Jane Curtin is fucking awesome

Cafe Society
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When the first season of Saturday Night Live was released on DVD, I picked it up imagining I would get each of the first five seasons as they were released. I didn’t end up following through with that- not that I’ve lost interest, just that it never reached high enough priority in my life of limited funds.

A while back however, I saw Season 3 and 4 packaged together at a particularly good price. So, although I didn’t own Season 2 I did pick up the Season 3 and 4 package.

I’ve been working my way through, after finally completing Season 1, and I have to say:
Jane Curtin is fucking awesome.
How often does anyone ever say “Jane Curtin is fucking awesome”? Not often enough.
In fact, I was going to title this Thread “In Appreciation of Jane Curtin” but instead I think I’ll title it “Jane Curtin is fucking awesome”.

I had always said that the Jane Curtin/Dan Aykroyd team was one of the all-time best versions of Weekend Update, but rewatching a full season of it I more fully appreciate the team and recognize Curtin as the true powerhouse that made it so good.

I don’t believe SNL has ever put out a “Best of Jane Curtin” collection (growing up too young for the original run, I got to know the original cast through home video collections such as “Best of John Belushi” “Best of Steve Martin” “Best of Gilda Radner” etc.), Curtin was so often used in supporting roles in sketches so a “Best of” collection isn’t obvious. Still, it is strength as a supporting actor that people always give Phil Hartman so much credit for so I think Curtin is due some praise.

A couple of highlights:
There is a Weekend Update segment on the episode that Chevy Chase hosted.
The gag was that Chevy wanted the Update segment all to himself. [ul]
[li]So, Chevy comes on as a guest commentator, then fakes a phone call for a family emergency for Aykroyd. So, Aykroyd leaves and Chevy picks up all of Aykroyd’s anchor duties.[/li][li]Chevy tries the same thing with Curtin but she doesn’t fall for it.[/li][li]Chevy then brings Belushi in for a commentary on self-defense. As he discusses self-defense techniques, Belushi wants Curtin to aid him in a demonstration. She resists, he attempts to coax her into agreeing to try to evade a puch, then he clocks her on the jaw and she drops below the set.[/li][li]It is revealed that Chevy had paid off Belushi to take Curtin out of commission, now Chevy has Update all to himself.[/li][li]Chevy brings on Emily Litella.[/li][li]Jane Curtin regains consciousness, stands up and rages against Chevy and Emily . . . in one of the GREATEST fucking comic acting performances in SNL History!!![/li][/ul]

Another highlight, as a Mother’s Day feature there is a panel talk show segment interviewing celebrities and their mothers.
The gag is that the mothers (with whom the public would not have been familiar) share all the imitable characteristics of their sons.
Aykroyd was Tom Snyder- and Aykroyd always did an awesome Tom Snyder. Jane Curtin played Tom Snyder’s mother, doing all the imitable Tom Snyder characteristics but as an older woman . . . and she was fucking brilliant!!!

I also always liked her on Third Rock From the Sun. She and John Lithgow were great together.
I don’t actually remember Kate & Allie very much and haven’t seen it in years. However, I do remember really liking it at the time- which has to be significant praise considering that my 11 year old boyhood self could not possibly have been the targeted demographic*. I’d like to watch some episodes again.

*waitaminute: Perhaps my 11 year old boyhood self was among one of the targeted demographics for that show!

2

bienville you ignorant slut!

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no argument from me

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I always get her and Catherine O’Hara confused; I can never remember who did what.

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What’s really neat about that sketch is that at that time Belushi really didn’t like Chevy (most performers don’t seem to). He got all the press when the show started and quickly left to cash in on it (prematurely it turned out). Belushi was glad to see him go, and not happy to have him back guest hosting. But he still recognized the great potential of that bit and went along with it to fabulous results, even including after using his ‘news guy who gets over excited’ character to punch out Curtain he casually just says,* “All yours Chevy”* to great applause.

Also thought that, even though she ***never ***played on it, Curtain was pretty hot looking!

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There’s a fake commercial where she’s advertising either a hair care product or a household cleaner or something, and the special feature of the product is that is kills brain cells or keeps you stupid or something like that. The selling point that is facilitates a happy home by keeping women in their place.

Anyway, she’s gorgeous in that sketch.

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“Try these on for size, Connie Chung!”

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Bill Murray plays her husband, notices she’s holding the rake the wrong way as they rake leaves, and says, “Why don’t you hold it this way, honey?”

LOL.

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Just noticing that, although it’s not on Hulu, there are a few full episodes on YouTube. I’ll start watching a few. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the show.
By the way, I just noticed that despite the fact that I was totally crushing on Kate’s daughter in the 80s it would be Allie’s daughter who would win my heart as my favorite The West Wing hottie 20 years later!

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That would be my alltime favorite Jane Curtin moment. Here’s my second favorite, from 3rd Rock From the Sun.

Starting at about 10:30, Dick tells Mary he’s really an alien. Watch Curtin’s silent reaction for a solid 30 seconds.

11

Wow.
That was awesome.

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Jane will always be Mrs. Loopner to me.

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Wasn’t it “eat your heart out, Connie Chung?”

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You’re talking about the time she said that on Weekend Update and then ripped open her shirt (wearing just a bra). Was it Connie Chung she mentioned? I didn’t think Chung was even around until the 80s…

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Yeah, Jane always was fucking awesome. As was Gilda. It was Laraine Newman that we were worried about. I mean, we know why they added Garrett Morris, but not her. I thought she would go the George Coe route.

IMO, the show didn’t hire any women as versatile until the late-Nineties.

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I sometimes do the same, and I think it’s excusable for three reasons:
[ol]
[li]They are both FUCKING AWESOME (to use the OP’s words),[/li][li]They are both, IMHO, greatly underappreciated by the public at large, and,[/li][li]They are both, again IMHO, kind of hot, but they don’t typically play up that part of them. Catherine O’Hara has probably done so more often, but it’s still not the first thing most people think of when picturing either of these two geniuses.[/li][/ol]
I remember commenting to a friend of mine way back that I thought Jane Curtin was rather attractive (probably some time during Kate & Allie), and they looked at me like I was high. Granted, a reasonable argument could be made that she was the least attractive female cast member of that show, but she’s still a fine-looking woman.

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Nope.

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Which episodes are those from?

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Both from Season Three. I should be able to find the Chevy one easily enough by just looking for the Chevy episode. The other one was near Mother’s Day, so I can narrow that down and hopefully report back with an answer soon.

O.K. Season 3 on Wiki

Chevy Chase hosted Episode 57 on Feb. 18th

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Edit #2 (after edit window)

I can’t play the DVD at the moment, but I Googled Mother’s Day 1978 and it was Sunday May 14th- which, now that I think of it was the birthday of my younger brother who was born on Mother’s Day and graduated high school on my Mother’s birthday, pfft!

So, my guess it that the Tom Snyder/Tom Snyder’s mother thing was Episode 65 on May 13th with Richard Dreyfuss hosting.