Tag: Randy Newman

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October 22, 1988 – John Larroquette / Randy Newman with Mark Knopfler (S14 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
space alien Michael Dukakis (JOL) tells superiors his plan isn’t working

— Good gag with Jan breaking out a thesaurus while she’s in the middle of listing off many different ways of calling Dukakis robotic.
— Great reveal of Dukakis being a leader of an alien planet.
— I love how the three aliens speaking to Dukakis look and talk exactly like him. Phil is especially funny here in his impression of Dukakis’ voice and mannerisms.
— A brief technical error where the camera mistakenly cut to a quick shot of Phil, Nora, and Dana leaving the set they were on.
— Funny turn with Dukakis deciding that his running mate Lloyd Bentsen is “gonna have to die” just because he discovered Dukakis’ alien secret.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE

— Not counting the season 11 finale, this is Al Franken’s first time being credited as a semi-regular featured player since season 5. Tonight’s episode begins his second consecutive run as a featured player, which lasts until 1995.


MONOLOGUE
host challenges anyone to topple him from his place as King Of The Studio

 

— I’m liking Larroquette’s enthusiasm for doing the show again.
— Strong turn with him boldly challenging anyone to steal his limelight.
— Wow, his sudden brief scuffle with the college boy “audience member” came out of nowhere and was really funny.
— Great part with Larroquette physically forcing Dana to call him “King of the Studio”.
STARS: ****


CARBON PAPER
come back to carbon paper- rediscover the now-obsolete duplication method

— I almost expected this to turn into a variation of the Einstein Express commercial.
— Clever twist with carbon paper being Victoria’s solution.
— Nice ending with Victoria’s ink-smudged hand.
STARS: ***½


DAN QUAYLE: PRESIDENT
Quayle (DAC) doesn’t want to hold the top job

— Funny opening screen crawl story, especially the part with a delirious Bush mistaking his wife for George Washington.
— Dana Carvey is the latest in the revolving door of actors playing Dan Quayle this season.
— Hmm, we seem to have another instance of Kevin’s real-life baldness being on display. The previous season’s Siskel & Ebert sketch has often been said by some SNL fans to be the only time Kevin went on-air with his baldness unhidden, but now it looks like its happened at least twice.
— I like Dana’s very extended, non-verbal reaction to finding out he’s now the president.
— Ha, the above-mentioned non-verbal reaction turns out to be the entire sketch.
— Didn’t care for the ending “preview of next week’s episode” scene with Quayle walking up in bed.
STARS: ***


PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST
everything Picasso (JOL) touches is valuable art

— Oh, here’s something that’s always been one of my personal favorites, even though I don’t think it’s a particularly famous sketch among SNL fans.
— Lovitz, braggingly: “I’m Picasso!”
— Lovitz is hilarious as an obnoxious, egotistical Picasso. This sketch is a perfect example of how much an over-the-top Jon Lovitz performance can often really enhance a sketch.
— Great part with Picasso blowing his nose into a napkin and then having waiters fight over it as if it’s a work of art.
— Yes! Another appearance from Phil as a Frank Nelson-esque boss.
— Lovitz hammily saying into the camera “WHAT A REVOLTIN’ DEVELOPMENT!” while washing dishes freakin’ KILLS me every time I’ve seen this sketch. His delivery of that is absolutely priceless. The sad “wah-wah-wah-waaaahhhh” trombone sound effect that follows that line also adds to the hilarity.
STARS: *****


THE CRESTS AND TROUGHS OF VERNON HAWLEY JR.
country singer Vernon Hawley, Jr.’s (host) album traces emotional swings

— I’m already getting laughs just from the visual of Larroquette badly lip-syncing to his own voice.
— Larroquette’s performance is a dead-on and funny imitation of typical country singers.
— I love the constant back-and-forth mood changes with the songs he sings snippets of.
— The “I’m Drunk” song was hilarious.
— Along with the jokingly bad lip-syncing, I also like the detail of how Larroquette’s not even trying to look like he’s convincingly playing the guitar.
STARS: ****


BUSH
unlike great presidents, Dukakis is short- vote for Bush, he’s taller

— Very funny use of Dukakis’ lack of height as a reason to vote for Bush.
STARS: ****


PETE’S FOUNTAIN
diner patrons trade double entendres with a big-butt waitress (NOD)

— Good reveal of Nora’s huge behind, which is made especially funny by all the loud moving sounds it makes as she walks around.
— I’m enjoying Phil’s amusement from Nora’s various suggestive comments.
— Strangely, this sketch ended without any audience applause, which is rare.
— Wow, I’m surprised this sketch ended so soon without taking the initial premise far. However, I found this sketch fine as a silly, quick, minute-and-a-half-long piece.
STARS: ***


BUSH
Dukakis is a foreigner- vote for Bush, his parents were born in America

— Another good ad using a comically flimsy reason to not vote for Dukakis.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “It’s Money That Matters”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Lyndon LaRouche (ALF) delineates his far-reaching conspiracy theories
many disclaimers precede KEN’s controversial message of “go out & vote”
DEM debates Dennis Miller (DAC) on divorce of Robin Givens & Mike Tyson

— Some really good election-related material from Dennis tonight.
— Al Franken’s Lyndon LaRouche telling blatant lies about political figures reminds me of the Lyndon LaRouche Theater sketch from season 11, where Randy Quaid was the one who played LaRouche telling blatant lies about political figures. In fact, I think some of Franken’s lines tonight are directly lifted from that sketch. I’m guessing Franken himself wrote that sketch, especially since he appeared in it as Henry Kissinger.
— Funny part with Franken-as-LaRouche’s random water-drinking break.
— And now, Franken-as-LaRouche’s line about “the greatest lie of them all: that I… am… insane” is something that’s DEFINTELY lifted from the Lyndon LaRouche Theater sketch, where Quaid delivered the exact same line in the exact same manner. Since barely anybody was watching SNL back in season 11, maybe Franken feels he can get away with reusing parts of the Lyndon LaRouche Theater script without anyone noticing, except decades-later SNL nerds like me.
— I’m liking Kevin’s long-winded, never-ending “take my opinion with a grain of salt” warnings before stating his political opinion regarding the election.
— An okay payoff to Kevin’s commentary.
— Dennis’ rant about the messy Robin Givens/Mike Tyson divorce has some good lines, especially his “Head Of The Class” dig.
— Another point/counterpoint with Dana as Dennis. Good to see this back.
— Dana has a much better Dennis Miller wig this time. In my review of his previous appearance last season, my only gripe was that his wig looked nothing like Dennis’ hair.
— A lot of really solid lines from Dana’s Dennis during his rant, and it’s always a great touch when he works in Dennis’ trademark “Ha-HAAAA!” laugh and hair-flip.
STARS: ***½


SEX LIFE
while in a restaurant, (host) & (VIJ) can’t keep their sex life private

— Interestingly, they’re using the musical guest stage as the set for this sketch. As a side note, I love this season’s musical guest stage. It has such an elegant, fancy look.
— Some good laughs from Larroquette and Victoria’s obnoxious stories about their wild sex life.
— Funny “Somebody DID get it backward” double entendre from Larroquette regarding him and Victoria once having sex in a car.
— Victoria: “Hell, I broke a bed once masturbating!”
— I like Phil’s panicked delivery when hurriedly calling a waiter over when Larroquette and Victoria are heard off-camera having loud sex.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Dixie Flyer”


THIS OLD HOUSE
Bob Vila (host) gives fix-up tips for a haunted house

— Dead-on casting of Larroquette as Bob Vila.
— The maternal dress Victoria is wearing has been used quite a lot over the years for pregnant characters in sketches. The only example that comes to mind right now is Christine Ebersole as Princess Diana in a gameshow sketch from season 7.
— I like Kevin and Victoria’s casual, non-worried reveals of various evil forces that are living in their house.
— Love Larroquette’s concept of using a sound baffle in the ceiling to make the demonic screaming rant in one room sound more conversational.
— Excellent reveal of Kevin’s back having a whole bunch of screwdrivers stabbed into it. I also liked how after Kevin keels over from that, Larroquette jovially says to the camera “Well… Tom’s dead.”
STARS: ****½


BUSH
Dukakis’ heritage isn’t northern European- vote for Bush, he’s whiter

— Biggest laugh out of all the Vote Bush ads so far. The “Bush: He’s Whiter” ending was priceless.
STARS: ****½


GAY COMMUNIST GUN CLUB
(host) & (PHH) take calls from potential members

— I love Phil explaining the show’s bizarre premise in that professional Phil Hartman delivery.
— This sketch’s concept is hilarious and very memorable, and it’s being executed perfectly.
— I like how the callers asking if they can join the club only fit in one or two of the show’s three categories.
— Phil: “The National Gay Alliance has yet to sponsor one bare-butt safari.”
— Larroquette, while signing off: “And remember…. there is no God, but if there was, we think he’d be a gun-loving homosexual.”
STARS: *****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong episode. I enjoyed the entire show a lot, no segments were weak in my eyes, there were plenty of particularly great highlights all throughout the night, and one sketch is one of my all-time personal favorites (Picasso).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Matthew Broderick)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Matthew Modine

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December 6, 1986 – Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short / Randy Newman (S12 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
stumblebums KEN, CHC, Steve, MAS attend meeting at the Gerald Ford Clinic

— Funny premise here, between a Gerald Ford Clinic and a Stumblebums Anonymous meeting.
— Hilarious entrance from Martin Short.
— I like how each host enters in a clumsier fashion than the last, culminating in an impressive long stretch of physical stumbles from Chevy. When it comes to doing the stumblebum routine, I see Chevy’s still got it at this point.
— Overall, a short but sweet opening, and a fun way to introduce tonight’s three hosts.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
a confident Steve proclaims “I’m Me!” as he marches through the studio

   

— For the first time this season, after the opening montage ends, we’re shown two NBC pages opening the backstage doors that have the SNL logo on them (screencap below), which leads into the camera zooming towards the home base stage as the host(s) makes their entrance. This would go on to become a regular thing for pretty much the remainder of this season, I believe.

— Boy, it’s an amazing sight, seeing these three guys onstage hosting together.
— Chevy mentions his recent rehab stint, which Dennis Miller previously hinted at during his sign-off in the season premiere’s Weekend Update (“Good luck, Chevy; you are in our thoughts”).
— Great bit with Martin trying to forcefeed painkillers to a reluctant Chevy.
— Steve wistfully mentions he hasn’t stood on this stage in a long time. Indeed, aside from a cameo at the end of an Eddie Murphy-hosted episode from 1982, this is Steve’s first hosting stint since way back in the original era. I can only imagine how excited SNL fans in 1986 must’ve been when hearing the news that Steve was finally making his hosting return. Until this point, it was probably assumed that Steve was taking the Buck Henry stance of retiring as a host to remain loyal to the original cast.
— LOL at Martin humorously shoehorning his great Katherine Hepburn impression into his pep talk to Steve.
— Some aspects of Steve “It’s Me” song, especially the solo from stage manager Joe Dicso and the visual of the cast marching behind Steve as he goes around the studio, remind me so much of a certain famous “Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight” musical number he would later do in his 1991 hosting stint.
— Funny part with Steve encountering a lookalike in the audience doing Steve’s 70s shtick, complete with an arrow-through-the-head prop.
— Love how in Lorne’s brief appearance, he just deadpan-ly asks “Are you about through, Steve?”
— Overall, wow, what an incredible monologue. While I found it kinda strange how it eventually just turned into a big-ol’ Steve Martin showcase halfway through, leaving the other two hosts in the dust, I’m not complaining because the Steve Martin showcase was very fun, Chevy and Martin each got their individual moment in the spotlight early on, and the overall monologue was fantastic. I loved the extensive staging of this whole thing.
STARS: ****½


MASTERMIND
away from the cameras, Ronald Reagan (PHH) is a dynamic, effective leader

— The debut of Phil’s Ronald Reagan impression. Out of the many people who’ve portrayed Reagan on SNL, I’ve always considered Phil’s take to be the quintessential version.
— Great Reagan make-up on Phil, giving him the face wrinkles, turkey neck, and everything. We’ve come a long way from Randy Quaid’s Reagan impression just the year before, where the only thing the make-up people did was just slick his hair back, which did NOTHING to help his non-resemblance to Reagan.
— There’s the famous turn after Nora leaves, where Phil’s “doddering” Reagan is immediately revealed to actually be a brilliant, complex, stern man in charge.
— Amusing seeing Dennis with his trademark 80s hair greased down into a normal, neat style. (third-to-last screencap above)
— I absolutely love how when being told he has to take a photo with a girl scout, Phil’s Reagan angrily responds “DAMN!” and “This is the part of the job I hate!”
— Haha, now he’s speaking in fluent Arabic over a phone speaker.
— We also get the debut of Dana’s hilarious Jimmy Stewart impression. For some reason, I hadn’t remembered that part of this sketch.
— Overall, a masterpiece. This is among some of SNL’s greatest political satire, and Phil was amazing to watch here. Definitely one of his all-time best performances, which is really saying something.
STARS: *****


COUCH CUSHIONS
(CHC)’s sofa search for the channel changer turns up missing valuables

— I’m liking the increasingly absurd and excessive number of things found in the couch cushion, especially the black bananas.
— And now this has gotten even funnier with the skeleton of the family dog.
— Funny random Paul Williams cameo as the latest thing found in the couch. [ADDENDUM: According to commenter Jurb, that was actually Marc Shaiman playing Paul Williams.]
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Longest Night”


THE EGGSHELL FAMILY
a cautious clan deals with an incoming phone call

 

— Funny how the family appears to be playing Scrabble, considering Scrabble letters are one of the things found in the couch during the Couch Cushions sketch.
— Not sure how to feel about this sketch so far.
— Yeah, I’m not liking where this has been going.
— Some awkwardness from Steve during the sketch-ending audience applause. It looked like he mouthed an out-of-character “What was that?” to Martin. I’d like to think that was Steve second-guessing the material he had just performed, because boy did I not care for this sketch. This just didn’t work, despite the performers’ best efforts.
STARS: *½


A HOLIDAY WISH
Steve delineates increasingly-selfish Christmas desires

— A very famous piece that’s often included in SNL’s annual Christmas compilation special.
— Loved the line “First would be the crap about the kids…”
— Hilarious line about an extended 31-day orgasm.
— Very funny how overly complicated the wishes are getting, and how he’s debating with himself which wish he should put first.
— Overall, a true classic, and a very quintessential Steve Martin piece.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
co-anchor CHC tracks Ronald Reagan’s rapidly-declining approval rating
DEM’s Iran-Contra See n’ Say refuses to incriminate itself
press secretary Tommy Flanagan bluffs about Iran-Contra

— Oh, we get the return of Chevy at the Update desk, this time being Dennis’ co-anchor.
— Hilarious punchline from Dennis about comedian Gallagher still being a jerk.
— Chevy’s Reagan approval rating poll bit fell completely flat.
— Ha, and just now, Dennis acknowledged the same thing I pointed out above, by sarcastically saying “Thank you, Chevy; exciting story there.”
— God, Chevy and Dennis’ “chemistry” is painfully awkward. Dennis’ hip 80s, self-aware, meta style clashes terribly against Chevy’s old-school, professional, mock-straitlaced style. Doesn’t help that Chevy’s not exactly on his game in tonight’s Update.
— The “Congressional Subpoena See-and-Say” bit initially seemed like a promising idea, but didn’t work in its execution.
— Yet another Tommy Flanagan appearance.
— Flanagan’s line about his mistress being Jeane Kirkpatrick was the only real laugh I’ve gotten in his commentary so far.
— Flanagan’s overall commentary was pretty lackluster. It’s beyond obvious that this character is past his prime, and even the studio audience didn’t seem as into his bit tonight as they usually are.
— Chevy’s coming off a little marble-mouthed at times, which I’ve noticed often seems to be the case in a lot of his guest appearances on SNL (the biggest example being his disastrous season 5 hosting stint, particularly his legendarily horrific performance in the “You Can’t Win” gameshow sketch). It’s strange, because his delivery was usually so clear and calm back when he was a cast member.
— Funny ad-lib with Dennis saying (regarding him and Chevy) a tongue-in-cheek “How’s that for witty banter between us?” At least he seems to be fully aware of the awful chemistry between him and Chevy.
— Ugh, stop with the cutaways to the approval rating poll.
— While I want to appreciate the fact that Dennis is having fun with his and Chevy’s clashing styles, it’s cringeworthy seeing Dennis doing his trademark high-pitched laugh and head-bobbing during Chevy’s straitlaced jokes.
— Overall, this Update was a freakin’ mess. While there were a few funny news jokes from Dennis, all of his side gags fell flat, the Tommy Flanagan commentary was the same old tired stuff we’ve been seeing ad nauseam from this character, none of Chevy’s bits worked at all, and the “chemistry” between both anchorpersons was an experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong. Overall, easily the weakest Dennis Miller Weekend Update I’ve covered so far.
STARS: **


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
Corazon Aquino (JAH) isn’t interested in girl talk

— Wow, I’m surprised they waited this long to have Pat Stevens make her first appearance of the season, considering how oft-used she was last season. Unlike with Tommy Flanagan, SNL seems to be aware that they need to severely dial back the frequency of Pat Stevens’ appearances.
— The pre-interview portion of tonight’s installment didn’t work for me at all. Just felt like Pat Stevens was treading the same old ground she’s already covered before.
— Pat asking Jan’s Aquino about the 3,000 pairs of shoes is pretty funny.
— I loved Jan-as-Aquino’s facial reaction to being asked how her husband (who was assassinated years ago) is currently doing.
— Overall, some laughs, but by this point, this recurring sketch feels like it’s run its course. That probably doesn’t end up being true in the long run, because I recall there being some funny installments in later episodes to come (e.g. the Barbara Bush/Kitty Dukakis interview with Phil and Jan).
STARS: **


HALSEY & ROARKE, BRITISH CUSTOMS
British customs agents (Eric Idle) & (DAC) inspect suspicious items

— ERIC IDLE! Very random but awesome.
— While this sketch is in a not-too-late time slot in the rerun version I’m watching, this originally aired as the final sketch of the night, which is INSANE. Why in the world would you bury a freakin’ Eric Idle cameo at the end of an episode?!? SNL probably would’ve been better off saving his cameo for a more conventional episode, because I feel like the novelty of having Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase all hosting together caused Eric Idle’s big cameo to get lost in the shuffle and become an afterthought on SNL’s part.
— This sketch is pretty funny so far, and I like seeing Eric and Dana teamed together.
— Funny how they believed Martin’s very obvious lie.
— Overall, a decent sketch, though it started feeling a little one-note after a while and wasn’t as great as an Eric Idle-starring sketch should’ve been.
STARS: ***


THE DEVIL & ED GRIMLEY
Mephistopheles comes to Ed Grimley’s apartment to steal his soul

— Ed Grimley!
— I like how his mere mention that it’s time to play the triangle receives audience applause in anticipation.
— Haha, and there goes Grimley’s hilarious triangle dance.
— Great sudden inclusion of Jon’s Mephistopheles. I always like when recurring characters from different eras meet.
— Nice touch with one of the relatives Grimley mentions being his Uncle Basil, which is the character Howard Cosell memorably played in the final Ed Grimley sketch from Martin’s tenure as a cast member.
— Fantastic turn with Grimley using his framed Pat Sajak photo to ward off Mephistopheles.
— An okay ending with Grimley and Mephistopheles doing the triangle dance together.
STARS: ****


CHURCH POTLUCK LUNCHEON
Church Lady & Minister Bob (CHC) act superior at a potluck luncheon

— Good change of pace seeing Church Lady outside of the Church Chat setting.
— Church Lady has some really funny comments to Victoria.
— Yes!  We get the debut of Church Lady’s priceless superior dance, which is a riot.
— Good turn with Jan showing up drunk and bitter towards Church Lady.
— Certain aspects of this sketch strangely remind me of future cast member Nancy Walls’ first Gail Lafferty sketch (the bake sale character who constantly threatened other ladies with an ass-kicking) from 10 years later. Both sketches even look like they have the same set, and both sketches even have a walk-on from the host playing a minister (Chevy in this sketch, Tom Arnold in the Gail Lafferty sketch).
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Roll With The Punches”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A fairly solid episode, though not quite as strong as I was expecting with this spectacular trio of hosts. The biggest highlights of this episode were phenomenal (monologue, Mastermind, A Holiday Wish), but there were a few things that REALLY didn’t work for me (The Eggshell Family, Weekend Update, portions of The Pat Stevens Show), and the overall show didn’t feel like the classic it should’ve been. Still, I can’t complain much because I certainly enjoyed most of the show.
— The three hosts came off very fun and it was nice seeing them blend in with this cast during the sketches. It was particularly good to see Steve Martin on the show again after such a long hiatus, as his return reminded me of how much fun I had reviewing his frequent episodes from the original era. Sure his style by this point in the mid-80s has noticeably become more toned-down and mellow than this manic style from the 70s, but he’s still as funny and reliable as ever. I’m glad he goes back to being a frequent host after this episode. I’d also like to add that Chevy Chase came off a little more likable tonight than he usually does in his hosting stints. I’ve never heard any backstage stories about him acting nasty towards this season’s cast like he’s acted towards other casts, so I’d like to think that recently coming out of rehab humbled his ego and kept him in check for a while. Maybe the fact that he had two people co-hosting with him also had something to do with that.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Robin Williams):
— a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Steve Guttenberg

Posted on

February 26, 1983 – Beau and Jeff Bridges / Randy Newman (S8 E14)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
hosts tell embarrassing stories about each other’s childhood

   

— Strangely, this begins with Jeff and Beau being announced by Pardo, followed by them making their entrance on the home base stage. Uh, shouldn’t this be happening in the MONOLOGUE, not the cold opening? Ebersol’s toying around with SNL’s format yet again, I see.
— I like where this is going, with Jeff and Beau telling embarrassing childhood stories about each other.
— Some good laughs from their dad Lloyd Bridges scolding them over the phone and then encouraging them to fight each other.
— What was with that loud buzzer sound when Beau was doing the “Hey, look over there” trick on Jeff?
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
hosts duke it out on-stage, egged on by Lloyd Bridges [real] in L.A.

   

— Some technical errors when the thought bubble of Lloyd Bridges first shows up.
— This is the second time this season where a legendary actor makes his cameo in the form of a pre-taped thought bubble giving advice to his son, after Andy Griffith did the same to his TV son Ron Howard in the “Opie’s Back” sketch.
— The Jeff/Beau fight is fairly fun, though nothing great.
— How are Beau and Jeff applying the fake blood on their mouths after each of them gets punched?
— Pretty funny conclusion with both brothers coming together to agree that they hate their father.
STARS: **½


TEXXON
“Do what we say, nobody gets hurt”

   

— The return of SNL’s fake sponsor Texxon Oil, after those frequent “disclaimer gag” cold openings from the first half of season 7.
— The guilt trip messages from the old man, black guy, and little girl are funny.
— Love the ending slogan “Do what we say and nobody gets hurt”.
— Overall, pretty biting satire.
STARS: ***½


PIMPLE
a huge pimple causes many embarassing moments for (JLD) on prom night

   

— I like the randomness of Julia’s name being “Cynthia Marie Laboof”.
— When Julia comes downstairs in her prom dress, you could hear wolf-whistles from someone in the audience before Julia reveals her huge pimple.
— Speaking of that reveal, I saw it coming from miles away.
— Hmm, Beau and Jeff randomly appearing as themselves.
— Great ending with Eddie.
— Overall, the premise of this sketch was too predictable, and I feel like I’ve seen this whole thing (someone having a comically-oversized pimple) pulled off better somewhere else, but I’m not sure where.
STARS: **


RICK’S CAFE
it’s Casablanca in a ski lodge & Rick (EDM) controls the lift tickets

   

— Interesting with Eddie as a Humphrey Bogart “Casablanca”-esque character. Between the Gas Station/Elvis sketch from the last episode and now this sketch, SNL seems to be getting a lot of mileage lately out of Eddie’s knack for doing dead-on impressions of white celebrities.
— A good laugh from Tim’s initial walk-on as a guy impaled with a ski pole. He’s doing a decent Peter Lorre-esque voice too.
— Haha, the Shaft part is freakin’ hilarious.
— A good laugh from Eddie’s big sticking-out tongue.
— I like how Joe’s long listing-off of random minorities eventually led to one of the listed minorities being “Jew albinos with brunette hair”.
— Eddie to the camera: “My, this is a long sketch.”
— While Eddie wasn’t kidding about the length of the sketch, I still found it pretty enjoyable overall, and damn, what a strong performance from Eddie. Probably one of his more underrated, forgotten performances. If the writing of this sketch were up to the same level as his acting, this might’ve turned out to be a classic.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Love L.A.”


CHEAP HUNT
Mike Nelson (Jeff) keeps costs down by staying out of water

   

— I like the detail of Jeff having comically-big furry fake eyebrows while playing his father Lloyd.
— I’m not liking where this sketch has been going. Some of the groanworthy random gags are bringing back unwanted memories of that infamous Sunken Submarine sketch from last season’s Robert Culp episode. What is it with the Ebersol era doing bad sketches that have a nautical setting?
— Funny unscripted moment with Jeff pointing out that Tim’s tie is hanging in the bucket of water he’s holding.
— Okay, I am starting to kind of like the meta premise, but the overall sketch just isn’t coming off all that well.
STARS: **


BATTERED HUSBAND
male domestic violence victim (GAK) gets little sympathy from other men

   

— SNL seems to be going to the “the usually meek, soft-spoken Mary Gross playing an aggressive character” well a lot lately.
— Yeah, not too sure about this premise with everybody ridiculing Gary for being beat up by his wife.
— Strange how the two sketches that have used this same living room set tonight (this and the Pimple sketch) both deal with characters entering the house one-by-one and adding ridicule to a character in an embarrassing situation.
— WTF at the ending? Good pratfalls from Gary as usual, though.
— A really weak sketch overall.
STARS: *½


SAUNDRA’S HOUSE OF MASSAGE
(Beau) is surprised to find that masseuse Saundra (Jeff) is a man

   

— Heh, this is getting creepy with Jeff oiling himself up.
— Geez, the increasingly-homoerotic nature of this massage is disturbing when you remember these two guys are BROTHERS in real life.
— LOL at Beau’s sudden jumping-up reaction when Jeff’s hands “slip” down to Beau’s crotch area.
— Overall, very mixed feelings about this. I spent portions of the sketch being really creeped-out by the incestuous undertone of it, but I suppose I got enough laughs from the overall piece. I really have to wonder, though, how the Bridges brothers agreed to perform this.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
TIK uses New York Post headlines to tell a story
Howard Hesseman [real] is disappointed by poor response to “moon Reagan”
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (MAG) takes a call from an aroused teenage admirer
JOP asks big-necked Herschel Walker (EDM) about his decision to turn pro

        

— Barely any audience applause for Brad during his intro. Is the audience as consistently bored with him as an anchorperson as I am?
— Tim’s Salute to Journalism commentary so far is an improvement over his disappointing last one from earlier this season. I especially liked the “They’re Free!” headline bit.
— Strong ending to Tim’s commentary, with his displaying a New York Post toilet paper roll.
— Hey, it’s last week’s host, Howard Hesseman! He must be here to do a follow-up to the “moon President Reagan’s face” mail-in contest.
— Yep, he is.
— Howard’s getting some laughs from his perverted desperation to see more mooning pictures, but the material itself isn’t all that funny. Kind of a waste of him.
— Gary’s increasingly-obscene phone call to Mary’s Dr. Ruth is very funny.
— It was unnecessary to repeat the finger-in-hole gesture bit from Mary’s last Dr. Ruth commentary.  Are they going to do that gesture bit EVERY time she’s on?
— Speaking of unnecessary, Brad’s addendum to Dr. Ruth’s commentary was pointless and fell flat.
— Wow, this is one long Saturday Night News. Feels like there’s 50 guest commentaries.
— Eddie’s fake neck as Herschel Walker is a good sight gag.
— Unfortunately, the rest of the Eddie/Joe commentary didn’t go anywhere beyond the sight gag, which lost its novelty pretty fast.
— Lately, Brad seems to have made “Right on!” his new ending tagline. Yeah, not sure I can say that’s a good decision.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Real Emotional Girl”


GUY CRAZY
National Organization For Women members are “Guy Crazy” for Jeff

   

— A musical sketch. If you’re familiar with how I usually feel towards this type of sketch, then you’d know what my initial reaction is to having to sit through this one. (*hint: it ain’t a pleasant reaction*)
— That being said, I am kinda liking the energy here, and at least Robin is getting a rare big showcase. It’s a shame how incredibly underused that woman’s been this season.
— Jeff: “(singing) I’ll take you to the woods and play ‘house’ in your nest.” Uh, whoa…
— After the dream sequence has ended, the camera cuts back to Jeff continuing to give the speech he was giving before the dream sequence started, but he’s seen re-applying his tie. I don’t know if that’s just a delayed costume change, or if it’s an intentional meta joke.
— Overall, despite me being a little more lenient on this than I usually am towards musical sketches from this era, this still wasn’t anything special.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very “meh” episode. Absolutely no sketches stood out as particularly strong, and quite a lot of the show was forgettable. There were a few pretty good things, but not enough to make this an overall passable episode.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Howard Hesseman):
— a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Bruce Dern, a.k.a. the famous “Buckwheat gets shot” episode

Posted on

December 8, 1979 – Howard Hesseman / Randy Newman (S5 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Great Moments In Rock & Roll- James Brown (GAM) abandons Scottish music

   

— Oh, this is going to be a James Brown parody? Uh-oh, I don’t think I’m looking forward to seeing Garrett horribly butcher an impression of him.
— That’s Peter Aykroyd as the guy Garrett’s talking to, right? In certain angles, I can see a very-slight physical resemblance to his brother Dan.
— I’m actually liking Garrett in this.
— Haha, the Scottish version of James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please” is pretty funny, and I’m genuinely liking Jane, Laraine, and Gilda’s background singing.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Don Novello receives his first credit as a featured player.


MONOLOGUE
to guard against extremism, host leads audience in a pro-restraint chant

  

— I like the (then-contemporary) Betamax mention, simply for retrospective historical purposes.
— Mr. Bill reference.
— Howard’s doing great leading the audience in various chants.
— Was the unseen audience member’s “What if it takes forever?” a scripted bit?
— Overall, a strong monologue with good energy, thanks to Howard. He’s always been good at doing monologues that get the audience involved, judging from what I’ve heard about some of his later monologues from the early 80s.
STARS: ****


THE BEL AIRABS
(host) & (GAM) try to steal fortune of Abdul (DON) & kin

       

— Bel-Airabs! I remember really liking the installment of this recurring sketch that I once saw years ago, though it wasn’t the one from this episode; it was the installment from the Chevy Chase episode later this season.
— The Beverly Hillbillies-esque theme song and opening credits is brilliant, as is the overall concept of this whole sketch.
— I liked Bill painting pubic hair onto the Venus De Milo statue.
— Gilda as a wild, high-pitched foreign gibberish-screaming, burqa-wearing Granny is absolutely hilarious to me.
— Feels weird seeing Don Novello playing such a big non-Father Guido Sarducci role after I’ve gotten so used to seeing him as only Sarducci lately.
— Wow, Jane is dead-on as Nancy Kulp’s Beverly Hillbillies character (I forgot her name).
— How’d they pull off that hand-chopping bit so fast?
— Funny subtle joke with Kareem Abdul Jabbar being listed among the middle-eastern names in the scrolling ending credits.
— Overall, that was great.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “It’s Money That I Love”
musical guest performs “Pants”


WEEKEND UPDATE
paternity suit victim Chico Escuela on backboard-shatterer Darryl Dawkins
ALF says goodbye to the selfish ’70s & introduces the Al Franken Decade

      

— Random Update joke about Chico Escuela. Is this going to lead into a commentary from him?
— Yep, it did. First time we’ve seen him all season.
— We get a clip of yet another Daryl Dawkins backboard-shattering incident.
— Chico’s “rubber breaks” comment was great.
— Third episode in a row with Al Franken doing an Update commentary. I wonder why they have yet to begin crediting him as a featured player in the opening montage this season.
— Oh, this is going to be the famous Al Franken Decade bit. From the clip I had seen of this in the past, I had always assumed this came from the final episode of 1979 (the upcoming Ted Knight episode).
— I like how they keep displaying Al’s name and occupation on the bottom of the screen whenever he says “me: Al Franken”.
— Overall, a fantastic and memorable Franken commentary, made even better in retrospect by the fact that he would later do follow-ups to this at the end of the next two decades.
STARS: ***½


OLD FLAME
(GIR) explores personal growth with old (BIM) & new (host) boyfriends

 

— So far, this appears to be a quieter, realistic, slice-of-life type of sketch that we haven’t been seeing much of anymore in this late stage of SNL’s 70s era.
— I liked Howard’s “I’m starting to feel bad now” after sitting through Bill and Gilda’s sappy conversation.
— I got a good surprised laugh from Howard’s “candy ass” comment. I didn’t even know that was a term yet in the 70s.
— Interesting semi-touching ending with Gilda.
STARS: ****


STEREO 105
WKRP star host shares studio time with real deejay Steve Marvin (HAS)

   

— Ah, a radio show sketch starring Harry Shearer. This is gonna be good.
— Interesting backhanded comment from Howard regarding CBS moving WKRP in Cincinnati’s timeslot. That’s probably Howard venting some real-life frustration with how CBS infamously kept screwing over his show.
— Howard confusedly trying to follow Harry’s hand signals is good.
— I’m loving the authenticity of how they’re making this feel like we’re at a real radio show. Lots of good little details, especially in Harry’s performance.
— Harry’s asinine statements are getting funnier and funnier.
— Great part with Howard grabbing Harry by the throat to get some words in.
— Howard’s been doing a good job with his slowly-mounting frustration throughout the whole sketch.
— Do they eventually make this sketch recurring? I had recently heard that Harry does a particularly great radio sketch later this season in (I think) the Elliott Gould episode, and I’m wondering if that one is a sequel to tonight’s radio show sketch.
STARS: ****


THE NUCLEAR FAMILY
radiation-sick power plant neighbors are lethargic

    

— Just judging from the title and opening credits sequence, why do I think this sketch sounds like something from the 81-82 season?
— Hey, it’s Peter Aykroyd once again. With all these somewhat-big speaking roles he’s been getting in this episode, why wasn’t he credited in tonight’s opening montage?
— I initially said this sketch looks like a premise from the 81-82 season, but now this sketch is starting to remind me a little of the “Those Unlucky Andersons” sketch the show would later do in the 85-86 season.
— The glow-in-the-dark stomach ending was decent.
— Overall, I’m not quite sure what to think of this sketch, but I guess I found it okay enough.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Story of a Rock & Roll Band”


FIRST LOVE
by Aviva Slesin- JAC keeps missing Walter Cronkite

   

— “Aviva Films, N.Y.” Looks like this is going to be another Aviva Slesin film. Much like her(?) two films from last season, is this going to be another Bill Murray-starring film centered on animals?
— Ah, a film starring Jane Curtin. There’s something you don’t see everyday in this era.
— I’m liking the drawn-out awkwardness of this.
— Good slow reveal that she doesn’t actually know Walter Cronkite.
— Never mind, it turns out she DOES actually know him.
— Who’s doing Kronkite’s voice over the phone? Doesn’t sound like it’s Bill.
— Nice ending.
— Overall, a good showcase for Jane, who continues to have a strong season.
STARS: ***½


THE HOLIDAY INN HORROR
maid (GIR) repeatedly disturbs guests’ slumber

     

— Judging from how Gilda looks in her initial walk-on, is this going to be her Rosa Santangelo (“I clean up, okay?”) character?
— Yep, it is.
— Judging from how Dan Aykroyd-ish the voice-over narrator sounds, I think that’s once again Peter Aykroyd in yet another speaking role tonight.
— Gilda using an axe to get through the door is very funny.
— This has the reliable sketch comedy trope of presenting an everyday annoyance as the subject of a horror movie. This sketch also feels like something that would’ve fit perfectly among the various bad horror movie trailers in Christopher Lee’s season 3 monologue.
— Loved Howard’s appearance as the cruel desk clerk.
— Overall, a very good closing sketch.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Really solid episode, with every single segment working, some of which were very well-written and performed.
— Howard Hesseman was a great host, which is no surprise considering both his improv background and how good a recurring host I’ve heard he was later on in the Ebersol era.
— The show has been on a strong winning streak these last three episodes. Can’t help but wonder when this season goes back to being shaky again. Also, I’ve always heard that the cast comes off really burned-out this season (I’ve especially been keeping my eye on Garrett, as it’s known that his drug problems reached its breaking point this season), but I have yet to see evidence of that so far, so I’m also wondering when that will start.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
Martin Sheen

Posted on

January 21, 1978 – Steve Martin / The Dirt Band, Randy Newman (S3 E9)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
Bruce Jenner Wins The Javelin Catch will not be seen tonight


COLD OPENING
Jimmy Carter’s (DAA) State Of The Union address bores Congressmen

   
— I’m expecting this to be long, as SNL’s State of the Union parodies over the years tend to be very lengthy.
— The disclaimers in the stock footage cutaways are pretty funny.
— I’m also liking John and Bill’s antics in background.
— Wow, I’m surprised this is over already. Contrary to my earlier prediction, this was not long at all; in fact, it was shorter than a lot of cold openings in general are.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host electrocutes self, tells how to be a millionaire & never pay taxes

   
— The “John Belushi stole my $50!” bit was great.
— I like how the microphone electrocution bit was such a random non-sequitur.
— Overall, the usual strong Steve Martin monologue.
STARS: ****


SWILL
— Rerun


THE MYSTERY OF BIGFOOT
ranger (host) overlooks obvious clues pointing to (JOB) as Bigfoot

   
— Well… this whole sketch certainly came and went with nothing to note at all. Overall, I wasn’t crazy about this, and I felt the premise and the jokes were too obvious. No way should this have been the first sketch of the night.
STARS: **


FESTRUNK BROTHERS
Georg & Yortuk Festrunk meet their Croatian computer dates (JAC) & (LAN)

    
— The Festrunks in their second appearance.
— These characters are already getting good recognition applause from the audience.
— The characters now have the hats that would become part of their trademark look.
— Computer dating was a thing even back in 1978?
— I really like the turn this has taken with the brothers’ “American” dates turning out to be wild Croatians who are basically the female version of the Festrunks.
— John is hilarious as the Croatian uncle.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (THE DIRT BAND)


THE BODY FLOSS
Body Floss is the Swedish way to make hygiene efficient & fun

  
— Ha, why in the world was Garrett randomly in the shower with Bill? I had to laugh at how there was no acknowledgement of that within the sketch.
— I got a good unintended(?) chuckle from Steve’s frozen smile into the camera at the end.
— Overall, a pretty ho-hum fake ad, but the performances were fun at least.
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
Roseanne Roseannadanna rambles from lack of heat to disgusting food

   
— Funny hearing an innocent mention of Fred Silverman being NBC’s new president. If they only knew back then how doomed his reign at NBC would be…
— Jane’s endless list of President Carter’s poor track record in his first year in the White House was eye-opening to me and made me start to understand why people back then were already predicting he’d end up a one-termer. Again, going through these SNL seasons in chronological order is providing a great history lesson for me.
— Roseanne Roseannadanna in her very first Update commentary.
— Roseannadanna’s disgusting food rant and Jane’s reaction are pretty funny. A good way for this character to make her Update debut.
— Short Update.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (RANDY NEWMAN)


FAMILY FEUD
Coneheads win despite unconventional answers

   
— I like the voice Bill is using, even though I can’t really judge how accurate of a Richard Dawson impression it is, as the Dawson era of Family Feud was before my time. I do know enough about Dawson to know that 1) Bill’s impression doesn’t look anything like him, and 2) Bill’s habit of kissing the female contestants is accurate to the real Dawson.
— The interplay between John and Bill is pretty funny.
— An interesting, fresh setting for the Coneheads.
— I liked the “the big one” answer to the “What do people like to bite?” question.
— Richard Dawson to Beldar: “I want you to tell me the first thing comes into your head… which will probably be a low-flying plane.”
STARS: ****


WHAT IF?
tonight’s simulation involves Napoleon (JOB) with a B-52

  
— Jane’s obligatory talk show host of the night being named “Joan Cage” seems to be a variation of the “Joan Face” name she had in an earlier talk show sketch this season.
— The Napoleon/B-52 concept doesn’t seem all that promising.
— Ha, Steve just sounds like he’s reusing his Festrunk Brothers voice.
— The whole dramatization is actually quite dull.
— I do know “What If?” ends up becoming a recurring sketch, and while I’ve never seen any of the subsequent installments yet, I did hear that one of them is about Superman as a Nazi, which sounds much more promising than tonight’s installment.
— Jane saying at the end that the next episode’s topic is “What if God and Superman got into a fight” seems to have been part of the inspiration for the aforementioned Superman Nazi sketch.
STARS: **


HOLLYWOOD HOMES
by Gary Weis- host tours Hollywood homes of his “close personal friends”

   
— I like the part with Steve talking to “Sonny Bono”.
— The repeated joke of Steve yelling a celebrity’s name outside of their mansion and getting no answer is starting to get a little tiring.
— Very funny part with Steve claiming he’s standing outside of Rin Tin Tin’s house.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (THE DIRT BAND & STEVE MARTIN)


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Well, it had to happen sooner or later: a Steve Martin episode that was average. Before this point, all of his episodes were strong and memorable, so I was kinda disappointed to see that tonight’s didn’t measure up. While this was far from a bad episode, there weren’t anywhere near as many well-remembered sketches that Steve’s episodes from this era usually have, and tonight also had a few more ho-hum sketches than I’m used to seeing in his episodes.
— It felt like there was an unusually low amount of sketches tonight, which may be something I have to get used to soon, as I recall seasons 4 & 5 often had episodes with a small amount of sketches.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Miskel Spillman):
— a slight step down

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Robert Klein, a.k.a. the “Attack of the Atomic Lobsters” episode!!!

Posted on

October 18, 1975 – Paul Simon / Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow (S1 E2)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
host performs “Still Crazy After All These Years”; CHC falls
 
— Our first of what I know is going to be MANY musical performances tonight……
— Ha, Chevy out of nowhere doing a pratfall after the song ended. That was so random, but certainly funny. It’s also noteworthy in that it was the birth of Chevy’s traditional SNL pratfalls. And after this and the previous week’s episode, this opening also pretty much solidified a tradition of Chevy being the one who says “Live from New York…” every week.

OPENING MONTAGE
— The audio quality of the theme music is noticeably A LOT better than the muffled/cardboard box sound it had in the first episode.
— Wow, are George Coe and Michael O’Donoghue gone from the cast ALREADY? The cast list in this episode’s montage just lists the seven Not Ready For Prime-Time Players that everyone’s familiar with nowadays. And unlike last week, they’re listed alphabetically this time, too:

MONOLOGUE
host & Jesse Dixon Singers perform “Loves Me Like A Rock”

— Hmm, Paul is already standing on stage (along with the Jesse Dixon Singers) after the opening montage ends, instead of making the usual entrance that hosts make after Don Pardo announces “Ladies and gentlemen, (insert host name here)”.
— Ah, our first real sighting of the “basement” homebase stage that I remember from this era. Technically, it was used in the previous episode for Janis Ian’s musical performances, but this is the first time it’s being used for the monologue/goodnights stage.

THE BERKELEY COLLECTION
Jerry Rubin [real] pitches the Berkeley Collection of graffiti wallpaper
 
— Like in last week’s pre-taped segments, there doesn’t seem to be any audience sounds mixed into this.
— Uh… I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be laughing at this commercial or not. But I am finding it strangely enjoyable and this has a nice charm to it. This is serving as a nice little time capsule into the late 60s hippie era.
— This actually seems like this could be a real advertised product.
STARS: ***

We get our very first audience caption, a gag that would go on to become one of the staples of 70s SNL.

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Paul Simon)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Randy Newman)

BEES
host informs The Bees that their number has been cut from the show

— Hi, cast members!
— Hmm, Chevy isn’t there. But there appears to be a guy in his place who I don’t recognize. (He’s the one standing next to Belushi in the above screencap) I’m guessing he’s one of the writers.
— Paul’s line about how the Bees bit “didn’t work last week” is referring to how poorly-received the previous episode’s Bee Hospital sketch was. I read someplace that the higher-ups at NBC ordered Lorne not to ever bring the Bees back after how badly that sketch bombed.
— Bye, cast members!
— Overall, I can’t rate this segment because it was so short, but it was a pretty funny bit. Unfortunately, I know it’s the last we see of these cast members for the rest of the night…..

WEEKEND UPDATE
host goes one-on-one with Connie Hawkins [real]; Marv Albert cameo
  
— The string of President Ford jokes are all pretty funny so far.
— Hmm, I’m starting to notice a Chevy Chase trademark I never caught before: him pounding his fist on the desk whenever an Update joke gets a big reaction from the audience. He did it last week after the famous prostitution stamp joke, and now he did it this week after a joke.
— Well, this sudden Connie Hawkins/Paul Simon pre-tape certainly seems strange.
— Did I just hear audience laughter? I thought audio of the audience wasn’t mixed into the early pre-tapes.
— Hey, this Simon/Hawkins match is actually really fun. I’m loving this.
— I got a good laugh from the “he’s not hurt” caption after Paul got up from the floor.
— Loved the slow-motion part with Paul ducking under Hawkins’ jump, then successfully making a shot.
— That’s the end of Update? Kinda surprised they never cut back to Chevy. That long pre-tape almost made you forget it was even part of Update.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Simon & Garfunkel, #1)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Simon & Garfunkel, #2)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Art Garfunkel)

JIM HENSON’S MUPPETS
Ploobis & Scred seek The Mighty Favog’s help during a financial crisis

— Well, I surprisingly didn’t groan when this popped up, but I’m sure that’s just because after so many consecutive musical performances, I’m desperate for ANY comedy on the show, even this.
— Not too bad so far. It feels weird to actually be laughing during this episode.
— The close-up of Scred’s facial reaction to Favog saying he’ll “take” him was great.
STARS: **½

A FILM BY ALBERT BROOKS
traumatic home movies & failed Candid Camera stunts
 
— The interplay between Albert and his little daughter is pretty funny.
— Hey, I’m actually laughing a lot during this film. Again, however, I’m sure part of that is because of how comedy-deprived I’ve been after sitting through musical performance after musical performance all night.
— Man, Albert’s dad ages fast.
— Overall, Albert Brooks gave me some good much-needed laughs in this film.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Phoebe Snow)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Phoebe Snow, Paul Simon, Jesse Dixon Singers)

TRY-HARD 1-11
the battery is strong enough to run a pacemaker all night

— Uh… okaaayyyy…
— I have no idea what to say about this overall, other than I feel like I missed why this was supposed to be funny. Man, some of these early SNL fake ads are strange.
STARS: *

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (Paul Simon)

GOODNIGHTS
Bill Bradley [real] presents host with a basketball trophy
 
— The visual of Paul struggling to carry that huge trophy is pretty funny.
— Paul continues to get laughs, with him now challenging Kareem Abdul Jabbar to a one-on-one match.
— Interestingly, when thanking tonight’s guests, one of the “guests” Paul mentions is Chevy Chase, which is strange considering Chevy’s in the cast. But then again, in the previous episode’s goodnights, George Carlin also mentioned the cast (or, as he called them, “The Not Quite Ready For Prime-Time Players”) among the rest of that episode’s guests. I think this, among other things, shows that in these early episodes, the cast wasn’t quite as ingrained into the show as they would soon be.
— Like how last week’s goodnights just had Carlin on stage by himself, this episode’s goodnights just have Paul and Bill Bradley by themselves. To modern eyes, the stage looks so odd not having the cast & musical guest there as the credits are rolling.

_______________________________

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Well… what is there to say about SNL: The Concert, besides “wow, what a weird episode” or “this did not feel like SNL”?
— Honestly, I actually enjoyed the musical performances in this episode, but man, the live sketches’ presence was VERY missed, as was the Not Ready For Prime-Time Players’ presence. Chevy was the only cast member who got any real screen time, and even THAT isn’t saying much, as he just made a walk-on (or “fall-on”, rather) at the end of the cold opening and didn’t do many jokes on Weekend Update before throwing to the Connie Hawkins/Paul Simon basketball pre-tape (which was easily the best segment of the night).
— This being such an early episode and the format not being set in stone yet, it’s understandable that SNL was trying different things – that’s part of what makes these early episodes so fascinating. But let’s just be happy this episode’s ‘all music, no sketches’ format isn’t what SNL ended up sticking with in the long run, though I don’t think that was ever the plan anyway; from what I remember hearing, this episode was basically created as an excuse for the cast and staff to take a breather after all the hard work it took putting together the first episode.
— Despite mostly just focusing on music, Paul Simon was a likable and charming guest host and you can see why he became a frequent repeat guest in the future.

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW:
— Rob Reiner