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SNL Real-Time Review – Some Highs And Some J-Lo’s

Posted in Humor, NBC, TV with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2010 by tvismyiv

I haven’t written a review of Saturday Night Live this season since the Megan Fox season premiere.  Mostly for no reason other than I haven’t been home on Saturday nights (sad face tonight).  So with the Kristen Wiig Counter in full effect, let’s begin…

Back in the day, but not the Bronx days...

We Are the World 3 Benefit for We Are the World 2 Disaster (Cold Open)
By far, one of the best cold opens in a while, mostly because I agreed with it (and was equally late on the criticism). Wiig Counter: 1

Jennifer Lopez’s Monologue
I was surprised at how hot J-Lo looked.  I wasn’t surprised that the audience response wasn’t that warm.

ESPN Classic – Ladies Curling
One of Will Forte’s best characters is Greg Stink.  Come to think of it – it is his best, because I can’t think of any others.  Wiig Counter: 2

Digital Short – Flags of the World
Awesome and requires repeated viewings.  Especially to figure out the “I like to hit people with my car” subtitle.  And also because of adorable Abby Elliott.  Will post as soon as available.

Hollywood Dish
I’m not too into this bit normally, but this one had its moments.  And none of those moments belonged to J-Lo.  (Spit take was a win.  Also, the “I like to hit people with my car” subtitle finally makes sense!) Wiig Counter: 3

Telemundo Olympic Coverage
For the record, Jenny Slate’s Spanish accent is muy terrible.  Lopez and Fred Armison’s reaction to the “unfinished” ski jump was pretty funny, as was their reaction to people living in Vancouver, and curling not being shuffleboard.  Bobby Moynihan as a man-child armed with a pie earns this skit bonus points.

Undercover Celebrity Boss
I love the original show, and this was a clever riff. Wiig Counter: 4

Lopez’s First Performance
Usually I approve of singers (and athletes and politicians) playing Actors! on SNL, but the other way is indulgent.  Couple that with the fact that despite having a few “hits” under her belt, I will never consider Jenny from the Block an actual musician.  She’s an Actor! that sings (pitchy on the high notes), and even though she was better than, say, Ashley Simpson, merely by singing live, that didn’t stop her label from dropping her… only two days ago.

(SIDENOTE: Kudos to her performing despite that fact.  Double kudos to her ass hopefully keeping Kim Kardashian’s buxom behind as far away from this show as possible.)

BTW… fuck NBC for their Tonight Show with Jay Leno ads.  This one, I approve:

Weekend Update
Some of the jokes were pretty easy, but aren’t they always?  Something not as easy – for Armison’s (blind New York governor) David Patterson impersonation, they have to hold his cue cards off to the side to complete his “wonky eye” effect.

Univision’s Besos Y Lagrimas
Or in English, “Kisses and Tears” (don’t be impressed – I Babelfished it).  It was as over-the-top as I would have expected, and did expect.  As is the tradition with these type of skits.  (It is a thirty-five year old show after all.  Not that thirty-five is that old…)  Wiig Counter: 5

Romance in the Copy Room
Despite being frowned upon by the masses – and even by me at times – Kenan Thompson has a few fun characters in his repertoire.  This is his second best after What Up Wit’ Dat? The sliding in and out works quite well.

Lopez’s Second Performance
All I can think about during this performance is the fact that her comeback song was supposed to be Louboutins (a song about shoes) and how she fell during her first performance of it at the AMA’s.  A weird feeling is coming over me while watching her sing.  Is it pity?  Is it compassion?  I think it’s hunger.

Smashmouth Attacks!
Bravo!  The best of the night, at least as far as ideas go.  I have to wonder if Nasim Pedrad wrote this bit, and if she did, she needs to write more.  Oops on the boom microphone in the shot.

Car Horns and More
When I was a kid, my sibs and I made an audio tape version of SNL (because we did not have a camcorder, you see).  This is the type of skit we made.  Doesn’t mean I didn’t smile.

Closet Organizer
Was this a new commercial?  No.  They showed it, like, an episode or two ago.  Wiig Counter: 6 (barely)

FINAL DECISION: I’d rank this somewhere between January Jones and Charles Barkley’s appearances.  And I’m surprised I didn’t hate on the Wedding Planner that much.

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Late Night With Jimmy Fallon – A First Episode Review

Posted in Humor, NBC with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 3, 2009 by tvismyiv

Jimmy Fallon started his hosting gig of the Late Night last night, and it started off with a guest appearance by Conan O’Brien cleaning out his dressing room.  It made me laugh and it was a good start.  Favorite joke:

Fallon: So, uh, you getting Jay’s old dressing room?

Conan: Leno’s not leaving.

He rolled with the audience pretty well during his monologue, which consisted of SNL Weekend Update-like soundbite jokes.  (The Roots also participated in Slow Jamming the News.  Their performance made me think they’re showing up strictly for a steady paycheck.  I’ll chalk their awkwardness up to inexperience on live late night talk shows.  It’s been awhile since Max Weinberg started on Conan O’Brien – perhaps he was just as awkward.  Wait.  He always looked awkward and played it to great effect.)

Target Demographic: Blonde Mothers, a taped bit, was pretty funny.  I just can’t recall any “highlights.”  Boosh!

Lick It For Ten was a dumb game show where three audience members licked a lawnmower, an all-in-on printer, and a fishbowl (complete with goldfish!) for ten bucks.  I guess Conan had his share of lame concepts, but he learned to play off the lameness for extra humor.  Fallon’s still in SNL mode, but maybe he’ll get there.

(Rihanna in a commercial for Cover Girl?  Too soon to joke?)

His first guest was Robert Deniro and he made some early jokes at Deniro’s expense, with Deniro’s involvement, of course.  Deniro’s not the most glib of interviewees, but Fallon did way more talking than interviewing.  They even ripped off an old joke from SNL gag where they impersonated each other.  But I’ll forgive him, and time will tell how he’ll do with other guests.

Space Train, a short sketch if I ever saw one, was funny.  It was a clip from an “unreleased movie” starring the pair.  Fallon’s character was afraid to fly into space, and Deniro was the space train’s conductor.  This paragraph is longer than the bit.

His second guest was Justin Timberlake.  Much better.  Too much revelling in the old SNL days, and not enough interview again.  But I can’t wait for The Phone – JT’s new MTV show where people get phone calls and their lives are turned upside down for 24 hrs. to win $50,000.  A car blows up in the preview – SOLD!

(FYI: JT also does a mean John Mayer and Michael McDonald impression, even if he’s singing about Bud Light Lime.)

Last guest – Van Morrison.  Good if you think Van Morrison is good.  Is he the Brown Eyed Girl guy?  Looked it up.  Yes he is.

Early predictions for the show:

  • Fallon will probably get better as time goes on.
  • His sketches will probably get more tongue-in-cheek, than tongue-on-lawnmower.
  • The Roots will leave the show six months from now.

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Leno To Jay Up Primetime

Posted in ABC, Film, Humor, NBC, TV with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2008 by sgottahurt

What has NBC become?  Besides a shadow of its former self in the 80’s and 90’s, it’s become home for another late night talk show.  Maybe late is an overstatement (from NY Times):

…(Jay) Leno’s new show will appear at 10 o’clock each weeknight in a format similar to “The Tonight Show,” which he has hosted since 1993…

This is a move made to keep a promise made to Conan O’Brien five years ago (that he would take hold of Johnny Carson’s reigns, ‘natch), and to keep Leno from becoming possible competition a la David Letterman, which happened when he moved to CBS back in the day.

This plan will also take pressure off the creative vacuum at the Peacock Network to script worthy prime time shows.  Since ER is flat-lining at the end of this season, all they’ll have to do is move any remaining Law & Orders to 9pm.  Bonus: they’ll be saving $13,000,000 a week.

For those of you worried about the new show’s content, put your mind at ease:

…The new show, which will begin next fall, is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. Mr. Leno is expected to retain many of the most popular elements of his “Tonight Show,” including his monologue and bits like “Headlines” and “Jay Walking.” One “Tonight Show” staff member said the new program would not be a variety show.

Here’s a few suggested uses for the surplus $13 million/week:

  1. Get the rights to Pushing Daisies from ABC and produce it.  It’s better than anything else NBC puts out (My Own Worst Enemy, Knight Rider, Heroes).
  2. Produce a show like Pushing Daisies.  A TV show based on Fables (a comic book series where fairy tale characters interact in the real world) is looking for a home.  Sign ’em up!
  3. Give it to the Big Three auto makers in Detroit.  They could become the Big G.E. Three…
  4. Pay to keep good people on Saturday Night Live.  Not everyone that walks away is a guaranteed success.  Make Studio 8H their home.
  5. Promote the hell out of 30 Rock.  Make Alec happy.
  6. Get some talent involved in the writing of Heroes.
  7. Give it to Conan.  He deserves it.

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Wednesday’s TV Picks

Posted in ABC, CBS, Humor, NBC, TV with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2008 by sgottahurt

8pm – ABC’s Pushing Daisies, blah blah blah.  Mere episodes are left of the creative show, so you could ride it out until the cliffhanger (yippie!), or go with The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried on CBS.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the few pretty ladies with the comedic chops to match, and Jay Mohr stars with Paula Marshall and Jaime King… both of whom have been naked on cable and film, so kudos to him.

9pm – Life on NBC stars Sarah Shahi.  In most episodes, she happens to be in various states of undress.  Think – the second coming of Eva Longoria, minus the hype and annoying.

Sarah Shahi is not shy

Sarah Shahi is not shy

10pm – Can’t wait ’til Jay Leno’s new show starts!  Not really… but there isn’t any crap on except for Law & Snoreder on NBC and Dirty Sexy Money Pit on ABC.  Do anything else instead.

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The Roots Have Fallon And They Can’t Get Up!

Posted in Film, Humor, NBC, TV, Video with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2008 by sgottahurt

For those of you that may not know, Conan O’Brien is leaving his late night show.

Ha!  Gotcha!  (…prollynotrlly…)

Jimmy Fallon (formerly of Saturday Night Live and regrettably of Taxi) will be taking his place, when Conan will be taking Jay Leno’s place next year.  According to this article from Gawker, hip hop band The Roots might be his house band.

Imagine mixing these two acts together:

Click here for Fallon and click here for The Roots.

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