Adventureland trailer

Starring Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig.
Enjoy.

Tim McGraw/Ludacris + T-Pain

First of all, I'd like to say that I had very low expectations for this show, given the host. I'm pleased to say that my expectations were surpassed and Tim McGraw was actually a good host. However, the bad news is it ranks as one of the weakest of a high-calibre season.

Cold Open: This was decent, but nowhere near the par set at the beginning of the season with the Sarah Palin sketches. Oh Sarah, I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you.
Elements I did enjoy were Bill Hader's North Carolina Representative character and Darrell Hammond.
7/10

Monologue: Fine, except for when McGraw had to break into a song. I'm sure McGraw is a lovely man, but I really hate his music.
5/10

Clear Rite: I'm not sure why I enjoyed this sketch so much. But Kristen Wiig was very funny , and the ending was unexpected, so kudos!
8/10


Real-Life Crimes: I was busting a gut laughing at this. Bill Hader's impression was impeccable as usual, and cracked me up. "Do you get some twisted pleasure out of this?" "Yeees!"
9/10

Turkeys: One of the weakest. I remember glancing at the newspaper while this sketch was running. Didn't crack a smile once.
4/10

James Bond - Live Another Death: Enjoyable sketch. Felt a little stale, but I laughed nonetheless. Best gag was no doubt the Pussy Galore part.
7/10

Weekend Update: This week on Weekend Update, Arianna Huffington and Bill Clinton paid a visit. Arianna Huffington was played by new cast member Michaela Watkins, and it was excellent. Good to see her get a part this week. Bill Clinton was hilarious as always. And the other guest was Zell Miller played by Will Forte. This part was pretty forgettable, and was a comment on the Georgia Senate run-off between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin
Not the best WU, 7/10

The Blizzard Man: This sketch was about a white rapper named Blizzard Man played by Andy Samberg. It was silly, but I loved it! Lorne Michaels needs to take note of T-Pain. Future host right there.
8/10

Trick-R-Turkey: Jeff Montgomery spends Thanksgiving with a family who he doesn't know. Another creepy character played by Will Forte. Not very original or funny for that matter.
5/10


Phony Phone Calls: Another silly sketch about a radio DJ who makes mild prank phone calls to the delight of the call receivers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
8/10

Weird Bartender: I knew this would happen. Mark Payne became a recurring character. You remember Mark Payne? Played by Bobby Moynihan in the season premiere. Well, he was back last night. And although it wasn't as funny as the original sketch, I did laugh, which is more than can be said for Trick-r-Turkey, or Turkey Day.
7.5/10

Overall this was a very hit and miss episode. They underutilised the host, and there weren't really any stand out sketches. Usually after watching an episode of SNL, I rewatch my favourite sketches before I go to sleep. Last week, I must have watched The Painting Digital Short five or six times? Same with the Beyonce Dancers sketch. This week, I had no urge to rewatch any of the sketches. Surefire sign of a dud episode.

6.5/10

Thoughts:

1. Bill Hader is eerily similar to Dan Aykroyd.
2. Poor Abby Elliott, why won't they include her!
3. Just one Twilight reference?
4. I miss The Falconer.
5. John Malkovich!

Live from New York, It's Saturday Night..

With John Malkovich and musical guest T.I.

Yes, John Malkovich will take to the stage as host for the third time on December 6th.
Malkovich has previously hosted in 1989 and 1993.
Obviously, I do not remember these, but if anyone does, feel free to share your thoughts on what Malkovich was/will be like!

SNL looking to hire Black Obama

According to Gothamist, Lorne Michaels is in the process of auditioning black actors to play Barack Obama. The names floating around include Wyatt Cenac of The Daily Show, Jordan Peele of MadTV, 30 Rock's Donald Glover and Jordan Carlos of the Colbert Report.

I will miss Fred Armisen's Kermit-like Barack Obama, but I would love to see Wyatt Cenac or Jordan Carlos on!
Though, I don't think the fact that the person is blacker will change the fact that Barack Obama is difficult to make fun of.
http://gothamist.com/2008/11/21/snl_looking_to_hire_a_black_obama.php

Edit: Chicago Tribune says that when contacted, SNL said this story had no truth, saying "Fred is Obama."

Paul Rudd/Justin Timberlake

Things I liked:
1) Justin Timberlake!
2) Kristen Wiig's debut of her Janet Napolitano impression.
3) The Digital Short. My God, I laughed.
4) The cast giving props to new girls Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins at the closing credits. How sweet!
5) Bobby Moynihan's rabbit character on Update. The name escapes me, but I loved it.


Things I did not like:
1) The fact that Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins were clearly given invisibility potion, and then forced to don a invisibility cloak for the duration of the episode. ("clearly given invisibility potion", that's got to be some sort of paradox/irony/oxymoron thing)
2) The cold open. No Obama? Or real Biden? Disappointing.
3) The fact that Andy did not take off his shirt in the Digital Short.
4) Hardly any Wiig/Wilson/Woman tonight.

Longer review tomorrow.
Oh, and isn't it weird that three of the women on SNL have surnames beginning with "W". Wiig/Wilson/Watkins. And isn't it coincidental that the adjective I used to describe that situation also began with 'w'?
Good night, and good luck!

Poehler's Smart Girls at the Party

If you know any girls, any young girls, any girls at all, show them this jewel:

Fred's Blog

I'm probably way behind on everybody else, but I just read Fred Armisen's blog on the SNL website. I came across it during the summer, when the show was on summer break, and forgot about it.
I rediscovered it tonight, and it was great. It really provides you with an insight into the whole SNL backstage process shindig thingy.
For example, did you know that :
1) Amy Poehler wrote the Sarah Palin rap, with a little help from Andy Samberg?

Yeah. Read Fred's blog.
blog.nbc.com/fred

Bill Hader on Conan Nov. 20th

Bill Hader will appear on Late Night with Conan O'Brien this coming Thursday along with the lovely Sarah Vowell, and musical guest Brian Wilson!

I love Bill Hader in interviews. He always comes across as so likeable and goofy. Did I spell likeable wrong? I'm always confused as to whether I should drop the 'a' or leave it in there.
Here's a video of Bill Hader on Letterman for your viewing pleasure:

SNLers do Gap!

You know you've made it when you're asked to advertise Gap.



Gap ads make me feel Christmassy.

Abby Elliott:

Abby Elliott is funny!

Tim McGraw to host Nov. 22nd

Guess Britney Spears fell through, as its been confirmed that Tim McGraw will host Nov. 22nd with musical guests Ludacris and T-Pain.
Yay?

MadTV Cancelled...

The perenially unfunny, nasty, mean MadTV was cancelled.
I don't want to come across like I'm gloating. After all MadTV introduced Nicole Parker to the masses..
But.. gloat.

Please welcome...

Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins!
The two lovelies are the latest additions to SNL. Abby Elliott is 21 years old, daughter of SNL alum Chris Elliott and was trained at Amy Poehler's UCB Theatre.

Michaela Watkins has no age to speak of. But she did star in New Adventures of Old Christine, maybe you caught her? She was trained at Groundlings, where Will Forte and Kristen Wiig were trained!

Welcome ladies, make yourselves at home..

But don't overdo it.

Ben Affleck/David Cook review

Cold Open: Fantastic premise! John McCain was excellent, and maybe stole the show from Tina Fey. Strike that, no maybe about it, he was awesome. My particular favourite? The plates commemorating the ten town hall debates that Obama refused to participate in.
9/10

Monologue: A little short and uneventful. I've become accustomed to celebrity cameos and glitzy monologues these past couple of weeks, so this one fell a little flat for me.
6/10

Jar Glove: Yes, it's a repeat from the Michael Phelps episode. Still amusing, but not nearly as funny as the first time.
6/10

The View: Very good. Only, I wish they had done a little more with the sketch than just have each character essentially repeat their catchphrases. All of the impressions were spot-on though, even Kenan's. Also, props must be given to Casey Wilson's impression of Jennifer Aniston, which while it was lost in this sketch and really had no place in it, was still great. The best I've seen from Casey so far, good work!
8/10

Countdown with Keith Olberman: Best sketch of the night! It painted Keith Olbermann as being deranged and mentally unstable. It ran a little long, but Ben Affleck's delivery just made it! He smirked a few times, but honestly I don't know how he made it through the entire sketch and not crack up. His personal comment addressing Mr. Lieberstein was classic. Absurd and bizarre. Just the way I like it!
10/10


Target Lady: The best Target Lady sketch in a while. This time saw a cheesy UPS man with corn-rows hit on Target Lady, much to both her dismay and delight!
"Can I scan you? Just like I thought! Priceless!"
9/10

Giraffes: This was a message from Staten Island Zoo, that presented a student-made video about giraffes. Much like the Sloths sketch before it, it was hilarious. Some information I did not know about giraffes : They come from outer space, vampire blood runs through their veins. Who knew SNL was so educational?
9/10

David Cook: n/a
Yeah, I didn't watch it.

Weekend Update: Best one in a while actually. I'm really warming up to Seth Meyers who has proved himself to be an extremely competent solo anchor. Guest commentators included Aunt Linda, John McCain and two brothers who sang a song about voting machines, which was hilarious.
9/10

Night School Musical: Wasn't as good as it could have been, and the music drowned out the lyrics, so I could hardly hear what they were singing about.
6/10

How to Get the Fire Back in Your Marriage DVD: This was one of those sketches that was cringey and disgusting, but you couldn't help but laugh at it. Kenan played an old man who released a DVD providing love-making tips for the older couple. And they showed examples. Oh, they showed examples.
8/10

Pitching a Movie: Bill Hader's only appearance tonight, and it was gold, absolute gold. He played the emo brother to Ben Affleck's emotionally stable character. Both were pitching a coming-of-age tale but Bill's character Stefan also introduced some lude elements into his pitch, including "diaper people". Has to be seen, best character of the night!

Bierhoff Brother's House of German Coats: 8/10 Fred Armisen and Ben Affleck played the Bierhoff brothers who were selling coats to german tourists, which had a wide array of accessories. They could even be used as a tent. Pretty funny. Ben Affleck's German accent really did it for me.

Overall, this was a good solid episode. Ben Affleck blended into the cast seamlessly, and I have to say it almost became The Ben Affleck Show. Some cast members were hardly seen, like Bill Hader, Will Forte, Darrell Hammond, Bobby Moynihan, and Jason Sudeikis. So, hope to see more of them, and maybe a little less of Fred Armisen, whom I love, but I'm getting a little too much of.

Favourites : Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Movie Pitch, Weekend Update

Live from New York, It's Saturday Night, with host Paul Rudd/Beyonce

Yes, our prayers have been answered and Mr. Rudd of Knocked Up, Friends, Clueless, Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame will host SNL November 15th.

Beyonce will be musical guest, but whatever, PAUL RUDD!