Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch headed to SNL for "Women of SNL" special | EW

"Saturday Night Live will air a two-hour tribute to its female cast members Nov. 1. “The Women of SNL” special will include clips (duh), but also new material from Rachel Dratch, Nora Dunn, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, and Kristen Wiig. Um, Jane Curtin and Julia Sweeney, call your agents!

This special is obviously a follow-up to last year’s hit Betty White episode, and who knows? Maybe the sustained interest in SNL‘s female performers will lead to there being more of them."

• Entertainment Weekly

Jane Lynch/Bruno Mars Promo #1

Bill Hader to cameo in Muppets movie

Online reports are suggesting that Bill Hader has agreed to cameo in the upcoming Muppet movie, written by Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller and set to be directed byJames Bobin. Hader, along with Steve Carell, will play himself in the movie.

Meanwhile, it was also reported that Amy Adams has been offered a lead role in the film and while it's unclear who exactly she would be, suffice it to say, it's a major part. 

Other sources are reporting that Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller are trying to tie down big-name stars like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Mel Brooks for cameo appearances too. 

Andy Samberg for "Opposites Attract"?

Production Weekly has reported that Andy Samberg and Anna Faris are in talks to join a body-switching comedy entitled, "Opposites Attract". No other details on the project as of yet, but this would mark the pair's third collaboration after both donated their voices to "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" and starred alongside one another in the upcoming "What's Your Number?"

Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers and Kenan Thompson were among those who attended last night's "A Lifeline In The Night - A Benefit for Pakistan Flood Relief". Pictures after the jump.

Highlights of the SNL Panel at The New Yorker Festival | The New Yorker

"Here are a few highlights from David Remnick’s Sunday-afternoon panel with some (slightly groggy) cast members from “Saturday Night Live”:

Kristen Wiig on how she got the job: “Lorne and I made love…for three days.”

REALLY?!?

Andy Samberg on meeting Rahm Emanuel: “He was very nice. He made me sit at his desk. He made me. He was like, ‘Do you like how it feels?’”

REALLY?!?

Kenan Thompson on why Lorne’s actually a great guy at heart: “Some guy came up to him and gave him this whole story about how he was homeless. And Lorne gave him $100…. Keep in mind that’s all he had, was hundred-dollar bills.”

REALLY?!?

Jason Sudeikis on what he’d be doing if he wasn’t cast on “SNL”: “I think I’d be hosting ‘Chelsea Lately.’ ”

REALLY?!?

Fred Armisen on which of his characters is the most challenging: “It’s hard to wear the Prince shoes. They’re really pointy.”

REALLY?!?

Seth Meyers on manning the desk on Weekend Update: “Someone made a joke that the closest I’ve come to a catchphrase is, ‘I’m going to stop you there.’”

REALLY?!?"

SNL Cast at New Yorker Festival (PHOTOS)

Members of the SNL cast were out in full force at the New Yorker Festival last night where they participated in an SNL panel. Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson, Kristen Wiig,. Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg were among those who appeared and I've taken the liberty of adding photos from the event after the jump.

Bryan Cranston/Kanye West - Sketch-by-Sketch Review

Cold Open - This week's cold open centered around Rahm Emanuel's resignation from his position as White House Chief of Staff. I always enjoy Andy Samberg's impression of Emanuel, but I didn't really feel like it was up to par this week? Maybe it just wasn't as deliciously vicious as usual? Anyway, it had some funny lines such as, "But remember, there's a big difference between arguing a point passionately and committing actual physical violence. And that's a difference I completely lost sight of." Bobby Moynihan played Emanuel's successor and had some funny moments - his facial expressions were pretty hilarious. But for me, it lacked some of the punch that last week's Christine O'Donnell-centric open had. 
7/10


Monologue - Bryan Cranston proves himself to be a decent song-and-dance man in this monologue which lampoons the fact that he's not exactly a household name. Enjoyable beginning and nice way to top the show.
7/10


Pepto Bismol Ice - This commercial parody features a Pepto Bismol malt liquor that one can enjoy in the clubs when they experience the discomfort of indigestion. Amusing premise and Nasim Pedrad did a great job as the commercial's spokeswoman. 
7/10


The Miley Cyrus Show - I've always been surprised that Miley Cyrus hasn't been the subject of sketches on SNL. Her persona is ripe for parody, as proven in this sketch where newbie Vanessa Bayer imitates Cyrus to perfection. Bayer did a really terrific job and successfully carried the entire sketch.Paul Brittain had his first starring role on SNL with a pitch-perfect impression of Johnny Depp while Bryan Cranston was equally enjoyable as Cyrus' father Billy Ray Cyrus ("You make me smile!"). I felt like the "pretty cool" catchphrase was unnecessary but the faux clip from the fictional movie "Goodbye, Jeff" was pretty hysterical. A worthy successor to The Dakota Fanning Show.
8/10


What Up With That? - Next, we were treated to Season 36's first installment of What Up With That?, a sketch that just never grows old for me despite the samey nature of the sketch. This week's guests were "93-year old sex machine" Ernest Borgnine and Morgan Freeman as well as the perennially bumped Lindsey Buckingham. Freeman's cameo was priceless and his disillusioned expression was delicious. Borgnine was delightful and seemed to be enjoying the whole spectacle very much. And how could you not with appearances from Mary Kay Letourneau and her student lover (Abby Elliott and Paul Brittain) and Do-Do Man and Zwiggy (Bryan Cranston and Jay Pharoah). Much-deserved kudos to Kenan Thompson who, as always, brought an unrivalled energy and enthusiasm to the stage. 
8/10


Shanna - Kristen Wiig reprised her character Shanna i.e the sexy girl with an unsexy manner. So, I was a little "meh" on this sketch, just because I didn't see the point in it being brought back and I didn't think the material was there. But, what I will say is is that Wiig always commits fully to this character even as it has devolved into a semi gross-out sketch and leaves her vanity at the door. Any comedy in this sketch is wrung from her performance and for that, she deserves her due. But, for me, this was the weakest of the night. 
5.5/10


Digital Short - A marked improvement on last week, but still not reaching the heights of last season. This had some very funny moments though such as, "You've purchased 99 child's tickets for Rescue Dogs 3D" and "Haven’t heard from U in 5 years. Rescue Dogs 3D?! Are U 4 real?!". But I feel like the premise wasn't fully realised and as a result was a little jumbled and silly. Still though, better than last week's.
7/10


Weekend Update - Not as strong as last week's - but then again, last week had David Paterson and Amy Poehler. Some nice jokes this week courtesy of Seth Meyers such as, "This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones, the seminal animated series that inspired, among other things, the creationist movement." Bobby Moynihan was on hand to reprise his Second-Hand News Correspondent character Anthony Crispino. That had some fun moments like Crispino confusing the Ground Zero Mosque debacle with Muslims wanting to show Jim Carrey's movie The Mask at Ground Zero. It wasn't uproarious, but like I said, it had some fun moments and Moynihan did a great job. Also on hand was Andy Samberg who came to deliver his swansong performance as Cathy. Again, this was fun but to be honest, I'm relieved we won't be seeing more of Cathy. All in all, a fun installment that failed to reach the heights of last week's. 


Kid Smartz - Here, Bryan Cranston played an overly kissy-kissy children's quiz show host while Kenan Thompson played the sassy Janelle who was having none of Cranston's inappropriate antics. I thought this sketch was fun and had a great premise. My favourite moments were undoubtedly between Cranston and Samberg's dim character Roger, who obliged Cranston's requests for kisses. I thought this was executed reasonably well, but it didn't go as far as I would have liked. Maybe it was just me but I felt like it ended a little abruptly? I don't know. 
7.5/10


Sparkling Apple Juice - Here, Cranston and Fred Armisen played two singers in Minneapolis, MN who sang one song over and over - "I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house?/Did you get it?" On paper, that doesn't sound great, but I actually enjoyed it a great deal. Maybe it was the live element, which saw Cranston and Armisen coax the crowd into singing the song with them, but I just found myself smiling throughout. Simple premise that was executed well and great job by Cranston in particular.
8/10


Henry - This saw Nasim Pedrad debut a new character - a small, nerdy 10 year old named Henry who's learning self defence from his father. Now, here's what I'll say about this - I didn't necessarily think the content was there but the level to which Pedrad committed to the character and carried the sketch was more than impressive. So for me, the brilliance of the performance outweighed the middling quality of the writing. 
6.5/10


i-sleep-pro - I'm unsure as to why this didn't take prominence over Pepto Bismol Ice, because for me, this was way sharper and more inventive.  This featured  a sleep aid that played sounds black people are used to and can therefore get to sleep to. Sounds like "Muffled Tyler Perry Sitcoms", "Old Lady Complaining About Foot Problems" and my favourite - "Bass". Simple, sharp and concise. Great job.
9/10




OVERALL-
Overall, I thought this was a very enjoyable show. Bryan Cranston fit in seamlessly with the cast and proved to be a great utility player. Would I have liked him to be featured more than he was? Yes. I don't think he got the opportunity to showcase the breadth of his comedic talent, but at the same time, he proved to be a worthy host and I sincerely hope that he's invited back again. 
If Cranston wasn't showcased, then by God, were the featured players showcased with Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain, Taran Killam and Nasim Pedrad all getting ample face time. Bayer, Killam and Pedrad were particularly impressive in their respective sketches and made me eager to see more of them both. This featuring of the featured players players may have come at the expense of the repertory players with there being a conspicuous lack of Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis this week. Hopefully this will be remedied soon. 
But what everyone's talking about this morning is Kanye West and his two killer performances. Honestly, it's rare for the musical guest to take centre stage and steal the show, but that's exactly what West did last night with his impeccably staged and performed Power and Runaway. It was a true spectacle and the white background/dancers were genius touches. Any animosity between West and SNL should be forever buried because the boy brought it and tore up Studio 8H last night. A great television moment.

Grade - 7.5/10

Kanye West performance of Power (VIDEO)

Rarely do I blog about SNL's musical performances, but I felt it necessary to pay special notice to Kanye West's performance of Power which was awe-inspiring, chilling and generally awesome. It was great television and the staging was phenomenal. Hopefully we'll see more musical performances like this from now on. Video embedded below.

Bryan Cranston/Kanye West - Thoughts

Share your thoughts on tonight's show after it has aired! How did three-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston fare as host? Anything controversial from Mr. Controversial himself Kanye West? Best sketch? Worst sketch? 

Comment, comment, comment!

Rihanna to appear as musical guest on SNL October 30

Rap-Up.com is reporting that Rihanna is slated to be the musical guest for SNL's Halloween show which is to be hosted by Jon Hamm. Can we expect an installment of Shy Ronnie 2, perhaps?

Bryan Cranston/Kanye West Promo #2

Seth Meyers on The Martha Stewart Show (VIDEO)

Seth Meyers on The Martha Stewart Show. 

SNL Promo #1 - Bryan Cranston/Kanye West

SNL 36.1 Amy Poehler/Katy Perry - Sketch-By-Sketch Review

Cold Open - Firstly, I’d like to express how glad I was that the show opted to poke fun at a figure like O’Donnell as opposed to Obama. O’Donnell is such an absurd political figure and basically everything she has ever said is ripe for satire and I thought this sketch was pointed and funny. Was the masturbation schtick a little juvenile? Yes. And was the payoff at the end where O’Donnell flew on her broom silly? Yes. But the premise was well-executed and I thought Kristen did a great job as O’Donnell. 8/10

Monologue - This was just plain wonderful. The beginning maybe felt an eency bit awkward but this awkwardness disappeared quickly and Amy was terrific. The “stress dream” was such a great sketch device and of course it gave our favourite alumni a reason to return! My favourite cameo? That would be Jimmy and Tina returning to tease Amy. “BECAUSE THEY’RE BACK!” All in all, super fun and well-done. 9/10

Bronx Beat - Okay, controversial opinion alert - I wasn’t super psyched to see this back. I love Bronx Beat as much as the next person and I adore Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph on-screen together. But I feel like the novelty of the sketch kind of wore off after the Betty White dress rehearsal installment, which NBC posted online. And the fact is, this just wasn’t as funny as the White edition. Katy Perry’s appearance, while an amusing sight gag, was kind of ill-conceived and just didn’t have as great a pay off as I would have liked. And the rest was basically the same Bronx banter we’re all used to now. It’s a shame, because as I said, I love these ladies. I just didn’t think this was up to par. 6/10

Bosley Hair Treatment - This was amusing, I guess. Although I’m beginning to think that SNL should retire the hair-oriented commercial parody. We’ve had enough of these and while this elicited a guffaw or two, I thought it was a little obvious? I don’t know. 7/10

Maternity Matters - Okay, I know that this is basically the same joke each time, but something about these sketches just make me laugh. Armisen is so funny as the obnoxious hearing-impaired substitute host who offers terrible advice to audience members. I think my favourite piece of counsel was, “Why don’t you get a flowery dress, put on a bunch of make-up, walk into your husband’s room and say ‘I’m sorry, honey, this is what you get.’”Also, the music used in this sketch is the theme music to a morning show here. 7.5/10

Ground Zero Mosque - This was probably my favourite moment of the night? Like the cold open, it was super pointed and I’m glad SNL offered its two cents on this subject matter that dominated the headlines this summer. The pay-off at the end - “Paid for by the RNC. And 70% of the DNC.” - was spectacular. Well done to whoever wrote this. 10/10

Weekend Update - What a fabulous edition of WU. Not only did we have Amy back, but we had Really?!?, a killer appearance from newbie Jay Pharoah as Will Smith and Governor David A. Paterson coming face to face with SNL’s David Paterson - a staple of Weekend Update for the last season or two. Paterson was such a great sport and certainly proved he had a sense of humour about the whole thing and I think he deserves major kudos for his performance. Jay Pharoah proved why he’s a cast member and I could not be more excited that he killed his first major SNL appearance. I had been hoping that his flawless Will Smith impression would be featured and boy, am I glad it was. Now all we need is his Jay-Z. Really?!? was delightful and on-point as per usual. And the jokes this week were particularly sharp. Favourites? American Idol “Coffin Nails 1, 2 and 3”, Christine O’Donnell’s Witchcraft and Blockbuster Filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Also, the ending where Amy’s would-be tribute to Jeff Zucker was interrupted was priceless. 9/10

The Lean Years - I really enjoyed this and I thought the idea of a Showtime TV show was a fabulous way to bring back Amber. The interviews with Amy Poehler were probably my favourite part - I don’t think the sketch capitalised fully on the idea of Amber in a TV show and I feel like it could have been even funnier. As it was though, it was a great vehicle for Amy and thoroughly entertaining. 8/10

Digital Short - Eh, I didn’t enjoy it. Was this supposed to be Andy Samberg’s response to Randy Newman beating him at the Emmys this year for Best Original Music & Lyrics? It just didn’t work for me - the interspersed video clips were quite funny but the ballet piece and just the general premise were lacking. 5.5/10

Trish’s Tiny Hats - Oh my goodness, I loved this. So absurd and non-sequitur but perfectly executed and timed. Loved Kristen, Amy and Bill, loved the ridiculousness of the tiny hats, loved the $4 million microscopic hat, loved the restaurant title cards- just loved the whole shebang. I understand that a lot of people didn’t enjoy this sketch, but I just love this silliness and I thought it was a great vehicle for everybody. Kudos to Vanessa Bayer also! 9/10

Actor II Actor - Called the Timberlake cameo! Anyway, this was a nice filler and I loved that the only question asked was about Justin’s music career. I wouldn’t call it great or whatever, but it was a really fun moment! 7/10

The Expendables Sequels - I’m a sucker for sketches with lots of impressions, so this was right up my alley. The premise was so simple but again, it was perfectly timed and executed and everybody brought their A-game. My favourite moments? Kenan Thompson as Tracy Chapman and newbie Taran Killam as Jet Blu flight attendant Steven Slater. Oodles of fun and a great way to end the show! 8/10

OVERALL - Overall, this was a terrific way to start the season and put an end to the recent tradition of middling season premieres. Amy Poehler was terrific throughout and it was clear that everybody was having a great time. There was a nice balance between original sketches and recurring characters and there was barely a moment where I wasn’t smiling or laughing. Particular notice ought to be paid to Jay Pharoah and Vanessa Bayer who made their presence felt this week. Taran Killam maybe got the biggest laugh of the night from me with his impression of Steven Slater and I really hope Paul Brittain is featured more next week! Of the regulars, Kristen Wiig had a great night, but for me, the MVP of the show was Amy Poehler who solidified her status as one of SNL’s greatest ever cast members. Love you, Poehler-Bear!

GRADE - 8/10

Stray Observations - 

• So excited that Bobby was upgraded to a regular player. Hopefully, our fill of Moynihan will now be increased! 
• Not enough Jason Sudeikis tonight!
• Jonathan Krisel now a credited writer. 
• We all kind of missed Will Forte, right?