SNL Season Finale Review- featuring a look back at the season

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SNL Season Finale Review-

 

In Memoriam-

 

Joe Niekro- Gotta love a guy who tried to cheat with a nail file. And he was a former Brave too.

 

Robert Altman- While I didn’t see many of his movies, The Player is one of my favourite movies ever. The end cameos with Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts are hilarious. Great movie.

 

Peter Boyle- I met him once and he was really nice. Easily the funniest part of Raymond.

 

Saddam Hussein- I don’t know…I liked him.

 

James Brown- Sex Machine is one of the best songs ever. And he was in Blues Brothers 2000 and Rocky IV. That’s awesome.

 

Gerald R. Ford- Would you want to be president when he was? No, me neither. So I respect that.

 

Bam Bam Bigelow- I always liked how his theme music would go BAM BAM. BAM BAM. Dude could go back in the day.

 

Lew Burdette- Because of him, I can brag about the Braves beating the Yankees in one World Series. Even though it was in 1957.

 

Anna Nicole Smith- I once watched a few minutes of that movie Skyscraper. I don’t know, it didn’t seem that bad.

 

Mike Awesome- He was a really good worker back in the day, it’s a shame he just stopped giving a crap when he went to the WWF. That match against Masato Tanaka was AWESOME.

 

Ernie Ladd- I never saw got to see him wrestle, but apparently he was huge back in the day. And I liked those legends commercials he used to do for WWE.

 

Arnold Skalaand- He finally threw in the towel on life.

 

Tom Poston- Mr. Lunet. It’s Lunet- it’s French.

 

Pithy Comments- (Times I tried to be funny and times I ranted)

 

I did like this skit because they mentioned the Saints going 3-0, which is awesome. I know that’s a Jamie Klein reason for liking something, but the last time I remember the Saints being mentioned on SNL was during the SuperFans skit when Farley hosted, and that was when Mike Ditka said they sucked. So it’s nice to see the Saints get some love.

 

Sigh, Darrell. There is really nothing left to say. But I think he’s going to be in the cast until the end of time and we have to accept that. It’s awful, but it’s a part of life, like the common cold.

 

Hmmmm, do I begin with going crazy over Seth being on Update, or rant about the way the whole thing was set up? Let’s rant. Who decided to have SNL come off from a long commercial break with a brief vignette with Brian Williams, a pointless 30 Rock ad and then ANOTHER commercial break? Because of it, I missed the first little bit of Update. It’s not my fault, blame the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their inability to punt in a timely fashion. Thankfully, the magic of torrenting let me watch it again.

 

So Seth’s doing Update. My long awaited dream comes true. Am I happy with the decision? Of course. Do I think it was the best decision to make? I don’t think so. I love Seth and I’m excited to see him at the desk every week, but I think he was due in 2004. I personally think Sudeikis would’ve been the best choice. He’s only in his third season, he’s headed for breakout status and I think Update could’ve been the thing to put him over the top and make him THE man. With Seth, his time had passed and I think the ship has sailed. He’s going to be awesome at Update, but I think SNL could’ve made an even better choice.

 

I also wish Lorne had finally ditched the co-anchor format. Jimmy and Tina were great but their currently tanking in movies and soon to be tanking on TV, respectively. Amy and Tina tried to do the Girls Gone Update thing and it was painful. Now Amy and Seth have great chemistry in skits, but I’m unsure of how they’ll do together at the desk given that Amy sucks.

Darrell’s voiced the president, the vice-president and the speaker, but I’m not sure if he’s ever done the President Pro Tempore. Theodore Fulton Stevens, scandalise yourself, so Darrell can impersonate you too.

 

I never thought I would say this (well type it, but I’ll say it out loud to make it official), but Kenan really killed what was a promising skit.

 

You know, I don’t think SNL has ever done a funny skit about North Korea or Kim Jong Il. I shudder to think how bad SNL would’ve been if it was on during the Korean War.

 

You know Alec’s not going to let some limey Brit top him. (foreshadowing!)

 

I am anxiously awaiting the battle between Dr. McDreamy and Tina McScar.

 

I always like it when Ludacris tackles serious issues. He previously tacked the issue of how you should move bitch get out the way, an issue that was plaguing society.

 

Matthew shouldn’t feel too bad. Lacey Chabert and the five people who portrayed Owen also have not hosted SNL.

 

Hey Amy- you’re not Tina Fey. You don’t wear glasses, you don’t have a scar, and you’re not starring on a show tanking on NBC. So keep the vagina euphemisms to Tina McScar.

 

I’ve been saying for 32 years that SNL needs to mention the assassination of William McKinley, and they finally did!

 

Plus, who knew you could say sugar tits on TV? I didn’t!

 

I saw that farting aeroplane story whilst taking my history final and laughed so hard that I think screwed up my exam. And I of course knew SNL was going to do something about it. Assuming the fasten seatbelt sign wasn’t on, why didn’t the lady just go to the bathroom and unleash it in there? Or take some Pepto Bismol? Really lady, if a match is all you could think of to hide some farts, then your gas problem was the least of your worries.

 

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!”

 

Last year they did a skit regarding unicorns and I admitted that I didn’t know they were imaginary for a long time. I stand by that statement.

 

Forest Whitaker really likes to sing. He should’ve been on Celebrity Duets. That would’ve been awesome.

 

The fact that they had a Northern Ireland band that’s based out in Glasgow playing on St. Patrick’s Day is hilarious. Probably the funniest thing on the show.

 

Dreyfus’ breasts were so prominent tonight, that they had to do a skit about breast cancer.

 

And I can’t review a skit about a robot, without bringing up the most famous robot in robot history, the robot in Rocky IV that the Balboas bought Paulie for his birthday. They should’ve programmed that robot to kick Drago’s ass to save Rocky all the trouble.

 

The skit was going along fine until they decided to mock Peyton for no real reason. Then it went downhill faster then Rex Grossman’s QB rating in the Super Bowl

 

You know why I wouldn’t cheat on Carrie Underwood? So she wouldn’t write a shitty song about it.

 

Am I the only one who thought Darrell Hammond was secretly fired and they just decided not to tell anyone?

 

Watching this in dress, I wondered what the hell this was. It looked awful and pointless and it was a pure DUD. I even grew angry, as I only went to dress to see Avril Lavigne, and I had to sit through this crap?

 

Then someone told me what a moustache ride was. And boy did I feel stupid.

 

Is it wrong that I know found Elle Fanning attractive now that Avril has played her? I can feel Chris Hansen standing over me as I typed that.

 

This would be the first of three skits that were also done in the Jaime Pressley show. Spoiler alert: The Jaime Pressley show sucked.

 

Fun fact: The weekend of 9/11, SNL reran the Best of Molly Shannon. I thought- hasn’t America suffered enough?

 

SNL Year in Review-

 

September 30th, 2006- SNL kicks off Season 32 with a smaller cast and mediocre show

Dane Cook/The Killers

 

Over the summer, SNL finally had a much needed facelift to its cast. Gone were Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Finesse Mitchell, Horatio Sanz and Chris Parnell. Added to the cast were….no one. Seth Meyers was finally named co-anchor to Weekend Update, a spot he should’ve received in 2004. It was now time to show how good the slimmed down cast could be.

 

Unfortunately, Dane Cook was the host. Not the best way to kick off your new season.

 

The show got off to a very horrible start (a flat cold opening and a Dane Cook monologue) the show tried to regain its footing with some solid skits.

 

Weekend Update got off to a pretty good start. The commentaries were lame, but Seth did a very good job and seemed to handle himself well. Could’ve done without the faces, but he was fine. Amy seemed to be getting better as well. For the first time since Jimmy left, it looked like Update was finally something to look forward to.

 

The rest of the show took a tumble, and Dane Cook was horrible but I thought the cast did a good job and it felt good knowing that a lot of dead weight was gone.

 

October 28th, 2006- My Name is Borat

Hugh Laurie/Beck

 

Even though I enjoyed the new cast, SNL wasn’t exactly off to the best of starts. The Dane Cook show was hosted by Dane Cook and the Jaime Pressley show sucked. I liked the John C. Reilly episode, but I know a lot of people didn’t. So it was up to Dr. House and Lorne to right the ship.

 

And with one incredibly anti-Semitic man, they did.

 

The show kicked off with a message from everyone’s favourite Kazakh….Borat! Borat delivered a hilarious cold opening that I awarded ***** and I knew this show was going to be something good.

 

The host was Hugh Laurie, a great actor, even better comedian and a fantastic pick for host. The show actually got off to a slow start after his monologue, but then soon got going. Beck showed why he was one of my favourite musical guests, and Hugh Laurie brought the goods in every skit, even the bad ones!

 

One of the highlights of the show was a phenomenal Weekend Update. Seth delivered one of the most tasteless jokes I had ever heard about London, Tim Calhoun showed up and Amy delivered her best Update performance ever.

 

This was the show SNL needed to really get the season going, and it was nice to see the cast finally hit one out of the park.

 

November 11th, 2006- I Am God.

Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera

 

Alec Baldwin was hosting SNL at the right time. The cast was coming off two good shows, and with Alec Baldwin hosting, the sky was the limit. While I didn’t think the show was the greatest show of all time or anything, it certainly was memorable.

 

It got off to a bit of a slow start- the monologue was a glorified advertisement for 30 Rock, and the first skit of the night was Amy saying Dang a lot. But then it got clicking.

 

Baldwin did his hilarious Saddam impression and then was Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother.

 

But then came the skit that blow everyone away:

 

Platinum Lounge.

 

When Steve Martin hosted in February 06, there was a gag where Steve Martin was very protective of his hosting record, and with Alec Baldwin gaining on him, he made sure that he hosted to get to 14 times with Alec at 12 and to kill Alec Baldwin. He was not successful in killing him however, and Baldwin was back.

 

SNL decided to continue this storyline, and Platinum Lounge featured another faceoff between the two SNL Hosting Gods. There were some great lines, payoffs to earlier hosting gigs and there was even dramatic tension. And a token Martin Short cameo! Even without the big surprise, this still would’ve been one of the best skits I’d ever seen.

 

Baldwin and Martin had decided not to kill each other at this point and made up. Martin Short, playing himself as a waiter showed up again…with a special unannounced guest:

 

Sir Paul McCartney.

 

Baldwin didn’t even know about this, and his reaction was classic. His mouth was agape and he looked like he was about to explode. Truly a great moment and a reason to love live TV.

 

The four of them improved an ending, but no one was paying attention. Steve Martin, Sir Paul McCartney and Alec Baldwin all together on one stage. Classic.

 

And Martin Short was there too!

 

Now, the fun didn’t end there. We still had another cameo to go. The past few times he had hosted, Baldwin’s Tony Bennett Show had become a popular character. This time, the Tony Bennett Show had a special guest-

 

The real Tony Bennett as a Tony Bennett impersonator. Priceless. This was another classic skit, the third ****+ skit of the show.

 

And to end a memorable show, Tony Bennett performed a rousing rendition of Steppin’ Out With My Baby with the night’s musical guest- Christina Aguilera. A perfect way to end a show that aside from a few early clunkers, was near perfection.

 

Steve Martin, Martin Short, Sir Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett. My God.

 

December 16th, 2006- It’s my Bleep in the Box

Justin Timberlake

 

The episode that Justin Timberlake hosted in 2003 was one of the favourites of that season and Timberlake showed a new side of him. He can do comedy! He parlayed this into some acting roles, none which were successful. He was back to again show Hollywood his comedic chops. And he did it all by putting his dick in a box.

 

The show was off to an okay start, nothing too great, but nothing awful. Even in the mediocre skits, Justin was showing off his comedic skills. Then came the SNL Digital Short, and SNL had found its next Lazy Sunday.

 

I’m not going to give a blow-by-blow account like I did for Platinum Lounge but I was at the dress rehearsal for this show, and rarely have I heard an audience laugh that hard as I did for Dick in a Box. I was almost on the floor from laughing so hard. I couldn’t even hear half the skit from the enthusiasm the skit was getting.

 

Andy Samberg, who was showing off his worthlessness with each episode, again managed to probably save his career with another attention getting Digital Short.

 

They also brought back two of his other skits: The Omletteville guy (I was pleased to see that) and Barry Gibb Show (not so much).

 

Timberlake helped his own cause by delivering two great musical performances.

 

No matter what else happened on the show, all anyone will remember is Andy and Timberlake with their cocks in boxes.

 

Dick in a Box was my favourite skit of the year and Timberlake showed why I hope one day he’s in the five timer’s club.

 

And as an aside, I went to see JT in MSG in February and as a special surprise, he performed Dick in a Box live. It was awesome.

 

February 3rd, 2007- Drew Barrymore joins in an elite club

Drew Barrymore/Lily Allen

 

I was hesitant about putting this show in my year of review since it’s really not memorable at all, but then I realized it was Drew Barrymore’s fifth time hosting, making her a member of the Five Timers Club.

 

I’ve seen Drew’s three hosting efforts, and none of them screamed Five-Timers material. The anthrax show was horrible, and her 2004 hosting gig had one of the worst first halves of an SNL I’d seen.

 

But her fifth gig, she actually delivered a good show, even though it was marred somewhat by the presence of Horatio Sanz.

 

The Dakota Fanning Show made its first appearance, Bill got to bust out his Sir Peter O’Toole, Seth was in a skit, Kenan played a black woman and the Digital Short was really good. It wasn’t a great show, but it was an SNL I’d like to see more often: A bunch of consistently funny skits with nothing standing out, but every skit getting a chance to shine.

 

So congratulations to Drew Barrymore for 1) Not dying of an OD and 2) Joining the five timers club. Say hi to Elliot Gould for us.

 

March 17th, 2007- We just had a retarded one

Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Snow Patrol;

 

Last season, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Paul Simon episode was the best episode of the season by far. While Paul Simon helped, Dreyfus was a terrific host who added a lot to the show with every skit. Luckily for SNL fans, Julia wanted an encore.

 

While she didn’t have Paul Simon to back her up, the cold opening showed she wasn’t coming alone.

 

And now, a "Saturday Night Live" Special Report. Road to the White House. Here with his comments, is Chris Rock, is how the show began.

 

Rock delivered a hilarious monologue about the 2008 Presidential race. It was typical Rock. He was very funny, and while you were laughing, you had to admit that the guy had a point. Even though he was just there to plug a movie, it was great to see Rock back on the show.

 

And for those doubters out there who keep asking the question, "Is American ready for a black President?" I say, "Why not? We just had a retarded one!"

 

Priceless.

 

Then it was Julia’s turn to shine. Unfortunately, topping last year’s show was just not happening. The skits weren’t bad (all in the **1/2-***1/2 range), but it just wasn’t the home run show that last year’s was. And Snow Patrol was no Paul Simon.

 

The show did manage to deliver two hilarious skits after WU (CBS Cares and the Robot Sex skit) that would’ve felt right at home in last year’s episode.

 

While the show could not top last year’s show, it was by no mean’s a bad episode, and in fact was one of the better shows of the season. Julia did another fantastic job, and the Chris Rock monologue was a real treat.

 

And I’ll never get over them having a Northern Irish band play on St. Patrick’s Day.

 

March 24th, 2007- SNL becomes Peyton’s Place

Peyton Manning/Carrie Underwood

 

I hate when athletes host SNL. It never seems to end well and since 2001, we’ve had clunkers from Derek Jeter, Jeff Gordon, Andy Roddick, Tom Brady, and Lance Armstrong. SNL looked to Peyton to reverse the trend. I was understandably skeptical. Peyton Manning was many things, but funny comedic actor is not one of them.

 

I ended up not liking the show, but it was probably the best athlete hosted show of the past few years. And the show was well received among fans, so I was in the minority. I gave it a thumbs in the middle which is better then the other athletes did.

 

The show did have a few bright spots. The Peyton Manning for United Way skit was great and quickly made the YouTube rounds. And Archie Manning became the first Saint to ever appear on SNL.

 

Skits like Bronx Beat, the NCAA Pool, Penelope and the TV Funhouse didn’t work for me as well as they did for other people, but I’ll give Peyton credit for trying his hardest, and delivering a fairly watchable show. And he was a good dancer too. Unlike Andy Roddick, he didn’t totally embarrass himself.

 

And I’ll give Eli Manning even more credit for not doing anything to fuck it up.

 

May 12th, 2007- An unwelcome return to SNL

Molly Shannon/Linkin Park

 

Molly Shannon leaving SNL in 2001 was a time of celebration. Initially one of SNL’s best castmembers, by around 1998 Molly had become a parody of herself. Viewers were forced to stomach such skits as Dog Show, Jeannie Darcy, Veronica and Company, Sally O’Malley and Pretty Living. She also had a tendency to get the giggles in these awful skits, especially toward the end of her SNL career. People can criticize Jimmy Fallon all they want for cracking up, but Molly was just as bad if not worse.

 

But after the Sean Hayes/Shaggy episode, we were rid of Molly Shannon for good. She went to star in a failed sitcom, and had bit parts in various movies. In 2007, she had her first starring role in an indie movie.

 

And for some reason this got her back to host SNL. To say I was dreading this episode would be a huge understatement. 90 minutes of Molly Shannon? Ugh.

 

The show began with the return of Molly’s most famous character, Mary Katherine Gallagher. But a few seconds in, it was obvious Mary Katherine Gallagher was stale and putting her on American Idol did nothing to change that. With Molly bringing back all of her crap characters, SNL felt the need to do the same as we were subjected to another Penelope.

 

Then Molly REALLY pissed me off, bringing back good ole Sally O’Malley, a character that was awful and never made me laugh once. “I’m 50, 50 years old,” wasn’t funny the first time, and it really wasn’t funny the hundredth time.

 

I was hoping Update would bring us some relief from Molly’s antics, but she had to one-up that by bringing back Jeannie Darcy, a character so bad that it makes the worst of MADTV characters look good. Thankfully it didn’t get its own skit, but it still sucked having it sully Update like that.

 

To continue the parade of crappy recurring characters, Amy Poehler brought back Kaitlin with Molly Shannon as Kaitlin’s mother! I think I once had a nightmare about that. And just for fun…we got three Macgrubers too and that character of Maya that sings. You know the one.

 

Thanks to a good musical guest, the show didn’t reach Hilary Swank levels or even the January shows, but for one night SNL fans got a painful reminder of why the final few seasons of Molly’s tenure were so brutal to watch.

 

And Year of the Dog tanked too. So hah.

 

SNL: The Cliff Notes-

 

9/30/2006- Dane Cook/The Killers/Brian Williams

Avg. skit: **.31

 

The season began on an average note, with the cast and writers trying to write for a horrible unfunny host. They did an admirable job and if not for going into a funk post-Update, they might have pulled off a miracle. There were some good skits here, but there’s only so much you can do with Dane Cook.

 

10/7/06- Jaime Pressly/Corrine Bailey Rae

Avg. skit: **.2

 

The first clunker of the season. Instead of writing to Pressly’s strengths, we just got a Kuado and an Out of Breath Jogger. The show actually got off to a pretty good start but it badly flatlined and never seemed to recover. This show would start the trend of crappy shows with skits that die right out of the gate.

 

10/21/06- John C. Reilly/My Chemical Romance/Will Ferrell

Avg. skit: **.5

 

The first thumbs up show of the year. Reilly was a fun host but was hampered by a poor musical guest and weaker then expected cold opening. Two A-Holes and the first Oreo skit were the standouts for the show, and as usual the Digital Short brought the goods. While this was not a great show, it set the stage for the next two shows that would really deliver.

 

10/28/06- Hugh Laurie/Beck/Borat/Azamat

Avg. skit- **.88

 

Yachismez! A great host + a great musical guest + a great cameo is almost guaranteed to make a good show and this was no exception. Laurie was a fun show, they had a bunch of simple funny skits, Beck’s Clap Hands thing was insane and Borat! Borat!!!! This should’ve been the show of the year but…

 

11/11/06- Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera/Steve Martin/Tony Bennett/Martin Short/Tina Fey/Tracy Morgan/Sir Paul McCartney

Avg, skit: **.98

 

Will Forte dressed up as the gimp. Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother. Platinum Lounge. Well excuuuuuuse me. Martin Short as the waiter. Anthony Benedetto. Steppin’ Out With My Baby. And of course….

 

Sir Paul McCartney.

 

11/18/06- Ludacris/Mary J. Blige

Avg. skit: **.24

 

After three weeks of Will Ferrell, Hugh Laurie, Beck, Borat, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Tony Bennett, and Sir Paul McCartney, SNL was doomed for a comedown show. And sadly, Ludacris had to be the victim of it. Too much Maya, a weaker then usual Update and a collection of uninspired skits doomed this one. For what it’s worth, we did get the debut of Blizzard Man.

 

12/2/06- Matthew Fox/Tenacious D

Avg. skit: **.77

 

This was a fun show and Matthew Fox was a great host. This show didn’t feature any classic skits, but almost everything was *** or greater, Tenacious D’s second song kicked a lot of ass, and SNL mentioned the assassination of William McKinley. What more can you ask for?

 

12/9/06- Annette Bening/Gwen Stefani/Akon/Alec Baldwin/Matthew Fox

Avg. skit: **.63

 

Not as good as Matthew Fox (did we need two musical guests) but this was another good solid show. Annette Bening may have had trouble masking her love of cue cards but she was a fine host, and it was a nice change of pace to see someone who the teen demographic didn’t like. Monster House was some great work by Forte.

 

12/16/06- Justin Timberlake/Jimmy Fallon/Cameron Diaz

Avg. skit: **.67

 

A perfect show to cap off 2006. This show featured the best skit of 2006-2007, two awesome performances by Justin Timberlake, and the high energy hosting performance that Timberlake seems to bring to SNL. Now if they had featured the Michael McDonald owns a McDonald’s skit, then this would’ve been an all-time classic.

 

1/14/07- Jake Gyllenhall/The Shins

Avg. skit: **.09

 

January was not a good month for SNL. This show featured the debut of Bronx Beat and the Shins being slow and boring that Lorne actually asked them if they could speed it up a bit. The Law and Order skit and the cold were funny but the rest was just bad.

 

1/21/07- Jeremy Piven/AFI/Common

Avg. skit: **.06

 

I think AFI’s sound constantly screwing up was a metaphor for this show. This was one of those bad shows where none of the skits seem to have a chance from the beginning. I’m still not sure what that monologue was supposed to be about. And Macgruber debuted. And we had another Blizzard Man. And I learned the lead singer from AFI looks really gay.

 

2/3/06- Drew Barrymore/Lily Allen/Horatio Sanz

Avg. skit: **.5

 

This was a refreshing change from the January crapfests. Drew gave it her all in her fifth time hosting and despite Versace nearly ruining the show, this was a solid episode with a great digital short and an amazing Update.

 

2.10/07- Forest Whitaker/Keith Urban

Avg. skit: **.87

 

This show is my pick for sleeper show of the season. I don’t think anyone expected anything out of this show, but it ended up being one of the best shows of the season. Although he sang too much, Whitaker did a great job and almost every skit seemed to click. And how can you not love those sloths?

 

2/24/07- Rainn Wilson/Arcade Fire/Rashida Jones

Avg. skit: **.77

 

Rainn became the second Office castmember to host SNL, and the second to have a thumbs up show. He was a great host, and the Office spoof in the monologue was awesome. There were a bit too many skits of Rainn without his pants on, but that’s a minor quibble in a very good show.

 

3/17/07- Julia Louis Dreyfuss/Snow Patrol/Chris Rock

Avg. skit: **.73

 

Sadly they couldn’t top last year’s Julia show, but they put forth a good effort. Julia’s cleavage was a big help as it was all over the show. The show featured a collection of **1/2-***1/2 with nothing actively awful (except for gold) and nothing outstanding (except for Chris Rock). But it was still a fun show, and I wouldn’t mind if Julia hosted again.

 

3/24/07- Peyton Manning/Carrie Underwood/Eli Manning/Archie Manning/Mrs. Archie Manning/Dan Aykroyd

Avg. skit: **.26

 

This show was not horrifically awful like most athlete shows, so it gets gold stars for that. And Peyton tried hard and was really funny in that United Way skit, so another gold star. And this was the first SNL to feature a New Orleans Saints alum, so more gold stars. But aside from that, the episode kind of sucked.

 

4/14/07- Shia LaBeouf/Avril Lavigne/Alec Baldwin

Avg. skit: **.66

 

AVVVVVVVVVVVRIL!!!! Avril totally made this show for me, but Shia held his own. A great digital short (that’s still funny- goofy Asian kid or not) was surrounded by a collection of ***ish skits. We’ll just pretend that Shia and Maya skit didn’t happen.

 

4/21/07- Scarlett Johansson/Bjork/Senator Charles Schumer

Avg. skit: **.29

 

This was a total 180 from the show Scarlett hosted last year. Okay, maybe it was just a 90, since this was a thumbs in the middle show, but it was still a disappointment. They did three skits from the Jaime Pressly show, one of the worst shows of the season. Scarlett was nice to look at, but this was not a fun show to watch.

 

5/12/07- Molly Shannon/Linkin Park

Avg. skit: **.15

 

The only positive things I can say about this show was that it was not the worst show of the season, and the avg. skit was above **. But this episode featured Molly doing the same old stupid shit that caused everyone to revile her in 1999 and celebrate when she left the show in 2001.

 

5/19/07- Zach Braff/Maroon 5

Avg. skit: **.54

 

Thankfully they were able to end the season on a high note. Braff was an awful host, and it was a bit to recurring character heavy, but the episode got off to a very strong start and was able to hold off a post-Update slump to deliver a good episode. I could stand without ever seeing Bronx Beat however.

 

Best Skit From Each Episode-

 

Dane Cook: SNL Digital Short: Cubicle Fight

Cast- Cook, Samberg, Hader, Sudeikis, Armisen, Wiig, Poehler, Thompson

Thoughts- This skit involved violence, Dane Cook getting his ass kicked and Jackass style humour, so of course I enjoyed it. I do wish that Dane hadn’t won the fight, because Bill Hader>Dane Cook. And his name is Dane. Jason channelling his inner Gary Cole (we all have one) was amusing, and of course the graphic violence at the end- awesome. Good to see the Lonely Island guys still coming through with the Digital Shorts. ***1/2

 

Jaime Pressly- NYC Stories

Cast- Armisen, Poehler

Thoughts- Amy’s impression of Rosie Perez was shockingly dead-on and I liked the callback to Do The Right Thing. Fred’s Martin Scorcese impression was also pretty good. Lots of good lines and I’m glad they made this bit recurring throughout the night. ***3/4

 

John C. Reilly- Two A-Holes

Cast- Reilly, Kristin Wiig, Sudeikis

Thoughts- It’s official, Two A-Holes might be my favourite character on the show. I really loved the awkward vibe that the whole skit created with the drawn out pauses and silences. It was like the 27 Seconds of Silence, only with A-Holes. Loved the Jetsons bit, and Sudeikis saying zoinks out of nowhere. John C. Reilly’s speech at the end, punctuated with the A-Holes just looking at him was really funny. Good to see the Two A-Holes back and still kicking ass. ****

 

Hugh Laurie- Cold Opening-

Cast- Lorne Michaels, BORAT SAGDIYEV

Thoughts- Oh. My. God. I had been hoping for Borat to host SNL, and this was perfect. From the audience applauding before we even saw him and then Lorne mispronouncing Kazakhstan and then it just got awesomer. Borat was his usual hilarious self, I was dying at all of his lines. Loved his talking about women being in cages and giving blowjobs, referencing Madonna, and just being Borat. It should be noted that aside from Borat, the most famous Kazakhstani is Nik Antroprov. Throwing in that anti-Semitic line at the end was just the icing on the ***** cake. This was tremendous, and the funniest thing on SNL in years. *****

 

Alec Baldwin- Platinum Lounge

Cast- SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY, STEVE MARTIN, Martin Short, Baldwin, Rudolph, Hader

Thoughts- Yep, This sucked. DUD

 

I’m just kidding-

 

Holy shit. This was perfect. Just perfect. First off, the Steve Martin-Alec Baldwin face-off rocked. Not only was it hilarious, but it also worked as a little dramatic play. The Baldwin v. Martin thing that began in February is a really good story and something that should be continued when they host. I was legit interested in seeing who would win. I also liked that Steve Martin, as always, was in his self-absorbed asshole persona with Alec Baldwin as the gruff aggressive asshole with a short fuse. Martin Short was the waiter (It’s sad isn’t it) was also a very funny gag. But the switching of the drinks, hey is that Paul Simon (my heart stopped) and the big payoff with Baldwin going “Well excuuuuuuuuse me” was amazing. I was dying at this point. Also loved Martin spitting out the tooth and them realising “Hey, the record is 14- not 13.” To show my SNL nerdiness, I actually kept thinking that Baldwin hadn’t tied the record because he was only 14 times. I could probably name almost everytime Martin hosted, but not as fast as Alec did. But I am not God like Alec Baldwin is. Oh and then…..

 

SIR PAUL MOTHERFUCKING MCCARTNEY.

 

That’s why SNL is awesome. These anything can happen moments that they can put together because it’s live TV. It’s one of those reasons to love the show. And even though Sir Paul didn’t do anything- it’s still awesome because come on- he just showed up out of nowhere!

 

And Alec Baldwin’s face when he saw Sir Paul. If that doesn’t sum up everything awesome and amazing about this moment, then nothing else will. And to make my night even more, they mentioned Paul Simon again! I love SNL, I love live TV.

 

I said last time that Baldwin wouldn’t let some limey and Kazakhstani top him, and I knew he had something up his sleeve. But Steve Martin, someone from the movie Get Over It and A FUCKING BEATLE? My God! *****

 

Ludacris- Blizzard Man

Cast- Ludacris, Sudeikis, Rudolph, Thompson, Samberg

Thoughts- I have to give it to Andy, he’s two for two so far. His raps were awesome, especially the one where he mentioned shooting people and sleeping with women. No one plays a geeky white rapper better than Andy. Ludacris was also hilarious here, I loved him reacting to Samberg’s raps. Kenan even had one good line too! Wouldn’t mind to see the Blizzard Man again, I think I would enjoy some more inane and ridiculous raps from him. ***3/4

 

Matthew Fox- Monologue

Cast- Matthew Fox, Bill Hader

Thoughts- Matthew shouldn’t feel too bad. Lacey Chabert and the five people who portrayed Owen also have not hosted SNL. Michelle Williams is another person who is the only person from a show not to host. I also don’t believe Shelley Long ever hosted. This was really funny, and I loved hearing Fox talk about killing people. Bill Hader’s Kramer was tremendous. It was even better then Norm’s portrayal of Michael Richards. Great, great impression. Hopefully Michael Richards will call more people niggers so we get to see Bill’s impression more. ***3/4

 

Annette Bening- Monster in the House

Cast- Bening, Forte, Hader, Poehler

Thoughts- Sweet! A bizarre Will Forte skit. At first I thought this would be pretty lame, but Will and Bening were great here. Will’s overacting was great and I loved him constantly berating Amy for her failings. Also Amy slowly starting to realise her parents are going insane and that it was all her imagination was greatness. And the ending. Love it. Bill randomly singing a Christmas carol and getting blown away was perfect. As was Will saying: We’ll clean this up in the morning. I think they cut away a bit too abruptly with Amy being left with the monster, but this was so great. ****

 

Justin Timberlake- 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. *****

 

Jake Gyllenhaal- Cold Opening

Cast- Jason Sudeikis

Thoughts- As much as I liked Forte’s Bush, Sudeikis’ Bush is a lot better. I think he has the impression down better and with Downey writing the skits, it’s a winner. This was very funny, and I especially enjoyed W. talking about sending the mailmen, train conductors and doormen over to Iraq. Can you believe they’ve had 5 different people portray George W? ***3/4

 

Jeremy Piven- Weekend Update

Cast- Seth Meyers, Poehler, Hammond

Thoughts- Continuing the dating ourselves, Rich Little? Rich Little? Granted this was just an excuse for Darrell to show off his other impressions, but really, who remembers Rich Little? Amy had a few clunkers, but Seth was ON. The Islamophobia joke was hilarious. And I also loved the video game joke too. Good stuff. The REALLY segment was tremendous. They did the segment in the Justin Timberlake dress and it was funny, but this was much better. So many great lines, and they were mocking Michael Vick so hey! This was probably the best Update of the Poehler-Meyers era, and these guys are really coming into their own. ****

 

Drew Barrymore- Weekend Update

Cast- Meyers, Poehler, Thompson

Thoughts- Another good Update. The jokes were really good, and Kenan’s commentary was hilarious. Gotta love when Kenan plays a stereotypical black woman. I also really enjoyed Seth’s rant against his osteoporosis grandma. And there was Seth-Amy interaction which is always great to see. I wonder how much better the SNLs of the past two seasons would’ve been had they been smart enough to put Seth at the desk in 04. Seth was great, Amy had her moments and Kenan was Kenan. ***3/4

 

Forest Whitaker- Staten Island Zoo

Cast- Wiig, sloths

Thoughts- Well this came out of nowhere. And it was awesome. All the bleeping and everything was great. It reminded me of something Tenacious D would do. Kristin Wiig’s face and line at the end killed me. I think this was orginially supposed to be a Digital Short, so kudos to the Lonely Island guys for the best last skit of the season. So many great things to quote, I think YouTube has its next semi-phenomenon. ****

 

Rainn Wilson- Even Though We Ain’t Got Money

Cast- Wilson, Will Forte, Sudeikis, Bill Hader

Thoughts- Who would’ve thought Danny’s Song by Loggins and Messina would inspire so many memories? Also, whatever happened to Messina? According to wikipedia, he now runs the Jim Messina’s Songwriter’s Performance Workshop. This was an awesome skit, and all the bizarre stories were hilarious. Sudeikis’ story was slightly changed up from dress. I don’t recall the specifics, but it involved his uncle looking like a goat. So maybe you don’t want to know. The line about Bill’s dad having Down’s syndrome and Rainn yelling excitedly about pee coming out of his nose were my favourite parts, but this skit was hilarious. I didn’t really care for the Pulp Fiction ending, but that’s a minor quibble in a great skit. ****1/4

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus- Cold Opening

Cast- Chris Rock

Thoughts- This was originally a commentary in Weekend Update, and Rock called Seth “Dennis”. I laughed. His commentary was so well received that I guess they decided to move it up. It’s a shame because the cold opening originally in place was hilarious. Except for stumbling over lines a few times (which he didn’t do in dress), this was great, and Rock was his usual great self. I just love how he can basically make all these statements where you know he’s right, while still laughing your ass off. The last line about electing a retard was the clincher. Great stuff. ****

 

Peyton Manning- Peyton and the Kids

Cast- Manning

Thoughts- Awesome, nothing warms my heart like Peyton yelling and cursing at a bunch of kids. I loved that they mocked his elaborate yells at the line of scrimmage, and him telling the kid to go to the porta potty. I thought they went overboard with the bleeps but this was very funny. ***1/2

 

Shia LaBeouf- SNL Digital Short

Cast- LaBouef, Hader, Samberg, Armisen, Wiig, Sudeikis

Thoughts- Apparently this was a spoof of the second season finale of the OC, but I first heard this song when watching the pilot of Smith. Poor Ray Liotta. This was really awesome though, especially all of their faces after they just got shot, and Shia walking in only to get blown away. Kristen getting shot multiple times with the song restarting each time was easily my favourite part. The ending felt a bit tacked on, but this was some great stuff most of the way through. ****

 

Scarlett Johansson- Weekend Update

Cast- Seth Meyers, Poehler, Forte, Armisen

Thoughts- A Will Forte song and a REALLY! SNL must really be trying to makeup for some mediocre Meyers-Poehler Updates recently. Thankfully, this Update did not see Seth mispronounce the name of a polar bear. The jokes were really good this week. LOVED the Law and Order joke. A few clunkers here and there, but both Seth and Amy had some real winners this week. REALLY was really funny, and I hope Seth and Amy can develop more funny bits like that to increase the Seth-Amy interaction. The minute they introduced Forte on Update, I got excited since he always brings the Update goods and this was no exception. Hilarious song, loved the references to Battlefield Earth and come on- who doesn’t hate recycling? Really good Update and hopefully they can keep the momentum going till the end of the season. ****

 

Molly Shannon- Fringe Candidates Debate

Cast- Shannon, Darrell Hammond, Wiig, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Sudeikis, Poehler, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolph, Hader, Thompson

Thoughts- A skit that not even Molly could ruin! I always enjoy Darrell’s Dan Rather, it’s one of my favourite impressions he does. Will Forte as the NAMBLA candidate was hilarious. In fact, in last year’s next to last episode, Forte also played a paedophile. Dennis Kucinich being in the debate was probably the most clever joke on the show. Also liked the Tony Blair stuff. Didn’t care for the Whig or Black Vampire stuff. ***3/4

 

Zach Braff- TV Funhouse

Thoughts- He did it! Smigel did it! I admit to cringing when I heard Don Pardo announce, “A cartoon by Robert Smigel” I cringed. But he finally delivered. It only took him 20 episodes, but it’s better then nothing. Tons of great lines here, especially HitlervonJewsarebad and everything that came out of Rudy’s mouth. Biden admitting his hair was fake, and McCain were also very funny. It went a bit too long and thus got a little old toward the end, but it was just good to see Smigel having the magic back. Let’s hope it carries over to next season. ***3/4

 

 

Top Ten Skits of the Year-

 

1) SNL Digital Short: Cock in the Box ***** (featuring Timberlake, Samberg, Wiig, Rudolph) from Justin Timberlake

2) Platinum Lounge (featuring McCartney, Martin, Short, Baldwin, Hader, Rudolph) ***** from Alec Baldwin

3) Borat (featuring Michaels, Borat, Azamat) ***** from Hugh Laurie

4) Tony Bennett Show (featuring Baldwin, Bennett) ****1/2 from Alec Baldwin

5) Even Though We Ain’t Got Money (featuring Wilson, Sudeikis, Forte, Hader) ****1/4 from Rainn Wilson

6) Sloths (featuring Wiig)**** from Forest Whitaker

7) SNL Digital Short: Ooo What You Say (featuring LaBeouf, Samberg, Hader, Forte, Armisen, Wiig, Sudeikis)

8) Monster in the House (featuring Bening, Forte, Poehler)**** from Annette Bening

9) SNL Special Report: Road to the White House (featuring Chris Rock) from Julia Louis Dreyfus ****

10) Two A-Holes (featuring Sudeikis, Wiig, Reilly) **** from John C. Reilly

 

By cast-

Armisen: 1

Forte: 2

Hader: 3

Hammond: 0

Meyers: 0

Poehler: 1

Rudolph: 1

Samberg: 2

Sudeikis: 3

Thompson: 0

Wiig: 3

 

And now the top 5!!!!

 

Top 5 Weekend Updates-

 

1) Forest Whitaker ****1/4

2) Hugh Laurie ****1/4

3) Scarlett Johansson ****

4) Jeremy Piven ****

5) Drew Barrymore ***3/4

 

Top 5 Musical Guest Performances-

 

1) Avril Lavigne “I Can Do Better” ****

2) Beck “Clap Hands” ****

3) Justin Timberlake “What Goes Around” ****

4) Tony Bennett and Christina Aguilera “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” ****

5) Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” ***3/4

 

Top 5 Monologues-

 

1) Matthew Fox ***3/4

2) Rainn Wilson ***1/2

3) John C. Reilly ***1/2

4) Julia Louis Dreyfus ***1/2

5) Annette Bening ***

 

Top 5 Cold Openings-

 

1) Borat from Hugh Laurie *****

2) Chris Rock commentary from Julia Louis Dreyfus ****

3) Cheneys read Valentines Day cards from Forest Whitaker ****

4) Nancy Pelosi speaks from Alec Baldwin ***3/4

5) Bush leaves for the summer from Zach Braff ***3/4

 

Top 5 Last Skits-

 

1) Sloths ****

2) Whitney Houston for GEICO **1/2

3) Bald Babies **1/2

4) Shoes **1/2

5) Pussycat Dolls **1/4

 

Top 5 WU commentaries-

 

1) Will Forte as Tim Calhoun- Peyton Manning

2) Will Forte as Tim Calhoun

3) Will Forte talks about broken marriages

4) Will Forte v. Earth Day

5) Kenan as Update nanny Barbara Birmingham

 

 

Ranking the Shows-

 

1) Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera **.98

2) Hugh Laurie/Beck **.88

3) Forest Whitaker/Keith Urban **.87

4) Rainn Wilson/Arcade Fire **.77

5) Matthew Fox/Tenacious D **.77

6) Julia Louis Dreyfus/Snow Patrol **.7

7) Justin Timberlake **.67

8) Shia LaBeouf/Avril Lavigne **.66

9) Annette Bening/Gwen Stefani/Akon **.63

10) Zach Braff/Maroon 5 **.54

11) John C. Reilly/My Chemical Romance **.5

12) Drew Barrymore/Lily Allen **.5

13) Dane Cook/The Killers **.31

14) Scarlett Johansson/Bjork **.29

15) Peyton Manning/Carrie Underwood **.25

16) Ludacris **.24

17) Jaime Pressley/Corrine Bailey Ray **.2

18) Molly Shannon/Linkin Park **.15

19) Jake Gyllenhaal/The Shins **.09

20) Jeremy Piven/AFI **.06

 

Bottom 5-

 

Bottom 5 Weekend Updates

 

5) Dane Cook ***1/4

4) Matthew Fox ***1/4

3) Jake Gyllenhaal ***

2) John C. Reilly ***

1) Ludacris ***

 

Bottom 5 Musical Guest Performances-

 

5) Bjork **

4) Gwen Stefani “Wind it Up” **

3) My Chemical Romance “Something Emo 1st song” **

2) My Chemical Romance “Another fruity song” *1/2

1) The Shins “New Slang” *1/2

 

Bottom 5 Monologues-

 

5) Scarlett Johansson **1/4

4) Alec Baldwin **

3) Molly Shannon **

2) Jeremy Piven *1/2

1) Dane Cook *

 

Bottom 5 Cold Openings-

 

5) George W. addresses nation from Ludacris **1/2

4) American Idol auditions from Drew Barrymore **1/4

3) Anna Nicole Smith stuff from Rainn Wilson **

2) Special Report with Brit Hume from John C. Reilly *1/2

1) Mary Katherine Gallagher from Molly Shannon *1/2

 

Bottom 5 Weekend Update Commentaries-

 

5) Fred Armisen as the Crying Judge Part 1

4) Fred Armisen as the Crying Judge Part 2

3) Darrell Hammond as Don Imus

2) Andy Samberg as Prince Harry

1) Molly Shannon as Jeannie Darcy

 

Bottom 5 Last Skits-

 

5) Grumpy Old Men

4) Annoying Receptionist

3) Lawyers

2) Maya seduces Shia

1) Out of Breath Jogger from 1982

 

Rating the cast-

 

Fred Armisen- Fred really didn’t do much this year worth noting. He had a few good characters and impressions, but nothing he did this year stood out. I still like him, but I have a feeling he’s starting to get a little stale. **1/4 Last year: ***1/4

 

Will Forte- Forte really shined this year. At first I felt bad for him losing the top impression on the show, but then I found it was voluntary. I think it freed him up to write more and to give us more of the bizarro Forte skit we know in love. Two of my favourite Forte skits this year were cut from dress rehearsal which I think was criminal. While he’ll never be a cast leader, I think he’s one of the most versatile and best cast members out there. ****1/4 Last year: ****

 

Bill Hader- Bill’s known as being a team player which means he often is stuck in the background or just not in many skits at all. It’s a shame since I think he put together a very good second season. He’s an amazing impressionist and his skills in that area definitely need to be utlisied more. Here’s hoping 2007-2008 is the season of Hader. ***1/2 Last year: ***

 

Darrell Hammond- See everything I’ve written the past few years. It still applies. He wasn’t even in half the shows! ** Last year: **

 

Seth Meyers- Seth finally got his spot at the desk, a position fans (or maybe just me) has been clamoring for since Jimmy left in 2004. And he didn’t disappoint. Once he dropped his Jim Halpert smirk and learned how to pronounce a polar bear, Seth was perfect. His delivery was perfect, and he didn’t succumb to the annoying cutesy bits that Amy and Tina did. Seth also was willing to make offensive and tasteless jokes, something that Tina and Amy seemed almost afraid to do at times. The guy advocated a terrorist attack on London! Norm would be proud. While we don’t know the impact Seth had behind the scenes, I enjoyed SNL this year, so that’s another plus for him. But Seth made Update fun again, he made it worth watching again. And for that, I’ll always be grateful and thankful. ****1/4 Last year: ****1/4

 

Amy Poehler- Amy had an interesting year. She introduced an awful new recurring character in Bronx Beat and with Seth out of skits, she lost the castmember that she plays off of the best. But she showed a marked improvement at the desk. She no longer had Tina to play off of, which was good since we had no more cutesy bits like playing with Barbies. Instead whenever they did Seth-Amy interaction (which wasn’t enough) we got excellent bits like REALLY. Amy also did fairly well in skits, although her Nancy Grace needs tweaking. ***1/4 Last year: **

 

Maya Rudolph- Maya sang. A lot. And when she didn’t sing, she was in a skit called Bronx Beat. Or the Noonies. Or that awful skit where she tried to seduce Shia LaBoeuf. I hope the overload of Maya in the finale was a sign that we will never have to see Charlie Coffey again. ¼* Last year: ¼*

 

Andy Samberg- Andy Samberg’s an enigma. Put him in a skit and you have disaster written all over it. See Deephouse Dish, his awful commentaries on Weekend Update, the Out of Breath Jogger and whatever the hell Kuato is. But, like last year, the Digital Shorts continue to be the highlight of the show and were responsible for three of this season’s top ten skits, including the #1 skit of the season for the second year in a row. Now my theory is that Jorma and Akiva contribute more to the Digital Shorts then Andy does, but since we don’t know for sure, I’ll give Andy the benefit of the doubt though, and hope next year he concentrates more on Digital Shorts and less on actual skits. **1/4 Last year: **

 

Jason Sudeikis- Sudeikis had a fantastic SNL year. In just a short span, he’s managed to become SNL’s main male player. He even was awarded the top impression of the show, which is quite an accomplishment. He was versatile, being able to appear in any number of skits and get a laugh in all of them. And Two A-Holes quickly became one of my recurring characters. I think SNL is in very good hands with Jason as the male leader of the cast. Plus, he was really funny on 30 Rock too. **** Last year: ***3/4

 

Kenan Thompson- Being the only black castmember turned out to be a disadvantage for Kenan. SNL didn’t really write any skits for him and the ones that did, seemed to revolve around him being LOUD since apparently black people can’t whisper. I hope Kenan gets some more airtime next year, the fact that he was only used when they needed a Virginiaca or a Deephouse Dish. ** Last year: ***1/2

 

Kristen Wiig- Kristin’s improvement was one of the bright spots of SNL this season. Initially I didn’t like her, but she grew me on this season. She had the Two A-Holes, some great impressions and the Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother skit. She can also play bizarre and do straight comedy, which is always a plus. While she had recurring characters that she tended to overuse, I think Kristen definitely has the tools to become a big success on SNL. ***1/2 Last year: **

 

Mailbag!!!!!!!!-

 

[email protected] writes-

 

I thought I’d ask you an SNL-related question for a change.

 

I was wondering if you could comment on the falling stars that are Tina

Fey and Jimmy Fallon. Considering how hot both of them were in the year

2000, it’s kind of funny how they’ve fizzled since 2004. Back in

the day, Tina and Jimmy breathed new life into Weekend Update. These

days, SNL fans are breathing a sigh of relief now that they’re gone.

 

I was wondering why you think Jimmy has become a failure after the

modest success of Fever Pitch in 2005. And I was wondering why you think

the same way about Tina after how 30 Rock has been praised by critics,

and after how Alec Baldwin won that Golden Globe.

 

In short, what factors do you think caused the career collapse of Tina

and Jimmy? Was it bad luck, bad career moves, or just a lack of talent?

 

As always- thanks, Bob.

 

Later-

 

Ken

 

Jimmy Fallon flamed out because his first two star vehicles were poor choices. Taxi was was an awful choice. Jimmy was horribly miscast as an action star and nobody bought him as one. It was an action movie with a horrible action star, and a comedy that wasn’t very funny.

 

I wouldn’t call Fever Pitch a modest success. While it made a profit, it only made $42 million, which I think was a disappointment. I think most studio execs agreed, as you don’t see Jimmy getting another vehicle. Fever Pitch disappointed because it angered people in Boston and New York and I don’t think the romance was played up very well in ads. Fever Pitch is a really good movie too. His next movie Rocket doesn’t sound like it will go anywhere.

 

I don’t think Tina has faded at all. In fact, she’s just visible as ever. Even though no one watches 30 Rock and it’s wildly inconsistent, she seems to be getting lots of praise and media attention for the show. Most likely because she is a woman. While I don’t think 30 Rock is that good, the fact that it gets so much media attention shows that Tina is still very visible.

 

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

 

And now the review….

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Jason Sudeikis, Darrell Hammond, Maya Rudolph

Thoughts- Nice to see SNL going back to a political cold opening after the disaster that was Mary Katherine Gallagher last week. Jason had a lot of good lines here about the war in Iraq and I liked the cutaways to Cheney. I especially liked the one about going in there for oil with gas prices being so high. Maya as Condi wasn’t needed, but if this is her last show (::prays:) then I’m okay with her getting a token LFNYISN send-off. ***3/4

 

Monologue

Cast- Zach Braff, Andy Samberg, Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Kenan Thompson

Thoughts- Braff’s one of those people that I really don’t like. I hated the last 20 minutes of Garden State so much that it ruined the movie, and I find Scrubs to be horribly overrated. Yes, more overrated then 30 Rock. I didn’t agree with the mention of the Prudential Centre as a landmark since it hasn’t opened yet. And really, who in their right mind would perform in downtown Newark? That’s just asking for trouble. This was amusing enough and I love that they mentioned the Nets so it gets a pass for me. ***

 

SNL Digital Short

Cast- Braff, Samberg

Thoughts- We get all these great digital shorts this year, and the best they can come up with for the finale is Samberg wanting to bone a dog? That dog looked EXACTLY like the dog from the Shaggy Dog. It was freaky. This was kind of funny especially the part about the dog just seducing Samberg for some ham. But on the SNL Digital Short scale, this was a bit of a disappointment. **1/2

 

Prom Committee Meeting

Cast- Everyone but Seth

Thoughts- That’s a lot easier then typing out 11 names trust me. Maya and Amy were half funny/half annoying as the Prom Committee chairs. Fred was hilarious, and as someone who has been to two Mets games this season- he got the stereotypical Mets fan down to a T. Will as the socially awkward nerd was also great stuff. Braff was awful and his shameless self promotion of Garden State just made me hate him that much more. Kenan and Jason were alright as the stoners, and I didn’t care for Bill and Kristen’s religious stuff. The random cameo by Darrell was hilarious and put this one over the *** plateau. I don’t know if he was supposed to be doing specifically doing Connery, or whether his teacher just bore a striking resemblance to Connery and that’s why he wanted a Bond prom. ***1/4

 

Deephouse Dish

Cast- Braff, Thompson, Samberg, Rudolph, Braff, Poehler, Forte

Thoughts- Ooooooweee T-Shane. Good Lord how does this keep getting on the air? Braff playing a delusional ghetto singer was pretty funny but the rest was the usual cringe inducing Deephouse Dish stuff. I’m wish DJ Dynasty Handbag though- that first joke by T-Shane was actually kind of funny. Please guys, for next season, let’s put Deephouse Dish out to pasture. *3/4

 

TV Funhouse

Thoughts- He did it! Smigel did it! I admit to cringing when I heard Don Pardo announce, “A cartoon by Robert Smigel” I cringed. But he finally delivered. It only took him 20 episodes, but it’s better then nothing. Tons of great lines here, especially HitlervonJewsarebad and everything that came out of Rudy’s mouth. Biden admitting his hair was fake, and McCain were also very funny. It went a bit too long and thus got a little old toward the end, but it was just good to see Smigel having the magic back. Let’s hope it carries over to next season. ***3/4

 

The Weight

Cast- Braff, Sudeikis, Forte, Hader

Thoughts- Wait, who decided this should be a recurring skit? A skit like this should be a one time thing, I don’t want to see every male host next year swapping off-putting stories set to a classic song by the 70s. Braff was awful here. I hated his delivery and his facials. Just terrible. The other three did their best to pick up the slack and there were some funny stories, but they couldn’t top anything in the Rainn Wilson bit and shouldn’t have even tried. Good song though. I liked this, but I would’ve liked it better had it not been for the first skit. **1/2

 

Maroon 5 “Makes Me Wonder”

Thoughts- This one I wasn’t feeling. Bitter Maroon 5 is not as good as sappy She Will Be Loved Maroon 5. This was just a flat performance of a song that I’m really not too crazy about. It’s weird that the best SNL could get for their season finale is Zach Braff and Maroon 5. I looked it up and this is the weakest finale lineup since Woody Harrellson/Vanessa Williams.

 

Ouch. **1/4

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Seth Meyers, Poehler, Wiig, Armisen, Rudolph

Thoughts- Not the best season finale sendoff. I was hoping for something like the Weekend Update from the Walken finale where FallonFey had been having these great Updates and were honing their craft and then finally in the finale everything came together and it was perfect. Of course Fallon/Fey didn’t have to contend with Maya doing Whitney Houston for the umpteenth time. I’m okay with the Mayafest if it’s her last show. If it’s not, then this shit was inexcusable. Aunt Linda was the same as always. It really isn’t that funny, but it’s so bad that I find myself laughing anyway. Fred’s Sam Waterson impression is pretty bad. As usual, the jokes carried this one with Seth and Amy both delivering their usual smatter of good jokes. Not the best Update, but it was good enough. ***1/4

 

La Ravista Con Television Con Vinny Vedecci

Cast- Braff, Hader, Armisen, Forte

Thoughts- Another skit that I don’t think I would’ve brought back. I did like how in Italy, Scrubs is a drama, that made me laugh. To me it might as well be a drama, since I don’t really laugh anyway! The random cutaways to Forte and Armisen were pretty funny. I didn’t care for the rest of this skit. Bill may do a good Italian impression but it really never goes anywhere. **1/4

 

Bronx Beat

Cast- Braff, Rudolph, Poehler

Thoughts- Yeaaaa, this really better be Maya’s last show. Even the Surgeon General said that this much Maya is harmful to one’s health. But if this is the last Bronx Beat then it least wasn’t a DUD. What a commendable way to go out. ¼*

 

Maroon 5 “Won’t Go Home Without You”

Thoughts- Now this is the Maroon 5 I know and love! Much better then whatever they were doing in that first song. I do have trouble taking Maroon 5 seriously after David Cross kept ripping them apart in some thing about the Grammys for Entertainment Weekly. Great stuff, David Cross rules. And this was some good stuff. ***1/4

 

Annoying Receptionist

Cast- Braff, Rudolph, Armisen

Thoughts- Last year the last skit was that brutally funny skit mocking Neil Young’s stupid new album. This year….we get this. Okay, it wasn’t as egregious as in 2005 when the season ended with the one-two punch of that creepy skit where Parnell drove Lindsay Lohan home and the Bear City. But still….this is our last skit of the season? Lame.

 

Fred kind of looked like Ugly Betty here. A quick check revealed that they did this in the Tom Hanks dress rehearsal and it sucked then. Zach Braff and Fred Armisen making out is not the way I would’ve chosen to end the 32nd season of SNL. ¼*

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **.54 making this a thumbs up show. I’m glad they were able to end the season on a positive note, and rebound from the disappoint of Scarlett and the awfulness of Molly Shannon. Braff was a horrible host, but the cast and writers were able to work around his comedic decencies and create some good skits around him. The show had a big dropoff after Update, but luckily it wasn’t enough to ruin the show. Maya being in everything was a bit much, but it’s all worth it if it was her last show. It’s pretty remarkable that in a show filled with Zach Braff and Maya Rudolph, they were able to still have a good show!

 

Thumbs Up

 

See y’all in the fall!

[MDH257 0]

If they were gonna bring back Fred's Fugly Betsy getup, they should have just done a full out Ugly Betty parody.

 

Bob, I loved Garden State, how do you think it should have ended (and what else did you think was wrong with the last 20 minutes)?

[Chazz 0]

Did You ever do a review for The LaBeouf/Avril ep?

[bob_barron 0]

Yes I reviewed Shia/Avril, it should be somewhere at TSM or at Voy.

 

I just hated how they kissed in the rain- seemed so cliche, and then he gets off the plane and comes back for her- what is this...Friends? The movie just really bothered me.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I really liked The Weight. But I didn't know they'd done a bunch of similar skits before