"He's my favorite honky"
Cold Open: Rock Concert
4 Stars
Jake and Elwood Blues perform "Hey Bartender". Not much more to say about this. I'm not sure of the timeline of The Blues Brothers, whether they had an album out at this time or if this was just something Dan and John wanted to do on the show. Maybe they just couldn't book a musical guest for this week and knew John could sing and Dan could play harmonica.
Steve Martin Monologue
5 Stars
Steve tries his hand at magic with the help of a random audience member. He’s able to steal the man’s watch, wallet, belt, suspenders, underpants and mustache without him noticing. This is easily my favorite of Steve’s three monologues this season.
Rerun of Hey You!
Festrunk Brothers
3 Stars
Georg and Yortuk swing with foxes
We have completely reached catchphrase comedy at this point. The audience cheers when they say “two wild and crazy guys” and “big American breasts”. This Festrunk Brothers sketch is exactly like the last two, just amplified. The performances from Steve and Dan are still fun but you know exactly what you’re getting as soon as the sketch starts.
Theodoric Of York, Medieval Barber
Georg and Yortuk swing with foxes
We have completely reached catchphrase comedy at this point. The audience cheers when they say “two wild and crazy guys” and “big American breasts”. This Festrunk Brothers sketch is exactly like the last two, just amplified. The performances from Steve and Dan are still fun but you know exactly what you’re getting as soon as the sketch starts.
Theodoric Of York, Medieval Barber
4 Stars
A medieval doctor recommends leeches and bleedings
Steve treats everyone’s malady with barbaric practices like bloodlettings and torture racks. One patient is difficult to diagnose so he gets the Caladrius bird after boiled sheep's urine to the face returns no results. This one's a classic that was referenced when Steve hosted in season 17, the last season I watched. My favorite part of this is Steve's pompousness. He knows his methods are the best and he even looks down on the people who came before him for their way of thinking.
Dancing In The Dark
Steve treats everyone’s malady with barbaric practices like bloodlettings and torture racks. One patient is difficult to diagnose so he gets the Caladrius bird after boiled sheep's urine to the face returns no results. This one's a classic that was referenced when Steve hosted in season 17, the last season I watched. My favorite part of this is Steve's pompousness. He knows his methods are the best and he even looks down on the people who came before him for their way of thinking.
Dancing In The Dark
4 Stars
Steve and Gilda dance together
No set up for this and no ending. Steve and Gilda see each other at a hip nightclub and begin to dance. Their routine alternates between classic dance moves reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and sillier ones like finger pointing and spastic hip movements. Afterwards they return to their starting points indicating that this has all been some sort of dream. An interesting piece made all the more poignant as this was the clip they showed on SNL the day Gilda died and Steve was hosting the show.
Weekend Update
No set up for this and no ending. Steve and Gilda see each other at a hip nightclub and begin to dance. Their routine alternates between classic dance moves reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and sillier ones like finger pointing and spastic hip movements. Afterwards they return to their starting points indicating that this has all been some sort of dream. An interesting piece made all the more poignant as this was the clip they showed on SNL the day Gilda died and Steve was hosting the show.
Weekend Update
Dan delivers a story about marijuana that has been sprayed with a deadly herbicide. He says there is a test you can perform to ensure that your weed doesn't contain the harmful chemical. Garrett Morris comes in with a bag of pot but is told that it feels light. Dan ordered a full ounce and sends Garrett back out to get more. Apparently this segment was just a ruse to score some dope.
King Tut
4 Stars
When I was a kid, I did not get this. I first heard it on a Dr. Demento compilation album and assumed it was funny but too old for me. It's weird seeing comedy you don't understand as a child. Everyone else is laughing and you are told that this is funny, but you don't get it. I realize now that there is nothing to get here. It's just stupid, silly and fun.
Love Story
4 Stars
A couple confess their affairs
John and Jane are in bed together when Jane confesses to having an affair with their 72 year old pharmacist. John then tells her that he's been having an affair with a high school cheerleader. They both talk about their sexual encounters very civilly and in great detail. We then find out that this is just their style of foreplay as talking about sex with other people gets them hot for each other. I really liked the reveal of this one. There have been sketches this season about couples arguing that never really had a punchline, this one had a good one and the performances by John and Jane were both very good.
A Film By Gary Weis
John and Jane are in bed together when Jane confesses to having an affair with their 72 year old pharmacist. John then tells her that he's been having an affair with a high school cheerleader. They both talk about their sexual encounters very civilly and in great detail. We then find out that this is just their style of foreplay as talking about sex with other people gets them hot for each other. I really liked the reveal of this one. There have been sketches this season about couples arguing that never really had a punchline, this one had a good one and the performances by John and Jane were both very good.
A Film By Gary Weis
Swan Lake Ballet
4 Stars
Ballet dancers team up with break dancers to perform Swan Lake. This was cute.
Troff 'n' Brew
3 Stars
A new restaurant offers chili in a troff and beer in a bucket
Office workers eat like pigs on their lunch hour. They stick their face in a big troff of chili and lap up beer or drink straight from the tap, only stopping for a half hour hose down. The initial gag was funny but the sketch didn't really offer anything after the gross-out reveal.
Nerds Science Fair
Office workers eat like pigs on their lunch hour. They stick their face in a big troff of chili and lap up beer or drink straight from the tap, only stopping for a half hour hose down. The initial gag was funny but the sketch didn't really offer anything after the gross-out reveal.
Nerds Science Fair
3 Stars
Lisa and Todd compete at a science fair
How quickly things change. Two episode ago, I liked the nerds. I anticipated seeing them. This week, I cringed as soon as they were introduced. Bill and Gilda are still fun as these characters but this may be one too many too soon. Lisa and Todd have made a toaster connected to a push button phone, Garrett rubbed some balloons on his sweater to demonstrate static electricity and Steve has built a neutron bomb.
The Blues Brothers
How quickly things change. Two episode ago, I liked the nerds. I anticipated seeing them. This week, I cringed as soon as they were introduced. Bill and Gilda are still fun as these characters but this may be one too many too soon. Lisa and Todd have made a toaster connected to a push button phone, Garrett rubbed some balloons on his sweater to demonstrate static electricity and Steve has built a neutron bomb.
The Blues Brothers
"I Don't Know"
Jake and Elwood perform. Dan plays harmonica and John does some cartwheels. I did some research and this was about 5 months before they recorded their first album, so I guess this was their premiere. I'm curious as to what the reaction was to this at the time. Can you imagine if Chris Kattan just sang a song in character as the musical guest?
Next Week In Review
4 Stars
Psychics predict the headlines of tomorrow
Jane, Dan and Steve all predict what the news stories of next week will be. Last week all their predictions were correct, next week Debbie Boone will be kidnapped, a nuclear dump will disappear and the pope will be cloned. Next week's cover of Time magazine will be about the message sent from outer space.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Jane, Dan and Steve all predict what the news stories of next week will be. Last week all their predictions were correct, next week Debbie Boone will be kidnapped, a nuclear dump will disappear and the pope will be cloned. Next week's cover of Time magazine will be about the message sent from outer space.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"A little bloodletting and some boar's vomit and he'll be just fine"
Average
Average
3.8 Stars
MVP
Dan Aykroyd
Rock Concert, Festrunk Brothers, Theodoric Of York, Weekend Update, Troff 'N' Brew, The Blues Brothers, Next Week In Review
Rock Concert, Festrunk Brothers, Theodoric Of York, Weekend Update, Troff 'N' Brew, The Blues Brothers, Next Week In Review
Best Sketch
Theodoric Of York, Medieval Barber
Worst Sketch
Theodoric Of York, Medieval Barber
Worst Sketch
Troff 'N' Brew
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
A pretty solid episode from beginning to end. The only thing I would change would be to give some kind of context to Dancing In The Dark. I needed a setup of some kind and a more satisfying resolution. I liked the piece, I just had no idea why they were dancing, who they were or what their relationship was.
Host Analysis
With this episode Steve became the second member of the 5 timers club after Buck Henry this season. There's a reason he kept coming back, his episodes have been consistently good and Steve just seems to have a natural chemistry with the entire cast. No matter who he is sharing a scene with, it works.
Final Thoughts
Another classic episode from an all around great season. This ties the Ray Charles episode for second best sketch average of the season. Everything worked in this episode. Even the weakest sketch had something to like about it. Plus you have The Blues Brothers as a musical guest and Weekend Update was short and succinct. You can't do much better than this.
Up Next
Fresh off his Oscar win for Best Actor, Richard Dreyfuss hosts.
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