Classic SNL Review: April 11, 1987: John Lithgow / Anita Baker (S12E16)

/

RATINGS SYSTEM:
***** - Classic
**** - Great
*** - Good/Average
** - Meh
* - Awful

OPENING: U.S. EMBASSY

  • Gullible Marines (Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon) bring honey traps (Jan Hooks and Nora Dunn) with them to the U.S. Embassy office.

  • This is a take on the Clayton Lonetree “sex for secrets” scandal that was in the news at the time; it’s a decent sketch, largely carried by Carvey and Nealon in another pre-Hans and Franz pairing.

  • I got a laugh out of Jon Lovitz’s stern “We bring beer.”

  • Rerun alterations: Short cut after the four Russians all leave the room.

***

MONOLOGUE

  • John Lithgow is excited about tonight’s show potentially winning the Robert Benchley Award, but a boom mic gets into the shot.

  • A decent premise, and like with his last monologue, Lithgow sells it with his performance and commitment. I love his defeated delivery at the end (especially on “Anita Baker’s here, anyway”.

  • Robert Benchley was an American humorist who contributed to the Harvard Lampoon, The New Yorker, and was a member of the Algonquin Round Table. There is a Robert Benchley Award for Humor, but it appears to have only begun in the 21st century by the Robert Benchley Society, and not awarded by the University of Maryland Department of Communications as Lithgow stated.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

SKETCH: LARAMIE VICE

  • Crockett (John Lithgow) and Tubbs (Kevin Nealon) investigate a suspicious cattle driver and his coked-up herd, and seek information from Wild Bill Hickock (Jon Lovitz), currently at the Mary Todd Lincoln (Nora Dunn) rehab center.

  • This one has a number of funny pieces and elements I did like (Hartman’s voice is hilarious), but the sketch as a whole doesn’t really hang together, or at least not enough to support the premise.

  • It says a fair bit that the biggest laughs I got out of it were the preview of “part II” with Lithgow (badly) lip-syncing Don Johnson’s “Heartbeat” and Carvey’s Scarface-seque character getting gored by a (very) fake-looking bull.

  • Dennis Miller’s attempt at a western accent should be included in a montage of his most embarassing SNL moments.

  • Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.

  • Rerun alterations: Opening title sequence moved from beginning to after Crockett and Tubbs’ entrance. A. Whitney Brown’s “I tell you” at the beginning of his line cut. A few seconds cut before Miller tells Carvey there’s a message on the telegraph. A few seconds cut during the videotape transition to the Mary Todd Lincoln Center scene. A few seconds cut during the transition to the scene of Lithgow lip-syncing. A few seconds cut from the transition from the show logo to the band shot. SNL logo added to band shot.

**

SKETCH: REVEREND DWIGHT HENDERSON, WORLD’S MEANEST METHODIST MINISTER

  • Rev. Henderson (John Lithgow) shows disdain for his parishioners and their problems.

  • Once again, Lithgow makes this sketch with his performance; he’s particularly good at comic sarcasm. and his responses to and about the various parishioners are pretty funny.

  • Nora Dunn’s reliable delivery also comes in handy here with her line calling Lithgow a “butthole”, which is made funnier by how understated it is. (I’m guessing Standards wouldn’t let them use “asshole”).

  • Written by Jim Downey.

  • Rerun alterations: Applause from Adobe mixed over beginning. Minimal audience sweetening. No still of Lithgow during band shot in rerun.

***

SHOW: THE PAT STEVENS SHOW

  • Pat (Nora Dunn) discusses hats and prods Halston (Phil Hartman) about selling off his name.

  • A little better than the average Pat Stevens sketch, thanks to some funny lines from Pat, as well as Hartman’s performance as Halston, and his growing ruefulness over his name appearing on cheap products and Pat calling him a has-been.

  • Written by Nora Dunn and Christine Zander.

  • Rerun alterations: Applause at the end of the sketch begins earlier.

*** 1/2

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “SWEET LOVE”

  • Anita Baker performs her breakthrough Grammy-winning hit from the year old Rapture album, backed by G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band, with guest percussionist Jimmy Maelen and a keyboard player I can’t identify. The horns make this a little brighter than the studio version, and Baker is a bit looser.

  • Sadly, Maelen would die of leukemia nine months later at age 47.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Al Campanis

  • Opening music: “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey.

  • Kind of a meh night for Dennis Miller, although his opening Al Campanis joke run had a nice payoff. There’s also a brief reference to Bette Davis’s recent presentation of the Best Actor award at the Oscars right before Miller’s prop bit with the “PTL Swimsuit” (the fly won’t seem to close).

  • Kevin Nealon has another Thoughtful Insight, this time about surrogate motherhood and the Baby M case; it gets going at the “life begins at conception/life begins at 40” joke.

  • A. Whitney Brown also puts Baby M and Mary Beth Whitehead into The Big Picture this week; the usual good stuff from Brown, and this one has some particularly dark lines.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

***

SKETCH: MASTER THESPIAN

  • Master Thespian (Jon Lovitz) seeks Baudelaire’s (John Lithgow) tutelage when the opportunity arises to replace an ailing Olivier as Hamlet.

  • Master Thespian’s first appearance since November, and Lithgow’s return as Baudelaire makes this a particularly fun one, particularly for the two of them hamming it up as well as working “there’s a spot on your shirt” into an example of “ACTING!” (as well as Lovitz managing to fool himself).

  • Written by Jon Lovitz and A. Whitney Brown.

  • Rerun alterations: A brief cut to remove camera jostle during pan down to Lovitz at the beginning. No still of Lovitz and Lithgow during band shot in rerun.

****

SHOW: DISCOVER

  • Peter Graves (Phil Hartman) looks at bacteria with a scientist (Victoria Jackson).

  • Another return installment; Phil Hartman’s dumb Peter Graves again provides the biggest laughs here (especially the part where he randomly decides to inhale gas from a Bunsen burner), but this one isn’t quite as memorable as the first one.

  • Written by Phil Hartman.

  • Rerun alterations: A few seconds cut from the beginning of the barrel jumper footage. No still of Jackson and Hartman during band shot in rerun.

***

SKETCH: CROSS COUNTRY

  • New York cab driver (John Lithgow) speeds across the country to get a groom (Jon Lovitz) to his wedding in San Francisco.

  • This is a sketch that I’ve always enjoyed, and it provides a lot of fun little bits throughout (the model car hitting the bad weather, the tossing change into toll booths); the fast pace also adds a lot.

  • Looks like they’re using the same set from the Taxi sketch with Bill Murray.

  • Rerun alterations: Fades to closing bumper in reruns instead of aborted band shot.

**** 1/2

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “SAME OLE LOVE”

  • Baker’s current single at the time; this is a more energetic take than the recorded version (particularly thanks to Jimmy Maelen’s propulsive conga work).

  • Rerun alterations: None.

SKETCH: THE FIGHTER

  • Kid Ryan’s (John Lithgow) lack of success in the ring turns into an opportunity when a wealthy man (Phil Hartman) wants to use him to discipline his son (Dana Carvey).

  • A pretty good sketch, and the performers really nail the old “live television drama” style of acting (though as Stooge mentioned in his review, Carvey seems to be doing an impression of Lovitz).

  • I love how they actually went to the trouble of making this look like a kinescope of an early TV show; not only is it in black and white with fake film scratches, but if you look close, you’ll notice the picture has a dark curve at the top and a little bit of distortion, just like it was filmed off a CRT monitor.

  • Written by Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz.

  • Rerun alterations: Boxing footage audio removed from opening sequence, leaving only music.

***

GOODNIGHTS

  • John Lithgow beams “How’s that for a perfect show?” before hugging Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey; Anita Baker kisses Jon Lovitz, then it looks like she yells at him.

  • Don Pardo announces next week’s show with John Larroquette and Timbuk 3 before saying he has to rush home and get into his bunny costume (“Every year I like to hide my eggs in the announce booth!”)

  • Rerun alterations: Don Pardo and audience noise mixed out of closing theme. Last camera switch to wide shot of home base cut.

Final thoughts: A fairly good, if low-key, episode, helped a lot by John Lithgow’s acting contributions. Aside from the underwhelming Laramie Vice, most of the show is consistently good, with the real fun coming after Update from the return of Master Thespian and the hilarious Cross Country sketch. Anita Baker’s performances were both pretty strong, and the SNL Band’s accompaniment fit well. While tonight may not have been as outstanding as the last few shows, it has a relaxed and confident vibe.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Cross Country

  • Master Thespian

  • Monologue

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • Laramie Vice

MVP:

  • John Lithgow

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 4 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, The Fighter]

  • Nora Dunn: 5 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, The Pat Stevens Show, The Fighter]

  • Phil Hartman: 6 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, The Pat Stevens Show, Discover, Cross Country, The Fighter]; 1 voiceover [Master Thespian]

  • Jan Hooks: 3 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister]

  • Victoria Jackson: 3 appearances [Laramie Vice, Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, Discover]

  • Jon Lovitz: 5 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Master Thespian, Cross Country, The Fighter]

  • Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Laramie Vice, Weekend Update]

featured players

  • A. Whitney Brown: 2 appearances [Laramie Vice, Weekend Update]

  • Kevin Nealon: 4 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Reverent Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, Weekend Update]

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Tom Davis: 1 appearance [Laramie Vice]; 2 voiceovers [Laramie Vice, Cross Country]

  • Joe Dicso: 1 appearance [Monologue]

  • Paul Miller: 1 voiceover [Monologue]

  • Don Pardo: 2 voiceovers [Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, Weekend Update]

G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band

  • G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band [“Sweet Love”, “Same Ole Love”]

guests

  • John Lithgow: 7 appearances [U.S. Embassy, Monologue, Laramie Vice, Reverend Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, Master Thespian, Cross Country, The Fighter]

  • Anita Baker: 2 appearances [“Sweet Love”, “Same Ole Love”]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • July 18, 1987

Known alterations:

  • Adobe (from 11/15/86) added

  • Edits: U.S. Embassy, Laramie Vice, Master Thespian, Discover.

  • Sketch stills removed from band shots.

  • Audience sweetening:

    • minimal: Rev. Dwight Henderson, World’s Meanest Methodist Minister, The Pat Stevens Show.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.