Patrick Stewart Thinks His SNL Episode Is A Total Disaster – Except For Two Bits
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Back in the late '80s and early '90s, the success of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" skyrocketed Sir Patrick Stewart into newfound fame. Eventually, that fame would reach even greater heights after he took on the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" film franchise. But that wouldn't be until 2000. Years before that, as "The Next Generation" was coming to an end, Stewart suddenly found himself venturing away from the final frontier into new territory.
As Stewart recounted in his recently released memoir, "Making It So," his pop culture fame resulted in many wanting to see the actor play against type and shed his "Shakespearean eloquence," as he puts it. That included the honor of hosting "Saturday Night Live," a coveted opportunity that isn't afforded to every actor out there. Unfortunately, when Stewart looks back on the time he spent in Studio 8H in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City during the show's 19th season in 1994, he didn't fully enjoy the rare experience. However, he puts the blame squarely on himself. Stewart wrote:
"It all began in 1994, when I was asked to host the late-night sketch comedy series 'Saturday Night Live.' This should have been one of my crowning achievements, as it is for many of the actors, comics, and athletes who get to host the show. But I wasn't as loose then as I am now, and I found the whole experience incredibly stressful. My opening monologue was one of the more awful ones in the history of the show, full of lame Star Trek jokes that I failed to land, and I just didn't connect with 'SNL's cast, as talented a group as they were."
Making it so-so
After watching the monologue above, Stewart does seem a little bit stiff when he comes out on stage. Though he's clearly happy to be there and pleased by the thunderous applause — a reaction from the crowd isn't always so big, as Stewart himself noted — he's just not as loose and comfortable as he might be if "SNL" brought him back now. But there are two bits from his "SNL" episode that Stewart remains fond of to this day, and one of them is because of a future "SNL" writer who was just 12 years old when Stewart hosted in 1994.
When it comes to the sketches, Stewart particularly enjoyed playing around with Mike Myers and one of his recurring characters. As Stewart recalled:
"The one exception was Mike Myers, with whom I found myself in a sketch in which he played an irritable Scotsman who runs a Scottish paraphernalia shop and uses the catchphrase "If it's not Scottish, it's craaap!" – something that [my wife] Sunny and I still like to say around the house."
You can watch the sketch below, in which Stewart plays a customer who comes into the shop. However, Stewart isn't any ordinary customer. He's a Scottish therapist named Phil McCracken:
After doing a couple of the usual bits with store customers that the recurring sketch was known for, Stewart strolls in looking like a regal Scotsman with bushy eyebrows, and his character even gets his own pre-taped introduction, as if Phil McCracken was a character who previously existed in "SNL" history. What's particularly great about this version is that it breaks the formula of the recurring bit, and Stewart appears to be having a blast playing a boisterous Scottish therapist. But that's not Stewart's greatest contribution to "SNL."
Salt...and Pepa!
If you're a "Saturday Night Live" fan, you might recall a monologue from comedian John Mulaney when he hosted back in 2018, where he recalled Patrick Stewart introducing the musical guest from his 1994 episode of the show. It was hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa, and Mulaney did a short bit about how enthusiastic Stewart was when he announced their musical performance. As Stewart wrote in his book:
"My most lasting impact on SNL history, though, was my full-throated announcement of that episode's musical guest, Salt-N-Pepa, around which the comedian John Mulaney, a former writer for SNL, built an entire stand-up segment."
For those curious, you can find the stand-up bit right at the front of Mulaney's monologue here:
As great as Mulaney is at delivering this bit, I can't help but notice that Stewart's actual delivery (also seen above) isn't quite the same. Sure, we're nitpicking here, and funny is funny. But the way Mulaney describes the bit actually adds some spice to Stewart's introduction, which is enthusiastic to be sure, though it doesn't pack the same dramatic delay that Mulaney builds into his act. And just so we're clear, as is customary, the musical guest is introduced twice, and the other version doesn't have the perceived delivery either:
Just so all bases are covered, not even the end of the monologue, where Salt-N-Pepa is also mentioned by Stewart, comes through on Mulaney's description. It's a tad disappointing, but the fact that Mulaney was able to turn that into a quick bit that made it onto "SNL" is all that matters.
Now, can we get Patrick Stewart back on "SNL" and let him cut loose properly this time?