The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with the parody Life Styles Of The Relatives Of The Rich And Famous where Harry Shearer returns to the cast as Robin Leach to interview newcomer, Martin Short, who plays Katherine Hepburn's third cousin Nelson who is a hot dog vendor which eventually leads to the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Billy Crystal then officially opened the show, not as the host but as new cast member where he shares his history with the show and how it relates to the fact that he's now feeling old being that he was cut from the very first episode that at this point was full ten years earlier.
3. Olympics 1984: A Special Report was a filmed segment where we follow the Olympic torch's return trip to Greece and all that is involved in its unceremonious trip home.
4. Rich Hall then made his debut as a new cast member to file a report of the '84 election while visiting multiple Walter Mondale fundraising dinners to show us what's actually involved but he can't afford the meal.
5. Martin Short's Ed Grimley character then made his debut as he auditions to appear on the Wheel Of Fortune which we learn is his favorite show to the point where it's an obsession and his overwhelming excitement does nothing but bring down the suicidal casting agent even more.
6. We then got to follow Howard Cosell as he babysits his grandchildren and puts on Monday Night Football and rambles on about sports to put the kids to sleep.
7. This was followed by the very classic Synchronized Swimming routine featuring Martin Short and Harry Shearer as the first male synchronized swimming duo.
8. "Mondale" and "Ferraro" then got a very brief segment to promote their upcoming debate before introducing this week's band. 
9. The Thompson Twins then took to the stage to perform Hold Me Now.
10. The Bulge was a short film where a man overstuffs his pants in an attempt to impress the ladies.
11. This week, Billy Crystal's character Fernando hosts the news and though fun as a guest, I hope this is just an experiment for this episode.
12. First Draft Theater was a sketch was we got to see a performance of an earlier draft of the movie The Big Sleep complete with typos, rewrites, and awkward sentences.
13. Once again, we got another segment of the news this time it was hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus as I guess there still deciding the permanent new host of the news now that Brad Hall is no longer a part of the cast.
14. Book Beat then returned for another segment this time the host discusses the fact that he has a pipe that fell from a building and is now stuck in his head but he tries to pull off an interview about high risk investing only to freeze up due to his brain injury.
15. Martin Short then took to the stage to kill time because the show was running by his last name.
16. The Thompson Twins then returned to the stage to perform The Gap.
17. Finally, the entire cast closed the show by thanking the audience and saying their goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show starts with a parody of the game show Password where Dr. Joyce Brothers takes on Robin Williams who is too high energy to focus on the game, opting to make jokes over guesses based on every single clue, ending with the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Bob Uecker then officially opened the show with a monolog about hosting during the World Series which gives him an excuse to talk about his baseball career and how is old team seems to hate him even after all these years. Eventually, a stagehand enters the scene with a phone and it turns out to be Reagan with encouraging words as a fellow former baseball announcer but ends up hijacking the show to promote his agenda which is when Uecker realizes it's a "prerecorded call" and give up on trying to talk back. 
3. We then went to a night club where Snap, Crackle, and Pop of Rice Krispies fame, attempt to make a comeback as a three person band, while the audience seems completely uninterested in their horrible performance of a song about their lives but love when they played their famous song from the classic commercial. 
4. "Cyndi Lauper" then hosted the segment An American Portrait where she discusses the late poet Dylan Thomas. The sketch starts with a real profile of his life in Cyndi's quirky voice and ends with her singing about him to the beat of She Bop in this weird attempt to show off an impression that wasn't even all that good.
5. Bob Uecker then plays a little league coach who has to release his son from the team following a simple error and goes on to release him from the family because he is such a letdown at sports. 
6. "Tom Brokaw" then got a segment where he meets with a network executive about his plans to build ratings and expresses his concerns that the writers are sabotaging him by adding too many "L"s to his reports that he just can't handle due to his speech impediment.   
7. Mamie Eisenhower Center For The Dull was a parody ad about the former first lady's charitable organization for extremely dull people just like her. 
8. 7 x 4 was a game show sketch with one simple question that everyone keeps rushing to answer before the game even begins because unlike the expectation that they would struggle with such a simple task, they are all normal people who can do the simple math and just want to answer first for the win. 
9. Negro Leaguers was a bit of a documentary sketch with stock footage as they talk about the Negro League days of baseball and with an all-white cast this ends up being a sketch where two white people get to do a bit of a black face routine which I don't think can be done today even if they were over the top promoting stereotypes.
10. Peter Wolf then took to the stage to perform Lights Out. 
11. This week, Bob Uecker sits in as the special host of the news. "Geraldine Ferraro" also got a segment to rebut a statement made by Nancy Reagan, and Billy Crystal almost played his old man character from The Princess Bride to give us the weather. Though Uecker does a perfectly fine job as news anchor, I'm just not a fan of the revolving door news team in general. 
12. We then went to a Lost and Found Department where Christopher Guest claims to have lost the most valuable thing to be found without having any idea what's available as he clears out every lost and found item on the shelf including a huge stack of cash, multiple cameras, and even a real diamond tiara. 
13. Tippi Turtle was an animated bit featuring Tippi Turtle with tips on how to really annoy postal workers by adding helium balloons to his packaging to lighten the shipment so much that he demands to be paid for the difference.
14. Peter Wolf then returned to the stage to perform I Need You Tonight. 
15. SNL Mailbag was a segment where Mary Gross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus answer viewer mail and it turns out that a bulk of the notes are from a prisoner who is obsessed with Julia and follows his journey from being locked up, then release, then on the road to visit the show to see her in person and when he does arrive Julia hides and Mary tries to hook up.
16. Bob Uecker then plays to the pitchman for Baseball Juice which is made up of squeezed baseballs and is what Uecker drinks where he's not drinking beer. 
17. Finally, we got a quick parody of the final World Series announce before the play by play anchors throw to Bob Uecker to close the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a parody of the Godfather where Jesse Jackson asks the Godfather version of "Sammy Davis Jr." for some advice about hosting the show as a very serious politician who doesn't want to let down a comedy crowd. He seeks Sammy's advice because he represents the entire Rainbow Coalition in just one man. Sammy tells him to try some impressions which he does, then there is a bit of a song and dance leading to the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Jesse Jackson then officially opened the show with a monolog about his choice to host the show while there is still campaigning to be done and says how he wants to show a little of his lighter side before going into details about his political career that led him to run for president. His monolog is then interrupted by a technical glitch which sends him back to the production booth to where all the white crew is swapped out by random black staff who were hired to trick Jesse that the show is more multi-cultural.   
3. You Know What I Hate? then made its debut by introducing us to Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest's characters who trade off random things that they hate as they ride up to their workplace in a very slow elevator and their examples get weirder and weirder.
4. The Question is Moot! is a game show sketch where Jesse Jackson plays the host who dismisses everything that the contestants have to say about anything because the world is doomed due to the current state of political affairs.
5. We then went to a PSA to warn about the dangers of Refrigerator Magnets when we see Mary Gross's "son" complaining about a stomach ache right before it's revealed that there are metal dishes stuck to his stomach and several refrigerator magnets are gone.
6. Billy Crystal then shows up to a couple's house with sad news that their son has died at the manufacturing plant and that he has his head in a bowling bag. This gets the couple so freaked out until Billy Crystal announces "Just Kidding!" He then goes back and forth between claiming to be kidding to claims that he's telling the truth ala The Boy Who Cried Wolf only it ends with Billy getting shot for being so obnoxious. 
7. Ed Grimley then returned, this time he's the last passenger to be seated on a plane who gets the seat right next to Jesse Jackson who just wants to use the extra-long flight as an excuse to fit in some sleep but Ed Grimley is too excited about his Wheel Of Fortune appearance that he landed during last week's episode. This goes on for a while until the sketch evolves into a parody of The Twilight Zone, "There's a man on the wing," episode. At the end of the sketch, Jesse takes issue with the bit and goes back to the production booth where once again we see the white crew get swapped out for the untrained black staff.
8. Tippi Turtle also returned with another tip on how to bother people. This week's suggestion is to go to a card store, purchase several cards with built-in speakers that play music, rip said speakers out and hide them in people things to drive them crazy with all the noise.
9. Wrong Voice, Right Face was a parody ad for the latest Billy Idol album that makes for of the fact that he has a punk face that totally fits with modern trends but the voice of a singer from the '40s.  
10. Jesse Jackson then got a serious segment where he admits to being in on the joke and how the black people in the control room were only hired for a joke. He then goes on to discuss how the show should be more diverse after sharing several stories about funny black people he knows in real life and then puts a call out to the black audience members to write in and apply to be on the show for what I hope is a future rating stunt.
11. This week, Jesse Jackson was our guest host of the news where he pretty much continues to push his political agenda which comes across as sell-promoting but I kind of like how blatant he is as opposed to the passive-aggressive political promotion that I'm completely over these days. If anything I appreciate that he has a solid political stance that he can actually express. Martin Show then got a segment to provide the balanced counterpoint and as nervous as Short acts he has some valid points. Jim Belushi then wrapped up the news as his horrible rapping character who has a rap off with Mr. Jackson.
12. Andrae Crouch then took to the stage to perform Right Now. 
13. Jesse Jackson then breaks from his purely political self to make a more obvious joke of an announcement that the true reason he is running is that he has a Love Jones for Jeanne Kirkpatrick then follows it up with a couple example of why he fell in love. 
14. Rich Hall then got his own special segment of the news for one of his investigative Election Report where he has a lunch interview with the Chairman of the League of Undecided Voters who can't make up his mind on anything. 
15. The Rich Hall segment then transitioned directly into "Mr. Blackwell's" segment on the Soap Opera Digest Awards where he breaks down everyone's look.  
16. Jesse Jackson then took to the stage to talk about the Rainbow Coalition and how welcoming the group really is but then runs down a comical list of people who he actually wouldn't let in. 
17. Wintley Phipps then took to the stage to perform Tell Me Again.
18. Finally, Jesse Jackson makes one more pitch for his presidency before closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights followed by a religious performance from a choir. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with A Paid Political Announcement from "Geraldine Ferraro" who has a song and dance about her failed campaign due to the country's fear of letting a woman run the show. This was the first time in a while that they skipped the announcement of, "Live from New York..." so this episode starts with a point against it.

2. Michael McKean the officially opened the show with a monolog about his excitement to perform live in New York then goes on to introduce his interest in Scottish singing only to get heckled from the audience by a guy who can't get over the fact that he is Lenny of the Lenny and Squiggy duo.

3. A Message From the President of the United States is a sketch where "Reagan" announces that he wants to bring back prayer to school wanting to put I Decline To Pray armbands on the students who don't want to participate for any reason.

4. We then got a very short fake movie trailer for Baby Double where a baby gets the heart of a serial killer transplanted instead of the baboon heart she was supposed to get ending on an image with a baby sucking on the handle of a very sharp knife as if she has become the killer.

5. Fernando's Hideaway was then debuted with Billy Crystal's Fernando character's first special segment outside of the news where he interviews Barry Manilow only the real Barry backed out so he grabbed the nearest crew member to take his place to be interviewed as if he were the real deal.

6. The Folksmen was a documentary style sketch that covered the reunion of Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest's fictional folk band who got featured much later in life in the movie A Mighty Wind in almost a shot for shot remake of this sketch.

7. The Folksmen then took to perform Old Joe's Place.

8. Buddy Young, Jr. Is Back! was a fake ad for an upcoming special about the return of a Catskills-style insult comedian/Billy Crystal character.

9. First Draft Theatre then returned only this is another sketch that I can't find anywhere on the internet and even the summary sites that I visit are vague as to what this week was about.

10. This was followed by a parody video of Madonna's Lucky Star where Pamela Stephenson doesn't even change the words to the song, she just does the impersonation and a silly dance routine to the song.

11. We then went to the PBS Pledgebration where Harry Shearer pitches support for the publicly funded channel before throwing to Vincent Price for his story as to why PBS is important to him as he previews his PBS haunted library cooking show as he shares a creepy recipe.

12. Chaka Khan then took to the stage to perform I Feel For You.

13. Billy Crystal then played a Strange Rabbi who has bizarre advice for Martin Short who came to him for marital advice. At first, he tries to deflect the question by bringing up issues of his own, then advises him to kill his wife because life is nothing more than God's dream.

14. This week Edwin Newman returned to the show as the special host of the news. It would be awesome if they made him permanent because I love how he points out what would be unethical for him to participate in when it comes to politics being a former reporter. Julia Louis-Dreyfus steps in as a political figure who actually can discuss the politics of last week's Jesse Jackson appearance with "Dr. Ruth" providing the counterpoint and Rich Hall got a segment to warn about drunken voting.

15. Walter Mondale's Staff is another sketch from the night that I can't find anywhere on the internet.

16. Chaka Khan then returned to the stage to perform This Is My Night.

17. "David Byrne" from The Talking Heads then dropped in for the SNL Fashion Report where they parody the Once In A Life Time Video and make fun of his gigantic suit.

18. Finally, Michael McKean closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show with a profile of Walter Mondale: Ex-Politician where "Walter Mondale" pitches a new razor now that he out of politics. Gary Kroeger, who is playing Mondale, eventually breaks the scene to express his disappointment that Mondale didn't do better in the election because he was banking on him being his career-making character that instead he decided to retire with the announcement of, "Live from New York..." 
2. George Carlin then officially opened the show with a monolog about how this was his first time back to the show after hosting the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. He then discusses some of the controversy that came from his first visit due to some of the religious content in his jokes which leads to another anti-religious routine where he directly calls out some of the religious leaders from the time to call into the show for a debate which I hope will come into play later on in the show. 
3. Willie and Frankie then returned for a second week in a row this time they play night security guards to perform the same fun but repetitive routine. This is the actual sketch that I think of when these characters come to mind.  
4. "Profiles In Sports" is a profile sketch that follows Belushi as a chess coach who is over the top aggressive who seems better fit to yell at a failing basketball team.
5. We then got a parody of The Joe Franklin Show. Though I am aware of the real show, I've only heard about it through references so I might have missed some of the nuance related jokes but it was still a pretty funny talk show themed sketch filled with random weirdo guests, interacting with a very boring host.
6. Rich Hall's Election Report then returned where Rich Hall sums up the rhetoric from both Reagan and Mondale that led to the results of the presidential election that is very reminiscent of things that have been said about this latest election and how we ended up with Trump. 
7. Strategic Airborne Contraceptive is a fake ad for a contraceptive that works pretty much like Reagan's Star Wars program only it goes after sperm.
8. Ye Olde Comedy Shoppe is a sketch that takes place during the thirteen colony days and features Carlin as Jackie Jefferson performing stand up in the titular comedy club with jokes relevant to the time. 
9. Jim Belushi then hosted The Ghostbuster Show where he interviews Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Gross as Russian's to talk about his favorite movie of all times and pretty much just recap the movie with their silly but not too over-the-top accents. 
10. This week, George Carlin sits in as the special host of the news. Pamela Stephenson also got a segment to talk about America's obsession with breast while hers seem to have a mind of their own, Gary Kroeger also dropped in as a science reporter to talk about a painful condition called random spot bleeding but it turns out he just forgot to take the pins out of his brand new shirt, and once again Billy Crystal's old Princess Bride like character gave us the sports.
11. Frankie Goes To Hollywood then took to the stage to perform Two Tribes. 
12. Ted's Book Of World Records is a fake ad for "Ted" to capitalize on the popularity of the Guinness Book by putting out a book of his own only it contains nothing but his own personal world records including longest bath.
13. Alan Thicke's In Thickeness & In Health was a fitness based talk show hosted by "Alan Thicke" that parodies a fictional follow-up to his In The Thicke Of The Night talk show where he interviews a vaudeville era songwriter about his current health routine and finishes off the interview with a physical stress test where the old timer passes out while running on a treadmill machine.
14. Carlin and Crystal then play a father and son cop team that still lives together. Carlin is so proud of his son for joining the police academy to carry out the family tradition that he completely blocks out every attempt Crystal makes to break the news that it's just not his calling in one of those end of the night sketches that is more sentimental than funny.
15. Frankie Goes To Hollywood then returned to the stage to perform Born To Run.
16. Finally, George Carlin closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with Lou Grant Rescue Mission is a parody follow-up to Ed's character following the end of The Mary Tyler Moore Show where he plays the head of an A-Team like group who plots to save Mary from the syndicated rerun hell she's been trapped in ever since. We then went to one of "Mary's" parties to see Ed as Lou put his plan into action but she refuses to be saved, leading to the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Ed Asner then officially opened the show with a monolog where he polls the audience and gets cheers when asked if they found Lou Grant to be a father figure. He then goes on to explain what a real father figure is before sharing other characters he played throughout his career. 
3. Wing Tips was a short film where Rich Hall played a grocery store employ who discovers that it's the floor mat that actually opens the automatic doors so he glues the mat to the bottom of his wing tip shoes giving him the magic power to automatically open everything. After finding that this power is actually a curse he gives the shoes to his jerk of a boss who ends up falling down an elevator well after the doors automatically opened before the elevator even arrived.
4. Ed Grimley then returned to Ed Grimley it up over his excitement about the Thanksgiving holiday party that he is preparing to host later on in the evening. The sketch eventually turns into a parody of Rear Window, which actually saved the sketch for me because I'm only nostalgically interested in this character but have to admit, I continue to like him more than I expected, thinking he was more one dimensional than he's actually turning out to be during these modern day viewings. 
5. We then got a parody of 60 Minutes where they do an expose on a novelty prank company that uses Chinese sweatshops to create inferior novelty products, while also interviewing the owners of an American Made novelty prank company that takes a little too much pride in their work.  
6. This was followed by another ad for another duet Me & Julio where Julio Iglesias sings duets with the top singers from the time.
7. Ricky Goes Bowling was a one man show of a sketch where Billy Crystal stands on a black stage and acts out a night at the bowling alley. 
8. Tippi Turtle then returned with another idea of how to mess with people's minds this time he suggests writing, "This is a stick-up," on the back of a deposit slip so the next random customer that goes to use it will get busted for attempting to rob the place.
9. This week, Ed Asner sits in as the guest host of the news. Radio host, "Paul Harvey," also dropped in to talk about Reagan's idea for Star Wars using his quirky start and stop talking delivery, and Pamela Stephenson got a chance to apologize for last week's breast stunt claiming she fell for a prank where a writer from the show gave her doctored photos of famous female reporters using their breast to get ahead in the industry.
10. The Kinks then took to the stage to perform Do It Again. 
11. We then went to a nuclear power plant where Ed Asner plays the oldest employee who is retiring leaving behind three younger employees to run the show who have absolutely no idea what they are doing because the old guy did all the heavy lifting. 
12. National Adopt A Non-Smoker Day is a PSA sketch that advertised just that, a day to adopt a non-smoker following the Adopt A Smoker campaign that was introduced during the great American Smoke-Out which was an attempt to get people to stop.
13. The Kinks then returned to the stage to perform Word Of Mouth. 
14. Ed Asner the played an aged Peter Pan who goes back to revisit Wendy who is shocked that he didn't stick to the plan and grew up to be an old timer and the two go on to share their boring lives now that they've actually grown up in a final sketch that is more sentimental than funny. 
15. Finally, Ed Asner closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with A Message From The Adopted Son Of The President Of The United States where Jim Belushi plays the titular character as shares a message about how he's better than Reagan's real son because he actually supports the president and doesn't tell tales out of school, of course ending with an excuse to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. Ed Begley Jr. then officially opened the show by wheeling out in roller skates before going into his monolog about how excited he was to get a break from Saint Elsewhere in order to host the show, then rambles on about Trivial Pursuit until he gets paged from work and has to call in from a landline to see what's going on due to the fact that they want him to stay in character as an ever ready doctor.
3. Kate & Ali was a parody of Kate and Allie only the characters were Katherine Hepburn and Muhammad Ali, where again, Billy Crystal has to awkwardly portray Ali because this entire cast was white. 
4. We then got a repeat of the Strategic Airborne Contraceptive from just a couple weeks ago.
5. Book Beat then returned where this week host, Rich Hall interview two mystery authors both promoting books with the same title as well as the exact same content and it turns out that there's been an ongoing feud, then out of the blue a time traveler arrives looking for Julia Louis-Dreyfus who he tricks into getting tickled.
6. The couple sites that I use for reference as to which sketches appear on a given night both have "Time Traveler" listed here, but I'm not sure if it's referring to the second half of the last sketch or if this was something that was cut out from the version I was able to find. I would say it was the combined sketch but they don't normally split them unless there is a commercial break, but then again, the version I found contained everything else plus an added Eddie Murphy sketch so they didn't have much fudge room to cut anything out. 
7. Grim Reaper Trivial Pursuit is a sketch where Martin Short drinks the worm from a glass of tequila triggering death to arrive leading Martin to challenge him to a game of Trivial Pursuit ala the movie The Seventh Seal.
8. We then got another repeat of the Refrigerator Magnets sketch from earlier on in the season.
9. Let's Watch TV is a talk show hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Gross's Russian characters from a couple weeks ago, that's mainly an accent based sketch where the two talk about what they watch on TV, but again, their accents aren't so over the top that I find them offensive but I'm not sure if it's because it's tame or if it's just the culture involved that make it less cringe worthy.
10. Marty was a parody of a black and white film where Billy Crystal and Jim Belushi discuss taking this Concord to Paris as if it were a common event which would be impossible considering the time they are supposed to be living in as the two try to come up with what to do to kill some time. This theme of overly advanced technology for B&W days continues as the two try to find something to do. 
11. This week, Christopher Guest was given his shot at hosting the news. Rich Hall also got a segment where he debunks the claim that "There is no such thing as a free sample," by sharing frugal/criminal ways to obtain a lot of free stuff, Gary Kroeger shares a message to suicidal teens while giving them reasons to live, and Martin Short gets interviews as his sleazy attorney character from the novelty prank company from a couple weeks ago that utilizes sweatshop labor.
12. Billy Squier then took to the stage to perform Rock Me Tonight. 
13. We then went to a shared funeral for two deceased vaudeville actors whose sons, Short and Crystal pay tribute to them by singing a song called Meshugana that explains the late comedian's careers and relationship leading up to their deaths. This seems like it should be one of those final more sentimental than funny sketches that feel a little weird if they happen too early but it's still an interesting bit.
14. Eyeball To Eyeball was a talk show hosted by Martin Short who examines the Metropolitan Museum Of Art by interviewing the Operations Manager about some sort of scam but it turns out that he's more interested in learning about how Museums work in general and that Short is not actually the host but a "simple person" who has hijacked the show only the real host takes over with an even crazier line of questioning.  
15. Billy Squier then returned to the stage to perform All Night Long.
16. We then met with a group of architects with an amazing building design the only thing that they disagree with is an Elevator Stool that is built in for the elevator operator as if this is the top concern for their design.
17. Finally, Ed Begley Jr. closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with a Beatles Memorabilia Auction where Paul's toothbrush goes for $110,000 while the actual Ringo Starr can't even keep people in the room, let alone draw in the minimum opening bid until he proves that he can actually talk by announcing, "Live from New York..." 
2. Ringo Starr then officially opened the show with a monolog about being the boring Beatle with the big nose and then talks about living the life of a legend and how he's hosting the show just to get out of the house and meet some people before calling "Sammy Davis Jr." out to the stage and the two ramble on about their fictional relationship during the recording of old Beatles albums until the two sing a medley of songs. 
3. Ed Grimley returned once again where this week he has to wait for the bus while it rains and finds himself sitting next to Ringo as they wait. As Ed rambles on trying to make small talk, Ringo keeps getting struck by lightning but doesn't even budge because it happens to him all the time. At first, Grimley finds it interesting but then goes back to his rambling small talk.
4. Do What We Say, & Nobody Gets Hurt was a repeat of the fake ad for Texxon from a couple seasons ago. 
5. Willie & Frankie returned once again for more complaining about things that they hate only this time they are construction workers doing the same exact routine that again is fun but extremely repetitive especially for an almost weekly fixture of the season.
6. We then got a follow up to the Beatles Memorabilia Auction where the family who bought Ringo Starr for $800 finds out that he managed to escape as if he were a dog and continues to get treated puppy-like upon his return with Belushi as the Alpha family member who tries to keep him in line. Julia Louis-Dreyfus then shows up as the curator of a Beatle's Museum to offer the family $1700 to take the former Beatle's drummer off their hands but they decide to keep him around.
7. Strictly From Blackwell was a cable access sketch where fashion list making legend "Mr. Blackwell" interviews crazy wine expert who's promoting a book and the two ramble on about wine for what seems to be forever with a discussion that is almost too legitimate to be all that funny. Finally, after what seems to be an hour, Mr. Blackwell turns to interview a Chippendale dancer who is there for his looks just to tell him they ran out of time. 
8. Massacre on 34th Street was a parody of Miracle On 34th Street where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Terminator Santa to massacre everyone on Christmas Day.
9. We then got a parody of the movie A Bridge Over The River Kwai where the enemy leader tries to use reverse psychology to trick the captured soldiers into building the bridge to get around wartime slave labor laws and then the captured soldiers try reverse psychology to get out of it until everyone involved is confused.
10. Herbie Hancock then took to the stage to perform Junku. 
11. Fernando's Hideaway returns and this week he interviews Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach, other than the constant, "You look marvelous," catchphrase, the interview is almost too realistic to be either fun or funny. 
12. We then when to a job interview where Jim Belushi was applying for a job where Christopher Guest questions him about being dismissed from the military for being mentally ill. Upon further questioning Guest finds that the illness was a lie to get out of the war and says that he can't hire Belushi for the job which leads Belushi to shift gears and claim that he actually is crazy and we eventually find out that it's Christopher Guest who is the true crazy person as he breaks down Belushi's ploy to get the job. 
13. Herbie Hancock then returned to the stage to perform Rockit.
14. Finally, Ringo Starr closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with Alfalfa reading the newspaper where he spots evidence that Buckwheat is still alive while reading up on sports. Instead of the "Live from New York..." start to the show this week's episode starts with the proclamation of, "Buckwheat's still alive!!!"
2. Eddie Murphy then officially opened the show with a monolog about his gigantic ego and how he felt he was too big of an actor to do this lame ass show but then begged to come back the second his career seemed to be drying out following his first failed script. Though this may have been a joke, I still really hate when former cast members start out their hosting appearance by talking down on the current rendition of the show.
3. This was followed by White Like Eddie is the classic SNL parody of Black Like Me where Eddie Murphy dresses up like a white guy and gets to experience the special treatment whites get when nobody else is around. 
4. Mister Robinson's Neighborhood then made its return after being taken over by Ed Koch, this week Mister Robinson is back dressed as Santa with a lesson about stealing Christmas gifts and consumer fraud as a way to survive. 
5. Milestones was a show hosted by Christopher Guest who interviews Bishop Desmond Tutu and Doug Flutie where everyone seems more interested in Flutie's sport's career over Tutu's peace prize accomplishment. At one point, Desmond Tutu gets handed Flutie's Heisman Trophy and drops it, breaking the arm which leads to a panicked effort to fix it before Flutie can get a chance to notice. 
6. Lifestyles of the Relatives of the Rich & Famous returns this week they profiled Denise Lewis the niece of Jerry Lewis who is a children's hospital nurse. 
7. When then went to a suburban house where Buckwheat gets a knock on the door and we find out he's living a life in disguise as Buckwheat with a blond wig. He manages to fool the first guest but when Alfalfa arrives after seeing the evidence in the opening sketch it doesn't take long for Buckwheat to be exposed. It turns out he went into hiding due to an increase of death threats there were coming from Alfalfa over an elementary school time prank. The sketch then ends with Buckwheat getting shot again.
8. Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers then took to the stage to perform Rockin' at Midnight. 
9. Lishman's Deli is a sketch that takes place in a New York Jewish deli where Martin Short and Billy Crystal both play old Jewish guys who discuss life over their meal and are joined by Christopher Guest as an old Jewish character to add to the stereotype based sketch until Gumby arrives to add to it even more. 
10. Newsmakers was a talk show hosted by Billy Crystal who interviews Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Gross about the American Communist Party who think that American Media is full of lies. It's weird but with time these Communist characters seem to be right but they make then look foolish by adding crazy quirks to their character whenever they agree on a fact.
11. Black History Minute is a segment hosted by Eddie Murphy who's playing a militant Muslim character with a history lesson about George Washington Carver's lesser known invention of peanut butter that was stolen by Skippy and Jiffy, his two white guests from the night that he accidentally stumbled onto the treat while trying to invent the record needle which ground down the nut into a creamy state.
12. Several cast members then played US military members stuck in a house while fighting the Germans in France during WWII. In the sketch, everyone gets shot but for Lawrence and when we find out that there is a phone to call for backup at the top of the stairs, we also find out Lawrence Can't Climb Stairs or operate the phone when he does eventually get there which leads to a mission fail.
13. Once again, Christopher Guest gives us the news for the second time following a week with no news at all. This week, "Paul Harvey" dropped in for his awkwardly paced delivery of what was going on in the news while trying to sneak in several money-making advertising plugs, Pamela Stephenson got a segment as a BBC reporter whose accent is so strong that it was impossible to make out what she was saying, and Eddie wrapped up the news with a segment on Christmas toys.
14. Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers then returned to the stage to perform Santa Claus Is Back In Town. 
15. With the show running short this week they then gave Eddie Murphy 30 second to just hit the stage to kill some time. 
16. Finally, Eddie Murphy closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts in Donahue's Green Room as Fernando tries to steal guest for his own show and runs into some interesting characters from little people in drag to a Nazi who still thinks there's a war. He eventually spots Bernard Goetz and decides he's the one to steal for his show but has to borrow a quarter to use the payphone which I'm guessing was the question that triggered his shooting rampage on the New York Subway because this question scares everyone in the room. At first, it seems like Goetz is going to attack but ends up being super nice, leading into the announcement of, "Live from New York..."  
2. Kathleen Turner then officially opened the show with a monolog about how proud she is to be the first female host of the season then goes on to explain her new look and how there is pressure to appear different in every film before going on to show photographic evidence that I thought would eventually lead to a joke that never came.
3. MacDouglass-Drummond Miracle Wrench is a fake ad for the $50,000 wrench that the government buys to build military jets as a way to hide what their spending is really going to.
4. Willie and Frank then returned once again to do even more of their "Do you know what I hate," complaining only this time they play the base position for a waterskiing stunt team that is being towed in their pyramid formation.
5. This was followed by a sketch in a lobby with a shoe shine stand only the man in charge doesn't shine shoes but instead trims people's nose hair for a fee. The sketch is so-so for the most part until he finds the man with the world's largest nose hair that stretches across the room and ends up tripping an unexpecting Rich Hall. 
6. We then got a fake ad for SafeCo Security that tests its latest security product by going backstage during a taping of Dynasty to use Joan Crawford as a battering ram against their new plexiglass technology. 
7. Martin Short then played a clumsy dad who blames everyone else for his mistakes. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays his daughter who hates the mom and is about to go out on a really late date. Billy Crystal then arrives as the date and the Short tries to hypnotize him by fire to try to gauge his intentions in a convoluted sketch where none of the pieces really fit together and the funniest bit was the fact that Billy Crystal's wig slipped, revealing a bald cap for a sketch that must take place later on in the show.
8. This was followed by a fake ad for the latest crazy predictions from Jeane Dixon. 
9. The Joe Franklin Show returned for another installment where the boring host interviews "Magician Doug Henning", "Alan Arkin", and an up and coming actress played by Kathleen Turner. Must of the comedy from the sketch comes from how bizarre Henning is during an otherwise bore segment, though it also gets funny when Kathleen Turner (in character) can't keep up with the lip sync when her character goes to sing her song.
10. Billy Crystal then plays a peanut slinger at a sporting event who tells a boxing-themed story in the style of a one man show.
11. We then went to a New York loft party where Kathleen Turner tries to pick-up on Martin Short who is a neurotic mess still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and is a bit overwhelmed by her aggressive advances and is flattered and scared at the same time.
12. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week Gary Kroeger dropped by with a consumer report on how many lame calendars come out in time for the Christmas holiday and he shares the one that he made on his own, and a different "Doug Henning" got a segment to talk about his attempt to make the deficit disappear.
13. John Waite then took to the stage to perform Saturday Night.
14. Strictly From Blackwell is a talk show sketch where Mr. Blackwell interviews the host of a new dinner theater where the food is more sought after than any performance in the dinner show.
15. Finally, Kathleen Turner closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with coverage of Reagan's second Inauguration Day, where they added a fake voice over as if Nancy Reagan was the person who as actually feeding Ronnie the words he was saying while being sworn in, with no, "Live from New York..." 
2. Roy Schneider then officially opened the show with a monolog about being a fan of the show and not being able to use the opening line, "It's great to be back in New York," because he currently lives there. Then goes on to share the difference between living and New York and living in LA when he makes it his residence for work.
3. Ricky and Phil then made their debut as they prepare for the Super Bowl party they are hosting in their apartment. Ricky's like a deep voiced Squiggy and Phil seems like a normal guy and the two just make fun of each other for rooting for the opposite team while also making fun of every item Phil brought home from the store in a rambling sketch that doesn't really go anywhere and is only kind of fun. 
4. We then met two ticket scalpers with Super Bowl XIX tickets for sale. One scalper sells his tickets right away leaving Roy Schneider who won't budge from his five million dollar asking price which enrages anyone who tries to buy them as they offer insane counter offers of their own. We then went back to the scalper's house where he feels like a letdown for turning down a two million dollar offer because he's a man of his word. The wife still thinks he's a hero but he gets struck dead by lightning from God.  
5. Steven Wright then returned to the show for another segment where he got to do one of his stand-up routines.  
6. This was followed by a repeat of the Foldgers Crystals where an ICU patient's blood is replaced with instant coffee.
7. In Praise of Women was a talk show sketch hosted by "Julio Iglesias" who interviews three women with very distinguished careers and instead of admiring their impressive work, he's more interested in admiring their looks which doesn't go over well. 
8. Once again, Christopher Guest hosts the news and I'm glad that they seemed to finally settle on someone permanent. This week "Ann Landers" got a segment where she gives out some of her advice about sex, "Paul Harvey" also dropped by for another round of his bizarrely paced telling of news about U.S. and Russia's attempt to come to a peace agreement while sneaking in product placement plugs, Pamela Stephenson returned as her BBC reporter character to talk about the Super Bowl but between the crazy accent and horrible fake teeth you can barely make out what she says, and Jim Belushi got a segment to discuss horrible manners at movie theaters but he seems like the biggest monster of them all.  
9. Billy Crystal then played female lounge singer Penny Lane who entertains a small bar's clientele with rambling banter and the occasional piano song. It turns out that he's not actually playing a female performer but is actually playing a man in drag but it doesn't really add to the bit but that might just be due to the fact that drag is accepted more through modern eyes.
10. Roy Schneider and Martin Short then teamed up for a Good Cop, Bad Cop where they interrogate Jim Belushi who is being an absolute jerk, only Martin Short's goofy smiling character is the one chosen as the bad cop, who at first mistakenly heard sad cop when splitting up the roles. They try it again and this second time Short mistakes the meaning of bad by pretending to be inept. Schneider then shows him how it's done by acting as both the good and bad cop character and his craziness actually works. 
11. Billy Ocean then took to the stage to perform Caribbean Queen. 
12.  When then went to a Mental Hospital where Mary Gross's Russian character turned herself in for thinking she's crazy and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's character convinces her that she's actually okay. The weirdest thing about this sketch is these characters that I thought were Russian may actually be Spanish due to their names but their accents are all over the place.
13. Billy Ocean then returned to the stage to perform Loverboy.
14. Finally, Roy Schneider closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show started backstage with Gary Kroeger and Mary Louis-Dreyfus discussing the script when "Prince" enters the area with "Hulk Hogan" as his bodyguard because "Prince" thinks Tina Turner should be the full blown host and not just the musical guest. "Hulk Hogan" does all of the speaking after getting demands whispered into his ear except for the part where "Prince" announces, "Live from New York..."
2. Alex Karras then officially open with a monolog about his so-called California friends who questioned his SNL hosting role because they don't find him funny in that sort of way and chuckles his way through bad comeback joke before throwing to the start of the show.
3. Ed Grimley then returned to the show to do some spring cleaning in his apartment and as always just Ed Grimley's it up for a while until the neighbor who he has the hots for calls to borrow an orange or two but Grimley's fridge is filled with nothing but oranges. When the neighbor arrives it turns out she's Tina Turner who gets even more of the Ed Grimley act.  
4. This was followed by a repeat the Time Magazine sketch from around this time of the season from the year before that makes fun of Time Magazine's imaginative interpretation of the news.
5. A Couple Of White Guys Rap is a fake rap duo made up of Alex Karras and Jim Belushi doing a generic rap routine that was pretty standard back in the day.  
6. We then went to a marketing for Kelly Cola where all of the presenters are nervous to meet the CEO for the first time because of his rough reputation. Alex Karras then shows up as the feared boss and Billy Crystal gets so nervous that sweat literally starts to pour from his head before he pitches his horrible idea to fix the problem with the recent drop in profit. He then starts to drink his own sweat causing everyone else to taste it and come to the conclusion that this should be the next drink for the brand. 
7. Tina Turner then took to the stage to perform What's Love Got To Do With It. 
8. Jim Belushi then played a corrupt politician from the time promoting a "new book" called Power From Giving with pointers on how to be a corrupt politician as well.
9. New York On Five Dollars A Day was a fake ad where Bernard Goetz gives a tour of New York based on the location of vigilant attacks throughout the city.
10. We then visited Walter Mondale in Minnesota as he whines away the winter thinking about the decisions that led to his presidential loss while his wife tries to cheer him up but does a horrible job. After she leaves, so local hunters enter the building to add insult to injury about his loss. It also turns out that his wailing moans have been attracting more moose to the town.  
11. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week Rich Hall wanders into the shot and has a seat as an uninvited guest from the crowd who just wants to check things out, Martin Short also satellites him as his sleazy lawyer character to defend tobacco, and Jim Belushi got a segment where he talks about a fancy date that he was recently on and shares all the news of what all the other couples discussed in the restaurant and how he used his air horn to tell everyone to shut up.
12. Tina Turner then returned to the stage to perform Better Be Good To Me.
13. Tuesday Night Titans was a sketch that parodied the Monday night WWF wrestling show before it changed its name to Raw. In the sketch, "Captain Lou Albano" is too concerned about politics to focus on the fake wrestling match that he's about to manage then goes nuts and destroys the set. Billy Crystal also continues his role to fill in any gaps that make this season so non-diverse by playing a "midget wrestler" named Little Caesar who taunts Captain Lou about his political stance before the two get into a pre-match fight that even gets the audience involved. Finally, Pamela Stephenson does her usual thing of playing MTV personalities by doing her Cyndi Lauper impersonation since she was involved with the WWF at the time.
14. Christopher Guest then played an auctioneer who destroys every item up for bid if it doesn't bring in the price he is expecting, but it eventually works when all the broken items in the set make the final item now extra rare. The then goes on to auction off some kittens and gets $600,000 because everyone is afraid of what he will do. He finished the auction by putting a gun to his head but everyone in the room hates him so much they just let him die rather than bid on the world famous firearm.
15. Tina Turner the returned to the stage for a third time to perform Private Dancer.
16. Finally, Alex Karras closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts with a Congressional Address where they took actual footage of Reagan giving his address to Congress and added Rich Hall as the guy who wandered into the White House n inauguration day using green screen technology from the day to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. Harry Anderson then officially opened the show with a monolog about his history of with the show as a guest performer to do his magic and how he credits the show for his current career as a Judge on the TV show Night Court which he also credits for changing his scamming ways from his street performing magician days only to go on and give us a scam of a magic trick where he "eats a live Guinea Pig," after it doesn't play along with the stunt. 
3. The parody Kate and Ali returned with Martin Short as Katharine Hepburn and, of course, Billy Crystal in blackface as Muhammad Ali. In the sketch, they promoted an upcoming Valentine's Day Special Episode. 
4. We then got a segment called American Profile where Christopher Guest and Billy Crystal are being profiled as two novelty inventing brothers as they practice against the Mets at Fantasy Camp where they show off their baseball themed pranks. I remember really liking this sketch as a kid because I was blown away that they actually got the entire Mets team to play along with the bit and may have even been young enough to believe that the pranks weren't scripted and that the reactions were real.
5. Dueling Magi is a sketch where Harry Anderson and "Doug Henning" have a crazy magic off where Harry reveals all of Doug's tricks, ending with Henning getting shot.
6. Jim Belushi then shows up home 20 minutes late from a trip to the post office to find that his wife has been remarried as if he were missing for 20 years. We eventually meet the wife's first husband who is actually on time with his return but was gone all day because of work and also got the missing person treatment.
7. We then got a fake ad for Ronald Reagan Jeans which included real footage of Reagan walking around in his Canadian Tuxedo.  
8. Ricky & Phil returned as the two roommates who do nothing but bicker while they obviously get along. I think this would be more fun if Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest had real chemistry like Eddie Murphy and Piscopo did but Crystal always seems like a character in a one man show and Guest seems to be acting a role. Being that these are character-driven sketches I don't it works as well because I see the acting when it seems like it should feel more like improv. 
9. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. He's okay but I really wish they would have given Rich Hall the main new anchor role. This week, Rich Hall plays a key player at the Pentagon who plans to hold his breath to get the crazy military budget that he demands, minutes go by with more news reports before we checked back in with Rich Hall who was still holding his breath but his eyes were bugging out of his head, following the rule of three we then got another news story, check back in on Rich Hall right when his head blows up from continuing to hold his breath. Billy Crystal's Vaudeville comedian character also got a segment to joke about suggestions for Valentine's gifts and gets Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Christopher Reeve involved because they just happened to be in the audience.
10. Bryan Adams then took to the stage to perform Somebody. 
11. We then got a bit of a parody of Night Court in the sketch Salem Court where Harry Anderson plays the Judge during the Salem Witch Trial era. Other than the court setting, I wouldn't say this is a parody at all. 
12. Harry Anderson then took to the stage to perform another magic/comedy act reminiscent of his past performances on the show, though I wouldn't say it was actually a magic trick but more of an origami trick where he turns a felt ring into various types of hats.
13. We then went to a talent agent's office where Juliet Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Gross paly a niece and aunt duo following an audition that apparently didn't go all that well. The Julia can sing the aunt cannot but Julia can't split the team because her aunt has saved her multiple times throughout her life and even saves her from a rattlesnake before the end of the sketch.
14. Bryan Adams then returned to the stage to perform Run to You. 
15. Finally, Harry Anderson closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show starts directly with Pamela Sue Martin's monolog about why she left the show Dynasty joking that acting in commercials is her ultimate goal then goes on to joke about Joan Crawford who Belushi portrays in the crowd.
2. This was followed by the second replay of the Strategic Airborne Contraceptive that was also first aired earlier in the season.
3. The Joe Franklin Show for another boring segment. Again, I'm only aware of the reference material but the fact that they mainly make fun of the Joe Franklin being boring makes the actual sketch rather boring with a couple laughs from the quirky guests.
4. Belushi then played half of A Couple Of White Guys, the rap group from when Alex Karras hosted who now teamed up with Pamela Sue Martin as his wife to perform another '80s style of stereotypical rap song. 
5. We then got a tape segment with Fernando at A Night Of 100 Stars where the character interviews several famous people who should up for the prime time event.
6. Rich Hall then got a segment to do one of his stand-up routines.
7. We then got a sketch that started with Gary Kroeger as an old timer cleaning up the SNL set and reminiscing about the old days before he throws to a prerecorded sketch where Jim Belushi is at a Children's Hospital and makes a Babe Ruth-like promise to a dying kid. we then went back to the old timer who goes on to share how Belushi's promise to kill in his drag-themed sketch ended up playing out where he fulfills the kid's dying wish and ends up being how the said kid was brought back to life. 
8. Willie and Frank then returned for another round of You Know What I Hate? Only this time their back to their original job as messengers to do the same old, but funny, routine.
9. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week we got a lesson in Chroma Key, aka green screen technology, when Guest answers a viewer letter about how the screen on the wall actually works only to find the when he takes the green screen down he is completely wrong and it actually Gary Kroeger's warbly voiced documentary announcer character who runs everything through a projector even though it would be impossible to really work that way. 
10. Power Station then took to the stage to perform Some Like It Hot. 
11. For either the second or third time in a row, I couldn't find this week's installment of First Draft Theatre available anywhere on the internet and am now ahead of the site that I used to reference so I have no idea what this sketch was about.
12. We then got a fake ad for the upcoming Linda Evans & Joan Collins Catfight Album called Dynasty's Greatest Fights but there wasn't even one example of a parody song.
13. Tom, Dick & Horny is another sketch that I couldn't find anywhere on the internet by due to the title I ended up with some very interesting results.
14. Power Station returned to the stage to perform Get It On (Bang A Gong).
15. Bullet Cartoon was the third sketch of the night that I couldn't find anywhere in order to watch it and have no idea what it's about.
16. Finally, Pamela Sue Martin closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show started with an MTV news parody about how Prince wasn't part of the USA For Africa video due to an incident where his bodyguards beat up a group of his fans outside an LA restaurant so to make up for his absence he put out a video of his own called I Am Also The World where Mr. T and Hulk Hogan play the bodyguard as Billy Crystal in blackface once again brags about his humanitarian efforts involved in bailing the bodyguards out. Any time famous singer steps up to the mic to join in on the song either Mr. T or Hulk Hogan quickly takes them out and of course, the song ends on the line, "Live from New York..."
2. Mr. T & Hulk Hogan then officially opened the show with a monolog that's more of a wrestling promo about their upcoming main event at WrestleMania I which was taking place the very next day. They also threaten the audience to laugh or else everyone involved in the show will get beat up and Mr. T proves that they are not joking by beating up a heckler that he grabbed from out of the crowd.
3. Fisherman Bob is a pitchman who is trying to sell toxic waste as a solution to useless lures and bait.
4. We then meet a young man and his family who are looking for a summer camp to send the boy off to. One camp's marketing director comes to sell the family on Crystal Lake, the same Crystal Lake from Friday The 13th the kid is aware of all the murders as if it were not a movie which really freaks the kid out. Then the marketing director opens the door to reveal Jason and everyone's hair lifts off their heads in fear because it's definitely implied that they are as good as dead.  
5. We then got a repeat of the Ronald Reagan Jeans ad from earlier this season.
6. Fernando's Hideaway returns with both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan as guests and again it's almost like a legitimate interview only with, "You look marvelous," being repeated again and again and again... but the WrestleMania aspect kept me from getting too annoyed. It also gets pretty funny when both Mr. T and Hulk break from the intimidating characters that they've been playing in every sketch of the night so far.
7. Fin-de-Siecle Prison Homosexuality was an investigative sketch that exposes the homosexual acts that ran ramped in the prison system around 1899. We then cut from the host who is introducing the piece to see Martin Short's first night in jail where Christopher Guest plays more of a romantic than the rough prison rapist that he's built up to be, especially when I assumed that either Hulk Hogan or Mr. T would have been involved. By the end of the sketch, Martin Short is in love and Belushi who plays his cellmate wants to hear all about it in a very gossipy way.
8. Billy Crystal then got a segment to share a short film that he made about his life as a substitute teacher before his comedy career. Of course, it's a sketch that parodies the cliche white teacher who is sent to the roughest school in the district to solve all the problems in their world only in this sketch the bad ass students are only in the third grade. It also has a School Of Rock vibe to it being that he decided to teach them stand-up comedy over anything they could actually use.
9. We then got a fake ad for Ohio Saving and Loan where you will be saving your money because the bank won't let you in the door to get near it as if the bank's sudden closure was actually a good thing.
10. Steve Landesberg then made his SNL debut to perform one of his stand-up routines after having to turn down his original intended role as the host of this episode. 
11. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week
12. The Joe Franklin Show returns for another boring segment that parody's the real show, with the same name, that I'm not aware of enough to appreciate the joke even though I do actually get it. As always, the guests are kind of funny and weird, especially since they got the real Liberace since he was also a part of WrestleMania I.
13. The Commodores then took to the stage to perform Night Shift.
14. One of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T's WrestleMania opponent, Rowdy Roddy Piper and his "manager" for the fight, Cowboy Bob Orton, then got a shot to cut a wrestling promo for WrestleMania one and Piper outshines both his opponents in his ability to deliver his lines which might be why his partner for the match, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff wasn't involved. Hell, even Bob Orton was a better actor and he did nothing but pace around the scene.  
15. Martin Short then makes an appearance as his sleazy lawyer character, Nathan Thurm in his first full-blown sketch outside of the news and his first "60 Minutes" appearance. In the sketch, we meet his mistress just before he gets caught by her husband who also used to be a good friend but he denies everything through obvious lies and the type double talk that only a sleazy lawyer would try to pull off.  
16. The Commodores then returned to the stage to perform Animal Instinct.
17. Finally, Mr. T and Hulk Hogan closed the show by thanking the audience and saying their goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show started with a fake ad for the fake mini-series A.D. 13, Part V, A New Beginning that makes fun of how fictionalized these historical specials have grown to become while stunt casting the TV special. Of course, the ad ended with the "Pope" announcing, "Live from New York..." 
2. Christopher Reeve then officially opened the show in a bunny suit for to celebrate Easter to go into his monolog about how he loves the show for how they treat the host with dignity. He then goes on to share his non-Superman stage roles to show that he's more than a one trick pony.
3. We then went straight from the monolog to a sketch that shares Chris Reeve's "Superman Auditions" and how he got the role after being third in consideration to both Gary Kroeger and Rich Hall, with Kroeger in the definite lead. During the second scene of the audition, the director uses a live gun to test the scene where Superman catches a bullet with his teeth. Reeve is unable to catch the bullet because they keep bouncing off his teeth, Rich Hall does it perfectly and Kroeger is shot dead making Rich Hall the new front of the pack. In scene three, the test if to crush a piece of coal into a diamond. This time Reeve is too strong and smooshes the coal to oil and once again Rich Hall does a perfect job. Finally, we end on a heat vision scene were, once again, Rich Hall outshines Christopher Reeve to get the part but can't take it because of his busy schedule leaving our host with the part of Superman by default and the director and casting agent both seemed pretty peeved.
4. Jackie Rogers Jr.'s $100,000 Jackpot Wad was a game show sketch hosted by Martin Short's Jackie Rogers Jr. character where celebrity contestants, Captain Kangaroo and Sammy Davis Jr. try to win money for the non-famous partners by playing a $10,000 Pyramid-like game.
5. Steven Wright then returned to the show for yet another stand-up routine and I'm happy to see every appearance.
6. We then went to a war scene during WWII where a group of American fighters get stuck in a church and come up with a bunch of dumb escape plans the first being to sneak by the enemies by dressing as nuns. When they test this first one out the soldier gets shot right away so they move on to test two where Belushi tries to get Reeve to also dress as a nun but this time claim to be a penguin but he is just not having it so Belushi shoots him thinking he's a spy then goes on to get everyone else killed because of his dumb ideas. 
7. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week, Jim Belushi got a segment to comment on the breaking up of AT&T due to monopoly concerns and his outrage over the noticed change in service, Paul Harvey also returned for his awkward delivery of the news and Billy Crystal got a segment as his Vaudeville character to comedically complain about the horrible quality of modern entertainment and goes to the audience where he finds Larry Bud Melman!!!
8. Santana then took to the stage to perform Say It Again. 
9. We then got to see Superman as an old man living in a nursing home where everyone thinks he's crazy for claiming to be the superhero even though in the world of the sketch, he's actually telling the truth. Though the concept is fun, this sketch runs pretty long, especially considering there is pretty mush only one note. 
10. Talk Back was a talk show host where Christopher Guest interviews an Amish man about the communities hatred of the movie Witness with very specific details of how the movie got them wrong, except for the building of the whorehouse but it turned out the guest wasn't Amish at all but is instead a guy just pranking the show. The "real guest" then arrives only he ended up being a prankster as well.
11. Santana then returned to the stage to perform Right Now.
12. Finally, Christopher Reeve closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. The week's show started with another round of "You Know What I Hate?" with Franky and Willie where all is the same only this time they're working behind the scenes at the show and then close out the season with the last, "Live from New York..." 
2. Howard Cosell then officially opened the show with a dry but funny monolog about how he started the original Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell on ABC a decade before SNL and how great he is as a broadcaster and how without him there would be not NBC Saturday Night Live.
3. Jim Belushi then played a hospitalized mobster boss who complains about his life, in particular, his crazy hospital roommate who he sent out to get his lunch that turns out to be Ed Grimley who spills hot soup on Belushi, sending him out of the room leaving Martin Short to do more Ed Grimley stuff until a member of a rival gang mistakes Grimley for the mob boss and tries to take his life. Howard Cosell then entered the room as Uncle Grimley complete with Grimley hair to help save Ed Grimley's life. 
4. Inside Out was a talk show sketch where the women of the show finally get to shine as they talk about women's books and Julia Louis-Dreyfus does a spit take every time she hears a little-known fact about powerful women throughout history or any other interesting fact.
5. Run, Throw & Catch Like A Girl Olympics was a sketch where Howard Cosell covers an event that is exactly what they title says that it is men acting like men until it's time to compete where they totally perform like girls.
6. We then went to Howard Cosell's Bar Mitzvah back in 1930 where he plays his own day to celebrate a child version of himself's journey into manhood and the two have the same exact voice as does his mom and the rest of the family which is the main joke of the sketch other than a few of the less offensive Jewish stereotypes. 
7. Sports Beat is a sports talk show sketch where Howard Cosell host a show to talk about his hatred of boxing as a sport and then does a profile on a Billy Crystal character who plays a seventy-year-old ex-boxer who's planning a comeback for another fight.
8. Once again, Christopher Guest gave us the news. This week, Martin Short returned as his sleazy lawyer character to defend a client that was creating "living unicorns" by mutilating goats with cruel surgical technics, Gary Kroeger's projection guy also returned to explain an issue that Christopher Guest was having with his green screen, and Rich Hall returned as the guy who wandered into the White House on inauguration day to share his story about wander into the MLB summer training camp and ended up on a bunch of baseball cards.
9. Greg Kihn then took to the stage to perform Boys Won't. 
10. Fernando's Hideaway then returned for another segment of more of the say where Fernando does an almost realistic interview with Howard Cosell pepper with the repeated catchphrase of, "You look marvelous," combined with the accent seems to be the only joke.
11. A Couple Of Red Guys Rap was pretty much the same as A Couple Of White Guys only it's two Russian's doing a Russian themed cliche, even for the time, rap song.
12. Good Sex with Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a parody of Dr. Ruth's real talk show where this week she interviews Dr. Seuss along with Howard Cosell. Where Cosell wants to talk about resisting his urges while on the road to be true to his wife, Dr. Seuss rambles on about his crazy characters with a fictional solution to Cosell's problem that doesn't make any sense but then eventually turns out to be legit.
13. Greg Kihn then took to the stage to perform Lucky.
14. Finally, Howard Cosell closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

SNL: SEASON TEN SUMMARY