Sketches include "Calvin Klein Cream Pies", "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood", "Crazy Edelman", "What Would Frank Do?", "Small World", "Mom Was Right", "Spanish Class", "Autograph Hounds", "Book Beat", "The Amos 'N Andy Show", "Masterpiece Humor", and "Body Guard". Eddy Grant performs "I Don't Wanna Dance", "Electric Avenue" and "Living On The Frontline".
Read MoreSketches include "Brandon's Office", "Calvin Klein Cream Pies", "James Watt", "Jazz Riffs", "Feln's Discount Food & Clothing Warehouse", "Show Ideas", "Gumby & Pokey", "Man On The Street", "Larry's Corner", "Rent-A-Gun", "NBC: Be There", and "Terrible Day". John Cougar performs "Pink Houses" and "Crumblin' Down". Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review tonight's show in progress.
Read MoreBy the summer of 1983, Saturday Night Live had re-stabilized, and had a genuine movie star in its cast: Eddie Murphy, who reached box office success with 48 Hours and Trading Places. However, the new season would prove to be his last, as it was only a matter of time before Murphy's burgeoning career would push him beyond SNL. To keep their star an extra year, NBC and SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol allowed Murphy to do the show on a part-time basis, with his appearances on his weeks off made possible by a bank of eleven sketches taped with the cast in Studio 8H on September 21, 1983.
Unlike the previous three seasons, there were no cast departures (though Gary Kroeger was fired and quickly rehired over the summer), and while Murphy was on his way out, he and Joe Piscopo still continued to be the focus of many sketches. Newer hires Kroeger and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, already contributing solid work, got a much-deserved boost in airtime, while Mary Gross began to be credited as a writer alongside Murphy, Piscopo, Tim Kazurinsky and Robin Duke. The sole new face in the cast was Jim Belushi, younger brother of John. Despite a commitment to a production of Sam Shephard's True West forcing Belushi to miss a handful of shows early in the season, he quickly became one of the show's dominant players.
The writing staff had comparatively more turnover: Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield left for Hollywood and rookie writers Paul Barrosse and Ellen L. Fogle were let go. Brought onboard for 1983-84 were Andy Breckman (poached from Late Night with David Letterman), Adam Green, Kevin Kelton (a former writer for SNL's one-time West Coast rival Fridays), and Michael Clayton McCarthy; founding SNL writer Herb Sargent also returned to take charge of the Saturday Night News segment. Of these new hires, Breckman proved to be an especially solid and prolific addition to the staff. Writer-producer Bob Tischler also began to have a stronger influence on what material made it into the show, which allowed for sharper material than what Dick Ebersol, more a "numbers guy" than a comedy writer, normally kept in the show.
Ebersol's control in other areas still remained, though, and the show still shied away from harder-edged political satire, to the dismay of several writers and performers: Tim Kazurinsky and Brad Hall both clashed with Ebersol about the material that made it to air. Hall was also removed from Saturday Night News mid-season, with the segment's anchor duties usually falling to whoever was hosting the show that week.
The second half of the season brought two more developments: the debut (and quick demise) of Lorne Michaels' new sketch show The New Show, and the show's increased use of pre-filmed sketches. The New Show's poor ratings and reviews only served to vindicate and reinvigorate the SNL staff, while the filmed sketches that appeared over the next year and a half (usually directed by regular film unit directors Claude Kerven and John Fox) would be some of the show's best-remembered work.
As with the previous three seasons, I will be posting sketch-by-sketch reviews; expect the new reviews of each show every weekend (as my schedule allows), with the Tartikoff review coming tonight or tomorrow. If anyone has information to contribute about the episodes, such as who wrote what, writer cameos, etc., I welcome it and will acknowledge my source in the sketch review.
The episodes (with links to episode summaries in the SNL Archives):
After Brooks Wheelan, Noel Wells and John Milhiser were fired from Saturday Night Live last July, I wrote a particularly visceral piece blasting Lorne Michaels and company for only making cosmetic changes to the show's makeup instead of trying to fix SNL's deep-seated problems in the writing department. The 2013-2014 season was not very good; and was the first year where I was deliberately skipping episodes. Of course, my curiosity got the better of me after checking out the fan reaction on the SNL message boards (which, admittedly, are not the kindest to the cast and writers either), but there were very few shows that felt worth the time investment of watching live. Despite talk from producers that this year would reflect some lessons learned, the big issues with last year weren't resolved at all: the show's problems only seemed to entrench themselves further.
Read MoreThis has always been an "in-the-middle" season for me; it has some good shows, some weaker shows, but none of the peaks or valleys of 1981-82, nor does it have that oddball feel the previous season had.
Read MoreSketches include "What's The Most Disgusting Thing You've Seen In New York", "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood", "Ledge", "Bald No More", "Vietnam Whiner", "Late Night with David Letterman" and "Birthday A Go-Go". Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners perform "Come On Eileen" and "The Celtic Soul Brothers". Harry Anderson also appears.
Read MoreSketches include "V.D.", "Kannon AE-1", "Stevie Experience", "Hitler: The Secret Diaries", "The Story of Stevie", "Dion's", "Cotton Land" and "Busboy". Stevie Wonder performs "Fingertips", "Overjoyed" and "Go Home". Michael Davis also appears.
Read MoreSketches include "Taking Care Of Business", "Sit On It!", "The Ladies Room", "The Exercises Of Love", "Our Generation", "Tootsie Cosmetics", "Magic Fish" and "Dung In The Oval Office". Michael McDonald performs "If That's What It Takes" (with Edgar Winter) and "I Can Let Go Now". Steven Wright also appears.
Read MoreSketches include "The Whiners", "The David Susskind Show", "The Enquirer", "Joan vs. Joan", "Oscars", "Calvin Klein Jeans", "Old Age Home", "Club Doolittle", and "Caribbean Gyno". Musical Youth perform "Pass The Dutchie" and "Never Gonna Give You Up".
Read MoreSketches include: "Buckwheat Dead", "Motown Upon The Swanee River", "Heil Hits", "The Mrs. T. Birthday Special", "I Married A Monkey", "Oil Is Us", "Pudge and Solomon", and "Wrong Number". Duran Duran performs "Hungry Like The Wolf" and "Girls On Film".
Read MoreSketches include "Backstage", "Buckwheat Jeans", "Donny & Marie St. Patrick's Day Special", "Buckwheat Buys the Farm", "The Home For Disgusting Practices", "The Buckwheat Story", "Jerry Lewis School", "Gumbys", "Old Jew Beer", "Old Negro Beer", "Songwriters", "Old Chinaman Beer", and "Veggie Burgers". Leon Redbone performs "Sweet Sue, Just You", "When You Wish Upon A Star" and "I Ain't Got Nobody".
Read MoreSketches include: "Childhood Stories", "Texxon", "Pimple", "Rick's Cafe", "Cheap Hunt", "Battered Husband", "Saundra's House of Massage", and "Guy Crazy". Randy Newman performs "I Love L.A." and "Real Emotional Girl".
Read MoreSketches include "Dressing Room", "Sleepy Boy 2000", "Gas Station", "Mad Magazine Theatre", "The A-Team", "Holiday Inn", "My Date with Dion" and "The Laughing Buddha". Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers perform "Change of Heart" and "The Waiting". Tonight also features a personal tribute to John Belushi by his wife Judith Jacklin Belushi, featuring an original song by Rhonda Coullet.
Read MoreOther people are probably going to write more extensively about tonight's SNL 40th Anniversary special, so I'll leave it to them, but I'll say my piece about a few things:
Most of the show was entertaining; the clip montages were well-chosen and edited, and it was good to see the lesser-celebrated Doumanian and Ebersol years get more "deep cuts" covered in the highlight reels, as opposed to the same Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo clips they normally rely on.
The music performances weren't bad; nothing on par with Prince doing "Electric Chair" at the 15th anniversary or the Eurythmics and Al Green medleys at the 25th. Miley Cyrus doing "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" was surprisingly good, though.
Jane Curtin doing Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler was a highlight, and she killed it with her Fox News joke. She was always the secret weapon of the original years, or at least the one hidden in plain sight.
The biggest misstep of the night was the Californians sketch, which didn't seem to play too well in studio. Despite the participation of Laraine Newman and cameos from Bradley Cooper, Kerry Washington, Taylor Swift and Betty White, the sketch dragged. David Spade posted a close-up of the script on Instagram earlier, which revealed this was the handiwork of James Anderson and Kent Sublette; for all I know they may be wonderful people, but this was all too typical of their other work on the show*. The same could be said for Garth and Kat, which ground the pacing of the "salute to musical sketches" segment to a halt.
The "In Memoriam" montage was well-done, but I noticed a few glaring omissions:
They may have kept to a "more than one season" rule for writers, but I found it odd they didn't count the other band members who have passed. I believe there were also a few other crew and staff members that had been memorialized beforehand but not here. That said, it was nice to see some others get their due. I was most concerned that Charles Rocket, Danitra Vance, Michael O'Donoghue and Tom Davis would get short shrift, and was pleased to see they were counted. The same goes for Don Pardo, Dave Wilson and Audrey Peart Dickman (from many accounts, she was the engine that kept the show running, production-wise).
Other than those issues, the special served its purpose: it reminded the audience why this show (and it's history) is special, and it was good to see a lot of familiar faces again. I hope everyone there had a good time (even Anderson and Sublette).
*A partial list of other Anderlette sketches this season: "Forgotten Television Gems", "Women In The Workplace", "Campfire Song", "Nest-presso", "Amy Adams Monologue", "Singing Sisters", "Soap Opera Reunion", "The Journey", "Casablanca".
I've decided to resume the 1982-83 reviews this month; any episode where I have an edited repeat version will be done with my existing copy of the show, and will be altered/corrected accordingly if I get a more complete airing of the show, and will continue on through the rest of the Ebersol in order after the "season in review" posts.
I'm still planning to only do one SNL-related post a week (review or otherwise), but you can expect the review of Howard Hesseman / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers to go online around January 24.
I'm trying to decide when I'll come back to posting SNL reviews. They're my "bread and butter" when it comes to generating traffic for this site, but at the same time I hate pigeonholing myself into one-trick-ponydom by only writing about the show, and I worry that I can't appreciate anything else on the level I've devoted to SNL. Then there's the concern that I've exhausted my supply of things to write about the show itself, or that I should save the time and effort I've put into getting my opinion on the show into something that pays me money or advances my career.
The process of writing each review is fairly intensive: I watch each episode two times, one to take notes, and one to do screen captures and fill in gaps from my first note-taking procedure. I also do a little research regarding pertinent information for each show. If I know there's an alteration in the rerun, I try to confirm what's different. Then there's the whole issue of translating rough notes into sentences that accurately convey what I felt worked and didn't work in each show, with enough evidence to back up my viewpoint. I also have to worry about the stats for the back half of the review. The whole thing is time consuming, a little tedious, and frustrating at times, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some validation from everyone who has told me they enjoy my perspective.
I want to wait until I have access to the original airings of the Bruce Dern and Susan Saint James shows before I post those reviews, but I might as well try to get the Howard Hesseman and Jeff & Beau Bridges episodes posted as soon as possible. I've been keeping this blog inactive too long, so I need to come up with something else to post regularly in the interim, but do I just pick another season of SNL? Should I give my thoughts on the current season, which aren't especially favorable to the cast and writers? Try writing about a new TV show, or attempt to write about music, literature or film?
We'll have to see what eventually posts here.
I'm taking another break from the SNL reviews; there are a few things I'm working on that take more priority than this side project lately. While the process to watch, screengrab, research and write these reviews takes a little more effort than I'm willing to put into lately, I'm also waiting until I get access to some original airings of a handful of shows with missing content.
I haven't been thrilled with this season either, which seems particularly lifeless. Jim Carrey may bring the energy level up this week, and Chris Rock / Prince is the most exciting lineup the show's had in a while, but I'm not confident either will transcend the mediocre writing that's plagued the show for six seasons. After all, Bryan Tucker can just write "KENAN REACTS" into a script and it will likely be accepted for air. I need the sleep anyway.
Not sure what I'm going to do for content in the meantime. It may be time to re-evaluate my focus.
Sketches include: "The Scheme", "Funeral In A Cab", "Hospital Whiners", "Hotel", "Crime and Self-Punishment" and "A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney". Joe Cocker performs "Up Where We Belong" (with Jennifer Warnes) and "Seven Days". Harry Anderson also appears.
Read MoreSketches include "Super Bowl Party", "McKenzie Brothers", "Whiners V", "I'll Be the Judge of That", "Hitchcock Hygiene", "Guy Talk", "Porta-Dish", "Hell Bent for Glory", "Rent Ed McMahon", "Five Minutes to Reflect" and "The Biological Watch". The BusBoys perform "The Boys Are Back In Town" and "New Shoes".
Read MoreThe last review was posted a few days behind schedule because I've been busy with a few different things in the real world (including a trip out of town and a change in jobs). Rather than rush the next review to get back on schedule, I'm going to take the week off. This actually isn't a bad point in the season to do this, with 10 reviews posted and 10 reviews to go. The reviews will resume on Saturday, August 30 with my critique of Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas / The Bus Boys (January 29, 1983).
I also want to thank Paul Barrosse and Gary Kroeger, who have been gracious enough to provide background information on their time at Saturday Night Live. Several of my reviews have been updated with addenda to include their recollections.
Personal 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.
Looking back at my writing about SNL from years ago, I now feel like I was a bit harsh on the show at times. Maybe it was just disappointment about talented performers being used for the most irritating sketches possible at the expense of their range. It was also partially untreated depression and burnout.
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”.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here.