Tag: Season 4

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May 26, 1979 – Buck Henry / Bette Midler (S4 E20)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Mr. Bill visits SNL; JAC complains that she’s never said the opening line

           

— I normally would groan at the appearance of yet ANOTHER Mr. Bill film, but at least I was prepared for this one, since I had already known this season’s finale cold opening stars him.
— I admit, I am liking this meta premise with him having a ticket to see SNL.
— Liked the scene with him meeting John Belushi and receiving an autograph.
— Good ending with Mr. Bill suddenly getting sat on while in the middle of saying LFNY.
STARS: ***…….. Whoa, wait, it turns out we’re not done yet after all. The opening montage suddenly gets cut off by a screaming Jane Curtin, who’s complaining about never having said LFNY.
— Come to think of it, I never noticed that Jane has yet to say LFNY. Well, a solo LFNY, that is; she has said LFNY in unison with the rest of the cast at least three times before (in the Fran Tarkenton, Sissy Spacek, and Mary Kay Place episodes).
— LOL at Jane’s casual mention that Chevy was “fired” from the show.
— Another laugh during Jane’s rant, this time from her dismissively referring to Mr. Bill as “Gumby”.
— John gets a LFNY for his final episode, after saying LFNY in almost every single episode from the second half of this season. I do hope Jane gets at least one solo LFNY next season (her final season), but I’m doubtful; I recall looking at the “Live from New York…” section of SNL Archives’ Season 5 page a few years ago, and I don’t recall seeing any solo Jane LFNYs in there.  Oh, well, she wouldn’t be the only SNL veteran who never got a solo LFNY; off the top of my head, there’s also Nora Dunn, Vanessa Bayer, David Spade (not counting his hosting stints), and Victoria Jackson.  Probably some others, too.
STARS: *** for the Mr. Bill half, **** for the Jane/John half


OPENING MONTAGE
— Michael O’Donoghue has returned as a guest tonight, after leaving the show a year ago.


MONOLOGUE
the picture size decreases as host’s monologue becomes less interesting

     

— Good premise with us being able to view a test group’s level of interest in the show.
— Amusing how the screen is getting increasingly smaller as Buck’s droning on with a boring speech.
— Now it’s gotten even funnier with the screen suddenly going back to normal size during Buck’s negative rant about “cleavage, jiggling buttocks, etc.”
STARS: ***½


RAY’S DISCO ROLLER FISHING PARK
Ray’s (BIM) Disco Roller Fishing Park combines three popular pastimes

   

— A kinda-funny idea, but it doesn’t seem like can hold up for a whole commercial.
— Overall, I was kinda right, as the premise lost steam fairly fast, but I did love Bill’s performance as the spokesperson; he carried this really well. Kinda wish they had Dan in that role, though, considering tonight’s his last night and this would’ve been our last chance to see him as a pitchman. Between the Roach Brothel commercial in the preceding episode and now this Disco Roller Fishing commercial, it’s almost as if SNL’s already preparing to make Bill the go-to guy of the post-Aykroyd/Belushi era. Hope he’s prepared, because he’s gonna get quite a workout next season, getting a huge majority of the lead male roles.
STARS: **½


SAMURAI BAKERY
Mr. Dantley orders a wedding cake from Futaba

     

— As usual, I can immediately tell from the way the set looks when Buck makes his entrance that we’re getting our obligatory Samurai sketch. This will be the last time I’m able to say that.
— The number-calling bit was pretty funny.
— Boy, that fruitcake/gay voice part……
— A pretty good laugh from the “master-baker”/masturbater mix-up.
— John waves goodbye to the camera while Pardo’s doing the closing announcement. Is that John’s way of saying “farewell” for good?
— Overall, despite the fact that Futaba has undeniably been past his prime in his last few appearances, tonight’s wasn’t too bad. I’m probably more tolerant of the character’s routine tonight because I know it’s his final sketch. He had a fantastic run back in his prime (which I would say officially ended after the “Samurai Night Fever” installment).
STARS: ***


BLIND AMBITION
Richard Nixon (DAA) claims that the Watergate tapes were done as a joke

       

— Our night of “lasts” continues, as we now get the last hurrah for Dan’s always-hilarious Nixon. I’m definitely gonna miss this impression.
— Always love Jane’s cranky take on Pat Nixon. She always has some funny snarky one-liners.
— I like the idea of doing a live “flashback” scene.
— LOL, I remember first seeing this “Nixon and his assistant say Watergate-related things in their knowingly-bugged office while laughing like hyenas” scene as a clip in SNL’s Presidential Bash special from 2000. I remember finding this scene absolutely hilarious back then.
— The above-mentioned scene is just as funny as I remember, especially Dan falling out of his chair laughing at one point.
— Hey, Dan’s Nixon is watching the Three Stooges on TV! As I said in an earlier review, as a huge Three Stooges fan, you’ll be seeing me geek out at any reference SNL makes to them.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Married Men”

— Weird how this is the second consecutive episode where a musical guest has performed a song with the same title (“Married Men”).


WEEKEND UPDATE
a Rolling Stones lyric leads GAM to ask where the horny black women are
Roseanne Roseannadanna rambles from gas crisis to sand in JAC’s swimsuit

     

— Ah, I remember seeing this Garrett Morris commentary, where he talks professionally about a racist Mick Jagger lyric regarding sex-crazed black women, before suddenly dropping his professional tone to desperately ask “Where ARE all of these black girls, man?” His delivery of that is great; probably one of my favorite Garrett Morris moments from his entire SNL tenure.
— As I predicted two episode reviews ago, here’s Roseanne Rosannadanna’s obligatory season finale appearance.
— Most of Rosannadanna’s commentary tonight was the standard stuff that I’ve slowly been getting tired of lately, but I did kinda like her story about Jane at the beach, especially the line “She just wouldn’t take her hands out of her pants!”
STARS: ***


UNCLE ROY
pedophilic “Uncle” Roy tells Terri & Tracy a story before bedtime

     

— Only in the 70s could SNL not only get away with doing a one-time sketch starring a character like this, but actually end up making a RECURRING SKETCH out of it.
— Ha, there’s ol’ Roy breaking out the Polaroid.
— I liked Buck’s panicked delivery of “Simon says ‘Higher, higher!!’” while eagerly waiting for the girls to lift up their nightgowns.
— Did the lights turn off too early?
— As usual, the risque humor here is helped by the usual great performance from Buck, one of the very few people who could pull off a character like this without making him come off hateable. Though I’m wondering where else they can take this sketch in subsequent installments without it running out of steam already. I feel like they’ve already done everything they could with the concept.
STARS: ***½


THE FRANKEN AND DAVIS SHOW
TOD tries to do comedy routine despite ALF’s having become a Hare Krishna

   

— Ha, Franken as a Hare Krishna. This makes me wonder, did Franken and Davis write that bizarre “Danger Probe” sketch from this season’s premiere where Belushi played a Hare Krishna? That sketch did feel like their handiwork.
— Al saying his new name is Ajhnat Dippivad (sp?) is really funny.
— A good laugh from Tom unexpectedly snipping off Al’s ponytail and Al worrying that everyone will now think he’s a Buddhist.
— Overall, could’ve been a little better, but it gave me enough laughs.
STARS: ***


THE OLYMPIA CAFE
an insurance adjuster (JAC) visits after a fire destroys the Olympia Cafe

      

— Our final Olympia Cafe sketch.
— Good premise with the cafe recovering from a recent fire.
— John falsely claiming to the insurance adjuster that he and all his employees lost golf clubs in the fire is pretty funny.
— I love John’s speechless, dramatic reaction to the insurance adjuster turning them down.
— John’s only resort after the insurance deal fell through being to declare “We dance!” and lead a Greek circle dance is hilarious. Nice way to end the final installment of this great recurring sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Martha”


CLONES EXIST NOW
by TOS- a report on the status of duplication science

     

— Hmm, the words “Schiller’s Reel” are displayed in a red font this time instead of the usual plain white font.  The red font gives it almost an eerie, horror movie vibe, though I doubt that’s the intention.
— Loved the black-and-white stock footage of a scientist “going insane”.
— Overall, eh, aside from a few funny parts early on, I didn’t find this all that funny or interesting, though it had a decent idea.
STARS: **


NOT FOR TRANSSEXUALS ONLY
sex-changed (host) & (LAN) swapped genitalia

 

— The title is a variation of the “Not For Ladies Only” sketch(es).
— This is the second time we’ve ever seen Buck in drag, after that short film from season 2 where he gets a womanly makeover for Halloween.
— This premise feels weird watching in 2018, considering what a sensitive subject transsexualism is nowadays.
— Buck’s “Thank you” when Laraine inadvertently complimented him on his penis size made me laugh.
— Very funny line from Laraine saying she wants to “pork as many broads as possible”.
— A short and sweet sketch. Your mileage may vary on this, but I felt this sketch thankfully didn’t have quite the uncomfortable feeling I was worried this would have through modern eyes.
— Oh, wow, this ends up being the last sketch of the season?
STARS: ***


IMPRESSIONIST MICHAEL O’DONOGHUE / GOODNIGHTS
MOD does impression of Elvis Presley having needles plunged into eyes

     

— Oh, looks like that Transsexuals sketch ISN’T our last sketch of the season after all, as we get our Mr. Mike segment squeezed in during the spot where the goodnights usually occurs.
— Overall, this is the same old needles-in-the-eyes routine as always, but I’m getting a kick out of seeing O’Donoghue wildly climbing all over the studio audience as the credits roll, which is a fairly fun way to end a season.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty enjoyable season finale, and an improvement over the underwhelming Buck-hosted season finale from a year earlier. Most of the sketches were good, and we got some interesting cases of format-breaking, such as Jane interrupting the opening montage to complain about not getting to say LFNY or Michael O’Donoghue’s needles-in-the-eyes routine overlapping with the ending credits.
— I wish John and Dan were used more for what ended up being their last show. Dan especially seemed really underutilized tonight – Nixon was the only noteworthy role he got.
— After reviewing these first four seasons, I’ve come away with a higher opinion on John and Dan than I used to have. Before familiarizing myself with these original-era episodes, I used to just remember John for his loud, wild, outrageous roles. Going through his SNL tenure while doing these reviews has taught me that he displayed far more range than just being a wild fat guy. I’ve gained a big appreciation for his underrated versatility and reliability; the writers could cast him in literally any type of role and he’d play it very convincingly. He was even good at doing various celebrity impressions, too, and not just impressions of heavyset celebrities. Hell, he was even good at doing serious, dramatic acting when a scene called for it, such as various instances in the Olympia Cafe sketches. As for Dan, while I’ve always had lots of admiration and respect for his importance as SNL’s original utility player, doing these 70s reviews has made me SUCH a big fan of his SNL work that I came to realize he’s my absolute favorite of the original cast. I would often be in awe watching his adept performances & delivery, and some of the hardest laughs I’ve gotten in the first four seasons have been from him. And he had a lot of the qualities that I love in an SNL cast member: skills as an “everyman” player, consummate professional, strong impressionist, and a knack for doing really weird, creative sketches (though unfortunately, it feels like we saw less and less of those weird, creative sketches of his as his tenure progressed). It goes without saying that John and Dan will both be sorely missed from the cast, especially when when you’re aware of how the show would end up struggling without them next season.
— Season 4 overall was a very good year. It’s often considered by many to be the peak of 70s SNL, though to be honest, I personally feel season 3 was a little better. Still, this season boasts an impressive large number of classic sketches and strong episodes, even despite containing two of the absolute worst episodes I’ve had to cover this whole era (Frank Zappa, Milton Berle). We also got the start of a fascinating trend towards the end of the season, where we got long, extensive, epic, mini-movie-type sketches, such as the classic Pepsi Syndrome. I actually felt a little bittersweet watching this season, knowing that not only is it the last year where the core 70s cast is fully intact and fully energized, and not only is it the last great year of the original SNL era, but it also ends up being SNL’s last really great year in general for quite a long time. I won’t be getting another season this strong until I reach, oh, season 10, I’d say.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
We enter season 5, the final year of the original SNL era. Steve Martin hosts.

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May 19, 1979 – Maureen Stapleton / Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow (S4 E19)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Telepsychic Ray makes some more impromptu predictions

— Dan’s wig looks quite different from the one he wore last time he did this character.
— Dan’s opening introduction was really funny.
— Overall, a good Telepsychic sketch as usual.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Well… this whole monologue certainly came and went quickly with no real funny joke, interesting story, or anything remotely noteworthy.
STARS: *½


THE NAVY
— Rerun


HOUSEGUEST IDI AMIN
(LAN) & (BIM) are fed up with the antics of houseguest Idi Amin (GAM)

  

— LOL at the Idi Amin reveal.
— A good laugh from the discussion about Idi having slaughtered an antelope in the kitchen.
— This whole thing is tickling me so far.
— Random abrupt cutaway to an Essex House promo.
— That promo didn’t feel necessary, but overall, I got a lot of great laughs from this sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guests & SNL Band perform “It’s In His Kiss”


ROACH BROTHEL
Roach Brothel rids your home of pests via the irresistible lure of sex

  

— I thought this was going to be a set-up for another Dan Aykroyd pitchman appearance, but surprisingly, Bill is the pitchman this time.
— John’s voice is weird but kinda funny.
— Overall, a funny premise and decent execution.
STARS: ***


MOTHER & DAUGHTER
on her birthday, (host) repeatedly clashes with visiting daughter (GIR)

     

— Funny unexpected turn with Gilda angrily stomping on Maureen’s jacket as soon as Maureen stepped out.
— Gilda’s sarcastic responses to Maureen are great.
— I got a big laugh from Gilda’s line “I love picking my nose so much that the underneath of your couch is caked with snot!”
— The ending was both touching and funny.
— Overall, a very strong slice-of-life sketch, and especially had a lot of great moments from Gilda.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
DOP lists prizes that potential assassins of Shah Pahlevi can win
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about nuclear energy
JOB goes berserk while discussing safety concerns about Skylab’s reentry

       

— The Dr. Joyce Brothers mugging joke was great.
— A Point/Counterpoint already? Does this end up being Jane and Dan’s last one ever?
— Jane’s casual mention of “radioactive excrement” during her rant was a little detail that cracked me up.
— Dan’s rebuttal had a great line about Jane’s vibrator.
— An okay Point/Counterpoint overall, but far from one of the best.
— Our first (and last ever?) Belushi commentary in quite a while.
— A bit eerie in hindsight hearing John jokingly mention the possibility of something hitting the World Trade Center.
— Oh, this ISN’T gonna be a “but nooooo” rant?
— Oh, never mind, THERE it is.
— Hilarious ending with John jabbing the broken Skylab model into his neck.

— Yay, they made it through a whole Update without any of the usual three overused recurring correspondents (you know the ones).
STARS: ***½


NICK WINGS
Nick “Wings” bothers musical guests & others in an airline VIP lounge

     

— A Nick the Lounge Singer sketch.
— Garrett in drag once again…
— Funny when Maureen didn’t know the lyrics when Nick wanted her to sing along.
— Nick’s Japanese singing to Asian businessman “Mr. Yosh” is hilarious.
— Loved Gilda’s bitchy response to Nick.
— Very funny how Bill’s singing of “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” is driving the group of feminists away.
— I got a great laugh at the unexpected part with John as a bodyguard punching out Nick. I’ve never seen anything like that in a Nick the Lounge Singer sketch before. He has a much more hostile crowd than usual tonight.
— Overall, one of the best Nick the Lounge Singer sketches.
STARS: ****½


BLACK PERSPECTIVE
immigrants (JAC), (JOB), (GIR) are “the new [n-words]”

  

— The debut of Gilda’s Rosa Santiago character. Did Garrett butcher her last name when introducing her?
— John appears to be dressed the same as he was in SNL’s first-ever sketch: the Wolverines cold opening. There was another sketch he dressed like that, too, but I don’t remember it too well; it was some kind of talk show sketch from either season 1 or season 2 where he played a Bulgarian.
— Is Jane playing the same “nine snowboots” character from the Surplus Store sketch in the Walter Matthau episode?
— Gilda’s character is funny and cute in this.
— This overall sketch didn’t work too well and fell kinda flat. Also, Garrett’s delivery was kind of a mess in this. Lately, I’ve been starting to really get annoyed by his increasing habit of flubbing lines all the time.
STARS: **


VETERANS OF FOREIGN HAIRDOS
Veterans of Foreign Hairdos speak of their horrific coiffures

     

— Oh my god, those wigs…
— The testimonials with the victims each telling their horror hair stories have some good laughs.
— The return of Jane’s Dolly Parton impression.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guests perform “The Married Men”


CANDY STORE
candy store owner (host) discusses the dying mall with other tenants

   

— This is yet another sketch that exists in the same universe as the Scotch Boutique sketch. Much like the Barber Shop sketch from the Rick Nelson episode, this takes place at the same mall as Scotch Boutique.
— Gilda’s Scotch Boutique character again makes a cameo.
— Now we get a cameo from Bill’s Barber Shop character. I’m liking all these crossovers.
— Overall, another pretty solid mall store sketch, even if there wasn’t much to note about this one.
STARS: ***½


MR. BILL GOES TO THE MOVIES
by Walter Williams- grandpa in silent film

      

— *groan*
— This has pretty much become a weekly segment at this point. And to make matters worse, I’m aware we’re also getting one in the following week’s season finale.
— I did laugh at the subtitle card “Boo! Not even one balloon! Boo!”
— Overall, even with the silent movie change of pace, I still didn’t care for this. The overuse of Mr. Bill has numbed me to the humor in these.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty solid episode. We got some really strong sketches tonight like Houseguest Idi Amin, Mother & Daughter, and Nick Wings. Several sketches also did a good job playing to Maureen Stapleton’s strengths as an actress (Mother & Daughter, Candy Store).


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
It’s Aykroyd and Belushi’s last hurrah. Season 4 comes to an end, with Buck Henry hosting.

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May 12, 1979 – Michael Palin / James Taylor (S4 E18)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
Fred Silverman (JOB) appoints Gary Coleman as vice president of NBC

 

— Funny reveal with the announcement of Gary Coleman being Fred Silverman’s new chief assistant.  A snapshot of the days when then-new sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” was one of the very few hits NBC had at the time.
— Overall, a pretty good cold opening.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about how his mother mistreated him when he was young

— Another mention of Michael’s mother.
— The whole coal miner baby story has several funny parts.
— Abrupt ending with him suddenly throwing to James Taylor’s musical performance.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Johnnie Comes Back”


MILES COWPERTHWAITE
Miles Cowperthwaite sails with manly men aboard The Raging Queen

         

— Ah, here’s the “Raging Queen” sketch that I thought we were getting in the Miles Cowperthwaite sketch from Michael’s earlier episode this season.
— John’s flirtatious behavior towards Michael at bedtime is pretty funny.
— Gilda, Laraine, and John all “comforting” Michael in bed was hilarious.
— Funny with Bill’s decision to amputate Michael’s legs just because they had been soaking wet.
— I like the ending with the next chapter being titled “I Am Eaten By Sharks”.
— Overall, a very well-done epic sketch. I didn’t find this to be quite the classic this sketch has often been called; maybe because this type of humor with stereotypical gays doesn’t come off as outrageously hilarious now as it did back in the day. Still a very good sketch, though.  Personally, I find the first Miles Cowperthwaite sketch from earlier this season to be the better of the two.
STARS: ****


MAGNA-GRO
Magna-Gro anabolic steroids build seeds into gigantic, strong plants

   

— I can already tell right from the opening scene with Bill and Laraine that this will be our usual absurd-premised Dan Aykroyd pitchman commercial.
— I was right.
— The mature live ox “extraction” Dan held up was a funny visual.
— I liked Bill arm-wrestling with the now-giant flower.
— Overall, a decent ad, though not as crazy as most Aykroyd pitchman commercials, which is kinda disappointing as this probably ends up being the last one he does before leaving the show.
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE PREVIEW


WEEKEND UPDATE
footage of Chico Escuela’s disastrous final game with the Mets
newly-elected Margaret Thatcher (host) clashes with JAC on Rhodesia
JAC & BIM don top hats & sing to wish Fred Astaire a happy 80th birthday
Father Guido Sarducci talks about two obscure Earth-like planets

     

— ANOTHER Chico Escuela pre-tape for the third episode in a row?
— Bill ends the Chico Escuela segment by announcing that Chico will be re-joining Update as a regular correspondent. Not exactly thrilling news for me, considering how tired I am of the endless narrow Update cycle of Chico, Roseanne Rosannadanna, and Father Guido Sarducci. I knew Chico’s “retirement” wouldn’t last long.
— Michael’s really funny as Margaret Thatcher.
— HA at Michael responding to Jane’s angry rant with “Jane, you’re an ignorant slut”.
— A mention from Bill of Fred Astaire’s birthday. Is this going to be yet another smarmy singing of “Happy Birthday” from Bill?
— Oh, never mind, this is actually different, with Bill and Jane wishing Astaire a happy birthday by doing a low-key Astaire-esque number, complete with top hats and canes. That was very nice.
— Speaking of the endless narrow Update cycle of Escuela, Rosannadanna, and Sarducci…..
— I swear, almost every episode this season, based on who that night’s Update guests are, you can predict which of the three members of the “endless narrow Update cycle” will appear in the next episode. In that regard, I predict we’ll be getting Rosannadanna next week. Then again, it’s more likely they’d want to save such a popular character like her for the season finale, which is two episodes from now.
— As burned out as I’m getting on Sarducci, there’s a few okay parts tonight like the ending of his description of reverse aging and his “corn on the cob” bit.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Up On The Roof”


BOULEVARD OF PROUD CHICANO CARS
the gas crisis takes its toll on a gang

     

— I’m already liking this just from the opening credits sequence.
— LOL at John’s entrance.
— Wow, Gilda’s actually convincing as a tough, adolescent Hispanic boy. Love her voice, delivery, and demeanor as Carlos.
— Just now, there was a loud off-camera sound of what sounded like a pipe or tool dropping to the floor. Did NBC just drop yet another show?
— I liked Michael’s use of matches to chase Gilda off.
— Bill, when meeting Gilda as Carlos: “Well, you’re not very Caucasian, are you?”
— The double entendres when Gilda and Jane are talking about siphoning gas are quite hilarious.
— Haha, Dan as President Carter randomly appears as a houseguest. That and the extensive nature of this sketch is bringing back memories of the epic Pepsi Syndrome sketch from a few episodes ago.
— Wow, they didn’t even try to hide the… uh… bumps under the chest area of Gilda’s shirt, even though she’s supposed to be playing a boy.
— Great line from John: “(in Chicano accent) All they teach you is chit……… and chat.” Nice fake-out there.
— Overall, another very well-done epic sketch tonight. It seems to have become the norm lately to do really long sketches. I know that trend carries over into season 5, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing considering how weaker SNL’s writing is known to be that season.
— I wonder if this ends up being the final appearance of Dan’s Jimmy Carter impression. Strange to think that in the following season, nobody in the cast would take over the impression, and thus, the show would go through a whole season without doing ANY sketches involving the president (which is something I know quite a lot of people are wishing would happen nowadays).
STARS: ****


MR. BILL RUNS AWAY
by Walter Williams- Mr. Hands picks up a hitch-hiker

      

— The visual of Spot with a fake beard covering most of his face was both pretty funny and cute.
— Overall, not great, and I’ve already mentioned how burned out I’m becoming on these overused Mr. Bill shorts, but the ending was good. I always enjoy a good “stock footage of a car crashing off a cliff” ending, which is a type of ending SNL would get a lot of good mileage out of in later eras.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Millworker”


SNYDER MOTHER’S DAY
Tom Snyder (DAA) & his mother (JAC) celebrate Mother’s Day together

— The return of Jane as Mama Snyder.  A Mother’s Day dinner is a great setting for her.
— Funny line from Dan’s Snyder regarding his childhood worries that his father would “snip the darn thing off”, when Snyder’s talking about the strong feelings he had for his mother.
— Wow, the sketch is over already. This was unusually very short. Considering this was the final sketch of the night, I wonder if the show had started running long and perhaps they had to do some last-minute trimming to the script right before the sketch aired.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

 

— It’s very evident how much the cast loves working with Michael by the insane amount of affection they’re showering him with in these goodnights.  Huge contrast to the “reception” they gave Milton Berle in the last episode’s goodnights.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A pretty good show, with two great epic, long sketches, and a few decent sketches/segments surrounding them. Nothing flopped too badly tonight.
— Michael Palin did his usual strong work, though thinking back on it, he didn’t appear in many segments. In fact, he was almost non-existent in the post-Update half of the show. That may be due to the fact that there was an overall very small number of sketches tonight, which is something I have to get used to, as it’s pretty much become the norm around this time.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Maureen Stapleton

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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