SNL's Tonto, Tarzan & Frankenstein's Monster
This trio showcased three popular film characters who were probably least likely to get together and sing because they are all known for their inability to speak proper English. Tonto (played by Jon Lovitz) and Tarzan (played by Kevin Nealon) mostly spoke the lyrics in broken English, leaving out certain verbs and pronouns, while Frankenstein's Monster (played by Phil Hartman) usually just growled and moaned, rarely forming any semblance of the actual words, though he could opine that "bread good" and "fire bad". They came together to sing "We Are the World", and during the holidays they would usually sing Christmas carols. On one occasion, they recited Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem "The Raven". For Easter, the trio were joined by Frankenstein's Monster's evil twin (Mel Gibson), who spoke whole sentences; they sang "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". All four, plus Tarzan's own Jane, starred in their own sporadic soap opera, As World Turn (taken from the long-running As the World Turns). The sketches appeared in the early 1990s.
|
|
Thanksgiving is also a time for family reunions and an opportunity to have dinner with friends and relatives (some of whom you dislike with a passion) but feel the need to "act nice" towards, if only for a day. Some of these television episodes from sitcoms past reflect these ever-present tensions evident just beneath the surface in virtually every family.
They are also good for loads of laughs.
All in the Family
The episode was in Season 6 and was titled 'The Little Atheist.' In this episode, Mike Stivic (an atheist) and his wife Gloria are expecting a baby and they are adamant about letting the child decide for itself whether it will follow a religion or not. Gloria's father, Archie Bunker, has other ideas, and at Thanksgiving dinner an argument ensues.
|
|
Roseanne
Thanksgiving at the Conners brings the usual family strife and hilarity as Roseanne is determined to make her parents stay at a motel and Jackie continues to hide the fact she joined the police.
|
|
SNL's Bill Swerski's Superfans Thanksgiving Dinner
The characters were typically shown in a sports bar, drinking large amounts of beer and gorging themselves on ribs, sausages, and similar foods. All of the characters wore dark sunglasses and thick mustaches to resemble Mike Ditka, the popular coach of the Chicago Bears at the time. Ditka was the idol of all the Superfans, so much so that Chris Farley's character, Todd, would have a heart attack in every sketch because Ditka had suffered one himself (In the Thanksgiving Special, the Superfans thought Todd was having a heart attack but Todd garbly shouted, "I'm choking! Choking!" causing Pat to give Todd the Heimlich Maneuver, causing Todd to cough up what he was choking on: a full porkchop). The group would discuss upcoming sporting events and inevitably predict a victory for the Chicago team using an exaggerated Chicago accent, normally culminating in a uniform toast to "Da Bearss" and "Da Bullss".
|
|
SNL's The Thanksgiving Awards
Awards are given out for common Thanksgiving dinner forgettable moments. Anne Hathaway steals the show with her drunken confession.
|
|
The Cosby Show
Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable had reason to be upset in this season six episode, in which he is sent out to the store -- four times! -- to purchase ingredients Clair needs to prepare the family's Thanksgiving dinner. She had planned to make cornbread ... but forgot eggs. She wanted to whip up eggnog ... but forgot nutmeg (actually, she just demanded fresh nutmeg, because she already had jarred spice in the kitchen). And she wanted to make a pumpkin pie ... but forgot the canned pumpkin.
So Cliff had to go out to the store, four times (the eggs he bought on the third trip broke), in a fierce rainstorm, only to finally return home and find the family at the table, and hot cornbread waiting. Claire had borrowed eggs from a neighbor, and in one final bit of Turkey Day injustice, Cliff opened the door to put his drenched clothing outside, only to be met with sunshine.
|
|
So, did I get you all in the right mood for your Thanksgiving Day dinner?