SNL Review

[Guest bob_barron]

SNL Review: Al Gore/ Phish

 

Sports Report-

Devils- They lost tonight to Ottawa and are still running neck and neck with the Flyers for first place in the East and I think the loss of John LeClair is going to help the Devils take control of first place.

 

Leafs- See this is the Toronto team that I expected to see when I came here. A good team playing good hockey with Eddie Belfour making me profusely apologise for ever doubting his abilities to kick major ass as a goalie.

 

Canucks: Wesley Jamison: Remember last week when God stepped down and made me God. Well yea- do to Markus Naslund scoring FOUR GOALS in one game and now making 1/5th of the way to matching our original best winning streak of ten- he is now God. Thank you.

 

Nets: A lot of people said- Oh the Nets are lucky cause they had an injury free season and all that crap. Well Dikembe Mutombo and Kerry Kittles are now hurt and look who is number one in the Atlantic Division- yea- N-E-T-S. NETS! NETS! NETS!

 

Saints: I was happy with their win over the Ravens but it looks like they won’t be winning the division this year. On the totally awesome scale Ricky Williams had a kick ass year and now the Saints will have TWO first round draft picks. Woo-hoo!

 

I was thinking of doing one of those Amazon wish list things to see if any of you guys were gullible enough to get me something. But then Santa Clause, Hannukah Harry or Kwanza Dean decided to give me two of the most beautiful present of all-

 

Mike Richter out for the season because of a concussion.

 

Mailbag!!!

 

Hugh Delony writes-

 

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks for another great review (and for mentioning me in it! :-P )

 

It has been added and will be uploaded shortly.

 

Hugh

 

I'll once again plug saturdaynightlive.tv. It's a pretty cool site even though I don’t understand how he got .tv and everyone else is settled with the lame-ass .com. Of course titling it .tv makes no sense since well if you're on the internet, you're not on tv so yea- whasupwitdat?

 

Jessica Almeda writes-

 

 

 

Hello Bob!

 

I'm an amatuer reviewer but i skim through yours often. This is the

first

time I've sent you an email and it's because of this one line, "As much

as I

enjoy Seth, the fact that he is a Boston Bruins fan made me enjoy

seeing him

get slapped around like a little bitch and had me enjoying this skit a

lot."

 

What's wrong with the Bruins?! I just happen to be from Boston and am

an

avid fan of any Boston related teams ( it's an obligation;) ). I don't

follow hockey as much as you clearly do but come on, so far as I've

seen

they've had a decent season! At least give them that.

 

Besides that minor comment, great review.

 

~Jessica Almeida

 

I don’t really hate the Bruins- it's just that the Leafs were fighting them for first place last year so naturally they became my enemies do to them winning first place. Being a fan of Boston related teams, I gotta ask- What's it like living a life of disappointment, failure and the fact that Ray Borque didn’t win shit until he LEFT Boston. The Bruins have had a decent season but of course since Bobby Orr is long gone- they're once again going to choke like every other Boston team not named the Celtics.

 

Wanna be in the mailbag??? Email me anything at [email protected]

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Al Gore, Tipper Gore, Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan, Maya Rudolph

Thoughts- Message to SNL: Al Gore made out with his wife on national TV in 2000. It is almost 2003. Just thought I'd point that out. I apologise if I don’t find Al Gore making out with his wife hilarious because well I don’t. The interplay between Jimmy and Lorne was pretty funny actually and saved this skit from complete suckdom. *1/2

 

Monologue

Cast- Gore, Kattan, Chris Parnell, Meyers

Thoughts- This is SNL's second spoof of the Bachelor which is once again- a show I don't watch so the joke was really lost on me as was Al Gore praising Joe Lieberman. Seth, per his usual awesomeness, was pretty awesome in this skit and kept my interest in it. **

 

Hardball

Cast- Gore, Darrell Hammond, Amy Poehler, Morgan

Thoughts- Yay! The one reason that Darrell Hammond has not been completely declared worthless is this skit. While not up to par of the Hardball from the McCain show, this was still some really good stuff as I enjoyed Tracy Morgan's Al Sharpton. A couple weeks ago I goofed and accidentally mentioning being a fan of Tracy's impression when in fact it was his first time doing it and I must've mixed him up with Jerry Minor.

 

Jerry Minor: It's cool man- I got one question for you. How do I get fired after only a year when I had a recurring character when Dean Edwards is entering year two? I mean c'mon- Would you rather see Rasheed Jenkins or guy in the background. I thought so.

 

Poor poor Jerry- Although I'm sure the Salvation Army has some cheap jackets for you or something. Anywho- I don’t recall there ever being a bad Hardball and this Hardball wasn't. ***1/2

 

Fiesta Politica

Cast: Gore, Horatio Sanz, Rudolph, Fred Armisen

Thoughts: If I wanted to watch stuff like this- I'd put on Telemundo. DUD

 

Gore on West Wing

Cast- Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, John Spencer, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, Gore

Thoughts- I'd hate to have to cash in my status as a registered Republican but it must be said: Al Gore was funny. There were two things I'd never thought I'd ever type- that and the words Dean Edwards next to cast. This was a very funny skit and all the West Wing cast members and Gore played off each other very well and Gore's Oval Office antics, I'll say it again, we're very very funny. ***3/4

 

Jarrett's Room

Cast- Gore, the members of the band Phish, Fallon, Sanz, Meyers

Thoughts- Seth Meyers: Hi- I'm Seth Meyers and in case you haven't noticed I'm like completely owning this skit and basically making Jimmy and Horatio my bitches with my crazy antics in the background.

 

This was the usual stupid and boring Jarrett's Room as I'm starting to give up hope of ever seeing Jeff Jarrett appear and lay out Jarrett with a guitar. The Chuck Norris jokes were kinda funny, everything else was pretty bad but Seth Meyers completely stole the show by being hilarious in the background at the end. **

 

Phish

Thoughts- Apparently these guys are pretty popular for God knows what reason. I mean they're good and all but I just don’t see it. This was a pretty good song and was a welcome change to Norah Jones who thought she was playing to a small quaint club or something. This was pretty good and kept my interest. ***

 

Weekend Update-

Cast- Tina Fey, Poehler, Fallon, Dratch

Thoughts- Black Hole must've taken my advice because this time she ditched Suck and replaced him with Amy Poehler. In the industry we call that a smart move. The crowd wasn't digging the Trent Lott jokes for some reason which disappointed me because I thought they were pretty funny. Jimmy as usual added nothing to Update except for his goofy hair. A couple clunkers but I enjoyed Amy here and it was much welcome change from the suckery that was Black Hole of Suck. ***1/2

 

Stuart Smalley

Cast- Al Franken, Gore, Gore

Thoughts- Wow- a democrat hosts and Al 'Asshole' Franken just happens to be in the neighborhood. Funny thing about Mr. Franken- someone wrote a book in response to Rush Limbaugh…. and he got all pissy- so I guess it only works one way eh Al? I will concede though that the two books I've read were extremely funny so even though he is a liberal moron- I can find Al humorous. This skit was all right- Tipper added nothing except for her abnormally fat ass taking up the chair but Al F. and Al G. both helped and I marked out for hearing Phil Hartman's voice. Not as good as previous Stuart Smalleys but reeked of solidarity. **1/2

 

Willy Wonka

Cast- Gore, Poehler, Kattan, Will Forte, Richards, Armisen

Thoughts- While I enjoyed Amy's Charlie Bucket impersonation- last I checked Charlie didn’t have breasts. I enjoyed this little twist to Roald Dahl's classic. It was weird seeing regular cast members and featured players play the Oompa Loompas but I guess Will's gotta do something. This was very good with Richards making me laugh for the first time in a long time with his Wonka impression. ***1/2

 

TV Funhouse

Thoughts- What happened Smigel? I was expecting to be offended or something but alas- except for the Broka-maniacs I don’t think he pissed off anyone tonight. I've never actually seen the Charlie Brown Christmas movie but I found this to be alright but a bit below Smigel's usual standards. **1/2

 

Phish

Thoughts- Again- good solid stuff that kept me interested. I still don’t understand how these dorks are so insanely popular. ***

 

Dean the Bartender

Cast- Morgan, Rudolph, Dean Edwards

Thoughts-

Lorne: Dean- for Kwanza- I'm letting you be in the show.

Dean: Aww man that's off 'da hook- do I get to do Michael Jackson??

Lorne: Well no- you know those skits at the end of the show where Tracy and Maya act all weird as the crowd sits in stunned silence wondering what the hell they're watching? Dean: Ummm yea.

Lorne: You'll be in that skit.

 

DUD

 

Xmas Song

Cast- Fallon, Morgan, Kattan, Sanz

Thoughts- I always give these skits ***1/2 and this will be no different. ***1/2

 

Bottom Line- Avg. skit was about **.6 which makes this show a shockingly, a suprisingly and well I hate to say it- I liked the show. Gore added nothing but after a bumpy start the show found its form and ended up being pretty damn good although not as good as McCain but I'll never complain about a good show.

 

Thumbs Up

[Guest Slapnuts00]

This was a great show, they made brilliant use of Gore!

 

I don't feel like going through them all but I thought everything except the bar sketch and the Christmas song were great!

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Sorry Bob, I disagree with the "good" rating. This was one of the worst SNL's I've ever seen. I actually laughed twice, and that's it:

 

1. The "I can't believe I made out with him" during the Bachelor/Vice-President skit

 

2. Tracy Morgan's Al Sharpton bits

 

Nothing else was funny. Period. Thank god I was doing other things while this steaming heap o' crap was on.

 

SNL needs new writers, and bad.

[Guest The Electrifyer]

This week's SNL sucked bad. Some funny chuckles, but nothing was funny, Weekend Update could barely get a laugh out of me. The only thing that I did like, though, was the Morgan, Sanz, Fallon and Kattan's coming back and singing again. That was a mark-out moment for me, I love those guys.

[Guest MDH257]

The show was funny. Not as funny as McCain, but a little better than Nia Vardalos. Those have been the only shows this year that I thought were really good.

 

Before the show I would have bet money on Darrell Hammond doing his Gore or Clinton impression this week.

 

Hey Bob, why is there no middle ground. Every cast member either always makes you laugh or belongs to the Suck Hall of Fame.

[Guest bob_barron]

Edwin-

I don't think new writers is the problem- My problem is people like Darrell, CK and Tracy from the old cast still hanging around when their skit time could be used for the new guys.

 

Slapnuts-

I wouldn't go that far with the praise but why dont you like the XMas song.

 

MDH-

I'll break it down.

 

SNLers I love- Tina, Amy, Seth

Everyone else is in the middle

SNLers I hate- Darrell, CK, Dratch, Richards. Maya

 

I'm just more vocal about the cast members I love and hate.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

The Charlie Brown christmas skit OWNED.

 

Absolutely AWESOME.

[Guest Dmann2000]

The Wonka skit ruled because....

 

1)I'm a huge Wonka mark

 

2) I'm a huge Gene Wilder mark and Richards Wilder is like dead on, sometimes the voice sounds so alike it's scary

 

3)Gore played it up great, really getting into it

 

4) Continuity, having Poehler and Richards play the same roles as they did for the Barrymore Wonka skit last year

 

"I'm pretty sure a fat kid drowned in that river"

[Guest GeneMean]

The Wonka skit was excellent. Gore seemed to really be into that one. Although I do feel for Forte. Last week he gets rodgered by a bear and this week he's an OompaLoompa.

 

I got a kick out of Charlie Brown, mainly because of them turning Marcy and Peppermint Patty into the future lesbians we all know they are destined to be.

 

I really thought the West Wing bit was funny on so many different levels.

 

As for Phish, not a bad live act. I guess it's the drugs that have made them so wildly popular.

[Guest bob_barron]

Smigel's cartoons are usually well more ballsier and this wasn't so I was a bit dissapointed.

 

I feel bad for Forte cause they cut Tim Calhoun.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Is Fallon really leaving the show? He made a kind of passing comment how he wasn't coming back next year and I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not.

[Guest bob_barron]

It was a joke. His contract runs till 2004

[Guest Bosstones Fan]

It was a joke. His contract runs till 2004

Damn it. 2004 can't come soon enough then.

[Guest bob_barron]

I hear ya' Bosstone Fan. Jimmy is a really funny guy in person but it doesn't translate to the show at all.

 

The guy has gone steadily downhall throught his SNL career

[Guest MDH257]

I thought I read in Entertainment Weekly (the issue that Tina and Jimmy were on the cover) that Jimmy's contract is up after this year (May 2003) and Tina's is up after next year(May 2004).

[Guest bob_barron]

Someone I know asked Jimmy last night and he said 2004 and also said he wouldn't want to leave anyway

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I wouldn't really call Phish a popular act, since, like the Grateful Dead, they're a cult jam band whose popularity is based entirely on their phenomenal live concerts (which, obviously, a restrained TV performance will come nowhere near ever duplicating). And it can't be the drugs because there are organized groups of sober Phish fans who love 'em all the same.

[Guest starvenger]

MDH-

I'll break it down.

 

SNLers I love- Tina, Amy, Seth

Everyone else is in the middle

SNLers I hate- Darrell, CK, Dratch, Richards. Maya

I'm confused about you hating Darrell - do you just dislike his stuff or do you think that he's played out his welcome?

 

Fallon/Fey have, as they say, "jumped the shark" as WU anchors. Not really sure when it happened though.

[Guest bob_barron]

It's more of a played out his welcome thing. He still can be very funny but him going on Howard Stern and bitching about his role on the show really pissed me off.

[Guest The Electrifyer]

I could never hate Darrel. During political skits involving Clinton days, that guy was my favourite cast member.Plus his Sean Connery impressions in Celebrity Jeopardy were hilarious. The time he as Al Gore debated with George Bush and talking about a "lock box" was forever etched in a few of my SNL watching friends and my head(BTW- It was kinda funny how Al Gore talked about a lock box in his The Bachelor skit). There's just too many funny memories of Darrel, I can't believe anybody can hate the guy.

[Guest bob_barron]

The guy went on Howard and just whined and whined AND whined about just doing impressions.

 

So in his first skit not doing an impression he proceeded to pull a Jimmy Fallon and ruin the whole skit.

 

I LOVE Darrell's Clinton but always thought his Gore was overrated. It seemed like he tried to get the impression down rather then make it funny.

 

The guy is also very weird in person and I think has a lot of emotional problems- it's weird how he keeps coming back

[Guest MDH257]

So in his first skit not doing an impression he proceeded to pull a Jimmy Fallon and ruin the whole skit.

Which sketch are you talking about?

[Guest bob_barron]

Drew Barrymore show- some skit where they showed the movie 'King Kong'. He just started laughing for no reason and it killed the skit dead