Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
SNL audience member Honker (BIM) thinks he’s at a Yankee game
— Is this Bill’s Honker character making his debut?
— It indeed seems to be.
— Boy, the audience member to Bill’s right looks uncomfortable as HELL.
— A very random way to start the show, but I’m liking this. Boy, do I miss these days when you never could guess what kind of random cold opening SNL would start with.
— Loved Bill’s sudden deadpan realization that “this isn’t a Yankee game.”
— Overall, a strange but funny opening. Bill was freakin’ hilarious as this weird character.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— I love the fast-paced, energetic way the theme music is being played tonight.
— Tonight’s montage has added a new shot that wasn’t in the season premiere’s montage, showing a group of construction workers.
— Oh, wait, I think the shot of “construction workers” was actually musical guest Devo.
MONOLOGUE
after impersonating Elvis, host recalls a favorite childhood gag
— Fred Willard making his entrance in an Elvis outfit as the band suddenly starts playing an Elvis beat… this is gonna be an interesting monologue.
— I’m not sure if this Elvis musical performance of Fred’s is even intended to be funny. I hope this song isn’t going to be the whole monologue.
— Ha, I liked the “It’s only me!” reveal.
— Thankfully, his monologue has gone into a different direction from the Elvis beginning. Fred is now doing well here and is getting good laughs out of me.
STARS: ***½
TWO GUYS WHO ARE LAWYERS
get low-cost legal aid from Two Guys Who Are Lawyers (DAA) & (host)
— Dan’s pitchman delivery is different than usual. Instead of doing the usual manic fast-paced talk, he’s going more for a comically stiff delivery that’s an accurate mockery of the type of delivery in cheap local ads.
— LOL, I’m enjoying this sketch’s concept.
— Dan and Fred are a funny team in this.
— Haha at one of the testimonials being Gilda as Patricia Hearst.
STARS: ***½
STUNT MAN
years of dangerous feats catch up with aging stuntman Cliff Preston (JOB)
— Man, Garrett’s delivery is even sloppier than usual in all his sketches so far tonight.
— The audience applauds Belushi’s entrance for some reason. Then again, he IS a breakout movie star at this point of his career.
— Haha, I like the detail of John’s character’s stunt mattress having his name on it.
— Kind of a one-note premise that I’m not crazy about. John is pulling it off fairly well, though.
— LOL at John’s character missing the stunt mattress and dying.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW
— Oh, I see they’re still continuing these mini Update previews this season. I had hoped they ditched that after season 3. I don’t like having to include these segments in my reviews, because they’re so short and pointless.
WEEKEND UPDATE
Celebrity Corner- BIM interviews Lucille Ball (GIR) & husband Gary (ALZ)
DAA is offended by football cheerleaders’ revealing uniforms
— I liked the opening “sponsored by Bleu Balls” bit.
— Bill’s still using his smarmy “now get outta here, ya knuckleheads”-type delivery from his Update debut in the previous week’s season premiere. Thank god, because I find that delivery so refreshing for Update. I’m kinda dreading seeing him eventually ditch that and go for a plain, straight, professional delivery.
— We get the debut of “Bill Murray’s Celebrity Corner”, which I know goes on to become a recurring segment.
— Gilda’s raspy voice as an aging Lucille Ball is great. I especially liked her raspy attempt at doing the trademark “Lucy cry”.
— Funny comment from Gilda’s Lucille Ball about her and Rose Marie having a conversation about time ravaging their faces.
— Dan makes his first appearance on Update since being removed as an anchorperson to become a “station manager”.
— I’m loving Dan’s overly-stern, fast-paced delivery while chiding football cheerleaders’ “lewd” attire.
— LOL, great line from Dan concerning the “visible bumps surrounding the areolas” under the cheerleaders’ uniforms.
— Dan’s commentary was great overall.
STARS: ***½
FIVE A.M.
phone talk of (LAN) & ex-boyfriend spurs one-night stand (host) to leave
— Laraine on her ex-boyfriend: “We had conflicting careers: I worked and he didn’t.”
— This seems to be a performance piece for Laraine.
— Loved the twist with Fred turning out to be a pizza deliveryman.
— Overall, a strong, more subtle sketch with good realistic acting, which seems to have become Laraine’s new niche since the last quarter of season 3.
STARS: ****
ON THE SPOT
school lunch provider Irwin Mainway rebuts nutrition worries
— Ah, a different use of Irvin Mainway.
— Dan’s hair looks the most 70s I’ve ever seen it, in both this and the earlier Two Guys Who Are Lawyers commercial.
— A lot of huge laughs from the description of Mainway providing kids with a lunch consisting of pureed insects, ravioli stuffed with chalk, and dog milk.
— Overall, another very funny Irvin Mainway sketch, even if I prefer his past “Consumer Probe” sketches a little more.
STARS: ****
MR. BILL GOES TO NEW YORK
by Walter Williams- tourism & torture
— Nice change of pace having Mr. Bill in the city.
— I liked the “clean up after your dog” bit regarding Spot’s severed body parts.
— Overall, this was quite short but still hilarious.
STARS: ****
BOBBI FARBER
via phone, Bobbi Farber tells mother she wants to change her kids’ names
— Hey, it’s the Farbers… well, just Gilda’s character so far, anyway.
— The Farbers have kids? I don’t remember them being mentioned in any of the previous Farber sketches.
— Some very good realism in Gilda’s performance as she’s carrying on a phone conversation while making a meal.
— Gilda’s excessive “alright”s when about to hang up the phone is making me laugh.
— Wait, that’s the whole sketch??? Why no Belushi as Larry Farber this time?
— Despite my surprise when this sketch ended, this was another well-done performance piece tonight, this time showcasing Gilda.
STARS: ***½
CROSSROADS
God (DOP) tells (JOB) to sacrifice son (BIM) in test of faith
— Is “Crossroads” the same church show they did in that weird sketch with Chevy from Chevy’s season 3 episode?
— I like the bluntness of Fred as the preacher saying “I find myself depressed as hell”.
— Bill, while eating: “Great sparrow, mom.”
— Haha, Don Pardo as the voice of God. Perfect casting.
— Fred’s constant asides about his personal life problems, and his attempts to tie that back into the story he’s presenting is pretty funny.
— Just now, John said the name “Shlomo” very strangely and drawn-out, which made Bill break character and laugh. (screencap below)
— Funny ending with God Pardo saying “Wait, don’t do it!” too late right after John has killed Bill.
STARS: ***½
SCOTCH BOUTIQUE
traffic is low at the Scotch Boutique adhesive tape specialty store
— Oh, it’s the Scotch Boutique sketch I always heard good things about. I’m glad to finally get to see this.
— Bill and Garrett’s brief visit was very funny.
— Overall, not as comedic as I was expecting, but this was such a great, well-written, and well-performed piece that, like several other sketches tonight, relied on subtle performances. Everybody did a great job with this.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A consistently solid episode that actually got even better after Update. The post-Update half of this episode was a haven of low-key, realistic pieces that showed how well-rounded the original cast was; the type of sketches that would seem foreign to viewers nowadays if modern-day SNL attempted it.
— Fred Willard was as good a host as expected, and he did very well as the lead in certain sketches like Crossroads and Scotch Boutique.
— I liked this episode so much, I’ll even praise the musical performances. I rarely mention musical guests in my reviews, but boy, were Devo’s two performances fascinating to watch.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (The Rolling Stones):
— a moderate step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Frank Zappa. I’m morbidly looking forward to seeing why he’s considered one of the more infamous hosts of this era.