redtornado-63841 Reviews

Saturday Night Live: Buck Henry/Andrew Gold/Andrae Crouch & Voices of Unity (1980) Season 5, Episode 20

The Not Ready for Prime Time Players get ready for Prime Time

[8/10 · 19 May 2024]

The fifth season of Saturday Night Live was considered one of the weakest by both fans and critics alike. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had left after season four to pursue a movie career. Gilda, Laraine and Jane stepped up to the plate along with Bill Murray and Garrett Morris. Harry Shearer was added to the cast with Paul Shaffer becoming a featured player.

They did their best and tried different types of sketches which didn't always work. The fifth season did have some great musical guests such as David Bowie. It was thought the fifth season would be the last so the rest of the cast decided to call it quits so they could move on to other projects.

The final show proved to be the best show from season five with Buck Henry doing hosting duties. He introduces us to the 'replacement' cast during his monologue not knowing NBC decided to renew the show for a sixth season. Many watching might think they were the real cast members from season six.

The best skit is the one featuring Buck Henry and Gilda Radner as the Lord and Lady Douchebag. There are many other skits which are quite funny as well. I guess writers decided to really up their game for the final episode of not just the season but the show itself.

Weekend Update also stands out as Roseanne Rosanna Danna gives one of her funniest bits. Saturday Night Live closes not with a whimper but with a bang.

As for the cast, they would find success on television and the movies. Paul would be best known as the music director for David Letterman. Gilda was the only one who wasn't able to get any decent movies before her tragic passing. (I did like 'Hanky Panky' but it wasn't a box office success.)

I do recommend this episode for all the fans out there.

The Rockford Files: The Hawaiian Headache (1979) Season 6, Episode 7

Last filmed episode of the series

[5/10 · 29 April 2024]

The Hawaiian Headache was the final episode of the season to be filmed although that was not the intent. James Garner had requested less strenuous scripts while he recovered from surgeries due to injuries from his stunt work on the show. After this episode was shot, Mr Garner requested a few months so he could fully recuperate from his injuries. The show would find itself being cancelled instead including about ten episodes which were to be filmed. We never did get our final goodbye episode with Rocky.

That was unfortunate as this episode is not a very good one. As other reviewers state, Jim is quite mean and nasty to Rocky in this one. This puts a real sour tone as actor Noah Beery Jr would not appear in the later television movies.

The episode itself seems to be lazily written as well. Rocky has been to Hawaii before as he was forced back stateside cutting his trip short.

The entire sixth season falls short of the usual quality fans expected. The first episode was cute, but the others fall flat. The final episode that aired was a back door pilot to possibly replace this series. Like most back door pilots, Jim is left in the background while they focused on characters no one cared about.

James Garner would go on to sue the producers and Universal for profits and would eventually settle. He would return in eight made for TV movies which are not as good as the series. Some fans do enjoy them, but I didn't much care for them.

I do have the first five seasons on DVD and watch those every so often. They remind me of how good The Rockford Files was as a television show. As for the sixth season and this episode? Thanks, but I pass.

McCloud (1970–1977)

MCCLOUD!!!

[6/10 · 3 October 2023]

I remember watching McCloud with my older brother when it first aired as one of the NBC Mystery Movie series. We both loved Dennis Weaver as the cowboy in Manhattan. Sometimes memories can fool us as I have watched television shows from my past only to find out they are quite bad. Does McCloud stand the test of time?

I bought the DVD box set recently and began to watch the series from the beginning. It started off as an hourly series which was rotated with some other shows so it only consists of six episodes. NBC decided to turn McCloud into one of the mystery shows for its new mystery wheel show. McCloud was now a two hour show (there are a few 90 minute shows with the final season being 90 minutes each) along with Columbo and McMillan and Wife.

The box set has both the hourly episodes as well as the edited into movie versions. The single episodes make more sense but aren't that good. The second season is where McCloud takes shape. It also isn't the best season but it does have a few good moments here and there. The show began to shine once Glen Larson took over the reins.

As for the show itself, I did like many of the later episodes but found others to be routine and almost a bit tedious. Diana Muldaur starts off as McCloud's girlfriend but then goes MIA for a while. When she does appear, it seems as if she was always McCloud's girlfriend from the start. I know Diana Muldaur had a very busy schedule so she was probably not available for most of the episodes. They should have either kept McCloud single or had him explain Chris away whenever they needed to do so.

There were three episodes which were filmed on location in Hawaii, Mexico and Australia. While the Hawaii locations were used to potential, the other shoots were not. Most other locations were dress ups of the studio backlots. Speaking of locations, there are some location shoots in the Big Apple which were interchanged with shots from LA. It is fun to figure out which is which as well as seeing old infrastructure now long gone.

As for the characters, Dennis Weaver, J D Cannon and Terry Carter are great in their roles as McCloud, Chief Clifford and Sgt Joe Broadhurst. Terry Carter was an off and on character for the beginning until he was made McCloud's partner for the later seasons. Terri Garr, Della Reese and others shine in their roles as well.

The main problem is the plots of the episodes. Most were scripts that would fit for an hour but are stretched out to fit the time slot. The plots are also routine at best for the most part. Some do stand out as they are better written than others. The Alamo episodes and are the right fit for the two hour run time (ads included).

The seventh and final season was 90 minutes with the storylines being a bit choppy. Jack Cassidy appears in London Bridges which aired shortly after his untimely death. He is one of the better character actors of the era as he took all of his roles quite seriously. The final episode is a Halloween themed one about John Carradine who thinks he's a vampire. It could have been so much better but it gets bogged down by an add on plot about a sniper on the loose. I can see why everyone wanted to go their separate ways after this season.

Does McCloud stand the test of time? While it is nowhere near as good as Columbo was, it does go down easy for the most part. There are some cringeworthy scenes and Chief Clifford still doesn't believe McCloud toward the end of the run when he should realize by then McCloud knows what's going on.

I give the show a six out of ten as it is fun to watch but not as good as what I remembered as a kid. The DVD set is worth it if one wants to see all the episodes unedited and ad free.

The TV movie The Return of Sam McCloud is included in the box set. I will probably review that one later on its own IMDB site. Spoiler alert: It's not very good.

Saturday Night Live: Live from Mardi Gras (1977) Season 2, Episode 14

Mardi Gras and Saturday Night: Not a good mix

[5/10 · 28 November 2022]

The idea of having the cast go to Mardi Gras every year was a great idea on paper. However, the execution of the show would prove to be quite troublesome. Technical problems abound and the obnoxious drunk crowds didn't help.

There are several guests including Randy Newman who sings several songs. Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams and Henry Winkler also appear in a few skits.

The skits themselves don't work well out on the street. Most of the lines are hardly audible because of the background crowd noise. The stars have to deal with outside benches as their stage as well.

Nothing seems to work and Lorne Michaels decided to pull the plug on this idea for future shows.

I do give this show a five as they did try something different. It isn't a total loss as there are a few entertaining parts such as Belushi yelling 'Stella' at an apartment building.

Garrett Morris is from New Orleans and the episode might have worked a bit better with him being a sort of host to the cast and other guests.

This episode was rarely shown after the first airing. It is part of the second season DVD set as part of the extras.

Saturday Night Live: Candice Bergen/Frank Zappa (1976) Season 2, Episode 10

Candice, Frank and Killer Christmas Trees!

[8/10 · 28 November 2022]

I watched this episode when it first aired and loved the Killer Christmas Tree skit. My mother also loved it as well which makes it even more of a cherished memory. The episode still holds up as I watch the box set of the first five seasons.

Frank sings I'm the Slime with help from Don Pardo and also appears in the Killer Tree skit as well. He would go on to host a show in the fourth season with mixed results. He does fit in with this show quite well.

There also is a tasteless Christmas song parody about the upcoming execution of Gary Gilmore which is quite funny.

The shows go over so much better when the host is enjoying themselves like Candice does when she hosts. It spreads into the cast and audience as well.

The show had also lost Chevy Chase who was leaving to make Hollywood movies at the time. Most wondered if the show would be as funny without him. Not only is this episode proof it would, but it also signaled the show would get better with a new kid on the block.

Saturday Night Live: Louise Lasser/Preservation Hall Jazz Band (1976) Season 1, Episode 23

How not to host the show

[6/10 · 21 November 2022]

I loved Louise Lasser in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I also saw the original airing of this episode. I thought like so many others Ms Hartman locking herself in her dressing room was a gag. Unfortunately, it was no gag. It seems Ms Lasser got stage fright and was refusing to do the show at the last minute. They did get her out to do the monologue and she did do one skit with Chevy Chase.

Ms Lasser doesn't appear with any other cast member for the rest of the show. She does a skit with her dog in which you can hear the dog is overheating because of the lights. The skit went on for too long and the poor dog is panting quite heavy. I'm surprised they allowed it to go on for as long as it did.

At the end of the show, Ms Lasser thanks the cast and tells the audience how wonderful they are. She smiles as they join her on stage. I would have loved to have been there after the cameras were turned off. The tension is thick on this one.

The reason I give it a 6 is the rest of the cast worked hard to fill in for Ms Lasser and do skits they were probably not prepared for. This also is a great example of how live television doesn't always work so well. If it were taped in advance, they would have aired a rerun instead.

Saturday Night Live: Candice Bergen/Martha Reeves/The Stylistics (1975) Season 1, Episode 8

Candice Bergen is a Not Ready for Prime Time Player

[9/10 · 21 November 2022]

Ms Bergen became the first host to be asked back for the Christmas show. She is truly enjoying herself which is why this episode is so enjoyable to watch. We will find out what happens when a host does not want to do the show later on.

This is also the first Christmas themed show and these were also some of my favorites as they helped me get into a jolly mood. I also recently came out as an Elf myself so I especially hold this one dear to me.

There will be many other Christmas themed shows with some great sketches in them. However, the entire cast singing Winter Wonderland makes this one truly special and enjoyable.

So make up a nice hot cup of eggnog and wrap yourself in a blanket and enjoy the Yuletide season with Ms Bergen.

Saturday Night Live: Lily Tomlin (1975) Season 1, Episode 6

Lily shines

[8/10 · 21 November 2022]

Lily Tomlin has always been a favorite of mine so this review may be a bit biased. She hosted the show for the first time and it was still going through growing pains.

Lily sings a few songs and also does a few stand up routines as various characters including Earnestine and Edith Ann. My favorite skit is the Patty Hearst skit where she starts singing while writing a letter to her sister. Patty Hearst is one of the many pop culture references which unfortunately date so many of the early episodes. (I have had to explain the Claudine Longet skit to many people.)

The cast members are all coming to their own although they are not indivicually mentioned at the beginning of the show.

This episode is one of my favorites from the first season. It still stands up to the test of time.