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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: February 22, 1992
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Saturday Night Live, “Roseanne and Tom Arnold” (Season 17, Episode 14). [Watch on Hulu.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Like most election years, 1992 was a very good one for Saturday Night Live, and for Mike Myers in particular. When the Roseanne/Tom Arnold episode aired in late February, he and Dana Carvey (who was himself having a hell of a year portraying both George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot) were celebrating the second of Wayne’s World‘s five weeks as the #1 film in America. They were on top of the world.
And yet, my favorite of Myers’ recurring SNL sketches was always “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman,” where Myers would play the titular talk-show host (a send-up of Myers’ IRL mother-in-law) as she gabbed about her daughter, popular culture, any number of Yiddish words, and of course Barbra Streisand. The reverence with which Richman spoke of Streisand bordered on organized religion, and awards season 1992 was the perfect time to be pro-Barbra (The Prince of Tides was a Best Picture nominee) and yet still ensconced in the familiar position that Barbra wasn’t being respected enough (no Best Director nomination!).
And so we arrived at the greatest “Coffee Talk” segment of all time, where Myers welcomed host Roseanne and special guest Madonna to play fellow Jewish ladies. The sketch on its own would have been pretty fascinating just to watch Madonna make utter hash out of her accent. That woman can do a great many things, but Yiddish ain’t one of them. Roseanne, bless her, isn’t much better, and she also seemed to find the cue cards a challenge as well. Myers is bulletproof as Richman, though; getting verklempt, giving props to Madonna’s body, chiding Mike Wallace for being mean to Barbra on 60 Minutes. It’s comedy that comes merely from Myers’ way with Richman’s words and attitude. It’s great fun.
Then, right at the end, it kicks its way up to brilliant. After the three actors sign off, an enthusiastic woman storms the stage. It’s Barbra Streisand herself. The best part is that clearly this is a surprise to Myers, Madonna, and Roseanne. We’ve seen Saturday Night Live performers receive surprise cameos from stars before. But there was something surreal about seeing Madonna and Roseanne — two larger-than-life superstars whose public personae had seemingly placed them past the point of bafflement — utterly reduced to fangirls in the presence of Barbra.
Myers does his best to improv Richman’s reaction (“I can die now!”), but Madonna and Roseanne remain melted (like butter?) for the remainder of the sketch. This was the Hollywood food chain asserting itself right before our very eyes. It’s glorious.
[You can stream the “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman sketch on Hulu.]
