SNL - TINA FEY & ELLIE GOULDING FOR MOTHER'S DAY - MAY 7, 2011

This was (disappointingly) one of the poorer SNL's. While nothing was especially terrible, there was little that was especially funny. I liked the Fetal Quartet during the monolog, some of the jokes on Weekend Update, Fey as Palin - briefly (see the GOP debate below), and the Natural Childbirth sketch. (See below!)

Here are some real time comments (in reverse chronological order -- the first ones are at the bottom).

- Bland, boring, waste of time. One of the poorer shows. "Natural Childbirth" the only sketch with any zing.

- Mother Collection -- WTF???

- Slightly Damaged Prom Wear Barn - Not funny & made no sense.

- Pregnant in Heels on Bravo - The Celebrity in the ultrasound. -- The concept is a joke, but the execution... missing

- Sleepover - Stupid premise. Boring.

- Ads - B & N is promoting current Nook like mad, but a new one is to be announced very soon.

- Natural childbirth - At last... some zenned out energy!

- Weekend Update - Jokes funny; devil not so much; Gaddafi's friends quiet humor; Stefan I just don't get; At all;

- 12:09 and so far it's been especially bland.

- Klondike Bar Ad --- WTF???

- Digital short - OK. So what?

- Mermaid & Crabby - Very lame

- Google Chrome Ad is way sentimental and doesn't make any sense.

- GOP Debate - Fey/Palin is still the winner of any debate.

- Opening Monolog - a fetal quartet

- Opening Monolog - Tina Fey & Maya Rudolph with baby bumps bump babies

- Opening - Kind of lame.

Tina Fey host on SNL w/ Ellie Goulding. Now!

Here's the GOP Debate with Tina Fey briefly as Sarah Palin (or maybe that really is the true, the essential Sarah Palin?)

Here's the Childbirth Class:

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SNL WITH HELEN MIRREN AND THE FOO FIGHTERS

Tonight's SNL features Helen Mirren as host(ess) and The Foo Fighters.

We did a running commentary on TWITTER:

TWITTER.COM/QPORIT

Here are the notes from the show -- inverse order, last to first -- (Hey, this comes from the twitter feed: each tweet sits on top of those that came before!)


SNL WITH HELEN MIRREN AND THE FOO FIGHTERS:

- All in all a sub-par show. Mostly bad writing. Cheap and offensive jokes using Taliban, Pearl Harbor, etc. Little energy.

- Is the ad for EZ Seed a sketch? Sounds like it. (OMG I think it's real.)

- Bongo's Clown Room - Terrible sketch. Bad MC retiring from a bad strip joint. Concept has potential. Writing, execution sucks.

- Penile Pix Enhancements -- Here's my complete analysis of this sketch: "It's about penile pix enhancements."

- TV About Movie - Unpleasant; offensive. Ouch. Funny cheap jokes. But Ouch.

- Crunk-Ass Easter Festival - This kind of thing leaves me cold, but seems to be SNL Bread & Butter. I don't get it.

- Best of Both Worlds - with Hugh Jackman - Effete & Macho -- For once a sketch with a lame setup and a great payoff. (Usually the opposite.)

- Weekend Update - Some good jokes with flat space in between.

- Weekend Update - French parties: They start with cruditay and they end with nuditay!

- Weekend Update - Southwest Stewardess: "I felt that the top of the plane was maybe not there as it had been..."

- Weekend Update - Carville - I was left in the Mississippi in a basket and raised by eels. Can I say Hello to my mama: "Aaarggh"

- Weekend Update - Kate Middleton's 6 hairdressers will be cartoon bluebirds -

- Foo Fighters -- I think maybe SNL music sets must have to be really really really loud to sound good.

- Mary Shelley - Good concept (the real source of "Frankenstein") but totally lame writing and execution.

Note: Gwyneth Paltrow & Cee Low Green April 16 (repeat from Jan 16)

- Fox & Friends - Fact checking (everything) -- but sketch is mostly lame. Not yet a good night for political jokes.

- Helen Mirren's Titties -- What SNL was made for!

- Helen Mirren in her Dressing Room -- "Her titties exist in a place beyond space & time."

- Mort Feingold Accountant for the Stars -- Lame jokes, mildly offensive (that's not a compliment), badly written, badly executed.

- AD - GAME OF THRONES - Has STARZ (Spartacus) spawned a slew of cable period pix?

- Monologue - Helen Mirren -- she's a dame -- (By the way, did you see her in the orgy scene in Caligula?)

- Opening: Obama - The compromise keeping the gov't open leaves EVERYONE deeply unhappy ... so we can be proud of America! Overall, not very insightful or funny.

- Live tonight with Helen Mirren & The Foo Fighters NBC -


Here are some archived running commentaries on a few recent SNL's...

SNL WITH ELSTON JOHN - April 2, 2011
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/04/snl-with-elton-john.html

SNL - ZACH GALIFIANAKIS & JESSIE J - March 12, 2011
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/03/snl-zach-galifianakis-jessie-j.html

SNL WITH HOST: RUSSELL BRAND - Feb 12, 2011
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/02/snl-with-host-russell-brand.html

SNL - DANA CARVEY & LINKIN PARK - Feb 5, 2011
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/02/snl-dana-carvey-linkin-park.html

SNL 1/29/2011 JESSE EISENBERG
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/01/snl-1292011-jesse-eisenberg.html

And, of course...
SNL Who Do I Have To Screw To Get A Drink Around Here?
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2010/12/snl-who-do-i-have-to-screw-to-get-drink.html





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SNL WITH ELTON JOHN

It was a better show than usual.

The writing was especially good: there were no dead spots or terrible sketches; there were some sharp jokes; the skits all had endings. New writer? Tough director? or Producer? Or Elton John's inspiration? Maybe the Unicorn had something to do with it. (Note: Thurber knows: the Unicorn is a mythical beast.)

The two skits most likely to join the archives are the Unicorn in the Old West -- a sweet and well written (though not particularly funny) sketch with Elton John in a tough Western bar -- and Knights of the Realm vs a bloody dragon.

There was a lot of star power guesting tonight. Perhaps they wanted tickets to the Elton John show and had to work for their seats.

Here's some quick notes, last to first, of the sketches on SNL.

- Unicorn in the Old West - "I Killed A Man Today" -- Elton John rides in on a unicorn in the old west. -- "Sorry I was flirtin' with that guy right 'n front of ya."

Note: There were a Huge number of new-movie preview ads tonight. (Target demographic?).

- The Silver Screen - "Born Yesterday ... Is that part of the Bourne trilogy?" (Note: a fourth Bourne may yet be born.) ...Kissing Elton John however seemed to be the main point of the sketch.

- Elton John at the Royal Palace planning the wedding. "Berlesconi asked if +1 can be two minors."

- Weekend Update - Jake Jillinhall -- I can't spell it; and he said... nothing, really.

- Weekend Update for once had no dead spots.

- Weekend Update - "I did not bring the snake!" Nick Cage's next film: Sex with the Declaration of Independence

- Elton John did one of the best SNL song sets I've ever heard.

- Idol contestants (doing Elton John covers recently) just could not get the Elton John Magic. Hear it live here for the real thing.

- Tom Hanks on hand to introduce Elton John.

- Tom Hanks proposes Laser Cats in Space musical. Shades of Pinball Wizards... with Spiderman lurking (or flailing) in the background. See below for LASER CATS The Musical.

- Knights of the Realm vs a bloody dragon. Inspired silliness.

- Next week: Helen Mirren (Just saw her on DVD in fun RED) & Foo Fighters, LIVE.

- ESPN Classic Ladies Shot Put - "No foreplay today, Hey That's OK. KY Jelly" (KY Jelly product placement? or a parody? or both?) -- Bare hands = paws.

- Monologue - "I'm Elton John." "My son rejected the breast... like 'is two fathers." Good solid monologue. Elton's a pro!

- OPENING - "Finger Lakes - It was the middle one." - "Spring is here!" -- & bubbles.

- Live tonight with Elton John -- host & musical guest. (Note: Skit Names are approximate and Quotes are approximate too... take them with a grain of salt... or two.)


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SNL - ZACH GALIFIANAKIS & JESSIE J

Some instant reactions to SNL tonight (from the end to the beginning)...

How to count time: 1:57... 1:58... 1:59... 3:00... 3:01...

SUMUP -
Over already? It was a good show. Overall, better than usual, but no real standout classic. The best sketch was the search for Galifianakis' assistant. The kids were awesome.

Galifianakis was solid with jokes and acting. Just a few minor flubs on lines.

Kristen Wiig, as usual, gets a lot of work and a lot of laughs.

CLOSING GOODBYE -
I want the Mr. T Sketch!

THESE WERE REAL -
The pro & anti Cuomo commercials are both terrible.

TITANIC -
It sunk. Or stunk.

CORN SYRUP -
?

JESSIE J -
She's 2/3 leg?

SPRINT COMMERCIAL -
Was that a parody?

CELEBRITY SCOOP -
ooooooooppps.
Like the sleepy guy on Weekend Update, this is a patented SNL genre: the unfunny sketch that tries to be funny by watching some unfunny clueless character be unfunny.

THE DOG -
Dog porn can be dangerous. But luck will triumph.

WEEKEND UPDATE -
One of the best. Every joke hit the mark. (Not counting sleepy guy.) Hilarious Julie Taymor.

JESSIE J -
Did she just sing a commercial?

DIGITAL SHORT -
Kids were great.

SCARED STRAIGHT -
Scared me. Good one.

CATCH PHRASES -
Not funny... but it might become one of those inexplicable classics.

THE TALK -
O well... don't care... waste of time (See Celebrity Scoop above.)

OPENING MONOLOGUE -
Funny, original, gutsy... but Dukakis? He shuda been Prez. But not 2012... 2016! (Name drop note: Met Dukakis recently. He was really nice, smart, friendly. A great supporter of the arts in Boston!)

OPENING -
Not surprisingly, the jokes about Hollywood celebrities were the ones that worked best. (Comedians around the world thank CS for easy material.)

Note: 2:30 AM does not exist tonight... set clocks ahead!

SNL WITH HOST: RUSSELL BRAND

Here's some notes on tonight's SNL (In reverse chronological order):

Fine show. Russell Brand was a fine host. He bled for us!

"Are you gods or are you men?" "I killed George Washington." "That did not go as planned." British flag over the WHITE HOUSE.

Spiderman doesn't allow reviews yet. Unless they have a quote they can use in the ads.

SNL job opening -- Head writer in charge of making sure every skit has a funny ending.

A Spot of Tea (Pouring Tea Causes Earthquakes) Nonsensical. But funny.

Livin' Single... Good to the very end... and all the body parts in between.

Weekend update -- Sharp. Gets better. Peaks at Hosni Mubarek - Stays a great one 'til... alas... the ending.

The King's Taster aka The King's Speech. -- Great sketch.

British Film Preview hilarious. There's some future tough guys on the SNL cast.

Funny travel sketch goes blah at ending. Someone needs to be on-call to re-write the ending of certain sketches.

Host monologue -- Russell Brand is funny.

Spiderman Injury Attorney -- better than Conan parodies.

Pre-credits sketch starts promising ... peters out. (O'REILLY & OBAMA ... yes "O'Reilly" really is bigger in the title -- Actually it's the same font size, but O'REILLY looks bigger than OBAMA because of the shape of the letters.)

SNL - DANA CARVEY & LINKIN PARK

Dana Carvey did a decent job of hosting. He had brief visits from old friends Mike Myers and Jon Lovitz; and not a bad appearance by Justin Bieber (as Justin Bieber) on The Church Lady sketch (but punches were pulled... not even close to Skins). I liked the look of the B&W start of Linkin Park's 2nd set, and the music 'til they started singing -- I've never liked the SNL mix of vocals.

Here's some more notes on the highlights (and the echh-y sketches).

In reverse order, from end to beginning of the show:

=>Wrap-up - Not a bad show tonight, not a great one either.

=>Wrap-up - Dana Carvey has two great looking kids.

=>Embrace Me... by the fingerlings (??? - 4 fingers?) ... echh. Pointless. (YES. BAD AND ANNOYING IS BAD AND ANNOYING. So what. )

=>Promo for Celebrity Apprentice... that was a sketch, right?

=>Wurtz is a character with character. A winner, consoling losers.

=>Pageant -- Wiig's one word ... "Me!" was the funniest moment in the whole sketch. But the sketch has a real kick. Satire with an edge. Not funny, but edgy.

=>Live with Regis & Kelly ... Not so funny.

=>Bieber & SNL generating about 1000 tweets or more per half hour.

=>Weekend Update - Egypt Winners and Losers, James Franco & Disco Weather rocked on the mark.

=>THE ROOMMATE - Better than the real thing! NOT! Maybe scarier than the real thing in a different way?

=>Celebrity Crisis Center -- Great concept, limp writing, lousy impersonations, except for Eddie Murphy. That man's GOOD!

=>Church Lady. The voice is a little out of practice, but... Still funny, after all these years. Decades, actually.

=>Black Noise commercial. I'll buy it.

=>Monologue... ecch. I don't care for "I'm the best" monologues. This one was especially flat.

=>OMG! it's Wayne's World, back like were all back at 9 yrs old.


LINKS:

Here's the SNL web site -- It should keep up with the show. It seems kind of lazy, with a confusing design besides.
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/index.shtml


Here's the SNL Twitter site. It's also kind of lazy.
http://twitter.com/nbcsnl

SNL Who Do I Have To Screw To Get A Drink Around Here?

SNL tonight with Robert DeNiro was a rather dreary evening 'til the end. The Open got in a few good shots at WikiLeaks. DeNiro's Opening Monologue was funny. Most of the skits were lame. Through the night there were too many DeNiro-is-a-good-sport skits. The worst featured DeNiro and a look-exactly-alike for Robin Williams sitting there at an interview doing nothing while the interviewer & friends did mad-stupid musical-dancy numbers. (Couldn't think which SNL regular it was doing a dead-on Robin; I'd of thought it was Robin himself except he looked in such good shape and was so quiet... the real Robin would've out-mad-danced the mad dancers. DeNiro even kept up the act... at the end thanking "Robin Williams". Must've been Robin Williams doing an impression of a quiet, fit Robin Williams. )

(It's sometimes hard telling real celebrities from look-similars, especially when they don't say or do anything that evokes their aura... Just this afternoon I walked passed a woman who looked exactly like what Jennifer Aniston would look like if she were not a movie/TV star. Was it Jennifer in disguise as a real civilian? Or a real civilian with the Aniston look?)

But after almost an hour and a half of beginning to question why I was still watching, SNL came up with one of their memorable winners. Joined by (the real) Ben Stiller, in a bar with terrible service, DeNiro answered the question, "Who do I have to screw to get a drink around here?"

Here's the full sketch from SNL (which they politely call, "It's a Living"):

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live//video/It's A Living/1263416

UNSTOPPABLE SNL

SNL with Scarlett Johansson (11/14/2010) was above average. There were more than the usual number of funny and very funny pieces; fewer duds.

Scarlett was very good: she was game for anything, her timing was perfect, and she was always in character, and funny. Some of the new cast members got significant airtime and did well.

But one piece stood out, way out: The star of the show was the riotous version of UNSTOPPABLE with Scarlett. New cast member Jay Pharoah as Denzel (I think it was Jay -- it might almost have been Denzel) was terrific. It was one of the best written skits ever. And perfectly executed. It's a new, classic SNL skit; it joins the pantheon.


SOME LINKS

Scarlett Johansson on IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424060/

Scarlett Johansson on WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlett_Johansson

SNL
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

SNL - Jay Pharoah
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/bios/jay-pharoah.shtml

SNL

After a great start, with "Governor Palin" and "Senator Clinton" before the credits, this year's SNL premiere was disappointing. Phelps was game. But "Weekend Update" and some other skits were more unpleasant than they were funny. Two bits at the end were better: a sharp sequel to the "Five Hot Friends" commercial for T-Mobile, and an infomercial for the Michael Phelps diet.

(A rumor and promos that Obama would appear on the premiere proved unfounded; apparently Obama cancelled because of concerns it would be unseemly with all the news about devastation from hurricane Ike.)