Saturday Night Live May 15th, 2010

Saturday Night Live
May 15th, 2010
Host: Alec Baldwin
Musical Guest: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Opening: BP Gas Spill Conference.
Only two minutes. Shortest cold opening ever?

Monologue.
Kind of a week intro, but he’s right, “It’s an incredible voice.”

Digital Short.
Another bit that felt straight out of The Lonely Island’s “Awesometown” pilot. Great cinematography, choreography, and songwriting made this simple idea of a down and out coke addict singing fairly entertaining.

Starfish the Script Girl.
One my least favorite sketch formats is the “Okay, let’s do ANOTHER take” because someone keeps messing up their lines, walking into the shot, etc. Occasionally it can be kinda funny like the Brian Williams teen drama or Fred Armisen’s “I’m your MOTHER,” but this one didn’t really cut it. Yet another weak new character from the growingly inconsistent Kristen Wiig. Is the character supposed to be funny because she makes mistakes and has bad teeth?

Hudson Valley Swim Team.
Are there that many kids on a school swim team? This felt like the type of half thought out piece of a sketch they would have at 12:55. Felt pointless.

Bedelia.
Holy crap. Nasim Pedrad debuting another actually funny character! I enjoyed her “Talk Show with Ravish” from a few months ago and this was even better. Not only was it a well-defined character, but the entire sketch had lots of great writing with quotable lines. I wouldn’t mind seeing more, but hope they don’t run it into the ground!

EDIT: My friend Andre informed me that Bedelia actually debuted during the Tina Fey episode! I saw MOST of that episode but sadly missed the sketch, so I'll be tracking it down ASAP.

Commercial Parody: Sally Field.
Brilliant. A clever parody of all medicine commercials. “Fanning out your magazines” was my favorite bit.

Grady Wilson’s Intimate and International.
I’ve enjoyed these in the past, but I guess they can’t all be winners.

Tom Petty.
It's been a lot time since I've even thought about Tom Petty.

Weekend Update.
“My freakin’ brains is in there!”

At first I thought it was too soon for a return from Stefon, but then it kinda cracked me up. I just wish Bill Hader would vary up the intro rather than the repetitive default “NY’s hottest club is…” On the flipside I DO like when he says “It’s like that thing where…”
“Puppets in Disguise” was the best thing I’ve EVER heard.

I really wish Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig would stop with Garth and Cath. It might be funny when they do this bit at parties but not on TV.

Timecrowave.
I really liked the idea and generally enjoyed the sketch. Not as funny as I would have hoped but still decent. I’m glad they found another use for the Planet of the Apes mask from the Charlton Heston episode!

TCM.
That’s a whole lotta set up!

Army Dudes Take the Shot.
It was no Canteen Boy.

M.I.A.

Sorry, I haven't been updating this site! I've been busy traveling and often catching SNL on DVR a week or two after the fact. But I promise to write some a summary of thoughts AFTER this week's finale. In the meantime, here are some pics I took from my first visit to the Second City theater in Chicago! It was a blast to FINALLY see what I've read and heard so much about. The show I saw was a compilation of sketches from over the years starring the touring group. Kind of the perfect thing for someone playing catch up. Definitely hope to go back again and maybe also check out Improv Olympic.