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Back To A Blah Episode

Once again we have a host that I am not all that familiar with. Though I couldn't place the name Robert Culp, he had a really familiar face. The first sketch was an instant spoiler as to the game that I play called, "Why is he/she famous?" because it was a parody of his show I-Spy.

Though the I-Spy aspect of the sketch wasn't all that helpful because I've surprisingly never seen even one episode of that show, but I am aware of its premise. No, it wasn't until the end of the sketch when The Greatest American Hero bursts through the wall that I instantly knew why I knew him.

At first, I had high hopes for this episode because not only does Robert Culp have a fun energy about him but the last three episode made it seem like the writers had finally found their voice. Actually, I wouldn't say that the writing or performing was horrible, the problem is that they went back to the fewer but longer sketch format, where the short ones are funny and quick but the long ones just drag on and on and on.

So now I'm back to have to add the "for this season" disclaimer when pointing out that this was a barely average episode in the first place. This sucks because I genuinely feel that Culp was a pretty good host.

Well, there you have my insights on this, not so, special episode. Now it's time to move on to share what I actually saw as I give you...

The Wicker Breakdown:

This week's show starts with a parody of I-Spy where Robert Culp plays a gym attendant that has to deal with a very irritable "John McEnroe." Eddie Murphy then drops in as Billy Cosby, and the two have a reunion as their I-Spy characters. I always thought show sounded fun when I heard of it, but I don't think I've ever seen a single episode. I might have missed out on a lot of the jokes because of this, but I did get the jokes about how Bill Cosby was willing to tie his name to any product that offered. I also loved the guest visit from The Greatest American Hero which was a show that I loved as a kid.
Once again, we skip the huddle, and Robert Culp gets an opening monolog where he ignores the advice from the writers to skip the monolog and goes on to read off one joke from an index card missing all of the proper inflections.
Middle Age Of Aquarius is a fake ad for an album for the hippy generation now that they have sold out.
We then go to Piscopo's hotel room where he is in town for a convention. Brian Doyle-Murray then enters and tries to get Piscopo to hit the bars, but he's reluctant because he's married. The bellhop then joins the conversation and says he has connections to a real party girl who ends up to be a mother type who gets the guys into playing party games for children and isn't a prostitute at all.
The Charles Daniel Band then hits the stage to perform Still In Saigon.
Once again, Brian Doyle-Murray and Christine Ebersole give us the news with Mary Gross out on assignment. This week, Sweetchuck gets a segment where he discusses the crazy names given to children at the time. Mary Gross checks in from in front of the ABC building when she was supposed to go to CBS luckily the buildings are only two blocks away from one another, so she rushes to the proper location to report on her new record for getting from one building to the next. Piscopo gives us the sports, and Eddie Murphy gets a segment where he responds to a racist joke that he overheard in the hallway and claims that it's actually whites who are more monkey-like. (Clip 2) (Clip 3)
We then go to a room where Robert Culp is leaving after a one-night stand. After he leaves we cut to the inside of the uterus where we witness Sweetchuck as a sperm trying to pick up on Mary Gross who is playing the egg, and we eventually meet a second guys sperm which causes Sweetchuck sperm to lose interest because of her slutty ways.
James Brown Is Annie is a sketch where all you need is the name to figure out what is going on and of course, Eddie Murphy plays James.
We then go to a "Sunken Submarine" that's been pinned to the bottom of the sea for months where we get to see how crazy the isolated crew has grown to be. The captain thinks that the sub is still functional because it is supposed to be submerged, but he also dresses like a lady.
We then get a repeat of the Babies In Makeup sketch in this episode that barely has any content to begin with. That said, I do like how Mary Gross introduced it pointing out that people complained about it and pretty much said, F-YOU we're doing it again rather than run away from any controversy which is the current way of the day.
Happy's Mayonnaise Palace is a fake ad for a mayonnaise-themed restaurant being pitched by Eddie Murphy.
The Charles Daniel Band then returns to the stage to perform The Devil Went Down To Georgia.
Finally, Robert Culp closes the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

Though this was a blah episode, here were my favorite movies. First, I loved James Brown As Annie because I'm a fan of every ingredient in the recipe. Next, I really liked The Middle Age Of Aquarius because it highlights my anger with the hippy generation that grew up to run the world the exact opposite way of everything that they claimed to be fighting for. Finally, I was a fan of Happy's Mayonnaise Palace because it reminded me of my late friend Morris's obsession with butter and would make butter based sculptures when we worked together at the old Metro Theater in Seattle.