Tag: Tina Turner

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February 22, 1997 – Alec Baldwin / Tina Turner (S22 E14)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
Robert DeNiro (host) isn’t amused

— I’m sure this won’t quite live up to the outstanding first Letterman sketch from earlier this season, but it’s still nice to see this become recurring.
— Once again, Norm’s Letterman impression is killer.
— Tonight’s new Letterman catchphrase, “Ehhhh, you enjoying your shrimp?”, doesn’t hold a candle to the previous Letterman sketch’s classic catchphrase, “Uhhhhh, y-ya got any gum?”.
— Good to see the return of Alec’s spot-on and funny Robert DeNiro impression from the last time he hosted.
— Pretty weak Top 10 list from Alec’s DeNiro so far.
— Why did the Top 10 list end at #5? Shouldn’t Alec’s DeNiro have waited until the #1 entry of the list to say “Live from New York”, instead of saying it as the fifth entry?
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host goes backstage to demonstrate how SNL is a wholesome, family show

— I love the banjo music randomly playing when Alec is going on about how what makes SNL important is the people who put the show together.
— Fun monologue with Alec going all around the studio to show the crew.
— A rare Don Pardo appearance! We also get a mention that it’s Don’s birthday.
— I like Alec’s “Don is very old” aside to the camera after the only thing Don Pardo responds to Alec’s questions with is “It’s Saturday Night Live!”
— Funny scene with Molly teaching Darrell how to read. The kiddie voice that Darrell is using sounds very similar to the voice he would later use for Jerry Mathers in the Pulp Fiction Screen Tests sketch in the following season.
— Another backstage sketch with Tim hugging Lorne, a charming running gag this season.
— A good laugh from the “Irish Need Not Apply” sign.
— Interesting seeing Alec getting dressed into a wig and costume while still speaking to the camera.
— After the brief bit with Tracy randomly acting like an army general, I love Alec telling the camera in a deadpan manner “I have no idea who that man is.”
— Alec is stumbly with some of his line deliveries here (and he literally stumbled off the home base stage by accident when walking off of it), but I’ll cut him some slack, as it must not be easy to navigate through such a busy monologue where he has to go all around the studio while talking to the camera the whole time.
— The sketch that Alec was shown getting dressed for turns out to be yet another Roxbury Guys sketch, a recurring sketch that I’m afraid my fair tolerance for may have slowly begun waning in the last one with Marin Short. Though it’s at least pretty fun how this monologue transitioned into the sketch. I guess I’ll review the Roxbury Guys sketch as a separate segment below.
STARS: ****½


THE ROXBURY GUYS
(host) is more successful with women than are his fellow Roxbury Guys

— We at least get a change of pace for these Roxbury Guys sketches, with Alec’s Roxbury Guy easily getting chicks. It’s still not doing much to stop my gradual slowburn towards this recurring sketch as a whole, though.
STARS: **½


DRESSING ROOM
musical guest’s advice brings Mary Katherine Gallagher out of her shell

— Cheri is dead-on as an overemotional, hysterical, adolescent fangirl.
— A nice premise with Mary Katherine Gallagher meeting Tina Turner.
— Tina: “I want you to feel deep inside yourself.” Mary Katherine Gallagher: “My grandmother says I’m not supposed to do that.”
— I love MKG getting really into her singing of “Private Dancer”, imitating Tina’s voice.
STARS: ***½


THE QUIET STORM
while on-air, Chris Garnett has turf war with station newscaster (host)

— I love the running gag with the increasingly urban-sounding black names Tim reads off during a report (e.g. Shaquanda, Tonjaniqua, etc.).
— Some laughs from Tim constantly interrupting Alec’s report with raunchy, smooth-voiced announcements.
— I love Tim’s character telling Alec, in his typical smooth R&B radio announcer voice, “If you don’t like it, you can kiss my black ass.”
— There’s something I find humorous about the fact that SNL made a recurring role out of Tracy’s silent, minor character in these Quiet Storm sketches, who’s only shown happily slow-dancing with his woman.
STARS: ***½


TV FUNHOUSE
“Fun With Real Audio” by RBS- Tom Snyder stalks Dolly Parton

— I love how Tom Snyder and Dolly Parton’s conversation is heard casually continuing even as Snyder is shown gradually becoming a creepy stalker towards Dolly through a passage of time.
— Funny cutaway to an underwear-clad Snyder sitting in a Dolly Parton shrine. Why is his foot in what appears to be a tissue box? (as seen in the second-to-last above screencap for this cartoon) Or do I not wanna know?
— I’ve been loving these fast-moving, gag-filled Fun With Real Audio cartoons of Smigel’s.
STARS: ****


THE GOSSIP SHOW
Julie Brown (CHO) publicizes co-workers’ dirty laundry

— Not sure this will work as a recurring sketch.
— They’re even having Alec play the same columnist (Rex Reed) that Phil Hartman played in the last installment of this sketch, and Alec is being given the same type of harsh dialogue towards celebrities.
— Good gag with Cheri’s audio getting cut off while she’s detailing a particularly dirty secret about the audio guy in her crew.
— This overall sketch isn’t working quite as well as the “Julie Brown gives out secretive nuclear arms info” premise from the first installment of this sketch earlier this season (which I now feel I underrated a bit in my review).
STARS: ***


WEEKEND UPDATE
Howard Stern [real] gives his opinion of SNL & shows Private Parts clip

— Another Update where Norm’s voice sounds unusually hoarse. I’ve noticed that it seems to happen every time he has played David Letterman earlier in the night. Is doing the Letterman voice a strain on Norm’s voice or something?
— A big guest appearance from Howard Stern.
— Interesting that Stern’s allowed to bluntly criticize SNL during this commentary, and declare Norm the only good thing about the show (a comment that receives applause from the audience).
— I’m getting a big laugh from Stern detailing his dark and tasteless rejected sketch about Elizabeth Taylor’s tumor.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In Your Wildest Dreams”


LONG ISLAND GIRLS
Long Island phone sex operators are aroused by callers, not vice versa

— The third and final edition of this era’s series of accent-based phone sex line sketches.
— A good laugh from Cheri’s cramps bit.
— I feel the New York accents premise kinda pales in comparison to the funnier Australian and Michigan accents premises of the previous iterations of this sketch, but it’s still providing laughs.
— Ha, it figures that real-life New Yorker Colin Quinn would be cast in this particular sketch.
STARS: ***


SENTIMENTAL YARD SALE
at yard sale, couple (host) & (MOS) unloads sentimental items for pennies

— Hmm, I have no memory of this sketch from my previous viewings of this episode.
— A laugh from Alec still offering the wedding ring to Jim and Ana for a cheap price, after going on about the huge sentimental value it holds to him.
— This premise kinda feels like the reverse of the Sentimental Value Pawn Shop sketch that Phil Hartman did in the late 80s.
— Okay, this sketch is getting too repetitive and one-note, though it’s being very well-acted by Alec.
STARS: **½


WONG & OWENS, EX-PORN STARS
Don & Reggie discover that their new boss (host) was also a porn star

— Predictably, this sketch is taking the same turns that the first installment of this sketch from earlier this season did. It’s not working as well for me in a second sketch.
— We at least get a new turn with Alec also turning out be a former 1970s porn star. That’s still not making this sketch all that great, though.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Proud Mary”


BILL BRASKY’S FUNERAL
the drunk businessmen eulogize Bill Brasky at his funeral

— This sketch opens on a shot of the “McKay Funeral Home”, a self-reference from a certain SNL writer who pens these Bill Brasky sketches.
— Tonight’s heavy usage of recurring sketches continues. However, this is one sketch that I am always ecstatic to see.
— Feels a bit empty seeing this sketch without David Koechner, after I’ve gotten used to seeing him in these Bill Brasky sketches when recently reviewing the previous installments.
— A funeral is a very interesting out-of-the-ordinary setting for a Bill Brasky sketch.
— One line about Brasky that I particularly like: “He had dandruff the size of mice!”
— A big laugh from Alec’s random aside “I’m a convicted sex offender!”
— Another particularly great line about Brasky, as told by all three of the guys: “He hated Mexicans…” “…and he was half-Mexican…” “…and he hated irony.”
— Great ending with Brasky’s drink-holding hand bursting through his coffin, demanding a refill of his drink.
STARS: *****


RAIN
the miniseries features an as yet undramatized natural disaster

— At first, I thought this was a real NBC commercial that was left in the copy I’m reviewing of the live version of this episode, until I recognized Will. The NBC promo logo on the corner of the screen is part of what fooled me.
— A funny rain reveal, after such an overdramatic set-up to what the panic is about.
— A well-done and very funny parody of then-contemporary disaster movies.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

— Surprisingly, these goodnights air literally right after the Rain fake ad ends, with no commercial break in between. A huge rarity for SNL to go from the final sketch to the goodnights without cutting to commercial.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I’m not too crazy about this episode as a whole. Actually, there were some strong and solid things, but I dunno, something about the overall show had a bit of a below-par feel for an Alec Baldwin-hosted episode. It was also awfully heavy on recurring sketches (Sentimental Yard Sale was literally the ONLY non-recurring sketch all night), which itself isn’t too big of a problem with me, as I’ve gotten used to season 22’s heavy reliance on recurring sketches, but the problem I have is that a lot of tonight’s installments of said recurring sketches were a step down from preceding installments (including the Letterman cold opening, even though it still worked).


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chevy Chase)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Sting

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February 2, 1985 – Alex Karras / Tina Turner (S10 E12)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING
Prince (BIC) via Hulk Hogan (JIB)- “replace host with musical guest”

— For the first time since season 8, we get a continuation of the running joke of Gary Kroeger’s sketches always getting cut.
— I usually always enjoy backstage cold openings in this era, though they don’t seem to appear much anymore at this late stage in the Ebersol years.
— Haha, when “Prince” shows up, Larry David is seen as the poor sap who Jim-as-Hulk-Hogan roughly throws out of the way.
— Jim Belushi as Hulk Hogan seems like perfect casting on paper, though he’s not really pulling off the voice, instead just going for a generic gruff voice.
— Yet another blackface role for Billy Crystal, though I can’t help but crack up at the visual of him as Prince. Also, it would become quite common for non-black SNL performers to be cast as Prince; he would later be played by Chris Kattan and, most famously, Fred Armisen.
— I loved Jim’s angry “Who the hell’s that?!?” when being told Alex Karras is tonight’s host.
— The running gag of Prince whispering his statements into Hulk Hogan’s ear so Hogan can relay them aloud is something that would later go on to become a regular part of Fred Armisen’s Prince sketches.
— Billy’s actually pretty funny as Prince, especially the intense, long stare he gave the camera as he walked away after making out with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
— The football game footage of Alex Karras features the voice of Billy himself doing the Howard Cosell impression we heard him do in the season premiere.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— He makes a passing joke about his wife calling him “Dergabil” (not sure how to spell it). I didn’t get that joke at all, though the name is certainly funny-sounding.
— Wow, he sure seems to giggle at himself a lot.
— Nothing else to say about his monologue, overall. Much like Roy Scheider’s monologue in the last episode, it was short, straightforward, and unnoteworthy.
STARS: **


MISS MALONE
Ed Grimley’s neighbor Miss Malone (musical guest) comes to borrow oranges

— Grimley’s triangle dancing is freakin’ hilarious!
— Very funny visual of his fridge overflowing with onions.
— Good interaction between him and Tina Turner.
— The dummy of Tina Turner flying into the apartment from the open window gave me a good laugh.
— Solid ending with Tina joining Grimley in his triangle dance. She surprisingly looks right at home doing that dance.
— Overall, a strong and memorable installment of this recurring sketch.
STARS: ****


TIME
Time magazine is proud of its shoddy journalism

— Funny satire of Time Magazine so far.
— Clever ending.
STARS: ***


A COUPLE OF WHITE GUYS
A Couple Of White Guys (host) & (JIB) deliver their upper-class white rap

— Interesting the way this was introduced by Pamela as herself, as if the group we’re about to see is an actual musical act that’s guesting on SNL.
— The return of Jim’s rapping routine, though at least this is a different outing for it.
— I like that Alex is joining him this time.
— Their dancing is actually making me laugh.
— Love the part where this suddenly turns into a brief parody of Grandmaster Flash’s The Message.
— There are some pretty good laughs from Jim and Alex’s lyrics proclaiming their whiteness, and this has a really infectious goofy charm that I can’t help but like.
STARS: ***½


KELLY COLA
abusive Kelly Cola founder (host) finds tasty ingredient- (BIC)’s sweat

— Mary’s overly basic explanation of sales was pretty funny.
— I liked Gary’s pathetic slogan “It’s a cola AND an aluminum can!”
— What a visual of Billy’s profusely-sweating wig, a gag that would go on to be used several more times on SNL throughout the decades.
— Hmm, the name of Billy’s character is revealed to be Dale Butterworth. Ah, it’s our Andy Breckman-written sketch of the night.
— Funny part with Billy implying he killed 27 men at an Alka Selzer factory (accidentally?) and then doesn’t even go into detail of how it happened.
— Ha, Billy drinking his own sweat in a cup is  pretty insane.
— Billy seems to be having a hard time keeping a straight face throughout this sketch.
— Good sketch overall.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What’s Love Got To Do With It”


POWER FROM GIVING
the book helped federal employee (JIB) find Ed Meese

— Well, THIS is certainly relying on very topical humor that’s completely lost on me as a viewer from 34 years later.
— Overall, this was way too topical for its own good. Not sure what the joke here was supposed to be, but whatever news story this was referencing must’ve been something that ended up quickly becoming lost to time.
STARS: *½


NEW YORK ON FIVE DOLLARS A DAY
Bernhard Goetz (RIH) shows you how

— Nice to see the return of Rich’s Bernard Goetz impression, and now starring in his own sketch. Now THIS is a topical bit that I actually get, as the Subway Vigilante incident had enough infamy to last through the decades.
— His favorite movie scenes being famous insane violent scenes is an obvious but pretty funny joke.
— Of the two tough-looking black guys that show up, the one to Rich’s right is actor Damon Evans, best known as the second Lionel from The Jeffersons. Feels weird seeing him on SNL. How’d he go from a co-starring role in a hit sitcom to a silent extra in an SNL sketch?
STARS: ***


FRITZ’S BAIT AND TACKLE
back in Minnesota, Walter Mondale’s (GAK) sobbing attracts moose

— A random return of Gary’s Walter Mondale, months after his election loss.
— Something about Julia’s face looks different in this.
— I liked Gary’s goofy, gleeful, tongue-sticking-out smile after being told “You would’ve made a good president”.
— Pretty funny background animal sounds during Gary’s weird crying.
— Alex, Billy, and Christopher are making me laugh as the goofy giggling rednecks.
— Strange ending. Felt like there should’ve been more to this.
STARS: ***


SATURDAY NIGHT NEWS
Robert Latta (RIH) wanders onto the set & shows photos of his other trips
nervous weasel Nathan Thurm defends the Tobacco Growers of America
JIB’s restaurant review betrays his affinity for air horn blasts

— Nice opening callback to the Kelly Cola sketch, by having tonight’s Saturday Night News be sponsored by Kelly Cola’s “Brow Brew”.
— Ha, a joke of Christopher’s gets randomly interrupted by a walk-on from Rich as the strange Robert Latta.
— Also, funny in hindsight how Christopher’s interrupted joke was about “real estate mogul” Donald Trump.
— I like the doctored photos of Rich as Latta wandering into various big events.
— Another return of Martin’s Nathan Thurm.
— Tonight’s Nathan Thurm commentary is pretty much washing right over me. Hate to say it, but Thurm has been suffering diminishing returns every time they bring him back. From my past viewings of this season, I had remembered Nathan Thurm always being a hilarious character, but now that I’m reviewing this season, I’m coming to the realization that he was only really funny in his first appearance in that pre-taped 60 Minutes piece. None of his subsequent appearances have measured up; they’re basically just him repeating the same lines he did in his first appearance.
— What’s with the Captain Kangaroo jacket on Jim?
— Ha, just now, he actually mentioned how his jacket makes him look like Captain Kangaroo.
— I got a laugh from Jim saying he doesn’t want to hear a male gay couple’s sexual conversation while he’s eating a bratwurst.
— The return of Jim’s airhorn, after using it in his Saturday Night News commentary from the last episode.
— Some funny lines during Jim’s loud outburst.
— Jim’s commentary had kind of had a weak payoff.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Better Be Good To Me”


TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS
on Vince McMahon’s (RIH) show, Captain Lou Albano (host) talks politics

— Good casting of Rich as a young Vince McMahon, as he actually does facially resemble McMahon here.
— Alex’s walk-on as Captain Lou Albano is quite funny, complete with rubber bands.
— Boy, this sketch is weird so far.
— I’m surprised to find out from this sketch that “midget” was considered an un-PC term even back then in the 80s. Thought that wasn’t until more recent years.
— Man, this sketch is not working so far, and the execution is coming off awkward.
— Billy once again breaks character and laughs during a sketch tonight.
— I do like the breaking-the-fourth-wall right now, with Alex chasing Billy off the set and around SNL’s audience, knocking over the cue card guy in the process.
— Pamela appearing out of nowhere as a ranting and raving Cyndi Lauper. I think this is Pamela’s first actual sketch appearance of the whole night, by the way (her intro to Jim and Alex’s rap performance from earlier tonight doesn’t count).
— Overall, aside from the chase sequence, this sketch did nothing for me, and the whole thing was kind of a mess.
STARS: *½


NEW AUCTIONEER
an auctioneer (CHG) uses unorthodox methods to sell antiques

— Haha, wow at Christopher suddenly throwing the expensive finger bowl behind him, breaking it against the wall when nobody bids for it.
— For some reason, the sudden cutaway to Gary and Mary as rich snobs silently observing Christopher is cracking me up.
— I love how the madness of this is escalating, with Christopher now presenting angora kittens in a sealed box containing one minute of air, much to the anger of the bidders (Julia calls Christopher the Anti-Christ).
— LOL at where this is now going, with Christopher bringing out a silver bullet.
— Good dark ending.
— An overall strong, quintessential Christopher Guest sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Private Dancer”


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— An okay episode, though felt only average for this season’s standards. There were a few strong pieces (Ed Grimley, New Auctioneer), but there were also a few things I found pretty awful as well (Tuesday Night Titans, Power From Giving).


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


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW:
Harry Anderson