Podcast appearances and mentions of Mary Gross

They may have gotten laughs at the table read or killed during rehearsal, but for some reason, these sketches completely tanked on live television. On this episode of That Show…, Nick looks back at five Saturday Night Live sketches that bombed in front of a national audience. You'll hear those disastrous moments, the stories behind them, and a breakdown of what went wrong—some of them are actually pretty funny! Talented performers like Christina Applegate, Dakota Johnson, John Goodman, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, and Mary Gross all played a part in these infamous misfires. Also featured are insights from comedy legends like Conan O'Brien, Kristen Wiig, Tom Hanks, and Seth Meyers as they share their own experiences of bombing on SNL. [Ep 114]

Andy Hoglund joined me to discuss finding out about SNL through Wayne's World and Comedy Central reruns; my getting tapes mailed from Canada by Bronwyn Douwsma; going to Boston University; studying film; doing a term paper about how the original cast of SNL embodies the baby boomers; working for Sen. Ted Kennedy; writing an article about SNL movies and it going viral; his copy of the Shales / Miller SNL book being autographed by almost 100 cast members; first, by Dan Aykroyd, second by Colin Quinn; writing for Vulture; being asked to recap SNL's episodes for Entertainment Weekly; Don Pardo; Johnny Gilbert; meeting a lot of ex-cast members through stand up; Christopher Guest only one to not sign; Harry Shearer; Steve Martin & G.E. Smith only non cast members to sign; season 6 cast members Denny Dillon, Patrick Weathers, Matthew Laurence; Don Novello's friendship with Francis Ford Coppola; Peter Aykroyd; Mark McKinney and his work on Studio 60; KITH Brain Candy; Season 11; Fridays; Robin Duke, Jim Belushi, Mary Gross, and Kevin Kelton; Billy Crystal was the only time he sent the book away to be signed; Dana Carvey; Robert Carradine; Michael Davis; MST3K and Joel Hodgson; Anne Beatts; Yvonne Hudson; Brian Doyle-Murray; Adam Sandler; how Lorne Michaels has changed; me getting my picture with him; Colin Jost & Michael Che; Shari Lewis; and our friendships with the late Dan Vitale

Well it isn't St. Patrick's Day, but we still have the luck of the Irish with us because today's Legend is Brian Doyle-Murray. The older brother of Bill Murray, Brian has carved our a fine for career for himself with work at Second City, The National Lampoon Radio Hour, Saturday Night Live, and a slew of classic comedy flicks including Caddyshack, Wayne's World, and Groundhog Day. He even voices a great character (The Flying Dutchman) on Spongebob SquarePants. Brian -- like his brother Bill -- is also an avid golfer, co-hosting a Murray Brother golf tourney, and being part owner of two Caddyshack Restaurants, one in Illinois and one in Florida. And to all of that we say "well played"! As always find extra cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows! Want more Brian Doyle-Murray? Brian joined SNL when the show was at a low ebb, but he still had some fine moments as in the SNL Newsbreak segment with Mary Gross. https://youtu.be/EyK5v_YmQrk?si=SRvrxFkWaoJBrr3U Caddyshack is one of the great movie comedies of the 80s and Brian has a fine turn as caddy boss Lou Loomis. https://fb.watch/vPd2A27BwW/ Brian had a juicy role in Groundhog Day as Buster Green, the master of the groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawny PA! https://youtu.be/dWLA3OavSgM?si=6iQJ0JU6a6SvMD-M In recent years Brian has become an sought after voice actor including a stint on SpongeBob SquarePants as The Flying Dutchman. https://youtu.be/lOdh2zKhufA?si=WJHU-96FBPOfe_tU

This week on the pod we welcome back our friend Bill Kenney to discuss the CV of Mr. Danny DeVito. Transcript:Track 2:[0:41] Thank you, Doug DeNance. My name falls off a cliff. And now, J.D. Welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. My name is J.D., and it is great to be here with you all. I am just fumbling with my keys to get into the Hall of Fame. While I'm doing that, I will wipe my feet. Do the same would you come on in as we prepare to go to a conversation with our friend thomas senna and our equally good friend bill kenny is back to join us and they are here to discuss danny devito now before we go any further i want to just make sure everyone is aware of our new you email address. It is the SNL hall of fame at gmail.com. That's correct. I chose the maximum number of letters I could choose for the prefix, the SNL hall of fame at gmail.com.Track 2:[1:44] It might seem trivial to you, but, uh, we love to hear from you. So send us those emails, review the pod and for heaven's sake listen to the snl water cooler it's our brand new show on the snl hall of fame and uh we have sherry fesco and joe gannon joining me once a week to discuss the week that was in the snl hall of fame and we touch upon the current episode of snl as well where we identify the Hall of Shame and the Hall of Fame moments of that particular episode. I am out of breath because I have been racing down the hall to catch up with our friend Matt Ardill, and we should probably do that.Track 3:[2:33] So I'm going to make a confession here. Even though the show has been on for coming up to 20 seasons, and this gentleman has been on most of those seasons, I haven't seen a single flippin' episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And this week we're talking about one of its actors and somebody who's got a long resume dating back to Taxi, at least. I'm sure there's more before that. But let's go to our friend Matt Ardill and learn some more about this week's nominee, Denny DeVito. Hey, Denny. Thanks. I am shocked. i genuinely you can't jump in with the nightmare nightmare episode that would just be too much of a system shock but if you ever have the chance it's it's it is dark but it is funny so i highly recommend always sunny um but yeah so i'm looking forward danny is a great a great actor um, 4'10", born November 17th, 1944, who shares the birthday with Lorne Michaels. So same birthday.Track 3:[3:49] So he's born in Neptune, New Jersey, grew up in a family of five, and was raised in Ashbury Park, New Jersey. He would frequently eat at Jersey Mike's, which he grew up just down the street from the first location, which is why in 2022, he became the spokesperson for the subway chain, Jersey Mike's. He just loved it. And Danny is a person who follows his passions.Track 3:[4:17] He was sent to boarding school to keep him out of trouble. He graduated in 1962 and then took a job at his older sister's beautician salon. She paid for him to get his beautician certification, which led to him getting a certificate in makeup at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. But to get that, the teacher said he had to sign up because she couldn't just teach him on the side. He had to be a student of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, so he signed up and found his passion for acting after only a single semester at the school. Cool. Wildly enough, one of his sister's partners at the hair salon was a relative of a future colleague of his, Jack Nicholson, with whom he performed on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That's right.Track 3:[5:23] This eventually became a prolific career, including 154 acting credits, 49 producer credits, 23 director credits, 16 soundtrack credits and four writing credits. I mean, how can we forget his performance of Troll Toll in the Dayman musical on Always Sunny? I mean, it's the weirdest one of his ever, his experience, his performances.Track 3:[5:52] But I do have to say, I was shocked to also see that he performed Put Down the Ducky on the Sesame Street Put Down the Ducky TV movie. His range is truly epic in scope um now after starting as an actor he actually shared a small apartment with michael douglas and they remain friends to this day um during his time uh in new york he actually met his now estranged wife rhea perlman well in the off-broadway play the shrinking bride uh they then went on to get a grant from the american film institute together and write the and produce minestrone a short film in 1975 which screened at con and has.Track 3:[6:42] Since been translated into five languages um he was the original casting choice for mario in the 1993 super mario's movie uh dropping out i'm guessing after seeing the script uh condemning bob hoskins to infamy um now he this is another one of those like i i'm kind of glad they didn't cast make this choice uh because i don't think it would have worked but he was almost george costanza what he almost he was in consideration for the role of george costanza it wouldn't have worked it would it's it's the wrong energy but it would have been wild to see Now he has been nominated for Best Picture for Aaron Brockovich.Track 3:[7:30] Along with NOMS for Batman Returns, American Comedy Writing Awards, Berlin International Film Festival Awards, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, BAFTAs, Cable A's, Emmys.Track 3:[7:43] And more. He is so award-nominated, it's hard to keep track. But one of his earliest big wins was a 1981 Emmy for Taxi, which revolved around buying a pair of pants. About how he was so short and so round, he had to go to the Husky Boys section to get pants as an adult. And that was the plot in a Taxi episode that won him his first Emmy. Um, he commits, uh, like during his time as the penguin in those scenes where you see him like noshing on raw fish, that is actual raw fish that he is just tearing into, uh, not fake fish. Um, he is very famous, uh, on social media for his troll foot pictures where he will travel around the world and just take pictures of his great old big troll feet. Um, and in fact own, he is such a fan of Lemoncello. He has actually opened his own Lemoncello, uh, manufacturing plant simply named Lemoncello by Danny DeVito. Well, short and sweet, I suppose you might say.Track 2:[9:03] Of course you might not say as well. There's both options on the table. So let's get right to thomas and our friend bill kenny as they continue to talk about danny devito take it away thomas.Track 4:[9:48] Alright, JD and Matt, thank you so much for that. Hello and welcome to the conversation portion of this episode of the SNL Hall of Fame. Season 6 and we are rolling in this season. It's been a really good one. Talking about lots of great hosts, cast members, musical guests, etc.Track 4:[10:07] Today we're dipping into the host category. A six-timer? If you, well, it depends. I'll ask Bill about this. But yeah, so there's maybe a little caveat to this, but he's at least a five-timer. We consider him a six-timer. It's Danny DeVito today on the SNL Hall of Fame. And with that, of course, Bill Kenney, just amazing SNL knowledge with the Saturday Night Network, a man who mingles with the stars, with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. So he, yeah, he's he. But he kind of stepped down in weight class a little bit, and he's appearing with me here on the SNL Hall of Fame. Bill, thanks for joining me. Thomas, thank you for having me back. This is always such a good time. Listen, I mean, you're a celebrity in your own right, so let's not bury the lead here.Track 4:[11:01] Dan Aykroyd is fine, but the conversation is going to be great with this. Always a good time to talk to you. I appreciate that, man. So you've done a host before, Martin Short. We had such a blast with that Marty Short episode. And I know you're a Danny DeVito fan, so I had to ask you. He's one of the names that I threw out, and you jumped on Danny right away. So before we get started in that, I'm curious, what's going on over at the Saturday Night Network? We just started celebrating Season 50 of Saturday Night Live, a couple episodes into it. What's going on there as far as continuing the celebration here? Yeah, if you haven't checked us out in a while, please do so.Track 4:[11:44] During show weeks, we have a lot of great content from our Hot Take show, which is right after SNL on Saturday night at 1.10 a.m. We also have our roundtables, which dive deeper into the sketches. And then By the Numbers is every Wednesday, and we talk about the statistics, which is where we made our bones at the beginning of our podcast so and then of course there's lots of other content we do in off weeks uh during the summer we just uh did the greatest host countdown of all time thomas you joined us for one of the last episodes of that we had a lot of fun uh breaking that down and uh i think that's where the danny devito uh stuff started right because he was on the very first episode of the host countdown that we did and uh we all agreed, that it was way too low, and I can't wait to talk about that as well.Track 4:[12:36] Yeah, 100%. And I heard how much love you had for Danny and his hosting gigs and stuff. So I had to kind of like throw his name out there for you in the off season. So I love the stuff that you do in the off weeks in the off season. That's where all of us like dorks can roll up our sleeves and get get into like brass tacks about SNL. So I love that you guys do different drafts. There's different like neat concept shows. That's when the dorks thrive, Bill.Track 4:[13:03] Oh, without a doubt. That's when we have, we've had a lot of great stuff like SNL stories, which we talked to alumni, you kind of referenced Dan Aykroyd. We did a Blues Brothers, we went to a Blues Brothers convention, James Stevens and I, another podcaster, and we got to talk to Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd there. So that was a lot of fun. But we've talked to Mary Gross and Gary Kroger, a whole host of people who have had some association with SNL through the years. So that's always a lot of fun, too. So check that out as well. And then, of course, everything you need to know about SNL. And this will be the final plug, Thomas. We don't want to bog it down too much. But John and James have been doing that every week. And it's kind of these 15-minute mini episodes of kind of a starter's guide to SNL. Starting with season one going through. So if you don't have the time, like Thomas and I do, to sit through 30 episodes of SNL in a week, you can go watch this for 15 minutes and kind of satiate your thirst for it.Track 4:[14:09] Now, recently, John was a guest of mine and Deremy's on our other podcast, Pop Culture 5. We did six essential SNL sketches. And I was telling John, like, the everything you need to know about SNL. Those videos are some of my favorite content on YouTube. Just in general. Like, the editing's immaculate. The content is great. It looks great. It sounds great. It's just, like, that's one of my favorite things on YouTube that I look forward to. Yeah, without a doubt. And even people like us who know so much about SNL, it's still good to go back and be able to watch these and remember, what season was that in? Oh, yeah, that's right. So it kind of gives you, you know, jumpstart your brain as far as SNL. If you're not doing it already, make sure to check out all the great content they have over at the Saturday Night Network. Today, we're going to get into Danny DeVito as a host. So a little brief background, Danny did a lot of acting throughout the 70s, mostly playing bit parts. He was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a decent amount of screen time. He basically said nothing in that movie, but he was just kind of there smiling and grinning while Jack Nicholson did his thing. He got his big break, though, starring in Taxi from 1978 to 1983. Bill, how did you become acquainted with the peculiar and unique person that is Danny DeVito?Track 4:[15:37] Definitely Taxi. And there was a different time back then where we would watch more mature shows like Taxi as kids because we only had three channels. But it was on this killer Tuesday night ABC lineup with Happy Days and Laverna Shirley and shows like that. And it was, you know, if you've liked Cheers, it's kind of the Cheers that people have forgotten about. It was set in this cab company in New York. And Danny played this very kind of volatile role, you know, scoundrel with a heart of gold as the years went on and you got to see. But that was where I met him. And it's still a great show. It's something I like to go back and watch every now and then. And it still holds up after all these years. It's a stellar ensemble. Yeah, it's one that I keep meaning to go back and try to rewatch. I used to catch episodes every now and then on Nick at Night.Track 4:[16:32] And then maybe MASH would come on or something. I'd hear the music and then that was time for me to go to sleep. But I would catch Taxi sometimes on Nick at Night. Probably for me, watching Twins, Throw Mama from the Train, kind of things of that nature. I really started appreciating Danny and his quirks. And he had this presence about him that far exceeded his stature, you know what I'm saying? So the way he was able to command the screen, it was almost like a Joe Pesci in a way, even though Danny maybe was less menacing, but he was still that kind of intense guy who would just take over the screen, I think, Bill. Yeah, I wonder how people view him, younger people view him today, because, I mean, he was a legitimate movie star. You mentioned some of them. I mean, from starting around 84, 85, he's in a hit almost every year for the next 10 years. You know, Romancing the Stone, War of the Roses, gets into the 90s and he's in Hoffa and Batman Returns, gets shorty. So there's always something going on with Danny. He compensates his short stature with just a commanding performance, no matter what he's in.Track 4:[17:45] Well, I'm really happy. I think a lot of the younger folks still watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Philadelphia so they really like enjoy Danny DeVito from that so it's funny to talk to like my niece is a big uh it's always sunny fan and so it's funny I tell her like have you seen Danny in this have you watched this have you seen his SNL hosting gigs like you need to go check out Danny like pre it's always sunny but I'm glad that the younger generation is getting a little taste uh of DeVito on it's always sunny is that something that you've checked out Bill oh my One of my favorite shows outside of SNL. Yeah, still. I mean, that's something that if I just need to have something on in the background, I'm going to Always Sunny and throwing on an episode. Because it's been on for 18 years at this point, almost 19 years. Yeah. And it still holds up. I mean, it really, it's the dirtier friends or Seinfeld or however you want to look at it. people with no soul who just kind of found each other in this crazy world and don't give a shit what they do to anybody else. And Danny is a huge part of that. He probably saved that show because he wasn't in the first season of that and was able to kind of boost it up.Track 4:[18:57] Make it what it is. Yeah, absolutely. It definitely wouldn't be around without Danny. I think the other core guys like Rob and Glenn and Charlie and them, Caitlin, would tell you that Danny probably saved the show. So I'm really just happy that the younger folks, some of whom probably shouldn't be watching It's Always Sunny, but be that as it may, that they get to appreciate Danny. We talked about, obviously, some of his trademarks, like his stature, his offbeat personality. One thing, especially watching these episodes, and it relates back to something that I've noticed or talked about with other hosts who I consider great, is that Danny's a really good actor.Track 4:[19:41] And that serves him well in committing to these sketches. We just talked about on the S&N host countdown and on the SNL Hall of Fame, Adam Driver, who's a good actor and that serves him well. Danny, you know, I think, like I said, his stature, his kind of weird personality sometimes, I think that kind of overshadows that he's a good actor, Bill, and it serves him well in these sketches.Track 4:[20:07] Matches. Yeah, and it's very interesting to see when he came into SNL. You know, you can say a lot about the Ebersole years that didn't work. I think one of the things that definitely did work is that he found hosts that were kind of outside the box. There was no reason in 1982 to bring a Danny DeVito into the show. Now, this predates most of his movies. He is on Taxi, of course, but he's the the third or fourth or fifth lead on that show but ebersole saw something in him and decided to bring him in uh i mean it's one of those seasons in season seven where we get so many unique we get the smothers brothers we get olivia newton john right after this which is kind of outside of uh normal thinking as well uh and so he just kind of fits into this one of the wackiest seasons of snl we've ever had. And he just, he meshes immediately with the people he's working with. They feel comfortable putting him in recurring sketches immediately and some original pieces as well. So right out of the gate, we get to see what Dan does.Track 4:[21:14] Yeah, so he first appeared season seven toward the end, episode 19. That was in May of 1982.Track 4:[21:21] Interesting timing. And I think it's kind of funny. I almost wonder if Ebersole and NBC brought him on as like maybe to brag on ABC. A little bit, a little bit of a friendly competition there because Taxi had just been canceled, Bill. And that was what his monologue was all about, Taxi having been canceled by ABC. This afternoon, my little immigrant Italian mother, she gave me this letter. She said to me, Danny, I want you to read this on the national TV.Track 4:[22:03] Son, you have been besmirched by men so shallow that they do not know the depths to which their deeds have taken them.Track 4:[22:16] And funny enough, about a month after this aired, NBC picked up Taxi for one final season. So that's the funny side of it. But I find this monologue fascinating because you know i can't think of another monologue in the history of the show that's like this it's very very unique so he as you say you know they're kind of giving a swan song to to taxi and he brings out the entire cast now we've we've seen cameos when when tv stars have hosted before uh the most recent i can think of is like steve carell bringing in and Jenna Fisher, and a couple other people from the office, but to have the entire cast of a show from another network.Track 4:[23:01] Come on to the stage to kind of take their final bow. And it's the only time in the history of the show that we see Judd Hirsch, Mary Lou Henner, Christopher Lloyd. These are big names. These are people who go on to do a lot of different things, and they never appear on SNL at any other point. So that is very, very intriguing to me, that they gave Danny the freedom to do this and find a way to make this one of the most unique monologues in the history of the show. Yeah, it totally is. And just seeing who they would become. People still know Judd Hirsch. He just recently appeared in The Fablemans not too long ago. Christopher Lloyd, obviously, who would go on to do Back to the Future. Who framed Roger Rabbit after that? Tony Danza. So Tony Danza did host SNL. Tony Danza does come back and host, yeah. A couple times.Track 4:[23:52] Yeah yeah but he's really the only one he's the only one andy kaufman comes out uh in his neck brace he's still in the middle of the whole wrestling jerry lawler thing so he has to come out sporting the neck brace kind of keep kayfabe alive uh there but this was neat i love danny's calling out like abc the american broadcasting corporation is the one who canceled us and i'm sure nbc had i if they didn't already had signed the contracts they had ideas probably of like, we're bringing in Taxi into the family, so let's do this. No, I agree. It was just so cool to see all those people on stage. Mary Lou Henner. Yeah. Yeah, it was just so cool to see all those people on stage. I enjoyed it. It was simple, but I enjoyed getting to know Danny and seeing the rest of the cast of Taxi. Yeah, exactly. And it was such a great segue into the next piece where you get to see this pre-tape.Track 4:[24:45] With the opening credits to Taxi, basically, until it cuts to danny getting out of the taxi looking at the building at the abc building and kind of mulling in his mind now this is not something after 9-11 we would ever see again i'm sure right but at the time it was very very humorous and still very funny if you if you can look at it in the frame of where it's at and uh he's mulling what he should do and then decides to blow up abc and drives away like are you serious we're we're on a network television show granted at 11 30 at night and we have the star of another network show blowing up that network like absolutely bananas yeah yeah yeah i doubt that would happen today for for a few reasons i mean of course you mentioned the obvious one but yeah network on network crime doesn't seem to be happening much more they seem to be more buddies you had the uh the late night hosts on cbs nbc and abc doing a whole podcast together during during exactly yeah that wouldn't happen yeah yeah that's when there was competition and rivalry no that was great and we gave he they gave the people what they wanted he's coming from taxi he's familiar with taxi so right away let's do a test so let's do something taxi related that's what we saw with adam driver and first thing, in his first episode, he was Kylo Ren, doing a sketch as Kylo Ren. So we're kind of giving the people what we want, Bill. You like that as a viewer?Track 4:[26:15] Sure, absolutely. And to put yourself in the mindset of a 1982 viewer, you know, the.Track 4:[26:22] Network shows where you were attached to them in a way, I think that is not quite the same today. There are shows like that, obviously, that people still attach themselves to and things like that. But when popular shows that weren't quite getting the ratings that the networks wanted were canceled, people would petition, would not riot in the streets, but they would get to a point where they would do whatever they could to try to bring the show back. And I think this is a perfect example of that. And to have this kind of moment in time encapsulated on SNL is really, really interesting. Yeah, 100%. Just like a bygone era of network TV. It's like a really neat time capsule to see. I think he was kind of light, though, on sketches. I think he did really well this episode. Just a little light on sketches. Were there any highlights that you wanted to talk about from his first hosting gig here? Yeah. One of the interesting things, and this has come up on the host countdown on the SNN.Track 4:[27:22] It's hard to explain to people who haven't gone back and watched pre-2000 that SNL didn't lean on its host as much as they do today. Today you'll get them in 10, 11 sketches sometimes or segments. They didn't always do that back then. And you're right. There isn't as much here. In fact, I think the last 20 minutes of the show we don't even see him. Right. He just kind of disappeared. Like, that's just crazy to think about. I don't know if his makeup from Pudge and Solomon was, like, hard to get off, so they just kind of, like, said, take the rest of the night off or something. Yeah, exactly. Like, how did that come to be? But, yeah, he just kind of completely disappears. But, yeah, Solomon and Pudge is a great one to talk about. That's one of my favorite recurring sketches from that era. I think it's just one of those quieter recurring things that we got. It really showcases Eddie and Joe. And when they bring somebody in like Danny to play off of them, I found that very interesting.Track 4:[28:20] I disappeared last December when we had that big snowstorm I'm home I'm home in my room my cold I try to keep warm I drinking some wine get down I looked out at the bottom and it says on the label visit our visions in Sonoma Valley valley. Next thing you know, I'm walking around some valley.Track 4:[28:50] I'm walking in the valley. It's all over.Track 4:[28:54] I look up, I look up. The executive stress test, I think, is probably the best original sketch that we see. He's working for this company, and he's been promoted, but they kind of want to make sure that he's got the bones for it. So he calls his wife, and his wife is clearly having some kind of intimate affair with a gardener. And you know he's he's perplexed on what's happening eddie comes in as a drug dealer who's saying that he owes all this money for the drugs that he's been taking christine ebersol comes in and talks about uh the herpes that that he gave her so and then it just kind of wraps up with ah well we just wanted to make sure you were okay with uh with this job so um it's all an act and as we find out towards the end so i think that's one of the better acting moments that we get to see from danny in this episode yeah he played really aggravated confused like really well in that sketch that's where his acting ability really shines i completely agree with that that executive stress test sketch again light episode he was in a whiner sketch he played kind of like a somebody who was kind of annoyed but showed extra try to exercise some patience with the whiners.Track 4:[30:21] Well, you have to plug them in here. Well, don't kick the china. All right, I won't kick the china. Just let me put... Here. Give me this. Plug it in. Oh, thank you. Let's be honest. That's good acting in and of itself because those whiners are a little hard to take. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I imagine... In the sketch and out of the sketch. On an airplane, I imagine, for sure. So, yeah, that was awesome acting by Danny. But I think even though he was only in a handful of sketches that night, his screen presence was really felt. And it's not a surprise that the show brought him back just barely under two years later, two seasons later. But you could really feel Danny's screen presence in this first episode, even given the light work. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's rare to see somebody come back that quickly at this point in the show. After we get out of the original era, Ebersole doesn't seem to like to have a lot of recurring hosts.Track 4:[31:24] So, yeah, to have him come back, as you said, quickly in season nine, pretty much, I think, is it the second episode of that season? It's episode two, yeah. Yeah, and talk of another strange thing, you know, talked about Danny not really fitting the mold of what you would think an SNL host would be at that point because he didn't have any movies coming out and things like that. Well, now he's hosting with his wife, Rhea Permit. And you say, oh, well, she's on Cheers.Track 4:[31:53] Cheers was 77th in the rankings, Nielsen rankings, the year before. It was not a hit. It was almost canceled. So here it is. They're just starting their second season. Danny's not on any show, but they're hosting the show together. So that's really funny to me to see how that matched up. And the episodes where we get married couples, I mean, take it with a grain of salt. Your mileage may vary with Kim Basinger's and Alec Baldwin's of the world but I think this one works pretty good we get them together a lot which is something that is great to see they're not kind of separated, so I enjoyed this episode a lot yeah I thought it was good the monologue was a little flat it seemed like neither of them they were kind of like we're not sure what to do we have some sort of kernel of a thing.Track 4:[32:49] Yeah but it was It sort of fell flat a little bit. I'll give them a pass, though, because Vicky said this is a fun episode. It really shined a light on a reason why I love Danny DeVito. He plays weird. He has such weird energy that he can convey. The two sketches from this episode that I was drawn most toward had that weird quality about Danny. That's what stood out to me for this episode. Which sketches stood out for you? So the Autograph Hounds one, I kind of got a kick out of. And they reminded me of, you've seen The King of Comedy?Track 4:[33:30] So they totally reminded me of, like, Sandra Bernhardt and Robert De Niro's characters from The King of Comedy. Hey, Denise! You screwball! I said you were going to miss it, and you missed it! Yes, you did! You missed it! I struck gold! No, you didn't! You couldn't! I did, I could, and I would even if I couldn't! You know, as Cole Porter said, it's delightful, it's delicious, it's DeWitt! No! Yeah, yeah, yeah, Joyce DeWitt. I saw her coming out of the Burger King, and I nailed her. Look at this. It says, to Herbie, with love, Joyce DeWitt. I don't believe it. Yeah, yeah, what a woman. They're out there waiting. Dick Cavett comes out, and it was really funny. I think there was an ad lib that Dick Cavett made that kind of caught Danny off guard a little bit. He referenced his hat or something.Track 4:[34:21] Yes, yeah. And Danny was like, ah, so he kind of tried to play it off. Danny's obsessed with Ed McMahon. man that's like his white whale of autographs so but the way they they talk about it there's just like he and uh and uh rio perlman's in that sketch as well and tim kazarensky and the way they're playing that is something of the king of comedy it just like he plays weird so well yeah and i wonder if i i think this is about the time that movie was coming out so it might be a kind of an homage to that yeah that's great i had not thought of that yeah i think because i've recently seen the king of comedy so i'm like oh yeah they exactly remind me of he reminds me of rupert pubkin for me uh one of my favorite and i think we get to see uh as you said the wacky side of danny is uh the small world sketch which just really cracks me up and i know you'll get this reference uh you know it's about 12 years later that we get to wake up and smile with david allen Alan Greer and Will Ferrell and, you know, one of the all-time greats. This gets forgotten. I think this is along that lines and is almost like the ancestor to what that would be, where they get stuck on the small world ride in Disney and they're playing that infectious and annoying song over and over and over again. And, you know, cut to three hours later and now Kazerinsky's dead.Track 4:[35:45] And they're trying to figure out how they're going to get him off this, you know, this ride that anybody could easily just jump off of and, you know, jump on the stairs and get out of there. But I love the wackiness of this and the darkness that's kind of under the cover of, of it's a small world after all. So we get to see Danny really shine here with real.Track 4:[36:19] Try and get us out of here you're gonna have to swim for hell don't be crazy Doris the boat's gonna start up any second come on there's no need to panic it is that darkness and I love when uh and wake up and smile is like a great example and I think uh Andrew Dismukes is somebody current who kind of like does things that are similar is when something just like some little thing that happens in life or some little inconvenience that just seems so innocuous and so small at the time just like freaks people out and and it gets built up and like you like you said like tim kazarensky like dies in the sketch and will and wake up and smile will ferrell kills david allen career and the because the teleprompter's been off the weatherman is dead the teleprompter's been off for like 30 seconds and they start freaking out so i love when something's so simple that hat that just like a minor inconvenience or gets escalated to 11 so quickly. Those are some of my favorite sketches, Bill. A hundred percent. Yeah. This is one of those great moments that, again, I think is just forgotten because it's so long ago and it's in this kind of wishy-washy season of SNL.Track 4:[37:31] Yeah, that was a good one. Small World from, yeah, season nine, episode two. Danny also played a weirdo, a stalker in a book beat. He wrote books about stalking a woman named Deborah Rapoport. And he's just like so right at home with these types of weird characters as we've seen for a long time and it's always sunny but kids danny was doing this in the 80s 70s and 80s yes exactly and i love the way that one ends where he ends up getting shot by the woman he was talking to begin with uh yeah he you know it would be very easy to kind of put him in this uh box of of the character that he played on taxi but he finds a different angle to the smarmyness and the and the real like weirdness of all the different ways he can play that he doesn't just do a caricature of another character that he's.Track 4:[38:28] So I think, again, this is just a perfect example of what we get to see from Danny. Yeah, 100%. It's also cool that he was able to do a sketch with Eddie, with the Dion Dion. It's neat, as comedy nerds, to be able to look it back. That's what's so darn cool about SNL, is we have these pieces where you could go back and say, oh, Danny DeVito did something with Eddie Murphy. They're just doing a scene together. and we're out what other show does that happen where we have this treasure trove of material with these two famous actors and this this might be i don't i can't remember honestly unless i'm blanking of the danny devito and eddie murphy doing any movies together but i think i can think of no but but we have this on snl like that's a part of why i love this show see if you can answer this one look at the screen all right frank is talking on the phone to his good friend Then Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States. Suddenly, the president puts him on hold. What would Frank do?Track 4:[39:28] Well, let me see. Back in the 60s, the candidates lightened him and he switched to Republican party. Now, he's a different Frank now, so I think he let it slide, but he let them know not to let it happen again. Maybe so, Dion. All right, for 50 points and a lot of prizes, let's see what Frank would do. Even though it's a less than great game show concept uh danny really ratchets it up again as the game show host you know they don't just go with the obvious person uh in the host role and uh the the whole point is that they're cutting to scenes of piscopo as sinatra and apparently i i don't know if you knew this um i had not heard this before.Track 4:[40:12] But the entire concept of this sketch was that Piscopo would shoot down ideas about Sinatra for sketches because he'd say Frank wouldn't do that. So he was so embodied in what Frank Sinatra would be okay with that they decided to make an entire sketch about what would Frank do. So that's how the entire point of this sketch is to kind of stick it to Piscopo. Yeah kind of like that yeah that's it that's a that's a fun little nugget for snl fans just kind of them ribbing piscopo for his like adoration of frank and not wanting to like go certain places with uh right right i love it so i think yeah especially as far when you said like as far as uh two people hosting together married couple hosting together uh i think this came off really well. Danny came off great. He's looking like a mainstay on SNL. And the next one, we get to see him play with an entirely different cast. So this is awesome. We see what he can do with another era of the show. So it was season 13, episode 6, December of 87. He's promoting Throw Mama from the Train. Bill, SNL nerd here.Track 4:[41:30] I love it when the host is in a cold open. I'm a sucker for that. Oh, yes, absolutely. I do have a trivia question for you. I'm going to put you on the spot. Oh, boy. I know you like trivia as much as I do. So I went back and kind of culled through the archives of it all. Do you know there's only 10 hosts from the Ebersole era that came into the next Lorne era? Now, we're not counting people like Lily or who were on the original era and then went into Ebersole. I'm talking Ebersole to Lorne, only 10 times in the history of the show in the 35 years since that's happened. And Danny is one of those people. How many do you think you could name? Oh, three? I completely... Did Robin Williams? Robin Williams, yep. He was one of them. A couple of obvious ones with former cast. Oh, like Bill Murray. Yeah. Bill and Chetty. Yep.Track 4:[42:26] I think, I swear like Michael Keaton, but I don't know if he hosted under Lorne. Very good. Okay. That's one of the ones I had forgotten. Really? Yeah, I remember Michael hosting during the Ebersole era. Okay, so he did come back for Lorne. I guess I named four. Yeah, that's... So there's also Drew Barrymore, Eddie, Rick Moranis, another one I had forgotten about because he had hosted with Dave Thomas in the Ebersole era, Jeff Bridges, and Kathleen Lane Turner. Okay. Jeff Bridges is one that, that would have somewhat. Yeah. It took, it took a long time for him to come back. I think it was 2010, but yeah, I mean, it's just kind of because Lauren kind of, it felt like he had decided that that era didn't exist in a lot of ways. He obviously couldn't ignore the Eddie of it all. He must have thought an awful lot of Danny DeVito and what he had done the two times he had hosted previous to Lorne coming back to have him come into this new golden era in season 13. So I found it very, very interesting to see this is one of the few people that Lorne was like, okay, we'll give him a pass. He's too good not to bring back. No kidding. Yeah, that's a really cool stat. I love it. Thanks. Thanks for putting me on the spot. Love to do that. You've done that to me. So, you know, I'm just paying it forward.Track 4:[43:47] Yeah, like to my earlier point in excitement, like they must have really, like Lorne must have really seen something and trusted him and the writers must have trusted him. Again, he's in this cold open and you don't often see that with hosts. And I love, like, that's one of those little SNL things that like I love seeing. Well and again to not to keep going back to the host countdown but that's something that we've seen with the people who are really really good being hosts that they trust him so much that they could put them in a cold open and uh you know often i think the reason that we don't see it a lot is because cold open is one of the last things they do most weeks because it's often topical so there's usually a political slant especially these days um so it's not like the game show that they can write on a tuesday night so the host if they're not comfortable or they're having a hard time adjusting to all the stress of doing the show they don't want to add to that stress by putting the code open and as you said like having somebody like danny who you know you can trust and putting him in there with somebody like phil hartman uh in a topical sketch at the time you know, Reagan versus Gorbachev, was really a tip of the cap to what they were able to.Track 4:[45:01] I think it's also too, I mean, obviously the quick turnaround between the live from New York and the monologue and the host has to be ready for the monologue. And usually, I mean, the host is required to be in the monologue. Cast members may or may not be in the monologue. So they have time to dress and stuff, but the host has to change and then go do the monologue. So unless it's a pre-tape, unless it's something like that, I can see logistically why that might not happen. But Danny was so good here. like it's Gorbachev, like getting annoyed at Reagan's little Hollywood anecdotes and babbling, all of that. So just a really fun characterization by Danny. Really inspired casting. But he could have gotten Lovitz or something to play Gorbachev here. It is important that we do not expect too much from this summit, but it is first step. And from first step, many.Track 4:[45:57] Please, Ron, stop staring at my forehead. Oh, I'm sorry I did it again, didn't I? I'm trying so hard not to, but I've got kind of a mental thing about it. Please continue. Never mind. It wasn't important. Anyway, here we are in Washington, D.C. Please give me the grand tour. And Phil's Reagan is so fantastic, probably the best that we've gotten on the show. And to see the two of them play off of each other, and reagan just keeps getting distracted as he's showing them the washington dc monuments and instead of talking about you know the historical value it's you know where jimmy stewart made a movie or where so-and-so stood on the steps and gave this monologue in a movie back in 1940 and gorbachev wants nothing to do with it and i think danny really plays off of phil so well, So cool to see Danny in the cold open. A light little monologue. He's saying that he went to school with Bruce Springsteen from Asbury Park. So he's showing probably doctored yearbook photos of them. But just a fun, just a quirky little Danny thing.Track 4:[47:10] It highlights Bill from this, his third hosting gig. Gig yeah well i mean we have to talk about church chat right because this is uh you know one of those few instances in the church chat history where the host has done it twice now technically he was not the host the first time he did church chat he was a special guest with uh willie nelson's episode in the season before uh kind of like a crutch because they weren't sure how much willie could do uh so they you know they they picked up the bat phone literally and said you know danny can you do and he came in and did two or three sketches is willie's not an actor and how high is he gonna be well yeah exactly yeah i mean it is the 80s and it is willie so so uh so they do the first church chat in this one but this is the one that's more remembered because this was in christmas specials probably until the early 2010s when you'd see these best of christmas snls um where he's you know ends up singing i think santa claus is coming to town correct yeah here here comes santa claus i think yeah so yeah but yeah this was something that everybody even if they hadn't watched this era of the show was really familiar with because you get to see daddy singing with the church lady, church ladies playing the drums. I'm sure that if you have a kid who was watching this in the early 2000s, you'd have to explain who Jessica Hahn was.Track 4:[48:39] But other than that, you've got this great chemistry, again, with another cast member and Danny, with Dana and Danny. I think they were really good together. So church chat has always been one of those things. It's one of the first recurring sketches that really spoke to me.Track 4:[48:55] So I love going back and watching any church chat I can. and this is one of the best ones that they do. All righty. Now, Daniel, you've been very, very busy. I understand you have a new motion picture out, Throw Mama from the Train. That's right. Wow, that's a charming little title, Daniel. And what is our little film about? Well, in the movie, I want Billy Crystal to do away with my mother, knock her off, because she's a pain in the... Oh so it's a family picture we've done a little film about murdering our mother just in time for christmas how convenient.Track 4:[49:34] Come on loosen up church lady i mean it's a comedy yeah i always remember loving this one even when i was a kid like if you're a child of the 80s you were bombarded with jim baker Baker and Tammy Faye Baker, Jessica Hahn, like, uh, all, all those, like all those people, all this, like, so, so if you're an SNL fan as a kid watching the news as a kid, you knew who these people were. I have vivid memories of like Jan hooks is Jessica Hahn. Uh, so, so this was like, yeah, this is like a, something that's etched in my SNL brain and Danny just like playing himself um it's a good vehicle of course for for uh the church lady to shame him and then show obviously she has like sexual repression deep down in there scolding danny about the title of his movie he's promoting throw mama from the train uh so this yeah this is one of the uh very like memorable i think this one and like the sean penn one the rob lowe one those are like the handful of church lady ones that I'll always remember.Track 4:[50:36] Absolutely. Yes. Yeah, that stands out. Another one that I really like from this episode is Mona Lisa. And it's Danny and our girl Jan are this redneck couple living in this trailer. And they've somehow decided to call in this appraiser who's played by Phil Hartman because they're not sure that their Mona Lisa is the real thing. And of course, it's not. But, you know, it's an easy mistake to make for something like that. It's a reprint, you know, it's a blah, blah, blah. And it just escalates. And it gets into, there's Stradivarius, but it actually turns out to be a little kid's plastic ukulele. Right. And Phil just keeps, you know, dashing their dreams, the amount of money. They spent 50 bucks on this. Gold doubloon, which turns out to be, of course, a chocolate candy. Yeah. The gold wrapper on it, until they get to the Orlov diamond, and it is the actual diamond. And Phil sees an opportunity to fool these supposedly dumb people. No, this is just glass. You are a liar. You get out of here. You're a liar, man. That is the Orlov diamond, mister. We had it appraised at the American Gemological Society. It's a certified stone. Serious. Perhaps I can take another look. No, no, no. Get out of here. Get out of here, mister. We don't need those city folks around here. Go on, get out. Get out. Bam. Woo, woo. Out.Track 4:[52:00] You scared me for a minute there. That phony had me thinking we'd been ripped off right and left. I know it. You know what? We shouldn't have let him eat that gold doubloon, though. That's all right. We've got plenty more where that came from. It's just such a great, great work with Jan again. It's never not good to see somebody with Jan, but I think Danny plays really well with that. That Phil playing the smarmy role is kind of a strange kind of turn of the head because he's always not really in that role a lot, but I think he plays it really well. And getting to see the way that they all play off each other is really, really great. Yeah. And seeing Danny play like a Southern, like a Redneck character, like that's like kind of against type of what Danny will usually play. So that was so fun. Yeah, you're right. Like anybody paired with Jan, it's going gonna make for good watching but it just really struck me is how Danny was playing this like southern character he wasn't playing an angry boss or he wasn't you know he just fell right into this like good acting chops man that's like really those acting chops really definitely helped the sketch.Track 4:[53:08] Yeah, and I mean, listen, we're talking about season 13, and you can argue that this is maybe the greatest season of SNL, one of the greatest, for sure, 13, 14.Track 4:[53:21] And when people ask me about this, like, well, how, why, what makes it so special? I think what you see is, and we'll talk about this sketch now a little bit, the doorman, which kind of wraps up the night. Um you know every it's a buzzword especially within the snl community slice of life slice of life but this is actual slice of life and and there's not it's not played for laughs uh danny's a doorman at an expensive uh hotel and uh you know he's talking to nora who comes in and you know none of the people in the building really seem to know each other because you know coming and going and they're all rich and this and that. But obviously Danny is the doorman does. And Phil is moving out of the building that day. And they start to realize that they had never really gotten to talk to each other in a meaningful way. And this kind of really touches Phil. You know, it's funny. It just hit me. I have seen you every day for years. And I don't know anything about you. I mean, I don't know anything about your life or where you're from or your family. It's no big deal. You know, the building is a big chunk of my life, so I'm here. But still, it hits me like that. Well, you know, I live in Long Island City. I commute. I got three kids. Little one, Amy, is still in high school.Track 4:[54:45] The big one, my son's in engineering school. Oh, he's so smart. My Susan, she's at Queens College. And I love this. Like this, you would not see this in modern SNL, for better or worse, and I think for worse, because there's not a lot of laughs here. It's just three people and then two people having a conversation, figuring out, you know, human way to be. And it's just, I don't know, this is something that always gets to me. I love this. And again, getting to see Danny and Phil work together so much this week is fantastic. And this was kind of the cherry on top.Track 4:[55:25] You said it perfectly. Like this is one of those things that I love that touches on shared human experiences is we've all been in that situation where we kind of get one on one with somebody, the co worker, maybe a family member, like some cousin that maybe we should know better, but we haven't. So we get up one on one and it's like, what are we talking about? And then so they're reminiscing about like, because they only know each other's doorman and tenant. It so they're like remember when that package was delivered and it fell back here like so that's the their only common ground that they're establishing right away is that like a one of tenant and doorman so i think that's like funny and it's like it's inherently funny but it's not like played for like comedic heights necessarily it's very relatable but i just i just love that but there's humanity there because you're right like feel like they want to get to know each other but they're just struggling to figure out the common ground that they have outside of the obvious tenant-doorman thing. Yeah, I mean, they're from two walks of life. You imagine this to be probably a fairly low-paying job, and Phil is the rich person who's leaving this building probably for an even nicer place.Track 4:[56:37] So yeah, as you said, the common ground is really, really interesting. Great season. I'm so glad that Danny came back to play with this cast. He's back the next season 14 episode 7 December of 88 he and Arnold did Twins they're out there promoting that movie Arnold makes an appearance here in this episode they had to do Hans and Franz cold open again Danny's in the cold open Bill two episodes in a row Danny's in the cold open with Hans and Franz which by this point was getting a little stale but he injects life into it as an even more more extreme workout partner with Hans and Franz, Victor, I believe his name was. He's taking it past the pump you up into, you should be dead if you're not working out.Track 4:[57:27] Yeah, and then, as you said, Arnold, I think only the one of two times we ever see him on SNL as well. I think he does a filmed cameo at some other point. But yeah, he's sitting in the audience with Maria Shriver. And this, to me, talk about this monologue. We've talked about a couple of monologues that are kind of, eh, okay. We get to see literally behind the door Thomas. And other than Melissa McCarthy on that Mother's Day episode, do we ever really see this? Like, I can't think of another time. Not on the show. Like, the SNL's released videos and we get to see, like, the host waiting. Yes. Or the James Franco documentary, we got to see John Malkovich waiting. But you're right. Like, in an actual episode, we don't see that. Yeah. And it's all because he had such a rush coming out for the first time.Track 4:[58:24] So he wants to do it again, and that's how they get Arnold involved. He gets to see it live from New York, and they're playing the montage, and Danny's just back there, and you can see him getting riled up. I mean, it's such a tiny space, and it's so funny to think about it, because I think in your mind, especially then, when you didn't have as many behind-the-scenes things to see, you're like, this has to be a huge space. They're walking out onto 8-8. No, it's smaller than a closet in your house, like and you know could barely fit two people as they're standing back there but it's just fascinating and i know i know when i was watching this in 1988 that i just i it blew my mind like it's just one of those moments that you're like oh my god did we really see behind the door so.Track 4:[59:11] It's just fantastic it's just such a great way to open probably his best episode arguably not yeah i think it might be and and that's perfectly for for snl geeks like us yeah seeing that backstage i love danny mouthing when like don pardo's like uh because they do the whole intro and i have forgotten that they did that when i watch this again i'm like oh they might just say danny's name and he's gonna know they did like the whole intro i guess back then there were many cast members so so but you could see a mouth like yeah nora dunn and then he i love how the look on his face when he was able to mouth Danny DeVito, he looked all excited. And then the, you can see the, the, the stage director is like, okay, go, go, go, go, go. And then he, and then, then I love it. He's tired. So he does the rest of the monologue laying down.Track 4:[59:59] Exactly. So, so unique. Even at this point, they had done probably 300, 400 episodes of SNL. So to find a new twist on it was really, really great. And again, to this day, we don't really see something like this. So a lot of fun. This episode has in the running for maybe the best sketch that Danny was in throughout his six episodes. I don't know if we're doing parallel thinking as far as what stood out, but I want to hear from you. There's so much from this one. I assume you're talking about You Shot Me? Yes, absolutely. Yes, I mean, oh my goodness. How great is this? How about you, senor? Do you know how to dance?Track 4:[1:00:48] Ow, ow, ow, ow! Why did you shot me? Oh no, I shot you! Did I hit you? Where did I hit you? Where did I hit you? I shot you in the foot. Oh, no, let me see. Oh, no. Oh, no. Are you all right? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Get away from me. Are you okay? You shot me. It doesn't hurt. I'm so sorry. I don't mean let me help you. Get away. A nothing concept. A nothing concept. And talk about where host matters. He finds a way to make, and Lovitz too, but basically to set it up, he's a Mexican bandolier in this old west town, and he walks in and they do the whole stereotypical thing with shoot at his feet to make the guy dance, and they don't usually hit them, even in the movies, but somehow Danny hits Lovitz, and.Track 4:[1:01:48] It's into, you shot me. You shot me. Over and over. Over and over and over again. And there's so many other people in this sketch, but who the hell knows that? Because it's just Lovitz and Danny going back and forth. Lovitz is clearly trying to make Danny break, especially towards the end when he's in the bed. You shot me again. Yeah, this is one of those, I mean, all-time moment with Lovitz. But again, if you had an off week and this was, I don't know, Chris Everett, this doesn't work. You need an all-time classic host coming in here to carry a one-note sketch like this and make it into an all-time classic. It is one note, but it's also clever. To me, I don't know what the writing credit on it is, but it has Conan O'Brien's fingerprints on this or Smigel or somebody like that. I don't know if your close personal friend, Robert Smigel, mentioned this sketch to you. I don't know.Track 4:[1:02:50] He has not, but I can ask him next time we have coffee. Yeah, ask him. It feels like Conan or Jack Handy or just that whole writing stable.Track 4:[1:03:00] The cliche of, now dance for me.Track 4:[1:03:03] You see the cowboy shooting. But what if the cowboy actually shot him in the foot? And also what if the cat the guy still maybe felt a little bad about shooting him so that goes to his house the next day yeah exactly that's like one of the things he's like it's almost like i didn't mean to shoot him i was just trying to literally get him to dance so that's like another just like layer to this and then i love how danny tries to convince him that maybe we're both at fault if you really think about it that's right and that's when you see love it's turn and really start to hammer Danny with the shot. And you almost see Danny break. I think, I think he does a pretty good job of, of turning his head. So you can't really see it, but you know, what's happening. We know what's happening there. Yeah.Track 4:[1:03:51] Danny seems like somebody who's just always wanting to stay in the scene as goofy as he can be. He seems like somebody who's like, here's the scene I'm staying in this because it's going to make it better. So yeah, to me, that's like a forgotten classic kind of hard to watch nowadays. Days you kind of have to know where to be a sleuth and know where to look but this was one when i was a kid and the you shot me is like hearing lubbitt say that's just all burned into my snl brain again yeah and it's only done this one time but it is one of those things that you would say with your friends and uh yeah it it held up the test of time for a long time to me that's the highlight of the episode but again you're right like what else like good episode what what else.Track 4:[1:04:35] Yeah, you know, it's funny because you wonder why some of the Christmas sketches haven't carried through. And I think, talk about underrated and forgotten, I think the Scrooge sketch in this is really phenomenal.Track 4:[1:04:50] I mean, last Christmas I gave away so much money and forgave so many loons. I mean, I just barely got my head above water this year. Boy, you gave everyone some great Christmas presents. Ah, tell me about it. Yeah, and then you got New Year's Eve presents for everybody. Yeah, I know. I didn't even realize that you're not supposed to give New Year's Eve presents. They were nice, though. Tell me about it. They were good. Well, sir, maybe you shouldn't have given me that raise. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The raise was good. But I think I should have just concentrated on you and a little less on the rest of the world. You know, it's been done to death. We've seen it as recently as Steve and Marty. You know scrooge is just kind of hammered into the zeitgeist as far as christmas stuff but yeah they basically it's it's danny as scrooge and uh dana as marley and it's the next year so we've moved a year past you know his realization about the world and and how he's been a.Track 4:[1:05:52] So mean to everyone and he's still nice but he's trying to cut back and that's that's really the genius of this concept to me he's paying for tiny tim's medical bills but he's moving him to a you know a smaller a cheaper hospital still gonna get great care and you know dana's kind of a dick in this like he's just like well okay you know and and like he he offers to get him a turkey and he's He's like, well, last year, you know, he got me the biggest goose in town. So he's being kind of, he's being overextended by this. And he spent so much the year before that he's, again, still being nice, but he needs to. And then it escalates where we get Victoria in one of her better roles, I think, who's trying to collect for drunken sailors who want to stay drunk.Track 4:[1:06:44] You know you donated all this money to them last year mr scrooge like why why can't and he eventually is talked into it but it's it's so smartly written and it's one of those things again that just kind of could have been overplayed it's not it's perfectly done a quieter piece as far as christmas pieces go but yeah this this is something that sticks out to me and something that I've almost forgotten over the years because we don't see it in the specials. So yeah, a couple of like really cool, smart pieces with the Scrooge and the, you shot me. Uh, uh, and, uh, another thing, anything else that kind of sticks out for you? Um, I mean, I think, uh, you know, it's another Christmas piece and it's not as good as the Scrooge one we just talked about, but they, they doubled down on wonderful life here too, where Kevin's, uh, in the Jimmy Stewart role and, and looks like he's going to kill himself and, and Danny shows up as his angel. But he wasn't going to kill himself. He was actually admiring life and kind of just contemplating all the good in the world.Track 4:[1:07:48] Dandy's just never going to get his wings because he can't find anybody who's ready to jump off a bridge and uh you know then we get phil and dana in there as well so that's another one that's that's kind of something that sticks out to me that i think i will put into my christmas rotation along with the scrooge one because i i think uh they just really hold up yeah i like that one little parade of ghosts there right yeah and that all the angels waiting for their wings yeah absolutely so a really great appearance that was his fourth gig season 14 episode 7 january of 93 his uh fifth time though according to danny and the show this might be his fourth time bill i don't know we'll get to that uh here in probably in a few minutes but but this is his fifth time damn it and uh what i'm gonna call unofficially the amy fisher episode of snl.Track 4:[1:08:43] Gather the kids around and explain why the hell an entire episode of snl is dedicated to this one story like almost an entire episode of us oh my goodness like but you know i mean you're younger than me thomas this was everywhere and this was yeah i mean completely this is accurate to the time that it's in and you would never see this we talked about alec baldwin on the episode that you were on with us on the John Goodman episode for the host and how they leaned into the Monica Lewinsky thing. And it was an entire episode dedicated to that controversy. And you wouldn't see this in SNL today because it's more of the YouTube bits. What can we put up online and as a five minute thing to have a runner like this.Track 4:[1:09:37] Uh danny playing multiple roles he's playing butafuco a couple of times uh if if you don't know what we're talking about kids go look it up we're not going to explain it to you uh amy fisher joey butafuco it's a real thing but um yeah and and they do this like what four or five times we get this runner throughout the episode and then they do other sketches dedicated to it as well So the runner is like, they start off with Aaron Spelling's Amy Fisher. It's like a takeoff on Beverly Hills 90210. So they play it like that. Danny's playing Joey Buttafuoco. Amy, you really did it this time. You really banged up your car. Yeah. I'll bet that's not all you could bang. Yeah. The only Amy Fisher story told from Tori Spelling's point of view. You know, I've been with the same woman for 17 years. That's crazy.Track 4:[1:10:42] You don't want to get involved with an old guy like me. And then they do a Masterpiece Theater version of it that Danny was in again. Again, my favorite one, Danny wasn't in it, but it was the BET version with Ellen, Clay Horn and Tim Meadows. So good. Yeah.

Welcome back to SNL Stories, our interview podcast series where the Saturday Night Network catches up with SNL alumni from all eras of the show! Our next guest is Mary Gross, who was a Saturday Night Live cast member from Seasons 7-10 (1981-85). In this podcast, Mary joins us to discuss her greatest moments from her time at the show! We hope you enjoy this interview hosted by Jon Schneider & James Stephens! The video version of our interview is available here: https://youtu.be/bsMEC_5pYTk ------- Welcome to the official Saturday Night Network podcast feed, where you will hear audio from our weekly roundtables discussing all things SNL. Podcast hosts, journalists, and superfans will look back at the entire history of Saturday Night Live and talk about how the legacy of Season 49 compares to all eras of the show. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thesnlnetwork⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and subscribe on YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thesnlnetwork⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to never miss an episode! Catch up on other interviews: SNL Stories: Dan Aykroyd & Jim Belushi (Aug 29, 2024) ⁠SNL Stories: Denny Dillon & Gail Matthius (July 31, 2024) ⁠James Austin Johnson Season 49 Interview (June 6, 2024)⁠ ⁠⁠SNL Stories: Bobby Moynihan Returns (Mar 25, 2024)⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Christine Ebersole (Mar 20, 2024)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew Dismukes Season 49 Interview (Jan 23, 2024)⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Punkie Johnson Season 49 Interview (Oct 17, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Oz Rodriguez (August 16, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Connie Crawford (June 19, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Heidi Gardner Season 48 Interview (June 12, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Aristotle Athari (May 22, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mikey Day Season 48 Interview (Apr 13, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Darrell Hammond (Mar 20, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Denny Dillon (Feb 15, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Neil Levy (Jan 19, 2023)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Bobby Moynihan (Dec 16, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Michael Streeter (Dec 9, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Paul Shaffer (Nov 23, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Jeffrey Gurian (Sept 1, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Tom "Bones" Malone (Aug 17, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Redd on Season 47 (June 24, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Mitchell Kriegman (June 15, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Keith Raywood (April 1, 2022)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Dean Edwards (Dec 1, 2021)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stories: Judy Belushi Pisano (Nov 5, 2021)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Siobhan Fallon Hogan (Aug 10, 2021)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Director Don Roy King (May 4, 2021)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SNL Stats Roundtable with Gary Kroeger (Apr 6, 2021)

This week on Saturday Night Jive we watched the illusive episode of SNL hosted by alleged murderer Robert Blake.  Was it worth the wait?  Absolutely not.  But could it ever live up to our expectations?  Let's talk about it.  Also, how frigging hot is Mary Gross?  This episode has Robert Blake punching Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a Little Rascals reunion, homophobia in space, and Robin Duke with a saddle on her back.  So, that's the name of that tune and you can take that to the bank.  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

On Saturday, December 11, 1982, actor Nick Nolte was supposed to be the host of "Saturday night Live," but (for unexplained, and possibly booze related reasons) he was a no-show. Instead, for the first - and only - time, a current cast member stepped in as host, and it was: Eddie Murphy. In this episode of "THAT SHOW...", Nick looks back at that infamous SNL in which Murphy stepped in for his "48Hrs" co-star to host. He did the Cold Open alone, had a snappy monologue, and killed in sketches, but he caused tension between the rest of the understandably frustrated cast members, and confused many of the viewers. Nick will analyze and take you through the entire episode from top to bottom. It features funny work from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mary Gross, Joe Piscopo, and, of course, Murphy, but it also features not so funny sketches about Herpes Simplex 2, Rubiks Cube Hand-Grenades, and a wacky dance theater for the blind. Eddie Murphy was only 21 years old, had a hit movie & comedy album, and was on top of the world, but this desperate gimmick ultimately did not sit well with most people, especially since he introduced the episode with the sentence: "Live from New York, it's The Eddie Murphy Show! [Ep74]

On today's episode, we're going out to sell some cookies in the rough and tumble neighborhood that is Beverly Hills, while we revisit the absolutely iconic camp classic, Troop Beverly Hills (1989). This movie was written by Ava Ostern Fries, Pamela Norris and Margaret Oberman and directed by Jeff KanewThis movie stars Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross, and includes a supporting cast including Jenny Lewis, Kellie Martin, and a young Carla Gugino!This was a first time watch for me and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I hope you like this episode, and can't wait for you to hear the next one!Intro/Outro Music: "Phantom Fun" by Jonathan BoyleShow E-Mail: cultcinemacircle@gmail.comFollow Cult Cinema Circle on Instagram, Twitter, and Letterboxd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been said many times on this podcast, George loves him some Mary Gross.  For all you doubters out there, he proved why by forcing Ben to watch an episode of Saturday Night Live from Season 9 hosted by Michael Douglas.  Coffee infused blood, totally rad 80s music videos, busty 7 year olds, a town without feet, a host with an open headwound, and blackface.  This one has it all and we're in agreement that it's pretty solid.  You got a demonic Jim Belushi in an ice cream shop, Tim Kazurinsky blowing up cars, Gary Kroeger flying over desks, and a dude that looks kinda like Kenny Loggins.  Plus two bops from musical guest Deniece Williams.  Join us for a Mary Gross boner that you'll never forget.  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

Do you like Twin Peaks?  Then you'll be utterly confused by Wild Palms almost as confused as SNL alum James Belushi who apparently didn't understand the script so just showed up on set and read his lines.  Can't blame you, Jim.  This is an indecipherable piece of nonsense.  So the story is that ABC wanted to have another weird show to replace Twin Peaks after they ruined that show with studio meddling.  They came up with this miniseries about a guy who is looking for the lost kid of his ex-lover and also has nightmares about rhinos and Robert Loggia squealing like a pig.  There's also virtual reality where a shitty sitcom can beam to your couch.  It's produced by Oliver Stone (who makes a cameo), it takes place in the future (watch for subtle hints because they do nothing with the fact that it's in the future), and it's a big old mess.  While I doubt we'll watch any other episodes to see how this story pans out, we watched the 90 minute pilot which is available on YouTube and try to make sense of it.  Stay tuned for next week to answer the ultimate question, will Ben get a boner from Mary Gross?  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

Welcome back to purgatory and perfection! This week the boys head back to Perfection, Nevada and we see Burt Gummer is back from his trip from Mexico to discover that one lone Graboid is shaking things up in his small town and it seems that the evolution is starting again...from the ass end. Tremors 3: Back to Perfections is Directed by Brent Maddox and stars Michael Gross, Shawn Christian, Susan Chuang, Ariana Richards, Charolette Stewart, Tony Genaro, Barry Livingston and Mary Gross!!! Thanks for checkin us out and if you'd like to find our back catalog go to podbean.com Intro track "Burts House" composed and arranged by Kevin Kiner https://youtu.be/C4Jn-OywNFI?si=3Ki2fsfYb2bpFZ12 Outro Track "Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin https://youtu.be/2N_xP67utPk?si=8a7FPpYBCUQzX7fO    

Christian Bladt joined me to discuss growing up in small town New York; early Saturday morning cartoons, including Hickory Hideout; growing up with SNL in the late 80's; Nick at Nite 30-minute episodes and later 60 minute Comedy Central episodes, still watching; the 85-86 cast; Mary Gross; going to Marist College, interning at Conan O'Brien; meeting Amy Poehler & Robert Smigel; easy to get tickets for Conan; went to an SNL dress rehearsal in 1997; became a page week Norm was replaced by Colin; had friends in both camps; Colin Quinn Explains the NY Times; some wanted Craig Kilborn to take over; Spade in America; Snow of the Century episode; Steve Martin / Blues Brothers 4/22/78; taping the show; Goodman & Aykroyd; working with Tim Meadows; befriending Colin Quinn and Norm MacDonald; Norm calling him Jewish Bladt; being a page at SNL25; escorting Billy Crystal and Dennis Miller up to 8H; SNL will be fifty and The Tonight Show 70; The Kids in the Hall; 50's comedy: Ceasar, Benny & Groucho; Todd Hundley; Baha Men; Jim Downey; Jon Lovitz; season 14 is the best season, IMO; mom bought a VCR to watch Star Trek; Jackie Rodgers Jr.; Negro Leage Baseball; blackface; Bill Cosby; working for VP Al Gore; Monica Lewinsky; Ricky Martin and the Backstreet Boys; what Dennis Miller is like off the air; making fun of both sides; Who Are These Broadcasters?; inappropriate jokes; the WATP metaverse; Hackride; Karl Hamburger; Eric Zane; Stuttering John

We are sitting down with Kendra, and she is doing his 104 SNL Characters tournament. Check out this episode for who she thinks is the best SNL Character. If you want to do your tournament, please contact us, and we will set it up. Sarah Silverman (1993-1994) Bobby Moynihan (2008-Now) George Coe (1975-1976) Gary Kroeger (1982-1985) Brian Doyle-Murray (1979-1982) John Belushi (1975-1979) Chris Kattan (1996-2003) Eddie Murphy (1980 -1984) Cheri Oteri (1995-2000) Tina Fey (2000-2006) Joan Cusack (1985-1986) Mike Myers (1989-1995) Melissa Villaseñor (2016-present) Dan Aykroyd (1975-1979) Alex Moffat (2016-present) Bill Murray (1977-1980) Mikey Day (2016-present) Phil Hartman (1986-1994) Jon Rudnitsky (2015-2016) Amy Poehler (2001 - 2008) Aidy Bryant (2012-present) Gilda Radner (1975 - 1980) Pete Davidson (2014-present) Chevy Chase (1975-1977) Sasheer Zamata (2014-present) Dana Carvey (1986-1993) John Milhiser (2013-2014) Will Ferrell (1995-2002) Colin Jost (2014-present) Bill Hader (2005-2013) Leslie Jones (2014-present) Kristen Wiig (2005-2012) Kyle Mooney (2013-present) Chris Farley (1990 - 1995) Mike O'Brien (2013-2014) Rachel Dratch (1999-2006) Michael Che (2014-present) Adam Sandler (1990-1995) Tim Robinson (2012-2013) Maya Rudolph (2000-2007) Beck Bennett (2013-present) Jon Lovitz (1985-1990) Noël Wells (2013-2014) Al Franken (1975-1995) Abby Elliott (2008-2012) Chris Rock (1990-1993) A. Whitney Brown (1986-1991) Andy Samberg (2005-2012) Harry Shearer (1979 - 1985) Fred Armisen (2002-2013) Michael McKean (1994-1995) Laraine Newman (1975-1980) Julia Sweeney (1990 - 1994 Jason Sudeikis (2005-2013) Jenny Slate (2009-2010) Jan Hooks (1986-1991) Gail Matthius (1980 - 1981) David Spade (1990-1996) Brooks Wheelan (2013-2014) Seth Meyers (2001-2014) Jim Belushi (1983-1985) Martin Short (1984-1985) Casey Wilson (2008-2009) Billy Crystal (1984-1985) Rich Hall (1984-1985) Christopher Guest (1984-1985) Ellen Cleghorne (1991-1995) Tim Kazurinsky (1981-1984) Michaela Watkins (2008-2009) Ana Gasteyer (1996-2002) Brad Hall (1982-1984) Dennis Miller ( 1985-1991) Joe Piscopo (1980-1984) Chris Parnell (1998-2006) Mary Gross (1981-1985) Jimmy Fallon (1998 - 2004) Terry Sweeney (1985-1986) Kate McKinnon (2012-2021) Tom Davis (1977-1980) Don Pardo (1975-2014) Beth Cahill (1991-1992) Cecily Strong (2012-2021) Garrett Morris (1975-1980) Molly Shannon (1995-2001) Nora Dunn (1985-1990) Taran Killam (2010-Now) Kevin Nealon (1986-1995) Don Novello (1978-1986) Horatio Sanz (1998-2006) Vanessa Bayer (2010 - Now) Denny Dillon (1980-1981) Rob Schneider ( 1990 - 1994) Paul Shaffer (1975-1980) Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1982 - 1985) Jay Pharoah (2010 - Now) Kenan Thompson (2003-now) Lorne Michaels (1975-now) Jane Curtin (1975-1980) Tracy Morgan (1996-2003) Tim Meadows (1991-2000) Will Forte (2002 - 2010) Darrell Hammond (1995-2009) Pamela Stephenson (1984-1985) Nasim Pedrad (2009-2014) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mass-debaters/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mass-debaters/support

Meet Julia Louis Dreyfus who rose from a 21 year old SNL cast member to starring turns on Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and most recently Veep, earning enough awards hardware to require another room! A gifted producer as well as actor and writer, Julia has the gift of balancing world class snark with just the right amount of sweetness to make enduring and lovable characters. No wonder she won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2018! As always, find more clips below and thanks for sharing our shows. Want more Julia? At the tender age of 21, Julia was plucked from The Second City to join the SNL cast. It was a transitional time but there were still many highlights, including this great bit with Mary Gross and Jim Belushi about a newly liberal and vegetarian daughter coming home for Thanksgiving. Bon Appetit! https://youtu.be/gsTckudUVL8 After her role on Seinfeld, Julia hit TV paydirt again with the New Adventures of Old Christine, in which she plays a single mom running a gym. Sure it's a network sitcom, but the writing is solid and the interplay between Christine and her best friend -- played by Wanda Sykes (!) -- is great fun. Here's some highlights. https://youtu.be/T8yrCzyzZ44 In Veep, Julia created the role of a lifetime -- that of Vice President Selina Meyer. With the help of a gifted supporting cast, Julia nailed the thankless and irrelevant role of a VP -- except when it's not! Here's a nice sample of some of Selina's best lines. https://youtu.be/YtRVGdT6c3E  

Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross join the FBI training academy in hopes of becoming FBI agents.  Co-starring Fred Dalton Thompson.

This week on Saturday Night Jive we're watching Tremors 3: Back To Perfection.  Why?  Because SNL alum Mary Gross plays Tourist Mom, probably the most respected role in her filmography.  This direct to DVD sequel has Michael Gross (brother to Mary) shooting graboids and ass blasters with the help of a plucky sidekick and a lady who runs a convenience store.  This is te first Tremors film for George while Ben has seen the entire film series and TV show.  The promise of tremors flying with the power of their farts was intriguing but lacked a little something in execution.  You can still listen to us talk about it and I hope you enjoyed the farts.  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

Tune in as my friend Misty Rose joins the show for the fourth and final episode of Christmas Month 2022, where we cover The Santa Clause, the 1994 Disney Christmas classic starring Tim Allen as a cynical dad who gets contractually roped into the legendary role of Santa Claus. A few of the included talking points are all the intense pressure and guilt that can accompany Christmas, Allen's sarcastic charisma, the Popo Gigio backstory, and how Disney+‘s The Santa Clauses retcons the first movie. Directed by John Pasquin (Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous), The Santa Clause stars Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz, Larry Brandenburg, Mary Gross, Peter Boyle, and Paige Tamada. Spoilers start at 16:15 Good Word: • Misty: Black Christmas (1974) • Arthur: Prime Video's A League of Their Own Reach out at email2centscritic@yahoo.com if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello! Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms! Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18 Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/arthur746/message

Beverly Hills, what a thrill! Take a trip back to the golden days of childhood when you were forced to interact with nature and coveted a sash with badges celebrating achievements like "Science" and "Friendship" and "Describing Fashion to Blind People". Was Shelly Long a secret fashion icon? Was Jenny Lewis THE unsung child star of the '90s? Does anyone today remember half of the people with cameos in this movie? And was anyone really clamouring to see Craig T. Nelson shirtless? Get ready to glamp in style and do the Freddie with us as we enjoy some khaki wishes and cookie dreams with our favorite Wilderness Girls and Troop Beverly Hills.Read Randall's full episode notes at yourenofun.com.And follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter.

Reading is FUNdamental! The queens skewer the filthy fundamentalism of Aaron's youth.As always, please consider buying books mentioned in the show at an indie bookstore. We recommend Loyalty Books, a Black-owned bookshop in Washington, D.C.Aaron mentions an underground comic by Justin Green called Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. You can read more about that comic here. If you have about $1,000, you can buy a beautiful hardcover version of it online.Mill Creek flows generally west-northwest in a winding course through central and western Jackson County, through the city of Ripley, which may have been named for Harry Ripley, a traveling preacher said to have drowned in the creek in 1830.Justin Bieber's former spiritual advisor, Carl Lentz, was a pastor at the megachurch Hillsong who had a very public downfall. Watch Melanie Griffith's character in Working Girl say, "I have a head business and a bod for sin. Is there anything wrong with that?" here. Troop Beverly Hills starred Shelley Long, Tori Spelling, Jenny Lewis, and Mary Gross, in a strong ensemble comedic cast. Watch the trailer here. Watch Shelley Long as Phyllis Nefler tell a scary salon story to her troop of "Wilderness Girls" here.

We're finally doing it.  We watched Feds starring SNL alum Mary Gross and it turned out to be a huge waste of time.  Tony Longo's performance as the sailor aside, this movie was one of the most dull and pointless we've ever watched.  Was it meant to be a comedy?  How many pizzas can a man eat?  How many Tremors sequels are there?  Who the fuck is Tony Longo?  These questions and a lot of wheel spinning on this week's episode of Saturday Night Jive.  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

Hi! My name is Terry J. Aman and this installment marks my 81st episode of VideoFuzzy, reporting the progress I've made in cataloging more than 3,000 VHS transfers and digital recordings. For this installment, titled "Tell Me What You Don't Like About Yourself," in my Fuzzy Feature, I talk about third-season episodes of Ryan Murphy's "Nip/Tuck" leading up to the third-season finale and reveal of The Carver story arc. A plot point in that set of episodes traced Matt's dating life with a transsexual and a racial purist, and Julia's pregnancy with Conor. I found a photo taken of me at the exact moment Julia emerged from the examination room and her decision to carry Sean's baby to term – that scene, having been recorded to disc 1285, quite by chance marked the midpoint of my Classic Collection. Wow. And since it's been quite a while, I detailed the philosophy behind my "Studio Six Feet Under" challenge, highlighting these productions – Alan Ball's "Six Feet Under" and Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" – as the mystical centers of my media collection, noting the synthesis of the those energies in Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Stories" – particularly the focus on death and reality television in season six – and other emergent centers, but those two remain solid. Cross connections through Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon, Bruno Campos, Roma Maffia and Gregory Itzen, K Callan, as well as guest appearances throughout Nip/Tuck, Alec Mapa, Mary Gross, John Goodman, Dixie Carter, Delta Burke and Jean Smart, plus Jayma Mays who appeared in both "Studio 60" and "Six Feet Under," and in Golden Thread, I track appearances by John Billingsley. In my Classic Collection (VHS-to-DVD) I find a disc with episodes from both "Studio 60" and "Six Feet Under," including a follow-up on the appearance of Mary Gross in "The Trip" I mentioned back in episode 67, and John Goodman's appearance as a judge in Pahrump, Nevada in the "Nevada Day" two-parter. I talk about the use of blackface in a third season episode of "Mad Men" at a Derby Day party set in 1963, and other appearances in media, society and politics up through today. Comments on "Veronica Mars," "Hustle," "3 Lbs.," "Medium," the Lincoln Meyer episode of "Boston Legal" and I go into some detail on "Criminal Minds" and "Grey's Anatomy." Also, I found three tiny clips less than a second long that look like they were commercials overwritten with scenes from a second season episode of "Prison Break." One looks like it's from a car commercial. I posted them on my media sites and you can take a look. I don't really have any information about them, but if they look familiar, I'd love to know. Thanks! In my Current Collection (direct-to-DVD), I archived the State of the Union Address, and historian Heather Cox Richardson's interview with President Biden. Also, the first season of "We Baby Bears," some "Kids in the Hall," "Doctor Who" and "Better Call Saul." In What I've Been Watching, I took in a high school stage production of "The Book of Will," a community theater production of "See How They Run," and such movies as Robert Pattinson in "The Batman" and Kenneth Branagh's production of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile." Our host for the "Book of Will," my friend Kirk Nybakken, reminded me during intermission of our 2005 production of another Agatha Christie production, "Towards Zero" in which he'd played Neville Strange and I'd taken on the role of ancient barrister Mathew Treves. He recalled our Inspector Battle, Troy Madl, taking sick one night and his constable, Les Younger, heroically stepping into the Detective Inspector Battle role to get us through the final reveal. I reminded Kirk of the night I'd forgotten my lines at a critical moment and he had to cue me in character to get us through to the finale. Couple of serious day-savers! Well, I was reminded of all of that while putting this together because Troy had been couch-surfing at my place while the "Towards Zero" was going on and his quick thinking resulted in that photo of me reacting to that moment in "Nip/Tuck." Thank you Troy, and thank you Kirk, for that fun trip down memory lane. And on the topic of Christie-related memories, I got some nice feedback from Kemper Donovan of the "All About Agatha" podcast regarding my "At Bertram's Hotel" entry around the 25-minute mark of episode 76, "Building a Mystery." I posted my 10th ever "VideoFuzzy: The Video" installment at https://youtu.be/vu_HaYaiOAk with comments from my Fuzzy Feature and the backstory on that photo. This will likely mark my signoff for those entries. They're fun to put together, but unless something really demands a visual component, I think my audio-only format should be just fine. The audio availability will continue on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. And this will likely be my last regular entry for a while. With out-of-town adventures and friends visiting from overseas, it has taken more than two months to put this one together despite my very best efforts. I just need to take a break, focus on some life stuff and oh yeah, plow through a BUNCH of media piled up on my Midco box. I've been making semi-regular submissions since I started this project 80 episodes ago in June of 2017 with disc 229, cataloged through disc 1300 with a deep-dive bringing in my entire backlog with episode 10. It'll be a good break, but we're not talking years. I've still got this uncharted collection of media to go through and I absolutely want to get through it and talk about it. In the meantime, explore my back catalog, click through my blog, and if there's anything you'd like more information about, please let me know. TOP TEN: Here's a "top ten" episode guide for people looking for a quick read-in on this blog and podcast effort: https://videofuzzy.libsyn.com/about Enjoy!

Richard Pryor Moving, Teri Weigel, Traci Lords, John Waters, Serial Mom, Deep Purple, Blackmore's Night, classic rock, Black Sabbath, Kansas, Queensrÿche, Geoff Tate, Jenny McCarthy, Cancelled Too Soon, TruTV, FreeForm, CourtTV, ABC Family, billboard, Oliver Tree, Zach Broussard 1000 Comedians of the Year, Brian Regan, Ron Livingston, Loudermilk, Drunks, Wes Anderson, French Dispatch, Drew Carey, Larry Miller, Night Shift, The Wrong Guys, The Dream Team, Crazy People, Michael Keaton, Roger Corman, New World Pictures, 80s Comedy Store comedian soft comedies, John Murray, Jack Reacher, Westerns, film school, Police Academy, Richard Pryor Gene Wilder, Comedy Central roasts, Friar's Club, Dean Martin roasts, Jimmy Stewart poems, Norm MacDonald Bob Saget roast, faith, improv movies, Teri Garr, Shelley Long, Money Pit, Beverly D'Angelo, ensemble movies, Dudley Moore, Richard Lewis, Anything But Love, Louie Anderson, Baskets, Goldie Hawn, Mary Gross, Julie Brown, Earth Girls are Easy, John Waters. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/whatsthatfrom)

Get ready Girl Scouts (sorry, ahem)... we meant "WILDERNESS GIRLS." On this episode, Emily and Preston discuss the nostalgic film... Troop Beverly Hills (1989). Starring Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, and Mary Gross, this beloved underdog comedy has accumulated an army of die hard fans. And you betcha that Emily is one of them! Listen in. Have some laughs. And remember... "Beverly Hills! What a Thrill!!!" Enjoy!!! And Follow us @What's Your Movie? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whatsyourmovie/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/whatsyourmovie/support

A dad unwittingly becomes Santa Claus, and undergoes a life change. That's it. That's the movie. Benny is back with us to talk about this well-liked '90s film starring Tim Allen.

4 SNL alums make up the turd we watched this week.  The Couch Trip stars Dan Aykroyd and features Victoria Jackson, Mary Gross, and a cameo from Chevy Chase.  We also get Charles Grodin, Walter Matthau and Arye Gross.  This is a stinker.  Aykroyd stars as a conman locked in a mental institution who escapes and pretends to be a psychiatrist in L.A..  He talks fast, romances Donna Dixon, and does a whole lot of unfunny things.  Enjoy!Full archive of all podcast episodes available at saturdaynightjive.blogspot.comEmail us anything at saturdaynightjivepodcast@gmail.comDownload Here

We know the names, Dan Ackroyd, Jim and James Belushi, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley, Bill and Brian Doyle Murray, Mary Gross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Vanessa Beyer, Cecily Strong, Aidi Bryant, Jason Sudekus, Mike Meyers, Tim Kazurinsky and many more. Out of all those, one looms large for not only staying on the NBC comedy bull for 8 seconds, but riding it for 10 years...longer than any other alum from the Second City. If you haven't figured it out, I'm talking about Tim Meadows, our guest today. A cast member for the entire 90's, Tim spanned era's in the show history including two of what many would consider to be “golden eras” for the show. He's one of a select number of SNL alums to have a character turned into a movie with the “The Ladies Man”, a satire on sexuality that I would say is as relevant today as when it came out. Maybe not the radio part. It would be a podcast today. 

April & A.J. take on this comedy delight, Troop Beverly Hills.  Our audio commentary of this star-studded cast was a lot of fun.  Let us know your thoughts about Shelly Long, Jenny Lewis, Kellie Martin, Betty Thomas, Carla Gugino, Craig T. Nelson, Tasha Scott, Heather Hopper, Ami Foster, Emily Schulman, Aquilna, MARY GROSS, and many more!   Write to us at www.wrightonnetwork.com or wrightonnetwork@gmail.com  

What a delight going Live with actor, and friend, Michael Gross. A pro, he handled the intro whilst I dealt with FB frustrations. We touched ever so briefly on the pandemic, jumped into Michael's humble beginnings in Chicago, as a lower middle class, parochial school-going alter boy, raised by a fair-minded before his time, father, and a fearless, creative, impromptu mother who inspired and gave permission to Michael and his younger, one day to be SNL success-story, Mary Gross. With a mid-western work ethic, a chance role in High School as the comic relief in Oklahoma at an all-girls school wetted Michael's thespian tastes as well as his awareness of where the girls “are.” Pre-med, in a commuter college, he soon found his way to the stage, getting his MFA at Yale School of Drama, which led to three years in Louisville Rep, Regional Repertory, Yale Rep, before finding his way to NY, with dollars saved and the ability to say, “no.” Like to co-starring with Richard Gere in what would be his first Broadway play… or did he? Great story there. Great stories everywhere. Ali McGraw, Sidney Lumet, Cloris Leachman (A Girl Named Sooner), Woody Allen, John Carpenter, Sylvia Sidney, Jason Robards, Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury… how he got to Hollywood, Family Ties, his one day wife, Elza, who negotiated his first contract there for the other side, his next, on his side, and how that success led to his being able to say “no,” in Hollywood. There were loads of “yes's,” Tremors! All 7 of ‘em, and the TV show, and why that appealed. We touched on Grace and Frankie, The Affair, and left a plethora of other outstanding work for another day. I cajoled to get Michael, while on vacation with his bride in New Mexico, to agree to this chat. I'll give him a week and let the Part 2 cajoling, I mean charming, commence. Easy, humble, yet self-assured, crazy talented, exceedingly smart, forward-thinking, and fair-minded (both of his parents shining through him), it was mostly great entertainment and laugh-out-loud, fun. I adore this man, and the fine human and artist he is. He brings as much authenticity to the conversation as he does to his work, and that's saying something. Michael Gross Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson Wed, 7/21/21, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streamed Live on my Facebook Replay here: https://bit.ly/3iwFa9W All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fla tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj Also on iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, Voox, OwlTail, Backtracks, PlayerFM, Himalaya, Podchaser, and Listen Notes Thanks to Rick Smolke of Quik Impressions, the best printers, printing, the best people people-ing. quikimpressions.com Nicole Venables,of Ruby Begonia Hair Studio Beauty and Products, for tresses like the stars she coifs, and regular people, like me. I love my hair, and I love Nicole. http://www.rubybegoniahairstudio.com/ Blue Microphones and Kevin Walt

In this week's episode, we delve deep into how to promote your organisation cost-effectively. Today's guest Mary Gross has worked in the non- and for-profit technology field for the last 25 years. Working with OCT Performance Marketing, she managed client accounts and worked to create and deploy marketing strategies that involve digital and social media campaigns and website development – all focused on a measurable return on investment. In the nonprofit sector, she worked with United Way of San Diego County, Nonprofit Management Solutions and 211 for 20 years and brings a deep knowledge of the nonprofit sector to any project.

The delightful Mary Gross talks about her love for Carol Burnett; her high school history club musical with Marilu Henner; attending improv classes; getting on main stage at Second City; working with Sid Caesar; Nuns on the Beach; hosting SNL Newsbreak; Marilyn Monroe singing Downers Are a Girls Best Friend; At Home with the Psychos; the Christmas bonus that wasn't, Spitting Mad Mary Gross; Dr. Ruth; playing Mary Tyler Moore in three different sketches; The Girls of Saturday Night Live; playing Pee Wee Herman; being a guest on the Tonight Show. (Some audio was "crunched" and portions had to be cut out) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This week, Ali shows Jon the greatest 80s French farce. And after they get done watching Noises Off, they watch 1988's Big Business, directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, and Bette Midler! Ali's a city mouse! Jon's a country mouse! Both are trapped in a world they never made! Like Howard the Duck, who is not mentioned in the episode even once! Not sure why I'm bringing him up! I should go to bed!Big Business also stars Fred Ward, Michael and Mary Gross, Edward Hermann, Michele Placido, and SO MANY MORE PEOPLE I DON'T FEEL LIKE GOOGLING! GOOD NIGHT!PS: At one point I (Jon) call the creator of Garfield “Jim Abrams.” This was actually the name of my best friend in 3rd Grade. I have no excuse. I wasn't tired then.

Dear Mary Gross, we're sorry.  Next time we pull your name we will finally watch Feds.  I don't know why we didn't do it this time.  Maybe I'm afraid I won't love it as much as I should.  I really want to enjoy Feds but I've been hurt by movies in the past and I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to put my heart back on the line.  So instead we watched some piece of crap that you have two scenes in.Big Business from 1988 stars Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin as two sets of twins, born at the same hospital and separated at birth.  So one Bette grew up with one Lily and vice versa.  This Prince And The Pauper-esque tale sees all 4 in New York City (The Plaza Hotel specifically.  Which is so important to the plot that they justified building an expensive set of the hotel instead of shooting in another hotel).  What do you think will happen when these twins meet each other?  Well, you have to wait until about 10 minutes before the movie is over.  That's right, this movie is just a series of "Hey, I'm gonna talk to you as if you were the other person who looks like you and then confusion will set in".  It sucks.  A shorter podcast this week since we have so little to talk about but we pack as much as we can into 45 minutes.  Enjoy!Download Here

On episode eight of Gay Card Revoked, Rob and Robbie put on their gingham dresses, book a room at The Plaza, and get ready to explore Bette Midler, and Lily Tomlin in the 1988 camp classic, BIG BUSINESS. Todd Buonopane, legendary star of stage and screen, joins the conversation which ranges from Supermarket Sweep trivia, yodeling in bathhouses, The Good Bette/Poor Bette debate, Lily Tomlin's doppelganger, musicalizing the movie, female dominance in the 1980s, the lost works of Mary Gross, and celebrating two comedy icons! Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook   Next Week: AUNTIE MAME

Hi! My name is Terry J. Aman and this installment marks my 67th episode of "VideoFuzzy," reporting the progress I've made in cataloging more than 2,900 VHS transfers and digital recordings. In this installment, titled "Let's Talk About This," I explore a fourth-season episode of "Criminal Minds" where a serial killer is targeting police officers in Phoenix, Arizona, and thematic implications for our current media and social environment, including authoritarian behavior and police brutality. I trace connections through shows I encounter in this set, including Scott Lowell and Michael O'Neill's appearances in "Leverage," Mary Gross, James Denton and John Larroquette, and then trace a Golden Thread tracking Adam Arkin's appearances in my collection. In my Classic VHS-to-DVD Collection, I talk about "The Simpsons," "Skins," "South Park," "Psych," "Damages" and highlight what struck me as misdelivered lines in "Take This Sabbath Day," a significant first season episode of "The West Wing." Also, revisiting some Old Business regarding Olive Snook singing "Eternal Flame" in a second season episode of "Pushing Daisies," and in Nerd Shows, I talk about the third season episode of "The Universe" titled "Sex in Space." In my Current, direct-to-DVD Collection, it's a segment-length Lightning Round with comments on "I Am Legend," "Heaven is for Real," "Harley Quinn," "The Alienist: Angel of Darkness," "Cake," "Castle," a 2017 documentary called "Prince: When Doves Cry," "The Lodger" (1944), "The Boston Strangler," "The Twilight Zone," "Disturbia," "Fantastic Four" (2015), "Braven," "Before I Go to Sleep" and oh wow, Stephen King's "Dark Tower" was amazing.

Shannon and Scotty eat homemade pizza with Carla Rogers as we watch the 1988 "Feds" starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross. We compare it to the others 80s comedies it resembles, if the movie is better without Bill Murray and Chevy Chase and how we would recast some of the roles.

Shannon and Scotty eat homemade pizza with Carla Rogers as we watch the 1988 "Feds" starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross. We compare it to the others 80s comedies it resembles, if the movie is better without Bill Murray and Chevy Chase and how we would recast some of the roles.

Scott and Pete welcome the lovely Carla Yacenda to discuss the Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin 1980’s classic Big Business and we’re all seeing double!  Highfalutin Rose and Sadie Shelton are scheming to strip mine Jupiter Hollow while hay-seeds Rose and Sadie Ratliff are on a crusade to save their town.  Hijinks ensue including mistaken identity, sexual espionage and a yodeling Bette Midler.  This movie has everything a little gay boy wants in life - impeccably dressed powerful women, gaudy dressed funny women, obvious gay characters who’s sexuality totally went over our heads, luxury hotels, the (false) idea of making hundreds of dollars for getting good grades and MTMUG all-star Mary Gross. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review us on iTunes! Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

We weren't sure if many people were aware of this gem from 1988, but I hope we'll be pleasantly surprised that many LMSU fans are also fans of the movie F.E.D.S.! Following the success of the Police Academy movies, the buddy cop genre blew up and F.E.D.S. was the amazing, feminist version! Starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross as FBI trainees and unlikely bff's - one is a Marine, the other a "pecker head" - but together they make an amazing team and try to dismantle the patriarchy known as the FBI!. This film is a Dumas family classic, and one we quote often and at length! We used to get goose pimples during all the amazing montages of the ladies getting shit done and 20 years later we still do! We'll talk about all our favorite scenes, how the 80s did gift us some amazing feminist films all about female empowerment, and Sweetie brings up the Presidential Fitness test AGAIN, and how bullshit it was to make elementary school kids do a pull up! 

Brandon Gardner joins me to watch Club Paradise and discuss how a comedy with great gags and characters can go wrong when it is too focused on a heavy plot.IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090856/?ref_=ttmi_ttDirected by: Harold RamisWritten by: Harold Ramis and Brian Doyle-MurrayStarring: Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Twiggy, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Adolph Caesar, Terry Hamlin, Mary Gross, Brian Doyle-Murray, Joe FlahertyMovie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keguyT8YJzMWikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_ParadiseRotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/club_paradiseBuy on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Club-Paradise-Robin-Williams/dp/B000BYA4IS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503370899&sr=8-2&keywords=Club+ParadiseRoger Ebert Review: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/club-paradise-1986Additional Links:Brandon Gardner - Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandonJGardnerTuesday Club at UCB Franklin: https://franklin.ucbtheatre.com/performance/55937Improv Nerds at UCB Sunset: https://sunset.ucbtheatre.com/performance/56616  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode, the gang takes on another Patreon selection with Michael Dinner's Hot to Trot! Why didn't Bobcat voice the horse and John Candy play the goofball son? What's with Dabney Coleman's fake teeth? And exactly how many horses died on this set? PLUS: Plenty of Hollywood celebs are rotting in Horse Hell! Hot to Trot stars Bobcat Goldthwait, John Candy, Dabney Coleman, Virginia Madsen, Tim Kazurinsky, and Mary Gross; directed by Michael Dinner.

Once again Ali and Jon fail to capitalize on any sort of momentum and/or holiday synergy by just doing a random 80s movie after another month off! In this case, it's the very Baby-Boomeresque Baby Boom, from 1987, a movie that Wikipedia claims "debuted strongly on VHS" [citation needed]. Jon can't remember the word "raft." Ali can't remember the term "applesauce." Neither can remember the movie very well because they watched it like 3 weeks ago. Oh, and this episode is a hot goddamn mess from start to finish. Baby Boom was directed by Charles Shyer, and stars Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis, Sam Wannamaker, Pat Hingle, James Spader, the criminally underutilized Mary Gross, the criminally overutilized VIctoria Jackson, and a guy who looks so much like a redneck Jonathan Pryce that it should be a crime.

Movie Meltdown - Episode 323  This week we talk with Michael Gross about acting, the dynamic of Family Ties and his years working on the Tremors series of movies. And as we find the best place to make a mistake, we also discuss... anthropology, sleepovers, eight performances a week, the most complex character of the piece, building a bastion, Shakespeare at that moment... that afternoon... came alive to me, holding onto your moral values, Edmund Gwenn, Tim and Eric, white yak hair, True Detective, a very practical man, Mary Gross, a preteen fan base, Our Father, they seemed to play well with others, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, fighting in World War 2, pretending to be a Doctor, a nice pile of money, Hamlet, always being prepared, Paul Rudd, orange goo, Dustin Hoffman, 11 year-olds declaring love, giant ants, try to follow good material wherever it takes you, Carbon Dating, they bleed through on the screen, St. Elsewhere, asexual appeal, Cool as Ice, making fun of Melvin, regional theater, John Belushi, her most successful marriage, conflict in his life, years of study, Second City, Miracle on 34th Street, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett all rolled into one and I'm liking it so much here... I may never leave. "No one was as surprised as I was... after 13 years - that 'Tremors' was coming back." Tremors 5: Bloodlines was released, October 6... go watch it!! For more on Louisville’s International Festival of Film, go to: http://louisvillefilmfestival.org/

SNL Alumna Mary Gross talks standing up for herself as a woman at Saturday Night Live in its early years, having a funny mother, and a remarkably feminine spirit. She & Amanda agree that out of great sadness comes great comedy. 

Sleep tight America. These Women carry guns. The Soulless Minions take a nostalgic look at the 1988 film Feds starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross. Feds wasn't much of money maker and it rides on more than a few cliches but the two leads have chemistry, there's some hijinks and romance and it's just plain feel good fun as we put ourselves in the shoes of Ellie De Wit and Janis Zuckerman as they strive to join to the ranks of the FBI. Sync Point - The black frame after the Warner Bros. logo has faded away. Email us Soullessminions@gmail.com

Gayle pays a visit to the owner of a new local business and attempts to escape with follicles intact.