SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE {GEORGE CLOONEY; THE CRANBERRIES} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of live, late-night comedy/variety programs featuring topical satire. Actor George Clooney hosts this program, with musical guests The Cranberries. In the opening sequence, Tim Meadows and Ellen Cleghorne present on Black History Month and highlight recent achievements by notable black Americans, though they quickly realize that the stories are all negative. They are pleased to be the first two black cast members to introduce the show, but Chris Farley then crashes the scene. During his opening monologue, Clooney talks about learning about real medicine for his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the show "ER," and when a man in the audience asks if Clooney will perform his transplant surgery, Clooney messily obliges him.
Sketches include the following: an ad for Lenon Paradox cars; a day at a water park's whale show during which a man attempts to chat with a pretty girl, but is thwarted by his luckier friend and his position in "the splash zone"; an installment of "Taxicab Confessions" in which passengers, including a laid-back Jay Leno and the surprisingly not-dead Slim Pickens and Vincent Price, confess very personal secrets and then gamely sign the release form; and "Weekend Update," with Norm Macdonald discussing the recent peace agreement in Ireland, changes in the stock market, updates on the O.J. Simpson murder trial, including comments from a bored juror, an outlandish plot point on "Chicago Hope," with criticism from Clooney, the upcoming birth of James Carville's child, Athena Onassis' tenth birthday; information from Kevin Nealon about MediCare and budget cuts for those with "no attention span," alterations to classic Mafia traditions and a grisly death on a subway train.
Other highlights include the following: an "ER" parody entitled "Waiting Room," in which patients with grievous injuries are forced to wait for extended periods for treatment; a story of a fraudulent train foreman who attempts to hire an unsuspecting man using very strange criteria; another installment of The Mack Reardon Story, in which the one-time country superstar attempts to appeal to a new audience by performing in drag, and then fails yet further with the release of an accidentally racist album; Beverly Gelfand's enthusiastic perusal of the Zagat's restaurant guide, much to the frustration of her disinterested husband Hank; a plea from the mayor of Emory, Illinois for pro-life and pro-choice protestors alike to enjoy the city's hospitality; and a short film featuring an eccentric man dedicated to performing the song "Fame" at karaoke, then forced to switch to "Snowbird" when upstaged. The Cranberries also perform "Zombie" and "Ode to My Family." Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 25, 1995 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:51
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:65388
- GENRE: Comedy/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy/Variety
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1975-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - 1-800-COLLECT telephone services
- TV - Commercials - American Express credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Budweiser beer
- TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Isuzu automobiles
- TV - Commercials - MCI telephone services
- TV - Commercials - Miller Lite Ice beer
- TV - Commercials - Paramount hotels
- TV - Commercials - Reebok athletic wear
- TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Sensodyne toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Sprint long-distance telephone services
- TV - Commercials - Walt Disney World resorts
- TV - Promos - "Op Center"
- TV - Promos - NBC basketball
CREDITS
- Lorne Michaels … Executive Producer, Writer
- Ken Aymong … Supervising Producer
- James Downey … Producer, Writer
- Sue Liebman … Associate Producer
- Michael Shoemaker … Associate Producer
- James Signorelli … Film Producer
- Dave Wilson … Director
- Al Franken … Writer
- Tim Herlihy … Writer
- Norm Hiscock … Writer
- Brian Kelley … Writer
- Laura Kightlinger … Writer
- Steven Koren … Writer
- Steve Lookner … Writer
- David Mandel … Writer
- Ian Maxtone-Graham … Writer
- Margo Meyer … Writer
- Marilyn Suzanne Miller … Writer
- Lewis Morton … Writer
- Herb Sargent … Writer
- Drake Sather … Writer
- Fred Wolf … Writer
- Ross Abrash … Writer
- Jack Handey … Writer
- E.G. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band … Music by
- George Clooney … Host, Performer
- Don Pardo … Announcer
- The Cranberries … Guest, Music Group
- Ellen Cleghorne … Cast
- Chris Elliott … Cast
- Chris Farley … Cast
- Janeane Garafolo … Cast
- Norm Macdonald … Cast
- Michael McKean … Cast
- Mark McKinney … Cast
- Tim Meadows … Cast
- Kevin Nealon … Cast
- Adam Sandler … Cast
- David Spade … Cast
- Laura Kightlinger … Cast
- Jay Mohr … Cast
- Molly Shannon … Cast
- James Carville
- Jay Leno
- Slim Pickens
- Vincent Price
- Athena Onassis