EPISODE REVIEWS

Sylvester Stallone / Jamiroquai
September 27, 1997

"Oprah"

I think the true humor in the Oprah sketches is not Tim Meadows but the characters that come on, like the Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches (where Will Ferrel's Alex Trebek isn't all that good). Norm was hilarious as Marv Alberts and Tracy Morgan was great as Mike Tyson.

"Opening Montage"

The new photos are good, but the colored bars look like something out of Ed Sullivan. The song isn't as good as last year's, either (by the way, WHERE can I find that theme song?!)--it sounded like they mixed together the 70's version with the 90's one.

"Monolouge"

I'm surprised Jim Breuer and Stallone did Mickey, so soon after Burgess Meredith's death, but it came off well. Tracy Morgan as Mr. T and Chris Kattan as Adrian livened the sketch up a lot.

"Assjet"

Good commercial parody; let's hope we don't see it 1000000000 more times this season. The imprint in the copier was the best sight gag and the copy comparisons were also good.

"Rita Delvecchio"

Cheri Oteri was always humorous as this character . . . except for tonight. The funniest things about this sketch were the one-liners about "Hey--I see you, ya little Dom DeLuise!" and the line about Frank Stallone performing in Atlantic City.

"Car Accident"

Stallone's reading off the cue cards really weakened this sketch; it was also too repetitious. Norm managed to save it with the "Arm Wrestling" line and the porno video "Rambone".

"Roxbury Guys"

I knew they would bring out the Roxbury Guys for the season premiere (half the reason we saw them was probably due to the fact they have a movie being released). Stallone was funny when he punched the girl he danced with and when elbowing Chris Kattan out of the car. I especially enjoyed the School of Nightclub Dancing bit with Darrell Hammond.

"Janet Reno"

Will is still good as Janet Reno, but why can't she go other places besides Washington or to her dance party? (Seeing her in a skit with the ex-porn stars, Wong & Owens, or on the Joe Pesci show would be nice) Richard Jewell's part was funny; one hit ("Same time tomorrow?") and that was all. Honestly, I thought it was Chris Farley impersonating Jewell until I heard the Southern accent.

"Fun with Real Audio"

Hilarious! I think Robert Smigel should do more outtakes on films (The Wizard of Oz parody would be good). Even though the farting was repetitious, it was excellent.

"Weekend Update"

It's great to see Norm at Update. No "note to self" or Frank Stallone jokes (although one would have been funny with Sly and Frank coming out during it). Ana Gatsayer was good but I was surprised to see Jewell's appearance on Update after all of last season's jokes ("Ok, I was still able to eat"). Norm's line about "Oh, you know an awful lot about that car accident, don't you?" after Jewell added that the crash killed 2 other people other than Princess Di was easily the best one-liner of the sketch.

"Computer store"

Will Ferrell is always a good "straight man" to strange characters, like with Jim Carrey's lifeguard in 1996. The German Orange Julius was a bit odd, but I liked the "gay computer" and the new "model"--the vending machine.

"Planet Hollywood"

I'm sorry, but this was just horrible. Two guys bugging a star in Planet Hollywood? Common, but not funny.

"Lou's Lovely Daughters"

Cheri Oteri was the sole bright spot of this sketch. Even before she spoke, the audience laughed, just by her appearance. She is always able to bring life to a skit, like Jim Carrey can do with his movies (Batman Forever would have sucked without him, but that's not the point here).

"Elton John"

I knew that good old SNL would do something about Princess Di and all that. This was a good sketch, only cut off. They should have replaced "Planet Hollywood" with this. I wouldn't care if they replaced "Planet Hollywood" with one of last year's commercial parody.

OVERALL

Lots of things have changed. Looks like they got a good season lined up, though; hopefully, we'll see Michael Richards ("Kramer") or Tim Allen as hosts. I hope they are able to do an entire season without using a repeated host, like Alec Baldwin, John Goodman, Chase, or Tom Hanks. Good luck!

Episode Review written by Mike Fenn

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