SNL Review

[bob_barron 0]

SNL Review- Paris Hilton/Keane

 

After my review I have two retro reviews from the 2000-2001 season. The Lucy Liu/Jay-Z episode and the Charlie Sheen/Nelly Furtado episode:

 

SNL MOMENT #10:

 

10. Tell me more, tell me more tell me more

 

The 2003-2004 season was Jimmy’s last under contract. Speculation ran rampant that he would be leaving the show even though Jimmy denied all the rumours and said he wouldn’t make a decision until the summer. No one really believed him and many people expected The Olsens/J-Kwon to be his last show.

 

After the dress rehearsal the speculation continued after Weekend Update ended with Jimmy staring into the camera saying nothing and a skit that many people thought was a tribute to Jimmy.

 

At the end of Weekend Update, Jimmy announced this was his last ever Update and that this would be his last ever show. Stunned silence filled 8-H. At 12:50, there was one skit left to go and it would turn out to be a great send-off for a damn good castmember.

 

THE MOMENT:

 

The skit begins with Rachel and Maya sitting on a bench with Parnell, Darrell and Seth behind them. Amy walks in, lamenting the end of the season and Fred comes in all excited. There’s a huge party at Rachel’s house! This is news to Rachel. The bell rings and Seth is happy- it’s summertime! Horatio, Parnell, Finesse and Kenan start snapping their fingers and singing ‘Summertime.’ Maya and Rachel start singing about what they no longer have to face. With the coming of summertime, sayeth Amy, there are no more orgies Thursday night. Horatio announces he’s going on vacation to New York which is followed by Maya and Amy mispronouncing his name as ‘Horacio’. Horatio starts singing ‘Summer in the City’ and is joined by Fred. Horatio loses his breath and the song comes to an end. This whole time Darrell is just standing in the back motionless. Will and Amy come in and duet to ‘Summer Breeze’ and Maya performs the instrumental version of the song.

 

Tina walks in, dressed like Sandy from Grease, walks in clutching her notes. The girls ask Tina if she’s seen Jimmy and she hasn’t seen him since Update. She’s been in the cafeteria eating her feelings. (A Mean Girls reference) Jimmy walks in, with a leather jacket, acting all cool as the crowd roars knowing this is it for him. The opening bit of Summer Loving plays and the boys and girls get all excited that Tina and Jimmy are near.

 

Jimmy and Tina start singing and dancing to Summer Loving as the cast does the Tell Me More part. Jimmy’s exaggerating Grease style dancing is hilarious. Jimmy asks Kenan to cool it after he does a sexual motion. They sing the final verse of Summer Loving and at the ‘Tell me what he/she’s doing now’ part they collide in the centre of the stage.

 

Jimmy’s puts his hand on her face but accidentally almost knocks off her glasses. He then runs his hand down her chest but stops when he touches her boob. Tina looks surprised and both him and Jimmy stifle a laugh. Jimmy improvises and puts her chest in front of her chest, I guess to prevent anymore accidental groping.

 

Everyone all sings ‘Those Sat-ur-day niiiiiiiiiiights’ and everyone sings the Tell Me More part. Jimmy is jumping up and down soaking in the crowd’s energy as they all know they’ve witnessed his last skit ever on SNL. Jimmy then gives Tina a kiss on the cheek- his final assignment as a castmember on SNL over. The crowd continues to applaud as Jimmy, a massive SNL fan favourite, gets his due after 6 good years.

 

And throughout all this- Darrell is still back in the corner doing nothing.

 

Sports Report-

 

Nets- Looks like the Nets are starting to find their groove. They’ve won 4 out of 5, and VC is starting to find his touch. I’m happy he’s playing so well but I kind of feel bad for Raptor fans because a) Their Raptor fans and b) VC played like crap for them and since he’s gone to the Nets his FG% has gone up 5 per cent. And Eric Williams has just been total crap since going to Toronto.

 

Mailbag!!!!!!!!-

 

[email protected] wrote two letters-

 

Hey Bob- It's Ken from Voy again. I've been surfing around a bunch of wrestling websites, and I've found various rumors concerning Wrestlemania 21 this April. I was wondering if you could give your thoughts on what is being planned for 'Mania this year. From what I've discovered on the Internet and seen on RAW (I don't get SD!), the WWE has the following matches in the works: HHH v Batista- World Title JBL v Cena- WWE Title HBK v Angle- Interpromotional Taker/Kane v Heidenreich/Snitsky- Interpromotional Foley v Flair Now, I've never liked Batista, and I don't know why they let him win the Royal Rumble and are giving him a big push. I saw the JBL-Cena feud coming from miles away, in light of the year-long buildup Cena was given. It's safe to say that April 3 is when JBL finally drops the belt- provided that Vince thinks the right way. HBK v Angle wouldn't really help anyone- they're obviously trying to recapture HBK v Jericho from WM 19. I don't know if they're still planning to turn Foley and Flair's real-life feud into an actual match. And to have that Taker/Kane tag match would be an insult to all that is holy about 'Mania. So, Bob, what do you think about the WWE's current plans for WM 21? Thanks, Ken Hayashi

 

Hey Bob- Sorry- I left out some things when I emailed you earlier today. P.S.: Apparantly, Vince and Rock had a falling out. So Rock probably won't be at WM 21. At the same time, Stone Cold seems to be back in the picture. But I don't know what his role will be at 'Mania. Plus, Vince doesn't appear to be all that eager about letting Brock Lesnar back into the company. What do you think will happen in these situations? Later, Ken Hayashi

 

Don’t be hating on Batista. He’s crazy over with the fans and his work in the ring has much improved. The fans really want to see him kick Triple H’s ass and Vince has got to pull the trigger at Wrestlemania. JBL v. Cena is whatever- I don’t care for either guy. I would’ve done Eddy v. JBL again and have Eddy finally beat JBL and get revenge for all the crap he pulled. Taker/Kane v. Heidenreich/Snitsky is fine with me. As long as they keep it under 10 minutes, it’s a quick and easy way to get the crap in the match and to keep Taker’s WM winning streak alive. HBK v. Angle should be a fun great match with lots of heat- I’m looking forward to it. It doesn’t look like Rocky is coming back which is a real shame since I LOVE The Rock. Hopefully Austin will just be an enforcer or ref this year since he can’t work anymore. I hope they bring Brock back but I’m not really holding my breath.

 

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

 

And now the review....

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Maya Rudolph, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Rachel Dratch, Kenan Thompson

Thoughts- I don’t really watch American Idol. I mean why watch AI when NBC shows The Most Outrageous Moments in Live TV- I love that stuff. Anyway, I did catch a few seconds of it and I saw a mime. Now why wait all this long just to go and be a freaking mime? The kid who did a bad James Brown and Paula had a conniption over whether to include him or not was pretty funny. Anyway- back to the skit. This was pretty good. Some of the bad auditions didn’t really work (I thought Horatio’s went on for too long) but I liked Fred’s audition and the comments from all the judges regarding the bad auditions they were forced to endure. And Rachel as the mutated child always makes me laugh once or twice. ***

 

Monologue

Cast- Paris Hilton, Thompson

Thoughts- Tinkerbell got more airtime this episode then Rob Riggle has all season. That’s hot. Well that’s not really hot- it’s more sad. I didn’t want to laugh at this but I laughed at Kenan’s dog in spite of myself. Paris Hilton looked really bad, which isn’t surprising since she’s an ugly disgusting hoebag. Kenan’s dog had some good lines but the rest of this was pretty bad as expected. **

 

Cheapkids.net

Cast- Parnell, Seth Meyers, Poehler

Thoughts- This was evil but very funny. It’s always great to see Seth and Amy together and as usual they worked well together. This was a very funny idea for a skit and I thought it worked for the most part. Sadly SNL wouldn’t know that this only worked once. ***1/2

 

Versace

Cast- Hilton, Rudolph, Sanz, Finesse Mitchell

Thoughts- Seriously- why do they keep bringing Versace back? And even worse- why must it be the first skit of the night? This was horrible. Usually Versace has at least one or two bright spots but this had nothing. Not even Horatio as Elton John could put a smile on my face. They also repeated the exact same bit from the cut DeNiro skit and that wasn’t funny then either. Hopefully this is the last we ever see of Versace but I’m not getting my hopes up. You know, considering it is the one year anniversary of the Jeff Richards firing, Lorne should’ve celebrated by firing Maya Rudolph. I guess it was the politics of firing her during Black History Month and all that. DUD

 

Stahkisha

Cast- Hilton, Meyers, Parnell, Thompson, Mitchell

Thoughts- Okay- this was pretty bad as most Stahkisha skits are. Any attempts of Paris Hilton to be funny will also mostly result in me saying this was pretty bad as well. But Kenan saying, “YOU JUST GOT BUGS BUNNYED!” may be one of the funniest lines of the season. I thought that and then when Kenan said that I laughed really hard. It’s a shame they had to waste such an awesome line on such a horrible skit with a horrible premise with horrible people performing it. Kenan with his attempted thefts and the Bugs Bunny line totally saved this skit from the depths of suckdom. *3/4

 

Cheapkids.net

Cast- Parnell, Meyers, Poehler

Thoughts- Unfortunately, this commercial really only worked once. Since this was the exact same advert as the first one it didn’t seem as evil, nor as fresh and not as funny. *1/2

 

Exclusive Connections

Cast- Hilton, Poehler, Tina Fey, Armisen, Rudolph, Sanz

Thoughts- The first half of the skit was really funny. Amy using Dungeons and Dragons as a way to get a guy off was really funny and I enjoyed all the D and D lingo she used. I don’t play the game or anything but I found it funny nonetheless. Tina in the Princess Leia getup doing Star Wars dialogue with Fred was another thing that made me laugh. After Tina’s Star Wars bit the skit went downhill. Maya as the Star Trek phone sex lady didn’t work at all as the lingo she used just wasn’t as funny as Tina and Amy’s bit. Paris Hilton’s long rambling bit on Dr. Who totally went over my head. I’ve heard of Dr. Who but I know next to nothing about it so everything Paris said was totally lost on me and it badly killed what could’ve been a good skit. **3/4

 

Trump

Cast- Hilton, Darrell Hammond, Rudolph, Armisen, Meyers

Thoughts- Darrell’s Trump is funny. Other cast-members trying to do their own Trump impressions- not so much. Plus Donald’s wife is hot and Paris Hilton is an ugly hoebag. (I had to say it again) Seth did a pretty good Donald impression but Fred and Maya were horrible. This skit also used the worst thing about the Trump promo skits, where Trump says, “Here’s what I’m gonna do, etc…” stuff. Trump claiming his photoshoot was going to be the top selling In Style ever was a nice nod at the Donald’s exaggeration proneness but the rest of this was really bad and it was too dead in spots. Leave the Trump impression to the master. *1/2

 

Keane ‘Somewhere Only We Know’

Thoughts- I didn’t really know who Keane was when they were announced on SNL but I know I’ve heard this song the few times I’ve listened to CHUM FM. This is a good song even though as my friend forewarned me, they did sound like the second coming of Coldplay. I like Coldplay, it’s just on TV, they can be a bit boring. Also the keyboardist bothered me for some reason even though I’m really tired right now and totally don’t remember why. Anyway, Keane was really good. ***1/4

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Fey, Poehler, Armisen, Dratch, Thompson, Mitchell

Thoughts- Joke #1 involved Tina’s usual bad Bush joke. Joke #2 involved them ripping off the Daily Show. Certainly not an auspicious start to this Update. It got better and I will admit that Amy and Tina had some real good jokes along the way, particularly the Al Sharpton KFC joke. The Donovan McNabb-Mrs. McNabb bit was alright- Kenan seems to have a knack for playing loud black women and the rippings of Donovan were funny. I laughed at the 56-4 line (They’re gonna get two safeties). Just when I was starting to actually like Weekend Update they had to do that awful Fred and Rachel bit. How does crap like this get past dress rehearsal? How can Tina and Amy justify putting bits like this on the air? We couldn’t have had anything else instead? The point/counterpoint was okay- I don’t know what the hell Tina was doing but I’ve never really heard anyone in Philly talk like that. Amy, for the first time in approximately forever, was actually funnier then Tina in something. This Update had a lot of potential but like most Tina/Amy pairings it eventually fizzled out. **1/4

 

Merv the Perv

Cast- Hilton, Parnell, Rudolph, Meyers, Dratch, Poehler

Thoughts- Whoa! MERV THE PERV!~ RETURNS!~ I don’t know why I love this guy but I really do. Plus we get a Merv the Perv FLASHBACK!~ These skits are just so stupid and Parnell has so many dumb double entendres that I can’t help but laugh at everything that comes out of his mouth. Given that the skit took place in 1985, I wonder why Merv was still into Jennifer Beals since Flashdance came out in 1983. You would think he would’ve found a new chick by then. This had the usual funny lines from Merv and thankfully Paris didn’t ruin it. Best skit of the night. ***1/2

 

Cheapkids.net

Cast- Parnell, Meyers, Poehler

Thoughts- Yea- the joke is pretty dead. Parnell talking about how painfully sick kids were a pain in the ass was really funny and the rest of this was just a poor rehashing of the first commercial. **

 

Computer School

Cast- Hilton, Armisen, Rudolph, Thompson, Mitchell, Rob Riggle

Thoughts- Poor Riggle. I feel bad for him knowing this was his only role of the night. Maybe it was good that Rob Huebel wasn’t hired on SNL since it would really hurt me to see him wasted like this. Apparently this was cut from the Giamatti show and I see no reason as to why they had to do this again. There were a couple of funny lines from Fred but for the most part this skit was flatter then Paris Hilton’s chest. *

 

Barbie

Cast- Hilton, Poehler, Forte, Rudolph

Thoughts- 3 years ago this week, they did a Barbie skit with Britney Spears the day before the Super Bowl. While the skit wasn’t memorable in the slightest it does have mega sentimental value with me because during that skit I was in New Orleans on the phone buying tickets to the Super Bowl to see the Pats v. Rams. This skit had some potential but never found it and died off rather quickly making the rest of this skit a chore to watch. Much like episodes of the Simple Life. DUD

 

Keane

Thoughts- This sounded just like the first song which is a good thing, even though it was a bit slow for 12:40 am. Still, once again the band lived up to their Coldplay-esque billing and I’m not going to complain. ***

 

At the Bar

Cast- Hilton, Rudolph, Meyers

Thoughts- I’m going to assume Seth wrote this skit because of the Steelers references and if so- he did a great job considering this was the last skit of the night and he was working with Paris. Seth’s Bill Cowher impression and his story about the mini-fridge was funny and I liked his attempts at kissing Paris Hilton and his comments after he was rebuffed each time. This was great for last skit of the night and a good job by Seth. ***

 

Bear City

Thoughts- I heard there’s a Bear City that involves wheelchairs. Show that one since crippled people are funny. DUD

 

Bottom Line- Avg. skit was ** making this a thumbs down show as everyone predicted. Paris Hilton was just not cut out to host SNL and they never should’ve asked her in the first place as it had bad idea written all over it. The show wasn’t a complete disaster so we have that to be thankful for but there was just way too much crap here. Thankfully, next week Jason Bateman is hosting the show. I have very high expectations because I LOVE Arrested Development and I really hope they can deliver.

 

Thumbs Down

 

 

 

Welcome to the second SNL Retro Review. This is Lucy Liu/Jay-Z. Lucy Liu was hot off Charlie’s Angles which had become quite the hit while I’m sure Jay-Z was plugging some album. The 2000 election had finally ended and SNL still had one more week to milk some Gore v. Bush humour.

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Chris Kattan

Thoughts- The election had just been decided that very week with Bush coming out on top after the Supreme Court ruled in his favour. SNL still had one more week to talk about the election and of course being SNL they had to milk it another week. This skit sees Bush and Gore going to meet at Chi-Chis with the usual Bush-Gore humour thrown in. One funny note is Bush talks about how he would like to start a war which is a nice bit of foreshadowing from SNL. This was the usual good cold opening. One thing I miss about Ferrell is that with his Bush impression, you were usually guaranteed a ***1/2 cold opening every week and now that luxury is long gone. The usual good opening between Bush and Gore. ***1/2

 

Monologue

Cast- Lorne Michaels, Lucy Liu, Tracy Morgan, Kattan, Horatio Sanz, Molly Shannon, Tina Fey, Jerry Minor, Rachel Dratch, Hugh Fink

Thoughts- Ahhh racial stereotypes- one of my favourite ways of getting a laugh. This is your standard ‘let’s run through every Asian stereotype we can think of’ monologue and they get them all in there. Being a massage girl with the feet, doing the nails, the only thing that was lacking was Lucy Liu solving an extensive math problem. This was a nice fun monologue as it appealed to the racist in me. ***

 

Priceline

Cast- Hammond

Thoughts- Priceline.com was one of the biggest winners of the dotcom burst in the late 90s as the name your own price thing (even though there was lots of catches) and the weird ads with William Shatner singing made them very popular. Here is SNL’s spoof of the ads. Hammond does an alright Shatner but the commercial drags on for way too long and the laughs stop coming towards the end. Plus it wasn’t that funny to begin with. **

 

Gemini’s Twin

Cast- Liu, Jimmy Fallon, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph

Thoughts- Gemini’s Twin was a spoof on Destiny’s Child. Back before Destiny’s Child became really big they went through a revolving door of members (at one time there was four in the group) so they when they became big it was media fodder. Of course I don’t think anyone really remembers that there were people in Destiny’s Child other then the current members so this skit was pointless after like one airing. That didn’t stop SNL from beating it into the ground long after it ceased to be funny. Jimmy’s Carson Daly is funny as usual and one of my favourite impressions he did just because he played it so low key. The rest is the usual Destiny’s Child spoof stuff that never did it for me. *1/2

 

Celebrity Jeopardy

Cast- Liu, Ferrell, Fallon, Hammond

Thoughts- How did Lucy Liu get to do a Celebrity Jeopardy? I mean it’s not like she’s like famous or anything. Lucy does an okay job with Catherine Zeta Jones but this is all about letting Jimmy run wild with his Robin Williams impression and he does a hilarious impression. Half of the skit is Jimmy acting like a spaz and going off on nonsensical ramblings that are just like what the real Robin Williams does. Of course Will stands there as Alex Trebek giving him his usual exasperate look. Sean Connery gets his usual great zings on Trebek as well. Sean Connery: What's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck and I can't remember how it ends, but your mother's a whore. The part where he asks Robin if he’s legally retarded is another winner. Lots of great stuff here, you really can’t go wrong when it comes with Celebrity Jeopardy. ****1/2

 

Pretty Living

Cast- Liu, Shannon, Gasteyer, Morgan

Thoughts- Remember how I said that you can’t go wrong with Celebrity Jeopardy? Well you can always go wrong when it’s Pretty Living or any Molly Shannon skit post-1998. Molly was truly a cancer on the show- a lot worse then Maya is today or Amy on Weekend Update. She would get a fair amount of airtime to show off her stupid and unfunny characters and then to top it off she would laugh her way through them. It became pretty embarrassing and at times was badly hurting the shows as much as Weekend Update was helping it. This is really bad and goes on for a long time. Thankfully Molly would announce she was leaving a month later. DUD

 

Jarrett’s Room

Cast- Liu, Fallon, Sanz, Parnell

Thoughts- This is the first ever Jarrett’s Room. This also began a three and a half year running gag where every Jarrett’s Room I would hope that Jeff Jarrett would come out and El Kabong Jarrett the stoner. Unfortunately that never happened. Jeff Jarrett went from being on top in a floundering WCW in 2000 to booking himself as the God of a floundering TNA in 2004. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I was never a big Jarrett’s Room and it wasn’t until they added Seth as DJ Jonathan Finestein that I thought the skit truly had the potential to be good->great. Unfortunately they never really used Finestein much anyway. I’m rambling again, sorry. This was not a bad beginning for Jarrett’s Room. Lucy Liu pretty much added nothing but Gobe was pretty funny and Parnell rocked. 2000-2001 was a great year for Parnell as you’ll see. In fact it was so good that he got fired. A pretty solid beginning to what would become not of my favourite recurring characters. **1/2

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Fallon, Dratch, Kattan, Fey

Thoughts- When Weekend Update used to be good- the memories. The ending of the presidential election gave Fallon/Fey lots of good material to work with this week and they took advantage of it as there are some really fun jokes. The commentary with Rachel Dratch as James Madison is kind of weird and drags on a bit too long but is pretty funny for the most part. The changing of the diaper on the New Year’s Baby is the fun bits that I miss about Fallon/Fey that Fey-Poehler can’t just do right anymore for whatever reason. Well I think I know the reason: Amy sucks. Even though I hate him with a passion you kinda have to admire Chris Kattan for being willing to throw away his dignity. I always love Jimmy’s song parodies and him riffing on Bono and going crazy around 8H as Tina looks on in amazement never gets old. Overall a fun Update. ****

 

Jay Z ‘I Just Wanna Love You’

Thoughts- This was pretty awful in a terrible sort of way. The songs Jay-Z sang tonight weren’t really any of his hit songs. It’s mostly just him standing there with a bunch of other black guys rapping about random stuff as I debate whether to fast forward or not. Jay-Z is hit and miss on SNL and this one definitely falls in the miss section. DUD

 

Ornaments

Cast- Liu, Fallon, Shannon, Kattan, Ferrell, Sanz, Dratch, Rudolph

Thoughts- Another crappy Molly skit! Don’t worry though- we only have three more shows to put up with her crap. This skit sees a bunch of Christmas ornaments discussing their fate as Christmas ornaments as they are being hung on the tree. This is one of those SNL skits that really bother me since I don’t really get what I’m supposed to be laughing at. This seems to just want to be cute and make us smile and it fails on every account. ½*

 

Robert Goulet

Cast- Ferrell, Jay-Z

Thoughts- Will Ferrell’s Goulet is another one of his recurring characters that his fans love. I think it’s pretty funny but I don’t think it’s the world’s greatest or anything. This skit sees him recording an album with Jay-Z called Murder in the Make Believe Ballroom. There are a couple of funny lines here and Will’s Goulet always guarantees a good laugh but this drags on for way too long. Not even Jay-Z dropping the ‘s’ bomb can save it. **1/4

 

Happy Holidays from SNL

Cast- Fallon, Fey, George the Set Guy

Thoughts- A short skit that sees FF wish us a happy holiday and then yell at a total stranger. Sharp eyed viewers may notice that the Total Stranger is George the Set Guy who in May 2001 told me that Chris Parnell had left for the night so me and my friend went to the bathroom. When we came back we found that George the Set Guy was drunk and stoned and was wrong about the whereabouts of Parnell and that by going to the bathroom, we missed seeing him and then he was fired. Four years later- I don’t really give a crap about seeing Parnell anymore. Oh- this skit was too short so I’m not rating it.

 

Jay-Z ‘Is That Yo Bitch’

Thoughts- This song is redeemed by Jay-Z and his homies singing some Rick James and going ‘Gimmee that funk etc etc.’ Other then that this was really bad and wicked long. ½*

 

Seasons Greetings

Cast- Sanz, Fallon, Morgan, Kattan

Thoughts- I give the Christmas song the same rating every single time and of course this is no different. ***1/2

 

Bottom Line- Avg. skit was **.1 and yea- this sucked a lot. There was some good stuff and a great Celebrity Jeopardy but there was too much Molly and Jay-Z really brought the rating down. It’s a shame to see them not do more with the 2000 Election, but SNL had the Bush presidency forefront which would give them lots of gold to mine for.

 

 

SNL Retro Review- Charlie Sheen/Nelly Furtado

 

Charlie Sheen had seen his career revived after replacing Michael J. Fox on Spin City and as he showed people his ability to stay clean and to laugh at his past indiscretions. Nelly Furtado had hit it big with the song ‘I’m Like a Bird’ and was currently riding the popularity of that single. The 2000 Election was long over at this point, and Bush was to be inaugurated in a week.

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell

Thoughts- More political humour as SNL deals with Vice-President elect’s Cheney recent heart attack so Cheney comes out and addresses the nation about his health. I’ve always enjoyed Darrell’s Cheney impression and I really enjoyed how he blatantly says that he’s running things and that W. is a figurehead. We get walk-on appearances by Karl Rove who doesn’t really add anything. On a positive note we do get to see Will’s W. which always kicks ass. My favourite is Will constantly cracking up after saying ‘Dick’. I kind of miss the days of guaranteed good cold openings. ***3/4

 

Monologue

Cast- Charlie Sheen, Tracy Morgan, Paula Pell, Steven Higgins, other writer

Thoughts- Charlie Sheen is awesome at mocking himself, and this is one of my favourite monologues of that year. You have to love this monologue if only for Sheen making fun of Men at Work. Tracy’s random cameo to buy drugs is another highlight. The bit at the end with the guy soliciting Paula Pell (an aspiring hooker) really doesn’t work that well. The bit where they compare Sheen to W also didn’t work with me for whatever reason. The rest of the skit is just Sheen making fun of himself and you can’t go wrong with that. ***1/2

 

Fox Reality Shows

Cast- Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Hammond, Chris Kattan, Ana Gasteyer, Parnell, Horatio Sanz, Ferrell, Jerry Minor, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph

Thoughts- This was right when Fox was getting a boatload of controversy for Temptation Island and all the other new trashy reality shows they were unveiling. The first show they show is ‘Herpes Island’ which features five men and ten women- with one of them having a venereal disease- who will get it? Charlie Sheen saying:

 

Island Man #3: [ confidently ] Believe me. I will get it.

 

always cracks me up. Second is the show ‘Temptation Trailer’ which has one family alone in a trailer for ten weeks. Darrell highlights this one as the father muttering “Ten weeks is a long time.” Finally we have the Cannibal which has eight men locked in a room with no food for a year. Alas, the cannibal is quickly revealed as Will Ferrell starts eating someone right away. All in all, this was a great parody of Fox’s reality shows at the time with lots of good lines. ****

 

Iron Chef

Cast- Sheen, Kattan, Sanz, Molly Shannon, Parnell, Hammond, Fallon, Dratch

Thoughts- I guess this was at the height of the Iron Chef which became a hit in Japan and then was shown on the Food Network. The crazy flamed out pretty quickly as you can imagine- but not for SNL to spoof it. Chris Kattan plays the host (with typical bad dubbing) and it pits Horatio Sanz, the Japanese guy, against Charlie Sheen, who plays a goof off American. The rest are the panellists with your typical Japanese stereotype. This skit goes on forever and the only highlight is Sheen as he delivers funny line after funny line. My favourite is at the end, when he wins, and says, “Suck on that, Speed Racer! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” The other awesome part is Parnell as Emeril in a Food Network cares spot where he urges women to check for breast cancer. This seriously needed to be cut down. *1/4

 

Eric Dickerson’s pregame special

Cast- Sheen, Morgan, Ferrell, Fallon

Thoughts- After the Boomer Esiason debacle, Monday Night Football went totally into left field as they hired Dennis Miller to be a colour commentator. Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson was signed to be a sideline reporter and quickly drew media scorn by seemingly not being able to speak the English language. Apparently he got enough scorn to be given his own SNL skit. Will Ferrell plays Dan Fouts, a former NFL quarterback, who was another addition to the MNF broadcasting team. Fouts was famous for adding nothing of substance and SNL rips on that with a vengeance. Jimmy Fallon does Dennis Miller and does a pretty good job of it. Charlie Sheen plays his character from the Major League movies and it’s one of his few unfunny performances of the night. The other problem with this skit is that Tracy’s impression of Eric Dickerson is simply not very funny. I enjoyed Ferrell and Fallon here but the rest sucked. **

 

The Culps

Cast- Ferrell, Gasteyer, Minor

Thoughts- My biggest problem with this is that takes forever for them to start singing. The banter between the Culps is usually funny but this goes on for way too long and they’ve lost me before they get to the funny part of the skit. I don’t think that Ana Gasteyer knew that calling Limp Bitzkit, ‘Limp Bisquick’ really is not very funny. The song parodies are pretty good. My favourites were the Culps tackling ‘What’s Going On’ and ‘Play that Funky Music White Boy’. Like I said, there was just WAY too much banter here and it really ruined what could’ve been really good. **1/4

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Sheen, Fallon, Fey, Gasteyer, Kattan, Rudolph

Thoughts- Ahhh- the days when Weekend Update was guaranteed ****. The jokes here are pretty funny with some good shots at Clinton and Bush. There are a bit too many misses then I would like in an Update, but the commentaries make up for it. Chris Kattan’s Terrible Re-enactments make an appearance and as much as I dislike Kattan, I always looked forward to this. Ana Gasteyer does Katherine Harris again. I wasn’t looking forward to this but her pot-shots at Paul Begala and Bill Maher were enough to turn this into the winner’s column. Jimmy does a hilarious bit where he reviews a Bill Clinton fundraiser at Madison Square Garden like it was a rock concert. With her awkward delivery, Amy could never pull that off. Charlie Sheen has a funny random cameo after a Tina joke even though him missing his cue almost ruins it. Almost. Even Maya isn’t half bad as Marta Mercado, the illegal immigrant who worked for Bush’s Labour Security nominee Linda Chavez. The usual kickass Weekend Update- I just wish it had better jokes.

 

Nelly Furtado ‘I’m Like a Bird’

Thoughts- I thought Nelly Furtado kicked ass when she first arrived on the scene, it’s a shame she was never able to keep her momentum going for future releases. Obsessive fans will note that often my reviews in the 2001-2002 season would be written while the VH1 Top 10 Countdown was going, more specifically when Nelly Furtado’s ‘Turn Off the Light’ video aired which featured her bouncing around in mud. Hey- it was pretty hot and always made me forget that it was pathetic that I was spending my Saturday nights at 1 am (well technically Sundays) watching the VH1 Top 10 Countdown. Anyway ‘I’m Like a Bird’ is a kickass song and Nelly gave a really good inspired performance. It’s a shame she wasn’t famous enough to get two songs as I would’ve loved to have heard her done Turn Off the Light or Shit on the Radio. ***3/4

 

Patty Marsh

Cast- Sheen, Shannon, Parnell, Ferrell

Thoughts- Get ready SNL fans- it’s your CRAPPY! MOLLY! SKIT! OF THE WEEK! Molly plays Patty Marsh and it’s basically Molly’s usual overacting and trying to have a funny voice and not being funny in the slightest while the other castmembers had to fight for whatever material they could. Parnell and Sheen getting into a stupid argument over how Molly’s character can wear her hat and Parnell’s character can’t is the highlight of this otherwise horrible skit. ¾*

 

Ted Brogan

Cast- Sheen, Ferrell, Kattan, Morgan, Sanz, Dratch

Thoughts- Another famous Ferrell skit. Rachel Dratch delivers a baby, who happens to be a 37-year-old man named Ted Brogan. And no, that is not a typo. Ferrell is hilarious here as half the skit he acts like a baby (going goo-goo gah gah) and having Sheen cut his umbilical cord and then he talks about having money on the Steelers v. Ravens game. Charlie Sheen is the doctor who is seemingly not phased by any of this. The skit screeches to a halt when Morgan and Sanz show up playing two other hoodlums also just born. But Ferrell is awesome here and I really enjoy this skit. ***3/4

 

Fridays

Cast- Sheen, Ferrell, Shannon, Kattan, Parnell

Thoughts- Another Ferrell oddity. Kattan plays a waiter at Friday’s who is an asshole to his customers. Charlie Sheen tries to get him fired but his father is Mr. T.G.I. Friday and thus that’s not going to happen. Ferrell wearing a ridiculous costume and speaking with a ridiculous accent is pretty hit and miss, Kattan gives a fine performance and I did enjoy Sheen’s reaction to all this craziness going on. **1/4

 

The Pervert

Cast- Sanz, Parnell, Adam McKay

Thoughts- This is a short film made by Adam McKay. McKay’s short films usually have clever premises and some good lines but setting up the plot and all of that usually means this films go on for way too long and lose any momentum that they start to have. A group of perverts ostracise one of their fellow perverts when his perversion is that he gets off on the Crème of Wheat guy. That’s enough for ** and the segments dealing with that are funny but the rest of this usual problem that befalls all McKay short films and also befell Anchorman. **

 

Classic Vaudeville

Cast- Sheen, Dratch

Thoughts- This is a dirty version of the Who’s on the First bit and even though it goes on a bit too long it’s still pretty funny. I also love the ending bit which goes like this:

 

Charlie: Okay, look. Let's say I want to have an orgy. Who's doing oral, what's using her hand, and I don't know takes it in the kiester. Now, when it's all over, why comes in to collect the money.

 

Fleisy: That's the first thing you've said right!

 

Charlie: I don't even know what I'm talking about! And, you know what? I don't give a damn!

 

Fleisy: Oh, he's my crack dealer!

 

It’s also fun to keep up and try to figure out who’s who and what Dratch believes Sheen is saying. Good skit and very good for a last skit. ***

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **. 76 making this a thumbs up show. While it did have some crap, there was a lot of good material here and Nelly Furtado’s performance helped a lot. Back in the day, Weekend Update would enhance a mediocre show and give it some momentum and it would carry over after 12:10. It started out good and had a bumpy middle but there was enough good->great material to make this one a good show. Charlie Sheen was a great host as well.

[Guest sek69]

Tina Fey was doing a Pittsburgh accent in the point/counterpoint bit with Amy. So was Seth in the bar skit, he even gave a phone number with a Pittsburgh area code (412).

 

 

Unless it was another jab at the Steelers beating the Jets I don't get the point of it.

 

 

As far as the show goes, I thought it was a pretty average but even that was more than I was hoping for considering the host had no discernable talents for the writers to play to.

 

"You got Bugs Bunny'ed" was definately the line of the season so far, even more so because I was thinking the exact same thing seconds before he said it.

[razazteca 0]

Just because it is Black History Month that does not mean that Shampoo Mitchell has to be in every skit.

[MDH257 0]

I thought the show was good this week, probably because my expectations were so low. I thought the "Exclusive Connections" skit was the funniest. I'm suprised Bob didn't jump on Maya for laughing at Horatio's vulcan nerve pinch line. Trumps and the bar were the only skits I didn't like.

 

From the Chalie Sheen episode:

I've always remebered my favorite line from the Iron Chef skit, Sheen says "Get ready Japan 'cause the USA is gonna kick your ass just like we did in Vietnam."

[Youth N Asia 0]

I just don't have the energy to review the whole show, but it was pretty bad.

 

The only laughs I got out of the show were: Donovan's mom telling him he's going to get his ass whooped, random Merv one-liners, "Bitch, Bath, and Beyond, Bitch!," and “YOU JUST GOT BUGS BUNNYED!”

 

This needs to stop: Bear City, it's never funny. Stahkisha (see Bear City), Versace, and the Trump bits.

 

Keane was alright, they didn't rock or anything, but pleasant to sit through and listen to.

[bob_barron 0]

Tina Fey was doing a Pittsburgh accent in the point/counterpoint bit with Amy. So was Seth in the bar skit, he even gave a phone number with a Pittsburgh area code (412).

 

I know Seth was supposed to be a Pittsburghian. His dad is from there and he's a big Steelers fan. I know he was at the 2002 AFC Championship Game.

 

Tina doing a Pittsburgh accent made no sense.

 

As far as the show goes, I thought it was a pretty average but even that was more than I was hoping for considering the host had no discernable talents for the writers to play to.

 

That's how I feel- it sucked, but it wasn't like a total debacle. The Classic SNL was so much better it's sickening.

 

"You got Bugs Bunny'ed" was definately the line of the season so far, even more so because I was thinking the exact same thing seconds before he said

 

Me: OMG- That's from Bugs Bunny!

Kenan: You just got Bugs Bunneyed!

Me: I love this man

 

I thought the show was good this week, probably because my expectations were so low. I thought the "Exclusive Connections" skit was the funniest. I'm suprised Bob didn't jump on Maya for laughing at Horatio's vulcan nerve pinch line. Trumps and the bar were the only skits I didn't like.

 

Maybe it was playing two much Royal Rumble on RAW for X-Box but the show really tired me out so I forgot most of the show as I was writing it. I think if Paris had used a different reference or I knew anything about Dr. Who- I would've liked it a lot more.

 

This needs to stop: Bear City, it's never funny.

 

The one where the Bears swapped insurance was pretty funny. Other then that I fail to see the point of them.

[Ted the Poster 0]

Raw for Xbox? Man that game stinks. Don't they have PS2's in Canada?

[bob_barron 0]

My friend has an X-Box so I just use his.

 

I just wish I knew of another way to eliminate someone rather then just whipping them into the ropes, running after them and kicking them.

[Guest sek69]

That's how I feel- it sucked, but it wasn't like a total debacle. The Classic SNL was so much better it's sickening.

Well considering the classic episode last night was one of the best in SNL history, that really isn't a fair comparison. I mean you have the Dancing in the Dark sketch, the King Tut song, and the Blues Brothers, that's three SNL hallmarks in one episode.

[bob_barron 0]

You're right but I was amazed at just how awesome that show was last night. Weekend Update, even though it was 27 years old, pretty much smoked anything Tina and Amy have ever done and most of Jimmy and Tina's work too. The episode also had the Festrunks and Theodoric of York. Classic stuff

[Guest sek69]

You're right but I was amazed at just how awesome that show was last night. Weekend Update, even though it was 27 years old, pretty much smoked anything Tina and Amy have ever done and most of Jimmy and Tina's work too. The episode also had the Festrunks and Theodoric of York. Classic stuff

But it did feature Dan "Dave" Aykroyd botching his own name, which even Jimmy Fallon never did.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

BATEMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If there is just a lil bit of David Cross in it, my load will blow.

 

You are way too harsh on Paris. From what I saw, she actually had her lines rehearsed rather than looking off on cue cards every 2 seconds. She wasn't very good simply because she's not a good actress, but give her credit for trying. The Geek Sex Line thing was great. Seth getting off to Dratches LOTR's lingo was fantastic. Horatios expressions were also great.

[bob_barron 0]

When I found it was Bateman that was my reaction was too.

 

Paris tried hard and didn't completely embarass herself- I'll give her that

[bob_barron 0]

You're right but I was amazed at just how awesome that show was last night. Weekend Update, even though it was 27 years old, pretty much smoked anything Tina and Amy have ever done and most of Jimmy and Tina's work too. The episode also had the Festrunks and Theodoric of York. Classic stuff

But it did feature Dan "Dave" Aykroyd botching his own name, which even Jimmy Fallon never did.

No but Tina did once sign off with:

 

1-20-01 Mena Suvari

At the end, when Jimmy and Tina are signing off, Tina mistakenly says "I'm Jimmy Fallon" at first

[Youth N Asia 0]

Seems like I lower my expectations for SNL a little each week. But I'm sure Jason Bateman is a little more likely to make me laugh than Paris Hilton.

[Ted the Poster 0]

Anybody else notice that Paris looked into the camera as often as possible? It seemed especially relevant during the Merv the Perv sketch. That just pissed me off for some reason.

 

I have very high hopes for Jason Bateman next week.

[bob_barron 0]

Expectations are very high for Bateman- I'm hoping we get at least an avg. skit of **.7 or I'll be pissed

[strummer 0]

Bateman should be great. He IS the comeback story of the damn century, his career was DEAD (and completely DEAD, no short breaths of life) for over 15 years and he's back, and now getting praise and a hell of a lot of attention.

 

And it's funny to me that people recognize David Cross only from Arrested Development, when he's been a cult hero on the comedy circuit since around 1992. I don't know if David would ever host SNL, maybe out of loyalty to Odenkirk, or because he doesn't want to give the impression he's "selling out"

[bob_barron 0]

What are you talking about? Chicago Sons and Some of my Best Friends were good shows damnit!!

 

They need to pair Bateman and Forte up and just have Bateman play the straight man to all of Forte's bizarre antics.

 

Hopefully Kelly Clarkson will sing 'Breakaway' so I can like her too

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Which is exactly why Cross on SNL would be of load blowing proportions.

 

Phoeler as Lindsay

Maya as Maeby

Dratch as George Michael

Fred as Tobias

Seth as GOB

???

[bob_barron 0]

Maeby's not black though. I guess Darrell could play George Bluth

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

And the lead singer of Keane (Keane?) needs to do something more when singing. Fake playing a guitar, sit being a piano, tweak nipples, whatever, do something other than bad Barry Manilow.

[treble 0]

Bear City's awesome.

[Guest sek69]

Bear City will be forever burned in my brain as the skit they aired to kill the space left by Ashlee Simpson's aborted musical performance.

[Richard 0]

For the monologue, they could have Ron Howard narrating Bateman's monologue, with Jason getting irritated and finally snapping.

[Guest Shylock]

You're right but I was amazed at just how awesome that show was last night. Weekend Update, even though it was 27 years old, pretty much smoked anything Tina and Amy have ever done and most of Jimmy and Tina's work too. The episode also had the Festrunks and Theodoric of York. Classic stuff

But it did feature Dan "Dave" Aykroyd botching his own name, which even Jimmy Fallon never did.

I'd say it was on purpose since Jane Curtin also introduced herself as "Jean".

[MDH257 0]

I just watched David Cross on "Dinner for Five" and he mentioned that from what he hears from his friends who have worked there that SNL is not a place he would want to be at. He said it sounds like the type of environment that's more worried about pitting the writers/cast against each other to get their stuff on the air instead of a place worried about producing good comedy and he said he wouldn't want to be somewhere like that.

 

 

Maya as Maeby

Maeby's not black though.

 

Yeah, but Maeby's Jewish and so is Maya.

A least I think the girl that plays Maeby is Jewish

 

Let it be true so I can say I trapped Bob in his own logic.

[bob_barron 0]

Yea- SNL doesn't sound like a place that I'd want to work at either- so I don't blame him.

 

I don't know if Alia Shawkatt is Jewish but if you did trap me in my own Maya hating logic- kudos to you

[strummer 0]

I just watched David Cross on "Dinner for Five" and he mentioned that from what he hears from his friends who have worked there that SNL is not a place he would want to be at.  He said it sounds like the type of environment that's more worried about pitting the writers/cast against each other to get their stuff on the air instead of a place worried about producing good comedy and he said he wouldn't want to be somewhere like that.

 

 

Maya as Maeby

Maeby's not black though.

 

Yeah, but Maeby's Jewish and so is Maya.

A least I think the girl that plays Maeby is Jewish

 

Let it be true so I can say I trapped Bob in his own logic.

From what I've read, Lorne promotes competition amongst castmembers and writers, because he thinks it makes the show better.

 

On the flip side when Adam Sandler was on the show, and was emerging as a star, he had the writers in the palm of his hand and would get other sketches cut to put his stuff on the show. Julia Sweeney left SNL because of this. One of her sketches got cut because Sandler thought of a new song THE DAY OF THE SHOW, and she decided to quit that exact moment.

[starvenger 0]

You know, considering it is the one year anniversary of the Jeff Richards firing, Lorne should’ve celebrated by firing Maya Rudolph. I guess it was the politics of firing her during Black History Month and all that. DUD

Well, to quote Will Forte, "It's not HALF-Black History Month". Can her bony ass.

 

They need to pair Bateman and Forte up and just have Bateman play the straight man to all of Forte's bizarre antics.

Pretty much what I was thinking. Bateman works in AD because he's like a drama character stuck in a sitcom.

 

For the monologue, they could have Ron Howard narrating Bateman's monologue, with Jason getting irritated and finally snapping.

I dunno, the voiceover things on SNL monologues never seem to feel right.