Classic SNL Review: January 30, 1988: Carl Weathers / Robbie Robertson (S13E10)

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

OPENING: BUSHWHACKED!

  • George Bush (Dana Carvey) fights back against his wimpy reputation with a Morton Downey Jr.-like talk show.

  • This sketch was inspired by Bush’s contentious interview with Dan Rather that week; having him try to be an aggressive, tough-talking talk show host was a pretty funny idea, and how the facade crumbles was well done.

  • Dana Carvey continues to refine his George Bush impression; it’s still not quite at its final form, but it’s getting there.

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

  • Rerun alterations: None

****

MONOLOGUE

  • Carl Weathers fulfills his wish to sing with the SNL Band.

  • Right away, Weathers has good energy, though he does get thrown a little bit after an audience member reacts to his line about the CFL (he adlibs, but seems to have trouble finding his next line).

  • I love that they set up Weathers singing with the band, only for the song to be a childlike song about rainbows that he sings in falsetto, complete with hand gestures.

  • Written by Terry Turner and A. Whitney Brown.

  • Rerun alterations: Reverb added during song. Fade to black is slower in rerun

*** 1/2

COMMERCIAL: HANDI-OFF (repeat of 12/05/87)

SHOW: THE NFL TODAY

  • Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder (Phil Hartman) tries to atone for his racist comments.

  • Hartman’s Jimmy The Greek impression is front-and-centre here; although the oddsmaker was actually fired by CBS two weeks earlier, the sketch has him back for a probationary period. His attempts at wokeness are quite funny (particularly his revulsion about lily white coaches and recommending a James Baldwin book to Doug Williams (Carl Weathers)), as is his being pulled off the show mid-broadcast while discussing potentially fixing up black athletes and celebrities.

  • I still laugh at Musburger’s ending sentences with “on CBS”, including advertising 60 Minutes and Murder, She Wrote airing opposite the Super Bowl.

  • Enjoyable “You Make The Call” segment as well.

  • Written by Robert Smigel and Jim Downey.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

****

BAND SHOT: “KING HARVEST (HAS SURELY COME)”

  • Robbie Robertson joins G.E. Smith and T-Bone Wolk for a performance of The Band’s “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” as the show goes to commercial, with Robertson soloing on guitar (and grunting).

  • This band shot is cut from the repeat versions, as the original broadcast ran long.

SHOW: DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 88

  • Pat Schroeder (Nora Dunn) moderates the debate between Democratic candidates

  • SNL’s first political debate sketch since the original cast (I don’t consider the debate bloopers sketch from Michael Douglas / Deniece Williams an actual political debate sketch). It’s a long one, but it moves forward pretty well, and has a lot of strong moments.

  • Nora Dunn’s Pat Schroeder has some funny lines, especially her forced laughter to keep from crying.

  • Jon Lovitz’s Michael Dukakis and Al Franken’s Sen. Paul Simon impressions debut here; I also enjoyed Kevin Nealon’s mouth-breathing Al Gore, the touch of having Dennis Miller essentially just playing himself as Gary Hart, and can appreciate Hartman’s impression of Bruce Babbitt after the latter’s cameo in the season opener.

  • Carl Weathers does pretty well as Jesse Jackson; he isn’t really doing the voice, but he does an impressive job at nailing his cadence.

  • The inner thoughts segment was especially well done, with the highlights being Jackson’s “Boy, [Richard Gephart] is not funky at all” and Hart checking someone out (even funnier considering how it’s just Dennis Miller playing himself).

  • Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.

  • Rerun alterations: Bumper after sketch removed.

****

SKETCH: MOTHER-IN-LAW II

  • Gun-toting Helen (Phil Hartman) gets a surprise when daughter Sherry (Jan Hooks) brings home her new boyfriend (Carl Weathers).

  • A follow-up to the sketch from last season’s John Larroquette show; there are a few things that felt a little too derivative from the first one, but this installment is still memorable thanks to the race angle and the shootout.

  • Jon Lovitz’s character Damian was actually mentioned in the first sketch, though not seen. His attempt to “butch it up” is pretty funny, but my favourite part was his “that’s a lie!” after Weathers surmises that he’s gay. Nice sight gag with the statue near the end as well.

  • Written by Phil Hartman.

****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “TESTIMONY”

  • Robbie Robertson plays the closing track from his self-titled solo album released that past fall; this performance blows the album version (featuring U2) away.

  • Playing with Robertson tonight: Daniel Lanois (guitar), Bill Dillon (guitar), Tony Levin (bass), Manu Katche (drums), Kurt Neumann (vocals, keyboards) and Sam Llanas (vocals) of the BoDeans and Lone Justice’s Maria McKee (vocals). The SNL Band horn section also features prominently on this number.

  • McKee’s vocals here remind me a lot of Corin Tucker from Sleater-Kinney.

  • Nice job with the stage decorations as well: there is a mural of bison on the back wall and some symbol painted on the floor (can someone with more knowledge of Indigenous culture identify this?).

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Phantom Of The Oprah, Amtrak derailment, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

  • Opening music: Overture from “The Phantom of the Opera”

  • Weekend Update begins differently tonight, with Don Pardo introducing Dennis Miller as “The Phantom of the Update”, who sits in darkness at the desk with a mask covering his face. Miller quickly disposes of the mask, but reads the first story with a fake scar on his right cheek; afterwards, he removes the scar, but not without a bit of difficulty (and pain), then shouts “Acting!” a la Master Thespian.

  • Victoria Jackson is back with another sociological introspective, this time examining “The Life Of The Table” while contorting her body to take the shape of one. It’s pretty much what you’d expect, though Jackson’s skill at table-walking is impressive, and Dennis Miller gets a funny line afterward, musing “If we were married, I’d never leave the apartment”.

  • A. Whitney Brown returns to put the conflict between Jews and Arabs in the Gaza Strip into the Big Picture; some pretty sharp (and sadly still relevant) insights in this one.

  • Rerun alterations: None

*** 1/2

SKETCH: NOT AN ACTRESS

  • Agent (Carl Weathers) reminds Susan (Jan Hooks) that she can’t escape her past as a sitcom actress.

  • A good showcase for Jan Hooks’ acting chops, with the profession being treated as analogous to prostitution, and there are some nice details in the writing and staging (I love Weathers watching from the side as Hooks tells her fiancé about her past).

  • Written by Bonnie & Terry Turner.

  • Rerun alterations: A brief bit of footage is cut from the beginning.

****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “SOMEWHERE DOWN THE CRAZY RIVER”

  • Robbie Robertson performs the atmospheric track and eventual single, featuring Sam Llanas prominently during the chorus.

  • The instrument Daniel Lanois plays is a Suzuki Omnichord.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

SKETCH: MASTER THESPIAN

  • Master Thespian (Jon Lovitz) worries about being upstaged by 70-year-old Chinese actor Chin-Hua (Carl Weathers).

  • Master Thespian’s second appearance in three episodes, in his more traditional setting. It’s a fun use of Carl Weathers, though,, and there’s a lot of very funny dialogue, particularly when Master Thespian gives “advice” to Chin-Hua. The ending with Dana Carvey playing the out of character Chin-Hua also works.

  • Written by A. Whitney Brown and Jon Lovitz.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

FILM: THE GARDEN - TOM RADTKE

  • A hairdresser (Nora Dunn) turns her clients into art projects after they die.

  • An odd but fascinating piece; more absurd than hard-laugh funny, but this does feel a bit like something the show would have included in an earlier season. Dunn is particularly good in this.

  • The landlady upset about the things Dunn’s character does in her salon is played by future SNL writer Cindy Caponera.

  • Written by Nora Dunn.

  • Rerun alterations: None

*** 1/2

GOODNIGHTS

  • An exuberant Carl Weathers declares they had a great time, “Robbie Robertson was hot, and everybody at Saturday Night Live was live!”. Robertson later plays guitar with the SNL Band during the closing theme.

Final thoughts: A particularly strong show, with several great and somewhat overlooked pieces. Carl Weathers was a very game host; not quite the smoothest with the cue card reading a few times, but he brought a strong energy in addition to an openness to silliness, like in the monologue or Master Thespian. Robbie Robertson’s performances were also very good, especially “Testimony”.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Democratic Debate 88

  • BushWhacked!

  • Not An Actress

  • The NFL Today

  • Mother-In-Law II

  • Monologue

  • Master Thespian

  • The Garden

  • Weekend Update

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • (none)

MVP:

  • Phil Hartman

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 3 appearances [BushWhacked!, Democratic Debate 88, Master Thespian]; 1 voiceover [The NFL Today]

  • Nora Dunn: 3 appearances [BushWhacked!, Democratic Debate 88, The Garden]

  • Phil Hartman: 5 appearances [BushWhacked!, The NFL Today, Democratic Debate 88, Mother-In-Law II, Not An Actress]; 1 voiceover [Master Thespian]

  • Jan Hooks: 2 appearances [Mother-In-Law II, Not An Actress]

  • Victoria Jackson: 2 appearances [Weekend Update, Not An Actress]

  • Jon Lovitz: 3 appearances [Democratic Debate 88, Mother-In-Law II, Master Thespian]

  • Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Democratic Debate 88, Weekend Update]

  • Kevin Nealon: 2 appearances [The NFL Today, Democratic Debate 88]

featured players

  • A. Whitney Brown: 1 appearance [Weekend Update]

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Cindy Caponera: 1 appearance [The Garden]

  • Tom Davis: 1 voiceover [Democratic Debate 88]

  • Al Franken: 1 appearance [Democratic Debate 88], 1 voiceover [The NFL Today]

  • Bob Odenkirk: 1 appearance [BushWhacked!]

  • Jim Pitt: 1 appearance [BushWhacked!]

  • John Zonars: 1 appearance [BushWhacked!]

G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band

  • Lew Del Gatto: 1 appearance [“Testimony”]

  • Alex Foster: 1 appearance [“Testimony”]

  • Earl Gardner: 1 appearance [“Testimony”]

  • Lenny Pickett: 1 appearance [“Testimony”]

  • G.E. Smith: 2 appearances [Monologue, “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)”]

  • Steve Turre: 1 appearance [“Testimony”]

  • T-Bone Wolk: 1 appearance [“King Harvest (Has Surely Come)”]

guests

  • Carl Weathers: 6 appearances [Monologue, The NFL Today, Democratic Debate 88, Mother-In-Law II, Not An Actress, Master Thespian]

  • Robbie Robertson: 3 appearances [“King Harvest (Has Surely Come)”, “Testimony”, “Somewhere Down The Crazy River”]

  • BoDeans: 2 appearances [“Testimony”, “Somewhere Down The Crazy River”]

  • Maria McKee: 2 appearances [“Testimony”, “Somewhere Down The Crazy River”]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • June 4, 1988

Known alterations:

  • “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” and one post-sketch bumper removed.

  • Edits: Monologue, Not An Actress

  • Audio remixing: Monologue, “Testimony”, “Somewhere Down The Crazy River”.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.