SNL: S02E04... HOST: KAREN BLACK... DATE: OCTOBER 16, 1976

or...

Rebirth Of Chase

 

Damn it, I thought he was gone. Damn it, damn it, I don't like that I'm not rooting for Chevy as I relive these moments in comedic history. As I've said in past reviews, I have never been a Chevy hater and was really expecting to have more of a "man, I wish he would have stayed with the show," feeling as I watched these first couple seasons, but it's just not there for me.

Again, my main issue with him is not his acting or his sense of humor but the fact that it feels more like it's Chevy's show when he is there, and I've grown to love Saturday Night Live as an ensemble experience. 

Hell, in this in this episode, I kept thinking that he was the host because it felt like the writers had more for him to do after his two weeks. You can also sense the tension within the cast as the last two episodes without Chevy seems to have a much better energy.

Alright, enough with my thought about Chevy, it's now time for...

The Wicker Breakdown: 

  1. Jane Curtin announces Chevy's return which made me a little sad when she "joked" about how she's going to miss doing the news. John Belushi then wheels Chevy out in a wheelchair as they are still playing up that it was an injury to blame for Chevy's leave. Belushi finishes the bit by dumping Chevy off the stage to fulfill the opening fall.

  2. Karen black then came out with her child and does a monolog about motherhood where she breaks down motherhood throughout time as if they matched the age they were from, i.e., the steam-powered mom during the locomotive era.

  3. Gilda plays Barbara Walters and interviews Gandhi's daughter who was the ruler of India at the time and the two pretty much pit speech impediment against Indian accent as the two discuss the ruler's reign.

  4. This was followed by another Debate '76 sketch this time taking on the second debate between Ford and Carter and covering the same things, Ford is stupid, and Carter is shady, but America has no other choice. Though that wasn't their point, that's what I took away from it.

  5. John Prine then sang Hello In There.

  6. Back to Chevy hosting the news and as I said in the intro, I hate the fact that I'm not a fan of his return because I really am a Chevy fan, just learning now that I am not a fan of his connection to the show. That said, I do really like they walk the line between fact and fiction in dealing with their issues.

  7. The news commercial is yet another repeat for the three-bladed razor.

  8. More news with no special guest.

  9. The news was followed by a fake commercial for cupcakes that don't cause cancer. They go on and one about how these cupcakes will not cause cancer, even showing tests of rats not getting cancer from them. Chevy eventually comes out dressed as a doctor and announces that he has to chime in as part of the Truth in Marketing Movement and points out that absolutely no scientists believe that any cupcake causes cancer. Funny, but I'm not sure if that is still true in this new world where everything causes cancer.

  10. Next was an Amish sketch that started with the characters speaking the lyrics to Turn! Turn! Turn!, until it is revealed that they are Amish cops and it evolves to be more on a cop show parody.

  11. This was followed by a sketch about Catherine the Great that seemed a little too historical and boring, I zoned out a little and when I mind returned the sketch had evolved to a Mr. Ed parody with Catherine the Great in her quarters talking to her horse as if they were in a relationship.

  12. Next was the short film of the night which was pretty much a mini-documentary about a quirky comedy club owner that would probably be too offensive to go into using the words he used that were perfectly fine at the time.

  13. John Prine then returned to sing The Bottomless Lake.

  14. Aykroyd then meets up with Jane Curtin for a mini 10-year reunion. It turns out he had a massive crush on her in high school even though she has no idea who he is. He wants to get as much out of the encounter as he can, and she just wants to leave.

  15. Garrett Morris then introduces the latest installment of the Mr. Bill series, which made me very happy.

  16. The show then ended with Karen Black singing Ten Cents a Dance. She was eventually joined by other cast members who also sang change-themed songs ending on Belushi singing while the subtitles made fun of a situation that took place behind the scenes.

You can tell this was more of a filler episode as there were fewer sketches that all seemed to drag on a bit. I still have a top three, but they weren't the easiest to find. First I love any time that I see Mr. Bill. Next, the idea of Amish cops made me laugh because who doesn't like a joke about the Amish. Finally, I was sort of entertained by the quirky comedy club owner as he explained his nervous ticks. Pretty sad that not one of these took place in the studio.

 
 

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