Review of 6-20-1998 episode (OAD: 10-4-1997) This week, it's a rerun of #303, a show consisting mainly of TV-show spoofs. Note that by 7-4-1998, almost all of the shows from the earliest part of the season (up to but not including the Christmas episode) will have been repeated - except #308, which I venture to guess will probably be aired on July 11. ===================================================================== ======= Darlene McBride's Greatest Hits: Heavy-handed political satire courtesy of Pat Buchanan's favorite country music singer. This was good enough, although I liked "Take Back America to 1955" better. Still, with catchy song titles like "Back Off, Women's Libber; I'm Straight," how can she go wrong? Liar Liar 2: Chelsea Clinton (Alex Borstein) wishes that her father, President Clinton (Will Sasso) can never tell a lie again. The results are pretty funny. Amongst other things, he admits to having fixed the 1996 election - Bob Dole whipped his ass, we are told. Nicole Sullivan, the First Lady of American Comedy, is excellent as - who else - the First Lady. And the climax is in itself memorable - Clinton arrives at his daughter's birthday party, and says "Happy birthday, ugly!" It is a good sign in itself that the first two sketches were essentially politcal satires, as SNL has essentially done away with political humor in the last few years. The rebroadcast of this segment will undoubtedly generate some comments on whether the portrayal of Chelsea Clinton was tasteless. Corky and the Juice Pigs: They perform a tribute to REM called "REMember." I absolutely hate REM, and therefore found this humorous. The singer even had a T-shirt with a red star on it, like Michael Stipe wears in the video for "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Later on, they come back and do "Burn Victim Girl," which is almost as funny. Dennis Miller, Police Negotiator: Dennis Miller (Craig Anton) is called in to talk a man (Chris Hogan) off a building ledge. He then launches into a monologue of sorts laced with circumlocution and pop-culture references that some might find obscure. After everyone jumps off the ledge, he delivers his trademark, "Of course, that's just my opinion." The segment is held together by Anton's dead-accurate impression of Miller. Hogan's particular brand of neurotic behavior is actually well-suited to this sketch, so even he works out well here. Overall, a worthy effort. The Klumps: The first of two excellent segments featuring Aries Spears. Per usual, Cletus talks a lot about Eddie Murphy and farts a lot. They easily offend their guest, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Phil LaMarr). I wish they had these characters on the show more often. The Rosie Show: It was only until recently that I saw a clip of Rosie O'Donnell's daytime talk show, and as a result I have a new-found respect for Alex Borstein's portrayal of her on Mad TV. The real-life Rosie Show is shockingly like the Mad TV parody, with Rosie talking with the piano guy about mundane things like bowling. In this parody, her guest is rival Oprah Winfrey (Debra Wilson), and the segment is repleat with lesbian references, and finally ends Rosie physically attacking her guest. Probably the best of the "Rosie" segments. Cops in Hollywood: A wannabee screenwriter (Debra Wilson) and a wannabee actor (Craig Anton) are toiling as cops in Hollywood. They deal with Eddie Murphy (Aries Spears), Chris Farley (Will Sasso) going balistic at a doughnut shop, and Rosie O'Donnell (Alex Borstein) attacking Oprah Winfrey. Nicole Sullivan also appears as a Hispanic woman who is a bystander. The part with Farley seems even funnier now that he's dead, and overall I thought it was a good, though not outstanding, segment. Milton Cladwell: There are three different segments during the show featuring the befuddled accountant (Chris Hogan). This was a good recurring character, and one they probably could have used more during the season. In these segments, Cladwell (or his secretary) fails to mail in the quarterly tax returns for a corporate client; the owner of the company shows up, a row ensues, and Cladwell shoots everyone. I know people who are as disorganized as Milton Cladwell and I thought this was hilarious, especially when Cladwell gives the thumbs up sign at the end. And contrary to popular belief, I don't think Cladwell is gay. Spy vs. Spy: One spy gets the other spy to think a bikini chick is present to get the better of him. One of the more original "Spy vs. Spy" segments. ===================================================================== ===== In summary, I think it's pretty safe to say that this was an excellent show. I hesitate to rank it, but I'm pretty sure that if I had to compare it to the other season three shows, this would end up somewhere in the top third. We have characters here that would be used extensively throughout the season (Darlene McBride, Rosie O'Donnell) and others that would not be used so much (The Klumps, Milton Cladwell), and virtually all of them work. Craig Anton is also used effectively, and Corky and the Juice Pigs are good. The next two weeks: June 27: #307 (I Love Lucy '97, the Vancome Lady, Ebonic Pyramid) July 4: #301 (Season premiere with Sandra Bernhard, Vancome Lady: Rescue Worker) Web site update: Added a page for Antonia-related material: http://www.nic.com/~dzien/nicolesullivan/antoniapage .html Did I mention also that we have a page about Nicole Sullivan on the Late Show? It's at http://www.nic.com/~dzien/nicolesullivan/nicolelatesho w.html ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ