Al Gore / Phish
December 14, 2002
Mary E. Calvano" (msu_ou_gal@yahoo.com) wrote:
Just FYI - from your episode review, "Flynt," is actually "Flint"!! I should know, I am from MI...what was weird about this sketch though, was that the whole thing was supposed to be taking place in southWESTERN MI, but Flint is in eastern MI...so I don't know if they knew that and were making a point, or if they just guessed because it's the only other city they could come up with (thank you Michael Moore for putting Flint on the map once again). Grand Rapids is in southwestern MI, however.
Thanks for the correction.
Al Gore will be hosting. When I first heard this, I was like, "What the...", but I'll give him a chance. After all, look how McCain turned out. With good writing, Gore might be funny. I know we'll be seeing a lot of Darrell Hammond and political sketches (please do Hardball!). I don't care for the musical guest (when do I ever?), but there will probably be a Jarret's Room sketch with them. In the past, JR has only been good when they did them with male hosts, so this might not be too bad.
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(COLD OPENING) Al and Tipper Gore get affectionate
Highlights:
- A backstage cold opening! We haven't gotten this in a long ass time.
- Like last week, it's good to see the host in the cold opening.
Lowlights:
- The long kissing was one-joke and got old.
Additional Notes:
- I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if Jimmy really did leave soon. He's already famous enough to have a successful career outside of SNL, and I'm not seeing anything new from him on the show anymore. The only really new thing he's done this season so far was the Z-105 sketch, and that sucked. What happened to his celebrity impressions? That used to be his strongest forte. Jimmy used to be a great castmember, but ever since 2001, he just doesn't seem to care anymore.
(MONOLOGUE) Al Gore chooses his running mate
Highlights:
- A pretty funny Bachelor spoof. Much better than that lame sketch with the one-legged girl from the Eric McCormack episode.
- Gore and Lieberman in the hot tub.
Lowlights:
- Where was the inevitable appearance of Darrell's Gore?
Additional Notes:
- You could see Gore walking off-stage before they cut to the "flashback".
(SKETCH) Hardball
Highlights:
- Hardball! These are always great.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- Darrell seemed to be channeling in Christopher Walken with the "Wowie, wow-wow-wow!" line.
(NEXT WEEK) December 21, 2002
A repeat of last season's Ian McKellen episode. A pretty good episode and featured an outstanding job from McKellen. I wish they'd re-air the Alec Baldwin episode from last season already. That was one of last year's best episodes, and E! never shows it for some reason. I guess they're too busy showing the Gwyneth Paltrow episode 500 times per month instead.
(SKETCH) Fiesta Politica
Highlights:
- A dead-on portrayal of Spanish shows. On the Spanish station that I get, I watch a lot of shows just for a laugh, and they are really strange and over-the-top like this.
- Gore's wooden facial expressions actually came to good use here.
- Maya's dress.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(MISCELLANEOUS) Gore visits "The West Wing"
Highlights:
- A nice and very welcome change of pace from the usual format.
- Gore was funny in this, with his obsession over being president.
Lowlights:
- I don't watch the West Wing, so I was kinda lost during this, but I still found it funny.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(SKETCH) Jarret's Room
Highlights:
- A pretty good JR sketch. Much better than the last few ones. This was like JR's version of the classic Wayne's World meets Aerosmith sketch.
- Seth's hilarious outfit.
Lowlights:
- Gore should've been given something to do like John McCain's hippy teacher from Wake Up Wakefield. Instead, Gore was just playing a boring professor, which wasn't really a stretch for him.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(MUSICAL PERFORMANCE)
No comment.
(WEEKEND UPDATE) Fallon & Fey, Bunny Ranch Ladies
Highlights:
- The United Airlines joke.
- The Rosie O'Donnell joke.
- The Bronx woman joke.
Lowlights:
- The Clinton cruise line joke.
Additional Notes:
- This seemed a lot shorter than usual.
- The Bunny Ranch Ladies bit was alright, but reminded me too much of the Hilton/Ramada sisters bits from before. Amy and Rachel were good eye candy, at least.
- Did anyone notice Jimmy making a quick "call me" sign as Amy and Rachel were leaving?
- Jimmy seems to be purposely abandoning his trademark "pencil throw" at the end of Update from now on. And why'd he walk off-stage early? Again, he just doesn't seem to care anymore.
(SKETCH) Daily Affirmation from Stuart Smalley
Highlights:
- Stuart Smalley! At first, I was thought they had cut to an early 90's re-run right in the middle of the show. This sketch has always been good (even in the horror that was 94-95), and was a welcome to see it back.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- It was a little eerie but still nice to hear Phil Hartman's voice-over again.
- What's with all the references to being hit by a vehicle tonight? First Jarret's Room, now this sketch.
(SKETCH) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Highlights:
- Some of the lines were funny.
Lowlights:
- Dead at some spots.
- I haven't seen the real movie in ages, so I don't know how accurate of a parody this was.
- Gore was going at it "DeNiro style" with those cue-cards.
Additional Notes:
- This was a lot like the Willy Wonka DVD sketch from last year's Drew Barrymore episode, with Jeff and Amy reprising impressions.
- Since Amy was playing a boy, they could have given her a bigger sweater to wear, if you know what I mean.
(TV FUNHOUSE) Charlie Brown's Christmas
Highlights:
- The usual great Christmas movie parody from Smigel. The Michael Jackson scene was the best part.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(MUSICAL PERFORMANCE)
No comment.
(SKETCH) Subway Fred rehash #...aw, who cares, I'm losing count
An excerpt from my Eric McCormack review:
WHY does SNL keep pairing up Tracy and Maya up in these pointless, unfunny sketches with them talking to the camera? It didn't work the first time with Subway Fred, it didn't work with How He Treats His Woman, and it doesn't work with this. They gotta stop it with these.
I guess they decided not to listen to me.
(MISCELLANEOUS) Christmas Time is Here
Highlights:
- I knew they'd do this tonight. It's basically the same thing every time, but these are so giddy and fun, it never gets old with me.
Lowlights:
- None.
Additional Notes:
- None.
(GOODNIGHTS)
Where was Jimmy? He was the only cast member I didn't see.
________________________________________________________
(CONCLUSION)
A surprisingly great episode. Gore didn't play a character that you could call a real stretch, but luckily, his material was well-written and he didn't bring it down, unlike DeNiro last week. It's strange how the best shows of the season so far have been hosted by people who I didn't think would do well (Vardalos, McCain, Gore), and the worst were hosted by big time celebrities who I thought would do great (DeNiro, McCormack, SMG). At this rate, if Carrot-Top ends up hosting the first January show, it will end up being the best SNL episode ever.
Overall Highlights of Tonight's Show:
- Hardball.
- Gore visits the West Wing.
- An actual good Jarret's Room sketch.
- The return of Stuart Smalley.
- TV Funhouse.
- Christmas Time is Here song.
Overall Lowlights of Tonight's Show:
- Subway Fred rehash.
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Funniest Single Moment:
- Al Gore and Chris Parnell as Joe Lieberman in a hot-tub together.
Best Lines:
- Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "You got a better chance of keeping Liza Minelli out of the medicine cabinet."
- Tracy Morgan as Al Sharpton: "Senator Lott has made a mistake. He has apologized for it and I'm prepared to accept his apology and move on."
Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "Really?"
Tracy Morgan as Al Sharpton: "Hell no!"
- Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews: "Senator, you're shedding a lot of light on the situation. Unfortunately, the light's coming from a cross you just set on fire!"
- Jimmy Fallon: "United Airlines filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy Monday in Chicago. Not surprisingly, the filing was an hour and 20 minutes behind schedule."
- Tina Fey: "But Rosie [O'Donnell] can get away with making comments like that, because after all, she's the best middle linebacker in Jets history."
- Tina Fey: "A 32 year old Bronx woman named Dawn Martinez gave birth to a baby on a Manhattan subway platform Monday. No one stopped to help, but a few people threw dollar bills into her vagina."
- Chris Parnell as station announcer: "We now return to 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', starring Gene Wilder and some midgets."
CAST MEMBER COUNT DOWN
DRATCH: 1 sketch (Weekend Update)
FALLON: 4 sketches (Al & Tipper Gore get affectionate; Jarret's Room; Weekend Update; Christmas Time is Here)
FEY: 1 sketch (Weekend Update)
HAMMOND: 1 sketch (Hardball)
KATTAN: 4 sketches (Al & Tipper Gore get affectionate; Monologue; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Christmas Time is Here)
MORGAN: 5 sketches (Al & Tipper Gore get affectionate; Hardball; Fiesta Politica; Subway Fred rehash; Christmas Time is Here)
PARNELL: 3 sketches (Monologue; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; TV Funhouse)
POEHLER: 4 sketches (Hardball; Weekend Update; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; TV Funhouse)
RUDOLPH: 4 sketches (Al & Tipper Gore get affectionate; Fiesta Politica; TV Funhouse; Subway Fred rehash)
SANZ: 3 sketches (Fiesta Politica; Jarret's Room; Christmas Time is Here)
ARMISEN: 3 sketches (Monologue; Fiesta Politica; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
EDWARDS: 1 sketch (Subway Fred rehash)
FORTE: 1 sketch (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
MEYERS: 2 sketches (Monologue; Jarret's Room)
RICHARDS: 1 sketch (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
I was expecting to see a lot more Darrell considering who the host was. He didn't even do his Gore impression, for cryin' out loud! Parnell was really wasted, too. Again. After his incredible amount of screen-time in the first two shows of the season, he's unfortunately gone back to being typecast into straight-man roles and voice-overs ever since. He and Darrell are two of the best and professional castmembers on the show; I wish they'd get used more.
See you in 2003. ADIOS.