Vintage Episodes: SNL Through the Years

[heatherchandler]

8 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

They should. If they could repeat the very first episode to honor George Carlin when he died, they can repeat something from the fourth season. Besides, I like their tradition of honoring celebrities who have passed away by reairing the episodes that they hosted. It wouldn't look right if they didn't do that for Cecily.

I believe @PeteMartell is referring to how badly the show has aged.  John Belushi attempting to hit Jane, Gilda screaming Iranian gibberish in a burka, a sketch where it is implied Cecily Tyson is raped at the end... it’s not a good episode.

Actually, it is even worse that what I’m highlighting-

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/10/20/february-10-1979-cicely-tyson-talking-heads-s4-e11/?amp

Edited January 31, 2021 by heatherchandler

[Dr.OO7]

42 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

I believe @PeteMartell is referring to how badly the show has aged.  John Belushi attempting to hit Jane, Gilda screaming Iranian gibberish in a burka, a sketch where it is implied Cecily Tyson is raped at the end... it’s not a good episode.

Actually, it is even worse that what I’m highlighting-

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/10/20/february-10-1979-cicely-tyson-talking-heads-s4-e11/?amp

Ouch. I didn't know about any of that.

That's the problem with anything vintage--a LOT of scenes and dialogue don't age well. Frankly, I don't know how they got away with some of that crap even in the late '70's.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Dr.OO7

[Pete Martell]

22 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Ouch. I didn't know about any of that.

That's the problem with anything vintage--a LOT of scenes and dialogue don't age well. Frankly, I don't know how they got away with some of that crap even in the late '70's.

That episode is somewhat out of the norm even for that era of the show. I first watched a year or two ago and was pretty shocked, especially by Frontier Midwife and the X-Police sketch.

There's definitely a lot of stuff which probably shouldn't have aired then, much less now, in these episodes. I still appreciate the Vintage time slot because I don't think the show should just ignore its past (and even Tyson's episode might have worked if they had significantly edited), but it can be jarring when I go back to, say, an episode from 1989 or 1990 and hear the f word thrown around to get laughs.  

[M. Darcy]

We got an Unfrozen Caveman  Lawyer sketch! 

[KWalkerInc]

I remembered a lot of the sketches from this episode, not to mention "And they call it...tone deaf!" from the Hollywood Minute.  Phil and Jan were hilarious in the cold open, but I could have done without the ending of Madonna hitting on Chelsea.  I think she was 12.

[vb68]

On 2/8/2021 at 5:05 AM, KWalkerInc said:

but I could have done without the ending of Madonna hitting on Chelsea.  I think she was 12.

I definitely remember the show being called out for that at the time in the media. To say it didn't go over well is an understatement.

[Pete Martell]

13 hours ago, vb68 said:

I definitely remember the show being called out for that at the time in the media. To say it didn't go over well is an understatement.

That's the reason I was surprised they even aired the cold open in 2021. I never know what will or won't get through. For instance, this episode and the previous episode had Pat sketches that were cut. Yet at the same time, Che still makes transphobic jokes in the main show. 

Here is Julia talking about that impression.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-Interview-Post-SNL-OLDER-WIDER-Julia-Sweeneys-Comedy-Rules-20190201

Well, I get why Hilary put an end to it. (She wrote a letter to Lorne telling him it was not okay.) Of course - I hardly did Chelsea. In the sketch, I was sitting and smiling in a stand with Phil Hartman as President Clinton. That was it. But yeah, I think in general, kids under 18 should be off-limits. (As a side note, people accused me of making Chelsea look unattractive, but that was just me being me. I didn't do anything other than have very little make up on, and a wig with hair that looked like hers, and braces on my teeth.)

It was funny to me when people said I made her look ugly. If they thought that, then they were saying I looked ugly! Okay, but still. I was just trying to look young. Anyway, it was a lesson all around.

[saber5055]

Last night's Vintage episode with The Rock ... the only time I laughed was when Andrew W.K. came on, and I laughed out loud, long and hard. That was hilarious, made even funnier by the fact he thought he was being so cool and hip, and was quite serious about his jumping and hair-flinging antics.

The rest of the show ... eh. Either too OTT (the ER sketch) or politically obscure. I lived through all that but didn't remember any of the political players. Maybe when some 2021 episodes turn vintage, posters will say the same about today's players.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Last night's Vintage episode with The Rock ... the only time I laughed was when Andrew W.K. came on, and I laughed out loud, long and hard. That was hilarious, made even funnier by the fact he thought he was being so cool and hip, and was quite serious about his jumping and hair-flinging antics.

The rest of the show ... eh. Either too OTT (the ER sketch) or politically obscure. I lived through all that but didn't remember any of the political players. Maybe when some 2021 episodes turn vintage, posters will say the same about today's players.

I was actually surprised at how much of the “current events” I did remember. But on the other hand I have no recollection at all of Andrew W.K.  He did have some energy, I’ll give him that. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by SoMuchTV
Somehow I managed to mangle the text I was trying to quote. Apologies if I didn’t get it fixed correctly.

[Pete Martell]

For any fans of the early years of the show - this is a bit of a treat posted on Twitter.

 

[Pete Martell]

Today's Vintage episode has the producers being as plugged into current news as ever - Britney Spears, season 25. I don't know if it will be cut due to changing times, but Chris Parnell's rap is one of my favorite SNL moments - I was watching when this episode first aired and was so surprised because he had never done anything like this, and he was actually good, rather than just "lol white guy rapping." I haven't been surprised like that (in a fun way) by the show in a long time.

A full review/rundown of the episode:

https://www.onesnladay.com/2020/02/13/may-13-2000-britney-spears-s25-e19/

[EvilAbsolute]

On 11/25/2020 at 9:14 PM, Doc5555 said:

Hoping someone can help me identify this episode/skit.

i would have seen the it in 1982-83ish, so it could be older.

guy is at a bar trying to pickup chicks...  striking out.  He sees a guy stuff his pants to make his crotch look bigger.  All the girls love the guy now.

main character goes in men’s room, finds overalls and stuffs them to the point that his crotch is 6 feet long.

next scene is him in the back of a cab with his junk out the window and the car is filled with girls.

 

thats what I remember, but I can never find any skit like that.  Maybe SNL maybe not???
 

thanks for any help!

The skit was on SNL and was called, “The Bulge”. The guy was Jim Belushi. It aired October 6, 1984.

 

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete Martell]

Barring some kind of late change, tomorrow's vintage will be Don Cheadle from season 44. 

[Lantern7]

1 minute ago, Pete Martell said:

Barring some kind of late change, tomorrow's vintage will be Don Cheadle from season 44. 

#PoundPuppy

[MTB]

What episode was that skit from that has three guys going into some type of brothel, and two of the guys are each taken by two women (one being Maya Rudolph's character) and the last guy is taken by an older woman (played by Rachel Dratch)?  It aired somewhere around 2003-2006.  What episode was it from and where can you get it?  Thank you 

[Pete Martell]

On 3/2/2021 at 12:54 AM, MTB said:

What episode was that skit from that has three guys going into some type of brothel, and two of the guys are each taken by two women (one being Maya Rudolph's character) and the last guy is taken by an older woman (played by Rachel Dratch)?  It aired somewhere around 2003-2006.  What episode was it from and where can you get it?  Thank you 

It's from the Topher Grace episode. It may be in the Peacock repeat - I'm not sure. 

https://www.onesnladay.com/2020/05/29/january-15-2005-topher-grace-the-killers-s30-e9/

[Pete Martell]

Next three Vintage episodes, barring change:

Miley Cyrus/The Strokes (season 36)

Bill Hader/Arcade Fire (season 43)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Snow Patrol (season 32)

[mtlchick]

I can’t believe this was only a decade ago, when Charlie Sheen was in his tiger blood zone (which he recently admits that he regrets a lot of it) and Miley Cyrus’ biggest issue in the public spotlight was being caught with a bong (ok she was under age but it seems quaint now.)

[SoMuchTV]

I can’t watch Jason Sudekis now without seeing Ted Lasso. Not that that’s a bad thing. 

[Caseysgirl]

Did I see them blur out the mouth of the Strokes lead singer near the end of his song?  Does anyone know what that was?

[saber5055]

14 hours ago, mtlchick said:

I can’t believe this was only a decade ago, when Charlie Sheen was in his tiger blood zone (which he recently admits that he regrets a lot of it) and Miley Cyrus’ biggest issue in the public spotlight was being caught with a bong (ok she was under age but it seems quaint now.)

This rerun was pretty timely since Sheen has been on the pop news lately to publicize his regrets. Doesn't make this ep any less funny though, and it brought back lots of memories of everyone saying WINNING.

I remember media being blown up by pictures of Miley smoking salvia. I'd never heard of salvia, but it had to be stressed it wasn't weed, it was salvia, SALVIA, so it was no big deal, kinda like smoking corn silk behind the barn. Except salvia contains opioid-like compounds that cause hallucinations.

Still got a laugh out of the Miley Show skit while Miley was the host. Good times.

[BucFan]

19 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

Did I see them blur out the mouth of the Strokes lead singer near the end of his song?  Does anyone know what that was?

I saw it too.  I had closed captions on, it didn’t catch it. 

It looked like to me he said “f*** you”  or something similar. 

[vb68]

I have to admit I have blocked any memory of a group named Snow Patrol. 

[WendyCR72]

12 hours ago, vb68 said:

I have to admit I have blocked any memory of a group named Snow Patrol. 

Wow! I'm impressed.  (Sincerely, not mocking!  😛 ) Especially since "Chasing Cars" was freaking INESCAPABLE back in the day!

[Pete Martell]

The channel for Bobbie Wygant, a longtime celebrity interviewer, uploaded a short clip from 1976 of Chevy Chase talking about SNL.

 

[Pete Martell]

Vintage:

Eddie Murphy was recently on Drew Barrymore's show and they talked a bit about her first SNL episode:

Zach Galifianakis  talks with Rob Lowe about two sketches he pitched during his brief stint as a guest writer.

https://ew.com/tv/zach-galifianakis-bombed-saturday-night-live-britney-spears-sketches/

Vanessa Bayer also talks with Rob about various SNL memories:

https://uproxx.com/tv/rob-lowe-brendan-fraser-snl-sign-off-bedazzled/

[saber5055]

The Awkwafina repeat had me LOL, even though it wasn't all that old and I had seen it first run. Great set up for last night's new Maya episode. Then THAT came on and it was liking getting a bucket of cold water dumped on me. Did all the writers from Awkwafina's episode die or get fired or something?

[Robert Lynch]

You think they will air the 1997 episode with Alec Baldwin and Tina Turner?

[Pete Martell]

Bob Odenkirk talks about a recording he kept of Jeremy Irons berating him over a poor monologue he and Rob Schneider had written:

https://ew.com/tv/bob-odenkirk-jeremy-irons-yelling-saturday-night-live/

[xaxat]

 

[VCRTracking]

Wow, checked on the clip of the Mendendez Brothers sketch is really disliked with a lot of comments most of them recent very offended by it. I  was only a kid at the time so I don't know what the public opinion was but I think at the time it aired people didn't buy the defense that they were sexually abused.

[Pete Martell]

10 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Wow, checked on the clip of the Mendendez Brothers sketch is really disliked with a lot of comments most of them recent very offended by it. I  was only a kid at the time so I don't know what the public opinion was but I think at the time it aired people didn't buy the defense that they were sexually abused.

I've never seen such a huge disparity between likes and dislikes. I guess people must have heard about that video from somewhere else as I can't imagine that level of dislikes just from being found naturally. I'm also reminded how some people don't seem to realize these pieces are in some cases decades old. There are people who just want the video taken down, but others saying things like, "No wonder no one likes SNL anymore." SNL never does anything like this anymore, or even close. Or, "I hope the person who did this was fired." This was in 1993. I guess at least they can rest assured the writer probably was fired, given the huge writer turnover a few years later...

It also reminds me the difficulty SNL tends to have as a result of changing with the times. Many younger people are likely repulsed, but this is the type of sketch that was a mainstay and well-received by viewers who tend to hate the modern show. 

I guess stuff like this is why they keep so many old sketches under wraps. 

[VCRTracking]

15 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

I've never seen such a huge disparity between likes and dislikes. I guess people must have heard about that video from somewhere else as I can't imagine that level of dislikes just from being found naturally. I'm also reminded how some people don't seem to realize these pieces are in some cases decades old. There are people who just want the video taken down, but others saying things like, "No wonder no one likes SNL anymore." SNL never does anything like this anymore, or even close. Or, "I hope the person who did this was fired." This was in 1993. I guess at least they can rest assured the writer probably was fired, given the huge writer turnover a few years later...

It also reminds me the difficulty SNL tends to have as a result of changing with the times. Many younger people are likely repulsed, but this is the type of sketch that was a mainstay and well-received by viewers who tend to hate the modern show. 

I guess stuff like this is why they keep so many old sketches under wraps. 

My question was people at the time thought about the trial. I assume they thought the Menendez brothers did it for the money and were lying about being abused or they wouldve been just as offended as the commenters now. I found it funny because of Malkovich's crying face.

Edited April 13, 2021 by VCRTracking

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

My question was people at the time thought about the trial. I assume they thought the Menendez brothers did it for the money and were lying about being abused or they wouldve been just as offended as the commenters now. I found it funny because of Malkovich's crying face.

My main memory of the time is that the trial was seen as a one of a series of celebrity trials, treated in a gawking manner by much of the press and the public. I also think the absurdity is what the sketch was trying to mock, rather than abuse.

[SoMuchTV]

I went back and reread the thread for the most recent vintage episode (Emma Stone/BTS) and I was a little surprised at how much was left out. I mean, I know they have to cut it down from 90 minutes to 60, but that still seemed like a lot that was cut. Although I can totally understand why the royal baby shower would be a bit inappropriate at the moment. 

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's Vintage is going to be Steve Buscemi/Third Eye Blind, from 1998. This was an interesting period for SNL because Norm Macdonald had been removed from Update and then left the cast. Whether due to this or some other factor, Lorne and NBC spent the last half of the season having famous actors appear for one or two sketches an episode. This one has an appearance by none other than John Hurt, in a Mad Hatter's Tea Party sketch. I hope that sketch will make the cut.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Pete Martell

[saber5055]

I don't know what I was doing in 1998 but I wasn't watching SNL so this was all new to me. I didn't know most of the cast so didn't recognize John Hurt in the Mad Hatter sketch, I figured Rabbit was some rando cast guy. I looked up reviews on this episode and Mad Hatter was ranked best sketch, worst was Jim Halsey's Truck Drivin' Museum, which was my favorite of the episode. I guess tastes vary. I couldn't keep my eyes off Buscemi, he was cracking me up. But in any case, Steve Buscemi was the absolute BEST. I like him even more after seeing this rerun. Great choice for a repeat, although I have no idea why it was chosen. Mine is not to question why ...

[Phishbulb]

On 4/17/2021 at 12:49 PM, Pete Martell said:

Tonight's Vintage is going to be Steve Buscemi/Third Eye Blind, from 1998. This was an interesting period for SNL because Norm Macdonald had been removed from Update and then left the cast. Whether due to this or some other factor, Lorne and NBC spent the last half of the season having famous actors appear for one or two sketches an episode. This one has an appearance by none other than John Hurt, in a Mad Hatter's Tea Party sketch. 

Not to mention a baffling wordless cameo from Natasha Henstridge (from "Species") at the end of that job interview sketch.

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

I don't know what I was doing in 1998 but I wasn't watching SNL so this was all new to me. I didn't know most of the cast so didn't recognize John Hurt in the Mad Hatter sketch, I figured Rabbit was some rando cast guy. I looked up reviews on this episode and Mad Hatter was ranked best sketch, worst was Jim Halsey's Truck Drivin' Museum, which was my favorite of the episode. I guess tastes vary. I couldn't keep my eyes off Buscemi, he was cracking me up. But in any case, Steve Buscemi was the absolute BEST. I like him even more after seeing this rerun. Great choice for a repeat, although I have no idea why it was chosen. Mine is not to question why ...

If you want a full review of the episode, here's one with screencaps of all the sketches:

https://www.onesnladay.com/2019/12/21/april-4-1998-steve-buscemi-third-eye-blind-s23-e17/

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

If you want a full review of the episode, here's one with screencaps of all the sketches:

Thanks @Pete Martell for that link. Here's the one I read before posting about the episode. This person hated the trucker sketch. There's no accounting for taste. I liked it a zillion times more than the Mad Hatter skit. (I think I'm alone on that.)

Buscemi SNL recap site.

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's Vintage is Brie Larson/Alicia Keys, season 41. 

[saber5055]

I had seen the Brie Larson episode first time around, but the three alien-abducted women sketch made me LOL since I've owned two Scottish Terriers. It was a great mental visual.

And at least I know who Alicia Keys is. Most SNL musical guests are out of my knowledge base.

Edited April 25, 2021 by saber5055

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's Vintage is season 40, Taraji P. Henson / Mumford & Sons.

[Pete Martell]

Interview with Simpsons writer John  Swartzwelder, who also talks about his time writing SNL (85-86).

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's Vintage is Adam Driver/Halsey, which is a unique definition of the term vintage.

[Lantern7]

30 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

Tonight's Vintage is Adam Driver/Halsey, which is a unique definition of the term vintage.

Maybe because we’re coming off “May the Fourth Be With You”/“Revenge of the Fifth”? 🤓🤷‍♂️

[saber5055]

While I admit I was all WTH, this is vintage? when I saw Adam Driver was the repeat, I was pumped because I love me some Adam Driver. I liked his monologue, and the Kylo Ren Undercover Boss is at the top of my favorite sketches list. But then the rest of the episode came on ... I guess I had blocked all of that since I hated every single bit after Kylo Ren. Oh well.. On to next week I guess.

[cpcathy]

This Adam Driver episode is so good. I’m just sad that Science Room couldn’t make the cut, it’s one of my favorite AD sketches.

[Pete Martell]

Tonight's Vintage is...another season 45 episode, Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift. (considering that Olivia Rodrigo is seen by some as a younger Taylor Swift, I guess there is some synergy) 

After that Vintage is on hiatus for at least  a few weeks

Edited May 15, 2021 by Pete Martell

[VCRTracking]

Great time capsule from 1993: