Tag: John Mellencamp

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April 22, 1989 – Geena Davis / John Mellencamp (S14 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
George Bush (DAC) gives status report after his first 100 days in office

— Surprisingly, this is the first time we’ve seen Dana’s Bush impression in months. I think his last appearance was in January right after Bush’s inauguration.
— Hmm, the long break seems to have done Dana’s Bush a lot of good, as it’s come back as a fully-formed version of the characterization that everyone today remembers his Bush as. After witnessing his characterization slowly begin to take shape over the past two seasons, I find it great to finally arrive at the official version of his Bush impression.
— We even get our very first “It’s baaad, it’s baaaad!” and “Dan Quayle, still gaining acceptance”.
— Lots of pretty solid Bush lines all throughout this.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
in style of a French chanteuse, host sings a song about being miserable

— An okay set-up to the song she’s about to perform.
— The French accent she’s singing with is pretty amusing, even if I’m not sure if the song itself is supposed to be comedic.
STARS: ***


THE BOB WALTMAN SPECIAL
celebrity tears make interviews successful

— Great to see the debut of one of my favorite semi-recurring pieces from this era.
— Also great to see Victoria’s dead-on Roseanne make its first return.
— Love the ways Kevin keeps pushing to find ways to make his interview subjects cry.
— Kevin’s bizarre, sleazy smile into the camera at the end of every interview is hilarious.
— Very funny reveal of Kevin cutting onions to make Phil’s Burt Reynolds cry.
STARS: ****


FROST WHITE AND THE SEVEN L’IL MEN
alterations to Snow White story were made to avoid lawsuit from Disney

— The blatant knock-off version of Snow White is getting some good laughs.
— I like how they keep overemphasizing the few differences from the original Snow White (e.g. “It’s not a mirror, it’s a plate!”).
— Very funny turn with an angry Jon yelling on the phone, especially the part with him picking back up the hanged-up phone to add “Disney! We’re talking Disneeeeyyy!”
— I love the part with Jon waving off the “Someday My Prince Will Come” similarity by saying the song was using the word “prints”, not “prince”.
STARS: ****


ATTITUDES
an interview with the owner of a vintage clothes shop (host)

— The opening joke-telling bit with Nora and Jan had some good laughs.
— Again, a lot of funny little details in Nora and Jan’s characterizations here.
— Geena’s “I look for things without stains” explanation was funny.
— I like them exaggerating how long ago the late 70s were (at the time).
— This isn’t quite as strong as the previous Attitudes sketch with John Malkovich, but I’m still getting a lot of enjoyment.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pop Singer”


THE PALMER BUNCH
Robert Palmer (PHH) with his “Addicted To Love” models

— I like the opening Brady Bunch theme song parody.
— Some pretty good laughs from the details in how the back-up dancers do every little thing while moving exactly like they do in Robert Palmer’s music videos. The part with them all exiting the kitchen in unison especially got a good response.
— Something about the way the sketch ended felt kinda empty.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
during review of Rain Man, MIM & BES help form each other’s opinions
DEM attempts to explain nuclear fusion using the Mouse Trap board game

— We get a Tommy Flanagan “Yeah, that’s the ticket” reference during a joke from Dennis about Oliver North lying.
— Boy, a lot of Dennis’ jokes are surprisingly getting a very tepid audience reaction. I guess I can’t blame the audience, as the jokes honestly aren’t too hot.
— I did like Dennis’ joke just now about Donald Trump’s plan to build better genitalia, called “Trump’s Little Tower”.
— An awkward, stumbly intro from Dennis to Mike and Ben’s commentary.
— I love the fact that we’re seeing a commentary from the two new guys. It’s absolutely fascinating as a future viewer to see a young Mike Myers and a young Ben Stiller paired together as themselves.
— Just now, Mike said “Here’s a quarter, buy a clue”, which is a joke he’d later go on to use quite a bit in the Wayne’s World sketches.
— Ehh, I’m not getting too many laughs from Mike and Ben’s commentary. I did like the “Greenland” mix-up, though. And this commentary is still preferable to the last time two new young guys appeared together as themselves on a Dennis Miller Weekend Update to review a book or movie (*coughAnthonyMichaelHallRobertDowneyJr.cough*).
— Loved Dennis’ meta comment right after Mike and Ben left: “Nice to have the new guys aboard to infuse the cast with a newfound energy in the form of job paranoia.” Though in Ben’s case, the cast doesn’t have much longer to suffer from job paranoia.
— I loved the audience disappointedly groaning in unison when Dennis’ Mouse Trap/fusion bit fails to work on cue. Dennis ad-libs “Now this is a two-part process….” and then tries it a second time, where it fails even EARLIER. This is hilarious.
— Great conclusion to the Mouse Trap bit, with Dennis just going ahead and finishing the trick by hand when he can’t get the mechanism to work properly after multiple tries.
— Dennis’ very random Sununu/hunting bit cracked me up.
— After a string of jokes that received very little reaction from the audience, Dennis finally got one that landed, with a joke about Bryant Gumbel’s ego.
— An overall surprisingly underwhelming Dennis Miller Weekend Update. If it weren’t for the Mouse Trap bit, this Update would’ve been completely forgettable.
STARS: **½


SUSPENDED ANIMATION CHAMBERS
despite explicit warnings, idiots “rescue” people in suspended animation

— The group always immediately finding signs that answer a question they had just asked is kinda funny.
— What… the… hell?!? The sketch is over already? I have no idea what I just watched. Most of the humor in this didn’t work for me, and it had no real ending.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Jackie Brown”


SPOKESMODELS
potential game show models learn the essential gestures from (host)

— A funny sudden turn with the use of Don Pardo’s gameshow voice-over and it being revealed that the dance class students are taking lessons on how to be a gameshow spokesmodel.
— A pretty accurate take-off of gameshow models’ various cliched moves, especially the “consolation head tilt” for whenever a contestant loses.
STARS: ***


LAST MAN ON EARTH
after the apocalypse, last woman (host) still won’t date last guy (JOL)

— Interesting set-up.
— A lot of good low-key, realistic humor out of the the conversation between Jon and Geena. I’m enjoying the slice-of-life feel of this sketch.
— A pretty heartwarming turn with Jon trying to win Geena over by playing romantic music on the radio.
— A good laugh from Jon finally flat-out admitting he thought that since he’s the only guy left on Earth, he’d finally have a chance with someone like Geena.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

— We get a nice mention of it being Jan’s birthday tonight.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I came into this episode kinda cautiously because I recall hearing that it’s subpar for this season’s high standards (I’ve seen the episode myself a few times in the past, but remembered very little from it), and if that turned out to be true, then it would sadly ruin the season’s flawless streak of no subpar episodes (in my eyes, at least). I ended up finding tonight’s episode surprisingly decent as a whole. In fact, the first half was actually pretty strong, with 3 four-star sketches in a row (Bob Waltman, Frost White, and Attitudes). The show hit a rough patch in the middle with Weekend Update (surprisingly) and Suspended Animation Chambers, but things slowly got better afterwards. The overall episode was fine, which keeps this season’s perfect streak alive.
— After being in the cast for only four episodes, this ends up being the final night for featured player Ben Stiller. I don’t know the exact story, but I believe he left by his own choice because he was frustrated by his lack of noteworthy roles and felt his talents were being wasted. He DID seem to get stuck playing straight man most of the time and I’m sure it didn’t help when he saw all the great opportunities that fellow newbie Mike Myers was getting. However, Ben should’ve understood that it takes time for some cast members to break out. When you’re a new featured player in an already-established, close-knit cast, you can’t always expect to immediately break out within a mere FOUR EPISODES. And it’s strange that Ben didn’t at least finish out the season; after all, there’s only two episodes remaining. The fact that he couldn’t even be bothered to stay two episodes longer proves that he must’ve REALLY hated working at SNL. At least he doesn’t end up holding a grudge against SNL for TOO long, considering his first hosting stint is just 10 seasons later, and he would then host again a decade-and-a-half later, not to mention the countless cameos he’s made and continues to make to this day.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dolly Parton)
a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Wayne Gretzky

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October 8, 1983 – Brandon Tartikoff / John Cougar (S9 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
TIK, MAG, EDM break into host’s office to see how he got himself on show

  

— LOL at Tim screwing up his “He has more phonelines than viewers” line.
— The audience applauds as soon as Eddie first speaks in this.
— Eddie’s hair looks very different this season.
— Hilarious prank call from Eddie to Mr. T.
— Interesting segue to “Live from New York…”
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Same montage as the last two seasons.
— While the theme music is also the same, it sounds GREAT this season. It has a much funkier, catchier sound than it did in seasons 7 and 8.
— No new cast members tonight; the cast is the exact same as it was the preceding season. However, a certain new cast member IS joining the show a few episodes from now.
— For the first time ever, we see the SNL Band playing on the home base stage’s rooftop when the opening montage ends, which would go on to be a tradition until 1986.


MONOLOGUE
host stresses quality while his bonehead programming decisions scroll by

        

— Ha, they’re doing the “humorous disclaimers show up under a person during their speech/song” bit that the original era often did. A welcome return.
— “Gilligan Meets the Harlem Globetrotters”? That was a real thing once???
— Decent monologue overall. Felt like a nice throwback to the classic Buck Henry monologues from back in the day, even if this one wasn’t as strong.
STARS: ***


CALVIN KLEIN CREAM PIES
for girls you hate, like Martha (JLD)

  

— Yet another Calvin Klein Jeans parody in this SNL era.
— LOL, holy hell at somebody suddenly smashing a pie into Julia’s face during her conceited rambling. Good twist.
— Don’t they end up reusing this same joke in a cold opening later this season? In fact, I think it’s the very next episode.
STARS: ***½


JAMES WATT
James Watt (JOP) is depressed because minority groups don’t like him

     

— Another return of Joe’s impression of Secretary of the Interior James Watt, who’s White House tenure is apparently on its last legs by this point.
— Great joke with Watt getting his drink of water from a mini oil well dispenser.
— Loved Joe’s ending line: “Isn’t it ironic? My last true friends: two Jews, a woman, a black, and a cripple.”
— Good sketch overall.
STARS: ***½


JAZZ RIFFS
sax player (EDM) admits he does weddings & parties for money

 

— A pretty good laugh at the initial sight of Eddie in that ridiculous mask.
— Funny “Excuse me” ad-lib from Eddie in response to a faint booming sound from off-camera.
— A lot of laughs from the part where Eddie’s complaining about the songs he’s most often asked to perform.
STARS: ***


FELN’S DISCOUNT FOOD AND CLOTHING WAREHOUSE
things to wear & eat

  

— Looks like another cast member has a new hairstyle this season. Joe trimmed his fro!
— Funny premise with Joe selling mixtures of clothes and fruit. And as usual, great manic pitchman delivery from him.
— Joe seems like he’s trying not to laugh now, which is making the silly, fast-paced nature of the sketch even more fun.
STARS: ***½


SHOW IDEAS
EDM turns down host’s program ideas; the Whiners want their own show

   

— Eddie once again oddly wears an open leather jacket without a shirt underneath.
— LOL at Brandon in that trendy early 80s leather outfit. I also like how the back of his jacket has NBC’s then-current “Be there” slogan in shiny lettering.
— Eddie’s “Oh, you’re talking negro” realization about Brandon was very funny.
— Strange in retrospect seeing Eddie talking about how he’s perfectly happy staying at SNL, as if he had no plans on leaving any time soon. As we know now, he already had one foot out the door by this point, and would be completely gone before this season is even over.
— Brandon: “I can make you bigger than Gary Coleman.” Eddie: “I got parts in my body bigger than Gary Coleman.”
— The Whiners appearing out of nowhere. Oh, god.
— Considering that the Whiners were in the previous season’s finale I just reviewed yesterday (in what was probably the Whiners’ worst sketch yet), you can imagine how it feels to have to review them two days in a row.
— Brandon’s put-downs to the Whiners are kinda funny, if a bit corny (it’s probably his delivery).
— Overall, not TOO insufferable for a Whiners piece, though I still could’ve done without it.
STARS: **


GUMBY & POKEY
Gumby & Pokey (JOP) rehearse a scene for their reunion show

 

— Pokey being portrayed with an old Jew voice like Gumby is fitting and funny. Is that Joe in the Pokey costume?
— Yep, I guess it IS Joe.
— Joe-as-Pokey’s complaints about his health problems are making me laugh.
— Hmm, not too sure about the parts with Pokey constantly “breaking wind”, though at least they refrained from using a fart sound effect, unlike later eras of SNL.
— Joe’s “They can’t see me laughing behind this thing” ad-lib was hilarious, though it didn’t land with the audience.
— I see they’re putting Brad’s overacting tendencies to good use by having him play an over-the-top, flamboyant, gay dance choreographer.
— Fun moment with Eddie and Joe dropping character and goofing around with each other as the sketch ended.
STARS: **½


MAN ON THE STREET
host hits the pavement to promote NBC’s fine programming, like Manimal

     

— What’s the audience laughing at during Brandon’s non-comedic intro? They seemed to be amused by something going on off-camera that we viewers can’t see.
— Brandon’s ridiculous, desperate ways of getting average joes on the street to tune into NBC’s (doomed) fall schedule are very funny, and he’s a good sport for agreeing to do this piece.
— I especially like the part with him sticking flyers for the show “Manimal” onto car windshields.
— Another really funny part with him using a bullhorn to stop a CBS guy from promoting his network’s shows.
STARS: ****


LARRY’S CORNER
duck noise, nasal milk, thirsty guy synchronicity

   

— Oh, is this going to be the “milk shooting out of nose” sketch that I’ve always heard great things about?
— Yep, from Brad’s intro, I can tell this IS going to be that sketch! I’ve always wanted to see this.
— I think that’s writer Andy Breckman playing the bearded friend. If so, was he one of the new writers hired for this season, or was he already part of the writing staff prior to this season?
— Haha, this is freakin’ HILARIOUS.
— Overall, this sketch definitely lived up to its reputation. The big gag with all three of the guys simultaneously doing their respective thing slayed me.
— I think they eventually go on to make “Larry’s Corner” a recurring sketch, though I doubt any of the subsequent installments will live up to tonight’s.
STARS: *****


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
JOP gives a recap of the baseball playoffs so far
TIK catches up on the NY Post headlines he missed over the summer

       

— Brad’s not wearing his usual suit jacket, instead just being seen in a shirt, vest, and tie, which I think goes on to be his regular anchorman attire this season.
— Joe’s fast-paced recapping of all this season’s World Series games is pretty fun, though kinda light on laughs.
— Was that a mustached Tartikoff briefly seen handing Brad a “breaking news” paper? (fourth screencap above)
— Brad’s “Mr. T and Mr. Coffee” joke was such a groaner that it’s almost funny in itself.
— A mention from Brad of Chevy Chase’s 40th birthday. The punchline to that joke (“He’s 40… and I’m not”) was a nice callback to Chevy’s famous Weekend Update catchphrase.
— Tim keeps alive his impressive streak from last season, where he did a news commentary in every single one of the last nine episodes of the season.
— The AIDS headlines that Tim’s showing are SNL’s very first mention of the infamous AIDS epidemic from this decade.
— Tim’s overall “Salute to Journalism” commentary tonight was decent and an improvement over his last subpar edition of the segment.
— A surprisingly short Saturday Night News overall tonight, compared to some of the overlong ones from last season.
— Brad seems to have a new ending tagline this season: “Thanks for comin’ out in the rain.”
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pink Houses”


RENT-A-GUN
suspicious-looking (TIK) rents a gun from a sporting goods store

 

— Tim’s shadiness is pretty funny.
— I liked Tim’s reaction to Joe’s banks question.
— Funny bit with Tim explaining he only needs one stocking because it’s for his “half-sister”.
— Overall, despite the aforementioned highlights, the sketch as a whole still felt it could’ve been a little better.
STARS: **½


REVIEW
Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert [real] review the night’s sketches

— Second season premiere in a row with Siskel and Ebert giving instantaneous reviews of the night’s sketches while the show’s still in progress. I had no idea this became a semi-recurring bit. Fun to see this back. They should’ve continued to make this a tradition for every season premiere.
— Siskel and Ebert acknowledge that Piscopo and Murphy are the stars of this cast. While that’s something we all knew, it’s interesting to hear it actually being said on the air.
— Funny part with Siskel overpraising Tartikoff’s performances in hopes that NBC will pick up their syndicated show.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


MUSICAL GUEST INTRO

— I like how the earlier joke from the Man on the Street sketch carried over into this, with Brandon handing a confused John Cougar and his band “Manimal” flyers.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Crumblin’ Down”


BE THERE
watching networks other than NBC leads to damnation & heart disease

 

— I almost thought the reverend was Brad Hall with his hair slicked back, before I realized its just an uncredited outside actor (along with the guy playing the doctor).
— Fairly funny premise with NBC using a reverend and doctor to sternly force people to refrain from tuning into other networks.
— The ending “NBC: Watch us or die and go to hell” tagline was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


ETHEL’S DINER
resilient diner owner Ethel (MAG) takes a series of tragedies in stride

   

— I see where this sketch is going, where Mary’s going to keep receiving increasingly bad news, only for her to keep a stiff upper lip in reaction to it.
— The audience is absolutely dead during this sketch. Then again, I can’t blame them; there ain’t much to laugh at here.
— Weak punchline at the end.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

  

— In addition to the theme music in tonight’s opening montage, even the goodnights music has a bit of a funkier sound this season.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty average start to the season. The episode as a whole wasn’t particularly strong, but wasn’t weak either. Certainly a satisfying-enough season premiere. There was also a nice recurring theme with all the jabs at NBC’s struggles and desperation, and Brandon Tartikoff proved to be a good sport, despite only playing himself all night.
— You can already sense the beginning of the end for Eddie Murphy’s SNL tenure. As I said in my last review, the preceding season 8 seemed to be him hitting his absolute peak, and judging from from tonight’s episode and the fact that his movie career was really taking off, I think season 9 will feature a still-very-funny-but-more-complacent Eddie.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1982-83):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman

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April 10, 1982 – Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar (S7 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
EDM asks the home audience to call in to decide Larry the Lobster’s fate

  

— Heh, immediately, we open on Tony doing the most Italian-est Italian stereotype ever.
— Eddie ‘s “You people are sick!” rant to the viewers is really funny.
— Very interesting and fun gimmick for tonight’s show, having viewers call in and vote to either save or kill Larry the Lobster. I wonder how they came up with the idea for this.
— Amusing how an “unbiased” Eddie speeds through the “Save Larry” number and then slowly reads the “Kill Larry” number.
— Tony: “(Italian accent) Let’s boil that sucker, eh?!?”
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host’s recognizability helps a policeman settle a domestic dispute

     

— A kinda interesting-seeming pre-taped sequence with Daniel taking a ride in a cop car.
— The Spanish couple’s excitement at recognizing Daniel from “Hill Street Blues” is fairly funny.
— Overall, this was a bit of a letdown. It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be, and came off kinda dull.
STARS: **


WHINERS
Doug (JOP) & Wendy (ROD) Whiner go out to eat on their anniversary

   

— Ohh, no. The debut of The Whiners, two characters that I’ve been dreading having to review. These characters seem like they’re going to be unbearable.
— Tony’s funny as the straight man, especially him yanking the wine bottle off of the passing-by waiter’s platter. He’s been my only enjoyment in this sketch so far.
— Another laugh from Tony giving the Whiners the keys to his own car just so they won’t stay at the restaurant.
— Overall, if it weren’t for Tony’s funny straight man performance, this sketch would’ve been completely worthless. I fear any of the future Whiners sketches that may not have as good a straight man for them to play off of.
STARS: *½


EVERYBODY DOES MERMAN
(TOR) tells Ethel Merman impersonator (CHE) that her skill isn’t special

       

— LOL at Tim as a “Tim Kazurinsky lookalike”, and Tony telling him that nobody’s interested in the real Kazurinsky, let alone a lookalike.
— Christine’s Ethel Merman impression is cracking me up.
— Loved Tony’s angry “Everyone does Merman!!!” outburst.
— Whoever that is as the Woody Allen impersonator is pretty funny.
— This sketch is getting even better, as they’re now breaking the fourth wall by having Tony take Christine off the set and show her SNL staff members (including Dick Ebersol) doing a Merman impression.
— During Tony and Daniel J. Travanti’s conversation, you can see someone in the background wearing the same fish costume that Blythe Danner wore in the goodnights of the last episode.
— This sketch is getting even better and better, with Tony having a breakdown by seeing a Merman impression everywhere he goes backstage. Tony’s been delivering a lot of strong performances tonight in general.
— Great Twilight Zone twist, and Brian is doing a dead-on Rod Serling.
STARS: ****½


VOTING SO FAR
host gives a Larry update- a slight majority says “boil him”

— We get an update on how the Larry the Lobster vote results are going so far.
— Funny part with Daniel saying “Eddie’s right, you’re sick” when some of the audience applauds the fact that “Kill Larry” is getting a higher number of votes.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hurts So Good”


SNL NEWSBREAK
MAG interviews bogus Prince Andrew (Leo Yoshimura) en route to Falklands
TOR gives a realistic version of the Emergency Broadcast System
a frozen JOP silently indicates that it’s too cold for baseball in April
the many photos depicting the Reagans waving are documented
TIK has some suggestions regarding how to improve the Academy Awards
BDM gives an update on Larry’s fate

           

— LOL at Akira Yoshimura as “Prince Andrew”.
— The monotone delivery that Yoshimura always uses on the show cracks me up.
— Tonight’s SNL Newsbreak is having lots of mentions of the Falkland Islands situation going on at the time.
— Tony’s emergency broadcast test (him just screaming a whole bunch of panicked things) was too obvious a joke. Also, it was something I can picture John Belushi doing in the original era, and I feel like he would’ve done it funnier. I mentioned in an earlier review that I once heard Tony was supposedly hired to be a Belushi type for the cast, which never really ended up panning out.
— Haha, this whole bit with a funny-looking frozen Joe Piscopo silently doing his SNL Sports report via subtitles is freakin’ hilarious to me. I especially got a big laugh from the “Froze my #&%@$x’s off!” subtitle.
— Ugh, a variation of SNL Newsbreak’s dreaded “long screen crawl” gag, showing a long series of pictures of Ronald and Nancy Reagan waving.  How the hell is this supposed to be funny?
— Man, the Reagan waving montage is STILL going on. THIS IS TORTURE.
— Interesting seeing Tim doing a commentary as himself.
— I like Tim’s list of improvements to make to the Academy Awards. Some of his complaints are still relevant today.
— God, tonight’s SNL Newsbreak is looking to be one of the longest news segments in SNL history. Feels like tonight’s Newsbreak been going on for 20 minutes. Maybe I wouldn’t complain about that if Brian and Christine’s jokes were actually funny.
— The mushroom cloud picture bit seemed like it could’ve been interesting, but ended up coming off fairly weak.
STARS: ** (mostly just for the guest commentaries)


HILL STREET BLUES
Furillo (host) & Belker (Bruce Weitz) at the station

       

— The reveal of the bedroom being in a police station office didn’t come off that funny to me.
— Joe’s making me laugh, even though I’m not familiar with who he’s impersonating (I have no memory of ever watching Hill Street Blues). The audience seems to think he’s doing a good impression.
— I know Robin already kinda resembles future cast member Cheri Oteri, but she is looking PARTICULARLY Oteri-esque here.  I swear I remember Cheri once wearing the exact same wig that Robin’s wearing here.

— Ha, another Akira Yoshimura appearance! His walk-on was pretty funny.
— The bit with Tony as the Gypsy King was really weak.
— I would probably enjoy the various walk-ons from the cast members if I were actually familiar with Hill Street Blues. Since I don’t know who’s playing who in this and since the references are so specific, a lot of the humor is lost on me. Is Christine playing Betty Thomas’ character?
— Now we get a cameo from what appears to be an actual Hill Street Blues actor. Why in the world is he acting like a dog?
— Travanti: “That’s another thing that’s been getting my Mediterranean goat!” That line is so bizarrely cringeworthy that it’s funny in itself.
— Overall, I couldn’t wait for this sketch to end. It went on SO long and almost everything in it went over my head as someone who has no familiarity with the real show.
STARS: *½


LARRY’S STORY
Larry’s life history is told

  

— “Save Larry” is now in the lead.
— The video package showing Larry’s biography is fairly funny if nothing great.
STARS: **½


BAVARIAN BUTTERFLY DANCE
by Josef Sedelmaier- a demonstration of the Bavarian Butterfly Dance

  

— What the hell is this?!?
— Ha, the ending with the guy suddenly crashing through the floor caught me off guard and made me laugh out loud.
STARS: ***½


CAREER CORNER
Tooth Fairy (EDM) wishes to change his profession

— Promising concept with Eddie playing a very Eddie Murphy-esque Tooth Fairy.
— Overall, while there was nothing much to say about this, it was a pretty solid sketch and featured the usual good amount of funny Eddie Murphy lines.
STARS: ***½


IF LARRY LIVES
EDM announces that Larry will live large if the callers spare him

   

— A pretty decent video package, showing exaggerated examples of what Larry will be treated to if he lives.
STARS: ***


REAGAN BRAND ECONOMICS
“where the D.C. stands for don’t care”

  

— First time we’re actually seeing Joe’s Ronald Reagan impression instead of just hearing him as a voice-over in those Hail to the Chief sketches.
— LOL at the poverty-stricken family’s meal being “rat tail gumbo”.
— An overall pretty biting parody of Reagan’s economics.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Ain’t Even Done With The Night”


FINAL VOTE
the final count is in- Larry lives by a vote of 239,096 to 227,452

  

— Eddie reveals the results: Larry lives!
— The cast and extras (including Fake Woody Allen from the Merman sketch) come out to celebrate while confetti drops down. Nothing else to this. For a second when the cast first showed up, I thought this would segue to the goodnights, but nope.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Decent episode, helped a lot by the Larry the Lobster gimmick, which added a fun, unique feel to the episode. The rest of the show was pretty hit-and-miss, though things got better towards the end of the episode. There were a few terrible things earlier on that really got my Mediterranean goat (sorry, I had to use that at least once), such as The Whiners, the non-commentary portions of SNL Newsbreak, and Hill Street Blues.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Blythe Danner):
— somewhat of a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Johnny Cash