'Wasn't That Special' Season Twelve Clips Package
As always, for those who have signed up for the podcast at the Executive Producer level, we send out notable video and newspaper clips that aided us in preparing for the episode. Below are some of the Saturday Night Live sketches and media clips we reference throughout the episode, to enhance the listening process.
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Here are some of the materials we discuss throughout the Season Twelve episode:
President Reagan, Mastermind
The best sketch of Season 12 and one of the greatest political sketches the show has ever produced. Written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, it finally got Reagan right. An amazing Phil Hartman performance.
Police Wire
Christian’s favorite forgotten sketch from this season. Danny DeVito is perfect.
Donahue: Exploited Women
Phil Hartman’s coming out party.
Quiz Masters
The second sketch of the season and the first featuring new cast members Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, and Jan Hooks. An immediate sign that this show was totally different than the flop that was Season 11.
The Hostage
It’s the same joke over and over, but just as funny every time.
The Boyfriend Song
Victoria Jackson and Willie Nelson perform a sweet song written by Victoria. If this doesn’t make you say “awwww,” you’re not human.
Riddles of the Universe
A favorite of Scot’s - John Laroquette and his guardian angel, Dana Carvey, discuss his life.
The Adobe
Best commercial of the season.
Bacteria Slides
Phil Hartman is at his best when playing dimwits with no self-awareness. None are better than as host Peter Graves hosting a science show.
Mikey Can’t Shoot
Perhaps our biggest disagreement of the year. Scot liked it, while Christian thought it was appalling.
Adventures of Koko the Clown
Another disagreement: Scot hated this and Christian loved it, as it is essentially Dennis Miller spending four minutes not believing he got away with getting this to air.
Al Franken Prostate Report
Before this Weekend Update bit, Al Franken had never been this funny on the air.
Let’s Go to the Movies
It’s not a great sketch, but you can see the seeds of Wayne’s World in here. And this episode has a writing credit for Terry and Bonnie Turner, who would eventually write the Wayne’s World movie. So…maybe.
Babette and Serge
In order to give you a feel for the full season, it wouldn’t be fair to just show the bangers. So here is one that is just awful, in the middle of the worst episode of the season. Bronson Pinchot is playing Serge, a character that’s onscreen in Beverly Hills Cop for just a couple of minutes.
Critics were also not impressed by the show’s debut:
And here is your annual call for SNL to be pulled from the air, from a critic who doesn’t name a single current sketch or cast member. It could have been written without watching a single episode of Season 12.
But you know who did enjoy the new season of SNL? Victoria Jackson’s parents.
The show also dealt with censorship issues stemming from Sam Kinison’s appearances:
New cast member Jan Hooks was profiled in an upstate New York newspaper:
