A redesign

I’ve decided to change the look of this site, and am looking to update this page on a regular basis again.  I’m also doing a little housekeeping on some of the existing posts (and may remove some old announcements that didn’t pan out like I had hoped).  In the meantime, I’m still trying to decide which season of SNL to review next.  I’m torn between five options; help me out by voting for a season below.

I still want to branch out beyond my focus on SNL, but a lot of my traffic comes from the reviews. I honestly missed having an excuse to go through the old shows again.

Next season for SNL reviews (and want list)

I’m still on my hiatus from blogging, but I’m actually getting a few ideas about what I’m going to do once I come back to updating this page on a regular basis.  Yes, this includes more classic SNL episode reviews.

I’m still trying to narrow down which season I’m going to review next: I’m thinking of doing either 1982-83 (the next Ebersol season), 1985-86 (an unusual season, with enough post-production work done to the reruns as to make them seem like two different shows), or 1988-89 (a great season all all around).

I have each of these seasons in some form or another.  However, for a number of these episodes I only have edited rerun versions which may be missing sketches.  As well, for the 1985 and later shows, these repeats have some post-production work done, including dress rehearsal substitutions.

If anyone has the following episodes from their original airing, please contact me so we can arrange a trade:

1982-83
Chevy Chase / Queen (September 25, 1982 – there may be a “running late” filler segment that’s cut from reruns)
Robert Blake / Kenny Loggins (November 13, 1982 – rerun is missing “Best Little Whorehouse On The Prairie”, “Blue Lagoon”, “No More Andy Kaufman” and part of Saturday Night News is edited)
Eddie Murphy / Lionel Richie (December 11, 1982 – rerun is missing A Special Christmas Message. I have a Frankenstein-edit from Comedy Central but prefer original broadcast)
Bruce Dern / Leon Redbone (March 12, 1983 -rerun is missing The Buckwheat Story promo)
Susan Saint James / Michael McDonald (April 16, 1983 – rerun has part of Eddie Murphy’s “killing time” segment edited, and “ass” censored out of Magic Fish Negotiation).

1985-86
Chevy Chase / Sheila E (November 16, 1985)
Ron Reagan / The Nelsons (February 8, 1986)
George Wendt & Francis Ford Coppola / Philip Glass (March 22, 1986)
Tony Danza / Laurie Anderson (April 19, 1986 – rerun is missing Cliff Robertson AT&T Commercial parody)
Jimmy Breslin / Level 42, E.G. Daily (May 17, 1986)

1988-89
Wayne Gretzky / Fine Young Cannibals (May 13, 1989)
Steve Martin / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (May 20, 1989)

How to tell if an episode is an original airing:
-No disclaimer in the opening montage (shows before 1986) or before the cold opening (shows after 1986).
-Don Pardo will either have a voiceover announcing the next show over the goodnights, or they are cut off by an NBC promo.
-Most bumpers in the original live shows (after 1985) are silent; in reruns, they have the SNL band’s music.

Site news

As I’ve posted elsewhere, I’ve hit a period of “blog fatigue” and decided to take a break from blogging for at least the next few months.  I don’t know for sure how long this will be: I’m planning on it being at least a six-month break.

I don’t know if I’ll use this space again; it was nice to have a specialized blog for my pop culture commentary and SNL meditations, but I don’t know what direction my writing will take in the future, and since this site has so many false starts at different post series, it really makes it obvious that I was blogging without a strong direction or focus.  I’m currently debating what to do with the SNL reviews and essays I’ve posted here; they’ve been my most popular blog posts.  I’m considering either moving them or leaving them here.  SNL reviews take a lot of work as well, and I feel like the break will allow me to focus on other areas of writing.  I may resume them again, but I don’t want to tackle 1982-83 until I can land a copy of the original live broadcast of the Robert Blake / Kenny Loggins show, and I wish to wait until I have copies of all the original airings from 1985-86 to track the extensive post-production work.

If you wish to get in contact with me in the meantime, I’m active on social media, and you can also contact me directly through e-mail.

Thank you for the past four years of readership.

Hiatus

I’m going to take a month-long break from updating this or any of my other blogs; I have way too much going on in the real world that’s a bigger priority for me than posting about SNL and pop culture.

If anyone wishes to keep in contact with me for the time being, please send an e-mail to bjdwsm [at] gmail [dot] com.

Updated SNL Want list

If anyone has the following, please e-mail me DIRECTLY at bjdwsmATgmailDOTcom.  [Updated May 12, 2013]

First tier want list: copies of episodes where I only have a repeat version of the episode with a significant segment removed or altered.

• Bill Murray / Spinners (12/12/81): The live broadcast was interrupted by a news bulletin about martial law being declared in Poland, and the goodnights have a somber Bill Murray erroneously mentioninf that “the Soviets invaded Poland”. Robin Duke and Christine Ebersole are visibly crying. The rerun cuts most of the goodnights except for Bill saying that “our hearts are with the good people of Poland”.
• Robert Blake / Kenny Loggins (11/13/82): this is my most wanted episode because the rerun version is brutally edited. The entire “Best Little Whorehouse on The Prairie” sketch was removed from the rerun, as was Dick Ebersol saying Andy Kaufman was no longer funny enough to be on SNL. There’s also a visible edit after the “Jawgasms” line in the Dr. Jack Badofsky bit on Saturday Night News.  There is also a “next week” promotional segment featuring Brad Hall and Robin Duke in a Blue Lagoon takeoff.
• Eddie Murphy / Lionel Richie (12/11/82): A special Christmas Message with April May June cut, Hitchcock Hygiene and Reach Out added.  April May June segment is in the syndicated 60-minute edit and the old Starmaker Best of 1982 tape, but I want to see if I can find a complete recording of the original air (not Comedy Central).
• The Smothers Brothers / Big Country (12/03/83): the rerun cuts out the “Know Your Neighbor” sketch where Jim Belushi laughs when Julia Louis-Dreyfus explains Hanukkah traditions, as well as a musical interlude by the Smothers Brothers called “Fantasy For Auto Horn & Electronic Pulse in D Minor”.
• Flip Wilson / Stevie Nicks (12/10/83): the rerun edits out half of Flip’s monologue where he tells a Polish joke, and also removes a commercial parody with Mary Tyler Moore (Mary Gross) for “Older Sisters Of The Young”
• Don Rickles / Billy Idol (01/28/84): the rerun removes a 10-to-1 segment with David Letterman (Joe Piscopo) and Pee-Wee Herman (Mary Gross) advertising the David Letterman 2nd Anniversary Show in the SNL timeslot the next week.
• Billy Crystal, Betty Thomas, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci / The Cars (05/12/84): I have an original air version of this one but there are segments paused out, including a sketch about Godzilla attacking a sushi restaurant that got cut from the rerun (only the last minute remains in my recording).
• Tom Hanks / Sade (12/14/85): The rerun version is missing a sketch with Nora Dunn and Joan Cusack as mothers taking a break from Christmas shopping. RECEIVED
• Tony Danza / Laurie Anderson (04/19/86): rerun is missing an AT&T commercial parody where Cliff Robertson (Randy Quaid) destroys his phone.

Second tier want list: copies of episodes that may have all segments intact but for which I don’t have a confirmed original air running order.  Also included are episodes where my more complete copy is a Comedy Central 90 minute show (minor edits and reshuffling to accomodate longer commercial breaks) and 1985-86 shows (due to the level of post-production editing in the repeats).

• Chevy Chase / Queen (09/25/1982)
• Howard Hesseman / Men At Work (10/23/82)
• Bruce Dern / Leon Redbone (03/12/83)
• Susan Saint James / Michael McDonald (04/16/83)
• Brandon Tartikoff / John Cougar (10/08/83)
• Father Guido Sarducci / Huey Lewis & The News (01/14/84)
• Michael Palin & his mother / The Motels (01/21/84)
• Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang (02/25/84)
• Chevy Chase / Sheila E. (11/16/85)
• John Lithgow / Mr. Mister (12/07/85) RECEIVED
• Ron Reagan / The Nelsons (02/08/86)
• Jerry Hall / Stevie Ray Vaughn (02/15/86) RECEIVED
• George Wendt & Francis Ford Coppola / Philip Glass (03/22/86)
• Paul Simon & Catherine Oxenberg / Ladysmith Black Mambazo (05/10/86) RECEIVED
• Jimmy Breslin / Level 42, E.G. Daily (05/17/86)
• Anjelica Huston & Billy Martin / George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic (05/24/86) RECEIVED

Third tier want list: Original live broadcasts (with or without commercials, with commercials preferred) not listed above for any of these seasons, in good quality.

• 1980-81 except Elliott Gould, Karen Black, Charlene Tilton or Chevy Chase
• 1981-82 not listed above except Rod Stewart, John Madden, James Coburn, Bruce Dern, Robert Urich, Daniel J. Travanti or Danny DeVito.
• 1982-83 not listed above except for Louis Gossett Jr., Drew Barrymore, Sid Caesar, Howard Hesseman / Tom Petty or Joan Rivers.
• 1983-84 not listed above except for Jerry Lewis or George McGovern.
• 1984-85: Kathleen Turner, Pamela Sue Martin, Mr. T and Hulk Hogan, Howard Cosell
• 1985-86 not listed above except for Madonna and Dudley Moore.
• 1986-87: Sam Kinison and Steve Guttenberg shows from 1986-87.
• 1987-88 except for the Steve Martin, Sean Penn, Dabney Coleman, Robert Mitchum, Candice Bergen and Tom Hanks shows.
• 1988-89: Wayne Gretzky and Steve Martin shows.
• 1989-90: Kathleen Turner and Candice Bergen.

Also interested in:

• Late Night with David Letterman
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• Fridays (w/o/c)
• Almost Live! (1984-89 KING airings).

Brief update

I’m going to work on getting the rest of my SNL season 6 reviews finished soon: I have my notes done for Karen Black and will actually try to get that and Robert Hays posted within the next week.  I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical from computers for the weekend, so don’t expect them before Monday.  I’m going to get the season wrapped up by April (including a season summary), but after that, I’m considering taking a break from the classic SNL reviews for a few months once I finish out the season.

I’m planning on eventually doing a series called “The Worst of Saturday Night Live”, where I review episodes with negative reputations to see if they were actually as bad as they were rumored to be.  I’m thinking of treating it as a 20-episode series (length of a normal season of Saturday Night Live before the 2007-08 writer’s strike) and will post the list of episodes right when the series begins next fall.  One rule for this series is that the episode reviewed has to be a complete live broadcast version: for example, I won’t review the Robert Blake show (which I don’t really consider one of the worst despite the reputation of the host, but I digress) because the only copies I have access to are the rerun edit that removes “Best Little Whorehouse On The Prairie”, the “Next Week” segment with Robin Duke & Brad Hall, and Dick Ebersol explaining that Andy Kaufman was no longer funny enough to be on SNL.

A site update, reviews

I just wanted to remind readers that I’m still going to be doing my SNL reviews for 1980-81, with the Jamie Lee Curtis show next, but I’m also working on a few other projects.  I also want to get into more regular posting on this site, which I admit is taking a back seat to my main personal blog these days.  My goal is to set a regular schedule with posting.  I find the SNL reviews are a little more labour-intensive than I expected.  My methodology is to watch an episode while taking notes, take a break of a day or so at least and then rewatch the show as I do screen captures on my computer, then write my review as soon as possible afterward.  I want to thank everyone that’s come to my site for these reviews so far, and I hope to be able to get back on track with these soon.

In the meantime, I am also going to be doing some other reviews.  I started doing a DVD rewatch review last March when I reviewed The Simpsons: The Complete First Season.  I have been watching DVDs in the meantime but not really doing too many reviews, so I want to start making my DVD watching a little more productive and get into a regular review posting schedule.  I also want to get into doing book and music reviews on this page, and post more in-depth discussions of other issues related to the arts, media, and popular culture.  I had a suggestion for a topic to discuss and I want to get to that.  Sometimes I feel like my scope of this blog has been reduced to SNL and I want to make it clear that I enjoy other things as well.

What should I review on this site?  Are there any other topics you want me to write about here?