SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
#51
Banned
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Conducting miss-aisle drills and listening to their rock n roll
Posts: 20,052
Received 167 Likes
on
126 Posts
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I'm going to go with a big no here.
Probably nobody born after 1990 would get the context of "Buckwheat" or "Gumby." I can remember seeing the Little Rascals/Our Gang serials on tv in the late 70s/early 80s (or whenever they ran) but I don't think they've been shown much since, and by the 80s there was a ton of childrens' programming being produced, so it probably fell down the memory hole. And I learned about Gumby from watching Eddie do the character on SNL when I was a kid. I didn't realize it was an actual cartoon (claymaton) character and just thought it was some random thing Murphy was doing.
And when I was a kid, I didn't know about The Honeymooners either, when he was doing the Ed Norton-Ralph Kramden bit in his standup comedy. It was still funny, but at the time I didn't understand the cultural reference.
Probably nobody born after 1990 would get the context of "Buckwheat" or "Gumby." I can remember seeing the Little Rascals/Our Gang serials on tv in the late 70s/early 80s (or whenever they ran) but I don't think they've been shown much since, and by the 80s there was a ton of childrens' programming being produced, so it probably fell down the memory hole. And I learned about Gumby from watching Eddie do the character on SNL when I was a kid. I didn't realize it was an actual cartoon (claymaton) character and just thought it was some random thing Murphy was doing.
And when I was a kid, I didn't know about The Honeymooners either, when he was doing the Ed Norton-Ralph Kramden bit in his standup comedy. It was still funny, but at the time I didn't understand the cultural reference.
#52
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 62,690
Received 1,560 Likes
on
988 Posts
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I guess young white kids wouldn't know Eddie or his characters outside of "Shrek". But young Black Kids sure as fuck know who he is and what he has done. 
Eddie Murphy Gives 'SNL' Its Best Ratings in Two Years

Eddie Murphy Gives 'SNL' Its Best Ratings in Two Years
The latest installment — which featured the appearance of stars Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle and more — currently ranks as the highest-scoring and most-viewed episode of the late-night sketch show since May 2017.Eddie Murphy's return to NBC's Saturday Night Live may have brought laughs, the revival of iconic characters and a few censored moments, but he also delivered in the ratings, as the show drew its biggest numbers in two-and-a-half years.
#53
DVD Talk Legend
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
But I was very familiar with Little Rascals.
#55
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I was a latchkey kid and I never saw any actual Gumby stuff until the mid-80s revival. When Eddie did it in the early 80s I had no idea what he was doing. It was just funny.
#56
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I had no idea about the Gumby obscurity until the mid-80s. I knew about the revival, but I always thought he was in the public consciousness. I got into Gumby in the late 80s myself.
#57
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
Pretty good episode. I like the baking show bit and seeing Buckwheat was unexpected in this pc age. Does anyone know is Dave Chappelle dying? He looked awful up there
#58
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I can't stand Lizzo and her fat dancers and this song is like nails on a chalkboard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00HMxdsVZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00HMxdsVZI
What do you think about Good as Hell?
#59
DVD Talk Hero
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I was born in 1983. I remember my parents really pushing Gumby. But I don't remember liking it. It was more about their idea of me liking it.
#60
#61
DVD Talk Legend
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I swear, some of you guys would go to a Paul McCartney concert and complain that he played Beatles songs, which you weren't around for when they were big.
Even though I think some of the sketches with old characters weren't fully developed, it was still great seeing those classic Murphy characters. Was it fan service? Sure. But as I've said a dozen times, it's those characters that kept the show afloat when it was damn near cancelled. Without Mr. Robinson, Buckwheat, Gumby, there would BE NO SNL today. Surely you can appreciate that. And even if it was before your time, so what? I didn't get into SNL till around 1979, yet I still know that "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" is an all-time SNL catchphrase.
One big change I would have made with the episode? Instead of Velvet Jones on Black Jeopardy, why not Tyrone ("kill my landlord.....kill my landlord") Green?
Even though I think some of the sketches with old characters weren't fully developed, it was still great seeing those classic Murphy characters. Was it fan service? Sure. But as I've said a dozen times, it's those characters that kept the show afloat when it was damn near cancelled. Without Mr. Robinson, Buckwheat, Gumby, there would BE NO SNL today. Surely you can appreciate that. And even if it was before your time, so what? I didn't get into SNL till around 1979, yet I still know that "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" is an all-time SNL catchphrase.
One big change I would have made with the episode? Instead of Velvet Jones on Black Jeopardy, why not Tyrone ("kill my landlord.....kill my landlord") Green?
#62
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
The difference being Beatles songs are timeless and hold up to this day. None of these Eddie Murphy characters hold up to being redone in 2019 and if it wasn't for your nostalgia for them you would agree.
#63
DVD Talk Legend
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I would indeed have to disqualify myself from that argument, as I did watch those sketches when they aired live.
But is there anyone here, born in say the 80s or later, who has gone back and seen classic Murphy sketches and found them funny, despite discovering them long after originally airing?
But is there anyone here, born in say the 80s or later, who has gone back and seen classic Murphy sketches and found them funny, despite discovering them long after originally airing?
#64
Banned
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Conducting miss-aisle drills and listening to their rock n roll
Posts: 20,052
Received 167 Likes
on
126 Posts
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
His SNL best of video is/was a perennial favorite. Cottonland, the camera commercial with Stevie Wonder, the duet with Paul McCartney but it was Sinatra, of course his legendary bit with Rick Baker. That’s maybe the single greatest thing ever on SNL.
#65
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
I would indeed have to disqualify myself from that argument, as I did watch those sketches when they aired live.
But is there anyone here, born in say the 80s or later, who has gone back and seen classic Murphy sketches and found them funny, despite discovering them long after originally airing?
But is there anyone here, born in say the 80s or later, who has gone back and seen classic Murphy sketches and found them funny, despite discovering them long after originally airing?
I knew about Gumby and Mr. Robinson, but didn’t know details about how they really were portrayed (Gumby being an old performer, Robinson leaving through the window) until I saw a few sketches - a little prior to this episode airing. Saw the one where he walked the streets as a white guy which was still solid.
#66
DVD Talk Legend
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
Since we're talking about Murphy's genius work on SNL, I thought some of his best bits were his ad-libs. A lot are hard to find, but I know one is on the Best Of compilation, where he was the angry historian complaining about how two white professors ("Professor Jif" and "Professor Skippy") stole George Washington Carver's idea for a peanut-based butter solution. He blows a line, and in character says "Yeah, I messed up. So what??"
But there was the Stevie Wonder episode, where they had a sketch with Stevie playing a bad Stevie Wonder impersonator. So Eddie, the talent buyer, has to show him how to act and sing like Stevie. First off, just that concept is ballsy, and Stevie was a really good sport to do it. But then when Stevie was singing his off-key rendition of "My Cherie Amour", he messes up a bit, and Eddie without missing a beat says "See man? You don't even know the words!"
But there was the Stevie Wonder episode, where they had a sketch with Stevie playing a bad Stevie Wonder impersonator. So Eddie, the talent buyer, has to show him how to act and sing like Stevie. First off, just that concept is ballsy, and Stevie was a really good sport to do it. But then when Stevie was singing his off-key rendition of "My Cherie Amour", he messes up a bit, and Eddie without missing a beat says "See man? You don't even know the words!"
#67
Banned
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Conducting miss-aisle drills and listening to their rock n roll
Posts: 20,052
Received 167 Likes
on
126 Posts
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
Also, the thing about Eddie on SNL back then, and he recreated perfectly last week, is almost everything he did had this sort of underlying tone of “I’m pissed off just for having to be here.” It gives a unique edge to everything he did.
#68
Banned
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Conducting miss-aisle drills and listening to their rock n roll
Posts: 20,052
Received 167 Likes
on
126 Posts
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
Here’s his whole best of.
https://dai.ly/x2ix03e
At 20:20 is the George Washington Carver bit where he breaks character almost immediately and gets over the top angry. Amazing stuff.
https://dai.ly/x2ix03e
At 20:20 is the George Washington Carver bit where he breaks character almost immediately and gets over the top angry. Amazing stuff.
#69
DVD Talk Legend
Re: SNL 12/21/19 (S45E10) -- H: Eddie Murphy -- MG: Lizzo
JJ Watt will host the Feb 1 show the day before the Super Bowl