WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:04.960 Weird. 2 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:57.320 We welcome back midnight viewers have fan the Malone's weekly 3 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.640 round up. I'm Ripley Gene and with me as always 4 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:05.239 is father alone. What you'd make an adorable fake priest? 5 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:06.519 That's true. 6 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:09.000 No one wants to see me in my underwear fighting 7 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.599 an alien. Well, no matter who's who, we welcome you 8 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:16.000 to the show. Having an action pack new year Woo, okay, 9 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:20.439 call to action. Hey friends, why haven't you simply pushed 10 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.719 the subscribe button. Maybe it's because it's a follow button instead. 11 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.079 Either way, click it, do it. Thank you. Now on 12 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:29.480 with the show. If you listened in last week, I 13 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.079 talked about my adoration for the Lonely Island and the 14 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:34.959 work they did on SNL, And if you listen to 15 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:38.200 this show with any regularity, you should know the adoration 16 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.159 I feel for their work on SNL is so minuscule 17 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.239 when it comes for the totality of love I feel 18 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:47.640 for Saturday Night Live. There's a tidal wave of ass 19 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.599 kissing going on right now because it is the fiftieth anniversary, 20 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:54.319 fiftieth season. But try to ignore all the fawning. Don't 21 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:57.879 let it cloud your judgment. SNL has always been great, 22 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:01.680 and it's always been terrible, just like all your favorite 23 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.159 things sweet and sour. I mentioned in an earlier episode 24 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.080 that's the crossover with the Culture Cast, where we discussed 25 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.840 Jason Reitman's film Saturday Night that chronicles the ninety minutes 26 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.680 leading up to the pilot episode of SNL, which you 27 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.319 can go back and listen to after this. It's all 28 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.439 a call to action. There, I mentioned that my very 29 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.560 first memory of television is Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child, 30 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.199 bleeding all over a kitchen set after slicing into his 31 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.840 own hand. You know, everyone always asks what movie you 32 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.879 first remember seeing, but no one ever asks about television, 33 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.599 though I suspect that'll change with future generations given the 34 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:44.240 current cratering of the theatrical experience. So anyway, my earliest 35 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.960 memory then threaded throughout the rest of my life. There 36 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:51.400 have been fallow periods over the past five decades for SNL. 37 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.960 During those periods when people were wondering, who even wants 38 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:55.759 is that anymore? 39 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:56.400 Me? 40 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:02.000 I was every season Michael's to Dominion, to Eversol, and 41 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:05.240 back to Michael's. Oh sure everyone was into it when 42 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.479 Dana Carvey and Jen Hooks are around, but where were 43 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:10.879 you when I was stranded alone with Joe Piscopo and 44 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.800 Charlie Rockett. Huh. Even that season of free Fall after 45 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:18.759 the original cast and Michaels had exited, could have worked. Honestly, 46 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.520 any season of the show could work if the writing 47 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:26.080 and performing are in sync, which is evidently like herding cats. 48 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:29.560 Couple that miracle with the pressure cooker of live performance 49 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.560 of material that was written over the past five days 50 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.240 every week. It's a miracle anything of quality comes out 51 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:40.319 of the show. But that quality is always there, and 52 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:42.840 even the worst episode will get at least one laugh 53 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.120 out of me, which is something I can't say for 54 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:49.039 some two hour comedy films that were written over months 55 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.520 and then produced and filmed and edited over a year 56 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.919 and not one laugh. As much as I love the show, however, 57 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.680 I am not an apologist. Those fallow periods when the 58 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:04.280 show is reinventing itself is concentrated awful. But remember, there 59 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:07.560 has never been a season of perfection. That's a lie 60 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:11.639 we've all accepted through the decades, thanks to repackaged reruns 61 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:16.319 and videotape best of collections. Even in its renaissance periods, 62 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.319 there are clunkers. I end up saying that about every 63 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.160 television series we cover here on Midnight Viewing, we go 64 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.720 in with fond remembrance of all the gloried moments of 65 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:27.480 a series, forgetting that there was a lot of chaff 66 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:32.240 in that wheat. SNL is an extremely well covered television show. 67 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:34.720 If you have any interest in those first ten years, 68 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:38.040 check out Saturday Night A Backstage History of Saturday Night 69 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.680 Live by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad. It is indispensable. 70 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.519 They talk to everyone and pull no punches. Yes, it 71 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:48.399 has the Bill Murray Chevy Chase fistfight story in all 72 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:51.639 of its glory. Go fuck your wife, she needs it. 73 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:56.000 Bill Murray is a savage. Also, there's line from New 74 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.120 York The Complete Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as 75 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:02.240 Told by its star writers and guests by Tom Shils 76 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:04.879 and James Andrew Miller, which gets you up to speed. 77 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:08.160 As of twenty years ago, there have been puff pieces 78 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:11.439 and expose's and one hundred cries of Saturday Night Dead, 79 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:13.959 but very little has come out behind the scenes from 80 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:17.800 the show and Broadway video and Michael's himself. So it 81 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.560 was pretty exciting to hear about the slew of documentaries 82 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:23.040 on the way to commemorate the fiftieth The first of 83 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:25.800 those just landed over on Peacock. It is a four 84 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:29.120 part look into four aspects of the show's production, and 85 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.759 it's appropriately called SNL Beyond Saturday Night. 86 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.160 Anybody could do comedy. 87 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:36.560 I can teach all the all day how to tell jokes. 88 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:41.120 To be comedy, but are you FUNNYLSNL was the biggest 89 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:41.639 show ever. 90 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:42.959 There was nothing Mike him. 91 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:48.879 Present, unfilmed by the rivers An American Institution. 92 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.120 I got a FIVA and the only perception is Mark Kappell. 93 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:59.079 Any questions you may be wondering why you've never heard 94 00:05:59.120 --> 00:05:59.920 this story before. 95 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:01.720 I don't know what story you heard, but this is 96 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:02.240 what happened. 97 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:04.040 You know what, It's fine, Let's just do the thing. 98 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.639 Everything you're about to see has nothing to see before. 99 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:07.360 Hi, here we go. 100 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:09.279 I'm not sure I'm Amy Poehler. 101 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:10.920 Okay, that's enough. 102 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.519 It'll started coming in here to audition. Some people are 103 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:17.279 so nervous they can't even speak. 104 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:18.199 It was terrifying. 105 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:19.560 My first audition, I threw up. 106 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:21.279 I think it's a mare of what I'm sitting here 107 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:21.800 right now. 108 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:25.839 This is beyond my wildest dreams that we're making a 109 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:27.639 documentary about the cow Bell sketch. 110 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.319 Did you think that the writers get credit that they deserve. 111 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:34.240 Absolutely not. 112 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:35.120 I don't think so. 113 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:39.680 No, no, oh dear. It's really stumped down a landmine here. 114 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:42.279 You're just thinking, there's no way this is going to 115 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:45.879 go smoothly. Fifteen minutes from now, it might be a bloodbath. 116 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:49.000 After a decade on the air, SNL is on the 117 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:50.480 brink of cancelation. 118 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:52.720 I didn't know that it would be such a difficult year. 119 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:54.759 The Weird Year is the polite way to put it. 120 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:56.920 Most people say to me, it was the bad year. 121 00:06:57.319 --> 00:06:59.959 It was so bad that it could have been canceled. 122 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.680 I still have nightmares about the stress of Saturday Night. 123 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:07.639 It is built on competition. 124 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.160 Can you be your authentic self? It's a real dream 125 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:13.680 come true. 126 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:15.839 It was everything I loved my show. 127 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:18.079 I was on it, Live. 128 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:20.360 From New York, Live from New York, Lives from New York, 129 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:30.399 Live from New York. Oh boy. 130 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:34.240 Those four episodes are each about an hour in length. 131 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.360 They are five minutes written by a week into the 132 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:41.040 SNL writer's room. More cow Bell and the Weird Year. 133 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:43.759 Five minutes is about the five minutes you're given to 134 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:46.639 an audition for the show and talks to a vast array 135 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.079 of current and past actors who have appeared. Written by 136 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.600 is self explanatory. The Weird Year is about the eighty 137 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:57.399 five season when Lorn returned and started to rebuild the show, 138 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:02.680 but more cow Bell. I loved that sketch as much 139 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:04.800 as it took a song that always straddled the line 140 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.959 between sincere and cheesy and just drop kicked it into 141 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.600 a bucket of melted velveta, thus ruining it forever. I 142 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.600 love that sketch. You all know it. We all had 143 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.000 the fever and there was only one cure. But if 144 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.680 you're given four hours to touch on any aspect of 145 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.240 the process of making Saturday Night Live from any era, 146 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:27.199 with any cast, or any set of writers, or any musicians, 147 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:29.120 and I'm not even talking about the guests who have 148 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:31.399 come on to play their latest hits. I'm talking about 149 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:34.320 the Saturday Night Live band that was once conducted by 150 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.799 Howard Shore, who'd eventually write the music for the Lord 151 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.200 of the Rings films. His replacement was Paul Shaffer, who'd 152 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:43.320 run the World's Most Dangerous Band for Letterman for three decades. 153 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.919 Remember E. G. Smith teaching the entire world the meaning 154 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.279 of guitar face, and that's just one small aspect of 155 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:53.559 the show worth examination. But one hour devoted to the 156 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.559 genesis of what was at best a catchphrase generator baffles me. 157 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.240 Remember when everyone, and I fucking mean everyone thought it 158 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:04.519 was hilarious to say something and then yell not. I 159 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:07.080 wouldn't suggest watching an hour about the genesis of Wayne's 160 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:08.879 world either, but it would seem to be about a 161 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:11.879 subject that had greater ripples in the real world than 162 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:14.559 that one meme we all got. It's not a total 163 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:16.720 waste of time. If you need another dose of Jimmy 164 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.600 Fallon giggling his way through memories of how unprofessional a 165 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:22.600 performer he was, or if you're actually interested in what 166 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.240 Blue Oyster Cult thought of the sketch Boy, you're in 167 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.720 for a real fucking treat. So this is a three 168 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:31.919 part series about SNL. The most successful is episode four, 169 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:35.240 The Weird Year. It's a far more harrowing tale than 170 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.600 just getting on the show or getting the show on 171 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:40.639 the air for the first time. After five solid years 172 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:43.759 of steadily declining ratings, SNL was ready for the scrap heap. 173 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.200 Michael's return was a hail Mary for all involved. The 174 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:49.440 previous season was a different kind of Hail Mary by 175 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:52.559 Dick Eversol when he restocked the cast with ringers like 176 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:57.159 Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Harry Shear, and Christopher Guest. Michaels 177 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.720 had to start from scratch, restocking the cast and pulling 178 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:02.559 in writers both old and new. Remember how I said 179 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.960 any season could work if the cast and writers sink. 180 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.600 Not what happened here. Terry Sweeney is a very funny 181 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.799 comedian and performer, and was not only SNL's first openly 182 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.039 gay cast member, he may have been the first openly 183 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:18.000 gay performer on television ever. But who on that writing 184 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:20.600 staff knew one fucking thing to write for him? The 185 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:23.080 writing staff has always been accused of being a boys club, 186 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:27.480 to which I'd say, Anne beats Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Rosie Schuster, 187 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:31.480 Sarah Paley, Patricia Marx, Pamela Norris. You get the idea. 188 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:34.840 The problem was more straight and white. I think it 189 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.039 doesn't seem like Terry Sweeney was able to partner up 190 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.759 with anyone, but then most performers couldn't seem to do 191 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.720 that either, which is scandalous considering who was on the staff. 192 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.399 Not only were there returning heavy hitters like Michael O'donnahuo, 193 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:50.919 Franken and Davis, Jim Downey, Herb Sargent, and Don Novello, 194 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:53.440 but there was also Mark McKinney and Bruce McCullough from 195 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:57.039 The Kids in the Hall, Jack Handy, Deep Thoughts, John 196 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.840 Schwartzwelder and George Meyer, who'd go on to write the 197 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:06.080 best episodes of The Simpsons, and Robert fucking' Smigel. Sounds unbeatable, 198 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:10.039 but you know, maybe the cast wasn't exactly perfect. Anthony 199 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:15.759 Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, Dinitra Vance Sweeney, Damon Wayans notoriously 200 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:17.600 one of the few actors fired from the show while 201 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.039 the show was still going. He's here to give his 202 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:22.720 side of it, and it's great. Rounding out the cast 203 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:25.960 were the ones who'd continue forward, Dennis Miller, Nora Dunn 204 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.840 and John Lovetts. It's love Its his stuff that shined 205 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.960 then and now, and it's his sketch master Thespian with 206 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:36.559 John Lithgow that allows for the entire documentary's moment of clarity. 207 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.679 John Lithgow remembers the show thusly. 208 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:46.000 My first hosting job for SNL in only like the 209 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:52.879 fourth episode of this brand new Company, I remember having 210 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:56.519 the feeling that everybody was trying out their own material. 211 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.440 Basically, it's a career move. 212 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:00.919 It's finally my chance to prove what's there are more 213 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:01.279 than just. 214 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.960 Another teen actor, young actor, rat pack Dupie. 215 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.519 They were trying to make their own identity rather than 216 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:12.720 the identity of Snow. I think that was the whole problem. 217 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:15.639 It's a fascinating hour about a seldom discussed era of 218 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.039 the show. The one thing it's missing is the one 219 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:21.159 thing that's ultimately missing from all of the episodes, and 220 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.159 that's Lorne Michaels. He shows up in every single one 221 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.440 of them, though he continues to remain the figure of 222 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.799 mystery at the edge of frame, commenting cryptically here and there, 223 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.799 but there's no great interaction with him at all. In fact, 224 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.480 any of the on cameras straight up interview footage they 225 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:37.600 have of him is from two thousand and five and 226 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:41.360 clearly from a documentary about the thirtieth anniversary. Now, the 227 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.799 fact that he's maintained this level of mystique over the 228 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:48.200 decades is admirable, even more so that basically everyone who's 229 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:51.360 ever had an interaction with him, has one an impression 230 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:54.759 of him, and two can tell you almost everything about 231 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:59.080 their dealings with him while maintaining how inscrutable he is. 232 00:13:00.039 --> 00:13:02.080 I mentioned there's a slew of documentaries on the way, 233 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:05.440 and evidently one is dedicated specifically to Lorne Michael. So 234 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:09.519 I'm assuming that all the intentions and motivations in theories 235 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.480 of his will come to light there. I hope so, 236 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:15.480 because as fascinating as any of these probes into the 237 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.879 various strata of SNL can be, a little more insight 238 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.600 from the creator would be welcome. Five minutes the first 239 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:26.039 episode is a delight. How couldn't it be. It's all 240 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.159 of your favorite performers from the past fifty years regaling 241 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.279 us with tales of horror and heartbreak that led to 242 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.519 a life changing stint on a television institution. What's better 243 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.360 is that we get to see those moments. Every audition 244 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:42.440 for SNL remains thanks to the glory of videotape, and 245 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:45.320 it's pretty fucking awesome to watch someone as seasoned as 246 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:48.039 Amy Poehler struggle to get through even a minute of 247 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:53.399 hers Oh there is so much shudderingly cringe worthy on display. 248 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.519 It's glorious. And there are just as many right out 249 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:59.840 of the gate superstar performances. Then it's kind of staggering. 250 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:04.039 Every character that Kristin Wigg auditioned with became not just 251 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.159 a sketch, but a recurring sketch. Speaking of staggering, the 252 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:11.519 compilation of those who weren't hired, the Jim Carreyes, the 253 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.200 Jennifer Coolidges, the Donald Glovers is mind blowing, especially when 254 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.840 you see how fucking good they were doing. How did 255 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.120 they not get the gig? Who could answer that? No 256 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.840 one in this episode see what I'm saying. There are 257 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:27.120 major questions at the heart of each of these segments 258 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.240 that have answers that we can only get from one man. 259 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:33.080 And ultimately, as lovely as it is to see Bobby 260 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:36.559 moynihan tearfully recall his time on the show, this episode 261 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.720 would have been equally successful had it just been a 262 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.879 string of the auditions themselves. The next episode, written by 263 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.080 follows the season forty nine writers from the Monday meeting 264 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:51.799 to air, interspersed with discussions on the show's environment, schedule, hierarchy, 265 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.200 and history by some of the best writers who have 266 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.279 ever worked There. Any chance to spotlight the writers of 267 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:00.679 this show is a winning one, so bravo. The problem, 268 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.360 or maybe this is illustrative of the show's wildly swinging personality, 269 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.480 is that the show that doc crew has chosen to 270 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.559 cover isn't very funny. The writers are charming, no doubt, 271 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:13.120 and we've seen them do really good work elsewhere that 272 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:16.360 season and into the current season, but since nothing is 273 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:19.320 really happening comedically, you hope to see some of the 274 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.559 panic and the pressure that literally everyone interviewed here talks about. 275 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.759 But instead it's all very quiet and mellow and business like, 276 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.320 which is great for them, I guess, but it ends 277 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.039 up making this another TV magazine piece, the kind you'd 278 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.200 get from Entertainment Tonight, except the access to the writers 279 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:37.919 and the materials are beyond whatever the most sycophantic piece 280 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.679 could ever hope to achieve. Each of the episodes, except 281 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.200 that fucking cow Bell is worth a watch. The wealth 282 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:48.279 of material on display is incredible and incredibly funny. I 283 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.519 doubt I'll see a funnier documentary anytime in the near future. 284 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:54.879 But honestly, if you were to ask me to sit 285 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:57.120 down and write a first person account of what it 286 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:59.879 was like to audition and get hired and how tough 287 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.639 my first year was, and how interacting with Lorne and 288 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.240 the writers was, and how I found my groove. I 289 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.480 think I could do it pretty convincingly because everything presented 290 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:12.159 in these shows has been around in copious amounts. The 291 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:14.919 two books I mentioned at the top are perfect examples. 292 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.000 If you've read them and want to know something new 293 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.720 about the process, you're out of luck. If you want 294 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.480 to hear personal reflections and how the actual people felt 295 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:25.799 about their time there, then these are great, or would 296 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:29.799 be if any of those personal reflections included those of 297 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:32.759 mister Lauren Michaels. I don't want to hear your Lorne 298 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:36.120 Michael's impression. Oh the listeners do? Gotcha? 299 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:36.519 Okay? 300 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:36.919 Hit me. 301 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.039 It was nineteen eighty I was on the Upper West 302 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:44.720 Side living with Paul Simon, and Ted Bundy called me 303 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.360 and he said, look, I just killed these two girls 304 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:48.399 in Florida, and I went, no, no, no, I know them. 305 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:56.440 Jesus, you heard her, hp K, because thank you HP 306 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:00.879 In this fantasy scenario, you were in the SNL band. 307 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.680 Here's a Paul Schaeffer fun fact. His nickname is the Shiv. 308 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.200 That's right, Paul, the Shiv. Shaeffer fucking love him. So 309 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:11.920 what's on the agenda, little monkey? What's your choice for 310 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:16.880 the roundup? Excellent and appropriate? This past weekend we launched 311 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.920 David Lynch. He's a mammoth in filmmaking, and I don't 312 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.759 think we're going to see his like again. Also passing, 313 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.480 and oddly more importantly here on midnight viewing was mister 314 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.200 Jeno Zwark. He directed twenty two segments of Night Gallery. 315 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.880 He did two episodes of Twilight Zone eighty five, and 316 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.400 in each of those, I've been his frequent champion and 317 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.440 vocal defender. He was never less than a filmmaker in 318 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:41.279 any media. Whatever faults there were in any of his 319 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.519 Night Gallery segments, they weren't his. Zwark's problem has always 320 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:48.559 been the material you can make good great, but bad 321 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:52.359 will only ever be a little better. That better part 322 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:56.680 is Zwark. He toiled mightily against budget constraints and scheduling 323 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:01.279 nightmares and uncooperative casts and second guessing per and managed 324 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:04.119 to produce some of the most striking pieces of anthology 325 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:07.480 television ever, so pressure and deadlines were nothing new to him. 326 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.640 When Night Gallery's production designer Joe Elves recommended he take 327 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.640 over the already troubled production of Jaws two. 328 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:20.200 When the movie Jaws first opened, it created a sensation, 329 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:29.799 and shark sightings increased by the thousands in all the 330 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:34.480 vast and unknown depths of the ocean. How could there 331 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:52.400 have been only one? Once? There was a terrible tragedy here, 332 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:57.480 But today amity has a new hotel and the promise 333 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:06.359 of a perfect summer. Now, just when you thought it 334 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:12.240 was safe to go back in the water, the legend continues. 335 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:34.920 Chief chief body, can we go please? I think we 336 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:36.039 may have another short. 337 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:49.960 Prom Are you serious? Roy Scheider, Hope, Lorraine Gary, and 338 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:50.839 Murray Hamilton. 339 00:19:51.799 --> 00:20:01.480 Look at this, that's a shock. You started a panic 340 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.160 on a public beach. I wonder if somebody decides to 341 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:08.640 sue us shock. Did you want to stock a fake 342 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:12.519 about that? And I don't know what a shock looks like 343 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.680 because I've seen you when I'm close. Didn't know something 344 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:18.440 about this one, because I don't intend. 345 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:19.160 To go through that hell again. 346 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:20.960 Don't press it this time. 347 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:51.079 Mike is out there over there. 348 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:59.400 Down here. 349 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:17.759 All I know is a boy is dead and my 350 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:21.519 son and husband are still out there. 351 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:27.200 What None of man's fantasies of evil can compare with 352 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:46.799 the reality of Jaws, the only Jaws to. 353 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:53.119 See it before you go back in the water. 354 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:04.160 Wow. 355 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.359 Now, how's that for a trailer really tells the story. 356 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.440 I love it. And that's Percy Ronderiguez doing the narration. 357 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.799 He's the voice of the Lochnar in Heavy Metal, which 358 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:17.519 we covered over on Anthologies Attack and you can hear 359 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:20.039 that after you listen to our Saturday Night episode, after 360 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.559 you listen to this. The other voice I want to 361 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:25.279 point out in that trailer belongs to the character of 362 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.559 Tina played by Ann Dusonberry, and that scene is terrific, 363 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.480 which is a weird way to describe it because it's 364 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:34.319 actually horrifying. Tina and her boyfriend Eddie are out in 365 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.160 the middle of the ocean in a tiny sailboat. It's 366 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.359 a rowboat with a sail, and the attack is brutal 367 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.960 and while the actors are certainly helping, it is a 368 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:47.759 visual treat, just ratcheting the tension and hammering you. However, 369 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.160 there's an aftermath scene where Tina has been rescued and 370 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:54.920 Anndusenberry delivers in one line all the horror you could 371 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:58.279 ring out of even the best directed, most frightening sequence 372 00:22:58.400 --> 00:22:59.119 of all time. 373 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:22.880 Is what did until they wasted. 374 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.359 Seeing that for the first time as young as I was, 375 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:38.680 made me understand the fragility of the human psyche and 376 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:43.359 how sometimes it's totally warranted. In breaking apart, did I say, 377 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:48.759 troubled production from Jump Before Johns had even finished demolishing 378 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.039 the box office in its opening weekend, Universal was already 379 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:56.039 pursuing a sequel. Zenac and Brown, the original film's producers, 380 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:00.319 wanting to keep control, jumped aboard immediately. Original idea for 381 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.559 the script included the sons of Quint and Brody going 382 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:07.759 after their own shark, and this one's intriguing. Howard Sackler, 383 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.079 who is uncredited on the first film but did do 384 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.319 a draft or two, proposed a prequel film in which 385 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.640 they dramatized the Indianapolis speech from the first film, with 386 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:20.519 young Quint as the lead. Instead, Sackler ended up giving 387 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:23.440 us the further adventures of Chief Brody and that time 388 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:27.079 another shark came to Amity Island. Scheider had recently dropped 389 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:29.839 out of The Deer Hunter, and Universal forgave that and 390 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:32.480 the other two films. He owed them if he'd appear 391 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:37.319 in Jaws two. Schider was not pleased, While he is 392 00:24:37.400 --> 00:24:39.160 the lead. They let him off the hook a bit, 393 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:42.440 relegating the ocean adventures mainly to a group of Amity 394 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:47.000 Island teenagers whose flotilla of sailboats become fouled in drifting 395 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:51.200 and at the mercy of Jaws two. Now he's got scars. 396 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:54.319 Jaws one he was cool. I guess in a you 397 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:57.559 never see the motherfucker kind of way. Jaws two battle 398 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:00.000 scars for all to see, and I'll jump battle the 399 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.200 water multiple times. So they've got a script, and they've 400 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.440 got a cast, and they've got a director. And not 401 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:09.440