Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
REFORM PARTY HEADQUARTERS
Pat Buchanan (CHP) & Donald Trump (DAH) vie to be Reform Party candidate
— A funny return of Cheri’s Ross Perot impression, which we haven’t seen in a few seasons.
— Solid Pat Buchanan impression from Parnell.
— Darrell’s Donald Trump impression makes its debut, interestingly in a sketch with Trump in 1999 vying to be the presidential nominee for the reform party.
— Wow, in its initial appearance, Darrell’s Trump impression sounds NOTHING like the version we would later become familiar with seeing Darrell do. In tonight’s appearance, Darrell seems to be going for the type of New York mobster wiseguy voice that Phil Hartman used to do when playing Trump back in the day. I’m guessing that’s how the real Trump’s voice sounded back in the 80s and 90s.
— Good bit with Buchanan donning a fake Hitler mustache.
— Very funny turn with Will’s Jesse Ventura crashing the meeting.
— An amusing blooper(?) with the wig falling off of the dummy of Parnell’s Buchanan when Will’s Ventura is repeatedly slamming it against the table.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— Same montage from the preceding season.
— A “25” has been added to the SNL logo, to commemorate the show’s 25th anniversary.
— Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz have all been promoted from featured players to repertory players.
— Jimmy Fallon and Chris Kattan have both changed their respective photo from the preceding season’s opening montage. (comparisons below, with the first and third screencap being from the preceding season’s montage, and the second and fourth screencap being from this season’s montage)
— No new cast members tonight. We will soon get one a few episodes from now.
MONOLOGUE
for host, a typical day in NYC involves watching cheesy TV reruns nonstop
— A nice very extended applause from the audience early on in this.
— Some pretty good laughs from Jerry Seinfeld’s details of his mundane daily schedule, which mostly involves watching questionable TV reruns like Wings.
— A good laugh from the bit about a Spanish show called Aeropuerto, which Jerry says is a little like Wings.
— At the end, Jerry adds in a funny quick casual “Plus, I dated a couple of married women”, which is presumably referencing a controversy he was recently in.
— Overall, a pretty good stand-up monologue, but felt below Jerry’s standards, especially after his terrific season 17 monologue, which is a favorite of mine.
STARS: ***½
DILLON/EDWARDS INVESTMENTS
slow-to-get-online investment firm got stuck with clownpenis.fart domain
— As no surprise, Parnell is great at selling the seriousness of this ad so far.
— A priceless reveal of the ridiculous URL that the investment company was stuck with, made even funnier by how it’s being played so straight in such a serious ad like this.
— A lot of laughs from the female voice-over repeatedly saying clownpenis.fart in a soft, professional voice.
— A nice short length to this overall perfect commercial.
STARS: *****
MORNING LATTE
Cass’ husband Eli (CHP) & fruit-meat diet doctor (host)
— Interesting how we finally get to see Cheri’s character’s husband, Eli, after he’s been mentioned in the previous Morning Latte sketches.
— Cheri’s character, on her husband: “That’s my little Jew!”
— Will’s cracking me up with his repeated sayings of “What a weirdo!” regarding the Sixth Sense boy.
— A very funny deadpan from a barely-verbal Parnell as Eli whenever the camera cuts to him.
— Some good dark humor with the cutaway to Eli having a seizure on the floor.
STARS: ***½
ST. MONICA
Mary Katherine Gallagher falls for Jewish basketball star (host)
— This sketch is being done to promote the release of the Mary Katherine Gallagher movie Superstar, much like how the preceding year’s season premiere had a Roxbury Guys sketch to promote the release of their movie A Night At the Roxbury. And much like the Roxbury Guys after that particular sketch, Mary Katherine Gallagher ends up being retired after tonight’s sketch, not counting a brief musical piece she performs with the SNL Band in Molly’s final episode as a cast member, nor any times the character has been temporarily brought back in a Molly Shannon-hosted episode or in any anniversary specials.
— Very funny visual of a jewfro-and-yarmulke-wearing Jerry as “the Jewish Michael Jordan”.
— Tim’s tongue-clicking sounds as the Ethiopian student are cracking me up.
— Did Molly injure her foot sometime before the show? One of the shoes she’s wearing in this sketch seems to be some kind of healing shoe, which doesn’t match the normal shoe on her other foot. (screencap below)
— Funny line about a “slutty shiksa”.
— Overall, while this had some moments, this sketch as a whole didn’t do much for me. This sketch had a vibe of Mary Katherine Gallagher being past her prime.
— While Mary Katherine Gallagher’s overall run on SNL ended on a weak note tonight, I gotta say, I’m pleasantly surprised by how tolerant I’ve been of most of her sketches in these reviews of mine (I’m sure some of you readers have also been surprised by that). I entered this SNL era expecting to get very sick of Mary Katherine Gallagher fast, but aside from a few clunkers, I surprisingly ended up finding her sketches to be harmless enough, have a bit of a charm, and have occasional strong moments, particularly in the Black Angels installment from season 24’s Gwyneth Paltrow episode. All of these things I’ve just said will basically be repeated when I cover the Spartan Cheerleaders’ final sketch later this season, though the Cheerleaders are more hit-and-miss for me than MKG is.
STARS: **
JAVIS HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
trust Javis Home Security Systems to keep out freaks like diaperer (WIF)
— A fantastic and hilarious sudden twist in what we’re initially led to believe is a tender diaper commercial. Ana’s “Who the hell are you?!?” and Will’s subsequent panicked dive out the window slayed me, as did the final reveal of this being an ad for a home security system. A very well-done piece.
STARS: ****½
ACTION 8 NEWS WATCH
anchors (host) & (ANG) deliver alarmist teases
— Some good laughs so far with the news anchors’ constant teases of urgent news that we’re told we have to wait to the end of the program to find out the important details of.
— I’m now a few minutes later into this sketch and, while the premise still remains funny, it’s too one-note. There needs to be an escalation to the gag.
— I love the fast-speaking bit with Will.
STARS: ***
WEEKEND UPDATE
The Millennium- sharks were unaffected by the past 1000 years of history
host & Jerry Seinfeld (JIF) do a Point-Counterpoint about The Gap
— An interesting new camera angle on the Weekend Update set at the very beginning of tonight’s Update as the camera is panning over to Colin.
— The debut of a recurring Update segment, The Millennium, which we’ll be occasionally seeing until the arrival of the year 2000.
— An overall funny random Millennium segment about sharks, made even funnier by Parnell’s always-strong voice-over work.
— Something about Colin’s delivery seems more monotone in tonight’s season premiere than it did the last two seasons. He sounds fairly bored tonight. If this is going to be the new direction that his anchorman approach is taking this season, then oof. Only one year, folks, until we get a much-needed change in Update anchors.
— Ah, the return of Point/Counterpoint.
— Fun premise of Jerry Seinfeld doing a Point/Counterpoint against himself, played by Jimmy, in the vein of the memorable Point/Counterpoints with two Dennis Millers debating against themselves.
— Geez, right at the start of this commentary, Jimmy already looks like he’s going to bust out laughing.
— A nod to a classic SNL catchphrase, as Jerry calls Jimmy’s Seinfeld an ignorant slut.
— Jerry is noticeably starting to do an exaggerated version his own voice. Jimmy would later go on to say in an interview that Jerry let him know beforehand that he would exaggerate his own voice in this Update commentary to match Jimmy’s over-the-top impression of him. Jimmy must’ve taken notes from this generous move of Jerry’s, as Jimmy would later do the same thing in a sketch from his first hosting stint in 2011, where he plays himself speaking to his mirror reflection, who is played by Andy Samberg. Andy’s Jimmy Fallon impression in that sketch isn’t very accurate, but Jimmy goes along with it and makes it work by exaggerating his own voice to match Andy’s take on him.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Thursday’s Child”
OZ
host brings Seinfeld sensibilities to a maximum security prison
— A fantastic premise of Jerry’s punishment after the Seinfeld finale being to get transferred to the prison in the series Oz.
— Feels kinda weird seeing J.K. Simmons in this. He’s the only Oz actor in this that I recognize.
— Speaking of J.K. Simmons, there’s something interesting about him being in this: this is the first live regular SNL episode after SNL’s 25th Anniversary Special from the preceding week. When SNL later has their next anniversary special in 2015, guess who ends up hosting the final live regular episode before the special? J.K. Simmons. In other words, J.K. Simmons has appeared in both the first AND last live episode between SNL’s last two anniversary specials. Odd coincidence.
— J.K. Simmons: “You a Hebrew?” Jerry: “Yeah, but people don’t seem to have a problem with it on a national level.”
— This film is brilliant. I love how they’re doing a hybrid of Seinfeld cliches and what I’m assuming are typical Oz scenes (I’ve never seen the show Oz myself, but I don’t seem to need to be familiar with the show to enjoy this short film).
STARS: ****½
COMPLAINT LINE
(WIF) calls 1-800-EAT-SHIT in a futile attempt to report a bad driver
— I love how overly serious Will is treating the obviously-fake 1-800-EAT-SHIT sticker on the back of a truck.
— I like how further this is going, with us now actually seeing the 1-800-EAT-SHIT call center.
— Very funny how they keep narrowly censoring the use of the word “shit”. Reminds me of the classic Jingleheimer Junction sketch from the preceding year’s season premiere, though this sketch is nowhere near as memorable as that one.
— Will’s shocked, disgusted facial reaction to being told over the phone to eat shit is worth a good laugh (the last above screencap for this sketch).
STARS: ***½
…AND A PIZZA PLACE
TV execs give …And A Pizza Place its own series; A.J. Benza cameo
— A funny asinine concept, giving a TV show to the recently-dropped “…and a Pizza Place” from the sitcom title “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place”.
— Will, on marketing the show towards teens: “He-llo? Teenagers? Pokemon? Cha-ching!”
— The one non-cast member at the table of executives is played by real-life NBC late-night executive Rick Ludwin, who is notable as the executive who backed the sitcom Seinfeld when it was a new show that NBC didn’t have faith in. Ludwin recently passed away in late 2019, and as a tribute, NBC aired this episode on “SNL Vintage”.
— I love the ridiculousness of the mundane “…and a Pizza Place” scene we’re shown a clip of, complete with a laugh track.
— Geez, is Horatio JUST NOW making his first appearance all night? Isn’t this supposed to be his first episode as a repertory player? Then again, at least he’s actually in this episode, which is more than I can say for the perpetually-underused Tracy Morgan, who is completely M.I.A. all night in the big season premiere.
— I’m loving how extensive this sketch is, with us now being taken to a scene at the Emmy Awards.
— We end the sketch on… an A.J. Benza cameo? Really, SNL? I’m one of probably 20% of SNL viewers who know who he is. Even back at this time in 1999, a lot of SNL fans were completely lost on who he is.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Rebel Rebel”
INTERROGATION
thug (WIF) alternately interrogates (host) & nurses him back to health
— Wow, am I watching SNL or The Will Ferrell Show? I know I said something similar in my review of the preceding season’s David Spade episode, but that statement of mine rings especially true for tonight’s episode. Will has had a lead role in almost literally EVERY SINGLE LIVE SKETCH tonight, and even in the few live sketches he didn’t have a lead role in, he was still in them playing a supporting role. I’m certainly not complaining, as I love Will, and he’s my favorite member of this era’s cast. But, man, I’ve rarely seen an SNL episode dominated so much by one cast member, and I’ve watched the entire Eddie Murphy and Kristen Wiig eras.
— I’m cracking up at Jimmy and Horatio’s blatantly fake repeated punches to Jerry’s face.
— I love the sudden turn with Will and his henchmen uncharacteristically acting as medical experts while trying to revive Jerry after brutally beating him into an unconscious state.
— Will, over the lack of an available CAT scan: “St. John’s has one; why don’t we have one? Damn this old warehouse!”
— Very funny how this sketch constantly keeps going back and forth between Jerry being tenderly treated by the thugs as a hospital patient and being pummeled by the thugs.
— A great Patch Adams turn with Will’s character.
— The endless rapid-fire successions of “He’s alive! He’s dead!” cause Jerry and Will to memorably lose it and crack up. Surprisingly, Horatio, of all people, is the only one in the scene right now who’s keeping anything close to a straight face. Jimmy is temporarily somewhere off the set during this portion of the sketch, but you know he’s cracking up, wherever he is.
— Speaking of Jimmy, has he said a single word during this entire sketch?
— At the end of the sketch when Will places a surgical glove on his hand in an odd way, some of the performers, including Jimmy, start cracking up again. This is because of a blooper that happened in dress rehearsal at the end of this sketch, where Will made a funny ad-libbed comment when having a difficult time putting on the surgical glove. That dress rehearsal blooper is shown in the “dress rehearsal outtakes” feature on one of Will’s “Best Of” DVDs.
STARS: ****½
GOODNIGHTS
— After being in zero sketches in tonight’s season premiere, at least Tracy gets to make his sole appearance of the night playing his famous recurring character, The Guy Who Smiles Real Big At The Goodnights.
— Two odd things I caught in the scrolling credits: 1) A director credit for a “Hans & Franz: Where Are They Now?” segment, even though it didn’t air tonight. This is actually the second time that segment got cut. It was originally supposed to air the preceding week in SNL’s 25th Anniversary Special, but ended up getting cut for time, much like it did tonight. The segment would finally air in the next live episode. 2) Near the very end of the scrolling credits, there’s a special credit that states “Coordinator of Falconry: Adam McKay” (screencap below).
What in the world does “Coordinator of Falconry” mean, and why is SNL writer Adam McKay credited for it? Is it just some weird gag credit as an inside joke? Or was that always in this era’s goodnights credits, and I just never noticed it until now because the goodnights usually get cut off early in the live broadcasts I review of this era’s episodes?
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An overall good season premiere. The first half was mostly just average, but the second half had lots of strong things, especially the brilliant Oz short film and the memorable Interrogation sketch.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1998-99)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Heather Graham
