On the merits of a comedy show, this episode wouldn't rank higher than a four or five out of ten, so I understand why this episode has been rated so lowly. However, if viewed as a musical special featuring Paul Simon and selected musical guests, it could rank as a 9 or 10 out of 10.
The comedy segments come largely by way of filmed segments; there's an Albert Brooks film, we see Jerry Rubin pitching 1960's graffiti styled wallpaper, a pacemaker test parody of an old car battery commercial and a one on one basketball challenge from Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins against Paul Simon during the Weekend Update segment. The rest of Weekend Update is abbreviated to a few jokes and an on air nose picking by Chevy Chase. Besides the bevy of musical guests, the longest allotted live performance by non-musicians arrives via the misery of the Muppets.
The best parts of this episode come by way of the musical guests. Both Phoebe Snow and Randy Newman give stellar performances, Snow with her version of Billie Holiday's "No Regrets" and Randy Newman with his own "Sail Away". The host of the show, Paul Simon, performed the lion share of the music on display for the evening. He performed on his own, with the Jesse Dixon Singers and surprisingly, with Art Garfunkel. Surprisingly because the duo had split up five years earlier, only performing on stage live once before this performance. Lorne Michaels scored quite a coup by getting Simon & Garfunkel to reunite on his program as this performance turned out to be Simon & Garfunkel's first televised performance after a five-year break up. The duo sounded magnificent as they leisurely harmonized through a couple of their landmark recordings. Though the duo looked a bit like the inverse of Sonny & Cher when standing up to sing their current studio track, "My Little Town", the harmonies were still very strong after all these years.
This episode provides a stark contrast in style from what the show once was to what the show is today, not only in its comedy, but also in its musical performances. The feel is most certainly rooted in its time, but the time feels loose, non corporate, as if the host for that week or a cast member got to pick the musical guests. For that reason alone I felt a certain warmth and affection for this episode and for that golden time in television. Paul Simon may have overplayed his good graces into Lorne Michaels' company of comedians, but you can't deny that he delivered the goods when it came to providing great musical guests and performances for his week as guest host on the show. It's just too damn bad Paul Simon couldn't have somehow squeezed in 'The Sounds of Silence" I would've preferred the sounds of silence to the Muppets.
The comedy segments come largely by way of filmed segments; there's an Albert Brooks film, we see Jerry Rubin pitching 1960's graffiti styled wallpaper, a pacemaker test parody of an old car battery commercial and a one on one basketball challenge from Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins against Paul Simon during the Weekend Update segment. The rest of Weekend Update is abbreviated to a few jokes and an on air nose picking by Chevy Chase. Besides the bevy of musical guests, the longest allotted live performance by non-musicians arrives via the misery of the Muppets.
The best parts of this episode come by way of the musical guests. Both Phoebe Snow and Randy Newman give stellar performances, Snow with her version of Billie Holiday's "No Regrets" and Randy Newman with his own "Sail Away". The host of the show, Paul Simon, performed the lion share of the music on display for the evening. He performed on his own, with the Jesse Dixon Singers and surprisingly, with Art Garfunkel. Surprisingly because the duo had split up five years earlier, only performing on stage live once before this performance. Lorne Michaels scored quite a coup by getting Simon & Garfunkel to reunite on his program as this performance turned out to be Simon & Garfunkel's first televised performance after a five-year break up. The duo sounded magnificent as they leisurely harmonized through a couple of their landmark recordings. Though the duo looked a bit like the inverse of Sonny & Cher when standing up to sing their current studio track, "My Little Town", the harmonies were still very strong after all these years.
This episode provides a stark contrast in style from what the show once was to what the show is today, not only in its comedy, but also in its musical performances. The feel is most certainly rooted in its time, but the time feels loose, non corporate, as if the host for that week or a cast member got to pick the musical guests. For that reason alone I felt a certain warmth and affection for this episode and for that golden time in television. Paul Simon may have overplayed his good graces into Lorne Michaels' company of comedians, but you can't deny that he delivered the goods when it came to providing great musical guests and performances for his week as guest host on the show. It's just too damn bad Paul Simon couldn't have somehow squeezed in 'The Sounds of Silence" I would've preferred the sounds of silence to the Muppets.