Thanks to commenter dbiloo who was able to tell me that Jon Hamm will host SNL January 30.
I was able to confirm this via an interview Jon did with Comedy Death Ray Radio.
Get ready for musical guest -
Michael Buble!
So let's recap
January 9 - Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys
January 16 - Sigourney Weaver/Ting Tings
January 30 - Jon Hamm/Michael Buble
The last episode must be a suave charmer special.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
SNL Announces Hosts
As we all know, Charles Barkley is set to host next week with musical guest Alicia Keys.
However, SNL has just announced that Avatar star Sigourney Weaver will host January 16 with musical guest The Tings Tings.
Excited for these hosts? Disappointed by the lack of Jon Hamm who was reported to be hosting by TV Squad?
However, SNL has just announced that Avatar star Sigourney Weaver will host January 16 with musical guest The Tings Tings.
Excited for these hosts? Disappointed by the lack of Jon Hamm who was reported to be hosting by TV Squad?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Happy Birthday Seth Meyers!
Belated birthday wishes to Seth Meyers who turned the grand old age of 36 yesterday!
Happy birthday, Meyers!
Happy birthday, Meyers!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas! Thank you to all who read & comment on the blog, and I hope to continue discussing SNL with you guys for a long time to come!
Have a good 'un everybody!
Have a good 'un everybody!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Mid-Season Evaluation
Top 3 Hosts -
1. Taylor Swift
2. Ryan Reynolds
3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Top 3 Shows -
1. Taylor Swift
2. James Franco/Muse
3. Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa
Top 3 Musical Guests
1. Lady GaGa
2. Muse
3. Regina Spektor
Top 3 Worst Shows
1. January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
2. Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor
3. Megan Fox/U2
Top 10 Sketches
1. Kickspit Underground Rock Festival (Blake Lively/Rihanna)
2. What's Up With That? (all incarnations)
3. International Masterworks (Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa)
4. Firelight (Taylor Swift)
5. NASA Potato Chips (Blake Lively/Rihanna)
6. Digital Short - Tizzle Wizzle Show (James Franco/Muse)
7. Hollywood Dish (Taylor Swift)
8. SNL Digital Short (SWAT Commander) (Megan Fox/U2)
9. Drew Barrymore Monologue (Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor)
10. Reba (Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band)
That list was a lot more difficult to compile than it should have been.
Now for your take.
Who were your -
Top 3 Hosts? Top 3 Shows? Top 3 Musical Guests? Worst shows? Top 10 sketches?
Comment, comment, comment!
1. Taylor Swift
2. Ryan Reynolds
3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Top 3 Shows -
1. Taylor Swift
2. James Franco/Muse
3. Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa
Top 3 Musical Guests
1. Lady GaGa
2. Muse
3. Regina Spektor
Top 3 Worst Shows
1. January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
2. Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor
3. Megan Fox/U2
Top 10 Sketches
1. Kickspit Underground Rock Festival (Blake Lively/Rihanna)
2. What's Up With That? (all incarnations)
3. International Masterworks (Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa)
4. Firelight (Taylor Swift)
5. NASA Potato Chips (Blake Lively/Rihanna)
6. Digital Short - Tizzle Wizzle Show (James Franco/Muse)
7. Hollywood Dish (Taylor Swift)
8. SNL Digital Short (SWAT Commander) (Megan Fox/U2)
9. Drew Barrymore Monologue (Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor)
10. Reba (Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Dave Matthews Band)
That list was a lot more difficult to compile than it should have been.
Now for your take.
Who were your -
Top 3 Hosts? Top 3 Shows? Top 3 Musical Guests? Worst shows? Top 10 sketches?
Comment, comment, comment!
James Franco/Muse
Sorry about the belated review, guys! Let's get right into it!
Cold Open - So usually I love The Lawrence Welk Show sketches, but there was something a little off with this one. Maybe it was because James Franco was pretty hoarse/couldn't sing well or maybe it was that finger joke at the beginning, but I didn't care for it as much as I ordinarily would. However, I loved Denise. From finger-massaging the snowman in the nipple area to the turkey in the toilet monologue song. "Now there's feathers in the toilet." Overall, not as good as it's two predecessors but a decent way to open the Christmas show.
7/10
Monologue - A funny monologue that didn't resort to singing and dancing? I didn't even think it was possible anymore! Few favourite lines. "I'm in a movie called Hope's Promise. Nah, just kidding!" .. "I don't have a movie to promote but then SNL doesn't have an election this year, so we're all doing with a little less." Loved the idea drum bit and also the fact that he was willing to make fun of himself with his TMZ photo was a nice bonus. Good work, Franco!
8/10
What Up With That? - Okay, so a lot of people on boards are like "What? We've seen this shiz 3 times in 2 months! What Up With That?!" So I love What Up With That anyway. I don't necessarily think it's hilarious but it brings so much joy to the show, and I actually think that this was the best executed of the three. Mike Tyson killed with his whole "You're undermining my intelligence as a black man with your singing, and that is a tragic thing my brother" and as per usual Kenan killed. Loved the mini DeAndre Cole's and Andy Samberg's appearance as a basketball player. All in all, really enjoyed it if only for Mike Tyson dancing at the end.
8/10
Kissing Family - So I thought that this was a nice improvement on the first incarnation of Kissing Family with Paul Rudd from last year. However, I wasn't totally into it. Okay strike that, I was into it until the grandparents (played by Nasim Pedrad and Will Forte) arrived, then I grew a little nauseous. The notion that the parents and the children would be that affectionate was far fetched anyway but acceptable in terms of an SNL sketch. But when Will Forte and James Franco started wagging their tongues, I just kept thinking "But that's his grandpa!" Inter-generational incest = too far. Kudos to Abby Elliott here though whose reactions I enjoyed. (Plaid shirt sighting #1 for Franco.)
6/10
Digital Short - Tizzle Wizzle Show -Loved. Favourite digital short of the season for sure. The premise was that The Tizzle Wizzle Show was a children's show and James Franco was their special guest. It featured Jenny Slate, Nasim Pedrad, Bobby Moynihan, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott dressed in pyjamas or "Jammies." Then they did the Jammy Shuffle which I loved anyway. Then they brought in knives and pills, thereby upping the ante of hilarity. "3 more seconds to choose your knife! 3, 2, 1!" "Don't spit 'em out because we'll know!" The ending was a little off-kilter, but still far and away my fave short of the season.
8/10
Manuel Ortiz Show - Nice idea but ultimately it was one joke stretched out to fill an entire sketch. For the first minute I was laughing and then it grew a little tiresome. Favourite line, "Remember when Miguel [NB can't remember character's name] went out for arroz con pollo? Well he was con mi!" Franco's face while dancing was good for a few laughs too, though I'm not sure how intentional it was.
5.5/10
Weekend Update - So many parts I loved in this. First, the jokes were all great, one of my favourites being the bit about winding up a vibrator and then Seth ad-libbing that bit about Pop Goes The Weasel. Then there was Bobby Moynihan's impersonation of Jersey Shore's Snookie, which is one of my favourite bits of the season. Side-note, did anyone see the real Snookie on the Tonight Show where she publicly proclaimed her desire to settle down with a guy who, you know, does steroids?!? Anyhoo, Bobby was terrific here and I loved the line at the end about calling her Garfield. "'Cause I'm bright orange and I love lasagne!" Finally, Garth and Cat as played by Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig, the carollers who weren't prepared for their appearance was hilarious and another highlight of the season for me. The songs were so ridiculous and it was so clear that Armisen and Wiig were having a great time doing it.
9/10
Stupid Frat Members - Good for a few laughs. I loved the premise and I thought Bobby, Jason & James did terrific jobs as the tough yet incredibly stupid frat members. The pledges included "Tie my shoelaces, and explain what you're doing as you're doing it!" .. "What's this?" "Diet Coke." "I thought it was Lite Beer 'cause 4 letters space and another 4 letters." I thought it ended kinda abruptly, and the big cop-out with Andy's character telling them that storks deliver babies kinda grated me, but not bad.
7/10
Vincent Price's Christmas Special -One of my favourite recurring sketches. So many parts of this that I loved! "You're watching TV Land which means you are a cat in an empty apartment." Cue Vincent Price welcoming Katherine Hepburn (a great impression by Kristen Wiig), James Dean (played by none other than James Franco) and of course Liberace (Fred Armisen). The interactions between Liberace and James Dean were high-larious.
"I'm confused!"
"Well, that's a start!"
And then the end with Vincent Price's reaction. Gold! I thoroughly enjoyed Hepburn catching rabies from the raccoon also. Nice work!
8/10
Talking To Christmas Trees - It was a little weird, but I actually kinda enjoyed it. It could have been better, but I liked the idea a lot - a Christmas tree salesman whose unusually close to his trees. "This man's gonna buy you and fall in love with you!" The reactions from the customers were great and I thought that Franco did a stellar job carrying the sketch. I loved the part at the end where we heard "Beth"s voice.
7.5/10
Fartface - Gosh, I can't even express how much I hate the Fartface sketches. This saw three guys (the Fartface guys) deciding what to buy for the office workers. If you think the word "dildo" is hilarious, then you'd love this! I'm gonna say I hated it.
3/10
Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals - Okay, the beauty of Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals was that it came out of nowhere and it was hilarious. You can't repeat a non-sequitur sketch like this and expect similarly hilarious results. It wasn't terrible, but it just lacked something. I did like "Hey snowman, I like your stick hands. I've got real hands but we can still hang out."
5.5/10
OVERALL -
Overall, I would say this was my favourite show of the season next to Taylor Swift's. I was pretty much constantly happy and amused, with the exception of the duration of Fartface, and I thought that the sketches were among some of the strongest of the season. It helps that James Franco is a great host, hindered somewhat by his hoarse voice this time around, but funny & game for everything nonetheless.
I loved how the show had a non-political cold open - I was expecting something healthcare-related this week - and while it wasn't great, it was a welcome respite from the politics-heavy cold opens we've had this season. The writers relied a little too much on recurring sketches for my liking, but a lot of them were executed very well, so I can't complain.
For the first time in weeks, I don't actually have a lot of criticism. The host performed well, the writing was generally good, and there was no point in the show where I thought "Maybe I'll watch the rest tomorrow" as had happened with Blake Lively & Taylor Lautner's shows. Even at parts I didn't like, I was never bored and I was always eager to see what was next.
All in all, good job everybody. Nice way to round out the decade. Still a bit to go before we reach season 34 standard, but we're on our way with this one!
8/10
January 9 - Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys
A look at Charles Barkley's credits on IMDb shows that he hosted SNL in 1993. Anyone able to provide an insight into how he'll do?
Cold Open - So usually I love The Lawrence Welk Show sketches, but there was something a little off with this one. Maybe it was because James Franco was pretty hoarse/couldn't sing well or maybe it was that finger joke at the beginning, but I didn't care for it as much as I ordinarily would. However, I loved Denise. From finger-massaging the snowman in the nipple area to the turkey in the toilet monologue song. "Now there's feathers in the toilet." Overall, not as good as it's two predecessors but a decent way to open the Christmas show.
7/10
Monologue - A funny monologue that didn't resort to singing and dancing? I didn't even think it was possible anymore! Few favourite lines. "I'm in a movie called Hope's Promise. Nah, just kidding!" .. "I don't have a movie to promote but then SNL doesn't have an election this year, so we're all doing with a little less." Loved the idea drum bit and also the fact that he was willing to make fun of himself with his TMZ photo was a nice bonus. Good work, Franco!
8/10
What Up With That? - Okay, so a lot of people on boards are like "What? We've seen this shiz 3 times in 2 months! What Up With That?!" So I love What Up With That anyway. I don't necessarily think it's hilarious but it brings so much joy to the show, and I actually think that this was the best executed of the three. Mike Tyson killed with his whole "You're undermining my intelligence as a black man with your singing, and that is a tragic thing my brother" and as per usual Kenan killed. Loved the mini DeAndre Cole's and Andy Samberg's appearance as a basketball player. All in all, really enjoyed it if only for Mike Tyson dancing at the end.
8/10
Kissing Family - So I thought that this was a nice improvement on the first incarnation of Kissing Family with Paul Rudd from last year. However, I wasn't totally into it. Okay strike that, I was into it until the grandparents (played by Nasim Pedrad and Will Forte) arrived, then I grew a little nauseous. The notion that the parents and the children would be that affectionate was far fetched anyway but acceptable in terms of an SNL sketch. But when Will Forte and James Franco started wagging their tongues, I just kept thinking "But that's his grandpa!" Inter-generational incest = too far. Kudos to Abby Elliott here though whose reactions I enjoyed. (Plaid shirt sighting #1 for Franco.)
6/10
Digital Short - Tizzle Wizzle Show -Loved. Favourite digital short of the season for sure. The premise was that The Tizzle Wizzle Show was a children's show and James Franco was their special guest. It featured Jenny Slate, Nasim Pedrad, Bobby Moynihan, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott dressed in pyjamas or "Jammies." Then they did the Jammy Shuffle which I loved anyway. Then they brought in knives and pills, thereby upping the ante of hilarity. "3 more seconds to choose your knife! 3, 2, 1!" "Don't spit 'em out because we'll know!" The ending was a little off-kilter, but still far and away my fave short of the season.
8/10
Manuel Ortiz Show - Nice idea but ultimately it was one joke stretched out to fill an entire sketch. For the first minute I was laughing and then it grew a little tiresome. Favourite line, "Remember when Miguel [NB can't remember character's name] went out for arroz con pollo? Well he was con mi!" Franco's face while dancing was good for a few laughs too, though I'm not sure how intentional it was.
5.5/10
Weekend Update - So many parts I loved in this. First, the jokes were all great, one of my favourites being the bit about winding up a vibrator and then Seth ad-libbing that bit about Pop Goes The Weasel. Then there was Bobby Moynihan's impersonation of Jersey Shore's Snookie, which is one of my favourite bits of the season. Side-note, did anyone see the real Snookie on the Tonight Show where she publicly proclaimed her desire to settle down with a guy who, you know, does steroids?!? Anyhoo, Bobby was terrific here and I loved the line at the end about calling her Garfield. "'Cause I'm bright orange and I love lasagne!" Finally, Garth and Cat as played by Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig, the carollers who weren't prepared for their appearance was hilarious and another highlight of the season for me. The songs were so ridiculous and it was so clear that Armisen and Wiig were having a great time doing it.
9/10
Stupid Frat Members - Good for a few laughs. I loved the premise and I thought Bobby, Jason & James did terrific jobs as the tough yet incredibly stupid frat members. The pledges included "Tie my shoelaces, and explain what you're doing as you're doing it!" .. "What's this?" "Diet Coke." "I thought it was Lite Beer 'cause 4 letters space and another 4 letters." I thought it ended kinda abruptly, and the big cop-out with Andy's character telling them that storks deliver babies kinda grated me, but not bad.
7/10
Vincent Price's Christmas Special -One of my favourite recurring sketches. So many parts of this that I loved! "You're watching TV Land which means you are a cat in an empty apartment." Cue Vincent Price welcoming Katherine Hepburn (a great impression by Kristen Wiig), James Dean (played by none other than James Franco) and of course Liberace (Fred Armisen). The interactions between Liberace and James Dean were high-larious.
"I'm confused!"
"Well, that's a start!"
And then the end with Vincent Price's reaction. Gold! I thoroughly enjoyed Hepburn catching rabies from the raccoon also. Nice work!
8/10
Talking To Christmas Trees - It was a little weird, but I actually kinda enjoyed it. It could have been better, but I liked the idea a lot - a Christmas tree salesman whose unusually close to his trees. "This man's gonna buy you and fall in love with you!" The reactions from the customers were great and I thought that Franco did a stellar job carrying the sketch. I loved the part at the end where we heard "Beth"s voice.
7.5/10
Fartface - Gosh, I can't even express how much I hate the Fartface sketches. This saw three guys (the Fartface guys) deciding what to buy for the office workers. If you think the word "dildo" is hilarious, then you'd love this! I'm gonna say I hated it.
3/10
Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals - Okay, the beauty of Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals was that it came out of nowhere and it was hilarious. You can't repeat a non-sequitur sketch like this and expect similarly hilarious results. It wasn't terrible, but it just lacked something. I did like "Hey snowman, I like your stick hands. I've got real hands but we can still hang out."
5.5/10
OVERALL -
Overall, I would say this was my favourite show of the season next to Taylor Swift's. I was pretty much constantly happy and amused, with the exception of the duration of Fartface, and I thought that the sketches were among some of the strongest of the season. It helps that James Franco is a great host, hindered somewhat by his hoarse voice this time around, but funny & game for everything nonetheless.
I loved how the show had a non-political cold open - I was expecting something healthcare-related this week - and while it wasn't great, it was a welcome respite from the politics-heavy cold opens we've had this season. The writers relied a little too much on recurring sketches for my liking, but a lot of them were executed very well, so I can't complain.
For the first time in weeks, I don't actually have a lot of criticism. The host performed well, the writing was generally good, and there was no point in the show where I thought "Maybe I'll watch the rest tomorrow" as had happened with Blake Lively & Taylor Lautner's shows. Even at parts I didn't like, I was never bored and I was always eager to see what was next.
All in all, good job everybody. Nice way to round out the decade. Still a bit to go before we reach season 34 standard, but we're on our way with this one!
8/10
January 9 - Charles Barkley/Alicia Keys
A look at Charles Barkley's credits on IMDb shows that he hosted SNL in 1993. Anyone able to provide an insight into how he'll do?
Saturday, December 19, 2009
James Franco/Muse - Your Thoughts
I want your thoughts on tonight's episode hosted by James Franco with Muse! Did James Franco lift the season's standard up a notch? Did he wear plaid at any point during the night? Did Muse kill it or did Muse kill it? Favourite sketch/worst sketch? MVP of the show?
Comment, comment, comment!
ALSO guys, this is the last SNL of the decade! How exciting!
Also, Jenny Slate tweets -
"Holy F! James Franco week@ SNL is the best! What a gentleman!"
Comment, comment, comment!
ALSO guys, this is the last SNL of the decade! How exciting!
Also, Jenny Slate tweets -
"Holy F! James Franco week@ SNL is the best! What a gentleman!"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Abby Elliott on LNWJF
Tune into Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this Friday night where SNL star Abby Elliott will join Jimmy for a chat and hopefully some laughs! Hittin' the big time gir'!
Kenan Thompson Article
Check out this very cool article about Kenan Thompson's steady ascent to SNL go-to funny man this season!
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/62642/
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/62642/
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
SNL WGA Nomination
Congrats to SNL who picked up a Writer's Guild Award nomination for Comedy/Variety Series. They face competition from Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
I will now proceed to namecheck the nominees.
Head Writer - Seth Meyers. Writer - Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch by Adam McKay, Andrew Steele.
Congrats, y'all!
I will now proceed to namecheck the nominees.
Head Writer - Seth Meyers. Writer - Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch by Adam McKay, Andrew Steele.
Congrats, y'all!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi - Review
Cold Open - This saw three former senators/governors John Ensign, Mark Sanford & John Edwards commenting on the Tiger Woods affairs and the media's treatment of the story, in comparison to the media's treatment of politicians' affairs. So I thought that the sentiment was there - seriously media, it was a lot worse when Mark Sanford betrayed his constituents that elected him and headed off to Argentina to be with his South American lover than it was for Tiger Woods to have affairs. Beyond his family & friends, it's not really our business. However, not enough funny to sustain the sketch. Once again, the idea was there but the execution was off.
6/10
Monologue - So in Season 35's tradition of getting hosts to dance/sing/perform, Taylor Lautner performed some seriously cool karate stunts while "beating up Kanye West" for what he did to Taylor Swift. Not hilarious, but the kid works well with what he's got.
7/10
Rose Bowl Promo Shoot - Simple idea - maybe a little too simple? A quarterback who is not at all comfortable in front of a camera struggles to get his poses right. Taylor Lautner played the quarterback, and showed off some funny facial expressions and Bill was pretty good as the shoot director/photographer. Andy Samberg had a nice cameo at the end too. Funny enough, but like I said, a little too sparse of a concept.
6/10
Aunt Sue - This saw Kristen Wiig reprise her character of Sue, that lady who just loves surprises. We saw Abby Elliott & Taylor Lautner play a newly married couple who are going to tell her parents that she's expecting their first child. Of course Sue goes bananas, can't control herself etc. I really liked this character in the Christopher Walken show, but everytime it's been repeated, it's been the exact same sketch, so I can't say that I loved it. I did like where Sue literally climbed up the chimney though.
6/10
PGA Tour (1-3) - These were probably my favourite bits of the night. We saw the PGA Commissioner gradually grow more depressed at the prospect of the PGA without Tiger as the sketches went on, and Jason Sudeikis did such a terrific job. My favourite part was where they were sponsored by Major League Soccer, the letter "Q" and Old Dogs.
8/10
Middle School Jingle Jam - So with the overwhelming success of Glee, I thought that this was a nice premise, that was unfortunately ruined by a pointless appearance from Andy Samberg. We see a show choir being harassed by their classmates, jeered off the stage & such. The songs are pretty funny in how pathetic they are - "When I say Christmas, you say wrap!" And it would have been all fine & dandy had they not introduced Andy Samberg's character to the stage to taunt them up there. WHAT? Kudos to Taylor Lautner who fully committed to his foreign student character, and props to Jenny Slate & Abby Elliott who did good jobs here also.
6.5/10
Weekend Update - Was it just me or was something other than Seth's evident sore throat causing WU to be a little off? I just wasn't completely feeling it this week. The jokes were pretty good & I laughed, but more out of a recognition of something being funny than involuntary laughter. Am I making sense? I thoroughly enjoyed Fred's reprisal of Billy Smith the Native American Comedian. "Let's see, uh, what else?" That alone had me in hysterics. Nasim Pedrad's character however was kind of awful? Girl can do a Kathy Griffin impression, but anything beyond that she uses the exact same voice that is incredibly irritating. I think that she has shone in a lot of sketches, like Kickspit Underground Rock Festival, the best friends one with Taylor Swift, but keep her off Update!
7.5/10
Twilight Science Partners - This saw two girls from opposite ends of the Twilight love-spectrum, i.e one loves Jacob, the other Edward, refusing to be partnered up in science class. So I enjoyed this one, because I have borne witness to similarly nonsensical arguments about the merits of Jacob and Edward as a boyfriend. Did I think that the idea that they would be forced to fight it out in front of the whole class was totally stupid? Yes, even with the recognition that it was stupid from one of the students in the class, I still thought that it was stupid. But Jenny Slate & Taylor Lautner did terrific jobs and this sketch had one of my favourite lines of the night "Well the guy who plays Jacob should win an Oscar or something!"
7/10
Yogurt Shop - I had read good things about this one prior to watching the episode, so initially I was like "Really? People liked this?" But as it continued, I did find myself laughing at the complete weirdness of Taylor's character and the awkwardness between the pair. Kenan sliding in and out of scene was a pretty funny sight gag also, but Taylor really made it work here.
7.5/10
Doorbells & More - I can't help it, I'm very partial to some Jenny Slate. So while she seemed a little nervous here, I found the sketch and her voice hilarious. Was anyone else sort of reminded of Sofa King with this sketch?
7.5/10
OVERALL -
So, it was not great. An improvement on last week's for sure, but it still hasn't picked up majorly. They utilised Taylor Lautner far more than they used Blake Lively last week, and I think that's a testament to his comic timing and willingness to participate in a variety of sketches. Yeah, they were a little tween oriented, but what else did you expect when the ultimate teen heartthrob who's still only 17 is hosting? So I can't criticise Taylor at all - he surpassed my expectations & actually left a good impression on me. Kudos, bra!
Writing-wise, it wasn't a great deal better than last week's. While I enjoyed most of the sketches in the moment, there was none that really stood out that I would wish to view again anytime soon. However I am pleased to see that there was only one recurring sketch this week (Aunt Sue) and the rest were all original. Yay, originality!
Cast-wise, Taylor acted opposite Jenny Slate & Abby Elliott a lot, which I was glad to see, as neither lady has had the opportunity to shine this season. Both did great jobs and I hope this isn't the last we see of them for multiple episodes as usually happens with featured players.
Overall, not bad, not great. Still waiting for that one great episode this season. Perhaps James Franco will deliver it next week?
7/10
(I'm taking into consideration that I had 0 expectation for Taylor, he's 17 & I kinda guessed what the content was going to be like.)
6/10
Monologue - So in Season 35's tradition of getting hosts to dance/sing/perform, Taylor Lautner performed some seriously cool karate stunts while "beating up Kanye West" for what he did to Taylor Swift. Not hilarious, but the kid works well with what he's got.
7/10
Rose Bowl Promo Shoot - Simple idea - maybe a little too simple? A quarterback who is not at all comfortable in front of a camera struggles to get his poses right. Taylor Lautner played the quarterback, and showed off some funny facial expressions and Bill was pretty good as the shoot director/photographer. Andy Samberg had a nice cameo at the end too. Funny enough, but like I said, a little too sparse of a concept.
6/10
Aunt Sue - This saw Kristen Wiig reprise her character of Sue, that lady who just loves surprises. We saw Abby Elliott & Taylor Lautner play a newly married couple who are going to tell her parents that she's expecting their first child. Of course Sue goes bananas, can't control herself etc. I really liked this character in the Christopher Walken show, but everytime it's been repeated, it's been the exact same sketch, so I can't say that I loved it. I did like where Sue literally climbed up the chimney though.
6/10
PGA Tour (1-3) - These were probably my favourite bits of the night. We saw the PGA Commissioner gradually grow more depressed at the prospect of the PGA without Tiger as the sketches went on, and Jason Sudeikis did such a terrific job. My favourite part was where they were sponsored by Major League Soccer, the letter "Q" and Old Dogs.
8/10
Middle School Jingle Jam - So with the overwhelming success of Glee, I thought that this was a nice premise, that was unfortunately ruined by a pointless appearance from Andy Samberg. We see a show choir being harassed by their classmates, jeered off the stage & such. The songs are pretty funny in how pathetic they are - "When I say Christmas, you say wrap!" And it would have been all fine & dandy had they not introduced Andy Samberg's character to the stage to taunt them up there. WHAT? Kudos to Taylor Lautner who fully committed to his foreign student character, and props to Jenny Slate & Abby Elliott who did good jobs here also.
6.5/10
Weekend Update - Was it just me or was something other than Seth's evident sore throat causing WU to be a little off? I just wasn't completely feeling it this week. The jokes were pretty good & I laughed, but more out of a recognition of something being funny than involuntary laughter. Am I making sense? I thoroughly enjoyed Fred's reprisal of Billy Smith the Native American Comedian. "Let's see, uh, what else?" That alone had me in hysterics. Nasim Pedrad's character however was kind of awful? Girl can do a Kathy Griffin impression, but anything beyond that she uses the exact same voice that is incredibly irritating. I think that she has shone in a lot of sketches, like Kickspit Underground Rock Festival, the best friends one with Taylor Swift, but keep her off Update!
7.5/10
Twilight Science Partners - This saw two girls from opposite ends of the Twilight love-spectrum, i.e one loves Jacob, the other Edward, refusing to be partnered up in science class. So I enjoyed this one, because I have borne witness to similarly nonsensical arguments about the merits of Jacob and Edward as a boyfriend. Did I think that the idea that they would be forced to fight it out in front of the whole class was totally stupid? Yes, even with the recognition that it was stupid from one of the students in the class, I still thought that it was stupid. But Jenny Slate & Taylor Lautner did terrific jobs and this sketch had one of my favourite lines of the night "Well the guy who plays Jacob should win an Oscar or something!"
7/10
Yogurt Shop - I had read good things about this one prior to watching the episode, so initially I was like "Really? People liked this?" But as it continued, I did find myself laughing at the complete weirdness of Taylor's character and the awkwardness between the pair. Kenan sliding in and out of scene was a pretty funny sight gag also, but Taylor really made it work here.
7.5/10
Doorbells & More - I can't help it, I'm very partial to some Jenny Slate. So while she seemed a little nervous here, I found the sketch and her voice hilarious. Was anyone else sort of reminded of Sofa King with this sketch?
7.5/10
OVERALL -
So, it was not great. An improvement on last week's for sure, but it still hasn't picked up majorly. They utilised Taylor Lautner far more than they used Blake Lively last week, and I think that's a testament to his comic timing and willingness to participate in a variety of sketches. Yeah, they were a little tween oriented, but what else did you expect when the ultimate teen heartthrob who's still only 17 is hosting? So I can't criticise Taylor at all - he surpassed my expectations & actually left a good impression on me. Kudos, bra!
Writing-wise, it wasn't a great deal better than last week's. While I enjoyed most of the sketches in the moment, there was none that really stood out that I would wish to view again anytime soon. However I am pleased to see that there was only one recurring sketch this week (Aunt Sue) and the rest were all original. Yay, originality!
Cast-wise, Taylor acted opposite Jenny Slate & Abby Elliott a lot, which I was glad to see, as neither lady has had the opportunity to shine this season. Both did great jobs and I hope this isn't the last we see of them for multiple episodes as usually happens with featured players.
Overall, not bad, not great. Still waiting for that one great episode this season. Perhaps James Franco will deliver it next week?
7/10
(I'm taking into consideration that I had 0 expectation for Taylor, he's 17 & I kinda guessed what the content was going to be like.)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thoughts on Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi
Post your thoughts here as to what you thought of last night's show. How was Taylor Lautner in comparison to fellow Taylor, Taylor Swift? Best sketch, worst sketch? An improvement on last week's?
Comment, comment, comment!
Comment, comment, comment!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Seth Meyers on Martha Stewart
Check out these three fun segments with Seth Meyers on Martha!
Part 2 - click here
Part 3 - click here
Enjoy!
Part 2 - click here
Part 3 - click here
Enjoy!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Jenny Slate tweets -
"I. Am. So. Excited. For. This. Week's. Show. Also, my dog was chewing on my bra and the strap is about to break. Man overboard!"
She follows that up with -
"Yes I am about to go to a dance rehearsal. Yes, I am wearing my jockstrap. Duh. "
Yay for positivity about a show I'm still not 100% confident about - and dancing!
Follow Jenny Slate on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennyslate25
"I. Am. So. Excited. For. This. Week's. Show. Also, my dog was chewing on my bra and the strap is about to break. Man overboard!"
She follows that up with -
"Yes I am about to go to a dance rehearsal. Yes, I am wearing my jockstrap. Duh. "
Yay for positivity about a show I'm still not 100% confident about - and dancing!
Follow Jenny Slate on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennyslate25
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Andy Samberg & Fred Armisen End-of-Year Lists
Check out Fred Armisen & Andy Samberg's end-of-year lists on Videogum where they detail their favourite movies, songs & tv shows of the year!
Side note - why not leave a comment & fill out your own end-of-year list.
Favourite song -
Favourite album -
Favourite music video -
Favourite movie -
Favourite TV show -
Here's mine -
Favourite song - Empire State Of Mind -Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys/Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear/I Love College - Asher Roth
Favourite album - Davy - Coconut Records/Hair - Broadway Revival Cast/(500) Days of Summer OST
Favourite Music Video - Single Ladies - Beyonce
(it's not really 2009, but I don't care)
Favourite movie - Inglourious Basterds/500 Days of Summer/The Hangover/Fantastic Mr Fox
Favourite TV Show - Glee/30 Rock/Mad Men/SNL/Modern Family/Parks and Recreation/So You Think You Can Dance/Bored To Death
FYI - I'll have an SNL end-of-year list after the James Franco show airs!
Side note - why not leave a comment & fill out your own end-of-year list.
Favourite song -
Favourite album -
Favourite music video -
Favourite movie -
Favourite TV show -
Here's mine -
Favourite song - Empire State Of Mind -Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys/Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear/I Love College - Asher Roth
Favourite album - Davy - Coconut Records/Hair - Broadway Revival Cast/(500) Days of Summer OST
Favourite Music Video - Single Ladies - Beyonce
(it's not really 2009, but I don't care)Favourite movie - Inglourious Basterds/500 Days of Summer/The Hangover/Fantastic Mr Fox
Favourite TV Show - Glee/30 Rock/Mad Men/SNL/Modern Family/Parks and Recreation/So You Think You Can Dance/Bored To Death
FYI - I'll have an SNL end-of-year list after the James Franco show airs!
Jon Hamm To Host SNL!
Uber-handsome Mad Men star Jon Hamm will host SNL for the second time in as many seasons next January, according to his co-star Rich Sommer who let the info slip in an interview with TV Squad.
Jon Hamm did a terrific job last season, if only for his spot-on impressions of John F Kennedy & James Mason, so should be a good show!
Side note - when did Jon Hamm's John Ham become a classic sketch? Every report I've read has cited it as hilarious and I remember it being one of the lamer ones in a strong episode.
Are you excited at the prospect of Jon Hamm hosting?
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Gilly to Host SNL Christmas Special
The Washington Post is reporting that Kristen Wiig's recurring character Gilly will host the SNL Christmas Special that airs December 17. Acknowledging Gilly's limited vocabulary, Wiig said "That can be a tough one to work around. There's going to be no long monologue. Maybe her five-word vocabulary will stretch to 10 or 11."
The 2010 Oscar hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will also make appearances on the show with Baldwin introducing his holiday classic "NPR's Delicious Dish - Scweddy Balls" while Martin will introduce "A Holiday Wish".
__________________
Even though I'm not Gilly's biggest fan, an SNL Christmas special seems like it could be great. As Wiig says, SNL has been on for so long that there's a lot of great Christmas material there.
Are you excited at the prospect of a Gilly-hosted Christmas special?
The 2010 Oscar hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will also make appearances on the show with Baldwin introducing his holiday classic "NPR's Delicious Dish - Scweddy Balls" while Martin will introduce "A Holiday Wish".
__________________
Even though I'm not Gilly's biggest fan, an SNL Christmas special seems like it could be great. As Wiig says, SNL has been on for so long that there's a lot of great Christmas material there.
Are you excited at the prospect of a Gilly-hosted Christmas special?
Monday, December 7, 2009
Blake Lively/Rihanna - Review
Cold Open - This saw the Salahis (not the real Salahis) interrupt Obama's speech on the economy in Philadelphia. The entire sketch was basically Bobby & Kristen posing for pictures with the secret service, Joe Biden etc. Pretty one-note & went on a little too long for what it was. Also, Fred - have you just given up with the Obama impression?
6/10
Monologue: Out comes Blake Lively in a pretty red dress talking about how she met the Muppets - cue The Muppets. I really liked Jason's Fozzy Bear impression and Kristen's rendition of Hark, The Herald Angels Sing as Beaker. Aside from that though, it really seemed like an attempt to overshadow Blake Lively.
6/10
Swine Fever: I don't care what people say - I love Swine Fever. Not so keen on repeating commercials, but at least it wasn't Grand Hoochie Skank Rose, right?
n/a
ESPN Ladies Bowling - I wasn't too into this one the first time during Drew Barrymore's show, but at least it was new then. This time it played really lame. Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find Vagisil puns that funny. I will say that I do enjoy Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte working together. They share a really nice rapport that elevates even lame, gross-out sketches like this one. Side note - is SNL obsessed with Gene Rayburn?! You might remember in that Grease sketch from the Christopher Walken show a while back, they changed the lyric "Greased Lightning" to "Gene Rayburn". In this sketch, one of the bowlers surnames was Rayburn-Gene. What is it with Gene Rayburn?
5.5/10
The Situation Room (Tiger Woods): To be honest, it just seemed like a wasted opportunity. You have the biggest story of the week, and this is the best you can do with it? Not only was Kenan's impression terrible (sorry, Kenan) but what was Blake Lively's accent? I did enjoy Jason's impression of Wolf Blitzer complete with mumbling and Tiger's written statement that had pleas for help written on the back, but all in all it was a disappointing take on the week's big story.
6/10
Digital Short - Rihanna and Shy Ronnie: So I actually enjoyed this one. It was Rihanna singing a song with Shy Ronnie who, you guessed it, is shy & won't rap in front of her. It doesn't sound so good written down, but Andy's mannerisms and uber-quiet voice killed me, and Rihanna killed also, especially for someone who was completely silent in the promos. Does anyone else think that Andy Samberg should just bite the bullet and pursue a career in rap? It seems like it's his life goal.
7/10
Gossip Girl - Staten Island: As a concept it was funny, but it was so poorly executed, I don't think I laughed once. I smirked when I heard the Gossip Girl voiceover but aside from that, it was awful. I'll give props to Blake Lively for a convincing accent, but accents alone weren't enough to salvage this.
4/10
Underground Rock Festival: One of the highlights of the night for me, and a diamond in the rough for sure. So it was basically a commercial for a super-underground rock festival mocking this actual infomercial. It featured Jason Sudeikis & Nasim Pedrad, both of whom did terrific jobs. The band names made me laugh as did the Ass Dan memorial picture, and the super cheap-looking graphics. All in all, great work on the part of everyone involved.
"And you know that there are gonna be mimes running all around this bitch!" Quote of my life?
8/10
Weekend Update: Another definite highlight. Sharp jokes from Meyers, and great guest appearances from Abby Elliott as Brittany Murphy and Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby. Abby's impression skills rival Bill Hader's and her Brittany Murphy was actually uncanny.
"Hi Seth, it's great to be he-uh, hosting Saturday Night Live!"
Kenan redeemed himself from his earlier Tiger Wood impersonation with a top-notch Cosby impression, where we were treated to a sampling of Bill Cosby rapping.
8/10
Virginiaca and Daughter Shopping: Oh lord, not Virginiaca! I have no words.
n/a
UPS Commercial 1: Another great commercial! This was a take-off of those UPS commercials with the guy in the "lady wig". Bill killed as per usual and it was great send-up of those ubiquitous commercials.
8/10
Late Night w/ Chris Hansen: Another one of those botched executions - see what I did there, eh? The premise was there, the impressions were there, but the writing/jokes were completely AWOL. Tip to writers - don't depend on an impression/beloved character to save a sketch. If a general idea/jokes aren't there, don't write it!
5/10
UPS Commercial 2: I think I actually liked this one better than the first one. A basic continuation in the series, and another great send-up of the UPS ads.
8/10
NASA - Potato Chips: I read a Ken Tucker review of the show in which he likened this sketch to There Will Be Blood, and I can't help but agree. The sketch was completely absurd and screamed Will Forte, with the premise being a guy being interviewed for a position as an astronaut at NASA. The interviewer urges him not to eat a potato chip while he's gone, but of course the interviewee does & all hell breaks loose as a result. Not only were Jason Sudeikis, Blake Lively & Will Forte completely committed to their parts and the bizarre premise, but it was hilarious as a result, and was by far the best live sketch of the night. It culminated in Jason Sudeikis' character regurgitating the potato chip, and normally I'm not one for gross-out humour, but it was executed and timed so well, that it was really funny.
9/10
Overall -
Overall, this was a show dominated by cast performances. Blake Lively was required to do very little but what she did, she did respectably well. She didn't seem out of her comfort zone like January Jones but nor was she completely at home like Taylor Swift or Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's kinda telling though that the musical guest was given more to do in the digital short, and killed, while Blake Lively was given very little to do in the whole show. In general, the writing was lazy and sub-par and not much better than that of the January Jones show, redeemed only by Weekend Update, taped sketches & that final sketch. With the influx of new writers this season - Hannibal Buress, Christine Nangle, Jillian Bell, Jessi Klein, Ryan Perez, Michael Patrick O'Brien - you would think that they would depend less on old characters/premises (Virginiaca, CNN, talk shows), but it seems like these are becoming the very foundations of this season. Sketches like NASA - Potato Chips are what the writers should be aiming for and also, the cold opens do not always have to be political, particularly if it's been a relatively uneventful week. Remember when SNL would open with a Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri cheerleaders sketch? I want to see a variety of cold opens!
MVP of the show - I have to say Jason Sudeikis. From his Fozzy Bear in the monologue to the ESPN sketch to Wolf Blitzer to Philip Seymour Hoffman to Kickspit Underground Rock Festival to that final sketch, he killed pretty much everything he was given to do. Close second - Will Forte.
Overall score - 6.5/10
Stray Observations -
6/10
Monologue: Out comes Blake Lively in a pretty red dress talking about how she met the Muppets - cue The Muppets. I really liked Jason's Fozzy Bear impression and Kristen's rendition of Hark, The Herald Angels Sing as Beaker. Aside from that though, it really seemed like an attempt to overshadow Blake Lively.
6/10
Swine Fever: I don't care what people say - I love Swine Fever. Not so keen on repeating commercials, but at least it wasn't Grand Hoochie Skank Rose, right?
n/a
ESPN Ladies Bowling - I wasn't too into this one the first time during Drew Barrymore's show, but at least it was new then. This time it played really lame. Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find Vagisil puns that funny. I will say that I do enjoy Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte working together. They share a really nice rapport that elevates even lame, gross-out sketches like this one. Side note - is SNL obsessed with Gene Rayburn?! You might remember in that Grease sketch from the Christopher Walken show a while back, they changed the lyric "Greased Lightning" to "Gene Rayburn". In this sketch, one of the bowlers surnames was Rayburn-Gene. What is it with Gene Rayburn?
5.5/10
The Situation Room (Tiger Woods): To be honest, it just seemed like a wasted opportunity. You have the biggest story of the week, and this is the best you can do with it? Not only was Kenan's impression terrible (sorry, Kenan) but what was Blake Lively's accent? I did enjoy Jason's impression of Wolf Blitzer complete with mumbling and Tiger's written statement that had pleas for help written on the back, but all in all it was a disappointing take on the week's big story.
6/10
Digital Short - Rihanna and Shy Ronnie: So I actually enjoyed this one. It was Rihanna singing a song with Shy Ronnie who, you guessed it, is shy & won't rap in front of her. It doesn't sound so good written down, but Andy's mannerisms and uber-quiet voice killed me, and Rihanna killed also, especially for someone who was completely silent in the promos. Does anyone else think that Andy Samberg should just bite the bullet and pursue a career in rap? It seems like it's his life goal.
7/10
Gossip Girl - Staten Island: As a concept it was funny, but it was so poorly executed, I don't think I laughed once. I smirked when I heard the Gossip Girl voiceover but aside from that, it was awful. I'll give props to Bl
ake Lively for a convincing accent, but accents alone weren't enough to salvage this.4/10
Underground Rock Festival: One of the highlights of the night for me, and a diamond in the rough for sure. So it was basically a commercial for a super-underground rock festival mocking this actual infomercial. It featured Jason Sudeikis & Nasim Pedrad, both of whom did terrific jobs. The band names made me laugh as did the Ass Dan memorial picture, and the super cheap-looking graphics. All in all, great work on the part of everyone involved.
"And you know that there are gonna be mimes running all around this bitch!" Quote of my life?
8/10
Weekend Update: Another definite highlight. Sharp jokes from Meyers, and great guest appearances from Abby Elliott as Brittany Murphy and Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby. Abby's impression skills rival Bill Hader's and her Brittany Murphy was actually uncanny.
"Hi Seth, it's great to be he-uh, hosting Saturday Night Live!"
Kenan redeemed himself from his earlier Tiger Wood impersonation with a top-notch Cosby impression, where we were treated to a sampling of Bill Cosby rapping.
8/10
Virginiaca and Daughter Shopping: Oh lord, not Virginiaca! I have no words.
n/a
UPS Commercial 1: Another great commercial! This was a take-off of those UPS commercials with the guy in the "lady wig". Bill killed as per usual and it was great send-up of those ubiquitous commercials.
8/10
Late Night w/ Chris Hansen: Another one of those botched executions - see what I did there, eh? The premise was there, the impressions were there, but the writing/jokes were completely AWOL. Tip to writers - don't depend on an impression/beloved character to save a sketch. If a general idea/jokes aren't there, don't write it!
5/10
UPS Commercial 2: I think I actually liked this one better than the first one. A basic continuation in the series, and another great send-up of the UPS ads.
8/10
NASA - Potato Chips: I read a Ken Tucker review of the show in which he likened this sketch to There Will Be Blood, and I can't help but agree. The sketch was completely absurd and screamed Will Forte, with the premise being a guy being interviewed for a position as an astronaut at NASA. The interviewer urges him not to eat a potato chip while he's gone, but of course the interviewee does & all hell breaks loose as a result. Not only were Jason Sudeikis, Blake Lively & Will Forte completely committed to their parts and the bizarre premise, but it was hilarious as a result, and was by far the best live sketch of the night. It culminated in Jason Sudeikis' character regurgitating the potato chip, and normally I'm not one for gross-out humour, but it was executed and timed so well, that it was really funny.
9/10
Overall -
Overall, this was a show dominated by cast performances. Blake Lively was required to do very little but what she did, she did respectably well. She didn't seem out of her comfort zone like January Jones but nor was she completely at home like Taylor Swift or Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's kinda telling though that the musical guest was given more to do in the digital short, and killed, while Blake Lively was given very little to do in the whole show. In general, the writing was lazy and sub-par and not much better than that of the January Jones show, redeemed only by Weekend Update, taped sketches & that final sketch. With the influx of new writers this season - Hannibal Buress, Christine Nangle, Jillian Bell, Jessi Klein, Ryan Perez, Michael Patrick O'Brien - you would think that they would depend less on old characters/premises (Virginiaca, CNN, talk shows), but it seems like these are becoming the very foundations of this season. Sketches like NASA - Potato Chips are what the writers should be aiming for and also, the cold opens do not always have to be political, particularly if it's been a relatively uneventful week. Remember when SNL would open with a Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri cheerleaders sketch? I want to see a variety of cold opens!
MVP of the show - I have to say Jason Sudeikis. From his Fozzy Bear in the monologue to the ESPN sketch to Wolf Blitzer to Philip Seymour Hoffman to Kickspit Underground Rock Festival to that final sketch, he killed pretty much everything he was given to do. Close second - Will Forte.
Overall score - 6.5/10
Stray Observations -
- No Jenny Slate?
- Has anybody else noticed that Bill Hader mouths "Hi Maggie & Hannah" at the goodbyes? It is the most lovely thing ever.
- Next week - Taylor Lautner. Let's hope he shares the same enthusiasm as Taylor Swift.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Thoughts on Blake Lively
Post your thoughts on what you thought of the show after it's aired!
Good, bad, ugly? Best sketch, worst sketch? Did Blake Lively exceed my inital expectations (i.e that she would bomb)?
Comment, comment, comment!
Good, bad, ugly? Best sketch, worst sketch? Did Blake Lively exceed my inital expectations (i.e that she would bomb)?
Comment, comment, comment!
Maya Rudolph Welcomes Baby Girl
Congrats to SNL alum Maya Rudolph who gave birth to a baby girl, Lucille, on November 6! This is Maya's second daughter with director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Congrats!
Tareq & Michelle Salahi to Appear on SNL?
You know that couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who gatecrashed a White House party and have allegedly been cast in Real Housewives of DC? They might just be appearing on SNL tonight as themselves in the cold open!
The Washington Post is reporting that the cold open tonight will feature President Obama giving a speech to his cabinet when he's interrupted by the Salahis who have gatecrashed the speech.
Not a bad premise, I guess? What do you guys think?
The Washington Post is reporting that the cold open tonight will feature President Obama giving a speech to his cabinet when he's interrupted by the Salahis who have gatecrashed the speech.
Not a bad premise, I guess? What do you guys think?
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I'm On A Boat - Grammy Nominated?!?
What!
The Lonely Island and T-Pain have been nominated for a mother____in' Grammy, y'all! In the Best Rap Collaboration category!
While I'm so glad that the Grammy Academy (or whoever is responsible for the Grammys) have chosen to h0nour The Lonely Island in this way, I can't help but majorly smirk while writing this post!
Congrats, dudes!
The Lonely Island and T-Pain have been nominated for a mother____in' Grammy, y'all! In the Best Rap Collaboration category!
While I'm so glad that the Grammy Academy (or whoever is responsible for the Grammys) have chosen to h0nour The Lonely Island in this way, I can't help but majorly smirk while writing this post!
Congrats, dudes!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Jenny Slate Joins Twitter!
Hey SNL/Twitter fans, guess what!?
Jenny Slate has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon! You can check out what she's thinking here at -
www.twitter.com/jennyslate25
Here's a sampling of her Twitter thoughts -
"I love nasim pedrad! Ladies for ladies! Bras! Tampons! Big huge pads! "
"Waiting for a bikini wax is like waiting to get slapped in the face. It's also just super annoying¬ something I should be sharing online"
"Dear Jenny Slate: spacing out about whether or not Muppets wear underpants is a waste of time. Go to sleep & wake up when u r a grown up. "
Go ahead & follow Jenny!
SNL Hires Jessi Klein
Well-regarded NY comedian Jessi Klein (or Janeane Garofalo's doppelganger) has been hired mid-season by SNL to join the writing staff! You may know Klein from her appearances on The Showbiz Show with David Spade, Best Week Ever & Michael and Michael Have Issues. A quick browse through her IMDb credits shows that girl has worked as a writer on Samantha Who, The Showbiz Show & M&MHI. She also worked as "executive in charge of production" on shows like Chapelle's Show and Stella. In other words, Jessi Klein has a lot of street cred.
This brings to 6 the number of female writers on SNL - with Jessi Klein joining Emily Spivey, Jessica Conrad, Marika Sawyer, Christine Nangle and Jillian Bell to form the most oestrogenic writing staff on late-night television!
Good luck, Klein!
Bill Hader Discusses What's Up With That & Taylor Swift
Maybe "discuss" is an exaggeration, but he explains how Mindy Kaling came to be on the show & describes James Franco as a friend of the show!
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/01/snls-bill-hader-on-working-with-taylor-swift-on-firelight-scoring-james-franco/
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/01/snls-bill-hader-on-working-with-taylor-swift-on-firelight-scoring-james-franco/
Monday, November 30, 2009
Abby Elliott NY Times Article
Check out this neat article profiling the Elliott comedy dynasty (Bob Elliott, Chris Elliott & Abby Elliott).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Elliott-t.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all
Enjoy!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Elliott-t.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all
Enjoy!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Fred Armisen on Late Night!
Tune into Late Night tonight where Fred Armisen will join Jimmy Fallon for some chat and laughs! (Do I sound like an announcer or what?)
Video posted here tomorrow.
Video posted here tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Live From New York It's...
Not surprisingly, it's not Jon Bon Jovi & Derek Jeter per Entertainment2U's suggestions!
Instead it's... (drumroll please)
December 12 - Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi
Decmber 19- James Franco/Muse
Not getting off that teeny-bopper wagon, no Sir! Yes, New Moon's Jacob Black or Taylor Lautner as he's known in real life (bleurgh real life, yay New Moon!) will host December 12. Why? I'm guessing 'cause Robert Pattinson refused.
December 19 will see James Franco host for the second time in as many seasons. He must have made a hell of an impression on them if he's been invited back so soon, don't forget he appeared on What's Up With That? already this season. Did anyone think he was THAT good a host last time around? I mean, I love me a bit of James Franco, and he's a terrific actor, but I didn't think he was so phenomenal that he should merit being invited back so soon.
Pretty excited for Muse though, should be an interesting Christmas show!
What do you think? Excited for these shows? Think Lorne & co. could have selected better hosts? Comment, comment, comment!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
JGL/DMB Review
This week saw an energetic puppy host Saturday Night Live. Oh sorry, I mean this week Joseph Gordon-Levitt of GI Joe & (500) Days of Summer fame host. He certainly wasn't short of energy, enthusiasm & excitement but how did he really fare? Let's check it out.
Cold Open - So, this was a press conference with President Barack Obama & Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first section was a little yawn-worthy as basically Fred Armisen was saying things that Barack Obama would say i.e not funny things. However once Nasim Pedrad began interpreting Hu Jintao (Will Forte), it began to get much funnier. "Will you kiss me? Not as good as the Fox Cold Open from a few weeks ago, but pretty entertaining as far it goes.
7/10
Monologue - Well, best monologue of the season and actually as far as the season goes, we've had some pretty decent monologues. Here, Joseph Gordon-Levitt recreates the classic "Make 'Em Laugh" dance number from Singin' In The Rain. Now, I know some people were like "Boo! It's not as good as Donald O'Connor!" and it wasn't, but what is? But JGL did all of this LIVE and in ONE TAKE. It's a pretty amazing feat & the boy can dance for sure! I know it left me with a big stupid grin and pumped me up for the rest of the show. Only gripe - why was Bobby Moynihan even there? Unnecessary!
9/10
Palin 2012 - What can I say? Loved it! Anything that incorporates the dumbest movie ever with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck is awesome. Not saying that Sarah Palin as president would cause an apocalypse, but y'know. Also, the clip of Glenn Beck they used was the most Glenn Beck clip ever.
8/10
Secret Word - What, really? You had to go all SNL Season 35 on us again, and have a super lame game show sketch. Okay, it wasn't awful. Kristen Wiig's character did make me laugh, at least initially and I liked what Jenny Slate was doing. JGL's character was kinda creepy, and not in a funny way, just a South American way. The concept was two contestants didn't understand a game where people had to guess a word. Looks even worse when I see it written down.
5/10
Digital Short - Okay, so this was a digital short in the bizarre vein. Kenan plays a guy with a red wig, who Andy thinks is Reba McEntire, despite all the signs pointing to the fact that "Reba" is a man. I literally don't even know how they come up with this stuff. So, it wasn't hilarious but the song was ridiculously catchy and Kenan's facial expressions and Andy's general obliviousness made me laugh. I actually really like the chemistry between Kenan and Andy, so I guess any sketch that highlights that is good, or at least okay.
6.5/10
The Mellow Show- So, we've seen this one done before. Jack Johnson (Andy Samberg hosts a mellow show with other mellow artists such as Dave Matthews (Bill Hader) and Jason Mraz (JGL). First half felt very old, though the "freaky fiddle player" from DMB made me laugh and JGL did a great impression of Jason Mraz. Who really surprised me though was the real Dave Matthews who did a super impression of Ozzy Osbourne and made fun of himself in the process.
7/10
What's Up With That? - This seems to be the star sketch of Season 35. There is something about What's Up With That that is so joyous and hilarious that I can actually overlook the fact that there's not tons of comedy going on. This edition saw Al Gore, Mindy Kaling and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader) join DeAndre Cole to discuss the issues of the day. Mindy Kaling was left silent but pretty for the sketch, but Al Gore managed to get a line or two and a few bewildered gazes in there. JGL came out as Klaus armed with a keytar and Bobby Moynihan came out as a tap-dancing wrestler. Will Forte also came out and danced with a clown wig on. In short, the whole spectacle makes me super happy and Kenan kills every time.
9/10
Weekend Update - Very short this week, I'm guessing to make room for What's Up With That? Jokes were decent. I enjoyed the one about the pardoned turkey and the kosher soup kitchen. Al Gore dropped by to announce that he's trying a new method of getting people to care about the environment - being crazy. Gore has a pretty decent comedy timing and manages to make me feel guilty for not caring about the environment! Nice job!
7.5/10
Thanksgiving Dinner - Remember when this was on the Hugh Laurie episode and it was about Christmas dinner, and I reviewed it by saying "This seemed to run on a such a flat premise, it had me a little confused." Well, they brought it back! Basically, it's a dysfunctional family sitting down to dinner and being super angry with one another. It's more uncomfortable than funny. The one part I did laugh at was "Lot of traffic on the way here. There must be a concert". Other than that, it fell completely flat. How did it even make it out of dress rehearsal?
4/10
Woman To Woman - Yet another talk show sketch where Fred Armisen played the producer forced to take over for a female-oriented talk show due to the regular host being sick. Thing is, he's basically deaf and in no position to be dispensing advice to women. Okay, so thinking about it, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fred did a great job as the obnoxious replacement host, and the girls did a good job too, particularly Jenny Slate who was wonderfully endearing as the girl who couldn't achieve an orgasm with her boyfriend. "Go to the flower store, get a bunch of flowers, give them to your husband and you say 'I'm sorry!"
7/10
Say Anything - Another delightfully random sketch to close the show. Here JGL plays the John Cusack character from Say Anything and Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play his ex's neighbours who are curious as to why he's standing on her front lawn playing Peter Gabriel. It was a nice premise and pretty well-executed. Jason did a great job.
7/10
OVERALL -
Like Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came to SNL with an uncanny level of enthusiasm which served him well. He didn't get as many starring roles as I would have liked, but he fit in seamlessly with the cast and seemed to get on well with them. He might not have had an enormous capacity for comedy, but the guy is an out-and-out performer, and someone needs to put him in a musical pronto. I'm pretty sure everyone was aware of how badly last week's show sucked and that's why the pulled out all the stops. From getting Al Gore to appear, to having possibly the liveliest sketch ever - it's okay SNL, we forgive you. Just don't let it happen again.
I'm gonna give MVP of the show to Kenan Thompson for anchoring What's Up With That? In a season where SNL is not achieving the levels of greatness it once reached, Kenan along with Jason Sudiekis has been consistently bringing his A-game, and I feel like both of their contributions can sometimes go unnoticed. Rest assured guys, I recognise and appreciate your level of performance and commitment each week.
Overall - 7.5/10
Next week - Repeat of Gerard Butler/Shakira
December 5 - Blake Lively/Rihanna - oi.
Cold Open - So, this was a press conference with President Barack Obama & Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first section was a little yawn-worthy as basically Fred Armisen was saying things that Barack Obama would say i.e not funny things. However once Nasim Pedrad began interpreting Hu Jintao (Will Forte), it began to get much funnier. "Will you kiss me? Not as good as the Fox Cold Open from a few weeks ago, but pretty entertaining as far it goes.
7/10
Monologue - Well, best monologue of the season and actually as far as the season goes, we've had some pretty decent monologues. Here, Joseph Gordon-Levitt recreates the classic "Make 'Em Laugh" dance number from Singin' In The Rain. Now, I know some people were like "Boo! It's not as good as Donald O'Connor!" and it wasn't, but what is? But JGL did all of this LIVE and in ONE TAKE. It's a pretty amazing feat & the boy can dance for sure! I know it left me with a big stupid grin and pumped me up for the rest of the show. Only gripe - why was Bobby Moynihan even there? Unnecessary!
9/10
Palin 2012 - What can I say? Loved it! Anything that incorporates the dumbest movie ever with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck is awesome. Not saying that Sarah Palin as president would cause an apocalypse, but y'know. Also, the clip of Glenn Beck they used was the most Glenn Beck clip ever.
8/10
Secret Word - What, really? You had to go all SNL Season 35 on us again, and have a super lame game show sketch. Okay, it wasn't awful. Kristen Wiig's character did make me laugh, at least initially and I liked what Jenny Slate was doing. JGL's character was kinda creepy, and not in a funny way, just a South American way. The concept was two contestants didn't understand a game where people had to guess a word. Looks even worse when I see it written down.
5/10
Digital Short - Okay, so this was a digital short in the bizarre vein. Kenan plays a guy with a red wig, who Andy thinks is Reba McEntire, despite all the signs pointing to the fact that "Reba" is a man. I literally don't even know how they come up with this stuff. So, it wasn't hilarious but the song was ridiculously catchy and Kenan's facial expressions and Andy's general obliviousness made me laugh. I actually really like the chemistry between Kenan and Andy, so I guess any sketch that highlights that is good, or at least okay.
6.5/10
The Mellow Show- So, we've seen this one done before. Jack Johnson (Andy Samberg hosts a mellow show with other mellow artists such as Dave Matthews (Bill Hader) and Jason Mraz (JGL). First half felt very old, though the "freaky fiddle player" from DMB made me laugh and JGL did a great impression of Jason Mraz. Who really surprised me though was the real Dave Matthews who did a super impression of Ozzy Osbourne and made fun of himself in the process.
7/10
What's Up With That? - This seems to be the star sketch of Season 35. There is something about What's Up With That that is so joyous and hilarious that I can actually overlook the fact that there's not tons of comedy going on. This edition saw Al Gore, Mindy Kaling and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader) join DeAndre Cole to discuss the issues of the day. Mindy Kaling was left silent but pretty for the sketch, but Al Gore managed to get a line or two and a few bewildered gazes in there. JGL came out as Klaus armed with a keytar and Bobby Moynihan came out as a tap-dancing wrestler. Will Forte also came out and danced with a clown wig on. In short, the whole spectacle makes me super happy and Kenan kills every time.
9/10
Weekend Update - Very short this week, I'm guessing to make room for What's Up With That? Jokes were decent. I enjoyed the one about the pardoned turkey and the kosher soup kitchen. Al Gore dropped by to announce that he's trying a new method of getting people to care about the environment - being crazy. Gore has a pretty decent comedy timing and manages to make me feel guilty for not caring about the environment! Nice job!
7.5/10
Thanksgiving Dinner - Remember when this was on the Hugh Laurie episode and it was about Christmas dinner, and I reviewed it by saying "This seemed to run on a such a flat premise, it had me a little confused." Well, they brought it back! Basically, it's a dysfunctional family sitting down to dinner and being super angry with one another. It's more uncomfortable than funny. The one part I did laugh at was "Lot of traffic on the way here. There must be a concert". Other than that, it fell completely flat. How did it even make it out of dress rehearsal?
4/10
Woman To Woman - Yet another talk show sketch where Fred Armisen played the producer forced to take over for a female-oriented talk show due to the regular host being sick. Thing is, he's basically deaf and in no position to be dispensing advice to women. Okay, so thinking about it, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fred did a great job as the obnoxious replacement host, and the girls did a good job too, particularly Jenny Slate who was wonderfully endearing as the girl who couldn't achieve an orgasm with her boyfriend. "Go to the flower store, get a bunch of flowers, give them to your husband and you say 'I'm sorry!"
7/10
Say Anything - Another delightfully random sketch to close the show. Here JGL plays the John Cusack character from Say Anything and Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play his ex's neighbours who are curious as to why he's standing on her front lawn playing Peter Gabriel. It was a nice premise and pretty well-executed. Jason did a great job.
7/10
OVERALL -
Like Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came to SNL with an uncanny level of enthusiasm which served him well. He didn't get as many starring roles as I would have liked, but he fit in seamlessly with the cast and seemed to get on well with them. He might not have had an enormous capacity for comedy, but the guy is an out-and-out performer, and someone needs to put him in a musical pronto. I'm pretty sure everyone was aware of how badly last week's show sucked and that's why the pulled out all the stops. From getting Al Gore to appear, to having possibly the liveliest sketch ever - it's okay SNL, we forgive you. Just don't let it happen again.
I'm gonna give MVP of the show to Kenan Thompson for anchoring What's Up With That? In a season where SNL is not achieving the levels of greatness it once reached, Kenan along with Jason Sudiekis has been consistently bringing his A-game, and I feel like both of their contributions can sometimes go unnoticed. Rest assured guys, I recognise and appreciate your level of performance and commitment each week.
Overall - 7.5/10
Next week - Repeat of Gerard Butler/Shakira
December 5 - Blake Lively/Rihanna - oi.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Blake Lively/Rihanna
So, I knew that Entertainment2U Twitter-er was totes lying about the upcoming hosts (the fact that there was no other info whatsoever was a giveaway.)
So, instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, we get ... Blake Lively?
What?!
For those of you who don't even know who Blake Lively is (and I'm assuming a number of you don't) she's from Gossip Girl. Yeah, Gossip Girl. And as a former Gossip Girl fan, let me tell you, she's not even the best person in Gossip Girl. (That would be Leighton Meester).
You might remember that she appeared in a digital short with James Franco last year, where she said the word "penis". Edgy!
I don't know guys. I just don't hold out high hopes for her.
What do you guys think? Comic potential or bomb potential?
So, instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, we get ... Blake Lively?
What?!
For those of you who don't even know who Blake Lively is (and I'm assuming a number of you don't) she's from Gossip Girl. Yeah, Gossip Girl. And as a former Gossip Girl fan, let me tell you, she's not even the best person in Gossip Girl. (That would be Leighton Meester).
You might remember that she appeared in a digital short with James Franco last year, where she said the word "penis". Edgy!
I don't know guys. I just don't hold out high hopes for her.
What do you guys think? Comic potential or bomb potential?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Cast Photos
Does this picture make you happy? 'Cause I know any event where the SNL cast spruce up and look nice, makes me happy.
They were all pretty busy this week, making appearances at the Museum of Natural History Gala and the Barney's Window Launch.
I've assembled a nice little TinyPic photo album with a bunch of photos of the cast from the event. Enjoy!
http://tinypic.com/a/1g5rn/1
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks SNL on Late Night
A dance number a la (500) Days of Summer perhaps? I'm excited!
Seth Meyers Sundays
Check out this NY Times article in which Seth Meyers describes how he spends his Lazy Sundays. Spoiler alert - he's a runner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/nyregion/22routine.html
Friday, November 20, 2009
SNL- Ten Ways to Fix It
Read this EW article that's filled with pretty good advice for Lorne, Marci & co., on how to improve SNL.
e.g let Seth Meyers be as bitchy/jerky as possible on WU, get capable comedic hosts and not just the new big thing, more surprise guests etc.
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20321490,00.html
e.g let Seth Meyers be as bitchy/jerky as possible on WU, get capable comedic hosts and not just the new big thing, more surprise guests etc.
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20321490,00.html
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
Wow, just wow.
I could not have prepared myself for that monstrosity. I wish that I could post a review, but honestly I can't bare to relive that experience. Not only was January Jones possibly the most unsuitable host ever, the writing sucked.
Writers - I really hope that you're aware that this show sucked beyond belief. I'm rooting for you guys - I have an SNL blog for crying out loud!
I know that putting on a show every week is a lot of work, but you guys get paid to do this! This isn't an end-of-year school show! You guys got hired over tons of other writers, because you're allegedly talented and funny, and yet this ball-of-suck was all you managed to produce. And look, I get that January Jones probably wasn't ripe for comedic inspiration, but you guys must have just given up after five minutes.
Kim Kardashian could have been hilarious, instead it was eerily akin to something from The Amanda Show. Not only was the impression horrible, but the material wasn't even funny. We get it - Kim Kardashian has a huge ass. Beyond that, she's not exactly ripe for comic fodder.
Rear Window defies explanation. Beyond a semi-good performance from Jason Sudeikis, it was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen SNL produce. Yes, even worse than Fartface.
I'm not even going to blame January Jones for the episode. Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have accepted the invitation to host if she knew how limited her comic abilities were, but the writers just didn't even bother beyond "Oh, she looks like Grace Kelly! Let's make her fart!"
Overall score - N/A
(Can't bare to rate it.)
I could not have prepared myself for that monstrosity. I wish that I could post a review, but honestly I can't bare to relive that experience. Not only was January Jones possibly the most unsuitable host ever, the writing sucked.
Writers - I really hope that you're aware that this show sucked beyond belief. I'm rooting for you guys - I have an SNL blog for crying out loud!
I know that putting on a show every week is a lot of work, but you guys get paid to do this! This isn't an end-of-year school show! You guys got hired over tons of other writers, because you're allegedly talented and funny, and yet this ball-of-suck was all you managed to produce. And look, I get that January Jones probably wasn't ripe for comedic inspiration, but you guys must have just given up after five minutes.
Kim Kardashian could have been hilarious, instead it was eerily akin to something from The Amanda Show. Not only was the impression horrible, but the material wasn't even funny. We get it - Kim Kardashian has a huge ass. Beyond that, she's not exactly ripe for comic fodder.
Rear Window defies explanation. Beyond a semi-good performance from Jason Sudeikis, it was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen SNL produce. Yes, even worse than Fartface.
I'm not even going to blame January Jones for the episode. Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have accepted the invitation to host if she knew how limited her comic abilities were, but the writers just didn't even bother beyond "Oh, she looks like Grace Kelly! Let's make her fart!"
Overall score - N/A
(Can't bare to rate it.)
SNL Hosting Rumours
Okay, so important to note that these are rumours & have not been confirmed by anyone nor reported by any reputable publication, aside from one lone Twitter-er with just over 200 followers, so I can't vouch for how much truth there is to these.
But here it goes -
December 5 - Jake Gyllenhaal/50 Cent
December 12 - Jon Bon Jovi/Bon Jovi
December 19 - Derek Jeter/Jay-Z, Alicia Keys & Mr Hudson
So, I'm hoping JG is true because I think he did a good job last time. Last two, not so much!
Jon Bon Jovi's episode was horrible and the fact is his talents do not lie in sketch comedy.
And Derek Jeter? C'mon. I have no idea why he or Lorne would put us through that on the Christmas episode. Yeah, I know that the Yankees won the world series & I know that Empire State of Mind is his plate music so a Jay-Z/Alicia Keys appearance would be very convenient, but I just hate it as an idea.
What do you think? Do you hope these rumours are true? Do you believe them?
Who would you like to see host?
But here it goes -
December 5 - Jake Gyllenhaal/50 Cent
December 12 - Jon Bon Jovi/Bon Jovi
December 19 - Derek Jeter/Jay-Z, Alicia Keys & Mr Hudson
So, I'm hoping JG is true because I think he did a good job last time. Last two, not so much!
Jon Bon Jovi's episode was horrible and the fact is his talents do not lie in sketch comedy.
And Derek Jeter? C'mon. I have no idea why he or Lorne would put us through that on the Christmas episode. Yeah, I know that the Yankees won the world series & I know that Empire State of Mind is his plate music so a Jay-Z/Alicia Keys appearance would be very convenient, but I just hate it as an idea.
What do you think? Do you hope these rumours are true? Do you believe them?
Who would you like to see host?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Happy Birthday Lorne Michaels!
Happy 65th Birthday to SNL head honcho Mr. Lorne Michaels!
Have a good 'un sir!
Monday, November 16, 2009
People's Choice Awards
Click here to vote in the People's Choice Awards.
http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/votenow.jsp
SNL alum & occasional WU anchor Amy Poehler is nominated in the Favourite Comedy Actress category, I'm On A Boat is nominated in the Favourite Collaboration category while SNL favourite Andy Samberg is nominated in the Favourite Web Celeb category.
http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/votenow.jsp
SNL alum & occasional WU anchor Amy Poehler is nominated in the Favourite Comedy Actress category, I'm On A Boat is nominated in the Favourite Collaboration category while SNL favourite Andy Samberg is nominated in the Favourite Web Celeb category.
Cast your votes! (Also, throw Glee/Modern Family a few votes in Favourite New TV Comedy!)
Will Forte Reading at Celebrity Autobiography
Check out SNL's Will Forte reading from Tommy Lee's autobiography at the weekly comedy show Celebrity Autobiography.
Seth Meyers on Letterman
Tune into Late Show with David Letterman tonight where SNL Weekend Update Anchor/head writer Seth Meyers will be appearing as a guest!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thoughts on January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
What did you think of last night's show? A continuation in a series of good shows following Taylor Swift's or return to not-so-good form? How did January Jones fare? Best sketch/worst sketch?
Comment, comment, comment!
Comment, comment, comment!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Have A Witty Holiday!
Check out the SNL-themed holiday window of Barney's in New York! The windows are decorated with papier-mâché interpretations of some of your favourite SNL characters including Coneheads, Roseanna Roseannadanna, Gilly, Brian Fellows, Amy Poehler on WU, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, the Bees - in short, it's probably the most delightful store window you'll see this year.
And Barney's tagline this year? "Have A Witty Holiday."
Check out a slideshow of photos of Barney's here -
http://racked.com/archives/2009/11/13/in_the_window_barneys_is_having_a_witty_holiday.php
And Barney's tagline this year? "Have A Witty Holiday."
Check out a slideshow of photos of Barney's here -
http://racked.com/archives/2009/11/13/in_the_window_barneys_is_having_a_witty_holiday.php
Thursday, November 12, 2009
NBC To Air SNL Christmas Special
NBC has confirmed that they will air a new two-hour SNL Christmas special in primetime on Thursday December 17!
I'm not sure how much new material will be included in the special but it will feature clips from Christmases gone by!
Yet another reason to be thankful this holiday!
I'm not sure how much new material will be included in the special but it will feature clips from Christmases gone by!
Yet another reason to be thankful this holiday!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Taylor Swift Sketch-by-Sketch Review
This week saw country starlet Taylor Swift take to the stage as both host & musical guest. Let's see how she fared.
Cold Open - Finally! A Fox News sketch! How the folks at Fox News aren't the subject of the cold open every week is beyond me, but we did get to see them this week & it was fitfully hilarious! Kristen Wiig played Greta Van Susteren impeccably well, while Bobby Moynihan, Will Forte, Bill Hader & Fred Armisen played Karl Rove, Britt Hume, Shepard Smith and the lone Democrat respectively. The topic for discussion? The end of the Obama era, of course. It was all very funny, but what really upped the ante of hilarity was Jason Sudeikis as Glenn Beck. The resemblance is almost uncanny and Jason does a terrific job as Beck particularly the walking off camera while nodding incessantly bit. Great start to the show.
8/10
Monologue - So, the adorable Taylor Swift opened her show with an adorable monologue song entitled "Monologue Song (La La La)". So, while it wasn't hilarious, it was so ridiculously catchy that all is forgiven. I did like the mentions of Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner, and rejoiced at the fact that Kanye West was barely mentioned at all. Nice start.
8/10
Swine Fever - Finally, a commercial parody that made me laugh. I really liked the premise of the sketch and I thought that it was realistic yet ridiculous enough to laugh at (unlike say the ghetto champagne thing from a few weeks ago).
7.5/10
The View - So, this was yet another installment of The View starring Taylor Swift as Kate Gosselin and introducing Nasim Pedrad's impression of Barbara Walters. Not a lot to say on this one. I usually enjoy these ones, but the presence of Kate Gosselin kinda ruined it for me and the fact that Taylor's impression was pretty weak only served to further stilt it. However, props to Nasim who along with Kenan anchored the sketch. Was her Walters as good as Michaela Watkins'? No, but she did a decent enough job and had some of the best lines.
6/10
SNL Digital Short - Loved it! Best Twilight parody yet? I think so. Shot brilliantly and the make-up was terrific. Bill Hader did an awesome job (first of many awesome jobs tonight) and I definitely think this was the best digital short of the season.
8/10
Hollywood Dish - So this was sort of a take-off of shows like E! and Access Hollywood, and starred Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as vapid celebrity reporters chatting to Taylor Swift. As someone who lists these shows as a guilty pleasure, I thought this sketch was dead-on. Bill Hader, in particular was hilarious and his spit-take was perhaps the best spit-take I've ever borne witness to. I can testify that Ellen joining the judging panel of American Idol is at the epicentre of these presenters' minds. Taylor did a good job here, and I particularly loved the end where they showed her laughing maniacally.
8/10
TRAAAPD - So this was another commercial or PSA, this time about dangerous parent drivers. Taylor Swift played a headgear-wearing teenager Samantha Samuels who wants to raise awareness about irresponsible drivers. The sketch basically featured tons of scenarios in which parents can drive dangerously i.e driving while lecturing, driving while getting a tissue from the back seat. While I could relate to some of the scenarios, I thought that the sketch was a little lame on the whole.
6/10
Weekend Update - So here's something weird. I don't remember a single joke from Weekend Update. Usually I remember like three ones that made me laugh a lot. Maybe it's because it's Monday or maybe it's the calibre of the jokes, but I remember exactly zero. I remember laughing, but I don't remember at what. The one thing that really stands out for me is Abby Elliott's appearance as the insufferable Sarah McLachlan, and of course Really!?!, which by Really?!?'s standards was kinda weak. Not good WU. Not good.
6/10
Penelope - So here's a Wiig character that I am over. Penelope's at a wedding reception, Penelope gets uber-competitive, turns out Penelope is telling the truth - you get the gist. One moment I did laugh at was when Penelope ran in between the groom and bride and held both their hands. Other than that, pretty weak.
5.5/10
Scared Straight - So this was a complete deja-vu for me, down to the cast breaking at the end. They broke at all the same moments as the Tracy Morgan one (which was funnier), and the jokes were all pretty much the same. ("I'm pretty sure that's a movie!" "Sit yo' ass down!") This was probably the worst sketch for Taylor in that she could not play a man. The jail rape innuendos are kinda growing old now too. I will say that Kenan always does a great job here, but maybe it's time to put this sketch to sleep?
5.5/10
Roommates - So this was nice and refreshing, and a really nice vehicle for Nasim & Taylor. They played roommates who are pretty much obsessed with one another, much to the detriment of Nasim's boyfriend, played by Andy Samberg. The thing I loved was the big spiel that the word "hey" inspired. "BRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACK". The girls did really well here, particularly Nasim, and Andy did well as the exasperated boyfriend.
7.5/10
Bunny Business - Is it weird that this was my absolute favourite of the night? I love impression-oriented sketches and this made my night. From Fred Armisen's Randy Newman, to Taylor Swift's Shakira (high-larious!), to Abby Elliott's Christina Aguilera and Bill Hader's Eddie Vedder (which actually made me howl! Anyone with an Into The Wild soundtrack will no how uncanny it was!) to Samberg's Adam Duritz to Kenan's Jennifer Hudson - everyone brought their a-game and for a final sketch, this one was pretty darned good.
9/10
Overall -
So, do I think that Taylor Swift is a terrifically talented comic actress? No. But do I think she did the best job of anyone this season? Yes! She brought an infectious enthusiasm and overall game-ness which has been absent from the other hosts this season, and which improved the quality of the show and the cast's performances. One thing I have to remember is that Taylor Swift is NINETEEN and NOT an actress by day, and she fit in so seamlessly with the cast and was a complete pro.
I feel like all the cast did a great job, but MVP of the episode has to go to Bill Hader who was just hysterical in all the sketches and elevated them to a higher level. More of this every week, writers!
Props to Nasim Pedrad too, who showed me why she's there. After her Charlyne Yi impression sounded the exact same as her Kathy Griffin impression, I was beginning to have my doubts, but girl proved me wrong!
A conspicuous lack of Jenny Slate here - was she sick or just not included?
Overall, best show of the season thus far (just ahead of Ryan Reynolds') and hopefully it signals an improvement for the rest of the season to come.
7.5/10
NEXT WEEK - Mad Men's January Jones takes to the stage. Should be interesting!
Cold Open - Finally! A Fox News sketch! How the folks at Fox News aren't the subject of the cold open every week is beyond me, but we did get to see them this week & it was fitfully hilarious! Kristen Wiig played Greta Van Susteren impeccably well, while Bobby Moynihan, Will Forte, Bill Hader & Fred Armisen played Karl Rove, Britt Hume, Shepard Smith and the lone Democrat respectively. The topic for discussion? The end of the Obama era, of course. It was all very funny, but what really upped the ante of hilarity was Jason Sudeikis as Glenn Beck. The resemblance is almost uncanny and Jason does a terrific job as Beck particularly the walking off camera while nodding incessantly bit. Great start to the show.
8/10
Monologue - So, the adorable Taylor Swift opened her show with an adorable monologue song entitled "Monologue Song (La La La)". So, while it wasn't hilarious, it was so ridiculously catchy that all is forgiven. I did like the mentions of Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner, and rejoiced at the fact that Kanye West was barely mentioned at all. Nice start.
8/10
Swine Fever - Finally, a commercial parody that made me laugh. I really liked the premise of the sketch and I thought that it was realistic yet ridiculous enough to laugh at (unlike say the ghetto champagne thing from a few weeks ago).
7.5/10
The View - So, this was yet another installment of The View starring Taylor Swift as Kate Gosselin and introducing Nasim Pedrad's impression of Barbara Walters. Not a lot to say on this one. I usually enjoy these ones, but the presence of Kate Gosselin kinda ruined it for me and the fact that Taylor's impression was pretty weak only served to further stilt it. However, props to Nasim who along with Kenan anchored the sketch. Was her Walters as good as Michaela Watkins'? No, but she did a decent enough job and had some of the best lines.
6/10
SNL Digital Short - Loved it! Best Twilight parody yet? I think so. Shot brilliantly and the make-up was terrific. Bill Hader did an awesome job (first of many awesome jobs tonight) and I definitely think this was the best digital short of the season.
8/10
Hollywood Dish - So this was sort of a take-off of shows like E! and Access Hollywood, and starred Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as vapid celebrity reporters chatting to Taylor Swift. As someone who lists these shows as a guilty pleasure, I thought this sketch was dead-on. Bill Hader, in particular was hilarious and his spit-take was perhaps the best spit-take I've ever borne witness to. I can testify that Ellen joining the judging panel of American Idol is at the epicentre of these presenters' minds. Taylor did a good job here, and I particularly loved the end where they showed her laughing maniacally.
8/10
TRAAAPD - So this was another commercial or PSA, this time about dangerous parent drivers. Taylor Swift played a headgear-wearing teenager Samantha Samuels who wants to raise awareness about irresponsible drivers. The sketch basically featured tons of scenarios in which parents can drive dangerously i.e driving while lecturing, driving while getting a tissue from the back seat. While I could relate to some of the scenarios, I thought that the sketch was a little lame on the whole.
6/10
Weekend Update - So here's something weird. I don't remember a single joke from Weekend Update. Usually I remember like three ones that made me laugh a lot. Maybe it's because it's Monday or maybe it's the calibre of the jokes, but I remember exactly zero. I remember laughing, but I don't remember at what. The one thing that really stands out for me is Abby Elliott's appearance as the insufferable Sarah McLachlan, and of course Really!?!, which by Really?!?'s standards was kinda weak. Not good WU. Not good.
6/10
Penelope - So here's a Wiig character that I am over. Penelope's at a wedding reception, Penelope gets uber-competitive, turns out Penelope is telling the truth - you get the gist. One moment I did laugh at was when Penelope ran in between the groom and bride and held both their hands. Other than that, pretty weak.
5.5/10
Scared Straight - So this was a complete deja-vu for me, down to the cast breaking at the end. They broke at all the same moments as the Tracy Morgan one (which was funnier), and the jokes were all pretty much the same. ("I'm pretty sure that's a movie!" "Sit yo' ass down!") This was probably the worst sketch for Taylor in that she could not play a man. The jail rape innuendos are kinda growing old now too. I will say that Kenan always does a great job here, but maybe it's time to put this sketch to sleep?
5.5/10
Roommates - So this was nice and refreshing, and a really nice vehicle for Nasim & Taylor. They played roommates who are pretty much obsessed with one another, much to the detriment of Nasim's boyfriend, played by Andy Samberg. The thing I loved was the big spiel that the word "hey" inspired. "BRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACK". The girls did really well here, particularly Nasim, and Andy did well as the exasperated boyfriend.
7.5/10
Bunny Business - Is it weird that this was my absolute favourite of the night? I love impression-oriented sketches and this made my night. From Fred Armisen's Randy Newman, to Taylor Swift's Shakira (high-larious!), to Abby Elliott's Christina Aguilera and Bill Hader's Eddie Vedder (which actually made me howl! Anyone with an Into The Wild soundtrack will no how uncanny it was!) to Samberg's Adam Duritz to Kenan's Jennifer Hudson - everyone brought their a-game and for a final sketch, this one was pretty darned good.
9/10
Overall -
So, do I think that Taylor Swift is a terrifically talented comic actress? No. But do I think she did the best job of anyone this season? Yes! She brought an infectious enthusiasm and overall game-ness which has been absent from the other hosts this season, and which improved the quality of the show and the cast's performances. One thing I have to remember is that Taylor Swift is NINETEEN and NOT an actress by day, and she fit in so seamlessly with the cast and was a complete pro.
I feel like all the cast did a great job, but MVP of the episode has to go to Bill Hader who was just hysterical in all the sketches and elevated them to a higher level. More of this every week, writers!
Props to Nasim Pedrad too, who showed me why she's there. After her Charlyne Yi impression sounded the exact same as her Kathy Griffin impression, I was beginning to have my doubts, but girl proved me wrong!
A conspicuous lack of Jenny Slate here - was she sick or just not included?
Overall, best show of the season thus far (just ahead of Ryan Reynolds') and hopefully it signals an improvement for the rest of the season to come.
7.5/10
NEXT WEEK - Mad Men's January Jones takes to the stage. Should be interesting!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Thoughts on Tonight's SNL!
Please post your thoughts on the show right after it's aired!
Favourite sketch, least favourite sketch, surprise cameos, how the lovely Taylor fared - I want to hear it all!
Comment, comment, comment!
Favourite sketch, least favourite sketch, surprise cameos, how the lovely Taylor fared - I want to hear it all!
Comment, comment, comment!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Taylor Swift Promo with Kristen Wiig
How do you think Taylor is shaping up as a host? Do you have high/low expectations?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Taylor Swift Promo
This week's promo for SNL!
I gotta say I'm pretty excited! BTW Taylor, diggin' the cute argyle cardigan!
I gotta say I'm pretty excited! BTW Taylor, diggin' the cute argyle cardigan!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner AND Kellan Lutz to Host SNL
Well, no. But it COULD have happened, and who knows, still could!
In a report about how Robert Pattinson is supposedly threatened by his co-stars' success, a source says that Robert Pattinson was approached to host SNL - but with his Twilight co-stars Kellan Lutz and Taylor Lautner. The source alleges that Pattinson was initially excited at the prospect of hosting SNL but refused upon hearing that he would have to share the spotlight.
I don't know whether to believe this or not, but if true, I think it was kind of a smart ploy on behalf of the SNL producers. They probably anticipated each of the Twilight dudes being kinda horrible on their own, and wanted to cover their bases by having three of them host - an idea that greatly interests me.
What do you think? Would you like to see all three Twilight dudes host? Do you think this is true? What do you think the possibilities of it happening are?
In a report about how Robert Pattinson is supposedly threatened by his co-stars' success, a source says that Robert Pattinson was approached to host SNL - but with his Twilight co-stars Kellan Lutz and Taylor Lautner. The source alleges that Pattinson was initially excited at the prospect of hosting SNL but refused upon hearing that he would have to share the spotlight.
I don't know whether to believe this or not, but if true, I think it was kind of a smart ploy on behalf of the SNL producers. They probably anticipated each of the Twilight dudes being kinda horrible on their own, and wanted to cover their bases by having three of them host - an idea that greatly interests me.
What do you think? Would you like to see all three Twilight dudes host? Do you think this is true? What do you think the possibilities of it happening are?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Joseph Gordon Levitt Video
Check out how super-excited Joseph Gordon Levitt is to be hosting SNL!
!! SNL 11/21 !! from hitRECord Joe on Vimeo.
Friday, October 30, 2009
January Jones & Joseph Gordon Levitt To Host!
Firstly - Robert Pattinson's not hosting SNL, at least in November! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Yes, the November hosts for SNL have being revealed and they're kinda shocking choices.
Thoughts? January Jones is a terrific actress as anyone who watches Mad Men will know. Betty Draper has displayed basically no sense of humour throughout the series so it's hard to know how January Jones will fare. But I don't remember thinking Jon Hamm would be a barrel of laughs & look how that turned out!
Joseph Gordon Levitt is an excellent choice. The guy looks like he could be a lot of fun and a JGL and Hall & Oates sketch is surely in the works (anyone who has seen (500) Days of Summer will know what I'm talking about!)
Black Eyed Peas - yay! I'm really feeling their latest album. I mean, Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling are some of the songs of '09, love 'em or hate 'em.
http://www.thewrap.com/article/saturday-night-live-announces-november-hosts-9438
What do you think about these hosting choices? Overwhelmed or underwhelmed? How do you think Jones & Levitt will fare in the world of sketch comedy?
Comment, comment, comment!
Yes, the November hosts for SNL have being revealed and they're kinda shocking choices.
- November 7 sees Taylor Swift take to the stage as host and musical guest.
- November 14 sees Mad Men star January Jones host with musical guests Black Eyed Peas.
- Finally, November 21 sees the adorable Joseph Gordon Levitt hosting with musical guest Dave Matthews Band.
Thoughts? January Jones is a terrific actress as anyone who watches Mad Men will know. Betty Draper has displayed basically no sense of humour throughout the series so it's hard to know how January Jones will fare. But I don't remember thinking Jon Hamm would be a barrel of laughs & look how that turned out!
Joseph Gordon Levitt is an excellent choice. The guy looks like he could be a lot of fun and a JGL and Hall & Oates sketch is surely in the works (anyone who has seen (500) Days of Summer will know what I'm talking about!)
Black Eyed Peas - yay! I'm really feeling their latest album. I mean, Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling are some of the songs of '09, love 'em or hate 'em.
http://www.thewrap.com/article/saturday-night-live-announces-november-hosts-9438
What do you think about these hosting choices? Overwhelmed or underwhelmed? How do you think Jones & Levitt will fare in the world of sketch comedy?
Comment, comment, comment!
Fred's Blog Updated!
Fred's Blog has been updated on the NBC SNL website. The blogs feature photos from behind-the-scenes at SNL - this week, the blogs discuss the Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor episode and the Gerard Butler/Shakira episode.
There's even a short video of Akiva Schaffer playing those magic thumb things that were the subject of Drew Barrymore's digital short!
Check it out here -
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/backstage/
There's even a short video of Akiva Schaffer playing those magic thumb things that were the subject of Drew Barrymore's digital short!
Check it out here -
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/backstage/
Monday, October 26, 2009
Kenan Thompson on Jenny Slate Post-F-Word Fiasco
Check out this short & sweet article on what Kenan Thompson had to say about his co-star's slip-up during her first ever show, and how Andy Samberg delicately broached the topic during a Monday pitch meeting.
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/10/26/snl_s_jenny_slate_doing_fine_after_f_bom
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/10/26/snl_s_jenny_slate_doing_fine_after_f_bom
Fred Armisen Marries Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss' rep has confirmed that she & Fred Armisen exchanged nuptials yesterday at The Foundry in Long Island City. Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Jon Hamm's hosting stint, the day the pair first met.
Congratulations to the newly married couple!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Gerard Butler/Shakira - Review
Cold Open - Vast improvement on the last few weeks. Here Dwayne Johnson reprised his The Rock Obama character & finally we saw a semblance of comedy in the cold open. Of course the premise was that Obama was very mad with the Senators namely Olympia Snowe, Max Baucus & someone else. I liked seeing Jenny Slate with a starring role - note the resemblance between Senator Snow & Slate is uncanny. Perhaps the caveman shtick got a little old, but nice open.
8/10
Monologue - Nice open. Love seeing an old song & dance in the monologue. Lot of fun & Gerard Butler really highlighted his lack of singing ability!
7.5/10
Grand Hoochie Skank Rose - Oh dear, are we in 1995? Because if we're not, then a sketch called Grand Hoochie Skank Rose has no place on the show.
4/10
ESPN: Randy & Greg -So I know a lot of people really liked the character of Greg. I'm not really feeling this one, but nobody can deny what a tour-de-force performance Bill Hader gives as Greg the sports host who so is an alien, no matter what his co-host Randy says. I did like the ending with Greg charging the camera, but overall not really my thing.
6/10
Beauty And The Beast - I liked this one a lot & thought it was far better and funnier than the Aladdin/Jasmine sketch from the Rosario Dawson-hosted show. The premise was that The Beast (Butler) thought that he was the Beauty because Belle (Wiig) didn't have a big enough booty. I loved Belle's nasally singing voice and the household objects, particularly Lumiere who despite being a candelabra does menorahs sometimes. Nicely executed & original.
7.5/10
Weekend Update - I loved WU if only for Two Gays Guys from New Jersey which killed. Major kudos to Fred Armisen & Bill Hader who are naturally stationed at Fort Dix - oh! I have to admit that I did like the Colorado Balloon talking to Seth, and the little bit with Gerard Butler speaking Scottish lingo was pretty well-done. With jokes this week, I thought they were really sharp and hilarious.
Favourites -
"I think we've finally reached the point in our society where 'celebrity' just means 'mammal.'"
"Jokes on them, we don't have $2 million."
Snow warned Thursday that while she crossed party lines to vote for the new health care bill in committee, that doesn't mean that she will vote for it when it reaches the Senate floor, adding 'Come on guys, chase me!'"
Kristen Wiig's bit made me laugh but the premise was a little too thin. Also, did she lose it about half way through when she was turning her head? And "Thanks for coming." Yeah, I'm immature.
8/10
300 - Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Wow SNL really surprised me with a sketch suggesting how truly gay 300 was. (In case you can't tell I'm being sarcastic). The only words that spring to mind are "obvious" and "easy". Only person who made me laugh at all was Jason Sudeikis and that was down to his delivery not what he was saying.
Best line - "Are you asking for yourself or a friend?"
5.5/10
What Up With That? - So this was hilarious if only for Jason Sudeikis dancing (boy has some major dancing skills - anyone else remember The First Person in The History of The World to Dance?) The premise was that Kenan Thompson was the host of a current affairs/issues show but he was a soul singer that could not stop singing - ooh wee! Now that song is one of the most catchy songs I've ever heard and has been in my head ever since. Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad were back-up singers while Bill Hader, Abby Elliott & James Franco (OMG, hi James Franco - those pants are weird but your hair is mighty fine!) were the guests. Gerard Butler played Kenan's white counterpart and Kristen Wiig came in dancing with a tennis racket, I think? But this was all about Jason Sudeikis & his fly dancing, and Kenan Thompson for a tour-de-force musical performance.
8/10
"Thomas!" - I don't know what this was. Admittedly, something about the way Wiig says "Thomas" as she's exiting a room is hilarious to me but this sketch must have been written at 4am. The cottage cheese. the bit with the pen? I don't even know.
4/10
Daveheart - Wow, really playing up to Butler's Scottishness. Typical last sketch of the night. This was Braveheart's cowardly brother Daveheart who is basically a major wuss. And that's hilarious? I don't know.
5/10
OVERALL -
Gerard Butler exceeded my expectations, and he seemed like a really good sport. I would have liked to have seen him as the star of more sketches - kinda felt like a Ryan Reynolds situation again. I feel the show was more grounded this week and so I'm hoping that this means the writers are getting back into the flow of things. Glad to see Bill Hader get more airtime this week as with and I have to give credit to Kenan Thompson who successfully anchored two of the better sketches of the night. People complain about Kenan - indeed I have - but he is a consummate performer and a career in hosting surely awaits after his tenure on SNL.
Not seeing enough of Slate, Pedrad & Elliott, so I'm really hoping that they get their chance to shine sometime soon.
Better show than last week's but still a way to go until we reach the heights of last season.
7/10
Stray Observations -
8/10
Monologue - Nice open. Love seeing an old song & dance in the monologue. Lot of fun & Gerard Butler really highlighted his lack of singing ability!
7.5/10
Grand Hoochie Skank Rose - Oh dear, are we in 1995? Because if we're not, then a sketch called Grand Hoochie Skank Rose has no place on the show.
4/10
ESPN: Randy & Greg -So I know a lot of people really liked the character of Greg. I'm not really feeling this one, but nobody can deny what a tour-de-force performance Bill Hader gives as Greg the sports host who so is an alien, no matter what his co-host Randy says. I did like the ending with Greg charging the camera, but overall not really my thing.
6/10
Beauty And The Beast - I liked this one a lot & thought it was far better and funnier than the Aladdin/Jasmine sketch from the Rosario Dawson-hosted show. The premise was that The Beast (Butler) thought that he was the Beauty because Belle (Wiig) didn't have a big enough booty. I loved Belle's nasally singing voice and the household objects, particularly Lumiere who despite being a candelabra does menorahs sometimes. Nicely executed & original.
7.5/10
Weekend Update - I loved WU if only for Two Gays Guys from New Jersey which killed. Major kudos to Fred Armisen & Bill Hader who are naturally stationed at Fort Dix - oh! I have to admit that I did like the Colorado Balloon talking to Seth, and the little bit with Gerard Butler speaking Scottish lingo was pretty well-done. With jokes this week, I thought they were really sharp and hilarious.
Favourites -
"I think we've finally reached the point in our society where 'celebrity' just means 'mammal.'"
"Jokes on them, we don't have $2 million."
Snow warned Thursday that while she crossed party lines to vote for the new health care bill in committee, that doesn't mean that she will vote for it when it reaches the Senate floor, adding 'Come on guys, chase me!'"
Kristen Wiig's bit made me laugh but the premise was a little too thin. Also, did she lose it about half way through when she was turning her head? And "Thanks for coming." Yeah, I'm immature.
8/10
300 - Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Wow SNL really surprised me with a sketch suggesting how truly gay 300 was. (In case you can't tell I'm being sarcastic). The only words that spring to mind are "obvious" and "easy". Only person who made me laugh at all was Jason Sudeikis and that was down to his delivery not what he was saying.
Best line - "Are you asking for yourself or a friend?"
5.5/10
What Up With That? - So this was hilarious if only for Jason Sudeikis dancing (boy has some major dancing skills - anyone else remember The First Person in The History of The World to Dance?) The premise was that Kenan Thompson was the host of a current affairs/issues show but he was a soul singer that could not stop singing - ooh wee! Now that song is one of the most catchy songs I've ever heard and has been in my head ever since. Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad were back-up singers while Bill Hader, Abby Elliott & James Franco (OMG, hi James Franco - those pants are weird but your hair is mighty fine!) were the guests. Gerard Butler played Kenan's white counterpart and Kristen Wiig came in dancing with a tennis racket, I think? But this was all about Jason Sudeikis & his fly dancing, and Kenan Thompson for a tour-de-force musical performance.
8/10
"Thomas!" - I don't know what this was. Admittedly, something about the way Wiig says "Thomas" as she's exiting a room is hilarious to me but this sketch must have been written at 4am. The cottage cheese. the bit with the pen? I don't even know.
4/10
Daveheart - Wow, really playing up to Butler's Scottishness. Typical last sketch of the night. This was Braveheart's cowardly brother Daveheart who is basically a major wuss. And that's hilarious? I don't know.
5/10
OVERALL -
Gerard Butler exceeded my expectations, and he seemed like a really good sport. I would have liked to have seen him as the star of more sketches - kinda felt like a Ryan Reynolds situation again. I feel the show was more grounded this week and so I'm hoping that this means the writers are getting back into the flow of things. Glad to see Bill Hader get more airtime this week as with and I have to give credit to Kenan Thompson who successfully anchored two of the better sketches of the night. People complain about Kenan - indeed I have - but he is a consummate performer and a career in hosting surely awaits after his tenure on SNL.
Not seeing enough of Slate, Pedrad & Elliott, so I'm really hoping that they get their chance to shine sometime soon.
Better show than last week's but still a way to go until we reach the heights of last season.
7/10
Stray Observations -
- It's really great seeing you James Franco, but umm, why are you here?
- The blooper with Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon & Sean Hayes - hilarious! Bloopers every week!
- No Andy Samberg!
- If Beauty and The Beast is ever revived on Broadway, Bill Hader needs to play Lumiere.
- Umm, you've got some enormous man thighs Gerard Butler.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Gerard Butler/Shakira - Post Show Thoughts
Post your thoughts on the show here tonight after it's finished airing! Favourite sketch, worst sketch, Dwayne Johnson's appearance, Butler's appearance - I want to hear what you thought!
Comment, comment, comment!
Comment, comment, comment!
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to Appear on SNL!
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is scheduled to appear on SNL tonight to reprise his character The Rock Obama, according to various online wrestling publications!
Please let this be true, I could use a bit of Caveman Obama in my life right now!
Please let this be true, I could use a bit of Caveman Obama in my life right now!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Kanye To Make Appearance on SNL
SNL producers are reportedly trying to coax Kanye West into appearing on SNL during Taylor Swift's hosting gig onNovember 7, hopefully not for a Lady Gaga/Madonna style "sketch".
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/36229-rumor_kanye_west_to_make_a_surprise_appearance_on_saturday_night_live_with_taylor_swift.html
Admittedly it was the first thing I thought of when I heard Taylor Swift was going to host, but I'm kinda thinking will the whole Kanye/Taylor/VMA saga not be dead when November 7 comes? I, for one, am sick of it and not trying to be controversial, but I agreed with Kanye's sentiments (about Single Ladies deserving to win) just not with how he aired those sentiments.
Is this something you'd like to see happen? Or should SNL leave this pseudo-fiasco alone?
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/36229-rumor_kanye_west_to_make_a_surprise_appearance_on_saturday_night_live_with_taylor_swift.html
Admittedly it was the first thing I thought of when I heard Taylor Swift was going to host, but I'm kinda thinking will the whole Kanye/Taylor/VMA saga not be dead when November 7 comes? I, for one, am sick of it and not trying to be controversial, but I agreed with Kanye's sentiments (about Single Ladies deserving to win) just not with how he aired those sentiments.
Is this something you'd like to see happen? Or should SNL leave this pseudo-fiasco alone?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Taylor Swift to Host SNL
Well, I saw this one coming from a mile off but country darling Taylor Swift is set to host SNL on November 7. Swift called the chance to host on Nov. 7 ''mind-blowing'' and says it's been difficult to keep it a secret since producers asked her during the summer. She will once again perform as musical guest during this upcoming show.
So, I'm pretty excited to see Taylor Swift. You might remember that she made an appearance in Save Broadway during the NPH show in January & seemed like she might have some comic chops.
What do you think? Is SNL trying too hard to stay young or is Taylor Swift a good hosting choice?
So, I'm pretty excited to see Taylor Swift. You might remember that she made an appearance in Save Broadway during the NPH show in January & seemed like she might have some comic chops.
What do you think? Is SNL trying too hard to stay young or is Taylor Swift a good hosting choice?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
What I Liked About Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor
So, because I can't bring myself to go through this one sketch by sketch & because I love Drew Barrymore so much and can't bear to criticise her, I'm going to go through a list of what I liked about this episode.
- Drew Barrymore's monologue - the premise being all the Barrymores were Valley Girls. Favourite Barrymore - Bill Hader doing Hamlet. High-larious!
- Commercial parody for University of Westfield. Funny & concise.
- Justin Long's cameo as Matthew McConaughey & Abby Elliott's eerily perfect Anna Faris impression. (Sketch as a whole didn't do it for me though)
- Vinny Vedecci's scrolling list of women he had to apologise to.
- James Carville on WU.
- Digital Short - wonderfully whimsy & random.
- Will Forte's character Hamilton reciting Love In This Club
- Drew Barrymore's bumper photos - dayum girl!
- Regina Spektor's second performance.
And that's about it. As far as actual sketches go, the show was pretty weak & only surpassed Megan Fox's show due to Drew Barrymore's wonderful on-screen presence. Writing was so weak & even WU wasn't up to scratch.
I'm not even gonna grade this one, but it makes 1 mediocre show & 2 bad shows this season.
This Saturday - Gerard Butler. Oi.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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