Still Promoting SNL

So I have no idea what Julian Assange sounds like and I know he doesn't look like Bill Hader, but I still love Hader's frequent impersonation of Assange on SNL.
The skit is basically the same premise every time (Assange interrupts a taped video with his own video), but they're consistently fresh.
Just a heads up, though, if you don't follow the news or understand pop culture, then you won't like this...

More Denzel

Because I'm committed to bringing joy to the world during the holiday season, I will be debuting another video with Jay Pharoah as Denzel Washington.
In this installment of Pharoah's Denzel, which was the first to air, he is working returns at Macy's, while Jane Lynch wants to return a handbag.
The antagonistic Denzel is obviously reluctant to just take the bag back because it cost "a lot of money."
Ultimately, Pharoah delivers what some (either Eric or Dwayne) have referred to as the best Denzel skit to date.
You be the judge....
S

One can only hope that Pharoah, who is rumored to do a great OBAMA, will have more chances to break out the Denzel in the future.

"Ok, all right."

What I deem funny is rarely the same as my peers, especially when it comes to Saturday Night Live clips. This relic of the past seems to be the bastion only of hipsters, which I reluctantly find myself a part of. As a result, I often find clips to be so hilarious that they need to be shown to the world (also known as my immediate friends that will sit down in front of a computer).
There have been successes in the past, specifically my sharing of the David Paterson bit on Weekend Update. This recurring skit routinely killed my roommate, Sean Kirkpatrick, who frequently returned to it for a chuckle.
In Saratoga Springs I was never quite that lucky, until I discovered a celebrity impersonation that killed me.
Jay Pharaoh first made himself known to me when he did a spot on impersonation of Will Smith on an early episode of SNL this season. The featured player was hilarious as Smith, but the problem is that Smith isn't exactly a caricature of himself and therefore an impersonation just captures a slightly ridiculous person.
Luckily, Denzel Washington is not even remotely grounded to reality in his acting roles, which Pharaoh mimicked in a redone trailer for "Unstoppable."
This skit was viewed over and over by my friends Alex, Dwayne and Eric, who then repeatedly uttered lines while at the bars, to patrons who thought they were looking at three escaped mental patients.
When they got home around 5 a.m. they woke me up so i could replay the video, which they then watched for another half an hour.
Here it is....

Betty White: Event TV

By popular demand Betty White hosted SNL on Saturday. This all came about as the result of an online push that originated with facebook and eventually entered mainstream media. The fervor generated a lot of buzz, with word of mouth allowing the news to permeate throughout all demographics.
All of this created the phenomenon of EVENT TV. This idea is evident in LOST, certain American Idol finales, HBO programming and the collapse of Jon and Kate Plus 8 are some recent examples of events that benefited from widespread knowledge or a cult-like following.
In these instances you have something more than a HOUSE season finale, where there isn't the same devotion or general interest. It may pique the curiosity of tv viewers, and probably even win its time slot, but it doesn't rile people up or attract nonviewers.
EVENT TV brings is responsible for bringing in new viewers or inducing an asthmatic incident in regular viewers. (Think LOST fans freaking over the series finale.)

The most recent EVENT TV i can think of is the Masters, which benefited from the return of Tiger Woods. His infidelities gripped the nation, generating a lot of conversation and introducing him to people who don't watch golf, wear Nike apparel or drink Gatorade. As a result, ratings for the Masters were up as casual golf fans and non-golf fans tuned in.
This phenomenon repeated itself on Saturday, when SNL drew its highest ratings since John McCain and Tina Fey appeared in November of 2008. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a product of Rachel Dratch's return or having Jay-Z as the musical guest.
The product SNL put out was admirable, as they effectively utilized Betty White by having her say things that sounded shocking from the mouth of an 88 year old. To that end, though, i think my great aunt Madeline could have performed as admirably.
But White was given a chance to shine, cracking old jokes (she communicates with people her age, not through facebook, but with a Ouija board), playing old straight talkers and generally just smiling. She really could no wrong, as her first sighting was met with thunderous applause, which continued throughout the night.
My favorite segment featured Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph recreating an old classic, where they host a show called Bronx Beat. They're a pair of Bronx mothers who talk about their lives and usually react to an offbeat guest. Their accents are sensational and their thought progressions are uproariously surprising and funny. ()
This skit was followed closely by the last bit of the night, which revolved around a visit from a census worker. It was pure screwball comedy, with Betty White playing a reluctant participant who doesn't give any easy answers. ()
I really enjoyed the return of the female alums, who offered flashes of what we're now missing on the show. They dazzled compared to the women who are currently on the show, including Kristen Wiig. She used to be one of my favorites, but now she feels over exposed and simply repeating the same performance. When that happens i think it means it is time to move on, so you can come back years later with a fresh performance. By the end of the episode, though, i was left wondering what Anna Gasteyer has been up to all these years? (Besides playing Lindsay Lohan's mom in Mean Girls. Obviously.)
On the whole I was satisfied with the final product. I'm not sure it lived up to the hype, but I don't know what anyone really expected from Betty White. The most important thing is that I don't feel let down, which is often what happens in instances like this. (Think Spiderman 3, the Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape,and Jay Leno's Variety show)

Week in Review

This is the first in a new weekly installment I'll be doing every Sunday, where I recap what you need to know about the past week in television. I'll delve into the things I felt were interesting or that you might need to know.
Why am i doing this? Basically because EW does something like this and I liked the idea. Besides that, though, it is as pointless as everything else I read.
Anyway, if you haven't stopped reading already, enjoy...
1. On The PACIFIC, Steven Spielberg got to use left over stock footage from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN for another island invasion scene.
2. For some reason Donald Trump loves Cyndi Lauper and Sharon Osbourne, since he refused to fire them, even though the latter missed the entire challenge and the former missed 80% of it. The same treatment was denied to Michael Johnson, who asked for a leave of absence, but was told that leave would have to be permanent since he'd miss a task. This double standard was infuriating, especially since Sharon is useless and will be fired the next time her team loses.
3. There was no CHUCK. I mean what the heck. No Chuck? What the F*$%?
4. On V we got an introduction to John May (Michael Trucco) via a flashback. It was exciting to see Trucco back on television in a character eerily similar to his Battlestar Galactica role. The only problem was that he was summarily killed off during the flashback...
5. I don't know why I'm watching FLASHFORWARD anymore. I've seen the future, and it won't be on in the fall.
6. Jamie Oliver asked the high school kids to try his food ... and they did!!! Unfortunately, the elementary school still offered flavored milks and all the kids died.
7. SNL was totally underrated. It was a character-centric show with limited stories, but they were still giggle worthy. My favorite was Andy Sandberg as an accountant for celebrities. It show cased the cast's ability to mimic tons of stars. COPY AND PASTE the link.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/143265/saturday-night-live-celebrity-taxes-mort-feingold

Ok, so that was the first week in review segment. Any thoughts? SHould it be longer or shorter? Should it try to be somewhat relevant or cohesive?

SNL: I call it quits after Update

So based on the title of this post, my review of this week's SNL will not cover the entirety of the night. This may or may not be a good thing, since often the show becomes a vast wasteland of crap after update, but last week with Sir Charles there were some good moments after the fake news.
Anyway, i found tonight's episode to be fair. It was middle of the road, maintaining a balance that kept me smiling, but never made me really laugh or really made me mad.
Here are my thoughts, in order:
1. The cold open was wildly erratic. Fred Armisen was great as Larry King, but Bill Hader was useless as Conan. He should have done some hair movements or something. For a guy who prides himself on his impersonations, this one was weak. The best part of the sketch was Larry King spelling out a website's URL and Jason Sudekis silently capturing David Letterman.
2. THe monologue was boring. I should have realized this would be indicative of the night, where Sigourney fails to captivate.

3. Keenan Thompson is great. He plays an old guy better than most old guys. Sigourney tried to ruin the skit, but it is saved when the two share the scene to act out strange sex acts. Ultimately, the highlight is watching Keenan in his oversized boxers and dress socks. It doesn't matter what he says or does, since that visual is amazing.
4. Hated the disco sketch. I wonder if someone besides Kristen Wigg could have done a better job. WE'll never know, since she apparently has to be in every sketch. Speaking of which....
5. Would have liked a break from Wigg in the ESPN classic sketch. She didn't bring anything that one of the featured girls couldn't have brought. The focus of this skit is Sudekis and Forte, who have perfected these characters that I love.
6. The Ting Tings are great. That song is eh, but the way they perform it is great. Really exciting, like a toned down version of Lady Gaga. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say a heavily sedated version if she was forced to adhere to some sort of dress code. Still pretty cool.
7. Digital short was cool, if only to see James Cameron letting loose like he did on Entourage. The pop culture references were fun, although my enjoyment usually comes down to how much time Lorne Michaels gets in these skits, which was plenty this time and made it good.
8. Update sucked. The Meryl Streep impersonation was good and the critique was correct, but it wasn't worth a whole bit. Loved Larry the Goose. The rest of Update was just, eh. So i guess it didn't suck.

What did you think? Did you watch it? Did you think Leno was taking over SNL?

SNL soars with Swift

Rarely do I sit through an entire episode of SNL. Normally I'll catch up on Sunday via HULU, but Saturday night i sat down and watched the entire show, songs and all, from start to finish. On the whole I really enjoyed it.
The opening sketch was not funny and was indicative of one theme throughout the show, which is that Kristin Wiig is in every sketch. The only time she didn't appear was during Weekend Update (when she probably worked a camera) and when Swift sang (didn't see her doing backup vocals). Wiig is definitely the best actress on the show, but i feel like she could burnout. In part because they over use some of her characters, like Penelope, and also because she will physically and emotionally show the toll. Some of her roles could have been done by the other cast members, including Abbey Elliot, who is a rising star on the show.
Besides the cold open, which was a forgettable spoof on FOX News (Sudekis as Glen Beck was good, but Jon Stewart did it better this week) the show was funny.Swift killed her monologue with a great song that basically just poked fun at the more public aspects of her life.
The highlight of the night was the fake infomercial about bad parental driving. Sudekis and Wiig were hilarious in it, but only because they perfectly captured the tendencies of my mom.
Swift fit right in playing Kate Gosselin as a guest star on THE VIEW. As usual Keenan Thompson and Fred Armisen stole the show playing Whoopi Golberg and Joy Behar respectively, but she carried her own weight. The only surprising reveal of the skit was that a new actress was playing Barbara Walters. She's a featured player so i didn't bother learning her name or looking it up.
Keenan Thompson and Taylor Swift made an amazing duo as part of a scared straight team, which Thompson regularly does. She pretended to be a male convict and while not selling it at all, got me to laugh simply by the premise of her as a male criminal.
I hope Swift has a long musical career, just so she can come back and host again.