Tag: Billy Joel

Posted on

October 23, 1993 – John Malkovich / Billy Joel (S19 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Phillies spit while Anne Murray (MEH) sings “O, Canada” at World Series

— Some good laughs from the Phillies each crudely taking turns spitting out a small chunk of their tobacco during Anne Murray’s singing.
— Feels kinda weird seeing Phil being cast in this role at this point of his tenure.
— The ending gag gave me a huge laugh. I feel like I shouldn’t like it, since it kinda signals this and next season’s increasing reliance on bad low-brow humor and fluid-spurting gags, but it worked in the structure of this short-and-sweet cold opening.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host gets worked up while trying to hit a baseball into the audience

— I love the fake-out on the old “host mentions a recent movie they’re in to receive applause” trope, with John saying “There was a little movie you might’ve seen this summer called Jurassic Park”, which receives confused, scattered applause from the audience, considering John’s not in that movie. John then says “Great movie; I’ve seen it twice.”
— A simple premise, but John is really making this work, especially with his increasing frustration.
— When John is angrily banging the baseballs on the floor with a bat, one of the baseballs accidentally flies up and lands by SNL Band drummer Shawn Pelton, nearly hitting him. Pelton just laughs while moving out of the way of the ball.
STARS: ****


MCINTOSH POST-IT NOTES
use the computer message units once & throw away

— I’ve always found this fake ad baffling. It’s not a particularly funny concept, and that coupled with the fact that the ad is played SO straight and dull makes it feel too much like a real ad. Kinda reminds me of how I’ve always felt about that Michael McKean-starring Virtual Reading fake ad from the following season.
— Yeah, watching this ad again now, my opinion has not really changed. Though I admit to getting a chuckle from the long “warming up” part, as well as the close-up of Farley as a coach giving a cheesy grin and head nod to the camera (the third above screencap for this ad).
— For some reason, the part with Kevin holding up a McIntosh Post-It Note in one hand and regular Post-It Notes in his other hand while comparing the two products would later be removed from all reruns. Does anyone have any idea why? Did SNL get in trouble with the real Post-It Notes company for showing their product without permission or something?
STARS: *½


THE MENENDEZ TRIAL
on witness stand, Erik (ROS) & Lyle (host) Menendez blame their twins

— The first of many Court TV sketches within these next two seasons.
— I got a good laugh from John as one of the Menendez brothers explaining that their parents hid the extra set of two brothers because “they were weak and not good tennis players”, a line made even funnier by that trademark Malkovich delivery.
— So many little things throughout this are cracking me up, such as John’s crying faces and the way he places his hand over his eyes during that crying, and Rob always listening to the lawyers while leaning his head forward with an intensely serious facial expression.
— I like how the alleged extra set of two brothers is clearly just Lyle and Erik having switched places with each other.
— Phil’s “Is that really necessary?” line was solid.
— The extremely long, silent wait for Lyle and Erik to return while the camera holds on a shot of two empty chairs is hilarious.
— I love the awkwardness and subtle panicking when only one of the brothers is sent to go get the extra set of brothers from the bathroom.
— This overall sketch was very slow-paced and repetitive, but it actually worked really well, and so many things in it tickled me.
STARS: ****½


THEATRE STORIES
Charlton Heston (PHH) & Brits talk about porno films

— Surprisingly, this is the first time they’ve done this sketch since season 17. This sketch completely skipped season 18.
— Good to see Julia’s character back after not being in the last Theatre Stories sketch.
— It’s also nice to see this sketch without Dana Carvey’s Mickey Rooney for a change, as his endlessly-repeated “I was the number one staaaarrrrr… etc.” catchphrase actually got old fast to me (as much as it pains me to criticize Dana).
— I like Mike’s character calling Charlton Heston “Charl-intestine”.
— Always fun to see Phil’s Charlton Heston. His line just now about “bananas… bananas… bananas” was very funny with his delivery.
— I’m loving John’s character and delivery.
— Funny running gag with Mike narrating how he’s randomly changing his body postures uncontrollably.
— The various porn stories being told are all worth good laughs.
— Overall, this has always been my favorite installment of this recurring sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The River of Dreams”


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN gives a subliminal editorial about Ted Danson’s blackface at roast
John Kruk (CHF) realizes that he was supposed to have been in Toronto

— This is the first in a long time they’ve altered the Update title sequence featuring Kevin’s spinning head, this time showing him in old-timey blackface makeup (screencap below), as an apparent reference to Ted Danson’s infamous blackface stunt at a then-recent Whoopi Goldberg roast.

— I loved Kevin’s two jokes about the cancellation of Chevy Chase’s disastrous talk show, one of the jokes being “By the way, The Chevy Chase Show is still dead”, as a reference to Chevy’s classic Generalissimo Francisco Franco running gag from the original era.
— Uh-oh, here comes yet another subliminal editorial. As I mentioned in my review of the preceding season’s finale, I’ve surprisingly gotten tired of Kevin’s subliminal routine over the course of last season.
— Tonight’s subliminal editorial ended up being okay, but was sadly still a far cry from the days when Kevin’s subliminal routine was in its prime. The best subliminal words in tonight’s commentary were Long Dong Silver and Kevin referring to Montel Williams as “8-ball head”.
— Kevin: “During the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies have been accused of being unshaven, overweight, long-haired, dumb slobs.” Oh, was THAT the reason behind the cold opening earlier tonight?
— Great facial reaction from Chris as John Kruk when he comes to the realization he’s supposed to be in Toronto for the World Series tonight. This commentary is almost too simple a concept, but Chris is actually selling it well. I wonder if him turning his back to the camera was an ad-lib, since the back of his Phillies jersey is oddly empty (the fifth above screencap for this Weekend Update), as if SNL didn’t bother putting Kruk’s team number on it because they didn’t think the back of his jersey would be shown onscreen.
— The John Kruk commentary ends with him having a disappointed “Should’ve been there” reaction to Kevin’s announcement that Toronto won the World Series tonight (an announcement that initially receives cheers from the studio audience before being drowned out by many boos). According to a dress rehearsal photo on GettyImages (seen here), the dress rehearsal version of this commentary seemingly had a different ending, as the photo shows Chris’ John Kruk standing up with a rowdy look on his face while holding a bottle of champagne (it looks like his head is doused in champagne as well). I’m guessing the dress rehearsal version used an alternate ending where the Phillies were the ones who won the World Series, and Chris’ John Kruk broke out a bottle of champagne to celebrate. SNL must’ve had two different endings written in advance, since they obviously wouldn’t have known which team would win the World Series until the game ended during the live airing of tonight’s episode.
STARS: ***


OF MICE AND MEN
Disney’s version features two Lennies (host) & (CHF)
LOM shoots CHF after the latter breaks JAH’s neck during sketch

— Of Mice and Men is my personal favorite book of all time, and I’ve always loved SNL’s parodies of it from various seasons. I also like how this particular parody is in reference to the Of Mice and Men movie adaptation Malkovich starred in a year earlier.
— A very good and fun premise of George being replaced with a second Lennie.
— I love the sound effect of loud snapping whenever the puppies’ necks are cracked.
— The Lennies’ poor ways of hiding the dead puppies’ bodies are really funny.
— Great how the running neck-snapping gag is now extending to Farley’s Lennie accidentally snapping the neck of Curley’s wife.
— I absolutely love the twist after the sketch ends, with a behind-the-scenes bit where it’s revealed that Chris really did snap Jan’s neck during the sketch.
— Funny implication in Chris’ meta line “I did it again, just like Victoria.”
— Great ending with Lorne pulling a George and shooting Chris in the back of the head while telling him about Hollywood.
STARS: *****


RUINING IT FOR EVERYONE
guests’ actions spurred preventative measures

— An interesting and fairly fun premise.
— I’m enjoying the sketch, but it has an oddly really quiet atmosphere so far, for some reason. Not sure what it is; maybe it’s the audience.
— John is absolutely perfect for this creepy role, and I love his overly calm revelations about killing hitchhikers.
— Funny bit about Rob being the first man to ever bring a woman to orgasm.
— The sketch has been getting funnier as it’s going along.
— Good ending with each guest saying what they plan on ruining next.
— Nice touch at the very end with John asking “Anybody need a lift home?”, though it was almost inaudible.
STARS: ***½


CARVILLE
James Carville (host) urges Hillary Clinton (JAH) to run in 1996

— Feels weird seeing an Oval Office sketch buried this late in the show.
— John continues to knock it out of the park, as he’s perfectly cast as James Carville and is giving a very funny performance in the role.
— I could be looking too much into this, but when talking about daughter Chelsea, Jan-as-Hillary’s emphasized delivery of “She’s a 13-year-old who deserves to be left ALONE!” almost seems to be SNL’s way of saying “See, everyone? We truly ARE sorry for the mean things we said about Chelsea in that Wayne’s World sketch!”
— I loved Carville slyly telling Hillary “I’ll see you in ’96…. minutes!” when Bill’s in the room.
— Very sweet ending with Phil and Jan, and yet another heartwarming display of their wonderful chemistry.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “All About Soul”


IN THE LINE OF FIRE
assassin (host) gets wrong numbers while trying to phone Frank Horrigan

— Another parody of a Malkovich movie, which I’m glad about, as In The Line Of Fire is one of my favorite Malkovich movies.
— The first wrong number reveal is really funny, happening out of nowhere during such a tense scene.
— John’s sudden “I KNOW IT’S ALRIGHT!” angry outburst cracked me up.
— Weird how this is the second out-of-it old lady Julia is playing tonight.
— A good laugh from John accidentally calling Julia’s old lady back immediately after hanging up on her.
— Priceless part with the kid’s “They killed Kennedy?!? The VJ from MTV?!?” reaction.
— John being put on call waiting right after finally reaching Frank Horrigan is very funny.
— The ending would later be altered in reruns. In the live version I’m currently watching, after John shoots himself in the foot (a gag ruined by a technical error where the screen took too long to cut to an exterior shot of the building), he calls 911, asks them for an ambulance, and that’s the end of the sketch. Reruns improve on this ending by adding in audio of Julia’s old lady character yelling “Hello?!? Hello?!?” on the other end of the phone after John asks 911 for an ambulance.
— Speaking of the ending, I wonder if whoever wrote this sketch would later write the recurring Zagat’s sketches from the following season, because much like John’s character at the end of this sketch, the first Zagat’s sketch ends with Adam’s character accidentally shooting himself in the foot off-camera (“MY FOOT!”).
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— And thus ends what’s always been one of my personal favorite episodes of all time. Unlike the last episode I reviewed that I called one of my personal all-time favorites (Christopher Walken/Arrested Development, which coincidentally originally aired on the same Saturday as tonight’s episode an exact year earlier), it’s a little hard to justify why tonight’s episode is one of my favorites. To a lot of SNL fans, I assume this is just a solid-but-not-classic episode (if I’m wrong about that assumption, I apologize). And even having just watched and reviewed the episode right now, I see that there were barely any sketches that I consider a five-star classic. But to me, this episode has always held a VERY special place in my heart. I just love so many things about it as a whole, including the feel and flow of it. Part of my bias towards this episode may be due to both the fact that I first saw it in a Comedy Central rerun during my very early SNL fandom days, where it left a huge impression on me (so much so, that anytime I noticed Comedy Central was airing the episode again, I’d go wild), and the fact that I’m a fan of a lot of John Malkovich’s work and always love when he hosts SNL (why he’s only hosted three times, I’ll never know). And after watching and reviewing the episode just now, I also feel that, unlike the preceding episodes of this season, nothing in this episode was hampered by early signs of the doom that awaits both this and next season (besides maybe the McIntosh Post-It Notes commercial, but that was short and harmless enough).


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jeff Goldblum)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Christian Slater

Posted on

October 21, 1989 – Kathleen Turner / Billy Joel (S15 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
The Miracle Of Fatima ’89- American flag tells (host) “don’t burn me”

— I liked the random “Art Squad” opening credits featuring Jesse Helms (played by an extra) shooting the genitalia off a David statue. No idea what news story that was based on, though.
— Kind of a strange cold opening so far. Not too crazy about what I’ve been seeing here.
— Yeah, this hasn’t been working for me at all. It’s being well-performed, but hasn’t been funny nor interesting to me. Easily one of my least favorite cold openings from this entire era.
STARS: *½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Mike Myers’ pic has been changed from a fairly plain-looking one to a more professional, mature-looking one.


MONOLOGUE
host actually talks like VIJ- the sexy voice is just for movies

— Hilarious bit with Kathleen revealing her “real” voice, which is just her miming to Victoria Jackson’s naturally high-pitched voice-over.
— Kathleen is displaying great timing with her lip-syncing of Victoria’s voice-over and the way she’s able to seamlessly go back-and-forth between miming the voice-over and speaking in her own famously husky voice.
— I wonder if the rerun version I’m watching uses the dress rehearsal version of this monologue. I ask because at the end of this, I noticed an abrupt cut in Kathleen’s positioning when the camera switched from a close shot of her to a wide shot of the stage as the SNL Band plays the show to commercial. Perhaps in the original live version of this monologue, Kathleen’s lip-syncing was a bit too sloppy.
STARS: ****


PLUG AWAY WITH HARVEY FIERSTEIN
John Travolta (DAC), host, Lee Iacocca (PHH) promote selves

— I loved Dana-as-Travolta’s way of pronouncing “Look Who’s TAAAAHLKIN’”.
— Very interesting part with Kathleen trying to seduce Jon’s Fierstein.
— I always like Phil’s Lee Iaccoca voice.
— Funny part where, as soon as Merv Griffin is mentioned, Jon’s Fierstein looks dreamily into space while longingly saying “Merv….”
— The “gay bee” back-and-forth between Fierstein and a confused Iaccoca is a really funny part that I’ve always remembered fondly about this sketch.
STARS: ***½


DIE SQUAREN OST BERLINER
celebrity defections make game difficult
Donheiser (DAC)- German Donahue’s audience has defected to the west

— Funny concept of a foreign Hollywood Squares, with all the dialogue being delivered in German.
— A good laugh from how most of the celebrity guests are missing because they’ve defected.
— Nice use of Billy Joel.
— We even get to hear Don Pardo speaking in German.
— I’m enjoying Mike’s voice in this.
— It’s pretty amusing trying to figure out what everybody in the sketch is saying.
— Good bit with Jan being caught on her way out, complete with a suitcase.
— I love the mid-sketch commercial with Dana as an angry German version of Donahue.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “We Didn’t Start The Fire”


WEEKEND UPDATE
one-man mobile uplink unit ALF gives drug war report from NYC crackhouse
PHH gives George Steinbrenner Health Watch update for hopeful Yankee fans
AWB says that the San Francisco earthquake is not the end of the world

 

— First time we’ve seen One Man Mobile Uplink Unit Al Franken in a long time. He completely skipped season 14, for some reason. I like how he’s reporting from a crackhouse tonight.
— Hmm, Uplink Unit Al even addresses the fact that we haven’t seen him in a while, and explains that the reason for his long absence is because he was addicted to pain pills (due to the strain of carrying all of that heavy mobile equipment).
— It might just be me, but the picture they showed of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (screencap below) kinda resembles future cast member Rob Schneider in Arab make-up.

Speaking of Rob Schneider, he joins the writing staff later this season and we’ll be seeing him (as well as his fellow added-to-the-writing-staff-later-this-season writer David Spade) appearing in lots of uncredited bit roles in the homestretch of this season, before eventually being added to the cast at some point next season.
— After just one episode, we already get a follow-up to the George Steinbrenner Health Watch segment.
— Despite the fact that Phil’s still playing himself like he did in the last Steinbrenner Health Watch installment, he’s wearing a rather strange wig this time for some reason.
— Some good laughs from Phil’s detailing of Steinbrenner’s mundane health issues, especially him saying “Sadly, the blood did clot” regarding Steinbrenner cutting himself shaving.
— Dennis’ stern “Beauty And The Beast is not real; it’s just a TV show” rant to Beauty And The Beast fans was decent. I half-expected him to deliver a William Shatner-esque “Get a life!” at one point.
— Loved Dennis’ joke about a Tone Loc-ness Monster.
— A mention of the notorious then-recent massive San Francisco earthquake that infamously interrupted that year’s World Series.
— A. Whitney, on how the Cubs’ failure to win the pennant means the world is not ending: “It’s in the bible: when the small bears from the Windy Place take the flag, THEN you shall know the end is nigh.”
— An overall short and sweet commentary from A. Whitney.
STARS: ***½


EGG MAN
an ovum confidant (PHH) counsels (host) about her wild son (DAC)

— I like the bizarre concept of this, and we get a very funny visual of Phil as a glasses-wearing talking egg.
— A good laugh from Egg Man’s panicky reaction to being manhandled by Kathleen during her angry rant.
— Egg Man giving noble advice is pretty funny.
— Dana’s giving an amusing performance as the wild punk-ish son.
— A few seasons later, SNL would do a sketch with Chris Farley as an advice-giving bee named Shmee, which I’ve always considered to be a sister sketch to Egg Man. I wonder if both sketches were written by the same person. Jack Handey, perhaps?
STARS: ***½


REALLY ORDINARY PEOPLE
average-seekers (host) & (KEN) enjoy their run-of-the-mill blind date

— Took me a while to see where this is going. I’m not too crazy about this premise of Kevin and Kathleen’s friendly pointing-out of the other’s averageness.
— Okay, I did get a good laugh from Kevin’s line about how he likes to crank his radio up to about 5.
— This ended on kind of a weird, empty note.
— This sketch as a whole didn’t work much for me. A rare misfire for Kevin Nealon.
STARS: **


ALL ABOUT DEBORAH NORVILLE
Jane Pauley (JAH) faces competition

— I got a good laugh from how Kathleen-as-Deborah-Norville’s increasingly nervous speaking to Jan’s Jane Pauley eventually devolved to her saying “You good, me bad.”
— Love Jon’s hilarious look as Gene Shalit.
— Could SNL have found a black extra who looks any LESS like Bryant Gumbel? (fourth screencap above) At least this serves as a happy reminder that this is thankfully the final season where SNL doesn’t have any black cast members.
— I feel kinda lost on the topicality of this sketch, but I’m getting a lot of enjoyment anyway, for the solid writing and very committed performances from Kathleen and Jan.
STARS: ****


LANK THOMPSON: I’M A HANDSOME MAN
Lank Thompson (MIM) plugs his “I’m A Handsome Man” course

— Good characterization from Mike here, and I love that cheesy smile he does at the end of every mini-scene.
— An overall pretty good debut of this soon-to-be-recurring sketch, though I like some of its later installments better (e.g. the ones with Alec Baldwin and Tim Meadows, respectively).
STARS: ***


555-TOON
phone sex from Jessica Rabbit (host) & other animated babes

— An amusingly clever naughty use of Kathleen’s Jessica Rabbit voice.
— The Flintstones ending was funny.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Downeaster Alexa”


MAXWELL HOUSE
Linda Ellerbee (NOD) & Willard Scott (JOL) do final ad for Maxwell House

— Hearing the opening Maxwell House sound effect jingle (those rhythmic boink-type sounds) was a blast from the past for me, reminding me of frequently seeing those Maxwell House commercials during my childhood.
— Hmm, I have no memory of Linda Ellerbee ever being a Maxwell House spokesperson.
— Jon is absolutely PRICELESS as a goofy, bare-bellied, Hawaiian outfit-wearing, hula-dancing Willard Scott.
— This is another sketch tonight that seems to be based on a topical story that I have no familiarity with, but Jon’s performance alone is making this sketch for me.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly good episode. There were a few misfires, but not enough to drag down the quality of the show too badly or anything.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Rick Moranis)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
James Woods

Posted on

November 14, 1981 – Bernadette Peters / The Go-Go’s, Billy Joel (S7 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
SNL sponsored by Texxon- “Where Life Is Second Only To Money”

— Now Texxon’s the name of the fictional gas company that “sponsors” the show?
— The taglines in these cold openings seem to get less and less funny with each passing one.
STARS: *½


TALENT ENTRANCE


JOHNNY KEEP YOUR GUN CLEAN
Betty Boop (host) warns against sex diseases

 

— The return of season 7’s musical sketches, after we got a break from them last week.
— The various V.D. innuendos are pretty funny.
— Overall, not bad for a season 7 musical sketch. Though knowing that Bernadette Peters has a lot of musical experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a second musical sketch later tonight.
STARS: ***


ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK FILMS
Escape From Escape From New York & Escape From New York, New York on film

   

— Calling Adrienne Barbeau “Adrienne Bimbo”?
— Not too sure about the concept of this. “Escape From New York” seems like a strange movie to pick on.
— I kinda like the outdated 1950s stock footage of theatergoers being used to represent then-modern theatergoers.
STARS: **


I MARRIED A MONKEY
baby Ronnie frolics as Madge mulls a divorce offer

   

— The return of this promising sketch from the season 6 finale.
— LOL at Madge sympathetically putting her arms around Tim when Tim was pouring his heart out to her.
— I assume the “Can I scratch that for you?” bit was an ad-lib.
— Another good laugh from Madge “drinking” from the pill bottle.
— Once again, Tim is doing great playing off of all of the monkey’s unscripted actions.
— Haha, the baby chimp is again causing lots of wild unplanned antics.
— Great blooper with the baby chimp’s constant bouncing around the set unintentionally causing a painting to fall off the wall.
— Overall, this was a riot. I’m surprised by how much I’ve been liking these “I Married a Monkey” sketches so far, though I do expect to tire of them eventually.
STARS: ****


A MESSAGE TO YOUNG WHITE VIEWERS
EDM has a message for white kids about the importance of a good education

 

— I got a good laugh from Eddie’s mention of a “warm bucket of hamster vomit”.
— Funny premise with Eddie encouraging viewers to drop out of college.
— Him advising viewers to “play Space Invaders” serves as a nice time capsule of the arcade craze that was going on in those days.
— Good ending with the limo driver.
STARS: ***½


HIDDEN PHOTO
Allen Funt (JOP) gives diners dangerous forks & upsets kids

     

— The zoom-in to an audience member during the beginning came off awkward.
— They haven’t said who Joe’s playing, but I’m assuming it’s Allen Funt. Judging from the audience’s initial positive reaction to him, his impression seems to be dead-on.
— Ha, the sadistic prank with the hot fork is hilarious.
— Is that Christine or Bernadette playing the southern-accented waitress? I can’t tell.
— I’m liking how they’re doing more sadistic pranks. The idea of replacing a blind guy’s seeing-eye dog with a wild pig is cracking me up.
— Yet another hilarious prank sequence with telling kids they’re being put up for adoption.
— Why is that one little girl dressed like a French maid?
STARS: ****


BEDTIME STORY
(TOR) tells a bedtime story about camels that upholster furniture

— What’s with Robin’s voice? Is that a random British accent I’m hearing? It doesn’t seem to fit her character in this. Mary seems to be doing a weird accent as well.
— I’m starting to realize why Tony’s performances sometimes remind me of John Belushi: the way Tony’s voice sounds in some of his roles is very similar to the voice John would use in certain sketches like The Farbers and Knights of Columbus.
— What the hell? That’s the whole sketch??!? The bedtime story’s over already??? This was absolutely pointless.
STARS: *


BILLY JOEL PREVIEW
a teaser for Billy Joel’s upcoming musical performance

— Interesting random quick segment, showing Billy Joel rehearsing while announcer Mel Brandt tells us Joel’s performance is coming up later in the show.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
The Go-Go’s perform “Our Lips Are Sealed”


MAN RAY AND MIC
by William Wegman- a dog & a microphone

 

— Hmm, the return of Bill Wegman and his dog Man Ray, who made a few films together back in the original SNL era.
— Uh… what in the world??? This ended up being yet another very quick, pointless bit tonight, and reminded me of one of the earlier Wegman/Man Ray films that just showed the dog being awaken by an alarm clock. What is the point of these films of theirs??? I don’t understand these at all.
STARS: *


SKETCH IN THE DARK
after power failure, TOR & CHE’s skit is unacceptable to the censor (TIK)

   

— Interesting fourth wall-breaking premise.
— LOL at the lines about Tony’s “rod” and Christine’s “nice melons”.
— Loved Tim flipping out when Christine calls for Dick Ebersol by yelling “Dick! Dick! Get me dick!”
— Didn’t care for the “oh, this sketch IS about sex after all” ending; it was kinda corny.
STARS: ***½


COMING UP
EDM & JOP wrestle for the right to introduce Billy Joel later in the show

   

— Another miscellaneous segment hyping up Billy Joel’s upcoming performance.
— Joe to Eddie: “Murphy, give me a break, you do EVERYTHING on the show.” Heh, I bet that’s how ALL of Eddie’s castmates felt throughout Eddie’s SNL tenure.
— This is a great display of the fun chemistry Eddie and Joe have always had on SNL.
— Haha, I’m loving this heated-up fight between Eddie and Joe. Lots of great youthful energy from Eddie on display here as well.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


MAKING LOVE ALONE
host sings a song about the virtues of making love alone

— My prediction of Bernadette doing a second musical sketch tonight was correct. Looks like she’s doing a serious, non-comedic musical number this time.
— “Making love alone?” Audience laughter? Wait, this is turning out to be a comedic song after all.
— Hmm, a pro-masturbation song by Bernadette Peters. Very interesting.
— Overall, this was a very solid number.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Billy Joel performs “Miami 2017”


42ND STREET
an innocent starlet (host) gets her chance in a sleazy club

     

— An old-timey burlesque backstage sketch seems perfect for Bernadette.
— The fire violation bribing bit was pretty funny.
— Interesting use of Brian Doyle-Murray in a rare non-Update appearance, as a drag queen of all things.
— Very good acting from Christine in her brief scene, almost TOO good for a sketch comedy show.
— LOL at the quick walk-on from a wild-looking Robin. Where has she been tonight anyway? Feels like we’ve barely seen her.
— Overall, this was a much longer sketch than usual this season, and wasn’t too great overall. Most of the performances were solid, though.
STARS: **


SNL NEWSBREAK
David Stockman’s (TIK) rosy economic scenario causes his nose to grow

    

— This is just NOW coming on? This seems to be on much later than usual tonight. I wonder if the fact that there’s so many musical performances tonight has something to do with that.
— Unlike last week, we get no shake-up with the “falling logo letters” opening gag. Just the same-old straightforward approach to it. You’d figure SNL would take a hint and stop doing the gag after seeing how much it always DIES with the audience.
— Speaking of dying with the audience, Brian’s first joke was met with total silence. Not a single laugh was heard from the audience. Man, it’s getting more and more depressing watching these dire SNL Newsbreaks this season.
— Geez, what was with Brian’s sloppy delivery of that Ayatollah joke?
— Tim playing a character named David Stockman? Uh, didn’t Gilbert Gottfried do an Update commentary as a character with that exact same name last season?
— LOL at the Pinocchio routine with Tim’s nose.
— Okay, Tim’s “increasingly bigger nose” bit is running out of steam.
— Wow, that’s the whole SNL Newsbreak??? This may be one of the shortest fake news installments I’ve ever seen on SNL. That, coupled with the fact that they buried this so late into the episode, almost makes me wonder if SNL is completely giving up on this dying segment.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
The Go-Go’s perform “We Got The Beat”


NICK THE KNOCK
Nick the Knock (JOP) listens to a fairy’s (MAG) poem, then eats her spine

   

— Ohhho, yes! I’ve always been dying to see this bizarre sketch after everything I’ve heard about it over the years, especially the ending.
— Hey, Joe’s music box is playing the future “Pumping Up with Hanz and Frans” yodeling theme song!
— What is that moving behind Mary?
— Joe’s facial expressions during Mary’s poem are kinda funny.
— Just as I expected, this sketch is weird as HELL so far.
— Haha, and there it is, the part of this sketch I’ve always heard about: the insane sequence with Joe eating the fairy’s spine, resulting in green fluid shooting all over his face while the fairy screams in horror. I love it! The studio audience didn’t seem to know WHAT to make of that part, judging by their uncomfortable silence.
— Overall, this has got to be one of the weirdest, most fucked-up sketches SNL has ever aired. Like I said in the last review, I’m enjoying how Michael O’Donoghue’s being in charge behind the scenes has led to this season doing lots of weird, dark, unconventional things that you’d usually NEVER see being done in any other season. I’m starting to dread O’Donoghue’s upcoming mid-season firing, because I’m aware that it starts a turning point where the Ebersol era begins its reputation for being overly bland and too safe.
STARS: *** (probably too generous a rating, but I really admire the hell out of all the oddness and darkness this sketch was going for)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Billy Joel performs “She’s Got A Way”


ROCK ‘N ROLL HEAVEN INCORPORATED
Rock ‘n Roll Heaven Inc. specializes in dead musician merchandizing

     

— Even the way Tony looks in that wig and glasses kinda reminds me of how John Belushi looked in certain getups.
— I got a laugh from the Jim Morrison flasher doll.
— Loved the tasteless “Jim Croce’s crashing plane” toy.
— Wow, another sketch appearance from Brian Doyle-Murray tonight.
— The “Dr. Nick Medical Kit” was another strong tasteless bit.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

  

— They seem to be trying to kill a lot of time before the ending credits start rolling. I liked how when Bernadette asked Tim how it feels to work with a monkey and Tim jokingly answers “I work with 6 of them all the time” (referring to his castmates), Eddie responds with a mock-offended “Hey, that ain’t funny, man!”

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A decent episode with a fairly fun vibe throughout. Even the two obligatory musical sketches of the week worked. There were still several weak pieces scattered throughout the show, and some experimentation that was very hit-and-miss, but nothing dragged this episode down TOO far for me.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Lauren Hutton):
— a very slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Tim Curry

Posted on

February 18, 1978 – Chevy Chase / Billy Joel (S3 E11)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
Little House On The Prairie Burns To The Ground will not be seen tonight


COLD OPENING
Gerald Ford (CHC) talks geography after confusing Suez & Panama Canals

   
— The obligatory return of Chevy’s Gerald Ford. Watching SNL episodes in chronological order, it feels a little weird seeing Chevy on the show again after getting so used to the show without him since his departure.
— Right out of the gate, Chevy looks a little distracted in his performance. Understandable, considering that mere minutes earlier, he and Bill Murray famously got into a big fistfight backstage. I’m curious to see if there will be any visible tension in the cast’s performances throughout this episode.
— A reprisal of the memorable gag with Chevy’s Ford answering a glass of water as a phone.
— Chevy’s Ford to his wife Betty: “Thank you, Ron.”
— The map demonstration was really funny.
— And there’s the return of the traditional ending fall.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Strangely, they reverted back to the opening montage from the first two seasons.

   
— Weird seeing this montage again. Is SNL only doing this to add to the night’s nostalgic “old school” feel with Chevy’s return?


MONOLOGUE
CHC shamelessly garners applause from the audience using various ploys

   
— It’ll be interesting to see how this monologue goes, considering this is SNL’s very first alumni-hosted episode.
— Chevy’s coming off really fidgety in this; obviously he’s still shaken up over the fight.
— Is all the frequent cheap applause part of the joke?
— Yep, I guess it is. This ain’t too funny so far.
— I feel like SNL ended up using the same “host keeps saying things to get frequent cheap applause” premise in another host’s monologue years later, but I can’t figure out which host it was.
— Oh, great, now he’s launched into a song. Ugh.
— Well, at least the song was brief.
— Overall, this monologue was kind of a disjointed mess, not helped by Chevy’s slightly off performance. I didn’t laugh much here.
STARS: **


MOTH MASHER
the Moth Masher compresses & plasticizes to ready insects for your wallet

   
— Nice to see another commercial with Dan doing his usual manic fast-talking pitchman.
— The bizarre nonsensical premise and the way it’s being played like it’s totally normal is great. I especially like the part about putting the plasticized moth into your wallet.
STARS: ****


AFTER LOVE
(CHC) & (GIR) evaluate their performance during a post-coital discussion


— I’m really liking Gilda’s various strange lines about her orgasms.
— This sketch is starting to have the feel of a Marilyn Suzanne Miller piece.
— Very funny part with Chevy explaining he said his own name during the sex because of all of his nights spent alone.
— Great “It’s your apartment” reveal at the end.
— Overall, a very well-written sketch and featured strong performances from Gilda and Chevy.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


KING
Jack (DAA) & Bobby (BIM) Kennedy bug Martin Luther King Jr. (GAM)

   
— Bill Murray’s first appearance of the night. I’m eager to see what his performances will be like tonight, considering how heated I know he is after the scuffle with Chevy.
— Bill and Dan’s Kennedy accents are really funny.
— Dan: “It seems the good ones, they die young.” Clever reference to the Billy Joel performance that preceded this. Speaking of which, some SNL fans are under the misconception that the Chevy/Bill backstage fight actually happened during the aforementioned Billy Joel performance, instead of happening before the show started. It IS funny, though, to imagine Billy Joel singing about good people dying young while Chevy and Bill are beating the crap out of each other.
— Dan: “Have you ever slept with a white girl?” Garrett: “Does your sister count?”
— A pretty forgettable sketch overall, despite decent performances.
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
a phony phone call from CHC displaces DAA from the anchor desk
LAN’s attempt to interview striking miner (ALF) is foiled by his coughing
JAC doesn’t fall for CHC’s attempt to displace her via a phony phone call
straying from topic of Spinks-Ali fight causes JOB to become animated
Emily Litella welcomes CHC back to Weekend Update; JAC tells them off
with GAM’s help, CHC repeats the top story for the hard-of-hearing

             
— The sponsored “Pussywhip” bit at the beginning was very funny.
— Haha, that’s clearly Chevy’s disguised voice talking to Dan over the phone.
— Dan announces he “has to split” after receiving family emergency news.
— Chevy has suddenly returned to the desk in Dan’s spot, and he’s even wearing his old anchorperson suit from the first two seasons. You can hear a guy in the audience very audibly exclaim “Alright!!”
— Over the years, I’ve heard some behind-the-scenes stories that Chevy taking over as Update anchor tonight was one of his demands that week, arrogantly explaining that “my fans expect it”. Reportedly, Jane was FURIOUS over this. This was just one of MANY ways that Chevy is said to have pissed off everybody at SNL that week (and as we know now, Chevy pissing off everybody at the show would go on to be a regular thing every time he hosted in the future).
— Ha, Chevy doing a Mr. Ed voice once again.
— What the heck was the point of Franken’s coal miner commentary? It was weak and one-joke.
— Another phone call from a disguised Chevy, this time trying to lure Jane away from the desk.
— Jane’s “Nice try, Sparky” response to Chevy’s failed phone call ruse was great.
— LOL at Jane’s casual mention of Leon Spinks being “one of the ugliest heavyweight champs of all-time”.
— This is John’s first appearance of the whole night, surprisingly.
— During his story, John makes a passing mention of “Brian Doyle-Murray, Bill’s brother”.
— And now, John mentions a roommate named Steve Bushaikis, which is also the name of one of John’s more obscure recurring characters on the show.
— There’s the “But nooooooo” line, which pretty much officially becomes John’s catchphrase at this point.
— John’s whole roughhousing/boxing gloves bit with Jane was hilarious, especially Jane’s panicking and her passing out.
— Emily Litella shows up out of nowhere, happily greeting her favorite Update anchor “Cheddar Cheese”. As tired as I’ve gotten of this character, she’s actually coming off endearing here.
— Jane to Litella: “(angrily) First I get slugged by Belushi, now I gotta deal with YOU!”
— Chevy brings back his famous “making faces behind someone’s back” routine while Jane’s continuing to rant on at him and Litella.
— Jane’s aggression when calling out Chevy for greedily taking over Update is clearly part of the script, but you just know there’s definitely a lot of real-life anger she’s venting there.
— To conclude tonight’s Chevy Chase-Era Weekend Update Nostalgia Tour, we get the return of “News for the Hard of Hearing”. They’re really going all out in bringing back all of Chevy’s beloved Update staples.
— Overall, what an epic Update. Easily the best of the season so far. Kinda sad, though, that it took Chevy’s return for SNL to have its first above-average Update of the whole season. Really shows how fairly rough the quality of Update has been this season.
STARS: ****


BAGGAGE INSPECTION
customs trainee (CHC) inspects luggage of drug smugglers (JOB) & (LAN)

   
— I got a good laugh from Garrett hiding a joint in his mouth when trying to sneak away.
— Hilarious part with the cocaine leaking out of Laraine’s “chest”.
— During Bill’s funny walk-on at the end, he actually interacts with Chevy very briefly. Surprisingly, there was no visible tension at all, which at least shows they’re both very professional performers when they’re in character during a sketch.
— Overall, a very good sketch.
STARS: ****


THE VOICE
by Gary Weis- (Valri Bromfield) provides the soundtrack to LAN’s bad day

   
— A rare Laraine Newman showcase. I mentioned in an earlier review that she’s been really invisible this season.
— A very bizarre short so far, but the strange off-camera operatic singing and Laraine’s growing frustration are both making me laugh.
— What the–? Is that Valri Bromfield? The stand-up who did that awful “teacher” routine in SNL’s very first episode? How random that she pops up as a punchline at the end of this short. It looks like she’s even wearing the same outfit she wore in the first episode.
— The weirdness of this whole short was certainly more entertaining than the snooze-worthy humor Gary Weis usually offers.
STARS: ***


SERMONETTE
Church of Confusion holy man (CHC) tells a rambling story


— Chevy’s voice is kinda funny, but where in the WORLD is this going???
— Okay, now Chevy’s trying too hard with the “funny” voices here.
— And the sketch is over. I’m still left wondering what in the WORLD I just watched.
STARS: *½


GREAT MOMENTS OF WAR
at a checkpoint during WWII, GIs use USA culture quiz to root out Nazis

  
— Funny little detail with Bill quietly counting to himself in German.
— Predictable ending with John not knowing the answer to the Cleveland Indians manager question himself.
— I’m a little torn on this sketch as a whole. I felt the writing was tepid, but the performances were fun and made it worth watching.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


ENDINGS
CHC interrupts LAN, GIR, JAC during a badly-written old lady sketch
Twilite Zone- cast tries several methods to get out of a skit with no end
Jaws V- the Land Shark fools the women with promises of a sketch ending
GAM sees cast dead on the floor, ends show with “That’s All Folks”

       
— Gilda’s basically just doing an old-timey version of her Emily Litella voice.
— The fourth wall has broken with Chevy entering the scene as himself and calling for the sketch to end because “the piece is going nowhere”.
— Haha, sudden “Twilight Zone” twist. I always love Dan’s dead-on Rod Serling impression.
— Ha, and now we get a sudden John-as-Truman-Capote twist.
— Love the reveal of John randomly not wearing any pants.
— I’m loving all the false endings and weird meta-turns this sketch keeps taking in their attempt to “get out of the sketch”.
— Haha, now we get the return of Landshark!
— Overall, this was fantastic. Easily one of my favorite meta sketches of this whole era so far, which is saying something, as this era has had lots of memorable meta sketches.
STARS: *****


GOODNIGHTS
CHC plays organ with SNL band

 
— Chevy is seated at a piano as the cast crowds around him like he’s some sort of music legend. Ugh, his penchant for self-indulgence is on full display here.
— The DVD version I’m reviewing of this episode cut the goodnights very short. I had always heard that during these goodnights, a seething Bill Murray can be seen pacing back-and-forth in the background the whole time while giving Chevy a death stare. That description doesn’t quite match what I saw here, but it’s close enough: Bill makes a late entrance while looking miserable and he briefly shoots a particularly unhappy look towards Chevy hamming it up at the piano. Dan and John then stand by Bill, seemingly for two reasons: 1) to lighten him up and calm him down, and 2) to show solidarity with him, as if to say “We’re not on Chevy’s side”.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An okay episode, which exceeded my expectations. I came into this expecting a rough show, due to the backstage drama right before airtime and the fact that Chevy-hosted episodes usually have a reputation for being pretty tepid (probably due to his aforementioned habit of making everyone at the show miserable whenever he hosts). While tonight had a few subpar sketches here and there, the episode was decent for the most part and there were a few very strong segments, particularly the last sketch and the After Love sketch.
— The cast did a good job of hiding any tension during the sketches. Chevy himself, on the other hand, was visibly a little shaken early on in the show, but after the monologue, he got his concentration down and became his old self again, for better or worse.
— BTW, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the details of the Chevy/Bill fight, here’s an old article (from 1999) I dug up.


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

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
The controversial hosts keep on comin’, as our next episode is helmed by The Juice himself, O.J. Simpson