S1E6 Lily Tomlin

And I'm back, and with a much more memorable episode to write about than the previous one with Robert Klein. Lily Tomlin, another early regular (although, as I do a little research, she only hosted two more times - I could have sworn it was more than that) is hosting, and the result is an episode that, like the Candice Bergen one, goes a long way toward cementing the format. Will it be funnier than that episode, though?

THE HOST

The half hour syndicated reruns of SNL must have run the Lily Tomlin episodes a lot, because I could swear that when I was a kid, she turned up so often she almost felt like an honorary cast member. Like Bergen, she seems thrilled to be there. Her monologue is just okay, and her strongest contributions tend to not involve the cast, but her energy makes it work.

THE GOOD

Belushi's three short Beethoven skits are easily the most memorable of the episode. The concept doesn't wear out its welcome, as each one is funnier than the one before.

Spud Beer is one of my favorite early commercial parodies. A potato based beer, ideal for post-electro shock therapy drinking.

THE MEH

It may sound like faint praise to lump the rest of the episode in this category, but since there's nothing really bad about this week, this still makes for a stronger episode than usual.

We get Chase delivering another Ford opener, though a minor one this time.

We get another land shark parody, an early example of how good ideas can find themselves overused on the show.

There's a brief, but dated, skit about an interracial couple that looks more like it was done to make use of the sets that were already up for the shark skit.

Tomlin's two character monologues, one done as a letter to Patty Hearst and another as a teenager talking about a school dance, are enjoyable. Her Edith Ann film is fine, too, though I imagine that character isn't as well known today as it once was. I'm old enough to remember when she used to turn up on Sesame Street.

Dan Aykroyd's harassment at the hands of Tomlin and Curtin as female construction workers is good, and falls just short of being better than average.

Weelend Update is solid, still doing the Garrett Morris news for the deaf closer.

We get repeats of the Triopenin and Show Us Your Guns commercials. A diet pill commercial is new, but still feels like a leftover from the early beginnings of the series.

Albert Brooks film is a repeat from the first episode. I'm wondering if they ran out of filmed material around this time.

Even the Muppets are tolerable this week, doing a duet with Tomlin instead of another of their interminably long sketches.

THE BAD

Like I said, there's nothing bad about this episode. It may not reach great heights, but it doesn't stumble either.

THE MUSIC

No musical guest, just Tomlin singing St. James Infirmary with the house band in nurses uniforms. It's one of the more famous musical moments from the early days, probably due to it being rerun so much more. I'm guessing that the host doing a song that might even be public domain likely clears up a lot of broadcast rights issues.

GRADE: B+

I wish more of it was laugh out loud funny, but it's consistently enjoyable enough that it's always fun to watch.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

It's funny, in my memory this had more classic skits than it actually does. Perhaps I'm confusing it with Tomlin's next episode.

I'm still amazed that Belushi didn't break out faster. Here he is again with a standout performance, but the focus still seems to be on Chase, whose Weekend Update, while enjoyable, is generally not memorable enough for me to say much about it.

NEXT: A truly classic episode - Richard Pryor.

S1E5 Robert Klein w/ ABBA & Loudon Wainwright III

I'll be glad when these posts catch up to my current viewing. I'm late posting this due to computer trouble, but to be honest, I was dreading writing it because I'll be damned if I can remember much about it, even after checking out the SNL Transcripts site. I remember ABBA on a boat. That's it.

THE HOST

I'm just old enough to remember Robert Klein turning up on lots of things, like SNL, late night talk shows... he even used to turn up on a Chicago radio show I listened to. I remember finding him funny back then, but seeing him now... well, he's clearly an important, talented comic, but his baby boomer humor feels pretty tame to me now. His main contributions to the show are two monologues, but unlike George Carlin, he does take part in some skits. He just doesn't do anything memorable. His monologues are fine, but very '70s, and they simply haven't aged that well.

THE GOOD

Honestly? Nothing.

THE BAD

Minute Mystery is tedious, one of those sketches that only makes you aware that you're sitting and not laughing.

We get another Pong skit from Franken and Davis.

And, of course, the Muppets.

THE MEH

Pretty much the entire episode.

The Beauty Pageant opening isn't memorable. The three commercials are retreads, two of which look to have been done before the cast was even hired. There are some inconsequential short bits involving Gregg Allman and Garrett Morris as a bee. Gilda does a short, cute bit about being a firefighter. Even Update is pretty average this week.

Belushi is featured heavily in two skits, one about Sam Peckinpah abusing an actress, and another about an exterminator afraid to kill a cockroach. They're overly long, but harmless. Klein also gets a fair amount of screen time in these.

Emily Litella makes her first non Update appearance. She's a character who wears thin pretty quick, especially when you detach her from Update, but this isn't as bad as later appearances.

THE MUSIC

ABBA lip sync their way through two songs on board a Titanic set, along with some wacky comedy. It's jarringly silly for SNL, and looks like something that would be more at home on a prime time variety show. Loudon Wainwright III actually does sing, and he seems to do a good job here. Your enjoyment will probably depend on how much you like him to begin with, and I've always been ambivalent about him.

GRADE: D

Maybe I'm forgetting something hilarious from when I watched this months ago, but I don't think so. One of the dullest episodes of the season.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

So was Loudon Wainwright III brought on so they could have at least one truly live music act? Because the whole ABBA thing feels like it was dropped in from another show.

Minute Mystery - Seriously, just one of the most annoying skits of the first season. SNL Transcripts doesn't even have the script online. I think they even brought this back at least once.

With skits revolving around Sam Peckinpah and Gregg Allman breaking up with Cher, this is one of the more dated episodes so far. Sure Weekend Update ages badly, but these are two skits that reference things that grow increasingly less relevant in the public consciousness.