Review of 8-9-1998 episode (OAD 11-15-1997) Since I didn't review this when it first aired, here's my review: ==================================== ========================================================== Spishak Baby Blaster: The easy way to start a family. It looks suspiciously like one of those water guns, and it's an idea so simple even I could have thought of it, but who cares? The parody essentially works, so I give it a thumbs up. Talkin' American: The second installment, in which Howard Stern (Pat Kilbane) comes out and trashes Friends and Kathy Lee Gifford. Dachiat (Aries Spears) kicks Stern off the show and then yells at Rui (Will Sasso) until he cries. Not a great sketch, but Kibane's Stern is pretty good - I'd even go as far as to say the best since Michael McKeon on SNL, although that may not be saying much. Weekend at Tupac's: Two losers (Chris Hogan, Pat Kilbane) dig up the corpse of Tupac Shakur (Phil LaMarr) so they can score with chicks (Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson). Special appearance by Snoop Doggy Dogg (Aries Spears). I laughed and laughed. Supposedly this was orignally conceived of as "Weekend at Versace's," but the censors vetoed it, so they went with "Weekend at Tupac's" instead. The Eisner Zone: Hot dog cart man (Chris Hogan) has sex with princess (Lisa Kushell) in Disney theme park and pays for his indiscretion with his life. Not a great segment, but quite acceptable fare. At the end, I was expecting some variation of that part from the Monty Python segment about the princess whose suitors are killed off by her father, and that's what we got. Lean Bulime: It's a repeat of the segment from episode #304, but this was pretty good, so I won't complain. Special appearance by Daisy Fuentes. Elton John, Funeral Wizard: For $200,000, Elton John (Will Sasso) will appear at a funeral and rewrite his classics for the funeral. This idea was kicking around since he did that "Candles in the Wind" remake for the Princess Diana funeral; in fact, I even thought of it, so it's not that original an idea, but still a competent parody. Buffy, the Umpire Slayer: Finally, a classic! Keep in mind that Nicole Sullivan's Buffy is somewhat different than Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy. Hers is more amazon-like, sort of like Buffy meets Xena. But who cares? Especially funny is when Giles (Chris Hogan) is attacked by a vampire, and Buffy (Nicole Sullivan), refusing to render aid, says "sorry Giles; wrong show." And we get good performances from the rest of the cast: Pat Kilbane is Xander (sic?) and Lisa Kushell is the other girl (I forgot her name). Dirty Talker, Funky Walker: This time, Gilbert Gottfried is the guest. This is by far the best DTFW segment, in my opinion. The delight of seeing the rather un-cool Gottfried dirty talking is hard to describe, but those who saw it will probably understand. Somewhat ironically, he was the guest on a show which competes with his own "Up All Night" on the USA Network, which also airs on Saturday nights. Walker, Texas Ranger: Walker, Texas Ranger is spun off into Christopher Walken, Texas Ranger, Jimmie Walker, Texas Ranger, Heather Locklear, Texas Ranger, Dirty Talker, Funky Walker, Texas Ranger, and Old Lady with a Walker, Texas Ranger. This parody seems to be stuck in neutral and does not really go anywhere; I liked Sullivan's Heather Locklear most of all. Spy vs. Spy: The black spy causes the white spy to have a nightmare which in turn induces him to jump out the window and die. Up to the usual "Spy vs. Spy" high standards. Inter-Off ice Dating: Boss (Phil LaMarr) regrets having sex with an underling (Debra Wilson). The underlying premise of this sketch isn't that funny, but LaMarr and Wilson have mastered the mechanics of sketch comedy well enough to carry the sketch. I give it a nod of approval. Don Martin Department: Waiter gets his head decapitated. One of the few Don Martin segments shown this season; I think there used to be more. Pretty good stuff. ============================================================ ================================== In conclusion, I think this was a good episode, though not as good as the ones from the first six weeks or so of the season, and somewhat uneven. The Buffy segment, Weekend at Tupac's and Gilbert Gottfried were memorable; most of the rest of the show was adequate though not outstanding. Next Week: #320 (OAD: 3-28-1998): Hanson parody, Cabana Chat (with that puny contest winner), Ms. Swan, L.A. Valet. Web site update: Added .avi file with about 30 seconds of footage from Nicole Sullivan's June 10th appearance on the Late Show. ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ