Tag: Danny DeVito

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December 11, 1999 – Danny DeVito / R.E.M. (S25 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NBC SPECIAL REPORT
Arnold Schwarzenegger (DAH) says the world will be unaffected by Y2k

— The debut of Darrell’s Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.
— I’m finding Darrell’s Arnold impression better here than it would later be. Even though it’s still not all that spot-on here, his impression is a lot funnier to me than his later version.
— Some laughs from the odd things Darrell’s Arnold says are going to be the same when the new millennium enters.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— After mysteriously not appearing in the last episode’s opening montage, the 25th anniversary SNL logo and Jimmy Fallon’s season 25 opening montage photo is back. However, Chris Kattan’s opening montage photo hasn’t been changed back to the season 25 version, though it eventually would.
— A noteworthy Don Pardo blooper, in which he accidentally announces the SNL Band as “Musical guest R.E.M.”. Then when R.E.M.’s picture shows up afterwards, Pardo pauses silently when realizing his mistake and then awkwardly just says “R.E.M.”. Then when Danny DeVito’s picture shows up afterwards, Pardo again pauses silently and then says kinda half-heartedly “Your host Danny DeVito”, without preceding “your host” with the usual “and”. SNL would later fix all of these mistakes in reruns.


MONOLOGUE
host is sprayed with apple after receiving Mr. Peepers as a gift

— Great to see Danny DeVito hosting for the first (and what would end up being only) time in this era.
— Danny mentions that this is his fifth time hosting, and that he’s joined “The Five Club”, as he calls it. Someone at SNL didn’t do their research, as this is actually Danny’s SIXTH time hosting, not fifth. Some people have a theory that SNL isn’t counting Danny’s season 9 episode, because he didn’t host it alone – Rhea Perlman co-hosted with him. However, I think it’s a real stretch that SNL wouldn’t count that. Co-hosting the show with someone else still counts as hosting. After all, Alec Baldwin’s fifth hosting stint had him mention in passing in his monologue that it was his fifth time hosting, which means they were counting his fourth episode, in which he co-hosted with Kim Basinger.
— I like how Danny’s making a big deal about how he’s the last guy in the millennium to host SNL.
— Will, on the gift SNL is giving to Danny: “We asked Lorne to chip in, but he refused.”
— They waste the prestigious so-called final monologue of the millennium on a Mr. Peepers bit??? And right after we just saw him a mere two episodes ago?
— I got a laugh from Mr. Peepers ripping right through the winter backdrop.
— Danny is a blast in this monologue and is helping make this Mr. Peepers bit more tolerable than usual.
— Danny, on this whole Mr. Peepers bit: “Trust me, my kids are at home and they love this, so screw it!” If that’s truly the case, then who am I to argue?
STARS: *** (mainly just for what Danny brought to this)


PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY SET
kids can practice media relations with the Press Conference Play Set

— Ehh, not too sure about this premise, though the execution has its charm at points. However, this commercial feels a little out of place on SNL.
— I laughed at the messy-haired kid at the end who panickedly said “I will no longer be trying new foods.”
STARS: **½


THE DELICIOUS DISH
after Y2k meltdown, chef (host) is permanent guest of Margaret Jo & Terry

— Surprisingly, this is the first time this sketch has appeared in a year. This also ends up being the only installment of this sketch that we’ll be seeing this season.
— A great scenario of Delicious Dish dealing with the apocalyptic aftermath of Y2K.
— I like the passing mention of a roving sex gang.
— Funny line about Danny being Delicious Dish’s only guest in every episode ever since Y2K struck.
— A great dark turn this takes with Danny’s character and his defeated demeanor.
— A good laugh from Molly’s line about spending the night with bikers in exchange for a packet of ketchup, and how Ana immediately changes the subject.
— A hilarious reveal of Danny’s clam chowder having been made out of whiteout and dice.
STARS: ****½


MANGO
Christmas Fairy (Michael Stipe) shows why Mango’s dad (host) rebukes him

 

— Mango continues to be shoved down our throats this season. Oh, and also, do we really need Mr. Peepers AND Mango in the same episode? A certain somebody in the cast needs to come up with some new characters.
— Kattan’s portrayal of Mango seems to be getting increasingly more goofy and animated with each passing appearance this season.
— This feels like the first time in a while we’ve seen Horatio. His airtime has been getting pretty bad these last few episodes. He wasn’t even in any sketches in the preceding Christina Ricci episode.
— I guess it’s fairly interesting seeing Mango’s family.
— Danny’s anger towards Mango is making me laugh.
— Nice inclusion of Michael Stipe as the Christmas Fairy.
— In the black-and-white 1944 scene, I like the detail of Guava’s admirers outside of his dressing room being sailors.
— Funny Jimmy Stewart impression from Jimmy.
— Decent running bit with the occasional references to R.E.M. songs.
— Overall, not too bad for a season 25 Mango sketch, even if I still wasn’t all that crazy about this as a whole.
STARS: **½


METAL SHOP
in shop class, Sully & Denise videotape an interview with teacher (host)

— This sketch officially becomes recurring.
— Jimmy’s Sully character becomes more defined, as this is the first time we see him wearing his traditional Nomar Garciaparra Red Sox jersey.
— The debut of Horatio’s Boston Teens character, Frankie. With this addition, I like that this recurring sketch stars three of the four newer people in the cast (Jimmy, Rachel, and Horatio), giving this recurring sketch a “new SNL generation” feel.
— Sully’s line about getting Denise nipple warmers for a Christmas gift was very funny.
— Horatio’s performance is providing good amusement.
— Funny bit with Danny showing his glass eye to the camera.
STARS: ***½


HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE LADIES’ MAN
Leon Phelps sings “Merry Christmas To The Ladies”

— A nice change of pace for The Ladies Man.
— Fun song from Leon Phelps. I especially like the dirty lyric about licking his candy cane.
— Nice assistance from the two backup dancers.
— Leon: “Santa Claus comes but once a year, whereas yours truly has been known to come a lot more often than that.”
STARS: ***½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- intrusive journalists dominated 1999

— I’m getting good laughs from the raunchy direction the opening Barbara Walters scene is going.
— I like how this TV Funhouse is an amalgamation of various big news stories of the year.
— Funny visual of a fat guy loudly chomping on a hoagie in the background of President Clinton’s Early Show interview.
— Wow, a Columbine scene? Even for Robert Smigel’s daring standards, I’m kinda surprised he’s touching Columbine, though the scene is actually pretty tame.
— The Barbara Walters scene now gets even raunchier, with her hilariously bringing out a vibrator that has a replica of her own face on the top of it.
— Overall, some really funny stuff here and there, but in my opinion, Smigel has yet to have a great TV Funhouse so far this season. And why have all of his TV Funhouses this season so far been “Fun With Real Audio”?
STARS: ***½


WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF & bitter teen Joe Franken [real] introduce the Al Franken Millennium

— I absolutely love that SNL is continuing the 10-year tradition of Al Franken declaring who the upcoming new decade will belong to, with us now seeing a middle-aged Al and teenaged Joe Franken, after the last decade bit they did together on Update 10 years earlier.
— I’m enjoying Joe Franken acting like a typical angsty teen who’s embarrassed of his father.
— Joe Franken, on how viewers don’t care about Al’s decade bit: “They just wanna see Jimmy Fallon, not some sad old guy with a tired bit.” Al’s frozen unhappy stare at Joe afterwards is also great.
— The overall Al/Joe Franken commentary was nice official closure to the traditional Franken decade storyline. Al’s declaration of “The Al Franken Millennium” guarantees that SNL will no longer do 10-year follow-ups on this.
— Funny bit with Colin accidentally pronouncing “dictator” as “dictrader”, and then making an ad-lib towards the audience’s reaction to that.
— The first of many Elian Gonzalez references that we’ll be seeing on SNL this season.
— I’m surprised we went through this entire Update without having a final “The Millennium” segment (a recurring segment they’ve been occasionally doing on Update this season), considering tonight would’ve been their last opportunity to do one. I thought I had remembered there being one more left that I haven’t reviewed yet.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Great Beyond”


ROCKETTES AUDITIONS
50 year-old Sally O’Malley (MOS) tries out for the Rockettes

— The first original, non-recurring sketch all night. Until now, this episode was shaping up to rival season 22’s Rosie O’Donnell episode as an episode comprised entirely of recurring sketches.
— There’s the debut of Sally O’Malley, who, as we know, would eventually become recurring.
— It feels weird calling Sally O’Malley a new character, probably due to her already feeling like a tired character that’s appeared many times before. Maybe that’s because of how Molly’s using basically the same voice she uses for her Helen Madden character, or maybe because of how increasingly one-note Molly has been becoming as a performer in general lately.
— Another fun performance from Danny tonight, who’s giving me my only real amusement in this sketch.
— The one Rockette on the left end of the screen screwed up the ending of the choreographed dance that she and the other Rockettes do in unison when making their entrance.
STARS: **


TRIAL
in court, Mrs. Parker & (host) show motherly love for their hoodlum sons

— After a one-sketch break, we’re back to non-stop recurring characters tonight.
— I like the tense back-and-forth exchanges between Tracy and Danny’s mother characters.
— This ends up going in the same direction as the last installment of this sketch, where Tracy’s character breaks out into a tender song, but I kinda like how the song has become a duet with both Tracy and Danny.
— The ending of this sketch gets awkwardly cut off due to the show starting to run long. There’s still a second R.E.M. musical performance remaining after this sketch, but because of how significant and relevant the particular song that R.E.M.’s about to perform is (“Man On The Moon”, as this is when the Andy Kaufman biopic of the same title was released and featured said R.E.M. song), I guess SNL didn’t want to risk it getting cut short for time, so they instead cut off the ending of this sketch. I believe they would later show this sketch’s full ending in reruns.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Man On The Moon”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An okay Christmas episode. Nothing special to me, and no sketches stood out as particularly great other than Delicious Dish, but I enjoyed the show enough, even with the overload on recurring sketches. Danny DeVito added his always-fun charm and energy to the show, in what unfortunately ends up being his last hosting stint to this day.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Christina Ricci)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter a new decade and century. Jamie Foxx hosts the first SNL of both the 2000s and the 21st century.

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January 9, 1993 – Danny DeVito / Bon Jovi (S18 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Bob & Bill Swerski write a letter to protest firing of Mike Ditka [real]

— Yet another unique use of the Super Fans. They’re especially treading new territory here.
— Alongside George Wendt in his usual Bob Swerski role, we surprisingly have Joe Mantegna returning as Bill Swerski, the original Super Fans host. The reason for his return is presumably because of the lack of Chris Farley, who will not be appearing in tonight’s episode, as he’s currently in another rehab stint (his second this season alone).
— Now we get a mention of the absence of Farley’s character, who’s written out of the sketch as recovering from a particularly massive heart attack when he heard the news of Mike Ditka’s firing.
— Some good laughs from the Super Fans returning all of their ridiculous Bears memorabilia as well as season tickets they purchased for the 1993 season through the 2032 season.
— I love the part with Mantegna’s character accidentally dripping cheese sauce on the letter Wendt’s character is writing.
— Nice pre-taped scene with the real Mike Ditka reading the letter and then calling up NASA as a response.
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— Dana Carvey is credited in tonight’s montage, despite the fact that he will once again not be appearing in the show. I’m confused as to why he was removed from the preceding episode’s opening montage and yet is kept in tonight’s opening montage, when he’s absent in both episodes.


MONOLOGUE
dysfunctional vaudevillians host & ROS will do anything for a laugh

— Fun energetic entrance from Danny, dancing all around the home base stage.
— I love Danny and Rob’s “I’ll Do Anything For a Laugh” musical number, with them taking turns musically listing off all the ridiculous, embarrassing, painful thing they’ll do to entertain us. I’m enjoying the vaudevillian approach to this.
— When concluding the monologue after the song is finished, I really liked Danny announcing tonight’s musical guest by saying “Top that, Bon Jovi!” instead of the usual “Bon Jovi is here.”
STARS: ****


CANIS
— Rerun from the Nicolas Cage episode


AARON SPELLING’S AMY FISHER 10516
Tori Spelling (MEH) in FOX TV-movie

— Pretty funny idea of a 90210-ized version of the Amy Fisher story. Also, very good casting of Danny as Joey Buttafuoco.
— Boy, Melanie is really doubling-down on the mugging in this particular Tori Spelling appearance.
— Didn’t care too much for how this overall sketch turned out. After a funny start, it didn’t go as far as it should’ve and got too dominated by the mugging.
STARS: **


SIMON
American tub-sharer Vinnie (host) has ties to the mob

— Danny is hilarious as a wiseguy Italian kid, especially his more crude versions of Simon’s signature lines (e.g. saying “My mummy’s sleeping with the fishes” instead of “My mummy’s sleeping with the angels”, and saying “Were you lookin’ at my ass?” instead of “Were you looking at my bum?”).
— The drawings being displayed are funnier than usual, especially Danny’s violent drawings.
— Overall, an improvement over the usual Simon sketches. Danny provided a good boost to this.
STARS: ***½


MASTERPIECE THEATRE
the PBS Amy Fisher tale is “The House Of Buttafuoco”

— Several technical issues at the beginning. The Masterpiece Theatre opening title sequence actually stops at one point before continuing, you can hear SNL stagehands mumbling to each other, and you can also hear loud running footsteps in the studio, which might be Mike Myers and Danny DeVito rushing to get changed from the Simon sketch to this sketch, considering these two sketches are airing back-to-back, with no commercial break in between.
— Always refreshing to see a Jan Hooks special guest spot, and she’s great in this role.
— Now THIS is a funny presentation of the Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuoco story.
— I love how various dignified people throughout this sketch, including Jan as the host, are pronouncing the name Buttafuoco phonetically.
— Mike’s butler role is basically just Mike doing his Kenneth Reese-Evans character (the host of the Theatre Stories sketches). He’s using the exact same voice, vocal tics and all.
— Amusing seeing Danny as Buttafuoco again tonight.
— Funny touch at the very end with Jan exhaustedly slumping back in her chair as the camera zooms out.
STARS: ***½


SHIFTY EYES
restaurant patrons imply guilt via suspiciously shifting their eyes

— I like the format of this sketch, and this is the type of sketch that the late 80s/early 90s years are usually good at pulling off.
— This is starting to get especially funny with other characters getting into Danny’s eye-shifting act, especially Phil as the waiter doing it when angrily asked “What were you doing back there, playing with yourself?”
— Good ending with Kevin.
STARS: ***½


DEEP THOUGHTS BY JACK HANDEY
on coaxing a spirit back to its body
— Not included in my copy of this episode.


AMY FISHER: ONE MESSED-UP BITCH
BET’s Buttafuoco variant

— I love how it’s a running gag tonight for each female cast member to play a different version of Amy Fisher. Very fun.
— A funny concept of a BET-ized version of the Amy Fisher story, and it’s being executed pretty well.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bed of Roses”


WEEKEND UPDATE
on a technicality, Jan Brady (MEH) names Leprechaun the year’s best movie

— Wow, tonight’s Jan Brady commentary just came and went, and surprisingly did not work for me. The bit was too brief for its own good, I didn’t find the “Leprechaun is the only movie that’s come out so far this year” spiel funny, and Melanie’s penchant for flubbing lines was on full display here.
— Kevin’s joke where he basically implies Madonna is a slut made me laugh out loud, considering Madonna’s going to be the musical guest in the very next episode.
— Robert Smigel had a commentary cut after this episode’s dress rehearsal, in which he reprised his Hank Fielding “Moron’s Perspective” character and gave an analysis of president-elect Bill Clinton. We’ll be seeing this character return later this season.
STARS: ***


THE GAP
Gap employees Kristy (DAS) & Lucy (ADS) hassle Di & other customers

— There’s a funny subtle blooper at the beginning. This sketch opens on a shot of two extras playing customers looking through some clothes, but they linger way too long and are very late on their cue to exit the scene. If you listen closely during that part, you can actually hear an off-camera Joe Dicso (SNL’s stage manger) whispering to them in an increasingly agitated tone “Go! GO! GO!!” before the extras FINALLY exit the scene.
— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring sketch debut!
— Good characterizations from Adam and David here.
— A sudden return of Melanie’s Delta Delta Delta character, Di. I never cared much for those sketches, but it feels odd and a little sad seeing Melanie’s character without her two friends played by Siobhan Fallon and Beth Cahill, as this just brings back a reminder of how Siobhan and Beth deserved to be given more of a chance and shouldn’t have been fired so early.
— I’ve refreshingly been fairly tolerant of Melanie Hutsell throughout this SNL project of mine, compared to how overly harsh I used to be towards her, but tonight’s episode has unfortunately been highlighting her worst tendencies as a performer, between her excessive mugging in both this sketch and the Amy Fisher/Tori Spelling sketch and her line flubs throughout her Jan Brady commentary on Update.
— I found this overall Gap Girls debut decent, but it felt a little empty without Chris Farley, knowing what a scene-stealer he would go on to be in most future installments of this sketch.
STARS: ***


BOOKS ON TAPE
Charlton Heston (PHH) helps convert Madonna’s book Sex to Books On Tape

— An absolutely priceless use of Phil’s always-funny Charlton Heston impression, having him narrate Madonna’s Sex book.
— Heston’s various suggestions for vagina euphemisms are hilarious, especially “furburger”.
— Danny as Al Goldstein is really funny in his own right, with his horny descriptions of the raunchy book photos.
STARS: ****½


UNBELIEVABLE NEW BREAKTHROUGHS
Mary Jo Buttafuoco (JAH) & hair-in-a-can

— Tonight’s Amy Fisher running gag continues, with even infomercials now getting in on the Amy Fisher dramatization craze.
— Jan is hilarious as Mary Jo Buttafuoco, with her imitating Mary Jo’s talking-out-the-corner-of-the-mouth side effect from getting shot, and her constant mentions of that “crazy teenage bitch” who tried to kill her.
— Overall, short but very well-executed.
STARS: ****


HITMAN
hitman (host) doesn’t hide his occupation from his wife (JUS) very well

— Not caring much for this so far. I will say that I am liking Danny and Julia’s performances and the way they’re playing off of each other.
— Okay, I’m starting to be kinda amused by some of the instances of Danny immediately following his usual “Stay outta my business!” warnings to Julia by asking her specific things that would give her knowledge of his “business”. This is still nothing great to me, though.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Wanted Dead or Alive”


ADULTS LIVING AT HOME
support group for adults still living with their parents holds a meeting

— Pretty funny subject matter for a support group sketch.
— Kevin’s character is particularly funny, with his constant denial that he lives with his mother. Even something about just the physical look of his character is making me laugh.
— I love Danny’s obnoxious pride in living with his mother, and detailing how he has her doing EVERYTHING for him.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode, though not quite as strong as I remembered. Some portions of this episode were a little more average than I recalled, but I still found this to be an overall enjoyable show, and it had a few really strong highlights. And this episode still contained the fun vibe that I had remembered it having, helped by Danny DeVito’s always-fun presence and the Amy Fisher running theme throughout the show.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Glenn Close)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Harvey Keitel

Posted on

December 3, 1988 – Danny DeVito / The Bangles (S14 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Pumping Up With Hans & Franz- cousin Arnold Schwarzenegger [real] visits

— Memorable moment with Hans and Franz’s sing-songy “Poor little girly man, alone in his girly house” taunt.
— I like Danny DeVito entering the scene as a Hans and Franz-type character.
— Danny’s over-aggression is hilarious.
— Funny visual of Hans and Franz hurriedly trying to pump themselves up when hearing their cousin Arnold Schwarzenegger might be showing up.
— Good bit with Arnold destroying Hans and Franz’ self-esteem with his rant about how disappointed he is in them.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host loves entering the stage during the opening, so he does it again

— For some reason, when the camera first shows the SNL studio after the opening montage ends, Danny is already onstage when Pardo hasn’t even announced him yet. It looks like Danny realizes his error and tries to hurry back to the entrance door, before just giving up and staying onstage while dancing energetically. SNL would later fix this in reruns by replacing the first half of this monologue with the dress rehearsal version.
— Ha, when Danny starts speaking, you can hear an off-camera male voice from the audience saying “You’re so sexy”, which amuses Danny.
— Danny’s excitement is freakin’ great.
— I absolutely love how this has turned into Danny fulfilling his wish to re-do his entrance, even going as far as making Arnold Schwarzenegger re-cue the opening montage by saying “Live from New York” for his second time tonight.
— This is fantastic. I’m loving how they’re re-playing the entire opening montage, interspersed with cutaways to the SNL Band jamming out on the theme music and Danny doing lots of wild dancing and gestures behind the entrance door.
— By the way, this is a VERY rare instance of us getting to see what it looks like behind the door that the hosts always make their monologue entrance through.
— I also think this is the only instance in SNL history where the show’s ENTIRE opening montage is played twice in a single episode.
— An absolutely excellent second entrance from Danny. He’s going WILD on that stage.
— Ha, he’s now genuinely out-of-breath. I like him finishing the monologue while laying down on the stage to rest himself.
— I find this overall monologue AMAZING and extremely fun. One of my personal all-time favorite monologues.
STARS: *****


BIG RED
kids like to watch the toy viking spew goop throughout the house

 

— Hilarious visual of the toy drenching the parents and the walls with fake blood.
— The audience is strangely quiet during this. This seems like the type of thing they’d normally go nuts for.
— Pretty catchy jingle.
STARS: ****


SEX TONIGHT
Jessica Hahn (JAH) helps anchor the titillating news program
Reclino Love Lounge- Wilford Brimley (PHH) endorses sex chair for seniors

 

— Very funny random concept for an Entertainment Tonight parody.
— Jan’s appearance as Jessica Hahn reminds me that during a segment in SNL’s 15th anniversary special a year later, Jan points out that she set a record in tonight’s episode by playing four whores in a single night. I’ll count the rest of them down as I go along in this episode.
— Funny part regarding a poll on which states find the sexiest between Bush and Dukakis.
— Hilarious idea of Dana’s Casey Kasem presenting a Top Five list on masturbation euphemisms from the 19th century.
— During the Kasem segment, there’s a big technical error regarding the Top Five list text that’s supposed to be superimposed next to him. A distracting gaffe, but the segment is still funny.
— Phil as Wilford Brimley advertising a sex chair is freakin’ hilarious.
— I didn’t care too much for the ending conversation between Jan and Kevin.
STARS: ****


SCROOGE
Scrooge’s (host) philanthropic overcompensation has left him tapped out

— I laughed at Danny’s line about “taking it in the pants”.
— Can’t figure out where this sketch is supposed to be going.
— Victoria’s speech is kinda funny, but I think I’m just desperate for something to like at this point.
— Now that the sketch is over, I can say I didn’t care for it at all. If it was going for a soft, sentimental piece, then 1) it’s too early in the night for something THIS slow-paced and humorless, and 2) this era has done MUCH better soft, sentimental pieces.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Your Room”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Yasser Arafat (JOL) is not upset about not being allowed in the country
KEN has trouble stopping the cliches after trying deficit topic

 

— Dennis to Yasser Arafat: “Didn’t you, in fact, try to have [George Schultz] killed when he was in Jerusalem a few months ago?” Yasser Arafat: “Oh, is he still upset about THAT?”
— The random “Are you gay?” bit between Dennis and Arafat is pretty funny.
— Oh, no, not the return of Kevin’s topic-changing commentaries. I had assumed they were retired by this point. I am SO tired of these.
— Okay, I did get one laugh from Kevin’s commentary, with his line about how nose-picking can be both a habit and a hobby.
— Because of tonight’s musical guest, Dennis reprises his impression of The Bangles’ lead singer, an impression that just consists of him shifting his eyes to the side in a tight close-up (second-to-last screencap above). I still don’t quite get it (is it referencing a Bangles music video?), but it always makes me chuckle anyway.
STARS: ***½


YOU SHOT ME!
Mexican bandit (host) is remorseful after shooting (JOL) in the foot

 

— Great Mexican voice on Danny.
— A very Jon Lovitz-y role for Jon Lovitz here, with his hilarious repeated whines of “You shot me!”, or as he makes it sound, “Ya shyyyaaaat me!” This has always been one of my favorite Jon Lovitz sketches.
— Whore role #2 for Jan tonight.
— Danny’s over-apologeticness towards Jon is very funny.
— Ha, Danny’s now cracking up at Jon’s constant “Ya shyyaaaat me!”s (last screencap above). I remember Danny himself pointing out in the “SNL in the 80s: Lost and Found” documentary how hard it was for him to keep a straight face in this sketch.
— On paper, it would be impossible to see why this sketch is so funny. It’s all in Jon’s performance. Like I said, this is a very Jon Lovitz-y role. I can’t picture anybody else in SNL history nailing this sketch.
STARS: ****


THE BASTARD BATTALION
a movie features a group of uncouth WWII soldiers

 

— Feels like its been a while since we last saw a black-and-white sketch utilizing this cast’s ability to accurately portray 1940s-era characters.
— I love this sketch’s concept, and all the quick “bastard” scenes are making me laugh.
— Whore role #3 for Jan tonight.
— What happened just now? At the beginning of the scene with Phil saying goodbye to Jan, the narration voice-over introducing that scene seemed to speak longer than he was supposed to, causing him and Phil to mistakenly speak over each other before the narrator abruptly cut himself short. Either that, or Phil must’ve started saying his line too early before the narrator was finished. Either way, the gaffe resulted in a rare instance of Phil actually smirking out of character (second-to-last screencap above).
— Loved the drinking prank scene with Jon.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hazy Shade of Winter”


CELEBRITY RESTAURANT
Buddy Precisely (DAC) to insufficiently-famous diners- “wait at the bar”

— Ah, the debut of Dana’s Buddy Precisely character.
— Good to see the return of Phil’s Burt Reynolds impression. Again, that high-pitched laugh alone never fails to crack me up.
— Buddy Precisely: “Wait at the baaarrr, wait at the baaarrr” and “Take it outsiiiide, take it outsiiiide”.
— Classic part with Victoria as herself being asked by Buddy if she’s part of the new SNL cast or original SNL cast, then being told to “Take it outsiiiide, take it outsiiiide” when she answers “new cast”.
— Funny to see what Buddy Precisely considers what is and isn’t worthy of entering the restaurant.
— Whore role #4 for Jan tonight, and thus officially breaking a record.
— I like the overabundance of questions Buddy’s asking Danny.
STARS: ***½


GUARDIAN ANGELS
fellow guardian angels console (host) after he needlessly visits (KEN)

— Seemed to be a lot of stalling at the beginning of this sketch. Did something go wrong?
— Another “somebody gets visited by a Christmas ghost” sketch tonight? Then again, this seems to be a thinly-veiled It’s A Wonderful Life take-off.
— I’m getting a chuckle from how the increasing amount of ghosts showing up seems to be getting out of hand.
— Hmm, I don’t think I care for where this has been going. This is another sketch tonight that seems to be going for a light-on-laughs, sentimental holiday feel. And at the risk of sounding like a Scrooge myself, neither of those two sketches have worked for me at all tonight.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly very solid episode. A lot of strong segments tonight, and Danny DeVito brought his usual brand of fun to the show as always. However, the episode’s attempts at sentimental, feel-good, low-on-humor, Christmas-y stuff didn’t work as well as they usual do and were hard to figure out where they were going.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Lithgow)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Kevin Kline

Posted on

December 5, 1987 – Danny DeVito / Bryan Ferry (S13 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) takes Mikhail Gorbachev (host) on movie-related tour

— Interesting casting of Danny DeVito as Gorbachev.
— Very funny bit with Reagan confusing the Jefferson Memorial for The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
— The war room bit was pretty funny.
— Decent cold opening overall.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
Bruce Springsteen went to high school with host- his yearbook proves it

— Immediately, Danny is coming off as funny as usual.
— Some good laughs from the alleged yearbook photos of himself and Bruce Springsteen.
STARS: ***½


HANDI-OFF
get rid of those unwanted extra digits with Handi-Off & Toe-Rific

— Hilarious initial reveal of Victoria’s extra digits.
— Love the time lapse of the extra digits rotting and falling off.
— Overall, an excellent and very memorable commercial, and one of the best Victoria Jackson showcases.
STARS: *****


AT THE MOVIES
Siskel (KEN) & Ebert (PHH) review all-male adult movies

— I recall it being said that this is the only time on SNL where Kevin Nealon’s real-life baldness was on full display (he’s notorious for allegedly wearing a toupee for most of his career).
— Great concept of Siskel and Ebert reviewing all-male adult movies.
— Funny touch with the boom mic blatantly entering the shot during the Pizza Boy porn clip.
— Amusing how every film clip ends in a massage.
STARS: ***½


CHURCH CHAT
host sings “Here Comes Santa Claus,” Church Lady is on drums

 

— Some really funny comments from Church Lady detailing Jessica Hahn’s Playboy picture.
— Nice use of G.E. Smith and Cheryl Hardwick.
— Here’s a classic moment I’ve always remembered with Danny and Church Lady performing a Christmas number together.
— Fantastic display of Dana’s real-life drumming talent.
— Memorable Church Chat installment overall.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Stuff”


WEEKEND UPDATE
KEN cycles through cliches instead of talking about airplane accidents

— Boy, a lot of Dennis’ jokes are getting a tepid audience reaction so far tonight.
— *groan* Yet ANOTHER topic-changing commentary from Kevin.
— A few funny comments from Kevin, particularly how the next best thing to being with your girlfriend is being with someone who looks like her. But, man, at this point, I am BEYOND tired of the topic-changing portions of his commentaries. Please stop with these.
— Interestingly, we get a joke about Joe Piscopo, with him being represented by a picture of the Michelin Man.
— Wasn’t crazy about tonight’s overall Update. Hate to say it, because I usually really like Dennis’ Updates, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s in a slump lately. The last few Updates before tonight’s episode were overly average, and now we get this disappointing Update tonight.
STARS: **


ANN LANDERS’ PLAYHOUSE
how to ward off a fresh date (host)

— I liked Nora sternly telling a horny Danny, regarding herself “This cow’s milk isn’t free.”
— The ending with Danny forcibly being on top of Nora was kinda funny, but ehh, this overall sketch didn’t work for me. Felt empty, like a lot of things were missing or like this was only half-written.
STARS: **


MONA LISA
(PHH) appraises worthless items for a white trash couple (host) & (JAH)

— The bit with the obviously-fake tiny stradivarius was funny.
— This is getting increasingly funnier with the reveals of what Danny and Jan’s other “valuables” really are.
— Didn’t care too much for the ending twist with the Orlov Diamond.
STARS: ***½


JUNGLE ROOM
Nancy Maloney returns to Eddie Spimozo’s Jungle Room to sing again

— Some laughs from Jon’s questioning to his mother over the phone.
— Nice continuity by mentioning Joey Spimozo, the character that Sean Penn played in the last installment of this sketch.
— Man, I’m getting REALLY tired of the repeated joke in these Spimozo sketches with Jon telling Kevin “Shut up!” every time he says something. Is that gag really worth repeating 50 damn times in every installment of this sketch?
— Victoria’s character badly singing a song while constantly changing her pitch is a gag that was already used in an earlier Eddie Spimozo sketch, and wasn’t necessary to repeat.
— Overall, I didn’t like this Spimozo installment too much. I’m surprised by how down I was on this, considering how much I usually love these authentic black-and-white sketches from this era. I’m starting to notice that these Spimozo sketches have gradually been getting weaker and weaker lately.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Kiss & Tell”


DOORMAN
just before (PHH) moves out of doorman’s (host) building, they reminisce

— Not sure where this sketch is going so far.
— Amusing visual of Phil entering the scene in that wig with a big gray patch in it.
— I like the descriptions of odd occupants who live in the building.
— I’m gradually enjoying this sketch more and more.
— Overall, this sketch was hard for me to figure at first, but it turned out to be a likable, softer, slice-of-life piece with good understated humor. The ending was especially nice.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
host says “hi” to wife Rhea Perlman [real] in audience

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a mixed episode. There was some really strong material, mainly in the fast half, but there was also some really subpar material, mainly in the second half. Even Update had an off night. This all balances out to an average episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Candice Bergen)
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Angie Dickinson

Posted on

October 15, 1983 – Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman / Eddy Grant (S9 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Calvin Klein Cream Pies- Andie (JLD) tries on a pair

  

— Yet ANOTHER Calvin Klein Jeans parody on SNL.
— I recall hearing that the “Andie” that Julia’s playing here is actually a young Andie MacDowell, which would explain the curly hair and southern accent.
— This uses the exact same twist from last week’s Calvin Klein Jeans parody, with Julia suddenly getting a pie smashed into her face during her rambling. Doesn’t come off as funny this time, since we already just saw it being done. Was the gag really necessary to repeat?
— I do like how she got hit an additional time while in the middle of saying “Live from New York…”.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
hosts’ dialogue is like the corny banter of award show presenters

— This is an accurate parody of bad, unfunny awards show banter. However, the problem is, this parody is just as unfunny as the real thing.
— Overall, a waste of DeVito and Perlman.  I’m not too crazy about the way tonight’s episode has been starting so far.
STARS: *½


MISTER ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
the products of sleeping around show up

   

— Loved Eddie hinting at what’s in the basket by asking viewers, as a riddle, “What’s black and Puerto Rican and has my eyes?”
— The part with “bastard” being the Word of the Day is funny, and has an interesting backstory from writer Kevin Kelton about how they weren’t allowed to say the word “bastard” on air, so they worked around it by having Eddie just point to the word on the board and ask viewers “Can you use this word in a sentence? Cab drivers can!”
— Overall, one of the stronger installments of this sketch in a while, with a good change-of-pace premise and lots of funny lines from Eddie.
STARS: ****


CRAZY EDELMAN
discount psychiatrist Crazy Edelman (JOP)- his prices are insane

  

— Yet another “Crazy Eddie” parody from this era.
— This is a hilarious and clever twist on the usual type of “Crazy Eddie” commercial, by having the pitchman of the “insane” ad be an actual psychiatrist. Great performance from Joe as well.
STARS: ****


WHAT WOULD FRANK DO?
Dion Dion wins on Sinatra’s (JOP) game show

     

— This sketch was inspired by a phrase that Joe was infamous backstage for always telling the writers (“Frank wouldn’t do that”) whenever a script they handed him for a Frank Sinatra sketch contained something that he felt was inaccurate to the real Frank.
— Ha, Eddie’s Dion Dion character is one of the contestants.
— Eddie’s hysterical excitement over both hearing what his prize is (Sinatra singing to him) and seeing Sinatra show up is very funny.
— This was pretty good overall, and a unique approach for a gameshow sketch.
STARS: ***


SMALL WORLD
It’s A Small World riders panic when their boat breaks down in the tunnel

   

— Mary Gross plays yet ANOTHER nun.
— Eddie’s Vietnam comment was pretty funny.
— I love how increasingly insane and dark this sketch is getting.
— Nice touch with the dolls in the background being heard chanting “One down, four to go” after Tim gets killed off.
— Good use of frequent SNL extra Andy Murphy as a robot Grover Cleveland.
— I’m really enjoying the part with the spooky-sounding voice of an un-thawed Walt Disney on the loudspeaker forcing the main characters to sing “Mickey Mouse”.
— I like how as the sketch ended, they revealed how this sketch was green-sceened.
STARS: ****


ODYSSEY OF A PAPERCLIP
why mom warns “you don’t know where it’s been”

     

— The educational film-esque presentation of the paperclip’s ridiculous journey started out a little slow, but I like how increasingly disgusting it’s now getting.
— The ending fell kinda flat, though I did like the little touch of them playing a deadly gunshot sound effect when Gary decides to use the paperclip as a toothpick after being warned not to.
STARS: **½


SPANISH CLASS
a teacher (Rhea) insists that all in-class conversation be “en Espanol”

   

— Was Joe’s late entrance at the beginning a real mistake? He adds a “sorry” to Rhea as the teacher, which came off like an ad-lib.
— The “yo/joe” bit with Gary was funny.
— Eddie’s great in his walk-on.
— This sketch is kinda reminding me of a more well-known French Class sketch that Alec Baldwin would do 10 years later.
— Decent ending.
STARS: ***½


BOOK BEAT
a stalker’s (Danny) works appear to have a common theme

   

— I like the unflattering picture of Mary (I think) on the cover of the “Candidly Debra” book.
— An okay surprise ending with Danny getting shot by Debra from the audience, though something about that part felt like it could’ve been a little better.
— Quick sketch.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
fired newscaster (JLD) cries sexism, is unaware of her facial expressions
GAK’s review of Never Say Never Again focusses mostly on the Bond Girls
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (MAG) blames teen pregnancies on media influences

         

— Brad’s random “Still to come” bit threw me off at first, making me mistakenly think he was throwing to a mid-news fake ad like Weekend Update often used to do after a “Still to come” bit back in the first two seasons.
— Heh, WTF at Julia’s brief random crazy face just now?
— Oh, I see what Julia’s going for.
— Julia’s overall commentary was actually pretty funny. While the humor was really broad and basically a mug-fest, Julia pulled it off really well, especially the good comic timing she displayed when she kept seamlessly going back-and-forth from a deadpan, serious delivery to a goofy voice & face. Considering how often she’s gotten stuck in dull straight roles during her SNL tenure so far, it was refreshing to see her doing something like this.
— Interesting seeing Gary doing a commentary as himself.
— Gary increasingly demonstrating how much skin the Bond Girls showed in the latest Bond movie is funny, and I love how overly into it hes getting.
— Brad’s corny “Bingo was his name-o” joke about Reagan made me groan like crazy.
— Mary’s Dr. Ruth commentary about too much sexual messages on TV has taken a confusing turn just now. She’s started griping about Ronald Reagan’s Big Macs, McNuggets, and McMuffins. What in the world does Reagan have to do with those things?
— Interesting big blooper, where Mary actually stops in the middle of her commentary to point out (while still speaking in character) that she’s being informed by off-camera crew members that something’s wrong with the way her clip-on mic is applied. I had been wondering why I kept hearing fuzzy sounds from her mic throughout her commentary. Great ad-libs from Mary in response to all of this.
— I’m glad Mary’s Dr. Ruth commentary didn’t end with the usual finger-in-hole gesture gag they ended all of her previous commentaries with.
— Hmm, no commentary from Tim Kazurinsky tonight, ending his 10-episode streak of appearing in every edition of Saturday Night News.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Don’t Wanna Dance” & “Electric Avenue”


AUTOGRAPH HOUNDS
autograph seekers (TIK), (Rhea), (Danny) compare notes; Dick Cavett cameo

    

— I like the character work that Tim’s doing here.
— Random Dick Cavett cameo.
— I admit, Cavett’s sarcastic response to being asked “Anyone in there?” was funny, as was Danny’s dismissive attitude towards him.
— Strange moment at the end of Cavett’s scene. First, the audience began applauding as if his scene had ended, even though he was still onstage, then he asked Danny “Why do you guys always have those ear-flap hats?”, which was apparently an ad-lib judging from Danny’s genuinely taken-aback reaction. Then Cavett takes off Danny’s hat and wears it on his own head as he exits the scene, resulting in a funny outraged “He took my hat!” response from Danny.
— A pretty good sketch overall, with funny characterizations from each of the main performers.
STARS: ***


THE AMOS ‘N ANDY SHOW
this new version features (EDM) & Andy Rooney (JOP)

 

— Another sketch crossing over Andy Rooney with an old TV show. It wasn’t that funny last time they did it (“The Honeyrooneys” sketch from two seasons ago), and this one is making me laugh even less. It doesn’t help that I’ve never watched “Amos ‘n Andy”, though I’m aware of the basics of that show.
— This overall sketch was pretty much a dud.
STARS: *½


MASTERPIECE HUMOR
the final episode of “A Kangaroo Walks Into A Bar”

    

— Pretty funny concept for a “Masterpiece Theater” parody.
— The big gag with the miniseries conclusion turning out to just be a four-second silly punchline after Tim gave such a dignified, lengthy intro to it didn’t work for me.
— Something about the fancy ending credits that’s being scrolled by onscreen is really tickling me.
STARS: **


BODY GUARD
mourners attack a negligent bodyguard (ROD) at a politician’s funeral

   

— Not sure what to think of this sketch so far. It’s awfully redundant.
— The cast is really committed in their performances, though, which is the only high point I’ve been able to find in this.
— I didn’t get the ending with Brad.
— A terrible one-joke sketch overall.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Living on the Front Line”


GOODNIGHTS

 

— Eddie, seen with his girlfriend around his arm, interrupts Danny’s goodnights speech to tell him he’s getting married.
— Another big announcement, with Danny informing us that “Jimmy” Belushi will be joining the cast in next week’s episode.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Kind of a strange episode, in that it started very rough with a cold opening that was just a lazy rewrite and a dull monologue, before suddenly getting really strong for a while with a string of very solid sketches and inspired premises, then the quality slightly lowered down to a decent level and stayed there until it died off badly with the weak final three sketches of the night. A varying episode as a whole, but the funny and inspired highlights of the night still make it an overall pretty enjoyable show.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
John Candy

Posted on

May 15, 1982 – Danny DeVito / Sparks (S7 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
footage of wrestling match between Andy Kaufman & Jerry Lawler teased

— Just a quick, straightforward announcement of an Andy Kaufman wrestling match we’ll be seeing later in the episode.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


TALENT ENTRANCE


MONOLOGUE
Christopher Lloyd, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch [real] bow

      

— Danny’s already getting lots of good laughs right off the bat. I had forgotten what its like to have an actual funny actor hosting this season, after the endless string of non-comedic hosts we’ve had in the second half of this season.
— The audience boos loudly when Danny announces that ABC has just canceled Taxi.
— Very nice idea having the Taxi cast show up to take the final bow they never got to do on their show.
— Oh, this is during Andy’s neckbrace phase.
— Lots of great infectious energy from the one-by-one entrances of the Taxi cast.
— The studio audience is actually giving a standing ovation now.
STARS: ****


TAXI
Louie DePalma (host) takes a taxi to ABC headquarters & blows up building

     

— Ah, Taxi’s opening credits. Considering it’s been a very long time since I last  watched a rerun of that show, it’s making me very nostalgic seeing these credits & theme song again.
— LOL at the sight of Danny moping outside ABC’s headquarters.
— Ha, Danny blew up the ABC building! Hilarious.
STARS: ****


WHINERS
(host) is stuck next to Doug & Wendy Whiner on an airplane

   

— Ohhh, the Whiners officially become recurring characters. Their return actually received APPLAUSE from the audience tonight.
— I got a good laugh from Mary as the stewardess forcibly throwing another passenger’s blanket at the Whiners when they complain about how cold they are.
— Another good laugh from other passengers eagerly requesting a headset in unison when Mary’s handing them out.
— Great ending with Danny purposely wrecking the Whiners’ box of china after they spent the whole sketch telling him to be careful with it.
— Overall, probably one of the more tolerable Whiners sketches ever, just due to all the various funny things happening around them, whereas in the first Whiners sketch, Tony was the only thing holding it together.
STARS: **½


EXECUTIVE STRESS TEST
(host) has to pass an unannounced stress test to get promoted

   

— Boy, those are some disturbingly exaggerated sexual moans from Mary over the phone.
— Great appearance from Eddie as a no-nonsense drug dealer.
— Haha, holy hell at the herpes revelation from Christine.
— Good twist with the stress test reveal.
— The knife ending was kinda weak in theory, but Danny’s acting made it funny.
— Overall, a pretty solid sketch and featured strong performances from all involved.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mickey Mouse”

 


SNL NEWSBREAK
Dr. Jack Badofsky lists types of rabies
MAG reports from Central Park that she’s found Annie’s Sandy
Argentine responses to a Falklands ink blot test
Lou Grant (TOR) gives the weather report

           

— I’m starting to realize that Christine’s delivery as an anchorperson is just wrong for SNL Newsbreak. She’s so OVERLY professional-sounding that it kills the humor.
— Yet another Dr. Jack Badosfsky appearance.
— During these last two Badofsky appearances, I’m noticing a trend where his commentaries start out not working for me at all, and then after about a minute or so, I find myself starting to actually laugh at some of his puns. I don’t know if this means he always uses his weakest, corniest puns up front before getting to the better material or what, but it’s just something I’ve been noticing.
— Good risque ending to Badosfky’s commentary, with Linda Lovelace-induced rabies being named “Fellabies”.
— Yet another “Mary interviews the wrong person” gag. This routine is getting tired.
— What’s with the dog’s growling? Or is that a sound effect they’re playing?
— Mary’s overall commentary didn’t work for me at all.
— Oh, no, Brian has begun listing off responses to a Falklands ink blot test. Here comes our dreaded weekly “long screen crawl” gag.
— I admit, some of the early entries in this screen crawl list are actually pretty funny, but I just know this crawl is going to get tired fast.
— Yep, I was right.
— Once again, Brian’s ends his spiel long before the accompanying screen crawl stops scrolling, forcing him to stall for time.
— Christine’s Rely tampon joke was actually really funny.
— Tony’s Lou Grant impression seems to have improved, or maybe it’s just growing on me.
— The Lou Grant weatherman segment was okay overall, but nothing special.
— Overall, for this season’s standards, tonight’s SNL Newsbreak was actually somewhat short. I’m glad it didn’t go on forever like it did in the last few episodes.
STARS: **½


PUDGE & SOLOMON
Solomon does his dance while Pudge plays his new song

  

— Good to see these characters back.
— Feels like Eddie hasn’t been appearing much in tonight’s show; a contrast to how much he dominated the last few episodes.
— Eddie’s comments about John Hinkley are really funny.
— I’m also getting laughs from Eddie and Joe’s conversation about “Puerto Ricans” being in the Falklands.
— Joe’s “I want a meal, not a snack” insult was hilarious.
— Nice to see Danny getting involved in this, though he’s not as good at doing the type of “black voice” that Eddie and Joe are effortlessly doing.
— Good ending with Eddie’s doing “his dance”.
STARS: ***½


ENZO
Enzo mouthwash- it can freshen even Ozzy Osbourne’s (TIK) breath

  

— Oh my god at Tim’s look as a bloody-faced 80s-era Ozzy Osbourne. And the casting decision to have HIM of all cast members play Ozzy seems pretty random.
— While this overall commercial had a decent idea, the result didn’t really work for me. This was very forgettable.
STARS: **


COME ON OUT AMERICA
— Rerun


TABLE TALK
TOR shows how to intimidate the wine steward

 

— I’m really liking Tony’s outbursts at the waiter and his subsequent Vic Salukin-esque sadistic laughter into the camera afterwards.
— Overall, a pretty solid showcase for Tony.
STARS: ***½


NO MORE WRESTLING
wrestling match between Andy Kaufman & Jerry Lawler [real] causes injury
Andy Kaufman [real] apologizes to wrestling fans, retires from the mat

    

— A Brian Doyle-Murray-conducted interview with Andy.
— Haha, I always crack up at Jerry Lawler’s whole fast-talking “Andy Kaufman, you’re about to get hurt, son” rant, as I’ve seen that clip multiple times before, in a documentary about Andy’s wrestling career that Comedy Central used to air an endless amount of times back in the day. (I think the documentary is titled “Andy Kaufman: I’m From Hollywood”)
— Some big laughs from Andy’s constantly ducking in and out of the ring when Lawler’s about to begin wrestling him.
— Lawler: “Are you here to wrestle or act like an ass?!?!”
— Seeing Andy repeatedly getting brutally pile-driven head-first into the ring floor is really making me wince, even if I know he didn’t REALLY get injured from it (his use of a neckbrace in the present-day scenes is just an act, IIRC, as is the whole rivalry between him and Lawler).
— LOL at the loud “Ohhh!”s from the crowd during the second pile driver Andy received (which looked PARTICULARLY painful).
— Oh, geez, now they’re replaying those wince-worthy pile drivers in slow-motion. I can’t look.
— After the wrestling video package ends, Andy gives a sincere apology for his entire wrestling shtick and announces he’ll never wrestle again, which receives genuine applause from SNL’s audience.
STARS: ***½


LOOKS AT BOOKS
(TIK) claims that the Beatles stole ideas from the Nazis

  

— Was it intentional to reuse the title of a Jane Curtin-hosted recurring talk show sketch (I believe Chevy hosted it at one point too) from the original era?
— A decent laugh from the record covers and titles shown.
— Overall, while the premise of the Beatles stealing their music from the Nazis was really promising, the sketch ended up being a little forgettable. This felt like a weaker prototype of two better sketches they would do later this era: the “Heil Hits” sketch where Tim advertises an album of Hitler-ized hit songs and the famous talk show sketch with Eddie claiming the Beatles originally had a black member (him).
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Predict”


GOODNIGHTS
host’s mom Julia [real] curses out ABC in Italian

 

— Great bit with Danny’s mother cursing out ABC in Italian.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— One of the better episodes of the second half of this season, which I was expecting considering the host. While nothing was really classic tonight, the show had a nice flow with mostly solid material. Even The Whiners and SNL Newsbreak were a little more tolerable and didn’t hurt the show as much as usual.
— Danny DeVito did an unsurprisingly fun job hosting and you can see why he would go on to be a fairly frequent host for the rest of the 80s as well as the 90s.  I’m definitely looking forward to reviewing his other episodes.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robert Culp):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 7 comes to an end, with host Olivia Newton-John