In Loving Memory of Ralph Coney
1959-2026
(The scene begins with a smartwatch screen and a finger as it taps the screen and the 1994 American Gladiators plays as the scene cuts to a hand as it taps an app on his phone as it opens a portal.)
(It cuts to James and the characters and Chris Lee Moore he’s played until it cut to their faces and the credits of “James Faraci” and “Chris Lee Moore” is shown as it cuts to “The Last Of The Americans'” current iteration then slides away to different images of Paulo Fonseca, Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca Yaun, Nick Yaun and the characters they’ve played until it cut to their faces. The credits of “Paulo and Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca and Nick Yaun” are shown then slides away to different images of Doug Yaun and Crosslyn Castillo, Nick Lopez and Jessica Lopez-Barkl and the characters they’ve played, until it cuts to their faces.)
(After that, the credits “Doug Yaun and Crosslyn Castillo, Nick Lopez and Jessica Lopez-Barkl” are shown, as it then slides away to different images of Andrew Beach Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller and Olivia Horvath. Following this, the credits of “Andrew Beach, Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller, Olivia Horvath” are shown as the 0:00-0:21 mark of the theme song plays.)
(Everything becomes a swirl of reds, whites, and blues, as the credits “Produced by First Choice Entertainment Productions in association with Manic-Expression.com"; “Executive Producers: James Faraci, Paulo Fonseca, Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca Yaun, Nick Yaun, Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller, Andrew Beach & Olivia Horvath”; “Editing by Eric Kurtzke and James Faraci”; “Written by Chris Lee Moore and James Faraci, Directed by James Faraci” are shown, as the 0:21-0:26 mark of the theme song plays.)
(We then see an image of James as he jumps through the portal and lands with half of his team on his right. The other half on his left is on a black background. Finally, the title “THE LAST OF THE AMERICANS” is shown Lazer etched into Titanium as the last six seconds of the American Gladiators 1994 theme song plays.)
(Cut to James as he steps out of the mobile home studio)
TLOTA:
Ah, there’s no...Oh Crap! (Cut to Rowdy who seems a little more angry than usual)
Rowdy:
Yeah, “Oh Crap” is right! What happened to “Be here June first to film a crossover for the thirteenth anniversary because the person you had in mind had to drop out.”? For Fugg’s sake, James, let me and those you want to work with know when you pivot. (Cut to James and his team as they unload the mobile home studio.)
Crosslyn Castillo:
Hi there, uh? (Cut to Rowdy)
Rowdy:
Rowdy, we met back in March of 2025, when you and two friends used me as a Louisville Slugger to beat James to a pulp! (Cut to Crosslyn as she grabs the last of her stuff out of there)
Crosslyn Castillo:
Oh okay. Hey guys, that Rowdy fellow who constantly hangs out with James is here. (Nick Lopez and Jessica Lopez-Barkl step out.)
Jessica Lopez-Barkl:
Have we met before, uh? (Cut to Rowdy)
Rowdy:
Rowdy and I don’t think so. (Cut to Nick Lopez and Jessica Lopez-Barkl)
Nick Lopez:
Aren’t you like the Angry Video Game Nerd or someone like that? (Cut to Rowdy)
Rowdy:
I review Bad TV Series, Good TV Series, and everything in between. (Cut to James)
TLOTA:
Well, you just so happen to be in time for a review of yet another “American Icon” (Cut to Guitar music like “American Idiot” plays as James Faraci and Paulo Fonseca on guitars, Andrew Beach on Bass Guitar, and Nick Lopez on the Drums and the set is like the set of “American Idiot” except the colors are Patriotically Red, White, and Blue)
James Faraci (Singing):
All year we’re cheering American Icons! (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) Twelve months of heroes of Cinema! (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) From John Wayne to Rocky Balboa (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) Oh, hell yeah, we’re talking about them all! (The tune continues) [Chorus] Welcome to the two hundred and fiftieth, hoping we’ll see two fifty-one! And we can finally be Okay! Humans dream of a better tomorrow, knowing it won’t be hollow! For me that’s good enough! (Drums play and the music continues.) We’re going to show off the hard work! (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) Even if it makes me look like a real jerk. (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) Now everyone get ready to celebrate with us! (Guitars play the tune for three seconds.) And make sure you have a dose of common sense. (The tune continues) [Chorus] Welcome to the two hundred and fiftieth, hoping we’ll see two fifty-one! And we can finally be Okay! Humans dream of a better tomorrow, knowing it won’t be hollow! For me that’s good enough! (Drums play and the music continues with a guitar solo.) All year we’re cheering American Icons! Twelve months of heroes of Cinema! Information about them will be a lot, you’re going to know whether you like or not [Chorus] Welcome to the two hundred and fiftieth, hoping we’ll see two fifty-one! And we can finally be Okay! Humans dream of a better tomorrow, knowing it won’t be hollow! For me that’s good enough! (Drums play and the music continues and concludes and the words “Americans Icons” are put up in different styles of text. The scene cuts to James and Rowdy on the Horseshoe couch)
TLOTA:
So, are you ready to go?
Rowdy:
Before we begin, I need to do something (Rowdy grabs his Louisville Slugger as he bonks James on the head and James shouts “OW!”) Okay, you’re the real one this time!
TLOTA:
You know what else is real? (James hits Rowdy with a bucket of cold water.) THAT! (Rowdy does a spit take as the opening theme to “Saturday Night Live” from 1991 and it cuts to clips of “Saturday Night Live” as James and Rowdy do voiceovers.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
For the past fifty-plus years, Saturday Night Live has remained an iconic staple of the sketch comedy world; it is a series that has seemed to outlast the test of time. However, I know that it hasn’t always been easy.
Rowdy (V.O.):
From frequent cast changes to changes in taste in comedy to nearly being canceled multiple times, somehow this series remains on the air, especially when similar shows and concepts like the show have faded into obscurity. And lest we forget the fact that many a big name came from the show including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, the Late John Belushi, the late Gilda Radner, Jane Curtain, Laraine Newman, Harry Shearer, Al Franken, Eddie Murphy, Gibert Gottfried, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, A VERY young Robert Downey Jr., Damon Wayans, Dana Carvey, The late Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, The Late Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, Janine Garofalo, Molly Shannon, Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Ana Gasteyer, Cheri Oteri, Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jenny Slate, Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Sasheer Zamata, Leslie Jones, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Chloe Fineman, and Ashley Padilla just to name a few. But what people might not know is the fact that the show actually wasn’t always called “Saturday Night Live”. (Cut to the first couple of seasons of SNL and clips of ABC’s Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell as James does the voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
That’s right, Rowdy, around the same time Lorne Michaels was working on his version of Saturday Night Live, ABC developed ITS own version of Saturday Night Live, with its own host in the form of Howard Cosell. Lorne Michaels’ version was retitled “NBC’s Saturday Night” for the first few years, until the Howard Cosell ABC version was canceled. It wasn’t until the third season that the show was officially rebranded as “Saturday Night Live,” and by that time, Chevy Chase had left the show, thank Christ, and Bill Murray had joined after leaving the Howard Cosell version just as it was about to be canceled. For me, the show is funniest when it can attack Hollywood and the toxicity of the popular culture. The fact that “Weekend Update” has remained a mainstay of the series shows that you can mock the news but not make it feel like an attack on someone.
Rowdy (V.O.):
I’m gonna confess, the show has never been must see TV for me, and to be honest, the most memorable moments for me have been when everything went off the rails – like when Ashlee Simpson destroyed her music career with a botched lip sync attempt, or when Lorne Michaels wanted to deliver a Stone Cold Stunner on Vince McMahon after the second ever telecast of the XFL pre-empted his show when he had Jennifer Lopez as the guest star. But it could’ve been worse. (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
Rowdy:
So now we’re ready for it, let’s see how the show nearly died as we talk about Season Si...
TLOTA:
We’re not talking about Season Six. We Don’t talk about Season Six the same way “Encanto” doesn’t talk about Bruno.
Rowdy:
Okay then, James, what exactly are we talking about that’s connected to Saturday Night Live, and it better not be “Coneheads” or “It’s Pat The Movie!”
TLOTA:
Since you asked...(Cut to the opening credits of the movie “Saturday Night.” Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
Rowdy:
Are you sure that we can’t review Season Six of Saturday Night Live? It is available to stream on Peacock! (Rowdy looks at James and realizes he’s stuck) CRAP! (Cut to Clips of “Saturday Night” as James and Rowdy do voiceovers.)
Rowdy (V.O.):
Yep, we’re going after the movie that tries to tell us the events that led to showtime on October 11, 1975, for the first night ever of “Saturday Night” with a show that was in chaos before cameras rolled, how a network was fighting to make sure it didn’t succeed, and how one man and a cast and crew would change TV forever.
TLOTA (V.O.):
And there is a lot of talent behind the scenes, including the director of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the same people who also did movies like “Juno” and the like. We’re going to be in for a fun time about the longest-running comedy series of all time. (Cut to James and Rowdy)
TLOTA:
Let’s get to... (Rowdy coughs)
Rowdy:
Before we continue, aren’t we forgetting something?
TLOTA:
Hmm? Oh Yeah, I’m James Faraci The Last Of The Americans
Rowdy:
And I’m Rowdy
TLOTA:
And the views that we’re about to express are those of our own and some of yours! And this is the movie that showed us the chaos behind “Saturday Night” (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
TLOTA (V.O.):
We open with a quote from Lorne Michaels that talks about SNL, saying that “The Show doesn’t go on because it’s ready. It goes on because it’s 11:30.” which explains a lot about the show itself. We then see the cast auditions for the show from Chevy Chase played by Cory Michael Smith, Dan Aykroyd played by Dylan O’Brien, Laraine Newman played by Emily Fairn, John Belushi played Matt Wood, Garrett Morris played by Lamorne Morris (James and Rowdy say in Unison “No Relation”), Jane Curtin played by Kim Matula, and Gilda Radner played by Ella Hunt before BAM we cut to October 11, 1975 which is showtime for the pilot to air live, just as the aforementioned ABC version with Howard Cosell was in the middle of failing faster than anyone can say “Supertrain.” (Cut to "Monday Night Mayhem" as Rowdy and James do voiceovers)
Rowdy (V.O.):
We see Howard Cosell in a limousine with Don Meredith as he tells Dandy Don he knows what makes good television and that he'll wear the proverbial black hat on their game broadcasts so Meredith can wear the white hat and...
TLOTA (V.O.):
Hey whoa! Whoa! WHOA! (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
TLOTA:
Rowdy, what are you doing? That’s not in this movie.
Rowdy:
Oh, I know – I was watching "Monday Night Mayhem," the movie that tries to tell us the events that led to the creation of Monday Night Football, because even though I still will never watch an NFL game for all the fried chicken in Kentucky, instead. Besides, I'm pretty sure this movie is more tolerable than yours!
(TLOTA gives a glaring look)
Rowdy:
I had to give it a shot. (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
Rowdy (V.O.):
We then see the NBC page, played by Finn Wolfhard, unable to give away free tickets to the pilot episode. As we see that Lorne Michaels, played by Gabriel LaBelle, is worried that his show is not going to do well, and we see him pick up from his parents the one and only Andy Kaufman, who sadly is not played by Jim Carrey but rather Nicholas Braun, who also plays Jim Henson in this film as well. WAIT WHAT?! (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
TLOTA:
Tell me you forgot that The Muppets was in the early days of SNL and was so disliked that one of the writers had one of the Muppets, Big Bird, I think, lynched in his office.
Rowdy:
I’m just surprised that they would put Jim Henson in this film because of what you just mentioned. (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
Rowdy (V.O.):
As the minutes tick away, we see Lorne Michaels try to keep the show running smoothly. We also see that Lorne is not working on a finalized script, as he wants it to be live and semi-unscripted, as was the way counter-culture comedy was meant to be. But there is a problem with Belushi and the fact that he hasn’t signed the contract to be on the show, and the fact that most of the cast is still trying to figure out what they’re supposed to be, and that writers Al Franken and Tom Davis, played by Taylor Gray and Mcabe Gregg, aren’t making it easy on Lorne. Lorne is introduced to Billy Crystal and Valeri Bromfield, played by Nicholas Podany and Corinne Britti, and introduces them to Andy, but since Billy was in the same comedy circles as others, including the late Robin Williams, Billy knew what Andy was like. Though their moment was cut due to timing and pacing, he also has to deal with Dick Ebersol, played by Cooper Hoffman.
TLOTA (V.O.):
And apparently, to hedge their bets, the Peacock network holds on to a rerun of “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” on standby should the show not be ready. And Lorne also has to do what must be done to keep the show within the hour and a half; as we see Chevy being Chevy, one of the show's directors, Dave Wilson, played by Robert Wuhl, is under as much pressure as everyone else. The rehearsals are not going well, especially when it comes to one rehearsal, and the entire lighting rig falls off, and it is not going well with the Standards and Practices person on the set, especially with Michael O’Donohue, played by Tommy Dewey.
Rowdy (V.O.):
At some point, Belushi gets into a fight with a crew member, Aykroyd argues about the weapon used in the sketch, and Gilda takes a ride on the camera. At this point I’m thinking Lorne Michaels wants to return to Canada under the cover of night. Meanwhile, Garrett and Jim Henson talk. As the show continues to struggle to come together, Garrett has a crisis over the fact that he feels irrelevant on a show that’s all about irreverence while talking with Billy Preston, played by Jon Batiste, who gives Garrett a bit of liquid insanity during the rehearsals for his performance. We also see John is not a fan of the Bee costume, especially since it took a while to get in and out of it.
TLOTA (V.O.):
As more chaos is ensuing, Lorne is trying to remain the rock of Gibraltar as he goes over a sketch that has both Aykroyd and Chase with Rosie Shuster, played by Rachel Sennott, and about the credit she deserves for the show, as another NBC assistant tells Lorne that execs are in the Green Room and they want Lorne. Dick Ebersol is concerned about the show, especially with George Carlin not ready to go, and Belushi still not having signed his contract. Looking in and seeing so many affiliates from the network’s different states puts Lorne at unease, and not helping is Chevy being Chevy. (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
Rowdy:
Why is Chevy being Chevy a bad thing?
TLOTA:
It’s Chevy Chase; his reputation is that of an irredeemable asshole! (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
Rowdy (V.O.):
As Lorne tries to convince the affiliates that he is the professional holding things together. It’s here that a villain in this story, if one exists at all, is David Tebet, played by Willam Dafoe, who is worried about the budget of the show, which at the time was a quarter of a million dollars an episode, and tries to poach Chevy to host The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I’d like to say that Chevy Chase hosting The Tonight Show still would have been better than Jay Leno... but sadly I am aware that Mr. Chase did eventually get his own talk show, and there’s a reason I’m probably gonna have to review it before I ever get out of this racket.
TLOTA (V.O.):
As Tebet tempts Lorne to be such a force to rattle the cages which sounds to me like he wants to see the show crash and burn and show the network that the modern thought wasn’t going to work as Chevy finds himself working out some of the kinks on the Weekend Update while he ponders his career and the rest of the cast continues to bond in the wake of the madness of the rehearsals. Meanwhile, Michael O’Donoghue and NBC Standards and Practices continue their war as Lorne tells Dick he will not make his cast do commercials for Polaroid and will have the show ready by 11:30. But with Don Pardo unable to even announce Dan Aykroyd’s name, it looks bad for Lorne.
Rowdy (V.O.):
While Jane and Garrett continue to wonder what it is they’re doing on the show, We have George Carlin, played by Matthew Rhys, rehearsing the opening monologue goes well as the rehearsals and in the meantime, NBC Standards and Practices goes after Carlin, why does it not surprise us in any way shape or form and apparently the crew thinks the show will be gone in two weeks. Lorne, meanwhile, is still trying to make sure that the show lasts ninety minutes. Chevy is still trying to think he’s the breakout star of the show as John and Chevy come to blows while Lorne tries to convince Belushi to sign the damn contract.
TLOTA (V.O.):
With 45 minutes to go, it seems that things aren’t going to make it. Even Weekend Update isn't finished, as we see in the rehearsals with Lorne hosting the segment. (Show the clip of Lorne hosting the segment. Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
Rowdy:
James, if I were to say that Chevy hosting the Weekend Update segment was a good call on Lorne’s part, would you...
TLOTA:
Give you a ten-second head start before coming after you with everything I have? You betcha! (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
TLOTA (V.O.):
So with zero problem down and about a half a decaquadrillion to go through, Lorne gets a call from Johnny Carson in Burbank, and Jim Henson tries to keep himself composed while everyone seems to dislike Jim’s Muppets being on the show. However, Carson tells Lorne not to get too comfortable because, as far as Carson is concerned, NBC is his network and he is God; meanwhile, Dick tries to keep the Polaroid connection going, which pisses Belushi enough that he refuses to sign and walks off the show. Meanwhile, Neil Levy, Lorne’s assistant in the show, suffers a panic attack that leads him to go into the closet from the pressure and the fact that Paul Schaffer hit him with a joint, and it takes the cast to convince him to come out of the panic attack.
Rowdy (V.O.):
As the chaos continues to ensue, Milton Friggin Berle, played by J.K. Simmons, stops by to see the show. But after Berle and Chevy comes to blows after Milton went after Chevy’s fiancé played by Kaia Gerber, that combined with Neil’s Wacky Tobaccy accident that led to the panic attack, John Belushi’s leaving, Ebersol trying to put a Polaroid commercial in the sketches and telling Lorne to show the best sketches that were pre-recorded dress rehearsals, Tebet, and all the other technical issues, Lorne is ready to throw in the towel and walks out to a bar to get his head straight into the arms of Alan Zweibel, played by Josh Brenner, to be a writer for the show.
TLOTA (V.O.):
Lorne and Gilda find John Belushi on the ice-skating rink outside of 30 Rockefeller Street, convince Belushi to sign the contract, and return to the show.
Rowdy (V.O.):
And just to show the greatness and power of Jim Henson, Jim and Lorne have a conversation that motivates Michaels to keep on with the show. (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
Rowdy:
That is how powerful a positive force Jim Henson is.
TLOTA:
Absolutely dude! (Cut to the movie as James and Rowdy do voiceovers)
Rowdy (V.O.):
Finally, the last stand between Lorne Michaels and Dave Tebet about the show has come. Tebet says that the show has no structure, has no cast of known faces, no script, and no direction. And unless Tebet likes something, “Saturday Night” won't make it live to air! That is, until one moment that defined the pilot is shown to Tebet. (Show the “Mighty Mouse” moment from Andy Kaufman which makes everyone laugh.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
And with that, and Chevy becoming the host of the Weekend Update, Zwiebel’s work, the sets finally being done, EVERYTHING FINALLY COMES TOGETHER, and Tebet finally relents to airing the show live and the movie ends on the opening sketch that turned a trainwreck into the show we all know. (Show the “Wolverines” Sketch and Chevy saying “LIVE FROM NEW YORK! IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” Cut to James and Rowdy physically.)
TLOTA:
So that was “Saturday Night” and it was better than season six of Saturday Night Live.
Rowdy:
Or Studio 60, and that is something not to be said lightly (Cut to clips of “Saturday Night” as James and Rowdy do voiceovers.)
Rowdy (V.O.):
Okay, I will give this movie credit where it’s due. The production does a good job depicting the grittiness of the 1970s, the real-life cast does a decent enough job of replicating their classic counterparts, and I kinda like that someone tried at least a version of the “real time” format everyone has been scared of post-24... It’s just... part of me thinks they were trying to piggyback off other docudramas like “Monday Night Mayhem” and “An Adventure In Space And Time,” both of which I highly recommend.
TLOTA (V.O.):
Absolutely, I liked how this captured the feel of the show. I love how the cast does take on the counterparts of the original cast. I know that the chaos of the original seasons would’ve driven anyone else into the funny farm, and I give credit to Lorne Michaels for the fortitude to stick it out. And this movie shows just what Lorne had to deal with in those days, especially with Chevy. This is a reminder of what the show can be like when it doesn’t conform to the mainstream but instead makes it the butt of the joke. If you haven't seen the movie, then you need to check it out to see how the longest-running comedy series stumbled but made up for it by becoming an Icon of Saturday Night. If you haven't seen the show, then what the heck is wrong with you? Even if the show isn't as funny as it once was, it can still make a Saturday Night come alive. (Cut to James and Rowdy physically)
TLOTA:
Well, it’s good to have you help me out.
Rowdy:
Any time, dude. So what’s next in the American Icons Odyssey?
TLOTA:
Not sure yet, but it will be before Monstertober in Canada. In November, I will be talking and cooking Turkey again if you want to be a part of that. In December, I will be getting around it soon enough, along with the Christmas Gift Guide and another Behind the Scenes look at everything from this year.
Rowdy:
Well, best of luck in that, James.
TLOTA:
I’m going to need it. I’m James Faraci, The Last Of The Americans.
Rowdy:
I’m Rowdy
TLOTA & Rowdy (in Unison):
And that’s our opinions
