The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with Madonna and since she was the host of last season's opening show, she was sent with a special message to explain away the said season by saying that "It Was All A Dream," before announcing, "Live from New York..." 
2. Sigourney Weaver then officially opened the show with a monolog about her successful career and the doubts that she received from her acting teachers when she was coming up. She then brings out the one playwright that believed in her and hired for all of his work. The two then attempted to perform a piece from one of his plays only to have the production booth cut them off by throwing to commercial. 
3. The commercial they threw to felt like the setup to a softcore porn with two young adults flirting with slightly suggestive shots but it turned out to be an ad for General Dynamics. This idea is always pretty funny but in this case, I didn't think there was enough connection for the misdirection to have the effect they were going for.
4. We then went to a scene with Nora Dunn trying to convince a very rich looking Sigourney Weaver that her new boyfriend is cheating. Sigourney doesn't buy it one bit even though the evidence is there. Then, The Pathological Liar entered the scene as he turns out he is the man in question and he manages to lie his way out of the situation using his obvious lies. 
5. Quiz Masters was game show sketch hosted by Phil Hartman where Dana Carvey plays a contestant that can see the future and can answer all of the questions before they are even asked, making his competitor very frustrated. Eventually, Dana keeps seeing the answer meteor only to keep getting it wrong, which not only causes him to lose points but makes him really confused because his visions are always right. It finally turns out that the meteor he was seeing was literal as one crashes through the ceiling killing the competition and giving Dana the default win
6. The Amazing Alexander was a fake ad for a hypnotism show that's playing on Broadway where the audience members being interviewed for reviews all have the same exact hypnotized response saying that the show was even better than Cats.
7. Hef-Tea Tea Bags was a fake ad for a new line of tea bags that are as durable as a garbage bag, at least that what I assume because I could only find a still picture of the scene while looking on the internet.
8. Church Chat then made its debut where the Church Lady interviews Sigourney's playwright friend from the monolog, about his relationship with... "SATAN." She then goes on to interview a fictional actress again about her connection with... "SATAN." Guest number three is Ann Landers who gets the same Church Lady treatment. Finally, Sigourney entered the scene as her possessed character from the movie Ghostbusters and she too gets the Church Lady to rant about her "SATAN" concerns but she also too possessed to care.
9. Buster Poindexter then took to the stage to perform Smack Dab In The Middle. 
10. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson got a segment where she shared a film clip from her trip to Iceland where she was going to meet with Ron Reagan only the film clips share her family moments from the trip and she never ended up talking about politics at all because it's not a high priority to her. Dennis Miller also introduced a character of his own named Coco the Clown as he mimes his way through eating a sandwich before through to A. Whitney Brown for another one of his Big Picture segments where he talks about the latest US/Russian peace talks. 
11. Mr. Subliminal then made his debut to the show where Kevin Nealon talks people into seeing things his way by using his subliminal style of talk.
12. Alienses was a parody follow-up to Aliens where Sigourney Weaver and the cast are stuck in space waiting for the next alien attack. Eventually, an alien does show up on their radar and when it gets near the door they shoot it unseen only to find out that they accidentally ended up killing E.T. because their ship landed on the wrong planet. 
13. We then got an Anti-Crime Ad where Phil Hartman shares a new law where committing murder in New York City will land you ten whole weeks in jail.
14. Buster Poindexter then returned to the stage with Sigourney Weaver and the two sang Baby It's Cold Outside in a performance/sketch.
15. Dana Carvey then portrayed Derek Stevens to perform his classic rendition of the song Choppin' Broccoli AKA The Lady I Know.
16. We then got a short film that was a satire of French Cinema as it followed three French Filmmakers discussing their pretentious ideas for a project.
17. Sigourney Weaver and her playwright friend then sang a medley of show tunes and pop hits. 
18. Finally, Sigourney Weaver closed the night by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a Bartles & Jaymes parody where Phil Hartman and A. Whitney Brown play the two pitchmen who have a special message where they warn the audience about the effects of crack cocaine. They end their cautionary ad with the announcement of, "Live from New York..." 
2. Malcolm-Jamal Warner then officially opened the show with a monolog about how even though he now has a luxurious life, deep down he is just a regular guy who is nervous about this live appearance. He then goes into a routine about how he had a dance prepared but was too nervous to give it a try. That is until Dana Carvey joined him on stage to do a dance of his own that is so stereotypically white, Malcolm-Jamal loses his fear and begins to share his moves.
3. Team Xynex was a fake ad for an office system design company like Xerox that provides support for slacker industries for "People with time on their hand."
4. We then got a Donahue parody where Phil Hartman played Phil Donahue to host a show about women trapped in exploitive relationships that now seems like an extremely tame parody when compared to the real life, Jerry Springer Show.
5. This was followed by a parody of The Cosby Show where Malcolm-Jamal wishes he was part of a different family and ends up on The Crosby Show with Bing Crosby as the abusive father making Malcolm-Jamal second-guess his wish. The sketch then turned into a Wizard of Cos sketch when the great pudding pitchman informs Malcolm-Jamal he can get back home by clicking his heels together three times while saying, "I won't try, I will."
6. Spike Lee then took to the stage as Mars Blackmon to introduce Run-DMC who then went on to perform Walk This Way.
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Kevin Nealon made his news debut to ramble on about the Middle East bragging that he's not using cue cards which led to him to ramble about nothing at all as he just shares random stories. Dana Carvey also portrayed Casey Kasem to answer some viewer mail about a murder using that classic Casey Kasem tone before giving his top three music hit count down and moving on to the trivia question of the week.
8. We then met Johnny O'Connor, played by Phil Hartman, who was a famed WWII actor that's on the verge of getting fired because of the changing times. Even though Jon Lovitz, who plays a producer, is blatantly saying it's over, Johnny O'Connor treats this news as if they were subtle signs of progress. He eventually talks Lovitz into keeping him on for one more film but it turns out he's just going to be an extra in a crappy Godzilla knock-off.
9. Instant Coffee was a talk show sketch hosted by Kevin Nealon who interviews Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks as The Sweeney Sisters following their quick song and dance.
10. Once again Malcolm-Jamal plays Theo with a message against drinking and driving that makes fun of "The Contract," craze that was going on at the time where teens would promise to call their parents if they ever get too drunk to drive, without the fear of trouble. Apparently, this was a time when drinking and driving was still okay to have fun with.
11. Sam Kinison then returned to the show for another stand-up performance that doesn't age well with time.
12. Run-DMC then returned to the stage to perform Hit It, Run. 
13. Dover Chalk Works is another sketch that was cut from reruns that I was unable to find on the internet.
14. We then got a short film that seemed to have been directed by Spike Lee about a Jazz musician trying to make some money on the streets of New York to support his son only to be taunted by a group of hip-hop fans who end up stealing what little money that was donated in a story that was more sentimental than funny but was also pretty good.
15. Buster Poindexter then took to the stage to perform Hit The Road Jack.
16. Finally, Malcolm-Jamal Warner closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a Newsreel breaking down the news from the week focusing on how the Mets surprise win of the World Series led to SNL being preempted and not going out live for the first time in the show's eleven years on the air.
2. We then got what would have been the opening sketch that would have been the first segment if the show didn't get a late start due to the game. In the sketch, we are in Rosanna Arquette's dressing room when Jan Hooks finds out about the Neck With The Producer sketch that isn't on the schedule because it turns out The Pathological Liar claimed to be Lorne Michaels and used this as an excuse to sneak in a make-out session. Then the real Lorne Michaels entered the scene and contemplates giving the Neck With The Producer sketch a shot, only Rosanna has different thoughts as she announces, "Live from New York..." 
3. Rosanna Arquette then officially opened the show with a monolog about the midterm elections and how she can't speak openly about her political views because that would me the show would have to provide equal time to promote the politician who she secretly tries to bash.
4. We then got a parody of The People's Court where Rosanna Arquette sues the Devil because the Beauty Salon that she sold her soul for didn't turn out to be as successful as she was hoping due to the devil's clause in the contract to where her hair cuts were so good that her customers never needed to return.
5. Church Chat then returned for another installment whereas always the Church Lady grills her guest about their relationship with "SATAN," which I loved as a kid but I think this will get old rather quick since I already got burnt out on the character one way back when these episodes originally aired. 
6. We then got a fake ad for The Helmsley Spook House hosted by Leona Helmsley in her Midtown Manhattan Hotel where they don't use peeled grapes for their bowl full of eye balls, being that their clients are so rich they get to experience the real deal and the same goes for all of their Halloween haunted house props.
7. Ric Ocasek then took to the stage to perform Emotion In Motion. 
8. We then got a fake ad for Pork where Kevin Nealon plays an Olympic athlete with pork as his preferred fuel for his workouts. 
9. Once again Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, A. Whitney Brown dropped in with another Big Picture segment where he discusses the latest increase in censorship in the increasingly conservative political environment of the time, while also working in a C.H.U.D. joke. 
10. The Sammies was a sketch where two best buds named Sammy hang out in their man cave to watch the game while discussing their plans to improve their lives only to instantly admit that these are improvements that neither of them will ever get to. Nora Dunn, who plays the sister, then arrives with her boyfriend who eventually falls into the slacking Sammies trap as he joins in on their drunken conversation instead of getting ready for his business trip.
11. Dog Baseball was a film bit where we went to a field to watch a bunch of dogs that do dog things that are edited together to look like they are playing baseball against their owner.
12. Make Joan Baez Laugh was a parody of Make Me Laugh where comedian contestants are challenged to do as the title suggest and make the moody musician laugh. It's set up that this would be an impossible feat but all that it took was "Howie Mandell" to do his famous inflate a rubber glove over his head trick to get her to laugh until the water she's drinking sprays right out of her nose.
13.  We then got a follow-up to the fade ad for Pork where once again it is promoted as the meat for those who are on a health kick and need the extra energy to work out because this was apparently from a time where pork was an unhealthy meat and not the acceptable protein that it's returned to be these days.
14. Ric Ocasek then returned to the stage to perform Keep On Laughin'. 
15. Koko, Mishu, and Lebee was a fairy tale told by Jane Hooks about two clowns named Koko and Mishu and a giant named Lebee who scamper about the forest as the scenes that Jane introduces play out in the style of a children's stage play.
16. Rosanna Arquette then played a punk rock girl in a coffee shop who sing a song called I Saw God about how she saw God in said coffee shop and how he's the one to blame for her rebellious look and way of being. 
17. Pango, Giant Dog of Tokyo was another sketch that was cut from reruns and that I couldn't find anywhere on the internet.
18. We then got a short film by Jim Jarmusch that is Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni segment from the feature film that came out decades later called Coffee And Cigarettes.
19. Finally, Rosanna Arquette closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with another installment of Church Chat where the Church Lady announced that she will not appear on this week's episode to protest the show's decision to have the ex-preacher turned foul-mouthed comedian, Sam Kinison as the host of the show. After her announcement of protest, she then calls Sam out and tracks him down back stage for a confrontation only to end up getting grabbed by the tiny loud man who then forces her to make out before he goes on to make an announcement of his own, which of course was, "Live from New York..."
2. Sam Kinison then officially opened the show by playing guitar with G.E. Smith and The Saturday Night Live Band before performing a medley of his stand-up routines before cops on horses cut him off. 
3. We then got a fake ad for the first new car available for under $200 because it's made out of adobe clay which is where it gets the Adobe name as its brand.
4. This was followed by a Parent-Teacher Conference where Kevin Nealon and Jan Hooks meet up with their daughter's teacher, played by Sam Kinison, who confronts the proud parents with the news that their daughter is dumb while sharing her school work that looks perfectly normal for a four-year-old, which was the age of said child in the world of the scene. At the end of the sketch, after Kinison had already berated the poor child, who isn't physically in the scene, we find out that he isn't even the teacher and is just some guy who wandered in off the street and he jumps out the window after the truth is revealed that not even the school principal knew who he was or how he got access to the room.
5. The Jungle Room was a black and white sketch taking place in 1943 where Jon Lovitz plays a jazz club owner who has a loud awkward conversation with his mom on the phone to show us that these random outbursts are just his normal tone when having a conversation. After the call, Lovitz gets a visit from a private detective where the two have an old-timey argumentative conversation before Lovitz performed a Bing Crosby style of a song. The sketch then continued on but it didn't make much sense as it just continued to highlight how Lovitz's character could go from calm to explosive over anything at any time in the sentence of dialog he is delivering.
6. Ching Chang's Pet Chicken Shop was a sketch that I fear from the title alone only to play out as expected with Dana Carvey playing a horribly offensive Chinese character who runs the titular pet shop who both tries to run his store while talking the customers out of buying his beloved birds as pets. This sketch would actually be adorable if it wasn't for the horrendous fake accent that causes a humungous cringe when listening to it through modern ears. 
7. Lou Reed then took to the stage to perform I Love You, Suzanne.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson got another segment to talk about terrorism where she took to the New York streets in an attempt to find terrorists, only to end up showing nothing but home videos of her and her daughter in the park just like she did the last time she was on the news.
9. Sam Kinison then played a contestant on a parody of The Love Connection where he played his bitter sexist self where he discusses his date with a pair of dominatrix lesbians who treated his like a horse to get his semen in order for the two women to have their own child, who he chose over the two nice average women that he could have chosen instead as per the game show's rules.
10. Dana Carvey then played The Dancing Lord from Victorian times who hired a sketch artist to capture his image with a drawing but won't stop dancing long enough for any of the artists to capture a pose, who are then shot for their artistic failures. Jon Lovitz then entered the scene as an artist who required movement in order to create his works so he gets Dana to dance around the room at such a rapid pace that he eventually passes out, giving Lovitz as still subject to finally fulfill the artistic task. 
11. Krypton Survives was a sketch about Superman's parents when it turned out that their home planet didn't actually explode made we got to see how they react to the horrible mistake that they made with their one and only son as the surviving parents from all over the planet confront the super parents about their miscalculation about the end of their super world.
12. Lou Reed then returned to the stage to perform Original Wrapper.
13. Sam Kinison then got a segment to do stand-up
14. Finally, Sam Kinison closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with Robin Williams as Ronald Reagan as we get to hear the information being told to the president through his earpiece as he gives an important speech to the press, only to get confused by the technology which leads to a very awkward appearance especially when the earphone feed starts to pick up competing channels until it lands on NBC which leads to the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Robin Williams then officially opened the show with a bit from his stand-up routine where he continued to make fun of the president.
3. We then went to Paul Simon and Jan Hooks standing in line for a movie when Kevin Nealon played a session band member who Paul remembered right away along with a few obscure details. He then runs into Victoria Jackson and remembers her right away as well. It eventually turns out that his memory is so great that he remembers random people who he spotted in the crowd at his concerts. Then Art Garfunkel showed up and Paul Simon had no idea who he was even with blatant clues.
4. This was followed by a sketch that took place during Shakespearean Days where Robin Williams gets hired to be in Hamlet but then hijacks the performance with the Robin Williams brand of improv which everyone but Shakespeare loves.
5. Paul Simon and LadySmith Black Mambaza then took to the stage to perform Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes.
6. This was followed by a fake ad for the New York Word Exchange where you can invest in words to make money if they become a popular trend but the ad also comes with a warning that some words go out of fashion.
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, A. Whitney Brown dropped in for another Big Picture segment where he discusses the censorship that took place during last week's episode with Sam Kinison as the host.
8. We then went to a Jewish old folk home where The Sweeney Sisters entertained the geriatric audience with lounge versions of classic Jewish songs. The sketch ended with a nice little duet between Paul Simon and Robin Williams.
9. The Master Thespian then returned to the show in a sketch that takes place in 1937 where his amazing acting keeps getting interrupted the sound effect of a ship's horn and when he's not interrupted he delivers the wrong lines.
10. Paul Simon then returned to the stage by himself to perform The Boy In The Bubble. 
11. We then got a fake PSA from the Automobile Club Of America where Kevin Nealon tries to inform the views on how to use a physical paper map being that this was a real problem at the time.
12. Once again Paul Simon returned to the stage by himself to perform The Late Great Johnny Ace.
13. Finally, Robin Williams closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started at the Gerald Ford Clinic for a meeting of Stumblebums Anonymous where everyone at the meeting is a complete clod especially Chevy Chase who plays the group leading that crashes into everything as he crossed the room only to end up on the ground to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short then officially opened the show with a monolog where they introduced themselves individually then Chevy Chase jokes about his latest stay in a Rehab Facility. Steve Martin then gets his turn where he fakes a panic attack causing him to leave the stage and the other two follow and attempt to rebuild his confidence. It works as Steve Martin marches around the backstage area declaring his newly found courage which eventually evolves into a song.
3. This was followed by a sketch in a suburban home where Chevy Chase plays the father who is looking for the TV remote by digging in the couch where he finds everything from change to a piece of classic art and even their dead cat but there is no sign of the channel changer that started the quest in the first place, until finally, he pulls out Victoria Jackson in a French Maid outfit who physically changes the channels for the family. 
4. Ed Grimley then made his return to the show to do his Ed Grimley thing while hanging out in his studio apartment while making Christmas treats that he ends up burning to a crisp. This leaves him with nothing to give out as gifts and he is too broke to simply start over. Eventually, the devil arrives to buy Grimley's soul in exchange for a fifty dollar gift card. After legitimately weighing it out Grimley decides not to give into temptations as he tells the devil no but the two hang out and play the triangle even though the deal didn't go through. 
5. Steven Martin then shared his Holiday Wish that starts out sharing his dreams of world peace but then builds to a laundry list of wishes that do nothing but fulfill Steve Martin's own greedy/power hungry needs. 
6. Randy Newman then took to the stage to perform Longest Night. 
7. We then went to the White House to catch the end of an interview with President Reagan who comes across as a complete idiot. The moment the reporter leaves the room, Reagan switches gears where he seems more like the Master Brain who runs the oval office with a totally competent tone. This switching back and for from being brainy to dumb keeps going on every time the President gets a new visitor that isn't involved with his evil plans. 
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news with Chevy Chase as his guest co-host. This week, The Pathological Liar dropped in for a segment where he lies about his involvement in the Iran Contra Scandal.
9. The Eggshell Family was a family sit-com of a sketch where everyone in the family is walking on Eggshells as they all seemed terrified about how the father of the family is going to react to even the slightest of issue that comes up. We then met Steve Martin who played the dad and it's not that he's angry or aggressive but passively terrified about everything so they are all just trying to save him from the stress.
10. The Pat Stevens Show then returned and even though it's a new season, the is pretty much the same as every other Pat Stevens sketch from last year only instead of viewer mail she started the sketch by flipping through a magazine before interviewing Jan Hooks who was playing some politician that must have been in the news at the time but just like the other installments of this segment, I don't know the reference material and don't find this character to be funny enough to where I have yet to care whenever this segment appears on an episode's sketch list.
11. Church Lady then returned to the show only in this appearance she isn't hosting her talk show but is instead having Potluck Luncheon where she still berates everyone claiming that they are working in cahoots with "SATAN" finding sin in even the most innocent of the luncheon's guests.
12. Randy Newman then returned to the stage to perform Roll With The Punches. 
13. Halsey & Roarke: British Customs Agents was a profile sketch where we got introduced to Eric Idle and Dana Carvey who are playing British customs agents who are overly protective about what they let into the country where they treat even the most innocent souvenir/container as if it were a way to smuggle drugs as they arrest every person in line. 
14. Finally, The Three Amigos closed the show by thanking the audience and saying their goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started in Teheran to witness the Iranian governments' take on the Iran Contra Scandal where they are upset with their version of the guy who set up the trade with the US in a sketch that isn't all that culturally sensitive, ending with a bunch of Arabs swinging swords as Jon Lovitz announces, "Live from New York..."
2. Steve Guttenberg then officially opened the show with a monolog about returning home for his high school reunion while also reflected on his days in the high school marching band and how even though he's now a big star he was still treated like the band nerd. He finished his bit with a performance of the song War (What Is It Good For) on tuba and does a pretty good job.
3. McSooshi was a parody ad for a fast food Sushi chain with a McDonald's vibe. 
4. We then got another visit from Derek Stevens, the Choppin' Broccoli man, who attempts to put out a follow-up hit while his manager and PR specialist try to convince him that he will make more money if he were to be dead and then try to talk him into killing himself. Derek thinks this is a bad idea and claims to have another hit only when he sits down to play it's the same exact tune as Choppin' Broccoli only this time the course is My Tiny Little Lady which isn't good in either the sketch or real life so his manager wants to stick to plan A and gives Derek the keys to a car that I'm sure has been tampered with in order to facilitate Derek's early demise.
5. Steve Guttenberg then played a guy who tries to seduce Jon Lovitz who is playing a blind guy by talking with a woman's voice. When Lovitz finds out what is going on he kicks Guttenberg out of his room but again, with Lovitz being blind, Guttenberg keeps sneaking back into bed in efforts to get Lovitz to sleep with him.
6. The Pretenders then took to the stage to perform Don't Get Me Wrong. 
7. Sideshow Of The Stars was a parody of The Circus Of The Stars where Penn plays a Carnival Barker who introduces a group of celebrity freaks who have been pulled together to put on this special event.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, we went to the National Spelling Bee where we learned how low American standards have dropped by the words used for the competition and Nora Dunn returned as her French model character for a segment on how America can better their relationship with her homeland.
9. We then went to a sketch where Steve Guttenberg and Victoria Jackson visit her family for an introduction where we learn that the entire family has Limited Movie Knowledge and get all mixed up when it comes to discussing Guttenberg's acting career as they are way off in remembering who was in what or even how they even felt about the movies that they've actually seen.
10. Penn and Teller then returned to the show for another one of their comedic magic acts. During this visit, the two magicians used technology to pull off their magic trick with Penn in Time Square and Teller back in the studio where he is operating the big screen TV/billboard to pull off this special trick claiming that computers are actually doing all the work. 
11. The Back Page was a sketch that shares the tale of a group of old-timey news writers from the black and white days who write the stories that aren't good enough for the prime real estate on the front page as we see the group fight over the scraps of mundane content to work on.
12. The Pretenders then returned to the stage to perform How Much Did You Get For Your Soul?
13. Kevin Nealon then played a talent agency who is able to direct and gauge Victoria Jackson's audition while talking on the phone. That is until she starts to misread Kevin Nealon's talking hand gestures as cues and ends up falling out of the high rise window without Nealon even noticing.
14. We then got to see the short film/mockumentary starring Tim Robbins that went on to become a feature film with the same title and that film is called Bob Roberts that follows the life of a fictional poet/folk singer with more of an aggravated/conservative voice than you'd expect from anyone performing in this genre.
15. This was followed by a sketch called Alcoholic Christmas Spirit where Phil Hartman plays a drunk father who is super excited about the holiday even though it two weeks away. His drunken enthusiasm is great for the kids but the wife seems to be wanting an intervention in order to mellow her drunk husband out.
16. Chrissie Hynde and Buster Poindexter then took to the stage to perform Rockin' Good Way.
17. Finally, Steven Guttenberg closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with The Ballad Of Mute Marine that paid tribute to Oliver North for his silence during the Iran Contra Scandal hearings with Shatner as the non-speaking Oli who finally breaks his silence to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. William Shatner then officially opened the show with a monolog where he promotes Star Trek IV before delving into so Star Trek Humor.
3. We then went straight from the monolog into a sketch to show the audience what a typical Star Trek Convention looks like as we went to a room filled with nerds, mostly in glasses, who geek out over the Star Trek event. After a few moments of getting to meet the nerdy crowd, Shatner takes to podium to answer a few of the fans questions, only to shut them down right away because he doesn't know the show as well as they do which leads the former fictional captain to tell yell at his fan base to "Get a life," and stop obsessing over this show that was canceled over a decade ago, only to change his tone back to a positive one after the event coordinator gives the Shat his paycheck for showing up to the event. 
4. This was followed by a holiday party at The Sweeney Sisters where Shatner plays one of the sister's date, who announces the two are engaged before the sibling duo performs a medley of Christmas tunes. I kept waiting for Shatner to join in but that moment never came. 
5. We then got a T.J. Hooker parody and even though I found this sketch to be funny because of how silly it was, I don't know the reference material enough to get some of the inside jokes that got the audience laughing when I didn't really understand why. 
6. Lone Justice then took to the stage to perform Shelter.
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Al Franken dropped by as the show's medical specialist to talk about President Reagan's prostate issues that were recently in the news only to cringe and squint while discussing any part of the procedure that has to deal with handling the patient's junk.
8. This was followed by a parody called Star Trek V, The Restaurant Enterprise where, like the title suggest, the Enterprise is now a restaurant and Captain Kirk is the restaurant's host with the rest of his peace promoting crew members filling in as the rest of the staff. Kahn eventual joins the scene with an inspector from the health department in his attempt to shut the restaurant die, only Kirk foils Kahn's evil plan by paying off the health inspector to get a passing score.
9. We then went to a sketch that took place in a bathroom where Nora Dunn was getting ready to go out for the night. Shatner then entered the scene as her husband only to obsess over himself in the mirror. 
10. Kevin Nealon's Classic Christmas Experience was a sketch where Kevin Nealon played himself to share a Christmas story from when he was a kid. He started by setting up the small town that he grew up in before sharing how easy it was to burglarize the mom and pop shop by breaking into it in the middle of the night before revealing more details of the suburban nightmare with the same enthusiasm you would expect from an excited child. 
11. Lost Ending to It's A Wonderful Life was a parody sketch that shows how this Turner Classic ended before it was cut out. The scene starts with the normal ending but then extends to show Phil Hartman playing Uncle Billy who finally remembered where the money that the town accused him of losing actually went. This leads the Jimmy Stewart character to visit the bad guy banker to start a mini riot while Jimmy beats said banker to the edge of his greedy life. 
12. Lone Justice then returned to the stage to perform I Found Love. 
13. The True Life Of Frankie Toussaint was a black and white short film that follows the star of Cuckoo And The Cuckoo Clock who learns his brother died during an emergency room operation and kills the doctor after learning he was openly negligent. He then goes to court where ineptness leads him to get a death sentence. We then went to death row where not even the preacher who is there to provide our star with his last rights is too incompetent to pull this off. Even in the electric, they don't get it right as they kill our star in the middle of his last words.   
14. Buster Poindexter then took to the stage to perform Zat You, Santa?
15. Finally, William Shatner closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with an NFL Video Countdown hosted by Walter Payton where he shared the "Top NFL Music Videos Of All Time," which is making fun of the music video put out by the Patriots and the Bears to promote the prior year's Super Bowl. The music video being shared in this segment of the count down is entitled, "We Are Kickers (We Kick Ball)," that ends with Walter Payton's announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Joe Montana then officially opened the show with a monolog about how it's nice to be on TV without the fear of getting hit by a player from the defensive line claiming that the last time he was in New York he got a concussion because of such an incident during a game. He then went on to repeat the same exact joke three times in a row as if said concussion was affecting his brain.
3. We then got a repeat of the Adobe sketch from a couple episodes ago.
4. The Pathological Liar then returned to the show. This time, he is hanging out in a bar when in walks Walter Payton who get stuck listening to a flood of lies before making a few lies of his own.
5. We then met a couple who just got home from a first date and we can hear their inner thoughts of turning this into a sexual relationship despite their external dialog's claims that both parties want to take it slow. In walks, Joe Montana as Sincere Guy Stu who is genuinely nice and honest as his inner thoughts match up with every nice word that comes out of his mouth. The dating couple is extremely nervous because they just want to go have sex but apparently, at that time this was an unacceptable thing for roommates to do at least when it comes to TV so they keep lying about scenarios about where Jan Hooks will sleep since she's planning on staying over. They finish the conversation by saying they are just going to hang out in the living room for a while but they will try and keep it down in order to allow Stu silence for his slumber to which Stu replies, "Don't worry, I'll be fine because I'll be up in my room masturbating," followed by his inner thought confirming the alone time plan. 
6. According to the rundown list that I reference, Crack Achievers was supposed to be a parody commercial for crack cocaine that I couldn't find anywhere on the internet.
7. The NFL Today was a parody of the real show with the same name where Kevin Nealon plays the host who interviews Joe Montana as they breakdown the potential of the upcoming Super Bowl before showing Joe Montana the hit that gave him the concussion that was referenced in the opening monolog again and again, and again. There was a second segment of this parody show with a Neil Young interview because he was scheduled to perform the half time show and the final segment was a quick prediction from sports reporter, Jimmy the Greek.
8. Deborah Harry then took to the stage to perform French Kissin' In The USA. 
9. Mace Takes A Hostage was a sketch where Phil Hartman takes Kevin Nealon hostage and despite continually being over powered Kevin Nealon keeps trying to surprise Hartman by attempting to wrestle the gun from his hand. Eventually, Phil Hartman has to go to the bathroom leaving Nealon free to roam around the room and rather than attempt to escape, Kevin rushes to the phone to call the police, only to get caught leading to yet another failed attempt at taking the gun away. 
10. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson got another segment where she was supposed to report on the Iran Contra Scandal but ends up sharing videos with her and her kid who makes predictions in exchange for Cheerios. A. Whitney Brown also dropped in for another Big Picture segment about racism in America. 
11. We then got introduced to Chick Hazard: Private Investigator in a detective show styled sketch with this week's episode titled Eddie's Mistake where Chick investigates Eddie Spimoza's Jungle Room after getting a call about an underage performer at a speakeasy during Prohibition days. We then meet Victoria Jackson playing said young performer who does a horrible rendition of a song from those days. Chick Hazard then arrives to break up the bar owners fun. Nothing fun or funny ever happens I guess they were just making fun of the genre and the old-timey talk of the black and white days of film.
12. Super Bowl Gambling Memories took us back to a game where a last minute Hail Mary catch ruined the odds on favorite chance to win while also ruining a majority of the gambler's bets. 
13. Church Chat then returned for another segment where once again the Church Lady badgers her guests about their relationship with... "SATAN." With both Joe Montana and Walter Payton talking about football this visit to the church was filled with double entendre mainly playing on the word penetration.
14. The Michael Jackson Workout Tape was a fake ad for a workout tape where Walter Payton played a buff Michael Jackson with his new set of exercises to sell.
15. Deborah Harry then returned to the stage to perform In Love With Love. 
16. The United Way was also supposed to be a parody ad and again, I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet.
17. Finally, Joe Montana and Walter Payton closed the show by thanking the audience and saying their goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started in Paul Shaffer's Dressing Room with Paul on the phone to David Letterman admitting that thanks to Late Nite he is now too hip for Saturday Night Live. Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, and Jon Lovitz then enter the room dressed as babies who are bummed out by the fact that Paul back out of the sketch for being too hip to participate but then goes on to explain that the hippest phrase is still, "Live from New York..." 
2. Paul Shaffer then officially opened the show with a monolog about his history with the original cast and how crazy the show used to be back then due to the ego clashes and how he was just as proud to be a member of the Saturday Night Live Band as he was to be part of the cast. In the process of talking about the band, he manages to offend G.E. Smith but this aspect of the bit doesn't last long as the two quickly make up to collaborate on a song about the show.
3. What's My Addiction? was a game show sketch with as the hostess Jan Hooks as Betty Ford and "Johnny Cash", "Liza Minnelli", and "David Crosby" as a panel of celebrity guests who have to ask questions of the show's contestants before guessing what they are addicted to and the contestants earn money for each of the celebrities wrong guesses. 
4. We then went to Paul Shaffer's apartment where he is playing his keytar when Jan Hooks shows up as an Unexpected Guest. It turns out that Paul double booked himself for the evening with two different dates and throughout the entire sketch Shaffer creates a real time sound track with his trusty keytar that he seems so preoccupied with that he doesn't seem to mind when both of the women leave as he instantly bursts into song.
5. This was followed by a fake as for the latest book in the Time Life series called The Grenada Experience which is made up of 48 books, one for each hour of the war.
6. Bruce Hornsby & The Range then took to the stage to perform The Way It Is. 
7. The Pat Stevens Show then returned for another installment even though it has yet to be more than just a tad bit funny at best. As always she starts by answering viewer mail before interviewing her two guests with interviews that are almost too real to be that entertaining but for some reason, they keep coming back to this well.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Kevin Nealon dropped in for another segment on sports where he discusses the Winter Olympics but then ends up meandering through a bunch of his crazy ideas while randomly jumping through topics.
9. We then went to a Chinese restaurant for what in modern days would be an extremely offensive sketch where Dana Carvey's Ching Chang character wins a live chicken before The Sweeney Sisters take to the dining stage to perform a Chinese themed medley of tunes.
10. David Sees Radio Days was a sketch with Jon Lovitz Woody Allen obsessed fan character who acts just like the famed director stands in a long line, Woody Allening it up as he shares his fears that he might not get good seats for the opening night showing as well as a few more neurotic fear by making Woody Allen style asides to the camera. He then runs into a similar Woody Allen fan who doesn't have a ticket so Lovitz offers up his date's ticket because he feels the fellow fan should see the movie first.
11. Bruce Hornsby & The Range then returned to the stage to perform Mandolin Rain
12. Asociacion Mexicana Del Rinon was a fake Spanish ad with no subtitles that is kind of like a modern Cash For Gold ad but from what I can put together between the clues and my limited understanding of Spanish this ad offers money for human organs. 
13. Paul then took to the stage to sing a parody of Frank Sinatra's It Was A Very Good Year only replacing the real words with information about the history of Saturday Night Live.
14. Finally, Paul Shaffer closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started up in heaven with Phil Hartman playing Liberace who plays the piano for a moment, makes a quick joke about the censors allowing the true portrayal of Liberace's Heaven then announces, "Live from New York..."
2. Bronson Pinchot then officially opened the show with a monolog about how everyone mispronounces his last name before telling a story about how he met the love of his life several years early on Valentine's Day in a long winded story with a pretty funny joke that is so quick and subtle that it's easy to miss making this rambling story seem sentimental but pointless because I did catch the joke and still sort of feel the same way about the story. 
3. Amerida is an alternate history sketch where American collapsed and had to sell its assets to Canada leading to a hybrid country called Amerida. We then meet an Ameridan family where the father is still upset about the countries merging even though the rest of his family is now apologetic, says aboot and their new favorite sport is hockey.
4. The Amerida sketch then transitioned into a parody Nightline where a panel of experts analyzed what would happen if the events from this fictional Amerida scenario if anything like it would actually come true, making fun of the goto news talking heads from the time.
5. We then got a visit from Paulina Poriskova about the importance of the Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue during this time of censorship in America acting as if there is more to the special issue than just models in skimpy swimwear.
6. Derek Stevens then returns without acknowledging his death in his last visit but then again, last time they only hinted at his early demise in an attempt to make his library of work more valuable. This time Derek is still at it, trying to adapt his hit Choppin' Broccoli into a commercial only he fears that he is selling out with this new version of the song but Ringo enters the studio to play along on drums Derek instantly changes his tune and enthusiastically plays along.
7. We then went to Nora Dunn's character Babette's apartment where she is getting ready for her Valentine's Day date. Phil Hartman then enters the scene as said date only to be stopped in the entry way by her assistant played by Bronson Pinchot who is doing one of his non-Balki accents. Between Babette's French accent and Bronson accent, this is another one of those sketches where the main joke seems to be that foreigners have a funny way of speaking. 
8. Paul Young then took to the stage to perform War Games. 
9. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Dana Carvey played Jacque Cousteau to share what Valentine's Day means to the sea creatures that he has spent most of his life studying. A. Whitney Brown also dropped in for another Big Picture segment about Congress giving themselves a raise and Dennis Miller tried on a full body condom just before The Naked Gun was even made making me wonder if this was an influence.
10. The Life of Golda Meir was a parody of a TV special that tells the story of Golda Meir, as portrayed by Paulina Poriskova. The scene takes place in the war room where the members of her cabinet are too distracted by her looks to pay attention to what's going on. The final conclusion for the battle plan then ended up being for her to show up in a bikini to distract the opposing forces.
11. We then met a Police Sketch Artist who doesn't use a pad and pencil but instead uses his own facial expressions to reproduce the description being given by the victim.
12. Hardware Store Gigolo was a sketch that took place in a hardware store where Jan Hooks plays an old woman who needs a certain type of screw but doesn't know how to describe it which does nothing but annoy the cashier. Bronson Pinchot then steps in as a suave foreign man to speak in a sexy tone while helping her solve the problem then we eventually find out that he is attempting to be a hardware store gigolo.  
13. Paul Young then returned to the stage to perform The Long Run. 
14. Miss Connie's Fable Nook was another installment of the story time sketch with Koko, Mishu, and Lebee where the two fairy tale clowns and one gentle giant try to make a straight faced princess smile. Only it's not a curse that keeps her from smiling it's just that she didn't find their clown work to be all that funny which they seem to understand as they accept it and leave the scene, leaving the giant for a quick sentimental moment before the sketch came to an end.
15. Buster Poindexter then took to the stage to perform Heart of Gold.
16. Finally, Bronson Pinchot closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a sketch called Afterlifestyles Of The Rich & Famous which of course was a parody of Life Styles Of The Rich & Famous where they showed us the life of Liberace who had died earlier in the month that this episode originally air. Apparently, this is before the invention of the "Too soon," rule as they also made fun of the late celebrity during the last episode which also ended with the announcement of, "Live from New York..." 
2. Willie Nelson then officially opened the show by singing Nightlife instead of giving the traditional monolog. 
3. We then got a repeat of the fake General Dynamics ad from the first episode in the season that I didn't think was all that funny the first time it aired, but then again all that I know of General Dynamics is that my grandfather used to work there and that it has something to do with defense.
4. Great Moments in the History of White Trash was a parody NBC special to highlight the network's devotion to cultural diversity. This first installment shows us Danny DeVito and Nora Dunn as first cousins, white trashing it up as a couple in a diner while sneaking booze into their morning coffee while discussing their white trash plans for the day.
5. We then went to a sketch featuring Danny DeVito getting set up with a Police Wire before going to talk to a mob boss. During his meeting with the mob boss, the gangsters reminisce about things that DeVito has done that are far worse than the reason he is there in the first place as a wire trap.  
6. Great Moments in the History of White Trash then returned for another installment this time we are still in the diner where we see the white trash waitress set a white trash date with one of the white trash guests. Other than the setting a costume design neither of these sketches seemed to portray activities that are all that white trash other than the cousins in love. I mean the first sketch they just make fun of DeVito for working on his car and in the second the joke is about two adults hooking up.
7. Church Chat then returned for more of the same only this week we are back at the church for her interview show where she questions her guest's alliance to... "SATAN." Again, I really liked this character as a child and I'm not sure if it's not funny now and never was or if I am just bored with it because it's been played out over the years because I can still see some of the charm and I don't actually hate it like I do with the Pat Stevens sketch that is continually crammed down our throats. This installment of Church Chat also ended with a nice duet between Willie and the Church Lady singing You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Anymore.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson dropped in for an Entertainment report where she discusses a recent TV special called America that I guess brought up some controversy, she finished her report by doing a handstand on the desk to reveal American Flag underwear while singing America The Beautiful before falling into a split. A. Whitney Brown also dropped in for another Big Picture segment on US and Russian relations that once again is ahead of its time and still extremely relevant today.
9. Redneck Tanning Parlor is a sketch that takes place in a tanning parlor/truck stop where rednecks sit under heating lamps wearing a special vest to give them the perfect farm's tan. Jon Lovitz plays a special customer who has a tan that he wants to turn into a burn in order to not stand out at a wedding he will be attending on the weekend. 
10. Willie Nelson then switched back to music guest mode to perform Partners After All. 
11. Great Moments in the History of White Trash then returned for a third installment. This time we are back at the diner and two pieces of white trash discuss the benefits of hooking up with welfare mothers to freeload off their benefits.
12. The Pathological Liar then visits a country bar where he has a run in with Willie Nelson as himself where the two have a conversation filled with lies.
13. Willie Nelson & Victoria Jackson then performed The Boyfriend Song. 
14. We then went to a Truck Stop where Willie Nelson attempt to pick up on the waitress who just isn't having it as she reveals she used to fall for his trucker tricks and fool around with him whenever he would come through town but is now an "80s woman with a new outlook on life but Willie refuses to give up and eventually wins her over by playing Crazy by Patsy Cline.
15. Once again Willie Nelson finished the night by performing his song called Blue Eyes.
16. Finally, Willie Nelson closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started at the White House with Ron Regan meeting with his Chief Of Staff (COS) for a briefing about The Tower Commissions findings about the Iran Contra Scandal only Ronald doesn't have the time or ability to read and comprehend the full report leading the COS to offer a dumbed down summary that the President is still too out of it to understand. Nancy then enters the room and the office goes silent as she and the COS have an ongoing feud that turns out to stem from an implied affair. Ronald then catches the two making out and thinks it a sign that they have solved their differences, leading to a happy president who announces, "Live from New York..."
2. Valerie Bertinelli then officially opened the show with a monolog about how crazy live TV is versus the nine seasons she spent on One Day At A Time and then goes on to explain how she's now trying to change the innocent image that she developed while on the show, especially since she was then married to Eddie Van Halen and how she feels hosting SNL would actually do the job after a few failed attempts back acting in horror movies.
3. We then got a repeat of the McSooshi sketch from a couple episodes ago where they parody a McDonald's brand of sushi. 
4. We then went to The Hard News Cafe which makes fun of the restaurant chain The Hard Rock Cafe only instead of being music theme the restaurant features collectible items from the news with the top news anchors from the time being the VIP clientele. 
5. Discover was a sketch that seemed to parody the influence of the Discovery Channel because the logo looked the same and it made fun of a science themed show but it was definitely Discover and not Discovery and I'm not sure if this was part of the parody because I am unfamiliar with the show being referenced. Anyways, in the sketch, Phil Hartman plays the host who doesn't seem to know a thing about science as he interviews Jon Lovitz about the basic element and cannot grasp the information being shared even though it's dumbed down for the average home viewer.
6. Dinner with the Van Halens was a sketch that shows Valerie Bertinelli's first dinner at home following the latest Van Halen tour where the roadies and crew member act as servants who sneak around as if they were providing the same stage crew services that they would provide to the band during a concert. 
7. Robert Cray Band then took to the stage to perform Smoking Gun.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, we met the winner/hostage of a win an evening with David Lee Roth contest, and Kevin Nealon also dropped in to talk sports only to end up rambling through a myriad of funny but unrelated topics like this news character of his always does.
9. Ching Chang then returned for another extremely offensive sketch, especially through modern eyes. In the sketch, we are back at the Chicken Pet Shop where Chang refuses to sell chicken for food, which is cute but the accents are atrocious.  
10. Eddie Van Halen then took to the stage where he and the SNL Band performed Stompin' 8H.
11. We then got a fake ad for Washington Center Cosmetic Surgery that seemed like a legitimate ad to the point where if I didn't see that there was a part two I would have no idea there was a joke.
12. Let's Go To The Movies was a cable access show where Valerie Bertinelli and Jan Hooks talk about The Color Of Money mainly focusing on the infatuation with Tom Cruise, leading the two to get into a compliment battle over each other's looks in two very annoying valley girl voices.
13. We then got a follow-up ad to the Washington Center but this Washington Center is a collection of attorneys who specialize in cases over botched face lifts from the Washington Center surgeons. Both ads feature Nora Dunn as the before and after example/host of the commercial.
14. On Broadway was a talk show sketch hosted by Jan Hooks who interviews Phil Hartman as the new King from the King And I, following the death of Uell Brenner. In the sketch, Phil Hartman is super defensive from having to answer the same questions that come with following such a legend, instead of acting humble and pretending the constant comparisons are understandable and don't actually get to him.
15. Robert Cray Band then returned to the stage to perform Right Next Door. 
16. Incompetent Doctor
17. Finally, Valerie Bertinelli closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. Right out the gate, this week's show started with a sketch called Bill's Missing Show that is also missing from this episode and I couldn't find anywhere on the internet, which sucks because this episode already has so few sketches to begin with.
2. Bill Murray then officially opened the show with a monolog about his excitement to return to the show due to his love for the country and desire to rebuild America's lead when it comes to comedy following the foreign film, Crocodile Dundee's, run as the top grossing comedy of the year that led to its Academy Award nomination. 
3. Reach Out was yet another sketch that I couldn't find anywhere on the internet which again, is super disappointing considering how few sketches this episode already had.
4. This was followed by a sketch that took place in Jan Hooks apartment following a One-Night Stand with Bill Murray. It was such a drunken night that Jan slept in until noon and Murray moved in while she was sleeping to the point where he's even started to invite over friends when Jan Hooks thinks the night was a mistake.
5. We then got a parody of Donahue where Phil Hartman played the white haired talk show host to talk about the topic of adults who attempt to regain their celibacy even though they had sex in the past. The guest range from a woman who had sex one with Gallagher and was so turned off she never wanted it again to a porn star who is only celibate outside of work, ending on Jon Lovitz whose celibacy is not his choice but because he is a loser. 
6. Bill Murray's lounge singer character then made his return for the first time in close to a decade where he is now going by Nick Slammer since he's performing for prisoners in jail but other than that it's pretty much the same song and dance as the classic lounge style performances from the past.
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Bill Murray dropped in to revisit his old SNL news routine of sharing his Oscar picks with the rest of this week's edition being just the regular news. 
8. Girl-Crazy Obstetrician was a sketch where Phil Hartman plays an obstetrician who is getting interviews by Time Magazine because of the fact that he's delivered over 4100 babies with each and every baby he's brought into the world being a girl which seems suspicious to Nora Dunn who plays the reporter. Victoria Jackson and Bill Murray then enter the scene as an expecting couple who are there for a checkup and Bill Murray is still holding out for a boy and we also learn that this high female delivery route is due to the at birth sex changes that the doctor's prescribed because of a psychological break that the doctor is suffering from with the hinted at cause that he was abused by a man that his mom forced him to call his uncle as a child. I don't know how this could be justified as funny without even being filtered through modern eyes and hope this wasn't based on a real case from the time. 
9. Percy Sledge then took to the stage to perform When A Man Loves A Woman.
10. This was followed by the classic sketch Il Returno De Hercules where Bill Murray played an out of shape Hercules in an old foreign film tale of the Roman God that had been dubbed over with non-matching American voices. In the sketch, Hercules is supposed to save the day but blows out his back in the process.
11. Mikey Can't Shoot was a sketch that took place in an upper-class household where Bill Murray plays the father of Dana Carvey and berates him for his inability to play a good round of golf that gets so bad Carvey pulls out a gun only to be criticized his inability to shoot as well. The rest of the family then join the scene but instead of helping out, they all pile on until Dana ends up shooting the entire family which finally leads to some praise.
12. Honker Drives A Cab was a sketch where Bill Murray plays a character similar to his character from Caddy Shack who drives Dana Carvey around while carrying on a crazy conversation about his mess of a life that he seems very proud of while Carvey does his best to keep up his side of the conversation as if this guy is completely normal even though he has the look of fear in his eyes.
13. Finally, Bill Murray closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with Charlton Heston as God visiting Oral Roberts at his University to collect on the eight million dollars that he bamboozled from his flock. Oral is so scared by this visit due to the scandalous way he obtained the wealth to pay off the great creator as this was not the deal that was made and he fears eternal punishment. Before the sketch got too deep into either blasphemy or the bashing of TV evangelists, Heston stepped out of his Godly lighting set up to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. Charlton Heston then officially opened the show with a monolog about how excited he is to finally show off his comedic side before sharing a few examples about a few of his films that failed to get laughs before share how truly mundane the week leading up to the show actually was when he was expecting much more excitement from this young, comedic cast.
3. The Fruiting started out looking like it was a parody ad for cereal where fruit falls out of the sky randomly into people's meals like you will often see in a breakfast of candy ad but then more fruit starts to pop up in more ominous situations as the ad's tone changes to be more like an ad for an upcoming horror film about a house that haunted by fruit.
4. The New Paper Chase was a sketch that took place at The University Of Las Vegas. In the sketch, Charlton Heston teaches, what appears to be Ivy League students, the art of dealing blackjack. The rest of the sketch plays out as almost a Good Will Hunting of Casino Management, more in that it parodies that style of school movie being that this originally aired almost a decade before Good Will Hunting came out.
5. Church Chat then returned where as always, the Church Lady badgers her guests about their relationship with... "SATAN." This week's guests are Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, following their recent scandal
6. Wynton Marsalis then took to the stage to perform J Mood.
7. The President Has Mustard On His Chin was a fake ad for a new TV miniseries parodying several other Presidential Crisis style TV specials from around that time.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson has a segment where she has nothing to say so she lays on the desk and rambles on as if it were a therapy session where she just vomits out her thoughts ending on a poem called The Life Of A Rug.
9. We then got another visit from The Sweeney Sisters only this time they perform their medley of monkey-themed lounge songs at a banquet for the Brookfield Zoo that is about to play Planet Of The Apes to celebrate the opening of a new monkey exhibit where Charlton Heston got hijacked by his driver to become the event's surprise guest which is also a surprise to him. 
10. We then got a parody ad featuring the Stiller family for a fake movie called The Hustler Of Money that makes fun of The Color Of Money only it takes place in a bowling alley instead of in a pool hall.
11. The Slave Drivers started with a school documentary of an intro before showing use a slave driver meeting from back in the pyramid building days as if it was a management meeting from modern days.
12. Wynton Marsalis then returned to the stage to perform One Mustaad. 
13. Kevin Nealon then took to the stage to clarify the intentions of the UNLV sketch from early claiming that people have already called in to complain. Those intentions being to highlight that UNLV is a very bad school with a horrible basketball team but he says all of this in a super nice voice as if he were really trying to apologize for any misunderstanding.
14. Finally, Charlton Heston closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow where two Stupid Marines bring their Russian dates into the Ambassador's Office in an attempt to impress them. First, they allow them to see some top secret documents then give them the master key to the entire building when they ask to use the bathroom. The girls take the key and wander off, coming back with a couple of male Russian friends. This bums the two soldiers out, more because they feel like they are being cock blocked than because they've caught on to what was really going on. These two Russian men also claim to have to use the restroom and while they are out Lithgow enters the room and the Marine Captain and also misinterprets this espionage that is going on as two soldiers just trying to have fun, so he sends the two idiot Marines off to find the girls being for finding a secret microphone from the place being tapped which leads him to announce, "Live from New York..." 
2. John Lithgow officially opened the show with a monolog about his excitement to return to the show then went on to explain how he just found out that this episode will be submitted to The University of Maryland for some college award for humor in American Broadcasting, only to have his hopes blow when the boom mic is seen in the shot which leads to a total meltdown.
3. Laramie Vice was, of course, a parody of Miami Vice only this "show" takes place in Laramie, Wisconsin where instead of the Miami Night Life and drugs, this version of Tubbs and Crocket have to deal with a cattle rustling scene.
4. Dwight Henderson, World's Meanest Methodist Minister was a parody of a dramatic show where Lithgow plays the jerk of a religious leader who has absolutely no patience when dealing with the member of his church who came to him for advice and then is surprised when the collection plates are bare.
5. The Pat Stevens Show then returned for another installment of my least favorite sketch that I didn't even like as a kid because I have no idea what the real Pat Stevens Show actually is and the fake interviews come across as too real to be all that funny. This time, she starts with her magazine (AKA book) reviews before moving on to interview Phil Hartman as a designer from the fashion industry and just like the segment in general, I don't get the reference but the audience seems to love it.
6. Anita Baker then took to the stage to perform Sweet Love. 
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Kevin Nealon stops in for a visit to discuss our growing abilities to have a la carte options when it comes to birth but then as always ends up going off topic to ramble on about whatever comes to his mind. A. Whitney Brown also dropped in for another Big Picture segment where he discusses the first custody case involving a child who was created through sperm donation.
8. The Master Thespian then returned to the show where he and his mentor played by Lithgow reunite for another lesson in ACTING!!! 
9. We then got another segment of the Discover show, that again, I think eventually led to the Discovery Channel due to the similar logo, either way, in this installment, Phil Hartman returns as the idiot of a host to talk to Victoria Jackson about microbiology even though he is too dumb to grasp a single concept that she tries to share.
10. Transatlantic Cab Ride was a sketch where Jon Lovitz needs to get from New York to San Francisco in just nine minutes after his flight was fogged in. Lithgow plays the crazy cabbie who decides to give it a shot which leads us to witness the two travel cross country at over 900 miles per hour, which isn't the correct math to pull of this trip but they still manage to get there with time to spare only to discover that Lovitz forgot the wedding ring back in New York leading the two to speed off to get it.
11. Anita Baker then returned to the stage to perform Same Ole Love. 
12. The Golden Days of Television was a sketch that revisits old black and white shows in this installment we got to see the "real end" to an old boxing show called The Fighter where Lithgow plays an aging boxer who tries to make his loss seem more interesting than it actually was. Rather than try to reassure him, his coach and girlfriend clearly share how bad the beating actually was. The sketch then got super convoluted when Phil Hartman shows up as a mafia guy to hire Lithgow to beat his kids in an effort to avoid the dirty work.
13. Finally, John Lithgow closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started "in Las Vegas" with a Pagan Easter Special aimed at the heathens that actually points out the true reason for the holiday season while including a few jokes thrown in at the Christians while keeping it light-hearted and also keeping the Pagan practices the main butt of the joke even though they are just as valid as the tale of the Easter Bunny and all the other religious nonsense that's involved. In the sketch, Dana Carvey plays Casey Kasem who breaks the Vegas illusion by announcing, "Live from New York..." 
2. John Larroquette then officially opened the show with a monolog about feeling lucky to host the show due to his low standing in Hollywood before humbly bragging about the two Emmys that he has won. His humble tones turn to arrogance as he carries on about his career and exploits in his personal life. Again, though I found this to be kind of funny and fully got what Dan Fielding was going for but this attempt to joke about being arrogant rarely wins over the crowd, who were uncomfortably silent throughout the entire routine.
3. Sold Out Gold was a fake ad for an album filled with popular songs from the past that are now used in commercials during a time when this type of commercialization wasn't tolerated by music fans.
4. We then went to a nice suburban house where John Larroquette is in the living room trying to fix their broken toaster. Jan Hooks plays his wife who asks him to take his work to another room because her mom is coming over which leads the two to bicker about the visit. Phil Hartman then shows up as the mother/mother-in-law and she and Larroquette get into a full-out brawl after she reveals that she is actually horrible by plugging in the toaster while he's still working on it. Where I was starting to get bored by this point from the sketch running long, this brawl is so over the top that it got me laughing out loud while also getting the characters to set aside their differences and finally get along.  
5. This was followed by a sketch that took place at a crime scene where Larroquette played a Homicide Detective who has to talk to the common cops as to whether or not they found any clues. At first, the cops say no, but then after simply looking around the room, they start finding evidence everywhere even if it was physically possible for said item to be involved at all. It turns out that Larroquette is so good at picking up evidence with a pencil to avoid evidence contamination that this "evidence" they are pointing out does stem from ineptness but instead it's just a game that the officers like to play. It turns out that the victim wasn't even dead until Larroquette stabbed him in the back with his special pencil in an effort to turn him over to find another piece of "evidence."
6. Instant Coffee was a talk show sketch that took place in a coffeehouse booth where early adopters of the coffee trend talk pretentiously over their cups of Folger's Instant Coffee.
7. Timbuk 3 then took to the stage to perform Just Another Movie.
8. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, "Robin Leach" dropped in to talk baseball and he didn't even know why he was chosen for the segment, I guess they were just trying out an impersonation. Nora Dunn's French model character also dropped in to ramble on using accent based humor to discuss tax preparation because this episode originally aired around that time of the year.
9. We then saw John Larroquette discussing what seemed to be a near-death experience only to find out he is actually already dead and sitting up in heaven with a welcoming angel who is there to help him ease into the afterlife and answer all of his questions about what was and what could have been  Heaven's Database
10. Showbiz Agents was an "informative" sketch that shared the history of Hollywood, before turning into more of a disaster sketch when we learn that L.A. was swallowed by an earthquake and America was left with nothing but New York based talent agents who were left to work things out.
11. Timbuk 3 then returned to the stage to perform Hairstyles And Attitudes.
12. In the version of the show I got, this was followed by a short film where I guy created a workout routine using nothing but a toilet plunger. I'm not sure if this was what aired on the original night because the sketch two sketch list sites that I reference didn't agree with one another and neither of them sounded like they were describing the scene that I saw but this is what I saw so this is what I'm sharing.  
13. Finally, John Larroquette closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. This was followed by a special segment highlighting the career of a cameraman who was retiring at the end of the night.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a parody of The New Charlie's Angels this new team of Angels is made of from the gorgeous women who were involved in sex scandals from around that time. Mark Harmon eventually joins the squad when we learn that the new target is a Republican woman. After looking pretty on screen for a moment, Mark then turned to the camera to announce, "Live from New York..."
2. Mark Harmon then officially opened the show in nothing but a towel as he delivers his monolog about being treated like meat after winning People Magazine's Sexiest Man Of The Year which leads to a flashback where we got to see the pageant when Mark had to beat out the competition in order to win the title. This flashback goes on for so long, I'm half tempted to consider it a sketch on its own but that's not saying it isn't funny because Lovitz in a Speedo and fake mustache playing the competition was enough to get an audible laugh.
3. Very Smart Theatre starts out like a PBS style show with Lovitz in a library introducing the story of Attila the Hun before we see the story play out where we witness Mark Harmon as a young Attila who is too emotional and lonely to take over the crown so he runs off to be alone where he eventually bursts into song. 
4. We then went to Washington D.C. for the Iran Contra Hearings where the hearing is more gossipy about the sex scandal than the actual matter at hand.
5. Einstein Express was a parody ad that makes fun of a FedEx ad campaign from the time, only this ad isn't bragging about overnight deliveries because they are boasting about their Einstein based technology that can deliver packages back in time.  
6. Suzanne Vega then took to the stage to perform Luka.
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, A. Whitney Brown dropped in for another Big Picture segment about diversity in the USA while exploring the American Dream in that A. Whitney jaded but honest delivery. 
8. We then got an educational sketch about Salmon where it starts with a school film introduction before seeing the cast members acting like fish and Salmon Mark is struggling to mate with Salmon Victoria before going off to die.
9. Dave's Party was a short film of a sketch where we see children at a party kid's party with the adult cast members provide the voices and have them talking about grown up things. 
10. Mark Harmon, the Perfect Spokesman is another commercial sketch that I can't find anywhere on the internet.
11. Ching Chang then returned for another offensive Chicken Pet Store sketch that again, if it wasn't for the horrifying accent-based joke, the story of this character who won't sell his favorite animal as food is actually kind of adorable. However, this installment of the sketch gets even worse when they bring in a West Side Story style Asian gang whose leader is dating Ching Chang's sister and have no respect for the chickens. 
12. Suzanne Vega then returned to the stage to perform Marlene On The Wall. 
13. Myowling Bible was a fake ad for an edition of the bible for old cat ladies to share with their favorite pets.
14. We then went to the Boardwalk in Atlantic City where we met a Novice Sketch Artist played by Kevin Nealon who takes on Victoria Jackson as his first customer and does a horrible job at sketching her and an even worse job at listening to what she has to say in his efforts to make small talk. 
15. Finally, Mark Harmon closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with a return to D.C for another sketch about the Iran-Contra Hearings making fun of one of the key-players testimony and his attempts to gain sympathy for how he's been treated since getting caught, ignoring the political crimes that got him in trouble in the first place. This technique works as the rest of Congress then tries to cheer him up leading to his announcement of, "Live from New York..."
2. Garry Shandling then officially opened the show with a monolog about always wanting to host the show as if the show was around since he was a little kid, he then admits to this show coming out when he was in his twenties and is actually just happy to be doing anything on a Saturday night, this late in his life before meandering through the rest of his routine in that way that only Gary Shandling can pull off while still being super funny. 
3. Gary Shandling then wandered from the main stage into a Department Store set to officially start off the first sketch before going to commercial. In the sketch, Gary tries a shirt but doesn't remember his receipt. He also seems to have forgotten that he was supposed to be acting in a sketch because he keeps breaking the scene to talk to the camera while also calling the characters by their real names and complimenting them on their performances. 
4. Dana Carvey then played a Bruce Wayne type by day who was a jewel thief by night who was known as The Puppy. During the sketch, we learn why he has earned this name because when a detective arrives to discuss the latest crime Dana can't hide his excitement to talk and shows many other characteristics that are very reminiscent of the actions that would be done by a young dog.  
5. This was followed by a Support Group Therapy sketch where Kevin Nealon played the counselor to a group who for the most part have common problems. That is until we got to Gary Shandling who plays a complete neurotic with a mother who is actively trying to warp his mind. In sharing his story we learn the group is completely on his side and after hearing two years of his stories the entire group decides to go on a field trip to confront this crazy lady. Once we get to the mother's house we learn that we've only been hearing half the story and all of the horrible things that were done are actually from Shandling's own doing and that he's just an attention whore that stems from an incestuous crush. After making out with his "mom," Gary breaks the scene to admit this is the most disturbing character he has ever played and Jan Hooks, as mom, also agrees as the two apologize for what has just been seen. 
6. Los Lobos then took to the stage to perform Is That All There Is? 
7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, "Jimmy Stewart" dropped in for a segment to talk about the government's attempt to ban the colorization of classic movies with arguments as to why we should leave the black and white content alone.
8. The Teeny Cafe was a sketch that takes place in a tiny New York establishment where the hipsters from the time pay a crazy amount of money to eat tiny food is a space that so small you can't turn around in it, even though there is room for a grand piano for Nora Dunn to sing us a tune that was written in French and translated to English that turns out to be a parody of Send In The Clowns.
9. Apparently, this episode was shot around the time of the smoking ban on airplanes because Chewing Tobacco Airline was a sketch that made fun of the chewing/non-chewing sections of the plane as an outlet for these would be smokers. 
10. Hollywood Mom was a short film starring Tracey Ullman that shows her receiving the call informing her that she got The Tracy Ullman Show while delivering her first baby and seems more excited about the news from her agent than the child coming out of her womb. We then see her a couple years later as she continues to brag about her Hollywood life while neglecting her child only to get shot by him while he is playing with a handgun. This was done comedically without a political point making the joke actually funny allowing the viewer to translate the message rather than having it shoved down your throat the way a sketch like this would be performed today.
11. We then went to a nice restaurant for Dana Carvey and Jan Hooks' Anniversary Dinner with Gary Shandling as the waiter who just tries to do his job while witnessing the happy couple's relationship fall apart.    
12. Los Lobos then returned to the stage to perform One Time, One Night.
13. Finally, Garry Shandling closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights. 

The Wicker Breakdown:

1. This week's show started with an Easy Rider parody where it uses clips from the real movie before going on to show what happened the day after the final scene that is just as rambling and pointless as the original movie but at least this version of the burn out's world is pretty funny because of the special effects of Dennis Hopper doing motorcycle tricks before announcing, "Live from New York..."
2. Dennis Hopper then officially opened the show with a monolog about how he used to provide the cast drugs and now here he is as host then goes on to joke about fried food being a worse thing to put in your body than anything that will get you high. Right after this, he announced his new found sobriety before throwing to the first sketch of the show.
3. Church Chat then returned for another segment with the Church Lady cherry picking her guests answers to accuse them of aligning with... "SATAN." As always, when it comes to this sketch, I liked it when I was a kid but have seen it so many times and heard so many impersonations over the years that I find it more played out than the nostalgic joy that I know, deep down that this character actually deserves, especially when dealing with such a demented Dennis Hopper.
4. Roy Orbison then took to the stage to perform Crying and Pretty Woman back to back. 
5. Dennis Hopper then revived his Blue Velvet character for a game show of a sketch called Frank Booth's "What's That Smell?" In the sketch, Frank Booth is the host who asks celebrity contestants to huff fumes from a tank and guess what the source of the smell is.
6. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, The Pathological Liar returned to the news for a segment to defend Oliver North that of course is filled with nothing but lies.
7. Problem Drinkers From Outer Space was a parody of an old black and white low budget film with a War Of The Worlds feel only our invaders were alcoholics.
8. This Week with David Brinkley was a parody of what I assume was a real show from the time where talking head fixtures from the time talk about world events. The main joke to this sketch is that Sam Donaldson is constantly on the verge of falling out of his chair, but I couldn't find any evidence on the internet as to whether or not this was based on something that actually happened. A. Whitney Brown also sat in for a Big Picture segment with a message to the class of '87 who are entering the working world similar to today only this was before all of our problems were pumped up like they are on steroids.
9. We then went to a fancy executive meeting room where a bunch of executive type interview Dennis Hopper about his interest in cannibalism as if it were a requirement for the job that he's aiming for.
10. Roy Orbison then returned to the stage to perform In Dreams. 
11. Last Chance Gas Station was a sketch that took place in a gas station with the titular name where Phil Hartman plays a rich businessman who high-end car broke down in the middle of nowhere and the yolk mechanics are upset with him for abusing his car. At first, Hartman talks down to the two idiots only to find out that they not only know about cars but they also know plenty of details about his career as an investment banker to the point where they can also point out his work related errors as well.
12. Sweeney Sisters then returned to the show, only this time they had no additional pretext as to why. It was just the two girls on the Saturday Night Live stage singing a medley of their lounge style songs to the audience.
13. Finally, Dennis Hopper closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.