EPISODE REVIEWS

John Goodman / Paula Cole
February 7, 1998

Tripp Restaurant:

Glad they got this out of the way early. Everyone seems tired of this story, and nothing is going to come of it anyway. I think Darrell Hammond can play John Goodman's role here as Linda Tripp next time - she looks like Ted Koppel or Donald Trump in a blonde wig already. Ackroyd's Bob Dole is pretty good, but it probably made most wish for Norm again.

Blues Brothers Song:

Everyone says this film sucks and to buy the soundtrack instead. Not that the original was exactly a masterpiece, but that weak box office opening shows why Hollywood should have the sense to leave well enough alone. Maybe it just couldn't find an audience like they said in that article about "Half Baked", I guess because their target demographic of stoners showed up at the wrong theatres a week too late.

Clinton/ 10 Commandments:

Darrell Hammond has the Clinton mannerisms down really well (when he tries to appear concerned or emotional, he'll bite his lower lip like that every time - does anybody buy that as genuine?) One of the better skits of the night.

Morning Latte:

I'm not exactly thrilled to see these characters back again. Will we only see this when babyfaced, heavy-set, big-lunged hosts are available to play the gentle camera man who snaps and yells really loud?

Olympic Report:

Geez, talk about "Olympic flame". It occured to me while watching this sketch that I don't remember ever seeing an Asian-American in the SNL cast at any time in its history. Not that I'm into quotas or anything.

TV Fun House: X-Presidents

I've never seen the reviews more diverse as in this section - people either love or hate the cartoons. The X-Presidents are my favorite, and this one had me laughing out loud! The X-First Ladies were hilarious - especially Barbara as the She-Hulk. I hope they do a lot more of these in the future, quickly - not to be morbid or mean, but I've got a feeling Reagan doesn't have much more time. These absurdly funny songs at the end are icing on the cake.

Emeril Live! Food:

If this is based on a real show, I haven't seen it. It was okay as filler.

Weekend Update:

Still don't like Colin behind the desk. He doesn't look right in a suit and tie and I the informal "Colin Quinn explains the New York Times" was better suited to his blue-collar style. And the new set looks just awful - is this 1998 or 1978? However, all the jokes clicked tonight, something that hasn't happened in a loooong time. If you liked that collage he made, you might want to check out the Dadaist/Surrealist art movement post-WWI, especially a photo collage artist by the name of John Heartfield. This collage was just like on of his works, Hitler and the whole thing! It seems to me that Colin has been making O.J. jokes almost as often as Norm did, only more subtle. How many of his three times as anchor so far have been O.J.-free? Didn't like Will Ferrell's bit though, he had to lapse into the "disjointed-thinking-psycho" character of course. I've only ever liked Harry Caray when he's in this mode.

Paula Cole:

Thank God she didn't play that awful cowboy song, a tune so dreadful even my mother hates it. Not that this one did anything for me. Uh, interesting outfit.

Judge Judy:

Once again, the writers have to present every idea twice. Dan Ackroyd's reprisal of his classic role here was his best work of the night, I liked his parts better the last time he guested on SNL though. Did he do that Tom Snyder as well as the Rush Limbaugh that time? Never seen the actual Judge Judy show, but I wish they'd leave these 'cruel' endings to the joyless Mad TV. (My housemate once remarked that he doesn't remember the magazine being quite that black, which made me laugh harder than anything I've seen on that lousy show). Ed Koch made more than appearance on SNL in the 80s, I wonder if he'd do his "People's Court" bit for SNL?

Martha Stewart/Cuba:

This was just plain okay. Does the real Martha Stewart remind anybody else of MacGyver, making all these things out of everyday objects?

Sabado Chistoso:

The real Spanish and Italian shows I get on the cable tv are way funnier than this without trying to be (I don't THINK they are, anyway). If this lawyer fellow really does have a hard time getting on tv, I must be watching all the right channels or something.

When Cobras Attack:

The most vivid thing I remember is how enormous John Goodman's head appeared slumped in the seat like that. An excellent 'performance' by Tim Meadows, too, but then we get the usual Will-Ferrell-as-psycho routine. That talking cobra would have given me nightmares as a kid. I've come to the conclusion that Molly Shannon really enjoys falling down in a skirt and spreading her legs for the audience. Well, I don't enjoy watching it, does anyone else?

Neil Diamond:

Just another variation on Will Ferrell's "psycho" schtick that I've seen over and over and gotten very tired of at this point. And Neil Diamond singing impressions are quite easy to do, but I thought Will couldn't get that right either.

CONCLUSION

A solid hour here I'd say, that sagging half-hour's worth could have been bouyed by bringing back the musical guest (they always do that when it's a guest most people hate anyway, the teen sugar-pop acts I don't need to mention here). How about bringing back a stand-up act like the show had in the 80s? No more "Lost Deep Thoughts"? We did get an excellent Smigel cartoon this week, a surprisingly good Weekend Update, and some middling-to-worthless sketches. A core cast this critically maligned and low-profile has never survived this long (going on four years now!), but they've lost the most popular member in Norm McDonald and have received tremendous flak for it as well. Yet the show still has a strong audience right now, I wonder how it breaks down by age categories. I still think the show needs to shake up the cast next year and keep only a core of the best players, like what happened in 1986. Without McDonald's weekly on-the-edge balancing act at the news desk, I'm getting tired of the current collection of safe characters and catch-phrases awfully fast.

Episode Review written by Chris Jackson

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