"No breakfast! Cheeseburger!"
Cold Open: Rock Concert
5 Stars
Mr. Mike and Tina Turner duet
I was really looking forward to watching Charlie's Angels Catch The Syph but instead NBC ran an episode of SNL this week so I'll review that. Paul Shaffer makes his first appearance as Don Kirshner to introduce Tina Turner and Mr. Mike and The Mikettes. Mr. Mike tells a story about a rabbit who gets his ears caught in a big wheel which prompts Tina (Garrett in drag) to launch into Proud Mary, "Big wheel keep on turning". Tina and the girls finish the song and Paul gets to say "Live from New York...". I don't know why this exists but I really liked it. This is the best performance I've seen from Garrett all season.
Robert Klein Monologue
4 Stars
Robert talks about his college days, how people look in college brochures, sharing his dormitories with cows and anti-Semites. Kids called him “Jew Boy” and chanted at him during his role of Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice. A serious subject told in a comedic fashion. I’m not really familiar with Robert Klein but this monologue made me want to check him out.
The Olympia Cafe
4 Stars
Menu items are limited at a Greek diner
The first of the "Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger" sketches. Patrons at a diner order food and are repeatedly told that they can only order cheeseburgers, Pepsi and chips, no Coke, no fries. Quite possibly the original catchphrase sketch. Would we have ever gotten a Richmeister without it? Possibly, but we certainly would never seen "You like-a the juice?".
X-Police
4 Stars
Former cops bust an unmarried couple
The X-Police are back and this time they are taking down a man and woman living in sin. Robert and Laraine are an unmarried couple living together which the X-Police see as a felony. Bill knocks out Robert and Dan slams Laraine's head against the door multiple times, killing her in the process. They frame Robert for the murder by waking him up and telling him that he went berserk and strangled his girlfriend when she tried to bribe the cops with sexual favors. A sillier premise than the first one but this is such a silly sketch that it works.
Bonnie Raitt
"Runaway"
Bonnie covers the Del Shannon classic with a bluesy feel. Pretty cool.
Weekend Update
Something weird happened during Update. Either Gilda wasn't in place or Jane missed a story or the camera cut to the wrong image. Whatever it was, it resulted in Jane fumbling with her papers, stalling for time until Gilda got in place and saying "We'll continue with Roseanne Roseannadanna instead of doing the other stuff. It wasn't funny anyway."
This prompted me to say, "That's never stopped you before. Weekend Update is a comedy graveyard where bad jokes are told clumsily."
A technical snafu is the most interesting thing that's happened in this segment all season.
The aforementioned Roseanne Roseannadanna is supposed to be doing a report on aneurysms but instead talks about warts and toenails. I just realized that this character is just Emily Litella in a different wig. She comes out to talk about a subject but instead talks about something else and annoys the anchor. They just changed the reasoning behind her confusion. While Emily was hard of hearing, Roseanne is just a long-winded idiot.
Nick Winters
4 Stars
Nick plays to a crowd at a ski resort
Second appearance of Nick the lounge singer. This is just Bill commanding the stage. He's got a way of being funny even when he's playing an unfunny character. He sings the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey, talks to the crowd and puts lyrics to the Star Wars theme.
"Star Wars/Nothing but Star Wars/Gimme those Star Wars/Don't let them end"
Frogs Look At Film
2 Stars
3 nerds have made a rock album
I didn't quite get this one, unless it was just an attempt by Bill and Gilda to get their nerd characters on the show. This is the first appearance of Lisa Loopner and Todd, but in this sketch they go by the nicknames of Four Eyes and Pizza Face. They are joined by Spazz and they have made an album. They want nerd rock to be respected but unfortunately nobody will buy their record. Songs of theirs include 'I'll Give You My Lunch Money' and 'I Can't Help It If I Have Egg Salad On My Retainer". Lisa's mom comes to pick them up from the radio station and they thank the DJ for a wonderful time.
Lobster Update
"Well, goodbye America. Until we meet again, this is Don Pardo saying AAAAAAIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Average
I was really looking forward to watching Charlie's Angels Catch The Syph but instead NBC ran an episode of SNL this week so I'll review that. Paul Shaffer makes his first appearance as Don Kirshner to introduce Tina Turner and Mr. Mike and The Mikettes. Mr. Mike tells a story about a rabbit who gets his ears caught in a big wheel which prompts Tina (Garrett in drag) to launch into Proud Mary, "Big wheel keep on turning". Tina and the girls finish the song and Paul gets to say "Live from New York...". I don't know why this exists but I really liked it. This is the best performance I've seen from Garrett all season.
Robert Klein Monologue
4 Stars
Robert talks about his college days, how people look in college brochures, sharing his dormitories with cows and anti-Semites. Kids called him “Jew Boy” and chanted at him during his role of Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice. A serious subject told in a comedic fashion. I’m not really familiar with Robert Klein but this monologue made me want to check him out.
The Olympia Cafe
4 Stars
Menu items are limited at a Greek diner
The first of the "Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger" sketches. Patrons at a diner order food and are repeatedly told that they can only order cheeseburgers, Pepsi and chips, no Coke, no fries. Quite possibly the original catchphrase sketch. Would we have ever gotten a Richmeister without it? Possibly, but we certainly would never seen "You like-a the juice?".
X-Police
4 Stars
Former cops bust an unmarried couple
The X-Police are back and this time they are taking down a man and woman living in sin. Robert and Laraine are an unmarried couple living together which the X-Police see as a felony. Bill knocks out Robert and Dan slams Laraine's head against the door multiple times, killing her in the process. They frame Robert for the murder by waking him up and telling him that he went berserk and strangled his girlfriend when she tried to bribe the cops with sexual favors. A sillier premise than the first one but this is such a silly sketch that it works.
Bonnie Raitt
"Runaway"
Bonnie covers the Del Shannon classic with a bluesy feel. Pretty cool.
Weekend Update
Something weird happened during Update. Either Gilda wasn't in place or Jane missed a story or the camera cut to the wrong image. Whatever it was, it resulted in Jane fumbling with her papers, stalling for time until Gilda got in place and saying "We'll continue with Roseanne Roseannadanna instead of doing the other stuff. It wasn't funny anyway."
This prompted me to say, "That's never stopped you before. Weekend Update is a comedy graveyard where bad jokes are told clumsily."
A technical snafu is the most interesting thing that's happened in this segment all season.
The aforementioned Roseanne Roseannadanna is supposed to be doing a report on aneurysms but instead talks about warts and toenails. I just realized that this character is just Emily Litella in a different wig. She comes out to talk about a subject but instead talks about something else and annoys the anchor. They just changed the reasoning behind her confusion. While Emily was hard of hearing, Roseanne is just a long-winded idiot.
Nick Winters
4 Stars
Nick plays to a crowd at a ski resort
Second appearance of Nick the lounge singer. This is just Bill commanding the stage. He's got a way of being funny even when he's playing an unfunny character. He sings the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey, talks to the crowd and puts lyrics to the Star Wars theme.
"Star Wars/Nothing but Star Wars/Gimme those Star Wars/Don't let them end"
Frogs Look At Film
3 Stars
Jerry Lewis gets a job as an air traffic controller
This was a weird one. A close personal friend of Francois Truffaut introduces us to a clip from France's most respected comedic talent, Jerry Lewis. Then it's basically a Jerry Lewis film for a couple of minutes. I'm not sure what came first, did Robert Klein just want to do a Jerry Lewis impression? Or did they come up with this to make fun of the French for loving him? After the introduction there is never another joke about the French so I tend to believe the former. Robert's Jerry bumbles around and causes two planes to collide, but the good news is that the planes were carrying a bunch of foreign spies. My favorite part of this was Dan as the guy who is constantly exasperated by Jerry. He nailed the acting style of an old movie villain.
Nerd Rock
This was a weird one. A close personal friend of Francois Truffaut introduces us to a clip from France's most respected comedic talent, Jerry Lewis. Then it's basically a Jerry Lewis film for a couple of minutes. I'm not sure what came first, did Robert Klein just want to do a Jerry Lewis impression? Or did they come up with this to make fun of the French for loving him? After the introduction there is never another joke about the French so I tend to believe the former. Robert's Jerry bumbles around and causes two planes to collide, but the good news is that the planes were carrying a bunch of foreign spies. My favorite part of this was Dan as the guy who is constantly exasperated by Jerry. He nailed the acting style of an old movie villain.
Nerd Rock
2 Stars
3 nerds have made a rock album
I didn't quite get this one, unless it was just an attempt by Bill and Gilda to get their nerd characters on the show. This is the first appearance of Lisa Loopner and Todd, but in this sketch they go by the nicknames of Four Eyes and Pizza Face. They are joined by Spazz and they have made an album. They want nerd rock to be respected but unfortunately nobody will buy their record. Songs of theirs include 'I'll Give You My Lunch Money' and 'I Can't Help It If I Have Egg Salad On My Retainer". Lisa's mom comes to pick them up from the radio station and they thank the DJ for a wonderful time.
Lobster Update
Not a rateable segment but before Robert can introduce Bonnie Raitt, Jane comes out to follow up on a story from Weekend Update. It appears that giant lobsters are heading to attack New York City and the President has declared a state of emergency. This is a setup for something to come later but the first time I was watching this episode I was infuriated that they were giving Update jokes more airtime.
Bonnie Raitt
"Give It All Up Or Let Me Go"
Bonnie performs with Robert playing harmonica. Halfway through their song a news crawl scrolls above their heads saying that atomically mutated lobsters are ascending upon the city and the army is unable to stop them. The death toll is estimated in the millions. As this War Of The Worlds style hysteria plays out, Bonnie and the band are giving us some funky and fun tunes.
Rhonda & Barbara
While technically this is a sketch, I can't really rate it because it's basically a fake out. Jane and Gilda are feeling the effects of some drug they just took and paranoia has set in. This gets interrupted by a lot of off-screen noise. The girls break character, stop the scene and ask what is going on. The stage manager and Belushi come in and John thinks it may be the roar of giant lobsters.
Attack Of The Atomic Lobsters
5 Stars
Ray Harryhausen-like giant lobsters are seen terrorizing the city, climbing buildings, cutting people in half and biting off their heads. One lobster climbs Rockefeller Center and bursts in a window to attack the studio audience. At home base, Robert Klein is describing the terror as cast members and crew run by him screaming and the army fires at the creatures. The studio is filled with blood and dead bodies as Robert tries to find the words to encapsulate the carnage. This goes on through the end of the show as Robert himself is killed by a giant lobster which then takes out Don Pardo. We officially end with static as we hear two men come up with a plan to destroy the lobsters, a big pot of boiling water, some sour cream, butter and baked potatoes.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"Well, goodbye America. Until we meet again, this is Don Pardo saying AAAAAAIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Average
3.9 Stars
MVP
Dan Aykroyd
Olympia Cafe, X-Police, Weekend Update, Nick Winters, Frogs Look At Film, Nerd Rock, Attack Of The Atomic Lobsters
Olympia Cafe, X-Police, Weekend Update, Nick Winters, Frogs Look At Film, Nerd Rock, Attack Of The Atomic Lobsters
Best Sketch
Attack Of The Atomic Lobsters
Worst Sketch
Nerd Rock
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
We didn't need Paul Shaffer saying the sign on. He did it in character so it was slow and with no energy. He was so slow, they even faded to the opening credits before he was finished. Having Garrett scream it after his performance would have given a bigger boost to the opening. This is a minor quibble as this was one of my favorite episodes ever.
Host Analysis
Host Analysis
I have no idea who Robert Klein is. I have a passing familiarity with him as a stand-up comedian. I think he was on a Comic Relief I saw when I was a kid. After watching this episode, I am going to listen to his comedy albums. I thought he was great. He was funny, had distinct characters in every sketch and was able to play the straight man when he needed to. He even jammed with the band for crying out loud, what more do want from a host?
Final Thoughts
Just like the Charles Grodin and Ray Charles episode, this barely missed the gold 4 star rating. I'm tempted to raise my rating of a few of the sketches just to push it over the hump but that would be cheating. This gets an honorary 4 stars as this was one of the weirdest, craziest and best episodes I've ever seen. From the cold open to the goodnights, there were times when I had no idea what I was watching but it was so much fun. I love how the show is taking risks in this season. There's no VCRs, DVRs or YouTube at this point so the only people watching this are stoned nerds up late on Saturday night, they can pretty much do whatever they want. The show never surprises me anymore. The show today is cold open, monologue, sketch, sketch, musical guest, Update, sketch, sketch, musical guest, sketch. I still love it but you know what you're getting. There's no tried and true format to the show at this point so they can play around. What if we end the show with giant lobsters taking over the studio? Sounds great, let's do it. I have avoided these earlier seasons because I thought I wouldn't like them, or that I wouldn't like them as much as they have been hyped. Aside from 3 shows I thought were weak to bad, this has been one of my favorite seasons.
Up Next
Chevy Chase becomes the first former cast member to host the show as he returns to the show for the first time since leaving last season.
Up Next
Chevy Chase becomes the first former cast member to host the show as he returns to the show for the first time since leaving last season.
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