He's Still Chevy Chase

The least expected guest on a new "Saturday Night Live" this week was the old guy who came on Weekend Update about 12:30 a.m. and introduced as a "senior political correspondent."

On a middling show hosted by Seth Rogen and featuring Spoon as guest band, the studio audience got pretty excited when Chevy Chase was introduced at the end of the regular “Weekend Update” segment.

Here was Chase, on the eve of his 64th birthday on what looked to be the original gray set of Weekend Update, beginning as he always did by winding up a phone conversation laced with innuendo. This time, his role was as father speaking to a son: "if you’re going blind you are doing it right."

Then he came very close to his onetime catch phrase "I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not" by saying, "Good evening, I’m still and you’re still not."

From there, the five minute segment was a little shaky.

The balding Chase, wearing glasses, rather resembled Harry Smith of CBS News, and while his first fanciful report of a presidential debate (“Mike Gravel’s head exploded”) went over well, he also included some bits that seemed old hat or just weird, reading the copy in a garble until he turned the page around, offering to "take a look" at the Republican candidates before turning and taking a long gaze at a picture, or starting a sentence about the early primary states and just ending.

Still, he got laughs until he got to this one:

According to a new poll, Hilary Clinton now leads Rudy Giuliani 51 percent to 43 percent. This has caused the former mayor to appear at campaign soundbites with dust on his shoulders and wearing a surgical mask somewhere near his right chin and going ‘What happened? Call the cops? Am I on camera? Does this make me look heavy?’

Chase's crazy newsman bit was morphing into a Professor Irwin Corey routine. Crickets didn’t even make noise.

Closing with a picture of Fred Thompson in a blanket when he mentioned the phrase "pigs in a blanket," Chase didn’t end with "Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow." Instead, "…And that’s politics. Back to you Fred."

Chase was only on one season of "Saturday Night Live," but it was the crucial first one, where he originated Weekend Update. And while his leaving the show after a year for movies served as a cautionary tale for anyone else who’d similarly be in such a hurry to a career, he’d managed to set the look and tone for the segment so strongly, it’s been the most reliable skit of the show in the subsequent 32 seasons, used in every episode.

By now, though, that tone has also widely adapted -- most prominently each night on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," somewhat rendering the weekly comic overview of the same material often redundant. And rather than sounding hip and knowing, it has the same sort of setup- punchline delivery as Jay Leno's.

Chase’s own failed talk show aside (it’s still mentioned nearly weekly by Spike Feresten on his Saturday night Fox show that runs opposite), "Saturday Night Live" could do worse than to have a return of the senior political reporter through the election.

Comments

[Chris P.]

Any weekend update segment has a joke that doesnt't land.
The majority of Mr. Chase's did.

The Audience was insanely excited to have him behind the Update Desk and I admire him for giving TV another shot.

[Steve Ochs]

"And while his leaving the show after a year for movies served as a cautionary tale for anyone else who’d similarly be in such a hurry to a career"

Cautioning them to what; have hit after hit for a few decades and be part of some of the funniest films ever made? Chase is older, in most ways less funny but still working. He will part of the show Brothers and Sisters next season, while Mr. Catlin's Harry Smith impression will be relagated to blog postings.

[Gereralissimo Francisco Franco is still dead]

WOW, how the mighty have fallen,,"Live?" I think not!

[Cybermoniker]

Cautionary tale? Chevy Chase had one hell of a run in the movies throughout the late '70s and 80s.

[Guy Incognito]

I was under the impression that Chevy had been banned from the show following his behind-the-scenes gaybashing of castmembers a couple years ago. I'm surprised to see him back on it in any capacity, because the previous cast just despised working with him, or so the SNL behind-the-scenes books imply.

[rcurrlin]

..and have you noticed one-time frequent SNL host Buck Henry has been doing pieces for The Daily Show?

[Pat]

It was a very long 5 minutes and a very painful 5 minutes.

[Tomasina]

Somebody put a fork in Chevy Chase, he's DONE.