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Saturday Night Live Season 29 Episode 4

Kelly Ripa/Outkast

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/1/03

Live from New York, it's... Darrell Hammond! Sketches include "A Message From The President," "Tressant Supreme," "Live With Regis & Kelly," "Access Hollywood," "Center For Cow Fart Study," "Leilani Burke: Pet Psychic," "Spy Glass," and "Greenbriar County Animal Shelter." OutKast peformed "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move" (featuring Sleepy Brown).moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

Gimme some sugar! I am your neighbor!

5.0

By HelloStuart, Aug 04, 2005

A Review by the Former "Heystu," Amateur Critic and Master Debater

We now enter episode four of Year 29, with actress/daytime chatterbox Kelly Ripa as host. Our musical guests tonight are the hip-hop duo OutKast, now making their second appearance on the show. This time, the duo is performing separately, as their new 2-disc album is actually a couple of solo albums rolled into one. I remember reading in a review in The Onion AV Club that "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" might very well be the hip-hop answer to The Beatles' 1968 self-titled LP (aka "The White Album") After what I've heard from the album so far, I guess it deserves that distinction.

Now, the topping of this faux-literary pizza, the sketch-by-sketch analysis:

COLD OPENING: President Bush defends his stance on Iraq, then notes some "weapon" discoveries. To be honest, this sketch really bugged me. Rumor has it that Darrell Hammond bombed when he played Dubya at a dress rehearsal about a year ago, so there's my bias. And now, he swiped the most precious object of satire on the show from Chris Parnell, who really wasn't all that bad.

MONOLOGUE: I love it when the host takes questions and comments from the audience. It's a literal calvacade of some of the shows funniest and most photogenic writers. Look! It's DB Smooth belittling "wife" Paula Pell! And over there! It's the legendary Jimmy Downey (who, by the way, has lost a little weight) playing a creepy "Dance Party, USA" fan! And just to be kosher, there's Steve Higgins leading an army of Regis fans! Overall, an agreeable start to the show.

"Tressant Supreme": How does Kelly Ripa handle three kids and three jobs? With cocaine-spiked shampoo, of course. It's been awhile since I've seen some great drug humor on the show, though something tells me this sketch was written by promising sophomore scribes Leo Allen and Eric Slovin. I mention this because they were rumored to be additions to the cast earlier this summer, but I guess that never solidified.

"Live With Regis and Kelly": Raise your hand if you had a feeling they would do a "Regis and Kelly" sketch. Of course, the twist is, Kelly is not playing herself, so instead she portrays a sullen and stiff Angelina Jolie. The best part was when real Kelly pummeled fake Kelly (AP). The worst part, however, was the abrupt and unnecessary cameo from Chris Kattan. He left merely four episodes ago; why come back so soon?

"Access Hollywood": The ever-so-nasal Pat O'Brien (JF) interviews Renee Zellweger and her pompous "obesity coach" (HS). Fallon and Sanz can't control their laughter again, and their "virus" strikes Ripa about halfway through the sketch. What the hell were they laughing at?

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Andre (Ice Cold) 3000, performing from his half of OutKast's new double-LP, "The Love Below," performs what has to be the hip-hop song of the year, "Hey Ya!" I first heard/saw the song on MTV2, and instantly fell in love with it. What do you expect? It's an awesome song!

WEEKEND UPDATE: After last week's debacle, the comedy stylings of Fallon and Fey rebound ever so slightly. They introduce themselves as Andre and Big Boi, comment on the California wildfires, then present reports from the always-amusing Drunk Girl (JR) and a drugged-out Jimmy Buffett (HS). Unlike their most recent pairings, the giggling between Fallon and Sanz actually didn't ruin "Update." In fact, Buffett's three bonus verses to the tune of "Margaritaville" as a method of commenting on a controversial $2 million birthday bash on Sardinia built up into actual hilarity.

"Cow Fart Study": Ah, my two favorite conversation topics rolled into one sketch: bad melodrama and flatulent farm animals. The needy wife (Ripa) of an overworked scientist (WF) gives him an ultimatum amidst a quartet of gassy bovines. Come for the farts, stay for the pie.

"Leilani Burke": An alleged pet psychic (MR) brags about her seeming lack of musical talent while pretending to talk to the animals. Ripa plays a whiny hausfrau, and Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz play loners with pets. Maya Rudolph is usually not this irritating, but this unearthed quality in her brings down this sketch.

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: From his half of the 2-CD set, "Speakerboxxx," it's "The Way You Move," as performed by Big Boi featuring Sleepy Brown. Okay, but it's no "Hey Ya!"

"Spy Glass": This overcooked BBC talk show spoofs the "randy" ongoings of British celebrities, but only ones that Americans are familiar with. And what the hell is Pat O'Brien doing in two sketches tonight?

"Greenbriar County Animal Rescue Shelter": Two employees (SM, Ripa) appear in a PSA spoof for needy animals, then abruptly talk smack about one particular doggie douchebag. I loved the Craig Kilborn putdown, but that was about it.

I conclude my review by admitting that this episode helped me forget Halle Berry/Britney Spears, but just barely. Ripa is obviously accustomed to live television, so saying she was a good host would be like shooting fish in a barrel. And as for OutKast, well, they were far and away the best musical guest to appear in this young season. Besides all my groveling, this has turned out to be a mediocre season thus far, though the writing has yet to scrape the bottom of the barrel like in 1980-81 or 1994-95. I was beginning to think that only four or five cast members were going to appear tonight to join Kelly, but the rest of the ensemble suddenly popped up in the second half of the show. If I have one real nit-pick, it's that Kenan Thompson and Finesse Mitchell are nowhere to be found in this episode. After three straight decent performances from BET fixture Mitchell, it was an absolute shame to watch him disappear for this episode. As for Thompson, he might be a bust thus far, but his slow start might be due to an awkward period of adjustment into the hustle and bustle of making this show. After all, "All That" is a far different program than "SNL" in so many ways.

Next Week: Tennis wonderkind Andy Roddick becomes the second catgut-swinger ever to host the show, with Dave Matthews plugging his first solo album. Screw Andy, bring on Alec Baldwin!

Sketches That Will Probably Be Edited Out In Repeats: "Access Hollywood," "Spy Glass," "Leilani Burke," and "Animal Shelter."

If you have something to say to "Heystu," send a message to sma17kc@netscape.net. He is not by any means a professional writer, though I think you probably figured that out from reading this review.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Maya Rudolph	Herself
Kenan Thompson	Himself
Darrell Hammond	Himself
Jimmy Fallon	Himself
Seth Meyers	Himself
Chris Parnell	Himself

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Kelly Ripa	Herself	Guest Star
Outkast	Themselves	Guest Star
Sleepy Brown	Himself	Guest Star
James Downey	Creepy Audience Guy	Recurring Role
Chris Kattan	Gelman	Recurring Role
Steve Higgins	Regis Philbin Fan	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- When the camera first pans towards the audience during the monologue, you can see Jim Downey wearing reading glasses and going over what appears to be a script.
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QUOTES (5)
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- Tina Fey: The Lakers fined Kobe Bryant this week after he insulted teammate Shaquille O'Neal, calling him "child-like, unprofessional, selfish, fat and jealous." Bryant then added, "and you know what else? Shaq couldn't rape his way out of a wet paper bag!"
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- Tina Fey: It has been reported that Britney Spears is now dating actor John Cusack. The two have a lot in common: she wants to pursue an acting career, and he wants to bone Britney Spears. Things were apparently going very well with the couple until Jeremy Piven demanded a supporting role.
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- Tina Fey: Levi's announced that they are redesigning their famous 501 jeans to compensate for the fact that Americans are getting heavier. The new design features roomier hips and thighs as well as the patented "front butt" technology.
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- Tina Fey: In an interview, Paris Hilton said that of her and her sister, "people love to hate us. But when you know us, you love us. And if you really get to know us, you get gonorrhea."
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- Drunk Girl: I decided to go as Catwoman for Halloween because all my other costumes are being used as evidence!
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NOTES (5)
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- The E! version of this episode only has Andre 3000 perform "Hey Ya!" Big Boi and Sleepy Brown's performance of "The Way You Move" is cut.
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- Keeping with the theme of having two solo albums released as a double album, OutKast never appear on stage together during their performances. Andre 3000 performs "Hey Ya!" by himself as does Big Boi (featuring Sleepy Brown) with "The Way You Move".
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- Contrary to popular belief, Chris Parnell did not ask to be removed from playing Bush. He wanted to continue playing the president, but the producers reassigned the role to Darrell Hammond.
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- Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson do not appear in this episode.
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- This is Darrell Hammond's first appearance as President George W. Bush, making him the third actor in as many years to play the 43rd US president.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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