Classic SNL Review: February 27, 1988: Judge Reinhold / 10,000 Maniacs (S13E13)

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

OPENING: PUMPING UP WITH HANS & FRANZ

  • Hans (Dana Carvey) and Franz (Kevin Nealon) blame the puny Winter Olympics athletes for the USA’s lack of success.

  • This is pretty much the usual Hans & Franz sketch (and the fifth in 13 episodes), though there are still some funny bits like their (fake) pecs moving in time to “Fanfare For The Common Man”.

  • The part with Judge Reinhold wasn’t bad but didn’t really add much to the sketch.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

***

MONTAGE

  • The musical guest is now announced between the SNL Band and the host, instead of immediately after the main cast.

MONOLOGUE

  • Judge Reinhold indulges himself by whistling a cowboy tune.

  • I give credit for doing something a little different than usual, but there really wasn’t a whole lot to this, and was a little overlong.

  • Rerun alterations: Camera switches to wide shot earlier during Reinhold’s intro to his song. Wide shot also used in most of song.

**

COMMERCIAL: WILSON TRAP DOORS

  • Unlike other companies’ trap doors, Wilson’s will reliably get rid of unwanted visitors every time.

  • One of those commercials that gets funnier the more you think about it, especially considering the type of person who would need something like this, and there are some pretty solid visual gags with the different malfunctioning doors.

  • Lovitz has some great reactions here, particularly his fist-pounding rage as the one man (played by an unidentified extra) accidentally falls through the structurally unsound door.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*****

SHOW: CHURCH CHAT

  • Church Lady (Dana Carvey) welcomes two evangelists to the show: presidential candidate Pat Robertson (Al Franken) and weepy, disgraced Jimmy Swaggart (Phil Hartman).

  • One of the contenders for best Church Chat sketch, with two of the funniest impressions that have ever featured on the show. Franken’s Pat Robertson is skewered harder than two weeks ago, as he tries to spin himself as a “tele-journalist” and spouts off conspiracy theories like Hitler’s brain being kept alive in Paraguay. Hartman’s blubbering Jimmy Swaggart is even more hilarious, particularly as he tries to sing along with “If You’re Happy and You Know It” at the end.

  • Love the part where, after Church Lady does her “SATAN?” line when asking Swaggart about who led him to the hotel room, Robertson answers “It was not Satan, it was George Bush!”

  • Incidentally, the real Pat Robertson, one of the most loathsome individuals ever, died at age 93 the week I wrote this post. It’s really amazing that the impression is so memorable because Franken only played him the two times (within three weeks).

  • Rerun alterations: Different echo effect used for “SATAN?” than in live. “Church Chat” logo/narration appears earlier in repeat to cut it appearing after the band starts; audio also switches to a different SNL Band song (“Ballad of a Thin Man”).

**** 1/2

SKETCH: AIRLINE

  • Passengers (Judge Reinhold and Kevin Nealon) experience a ride full of crime, poverty, and vermin on a post-deregulation airplane trip.

  • Reinhold is mostly just there to react, but there are some nice details on this one, particularly in the production design, which make the set resemble a graffiti-laden subway car. Jan Hooks also has a very good performance as the attendant.

  • Who are the two non-cast actors with speaking roles (the drug dealer and Eddie the captain/pimp)?

  • Written by Tom Davis and Jim Downey.

  • Rerun alterations: Small edit before Reinhold’s first line. Airplane sound effect added during plane footage at the end of the sketch.

***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “LIKE THE WEATHER”

  • Before introducing the band, Judge Reinhold says he got his name because “When I was a baby, I condemned a man to death”, before telling the audience they’re on their own about the origins of 10,000 Maniacs’ name. It’s an interesting variation on the standard intro, but I wonder whether Reinhold was supposed to just do a straight introduction or if this was something he also did in dress.

  • 10,000 Maniacs perform their current single off In My Tribe, Natalie Merchant’s ode to feeling miserable due to bad weather. Merchant is animated, dancing and twisting, even headbanging, but drummer Jerry Augustyniak actually steals the performance from her.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Pat Robertson, Good news, Jimmy Swaggart

  • Opening music: “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes

  • Dennis Miller has some call-backs this week, including one to last week’s story about Richard Gephardt’s missing eyebrows, as well as the return of the George Steinbrenner Fires Manager punchline.

  • One-Man Mobile Uplink Unit Al Franken reports from West Palm Beach, Florida ahead of Super Tuesday, where, in addition to delineating his plan to cover all 14 states holding primaries, he shows how much worse the toll the equipment has on his body is, and gets struck by lightning during a storm. A nice escalation to the bit, though I wonder what they would have done next if the rest of the season hadn’t been cancelled.

  • A. Whitney Brown returns to discuss the importance of the different candidates’ ability to lie; there are some solid lines about each politician, and I liked the pivot into the discussion of his daughter’s first lie (he was so proud).

  • Rerun alterations: One of Franken’s outages is trimmed.

*** 1/2

SKETCH: JORGE GARCIA, NICE GUY DICTATOR

  • Latin American autocrat Jorge Garcia (Judge Reinhold) has a surprisingly gentle iron fist.

  • There are a few laughs from the gentle punishments Garcia orders, but this sketch was a little too sluggish, and it seemed to just peter out once the premise was established.

  • I did like the touch with the portrait of Garcia’s father also resembling Judge Reinhold.

  • Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.

  • Rerun alterations: Small cuts before Dana Carvey is escorted into room, during opening title, and when Carvey leaves. Preview of next week’s episode (Garcia firing his underling…with two weeks’ notice) is removed; this also necessitated Pardo’s voiceover during the end title to be changed.

**

SHOW: THE COP & THE PROSTITUTE

  • Police officer Jerry (Judge Reinhold) and sex worker Chrissy (Victoria Jackson) deal with dual-career life.

  • Kind of an oddball of a sketch; the script is pretty clever, though the tone of the overall sketch is very muted and low-key, particularly considering the framing device of being a sitcom airing on Fox. I’m kind of impressed with Victoria Jackson’s performance here (in her only sketch tonight).

  • Written by Shannon Gaughan.

  • Rerun alterations: Audience laughter removed from opening videotape. Small cut to remove Reinhold entering too early as Jackson says “Hi Charlie”.

***

SHOW: WHEN GREAT MINDS MEET

  • Unfamiliarity with one another thwarts a panel discussion with Galileo (Dana Carvey), Aristotle (Kevin Nealon), Joan of Arc (Nora Dunn), Jefferson Davis (Judge Reinhold), and Genghis Khan (Phil Hartman).

  • An enjoyable sketch; Jon Lovitz gets some good frustrated reactions in as the different figures waste time trying to explain who they are to each other. For some reason I really enjoy Joan of Arc speaking in modern American English.

  • Hartman’s Genghis Kahn also made me laugh by saying “The woman fought?!”

  • Written by Robert Smigel and Jack Handey.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “WHAT’S THE MATTER HERE”

  • Once again, Judge Reinhold prefaces his introduction with a bit, this time ripping off his beard and saying “Aha! It was illusion!”.

  • 10,000 Maniacs peform another track off In My Tribe, and their next single, a song decrying child abuse. Natalie Merchant is impassioned, at one point miming being slapped.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

SKETCH: PIRATES

  • Pirates (Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon) discuss the pros and cons of other species of birds as shoulder-perchers.

  • A low-key bit of silliness to end the night, with some good laughs from the pirates discussing the practicality of the different species and trying not to laugh at Reinhold’s parakeets.

  • Written by Jack Handey.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

GOODNIGHTS

  • Judge Reinhold mock-scolds the parakeets (“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare!”) before saying that he learned the show really is live and that everybody is really traffic (“There’s not a jerk in the bunch!”). Natalie Merchant seems particularly intereted in the parakeets.

  • The credits cut off early in the live show, but the rerun reuses some footage of Victoria Jackson kissing Reinhold after the credit roll finishes.

Final thoughts: A bit of an odd show; what’s great is really great, but there are some signs of burnout and exhaustion in places, and a strange low-energy feeling that pervades even some of the better sketches. Judge Reinhold was merely an OK host; not terrible, just bland (Greg Daniels mentioned in Live From New York that he wasn’t one of his favourites).

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Wilson Trap Doors

  • Church Chat

  • When Great Minds Meet

  • Pirates

  • Weekend Update

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator

  • Monologue

MVP:

  • (tie) Al Franken / Phil Hartman

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 6 appearances [Pumping Up With Hans & Franz, Wilson Trap Doors, Church Chat, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, When Great Minds Meet, Pirates]

  • Nora Dunn: 1 appearance [When Great Minds Meet]

  • Phil Hartman: 4 appearances [Wilson Trap Doors, Church Chat, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, When Great Minds Meet]; 3 voiceovers [Pumping Up With Hans & Franz, Church Chat, When Great Minds Meet]

  • Jan Hooks: 2 appearances [Airline, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator]

  • Victoria Jackson: 1 appearance [The Cop & The Prostitute]

  • Jon Lovitz: 4 appearances [Wilson Trap Doors, Airline, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, When Great Minds Meet]

  • Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Weekend Update, When Great Minds Meet]

  • Kevin Nealon: 7 appearances [Pumping Up With Hans & Franz, Wilson Trap Doors, Airline, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, The Cop & The Prostitute, When Great Minds Meet, Pirates]

featured players

  • A. Whitney Brown: 2 appearances [Wilson Trap Doors, Weekend Update]

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Tom Davis: 1 appearance [Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator]

  • Al Franken: 2 appearances [Church Chat, Weekend Update]

  • Don Pardo: 2 voiceovers [Weekend Update, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator]

  • Christine Zander: 1 voiceover [Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator]

G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band

  • G.E. Smith: 1 appearance [Monologue]

guests

  • Judge Reinhold: 7 appearances [Pumping Up With Hans & Franz, Monologue, Airline, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, The Cop & The Prostitute, When Great Minds Meet, Pirates]

  • 10,000 Maniacs: 2 appearances [“Like the Weather”, “What’s the Matter Here”]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • June 25, 1988

  • September 10, 1988

Known alterations:

  • Edits: Pumping Up With Hans & Franz, Church Chat, Airline, Weekend Update, Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator, The Cop & The Prostitute.

  • Audio remixing: Church Chat, Airline, “Like The Weather”, The Cop & The Prostitute, “What’s The Matter Here”.

  • Directorial changes: Monologue.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.