"I like to wear undies because they're so funny”
Cold Open: Decision 2000
Cold Open: Decision 2000
3 Stars
George W Bush denounces the recount
I love that Will’s Bush impression is now able to get laughs with just a dumb look into the camera. Bush is sick of all the recounts and declares himself the winner before Al Gore interrupts with the Florida Supreme Court (including Hugh Fink). Then they duet I Got You Babe which is more awkward than funny. Singing “Live from New York...” led to a pretty sloppy sign on.
Tom Green Monologue
4 Stars
Tom plans his wedding to Drew Barrymore
Tom Green. I never found him funny but I always found him interesting. He would frustrate me though. Now and again there would seem to be an absurd brilliance to his work and then he would do something so crass and unfunny that it would completely turn me off. Still, I always admired his do-it-yourself rise to fame. I had a public access show in the 90’s and dreams of television stardom and Tom Green was largely responsible for those delusions. Tom comes out, rubs a man’s head, tries to open mouth kiss his dad, introduces his fiancée Drew Barrymore and announces that they will be married tonight on the show. They have an argument that seems staged until the break to tell us that their fight was fake but their wedding will be real. This is setup for one of the more memorable endings in SNL history.
We get a rerun of Magic Mouth which we just saw 3 episodes ago but somehow the commercial about sticking stuff up your butt feels fitting for this episode.
Bald Eagles
Bald Eagles
4 Stars
A mommy eagle looks for her baby
Right off the bat they are letting us now that we’re watching the Tom Green episode. Will and Tom play bald eagles who get in a fight and chase each other through the audience. Tom both licks a man’s face and eats a woman’s hair all the while Jimmy and Molly are narrating the whole thing as birdwatchers. This one was purely for shock value and genuine audience reactions. We end with Will and Tom touching tongues after reuniting, and as we'll find out later in the show, two guys kissing is always good for an ending.
The copy I have of this episode also includes commercials which is really cool. It's weird how I instinctively skip or ignore commercials when watching TV but when they're 20 year old commercials I'm all in. I got a Discover commercial featuring one of my favorite bands, Steel Panther. Considering their comedic nature I thought that this was an SNL bit at first. Howie Long and Teri Hatcher tell us we can go to RadioShack to use the internet, which is a sentence that makes absolutely no sense now. The network television premiere of Lethal Weapon 4 in on Sunday night, so if you missed it in theaters and home video you can now watch it with commercials and all the swear words cut out. Then in a Circuit City commercial, two unattractive people buy computers as they dream of catfishing each other.
Rap Street
3 Stars
Old school rappers introduce a nice boy
Grand Master Rap and Kid Shazam go from Weekend Update to talk show sketch, the natural evolution of an SNL recurring character. The old school rappers talk about Vietnam, the passing of their 87 year old comrade, and how they dislike the dirty lyrics in modern hip hop. Then they bring out Tom Green as MC Kevin Gustafson who raps about underwear and being a good boy while Maya sings the hook to Midnight At The Oasis. I'm enjoying everyone's performances in this, including Tom, but it's a bit forgettable.
Lorne And Tom In A Tub
Grand Master Rap and Kid Shazam go from Weekend Update to talk show sketch, the natural evolution of an SNL recurring character. The old school rappers talk about Vietnam, the passing of their 87 year old comrade, and how they dislike the dirty lyrics in modern hip hop. Then they bring out Tom Green as MC Kevin Gustafson who raps about underwear and being a good boy while Maya sings the hook to Midnight At The Oasis. I'm enjoying everyone's performances in this, including Tom, but it's a bit forgettable.
Lorne And Tom In A Tub
5 Stars
Tom plays with rubber duckies in a bubble bath while Lorne watches and sips from a juice box. After Tom's foolishness, Lorne gives a dry "That's funny" and Tom looks off with a satisfied smile. I have no idea what the Hell this was but I really loved it.
Hardball
2 Stars
Chris Matthews interviews Katharine Harris
We take a break from the Tom Green fest and get the debut of Darrell's Chris Matthews impression, which we will get 21 more times during his long tenure. He interviews Ana as Katharine Harris, the Florida Secretary Of State who wants to call the Presidential election in George W. Bush's favor while still trying to remain bipartisan.
Fun With Real Audio
We take a break from the Tom Green fest and get the debut of Darrell's Chris Matthews impression, which we will get 21 more times during his long tenure. He interviews Ana as Katharine Harris, the Florida Secretary Of State who wants to call the Presidential election in George W. Bush's favor while still trying to remain bipartisan.
Fun With Real Audio
Sex And The Country
3 Stars
3 Stars
Men have sex with animals
As audio clips of Sex And The City plays, we see the female cast of that show replaced with farm animals having sex with various men. A sheep questions whether she should let her man pee on her, a guy has sex with a goat while watching porn, another guy asks a chicken for a threesome, and a man has sex with a horse in a swing. Once you get past the shock value there's not much left but it was good for the initial joke. This was never rebroadcast for probably obvious reasons.
Dog Show
1 Star
As audio clips of Sex And The City plays, we see the female cast of that show replaced with farm animals having sex with various men. A sheep questions whether she should let her man pee on her, a guy has sex with a goat while watching porn, another guy asks a chicken for a threesome, and a man has sex with a horse in a swing. Once you get past the shock value there's not much left but it was good for the initial joke. This was never rebroadcast for probably obvious reasons.
Dog Show
1 Star
The Dog Show hosts welcome a wizard with a squealing pig
Oh, how much do I hate this sketch? Answer, a lot. I think only Molly and Will liked this as both me and the audience were silent for this. This one goes particularly off the rails as Tom comes out dressed as a wizard with a pig who will not stop squealing. The entire sketch falls apart as this pig will not quit making an upset noise. This is the first moment of the night where I started to dislike Tom Green. The one thing I never enjoyed about his comedy was the joy he seemed to take in abusing animals. He starts to hold the squealing pig up to the dogs which makes the pig squeal even more. Obviously this animal is not having a good time and the appropriate thing to do would be to put the pig down. This pig doesn't want to be on SNL and we shouldn't force it to be. Also, I hate this recurring sketch in general so it just went from being annoying to downright despicable. Thankfully, this is the last appearance of Dog Show, good riddance.
Weekend Update
Oh, how much do I hate this sketch? Answer, a lot. I think only Molly and Will liked this as both me and the audience were silent for this. This one goes particularly off the rails as Tom comes out dressed as a wizard with a pig who will not stop squealing. The entire sketch falls apart as this pig will not quit making an upset noise. This is the first moment of the night where I started to dislike Tom Green. The one thing I never enjoyed about his comedy was the joy he seemed to take in abusing animals. He starts to hold the squealing pig up to the dogs which makes the pig squeal even more. Obviously this animal is not having a good time and the appropriate thing to do would be to put the pig down. This pig doesn't want to be on SNL and we shouldn't force it to be. Also, I hate this recurring sketch in general so it just went from being annoying to downright despicable. Thankfully, this is the last appearance of Dog Show, good riddance.
Weekend Update
The jokes may not be the greatest but at least the pacing is good. Instead of belaboring bad jokes like Colin, they are just moving on, keeping up the energy and developing a nice chemistry. Oh no, am I starting to enjoy Weekend Update? Enjoy is probably the wrong word, how about tolerate. Am I starting to tolerate Weekend Update?
We get the debut of a new Molly Shannon character in Jeannie Darcy. She's a bad stand-up comedian who tells bad jokes awkwardly punctuated by her catchphrase "Don't get me started". It's nice to see something new from Molly, especially after Dog Show.
Jimmy gives a Hollywood report where all the stories are about how well Jimmy Fallon is doing. He's bought a mansion with his girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow and is having a Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Martha Stewart. When Tina questions the validity of these reports, Gwyneth comes out in a t-shirt that says "Jimmy Rules" and says she and Martha are locked out of the mansion.
David Gray
David Gray
"Babylon"
I totally forgot about this song. I used to love this tune. It's a nice and simple song with a good hook.
Oprah
1 Star
Dr. Phil helps a couple through their marital problems
Maya replaces Tim Meadows as the resident Oprah impressionist. I'm a little surprised that they didn't go with Tracy just for the sight gag. Will comes out as Dr. Phil to give advice to Tom and Ana, a married couple having difficulties. Ana feels unloved and disrespected but Tom keeps looking awkwardly into the camera as Will provides home spun analogies. None of this worked for me. Tom's performance was distracting, Will's impression isn't that great, the jokes aren't funny, and all of this feels really sloppy.
Storytellers
4 Stars
Maya replaces Tim Meadows as the resident Oprah impressionist. I'm a little surprised that they didn't go with Tracy just for the sight gag. Will comes out as Dr. Phil to give advice to Tom and Ana, a married couple having difficulties. Ana feels unloved and disrespected but Tom keeps looking awkwardly into the camera as Will provides home spun analogies. None of this worked for me. Tom's performance was distracting, Will's impression isn't that great, the jokes aren't funny, and all of this feels really sloppy.
Storytellers
4 Stars
Air Supply play a new song
Will and Kattan sing their new song "Holiday Love" which is just All Out Of Love with altered lyrics about Thanksgiving. The song turns to their mutual admiration for each other and their plans to go to a motel, drink a gallon of Brandy, and see what develops. Then they make out. The punchline is two guys kissing, which we got once already this episode and is usually something I consider lazy and homophobic, but this worked for me mostly because it was unexpected and brief.
Rock Around The Clock
2 Stars
Will and Kattan sing their new song "Holiday Love" which is just All Out Of Love with altered lyrics about Thanksgiving. The song turns to their mutual admiration for each other and their plans to go to a motel, drink a gallon of Brandy, and see what develops. Then they make out. The punchline is two guys kissing, which we got once already this episode and is usually something I consider lazy and homophobic, but this worked for me mostly because it was unexpected and brief.
Rock Around The Clock
2 Stars
Tom and Will rock and jump around a clock
An awkward beginning, an awkward ending, and...well, I guess all of this was just odd. We open on Tom and it looks like he was conversing with an audience member as he says “Probably. Are we on the air right now?”. Then he and Will jump up and down next to a grandfather clock until they smash it. We cut to commercial pretty quickly as if this was cut off unexpectedly or just meant to fill some time before the end of the show.
Wedding
An awkward beginning, an awkward ending, and...well, I guess all of this was just odd. We open on Tom and it looks like he was conversing with an audience member as he says “Probably. Are we on the air right now?”. Then he and Will jump up and down next to a grandfather clock until they smash it. We cut to commercial pretty quickly as if this was cut off unexpectedly or just meant to fill some time before the end of the show.
Wedding
5 Stars
Part of the reason I think the last sketch felt like improvised time filler is so they could time the ending just right. We end with the punchline to the monologue as Tom waits for his bride but she never shows. His guests start to leave as the credits roll, leaving Tom alone on stage screaming for his missing fiancée. It’s hard to watch this now and not see it as a staged bit, but at the time there were questions as to whether their relationship was real or not. I remember watching this live and having the realization that I was watching something happen on live TV that was gonna be remembered. I’m too young to have watched the moon landing but I did see Tom Green pretend time get left at the altar.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"You can not eat at the Chinese buffet if there's no duck sauce”
Average
4 Stars
That’s an honorary rating. Screw the average, this episode gets weighted differently
That’s an honorary rating. Screw the average, this episode gets weighted differently
MVP
Tom Green
From the cast...
Will Ferrell
Decision 2000, Magic Mouth, Bald Eagles, Dog Show, Oprah, Storytellers, Rock Around The Clock
From the cast...
Will Ferrell
Decision 2000, Magic Mouth, Bald Eagles, Dog Show, Oprah, Storytellers, Rock Around The Clock
Best Sketch
Lorne And Tom In A Tub
Worst Sketch
Dog Show
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
It’s hard to argue that this episode didn’t succeed in what it was trying to do. By which I mean, this feels exactly like an episode of SNL hosted by Tom Green. So I wouldn’t change a thing. Even the bad sketches make this episode interesting. I hated watching Dog Show and Oprah and was entirely confused by Rock Around The Clock but at the same time I’m so glad they are in this episode.
Host Analysis
Other than Charles Grodin, I can’t think of another host who I would never want to see host again in a positive way. There are plenty of people who should have never hosted in the first place, there are others who I want to see come back, but there’s only 2 who I think should never come back but I’m so glad they hosted once. You can’t come back after this. An annual Tom Green episode would somehow ruin this. It’s best that he never had to try and top himself.
Final Thoughts
The official average is 3 stars but I gotta give this an honorary 4. It’s just such an oddity that you have to watch. The show hadn’t done an episode like this in a long time which made it all the more surprising that they did it when they did. The last few seasons of the show have been very good but the biggest complaint I have with this era is the formula. You can find several episodes that will have basically the same sketch lineup. Cheerleaders, Mary Katharine Gallagher, Mango and The Ladies Man. Odds are you’ll get one or two of those in every episode from the past 4 seasons. Then something like this comes along and it’s suddenly like SNL is hip again. This episode was far from perfect but it is the closest the show has come to recapturing the feel of the first 5 years. Ironically, anybody who feels the show isn’t as good as it used to be probably also dislikes Tom Green which makes this episode all the weirder. Not every episode can be like this but I love that the show’s history is peppered with these little oddballs.
Up Next
Before he was Dieter Von Cunth, Val Kilmer hosted SNL with musical guest U2.
Here’s some tidbits about the episode I parsed out of a Jerry Minor interview:
ReplyDelete– There was a Mango sketch cut from dress rehearsal that involved Tom Green in some sort of squid costume.
– There was another cut sketch that involved Tom throwing spaghetti everywhere that was terrible.
– Tom kept going off script during dress which got a lot of people nervous, and they were just generally nervous throughout the whole week.
I just watched the edited down version on Peacock. It's missing Rock Around the Clock, Storytellers, and the TV Funhouse. The squealing pig is also heavily edited to look mostly cooperate, likely with dress rehearsal footage replacing the original disaster. As a fan of Tom from this era, I can see that the Bald Eagle and Rock Around The Clock sketches were mostly in his wheelhouse. I sort of wish someone else beside Will was brave enough to play with Tom.
ReplyDelete*cooperative
ReplyDelete