SCTV Review: Midnight Express Special (3-19) / Cookery Crock (3-20)

SCTV Review: Midnight Express Special (3-19) / Cookery Crock (3-20)

“Midnight Express Special” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Basic Photography”, “Mamorex Video Tape”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Tomorrow, Today, Tonight”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Message From Guy: Midnight Express Special”, and “Midnight Express Special”.

“Cookery Crock” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Disasters In The Home”, “Nasex Nasal Deodorant”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: The Freddie De Cordova Show”, “Cookery Crock” and “Quincy: Cartoon Coroner”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Two-Way TV (3-17) / Alpha Channel (3-18)

SCTV Review: Two-Way TV (3-17) / Alpha Channel (3-18)

“Two-Way TV” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Astrology”, “Promo: Monster Chiller Horror Theatre”, “Kanadian Korner”, “SCTV News”, “Comment with David Brinkley”, “Promo: Cruisin’ Gourmet”, “Two-Way TV”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Promo: Crazy Crafts”, and “Sermonette: Rabbi Karlov”.

“Alpha Channel” sketches include “Gordon Lightfoot Sings Every Song Ever Written”, “Cooking With Marcello”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Crazy Crafts”, “Message From Guy: Alpha Channel”, “Promo: Alpha Channel”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, and “Dialing For Dollars”.

Read More

SCTV Review: The Irwin Allen Show (3-15) / Big Brother (3-16)

SCTV Review: The Irwin Allen Show (3-15) / Big Brother (3-16)

“The Irwin Allen Show” sketches include “Men On Women”, “Message From Guy: Men On Women”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Cooking With Marcello”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Message From Guy: The Irwin Allen Show”, and “The Irwin Allen Show”.

“Big Brother” sketches include “Got A Minute?”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Message From Guy: The New Year”, “Message From Prickley: The New Year”, “SCTV New Year’s Eve Party 1983”, “Komrade Kangaroo”, “Comrade Allen”, “Promo: Doublethink”, and “The Praise Big Brother Show”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Star Wars (3-13) / Hollywood Salutes Its Extras (3-14)

SCTV Review: Star Wars (3-13) / Hollywood Salutes Its Extras (3-14)

“Star Wars” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Do-It-Yourself Advertising”, “Promo: Chick Monk: Roadie For The Defense”, “Kanadian Korner”, “SCTV News”, “Joni Mitchell’s For Dogs Only”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “SCTV Premiere: Star Wars”, and “Dialing For Dollars”.

“Hollywood Salutes Its Extras” sketches include “Message From Prickley: Extras”, “Mamorex Cassette Tape”, “Bill Needle’s Mailbag”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Howard’s Bristol Cream”, “Sneak Previews”, “Promo: Hawaii Five-Ho”, “Hollywood Salutes Its Extras”, and “Promo: White Man, Black Girl”.

Read More

SCTV Review: The Sammy Maudlin Show (3-11) / Night Gallery (3-12)

SCTV Review: The Sammy Maudlin Show (3-11) / Night Gallery (3-12)

“The Sammy Maudlin Show” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Glamour”, “Message From Prickley: The Sammy Maudlin Show”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Stretch Your Arm”, “Ronny Barrett’s Sports”, “Promo: Taxi Driver”, “Totacontrol”, “Message From Guy: Urgent Announcement”, and “The Sammy Maudlin Show”.

“Night Gallery” sketches include “Crazy Crafts”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Tom Snyder MD”, “SCTV News”, “Grizzly Abrams”, “Hugh Betcha’s Night Gallery”, and “Signoff: The National Anthem”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Man's Ability To Imitate (3-9) / Mel's Rock Pile (3-10)

SCTV Review: Man's Ability To Imitate (3-9) / Mel's Rock Pile (3-10)

“Man’s Ability To Imitate” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Man’s Ability To Imitate”, “PSA: Concerned Children for Truth in Advertising / National Organization to Reinstate Cigarette Advertising”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Monster Chiller Horror Theatre”, “Promo: Sea Talk”, “SCTV News”, “Comment with David Brinkley”, “Promo: The Invisible Man”, and “Cooking With Marcello”.

“Mel’s Rock Pile” sketches include: “Promo: Shakespeare In The Park”, “Cheryl Kinsey: Traveling Sexologist”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: The Merv Griffin Show”, “Message From Guy: Viewer Mail”, “PSA: Participaction”, “Promo: Flashing Eyes”, and “Mel’s Rock Pile”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Play It Again, Bob (3-7) / Gaslight (3-8)

SCTV Review: Play It Again, Bob (3-7) / Gaslight (3-8)

“Play It Again, Bob” sketches include “Message From Prickley: Play It Again, Bob”, “Promo: The Trial of Oscar Wilde”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Roto-Rooster”, “SCTV News” and “Play It Again, Bob”.

“Gaslight” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Conversational Scottish”, “Promo: Chick Monk, Roadie Marriage Counselor”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Dick Cavett”, “Gaslight”, and “Sermonette: “Father” Raoul Wilson”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Death Motel (3-5) / The Lone Ranger Show (3-6)

SCTV Review: Death Motel (3-5) / The Lone Ranger Show (3-6)

“Death Motel” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Communicating in Italian”, “Bubie’s Chicken Medication”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Edna’s Back”, “Promo: Danny Eubanks: Seminarian/Rookie Cop”, “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre” and “Death Motel”.

“The Lone Ranger Show” sketches include “Sunrise Semester: Conversational New Yorkese”, “Tex and Edna Boil’s Organ Emporium”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Donohue”, “60/20”, “Message From Guy: Satellite Orbit”, “PSA: Foster Boss”, and “The Lone Ranger Show”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Death Of A Salesman (3-3) / My Factory, My Self (3-4)

SCTV Review: Death Of A Salesman (3-3) / My Factory, My Self (3-4)

“Death Of A Salesman” sketches include “Words To Live By: Rabbi Karlov”, “Promo: Elvis ‘N Costello”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Melba’s Disco Jeans”, “SCTV News”, “Crazy Crafts”, “Message From Guy: Live Theatre”, and “SCTV Live Theatre: Death Of A Salesman”.

“My Factory, My Self” sketches include “Promo: The Young and the Wrestling”, “Money Talks with Brian Johns”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Make Me Barf”, “Dialing For Dollars” and “My Factory, My Self”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Lee A. Iacocca's Rock Concert (3-1) / Thursday Night Live (3-2)

SCTV Review: Lee A. Iacocca's Rock Concert (3-1) / Thursday Night Live (3-2)

“Lee A. Iacocca’s Rock Concert” sketches include “Message From Prickley: Rock Concert”, “Promo: Rhoda”, “Promo: My Fair Lady”, “Kanadian Korner”, “SCTV News”, “Promo: My Life, One More Time” and “Lee A. Iacocca’s Rock Concert”.

“Thursday Night Live” sketches include “Message From Guy: Thursday Night”, “Thursday Night Live”, “Kanadian Korner”, “Promo: Dat’s Da Name Of Dat Tune”, “Promo: Bittman Does Dallas”, “K-Tel’s Fast-Talking Playhouse”, “Promo: Guy Friday”, “Half-Legs”, and “Point/Counterpoint”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Rock Concert (2-17) / Fantasy Island (2-18)

SCTV Review: Rock Concert (2-17) / Fantasy Island (2-18)

“Rock Concert” sketches include “Cooking With Prickley”, “Tex and Edna Boil’s Organ Emporium”, “Promo: Masterpiece Theatre”, “Mind Games”, “SCTV News”, “PSA: Stop Smoking”, “Masterpiece Wigs”, “SCTV Mail Bag with Bob Clark”, and “Rock Concert”.

“Fantasy Island” features a show-length parody of the 1977-84 ABC-TV series, as well as a commercial for the “Ronco No-Sweat Sauna Air Conditioner”.

Read More

SCTV Review: Bad Acting in Hollywood (2-13) / Alfred Hitchcock Presents (2-14)

SCTV Review: Bad Acting in Hollywood (2-13) / Alfred Hitchcock Presents (2-14)

“Bad Acting In Hollywood” sketches include “Promo: Donohue In The Morning”, “Sid Dithers: Private Eye”, “Promo: U.F.O. Sharkey”, “Enough About Me”, “Promo: Fish Police”, “Biller Hi-Lite” and “Bad Acting In Hollywood with Tom Boslee”.

“Alfred Hitchcock Presents” sketches include “Only For Women”, “SCTV Movie Of The Week: Hats Of The West”, “Promo: Consumer Concern”, “Long Distance”, “SCTV Sports Special Presentation: Melonville Snooker Championships”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “The Devil’s Towering 10-G Upsidedown Inferno”.

Read More

SNL Season 6: Final cast and episode summary

The cast:

Denny Dillon and Gilbert Gottfried

Denny Dillon and Gilbert Gottfried

Denny Dillon: Dillon made a strong impression fairly early by carrying a lot of the sketches in the first two shows of the season, having the first recurring character of the new cast, and bringing needed energy to weaker sketches.  There was a little bit of a sameness to her performances that became more evident over the season, but she was a consistent, dependable performer.  She gave a lot of her castmates a boost whenever she shared sketches with them (Gail Matthius' Vickie was better once she had Dillon's Debbie to play off), and just seemed to exhibit a willingness and commitment in whatever she appeared in.  [MVP: Gould, McDowell]

Gilbert Gottfried: It's a little disarming to see Gofffried in these shows, especially since he was so young, with his eyes wide open and not speaking in that famous stilted squawk.  Where Dillon jumped in, Gottfried had a tendency to hold back: the legend goes that he didn't want to use his A-material on the show because he was concerned the network would claim ownership.  Gottfried's performances would end up being the clearest barometer of the Jean Doumanian era: early on, he's more lively and animated, if a little green, but toward the end of the season, he is a little more sullen and withdrawn.  His decrease in spark could have been because he got some of the most thankless jobs on the show that didn't go to featured players (having to wear the Master Po makeup all night in Carradine, playing a vegetable along the featureds in Dazola, and his nadir: being the corpse in a funeral sketch).  Like most of the cast, though, he was not without his moments: he worked well with Dillon as the Waxmans, and I thought his collaborations with writer Ferris Butler were particularly fruitful.  [MVP: Kellerman]

Gail Matthius

Gail Matthius

Gail Matthius: Matthius definitely had potential to be a great cast member, and hit the highest highs out of all three female leads, but she also had a few really frustrating moments on the show.  Impressions were her weakest point, and despite her efforts, she didn't really have the ability to rise above some of the material she was given.  She had a rough time on Weekend Update as well; fumbling a bit in her early shows at the desk and getting saddled with some of the worst jokes ever written.  These missteps seem even more disappointing because when she was actually given good material, she did quite well: I especially liked Francis Lively and the little girl character she played in "Lonely Old Lady", and thought she ended up going out on a strong note with "Same".  I can only wonder how she would have fared on a different incarnation of the show.  [MVP: Carradine, Harry]

Joe Piscopo

Joe Piscopo

Joe Piscopo: Piscopo ended up being one of the two castmembers that stole Charles Rocket's thunder by demonstrating he was a better fit for the characters and celebrity impressions that the show built its name on in the first five seasons.  Piscopo was consistent, well-rounded, and seemed to feel more natural in the prominent roles that Rocket was being schooled for.  I'd draw the line at calling Piscopo an MVP of the season: I believe the key to his relative success this year were clear and repeated hooks in his signature bits (SNL Sports and Paulie Herman; Sinatra developed more fully after Ebersol took over), but he was always more of a "safe" performer and didn't have the kind of charisma that demanded attention like what Eddie Murphy provided, a quality that was desperately needed this season. [MVP: Gould]

Charles Rocket and Ann Risley

Charles Rocket and Ann Risley

Ann Risley: I actually thought Risley handled the straighter roles fairly well.  Risley never managed to have a recurring character, and there were a few performances of hers that were pretty dodgy (mainly as the hosts of "Dying To Be Heard" and "Was I Ever Red"), but I wonder how much of it was actually her acting style (she's more of a straight actress) and how much of it was the writers not finding a breakout role for her (she did come close with the Toni Tenille sketch).  Some say that she was a poor fit for SNL, but I saw a few small glimpses of a potential Kristen Wiig-style performer whose true gift was understatement, although Wiig had the added benefit of being able to write for herself.  A key part of success on the show is either writing for yourself or finding the right writer to collaborate with; I don't know whether Risley had that support for herself.

Charles Rocket: Doumanian was banking too much on Rocket to be the breakout star: usually when something is pushed so heavily, it only helps build a backlash toward the performer.  Rocket was no exception, and he had a few liabilities that probably hurt him on the show: his impressions were weak, and whenever he tried to play big (like his February Updates or even in Billy-Gram), he chewed so much scenery it was distracting.  When he dialed it back, though, he was a decent utility player, and his strengths in those roles presage his respectable career as a character actor.  Rocket's true strength on the show, though, was catching people off-guard during The Rocket Report, where a different type of charm emerged than when he was doing sketches.  Unfortunately, Rocket became the public face for Jean Doumanian's mistakes on the show, and that one moment during the Charlene Tilton goodnights overshadowed pretty much everything he did since, even after he took his own life.  [MVP: Black]

Yvonne Hudson and Charles Rocket

Yvonne Hudson and Charles Rocket

Yvonne Hudson: SNL's first black female featured player was essentially doing the same types of roles she had been doing uncredited for the previous few seasons; aside from some increased prominence in sketches for a few episodes, she was still essentially an extra on the show.  There is actually one episode where she has less lines that SNL's resident "old man" extra, Andy Murphy.  Despite no longer being in the opening credits, she was kept around as an extra the next few seasons.

Matthew Laurance and Eddie Murphy

Matthew Laurance and Eddie Murphy

Matthew Laurance: Aside from Eddie Murphy, Laurance was the most prominent of the featured players.  I thought he was decent as a utility man, and served as a good counterpoint to the more exaggerated performances of Rocket and Piscopo, even if he didn't make a strong impression on his own.  I wonder how he would have done with one of Rocket or Piscopo's pitchman roles.

 

Eddie Murphy: From his first speaking role, Murphy demonstrated why he was full cast material.  There were a few appearances that betrayed his inexperience (particularly Newsbreak in Harry), but he had a confidence that the others in the cast seemed to lack, and made stronger impressions in less airtime than most of the cast did in more.   [MVP: Burstyn, Sharkey, Hays, Tilton]

Patrick Weathers

Patrick Weathers

Patrick Weathers: His Bob Dylan sketch in Carradine was the main thing that distinguished him; he might have made a bigger impact if he was given more to do.  I won't hold Ravi Sings against him.





Robin Duke

Robin Duke

Robin Duke: Out of Dick Ebersol's three full-cast hires, Duke made a smallest impression of the three, getting a band intro, a leftover Jane Curtin role, a decent part in a five-man sketch and a last-minute voice-over in the bag lady film.  None of these roles really showed what she was known for on SCTV, and viewers would get a better glimpse of her capabilities the next season.  Part of this can be attributed to the fact that Duke was a last-minute addition: Catherine O'Hara was originally slated to be on the show in her place (and was listed in news articles as late as five days before airtime), but O'Donoghue's first staff meeting seemed to justify her reticence towards joining the SNL cast.  O'Hara recommended old friend Duke for the show, and a month later, O'Hara was on the same network with the resurrected SCTV.  If the strike hadn't happened, Duke could have made an impact as soon as the next show.

Tim Kazurinksy and Tony Rosato

Tim Kazurinksy and Tony Rosato

Tim Kazurinsky: Kazurinsky seemed to fit SNL immediately, and ended up dominating the first Ebersol-produced show.  Part of Kazurisnky's strong first outing comes from his prominence in two of the longer pieces, but being a combination writer/performer, and coming from an improv background certainly helped him hit the ground running.  It was John Belushi's recommendation that got Kazurinsky hired on the show, and Belushi's instincts turned out to be correct.  [MVP: Finale]

Tony Rosato: Like Duke, Rosato came from SCTV, and like Kazurinsky, he was hired as a writer/performer and made a fairly strong impression in his first show.  He and Kazurinsky worked well together in their two main sketches, but he would find a stronger footing the following season.

Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf: One of the most successful people to have an incredibly brief SNL tenure, Metcalf's sole appearance on the show was a pre-filmed "man on the street" piece.   I can't assess how she would have fared if Ebersol kept her on based on that one segment.




Emily Prager

Emily Prager

Emily Prager: Prager didn't even appear on-camera during her only live show.  She has, however, appeared on the show before and after her tenure as a featured player: she was a girlfriend of Tom Davis' and appeared occasionally as an extra around 1977-78; she and Davis also appear in the Button film next season.

 

 

Strongest shows:

  1.  Karen Black / Cheap Trick, Stanley Clarke: (Average rating: 3.18/5) The show where everything seemed to go right.  It's not flawless (SNL rarely is) but the combination of an energetic host, more determined writing and a receptive audience worked wonders.  As much as Black and the audience kept things lively, the victory belongs to the cast and writers.
  2. Bill Murray / Delbert McClinton: (Average rating: 3.11/5) This is the textbook example of the host bringing a boost to the show.  The previous four shows were dispirited affairs, and the prior show in particular contained the moment that overshadowed the rest of the Doumanian-era.  Murray shows up and infuses what would be the final Doumanian-produced SNL with energy and the sense of fun that had all but vanished in the second half of the season.
  3. No Host / Jr. Walker & The All-Stars: (Average rating: 2.88/5) Ebersol takes over, cleans house (as much as the budget would allow), and makes an appeal to nostalgia with his first show.  It's weighed down by Chevy Chase's disappointing Weekend Update return engagement, but this one remains consistently watchable if not an all-out return to form.

Weakest shows:

  1. Robert Hays / Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crown, 14 Karat Soul: (Average rating: 2/5) The string of mediocre-to-bad sketches that come after Weekend Update is the air seeping out of the SNL '80 tire that they finally were able to inflate the week before.
  2. Jamie Lee Curtis / James Brown: (Average rating: 2.22/5) The first three shows of the season had enough highlights to counteract the weaker material.  Here is where the good to bad ratio finally tips to to the other side; while nothing in this show is as bad as "Commie Hunting Season", a significant number of sketches were underdeveloped and uninspired. 
  3. Charlene Tilton / Todd Rundgren, Prince: (Average rating: 2.26/5) A fair amount of OK material here, but the backstage runner that culminates in "Who Shot C.R." is underwhelming, and the highs don't really offset the lows enough.

Best sketches:

  1. The Writer (03/07/81) Bill Murray is in front but playing it straight, while the new cast gets the fun of acting out the revisions he makes to his story.  Just a good sketch done well.
  2. Hospital Bed (01/17/81) Probably one of the saddest sketches the show has ever done, with Gilbert Gottfried's disembodied voice communicating the thoughts of a stroke victim.  It's punctuated enough with humor to avoid mawkishness, but the writers wisely put the emotion of the scene first.
  3. Mister Robinson's Neighborhood (02/21/81) The debut of one of Eddie Murphy's signature sketches, pretty much fully-formed.  The audience is on board by the end of the theme song.

Honorable mention: The Rocket Report - Fifth Avenue Charles Rocket's signature piece remains the place where his talents were best put to use.

Worst sketches:

  1. Commie Hunting Season (11/22/80) SNL tries to make a pointed statement about the Greensboro Massacre acquittals; it's uncomfortable and alienating, but without the humor to redeem it.
  2. Ravi Sings (01/24/81) The only joke in the sketch: a cartoonish portrayal of an Indian musician singing American love songs.
  3. Badgers (12/13/80) A grating, amateurish sketch that hinges on a pun.

Best musical guests:

  1. James Brown His sweat-drenched eight-minute medley of classics is a high point of both the season and the series, especially when taking into consideration that the band exceeded their allotted time.
  2. 14 Karat Soul Five young singers with no instrumental accompaniment get one of the biggest reactions from the audience this season.
  3. Stanley Clarke Trio Instrumental jazz-fusion that rocks as hard as any other musical guest this year.

Worst musical guests:

To be honest, I couldn't really say that there were any truly bad musical guests.  Joe "King" Carrasco may have had a rough and raw sound but it was clear the band was going for energy over technique, and the worst I could really say about Ellen Shipley is that she was decent but a little generic-sounding.  The other musical guests only really pale in comparison to the stellar choices Doumanian (and whoever else was involved in snagging musical guests) made this year.  I wonder how much of the booking strategy was intentional and how much of it was necessity, but this was where the Jean Doumanian show had some of their biggest victories.

Writer tally and turnover:

(*) indicates the writer returned the next season, (~) indicates a previous writer returning to SNL.

Aside from Ferris Butler's contributions (special thanks goes to Butler for providing a lot of insightful information about the season, by the way), knowledge of Blaustein & Sheffield's partnership with Eddie Murphy and a handful of other sketches whose writers have been identified, I don't really know what each specific writers' voices are in the show and whether any shifts in quality were from writers joining or leaving, or being favored or disfavored.  If anyone has more information regarding who was responsible for any sketches, please feel free to drop me a line.

Full season:

  • Barry W. Blaustein*
  • Billy Brown & Mel Green
  • Patricia Marx
  • Douglas McGrath
  • Pamela Norris*
  • David Sheffield*
  • Terrence Sweeney

Full Doumanian run:

  • Larry Arnstein & David Hurwitz
  • Ferris Butler
  • John DeBellis
  • Jean Doumanian
  • Brian Doyle-Murray*~
  • Leslie Fuller

Shorter tenure:

  • Mason Williams (head writer, Gould through Carradine)
  • Jeremy Stevens & Tom Moore (head writers, Sharkey through finale)
  • Nancy Dowd (Gould and McDowell only)
  • Sean Kelly (Gould and McDowell only)
  • Mitchell Kreigman (Gould through Carradine)
  • Mark Reisman (Harry through finale)

Post-hiatus hires:

  • Mitchell Glazer
  • Judy Jacklin
  • Tim Kazurinsky*
  • Matt Neuman~
  • Michael O'Donoghue*~
  • Tony Rosato*
  • Dirk Wittenborn

An essay regarding the season as a whole will follow in a subsequent post.

Classic SNL Review: April 11, 1981: (no host) / Jr. Walker & The All Stars (S06E13)

Classic SNL Review: April 11, 1981: (no host) / Jr. Walker & The All Stars (S06E13)

Sketches include "Storeroom", "Drive For America", "Lite Beer", "I Married A Monkey", "Same", "The Self-Righteous", "Wedding Day", "Famous Broadcaster's School of Cue-Card Reading", "Wild Country Gun Cards" and "Bag Lady". Jr. Walker & The All-Stars perform two medleys: "Roadrunner/Shotgun" and "How Sweet It Is/What Does It Take". Chevy Chase, Al Franken, Mr. Bill, Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve also appear.

Read More

Classic SNL Review: May 22, 1982: Olivia Newton-John / The SNL Band (S07E20)

Classic SNL Review: May 22, 1982: Olivia Newton-John / The SNL Band (S07E20)

Sketches include "The Pig Meets Olivia", "Ebony & Ivory", "I Married A Monkey IV", "Pearly Gates", "Not A Record Ad", "Buzz Words", "Sandy's Curse" and "Sports Organ Classics".Olivia Newton-John and the SNL Band perform "Physical", "Make A Move On Me", and "Landslide".Michael Davis also appears.

Read More

Classic SNL Review: May 15, 1982: Danny DeVito / Sparks (S07E19)

Classic SNL Review: May 15, 1982: Danny DeVito / Sparks (S07E19)

Sketches include "Taxi", "Whiners", "Stress Out", "Old Friends", "Enzo", "Table Talk", and "Looks At Books". Sparks perform "Mickey Mouse" and "I Predict". Andy Kaufman appears with footage of his wrestling match with Jerry Lawler.

Read More

Classic SNL Review: April 24, 1982: Robert Culp / The Charlie Daniels Band (S07E18)

Classic SNL Review: April 24, 1982: Robert Culp / The Charlie Daniels Band (S07E18)

Sketches include: "Tennis Club", "Middle Age of Aquarius", "Egg & Sperm", "Party Girl", "James Brown Is Annie", "Babies In Make-Up", "Happy's Mayonnaise Palace", and "Sunken Submarine". The Charlie Daniels Band performs "Still In Saigon" and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".

Read More

Classic SNL Review: April 17, 1982: Johnny Cash / Elton John (S07E17)

Classic SNL Review: April 17, 1982: Johnny Cash / Elton John (S07E17)

Sketches include The Honeyrooneys, Last Request, Hail To The Chief, Jay Clay Gets Depressed, Tegrim, Train Poet and Black Talk. Johnny Cash performs "Man In Black", "I Walk The Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", and "Sunday Morning Coming Down". Elton John performs "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" and "Ball and Chain".

Read More

Classic SNL Review: April 10, 1982: Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar (S07E16)

Classic SNL Review: April 10, 1982: Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar (S07E16)

Sketches include: "Ridealong", "Whiners", "The Merman Zone", "Hill Street Blues", "Bavarian Butterfly", "Career Corner" and "Reagan Brand Economics". A 1-900 number phone-in vote is held to determine the fate of Larry The Lobster. John Cougar performs "Hurt So Good" and "Ain't Even Done With The Night". Bruce Weitz also appears.

Read More