Norm Macdonald, deposed as anchor of the "Weekend Update" segment on "Saturday Night Live," had nothing but praise for the inaugural performance of his successor, cast member Colin Quinn. "I think he killed," Macdonald said from his "SNL" office just after the show Saturday night, using the comedians' phrase for triumph. "He had the audience on his side, and I think it was shrewd to open with the bar story," Macdonald told The News. After taking a quick, deep breath, a clearly nervous Quinn on a new set began his first "Update" segment with a thinly disguised reference to Macdonald, who had been replaced on orders from NBC's chief entertainment executive Don Ohlmeyer. "You know how you go to your favorite bar and your local bartender isn't there?" Quinn began. He described a customer's unhappiness over the departure of "Jeff" the bartender, his replacement by "Steve," how "Jeff" had shown "Steve" the ropes and how the customer still liked the bar and wanted to drink. "Well, I'm Steve," Quinn concluded before starting the newscast. "What can I get ya?" The audience cheered, and Quinn read, assertively but stiffly, a string of stinging items about newsmakers from Woody Allen and Kathie Lee Gifford to President Clinton and O.J. Simpson. The segment closed with a commentary by cast member Will Ferrell as legendary Chicago sportscaster Harry Caray. During the commentary, "Harry," a disheveled and sometimes disoriented character, called Quinn "Norm" a couple of times. Macdonald appeared on the show in only one early sketch, a pre-taped parody of a TV documentary about Quentin Tarantino. Macdonald played both Tarantino and Burt Reynolds in the sketch. After the show, Macdonald said he had not yet experienced any negative fallout from his decision to comment openly last week about having been fired as "Update" anchor. He also said he was surprised writer/ producer Jim Downey was still credited at the end of the show as producer of "Update," a position Downey lost at the same time Macdonald was removed. Downey's future with the show remains uncertain.
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