Tag: 1996-97

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January 11, 1997 – Kevin Spacey / Beck (S22 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NEW RATING SYSTEM
John Cleese & Michael Palin [real] explain SNL’s sketch ratings system

— Palin and Cleese!
— Already starting off funny with the applause bit.
— Ah, that’s right, this was back when the TV ratings system was a new thing.
— I love Lorne saying about SNL, in regards to his children, “I don’t want them watching this crap.”
— I love this concept, and there’s a lot of laughs from the content rating for sketches, complete with a clip demonstrating each type of sketch.
— Considering how quickly tired I’ve gotten of Goat Boy’s one-note childish shtick while doing these reviews, I particularly enjoyed the dig about Goat Boy not being suitable for anyone over the age of 14.
— Another particularly good laugh, with the “gratuitous, unnecessary, mild vomiting” bit.
— I love the rating for if Chris Farley ever returns to host: “May contain portions of fat man’s ass”, demonstrated with a clip of Farley’s infamous accidental mooning from a notorious UFO sketch.
STARS: ****½


MONOLOGUE
while host sings, on-screen text says that he really is a psycho

— Ah, they’re doing the old “Buck Henry onscreen text monologue” gimmick. I always find this type of monologue to be a fun throwback.
— The onscreen text in tonight’s monologue is like a more violent, psychotic version of the monologue they did when Bill Murray hosted in season 18.
— Some particularly funny lines from the onscreen text so far, especially the mention of Kevin’s demand for a separate dressing room for his split personality “The Bad Kevin”, and the mention of an incident in which Kevin stuck a gun in Norm’s mouth.
— Needless to say, Kevin’s real-life ruined reputation in more modern days puts this monologue into a bit of a different light in retrospect, but I’m still enjoying it.
STARS: ***½


THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
repetition dominates the program

 

— Hell yeah! The debut of Norm’s David Letterman impression!
— “Uh… y-ya got any gum???”
— Such a hilarious Letterman impression from Norm.
— I love the spoof of the typical banter Letterman always has with Paul Shaffer, the latter being played perfectly by Mark.
— The violent coughing fit that Norm’s Letterman has laughed himself into is absolutely slaying me.
— The first of MANY funny and spot-on celebrity impressions from Kevin Spacey tonight.
— A pricelessly random and pointless “Can You Sell Me a Hot Dog” segment.
— Every single thing about this overall sketch was absolutely perfect to me. A goofy little masterpiece.
STARS: *****


MARIJUANA DOCTOR
easy-to-get prescriptions show potential danger of medical marijuana laws

— Hilarious turn with Kevin casually prescribing Will “two huge bags of weed”. I also love Will’s confused reaction to that.
— Another great line, with Kevin recommending Darrell take “two huge bong hits”, a line made even funnier by Kevin’s fantastic delivery.
— I absolutely love Tracy’s performance as Kevin’s shady weed guy, a precursor to a running joke in Tracy’s later seasons about Tracy loving weed.
— Kevin is so perfect for this sketch. I love his execution of this material.
— Very funny walk-on from Michael Palin.
— During the direct-to-camera PSA turn at the end, I got a big laugh from Palin introducing himself as “Home Improvement star Tim Allen”.
— Funny PSA at the end about keeping pot on the streets “where it belongs”.
STARS: ****


STAR WARS 20TH ANNIVERSARY HOME VIDEO
Star Wars 20th anniversary re-release contains unsuccessful screen tests

— Yes! Here comes a now-legendary SNL piece.
— The first of many pre-taped movie screen test sketches that SNL has done over the years, and to this day, the best one. No matter how many of these screen tests pieces SNL will continue to do, they’ll probably never top these Star Wars ones.
— Darrell never fails to crack me up as an angrily-ranting Richard Dreyfuss.
— I love that they’re letting Kevin do various impressions in this. He is simply incredible here with this great Christopher Walken and Walter Matthau.
— Looking forward to seeing Part 2 of this later in tonight’s episode.
STARS: *****


JANET RENO’S DANCE PARTY
Janet Reno (WIF) insists on hoofing to “My Sharona”

— Tonight’s episode is on a freakin’ roll.
— I absolutely love the very random concept of this sketch. This sketch is killer right from the opening visual of Will’s Janet Reno dancing wildly to “My Sharona” among a huge group of teens in a basement.
— I’m always down for an appearance from SNL writer Frank Sebastiano (the second above screencap for this sketch). Dude looks hilarious.
— I love Kevin as Donna Shalala.
— A great running bit with Will’s Reno refusing to dance to any song that’s not “My Sharona”.
STARS: *****


STAR WARS 20TH ANNIVERSARY HOME VIDEO
more Star Wars screen tests by celebrities who didn’t appear in the film

— Norm’s Burt Reynolds is always a riot.
— Kevin is absolutely priceless as a foul-mouthed, uncooperative Jack Lemmon.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
NOM asks Courtney Love (MOS) about her role in The People vs. Larry Flynt

— Did Norm blow his voice out during the Letterman sketch earlier tonight? He sounds hoarse during this Update.
— I definitely like Molly’s Courtney Love impression better as an Update correspondent than as the host of her own talk show. She’s really cracking me up here.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Where It’s At”


MONKEY LAB
Mr. Peepers refuses to behave for laboratory assistant (WIF)

— The streak of greatness tonight comes to a bit of a halt, as we get the return of a one-time funny Chris Kattan bit that won’t work as a recurring sketch.
— I will say that Kevin is a fantastic straight man to Mr. Peepers; better than Tom Hanks was in the first installment of this sketch. Kevin is making this installment fun.
— An amusing and disgusting visual of Mr. Peepers sucking on Will’s face.
— Wow, the sketch is already over. They were wise to keep this sketch short, and this ended up being better than I thought it would be.
STARS: ***


TV FUNHOUSE
“X-Presidents” by RBS- superheroes Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush foil a plot

— The debut of The X-Presidents.
— I love each president’s one-liner before hitting a villain, especially Jimmy Carter saying “I have lusted in my heart… to kick your ass.”
— Between the Ambiguously Gay Duo and now this, Robert Smigel has a knack for making entertaining parodies of animated superhero cartoons.
— I love the jolly 1970s-esque musical at the end.
STARS: ***½


THE JOE PESCI SHOW
Al Pacino (host) & Rodney Dangerfield (DAH)

— Another very funny impression from Kevin, as his Al Pacino is cracking me up and he’s giving a strong performance.
— Very funny delivery from Kevin of the line “What am I, cock-a-roach?”
— I absolutely love Darrell’s Rodney Dangerfield impression. It’s especially funny seeing it a few episodes after the real Rodney appeared on SNL.
STARS: ***½


DEAD PARROT
Mr. Praline (John Cleese) returns dead parrot to (Michael Palin)’s shop

— A re-enactment of a legendary Monty Python sketch. This re-enactment is notorious for inexplicably receiving complete silence from the audience, from what I’ve been told.
— Well, we at least get recognition applause early on when the audience realizes what sketch they’re in for.
— Hmm, am I watching a different show than the one that people claimed the audience was dead in? The audience has been laughing just fine during this sketch so far. Not quite as hard as they should be laughing, but they’re not dead at all.
— Okay, I’m noticing that the audience’s laughter is getting more and more mild as the sketch goes on. Still not quite as bad as I had heard their reaction to this sketch was.
— I do have to wonder, why are Palin and Cleese re-enacting this Dead Parrot script anyway? This re-enactment is kinda fun, but also feels kinda unnecessary. I’d rather have seen Palin and Cleese perform a new Python-esque piece.
STARS: Not quite sure what to give this. The original Monty Python version would get an undisputed *****, and while I enjoyed this re-enactment, it didn’t come remotely close to measuring up to the original, so I’m afraid I’ll have to give it ***.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Devil’s Haircut”


HOME SECURITY
home security technician (host) tires of Mrs. Attebury’s (ANG) stories

— The debut of what would go on to be a now-obscure Ana Gasteyer recurring sketch that I had completely forgotten about until now. Thinking back on it, I remember never caring much for this character of Ana’s. We’ll see how I react to her now.
— I’m now a minute-and-a-half into this sketch, and yeah, this is as weak as I had remembered. Ana’s character is doing nothing for me. Mark’s deadpan interjections as her disinterested husband are providing some amusement, though.
— My slowburn towards this sketch is starting to mirror Kevin’s impatient facial expressions in this.
— Wow, a sudden turn with Kevin going on an insane violent rant.
— I love Kevin’s angry threat to “shoot crystal meth into my thigh and go caveman on you! (*thrusts hips*)”, only to playfully reveal he was only kidding around just to get a word in edgewise.
STARS: **½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— This is a highly-regarded episode among SNL fans, and it’s easy to see why. This was a very strong episode, mainly the first half, which was PHENOMENAL. One classic segment after another, pretty much. Things slowed down in the second half, but it was still good, and the overall show is a keeper. Kevin Spacey was an outstanding host, working well in every single sketch, having great comic timing, and displaying a countless number of hilarious celebrity impressions. He even managed to make an unnecessary sequel to Mr. Peepers work, and managed to almost singlehandedly save the Home Security sketch.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Rosie O’Donnell)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
David Alan Grier

Posted on

December 14, 1996 – Rosie O’Donnell / Whitney Houston (S22 E9)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

CLINTON HELPS DOLE
Bill Clinton (DAH) offers multiple cabinet posts to Bob Dole (NOM)

 

— Interesting seeing Darrell’s Clinton in 1996 briefly bragging about avoiding impeachment. Remember that this is a little over a year before the Lewinsky scandal broke out.
— Ha, the debut of Will’s Janet Reno impression! I’m very surprised to see that here, as I had always thought that Will’s Reno impression didn’t debut until a certain famous sketch in the very next episode (you’ll probably figure out what the famous sketch in question is when I name the next episode’s host at the end of this review).
— Ah, that’s right, this was the Christmas season where Tickle Me Elmo was all the rage.
— The chaotic Michael Jackson scene at the end is pretty funny.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host, musical guest, Penny Marshall [real] sing “I Got You Babe”

— Ha, did Norm write Rosie’s harsh O.J. joke?
— I was hoping Rosie would continue with the stand-up jokes, but the monologue instead turns into a musical. Normally, I’d be very iffy about a musical monologue, but I can let it slide tonight considering this is the Christmas show.
— A pretty funny backhanded comment from Rosie to Penny Marshall regarding the age difference between them.
STARS: ***


DARNETTE DISPOSABLE TOILETS
Darnette Disposable Toilets ensure a germ-free bathroom experience

— A very funny concept of a disposable toilet.
— Some laughs from all the complicated steps it takes to install the disposable toilet.
STARS: ***½


HICKORY FARMS
too-heavy real Spartan (host) joins Hickory Farms temps Craig & Arianna

 

— Unlike their last appearance, the Cheerleaders receive their usual recognition applause from the audience tonight.
— I like the unflattering dolls Rosie displays of Craig and Arianna.
— Earlier in this project, I thought I’d kinda hate most of the Cheerleaders sketches, but instead, I’ve been occasionally finding myself actually somewhat enjoying some of them. When their sketches involve actual storylines and don’t just consist of Craig and Arianna doing various cheers for five minutes with the host shoehorned into a brief 15-second walk-on, these sketches can actually be tolerable.
— Another very catchy famous song played at the end of a Cheerleaders sketch while they’re doing their “perfect cheer”, with tonight’s song being “Super Freak”.
STARS: ***


ST. MONICA CHRISTMAS CHOIR
Mary Katherine Gallagher steals choir soloist’s (musical guest) spotlight

— I see SNL’s breaking out all of their big characters for tonight’s Christmas show. In fact, IIRC, literally EVERY SINGLE SKETCH tonight is recurring. I kid you not, folks. Let’s see if that recollection of mine is correct as this episode goes along.
— I believe this is widely considered one of the more memorable Mary Katherine Gallagher installments, though I personally have never been too crazy about it. Hopefully, I’ll come around on it during tonight’s viewing.
— Rosie starts cracking up after MKG does her usual sniffing-hands-after-putting-them-under-armpits routine.
— Overall, this MKG installment was a little more enjoyable and fun than I found it in the past, but I still think it’s a little overrated.
STARS: ***


THE DELICIOUS DISH
Margaret Jo & Terry discuss gingerbread & talk about citrus with (host)

— Yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— Like last time, some solid laughs from Ana and Molly’s mild-mannered excitement over so many mundane topics. These Delicious Dish sketches are not only amusing, but have a charm to them as well.
— For the first time ever, a Delicious Dish sketch has a guest.
— In the two Delicious Dish sketches that have aired so far, the two callers in both sketches have been played by Mark and Cheri. It’s funny to imagine that the characters Mark and Cheri are playing are the ONLY two listeners that the dull Delicious Dish show has, though I doubt that’s an intentional gag on SNL’s part.
STARS: ***½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Don We Now… Or Never” by RBS- The Ambiguously Gay Duo saves Santa

— If this counts as a recurring sketch, then yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— Funny subversion with the title “Don We Now… Or Never”.
— I love the cop telling the mayor “Pay up , I win” after Ace and Gary reveal that neither of them have a wife.
— Funny visual of Ace and Gary’s penis-shaped car spurting out shots of flame.
— A particularly hilarious part with Ace and Gary getting into the “69” position to go into roll mode. You can hear some audience members going absolutely wild during that part.
STARS: ****


A CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM GOAT BOY
Goat Boy extends Christmas greetings by singing “Silent Night”

— Yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— I’m glad they’re putting Goat Boy back into his original setting of singing songs, after how quickly tired I got of his Hey, Remember The 80s sketches.
— Ehh, this overall sketch didn’t turn out too funny. I think the Hey, Remember The 80s sketches burned me out permanently on Goat Boy’s one-note shtick.
STARS: **


WEEKEND UPDATE
Beavis & Butt-Head [real] report on the true meaning of Christmas

— We get a callback to Norm’s classic “Happy birthday, Jesus, hope ya like crap!” joke about Kenny G, only this time, it’s about Michael Bolton.
— Very interesting having a Beavis & Butthead interview on SNL. It’s going to be weird seeing animated characters in a live segment on SNL.
— The overall Beavis & Butthead segment was okay, but for some reason, their humor didn’t come off quite as funny as usual in SNL’s format. Not sure why.
— Another Update that ends with Norm genuinely being surprised that it’s time to wrap up Update.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “I Believe In You & Me”


NATIVITY SCENE
Rita Delvecchio faces off against Nativity scene rival (Penny Marshall)

— Yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— As I said in the last installment of this sketch, I always enjoy the realism and slice-of-life aspect of these Rita Delvecchio sketches. I can picture this being a recurring sketch in the original SNL era in the 70s.
— Funny bit with Cheri’s Rita saying she had to dress up a G.I. Joe doll as a Black Jesus after the Black Jesus from her nativity scene display got stolen.
— I like the rivalry between Rita and her neighbor, played by Penny Marshall.
— Overall, one of the better installments of this recurring sketch.
STARS: ***½


RUSSELL & TATE
Russell & Tate kick butt for you at the Supreme Court with no money down

— Yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— Considering Tracy’s extreme underutilization lately, it’s good to see him get a recurring character. That being said, this ends up being the final appearance of this sketch, IIRC.
— Tracy is particularly hilarious in tonight’s Russell & Tate installment. He’s cracking me the hell up throughout this.
— I like Mark’s sinister laugh at the end of his testimonial as Ted Turner.
STARS: ***½


THE LOCAL NEWS
Joe Blow welcomes recent widow (host) to his basement

— Yep, the recurring character streak tonight continues.
— I laughed at Joe Blow’s line “Killed in his own home… by a Pop Tart.”
— Like in the first installment of this sketch, the audience is very quiet, but I enjoy the realism of this sketch. I still prefer Joe Blow as a Weekend Update character, though.
— A funny ending with Rosie’s “Christmas gift” to Darrell’s Uncle Frank character.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “I Go To The Rock”


GOODNIGHTS
host & castmembers say “good night” from Rockefeller Center skating rink

— Ice skating goodnights, for the first time since way back in season 2! These are always fun to watch.
— Stephen Colbert can be seen among the people skating (the last screencap above).

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A decent Christmas episode, but not particularly great. There weren’t any segments that I gave a rating over three-and-a-half stars to, aside from TV Funhouse. Most of the show just ranged from okay to pretty good. I did like the feel-good, fun, Christmas-y vibe to this episode, though, especially with the occasional sketch participation from Penny Marshall and Whitney Houston. Also, as I pointed out throughout the review, this episode was comprised ENTIRELY of recurring sketches (not counting the cold opening, although even that involved recurring impressions). I wonder if this has the distinction of being the only episode in SNL history that is 100% comprised of recurring sketches. The Danny DeVito-hosted Christmas episode from a few years later in season 25 comes very close, but there’s one then-original sketch at the end of that episode: the debut of Molly Shannon’s Sally “I’m 50!” O’Malley character, which eventually went on to become recurring anyway, so some might even argue that that episode also counts as being 100% comprised of recurring sketches.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Martin Short)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter the year 1997, with host Kevin Spacey

Posted on

December 7, 1996 – Martin Short / No Doubt (S22 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

CHILD CUSTODY HEARING
at child custody hearing, O.J. Simpson (TIM) admits murder guilt

— Another O.J. Trial cold opening, for the second consecutive episode.
— I love Tim’s O.J. trying to guess when Black History Month is, going through each month but skipping February.
— Much like the last O.J. Trial cold opening, quite a number of things in this are tickling me, but this one isn’t quite as funny as the last opening.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
MAS talks about the ups & downs of SNL & sings about the show’s history

— Martin’s doing a good job comically milking the applause at the beginning.
— The SNL nerd in me absolutely loves Martin’s rundown of the up-and-down evolution of SNL, saying stuff like “First it was hip, then it got bad but was still hip, then it got… etc.” And then after all of that, he says “And then its second season started…”
— The pre-taped scene of Martin’s dinner with Lorne is great.
— I love the SNL backdrop that’s brought onstage behind Martin as he begins his SNL song.
— Fantastic SNL song from Martin, musically listing off a number of hosts from each SNL decade.
— Now the song is getting even better, with Martin going up a fancy set of stairs and eventually going into the audience. Very fun.
— Excellent conclusion to Martin’s song, with him swinging towards the home base stage on a grappling hook and busting through the aforementioned SNL backdrop. They’re going all out on this monologue.
STARS: *****


CELEBRITY JEOPARDY
Sean Connery (DAH), Burt Reynolds (NOM), Jerry Lewis (MAS)

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring sketch debut! Words cannot express how excited I am to reach the debut of this now-legendary recurring sketch.
— There’s the first sighting of what would go on to be a Celebrity Jeopardy staple: the category “Potent Potables”.
— Funny how primitive this debut of Celebrity Jeopardy feels compared to later installments. That being said, this debut still has many of the Celebrity Jeopardy features that you’d now expect.
— Darrell’s Sean Connery misreading “’s’ words” as “swords” gets the honor of being Celebrity Jeopardy’s very first classic category misreading.
— As always, a great Jerry Lewis impression from Martin.
— I love Darrell-as-Connery’s angry delivery of “It begun with a bloody ‘s’!”
— Norm’s Burt Reynolds impression, making its debut, is absolutely slaying me.
— Darrell’s Connery is noticeably less vulgar than he would memorably go on to eventually be in these sketches.
— Each contestant’s written Final Jeopardy answer is hilarious.
— Overall, a strong debut for this sketch, though there are definitely even funnier installments of this sketch to come.
STARS: ****½


MARTHA STEWART’S HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: TOPLESS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Martha Stewart’s (ANG) topless Christmas special showcases holiday tips

— Another important debut tonight, as we get the very first appearance of Ana’s Martha Stewart impression!
— And what a way for Ana’s Martha Stewart to debut. The classic Topless Christmas Special sketch!
— This sketch is a perfect combo of an incredible, dead-on celebrity impression and a priceless random, raunchy concept, and it’s being executed perfectly.
— Ana continues to impress me as a new cast member. So far, her first season has been better than I had remembered. She’s been doing quite a lot of solid stuff so far. Even her one-note Kincaid character, who I used to find really annoying when I was younger, has been giving me some laughs while I’ve been reviewing this season (though I still feel she should’ve been a one-appearance-only character).
— I love the scene that starts with a tight closeup of Ana-as-Martha-Stewart’s face, where it looks like she’s wearing a red turtleneck sweater, only for the camera to zoom out and reveal that the neck portion of the sweater is the ONLY thing she’s wearing as a top.
— Ana’s rhythmic chest-shaking at the end is hilarious.
STARS: *****


ED GRIMLEY IN HEAVEN
Ed Grimley is sent back from Heaven’s gate by (CHC) to live a little

— The great vibes in tonight’s episode continue, as we get the obligatory return of Ed Grimley.
— I like the callback to the old traditional gag of Grimley’s delayed reaction to taking out a hot pot from the oven without wearing oven mitts.
— Yes! And there’s Grimley’s priceless triangle dance. I’m surprised it’s getting such a muted reaction from the audience tonight.
— A random Chevy Chase cameo, which unfortunately reminds me that we have a particularly weak hosting stint from him coming up later this season.
— At least Chevy seems more enthusiastic here than I recall him being in his aforementioned hosting stint from later this season.
— I like the ridiculously brief “highlight reel” of Grimley’s life.
— Funny visual of Grimley trying to give mouth-to-mouth to his fish by putting half of the fish’s body into his mouth.
STARS: ****


THE ROXBURY GUYS
Roxbury Guys initiate foreigner Jaleel (MAS) into NYC nightclub life

 

— SNL continues their futile attempt to catch lightning in a bottle twice after the success of the Jim Carrey installment of Roxbury Guys.
— I like the shot of Martin’s pet goat rhythmically bopping its head like the Roxbury Guys.
— Boy, SNL sure loves throwing Tim in drag.
— Wow, I’ve never heard “What Is Love” go on this long during a Roxbury Guys sketch. We’re now hearing a verse that we usually never hear in these sketches.
— Overall, much like I said in the Tom Hanks installment of this sketch earlier this season, I found this Roxbury Guys installment somewhat fun to watch, despite it coming nowhere close to the untouchable Jim Carrey installment. However, I’m noticing that said fun feel of these Roxbury Guys sketches is slowly starting to subside for me. Uh-oh.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
Lenny The Lion describes his difficulties with the health care system

— A Donald Trump joke that interestingly ends with the punchline “…just in case there are a few people out there who still don’t hate him.” And remember, folks, this is 1996 that this joke is being told in.
— The second and, I believe, final Lenny The Lion appearance from Colin.
— Some laughs from Lenny The Lion, and the writing isn’t bad, but I’m not finding this commentary particularly hilarious. I do like him making a big deal about how turning his head to the side is “my move”.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Don’t Speak”


THE BARBARA WALTERS SPECIAL
Jackie Rogers, Jr. relives past pain

— Another great obligatory appearance from a Martin Short character, as we now get Jackie Rogers Jr.
— During the opening title sequence, I love the clips we see of a few Jackie Rogers Jr. appearances from season 10, including the classic Jackpot Wad sketch.
— Interesting seeing Martin and Cheri paired together, as I recall someone once pointing out a strong facial resemblance between them.
— Very funny clip of a drunken Jackie humping Miss Piggy.
— I love Jackie’s duet with the voice of his late father.
STARS: ****


MOSTLY USED MATTRESSES
Larry Azaria’s (MAM) Mostly Used Mattresses contain no live bacteria

— It’s great to see Mark starring in an absurdist sketch, especially given his extreme lack of noteworthy roles this season.
— I got a good laugh from the male/female picture of SNL writer Frank Sebastiano.
— I love the little detail of a huge blood stain on one of the mattresses in the background (the second above screencap for this sketch).
— I like the questionable testimonial from Martin as a doctor.
— Mark is doing a fantastic job with this delightfully bizarre material. Aaaaand as no surprise, the audience is completely dead.
STARS: ****


THE TERRY GANTNER FAMILY WORKOUT
chop breaks hand instead of board

— A perfectly cheesy upbeat Will Ferrell performance so far.
— A priceless reaction from Will when hurting his hand during his failed attempt to break the wooden board in half. I especially love him repeatedly asking “WHAT KIND OF WOOD WAS THAT?!?”
— This is the kind of thing that only Will Ferrell could make funny. I can’t imagine what this overly simplistic sketch looked like on paper, but Will is really making it come alive in the way that only he could.
— I love how the show just randomly ends while Will is still in the middle of yelling in pain.
STARS: ****½


THE TINSELTOWN TATTLER WITH PINKY NYE
absentminded star confidant (MAS) & actress (MOS)

— I’m not familiar with this character of Martin’s, but it looks promising. Although I do recall someone on an SNL messageboard once saying that this is a really bad sketch.
— I like the random running gag with Martin’s character bumping his head into the boom mic. I’d like to think that this is Martin spoofing a certain blooper that happened to his season 10 castmate Christopher Guest during the Ed Grimley/Wheel Of Fortune Interview sketch from the first episode of season 10, but I highly doubt the reference is intentional.
— Martin and Molly’s delivery seems unusually sloppy, with them both botching some of their lines.
— Martin’s character’s ridiculous obsession with the show “Hart To Hart” is pretty funny.
— Overall, not a particularly memorable sketch, but not bad, despite some sloppiness in Martin and Molly’s delivery. Definitely not as bad of a sketch as I had heard it was.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Excuse Me Mr.”


HAPPY HOLIDAY TALES
Mickey The Dyke decides to come out to her family

— Interesting use of Cheri’s Mickey The Dyke.
— I like Mickey The Dyke’s conversation with the Leather Mouse puppet.
— After Mickey’s big coming-out announcement, I got a laugh from Mark telling her in a “cheesy TV dad” manner “We don’t love you anymore, we’re just too narrow-minded, you’ll have to leave.”
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong episode, and definitely my favorite of the season so far. This episode was mostly filled with exceptionally great sketches, and we got two classics (Monologue and Martha Stewart’s Topless Christmas Special). Martin Short also deserves part of the credit for this episode’s strength, as he was a very solid host as expected, and made this a consistently fun episode with his performances and reliable character work.
— And thus ends SNL’s run of five consecutive episodes hosted by former cast members. This experiment was a blast, and makes me wish SNL did stuff like this more often, having a string of consecutive episodes that have some kind of connected theme, whether it be SNL alum hosts or any other fun idea.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Phil Hartman)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Rosie O’Donnell hosts the Christmas episode, with special guest Penny Marshall

Posted on

November 23, 1996 – Phil Hartman / Bush (S22 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

TRIAL REENACTMENT
TV re-enactment shows O.J. Simpson (TIM) obstructing justice on the stand

— Feels weird seeing an O.J. Trial sketch in 1996. Am I unknowingly watching a season 20 episode?
— Bailiff: “Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” O.J.: “I do.” Bailiff: “Seriously, do you?”
— Only one minute into this sketch, and this is ALREADY miles funnier than most of season 20’s O.J. Trial sketches. This sketch is tickling the hell out of me. This really puts into perspective how much SNL’s writing has improved since season 20.
— I like O.J. getting busted on making a fake bomb threat phone call.
— Interesting turn with this being revealed to just be a fantasy sequence from O.J. Network.
— I love Will’s particularly excited delivery of “Live from New York…” at the end of this.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
PHH tells how his career has allowed him to buy his family’s affection

— Phil’s opening line: “I just flew in from Hollywood, and boy, is my full-of-crap tired.”
— For obvious reasons, it’s bittersweet in retrospect seeing Phil talking so much about his children.
— Oh, no, and now he talks a bit about his wife, Brynn. Hoo, boy.
— A fairly funny turn with the sudden Michelob ad. I love Phil’s delivery of “That should cover the necklace!” Nice to see Phil still getting some good laughs out of material that’s not the funniest. This monologue is kind of a letdown compared to Phil’s epic monologue from his previous hosting stint.
STARS: ***


LUX 420SL
Cliff Robertson [real] introduces the Lux 420SL, the car for crazy people

— I love this era’s penchant for getting distinguished actors to play spokesmen for ridiculous fake ads. First Sam Waterston in Old Glory Insurance, and now Cliff Robertson in this ad.
— The car for crazy people is freakin’ priceless, and Will is perfect for this.
— I love the absurd trio of scientists who made the car, including Dr. Zaius.
— Lots of hilarious features of the car, especially the trunk space for 200 jars of urine.
— A very funny ending nonsensical jingle: “There’s a radio in my fingernail… CAR!”
STARS: *****


HOUSE OF CONGRESS
Kincaid welcomes Jesse Helms (DAH) & Ted Kennedy (PHH)

— I liked Ana’s Weekend Update commentary as Kincaid in the season premiere, but I’m not sure we needed to see her get spun-off into her own sketch.
— I like Darrell’s Jesse Helms asking Kincaid what kind of acid is she smoking.
— Kincaid’s endless pop culture references are still making me chuckle, but it’s very one-note and not good enough to carry an entire sketch.
— Weird seeing Phil’s Ted Kennedy being played so straight in this sketch. He’s usually given raunchy dialogue, but in this sketch, his dialogue is serious and Phil is playing him in a very dour manner.
— I spoke too soon about Phil’s Kennedy, as he now suddenly has a wild, pervy reaction to Kincaid showing the tattoo on her butt.
STARS: **


TV FUNHOUSE
by RBS- a Hanna-Barbera-like Michael Jackson goes gaga for a young boy

— I love this hilarious concept of a boy-crazy Michael Jackson starring in a 1960s Hanna Barbera-esque cartoon.
— The animation is a perfect imitation of Hanna Barbera’s style.
— A particularly funny part with MJ going through Hanna Barbera’s famous “excited dog” reactions when seeing a little boy at the press conference.
STARS: ****


TEXACO
Uncle Tom Texaco employee (TIM) enjoys being mistreated at work

— Some pretty good laughs from Tim proudly downplaying his poor treatment from Texaco.
— I love the goofy gleeful look on Tim’s face during his soft-shoe routine.
STARS: ***½


THANKSGIVING SONG AUDITIONS
Cinder Calhoun (ANG) & others seek NEA funding for Thanksgiving songs

— Darrell does a dead-on imitation of the singing style of typical country singers.
— Tracy’s reggae song is hilarious. I also love the cutaway to Phil’s frozen shocked face during it.
— This is a fun sketch, showing pretty much the entire cast each coming on one-by-one to audition with a different singing style.
— Hmm, we get the debut of Ana’s Cinder Calhoun character, which I’m surprised to see here, as I had always thought she was a Weekend Update-only character who didn’t debut until the following season.
— Funny number from Cinder Calhoun here.
— Tim’s raunchy R&B song is priceless, as is him humping the floor during his song.
STARS: ****


THE JOE PESCI SHOW
Frank Sinatra (PHH) & Michael Jackson (TIM)

— I’m kinda surprised they waited this long to have this recurring sketch make its first appearance of the season. I’m glad they’ve been cutting back on the frequency of this sketch’s appearances.
— A funny visual of Phil’s Sinatra making his entrance in his pajamas and an I.V.
— I love the brief moments of negative tension between Pesci and Sinatra, with Sinatra’s ruthless digs at Pesci. This is actually being played very realistically.
— For some reason, Tim seems to be speaking in a lower pitch than he usually speaks in when playing Michael Jackson.
— I like the ending with Pesci finally snapping at Sinatra and lunging towards him, only to get roughed up by Sinatra’s bodyguards.
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
Rodney Dangerfield [real] tells what it’s like to be 75 years old

— Not too great of an Update from Norm tonight so far. Kinda sad seeing him resort to prop comedy too, bringing out a giant wine glass for the punchline of a Boris Yeltsin joke (the second above screencap for this Weekend Update). Blah. However, he does lampshade the hackiness of that prop joke by ad-libbing “Like a joke from the old Dean Martin show.”
— Okay, Norm’s jokes are slowly getting better, though this Update still feels a bit below par for his standards.
— Rodney Dangerfield cameo!
— As expected, Rodney is slaying me with his trademark style of self-deprecating stand-up jokes.
— A particularly great joke from Rodney about how his lawyer is so good, Rodney was able to get a rape charge reduced to tailgating.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Swallowed”


THE GOSSIP SHOW
Julie Brown (CHO) dishes & compromises national security

— This sketch feels like it’s going over my head. Maybe I need to be familiar with the real show it’s spoofing to “get” it.
— I do like Phil’s harsh wishes for certain celebrities to get illnesses.
— Okay, this is slowly getting funnier with the random turn with Cheri’s Julie Brown giving out secretive nuclear arms info.
— Overall, a weird sketch and had an iffy start, but I did like the direction it eventually went in.
STARS: ***


BAND SHOT
going to commercial, TIM plays saxophone with SNL Band


ACTING WORKSHOP
Bobby Colsman manipulates fledgling actors attending his workshop

— The return of Phil’s great acting teacher character from the last episode Phil hosted.
— I love Phil’s brief interruptions throughout Molly and Will’s acting demonstration, giving them very random suggestions, such as telling Molly to act like her feet are on fire and telling both Molly and Will to change their characters to a southern whore and a bottle of Windex, respectively.
— Hmm, Mark playing a guy forced to face away from the camera while staring at a wall.  There’s something strangely symbolic about that, considering Mark’s extreme underutilization this season.
— Phil’s Conrad Bain story is great.
— They’re really upping Phil’s character’s homoerotic predatory behavior towards Chris that was implied in the last installment of this sketch.
— Interesting turn with Molly telling off Phil’s character and putting him in his place, only for it to turn out to be an acting choice from Molly that Phil praises.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Insect Kin”


PACIFIC BRIGADE
WWII commander (PHH) tells his men they’re “not coming back” from mission

— Some good laughs from Phil already having knowledge of which soldiers won’t be coming back from the mission they’re being sent on.
— Some nice variations in how Phil is saying a succession of “no”s to each soldier asking if they’re coming back. I especially like the sing-songy “Nooooo” Phil delivers at one point.
— Phil telling Chris that Tracy is going to be the one to shoot him is very funny, as is Tracy humorously responding to that by telling Chris “I’m sorry, man.”
— A particularly great part with Phil detailing the torture that Will is going to suffer when captured by the enemy, especially him being given a foreign nickname that will translate to “He Who Begs For The Death That Will Not Come”.
— For a thin premise, this sketch is well-written and well-performed, and Phil is absolutely perfect for this material.
STARS: ****½


FROONGA
Froonga tumbling glassware game is one of many dangerous Grelco products

— I like the ridiculous concept of playing a Jenga-type game that replaces the wooden blocks with glassware.
— The dangerous toys mentioned in the many listed-off fake sponsors are providing some pretty good laughs. I want to say this is Jack Handey’s handiwork (no pun intended), as he’s the SNL master of fake sponsors, but the style of these particular sponsors feels different from Handey’s usual stuff.
— The dangerous toys being sponsored also feel like toys that Irwin Mainway would’ve displayed on Consumer Probe back in the day.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty good episode. For some reason, I didn’t feel too crazy about the episode’s quality as I was watching it, probably due to the high expectations I had for a Phil Hartman-hosted episode, but when the episode ended, I found myself pretty satisfied with its overall quality. This episode had a few really strong highlights, and Phil did his usual masterful job, even though he wasn’t utilized as well as he was in his previous hosting stint. While watching him during the goodnights of tonight’s episode, I got a bit of a lump in my throat when realizing that this is the last time we’ll EVER be seeing him on SNL during his lifetime.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robert Downey Jr.)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
The last of five consecutive episodes hosted by a former cast member. This time, it’s Martin Short.

Posted on

November 16, 1996 – Robert Downey Jr. / Fiona Apple (S22 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

DOLE IMPRESSION
Bob & Elizabeth Dole [real] convince NOM it’s time to stop his impression

— This feels like Part 2 of the piece from the last episode where Norm’s Bob Dole sketch was interrupted by Lorne telling him that SNL no longer has any use for his Dole impression.
— A cameo from Bob Dole, fresh off his election loss.
— When telling Norm and Dole he’s leaving, Lorne uncontrollably starts cracking up for whatever reason. It’s quite a funny visual.
— One of the better instances of SNL’s “cast member meets the celebrity they impersonate” trope.
— Some really funny and charming back-and-forths between Norm and Dole. And you can tell Norm is having a good ol’ time during this.
— Great line from Dole telling Norm that his Dole impression is merely an impression of Dan Aykroyd’s Dole impression.
— Even the cliched “celebrity talks like their impersonator while complaining that their impersonator sounds nothing like them” trope is coming off okay here.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
RDJ’s slide show documents his summer vacation run-ins with the law

— Boy, it feels weird seeing an older Robert Downey Jr. hosting SNL about half a year after I had reviewed his unsuccessful season 11 stint as a cast member.
— Robert mentions that he was invited back as part of SNL”s “Distinguished Alumni” series.
— Some good self-deprecating humor with Robert showing slides from his “summer vacation”.
— A funny brief dig at Kelsey Grammer.
— Overall, short and sweet.
STARS: ***½


BOWLING TOURNAMENT
Craig dissuades Arianna from stuffing her bra to just to attract (RDJ)

— What’s with the dead silence from the audience during the Cheerleaders’ entrance? I thought these characters were popular.
— I like the Ike and Tina Turner cheer from Craig and Arianna.
— I love Will’s delivery of his repeated exclamations of “You’re not the boss of me!”
— I’m surprised by how much I’m actually kinda enjoying this Cheerleaders installment.
— Pretty funny sequence with the Cheerleaders beating up Robert.
— Nice turn that Robert’s character takes with his emotional breakdown.
— Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed this better than most Cheerleaders sketches.
STARS: ***


CLINTON THANKS AMERICA
Bill Clinton (DAH) thanks the very few Americans who truly supported him

— Feels odd seeing a President Clinton address-to-the-nation sketch airing in the middle of an episode. I’m sure this normally would’ve aired as the cold opening, but SNL understandably wanted to put Bob Dole’s huge cameo up front.
— Pretty funny how Clinton uses mathematics to whittle the number of people who actually voted for him down to one person.
STARS: ***


PRESS CONFERENCE
Evander Holyfield [real] takes over Don King’s (TIM) press conference

— Good to see the return of Tim’s insanely-tall-haired Don King impression. I still don’t know how they’re able to keep that tall wig in place without it tipping over whenever Tim turns his head even slightly.
— Also good to see the return of Tracy’s hilarious Mike Tyson impression.
— A lot of big cameos tonight, with us now getting an appearance from Evander Holyfield, fresh off his heavyweight championship win.
— Funny bit with Tim’s Don King immediately changing his tune about Holyfield after noticing Holyfield is standing right behind him.
— A lot of laughs from Tim-as-Don-King’s backing statements throughout Holyfield’s speech, especially Tim’s King saying “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.
STARS: ***½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- players from the O.J. trial are interviewed

— After the opening scene with Mark Fuhrman trying to put the moves on Diane Sawyer, we get a funny turn in the second scene, with Barbara Walters being the sexual predator during her interview with Robert Kardashian.
— Hilarious part with a white Bronco being seen driving past the house after bullets shoot through Robert Kardashian’s window.
— This cartoon is as priceless as these Fun With Real Audio cartoons have typically been so far.
STARS: ****


MR. MUSIC
deejay Mr. Music (RDJ) plays inappropriate songs at a wedding reception

— Interesting casting of Jim as a middle-aged father, as he doesn’t usually play that type of role, probably due to his youthful looks.
— I like Robert’s passing mention of having his name changed from Knife Tit to Mr. Music.
— An overall pretty short sketch, but funny enough, and there were some laughs from all the inappropriate music being played at the wedding reception.
STARS: ***


STREET GANG
(NOM) doesn’t go for his fellow gangmembers’ West Side Story-like antics

— An all-time memorable sketch and one of Norm’s best performances.
— I love Norm’s “What the hell was that?!?” after Robert first randomly breaks out into song.
— Another great questioning from Norm, with him asking “How’d you come up with a song so fast?” after Robert and Will perform a perfect number that was supposedly unrehearsed and spontaneous.
— Hilarious sarcastic song title suggestion from Norm: “While You Were Singing, I Got Stabbed In The Head By A Puerto Rican”.
— Why did Colin Quinn not receive his featured player credit during the opening montage earlier tonight? He has a prominent role in this sketch. Maybe they only credit him when he does an Update commentary or stars in his own sketch.
— I like Cheri as the little boy.
— During his solo confrontation with the rival gang, I love Norm’s panicked reactions when each of his fellow gang members enter the fight one-by-one doing a little dance.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bob Dole [real] preempts a joke NOM had planned to tell about him

— Huge, and I mean HUGE audience applause for Norm at the beginning of this Update. It goes on so long that it even overlaps into Norm’s first joke. This has been a big night for Norm in general, even before this Update, between his memorable meeting of Bob Dole and the classic Street Gang sketch.
— Some particularly wild jokes from Norm tonight that are getting the audience riled up.
— Interesting ending to this Update with Bob Dole interrupting Norm’s joke about him, and both of them ending up walking off together to have a beer.
— Random observation: this season’s Updates have been really light on guest commentaries.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Shadowboxer”


THE DELICIOUS DISH
Margaret Jo (ANG) & Terry (MOS) are as bland as recipes on their NPR show

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Between The Culps making their debut in the last episode and Delicious Dish making its debut tonight, newbie Ana Gasteyer is quickly establishing what would go on to be some of her biggest recurring sketches. And both The Culps and Delicious Dish are well-done low-key sketches that I really appreciate, even if they’re not going for laugh-out-loud humor. Both sketches also represent the maturity and classiness that I’ve always felt Ana brought to SNL. A welcome counter to the wild, loud, over-the-top, catchphrase-driven performances that typically dominate this era.
— Some really good laughs from Ana and Molly’s excited soft-spoken discussion about such mundane things.
— I like Mark as a caller saying that he’s going to cancel his trip so he won’t miss the Delicious Dish’s upcoming thrilling two-part episode about salt.
— I’ve been saying this a lot in this episode review, but this overall sketch was short and sweet. (I wonder if the number of short sketches tonight is the reason why this episode feels like it has more sketches than usual.) This debut of Delicious Dish felt a little simplistic compared to most subsequent installments of this sketch (probably because there was no guest being interviewed), but it was still a solid debut.
STARS: ***½


FIRST KISS
at Melanie’s make out party, Mary Katherine Gallagher gets her first kiss

— Needless to say, it feels awkward seeing Mark’s Kids In The Hall character Melanie making her second SNL appearance, after her very notorious first SNL appearance with Chris Elliott.
— Very odd how a Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch is being buried so late into the episode.
— I like Will’s line “7 minutes in heaven! Whoo! I have no idea what that is…”
— Some realistic awkwardness during MKG and Robert’s conversation together inside the closet.
— Wow, a wild and raunchy make-out session between MKG and Robert. Hmm, is that why this MKG sketch was buried in an unusually late spot in the show?
— Overall, this felt very different from most MKG sketches, but was decent enough.
STARS: ***


THE STREETS OF L.A.
(RDJ)’s anti-drug tirade seems directed at someone

— I love Robert’s facial expression when an angry Norm asks if he can imagine anyone needing cocaine to get through the day.
— Ah, this turns out to be a “host spoofs themselves by playing a character who’s the exact opposite” sketch, in a similar vein to the sketch with George Steinbrenner playing a boss who doesn’t like firing his employees, only this one is even more meta.
STARS: ***


MILSFORD SPRING WATER
Milsford Pure Spring Water is so good, you’ll want to form a lynch mob

— I absolutely love the increasing darkness as we see the process of a lynch mob from Milsford killing the citizens of the rival town. A lot of hilarious details here.
— A very funny reveal at the end that this incident happened only 107 days ago, after this commercial made it seem like this incident was from many decades ago.
STARS: ****½


SHOPPING AT HOME NETWORK
Don West (WIF) & Eddy Lewis (CHK) hard sell Shaq Plaque to home shoppers

 

— The debut of a short-lived recurring sketch. I’ve always loved this particular installment of this sketch, and it seems to be well-remembered among quite a number of SNL fans in general.
— Freakin’ hilarious characterizations from Will and Chris.
— Will and Chris’ exaggerations of various things about the Shaq Plaque are killing me.
— Will: “Kirk Cameron just called, and he even can’t get through!”
— Great turn with Will and Chris suddenly advertising the pistol that Chris threatens to shoot himself in the head with.
— Funny running bit with Robert’s character always being shoved out of the scene.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Another pretty solid episode from season 22. What a nice turnaround this season has recently taken, after a shaky first three episodes. I enjoyed every single sketch tonight, and two of my most fondly remembered sketches of the entire season came from this episode alone (Street Gang and Shaq Plaque). Robert Downey Jr. was much better in his performances tonight than he was during his cast member stint in season 11, showing that the problem with him as a cast member may not have necessarily been that he was an ill fit for the show like some of his castmates, but that he was simply too young at the time (20 years old). Makes me wonder how Joan Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall would’ve fared if they, like Robert, had ever hosted the show when they were older and more experienced.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chris Rock)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
The fourth of five consecutive episodes hosted by a former cast member. This time, it’s Phil Hartman.

Posted on

November 2, 1996 – Chris Rock / The Wallflowers (S22 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

FISHING DOCK
George Bush (DAC) prepares Bob Dole (NOM) to lose to Bill Clinton (DAH)

— After hosting the preceding episode, Dana Carvey immediately returns as a credited special guest tonight, as he will be appearing in a few sketches. I’m certainly not complaining about more Dana, but why is he appearing as a special guest just one week after he hosted? Does it have anything to do with the then-recent cancellation of his ABC show?
— Many funny lines from Dana’s George Bush to Norm’s Dole about how badly he’s going to lose the election on the upcoming Tuesday. I especially like the line “Bill’s gonna spank ya just like he was your daddy.”
— Norm is showing some genuine amusement towards Dana’s performance, as you can see Norm stifling his laughter at times throughout this cold opening.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
CSR does stand-up about Bill Clinton & sexual harassment

— Rock: “Every town’s got two malls: they got the white mall and the mall white people used to go to.”
— I love Rock detailing how he IS Bill Clinton because of how he can relate to Bill’s realistic problems.
— You can really see how much Rock has honed his act and onscreen persona after leaving the SNL cast. Throughout this monologue, he’s using what’s now known as his trademark loud, raspy stand-up voice, something that we almost never heard from him when he was an SNL cast member.
— Hoo, boy. Rock’s bit right now about how most sexual harassment claims are actually NOT sexual harassment will not sit well with a lot of people nowadays, especially in our current #MeToo climate. As I often do when reviewing old SNL things that would now be considered touchy by today’s standards, I’m trying to be fair by looking at this in the context of when it originally aired, so I won’t have my judgment clouded by changing PC standards. As I do that, I’m finding myself actually laughing at Rock’s sexual harassment material. It helps, though, that Rock had already been on such a roll in this monologue that nothing can ruin it for me.
— Hilarious bit from Rock about blind people being given seeing-eye dogs.
— Rock is a freakin’ riot in this monologue.
STARS: ****½


EXCEDRIL
to some, lack of medical evidence that Excedril relieves pain is a plus

— Very funny premise of there being no medical evidence to prove what Excedril can or can’t do.
— Stephen Colbert!
— Molly’s whole bit about using Excedril as a birth control is great, especially her line “I’m just glad I found a pain reliever that can kill the tiny babies living in my husband’s sperm.”
STARS: ****


I’M CHILLIN’
Onski plugs I Ain’t Tryin’ To Hear That home pregnancy test

— Oh, what are you doing, SNL? You know you can’t do this sketch without Farley.
— Jim seems like an odd choice to replace Chris Farley in this sketch.
— At least we get Rock’s usual funny long-winded rhyming intro to his co-host.
— A good laugh from the sponsor, “I Ain’t Tryin’ To Hear That” home pregnancy test for men.
— It’s mentioned that B-Fats, Chris Farley’s character from this recurring sketch, was killed in a rap war. I understand that they had to come up with a reason for B-Fats’ absence in tonight’s sketch, but was killing him off really necessary? After all, both Rock AND Farley would later end up appearing together on SNL again when Farley hosts in the following season.
— Boy, Jim’s performance in this is not good. Regardless of whether or not he’s convincing in his attempt to sound urban, his characterization isn’t remotely funny.
STARS: **½


WOMAN, BLACK GUY, GAY MAN
in Dole ad, woman (MOS), black guy (TIM), gay man (MAM) say “don’t vote”

— I like the characters casually referring to each other as the generic type of person they were each introduced as (e.g. black guy).
— Great twist at the end that this ad was paid for by the Dole/Kemp campaign.
STARS: ***½


THE DARK SIDE WITH NAT X
Jesse Jackson (DAH), Tori Spelling (CHO), Mike Tyson (TRM)

— Now we get the return of the only other big recurring sketch Rock had during his SNL tenure.
— Feels weird hearing somebody other than Phil Hartman do the voice-over during the Nat X opening title sequence. Mark takes over as the voice-over tonight, but he doesn’t have Phil’s great knack for voice-overs.
— In between all the familiar, obligatory Nat X beats (the White Man Cam, Top 5 list), we get an interesting topical segment with Nat X talking about O.J.
— As always, Darrell’s Jesse Jackson impression is cracking me up. I also love Nat X’s response to Jesse’s long-winded “x” spiel.
— When Cheri’s Tori Spelling tells Nat X that he looks like Dwayne from What’s Happenin’, I like Nat angrily responding “Don’t you talk about Heywood Nelson!”
— Tracy’s Mike Tyson impression is very funny.
STARS: ***½


MARK RUSSELL’S ELECTION YEAR COMEDY SPECIAL
Mark Russell’s (MAM) special features impish lyrics

— Mark McKinney FINALLY gets his first comedic lead role of the entire season. Jesus Christ, it’s about time.
— I don’t have much familiarity with Mark Russell, but I get the gist of him from this SNL parody.
— Mark’s performance in this is great, and he’s giving me some good laughs with his intentionally cheesy performance.
— I like the newspaper reviews, especially the one from Christian Science Monitor: “We’ve reconsidered our concept of God, and it just might be Mark Russell!”
STARS: ***½


CHARLES GRODIN
Abe Vigoda [real] & other celebrity guests opine

— Dana debuts a new SNL impression.
— I’ve been told that, much like the Tom Brokaw sketch from the preceding episode, this sketch was originally written for Dana’s ABC show.
— I’m not sure about the accuracy of Dana’s Charles Grodin impression, but it sure is funny, especially when he just freezes and stares blankly off-camera for a few seconds.
— I love Darrell-as-Richard-Dreyfuss’ angry ranting ending with “…until it swims up behind you and bites you IN THE ASS!!!”
— Rock’s Nipsey Russell impression is much funnier here than it was the one time he played him on Weekend Update during his SNL tenure.
— I love the camera briefly cutting to Abe Vigoda only to show him say “Clinton’s a schmuck!”
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE

— I love the audience’s taken-aback, unsure reaction to Norm’s punchline “He’s the guy who killed Vince Foster.”
— Tonight’s overall Update had no guest commentaries at all, but I’ve noticed that those usually turn out to be among my favorite Norm Updates.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “One Headlight”


TV FUNHOUSE
“Queen of Terror” by RBS- The Ambiguously Gay Duo thwarts Serena’s scheme

— The Ambiguously Gay Duo officially become recurring.
— Mayor: “Ace and Gary are on it.” Cop: “When they’re not on each other.”
— I like Big Head being called out on how obsessed he is with Ace and Gary’s ambiguous gayness.
— Like last time, we get some hilarious suggestive homoerotic visuals from Ace and Gary, especially their penis-shaped car squeezing between two big boulders that collectively resemble a butt.
STARS: ****


SPEECH PREP
Bob Dole (NOM) rehearses his mean-spirited victory & concession speeches
LOM tells NOM it’s time to retire the Bob Dole impression

— I like Ana’s Elizabeth Dole telling Norm’s Dole, with a smile, “On Tuesday, you’re gonna get your ass handed to you on a silver platter.”
— Another funny line from Ana’s Elizabeth Dole: “This isn’t the man I halfway fell in love with.”
— The fourth wall has been broken with Lorne suddenly entering the scene and saying “It’s over, Norm”, letting Norm know that his services as a Dole impersonator will no longer be needed. I like Lorne saying “I got the call yesterday”, regarding the election results, when voting hasn’t even taken place yet.
— I love the clip show montage of Norm’s Dole impression, especially the random fake clips added in of Norm’s Dole doing insane things, such as running away from an elephant, getting whipped by a Nazi dominatrix, and biting off a chicken’s head.
— This sketch ends with Norm saying “At least I still got Update” and Lorne responding “Actually, Norm, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” Yikes. I’m sure that was just intended as a throwaway joke, but it’s eerily prescient, considering what ends up happening to Norm in the middle of the following season.
STARS: ***½


COLLEGE GRADUATE
to his dad (CSR), college-educated (TIM)’s simple acts are affronts

— Feels weird that this is Rock’s first sketch appearance since the first half of the show.
— The premise started out a bit slow and repetitive, but it’s getting increasingly funnier when it gets to the point where Rock is surprised at Tim knowing how to use the phone, saying “We didn’t know what the hell that thing was, we let it ring for years and years.”
— Funny bit with Rock responding to Tim’s use of the word “thesaurus” by saying “Boy, you curse at me again, I’ll whoop your ass!”
STARS: ***


WEDDING TOAST
music teacher couple Marty (WIF) & Bobbi (ANG) sing a pseudo-soul medley

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— You can tell this is the first Culps sketch, because the way they were introduced by Jim at the beginning of tonight’s sketch is different from how the Culps are usually introduced at the beginning of their sketches.
— Until now, Will has surprisingly been almost non-existent tonight. In fact, this has been a light night for quite a number of cast members. Hell, Chris Kattan doesn’t even appear AT ALL. He was almost non-existent in the last episode too. His airtime has surprisingly been in a slump lately. I guess I can’t complain about that, after how he annoyed me with his two big sketches (AT&T Operators and Hollywood Party) in the last episode he received a normal amount of airtime in (Bill Pullman). I generally like Chris in these early seasons of his, though. It’s his later seasons where I can’t stand him.
— A very funny detailed look for Will’s character.
— Right out of the gate, Will and Ana have such a good handle on their characters, and their delivery and low-key performances are tickling me. I wonder if Will and Ana already developed these characters at The Groundlings.
— This is the very first time on SNL where Ana gets to display her fantastic singing voice.
— I like hearing the Culps sing operatic-sounding versions of contemporary hit songs. Their medley tonight is increasingly fun, especially their “You’re Gonna Miss My Lovin’” number.
— Another amusing number from the Culps, with their operatic version of Sexual Healing.
— The Culps would go on to basically be to 90s SNL what the Sweeney Sisters were to 80s SNL and what Nick the Lounge Singer was to 70s SNL. I wonder why the 2000s and 2010s don’t have any recurring characters in that vein.
STARS: ***½


RUSSELL SIMMONS’ DEF EMERGENCY ROOM JAM
foul-mouthed physicians

— A sister sketch to the Def Magic Show Jam sketch from Rock’s years as a cast member.
— Rock’s bleep-filled lines are freakin’ priceless.
— Overall, brief but hilarious. I liked this even more than the Def Magic Show Jam sketch. The fast pacing of this worked, and something about the erratic camera work added to the humor.
STARS: ****½


PERSPECTIVES
Lionel Osbourne talks with Million Man Marcher (CSR)

— This is the first and only sketch all night where Rock uses his natural soft-spoken voice. Feels weird hearing it after a night full of him using his loud, raspy stand-up voice in every sketch.
— In Tim’s rarely-seen “Best Of” special, they show a snippet of the dress rehearsal version of this sketch, in which Tim and Rock keep uncontrollably cracking up, and their performances are much more loose. At one point during that, Rock even responds to Lionel Osborne’s question of how many men were at the Million Man March by saying “A million, ya dumb fuck!”, then looking into the camera and humorously saying in a mock-insincere voice “I’m sorry!”
— So far, this isn’t quite as funny as the usual Perspectives installments.
— A laugh from Rock saying “No Asians” when he and Lionel Osborne are talking about who can join Rock’s organization.
— When talking about his sons, Rock says in a straightforward manner “My other son, Trey, is dead.” In the aforementioned dress rehearsal version of this sketch shown in Tim’s “Best Of”, Rock delivers that line very differently, in a much more comedic manner: “And my other son, Trey…. well… TREY DEAD!”, the latter two words being delivered in Rock’s trademark raspy stand-up voice.
— I like Lionel Osborne’s constant confusion over the Million Man March.
— Funny ending with Lionel proudly announcing that his show will be airing in prime-time for the first time ever, only to immediately be handed a paper informing him that his show will instead be on at its regular time at 4:42 in the AM.
— Overall, a sketch with a slow first half, but a better second half. Still not quite as strong as the usual Perspectives installments.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently good episode. I liked just about every sketch tonight (I gave a somewhat low rating to I’m Chillin’, but that was only because Jim Breuer’s lousy performance dragged it down for me). Much like Damon Wayans when he hosted in season 20, it was great to see SNL heavily utilizing Chris Rock to his full potential for once, after how underused he was as a cast member. It was also interesting seeing him come back to SNL with a more defined comedic persona.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dana Carvey)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
The third of five consecutive episodes hosted by a former cast member. This time, it’s Robert Downey Jr.

Posted on

October 26, 1996 – Dana Carvey / Dr. Dre (S22 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

LARRY KING LIVE
Ross Perot (DAC) & other third-party candidates

— Feels very odd to see Will playing Larry King, especially knowing that Norm takes over the impression later this season and would do a definitive take on him.
— A welcome sight to see Dana’s Ross Perot impression back.
— Will’s Larry King impression is reminding me a lot of Kevin Nealon’s impression of him.
— A funny bit from Perot about how we all love the visual of dictators.
— Hmm, Mark playing an insignificant role who’s lines always get cut off by a more popular performer. Sadly, this is unintentionally a spot-on representation of Mark’s time on the show this season.
— Chris playing a candidate from the Female Circumcision Party is really funny.
— While Dana’s Perot is making me laugh as usual and is selling this as best as he can, this cold opening is going on pretty long for something that’s thin on material.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
DAC & his recurring characters sing “I Like To Be These People For You”

— Wow, that has to be THE longest ending note the SNL Band has ever played at the end of an episode’s theme music.
— I like Dana saying “I got wig hair, man!” when pointing out how unkempt his hair looks from the quick change he went through between the cold opening and monologue.
— Dana’s doing such a great job making funny little ad-libbed asides towards the audience. I had forgotten how great he is at improvising like that.
— A funny “I’m in denial” aside from Dana right after he claims he’s hosting because he currently has a hit show on ABC that follows Home Improvement.
— I absolutely love Dana’s song featuring various popular SNL characters and impressions of his. Very fun.
— The song gets even funnier when it gets to the point where Dana starts falsely claiming that among his SNL characters are Mr. Uneven Sideburns (a non-existent character), Eddie Murphy’s Buckwheat, and Cheri’s Cheerleader character.
— Wow, what a visual of Dana dancing with all of his characters.  Impressive special effects on SNL’s part.
STARS: ****½


HEY, REMEMBER THE 80’S
George Michael (DAC) & Joseph Hazelwood (MAM)

— Not excited to see this sketch become recurring.
— At least we get the return of Dana’s George Michael impression. Interesting seeing his George Michael have a more modernized look compared to the 80s version of George Michael that Dana used to always play.
— Boy, Jim seems to be going PARTICULARLY heavy on the goat-braying sounds in tonight’s installment. Sorry, Jim, but it’s not making this tepid material any funnier.
— Some laughs from George Michael going on about the power of his butt.
— A big laugh from Goat Boy biting into George Michael’s butt when hearing a high-pitched tone from it.
— A wild, out-of-control melee with Goat Boy going nuts with the prod that he snatches away from the scientists. Decent way to end this sketch. That ending and the aforementioned bit with Goat Boy biting into George Michael’s butt are ALMOST enough to save this entire sketch.
STARS: **½


THE BARBARA WALTERS SPECIAL
Elizabeth Dole (ANG) lauds her husband

— An interesting Ana Gasteyer showcase.
— I love Cheri-as-Barbara-Walters’ delivery of “Will somebody get me a towel? I’ve just been doused with a bucket of southern comfort!”
— Cheri’s Barbara Walters is developing more and more into the version that SNL fans today are familiar with.
— Ana’s Elizabeth Dole trying to get more and more comfortable throughout the interview (slipping into fuzzy bunny slippers, unbuttoning her skirt, drinking beer, etc.) is providing pretty good laughs. This sketch is a solid early use of Ana.
STARS: ***½


BROKAW PRE-TAPES
Tom Brokaw (DAC) pre-tapes news to cover Gerald Ford death contingencies

— A very popular SNL sketch, one that I hear was originally performed on Dana’s short-lived ABC show.
— There’s Dana-as-Tom-Brokaw’s first utterance of a line that would be ingrained into the brain of hardcore SNL fans: “Gerald Ford dead today…”
— The increasingly outlandish death scenarios for Gerald Ford are priceless. Some of my favorite Ford death scenarios are overdosing on crack cocaine, eaten by wolves, and strangled to death by Richard Nixon’s corpse.
— During the aforementioned “eaten by wolves” part, I love Brokaw adding in the detail “He was delicious”, then when Brokaw questions why he said that, the off-camera director responds “He’s a former president, Tom. What are you saying, he’s not delicious?”
— The director telling Brokaw “Fine, we’ll get Stone Phillips to do it” reminds me that SNL would later do a sketch in a bit of a similar vein to this with Rob Lowe as Stone Phillips taping various intros for Dateline NBC.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Joe Blow talks about decadent behavior he witnessed in Yankee Stadium

— A rare miss for an O.J. joke from Norm. I’m not even sure how this particular one was even supposed to be funny.
— Joe Blow makes his first appearance of the season.
— Did Colin lose weight since season 21? He looks thinner here.
— As always, some really funny ranting from Joe Blow. I especially love him detailing the odd way he and his brothers used to eat hot dogs when they were kids.
— Okay, we now get a better O.J. joke from Norm.
— I like the oddly awkward way tonight’s Update ended, as if Norm was surprised this was the end of Update.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Been There Done That”


CHURCH CHAT
Church Lady judges O.J. Simpson (TIM) & Madonna (MOS)

— Church Lady makes her SNL return for the first time since Dana publicly announced his retirement of her on SNL in February 1991. Feels nice to be able to review a Church Chat sketch for the first time since season 16.
— Fun to see Church Lady interviewing more modern (for 1996) celebrities, which is something that’s always interesting to see whenever Dana brings this sketch back in his post-cast member days.
— Decent song at the end.
STARS: ****


BOB DOLE’S TIME TUNNEL
the future visits young Bill Clinton (DAC)

— Fantastic concept. I love the idea of this sketch.
— Wow, it feels weird seeing Dana playing Bill Clinton on SNL.
— Hilarious visual of Norm’s Dole dressed as a hippie.
— Interesting seeing Dana’s young Clinton and Darrell’s modern Clinton side-by-side.
— Funny ending with a callback to Chris’ Female Circumcision Party candidate character from the cold opening.
STARS: ****


HALLOWEEN
Rita Delvecchio receives trick-or-treaters & battles Halloween pranksters

— I always like this Rita Delvecchio character. There’s a realistic, slice-of-life aspect to her that I enjoy.
— A meta turn, with two trick-or-treaters dressed as SNL’s Spartan Cheerleaders, which shows what a huge part of pop culture those two characters had become. This portion of the sketch gets even more meta with Cheri’s Rita saying in regards to the Cheerleaders “If I see that freakin’ skit one more time, I’m gonna put my foot through the TV”, echoing the complaints of some SNL fans (including myself).
— The Madonna bit is pretty funny.
STARS: ***


JOHNNY CARSON AND PHIL DONAHUE: THE RETIREMENT YEARS
retirees Phil Donahue (DAH) & Johnny Carson (DAC) look for latter’s keys

— A fun use of Dana’s Johnny Carson and Darrell’s Phil Donahue, and it’s interesting seeing them in a normal setting, outside of their usual talk shows.
— As usual, some great run-on ranting from Darrell’s Donahue.
STARS: ****


RUSSELL & TATE
attorneys Russell (TIM) & Tate (TRM) have the means to get you your money

— Nice to see Tim and Tracy paired together for the very first time. This is also Tracy’s very first really meaty role in a live sketch.
— Some really funny lines from Tim and Tracy regarding how they’re gonna “git’cho money”.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The first strong episode of the season. This was as solid and fun as a Dana Carvey episode can be expected to be. Almost every single sketch was enjoyable, several were great, and one was a true classic (Brokaw Pre-Tapes). Even the weakest sketch, Hey Remember The 80’s, was slightly more tolerable than the usual installments of it.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Bill Pullman)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
The second of five consecutive episodes hosted by a former cast member. This time, it’s Chris Rock, with special guest Dana Carvey (yes, you read right).

Posted on

October 19, 1996 – Bill Pullman / New Edition (S22 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

DREAM DEBATE
Bob Dole (NOM) dreams of debating Independence Day president (host)

— Hmm, another Dole debate preparation cold opening, for the second episode in a row.
— During the bed scene, you can tell Norm has a suit hidden under his pajamas, for the debate scene that follows.
— I love Dole’s line regarding Clinton’s performance at a debate: “That damn hillbilly whipped my ass again.”
— Pretty interesting dream sequence with Dole debating the president from “Independence Day”.
— Very odd how this is the closest this season would get to doing a “real” debate sketch this entire season. I believe this is the only time during Lorne’s years as producer that SNL goes through a whole election year without doing a traditional presidential debate sketch.
— I like Tim’s casual reveal of “Oh, I was impregnated by the alien.”
— What’s up with Tim’s fake right hand? I know he’s using a fake hand because his real right arm is hidden in his fat suit (for something he’s going to do at the end of this cold opening), but his fake right hand looks oddly skeletal, and also looks like it’s backwards.
— I love Don Pardo doing the voice of the alien who bursts out of Tim’s chest to say “Live From New York…”
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Wow, this is ending already? A very short monologue that contained nothing noteworthy or special.
STARS: **


HOME SECURITY DECOYS
make criminals think you’re already a victim with Home Security Decoys

— Mark finally gets his first lead role of the season. And even here, it’s just a role that he has to play very straight. Three episodes in, and SNL has yet to give Mark ANY actual comedic roles in season 22.
— Very funny concept of an intimidating-looking burglar decoy causing comfort for people.
— I got a good laugh from the talking decoy saying in a very mechanical, muffled voice “I’m gonna put my evil inside you!”
STARS: ****


AT&T OPERATORS
AT&T operators Janice (WIF) & Kelly (CHK) chat & grouse between calls

— Trying to be the new Gap Girls, are we?
— Chris is merely recycling the exact same voice he used as Kippy Strug from just two episodes prior. Okay, that sorta worked for you once, Chris, but…
— Will, on the other hand, is using a voice I’ve never heard him use before or since. He’s disguising his voice well here. If I were listening to audio of this sketch without being able to see it, I’d probably have a hard time telling which cast member was playing Will’s character.
— Boy, something tells me I’m not gonna be too crazy about this sketch.
— Yep, I was right. I’m now a few minutes into this sketch, and from my perspective, it’s been practically nothing but a whole bunch of unfunny incomprehensible high-pitched screeching.
— Okay, I did get a laugh just now from Will’s line “When my blood sugar drops, I turn into the devil!”, just because it’s such a perfectly Will Ferrell-esque line.
STARS: *½


TIC TAC TOE
obvious strategy & cumbersome game board make for dull show

— I love the inexplicable concept of Norm as a grizzled stagehand having to hammer each letter onto the big board.
— Very funny lengthy part with Norm taking a long time setting up the nails for an “X” he’s about to hang up.
— The dry nature of this sketch is great, and Norm is perfect for it.
— I like Mark demonstrating the home version of the game, which is just a miniature version of the gameshow’s big board that you inexplicably still have to hammer the letters onto.
— Yikes, Bill’s performance as the gameshow host is not working for me AT ALL. I understand he’s going for a “cheesy gameshow host” characterization, but he’s trying WAY too damn hard.
— Great cutaway to a silent, stone-faced angry Norm after Cheri picks her letter spot.
— While Norm’s hammering an “O” onto the board, there’s a funny unscripted blooper in which the “X” hanging right above him falls off and hits him on the head.
— The speed round is hilarious.
STARS: ****


THE RULES SHOW
(ANG) & (MOS) lay down guidelines for want-to-be brides

— Quite a lot of female-oriented talk show sketches this season so far.
— I wonder if SNL intended this to become a recurring sketch for Ana and Molly. We end up never seeing this sketch again.
— Ana and Molly’s performances as the hosts are giving me a bit of a Nora Dunn/Jan Hooks flashback. It wouldn’t be fair to compare this sketch to Attitudes, though, because if I do, this is going to pale badly in comparison. Attitudes is untouchable in my eyes.
— Some pretty funny rules from Ana and Molly.
— I almost thought the first caller’s voice was Julia Sweeney at first, until recognizing it as the voice of Paula Pell.
— I like the “Oh my god, where’s my ring?!” bit with Ana.
STARS: ***


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- liabilities of Bill Clinton & Bob Dole show

— The caricature drawings of various figures are even funnier here than in the preceding episode’s Fun With Real Audio cartoon.
— This is freakin’ priceless so far. I love all the various things happening to Dole’s face during his speech.
— The caricature drawing of Hillary Clinton right now is particularly funny.
— I’m surprised this is over already. I wanted it to go on longer.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
Harry Caray’s (WIF) World Series thoughts have little to do with baseball

— The debut of Will’s Harry Caray impression, which would go on to be very popular.
— Will’s Caray impression is more of a characterization than an accurate imitation, but it’s cracking me the hell up.
— Will’s overall commentary was good, though it doesn’t measure up to his later Harry Caray appearances where he famously asks absurd questions like “If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?”
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Hit Me Off”


HOLLYWOOD PARTY
host meets gossipy sots Beatrice (MOS) & Sebastian (CHK)

— An out-of-the-ordinary-seeming sketch.
— Chris and Molly are doing accurate parodies of 1930s Hollywood types, and their chemistry is good.
— Hmm, this sketch hasn’t been working much for me. Despite my earlier praise for the accuracy and chemistry between Chris and Molly, I’m not finding myself being entertained much here. This sketch feels too self-indulgent for my likes.
STARS: **


THE QUIET STORM
soul deejay Chris Garnett (TIM) remains mellow on-air despite calamities

— The debut of a short-lived Tim Meadows recurring sketch.
— Tracy makes his ONLY appearance of the whole night in a silent role as a guy slow-dancing with his woman.
— A very solid characterization from Tim here.
— I love Tim saying “You son of a bitch, you can kiss my ass” in that smooth R&B radio announcer voice.
— Another line from Tim that comes off funny being delivered in a smooth R&B manner: “I just burned my hand with scalding hot coffee.”
— I like Tim smoothly narrating in real time the physical fight he gets into with his station manager.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “I’m Still In Love With You”


THE HEYWARD FOUNDATION
rich (host)’s literal “camel through needle’s eye” reading spurs research

— The Heyward Foundation’s asinine concept is fairly funny.
— I’m liking this sketch more and more as it goes along. I love the insanity of the company pureeing a camel into a liquid so they can pour it through the eye of a needle.
— Jim has seemed really invisible tonight. He’s barely appeared in anything.
— I like Bill telling the scientists that the tiny camels are “not small enough; have them destroyed.”
— An overall very solid oddball sketch. From my past viewings, I had remembered this being an insufferably dull sketch, but I’m glad to have come around on this.
STARS: ****


HIDDEN CAMERA
pranks of FRW & Adam McKay [real] involve hitting people

— This ends up being Fred Wolf’s swan song, as tonight is his final episode. I have no idea what the story is behind why he leaves after only three episodes this season.
— Two Upright Citizens Brigade performers appear in this as bystanders getting whacked with a wooden board: Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh.
— Some pretty funny dumb silliness here.
STARS: ***


WOMEN’S KICK BOXING ASSOCIATION
women’s kick boxing is an opportunity to see females hit each other hard

— No idea what to say about this. Feels a little like pointless filler, and isn’t providing many laughs.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not quite the dud I had remembered it being, but this was still a somewhat “meh” episode. A few things really worked for me, a few things really didn’t work for me (two of them co-starring Chris Kattan, interestingly enough; and I usually have a higher tolerance of his early SNL years than most people seem to), and everything else can be filed under “not terrible, but forgettable”. This continues the odd trend this season of episodes that are unexciting and unmemorable. I don’t know what’s going on this season. Why are they having a hard time keeping the great momentum they gained in the homestretch 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 (Lisa Kudrow)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Well, things are looking up. Dana Carvey hosts, kicking off SNL’s “Distinguished Alumni” series of five consecutive episodes hosted by a former cast member.

Posted on

October 5, 1996 – Lisa Kudrow / Sheryl Crow (S22 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

DEBATE PREP
Bob Dole (NOM) prepares to debate Bill Clinton; David L. Lander cameo

— I love Norm’s Dole inexplicably responding “No!” to the question about what programs he will institute to reach out to minorities.
— A good laugh from Norm’s Dole forcing Will to do a Ross Perot impression for his amusement.
— I like how Norm’s Dole is now forcing Will and Mark to do other celebrity impressions.
— A funny casual reveal of “Squiggy” being one of the panelists at the Clinton/Dole debate.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Mark McKinney’s new photo from the opening montage of the preceding week’s season premiere (first screencap below) has ALREADY been changed to a different photo (second screencap below).


MONOLOGUE
host describes her fantasy one-night stand with SNL

— An okay premise with Lisa’s teenage fantasy about having a one-night stand with a personified SNL. A few laughs here.
STARS: ***


CARIBBEAN ESSENCE BATH OIL
Caribbean Essence Bath Oil literally lifts you up & takes you away

— A big laugh from a dreadlocked, soap suds-covered Tracy Morgan rising from Molly’s bathtub out of nowhere.
— I love Tracy’s delivery of “Come, bathe with me.”
— Overall, a pretty funny commercial for what was Tracy’s very first big role.
STARS: ***½


SINGLED OUT
Mary Katherine Gallagher looks for love amongst Generation X

— Of all the Mary Katherine Gallagher sketches, I think this is the only one I’ve never seen before.
— An interesting topical setting for Mary Katherine Gallagher.
— The various statements that Tim cheers into the camera are hilarious, and are giving me more laughs than anything else in this sketch. I think I’d enjoy this sketch more if I was familiar with the show “Singled Out”.
— For once, the monologue that MKG performs is actually a song.
— The obligatory MKG pratfall felt odd and really forced this time.
— I like Will telling MKG “I just saw your underwear, I think I’m in love.”
STARS: **½


AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
air traffic controller Suel Forrester “helps” stewardess (host) land

— As I said in an earlier review, I’m always a sucker for Suel Forrester. I also like how he has a different occupation in each installment.
— Funny little touch with Forrester erasing one small specific part of his unreadable chalkboard scribbling and correcting it.
— Amusing ending, and one of the rare times a newspaper headline ending worked for me.
STARS: ***½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- Ross Perot & Larry King ramble

— Our very first “Fun With Real Audio” edition of TV Funhouse.
— The caricature drawings of Ross Perot and especially Larry King are amusing.
— I love the increasingly odd situations that Perot and King are shown in while serious real-life audio of them having a normal conversation is being played. The whole bit with the giant bug in particular is what would go on to be trademark Smigel humor in these TV Funhouse cartoons.
— During the TV Funhouse closing credits tonight, Lorne says to the dog he’s fighting with “Give… me… back… my… show!” instead of what we would later become familiar with hearing him say in the TV Funhouse closing credits: “Leggo my show! Leggo… my… show!”
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bill Clinton (DAH) likes Independence Day’s “dead First Lady” plot

— You can ALREADY tell that Darrell-as-Clinton’s “Independence Day” review is going to go in the exact same direction as his “The American President” review from the preceding season, as soon as he’s mentioned the president’s wife in “Independence Day” getting killed.
— Yep, I was right about the direction of the Clinton commentary. (*yawn*) Predictable. Not caring for this lazy reprise.
— Darrell’s Clinton continues to gradually develop into the version that everyone today is familiar with, with Darrell now debuting the “laughs out loud then suddenly puts on a straight face” mannerism.
STARS: **** (mostly just for Norm)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “If It Makes You Happy”


SINGLE AND LOVING IT
joyologist Helen (MOS) claims to enjoy manlessness

— Uh-oh. The debut of Molly’s joyologist character, Helen “I love it, I love it, I love it!” Madden, a character I’ve always found INSUFFERABLE. Interestingly, though, she has a different last name in this installment.
— Feels odd seeing Helen Madden in a non-Pretty Living sketch (Pretty Living is the recurring sketch that she would go on to regularly appear in). I believe she also makes one other non-Pretty Living appearance, in the following season’s Samuel L. Jackson episode, before the Pretty Living sketches make their debut.
— A few minutes into this sketch, and I haven’t found much to laugh at here.
— Okay, I did get a laugh just now from Lisa being called out on how sad it is that she gets joy out of drawing herself into her favorite Cathy cartoon.
— Surprisingly, Molly’s characterization of Helen Madden is much lower-key here than it would later go on to be. There’s no endless repetition of “I love it!”, nor is there an excessive amount of exaggerated leg-kicking or leg gyrations. Why couldn’t her characterization always stay this low-key?
STARS: **


RANDOLPH HOTEL
five-star hotel bellmen (JMB), (CHK), (WIF) destroy guests’ luggage

 

— A simplistic premise, but I’m finding it pretty funny so far.
— Heh, when Chris throws a suitcase behind him without looking, he unknowingly smashes a light fixture in the background (the third above screencap for this sketch).
— When Ana walked on in that wig and started speaking, I actually mistook her for the recently-fired Nancy Walls until I saw her face. I guess I haven’t gotten used to not seeing Nancy on the show anymore.
— Okay, this sketch is starting to get kinda old and one-note.
— Okay, now they’re winning me back over with the sequence with all three bellhops simultaneously throwing and swinging around the luggage while standing in a circle. It’s just a very funny visual.
— Has Mark McKinney played a single comedic role this season so far? I’m pretty sure he’s only been used in dull straight man roles in the two episodes of this season so far, which is sadly an accurate sign of the direction his SNL tenure ends up going during this season in general.
STARS: ***


WYMINS POETRY NIGHT
Mickey The Dyke (CHO) emcees Wymins Poetry Night at a lesbian bar

— Another female-oriented sketch tonight featuring only the female cast? I sure hope this is better than that Single And Loving It sketch.
— Ana’s poem with various “men” puns is making me laugh.
— Cheri’s Mickey The Dyke is great as the emcee in this.
— Interesting husky, whispery voice on Molly.
— Strange how this is the second sketch tonight with a character doing a voice impression of Jack Nicholson, hand over forehead and all.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Love Is A Good Thing”
(Not included in the copy I’m reviewing of this episode)


EX-CONVICT WAITER
ex-con waiter Gene (COQ) harasses a dining couple (host) & (MAM)

— Colin attempts a new character, which does end up becoming recurring, though he only comes back one time, in the following season’s Nathan Lane episode.
— Colin is funny in this sketch, especially him trying to make amends to Mark by offering him to go outside and smoke a joint with him.
— I like Jim’s exasperated reactions at the end of the sketch.
STARS: ***½


BRIEF HISTORIES
explosives ensured the success of George Ferris’ Wheel

— Brief Histories from the the preceding week’s season premiere officially becomes a recurring segment, though it ends up being VERY short-lived. In fact, I think tonight’s edition is the final one.
— This is a bit different from the first one, as we now get to hear interview voice-overs from other people besides the narrator.
— This edition of Brief Histories is even funnier than the first one. I’m getting a lot of laughs from all the absurdist humor here.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very average and unexciting episode. Not terrible or anything, but there was barely anything in it that I’ll remember in the future. Hell, even now, right after I just watched and reviewed the episode, I’m having a hard time remembering half the sketches. I do appreciate that they heavily scaled back the number of recurring sketches after the excessive amount of them in the preceding week’s season premiere, but there still isn’t much to brag about tonight. Between the not-too-great season premiere and tonight’s overly average episode, this season hasn’t exactly been off to a thrilling start.


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


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Hoo, boy. Things aren’t looking up for the unexciting start to this season, as Bill Pullman is the next episode. I recall that being a somewhat rough episode for this era’s standards.

Posted on

September 28, 1996 – Tom Hanks / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (S22 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ABC ELECTION COVERAGE
with no votes cast, ABC News declares Bill Clinton’s (DAH) re-election

 

— Good to see Tom Hanks reprising his Peter Jennings impression from the famous 1988 Presidential Debate sketch.
— Very funny announcement from Tom’s Jennings that Bill Clinton has won the election, a month-and-a-half early before voting has even taken place.
— Cheri’s Ross Perot impression is always good for a chuckle.
— I believe this is the first time we ever see Darrell’s Clinton giving a sly thumbs-up, which would go on to become one of his iconic trademarks.
— I love the part with Clinton gloatingly going into detail about the fact that he did inhale.
— A good laugh from Norm’s Dole crashing through the railing and falling into the crowd, as a reference to what happened to Dole in real life during, I believe, a campaign rally.
— I like Mark as Al Gore just coming in, saying into the camera “I’m Al Gore”, and then immediately leaving, which would go on to become a running gag these next two seasons.
— Though I’m still kinda laughing at it, they keep repeating the Dole falling bit over and over, which feels pretty unnecessary and one-joke.
— Pretty funny bit at the end with Jennings sternly stopping Perot from saying “Live from New York…”
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— The montage is the same as the one from the preceding season.
— The SNL logo zooms into the screen differently than it did in the preceding season’s montage.
— Similar to how season 8 used the same opening montage from season 7 but changed each cast member’s photo, this season’s re-used season 21 opening montage changes each cast member’s photo. Here are some side-by-side comparisons between some cast members’ season 21 and season 22 montage photo:

— The new cast members added to the show tonight are Ana Gasteyer and Tracy Morgan, both joining as repertory players.

As of 2019, Ana and Tracy are the last-ever cast members to immediately join as repertory players. Every new cast member since then has joined as a featured player, which is apparently some kind of rule that started after season 22.
— Chris Kattan has been promoted from featured player to repertory player.


MONOLOGUE
host reads the Oscar acceptance speech he didn’t get to use

— Tom addresses the fact that it’s been a while since he last hosted and he acknowledges the upswing in quality SNL has gone through in the new era, by saying “It’s wonderful to come back to Saturday Night Live now that it’s decent again” and mentioning that he avoided the show like the plague “back when it sucked”.
— Some good laughs from Tom bragging about how Nicolas Cage can’t relate to winning two Oscars in a row.
— Tom’s unused acceptance speech is pretty funny.
STARS: ***½


BIG BRAWN
Big Brawn Feminine Napkins get their super-absorbency from wood pulp

— Great visual of Will as a giant lumberjack.
— Hilarious reveal of a feminine napkin made from wood.
— A very funny part with Molly gleefully singing the lyric “It’s like a big friendly lumberjack between your knees!”
STARS: ****


THE ROXBURY GUYS
the antics of (host) & fellow Roxbury Guys land them in the slammer

— Well… I see SNL didn’t waste any time in bringing back this smash hit sketch from the preceding season’s finale. However, it’s a given that no matter how hard SNL tries, none of the subsequent Roxbury Guy sketches will ever come close to measuring up to the Jim Carrey one.
— I love the brief “Stayin’ Alive” turn.
— The urinals scene is worth a good laugh.
— Pretty funny ending with Chris’ character receiving his comeuppance by getting bumped back and forth by male prisoners.
— Overall, despite this paling in comparison to the preceding Roxbury Guys sketch and despite how wasted this sketch felt on Tom Hanks, I still found this pretty fun.
STARS: ***


HEY, REMEMBER THE 80’S
Goat Boy’s brays punctuate his nostalgia show

— Goat Boy officially becomes recurring and is put into a new format that, like the last one (in which Goat Boy sang 80s hits during an album promo), involves 80s pop culture.
— Jim is still cracking me up as Goat Boy, but man, I can already tell this character is going to get old fast in this format. I’d prefer it if SNL had just left him as a bizarre one-off character after his debut.
— During the Andrew Ridgeley interview, I like the sudden cutaway to Goat Boy sucking on an upside-down baby’s bottle.
— This sketch is feeling pretty repetitive, and is going on a little too long for such a thin concept to the Goat Boy character.
STARS: **½


PING-PONG TOURNAMENT
Craig & Arianna are cheered by a visit from the Spartan Spirit (host)

— Hoo, boy. Tonight’s episode is starting to destroy me with all the recurring characters appearing up front, even if I can understand the need for SNL to do this after a long summer break. However, I’m watching these episodes on a daily basis, so I don’t have the benefit of having a long summer break in between these last two Cheerleaders sketches. Sitting through a different Cheerleaders sketch two days in a row is pretty brutal.
— Oh, man. I thought Tom was kinda wasted in the Roxbury Guys sketch, but that’s NOTHING compared to his appearance in this Cheerleaders sketch. It feels sad seeing him in such an out-of-place small role in such an overused recurring sketch.
— After the last two preceding Cheerleaders sketches, with Teri Hatcher and Jim Carrey, in which the sketches had an actual fleshed-out premise and told a story, we’re unfortunately back to the Cheerleaders sketches only consisting of Craig and Arianna simply doing various cheers for most of the sketch before being briefly interrupted by someone.
— One positive thing I’ll say is that I always love the song choice we get at the end of every Cheerleaders sketch while Craig and Arianna do their “perfect cheer”. Tonight, we get Salt-N-Pepa’s very catchy “Push It”.
STARS: **


TV FUNHOUSE
“It Takes Two To Tango” by RBS- Ace & Gary are The Ambiguously Gay Duo

— Yes! We get the debut of a brand-new SNL segment: TV Funhouse! It feels refreshing to see a new animated segment on SNL, for the first time in ages.
— What better way for TV Funhouse to debut than with an Ambiguously Gay Duo cartoon?
— Already a huge laugh early on from Ace and Gary’s penis-shaped car.
— Nice animation in this cartoon.
— All of the suggestively homoerotic actions between Ace and Gary are priceless.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
MTV personality Kincaid’s (ANG) commentary comprises retro TV references
Kerri Strug [real] & brother Kippy (CHK) remember the Atlanta Olympics

— Norm has new Weekend Update theme music, which I believe would go on to be used for the remainder of his tenure as Update anchor.
— An odd brief technical gaffe when Ana Gasteyer’s commentary begins.
— Ana Gasteyer in her very first SNL appearance, getting her own Update commentary as a character that would go on to be recurring.
— At first, Ana’s Kincaid commentary started getting tired to me pretty fast, but now, her character is getting so increasingly ridiculous that it’s making me laugh. And Ana is doing a good job going through all the various pop culture references in rapid-fire speed.
— Norm does his first-ever “You guessed it: Frank Stallone” joke, which would go on to be a running gag in his Updates.
— A somewhat memorable Update commentary now begins with Kippi and Kerry Strug.
— Chris is doing a good imitation of Kerri Strug’s chipper high-pitched voice, but the commentary itself is only okay at best. It’s not doing much for me.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Walls”


THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO
missing link Mr. Peepers (CHK) wreaks havoc on panel

— As always, a spot-on Leno impression from Darrell, and I especially like the accurate imitation of the type of bad, corny jokes Leno typically does on the Tonight Show.
— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Mr. Peepers looks dirtier than I remember him looking in future appearances.
— As I said at some points in the preceding season, I’m going to approach the debuts of most 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.
— Between Weekend Update and this sketch, Chris is getting quite a lot of showcases tonight.
— Some great physical work from Chris here, and his characterization is cracking me up.
— I like the part with Tom trying to get Mr. Peepers to say “Jay Leno”.
— A huge laugh from Mr. Peepers humping Ana’s Andie MacDowell.
— Much like Goat Boy, I just know I’m eventually going to get very tired of Mr. Peepers when he becomes recurring, but for now, I’m enjoying him. I’d put him on the long list of SNL characters that would hold up better if they never became recurring.
STARS: ***½


CREATIVITY TEST
creativity test giver (TIM) tries to pull an original idea out of (host)

— I’ve never seen this sketch until now, and I’m very eager, because I’ve heard some really great things about this.
— Some good laughs during the word association test where Tom’s only way of “changing” the words Tim says is by simply pluralizing them.
— This feels like the first sketch all night that’s utilized Tom well.
— I’m enjoying all of the quirks of Tom’s character.
— I absolutely love Tom’s disturbing, lengthy detailed description of what he sees in the ink blot card, complete with background music. This is fantastic.
— Overall, this sketch definitely lived up to the hype.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Angel Dream”


CLASSIC SING-ALONG WITH THE DRUNKEN ASSES
album has tunes for happy hour

— Unfortunately, the copy I’m reviewing of this episode is missing most of this sketch. I don’t have enough time to dig up a full copy of this sketch, so I’m just going to have to give it an incomplete review. From what I remember of this sketch in past viewings, I recall finding it decent, though I’ve always kinda looked at it as a poor man’s version of the classic Irish Drinking Songs sketch, even if that’s probably not a fair comparison.
— This sketch would later be replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that during the “Saying things you can never take back” part of this sketch in the live version, Will drunkenly tells Tim “You’re one of the good ones.” In the rerun version of that part, I believe Will instead drunkenly tells everyone “I have male and female genitalia!”
STARS: N/A


BRIEF HISTORIES
cannibalism wasn’t the only Donner Party hardship

— Hmm, interesting-seeming segment, especially with the use of nothing but black-and-white still photos and a voice-over to tell the story.
— Overall, a slow build-up, but eventually gave me some decent laughs, and they got me with the surprising “Also, they had to eat each other” twist at the end.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not a great season premiere. Some of the returning bits from the preceding season didn’t work for me tonight (Cheerleaders, Goat Boy), and it felt like there wasn’t much in this episode that wasn’t characters we’ve already seen before or characters we’ll eventually be seeing ad nauseam. I also didn’t like the way Tom Hanks was utilized for most of the night. The man is an SNL hosting legend, but you’d think this writing staff didn’t know that, considering how often tonight he was relegated to just playing second fiddle to recurring or soon-to-be-recurring characters. The great Creativity Test sketch was the only time all night where Tom was allowed to fully thrive. It’s too bad that this ends up being the only time he’d host in this era, and it’s also too bad that this would begin an odd tradition where he only hosts every ten years (1996, 2006, 2016). Back to tonight’s episode, among the things I did like was the introduction of new miscellaneous segments that gave this season premiere a different feel from the preceding season: TV Funhouse and Brief Histories, though IIRC, the latter ends up only being a very short-lived recurring segment. TV Funhouse, on the other hand, ends up becoming a huge and important part of SNL for years to come.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1995-96)
a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Lisa Kudrow