Tag: David Alan Grier

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January 18, 1997 – David Alan Grier / Snoop Doggy Dogg (S22 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

GENITALIA LINE-UP
Paula Jones (CHO) looks for Bill Clinton’s (DAH) genitalia in line-up

— A hilarious gathering of politicians dropping trou in a police line-up.
— Some of the politicians’ comments about each other’s penises are hilarious.
— Ha, Will showing up as Ted Kennedy. I had forgotten until now that Will plays him a few times this season.
— Cheri’s Paula Jones: “It’s not the black guy.” Tim’s Clarence Thomas: “I bet you wish it was.”
— Funny ending with Darrell’s Clinton trying to disguise his voice by speaking in a Spanish accent.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host sings “Let’s Get Butt-Naked In The White House” to mark inauguration

— Great turn with David Alan Grier breaking out into a slow-jam, “Let’s Get Butt-Naked In The White House”, for President Clinton’s inauguration.
— I like the song’s random lyric about the big-headed banjo player from “Deliverance”.
— An overall memorable and very funny song from David.
STARS: ****


DEATH ROW BLOOPERS AND PRACTICAL JOKES
capital punishment wackiness on Death Row Bloopers & Practical Jokes tape

— A hilarious concept.
— I howled at the bit where, immediately after Will and the prison officials share a hearty laugh, the electric chair switch is suddenly turned on and Will starts getting electrocuted before the camera quickly cuts away.
— An overall very amusing and fun commercial.
STARS: ****


20/20
Barbara Walters (CHO) interviews musical guest amid his entourage

— I love the contrast between Cheri-as-Barbara-Walters’ lighthearted, silly demeanor and Snoop’s deadpan, aloof demeanor.
— Funny line with Barbara telling Snoop “Sinatra may have did it his way, but you did it doggystyle.”
— I got a laugh from Snoop sending one of his boys after Hugh Downs.
— Overall, a good sketch, but I wanted this to go a little further.
STARS: ***


WAITING TO EXHALE
(host), (TIM), (TRM) get emotional while watching Waiting To Exhale

— Ha, we get our very first Tracy Morgan SNL utterance of the phrase “Sweet like bear meat”, which would go on to be one of Tracy’s catchphrases. I’m surprised to hear that line this early in Tracy’s SNL tenure.
— A lot of laughs from how into it David, Tim, and Tracy are getting during their viewing of “Waiting To Exhale”, and how sentimental they’re increasingly becoming.
— A very amusing slow-motion montage of the guys during their viewing.
STARS: ****


BOTH SIDES WITH JESSE JACKSON
Kincaid & others discuss Ebonics

— Was this a real CNN show at the time?
— A humorously out-of-place setting to put Ana’s Kincaid character in. I keep thinking I’ve had enough of this character, but she still manages to make me chuckle.
— Tim’s Johnnie Cochran, regarding The Jeffersons: “Weezie was an outrage!”
— Some funny Ebonics demonstrations from David’s Maxine Waters, especially her telling Kincaid “Bitch, you be trippin’!”
STARS: ***½


THE ROCKY ROADS
(ANG), (MOS), other Rocky Roads say no to sexual harassment & shoplifting

— If you recall, the first installment of this sketch from David’s previous hosting stint is a personal favorite of mine. And as I said in my review of that one, I’m not familiar with this second installment. For some reason, I’m kinda expecting to be let down by this one. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
— The female Rocky Roads member previously played by Nancy Walls has been replaced by both Ana AND Molly, interestingly enough.
— I like David’s corny compliment “It looks like you’ve been dipped in pretty sauce.”
— Like last time, I absolutely love Will’s cheesy performance and David’s enthusiastic preacher-esque singing.
— The corny songs that the Rocky Roads are performing in tonight’s installment aren’t as catchy as the songs they did in the first installment.
— Overall, I was sorta right about being let down by tonight’s installment, to an extent, but I still enjoyed it as a whole. It came off very average compared to the first installment, though.
STARS: ***


MAYA ANGELOU FOR BUTTERFINGER
Maya Angelou (host) recites verse in praise of Butterfinger

— The beginning of a runner tonight.
— Such a funny concept, with David’s Maya Angelou spouting inspiring wisdom about Butterfinger, of all things.
— Overall, this was well-written and well-performed.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
though Michael Irvin was falsely accused, COQ isn’t going to apologize

— Good to see Colin doing an Update commentary as himself, even though I was disappointed by the last one he did as himself.
— Just half a minute into Colin’s Michael Irvin commentary so far, and it’s already miles funnier than his last commentary as himself.
— Colin’s overall commentary was very solid. This is the type of funny stand-up that I’ve come to expect from him.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Snoop’s Upside Ya Head”


WONG & OWENS, EX-PORN STARS
ex-porn stars Don Wong (JMB) & Reggie Owens (TRM) try a fast-food career

— Amusing concept.
— Throughout tonight’s episode, Tracy has been receiving the most airtime he’s gotten all season, though it’s obviously only because we have a black host. Similarly, in the following season’s Samuel L. Jackson-hosted episode, Tracy appears in a particularly large amount of sketches.
— When Wong and Owens each do the porn-esque removal of their shirt, Tracy is particularly funny doing that.
— A good laugh from Jim’s nudity being censored by a “TV 14” rating symbol (the last screencap above). I see SNL’s really taking advantage of the then-new TV ratings system.
STARS: ***


MAYA ANGELOU FOR FROOT LOOPS!
Maya Angelou (host) endorses Froot Loops! poetically

— Another funny topic for David’s Maya Angelou to wax poetic about.
— Towards the end of this, I especially love David’s over-the-top delivery of “The KUM…QUAT! The KI…WI!”
STARS: ****


SHOPPING AT HOME NETWORK
mispriced Scottie Pippen bust may ruin Don West (WIF) & Eddy Lewis (CHK)

— Good to see this back, though I’m not too familiar with any of the installments of this sketch besides the original Shaq Plaque one.
— A good laugh from how the sculpture that’s supposedly of Scottie Pippen looks nothing like him.
— I like seeing David acting like Will and Chris’ portrayals of Don West and Eddy Lewis.
— I love Will yelling at the camera “You’re ruining us!” and “You selfish bastards!”
— Will and Chris’ overdramatics over how much money they’re losing is a riot, especially a defeated Will calling his wife, asking her to tell their son to come home from college.
— Now this gets even funnier with the guys deciding to douse the place with gasoline, and Chris dousing himself with gasoline.
— Overall, not quite as strong as the Shaq Plaque installment of this sketch, but this still had me howling.
STARS: ****


TV FUNHOUSE
“Wheaty the Wheaten Terrier” by RBS- dog’s supposed heroism not apparent

— An unusually late spot in an episode for a TV Funhouse to air. I think the Roma Downey-hosted episode from the following season has a TV Funhouse that airs even later, shortly before the goodnights.
— Another oddity about this TV Funhouse is that it’s entirely live-action, with no animation at all. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two other non-animated TV Funhouses that would later air: “Find The Black People At The Knick Game” and the Tom Brady-starring PSA about sexual harassment in the workplace. There are also some later TV Funhouses that are half-animated and half-live-action, such as the Black History Month one with Dennis Haysbert, the “Pothead Theater” cartoon, and the Ambiguously Gay Duo installment that suddenly becomes live-action halfway through.
— Hmm, no SNL performers in this live-action piece. I don’t recognize any of the actors.
— I spoke too soon about not recognizing any of the actors. Just now, the camera has cut to Stephen Colbert as the dad. Colbert has been all over SNL this season.
— A very odd TV Funhouse, but there are some laughs from how the various cutaways to the “heroic” dog were obviously each filmed at a different time. It especially gets funny when the cutaways show the dog doing unpleasant things like drinking from a toilet or humping another dog.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Vapors”


NEW MICROSOFT PRODUCTS
Bill Gates (MAM) introduces Microsoft products that will change the world

— Geez, I thought it was weird seeing a TV Funhouse air fairly late in the show, but that’s nothing compared to this: a presidential address-to-the-nation sketch airing around the 10-to-1 timeslot?!? That’s unheard of.
— Wait, what the hell? After only a few seconds, this President Clinton address-to-the-nation, which was shown interrupting an airing of “Caroline in the City” (remember that sitcom?), itself gets interrupted by another special message.
— Ah, it turns out to be a special message from Bill Gates.
— Wait, Mark is playing Bill Gates? Not Chris Kattan? Ah, that’s right. I had forgotten until now that Mark originally played Gates before Chris would later take over the impression the following season, after Mark’s departure. Until now, I had only remembered Chris playing Gates.
— Mark is getting some good laughs from me here. It also feels good seeing him get some rare focus this season.
— I like Mark-as-Bill-Gates’ line “Don’t cry for me, Argentina…. BECAUSE I OWN YOU.”
STARS: ***½


MAYA ANGELOU FOR PENNZOIL
Maya Angelou (host) voices muse-inspired admiration for Pennzoil

— Pennzoil isn’t as inherently a funny product for David’s Maya Angelou to pitch as Butterfinger and Froot Loops were.
— Overall, this was still fairly funny, but yeah, they should’ve kept these Maya Angelou bits at just two. This third one wasn’t necessary.
STARS: **½


WORCESTER CENTRUM
see monster trucks & funny car civilization Sunday at Worcester Centrum

— A very funny absurd concept, and I’m getting a lot of entertainment from the increasingly complex things the “funny cars” are shown to do, represented by amusingly crude computer animation.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very solid episode. Not as outstanding as David Alan Grier’s previous episode, but there was a large number of strong pieces tonight, and nothing was particularly bad to me. Much like in his previous hosting stint, David Alan Grier was a fantastic host who’s comedic skills and sketch comedy experience was very welcome. I wish the fact that he hosted in two consecutive seasons would’ve led to him becoming a John Goodman/Alec Baldwin-esque regular host in this era, but unfortunately, tonight’s episode ends up being his final hosting stint. A shame.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kevin Spacey)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Neve Campbell

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December 9, 1995 – David Alan Grier / Silverchair (S21 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NIGHTLINE
Ted Koppel (DAH) covers Michael Jackson’s (TIM) back injury

— Kinda surprised to see Darrell’s Ted Koppel two consecutive episodes, but I’m certainly not complaining, as his Koppel is always good for laughs, and this is probably the most quintessential appearance it would ever make.
— Absolutely priceless hearing Darrell say “Jacko on his backo” in that Ted Koppel voice.
— I love all the serious discussion using the ridiculous terms “Jacko” and “backo” in such a professional manner.
— Funny random gag with the accidental cutaway to the opening credits of Renegade when Tommy Mattola’s interview is supposed to begin.
— Koppel’s increasing desperation to hear other human beings say “Jacko on his backo” is fantastic.
— Very funny back-and-forths between Koppel and Michael Jackson. I especially like Koppel’s “Good, you’re halfway there” when finally getting MJ to refer to himself as “Jacko”.
STARS: ****½


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about religion & boxing

— Funny opening line about being “the black guy” on In Living Color.
— Nice to see a stand-up monologue.
— Some good laughs from Grier’s boxing routine so far.
— I’m surprised this monologue is over already. I wanted this to go on longer.
STARS: ***½


THE ROCKY ROADS
(NAW), other Rocky Roads (WIF), (host), (TIM) moralize at school assembly

— God, I’ve always loved this particular sketch ever since I first saw it. I remember so many things about this sketch fondly.
— Will is playing such a hilariously cheesy Will Ferrell-esque character. I love it.
— The “Honky cracker” bit is great.
— A very funny brief falsetto singing voice from Grier.
— The corny Black White song is really catchy.
— Another catchy corny song right now, with the Freaky People number. I also love the use of freaky shadows behind the Rocky Roads members.
— Overall, while I know this sketch isn’t considered a classic or is even remembered by most SNL fans, I personally absolutely love every single thing about this sketch, and consider it to be very underrated.
— SNL would later bring this sketch back during Grier’s second hosting stint a season later. I have pretty much no memory of that second installment of this sketch, other than the fact that the character played by the no-longer-in-the-cast-in-season-22 Nancy Walls is replaced by both Molly Shannon AND season 22 newbie Ana Gasteyer. I’m eager to see if that installment of this sketch is as good as this first installment, though I don’t want to get my hopes up.
STARS: *****


TODAY
Bryant Gumbel’s (host) off-air persona is much more ethnic

— Priceless Bryant Gumbel voice from Grier.
— A hilarious and very memorable premise with Gumbel turning ghetto whenever the cameras are off. Grier is absolutely PERFECT for this sketch.
— I love Ghetto Gumbel’s line about Katie Couric’s Liz Taylor Scent perfume: “It smell more like Lawrence Taylor Scent.”
— Koechner is great as a corny Willard Scott.
— Grier is navigating this sketch FLAWLESSLY.
— Interestingly, Gumbel’s two “bitches” are played by the same extras who played Keith Richards’ two bimbos in the Cooking With Keith sketch in the Gabriel Byrne episode.

— Very funny hearing Koechner’s Willard Scott, in that corny voice, request some “bee-yatches”.
— An overall terrific sketch. Perfect.
STARS: *****


THREE WISE MEN
one of the Three Wise Men (host) gives baby Jesus some last-minute gifts

— A fairly funny and relatable twist on the traditional Three Wise Men story.
— Some laughs from the cheap gifts Grier’s Wise Man brings Baby Jesus, especially the “Chris” license plate, which Grier tells Joseph and Mary they can just draw a “t” on the end of it.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
Bill Clinton (DAH) likes The American President’s “dead First Lady” plot
Lenny The Lion (COQ) is a victim of the animal control system

— Interesting idea to have Darrell’s President Clinton appear on Update to give a movie review.
— A classic turn during Clinton’s The American President movie review, with him following up his mention of the president in the movie having a dead wife by saying “I. Love. This. Movie!”
— Darrell’s Clinton impression is slowly starting to develop into the version that everybody today is familiar with, especially the trademark laugh.
— We get the debut of Norm’s “Or so the Germans would have us believe” recurring gag, though he doesn’t do the camera staredown this time, which is a shame, as that’s part of what makes it funny.
— SNL writer and future cast member Colin Quinn debuts another new Update character, Lenny The Lion.
— This Lenny The Lion commentary is following the same structure and format of Colin’s Joe Blow commentary from earlier this season, though Colin’s using a different voice.
— I’m not liking this Lenny The Lion commentary quite as much as the previous Joe Blow one, but it’s still pretty funny and there are some decent lines here.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Tomorrow”


WAKE UP AND SMILE
TV fluffs (WIF) & (NAW) devolve when teleprompter breaks

 

— Ohho, here we go. The centerpiece of tonight’s episode, an all-time SNL classic, and one of my top 10 all-time favorite SNL sketches.
— When repeating the line “I understand you’ve got some cooking tips for us, Diane” over and over (due to a broken teleprompter), I like the little touch of how Will says that line with a different inflection each time.
— And so it begins, with the initially-subtle panicking of Will and Nancy due to the broken teleprompter.
— Hilarious part with Will’s notion “Someone should get a group together with guns to sweep out those ghettos. Wait, what?!?” and how it immediately gets cut off by a “Please stand by”-type screen.
— The gradually-increasing but still-slightly-controlled panicking from Will and Nancy is getting funnier and funnier, especially the growling sounds they keep making in between lines.
— Yesss! Now Will is starting to go full Crazy Will Ferrell, for one of the very first times in his SNL tenure.
— I LOVE the part where Will starts letting out an insane loud scream and how it immediately gets cut off by another “Please stand by”-type screen.
— The cheesy ads occasionally being shown are an amusing contrast to the craziness of the Wake Up And Smile mental breakdown.
— Haha, oh my god at how the first thing we see after the return from the Kerry And The Gang promo is a now-torn-apart Wake Up And Smile set with burning torches and a shirtless Will with a dark handprint on his chest.
— A wonderfully gruesome and legendary part with Will holding up the now-severed head of the weatherman while screaming “THE WEATHERMAN IS DEAD!”
— Aaaaaand there goes my absolute favorite part of this sketch: Will chomping like crazy on the severed tendons hanging out of the weatherman’s neck. MY GOD. SNL has probably never been more insane than this moment right here. I remember when I first saw this sketch ages ago during a Comedy Central rerun, that part with Will chomping on the neck tendons gave me what still holds up to this day as one of the hardest laughs that I have EVER gotten from SNL. I truly could not stop laughing at that part of this sketch during my first viewing.
— And thus ends an SNL masterpiece. An absolute must-see sketch. Also a great early display of the excellent absurdity that writer Adam McKay is capable of, especially whenever his sketches involve an unleashed and full-out crazed Will Ferrell.
STARS: *****


SPADE IN AMERICA
DAS does a 1995 year-in-review Hollywood Minute

— Spade returning to his roots with a traditional Hollywood Minute.
— Not the funniest Hollywood Minute installment I’ve ever seen, but this is still providing laughs so far.
— Spade’s dig at Heather Locklear’s acting skills is funny in retrospect, because didn’t he later end up dating her for a while at some point?
— Aaaaaaand there goes Spade’s notorious Eddie Murphy joke: “Look, children, it’s a falling star, make a wish”, which gets huge “Ohh!” laughter from the audience. Later in the same night, Eddie, furious over the fact that this joke was coming from his former show and the same show that wouldn’t even be on the air at this time in 1995 if he hadn’t saved it from cancellation back in 1980-81, would call up SNL and give Spade the chewing-out of his life over the phone. This whole incident is said to be one of the reasons for Eddie cutting all ties with SNL for two entire decades.
— Oh, there’s the Powder/Michael Stipe joke that I mentioned a few episode reviews ago. In the Spade In America from the Quentin Tarantino episode, Spade made a humorous little aside about Billy Corgan being the guy from Powder. And then tonight, Spade does a variation of that exact same joke, replacing Corgan with Michael Stipe. Pretty lazy.
— Haha, some really harsh slams from Spade tonight.
— I like Spade’s “They’re not all winners” ad-lib when one joke bombs with the audience.
STARS: ***


BLACK PEOPLE
a look at Stepin Fetchit Honeydew Wilkins’ (host) career

— Something about the lazy title “Black People” kinda makes me laugh, though something about it also has a shoddy season 20 feel to me. They really couldn’t come up with a better title for this fictional show than “Black People”?
— Interesting random casting of Spade, in a rare season 21 sketch appearance, as one of the band members.
— Grier’s knocking it out of the park once again tonight with yet another great character voice.
— Some really funny lyrics from Grier’s Honeydew Wilkins about the ridiculous things he’ll do anything for the amusement of white people.
— I love Grier’s horrible brief trumpet playing at the very end.
— Priceless line from Tim about Honeydew Wilkins being the first black man to be lynched by black people.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pure Massacre”


PERSPECTIVES
Dr. Emery Coleman’s (host) show fills a similar niche

— Our first Perspectives sketch of this season. Feels odd seeing a season 20 recurring sketch appearing in season 21, but I certainly welcome the return of this particular sketch.
— I love the clip of Grier’s very similar show, Viewpoints.
— Great gradual reveal that Viewpoints won an Emmy on every odd-numbered year since 1973, while Perspectives won on the even-numbered years in that same stretch.
— Hilarious 70s photo of Tim and Grier’s characters smiling big while having afros.
— Good ending line about how the next episode of Grier’s Viewpoints will just be a re-airing of this Perspectives episode.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fantastic episode. Just perfect in my eyes. Not only did everything in it manage to work for me, but most of the material was great and there were THREE sketches I gave a perfect five-star rating to, one of which is a legendary piece (Wake Up And Smile). And as expected, David Alan Grier was a perfect and expert host, and made me wish more SNL hosts were sketch comedy veterans like him.
— I’ve always felt that, between the preceding week’s very solid and fun Anthony Edwards episode and tonight’s perfect episode, this is the point where this season had fully taken off and, I’m guessing, finally put away any remaining fears from viewers that this new era wasn’t going to save SNL from cancellation.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Anthony Edwards)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Madeline Kahn hosts the Christmas episode