Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Charlie sends Fred Silverman (JOB), host, other Angels to sabotage NBC
— Boy, John’s voice sounds TERRIBLE, which is no surprise. I went into details in an earlier review (in my review of the cold opening) about how John’s health was in a horrible state the day of this Kate Jackson episode. Though I didn’t mention how John’s health that day was SO bad that at one point, Laraine supposedly found him backstage with green skin…..
— I really like the concept of this cold opening.
— Dan is dead-on as Bosley/David Doyle.
— John’s looking pretty uncomfortable.
— Kate Jackson, regarding SNL: “I used to watch it, but it went downhill after Chevy Chase left.”
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
former NBC tour guide host answers questions from tour group
— This is the second time Tom Schiller as a tour guide has interrupted an episode.
— Some of the absurd questions the people in the tour are asking Kate are pretty funny.
— A short, average monologue.
STARS: ***
NERDS & THE NURSE
Lisa is upset that Todd is infatuated with nurse (host)
— Pretty funny that Lisa’s sad over Todd not giving her a noogie for two weeks.
— Bill’s singing of “Michelle” was amusing.
— Charming ending with Todd and Lisa’s rapport being back to normal.
STARS: ***½
FRED SILVERMAN’S OFFICE
host stops by as Fred Silverman (JOB) makes ruinous schedule changes
— Looks like this premise is going to be a runner tonight. Are John’s only appearances all night going to be as Fred Silverman?
— Some pretty good laughs from the terrible changes made to NBC’s schedule.
— I like the line about proposing the idea of “Mrs. Kojak” to Jane Curtin.
— Funny hearing a reference to NBC’s infamous flop “Supertrain”.
— Hey, it’s Dan’s Tom Snyder!
STARS: ***½
CHILD PSYCHIATRIST
child psychiatrist Dr. Schiffman (LAN) tries to help catatonic Colleen
— Great segue from the last sketch to this one.
— Oh, Bill’s tan from the Nerds sketch is REAL?
— Always good to see Gilda’s Colleen character.
— Laraine’s giving a great performance as the “child psychiatrist”. At this point, it feels kinda rare to see a sketch showcasing Laraine this much.
— Didn’t realize until just now that Gilda’s wearing the same shirt as Bill and the same skirt as Kate.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “B Movie Boxcar Blues”
WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW
WEEKEND UPDATE
Father Guido Sarducci talks about the weather & UFO sightings
Roseanne Roseannadanna slides from the King Tut exhibit to tongues
— Interesting seeing Father Guido Sarducci doing a weather segment.
— Sarducci’s story about UFOs has some good laughs.
— The Roseanne Rosannadanna commentary was decent though standard Roseannadanna stuff. Nothing was really too noteworthy this time. I wish they’d cut back a little on the frequency of her appearances.
STARS: ***
ANDY KAUFMAN
Andy Kaufman [real] yodels, dances, plays the congas
— I was wondering when we would see Andy Kaufman this season. Kinda hard to believe this is his first appearance all season.
— Andy’s dancing to the tribal music is great.
— Overall, even though there was no real joke here, this was a pretty fun performance. Not one of Andy’s more memorable SNL bits, though.
STARS: ***
FRED SILVERMAN RUNNER
host tells Fred Silverman (JOB) she feels wrong about betraying the cast
— Another good segue tonight from one sketch to the next.
— Is Garrett just NOW making his first appearance all night?
— I liked John’s Silverman asking if John Belushi lives in a fancy place.
— We get a Steve Martin-esque “Nah!” ending.
STARS: ***
BAD CABARET FOR CHILDREN
kids’ reception of a musical number turns sour
— First non-Fred Silverman role for John all night. His voice still sounds like hell, though.
— This is pretty elaborate for a Bad Showcase sketch.
— The “Tomorrow you go on ze bus” singing/taunting is hilariously bad.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Talkin’ About You”
MR. BILL SHAPES UP
by Walter Williams- Sluggo LaLanne leads a workout
— Overall, standard Mr. Bill stuff, but still pretty funny, and a good premise with him trying to lose weight.
STARS: ***
THE CONEHEADS AT THE MOVIES
at the movies, Beldar becomes obnoxious after smoking (JOB)’s joint
— Why is a Coneheads sketch on so late in the show?
— We haven’t seen these characters since the beginning of the season. I was starting to wonder if they had been retired. They seem to be being phased out in favor of more one-dimensional characters like The Widettes.
— The “take your hats off” part was funny.
— LOL at Dan, after getting high, returning with an insane amount of snacks.
— The ending was kinda awkward but funny with the usher making Garrett leave with the Coneheads.
— I wonder if this ends up being the final Coneheads sketch before Dan leaves at the end of this season.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Pretty good show. Nothing stood out as particularly great aside from maybe the last sketch, but this was a consistently pretty enjoyable episode with every non-Coneheads sketch getting a rating in the 3 to 3½-star range. The Fred Silverman runner was also a decent through-line for the episode.
— Quite a lot of recurring characters tonight, I noticed.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Rick Nelson):
— a moderate step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Gary Busey