Tag: Elliott Gould

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November 15, 1980 – Elliott Gould / Kid Creole & The Coconuts (S6 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
the new castmembers learn about SNL’s glory days from bedfellow host

   

— Gail Matthius gets the honors of being the very first new cast member we see, as this sketch opens on a close-up of her waking up in bed.
— Gail calls herself a cross between Gilda and Jane.
— Charles Rocket calls himself a cross between Chevy and Bill, which is an obvious comparison as Jean Doumanian reportedly WANTED viewers to see him as the Chevy/Bill of the new cast.
— Ann Risley calls herself a cross between… Gilda and Laraine???  WTF?
— I’m iffy on the premise of Elliott telling the new cast drug stories about the original SNL and NBC in general, but there are a few okay lines in there, I guess.
— And now Gilbert Gottfried has called himself a cross between John Belushi and “that guy from last year, he did Rod Serling and nobody can remember his name”. Okay, two things: 1) Aww, poor Harry. 2) WHAAAAAT??!?!? How in the world is Gilbert freakin’ Gottfried a hybrid of Belushi and Shearer? I had thought the other newbies’ comparisons to the original cast were off, but THIS takes the cake.
— Denny Dillon gets the honors of delivering the very first LFNY of the new era.
— Overall, I’m not crazy about how this cold opening has started the new season off. Also, if you ask me, it was a bad decision to introduce the new cast by having them compare themselves to the old cast. Things were already automatically going to be tough for these guys, being the first new cast to come in since the beloved originals, so why make direct comparisons between the new and old cast? That’s just setting this cast up to look inferior in the audience’s eyes.
— It also didn’t help that the comparisons were so far off. If I HAD to pick which original cast member each newbie is most similar to, based on what (very) little I’ve seen of this season in the past and based on all the things I’ve read about this season over the years, I’d say: Denny Dillon = Gilda (cast member who specializes in playing the more silly/goofy female roles). Gilbert Gottfried = uhh… I dunno, this is a hard one. I guess Garrett by default, as they’re both kinda the cast’s odd man out. Gail Matthius = Laraine (I’m not sure why, to be honest; I’ve just always viewed them both as similar types). Joe Piscopo = Dan (utility player, great at doing fast-talking commercial pitchmen, a knack for celebrity impressions). Ann Risley = Jane (the straight-laced one of the group). And Charles Rocket = Chevy/Bill (okay, they got THIS one right).
STARS: **


OPENING MONTAGE

       

— A decent new opening montage. The animated shining lights in some of the still photos look great. The “painting-over” screen transition effect probably comes off cheesy nowadays, but I kinda like it. The montage in general has a slight New Wave vibe that’s very representative of the year 1980, which I find pretty cool.
— I definitely like the new theme music; probably one of the catchier themes the show’s ever had.
— Not crazy about the cast shots.


MONOLOGUE
host shows audience a few of his undergarments, trades for some of DED’s

     

— The new home base stage is okay, and I like the spiral staircase.
— What was up with Elliott’s entrance? As the elevator on the stage is coming down empty, he rushes down the spiral stairs and then jokingly(?) tries to pretend he’s exiting the elevator. Did something go wrong there? Was he supposed to be in the elevator when it came down, but wasn’t able to get in it in time?
— When listing off some of the crazy things he did on the show in the past, he mentions dressing up as a girl. Which sketch was that? I’ve just reviewed all of the first five seasons and can’t remember any sketches with him in drag.
— Oh, wait, I just remembered the goodnights of his May 1976 episode, where he and the rest of the cast were dressed as cowgirls. I guess that’s what he was referring to.
— Ugh, this underwear-sharing premise is not good.
— And now Denny has shown up to trade underwear with Elliott. It’s not making this monologue any funnier, unfortunately, but it’s noteworthy that between getting to say LFNY just a few minutes ago and now getting to perform alongside the host in the monologue, you’d think Denny is the cast member that Jean Doumanian is trying to push this season.
STARS: *½


THE PETROLEUM COUNCIL
Petroleum Council’s Burma Shave billboard books let you read as you drive

   

— Heh, I’m kinda liking this premise.
— Overall, a pretty nice and well-done commercial.
STARS: ***½


WHITE HOUSE
Rosalynn (ANR) convinces Jimmy (JOP) Carter to be glad he lost

   

— Boy, it feels weird seeing new people taking over the impressions of the Carter family, after I’ve gotten so used to seeing the original cast in these roles.
— I guess it wouldn’t have been possible for them to do this sketch in the original era anyway, considering Rosalynn and Amy Carter were both played by Laraine Newman.
— Them talking about Jimmy Carter’s then-recent loss in the 1980 election makes me realize that thanks to this season’s late start (mid-November, people!), we weren’t able to get any election sketches while the presidential race was still going on. That might be a good thing, though, because I’m not sure how these new writers would’ve handled a presidential debate sketch.
— I will say that Denny IS very convincing as a little girl.
— I’m not sure about Joe’s Jimmy Carter impression. I guess it’s not bad, but it’s so generic compared to Dan Aykroyd’s very detailed, spot-on impression.
— Good lord at the part with President Carter blaming the Jews for not voting for him…
— An overly horny Rosalynn Carter? I don’t think I like where this is going.
— WTF at the ending?
STARS: **


SIDE NOTE: Hmm, I see they’re continuing the traditional “Coming up next” caption gags from the previous era.


BILLY-GRAM
(CHR) delivers a singing Billy-Gram to cohabitating couple (host) & (ANR)

 

— The premise of a singing religious telegram doesn’t seem all that great.
— Man, Charles is pretty hammy in this with his over-the-top facial expressions and delivery.
— That’s the whole sketch??? Wow, this was short!
— I didn’t find this sketch all that great, but I guess it wasn’t too terrible and at least they kept it from running longer than it needed to.
STARS: **½


AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
(GLM) demonstrates breast cancer self-examination dos & don’ts

 

— Gail’s vague instructions while she’s being obscured by a black bar isn’t all that funny.
— And that’s it? Not much of anything here. Boy, I have NOT been crazy about tonight’s episode so far.
STARS: **


WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT
Pinky (DED) & Leo (GIG) Waxman interview host

 

— Gilbert’s heavy Jewish accent is great.
— I just realized that it feels weird seeing Elliott performing in sketches alongside people who AREN’T the original cast.
— Denny and Gilbert’s characters aren’t bad so far, and I’m seeing potential there.
— I never knew Elliott was once married to Barbra Streisand. It’s hard for me to picture them as a couple.
— Overall, a pretty good sketch with some decent laughs all throughout. This feels like the first live segment I really liked all night.
STARS: ***½


FOOT FETISH
by Randal Kleiser- two shoes have sex on the beach

     

— Elliott introduces this film by saying it’s the first in a series of “Short Shots”, which is apparently going to be this era’s name for the short film portions of the show.
— Hilarious seeing the stop-motion wild sex between the two shoes.
— Another very funny gag with the female shoe giving birth to a smaller shoe.
— Yet another inspired gag with a doctor cutting the newborn shoe’s shoelace as if it’s an umbilical cord.
— Overall, wow, that was great.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mister Softee”


WEEKEND UPDATE
GLM can’t bring herself to tell John Anderson (JOP) that he didn’t win
The Rocket Report- CHR tries to get the scoop on the new Lennon-Ono album
author (GIG) claims his book proves that Ronald Reagan is already dead

         

— Here we go…
— Something about the new Update atmosphere feels dead with the way tonight’s Update has begun. Feels like something’s missing (and no, I don’t mean Jane and Bill).
— Why are there two screens on the Update set?
— That Shirley Temple Black joke was just plain BAD.
— Man, we’re a few jokes in and I have yet to laugh at any of them so far.
— Hmm, Gail as an Update reporter in a remote segment. I knew she had similarities to Laraine!
— Haha, Joe is really funny as an out-of-it John B. Anderson. I can’t judge the accuracy of the impression, having no familiarity with the real John B. Anderson beyond his silent cameo in the previous season’s Teri Garr episode, but it does seem like Joe’s going for accuracy with the voice and mannerisms.
— Hmm, a joke about Chevy Chase. Seems that Chevy caused some controversy at the time by publicly calling Cary Grant a “homo”. Oh, Chevy’s up to his old tricks, I see…
— Boy, I am not liking Charles’ delivery of the Update jokes.
— Oh, man, the whole Saturn rings audio sample bit was AWFUL.
— Ah, the debut of “Rocket Report”. Supposedly, from all the things I’ve read about this season, the Rocket Report segments are where Charles is really in his element this season.
— Pretty funny with Charles trying to interview garbagemen about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s garbage.
— Overall, the Rocket Report debut was a success, and Charles came off really well in it.
— And now we’re back to bad Update jokes, unfortunately. That Anita Bryant “homosexuals do it in a cage” joke was another dreadful one.
— Wow, that one joke got absolutely no audience response just now.
— We get our very first desk piece of the new Update era. Gilbert Gottfried gets the honors.
— Why the heck does Charles keep correcting people who call him “Charlie”? This is the second time he’s done it in tonight’s Update, and both times, it came off awkward and got no response from the audience.
— Gilbert’s performance was pretty funny overall, but the commentary itself was only okay.
— “Good night and… watch out.” I kinda like the idea of that as the new Update tagline, but Charles’ delivery of it was way too cocky for my likes.
— Overall, man, that was rough. If this is the new direction Update will be going in for the rest of the season, we are in big trouble. And one of the very few highlights, Rocket Report, soon gets spun-off into a standalone segment in the show, so there goes one of the only things the new Update has going for it.
STARS: **


AT ONE WITH…
sergeant (JOP) drills a member of the Gay Brigade (CHR)

 

— Another talk show sketch tonight?
— The “Gay Brigade”? Uh-oh…
— Joe and Charles are great with all their fast-paced back-and-forths. They’re giving me some really good laughs.
— Ugh, that line about Fort Dix being where the gay soldiers are stationed was a groanworthy joke.
— Overall, I’m not too sure about the material itself, but man, I absolutely LOVED Joe and Charles’ performances & delivery.
STARS: ****


HEART TO HEART
by Mitchell Kriegman- relationship-induced change seen

   

— When this started, I almost thought the girl in bed was Laraine Newman. I guess I still haven’t gotten used to not seeing the old cast.
— The subtlety of the girl being played by a slightly different-looking actress every time the camera cuts back to her is pretty funny and is being executed well.
— Ha, funny how the change in actresses has gradually become more and more obvious, culminating in a heavier woman being cast in the role during the final scene.
— An overall good film.
STARS: ***


SNL SPORTS
JOP does play-by-play for the nose wrestling bout between (host) & (CHR)

  

— Right off the bat in his first episode, we get the debut of Joe Piscopo’s SNL sportscaster persona. I wasn’t expecting to see that so early in his SNL tenure. His delivery here is a little more generic than it would later go on to be.
— Oh my god at this premise.
— Geez, we get yet ANOTHER unnecessary racial joke tonight, with the line about nose wrestling being dominated by Italians and Jews. (*groan*)
— Despite my initial iffiness towards the premise, this nose wrestling bit does have a bit of a strange charm to it.
STARS: ***


DATE
40 year-old (host) has an awkward dinner date with teenager Vickie (GLM)

— Elliott just called Gail “Vicky”. Is this gonna be the debut of Gail’s Valley Girl character?
— Okay, she said “grody” just now. Yep, this IS the Valley Girl character.
— I’m still seeing some of Laraine in Gail, as I can DEFINITELY picture Laraine doing a character like this.
— Some of the audience members are getting a kick out of Gail’s character. I have read that this character was considered somewhat groundbreaking for its time, as the valley girl craze hadn’t blown up just yet.
— What the heck kinda shirt is Gail wearing? I can’t tell what the picture on it is supposed to be.
— Funny line from Gail about her Marine boyfriend being “sort of black”.
— Overall, this seemed like this was going to be a nice character piece for Gail, but the sketch ended up being pretty flat. Nothing interesting really happened. I’m hoping this character’s future appearances are an improvement.
STARS: **


THE ACCORDION KILLER
(GLM) goes undercover to trap musical menace (CHR)

     

— I like the police station set-up with Elliott and Gilbert. This seems like it could be a good mini-movie mock-thriller sketch.
— This sketch is now starting to have a very Land Shark vibe to it.
— Gail playing a character with her own first name. Reminds me of when the original cast often did that back in season 1.
— Funny climax with the police officers coming in playing bagpipes, which causes Charles’ character to die.
— Overall, not bad, even if it was basically a poor man’s Land Shark.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “There But For The Grace of God Go I”


GIDGETTE GOES TO HELL
by Jonathan Demme- shark eats surfer chick

     

— This is introduced by Elliott as being our second “Short Shot” of the night.
— Very interesting format. Again, much like this season’s new opening montage, this short has kind of a 1980 New Wave music video feel that I’m liking.
— Overall, a weird short, but I enjoyed it and found it interesting to see where it was going.
— Strange that two of the three short films tonight have taken place on the beach.
STARS: ***


SPEED LISTENING
speed listener (DED) relaxes efficiently with accelerated music

 

— This speed-listening premise is pretty funny and is something I can picture the original cast doing.
— Denny’s “half-fast/half-assed way of listening to music” line was good.
— The short lengths of the songs listed in the screen crawl is worth a few good laughs.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS
host introduces cast & announces they’ll “be around forever”

 

— Elliott re-introduces each cast member by first name.
— There’s Elliott’s now-ironic “We’re gonna be around forever” statement about the new cast. IIRC, Steve Martin would later make a similar ironic statement during the goodnights when he hosted the premiere of the infamous season 20.
— Oh, wow, I forgot that the goodnights music this season is different. Man, it’s weird to see an SNL episode ending with anything that’s NOT the traditional goodnights music we’re all so familiar with.
— The live version of this episode, which I’m reviewing, cuts the goodnights off pretty early, so I can’t really give a critique yet on the quality of the new goodnights theme. I recall kinda liking it when seeing a few episodes from this season years ago.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Well, there it is. Man, I feel so weird after watching this episode, considering how I had gotten so used to reviewing the original SNL era.
— I surprisingly didn’t dislike this overall episode as much as I was expecting to. While the episode had a very rough start during the first 20 minutes or so, the show slowly got a little better as it went along. The post-Update half featured quite a lot of stuff that I found decent. Overall, while not great by any means, the new SNL era is showing at least a little promise so far. Right before I watched this episode, a very small part of me was worried I’d break down halfway through the episode, whining “I miss my old cast!!! It ain’t the same without them!!!” Instead, I ended up experiencing a feeling of excitement watching and reviewing a new SNL era after only reviewing the first five seasons.
— I am aware that the alleged awfulness of season 6 supposedly doesn’t start fully kicking in until a few episodes into the season, when all the bad press the season soon starts getting begins to negatively affect the mood of the show.
— A bad trend I noticed throughout the night that I’m worried will be a trend throughout the whole season is reliance on overly-corny humor and unnecessary racial jokes. Also, it looks like I’m gonna be in for one difficult season of Weekend Update.
— I was surprised at the large number of segments in this episode. So many quick sketches and various films stuffed into a 90-minute episode, which reminds me of how the early episodes from season 1 were so jam-packed with MANY segments and had so much variety. Feels kinda nice to see that again, after I had gotten so used to the longer sketch format from seasons 4 and 5.
— Elliott Gould was not utilized well AT ALL tonight. He seemed to be cast in nothing but dull straight roles all night, and he looked out of his element with this new cast. A shame we weren’t able to see the charm that he always had when hosting in the original era.
— Of the new cast, I’d say that Joe, Gilbert, and Denny seem to be the cast members who I’m looking most forward to seeing more of, just based on how they performed in this episode. I think I’m gonna like Gail as well, but it’s a shame that the two sketches that showcased her tonight (American Cancer Society and Date) weren’t good.  Charles already seems to be getting pushed as the “star” of the new cast, but I’m iffy on him; his mugging & cheesy delivery in Billy-Gram and his cockiness & weak delivery on Update were all off-putting to me. I see SOME potential in him, though, as I liked his performance in the Rocket Report segment and his delivery in Gay Brigade. As for the remaining cast member, Ann, I couldn’t form any kind of opinion on her at all. She’s the only one who left me with no impression.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1979-80):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Malcolm McDowell. A very notorious episode, as, until more recent decades, it was widely considered to be the definitive “worst SNL ever”.

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February 16, 1980 – Elliott Gould / Gary Numan (S5 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
outside Richard Nixon’s brownstone, Father Guido Sarducci waits for him

  

— Another season 5 episode that unexpectedly starts with a Weekend Update segment.
— Oh, it’s a follow-up to Father Guido Sarducci’s Japan arrest.
— I wonder who in the cast, if anyone, will play Nixon in this, now that we don’t have Aykroyd anymore.
— Don Novello’s voice sounds a little hoarse tonight.
— At first, I assumed Sarducci was in front of a chroma-key screen, but it appears that he actually IS outdoors.
— Overall, nothing special, despite a few okay lines here and there. I guess this was just here to set up a segment we’ll be coming back to later tonight.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

 

— Gotta love how laid-back Elliott always is as an SNL host. He casually begins eating a licorice stick as soon as he makes his entrance in this monologue.
— Oh, it’s a carrot he’s eating.
— Liked his “It’s got balls” comment about why he loves SNL.
— It’s over ALREADY??? Geez, this was almost as short and pointless a monologue as Teri Garr’s from two episodes ago.
— Hey, I just realized, there was no musical tap-dancing number. Isn’t that supposed to be Elliott’s regular thing in the monologue every time he hosts?
STARS: ??? (undecided)


JEWESS JEANS
Rhonda Weiss models the kosher designer denim

   

— A Gilda Radner classic that I’ve always loved. Easily the best use of her Rhonda Weiss character.
— I really like the late 70s-sounding commercial jingle.
— Great ending with the announcer’s “You don’t have to be Jewish…” being followed by Gilda’s “…but it wouldn’t hurt.”
STARS: *****


KENNEDY-POWELL DEBATE
Jody Powell (BDM) subs for Jimmy Carter during Ted Kennedy (BIM) debate

     

— Always good to see Bill’s Ted Kennedy impression.
— I almost thought the person sitting opposite of Bill’s Kennedy was Harry Shearer as President Carter, but it turns out to be Brian Doyle-Murray as Carter’s press secretary, who’s sitting in for the president tonight. Bah, poor excuse to not have anyone do a Carter impression, if you ask me. I don’t understand; did SNL feel Dan Aykroyd’s Carter impression was so untouchable that there was no need to even bother having anyone take over that role this season? I still say Shearer could’ve possibly done a half-decent Carter voice.
— As I said sometime recently, I always like seeing Murray brothers Bill and Brian interacting with each other in a sketch. Is this is the only season in SNL history where two relatives were in the cast at the same time?
— Good Chappaquiddick comment from Brian.
— Overall, a pretty good debate sketch.
STARS: ***½


BECAUSE THE WINE REMEMBERS
Everett & Giorgio Gallo wine is made & shipped with care for winos

 

— Eh, didn’t care much for this. This came off as just quick, forgettable filler.
STARS: **


THE INCREDIBLE MAN
yellow snow leads to the Canadian Wizard of Oz

       

— Interesting idea for a Wizard of Oz knockoff.
— The altered “Over the Rainbow” lyrics started out pretty funny, though the humor in the song died down after a while.
— Gilda making her Catatonic Colleen face after knocking herself dizzy on her bed’s backboard.
— Jane playing a character named Gilda. Heh.
— Good voice on Jane.
— The knockoff version of the yellow brick road being “the yellow line in the snow” is hilarious.
— At first glance, I almost thought that was Dan Aykroyd as the frozen hockey player. Must be his brother Peter. I still have a hard time recognizing him in sketches.
— Seeing as how this IS a sketch about Canadians, I guess Peter’s a natural for this. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s the one who wrote this.
— Garrett’s role as a flying monkey has often been said to be the most demeaning role he has EVER gotten on the show, and is also said to be a perfect example of how poorly used he was this season.
— I liked Laraine’s “I didn’t even get out of the castle and I’m melting!!” line.
— Funny how the Incredible Man’s headquarters are a cheap mobile home.
— I just spotted a stagehand accidentally entering the shot.
— Incredible Man knocking Gilda out with a board while Gilda’s in the middle of doing the “no place like home” knockoff was pretty funny.
— Another blooper, where during the dream-ending screen transition, they mistakenly cut back to the snowy forest set briefly and you can see Peter Aykroyd getting out of character.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Cars”

— Adding to what I said earlier about how lovably laid-back Elliott Gould always is as a host, he pulls out a cigarette and starts smoking right in the middle of his intro to this musical performance.


WEEKEND UPDATE
Father Guido Sarducci believes the Nixons are late because of long movie
JAC sends a message to retiring Walter Cronkite by unbuttoning her blouse

     

— We get a continuation of the Sarducci/Nixon remote from earlier.
— This Sarducci piece is starting to kinda remind me a remote segment he would do a decade later (during a special guest appearance) about finding the Pope’s missing wallet, and I remember not even being crazy about that one.
— Bill seems visibly unsure of how to pronounce “Entenmann’s”.
— Bill’s “big fat slob” report was great; felt like a bit of a callback to his rant about fat people a few episodes ago.
— Jane’s sultry message towards Walter Cronkite is yet another good continuation of the “Jane has a love jones for Cronkite” running joke this season.
— Not a great Update tonight, overall.
STARS: **


PRISON RECRUITING
college basketball coach (host) heavily recruits jailed murderer (GAM)

   

— The increasing number of all these people entering Garrett’s cell to try to recruit him seems like a fairly promising premise.
— Yvonne Hudson playing a character with her own first name.
— Laraine’s seems like she’s almost playing a variation of her child psychologist/baby mogul character.
— Okay, this sketch ain’t turning out as funny as I thought it would be.
— Garrett’s frozen facial reaction at the end was kinda funny, but overall, I didn’t care for this sketch.
STARS: **


ALL TIME RADIO
all-time radio station deejay (HAS) keeps listeners chronologically aware

 

— Oh, here’s the Shearer radio sketch from this episode that I’ve heard is REALLY good.
— I liked Harry’s “I almost asked your question for you” ad-lib after he accidentally greeted a caller with “What time is it?” when the caller was supposed to ask him that.
— The clock has said 4:15 for much longer than a minute.
— The angry caller complaining about getting fired sounds an awful lot like John Belushi. I know he’s off the show, but seriously, the caller sounds way too much like Belushi to NOT be him. Is he making some strange kind of uncredited voice cameo or something?
— Oh, now they addressed exactly what I pointed out earlier about the clock being on 4:15 for way too long. Turns out the clock is broken.
— I think I just heard Yvonne Hudson’s voice as one of the callers.
— Hmm, Harry keeps making more occasional line flubs, but he’s so damn good at recovering from them with natural little ad-libs without missing a beat in his great rapid-fire delivery.
— Overall, a very good sketch, though I wouldn’t say this is better than Harry’s earlier radio show sketch from the Howard Hesseman episode. Either way, Harry continues to add a much-needed breath of fresh air to this increasingly shaky season, carving out a niche for himself with his creative sketch premises and great delivery.
STARS: ****


THE SUBWAY GENIE
a subway genie (host) takes (GIR) on an underground tour of NYC

     

— For anyone keeping count, this is now the FOURTH sketch Yvonne Hudson has been in tonight, and she isn’t even in the cast yet!
— I liked Yvonne’s “Get a job, turkey!” line to Garrett.
— Is this sketch supposed to be a character piece for Garrett?
— What the hell? This sketch has been going on for minutes, and I can’t find anything to say, as practically nothing has been entertaining or interesting ever since the direction this took with the genie appearing.
— Hmm, a fourth-wall breaking ending.
— Yeah, the fourth-wall break did NOTHING to save this sketch.
— Overall, this seemed to have good intentions, but the resulting sketch didn’t work for me at all.
STARS: *½


NIXON IN NEW YORK
Father Guido Sarducci talks to one of Richard Nixon’s new neighbors

— Another continuation of tonight’s Sarducci runner.
— Don Novello’s sorta-hoarse voice from earlier tonight is sounding even worse now.
— I like Sarducci’s “candid” complaints about SNL making him stand out in the cold all night, when he thinks he’s not on the air. “If I get pneumonia, I’m gonna sue ’em.”
— A mention of “The Rocky Horror Show”, which gets instant enthusiastic applause from the studio audience.
— The reveal that the question Sarducci wants to ask Nixon is “If you could be an animal, what would it be?” wasn’t all that funny. Tonight’s Sarducci remote hasn’t really been taking off.
STARS: **


KRAMER VS. GODZILLA
movie has custody battle pitting man against monster

   

— “From Yoshimura Studios in Japan”. Heh, nice reference to a certain SNL staffer and frequent on-camera extra.
— I love the concept of this “Kramer vs. Kramer” parody. I remember hearing about this sketch before.
— Harry seems to be trying with his Dustin Hoffman impression, but I’m not sure that he’s nailing the voice.
— Ah, there’s Akira Yoshimura himself.
— Haha, Akira doing the badly-dubbed Japanese movie lip-syncing is funny.
— Overall, short but decent. I was expecting this to be a little better, though.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Praying to the Aliens”

 

— Haha, Elliott does an even more unique musical guest intro this time, by just silently holding up a cue card which has his line on it.


GOODNIGHTS
the Nixons’ limousine arrives just as the show ends

  

— Maybe it’s just me, but Elliott’s sounding a little too somber during his goodnights speech.
— Don Pardo announces that next week’s host will be “Kirk Douglas, with musical guest James Brown”. Brown must’ve ended up having to cancel, because Sam & Dave turn out to be the musical guest in that episode. Brown would later appear the following season, as one of the many great musical guests of the 80-81 season.
— After the scrolling ending credits are done, we get a sudden cutaway back to Guido Sarducci and his barely-there-anymore hoarse voice, who catches up to Nixon (played by an extra) and bombards him with the question “What animal would you be?” over and over. This is one of the rare times SNL has done a post-goodnights scene. In fact, I think the only other one in SNL history may be in Bob Newhart’s episode from 1995.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty “meh” episode. There were some good things, but there were too many weak, dull segments, especially in the post-Update half. The Father Guido Sarducci segments also weren’t the best thing to have as a running thread throughout the show. This season has not been doing well ever since they came back from Christmas break; there has yet to be a good episode in the 1980 half of the season. The burnout from the writers is starting to becoming evident.
— Elliott Gould did his usual laid-back approach to hosting, though I think I got more laughs just from his interesting musical guest intros than from anything he did in tonight’s actual sketches. Not even his monologue featured anything noteworthy. This would end up being his final time hosting in the original era, which is a little bittersweet, especially when you know what unfortunately lies ahead in his next (and final) SNL stint the following season, hosting the inaugural episode of a doomed new cast.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Kirk Douglas

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December 16, 1978 – Elliott Gould / Peter Tosh (S4 E9)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
the 28th Annual U.S.-Taiwan Table Tennis Open will not be seen tonight

— First time we’ve seen a show-opening disclaimer gag all season.


COLD OPENING
to conserve energy, Jimmy Carter (DAA) darkens White House Christmas tree

  

— Energetic audience reaction to the opening shot of Dan.
— Overall, the tree un-lighting premise was decent and this opening worked pretty well.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host & GAM dance & sing “Christmas Night In Harlem”

   

— Yet another Elliott Gould monologue that launches right into a song. I guess he was the Christopher Walken of the original SNL era.
— Ha at Garrett interrupting the song.
— I’m liking Garrett’s dancing.
— Overall, a fun number, and it was good to see a cast member get involved in a musical Elliott monologue for a change.
STARS: ***½


BABY NORWAY ALL-FLAMMABLE CHRISTMAS TREE
the Rovco All-Flammable Christmas Tree eliminates the need for cleanup

     

— Looks like we’re getting our usual absurd-premised Dan Aykroyd commercial.
— Not a hilarious concept, but still pretty funny and silly.
— I weirdly liked the extended ending showing the stagehands putting out the fires.
STARS: ***


THE WIDETTES
the big-butt Widette family (DAA), (JAC), (GIR), (JOB) makes buns puns

     

— The debut of this recurring sketch that I’ve always heard about. I’ve never seen these, but I’m dreading it based on my recently-mentioned dislike of “every member of a family has the same weird trait/big body part” sketches.
— John and Gilda pigging out on the fudge present they were given was pretty funny.
— The toilet paper gag ending was okay.
— Overall, not quite as bad as I was expecting, but I still wasn’t crazy about this.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


MOMMIE DEAREST
in a flashback, Christina Crawford (GIR) recalls her Mommie Dearest (JAC)

       

— Interesting use of Gilda’s catatonic Colleen character.
— I’m getting some good laughs from Jane’s violent outbursts to Gilda, and Gilda responding by hitting her own doll.
— I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe at Yvonne Hudson playing her maid role in such a ridiculously stereotypical, old-timey, over-the-top manner.
— LOL at Gilda’s Christmas present being the previous night’s dinner she reportedly gagged on.
— The return of Bill and Laraine’s Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn impressions, and the debut of a funny Clark Cable impression from Dan.
— Dan’s Gable to Jane’s Crawford: “Frankly, my dear, I could never make love to someone who’s shoulders are bigger than mine.”
— Gilda’s delivery of “Thank you!” was hilarious.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
during a LAN interview, Steve Rubell (JOB) disavows cocaine at Studio 54
BIM sings Fifth Symphony-inspired “Happy Birthday” to Beethoven
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about USA-China diplomatic relations
Roseanne Roseannadanna touches on holiday depression, gives JAC fruitcake

       

— A hot crowd tonight. They’re howling at everything.
— Funny sight gag with John’s cocaine mustache.
— John, about use of cocaine at the club: “Apparently, this is going on right under my nose.”
— Ha, nice twist at the end with John eating a powdered donut.
— Bill’s smarmy singing of “Happy Birthday” to Beethoven was brief but classic Bill Murray.
— That Clark Kent suit joke bombed completely.
— We’re getting another Point/Counterpoint.
— Heh, during Jane’s rant in Point/Counterpoint, you can tell a Roseanne Rosannadanna commentary is coming up because on the left side of the screen, you can see a part of Gilda’s unmistakable Rosannadanna wig.
— Dan’s rebuttal was freakin’ great, especially his remark about Jane’s “dried-out scuzz”.
— I must’ve seen this Rosannadanna commentary in an SNL highlight reel or “Best Of” special, because her whole funny spiel about spaghetti sauce stains in teeth sounds seems so familiar, and used to always be the first thing that came to my mind whenever I thought of this character.
— Rosannadanna’s commentary is now making the audience howl like crazy again, much like they were doing earlier this Update.
— HA at the nasty fruitcake Rosannadanna gave Jane.
STARS: ***½


ALCOHOLIC’S CHRISTMAS
to wino (host), liquor brand mascots are the true spirits of Christmas

 

— Interesting premise with the cast playing embodied versions of various liquors.
— Uh-oh, a musical number has suddenly broken out. Ugh.
— Overall, despite my perpetual dislike of unnecessary musical numbers in the middle of SNL sketches, this was a charming little holiday sketch, though I wanted to like this a little more than I did.
STARS: ***


BOB & RAY
Bob & Ray [real] simulate interview featuring a hard-luck holiday story

 

— This is my first time seeing Bob & Ray’s comedy act.
— Funny seeing Bob Elliott on SNL, knowing that a son (Chris) and granddaughter (Abby) of his would later go on to become cast members on the show.
— The comment about the Rockefeller tree was my only real laugh so far, and even that was more of a chuckle.
— Overall, I’m disappointed to say I found this only mildly funny at best. This started very slow, but got a little better as it went along. Considering the good things I’ve always heard about this comedy team, I feel bad for not liking this segment more. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that their material is usually better than this.
STARS: **½


ST. MICKEY’S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
St. Mickey’s Knights of Columbus has its Christmas banquet

     

— Last time they did this sketch with Buck Henry, I mentioned that when I was much younger, I saw a version of this sketch with Elliott Gould in an old SNL Christmas compilation special. Something I’ll always remember about my initial viewing of this Gould version of the sketch is that for the first minute of it, I mistakenly thought that was future cast member Randy Quaid in John Belushi’s role. I remember confusedly going “Wait, what season does this sketch come from??? How can 1985-86 season cast member Randy Quaid be appearing in a sketch with Dan, Garrett, Bill, etc.?”, before realizing that was John Belushi I was looking at. I know that mix-up sounds very odd considering Quaid and Belushi normally look nothing alike, but in this sketch, there was something about John’s glasses and the certain way he was moving his mouth while speaking that reminded younger me of how Quaid looked in certain bespectacled roles on SNL. For what it’s worth, I don’t see the resemblance at all anymore.
— So far, the same problem I had with the first Knights of Columbus sketch is applying to this second installment: the parody of lodge meetings is a little TOO realistic and feels too long.
— I like Jane and Gilda as the two cooks, even without having any lines.
— Hey, I’m actually liking this part with the club members not knowing words to various Christmas carols, except Elliott being the only one who knows the “Good King Wenceslas” lyrics.
— Funny how I mentioned a season 11 cast member (Randy Quaid) earlier in this sketch review, because now I’ve noticed whenever this sketch shows a wide shot of the club, there’s a bespectacled club member on the bottom of the screen that strongly resembles season 11-era Robert Downey Jr. (circled in the screencap below) It obviously can’t be him, though; he would’ve only been about 13 years old at this time.

— Overall, this sketch started out kinda dull as usual, but surprisingly gained some good momentum towards the end and got me to like it. Definitely an improvement over the first installment.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


DUBS TREES
Honker assumes control of a Christmas tree lot & makes a sale

     

— LOL at Bill getting caught peeing near the trees.
— Oh, is this another appearance from Bill’s Honker character?
— Wow, interesting role-reversal with Gilda playing a mom and Jane playing her child for once. It’s funny, because I was just thinking a few days ago how I would like to see a sketch where always-great-at-playing-moms Jane and always-great-at-playing-kids Gilda would switch roles.
— Yeah, this IS Honker. I always like this weird character.
— Jane’s actually pretty adorable in her portrayal of a child. Too bad it doesn’t seem she got cast in roles like this more often.
— Overall, good sketch.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Overall, a pretty decent Christmas episode. Nothing outstanding, and most of the sketches stayed in just the 3 to 3½-star range, but the overall show had an nice, enjoyable Christmas-y feel to it that I liked, no doubt partly helped by Elliott Gould’s always-warm presence. A welcome contrast to how the previous season’s Christmas episode (Miskel Spillman) strangely had almost NO Christmas-themed material.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
We enter 1979, with Michael Palin, our second Monty Python alum host in three episodes

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April 16, 1977 – Elliott Gould / The McGarrigle Sisters, Roslyn Kind (S2 E19)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Leonid Brezhnev (JOB) parlays NBC Olympic coverage into Tonight Show spot
 
— This feels like an odd choice for a cold opening, but maybe that’s because of Elliott Gould’s presence.
— John entering the scene by wiping off his pants when exiting the bathroom was pretty funny.
— I like John resorting to bomb threat gestures to persuade Elliott and Bill.
— John’s whole Johnny Carson request is great.
— Overall, a solid cold opening.
STARS: ***½

OPENING MONTAGE
— In the version of the episode I’m watching, the show has strangely gone back to being titled “Saturday Night” in the opening montage, despite the fact that it was titled “Saturday Night Live” in the preceding two episodes. What’s up with this?

MONOLOGUE
JOB, host, BIM demonstrate the new dance craze- The Castration Walk
   
— Will we be getting another song-and-dance monologue from Elliott?
— Pardo’s intro to the musical number is very interesting and is getting me excited.
— Haha, this “Castration Walk” number is hilarious. I’m glad they’re letting Elliott do an actual comedic song-and-dance number this time.
— Great lyric from Bill about how the mohel made him a “goil”.
— Overall, this was very fun and catchy.
STARS: ****½

THE CONEHEADS AT HOME
Merkon (GAM) arrives from Remulak to check on Coneheads’ progress
   
— Judging from this living room set, I think we’re in for another Coneheads edition.
— I was right!
— LOL at the visual of Conehead Garrett Morris.
— Garrett’s doing a better job in this role than I would have expected.
— Laraine’s delivery sure was awkward when she was explaining what pizza is.
— Very funny part with Dan and Jane scolding Laraine for having a senso-ring hidden under her bed, as if it were an adult sex toy.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (THE MCGARRIGLE SISTERS)

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BUDDY
men talk about men’s issues
 
— Dan’s over-emphasis of how every painting he’s displaying was done by a man is funny.
— Yet another stumbly performance from early-era Bill Murray. He kept tripping over his lines throughout his portion of this sketch.
— I’m loving the tasteless humor of John promoting a rape hotline that helps male rapists after they commit a rape. This portion of the sketch is hilarious.
— Overall, a well-written and mostly well-executed group sketch with an interesting gender-flip premise.
STARS: ****

WEEKEND UPDATE
BIM uses sexual metaphors while covering anti-pornography rally
at Howdy Doody’s funeral, LAN interviews his widow Debbie (GIR)
as a service to shut-ins, JOB explains the different types of weather
     
— Tonight, Jane seems to be over-relying on lots of ad-libs and exaggerated laughter after a joke gets a tepid audience reaction, which has been happening an awful lot so far.
— Bill’s suggestive descriptions in his anti-porn rally commentary are really funny.
— And now, Bill has an even funnier post-commentary bit about how he’s embarrassed to stand up in front of the camera due to the stimulating commentary he just did.
— Hmm, Jane is making Bill read several Update jokes. Interesting. Is this their way of trying Bill out as a potential future Update co-anchor? Though as we now know, they would end up giving Dan a season as Jane’s co-anchor before eventually giving that spot to Bill.
— Great Howdy Doody suicide joke.
— I like this interview with Gilda as Howdy’s wife, Debbie Doody. The visual is very funny, and Gilda’s giving an excellent physical performance.
— John’s commentary seems different from his usual Update stuff. Not too sure how I feel about tonight’s bit with him using a lamp to demonstrate different kinds of weather.
— Oh, wait, here’s John’s Update staple where he gradually gets intense and over-the-top. This always cracks me up.
— Ah, and there’s the debut of John’s “But nooooooo!” catchphrase.
— Great backwards tumble from John out of his chair.
— No mid-WU break tonight.
STARS: ***½

NICK SUMMERS
at a resort, lounge singer Nick “Summers” (BIM) works unresponsive crowd
   
— Bill in that get-up is making me wonder if we’re in for our very first Nick the Lounge Singer sketch.
— Bill: “My name is Nick Summers.” Yep, that confirms it. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— I like John and Gilda’s sour attitude.
— Funny line from Bill about Dan: ‘He’s an Indian and they don’t lie.  I love that.”
— After how much Bill has struggled as a cast member so far, it’s great to see him have his first successful character piece with this sketch. He’s doing so well here, and it’s a lot of fun watching him play this type of smarmy character with total ease.
STARS: ****

UNITED FACE BANK
Joan Crawford (JAC) solicits donations for the faceless
   
— Oh my god at Garrett’s transplanted white girl face. A hilarious sight.
— The fridge of faces was delightfully creepy.
— I get the feeling this is a parody of a real Joan Crawford ad from the time, but I was still able to find this sketch pretty funny and I liked the oddball premise.
STARS: ***½

SPORT VIOLENCE
by Gary Weis- “America the Beautiful” plays over sports fight footage
 
— This feels like a typical Gary Weis film, but I’m always entertained by watching fights break out during sports games.
— Okay, the fight clips are starting to get old now, and this film is just coming off pointless. And besides, didn’t Weis already do a film like this, where it was another Ray Charles song being juxtaposed with clips of rowdy crowd members at sports games yelling and cheering?
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (THE MCGARRIGLE SISTERS)

SIDE NOTE: After the preceding musical performance has ended and before the following sketch has begun, a screen briefly showed up saying “SAT NITE: Aren’t You Glad You’re Not Watching Lloyd Dobyns Right Now?” From what I understand, Lloyd Dobyns hosted a show that aired in SNL’s slot whenever SNL was on break during their early seasons. But this brief screen gag still seemed like a random, strange bit for SNL to do.

24 HOUR BANK
automated teller machine subjects (BIM) to pointless security tests
     
— I like the subtle joke of how Mesopotamia keeps randomly showing up as the last option in all the multiple choice questions.
— This sketch kinda feels ahead of its time. The excessive, ridiculous confirmation tests Bill and Garrett are subjected to are not too far removed from the ridiculous “prove you’re not a robot”-type online Captchas we have to put up with nowadays.
— I’m really enjoying the fast-paced increasing silliness of the tests.
— Haha, the money being replaced by headcheese was a funny way to end this.
STARS: ****

NATURAL CAUSES RESTAURANT
restaurant of Jason & Sunset serves animals that died of natural causes
 
— Hey, it’s the hippie characters that Dan and Laraine played in the Peter Boyle episode from season 1.
— Some decent laughs from the odd ways that the animals in the menu are said to have died.
— Hmm, as Dan and Laraine are recalling an incident where a cow fell from the sky, it sounds like you can hear a plane flying nearby. Are we in for another “drop the cow” ending?
— Yep, and there’s the cow-drop. Funny ending as always.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (ROSLYN KIND)

CLOWN DOLL
a man learns his wife is having an affair with a toy clown
   
— The silliness of seeing a man in a wild, violent physical fight with a tiny puppet is pretty funny.
— My only complaint is the ending. Why was there no punchline? The man just gets back together with his cheating wife, and… The End?
STARS: ***

PILSON’S FEEDBAG DINNERS
— Rerun of a Chevy Chase commercial. It feels a little weird to see Chevy again after I’ve gotten so used to the show without him in the second half of this season.

GOODNIGHTS
DAA informs viewers that he needs tanks for his motorcycle
   
— We get some funny antics with the cast trying to kill time. Dan is especially funny desperately asking viewers for tanks that his motorcycle needs.
— John declares Elliott the best host they’ve ever had.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very strong Elliott Gould episode, and a bit of an improvement over the second episode he hosted back in season 1. So many solid sketches tonight, several of which had interesting, creative, and fun premises. And aside from the Gary Weis film (seriously, when does this guy’s tenure as an SNL filmmaker officially end?), none of the segments in this episode fell flat; everything worked.
— However, is it just me or did it feel like Elliott didn’t do much in this episode? I’m having a hard time remembering a lot of what he did. It feels like he spent most of the second half of the show just intro-ing musical guests and short films.

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Julian Bond):
— a slight step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Eric Idle

Posted on

May 29, 1976 – Elliott Gould / Leon Redbone, Harlan Collins and Joyce Everson (S1 E22)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
at a wax museum, boorish (CHC) is slapped by supposed wax figure (GIR)
   
— Are Jane and Neil Levy(?) dressed in the Lord and Lady Douchebag costumes from four years later? (first screencap above)
— No idea why Chevy blew a whistle while flashing the statues, but it made me laugh.
— I’m gonna guess this will end with Chevy getting slapped after groping one of the statues, which will lead into his traditional fall.
— Yep, I was right, though there were actually a few back-and-forth slaps before the slap that led to the pratfall.
STARS: ***

MONOLOGUE
host sings “Anything Goes”
 
— A funny little touch with Elliott handing a banana to an audience member while making his entrance.
— Another Gould monologue that immediately goes into a song with no set-up. Are ALL his monologues like this?
— Why is his first name spelled with only one ‘t’ on his shirt? In the opening credits of both this and Gould’s preceding episode (not to mention everywhere else I’ve seen his name written), his first name is spelled with two ‘t’s.
— Despite my strong dislike for musical monologues, especially ones that are just straight songs with no comedic lyrics, there’s something about both of Elliott’s monologues this season that are likable; most likely due to his fun performance in them.
STARS: ***

ACADEMY OF BETTER CAREERS
— rerun

CARD GAME
fake European poker player (CHC) & translator (host) dupe gambler (DAA)
 
— Are Chevy and Elliott playing an old-timey version of their Interior Demolitionist characters?
— Wait, never mind.
— Pretty fun sketch so far.
— I like the contrast between Dan’s obliviousness and Garrett’s bewildered reactions, especially Garrett’s line to Dan just now: “He is busting your chops!”
— Funny ending with Chevy casually speaking English before leaving.
STARS: ***½

NATIONAL UVULA ASSOCIATION
doctor (CHC) tells Babs (GIR) that her uvula is on the fritz

— This is clearly in the same vein as the National Pancreas Association sketch, but I’m actually liking this one a lot more. I think it’s because “uvula” is an inherently funnier word than “pancreas”. Plus, there’s something about the combination of “uvula” and Gilda’s character being named Babs.
— This is also helped by a fun silly vibe in everyone’s performance, especially Chevy’s non-commitment in making a convincing doctor.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (LEON REDBONE)

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE
NBC executive (host) boards the Enterprise to cancel the show
     
— I’ve always heard about this sketch. It’s widely considered a classic, so I’m eager to finally see it for myself.
— And so begins the long-running tradition of Akira Yoshimura playing Sulu in SNL’s Star Trek parodies.
— Interesting how John’s not really going for the usual stereotypical Captain Kirk impression (you know the one), but is doing his own take.
— Chevy’s facial reaction to his Spock ears being yanked off was great.
— Love how they’re taking the set apart while the Star Trek actors are desperately trying to stay in character and keep the show going.
— Hilarious sudden emotional outburst from Chevy.
— Overall, such a perfect, well-done sketch. Definitely deserving of it’s highly-regarded status.
STARS: *****

MUPPETS POSTCARD
GIR reads a postcard from the Muppets sent from England

— Eh……
STARS: N/A

WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 1
   
— Chevy’s opening joke about Fidel Castro “pulling out of Angola” got a huge reaction from the audience just now.
— Whoa, wait, wait, wait… Was that woman’s nipple actually visible before Chevy quickly jumped out of his seat and censored it with his hand??? Heh, how in the world did NBC let SNL get away with showing that?
— Who were those two people in the picture that Chevy just said “Nobody really cares anymore” about? (third screencap above)
— A short first half of tonight’s Update.

VIBRAMATIC
the Vibramatic personal massager can also be used as a kitchen tool
 
— Very funny idea, and I love the fast-paced energy of this.
— There’s the Bass-o-Matic background behind Dan once again.
— I liked the little joke of Dan not being able to cut through the potato while he was touting how the knife is supposedly easy to cut with.
STARS: ****

WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 2
old film footage documents athletes’ preparation for Montreal Olympics
(JAC) defends Bicentennial commercialism while CHC makes faces at her
Emily Litella prepares to help CHC repeat the “flop” story
   
— Chevy just named the fake reporter he’s doing the voice for as “correspondent Jacqueline Carlin”. Yeah, nice way to work your girlfriend’s name into the show, Chev.
— Heh, and now, the guest commentator Jane Curtin is playing is named Audrey Peart Dickman, which is the name of one of the staff members on the show. Lots of inside jokes with fictional names used for Update correspondents lately, between “Duncan Ebersol” in the preceding episode and the two aforementioned examples tonight.
— The return of the ‘Chevy makes goofy faces behind a correspondent’s back’ routine. Meh.
— I will say, though, that I kinda like how Chevy’s always able to quickly go back to a straight face briefly whenever the correspondent is about to look at him.
— Our newest variation of the running “News for (insert group here)” gag is “News for Fans of Emily Litella”.
— As sick as I’ve become of Emily Litella, this is actually pretty funny and is making good use of her routine.  It also helps that we haven’t seen her in a few episodes.
— I also like how Litella called Chevy “Cheddar”, as a callback to an earlier commentary she did where she thought Chevy’s full name was “Cheddar Cheese”.
STARS (FOR BOTH WEEKEND UPDATE HALVES): ***

SHIRLEY TEMPLE
ambassador Shirley Temple Black (LAN) asks Ghanians to say “hi, neighbor”
 
— Is this supposed to be Shirley Temple or just a random old-timey little girl?
— Okay, she started singing just now. Yeah, this is Shirley Temple, alright.
— While this is a pretty dead-on take-off of Shirley Temple films, I’m not really enjoying this much.
— The part with them tap-dancing a code to the radio is pretty fun, at least.
STARS: **

UNCLE CHARLIE’S SCHOOL
by Gary Weis- host & kids are taught old acts
 
— Ugh, do we REALLY need another segment with singing, immediately after the preceding Shirley Temple sketch?
— Ugh, Broadway-style showtunes – always one of my least favorite things to sit through.
— Overall, a typical Gary Weis film that left me bored out of my mind.
— I was hoping at first that Elliott’s presence would save this, but he ended up virtually doing nothing here.
STARS: *

THE HONEYMOONERS
Bee Ralph (JOB) discovers Bee Alice (GIR) is pregnant
   
— Our second sketch of the night parodying a classic TV show. I can tell this one is going to be fun.
— The opening credits sequence is nice.
— John’s doing another great impression.
— John’s extended reaction to the knitting needles being stuck in his behind is pretty hilarious.
— Referring to bee babies as “drones”, “workers”, “queens” – that’s the same joke from the Bee Hospital sketch from the premiere. Not sure how I feel about them repeating that joke, considering I didn’t care for Bee Hospital.
— Funny twist with Alice revealing Norton’s the father of her baby.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (LEON REDBONE)

MIDDLE AMERICAN VAN LINES
— rerun

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (HARLAN COLLINS AND JOYCE EVERSON)

GOODNIGHTS
host & cast sing “Happy Trails” for the summer
 
— Elliott informs us that the show is going on a little hiatus before returning in July(!) with host… uh… um… well, she deserves a special mention at the end of my review.
— A nice little western-themed farewell song with the whole cast dressed as cowgirls.
— I thought the song would eventually lead into the regular goodnights music, but interestingly, it seems to have replaced the goodnights music tonight.

_______________________________

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty good episode as a whole, though there was a big drop-off after Weekend Update, and I’m not crazy about how the last 10-15 minutes strangely consisted of just a musical guest performance, a repeat fake ad, and ANOTHER musical guest performance. Tonight’s sketches were also a little too heavy on the singing. However, this episode featured a good amount of fun material and two enjoyable parodies of classic TV shows (both of which were led by a strong John Belushi performance).
— I’m probably looking too much into it, but I wonder if the reason they padded out the homestretch of this episode with so much non-sketch content was because the cast and writers were possibly overworked from doing four straight weeks of live episodes. Isn’t this the episode that led to Lorne vowing never again to do four consecutive live shows (until eventually breaking that vow decades later in 2008), due to how exhausted it left everyone on the show?

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

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
(gulp!) LOUISE. LASSER.

Posted on

January 10, 1976 – Elliott Gould / Anne Murray (S1 E9)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
a chain reaction in The Dead String Quartet causes cellist (CHC) to fall
   
— The inactive, silent beginning of this with the dead quartet just sitting there is giving me a big laugh, and it’s also funny hearing the audience reaction during it.
— Oh, that was absolutely great just now, with the very slow chain reaction of each quartet member tipping to the side while “playing” a slight musical note, culminating in Chevy doing a particularly funny fall at the end.
— Overall, that was brilliant. My favorite cold opening of the season so far.
STARS: ****½

OPENING MONTAGE
— “New talent Franken and Davis”. It looks like this episode is when those two start doing their recurring comedy segment.

MONOLOGUE
host sings “Let Yourself Go” & “Crazy Rhythm” before tap-dancing
GIR tells host that she had a wonderful time with him last night
 
— Kind of a weird beginning to this, but he’s carrying himself well and showing interesting stage presence right out of the gate.
— I guess this counts as SNL’s very first instance of what’s usually my least favorite monologue trope: the host singing and dancing. Since it was a new thing for monologues back at this time, I’ll go easy on this.
— Despite the fact that this is a non-comedic performance, Elliott’s doing a great job and is actually making me get into this song. The studio audience is loving it too. Oh, and now he’s tap-dancing? Impressive.
— Gilda’s back-and-forth with Elliott about “last night” took this into a different direction, and was charming like most sketches with Gilda playing herself are. However, I kept expecting some kind of twist during their conversation, but then it just ended.
STARS: ***

TRY-HARD 1-11
— rerun

INTERIOR DEMOLITIONISTS
interior demolitionists (host) & (CHC) wreck the home of (JAC) & (DAA)
 
— I’m loving this random premise.
— This got even funnier just now with the handheld wrecking ball used to destroy the TV.
— Loved them cutting down the chandelier just to break the table under it.
— Strange when the couch barely moved when it “exploded”. Was there a special effects failure there?
— Dan coming downstairs and reacting angrily to all the mess is great.
— Was it intentional for the vase NOT to break when Jane threw it at the wall?
STARS: ****

GODFATHER THERAPY
support group members Vito Corleone (JOB) & Sherry discuss their troubles
 
— Oh, THIS, the “Vito, you’re blocking” sketch. I’m happy to finally get to see it, after hearing great things about it for years.
— Ah, now Laraine’s Sherry character has the familiar blonde wig that she was missing in her first appearance earlier this season.
— John is doing a fantastic Godfather impression, and his performance is cracking me up a lot. This is another sketch that’s proving to me that he had a lot more range than just the wild performances I remembered most from him.
— Great line just now with the ASPCA going after Vito for “this horse thing”.
— The non-verbal orange-peel-in-the-mouth enactment was insane and very funny.
— Laraine’s doing an excellent job with her whole long spiel.
— Overall, this sketch definitely lived up to all of the hype.
STARS: *****

NEW SHIMMER
new Shimmer can be used as both a floor wax & a dessert topping
 
— Ah, and here’s another well-known piece from this era that I’ve never seen for myself until now.
— This is already very funny, with Dan and Gilda’s bickering at the beginning.
— Interesting seeing Chevy play a commercial pitchman.
— All-in-all, a very funny and cute ad.
STARS: ****½

PLAY MISTY FOR ME
by Gary Weis- lounge pianists perform interpretations
 
— Another serious, non-comedic Gary Weis film. This isn’t having anywhere near the same effect on me that his touching “Homeward Bound” short had, but I like the structure of this one, with the back-and-forth cutaways to different performances of the same song.
STARS: ***

GILDA & ELLIOTT
GIR tells host that she meant everything she said to him last night

— Ah, a continuation of the storyline from the monologue. Now I see why the monologue ended so abruptly when I expected there to be a twist.
— This was too short to give a rating to, as it just segued into introducing the musical guest performance, but I always like when SNL does a running storyline throughout an episode.
STARS: N/A

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 1
CHC again reaches Angelo’s Pizza during attempt to reach Angola
LAN reports from Cape Canaveral on attempt to dump nerve gas into space
 
— “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not” got absolutely no audience reaction just now.
— The Angola/Angelo’s Pizza bit from the last Update wasn’t really necessary to repeat a second time.
— The gradual explosion of the deadly gas-loaded rocket behind Laraine had a very slow but hilarious build-up.

JAMITOL

— Rerun. Weird that they would re-air this in the middle of Update, since this ad stars Chevy as a character.

WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 2
CHC & wife MOD have a domestic squabble at the newsdesk
as a safety measure, CHC volunteers to test marijuana sent in by viewers
a look at some early designs of the new NBC network logo
as an aid to foreigners, CHC repeats the top story in a foreign language
 
— Ah, the Jamitol storyline is continuing into Update! Chevy and Michael’s argument at the Update desk was funny. Interesting how they played it off like they were actually playing themselves in the commercial.
— Yet another “toyboat” ad-lib when Chevy flubs a joke.
— Good bit with Chevy informing viewers to mail any “killer dope” to his home address.
— Hmm, him doing a “News for the Foreigners” bit. So I take it they finally realized how much they were overusing the “News for the Hard of Hearing” bit. Thank god, because MAN was I getting tired of seeing that in every Update.
STARS (FOR BOTH WEEKEND UPDATE HALVES): ***

THE KILLER BEES
Killer Bees take (GIR) & (CHC) hostage in an attempt to get pollen
LOM finds reason for poor camera work- drunk director Dave Wilson [real]
GIR introduces host to her mother (Paula Kahn)
     
— The random Sandy Duncan ad on the radio gave me a good laugh.
— I’m liking this new variation of the Bees running gag.
— The right end of the “The Killer Bees” logo looked like it was cut off.
— Haha, this is great, with them dropping character and breaking the fourth wall regarding the camera staying on the wrong shot.
— Ah, we have Lorne Michaels’ very first on-camera appearance.
— As the camera’s following Lorne backstage while the cast is talking off-camera about Lorne losing his temper, I got an unintentional big laugh just now from whoever’s voice that was (I think Chevy) mistakenly saying “I’ve seen Elliott mad, but… uh, I mean, Lorne, not Elliott…”
— This is also, I believe, SNL’s very first instance of showing someone walking through the halls backstage.
— Lorne arriving in the control room and finding a drunk Dave Wilson is hilarious! Man, I’m loving this.
— I love John’s mock-dramatic “He’s in there… firing… his own father” speech.
— Right now, this segued back into the Gilda & Elliott storyline, which is pretty funny, though I feel it’s slowing down the great momentum of where this sketch had been going before then.
— I’m assuming that’s just an actress and not Gilda’s real mom.
— Man, this was one jam-packed sketch.
STARS: ****

A FILM BY ALBERT BROOKS
(James L. Brooks) & other audience researchers study Albert Brooks [real]
   
— This is going to be his last SNL short, eh? I’ve actually enjoyed his work this season, aside from whatever that “Sick in Bed” short was supposed to be.
— The visual quality of this is noticeably a lot better than most of his other shorts.
— No big laughs so far, but I’m enjoying this.
— His frustration with the old couple viewing him via satellite is funny.
— Great part with that one guy vehemently going on to Albert about how he hates him.
— If this really was Albert’s last short, he left on a pretty good note. Overall, he added a unique voice to these early SNL episodes.
STARS: ***

GILDA & ELLIOTT
GIR asks host to consider the possibility of marriage

— The “Mr. Gilda Radner” line was pretty funny.
— Another charming continuation of the storyline.
STARS: ***

JIM HENSON’S MUPPETS
affair of Scred & Peuta is jeopardized when Ploobis becomes suspicious

— Neither this nor the preceding episode’s Muppets segment opened with the usual intro sequence. I wonder if it’s because Jim Henson and/or SNL have become aware that a lot of people have been hating these sketches.
— Yet ANOTHER bad ending punchline from The Mighty Favog.
— Overall, this installment wasn’t exactly horrible, but I still didn’t like it at all. I’ve gone easy on the first few Muppets sketches this season, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until I’d start understanding why everybody hated them. The Richard Pryor episode is when I officially reached that point. And to think, I still have the rest of the season to put up with this! Why does Albert Brooks have to leave mid-season, but not THESE guys?
STARS: *½

BIRTHRIGHT
doctors (DAA) & (host) explain their preferred birth methods
 
— Hmm, the set-up of this is going on so long, I can’t predict where this is headed.
— Okay, after Dan’s calm, conventional birthing technique, I can predict what the joke will be: Elliott’s technique will be chaotic and loud.
— Yep, I was right. Even though I saw it coming, it was still pretty funny.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

FRANKEN AND DAVIS
ALF & TOD present alternate society in which Indians stereotype whites
 
— Nice to see them actually appearing, and not doing another Pong voice-over bit again.
— The ‘alternate universe’ in which Indians won instead of the whites is an interesting concept.
— The racist white team names are all very funny.
— Overall, a good segment, and knowing that “the comedy team of Franken and Davis” goes on to become a recurring feature on SNL this era, this first appearance was a nice way to introduce them to viewers.
STARS: ***

GOODNIGHTS
at closing, a priest (MOD) marries GIR & host
 
— Oh, wow, this sudden “wedding” came out of nowhere and is a funny way to end the show. I like that the Gilda/Elliott storyline built up to this.
— Dave Wilson’s name being crossed out during the scrolling credits is a great reference to his “firing” earlier.

_______________________________

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very solid episode. The first half was especially strong, featuring some all-time well-remembered pieces like Godfather Therapy, Shimmer, and The Dead String Quartet. There was also a great post-WU Killer Bees sketch that had a fantastic meta turn midway through.
— The impressive long streak of solid shows since episode 4 stays alive.
— The sketches must’ve been longer than what we’ve usually been seeing this season, since there was noticeably a much smaller amount of segments tonight compared to the last few episodes.
— Elliott was a fun and loose host, and the bits with him and Gilda was a nice running storyline that escalated humorously. I can definitely see why he went on to become a frequent host of this era. I can’t recall when his next hosting stint is, but knowing how things were done on SNL back in these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s later this same season. As a side note, I wonder why getting someone to host multiple times in one season eventually fell by the wayside sometime in the 80s. It would be fun if they still continued that to this day.

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

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Another future five-timer makes their hosting debut: Buck Henry