This isn't to suggest that Myers is a talentless (whatever that grossly overused word "talent" means) comedian, or worse, a hack (hacks play the standards--Myers makes esoteric references, at least). He's merely afflicted with Canadian Sketch Comic's Disease (CSCD), whose symptoms include falling in love with the same lame, broad character and playing it into the ground. Andrea Martin contracted Edith Prickley. Martin Short contracted Ed Grimley. Mike Myers has unfortunately contracted several seemingly incurable cases, what with another "Austin Powers", not to mention "Coffee Talk" and "Sprockets" movies, in the works.

The new-to-disc Saturday Night Live: The Best of Mike Myers isn't a total waste--isolated skits amuse. Myers, too, is likable even when he's not "on". But the sum of this video's parts is rather tedious. Incidentally, the collection also reveals a few unrelated matters, like how underused a cast member Janeane Garofalo was, and how embarrassingly indulgent the show's opening monologues can get.

What's included?
Wayne's World-Aerosmith
Wayne and Garth (Dana Carvey) interview Aerosmith. Potentially hilarious pro-communist babble is shredded by a bandmember who's lousy at reading cue cards. Bonus: Tom Hanks, perfection as a roadie
Monologue
A cringe-inducing song-and-dance number that inspires pity for Tim Meadows
Hedly & Wyche
A precursor to Austin Powers: a British pubber praises a sugar-based toothpaste
Coffee Talk
Myers as talk show host Linda Richman, the Barbra Streisand-worshipping yenta. Very, very funny...for the first ten seconds or so. Madonna and Roseanne fall flat as whiny mother and daughter guests in what is probably the most unengaging SNL sketch ever
Phillip
My eyes and ears perked up. Myers is very good as a hyperactive kid who falls in love with Nicole Kidman (don't we all) while leashed to a hypothetically unmovable jungle gym
Sprockets-Disturbing Home Video
Okay, it's pretty good. Dieter presents an arty Germany interpretation of "America's Funniest Home Videos". Kyle MacLachlan was one of SNL's best guests
Entertainment Tonight
Solid parody of John Tesh and Mary Hart, but Myers' bit, as an incoherent Ron Wood interviewing equally incoherent Jodie Foster (Garofalo, saddled with an impression not of Foster but of Foster's "Nell") and Liam Neeson, is stupid
Simon
Simon and his new friend (Danny DeVito) take a bath together and show their "drawrings". DeVito gets the best lines
Point/Counterpoint
Myers as Mick Jagger and Mick Jagger as Keith Richards. Truly terrific
Lothar of the Hill People
Ancient men discuss "what women want". Yawn
Wayne's World-Madonna
What's with Mike Myers and Madonna?
Theatre Stories
Even Steve Martin looks lost as a theatre critic trading stories with other thesps, including Dana Carvey as Mickey Rooney--or is that Johnny Carson? Notable only because Martin's best line, "What the French call a certain "I don't know what,'" was spoken by Myers' Dr. Evil a few years later.
Middle-Aged Man
Now we're talking. Myers is a fat, bald superhero who hands out advice to those in need. "What's the difference between you and Retirement Man?" an impotent husband (Alec Baldwin) asks. "I can hook up a VCR," Myers quips
RAF Hospital
A WWII patient's reality unravels the day before his wedding. Could've been snappier
Sprockets-Dieter's Dream
Okay, it worked, but making fun of experimental films, how tough is that?
Tokyo Game Show
So the game shows in Japan are violent, huh? What a cheap closer

Additional footage includes "Update Ito" (Myers as Judge Ito), "Scottish Soccer Hooligans" (decent), "Wayne's World" (the DVD's best Wayne's World offering; Wayne and Garth perform a drunk-driving PSA), "Lank Thompson" (sharp; lessons on how to be a handsome actor--with Alec Baldwin again), and another "Coffee Talk", which is hardly "like buttah". All I have to ask is, Where's "All Things Scottish", also from the Kyle MacLachlan episode?

The video and audio quality of this disc is about what you'd expect--they can't turn water into wine. (The image looks slightly cleaner than a standard cable signal.) The stereo track gets the job done--actually it sounds great, but there isn't much in the way of left-to-right separation. Since "SNL" is broadcast weekly in Dolby Surround, I was a bit surprised to see only two channels light up on my receiver. About the only complaint I have regarding this presentation is its menu, which is slow to respond to a command.-Bill Chambers