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Alec Baldwin Tonight Ties The Steve Martin Record On SNL’s 35th Season Finale -- Even As Fox Mulls Ending THE WANDA SYKES SHOW!!
I am – Hercules!!
It’s not an election year, but “Saturday Night Live” keeps garnering bigger 18-49 audiences than anything in late night and dang near anything in primetime (last week’s Betty White outing outperformed everything last week except “American Idol,” “Glee” and “Two and a Half Men”).
In fact, I’m told if you ignore a couple of 2008 episodes featuring Sarah Palin and John McCain, you have to go all the way back to a 1994 episode hosted by Steve Martin to find an installment of the late-night franchise that drew more viewers.
All this on Saturday, the least-watched night on television.
Over on Fox, meanwhile, “The Wanda Sykes Show” is drawing even lower ratings than “Mad TV,” the late-night Saturday show it replaced this season. Fox is expected to announce the cancellation of “Sykes” Monday.
It’s widely believed Fox will replace “Sykes” with a new Jamie Foxx-produced sketch show masterminded by “Mad TV” creators Fax Bahr and Adams Small, the “In Living Color” writers who also created “House of Buggin’,” “Chocolate News,” “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” and “Blue Collar TV.” (For the big screen, Bahr and Small also co-wrote Kennedy’s “Malibu’s Most Wanted” as well as the Pauly Shore vehicles “Son In Law” and “In The Army Now.”)
Like “Mad TV” producer Quincy Jones, Foxx became a close associate of the late Ray Charles. Fox execs may believe a personal connection to the late genius singer-songwriter is somehow key to creating the next great late-night sketch show.
Tonight brings the 35th season finale of “Saturday Night Live,” which Alec Baldwin will use to tie Steve Martin’s SNL hosting record. Martin and Baldwin, who co-starred in the 2009 feature “It’s Complicated” and together hosted this year’s Oscars, have previously lampooned their SNL rivalry to hilarious effect.
From season 31:
From season 32:
What say you, talkbackers? Is Jamie Foxx funnier than Will Forte, Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig? Is SNL, which I’m told hasn’t been funny in years, finally so awful that a new sketch show from the “Mad TV” creators will finally be able to wipe Lorne Michaels’ brainchild from the airwaves?
See you next fall!
11:30 p.m. Saturday. NBC.
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The amazing third season of “Mad Men” is momentarily $17.99!! 64% Off!!
47 Blu-rays Under $10!!
Follow Evil Herc on Twitter!!
The amazing third season of “Mad Men” is momentarily $17.99!! 64% Off!!
47 Blu-rays Under $10!!
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Probably not. But SNL isn't that great .. I watch it religiously, but its quality doesn't justify its ratings.
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have a hard time seeing Alec Baldwin's name and not pronouncing it "Arec Bardwrin" a la "Team America" in their head?
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I love her, I really do .. but her show just sucks. And not in the way we all kind of like.
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May 15, 2010 2:03:24 AM CDT
SNL hasn't been funny in years is a refrain from the 90s. Earlie
by tall_boy66
And consistently as wrong for 20 years. I can't believe there's some jackass out there who believes that the show was only funny for 3 years in the 70s. Who are those retards, anyway?
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Even though half the sketches were about woman's issues.
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speak!
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Her show is too low-key to be a contender. I don't think it's that bad, and she is funny, but it's just kind of sleepy. SNL benefits from being loud. It's important in a late night show.Last week's ep was so good I can't see Alec, great as he is, top it.
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I thought the Chloe / Oliver stuff was useless, as were the cameos by various Justice members via viewscreens. What I want is flights not the tights. I want Aaron Ashmore back as Jimmy, and no Clark Kent glasses. That disguise is as unbelievable as the lack of costume change (It's time for something new guys the shorts over the tights is old and so is the Cape!) Someone save Tess, bring back Lana, and for the record did Argo city and Kara Zor-El get sucked into the higher plane for new Krypton (and if not, since when did about 20 people form a viable genetic base? And while we're at it I would like an explanation as to why Chloe's powers are gone. Why Martha Kent was absent so long and will she back next season. And I'm bored with Lex Luthor. And wouldn't Lana have been the logical choice to fight the Kandorians? She is now infused with green Kryptonite. After all what is hawkman really going to do? This should have been spread over two episodes. And to be honest up until they had Zod kill his wife and child I was hoping they would go for the brave choice and have Najor Zod's story end with redemption. And since this is in another "Earth" in the multi-verse, why not have Clark end up with Lana? After all, until Superman II, Lois and Clark were never supposed to consummate their relationship. I'm tired of same old same old. Let the stories unfold in new and innovative ways. Just my two cents. I sometimes wish Smallville had ended with Season 5. And that whole Lexana thing was just sick!
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Let's see Steve host next year and NOT Alec. Baldwin better deliver. (Sorry, huge Steve Martin fan!)
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May 15, 2010 2:35:08 AM CDT
And Betty White was the only reason I watched SNL...
by merlin_ambrosius
...this year!
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Erica Durance just does not have the chemistry with Tom Welling that Kristen Kreuk has. Tom & Kristen had the same kind of magic that Christopher Reeve had with Margot Kidder!
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1975-1980: Consistently funny (albeit now dated), with a bit of a lag in '79-'80 after Belushi and Ackroyd departed.1980-1984: Show on life support, kept alive only by Eddie Murphy.1985: The ultimate transition year. Heralded the very much-needed return of Lorne Michaels.1986-1988: New cast of many very talented people; a gelling period.1989-1994: The Golden Age, with great cast members, hosts, and musical guests all excelling.1995: Another transition year. Great cast falls into lassitude, writing gets sloppy... Michaels fires everyone (except Tim Meadows, the 2nd SNL Phoenix after Phil Hartman in '85).1995-2001: Very hit & miss, buoyed by the not-yet irritating schtick of Will Ferrell. Notable for making the word "Cowbell" an indispensible part of the American vernacular.2002-Present: Chicken w/its head cut off. Everyone else BUT the chicken knows it's dead. Yet some still watch to see the chicken sputter & jive.
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Let Lois have Oliver, Chloe have Jimmy,(I'm not sure about Ma Kent and Perry White, but what the hell!)
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...who are now grown up? They could become a whole new class of superheroes. It was stupid to drop that thread.
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...After all, we only saw a foot when she was supposedly killed. Margot would make a great addition as a semi-regular as would Martha Kent. And seriously, bring back Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy. That was just lame the way they axed him from the show.
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...not just powerless clones from an orb. I don't like when characters are written off and never refferred to again!
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...why is it still called Luthor Corp?
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We should do this more often!
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Seriously, I did not ever know this until now.
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Seriously, I did not ever know this until now.
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I was 100% with you until the Will Ferrell era.
I'd be curious to know what you consider the low points and high points (if any) of the show's last decade.
Did you dislike the two Baldwin-Martin sketches I posted above? What about Virginia Horson's Balloon Rides? The Falconer? Tim Calhoun? The Potato Chip Thief? The Ambiguously Gay Duo? Annuale? The Continental? Firelight? Dear Sister? Astronaut Jones? Appalachian Emergency Room? Centaur Job Interview?
For reference, you can find a list of some of the last decade's more memorable bits here: http://bit.ly/6N6ghB -
In all honesty, I've only watched a scattering of SNL episodes since 2001. The decline of that particular Roman Empire was almost too painful to endure, given all the greatness that preceded it. I lost mt faith.Your acumen re. SNL (front to back) is admirable, indeed. Thanks for the link; I will explore it after watching (and I *will* watch it) tonight's season finale.
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Typical of SNL bashers. They go on the record of how awful the current cast is and how unfunny the sketches have been for the last ten years. But when you confront them about it, it turns out that they haven't even been watching the show. THis is why you should not take the opinions of talkbackers as the gospel truth. for those who missed it, you should check out "SNL in the 2000's" which aired about a month ago. SNL has not jumped the shark and has been very funny for the last 10 years.
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I woke up today and realized that. I love the show, but it has made its point. It takes so long between seasons that its hard to get any kind of momentum going in the storylines. If it was a fast production, it could redefine itself on the fly ala South Park. But I'm just afraid one of these years we'll wait months and months only to find out Hammer & Jackson have run out of ideas. Time to just wrap it up with an awesome ending and let it go. Oh, I know this has nothing to do with SNL but I just felt like sharing.
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to get steve martin to host again
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In what's becoming a predictable pattern, the show was used more for political bashing of Conservatives than being funny. Wanda Sykes can be very funny when she wants to, but too often it was just partisan political commentary.
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Baldwin had NO IDEA Paul McCartney was showing up. He becomes completely overwhelmed before pulling himself together. Hilarious.
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will never beat Saturday Night Live. That man knows nothing about being truly funny. He's a hack.
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May 15, 2010 9:28:44 AM CDT
SNL's ratings would be even higher if NBC wasn't run by chimps
by sifodyasjr.
Digital Shorts posted on YouTube starts giving SNL a boost in the ratings, so what do they do? They order all SNL clips taken down (If I remember right, Lorne Michaels came out strongly against this move). Eventually some of the clips ended up on Hulu, but where's the Spelling Bee - "Q…Q…Q…Q…"? Where's the Christopher Walken Pranksters? Morons.
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The issue is that Snl isa starting point for writers and performers, not an end goal. You land a job on SNL, build up a reputation and then go off to do better paying television series and movies. It is the luck of the draw whether the talent on the show at any given point clicks and if it does, how long the brightest stars are willing to stick with it.
There has been a problem of late with nothing from SNL seeping into pop culture save for the Chronicles of Narnia rap and Dick in a Box digital shorts from a few years ago. I suppose Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impression counts, but that is not a very good track record for the last five years or so.
One hopes Wizard of Ass catches on, though… -
And I've barely missed a week since I first caught it with Rob Reiner in week three.
[I thought it was Rob Reiner's show, and was confused when the next one had Candice Bergen!?!] -
RPLocke, the fact that you couldn't distinguish the difference makes me worry for you.
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I was wondering what the fuck was up with the headline, as I had never even heard of the Wanda Sykes show.
SNL kicks ass. All you haters have no idea what goes into producing sketch comedy, let alone a show that consistent, that good, and that classic. -
Thanks for knowing your SNL! It really pisses me off when people say the show sucks. It has ALWAYS been a hit or miss show. There's good parts of every season. Even the worst seasons had their moments to shine. Anyway thanks again for sticking up for SNL.
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Thanks!
You all may dig my sketch comedy:
http://tinyurl.com/2evr7z
facebook.com/LMPcomedy -
I only watched it too gain material for making fun of this wigger at my work, but i actually enjoyed itFox was crazy to cancell mad TV, i always watched the first 30 minutes and i still watch the repeats on comedy network, SNL is a king that will never be overthrown (and it doesn't deserve to either as IT IS STILL FUNNY) but FOX should have stuck with madtv witch at least had a stronger following then the wendy sikes show
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is it has no bite. The best comedy comes from exposing accepted social conventions as being ridiculous or fraudulent. "Dick in a Box" is comedy for 12 year olds. The "Target Lady" sketch is just a reason for NBC to get paid by Target. What SNL needs is another Tina Fey. That chick is two things: smart and pissed-off.
At this point Lorne just wants to collect his check and go off to his house in the Hamptons for the summer.
Right now SNL should be crucifying Obama for doing virtually nothing on Energy Independence. His little show on Friday was just that, a show. It will be business with usual with the Oil Industry until America is a broke polluted mess. -
Tyler Perry, all hype.
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Go back to your protesting you fucking hippie douche
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Every show has a stronger following than 'The Wendy Sikes Show', mainly because it doesn't exist. Seriously Bathman, who the fuck is 'Wendy Sikes'? Is she a friend of yours or something?
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Go back to learning how to spell English words correctly you retarded little cunt. '...FOX should have stuck with madtv witch at least...'. Witch? The more I read your posts on here, the more I'm convinced you're either 10 years old, or you're an adult with an IQ less than 70. Prove me wrong.
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proved her wrong over and over again
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How this person made it into the entertainment business is beyond me.
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She was insisting you had the genitalia of a full grown man, but you did in fact prove her wrong.
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supressed memories!
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May 15, 2010 2:02:09 PM CDT
SNL in the 90's = metal...SNL in the 200's = boy band
by slimbutnotreally
That's how I look at it.
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The format felt limiting, too much work from the prompter, and the very short time frame for each segment cut the knees off of anything going on in them. I watched a handful but just couldn't find enough to keep my attention. It wasn't even lousy in a big way, it was just poorly conceived and produced into being a snore. But it was a CHEAP snore, that should have gotten Fox to try to revamp it. Mad TV as an ensemble skit show meant more money to shell out, can't beat a single studio with no need for sets and a star that doesn't have enough name branding to warrant 8 figures. It bums me out because she's a really sharp stand-up and her acting on New Christine has been pretty funny stuff, so she knows how to be top biller and she knows how to be second banana, but as a talk show host, it's not quite there.As for Jamie Foxx, his work on In Living Color wasn't standout material, he took really standard roles there and played somewhat of a younger, less funny version of Damon Wayans most of the time. He knew how to sell a role and sell the material on the page, but I never thought he actually brought any comedy to the table, he was just the vessel and didn't try to stick out too much. Not a recipe for driving a new show tho'.SNL has not worked since the early '90s, the problems are really about the writing first and foremost, then the casting (sorry, but I'll never like Kristen Wiig, she reeks of improv classes with multiple takes on the same "look at me" faces and behaviors time and time again), and the reusing of shitty running bits (multiple takes on What Up With That, really?). Occasionally, the current cast will get shown up by a superpowered guest star like Hugh Laurie who brings the whole show up with actual skills, but that just serves to prove how amateur-hour the writing and on-camera talent is the rest of the time. Watching an 88 year old woman put more performance into bits - off cue cards she can barely see - than the show's veterans is disheartening. And fucking MacGruber, really?!? That shit sucks donkey balls after 10 seconds, then they make a movie, then they bring it BACK?!? Will Forte has it in him to be funny with some restraint and direction, but generally he is let off the chain and overdoes it to the Nth degree. But ultimately, it's the writing that's in the crapper, or maybe it's just not trying. But The Falconer is not a bit you can hang any hats on, it's junk once but that they repeated it 8 times is downright lazy.
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Or does Homie not play that?
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She looks like a truck stop whore.
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They've been doing that since the beginning. how many times did we see Gilda Radner and Bill Murray do the nerd kids sketch? Or how about the two Wildy and Crazzzy guys. Lets not forget that they made a Waynes World sketch almost every week. Go back and watch the first year of SNL on DVD. THere was alot of really bad stuff. Hel the Second episode ever was nothing but a Simon and Garfunkle reunion with very little comedy. Some of you guys and gals have a selective memory when it comes to this show. The laughs have been up and down each week since 1975. If you go into the new episodes convinced your not gonna laugh, then you won't laugh. Maybe its not the show that's not funny, it could be your unwillingness to let go of the past that makes you so bitter.
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They've been doing that since the beginning. how many times did we see Gilda Radner and Bill Murray do the nerd kids sketch? Or how about the two Wildy and Crazzzy guys. Lets not forget that they made a Waynes World sketch almost every week. Go back and watch the first year of SNL on DVD. THere was alot of really bad stuff. Hel the Second episode ever was nothing but a Simon and Garfunkle reunion with very little comedy. Some of you guys and gals have a selective memory when it comes to this show. The laughs have been up and down each week since 1975. If you go into the new episodes convinced your not gonna laugh, then you won't laugh. Maybe its not the show that's not funny, it could be your unwillingness to let go of the past that makes you so bitter.
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not wildy
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May 15, 2010 2:56:11 PM CDT
BEST EPISODE OF SNL WAS THE PATRICK SWAYZE ONE FROM 1990!!!FACT!
by tehcreepythinman
That one was solid fucking gold and every sketch totally killed!!!
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May 15, 2010 4:08:44 PM CDT
Jamie Foxx isn't funny 'cause he's starring in all these dramas!
by mrmysteryguest
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Cliffhanger ending!! Smallville owns your ass haters!!
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Then stop saying it's not funny. I've been a big basher of the show but the current cast is the funniest they've had in years. Big improvement. Give it a watch.
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Besides being a hypocrite(he called for Imus' head after his "nappy headed hos" comment but Foxx later went on to say "get a gum transplant" and "get like Britney and do some heroin" about Miley Cyrus; making fun of blacks is a no-no but making fun of white trash is A-OK?), someone unworthy of an Oscar(it was an imitation of Ray Charles, not an actual performance), and the owner of an ego bigger than Howard Stern & Puff Diddy combined(based on what? it can't be his looks or his talent), he's as unfunny as shit(watch any TV show or movie with him in it). Fuck him! I hope his career goes the way of Joe Piscopo(who probably has more talent than Foxx anyways).
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How Many SNL Shows Have Baldwin & Martin Hosted? You mention that they're tied but you don't bother saying how many they're now tied at!
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It would be nice to read TV updates while I'm here for movie stuff, without Herc pushing his agendas on every single thing he writes. Yes Herc, you love SNL, Whedon, and Shiri Appleby, and everything they do is perfect and great and anything that runs opposite their timeslot, or fights for the same share of its network's attention, is completely worthless. We get it.
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I've been reading Herc's posts since he was giving spoilers for the next Buffy episode(it's funny how I once actually gave a shit about Whedon), but he makes Fox News seem fair & balanced these days. I understand he's going to have his own opinions but he seems to ignore anything that doesn't fall into his limited TV viewing habits. I can't count how many popular TV shows don't get talkbacks even though there are a ton of posters asking for them just because Herc doesn't like those shows. I know practically every writer for this site gets shit, from Harry all the way to the Comic Assholes, but I feel Herc is the only one who truly deserves it most of the time.
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May 15, 2010 6:09:40 PM CDT
"tv shows dont get talkbacks cause Herc doesn't like the shows."
by mike_d
couldn't agree more. It's wrong.
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I would not watch his show no matter how funny he is.
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Thank you for mentioning this. I'd also love to re-watch Key Party.
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May 15, 2010 7:24:32 PM CDT
so SNL pretty much just rotates 4 people now to host right?
by eddiemurphyslaugh
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I think it's 15 shows, smartass8.
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Popcorn.
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I think it's a safe bet to claim that the episode hosted by the chick from precious was the worst episode all season. The betty white episode will probabaly go down as the best, unless tonights just wows everyone
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They're going to have him hosting every year, FOR SURE. If not that often, then at least every two years. He's performing improv with these guys every week in New York. I think it's great.
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a smart black lesbian on tv? THAT WILL NOT STAND! I'm surprised they ever let her say anything on camera in the first place. gotta keep them people down.
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we have no use for your cocks.
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how's that loving smallville thing working out for you?
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I could see john hamm and justin timberlake doing a show each for the next several years
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Guess she couldn't get any dudes.
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My all-time favorite sketch. Gone With The Wind + nonstop veiled references to oral sex : FTW! Laughed so hard I cried.
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I think she realizes how hard it is to run a show.
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But I don't think anyone will ever top The Chris Farley show with Jeff Daniells. That is my favorite of all time. I love when he asks Jeff about Die Hard, it kills me every time I see it.
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http://bit.ly/wUS0t
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...you must think "Two and Half Men" is one of the most fucking hilarious sitcoms on the air.
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she is a lesbian. It just wasn't funny.
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I've said it before, his comedy instincts are fairly wonky, but his drama instincts are pretty damn good. And he voices a distinct opinion that is at least unique. Yes, he gets condescending as fuck towards his readership a lot but Moriarty did, and still does, do that. The worst contributors are the power-combo of Geek Fart In the Wind Quint/Merrick. Literally, whatever vague way the wind sways of the angsty AICN populace, they lean towards it and BAAAAAHHHHHHH like everyone else. Christ, at least Herc has opinions, not just the bland hipster nerd copy n' paste job of Quint/Merrick.
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when its good its really good, but basically everything else is dumb. for example anything kenan is in. really whose idea was that?
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At least Quint and Merrick aren't afraid to review movies. Harry waits to read at least 8 other published reviews before he can write his own - that has been his act ever since his world famous "MEESA LOVES JAR-JAR" review.
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Was that really this season? Seems like a while back. But that episode was terrible. The Precious girl had a few funny skits, but we'll put her at #2 for the year.
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Keenan is great in that skit. It's been the best new bit this year, in my opinion.
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May 15, 2010 10:10:09 PM CDT
Harry has oodles more personality than the dipshit twins,Q/M
by tall_boy66
Shit, at least Harry is entertaining to read and actually DIFFERENT OPINIONS on films, as opposed to the bleating of Quint and Merrick do to simply appeal to the lowest common geek denominator. "Hey, I hate Paul WS Anderson/George Lucas/Michael Bay/Akiva Goldsman/etc.etc./whatever it is that you hate this week because I'M A FUCKING TOOL WITH NO ACTUAL OPINION OF MY OWN ASIDE FROM WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HATES!!" Right, those are dependable sources. Sure. Uh-huh.
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Where it is all previous cast members. Not hosting but actually replacing the current cast for one show a year. Imagine an episode where Murray, Short, Martin, Murphy, Spade, Myers, Nealon, Fey, Stiller, meadows, curtin, rock, and the list goes on..... it would be insane. And not everyone, but just kind of a random selection every year from the past. Would be worth a shot I think.
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but that would not work. This thought process is what causes all of the hatred for the current cast. Those days are over, deal with it. SNL is about young up coming comedians. The older cast had there time and they moved on. You will not get them back. I agree, if I could have it my way, they would get Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Will Farrell, Cheri Oterri and david spade all together for the ultimste SNL reunion. But that will never happen. You have to let the past go and enjoy what the future brings. SNL is an ever changing entity that keeps moving forward, no need to go back.
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um, okay.
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seeing as it painted the show in a bad light, i doubt they'll bring it up
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HASHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA long breathHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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already?
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I was ALREADY worried that they're going to bring back Sandler, Spade, Schneider and Rock for some kind of GROWNUPS Publicity Stunt. When you factor in that Norm Macdonald, Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows and Maya Rudolph are also in that cast, it's like a Former SNL Cast Fustercluck of Epic Proportions waiting to Happen. When is that movie coming out? Yeesh.
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At least I thought so...
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I'M JACKED UP ON COCKE RIGHT NOW ANS IT'S LIKE IT WAS SPEAKING TO MY LIFE!
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...but it gets really frustrating when they have a great host like Baldwin and the first skit out of the gate is centered around her and Wiig-Stock-Weird-Character #64.
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Could they PLEASE retire this ruined-take-after-take skit? It isn't funny, it's painful.
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Being repetitively irritating has run out of gas. She has other comedic skills. Why keep going to that one?
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So you're jacked up on british penis? Gaylord.
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Was that the one that opened with the great song about how Steve "wasn't going to phone it it in"? Apart from the opening, pretty much the rest of the episode was phoned in.
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they couldnt build upon the momentum that the betty white episode crated.
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Because we are tired of sayin this sucks.
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"I don't have any lines.I'm not in the Show.But I know if I wasI'd be rarin' to go!"
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he's usually talking to himself by now.
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the smart-mouthed misfit, courtesy of Nasim.
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"Ya gettin' snipped?"
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May 15, 2010 10:59:42 PM CDT
Herc, why do you mention The Potato Chip Thief like it's a great
by fastcars
It is the height of insult to compare stuff like The Ambiguously Gay Duo and The Continental to the forced, shitty, 100% laugh-free "Potato Chip Thief." That sketch felt like it was written 'the weird guy' in a Level A Second City Writing Class. It was received with a funeral silence by a live audience. It never went viral. It was never water cooler talk. Nobody ever mentions it as a decent sketch - let alone an okay sketch, a good sketch, a great sketch or a classic sketch. Yet whenever you give lists of clips of sketches 'proving' that SNL is still funny, you include it. PLEASE STOP. Nobody enjoys that forced, shitty, 100% laugh-free sketch. Nobody. It was not good. If it was a YouTube video by non-famous people, it would have 47 hits. With the famous people, it would have 1,047. Something annoying like Gilly and the Target Lady still has defenders online - "Potato Chip Thief" has NO DEFENDERS. Or at the most, HARDLY ANY DEFENDERS. So, go ahead and post it alongside truly classic and mildly amusing SNL sketches if you wish, but when you're trying to SNL has still got it, that forced, shitty, 100% laugh-free sketch does NOT HELP YOU. It actually DOES THE OPPOSITE, making people think SNL is not still funny, and that your taste is off. (Which may actually be the case, seeing as you famously ranked "Entourage" as a better show than "Arrested Development.") What you are doing is the equivalent of saying, "Rap music is still great! Look at Souljah Boy!" Actually, no. It's the equivalent of "Rap music is still great! Look at this forced, shitty, 100% dope-rhyme free rapper." So...yes, call out lame people that bash SNL for the sake of bashing SNL. But mentioning a turd of a sketch like "Potato Chip Thief" is really pointless.
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May 15, 2010 11:00:09 PM CDT
if they'd be smart enough to make this a one-off...
by maxwell's hammer
...this would be great. I know it doesn't get a ton of laughs, but as a middle school teacher, its a pretty spot-on portrayal of THAT KID. I find it amusing.
So naturally they'll show it every single week until it stops being interesting. -
...'as a middle school teacher, i can attest that it is a pretty spot-on...'
and so on. -
is more entertaining than SNL these days.
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I mean she could have endless siblings plus grandparents, cousins, even a dog
The laughs are endliss on this one -
that alec baldwin just schooled keenan in 'how to be funny.'
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HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
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Man, Tom petty needs to just stop trying
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at least once - was at a dance chaperoned by her mother.
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1986 just called...they want their show back. Jesus Lorne...enough with these folks...just let the internet pick the hosts from now on...heres hoping next year sees Carol Burnett host with a special guest appearance from Tim Conway and the ghost of Harvey Corman!!
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....or is he really nervous? At least it helps him shake those marakas.
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She reminds me a bit of Stephanie Wier.
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Is this a collection of the worst sketches and recurring characters ever?
That first sketch after the digital short left a massive stench they haven't recovered from yet. -
...well, she hasn't been on enough to develop a catch phrases or outrageous audience applause at the slightest gestures bred of familiarity rather than any real entertainment value. She's not that yet, so that's good.
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RPLocke, we tuned to Mickey Ds fries when Keenan did his Keenan character again as well. Musical guests are still pointless as well.
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I'm not gonna get liquored up tonight
not gonna have a drink tonight
I won't take a drink,
until Update is through
That's a promise to you, the viewers -
Sadly.
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Time to catch Smallville.
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hader's best character in a long time, i could watch him every week
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i also have one in purple aswell
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I'm actually laughing out loud.
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the stuff they cut out, if this is what made it to air. They should have made last week the season ender and called it quits for the year on a high note.
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that was the funniest goddamn thing I've seen all season. They should do every skit for the rest of the show with no script. I have tears in my eyes, seriously.
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Or are they making it up as they go along? Hardly seems worth the effort to put it on Que cards.
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this singing couple? Wasn't funny the first time, still not funny now. And Seth is right, it is embarrassing.
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The only one who seems to care.
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90's SNL cast with the Farley part re-cast with Kevin James
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Aah!! Swastikas!
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that was gold
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...but watching Wiig try to keep up with Armisen and watching him try to throw her off had an energy to it that is missing from huge chunks of the rest of the show/season.
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but a giant cat just as funny.
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And that Wiig/Armisen bit on the news is fucking hilarious.
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those sketches in witch they really skate the line between live and taped are always classic, so many chances for something to go wrong with all the split decision timing, classic one of the best of the year
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Nazi flags were hilarious. I feel like the audience missed it though.
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Owned Sally Fields too.
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Wish this was that sketch
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"Gimme a handjob!"
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that's the new name for my band
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My dreams are infinitely more entertaining. Goodnight.
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Gangsta Bitch Barbie got sued for it.
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I laughed: Digital Short, Awkward Girl, All of Weekend Update, and Timecrowave, "Give me a hand job"
I though was good: Open, Monologue, Tom Petty
Sort of funny: Intimate International
So, you know, overall not bad. I wish Betty White had capped of the season, though. Best in years. -
looks like more sappy mid life crisies bullshit from sandler and his gang. Odds are aunt linda will enjoy it but most will find it just plain sad to see sandler fall so far in the passed 10 years
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"$7.50 Handjob"
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'Your weakness is our strength'. I thought that was pretty good.
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i'll probabaly see prince of persia just to hear that lovly voice, my god the most beautiful voice ever
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"Taaaeee tha shaaaaahhh"
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he should stick to wearing suits and not t-shirts
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When introducing Petty for the second time.
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Robin Williams' arm hair too.
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i really thought she would show up at some point, but i guess with her on last week lorne didn't want to fey out the audiance
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I'm good.
Though like I said last week.
If the Betty White ep was going to be funny then tonight's would suck.
It was and it did. -
Not as good as Schweaty Balls, but still fuckin' funny.
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cutness factor of a thousand, i hope SNL has her on next season
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While his column is obviously hugely popular, it's important to keep in mind he is not the only individual writing about TV on the Internet.
If he's not covering the show(s) you like (which is hard to believe, since he seems to have covered every show at one time or another; typing a title into the search box will probably bear this out), find a TV columnist who does. There are literally millions of people writing about TV on the World Wide Web. If none of them sufficiently float your boat either, consider starting the kind of web site you'd like to read. -
for as long as they use that character? Either way, she's one of my favorites.
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Sounded like '60s Dylan and '70s Zep in Beck's blender. Devil's Haircut Beck, not THE Jeff Beck. The second song, not so much, but at least he seems to be trying to change it up a little.
As usual, and as they've done for 35 years, some good stuff, some not so good. Loved the Sally Fields spoof on several different levels. "Bangs!"
Wow, SNL cast reunion movies, there's a concept. I watched most of the entire run of King of Queens because Leah Remini is a hot nasty bitch and the show had a good cast, but I never once remotely liked Kevin James. The person who pointed out he's only in this movie to fill in for Chris Farley nailed it. -
Well said, sir. Thank you.
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No clue whatsoever.
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May 16, 2010 5:49:34 AM CDT
Holy fucking shit, they actually let Abby have a sketch...
by burnhollywood
An ad spoof, no less. Probably giving her a send-off for when she and Moynihan get cut from the show (didn't Snooki feel a little like it was a last hurrah? Maybe I just imagined it).
Too bad we had to suffer through an unfunny new Wiig "variation on a now-tired theme" character to get to it. No shit...I actually left the room and did the dishes after waiting the requisite three seconds to see what her gag was.
Let's see...what else: I should've laughed my ass off at the Samberg short, but didn't. Seemed a little over the top. Baldwin's petulant swim coach was pretty hilarious. Nasim's clingy daughter delivered, especially since that fucking laugh-killer Justin Bieber wasn't in it this time...I love how clueless and assured that character is. Grady and his sex tips still funny (Kenan deserves a trophy for "most improved since last season"). Hader's creepy "Stefan" is just great, but if I never see the Armisen/Wiig singing duet again, I can live with it...was funny the first time, that was it. "Timecrowave" was some pretty decent head humor. I saw the hand-job joke coming a mile away in the Turner movie sketch, but still LMAO. And the best part of the sniper sketch was when Baldwin mounted Sudeikis.
Hope I'm wrong about Elliot and Moynihan, because they're being really good sports to lurk in the background while Armisen and Wiig quickly wear out their welcome, but I've got a sinking feeling... -
Couldn't understand Petty though.
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Better watch this investigative news report...or you could be next: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=3zvTRQr7ns8&playnext_from=TL&videos=Z1x78SoMOZ8
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If anything NBC might up the budget after this highly rated season, i think theres more of a chance of seeing a new cast member(s) then to see any get the axe
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May 16, 2010 10:52:41 AM CDT
Recent years of SNL have been better than the Fallon/Sanz years
by rob0729
I feel since Tina Fey left, the quality of the show has rebound. It still is weak compared to the best eras (original cast, the All star year, and the late 80s/early 90s), but far stronger than the Fallon/Sanz years which were among the worst years of the show. The Fallon/Sanz years were devoid of any actual good comedy and relied on Fallon and Sanz to break character and giggle like school girls for any laughs. Those years were abismal.
As for the show being hit or miss, yes it always has been. But the great years have more hits than misses before 12:30 (post 12:30 has always been where they dump mediocre sketches or allow show cast members to experiment). I wouldn't consider this era in that category, but is far closer than earlier this decade or the early 80s before Eddie Murphy.
If I was to rate eras of the show, I would put this era the lower part of middle of the pack. I think the talent exceeds the writing. I think with better writers, this group could be one of the better casts although I still don't get the appeal of Kristin Wiig or certain popular schetches from this group (Although I like Will Forte, I still never liked either MacGruber or The Falconer). -
...as Alec Baldwin is. His performance in Glengarry Glen Ross is a master class in dick swinging asshole ' tude.
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The infusion of new blood this season is great, but the writing remains, most of the time, stale, stale, stale. They desperately need someone as smart and sharp as Tina Fey as head writer. I would say the current cast is one of the best they've ever had- the new girls are HOT- but they have little to show for it. Belaboring the same mediocre sketches/characters over and over- moderately (if that) funny the first time, but an utter waste of time the 10th/30th time. The exact same sketch, over and over again: Target Lady, Two Assholes, Gilly, on and on. The guest on Weekend Update who never finishes a thought or sentence. Armisen as Obama has for the most part been a dud. Laser Cats! Sweet weeping Jesus. Each member of this cast is capable of hitting the nail on the head, hilariously, but it's about 15% of the time- the rest is Meh or outright painful to watch. The writing is simply not there, and that is very sad.
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i wanna "facebook" someone
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All those new girls are absolutely terrible, unwatchable. Wiig can be annoying, and she seems to be falling back on the same few lazy characters lately, but she at least has the potential to be funny and weird. The token black guy and the token fat guy both need to be replaced with another black guy and another fat guy. It's really about once a season that Keenan can actually get a laugh out of me (last time he made me laugh was the Reba short). And Bobby Moynihan is quite possibly the most offensive human being I have ever seen. His very presence in a sketch ruins any chance it had of being funny.
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and when people mention SNL in the 2000's as showing how much great material there has been, let's not forget that they had TEN FUCKING YEARS from which to choose skits and they could barely cobble together enough to make a clip show out of... most of it revolved around the funny-as-fuck digital shorts catching on as well as big transitions like Will Ferrell leaving. The rest consisted of interviews conducted with the kind of solemnity usually reserved for documentaries about the first moon landing or splitting the atom. Another large chunk of it went to dealing with 9/11, of which there was something vaguely self-serving about the way that section was presented as well... how the fuck my generation manages to be smarmy while discussing being near our equivalent to Pearl Harbor as it unfolded I'll never understand (in particular that one veteran female writer who made a point to mention she lived near the towers and thought the show and all humor should end from that point forward... to crib an SNL saying... rrrreally?). Ever see vets discussing their involvement in D-Day? Yeah... big difference. My grandmother lived on the channel during WWII and had her home straffed by the Luftwaffe numerous times... she mentioned it exactly once in all the time I ever spent with her. Anyway, that's a whole other rant and I'll probably get flamed for it anyway.Back to Hader... the guy is on a whole other level of commitment compared to the rest of the cast. He could have been in that original cast and fit right in... I don't think you can say that about anyone that's been on since. If given more time to shine, he'd be up there with Mike Myers, Phil Hartman and Dan Aykroyd (who he reminds me of). Eddie Murphy, though, was on another level from everyone else, even Belushi and Murray... he singlehandedly carried the show on his back and delivered it back to Lorne years later, minus one 'transition' season as someone put it that would have sunk the show had Murphy not proven it could be as popular as it was during the initial run. I have no idea what he has against Michaels, but I remember reading in that SNL history book that came out a few years ago, Chris Rock said he didn't like that they took shots at him during update. Lastly, anyone who has the full season DVD's of the early years knows there were a SHITLOAD of clunker sketches, but the show was just finding it's footing and when it was good it was AMAZINGLY good, not just ok for a few chuckles. However, the Betty White episode was one of the best I've ever seen... the census sketch, to me, is up there in the top 10 or 20 of all time.
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Now that's a cute gay couple right there.
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And he did last night. Not his greatest sketches, but mostly pretty funny. The swim coach was my favorite. Also, loved Haden's creepy Weekend Update appearance. I'm finally sold on that Nasim chick - she was simply hilarious as the nerd teen WAY too enamored of her dad. Not as consistently funny as the Betty White episode, by pretty solid overall.
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gotta give the facebook kids credit where due, it's Betty White for the win. By a long shot.
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May 16, 2010 7:20:51 PM CDT
9/11 was the first major event where people boasted about...
by burnhollywood
...Becoming a great big, bawling pussy. Much as I like the guy, the low point was Jon Stewart crying like a bitch on TV...must've warmed the cockles of al Qaeda's hearts...
Totally agree with you, SK229. I want to hear stories like when Steve Buscemi suited up in his old fireman gear and helped out finding bodies in the rubble at Ground Zero. Keep your tales of weeping and wailing to yourself...everybody got emotional, it's nothing to brag about. -
yeah, my narcissism meter goes off sometimes during situations like that... also, it makes me feel like this country really does have an impossibly fragile ego. Terrorism has been going on elsewhere for far longer and even now, when it even comes close to happening to us, we expect the rest of the world to come to a halt.
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May 17, 2010 12:11:41 PM CDT
Hopefully the overacting girl parts are coming to an end.
by jackdonkey
I thought it would end with Poehler but Wiig decided to keep it going and it continues to be unfunny. HaHa you have huge teeth and get in the shot. The new girls don't seem to be latching onto the idiot roles so maybe when Wiig leaves it will finally die. However the new girl that likes her parents too much might be a sign that it will continue, but maybe not because if Poehler was Gertrude the prostitute she would have been Gertrude the one legged prostitute. The girl that likes her parents too much at least has some funny lines so it's not all about acting like an idiot.
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Bathman, what up with dat Weezer lyric?
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She was only in one and a half sketches last week. The opening with the handicapped sister, because she thinks "the retarded are funny." Then as the make-up chick in the telemundo sketch. The Betty White show was all Tina, Mya, and Amy.This week it was all about Wiig, and most of the stuff died.-----later-----m
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remembered it. They replayed the Conan episode on SNL Late Night or whatever it is, and the only skits that were worth anything was the Moleculo sketch and the 1910's Conan Boxer. I had always thought that Will Ferrell was keeping the show afloat but apparently he couldn't save it from itself. They also oddly had a lot of political stuff in what I thought was a non-election year, and none of it was funny. Chris Kattan was particularly grating, and it's easy to see why his career is dwindling and why Tracy Morgan thinks he's a dick.
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