Hello all!
So - if you missed my introductory post to this series, please check that out at the link below:
When it comes to a legendary and long running series like Saturday Night Live, there are bound to be eras within the show that are fascinating for one reason or another.
The 6th Season that aired from 1980-1981 is easily one of the most infamous as it was the first to follow the original and iconic era from 1975-1980.
I would strongly recommend reading the first post if you are unfamiliar with a lot of the story behind this season, but what you are about to read is my review of the first episode of this season.
Doumanian would eventually be fired after the airing of her 12th episode in March 1981. I plan to discuss each of these episodes at length and I will interject some of the behind-the-scenes drama that occurred within them along with just expressing my own thoughts on the material and the cast.
With this season premiere, Elliott Gould agreed to host at the last minute when they had trouble finding a host as a lot of word had gotten around about that things were rather dire.
Though many suspected knowing Gould that he was oblivious to a lot of this.
The interest/intrigue was definitely high when the premiere aired...but the blood in the water I mentioned in the previous post certainly gave the critics of the era an eagerness to trash the episode.
How valid were these criticisms?
_______________________________________
COLD OPEN: Elliott Beds The Cast
It has been said that Jean Doumanian was obsessed with choosing what she felt would be the perfect cold opening to showcase her cast. Knowing what we know about her desire to have her writers present "hip" material, it isn't a surprise that this cold opening showcases an extensive amount of drug humor.
Although Doumanian was a very refined woman who was very anti-drug and only occasionally drank alcohol. While she was very adamant about there being no extensive drug use behind-the-scenes, a lot of the writing from this era would frequently mention drugs and they would frequently be received with much admiration from the audience.
The show opens with a shot of new cast member Gail Matthius sleeping in bed. She wakes up and the camera pans back to reveal she is in the bed with Elliott Gould...and from there, it pans back to further reveal Ann Risley, Charles Rocket, and Joe Piscopo.
Gould refers to, without any prompting, as Matthius being a cross between original cast members Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner. Ann Risley refers to herself as "kind of a cross between Gilda and Laraine (Newman)" and then Rocket chimes in with proclaiming he is a "cross between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray".
Joe Piscopo pops up and doesn't get a comparison (although he would be the closest comparison to Dan Akyroyd...with all due respect to Dan Aykroyd), but instead, he gets to ask the question "Did (the cast) really use drugs?"
Gould replies: "Sure! Cocaine was everywhere!"
From the foot of the bed, a young Gilbert Gottfried appears and he groggily states that he is a "cross between John Belushi and - that guy from last season who did Rod Serling - no one could remember his name".
Gould says "Harry? I think?"
A slam to Harry Shearer, who reportedly didn't take it well.
The sketch ends with Denny Dillon emerging and getting to be the first of the new group to yell the iconic "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
As a sketch, the audience responds well enough to it. It also works as something of an homage to Gould's Oscar nominated work in the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice...but this was truly the wrong note to start the show and this season on.
The idea of trying to compare these new cast members to the original members was a fatal flaw...and also, not even that accurate.
The idea of Ann Risley being a cross between Radner and Newman is absolutely laughable while Gottfried's Belushi and Shearer comparison would never even come close to materializing as the season went on.
None of the cast particular stand out here either...and I suppose it just ties into the raunchier side of the comedy that seems to dominate the episode as a response to the "hip" comments of Doumanian.
_____________________________________
OPENING MONTAGE:
I actually like the montage and the new theme for this season. It is one of the few things that manages to feel right within the world of the show, but still feels fresh and new and not a direct copycat.
___________________________________
GOULD'S MONOLOGUE:
The thing about Gould as a host was that he always felt very sturdy and reliable. He worked well as a straight man in sketches, and he provided a very affable energy.
This monologue is one of the worst aspects of this episode and also an immediate sign that this writing staff would greatly suffer at drafting monologues for their hosts.
While future seasons would rely too much on musical numbers or "questions from the audience" gimmicks, the season 6 writing staff never seemed to know what they wanted and often seemed to treat the monologue as more of an afterthought than other eras would.
Gould talks about how much SNL feels like home to him (as a means to still tie in the show as being of the same cloth as the original team) and even comments how he played a Bee (the first recurring characters on the show).
Then...he proceeds to talk about how wants to share with the audience something that is very meaningful to him: his underwear collection.
I am not kidding.
He even starts sniffing them, to which the audience seems to express some discomfort at the gesture.
That is when Denny Dillon comes in and it turns out, she just so happens to share the same love for collecting underwear and they end up exchanging various garments.
I would like to think that I am open to bizarre comedic ideas, but a lot of this just depends on how it is executed. As an idea for a monologue, it feels so crass and random and unnecessary...and it sets the show on a rather sleazy note that will only continue throughout the night.
_________________________________________
SHORT FILM: ROADSIDE READING
I actually first saw this short featured on one of those Mr. Bill VHS collection tapes back in the 90s as it was made by Mr. Bill creator Walter Williams.
I was surprised to discover it was featured in this episode.
The basic premise is that the Petroleum Council and the Department of Highways have teamed up to "educate America" by using roadside signs to print full novels for drivers and passengers to read as they commute to and from work or wherever they may be heading that day.
One driver is continuously driving because once she starts reading Agatha Christie, she "just can't put her down".
One burly truck driver was using his travel to study for a degree in Western Philosophy.
An elderly retired couple is driving around the country catching up on their reading. The husband proclaims "America is sure quite a library!".
I have always liked this film, and I will say it is easily one of the highlights of this episode. When a short film that features no cast members is the highlight of your show, maybe that should signal a major problem.
_________________________________
SKETCH: CARTER LOSES ELECTION
This episode aired just days after Jimmy Carter lost reelection to Ronald Reagan...and you can feel that there is a lot of tension in the air. No one was really happy with Carter (as evidenced by the fact he only won in 6 states plus DC and lost the popular vote by over 10%) but there was a big portion of the US who wasn't happy with the right-wing rhetoric of Reagan.
The show this season certainly has no problem in (rightly) bashing Reagan, but they don't seem to have a problem making a fool of Carter as they do here.
The sketch begins with Denny Dillon entering the Oval Office as young Amy Carter while Ann Risley as Rosalyn Carter sits knitting.
She asks her mom why "daddy is acting so strange" and while Rosalyn is just saying the typical "he's going through a difficult time in his life" mumbo jumbo, Amy then says "But mama, I saw him urinating in the hallway!"
Shortly thereafter, Joe Piscopo enters the room as the disheveled president, wearing a suit with pajama pants. He walks in a daze and just despondently says "How ever did I lose?".
Now - the audience actually responds decently well to this sketch and Denny Dillon, in particular, provides a lot of energy that the show so desperately needs.
However, this sketch makes you appreciate when a comedy program does good political satire.
Here - they go for crude humor such as the previously mentioned urinating in the hallway or blaming the Jews for losing the election. In fact, you can clearly hear the audience turning on them when that topic comes up...and even when that happens, the writers still double down by having Carter say "I hate them! Those beanieheads didn't vote for me!".
The sketch then delves into the sex life of Carter & Rosalyn as it appears to reference the infamous 1977 Playboy interview where Carter talked about lusting after women in his heart...and Rosalyn tells Carter that this is really why he had to lose: "it was either the ELECTION or the ERECTION".
And just when you think the sketch is about to delve into something even more sexual than it already has, Carter decides to use his newfound zest for life to kill his drunken brother Billy in the Rose Garden.
And then it ends.
It is a sketch that is performed well enough, but its ideas are sloppy and all over the place...and another clear example of the writers clearly trying to go for raunchy humor as if that is what is hip.
It fails at being political satire and is also the first sign that this season will frequently fail at anything remotely dealing with political matters.
______________________________________
SKETCH: BILLYGRAM
An interview with then-writer and eventual season 11 cast member Terry Sweeney would reveal that he wrote this sketch.
I would say that like a slot of sketches from this season, it is actually fairly short and while it may seem a little inconsequential, it doesn't outstay its welcome.
The main premise is that Gould and Risley play a couple who are planning to go out for her birthday...and she is understandably upset because her parents, from whom she is estranged, have not contacted her despite the fact it is her birthday.
Like clockwork, the doorbell rings and the visitor announces it is a "billygram!"
Without knowledge of what is to come, most probably would assume that the visitor is Billy Graham, the famed televangelist.
But it is instead a play on words, a "billygram" is a singing religious telegram and her parents sent it as means to say that their daughter needs to repent on her birthday for fornicating with a man.
It is a fine enough sketch, and like I mentioned, it doesn't outstay its welcome.
It does, however, feature Charles Rocket in his first true role of the night and the results are not particularly hopeful.
As someone who grew up in a very religious Evangelical environment, I can attest that there were people (mainly the pastors of course) who did speak in this kind of elongated tone with heavy diction...not to mention a southern accent.
I do think Rocket oversells it and comes off as trying too hard, even if there is SOME truth to his portrayal.
_____________________________________
COMMERCIAL/PSA: AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
After being the first cast member to be seen onscreen, Gail Matthius gets her first showcase and it does come with a line flub: "especially on taboo-an TV".
In an interview with The Hairpin, writer Patricia Marx took credit for writing this sketch which is mostly based around a concept rather than necessarily a clever text.
Matthius is teaching women how to check for lumps in their breasts in order to properly prepare them for any potential cancer diagnoses...but she is on TV, you can't show breasts on network TV.
The exam is done behind a black censor bar where Matthius is saying vague phrases like "check to see if there is anything like that" or "don't do this, or these will look like this".
While not as blatantly vulgar as some of the previous sketches, there is a certain "bad taste" quality to this one where it relies too much on a one-joke concept of checking for cancer but not actually being of help to the audience.
I don't find it bad, per se but it is just sort of ill-conceived.
Matthius does fine, though...and manages to handle the line flub pretty well.
__________________________________
SHOW SKETCH: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT WITH PINKY & LEO WAXMAN
I will make the claim that after the earlier Walter Williams film, this is the first bit of the night that shows promise...and thankfully, it actually includes cast members this time.
What's It All About? is presented as a public-access cable show hosted by the very Jewish couple Pinky and Leo Waxman played by Denny Dillon and Gilbert Gotffried.
Pinky Waxman was actually a character that Dillon had done while performing with her comedy partner Mark Hampton...and she asked his permission to have Gottfried play Leo.
While we would eventually see the idea of talk show hosts not caring too much about their guests many times in the future (i.e. The Pat Stevens Show or What's Up with That?), there is a freshness to it here and I have to admit that Dillon and Gottfried are a lot of fun.
And Gould gets to be their first victim/guest.
Gottfried, in particular, is hilarious with his older Yiddish accent.
There have been some comparisons of these sketches to that of the Mike Myers' Coffee Talk sketches...especially with how Pinky is obsessed with Barbra Streisand, whom Gould had actually been married to for a while.
Though when Gould calls out they've been divorced, Pinky and Leo proceed to side with Gould.
PINKY: To hell with Barbra!
LEO: Who cares about Barbra! (spits) WHO CARES!
But then Pinky reverts back to Barbra:
"Do you know the one thing I love about Barbra? She never got a nose job! My daughter, Jewel, she wants one. I don't know what to tell her sometimes. Maybe you could talk to her, Elliott?"
This progresses into Gould getting fed up with them talking too much about Streisand and less about the film he is trying to promote.
PINKY: Oh, so much hostitlity.
LEO: You're a very hostile man...
In this first episode, you would think that Denny Dillon was the one they were pushing to make "the star". In all of her appearances thus far, she has provided a charming and fun energy...even when delivering some truly gross moments in the monologue and in the Carter sketch.
Even Gottfried here is a lot of fun, which is kind of sad when you realize how this season will pan out for him.
Overall, I like this sketch and think it was one of the more promising moments of the evening.
____________________________________
SHORT SHOT: FOOT FETISH - RANDALL KLEISER
Much like in the original era which included short films by the likes of Gary Weiss, Tom Schiller, and Walter Williams, this new era takes on the approach of showing short films (dubbed "Short shots") that were made by successful film directors.
This first one is by Randall Kleiser who had directed Grease and The Blue Lagoon.
Using a stop-motion method, the idea is that two shoes are having sex.
At first glance, this idea seems so juvenile, and it fits right into raunchiness of the evening...and yet...it works.
I actually agree with a lot of SNL aficionados who think this might be the highlight of the night in some ways...which only further establishes a bigger problem.
In the end, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE EXECUTION OF THE MATERIAL!
______________________________________
MUSICAL GUEST: Kid Creole & The Coconuts perform "Mister Softee"
Like many people, I am not overly invested in a lot of the musical guests...but this season does have such an interesting and eclectic bunch.
I will admit now that I am not planning on doing a segment for every musical performance, but I will say that this was an interesting song and it provided a fun dynamic for the evening.
Doumanian's musical instincts were far more compelling than anything she tried to capture with claiming she was able to understand comedy.
________________________________________
WEEKEND UPDATE WITH CHARLIE...sorry...CHARLES ROCKET:
For anyone who has seen this episode, you know that the segment begins with Don Pardo announcing the new anchorman as "Charlie" Rocket...but it is evident that he wants to be known as Charles. It is apparently meant to be a bit, because it comes up later when Gottfried comes on to the do a commentary and he calls Charles "Charlie" to which Charles quietly mumbles "It's Charles".
So yes, it is supposed to be a bit, but...say it with me...
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE EXECUTION!!
Not surprisingly, Doumanian was adamant that Rocket be the new Update anchor.
As I mentioned in the first post, Rocket actually had experience working as a news anchor and part of his SNL audition was submitting a video of him doing a "man on the street" news segment where he tries to get unsuspecting strangers to react or comment on various things.
During this Weekend Update, we actually get to watch one of these pre-filmed segments where he is basically stalking the front of the Dakota Building in NYC's Upper West Side.
His reasoning? Trying to find out more about John Lennon and Yoko Ono are up to and this was around the time their album Double Fantasy was released.
This is particularly eerie when you realize we are less than a month away from Mark David Chapman killing Lennon...and there is even a comment from someone outside the Dakota about how fans are always prowling around.
Despite how the bit hasn't aged as well in that regard, the pre-tape undoubtedly shows Rocket's charisma and how natural he could be just walking up to people and making silly comments. He seems to revel in the comradery of it all.
And yet...NONE of this translates into his Update desk performance.
Not only is Rocket so lifeless and lethargic here, but he is also given mediocre material (mostly based around cheap photo gags) and the Update set is designed with such dark features and lighting that it gives the whole affair such a dreary aesthetic that sadly feels fitting.
This season, Weekend Update would be run by holdover writer Brian Doyle-Murray and unlike the previous main writers of Weekend Update (Herb Sargent, Alan Zweibel), Doyle-Murray is simply not as good with satire.
In fact, the segment works so poorly this whole season that I find it baffling that when Dick Ebersol took over leading into season 7 that he felt that Brian Doyle-Murray was worthy not just to continue running the news segment (then changed to SNL Newsbreak) but to anchor it as well!
While I do agree with a lot of the politcal sentiment of Doyle-Murray in his Update bits, they really do truly feel like (and shout-out to Andrew and Timmy over at That Week at SNL for bringing this up): CLAPTER.
Clapter is a term that is often connected to former SNL headwriter Seth Myers, who felt like some jokes might be told but were aimed more solely to get applause rather than laughs.
Some of the "jokes" are directly related to the recent conservative victory with Ronald Reagan beating Carter and while a lot of the comments might be true in theory, it just comes off as being too cold and unrelenting for a 1980 audience. Nowadays, I could see some comedy shows doing it and getting a standing ovation out of it....still...it doesn't mean it works.
We also get a bit with Joe Piscopo playing third-party candidate John Anderson (an impression that is a lot of fun, even if it is very exaggerated from the real Anderson) who is convinced he actually won the election and is trying to access the White House.
Update then ends with the previously mentioned Gilbert Gottfried bit I brought up, but he plays the character of Barry Grosscup who reveals his theory that Reagan is actually dead and that they've been either parading him around as a corpse (long before Weekend at Bernie's) or having him portrayed by an actor which leads to the punchline: who do you want as your president - Ronald Reagan or just some dumb actor?
Ha. Ha.
Gottfried does fine here, but the pacing/timing is off. I am not sure if this is due to him or if it is due to Rocket...because Rocket keeps trying to interject but he mumbles so much that it is almost like he is trying to fill dead air only to make it a lot worse.
As it stands, Weekend Update with CHARLES Rocket is going to be a sore spot this entire season. While certain episodes and bits will have their moments, it is mostly going to be bogged down by variations of how Rocket presents the material and also the material itself.
______________________________________
SHOW SKETCH: AT ONE WITH...
This is another sketch that often gets flagged for its tastelessness and also for how much it wastes Elliott Gould in a thankless host role that he doesn't even seem to feel that great about playing.
The content, set around a homosexual army brigade, is very cheap. Even the reveal that they are stationed at Fort Dix gets a reaction from the audience filled with groans and even one audience member yelling "No!!".
I think if anything does make this sketch, it is the dynamic between Piscopo, who plays the straight drill sergeant and Rocket, who plays the gay corporal.
The back-and-forth exchanges between the two are fun, even if they are very tasteless and aiming for that shock value they seem to be trying so hard to achieve.
SHORT FILM: HEART TO HEART - Mitchell Kriegman
It is interesting to see Mitchell Kriegman on the show in this context as he would go on to become one of the most prominent and beloved writers/producers of children/teenage TV.
Kriegman was the guy behind the iconic 90s Nickelodeon show Clarissa Explains it All and would go on to develop shows for younger audiences like Bear in the Big Blue House.
I am not so sure these films he made for SNL were fully successful, but in terms of concept and style, they serve as a very admirable change of pace from the crassness surrounding it.
The premise of this one works mostly because of...
Wait for it...
THE EXECUTION!
Kriegman is in bed with his girlfriend and he is trying to tell her that he feels like she has changed so much as a person. Thanks to some very cunning editing and for hiring similar looking actresses, Kriegman swaps out multiple women throughout the film. It is so sly at first that I didn't even notice what was happening at first.
It isn't exactly funny, but it is done rather well.
Kriegman will be one of the writers who gets axed very early on in the season, but his sly style is already welcomed.
___________________________________
SNL SPORTS: NOSE WRESTLING
We get the debut...albeit very subdued...of Joe Piscopo's iconic sports commentator persona.
Here, he is covering yet another cheesy and crass topic: the sport of Nose Wrestling.
As expected, the sketch goes for the "shock value" by saying that the sport is dominated by Italians and Jews.
While Piscopo isn't in his full form yet in what might be his most famous SNL bit outside of Sinatra, I will say he does very well in the role...despite the complete worthlessness of the sketch.
_________________________________
SKETCH: VICKIE ON A DATE
We get the debut of another character who will go on to become recurring this very brief season: Gail Matthius' Vickie, a high school girl who was an early prototype of the Valley Girl character.
This sketch does prove one thing and that is that Matthius is wonderful at character work, but the idea of putting the teenage Vicki on a date with 40something Elliott Gould just feels weird...and I get the sense it felt weird in 1980 as the audience certainly gives off an awkward vibe during it.
It especially feels weird when Ann Risley enters and seemingly comments on the age difference between the two by making it seem like it is related to work between she and Gould ("the bonds haven't matured yet").
Thankfully, the growing friendship that happened backstage between Matthius and Denny Dillon seemingly made the writers take notice and in future sketches, they would pair Dillon with Matthius as her age-appropriate friend and it would work a lot better.
Instead, this sketch just feels so creepy in its tone and what is trying to convey.
___________________________________
SKETCH: THE ACCORDION KILLER
And now, here is a fictional conversation between Jean Doumanian and Charles Rocket that occurred backstage:
JD: Hey Charles! Look at you being such a handsome star!
CR: Hi Jean! Yeah, I cannot wait to show the world how amazing I am.
JD: I meant to ask you, Charles. Do you have any musical talent?
CR: As a matter of fact, I play the accordion!
JD: OH! I normally hate the accordion!
CR: No kidding! Most people hate the accordion!
JD: Well... I am sure that YOU could make me love the accordion...and maybe with your charm and pizzazz that you just possess with such fervent intensity, maybe we can do a sketch about a man who kills people by playing the accordion!
CR: OH MY FUCKING GOD! THAT IS BRILLIANT! Now I see why they hired you!
End scene.
So yeah...
Charles Rocket plays a serial killer who is preying on young women by taking them on dates and then killing them while playing polka music on his accordion.
Yeah...it's not shock value...it's just silly.
And not particularly funny except for a few scant moments.
___________________________________________
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Kid Creole & The Coconuts performs "There But For the Grace of God Go I"
In their review, Bronwyn Douwsma points out that Gould seems very annoyed in his introduction. You know, one must wonder how he must have felt at this point in the evening. He hasn't been given anything interesting to do all evening and the material has mostly been nothing but shock value with no real substance.
___________________________________________
SHORT SHOT: GIDGETTE GOES TO HELL - Jonathan Demme
I don't really have a lot to say about this one, other than it does seem interesting to see something like this be attributed to Jonathan Demme, the late director who would go on to give us movies like Married to the Mob and most famously The Silence of the Lambs.
___________________________________________
COMMERICAL: SPEED LISTENING
In the final sketch of the night, we get Denny Dillon once again.
Here, she plays an uppity woman who offers a similar alternative to Speed Reading: the art of Speed Listening to music as a means to learn more art.
I would say it isn't a lot to necessarily to dig into, but Dillon shows another side to herself in this role.
I do think it is funny when they include Barry Manilow under the list of great composers, which is also interesting considering another sketch about classical music and modern music from later in the season will also make Manilow a punchline then as well.
__________________________________________
GOODNIGHTS:
Elliott Gould makes a sort of cringy joke about how there is enough creole and coconuts for everyone and then proceeds to introduce the cast to the audience one more time before saying the ironic line: "We're gonna be around forever".
In this universe, "forever" means 12 episodes.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
IN CONCLUSION:
After this episode premiered, the reviews for it were particularly brutal.
Tom Shales, a reviewer for The Washington Post who had been one of SNL's most prestigious and prolific champions, absolutely hated the episode.
His review had the famous headline: From Yuks to Yecch...and then the opening line: "Vile from New York"...both which would be mentioned by Bill Murray when he would host the final Doumanian-produced episode.
But anybody could read other reviews and comment on them...so I will just express my opinion as to how I fully respond to this episode.
I think it is obvious that I made it abundantly clear that a lot of the writing from this episode seemed so eager to shock the audience.
If they weren't addressing drugs, they were mostly focused on sex/sexual orientation and racial profiling...and collecting old underwear...
It is hard to watch the episode without having the influence of reading about the season as a whole...especially with how fascinated I had been reading about this era back in the 90s in the Hill/Weingrad book.
Still though...this premiere episode isn't exactly bad. It is mostly just misguided and lacks a lot of true comedic substance...and while I would say that is a horrible thing, it is mostly (at the very least) not dull so it does have THAT going for it.
While the writers were the main object of ridicule by Jean Doumanian, you do see glimmers of their potential at times and looking back, you just wish they had the proper leader to curate them.
As for the cast, most of them lacked the ability to gel as many of them came from solo standup performance backgrounds. In this epsiode, you can clearly see Denny Dillon and Joe Piscopo clearly adapting to the show rather easily while Gail Matthius and Gilbert Gottfried show a lot of promise...even if the latter ends up succumbing to the dire nature of the backstage drama shortly thereafter.
It is truly Ann Risley and Charles Rocket that leave the worst impressions. Risley barely even gets to leave one while Rocket is just all over the place.
In the next episode, Risley and Matthius both get shafted by only getting to appear in two sketches apiece while Charles Rocket and Denny Dillon end up dominating the episode.
And in the case of Risley and Matthius, perhaps they can count that as a blessing.
The next episode is the infamous affair hosted by Malcolm McDowell.
God help us all...
**ONE LAST THING: I wasn't able to directly link any videos from this episode to the post...but I am hoping more videos will be available to add for the upcoming episodes as I feel like having as much visual aid as possible with help make this a lot better for those who haven't witnessed this season before.
No comments:
Post a Comment