"Buddy Hackett is in my house"
Cold Open: Last Show
Lorne wishes Dennis good luck on his last show
Dennis tells Lorne that it's been a great 6 years but this will be his last show. Lorne wants to make sure that he's seriously leaving and not gonna keep hanging around all the time like Jon Lovitz because that would be really pathetic. Lorne then asks him if there's anything special he wants to do for his last show and Dennis says that he's always wanted to say "Live from New York...", Lorne lets him do it and then says that he did a good job before turning to the camera himself and saying, "Live from New York...".
George Wendt Monologue
Dennis tells Lorne that it's been a great 6 years but this will be his last show. Lorne wants to make sure that he's seriously leaving and not gonna keep hanging around all the time like Jon Lovitz because that would be really pathetic. Lorne then asks him if there's anything special he wants to do for his last show and Dennis says that he's always wanted to say "Live from New York...", Lorne lets him do it and then says that he did a good job before turning to the camera himself and saying, "Live from New York...".
George Wendt Monologue
5 Stars
George gets a little too aggressive with the queen of England
George is excited to be hosting tonight because there's a special guest in the audience, the queen of England. He greets her with a big bear hug and a kiss on the lips. Then he talks about how great the show is gonna be. There's this one sketch that involves 'cowboy dancing' and to demonstrate he grabs the queen and polkas with her. Then he tells a story about his wrestling days and the queen is seen trying to quietly leave. He grabs her and spins her around over her head. This was really funny and reminded me a lot of the scenes in The Naked Gun. The queen is replaced by an obvious dummy during the wrestling segment but it cuts to her spinning around wildly at one point. This was very well done.
Lil' General Fireworks
George is excited to be hosting tonight because there's a special guest in the audience, the queen of England. He greets her with a big bear hug and a kiss on the lips. Then he talks about how great the show is gonna be. There's this one sketch that involves 'cowboy dancing' and to demonstrate he grabs the queen and polkas with her. Then he tells a story about his wrestling days and the queen is seen trying to quietly leave. He grabs her and spins her around over her head. This was really funny and reminded me a lot of the scenes in The Naked Gun. The queen is replaced by an obvious dummy during the wrestling segment but it cuts to her spinning around wildly at one point. This was very well done.
Lil' General Fireworks
3 Stars
Commercial for fireworks
A couple of bored kids scoff at playing badminton but get excited for fireworks. Packed with 30% more gunpowder, we get shots of an old man eating an exploding hotdog, exploding watermelons, kiddie pools, birdhouses and the family dinner. Seeing the things blow up was amusing but I wasn't quite sure what the exaggeration was here. It ends with a list of states where fireworks are illegal but I thought this could have gone way farther in blowing things up. There was one shot of a nervous cat that hinted as to how absurd this could have been.
Mr. No-Depth Perception
4 Stars
Tonight's episode: The Dinner Party
Kevin plays Mr. No-Depth Perception who can't tell if objects are close up or far away. He yells at his wife's face, can't get food up to his mouth, tries to light a cigarette from across the room, pours wine on the table and then drops the bottle on the ground. A lot of jokes about things getting thrown at people and Kevin yelling when he should be whispering. It's pretty funny and just silly enough to work, including its theme song. It ends with Kevin backing a truck into his living room because he misjudged the distance. Not bad, not the greatest but overall enjoyable.
Bill Swerski's Super Fans
Kevin plays Mr. No-Depth Perception who can't tell if objects are close up or far away. He yells at his wife's face, can't get food up to his mouth, tries to light a cigarette from across the room, pours wine on the table and then drops the bottle on the ground. A lot of jokes about things getting thrown at people and Kevin yelling when he should be whispering. It's pretty funny and just silly enough to work, including its theme song. It ends with Kevin backing a truck into his living room because he misjudged the distance. Not bad, not the greatest but overall enjoyable.
Bill Swerski's Super Fans
4 Stars
4 Chicago fans talk about the dominance of Da Bears
Bob Swerski is filling in for Bill (previously played by Joe Mantegna) who is recovering from his most recent heart attack. They're getting ready to watch the Chicago Bulls basketball game. They predict that the Bulls will dominate, 149-23, 149-52, 402-0, respectively. Their conversation switches to Da Bears and their playoff loss. They feel that the reason was because coach Ditka's mind was occupied with the Gulf war. He was probably helping Norman Schwarzkopf. Then they speculate on the outcome of the Indianapolis 500 if Mike Ditka drove the Bears around in a big bus. All good stuff. I got a big laugh when the waitress asked whether they ordered the nachos or the beers. Their reply, "Da beers".
Middle-Aged Man
Bob Swerski is filling in for Bill (previously played by Joe Mantegna) who is recovering from his most recent heart attack. They're getting ready to watch the Chicago Bulls basketball game. They predict that the Bulls will dominate, 149-23, 149-52, 402-0, respectively. Their conversation switches to Da Bears and their playoff loss. They feel that the reason was because coach Ditka's mind was occupied with the Gulf war. He was probably helping Norman Schwarzkopf. Then they speculate on the outcome of the Indianapolis 500 if Mike Ditka drove the Bears around in a big bus. All good stuff. I got a big laugh when the waitress asked whether they ordered the nachos or the beers. Their reply, "Da beers".
Middle-Aged Man
3 Stars
Middle-Aged Man meets his nemesis
Victoria's garbage disposal is jammed and in rushes Middle-Aged Man to assist. He tells her to always keep a list of repairmen by the kitchen phone. Then slides in Jan as Independent Widow, the only person who doesn't need Middle-Aged Man's advice. She shows Victoria a trick she can do with a broom handle to unclog the disposal. Middle-Aged Man's powers are starting to grow weaker so him and his sidekick Drinking Buddy travel to the hall of elders to visit Retired Man. He has a special item that can thwart Independent Widow. After trying to guilt them into staying longer, they return to the kitchen and unleash a cockroach. Independent Widow screams with terror and Middle-Aged Man squashes the bug. I liked how absurd they got with the superhero lore of Middle-Aged Man. It was just stupid enough to entertain. Still, this is a sketch designed for catchphrases.
Elvis Costello
"The Other Side Of Summer"
A very bearded Elvis Costello in a baseball cap and sunglasses sings a very catchy song that got stuck in my head long after it was over. I'm figuring this is how Elvis got back on the show after he was banned. Lorne thought he was hiring Hank Williams Jr as the musical guest.
Weekend Update
"Here a Black Hawk Helicopter is asked to cough"
We get stories about the queen's visit and the Watergate tapes being made public. At the end, Miller says that this is his last show and it's been a great pleasure to work here and he will miss it a lot.
Apparently Norman Schwarzkopf got in trouble for using the word "fairies". He says he was speaking colloquially and words meant different things when he was a kid. He used to call the Staten Island Fairy the Staten Island Gay Boy and go to bed at night awaiting a visit from the Tooth Faggot. This is all lead up for Farley to do his thing. He jumps up and talks about how much butt he kicked in Desert Storm and now he wants Evander Holyfield
"I showed you what these guns could do in the Middle East now I'm gonna show you what they can do in the ring!"
Chris Rock is here to talk about the rumors that Colin Powell is going to replace Dan Quayle as George Bush's vice presidential nominee in the next election. Rock says that there will never be a black vice president because some black guy would just kill the president. Rock says he would do it himself, then go to prison and be the hero to every black guy in prison. There's really no downside as even if he got the death penalty he would just be pardoned by the new black president.
The Carsenio Show
5 Stars
Johnny Carson gets a hip makeover
The last time we saw Carson on SNL he was interviewing Arsenio, now he's emulating him. Johnny has a flat top and an elongated finger and is whooping it up to his homies in the dog pound. Even while copying Arsenio's slang, he still seems to be clueless about it.
"When I said that my guests were in my house, I meant that they were in my studio. Your house is called your crib but a baby crib is not called a house. That is some weird, wild stuff."
His guest tonight is George Wendt who is the star of the "fresh, fly show" Cheers. He asks George how often he does the wild thing but George is only worried for Johnny who thinks this is some late life crisis he is going through. This was pretty terrific and Dana and Phil, as a hip Ed McMahon, were incredibly funny.
Burger Barn Drive Thru
2 Stars
A family has trouble ordering food
George and his family are having difficulties at the drive thru. He originally orders 5 burgers and 5 Cokes but gets sidetracked by special orders, substitutions, the allure of french fries, Grandma wanting a fish sandwich. Eventually he gets frustrated and just screams for 5 burgers and 5 Cokes. I appreciated everyone's commitment to a pretty hack bit. This goes into the pile of fine but in no way memorable.
The Shindells
4 Stars
A doo-wop group gets personal
George, Dana, Tim, Rock and Farley are singing a song about a woman who left her husband for a road rambling man. By the time it gets to George's solo he seems really upset as to how low the woman went, cheating on him at a friend's barbecue. Dana chimes in telling him that he is as much to blame. This has become something of a pattern as George tends to pick women who are wrong for him. Farley chimes in and says they should finish the song but George calls him a fat pig to which Farley points out that George is fatter than him. It's later pointed out that the woman in the song slept with a lot of guys, including Rock. This is all done while the group is still singing and is very well done
It's Pat
George, Dana, Tim, Rock and Farley are singing a song about a woman who left her husband for a road rambling man. By the time it gets to George's solo he seems really upset as to how low the woman went, cheating on him at a friend's barbecue. Dana chimes in telling him that he is as much to blame. This has become something of a pattern as George tends to pick women who are wrong for him. Farley chimes in and says they should finish the song but George calls him a fat pig to which Farley points out that George is fatter than him. It's later pointed out that the woman in the song slept with a lot of guys, including Rock. This is all done while the group is still singing and is very well done
It's Pat
3 Stars
Pat gets a haircut
Pat walks into a barber and the barber tries to drop hints as to Pat's gender. Pat deflects every question with an ambiguous comment. This is the 4th time we've seen Pat this season so you should know what to expect. This was definitely the best of the season though. It was far less mean-spirited as the previous and George was the best straight man Pat had this season. He seemed more curious than disgusted. I got a chuckle when he was carefully brushing the hair off of Pat, focusing primarily on the breast and crotch areas.
We get a Deep Thoughts about Jack's memories of his childhood family outings. They would all file into the car and drive somewhere. There were trees and a smell of something as they played whatever sport they played. There was a bigger, older man they called "Dad" and they would eat some stuff and go home. I guess some things never leave you.
I'm Chillin'
Pat walks into a barber and the barber tries to drop hints as to Pat's gender. Pat deflects every question with an ambiguous comment. This is the 4th time we've seen Pat this season so you should know what to expect. This was definitely the best of the season though. It was far less mean-spirited as the previous and George was the best straight man Pat had this season. He seemed more curious than disgusted. I got a chuckle when he was carefully brushing the hair off of Pat, focusing primarily on the breast and crotch areas.
We get a Deep Thoughts about Jack's memories of his childhood family outings. They would all file into the car and drive somewhere. There were trees and a smell of something as they played whatever sport they played. There was a bigger, older man they called "Dad" and they would eat some stuff and go home. I guess some things never leave you.
I'm Chillin'
2 Stars
Onski and B Fats chill
The two homeboys send a thank you to their sponsors, Long Leak Malt Liquor and You're That Guy Credit Card, where a mailman steals an unsigned credit card and then you're that guy. Then they announce the winner of the mother joke of the day.
"Yo momma so old I told her to act her age and the bitch dropped dead"
I think this may have been a carbon copy of the last time we saw this sketch. It's like they didn't even try to do something new. You could probably watch all the I'm Chillin' sketches side by side and they would line up perfectly.
Elvis Costello returns with "So Like Candy" which was a slower song that I wasn't into as much as the first one.
The Sunrise Show
The two homeboys send a thank you to their sponsors, Long Leak Malt Liquor and You're That Guy Credit Card, where a mailman steals an unsigned credit card and then you're that guy. Then they announce the winner of the mother joke of the day.
"Yo momma so old I told her to act her age and the bitch dropped dead"
I think this may have been a carbon copy of the last time we saw this sketch. It's like they didn't even try to do something new. You could probably watch all the I'm Chillin' sketches side by side and they would line up perfectly.
Elvis Costello returns with "So Like Candy" which was a slower song that I wasn't into as much as the first one.
The Sunrise Show
4 Stars
A children's musician switches gears
Jan welcomes Graffi to her show who is a singer and songwriter for children that her daughter just loves. Graffi is trying to change his image though and will now be known as Leon Graffenberg. He will no longer sing songs like 'How'd That Monkey Get In My Cereal' and will focus on songs that explore adult relationships. He sings one of his newer songs that starts hard and rough with lyrics like, "Baby, what you do to me. Your tight red dress is driving me insane" before switching to a poppy upbeat rhythm and singing "I wanna have sex sex sex with you. I wanna lay you down and make you make the sounds that animals do". Wendt was very funny here when he switched from dirty old man singer to dirty old man singer in a happy voice. This was a nice and short, silly final sketch of the night.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"That is the straight stuff, oh funkmaster"
Jan welcomes Graffi to her show who is a singer and songwriter for children that her daughter just loves. Graffi is trying to change his image though and will now be known as Leon Graffenberg. He will no longer sing songs like 'How'd That Monkey Get In My Cereal' and will focus on songs that explore adult relationships. He sings one of his newer songs that starts hard and rough with lyrics like, "Baby, what you do to me. Your tight red dress is driving me insane" before switching to a poppy upbeat rhythm and singing "I wanna have sex sex sex with you. I wanna lay you down and make you make the sounds that animals do". Wendt was very funny here when he switched from dirty old man singer to dirty old man singer in a happy voice. This was a nice and short, silly final sketch of the night.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"That is the straight stuff, oh funkmaster"
Average
3.5 Stars
MVP
Jan Hooks
Mr. No Depth Perception, Middle-Aged Man, Burger Barn Drive Thru, It's Pat, The Sunrise Show
Mr. No Depth Perception, Middle-Aged Man, Burger Barn Drive Thru, It's Pat, The Sunrise Show
Best Sketch
The Carsenio Show
Worst Sketch
I'm Chillin'
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
This episode was just loaded with good stuff that you could put all of these sketches in a blender and no matter where they landed you would have a good show.
Host Analysis
I'm very surprised that this was the last time George Wendt hosted the show, seeing as he made numerous appearances with the Superfans over the years. He was funny when he needed to be funny but more importantly he played an excellent straight man.
Final Thoughts
A really good episode to close out the season. There was an attitude of fun that seemed to be had by all and an overall upbeat energy. Most of all, I was having fun watching it.
Up Next
Best of and worst of lists as well as a cast breakdown for the season
Dennis actually did get a “Live From New York” in season 11
ReplyDeletewho's the guy in the photo with the red beard
ReplyDeletethe final photo of the closing
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