Tag: The Grateful Dead

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April 5, 1980 – Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss / The Grateful Dead (S5 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


DISCLAIMER
Police Boat will not be seen tonight


COLD OPENING
Carter Held Hostage- Frank Reynolds (HAS) covers presidential agoraphobia

   

— Hearing Harry’s Tom Snyder voice-over talking during a picture montage of President Carter really makes one yearn for Dan Aykroyd’s presence this season.
— “Carter Held Hostage”. A very funny concept. Though why does this make me think of the upcoming 80-81 season? Maybe I’m thinking of the “America Not Held Hostage Anymore” cold opening I remember seeing from that season.
— Oh, it turns out Harry’s not playing Tom Snyder; he’s Frank Reynolds. I sure don’t see any difference with the voice, though. As much as I enjoy Harry Shearer, quite a number of his celebrity impressions this season are vocally interchangeable with one another.
— Boy, the audience is pretty quiet during this sketch.
— It almost seemed like Paula Prentiss forgot one of her lines at one point. Maybe that was just an odd character choice.
— A passing reference to President Carter’s infamous rabbit attack.
— I believe this is Harry’s very first LFNY.
— Overall, despite the promising concept, this ended up being not too great and the interview portions dragged.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
Paula downplays Richard’s irritation over being cut from the cold opening

— Richard’s increasing bitterness over being cut from the cold opening is pretty funny.
— Decent ending with Richard finding out his Barry Manilow impression was cut as well.
STARS: ***


JESUS CRUSH
little girls (GIR) & (LAN) fantasize about their dream guy Jesus

   

— I liked Gilda’s line about Jesus not being a snob because he hangs out with lepers.
— Did I hear right? Gilda’s character is named Debbie Nimrod????
— Gilda telling Laraine “You can have Lazarus” was great.
— Cute sketch so far.
— Gilda’s character mentions Bill Murray’s name as one of the many celebrities she and Jesus are going to the roller disco with.
— The ending with Paula was VERY awkward. What was up with that? Something seemed to go wrong. Also, why did it sound like she spoke with an accent at times?
— Overall, despite the weak ending, this was a very good sketch. Felt like something they would’ve done in the first two seasons.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Alabama Getaway”


POST-COITAL TORTURE
married (Richard) experiences paranoid guilt after infidelity with (LAN)

   

— Two back-to-back bedroom sketches co-starring Laraine tonight.
— Richard’s breakdown, repeating “Why am I here?” while banging his head against the door, is very funny.
— Loved Richard’s silent long scream when someone knocks on the door.
— The whole part with Laraine fooling Richard into thinking his wife has come over is absolutely great. Garrett confused reaction also added to the humor.
— Garrett’s comments are funny.
— Good ending.
— Overall, another solid slice-of-life sketch tonight.
STARS: ****


WEEKEND UPDATE
Big Vic Ricker reports on women’s golf & the probable baseball strike
ALF asks viewers to send him their receipts so he can avoid income taxes
BIM sings “Happy Birthday” to the Three Mile Island accident

     

— The return of Big Vic Ricker. Good to see Harry get a recurring character.
— Liked the part with Harry’s “Let’s see that one more time” (*no clip plays*) “Okay, let’s don’t.”
— Another follow-up to the Al Franken Decade storyline.
— Hmm, Al talking about how impressive the amount of money he makes is. Wouldn’t he later do an Update commentary with that same premise, in the Jeff Daniels episode from 1991?
— Okay, Al’s commentary ended up going in a different direction, but overall, it was completely forgettable. His Update bits haven’t been doing too well lately.
— The bit between Bill and Jane about how much money Jane is worth had some pretty funny lines from Bill, and for historical purposes, I liked hearing him make a reference to NBC’s infamous then-current disastrous variety show “Pink Lady and Jeff”.
— Bill brings back his usual smarmy singing of “Happy Birthday”, this time to the Three Mile Island incident. This was worth it just for the visual of a birthday cake with a nuclear meltdown birthday candle.
— During her sign-off, Jane says “Feel better, Larry”. Who was that referring to?
STARS: ***


ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
Iris de Flaminio (JAC), Bobbi Farber, Christy Christina get assertive

  

— The debut of Jane’s Iris De Flaminio character. This is a well-known character from this season, and I’m surprised to see Jane didn’t start playing her until the homestretch of the season. It’s rare for a cast member to debut one of their most popular characters right before they leave the show. The only other example that comes to mind is Vanessa Bayer’s gibberish-spouting weather lady.
— Hmm, Jane’s doing the same voice she used as a Dolly Parton impersonator in the preceding episode’s David Susskind Show sketch.
— Always nice to see Gilda’s Bobbi Farber.
— Jane is great in this.
— Laraine explaining that her compliment to herself in the mirror was “I want to be inside you” was very funny.
— Where have I heard Laraine do that high-pitched laugh before?
— Once again tonight, Paula’s timing and delivery is coming off a little awkward at times.
— Oh, now I think I know why Laraine’s character and laugh seems so familiar. Is this her character from the E. Buzz Miller sketches?
— Strange ending with Paula and Laraine.
— Overall, a very enjoyable ensemble sketch for the female cast members, with each of them doing solid character work.
STARS: ****


THE FRANKEN AND DAVIS SHOW
Khomeini the Magnificent (ALF) does Iranian version of Carnac bit

 

— Oh, they’re still doing the Franken and Davis Show? I had assumed they retired it this season.
— Funny concept with Al playing Ayatollah as Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent.
— The “Day-O” joke about the hostages in Iran was hilarious.
— Fun sketch so far.
— Al even managed to get laughs out of his line flub about a prayer rug.
— Tom’s good at doing the Ed McMahon laughing.
— The Shah/cat food joke was another hilarious one.
STARS: ***½


JOEY BISHOP FANS
Joey Bishop fans (BIM) & (GIR) find common ground with neighbors (hosts)

   

— The performers are doing a good job with the long, tense, stretched-out silences.
— A good laugh from Richard’s excitement when Joey Bishop first got mentioned.
— So much energy in this.
— Great sudden turn with Bill and Gilda’s mood turning sour when they disagree with Richard and Paula’s claim that Joey’s late show is better than his early show.
— Loved Bill’s angry yelling of “What people!!!” after slamming the door.
— Funny ending with Bill getting overemotional and asking for his pills, and relating that to Joey Bishop.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Saint of Circumstances”


MR. BILL STRIKES BACK
by Walter Williams- trip to the police backfires

     

— Wow, it’s actually been a good while since this character last appeared.
— “Sgt. O’Hanahan”. Heh, I see where going; O’Hanahan’s going to turn out to be Mr. Hands in disguise.
— Overall, not much to say, but this was pretty funny.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— This was easily the best episode from the second half of the season so far. While the prior episodes from this half of the season have been either disappointing or just average, tonight’s episode was very solid, with a lot of well-written and well-performed sketches. Aside from the cold opening, there weren’t any sketches that fell flat for me; pretty much everything in tonight’s show worked. I also like how we got several slice-of-life pieces, which has become more of a rarity at this late stage in the original SNL era; it made this feel more like an episode from the first three seasons.
— If there was any downside to this episode, it’s that I felt Paula Prentiss was kind of a weak co-host. She seemed to falter a bit in the sketches where she wasn’t working with Richard Benjamin. She did fine whenever she was alongside him, though.


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Paul Simon and James Taylor):
— a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Burt Reynolds

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November 11, 1978 – Buck Henry / The Grateful Dead (S4 E5)

Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars


COLD OPENING
during concession speech, candidate (BIM) lists his campaign missteps

 

— I like the off-camera supporters always yelling “No!”
— Good line from Bill about a big mistake in his campaign being his decision to make “Let’s raise property taxes sky-high” the theme.
— Overall, a decent opening.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
on-screen crawl & scenes from Star Wars divert from host’s boringness

       

— Yet another “screen crawl monologue” with Buck Henry.
— I particularly like the line about how the people at SNL consider a show with Buck to be “midway between a show and a week off.”
— Seemed to be some words missing from the part of the crawl that strangely said “Of course, next week the pressure starts all Carrie Fisher hosts.”
— Funny part with them showing Star Wars clips while Buck continues droning on.
— Yet another big laugh from the show’s idea to do “Star Whores” for the following week’s Carrie Fisher episode.
— Overall, the funniest of the three(?) Buck Henry “screen crawl monologues” I’ve covered so far.
STARS: ****


ROVCO CHINCH RANCH
(DAA) plugs a do-it-yourself fur coat kit

   

— I like this usual absurd Aykroyd-starring commercial concept.
— The fur-remover part of the machine is really funny.
STARS: ***½


SAMURAI OPTOMETRIST
Futaba makes a new pair of glasses for Mr. Dantley

   

— As usual, I can already tell from the set when Buck makes his entrance that this will be a Samurai sketch.
— Kinda wary about how this will turn out, considering how underwhelmed I was with the last Samurai sketch they did with Buck.
— Futaba’s mini-sword (or was it a big knife?) having an eye flashlight on the bottom that he looks into Buck’s eyes with was a funny touch.
— Eh, overall, despite some chuckleworthy parts, this was unfortunately another fairly tepid installment, much like the last one. It’s sadly obvious these Samurai sketches are past their prime at this point. They clearly should’ve let these sketches retire with grace after the epic “Samurai Night Fever” installment.
— Knowing that this is John’s final season, I have to wonder if this might have ended up being the very last Samurai sketch, unless they do one in the Buck-hosted season finale (John’s last show).
STARS: **½


UNCLE ROY
“Uncle” Roy (host) is naughty while babysitting Terri (LAN) & Tracy (GIR)

     

— When talking about going to see the movie Foul Play, I like Jane’s line “I’m dying to see that new young comedian that falls down”, a tongue-in-cheek reference to a certain former Not Ready For Prime-Time Player who co-stars in that movie.
— I can tell by the way they’re setting up the appearance of Jane’s friend Roy that this will be the debut of a certain infamous Buck Henry character: Uncle Roy! I’m a bit surprised to learn here that he’s just a friend of Jane’s and is not actually an uncle to the girls.
— Classic part with Uncle Roy eagerly snapping plenty of pictures of the girls’ exposed underwear when they have their nightgowns pulled over their heads.
— Haha at the part with him having the girls throw him all their dirty laundry.
— Overall, funny and incredibly daring, and Buck was the perfect host to pull off such an undesirable role. Hard to believe there was once a time long ago when SNL could get away with this type of humor.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


WEEKEND UPDATE
fat Elizabeth Taylor (JOB) chokes on chicken during an interview with BIM
JAC & DAA do a Point-Counterpoint about Iran’s Shah Pahlevi

      

— Ha, it’s the classic Belushi-as-Elizabeth-Taylor “Celebrity Corner” interview that’s often been shown in various SNL/John Belushi highlight reels.
— John slobbishly eating chicken during the whole interview is a great touch.
— LOL at the extended choking part.
— Overall, that whole interview segment definitely lived up to its reputation as a classic John Belushi performance.
— Bill’s Jimmy Hoffa thumb-in-a-box thing was just weird. At least he seemed to be aware of dumb the bit was, judging from him trying to hide his smirk from the camera afterwards.
— Not too crazy about some of the Update jokes so far.
— A great “one in the hand is worth two in the bush” punchline to the news story about a contraceptive that’s implanted in the hand.
— Another sudden appearance from “Weekend Update Station Manager” Dan Aykroyd, again sitting in Bill’s place at the desk. I guess another Point/Counterpoint is coming.
— Dan: “Jane, you poor misguided scrag.”
— Tonight’s Point/Counterpoint wasn’t as funny as usual. Disappointing. I feel like they’ve been relying a bit too much on this segment lately.
— Overall, a hit-and-miss Update.
STARS: **½


GREAT PERFORMANCES
The Death Of Rasputin (JOB) is hard to bring about

     

— Oh my god at John’s look. Hilarious!
— Hmm, John falling through a breakaway table. Somewhere on the night this originally aired, I bet a young Chris Farley was watching and taking notes.
— Speaking of Farley, the premise of this sketch with Belushi repeatedly getting back up every time the others “kill” him reminds me of a Farley sketch that I’ve always hated: a mystery dinner theater sketch from the infamous season 20 where Farley was a hammy actor who refused to die during a death scene in a play.
— Funny fake-out where the other actors finally stop beating John with tools repeatedly, take a brief breather, then suddenly continue beating John with tools repeatedly.
— LOL at the dynamite part. This is getting funnier and funnier.
— Overall, I got some good enjoyment out of this sketch. It’s kinda hard to say why this one worked for me while the later Farley sketch didn’t. Better writing & acting, I suppose.
STARS: ***½


NICK SANDS
Nick “Sands” entertains patrons in a bar outside of Las Vegas

    

— Bill’s Nick the Lounger Singer character finally receives recognition applause from the audience.
— Haha, I absolutely love the part with Bill singing the Shaft theme song.
— Is that one of the Grateful Dead members at the table with John?
— Wait, how is a blonde wig-wearing Laraine at the table with Buck and Gilda when I thought I saw her earlier in the sketch in a dark wig sitting at the bar. (first screencap above) I guess that woman at the bar is someone else. Maybe SNL writer Anne Beatts? After all, there have been sketches in the past where I initially mistook Beatts for Laraine.
— Overall, a pretty solid Nick the Lounger Singer, but not one of the best. Still enjoyable.
STARS: ***½


MORE FLU TO WORRY ABOUT
(host) warns of the inconsiderate Australian flu

— A variation of the “More Insects to Worry About” sketches. Not too excited about seeing this back, after the weak installment they did in Buck’s last episode.
— The cheesy Johnny Carson/“ideal host” bit was pretty funny.
— Overall, another underwhelming edition of this sketch. I hope this sketch hasn’t become a new staple in Buck’s episodes.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE


ST. MICKEY’S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
St. Mickey’s Knights of Columbus welcomes speaker Chico Escuela (GAM)

   

— During John’s introductions of each club member at the table with him, he calls Garrett’s character Chico Escuela. I had been wondering when that character was gonna make his debut. Interesting how he’s debuting as a small part of a group sketch before later being “spun-off” into his own Weekend Update desk pieces, which is the same way Roseanne Rosannadanna made her debut.
— Funny part with Garrett’s speech consisting only of the now-famous “Baseball been berry, berry good to me” line, much to the other club members’ confusion.
— Eh, I wasn’t too crazy about this sketch overall. I found myself a little bored during parts of it. I know they do at least one more installment of this sketch a little later this season with Elliott Gould, as I remember seeing that one in an old SNL Christmas compilation special years ago. Unfortunately, I recall finding that installment somewhat dull as well, and I remember wondering why they would put it in a compilation special.   Maybe it’s just me who doesn’t care much for these sketches.
STARS: **½


GOODNIGHTS

 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A decent Buck Henry episode, and a step up from the underwhelming season finale he hosted months earlier. That being said, tonight was still not quite up to the high standards of a typical Buck Henry episode, and the last two sketches ended the show on a disappointing note. As a whole, though, tonight’s episode was still okay.


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Carrie Fisher / The Blues Brothers