Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.misc From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: 2 landslide wins for humor Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 20:06:09 EST Message-ID: \SE D;ARTS;TELEVISION \HD 2 landslide wins for humor \SH 'Mastergate,' 'SNL' campaign for fun \BY Rod Dreher \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES With this dreadful presidential election about to overtake us like a beak-smacking buzzard eyeballing fresh roadkill, any comic relief provided by the networks ought to be considered a public service. Tonight, viewers have two equally amusing choices: "Mastergate," a made-for-TV version of Larry Gelbart's stage satire of Washington's scandal culture, and a retrospective of political sketches from "Saturday Night Live" called "Saturday Night Live's Presidential Bash." True, the election is a boon to NBC in that it allows the network a budget-friendly opportunity to air retreads of old "Saturday Night Live" political skits in prime time. But what great stuff "SNL" has in its archives. Tonight's program opens with a recent skit first aired after the first Bush-Clinton-Perot debate. In the bit, the invaluable Dana Carvey imitates both President Bush and Ross Perot (the latter on videotape), with Phil Hartman as Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. It's a hilarious hit on the first of this year's presidential debates, and it makes the argument that perhaps the best reason to vote for Mr. Bush is so we can enjoy four more years of Mr. Carvey's wicked impersonation. The sketch also features Dan Aykroyd as the irascible Sen. Bob Dole, assaulting the Rev. Pat Robertson (Al Franken) as a Bible-thumping, faith-healing huckster. "But I'll tell you one thing, Pat Robertson," Mr. Dole barks, "You heal my right arm and I'll step aside and let you be president." We see Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford talking to Mr. Ford's press secretary, Ron Nessen (that week's guest host), in a piece whose only gag is Mr. Ford's clumsiness. Did we laugh at that then? As the Ford administration has faded from memory, Ford-based humor (now that's a concept) has lost its luster. Similarly, the famous skit in which Jimmy Carter (Mr. Aykroyd) goes to "Two Mile Island," is exposed to radiation, becomes a giant and falls in love with the gargantuan power plant cleaning lady (Garrett Morris) was funnier in memory than on second watching. Even so, it's a kick to revisit the piece, a classic moment of 1970s television. Other things to watch for include guest host Ron Reagan Jr. prancing about the White House in his skivvies in a "Risky Business" parody, while Mommy (Terry Sweeney) and Daddy (Mr. Hartman) are away at Camp David. "SNL's" send-up of last year's Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, in which Ted Kennedy (Mr. Hartman), Strom Thurmond (Mr. Carvey), Howell Heflin (Chris Farley) and others discuss their favorite tricks for picking up women, is a hoot. Set your VCR. * * * "Mastergate" is satire with more serious purposes. Mr. Gelbart, an Emmy-winning writer, penned this play for the Broadway stage in the wake of assorted 1980s Washington scandals, primarily the Iran-Contra affair. Though this production, for Showtime, has been updated to include references to the Clarence Thomas inquisition, Iraqgate, the House bank scandal and more contemporary Capitol Hill hoo-hahs, the Iran-Contra hearings remain the play's chief source. Watching scandal hearings on television, Mr. Gelbart apparently was both amused and outraged by how Washington figures - lawmakers, administration officials, lawyers and soldiers - use language like magicians use smoke bombs: for cheap drama and to conceal their sleights of hand. The play is set in "the John Mitchell Room" on Capitol Hill, where a joint congressional committee has convened to investigate a scandal called Mastergate. It is believed that the CIA, under the direction of a now-dead Casey-like figure named Wiley Slaughter, bought a Hollywood movie studio from a tax fugitive, and used it as a cover to run guns to anti-Communist rebels in Central America. The hearings open with sage advice from a windbaggy senator, who says, "Those who forget the past are certain to be subpoenaed." The action takes us through the testimony of several key figures in the scandal, including former Internal Revenue Service agent Abel Lamb (Bruno Kirby), Maj. Manley Battle, an Oliver North knockoff played by James Coburn, and the Vice President (Dennis Weaver), who concludes with a ringing defense of breaking laws to achieve higher policy goals. America wouldn't be America if the Founding Fathers had played by the rules, he says. If George Washington, et al., hadn't thumbed their noses at English law, he shouts, "we would have driven here to Capitol Hill on the left side of the road, and our president would have been a queen!" "I'd like you to study the document you have before you which lists events you do not recall remembering but which you have remembered recalling," a straight-faced committee member instructs a witness. The play is so full of wonderful Marx Brothers lines like that one you may think Washington is the capital of Freedonia. ***** THREE STARS WHAT: "Saturday Night Live's Presidential Bash" WHEN: Tonight, 9-11 p.m. WHERE: NBC (Channels 2 and 4) ***** THREE STARS WHAT: "Mastergate" WHEN: Premieres tonight at 10 p.m. WHERE: Showtime MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM