for Spade while Spade does a live remote from outside.
— I like how when the camera first cuts to Spade, he’s quietly singing the same One Of Us song that we just heard being performed earlier tonight by Joan Osborne.
— Spade, regarding having to stand out there in the cold: “Can’t one of the new guys do this? Get that guy that does the cheerleader.”
— I like Spade telling a passerby that Christopher Walken is even weirder in real life than he is in movies.
— Now Spade is quietly singing another popular song from this time period: Big Poppa. It’s particularly funny hearing him sing this.
— Spade: “Are they still on Update? Good god, it’s 12:40! How many anal rape jokes can Norm do this week?”
— Yet another funny line from Spade, where he says Christopher is probably in his dressing room “going over his lines” (*mimes drinking*).
STARS: ****


EXECUTION
executioner Gerald Tibbins (DAK) jokes around with condemned man (host)

— Yes! We get the debut of Koechner’s T-Bones character, which has always been one of my (many) favorite things Koechner did on SNL during his short-lived tenure.
— I’m glad to see that Koechner is just as hilarious as this character as I remembered. So many funny goofy bits from T-Bones throughout this sketch.
— I like Christopher’s “Could… could you not speak to me?” response to T-Bones.
— Very funny prank with T-Bones faking a call as a governor giving Christopher a reprieve.
STARS: ****½


BAND SHOT

— We return from commercial just to get a shot of the SNL Band immediately playing the show back to commercial. Whenever that happens at the end of an SNL episode, it’s obvious that the show has run long and had to cut some scheduled segments at the last minute. One of the scheduled segments cut at the last minute tonight was Joan Osborne’s second musical performance (of which the dress rehearsal version would be aired a few weeks later in a “Best of the New Season” compilation special). I also wonder if tonight’s show running long and having to cut some scheduled segments accounts for why we don’t see Mark McKinney AT ALL tonight.


GOODNIGHTS
(Not included in the copy I’m reviewing of the live broadcast of this episode. My copy just abruptly ends with an abnormally long shot of a Christopher Walken SNL bumper picture that followed the preceding SNL Band shot. I guess tonight’s episode ran so long that some NBC affiliates didn’t have time to air the goodnights.)

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid episode, as Christopher Walken-hosted episodes usually are, even if this one isn’t among my favorites that he’s hosted. However, something strangely felt a little empty about this episode, maybe due to both the lack of goodnights in my copy and the scarce number of appearances from most of the cast throughout the show (even the usually-prolific Will Ferrell only made one appearance, and as mentioned earlier, Mark McKinney was completely absent). The scarce number of cast appearances is presumably due to the fact that 1) some of the sketches were very long, especially The Continental (as always) and Connie Stinson Talks, and 2) most sketches involved little-to-no cast members. In fact, believe it or not, Connie Stinson Talks was the ONLY sketch all night that involved more than two cast members (not counting the monologue or Weekend Update, as they’re technically not sketches). This is all a minor quibble, though, because I still enjoyed the entire show. Every single segment worked for me, a few of which were particularly strong.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Madeline Kahn)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Alec Baldwin

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December 16, 1995 – Madeline Kahn / Bush (S21 E9)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NBC’S CHRISTMAS SALUTE TO OUR BOSNIAN TROOPS
Jay Leno (DAH) & other celebrities perform for USA’s Bosnian troops

— After getting some brief samples of Darrell’s Leno voice earlier this season, we finally see him actually playing Leno.
— I liked Darrell-as-Leno’s “Some of these are apparently just for me” line after some of his jokes have gotten a tepid audience reaction.
— Jesus, Tim’s face looks hideous in drag. And where are his eyebrows?
— The debut of what would go on to be one of Molly’s most famous impressions: Courtney Love.
— Very funny Courtney Love impression from Molly, and after having recently sat through Hole’s unintelligible singing when covering the preceding season’s George Foreman episode, I’m enjoying Molly’s dead-on imitation of Love’s singing style.
— I’m loving Norm’s George Burns impression.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host sings “Ain’t Got No Home” in soprano & frog voices

— Another variation of The [George] Carlin Line (“I did such a good job hosting (insert large number here) years ago that they couldn’t wait to have me back”), with Madeline mentioning that her last time hosting 18 years ago “seemed to go really well”.
— Some good laughs from Madeline detailing how she waited and waited for the phone call to host SNL again after her 1977 hosting stint.
— Uh, not sure at all what to say about Madeline’s “Ain’t Got No Home” number, except it feels like a waste of her talents. It’s also a stiff musical performance that not even the two front-and-center SNL Band members are adding much life to.
— Okay, Madeline changing her pitch to a froggy, gravelly voice made me laugh at first, but got old after a while.
STARS: **


GANGSTA BITCH BARBIE
Rerun from 10/7/95


BASKETBALL GAME
at a basketball game, Craig & Arianna do more unsanctioned cheering

— These characters officially become recurring.
— As sick as I know I’m eventually going to get of this soon-to-be-overused-and-grating sketch, I’m still finding these characters fairly fun and endearing in this second installment. And after the troubled preceding season, I understand the need for SNL to push big and energetic recurring characters like this.
— I loved the brief Shaft bit that the Cheerleaders did just now.
— The Ice, Ice Baby performance is really fun.
— Overall, I think I actually liked this even more than the first installment. Enjoy my goodwill towards these Cheerleaders characters while it lasts, folks, because this is probably as high as my praise is going to get (minus the installment with Jim Carrey).
STARS: ***½


JOHN-JOHN MACKEY’S STORM TRACKER ACCU-CAST
macho weatherman John-John Mackey (TIM) lets storms know who’s boss

— Tim continues to have a fantastic season. Here’s yet another great showcase for him that I’ve always loved.
— Great part about how John-John Mackey tells a storm “That’s right, bitch, now go make me a sandwich!”
STARS: ****


BIRD CLAWS
while in a giant bird’s talons, (DAK) & (host) lay blame for predicament

— Oh, I absolutely love this. Such a creative premise and a unique format, especially with all the dialogue consisting entirely of Madeline and Koechner sarcastically quoting something the other said before they ended up in this predicament.
— The constantly-changing sky scenery in the greenscreen background is distracting. Could SNL really not find one continuous shot of a sky?
— While lowbrow, I liked the “They can’t poop when they’re flying!” ending.
STARS: ****


LEG UP
Russian ballerina’s (host) culture gap is eventually bridged

— Yeah, I’m officially tired of seeing this recurring sketch.
— Still some funny zingers from Molly and Cheri, but tonight’s installment of this recurring sketch has such a meh feel compared to the first two installments.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Comedown”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bronx-born St. Nicky (COQ) tells how he became Santa Claus

— I liked Norm’s “Probably gonna end up in Jersey with a meathook up my ass” ad-lib after his joke about Frank Sinatra.
— SNL writer Colin Quinn debuts his THIRD Update character in the last four episodes. Can somebody remind me again why SNL has yet to begin crediting Colin as a featured player at this point? Hell, he’s certainly been getting more consistent airtime than credited repertory player Jim Breuer, who, by the way, is completely absent in tonight’s episode. We’re only halfway through this season, and Jim has already been absent in TWO or THREE episodes so far. Jesus Christ.
— Some funny wiseguy lines from Colin’s St. Nicky, but this commentary has too much of a same-y feel to Colin’s earlier Update characters, and this particular character isn’t working for me as well as Joe Blow and Lenny The Lion.
— Unlike in the preceding episode, tonight’s “Or so the Germans would have us believe” joke is followed by Norm doing a camera staredown, which would go on to be a tradition for that running joke.
— Funny hearing Norm casually mention Dayton as part of a news story, since this is just a few episodes after the Stan Hooper sketch from the Laura Leighton episode, where Norm’s Hooper kept incredulously repeating the word “Dayton” throughout the sketch.
STARS: ****


ANTIQUE SHOP
Lucien & Fagin are bound by their antique shop’s 90-day return policy

— When Koechner’s Fop character pops in, you can hear only one sole audience member give him recognition applause.
— An interesting and very different use of these Fops characters compared to what we’re used to seeing from them.
— This Fops installment isn’t well-liked among SNL fans compared to the more traditional Fops appearances, but I’m enjoying this sketch and am still getting the usual laughs from Koechner and Mark’s performances.
— I like Madeline’s rant regarding the bad luck she wishes upon the Fops.
STARS: ***


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
putting his head out of the car window

— Surprisingly, this is the first time Fuzzy Memories has appeared in quite a while. I had been under the impression that these Fuzzy Memories segments were a weekly thing this season.


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS gives his wish list for 1996

— Good bit from Spade about women going into modeling just to get proof of their attractiveness.
— I got a pretty good laugh from Spade’s brief-but-relatable bit complaining about co-workers eagerly asking if he saw the previous night’s episode of Friends.
— The segment about overused expressions Spade hopes will go away in the upcoming year 1996 has some laughs, especially the meta Buh-bye bit.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Glycerine”


WEDDING VOWS
(WIF) & (host) express their love with clumsy, self-composed wedding vows

— So many hilarious lines in Will and Madeline’s wedding vows, especially the “good like wood” bit, Will’s diamond balls analogies, Madeline calling Will a “thing filled with goo”, and Madeline’s detailed spiel about “weird humpin’”.
— A great use of both Madeline and Will’s talents.
STARS: ****½


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
responding to a family crisis

— Two Fuzzy Memories in one night?


OLD GLORY INSURANCE
— Another rerun tonight, this time from 11/18/95


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An average episode, with a hint of a meh vibe, especially for a Christmas episode from such a good season like this. The second half of this episode also had an off feel, with an unusual amount of filler segments and repeated fake ads. I also don’t like how Madeline Kahn’s talents felt kinda wasted in some sketches, though the Wedding Vows sketch made up for that.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (David Alan Grier)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter the year 1996, with host Christopher Walken

Posted on

December 9, 1995 – David Alan Grier / Silverchair (S21 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NIGHTLINE
Ted Koppel (DAH) covers Michael Jackson’s (TIM) back injury

— Kinda surprised to see Darrell’s Ted Koppel two consecutive episodes, but I’m certainly not complaining, as his Koppel is always good for laughs, and this is probably the most quintessential appearance it would ever make.
— Absolutely priceless hearing Darrell say “Jacko on his backo” in that Ted Koppel voice.
— I love all the serious discussion using the ridiculous terms “Jacko” and “backo” in such a professional manner.
— Funny random gag with the accidental cutaway to the opening credits of Renegade when Tommy Mattola’s interview is supposed to begin.
— Koppel’s increasing desperation to hear other human beings say “Jacko on his backo” is fantastic.
— Very funny back-and-forths between Koppel and Michael Jackson. I especially like Koppel’s “Good, you’re halfway there” when finally getting MJ to refer to himself as “Jacko”.
STARS: ****½


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about religion & boxing

— Funny opening line about being “the black guy” on In Living Color.
— Nice to see a stand-up monologue.
— Some good laughs from Grier’s boxing routine so far.
— I’m surprised this monologue is over already. I wanted this to go on longer.
STARS: ***½


THE ROCKY ROADS
(NAW), other Rocky Roads (WIF), (host), (TIM) moralize at school assembly

— God, I’ve always loved this particular sketch ever since I first saw it. I remember so many things about this sketch fondly.
— Will is playing such a hilariously cheesy Will Ferrell-esque character. I love it.
— The “Honky cracker” bit is great.
— A very funny brief falsetto singing voice from Grier.
— The corny Black White song is really catchy.
— Another catchy corny song right now, with the Freaky People number. I also love the use of freaky shadows behind the Rocky Roads members.
— Overall, while I know this sketch isn’t considered a classic or is even remembered by most SNL fans, I personally absolutely love every single thing about this sketch, and consider it to be very underrated.
— SNL would later bring this sketch back during Grier’s second hosting stint a season later. I have pretty much no memory of that second installment of this sketch, other than the fact that the character played by the no-longer-in-the-cast-in-season-22 Nancy Walls is replaced by both Molly Shannon AND season 22 newbie Ana Gasteyer. I’m eager to see if that installment of this sketch is as good as this first installment, though I don’t want to get my hopes up.
STARS: *****


TODAY
Bryant Gumbel’s (host) off-air persona is much more ethnic

— Priceless Bryant Gumbel voice from Grier.
— A hilarious and very memorable premise with Gumbel turning ghetto whenever the cameras are off. Grier is absolutely PERFECT for this sketch.
— I love Ghetto Gumbel’s line about Katie Couric’s Liz Taylor Scent perfume: “It smell more like Lawrence Taylor Scent.”
— Koechner is great as a corny Willard Scott.
— Grier is navigating this sketch FLAWLESSLY.
— Interestingly, Gumbel’s two “bitches” are played by the same extras who played Keith Richards’ two bimbos in the Cooking With Keith sketch in the Gabriel Byrne episode.

— Very funny hearing Koechner’s Willard Scott, in that corny voice, request some “bee-yatches”.
— An overall terrific sketch. Perfect.
STARS: *****


THREE WISE MEN
one of the Three Wise Men (host) gives baby Jesus some last-minute gifts

— A fairly funny and relatable twist on the traditional Three Wise Men story.
— Some laughs from the cheap gifts Grier’s Wise Man brings Baby Jesus, especially the “Chris” license plate, which Grier tells Joseph and Mary they can just draw a “t” on the end of it.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bill Clinton (DAH) likes The American President’s “dead First Lady” plot
Lenny The Lion (COQ) is a victim of the animal control system

— Interesting idea to have Darrell’s President Clinton appear on Update to give a movie review.
— A classic turn during Clinton’s The American President movie review, with him following up his mention of the president in the movie having a dead wife by saying “I. Love. This. Movie!”
— Darrell’s Clinton impression is slowly starting to develop into the version that everybody today is familiar with, especially the trademark laugh.
— We get the debut of Norm’s “Or so the Germans would have us believe” recurring gag, though he doesn’t do the camera staredown this time, which is a shame, as that’s part of what makes it funny.
— SNL writer and future cast member Colin Quinn debuts another new Update character, Lenny The Lion.
— This Lenny The Lion commentary is following the same structure and format of Colin’s Joe Blow commentary from earlier this season, though Colin’s using a different voice.
— I’m not liking this Lenny The Lion commentary quite as much as the previous Joe Blow one, but it’s still pretty funny and there are some decent lines here.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Tomorrow”


WAKE UP AND SMILE
TV fluffs (WIF) & (NAW) devolve when teleprompter breaks

 

— Ohho, here we go. The centerpiece of tonight’s episode, an all-time SNL classic, and one of my top 10 all-time favorite SNL sketches.
— When repeating the line “I understand you’ve got some cooking tips for us, Diane” over and over (due to a broken teleprompter), I like the little touch of how Will says that line with a different inflection each time.
— And so it begins, with the initially-subtle panicking of Will and Nancy due to the broken teleprompter.
— Hilarious part with Will’s notion “Someone should get a group together with guns to sweep out those ghettos. Wait, what?!?” and how it immediately gets cut off by a “Please stand by”-type screen.
— The gradually-increasing but still-slightly-controlled panicking from Will and Nancy is getting funnier and funnier, especially the growling sounds they keep making in between lines.
— Yesss! Now Will is starting to go full Crazy Will Ferrell, for one of the very first times in his SNL tenure.
— I LOVE the part where Will starts letting out an insane loud scream and how it immediately gets cut off by another “Please stand by”-type screen.
— The cheesy ads occasionally being shown are an amusing contrast to the craziness of the Wake Up And Smile mental breakdown.
— Haha, oh my god at how the first thing we see after the return from the Kerry And The Gang promo is a now-torn-apart Wake Up And Smile set with burning torches and a shirtless Will with a dark handprint on his chest.
— A wonderfully gruesome and legendary part with Will holding up the now-severed head of the weatherman while screaming “THE WEATHERMAN IS DEAD!”
— Aaaaaand there goes my absolute favorite part of this sketch: Will chomping like crazy on the severed tendons hanging out of the weatherman’s neck. MY GOD. SNL has probably never been more insane than this moment right here. I remember when I first saw this sketch ages ago during a Comedy Central rerun, that part with Will chomping on the neck tendons gave me what still holds up to this day as one of the hardest laughs that I have EVER gotten from SNL. I truly could not stop laughing at that part of this sketch during my first viewing.
— And thus ends an SNL masterpiece. An absolute must-see sketch. Also a great early display of the excellent absurdity that writer Adam McKay is capable of, especially whenever his sketches involve an unleashed and full-out crazed Will Ferrell.
STARS: *****


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS does a 1995 year-in-review Hollywood Minute

— Spade returning to his roots with a traditional Hollywood Minute.
— Not the funniest Hollywood Minute installment I’ve ever seen, but this is still providing laughs so far.
— Spade’s dig at Heather Locklear’s acting skills is funny in retrospect, because didn’t he later end up dating her for a while at some point?
— Aaaaaaand there goes Spade’s notorious Eddie Murphy joke: “Look, children, it’s a falling star, make a wish”, which gets huge “Ohh!” laughter from the audience. Later in the same night, Eddie, furious over the fact that this joke was coming from his former show and the same show that wouldn’t even be on the air at this time in 1995 if he hadn’t saved it from cancellation back in 1980-81, would call up SNL and give Spade the chewing-out of his life over the phone. This whole incident is said to be one of the reasons for Eddie cutting all ties with SNL for two entire decades.
— Oh, there’s the Powder/Michael Stipe joke that I mentioned a few episode reviews ago. In the Spade In America from the Quentin Tarantino episode, Spade made a humorous little aside about Billy Corgan being the guy from Powder. And then tonight, Spade does a variation of that exact same joke, replacing Corgan with Michael Stipe. Pretty lazy.
— Haha, some really harsh slams from Spade tonight.
— I like Spade’s “They’re not all winners” ad-lib when one joke bombs with the audience.
STARS: ***


BLACK PEOPLE
a look at Stepin Fetchit Honeydew Wilkins’ (host) career

— Something about the lazy title “Black People” kinda makes me laugh, though something about it also has a shoddy season 20 feel to me. They really couldn’t come up with a better title for this fictional show than “Black People”?
— Interesting random casting of Spade, in a rare season 21 sketch appearance, as one of the band members.
— Grier’s knocking it out of the park once again tonight with yet another great character voice.
— Some really funny lyrics from Grier’s Honeydew Wilkins about the ridiculous things he’ll do anything for the amusement of white people.
— I love Grier’s horrible brief trumpet playing at the very end.
— Priceless line from Tim about Honeydew Wilkins being the first black man to be lynched by black people.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pure Massacre”


PERSPECTIVES
Dr. Emery Coleman’s (host) show fills a similar niche

— Our first Perspectives sketch of this season. Feels odd seeing a season 20 recurring sketch appearing in season 21, but I certainly welcome the return of this particular sketch.
— I love the clip of Grier’s very similar show, Viewpoints.
— Great gradual reveal that Viewpoints won an Emmy on every odd-numbered year since 1973, while Perspectives won on the even-numbered years in that same stretch.
— Hilarious 70s photo of Tim and Grier’s characters smiling big while having afros.
— Good ending line about how the next episode of Grier’s Viewpoints will just be a re-airing of this Perspectives episode.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fantastic episode. Just perfect in my eyes. Not only did everything in it manage to work for me, but most of the material was great and there were THREE sketches I gave a perfect five-star rating to, one of which is a legendary piece (Wake Up And Smile). And as expected, David Alan Grier was a perfect and expert host, and made me wish more SNL hosts were sketch comedy veterans like him.
— I’ve always felt that, between the preceding week’s very solid and fun Anthony Edwards episode and tonight’s perfect episode, this is the point where this season had fully taken off and, I’m guessing, finally put away any remaining fears from viewers that this new era wasn’t going to save SNL from cancellation.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Anthony Edwards)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Madeline Kahn hosts the Christmas episode

Posted on

December 2, 1995 – Anthony Edwards / Foo Fighters (S21 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

INSIDE POLITICS
USA Bosnia policy prompts a conservative anti-war rally

— A great cross-eyed look from Nancy as Bobbie Batista.
— Darrell’s Jesse Helms impression is hilarious.
— Funny premise of republicans holding a 1960s-esque protest against the war in Bosnia.
— Good bit with Koechner’s Phil Gramm singing Imagine but questioning every lyric.
— A laugh from Buchanan burning his Blockbuster Video card because he has no draft card.
— Solid ending with the slow-motion war fight, and how it comes to an end when Helms sticks a flower into barrel of one of the soldiers’ guns.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
audience likes gimmicky ER-reject character Swabby (DAK) more than host

— Nice energetic entrance from Anthony Edwards, literally leaping out from the door.
— Koechner is hilarious as Swabby.
— A pretty good laugh from Anthony losing his patience and rudely telling Swabby to get the hell out of here.
— Will and Cheri are reprising their characters from the Dole/Gingrich airplane cold opening from just one episode ago.
— Bad lighting during Will and Cheri’s part, causing a boom mike shadow to cover most of Will’s face (the third above screencap for this monologue). For this reason, this portion of the monologue would later be replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns.
— I like the running gag with the increasingly un-ER-like medical shows that audience members mistake Anthony for being on.
STARS: ****


GRIMALDI CLASSIC CREATIONS
Grimaldi’s Nativity scene baby Jesus annoyingly cries throughout holidays

— The absolutely bizarre and indescribable sound the Baby Jesus device is making is priceless. I love the smile Koechner slowly looks up at Nancy with when the Baby Jesus sound begins.
— Some really amusing shots of the now-restless family being irritated and unhinged by the Baby Jesus sounds.
STARS: ****½


THE JOE PESCI SHOW
Joe Pesci (JMB) abuses Sharon Stone (NAW) & other guests

— After struggling badly so far this season, the underused Jim Breuer finally gets his breakout sketch. And what’s more, it’s placed as the lead-off sketch of the night, showing that SNL has a lot of confidence in this.
— Great Joe Pesci voice from Jim.
— Something I’ve never understood about Jim’s Pesci impression is his wig. Why give his Pesci a full head of hair when the real Pesci had a receding hairline at this time?
— Pesci’s whole angry rant to Nancy’s Sharon Stone is fantastic.
— The visual of Anthony as Macaulay Culkin is hilarious. I’m also loving his performance.
— Pesci to Culkin: “Hey, you know what was funny? When you died in that movie My Girl. I laughed my ass off!”
— Spot-on Jim Carrey voice from Mark.
— Pesci, when Carrey calls his show “smokin’”: “Smokin’, how? Smokin’ like my ass after some Mexican food?”
— Man, Jim is performing the hell out of this sketch.
STARS: ****½


NIGHTLINE
Dr. Greene (host) & other doctors argue about health care

— Good concept with all of the ridiculous fictional doctor guests.
— Pretty fun sketch so far.
— When Dr. J and Doc from Snow White are introduced, the chyron of their names that’s displayed on the bottom of the screen mistakenly includes the name “Doc Martens”.

I’m guessing that at dress rehearsal, a pair of Doc Martens boots was “interviewed” alongside Dr. J and Doc from Snow White, and then at the last minute during the live show, SNL decided to cut the Doc Martens portion of the sketch, but forgot to remove its name from the chryon. (In the above screencap, you can see the arm of an unoccupied chair to the left of Doc from Snow White.)
— I like Tim’s angry “Damn, Ted!” at the end of his speech.
STARS: ***½


WEDDING RECEPTION
Mary Katherine Gallagher acts inappropriately at a wedding reception

— Mary Katherine Gallagher officially becomes a recurring character. Of all of this character’s installments from over the years, this is one of the very few that I’m not all that familiar with. I know I’ve seen this installment before, but I have no memory of it.
— With this being only the second Mary Katherine Gallagher installment, the trademark putting-hands-under-armpits-and-then-sniffing-them routine, which was introduced in the first MKG installment, has been temporarily changed to her putting her fingers in her ears, looking at the earwax, then flicking and licking it.
— Molly’s really hammering home this character’s awkwardness, even moreso than in the first installment of this sketch. However, I’m not finding this installment as funny so far.
— Overall, I wasn’t crazy about this installment. There were a few laughs, but with this being only the second MKG appearance, you can tell they’re still experimenting with this character, and this installment felt unmemorable compared to most MKG installments. That’s probably the reason why I had no memory of this sketch before tonight’s viewing.
STARS: **


WEEKEND UPDATE
NOM’s very nervous brother Gary (DAK) tries to tell some newsy jokes

— This is the second consecutive Weekend Update using the opening theme music that would go on to be Norm’s regular Update theme, so I think it’s safe to say they’ve finally settled on it after experimenting with many different opening themes earlier this season.
— Yes! We get the debut of Norm’s brother, Gary Macdonald, played by Koechner. This has always been one of my favorite Koechner SNL bits from his short-lived tenure.
— Koechner is very good at getting laughs out of his character’s very awkward uncomfortableness.
— I love how Norm reveals Gary Macdonald’s paper just says “God, don’t let the fear swallow me whole.”
— Koechner has been knocking it out of the park these last few episodes with some great original characters.
— Particularly huge cheers this time for Norm’s weekly “O.J. is a murderer” joke.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I’ll Stick Around”


THE NASTY
singer G-Dog’s (TIM) psychosomatism causes him to rethink his raunchy hit

— The opening exchanges between Will and Anthony are really funny.
— I love the voice Anthony is using in this. He’s hilarious here.
— The debut of Tim’s short-lived and underrated recurring character G-Dog.
— Funny opening line from G-Dog: “Yo, Phil, somebody ate my Skittles, man.”
— The family-friendly variation of the “Let’s Do The Nasty” song is pretty funny, especially the “Do The Handshake” dance.
— Hmm, a meta turn with Tim as himself waking up in bed and revealing the sketch was a bad dream. I don’t think this sketch was anywhere near bad enough for SNL to get all self-deprecating about. In fact, I had actually been enjoying the sketch.
— Good ending with Lorne’s shifty-eyed look.
STARS: ***½


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS relives a barroom father-son Thanksgiving reunion

— Spade’s childhood anecdote about receiving a Nerf football from his dad and sarcastically responding “Wow, it’s two colors. You spoil me, ya prick” was told by him on the show before, in a Mother’s Day Weekend Update commentary he did back in season 17, as I mentioned in my review of it.
— Spade In America has had a lot of interesting changes of pace these last few installments, and tonight we get another one, with him re-enacting an entire conversation he recently had with his father. Great touch with the dimmed lighting during this re-enactment.
— I’m enjoying Spade’s storytelling skills here, as well as the way he’s constantly going back-and-forth between the voices of himself and his father. Speaking of which, I like the voice Spade’s using for his father.
STARS: ***½


TURNING POINT
(MAM) interviews a slightly loony Princess Di (host)

— The debut of Cheri’s Barbara Walters impression.
— Wow, Cheri’s Barbara Walters sounds nowhere near as good as it would eventually go on to sound later in Cheri’s tenure. I guess it took her some time before she was able to nail the voice.
— Oh. My. God. Anthony’s look as Princess Diana is EERILY dead-on. Uncanny.
— I’ve been saying this all throughout this episode review, but Anthony is really funny in this sketch.
— A lot of funny actions from Anthony’s Diana, especially her using her foot to flirt with Mark’s Martin Bashir, and her revealing she’s had a chip planted in her head.
— Now Anthony’s Diana is humorously singing a bizarre little ukulele song .
— Great sketch overall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “For All The Cows”


THE HULK HOGAN TALK SHOW!!!
Hulk Hogan’s sub (WIF) attempts a serious show

— The ridiculously endless Hulk Hogan Talk Show theme song cracked me up, made even funnier by how its immediately followed by Will as an average joe just straightforwardly saying “Hulk Hogan is on vacation. I’m your guest host, Phil Tobin.”
— The awkward back-and-forth transitions from Anthony’s traumatic story to the Hulk Hogan show’s usual segments are okay, but I’m disappointed to see that they’re nowhere near as funny as I had remembered. In fact, they’re starting to get a little tired after a while. I think in past viewings, I only loved this sketch for the ridiculously long opening theme and the subsequent reveal of Will as the guest host.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Even though this episode is not a classic, I’ve personally always considered it to be a really fun episode and a prime example of what a refreshing turnaround this season is from the infamous preceding season. After reviewing the episode just now, that opinion still holds up. This was a solid episode that was indeed fun, and had a lot of good sketches that I’ve always remembered well, even if some of them aren’t particularly great. Adding to the fun feel of this episode was Anthony Edwards, who was a very game host and gave some really funny performances, especially in the Turning Point sketch.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Laura Leighton)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
David Alan Grier

Posted on

November 18, 1995 – Laura Leighton / Rancid (S21 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

AIR FORCE ONE
Bob Dole (NOM) & Newt Gingrich (DAH) grumble about having to fly coach

— Unlike Chris Farley in the preceding season, Darrell seems to be attempting an actual impression of Newt Gingrich’s voice.
— Some good laughs from the cheapness of the coach section of the plane, especially the random chickens wandering around.
— Because Darrell’s in this playing Gingrich, the brief walk-on from Bill Clinton is played by a double, hilariously trying to hide his face from the camera. I can’t tell if the Clinton voice we hear coming from him is pre-taped audio of Darrell’s Clinton, or if it’s the double himself doing the Clinton voice. I’m leaning towards the former.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— When announcing “And your host, Laura Leighton”, Don Pardo seems to temporarily forget how to pronounce Laura Leighton’s last name, as he awkwardly stretches out his utterance of her first name and then pauses for a second before finally saying her last name. This would later be fixed in reruns.


MONOLOGUE
Lucien & Fagin tell host how much they love her work on Melrose Place

— The Fops already becoming recurring after debuting just one episode ago. Luckily, I enjoy these characters, so I don’t have any complaints about the frequency of their appearances… yet.
— Mark’s smile and delivery as his Fops character always cracks me up, especially the way he said “Oh, delicious” just now.
— Very funny photo of the Fops watching TV “bare-assed naked”.
STARS: ***½


OLD GLORY INSURANCE
Sam Waterston [real] pitches Old Glory Insurance against robot attacks

— Here’s an all-time classic SNL commercial.
— I love the opening conversation between the old ladies.
— This completely random concept of robots attacking old people is freakin’ hilarious, especially with the way it’s being played so straight.
— Some great dramatization visuals of robots fighting with old people.
— The fact that this is such a silly idea being played so straight is made even better by Sam Waterston’s involvement.
STARS: *****


FORTUNE TELLER
Stan Hooper dwells on otherwise-accurate fortune teller’s (host) lone mistake

— Much like The Fops, Stan Hooper becomes a recurring character after debuting just one episode ago.
— I like Hooper harping so much on the psychic’s Dayton mistake. Even just the way Norm says “Dayton” is inherently funny.
— Oh my god, this one female audience member has a VERY distinctive, loud, kinda creepy-sounding laugh that’s heard all throughout this sketch. That laugh is going to haunt my nightmares.
— Good ending with Hooper returning to the room after being stabbed with a “hatchet”, as the psychic predicted.
— Overall, of the four Stan Hooper sketches, this one is probably the weakest by default, but that’s not to say I’m putting this sketch down, because I still found it funny. It’s just the least memorable of this character’s four sketches.
STARS: ***½


HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
a Time-Life video collection of family fights

— A lot of laughs from the text crawl of family argument topics.
— I absolutely love Will’s various “That’s it, f*** this , I’m leavin’!”, especially the third time, where he does it for no reason during an actual friendly family conversation.
STARS: ****


WHAT A WOMAN WANTS
coeds (host) & Kitty McGinnis (MOS) take calls

— Molly’s constant nervously-delivered “Just kidding”s remind me so much of Kristen Wiig’s Judy Grimes character (the fast-talking Weekend Update correspondent) from years later.
— I’m still hearing Creepy Laugh Audience Lady from the Stan Hooper sketch.
— Some laughs from Mark as a caller insulting Molly while praising Laura’s looks.
— We’re towards the end of this sketch, and I’m not quite sure where a lot of this sketch is trying to go. It feels kinda aimless.
STARS: **


CYDNEY
Cydney (host) films a perfume commercial with little people; Grant Show cameo

— Funny initial visual of the male cast on their knees playing little people.
— Spade’s (in a rare season 21 sketch appearance) sarcastic mocking of Laura’s remark towards him reminds me of when he did something similar to Tim in the first Total Bastard Airlines sketch.
— A big laugh from Norm putting out a cigarette under the shoe of his fake tiny legs. I think they use the dress rehearsal version of this sketch in reruns, because I swear I remember the reruns having the audience applaud after Norm puts out the cigarette, whereas the live version I’m currently watching has a different reaction from the audience, where they just laugh at Norm putting out the cigarette.
— Feels weird seeing Fred Wolf playing a character like this. He seems out of place in this role.
— I liked this sketch at first, but it’s kinda fallen apart after about 2-3 minutes. Nothing is working for me anymore.
— Not too crazy about the ending, either.
STARS: **


WEEKEND UPDATE
Weekend Update is twice embarrassed by a Howard Stern supporter’s (Frank Sebastiano) hoaxes
Queens resident Joe Blow (COQ) gives news about his personal life

 

— Tonight’s Update opens with the theme music that would go on to be Norm’s regular Update theme, first used in the Update from the David Schwimmer episode earlier this season.
— I feel bad for being amused by Norm’s joke about cabbies with long Arab names.
— And I guess to make me feel less bad for laughing at the above-mentioned Arab joke, Norm follows it up with a “retards” joke (which, yes, I also shamefully laughed at).
— A funny fake-out commentary by SNL writer Frank Sebastiano, just showing up to shout “Stern rules!” Like I mentioned in my last episode review, Sebastiano’s unconventional (for an SNL writer) looks crack me up. SNL should put this guy in more sketches.
— After Norm’s Magic Johnson AIDS joke gets a very torn audience reaction, a sole audience member flat-out screams “Boooooo!” Haha, is SNL trying to offend all groups with some of the jokes and slurs uttered throughout tonight’s episode?
— Another instance of Frank Sebastiano doing a “Stern rules!” fake-out. What helps make these “commentaries” from him work is Norm’s long, overly serious set-ups to them.
— Now we get another SNL writer doing a (real this time) commentary, only this time, it’s Colin Quinn, in his very first speaking role on SNL.
— Colin-as-Joe-Blow’s ranting about his co-workers and neighbors is really funny.
— An overall solid debut for Joe Blow, with a lot of funny lines.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Roots Radical”


PARTY
socially-awkward Roberta’s (CHO) boring anecdotes ruin (host)’s party

— Cheri’s character killing the mood of the partygoers’ conversation with her awkward bus story is pretty funny.
— Okay, this sketch is starting to get pretty tepid and one-note to me. I want to appreciate Cheri’s quirky, low-key, realistic Roberta character, but it stopped being funny to me after about a minute, and this sketch is just repeating the same “Roberta kills the mood of a fun conversation by relating it to a boring story of her own” joke over and over. This sketch also feels like an unfortunate precursor to the “socially awkward character says or does awkward things at a social gathering while people react with uncomfortable facial expressions” sketches that SNL would be overrun with many years later in the late 2000s-early 2010s (Kristen Wiig in particular had the market cornered on that type of sketch during those years). In fact, Nasim Pedrad would even end up doing a sketch in the season 38 Christoph Waltz episode that was suspiciously very similar to this Roberta sketch of Cheri’s.
— Oddly enough, this Roberta character doesn’t becoming recurring until FOUR YEARS LATER, during Cheri’s final season. That has got to be one of the longest gaps ever between a recurring character’s first and second appearance.
STARS: **


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS gets a tattoo from Sean Penn [real]

— Another change of pace for Spade In America. This is particularly interesting, as it involves Sean Penn, of all people, giving Spade a tattoo, of all things.
— Some really funny remarks from Spade on some of the tattoo designs on the wall. There are a few clunkers from Spade in there, but I can overlook them, as they’re outnumbered by the amount of funny comments he’s making.
— I love Spade working in his always-great Michael J. Fox impression.
— Funny little bit with Spade humbly admitting “Okay, I’m out of jokes…”
— When we see Spade live back in the studio at the end of this and he mentions he still has the tattoo, why didn’t he show it?
— Overall, my favorite of all the Spade In America installments that have aired by this point of the season.
STARS: ****


SELF-DISCIPLINE
officeworker Tommy (JMB) punishes himself for making mistakes

— A rare lead role for Jim. He has really been struggling for airtime this season. Supposedly, the reason for his struggles is because NBC, during their heavy involvement with the house-cleaning Lorne was doing to SNL over the summer of 1995, basically forced Lorne to hire Jim Breuer, someone who Lorne wasn’t too keen on hiring. This may explain why Lorne was so hesitant to give Jim much to do during his first few months on the show.
— Is this a leftover Chris Farley sketch from season 20? Jim seems like he’s doing a more violent version of Farley’s famous self-punishing routine from the “The Chris Farley Show” sketches, mixed with Jim’s own bar fight re-enactment routine from an Update commentary earlier this season.
— I do like Jim yelling “Stuuuuuuppiiiiiiiid” repeatedly as his voice fades while he’s falling out the window.
— Overall, ehh, not much to this and it felt a little pointless. A sad statement of how much Jim has been failing to leave a mark so far in his SNL tenure. Thankfully, in the very next episode, he will get that big hit sketch that he desperately needs.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Ruby Soho”


I WANNA GIT WITCHU
(host) rebuffs (TIM)’s unsubtle attempts to try to “git with” her

— The wig that Tim’s wearing bears a strong resemblance to the long dreads that he would grow for real during his final two seasons as a cast member.
— Tim is very funny as this character, and I love his various utterances of “I just wanna GIT witchu!” I’ve always considered this one of Tim’s more underrated performances.
— Pretty funny how Tim keeps giving these deep, romantic scenarios of what he and Laura can do, and then always following it with “And then I wanna GIT witchu!”
— I really like the atmosphere of this sketch. It has a soft, quiet feel that I find very fitting for the final sketch of the night.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An average episode. A few great things, a few weak things, and several okay things, so overall, just an okay and not particularly memorable episode.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Quentin Tarantino)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Anthony Edwards

Posted on

November 11, 1995 – Quentin Tarantino / The Smashing Pumpkins (S21 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

LATE NIGHT SNACK
approval-seeking Bill Clinton (DAH) makes late-night calls & pigs out

— Our very first instance of Darrell’s President Clinton impression leading his own sketch.
— Some pretty good laughs from Darrell-as-Clinton’s piggish eating during his various desperate late night phone calls. As I said in my review of an earlier and much more famous “Bill Clinton pigging out on food” sketch (Phil Hartman’s classic Clinton At McDonalds sketch), both that sketch and tonight’s cold opening always make me hungry whenever I watch them.
— Good drawn-out build-up to Clinton secretly spraying whipped cream in his mouth.
— I like how Clinton’s desperation has now gotten to the point where he’s calling up some random person he doesn’t even know.
— This is Tim’s fourth “Live from New York” in five episodes this season.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
to honor TV, host dances & sings “I’m Gonna Blow You A Kiss In The Wind”

— Funny turn with Quentin’s “See, there was this one episode of Bewitched…” after his very serious set-up about what the single greatest moment in TV history is.
— Oh my god, Tarantino singing?!?
— Jesus, this song performance from Quentin is INSANE, especially his, uh, dancing. No idea how to feel about this, though he’s certainly is giving it his all.
STARS: **


BUGOFF
the BugOff roach trap lets you watch as the caught insect is tortured

— Will plays his very first commercial spokesperson, a role that I’ve always felt he was underrated in.
— A lot of hilarious CGI details of the torture the roach suffers through BugOff, such as his reproductive organs being burned off and him being beat senseless with own severed limbs.
— Will: “True, none of this will actually kill the roach, but it will give him plenty to think about.”
STARS: ****½


FOOTBALL GAME
unofficial cheerleaders Craig (WIF) & Arianna (CHO) show their spirit

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Feels odd in retrospect seeing a Spartans sketch start without the usual applause that I’m used to hearing from the audience at the beginning of every Spartans appearance.
— Another oddity of this inaugural Spartans installment is that it’s set outdoors instead of inside a gymnasium like most of their subsequent appearances.
— As I said in my review of Mary Katherine Gallagher’s debut in the preceding episode, I’m going to approach the debuts of this era’s biggest and soon-to-be most annoying recurring characters by treating their respective first installment as a standalone sketch and pretending that I’m unaware it’s the first of a series of sketches.
— Tons of energy from Will and Cheri so far, which is coming off pretty fun. And like the prom sketch that Will and Cheri did in the Chevy Chase episode earlier this season, it’s interesting to watch an early display of their great chemistry.
— I like Will and Cheri’s dancing to “Everybody Dance Now”.
— Oh my god at Quentin’s batshit crazy energy during his brief appearance. I… I have no words.
— Overall, not too bad for the Spartans’ debut. If they kept these characters one-and-done, that would’ve been just fine. But Jesus Christ, not only do these characters end up becoming recurring, we end up seeing them about 20 times (I don’t even think that number is an exaggeration, BTW), most of those appearances being within both this and next season alone. The thought of having to review all of those Spartans sketches in such a short amount of time is just…. once again, I have no words.
STARS: ***


CLARA TURLEY’S BIBLE CHALLENGE
Stan Hooper (NOM) exploits trusting Christians on a bible quiz show

— The very first appearance of Norm’s Stan Hooper character. Now THIS is a recurring character debut that I’m excited about.
— Great intro shot of a cigarette-smoking, McDonalds-eating Norm.
— I love Stan Hooper always casually claiming he knew the answer.
— Writer Paula Pell playing a character with her own first name.
— Good line from Hooper about how he’s quit his job and is doing this show full-time now.
— Stan Hooper: “Praise the God!”
— A great blunt and deadpan “NO.” from Hooper when asked if he’s lying.
— The premise is starting to get a little one-note, but Norm has the great ability to maintain my goodwill towards this material.
— Great fast-paced bit with Hooper being handed money each time he claims in rapid succession that he knows the answer to the orders of angels that Nancy is listing off one-by-one.
— Overall, a classic and a quintessential Norm Macdonald sketch.
STARS: *****


DIRECTORS ON DIRECTING
to host, the best job perq is sex with actresses

— The opening applause for each director’s intro is coming off awkwardly timed.
— Quentin: “Directors, by and large, are the most butt-ugly motley group of geeks found this side of a Star Trek contention.”
— When grilling Tim’s Spike Lee, I love Quentin telling all of the directors “Everybody who didn’t shoot an extreme close-up of their lips sucking on Rosie Perez’s breast, raise your hand.”
— Quentin’s lines to Koechner’s Oliver Stone are cracking me up.
— Yikes at Quentin’s awful, exaggerated delivery during his rant “Back when I was working at a video store for FIVE YEARS!!! making MINIMUM WAGE!!! riding the BUS IN L.A.!!! living with MY MOM!!!… etc.” I know he’s emphasizing those words to make a point, but Jesus Christ, he is overdoing the fucking hell out of it and it is cringeworthy.
— Yeah, things have taken a turn for the worse in this sketch. Quentin’s delivery is starting to become too much for me, and now that he’s stopped making me laugh, I’m starting to see a very uncomfortable nature to this sketch’s subject matter, due to the unfortunate similarities to all the Harvey Weinstein/#metoo stuff from recent years. I still find some of Quentin’s earlier lines (before he stared going overboard with his delivery) funny in spite of this sketch’s bad taste.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Don King (TIM) sweet-talks NOM & laughs off allegations of wrongdoing
creepy obsequious fops Lucien (MAM) & Fagin (DAK) fawn over NOM

— I see they’re still experimenting with the opening theme music for Update. Tonight, we get a cool-sounding, laid-back theme that I don’t recognize. Is it from a Tarantino movie or is it just random stock music?
— When Norm is introducing the Don King commentary, you can hear the audience laughing out loud at the off-camera visual of Tim as Don King. We’ll see in a second why exactly they’re laughing at that visual.
— Great visual of Tim in an insanely tall Don King wig. No idea how that wig is managing to stay in place and not tip over whenever Tim moves his head.
— Very fun performance from Tim. The material itself isn’t anything special, but Tim is managing to make it work.
— Yet another noteworthy recurring character debut in tonight’s episode: The Fops.
— I love the random idea to have Koechner and Mark inexplicably play old-timey fops in a modern-day setting.
— Funny occasional cutaways to a close-up of a deadpan and quietly disturbed Norm while the Fops are praising him in a creepy way.
— So many funny little details in the Fops’ mannerisms and lines. Koechner and Mark are a riot in this commentary.
STARS: ****


LEG UP
host tries to explain that he’s not a choreographer

— I actually liked the first installment of this sketch back in the season premiere (I feel like I’m in the minority there), but yeah, not sure I need to see this as a recurring sketch.
— The chemistry between Molly and Cheri is still fun.
— I like Molly and Cheri’s confusion over what Reservoir Dogs is, acting like it’s an old 50s-type Broadway song.
— Yet another dose tonight of Quentin’s bizarro dancing?
— Overall, I found this installment merely okay, but it was a step down from the first installment, and I don’t see a shelf life for this recurring sketch. I get the bad feeling that I’m going to find each passing installment of this sketch to be less funny than the last one, until it gets to the degree where I can’t stand the sight of this sketch. I do recall the one with Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra being okay, though.
STARS: ***


WHITE TRASH AROUND A CAMPFIRE DEALING WITH AN OVERABUNDANCE OF FLUIDS
what the title above says

— First time we’ve seen Jim Breuer in quite a while. He has been absolutely invisible these last two episodes. I keep forgetting he’s even in the cast.
— Will’s performance as a redneck is cracking me up.
— Uh, where exactly are the laughs in this sketch supposed to be coming from? From the excessive amount of fluids whenever something gets opened or squashed? Are you kidding me with this, SNL?
— I admit that I am finding everybody’s goofy performances kinda fun, but this material is fucking DREADFUL.
— Dumb ending with the title card saying the long name of the sketch.
— Overall, all I have left to say is, I see SNL is still occasionally using leftover season 20 scripts. Thanks a lot, Fred Wolf. I bet we also have him to thank for that “Prison guard likes being raped” sketch from the preceding episode, another season 20-esque premise (even if I did find that particular sketch kinda funny).
STARS: *


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS reunites host with Robert Hegyes [real]

— An amusing crack from Spade about Billy Corgan being the guy from Powder. Though I swear there’s a later SNL episode that makes that exact same Powder joke, only it’s about Michael Stipe instead of Billy Corgan. In fact, isn’t it Spade himself who makes that Stipe joke during a Hollywood Minute-themed Spade In America installment later this season? Does he seriously rip off his own joke?!?
— A very odd but interesting change of pace for Spade In America.
— Our first onscreen appearance from new SNL writer Frank Sebastiano (the chubby, long-haired, bearded, biker-looking dude), who always cracks me up whenever he shows up in a sketch (we’ll be seeing him in his own brief Weekend Update commentary in the very next episode). He just has such an amusing, unconventional look for an SNL writer.
— They’re making it seem like we’re about to get a Jay Leno cameo. Between Leno and Tarantino, I don’t think the SNL cameras can handle that much chin.
— Ah, the Leno thing turns out to be an amusing fake-out, where they instead awkwardly bring out SNL’s own Leno impersonator Darrell Hammond.
— An overall decent Spade In America installment. The big change of pace paid off fairly well, and was a welcome improvement over the dreadful Spade In America installment from the preceding episode.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Zero”


ALL ABOARD! WITH CHESTER MILLBRUSH
old train worker (host) tells how he beats up “hobos”

— Here’s a weird little 10-to-1 sketch that I’ve always loved.
— Quentin’s casual detailing of disturbing violent things he and his buddies did to one particular hobo is hilariously unsettling.
— Funny bit regarding the blood stains on Quentin’s overalls.
— I love how Quentin keep randomly transitioning back-and-forth between friendly model train tips and stories of gruesome hobo beatdowns.
— Haha, as no surprise, the studio audience is pretty silent during this dark, twisted sketch so far.
— Very funny how the pictures that Quentin’s showing of alleged hobos are gradually less hobo-ish, eventually getting to the point where he just showing pictures of professionals like a priest, a doctor, etc..
— Great ending with Quentin going wild while using a monkeywrench to destroy the head of a hobo dummy.
— Overall, I find this sketch to be a great, bizarre little deep cut. Considering the fact that one of my all-time favorite SNL writers, Andy Breckman, is credited as a guest writer in this episode (as he has been in the last few episodes), I’d like to think he was the writer behind this sketch, though I’m not sure, as I can’t quite say this sketch fully matches his usual style.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An average episode, leaning slightly to the “meh” side. This episode seems to have a reputation as a terrible episode that’s one of this season’s worst (hell, even NBC seemed to think so, as they never gave it a season rerun, IIRC), which I never quite understood. It’s certainly not a great episode, but aside from that god-awful campfire sketch, it wasn’t particularly terrible. Again, just an average episode, with a hint of “meh”-ness. There were a few certain things I found particularly great, though, especially Clara Turley’s Bible Challenge. Quentin Tarantino certainly displayed lots of energy tonight, a little TOO MUCH so at times, but I wasn’t blown away by him as a host, and he had a few cringe-y moments in the first half of the show. He seemed to get a little better as the night went on, and I did love the way he carried the delightfully disturbing All Aboard sketch.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Gabriel Byrne)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Laura Leighton

Posted on

October 28, 1995 – Gabriel Byrne / Alanis Morissette (S21 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

HALLOWEEN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
trick-or-treating in New Hampshire; Bill Bradley & Lamar Alexander cameos

— Always interesting when SNL uses a first-person perspective in a sketch.
— I love the first time the door suddenly gets slammed in Norm-as-Bob Dole’s face when he’s in the middle of speaking.
— A very important moment right now, as we get the debut of Darrell’s soon-to-be-iconic Bill Clinton impression.
— Right off the bat, Darrell is getting pretty good laughs with his spot-on Clinton voice, and is such a breath of fresh air from Michael McKean’s disastrous attempt at a Clinton impression in the preceding season. Darrell’s Clinton voice would eventually grow even more over time, though (I believe Darrell has said in the “SNL in the 90s” documentary that he didn’t fully nail Clinton’s voice until meeting him in the White House, which was sometime around 1997, I think).
— Koechner’s Phil Gramm imitating Norm’s Bob Dole with an obvious face mask is cracking me up.
— Oh my god, Cheri as Ross Perot. I completely forgot that’s a thing in this era. Not too sure about the voice she’s using, but Cheri certainly looks the part of Perot in that makeup.
— Very awkward and uncomfortable moment now with a child actor constantly making VERY long pauses in the middle of his question, and constantly restarting the question. It seems like a real gaffe, but I guess it’s part of the script, considering the kid eventually gets interrupted by Norm’s Dole angrily popping out of the bushes and telling him what to say as part of some scheme (actually, I think Norm’s Dole was just hiding next to the door entrance, but it’s just hilarious to type out the words “Norm’s Dole angrily popping out of the bushes”).
— Speaking of the part with Norm’s Dole angrily popping out of the bushes (hee hee) and telling the kid what to say, I love how what Norm’s Dole says to him is “That’s Bob Dole, goddammit!”, the last word in that line being a typical Norm ad-lib, I assume. It would later be muted out in reruns.
— I like Lamar Alexander clarifying “I’m not some new cast member playing Lamar Alexander.”
— Norm gets his very first “Live from New York”, and this is our first non-Tim Meadows “Live from New York” of the whole season.
— Speaking of Norm’s LFNY, I love that he as Dole delivers it as “Live from New York… Saturday Night”, not even saying the “it’s”. That would go on to be a regular thing for his Dole whenever he opens the show.
— A very fun and fast-paced opening overall.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host talks about Irish stereotypes while two examples dance behind him

— I like how the SNL Band starts playing soft Irish music in the background during Gabriel’s talk about how well Irish actors have been doing lately.
— Some pretty good laughs from Fred Wolf and Colin Quinn dancing behind an unaware Gabriel in silly Irish stereotype costumes, then slowly trying to sneak away whenever Gabriel hints that he doesn’t take kindly to Irish stereotype jokes.
— The ending felt like it should’ve have a little more to it, but this was pretty fun.
STARS: ***½


MARSHALL POWER TOOLS
power tool makers John Marshall Jr. (DAK) & Sr. (MAM) lack body parts

— Surprisingly, this is the first lead role Koechner has gotten all season. It’s about time, considering how all of his fellow newbies have already had at least one lead role so far.
— Very funny reveal of Koechner’s hook hand.
— A good slightly disturbing bit with Mark trying to make his robot hand hold up one finger.
— Funny ending shot of the entire family having missing limbs. I’m not sure how they made it look like some of those people (including Darrell and Nancy) were genuinely missing a leg.
STARS: ***½


ST. MONICA TALENT AUDITIONS
Mary Katherine Gallagher (MOS) auditions for Catholic school talent show

— I love Will’s endless singing of the ending part of The Police’s Message In A Bottle.
— Speaking of Will, this small role surprisingly ends up being his ONLY appearance all night.
— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut! Boy, I haven’t been able to use that line for a good while. I don’t think I said it at all in season 20. Hell, I don’t even think I said it in season 19.
— I know Mary Katherine Gallagher would go on to be an overused, tired character, but I’ll be fair on this first installment and judge it like a new sketch while pretending I’m not aware that this would go on to be a recurring character. In fact, I’m going to use that approach when reviewing the debuts of a lot of this era’s big recurring characters who would quickly go on to be annoying through overexposure: The Cheerleaders (who debut in the very next episode), Mango (the only installment I’ll probably give a high rating to is the famous one with Garth Brooks, and that’s mainly just because Garth was so damn good), Pretty Living (a.k.a. the Molly Shannon joyologist sketch), etc. The Roxbury Guys are an exception for two reasons: 1) Their first appearance… well, their first TRADITIONAL appearance, with Jim Carrey, is a freakin’ classic (I say “first TRADITIONAL appearance” because, contrary to popular belief, that Carrey installment isn’t the first Roxbury Guys sketch; a lot of people forget that the Roxbury Guys actually debuted in a very short, experimental sketch from this season’s Phil Hartman episode), and 2) even though the classic Carrey installment should’ve been the final Roxbury Guys sketch, I never really hated their subsequent appearances like a lot of people seem to. I usually find their sketches pretty fun and harmless enough. We’ll see if that opinion of mine still holds up when I eventually review their sketches.
— Solid characterization from Molly here. Though there’s A LOT of playing to the camera from her in this, which is a habit that I think this cast would go on to be negatively associated with (Cheri especially), I can forgive it in this first Mary Katherine Gallagher installment.
— Even MKG’s sniffing-hands-after-putting-them-under-armpits thing is coming off pretty funny and fresh to me in this first installment.
— Until tonight’s episode, Molly had been having a surprisingly pretty quiet season and was overshadowed by new breakout star Cheri Oteri, so it’s nice to see Molly such doing a good job in her time to shine here.
— I recall Adam McKay pointing out in the “SNL in the 90s” documentary that Mary Katherine Gallagher actually had kind of a dark, disturbing undertone in her first appearance, before she became a mainstream recurring character.
— I like MKG’s quivering and slow buildup when quoting a monologue from a Meredith Baxter-Birney TV movie.
— Gabriel is a great and funny straight man in this, and I love him covering MKG’s crotch shot with his clipboard when she has her leg propped up on the piano.
— A very good and daring pratfall from Molly into a pile of folding chairs.
— Overall, this was actually a good debut for this character. Watching it the mindset of a viewer in 1995 who wouldn’t have been familiar with this character helped my enjoyment. I await SNL destroying my goodwill with the diminishing returns this character will inevitably suffer when she becomes an overexposed recurring character.
STARS: ***½


COOKING WITH KEITH
Keith Richards (host) & two bimbos prepare a dish

— Funny concept, and a hilarious Keith Richards impression from Gabriel.
— Great tip from Richards about adding ice made out of booze to your drink so you’ll get even more booze.
— Good gag with Richards cutting up flour in lines as if it’s cocaine.
— Gabriel’s doing a fantastic job navigating this sketch without any help from any cast members.
— IIRC, we’ll be seeing Richards’ two bimbos in a certain other sketch later this season.
STARS: ***½


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
seeing through a father-son fishing trip


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Hand In My Pocket”


WEEKEND UPDATE
to Phil Donahue (DAH), Sally Jessy Raphael’s success signals bad things
CHO, MOS, NOM, DAS act immature during a “respect authority” editorial

— We get horror music played as the Update intro theme music tonight. Guess I spoke too soon in my last review about SNL finally settling on an Update intro theme after experimenting with different ones earlier this season. Then again, the use of a horror music intro tonight is obviously only because this episode is near Halloween.
— The debut of Darrell’s Phil Donahue, making this the second time tonight where Darrell has taken over an impression that Phil Hartman used to do.
— Darrell is absolutely knocking it out the park with his Donahue impression. His rambly, nonsensical ranting is HILARIOUS.
— During Darrell-as-Donahue’s ranting, Norm seems as equally amused as the audience, as you can hear him repeatedly chuckling off-camera.
— I love how Darrell’s Donahue is now randomly taking phone calls in the middle of his Update commentary.
— Feels unusual seeing Norm participating in this cutesy schoolkids bit with Cheri and Molly.
— Now it feels even more unusual seeing Spade, of all people, participating in this schoolkids bit, as this is his first of only a few non-Spade In America appearances all season. It also feels unusual seeing him interact with a new cast member like Cheri.
— This whole schoolkids bit, while very random, is charming and pretty fun.
— Now the schoolkids bit has gotten even funnier, with Lorne’s teacher-esque stern confrontation of his “students”.
STARS: ****


BABY GENETICS
miracles of genetics let expectant parents (NAW) & (MAM) learn about kid

— An interesting and refreshing premise for SNL around this time, and I love how Gabriel’s revealing so many advanced things about Nancy and Mark’s upcoming baby.
— They’re harping too much on the bisexual thing.
— The reveal of how the baby will grow up to be either a Jeffrey Dahmer-esque cannibalistic serial killer or a high school guidance counselor was very funny, as was Mark’s response of “There’s no reason he can’t be both.”
— I love how this is now getting to the point where Gabriel allows the parents to actually meet an adult version of their upcoming baby.
— Interesting casting of early-era Darrell Hammond in a role that, much like the Surprise Party Discoveries sketch in the preceding episode, he would never be cast in once the show figured out that the only significant roles they would give him would mostly be celebrity impressions.
STARS: ****


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS reports from the World Series; Chrissie Hynde cameo

— Fun premise for a Spade In America installment, and I like how this is a pre-taped remote.
— Man, it turns out that a lot of Spade’s jokes in this are BOMBING with me.
— WTF at the “two tires as bases” bit? What the hell am I watching?
— Oof, so far, this is PAINFULLY unfunny.
— I do like the classic Bugs Bunny baseball clip, but it’s a sad statement that THAT’S the only funny thing in this whole Spade In America. And since it’s an old clip, it doesn’t even count.
— Overall, no. No. This installment of Spade In America did not work for me AT ALL. What a letdown, considering how fun this installment seemed like it was going to be. Just when I thought Spade In America finally hit its stride with the one from the preceding episode…
STARS: *


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “All I Really Want”


BOOK READING
romance novel author (host) expresses love for older & much older women

— Gabriel’s badly-rhymed Special Lady poem is pretty funny.
— Now there’s even more laughs from Gabriel’s poem about how much he prefers older women.
— I like Gabriel’s disturbing detailing of his fantasy of making love to an 85-year-old woman. Some funny disgusted reactions from the women attending the book reading.
STARS: ***½


RIKERS ISLAND
Rikers Island guard (TIM) is fired for liking being beaten & raped

— Wow, this is Tim’s first and only appearance all night, in the final sketch of the episode. Quite a lot of cast members seem to be having a very light night. We don’t even see Jim Breuer AT ALL tonight, just when I thought they were finally starting to give him more to do.
— The nametag on Tim’s uniform says J. Mohr, obviously named after then-recent two-year featured player Jay Mohr. Considering Tim is playing a guy who loves being beaten and raped, I’ve seen some SNL fans theorize that this sketch is SNL’s subtle F-U to Jay. I have no comment about that.
— Not quite sure what to say about this sketch itself so far, though I’m finding it funny enough, I guess. While the premise is kinda juvenile and has an almost season 20 feel, it’s being executed well enough by both Tim and Gabriel. I also love Gabriel’s voice and delivery in this.
— When Tim points out how there were no escapes during his years as a guard, I liked Gabriel’s response “Cuz nobody WANTED to escape!”
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Another solid season 21 episode. Aside from a particularly awful installment of Spade In America, I liked every single thing tonight. Even Mary Katherine Gallagher’s debut was pretty fun if you look at it as a standalone piece and not as the beginning of a tiresome series of sketches. I also like how some of tonight’s sketches had a mature, classy atmosphere, which I’m guessing is due to the presence of Gabriel Byrne, who was a professional, solid, and surprisingly funny host that nailed all of his roles. The mature, classy atmosphere tonight is yet another thing that shows how refreshing this season is compared to the typically juvenile, unpleasant atmosphere of the preceding season.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (David Schwimmer)
a very slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Quentin Tarantino

Posted on

October 21, 1995 – David Schwimmer / Natalie Merchant (S21 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

HOOTIE’S MILLION MAN MARCH
Darius Rucker (TIM) sings “Hold My Hand” variant at D.C. frat boy march

— I love Darrell-as-Peter-Jennings’ pronunciation of the name “Hootie”.
— Pretty funny premise of Hootie holding a Million Man March.
— Our very first instance of Will’s knack for nailing the role of an idiotic fratboy.
— A good little laugh from Nancy’s “Get your hand off my ass” aside.
— I’m liking Tim as Darius Rucker.
— Did the recently-fired Adam Sandler write this song that Tim’s Darius Rucker is singing? The non-sequitur rhyming lyrics feel like something straight out of a Sandler Weekend Update guitar song.
— Wow, in every episode this season so far, Tim got to say “Live from New York…”. The perks of being one of the few seniors in a mostly-new cast. I love the screentime and attention that Tim’s been getting this season. He certainly deserves it, after spending his first five seasons being underappreciated, overshadowed, and underused.
— I like the way the off-camera SNL Band seamlessly segued from playing music for the Darius Rucker song to playing the SNL theme music after Tim’s “Live from New York…”.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host & Lisa Kudrow, Gary Coleman, Barry Williams, Jimmie Walker [real]

— Nice infectious energy from Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston joining David Schwimmer in his singing of the Friends theme song. Reminds me of Kirstie Alley’s season 17 monologue.
— I love how comically out-of-hand this is getting with stars from unrelated older sitcoms singing their theme songs.
— Ha, Jimmie Walker is butchering the lyrics to his own show’s theme song.
— Very fun monologue overall.
STARS: ****


GRAYSON MOORHEAD SECURITIES
Grayson Moorhead Securities founder (JID) tells his investing philosophy

— This two-part Grayson Moorhead commercial tonight has always been among my favorite SNL commercials of all time.
— Jim Downey’s lines are absolutely priceless, made all the more funny by his trademark dry, soft-spoken delivery.
— Even the black-and-white soft focus used for this commercial is somehow adding to the comedy.
STARS: *****


KIDS VS. GROWNUPS
game show questions are biased toward the adults

— There’s the character name Dale Butterworth, an obvious sign that this is an Andy Breckman-written sketch.
— The clitoris question is hilarious.
— I like Mark proudly answering “Yes” when asked if he’s an expert on premature ejaculation.
— Pretty funny premise and good execution of it, even if it’s far from my favorite gameshow sketch that Andy Breckman has written.
— I love how the prize the adults win is a bunny and a pot to cook it in.
STARS: ***½


GRAYSON MOORHEAD SECURITIES
more common-sense Grayson Moorhead Securities company guidelines

— Downey’s always great at starring in two-part commercials, much like the First Citiwide Change Bank series of commercials from the late 80s.
— Love the bit about what to do if Downey’s wife calls while he’s shagging his secretary.
STARS: *****


FRONT PORCH
Rita Delvecchio (CHO) confiscates kids’ items that land on her porch

— The debut of a Cheri Oteri staple.
— The show continues to push Cheri as the breakout star of the new cast.
— Pretty solid character work from Cheri, and I like the conversations she’s having with off-camera friends. This is a character monologue-type piece that Cheri most likely brought with her from the Groundlings.
— A famous unscripted moment where, when noticing her dress is accidentally caught on the hockey net, Cheri ad-libs “Look at this shit.” I’m guessing she temporarily forgot she’s on live TV and not onstage at the Groundlings, considering how new she is on SNL at this point. The audience has a pretty amusing delayed reaction to this s-bomb incident.
— Right after the s-bomb, you can kinda tell that Cheri realized her gaffe, but she’s doing a great job staying completely in character and not letting it affect her performance at all.
— Ending was a little weak.
STARS: ***


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
a seemingly turkeyless Thanksgiving


ELEVATOR
actions of fellow elevator passengers make (host) feel uncomfortable

— I’m enjoying the gradual buildup to this.
— For some reason, I like Schwimmer’s wordy, fast-paced “You’re standing on top of me, why?” rant to Jim and Tim.
— I’m absolutely loving the increasing absurdity of each passenger’s elevator-standing technique.
— New SNL writer and future cast member Colin Quinn makes his very first SNL appearance, playing a non-speaking bit part.

— Overall, though I don’t think this is a particularly well-remembered sketch among SNL fans, I’ve personally always loved this. Just an original, silly, well-done, timeless piece that hits the right spot for me. This is another sketch that shows how vastly different and refreshing the writing style of this season is compared to the preceding season, as I cannot picture this sketch ever appearing in season 20.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
to re-enact the time he got beat up in a bar, JMB hits himself
Cleveland Indians fan (WIF) pretends to be an upset Native American

— After opening Norm’s previous two Updates this season with the theme songs of then-current NBC shows, tonight’s Update opens with generic music that would go on to be the regular theme music for Norm’s Updates. It’s the same theme music that was previously used for two superhero sketches from the late 80s/early 90s years: Drunk Man with Dana Carvey, and Young Superboy with Macaulay Culkin.
— Nice to see Jim finally getting his very first comedic showcase. (The Braveheart thing from the preceding episode mostly just had Jim playing straight man to Chevy.)
— Some pretty solid physical comedy from Jim beating himself up while re-enacting a bar fight.
— Will’s commentary is pretty funny, especially him saying the Cleveland Indians’ logo is the great Chief Wahoo.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Wonder”


SURPRISE PARTY DISCOVERIES
(DAH)’s friends discover his secrets while setting up his surprise party

— I’m getting some really good laughs from all the embarrassing things Darrell’s friends are finding in his apartment, especially the Urkel letter.
— Feels weird in retrospect to see Darrell in such a big role where he’s NOT doing a celebrity impression, a sight that would become more and more of a huge rarity as his tenure progresses. With this being one of Darrell’s earliest episodes, I guess SNL hadn’t decided yet that they were going to relegate him to just doing impressions.
— I love Tim’s delivery of “We read the letter to Urkel, man. WE READ THE LETTER TO URKEL.”
— Funny ending with Darrell dancing to the song Gloria with his blow-up doll of Nancy.
STARS: ****


SPADE IN AMERICA
Jennifer Aniston [real] objects to anti-Friends remarks

— Hey, Spade In America has a new set. It looks great, especially the spade symbols on the background wall.
— Nice change of pace having Jennifer Aniston join Spade this time.
— Our first time seeing Spade do a Hollywood Minute in a year-and-a-half.
— Great dig from Jennifer, insinuating that Spade can’t relate to being on a show that’s really funny, gets great ratings, and is loved by the critics.
— Another great dig from Jennifer to Spade, telling him “You should’ve left with Farley and Sandler.”
— Overall, an enjoyable, fun piece, and the first good Spade In America. I wonder if it’s a coincidence that Spade In America has finally taken off after they gave the segment a new set.
STARS: ***½


SUCH A PRETTY FACE
slim Shannon (NAW) is insensitively rude to plus size clothing customers

— IIRC, this is one of the first sketches (if not THE first) penned by new SNL writer Paula Pell.
— I want to like this sketch, especially since it’s one of SNL’s earliest Nancy Walls showcases, but it feels really dead so far.
— Nancy’s conversation with Mark’s character kinda has a chuckle or two, but maybe I’m just desperate for laughs by this point of the sketch.
— That’s it? The sketch is over? This felt like it was missing a punchline or some kind of satisfying comeuppance for Nancy’s rude character.
— Overall, this sketch just didn’t work. Nancy herself was fine, but almost nothing in the sketch landed and the script felt incomplete. This is the first thing all season that I’m giving a rating lower than two stars to, which at least shows how well this season has been going so far. (Season 20, on the other hand, couldn’t even make it past the season premiere without getting multiple one or one-and-a-half-star ratings from me.)
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Carnival”


TRIUMPH PERFORMERS
performers remain in showbiz despite severe disabilities

— Wow, two consecutive sketches starring Nancy Walls. I certainly hope she gets better material this time.
— I love Will revealing his paralyzation was caused by getting drunk and breaking into the zoo, looking for rough sex.
— Some nice little laughs from Will’s facial mime act.
— Koechner’s voice-boxed voice is slaying me.
— I love how Koechner’s ventriloquist dummy has a voice box as well.
— Good makeup on a face-burned Darrell.
— Interesting way to work in Darrell being an impressionist. However, since the joke of both Will and Koechner’s bits was how their life-changing injury limits their respective comedy act, I don’t get how Darrell’s burned face is supposed to hinder his impression skills. Is it because people would be too distracted by his burn scars to pay attention to his impression voices? If so, that joke doesn’t quite work.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
CHO puts money in the swear jar for saying “shit” earlier in the show

— Great off-the-cuff moment with Cheri having to put money in a swear jar for her s-bomb earlier tonight. This goodnights moment feels kinda like a throwback to how spontaneous the original SNL era was whenever something went wrong, such as when the cast decided to wear a band-aid on their foreheads after Buck Henry accidentally got cut in the forehead during a Samurai sketch, or when SNL used the goodnights to re-do a botched bit earlier in the episode where Chevy Chase was supposed to get hit in the face with a pie.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid episode with a very fun atmosphere. I enjoyed almost every single thing tonight (Such A Pretty Face was the only lowlight for me), and there were a few pieces I found particularly strong (Grayson Moorhead Securities, Elevator). Even Spade In America finally took off after a forgettable first two installments. This episode gives me continued confidence in this new SNL era.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chevy Chase)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Gabriel Byrne

Posted on

October 7, 1995 – Chevy Chase / Lisa Loeb (S21 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NFL ON NBC
sideline reporter O.J. Simpson (TIM) hints that he’s guilty

— I wonder if viewers at the time were a little lost during the beginning of this cold opening with Darrell’s Bob Costas and Koechner’s Mike Ditka, considering the fact that those viewers would’ve been unfamiliar with Darrell and Koechner (not helped by the fact that the Ditka makeup renders Koechner fairly unrecognizable). I bet some viewers were like “I can’t tell which new cast member is which in this!”
— The audience gives a big (albeit hesitant at first) applause when Tim shows up as O.J.. I wonder if that applause is because of 1) this being SNL’s first O.J. parody since the big verdict from a few days earlier, or 2) Tim’s seniority in a mostly-new cast, combined with the fact that the two cast members who appeared before him in this cold opening were two fresh, unfamiliar faces. If it’s the latter, then it’s so nice to see Tim finally getting the recognition from the audience that he deserves, after always being overshadowed by the Bad Boys in the previous era’s cast.
— So much great humor here so far, especially O.J.’s murder innuendos when talking to Will’s Marv Levy about football.
— An absolutely classic SNL moment right now with O.J. spelling out “I did it” on the telestrator.
— I love Will’s panicked facial reaction to the aforementioned “I did it” part.
STARS: *****


OPENING MONTAGE
— When Mark McKinney’s picture shows up, Don Pardo is oddly silent at first, then quickly spits out “Mark McKean” instead of “Mark McKinney”. I guess Don hasn’t gotten used to not having to announce Michael McKean’s name anymore.


MONOLOGUE
CHC recalls SNL’s first episode & sings “When You Wish Upon A Star”

— Chevy mentions that tonight is only a few days away from the 20th anniversary of SNL’s very first episode.
— Wow, heartfelt reminiscing from Chevy over getting ready for the very first episode’s cold opening right before airtime. I kept expecting a comedic twist to this reminiscing at first, before realizing that this is a genuinely earnest, emotional, and straightforward moment. I’m actually finding this really nice.
— When singing “When You Wish Upon A Star”, Chevy imitates Jiminy Cricket’s facial expression, which some SNL fans incorrectly assume was just Chevy randomly making a stupid face to get a cheap laugh from the audience (something that he’s certainly not above doing). While it’s not particularly funny in the context of this monologue, he actually did this same Jiminy Cricket bit before, during one of his traditional Weekend Update phone gags back when he was a cast member.

STARS: ***½


LOBOTOL
(NAW) dumbs down prolific co-worker (CHO) with a dose of Lobotol

— A nice Nancy Walls showcase.
— Funny line from Nancy about her husband giving her a dose of Lobotol when he felt she was asking too many questions.
— Pretty good ending with the cutaway to a Lobotol-ized Cheri moving around helplessly while lost in a dress fabric.
STARS: ***


COCKPIT
boisterous girl Althea (CHO) visits with pilot (CHC) in the cockpit

— Hoo, boy. The debut of a short-lived Cheri Oteri recurring character that I remember never caring for. I’ll go into this with an open mind, especially since Cheri is new at this point.
— I will say Cheri is VERY convincing as a hyperactive little girl, both in looks and in acting.
— Chevy’s straight man reactions are making me laugh, such as him asking Cheri’s Althea character “Maybe you’d like to see the outside of the jet.”
— Another funny one-liner from Chevy, with him announcing into the intercom an annoyed-but-restrained “Will any freakin’ flight attendant come into the cockpit?”, which receives wild cheers from the audience.
— Good exchange with Althea telling Nancy’s stewardess character that the captain has two testicles and Nancy responding “Yes, I know.”
— Overall, definitely not as a bad as I remembered it. A lot of what made the sketch work was everybody’s reactions and responses to Althea.
STARS: ***


THE BLAME GAME
black (TIM) & white (CHC) contestants fan racial tensions

— Chevy does his usual shtick of trying to save a flubbed line of his by ad-libbing comical gibberish, something that was funny when he used to regularly do it on Weekend Update back in the original era whenever he flubbed a joke, but kinda detracted from this particular sketch.
— Tim to Chevy: “Why don’t you go put on a pair of Dockers and watch another episode of Mad About You?!” Great line.
— I’m loving this premise. Lots of funny dialogue of racial tension between Tim and Chevy.
— Mark is very solid as the gameshow host, which makes me wonder why SNL doesn’t use him in this role more often.
— The speed round with Tim is very funny.
— This is yet another sketch this season where Tim is giving a really strong performance. He’s been having a great season so far.
— Is Chevy’s constant premature ringing of the buzzer throughout this sketch an ad-libbed gag? If so, much like his aforementioned ad-libbed gibberish after flubbing a line earlier in this sketch, it’s not funny and is kinda detracting from this sketch. 1990s Chevy Chase just doesn’t have that great knack at pulling off ad-libs that 1970s Chevy Chase had.
— I like Nancy’s delivery of “(in a sweet manner) Don’t patronize me. My name isn’t honey. (in a suddenly bitter manner) YOU’VE WON A CLOCK.”
STARS: ****


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
an encounter with an escaped convict


BRAVEHEART
CHC advises JMB not to rely on physical comedy; Mariel Hemingway cameo

— I like the idea of this meta sketch.
— A very random cameo from the preceding episode’s host, Mariel Hemingway.
— When Jim tells Chevy he’s one of the new cast members, Chevy responds “Hope you can save the show.” Just a little comment that I found interesting, as it shows that people still weren’t sure yet if this new cast was going to work out and save SNL from cancellation.
— Nice to see Jim getting a lot of facetime as himself here, after having practically nothing to do in his first episode the preceding week.
— (*groan*) Chevy’s old routine of constantly calling someone by the wrong name is coming off particularly tired here.
— Not caring much for Chevy’s long speech to Jim.
— Good Chevy-esque pratfall from Jim down the stairs. I like the little touch of him slamming his head into the side of the stairs at one point during that fall.
— Pretty cool how the ending of this sketch segued into Chevy introducing the following musical performance. That adds to the exciting, fun feel of this new season.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Do You Sleep?”


WEEKEND UPDATE
from Central Park, Father Guido Sarducci reports on Pope’s lost wallet
Father Guido Sarducci tells the papal wallet finder that he’ll get a mass

— After using the Friends theme song for Norm’s new Update intro music in the preceding episode, tonight’s Update intro music is the theme of another then-current NBC show, E.R.. Are these NBC theme songs supposed to be Norm’s version of how Dennis Miller’s Updates used to open with a different rock song each week? Either way, it doesn’t last for Norm, as they would soon settle on an intro tune to use regularly for his Updates.
— Tonight’s Update starts with one of Norm’s most legendary Update jokes of all time, in which he says “It is finally official: murder is legal in the state of California” as a picture of O.J. is on the news screen. Classic.
— Some really big reactions from the audience towards some of Norm’s jokes tonight.
— A surprise return of Father Guido Sarducci.
— Interesting and I guess fitting how this and Sarducci’s last guest appearance were in episodes hosted by an SNL alum from the 70s cast (Bill Murray, Chevy Chase).
— As usual, Sarducci is getting some good laughs from a lot of little things, such as his bit with the Pope mask.
— I like how Norm is continuing his running gag from last season of punchlines that deal with a dog sniffing another dog’s ass.
— The continuation of the Father Guido Sarducci/pope bit feels a little unnecessary, but I liked Sarducci’s line about low masses.
STARS: ****½


ALWAYS & FOREVER
at their prom, ’70s teens (WIF) & (CHO) freak out with little provocation

— Ah, our very first Ferrell/Oteri character piece, I see.
— Will’s angry punching of the air during his outbursts is cracking me up.
— Speaking of Will’s outbursts in this sketch, they probably did nothing to stop some viewers’ fears at the time that Will would be another season 20-era Chris Farley who yells in every sketch. To me, Cheri’s coming off more shouty in this sketch than Will.
— Interesting how this is the second consecutive season where the second episode had a prom sketch set in the 70s.
— Fun running gag with Will and Cheri’s robotic dancing.
— So far, this sketch is more fascinating to me than funny. It’s pretty fun to watch the very first SNL display of Will and Cheri’s great chemistry from their Groundlings days together, even if I’m not laughing at every single thing in this. I still prefer this to the Cheerleaders sketches we’ll start seeing soon enough (though if the Cheerleaders had only lasted one installment and never became recurring, I’d probably have a bit more of a favorable reaction towards them like I’m having with this prom sketch).
— Will’s reaction to being told he’ll be getting a “BJ” is great.
STARS: ***


GANGSTA BITCH BARBIE
Gangsta Bitch Barbie & Tupac Ken are dolls appropriate to the urban scene

— Very funny concept, and I love how mid-90s this feels. It also feels kinda refreshing seeing such urban humor on SNL back in these days.
— A lot of good little details with the dolls’ various accessories.
STARS: ****


THE MARK FUHRMAN SHOW
Mark Fuhrman (CHC) says he likes (TIM)’s anti-white rap

— I love the name of Tim’s rapper character, MC Bodybag.
— Some funny lines here and there so far, but this is a slow sketch, and not in a good way.
— I’m getting some laughs from the snippet they’re playing of MC Bodybag’s song “Good Cop, Dead Cop”. I also like Fuhrman’s head-bopping during that.
— Very weak gag involving Fuhrman leaving a bloody glove where MC Bodybag had been sitting. Is that what this whole sketch was leading up to? Yikes. You can tell they were expecting that gag to get bigger laughs than it did.
STARS: **


O.J. TODAY
anchor Bill McDonald (WIF) & legal analysts do the final show

— Interesting how they’re bringing back this sketch from the season premiere.
— I like Will’s line about how O.J. Today’s timeslot will now be filled by Fantasy Island.
— Surprisingly, this is Molly’s first and only appearance all night.
— Norm’s whole awkward story about how he got hired as a lawyer is funny.
— Not crazy about the blooper reel that’s now playing, which isn’t providing many laughs.
— Sadly, this sketch is probably the biggest comedic role Koechner has gotten on SNL so far, which still isn’t saying much. He’s had a fairly quiet start in his two episodes so far, and has yet to be given any big showcase pieces, unlike his fellow newbies (even the very underused Jim Breuer had that Braveheart piece with Chevy).
— Overall, not much to this sketch, despite a few laughs in the pre-blooper reel half. I was expecting this to be so much better.
STARS: **


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS gives examples of how rock & roll is out of control

— Geez, once again, I almost forgot that this segment is a thing this season. Tonight’s installment is airing even later than the one from the season premiere.
— Spade’s imitation of The Cranberries’ Zombie song is funny.
— Yeesh, some of Spade’s jokes about rock music are coming off kinda cringeworthy and hacky.
— I do like the complete randomness of Spade just saying “When I was a kid, I had an ant farm” as a very brief non-sequitur segue into talking about FarmAid. That non-sequitur segue went by so fast, it almost doesn’t have time to register with you.
— Interesting hearing Spade do a Casey Kasem impression.
— Overall, much like the last Spade In America, I got a few laughs from this and I see some promise in this segment, but some parts were weak and there’s room for improvement. These Spade In America segments have not hit their stride yet.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Stay”


LAMPREYS
a boy (CHO) doesn’t want to part with his sucking creatures

— I really like this very random concept.
— Nice visual of Cheri entering with lampreys all over her.
— This makes two kid characters for Cheri tonight, each of opposite genders. Once again, Cheri’s very convincing in the role of a child.
— The amusing oddness of this sketch shows the huge change in SNL’s writing style this season. I cannot for the life of me imagine a sketch this delightfully random and weird appearing in the preceding season. Well, okay, now that I’m thinking about it, I guess season 20’s resident oddball Chris Elliott could’ve done this sketch. In fact, the more I think about it, I would’ve LOVED to have seen Chris Elliott do this sketch. The bizarre mental image of a bearded Chris Elliott in overalls and a little boy wig playing Cheri’s character in this odd Lampreys sketch is nothing short of fantastic. Dammit, WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE HAPPENED?!? I would’ve liked that version of this sketch even more than the Cheri Oteri version.
— The fact that this sketch is using the same living room set used in Chris Elliott’s (notorious) babysitter sketch with Mark makes it even easier for me to picture Elliott performing this Lampreys sketch.
— Funny pre-taped segment with Cheri’s character emotionally parting ways with each of his lampreys.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— After the preceding week’s solid season premiere, I was hoping tonight’s episode would keep the momentum going, but unfortunately, it instead ended up being a bit of a letdown. This episode had a somewhat forgettable feel, especially the post-Update half. I feel like the cold opening and The Blame Game were the only two sketches all night that I felt strongly about. There were some other pretty good sketches, but too much of the show hovered around the okay-to-meh range. There’s not much I’ll remember about this episode by the time I reach the end of this season. It’s understandable, though; after all, the new cast and writing staff are still growing at this point.
— Chevy Chase barely felt like the host. Towards the end of the episode, I kinda started forgetting who was even hosting. I think Chevy only appeared in ONE post-Update sketch. Maybe the idea was for him to mostly relax and let the new kids in the cast do their stuff, but it kinda feels like SNL should’ve spread his appearances throughout the episode instead of frontloading them in the first half. He also gave his usual questionable hosting performance, where he seemed a little off compared to how he was in his prime.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mariel Hemingway)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
David Schwimmer

Posted on

September 30, 1995 – Mariel Hemingway / Blues Traveler (S21 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

O.J. TODAY
Johnnie Cochran (TIM) uses the race card in closing arguments

— Right as this cold opening begins, the very first thing we see is new cast member Will Ferrell. I love that.
— The ridiculous O.J. Today title sequence is pretty funny.
— Tim’s Johnnie Cochran impression has really improved from the non-attempt at an impression he did of him in the preceding season.
— A hilarious visual of Cochran and his lawyer team in African garb.
— I like the brief shot of Mark’s Judge Ito shaking his head in disbelief over Cochran’s rant.
— Fantastic part with Cochran complaining about the prosecution playing “the evidence card”.
— I’m loving the increasing absurdity of Cochran’s speech.
— Tim’s performance is a riot. I’ve always looked at this cold opening as Tim’s attempt at proving his worth, considering he was originally one of the many cast members fired over the summer of 1995, before Lorne soon rehired him because SNL couldn’t find a new black guy and they needed someone to play O.J. Simpson. While I think it’s a very sad statement that the only reason Lorne brought Tim back is because SNL needed an O.J. (hey, Lorne, how about the fact that Tim is FUNNY and was one of the few cast members in season 20 who always put 100% in his performances?), Tim probably knew after his temporary firing that he needed to step it up. In this cold opening, he most certainly is stepping it up, and is knocking it out of the park. A great sign that, after five seasons in the cast, Tim is FINALLY going to have his breakout year this season.
— Overall, a solid way to kick off the new season.
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.

— We get a new SNL logo for the first time since 1988.
— For the first time in 10 seasons, cast members’ names are displayed onscreen in each of their individual shots.
— The many new cast members joining tonight are Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, David Koechner, Cheri Oteri, and Nancy Walls.
— Molly Shannon has been promoted from featured player to repertory player.
— Though on the surface, this theme music seems brand new, it’s actually just a slower, jazzier version of season 20’s theme music, minus the beginning and the key change towards the end.
— Speaking of the slightly modified theme music, something about the combo of it and this opening montage has an elegant, classy feel that I really like.


MONOLOGUE
while introducing the new cast, host passionately kisses the females

— We have a new homebase stage, for the first time since way back in 1986. The 1986-1995 homebase isn’t completely gone, though; it was simply moved to the left of the studio, where it will be the musical guest stage for these next three seasons.
— I like how right out of the gate in this monologue, Mariel Hemingway addresses all the big changes made to SNL over the summer.
— Fun idea of Mariel going around backstage to introduce the new cast to us.
— I love the look on Mark’s face when Mariel passionately kisses Cheri Oteri on the lips.
— I feel bad during Jim Breuer’s brief intro, considering he ends up having practically nothing to do tonight in his first show. Even sadder, he’s shown in this monologue rehearsing lines off a script, even though this ends up being his final live appearance tonight, and all of his roles tonight are non-speaking bit parts. Years later, Jim would tell a funny story as a guest on a radio show, I believe (I can’t remember what show it was, but there is/was a YouTube video of Jim telling this story on that show) about how his dad, who traveled all the way to SNL tonight to see Jim’s debut, unhappily confronted Lorne backstage after the show because Jim was practically shut out of the episode.
— A bit of a questionable premise of Mariel passionately kissing each of the female cast members (I guess it’s parodying the famous Roseanne episode she appeared in, as well as other lesbian roles that I hear she’s played over the years), but it’s coming off pretty fun in its execution.
— I love the casual look on Tim’s face in the background during Mariel’s kissing of Molly. I also love how Mariel just casually says “Hi, Tim” when walking away from Molly.
— Mariel’s doing a very solid job navigating this busy monologue.
— Funny background gag of two female NBC pages fearfully running away after Mariel walks past them.
STARS: ***½


A.M. ALE
it lets you feel OK about getting an early-morning buzz

— Pretty funny concept.
— Catchy commercial jingle, especially the chorus.
— I’ve never been quite as crazy about this commercial as some other SNL fans are, but this is a funny, well-done, and nicely-filmed commercial, and a good inaugural one for this era.
STARS: ***½


GET OFF THE SHED!
Frank (WIF) dampens cookout mood by threatening his shed-climbing kids

— I think this sketch is replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns. I swear I remember seeing Will wear an apron in that version, which he doesn’t in this live version. (I don’t have enough time right now to dig up a rerun version of this sketch to do a side-by-side screencap comparision.)
— I love that the only cast members featured in this lead-off sketch are newbies.
— I’m getting big laughs from Will’s various sudden “GET OFF THE SHED!” outbursts and him always following that by seamlessly going right back to friendly conversations with the neighbors.
— Mariel’s “You smell good!” to Nancy Walls was certainly… random. Some SNL fans wonder if that was intended as a callback to the monologue, but I think it was just intended as a brief display of random humor. The silliness of it kinda works for me in the context of this sketch.
— Will’s threats to the kids are getting more and more funny and psychotic, such as “THERE’S GONNA BE A MEETING BETWEEN YOUR ASS AND THE PALM OF MY HAND!” and “I WILL PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE!”
— I like David Koechner and Nancy begging the kids to get off the shed when Will removes his belt and goes off-camera to confront the kids.
— A disappointingly weak ending with Mariel asking the kids to get off the fountain.
— Overall, what a way to introduce Will Ferrell’s style to us. I love that his first major role is as Will Ferrell-esque as a Will Ferrell role can get. A great sign of things to come from him.
STARS: ****


NIGHTLINE
Bob Dole (NOM) is bitter about Colin Powell’s (TIM) popularity

— A great choice of a celebrity impression to let newbie impressionist Darrell Hammond debut with. I love the Ted Koppel voice he’s using, as does the audience.
— Feels kinda odd seeing Darrell in his debut, knowing how very long we’re going to be seeing him in the cast. (Even just saying the words “newbie Darrell Hammond” feels weird.) For that same reason, I’m sure I will have that same odd feel when I reach Kenan Thompson’s first season.
— Interestingly enough, I think this is the first time we’re seeing Tim’s Colin Powell impression since Tim’s very first episode (in which he played Powell in one of Chris Rock’s Nat X sketches). At least they got rid of the unnecessary pudgy facial prosthetics he wore as Powell in that first appearance.
— Great to see the debut of Norm’s Bob Dole impression, which I’ve always been a huge fan of.
— Funny cutaways to Norm-as-Dole’s bitter facial expressions when Tim-as-Powell is going on and on.
— Great crack from Dole to Powell about how we “really kicked ass” in Vietnam.
— There’s a little greenness in Darrell’s delivery at times here, but otherwise, he’s nailing his first big sketch.
— Dole: “Prayer in school, Bob Dole’s for it. Balanced budget, Bob Dole’s for it. Vaginal sex, Bob Dole’s for it.”
— Koppel’s various interpretations of Dole’s offensive statements are made hilarious by the Koppel voice Darrell’s speaking in.
STARS: ****


LEG UP
Ann Miller (MOS), Debbie Reynolds (CHO), Elizabeth Berkley (host)

— A big audio gaffe with Don Pardo’s voice-over during the opening title sequence.
— Right out of the gate, I’m liking the way Cheri Oteri is carrying herself in her very first sketch appearance.
— Cheri’s Debbie Reynolds, regarding Mariel’s Elizabeth Berkley: “She’s so stunning, I’d like to shoot her in back of the head.”
— Fantastic chemistry between Molly and Cheri.
— I’m noticing some approval-seeking in Cheri’s performance, where she always delivers a funny line while looking directly at the studio audience in a way that she knows the audience will react. I do recall that being a habit of Cheri’s throughout her SNL tenure, and I can definitely see why that would annoy some people, but considering this is her first episode and first sketch, I find her looking-at-the-audience-for-approval thing forgivable and actually kind of charming in a weird way. We’ll see how long that goodwill of mine is going to last.
— Debbie Reynolds: “You’re looking at the lunch meat in a Gene Kelly/Donald O’Connor sandwich.”
— I love the “That’s a sore subject” part with Molly and Cheri.
— After having just gone through SNL’s early 90s era, in which female cast members were at their most underused, disrespected, and neglected, there’s a sight throughout this sketch that’s nothing short of incredible: SNL actually allowing female cast members to be funny, wild, and brash, something that was practically unheard of in season 20. An exciting sign that the Boys Club of the previous era is officially over and this new era is going to be a big change for female cast members.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
NAW’s stories about the poor state of society make you shake your head

   

— Another noticeable format change in tonight’s season premiere: the tradition of the musical guest’s first performance airing before Weekend Update has been changed. For these next five seasons, the first musical performance will often be airing AFTER Update.
— Norm gets a new Update title sequence, which is randomly accompanied by the Friends theme song for tonight only.
— The new visual quality of this season is particularly noticeable during this Weekend Update. Even though this Update has the same anchorperson and same set as the preceding season, the overall look of Update is so different this season (side-by-side comparisons between last season’s Updates and this season’s Updates below).

— Interesting-seeming idea of a Head-Shaking News segment from Nancy Walls.
— Nancy’s segment started off a little slow, but it’s gotten funnier starting with the story about the abuse a swan suffered.
— Interesting meta ending to Nancy’s commentary, with her and Norm shaking their heads over this commentary being Nancy’s big spot on her first show.
— There’s Norm’s famous “Better Than Ezra” joke, one of my favorite Norm Update jokes of all time.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Run-Around”


GETTING OFF THE PHONE
(WIF) has trouble coming up with ways to help wife (host) end phone calls

— Will’s sudden “You on the phone again, bitch?!?” killed me.
— Now Will has an even funnier bad getting-off-the-phone excuse, with his hilarious Skeletor bit.
— Will’s performance is reminding me that when giving their thoughts on this season premiere, Entertainment Weekly voted Will “Most Annoying New Cast Member” for his work in both this sketch and Get Off The Shed. I also recall someone on an SNL messageboard telling a story a few years ago of how, when he watched this season premiere with his dad when it originally aired, his dad’s first comment after the episode ended was “I hate that new guy who yells all the time”, referring to Will. Haha, I love Will and I love his performances in both this sketch and Get Off The Shed, but I can see why his loud delivery in both of those sketches would be off-putting to some viewers at the time who weren’t used to him, considering this is coming right after a season in which Chris Farley screamed his way through practically every damn sketch. Those viewers were probably worried that we were getting more of the same with Will. To me, the difference between Will Ferrell Yelling Sketches (not just the ones from tonight’s episode, but ones throughout his SNL tenure) and season 20 Chris Farley Yelling Sketches is that the Ferrell ones usually have solid writing backing them up, usually giving Will very funny dialogue to yell, whereas the season 20 Farley Yelling Sketches usually suffered from very poor, one-note writing, and seemed to be just using his yelling as a lazy crutch. It also doesn’t help that Chris had become very one-note by that late stage of his SNL tenure, giving loud and over-the-top performances even in roles that didn’t call for it, whereas Will is a much more versatile performer who would play calm and restrained just as often as, if not more than, he would play loud roles.
— Reruns of this sketch would use the dress rehearsal version of at least some portions, if not the entire sketch. One of the most noticeable differences is that in the live version I’m watching, Will delivers the line “Hide this balloon of heroin up your rectum”, whereas in the rerun version, he delivers the line as “Hide this balloon of heroin up your ass”. I can’t decide which line is funnier, as they both slay me.
— I love the random “Oh, and I killed the dog” ending, accompanied by Will holding up a stuffed dog. The dress rehearsal version of this ending shown in reruns is slightly different, as it ends on a close-up of Mariel screaming in horror after the dead dog reveal, whereas the live version stays on a wide shot of her and Will as she does a slightly different scream of horror. I prefer the version with the close-up of her scream, because it cuts to that close-up immediately after Will holds up the dead dog, which I feel is funnier because it gives the brief visual of the dead dog a more humorously disturbing tone.
STARS: ****


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS gives the Unabomber some advice about his image

— Oh, that’s right, David Spade is still in the cast. I actually started forgetting that by this point of tonight’s episode.
— After trying to get used to SO MANY new faces in the cast tonight, it feels odd seeing a familiar face in this solo piece. Strangely, I didn’t feel that way much during Norm’s Update earlier tonight. Maybe because Norm hasn’t been a cast veteran as long as Spade.
— After reviewing the last few preceding seasons, it feels kinda lonely seeing Spade in a show that has neither Chris Farley nor Adam Sandler in it anymore.
— Considering how stale Spade got in sketches in the preceding season, the idea to now exclude him from sketches and instead give him his own isolated segment as himself actually seems somewhat refreshing. This is creative and unique for SNL, because, excluding Weekend Update, I can’t think of any prior time in the show’s history where a cast member was given a regular weekly isolated segment as themselves, unless I’m forgetting something.
— Spade’s “You’re comin’ off gay” message to the Unabomber has not aged well.
— Spade gets in a dig at the fact that Prince was the originally-booked musical guest for this episode but flaked out on the show.
— Spade’s little impression of Prince was pretty dumb, but made me laugh a lot.
— Another pretty funny dig from Spade, this time regarding the WB Network.
— Spade, on how he tries to pick up chicks by telling them he’s the Unabomber: “Lately, it works better than saying I’m on Saturday Night Live, that’s for sure.”
— Overall, the homophobia towards the Unabomber’s look does not hold up, and this overall segment had David doing his usual shtick and he still seems to have some of that aloof “I don’t wanna be here” attitude that plagued his performances a year earlier in season 20, but I gotta say, his style actually came off kinda refreshing in this new Spade In America format and I saw some hints of that acerbic wit that I remember loving from him in his first few seasons. I got some laughs in this inaugural Spade In America installment, but there’s room for improvement, which I think we’ll get going forward.
STARS: **½


BIOGRAPHY
host tells how she almost didn’t get Central Park West part

— The idea of Central Park West having four guys play the main female character is priceless, as is the clip of that happening. I especially love the four guys’ sloppy attempts at speaking in unison.
— Several funny bizarre lines from the narrator, such as Darren Starr holding a conference in a cave outside of Mexico City.
— Another funny line from the narrator, this time regarding Central Park West’s secret decision to film the four guys in a dress without any film in the camera.
STARS: either ***½ or ****, I can’t decide yet


FUZZY MEMORIES BY JACK HANDEY
dad’s reaction to a bully

— Looks like Jack Handey has replaced Deep Thoughts with a new recurring segment. Probably a necessary change, because, as much as I hate to say it, his Deep Thoughts seemed to be running a little out of steam in the preceding season.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hook”


THE CHICKEN LADY SHOW
non-judgemental program features fetishists

— Kinda surreal seeing Mark’s Chicken Lady character from Kids In The Hall being brought to SNL. However, it’s very disappointing that they’re relegating this character to one of SNL’s biggest crutches: the public access TV show format. This idea is a waste of this character.
— I believe this is intended as a parody of The Robyn Byrd Show. Please don’t tell me that the last name Byrd is how SNL got the idea to have Chicken Lady host this show. If so, that is groanworthy.
— Will as a bearded infantilist is very funny.
— I like the occasional cutaways to a random silent man (played by new SNL writer Adam McKay) tied up in S&M gear.
— Overall, good performances from everyone, but this use of Chicken Lady was a misfire and paled badly in comparison to this character’s sketches on Kids In The Hall.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid start to the new SNL era. Right from this first episode, you can see loads of potential for this era, and there was a much more refreshing, exciting feel than the troubled preceding season had. There were several strong sketches tonight, and only one real lowlight for me (The Chicken Lady Show). (I wasn’t too crazy about tonight’s Spade In America, but I see some potential there.) I also liked the little hints of absurd random humor thrown in during some portions the show (especially in the Biography sketch), which feels different from the humor of the preceding era.
— Aside from Jim Breuer, the new cast members were represented well, with each of them getting at least one moment in the spotlight (well, maybe not David Koechner, but he appeared throughout the show, at least). Will Ferrell, by far, was the newbie who ran away with tonight’s show. You can immediately sense his strong leadership skills, and most of my biggest laughs of the night were from him.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1994-95)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Chevy Chase