Tag: saturday night live

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November 10, 1984 – George Carlin / Frankie Goes To Hollywood (S10 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
GAK is mad that he wasted time developing a Walter Mondale impersonation

— I liked Gary-as-Mondale’s line “Nobody wants to lose an election by a whisker.”
— Interesting turn with Gary dropping character to complain about how, thanks to Mondale’s recent election loss, Gary already has to retire his Mondale impression after spending all summer working on it.
— Several good lines from Gary here.
— Nice “Live from New York…” variation.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
after a clip of host’s entrance on the first SNL, he talks about religion

— Very nice touch how this started with a clip of George’s monologue entrance from the very first SNL episode ever. The clip brought back nice memories of when I reviewed that episode back when I first began this project, and it makes me fully realize how far I’ve come along in the project.
— There’s the line “They told me if I did a real good job, they’d have me back”, which would go on to become a go-to line (with variations) for many hosts who return for their second hosting stint after a long time gap
— I like how he’s doing a callback to his controversial God stand-up routine from the first episode, and discusses how it received a complaint.
— Very funny line about how church and state both screw you up bad enough on their own, so “if you put them together, you got certain death”.
— Some good laughs from the “prayer” he’s doing.
— An overall great stand-up monologue as expected.
STARS: ****


NIGHT WATCH
while on patrol, night watchmen Willie & Frankie talk about pain

— This has always been the installment of this recurring sketch that I’ve been most familiar with and the most fond of, as my first viewing of it was my introduction to these characters and I liked them instantly.
— Funny talk about Willie and Frankie being a “stallion” with the ladies.
— I really like the part about pouring tabasco sauce into open foot wounds.
— This installment is even better than these sketches usually are, as some of Willie and Frankie’s descriptions of their masochistic actions are particularly making me both cringe and laugh at the same time.
— There’s Christopher’s “stripped down to the nude” line, which will eventually cause Billy to crack up.
— Yep, there’s Billy’s laughing. This is oddly a strong way to end this sketch.
— Overall, a great installment just like I had remembered.
STARS: ****


THE JOE FRANKLIN SHOW
Jackie Rogers, Jr. (MAS) & Senor Cosa (CHG)

— The debut of a sketch that would go on to be a season 10 staple. I was never all that crazy about these sketches before, but I get the feeling I’ll appreciate them more now.
— Speaking of debuts, this is also the SNL debut of Martin’s hilarious Jackie Rogers Jr. character.
— Nice to see George Carlin will actually be participating in sketches this time, unlike his first hosting stint where he only did stand-up pieces throughout the show.
— Christopher’s Senor Cosa character is cracking me up.
— Funny bit with Billy watching Christopher taking a drink of water in anticipation of seeing a ventriloquist trick, only for it to turn out Christopher’s simply taking a drink of water.
— I love how Jackie Rogers Jr’s book is titled “Damn You Daddy, Sir”.
— George’s details about firemen’s occupational hazards are pretty funny.
— Overall, as I predicted, I enjoyed this sketch more than I used to.
STARS: ***½


THE GHOSTBUSTER SHOW
sisters Chi Chi (MAG) & Consuela (JLD) are big fans

— Feels good to see Jim again for the first time in what feels like a while, after his absence in the last episode.
— More season 10 recurring characters debuting tonight, as we get the first appearance of Chi Chi and Consuela. Not sure if this Ghostbusters talk show is a great setting for them, though.
— I did get a laugh from the rumor about a Ghostbusters sequel starring Tim Matheson and Prince.
— Good characterizations from Mary and Julia here.
— Mary’s lines about how the black Ghostbuster “deedn’t do notheeng” are funny.
— Overall, this contained a few more laughs than I expected, but this still wasn’t too great as a whole.
STARS: **½


YE OLDE COMEDY SHOPPE
stand-up pioneer (host) does 18th century jokes at Ye Olde Comedy Shoppe

— Pretty funny concept of a colonial stand-up comedian.
— Eh, the stand-up jokes themselves aren’t turning out that great, but George’s delivery is making them work fairly well.
— Overall, decent execution of a so-so script.
STARS: ***


NOT A COP
(host) points to family tradition when son (BIC) doesn’t want to be a cop

— Pretty funny examples from Billy of why he’s not good at being a cop.
— I liked George’s “Thank god your mother’s not here to see this… she’s out on patrol” line.
— Billy and George are playing well off of each other here.
— Good ending.
STARS: ***½


TED’S BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS
Ted’s (host) Book Of World Records contains his achievements only

— I really like this, with George listing off some of his unimpressive, strange world records.
— I especially got a good laugh just now from “Most rattlesnakes ever milked: none!”
STARS: ****


PROFILES IN SPORTS
by Claude Kerven- intense chess club coach (JIB)

— Love Jim’s performance as an aggressive, violent Bobby Knight-esque chess coach.
— Great little part with the play that Jim draws on a chalkboard being a chess board, down to him even coloring in the dark squares.
— Hilarious part with a wild brawl breaking out among the coaches and the chess nerds.
— Good ending with Jim at the dinner table making chess-like moves with salt and pepper shakers.
— An overall fantastic film featuring what is possibly Jim Belushi’s most well-known SNL performance.
STARS: ****½


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
PLS introduces American men to her large, very agile breasts
host thinks Charlton Heston would make a good GOP candidate in 1988
host cures GAK’s “spot bleeding” condition by reminding him of shirt pins
Lew Goldman gives the sports report for members of his family

— Abrupt transition from George’s jokes to Pamela’s commentary, the latter of which didn’t even begin with the usual applause.
— Rare to hear Pamela speaking in her natural accent.
— Great concept of Pamela introducing us to her breasts.
— LOL at Pamela’s left breast slowly moving up while Pamela’s speaking to the camera.
— Great ending with Pamela’s breasts going completely out-of-control and throwing her over the desk.
— Some funny comparisons from George, between Charlton Heston and Ronald Reagan.
— Gary being introduced as a “science editor” initially made me almost think we were getting another Dr. Jack Badofsky commentary before I remembered Tim Kazurinsky isn’t in the cast anymore.
— Funny reveal that Gary’s “spot bleeding” is simply caused by him forgetting to remove the pins from his new shirt.
— Loved George’s “You’re a moron, Kroeger!” line.
— George is noticeably doing very few jokes between commentaries. Maybe a good thing, as he’s not a great fit for Saturday Night News.
— Haha, what was with an audience member shouting “LEW!! LEW!!” at the beginning of the Lew Goldman commentary?
— I liked Billy’s response to the aforementioned audience member: “Shut up, you idiot!”
— The Lew Goldman sports commentary is a just a variation of his earlier meteorologist commentary. Nothing too exciting here.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Two Tribes”


RICH HALL’S ELECTION REPORT
sound bites are mouthed by characters in a cartoon

 

— It’s about time Rich Hall appeared tonight. It’s a shame how underused he often tends to be.
— I love how Rich is using an old Heckle and Jeckle cartoon to represent Reagan/Mondale “footage”, which is pretty funny. As I mentioned in an earlier review, I always like when SNL does stuff like this.
STARS: ***½


STRATEGIC AIRBORNE CONTRACEPTIVE
cold war technology makes the Strategic Airborne Contraceptive possible

— Hilarious concept.
— Good visual of the device lighting up in the dark when detecting the possibility of love-making.
— Another great use of stock footage tonight.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Born to Run”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very good show, continuing the streak of really solid episodes that started with Jesse Jackson. A lot of tonight’s sketches were above average, and the overall show had a feel that I find very representative of this season as a whole.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Michael McKean):
— about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Ed Asner

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November 3, 1984 – Michael McKean / Chaka Khan (S10 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Geraldine Ferraro (MAG) sings- Mondale should’ve let a woman be on top

— I’m surprised Mary’s “Walter and I are about to bite the big one” line didn’t get any laughs from the audience.
— Nice turn with Mary’s Ferraro and her back-up singers, the “Mon-dells”, singing an upbeat song about a woman “being on top”.
— Overall, not much else to say, but this was a decent opening.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
MMK’s Scottish dirge is interrupted by an audience member’s “Hey, Lenny!”

— Feels weird seeing a young Michael McKean on SNL 10 years before his cast member stint.
— I like him randomly deciding to launch into an 18th century Scottish acapella dirge.
— An unseen Larry David plays a heckler constantly interrupting Michael’s dirge to obnoxiously ask things like “Hey, Lenny, how’s your short friend Squiggy?!?” This is all cracking me up, though it probably wouldn’t be as funny to me if I hadn’t known this was Larry David.
STARS: ***


YOUNG CHRISTIANS FOR REAGAN
Ronald Reagan (HAS) proposes armbands for schoolkids who don’t pray

— For some reason, the way the camera is slowly scrolling on Harry’s Reagan is making me laugh.
— I like him revealing the identities of the two non-praying kids.
— Good harsh ending with his “They won’t have a prayer” line regarding the non-praying kids.
— An overall good sketch that strangely feels even more relevant in today’s political climate.
STARS: ***½


BABY DOUBLE
Brian DePalma’s latest film is about a criminal baboon heart

— I’m already liking this insane concept.
— It’s over already? Well, this WAS funny for what it was, though I felt it had potential to be be much more fleshed-out.
STARS: ***


FERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
cameraman Bobby Fraraccio [real] is Barry Manilow

— The debut of Fernando’s talk show.
— Hilarious idea of Barry Manilow being portrayed by an overweight SNL crew member who couldn’t look less like Manilow.
— I love the added detail of a graphic of Manilow’s name showing up on the bottom of the screen during a close-up of the cameraman speaking.
— This is all coming off very funny, especially the questions Fernando’s asking the cameraman (“What’s it like being a sex symbol?”, etc.).
— Good part with the cameraman singing a Manilow song in a fairly flat manner.
— Overall, this will probably easily end up being the funniest Fernando’s Hideaway installment of the whole season.
STARS: ****½


THE FOLKSMEN
after 18 years apart, The Folksmen (MMK), (CHG), (HAS) reunite & rehearse

— Great that the three Spinal Tap actors have formed another mock musical group (who would end up being turned into a movie two whole decades later).
— Even just the general look of each Folksmen member (especially Harry and Christopher) as they’re each shown in a close-up at the beginning is making me laugh.
— The “Blood on the Coal” song being rehearsed is very funny.
— So many great little details here
STARS: ****½


THE FOLKSMEN: “OLD JOE’S PLACE”
The Folksmen perform “Old Joe’s Place”

— The way the preceding video package led into a live performance from the group reminds me of what SNL did with Spinal Tap in their musical guest appearance late last season.
— Christopher’s sheep-esque vibrato is a great laugh.
— Good little touch with the “Eat At Joe’s” light-up sign in the background being partially-unlit, rendering it saying “Ea A Joe’ ”.
— I like the ridiculously-faster tempo the song’s chorus is gradually going.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


BUDDY YOUNG JR. IS BACK!
— I already covered this short film in my review of the last episode. Turns out this film was actually originally aired in tonight’s episode and was added to the last episode in reruns.


FIRST DRAFT THEATER
drunk Reginald Rose (Nate Herman) edits 12 Angry Men

 

— Good to see the return of this strong sketch from the season premiere.
— I like the shots of the the author (who appears to be SNL writer Nate Herman) at the typewriter being seen constantly taking swigs from his glass of liquor and becoming increasingly disoriented.
— Funny “Harvey/Herve” typo leading to Billy doing his Herve Villachaise impression.
— The random jolly “Kids!” musical number from all the jurors is hilarious. I think I just spotted Jim Downey as the juror at the end of the table.
— Overall, this was very good, though I preferred the season premiere’s First Draft Theater installment a little more.
STARS: ****


MADONNA NAVEL ACCESSORIES
Madonna (PLS) sings “Lucky Star” to promote her line of navel accessories

— The very first Madonna reference in SNL history.
— Pamela seems to do a lot of solo sketches as a popular singer from this era. First Cyndi Lauper, then Billy Idol, now Madonna.
— Pretty random premise, and the sketch isn’t really making me laugh much.
STARS: **


PBS PLEDGEBRATION
Vincent Price (MMK) previews his horror-cooking show

— Perfect casting of Harry here as a PBS telethon host.
— I liked Harry’s line “Only 75% of our funds come from oil companies”.
— Funny Vincent Price impression from Michael; one that he would later reprise during his cast member stint 10 seasons later.
— Michael-as-Vincent-Price’s “spooky” delivery of cooking instructions is amusing.
— Very funny closing line from Harry regarding Jayne Meadows.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Feel For You”


RABBI
a strange rabbi (BIC) gives (MAS) advice about his wife’s unfaithfulness

— Martin’s speechless facial reaction to Billy’s irrelevant shoe story is priceless.
— Funny turn this has taken with Billy suggesting that Martin kill his unfaithful wife.
— Lots of laughs from what Billy’s original “bible” contains.
— Overall, a lot of funny random humor in this sketch, with good character work from Billy and a solid straight man performance from Martin.
STARS: ****


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Jeanne Kirkpatrick (JLD) does not reciprocate Jesse Jackson’s love jones
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (MAG) compares the election to sexual intercourse
RIH’s Election Report- voting-while-drunk is an alarming trend
Edwin Newman [real] reads state song lyrics that share a common trait

— Edwin Newman returns to SNL once again.
— I like his listed-off reasons for why he won’t be doing any jokes about the then-current election.
— Interesting casting of Julia as Jeanne Kirkpartick. Good wrinkly make-up on her as well.
— Oh, turns out Julia’s commentary is a rebuttal to Jesse Jackson’s love jones sketch from the last episode.
— Several funny lines from Julia. I’m surprised by how much they’re allowing her to be funny here, considering how often she’s wasted in forgettable normal roles on the show. Her performance here feels like a glimpse of what we would later come to expect from her in her post-SNL career.
— Mary’s Dr. Ruth commentary didn’t contain anything noteworthy overall.
— Rich’s commentary seems like it should be a standalone “Rich Hall’s Election Report” sketch.
— Decent commentary from Rich overall.
— The segment with Edwin reading off various official state songs is kinda funny just hearing the spelled-out lyrics being read in Edwin’s deadpan, professional voice.
— Haha, even Edwin’s sign-off at the end is funny.
STARS: **½


MONDALE HEADQUARTERS
Walter Mondale (GAK) & staff prepare for upcoming loss to Ronald Reagan

— Some good humor from the sad state of Mondale’s campaign.
— I like the staff members tip-toeing around telling Mondale that they’d like the voting to be unanimous for Reagan.
— Loved Gary’s goofy gleeful smile after saying “You’re in for a big surprise on Tuesday”.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “This Is My Night”

 

SNL FASHION REPORT
David Byrne (RIH) sings about his big suit

— Oh, I remember loving this Rich Hall sketch when I first saw it years ago.
— Yep, so far, this is coming off just as great as I remember.
— I especially love the shoulder-raising thing Rich keeps doing right now.
— Overall, as I expected, I absolutely loved watching this sketch once again. Hilarious performance from Rich as well.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

— We’re told that Jim Belushi couldn’t be there this week, but will be back in the next episode. I had been wondering where he was earlier tonight.
— Billy explains that Barry Manilow really did cancel, necessitating the use of a cameraman to fill in. I’m confused, because I remember once hearing a conflicting story that Manilow’s cancellation was actually just a made-up gimmick and it was planned all along for the cameraman to “fill in” as Manilow.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very good episode where, similar to the last episode, there was a pretty consistent run of good sketches, some of them being really strong.
— Michael McKean was a solid host. He came off like a natural for SNL and blended in perfectly with this cast. Makes one wish that THIS was the season he joined the cast, as his type of humor is much more in tune with this season’s style than the unfortunate direction the show was taking during his ill-fated cast member stint in seasons 19 and 20.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
SNL’s first-ever host George Carlin returns

Posted on

October 20, 1984 – The Reverend Jesse Jackson / Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps (S10 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
host asks Sammy Davis, Jr. (BIC) for help with what to do on the show

— I don’t know what I’m more surprised by: the fact that Billy is doing a blackface role in front of Jesse freakin’ Jackson, or the fact that Jesse Jackson actually ALLOWED it.
— Jesse’s impressions of politicians are pretty funny, especially his Reagan saying “The Grenada’s comin’ to get us!”, which was apparently an ad-lib judging from Billy’s response.
— Good performance from Jesse during the “Red Rubber Ball” song.
— A decent cold opening overall and shows that Jesse’s going to be a good sport tonight.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
blacks quickly assume control room duties upon host’s unplanned visit

— The bit about Jesse’s “cost-efficient campaign” is fairly funny.
— Great punchline to Jesse’s story about walking on water, with the newspapers printing a headline that says “Jesse Can’t Swim”.
— Jesse’s stories here are really long-winded, which reminds me of the first half of Bob Uecker’s monologue in the last episode, but at least Jesse has better delivery than him.
— I love how everybody in the control room runs out in a panic when they realize Jesse’s coming. Speaking of which, I’m pretty sure I saw Heino Ripp among the crew. I thought he retired after the Flip Wilson episode last season (during the goodnights in that episode, they ran a “Nine years of thanks to Heino Ripp” credit and then cut to a shot of him in the control room). Did he return this season after only being away for half a year?
— Haha, absolutely classic reveal of the white control room crew being quickly switched with a black crew, in an effort to fool Jesse.
— I liked how the black director actually had to be told feedback’s a bad thing.
STARS: **½ for the first half, ****½ for the second half


ELEVATOR
while stuck in an elevator, Willie (BIC) & Frankie (CHG) talk about pain

— The debut of Christopher and Billy’s “I hate when that happens” characters. I know these sketches are pretty polarizing (along with everything else Billy Crystal does on the show) among SNL fans, but I always really liked these sketches.
— The descriptions of their increasingly masochistic actions are funny and there’s some really good interplay between Christopher and Billy here.
— Overall, while no particular line stood out to me here, I enjoyed this sketch as expected. These characters are off to a good start.
STARS: ***½


WRONG VOICE, RIGHT FACE
anachronistic Billy Idol’s (PLS) new album- Wrong Voice, Right Face

— Good Billy Idol impression from Pamela, and it especially comes off funny to me after I recently saw Billy Idol’s SNL musical performances while reviewing the Don Rickles episode from the previous season.
— Pretty funny satire on the incongruity between Billy Idol’s punk rock look and old-timey crooner voice.
STARS: ***


REFRIGERATOR MAGNET SAFETY ADVISORY BOARD
kids like to eat refrigerator magnets- be aware of the warning signs

— I love the concept of this.
— Funny part with the metal surgical tools flying onto the boy’s stomach.
— Another good visual with the boy uncontrollably turning to the north repeatedly.
— Overall, another pretty strong and memorable (to me, at least) season 10 filmed piece.
STARS: ****


THE QUESTION IS MOOT!
host’s politics make game show answers unimportant

— Looks like the same gameshow set they used for the previous week’s “7X4” sketch. (side-by-side comparison below)

— I liked Julia lying about her name for no apparent reason.
— Don Pardo’s overly excited description of the red car is really making me laugh.
— This is a strong concept, with Jesse immediately shutting down the contestants’ answers to go off on various angry political rants.
— Also, it’s funny how the premise of this is an exact reverse of the “7X4” sketch’s premise. “7X4” deals with a gameshow host’s frustration as the contestants keep answering the question before he even finishes asking it, and “The Question Is Moot” deals with frustrated contestants not being able to finish giving their answers before the gameshow host cuts them off.
— I keep cracking up every time Jesse sternly says the mantra “The question is moot!”
— Julia: “Who gets the car???” Jesse: “I get the car!”
STARS: ****


FIRST CLASS
while seated next to host on a plane, Ed Grimley sees a demon on the wing
host’s second trip to the control room prompts another white evacuation

— Some recognition applause from the audience upon Ed Grimley’s entrance.
— Nice continuity from the last Ed Grimley sketch, by having Grimley mention he was recently on Wheel of Fortune.
— I like Grimley’s shame in saying “whorehouse” after finding out Jesse’s a reverend.
— LOL at a random monster appearing outside the plane window. We’re going into Twilight Zone territory all of a sudden.
— I think I see original SNL writer Alan Zweibel as one of the passengers seated in front of Grimley and Jackson. I think I’m also seeing then-current writer Kevin Kelton seated across from Grimley and Jackson, but I really can’t tell.
— Funny and interesting breaking-the-fourth-wall turn, with Jesse giving up on the sketch and walking off the set while saying “This is just dumb! This stupid.”
— LOL at director Dave Wilson’s panicked “He’s coming again!”
— Seems kinda unnecessary to repeat the “white control room crew gets quickly substituted with a black crew” joke, but I still laughed.
— I’ve just now noticed frequent Ebersol-era extra Clint Smith among the black crew this time.
STARS: ***½


TIPPI TURTLE
by Jack Zander- Tippi Turtle annoys with musical greeting card mechanism

— Great prank idea, with Tippi hiding the music chip from a musical greeting card in random places to annoy people.
— Very funny seeing people being driven crazy by the elusive music.
— For a second, when the “The End” screen showed up, I honestly expected it to be followed by the TV Funhouse ending credits while the “Saturday TV Funhouse” jingle plays. I guess this shows how I’m so used to SNL’s go-to animated segment being Robert Smigel’s later series of cartoons.
STARS: ****


JUST KIDDING
(BIC) bugs (JIB) by alternating news of son’s death with “just kidding”

— I got a laugh from Billy revealing the son’s head is in the bag he’s carrying.
— The insane back-and-forth alternations of Billy joking and being serious is a fairly thin premise, but it’s being executed well.
— I liked Jim’s “I lost my place here” when being confused over which of the two stories Billy is currently on.
— I love the panicky part with Pamela and Jim screaming hysterically when pulling out a severed head from the bag.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
host deconstructs Ronald Reagan’s answers from presidential debate
rebuttal-giving Young Republicans’ representative (MAS) is scared of host
JIB starts to rap, host shows him how it’s done

— Are these “jokes” from Jesse even jokes?
— Okay, Jesse’s unique news joke style is now beginning to grow on me.
— I like the segment with Jesse deconstructing clips of Reagan’s statements from that week’s Reagan/Mondale presidential debate. Also, this is making me remember that SNL doesn’t do ANY debate sketches during this election, which I believe makes this the only time in SNL’s entire run where they go through a presidential election without doing any sketches parodying the debates. The 1980 elections don’t count, as the 1980-81 season of SNL didn’t begin until November, right after that year’s elections ended.
— I liked Jesse counting the length of Reagan’s long mid-sentence pause in one clip.
— The frozen look on Mondale’s face in reaction to a questionable statement from Reagan was really funny.
— Interesting seeing Martin Short doing a commentary at the desk as a normal character.
— Funny concept with Jesse’s deadpan reactions intimidating Martin during Martin’s criticisms of Jesse.
— The return of Rappin’ Jimmy B.
— I’m liking Jesse’s reactions to Jim’s rapping attempt.
— Jesse’s semi-rapping about white suburban kids trying to act black is pretty funny.
— Overall, the best edition of Saturday Night News in a while. Who would’ve guessed that Jesse would be such a good guest anchor?
STARS: ***½


BUDDY YOUNG JR. IS BACK!
insult comedian Buddy Young, Jr. (BIC) is back on-stage

— Billy is absolutely killing me with his portrayal of an old-timey insult comic. I’m loving his put-downs to the crowd. It also helps that my aforementioned recent viewing of last season’s Don Rickles-hosted episode renewed my appreciation for insult comics.
— Pretty funny happy testimonials from the insulted audience members.
— Overall, yet another strong season 10 pre-tape.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Andrae Crouch performs “Right Now”


JEANE KIRKPATRICK
host admits he has a love jones for Jeanne Kirkpatrick

— Pretty funny revelation that Jesse only got into politics to be closer to Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
— Jesse waxing poetic about Kirkpatrick has some laughs, and I’m really liking his performance here.
— Nice touch at the very end with Jesse doing a little solo slow-dance.
STARS: ***


RICH HALL’S ELECTION REPORT
undecided voters’ league chief (CHG) is indecisive
Mr. Blackwell (HAS) lists fashion disasters at Soap Opera Digest awards

— Good to see this Rich Hall showcase back.
— Doesn’t feel like we’ve been seeing much of Christopher tonight.
— Christopher as the Undecided Voters League president constantly changing his mind over everything is a very predictable premise, but Christopher is pulling it off well with his dry delivery.
— Very strange how Rich’s live outtro segued into a “guest commentary” by Harry as Mr. Blackwell. So this Rich Hall Election Report has suddenly turned into a thinly-veiled continuation of tonight’s earlier Saturday Night News? What the HELL?!? Ebersol continues to make baffling decisions with SNL’s news segment. Thank god this is the final season I have to put up with that.
— Harry’s delivery is tickling me so much and it’s making his fashion critiques come off really funny.
STARS: *** for the Rich Hall/Christopher Guest half, ***½ for the Harry Shearer half


RAINBOW COALITION
host lists people not accepted in the Rainbow Coalition, like Dick Cavett

— Funny format with Jesse listing people who are excluded from his Rainbow Coalition.
— I like the pictures being shown to accompany the listed-off people.
— LOL at Jesse’s repeated exclusion of Dick Cavett.
— Loved the meta part with one of the excluded people being anybody who advised Jesse to do SNL after Eddie Murphy left.
— What was that weird moving thing that can be seen on the bottom right corner of the screen at the very end? It looked kinda like it was a framed photo of Jesse that a crew member was trying to hand Jesse but he failed notice. What’s that all about? (screencap below)

STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Wintley Phipps performs “Tell Me Again”


GOODNIGHTS
musical guests perform “Soon & Very Soon”

— A rare on-screen appearance from Dick Ebersol, being handed an album of Jesse’s presidential campaign speech.
— A deviation from the normal goodnights, with the usual goodnights music being replaced with Jesse, the musical guests, and the cast all singing “Soon and Very Soon”.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A solid and very consistent episode. There weren’t any segments I disliked, the sketches ranged from good to great, and there were a few well-remembered things like The Question Is Moot and the second half of the monologue.
— For non-actor standards, Jesse Jackson did a very good job as host. He carried himself well, had good delivery of his comedic lines, and was able to handle several solo sketches with ease. He even did a surprisingly good job guest anchoring Saturday Night News.
— My copy of this episode is apparently missing a sketch where Jesse addresses the fact that this season’s SNL cast has no black performers. Sounds like an interesting piece, and I’m surprised the show would openly acknowledge their lack of minorities in this cast.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Bob Uecker):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Future cast member Michael McKean hosts

Posted on

October 13, 1984 – Bob Uecker / Peter Wolf (S10 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Robin Williams’ (MAS) ad libs makes Password difficult for his partner

— Martin’s Robin Williams impression is already cracking me up.
— Martin’s dead-on here.
— I liked the meta part with the SNL/Gilda Radner reference.
— Wow, this is over already? This might been too short for its own good and didn’t really go beyond its basic premise.
STARS: **½


OPENING MONTAGE
— The season 8 canned theme music that was used in the previous week’s episode has been changed to a new canned theme that sounds like it was made for this season.


MONOLOGUE
host gets a pre-recorded phone call from Ronald Reagan (HAS)

— Interesting shot of the audience at the beginning of this, where you can tell this isn’t Studio 8H. (screencap below)

— Bob’s story has some funny parts, but his delivery is a little too slow-paced for its own good.
— The return of Harry’s Reagan impression from season 5.
— Also, this is Harry’s first live appearance of this season, as all his appearances in the previous week’s season premiere were pre-taped.
— I liked Harry-as-Reagan’s line “I had to get ready for my disaster”.
— Not to nitpick, but it looks like it’s daytime outside the Oval Office window behind Harry, even though we’re supposed to believe this phone conversation is happening live.
— Haha, as soon as I pointed out the above, it’s revealed that Reagan’s half of the phone conversation was taped earlier that afternoon, much to Bob’s surprise. Funny reveal.
STARS: ***


SNAP, CRACKLE & POP
Snap (MAS), Crackle (CHG), Pop (BIC) perform their nightclub act

— Fairly funny concept of Snap, Crackle, and Pop as nightclub entertainers. I also like how they’re being played by three of the new ringers of this cast.
— Didn’t care for the reveal of Billy’s bride being a WAY underage little girl (who looks like the same child actress from the Grandpa Howard Cosell sketch in the last episode).
— Jim’s heckling is pretty funny.
— I’m loving Christopher’s heated-up rant to Jim.
— Funny line about how Kellogg’s was going to replace Pop with a black guy named Thud.
— Heh, whoa at Christopher pulling out a gun.
— Good sketch overall. I initially was expecting this to be kinda corny, but I like the dark directions it ended up taking.
STARS: ***½


AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT
Cyndi Lauper (PLS) musically salutes Dylan Thomas

— A decent if kinda exaggerated Cyndi Lauper impression from Pamela.
— This sketch is just plain weird so far.
— Overall, not sure this quite worked. Can’t say I laughed much during this.
STARS: **


LITTLE LEAGUE TRADE
a little league coach (host) trades his son (BIC) to another family

— Billy playing a character with his own first name…
— Bob: “Your mother and I made a mistake when we had YOU.” Heh, damn.
— Pretty funny reveal that Bob is releasing Billy from the family.
— I’m starting to notice tonight that Bob Uecker’s natural voice sounds kinda like John Goodman’s.
— Bob’s delivery isn’t working too great for this sketch. The dialogue itself is pretty good, but Bob is being too un-comically serious here.
— I liked the reveal that Billy’s being traded to Billy Martin’s family.
STARS: **½


L’S
Tom Brokaw (HAS) asks NBC news chief Lawrence Grossman (MAS) for less L’s

— A funny way of centering a sketch around Tom Brokaw’s distinctive pronunciation of L’s.
— I’m liking Harry’s Brokaw impression here.
— I’ve been enjoying how this sketch is going, though the studio audience is VERY quiet.
STARS: ***


THE MAMIE EISENHOWER CENTER FOR THE DULL
Dr. Troy Sorren (MAS) for the Mamie Eisenhower Center For The Dull

— I got a pretty good laugh from how even the Center for the Dull’s building has a dull design. (second screencap above)
— Ha, Bob Uecker’s “dullness” is being displayed by showing him doing the same speech he did earlier tonight in the monologue.
— Good spokesman performance from Martin here.
— A pretty solid commercial overall.
STARS: ***½


7X4
contestants ruin too-easy game show by repeatedly jumping the gun

— Already, right from the beginning, I’m getting the feeling this is our Andy Breckman sketch of the week.
— Considering how up until now, every sketch so far tonight has starred the new cast members, it’s nice to see the overlooked veterans (and Rich Hall) leading a sketch.
— I liked the joke with Rich, as a character named Andy A. Abbott, asking “Will we be going alphabetically?”
— I’m loving Gary’s growing frustration with the contestants’ over-eagerness in answering too early.
— Very funny sketch overall, and also featured a strong Gary Kroeger performance.
STARS: ****


NEGRO BASEBALL
Negro Leaguers (BIC) & (CHG) remember glory days; Yogi Berra cameo

— Uh……….
— Yeah, I’m speechless during this so far. No idea where to begin addressing what I’m watching.
— Okay, Billy’s “contact hitter” line made me laugh.
— Christopher looks and sounds absolutely unrecognizable in this. The only reason I know it’s him is because of comments and reviews I’ve read of this sketch over the years.
— I hate to admit it, but the dialogue in this is winning me over. There are actual funny lines in here that are tickling me (e.g. smelt night).
— Boy, this film has been going on for a long time.
— Christopher’s delivery of the “The Russians couldn’t stop us from gigglin’” line cracked me up.
— Overall, I’m very conflicted on this. I hated the blackface aspect as well as the fact that this is yet another in a long line of racial Billy Crystal roles, and it also doesn’t help that this film was so long, but the film was well-made, well-written, and featured lots of funny lines all throughout. I’m very torn.
STARS: **½ by default


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lights Out”


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Geraldine Ferraro (MAG) responds to Barbara Bush’s derogatory comments
Lew Goldman (BIC) gives the weather forecast for members of his family

— They’re still using the new Saturday Night News opening sequence that was introduced in the last episode, but they’ve inexplicably gotten rid of the new set and have brought back the old one from the last two seasons.
— Awkward beginning with Bob sitting in silence for a few seconds before finally saying his intro. It’s as if he were waiting for applause that never came.
— Unsurprisingly, Bob’s delivery is not working here as an anchorperson.
— Okay, I did manage to get a laugh from Bob’s nice save after misreading Barbara Bush as “Barbara Rush”.
— Mary’s whole commentary came and went without me caring for it at all.
— I groaned so much at Bob’s joke that all four of the celebrities in a displayed picture with their hands on their chests (for the national anthem) are having heart attacks. And I could SWEAR that SNL already used that same punchline for a similar photo in a Weekend Update joke from the original era.
— Now we’re getting MORE lazy picture-based jokes.
— Billy’s meteorologist segment as an old Jewish guy is okay. It helps that this was reportedly co-written by (then-new writer) Larry David, which would make sense as this IS kinda in his voice.
STARS: **


LOST & FOUND
naive cop (host) lets (CHG) lay claim to entire lost & found department

— Christopher’s obvious scheme is pretty funny.
— I’m still hearing John Goodman in Bob’s voice.
— Not caring for how this sketch has been turning out. This premise with Christopher feels like it SHOULD be working, but the sketch is way too slow-moving for its own good and is coming off very dull.
STARS: *½


TIPPI TURTLE
by Jack Zander- Tippi Turtle tries mailing a lighter-than-air package

— The debut of Tippi Turtle, who’s segments I’m well aware of, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen any of them until now.
— This may be the very first instance of SNL having an animated cartoon segment, unless I’m forgetting something from an earlier season (I’m not counting any claymation films).
— Very funny theme song.
— I love the laugh that Tippi Turtle keeps doing.
— An overall pretty solid quick segment with a funny prank.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Need You Tonight”


SNL MAILBAG
letters reveal obsessed ex-con is coming to SNL to stalk JLD

— The reveal that the letter written about Julia’s looks comes from a prisoner is pretty funny.
— Even funnier with the creepier next letter revealing the prisoner is being released in three weeks despite being admittedly guilty.
— I’m liking the escalation this is taking, with the prisoner getting closer and closer to 30 Rock with each passing letter that Julia and Mary read.
— Decent ending with Mary romantically walking off with the prisoner.
STARS: ***


FRESH BASEBALL
host & (RIH) tout the nutritional value of fresh-squeezed baseball juice

— I like the ridiculous concept of Bob touting juice from freshly-squeezed baseballs as if they’re oranges.
— Great visual of the cup of baseball juice having red baseball seams in it.
STARS: ***½


NBC SPORTS UPDATE / GOODNIGHTS
Vin Scully (HAS) & Joe Garagiola (BIC) assess host’s performance on SNL

— I always like when SNL does this type of “sports commentators review a sketch that has just aired” piece.
— Nice change of pace for the goodnights.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very average episode. Kind of a letdown after how strong the season premiere was, and it also didn’t help that Bob Uecker was underwhelming as a host.  There were still things to like tonight, even if nothing stood out as truly great besides 7X4.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (no host):
— a fairly big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Jesse Jackson

Posted on

October 6, 1984 – (no host) / The Thompson Twins (S10 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Lifestyles of the Relatives of the Rich & Famous- Nelson Hepburn (MAS)

     

— Starting off the season with a pre-taped cold opening is very interesting and a sign of things to come regarding this season’s heavy usage of pre-tapes.
— I love that Martin Short is front-and-center right at the beginning of his first episode.
— Good premise for a “Lifestyles of Rich and Famous” parody, interviewing relatives of celebrities.
— Great Katherine Hepburn impression from Martin, playing her maternal third cousin.
— The interview with Martin is great, with lots of funny details in his stories.
— Love how throughout the interview, they keep cutting to the same shot of Harry Shearer as Robin Leach nodding.
— I like the beautiful shot they just showed of NYC at dusk. (screencap below)

— Christopher Guest as a relative of Charlie Callas is hilarious with his uncontrollable Callas-esque actions. He’s pulling this off perfectly.
— Overall, this cold opening got the season off to a strong start already, and I like how the only performers featured in this were some of the new cast members.
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— New opening montage!

       

— The theme music, which is the same as the one from the last three seasons, is noticeably canned tonight. The reason for this is because the early episodes of this season are performed in two different studios, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for election coverage. Tonight’s canned theme sounds like the same one they used last time SNL was forced out of Studio 8H for election coverage, which was back in October 1982.
— This new montage is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The innovative style, the amazing graphics, the wildly creative use of each cast member, the freakin’ opening shot of a giant roach looking at flying hot dogs… this has always been by far my favorite SNL opening montage, and is probably the most elaborate, expensive-looking one SNL has ever had, at least until season 29.
— Joining the cast tonight are Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Harry Shearer (who had an earlier stint in the cast back in season 5), Martin Short, and Pamela Stephenson. Wow, that’s a lot of newbies.


MONOLOGUE
BIC does stand-up about what it’s like to grow old

  

— Adding to the excitement of having a new opening montage is the fact that we also have a new home base stage, though this one is only temporary while the show is in a different studio.
— Billy Crystal gets the honors of doing tonight’s monologue since there’s no official host.
— Nice mention of this being the milestone 10th season of SNL.
— I’m liking his material on dreading having reached the 35-50 age range, and I can somewhat relate, since I’m only months away from reaching that age range myself. (I was born the same year this episode originally aired; in fact, this is the first live episode to air in my lifetime, as I was born during the summer)
— Okay, here’s where the monologue is starting to fall apart, with him talking about watching Poltergeist with a black audience. It’s just a whole bunch of tepid “black people yelling at the movie screen” jokes, and features the questionable use of Billy’s penchant for doing black voices. The “That’s why we don’t swim!” joke was especially groanworthy.
— Okay, he’s winning me back a little with his bit about “old” people telling youngsters about the (then) not-too-long-ago Beatlemania and Woodstock, though it’s kinda weird watching this in modern times because people who were around during the Beatles heyday and Woodstock really would be getting up there in age nowadays, and it’s now perfectly understandable for children today to have no knowledge of The Beatles or Woodstock.
— Boy, this monologue is going on for a LONG time.
— I liked his line “I have such respect for women… and Alan Alda.”
— Some laughs from his horrific facial expressions when acting out a baby being born.
— Overall, a hit-and-miss monologue, and suffered from its length. A definite step down from Billy’s solid monologue when he hosted last season. I did appreciate, though, how this had a “10 years” throughline to keep it related to SNL’s milestone 10th season.
STARS: **


OLYMPICS 1984: A SPECIAL REPORT
by Bruce Van Dusen- Olympic flame reverts to Greece

      

— The first guy holding the torch strangely resembles a young Mick Jagger.
— Good premise.
— Boy, is Rich Hall lanky in those gym shorts.
— The detailed journey of the torch is pretty funny.
— Good payoff with the long, long journey just leading to a guy simply blowing out the torch.
STARS: ***


RICH HALL’S ELECTION REPORT
Walter Mondale’s many fundraising dinners

     

— A nice way to introduce Rich Hall to us.
— I like the ridiculously high prices Rich is being charged for every little thing.
— Some good laughs from his attempts to hail a motorcade in a busy street.
— Surprised at the part with Mondale subtly giving the finger (which was uncensored, by the way).
— A somewhat-young Reginald VelJohnson is one of the people seen behind Rich during the aforementioned “Mondale flipping the bird” scene. (last screencap above)
— The live outtro with Rich ended kinda awkwardly.
STARS: ***½


WHEEL OF FORTUNE INTERVIEW
Pat Sajak fan Ed Grimley (MAS) wants to be a Wheel of Fortune contestant

     

— Hilarious blooper at the beginning, where Christoper Guest (in his first live appearance as a cast member, no less) bumps his head on a low boom mic. (first screencap above) I love his reaction: at first, he tries to play it off like nothing happened, by pretending to take notice of something in the letter he’s holding while making a “WTF?” gesture with his free hand, then he looks upwards towards the boom mic for a second before continuing on with the sketch.
— Good reveal that Christopher’s about to jump out the window to his death.
— Another funny reveal, where we find out Christopher’s job is interviewing potential Wheel of Fortune contestants.
— The SNL debut of Martin Short’s memorable character Ed Grimley.
— Julia’s bit role as a secretary introducing Ed Grimley to Christopher would later be shown as a clip in Julia’s monologue during her season 41 hosting stint, used as a representation of the type of “memorable” roles she was typically given during her SNL tenure.
— Even in this bit role, however, Julia still gets a laugh with her facial reaction to Grimley saying they had a nice chat.
— I love Grimley’s excited running back-and-forth while monologue-ing to himself when he’s left alone in the room.
— Grimley’s hilarious as he’s acting out a scenario of how his Wheel of Fortune adventure will go.
— Ha, even THIS sketch is succumbing to this season’s habit of doing lots of pre-tapes, with us now seeing filmed footage of Grimley leaving the office after his interview is over.
— The heavyset guy in the elevator with Grimley was just seen in the pre-taped Rich Hall Election Report.
— The part with a dummy of Christopher falling on Grimley out of nowhere had me howling.
STARS: ****


GRANDPA HOWARD
babysitter Howard Cosell’s (BIC) verbosity puts his grandkids to sleep

   

— The parents having to “translate” Cosell’s verbose greeting to the kids is fairly funny.
— I congratulate Billy on looking NOTHING like Howard Cosell.
— That being said, he IS doing a good vocal impression, at least.
— Ha, the part with the boy tearing off Cosell’s toupee and running away with it is making me laugh.
— I think that’s Billy himself doing the voice of O.J. Simpson being heard from the TV screen. If I’m correct, then that makes this ANOTHER example tonight of Billy doing a stereotypical black voice. Oh, god.
— Billy-as-Cosell’s long-winded stories just aren’t interesting or funny, even if that’s the point in the universe of this sketch. More and more, I’m losing what little interest in this sketch I initially had.
STARS: *½


SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
by Claude Kerven- Lawrence (MAS) & Gerald (HAS) are synchronized swimmers

     

— Here we go! One of the most well-loved, memorable pre-taped films in SNL history, and is probably widely considered the quintessential example of how strong this season’s short films are.
— Harry and Martin’s opening synchronized dancing in time to the music is hilarious (the gleeful look on Harry’s face is especially cracking me up).
— Martin’s big-foreheaded look is great.
— I like how dry Harry’s explanation of how he got into synchronized swimming is. Dead-serious delivery of something inherently silly is something Harry Shearer always excels at, and it’s nice to see that back on display on SNL after his season 5 stint.
— Pamela Stephenson looks unrecognizable in this. Maybe I just have a hard time recognizing her without the crazy 80s hair.
— I can see why Pamela’s scene is often removed from some versions of this film, as it’s not really a crucial part, but her scene is still good in its own right.
— Great inclusion of Christopher as a Waiting for Guffman-esque choreographer.
— There’s the classic “Hey, you! I know you! I know you!” bit.
— Christopher is excellent and is stealing this film.
— Another great Christopher Guest line, this time regarding killing himself with a Veg-O-Matic.
— Martin’s wild, spastic arm dance when he and Harry are standing in front of the pool is a riot.
— Overall, a brilliant and hilarious mockumentary that’s well-deserving of its status as a classic. This was absolutely perfect in every way.
STARS: *****


AUDIENCE CAPTION

— The return of the “audience caption” gag that was often done in the original era (it was briefly brought back in season 6, with less-than-stellar results).
— It’s quite appropriate that the first audience captionee this season is Rob Reiner, who has an important part in SNL’s history as the host of SNL’s third episode ever.
— It’s also appropriate that Reiner is shown right after a mockumentary short film featuring Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, as Reiner had recently directed those two performers in a certain famous mockumentary of his own.


MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
Walter Mondale (GAK) & Geraldine Ferraro (MAG) introduce musical guest

— Good to see the underrated Gary and Mary not getting lost in the shuffle tonight, considering all the showcases we’ve been seeing for the star-studded group of newbies.
— Good makeup on Gary’s Mondale.
— A decent, quick little pre-musical guest bit.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hold Me Now”


THE BULGE
by Andy Breckman- (JIB) stuffs his pants to attract ladies

         

— I almost thought the blonde guy laughing at Jim was Brad Hall. (second screencap above) I guess I haven’t gotten used to not seeing Brad on the show anymore.
— Heh, I like where this is going, with Jim getting a scheme-y look on his face after seeing Gary stuffing the front of his pants.
— Hilarious how Jim is going overboard with stuffing the front of his pants with literally EVERYTHING he can find nearby.
— Love the sly look Jim gave the camera when finding a cabinet full of cleaning products.
— Haha, amazing visual of Jim slowly re-entering the club with his ridiculously huge, clunky bulge.
— Everyone’s reactions to Jim’s bulge are great.
— Good ending shot of Jim’s bulge resting outside an open window in the cab that he and two ladies have taken off in.
— A minor detail, but I really liked the use of the background songs that played all throughout this, which added a nice touch.
STARS: ****½


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Fernando advises celebrities to enter the Betty Ford Clinic for publicity

     

— Wow, nice new opening credits sequence for Saturday Night News.
— Great new set too. Sadly, however, both the new opening sequence and the new set would end up getting dropped very soon (I think in the very next episode), and the show would revert to the old Saturday Night News opening and set. I never understood why. Why introduce a great new opening and set, only to immediately go back to the tired old one from the last two seasons?
— Billy’s Fernando wig looks different than usual.
— I’m glad he didn’t overdo the “You look mahvelous” shtick during his intro.
— Oh, I spoke too soon. HERE’S the dreaded overlong “mahvelous” talk. *groan*
— The photo montage of “celebrities” covering their faces from the camera seems strangely familiar, like something SNL had already done either last season or the season before.
— There are some laughs from which celebrities Fernando is suggesting should check into Betty Ford clinic to revitalize their careers, but this segment isn’t anything too great.
— A mention of how downhill Alan Thicke’s career was going at the time, as this was during his doomed talk show-hosting stint. Little did they know that a year later, Growing Pains would revitalize his career.
— Tonight’s Saturday Night News is over already, with no guest commentaries.
— Not very good overall, and as I said in my review of the previous season’s finale, I’m already starting to get kinda tired of Fernando. I came into this season thinking I wasn’t going to be quite as salty towards Billy’s SNL tenure as some people are, but I dunno… between tonight’s overlong monologue, his dull (and also overlong) Howard Cosell sketch, his overabundance of stereotypical black voices, and now this weak Saturday Night News starring his overdone Fernando, Billy’s not exactly off to a great start so far this season.
STARS: **


FIRST DRAFT THEATER
an early version of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep

    

— For some reason, I’m already getting laughs just from the way the opening voice-over announced the sketch’s title.
— Funny part with the grammatically-confusing “silver flask wearing a red silk skirt” line leading to a visual of a flask in a dress.
— Christopher: “She had the kind of figure that… made you wanna have sex with her.”
— Christopher: “She opened up like a… cheap sandwich that wasn’t wrapped properly.”
— Loved Christopher literally saying “Aieee, he’s got a gun!”
— Some technical glitches after Jim slaps Christopher with a gun.
— I liked the random, overly-wordy description of Jim’s eyes.
— I’m really enjoying this sketch’s format of re-doing scenes after the writer discovers writing gaffes. This is reminding me a bit of that great “The Writer” sketch from Bill Murray’s season 6 episode, though with its own original spin.
— Very funny part with the whole “Loomis” confusion, followed by the writer frantically looking through his script and realizing there IS no character in his story with that name.
— Great sketch overall, with a clever format, an endless number of funny lines, and strong lead performances.
STARS: ****


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Bob Guccione (JIB) explains to JLD why he publishes sleaze

    

— Oh, so this is going to be one of those episodes that has multiple Saturday Night News segments throughout the night. Man, Ebersol toys around with the format of SNL’s news segment way too much in this era.
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus as an anchorperson? This feels weird to see.
— I laughed at Jim’s Penthouse philosophy of “If it smells, it sells”.
— The raunchy Norman Rockwell paintings are pretty funny, especially the “Funny Uncle Otto” one.
— Very short Saturday Night News overall. This was decent for what it was.
STARS: ***


BOOK BEAT
iron pipe through (CHG)’s head hampers interview with (RIH)

   

— Wow, what an opening visual of Christopher with a pipe through his head.
— I’m already getting the feeling this is an Andy Breckman-written sketch, as this has the vibe of his unique, premise-driven talk show sketches from last season.
— Christopher blanking in the middle of his question is pretty funny.
— Great escalation in how out-of-it Christopher is, especially his sudden crying breakdown before immediately going to back into a straight face.
— Overall, a fun Christopher Guest showcase. His perpetually-deadpan facial expression is great for this type of role.
STARS: ***½


KILLING TIME
MAS kills some time because the show is running a little late

— Martin, while on the home base stage, explains that the show is running late and they’re going to go back to commercial and then come back to another Thompson Twins performance.
— The scheduling tonight did seem a little “off” to begin with, with the first commercial break of the night not coming until almost a half-hour(!) into the show. Maybe the heavy usage of pre-taped segments threw the scheduling off.
— Martin’s ways of comedically vamping for time are fairly funny.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Gap”


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Wow, what a season premiere! The show had such a new, exciting feel tonight, which was a lot of fun to see. And the quality of the episode was strong, with many great pieces. The heavy usage of pre-taped segments (which all ranged from pretty solid to classic) also gave the show an interesting vibe that I liked. The new season is off to a VERY good start so far.
— Of the new cast members, it’s no surprise that the already-famous ones were the ones who seemed to dominate the episode. Christopher Guest especially had a strong night, getting lots of laughs, showing tons of potential as a versatile everyman-type player, and managing to steal some of the pieces he played a supporting role in (e.g. Synchronized Swimming).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1983-84):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Bob Uecker

Posted on

May 12, 1984 – Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci, and Betty Thomas / The Cars (S9 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Sammy Davis, Jr. (BIC) breakdances & sings with Frank Sinatra (JOP)

       

— Yet another extensive season 9 pre-taped segment that signals the upcoming heavy usage of pre-tapes next season.
— Very funny visual of the limo “driving” backwards from Radio City to NBC.
— LOL at the random 80s breakdancer outside 30 Rock. I also liked Joe-as-Sinatra’s sour response to seeing that: “Look at this crap these crazy kids are into nowadays.”
— That obviously must be a double in Billy Crystal’s place as he’s breakdancing, but the editing made it look pretty convincing.
— An on-camera appearance from Don Pardo!
— I liked Don’s facial reaction to Joe’s Sinatra sending him to get towels.
— I’m enjoying how extensive this whole cold opening feels.
— Fairly fun musical performance from Joe and Billy.
— Nice way of working in “Live from New York…”
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

   

— Heh, Billy’s still removing his Sammy Davis Jr. makeup. I had been wondering during the cold opening how Billy was going to get all that dark makeup off in time for the monologue.
— Very interesting seeing FIVE hosts all on the SNL stage at the same time.
— That’s it? It’s over already? This featured literally nothing. The hosts came out on stage and then we’re told “We’ll be right back” and that was it. This is kinda disappointing, as I was looking forward to seeing what they would do for a monologue with five hosts.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)


SARDUCCI & NELSON
Father Guido Sarducci & Willie Nelson (JIB) join to do an album of duets

 

— Funny pairing.
— Wow, Father Guido Sarducci actually has a really nice singing voice. Who knew?
— What was with the “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”/”You don’t sing me love songs” mix-up? Seemed like it was a genuine blooper.
— The humor in this sketch seems to be dying down after the main joke has been well established.
— Okay, they won me back over with the ending.
STARS: ***


MAYOR KOCH’S NEIGHBORHOOD
Worthington Clotman says no more “buy my book”

   

— A very funny concept with Ed Koch in place of Mister Robinson.
— I was surprised to hear an on-air acknowledgment of Eddie Murphy’s SNL departure.
— LOL at Koch’s attempt at doing the “Mister Robinson surprised face” close-up bit.
— Interesting seeing Tim’s Worthington Clotman outside of Saturday Night News.
— Kind of a weird ending, but the sketch as a whole still worked.
STARS: ***½


MIKKO’S GOT YOUR NOSE SAFETY GUARD
prevents accidental child rhinoplasty

    

— Julia’s skin looks darker than usual for some reason.
— Actually, so does Joe’s.
— Hilarious sudden sight gag with Julia’s face projectile bleeding after Joe unintentionally pulls off her nose.
— I love Joe’s panicking when he finally realizes he has Julia’s severed nose in his hand. This sketch is hilarious.
— A great “How many times has THIS happened to you?” from Brad as the spokesperson.
— Overall, one of the great gory projectile-bleeding sketches in SNL history.
STARS: ****


GUIDO ON THE STREET
Father Guido Sarducci asks various questions to Manhattan commuters

   

— I like the part with one guy telling Sarducci the four ways to skin a cat.
— If you know me, you’ll know that I love how Sarducci’s now asking a Three Stooges question.
— I’m enjoying the fast pacing of this as well as Sarducci’s absurd questions.
— Good ending with him hitching a ride in the backseat of a police car.
STARS: ***


NEEDLEMAN
nerdy oral surgeon’s (GAK) dating service tape is music video-like

       

— “Video date?” Oh, I think this is going to be to the Needleman video that I’ve always been dying to see.
— Jim’s creepy video was pretty funny.
— Yep, here comes Gary as Ira Needleman. It’ll be interesting to see how his normal-so-far intro will transition into the famous music video.
— Yes! Here’s his music video! This is ALREADY coming off awesome so far.
— The “spit” part with the female dancers was hilarious.
— I’m loving the sudden slow tempo change when Needleman is listing off his likes and what he wants in a girl.
— Man, they are going ALL OUT out for this.
— Overall, this did not let me down. This was just as fantastic as legend had me expecting, and featured a phenomenal job by Gary. And much like “Look At Our Video” from a few episodes ago, this is another example of this season doing a very dead-on, detailed parody of then-contemporary music videos.
— Gary would go on to credit this piece as being the thing that got him a third season on SNL. I believe he said if it weren’t for this sketch, he most likely would’ve gotten fired after this season like he originally did after his first season (before Brad Hall stood up for him and convinced Ebersol to immediately re-hire him).
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Drive”


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (MAG) says she learned all about sex from her mother
Dr. Jack Badofsky lists medical disorders named after celebrities
Fernando is miffed because he thought he would anchor the news

       

— Edwin Newman does the SNL news once again.
— First time we’ve seen Mary’s Dr. Ruth in quite a while.
— Didn’t care too much for the sight gag of Dr. Ruth’s mother being so short that she can’t be seen over the desk.
— Mary’s overall Mother’s Day commentary was okay.
— Edwin’s delivery seems unusually slow tonight, even moreso than it usually is. I’m not liking it as much as I liked his delivery when he hosted earlier this season.
— Funny delay with the beginning of Tim’s commentary while he’s seen still applying his clip-on microphone.
— It took Tim a while to get into character before speaking, thanks to the aforementioned delay.
— Here’s our last-ever Dr. Jack Badofsky commentary.
— LOL at the negative audience reaction to the “Syphyllis Schlafly” pun.
— And that’s the official end for Dr. Jack. Tonight’s appearance was fine, though no particular puns here stood out to me and I was a little disappointed we didn’t get the usual great ad-lib out of Tim at any point during this.
— Here’s Fernando making yet another Saturday Night News appearance this season.
— Boy, Billy has really been running the “You look mahvelous” catchphrase in the ground these last few episodes. I don’t like how he always has to spend the first 30 seconds of his Fernando appearances just going on and on about how the audience and whoever is next to him “look mahvelous”. It’s not a good sign when I’ve ALREADY gotten tired of that catchphrase before we’ve even reached Billy’s stint as a cast member in season 10.
— Edwin charming his way into convincing Fernando to let him continue doing the news tonight was fairly funny.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Magic”


HELLO, TRUDY!
Edwin nearly jeopardizes the show’s future

   

— The return of this solid sketch from earlier this season. As I said last time, I’m a little wary over how this will turn out as a recurring sketch, since it doesn’t seem like the type of premise that will lend itself well to repetition.
— I liked Edwin’s “Oh, brother…” when Trudy calls a second time.
— Funny how Trudy is making a reluctant Jim do increasingly ridiculous things to Edwin.
— Surprising turn with Trudy angrily quitting as a viewer of this show.
— Oh, Jim eventually won her back over.
— Jim pushing Edwin away just as he was about to give Trudy advice was pretty funny.
— Overall, this second installment of “Hello, Trudy” surprisingly worked. I’m glad they didn’t just repeat the exact same premise from the first installment of this sketch, and Edwin made for a really good foil here.
STARS: ***½


JOEL HODGSON
Joel Hodgson [real] plays Mystery Date with audience & uses the Levitron

       

— During her intro, Betty Thomas (in her first non-monologue appearance of the whole night, by the way) noticeably announces Joel Hodgson as “Joel Hodges”.
— The “Mystery Date” part seems a little weird, especially the jingle Joel’s singing, which the audience is giving immediate recognition laughter to. It must be parodying something I’m not familiar with.
— A good laugh from Joel sending the Mystery Date-losing audience member away bowling.
— What’s with the random repeated buzzer sound throughout this?
— Oh, I see, the buzzer is reminding him to eat a Pez. Funny running bit.
— Amusing reveal of how he did the “Levitron” trick.
— Haha, oh my god at the bit with him demonstrating the insane costume invention he made involving snakes-in-a-can.
— Overall, an okay Joel Hodgson appearance (his final one on SNL, I believe), though this was slower-paced than usual. I prefer the tighter pacing of some of his earlier appearances.
STARS: ***


KARATE SCHOOL
the Three Stooges (GAK), (JOP), (TIK) teach a women’s self-defense class

     

— Sad that Betty Thomas is just NOW making her first actual sketch appearance of the night.
— A Three Stooges sketch!!! Oh, you KNOW I’m going crazy over this.
— Weird seeing “Moe” being so much shorter than his fellow Stooges.
— As always, great Curly impression from Joe.
— Tim and Gary are also doing pretty well in their impressions.
— This is an absolutely dead-on parody of the Stooges so far.
— Ha, Joe’s pants accidentally fell down!!! Hilarious blooper.
— And now the pants fell down again!
— Love how all the performers (especially the female cast members) have lost their composure due to the aforementioned blooper.
— Great ending with the ladies imitating the Stooges’ mannerisms and chasing them around the room while the Stooges’ theme music “Listen to the Mockingbird” plays.
— Overall, I loved this sketch, probably more than most people do. I’m biased because this really appealed to me as a Stooges fanatic, and had a classic blooper to boot.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty strong season-ender. We got some great sketches tonight, nothing flopped too badly at all, and the novelty of having five hosts gave the show an exciting feel. Part of me wishes this experiment with having a season finale be hosted by five different people who hosted earlier in the season was occasionally done again in some of the later years, though I can kinda understand why they kept it a one-time thing.

— My copy of this episode is missing a sketch at the end of the show called “Sushi Restaurant”, which features all five of tonight’s hosts and has something to do with Godzilla terrorizing a Japanese restaurant. Interesting-sounding premise and it would’ve been fun to see how it managed to work all five hosts into one sketch, which sounds like a nice way to end this special season finale.

— Tonight ended up being the final episode for Joe Piscopo, Robin Duke, Brad Hall, and Tim Kazurinsky, which is quite a shake-up for SNL. I know Joe left on his own, and I’m assuming the same goes for Tim.  I know Brad was fired, and I’m guessing Robin was as well. [ADDENDUM: According to some comments I received, it turns out all four performers were fired, including Joe and Tim. Wow.] Of the four of them, Joe and Tim will be the most missed, as they both played an important part to the show these last few seasons and were very versatile and often reliable. Robin was usually always good, but the problem with her tenure was that she often suffered from being very underused and wasted, which made her come off invisible at times. I had issues with Brad as a performer during his first season-and-a-half, and I figured when he got removed from his anchorperson role on Saturday Night News in the middle of this season that he would have practically nothing left to do for the remainder of the season, as he had never been known to be a standout sketch performer. I was surprised to find out that not only was he not as invisible in the second half of this season as I predicted, but he actually began growing on me more and more during the last few months of the season. The issues I used to have with him were gradually fading away as he was starting to develop into a quietly solid performer. As I said in a recent review, I wonder if that growth would’ve continued had he been brought back next season.

— Season 9 as a whole was a very interesting one. With the show’s megastar Eddie Murphy half-gone for most of the year, you’d think that would spell trouble for the show considering how heavily they used to lean on him to carry the show and how he was the main reason many people tuned into SNL, but the show surprisingly ended up managing to still do well without his dominance this season. (And let’s be honest: even in some of the appearances Eddie DID make this season, he came off kinda complacent and seemed like he was ready to move on from SNL) The addition of Jim Belushi to the cast helped, as he turned out to have a great first year and added a new energy to the show. Another addition that helped this season was new writer Andy Breckman, who added a lot of much-needed creativity to the writing and who’s conceptual, hilarious, premise-driven sketches were usually always a highlight of the show. Yet another interesting thing is how some unique aspects of next season started forming in the last quarter of THIS season: the writing style started to shift quite a bit, we started getting more and more reliance on strong pre-taped pieces, Billy Crystal was getting more and more involved with the show, and the penultimate episode’s musical guest (Spinal Tap) consisted of members who would all either be part of next season’s cast or would host that season at one point. Very intriguing to watch the whole gradual transition from season 9 to season 10.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Barry Bostwick):
— about the same


HOW THIS SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1982-83):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 10 begins, featuring no host. The season will have quite a number of major changes to the show’s general atmosphere and we also get a large influx of new additions to the cast, most of whom are already famous and one of whom is one of the very people who co-hosted tonight’s season finale.

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May 5, 1984 – Barry Bostwick / Spinal Tap (S9 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
MAG & JLD act out a simulated cat fight to turn on the male viewers

   

— Julia angrily telling Mary “Kiss off!” gave me an unintentional laugh just because it seemed to be such a bad censor-friendly substitute for “piss off”.
— Mary and Julia’s wild catfight is pretty fun.
— Interesting turn with Mary and Julia breaking the fourth wall and explaining to us how this was just a “simulated cat fight” for viewers.
— An overall decent idea for a cold opening, though it felt like the catfight should’ve gone much further.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host is typecast as George Washington because of his miniseries role

  

— I liked his line about being tired of hearing “Martha [Washington]’s got splinters in her gums” jokes.
— The George Washington screen effects they’re secretly using on an unsuspecting Barry are fairly funny. Not much else to this monologue, it seems.
STARS: ***


FOLDGERS CRYSTALS
— Rerun


LIE DETECTOR
(JIB)’s extensive criminal record is revealed by a lie detector test

 

— The ridiculous truths about Jim are really funny, and this sketch is having a nice season 10 feel.
— Ha, now it’s revealed that Jim was a Nazi… “briefly!”
— I like the escalation the humor in this is taking.
— Good ending twist with Joe and Brad happily hiring Jim for the embassy in Nicaragua.
STARS: ****


ICEMAN
unfrozen greaser (host) sings “Waking Up Is Hard To Do”

   

— Barry’s neanderthal-esque choppy utterances of random 50s gibberish song lyrics are pretty funny.
— I’m liking Brad’s constant eagerness in wanting to cut Barry up. Brad Hall continues to grow on me as a performer.
— Interesting turn this has taken with the “Waking Up is Hard to Do” musical number. Very good performance from Barry here.
— The part with Barry’s character hurting himself trying to do a split made me laugh.
STARS: ***


BUDDWEISER LIGHT
— Another rerun


2 ON THE TOWN
Whiners win a tour of NYC for being 1,000,000th visitors

       

— Ohh, god, it’s the Whiners out of nowhere. SNL fooled me with the whole pre-taped set-up with Gary and Julia.
— At least this is a different setting for the Whiners, and I see SNL is continuing to get mileage out of their newfound love for doing extensive pre-taped segments.
— I loved Gary’s angry, loud delivery of “TAKE THAT HOT DOG AND SHUT UP, OKAY??!?”
— Good turn this has taken with Gary and Julia “rewarding” the Whiners by shoving them into an alley to be mugged by two criminals.
— Predictable that the Whiners’ whininess would eventually drive away the muggers.
— Randomly, we end with a live shot of the Whiners in SNL’s audience. I almost expected this to lead into a return of the “audience caption” gag from the original era, but I think that returns next season.
— Overall, a little more tolerable than the usual Whiners sketches, and it also helps that I know this is mercifully the last time these characters ever appear.  This sketch DID feel like an appropriate way for them to go out.
STARS: **½


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Fernando describes some bogus new programs for the upcoming fall season
Nancy Reagan (MAG) shows slides of the first couple’s trip to China

     

— A random return of Billy Crystal, playing Fernando as a Saturday Night News guest anchor once again. Between Billy’s hosting stint a few episodes ago, his guest appearance tonight, and his return (co-)hosting stint in the next episode, it looks like Ebersol is phasing Billy Crystal into the SNL mold. It’s so interesting how you can see aspects of season 10 starting to form in the homestretch of this season.
— I do like this segment right now with Fernando recapping canceled TV series and upcoming new fall series.
— I ashamedly admit to chuckling at Fernando’s bad “reporter/re-puerto ricans” pun when talking about a new series starring Menundo.
— Interesting seeing Mary play Nancy Reagan, though I get the feeling she may have already played this role once before and I’m just not remembering what sketch it was.
— Mary’s characterization of Nancy is pretty good here, and a bit of a change from how Mary usually plays roles.
— Not too crazy about Mary’s vacation photos commentary so far.
— I liked Fernando’s comment to Nancy regarding eating a “dalmatian pie”.
— Boy, this Nancy Reagan commentary is going on for a really long time. It’s basically transitioned from a straightforward commentary to a full-fledged interview between her and Fernando. It’s almost like an early precursor to the Fernando’s Hideaway sketches we’ll be seeing next season.
— And Saturday Night News is already over? Surprised by how little this featured.
STARS: **½


SPINAL TAP INTERVIEW
host interviews musical guest (MMK), (CHG), (HAS)

  

— Love the idea of this segment, and it’s so interesting in hindsight seeing Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, considering they end up joining the cast just next season.
— Like a lot of things that have been popping up in the last quarter of this season, this segment feels like a preview of season 10.
— I cracked up at the sudden jump cut after McKean’s sneeze.
— So many funny random lines between the three of them. This feels largely improvised.
— All the devil talk is hilarious, especially Guest’s “poke poke” line.
— Their defense of the song “Big Bottom” is another really funny part.
— Overall, excellent segment as expected, and a great lead-in to the musical performance.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Christmas With The Devil”

 


UNANSWERED QUESTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
Havnagootiim Vishnuuerheer on more Unanswered Questions of the Universe

— I like the bit regarding Captain Hook’s name before he lost his hand.
— Funny frustrated reaction from Tim to the tedious Ty-D-Bowl Man question.
— Wow, the “Was anybody having sex on Gilligan’s Island?” question was certainly random.
— “What does a cheese say when taking a picture” was a funny question, but Tim’s answer didn’t do much for me.
— Overall, this was decent for what I’m assuming ends up being the final appearance of this character. Still, I think I preferred his earlier commentaries on Saturday Night News where he would just ask a string of random mysterious questions.
STARS: ***


LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
La Cage Aux Folles Rick Springfield (host) wishes he was “Jessie’s Girl”

 

— Barry’s Rick Springfield voice is a little weird.
— I’m liking where this is going, but then again, I’m always a sucker for the song “Jessie’s Girl”.
— Pretty funny La Cage Aux Folles twist with the camera revealing Barry’s Rick Springfield in a dress.
STARS: ***


A. WHITNEY BROWN
AWB does stand-up about his driving difficulties

— Hey, it’s future SNL writer/featured player A. Whitney Brown! AND WITH A MUSTACHE!!!
— It’s amazing how many future cast members have been in tonight’s episode. You have Billy Crystal, all three members of Spinal Tap, and now AWB.
— Brown looks so young in this.
— His jokes and delivery are all amusing so far, and I like how laid-back this feels. It’s strange, though, seeing him do regular stand-up that’s not political-related like his future Weekend Update commentaries would always be.
— Pretty solid stand-up segment overall.
STARS: ***½


THE TURKEY LADY
lab mishap turns (JLD) into The Turkey Lady (ROD); Soupy Sales cameo

         

— Oh, I’m already loving this just from the horror movie-esque opening title sequence alone.
— Haha, oh my god at Robin’s entrance in that insane turkey make-up.
— I like the “leg man” conversation between Gary and another guy, though their timing seemed off at first.
— Wow, it’s great how this sketch is carrying over into a talk show segment.
— Julia’s fly-esque cries of “Help me!” over the phone were funny, as was Jim getting amusement from that.
— Now the sketch is carrying over into another new segment, with Robin’s Turkey Lady doing a tea commercial. This is all great.
— Now we’re back to the science lab.
— I loved how Barry’s pre-procedure statement to the press was simply “I hope this works. I’m a very horny man.”
— A hilarious random cameo from Soupy Sales. I’m ashamed to admit, though, that the only reason I know it’s him is because of comments I had read about this sketch over the years. I wouldn’t have recognized him on my own, which I guess shows my relatively-young age.
— Fantastic sketch overall, and it’s incredible how they went all out for this and gave this an epic feel.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Big Bottom”


DOG DAY P.M.
canine filmmaker (host) recalls being mistreated by humans

   

— Well, this looks like an… um… interesting sketch.
— One minute later, and boy, this sketch has not working for me so far.
— The “puppy porn” part of the narrated footage is pretty funny, at least.
— Not sure about Barry’s delivery here. It may be a little TOO goofy for my likes.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A solid episode. I also like how it had a bit more of an experimental feel than usual, with SNL trying various ambitious things tonight, most of which payed off. Even the Whiners were put in a much different setting than usual. And, of course, it goes without saying how much Spinal Tap added to the show.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (George McGovern):
— a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Season 9 comes to an end, with a stunningly large number of FIVE hosts, all of whom hosted either earlier this season or late last season: Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci, and Betty Thomas. We also get the last hurrah of cast members Joe Piscopo, Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, and Brad Hall.

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April 14, 1984 – George McGovern / Madness (S9 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
ten years in the future, (TIK) interviews Richard Nixon (JOP)

— A sketch set 10 years in the future in April 1994. Didn’t Nixon end up dying sometime around that exact same time? If so, that’s quite eerie.
— As usual, Joe is relying on tons of makeup for a celebrity impression. His Nixon makeup in this is really good, though.
— A pretty good Nixon impression from Joe, and I appreciate how unlike some of his other roles, he’s not playing this one too big.
— His blunt “I lied like a two-dollar whore” line cracked me up.
— Another funny line with “If you wanna get inside Nixon’s head, you have to use a proctoscope”.
— Overall, despite some funny lines, I wanted this to go further with the premise.
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
host solicits donations from audience members, except his wife [real]

   

— The audience is giving him a standing ovation?
— I really liked his opening statement to the audience, telling them “Thank you for that wonderful reception. Where were you last month on Super Tuesday?”
— Good line about waking up Reagan.
— His delivery is coming off slow-paced and fairly monotone, but he’s doing okay enough.
— He’s now going into the audience to ask them for money, which is pretty funny.
STARS: ***


MIDTOWN OPEN
host follows JOP & JIB on a round of golf through the streets of NYC

     

— Looks like we have yet another pre-taped short film this season, once again signaling what’s to come in season 10.
— The “sandtrap” being at a construction site is really funny.
— Fun video with Joe and Jim golfing all over the streets of NYC.
— Loved Jim’s “You win?” when George explains to him that he ran for president in 1972.
— Really funny part with Jim kicking over the passed-out lady to continue the golf game.
— Pretty solid film overall.
STARS: ***½


WHITE HOUSE FOODS
Ronald Reagan (JOP) for Very, Very Hungry Man Dinners; Clara Peller cameo

   

— Pretty funny concept with Joe’s Reagan hawking TV dinners for poor families, even though this is reminding me of a sketch with him in season 7.
— Some of the disgusting TV dinners being advertised are making me laugh, especially “Appalachian Black Lung Cake” and “Dead Pigeon with Paint Chips”.
— I also like how the kids’ version of the TV dinner comes with two “vegetables”: ketchup and salt.
— Ha, it’s the “Where’s the beef?” lady!
STARS: ***


TRAMPOLINE
circus people in the apartment below ruin (MAG)’s date with (TIK)

   

— Jim repeatedly bouncing up through the hole in Mary’s floor is a funny concept and I’m cracking up at Jim’s varied exclamations every time he pops up.
— This feels kinda like a companion piece to Jim’s “Man on Chain” sketch from earlier this season.
— Good touch with Jim’s bouncing gradually becoming less and less high after getting shot.
— Mary’s exaggerated aggression is funny, though something about the turn her performance has taken makes it feel like something went wrong with this sketch. Not sure what happened, though.
— Nice reveal at the end when camera pulls back and shows how this sketch’s set was layed out for Jim to bounce through the hole in the floor.
STARS: ***½


DIRECT HITS
updated songs reflect America’s military muscle

  

— Looks like this is going to be another in a long line of sketches this era with a spokesperson advertising an album of hit songs modified to fit a certain theme. SNL has been going to this well too often lately, and I’ve been getting tired of it.
— I notice that just about every time they do these album sketches, one of the songs being parodied is ALWAYS “My Boyfriend’s Back”.
— Okay, some of these song samples are making me laugh, and I like how there’s more parodies of then-contemporary songs (e.g. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” being turned into “Guerrillas Just Wanna Have Guns”) than these album sketches usually have.
— The vocalists are doing good impressions of the various singers who’s songs are being parodied here.
STARS: **½


I DIDN’T REALIZE
menage-a-trois seekers (JIB) & (MAG) find (EDM)’s involved with a couple

    

— Seems to be a lot of sketches tonight that begin with people coming home to a dark apartment after a night out.
— Well, here we are, folks: the final Eddie Murphy sketch aired during his SNL tenure. Very significant and makes this sketch feel special, even if it was taped before this season even started.
— The fact that the characters in this sketch are discussing Flashdance as if it’s a new movie makes it obvious this sketch was taped in 1983, back when the movie first came out.
— Interesting voice on Eddie here.
— Eddie’s drunk, slurred voice is now strangely starting to kinda sound like a typical Bill Cosby impression.
— I like Julia and Tim entering as another couple who Eddie is apparently “involved” with.
— Jim’s intense delivery of “You’re SICK!!!” to Eddie was funny.
— What’s with the very random breaking-the-fourth-wall ending with Eddie dropping character and introducing each actor to the audience one-by-one, as if this were a play? As strange as that is, something about it DOES feel kinda fitting for what ended up being the last-aired Eddie Murphy sketch. I wonder if that was the intention back when this sketch was originally taped.
— And, well, that’s the whole sketch. The Eddie Murphy era of SNL is now officially over. I’m really going to miss covering his SNL tenure, especially considering his HUGE importance to the show these last four seasons. I just wish he had a stronger sketch to go out on, as this was just an average, unmemorable piece.
STARS: ***


FRANKIE PACE
prop comic Frankie Pace [real] plays a miniature piano & does other stuff

     

— Well, THIS is unexpected. Why wasn’t this guy credited as a special guest in the opening montage like stand-up guest performers in this era usually are? Also, who IS this guy??? I’m usually already familiar with the stand-up performers that SNL gets in this era (Harry Anderson, Joel Hodgson, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, etc.), but this guy is a complete unknown to me.
— When he first walked on, I initially almost thought he was Danny DeVito in character.
— His movie impressions bit is fairly awful, especially the constant “Rocky” ones.
— Wow, this guy is corny as hell.
— Boy, this guy sure laughs at himself a lot. Well, I’m glad SOMEONE’S being amused by this stand-up performance, because I sure ain’t.
— Some people knock Joel Hodgson for being a prop comic, but Hodgson’s SNL stand-up segments are comedic brilliance compared to THIS guy.
— Okay, I admit, I do kinda like the bit he’s doing right now where he’s using a hole in a scarf to act out a baby being birthed.
STARS: *½


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
GAK plays a phony tape recording of host in lieu of a movie review
financial advisor Maurice Frank (TIK) describes unusual tax write-offs
JOP reports on recent happenings in baseball, hockey, Olympics, golf

         

— George’s Madness/Boy George joke was fucking terrible.
— Third consecutive edition of Saturday Night News with Gary Kroeger giving a movie review.
— I really liked George’s delivery of “Why, you scoundrel” when Gary reveals he has a tape of George acting rude backstage.
— Ha, the tape is clearly just Gary doing various voices. I probably should’ve seen that coming, but it’s still making me laugh. The use of subtitles on the bottom of the screen is also adding to the humor.
— LOL, the running joke of Gary getting thrown over a desk continues yet again. Love how this time, he actually says “Oh, not again!” as he’s about to get thrown.
— George’s delivery as an anchorperson is not working for me. The aforementioned slow, monotone delivery we’ve been hearing from him all throughout tonight’s episode is hurting these news jokes he’s reading.
— Another new Saturday Night News character for Tim, debuting late in his SNL tenure. The look of this character alone is already making me laugh.
— The little things Tim’s saying you can claim as tax write-offs are pretty funny.
— Man, George’s news joke segments are a comedy vacuum. The guest correspondents have been the only saving grace of tonight’s edition of Saturday Night News.
— Considering Joe is leaving SNL two episodes from now, I wonder if this ends up being his final SNL Sports segment.
— I got a pretty good laugh from Joe’s “Screw em!” regarding the Olympic-boycotting Russians.
— Joe breaking out a sports toy to use as a demonstration brings back memories of when he used to regularly do that during his earliest SNL Sports commentaries way back in season 6 when Charles Rocket was anchoring SNL’s news. If tonight ends up being the final edition of Joe’s SNL Sports commentaries, then you can say they came full circle.
STARS: **½


COSMOS
Carl Sagan (GAK) shows universe where host won ’72 election

   

— Interesting “what if?” premise.
— George’s “just kidding” prank to the Russian over the phone was pretty funny.
— A pretty good laugh from George’s idea of getting the Oscars down to 40 minutes.
— Very funny implication of George having republican work camps.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Our House”


BOOK BEAT
archeologist’s (host) discovery makes (BRH)’s book worthless

   

— There’s the name Dale Butterworth. Yes! We’re getting our Andy Breckman sketch of the night!
— Brad’s performance here is actually really good. I love his anguish over the treasure being found. Between the MTV and Footless sketches in the last episode and now this Book Beat sketch tonight, Brad’s been growing on me as a performer lately. Unfortunately, it’s too little too late, considering this ends up being his third-to-last episode as a cast member. I wonder if he would’ve continued improving as a performer if he were given another season.
— Decent payoff at the end.
— Overall, another good premise-driven Andy Breckman-written talk show sketch, even if this one wasn’t quite as strong as earlier talk show sketches Breckman’s written.
STARS: ***½


BROTHER IN LAW
Walter & his wife (ROD) are fed up with his less successful brother host

  

— Wow, is this the first time we’re seeing Robin all night? Geez. Then again, I don’t know why I’m surprised. Her airtime is usually pretty scarce. Still, a cast member not appearing until the final sketch of the night is always pretty crazy, and it’s especially sad in Robin’s case, considering we’re in the homestretch of her SNL tenure.
— The return of Walter and Ike, Gary and Robin’s married couple from the Footless sketch in the last episode.
— There goes Robin’s twitchy face-rubbing mannerism that she used for this Ike character last time.
— Pretty funny how George is playing himself as a down-on-his-luck relative of Walter and Ike.
— Walter and Ike’s back-and-forth insults are cracking me up.
— Loved Walter finally calling out Ike on her face-rubbing tic by asking her “What the HELL are you doin’, woman?!?”
— An overall pretty good piece, with nice character work from two underrated cast members (Gary and Robin), and George McGovern being a good sport about himself.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Keep Moving”


GOODNIGHTS

  

— Okay, I’ve heard ENOUGH “Where’s the beef?” for one night. I can only imagine how long it took for America to get sick of that catchphrase back in 1984.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A very average episode. Nothing special at all, though the consistent flow of decent-but-not-great sketches was still fairly enjoyable.
— George McGovern wasn’t TOO bad for non-actor standards, and his slow, monotone delivery didn’t hamper the show too much (aside from his turn as guest anchor of Saturday Night News), though there certainly have been better politician hosts over the years.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Michael Douglas):
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Barry Bostwick / Spinal Tap

Posted on

April 7, 1984 – Michael Douglas / Deniece Williams (S9 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Karl Malden (JOP) saves host with an American Express Traveller’s Script

 

— Joe’s random Jimmy Durante-esque delivery of “Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha!” was pretty funny.
— Good “Live from New York…” delivery from Michael.
— An overall decent idea for a cold opening, but the execution didn’t come off all that funny or special.
STARS: **


OPENING MONTAGE
— Eddie Murphy isn’t credited at all tonight. Kinda surprising that they would officially remove him from the credits ALREADY, considering I’m aware they’re not finished airing all the sketches he taped before this season started. There’s, I think, just one more taped Eddie sketch remaining, but I forgot which episode it airs in. Removing him from the credits tonight probably made people think we wouldn’t be seeing him anymore for the remainder of the season.
— Feels weird seeing the credits just go from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Joe Piscopo, with no Eddie in between. Also, with Eddie gone, Joe is now the cast member who receives by far the wildest audience cheers.
— Despite Eddie’s absence, I’ve noticed Comedy Central’s “The Eddie Murphy Experience” station bug showing up on the corner of the screen at one earlier point in my copy of this episode. If Eddie’s not in this episode, why in the world would Comedy Central air it in an Eddie Murphy marathon???


MONOLOGUE
host follows his dad’s advice & shows a clip from Romancing The Stone

     

— Nice that he brought up how his father Kirk hosted the show four years ago.
— I liked Michael’s very brief impression of Kirk.
— Ah, a “humorous screen crawl while someone is delivering a serious speech/song” monologue! I love this trope from the original era.
— Ehh, tonight’s screen crawl could’ve gone farther. This one paled in comparison to the Buck Henry ones.
— Wow, that mudslide clip they showed from Romancing the Stone was insane.
— An okay ending with the reveal of the back of Michael’s jacket.
STARS: **½


MTV NEWS
Nina Blackwood (JLD) does the MTV music news

 

— I admittedly did kinda chuckle at the cheap joke about winners of a ZZ Top contest getting to vacation in the beards of the ZZ Top members. I think Julia’s delivery of that line helped make it funny for me.
— The sketch is over already? Oh, judging from how Julia threw to a “commercial”, I think this sketch was just Part 1 of a two-part sketch that will continue after the “commercial”. Very interesting format break for SNL. Kinda reminds me of what they did with that David Susskind/Buckwheat sketch last season.
STARS: **


FOLDGERS CRYSTALS
hospital patients’ blood is secretly replaced with Foldgers Crystals

     

— Hilarious random concept with replacing hospital patients’ blood with Folgers Crystals coffee.  This is being executed perfectly.
— Much like the “Buddweiser Light” commercial from a few episodes ago, an SNL fake ad uses a real brand name but slightly changes the spelling (“Foldgers” Crystals instead of Folgers Crystals). I’m assuming that’s for legal reasons.
STARS: ****


MTV NEWS
The Garage Band’s (BRH), (JIB), (GAK) video “Look At Our Video”

         

— Yep, I was right; here’s Part 2 of the MTV sketch.
— I always like the way Julia’s Nina Blackwood says “hhhoottt!” in a whispery, exaggerated tone.
— “The Garage Band”? I wonder if this is an evolved version of the garage band that Jim, Brad, and others played in a sketch from the Smothers Brothers episode earlier this season. Can’t remember if Gary was part of that band or not, though.
— I like how we’re about to see the world premiere video of the band’s “song”.
— The random “Brady Bunch squares” part of the music video was hilarious.
— This whole video is fucking great, and feels so much like an authentic music video from 1984. So much dead-on detail in every aspect of this. I also love how this has such a different feel for this era of SNL.
— Great sketch overall, and the music video portion will definitely go down as one of my favorite moments of this whole season.
STARS: ****½


TV’S FOUL-UPS, BLEEPS, BLUNDERS, BLOOPERS, PRACTICAL JOKES, AND POLITICAL DEBATES
Shelley Winters (ROD) & Kirk Douglas (host) show debate bloopers

   

— It’s noticeable right out of the gate that Michael is wearing a band-aid on his forehead. I’m aware that the band-aid isn’t part of the sketch at all; it’s actually the result of an injury Michael suffered during a sketch tonight. However, said sketch HASN’T EVEN AIRED YET in my copy. Boy, do I hate how these Comedy Central reruns wildly shuffle around the original running order of episodes’ sketches, especially when it produces confusing continuity issues like how we’re seeing Michael in a head band-aid BEFORE he even cuts his forehead. [ADDENDUM: Turns out the way this Comedy Central version shuffled tonight’s original running order is especially crazy: they basically took the entire second half of the show and moved it to the first half, while pushing the original first half to the second half. What the HELL?!?] We’ll get to the injury-inducing sketch eventually, though.
— Michael’s intense impression of his father Kirk is pretty funny. Shouldn’t he have gray hair, though? I recall Kirk having gray hair when I covered the episode he hosted in season 5.
— I’m still a little iffy on Robin’s exaggerated take on Shelley Winters. I liked her impression better back when it was a little less over-the-top and didn’t rely so heavily on stretched-out syllables.
— The return of Joe’s blackface impression of Jesse Jackson.
— The casting choices for these political candidates seems so random. Little Timmy Kazurinsky as Gary Hart? Brad as Walter Mondale? Maybe the latter only feels weird because I know Gary Kroeger would later do a much better Mondale impression next season.
— This sketch is fucking terrible so far. Really, Ebersol-era SNL? THIS is your idea of political satire? A “wacky”, unfunny blooper reel?
— SNL makes yet another “Where’s the beef?” reference.
— Once again, Joe is nailing Jesse Jackson’s fiery delivery, even if the voice itself still isn’t dead-on.
— Now we’re getting “wacky” whoopie cushions? Ugh, just end this sketch already.
STARS: *½


SUGAR OR PLAIN
(JIB) & (Rob Riley) run high-pressure ice cream parlor

     

— Weird seeing so many unknown non-SNL performers starring in this, with Jim Belushi being the only cast member here.
— Jim and Unknown Other Guy are really funny with their creepiness as the ice cream clerks.
— I love how insane and chaotic this is getting.
— I’ve been noticing lately that Jim REALLY seems to excel in pre-taped short films. There are also some great ones with him coming up in season 10.
— Pretty strong short overall. Also, this kinda feels like the type of oddball short that Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney would do in recent years.
STARS: ****


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Wayne Huevos offers solutions to NYC’s vermin, court mess, ugly buildings
GAK gives Romancing The Stone a bad review- his girlfriend liked host

       

— Michael is our guest anchor of the week.
— I got a chuckle from the Space Shuttle Challenger clip that Michael sets up just turning out to be the mudslide clip from Romancing the Stone again.
— Okay, now they’re replaying the mudslide clip for EVERY news story Michael does. Yeah, not funny anymore.
— Do we really need the return of Tim’s Wayne Huevos character, after how weak his first commentary was a few episodes ago?
— As I was worried, tonight’s overall Wayne Huevos commentary was just as tepid as the first.
— Oh, god, now Michael has gone back to the tired joke of him overplaying the Romancing the Stone clip for every news story.
— Gary’s complaints about Michael are really funny.
— Haha, Gary once again gets thrown over a desk, for the third time this season.
— A bad edition of Saturday Night News overall, minus Gary’s commentary. As I expected, Michael came off weak in the anchorperson role.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”


SOUNDTRACK
(host) goes to a psychiatrist to seek relief from his personal soundtrack

   

— I like the Twilight Zone music that’s suddenly started playing during Michael’s story.
— Oh, the music constantly keeps changing to tie in with what Michael’s saying as he’s telling Tim his life story of being tormented by music that follows him. Interesting premise.
— Here it is, the mishap that led to Michael’s aforementioned head band-aid: when hurriedly throwing a glass of water into his face just now, he did it too forcefully and unintentionally rammed the rim of the glass cup into his forehead HARD, producing a very loud “conk” sound. Ouch! You can tell by his genuine facial expression afterwards that it hurt like hell.
— And now, as Michael continues on with the sketch (and I give him credit for being all smiles, considering how much pain he must be in), you can very clearly see lines of blood trickling down his forehead. (last two screencaps above) HOLY FUCKING HELL.
— Overall, despite me liking the initial idea of this sketch, it didn’t go anywhere too interesting, and the ending was completely overshadowed by Michael’s forehead mishap.
STARS: **


FOOTLESS
rebel (BRH) moves to a town in which there are no feet

       

— I like Tim’s fake beard and accent.
— Gary appears to be playing his recurring old man character Walter.
— Boy, Robin is going really over-the-top in this, but her constant face-rubbing mannerism IS making me laugh. Her general twitchiness in this kinda reminds me of a typical Cheri Oteri character.
— I liked Joe’s Frank Nelson-esque “Eeyyeeeeeessssss???” Strange, though, how this is the second time tonight where Joe has thrown in a random old-timey catchphrase from a celebrity he’s not even playing (the first time was his Jimmy Durante quote in the Karl Malden cold opening).
— Interesting use of writer Nate Herman as Kenny Loggins.
— This sketch is getting really fun with the big “Footless” musical number, especially the dance sequence with Gary and Brad.
— Wow, great high jump from Gary just now during the dance sequence.
— An overall good sketch, highlighted by a fun dance interlude (which is something I don’t often say, as I’m usually not a fan of musical sketches).
STARS: ***½


SLEEPY BOY 2000
— Rerun from last season


PRICE WATERHOUSE
Price (TIK) & Waterhouse (JIB) choose who they think should win Oscars

— I like the randomness of Price and Waterhouse’s office door being a huge bank vault.
— Jim’s blunt “He sucked” critique of Sam Shepard made me laugh, just because of how brief the sentence was and how unexpected that comment was for his character.
— Jim and Tim’s ways of choosing Best Supporting Actress at random is really funny.
— Their other odd ways of picking winners of other categories are also funny. I like how this is kinda bringing back memories of Bill Murray’s unusual Oscar-picking method.
— This sketch has good writing and solid performances from Jim and Tim.
STARS: ***½


4 MINUTES TO LIVE
(GAK) endures slow elevator ride after learning he has 4 minutes to live

       

— Hilarious part with Jim’s cruel “I lied; there IS no good news” line after telling Gary the bad news about his health.
— Yet another pre-taped segment tonight that’s either a short film or a music video. You can DEFINITELY see aspects of season 10 now starting to arise in the homestretch of this season.
— I’m loving the concept of this short.
— Even Gary just simply waiting for the elevator all smiles as his triumphant background music continues playing is cracking me up.
— Ha, the triumphant music has suddenly stopped as a now less-smiley Gary is awkwardly waiting forever for the elevator.
— I like Gary’s panicked yells of “ Hold the elevator!!!” while frantically running towards the closing elevator.
— From the numbers on top of the elevator, I see that this is one of those buildings that superstitiously has no 13th floor.
— I believe this is the first SNL appearance of child actor Frederick Koehler, making this film feel even more like a season 10 piece, as Koehler would go on to be a frequent extra that season.
— LOL, I loved Gary angrily strangling Koehler for pressing a whole bunch of buttons on the elevator.
— Excellent ending with the elevator getting stuck RIGHT BEFORE reaching the first floor, as poor Gary is heard crying out loud off-camera.
— An overall strong film and a great Gary Kroeger showcase.
STARS: ****½


ANNIE AUDITION
(host) auditions 33 year-old (MAG) for a kid’s role in a play

     

— Tim seems to be getting TONS of airtime tonight. He’s been all over this episode.
— I liked Michael’s angry “If I wanna kill a diabetic, I’ll call you!” outburst to the first little girl auditioning.
— Holy hell at Mary’s sexy lingerie reveal after tearing off her dress.
— Michael’s stiff-legged walk was pretty funny.
— Michael’s sleazy actions towards Mary are getting a little uncomfortable.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Wrapped Up”


GOODNIGHTS

 

— When bringing up how Michael Douglas is known for being a trouper in tough filming situations, Joe hilariously mentions tonight’s incident with Michael “shoving a glass into his forehead”.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty fun and interesting episode, especially with some of the entertaining musical sequences (the “Look At Our Video” music video and the Footless dance number) and the heavy reliance on strong pre-taped segments. While this episode was far from perfect, I got some really good enjoyment from the show as a whole.
— With Eddie Murphy not appearing in ANY form, very little Joe Piscopo, a more experimental feel to the night, and the aforementioned reliance on lots of pre-tapes, a shift appears to have started at SNL that will eventually lead us into the newness of season 10.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Billy Crystal):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
George McGovern

Posted on

March 17, 1984 – Billy Crystal / Al Jarreau (S9 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
on St. Patrick’s day, Siobhan Cahill finds Purim revelers; Ed Koch cameo

   

— Some really good laughs from Gary whole’s drunk Purim talk.
— I didn’t get who Julia and Brad are dressed as, even though the audience sure seemed to.
— Good characterization from Tim.
— Mayor Ed Koch is pretty funny in his cameo here.
— An okay twist on “Live from New York…”
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
BIC does stand-up about what it was like to go through puberty

    

— You know it’s 1984 when you see Billy Crystal in black leather pants.
— Nice callback to the Purim theme of the cold opening.
— I really liked him explaining the difference between the class clown and the class comedian.
— Love the deep “NOW NOW NOW” voice he’s using to represent his teenage glands.
— Good ending with the dog comment.
— A strong stand-up monologue overall.
STARS: ****


HUNG LIKE ME
TV movie has Pee Wee Herman (MAG) as woman dressed as a man

  

— I like the ominous background music being played during Mary’s male transformation.
— Funny reveal that Mary’s male transformation ends up being Pee Wee Herman.
— Love the “Hung Like Me” title.
STARS: ***


WINSTON UNIVERSITY
representative of fake college (BIC) makes secret pitch to high schoolers

     

— Love the sudden turn this has taken as soon as Robin’s teacher character has left.
— I’m really liking this, and the repeated “We will find you and we will kill you” are cracking me up.
— Julia’s hairstyle is looking kinda Elaine Benes-esque.
— Overall, yet another strong Andy Breckman-written sketch (special thanks to commenter Dkrom for letting me know Breckman wrote this).
STARS: ****


FAMILY IN THE ATTIC
a couple realizes they forgot to tell people hiding in attic WWII’s over

    

— The fact that right at the beginning, we’re informed this sketch takes place in 1983 despite the fact that tonight’s episode is from 1984 makes it obvious this is one of those Eddie Murphy sketches that was taped right before this season started.
— Strange moment with a “These are Dutch accents if you want to know” disclaimer showing up on the bottom of the screen. Seemed kinda pointless.
— Great realization from Tim and Robin that nobody ever let out the Jewish family hiding in their attic since WWII.
— Another instance of a then-current SNL writer’s last name being used in a sketch, with Eddie’s character in this being named Mr. Breckman.
— Eddie’s old jew voice is coming off even funnier than usual in this.
— Mary talking about her puberty-induced horniness is pretty funny. I almost expected a “NOW NOW NOW” callback, before I remembered this sketch was taped long before tonight’s episode.
— I like Eddie’s disappointment whenever he opens a platter of food given to him.
— The “To hell with zem” ending was good.
STARS: ***


SAMMY & REAGAN
Ronald Reagan (JOP) asks Sammy Davis Jr. (BIC) to hug Democratic rivals

   

— The debut of Billy’s Sammy Davis Jr. impression, which would go on to become one of his most remembered roles during his upcoming stint as a cast member.
— I like Billy’s Sammy explaining that as a black and a jew, he’s conflicted on whether or not to support Jesse “Hymietown” Jackson’s presidential campaign.
— An overall pretty good sketch, and Joe and Billy played well off of each other.
STARS: ***½


UNANSWERED QUESTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
Havnagootiim Vishnuuerheer on Unanswered Questions of the Universe

— I love the “Who was Casper the Friendly Ghost before he died” question, as well as Tim’s answer (Wally Cox).
— The armpit-shaving part was awful.
— I like the “Why don’t sheep shrink in a rainstorm?” question, though Tim’s answer to it left a lot to be desired.
— Tim asking whatever happened to “I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor is pretty funny.
— A reference to the “Where’s the beef?” craze from this time period.
— A hit-and-miss sketch overall.
STARS: **½


BAD CAREER MOVES
Herve Villechaise (BIC) says why he quit Fantasy Island

— Pretty funny visual of Billy as Herve Villachaize (however you spell it), even if that makes this yet another ethnic role for Billy tonight, as well as his second sketch appearance in a row wearing dark make-up. This is all something I’d better get used to, as we’re going to be seeing LOTS of ethnic roles from him during his tenure as a cast member.
— This sketch hasn’t been going anywhere great, and some of the “short” puns are pretty groanworthy.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mornin'”


GOD’S PLACE
in Heaven, JFK (BIC) is upset that Gary Hart is copying his style

 

— Another funny Purim reference.
— The bit with Abe Lincoln was really funny. Also, an Yvonne Hudson sighting next to him! I can’t remember the last time I spotted her in a sketch.
— An overall okay sketch, but not much to say about it.
STARS: ***


THE WOMB
a play about a mother (MAG) & daughter (JLD) relationship

 

— Loved Mary and Julia’s head-thrown-back laugh in unison.
— Oh, they’re playing mother and daughter? Mary doesn’t look convincing as Julia’s mother at all; they both look around the same age in this.
— This overall commercial was pretty funny and featured good performances from Mary and Julia.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Fernando (BIC) lists presidential candidates’ celebrity endorsements
ROD gives the Michael Jackson Report
GAK reviews Splash & complains how Darryl Hannah’s hair hid her breasts
write-in presidential candidate JIB raps his policy statements

     

— The debut of another Billy Crystal season 10 staple, his Fernando Lamas impression, anchoring tonight’s Saturday Night News.
— There’s our very first utterance of “You look mahvelous”, another thing I’m soon going to have to deal with ad-nauseum during Billy’s cast member stint.
— Fernando’s talk about which celebrities are endorsing which presidential candidates isn’t really working for me. Also, this feels like something that was already done on Saturday Night News either this season or last.
— Very interesting to see Robin doing a commentary as herself for a change.
— I liked Robin’s line about some of the slower students coming to school dressed as Jermaine Jackson when other students dressed like Michael Jackson.
— Pretty funny visual of a Michael Jackson doll with a flame-ignited head.
— I liked Fernando’s line about being the father of at least four members of Menudo.
— Gary “censoring” himself by saying “boobs” backwards was funny.
— Good bit with Gary doing a demonstration using a blow drier and a mermaid doll.
— Gary imitating an underwater conversation between two people is really good and very reminiscent of his educational film narrator voice.
— At the end of Gary’s commentary, they mention Daryl Hannah will be hosting the show three weeks from now, which never ended up occurring. What happened to that? IIRC, they had to cut an episode from the schedule somewhere around this point of the season due to SNL going over budget (which is why this season only has 19 episodes instead of the usual 20), so maybe the Hannah episode was a casualty of that.
— Once again, here’s Rappin’ Jimmy B, for the third episode in a row.
— Jim trying to make a recurring Saturday Night News feature out of rapping news stories isn’t working for me. His rapping shtick was much better when he just did it as a random cold opening a few episodes ago.
— Another “Where’s the Beef?” reference tonight, this time during Jim’s rap.
— Tonight’s overall edition of Saturday Night News was another long one, so of course, in typical Comedy Central fashion, they move it to the end of this episode.
— I just realized, they haven’t used the news screen at all in the last few editions of Saturday Night News. Shows how unconventional the segment has gotten after Brad’s firing as anchorperson.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Trouble in Paradise”


THE FIRST SHOW
BIC tells how he got bumped from the first-ever SNL episode

— He mentions that tonight is SNL’s 370th episode. He must be counting reruns. After all, it took SNL five seasons to reach their 100th episode, so there’s no way they’d be on their 370th episode a mere four seasons later.
— Interesting how he’s talking about how he was scheduled to do a stand-up piece on SNL’s first episode ever, only to get bumped from the live show.
— When name-dropping Valri Bromfield as one of the stand-up comedians who performed in SNL’s first episode, Billy makes a passing mention that she’s currently on Lorne Michaels’ (ill-fated) “The New Show”, which makes this probably the only time that show was ever referenced on SNL.
— An obvious but decent punchline with Billy starting to do the stand-up piece he never got to do in the first episode, only to immediately get cut off by director Dave Wilson.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A decent episode and had some strong material early on, but the show as a whole wasn’t particularly memorable.
— Billy Crystal fit in on the show really well. Maybe because I know what’s coming, but at times tonight, he kinda felt more like a cast member than a host. I enjoyed most of his performances tonight, despite some things that I know I’m going to have issues with when we reach his tenure as a cast member.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Edwin Newman):
— a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Michael Douglas