Classic SNL Review: November 19, 1988: John Lithgow / Tracy Chapman (S14E06)
RATING SYSTEM:
***** - Classic
**** - Great
*** - Good/Average
** - Meh
* - Awful
OPENING: THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
Oprah Winfrey (Jan Hooks) starts to hallucinate about food after her rapid weight loss.
The one weakness of this era of the show was the lack of performers of color, and this is probably one of the most glaring examples; that said, Hooks’ impression isn’t bad, and the escalating sight gags with her guests and audience wearing giant food props were pretty funny (“Don’t you dare go in my mouth!”)
Written by Conan O’Brien, Greg Daniels, and Robert Smigel.
Rerun alterations: Small cut before the Oprah Winfrey Show title. Oprah’s attack on the stage manager is edited slightly.
*** 1/2
MONOLOGUE
John Lithgow talks about always being mistaken for sarcastic and reads a list of things he is supposedly thankful for, before he and G.E. Smith play a guitar duet.
This doesn’t feel as fully formed as his previous two monologues, but the musical interlude is pleasant enough.
Interesting jacket on Lithgow.
Barry Rogers is still filling in for Steve Turre; Tony Garnier is back filling in for T-Bone Wolk.
Rerun alterations: None
***
COMMERCIAL: LONG WHITE BEARD
When someone keeps you waiting, make a passive-aggressive point without using a single word.
This is one I always loved; just a pure silly sight gag. Conan O’Brien has mentioned his fondness for visual-based jokes that work even when the sound is off, so it makes sense this would be one of his. There are also a lot of funny little details sprinkled throughout: the demonstration of the product with the promises of it being odorless, fireproof and hypo-allergenic; the behavior of the waiting parties; Phil Hartman’s “ouch” upon seeing the room of military all wearing ears and drumming their fingers.
Written by Conan O’Brien, possible assistance from Greg Daniels or others.
Rerun alterations: None.
****
SKETCH: ANIMAL CONFESSION
A priest (John Lithgow) hears the sins of canine parishioners at St. Bernard’s Church.
A lot of the laughs in the sketch come from the uncooperative dogs and how Lithgow and their voice actors play it off (“I hate getting penance!”, “I believe W.C. Fields was right”). The first dog in particular keeps running away from the confessional window, and when the last dog doesn’t show up, Lithgow comments “You were so good in the dress rehearsal.”
Written by Jon Vitti and Robert Smigel.
Rerun alterations: Full sketch replaced with dress rehearsal. The most noticeable differences are the first dog and last dog are more cooperative in the dress version, while the second dog barks at Lithgow multiple times, causing him to briefly smile and he ad-libs “You know you’re not to bark during a sketch” as it leaves.
*** 1/2
SKETCH: MASTER THESPIAN
Baudelaire (John Lithgow) pretends to be dying in order to get Master Thespian’s (Jon Lovitz) lead role in Hamlet.
The final appearance of Master Thespian’s mentor is also probably their funniest pairing, complete with flimsy disguises, fake arms, and fake phone calls, as well as Baudelaire managing to convince Master Thespian that he himself is dying while giving lessons on death scenes.
Written by Jon Lovitz, John Lithgow, and A. Whitney Brown.
Rerun alterations: The band shot in the rerun is a little longer to allow for the Next Week bumper.
****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “MOUNTAINS O’ THINGS”
Tracy Chapman performs a stripped-down version of an album track from her self-titled debut, which had come out that spring. I always love it when the show lets musical guests perform solo, accompanying themselves on either guitar or piano, and Chapman is no exception.
SHOW: THE PAT STEVENS SHOW
Pat Stevens (Nora Dunn) confuses Margaret Thatcher (John Lithgow) with Princess Margaret and tries to get the latest Royal gossip.
A strong installment, with Pat showing off her new fragrance Uninhabited (spoofing Cher’s Uninhibited) and Lithgow hilarious in drag as the British prime minister. Pat’s always funniest when she demonstrates her ignorance, such as admonishing Thatcher, the resident of 10 Downing Street, not to give her address on television.
Written by Christine Zander and Nora Dunn.
Rerun alterations: None.
*** 1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE
Opening music: “The Golden Age of Rock ‘N Roll” by Mott The Hoople.
Best jokes: John Kerry, lawn darts, Baby Jessica.
This week doesn’t feel like there were as many jokes as there usually are, but there’s a particularly funny continuation of the Polar Whale saga that gets a good groan from the audience (Baby Jessica gets stuck in one of the whales’ blow hole).
Jimmy Stewart (Dana Carvey) reads a poem about his dog Blue, which ends up reducing Miller to a sobbing wreck. This piece (by Carvey and Robert Smigel) is a spoof of the real Stewart bring Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon to tears by reading a poem about his dog Beau in 1981; Miller’s “crying” is so bad it’s funny, and there’s a good run with Stewart trying to make him feel better by trying to backtrack on the poem, before he gets fed up and makes a crack about his hair, which snaps Miller out of it, responding with a cold “Cool it with the hair, Jimmy”.
Jon Lovitz once again extols the benefits of getting to know him, with testimonials from Mother Teresa, Sy Sperling (who started to get to know him but stopped) and Japan. This pretty much treads the same ground as the last one in February, but Lovitz sells it well and has some good lines.
One observation I have about this season is that four of the six shows that aired up to this point actually move the Weekend Update segment later by one commercial break; normally the segment runs immediately after the midnight station break/station identification.
***
SKETCH: THE ALAMO
A soldier (John Lithgow) looks for volunteers to stay and fight the Mexican army, but few will commit.
An escalatingly silly sketch with some funny back-and-forth that somehow manages to work in a time-travelling Tarzan (Kevin Nealon) and two space aliens (Al Franken and Tom Davis) with a slow-acting death ray.
Does anyone know who played Davy Crockett in this sketch?
Written by Jack Handey.
Rerun alterations: A bit of footage is cut from the beginning before Lithgow pauses on the way down the steps; the superimposed caption is moved to the still of the Alamo instead of playing over Lithgow’s entrance.
*** 1/2
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “FREEDOM NOW”, “BABY, CAN I HOLD YOU”
Tracy Chapman, again accompanying herself on guitar, sings two songs; the first, the Nelson Mandela-inspired “Freedom Now”, appears on next year’s Crossroads album, while the audience gives a little recognition applause to her current single “Baby, Can I Hold You”. Again, the solo renditions help put emphasis on Chapman’s lyrics and voice, giving them more power.
SKETCH: THANKSGIVING
After Thanksgiving dinner, Marge Keister (Jan Hooks) keeps house while the overstuffed men in the family recover in front of the TV.
A gentle slice of life, not too much in terms of hard laughs, but it works at capturing a familiar experience, and it’s always nice to see Marge and Don Keister (in their final appearance) again.
Written by Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, and Dana Carvey.
Rerun alterations: None
***
SKETCH: SKELETON
The dean of faculty (Phil Hartman) looks for solutions for an osteology professor’s (John Lithgow) fear of skeletons.
A bit slight, but Lithgow and Hartman and their comic timing are the main reason this works as well as it does; the ending with the two of them alternating with terrified reactions depending on whether the skeleton is wearing a pirate hat is some good old-fashioned silliness.
Written by Conan O’Brien, Greg Daniels, and Jim Downey.
Rerun alterations: None
***
GOODNIGHTS
John Lithgow says “Thanks everybody, thanks for watching!”
Don Pardo informs viewers that the show will not be seen next week so the staff can spend Thanksgiving at home, and that the show returns on December 3 with Danny DeVito and The Bangles. The “old gobbler himself” gets cut off by the network promo during his closing words “Happy Thanksgiving and —”.
Rerun alterations: Pardo voiceover removed.
Final thoughts: Not a bad show, though this one feels like everyone wanted to have an easy week before the Thanksgiving holiday. This isn’t so much a half-assed show as a comfortable one, with the cast and writers having the reassurance that comes from a reliable host like Lithgow (who sadly never hosted again).
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:
Master Thespian
Long White Beard
The Alamo
Animal Confession
The Pat Stevens Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
SHOW LOWLIGHTS:
(none)
MVP:
John Lithgow
CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:
cast
Dana Carvey: 4 appearances [Long White Beard, Weekend Update, The Alamo, Thanksgiving]; 2 voiceovers [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Animal Confession]
Nora Dunn: 1 appearance [The Pat Stevens Show]; 2 voiceovers [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Animal Confession]
Phil Hartman: 4 appearances [Long White Beard, The Alamo, Thanksgiving, Skeleton]; 3 voiceovers [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Animal Confession, Master Thespian]
Jan Hooks: 3 appearances [The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Alamo, Thanksgiving]
Victoria Jackson: 1 appearance [Thanksgiving]
Jon Lovitz: 6 appearances [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Long White Beard, Master Thespian, Weekend Update, The Alamo, Thanksgiving]; 1 voiceover [Animal Confession]
Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Weekend Update, The Alamo]
Kevin Nealon: 4 appearances [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Long White Beard, The Alamo, Thanksgiving]
featured players
A. Whitney Brown: 3 appearances [The Oprah Winfrey Show, Long White Beard, The Alamo]
Al Franken: 1 appearance [The Alamo]
crew, bit players, and extras
John Bowman: 1 appearance [The Alamo]
Tom Davis: 1 appearance [The Alamo]
Mark McKinney: 1 voiceover [The Pat Stevens Show (archive recording)]
Andy Murphy: 1 appearance [The Oprah Winfrey Show]
Don Pardo: 1 voiceover [The Oprah Winfrey Show]
G.E. Smith: 1 appearance [Monologue]
guests
John Lithgow: 7 appearances [Monologue, Animal Confession, Master Thespian, The Pat Stevens Show, The Alamo, Thanksgiving, Skeleton]
Tracy Chapman: 2 appearances [“Mountains O’ Things”, “Freedom Now/Baby, Can I Hold You”]
REBROADCAST HISTORY:
September 2, 1989
Known alterations:
Edits: The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Alamo
Dress substitutions: Animal Confession (full sketch)
Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.