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…
Witness the birth of an Icon of Saturday Night with Rowdy of TV Trash here
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