Classic SNL Review: February 13, 1988: Justine Bateman / Terence Trent D'Arby (S13E11)

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

OPENING: REPUBLICAN DEBATE 88

  • Bob Dole (Dan Aykroyd) and George Bush’s (Dana Carvey) sparring dominates the Republican candidates’ debate.

  • A companion piece to the last episode’s Democratic Debate 88, right down to the opening jokes about the venue name and debate sponsors, and Pat Schroeder (Nora Dunn) telling the audience to hold their applause in fairness to the least popular candidates.

  • Unlike the Democratic debate, this focuses mostly on two specific candidates, George Bush and Bob Dole, with Dan Aykroyd making his first appearance on SNL since leaving in May 1979, Aykroyd’s grumpy Dole is particularly good and has a load of great interactions with the others, while Carvey’s Bush is getting closer to its final form.

  • Like last time, Al Franken has a scene-stealing impression, this week playing Pat Robertson, who’s eager to list the jobs he’s had besides televangelist. Phil Hartman’s Jack Kemp and Kevin Nealon’s Pierre DuPont have some good and pointed lines as well.

  • Written by Al Franken, Tom Davis, and Jim Downey.

  • Rerun alterations: Tom Davis’s introduction audio during studio shot fixed. Small cut between introductions of Jack Kemp and Pierre DuPont to eliminate Nora Dunn’s line flub.

****

MONOLOGUE

  • Justine Bateman reminisces about her first valentine and tells the story of St. Valentine.

  • Nothing particularly memorable, aside from a repeated reference to things (such as a frog and St. Valentine’s hands) ending up resembling dried up peppers in the windows of Mexican restaurants.

  • Unusually for this era, this ends with the SNL Band playing out to commercial immediately after Bateman’s monologue (she even throws to them by asking her to play a love song); I guess this is because the cold open was so long.

  • Written by Bonnie and Terry Turner.

  • Rerun alterations: Bateman’s first “hey!” is mixed out of reruns.

**

SHOW: FAMILY TIES

  • A preview of the latest flashback episode, where the Keatons recall the other times they remembered past events.

  • A hilarious spoof of the show, with a lot of fun coming out of the fact that the flashbacks are being performed live, with the performers just making minor wardrobe changes or moving to different spots.

  • Dana Carvey’s dead-on Michael J. Fox impression gets a good reaction from the audience right away; the running gag about Jennifer’s (Victoria Jackson) only line being “yeah” also kills.

  • There’s a funny blooper right before they throw to the first flashback, where the side of Kevin Nealon’s fake beard comes loose; it gets a great reaction, but I love that it’s not acknowledged or milked at all.

  • The whole “Jennifer’s going to die” flashback is classic, especially how everyone is just disappointed and resigned over it all.

  • Written by Robert Smigel, Al Franken, and A. Whitney Brown.

  • Rerun alterations: Several small edits, including flashback transitions being shortened. Kevin Nealon talking over Justine Bateman’s line is mixed lower in rerun. Small edit during transition to band shot so music begins before fade-out from Bateman.

*****

BAND SHOT

  • For Valentine’s Day, a man and woman slow-dance on the musical guest stage while the SNL Band plays “Stormy Weather”; a very nice touch.

SHOW: LEARNING TO FEEL

  • Dr. Denise Venetti (Nora Dunn) solves more guests’ problems with the advice “look at yourself”.

  • A sketch revolving around the same joke is probably not the best choice to make recurring, especially so soon after the original installment, but the dialogue is pretty cleverly written, and the segment with Hartman as a husband who was caught masturbating is quite funny.

  • I also have to give credit for having Lovitz playing the same character (Neil Simmons) he played in the first sketch.

  • Written by Christine Zander and A. Whitney Brown. I assume Nora Dunn also had a hand in this.

  • Rerun alterations: Small cut before Dunn asks Lovitz about the roller coaster. One of her repetitions of “Neil” is edited. Last shot with Hartman and Jackson getting up is replaced with dress; in live show, Dunn remains seated and the back wall of the set begins to lift. Post sketch bumper replaced with band shot.

***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “WISHING WELL”

  • The artist then known as Terence Trent D’Arby (now Sananda Maitreya) performs his new single from the Grammy-nominated Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby. It’s a pretty solid and charismatic performance, with D’Arby showing off his dance moves during the instrumental break.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Al Haig, Iowa Caucus results, Trump legal action, Dino Flintstone in Penthouse.

  • Opening music: “My Funny Valentine” by Frank Sinatra.

  • A decent week for Dennis Miller, buoyed by a number of election related jokes. Also worth noting is a joke about Donald Trump’s book The Art Of The Deal exceeding height guidelines and casting a nasty shadow over Central Park, which gets a small bit of applause, probably from some locals.

  • One-man Mobile Uplink Unit Al Franken reports from New Hampshire in advance of the primary, detailing the various weather possibilities that the individual candidates are hoping for, while dealing with continued back pain and cloud cover interrupting his signal. I appreciate that the previous installment from Iowa was also mentioned.

  • Rerun alterations: Small cut of dead air before Miller cuts to Franken. Franken segment remixed.

***

SKETCH: DEREK’S COMEBACK

  • Derek Stevens (Dana Carvey) thinks he’s found his muse (Justine Bateman), but she just wants him to leave her apartment.

  • Another unnecessary Derek Stevens sketch, and unfortunately the least bearable due to it mostly being an example of “character annoys other character, and continues to do so”. There are a few isolated laughs (“Thanks to you, I’m going to live to be 30”) but Justine Bateman is little more than an audience surrogate.

  • The strange continuity of Derek Stevens continues: during the beginning phone call, Derek is speaking with Michael (Phil Hartman’s character in the earlier Derek Stevens sketches) and mentions that Michael hadn’t heard from him in five years; he also mentions that his new song is going to be “bigger than ‘Choppin’ Broccoli’”.

  • Written by Bonnie and Terry Turner.

  • Rerun alterations: Small edit at beginning. Applause begins immediately after Carvey says “I’m blocked”; in live, there is a second of dead air beforehand.

*1/2

SKETCH: ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE

  • Bugsy (Kevin Nealon) thinks the key to a successful bank robbery is adhering to "in and out, nobody gets hurt”.

  • Another one of Nealon’s patented “overconfident but inept” characters; this one seemingly starts off a little slow (maybe residual effects from the previous sketch?) but steadily gets funnier as the lengths Bugsy takes his phrase reveal themselves (particularly his grocery store analogy). Solid resolution in the ending crawl.

  • Phil Hartman’s character Slammer is essentially Mace in everything but name.

  • Written by Kevin Nealon.

  • Rerun alterations: Two different repetitions of Nealon coaching the others on the phrase are cut, with an earlier camera change on the second. Small cut before epilogue crawl.

*** 1/2

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “UNDER MY THUMB”

  • Terence Trent D’Arby performs an energetic cover of the Rolling Stones’ classic, complete with mid-air splits, somersaults, and a false ending followed by D’Arby playing the organ and adding in a few lines of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”.

  • D’Arby’s cover doesn’t appear on Introducing the Hardline… but was released on a B-side of “Sign Your Name”, and also recorded for a Peel Session.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

SKETCH: WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK

  • Linda (Justine Bateman) is correct in her suspicions that her boyfriend’s (Jon Lovitz) successful professional friends are laughing at her behind her back.

  • A little hard to figure out; it’s a very concise and well-structured piece, but I get the sense that it could have used an extra beat.

  • Written by Shannon Gaughan.

  • Rerun alterations: Different SNL Band number at the end of the sketch.

***

SHOW: FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS

  • Mismatched guest hosts George F. Will (Dana Carvey) and Justine Bateman struggle to make conversation.

  • Another very odd piece, especially for a closing sketch. I do give credit for the premise, and Will’s confusing Family Ties with Mr. Belvedere, was well done, but it’s a little too good at selling the awkwardness of such a pairing. This one’s also interesting in that they just let the sketch cut off without any audience applause or band shot.

  • Knowing who wrote this one makes me think this could have worked a little better as a shorter clip within a larger sketch.

  • Written by Conan O’Brien, Robert Smigel, Greg Daniels, and Bob Odenkirk.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio fades out early on Bateman’s last line (“Would you like to introduce the next video?”) in live show; this is restored for the rerun.

** 1/2

GOODNIGHTS

  • Justine Bateman asks “Was that a great show or what?” and tells the audience to come back next week. Dan Aykroyd leaves the stage a little early.

  • Don Pardo announces next week’s show with Tom Hanks and Randy Travis, and asks “Will you be my Valentine?”

  • Rerun alterations: Don Pardo voiceover mixed out.

Final thoughts: An odd show; there are definitely some very good moments, but it has one of the weakest sketches all season, as well as some ideas that seem to fall short. It feels like the show had a lot of difficulty figuring out how to use Justine Bateman, for the most part plugging her into generic roles that could have been played by anyone; it’s telling that the strongest sketch in the back half of the show doesn’t feature her at all. On the other hand, Terence Trent D’Arby’s performances made up for Bateman in the charisma department.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Family Ties

  • Republican Debate 88

  • St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • Derek’s Comeback

  • Monologue

MVP:

  • Dana Carvey

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 6 appearances [Republican Debate 88, Family Ties, Derek’s Comeback, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, What Do Your Friends Think, Friday Night Videos]

  • Nora Dunn: 3 appearances [Republican Debate 88, Learning To Feel, What Do Your Friends Think]

  • Phil Hartman: 4 appearances [Republican Debate 88, Learning To Feel, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, What Do Your Friends Think]; 2 voiceovers [St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Friday Night Videos]

  • Jan Hooks: 2 appearances [Family Ties, What Do Your Friends Think]

  • Victoria Jackson: 2 appearances [Family Ties, Learning To Feel]

  • Jon Lovitz: 4 appearances [Family Ties, Learning To Feel, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, What Do Your Friends Think]

  • Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Weekend Update, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre]

  • Kevin Nealon: 4 appearances [Republican Debate 88, Family Ties, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, What Do Your Friends Think]; 1 voiceover [Learning To Feel]

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Tom Davis: 1 appearance [St. Valentine’s Day Massacre]; 1 voiceover [Republican Debate 88]

  • Al Franken: 2 appearances [Republican Debate 88, Weekend Update]

guests

  • Justine Bateman: 6 appearances [Monologue, Family Ties, Learning To Feel, Derek’s Comeback, What Do Your Friends Think, Friday Night Videos]

  • Terence Trent D’Arby: 2 appearances [“Wishing Well”, “Under My Thumb”]

  • Dan Aykroyd: 1 appearance [Republican Debate 88]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • July 16, 1988

Known alterations:

  • Edits: Republican Debate 88, Family Ties, Learning To Feel, Weekend Update, Derek’s Comeback, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

  • Dress substitutions: Learning To Feel (part)

  • Audio remixing: Debate 88, Monologue, Family Ties, “Wishing Well”, Weekend Update, Derek’s Comeback, “Under My Thumb”, What Do Your Friends Think, Friday Night Videos, Goodnights

Additional screen captures for this episode are available here.