SNL: A Return to Form?

[Iconoclastica]

What goes through that sketch's writer's mind?

what amazes me is that the writers room is so packed, and they talk about how difficult it is to get anyone to laugh at anything when they're presenting new sketches, and how critical everyone is... AND these are the sketches that make it to air! How bad are the ones that get shelved?

This is the stuff of brain aneurisms . . .

EDIT: Thanks Cabiria! It's getting added to my loooong list of movies (that I might have time to watch seven or eight years down the road )

[Brocktune]

what happened to the bad plus?
fuckers
i mean prince stole the show, amazing as he always is, but i wanted the bad plus.
also, this was the weakest episode since december... even though most of those weeks contained either reruns, or preemptive material. sorry steve, but it stunk. im going to feel ripped off if this is was the end of snl's percieved "return to form" as coined by me.

[wonkabar]

You can count on SNL...it will always suck

[Brocktune]

at least its consistant, eh?

nice sig, btw.

[Chief Redcock]

They need to dump the damn musical guests. I don't know about you, but whenever the band starts playing on SNL, that's the exact moment when I start channel surfing.

[RaulMonkey]

Arctic Monkeys are better than Fallout Boy.

[RaulMonkey]

Not just sayin' that 'cause I'm named after a monkey.

[Brocktune]

Arctic Monkeys are better than Fallout Boy.

all is relative, grasshopper.

[Bean]

They need to dump the damn musical guests. I don't know about you, but whenever the band starts playing on SNL, that's the exact moment when I start channel surfing.

Agreed. All the rap and pop crap makes me change the channel, and I'll usually forget to come back. They need music that everyone enjoys, not just a certain group.

[vicious_bastard]

Arctic Monkeys are better than Fallout Boy.

Yes, yes they are. Amusing to hear Alex Turner say "knobhead" - a US TV first?

[Sam]

Sorry to bump the thread, but I didn't want to start a new one as my first post! Anyway, here's a "UK response" video I made with some friends a few days ago:



Go to http://www.illimms.com/narnia or click the picture above to see our message to the world about life in England. And please, spread the word, post the link on any other forums or messageboards you visit where you know people have enjoyed the original.

Amazingly, it's already recieved praise from Jorma Taccone (of SNL and The Lonely Island):

[Keepcoolbutcare]

which guy are you?

and, much like UK Hip-Hop compared to US originators, not as good.

but an A for effort, couple of good rhymes/lines, love the 'lil airplane bit.

impressed you actually searched out this topic, instead of starting your own (which would have immediately been moved to Shameless Self Promotion).

[Sam]

which guy are you?

the tall funny looking one with short hair. it was a rare appearance from me in front of the camera. i'm the steven merchant to my friend's ricky gervais, if you'll excuse the grand scale of the unjustly self-praising metaphor.

and, much like UK Hip-Hop compared to US originators, not as good.

Considering that you're comparing our silly little vid to the genius that is "Lazy Sunday", I'll still take that as a compliment.. "not as good" -- hell yeah!

but an A for effort, couple of good rhymes/lines, love the 'lil airplane bit.

cheers. you can never have too many snakes on a plane references, in my humble op..

[Retardo_Montalban]

I sorta thought it sucked. I mean, the rhymes were alright, but you lacked a certain intensity. You guys are supposed to be rapping your hearts out. You need to be angrier, crazier. You know what you kids need? Some PCP. It worked for Henry Rollins and it'll work for you.

[Sam]

I sorta thought it sucked. I mean, the rhymes were alright, but you lacked a certain intensity. You guys are supposed to be rapping your hearts out. You need to be angrier, crazier. You know what you kids need? Some PCP. It worked for Henry Rollins and it'll work for you.

Thanks for giving it a watch anyway, it's apprieciated nonetheless.

[Bean]

LASER CATS! These guys are HYSTERICAL!!

[Bean]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YekOVtvy3Gw&search=SNL

[The Garbage Man]

Laser Cats and the "Disney Vault" Saturday TV Funhouse were hilarious. Everything else... blegh.

It's been a long while since I've watched SNL, so when did Weekend Update become so painfully unfunny?

[Brocktune]

It's been a long while since I've watched SNL, so when did Weekend Update become so painfully unfunny?

you know, i havent seen last nights yet (tivo'd it) so maybe it stunk, but i think that update is funnier now than it has been since dennis miller. ok, i know the norm macdonald marks would disagree, but i just think that in general, update is funnier than it has been in a long time.

also, i think the current cast has the best and funniest collection of females the show has ever seen. i think the show is actually doing ok right now, that steve martin episode excluded.

[The Garbage Man]

Hmm, maybe it was just last night's then. The studio audience was virtually silent during the Update, especially Poehler's bits.

[AtomicHyperbole]

Laser Cats is so poor it's hilarious.

Still, no Cowbell.

[AtomicHyperbole]

OK, now Disney Vault is a work of insane genius. Thanks for sharing!

[Brocktune]

Hmm, maybe it was just last night's then. The studio audience was virtually silent during the Update, especially Poehler's bits.

well, either they had an off nite, or i just have a shitty concept of whats funny.

[Iconoclastica]

(just realized I had posted this in the wrong spot . . . now, to be more adherent to zoner tactfulness) . . .

SNL this evening . . . opening sketch . . . the real (!!!!) Al Gore's version of what the country would be like if he'd been president the past 6 years . . . including such gems as "supreme court justice Michael Moore", "chief justice George Clooney", "Baseball commissioner George W. Bush is dealing with the steroid problem with widespread telephone tapping", "Afghanistan was THE hottest spring break location this past year" . . . etc etc . . . IPAMPILASH indeed :-p

Jerry Seinfeld dropping the stage light on Julia's head ala "Seinfeld curse" was amusing as well . . . and the digital short wasn't bad . . . the rest was the usual horse and pony show - do with it what you will . . . I had fun regardless ^_^

[MasterWhedon]

BUMP!

Anyone see this weekend's episode with Alec Baldwin? Because it was the funniest damn episode I've seen in a long, long time. That bit with Baldwin and Kirsten Wiig carpooling to work had me in tears. I'm gonna see if I can find a link.

[Brocktune]

FUCK!

for some reason, my stupid tivo didnt record it, and now im going to have to wait for the rerun. alec baldwin is always funny though. please tell me he did tony bennet.

[TheBaxter]

FUCK!

for some reason, my stupid tivo didnt record it, and now im going to have to wait for the rerun. alec baldwin is always funny though. please tell me he did tony bennet.

yep, he did tony bennett...



















































i hear his ass was sore for days!

[Brocktune]

baldwin's or bennett's?

[MasterWhedon]

Hahaha. I actually skipped over the Tony Bennet skit, but Baldwin was Tony Bennet interviewing the real Tony Bennet.

[Brocktune]

i wonder if the real tony bennett loves things that are great.

[TheBaxter]

i wonder if the real tony bennett loves things that are great.

like alec baldwin's ass?

[Brocktune]

well, maybe his balls too.

[godzillasushi]

I think they had to many cast members also. That would be why I hated the show for so long. Anyone see, I think it was AFI, during their last performance? It was miserable. The bands they put on arent very good live. I think Beck was the last decent one.

[TheBaxter]

well, maybe his balls too.

you mean his schwetty balls, don't you? i hear they're delicious.

[Brocktune]

Anyone see, I think it was AFI, during their last performance? It was miserable. The bands they put on arent very good live. I think Beck was the last decent one.

yeah.
the shows biggest weakness, imo, is their insistance on booking shitty musical acts. i mean my chemical romance?! come on. i didnt realize that their primary target demographic was 14 year old girls.

well, maybe his balls too.

you mean his schwetty balls, don't you? i hear they're delicious.

who doesnt love his schwetty balls?
personally, i like to roll em around in my mouth.

[Fievel]

Oh man... I can't believe I missed this episode.
Thank the gods forYouTube. I also can't believe that NBC posted that unedited. And while that appears to be a great last-minute Christmas gift suggestion, I'd be leary of the potential cardboard paper cut.

And besides the Color Me Badd look they have going on, Timberlake looks like Dominic Monaghan's twin at times there.

[buster00]

Lazy Sunday = Funny

Dick in a Box = Not very funny




Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy delicious

[Gheorghe Zamfir]

Anyone catch it last week? I think the writer's have been watching a lot of Robot Chicken lately.

[MasterWhedon]

So, you've seen "Dick in a Box", but have you seen it LIVE?!

[wonkabar]

Ebersol SNL ruled

[DennisMM]

Wrong. Ebersol knew nothing of comedy, relied on repeated characters far too much and made the show even blander than it had been towards the end of Michaels's original run. He also used so much film and other prerecorded material (often because of the heavy makeups involved in celebrity impersonations) that a typical show was only about 2/3 live in any given week. Passable? Yes. Teh bomb? Hardly.

[wonkabar]

Well, when I watch Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short etc. sketches from that era I still laugh. Yet I haven't laughed once at Michaels SNL in like... 15 years. And you know, the shows from the 70's don't really hold up that well either IMO

But hey, you say I'm "wrong" so I must be then....

[LaDracul]

Anyone knows when the new season starts? I think it's a football player hosting. I would like to see Christopher Eccleston host, as he did pop up on an episode of "League of Gentlemen"...he can pull it off.

You can't get more random than "Digby: The Biggest Dog in the World"

Hmm, I wonder who else will stop by this season...

[Adam Balm]

Wrong. Ebersol knew nothing of comedy, relied on repeated characters far too much and made the show even blander than it had been towards the end of Michaels's original run. He also used so much film and other prerecorded material (often because of the heavy makeups involved in celebrity impersonations) that a typical show was only about 2/3 live in any given week. Passable? Yes. Teh bomb? Hardly.

Whoah... It's just a TV show, eh?

[DennisMM]

Well, when I watch Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short etc. sketches from that era I still laugh. Yet I haven't laughed once at Michaels SNL in like... 15 years. And you know, the shows from the 70's don't really hold up that well either IMO

But hey, you say I'm "wrong" so I must be then....

Sorry.

For every brilliant Crystal moment there were two or three "Fernando's Hideaway" sketches. For every "James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub" or "Prose and Cons" there was another Gumby - which I found dull once the dada wore off during the first sketch. The show was funny but safe. It seemed to have lost the rogue element that set it apart from mainstream comedy.

I agree that apart from a year here and there the show has been less than scintillating these past 20 seasons. Perhaps it's the absence of heavy drugs. However, if you think the first five legendary seasons don't hold up, I must say that you are ... of a greatly different opinion than I. No one, not even Phil Hartman, could match the electricity that poured out of the TV when Dan Aykroyd had good material. But that's just my opinion, worth no more than anyone else's even if I act as if it is.

[Fievel]

I think Eddie Murphy would have killed on the show if Bea Arthur was running it. He was at the peak of his game.
I think Piscopo would have fizzled (earlier) without Murphy.

Ackroyd & Murray during their moustache phase = bad. Funny, but bad.

Phil Hartman was gold in everything he was in.

[Ribbons]

D**k in a Box wins Emmy!!11

"D**k in a Box," last December's music video performed by Justin Timberlake and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Andy Samberg, was honored at the Emmy's creative arts ceremony.

"I think it's safe to say that when we first set out to make this song, we were all thinking 'Emmy!'" Samberg joked in accepting the award Saturday for best original music and lyrics.

"The other thing we were thinking was, 'Hey! Here's this young up and comer, Justin Timberlake, who is clearly very talented and could clearly use a break,'" Samberg said. "So, Justin, if you're out there, congrats to you, kid.'"

The video, which beat out competition that included two songs from a musical edition of "Scrubs," became an Internet sensation. It garnered millions of views on YouTube and NBC's website, which posted an un-bleeped version.

[Evil Hobbit]

lol, that's great

[Leckomaniac]

Haven't watched SNL in years, but I decided to give this season opener a shot. Not too bad. Some moments got me laughing. Loved the cold open. I also loved the T-Mobile commercial because I had the same fucking thought when I saw that commercial! Weekend update was pretty good, too.

Most of it wasn't funny though. And none of it made me laugh the way I used to during the Ferrell era.

[King Psyz]

Fey looks so much like Palin that she must be Sarah Palin and whole thing has been a giant hoax viral stunt.