SNL!! FNL!! TV FUNHOUSE!! FUTURAMA II!! HUMAN GIANT!! POPEYE!! HercVault!!

I am – Hercules!!

“Saturday Night Live in the ‘80s: Lost and Found,” is a well-researched and interview-packed two-hour 2005 look at the post-Bill Murray era that gave us Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Chris Guest, Robert Downey Jr., Joan Cusack, John Lovitz, Phil Hartman and many another pop-culture icon. The tale of the show’s fall and rise during that decade is fascinating, and it’s fun to see it illustrated with first-person accounts and well-chosen clips. Featured in new interviews are former cast members Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthias, Denny Dillon, Tim Kazurinsky, Mary Gross, Robin Duke, Gary Kroeger, Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Jon Lovitz, Victoria Jackson, Terry Sweeney, Nora Dunn, Kevin Nealon, Carvey and Piscopo (who has somehow grown to resemble Hello Deli proprietor Rupert Gee), frequent host Danny DeVito, writers Lorne Michaels, Al Franken, Tom Davis, A. Whitney Brown, Robert Smigel, Conan O’Brien, Don Novello, Andy Breckman, Bob Tischler, Margaret Oberman, Andrew Smith, David Sheffield and Barry Blaustein, manager Bernie Brillstein, producer Dick Ebersol, and talent coordinators Laurie Zaks and Neil Levy. (Those NOT interviewed, sadly, include the late Charles Rocket, Eddie Murphy, Brian Doyle-Murray, Brad Hall, Rich Hall, Christopher Guest, Dennis Miller, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Jan Hooks, Randy Quaid, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller and Larry David.) SNL LOST “Lost and Found” kicks off with creator Michaels’ decision to depart the hugely successful SNL after five years. In a hilarious 1981 “Weekend Update” clip, Franken deplores both NBC’s “horrendous” decision to replace Michaels with Jean Doumanian, the show’s non-writing talent-booker, and NBC’s subsequent decision to replace Doumanian with Dick Ebersol, a non-writing NBC exec. (Undisclosed in the doc is that writers Franken, Tom Davis and Jim Downey were Michael’s choices to succeed Michaels as SNL showrunners.) “Okay, now, who do they pick to rectify the original error? Someone who knows what he’s doing? Someone like me, Al Franken? No, they picked Dick Ebersol. I know Dick and I can tell you that he doesn’t know dick. Okay, now the show’s going to be a little better. No English-speaking person could do a worse job than Jean.” Ebersol, relates writer Andy Breckman later in the doc, “was the only guy in the business I ever heard turn to somebody else and say, ‘Was that funny? I just don’t know.’ He would just admit, ‘I don’t know.’” We’re reminded of how avidly potential cast members clamored for a shot at the start-over SNL, which in its first five years had turned Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray into movie stars. Matthias reveals that one of her auditions lasted eight hours. We’re reminded that Bill Murray returned to guest-host and appear in horrible sketches during the show’s first post-Michaels season. There’s a clip with him on a couch with Rocket, Risley, Piscopo and the others, talking with them about how much everybody hates the show since he left. “Yeah, I read that stuff,” laments Murray. ‘Saturday Night Live is Saturday Night Dead.’ My favorite, though, is ‘Vile From New York.’” “Aristocrats” star Gottfried, who provides a lot of memorable commentary, remembers the loathing that greeted the post-Murray era: “It was like if, during the height of Beatlemania, you were going to remove the Beatles and have a whole new group of Beatles.” Gottfried also laments his season’s poor craftsmanship. Doumanian, he says, “always stuck me as the type of woman who would watch a Marx Brothers movie and go, ‘Well, I like Margaret DuMont. But who are those weird gentlemen running around?’” We’re reminded that the early Ebersol years, even though they brought back writers like Alan Zweibel and (briefly) Michael O’Donaghue, were plenty lame, with Kazurinsky ad-libbing alongside monkeys and Piscopo discovering endless excuses to drag out his Sinatra impersonation. (Piscopo’s Sinatra stylings appear particularly pathetic when compared to the much more pointed version Phil Hartman would offer on the show a few years down the line.) Kazurinsky describes Eddie Murphy as a “mensch” and “team player” who, as the show’s star, fought to give more screen-time to his castmates. Kazurinsky also relates that “Dr. Strangelove” screenwriter Terry Southern, who briefly joined the SNL writing staff, had a terrific wet bar in his office, and fabulous cocaine, and kept pitching very odd sketch ideas. Julia Louis-Dreyfus remembers she was still a college junior when she was plucked from Chicago’s Practical Theatre to join the SNL cast. Andy Breckman relates that “Seinfeld” creator Larry David only got on sketch on the air the whole year he wrote for SNL. “Some people resent that I wasn’t as good as John,” notes Jim Belushi, who followed his movie-star brother onto the show during the Ebersol era. “And my answer to that is, ‘Who was?’” SNL FOUND We are reminded that Ebersol’s hiring of more established (and expensive) cast members like Billy Crystal and Martin Short was precipitated by Murphy’s departure. Louis-Dreyfus and Belushi remember being reduced to “second-stringers” with the arrival of Short, Crystal and Christopher Guest. (We learn that Crystal and Guest went to college together.) Crystal reveals he very much wanted to do a second season but “nobody else wanted to come back.” Laurie Zaks, an SNL talent coordinator at the time, said she thought that with the departure of Short, Guest and Crystal, the show really was at an end. Learn that when auditions were being held for Michaels’ first year back, Nora Dunn was working as a waitress in a restaurant right below the audition hall. (Another fact politely left out of the documentary is that Michaels and Dunn became bedmates around the time she joined the SNL cast.) Franken does a hilarious impression of fellow writer George Meyer melting down backstage. Michaels’ first season back ended with a sketch about the everyone in the cast getting trapped in a fire, and Michaels choosing to rescue only breakout star Lovitz. “Some fo the cast members were kind of mad about that sketch,” remembers writer Smigel. “The ones who weren’t Jon Lovitz.” Learn that Michaels’ manager, of all people, had to talk Brandon Tartikoff out of cancelling the show following the troubled Anthony Michael Hall-Terry Sweeney season. Learn that SNL was the first writing job for stand-up comic A. Whitney Brown, apparently one of the few writers on the show who didn’t attend Harvard. Learn that Victoria Jackson does a serviceable Lorne Michaels impression! Learn what Don Novello sounds like when he’s not doing Father Guido Sarducci! Dana Carvey reveals that the Harvard grads would laugh at him when he mispronounced what they’d written for him. Harvard grad Conan 0’Brien reveals that he and fellow writers Smigel and Bob “Mr. Show” Odenkirk were collectively referred to as “the nerds.” The doc also does a great job of reminding one how funny Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman could be, alone or together. Laugh at Lovitz’ scientist trying to explain physics to Hartman’s Peter Graves. Laugh at Lovitz, as Satan, protesting nerdily as he’s about to get tossed out of “The People’s Court.” Laugh again as Lovitz and Tom Hanks man a street corner, utterly incapable of engaging passing young women in conversation. Laugh yet again as Lovitz, as Tonto, debates the merits of fire with Nealon’s Tarzan and Hartman’s Frankenstein. Missing entirely is any mention of Ben Stiller (who appeared in about a dozen 1989 installments) or Mike Myers (who also joined the cast in ’89). (Curiously, a “Wayne’s World” logo appears behind the interviewees in the final segment, so perhaps it was decided in the editing suite that Myers’ earliest SNL material would be saved for the inevitable third documentary.) If “Lost and Found” has a weak link (a “Garrett Morris,” if you will), it’s its many intrusive 15- to 35-second clips featuring the show’s many musical guests. The tunes are spliced in to comment on the show’s ever-changing fortunes, but actually feel like padding and slow the doc’s narrative flow. Even so, these not-altogether-unpleasant interludes are a small price to pay for such an otherwise well-constructed document. EXTRA FOOTAGE: The new disc comes with an excellent extra, more than 57 minutes of clips and new interviews that did not find their way into the documentary NBC aired. This material delves into morals of the era, how drug use among the cast and crew had diminished and the era’s censorship policies, among other things. Tom Davis remembers returning to the show in 1985 and being told by Jim Downey that he wasn’t permitted to light up joints at the office anymore. Gilbert Gottfried and Tim Kazurinski relate that in the year Charles Rocket ultimately used the word “fuck” at the end of a live broadcast, the words “freakin’,” “friggin’” and “scumbag” were verboten. Kevin Nealon explains that all this changed because NBC fired its SNL censors as a cost-saving measure, a fact Nealon made note of live during a “penis song” sketch. Lorne Michaels and Conan O’Brien observe that SNL couldn’t get much milage out of the political landscape during Reagan’s second term because it all seemed like old material, and that the show finally found firmer footing as the 1988 Bush-Dukakis race began to heat up. Learn that Phil Hartman was highly resistant at first to the idea of playing Barbara Bush. Learn that Terry Sweeney, who claims to be the first openly gay performer on network TV, was far less reluctant to tackle Nancy Reagan. A. Whitney Brown offers a great story about how Lorne Michaels defused charges that the show trafficked in homosexual stereotypes. Learn that female cast member Denny Dillon was a fan of Jean Doumanian’s fleeting months as showrunner because Doumanian was nurturing of the female cast members’ aspirations. Learn that the number of female hosts declined precipitously during the Dick Ebersol era. The writer-performer relationship is examined. Gottfried despaired for his status on the show when he learned he’d be playing a role that could have literally been supplied by wads of rolled-up newspaper. There’s a segment on how the show’s overwhelmingly white writing staff struggled with creating roles for black hosts and cast members. The tale is told of the “Mr. Monopoly” sketch that got Damon Wayans fired. (Amazingly, Michaels invited Wayans back to perform a bit of his stand-up act later in the season!) Gottfried, who makes great sport of the “genius” headline writers who tackle SNL, relates that people are surprised when they learn he was on the show. He says when people ask what sketches he was in, he claims participation in the cheerleader sketches with John Belushi and Jimmy Fallon. Writer Andy Breckman says he thinks a viewer always remember only the sketches that aired during that viewer’s sophomore and junior year of high school.

Skipping along a couple decades, Universal launches what could become an annual tradition with Saturday Night Live: Best of ‘06/’07. The $12.99 disc features an audio commentary by cast and writers and bonus sketches that were taped during dress rehearsal but never utilized on air. The sketches: 1) Nancy Pelosi (Kristin Wiig), just prior to assuming the role of Speaker of the House, makes adjustments to her office’s dress code. Noted Republican Jim Downey tells us this is one of the kinkier pieces he’s written and that he’s used the phrase “Moloch, Lord of Fire” perhaps five or six times over his four-decade career at SNL. Downey describes Will Forte and Fred Armisen as perhaps the show’s two most courageous cast members. 2) Jake Gyllenhall, during the show, notices during the monologue some cowboys in the audience, then launches into a number from “Dreamgirls.” Seth Meyers says he wrote the gay cowboy bit on Tuesday but the song didn’t become a component until the Friday before the show. 3) Tony Bennett (Alec Baldwin) welcomes Kevin Federline (Andy Samberg) and impressionist Anthony Bennedetto (Tony Bennett) to his show. The commentary on this sketch is (maybe?) another sketch performed by cast and writers, including perhaps Will Forte and Fred Armisen. 4) A basketball team captain (Peyton Manning) recommends fleeing at halftime. John Lutz and Will Forte disclose they originally wrote this sketch for the previous show’s host, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who would play a female basketball coach. 5) “Bronx Beat” welcomes Frank O’Connor (Gyllenhaal), author of a book about biking trails. Sketch writer Emily Spivey joins Poehler and Rudolph to reveal that Betty and Jody are based on someone named Jody in the show’s hair department. 6) Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake sing of a dick in a box. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (all members of The Lonely Island comedy concern that forged “Hot Rod”) who co-created this digital short, reveal that Timberlake served as choreographer. Learn that parts of it were shot on the set of “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” 7) Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers welcome the judge from Danni Lynn trial (Fred Armisen), Peter O’Toole (Bill Hader), Poehler’s Aunt Linda (Wiig). (I love Aunt Linda; she kills me.) Amy claims the judge is her least favorite Fred Armisen character. Learn that Samberg originally suggested the “Really?” segment because Meyers uses that word a lot. Learn than writer Jonathan Lutz played the Amish guy with the blackberry. 8) Homeland Security agents (Dane Cook, Jason Sudeikis) explain to airport security officers that three ounces is the magic amount when it comes to liquids and gels allowed in carry-on luggage. (This is my favorite sketch on this collection; it is perhaps the single funniest thing with which Dane Cook has ever been associated.) Seth Meyers, who wrote the sketch, reveals that Maya Rudolph’s voice in the sketch is one of his favorites in all of SNL history. 9) D.J. Dynasty Handbag (Kenan Thompson) welcomes new co-host T’Shane (Andy Samberg) to “Deep House Dish.” Jon Lutz and Will Forte claim the sketch’s set cost $500,000. 10) Julia Louis-Dreyfus runs afoul of a boom operator (Sudeikis) while filming a mammogram PSA. Brian Tucker and Sudeikis, who wrote the sketch, reveal its inspiration was the boom operator he worked with on “30 Rock.” 11) A contest winner (Maya Rudolph) offers an eccentric rendition the national anthem just prior to the fifth game of the World Series. Writer Jon Lutz and Rudolph reveal this sketch emerged from an “American Idol” clip package Rudolph saw. 12) At an “Apprentice” press conference, Donald Trump (Darrell Hammond) demonstrates that he can’t get Rosie O’Donnell off his mind. Writers Jon Lutz and Paula Pell reveal meeting Trump when he hosted SNL provided some inspiration. 13) The A-Holes explain to an adoption agent (Jeremy Piven) that they want a Muppet baby. Writers Sudeikis and Wiig reveal that the name of the Jeremy Piven’s character was named after Sudeikis’ high school pal. 14) Peyton Manning exploits and abuses the youth group for whom he volunteers. Writer Meyers reveals this had to be shot between 9 a.m. and noon on Friday. Akiva Schaffer worked on it also. 15) Ludacris recruits the legendary rapper Blizzard Man (Andy Samberg) to help with a recording. Writers Schaffer, Taccone and Samberg reveal Matt Murray worked on this sketch as well. Learn that Luda invited Samberg to reprise his role at a charity event. 16) Samberg, Hader and Shia LeBeauf brilliantly parody, of all things, the 2005 second-season finale of “The O.C.” in which Marissa Cooper bulleted Ryan Atwood’s brother to the tune of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek.” Learn from Schaffer, Taccone and Samberg that they all very much enjoy “The O.C.” and that the short was shot very early the day of the show in a hotel room near 30 Rock. Learn also that the Wiig “beat” and the cops “beat” were made up as they were shooting. 17) A “Most Haunted” investigator (Hugh Laurie) is haunted by his own flatulence. Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and writer James Anderson reveal the intial thought was to have an actual ghost fart. 18) Gyllenhaal thanks The Shins, who don’t perform on this compilation. Commentary tracks aside, extras include: 1) Dress sketch: ‘Virginica’ (4:29) The Kenan Thompson character attends a society function. Peyton Manning and Andy Samberg play two of her foils. 2) Dress sketch: ‘Five O’Clock’ (3:50) Justin Timberlake plays a Toy Mart employee who’s a little too excited about his work schedule. Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph play fellow employees. 3) A sampling of poorly performing dress-rehearsal “Weekend Update” gags (5:45), many of which never made air. 4) ‘Dick in a Box’ Uncensored (2:43). 5) Photo Gallery.

It’s a big week for sketch comedy on DVD, and Human Giant: Season One comes with a whole disc full of bonus feaures, including: * Early live footage; * 90 minutes of deleted scenes and improv; * Unaired “Shutterbugs” and “Illusionators” sketches; * Excerpts from MTV’s Human Giant marathon featuring Bob Odenkirk, Will Arnett and Michael Cera; and * Sneak previews of sketches from the series’ upcoming second season. The main disc features commentary by producers, cast and guests Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bill Hader and Patton Oswalt.
Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

63% OFF SNL 25!! $12.99!!

$19.99: Seasons Eight And Nine! 60% Off!!

The third and final and completely wonderful third season of “Veronica Mars” (the one with the 12-minute fourth-season “Veronica FBI” pilot among its extras) continues to sell at the moment for $19.99!! That’s 67% Off!! (It was $37.99 a few weeks ago.) The first two seasons have been momentarily encheapened as well: $19.99 Veronica Mars: Season One <--- VASTLY ENCHEAPENED!! $19.99 Veronica Mars: Season Two <--- VASTLY ENCHEAPENED!! $19.99 Veronica Mars: Season Three <--- VASTLY ENCHEAPENED!!