Barry Gibb Talk Show
Encyclopedia
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
about a talk show starring Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
, lead singer for the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, and his brother, Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
(late brother Maurice Gibb
Maurice Gibb
Maurice Ernest Gibb, CBE was a musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born on the Isle of Man, the twin brother of Robin Gibb, and younger brother to Barry. He is best known as a member of the singing/songwriting trio the Bee Gees, formed with his brothers...
is not featured). It features Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
as Barry Gibb and Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
as Robin Gibb. The sketch was created by writers Ken Scarborough and Steve Higgins
Steve Higgins
Steve Higgins is the announcer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He was previously a cast member, writer, and producer for the show The Higgins Boys and Gruber, and he has a long-time association with Saturday Night Live in mostly behind-the-scenes roles as writer and producer. Higgins was...
.
The sketch is characterized by Barry Gibb's falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
voice, used throughout most of the sketch and his extremely short temper and tendency to verbally berate his guests, usually political figures. Meanwhile, Robin provides lackluster answers to Barry's questions (usually "No. No, I don't.") as well as humorous backup for their call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
singing, particularly in the opening and closing credits. Both he and his brother appeared on the March 16, 2010 episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
where they all performed together.
The sketch uses the Bee Gees' 1975 hit "Nights on Broadway
Nights on Broadway
"Nights on Broadway" is a song by the Bee Gees for the Main Course album in 1975. The second single release from the album, it immediately followed their number-one hit "Jive Talkin'"....
" as its theme, but with different lyrics.
Five episodes of The Barry Gibb Talk Show have been aired:
October 11, 2003
Justin Timberlake hosted and performed as the musical guest. It was this episode on which the Barry Gibb Talk Show debuted. Barry's guests included Al FrankenAl Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
(played by Jeff Richards
Jeff Richards (comedian)
Jeffrey Hanson "Jeff" Richards is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. Richards was the first actor to have been a cast member on both Saturday Night Live and MADtv...
), Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
(Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
) and the then lieutenant governor of California, Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Miguel Bustamante is an American politician. He was the 45th Lieutenant Governor of California, a former Speaker of the State Assembly and a member of the Democratic Party...
(Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz is a Chilean-born American actor and comedian best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998-2006. Sanz most recently starred alongside his former SNL castmate Chris Parnell in the Comedy Central series Big Lake.-Early life:Sanz, the youngest of three sons, was born in...
). At the time, both Huffington and Bustamante were running for Governor of California amidst the recall election that eventually ousted Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
. The show is memorable for Timberlake's inability to maintain a straight face during Fallon's rantings. He can be seen occasionally lowering his head in an attempt to disguise his laughter. This was the only Barry Gibb Talk Show sketch in which Fallon was still in the cast.
April 9, 2005
Cameron DiazCameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
was the host, and happened to be dating Timberlake at the time. Fallon returned because he was about to premiere in Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch (2005 film)
Fever Pitch, which was released as The Perfect Catch outside of the United States and Canada, is a 2005 Farrelly brothers romantic comedy film. It is a remake of a 1997 British film of the same name. Both films are loosely based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name, a best-selling memoir in...
with Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
(who also guest starred as one of the talk show's guests). This time, Barry's guests were Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
(Diaz), Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
(Barrymore) and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
Governor Bill Richardson (Sanz).
December 16, 2006
During Justin Timberlake's second time hosting the show, Fallon returned to portray Barry Gibb for the third airing of the skit. Barry's guests were former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
(played by Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...
), Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...
(Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...
) and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
(Darrell Hammond
Darrell Hammond
Darrell Hammond is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history...
). Timberlake was more composed in this episode, but still giggled a little at one point.
May 9, 2009
For Timberlake's third time hosting the show, Fallon once again returned to the role of Barry Gibb for the skit. Barry's guests were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (played by Kristen WiigKristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...
), CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Commentator Roland S. Martin
Roland S. Martin
Roland Sebastian Martin is an American journalist and syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and author of Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America, Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith and The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as originally...
(Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as a cast member of NBC's long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live...
), and NYU Economics Professor Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini is an American economist. He claims to have predicted both the collapse of the United States housing market and the worldwide recession which started in 2008. He teaches at New York University's Stern School of Business and is the chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an economic...
(Armisen). Once again, a point came during the sketch where Timberlake was forced to lower his head to disguise his laughter. The sketch references the Shamwow guy.
May 21, 2011
On Timberlake's fourth time hosting, Fallon returned for the season's finale. Guests included Rachel MaddowRachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...
(Abby Elliott
Abby Elliott
Abigail "Abby" Elliott is an American actress and comedian currently appearing as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.-Life and career:...
), Roland S. Martin
Roland S. Martin
Roland Sebastian Martin is an American journalist and syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and author of Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America, Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith and The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as originally...
(Thompson), and Benjamin Bernanke (Armisen) -- although the Gibb brothers spent almost no time talking to the guests except for Bernanke, who occasionally interrupted (drinking water, cell phone ringing). Timberlake managed to keep himself composed this time around. The dancing and singing was more crisp and (seemingly) better rehearsed than previous episodes. Barry yells "I survived the rapture!", referring to the then recent end of the world predictions
2011 end times prediction
The 2011 end times prediction made by American Christian radio host Harold Camping stated that the Rapture and Judgment Day would take place on May 21, 2011, and that the end of the world would take place five months later on October 21, 2011. The Rapture, in a specific tradition of premillennial...
. After Robin revives Barry using gold medallions that give off the same result as a defibrillator, The Gibb characters close the sketch by rapping the lyrics of Rappers Delight over the theme song background.