Jump to content
TSM Forums
Sign in to follow this  
bob_barron

SNL Review

Recommended Posts

SNL Review: Al Sharpton/Pink

 

Wow- the response to my Amazon wish list was overwhelming. A grand total of 0 of you bought gifts. But Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa is coming up!

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry...d=34MYUJJLY6BWH

 

 

Next week due to computer problems and standby my review will probably be a bit late. Don’t worry- I’m still going to do one- it just may be later then usual.

 

Sports Report-

 

Leafs- Two weeks ago they were left for dead in the midst of a horrific road trip. Then they became the first team to beat Vancouver at GM Place. Since then they have not lost. They’ve defeated high caliber teams like the Canucks, Bruins and the Wings. I hope they are for real and this 8 game winning streak wasn’t just a good stretch of games.

 

Canucks- They’ve played alright but aren’t on the torrid pace that they were at the beginning of the year. Still they are not losing games so I should not complain. But not being able to get a win in two games against Calgary? Bah.

 

The 2003 Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils- Well the unbeaten streak had to end sometime. Even though tonight’s game against Ottawa was a big win- maybe they can put together another big streak.

 

New Jersey Nets- They give the ball to K-Mart and their losing streak ends. SHOCKING! Oh and I hate Alonzo Mourning. What a worthless piece of garbage he turned out to be. A comeback isn’t really that courageous when you retire after a few games. Oh and- GIVE BACK THE MONEY YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH. Sorry- I was against signing Alonzo from the start and I’m not happy I turned out to be right.

 

New Orleans- Well this is the biggest game of the year. Lose and the season is over. Win and they keep their slim playoff hopes alive. They seem to have Tampa Bay’s number and since they’re reeling- I really hope they can win tomorrow.

 

Mailbag!!!!!!!-

 

[email protected] writes-

 

Hey Bob, hows it going? I havent been digging this season, and often i fall asleep after update. Im just wondering if im the only one who thinks that. I love Kenan Thompson, he was great on All That (i watched it religiously when i was younger) I just wish they gave him something good to work with.

Angie

PS what happened to www.snltv.com???

 

 

This season has had its ups and downs. But honestly- did anyone expect Halle and Roddick to be good? No. Ripa was disappointing I will admit- but all the episodes have gone as expected.

 

Kenan’s misuse has saddened me and it seems like he has slipped into the role of ‘Other Black Guy’ that Tracy Morgan created in 1996. Basically: One black guy gets all the airtime, while the other plays Cop #2. The fact that Tracy got a sitcom and a Best Of is pretty amazing to those who remember him when he first started out. Somewhere- there’s a lesson to be learned there. Jerry Minor and Dean Edwards assumed the role when Tim left and they were in a combined seven skits. It looks like based on the first couple shows they are giving Finesse a big role while Kenan gets to punch Wanda Sykes. I hope they start giving Kenan more material- he’s a sketch comedy veteran and come on- Who DIDN’T love Good Burger?

 

PS: I believe you mean saturdaynightlive.tv. That site went the way of the dodo bird and Al Roker’s fat. I think Hugh was just too busy to continue running the site.

 

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

 

Simon and Garfunkel-

 

I had the awesome pleasure to see Simon and Garfunkel at Air Canada Centre on November 30th. I had seen Paul two times previous but never had the pleasure of seeing Art Garfunkel. Even though you could tell they still hate each other (Message to Paul: Doing banter on how you used to hate each other is not funny when you still hate each other). But who really cares- I came to see them play their hits and they obliged. I won’t bore with the full set list (They have it up at www.simonandgarfunkel.com) but hearing them play ‘Cecilia, ‘Boxer’, ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ and ‘Mrs. Robinson’ was a real treat. The Everly Brothers played 3 songs and were also quite good. I hope they do a second tour or go back into the studio because I would love to hear some more great work from the greatest band of all time.

 

A Minute with Stan Hooper-

 

A Minute with Stan Hooper:

I’m thankful the show hasn’t been cancelled yet

 

A Minute with Stan Hooper was hilarious this past Wednesday. Even though the plot was basically the same as episode 3 (Stan tries to blend in and something bad happens) it’s formula and the formula worked. The stuff with them hunting was great and Fred Willard truly shined in this one.

I like that they kept Molly and Chelsea in their own subplot so their suck wouldn’t bring down the other good characters like Stan and Fred. It was nothing special but wasn’t unwatchable anything so I didn’t mind.

Why is the butler a complete and utter dick? I’m trying to like the guy but they just make him so unlikeable that I have trouble defending him.

All in all the show was awesome and better then last weeks effort. From Stan’s hunting outfit, to the car ride to Fred shooting the duck- the show was hilarious throughout.

 

And now the episode review….

 

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Jimmy Fallon

Thoughts- Good to see Jimmy getting a chance to do some impressions which I always thought were his Will forte. Not a lot of people know how Jeff Zucker acts so I’m glad Jimmy was able to get the crowd into it just by being funny. I thought a lot of the mock TV show stuff really worked and who didn’t mark for the Carol Mosely Braun reference. I also enjoyed the enthusiasm Jimmy showed for saying ‘LFNYISN’- that’s always a very nice thing to see. ***1/2

 

Monologue

Cast- Al Sharpton, Tracy Morgan

Thoughts- I thought for sure when Al mentioned past mistakes we were going to get Tawana Brawley jokes and I would admire Al Sharpton for being willing to make fun of his past. But it turned out to be Tracy Morgan making his long awaited and anticipated return after being away for 6 long shows. Well Kattan was back after 3- at least Will waited until February. While this skit wasn’t very funny I loved seeing Al Sharpton getting funky like a monkey and dancing to some James Brown. Could Howard Dean do that? Well if he thought all the cool kids were doing it he would try but that’s neither here nor there. Okay monologue helped by the dancing Al. **1/2

 

Mom Jeans

Cast- Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Chris Parnell

Thoughts- Haven't seen Tina in a commercial in a long time. I assume this joke was aimed at the female demographic but I still was laughing along with the rest of the women in the audience. Good commercial parody here. ***1/2

 

Jacko on a Rollercoaster

Cast- Sharpton, Parnell, Poehler, Dratch, Horatio Sanz

Thoughts- I really miss Dean Edwards. Not because SNL has had a decrease in skits with cops in the background- but his Michael Jackson was just fantastic. I love Amy Poehler but her Michael Jackson sucks and isn’t it very funny. They brought back Parnell and since Jacko will be in the news for a long time- bring back Dean! This skit just never got off the ground and just died. Al Sharpton didn’t even try to be like Johnnie Cochran. I did laugh at the part about Horatio being a stranger on the roller coaster. They gave Amy a shot at Jackson in the Garner episode and it died then- time to put this one out to pasture. ½*

 

Brian Fellows’ Safari Planet

Cast- Morgan, Sharpton, Parnell, Fey

Thoughts- What is with the obsession of cast members coming back and deciding to perform their most awful recurring characters? Will did it with the Lovers and Tracy is doing it with Brian Fellows. I don’t condone them coming back and hogging airtime but if Tracy is gonna do it- couldn’t he grace us with some Astronaut Jones? At least that was actually funny. God bless Tina Fey. She turned what was looking to be the usual sucktacular Brian Fellows into something quite okay. I especially loved the stuff about her gender and her interplay with the Fellows Brothers. The clubbing stuff was cute and Al’s ‘I like the ladies’ line grew on me. So while this wasn’t a great or even good Brian Fellows- it was better then the usual junk we get- so bully I guess. **1/4

 

Three Wise Men

Cast- Morgan, Sharpton, Thompson, Fallon

Thoughts- I believe this is the third time where Kenan has been the subject of racial humour in some way, shape, or form. Amanda Bynes never made fun of him for being black. This skit had a ton of potential and seemed to be living up to it. Then in the middle it just kind of died off and the laughs just stopped coming which is a shame since I was really hoping this skit would’ve been great. Kenan’s performance here was very funny and I really hope he gets more airtime next week. I just wish the skit had kept its momentum that it started out with cause I hate giving it only ***. ***

 

Pink

Thoughts- Despite my numerous complaints and my call to Senator John Edwards to make it a campaign promise- SNL still has not changed the train sign. It’s driving me crazy. This was an alright song helped out by Pink pulling an Avril by wearing her pants very low. Now I’m always a sucker for gratuitous T&A so I have to up the star rating just a bit. **1/2

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Paris Hilton, Fallon, Fey

Thoughts- After being the first person to ever make fun of her (and having no one care) Tina must’ve felt quite vindicated seeing Paris Hilton get big applause when she showed up at the Update desk. David Letterman must be PISSED after Paris bailed on his show only to show up on Saturday Night Live. Also- if Paris Hilton is so rich- why is she so disgusting to look at? You would think with mummy and daddy’s money she could get a lot of work done and not look like a walking piece of disgust. The jokes were a bit below what they had usually been but there was still a lot of funny stuff to be had. I enjoyed the knocks at Bush, the bit where Tina called Jimmy an idiot and when there they yelled at the places that wouldn’t carry SNL. This was the usual good stuff but I was hoping for a bit more. The Paris-Jimmy was really funny though despite Paris’ awkward delivery. Maybe Pink is a Weekend Update curse. ***1/2

 

Racism and Sexism

Cast- Morgan, Sharpton, Fallon, Sanz, Rudolph, Will Forte, Finesse Mitchell, Thompson

Thoughts- This skit was a lot of fun to watch. When I saw Maya I got nervous but then I looked at the clock and realized it wasn’t 12:30. The skit built to its climactic punchline at the end which was very funny. And I loved Will Forte’s cameo at the end. I’m glad Sharpton was kind of able to poke fun at his image for one skit. His mockery of Maya was quite funny as well. ***3/4

 

Sharpton’s Fish

Cast- Sharpton, Poehler, Rudolph, Forte, Thompson

Thoughts- This reminded me of the Derek Jeter show where Jeter advertised his taco restaurant. Al Sharpton was quite good at playing himself- much better then Andy Roddick although that is not saying much. Amy Poehler was quite good here- I thought she was really funny singing the fish song. This was absurd, had a funny song and Al Sharpton made me laugh- I enjoyed this quite a bit. ***1/2

 

Fun with the Dems

Cast- Fallon, Parnell, Richards, Forte, Seth Meyers, Darrell Hammond

Thoughts- I hope John Kerry becomes president just because Seth’s impression of him was awesome. I’m disappointed that Franken didn’t give Seth more to work with. I’m going to assume that this was the skit that Al Franken wrote since well duh. I wonder what Franken has against John Edwards since based on the debates he’s become my favourite. Parnell did his usual excellent Joe Lieberman while Hammond did an okay Dick Gephardt. I wasn’t really feeling Richards’ Howard Dean though. Forte’s Edwards got a bit old towards the end. John Kerry has a lot to work with and a lot to mock so I was really disappointed they didn’t give Seth the ball and let him run with it- especially since this was his only skit. ***1/2

 

Pink

Thoughts- I liked this song better then the first one- it was a fun song to listen to and Pink looked like she was having a good time out there and I enjoy her music a lot. Hope to see her back again. ***

 

LaToya Jackson

Cast- Sharpton, Rudolph, Thompson, Fred Armisen

Thoughts- The after 12:30 rule applies here as usual in the case of Maya Rudolph. Al and Fred were nothing special. Kenan’s Chaka Kahn was quite funny and he saved the skit from the bowels of suckdom. So please- Give Kenan more airtime! The guy did a movie with Abe Vigoda AND Sinbad. This was nothing special and only partially saved by Kenan. *1/4

 

Vasquez

Cast- Sharpton, Sanz, Rudolph, Armisen

Thoughts- Vasquez is nothing without Gabe Fisher damnit! This was Sharpton’s third crack at playing himself and once again he was better then Andy Roddick. Some of Vasquez’s lines were funny but the skit often dragged. The ending really sucked and Fred’s role was definitely not needed and really ended the skit on a very sour note. *1/2

 

Cryogenics

Cast- Chris Parnell, Poehler, Rudolph, Seth Meyers, Jeff Richards

Thoughts- It took them way too long to get the joke of the skit. Amy's lactose intolerant line was pretty funny and there were a couple chuckles to be had but for the most part the humour fell flat. And it took them too long to make the Ted Williams joke. *3/4

 

Johnny Cash

Cast- Hammond

Thoughts- This skit just died. It was funny to watch in a sick sense just because Darrell was getting nothing from the crowd. It was kind of sad but quite funny. If you ever want to see a skit die before your very eyes- watch the rerun. This is the skit to see. Darrell continues his season slump with this horrible skit. They cut Hardball and put…this? Really makes you think. DUD

 

The Bottom Line- Avg. skit was **.3 making this is a thumbs in the middle show. The show was very hit and miss and built up some momentum after WU. But the last 4 skits just killed the show and really brought down which is a shame. Al Sharpton was pretty good even though he didn’t mock himself as much as he should’ve. The writers worked hard to make sure he had good material to work with- so I commend everyone not making sure he didn’t pull a Roddick. It was a good show until it hit 12:30- then it just died and couldn’t recover.

 

Thumbs in the Middle

Edited by bob_barron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest JMA

I really think the Dem sketch should've gone a bit longer. Kucinich and Braun really needed to show up. Wackiness ensues.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree with JMA- The Dems sketch could've been bit a fleshed out even though I was already annoyed by Forte's Edwards.

 

And Tracy as Braun would've been hilarious

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't catch all of the show...so I'll only throw out a couple of opinions.

 

Weekend Update...with the exception of the Paris bit it was pretty good. Maybe shorter is better for WU. I liked the bit about the places that wouldn't carry the show

 

Racism and Sexism...it was "ehh." Maya proves again that she should never try to do voices, and Al was funny enough.

 

Sharpton’s Fish...didn't do it for me. The singing was annoying and all Amy did was prove that she could look creepy. After he made his "I don't like this stuff." comment once it was alright, but it's not as funny every time after that.

 

Fun with the Dems...ths could have been so much better. It was alright but didn't give me any good laughs.

 

LaToya Jackson...um....very bad

 

Vasquez...couple good lines, but nothing real funny. The part at the end was so bad they should have cut it. Aren't comedy writers suppose to know when something's that unfunny?

 

Cryogenics...Damn...this and Mom Jeans are both old bits...can't these lazy kids think up something new.

 

Johnny Cash...impression was good...jokes were bad.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

man some of you have such low standards, that show was HORRIBLE!

 

I havent watched any new snl in a few years, and now that I have, I don't think I'm going to try to make it a habit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't watched SNL, let alone a complete one in years. I didn't think it was that bad and I actually enjoyed it. However, the skits after the second Pink performance were not that good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought the show was decent. Sharpton wasn't as good as the other recent political figure guests, but he was still okay and I LOVED the Rascism and Sexism skit. Kenan and Finesse were awesome in it and the end, with Al cutting Maya off with "No girls allowed!" was the usual awesome finish I expect when they do skits that teach you a lesson. It was worth staying up for at least.

 

And I agree; Kenan's Chaka Khan TOTALLY saved that LaToya skit. When they cut back to him breathing in the paper bag I cracked up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest ToddRoyal

Normally this wouldn't be a terribly great show, but after the last few sucktastic episodes, I actually liked this one a lot more than I probably should have. The opening, Sexism & Racism and the Wisemen skit were all pretty good. Weekend Update without Horatio continues to be eons better than WU with Horatio.

 

Also, I'm surprised the episode was blacked out in Southern Maine, while we got it up in Northern Maine. Odd.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay show, not up there with the McCain and Gore shows.

 

I thought the funniest skit was Three Wise Men.

 

Jeff Zucker, Update, and the dems were funny. Mom Jeans was really funny (though it was a repeat from last May, Bob usiually mentions that kind of stuff).

 

Yeah, I also figure Dems had to be the skit written by Al Franken.

 

Bob, on the Gore show, do you know which skit Gore's daughter wrote?

 

Everything else was passable, except LaToya and Vasquez (though Keenan's Chaka Khan was good).

 

Bob said Canada dosn't get the little 5 second bit where they come back during commercial and show what's going on in the studio, so I know he didn't see this. But did any else notice during the commercial after the Michael Jackson skit that they showed Johnnie Cochran (or a guy that looked a hell of a lot like him) in the audience watching the show.

 

Those bits were better when you could hear the stage manager say what skit was next and call the cast.

 

 

BTW, during update they did a bit making fun of all the cities not running the show last night. I think they listed all of Iowa, Boston, Portland ME, Sacramento, Memphis, Nashville, Oaklahoma City, and a town in Minnesota I can't remember. There were probably more that I'm missing. I heard parts of Iowa were getting infomercials instead of a rerun.

 

Here in Houston, there was an election for mayor and the local station was planning on pushing SNL back 30 minutes. But none of the races were close so it was only 10 min, but they had an annoying results ticker pop up several time during the show. I hate when they do that.

Edited by MDH257

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This equal time law stuff is interesting because I don't remember the same thing happening when Steve Forbes hosting SNL.

 

Was the Best of Steve Martin any good?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Weekend Update...with the exception of the Paris bit it was pretty good. Maybe shorter is better for WU. I liked the bit about the places that wouldn't carry the show

 

I would've liked to have seen a cast member commentary- it could've helped pad it up to 4. I also wish Tina would stop giggling after every one of Jimmy's jokes.

 

 

Racism and Sexism...it was "ehh." Maya proves again that she should never try to do voices, and Al was funny enough.

 

There's something about Al Sharpton's delivery and voice that makes a lot of things he says really funny. And Forte and the spear thing in the end- good stuff.

 

Sharpton’s Fish...didn't do it for me. The singing was annoying and all Amy did was prove that she could look creepy. After he made his "I don't like this stuff." comment once it was alright, but it's not as funny every time after that.

 

I forgot to mention this also reminded me of Stevie Nicks' Mexican Restaurant they did when Lucy Lawless hosted. The whole concept and the way did it just had me laughing.

 

Fun with the Dems...ths could have been so much better. It was alright but didn't give me any good laughs.

 

If Jim Downey had wrote it it probably would've been a lot more vicious and a lot more funny. But I thought Franken did the best he could do.

 

Vasquez...couple good lines, but nothing real funny. The part at the end was so bad they should have cut it. Aren't comedy writers suppose to know when something's that unfunny?

 

How do you explain Mad TV?

 

Cryogenics...Damn...this and Mom Jeans are both old bits...can't these lazy kids think up something new.

 

It's part laziness and I think it's that the commercials just help fill some time to pad out the show.

 

Johnny Cash...impression was good...jokes were bad.

 

Watching Darrell die out there was funnier then almost anything on the show

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
man some of you have such low standards, that show was HORRIBLE!

 

I havent watched any new snl in a few years, and now that I have, I don't think I'm going to try to make it a habit.

The general consensu seems to be it was decent-good until 12:30 when it just nosedived. They cut Hardball which sucks- as I hope they had a good reason to.

 

They also axed a Wake up Wakefield with Paris Hilton which could be a good thing since Paris can't act.

 

Another thing I liked about the sushi skit-

 

They called the sushi place 'Casa de Sushi'- that just cracked me up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It was pretty clear the the Cash sketch was more of a tribute, thus the huge applause it got at the end.

 

They're told to applaud after every skit so I don't take too much stock in that. I remember when Horatio did a tribute to Mr. Rogers- and it was nothing like that. Poor Darrell.

 

However, the skits after the second Pink performance were not that good.

 

Usually they wait till 12:45 to start nosediving so it usually doesn't my avg. skit rating. It was just so frustrating.

 

I thought the show was decent. Sharpton wasn't as good as the other recent political figure guests, but he was still okay and I LOVED the Rascism and Sexism skit. Kenan and Finesse were awesome in it and the end, with Al cutting Maya off with "No girls allowed!" was the usual awesome finish I expect when they do skits that teach you a lesson. It was worth staying up for at least.

 

It seemed like he was a bit nervous while Al Gore and McCain went out there to have fun. I love when they break character and do a lesson at the end because you said it usually is very funny. (See Spacey episode) Was Maya Rudolph supposed to be black in that skit? Or white?

 

And I agree; Kenan's Chaka Khan TOTALLY saved that LaToya skit. When they cut back to him breathing in the paper bag I cracked up.

 

I hope he impressed Lorne tonight and we'll see more Kenan.

 

Also, I'm surprised the episode was blacked out in Southern Maine, while we got it up in Northern Maine. Odd.

 

Maybe the Southern Maine affiliates are based out of Massachusetts

And I agree; Kenan's Chaka Khan TOTALLY saved that LaToya skit. When they cut back to him breathing in the paper bag I cracked up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought the funniest skit was Three Wise Men.

 

Jeff Zucker, Update, and the dems were funny. Mom Jeans was really funny (though it was a repeat from last May, Bob usiually mentions that kind of stuff).

 

I just copy and paste what I wrote in my previous review and if they do it again I usually will take something off.

 

Bob, on the Gore show, do you know which skit Gore's daughter wrote?

 

I don't know- I know she wrote for Futurama but I don't know what style of humour she has.

 

 

Bob said Canada dosn't get the little 5 second bit where they come back during commercial and show what's going on in the studio, so I know he didn't see this. But did any else notice during the commercial after the Michael Jackson skit that they showed Johnnie Cochran (or a guy that looked a hell of a lot like him) in the audience watching the show.

 

Johnnie Cochran WAS in the audience last night. So yes- it was him that you saw.

 

Those bits were better when you could hear the stage manager say what skit was next and call the cast.

 

That's one disadvantage of living in Canada- of course you also don't have to worry about the dreaded equal time laws.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I don't know- I know she wrote for Futurama but I don't know what style of humour she has.

I asked because back in September when SNL was nominted for the Emmy for Best Writing, they submitted the Al Gore episode. So on Emmy night when all of the writer's names were read of as nominees, after all of the names we're familiar with, the last two names read off were Al Franken and Kristin Gore.

 

Seeing Franken's credit made me think of it.

 

I think on the Alec Baldwin show there was a credit for Tom Davis.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well Al obviously wrote Stuart Smalley and probably helped tweak some of the political humour.

 

Maybe Kristin wrote the cold opening- I really don't know

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
And I agree; Kenan's Chaka Khan TOTALLY saved that LaToya skit. When they cut back to him breathing in the paper bag I cracked up.

 

Except that it didn't "save" the bit...it was just as bad with or without...it only made it go on longer.

 

They could have worked the Joe Jackson child abuse angle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it may have gotten cut cause it was subpar.

 

One time I saw a Hardball that was alright but they cut it- I think because maybe they got high standards for them.

 

Amy was set to play Hillary Clinton btw

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest JMA
I think it may have gotten cut cause it was subpar.

 

One time I saw a Hardball that was alright but they cut it- I think because maybe they got high standards for them.

 

Amy was set to play Hillary Clinton btw

Hm. Amy as Hillary. That would've been interesting...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×