"You are beautiful and angular and if you were a gas you would be inert"
Cold Open: Iraqi Address
3 Stars
George Bush's speech to the Iraqi people gets dissected by its audience
George H. W. Bush speaks straight to camera as Iraqi subtitles play underneath. I jumped from season 12 to season 16 in my recaps so this is my first Bush sighting since probably 1993. He waves his hands wildly and gives us a couple of catchphrases like 'nagada' and 'wouldn't be prudent' and calls Saddam Hussein a godless hyena. Honestly, I started glossing over this. I had no idea what he was talking about and found it hard to pay attention. Afterwards we cut to Phil Hartman, wearing a mustache that is about to fall off, Tom Davis, also with a poorly glued mustache, Jan Hooks in a burka and Kevin Nealon, mustache firmly supported on his upper lip. They hold a political round table about the speech. They like it and feel like he is a madman they can deal with. Nealon especially liked the part about his children not knowing were his bones were buried. Hartman says an episode of Kojack is coming up next on Iraqi TV and yells, "Live from New York..."
I'm sure this was topical at the time and everybody loved Carvey's Bush so I should have expected the season premiere to start this way. I'm just hoping not every cold open is like this.
George H. W. Bush speaks straight to camera as Iraqi subtitles play underneath. I jumped from season 12 to season 16 in my recaps so this is my first Bush sighting since probably 1993. He waves his hands wildly and gives us a couple of catchphrases like 'nagada' and 'wouldn't be prudent' and calls Saddam Hussein a godless hyena. Honestly, I started glossing over this. I had no idea what he was talking about and found it hard to pay attention. Afterwards we cut to Phil Hartman, wearing a mustache that is about to fall off, Tom Davis, also with a poorly glued mustache, Jan Hooks in a burka and Kevin Nealon, mustache firmly supported on his upper lip. They hold a political round table about the speech. They like it and feel like he is a madman they can deal with. Nealon especially liked the part about his children not knowing were his bones were buried. Hartman says an episode of Kojack is coming up next on Iraqi TV and yells, "Live from New York..."
I'm sure this was topical at the time and everybody loved Carvey's Bush so I should have expected the season premiere to start this way. I'm just hoping not every cold open is like this.
Kyle MacLachlan Monologue
4 Stars
Kyle lets a Twin Peaks spoiler slip
Kyle says he'd like to do something they've never done before and let the audience ask him questions. Like I said, I skipped a couple seasons, but there is no way that this can be the first questions from the audience monologue, right? It seems impossible and implausible but I do associate this cliche segment with the 90's it could be. He answers some standard questions like where he grew up and the correct pronunciation of his last name before Jim Downey asks him who killed Laura Palmer. He tells him matter-of-fact that it was Shelley the waitress and that it will be revealed in the season finale. Before he can throw to commercial he is told that he has a phone call he needs to take in the control room. It's a very angry David Lynch (voiced by Hartman). After some muffled screaming, Kyle comes back to the stage to tell everyone that he was kidding.
"Only a real idiot who never wanted to work in Hollywood and deserves a real good spanking would do a stupid thing like that."
I thought the joke of just bluntly ruining the biggest mystery on television was enough but Hartman's angry muffled screams were fun and I also liked the photo of David Lynch they put up on the screen for just an added touch of absurdity.
Bad Idea Jeans
Kyle says he'd like to do something they've never done before and let the audience ask him questions. Like I said, I skipped a couple seasons, but there is no way that this can be the first questions from the audience monologue, right? It seems impossible and implausible but I do associate this cliche segment with the 90's it could be. He answers some standard questions like where he grew up and the correct pronunciation of his last name before Jim Downey asks him who killed Laura Palmer. He tells him matter-of-fact that it was Shelley the waitress and that it will be revealed in the season finale. Before he can throw to commercial he is told that he has a phone call he needs to take in the control room. It's a very angry David Lynch (voiced by Hartman). After some muffled screaming, Kyle comes back to the stage to tell everyone that he was kidding.
"Only a real idiot who never wanted to work in Hollywood and deserves a real good spanking would do a stupid thing like that."
I thought the joke of just bluntly ruining the biggest mystery on television was enough but Hartman's angry muffled screams were fun and I also liked the photo of David Lynch they put up on the screen for just an added touch of absurdity.
Bad Idea Jeans
3 Stars
Commercial for jeans worn by people who make terrible decisions
Kevin is remodeling his rented apartment, Phil is letting a drug addict stay in his house, Mike feels safer having a gun in his house now that he has kids, Bob Odenkirk is giving his kidney to a stranger, David Spade decides not to wear a condom in Haiti. After each one of them says their stupid plan the words "Bad Idea" flash on the screen. Then they all challenge a group of tall black men to a game of basketball. Not sure what this had to do with jeans but it's a solid commercial parody.
Sprockets
3 Stars
Dieter welcomes a guest to show Germany's Most Disturbing Home Videos
Well, it didn't take us long to get our first recurring character of the season (that's if you're not counting George Bush). Honestly, that is the one thing that makes me nervous about watching this season. I hope they use the recurring characters sparingly but I know that is a hopeless pipe dream. Also, I was never a fan of Dieter. I'm gonna keep an open mind while I watch these episodes because I'm sure most of my bad feelings towards the character probably stem from me not quite understanding it when I was young. I think 10 years old is probably too little for German expressionist parodies. Anyway, Kyle comes in as the host of Germany's Most Disturbing Home Videos and shows us 4, a fat man in a diaper cavorting about in a lawn sprinkler, a man getting kicked in the testicles, a dead body covered in ants and a man's trousers falling off. The audience votes for the pants falling off and it then becomes the time on Sprockets where we dance. I liked Kyle's stiff and robotic performance and I also liked that this sketch had a beginning, middle and end rather than just told a few jokes until the show was over.
Twin Peaks
5 Stars
Agent Cooper refuses to leave after Laura Palmer's killer is revealed
Before we get into this I should probably reveal that I am a huge fan of Twin Peaks. Original series, movie, the return, seen them all countless times, so that probably gives me a bias. Special Agent Dale Cooper is sitting in his room at the Great Northern talking to Diane on his tape recorder.
"Showered for 9 minutes. Found 17 hairs, 3 curly, 14 straight. Consumed 15 donuts, all jelly, I'll be injecting my insulin in 4 minutes."
Kevin comes in as Sheriff Truman and says they have found out who killed Laura Palmer, it was Leo, he just confessed. Cooper has a plan to go up to One Eyed Jacks disguised as Indians. Truman says there is no need for that because Leo turned himself in and they have a video tape to prove his guilt. Cooper is happy to have another piece of the puzzle but is more concerned about the dream he had about a hairless mouse with a pitchfork singing a song about caves. Then we get most of the cast doing impressions of the characters on Twin Peaks. Conan O'Brien, as Deputy Hawk, brings in Farley as Leo, Phil cries and dances as Leland Palmer, Victoria ties a bow using only her tongue ala Audrey Horne, Jan comes in as Nadine. When Cooper says he still needs to hear from The Log Lady Kevin tells him that it won't be happening because there are only two women left on SNL and they've already been used. On that note, Jan comes rushing back in out of breath holding a log and says they Leo is guilty. I really liked this meta reference, although it does raise the question, why didn't Lorne put another lady in the cast right away? Cooper agrees that Leo is guilty but still needs to solve the case of who shot him. Leo confesses to that crime as well as he's being taken into custody. The sketch ends as Cooper goes to bed and Mike as the little man from another place dances to the Twin Peaks score. I remember seeing this as a kid and loving it. I had a passing familiarity with the log lady, Laura Palmer and the fact that this show was weird but had never seen it. Now, having seen every episode of Twin Peaks, I love it even more. It feels like a MAD magazine spoof at times with all the references but at its core it is just a well written and funny sketch. It's about a detective who refuses to give up the case even after it's solved. You can still enjoy it without getting the references (I think). The sketch turned out to be quite prescient too as after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed on the show everything sort of ceased to matter.
Sinead O'Connor
Before we get into this I should probably reveal that I am a huge fan of Twin Peaks. Original series, movie, the return, seen them all countless times, so that probably gives me a bias. Special Agent Dale Cooper is sitting in his room at the Great Northern talking to Diane on his tape recorder.
"Showered for 9 minutes. Found 17 hairs, 3 curly, 14 straight. Consumed 15 donuts, all jelly, I'll be injecting my insulin in 4 minutes."
Kevin comes in as Sheriff Truman and says they have found out who killed Laura Palmer, it was Leo, he just confessed. Cooper has a plan to go up to One Eyed Jacks disguised as Indians. Truman says there is no need for that because Leo turned himself in and they have a video tape to prove his guilt. Cooper is happy to have another piece of the puzzle but is more concerned about the dream he had about a hairless mouse with a pitchfork singing a song about caves. Then we get most of the cast doing impressions of the characters on Twin Peaks. Conan O'Brien, as Deputy Hawk, brings in Farley as Leo, Phil cries and dances as Leland Palmer, Victoria ties a bow using only her tongue ala Audrey Horne, Jan comes in as Nadine. When Cooper says he still needs to hear from The Log Lady Kevin tells him that it won't be happening because there are only two women left on SNL and they've already been used. On that note, Jan comes rushing back in out of breath holding a log and says they Leo is guilty. I really liked this meta reference, although it does raise the question, why didn't Lorne put another lady in the cast right away? Cooper agrees that Leo is guilty but still needs to solve the case of who shot him. Leo confesses to that crime as well as he's being taken into custody. The sketch ends as Cooper goes to bed and Mike as the little man from another place dances to the Twin Peaks score. I remember seeing this as a kid and loving it. I had a passing familiarity with the log lady, Laura Palmer and the fact that this show was weird but had never seen it. Now, having seen every episode of Twin Peaks, I love it even more. It feels like a MAD magazine spoof at times with all the references but at its core it is just a well written and funny sketch. It's about a detective who refuses to give up the case even after it's solved. You can still enjoy it without getting the references (I think). The sketch turned out to be quite prescient too as after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed on the show everything sort of ceased to matter.
Sinead O'Connor
"Three Babies"
Before she was that bald lady who tore up a picture of the pope on live TV she was just another musical guest. Her style of music was never my cup of tea but this song is very pretty. I can just never think of a time where I would be in the mood to listen to it. In the car? No. Dancing at a wedding? No. Big drunken frat party? No. My father's funeral? Sure.
Weekend Update
I betcha she'd look really good if she'd just take off those damn glasses
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I don't think I'll be getting much out of Weekend Update this season outside of the correspondents. With the impending Gulf War, I'm imaging that most of the jokes are gonna be very topical and will be lost on me. I liked one bit this segment where Miller explained the $130 billion bailout in layman's terms.
"If the U.S. only had 1 person, he'd have to kick in $130 billion."
It also gave me hope for today when he talked about David Souter's appointment to the Supreme Court. Souter was at a baseball game and was asked to throw out the first pitch and the Roe v. Wade decision. It's bizarrely comforting to know that some things don't change.
Al Franken shows up via satellite in his one man mobile up-link unit. He's reporting from Saudi Arabia but his truck has run out of gas and he's lost. His face is in poor condition as he has spent 5 days in the blistering sun with nothing to drink but his own urine. He begins to hallucinate, eventually passing out and we see a buzzard picking at his eye. As a kid, this is how I first got exposed to Al Franken, and then later Stuart Smalley. I remember not liking him as a kid. I fully realize that was because I was too young and I didn't understand him so I found him boring. This piece was really funny though.
2 Live Crew Party
2 Live Crew Party
5 Stars
Luther Campbell gets pitched offensive lyrics
Chris Rock is playing Luther Campbell, lead singer of 2 Live Crew, who if you know your music history was a very silly rap group that fought obscenity charges and won on first amendment rights. Their song 'Me So Horny' was defended in a court of law. After performing, the president of the record company congratulates him on 4 million records sold and says that Thomas Jefferson is looking down on him with great pride. They get interrupted by Phil who has a lyric he wants to pitch to Luther.
"Do it. Do it in the butt. Do it again, my back end friend."
He then gets accosted by Jan and Mike who have their ideas for a new rap song.
"Face down. Butt in the air. In the bushes."
Luther politely brushes them off by saying that he's trying to progress in his lyrics and he did a "butt in the air" track on his last album. Kyle aggressively confronts him as the head of the Florida chapter of people against the pornographic arts and calls him a filth monger but since he has his attention also wants to give him an idea for a song.
"Bite my butt. Bite it hard. Tear it off. Lick my blood. Lick it, lick it, lick it, lick it. My butt."
As he storms off, Luther grabs a pen to write that down. I thought this was clever and stupid at the same time which is just the kind of thing I love.
All Things Scottish
2 Stars
A Scottish store owner argues his with son about family traditions
And we get our 2nd recurring character of the season and our 2nd from Mike Myers. Here's a guy who never met a European accent he didn't like and was never afraid to run a sketch completely into the ground. Stuart Rankin owns All Things Scottish a store that specializes in Scottish memorabilia. His catchphrase is "If it's not Scottish, it's crap.". He's quick to both anger and tears. Kyle plays his son who doesn't want to wear a kilt and prefers pants. He also doesn't want to take over the store, he would rather open a pizza restaurant. This angers his father who challenges him to a fist fight but can't go through with it because he falls to pieces every time his late wife is mentioned. I was not really a fan of this at all. It just kept going around in circles and repeating the same beats and catchphrases.
Sinead O'Connor returns and dedicates her song The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance to women everywhere. What started off as a slow, kind of boring ballad turned into a pretty hardcore rock song that I really started digging. I liked this a lot and it completely changed my opinion of her as a musician.
George & Frank
2 Stars
George Michael and Frank Sinatra chat
George and Frank talk about fame. Frank warns George about the lean years, periodically emphasizing his sentence with a song. George continuously asks Frank to look at his butt. This didn't feel written and seemed like Dana and Phil had these impressions that they wanted to show off so they went out and did it. It felt like My Dinner With Andre but somehow not as funny. It was interesting but not really enjoyable.
The Cattle Song
4 Stars
A group of cowboys sing an honest song about the lives of cattle
What starts out as a normal song about cattle rustling quickly turns morbid when they get to the chorus of "they're gonna lose their heads and die". Kyle then sings in detail what lies in store for them.
"A conveyor belt will run you/to where a bolt through your skull will stun you/then they take you to the killing floor."
After the song is over Kyle removes his hat and introduces himself as k.d. Lang and thanks us for listening. A silly way to end a silly song.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"Damn fine sheets, I'm gonna get naked and slide around in them"
Average
3.4 Stars
MVP
Mike Myers
Bad Idea Jeans, Sprockets, Twin Peaks, 2 Live Crew Party, All Things Scottish
Bad Idea Jeans, Sprockets, Twin Peaks, 2 Live Crew Party, All Things Scottish
Best Sketch
Twin Peaks
Worst Sketch
George And Frank
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
I got nothing bad to say about the placement of sketches in this one. It was a very well paced episode. The two weakest sketches were at the end and the episode had a real nice flow to it. I probably would have lead with Twin Peaks and put Sprockets next but that's a minor quibble.
Host Analysis
Kyle MacLachlan really impressed me. He did excellent character work in all his sketches from his bizarre and off putting German to his youthful and hopeful Scot. I also liked how he blended in with the ensemble and took what could have been a thankless role in 2 Live Crew Party and made it the funniest part of that sketch. He seemed to be having a good time too and was very loose, in a different world I could see him as a cast member.
Final Thoughts
This is a season I've been wanting to revisit for quite some time. I haven't seen these episodes since I was a kid and most of those came from Comedy Central reruns. My favorite seasons from a historical stand point are the rebuilding years. Season 6 when everyone left and Charles Rocket and Joe Piscopo became the breakout stars we all know and love today, season 11 when Lorne returns and hires Anthony Michael Hall and of course season 21 when they fired Farley and Sandler and brought in Will Ferrell and the rest of the new crew. While not technically a rebuilding year this season saw a big cast change. For 4 years it was the core group of Carvey, Dunn, Hartman, Hooks, Lovitz, Jackson, Miller and Nealon. Then came Mike Myers, but that's all the show needed. Out went Dunn and Lovitz and, fearing another cast overhaul, Lorne Michaels started padding his bench and added Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Julia Sweeney. It's gonna be interesting to see how each of the newbies shine. Only had one sighting from Farley and Rock this week but this is what I love about the show, you get to see these people develop. Some take time to grow and some hit the ground running.
This is a season I've been wanting to revisit for quite some time. I haven't seen these episodes since I was a kid and most of those came from Comedy Central reruns. My favorite seasons from a historical stand point are the rebuilding years. Season 6 when everyone left and Charles Rocket and Joe Piscopo became the breakout stars we all know and love today, season 11 when Lorne returns and hires Anthony Michael Hall and of course season 21 when they fired Farley and Sandler and brought in Will Ferrell and the rest of the new crew. While not technically a rebuilding year this season saw a big cast change. For 4 years it was the core group of Carvey, Dunn, Hartman, Hooks, Lovitz, Jackson, Miller and Nealon. Then came Mike Myers, but that's all the show needed. Out went Dunn and Lovitz and, fearing another cast overhaul, Lorne Michaels started padding his bench and added Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Julia Sweeney. It's gonna be interesting to see how each of the newbies shine. Only had one sighting from Farley and Rock this week but this is what I love about the show, you get to see these people develop. Some take time to grow and some hit the ground running.
Up Next
All My Children star, Susan Lucci hosts with musical guest Hothouse Flowers. I have never heard of that band so I'm interested to see them. What I am not anxiously awaiting is the comedy stylings of Susan Lucci.
Been waiting for this good read as always
ReplyDelete