Tag: saturday night live

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April 14, 1979 – Milton Berle / Ornette Coleman and Prime Time (S4 E17)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
GAM, JOB, BIM, DAA re-create the Texaco Star Theater opening

   

— I’m liking how authentic this old-timey Texaco parody feels.
— Garrett’s solo was very stereotypical but hilarious.
— Short cold opening, but a fun one.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host’s politically-incorrect stand-up is ended after only five minutes

   

— For some reason, the stairway to the door the hosts make their entrance through is on the opposite side tonight.
— A super-extended applause break for the TV legend after he makes his entrance.
— He’s launched right into a string of groaners, none of them funny so far.
— Now we’re getting bad Puerto-Rican jokes…
— My god, he can’t stop making little ad-libs to the crowd every two seconds. I wouldn’t mind that if the ad-libs were actually FUNNY.
— Man, all these jokes are fucking TERRIBLE so far. That Jehovah Witness one in particularly was embarrassing.
— Ha, a loud pipe-dropping sound could suddenly be heard off-camera, and after a confused reaction, Berle ad-libs “NBC just dropped another show.” I admit, that made me laugh, especially knowing the poor state NBC was in at the time during Fred Silverman’s reign of terror.
— There’s a backstory to that pipe-dropping incident, by the way. IIRC, it was actually Bill Murray who intentionally dropped the pipe off-camera. Bill, as one of many SNL people who Berle pissed off throughout that week, did that as a way to throw Berle off during this hacky-joke-ologue of his.
— Oh, here’s the infamous part where Berle is told to cut his monologue short, after going on for just five minutes. Berle’s visibly upset by this, and at first, he jokingly responds “Only five minutes? I usually bow for 20!” (which is a really old joke he had been using for decades), then he very awkwardly wraps up the monologue with a hesitant, half-hearted “We’ll be right back”. And then, here’s the infamous part: as the camera’s about to fade to black, Berle apparently thinks the show has gone off-the-air and he angrily begins chewing out SNL for only giving him a five-minute monologue. LMAO! I was told by someone years ago that during Berle’s tantrum, he can be heard incredulously asking “Five minutes??? For a STAR??!?!?” However, I couldn’t make out what Berle was saying during his tantrum. It sounds as if they panickedly cut off his mic right after he started his angry rant.
STARS: *½ (the ½ is only for the “NBC just dropped another show” ad-lib)


THE WIDETTES
the Widettes’ Uncle Wayne (host) visits the family at Easter

   

— Oh, geez, not these guys again. As if the monologue wasn’t bad enough…
— The so-called “funny” part with Milton and Dan’s big bottoms constantly bumping into each other while they’re hiding Easter eggs – ugh. Between this sketch and the preceding monologue, I have yet to stop groaning tonight.
— Oh, I heard about this part, where the Widettes use Milton’s big bottom as a screen projector. Bah. Maybe I’d find that funny as a standalone gag if it weren’t in a sketch already filled to the brim with hacky big-butt jokes.
STARS: *


ROCK CONCERT
The Village Persons perform “Bend Over, Chuck Berry”

    

— Gilda’s doing a pretty dead-on imitation of Shaffer’s Don Kirshner impression, but it ain’t all that funny. Maybe because that insufferable “Night on Freak Mountain” sketch earlier this season (with Frank Zappa, another nightmare host from this era) permanently burned me out on Shaffer’s whole Kirshner shtick.
— “Bend Over, Chuck Berry.” Haha, oh my god…
— LOL at the opening shot of John rocking out to the music in that Indian outfit.
— Very fancy stage setting.
— This is an unusually fairly big production number for a live SNL sketch.
— Could Garrett’s lyrics be any more indecipherable? I can barely understand what the hell he’s singing.
— Now Garrett has gotten completely out-of-sync with the music.
— I remember reading about this sketch on an online SNL board, and someone had a theory that Garrett was coked out of his mind while he was performing this sketch. I absolutely do not have a hard time believing that right now. It would certainly explain a lot.
— Overall, I have no idea WHAT to make of this performance, but I did laugh throughout (even if it was “WTF?”-type of laughter) and the song was strangely very catchy.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
Chico Escuela has success in exhibition game with Mets; Willie Mays cameo
BIM discloses ex-lover Anita Bryant’s dirty secret- she drank apple juice
rock critic Z Jones (LAN) accuses Elvis Costello of being derivative
BIM sends off the King Tut exhibit with “Toot, Toot, Tootsie” variant

     

— We get Part 2 of the previous week’s Chico Escuela baseball pre-tape.
— Overall, a good Chico Escuela segment, even if it wasn’t trying to be all that funny.
— Bill’s reveal about Anita Bryant from his days of “dating” her was pretty funny.
— Ah, the debut of a new Update character (Z Jones). An actual new Update character is something I’m not used to seeing this season. I had thought they were hellbent on endlessly running Roseanne Rosannadanna and Father Guido Sarducci into the friggin ground this season.
— Laraine: “I hope I get this out before those ludes kick in.” Laraine already used that same line in that Roy Orbison sketch from season 3. She’s re-using the same voice from that sketch, too.
— Laraine’s overall commentary didn’t work for me. A shame, because I liked the idea behind her character and felt it had potential. Does this character eventually come back, or did it end up a forgotten one-time experiment? I wish the character worked, since this season is in desperate need of new Update characters. There’s only so much more of Roseannadanna and Sarduccci I can take.
— Bill singing a goodbye song to a King Tut statue and sleazily kissing it is a funny variation of something he had recently done with a Einstein bust. Doesn’t Bill later do something similar to an Ayatollah statue during a season 5 Update?
STARS: ***


THE LAUNCHING PAD
club owner Buddy Pine (host) can’t find talent good enough to showcase

     

— Bill’s brief vocal impression of Jimmy Stewart sounded more like Mr. Ed.
— This sketch is pretty dead so far.
— Garrett’s hacky routine on the differences between blacks and whites started out like it was going to be amusingly bad, but ended up not going anywhere.
— What the heck is that thing Dan keeps doing with his hand, where he does the turkey-hand gesture against his forehead? Why is he doing that?
— Man, I am getting ZERO enjoyment out of this sketch.
— John’s the final cast member being auditioned. Looks like he could potentially save this sketch.
— Nope, John’s scene didn’t end up being funny either. Damn.
— Well, at least the sketch is finally over. This whole thing seemed pretty pointless. I thought all the bad comedy acts would lead to some kind of unexpected twist at the end, but it never happened. If the humor was supposed to come from how bad the comedians are, the writers should’ve made it more hilariously bad, instead of just boringly bad.
STARS: *


ON THE SPOT
Irwin Mainway’s unsafe Kiddie Funworld ires Joan Face (JAC)

 

— Irvin Mainway comes to save this episode!
— This is possibly this character’s final appearance before Dan leaves.
— Loved the description of Mainway’s “Crack the Whip” ride, where children are stuffed into a burlap bag and are spun around and around until being flung into space.
— And now, we get an even funnier ride description, with Mainway’s “Ice Palace” being a collection of abandoned refrigerators.
— Surprising moment with Jane’s character finally snapping and strangling the hell out of Mainway as the sketch ended. A fitting way to end what (I assume) ended up being Mainway’s final appearance during Dan’s tenure in the cast.
STARS: ****


FARBERS RETIREMENT HOME
Bobbi Farber & sister Sylvia (LAN) gab as they feed elderly father (host)

 

— Always good to see Gilda’s Farbers character.
— Oh, god, this is the infamous “Did you make?” sketch I’ve always heard bad things about.
— A super-hacky spittake from Berle.
— Boy, this was yet ANOTHER awful sketch tonight. Gilda’s Farbers character is usually always enjoyable; why’d they have to drag her down into the awfulness of tonight’s episode?
— This was the second Farbers sketch in a row that didn’t include John’s character. Wonder why they stopped using him.
STARS: *


MILTON’S WRITERS
host’s six Japanese “writers” get an on-air introduction

— Now we get MORE unfunny racial humor from Berle, with him introducing his all-Asian team of writers, and him speaking to them in fake Japanese. Leave the fake Japanese gibberish to Belushi, Milty.
— Oh, this just ended up being an intro to the musical guest. Why’s the musical performance on so late in the episode, by the way?


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Times Square”


SEPTEMBER SONG
host sings “September Song” & reflects on his life in show business

  

— Oh, no, here’s yet another infamous part of the episode I’ve always heard about: Berle’s “September Song” segment.
— He stops mid-song (yay!) to do even more hacky jokes (boo!) during an overly sappy, maudlin reflection of his career (ugh!).
— I can just picture Lorne, the cast, and the crew gagging and dry-heaving during this whole segment.
— Oh, here’s the phony standing ovation I heard about. Legend has it that Berle had a friend planted in the audience for the purpose of leading a standing ovation, so it would look like the ovation was spontaneous. Ugh.
STARS: *


GOODNIGHTS

— I’m noticing how reluctant the cast is to interact with Berle. John and Garrett are the only ones I saw immediately shaking hands with him. John’s reportedly the only cast member who still had any respect left for Berle by the end of the week. Berle’s well-documented obnoxious backstage behavior that week caused him to alienate just about every non-Belushi person who works on the show.
— It does look like Milton has started slow-dancing with Gilda, which, if anything, is a testament to Gilda’s perpetual sweetness.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Oh, thank god it’s finally over. Out of the episodes with the three most notorious hosts of the original SNL era (Louise Lasser, Frank Zappa, and Milton Berle), I’d probably say this is tied with Lasser as the worst. I got very little enjoyment out of watching this. I wish I counted the number of times I groaned during this episode, because I’m sure it’s way into the double-digits (the monologue ALONE probably got at least 20 groans from me). I absolutely hated most of the segments tonight; in fact, the only things I liked (cold opening, Bend Over Chuck Berry, Update, and Irvin Mainway) happens to be the only parts of the show that Berle had no involvement in. Definitely not a coincidence.
— I normally find Milton Berle to be funny in many venues, but I can’t deny how horribly he did in SNL’s format. To say nothing of that tantrum he threw at the very end of the monologue after they told him to wrap it up. The only thing he was tolerable in all night was the Launching Pad sketch, and that’s only because he played the role straight with none of his usual upstaging business.
— Overall, no wonder Lorne supposedly wanted to bury this episode by permanently excluding it from reruns (until the 2000s, I believe).
— At least I can now proudly say I’ve reviewed all of “The Notorious 3 of 70s SNL” (Lasser, Zappa, Berle).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Richard Benjamin):
— a colossal step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Michael Palin

Posted on

April 7, 1979 – Richard Benjamin / Rickie Lee Jones (S4 E16)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
DAA gives a sub (Marvin Goldhar) tips on how to do absent JOB’s bits

 

— They reveal that John Belushi’s out this week because he has an ear infection. I had forgotten that I always heard there was an episode John was absent in towards the end of his final season. An ear infection’s not REALLY the reason for his absence, is it? Was he out filming scenes for a movie (“1941”, perhaps)?
— John’s substitute actor is pretty funny.
— Dan does a pretty good impression of John’s Samurai gibberish.
— That may have been one of the corniest segues to LFNY I’ve ever seen, but at least the soon-to-depart Dan gets a LFNY after all the LFNYs they’ve been throwing at the also-soon-to-depart John’s way lately. John got five consecutive LFNYs in the last five episodes, which I just realized may be an all-time record for a cast member not named Chevy Chase.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Don Pardo announces Belushi as “John Belushi… absent!”


MONOLOGUE
away from wife Paula Prentiss, host kept company in NYC with GIR

  

— Richard has a likable presence, and his story about his night out with his new girl is pretty funny.
— I had a feeling it would be revealed that the girl he’s talking about is Gilda.
— Gilda’s angry reaction is good.
STARS: ***


THE PEPSI SYNDROME
Jimmy Carter (DAA) is nuked; Rodney Dangerfield cameo

             

— Ah, yes, this is an epic sketch that I’ve always heard about and I’ve always wanted to see. Supposedly, it’s one of SNL’s longest sketches of all-time.
— I love the set-up of this premise, with Bill’s coca-cola spill accident.
— Richard’s analogies to what being exposed to the radiation is like are pretty funny.
— I really like this part with Franken and Davis as the Two-Mile Players mime troupe, especially them getting called out on their un-mime-like talking.
— Exciting sketch so far, and I love how extensive this all is.
— This part with them discussing Amy Carter reminds me, I remember hearing that when this sketch aired in SNL’s Presidential Bash special from 1992, they LITERALLY fast-forwarded through the Amy Carter discussion portion of this sketch while Dana Carvey popped up on-screen as Ross Perot (who Carvey was co-hosting that Presidential Bash special as) to explain that he only wanted to show the best parts of the sketch. I love Carvey’s Perot impression, but man, that sounds annoying as hell having him “pop up” on screen to interrupt a classic SNL sketch like this.
— Garrett in drag once again.
— Funny with Bill cruelly tricking Garrett’s janitor character into mopping the nuclear core room.
— HAHA, this part is excellent with Rodney Dangerfield randomly being brought in to explain in a stand-up comedy-esque way how big President Carter is now. Hilarious!
— Now this epic sketch has included Gilda’s Baba Wawa, who we’re seeing for the first in a fairly long time.
— Great surprise with Garrett as a now-giant janitor being Giant President Carter’s new First Lady.
— Overall, that sketch was absolutely fantastic. Fully-deserving of its classic status. I enjoyed this so much, I didn’t even notice how long it was.
STARS: *****


NERDS & MILT
Todd hopes to score with Lisa at his brother Milt’s (host) apartment

       

— Interesting setting for Todd.
— Richard’s funny as a germaphobe nerd.
— Todd’s attempt at trying to act all suave and romantic to Lisa are hilarious.
— Bill’s genuinely making Gilda crack up by making her sip her drink so fast, which is obviously an ad-lib.
— Oh, there’s the famous “I can see your nose hair!” part, which is often shown as a clip in highlight reels representing 70s SNL.  That clip used to be what always immediately came to my mind whenever I would hear about these Nerds characters.
— Love how Todd is removing each cushion on the couch one-by-one while still locking lips with Lisa.
— Jane’s sex/hard-boiled egg analogy was really funny.
— Overall, a great sketch, and probably my favorite of all the Nerds installments so far.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
BIM reports on Chico Escuela’s attempt to rejoin the Mets
BIM makes his Oscar picks in his usual cavalier fashion
Roseanne Roseanndanna travels from rising beef prices to gross seafood

         

— Oh, this is the pre-taped Chico Escuela commentary I mentioned in a recent review, where he interacts at a baseball stadium with Mets players.
— The interview portion between Chico and Bill is pretty funny.
— I like how Chico’s tell-all book about the Mets is simply titled “Bad Stuff ‘Bout the Mets”.
— We get yet another follow-up to the “you left this at my apartment last night” bit between Bill and Jane, which has become a running gag.
— Hey, an Update joke about John Belushi.
— The second annual edition of Bill’s Oscars Predictions, which is a segment I always love.
— I liked Bill’s shame in admitting he didn’t see friend-of-the-show Buck Henry’s movie “Heaven Can Wait”.
— Overall, another good Oscars Predictions segment from Bill.
— Oh, man, here’s Roseanne Roseannadanna ONCE AGAIN. I am SO tired of how this season’s Weekend Updates have gotten so predictable in which recurring guests are going to appear. As I pointed out in my last review, there’s a narrow cycle of Father Guido Sarducci, Rosanne Rosannadanna, and Chico Escuela.
— Rosannadanna’s almost starting to reach Emily Litella levels of tediousness for me, and you guys probably remember how sick I got of THAT character (Litella). Rosannadanna’s a funny character, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d eventually tire of her with how frequently they’ve been using her and how formulaic all her appearances are.
— I admit, the ending of Roseannadanna’s commentary with her reciting a poem written by her grandmother gave me a few chuckles.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Chuck E’s In Love”


A BIRD FOR ALL SEASONS
by Aviva Slesin- fancy feathered-friend fashions

     

— Bill doing another short that features cutaways to animals doing human things. Is this film made by the same person who made that singing dogs short earlier this season?
— The movie trailer part is cracking me up a lot.
— This is getting funnier and funnier.
— I assume this short’s a dig at NBC’s troubles at the time with Fred Silverman’s questionable programming decisions.
— I like the pizza sitcom trailer with Italian-accented birds.
— “Produced & Directed by Aviva Slesin”. Ah, so this IS by the filmmaker who made the singing dogs short. Wonder why her(?) films always star Bill. He IS great in these, though.
— Overall, a very silly short that I enjoyed a lot.  Quite an improvement over the singing dogs short.
STARS: ****


SCOTTISH RESTAURANT
Scottish restaurant charges (host) & (LAN) extra for basic amenities

   

— Funny how Dan’s using a torn-in-half paper bag as two tablecloths because he’s wearing the actual tablecloth as a kilt.
— HA at the nasty-sounding Scottish food.  It’s funny cuz it’s true.
— LOL at Richard and Laraine having to pay for every little thing at the restaurant, even for being handed the bill itself. No wonder the restaurant was empty when they arrived at the beginning of the sketch.
STARS: ***½


LITTLE CHOCOLATE DONUTS
— A rerun from last season. Obviously, they’re only airing this to make up for John’s absence.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Coolsville”


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Another very good episode. Of course, the epic, brilliant Pepsi Syndrome sketch is the centerpiece of the show, but the rest of the episode was strong, too, especially the Nerds sketch. SNL has been on a streak of great episodes since Gary Busey.
— They did surprisingly well for an episode without Belushi. Until the Little Chocolate Donuts rerun, I had completely forgotten about his absence tonight. I’m still dreading his (and Dan’s) upcoming departure, though.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Margot Kidder):
— a very slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Well, the streak of great episodes we’ve been having lately was nice while it lasted, as our next episode just so happens to be…. (*cue suspenseful music*) the infamous Milton Berle

Posted on

March 17, 1979 – Margot Kidder / The Chieftans (S4 E15)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
Little Women & Big Basketball Players will not be seen tonight


COLD OPENING
on St. Patrick’s Day, Jimmy Hoffa (JOB) subs for Mayor Daley’s ghost

   

— The return of Bill’s radio show deejay character, Dick Lanky.
— A continuation of the Richard Daley’s Ghost sketch they did a year earlier.
— Good fake-out with Daley’s entrance turning out to be Jimmy Hoffa.
— This is now the fifth LFNY in a row for John. Are they attempting to make him the new Chevy? Or is it because they know John’s on his way out and is leaving soon? I guess they didn’t know yet that Dan too was eyeing SNL’s exit door; otherwise I’m sure they’d be throwing him some LFNYs as well.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
bad camera work is traced to control room’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration

       

— The camera slumping down during Margot’s speech due to drunk crew members is a premise that would later be re-used in a St. Patrick’s Day-themed Stuart Smalley sketch from season 20, with Chris Farley as a drunk cameraman. I wonder if that means Franken wrote this monologue.
— Gilda, sternly to an audience member (played by Jim Downey): “The audience is not supposed to ask questions of the host.” Oh, if only SNL always stood by that rule in later eras…
— Funny seeing the entire control room’s drunken St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
— Heh, why is Lorne always in the middle of doing an interview during backstage monologues in this era? And it’s always Tom Schiller playing the interviewer, too.
— I liked Dave Wilson drunkenly saying LFNY after being brought back to consciousness.
STARS: ****


THE NAVY
grunt work while docked in Bayonne shows the truth of The Navy Adventure

   

— Wait, what’s this? The last part of the monologue made it seem like the control room was going to cut back to SNL’s opening montage and have Margot re-start her monologue all over again, but instead, this pre-taped Navy segment got cued up. Or is this an intentional joke that the control room crew were so drunk, they cued up the wrong tape?
— Despite my bafflement over this commercial appearing instead of a continuation of the monologue, this was a decent segment. Nothing special.
STARS: ***


FRED GARVIN: MALE PROSTITUTE
(host) is visited by unsexy Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute (DAA)

     

— Oh, this is a classic Dan Aykroyd piece.
— So far, the concept alone is already great.
— Dan’s “animal gratification” line was very funny.
— I love how they keep displaying the “Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute” graphic whenever Dan looks at the camera as he states his name and title.
— The “seductive poses” part is classic, and it’s the portion of this sketch I’ve always remembered the most.
— Funny how he still keeps his shirt and glasses on in bed, as part of his working condition.
— LOL at Garrett’s entrance as the pimp.
— Overall, definitely one of Dan’s greatest sketches ever. It’s probably a good thing this sketch ended up staying a one-off despite the fact that everything about it screamed “future recurring sketch”. Then again, Dan leaves the show just two months later. If he were still in the cast in season 5, who knows if they would have been able to resist bringing this sketch back, especially knowing how creatively burned-out the writers were that season. They actually were going to bring this back decades later when Dan hosted in 2003, but it got cut after dress.  That was probably for the best; I doubt a sequel with an aged Aykroyd would have done the original justice.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “If I Had Maggie in the Wood”


ST. MICKEY’S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
(host) solicits money for Irish poor at St. Mickey’s Knights of Columbus

   

— This sketch is growing on me the more they do it. I’m starting to enjoy the low-key humor more and more, and these sketches have such a likable vibe.
— I’ve once again spotted that 1985-86 Robert Downey Jr.-looking extra that I pointed out in the last Knights of Columbus sketch, and he’s sitting in the same spot tonight, too.
— Heh, a nun is their boxing team’s coach? Well, no wonder their team is doing so poorly.
— I’ve noticed one of the club members appears to be the same long-gray-haired lady with glasses who was sitting next to Bill in that “Honker in the SNL Audience” cold opening from earlier this season. In my review of that cold opening, I pointed out how uncomfortable she looked in that, as I assumed she was a real audience member. But now I see she must’ve just been a plant.

 

— Funny how much Margot’s overdramatic, depressing speech killed the whole mood of the meeting.
— It probably wasn’t necessary to repeat the “only one club member knows the lyrics during the sing-a-long” bit from last time, but it still was fairly funny.
— Overall, a strong installment, and I’m glad to have come around on these sketches. I’m probably too late on that, though, as this most likely ended up being the final installment, considering John and Dan’s nearby departure.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
Father Guido Sarducci gives examples of canonization politics
BIM sings “Happy Birthday” to a bust of Albert Einstein
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about Lee Marvin’s divorce settlement

    

— A funny continuation of the “you left this at my place last night” bit from the last Update.
— Yet another Father Guido Sarducci commentary. I normally don’t mind this character, but MAN, am I getting tired of this season’s narrow cycle of recurring Update guests. Every week, we seem to get either Sarducci, Rosanne Rosannadanna, or Chico Escuela. Well, we don’t have to worry about that third one for a while, since Chico’s “retired” at this point (he comes back eventually, though, I’m pretty sure).
— Funny part with Sarducci complaining about how the nun he’s talking about performed only three miracles instead of four, two of them being card tricks.
— Bill’s smarmy singing of “Happy Birthday” to an Einstein bust is a more fleshed-out version of something he did earlier this season with Beethoven, but this is even better. Classic Bill Murray.
— A Point/Counterpoint segment.
— Oh, this is the famous edition of Point/Counterpoint that I asked about recently: the one with Dan’s “dried-up slunk meat like you” insult. This has been shown in many SNL highlight reels over the years. So much so, that I used to think that was the ONLY Point/Counterpoint Jane and Dan ever did. Doing these reviews lately, I’ve been surprised to see just how often Jane and Dan did Point/Counterpoints.
— This is my first time seeing tonight’s Point/Counterpoint in its full context instead of as a highlight clip. Funny, I had no idea until now that the debate was on the subject of Lee Marvin.
— This is one of Dan’s absolute best rebuttals in a Point/Counterpoint, with him doing a particularly hilarious acid-tongued rant with some great biting insults, being delivered in his usual rapid-fire way.
STARS: ****


LOIS LANE
superheroes attend a party thrown by Superman (BIM) & Lois Lane (host)

      

— Oh, this is yet another famous segment tonight.
— LOL at John’s entrance as Hulk.
— This sketch is a lot of fun so far. SNL usually always does a great job with sketches rounding up famous superheroes at some kind of gathering, like the later equally-classic Superman’s Funeral sketch.
— Funny reason for Hulk’s wife being in bandages and crutches.
— I love the part with the other superheroes being unimpressed by Ant Man’s superpowers.
— Great gag with John’s Hulk not knowing the Invisible Woman was “using the can”.
— Good angry outburst from Bill’s Clark Kent at the end as he’s throwing everyone out.
STARS: *****


THE FRANKEN AND DAVIS SHOW
ALF plans to sue General Mills for using his image on Frankenberry cereal
Pity Thy Neighbor- down-on-his-luck (TOD) fails to get any support

    

— I like Al pointing out the similarities between himself and the Franken Berry cereal mascot. I’ve always noticed the similarity myself whenever I see a box of that cereal.
— This “Pity Thy Neighbor” segment looks interesting.
— Heh, good lord at Tom’s entrance looking like that.
— Funny line from Tom about how he only eats popcorn and pigeons.
— Overall, this was decent, but not as great as it could’ve been.
STARS: ***


MEN’S PROBLEMS
women discuss their perspectives on guys’ troubles

   

— Ah, an opposite-gendered sequel to the previous week’s Women’s Problems sketch, I see. I love the idea of this.
— Funny story from Jane about her husband’s sex routine.
— Margot’s pretty funny in this.
— Audience member: “What about lesbianism?” Jane as host: “What about it? Next question.”
— Overall, while I felt the previous week’s Women’s Problems sketch had better writing, I still liked this one a lot and got some good enjoyment.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Morning Dew”


MR. BILL IS HIDING
by Walter Williams- in a closet, away from Mr. Hands

   

— Oh, man, yet ANOTHER Mr. Bill this season? I’ve said it before, but they’re really going heavy on him this season.
— At least there’s a change to the premise, with Mr. Bill acknowledging how Mr. Hands abuses both him & Spot and is friends with Sluggo.
— Wow, that was short, overall. Not all that funny, though. This character has gone from being always funny to being really hit-and-miss.
STARS: **½


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A great episode. Three all-time classic segments came from just this one episode (Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute, Lois Lane, and tonight’s Point/Counterpoint). A lot of the other sketches were strong, too, and there wasn’t really anything that fell too flat.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Richard Benjamin

Posted on

March 10, 1979 – Gary Busey / Eubie Blake and Gregory Hines (S4 E14)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
JOB is miffed that unknown host stole the Oscar nomination meant for him

   

— Right at the beginning, Busey’s wiping off his forehead and appears to be out of breath. I remember reading that the reason for this is because right before airtime, Busey was lost somewhere backstage and the stage managers couldn’t find him. After a panicked search, they found Busey just in time and hurriedly threw him in front of the cameras literally SECONDS before this cold opening started. That’s why you see him kinda shaken up at the start of this.
— We get a continuation of the “random backstage horse” gag that was first done in Eric Idle’s monologue earlier this season. I wonder at what point in SNL’s timeline did that “traditional backstage horse gag” later change to the now-familiar “traditional backstage llama gag”.
— Another “SNL locker room” cold opening centered around John’s budding movie career.
— Busey keeps making weird little ad-libs whenever Jane’s speaking to him.
— Jane: “You gotta nominate Olivier because he’s old and they don’t want another Peter Finch on their hands.” What was that referring to?
— I liked the line about Warren Beatty only getting an Oscar nomination because he slept with the nominating committee.
— LOL at the Hollywood diva attitude of Movie Star John Belushi. By the way, good to see him in better health after the bad condition he was in during the preceding episode.
— John, regarding what Busey should do for his monologue: “Do something good, ‘cuz I’m not gonna go out there and bail you out with another ‘but noooooo’.” I like how they’ve acknowledged how heavily they’ve been leaning on that ‘but nooooo’ routine in the monologues. At this point, John’s probably sick of doing that catchphrase.
— This is the fourth consecutive episode where John says LFNY. I remember a few years ago, I looked at the LFNY section of SNL Archives’ Season 4 page (NOTE: in the linked page, just click the “Live from New York…” tab), and IIRC, John says LFNY in almost every single episode from the second half of this season. I’m not going to re-check that page right now, because I kinda want to keep myself in suspense over who says LFNY for the remainder of this season as I watch the episodes.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
instead of going through with the prepared monologue, host hambones

   

— Pretty funny entrance from Busey.
— Something about the home base stage looks very different tonight, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. Were those two side walls there before or are they a new addition?

— I’m surprised to see Busey’s kinda coming off as his now-familiar weird, off-beat self, which surprises me. I had always been under the impression that he didn’t become the loony he’s known as today until his helmet-less motorcycle accident in the late 80s.
— Heh, I’m starting to notice that at certain points, young Busey kinda resembles current SNL cast member Colin Jost.
— Oh my god at his sudden clapping-and-stomping/body-slapping dance.
— That’s it? The monologue’s over already? For any normal host, I’d consider this monologue a waste of time, but considering this is Crazy Busey we’re talking about, I laughed.
STARS: ***


CARTER BROTHERS
Jimmy Carter (DAA) reluctantly brings brother Billy (host) to Jerusalem

       

— I always like Gilda as Mama Carter.
— LOL at the suitcase full of Preparation H; another SNL reference to President Carter’s hemorrhoid problem at the time.
— From the way they’re setting up Billy Carter’s appearance, the huge difference we’re told about the maturity levels between him and Jimmy reminds me of modern-day SNL’s portrayal of Eric & Donald Trump Jr.
— Just judging from the pictures they’ve shown of Billy Carter on Update this season, having Busey play him is good casting.
— Haha, Busey is hilarious in his performance as Billy.
— Good to see Bill’s Walter Cronkite again.
— John’s doing a perfect Jewish accent.
— John’s “putz” line was great.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guests perform “Low Down Blues”
musical guests perform “I’m Just Simply Full Of Jazz”
musical guests perform “I’m Just Wild About Harry”

 


WOMEN’S PROBLEMS
chauvinists give perspectives on troubles with broads

   

— Garrett has some really funny lines, like how he punishes his woman with a car antennae when she gets out of line, and him saying (regarding women) “When they get old, they get ugly”.
— Haha, this sketch is getting funnier and funnier.
— Figures the black guy in the panel (Garrett) would be the only one to say his favorite female body part is the butt.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
BIM interviews recently-widowed & agitated horse Mrs. Ed

       

— No Bill Murray at the desk at the start of tonight’s Update? Is this going to be part of some kind of comedic bit?
— Oh, there he is. He was genuinely late, I see. Wow, that’s the only time in SNL history I’ve ever seen an Update anchor show up late to the desk. It got a really good reaction from the audience, though that completely drowned out the “Weekend Update is brought to you by…” gag that was being announced by Pardo. The “brought to you by” gag probably wasn’t that funny, anyway, so no big loss.
— I really liked the random “You left these earrings at my apartment last night” bit between Bill and Jane.
— Oh, we’re getting the famous “Mr. Ed’s widow” edition of Bill Murray’s Celebrity Corner. I’ve always heard that this contains a hilarious blooper.
— Ha, the interview’s already off to a flubby start, as Bill has to stall for time while waiting for the segment to be ready.
— HAHA, now that the interview has finally started, we see that the horse is wandering all around the studio while its handlers are unsuccessfully trying to keep it still. Bill’s doing a good job keeping up with this by making some loose ad-libs while trying to start the interview.
— Something also seems to have gone wrong with the chroma-key screen behind the horse, as it’s not showing any scenery.
— I love how Gilda’s ad-libbing during her Mrs. Ed voice-over to match the horse going all astray.
— Overall, that Mrs. Ed segment was classic.
— Now Jane can’t stop laughing in response to the whole thing. This is a good way to end Update.
— Heh, a pretty sloppy Update overall, between Bill’s late entrance at the beginning, the horse incident, and Jane laughing her way through her sign-off, but it’s also one of my favorite Updates of the season so far.
STARS: ****


UNSUNG HEROES OF ROCK ‘N ROLL
(host) livens up a dull school sockhop

          

— Gilda, after the clueless teacher misses all of Gilda’s subtle pregnancy hints: “I’m knocked-up, you stupid cow.”
— What was up with Laraine’s under-shirt bra adjustment after hugging Busey?
— Dan’s pretty funny as the overly-strict principal.
— I’m liking the authentic 1950s atmosphere in this, but it’s kinda hard to figure out where this sketch is going so far or why it’s titled “Unsung Heroes Of Rock and Roll”.
— Dan’s over-the-top, intensely angry rant when putting a stop to the rock music dancing is priceless; he’s delivering this PERFECTLY. This is also a role I can easily imagine Phil Hartman playing well if this sketch were done in a later season.
— LOL, the ending screen crawl story was hilarious.
STARS: ***½


PERCHANCE TO DREAM
by TOS- Honker mixes Shakespeare together on-stage

           

— Ah, a Bill Murray-starring Schiller’s Reel. This is gonna be good.
— Hey, it’s his Honker character.
— Bill’s long Shakespearean soliloquy onstage is really funny in a subtle way.
— The ending displays a perfect example of Schiller’s knack for blending comedy with sentimentality.
— Overall, this was excellent, and Bill gave such a great performance.
STARS: *****


MUCK JUMPERS
slopjockey (host) comes to southern family’s home to jump in cesspool

   

— Kind of a strange sketch so far.
— Bill’s “toilet fish” line was really funny.
— This is getting hilariously weird, with Busey’s cesspool-jumping request.
— Bill and John’s hysterical redneck laughing is killing me.
— The “$40 to keep me moving on” ending was freakin’ great.
— Overall, this was a sketch that was so perfect for Busey to do.
STARS: ****


KILLING TIME
(no synopsis available)

 

— We get a random, brief “killing time” segment (something the show would later do more often in the Dick Ebersol era whenever there were timing issues during an episode) where Busey announces that “This show is out of control, but stay tuned”, then makes a typically-Busey goofy facial expression as the camera fades to black. I guess a sketch had to get cut at the last minute?


GARY BUSEY: “STAY ALL NIGHT”
host performs “Stay All Night”

 

— Heh, Busey gets his own musical performance spot?
— I hear this performance got cut-off mid-progress in the original live airing, due to the show running long (which I guess also explains the “killing time” segment that preceded this). The DVD version of this episode (which I’m reviewing) shows the full, uninterrupted performance, which I see pushes this episode’s overall runtime to an unusual 1 hour and 9 minutes, when an SNL episode (without commercials) from this era is typically 1 hour and 6 minutes.


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Wow, what a fun episode. I got a lot of enjoyment out of just about every single sketch. And Gary Busey made for a very funny off-beat host, which kinda surprised me. As mentioned earlier, I was expecting to see a “normal” young Gary Busey tonight because I had always been under the impression that it was his later motorcycle accident that made him what he’s known as today. But this episode showed me that he ALWAYS had a natural, very “off” quality to him. And it worked so well in this episode. In just about every sketch, he came off as a weird, funny, lovable big oaf. He even managed to come off really weird during his intro to Eubie Blake & Gregory Hines’ musical performance.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Margot Kidder

Posted on

February 24, 1979 – Kate Jackson / Delbert McClinton (S4 E13)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Charlie sends Fred Silverman (JOB), host, other Angels to sabotage NBC

   

— Boy, John’s voice sounds TERRIBLE, which is no surprise. I went into details in an earlier review (in my review of the cold opening) about how John’s health was in a horrible state the day of this Kate Jackson episode. Though I didn’t mention how John’s health that day was SO bad that at one point, Laraine supposedly found him backstage with green skin…..
— I really like the concept of this cold opening.
— Dan is dead-on as Bosley/David Doyle.
— John’s looking pretty uncomfortable.
— Kate Jackson, regarding SNL: “I used to watch it, but it went downhill after Chevy Chase left.”
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
former NBC tour guide host answers questions from tour group

   

— This is the second time Tom Schiller as a tour guide has interrupted an episode.
— Some of the absurd questions the people in the tour are asking Kate are pretty funny.
— A short, average monologue.
STARS: ***


NERDS & THE NURSE
Lisa is upset that Todd is infatuated with nurse (host)

    

— Pretty funny that Lisa’s sad over Todd not giving her a noogie for two weeks.
— Bill’s singing of “Michelle” was amusing.
— Charming ending with Todd and Lisa’s rapport being back to normal.
STARS: ***½


FRED SILVERMAN’S OFFICE
host stops by as Fred Silverman (JOB) makes ruinous schedule changes

   

— Looks like this premise is going to be a runner tonight. Are John’s only appearances all night going to be as Fred Silverman?
— Some pretty good laughs from the terrible changes made to NBC’s schedule.
— I like the line about proposing the idea of “Mrs. Kojak” to Jane Curtin.
— Funny hearing a reference to NBC’s infamous flop “Supertrain”.
— Hey, it’s Dan’s Tom Snyder!
STARS: ***½


CHILD PSYCHIATRIST
child psychiatrist Dr. Schiffman (LAN) tries to help catatonic Colleen

     

— Great segue from the last sketch to this one.
— Oh, Bill’s tan from the Nerds sketch is REAL?
— Always good to see Gilda’s Colleen character.
— Laraine’s giving a great performance as the “child psychiatrist”. At this point, it feels kinda rare to see a sketch showcasing Laraine this much.
— Didn’t realize until just now that Gilda’s wearing the same shirt as Bill and the same skirt as Kate.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “B Movie Boxcar Blues”


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
Father Guido Sarducci talks about the weather & UFO sightings
Roseanne Roseannadanna slides from the King Tut exhibit to tongues

       

— Interesting seeing Father Guido Sarducci doing a weather segment.
— Sarducci’s story about UFOs has some good laughs.
— The Roseanne Rosannadanna commentary was decent though standard Roseannadanna stuff. Nothing was really too noteworthy this time. I wish they’d cut back a little on the frequency of her appearances.
STARS: ***


ANDY KAUFMAN
Andy Kaufman [real] yodels, dances, plays the congas

  

— I was wondering when we would see Andy Kaufman this season. Kinda hard to believe this is his first appearance all season.
— Andy’s dancing to the tribal music is great.
— Overall, even though there was no real joke here, this was a pretty fun performance. Not one of Andy’s more memorable SNL bits, though.
STARS: ***


FRED SILVERMAN RUNNER
host tells Fred Silverman (JOB) she feels wrong about betraying the cast

 

— Another good segue tonight from one sketch to the next.
— Is Garrett just NOW making his first appearance all night?
— I liked John’s Silverman asking if John Belushi lives in a fancy place.
— We get a Steve Martin-esque “Nah!” ending.
STARS: ***


BAD CABARET FOR CHILDREN
kids’ reception of a musical number turns sour

    

— First non-Fred Silverman role for John all night. His voice still sounds like hell, though.
— This is pretty elaborate for a Bad Showcase sketch.
— The “Tomorrow you go on ze bus” singing/taunting is hilariously bad.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Talkin’ About You”


MR. BILL SHAPES UP
by Walter Williams- Sluggo LaLanne leads a workout

     

— Overall, standard Mr. Bill stuff, but still pretty funny, and a good premise with him trying to lose weight.
STARS: ***


THE CONEHEADS AT THE MOVIES
at the movies, Beldar becomes obnoxious after smoking (JOB)’s joint

     

— Why is a Coneheads sketch on so late in the show?
— We haven’t seen these characters since the beginning of the season. I was starting to wonder if they had been retired. They seem to be being phased out in favor of more one-dimensional characters like The Widettes.
— The “take your hats off” part was funny.
— LOL at Dan, after getting high, returning with an insane amount of snacks.
— The ending was kinda awkward but funny with the usher making Garrett leave with the Coneheads.
— I wonder if this ends up being the final Coneheads sketch before Dan leaves at the end of this season.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Pretty good show. Nothing stood out as particularly great aside from maybe the last sketch, but this was a consistently pretty enjoyable episode with every non-Coneheads sketch getting a rating in the 3 to 3½-star range. The Fred Silverman runner was also a decent through-line for the episode.
— Quite a lot of recurring characters tonight, I noticed.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Rick Nelson):
— a moderate step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Gary Busey

Posted on

February 17, 1979 – Rick Nelson / Judy Collins (S4 E12)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
deejay Dick Lanky (BIM) relies on listeners to do his research for him

  

— Dan’s entrance gets some good random applause.
— Unsurprisingly, Dan’s great at doing an authentic-sounding radio weatherman voice.
— As someone who once lived in Chicago for 10 years, it’s fun to hear so many Chicago-centric things (e.g. WGN, Oak Park) in this sketch; it’s really taking me back.
— And now, John’s entrance gets an even bigger applause than Dan’s.
— A pretty good opening sketch overall.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host performs “Hello Mary Lou”
host performs “Travelin’ Man”
host performs “Fools Rush In”

 

— We get a musical performance in place of the monologue.
— Geez, this has practically turned into a concert, with an endless amount of musical numbers, one after another.
STARS: N/A


THE TWILIGHT ZONE
host is trapped in households of similar sitcom families

           

— Always good to see Dan’s Rod Serling.
— The Rick/Beaver Cleaver mix-up is funny.
— LMAO at John as The Beav. He’s doing a hilarious impression.
— Bill’s really funny as Eddie Haskell, too.
— Heh, now this has turned into a Father Knows Best mix-up.
— I’m loving where this sketch is going so far, and I’m also loving all the fast costume changes from Jane, Bill, and John.
— I’m having a hard time figuring out what this third sitcom is they’re parodying. I don’t recognize it. And what’s with Garrett as the low-talking maid?
— Haha, I love how Dan is now suddenly playing who I can tell is George Burns.
— Just judging from how Gilda’s voice sounds during her off-camera delivery of “Is that you, Ricky?”, I can already predict what the joke in this new scene is going to be: Rick is now in “I Love Lucy” and Gilda’s playing Lucy.
— I was right.
— Nice to see the return of Tom Schiller’s Ricky Ricardo impression, for the first time since season 1, I believe.
— LOL at Dan now playing Alfred Hitchcock. This sketch is making great use of Dan’s knack for impressions.
— Overall, man, I loved this. A very fun, elaborate, perfectly-executed sketch.
STARS: *****


ROCK AGAINST YEAST ’79
Candy Slice meets host at Rock Against Yeast ’79 backstage party
Candy Slice performs “Gimme Mick”

       

— Heh, I spotted Jane in the background crowd and judging from the big blonde hair and huge rack, I can already tell she’s playing Dolly Parton.
— A pretty good laugh from the concert being named “Rock Against Yeast”.
— John as Elvis impersonator: “I’m playing the latter part of The King’s life, after he discovered carbohydrates.”
— I love “Elvii” being the name of Dan and John’s duo Elvis impersonation act.
— The return of Candy Slice.
— I’m getting a kick out of the part with Bill’s manager character dragging Candy Slice through SNL’s backstage area and taking her over to the performance stage.
— During the aforementioned drag-through-backstage part, I heard someone’s voice repeatedly saying “Spanish gameshow” for some odd reason. I think that was a crew member’s voice, and I’m gonna guess “Spanish gameshow” means we’re getting the famous “Quien Es Mas Macho” sketch later tonight.
— I’m loving Gilda’s performance of “Gimme Mick”.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
Chico Escuela says goodbye before leaving for his Mets comeback
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about cocaine & utility of prohibition

     

— I like how it’s now become a regular thing for Bill to casually announce a (made-up) news story about something tragic that’s soon going to happen to the planet, first with his “the earth is heading towards the sun” story in the last episode, and now his “life will cease to exist on March 1st of this year” story tonight.
— Jane’s intro to Chico Escuela’s commentary makes it seem like they’re retiring that character ALREADY. Hmm, surprising. I doubt his “retirement” will last, though. After all, I remember once seeing a later Update where Chico shows a pre-taped video of himself interacting with baseball players at a stadium.
— Chico’s “sarcastic bish” remark about Jane was very funny.
— Overall, a decent “final” appearance from Chico. I just KNOW we’ll be seeing him again, though.
— Loved Bill’s joke about a fictional rock group named Honest Abes being shot to death.
— Another good Point/Counterpoint with Jane and Dan. I’m still waiting until we reach that famous Point/Counterpoint that’s always shown in SNL highlight reels: you know, the one where Dan starts his rebuttal to Jane with (after “You ignorant slut”, of course) “Dried-up pieces of slunk meat like you should know–”. I wonder what episode that’s from. Considering we’re nearing the end of Dan’s SNL tenure, that episode has to be coming up very soon.
STARS: ***½


¡¿QUIEN ES MAS MACHO?!
game show invaded by illegals-seeking Untouchables

       

— Ah, I was right; the earlier overheard utterance of “Spanish gameshow” WAS alluding to this now-well-known sketch.
— I’ve never seen this sketch for myself before, aside from a clip in an SNL documentary. For some reason, I had always thought this sketch was from season 5, when Bill was the go-to guy for practically EVERY male lead role (due to Dan and John not being on the show anymore).
— This is great so far, and I’m really liking the format.
— Heh, why has this suddenly turned into an Untouchabales crossover? I do always like seeing Dan’s dead-on Robert Stack/Eliot Ness impression, though.
— All-in-all, while I still don’t get what connection the gameshow portion of this sketch was supposed to have to The Untouchables, I enjoyed this overall sketch a lot. I wouldn’t call it a classic like many SNL fans seem to, though. I feel that this sketch would’ve been stronger if the gameshow portion just kept going, without the Untouchables interruption.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hard Times for Lovers”


HELIUM
host softens the blow of bad news by inhaling helium prior to delivery

  

— Weird but funny concept.
— I wonder why they’re so obviously using a voice modifier to give Rick that helium-sounding voice instead of having him actually inhale real helium.
— Overall, short but decent.
STARS: ***


BARBER SHOP
barbers (BIM) & (host) share other merchants’ worries regarding new mall

   

— I heard about this.  Apparently, this is a sister sketch to Scotch Boutique, as it takes place at the same mall.
— Bill’s story about a hospital patient dying during a haircut Bill was giving him was really funny.
— Nice continuity having Gilda appear as her Scotch Boutique character.
— John’s appearance had a pretty funny pay-off.
— Overall, a nice, enjoyable, laid-back slice-of-life sketch, much like the original Scotch Boutique, though not quite as strong.
STARS: ***½


PICASSO: THE NEW YORK YEARS
by TOS- only mundane details are recalled

     

— I believe this is the first time Schiller has made an appearance in his own film.
— Overall, while this wasn’t anything great nor laugh-out-loud funny, it was fairly interesting in that usual Tom Schiller way.
STARS: ***


RICK NELSON: “DREAM LOVER”
host performs “Dream Lover”


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Overall, a solid episode. There weren’t really any segments I disliked, and the first two sketches of the night (The Twilight Zone and Rock Against Yeast) were both epic, fun, and elaborate. The second half of the show had some pretty strong work as well (Quien Es Mas Macho and Barber Shop).


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Kate Jackson

Posted on

February 10, 1979 – Cicely Tyson / Talking Heads (S4 E11)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
Emergency! starring Megan Marshack will not be seen tonight


COLD OPENING
JOB claims not to be angry about having his Deng piece cut from the show

 

— John looks pretty funny in that makeup.
— John: “I’ve got a #1 album on the charts.” What was he referring to there? Was that just a throwaway joke, or did he and Dan release a Blues Brothers album at the time or something?
— John, innocently: “Why would I hit Gilda?” Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’ve done that in 30% of the sketches you were ever in.
— Harsh but funny line from John about how if SNL got canceled, he has Hollywood to move on to while Jane’s only post-SNL career option will be to “go back to Boston in some improv group”. Ouch!
— Much like the Mayor Ed Koch monologue in the season premiere, this cold opening is another reminder of how much John’s movie career has been taking off, which again makes you realize that his SNL departure is soon coming.
— Good ending with John taking a swing at Jane but missing her and punching the lockers.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
upon finding GAM impersonating her, host is upset by his lack of dignity

   

— LOL at Garrett coming out in that outfit as Cicely Tyson. This would pave the way for a few other monologues later in SNL history that had a cast member come out onstage impersonating the host (Kevin Nealon as Kevin Kline in 1993, Chris Kattan as Britney Spears in 2002; are there any others?).
— Some good laughs from Garrett not thinking SNL would actually get Cicely to host.
— Loved the part of Garrett’s contract stating that he “will play all parts darker than Tony Orlando”.
— When listing black female celebrities he’s impersonated on the show, Garrett mentions Leon Spinks’ mother among them. But he never played her; Gilda did, in that David Susskind Show sketch from the preceding season.
STARS: ***½


ELVIS PRESLEY’S COAT
— Rerun.


THE WIDETTES
the Widettes entertain a couple with similarly-sized butts (GAM) & (host)

    

— I can already tell right from the opening shot that this will be a Widettes sequel. Meh. Figures they’d do this sketch in an episode with a black host, who I’m guessing will be paired with Garrett as the Widettes’ similarly-big-bottomed friends.
— It’s too soon to bring this sketch back, considering I wasn’t crazy about the first installment from just TWO EPISODES AGO. I feel like SNL’s attempting to make these characters the new Coneheads (who may already be retired by this point in SNL’s run; we haven’t seen them since the terrible one with Frank Zappa back in October), but the Widettes don’t hold a candle to the delightful weirdness of the Coneheads.
— I admit, Jane bringing out a giant rectal thermometer to take Gilda’s temperature made me laugh.
— I was right about Cicely and Garrett appearing as a big-bottomed couple.
— Another SNL reference to President Carter’s hemorrhoid problem at the time.
— Didn’t care for the simultaneous pants-ripping ending.
STARS: **


THE SHAH’S FINAL DAYS
embassy receptionist Sherry tells visitors to wait

     

— Gilda’s high-pitched Iranian gibberish underneath that burqa is cracking me up. Doesn’t she end up reprising this same character in the Bel-Airabs sketch(es) from season 5?
— LOL at Laraine rocking out to “YMCA” by The Village People.
— Oh, man, not Dan’s recurring hippie character again. I previously stated that I never wanted to see his and Laraine’s hippie couple ever again after that dreadful Night on Freak Mountain sketch from the Frank Zappa episode.
— John’s pretty funny here, but I’m not sure where the heck this sketch is going so far.
— Man, Dan’s character is insufferable in this sketch. He won’t stop talking. This, along with the Widettes, may be the only recurring Dan Aykroyd character I don’t like.
— Haha, is that Bill’s voice doing the off-camera whiny foreign gibberish as The Shah? He sounds hilarious.
— Yep, it IS Bill, who has now shown up on camera. He’s really funny in this so far.
— Bill’s appearance ended up being too short; I wanted to see more of him.
— Overall, didn’t like this sketch much. There were a few good individual performances, but too much of the sketch dragged.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Take Me To The River”


FRONTIER MIDWIFE
Frontier Midwife (host) tries to deliver a baby in a male-only cabin

   

— A pretty good laugh from the frozen cat prop.
— I liked Bill’s “Does anyone know who this woman is?” after Cicely barged in and spent almost an entire minute giving orders.
— That ending with Cicely about to get raped by the group of cabin men….. I’m supposed to LAUGH at that???
— Despite a strong performance from Cicely, I wasn’t too taken with this overall sketch. (I’m starting to notice a theme in this review)
STARS: **½


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
JAC’s eulogy for Sid Vicious is more appropriate to Nelson Rockefeller
DAA’s Strictly Speaking condemns an unfair U.S.-China trade agreement

     

— Oh, THAT’S who Megan Marshack is.
— Loved Bill’s random earth-heading-towards-the-sun news story.
— This is the first in a long time we’re seeing a mustached Dan Aykroyd (or “Stache-kroyd” as I saw someone once call him).
— Dan’s “hamburger-gobbling gooks” line caught me off-guard but made me laugh out loud.
— Overall, another funny fast-speaking, verbose, acid-tongued commentary from Dan.
— Short Update. I’m glad they finally managed to make it through an Update without any of this season’s narrow cycle of regulars (Roseanne Rosannadanna, Father Guido Sarducci, and Chico Escuela).
STARS: ***½


NICK RAILS
en route to Orlando, Nick “Rails” entertains passengers on the Auto Train

     

— I loved Bill’s screechy note at the end of his singing of “Freak Out”.
— The train setting is an interesting change of pace for this sketch.
— Garrett’s line about cruising the beaches for young white girls would’ve been funny if he hadn’t flubbed it (as usual).
— I got a big laugh from Bill’s line about throwing up all over his Volkswagen after seeing “Holocaust”.
— Overall, the usual great Nick the Lounge Singer sketch.
STARS: ****


BLACK PERSPECTIVE
host blames blacks’ poor image on black men

 

— First time we’re seeing this sketch since the famous installment with Julian Bond.
— Ah, I see that the bombshell line the host drops that offends Garrett in tonight’s installment is “The black man has always been such a loser”. It’s funny, but pales in comparison to Julian Bond’s “light-skinned blacks are smarter than dark-skinned blacks” bombshell. We still get the same “Say what?” response from Garrett.
— HAHA, I loved Garrett’s “Now listen, bitch….” line to Cicely.
— Very funny comment from Cicely about how black men ruined Detroit.
— I like the way Garrett and Cicely are playing off of each other.
STARS: ***½


WORLD AT WAR
during WWII, the Walker Brigade tries to exploit a loophole

   

— Interesting the way the Black Perspective sketch segued into this one.
— Bill’s narration voice-over sounds like his Richard Burton impression.
— Oh, now we see he IS playing Burton.
— The footage of all the soldiers with walkers looks like authentic 1940s footage, but it obviously can’t be.
— Overall, the premise was kinda thin, but they got enough mileage out of the amusing “soldiers with walkers” visual without running it into the ground.
STARS: ***


EX-POLICE
X-Police harass a pair of supposed lesbians (JAC) & (LAN)

    

— Funnily enough, Laraine giving Jane a backrub reminds me of the Franken and Davis “Porno for TV” sketch from the preceding episode.
— Oh, no. Another return of the X-Police. I may have given a very positive review of the first installment of this sketch, but this NEVER should have been made into a recurring sketch. Hell, I’d even take another installment of Mercy Killers over seeing this once again.
— Wait, now they’re officially titled “Ex-Police”? WTF? Why’d they change the original spelling of X-Police?
— Whoa at Bill’s angry “dyke!” outburst to Laraine. Jesus Christ.
— Ugh, everything in this sketch is pretty much a carbon copy of the exact same crap we’ve seen in the other two X-Police sketches, only with an uncomfortably angry homophobic premise.
— Considering we’re nearing the end of Dan’s SNL tenure (*sob*), hopefully this is the last time I have to put up with X-Police, Ex-Police, or whatever the fuck we’re supposed to call it. When I said earlier in this review that Dan’s hippie character and the Widettes are the only two recurring Aykroyd characters I don’t like, I clearly spoke too soon.  Man, it hurts to see my favorite original cast member doing his three weakest recurring characters in the same episode.
STARS: *


CICELY SINGS SICILY
album of host doing songs native to homonymic island

 

— Not sure where the humor here is supposed to be coming from so far, other than the Cicely/Sicily name similarity, which is a concept I would’ve only found funny as a kid.
— Overall, what in THE WORLD was the point of this sketch???
STARS: *


LITELLA-VISION
GAM & host perform “Porky” & Bess duet on Emily’s show

  

— Well, if anything’s gonna save tonight’s tepid episode, it’s SURE to be my FAVORITE character Emily Litella! [/end sarcasm]
— While I’m not all that eager to see this character being brought out of the mothballs after a long hiatus, at least we’re seeing her in a different setting. I wonder why this sketch didn’t open with a title card or opening credits sequence.
— Oh, is this just another excuse to hear more singing from Cicely?
— Garrett’s Porky Pig-esque stutter-singing is kinda funny. BTW, tonight has got to be the most airtime Garrett’s received since the Julian Bond episode from season 2.
— The visual of a pig mask-wearing band was okay.
— Overall, odd sketch. I have no idea how to feel about it. I have a feeling it might grow on me on a re-watch.
— I wonder if Litella-Vision eventually becomes a recurring sketch, or if it ends up staying a random one-off.
STARS: undecided


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Artists Only”


GOODNIGHTS

— Why’d the band start playing before Cicely even delivered her goodnights speech? They completely drowned out what she was saying.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— I did not care much for this episode. In fact, it’s the first one in a good while that left me with such a “meh” feeling. There were a few good things tonight, but they were overshadowed by a surprisingly large amount of sketches I didn’t like. There was an upswing in quality around the middle of the show, but that was short-lived as it was followed by a string of real duds like Ex-Police and Cicely Sings Sicily. Tonight’s episode also contained some uncomfortable moments like the angry homophobia in Ex-Police and the pending rape at the end of Frontier Midwife.
— Cicely was a good host and gave some pretty strong performances, and it sure was refreshing seeing a black woman hosting the show for once. I just wish the show gave her better material.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Rick Nelson

Posted on

January 27, 1979 – Michael Palin / The Doobie Brothers (S4 E10)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Jimmy Carter’s (DAA) hemorrhoids affect the State Of The Union address

 

— Funny opening commentary from Tom Davis'(?) voice-over at beginning about President Carter’s “painful medical problem”.
— Amusing pained slow entrance from Dan’s Carter.
— Dan’s Carter’s use of hemorrhoid-related words to express the U.S.’s inflation problems is hilarious! A lot of big laughs there.
— The random “next president” disclaimer under the stock footage shot of Ted Kennedy was great.
— Overall, a very funny opening, and an improvement over the preceding State of the Union cold opening the show did in season 3.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
if only NBC had given non-wool socks to host, the show would be perfect

 

— Not sure how he can top his cats-down-the-pants monologue from last time.
— LOL at the woman in the audience who keeps loudly cheering “Woo!” after every single cast member name Michael mentions.
— Michael, in an ad-lib(?) regarding the audience: “Is that my mother up there?” Kinda funny hearing that, as Michael would later co-host SNL with his mother in the early 80s.
— I now keep hearing the distinctive laugh of the aforementioned “Woo!” audience member from earlier.
— Overall, this was pretty disappointing for a Michael Palin monologue. The whole “wrong socks” thing just wasn’t that interesting of a premise, despite Michael’s efforts to wring laughs out of it. They could’ve given him something much funnier than this.
STARS: **


NERDS MUSIC LESSON
lonely Mr. Brighton shifts his attention from Lisa to Enid to Todd

     

— These characters are now finally getting Coneheads-level huge cheers from the audience upon their entrance at the beginning.
— Nice continuity by bringing back Michael’s piano teacher character from last time he hosted.
— Michael: “You stir my manhood!”
— Funny sight gag with Bill entering with the bra over his eyes.
— Heh, I should’ve seen the ending coming where Michael turned his romantic attention towards Bill, but it still caught me off-guard and gave me a laugh.
STARS: ***½


WHAT IF?
the possibility of a Nazi Superman (DAA) is explored

       

— Jane’s back to being the “What If?” host, after Steve Martin took over her role last time.
— Oh, this is the Superman-as-a-Nazi one I’ve always heard about. I already love the concept alone.
— Garrett’s answer getting cut off was pretty funny.
— Some great laughs from Michael-as-Hitler’s speech about how many steps Russians are above other minorities/groups he hates (e.g. negro gypsy homosexuals).
— John doing his great Brando impression as Jor-El.
— I like the Nazi version of Superman’s name: Uberman.
— LOL at Dan’s x-ray vision revealing that Franken’s character is “a jew”.
— Overall, this was fantastic. Easily the best of the “What If?” sketches so far.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What a Fool Believes”


WEEKEND UPDATE
fired Ohio State coach Woody Hayes (JOB) hits wife (GIR) in BIM interview
photos show Rosalynn Carter’s proclivity for being around mass murderers
Chico Escuela gives advice to athletes- “keep your eye on the ball”
Father Guido Sarducci analyzes the bill for the Last Brunch

       

— Hmm, a lesser-known edition of Bill Murray’s Celebrity Corner.
— Wow at John suddenly beating the hell out of Gilda. I kinda wish I was keeping count of the number of times John has done that to Gilda in a sketch, because it’s gotta be near the double-digits by this point in the show’s run.
— Chico Escuela’s whole “keep your eye on the ball” commentary was short and didn’t really go anywhere, but it still made me laugh. Hope they do more noteworthy things with this character in his future appearances, though.
— Amusing seeing Guido Sarducci with the sombrero.
— Funny story from Sarducci about a man trying to sell him a high school graduation picture of Jesus and the bill for the Last Supper.
— Loved the part of Sarducci’s Last Brunch story about the guy who just had egg and tea having to pay as much as others at the brunch who ate more.
— I think this is the first time they had Bill do the “pleasant tomorrow” sign-off instead of Jane.
STARS: ***


MILES COWPERTHWAITE
Charles Dickens’ Miles Cowperthwaite (host) comes of age as drool handler

       

— Oh, I heard about this sketch. Supposedly, it’s one of the longest and most elaborate sketches in SNL history. This must be around the time when the show started doing some really long sketches (e.g. the epic “Pepsi Syndrome”, which appears later this season); a trend that would carry over into season 5.
— Jane’s voice and accent are great.
— Oh my god at Dan’s whole scene so far. He is priceless!
— Some good gross-out humor here.
— Bill’s talking in a voice similar to his character in the Theodoric of York sketches.
— For some reason, the part with Michael giving Dan a loud bop with a mallet to stop Dan’s spasms is absolutely slaying me. I cannot stop laughing right now.
— Ah, here’s the part I always heard about, with John as the effeminate ship captain of The Raging Queen.
— Wait, what? The sketch is over already? It can’t be. I had always heard that most of this sketch took place on a ship, with John’s captain character being a huge part of the sketch. Instead, this sketch contained zero ship scenes, and John’s character only appeared in the last minute of the sketch. WTF? I’m also surprised to see that this sketch was NOWHERE NEAR as long as I had heard. I’m starting to think I must be watching a different Miles Cowperthwaite sketch than the one I heard about. I know Michael hosts again later this season; maybe that episode has a continuation of this sketch. Anyone know?
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Taking it to the Streets”


NAME THE BATS
(JOB) & (GIR) are attacked on (host)’s game show

    

— Strange but interesting concept so far.
— I’m laughing my ass off at Michael beating on the outside of the barn to make the bats show up inside.
— Part of the barn door falls off when Michael beats on the barn. Wonder if that was a real mistake.
— HAHA this is insane with Gilda and John’s various off-camera yells during the bat attack while Michael as the sadistic host is forcing them to stick to the game show’s premise and give the bats names.
— Great ending with Gilda and John’s “consolation prize”.
— Overall, wow, what a hilarious insane sketch that got great reactions from me. I think I just discovered a new favorite sketch of mine.
STARS: *****


THE FRANKEN AND DAVIS SHOW
communists ALF, TOD, LAN, GIR preview their pornographic TV plan

     

— The concept of communist porn is pretty funny.
— I like the porn’s opening credits sequence.
— The stilted talk of “back-rubbing” as a raunchy sex act is good.
— HA at Franken loudly cracking Laraine’s neck.
STARS: ***


MR. BILL GOES TO COURT
by Walter Williams- Sluggo sues after Spot bites

       

— They waited two episodes since the last Mr. Bill film, but it’s STILL too soon to bring this back.
— Spot with the ball & chain around his rabies-infested mouth is a pretty funny visual.
— Interesting seeing Mr. Bill’s mom.
— Mr. Bill’s mom returning from the cross-examination room all beat-up gave me a good laugh.
— The electric chair ending was great.
— Overall, wow, that was actually really good. Just when I thought I had officially gotten tired of the Mr. Bill films, they win me back with this one.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS
host thanks viewers who mailed in socks

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Overall, a really strong show. While this unfortunately didn’t have the Monty Python-esque feel that Michael Palin’s previous episode had, there were still several great unique concepts I absolutely loved that were executed perfectly, like the Uberman and (one of my new all-time favorites) Name The Bats sketches, and there was also a really strong Miles Cowperthwaite piece.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Cicely Tyson

Posted on

December 16, 1978 – Elliott Gould / Peter Tosh (S4 E9)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
the 28th Annual U.S.-Taiwan Table Tennis Open will not be seen tonight

— First time we’ve seen a show-opening disclaimer gag all season.


COLD OPENING
to conserve energy, Jimmy Carter (DAA) darkens White House Christmas tree

  

— Energetic audience reaction to the opening shot of Dan.
— Overall, the tree un-lighting premise was decent and this opening worked pretty well.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host & GAM dance & sing “Christmas Night In Harlem”

   

— Yet another Elliott Gould monologue that launches right into a song. I guess he was the Christopher Walken of the original SNL era.
— Ha at Garrett interrupting the song.
— I’m liking Garrett’s dancing.
— Overall, a fun number, and it was good to see a cast member get involved in a musical Elliott monologue for a change.
STARS: ***½


BABY NORWAY ALL-FLAMMABLE CHRISTMAS TREE
the Rovco All-Flammable Christmas Tree eliminates the need for cleanup

     

— Looks like we’re getting our usual absurd-premised Dan Aykroyd commercial.
— Not a hilarious concept, but still pretty funny and silly.
— I weirdly liked the extended ending showing the stagehands putting out the fires.
STARS: ***


THE WIDETTES
the big-butt Widette family (DAA), (JAC), (GIR), (JOB) makes buns puns

     

— The debut of this recurring sketch that I’ve always heard about. I’ve never seen these, but I’m dreading it based on my recently-mentioned dislike of “every member of a family has the same weird trait/big body part” sketches.
— John and Gilda pigging out on the fudge present they were given was pretty funny.
— The toilet paper gag ending was okay.
— Overall, not quite as bad as I was expecting, but I still wasn’t crazy about this.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


MOMMIE DEAREST
in a flashback, Christina Crawford (GIR) recalls her Mommie Dearest (JAC)

       

— Interesting use of Gilda’s catatonic Colleen character.
— I’m getting some good laughs from Jane’s violent outbursts to Gilda, and Gilda responding by hitting her own doll.
— I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe at Yvonne Hudson playing her maid role in such a ridiculously stereotypical, old-timey, over-the-top manner.
— LOL at Gilda’s Christmas present being the previous night’s dinner she reportedly gagged on.
— The return of Bill and Laraine’s Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn impressions, and the debut of a funny Clark Cable impression from Dan.
— Dan’s Gable to Jane’s Crawford: “Frankly, my dear, I could never make love to someone who’s shoulders are bigger than mine.”
— Gilda’s delivery of “Thank you!” was hilarious.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
during a LAN interview, Steve Rubell (JOB) disavows cocaine at Studio 54
BIM sings Fifth Symphony-inspired “Happy Birthday” to Beethoven
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about USA-China diplomatic relations
Roseanne Roseannadanna touches on holiday depression, gives JAC fruitcake

       

— A hot crowd tonight. They’re howling at everything.
— Funny sight gag with John’s cocaine mustache.
— John, about use of cocaine at the club: “Apparently, this is going on right under my nose.”
— Ha, nice twist at the end with John eating a powdered donut.
— Bill’s smarmy singing of “Happy Birthday” to Beethoven was brief but classic Bill Murray.
— That Clark Kent suit joke bombed completely.
— We’re getting another Point/Counterpoint.
— Heh, during Jane’s rant in Point/Counterpoint, you can tell a Roseanne Rosannadanna commentary is coming up because on the left side of the screen, you can see a part of Gilda’s unmistakable Rosannadanna wig.
— Dan’s rebuttal was freakin’ great, especially his remark about Jane’s “dried-out scuzz”.
— I must’ve seen this Rosannadanna commentary in an SNL highlight reel or “Best Of” special, because her whole funny spiel about spaghetti sauce stains in teeth sounds seems so familiar, and used to always be the first thing that came to my mind whenever I thought of this character.
— Rosannadanna’s commentary is now making the audience howl like crazy again, much like they were doing earlier this Update.
— HA at the nasty fruitcake Rosannadanna gave Jane.
STARS: ***½


ALCOHOLIC’S CHRISTMAS
to wino (host), liquor brand mascots are the true spirits of Christmas

 

— Interesting premise with the cast playing embodied versions of various liquors.
— Uh-oh, a musical number has suddenly broken out. Ugh.
— Overall, despite my perpetual dislike of unnecessary musical numbers in the middle of SNL sketches, this was a charming little holiday sketch, though I wanted to like this a little more than I did.
STARS: ***


BOB & RAY
Bob & Ray [real] simulate interview featuring a hard-luck holiday story

 

— This is my first time seeing Bob & Ray’s comedy act.
— Funny seeing Bob Elliott on SNL, knowing that a son (Chris) and granddaughter (Abby) of his would later go on to become cast members on the show.
— The comment about the Rockefeller tree was my only real laugh so far, and even that was more of a chuckle.
— Overall, I’m disappointed to say I found this only mildly funny at best. This started very slow, but got a little better as it went along. Considering the good things I’ve always heard about this comedy team, I feel bad for not liking this segment more. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that their material is usually better than this.
STARS: **½


ST. MICKEY’S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
St. Mickey’s Knights of Columbus has its Christmas banquet

     

— Last time they did this sketch with Buck Henry, I mentioned that when I was much younger, I saw a version of this sketch with Elliott Gould in an old SNL Christmas compilation special. Something I’ll always remember about my initial viewing of this Gould version of the sketch is that for the first minute of it, I mistakenly thought that was future cast member Randy Quaid in John Belushi’s role. I remember confusedly going “Wait, what season does this sketch come from??? How can 1985-86 season cast member Randy Quaid be appearing in a sketch with Dan, Garrett, Bill, etc.?”, before realizing that was John Belushi I was looking at. I know that mix-up sounds very odd considering Quaid and Belushi normally look nothing alike, but in this sketch, there was something about John’s glasses and the certain way he was moving his mouth while speaking that reminded younger me of how Quaid looked in certain bespectacled roles on SNL. For what it’s worth, I don’t see the resemblance at all anymore.
— So far, the same problem I had with the first Knights of Columbus sketch is applying to this second installment: the parody of lodge meetings is a little TOO realistic and feels too long.
— I like Jane and Gilda as the two cooks, even without having any lines.
— Hey, I’m actually liking this part with the club members not knowing words to various Christmas carols, except Elliott being the only one who knows the “Good King Wenceslas” lyrics.
— Funny how I mentioned a season 11 cast member (Randy Quaid) earlier in this sketch review, because now I’ve noticed whenever this sketch shows a wide shot of the club, there’s a bespectacled club member on the bottom of the screen that strongly resembles season 11-era Robert Downey Jr. (circled in the screencap below) It obviously can’t be him, though; he would’ve only been about 13 years old at this time.

— Overall, this sketch started out kinda dull as usual, but surprisingly gained some good momentum towards the end and got me to like it. Definitely an improvement over the first installment.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


DUBS TREES
Honker assumes control of a Christmas tree lot & makes a sale

     

— LOL at Bill getting caught peeing near the trees.
— Oh, is this another appearance from Bill’s Honker character?
— Wow, interesting role-reversal with Gilda playing a mom and Jane playing her child for once. It’s funny, because I was just thinking a few days ago how I would like to see a sketch where always-great-at-playing-moms Jane and always-great-at-playing-kids Gilda would switch roles.
— Yeah, this IS Honker. I always like this weird character.
— Jane’s actually pretty adorable in her portrayal of a child. Too bad it doesn’t seem she got cast in roles like this more often.
— Overall, good sketch.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Overall, a pretty decent Christmas episode. Nothing outstanding, and most of the sketches stayed in just the 3 to 3½-star range, but the overall show had an nice, enjoyable Christmas-y feel to it that I liked, no doubt partly helped by Elliott Gould’s always-warm presence. A welcome contrast to how the previous season’s Christmas episode (Miskel Spillman) strangely had almost NO Christmas-themed material.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
We enter 1979, with Michael Palin, our second Monty Python alum host in three episodes

Posted on

December 9, 1978 – Eric Idle / Kate Bush (S4 E8)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Telepsychic Ray (DAA) makes up callers’ fortunes as he goes

— I’ve always liked these sketches when I saw them years ago.
— Funny part with Dan hastily cutting off the call from Tom Davis(?) that starts with him saying “My sister wants to take some butter–”.
— An even better part with the “sick friend” prank call from Jane, and then Dan, after realizing he’s been tricked, predicts that Jane will be the one to get sick.
— Nice meta segue into LFNY.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host goes backstage when the writers fail to deliver a monologue on time

         

— Some funny awkward stalling from Eric while waiting to be given the monologue.
— I’m liking what I always call “the unintentional backstage tour”, whenever a host is shown going all around backstage.
— Are those showgirls I’m seeing in the background? I wonder if this is what started the traditional gag of backstage sketches always having a llama, showgirls, and an Abraham Lincoln.
— The writers room being a smoke-filled drug den is a priceless gag, especially knowing all the real-life backstage drug stories we’ve heard about the original SNL era.
— Ah, there’s the background Lincoln. Still haven’t seen a llama, though.  Does the random horse from earlier count?
— Speaking of horse (*TERRIBLE SEGUE ALERT*), Gilda’s voice sounds quite hoarse in this.
— A good laugh from Eric apathetically breaking the Tunisian jar after talking about how valuable it is.
— Eric’s foreign chanting is hilarious.
— Eric: “She says she cannot marry him as she has boils.”
STARS: ****½


THE FRENCH CHEF
Julia Child (DAA) bleeds profusely after cutting herself

   

— Oh, its the famous Julia Child sketch!
— Dan’s way of saying “saltine” was a very funny little touch.
— “I’ve cut the dickens out of my finger.”
— SNL’s very first instance of an “excessive bleeding sketch”, and boy is this one a riot.
— The audience is getting a huge kick out of this.
— Liked him pointing out that the phone he tried to call 911 on is just a prop.
— Great ending with him passing out.
— Overall, a true classic, and possibly my favorite of SNL’s excessive bleeding sketches.
STARS: *****


MADRIGAL
host, LAN, JAC, BIM sing a madrigal about a ship put to sea in May

 

— Never realized until now that Laraine and Eric have the exact same hairstyle.
— Judging from Garrett’s set-up and the way the song is going so far, is this going to be another serious performance like Garrett’s operatic performance in the last episode? Then again, it’s hard to take this song seriously when Eric has that hilarious facial expression.
— Hey, this song’s structure and lyrics are actually subtly comedic, especially with they way it’s amusingly being delivered in such a straight manner.
— The sudden “sank” part was a perfect ending.
STARS: ***½


THE WOMAN HE LOVED
Prince Charles (host) & hick teen love (LAN) bicker

     

— Dan is great as the cop.
— I liked John genially saying, while carrying a shotgun, “I’m gonna go down there and blow their heads off.”
— The abruptly shifting music during the back-and-forth cutaways from the plane footage to the England footage is a funny contrast.
— Pretty funny when Eric came back to the trailer after his long trip just to deliver a brief message to Laraine before leaving again.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


WHAT DO YOU
the game’s sound effect rules take entire show to explain

 

— LOL at the name “Lord Lupus”.
— This is absolutely hilarious with Eric explaining the convoluted game show rules with all the various sound effects.
— Overall, this was a fantastic little sketch. I loved the silliness, fast pacing, and Monty Python-esque vibe, and this was performed wonderfully with Eric’s flawless, rapid-fire Brit delivery.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
during a BIM interview, Valerie Harper (GIR) finds out she’s not Jewish
Chico Escuela gives a baseball-centric sports report
BIM & JAC debate prospect of oral sex moratorium pending ERA ratification
Father Guido Sarducci explains what his trip to 42nd Street was like

       

— Yeah, Gilda’s voice is DEFINITELY shot tonight.
— Great reaction from Gilda’s Valerie Harper when being told she’s not Jewish.
— Chico Escuela making his Update debut.
— Chico’s lack of knowledge over the sports he’s covering is making me laugh.
— It’s good to see Garrett finally having a hit character, after four years on the show.
— Very funny Women Rights segment with Jane calling a moratorium on performing oral sex on males.
— Haha at Bill’s objection to Jane’s moratorium.
— Bill’s “hoardes of rats” news story was great.
— The whole nude wrestling story part of Father Guido Sarducci’s commentary is really good.
— Overall, a strong Update.
STARS: ****


CANDY SLICE
burned-out punk singer Candy Slice (GIR) shows up at the studio wasted

     

— Judging from the recording studio set, I think we’re getting our debut of Gilda’s famous Candy Slice character.
— Yep, it is! This is gonna be great.
— Why does the name of Bill’s character, Jerry Aldini, sound familiar? I’m pretty sure he played a character with that name sometime prior to this, but I can’t remember which sketch.
— I wonder if rehearsing this sketch all week explains why Gilda’s voice has been so hoarse throughout tonight’s episode. She probably blew her voice out from scream-singing during all the rehearsals.
— LOL at Gilda brushing her armpit hair.
— John and (especially) Gilda are both fighting to keep a straight face (fourth screencap above) after Gilda failed at her attempt to spit booze in John’s face.
— “If You Look Close, You Can See My Tits”. Surprised to hear that in a 70s episode.
— Gilda’s punk rock-style singing and dancing during her performance are great, and her real-life temporary hoarseness actually kinda fits the song’s style well.
STARS: ****


CONSUMER PROBE
Irwin Mainway’s endangered species fashions displayed

    

— Always nice to see Irwin Mainway, though I can’t help but notice the similarities to Dan’s Telepsychic character we saw just earlier tonight. Both characters have basically the same voice, are sleazy, and wear sunglasses. The same can also be said for Dan’s E. Buzz Miller character.
— The “trumpeter swan slippers” are really funny.
— I like the vest made of human skin with human teeth for buttons.
— Jane’s indignant reactions throughout this are all great.
STARS: ****


THE CANINE CHORUS
by Aviva Slesin- (BIM) is the agent for a band of singing dogs

 

— Hmm, a new SNL filmmaker.  As long as it ain’t Gary Weis, I don’t mind.  I was nervous for a second when Eric mentioned Gary Weis’ name during the intro to this film.
— The back-and-forth cutaways between Bill’s phone conversation and the barking dogs are fairly funny.
— Did this get cut off too early? This “ended” right when the camera cut back to a shot of Bill as if he was going to continue speaking.
STARS: ***


COCHISE AT OXFORD
the Apache Indian (BIM) joins (host)’s rhetoric class

     

— This has some importance to me, as it’s one of the first sketches from this era that I can remember ever seeing, in a rerun back in my early days as an SNL fan. I had a special liking for both the strange concept and Bill’s performance, despite the fact that this isn’t a terribly hilarious or particularly memorable sketch from what I recall.
— LOL at Bill’s entrance as Cochise.
— The class, asking what kind of Indian Cochise is: “A woo-woo Indian or an Indian-Indian?”
— The class hypothesizing how ducks “take a leak” is really funny.
— For some reason, the part of this sketch that stuck in my memory the most from my first viewing is when Bill throws a tomahawk off-camera at Eric, then the camera pans over to Eric hilariously staring fearfully at a tomahawk planted into the chalkboard next to his face, then he naively asks the class “Who threw that?”
— Overall, this sketch was very different from what I had remembered from my first viewing. I had no recollection of all the long discussions between Eric and the class, and I was surprised to see that this sketch was mostly focused on that. Despite being the title character, Bill as Cochise was barely a factor in this and didn’t even show up until halfway through the sketch. I’m kinda disappointed by that, because I had remembered really liking Bill’s Cochise performance.
— Overall, I still liked the sketch, though.  The discussions between Eric and the class had some good moments.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


GOODNIGHTS

  

— What’s with the paper Eric’s holding? At first, I thought this was going to be a comedic bit where he finally received the monologue the writers were supposed to give him earlier. Perhaps that WAS the intention, but maybe the show ran long and thus, Eric didn’t have enough time to do the bit. Just a theory of mine. These goodnights were kinda sloppy in general (it opens with Eric and the cast in the process of making their arrival onstage, as seen in the first screencap above).
— When announcing next week’s guests, Don Pardo says that Mr. Mike will be a special guest. Did Mr. Mike end up canceling or getting bumped, because I was told that his only two cameos after leaving SNL were in this season’s Buck Henry season finale, and next season’s 100th episode.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Yet another very strong Eric Idle episode. He’s 3-for-3 in great episodes so far. Tonight had an impressive number of sketches that received a high rating from me, and there were no sketches I disliked.  And just like in his first two episodes, the writers did a great job catering to Eric’s specific comedic style.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Our Christmas episode of the season, hosted by Elliott Gould