"I might be blind but I'm certainly not stupid"
Cold Open: Godfather
3 Stars
Don Corleone isn’t happy about the TV airing of The Godfather
I’m assuming the television premiere of The Godfather was on NBC this week as this sketch posits Vito Corleone airing his frustration with his consigliere and plotting his revenge on the network. It could have been set up a little better, I had to connect the dots myself. Vito is mad about The Godfather film but is upset at television? Why? Oh, The Godfather must have been on TV at this time. Then again, if I was watching this live and not 40 years after the fact I would have all the context I needed. Mainly just an excuse for John to show off his Brando impression. The line about Grizzly Addams waking up with a bear's head in his bed was pretty good.
I’m assuming the television premiere of The Godfather was on NBC this week as this sketch posits Vito Corleone airing his frustration with his consigliere and plotting his revenge on the network. It could have been set up a little better, I had to connect the dots myself. Vito is mad about The Godfather film but is upset at television? Why? Oh, The Godfather must have been on TV at this time. Then again, if I was watching this live and not 40 years after the fact I would have all the context I needed. Mainly just an excuse for John to show off his Brando impression. The line about Grizzly Addams waking up with a bear's head in his bed was pretty good.
Ray Charles Monologue
5 Stars
Ray sings 'I Can See Clearly Now'
Ray didn't want to do the show but says he finally agreed when the producers told him they would be doing the show live at Carnegie Hall. Ray knows that he's not in Carnegie Hall and the producers are trying to play a trick on him but the joke's on them as he's not the real Ray Charles. Then he launches into Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now. An ironic song for him to sing but it's never sounded better to me than it does coming from him.
Carter's Energy Program
Ray didn't want to do the show but says he finally agreed when the producers told him they would be doing the show live at Carnegie Hall. Ray knows that he's not in Carnegie Hall and the producers are trying to play a trick on him but the joke's on them as he's not the real Ray Charles. Then he launches into Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now. An ironic song for him to sing but it's never sounded better to me than it does coming from him.
Carter's Energy Program
3 Stars
Jimmy Carter talks about alternative energy
After Ray's song, he starts to talk about President Carter and his kinship with his fellow Georgian. As he launches into Georgia On My Mind we fade to the White House where Jimmy Carter is talking to the American people. I don't remember Jimmy Carter's mustache period but, again, I wasn't alive in the 70s. Carter's energy program isn't well received and he laments the fact that he may not be re-elected. He is happy in the knowledge that one day the world will run out of oil and they will come crawling back to him to apologize. Could have used a bigger turn from defeated Carter to gloating Carter from Dan but this was short and sweet. We then cut back to Ray to finish the song.
Mamorex
After Ray's song, he starts to talk about President Carter and his kinship with his fellow Georgian. As he launches into Georgia On My Mind we fade to the White House where Jimmy Carter is talking to the American people. I don't remember Jimmy Carter's mustache period but, again, I wasn't alive in the 70s. Carter's energy program isn't well received and he laments the fact that he may not be re-elected. He is happy in the knowledge that one day the world will run out of oil and they will come crawling back to him to apologize. Could have used a bigger turn from defeated Carter to gloating Carter from Dan but this was short and sweet. We then cut back to Ray to finish the song.
Mamorex
3 Stars
Ella Fitzgerald breaks glass with her voice
Ray welcomes Ella Fitzgerald to the stage (Garrett in a wig) who sings a note so high that it breaks a wine glass on Ray's piano. He then transitions into an add for Mamorex cassette tapes where he will see if he can tell the difference between Ella's real voice and her voice playing from a cassette player. As the tape is played, Ray's trademark sunglasses crack. A few technical snafus made this a little sloppy. The tape doesn't start playing right away causing Garrett to vamp and you can tell something is happening to Ray as we zoom in on Ella, but this was still fun and Ray is providing some great comedic timing.
The Doody Girls
Ray welcomes Ella Fitzgerald to the stage (Garrett in a wig) who sings a note so high that it breaks a wine glass on Ray's piano. He then transitions into an add for Mamorex cassette tapes where he will see if he can tell the difference between Ella's real voice and her voice playing from a cassette player. As the tape is played, Ray's trademark sunglasses crack. A few technical snafus made this a little sloppy. The tape doesn't start playing right away causing Garrett to vamp and you can tell something is happening to Ray as we zoom in on Ella, but this was still fun and Ray is providing some great comedic timing.
The Doody Girls
3 Stars
Howdy Doody's wife tries to get on with her life
Howdy Doody's widow and his sister are still in mourning after his passing from string cancer. Howdy's last words were "What time is it?" which has become a trigger phrase for the widow. She's trying to move on with her life and date again but starts crying every time someone asks her for the time. I was not a fan of this the first time I watched it. I thought it was corny and unfunny. The second time I watched it I just focused on the physicality of Gilda and Laraine, who are being controlled like marionette puppets the whole sketch, and I came around. This was fun but wasn't quite funny enough to be a lead off sketch.
Howdy Doody's widow and his sister are still in mourning after his passing from string cancer. Howdy's last words were "What time is it?" which has become a trigger phrase for the widow. She's trying to move on with her life and date again but starts crying every time someone asks her for the time. I was not a fan of this the first time I watched it. I thought it was corny and unfunny. The second time I watched it I just focused on the physicality of Gilda and Laraine, who are being controlled like marionette puppets the whole sketch, and I came around. This was fun but wasn't quite funny enough to be a lead off sketch.
Tomorrow
4 Stars
Tom Snyder interviews Ray Charles
Dan's Tom Snyder impression talks to Ray Charles and while I wasn't laughing that much, I was enjoying this very much. Ray is simply a fun person to hang out with and I enjoyed listening to him talk. Tom asks him about groupies, what are the blues and why do people get them, and his blindness. Ray demonstrates his heightened other senses by letting us know that Tom hasn't changed his socks for two days and tucks his shirt into his boxer shorts. This is as good of time as any to point out that Ray Charles is blind. I guess I shouldn't be impressed with the fact that he has clearly memorized all his lines but seeing as how so many hosts rely heavily on the cue cards, it was really cool to know that this guy put in the work this week.
What Did I Say
Dan's Tom Snyder impression talks to Ray Charles and while I wasn't laughing that much, I was enjoying this very much. Ray is simply a fun person to hang out with and I enjoyed listening to him talk. Tom asks him about groupies, what are the blues and why do people get them, and his blindness. Ray demonstrates his heightened other senses by letting us know that Tom hasn't changed his socks for two days and tucks his shirt into his boxer shorts. This is as good of time as any to point out that Ray Charles is blind. I guess I shouldn't be impressed with the fact that he has clearly memorized all his lines but seeing as how so many hosts rely heavily on the cue cards, it was really cool to know that this guy put in the work this week.
What Did I Say
5 Stars
The Young Caucasians perform Ray's hit song
It's 1957 and Ray Charles has a hit with 'What'd I Say', but due to racial segregation his version is only going to be played on the negro stations. A record company has given him $400 for the rights to the song so they can record a white version to be played throughout the country. In come The Young Caucasians with matching sweaters and pleated skirts to sing 'What Did I Say'. It is of course very lame but in a fun way.
Ray Charles
"What'd I Say"
It's 1957 and Ray Charles has a hit with 'What'd I Say', but due to racial segregation his version is only going to be played on the negro stations. A record company has given him $400 for the rights to the song so they can record a white version to be played throughout the country. In come The Young Caucasians with matching sweaters and pleated skirts to sing 'What Did I Say'. It is of course very lame but in a fun way.
Ray Charles
"What'd I Say"
5 Stars
After The Young Caucasians leave, Ray says he likes his version of the song better and launches into the real song. I usually don't give the musical performances a star rating but this isn't a typical episode of SNL and, as we'll get into later, is heavy on the tunes.
Weekend Update
"If you were bitten by an animal who may be rabid, capture it and bring it to a doctor"
Don Pardo introduces Weekend Update as being hosted by Chevy Chase. Instead of making a joke out of this, they move on quickly after pointing out the mistake. I think that's my biggest problem with Weekend Update so far this season, they're not treating this as a comedy segment. Dan and Jane are just reading jokes off paper, most of which they almost apologetically laugh at. The bits of silliness, like Dan getting rabies, seem more like desperate pleas for laughs than inspired and absurd bits. It was interesting to hear an O.J. Simpson joke where the punchline wasn't about murder. In this case, he turns into a southern mammy after knee surgery.
Bill Murray has his 4th review in 5 episodes. This week he's talking about Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. He is upset about a Time magazine article that gave away the ending of the movie. During his review he also gives away the ending and feels like a moron when he realizes he made the same error.
Octet Medley
5 Stars
Franklyn Ajaye
1 Star
Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course
4 Stars
A course designed to teach you how to slow down when you read
The opposite of speed reading, this school teaches you to slow down when you read a book. Jane finds that she laughs more at Mark Twain when she takes the time to understand him and Bill plays a surgeon who realizes that he understands medical text books better when he slows down and pays attention. Ray puts the capper on the commercial by showing us the braille version of the course which saves him from getting blisters on his fingers.
Blackout
The opposite of speed reading, this school teaches you to slow down when you read a book. Jane finds that she laughs more at Mark Twain when she takes the time to understand him and Bill plays a surgeon who realizes that he understands medical text books better when he slows down and pays attention. Ray puts the capper on the commercial by showing us the braille version of the course which saves him from getting blisters on his fingers.
Blackout
4 Stars
Ray Charles gets mugged in his hotel room
Ray remembers the last time he was in New York City. It was the summer of 1977 just moments before the blackout. Two men come into his hotel room to rob him and as the lights go out we hear a commotion with a lot of screaming. When the power is restored, one of the robbers is tied up and the other is shot and Ray calmly calls the front desk to order room service and send for the police. A short and cute little bit.
Next Week
"Oh! What A Beautiful Morning"
Not really a rateable segment, but the cast surrounds Ray's piano. John puts on some sunglasses and does his Ray Charles impression, which seems to delight the man himself. Afterwards, Mr. Mike comes out to present Ray with an honor.
Monet Painting
Ray remembers the last time he was in New York City. It was the summer of 1977 just moments before the blackout. Two men come into his hotel room to rob him and as the lights go out we hear a commotion with a lot of screaming. When the power is restored, one of the robbers is tied up and the other is shot and Ray calmly calls the front desk to order room service and send for the police. A short and cute little bit.
Next Week
No rating for this, but Buck Henry comes out to tell us that he'll be hosting next week and will be bringing with him the five finalists for the Anyone Can Host contest.
"Oh! What A Beautiful Morning"
5 Stars
Ray even makes Rodgers and Hammerstein cool.
"I Can't Stop Loving You"
Not really a rateable segment, but the cast surrounds Ray's piano. John puts on some sunglasses and does his Ray Charles impression, which seems to delight the man himself. Afterwards, Mr. Mike comes out to present Ray with an honor.
Monet Painting
4 Stars
Mr. Mike presents Ray with an honor
Mr. Mike comes out with a Monet painting that the cast and crew are donating to the Lighthouse Of The Blind in Ray's honor. When he pulls back the curtain to reveal the painting it is a canvas with "Please Don't Tell Him" written on it. Mike describes the painting to Ray who is very grateful. After Mike leaves, Ray tells us that the joke is really on Mike as Ray has arranged for a group of big, black dudes to break every bone in Mike's body at the after party, but please don't tell him. I like how they made a bunch of blind jokes at Ray's expense but the final joke was never on Ray himself as he always had the upper hand.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Mr. Mike comes out with a Monet painting that the cast and crew are donating to the Lighthouse Of The Blind in Ray's honor. When he pulls back the curtain to reveal the painting it is a canvas with "Please Don't Tell Him" written on it. Mike describes the painting to Ray who is very grateful. After Mike leaves, Ray tells us that the joke is really on Mike as Ray has arranged for a group of big, black dudes to break every bone in Mike's body at the after party, but please don't tell him. I like how they made a bunch of blind jokes at Ray's expense but the final joke was never on Ray himself as he always had the upper hand.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"These white people ain't ready for this kind of stuff"
Average
3.8 Stars
MVP
Ray Charles
From the cast...
Dan Aykroyd
Carter's Energy Plan, Tomorrow, What Did I Say, Weekend Update, Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course, Blackout, Monet Painting
From the cast...
Dan Aykroyd
Carter's Energy Plan, Tomorrow, What Did I Say, Weekend Update, Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course, Blackout, Monet Painting
Best Sketch
What Did I Say
Worst Sketch
Carter's Energy Plan
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
I loved this episode. I really liked Ray introducing sketches while sitting behind his piano and I loved every number he had. This wasn't a typical episode of SNL, more akin to the 2nd episode of the show hosted by Paul Simon where it was basically a Paul Simon TV special with sketches peppered throughout. It didn't bother me a bit as I loved the music, the sketches were all decent and Ray was a terrific host.
Host Analysis
Ray Charles seemed to be having a grand old time and he was so much fun to watch. His musical numbers were all amazing and he was equally good in his sketch appearances. I said it earlier but I was incredibly impressed with how he handled himself on live TV considering that he couldn't use the cue cards at all. I've seen so many hosts stumble over lines or glue their eyes to someone holding up a card stage right or left that it was downright refreshing to see someone come prepared. I love that he took all the blind jokes on the chin and always gave back so the punchline was never on him.
Final Thoughts
While not a typical SNL episode, this was a delight from beginning to end. Just like the last episode with Charles Grodin, it just barely missed the gold standard of a 4 star average, but that's mostly due to the stand up set from Franklyn Ajaye. I'm giving this one an honorary 4 star rating. I had so much fun watching this and had just as much fun watching it a second time. This is one I'll go back to on a rainy day.
Up Next
Two classic episodes in a row, we're almost assuredly due for a stinker. But as previously stated Buck Henry will be hosting with the Anyone Can Host finalists. Let's keep up the good work, hopefully.
Two classic episodes in a row, we're almost assuredly due for a stinker. But as previously stated Buck Henry will be hosting with the Anyone Can Host finalists. Let's keep up the good work, hopefully.
A true professional
ReplyDeleteWhen Ray's playing as the credits roll, and the cast and the audience are all joining in, it’s one of my favorite moments of early SNL.
ReplyDelete