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All Hail Hanukkah Harry

It's interesting how even though I keep slamming this season for continually being so-so, a lot of my favorite moment from the night have landed toward the top of my overall list of sketches. This isn't the first season where this seemed to be the case, which, one, has me questioning the validity of my ranking order, and two, leaves me wondering if these sketches seem extra funny when compared to an otherwise bland evening of comedy.

Again, this season is on the good side of so-so without a horrible show in the bunch but based on my overall opinion alone, I'm sort of surprised by how high of an opinion that I have for the sketches that are actually good. Take this episode for example, yes I will be able to find my top three moments with ease but I literally just finished watching it and all I can remember is Hanukkah Harry which will probably land very close to a top ten moment.

Though I agree that this sketch is definitely top ten material of the nine episodes from this season that I've already watched so far, but when it comes to the overall list I'm unsure if it should be so close to the top. In this case, I think that I agree with my choice because of the nostalgic value of this being another moment that I clearly remember from the night that it originally aired.

I think that once I get caught up and have watched every single episode, I'll have to go back and watch all of the best of night sketches to then revise my list order because there are moments from the original cast that have sunken down much further than deserved due to my viewing order.

Until then, it's time to move on and share what I saw in tonight's viewing, as I give you...

The Wicker Breakdown:

This week's show started with a Drunk Driving Message where Kevin Nealon starts out talking about his son's recent death from a drunk at the wheel only to be cut off by the Energizer Bunny, which not only leads to laughs from the crowd but also the announcement of, "Live from New York..."
Andie MacDowell then officially opened the show with a monolog about how she is intrigued to see what her father will think being that super conservative and is usually asleep by 9:00 in the PM. She then went on to tell a story of her dad going to see her movie Sex, Lies, and Video Tapes and how he didn't approve of some of the content. This led our host to then warn her father to step out of the room at specific times on the clock when she may be in some of the more risque sketches of the night.
The Night Hanukkah Harry Saved Christmas was a sketch that introduced us to the Jewish version of Santa Clause, who steps in for the jolly man when he gets too sick to deliver presents to the children.
We then went to a daycare center where Andie MacDowell and other parents talk about their newborn babies where everyone but our host has a different style of Baby Carriers that they swear by and all find it odd that Andie prefers to carry her kid in her arms in hopes to create a bond.
Church Chat then returned for the first time in a while. This week was more of the same Satan blaming silliness only with a different set of heathenistic guests who were involved in scandals from this time. This installment also had a brief parody of Sex, Lies, And Video Tapes where the Church Lady makes a crude confession since Andie MacDowell was herself as a guest. The show within the show also ended with the Church Lady singing Let It Snow with harassing the audience to celebrate the Christmas season.
Tracy Chapman then took to the stage to perform Gimme One Reason.
Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Victoria Jackson dropped in as Mrs. Clause to bitch about her husband since she knows that he's a viewer of the show. She then performs a song about needing the fat man's attention in bed. Al Franken also dropped in for his final update of The Decade Of Al Franken where he shares his accomplishments before introducing his son to start The Decade Of Joe Franken with this being the official handoff.
We then got a Tribute To Hal Jerome where Andie MacDowell and a handful of cast mates sang a medley of tunes and shared the life of the late/fictional Broadway composer, who wrote musicals that were just a little off from plays with similar names that went on to become big hits. At first, this felt like it was going to be a quick but real tribute but then become an obvious joke as the songs get more and more narcissistic and strange living up to the adage, "Write what you know."
"Dieter In Space" was supposed to be a short film featuring the Sprockets host but I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet.
Tracy Chapman then returned to the stage to perform All That You Have.
This Is Your Day was a sketch where Nora Dunn played the older sister of Andie MacDowell who is in her wedding dress waiting to get married. Though she keeps saying that "This is your day," to the guest of honor she cannot help but share her own problems unintentionally adding to the pressure while also stealing the spotlight. Nora eventually leaves only to be replaced by another bridesmaid who gives Andie the same exact treatment. This goes on and on with multiple guests even including both her future husband and current father who can only complain on this very special day.
We then got another Season's Greetings segment. This time, Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein sing The Little Drummer Boy.
Finally, Andie MacDowell closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

Another day, another okay episode but at least with this one, it was still sort of easy to narrow down these three favorite moments. First, I loved The Night Hanukkah Harry Saved Christmas because I love Hanukkah Harry to the point where his theme song still gets stuck in my head whenever Christmas time is near. Next, I really liked the Baby Carriers because I moved back to San Diego when my nephew was about one and have seen my sister and her friends compare their baby gear in a very similar style. Finally, I was a fan of the Drunk Driving Message from the beginning of the show because it provides evidence about how late into my life this serious issue was deemed a laughing matter by the mainstream.