SNL Review- it's finally up!

[bob_barron 0]

SNL Review- Justin Timberlake

 

Sorry this is so late, but I was at the show this weekend, which causes everything to be pushed back. Plus, I’m ridiculously slow.

 

Sports Report-

 

Who cares about my other teams? The Saints are in the playoffs! The Saints are in the playoffs!! Oh My God!!!

 

Mailbag!!!!!!-

 

Hey Bob- In a couple of your SNL reviews this season, you brought up a few has-been actors and actresses from yesteryear. These references made me flash back to the boy-band era of 1998-2001. During that time, there was a plethora of young rising stars that were insanely popular with teen audiences. The media hyped these stars under the “Hot Young Hollywood” umbrella, and plastered their faces all over Teen People and Seventeen. Everyone believed that these young “It” girls and guys had promising futures.

 

Remember when the cast members of American Pie (including Mena Suvari) were the famous? Remember when Julia Stiles (recall Save the Last Dance?) was considered the next leading lady? Remember when Neve Campbell of Party of Five was the new scream queen? Remember when Sarah Michelle Gellar was the top female ass-kicker in movies (and not Jennifer Garner)? Remember when Freddie Prinze Jr. and James Van Der Beek were the objects of affection of many a screaming 15-year-old girls?

 

Fast forward to 2006 and no one remembers who they are. Today it’s all about The OC, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Dane Cook.

 

So my question to you is this- Why did the careers of these once-“It” stars suddenly collapse? What factors contributed to their collective demise?

 

Also- How is that these once-“It” stars died off while the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Ashton Kutcher, Reese Witherspoon, and Jessica Alba still survive?

 

And- In your opinion, do you think the likes of Chad Michael Murray, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, and Amanda Bynes will end up washed-up? What do you think? Everyone gets old, but still... (Oh, and Lacey Chabert doesn’t count as a holdover from the Party of Five/Dawson’s Creek era. Ohter than Mean Girls she’s accomplished nothing.) Later- Ken

 

P.S. Sorry if this was long-winded.

 

 

All of those people you mentioned flamed out because they made poor career choices and did movies that nobody wanted to see. I also dispute Veronica Mars being that popular. Kirsten Dunst and Reese Witherspoon are still here because they’re really talented. Ashton fucked Demi Moore and did Punked, and Jess Alba’s hot.

 

Chad and Hilary will flame out soon, Lindsay Lohan will die young and become an icon, while Amanda Bynes will be marginally successful. And Lacey Chabert has a nice rack.

 

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

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Amy Poehler, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph

Thoughts- Hey, a non political cold opening. I believe that’s the first one since the Matt Dillon show. And Maya Rudolph singing, don’t see that much on the show. In the warm-ups before the show, Fred and Maya do it. And what did Maya do? She sang. This was a fairly funny song and a nice change of pace. Kristen at times appeared out of synch but it wasn’t as bad as the times Tina sang. ***

 

Monologue

Cast- Justin Timberlake, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen

Thoughts- During dress, I cheered when Justin mentioned Memphis. I was the only one. I wonder if he’s a Tigers fan. While Justin singing with the Chipmunks was a funny concept, he’s Justin Timberlake, they probably could’ve thought of something a lot funnier. **3/4

 

Omletteville Returns

Cast- Timberlake, Will Forte

Thoughts- They put this skit toward the end of dress, but it got such a huge reaction, that they moved it up. Of course, anything Justin did received an insane reaction. I could barely here Justin doing Drop Like It’s Hot because of the screaming girls. He was very funny here and Will Forte is the perfect guy to play off of. In dress, Justin started flubbing his lines, and cracked up. I was hoping he would leave that in dress, but he cracked up again so boo. But this was very funny and I love that he was dressed as a Cup of Soup. ***1/2

 

Target

Cast- Timberlake, Wiig, Rudolph, Forte

Thoughts- The JT fangirls loved this skit too. He was changing for this skit right in our section, and of course the girls in the audience went insane. I really don’t like this character, as Kristen’s weird voice is the only thing it has going for it, and the voice…not that funny. In dress, Justin wore glasses. He was funny and was the lone highlight of this skit. Kristen is really improving, and it’s time to retire this character. **1/4

 

Cock in the Box

Cast- Timberlake, Samberg

Thoughts- For the record, I don’t care if it’s officially known as Dick in the Box, it will always and forever be known as Cock in the Box. Here’s how great this video was: I couldn’t hear most of it at dress because I was laughing so damn hard. I mean, really, Andy Samberg is like Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV when he fought Drago. You think this man is down and out, but then he comes back. You could really do a montage of Andy’s SNL career set to Vince DiCola’s War. And you would show Lazy Sunday at the point where the announcer goes “A few cheers now for Rocky Balboa!” Then the intense music kicks in, which would be this season when Andy was playing out of breath joggers from various decades and stinking up the place, just like when Drago was kicking the shit out of Rocky. Then that moment of uncertainity when you wonder if Andy/Rocky has anything to offer, and then the triumphant music of the end when Andy delivers another amazing digital short that will make him a God on YouTube and probably save his job for another season. Amazing. I wonder if Jorma Taccone would be Adrian going “You can’t win!”

 

Okay, I realize that above analogy probably didn’t make any sense, but I can’t get over Andy’s ability to save himself. This was so fucking funny though. Every lyric had me bursting out laughing, loved seeing them at the basketball hoop. Justin as the rabbi might be the funniest thing I see on SNL all year, I really can’t think of anything that will make me laugh that hard. The line about cock in the box at the CMAs also killed me.

 

Of the first 9 shows, I’ve awarded the ultimate rating thrice. I realize that sounds a bit excessive, but this is the cast’s first true 5*er. The first one was because of Borat. The second was because of Baldwin, Martin and Sir Paul. This one involved no special cameos, just Andy and the Lonely Island Guys writing one of the funniest things I have ever seen. And that song is stuck in my head too. So I’m reminding everyone to not sing Cock in the Box at any family engagements this holiday season. *****

 

Barry Gibb Talk Show

Cast- Jimmy Fallon, Timberlake, Armisen, Wiig, Darrell Hammond

Thoughts- In dress I could barely hear any of this since it was across the stage. I’ve never liked the Barry Gibb show, and this was no different. I did like Barry screaming at Jimmy Carter about the Camp David Accords, but this was the usual Gibb crap. In dress Jimmy fell through a table.*

 

Dry Eyes

Cast- Timberlake, Bill Hader, Armisen

Thoughts- Apparently this was cut from the Matthew Fox show. One wonders if Fox could’ve pulled off the not crying bit as well as Timberlake did. Timberlake was good here, but I felt Fred’s bit really dragged this down and killed what was a promising skit. I did like the lightning round bit at the end. **

 

Justin Timberlake “My Love”

Thoughts- The best part of dress was that I was seated on the musical guest side, so I had terrific seats for Justin, and he did not disappoint. I had only heard this song a few times before, and it was really good live. Much better then Gwen and her Sound of Music. ***1/2

 

WU

Cast- Seth Meyers, Poehler, Armisen, Hader, Hamomond

Thoughts- Fuck live Update. At the dress rehearsal there was lots of Seth-Amy interaction, Seth saying the s word and my favourite Seth joke. He talked about how Princess Diana’s death had been ruled a tragic accident, and not as the result of a conspiracy like others have claimed. He then turned to Amy and said, “Looks like we got away with it!” It killed me. They also cut some other bits that involved Seth and Amy that were really funny. Darrell’s Lou Dobbs was accurate but no one really cared about Lou Dobbs so it should’ve been cut. The two gay guys from New Jersey were funny like the last time. Seth and Amy were good but I just cannot get over that joke being cut. ***1/4

 

Hip Hop Kids

Cast- Timberlake, Poehler, Wiig, Rudolph, Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, Hader

Thoughts- This was just dumb. Not dumb in a funny way, this is one of those skits that you wonder how it made it past read through and run through and all of those SNL things that end in through. I will admit that the fact that Kenan had a turntable inside of the mineshaft was hilarious, and was enough to make me not hate this too much.*1/2

 

Shelby Hastings

Cast- Timberlake, Armisen, Thompson, Wiig, Hader

Thoughts- While two very funny skits were cut, I can understand why they kept this is in since everyone was laughing at everything simply because of Justin was in drag. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any good. Time to retire this one Kenan. *

 

Nancy Grace

Cast- Poehler

Thoughts- I wasn’t sure if this was cutdown from dress or not since I didn’t pay attention. In dress this was toward the beginning of the show….and 10 hours long. The actual joke was funny and there were some good lines but this dragged badly. They also don’t need to do 100 Nancy Graces this season. I can’t deal with that voice! The line about fake victims feeling like they’ve been raped after they are outed as fakers was some funny stuff. **

 

Justin Timberlake “What Goes Around”

Thoughts- In dress Jimmy introduced him as Tustin Jimberlake, which caused Justin to crack up. This is a great song and a worthy companion to Cry me a River. Poor Elisha Cuthburt though. Last I heard, I think she was banging Sean Avery of the Kings. This is right up there with Steppin Out With My Baby as one of my favourite performances of the year. ****

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **.67 making this a thumbs up show. Like last time, Timberlake was a great host. It really looks like he’s having fun out there and it makes the show stronger. This show will be remembered for the show that gave us Cock in the Box, one of my favourite skits of the past few years and right up there with Kangaroo Sodomy for best skits from the Christmas shows. SNL is on a roll right now, and hopefully it will continue into 2007.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Thumbs Up

 

And now the trip report-

 

SNL Trip Report-

 

When we last left me at the standby line, I sang Closer and got weird looks from tourists, met Jenna Fischer from The Office, and got to see my favourite singer, Paul Simon, perform.

 

I got to the standby line at about 4:40. I was #18 in line. The people at the front of the line had been there since Thursday. That’s beyond crazy, but also dedicated. At around 5:30, Sylvester Stallone came in to do Conan. Now the Rocky movies are my Bible, so seeing him was awesome. I had met him last year at a signing, but having him seen Rocky Balboa on Wednesday, I had to talk to him. He got rushed in going in. On the way out, he stopped and signed for a bunch of people. I was able to get his attention and I told him I saw Rocky and loved it. He goes: Really? Where did you see it? I told him I went to a screening and he was asking me about it and then said it was great that I saw Rocky and loved it.

 

Talking to Sly Stallone about Rocky Balboa? There’s your standby moment. Of course the poor people in the line had to put up with me talking about it and quoting Rocky IV. To pass the time, I did the Swastika Dance, which greatly offended fellow standbyers. They were not as offended by the Incest Dance however. I also saw some tourists from New Orleans and we talked Saints football, and I said: Who Dat? Who Dat? I also taunted a Cowboys fan.

 

I saw James Lipton and told him he was funny on Arrested Development. Sadly, he didn’t ask me what my favourite curse word was. Will Forte came out and I got a picture with him. He then said he had to go and laughed when I told him he was one of the meanest men in Hollywood.

 

Kenan Thompson came out wearing an old school Braves hat. Back when they had the lower case A. The minute he came out I yelled “TURN THIS BIG MOTHERFUCKER LEFT”. He told me the Braves were his favourite team. I wanted to discuss the releasing of Reitsma and Giles, but he got mobbed.

 

Bill Hader came out, and it was a typical memorable Bill conversation. I confronted him on charges that he was a Rocky hater, and he said he wasn’t a Rocky hater, but he only liked the first one. I called bullshit. We talked Rocky IV and he did an Ivan Drago impression. He also did a Sly Stallone impression too. I then asked him to sign my Material Girls DVD but he refused. He was like: I think you have that movie for the wrong reasons, especially when I told him Miley Cyrus hould host SNL. He then wondered why Angelica Huston was in Material Girls. He offered to sign my old school Nets hat. I asked him if he was a Nets fan and he said he didn’t follow basketball. So he wrote:

 

I hate the Nets. Love, Bill Hader

 

I was, of course, outraged so I told him that they should’ve called it: You, Me, and Dudpree. He laughed and said: You know what dude, you’re right. He told us how at premieres, people usually applaud no matter how bad, but at You, Me, and Dupree….no one applauded. He also told us he was in a comedy that will get an NC-17. Apparently they don’t use the c-word (I asked), it’s more because they talk about pearl necklaces.

 

Back in August, I met Matt Dillon and asked him whether he was the You or the Me in You, Me and Dupree. He said he didn’t know. I asked Bill and he said that Dillon was the You, and Kate Hudson was the Me. Bill also said he wasn’t a Saints fan, because he doesn’t follow basketball. Bill Hader’s awesome. Well except for the Nets thing.

 

I punched a wall when I found out the Nets lost. I tried to start a Go Leafs Go chant when I found out the Leafs won….but no one joined in.

 

Jim Downey (!!!!) came out later. I love this man, and hadn’t seen him in a long time. Then, Steve Higgins and Seth came out. Seth looked like death, but was so nice. We talked for a little bit about football. He didn’t know I was a Saints fan, so we were talking about our Super Bowl chances, and what happened to the Steelers this season. He said he was just glad they got the ring. I then remembered I had to talk to Steve Higgins about Norm’s CD since he helped produce it. Seth said he loved the CD, and we were laughing over one of the tracks. I then yelled “The Saints Are Coming” and he was on his way. Seth rules. I saw Amy and Maya came out later on, but it was late, so I didn’t bother them.

 

I spent the rest of the night hanging out with my standby friends and making offensive jokes. I was surprised I didn’t wake up the line at 4 am singing the Hannah Montana soundtrack. I talked Howard Stern with some guy named Mike, and chilled with my friend Vanessa, who got me a Rocky shirt and poster. Which is amazing, so thank you!

 

At 7 am they gave out the tickets. I asked the page if Justin was going to be bringing more sexy back in dress or live, and he said it’d be equal. So I got #10 for dress.

 

At 1 pm, I received a call from a friend that she had an extra ticket for the dress rehearsal. So I didn’t have to have a freak out later that night wondering if I got in. I gave my ticket to my friend’s dad since I realized I didn’t have many friends.

 

Later that night-

 

Well we already covered if I got in or not. So let’s just skip to after the show.

 

After the show-

 

I went back at 1 am. They wouldn’t let me wait inside, and barricades are the suck, so I spent most of the time devising a way to not wait behind the barricades, and getting yelled at by security. I saw Seth and got a pic, and told him I’d be pulling for the Steelers. I also a bunch of the 30 Rock cast, and got a pic with the impressionist. I didn’t know his name, so I felt a bit bad. I saw Jason and got a pic, and talked to Will Arnett. I was wearing a Leafs shirt and told him that I saw Let’s Go to Prison so he thought I was awesome. I also got a pic with Jim Downey. Rachel Dratch was there, probably begging for her job back. Paula Pell wished me a happy holidays. I laughed at all the girls there waiting for Justin Timberlake to come out, since there was no chance at all.

 

And now it’s time for-

 

WHAT……..GOT……..CUT-

 

Jason Sudekis did a brief warmup and then Maya and Fred sang a Christmas song.

 

Getting Off at Five O’Clock

 

Justin plays a toy store employee who is very happy he’s getting out at 5 and makes up all these songs about it. It sounds really stupid, and it was, but Justin was hilarious.

 

Justin Timberlake: Roomate

 

Will played a guy who kidnapped Justin Timberlake and told his date he was his roommate. This was really funny, and had a great ending, I was really upset it got cut.

 

Daytime Drama Condoms

 

The joke was that on soaps everyone gets knocked up despite protesting they used a condom. So this was an ad for condoms that won’t really work. Yea, it wasn’t that funny.

 

Anderson Cooper 360

 

Yay, Seth in a skit! Anderson Cooper interviews two soldiers who have an exit plan for Iraq. Their plan being….to just leave the country. This was decent, but didn’t get a good reaction.

 

McDonalds

 

Michael McDonald (Justin Timberlake) opens up his fast food restaurant called….McDonalds. This was really dumb, but I loved every second of this skit. There were a lot of great lines, and Will Forte had the line of the night. He came out as Donald McDonald, the restaurant’s mascot and said:

 

I am required by law to tell you that I am a convicted sex offender.

 

I about died right there. Emily Spivey, a writer, told me this was her favourite skit of the year. It was cut for time purposes.

 

And so ends another awesome weekend at Saturday Night Live. Had a great time in standby, got great seats for dress and Bill Hader tarnished my Nets hat forever. It can’t get any better then that.

[Chuck Woolery 0]

fuck you man, i loved you me and dupree.

[bob_barron 0]

I never saw You, Me and Dupree, I just had to diss Bill for something

[strummer 0]

Nice to see Seth is a Norm fan. Now I want to see Norm host again but it ain't happening.

[Guest NYankees]

I wonder how the whole cast of SNL puts up with Bobby every week? Must be tiresome.

[bob_barron 0]

I don't go there every week, I usually am there about 3-4 times a season

[Mik 0]

I was right. It's the new Lazy Sunday.

 

Hell, I pre-ordered mine.

 

Link

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Raise your hand if that post surprised you. Mik truly has his finger on the pulse of America.

[Mik 0]

I don't know... am I wrong to find that skit as hilarious as I do? Just the motions and dance moves that Samberg and JT do crack me up and the song is catchy as hell. Everyone in my lab and that I've emailed the link too seem to really enjoy it as well. Maybe I'm just crazy but that skit made me laugh as much as anything I can remember in a long time.

[SuperJerk 0]

And Lacey Chabert has a nice rack.

 

Word.

[Ed Wood Caulfield 0]

Hannah Montana?

 

Isn't she 13?

[razazteca 0]

Now if you said you knew all the lyrics to the songs from High School Musical or Cheetah Girls then I would of believed you.

[bob_barron 0]

Now if you said you knew all the lyrics to the songs from High School Musical

I do know all the lyrics to High School Musical. Love that movie.

 

Isn't she 13?

 

14.

 

Don't hate on Mik- Cock in the Box rocked it

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

I don't think so. It just feels designed to be the Next Big Thing On Youtube to me: awkward choreographed dance steps just like those OK Go videos, obvious t-shirt tie-in with "step 1: . . . " and so on, and after the first "it's my dick in a box" line, it doesn't really get any funnier, since there's nowhere else to really go from there. Why am I breaking down a stupid video? Ugh. Whatever.

 

EDIT: Wait, that link in Mik's post WAS for a shirt? I thought it was for a video or something! Oh fucking Christ, you have to be kidding.

[bob_barron 0]

Yea, buying a shirt is lame.

 

I just thought the whole thing was hilarious, and the part where they did the Cock in the Box for each holiday was too funny

[Brett Favre 0]

I haven't watched SNL in a while, and I just saw Cock in a Box, and that shit is the funniest shit i've seen in a while. The steps on how to get it done, and Timberlake in different outfits was hilarious.

[muzz 0]

Dick in a Box sounds better to me lyrically.

[BlackFlagg 0]

Cock in a box flows better...add that to the list of things I never thought I'd say

[muzz 0]

Maybe, I just find dick to sound more comical.

 

This shouldn't be discussed either way.

[bob_barron 0]

Cock is the funnier word and it flows better. Dick in the Box is too convoluted

[SuperJerk 0]

Yeah, but the word "dick" has the PTC's panties in a bunch.

 

PTC Puts NBC on Naughty List

 

by Sarah Hall

 

If it was up to the Parents Television Council, NBC would be getting coal in its stocking this Christmas.

 

The conservative watchdog organization is calling on the network to rethink its decision to post an uncensored version of a Saturday Night Live skit on both its own Website and YouTube, in which the word dick is used multiple times. (For the uninitiated, the clip can be seen at nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/uncensored.shtml.)

 

The skit in question features host Justin Timberlake and cast member Andy Samberg singing a holiday tune about presenting their ladyfriends with the very special gift of their male members, wrapped up in a box with a bow on top.

 

"It's my dick in a box," the duo croon in the song's explanatory refrain.

 

When the skit aired on SNL, NBC bleeped out the word dick a total of 16 times. However, since the FCC has no jurisdiction over the Internet, the network was able to leave the online clip uncensored.

 

As of Friday, more than 4 million people had watched the clip on YouTube, with countless others taking it in through NBC's official site, much to the dismay of the PTC.

 

"This is a new low for NBC," PTC president Brent Bozell said in a statement. "Clearly, the network will stop at nothing to find loopholes for its indecent programming to reach the public."

 

In NBC's defense, the version airing on YouTube contains a cautionary warning, lest viewers are unclear as to what they are about to watch.

 

"The following sketch contains explicit lyrics that were not contained in the orignal [sic]broadcast," reads a message appearing before the video begins.

 

On NBC's site, both the censored and uncensored versions are available. Those who want to watch the unbleeped version must affirm that they are over 18 as of Dec. 15, 2007—a date that may have been a typo on the network's part.

 

"Moving objectionable content that would not meet FCC standards directly to the Internet is blatantly irresponsible and unacceptable," Bozell stated.

 

In an interview with the New York Times, SNL producer Lorne Michaels said that posting the equivalent of a "director's cut" of the show on the Internet "will be the exception" in the future.

 

However, he opined that other networks would be likely to follow NBC's lead in using the Web to broadcast material deemed inappropriate for the airwaves.

 

Despite its decision to put the clip online, NBC wasn't allowing just anyone to post the uncensored version of the skit. All unauthorized versions of "Dick in a Box" were being yanked from YouTube at the network's request.

 

The skit is something of a follow-up to NBC's last viral hit, "Lazy Sunday," which featured Samberg and former SNL cast member Chris Parnell rapping about topics such as eating cupcakes and taking in a matinee of Chronicles of Narnia.

 

After "Lazy Sunday" popped up on YouTube and became an instant Internet sensation, NBC ordered the site to remove it, later making the clip available for purchase through iTunes Music Store.

 

The network and YouTube have since reached an agreement where NBC allows certain programming to be posted to a dedicated network page.

http://www.eonline.com/print/index.jsp?uui...tType=newsStory

 

I can't believe the PTC just now discovered there's naughty language on teh internets.

 

Can't wait until they discover teh pr0n.