"What the hell's a bobtail, Cha Cha?"
Cold Open: Editorial Reply
4 Stars
Mr. Subliminal talks about the impending Iraq war
The thing I find most impressive about this is that SNL had one of their recurring characters open the show by talking about the news. This could have been because they cut an original cold open and scrambled to find something to fit this slot. Or, it could be that SNL just had the cojones to start the show with a recurring character talking about the news. I find it really fascinating. I can't imagine Bruce Chandling or Pete Davidson's Chad opening the show to talk about Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Mr. Subliminal poses the question of what the U.S. should do with Saddam Hussein (lobotomy) because nobody wants war (Republicans). We need to offer Saddam a way to leave Kuwait (body bag) but George Bush is pushing a lot of patience (pussy footing). These last two get a lot of applause as you can tell the audience really hated Saddam. The final joke is oddly topical again as he asks what the best weapon is to use on a power hungry megalomaniac (Marla Maples).
Tom Hanks Monologue
The thing I find most impressive about this is that SNL had one of their recurring characters open the show by talking about the news. This could have been because they cut an original cold open and scrambled to find something to fit this slot. Or, it could be that SNL just had the cojones to start the show with a recurring character talking about the news. I find it really fascinating. I can't imagine Bruce Chandling or Pete Davidson's Chad opening the show to talk about Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Mr. Subliminal poses the question of what the U.S. should do with Saddam Hussein (lobotomy) because nobody wants war (Republicans). We need to offer Saddam a way to leave Kuwait (body bag) but George Bush is pushing a lot of patience (pussy footing). These last two get a lot of applause as you can tell the audience really hated Saddam. The final joke is oddly topical again as he asks what the best weapon is to use on a power hungry megalomaniac (Marla Maples).
Tom Hanks Monologue
5 Stars
Tom gets inducted into the 5 timers club
Before joining the most exclusive club in America, Tom breaks down what hosting 5 times is like. The first time you have stars in your eyes and are really nervous. The second time is great because you were funny enough to be asked back and you have a movie to promote. The third time, you have something to prove to yourself. The fourth time is just because you are blatantly promoting a movie. The fifth time is the sweetest though because you get a membership to the 5 timers club. He goes backstage to enter the club, he gets his robe from Sean, the doorman, played by Conan O'Brien, and is greeted by Paul Simon. They've had their eye on Tom ever since his 3rd show. There was some concern after Joe Vs. The Volcano but they knew he'd make it. He's also congratulated by Steve Martin and Elliot Gould (who practically lives there). Jon Lovitz comes out as the waiter to take their order. Steve orders the Chevy Chase, easy on the ham, and Paul orders the Joe Piscopo. Tom is told to try the Anthony Michael Hall, it's actually pretty good. Ralph Nader is stopped trying to sneak in. Tom throws to commercial via phone, as a 5 timer you can literally phone it in. I had this thought with the Chippendale's sketch from this season too, it's hard to fairly judge something I've seen so many times. But then again, things become classics for a reason. This sketch became so iconic that it has been parodied on SNL. It's the perfect combination of patting yourself on the back but also being funny.
Gross-Out Family
Before joining the most exclusive club in America, Tom breaks down what hosting 5 times is like. The first time you have stars in your eyes and are really nervous. The second time is great because you were funny enough to be asked back and you have a movie to promote. The third time, you have something to prove to yourself. The fourth time is just because you are blatantly promoting a movie. The fifth time is the sweetest though because you get a membership to the 5 timers club. He goes backstage to enter the club, he gets his robe from Sean, the doorman, played by Conan O'Brien, and is greeted by Paul Simon. They've had their eye on Tom ever since his 3rd show. There was some concern after Joe Vs. The Volcano but they knew he'd make it. He's also congratulated by Steve Martin and Elliot Gould (who practically lives there). Jon Lovitz comes out as the waiter to take their order. Steve orders the Chevy Chase, easy on the ham, and Paul orders the Joe Piscopo. Tom is told to try the Anthony Michael Hall, it's actually pretty good. Ralph Nader is stopped trying to sneak in. Tom throws to commercial via phone, as a 5 timer you can literally phone it in. I had this thought with the Chippendale's sketch from this season too, it's hard to fairly judge something I've seen so many times. But then again, things become classics for a reason. This sketch became so iconic that it has been parodied on SNL. It's the perfect combination of patting yourself on the back but also being funny.
Gross-Out Family
4 Stars
A family keeps repeating gross behavior
This sketch was just plain stupid. It was repetitive, dumb, gross but damn it, I liked it. Tom opens up a carton of milk, takes a sip and gags. Jan pours the milk into a glass to show that it is chunky, it apparently has been in the back of the fridge for over a month. She along with her two children, Julia and Mike, take turns smelling it and making exaggerated faces and exclamations of disgust. Mike says it almost smells as bad as the leftover flounder he's eating which they all take turns smelling. Farley comes in, knocking a decoration off the wall as he does, and has everyone touch his belly after he's been working out. He then proceeds to drink the milk. Then they all turn to the kitty litter and start smelling that. Like I said, dumb and gross for the sake of being dumb and gross but there was something about everyone's commitment to the stupidity that just won me over. Everybody is coming at this sketch at full force, they are smelling that kitty litter as if this is the classiest sketch ever on TV. That's two time Oscar winner Tom Hanks smelling cat shit. This is an absolutely terrible lead off sketch though and should have been later in the show. You can't start with smelling cat shit and sweaty fat man, right? That's gotta be a law written down somewhere.
Game Beaters
5 Stars
Mr. Short-Term Memory goes on a game show
Tom and Victoria are on a game show. The question is "Who was the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms?", which I think was the same question posed to Susan Lucci in her game show sketch. Tom rings in but when asked for his answer says he needs to hear the question first. We then get Mr. Short-Term Memory's theme song. I loved how they set this up as a game show parody before revealing what it actually was. You can probably guess how the sketch goes if you haven't seen it, but just know that Tom Hanks is incredible here. He nails the comedy in every line.
"I'm Jeff Morrow from San Bernadino."
"Beautiful weather up there."
"Up where?"
"San Bernadino."
"Hey, I'm from San Bernadino. You should visit sometime, the weather is lovely."
Every time he is reminded that he is on a game show he cheers with excitement, he picks the TV three times during the prize round, he is constantly and repeatedly amazed to meet his celebrity partner, Tony Randall. Just like with the monologue, am I rating this higher because I remember it? I don't think so because I remember bad sketches too. A classic is a classic for a reason, this is just a really funny sketch.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Tom and Victoria are on a game show. The question is "Who was the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms?", which I think was the same question posed to Susan Lucci in her game show sketch. Tom rings in but when asked for his answer says he needs to hear the question first. We then get Mr. Short-Term Memory's theme song. I loved how they set this up as a game show parody before revealing what it actually was. You can probably guess how the sketch goes if you haven't seen it, but just know that Tom Hanks is incredible here. He nails the comedy in every line.
"I'm Jeff Morrow from San Bernadino."
"Beautiful weather up there."
"Up where?"
"San Bernadino."
"Hey, I'm from San Bernadino. You should visit sometime, the weather is lovely."
Every time he is reminded that he is on a game show he cheers with excitement, he picks the TV three times during the prize round, he is constantly and repeatedly amazed to meet his celebrity partner, Tony Randall. Just like with the monologue, am I rating this higher because I remember it? I don't think so because I remember bad sketches too. A classic is a classic for a reason, this is just a really funny sketch.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
"Woyaho"
I already covered Edie Brickell in my season 20 reviews. Not much changed in 4 years and if you were to tell me that this was the same performance I saw in that season, I would probably believe you. It's a cool song and I enjoyed listening to but I don't remember it at all by the show's end.
Weekend Update
I already covered Edie Brickell in my season 20 reviews. Not much changed in 4 years and if you were to tell me that this was the same performance I saw in that season, I would probably believe you. It's a cool song and I enjoyed listening to but I don't remember it at all by the show's end.
Weekend Update
"Here we see Colin Powell inspecting a dirty Q-tip factory"
I noticed something this week that I hadn't picked up on until now. So many of Miller's jokes rely on the picture. It's not a bad thing it's just a weird way to write a joke. For instance, one of his jokes had a setup of Saddam saying he won't leave Kuwait and when Bush heard this he got so mad he crushed a piece of coal into a diamond. That's not a funny joke unless you have a picture behind you of Bush squeezing his fist. There was another one this week where they showed a picture of Dan Quayle standing next to an auctioneer and the joke was just the U.S. auctioned off Dan Quayle this week. Like, without the picture the joke makes no sense. Like I said, not a bad thing, I would just never think to write a joke that way. My favorite joke this week had to do with kids feeling inadequate when they test condoms out on vegetables in school but the weirdest joke had to do with Sinead O'Connor saying she likes to date black men and the punchline had to do with Fred Sanford coming after her. I had no idea what that was about but before I could think about it too hard, I had to wrap my head around this piece of absurdity.
Dennis Miller joins Dennis Miller to sing Jingle Bells and is joined by Dennis Miller. What rabbit hole have I gone down? Carvey is doing a cartoon imitation of Miller and Hanks is doing an impression of that. It's like that movie Multiplicity with Michael Keaton where he keeps cloning himself. If you make a copy of a copy it starts to look less and less like the original. Hanks is doing an impression of an impression and the original intention to emulate Miller is nowhere to be seen. That being said, this was still pretty hilarious and fun.
The Global Warming Christmas Special
The Global Warming Christmas Special
2 Stars
Carl Sagan shows us what holiday specials will look like once the planet heats up
It's a good thing nobody listened in 1990 to these climate change fear-mongers. Carl Sagan and Dean Martin are hosting a Christmas special revolving around global warming. Trees will be smaller and candies will melt on even the mildest of days. Sally Struthers makes an emotional plea to the camera, Crystal Gayle and Dr. Isaac Asimov duet Silver Bells, Dana comes out as Paul McCartney and babbles incoherently. There were a few solid gags here but it ran way too long. I was getting a kick out of Hanks as Dean Martin, he seemed to be cracking himself up at how over the top he was going with it.
P. Whipped
It's a good thing nobody listened in 1990 to these climate change fear-mongers. Carl Sagan and Dean Martin are hosting a Christmas special revolving around global warming. Trees will be smaller and candies will melt on even the mildest of days. Sally Struthers makes an emotional plea to the camera, Crystal Gayle and Dr. Isaac Asimov duet Silver Bells, Dana comes out as Paul McCartney and babbles incoherently. There were a few solid gags here but it ran way too long. I was getting a kick out of Hanks as Dean Martin, he seemed to be cracking himself up at how over the top he was going with it.
P. Whipped
3 Stars
3 men discuss how they are controlled by women
I guess we can't say "pussy" but we can show a picture of a kitten and infer it. Wait, Kevin Nealon said "pussyfooting" in the cold open. I guess "pussy whipped" makes an overt reference to the genitalia. Kind of like when they say "asshole" on TV they bleep out the "hole". Anyway, Mike, Tom and Dana are all on a panel hosted by Jan. One of the men can't be here tonight because he is taking his girlfriend out to dinner with her best friend from college. Through the course of the sketch they all display how they have lost their manhood. Tom needs to call his girlfriend, Mike's girlfriend calls him because she thinks he was flirting with the host, Dana says he should call his girlfriend, Tom's pager goes off. At the end Dana invites everybody out for drinks but nobody can go because Mike has a big antiquing day tomorrow, Tom simply can't and Dana also realizes he needs to just go home. The best joke was when Don Pardo said that the show was sponsored by Planters Crushed Nuts and Maidenform (Isn't it time your man wore a girdle). Not the greatest sketch in the world but I liked everyone's performances and it was short and to the point.
Sabra Shopping Network
1 Star
A shopping network where you can't haggle unless you want to haggle
I had to look it up but Sabra refers to a Jew born in Israel. The sketch initially struck me as racist but now seeing as it was written by Robert Smigel, I'm not going to say that. I will say that I didn't smile or laugh during it though. Tom Hanks sells "good merchandise" to callers as part of his "going out of business" sale. The first item is a VCR for $190, the very last one he has. The second item is a VCR for $190, the very last one he has. Every caller has an obvious issue with the merchandise, like the "cd player" that is just a transistor radio. Hanks yells at them before finally accepting whatever offer they give him. A young Adam Sandler makes his first appearance. Maybe it was the repetitive nature, the accents, the absence of knowledge of Israeli culture, but this didn't register with me.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians return with "He Said". This is a band that I will always say that I enjoy but could never tell you one of their songs. It made good background music though as I started cropping pictures from this episode.
Repeating Guy
I had to look it up but Sabra refers to a Jew born in Israel. The sketch initially struck me as racist but now seeing as it was written by Robert Smigel, I'm not going to say that. I will say that I didn't smile or laugh during it though. Tom Hanks sells "good merchandise" to callers as part of his "going out of business" sale. The first item is a VCR for $190, the very last one he has. The second item is a VCR for $190, the very last one he has. Every caller has an obvious issue with the merchandise, like the "cd player" that is just a transistor radio. Hanks yells at them before finally accepting whatever offer they give him. A young Adam Sandler makes his first appearance. Maybe it was the repetitive nature, the accents, the absence of knowledge of Israeli culture, but this didn't register with me.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians return with "He Said". This is a band that I will always say that I enjoy but could never tell you one of their songs. It made good background music though as I started cropping pictures from this episode.
Repeating Guy
3 Stars
A guy repeats everything twice
Every time someone says something to Tom he repeats it back as a question and then says it again louder. Eventually his wife calls him out on it.
"Is there a reason you always repeat everything twice?"
"Repeat everything twice? REPEAT EVERYTHING TWICE!?!?"
"I've made an appointment for you with a psychiatrist."
"Psychiatrist? PSYCHIATRIST?!?!?"
He meets with a doctor who diagnoses him with a disease where he hears something, it doesn't register, he says it back and then when he hears it again he says it louder. This is easily fixed if he just gives himself time to process his thoughts. He goes back home and gets hit with a lot of bad news. His wife has washed his new suit and it shrunk, there's a live camel in the backyard and they found out that their house is made of explosive wood. Tom does his best to not repeat himself and stifles every urge he has. Victoria realizes his struggle and says she liked him better before.
"Liked me better before? LIKED ME BETTER BEFORE?!?!?"
They hug and we pan out to their house exploding. Tom's commitment was again superb and it had a good punchline even if the idea wasn't the greatest.
Christmas Message
4 Stars
A. Whitney Brown closes out the show with his favorite holiday memory. His two favorite seasons are Christmas and Deer. He's a vegetarian which makes hunting easier. He talks about how he cut down his Christmas tree but to make it sporting he stalked it first. It was just standing there and when he got it home it was still alive so he gave it a little water so it wouldn't die too quickly. Then to torture it he dressed it up like a geek and put presents under it to tease it. I've never been a fan of Brown on Update because all his topical references flew over my head. This was a silly and relatable piece and Brown's comic timing worked well here. I really liked the perverse pleasure he got in talking about torturing and demeaning his tree.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"Tom, old bean, that robe fits you smashingly"
Average
3.4 Stars
MVP
Tom Hanks
But picking from the cast
Dana Carvey
Weekend Update, Global Warming Christmas Special, P.Whipped, Sabra Shopping Network
But picking from the cast
Dana Carvey
Weekend Update, Global Warming Christmas Special, P.Whipped, Sabra Shopping Network
Best Sketch
Game Beaters
Worst Sketch
Sabra Shopping Network
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
I'm gonna say that the sketch placement was pretty near perfect in this episode. Not everything worked but there weren't any lulls in the show. As the show started I was questioning why they lead off with The Gross Out Family but afterwards I thought it was the perfect sketch to begin this episode. Nothing else would fit well in the lead off spot so they might as well have gone with the silliest. The show started off strong, dipped a little in the middle and ended strong. If you're gonna have a dip it should be in the middle.
Host Analysis
Host Analysis
Tom Hanks is one of the best and he shined here in every single sketch. He brought an energy and commitment to everything. You can tell he has the best time when he's in the studio.
Final Thoughts
A pretty solid episode all around. The monologue was classic, a couple of really good sketches and nothing outright sucked. My least favorite sketch still had some good performances and jokes and my second least favorite sketch had some good stuff but just suffered from length. Tom Hanks is now a 9 time host and this is the one I think people remember him for the most and it's a worthy episode to be immortalized.
Up Next
Is Dennis Quaid the first brother of a former cast member to host? I don't feel like looking it up so I'm gonna say, yes. Peter Aykroyd never hosted, right? Charlie Murphy? Joel Murray? Melvin Kazurinsky?
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