Saturday, December 19, 2009

Saturday Night Live December 20th, 2009

Saturday Night Live
December 19th, 2009
Host: James Franco
Musical Guest: Muse.

I missed the beginning because I was watching the snow storm on the news. Hope the audience gets home okay.

What Up With That?
Third time out, it’s getting a bit tired, but I still get some enjoyment from it. Sadly, this installment felt the most off. Maybe because everyone seemed tired. I’d like to see them find a way to change up the format or at least the song. The best part was just seeing Jack McBrayer sitting next to Mike Tyson.

Awkwardly kissing family.
You gotta give them all credit for going at it with such vigor. Something about it seems to be a classic SNL sketch.

Digital Short: Jammy Party.
Not much of an original spin on the innocent kid show going horribly wrong…but it still worked for me.

Manuel Ortiz Show.
How many Spanish television parodies is Fred Armisen in? Mildly amusing if just for the amount of energy the cast put into the non-stop dancing.

Musical Guest: Muse.
I don’t know that much about the band except that they sometimes sound like old Radiohead and a bit like the band, Ours. Something about this particular song reminds me a bit of Brian Setzer with an electronic twist. I like it well enough.

Weekend Update.
Bill Hader as the Jersey Shore’s The Situation had a tight six pack on his back!
I enjoyed Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig’s matching outfits and wigs for Garth & Cat. Not sure I got what they were trying to do though.

College Kids.
Kind of zoned out during this one.

Vincent Price Christmas Special.
Still using that Harry Potter font. I’ve never been a big fan of this reoccurring sketch but I enjoyed this one a bit more than normal. Mostly because of Katherine Hepburn fighting the raccoon.

Christmas Tree Lot.
James Franco is a man who really loves his Christmas trees. I LOVED THIS SKETCH!

“Carol, Hold My Calls” is one SNL quote that will never be on a t-shirt (god willing).

Mark Walberg talks to Christmas animals.
Not much new here. But it's short enough that it goes down easy.

FAVORITE CLIP:

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

SNL Christmas: good news/bad news

So I WOULD HAVE been very excited about the upcoming SNL Christmas Special, since it combines two of my favorite things: SNL & Christmas specials...but then I heard it's going to be hosted by my LEAST FAVORITE SNL character: Gilly.

FULL STORY

I think Kristen Wiig is one of the most talented people on SNL, but I can't express how much I HATE Gilly! And not just because teh sketches have a lot of Will Forte. The character itself makes me nauseous and the inane repetition of it makes me crazy.
Even the Target lady would have been a better host. And it would make for easy corporate sponsorship!
I guess I'll just have to record it and fast forward through the Gilly intros.

I'm mostly hoping the new special will include all of the Horatio Sanz Christmas songs and any stuff that isn't already on the SNL Christmas collection DVD.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Saturday Night Live December 6th, 2009

Saturday Night Live
November 21th, 2009
Host: Blake Lively
Musical Guest: Rihanna

Cold Open.
Funny for about 1 minute and then dragged on too long.

Monologue.
The cast members seem to really like playing the Muppets. You get the sense that Bill Hader really gets into playing Animal. And I really appreciate how the make up artists do Gonzo’s nose. I wish they did more than the old hand-up-the-ass jokes, though.
Random fact: Blake Lively is the 4th young blonde woman to host this season so far.


ESPN Classic/Women’s bowling.
Basically the same format as the Women’s Pool sketch from a few weeks back. Like last time the best part is the way Jason Sudeikis repeatedly emphasizes the word “Vagisil” (a la Tampax) and comes up with new ways to plug the product sponsor.

The Situation Room: Tiger Woods.
I have a feeling that Kenan’s impression of Tiger Woods was way off, and yet I think it added a strange charm to the sketch.

Digital Short: Rihanna and Shy Ronnie.
This was a fun bit, well executed. I loved hearing Rihanna sing random sentences like “Speak up!” and “I forgot my purse.”

Gossip Girl Staten Island.
I thought Bobby Moynihan was pretty good in this. His dog/baby tanning booth was the best gag. Bill Hader’s Staten Island accent is pretty much his New Jersey one.

Kicksplit Rock Festival
I think they tried too hard with this. Nasim Pedrad did a decent Amy Poehler impression, though.

Musical Guest: Rihanna.
Yikes, chainmail, and comfy couch! The mood and content of the song “Russian Roulette” seems like it would make a good Depeche Mode song.

Weekend Update.
Kenan does a good Bill Cosby impression, but his rapping felt rushed and didn’t hit the mark. But I like when he complained about “Kanye Kangaroo.”
Seth Meyer’s best line: “How can you expect Cookie Monster to resist that much brown sugar?”

Department Store.
Not much about this sketch stood out to me. I’m not even sure what it was really about except Kenan in drag playing Blake Lively’s mother.

UPS Commercial.
I don’t think I’ve seen the commercial they were referencing (assuming it was a parody). But I like that they sorta played the Postal Service in the background without paying the royalty fees.

Late Night with Chris Hansen.
This is one of those SNL sketches that I can’t exactly peg why I like.
But the back and forth moments between Tony Blades and Chris Hansen made me happy.
Also Andy Samberg was a surprisingly good Keanu Reeves.

UPS Commercial.
This one was funnier.

Musical Guest: Rihanna.
Something about her outfit seemed to evoke Rufio from the movie Hook. And I guess ripped pants are back in style? This was actually the first Rihanna song that I’ve heard that I didn’t at least like the beat to.

NASA interview.
This sketch made me want to kill myself. I thought it was one of the worst sketches in the history of the show. Yes, even worse than the January Jones farting in Rear Window sketch from two weeks ago. That at least had decent celebrity impressions. This just had random yelling and excruciating pointlessness. I thought was over my dislike of Will Forte, but after this episode I think I would pay money to have him leave the show.