Tag: snl

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April 15, 1989 – Dolly Parton (S14 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Joseph Hazelwood (KEN) & other Exxon workers remove oil from Alaska rocks

— Loved Jon’s high-pitched gloating sound when Ben turns out to be wrong. That sound of Jon’s reminds me of a political panel show sketch that he and Dana later do in the following season’s Robert Wagner episode.
— Great bit with Phil specifying which type of otter goes into which pile.
— Some good, funny little things throughout this sketch.
— I love the casual reveal of Kevin as Capt. Joseph Hazelwood being part of the clean-up crew. There’s a particularly funny bit with Phil sternly telling him “You’re on pretty thin ice already!”, as well as the ending bit with Hazelwood drinking from the flask of alcohol.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— After being audibly sick for the last two episodes, Don Pardo finally sounds like his old self again.


MONOLOGUE
a cameraman hangs from a rope to get a good shot of host’s cleavage

— She’s immediately coming off very charming and engaging.
— Hilarious part with the camera slowly zooming into her cleavage as she’s going on about how great the people at the show are.
— A particularly classic part right now with an overhead cameraman zooming down into Dolly’s cleavage from above.
— She’s a very good sport to do a monologue like this.
STARS: ****


LOTHAR OF THE HILL PEOPLE
Lothar (MIM) and primitive guys on “walking with women”

— The debut of a staple from Mike Myers’ first two seasons.
— By the way, it’s very interesting that they’re letting a new featured player star in the lead-off sketch of the night.
— A funny little touch with Lothar’s order to “Fetch us each a flagon of mead!”
— Some pretty good laughs from the guys’ talk about “walking with women”.
— This sketch’s Middle Ages setting and characterizations are pretty enjoyable to me.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That”


MOUNTAIN STORIES
host tells cast about TV-based stories her mother used to tell the family

 

— I love the set-up of this with the entire cast (minus the featured players) gathered around the host on the home base stage, as if they’re at a campfire. This is also a great way to showcase the entire cast as themselves.
— There’s something I found amusing about Victoria’s delivery of her line about how Dolly’s family didn’t have “any of the modern conveniences that we all take for granted”.
— I liked Dennis’ comically impressed facial reaction to Dolly telling him that her family made their own fun.
— Speaking of facial reactions, Phil has a classic one in response to being told by Dolly “You don’t have to patronize me, Phil.” (second screencap above)
— I love the cast’s silent realizations that Dolly’s “original” stories are just from TV shows.
— Hilarious bit about how the Dragnet stories that Dolly were told are “based on truth, but the names were changed to protect the innocent.”
— Good part during the Bewitched story when Jon blurts out “Oh, Mrs. Kravitz!” and then covers his mouth in shame.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
accurate item about host proves National Enquirer is reliable news source
Jeane Dixon (NOD) makes some qualified predictions regarding oil spills

— I liked Dennis’ opening line: “I’m gonna make this quick tonight; there’s a really good Baretta on cable.”
— The brief Dolly Parton segment was a little odd and random (not to mention a rare instance of a host getting their own Update commentary as themselves), but it worked enough.
— Dennis’ joke about how the French “never miss a piece of tail” was great.
— Ehh, Nora’s Jeane Dixon commentary is pretty dire so far, and is leaning too heavily on her mixing up Dennis’ name.
— The payoff to the Jeane Dixon commentary with her “predicting” an Exxon oil spill didn’t work for me at all. Weak commentary overall.
STARS: ***


PLANET OF THE ENORMOUS HOOTERS
small-breasted (host) is exiled from the Planet of the Enormous Hooters

— Here’s a sketch that was famously intended for the Raquel Welch episode way back in season 1, but was turned down by Welch. Amazing that the writers kept it in their back pocket for THIRTEEN YEARS.
— An overall pretty straightforward sketch, almost too much so. While the concept and resulting sketch was certainly amusing enough, they didn’t do anything special with it. I wanted this to go further.
STARS: ***


SPROCKETS
Dieter (MIM) interviews Butch Patrick (BES), aka Eddie Munster

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut! Amazing that this is the second future recurring sketch that newbie Mike Myers is debuting tonight. Mike has only been on the show for four months so far, and is ALREADY taking charge and establishing himself faster than most newbies who join a veteran cast.
— I like that Mike’s fellow newbie Ben is the only other performer in this. Attack of the featured players!
— Funny visual of Ben dressed as a grown-up Eddie Munster.
— Funny line from Ben’s Butch Patrick about Marilyn Munster being “under” the show’s sound crew.
— Love Dieter’s request to touch Butch’s “most bizarre” widow’s peak.
— Some of the soon-to-become catchphrases like “Your story has become tiresome!” and “Touch my monkey. TOUCH HIM! LOVE HIM! (*says German phrase*)!” have been surprisingly delivered very low-key and deadpan tonight compared to how Dieter usually yells them in later installments.
— Dieter, to Butch Patrick: “I would’ve liked to see you play Eddie covered completely in sores.”
— Like the very first Wayne’s World sketch, it’s fascinating to witness the debut of this sketch and see how low-key and primitive it feels compared to later installments. Mike’s characterization of Dieter would become more animated than he is tonight. He’s still bringing the bizarreness and foreign creepiness tonight, though, which is something I always want to see from these Sprockets sketches.
STARS: ***½


THE RUSTY BONE
patrons of The Rusty Bone bar have traits similar to those of dogs & cats

 

— Nice touch with the movement of the tails corresponding with the tail-owner’s mood, especially during Phil’s conversation.
— Uh, interesting ending. I’m very surprised by how short this overall sketch was, though.
STARS: ***


CELEBRITY RESTAURANT
Buddy Precisely tells more unimportant people where to bide their time

— Second restaurant sketch in a row tonight. In fact, I’m pretty sure both of them are using the exact same set, only decorated differently.
— I like Buddy Precisely delightedly pointing out “Corbin Bernsen’s eating a biscuit!”
— Phil’s Jack Nicholson voice is even funnier than usual tonight.
— Jan’s Tracey Ullman impression is hilarious.
— Jan-as-Ullman: “I can get awards, but I can’t get ratings!” Buddy Precisely: “And you can’t get a table here! Take it outsiiiide, take it outsiiiide…”
— Loved Precisely telling Rob Lowe (played by an extra) the usual “Take it outsiiiide” IMMEDIATELY after happily greeting him. As Lowe leaves, Precisely tells him “Don’t you ever sing in public again!” This is the second SNL episode in a row making a dig at a Snow White(?) production number that Lowe had recently performed at that year’s Oscars. I’ve never seen a video of it, but it must’ve been TERRIBLE, judging by how relentless SNL is in bashing it.
— I like Precisely doing his usual “What are you known for?” showbiz questioning to the firemen who are here to put out a fire in the restaurant.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “White Limozeen”


BROADWAY STORY, PART 2
by TOS- Daisy (VIJ) gets her big break

— A continuation of a Schiller’s Reel from two episodes ago.
— Once again, I’m very impressed by how this looks and sounds so much like an authentic 1930s film.
— I love Jon’s surprised reaction shot, where cigarettes fly into his mouth, ears, and nostrils.
— Phil’s “She is d-o-doggone ‘licious!” line absolutely slayed me.
— Funny little part with Phil’s exaggerated double-take in reaction to the police raid.
— Aw, this gets cut off with another “To be continued” ending just when it started getting really exciting. This is especially disappointing considering I’ve heard that Part 3 of this series never ended up airing in a live episode. Part 3 was supposedly added in reruns of this season’s earlier Demi Moore episode (which I guess answers my question from that review, where I said I’m not sure what the Travel Agency sketch is replaced with in reruns).
STARS: ****


SMILER’S
cashier’s (host) ice-breaking turns NYC residents from sour to friendly

— Good premise with Dolly’s down-home charm winning over the impatient customers.
— Wow, considering how new they are, Ben Stiller and Mike Myers have been getting tons of airtime tonight. I’m noticing that Ben usually always gets stuck in straight roles, though. I’m slowly starting to understand his alleged frustration that I believe is what leads to his upcoming early exit from the cast. More about that in tomorrow’s review.
— Funny touch with Jon’s smile after he gets called good-looking by Dolly.
— The ridiculous gator game that Dolly’s making the customers do is very funny.
— Good epilogue ending detailing how Dolly’s spirit drastically changed Manhattan, with the biggest laugh coming from the Trump Tower’s transformation (last screencap above).
STARS: ***½


10 BEATLES CLASSICS YOU KIND OF KNOW THE WORDS TO
hum along with album

— Decent premise and visual of the performers energetically singing the few lyrics they know after quietly mumbling the other lyrics.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The impressive long streak of solid season 14 episodes continues. While I honestly didn’t find tonight’s episode QUITE as strong as the last few before it, it was definitely still a good episode and also had a particularly fun vibe, no doubt helped by Dolly Parton’s charm and energy.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mel Gibson)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Geena Davis

Posted on

April 1, 1989 – Mel Gibson / Living Colour (S14 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Pete Rose’s (PHH) gambling info source Rain Man (DAC) has informed on him

— Rain Man is one of my favorite movies of all-time, so I’m already loving the idea of this parody.
— Solid Rain Man impression from Dana.
— Clever idea to do a Rain Man crossover with the Pete Rose scandal, by having Rose use Rain Man’s skills to help gamble.
— A good laugh from Rain Man’s “Don’t wuss out” line.
— Love the “1 minute to Wapner” reference.
— Very funny turn with Rain Man revealing all the people he told Pete Rose’s gambling secrets to.
— Great use of Ben Stiller’s dead-on Tom Cruise impression.
STARS: ****


OPENING MONTAGE
— Don Pardo certainly sounds better than the ghoulish, deathly way he sounded when he was sick in the previous episode, but you can tell he hasn’t fully recovered from his illness yet because he still sounds very subdued tonight compared to how energetic and booming his voice usually sounds in this era. Again, like the last episode, this would later be fixed in reruns by replacing his voice-over with one where he sounds like his usual self.


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— This doesn’t seem to be offering anything other than unfunny repetitions of how he’s paid lots of money while he doesn’t have to work hard.
— Okay, this is finally starting to go into different territory, but it’s still nothing great to me. He’s handling himself well, though.
STARS: **


TALES OF RIBALDRY
suggestive story of a woodsman (host) & a lady (NOD)

— Jon is absolutely PRICELESS in this role.
— I love the pure delight that Jon is taking over how increasingly raunchy the story with Nora and Mel is getting.
— Good turn with Jon getting upset over Nora and Mel’s sudden decision to just go straight into the sex.
— During the brief cutaway to Mel and Nora getting ready for sex, Mel looked absolutely hilarious. It’s a little hard to describe, but he had his shirt pulled over head and was doing a strange hopping dance while having his leg high up in the air as he tried to pull off his boot (screencap below). He looked like an old-timey hunchback doing a weird dance routine.

STARS: ****


EXXON SCHOOL OF SUPERTANKER STEERING
incompetents can get good jobs via Exxon School of Supertanker Steering

— Some laughs from the overly-specific, complicated Exxon job that’s casually suggested.
— A decent topical reference to the then-recent infamous Exxon oil spill.
STARS: ***


COOKING WITH THE ANAL RETENTIVE CHEF
anal-retentive Gene (PHH) gets sidetracked before showing how to cook

— Phil’s anal-retentive character makes his debut.
— So many laughs from Phil’s overly-neat tendencies and nitpickishness over every little thing, even on how to wrap up food that he’s about to throw into the trash.
— Very amusing how this ended before he even got to start cooking the meal he was supposed to.
STARS: ****


JOSH ACID
sheriff Josh Acid’s (host) name binds him to use an unconventional weapon

 

— I wonder if this is a Jack Handey-written sketch. Something about the title of this has always reminded me of Handey’s Johnny Canal sketch from earlier this season. Plus, the absurd concept of this Josh Acid sketch seems right in Handey’s wheelhouse.
— Mel: “Acid is like a woman: a good one will eat right through your pants.”
— I got a good laugh from Mel’s simple explanation that he uses acid because that’s his name.
— Nora’s overly-specific descriptions of ways to die are pretty funny.
— Jon’s “fewer acid trips” pun and his knowing look into the camera afterwards was great.
— Hilarious how Mel’s watered-down acid merely stings Phil instead of seriously harming him.
— I love Phil’s intense screaming after getting a whole bunch of acid dumped on him by Nora.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Cult of Personality”


WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF asks television viewers if they found a wallet he left in a cab
Tommy Flanagan tells what he’s been up to lately
ALF found his wallet- it was actually in his other coat pocket

 

— Uh… what exactly was the point of Al Franken’s commentary? Just him asking viewers to find and return his lost wallet? I’m left wondering if this was a genuine plea, because it otherwise seemed completely pointless.
— I loved the very random bit with Dennis suddenly suffering an extended case of night sweats when remembering an apparently terrible production number that Rob Lowe performed at that year’s then-recent Oscars.
— Very strong joke from Dennis about (recent SNL host) Glenn Close boiling Roger Rabbit backstage at the Oscars after losing her fifth chance at a Best Actress award.
— Wow, Tommy Flanagan. We haven’t seen him in two whole years.
— Flanagan even addresses how this is his first appearance in a long time, by saying he’s gotten letters asking where he’s been.
— Quite striking in hindsight seeing Flanagan immediately go from talking about the president to talking about then-real estate mogul Donald Trump.
— An overall okay Tommy Flanagan commentary, though there were some groaners in there. I was expecting to enjoy this commentary more considering how long of a much-needed break we got from the formerly-overused Flanagan.
— At the end of Flanagan’s commentary, Dennis tells him a friendly “Don’t make it so long between visits.” I wonder if we ever see Flanagan again for the remainder of Jon’s SNL tenure (not counting Jon’s hosting stint in 1997), or if this ends up being his final appearance.
— Ah, we get a follow-up to Al’s baffling wallet bit from earlier, which gives it more context and is fairly funny if still kinda pointless.
STARS: ***½


MEL GIBSON, DREAM GYNECOLOGIST
ladies line up for an appointment with dream gynecologist host

 

— Classic reveal of the gynecologist being Mel as himself, which explains the waiting room full of eager women.
— Strong ending with Jon as the replacement gynecologist generating no interest from the ladies.
STARS: ****


LETHAL WEAPON VI
Riggs (host) & Murtaugh (Danny Glover) make a drug bust

— Danny Glover cameo!
— Some good laughs from Mel’s character always using his suicidal tendencies to get his way.
— Lots of technical glitches with the chroma-key screen in the background of the car scene. (second screencap above)
— Dana usually seems to play Scarface-type characters in settings like this. Another example is the Very Pregnant Cop sketch with Mary Stuart Masterson a few seasons later.
— Dana and Mel trying to out-crazy each other is pretty funny.
STARS: ***


AS WORLD TURN
Frankenstein’s well-spoken evil twin (host) replaces him

— Nice to see this back.
— Funny visual of Tarzan wearing intelligent glasses.
— Good characterization with Mel playing his evil Frankenstein twin in a dignified, articulate manner.
— When Mel whacks Phil on the head with a bat, he nearly knocks off Phil’s Frankenstein wig by accident. (screencap below)

— I like the bit with a bound-and-gagged Frankenstein saying an unintelligible statement, and then after the cloth is removed from his mouth, he repeats the statement in the same unintelligible manner.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Open Letter to a Landlord”


BELATED EASTER GREETINGS
Tonto, Tarzan, Frankenstein & evil twin sing “Peter Cottontail”

— These are always funny, and I love the change of pace with Mel’s out-of-place dignified speaking of the lyrics.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Surprise, surprise – yet another solid season 14 episode. Again, there were little-to-no lowlights tonight, and there was a high number of strong material. This season has gotten so consistently great, that at this point, I really have run out of things to say in my post-show summaries.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Mary Tyler Moore)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Dolly Parton

Posted on

March 25, 1989 – Mary Tyler Moore / Elvis Costello (S14 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
(JOL) calls out names of “best frightened crowd” Academy Award winners

— Phil’s Michael Caine impression is very funny.
— Fairly funny how they keep throwing to clips of lesser and lesser award show categories, especially the cheap location that the awards for movie extras is being held at.
— Jon going through the names of each crowd member is pretty amusing.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Wow, Don Pardo is clearly sick tonight, because his voice sounds TERRIBLE. Not to be grim or tasteless, but he sounds like he’s literally doing these announcements from his death bed. His ill voice tonight sounds almost SCARY, especially the ghoulish way he sounded when announcing Jon Lovitz’s name. Over the years, there have been other episodes where Pardo sounded sick (e.g. Tom Arnold episode from 1996, Freddie Prinze Jr. episode from 2000), but those are NOTHING compared to how scarily unhealthy his voice sounds in tonight’s episode. You really have to wonder why they didn’t just get someone like Carvey to fill in for him.
— In reruns, SNL replaces Pardo’s voice-over with a much-healthier sounding one from him that must’ve been taped sometime after he recovered from whatever was ailing him.
— Ben Stiller has been added to the cast as a featured player.

After having such a stable cast for two-and-a-half seasons, it’s interesting how SNL has suddenly been adding all these new young guys mid-season, especially since it’s not like any members of the regular cast are on their way out yet.


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— For the first time ever, there’s an SNL logo on top of the home base stage (screencap below), which the camera shows a close-up of right after the opening montage ends. This would go on to be a tradition until 1995.

— I like how Mary’s bringing up the controversy from this season’s earlier Nude Beach sketch where the word “penis” was uttered 28 times, according to her (though I swear I recall hearing it was a higher number than that, somewhere in the 40s).
— Funny line with her writing off the Nude Beach sketch as “political satire”.
— Love her example of the right time to use the word “penis”.
— An all-time classic line at the very end with her announcing “Elvis Costello’s penis is here tonight, so stick around, we’ll be right back!”
STARS: ****


THE DAN QUAYLE SHOW
Dan Quayle (DAC) with wife Marilyn (host) in Van Dyke-like show

— Strong concept, and obviously inspired by Marilyn Quayle having the same hairstyle as a young Mary Tyler Moore (which SNL made jokes about on some earlier Weekend Updates from this season).
— The son is played by the same child actor (Jeff Renaudo) who’s usually cast as Dan Quayle whenever SNL portrays Quayle as a child (which has yet to become a recurring gag by this point; it’s only appeared once so far). Until now, I had always thought that Jeff Renaudo’s only non-Quayle appearance on SNL was in the Nude House Of Wacky People sketch from the following season.
— Great moment with Mary parodying her own trademark delivery by saying a quivery-voiced “Ohhhh, Daaaaan!”
— This already-strong sketch has now gotten even better with the inclusion of Jon and Nora’s funny portrayals of Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie.
STARS: ****


CUSTOMS
smugglers voluntarily tell a customs officer (host) what they’re carrying

— I got a pretty good laugh from Mary jovially telling Dana’s Scarface-esque character “You’ll be going to prison now.”
— I’m enjoying Mary’s charming ways of getting customers to reveal secrets about what they’re carrying. This is the perfect role for her.
— Boy, it sure feels weird to see young Ben Stiller on the show. Maybe part of that weird feeling is because I have the benefit of hindsight and know his SNL tenure ends up being insanely short.
— Good part with Jon hesitantly revealing that he’s smuggling diamonds inside a certain bodypart.
— Solid ending with Mary happily taking Jon out for ice cream before he goes to jail.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Veronica”


WEEKEND UPDATE

— Man, even Don Pardo’s voice-over intro to tonight’s Update sounds awful. There’s absolutely no energy left in his ill voice by this point of the episode.
— Some big screw-ups with the news screen graphics just now, which Dennis saves with some good ad-libs.
— I didn’t get the “Margo (sp?) Adams trying stuff on that doesn’t belong to her” joke at all, though it got an “Ohhhh!” from someone in the audience.
— I like Dennis’ “Pete Rose’s Best Bets For The Oscars” segment.
— Wow, this overall Update surprisingly had no guest commentaries at all.
STARS: ***½


SWEENEY SISTERS
third Sweeney sister Audrey (host) joins Liz & Candy for a medley

— This ends up being the final Sweeney Sisters sketch, despite the fact that Nora and Jan both remain in the SNL cast for a good while after this (Nora doesn’t leave until the end of next season, and Jan leaves at the end of the season after that). Were they just tired of playing the Sweeneys? Then again, Nora’s recurring characters in general strangely seem to be getting phased out by this point, as Pat Stevens has only one remaining appearance, which surprisingly doesn’t appear until halfway through next season.
— Nice inclusion of Mary as a Sweeney Sister.
— Mary is fitting PERFECTLY into the Sweeney’s medley.
— I loved Jan’s overly-serious delivery of “I’m gonna bring the room down for a minute” and then launching into a softly-spoken rendition of “Hit The Road, Jack”.
— An overall strong way for the Sweeney Sisters to go out. If Nora and Jan really HAVE gotten tired of playing these characters, they sure don’t let it show, because they both appeared to be having a lot of fun during this installment.
STARS: ****


ROBOT REPAIR
robotic repairman (PHH) grows agitated over his show’s misleading titles

— Great make-up on Phil.
— I’m getting so many laughs over the constantly “fixed” titles and how the wording in them is still confusing. Phil’s straight-laced, slow, monotone robot delivery is making the already-funny dialogue that much better.
— A particularly hilarious part with Phil’s character calling out the producers for being intentionally deceptive with their new title “Let’s Fix, Robots”.
— Love the sudden Fugitive Robots turn.
— I’m always a sucker for absurd Jack Handey pieces, and this particular sketch is one of the most wonderfully-written and executed examples. An absolutely perfect sketch.
STARS: *****


LADY RHEMINGTON
host uses the Lady Rhemington shaver to plow through her thick leg hair

— A very short-but-sweet commercial with the sudden cutaway to Mary’s exaggerated leg hair. This commercial was the right length for a sight gag like this.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Let Him Dangle”


REQUIEM FOR DEATH
while portraying gangster in attempt to defy typecasting, host relapses

— “Introducing The New Guy as the boxer”. A nice meta mention of Ben Stiller being a new cast member.
— Is that Conan O’Brien as “Spooneye” O’McCallahan in the promotional boxing poster? (screencap below)

— I like Phil’s slow-witted old man character.
— Very funny use of Mary as an old-timey gangster.
— I’m loving Mary’s performance.
— Mary regressing in her performance by whining out of character is a funny turn. I incorrectly assumed that would lead to a fourth-wall break with the other performers dropping character and calling out Mary for not fully committing to her against-type role, similar to how that “And now, a sketch where Bruce Dern doesn’t play a psycho” piece from season 8 eventually led to Dern having an “unscripted” psychotic angry outburst, upsetting the cast members in the sketch.
STARS: ***½


BROADWAY STORY, PART 1
by TOS- rival producer (DEM) schemes against (JOL)

— Wow, I wonder if this is a record for highest number of black-and-white segments in a single episode. There’s the Dan Quayle Show sketch, the Requiem For Death sketch, and now this.
— We have the birth of the name “SchilllerVision”, which goes on to be used in quite a number of Tom Schiller’s remaining Schiller’s Reels.
— Wow, where has Victoria been tonight? This is the first (and ONLY) time we’re seeing her all night, and it’s not even a live appearance.
— This is an absolutely DEAD-ON recreation of a typical 1930s film. The overly-bright visual quality, the muffled audio, the authentic old-timey performances… I’m loving all the attention to detail throughout this, which they’re pulling off in a very comedic way.
— Funny touches with the blatantly-fake things being superimposed into some stock footage shots.
— Heh, is Dennis miming to somebody else’s voice, or is that all him? Doesn’t sound a thing like his normal voice. He looks very different in this, too. I didn’t even recognize him at first.
— We get a “To be continued…”-esque ending, telling us that a Chapter Two will appear in a later episode. A rarity for SNL to break up a segment into various parts that are continued in subsequent episodes. I’m sure there’s been one or two other times this has happened, but nothing is coming to mind right now.
STARS: ****


WAYNE’S WORLD
an apology to Beev; math teacher (host) tries to be cool

— It sure didn’t take them long to make this sketch recurring. I see it’s still stuck in the 10-to-1 slot, though.
— Interesting how Jan’s Nancy Simmons character is actually a co-host in tonight’s installment.
— Feels weird not hearing the audience go wild in these early Wayne’s World installments whenever Wayne and Garth yell “Paaaartyyyyy!”
— Needless to say, Wayne’s immature prank on Beev after Wayne’s “apology” is very un-PC nowadays (second screencap above).
— I’m enjoying the whole “gimp” back-and-forth between Wayne, Garth, and Nancy.
— Some good laughs from Mary’s character trying too hard to seem cool.
— Despite the laughs, I actually found tonight’s overall Wayne’s World installment more charming than funny. These sketches definitely get funnier later on after they fully find their voice. Nonetheless, these early installments are still fun to watch, not to mention an interesting time capsule of late 80s teen culture.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

— Boy, sick Pardo sounds even MORE depressing during his voice-over in these goodnights. Poor guy sounds like he’s half-asleep by this point, and it’s hard to understand what he’s saying.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Season 14 does it once again with yet ANOTHER consistently very solid episode. A lot of strong things tonight, and there weren’t any segments that I disliked. Also, Mary Tyler Moore was a very game and fun host, and you can tell she was having a blast.
— I don’t want to jinx myself, but this is shaping up to be the first (and maybe only?) SNL season that has no episodes that I feel are subpar (though I think I recall hearing that the soon-to-come Geena Davis episode isn’t up to snuff; I myself remember very little about that episode, so I can’t say).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Glenn Close)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Mel Gibson, the only live SNL episode to air on April Fools Day

Posted on

February 25, 1989 – Glenn Close / The Gipsy Kings (S14 E14)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
special interest groups in favor of censorship besiege a bookstore

— A good laugh from the “Cash or charge?” bit with Jan as the book returner.
— I’m absolutely loving the concept of this, and it’s being very well-performed.
— The typical over-dramatic war cliches are very amusing in this setting.
— Strong ending with Phil.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
William Hurt [real] gives host a number of backhanded compliments

— Funny idea with a humble Glenn bringing out William Hurt to talk about her for her.
— I’m getting some good laughs from Hurt’s rundown of negative things about Glenn, delivered in a backhanded way. Glenn’s facial reactions are also very good.
— Another funny line from Hurt, regarding how he places Glenn in a top 5 list of actresses… in her age group.
STARS: ***½


BIG RED
— Rerun


GROUP THERAPY
fellow support group members lend encouragement & advice to Alex (host)

— Kevin: “I think that’s what we call a warm fuzzy.”
— Dana is playing the same hilarious character he played in another group therapy sketch from two seasons earlier. I think the other group therapy members are also the same.
— Great use of Glenn’s Fatal Attraction character.
— I really liked the reactions to Glenn’s “I boiled the rabbit” line coming out of nowhere.
— So many funny lines from Glenn here.
— I love Kevin’s nonchalant attitude towards Glenn’s disturbing lines.
STARS: ****½


PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ
clip of the duo’s Fantasy Dinner Date video

— Good change of pace, with this focusing on a “Fantasy Dinner Date” tape where we get a first-person camera perspective.
— I love Hans and Franz clinking their wine glasses in unison in place of their usual simultaneous clap.
— Phil’s Helmut is always funny to see, though this time, he’s not wearing the usual see-through shirt that exposes his humorous flabbiness.
— Hans and Franz altering their usual Hans and Franz-isms to sound romantic is pretty funny.
— Amusing little touch with Phil sneaking in another look at the “date” before leaving.
— Good part with Hans and Franz each sloppily kissing the camera lens, fogging it up.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bamboleo”


WEEKEND UPDATE
DEM lists prices the Ayatollah has put on other people’s heads
AWB thinks we have enough to worry about with fundamentalism in the USA
DEM sings Cat Stevens’ hit song “I’m Being Followed By A Big Muslim”
George Michael (DAC) shows off his butt & talks about its powers

— Loved Dennis’ David Duke/Deliverance joke.
— We get another funny callback to the “Bucketman lives!” joke from an earlier Update, which has become a running gag.
— What the hell? Why is Dennis repeating the EXACT SAME rant about the flawed American legal system that he did a few episodes earlier? I’m not kidding; he’s literally repeating all of the exact same lines from that rant. Is he not aware that he already used this material on the show before?
— A. Whitney, on Jehovah’s Witnesses: “Five of them showed up, tried to gang-save me in my own living room.”
— A. Whitney, on the White House’s view of abortion: “According to the Washington Post, Dan Quayle thought Roe v. Wade were alternative ways to cross the Potomac.”
— No idea how to respond to Dennis’ VERY extended singing of Cat Stevens.
— A lot of funny details from Dana’s George Michael on how he prepared his butt for the Grammys.
— All of Dana’s many “Look at my butt” variations to Dennis are particularly funny tonight.
STARS: ***


49TH ANNUAL WESTMINSTER MAD DOG SHOW
rabid pooches compete at the 49th Annual Westminster Mad Dog Show
Circle Mad Dog Food- Wilford Brimley (PHH) plugs humane euthanasia

— The classical theatrical music heard at the very start of the sketch had me thinking for a second that this would be a Master Thespian sketch.
— An okay-ish concept.
— Glenn’s line about the inbred dog was funny.
— Second time this season where Phil’s Wilford Brimley has appeared in an ad in the middle of a sketch.
— Love how the last can of mad dog food that Brimley displays is “100% poison”.
— This overall sketch wasn’t really working for me in the first half, but it picked up a little in the second half, starting with the Brimley ad.
STARS: **½


SIDE NOTE: What the…? Instead of the usual bumper picture featuring the host or musical guest, we strangely get a Jan Hooks bumper just now (screencap below). Very random. I wonder what the reason for this was.


MASTER THESPIAN
Romeo & Juliet co-star & lover Astoria DuBois V (host)

— Ha, looks like we DO get a Master Thespian sketch tonight after all!
— I loved Jon’s way of pronouncing Glenn’s character’s name.
— Glenn seems like she’ll be a perfect fit for this sketch.
— Glenn, on making love to Master Thespian: “You screamed like a man afflicted with a bad case of botulism for which there is no known cure.”
— Glenn: “You insufferable fool, you overbearing ham.” Master Thespian: “Make up your mind!”
— Glenn’s “I wasn’t even in the bed” reveal was great.
— Glenn’s repeated slapping of Master Thespian is very funny.
— Master Thespian, when Glenn asks him what his wife’s name is: “Her name… is ACTING!” Glenn: “I have some shocking news: you’ve been divorced for years.”
STARS: ****


LEVELS
host musically explains the 9 different levels on which JOL offended her

— Interesting how this is the second sketch in a row pairing Glenn and Jon together.
— Surprised to see Mike Myers appearing in a bit role here, as he didn’t receive his usual credit in tonight’s opening montage, which made me assume he wouldn’t be appearing at all in this episode.
— This is a VERY creative and complex piece that I’m getting a lot of enjoyment from.
— Jon’s ending “bitch” line came out of nowhere and was hilarious.
— I loved this overall piece. A really impressive, complicated, and fun sketch.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Djobi Djoba”


JEALOUS OF JANELLE
an elderly woman (host) is still envious of her recently-deceased sister

— Great character work from Glenn here. Even just the mouth mannerism she’s talking with is making me laugh.
— Solid supporting work from Jan in her own right.
— Funny story about sister Janelle’s mole.
— I’m getting some good laughs from Glenn’s various comments about Jan’s “ugly” daughter.
— Very strong writing in the sketch to go along with the strong performances.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I’m starting to run out of different ways of saying “Yet another solid season 14 episode” or “This season is on fire”, but all of it IS true. Tonight’s episode managed to be even better than the string of solid episodes that’s preceded it since January. I felt very highly about most of the sketches tonight, especially in the post-Update half, and Glenn Close was a great host.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Leslie Nielsen)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Mary Tyler Moore hosts. We also get ANOTHER new addition to the cast.

Posted on

February 18, 1989 – Leslie Nielsen / Cowboy Junkies (S14 E13)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Iran’s Most Wanted- Salman Rushdie (DAC) re-enactment with Mephistopheles

— Second episode in a row with a sketch that’s an Iranian version of an American TV show (Iranian People’s Court being the previous one). I like that this seems to be becoming a weekly theme lately, though it doesn’t continue after tonight’s episode.
— I like how Phil’s playing his foreign Iranian host character with a very American, John Walsh-esque accent.
— Some good laughs from Jan’s intentionally bad acting in the re-enactment.
— Good use of Jon’s Mephistopheles.
— I like all of Phil’s various different “If you see him, kill him” warnings.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Interesting mention of how he used to be a dramatic actor before things like Airplane, Police Squad, and Naked Gun led to him mostly playing funny roles in goofy comedies. It’s true. I’ve always said to myself that his and Tom Hanks’ movie careers went in the exact opposite direction of each other.
— Some decent examples of the non-difference between his serious and comedic delivery.
STARS: ***


NEUBURG’S BLEU CHEESE COOLER
— Rerun


SUBLIMINAL TECHNIQUE
in a bar, (host) uses Mr. Subliminal’s technique incorrectly

— Surprisingly, this is the first time Kevin’s subliminal routine is appearing since his VERY FIRST EPISODE. I wasn’t aware that it took them so long to make this bit recurring.
— Lots of great laughs from Kevin’s subliminal lines, especially during his back-and-forth with Jan.
— Kevin’s “spank me” line when exiting the scene was great.
— Strong ending with Leslie’s terrible attempt at using the subliminal routine on Phil as the cop.
STARS: ****


SNAP DECISION
contestants try to deal with arbitrary game show rules

— Funny intro with each contestant.
— Love how increasingly confusing this gameshow is getting, as it appears Leslie’s character is making up stuff as he goes along.
— Very impressive delivery from Leslie here.
— Good bit with Jon getting disqualified for working at Price Waterhouse.
— I loved Nora’s softly-delivered, deadpan “Shut up” after Leslie asks her “Can you come back tomorrow?”
STARS: ****


THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
Kim Alexis, Beverly Johnson, Cheryl Tiegs [real]

— A bit of a change of pace in this installment with all the real-life models as guests.
— Funny inclusion of Leslie as a lesser model.
— I liked Nora line to Leslie regarding rubbing Grecian formula.
— Very funny part with Leslie recalling a childhood incident with a man offering him a modeling contract but turned out to be something different.
— All the cutaways to the facial expressions of a silent Leslie are getting good laughs.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sweet Jane”


WEEKEND UPDATE
ALF tells political reference-heavy jokes for MacNeil-Lehrer viewers

— Hmm, wonder what Al Franken’s “Jokes for MacNeil-Lehrer Viewers” segment is going to be like.
— Al’s Ted Kennedy joke made me laugh, though the rest of the segment wasn’t all that special to me.
— I liked Dennis’ random “Excuse me while I kiss the sky” Jimi Hendrix bit.
STARS: ***


THE 1960’S MOVIE
film contains farcical elements typical of the genre

— Pretty fun opening credits sequence.
— Leslie to Victoria: “By the way, I’m terrified of gorillas, so please don’t dress like one.”
— Love the part with all the characters being surprised to run into each other in the same room.
— I enjoyed the randomness and goofiness of this overall sketch, especially the gorilla appearance at the end.
STARS: ***½


GERITECH
host pitches Geritech products Blotch-Off, DripMaster, Bungking, Solidex

— Leslie’s opening line: “Hi, I’m Leslie Nielsen, liver spot sufferer.”
— This is starting to get especially funny with the shift to bladder control issues.
— The “I’m relieving…….myself right now” part is great.
— The “Bung King” hemorrhoid cream is hilarious, and has always been the part of this sketch I’ve remembered the most.
— This is getting funnier and funnier.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Misguided Angel”


SAYING THE WRONG THINGS
on a date with (JAH), (host) always finds the exact wrong thing to say

— I’m getting good enjoyment from Leslie constantly saying inappropriate things to Jan.
— Funny part with Leslie refusing to believe that Jan isn’t drunk.
— I liked the “You can just owe me” ending.
STARS: ***½


WAYNE’S WORLD
Wayne’s (MIM) guests are buddy Garth (DAC) & his dad Beev (PHH)

 

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut! Can you believe that Wayne’s World, a sketch that would go on to be larger than life, debuted at the end of an episode, in the 10-to-1 slot? Then again, at this point, Mike Myers IS an unproven new featured player who’s in only his fourth episode, so I guess that makes sense.
— Funny to see how different the intro sequence is in this first installment. The usual Phil Hartman-announced “You are watching Cable 10: Aurora, Illinois’ community access channel” is played during a different shot (first screencap above) than the one it’s usually played during, and the shot that it IS usually played during is instead shown right afterwards during an additional announcement of “Cable 10 is not responsible for the views of… etc.”, which is an aspect of this sketch that I believe was dropped after this debut installment.
— The “Wayne’s World” theme song sounds lower key than how we’re used to hearing it.
— Phil’s look is very funny. By the way, it feels like Phil surprisingly has barely appeared in any sketches tonight.
— Phil has a little bit of Paul Lynde going on with the voice he’s using here.
— Another oddity in this debut installment is that the Top 10 list is a very quick segment that Wayne speeds through. I’m so used to the Top 10 list being a much longer, more fleshed-out, and important segment of later installments of this sketch.
— Good part with Wayne breaking out into the song Dream Weaver in an attempt to impress Jan.
— Hmm, they’re taking viewer calls, which I don’t remember them doing in later installments.
— Funny call from Jon talking about how his girlfriend blew “gnarly” chunks on him.
— Wow at the turn that Jon’s call took, with what Wayne and Garth subtly suggested that Jon should do to his passed-out girlfriend. That’s one of several things about this sketch that would never fly nowadays.
— Overall, it was so fascinating to witness the birth of this sketch. You can definitely see all the potential, though this first installment feels so low-key compared to what the sketch would later become.
STARS: ***½

GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Yet another in a long line of solid season 14 episodes, and I liked pretty much everything tonight. There were some very memorable sketches like Snap Decision and Geritech, we got an important recurring sketch debut at the end of the show, and Leslie Nielsen was as funny and reliable a host as you would expect.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ted Danson)
about the same


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Glenn Close

Posted on

February 11, 1989 – Ted Danson / Luther Vandross (S14 E12)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Sam Malone (host) in Cheers with John Tower (PHH) & Michael Dukakis (JOL)

— Pretty good Woody voice from Dana.
— I’m sure Phil’s doing a good impression John Tower, but I can’t tell since I have absolutely no familiarity with Tower.
— Funny visual of Phil sipping the top of his drink as it’s still being poured in.
— Just now, Phil let out a Burt Reynolds-sounding high-pitched “Ha!”
— The return of Jon’s Dukakis impression!
— Great “Live from New York…” subversion with Phil’s Tower drunkenly passing out in the middle of delivering the LFNY, only for Jon’s Dukakis to finish it.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
like host’s movies, SNL is based on French show- (MIM) pees in clip of it

— Good bit from Ted at the beginning, regarding when he wants the audience to applaud.
— I’m loving the preview of the French version of SNL. We even get to hear Don Pardo do his announcements in French.
— Great early use of Mike Myers here, and we get our very first instance of him displaying some good physical shtick as he dances wildly while making his monologue entrance.
— Nice touch with the SNL Band in the background having French mustaches and berets.
— Funny gag with the camera zooming in on Mike peeing his pants in fear after being told this is the live show, not dress rehearsal.
STARS: ****


SLEEPYTIME RAT CONTROL
Sleepytime sedative solves your sewer rat problem, if only temporarily

— Victoria seems to star in a lot of the fake ads from these last two seasons.
— A funny and disgusting ad with some good gross-out visuals, and a funny concept of a sedative that puts rats into a deep sleep instead of killing them.
STARS: ***½


THE IRANIAN PEOPLE’S COURT
(host) loses his hand over a persian poodle

— Another segment tonight being spoken entirely in a foreign language.
— Dana’s Iranian gibberish is hilarious, especially the more and more obvious he’s making it that he’s not saying real words.
— I’m also liking Nora’s voice as well as her fast talking.
— Good bit with Ted’s severed hand.
— Short sketch overall, but it was the right length for something with a premise like this, as it would’ve started getting old if it went on any longer.
STARS: ***½


WOMEN WHO CAN’T SAY NO
(NOD), (VIJ), (JAH) have trouble saying no, especially to (host)

— I’m liking Ted’s performance here.
— Surprising turn with Jan and Nora returning to the living room to unexpectedly find Ted and Victoria suddenly in the middle of making out.
— Hmm, I see where this is going. With Victoria and Nora now having walking into the kitchen, it’s obvious they’re going to come back to the living room to find Jan being the one who Ted’s now making out with.
— I was right, but haha, I was certainly not expecting to see the over-the-top visual of a passionately-moaning Jan on Ted’s lap while he has his face buried in her chest.
— And now Nora and Ted emerge from the bedroom. Not quite as funny as I thought it would be, but I’m liking the escalation this sketch has been taking.
— A funny casual “Well, hey… I gotta go” from Ted right after having sex with Nora.
STARS: ***


PLUG AWAY WITH HARVEY FIERSTEIN
coach Pat Riley (host), Roseanne Barr (VIJ), Casey Kasem (DAC)

— I like Jon’s Fierstein longingly going “God, you got fabulous hair” to Ted’s Pat Riley.
— Hmm, for once, a guest actually answers “yes” to Fierstein’s “If you were gay, would you…” question.
— Great to see the debut of Victoria’s Roseanne impression.
— Dead-on impression from Victoria here.
— Loved Fierstein’s raspy laughter in response to a joke of Roseanne’s.
— Some good laughs from Dana’s Casey Kasem going on about how manly he is.
— I’m glad this overall sketch wasn’t just a carbon copy of it’s first installment from earlier this season.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “She Won’t Talk To Me”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Senate confirmation hearings clip proves John Tower’s drinking problem
DEM shows what a stack of $100,000,000 looks like
George Michael (DAC) is upset about lack of butt shots in his Coke ad

 

— We get to see a clip of the real John Tower, which provides more context to tonight’s topical cold opening and Phil’s impression in it.
— Interesting rant from Dennis about how flawed the the American legal system is regarding who gets chosen for a jury.
— The debut of Dana’s George Michael impression!
— Loved Dana-as-Michael’s fast-paced rundown of the frequency of the butt shots he wanted his commercial to have.
— And there goes the birth of Dana-as-Michael’s catchphrase “Look at my butt!”
— Dana-as-Michael, regarding his butt: “Accept it before it destroys you!”
— In the middle of a joke, Dennis gets distracted by sounds from off-camera, and amusingly asks “What the hell’s going on over there?!?” The sound is actually coming from live hogs that are about to appear in a memorable sketch after Update.
— Surprised to see no desk commentaries in tonight’s overall Update. Can’t remember the last Update that went without one.
STARS: ***½


HOGS
(host) & (NOD) enjoy living in an apartment among their hogs

— Very funny reveal of the living room randomly being full of hogs.
— A lot of good laughs from Ted and Nora’s casual attitudes towards their hogs.
— Ha, just now, one of the hogs bumped their behind pretty hard into another hog’s behind, which got a big reaction from the audience.
— I liked Phil’s angry outburst at the end of his sarcastic complaint.
— Another overall sketch tonight that was thankfully kept short before it ran out of steam.
STARS: ****


GRUMPY OLD MEN
Grumpy Old Man (DAC) & counterpart (JOL) gripe about modern conveniences

— Yet another big debut tonight: Dana’s Grumpy Old Man character! A lot of people probably forget that Grumpy Old Man actually debuted in a sketch, as he’s more remembered nowadays as a Weekend Update desk character. This puts him in the same class as other made-their-first-appearance-in-a-sketch-before-becoming-Update-only characters such as Roseanne Rosannadanna, Stefon, Chico Escuela, Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, and probably others I’m forgetting.
— It’s also interesting to see how in Grumpy Old Man’s debut, he was actually part of a duo of grumpy old men, with the other one played by Jon.
— “That’s the way it was, and we LIKED it!!”
— Dana’s exaggerated, stretched-out way of saying “dental hygiene” gave me a big laugh.
— Jon, regarding women back in his day: “They were fat and hairy and UGLY!”
— I absolutely love Dana’s voice in this.
— An overall very funny sketch. I can kinda see why they would later drop Jon’s character, though, as Dana gave the more stand-out performance here. Plus, maybe SNL figured that just one grumpy old man complaining about modern things would fit the Weekend Update format more than if it were two grumpy old men.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “For You To Love”

— Hmm, I wonder if this is replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns. In the live version I’m currently watching, this musical performance didn’t feature Luther walking up to the front row of female audience members and singing to them, which I swear I remember him doing in reruns.


FIRST LOVE
KEN talks about the unappealing traits of his first love

— Is this going to be in the same vein as the Christmas Memories sketch that Kevin did in the William Shatner episode?
— Very funny story from Kevin about his first love dressing like a slinky.
— I’m loving all the disgusting, unattractive descriptions of his first love.
— Kevin guesstimates that his first love weighed about 870 pounds. Hmm, is she the same 800-pound female tour guide that Kevin described in his map sketch (Automobile Club Of America) from two seasons earlier?
— Kevin, regarding his heavyset first love: “I took her out to dinner and a movie…and a dinner.”
— An overall very solid piece and, much like the aforementioned Christmas Memories and map sketches, is a quintessential display of Kevin Nealon’s brand of humor.
STARS: ****


GOING TO ENGLAND
(host) keeps airport cab waiting while asking wife (NOD) to come with him

— I like the impatient car honking heard during Ted and Nora’s long conversation.
— Just when I thought the sketch was starting to lose me, they got me laughing again with the unseen cab driver throwing a rock through the window.
— I’m enjoying the absurdity in Nora and Ted’s conversation.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Yet another solid season 14 episode. This season continues to be on fire. Tonight’s episode especially got strong in the post-Update half, where there was a nice consecutive run of great sketches for a while.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tony Danza)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Leslie Nielsen

Posted on

January 28, 1989 – Tony Danza / John Hiatt and The Goners (S14 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
after unsuccessful electrocution, Ted Bundy (DAC) discusses energy issues

— Excellent opening visual of Dana as a post-electrocution Ted Bundy.
— I like how he’s acting as an advocate for electricity.
— Good trick with the lightbulb turning on in his hand.
— Bundy: “As we head into the next decade… or as YOU head into the decade…”
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— For some reason, the rerun version I’m watching of this episode uses SNL’s 15th anniversary logo in the opening montage (screencap below), despite the fact that this is the FOURTEENTH season. SNL doesn’t start commemorating their 15th anniversary until the following season.


MONOLOGUE
host bypasses the jokes & goes straight to tap-dancing

— There’s the obligatory tap-dancing routine, which he precedes by admitting he knows it’s expected.
— Nothing else to say about this monologue.
STARS: **½


CARBON PAPER
— Rerun


DA WAR OF DA WOILDS
The Brooklyn Academy of Fine Art presents Da War Of Da Woilds

— As a New Yorker who spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn, I love this concept.
— Funny use of “fonkin’” as a fake swear word. I’m glad the old Comedy Central copy I’m watching of this episode isn’t the infamous censored version, which bleeps out all uses of the word “fonkin” because censors at the time felt it sounded too close to the real f-word.
— I like how all the characters are speaking in wiseguy accents, even the president and his aide.
— Funny how the exterior shot of a college is subtitled “Some big shot college” and then adding “where Einstein is at” in parenthesis.
— Ha, we even get a Brooklyn-ized Albert Einstein.
— Dana’s voice sounds like a bit of a variation of his John Travolta impression.
— During the Brooklyn-ized headlines about the martian invasion, I like the non-sequitur with one of the headlines reading “Mets Sweep Double-Header!”
— The map background on the news set that Nora is reporting from resembles Colin Quinn’s Weekend Update set that would later be used in seasons 24 and 25.
— Love the “joims” bit.
— All characters in unison: “Fonkin’ A!”
STARS: ****


JESUS CHRIST CELEBRITY
Jesus (PHH) & other famous prophets are spotted at a celebrity restaurant

— I like Jan and Victoria casually treating a random Jesus Christ sighting as just a normal celebrity sighting.
— The debut of Phil’s portrayal of Jesus, which would go on to make some very memorable appearances over the years.
— Jon showing up as the president of the Jewish Student Association is pretty funny, especially how he’s more excited to meet Moses than Jesus.
— I love Phil’s overly calm-and-collected delivery as Jesus.
— For some reason, I liked hearing Jon talking in real Yiddish at the end of his scene.
— I guess I still haven’t gotten used to Mike Myers now being in the cast, because I almost did a double-take when he showed up at the end of this sketch in a bit role as a busboy.
STARS: ***½


AS WORLD TURN
Tarzan learns that Jane (VIJ) has been seeing Frankenstein

— Nice use of Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein.
— Funny little gag with Tonto rhythmically knocking on Tarzan’s door to the beat of that “ooga chagga” tune.
— I liked Tonto’s angry “Wake up, smell coffee!” line.
— Very funny part with Frankenstein grunting in a high-pitched voice over the phone to pass himself off as a woman.
— Even though Dana’s just playing a normal character, Dana seems to be doing an unintentional Jay Leno impression. The voice is uncanny.
— For some reason, I loved Frankenstein saying “Fire… GOOD!” when pulling a huge gun on Tonto.
STARS: ****


MAYDENFORM
host onomatopoeically relates his thoughts on lingerie

— Tony’s sudden “Boom-bada-boom-bada-boom!” made me laugh just for its randomness.
— Okay, he’s staring to return to the “Boom-bada-boom-bada-boom!”s too often.
— I did like the “Forget her personality” line.
STARS: **


SING ALONG
Tonto, Tarzan, Frankenstein sing “Oh, Suzanna”

— Ha, good to see another one of these, even though I thought they only did these for holidays. Though now that I think of it, I just remembered they later do a rendition of “We Are the World” in the Quincy Jones-hosted episode from the following season.
— I like Tonto trying to make the whole audience sing along.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Paper Thin”


STAKEOUT
during a stakeout, (PHH) remains undercover while being attacked

— Some good laughs from Kevin and Tony’s advice to an undercover officer, and their descriptions of what the suspect behind him is doing.
— Kevin, to the undercover officer: “Okay, he’s jumped up on your back. Don’t let on that you know.”
— Good part with the undercover officer entering the stakeout room while getting beat up by the suspect, leading to Kevin and Tony panickedly hiding their own faces with newspapers.
— I like Kevin and Tony’s “Ooh!”s whenever something particularly violent happens to the undercover officer off-camera.
STARS: ***½


PROPOSAL
(host) asks upper class woman (VIJ) to leave her husband (PHH) for him

— I loved the reveal that the girl who Tony wants to propose to is Phil’s wife of 15 years.
— Just when I was starting to think the sketch was fizzling out, we get a sudden funny twist with Tony turning out to be an escaped mental patient.
— Tony to Phil: “Just because I’m insane, that makes you better than me?!?”
STARS: ***


JOE MONTANA TRIBUTE
sincere guy Stu (Joe Montana) interferes with bone-jumping plans {rerun}

— Okay, it made sense when they did an encore presentation for Roy Orbison earlier this season, considering he passed away, and it certainly makes sense when they later do an encore presentation at the end of this season when Gilda Radner passes. But doing an encore presentation for the still-living Joe Montana just because he had a great NFL season and recently won the Super Bowl??? Really, SNL?
— Still, I guess I can’t complain too much about getting to see this classic sketch again, and it’s interesting to find out that even just two years after it originally aired, it was ALREADY recognized as a classic.
— If SNL really wanted to celebrate Montana having a great NFL season, they should’ve gotten him to host again. He’s one of the few athlete hosts who I wouldn’t have minded hosting a second time.


WEEKEND UPDATE
letter to a schoolkid shows Dan Quayle’s familiar with education problems
Jeane Dixon (NOD) makes some qualified predictions for 1989
some excerpts of small talk heard on the World Leader Chat Line
Stuart Rankin (MIM) is upset with Americans’ Scottish stereotypes

— About time Weekend Update showed up. I wonder why it was shoved into such an unusually late time slot in this Comedy Central rerun I’m watching.
— Dennis’ attempt at a Jimmy Stewart impression was very funny.
— Funny bit with Dan Quayle’s response to a child’s letter.
— Interesting voice on Nora’s Jeane Dixon. Sounds very different from Mary Gross’ Jeane Dixon impression back in season 10. I’m assuming Nora’s going for an actual imitation of Dixon’s voice, while Mary was probably just going for a characterization.
— Hmm, Nora’s Dixon addresses rumors of Don Johnson and (recent SNL host) Melanie Griffith expecting a baby. I wonder if that’s the same baby that turned out to be future actress and one-time SNL host Dakota Johnson.
— Some pretty funny name mix-ups from Nora’s Dixon, but the rest of her overall segment was fairly forgettable.
— The World Leader Chat Line segment reminds me of the Businessman Chat Line sketch from earlier this season (both logos are even written in the same font and style), though I guess they’re both a parody of the same real-life commercial.
— Mike Myers in his very first big role!
— The debut of Mike’s Stuart Rankin character. Rankin has a more generic look in this first appearance and is missing the gray hair and outfit he’d later have in the All Things Scottish sketches.
— I’m liking Mike’s anger here, as well as his mockery of Scottish TV personalities in America.
— A decent overall commentary from Mike, though the audience response was fairly lukewarm. The audience was probably thinking to themselves “Who is this new guy? Why aren’t we seeing Carvey or Lovitz out there doing a character?” Fast-forward to 1993 when Mike is one of the most popular current cast members, and the audience would spend an Update commentary from a newbie like Jay Mohr thinking to themselves “Who is this new guy? Why aren’t we seeing Myers or Sandler out there doing a character?”
— Fairly long Update tonight. Maybe that’s why it was buried so late in this Comedy Central rerun. CC used to annoyingly do the same thing to particularly long editions of Update (or “Saturday Night News”, rather) during the Ebersol era.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Slow Turning”


WHAT
(host) & other diner patrons communicate via defensive-sounding queries

— I’m liking how all the dialogue is just “Whaddaya (insert rest of question here)?” questions.
— Interesting little sketch overall. I enjoyed the unique structure.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

— Tony: “Mike Myers had his first shot tonight; I think he did swell.” Interesting shoutout for our newbie. I know some SNL fans find Tony’s mention of Mike getting his first shot tonight to be confusing, as this is actually Mike’s second episode, but I assume Tony meant this was the first night that Mike got a big role that allowed him to show his chops. After all, Mike’s only appearance in his first episode was just a small straight role in the I Will Not Be Mocked sketch.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Fairly solid episode. The first half of the episode was especially strong, and I didn’t find anything weak in tonight’s overall episode except for the two solo Tony Danza pieces (monologue and Maydenform). Aside from those two pieces, Tony Danza was an okay host, even though there was a sameness to most of his roles (then again, he’s never been known to stretch as an actor).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John Malkovich)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Ted Danson

Posted on

January 21, 1989 – John Malkovich / Anita Baker (S14 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Ronald Reagan (PHH) interrupts George Bush’s (DAC) Super Bowl XXIII call

— We’ve officially arrived at a new presidency during SNL’s timeline.
— Pretty funny with Bush’s phone call getting interrupted by the now-former President Reagan.
— I like Reagan repeating the same corny “We could use your players on Capitol Hill” joke that Bush already told earlier.
— Reagan’s confused stammering is making me laugh, due to Phil’s delivery.
— Reagan, on why he should be the president to call the Super Bowl winners: “I guess I thought that since I was president during the SEASON and the playoffs, I was supposed to…”
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— Mike Myers is added to the cast as a featured player.


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Malkovich: “I’m John Malkovich, and these are my own clothes.”
— I got a big laugh from him randomly mentioning that his hometown of Benton, Illinois is right by a place where there was a big murder in a trailer park a few years earlier.
— Some really good laughs from the recollections of his grandmother’s criticism of his film work. I especially liked the part about her telling him “You need a wig like Pavarotti.”
— I’m absolutely loving Malkovich’s dry delivery in this monologue.
— Another great dryly-delivered line, this time regarding how Empire Of The Sun was directed by “the Jewish boy” Stephen Spielberg.
STARS: ****


FIRST CITIWIDE CHANGE BANK
— Rerun


BARBARA & NANCY
Barbara Bush (PHH) tries to get Nancy Reagan (JAH) out of the White House

— I like this premise of a meeting between the about-to-be-former first lady and about-to-be-current first lady.
— A good laugh from Barbara’s friendly-but-eager delivery of “When does your plane leave?” to Nancy.
— Some great humor out of Nancy’s desperation in staying and Barbara’s desperation in getting Nancy the hell out.
— Classic visual of Nancy having to be literally dragged out of the room as she grabs on to everything she can.
— The first time I ever saw this sketch, in (I think) Phil’s “Best Of” special back when I wasn’t too familiar with this SNL era, it was the first time I started to take notice of Jan. As the sketch ended, I remember wondering who the woman was who gave that great performance as Nancy Reagan. Though as much as I remember liking Jan’s performance in this, that’s not what turned me into a fan of hers. That wouldn’t happen until sometime later on when I saw a Comedy Central airing of the Alec Baldwin episode from season 15. If you’re familiar with that episode, you’ll understand why it turned me into a Jan Hooks fan. I’ll go into a little more detail when we reach that episode.
STARS: ****½


FIRST CITIWIDE CHANGE BANK
— Another rerun.
— After laughing hysterically at Part 1 of this ad earlier tonight, tonight’s audience is oddly dead silent during this one. What’s up with that?


ATTITUDES
an interview with driftwood sculptor Len Tukwilla (host)

— I’m enjoying how late 80s the look and feel of this whole sketch is.
— Great characterizations from Jan and Nora here. Lots of funny little touches in their performances.
— Love the name Len Tukwilla. It’s funny little details like that that help make this sketch so fantastic.
— Malkovich’s explanation of how he sculpts squirrels nests is really funny, as is Jan and Nora’s attempts to make their mundane questions to him seem so exciting.
— Malkovich: “It’s a very, very painstaking process; it doesn’t just happen overnight… unless you work on it all night long.”
— I’m loving how Malkovich is now giving so many blunt “no” answers to most of Jan and Nora’s questions.
STARS: ****½


GARY BUSEY MOTORCYCLE HELMETS
Gary Busey’s (PHH) motorcycle helmets have their own protection devices

— Pretty funny Busey impression from Phil.
— Decent gag with the increasingly oversized helmet protectors.
— Good ending visual of Phil’s Busey riding the motorcycle while trying not to tip over due to his big helmet.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Giving You The Best That I Got”


YOU MOCK ME
Lord Edmund (host) lets it be known- he will not be mocked

— The close-up of Malkovich silently turning his deadpan face towards Jan and then uttering his first “You mock me” tickled the hell out of me. Maybe it’s because I know what’s coming.
— Love Malkovich running to the door after Jan has exited from it, just to yell at her “AND I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!!!”
— Lovitz and Dana’s foppish mocking gestures behind Malkovich’s back are freakin’ priceless.
— Mike Myers makes his debut! It feels very exciting seeing a new cast member at this point, for the same reason it felt exciting for me to cover Bill Murray and Harry Shearer’s respective debuts when I reviewed the original era: when you watch/review SNL episodes in chronological order on a daily basis and get very used to a steady, unchanging cast, it feels both unusual and refreshing seeing somebody new being added to your familiar cast. That’s one of the many reasons I started this SNL project of mine: I knew it would be exciting to experience SNL’s evolutionary changes while going through their timeline daily.
— Fitting that Mike Myers is doing an English accent in his very first appearance, considering we’re going to be hearing that type of accent (as well as other U.K. accents) a lot from him throughout his SNL tenure.
— On paper, this sketch may come off repetitive, but the performances are selling the hell out of the material, and are elevating it to a hilarious, very memorable piece.
— Lovitz and Dana are particularly hilarious at the end of the sketch with their extended, over-the-top imitations of Malkovich’s character. I also love how that’s accompanied by the camera slowly zooming in on an unamused Malkovich just watching them while having a stone-faced expression.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Sandra Day O’Connor (JAH) swears in Dan Quayle (DAC) syllable-by-syllable
DEM narrates a retrospective consisting of ho-hum photos of Ronald Reagan
AWB disapproves of the overspending on George Bush’s inauguration

 

— Pretty funny sequence with Dana as Dan Quayle being sworn in, especially when it gets to the point where Jan tries to make it easier on him by having him repeat the oath one word at a time (there’s also some really funny stock footage cutaways accompanying that part).
— While not all that funny, the retrospective of Reagan’s presidency was actually strangely touching in a way.
— I liked the callback to Dennis’ Bucketman joke from the last Update.
— A. Whitney, on Bush’s inauguration: “There were eleven inaugural balls. Now, some people would say that’s a little excessive. But, you know, it TAKES a lot of balls to throw a 30 million dollar celebration before you’ve even done anything.”
— A. Whitney, on the 200th anniversary of the presidency: “We’ve gone from ‘I cannot tell a lie’ to ‘I cannot tell’.”
— Dennis’ jokes have been more hit-and-miss than usual. He’s leaning awfully heavy on corny photo-based jokes tonight.
— If you know me, you’ll know I got a kick out of Dennis’ random Three Stooges Missile joke.
STARS: ***


CALIFORNIA CONDOR
at a cookout, guys try to put a hurt California condor out of its misery

— I like the bizarre visual of a dying mechanical bird puppet.
— Clever ending with the “California Condor Released Today” headline.
— The randomness of this overall sketch and the use of a mechanical animal puppet makes me wonder if this was a Jack Handey piece.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest sings “Just Because”


JOHNNY CANAL
Johnny Canal (host) tries to sell James Monroe (PHH) on waterways

— Wow, I love that theme song.
— Now THIS is undoubtedly a Jack Handey sketch, as this features the very first instance of the “fake sponsors” gag that would go on to be a tradition in some of his sketches. There’s an especially funny sponsor tonight with the Atlantic Puppy Grinding Company (“Maybe it’s evil, but think of the jobs!”).
— Malkovich demonstrating on a map his absurd idea of canals running all over the country is very funny.
— A great, amusing touch with the camera slowly zooming in on Malkovich’s dumbfounded face when Phil is listing off all the flaws in Malkovich’s plan.
— Hilarious repeated gag with Malkovich responding to any question he doesn’t know the answer to by leaping onto the table and lunging at the question-asker with a knife. Part of what makes that so funny is the long pause Malkovich always does before leaping.
— I like Malkovich’s asinine explanation of how he got the name Johnny Canal.
— In the rerun version I’m watching, the audience applauds during the ending bit with Malkovich lunging at Phil with a knife. I’m thinking that must be canned applause, because I swear I remember once seeing a copy of the live version of this sketch where, IIRC, that ending bit with Malkovich lunging at Phil with a knife played to DEAD SILENCE from the audience, which, to be honest, actually made it even funnier to me in an odd way.
— I absolutely loved this overall sketch.
STARS: ****½


TALK RADIO
deejay Tony Trailer (KEN) talks annoyingly over radio station’s music

— Pretty basic premise, but it’s being executed well, is a funny parody of radio announcers annoyingly talking over songs, and is one of the types of roles that’s right in Kevin’s wheelhouse.
— I liked Lovitz as the aggressive caller asking Kevin to shut up while his favorite song (Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”) is playing.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

— Malkovich: “I never thought I’d get to work with Jon Lovitz… and I hope I never will again. The man is a pig… and a menace.”

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Fantastic episode. I loved almost everything in it. So many strong, memorable sketches, and nothing fell flat for me. John Malkovich was excellent tonight (even his goodnights speech was funny, as seen in the above quote) and he would go on to become one of my favorite semi-recurring hosts (his 1993 hosting stint in particular has always been one of my personal favorite episodes of all-time).


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Melanie Griffith)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Tony Danza

Posted on

December 17, 1988 – Melanie Griffith / Little Feat (S14 E9)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Mephistopheles visits Church Lady in her bedroom on Christmas Eve

— A rare use of Church Lady outside of her TV show setting. I’m surprised the audience didn’t give her any recognition applause at the beginning of this.
— Church Lady’s exercise routine is great.
— Mephistopheles in a Church Lady sketch! I always like the rare times when two separate recurring characters collide.
— Some pretty funny lines between Mephistopheles and Church Lady.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Hmm, where’s the snow? I could swear I remember from my past viewings of this episode that the opening montage had a snowfall effect played for the entire duration. Turns out I was wrong. Am I thinking of the following season’s Christmas episode (Andie MacDowell), or did I just dream the whole thing?


MONOLOGUE
host talks about the spirit of Christmas while a disclaimer rolls

— Ha, a disclaimer monologue! I always love when they do a throwback to this frequently recurring gag from the original era.
— Aw, the monologue is over already? I was hoping the disclaimer would go on longer. This one was really short and simplistic.
STARS: ***


FIRST GUARDIAN METROCARD
(host) talks about the paternalistic First Guardian credit card service

— The set-up is reminding me of both the Citiwide Change Bank commercial from earlier this season and the MetroCard commercial with Roseanne a few years later in season 16.
— Amusing contrast between Kevin and Melanie’s testimonials. This really IS reminding me of the later Roseanne MetroCard sketch, which uses the same “customer gives a lighthearted recollection of an interaction with a service employee, while said service employee gives a more frank, harsh recollection of the same interaction” format. The Roseanne one is definitely the funnier of the two, though this one is still making me laugh.
— Some pretty good laughs from Kevin’s details of the “personal service” his company offers.
STARS: ***


MISS SELF-ESTEEM USA PAGEANT
New Yorker (host) beats a Georgian (JAH) to become Miss Self-Esteem USA

— Strange. For their opening number, the contestants sing a Let’s Hear It For The Boy take-off, which is the same song that was sung by the contestants at the beginning of another pageant sketch, the rarely-seen Miss Pregnant Teenage America from season 11.
— The opening statements from each of the three contestants are pretty funny.
— Jan is great in this.
— Victoria’s emotional breakdowns are decent.
— I liked the fake-out with runner-up Jan being handed down the crown from winner Melanie, only to be told that’s not allowed.
— I could’ve done with this overall sketch being shortened by a few minutes. However, I found the sketch okay enough.
STARS: ***


CHAPSTICK
(DAC) reluctantly reclaims his Chapstick after letting people use it

— A big laugh from a thickly-bearded Phil using the chapstick on his chili-covered lips.
— Hilarious part with Jan’s hooker using the chapstick on her herpes sores, ears, and her dog’s mouth.
— I like how the chapstick-users always ask Dana “Why, ’cause I used it?” when Dana shows hesitance in being handed back the chapstick.
— I love how increasingly disgusting this is getting.
— When various characters are trying to get the chapstick out from under a storm drain grate, it’s very funny how Tom Davis randomly has a dead snake handy.
— Good ending with the random appearance of a huge-lipped alien.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Let It Roll”


LOVE IS A DREAM
by TOS- (JAH) & (PHH) share a romantic fantasy

— The return of Schiller’s Reel, which goes back to being a regular feature of the show for the first time since the original era, aside from one standalone film that Tom Schiller did early in the Ebersol era.
— Here’s a film that now has incredible sentimental value.
— This film would later be re-aired as a tribute to both Phil and Jan, at separate times (for Phil, it was in SNL’s 25th anniversary special, a year after his death; for Jan, it was in the season 40 Bill Hader-hosted episode, just a few days after her death), which in retrospect gives this film a lot of importance and makes you look at it in an even more emotional way than it was originally intended.
— The part right now with Phil’s character first showing up reminds me that when this film aired as a tribute to Jan in the aforementioned Hader episode, it wasn’t until Phil’s entrance that it fully hit me that both cast members in this film are now gone. And then my heart sank.
— This is a beautiful film so far, and an excellent display of the wonderful chemistry that Phil and Jan have always had.
— The sweet ending with the reveal of an elderly Phil as the guard has honestly made me tear up just now. Again, it’s because of hindsight, considering we would tragically lose both performers way too soon.
STARS: *****


WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ recites her poem “The Life Of A Christmas Tree” & imitates one
DEM & Dennis Miller (DAC) recite “The Night Before Christmas”

 

— Loved Dennis’ joke about Yasser Arafat really being Three’s Company’s Norman Fell under his beard.
— Nice visual of an upside-down Victoria as a Christmas tree.
— Heh, Victoria actually falls over accidentally when she’s not finished with her poem yet. Nice recovery afterwards with her endearingly-sheepish ad-lib of how “It’s live TV”.
— Here’s a classic segment with Dennis reciting The Night Before Christmas with himself, played by Dana.
— Very funny flub during the Night Before Christmas recital with Dennis misreading “lovely and quick” as “lonely and quick”, which makes him crack up afterwards.
STARS: ***½


CIA CHRISTMAS PARTY
small talk is difficult for secretive operatives at CIA Christmas party

— A pretty thin, one-joke sketch so far, with all the agents refusing to reveal information about even the simplest little things. This doesn’t seem like a funny enough premise to center an entire sketch on.
— When stepping off the box she was standing on, Nora almost fell down.
— Jan: “Hugh hasn’t told me a thing about you.” Kevin: “That’s very flattering!”
— I like Jon’s entrance as a belligerent drunk.
— Unfortunately, Jon’s appearance wasn’t enough to save the overall sketch.
STARS: **


SWEENEY SISTERS
Sweeney sisters do medley of prison & Christmas songs for jailed hookers

— An interesting use of the Sweeney Sisters. By the way, this is surprisingly their first appearance in an entire year. Last time we saw them, Candy Sweeney was memorably singing to an uncomfortable Paul Simon in the previous season’s Christmas episode.
— I like the Sweeneys transitioning into their act when they’re bailed out of prison.
— A particularly catchy medley tonight.
— The part now with them singing Spanish Christmas songs is especially fun.
— A fairly heartwarming ending.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hate To Lose Your Lovin'”


MISREADING SIGNALS
(KEN) repeatedly misinterprets (host)’s business talk as come-on cues

— The premise has a very Kevin Nealon-y feel. I can tell he wrote this.
— Some decent laughs from Kevin misinterpreting every little thing Melanie says as a come-on.
— Good part with Kevin breaking out a dictionary in an attempt to prove to Melanie that “recapitalize” is a sexual term.
— The ending with Jon and Kevin was okay.
STARS: ***


SEASON’S GREETINGS
Tonto, Tarzan, Frankenstein sing “Deck The Halls”

— Great to see this now becoming a recurring segment.
— As always, this is some really good silly, goofy fun.
— They seemed to be running short on time. The ending came off rushed, judging by how the screen faded to an SNL bumper picture of Melanie Griffith when the song was still concluding.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS
Don Johnson [real] joins wife host on-stage

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not the greatest Christmas episode, but I liked it enough. I was fine with most of the sketches. It’s just that, unlike the previous two Christmas episodes in this era (William Shatner and Paul Simon), tonight’s episode lacked a large number of all-time memorable classic sketches. This episode felt too average for a Christmas show, aside from Love Is A Dream and Chapstick.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kevin Kline)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter the year 1989, with host John Malkovich. We also get a new addition to the cast!

Posted on

December 10, 1988 – Kevin Kline / Bobby McFerrin (S14 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
A Trump Christmas- Magi-like gifts cheer up Donald (PHH) & Ivana (JAH)

— This is the very first time Donald Trump has ever been impersonated on the show.
— Hmm, Phil’s Trump impression doesn’t sound as good as it later would.
— Donald’s gold door gift is pretty funny.
— Good line with Ivana confessing she had to sell the mansion just to buy the gold anchor.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host is honored to be with the great Shakespearean actor Master Thespian

— Very fun beginning with Kline eagerly joining the SNL Band in the theme music by playing the piano. I always love when hosts in this era do something like this.
— Interesting use of Master Thespian outside of his own sketches.
— Master Thespian once again randomly slips into a Tommy Flanagan voice (a character that we’ve been getting a much-needed long break from). Funny bit with his lie about “fading” over to London.
STARS: ***½


GAME BREAKERS
(host) is genuinely concerned about game show contestants

 

— They would later re-use the “Game Breakers” title in a soap opera-themed gameshow sketch from the Susan Lucci episode in season 16.
— I like the camera actually following Nealon as the losing contestant as he makes his way to the exit door.
— Ha, a pre-taped sequence with Kline’s gameshow host actually walking Nealon outdoors. I love it.
— Funny brief cutaway to an impatient Nora back at the studio just looking around while Kline’s still outside with Nealon.
— Liked Bob Odenkirk’s brief walk-on.
— The tear rolling down Kline’s face when Nealon leaves is an excellent touch.
— Hilarious how as soon as Victoria enters as a new contestant, Kline immediately goes “Let’s get to know you a little bit better” and leaves the studio with her and takes her to a restaurant. I absolutely love how extensive this sketch is.
— Nora as the neglected contestant eventually interrupting the reunion at the restaurant is very good.
— Overall, probably one of my favorite gameshow sketches of all-time.
STARS: *****


PLUG AWAY
Harvey Fierstein (JOL) helps Jimmy Stewart (DAC) self-promote

— Jon’s Harvey Fierstein voice is freakin’ hilarious.
— Jon as Fierstein: “I just wanna be loved; is that so wroooong?!?”
— Good use of Dana’s Jimmy Stewart and Phil’s Jack Nicholson.
— Very funny facial reaction from Phil’s Nicholson to being asked by Fierstein “If you were gay, would you find me attractive?”
— Funny visual of Kline with his leg up on the piano while happily playing away on the keys.
— Nice part with Jon’s Fierstein suddenly losing his raspy voice while singing in a great voice.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Drive”


WEEKEND UPDATE
translation of Gorbachev speech explains why it is “Kennedy-esque”
Death Watch- George Burns (DAC) reports from outside Hirohito’s room
AWB dissects Gorbachev’s speech to the United Nations

— Loved the joke about Donald Trump (pictured in the first screencap above) being a “Bolshevik artist”.
— Dana’s George Burns impression is priceless (I especially love his way of saying “coma”), and this is a funny use of him, reporting from outside of a dying Hirohito’s hospital room.
— A. Whitney: “I saw [Gorbachev’s] speech at the United Nations, and I have to say, it was more entertaining than the presidential debates. But, I guess it helps to have a translator.”
— I liked A. Whitney’s “ich bin ein mongold” bit.
— Dennis’ Jim/Tammy Faye Bakker bit was fantastic.
— Love how it’s been a running joke  this season regarding a news story of two Alaskan gray whales popping up in random places.
STARS: ****


THE BIG CHILL
Harold (host) & Meg (VIJ) have marathon sex in alternate Big Chill ending

 

— Jan’s performance is hilarious.
— Priceless sudden turn with Kline wildly throwing Victoria onto the bed and them immediately going at it with each other.
— Very funny exaggerated bed-creaking sounds being heard from upstairs while Jan is in the kitchen doing a slowburn.
— Love how parts of the ceiling have suddenly come crashing down.
— Fantastic part with a sweaty Kline briefly coming downstairs to the kitchen just to gulp a whole bunch of Gatorade before going back upstairs.
— Strong twist ending with this suddenly turning into Fatal Attraction.
STARS: *****


EXECUTIVE ISLAND
despite being marooned, ad execs manage to continue business as usual

— I liked Nora’s line asking her co-workers to “refer to the graph on leaf number 3”.
— The whole idea of this sketch is quite clever and enjoyable.
— Pretty funny anger from Kline over the execs being more concerned over their company than about getting off the island.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Star-Spangled Banner”


RASPBERRY RESPONSE
all of (host)’s questions to wife (VIJ) are answered with a raspberry

— Uh……
— Yeah, not too sure about this.
— WTF at the random “have an affair” non-sequitur?
— Well, the sketch’s ending was somewhat charming, at least.
STARS: *½


ROY ORBISON TRIBUTE
Roy Orbison’s death is marked with rerun of “Crying” performance


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Very enjoyable episode. Aside from the Raspberry Response sketch, I felt pretty highly about everything, and there were two sketches in particular (The Big Chill and Game Breakers) that stood out as masterpieces. This season continues to be amazing.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Danny DeVito)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Melanie Griffith hosts the Christmas episode