Christopher Walken / Foo Fighters
February 22, 2003
From Mark Powell (markpowell@mchsi.com)
Dear Stooge,
First of all, thank you for your site. It helped me to locate a video clip of a SNL skit that I fell out over. At www.mayarudolph.net, you will find the video of Glenda Goodwin a parody of ambulance chasing lawyers. This was profiled in your review of the November 9, 2002 episode.
I have a question about this that I am wondering if you might be able to help me with. My friends and I cannot figure out the last monster named in Glenda's litney of "a whole list of stuff that's gonna freak you out." All of them are easy to understand, like portraits with moving eyeballs, sleestacks, and gremlins, but the last monster seems unintelligible. It sounds like "Forney numbscrulls", but I have looked that up and variants of it on the internet and have found nothing.
I am wondering if you recall this episode and if so, what the hell is she saying???
First off, I'm sure Mark Powell meant to say "Thank you for your review" not "site", because I don't have my own site.
Anyway, I rewatched the Glenda Goodwin sketch, and I can't tell what she's saying, either. I checked the closed-captioning on the tape of this sketch that I have, and they also put "Forny numbscrulls". Either that's what she said, or the CC people didn't know either and just put what it sounded like she said. Whatever she said was probably either made-up or a reference to an old movie.
Sorry I don't know the answer, but I hope this helps.
From Lauren Limon (Limon333@austin.rr.com)
Hey! Your reviews are great! Whenever I go to read the reviews, I just look for
Stooge. Keep up the awesome work!
P.S After the Screech joke this is what he mumbled:
Jimmy: Ahh man..
Tina: Get out...
Jimmy: It was an o n k (talking about the way it was spelled fonky instead of
funky)
Jimmy and Tina: FONKY
Tina: hehehe ( laughing weird)
If you even need to know anything and I mean ANYTHING said on weekend
update..ask me...I will know...lol
Thanks.
Funny, my first e-mail has me helping out someone with a hard-to-hear line, and my second e-mail has someone helping me with a hard-to-hear line. That's what you call a full cycle...
Ah, Christopher Walken - the man can be funny doing ANYTHING, even while he's reading directly off cue-cards. He's one of my favorite recurring hosts, and it will be great to see him back again. The last two episodes he hosted (in 99-00 and 00-01) were my favorite episodes from those seasons. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that this will turn out to be the best episode of this very unpredictable season.
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(COLD OPENING) "Hardball"
Highlights:
- Hardball!!!! This is the 4th one this season (including the one from the Superbowl special), but I don't care how many times they use it. I love it and it never gets old with me. Also good to see it as the cold opening this time.
- Walken was hilarious as the French foreign minister.
- Walken finally getting to say LFNY for this 1st time.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- Before anybody calls me a hypocrite after my complaints about Jarret's Room being overused as well this sketch is much more consistently funnier than JR. Nyah! So there! (*snaps fingers*)uh, moving on
- The first Hardball of the season without Tracy.
(OPENING MONTAGE)
I just realized: when's the last time we had a Smigel cartoon? Feels like there hasn't been one in forever. I can't remember any time before where we went through this many episodes without one. Is it safe to say that Rob has left for good?
(MONOLOGUE) Christopher Walken sings
Highlights:
- Walken's song and dance monologues are always funny.
- Walken's "Crazy mix-em-ups" line. I remember him also saying that at the 25th anniversary special.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- I think this is the first Walken monologue to have extras play the dancers instead of the female cast. I sure wouldn't have minded seeing the female cast dressed like those extras were.
(SKETCH) "Pranksters"
Highlights:
- Walken was hilarious as usual.
- The video with Walken beating Parnell with a tire iron.
- Seth's reaction to Walken's video.
- Really the first non-Update Seth sketch of the season that's up to the level of his excellent work last year. I was almost beginning to lose faith in him.
- I won't mind if they make this recurring, because even though it will once again prove my point about SNL's new characters have to be in the overused talk show format, there's a lot of funny different pranks they can show in each installment to keep it fresh.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- This kind of reminds me of a recurring sketch called "Prank Stars" that they used to do at the SNL You site. I wonder if this is more proof that the SNL people go to that site, or if it's just a coincidence.
(NEXT LIVE EPISODE) March 8, 2003: Queen Latifah
To quote Tracy Morgan: "About time we got a sista to host the show!" Definitely looking forward to this.
(SKETCH) "The Continental"
Highlights:
- Hearing Phil Hartman's old voice-over is always nice.
- The plate of Combos.
- Hearing Walken say "shiznit" had me rolling.
- Hilarious as always.
Lowlights:
- This seemed a little shorter than usual. I was hoping to see more.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(SKETCH) Incompetent Captain
Before I review this, let me just say that I missed the beginning of the sketch, thanks to my idiotic NBC affiliate, who decided to pause the screen right in the middle of one of those annoying Joan Cusack phone ads while the beginning of the sketch was taking place. I have no idea what the hell that was all about, but moving on
Highlights:
- Walken's lines were funny.
- Seth, Fred, and Forte were good in supporting roles.
Lowlights:
- The ending was abrupt.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(SKETCH/COMMERCIAL) "African American Archives"
Highlights:
- Dean with a main role! I thought we'd never see him in a starring role again after I thought him getting a starring role in the Superbowl special was just a fluke. I guess playing Don Cheadle is the only way he'll be able to get any airtime.
- Very funny, and ended at the right time.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(SKETCH) Colonel Angus
Highlights:
- A one-joke sophomoric sketch, but a damn funny one. Surprised they got away with doing this.
- Walken's poor attempt at a southern accent was funny in itself. Only he could get away with that.
- Jeff's grossed-out facial expressions.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- Rachel plays her 56,734,352th old lady in a sketch.
- What was with the cast bowing down at the end of the sketch? Was this supposed to be a play?
(WEEKEND UPDATE) Fallon & Fey, Christina Aguilera, Steve Martin, Will Ferrell & Britney Spears
Highlights:
- Tina's Mike Tyson joke.
- Maya did a dead-on Christina Aguilera impression, and her singing facial expressions were hilarious.
- STEVE MARTIN!!!!!!!!!!! His cameo was intentionally pointless, but still funny and it was great seeing him on the show again. Damn, I wish he'd host again.
- WILL FERRELL!!!!!!!!!!!! Hell yeah!!!!! First Steve Martin, now him??? This is great!!
Lowlights:
- There weren't that many jokes in this Update, and nearly all of them ranged from forgettable to awful. It felt like Jimmy and Tina were really half-assing it this week just to get to the special guests.
- Other than Britney Spears looking hot, I could have done without her in this, but not even she could ruin the Will Ferrell segment for me. She probably would've fit better in the Christina Aguilera segment.
Additional Notes:
- I missed the end of tonight's Update and my tape didn't record it properly when I went back to check it; what did the end-of-Update cameo guy (Eric Slovin) do to Jimmy's pencil this time?
(MUSICAL PERFORMANCE)
No comment.
(SKETCH) The return of the Luvahs
Highlights:
- FERRELL!!!!
- I normally don't care for the Luvahs, but since they haven't done it in a while and my man Ferrell is back, I'll be easy on it. Now if they brought back something like freakin' "Dog Show" again, then I'd be pissed
Lowlights:
- If they were going to put Will in another sketch, they should have brought back one of his better characters or impressions (Neil Diamond, Goulet, even Blue Oyster Cult)
Additional Notes:
- None.
(MUSICAL PERFORMANCE)
I'm going to break my tradition and actually comment on the musical performance tonight, just to say: JIM CARREY?!!??!! Playing his foot as an instrument??? Holy shit!! This has to be the most random appearance of a special guest star ever. Great to see him, but why wasn't he in a sketch?
(SKETCH) "The Rialto Grande Casino"
Highlights:
- Fred as the old drummer. He really carries these sketches, and he doesn't even have to say anything.
- Tina in a sketch! And she now has a recurring character (though playing a middle-aged waitress with no dialogue is definitely not the best character she can do)!
- Walken was funny once again.
Lowlights:
- The first time this aired, I praised Kattan for finally giving an inspired and original performance for the first in a long time. And wouldn't you know it; they go and turn it into yet another recurring character for him which they'll probably run into the ground before he leaves. Ugh!
Additional Notes:
- None.
(GOODNIGHTS)
Christopher Walken, Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, and the Continental cameraman in a dress, all on the same stage and the local affiliates STILL cut the goodnights extremely short???? Screw them!
_______________________________________________________
(CONCLUSION)
Any time you have Christopher Walken, Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, and Jim Carrey all in the same episode is a-okay with me. Definitely my new favorite episode of this season so far, and it will be very hard to top this. Walken's streak with hosting the best of the season continues.
Overall Highlights:
- Walken was his usual excellent self.
- The cameo appearances from Steve Martin, Will Ferrell, and Jim Carrey.
- Hardball.
- Monologue.
- Pranksters.
- The Continental.
- African American Archives.
- Colonel Angus.
- Christina Aguilera segment on Weekend Update.
Overall Lowlights:
- Weekend Update, minus the correspondents.
- The Rialto Grande Casino.
Funniest Single Moment:
- Jim Carrey playing his foot during the Foo Fighters' second performance. Spontaneous moments like this are what makes live TV.
Best Lines:
- Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "(to the French foreign minister) That's big talk from a country whose only contributions to world culture in the last 50 years are Gerard Depardieu and that horny skunk!"
- Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "There's more testosterone in the Pentagon right now than in Mike Tyson's urine!"
- Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "(singing) Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, shut your hole!"
- Christopher Walken: "I can do crazy mix-em-ups."
- Christopher Walken as The Continental: "You are too exquisite to leave so soon, my arctic hush puppy."
- Christopher Walken as The Continental: "Focus on hand cream. It's the shiznit."
- Christopher Walken as captain: "I can also admit that it was a mistake to use all the flares from this lifeboat to light my farts."
- Rachel Dratch as old lady: "I myself never much cared for 'Colonel Angus'. He rubbed me the wrong way."
- Amy Poehler as daughter: "I always dreamt of the day 'Colonel Angus' would rest his head at Shady Thicket."
- Christopher Walken as Vic Lefter : "The only thing Audrey left me with was her hysterectomy bill and one of my nuts."
CASTMEMBER COUNT DOWN
DRATCH: 3 sketches (Colonel Angus; The Luvahs; The Rialto Grande Casino)
FALLON: 2 sketches (Weekend Update; The Rialto Grande Casino)
FEY: 2 sketches (Weekend Update; The Rialto Grande Casino)
HAMMOND: 1 sketch (Cold Opening)
KATTAN: 2 sketches (Pranksters; The Rialto Grande Casino)
MORGAN: 1 sketch (African American Archives)
PARNELL: 3 sketches (Cold Opening; Pranksters; Colonel Angus)
POEHLER: 2 sketches (Colonel Angus; The Rialto Grande Casino)
RUDOLPH: 5 sketches (Pranksters; Colonel Angus; Weekend Update; The Luvahs; The Rialto Grande Casino)
SANZ: 0 sketches
ARMISEN: 2 sketches (Incompetent Captain; The Rialto Grande Casino)
EDWARDS: 1 sketch (African American Archives)
FORTE: 1 sketch (Incompetent Captain)
MEYERS: 2 sketches (Pranksters; Incompetent Captain)
RICHARDS: 1 sketch (Colonel Angus)
Other than Maya, nobody else really got much airtime, and Horatio didn't appear at all, like in the Liotta episode. I didn't even notice his absence until doing the castmember count down just now; shows how little he affects the show. Tracy was basically absent, too, with his only appearance being still photos in the Don Cheadle sketch. His absence definitely had more of an impact than Horatio's.
And that's all for now. Thanks for reading. ADEUS.