Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Wonder Weeks' on Netflix, a Dutch Parenting Comedy Kristen Stewart's Next Project Is a "Stoner Girl Comedy" With Fiancée Dylan Meyer: "It's Really F**king Stupid"Ĭan 'The Full Monty' Lightning Strike Twice? Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Full Monty' On FX/Hulu, An Unfocused Sequel Series To The 1997 Film LGBT Film Festival Loses Corporate Sponsor’s Public Support Ahead of 2023 Pride Programming: “Parts of Our Country Don’t Want Us Raising Our Voices” Treat Williams Showed All Parents of Gay Children How to Love Their Kids in ‘The Christmas House’ Robinson (and “urban” movie reviewer character Raheem Abdul Muhammad) resemble a sketch from In Living Color more than anything you’d usually see on SNL.Let’s Get Loud! 7 Movies to Stream on Netflix in Celebration of Pride Month 2023ħ LGBTQ+ TV Shows to Stream in Honor of Pride Month 2023 Its ability to mine racial injustice for laughs makes Mr. Robinson schools his viewers on the harsh realities of getting by in the inner city - drug deals, theft, unpaid bills, and the ever-present threat of violence. Instead of teaching kids about manners and kindness, Mr. Robinson was on the Februepisode, which is infamous for being the episode where the late Charles Rocket said “fuck” on live TV and ensured he would be let go when Ebersol took over SNL from Doumanian. “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood,” a parody of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, was likely one of the only windows many Americans had into a black world. ( Watch it here.)Īs the only African-American cast member on Saturday Night Live at the time, Murphy had both the burden and the opportunity to be the show’s standard-bearer for the entire culture. Both daring and hilariously dark, the Buckwheat saga is one of the rare sketches from this era that would fit comfortably next to anything from the first five years of SNL. Eddie plays both Buckwheat and his assassin, John David Stutts, who is also murdered on the next episode. Ostensibly a parody of America’s fascination with celebrity and the macabre, Murphy’s immensely popular recurring character, an adult Buckwheat from The Little Rascals, is murdered. The death of Buckwheat was a runner that lasted through the Maepisode and into the following week, taking the form of news bulletins hosted by Joe Piscopo as Nightline host Ted Koppel. Whether it was due to the change in producers or the fact that the show was in danger of losing its place in the pop-culture zeitgeist, the Eddie Murphy era of SNL took chances with the form. Each piece exists on an island, designed to be enjoyed by someone flopping on the couch after a night out or a person aimlessly rummaging through YouTube. Today, SNL isn’t known for running jokes that carry from sketch to sketch. In lieu of combing through the four Murphy-led seasons, we’ve compiled a list of some of his best sketches to prepare you for his triumphant return. He’s also the only cast member who’s ever hosted the show while being an active member of the cast, when he filled in for Nick Nolte in 1982. He was so crucial, so powerful, and so undeniable on SNL that instead of padding the show with extra material in case the show ran short, Ebersol would just send Eddie out in front of the crowd to ad lib on live TV. Besides the sketches Murphy was in, the show kind of stunk. In short, there’s a reason you haven’t seen much of Eddie Murphy’s work on Saturday Night Live. Joe Piscopo is best known for being a resident of New Jersey. Tim Kazurinsky is a name you might recall as the actor who played “Sweetchuck” in Police Academy. Julia Louis-Dreyfus came and went, then took off on Seinfeld. Robin Duke, Tony Rosato, and Gary Kroeger are names known to SNL obsessives and sketch-comedy completists. The cast around Murphy was talented, but full of names that faded into obscurity or became famous for work outside Studio 8H. Dick Ebersol had taken over as the producer from Jean Doumanian, who had the unenviable task of trying to reboot the show after the departure of Lorne Michaels. The era of SNL that Murphy lorded over was tumultuous at best. It’s just that a confluence of the passage of time, the circumstances of Murphy’s tenure on the show, and his hesitancy to return to host again has rendered his work on Saturday Night Live more obscure than it should be. This is not a slight against Murphy or his level of celebrity. By “a certain age,” I mean someone over 50. The news that Eddie Murphy is hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live this season and returning to stand-up has comedy fans of a certain age breathless with anticipation.
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