Tag: Beastie Boys

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November 21, 1998 – Jennifer Love Hewitt / Beastie Boys (S24 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

REENACTMENT
Monica Lewinsky (MOS) & Linda Tripp (John Goodman) gab on phone & pig out

— A John Goodman cameo for the second consecutive episode, and for the third overall episode this season so far. Does he live in Studio 8H this season?
— I love Parnell on the other phone line as a desperate Kenneth Starr.
— I like the bit with Tripp and Lewinsky lying to each other about what they’re eating.
— A disgusting but funny part with Tripp being heard on the toilet during her and Lewinksy’s phone conversation.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host & Ben Willis (Muse Watson) sing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”

— Nice touch with the SNL Band in the background wearing pilgrim outfits, due to this episode being near Thanksgiving.
— Funny reveal of the co-star who Jennifer Love Hewitt says she’s feuding with turning out to be the killer from the I Know What You Did Last Summer movies.
— Pretty funny visual of Jennifer holding the killer’s hook hand while he apologizes sincerely to her.
— I typically don’t care for musical numbers in monologues, but this one is fairly charming enough.
STARS: ***


THE LADIES’ MAN
Leon gives inappropriate advice & plugs Skanksgiving Day

— Funny bit with Leon Phelps mentioning his “Skanksgiving Dinner” event.
— Interesting turn with Leon actually showing emotions and getting teary-eyed when telling a caller about how important family is during Thanksgiving.
— Funny story from Leon about how he once shot his brother with a gun during one Thanksgiving dinner.
— Great ending with a rapidly-scrolling list of all the ladies Leon made love to this year. Some interesting names I caught in the rapidly-scrolling list were Jane Doe, Dolly Parton, Tawny Kittain [sic], and Balinda Carlise [sic].
STARS: ***½


MORE DUETS THAT PROVE THAT I AM THE BEST SINGER IN THE WORLD
Celine Dion’s (ANG) duets album proves she’s the best singer in the world

— I got nervous at first, thinking this was going to be another installment of the one-note Celine Dion Show talk show sketches, before remembering that this is a duets album sketch.
— Here’s our weekly spot-on Jimmy Fallon impression. His imitation of Michael Stipe’s dancing is particularly funny.
— Interesting that Jennifer is playing Jewel, just one episode after Jewel herself was a musical guest on SNL.
— Horatio’s Meat Loaf is cracking me up.
— While this sketch is basically repeating the same joke from the Celine Dion Show sketches, it’s coming off more fun in this different setting.
STARS: ***½


THE HOW DO YOU SAY? AH YES, SHOW
Antonio Banderas (CHK) paws coed (host)

— Unfortunately, unlike the preceding Celine Dion sketch, this does turn out to be the return of a one-note talk show sketch. I liked the first installment of this Antonio Banderas sketch enough, but can tell it will not hold up as a recurring sketch.
— After playing the main band member in the first installment of this sketch, Horatio is mysteriously absent in tonight’s installment. Jimmy’s mostly-silent band member from the first installment has now taken over Horatio’s place as the main band member and is given the same type of dialogue that Horatio had, and Darrell has been added as a new mostly-silent band member who’s basically doing what Jimmy did in the first installment. I’ve always wondered if the reason Horatio dropped out of this sketch is because he (or SNL) perhaps felt bad about playing such a broad Mexican stereotype so early into his tenure as SNL’s first Hispanic cast member.
— Some laughs from Kattan’s Banderas treating Jennifer’s breasts like two people.
— After one of the many times he teases taking off his shirt, I like Banderas briefly putting his hands on the top of his pants and asking if he should bring out his “friend”, referring to his penis.
— Overall, not quite as bad as I was expecting, but I still didn’t enjoy this as much as the first installment.
STARS: **½


MATERNITY WARD
candy stripers Craig & Arianna stumble upon pregnant classmate (host)

— The Cheerleaders make their first appearance in a quite a long while (for their standards). This ends up being their ONLY appearance this entire season, then they only appear once in the following season and that’s the last we ever see of them.
— I wonder if the only reason they’re doing a Cheerleaders sketch tonight is to keep up the tradition of doing these sketches whenever a Party Of Five cast member hosts in this era (Neve Campbell, Scott Wolf, and now Jennifer Love Hewitt).
— Interesting how Jennifer is playing Alexis, a previously-unseen character who Arianna usually always shouted at to off-camera in previous Cheerleaders sketches.
— Funny line from Craig about how this is only the second time he’s ever seen a vagina, the first being when his grandmother fell in the tub.
— A good use of Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock.
STARS: ***


TV FUNHOUSE
by RBS- The Ambiguously Gay Duo misses the subtext of fans’ letters

— Tonight’s recurring-heavy episode continues, as we get an Ambiguously Gay Duo cartoon, for the first time this season.
— Ah, a change of pace, with Ace and Gary reading fan mail.
— Big laughs from the increasingly perverted letters Ace and Gary are reading off.
— Very funny bit with the X-Ray Specs.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ relates credentials of those involved in Clinton impeachment hearings

— A particularly good amount of funny lines during Colin’s opening straight-to-camera rant.
— Ah, finally, Colin ends an opening straight-to-camera rant with an actual segue into the Update opening title sequence, instead of SNL just abruptly cutting to the title sequence after Colin finishes a sentence in his rant.
— Colin is more marble-mouthed than ever in tonight’s Update, and that’s saying something.
— No guest commentaries in tonight’s overall Update.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “3 MC’s and One DJ”


CLEAN TEEN DEODORANT SPOKESPERSON SEARCH
Clean Teen Deodorant Spokesperson Search finds Mary Katherine Gallagher

— Tonight’s recurring-heavy episode continues. Seeing the Cheerleaders and Mary Katherine Gallagher in the same episode makes this feel like an episode from 1996, back when both recurring sketches were at their peak of popularity and frequently appeared on the show. Am I in for a Roxbury Guys or Goat Boy sketch next, to complete the 1996 feel of tonight? (Obviously not, as Jim Breuer is no longer on the show at this point, and SNL retired the Roxbury Guys after their movie bombed earlier this season.)
— This Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch reminds me an awful lot of the one with Elle MacPherson, where MKG competed in a teen modeling contest. We even get Will playing the contest emcee in both MKG sketches, and doing a solid job both times.
— A good laugh from Cheri quickly doing an “f you” arm gesture towards the camera when she doesn’t get chosen as one of the finalists.
— Overall, some laughs, but MKG’s antics in this sketch had a bit of a tired feel, and this MKG installment paled in comparison to the similar one with Elle MacPherson. Even the Cheerleaders came off fresher tonight than MKG did, though it’s obvious that we’re nearing the end of the road for both recurring sketches. I can’t remember how many remaining MKG sketches there are during Molly’s tenure as a cast member. Off the top of my head, I can only remember the Black Angels one with Gwyneth Paltrow later this season (one of the better MKG sketches) and the Jewish basketball team one with Jerry Seinfeld at the beginning of the following season, plus a special quick musical number MKG performs with the SNL Band in Molly’s final episode as a cast member.
STARS: **½


LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
Hollywood players (WIF) & (host) pitch to LOM

 

— Hey, an actual original sketch tonight.
— The use of slots reminds me of another gameshow sketch in this era: Food, Sex, or Cars.
— Speaking of the slots in this sketch, former one-season SNL cast member David Koechner can be seen among the rapidly-scrolling pictures of celebrities in one of the slots (screencap below).

— Speaking of former cast members, when a picture of Harry Anderson popped up in one of the slots, I actually thought that was Dana Carvey at first.
— I love the premise of this sketch, and it’s being executed well.
— I like the randomness of “the sound of a producer being serviced by a prostitute” being used to signal the show to go to the “Ultimate Pitch” round.
— This sketch now gets very meta, with Lorne being who Jennifer and Will have to pitch a movie to.
— A fun and solid sketch overall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sabotage”


HUSSEIN’S HIDEAWAY
Saddam Hussein’s (WIF) private bunker is marked by adolescent trappings

— Always good to see Will’s Saddam Hussein impression.
— Some good amusement from the inspectors teasing Saddam over the personal items they find in his bunker.
— A funny and charming mock-sentimental turn this sketch takes towards the end.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not as good as the long string of solid episodes that preceded this. This is the first episode all season that I don’t have a bunch of positive things to say about. That’s certainly not to say that this was a subpar episode, as I still enjoyed a good amount of the show, but the overall episode was a little too recurring-heavy for my likes, and there were barely any standout strong segments.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Joan Allen)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Vince Vaughn

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December 10, 1994 – Alec Baldwin / Beastie Boys (S20 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

PRESS CONFERENCE
Joycelyn Elders (ELC) gets the hook after too much masturbation talk

— Nice to see Ellen’s Joycelyn Elders impression again after the funny Show & Tell sketch from the preceding season. The “masturbation in school” topic is a funny premise for this cold opening.
— Elders, on her masturbation instruction book: “It does not take long to read. Step 1, step 2, then repeat.”
— Great turn with a giant hook entering the shot and trying to decide whether to yank Elders off the stage or not.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
ADS & host relate positives caused by Canteen Boy-scoutmaster skit outcry

— Alec says that with this hosting stint, he joins the prestigious five-timers club.
— I like Alec addressing the Canteen Boy controversy from his last episode, especially how he’s exaggerating the outrage over the sketch, such as saying Sinead O’Connor ripped up a picture of Canteen Boy at a concert.
— I love how they’re now doing a “politically correct” version of the Canteen Boy sketch. This is very funny.
STARS: ****


LEXON PARADOX
Rerun from 10/1/94


PARENTS BELIEVE IN SANTA
Santa-believing parents (host) & (JAG) puzzle over their lack of presents

— A great part with Alec showing different types of milk (e.g. moose milk) that was left out for Santa, and saying “What does this fat sleigh-riding son of a bitch want from us?!?”
— I like the gradual reveal that Alec and Janeane still believe in Santa. This is a solid premise that’s being executed very well.
STARS: ****


L.A. BREAST AND PENIS
hospital’s catch-all solution is cosmetic surgery

— Alec’s usual delivery is perfect for a sketch like this.
— The opening credits sequence is a decent parody of frantic hallway scenes in medical shows like this.
— “Nurse Sheila Ten Bears”?
— This feels like typical season 20 low-brow humor, but I’m not finding it TOO bad in this sketch. There are some laughs from how the doctors’ only way of tending to train-accident victims is to give them genital enhancements.
— Funny part with Elliott handing Mike and Laura a bag with their son’s penis in it.
STARS: ***


JAPANESE GAMESHOW
American tourist (CHF) is contestant on a high-stakes Japanese game show

— A very well-remembered sketch from this season.
— (*sigh*) Mike’s streak of playing Asian stereotypes every week continues. At this point, I lost count of how many episodes the streak has been going on.
— Farley’s confusion as the only American contestant is fantastic.
— This sketch is so good, even Mike’s Asian stereotype routine is coming off tolerable to me. He’s actually really good at making all of the Japanese dialogue sound real.
— I love the disturbing turn with contestants cutting their own hand off with a knife as punishment for getting an answer wrong, much to Farley’s horror.
— Good ending bit with Farley being hooked up to a machine and then being electrocuted when getting an answer wrong.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sure Shot”


WEEKEND UPDATE

— During the set-up to the joke about what to do with Jeffrey Dahmer’s dead body, I like one audience member being heard yelling “Burn it!” This has been a very responsive audience in general tonight.
— We get our very first Norm mention of Duh Magazine, which would go on to be one of his running jokes on Update.
— Norm: “A one-legged goose with a dart in its head. And I complain about my life.”
— No guest commentaries in tonight’s overall Update, but I certainly have no complains. Just 5 pure minutes of uninterrupted Norm telling news jokes.
STARS: ****


ROOKIE COP
barfing NYC policemen set off a vomit cascade in the city

 

— Here comes a sketch that’s always been one of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. I’m aware that I’m probably in a very small minority in liking this, as this sketch is generally considered to be a representation of so much that’s wrong with this season. It’s hard to defend this sketch, but I think part of the appeal for me is that they take this sophomoric premise to such a ridiculous extent that it becomes funny to me.
— Some amusing malfunctions during Adam and David’s scene, with their puke initially coming out too early, then stopping too late.
— I love how they’re not even trying to hide the hose that can be seen coming out of everyone’s pant leg.
— As I said in my review of the classic Greenhilly sketch from Alec’s season 15 episode, the dog puppet vomiting in this Rookie Cop sketch has always reminded me of when Alec kisses a dog puppet in Greenhilly. And like I promised in the afore-linked Greenhilly review, here’s a side-by-side comparison between the dog puppet in both sketches, even though I’m now sure they aren’t the same puppet.

— I like how they’re using multiple sets and are involving every cast member (even Norm), giving this sketch an epic feel.
— For some reason, Elliott’s character being named Red Skeffington cracks me the hell up.
— When Kevin’s fake puke fails to come out, he ad-libs “Dry heaves”. I’m surprised to see it’s Kevin who says that line, because I swear I used to remember that line being from Elliott. I wonder if the version of this scene that would later be shown in reruns is the dress rehearsal version.
STARS: ***½


THE YOUNG AND THE YOUTHFUL
(host)’s idiot evil twin (host) replaces him

— This is the second episode in a row involving twins being played by one performer (after Elliott’s Funny Strange sketch in the last episode), pulled off with clever editing and the use of doubles.
— Alec’s performance as the mentally challenged evil twin is funny, though I feel wrong for laughing at it.
— Is showing a scantily clad Tim Meadows becoming a weekly thing now (much like Mike doing an Asian stereotype)?
— The ending could’ve been funnier.
STARS: ***


BACK SEAT
(MMK) & (JAG) issue empty threats to very unruly kids during a long drive

— I’ve always hated this sketch in past viewings. I’ll try to keep an open mind during this viewing, as I feel this probably isn’t as bad as I previously made it out to be.
— A pretty good laugh from the part with a bong, which used to be the only part I liked in past viewings.
— Going into this with an open mind definitely seems to have helped, as I’m not hating this anywhere near as much as I used to. While I still find this far from a particularly great sketch, it’s enjoyable enough.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL GUEST INTRO

— Why is Alec dressed as a cop, when he was in a sketch between Rookie Cop and this musical guest intro? And this is the live version I’m watching of this episode, so this isn’t a case of sketches being reshuffled from their original order.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Ricky’s Theme” & “Heart Attack Man”


BAD STRIPTEASE
(JAG) is scarred for life when unsexy exotic dancer (CSE) gyrates for her

— Very funny use of Chris Elliott and his delightfully weird sense of humor. I’m loving his disgusting striptease routine.
— Good reveal of Elliott having extensive body hair.
— I like the turn towards the end with us being taken to a courtroom scene.
STARS: ****


CELEBRITY MEMORABILIA AUCTION
(host) & (CSE) auction stolen celebrity items; Christian Slater cameo

— I think Janeane has appeared in literally EVERY SINGLE sketch tonight (not counting the cold opening). I recall once reading a theory that this was SNL’s way of responding to complaints in the media about how underused and misused Janeane has been this season.
— A fairly dull sketch with not much laughs, but I’m enjoying the sleaziness that Alec and Elliott are bringing to their performances.
— When Michael says “Meryl Streep isn’t dead”, what was up with an off-camera Ellen being heard starting to say the exact same line at the same time? She read the wrong line off the cue card, I take it? Michael gives her a bit of a puzzled look.
— Christian Slater cameo. Some girls in the audience can be heard screaming like crazy.
STARS: **


DEEP THOUGHTS BY JACK HANDEY

— Surprisingly, this is the first Deep Thoughts all season. They’ve really been phasing these out since the preceding season.


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I feel this is definitely one of the better episodes of this troubled season. The quality of this episode had a good stability that I’m not used to seeing this season. We got one classic (Japanese Gameshow), a few really solid things, a guilty pleasure sketch for me (Rookie Cop), some pretty good stuff, and absolutely nothing that I hated; even the weaker sketches had some okay qualities. Having the always-reliable-as-a-host Alec Baldwin certainly didn’t hurt, either. It also helped that this episode had a very lively studio audience.


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


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
George Foreman hosts the Christmas episode. Happy birthday, Jesus, hope ya like crap!