Saturday Night Live

[Fawkesfan1]

Awesome news . Loved him as Mr. Robinson... that character had me laughing my butt off . It would be nice to see him host SNL.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Originally Posted by Fawkesfan1

Awesome news

Or rather, nice the possibility of news. Yeah, even though it's been a while since I've seen an Eddie Murphy movie that isn't "Shrek ___" - because the likes of Norbit and Meet Dave have looked so miserable - and he's not nearly as funny or lively as he was in his prime, I'd still love to see him host again. I guess part of that is because I like the idea that SNL alumni are this sort of community and that they'd all be willing to come back to the show on occasion.

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by IenjoyAcidPops

Or rather, nice the possibility of news. Yeah, even though it's been a while since I've seen an Eddie Murphy movie that isn't "Shrek ___" - because the likes of Norbit and Meet Dave have looked so miserable - and he's not nearly as funny or lively as he was in his prime, I'd still love to see him host again. I guess part of that is because I like the idea that SNL alumni are this sort of community and that they'd all be willing to come back to the show on occasion.

Yep . But maybe hosting SNL might still his comedic juices and help him out there in that department. It wouldn't hurt .

[Coldwindblows]

I honestly cannot believe I have never posted here before.

I absolutely ADORE SNL.

Cast members I like would be:
Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.

Cast members I dislike would be:
ANDY SAMBERG ANDY SAMBERG ANDY SAMBERG.

Does abybody get the impression that he really doesn't care about sketch acting, and he just wants to exaggerate his personality to get people as his fans, rather than fans of the show itself?
People like Armisen, Hader and Wiig seem to be more genuine SNL fans and more sincere in their approaches.

Either way, new cast members I like'd definitely have to be Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah. I didn't like either at first, but seeing the two of them as Eminem and Lil' Wayne just took the cake. Pharoah was amazing at his imitation of Lil' Wayne and Killam just knocked his Eminem imitation out of the park.

I haven't seen any of the new episodes except for Alec Baldwin//Radiohead, since I'm in Ireland, but I have reason to believe the next batch will be good...

Ben Stiller's episode had Derek Zoolander meets Stefon (pure win in any case), but there's still a few sketches that they need to bring back now...

Garth and Kat (I'm a huge improv fan so this one always makes me laugh. The interplay between Armisen and Wiig always cracks me up. The actions they do add another layer to it, ).... they also need to give Bill Hader's Vincent Price Holiday Special back... Hader as Price is flawless, and Armisen as Liberace never fails to nearly... well let's just say I was once close to cracking a rib, laughing so hard at the Liberace impression...
...another one that needs a triumphant return is Secret Word, which is just... well, Kristen Wiig ALWAYS SAYING THE SECRET WORD and Hader's flawless game show host is just comedy genius.
...Another sketch'd be What Up With That? which has a catchy song, and needs to be improved, since the last one was kind of... awful. Why are there two Lindsey Buckinghams? Why not just have the real Lindsey taking Hader's place in the sketch?
Also a sketch that needs to be used again is La Rivista Della Televisione Con Vinny Vedecci. Hader's mock Italian accent is just... oh my God.
I've watched the Shia LaBeouf one, where he asks Shia about how Indiana Jones hates snakes about a million times, yet I still laugh like a maniac whenever I see it.

Was that post too long? Do I pass as an SNL fan yet?

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Originally Posted by Coldwindblows

Cast members I dislike would be:
ANDY SAMBERG ANDY SAMBERG ANDY SAMBERG.

Does abybody get the impression that he really doesn't care about sketch acting, and he just wants to exaggerate his personality to get people as his fans, rather than fans of the show itself?
People like Armisen, Hader and Wiig seem to be more genuine SNL fans and more sincere in their approaches.

Andy used to be more of a presence in sketches, and he still is sometimes, but at this point he kind of stands apart from the rest of the cast and does his own thing, and if you don't like that thing, the Digital Shorts, or his persona, well, you're not going to have much appreciation for Mr. Samberg. I generally like Andy's stuff, but the Digital Shorts have been very hit-or-miss for the last couple of seasons. More often than not, though, I think Andy's really funny.

Originally Posted by Coldwindblows

Garth and Kat (I'm a huge improv fan so this one always makes me laugh. The interplay between Armisen and Wiig always cracks me up. The actions they do add another layer to it, ).... they also need to give Bill Hader's Vincent Price Holiday Special back... Hader as Price is flawless, and Armisen as Liberace never fails to nearly... well let's just say I was once close to cracking a rib, laughing so hard at the Liberace impression...
...another one that needs a triumphant return is Secret Word, which is just... well, Kristen Wiig ALWAYS SAYING THE SECRET WORD and Hader's flawless game show host is just comedy genius.
...Another sketch'd be What Up With That? which has a catchy song, and needs to be improved, since the last one was kind of... awful. Why are there two Lindsey Buckinghams? Why not just have the real Lindsey taking Hader's place in the sketch?
Also a sketch that needs to be used again is La Rivista Della Televisione Con Vinny Vedecci. Hader's mock Italian accent is just... oh my God.
I've watched the Shia LaBeouf one, where he asks Shia about how Indiana Jones hates snakes about a million times, yet I still laugh like a maniac whenever I see it.

I'm still on good terms with the last of those, but I'm not speaking to any of those other recurring characters. Garth & Kat, Secret Word, What Up with That?, these are sketches I have absolutely no desire to see again, I think they've exhausted them completely. Garth & Kat and Secret Word both still get a chuckle or two out of me when they appear, Secret Word maybe even more than that, but that's because of Fred and Kristen are just that good. Vinny Vedecci is always fun to see, though, I do still like those sketches - and the Vincent Price [insert holiday here] Specials.


By the way, I had to look at your age and ask: Have you delved into SNL history at all? This message goes out to all those budding young SNL nerds: Know your Saturday Night history - or else you will be doomed to repeat it. And I don't even know what that means!

Seriously, though, those with Netflix Instant, the entire series is basically up on Netflix Instant. I say "basically" because they have cut-down versions of every episode - I think they cut out the musical performances and some sketches - but it's still pretty cool.

[Coldwindblows]

Originally Posted by IenjoyAcidPops

By the way, I had to look at your age and ask: Have you delved into SNL history at all? This message goes out to all those budding young SNL nerds: Know your Saturday Night history - or else you will be doomed to repeat it. And I don't even know what that means!

Seriously, though, those with Netflix Instant, the entire series is basically up on Netflix Instant. I say "basically" because they have cut-down versions of every episode - I think they cut out the musical performances and some sketches - but it's still pretty cool.

This is the thing: yes. I have looked into SNL history, and ye Gods! I don't find it funny at all! I don't know what happened?

More cowbell didn't even get a laugh out of me!

But I won't pretend I don't appreciate it... some of the greatest comedians of all time have sprung from those SNL days.

Back to the sketches, and What Up With That? has reached the point where they can't do it again, come to think of it. They've had Buckingham... how can they trump that? Simple answer: they can't.

Garth and Kat's last appearance shocked me a bit. It was not as good as it used to be... which leads me to believe that Fred and Kristen overthought it. The less overthinking they do, the better, imo.

Secret Word is flatout hilarious, but again, the last time they did it, it was a little bit... meh. Timberlake as the magician was fine, but... it was too rushed, and not half as funny as the one they did prior to that.

Vinny Vedecci and Vincent Price... they need to do those again this season. Those never fail.

[eddie330]

By the way, I had to look at your age and ask: Have you delved into SNL history at all?

Do you mean like 1975 era with John Belushi and Chevy Chase? (And Dan Akroyd, Glda Radner, Jane Curtain, Garrett Morris and later on Bill Murray.)
Or the late 90's-early 00's? (Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Amy Poelher, Jimmy Fallon) Or the 80's which I haven't seen very many of. (So many episodes and so little time...) The curent cast lineup reminds me of the early 00's. The cast is studded with early stars, but the shows aren't really coming together. Yeah, I'm a bit obcessed with SNL. Rant over.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Originally Posted by eddie330

Do you mean like 1975 era with John Belushi and Chevy Chase? (And Dan Akroyd, Glda Radner, Jane Curtain, Garrett Morris and later on Bill Murray.)
Or the late 90's-early 00's? (Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Amy Poelher, Jimmy Fallon) Or the 80's which I haven't seen very many of. (So many episodes and so little time...)

Yes. I was referring to any and all SNL eras - this show does have a really rich history.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Charles Barkley will host the Jan. 7 show (his third time...for some reason), but in good news, the next week's episode will see one Daniel Radcliffe hosting. So there's one for you nerds...um...us nerds.



January 7
Charles Barkley/Kelly Clarkson

January 14
Daniel Radcliffe/Lana Del Rey

[IenjoyAcidPops]

I think I was somehow (I really don't know how) in a good mood during last night's show, because I enjoyed it more than it deserved. As with the episodes hosted by Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy, Charlie Day, Jason Segel, and Steve Buscemi, the host was way better than the material they were given. Dan's performance was pretty impressive, and the show was pretty good too. It wasn't a great episode, but I laughed a lot. The monologue was fun; the Target lady is another case of a character that does sometimes make me laugh in spite of myself, because Kristen is so good, but the bit has long worn out its welcome; the "You Can Do Anything!" bit was good, even though I don't really think of this generation as being that abundant with self-esteem; Delaware Fellas was a really fun takeoff on Jersey Boys; the Harry Potter sketch was good, but the timing felt a bit off, and the crowd didn't seem to go for it (which was true of a bunch of things, actually): the "friends from growing up" characters haven't been funny, and they're still not, no matter whose "friends from growing up" they are; I was really taken aback to see Dan in Update, and even more surprised to see him playing Casey Anthony's dog (:lo, and dumb as it was, I laughed ("Well, it's rough" is not a funny line, and I hate puns, but the way the audience cracked up got me); the campaign sketches with Kristen Wiig as the Mayoral candidate were great, I love when they do those running-joke ads; Jay Pharoah's talk show bit felt like a placeholder, but it was funny enough; the best sketch, by far, was the last one, with Kristen Wiig's character doing the exit poll for Radcliffe's character - that was hysterical, reminded me of the census-taker sketches with Christopher Walken and Betty White. Again, a good show rather than a great one, but I did enjoy most of it, and Dan Radcliffe, no surprise, was a great host.

[RikuStark]

Dan was great! I usually don't watch SNL, and when I do It usually doesn't seem that funny to me. Maybe I thought it more funny just because it was Dan? Very enjoyable, he did a great job hosting.

Plus, Lana Del Ray did a fine job. I was happy she did my two favorite songs by her.

[freelantzer]

I loved Radcliffe on SNL. The sketches were hit and miss for me, but he did a fantastic job. I'm pretty much over the Target lady and didn't think that one was funny at all. As a high school teacher, I thought "You Can Do Anything" was hilarious and accurate; I can't count the students and parents who are angry at me if they don't get perfect scores regardless of the quality of their work. Plus the Irish dancing and calligraphy were awesome. When Dan came out as the Yorkie I had no idea who he was until he started talking. The Potter sketch was great, too, but maybe you had to be a fan to really appreciate it? The actors set in the future sketch was a flop. And I think I'm just tired of Wiig because I couldn't appreciate the exit poll sketch or the political ads. Every time she comes on I'm like, ugh her again? Dont they know they have other women on this show? And did she have to be in Deleware Boys, too? They have other people they could use.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

If anyone watched the last episode and wondered about Paul Brittain's absence, well, he's left the show, allegedly to pursue other projects. I'm pretty disappointed by this, because I've found Brittain the funniest of the four featured players that joined the show last year. He's a talented guy and he's been getting a good amount of time on the show. There's a small pantheon of SNL cast members who were ultimately wasted by the show by being fired too soon or who left too soon, despite being good on it; I'm thinking of David Koecher, Nancy Walls, Jerry Minor, Jeff Richards, Michaela Watkins, and now Paul Brittain. Oh well.

Anyway, tomorrow we have Zooey Deschanel hosting with musical guest Karmin, and next week Maya Rudolph (who, despite her many guest appearances since leaving the show, has not yet hosted) hosts with musical guest Sleigh Bells. I've not heard of them, but I'm opposed to the presence of a band called Sleigh Bells before December.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

The Zooey Deschanel and Maya Rudolph episodes both fell squarely in the category of "good, not great." They both had moments of greatness, though: The highlights in the Deschanel episode were the three, increasingly ridiculous riffs on that baffling Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial (I love when they do those commercial parody trilogies), the takeoff on screwball comedy (it's interesting to me that Zooey Deschanel, who can do that Roalind Russell kind of rat-a-tat-tat screwball rhythm, can also do the more ironic, modern thing too), the "Get in the Cage" segment with two Nicolas Cages (besides having the real one, there were also some hilarious lines, including the requirements, "Everything is on fire," and, "Every line must be either whispered or screamed"), the "Being Quirky" talk show, and the Verizon commercial. The "Les Jeunes de Paris" sketch and that thing with Deschanel and Wiig playing those ladies who kept boasting about the crabs? Not so great. The highlights of Saturday's Maya Rudolph episode: "Bronx Beat" (which I don't always love, but it was so loose and fun this time), "Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Laughs" (they did a bad-prank-show bit with Jeff Bridges, but this was way funnier - "Was this an act of malice?" "No, it was an act of whimsy" ), "How's He Doing?" (a very specific premise for a talk show, but it was very funny ), and, the best of the night, the Beyonce/Jay-Z/Blue Ivy sketch. The only part of that one that didn't work for me was the part with Brad & Angelina ("Brangelina" is not a part of my vocabulary). I'm not getting Taran Killam's Brad Pitt impression; I've never noticed a habit in Pitt of ending every sentence with a "b" sound, but even if he does that, it's not funny the way Killam does it. I get that if you have a sketch with a baby, Angelina Jolie has to be brought in. Other than that, I cracked up at just about everything in the sketch. I always love Fred's Prince, and this time it was his gift of a smirk and the way that Nicki Minaj scared him that broke me (I saw that second one coming when Beyonce said, "You're scaring him," but whatever, it was great). Justin Timberlake doing Bon Iver was awesome ("Oh no, but white butler's really into it!" "Did he say, 'Don't be a muggle?'" "Oh no, Bon Iver just put himself to sleep!" ). That ending, though - by which I mean that total lack of ending - was insanely awkward. SNL's always been sort of famous for having sketches that don't end, and by now, I'm pretty indifferent to that - but that was the worst I've ever seen. Writers and anyone else: the best you could come up with was Maya - breaking character as Beyonce - saying, "Bye!"? That was compounded by the way it was drowned in applause (a good problem to have, granted) and she had to repeat it. I can't say that the "What Up with That?!" sketch was bad, because I didn't watch it; I muted and did something else for those 5 minutes, because I'm done with those. Most of the show was either good or great, though, and it was great to have Maya around again. (Not rare, because she's done so many cameos, but nice.)

So Lindsay Lohan's hosting the next show. It's easy to forget, because the name "Lindsay Lohan" means something so wildly different now, but she was a good host the three times she was on in '04, '05, and '06. The last six years have been rough, though, so...it should be interesting.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Oh, SNL, how reliably unreliable you are. The Lindsay Lohan episode was mostly awkward and lifeless, and Lindsay herself, while not awful, seemed totally unengaged for much of the show. She perked up around the FM DJ sketch, and that was one of the good ones. The other highlights - and there are almost always some highlights - were the hilarious Shepard Smith cold open ("My thanks to Stephen King for creating those boys" "I'm Shepard Smith, and when we come back, I'll tell you two truths, one lie, and a million secrets"), Bill's great James Carville on Update (the jokes were mostly good too, particularly the, "Nobody crosses Chuck Norris," line), those baffling sort of mock-mock commercials with Jason as a creepy guy by a fire talking about '70s music, and, the best by far, "The Real Housewives of Disney" (as Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie, the moment that destroyed me was Jasmine confessing, "i had sex with Iago! I thought he was Aladdin, he was imitating his voice!" ). The "Scared Straight" routine was tedious; the cute joke of having Lindsay Lohan play herself (and her introducing herself...as herself was my only laugh in it) wasn't enough to save it, and seeing Jason lead the other guys in a crack-up at the end just annoyed me, because I wasn't laughing.

The Jonah Hill episode, on the other hand, was pretty terrific. It got off to sort of a slow start, with a few pretty good-not-great bits, but I found most of the episode hilarious. I'd forgotten about Jonah's Adam Grossman character, but despite my, "Does everything have to recur?" disappointment once I saw that this was his second appearance, this was a funny scene. Weekend Update was great from beginning to end, meaning the jokes, the Paula Deen commentary, and, of course, Stefon ("New York's hottest club is [looking around as if through a crowd] 'Kevin?'" ) Bill breaks more and more often these days, but when he's playing Stefon, I am more than okay with that, I love it, because it's earned. The Stefon bits are the most consistently hilarious on the show. The second half of the show was actually much stronger than the first, with the ape sketch (Fred generated a surprising amount of sympathy for poor Brutus there ), "Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp" (which was pretty much the same as "Ann-Margret Tries to Throw a Wad of Paper Into a Trash Can" from a few years back, but made me laugh even so), and the anniversary sing-along of Coolio's "I'll See You When You Get There," a really fun, charming close to the show. (They sort of got me at the very end; for a second, I thought, "Wait, Coolio's dead now?! And then I saw the "3162." ) Unfortunately, that last one is the only one I didn't see on the official site, plus I even watched the episode a second time On Demand but it was cut out.

[freelantzer]

^I loved Shepard Smith and James Carville, too. At work we've been quoting it: "You kicked me last night, Mother. Yes, you di-id. You kicked me with your little jimmy legs." and here's a link to deleted scenes from the Real Housewives of Disney sketch http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/03/13/sa...wives-disneys/

Except for Stefon and Update, I had pretty much the opposite reaction to Jonah Hills episode. I thought the first few sketches were pretty funny, especially J Pop America Fun Time Now. I don't know why, but I love that sketch. The last sketches didn't make me laugh at all. Though i thought It was still a pretty good episode overall.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

Last night's episode was much better than I expected; I don't know why I expected a middling show, but regardless, it was really good. Sofia Vergara, despite some wobbly accents, was a good host; her Fran Drescher laugh alone cracked me up (and if I do say so myself, my laugh is considerably less annoying ). The quality was pretty consistent, actually, and that's always worth commending when it happens, because it doesn't often happen. The Gilly sketch was the low point; there are always a few laughs in a Gilly sketch, but more annoyance, and I thought we were done with this character. I remember reading that Kristen Wiig was retiring Gilly. I maintain that Will Forte's scolding "Gilly..." was the best part. The "Manuel Ortiz Show" sketch wasn't great either, but there was going to be one with Sofia Vergara hosting. The Almost Pizza commercial and the Pantene commercial shoot sketch with Vergara and Penelope Cruz (new girl Katie McKinnon) were the two best parts of the show for me. This Katie McKinnon does a great Penelope Cruz. I also really liked the "Bein' Quirky" sketch (again - I didn't get the same kick out of it that I did from the other one, because the last had Abby impersonating Zooey Deschanel right next to Zooey Deschanel impersonating Mary Kate Olsen, but I'm enjoying them for now, especially Taran's Michael Cera), the news anchor promo sketch, the "Watch What Happens Live" parody (the highlight of which was Kenan's delighted face as Desmond Tutu when he found out he'd be getting his own spin-off ), and Bobby as Drunk Uncle.

Meanwhile, there have been some claims that Andy, Jason, and Kristen are leaving at the end of this season. I've heard that Kristen's and Jason's people have said that they're not, but I wouldn't be surprised if they all were. And I'd be okay with that; in fact, I'm kind of hoping for it. They've all contributed great things to the show in their time on it, but Kristen Wiig is clearly at the beginning of what could be a great movie career. Jason and Andy not so much, but I feel like Andy's probably given about as much to SNL as he can. Jason...actually, I don't want him to leave yet. I'll be surprised if Fred Armisen is still around last season; he's been on the show for 10 years, and with the success of "Portlandia," it feels like the right time for him to go. I'm not sure where Abby, Nasim, and Jay stand; I like their chances, I guess, but Abby especially does not get much screentime, she never really has...but she's been on this long. I feel like we're seeing a good deal of Taran and Vanessa lately, but barely any of Nasim and Jay lately; that may not be accurate, it's just my feeling.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

The Game of Thrones bit was the highlight of last night's Josh Brolin show, but that isn't saying much, because it was a pretty weak show. That was good, Jay Pharoah's impressions were good, as they always are, the cold open was solid, the Digital Short with Gotye was funny, and I got a big laugh out of Kristen Wiig as Kat saying they just came from Sleepy Hollow, and that's all I remember liking. The last time I saw a Laser Cats sketch start and didn't groan, "Again?" was probably the first one. I'm beyond sick of Garth & Kat; Fred, Kristen, and Seth think that rambling routine is way more fun and charming than it actually is.

[freelantzer]

Originally Posted by IenjoyAcidPops

I'm beyond sick of Garth & Kat; Fred, Kristen, and Seth think that rambling routine is way more fun and charming than it actually is.

Same here. I fast forwarded through it. This was a weaker episode. Seemed like they didn't give Brolin much to do, which is a shame. I did like the Digital Short and Game of Thrones segments. The Californians was amusing, though I was confused about what accent most of them were trying to do. Only Keenan nailed the stereotypical beach bum burn out. And weird as it was, I though Jay Pharoah was pretty funny in that last sketch as the principal. I think it remined me of Stefon in a way with Pharoah having to say more and more ridiculous things.

[featherfish81]

A replay of the Daniel Radcliffe episode tonight. I may be alone, but I thought the HP sketch was only okay. While I appreciated the joke about peaking when you were 18 (which they also did with Zac Efron a few years ago with High School Musical) I got distracted by the inconsistencies. Think about it - if Harry graduated 10 years ago, there's no way Draco could be dropping off his daughter for orientation, unless there was more scandal going on at Hogwarts then we knew about. Snape was funny, though.