Sketches include “30th Birthday Party”, “Castaways”, “Master Thespian”, “Still Sweeneys”, “Subway”, “Pumping Up With Hans & Franz”, “Succinctly Speaking”, “Season’s Greetings”, “Texas Diner”, and “Speech To The Future”. Linda Ronstadt performs “Los Laureles” and “La Cigarra” with The Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, and “Under African Skies” with Paul Simon.
Read MoreSketches include “The Rolling Paper Chase”, “Compulsion”, “Death Be Not Deadly”, “The Mountain Man”, “Sweeney’s Comeback”, “Out Of Gas”, “Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists”, “BeautyBath”, and “Mysterious Old Man”. Simply Red performs “The Right Thing” and “Suffer”.
Read MoreBy the summer of 1987, Saturday Night Live had survived leadership changes, cast and writer turnover, and the threat of cancellation several times over; for the first time in years, the show was in a period of stability. New performers such as Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman quickly made their mark with characters such as the Church Lady and the Sweeney Sisters, and the writing had noticeably improved, with a renewed emphasis on political satire. It would make sense that the new season would look very similar to the last.
Read MoreSketches include “Easy Rider”, “Church Chat”, “Frank Booth’s ‘What’s That Smell?’”, “Problem Drinkers From Outer Space”, “This Week with David Brinkley”, “Cannibalism Interview”, “Last Chance”, and “Sweeney Sisters”. Roy Orbison performs “Crying”, “Oh, Pretty Woman”, and “In Dreams”.
Read MoreSketches include “Contract”, “New York Telephone”, “One Night Stand”, “Donahue”, “Nick Slammer”, “It’s A Girl”, “Il Returno De Hercules”, “Tough Parents” and “Taxi”. Percy Sledge performs “When A Man Loves A Woman”.
Read MoreSketches include “Hip”, “What’s My Addiction?”, “Synthesizer”, “The Grenada Experience”, “The Pat Stevens Show”, “Chinese New Year”, “Ticket Line”, “Asociacion Mexicana del Riñon”, and “SNL Memories”. Bruce Hornsby and The Range perform “The Way It Is” and “Mandolin Rain”.
Read MoreSketches include “NFL Video Countdown”, “Bar”, “The Honest Man”, “Crack”, “The NFL Today”, “Mace”, “Chick Hazard, Private Investigator”, “Church Chat”, “The Michael Jackson Workout Tape” and “United Way”. Debbie Harry performs “French Kissin’ in the USA” and “In Love With Love”.
Read MoreSketches include “Ballad of the Mute Marine”, “Trekkies”, “Christmas Party”, “T.J. Hooker”, “Star Trek V: The Restaurant Enterprise”, “Look At That!”, “Christmas Memories”, “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “The True Life Story of Frankie Toussaint”. Lone Justice performs “Shelter” and “I Got Love”. G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band with Buster Poindexter performs “Zat You, Santa Claus?” Kevin Meaney also appears.
Read MoreSketches include “Stumblebums Anonymous”, “Couch Cushions”, “The Devil & Ed Grimley”, “A Christmas Wish”, “Mastermind”, “The Eggshell Family”, “The Pat Stevens Show”, “Church Potluck Luncheon”, and “Halsey & Roarke: British Customs”. Randy Newman performs “Longest Night” and “Roll With The Punches”.
Read MoreSketches include: “Church Chat”, “Adobe”, “Parent-Teacher Conference”, “The Jungle Room”, “These Things”, “Pet Chicken Shop”, “Love Connection”, “Leaping Lord”, and “Krypton Survives”. Lou Reed performs “I Love You, Suzanne” and “The Original Wrapper”.
Read MoreSketches include “Bartles & Jaymes”, “Team Xynex”, “Donahue”, “The Crosby Show”, “Instant Coffee with Bill Smith”, “Parent-Teen Contract”, “Old Hollywood” and “Dover Chalk Works”. Run-DMC performs “Walk This Way” and “Hit It Run”. G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band with Buster Poindexter performs “Hit The Road, Jack”. Spike Lee and Sam Kinison also appear.
Read MoreSketches include “It Was All A Dream”, “General Dynamics”, “Girlfriends”, “Quiz Masters”, “The Amazing Alexander”, “Hef-Tea Teabags”, “Church Chat”, “Mr. Subliminal”, “Alienses”, “Ten Weeks In Jail”, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, “Comeback”, and “Brecht-Rogers Medley”. G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band with Buster Poindexter perform “Smack Dab In The Middle” and “Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You”). Playwright Christopher Durang also appears.
Read MoreLorne Michaels’s first year back at Saturday Night Live after a five-year hiatus wasn’t what you would call a success. While the writing staff included a mix of SNL veterans and unknowns that would soon establish themselves on the show, the new cast (which included movie stars Anthony Michael Hall and Randy Quaid) never quite clicked, and the ratings and reviews were less than favorable. The show was on the brink of cancellation that spring, but NBC president Brandon Tartikoff decided to give Michaels and SNL another chance.
Read MoreSketches include “Congress”, “The Kate & Ali Valentine’s Day Special”, “American Profiles”, “While You Were Gone” “Ronald Reagan Jeans”, “Oscar Talk”, “Salem Witch Trials”, “Hats” and “Small Time Agency”. Bryan Adams performs “Somebody” and “Run To You”.
Read MoreSketches include "Rappin' Jimmy B", "Tag", "Jake's Video Hut", "El Dorko", "The Julia Show", "Reagan Workout", "Rehearsal", "Persons Express", "Heart Tartare", and "Where Are They Now?". The Fixx perform "One Thing Leads To Another" and "Red Skies". Joel Hodgson also appears.
Read MorePersonal website of photographer and writer Bronwyn Douwsma.
I’m on the bus. It’s too early to be human and I haven’t had my coffee yet so I don’t really want to do much; maybe read or listen to music, things that help tune out the other people or the monotony of the commute. When I leave the suburbs, it's usually dark. I sometimes look out the windows, but more to see how far I’ve traveled than at anything interesting. By the time I arrive downtown, I can see the sun coming up over the harbour.
The year is winding down. I’m preparing to go to New Brunswick for my regular Christmas visit with the family; my travel arrangements up there have all been taken care of. I haven’t bothered with Christmas shopping yet; my cash flow was a little tight until my last paycheque came in, and my tolerance for the malls has dropped over the years. Everything costs too much money now.
If there was one word to describe the 13th season of SNL, it would be “consistent”. No longer on the bubble thanks to the previous year’s success, SNL in 1987-88 continued pretty much in the same direction as the last season with a little more confidence and a little less to prove.
Sketches include “Pumping Up With Hans & Franz”, “Wilson Trap Doors”, “Church Chat”, “Airline”, “Jorge Garcia, Nice Guy Dictator”, “The Cop & The Prostitute”, “When Great Minds Meet” and “Pirates”. 10,000 Maniacs performs “Like The Weather” and “What’s The Matter Here”.
Sketches include “Calgary 1988”, “Giant Businessman”, “The Bean Cafe”, “The Pat Stevens Show”, “Girl Watchers”, “Computer Panic”, “Casey Kasem Sings The Beatles”, “Delivery Room”, “Stand-Ups III”, and “The Pawn Shop”. Randy Travis performs “Forever And Ever, Amen” and “What’ll You Do About Me”.
“Dining With LaRue” sketches include “Promo: Take The Money And Run”, “Raised By Geese”, “Big Giant Restaurant”, “Relaxing With Raoul”, “National Council of Antique and Restricted Automatic Weapons”, and “Dining With LaRue”.
“The Flaming Turkey” sketches include “The Two Goofs Grocery Store”, “PSA: Mental Illness”, “Insights with Hugh Betcha”, “Promo: Meet The Pawnbroker”, “SCTV News” “Polardak ESP-1 Camera”, “Firing Squad” and “SCTV Big Cultural Event: The Flaming Turkey”.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here.