Saturday Night Live

[billynord]

Like this show.

[Meen Bellpeppers]

??

[J vs W]

who is your favorite musical guest

[billynord]

Hmmm, Jonathan maybe?

[hound]

who is your favorite musical quest

[nadsat droog]

Five Awful SNL Hosts (http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16355)

[slapstickeulogist]

Five Awful SNL Hosts (http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16355)

Surprised Steven Seagal didn't make that list. He did awful and from what I've heard the 90's cast said he was rough to work with. I remember reading something about him wanting to write his own sketches, and one of them being about a therapist who tries to rape a patient.

[Famous Police Dog]

That Milton Berle thing makes me sick.

[Ruddy Ruddy]

Surprised Steven Seagal didn't make that list. He did awful and from what I've heard the 90's cast said he was rough to work with. I remember reading something about him wanting to write his own sketches, and one of them being about a therapist who tries to rape a patient.

I'm surprised too. When Nicholas Cage hosted, he made a comment to Lorne during his neurotic monologue that Lorne must have thought Cage was the biggest jerk to ever host the show. Lorne said, "No, that would be Steven Seagal."

Straight from Lorne's own mouth, folks!

[charles star]

I'm surprised too. When Nicholas Cage hosted, he made a comment to Lorne during his neurotic monologue that Lorne must have thought Cage was the biggest jerk to ever host the show. Lorne said, "No, that would be Steven Seagal."

Straight from Lorne's own mouth, folks!
The other hosts wouldn't have worked as punchlines. If Lorne had said "Milton Berle" most of the audience would have thought the joke was that Berle ever actually hosted; if he had said "Louise Lasser" the joke would have been that Lasser was the name of a real person.

Chevy Chase might have worked but he is family. Paris Hilton probably hosted after the Cage monologue - she is the person I'm surprised wasn't on the list.

[Chaza8]

Like this show.

Why?

[Kentock]

Why?

It's frequently very funny.

[Famous Police Dog]

Good Sketches
Good Guests
Good Music
Great Food

[nadsat droog]

<object width="400" height="302">


<embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1108521&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="302"></object>
Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T Cars, and Jars of Beer (http://www.vimeo.com/1108521?pg=embed&sec=1108521) from Backbone (http://www.vimeo.com/backbonerocks?pg=embed&sec=1108521) on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com?pg=embed&sec=1108521).

[NFox]

I'm planning on hitting up the standby line for most of the episodes this season (Cause I'm cool like that). So, if anyone want's to drop by and have all sorts of crazy fun while I'm confined to a 9 square foot living space for 15+ hours, feel free.

I'll most likely be bringing a video camera too...to capture all of my wacky line-sitting hijinks (and possibly some sketches improvised around the notion of the line). Seriously though, I'd love to have the chance to meet up with some fellow ASTers, and have them bring me food.

-Nick

PS: I love Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T Cars, and Jars of Beer. Does anyone know who wrote it?

[nadsat droog]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37540

NBC is not only planning four new primetime SNL specials launching in October (including a 90-minute affair airing Nov. 3), it’s scheduled the earliest season premiere in the show’s 33-year history and will mount four regular live shows four Saturdays in a row – a feat the franchise has attempted only twice before.SNL, which has long typically launched its season within a week of Oct. 1, debuts this year on Sept. 13.

The 34th season will be comprised of 22 episodes instead of the usual 20.
In all, NBC is planning to air 11 new SNL-branded dayparts in the 52 days spanning Sept. 13 and Nov. 3: SATURDAY, SEPT. 13 – SEASON PREMIERE, 11:30 PM
SATURDAY, SEPT. 20 – LIVE
SATURDAY, SEPT. 27 – LIVE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4 – LIVE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 – "SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY" DEBUTS AT 9:30 PM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16 – "SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY"
SATURDAY OCTOBER 18 – LIVE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 – "SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY"
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 – LIVE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – LIVE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PRESIDENTIAL BASH 2008" AIRS AT 9:30 PM

[BillBrasky]

This guy (http://www.youtube.com/user/pokedachef) has apparently auditioned for SNL.

Some of his impressions (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C2ED62CD094E629D) are pretty good (Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown from BTTF), some less so (his Christopher Walken is terrible). Check out his cartoon impressions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOFvhbz_qJE) too; he does Professor Farnsworth, Bender, and Kif relatively well.

I'm not sure they really need another impression guy, they've got Darrell and Bill Hader already. Although this guy does seem to be a better impressionist (in terms of accuracy) than either of them.

[nadsat droog]

They should just hire his sideburns.

[erechoveraker]

His Stan Lee is pretty damn good. And timeless too!

[Ian Brill]

His Stan Lee is pretty damn good. And timeless too!

Finally, maybe SNL will gave us the great Stan Lee sketch we all so deserve!

[Scammy Davis Boogah Jr.]

I really like Darrell Hammond, but think they should probably put him out to stud at this point. I know some of this is just his persona, but he really doesn't seem to enjoy himself at all anymore and it might be nice to see some new blood.

[BillBrasky]

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/b24416_snl_hopeful_sinks_doesnt_think.html

Heard word that auditions for the new season of Saturday Night Live were held just last week in, duh, New Yawk. (Where'd you expect, Toledo?) Twenty funnyguys 'n' gals were handpicked from across the country to do five minutes of their best stuff in front of Lord Lorne Michaels and other NBC suits at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

One lucky guy was Bobby Moynihan, a teapot-type (short 'n' stout) who was asked to join the cast for season 30-friggin'-4. Said one UConn alum who partook in plays with the new SNL castmember, "Bobby was always funny...a great character actor." Looks like the dude's finally getting his due, congrats.

Tho we wonder, with pint-size comedy queen Amy Poehler leaving the show after the election, why not cast a woman to take her place? Hope there's more than one new addition in the fall.

One not-so-lucky guy from the casting session? T.J. Miller, whose voice you're prolly more familiar with than his face. TJM played Hud, the lovelorn lad holding the camera in JJ Abrams' fab sci-fi creature hit Cloverfield. Teej was one of Variety's Top Comics to watch in '08, and he impressed enough peeps to get flown out to audition for the late-night sketch show.

But poor T.J.'s audition essentially went outer-space-creature splat:

Our sources, who are way tight in the humor universe, said T.J. was dutifully preparing his material the night before like a pro. But day of, get this, the guy shows up for his audition apparently feeling no pain at all, tsk-tsked our SNL eyes. "He was like, 'Lorne, take my picture!' while standing on the stage, acting extremely obnoxious...Lorne was definitely not amused," continued our source. "All the other auditioners sat there and watched him destroy his shot at fame, what looked like on purpose."

Did this usually funny fella chuck his chances for a damn good story to tell his buds? 'Cause word is that's all anyone in the New Yawk comedy scene could goss about the whole weekend.

Tho, all press is good press, perhaps? There's always Mad TV.


http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20080818/425.Moynihan.Miller.081808.jpg

[disl]

bobby moynihan is hilarious, this is great news.

[Famous Mortimer]

That's awesome news! America - Prepare to fall in love...

[Shane]

Bobby came to my college with UCB last year; he was amazing. Any performer who can work a hamburgler bit into their act gets my vote.

[Jawa]

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/b24416_snl_hopeful_sinks_doesnt_think.html




That article you pasted gave me a sharp headache, with its awful Hollywoodese qualities, then when I clicked through to the link I realized it was written by Ted Casablanca. I know this has nothing to do with the substance or reason for your post, but I just didn't want to let this go without saying Ted Casablanca gives me a Robert Urich bangaroo-kinda headache.

[BillBrasky]

Oh man, I know. For a second, I almost was just going to post a link, but I figured there was enough information in the article that I'd cut and paste the whole thing.
But sentences like this:

a teapot-type (short 'n' stout) who was asked to join the cast for season 30-friggin'-4.

almost made me want to do a "non-cutesy" edit job on the article.

[isoS]

Good news everyone: John Mulaney has been hired as a writer for season 30-friggin'-4!

[ericluxury]

Maybe he looks too young, but he'd be a pretty good fit for a Weekend Update anchor. That's years down the line if it ever happened, but we can hope.

[nadsat droog]

Good news everyone: John Mulaney has been hired as a writer for season 30-friggin'-4!

BEST SEASON EVER?

[disl]

with mulaney on board, can nick kroll be too far behind? my dream is for fabrice fabrice to not only be on snl, but to get his own snl movie as well.

[mezmorized]

TJ Miller actually came to the Limerick House Open Mic the day of the audition, to test out his material before he auditioned, and got croaks. I have nothing against the guy, but I couldn't be happier to see Bobby on the SNL stage.

I wonder who Mulaney will write for/with. Any thoughts on good match ups? I think him and Armisen could do great things.

[Matt Braunger]

Congrats to Bobby and John!

I would hire John to write for me if I could.

[Scammy Davis Boogah Jr.]

with mulaney on board, can nick kroll be too far behind? my dream is for fabrice fabrice to not only be on snl, but to get his own snl movie as well.

'Little Waters: The Movie'

[Lil G]

TJ Miller actually came to the Limerick House Open Mic the day of the audition, to test out his material before he auditioned, and got croaks. I have nothing against the guy, but I couldn't be happier to see Bobby on the SNL stage.

I wonder who Mulaney will write for/with. Any thoughts on good match ups? I think him and Armisen could do great things.

I think Mulaney/Sudeikas would be a great pairing. Any way it works out, though, Mulaney is a hard worker and a great writer.

And yay for Bobby as well!!

[Aaron1933]

John Mulaney is one of my favorite comedians. I don't know if him writing for SNL will change the show, but if it does, that's great, and if it doesn't, I hope it at least leads to more John Mulaney in some other form.

[metal2000]

I really liked Miller on the barely-seen Carpoolers (and he can't be UNfunny if Bruce McCulloch hired him for his show), but his stand-up and sketch videos I've seen haven't been my cup of tea.

Yay Mulaney!

[BillBrasky]

Apparently Paul Rust also auditioned and is under consideration (I guess they just auditioned everybody who was on that Variety "10 Comics to Watch" list, other than Casey, who's already on the show).

[BrianStack]

Great news. Mr. Moynihan and Mr. Mulaney are two of the funniest and nicest young guys around.

Congratulations, guys!

Brian

[karyrogers]

Still waiting for the Charlyne Yi announcement.

[andrearunge]

http://www.truveo.com/Virgania-Horsens-Hot-Air-Balloon-Rides/id/1977849723

[Mutant Despot]

Bobby Moynihan and John Mulaney are just about my two favorite people. Now all they need are Zach Woods and Sue Galloway.

[pollymaepry]

I'm mad! John won't get to tour!

Good news though whateverrrrr

[Shane]

yeah, I know, he was supposed to be at Go Bananas in Cincinnati in late September, but had to cancel. I was a little upset. And when I say little I am of course mispronouncing a lot.

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

with mulaney on board, can nick kroll be too far behind? my dream is for fabrice fabrice to not only be on snl, but to get his own snl movie as well.

true. true. that was my first thought when i first heard. there is no reason why mulaney can't be in front of camera and kroll can't be written in. allow it to happen snl.

just in case you missed it in the other thread- a couple interviews with mulaney about the gig: http://thecomicscomic.typepad.com/ scroll down for a second one...

[BillBrasky]

NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" RETURNS ON SEPTEMBER 13 WITH OLYMPIC PHENOMENON MICHAEL PHELPS & MUSICAL GUEST LIL WAYNE

New York, NY – August 27, 2008 – "Saturday Night Live" makes its 34th season premiere on Saturday, September 13 featuring two of the biggest names of the summer – Michael Phelps and hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne.

US Olympic swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps will make his acting debut hosting the season premiere hot off his record-shattering performance in Beijing.

The SNL season premiere kicks off four live shows in a row, a rare practice that generated momentum for the show this past spring when the show returned after the WGA Strike-imposed hiatus. All told, seven all-new SNL's will air on Saturdays prior to the election.

Phelps went a perfect 8-for-8 in Beijing, breaking Mark Spitz's single-Games record for most gold medals won. In addition, Phelps broke another Olympics record, becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, winning a stunning 14 career gold medals. Phelps currently holds seven world records in swimming.

Unprecedented millions tuned in to watch Phelps in action, from the US Swim Team's explosive victory over the French in the 4x100m freestyle relay, by just .08 of a second; to Phelps' record-demolishing performance in the 4x200m freestyle relay breaking the record by more than four seconds and his seventh gold medal win, beating Serbia's Milorad Cavic by the slimmest and most dramatic margin imaginable – one-one-hundredth of a second.

Joining Phelps and also making his SNL debut is hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne.

Not only one of the best rappers of his generation, Lil Wayne is arguably the biggest story in music for 2008. His sixth album "Tha Carter III" sold over 1 million copies in its first week of release, a feat not achieved since 2005's "The Massacre" by 50 Cent. "Tha Carter III" has blazed up the singles charts as well with three top-ten singles in "Lollipop," "A Milli" and "Got Money." In addition to the platinum debut numbers for the CD, Wayne is a tireless performer so prolific that in 2007, Vibe magazine ranked and graded songs to which Wayne contributed and the list was 77 songs long. Wayne is a constant presence on the internet, releasing his own mixtapes for free on a regular basis. He has been one of GQ's "Men of the Year" for 2007 and was named the "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender magazine (2008). Rolling Stone may have said it best: "The self-proclaimed greatest rapper proves he wasn't kidding."

In addition to the revved-up Saturday schedule, "SNL" is ready for primetime with "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday." Three LIVE primetime half-hours beginning October 9 at 9:30pm ET. These primetime special editions will be anchored by the show's signature "Weekend Update." This marks a return to the NBC Thursday night lineup for "SNL," which produced similar live "Update"-centered broadcasts in 2001.

"Saturday Night Live" is from SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. Steve Higgins produces. Marci Klein and Mike Shoemaker are producers. Seth Meyers is head writer. Don Roy King directs.

Members of the media can get more information about NBC and its programming on the NBC Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.

[nadsat droog]

I wish Wayne was both host and guest.

[Trial]

Well if it isn't Little Wayne!

[man124]

<object width="512" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/LepO8ir_AG1tx0knxwAePA"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/LepO8ir_AG1tx0knxwAePA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="296"></embed></object>

So, I know this video is from last season, but I just saw it, and I remembered why I stopped watching SNL. This video is like the ultimate version of Dane Cook style comedy, just say random things about a time period and stupid people will laugh. As Chris Hardwick said on You Bet your Life "I just reminded you that you knew something."

[mattmanser]

I like it. It's a quick, fun blackout.

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

Regarding the whole TJ Miller thing, if anyone cares, I asked Bobby about it and he said the camera thing isn't true. Nothing liked that happened at his audition. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[man124]

I like it. It's a quick, fun blackout.

Ya but there is no actual jokes in there. I don't understand what makes it a comedic sketch.

[aenemaTron]

That's kind of the point.

[DiscoInferiorityComplex]

Ya but there is no actual jokes in there. I don't understand what makes it a comedic sketch.

Dane Cook-style comedy would be "Remember [insert product here]? Here's a commonly observed aspect about that product that I'm going to do a 5 minute pantomime about!" This is nothing like that.

Crowbarring in "Crystal Pepsi" at the end doesn't stike you as a joke? Did you think it was a statement of fact?

The joke is that it's called "The Out-of-breath Jogger from 1992". He's a jogger who's trying to catch his breath, and he speaks only of over-the-top examples of information that applies to 1992. It's a purposely horrible premise that lasts for 43 seconds, then the show is over.

Complaing about this is like complaining that the "Cheeseburger" sketch is stupid because they just keep saying the same things over and over. Or that "Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car" was ruined because they gave away the premise of the sketch in the title.

[metal2000]

Part of the reason it works (and there are, surprisingly, several others) is that it is one of a "series" that initially began with (I believe) the Out of Breath Jogger from 1982. The idea that something so ridiculously pointless would be recurring is absolutely hilarious to me.

[Dan B]

I thought "the George Bush who's president now" was funny.

[Big Box Of Money]

I will respect Man124's right to find this not funny.

[BillBrasky]

Supposedly Casey is going to be playing Sarah Palin, so we should be seeing a lot more of her on the show next season.

[Babs]

Apparently Paul Rust also auditioned and is under consideration (I guess they just auditioned everybody who was on that Variety "10 Comics to Watch" list, other than Casey, who's already on the show).

I think he'll get there eventually. Every time I see him perform I think, yeah, it's gonna happen to this guy.

[Mutant Despot]

Supposedly Casey is going to be playing Sarah Palin, so we should be seeing a lot more of her on the show next season.

Hopefully not for long.

[frogmann]

TV Guide sez Robert Downey Jr. for Sept. 20!

[metal2000]

TV Guide sez Robert Downey Jr. for Sept. 20!

Super awesome if that's true, for a multitude of reasons (former cast member, amazing in everything he's done the last 2 or 3 years, just appeared in 2 big summer movies).

[aenemaTron]

He actually hosted before, November 16, 1996, and he was great. I look forward to this.

[Kentock]

He actually hosted before, November 16, 1996, and he was great. I look forward to this.

We're gonna hit 'em... with all we got!

[metal2000]

He actually hosted before, November 16, 1996, and he was great. I look forward to this.

Although I was an active SNL watcher by that time, I wasn't a big Robert Downey Jr. fan until my last couple years of high school (98 and 99) so I guess that appearance didn't make much of an impression on me.

[DonTGD]

Dane Cook-style comedy would be "Remember [insert product here]? Here's a commonly observed aspect about that product that I'm going to do a 5 minute pantomime about!" This is nothing like that.

Crowbarring in "Crystal Pepsi" at the end doesn't stike you as a joke? Did you think it was a statement of fact?

The joke is that it's called "The Out-of-breath Jogger from 1992". He's a jogger who's trying to catch his breath, and he speaks only of over-the-top examples of information that applies to 1992. It's a purposely horrible premise that lasts for 43 seconds, then the show is over.

Complaing about this is like complaining that the "Cheeseburger" sketch is stupid because they just keep saying the same things over and over. Or that "Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car" was ruined because they gave away the premise of the sketch in the title.

Yeah, Andy Warhol said that "Quantity has a quality all its own." This is very true for comedy. The length, either short or long, has a comedic effect. This is 43 seconds and the "What is this? Now it's over." reaction from the audience is meta funny. Manipulation of that time space can be funny, but I don't find it hilarious. To say it's not a joke is to misunderstand what makes people laugh.

I have major problems with Dane Cook now, but when I first saw his stuff without knowing anything about him, I laughed. Didn't laugh the second time, but laughed the first.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Article about SNL return; focus on Armisen and Hammond (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080911/ap_en_tv/ap_on_tv_snl_candidates)

From the article:
Others questioned the racial appropriateness of Armisen — whose ancestry is Japanese, Venezuelan and German — playing Obama.
But "SNL" has a long history of playing characters across gender (Ferrell's Janet Reno or Armisen's Jobs) and race (Hammond's Jackson or Billy Crystal's Sammy Davis Jr.).
Steve Jobs is a woman? Fred Armisen is a woman? I'm confused.

[yumitree]

i'm pretty sure it refers to armisen's unforgettable impression of kirsten dunst's character in dick, betsy jobs.

[KevinLee]

Good news everyone: John Mulaney has been hired as a writer for season 30-friggin'-4!


This is good news because he was writing material for the show long before they were paying him to do so.

Did anyone notice that SNL was already ripping some of Mulaney's material off?
I'm thinking specifically of John's joke about Law and Order and a sketch where Amy is an acting coach training young thespians for Law and Order auditions.

Anyone?

WHERE ARE YOU REDBAN!?!?!

[KevinLee]

oops

[nadsat droog]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/38296

“Saturday Night Live” mastermind Lorne Michaels and Olympic superstar Michael Phelps, who will be hosting this weekend’s season opener, held a Thursday conference call a few hours ago. Some of what we learned: * There are “ongoing” discussions with Tina Fey to play Sarah Palin on the show, though newish cast member Casey Wilson read the Palin part in a sketch at Wednesday’s read-through.

* Michaels hopes to lure Maya Rudolph back to play Michelle Obama.

* New York improv vet Bobby Moynahan, who looks like he might compete with Artie Lange and Horatio Sanz in Hollywood auditions for the “Belushi” roles (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1293885/), joins the cast with Saturday’s episode.

* An unnamed female cast member will be added “probably later in the fall” to replace departing Amy Poehler (who has a baby due next month and will subsequently star in her new NBC sitcom), said Michaels.

* Despite her expectant nature, Amy Poehler may be seen playing Phelps’ mom this Saturday.

* Could Seth Meyers host Update solo subsequent to Poehler’s departure? “It’s certainly one of the possibilities,” said Michaels. “I think Seth’s been brilliant on Update.”

* Has Michaels considered who might be paired with Meyers on Update? “I think once we roll into October, I’ll deal realistically with Amy leaving and I’ll begin to think about it.”

* Though the NBC primetime specials planned for October are being billed as “SNL Weekend Update Thursday,” those specials are likely to feature non-Update sketch components. “I think there’ll be something,” said Michaels. “I think if we’re directly following a debate, I think we’ll do the debate. That kind of thing. I think whatever is the best half-hour we can put on, we’ll put on. We won’t save something for Saturday that we think might play better on Thursday.”

* A Phelps-centric Aquaman sketch survived Wednesday's read-through and remains in contention for Saturday’s show.

* Phelps said his favorite movie is “Tommy Boy” and that he’s a fan of Adam Sandler, Chris Farley and Farley’s Matt Foley “van down by the side of the river” sketches.

* Michaels expects more complete-season SNL DVD sets could be issued subsequent to the release of the fifth season (Bill Murray’s last), but doesn’t yet know if the next set would feature the widely-reviled 1980-1981 season overseen by Jean Doumanian. “It only took 25 or 30 years to get the first five years out. I don’t know where they’re going to pick it up after that,” said Michaels. “I don’t know if they’ll start in the ‘80s or ‘90s or relatively recently.”

[billynord]

From AP:

<b>Obama to appear on 'Saturday Night Live' </b>

NEW YORK - Oh how things have changed for Barack Obama since he last appeared on "Saturday Night Live."

The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign revealed Thursday that he would be making his second appearance on the program, for the season premiere this weekend. Also scheduled to appear is Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps.

Obama last appeared on the program in November 2007, making a cameo during an opening skit about a Halloween party at Hillary Rodham Clinton's house, where she was portrayed as the presumptive president. As it turned out, Obama defeated Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Obama's campaign said details of his new sketch were still being worked out.

[Lil G]

From AP:

<b>Obama to appear on 'Saturday Night Live' </b>

NEW YORK - Oh how things have changed for Barack Obama since he last appeared on "Saturday Night Live."

The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign revealed Thursday that he would be making his second appearance on the program, for the season premiere this weekend. Also scheduled to appear is Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps.

Obama last appeared on the program in November 2007, making a cameo during an opening skit about a Halloween party at Hillary Rodham Clinton's house, where she was portrayed as the presumptive president. As it turned out, Obama defeated Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Obama's campaign said details of his new sketch were still being worked out.

Please let this sketch include a pig and some lipstick.

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

This is good news because he was writing material for the show long before they were paying him to do so.

Did anyone notice that SNL was already ripping some of Mulaney's material off?
I'm thinking specifically John's joke about Law and Order and a sketch where Amy is an acting coach training young thespians for Law and Order auditions.

Anyone?

WHERE ARE YOU REDBAN!?!?!

So true!! I remember the exact episode you're talking about. They literally copied his joke, moment to moment.....

[KevinLee]

So true!! I remember the exact episode you're talking about. They literally copied his joke, moment to moment.....


I met John a few times around the time that sketch aired. I asked him if he was writing for SNL because of it. Of course he wasn't and he said that he hadn't had a chance to see the Law and Order sketch but that a few people had pointed it out to him.

He didn't seem that concerned. I think he was almost a little flattered but maybe I'm just remembering things wrong.

I bet he's seen the sketch by now.

I wonder who wrote it. Maybe Jay Mohr?



Here are some Bobby Moynihan videos:

Cabtastrophe
UyyX8NxlB9A

No Murder Mystery
gokIkzJ3m60

Retire
DdwUEbJc8a4

[BillBrasky]

September 20th- James Franco/ Kings of Leon (http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20080912000000-listingsfornbc03.html)

[I love nny]

He actually hosted before, November 16, 1996, and he was great. I look forward to this.
loved the monolouge on this one. Anything with photos is always great. idk i liked it.
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/96fmono.phtml

[frogmann]

Shit, what happened to RDJ? I was looking forward to that, hoping he was bumped to another episode instead. Franco sounds good tho too :o

[Jenny]

Obama cancels Snl appearance: http://news.aol.com/elections/article/obama-cancels-snl-appearance/172708?icid=100214839x1209286063x1200524079

[gigglechick]

tina was on as Palin.

perfect.

(so far there've been a couple of sketches and the locker room was a recycled bit - from when (i think) peyton manning was on... and the 2 ugly kid sketch was done i think 2 years ago as well.)

at least the Palin/Clinton cold open was good stuff.

[Jenny]

So sadly, Robert Downey Jr. isn't hosting September 20th. Shit.

[mezmorized]

I just started watching as Weekend Update came on. Has Bobby been in a sketch yet?

[Jenny]

I just started watching as Weekend Update came on. Has Bobby been in a sketch yet?

He was in the ugly kid sketch, that's all really for now.

[Aaron1933]

Hmm.




Fabrice Fabrice?

[Ramsobot]

Very much so.

[Shane]

bobby is on right now as a restaurant server, hilarious. HOW DO YOU NOT SMELL THAT PEPPA?

[Señor Colostimizer]

I don't know who this Michael Phelps guy is, but he stinks.

[gigglechick]

well, um... after the cold open the rest of the show was pretty meh.





(and by "meh" i mean "good god, i'm not usually critical of SNL, but jeezuz that was not exactly a swell episode")

[metal2000]

Didn't mind the zaniness of the Digital Short, Weekend Update had some decent jokes, and it's always good to see William Shatner (he should host again!) -- but overall, it was a pretty lacklustre show tonight.

I wonder how some sketches make it into the first half hour. Like, who's sitting there thinking, "Quiz show with homeschooled religious kids and dumb public school kids? Put it on early, that one's gonna be legendary!" And why on earth did the "ugly kids" sketch become recurring? Seriously.

[inturnaround]

Overall a pretty weak premiere. Phelps was no Peyton Manning and it was odd that we only saw Hammond once in the whole episode and he didn't play McCain. I wouldn't be surprised if he was part of the aborted Obama sketch. Hopefully Obama will be back soon.

Great cold opening. Couldn't ask for much more than that. Fey's Palin and Poehler's Clinton were excellent.

The monologue was weak. Was I the only person to play spot Guy Fieri all night? I guess he knows a guy.

Fred Armisen's Nicholas Fehn character is hilarious. I never tire of seeing him do that. I bet he could do that for hours.

Update was generally good, but other than Fehn, the character bits fell flat. Here's where a good McCain bit would have been nice. (And seriously, Cathy jokes? What is this? 1986?)

I've no doubt James Franco will do a better job next week.

As for the pepper guy sketch...I laughed a few times, but my girlfriend was stonefaced. So, mixed on that.

[disl]

awful episode save for moynihan's "it smells like peppa up in here" character (name escapes me) and the bit during weekend update about the bird calling 911, which i loved. this is probably an annoying thing to say, but they had all summer and that was what they put together for a season premiere? granted, obama didn't do them any favors by canceling just one day before the show, but come on. with that much talent, you'd think they could have pulled out something better.

also, someone needs to teach ALL snl writers how to write a commercial parody. even though it's a parody, the company making the commercial should still want it to be on television to advertise their product. that'll actually gives the sketches some weight. the "whos in your fave five?" parody they did was a good example of that. after the initial joke that the dad is a pedophile, the sketch lost all of its punch because it was inexplicably still an ad for verizon (i hope that's the right company). that one didn't even need to be a commercial, if it was a scene on it's own, i think it wouldve been a solid sketch (everyone in america got the reference right away, i'm assuming. we didnt really need the verizon logo/slogan tags). all of the GOOD snl commercial parodies still respect the idea that it's an ad for a presumably real product (schmidt's gay, bass-o-matic, happy fun ball, old glory robot insurance, etc.), they need to start keeping that in mind. at least the phelps diet commercial kinda did that until that fatass jared fogel showed up and undercut the entire ad. why would you have a celebrity say that your diet plan sucks in the middle of an ad promoting your diet plan? that's just idiotic. bad writing.

[Aaron1933]

awful episode save for moynihan's "it smells like peppa up in here" character (name escapes me)

Seriously, wasn't that character basically just Fabrice Fabrice?

[Hated Milk Machine]

also, someone needs to teach ALL snl writers how to write a commercial parody. even though it's a parody, the company making the commercial should still want it to be on television to advertise their product. that'll actually gives the sketches some weight. the "whos in your fave five?" parody they did was a good example of that. after the initial joke that the dad is a pedophile, the sketch lost all of its punch because it was inexplicably still an ad for verizon (i hope that's the right company). that one didn't even need to be a commercial, if it was a scene on it's own, i think it wouldve been a solid sketch (everyone in america got the reference right away, i'm assuming. we didnt really need the verizon logo/slogan tags). all of the GOOD snl commercial parodies still respect the idea that it's an ad for a presumably real product (schmidt's gay, bass-o-matic, happy fun ball, old glory robot insurance, etc.), they need to start keeping that in mind. at least the phelps diet commercial kinda did that until that fatass jared fogel showed up and undercut the entire ad. why would you have a celebrity say that your diet plan sucks in the middle of an ad promoting your diet plan? that's just idiotic. bad writing.

its the family guyzation of comedy!

[Valorie]

This is what I thought of it Darryl. Hated it. Hated LW.

[disl]

Seriously, wasn't that character basically just Fabrice Fabrice?

moynihan has been doing that character for at least a year, they are separate entities. fabrice fabrice is a more rounded character anyway, he at least has a backstory. the "peppa" guy literally just talks about pepper all the time (i'm not knocking it, i think it's hysterical).

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

I don't know, Bobby played Fabrice Fabrice's nephew or cousin a long ass time ago, never saw it, just heard about it. It was Obviously inspired by FF... I would have rather not seen Bobby do that character ever and have Fabrice on as a guest later on. He was great though, showed off a lot of talent. He's gonna be great.

I actually liked the T-Mobile parody, everything about it. The best was the Phelps diet, Tina/Amy opener, and I do love watching Forte make an ass of himself dancing like an idiot.

[Ravi]

all of the GOOD snl commercial parodies still respect the idea that it's an ad for a presumably real product (schmidt's gay, bass-o-matic, happy fun ball, old glory robot insurance, etc.), they need to start keeping that in mind. at least the phelps diet commercial kinda did that until that fatass jared fogel showed up and undercut the entire ad. why would you have a celebrity say that your diet plan sucks in the middle of an ad promoting your diet plan? that's just idiotic. bad writing.

You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me angry!

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

ps- i vote yes on freds political comedian and i'm voting against the digital short. i loved the special effects though, they've come a long way from laser cat.

[Valorie]

Is it wrong that I liked the music from the digital short?

[BillBrasky]

The cold opening was great, but after that the show went downhill quickly. There was way too much "Hey! People liked this sketch last season, so let's bring it back" (technically, the dancing coach sketch was from two seasons ago). The ugly kids really didn't need to be recurring. And I can't be the only one who's really sick of Nicholas Fehn. Funny once, yes - five times or however many times they've done it, no.

I'm going to take all of your words on this and give Bobby Moynihan the benefit of the doubt, but I really wasn't feeling that pepper thing.

I do kind of dislike it when people say "They've had all summer to work on this", because really, they haven't; they meet for the first time on Monday and put the show together in a week, same as every other show. But yeah, they should probably spend some time during the summer actually coming up with ideas that they can bring to the table the week of the show. But maybe they just enjoy goofing off. This was a really weak season premiere, but the same was true of the LeBron James episode last season, and they managed to improve from there, so we'll see.

( I did like the music in the Digital Short too, although the premise was pretty stupid)

[smartbunny]

Hated the Digital Short, hate the "ugly kids" and the Dancing Coach was good one time, we don't need more. Once was enough.

Didn't get Pepper Guy. Why was Wiig's Homeschool-Mom character walking around pointing at everything? Is that like how the YFZ Ranch ladies were?

I was hoping they would do something about the crazy amount of food that Michael Phelps eats; it's really interesting. A tub of Halloween candy! And to wash it down? Hollandaise sauce. Loved the cold open. Playing Hillary as just dumbfounded (Anyone can be President, really... anyone) was funny.

[Valorie]

There was way too much "Hey! People liked this sketch last season, so let's bring it back"

That's one of my biggest problems with SNL. I remember watching the Tina Fey episode and thinking that the majority of it was recurring sketches. It's too safe. Show me something new and different.

[theodoric]

Thank God for TiVo. We got thru this one quickly.

[Ravi]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2008-09-14-snl-review_N.htm

Don't be fooled by funny opening: 'SNL' isn't back
By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Fooled again.

Out of some peculiar brew of boundless optimism, lingering nostalgia and limitless hype, we always seem to get sucked into the notion that this week, this year, Saturday Night Live will be the show we imagine it once was. Certainly, expectations were set high for Saturday's season premiere: the "get" of Michael Phelps as a host, the trumped-up suspense over whether Tina Fey would return to play Sarah Palin (of course she did), the countless interviews proclaiming the writers' eagerness to tackle the election. Throw in our own You Tube-like memories, which tend to highlight the show's best moments and discard the rest, and surely you were primed for something special. And odds are, you were disappointed.

The opening promised so much more, as Fey and Amy Poehler teamed for a Palin/Hillary Clinton joint appearance, with Palin cheerfully oblivious ("I can see Russia from my house!") and Clinton increasingly vexed. Combining skillful mimicry and on-screen chemistry, the women got the show off to a great start.

Unfortunately, as far as politics went, that was pretty much it. A few more Palin jokes were dropped into an otherwise tepid Weekend Update, but there were no other electoral skits — and barely any mention at all of the two people actually running for president, Barack Obama and John McCain. It makes you think Obama was wise to bow out of the show: No politician wants to be labeled as tedious by association.

As usual, there were some amusing moments scattered throughout the evening, but even the few decent skits just petered out, and too many of them made you ask "why?" The writers have spent the summer surrounded by one of the most interesting elections of our time, and the best they can come up with for the season opener is a fey waiter, some ugly kids and Andy Samberg playing Cathy from the comics? Really?

Granted, most of SNL's best moments have always been essentially pointless, from land sharks to Justin Timberlake extolling the glories of a gift box. Pointless and funny is fine. Pointless and dull, not so much.

As for Phelps, he came across precisely as he did during the Olympics: a nice guy and incredible athlete who is inexperienced and uncomfortable in front of a camera. Still, he was at least willing and game, putting on silly wigs and playing second fiddle to William Shatner's cameo and Will Forte's dancing coach (a Peyton Manning retread).

The mistake, of course, was in once again falling for the idea that SNL is a comfortable home for relevant, topical humor. It isn't, one over-played, over-rated debate sketch from last season to the contrary. You want political satire, watch The Daily Show. Still, odds are SNL knows just what it's doing. The Fey/Poehler sketch will play in clip-form everywhere and be discussed by pundits who won't have bothered to watch anything else in the flat, draggy, 90-minute show. And once again, they will declare "SNL is back!"

So who's the fool?

[Scammy Davis Boogah Jr.]

Pretty sub-par season premiere.

Phelps was a real zero in the charisma department, Moynihan seems like a low-rent Horatio Sanz so far, and apart from the open and a couple of Weekend Update bits, most of the sketches really fell flat.

And what the fuck was that digital short? Did I miss some cultural touchstone that was being sent up there?

C-

[KeithTalent]

Armisen's Weekend Update thing was the highlight. Reminded me of a certain track on the Comedy Death Ray CD.


Can someone explain to me what is meant to be funny about the pepper guy? I'm serious. It's not that I think anyone's wrong for liking it, I seriously don't understand what the joke is supposed to be. I'll be disappointed if nobody tries to explain.

Is it that...people think the word pepper is funny? Are olfactory hallucinations hilarious?

I'm all for arbitrariness and stuff but seriously. what.

I mean if his speech patterns were at least funny...like Tracy Morgan had some bits that didn't really make sense, they were funny because of his performance. But the pepper guy...it's a shallow, done-to-death characterization. He doesn't have any unique tics or anything, he just talks like a caricature of an "urban" woman and says he smells pepper. I feel like I've even seen the playing-with-do-rag-tails move before. The funniest part was the anime shirt.

Until that sketch I had my eye on that guy. In the other sketches he was in he played things straight, without mugging, which is a welcome change for SNL. His takes were the best part of the ugly kids sketch. I'm still hoping he turns out to be good.

[BillBrasky]

Armisen's Weekend Update thing was the highlight. Reminded me of a certain track on the Comedy Death Ray CD.
.

Yeah, this was commented on the first time he did this on the show. Then he proceeded to do it again...the exact same thing...3 more times. This time, the audience didn't even seem to be into it, and usually they go nuts for it.
Somebody who attended the show wrote on the SNL boards that there are no cue cards for Fred's performance, so in essence he's improv-ing these little rambling speeches, which is admirable, but that doesn't really make it funny, once you've gotten the initial "joke" (or lack of one).
I think somebody wrote once on here that this is the kind of thing that is funny when you see it live, in the moment, but doesn't really work on what is a mostly scripted television show.

[Aaron1933]

I really like the Nicholas Fehn stuff. I feel like I could watch Fred Armisen do that for an hour straight, and I'm not just saying that in the way people say that. I'd like to see far he could go with it.

[KeithTalent]

Yeah, this was commented on the first time he did this on the show. Then he proceeded to do it again...the exact same thing...3 more times. This time, the audience didn't even seem to be into it, and usually they go nuts for it.
Somebody who attended the show wrote on the SNL boards that there are no cue cards for Fred's performance, so in essence he's improv-ing these little rambling speeches, which is admirable, but that doesn't really make it funny, once you've gotten the initial "joke" (or lack of one).
I think somebody wrote once on here that this is the kind of thing that is funny when you see it live, in the moment, but doesn't really work on what is a mostly scripted television show.

I didn't realize it was a recurring sketch, I haven't watched SNL regularly in a while. Armisen's Weekend Update bits are almost always a one-note joke...in fact I could say that about most things he does. I admire the guy but how many unfunny-on-purpose characters do you need?

[mueXog]

I admire the guy but how many unfunny-on-purpose characters do you need?

My favorite character like that he did was "Billy Cloud" or whatever the Indian comic he used to do was called.

I still enjoy Fehn sometimes, but wish they'd change things up if they insist on bringing it back again. I actually think he'd work well in his own sketch if they had a good idea in mind.

[man124]

When Seth announced that Kathy was a guest on weekend update, I got really excited because i thought they were gonna have Tina do more of that Kathy joke from 30 rock, then when it turned out it was samberg, i could not have been more depressed.

[Big Box Of Money]

In the writers' defense, they are kinda hamstrung when an athlete hosts. Peyton Manning is really the only professional athlete who didn't look a little foolish hosting the show(although not as foolish as say, Will Forte would look in the 4X100 relay). Actually MJ was pretty funny he hosted too, but these are men who had been in public eye for years before hosting.


I liked the pepper thing.

I hope Hader will be featured more than he was in this episode.

Kristin Wiig plays the same character a lot(see: The compound Mom)

Was the family in the homely child sketch named "Trig"? I may have misheard.

[KeithTalent]

I liked the pepper thing.

BUT WHY

what's the joke

help me

[KevinLee]

I really like the Nicholas Fehn stuff. I feel like I could watch Fred Armisen do that for an hour straight, and I'm not just saying that in the way people say that. I'd like to see far he could go with it.

Fred just posted this on his youtube page.

One Man Show
kcyJW-GeMDc

[I love nny]

I do not at all get the Nicholas Fehn segment. I get that he is just blathering on and that the "joke" is that he is trying to be smarter than the average person. or maybe that the headlines he reads are so over the top that anyone should see the dark humor or whatever. The pepper guy sketch suffers from this as well where the joke is the ridiculousness of the character rather any real jokes.

[disl]

just because all of the jokes are pepper-related does not mean that there were no jokes in the sketch.

[KevinLee]

"Here's some water. You drink that with your mouth."

[Big Box Of Money]

just because all of the jokes are pepper-related does not mean that there were no jokes in the sketch.

"We got over four different flavors of soda!!" That shit wasn't even pepper-related!!

Keith - I just like dumb things that are also dumb. Remember that sketch that consisted of Forte screaming "Ohhh noooooooo!!" into the phone over and over again? That was right up my dumb alley. That being said - I probably wouldn't want to see a second pepper sketch ever, so of course there will be eight more this season.

[disl]

the pepper sketch could work if they put him in a different scenario instead of doing like snl loves to do and just put the same characters in the same scenarios over and over and over again. so basically you can count on him being in next week's show serving another couple at the same restaurant.

[karyrogers]

I do not at all get the Nicholas Fehn segment. I get that he is just blathering on and that the "joke" is that he is trying to be smarter than the average person. or maybe that the headlines he reads are so over the top that anyone should see the dark humor or whatever.

I don't think that's it. The character is a take on the tension building, punchline-less style of comedy. Some call it anti-comedy, I call it funny.

I heard an interview with Amy and Fred in which Amy said Fred just improvises the bit until she or Seth cuts him off. My understanding is that Lorne is not a big fan of improvising on the show, so to me it says a lot about the show's (Lorne, writers, etc) confidence in Fred.

[NFox]

My understanding is that Lorne is not a big fan of improvising on the show, so to me it says a lot about the show's (Lorne, writers, etc) confidence in Fred.

On one of the "look back at SNL" clip shows that NBC put out in the last few years Lorne acknowledged that around the time that Ferrel et al came on board he started not to understand the humor. So allowing Fred to improvise may simply be an extension of that attitude of "Well, just because I don't get it, doesn't mean the audience won't." So, maybe he just thinks it's funnier than it is because he doesn't get it...while everyone at home keeps yelling at their TV saying, "Enough already."

Fehn is a one note song that Fred's been playing for far too long. And just to really overextend this musical metaphor: I hope there's a coda coming soon.

-Nick

[danielhberger]

I don't think Fehn is amazing- certainly not an all-time great character- but I seriously respect Armisen for having the balls to at least do a piece that took some comedic risks, had some wit, and had a comic voice. We comedy nerds may have seen the character before but i'm guessing most casual viewers had not. You have to respect Armisen for taking a pretty absurdist premise/performance and going with it, rather than pandering for easy laughs.

The wit, voice and comic risks were severely lacking in the rest of the show (minus the Palin open and maybe Jar Glove). I was in a sketch comedy group for four years in college and I can honestly say all of the live sketches on last night would not have made the cut. The tiredness of the premises - quiz show, ugly kids, crazy sports coach, etc. - were apparent to even the casual viewers of comedy with whom I watched the show.

The sketches had pretty bad premises and then just went nowhere and had endings that sort of petered out. Sometimes I forgive SNL for doing sort of cheesy parodies of current pop culture because Lorne probably asked them to, but these were just lazy and not connected to anything current at all. And don't even get me started on the digital short- what a mess.

Let's see what else- Weekend Update needs new anchors. Poehler is solid, but my problem with Myers is that he giggles too much at his own material; the jokes play better as played straight (Nealon) or at least with some oddball meta-commentary (Norm MacDonald).

The sad thing is that the cast has some pretty strong performers- especially Hader and Armisen. Hopefully their talents will not be wasted in future episodes.

On a macro level, I think the show needs to change formats to incorporate more video and fewer live segments. The live segments just run out of steam so quickly if they're not really working well from the start. And something about video (maybe the possibilities it opens up visually, w/editing) makes the videos usually have wittier, more complex premises than the live sketches. This isn't a total knock on live sketches- Live sketches should still have a future. But the writers need to recognize how to write live sketches with pacing and live acting in mind- something like 'Cowbell' worked so well live because it was paced really well for a live performance, gradually building up to an amazing crescendo at the end and because it showcased Walken hamming it up for a live audience. But given the difficulty the writers seem to be having with live material, and the sort of rapid-fire, quick-witted comedy that is in vogue these days, more videos should be in order.

[KevinLee]

They need to "Dane Cook It Up A Notch."

[Zoltar]

Fehn is hilarious to me, every single time. In theory, I am always for changing up recurring characters and not doing the same thing every time, but I'm so amused by Fehn no matter what, maybe because what's funny to me isn't so much the premise, but the actual nonsense that he says. I just always look forward to hearing a new list of weird introductions that go nowhere.

It comes down to specifics for me over how funny the premise is. Quiz show sketch could have been bad, but I thought their answers were well-written every time. Whereas I'd expect to enjoy a Space Olympics sketch if it were described to me, but all the details of the events being cancelled and Samberg being a poor organizer just weren't that fun to watch, IMO. So if Fehn never changes, but the specifics stay funny, I will watch it 20 more times.

I don't really get USA Today's opinion. They really think it should have been entirely political sketches? That's never been what SNL is. Just because an important election is going on, they shouldn't be able to do sketches that are just fun and not topical? It's easy for anyone to say SNL sucks, but generally, their ideas for how to cure it are worse than the disease.

[wrinkle_in_my_pants]

All this talk is making me eager to see next weeks show. I have a feeling having an actual actor as a host is going to bring a lot of funny. I just hope all of the people involved in the show don't read reviews or blogs or boards. I wish them all to just have a blast at doing what they love to do.

And if for whatever reason anyone involved in the show does read this, seriously, no pressure. Just have fun with it damn it and screw those who have issuses with old skits and the political bits. I'm really looking forward to more political sketches as we get closer to the election... Nothing is off limits.

[PinkieOfDoom]

Not helping the conversation in anyway, but I miss Norm MacDonald as the anchor. He was my favorite.

[nadsat droog]

Space Olympics went from awful to amazing in a very short amount of time. It was my favorite part of the show. I also liked the Pepper guy. And Lil Wayne's guitar solo.

[BillBrasky]

A sketch that got cut after dress from this week's show:

JUSTICE LEAGUE- Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Kenan Thompson & Michael Phelps. Superman holds a meeting to discuss who should be let go because they aren't used enough. They choose Aquaman.

That sounds exactly like the old "State" sketch about Aquaman, doesn't it? And I'm pretty sure they've done the same joke on "Family Guy" too. I bet it was probably cut because somebody pointed out how many times this premise has been done.

[MrDys]

And similar to the South Park JL episode. Kinda. I'm assuming it doesn't also have a David Blaine taking over the world.

[Mo!]

A few things:

Loved the Jar Glove ad. Wonder if Simon Rich wrote it. What did he write?

Fehn was great.

Why can't they just have actors and actresses host. I would much rather have seen the Dark Knight cast for each episode. Michael Cain. Morgan Freeman. Christian Bale. Even Eric Roberts.

[karyrogers]

On a macro level, I think the show needs to change formats to incorporate more video and fewer live segments.

If this means I don't get to see Michael Phelps cough into his armpit when the camera cuts to him and he isn't ready, then I respectfully disagree.

[DiscoInferiorityComplex]

I still say most problems people have with the show would go away if Lorne would stop letting the hosts help to pick the sketches. You always hear about Lorne and the host huddling together to pick the final lineup of the show. If you ask a non-comic what sketches they definitely want to do, they'll likely pick the "sure-things": recurring sketches they've seen before. Or, they'll pick the sketches that that force them to sing, or put on a dress, because "no one would ever expect that of me", not because they were actually good comedy pieces.

Also, if you look back at the Michael Jordan episode from 1991, he appeared mostly in recurring sketches (Super Fans, Stuart Smalley, etc...) However, he just played himself, and the sketches were written with specific jokes about him. With Phelps, they put him in recurring sketches, but he played a character from the first run of the sketch. Peyton Manning was the captain of a bad team with a weird coach, now Michael Phelps is the captain. Seth Rogen was an ugly and annoying kid, now Michael Phelps in ugly and annoying.

Actually, now that I compare the lineups, those are really the only recurring sketches (Charles Barkley is a recurring character, but I believe this is the first time he's had his own show). Jordan's episode had a Wayne's World, Nat X, and Kevin Nealon's elevator fan as well. But Phelps' episode seems much more egregious because they seemed like such repeats.

[BillBrasky]

As others have said, recurring characters are OK if you're going to actually do something different with the character. Every "Wayne's World" sketch wasn't exactly the same; it wasn't just Wayne and Garth talking to each other in their basement and saying "Party on, Wayne" and "Excellent" for five minutes. In one sketch Aerosmith comes to visit. In another sketch, they fantasize about being in a Madonna video. Etc.
Even the Church Lady would have different celebrities come on to the show that she could make fun of, so it was always fresh.

But the ugly teenagers sketch was literally almost exactly the same as the first sketch. (Well, they did add the "Nintendo Wii" joke, which was funny, but hardly worth bringing back the sketch for). The dancing coach sketch- what was different from the first sketch? Different song? They changed "I just thought of going out there and a little bit of pee came out" to "I fudged my Speedo"?
There's a difference between a recurring character and just Xeroxing a sketch and doing it again with a different host.

[danielhberger]

I agree with Bill Brasky that recurring sketches are only worthwhile when the second edition brings something new to the table.

I think Michael Phelps diet was something that had a pretty good premise but then sort of just repeated itself, which is another problem SNL falls into, partly because the powers that be demand a 1.5 hr show meaning skits have to be five minutes long which is not always the best skit length! It is very hard to sustain a skit for five minutes, and basically in order to do it, more plot or at least more changes in the dynamic/situation have to happen than currently happen on SNL.

If I had my druthers, they would have run with the idea of Phelps eating 12,000 calories by putting it in a premise that had a bit more of a varied structure to it. Say, for instance that there is an FDA meeting and all the FDA commissioners are saying "and the final order of business, we are of course approving again this year our recommendation of 2,000 calories a day for adults, all in favor say aye... unanimous"--> Phelps runs in and says "not so fast. Dr. Michael Phelps here. I say we recommend 12,000 calories a day!" --> grumbling among other doctors of "ugh, Phelps not again with this thing"--> Phelps calls his assistant to bring in "the new food pyramid" --> Phelps places a poster of the "new food pyramid" next to a poster of the old one, and the new one is three times as big as the old one and has "10 servings of chipotle mayonnaise" as one of the sections for instance. And he fights it out with the other doctors, etc. (You get the idea).

My point is that sketch comedy is about scenes, about dynamic situations and surprises and conflict and characters with unique traits. There is just too much coasting on SNL in terms of the imagination level. Too often you have gotten all you'll get out of the skit in the first 30 seconds which is not a good sign.

[NFox]

I still say most problems people have with the show would go away if Lorne would stop letting the hosts help to pick the sketches.

I'm not so sure that was the problem this week, considering that Phelps was in LA until at least Tuesday...well after the initial Monday pitch. He appeared on the Tonight Show and it was quite apparent that he hadn't yet talked to anyone at SNL. So it seems they were essentially flying blind.

And Brasky, thanks for calling them out on the Xerox sketches (I call them Mad Lib sketches...cause I just love me some Mad Libs). I may not be the worlds best sketch writer, but I have never once resorted to using "Find and Replace" in Microsoft Word to write a new one. I think it cheapens sketch writing as a whole to reduce it to some sort of automated process.

So, come on SNL writers, up the ante this week.

-Nick

[Jenny]

A few things:

Loved the Jar Glove ad. Wonder if Simon Rich wrote it. What did he write?

Fehn was great.

Why can't they just have actors and actresses host. I would much rather have seen the Dark Knight cast for each episode. Michael Cain. Morgan Freeman. Christian Bale. Even Eric Roberts.

I think the Jar glove ad could've been cut at the part where she goes to jail, we already get that she went to illegal means to get that jar open.

[man124]

Also, what happened to letting the musical guest be in a couple sketches. I think they could have done some funny stuff with Lil' Wayne and they completely missed the chance.

[DiscoInferiorityComplex]

I'm not so sure that was the problem this week, considering that Phelps was in LA until at least Tuesday...well after the initial Monday pitch. He appeared on the Tonight Show and it was quite apparent that he hadn't yet talked to anyone at SNL. So it seems they were essentially flying blind.


I was mostly referring to cutting down from dress, where it seems the host has enough sway to cut a solid original sketch in favor of playing Virginiaca's latest stepdaughter.

[BillBrasky]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/1380000138/post/200033220.html

The New York Television Festival held a panel this afternoon with writers from all of the major New York based late night comedy shows. Scribes from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live answered questions from moderator and SNL player Jason Sudeikis.

Among the topics of conversation were some of the sketches that were left on the cutting room floor from last night’s season premiere of SNL, with host Michael Phelps. Sudeikis says he (half jokingly) pitched a fake commercial for a urine based cure for athletes foot, endorsed by Phelps. It didn’t go over well, and never made it past the pitch.

One sketch that sounded like comedy gold to me was “Puttin on the Spitz!” a talk show hosted by Mark Spitz, with the musical stylings of Elliot Spitzer. Sudeikis says Phelps nixed it out of respect for Spitz.

But there may be life still for another sketch that never made it to air. Erik Kenward, writing supervisor on SNL, pitched a sketch about layoffs at the Justice League of America. In it, Aquaman (played by Phelps) was laid off. While it didn’t make it to TV last night, Sudeikis said it could make an appearance--with another actor in Phelps’ place--later this season.

[yumitree]

really sub-par episode this week.
i'm glad someone mentioned the fabrice fabrice/moynihan pepper thing because i completely blanked on who that character sounded like. they're most certainly different characters, but the vocal similarities really took me out of the sketch (which, at "mildly amusing," was one of the better sketches of the night).
i enjoyed the fehn segment because i just enjoy watching armisen's aimless riffing. it seemed like this time was a little more about abrupt logic/topic shifts and directionless verbal diarrhea, while the previous appearances were more fehn holding up a news paper and then his exasperated outbursts without content or jokes.
the digital short was jaw-droppingly bad. i enjoy the ironic/comical use of auto-tuned vocals, but, other than that, i hated it.

[KeithTalent]

"We got over four different flavors of soda!!"

See that's funny, but it would be funny no matter who said it. I don't get what's meant to be funny about the character.

[smartbunny]

It's OK, Keith... I don't get it either. Let's hug it out.

*hugs*

[Everest]

I think the Fehn character is funny. There's way worse things wrong on snl right now than fred doing something mildly funny more than twice.

[mezmorized]

My advice: Less musical digital shorts. I love Samberg and the Lonely Islang guys, but you have so much potential with video that you don't have on stage, there's no reason to not use it. Jonah Hill's dating Andy's dad video: great. No reason we can't have more quality shorts like that.

Why not do a few musical videos a season, work on them, so I don't have to sit through "Daiquiri Girl" to get to "Dick in the Box".

[KevinLee]

I work at a restaurant. All night tonight I was telling people we had four different flavors of soda. People looked at me like I was nuts and I loved it. "you drink that with your mouth" Is my new favorite catch phrase. I love Bobby Moynihan. The guy is a god at whatever bar it is the UCBNY people go to after a show. That irish bar? What's it called? Mc somethings? Cop bar. He's a god there.

[smartbunny]

McSorley's?

[aenemaTron]

Nope!

[Lil G]

McManus, fuckers.

[smartbunny]

Mine was a damn good McGuess, bitches.

[pmottaz]

(I'd much rather complain about this show than do my work)

My quick, fix-it-all, I'm-just-glad-it's-not-my-job-to-do-these-things prescription to heal SNL would be to clean house.

That's not saying that everyone on there is bad, or that the people there aren't talented, but there's no group mind at all with that show. Or if there is, it's careerism.

Now for the clarifications:

1) I say "careerism" while admitting that I'd certainly love a career like that, and if I could get away with doing one spot-on impression a week and still get paid, I would. But Darryl Hammond can't be thrilled with his role, can he? He's no idiot. He knows the score.

This show has been built like a big, over-priced Yankees team: you need a guy to throw in the 8th inning with one out, so you go out and acquire a guy who ONLY throws in the 8th with one out. There are so many specialty players, that they're roles are limited. And they get limited by the little niches which have been carved out by the other career players.

Bill Hader, for example. Hilarious. Funny as hell. And I'm basing this opinion entirely on his movie parts. He's zipped up all his scenes in "Hot Rod," "Superbad," and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," but too often he's left to the role of "Cue-Card Reading Generi-Dad" or "One Dimensional Impression Man, B Level."

2) The last "cleaning of the house" was the Will Ferrel, Cheri O'Teri, Darryl Hammond era of 1995. Now they didn't hit homers all around, but at least it felt new. Since then, as performers have left, they've patched it up here and there. But now they have band-aids covering band-aids, and that's why it's weak. I have no doubt that if the current cast/staff had all come in around the same time, they could gel and make it work in a unique way with their own voice. As it is now, it feels like everyone's trying to do it the way the last guy did it who did it the way the LAST guy did it. This is the "Die Another Day" era of SNL. I think everyone would love to see a "Casino Royale" type era. Or just watch "Casino Royale," 'cause it's pretty freakin' great.

[aenemaTron]

It was a good guess if you like walking two and a half miles to a bar!

[smartbunny]

McShut it!

[Aaron1933]

So Amy Poehler's officially leaving, but see if you can make heads or tails of this:

News of Poehler's departure isn't much of a surprise because Ben Silverman, co-president of NBC Entertainment, announced back in July that Poehler would be starring in a new sitcom inspired by "The Office." Poehler's show is not the highly anticipated "Office" spinoff, though.

So NBC is producing both a spin-off of The Office, and an entirely new sitcom that is inspired by The Office, but not a spin-off?

"This is not a spinoff. This is a show coming from Greg and Mike. We are also going to be continue to be pursuing the spinoff as well. ... Amy's character will never appear inside 'The Office' world before appearing in the world that she's going to be playing her character in. So the show, although stylistically (it has) some elements that are consistent and creatively has Greg Daniels and Mike Schur behind it, the show is not set up to emanate directly from 'The Office.'"

[BillBrasky]

They're definitely producing the show with Amy Poehler, which is not going to be a spinoff of "The Office", but will be in the same style as "The Office". (Premise unknown at this time)
There hasn't been any kind of official announcement about whether they're going to do an actual spinoff from "The Office" yet.
I'm not sure why it was worthy of news articles today that Poehler is leaving SNL.
Was anyone really expecting her to do two shows (and raise a baby at the same time)?

[disl]

i hope this means that poehler's show won't be a mockumentary. i'm assuming amy wouldn't quit snl unless it was for a project that she really thought was worthwhile and i can't imagine she would've quit it for "the office, jr."

[BillBrasky]

I'm assuming that "in the same style as The Office" means it probably WILL be a mockumentary.
I just don't really know what a show that's like "The Office" but not actually "The Office" could entail.
The only thing I can think of is Amy as the manager of a themed restaurant or something, but that seems like it's been covered by "Office Space".

Amy as the CEO of a corporation? As the head of a PR firm? As a high-priced lawyer? It all just sounds like it will end up basically being "The Office".

Amy as the principal of a school? Maybe. That's kind of been done too though.

How about a fake reality TV show, a la "The Hills", about Amy's character Amber from SNL and her ongoing quest to become famous? :) "Yeah, I farted...jealous?" would be a good catchphrase to see plastered all over buses everywhere.

[disl]

as long as we're speculating, i'd like to see a cop drama or courtroom drama spoof. i don't think either have been tried in earnest (i don't count 'lookwell,' 'andy barker,' or that show from the 80s where the cops sang). i would welcome an attempt at that.

[mattmanser]

Sledge Hammer!
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[DonTGD]

...

The monologue was weak. Was I the only person to play spot Guy Fieri all night? I guess he knows a guy.
...

The Guy Fieri thing was downright weird.

Also there was a teenager in the audience that the camera went by a few times frantically texting. THAT was just weird too.

[DonTGD]

...

Can someone explain to me what is meant to be funny about the pepper guy? I'm serious. It's not that I think anyone's wrong for liking it, I seriously don't understand what the joke is supposed to be. I'll be disappointed if nobody tries to explain.
...

Do you HONESTLY want me to say what was funny about it? The humor is basically based on racism, or perhaps classism. The idea is that some people don't know how to censor themselves and will talk about anything because they weren't taught manners. I do not believe those kinds of jokes come from a "good place" in our culture. Note that the male and female diners switched gender stereotypes which I think went a long way towards portraying them as sophisticated, urbane, etc while the server was anything but. So while I initially liked the way he said "up in this piece" after about the third time he mocked some kind of urban teenager character I was shaking my head.

Now, the only way to make this character less racist would be to show a sophisticated, educated African-American couple reacting to this person as a white person adopting unsophisticated mannerisms in an attempt to appear, I dunno, hip and have their reaction to it based on their views of culture. That would be funny. The character as it was, made me embarrassed.

[DonTGD]

I agree with Bill Brasky that recurring sketches are only worthwhile when the second edition brings something new to the table.

I think Michael Phelps diet was something that had a pretty good premise but then sort of just repeated itself, which is another problem SNL falls into, partly because the powers that be demand a 1.5 hr show meaning skits have to be five minutes long which is not always the best skit length! It is very hard to sustain a skit for five minutes, and basically in order to do it, more plot or at least more changes in the dynamic/situation have to happen than currently happen on SNL.

If I had my druthers, they would have run with the idea of Phelps eating 12,000 calories by putting it in a premise that had a bit more of a varied structure to it. Say, for instance that there is an FDA meeting and all the FDA commissioners are saying "and the final order of business, we are of course approving again this year our recommendation of 2,000 calories a day for adults, all in favor say aye... unanimous"--> Phelps runs in and says "not so fast. Dr. Michael Phelps here. I say we recommend 12,000 calories a day!" --> grumbling among other doctors of "ugh, Phelps not again with this thing"--> Phelps calls his assistant to bring in "the new food pyramid" --> Phelps places a poster of the "new food pyramid" next to a poster of the old one, and the new one is three times as big as the old one and has "10 servings of chipotle mayonnaise" as one of the sections for instance. And he fights it out with the other doctors, etc. (You get the idea).

My point is that sketch comedy is about scenes, about dynamic situations and surprises and conflict and characters with unique traits. There is just too much coasting on SNL in terms of the imagination level. Too often you have gotten all you'll get out of the skit in the first 30 seconds which is not a good sign.

Yes, I was really happy to read that someone also thought of better ways to improve upon the same joke. I think that example you wrote sounds like a great idea.

I myself thought a much better idea than throwing "Swim Cop" out in the monologue would have been Phelps arguing with Lorne about doing a "Swim Cop" sketch around a pool set or having the different actors suggesting other "Pool Veterinarian" type sketches.

[disl]

Do you HONESTLY want me to say what was funny about it? The humor is basically based on racism, or perhaps classism. The idea is that some people don't know how to censor themselves and will talk about anything because they weren't taught manners. I do not believe those kinds of jokes come from a "good place" in our culture. Note that the male and female diners switched gender stereotypes which I think went a long way towards portraying them as sophisticated, urbane, etc while the server was anything but. So while I initially liked the way he said "up in this piece" after about the third time he mocked some kind of urban teenager character I was shaking my head.

Now, the only way to make this character less racist would be to show a sophisticated, educated African-American couple reacting to this person as a white person adopting unsophisticated mannerisms in an attempt to appear, I dunno, hip and have their reaction to it based on their views of culture. That would be funny. The character as it was, made me embarrassed.

you should add an "L" to the end of your name cuz then the initials can stand for Too God Damn Liberal :cool:

[BillBrasky]

September 27th- Anna Faris/ Duffy (http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20080918000000-nbc039s34satu.html)

[J.B.]

September 27th- Anna Faris/ Duffy (http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20080918000000-nbc039s34satu.html)

That could be pretty good - I started out with a low opinion of Faris from those Scary Movie films, but since then I've found her a funny, charming actress.

[BillBrasky]

STOP THE PRESSES and alert Jimmy Pardo, guys...

Apparently Jon Hamm revealed in a SAG Q&A session this week that he will be hosting the October 25th episode (with musical guest Coldplay).

[I love nny]

STOP THE PRESSES and alert Jimmy Pardo, guys...

Apparently Jon Hamm revealed in a SAG Q&A session this week that he will be hosting the October 25th episode (with musical guest Coldplay).

Oh Sweet Jesus! That is gonna be sick.

[TheRealAndyDaly]

Hello ASTers. Despite my strenuous objections, my friend the comedian Jerry O’Hearn has gotten himself embroiled in a really stupid controversy. He asked me to circulate this press release anywhere I could, so here it is. As you will see, my name gets dragged into this nonsense somehow. Believe me, I have no interest in being involved in anything like this.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ATTORNEYS FOR COMEDIAN O’HEARN ISSUE CEASE AND DESIST ORDER AGAINST SNL’S FEHN

Los Angeles –Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but LA-based tell-it-like-it-is standup comic Jerry O’Hearn doesn’t sound flattered when he talks about a particular segment on this week’s season premier of Saturday Night Live. He’s so steamed in fact, that this laughing matter has now become a legal matter.

The offending piece featured a political comedian named Nicholas Fehn whose material was immediately all too familiar to Mr. O’Hearn. And O’Hearn has some typically pointed words for Mr. Fehn. “I mean, this is really one of those things where you’re like ‘hey wait a minute. Excuse me!’ because I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned, it’s like ‘really?! Who said so?”, said O’Hearn in his usual take-no-prisoners style. “One minute I’m sitting there and it’s like ‘okay’ and the next minute I’m like ‘this type of thing is like you gotta be kidding me!”.

Ouch! Fehn can’t enjoy being skewered by a skillfully executed barrage of carefully chosen words like that.

According to Bang Bang Ellington, Mr. O’Hearn’s attorney, Jerry performed around Los Angeles for two years before his insightful brand of humor exploded into the national spotlight on the Comedy Death Ray album which was released in September 2007 (due to a typographical error, his set was attributed to fellow LA-based comic Andy Daly). Fehn made his SNL debut in October of that same year and, according to Elllington, the similarities were unmistakable.

“My client has spent a long time developing his laser-sharp social commentary. He has meticulously crafted flawless set-ups and rapier-like punch lines. Then to see them coming out of the mouth of another guy on Saturday Night Live, that’s probably against some kind of law, right?” said Mr. Ellington when reached at a payphone.

This latest set-back notwithstanding, O’Hearn’s career appears to be on the rise. He makes a special appearance as a bonus track on Andy Daly’s new AST Records release Nine Sweaters, where his devastating crowd work skills get a work-out, and he's in talks to contribute to The New Yorker Magazine’s Shouts and Murmurs feature.

When asked about their chances of preventing another performance by Nicholas Fehn, Mr. Ellington said “I think my client put it best when he said ‘the last time I checked it was supposed to be the sort of thing where you go “hm. Okay”. I mean, what is this, a long time ago?’”

[Darryl]

Dammit! I thought those punchlines sounded familiar.

[I love nny]

Hello ASTers. Despite my strenuous objections, my friend the comedian Jerry O’Hearn has gotten himself embroiled in a really stupid controversy. He asked me to circulate this press release anywhere I could, so here it is. As you will see, my name gets dragged into this nonsense somehow. Believe me, I have no interest in being involved in anything like this.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ATTORNEYS FOR COMEDIAN O’HEARN ISSUE CEASE AND DESIST ORDER AGAINST SNL’S FEHN

Los Angeles –Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but LA-based tell-it-like-it-is standup comic Jerry O’Hearn doesn’t sound flattered when he talks about a particular segment on this week’s season premier of Saturday Night Live. He’s so steamed in fact, that this laughing matter has now become a legal matter.

The offending piece featured a political comedian named Nicholas Fehn whose material was immediately all too familiar to Mr. O’Hearn. And O’Hearn has some typically pointed words for Mr. Fehn. “I mean, this is really one of those things where you’re like ‘hey wait a minute. Excuse me!’ because I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned, it’s like ‘really?! Who said so?”, said O’Hearn in his usual take-no-prisoners style. “One minute I’m sitting there and it’s like ‘okay’ and the next minute I’m like ‘this type of thing is like you gotta be kidding me!”.

Ouch! Fehn can’t enjoy being skewered by a skillfully executed barrage of carefully chosen words like that.

According to Bang Bang Ellington, Mr. O’Hearn’s attorney, Jerry performed around Los Angeles for two years before his insightful brand of humor exploded into the national spotlight on the Comedy Death Ray album which was released in September 2007 (due to a typographical error, his set was attributed to fellow LA-based comic Andy Daly). Fehn made his SNL debut in October of that same year and, according to Elllington, the similarities were unmistakable.

“My client has spent a long time developing his laser-sharp social commentary. He has meticulously crafted flawless set-ups and rapier-like punch lines. Then to see them coming out of the mouth of another guy on Saturday Night Live, that’s probably against some kind of law, right?” said Mr. Ellington when reached at a payphone.

This latest set-back notwithstanding, O’Hearn’s career appears to be on the rise. He makes a special appearance as a bonus track on Andy Daly’s new AST Records release Nine Sweaters, where his devastating crowd work skills get a work-out, and he's in talks to contribute to The New Yorker Magazine’s Shouts and Murmurs feature.

When asked about their chances of preventing another performance by Nicholas Fehn, Mr. Ellington said “I think my client put it best when he said ‘the last time I checked it was supposed to be the sort of thing where you go “hm. Okay”. I mean, what is this, a long time ago?’”

Thank God, Maybe we won't need to hear from Fehn any further.

[KevinLee]

This is a joke, right?

[metal2000]

How could it be a joke? Mr. Fehn (real person!) better watch out, because Mr. O'Hearn (real person also!) is clearly mad as hell.

[KevinLee]

This is for real, right?

[man124]

What the hell is Cameron Diaz doing there?

[Levenbach]

Was that AST/New York/Chicago/Pakistan's own Kumail Nanjiani making a cameo in the New York Times reporter Alaska sketch?

Spoiler Alert

Yes it was.

Congratulations Kumail!

[man124]

Personally, I thought this episode was really great.

[Cankerblossom]

Good episode tonight. The only sketch that really fell flat was Agent 420. God, that was pathetic. Everything else was solid.

[man124]

the cougar club sketch killed me, I could have watched James Franco do that character for the entire show.

[JKwac]

I'm usually an SNL apologist, but I thought this episode was pretty forgettable. Although, I liked Andy Samberg's impression of Willem Dafoe.

[ROAMAN]

Of Mice & Men was good, and as usual Hader was gold every time he hit the screen. Otherwise, a throwaway.

[I love nny]

I Thought this episode was light years better then last weeks, not really shocking but there it is.

[bristol]

I thought the take on the NY Times staff was pitch perfect. I like the newspaper but feel that the show wonderfully stereotyped what I think those reporters/columnist to be. To be sure it is a solid newspaper but I have met a few of those jerks and they tend to be part of an ilk that thinks the world is Manhattan. I am glad that SNL took the paper on. The studio audience, I feel, did not know what to think of the bit because the paper for many is an untouchable. I am a liberal mind you but I think on some levels that paper needs a reality check. I was so upset at their kneejerk reporting of the McCain extra marital affair a few months ago. The paper has started to discredit itself from this kind of tilted smear. I wanted the story to be true. I feel like they have gotten lazy and out of touch. I am not too eloquent but I wish the Old Grey Lady was not so elite. I also think David Brooks is a conservative ass.

[HeadEgg]

Of Mice & Men was good, and as usual Hader was gold every time he hit the screen. Otherwise, a throwaway.

I agree. Although The Looker got me aswell.

[metal2000]

I was hugely disappointed last week, but what a difference a week (and a decent actor) makes. Most of the sketches were really well-writen/acted, and even the ones that were weaker still had funny moments in them. From start to finish, it's probably one of the better episodes of the last 2 or 3 years. (Although maybe I'm just thinking that because of the horrifying results of last week.)

[BillBrasky]

What the hell is Cameron Diaz doing there?

Wow. People here really don't watch SNL very regularly, do they?

This was once again a case of them re-doing a sketch and having it be not as funny as last time. I did like the line "50 may be the sexual peak, but it's definitely the beauty trench" though.

I didn't think the show was all that great, but certainly better than last week. The OJ jurors sketch was a really funny premise, and a pretty funny sketch at the beginning, but it kind of petered out near the end. Agent 420 would have been a lot better if Franco had done it as his "Pineapple Express" character- did he forget how to play a stoner?

That NY Times sketch- I was laughing at it, even though I really didn't understand it. Not living in New York and not really ever having read the NY Times probably doesn't help my understanding of it. However, the way the jokes were constructed still made me laugh, even if I felt I was missing the point of the sketch. I'm guessing that was written by Downey; his sketches seem to have a very particular verbal, logical style.

[smartbunny]

Of Mice and Men was surprising; it wasn't a parody of something recent, or a game show, or something about the host. It was out of left field and that was good. Everything else (except Agent 420) seemed well thought-out and unique. James Franco's level of handsome should be illegal.

Willem Dafoe is a shithead.

[theodoric]

The OJ jurors sketch was a really funny premise, and a pretty funny sketch at the beginning, but it kind of petered out near the end.
Which is pretty much the modus operandi of every SNL sketch ever.

[mueXog]

Moynihan seems to be doing pretty well so far for a n00b. He got one of his sketches on both shows so far, in more recent years it seems like it takes several shows until a new cast member gets any of their stuff on consistently. Casey Wilson's been on since last February and the paralyzed stripper is the only time I can remember where she had her own sketch. Or a few years ago when Rob Riggle was on for a season and maybe got one sketch (maybe two) of his own on the air for that entire season he was there. I think even Andy Samberg barely did anything his first season until they started doing the digital shorts in the second half and Lazy Sunday was a surprise hit.

[BillBrasky]

I do commend them for doing something a little more highbrow than the usual SNL sketch, and I thought Moynihan was funny in that sketch ("I'm sorry, Mr. Nobel Prize winner...oh, wait, YOU'RE A RANCHHAND"). I think he fit in quickly with the cast because he's been working at the UCB theater for a while and probably knows most of the cast already, but the same is true of Casey too, so I don't know why she keeps getting mostly boring, straight-woman roles. I'm sure once Amy leaves, we will probably be seeing more of her.

[PinkieOfDoom]

I thought the NYT sketch was funny, I just wasn't laughing out loud at it. There were some highlight moments in that sketch for me, especially with the "Thai Delivery" line followed by Kenan's and Andy's looking at each other and then leaving. And the polar bear ending for Will's character. I also loved the "Of Mice and Men" sketch. The Looker was pretty funny, too.
I'm pretty sure if I searched hard enough, the last sketch of the night will be up. I forgot where I was last night, but everyone I was talking to loved that and was surprised it ended up being the last sketch of the show.

[disl]

the "of mice and men" sketch was good until the ending, which was a total cop-out. it felt like they had to re-write it at the last minute because the show was running long or they just didn't know how to end the sketch. i definitely could have watched lenny slowly understand the world for another minute or two, that was the whole point of the sketch and it ended without any payoff.

hated the oj simpson jury selection sketch. dumb, predictable.

the looker was a very funny idea executed pretty poorly, i'd say it was about a minute too long. tiny glasses were unnecessary and it wasn't really necessary to even see penny marshall in action, it could have just been armisen standing there as marshall with basically no indication as to how the show was supposed to work rather than what they actually did. also, samberg as juliette lewis was funny.

i really liked the scorcese-perez yankee stadium video thing. no complaints, that was about perfect. not overwhelmingly hilarious, but no loose ends either. nailed it.

i didnt see the rest of the show, the only things i saw have been because of the internet.

[Zoltar]

HATED the digital short. Funny comedy words for penis!! Ding dong, hahaha. That one struck me like they needed to get that girl from Gossip Girl in the show somehow, and that was all they could come up with.

[smartbunny]

Yeah, there must be something about the Digital Short that I didn't get.

[mary]

I watched SNL for the first time in a long time last night. The biggest complaint I have is the music portion. Why must they give them two songs? I couldn't watch it.