Tag: Alanis Morissette

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October 24, 1998 – Ben Stiller / Alanis Morissette (S24 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ROOFTOP BATTLE
stunt doubles of BES & his old boss LOM fight kung fu battle atop 30 Rock

 

— A nice change of pace for a cold opening in this era, and a unique setting, taking place on the roof of 30 Rock.
— I like Ben Stiller mentioning to Lorne his very short-lived featured player stint from 10 seasons ago and how Lorne used to cut all his sketches. It feels like just yesterday, I was reviewing those episodes that Ben was a featured player in.
— The physical fight between Ben and Lorne is pretty funny, with the blatant use of Asian stunt doubles.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— This season’s ever-changing theme music has been changed back to the one used in the Cameron Diaz-hosted season premiere. I guess SNL only uses this particular theme music when one of the stars of There’s Something About Mary is hosting.


MONOLOGUE
BES relishes applause intended for David Cone & other Yankees [real]

— I love that this is a continuation of the cold opening, with the camera cutting away from the home base stage after Don Pardo announces Ben to Ben landing on a car outside of 30 Rock, after having been thrown off the roof at the end of the cold opening.
— Speaking of which, Comedy Central’s old 60-minute version of this episode cut the cold opening (presumably because they couldn’t clear the rights to the music used during the Ben/Lorne fight; however, I think the online version of this cold opening on NBC.com simply removes the music), causing the first half of this monologue to make absolutely no sense, especially Ben saying “I think Lorne’s a little pissed at me.” The edited version tried to makes things slightly less confusing by removing the shot of Ben landing on a car outside of 30 Rock.
— Tim: “You think Stiller’s smoking crack again?” Will: “No, Stiller doesn’t smoke crack; that’s me.”
— Before Ben shows up backstage and runs like hell towards the home base stage, there’s a miscue where the SNL Band can be heard off-camera briefly starting to play the theme music again, before abruptly stopping when realizing they’re too early. I believe this gaffe would later be muted out in some reruns.
— Ben mistaking the audience’s wild applause for the Yankee players behind him as applause for himself is an okay gag, though I feel like SNL (or probably other TV shows) did this same gag some other time.
STARS: ***½


CELEBRITY JEOPARDY
Sean Connery (DAH), Adam Sandler (JIF), Tom Cruise (BES)

   

— Yes!
— Jimmy has his breakout SNL moment, debuting an absolutely killer Adam Sandler impression. The voice and mannerisms are uncanny, in a way that you can tell Jimmy idolized Adam during SNL’s early 90s era (which Jimmy has later gone on to say is the first SNL era that spoke to his generation).
— Celebrity Jeopardy delivers yet another classic category mix-up, this time with Darrell’s Sean Connery misreading “Famous Titles” as “Famous Titties”. I also like how after Will-as-Alex-Trebek’s clarification on what the category really says, Darrell’s Connery can be heard off-camera exclaiming a disappointed “DAMN!”
— Good to see Ben’s always-funny Tom Cruise impression.
— Connery, during the “This is how many fingers you have” question: “I’ll show you a finger, Trebek!”
— I love how Jimmy’s Sandler is now breaking out into the Hannukah Song, complete with a guitar from out of nowhere.
— Much like the obligatory classic category mix-up, we get a classic Final Jeopardy answer reveal, with Connery’s initial answer, “Indoors”, turning into “I (*heart symbol*) Boobs.”
— Alex Trebek, during his sign-off: “That’s it for Celebrity Jeopardy. I’m going home and putting a gun in my mouth. Good day.”
STARS: *****


PRETTY LIVING
joyologist Helen expresses love for her yogi (BES)

— Jesus Christ, SNL. How do you follow up an installment of my absolute favorite recurring sketch from this era (Celebrity Jeopardy) with an installment of my absolute least favorite recurring sketch from this era (Pretty Living)?
— After sitting stone-faced through the first two-and-a-half minutes of this sketch, I finally got a chuckle, from Ben entering with a fake lazy eye.
— Some okay lines from Ana occasionally disclosing unhappy things about her personal life while keeping a smiling facade, but I feel like this SNL era is starting to overuse that type of humor, especially with Ana (e.g. the Hello Dolly sketch from the Kelsey Grammer episode).
— Just now, Molly doing one of her many leg-stretch moves caused her chair to almost tip over backwards, though she didn’t seem too phased by it, despite both Ana and Ben briefly dropping character to concernedly keep Molly’s chair from falling backwards.
STARS: *½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Heteroy” by RBS- Roy Fletcher’s superpowers can cure homosexuality

— Yet another daring concept from Robert Smigel.
— A hilarious opening theme song.
— One of the Coalition Crusaders, when seeing a gay biker: “Where there’s spokes, there’s sodomy!”
— A big laugh from one of the Coalition Crusaders trying to give the gay biker an interest in heterosexual sports by showing him pictures of clothed football players with their butt and crotch areas covered by censor bars.
— The “Thank you, thank you, Lord, for keeping my anus clean” song that the Coalition Crusaders are singing is priceless.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Thank U”


WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ likens Israeli-Palestinian relations to meeting with an ex-girlfriend
JIF plays guitar & sings Halloween carols inspired by current pop songs
roommates Yasser Arafat (CHK) & Benjamin Netanyahu (WIF) share Gaza Strip

— I like Colin randomly saying “I’m Fred Savage” during his sign-on after the Update opening title sequence.
— Jimmy’s big breakout night continues, as he now gets to do an Update commentary as himself. I recall some SNL fans who saw this episode live later saying that they knew Jimmy would go on to be SNL’s next big star as they watched this episode.
— Odd how, after playing Adam Sandler earlier tonight, Jimmy’s now doing guitar songs on Update, which is something closely associated with Adam from his time as a cast member. (I recall an old SNL review from 1998 saying in regards to this Update commentary, “Apparently, Jimmy Fallon still thinks he’s Adam Sandler.”) At least the comedic concept of Jimmy’s songs tonight is different from Adam’s, as Jimmy’s songs involve him doing parodies of current hit songs while imitating the singers’ voices. This is a good use of Jimmy’s knack for doing celebrity impressions.
— I love how 1998 Jimmy’s shirt is.
— Jimmy’s coming off charming here, especially whenever the audience is applauding him after each song.
— I like how Jimmy is now doing a parody of Alanis Morisette’s “Thank U” song just minutes after Alanis performed that very song on the SNL stage. I wonder if this is the only reason why SNL placed that Alanis musical performance before Update, considering the fact that musical guests’ first performance in this era is usually always placed after Update.
— Man, listen to that big audience applause when Jimmy’s commentary is over. Yep, a star is indeed born tonight.
— After the tepid audience reaction to Colin’s first news joke that followed Jimmy’s commentary, I love Colin saying “Jimmy Fallon” in a soft-spoken voice while gesturing towards where Jimmy had been sitting earlier. Reminds me of similar ad-libs (e.g. “Prince, ladies and gentlemen”) that Michael Che would later make in his early Update days whenever a joke of his would bomb.
— I often complain about the awkward ad-libs that Colin has a bad habit of muttering towards the audience after certain jokes, but quite a number of his ad-libs tonight have actually been amusing me.
— Colin is throwing around his favorite word, “folks”, more than ever tonight, even during the set-ups to jokes.
— Some fun from how Will and Kattan are playing off of each other in this Arafat/Netanyahu commentary, though the material itself isn’t doing all that much for me.
STARS: ***


SPARKS
at a Halloween party, Zimmermans’ sex play makes (BES) & (ANG) nervous

— I like Ana quickly saying a passive-aggressive “He really does fall asleep, though” after Ben jokingly makes a comparison to himself falling asleep after sex. However, this is yet another example of Ana playing a character who discloses something bitter about her personal life while keeping a smiling facade.
— A particularly raunchy and funny part with Kattan trying to open a champagne bottle in a suggestive manner near his crotch while Cheri dirty-talks him for encouragement, followed by Cheri eagerly drenching herself in the champagne when it finally spurts out of the bottle.
— A fairly funny gag with trick-or-treating kids walking in while Ben shouts a very risque sexual comment, though the timing of that seemed a little off.
STARS: ***


REAL STORIES OF THE HIGHWAY PATROL
(WIF) & (BES) harass motorists

— Will, when finding out Horatio’s name is Jesus: “Am I supposed to believe the Son of Man drives a ’93 Mazda with a broken taillight?”
— Will and Ben are cracking me up with their motor-mouthed grilling of Horatio and Tim, especially the racist statements they keep throwing in.
— Feels a little weird hearing SNL make a mention of Steve Jobs as early as 1998, when Will and Ben are telling Tim the name of the man who founded Apple Computers. His last name is mispronounced in this sketch as “Jobes”, oddly enough, which I guess shows how little people knew about him back in ’98.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Baba”


LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS
30 year-old (BES) living with parents is hypersensitive to their remarks

— Ben is adding good realism to his performance. However, he’s bordering awfully close on annoying me, but that’s probably the point.
— I love Parnell’s mundane little asides to Ana throughout this sketch.
— Hilarious ending where, after Ben exits the house after freaking out at his parents all throughout the sketch, Parnell casually says in a frank-but-affable manner “I can’t wait for my own death.” Perfect delivery from Parnell on that line.
STARS: ***


STEVE WYNN’S BELLAGIO HOTEL AND CASINO
art lends Steve Wynn’s (BES) Bellagio Hotel & Casino buttloads of class

— It’s certainly fitting having impressionist Darrell Hammond playing classic impressionist Rich Little.
— I love the bizarre visual of Kattan’s Howard Hughes.
— Ben’s performance is nice, but his portions of this sketch aren’t doing anything for me. Maybe if I were familiar with Steve Wynn, I’d appreciate this sketch more. This feels like something that Ben lobbied hard to get on the show.
STARS: **


COINTREAU FOR CONGRESS / MASON IN ’98
solutions to bat problem dominate campaign ads of (BES) & incumbent (TIM)

 

— A hilarious random premise of two political opponents using their respective campaign ads to address a bat infestation in their town.
— I love the even-more-random detail of Tim’s politician being named Boo Mason.
— Kinda odd how all of these campaign ads are airing back-to-back instead of being spread throughout the episode like SNL usually does with a series of mock campaign ads. However, it strangely works in this specific case.
— I’m loving all of the absurdist humor in this sketch.
— A lot of laughs from Tim’s outlandish solutions to the bat problem (e.g. erupting a volcano to burn the bats, using larger and more aggressive bats to kill the bats).
— Tim suddenly getting attacked by bats right in the middle of his calm speech to the camera absolutely SLAYED me, especially his yell of “Son of a bitch!” right before the camera cut away from him. I cannot stop laughing right now.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode. Aside from the Steve Wynn sketch and the insufferable Pretty Living, everything in this episode worked for me, plus I found one classic in the always-reliable Celebrity Jeopardy, a near-classic in the TV Funhouse cartoon Heteroy, and an underrated gem in the series of absurd campaign ads at the end of the show. After having such a brief and unsuccessful stint as a featured player, it was good to see Ben Stiller being given lots of chances to shine in this episode, and he did well with those opportunities, which is also likely helped by his experience from his own sketch comedy show.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Lucy Lawless)
a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Another former cast member as host: David Spade

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

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Hand In My Pocket”


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

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


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

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


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

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


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “All I Really Want”


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

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


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

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


GOODNIGHTS

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


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


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Quentin Tarantino