Disclaimer – “101 Dalmatians Get Run Over By 101 Moving
Vans” is being pre-empted. This was another one of the lazy ones I didn’t care
for. C-
Backstage – As she brushes Murray’s hair, Gilda informs him
that Belushi is going to Hollywood because “everbody at NBC is moving up one”
(i.e. Brokaw moves from Today to Nightly News to replace Chancellor, Snyder
moves from Tomorrow to Today, Dan Haggerty moves from “Grizzly Adams” to
Tomorrow and Belushi replaces Grizzly Adams if the bear gives final approval
and he agrees to change his name to “Kevin Scott”). The name change stems from
Belushi being associated with comedy and satire and the bear not having a sense
of humor. Belushi storms in, frustrated with how the deal is going as Gilda and
Bill try to convince him that it’s a big opportunity for him if he goes to
Hollywood. Belushi says he won’t change wherever he goes as he says goodbye.
This was a nice opening and another decent (if not forgettable) runner for the
show. I liked the gags about the bear running the show, but Belushi could’ve
gone further with his whole “I won’t change” bit. Still, I liked him messing up
the opening, too. C+
Montage – To keep the runner going, Pardo introduces Belushi
as “Kevin Scott” as his intro is moved all the way to the end which made me
laugh. Also, Gilda gets a new introduction where she looks around giving a
Colleen-like stare and blows a gum bubble. I believe this is the final opening
and only used for this episode.
Monologue – Christopher Lee states possible apprehension at
his hosting the show, but states that he is a fan and finds the show funny
before stating some of his recent credits (which for some reason includes
Trixie from “The Honeymooners”). He also states that he hasn’t done any recent
horror movies because they haven’t made any good ones anymore (“The Creature
From The Black Studies Program” and “Frankenstein snubs The Wolfman” made me
laugh) and shows three current horror trailers to prove his point. These
include “The Island Of Lost Luggage”, “The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave”, and
Vincent Price (Aykroyd) in “Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Rogers”. The trailers were the
real highlight of this monologue. Aykroyd did a great Price and did a good job
of switching to Mr. Rogers. “The thing That Would’nt Leave” is also a classic
from this season as it has been shown in a few Halloween compilations. I
especially liked Curtins’ screams and Murrays’ exasperation at Belushis’ banal,
imposing statements. Otherwise, this monologue seemed too derivative of Tony
Perkins’ monologue from the first season and the trope of an actor host naming
two or three of their real credits before naming a ridiculous one for laughs
feels like it would be beaten to death in later years. B-
Speech Therapy – Henry Higgins (Lee) and Colonel Pickering
(Aykroyd) are discussing the wretchedness of Eliza Doolittle, when Baba Wawa
(Wadner) suddenly enters and the marvel at her brutal murder of the English
language as Higgins agrees to take her case. He spends many long hours with
Baba only to give up after a while and adopt her speech patterns. This was a
clever insertion of Baba Wawa in a parody of “My Fair Lady” and it sort of
reminded me of the sketches they would later do with characters like “Pat” and
“The Richmeister” in the early ‘90s. I also liked all the set ups to songs that
weren’t performed at all and the line “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Lisp”. B+
Musical Guest Performance – I just thought it was funny how
Lee introduced “No Place To Go” saying “and now ladies and gentlemen, I would
like you to meet…LOAF!”
Weekend Update w/ Curtin and Aykroyd – Best Jokes: David
Brenner, Aqua Velveeta, Cosby, Sills, Cash and Chung, Beatlemaniamanaia, Sesame
Street strike. As she points out, Curtin is wearing a new lavender suit.
Belushi delivers a commentary on the recent super tanker oil spill and the
design and navigation flaws that led to this disaster. He uses a model tanker
which manages to spill oil everywhere. This was very funny and Aykroyd and
Belushi played very well off each other. I also liked how he introduced Belushi
as “Kevin Scott” but could only get his attention by calling him “John.” Bill
Murray delivers his first annual Oscar predictions. He predicts Diane Keaton
and Richard Burton for Best Actor/Actress and “Goodbye Girl” for Best Picture
because it’s the only one he’s seen. He was 0 for 3 that year. Sorry, Billy.
Better luck next year, huh? Now get out of here, you knucklehead…and I mean it!
Anyway, it was nice to see Murray just being himself and it’s easy to see why
his Oscar predictions would become another classic bit year later. Curtin and
Aykroyd end by introducing a brand new feature where they debate the merits of
point/counterpoint debates on the news. Jane takes the anti-side on the grounds
that Dan will disagree with her no matter what. Dan takes the pro side on the
grounds that Jane is always on the wrong side of every issue. This was possibly
the strongest Update of the entire season. Of course, the “ignorant slut” line
is a well-delivered classic as is Aykroyd asking Jane who she slept with to get
the job. Update continues to improve towards the end of the season and stays at
this level of quality in the weeks to come. A-
Mr. Death – A parent (Curtin) is consoling her child
(Newman) after the death of her dog just before bed time. Suddenly, Death (Lee)
appears in her room to apologize as it was the dog’s time and Death explains
how what he does isn’t a sin and is a natural process and gripes about his job.
This sketch was nice for its’ existentialist value and Lee was well suited for
the role, but otherwise it was a bit light on laughs and not something we
haven’t seen before from Newman. C+
Suggestions For Sadat – Anwar Sadat (Morris) makes a
Lebron-esque plea to the audience for mail in suggestions of what to do next
given his mishandling of the Egypt/Israel situation. This sketch didn’t age
very well and just seemed like quick filler. C-
Weis Film: Cold As Ice – Lee says this film “isn’t for the
squeamish”. It is merely a hodgepodge of an unnamed woman committing extreme
acts of bloody violence on Stacy Keach to the titular Foreigner tune. The sheer
cartoonish absurdity of this made it more entertaining than the vast majority
of Weis’ SNL output. B-
Del Stator’s Rabbit Hut – Restaurant owner Del Stator
(Aykroyd) stars in this advertisement for an eatery where patrons (Murray,
Curtin) can pick out which rabbits they want broiled. The idea of an animal
nobody would normally eat being served in a KFC-like establishment is trite and
uninspired at best. This felt pretty derivative, and I’m starting to get sick
of using that word so much in these reviews. C-
Vampire Nixon – Lee, Carl (Belushi) and Maureen Dean
(Curtin) are hunting “Tricky Dick” Nixon (Aykroyd) Van Helsing-style just
before he sends his memoirs off to the publisher. They use a mirror and an
Eisenhower photo to keep him at bay as they drive a stake through his
manuscript. They think they killed him, but he wakes up and begins writing his
memoirs again. This was pretty creative and well-acted. It was nice to see the
sort of sharp political satire that made SNL such a hip and radical show when
it first premiered. B-
Guest Performance - Richard Belzer does stand up on wedding
and lounge singers and does his impressions of one of them doing a Rolling
Stones Medley as well as Mick Jagger himself and an 86 year old Bob Dylan in
concert as a stereotypical old Jewish guy. This was pretty entertaining. Belzer
seems like a naturally funny guy with a decent crooning voice. I also liked his
impression of Michealangelo singing “Ceilings”. C+
Mr. Bill’s Circus – Mr. Bill and Mr. Hands (Walter Williams)
along with Spot put on a circus. Sluggo comes along and feeds Spot “special dog
food” that turns out to be poison. Mr. Hands ties balloons to his arm that
severs it. Sluggo comes back as ringmaster and maims Bill with a bowling pin
and highwire net before shooting him out of cannon. The voice does kind of
indicate a primitive, early underdeveloped version of the character, but it’s
always nice seeing Mr. Bill and Spot getting comically dismembered. B+
Well, this was a rather underrated strong show from this
season as it had solid acting and introduced a couple of future classic bits to
the SNL audience. Next episode is Michael Palin with Eugene Record. See you
then!
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