Review of 12-12-1998 episode (MD-411; some spoilers) Yesterday I was watching Comedy Central and I saw an episode of SNL from circa 1987, which contained what I would call a great comedy moment: William Shatner (the guest host for that week), addressing a Star Trek convention, urges the Trekkies to "get a life." This is proof that even Saturday Night Live is funny, occassionally. =========================================== ============================================== Opening Segment: Ellen Degeneres (Alex Borstein) and Anne Hecht (sic?) (Mo Collins), come out to remind everyone that they are gay. Ellen Degeneres complains that her show was cancelled because she is gay (not because of low ratings). For the opening segment, this was not too bad: they introduced two new characters, and although Borstein's Degeneres doesn't do much else than say "we're gay," you don't really have to do any more to do a halfway decent Degeneres impression. Spishak Yule Blazers: The Spishak spokesperson (Pat Kilbane) promotes Christmas tree lights composed of plutonium. Products based on stupid ideas and/or products that don't work are always the mainstay of Spishak, and here the segment is pretty good: I laughed when the family, plagued with radiation sickness, opens their presents (the daughter finds an amorphous blob inside a box, and her mother says "I think that's your kitten"). Rusty's Christmas Party: The dorky college student (Michael McDonald) is going door to door to get people to go to his Christmas party. He interrupts a student (Debra Wilson) apparently in the middle of having sex with her boyfriend. This was OK, but the best was yet to come... (see below). Ms. Swan: Ms. Swan (Alex Borstein) goes to a store to buy a Christmas present; she claims that some guy at the store offered her a deal, but she can't describe the man, nor can she describe the product she wants to purchase. This sketch was OK but not as good as last week's Ms. Swan (I think this is the first time they showed a recurring character in two consecutive shows). Bowen gives a competent performance as a salesman and Mo Collins does rather well as the foil for Ms. Swan (not as funny as the Halloween one, though); Borstein's Swan performance was good. Rusty's Christmas Party II: I laughed out loud when Rusty said "a friend is just a stranger that I haven't met" because as far as I know, similar phraseology was employed by Barney (or B'harne, as he is referred to by the Jihad). In the Barney episode, if memory serves, he says "a stranger is a friend you haven't met" or something similar. "Barney and Friends" was subsequently criticized by some groups for potentially making children vulnerable to child molesters and kidnappers. But this issue aside, it now seems plausible that Rusty is actually Barney reincarnated as a college freshman, and those stuffed animals in his room are actually sponge minions. (Also, is Rusty supposed to be gay or is he just effeminate?) The student (Phil LaMarr) in this segment gets rid of Rusty by throwing rocks at him. And if that's not enough, we get a coed (Nicole Sullivan) who says she's having an abortion in order to get rid of him. This was the funniest thing in the show in my opinion. Paul Timberman's Workshop: Paul Timberman (Will Sasso) is back, and he's either very clumsy or a masochist. The show continues even after he cuts off a finger and part of one of his legs. It was cheap, it was disgusting, but I liked it - especially when he uses the bear trap to mount a Christmas tree. Rusty's Christmas Party III: The others come to Rusty's party because "the good party got broke up by security." Rusty gets drunk on half a bottle of Zima, passes out, and the other students steal his stuff (one guy even steals his sneakers). This is funny and realistic because having attended college not that long ago, I think this is probably exactly what most students would probably do in the same situation (who was it who said society is three meals away from a revolution?). I even remember one time my roommate came back drunk one night and puked all over my sneakers and Aerosmith CDs (bummer). Stuart Christmas Pageant: Stuart (Michael McDonald) plays the infant Jesus in a Christmas pageant. This is the first time he's actually knocked people over (although he came pretty close with the stewardess in that Thnaksgiving sketch). Although this was OK, most of the humor was physical and while it was good for a few laughs I've seen better - one could draw an unfavorable comparison to the Vancome Christmas pageant sketch from 1996 (have to admit that when the mother (Mo Collins) yells "Staurt!" I always laugh, though). Story Time with Mr. Sasso: The alcoholic children's show host is back. This guy should get C.C. DeVille as a co-host because the years of alcoholic indulgence have taken their toll on both. The children are forced to do errands for Mr. Sasso. The element that makes this segment credible (and a little better than the last one) is the way the one girl on the couch keeps staring at Mr. Sasso. Other than that, not much to care for, but not a complete waste of time, either. I Know What You Did Last Christmas: It just wouldn't be right to have a Christmas special without a Corky Quackenbush animated segment. The Rudolph series has apparently been discontinued, but we get a parody of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" - the kids kill Santa Claus in a DUI accident, but Santa comes back to life and exacts revenge on them. If hearing Santa say "son of a bitch" isn't enough, we get ultra-violent claymation, which never really gets old. Especially funny is Brandy, who is tricked into opening a Christmas present ("I hope it's more hair yarn!") and is promptly killed. But they left the best for the denouement, which features the Jennifer Love Hewitt character ("[C]heck out these breasts!") being decapitated. A Christmas Carol (with the Vancome Lady and Adam Sandler): The Vancome Lady (Nicole Sullivan) is possibly the one of the most maligned and misunderstood recurring characters on Mad TV. The character has been attacked by many people - some fans who suggest that the Vancome Lady denies people who are "different" (e.g. ethnic minorities, different religious groups, etc.) dignity by insulting them. Even the Catholic League has gotten into the act by condemning the sketch "Vancoma," accusing Mad TV of Catholic-bashing and urging Fox not to air any sequels (you can read all about it at http://www.nic.com/~dzien/nicolesullivan/vancomecatholic.html). I find it shocking that so many people have missed the point of these sketches. I doubt very much it is the intention of the writers (or of Ms. Sullivan, who created the character) to encourage bigoted behavior. It is insults the intelligence of the creative forces behind the show and of Ms. Sullivan herself, who at times has taken a stand to help level the playing field for women in the comedy business (she once said that she is constantly fighting to have words like "bitch" cut from the scripts). This having been said, I have to admit this Vancome segment was a bit of a let-down. I can see how they want to depart from the usual sketch format, something that worked well in "Tcha, You Know What?" but which is less successful here. The Adam Sandler impression is good (I think that's Andrew Bowen), and Sullivan as the Vancome Lady has the character honed to perfection. But there is little for them to work with, and it is hard to see what the whole point of this segment is (when Sandler mocks the Vancome Lady for being stuck in sketch comedy, is he saying that the Vancome Lady if it was really funny would be made into a film a la Wayne's World, or is he needling Nicole Sullivan for not being as big a star as he is?) Sandler, however, is I suppose a legitimate target for derision ("The Waterboy" was OK, but hasn't Sandler essentially been playing the same character since "Airheads"?), and it's also funny when he's doing a parody of "The Hannukah Song." Unfortunately, however, even though the segment has its moments (e.g. when Kathy insinuates that Sandler has no pubic hair around his genitals), it falls short of the usual Vancome standard and was not as good in my opinion as the previous two Vancome Christmas sketches. Magic Johnson Kwanza Special: Magic Johnson (Aries Spears) and Shelia E. (Debra Wilson) host a Kwanza special. Tommy Davidson (Phil LaMarr) and Al Gore (Pat Kilbane) - the latter a friend of the black community, we are told - drop in, and Magic still cannot read (the part where he's trying to read the cards explaining what the different days of Kwanza signify was really funny). Then - guess what - he's cancelled. Although its somewhat formulatic it works for me. And why is Johnson always carrying a basketball? ================================================= ============================================== In conclusion, this was more or less up to the standard established by the first three Christmas specials - in other words, a good, very solid show. The fact that there weren't any really awful sketches is evidence that the writers really tried to pull together and put on a good show. As usual, there was an overreliance on recurring characters, and the sketches weren't always as funny as might be expected, but overall the approach worked and I would even venture that this was a little better than last year's Christmas show. Overall it's been a rather disappointing first half of the season (well, 11 out of 25 episodes is pretty close to half, anyway), but at least we end the year on a positive note. Next week: MD-209 (OAD 12-14-1996): Vancome Lady Christmas Pageant; The Reinfather; The Greatest Action Story Ever Told. Two weeks from now: MD-311 (OAD 12-13-1997): Howie Long on Cabana Chat; A Pack of Gifts Now; holiday-inspired commercial spoofs. (Too bad - I think the Christmas show from 1995 would have been a better choice.) ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ