@thezenitsufan1249 Was certainly a rougher one to watch. Personally, I wasn't a very big Mr Bill fan in the early appearances, so even that is a lower point.
the problem.... the thing that ain't cool was not Al Jarreau....it was YOU, dvmba$$.... YOU're the PROBLEM. the 70s music was so eclectic... and in 1976, the BLACK singers, artists...black music WAS ALL the VIBE, from early to mid-70s. it was THE cool s**t. the fact that you not diggin' it just showed you not diggin' the scene in that period. hell, even the Blues Brothers showed black music's the vibe, back then. the problem is that YOU guys just can't get over the fact that it's JAZZ...and he's BLACK....stuff that YOU don't like. Al Jarreau WAS cool starting in 76 to about....84-85. GTFOH. and cool is NOT the same as MAINSTREAM, ya idiots.... what's hot on the charts is mainstream, but NOT necessarily COOL. you guys don't know s**t.
As I recall Dan busted Frank up when consuming mass quantities as Zappa had a mouthful and Aykroyd said “So, Zappa ….” Frank appeared to lose it in the best way.
@@LionsDenAudioTheatre Thanks for confirming my recollection. I looked on RU-vid and couldn’t find the sketch. I was relying on a long dated but beloved mental image.
Miskell was apparently very endearing and funny in the interviews, part of which were shown to the voting audience for all five contestants. Her delivery was sharp, as was her concluding line in the interview as to why she thought that she should be selected. "Because, at any time, I'm gonna kick!" Alas, on the actual airing of the episode, her timing was frequently off, and in the one skit where she had a good number of lines, Jane Curtin did have to carry her along. Fortunately, her overall number of lines in the various skits were not all that many, at least in comparison to other guest hosts. To be truthful, I really do not think too many people cared. They just felt happy for this cute little old lady who finally got her taste of stardom.
You have a dark demon on your shoulder Joe. He may be the biggest reason for your failures. Think maybe that demon would want to destroy the English people's country?. I do!
They should have never asked Frank to be on the show in the first place if they weren't going to take advantage of his unique talents and personality. I feel like there was some fundamental miscommunication. SNL thinks Frank is a not very popular weird musician who will just be happy to be there and do goofy generic bits. Frank thinks SNL is gonna roll out the red carpet to him because why else would they ask him in the first place? Frank was a smart guy so it stands to reason NBC gave him a lot of false assurances or misconceptions about what he was getting himself into.
Agreed. I think you probably nailed it. I doubt he would have assumed he'd have had creative control unless someone made him think he'd have it. Thanks for your comment.
Jane snarking on Belushi in backstage sketches is always funny (reflecting real life). Busey was, indeed, genius playing Billy Carter. Looked and acted like him. Perchance to Dream: The one potential epitaph Schiller's Reel for someone still alive. There were the ones you guys mentioned, and at least the one that worked perfect for both Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks. The horse bit is an underrated gem of SNL blooper. Belongs up there with the 1st Debbie Downer. Women's Problems: By now you guys probably saw the Men's Problems sequel sketch. Great idea to split them up between shows. Muck Jumpers: In '79, I disliked it for the presumably feces-coveredness. Either way, that was a perfect, really funny punchline.
Yes, Jane must have loved bashing John in sketches :) Ideal casting with Busey as Billy. He may have been too normal to pull it off ;) I'm realizing as we go through this that horses are very funny. I have seen the Men's Problems. I'm interested to see what the other think. I knew Muckjumpers was going to be hit or miss with the crew, I'm just never sure who is going to land where. Thanks for the comments. Love the insight and memories.
The funny thing about the Simon episode was that it did a lot to put Saturday Night Live (then known as "NBC's Saturday Night") on the radar for the Boomer audience that came to define it. Simon and Garfunkel were a major pop music act who had not performed together in years. In 1975, Simon had a #1 single, a #1 album, and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. He was doing the show a huge favor by being on. His music is great, too, and very in tune with the post-folkie, guitar pop sensibilities that, along with Stax/Volt soul, came to define early SNL music. It's a cultural watershed in a way. That said, the show is better known to fans for being the most egregious showcase given to any host in as long as I was ever paying attention. Most of the cast has no lines. The choice to push the Muppets and an Albert Brooks film out there in lieu of some cast-based comedy bits could have been fatal. Simon probably pushed for more control than was healthy, ironically to showcase his real sense of humor. Like you guys say, the Connie Hawkins bit was a funny few minutes that just ran over in service to the host's sizable ego.
I think you've nailed it pretty well. His contribution as a marquee name was invaluable, but retrospectively, it makes for a pretty weak episode. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Oh Mrs Churchill do come over I've just killed my parents!. When lizzie laught at the top of the stairs it wasn't because the maid were struggling with the front door lock it was because she looked into the guest room where her stepmother lay dead. The equivalent of having the last laugh.
Since I was watching in 1979, I was well aware of Silverman's failing at NBC. Not just SNL, but Johnny Carson did plenty of jokes about it (to be fair, Johnny had a bit of a vendetta, and that year he almost left Tonight over salary - and got a huge pay hike to stay eventually). Any entertainment news (pre-Entertainment Tonight) mentioned it (TV critics in the paper, for example). And the poor quality of NBC programming was self evident. Though SNL - and many others - went too hard on "Hello, Larry", a OK/mediocre show at best. I liked those, though the 3rd one was petering out considerably. They just had to get to Kate liking the cast too much to sabotage them. As far as anti-Silverman goes, the 1981, Michael O'Donoghue-penned, unaired "Silverman's Bunker" sketch - which I've not even read - would really not pass muster with you guys! Plus, the mention of a limo in the Kate Jackson ep turned out to be some bigtime real-life foreshadowing to another controversial anti-Silverman piece done by Franken on Update in 1980. Sketch of the night: We have a quorum! Mine's also the child psychiatrist one. Great work by Laraine! My worst sketch: The Coneheads. Turning their swan song into just another pot joke was a disappointment, even in 1979 for me. In retrospect, they could've made it more about the space creatures in the movie vs. the "real life" ones, even predicting Mystery Science Theater 3000 a bit.
The Twilight Zone sketch was hilarious for those familiar with the shows they spoofed. Especially 38 year old Rick Nelson, with his hair slicked back, portraying himself as 16 year old Ricky Nelson. Yes, he was definitely known as Rick Nelson in 1979. "Dream Lover" was his current single. Muhammad Ali had been booked to host this show, but had to cancel, so they called Rick. Al Franken had wanted to do an "Ozzie's Dead" sketch, which of course was terribly offensive to Rick.
Matt may not have liked the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrott Orchestra, but the young audience sure did. Great perfomance! Keith is certainly right on about George Schmidt, not only an excellent singer and banjo player, but also great artist. I had the pleasure of visiting his gallery during a recent visit to New Orleans.
Thanks very much for your comment. The audience certainly did enjoy them as did I. That style of music is a tough sell to Matt. I'd love to get go his gallery. New Orleans is one of those bucket list vacations for me. Thanks again, K
And here we are, one of my all-time favorite sketches. The Twilight Zone ranks up there with Chevy's opening falls, the Ford sketches, Buckwheat is Dead series, Cowbell, Colonel Angus, Singing in the Stalls, etc. with me. Loved your take, Keith, and appreciated the dissent from the other 2 in context. Knowing the parodied shows is helpful to enjoy it. My context, as someone born in 1961, is as a late-Boomer seeing a sketch made by earlier-era Boomers. I watched Beaver in reruns as a younger kid, and Lucy quite a lot. I knew of Father Knows Best, which I really only "got" with Bill Murray constantly holding on to his coffee, since that was an iconic thing - plus the history of "Father" actor Robert Young doing coffee commercials, including at the time this SNL aired. I'd seen Make Room for Danny a bit. The showbiz motif in the sketch helped me there. The Twilight Zone itself: seeing this sketch made me really want to see the actual show. It was somewhere around 1979-81 when I finally saw it (with the lady and the hitchhiker). I'd seen Burns & Allen on PBS before early '79. The meta of it was perfect for me. The change-up in the sketch was a great surprise, even if the story told was, indeed, boring. Thankfully the Lucy part perked up the audience again. And I must've caught a bit of Alfred Hitchcock Presents as a kid, since Hitch walking into his side portrait was already iconic to me. Naturally, he had to needle the sponsor like the real-life director did that all the time. I esp. love the sketch as a satirical piece, a comment on the sameness of the shows (besides Lucy, the inclusion allowing more recognition applause and the brilliant "Ricky" bait-and-switch making that part perfect)... as well as, of course, convenient reuse of the same set.
The Twilight Zone sketch was great, but I absolutely think most of the third chairs would have been less enamored. Chilly may have been the only exception. I really didn't pick up on the satirical bit so much, it's a great takeaway. I also completely missed the Robert Young coffee bit. Like you, I've spent some time watching the Twilight Zone since this episode. I always forget how good it was. Certainly, Serling was decades ahead of the rest of TV. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Nice send-off for Emily. I agree the ending of the midwife sketch was horrible - though I did like the meta aspect of it. Ex-police: lazy re-re-redo. Bad taste, very! Though the point of those was criticizing the far-right hate attitudes of the ex-cops. You'll notice the victims are portrayed very sympathetically before the social vigilantes bust in. Heavy-handed just the same. Widettes: Matt's right that there is social commentary in the jokes. Easy, cheap comedy becomes judgmental about consumption. Of course, I have more reason to resent it in modern times than in 1979. My favorite part of the show may be the monologue. It was refreshing to see Ms. Tyson call out Garrett on the show. The indeed Pythonesque Walker Brigade was great, silly fun. Given the old-seeming film footage, I suspect this was a Tom Schiller sketch. Musical guest: I find the Talking Heads okay overall, but the 1st song is my favorite of theirs (I'm less familiar with the original) Overall, I rated it lower than usual. A 4.5 (.5 for a few good sketches elevating the darkness).
Honestly, this was the hardest episode to discuss. It wasn't a terrible watch, but finding the correct lens to comment under was a bit of a job. In retrospect, I think the biggest sin they made was basically wasting the talents of Ms Tyson. She truly did a terrific job in all her roles as horrible as the content was. A stronger written show with her talents and commitment could have been a top 10 of the show's run.
I was just in the middle of commenting here and the whole thing just vanished when I was looking down on the keyboard. My computer (battery?) does get twitchy at times - maybe I hit "cancel"? And when that happens, I lose the will to start over. I'll try reduced versions of what was lost after I make sure *this* makes it through...
This video is the most theater kid thing I’ve ever seen and it’s amazing. I’m having trouble focusing and wanted to read the trial transcripts this is a perfect substitute
An episode that aired on New Year’s Eve. 😮 Obviously because it was a new show. SPEAKING OF- as you did- YES, they need to bring back shows like Dick Cavett and Tom Snyder. 👍👍
Understood. There are still more Lizzies to come. We started recording during the covid lockdowns when folks had a lot of time. Day 5 is the last day that was recorded independently, which makes for a much slower editing process than Days 6 - 12 which are, for the most part, in person recording. Day 5 Part 5 is missing only a few lines that I'm waiting on. Parts 6 and 7 are already complete.
Hi. I'm jumping in at this time to say I recently found your videos and it coincided with my rewatch of SNL. I was searching for the Mardi Gras episode & you popped up so I found you in my rewatch in the middle of season 2. ( I did finally find the Mardi Gras episode online.) I was 16 years old in 1975 when the show started, and remember watching it and loving it in the 70's. I just wrapped up Season 3 and just wanted to tell you how much I love your content. I just wish you were on season 40 or so and I could continue with watching the episode and then your reviews. 😊So thanks so much for this. You all do fine work and are very professional. Love your shows.
Thank you very much. Feel free to share any memories you have for the episodes. We have been talking about some possibilities concerning more recent episodes but haven't made any decisions as of yet. Thanks again for your comment.
9 from me as well. Opening: Cheap humor, indeed. Won't unseat "Schweddy Balls" or "Colonel Angus" for me anytime soon. Still liked the earlier State of the Union better with the meta-like humor better. Monologue was pretty weak. The socks part should've been the whole thing. What if...? was a favorite in that series. Palin's Hitler was great (excellent observation on the similarity to his Pontius Pilate), though John Cleese's in Monty Python's Flying Circus (Mr. Hilter) is still one of the best (along with Moe's from the 3 Stooges) ever. Love how Aykroyd made up for not finishing the disrobing by the sudden pants pulldown. Gets its own laugh. I always remember "What a Fool Believes" from this SNL appearance 1st and foremost, even though the Doobie Brothers' songs are usually remembered through top 40 radio, like the 2nd song that night. Myles Cowperthwaite: The Dickensian-Pythonesque absurdity was funny. But not liking the gross-out stuff, esp. the bucket-draining scene. Agreed that the Mr. Bill Show was great. Extending past the usual set, but staying in the demented kiddie show universe was perfect (later extending into more live action scenery, etc., was a sort-of Jump-the-Shark period for me). Loved the lit-up facial reaction of Mr. Bill at the end! Name the Bats was a funny from the set problems as from the written humor. And, by this long as an SNL fan, I already have to assume that the only-first-names name of "Steve", Belushi's character, was meant to be John's old pal Steve Beshakas, so often name-checked throughout John's tenure on SNL. I have to split my (unofficial) vote for best sketch between "Uberman" and "Name the Bats".
A mellow time at Melon-ville A few years ago, I discovered why SCTV's laugh track is like it is. The show's people didn't want one, but had no choice. So, as an act of rebellion, they deliberately placed it off-kilter throughout the episodes. To me, the effect of that, even before I knew about it, was to give the show an even more offbeat charm.
If I were rating cast member of the night for the podcast instead of the SNL, mine would be Matt. Most of his critiques here, both positive and negative, I agreed with. My worst sketch is Alcoholic's Christmas (agree with the sweep), and best is Mommie Dearest (though I love Dubb's Trees - really, Jane's so good at playing a little girl, and she could've done more of that). Probably a 6.5 for the overall show. The "Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine & Gilda" show has been on RU-vid and is probably still there. The Rod Stewart song cover is my highlight of that broadcast. And I always think of Chris Elliott mostly from Late Night with David Letterman, his SNL cast stint (most relevant here) being the wrong idea since him being a recurrent host like Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, etc. would've been great instead. If I haven't already said it, your outros on these podcasts are a highlight. Love the clever references to on-SNL bits there.
Yeah, I don't know why Dubs Trees jumped out so much more than Mommy Dearest did. MD is definitely a better sketch. Chris Elliot was definitely wasted as a cast member. I've seen the Bob and Ray special a couple of times and really enjoy it. I hope Matt and Adrienne's enthusiasm doesn't wane in a longer format. Thanks very much for the comment on the outros. They're fun to think up. Usually, it's part way through the episode when I realize I'd forgotten to do one. :) Take care.
Ah, the French Chef sketch episode. That was a memorable night. During prime time, I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail on a small TV (don't remember if B&W or color) while my sister watched the Kiss movie on the big color set.. Almost like a theme, Kiss was known for Gene Simmons spitting out fake blood at concerts, and I enjoyed stuff like the knight fight scene in Holy Grail, only seeing the cartooniness of it on the small TV. But I knew Python did stuff with fake blood. Once I had the big TV for SNL, it got to the French Chef sketch. The TV reception so far during the show was not great. But there was Aykroyd doing his Julia Child. That was hysterically funny. I was laughing hard, begging my sister to come to the living room, not to miss this! Then, the "sharp knife" and the blood, and my mood changed to angry that my favorite show went that far, since I'm squeamish about that stuff. I will admit, the "it's only a prop, it doesn't work" was funny. Still unhappy, though. I definitely agree with your 3rd chair on the comedic hemorrhaging. The TV reception? It cleared up JUST in time for the fake bloodletting! Figures. A couple things further from 1978... It's one of the few of that kind of sketch that I can watch (still look away at the "cutting" part, even though I don't think anything gross can be seen then). I've noticed before that part, Aykroyd seems to be vamping a bit, repeating some lines haltingly. It looks to me like the liquid maybe wasn't quite ready to go just yet. Another thing is that Julia Child herself has said she saw the sketch and laughed and enjoyed it. I actually like that, making her really cool for her attitude. Rating the sketch: 1st half - A+. second half - D (the smartness of it you mentioned about the writing elevates it from an F) The overall show was mostly good: 8 out of 10.
One more thing about the show/review. I had no problem with the reuse of the game show skit, I liked the Python-ness of it - even though I think I have heard it from the record before. But Matt's annoyance with the sound effects... they didn't bother me at all, but that does make curious: I wonder what he thinks of the Three Stooges and the Monkees TV show (if anything), both of which use sound effects prominently.
That would have been a really fun night of TV. Good thing you liked Eric Idle. I think the Black Knight scene is absolutely the perfect amount of silly to contain the blood. The garden party sketch the Pythons did might be a bit much for some, though I love it. Blood works well for me, though vomiting can push it. That being said, I love the "barforama" scene in Stand By Me. Of course it would clear up right when you don't want it to. I wasn't aware that Child had seen it. Thanks for sharing that. I'm a huge Stooges fan - sometime third chair Chilly - and I have talked about going through the Stooge shorts sometime. I'm not sure if we've ever discussed it, but I'd be willing to bet that Matt is a firm no on both the Stooges and the Monkees. Thanks again for the comments :)
I hate to be a pest because I know you're really busy. But I am REALLY looking forward to the next installment of the LBT! Would be very much appreciated! 🙂
Not a pest at all. We have had an issue with a missing file. It is coming along. The good news is that the next one or two after that will come very quickly after.
The Silverman stuff: At the time, his failures were pretty well-known. Certainly Johnny Carson was biting the hand that fed him (no surprise given Johnny's near departure the following year). There was enough in those days for the general public to have an idea. I sure did. Olympia Diner: The changeover from Pepsi to Coke WAS a sea change in the series. Update: Yeah, very O'Donoghuesque segment in his absence. Joking about Jonestown in '78 was in bad taste, even for them. Something somewhat similar (minus the scale) this now-past weekend with the bit about the boat-bridge crash story. Host: Matthau's iconic. My favorite movie of his is The Odd Couple (with Jack Lemon, of course). On SNL, he was cantankerous, but maybe not in the Broderick Crawford way that charmed the cast. Most likely he summed it up in his outro to Garrett's *musical guest* segment. Staying at 8
Solid 8 from me, SNL wise. Podcast wise, I identified most with Keith's opinions. The Beach movie sketch. I loved the metacommentary of the characters about rebellion, Vietnam, etc. The "Love singing to white kids on the beach" part reminded me of Little Richard in "Catalina Caper" on MST3K. I think the choice of a Beach movie was due to satirizing something from the time the SNL crew grew up. Making fun of the nostalgia. I can't help but think ahead to the Twilight Zone parody later this 4th season, also satirizing the pop culture of the late '50s-early '60s, albeit more sharply. It's one of my all-time favorite SNL sketches (I like the Beach movie one OK). Lots of old references, even the studio audience didn't get all of them. Well, still a while till the Rick Nelson episode comes up. Inside stuff: I don't know when it actually started (maybe that week), but somewhere around that time, Carrie was dating Dan Aykroyd. Interesting if they started up the week she hosted SNL, especially since Bill Murray got the fringe benefits in the mutual funds sketch!
Thanks again. I think you nailed it concerning the Beach movie. I'm sure they were chomping at the bit to do a take on these movies which were, indeed, all the rage during their youth. Aykroyd and Fisher met at this point, but didn't start dating until they were filming Blues Brothers. I had actually thought it was earlier than that, but a few different sources place their coupling up until then.
Maggie was playing dumb in her testimony, she loves saying , i dont know anything bout it she loves saying that. 😅 playing dumb.she made a deal with the devil and she wearing a dress.
I'm guessing the reason Ry Cooder performed his 1974 recording, "The Tattler," is because Linda Ronstadt had covered it on her most recent album, "Hasten Down the Wind." I do remember the song gaining new life in 1990, when it was included on the soundtrack of the Robin Williams film, "Cadillac Man," where it memorably played during the closing credits.
Thanks for your comment. That makes sense re: Linda Ronstadt's cover of "The Tattler.' I had totally forgotten about Cadillac Man. I saw it when it was fairly new and enjoyed it. Worth a rewatch?
@@LionsDenAudioTheatre My wife and I enjoyed "Cadillac Man" in the theater, and sat through the closing credits just to hear every moment of "The Tattler." Months later when the film made it to television, I recorded the closing credits on my VCR so I could listen to the song whenever I wanted.
I saw The Mothers many times, including the Fillmore East shows, officially released on LP. As John Belushi said in the SNL opening, I, too, stopped listening to Zappa after that record. [Because Zappa became a vaudeville clown, self-parody after that]
That must have been a cool show to be at. I'm just getting into some of Zappa's stuff and wasn't aware that he is seen that way by folks. Thanks for the info.
Listened to this a short while after it came out. Yeah, the Uncle Roy sketch(es). Back in '78, I did laugh, knowing SNL loved to be raunchy, knowing the title character was a creep. Indeed, Buck's glee in playing him worked in the sketch's favor. I knew, later on, who the writers' were, but truly informed about the background from here (if I read it in one of the SNL history books, I'd forgotten). Really glad they didn't encounter an Uncle Roy, or worse, in their childhoods. Really glad you referenced the ending of the last one from 1980. With that one Buck 4th-wall break, the series became a sort-of warning about that sort of thing way before any national discussion. It was chilling, and Buck really sold it.
I'd read/heard somewhere that Buck wanted the bit at the end in the first sketch, but the writers didn't go for it. Either way, it's definitely a unique sketch that is a good example of some of the envelopes that could be pushed in the late 70s that couldn't/wouldn't be as much today on the show.
I found this 'cast while googling Esther Phillips and trying to find out why the hell she was so popular. That vibrato ... holy CRAP she sounds like a cat being shaken violently. Amazing voice, but that other crap she did ... I'm glad you guys reacted the same way. I actually looked up her studio work and it sounds a lot better; the vibrato sounds normal. Not sure why she went different for SNL, but you're right ... it was a very bad move. True ear vomit.
You absolutely nailed it. Voice is excellent and powerful... the extras sure are weird. She's definitely got her supporters, but I found it funny. That being said, I've listened to more of her stuff to both figure out the fandom and for cheap laughs.
I'm working on the next one. The Lizzies take a lot more time to edit. They are also recorded individually and often need some re-recordings, so the process for each episode can take quite a bit. You should see the next two before the end of April. Take care.
@@noteveryoneiscutout All good. We get a few messages now and then asking about other stuff on the channel. All I can say is that it's a volunteer deal and a labor of love for most of us and we're all doing what we can to get stuff out as steadily as possible.
