Saturday Night Live.....

[WindomURL]

Inside the New Saturday Night Live
http://www.tvguide.com/News/New-Satu...e-1074424.aspx

After nearly 40 years on the air and countless cast changes — including the losses of Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen and (soon) Seth Meyers in the last two seasons alone — Saturday Night Live routinely ranks as one of the Peacock Network's highest-rated series in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 age demographic (just below The Voice, The Blacklist and Chicago Fire). This, despite a late-night weekend time slot that should have meant certain Nielsen doom years ago.

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Agreed, don't freaking watch if you hate it so much.

This is a thread to discuss SNL, so discussion will include posts that are both positive and negative. SNL sucks and hasn't been funny for years. It's similar to the Simpsons in the sense that both shows are now terrible but continue to be on the air due to their long history. I don't think there is anything wrong with some posters sharing this opinion.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Ark2

This is a thread to discuss SNL, so discussion will include posts that are both positive and negative. SNL sucks and hasn't been funny for years. It's similar to the Simpsons in the sense that both shows are now terrible but continue to be on the air due to their long history. I don't think there is anything wrong with some posters sharing this opinion.

Sure, have a discussion then. Posts like this are lazy. I don't mind negative posts if there is some actual analysis done. I don't like every sketch or episode. To say the show is terrible or not funny is trolling. It's not that simple. The show is an institution with an imperfect structure and conflicting agendas.

I have probably watched every episode from the beginning. I have read numerous books and listened to countless interviews and podcasts of the show.

The show is not only about being funny. What is funny is subjective to every viewer.

People tend to romanticize past seasons and casts. Truth is if you go back and watch entire past episodes, you will see the hit and miss ratio for good and bad sketches has remained fairly constant over time. Performers on the current cast will emerge as big stars. People 10 years from now will complain about the current cast and how much better the show was 10 years ago.

As long as Lorne Michaels is the producer I don't see this pattern changing. Complaints like yours probably began in season two. I don't see that changing either.

The show is just as funny as it has always been (which means it is hit and miss). That is the nature of a Live television show where most sketches are written over a couple of days under great pressure. When it succeeds it is magical. More often than not it will frustrate us. The magical moments are worth waiting for. No other TV show can take such risks.

[East Coast Flame]

I enjoyed the last episode! Thought they could have used the Anchorman guys more though...

The Bill Brasky, Fleetwood Mac and old lovers skits were great. Jacob always makes me laugh. I thought the speech critic was hilarious the first time around, but this time I didn't really care for it.

I also watched the Christmas special. Oh my god when Cecily did the "Girl who you wish you hadn't started a conversation with at a party", I was dieing. That was amazing. She is so great.

[troutman]

'SNL' Scorecard: John Goodman Wants Booty For Christmas


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4448857.html

John Goodman hosted ‘SNL” last night for a remarkable 13th time (only Alec Baldwin, 16, and Steve Martin, 15, have hosted more), and the first time since 2001 (kind of unbelievably, Seth Meyers was part of that 2001 cast). Like Alec Baldwin, there used to be something special about a John Goodman hosted show (he hosted every season between 1989 and 2001), now, well, it just kind of felt like any other show. But, hey, Stallone and De Niro showed up to make camel toe jokes! (Oh boy.) This may have been the most consistent show of the season in that the highs weren't that high, but the lows weren't that low. Here is your penultimate scorecard of 2013:

Sketch of the Night
”Dance of the Snowflakes” (Goodman, Bayer, Thompson, Bryant) Here’s why I liked this sketch so much: Before the voiceovers even started, I was imagining myself in the audience, having paid money to watch these four bozos prance around wearing snowflake costumes. So, yes, each performer questioning if what they were doing was “dumb” made me laugh because it’s exactly what I would be thinking if I was wearing a giant snowflake costume while doing a not-at-all-complicated dance in front of other human beings.

· Lady Gaga 6.06
· Edward Norton 5.91
· Paul Rudd 5.90
· John Goodman 5.76
· Josh Hutcherson 5.75
· Bruce Willis 5.68
· Kerry Washington 5.60
· Tina Fey 5.35
· Miley Cyrus 5.20

Stallone and De Niro obviously did not rehearse at all. Their reading from the cue cards was awkward.

I suspect the writers are saving their best stuff for Fallon and Timberlake next week.

[Boblobla]

Guess I will leave this here. I welcome this addition. The Kerry Washington episode had some of the best sketches I have seen from Thompson and Pharoah. Having a black female would really open up some more options I think.

Report: 'SNL' set to add a black female cast member

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12...k-female-cast-
member/

[Mike F]

Re: Timberlake's first song, I don't see the point of a "live" performance that's so overproduced and laden with FX that whatever portion really is live is drown out.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Guess I will leave this here. I welcome this addition. The Kerry Washington episode had some of the best sketches I have seen from Thompson and Pharoah. Having a black female would really open up some more options I think.

Report: 'SNL' set to add a black female cast member

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12...k-female-cast-
member/

Boo... affirmative action wins.

I guess, like Stephen Colbert, I don't see race, because I had no idea Maya Rudolph was black.

"The "Saturday Night Live" producer told the New York Times the show has been holding auditions to add an African-American female cast member in January, the first since actress Maya Rudolph left in 2007."

[RedMileDJ]

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are comedy gold. Freakin' awesome show!

Loved all the cameos from the other celebrities.

[troutman]

Madonna did not show up for the bows? Does she think she is bigger than Sir Paul?

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by troutman

Madonna did not show up for the bows? Does she think she is bigger than Sir Paul?

I noticed this too. Whatever. She's old (non relevant).

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are comedy gold. Freakin' awesome show!

Loved all the cameos from the other celebrities.

I'd say it was above average, but there was a few things that fell flat for me.

Biggest standout of such was the opening. The streetside signer "homeless-ville, etc" sketch has been a staple for JT and always was great in the past. This time, not so much. I think what killed it was having Fallon, and the fact with one of them slightly off-time, you could never really understand 100% of the words they were saying, especially with the crowd hooting at JT. PLus the songs they chose weren't great, I get the "rapping" theme, but made it a lot less enjoyable than previous iterations, especially given high expectations.

Good:
- Family Feud sketch was hilarious. I never tire of Keenan's Steve Harvey, and the other impersonations were also very good (minus whoever was over-acting as Allison Hannigan).

- The "baby its cold outside" song was marvelously written, this will be one that gets added to the SNL holiday special rotations.

- Enjoyed the "sex in a twin bed" song.

Bad:
-Opening monologue wasn't very good, given the impersonations ended after 20 seconds.

-Gay Scrooge was a bit one dimensional and pretty 90s of a way to portray gays. Felt a bit short and needed more to it.

Meh:
- Weekend update was short and pretty forgettable. NBC couldn't have plugged Fallon taking over the Tonight Show more throughout the episode (although I don't blame them, huge franchise for NBC). This episode was just asking for a visit from "Drunk Uncle" or even a guest visit from "Stefon". The only good thing about having Cecily hosting, is that we won't have to bear through the "girl you wished you never started a conversations with at a party".

- The Christmas album commercial was another one that totally fell flat. Another "remake", and this one didn't live up to the last version, which I often rewatch given it was so good the first time they did it.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by Ducay

- The "baby its cold outside" song was marvelously written, this will be one that gets added to the SNL holiday special rotations.

Highlight of the show. And in the last 30 minutes, no less.

[Brannigans Law]

I really enjoyed the show last night. Loved it. The "baby its cold outside". Hilarious, cute, and heart warming. I loved the Family Fued too but was really disappointed we didnt get more Ice Tea.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Biggest standout of such was the opening. The streetside signer "homeless-ville, etc" sketch has been a staple for JT and always was great in the past. This time, not so much. I think what killed it was having Fallon, and the fact with one of them slightly off-time, you could never really understand 100% of the words they were saying, especially with the crowd hooting at JT. PLus the songs they chose weren't great, I get the "rapping" theme, but made it a lot less enjoyable than previous iterations, especially given high expectations.

Those two women in the audience were so annoying, they wouldn't let up the entire sketch. To the point where Aidy Bryant broke character to comment on it ("wow..."). I was hoping they'd get kicked out. Agreed that something about this one was just off. It's a testament to JT that the bit has managed to stay funny to this point, but it may finally be time to retire that one.

I've only seen up to the end of Weekend Update so far, but I really enjoyed the Family Feud and "Sex in my childhood bed" sketches. Agreed about Cecily Strong's "girl at a party you wish you never talked to", it gets old so fast. A surprising amount of the newer cast has won me over already (Killam, McKinnon, Beck Bennett, Bryant), but I'm really struggling with Strong. Something about her just kinda bugs me, plus she seems like the type of female comedian who only specializes in "girl humour". Her and Jay Pharoah are the only two of the newer members who I'm just not a fan of to this point.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Her and Jay Pharoah are the only two of the newer members who I'm just not a fan of to this point.

Both are overactors. They ham it up instead of being subtle with their roles. Pharoah has a few good characters (Obama basically), but others like his Kanye, are overdone. Nasim Pedrad does this as well in many sketches

Think of every character Cecily Strong plays (party girl, teenage talk show, etc), they're just stereotypical characters and are over the top.

Aidy Bryant, McKinnon, Killam, all know when enough is enough and already seem like they've been there far longer than their tenure (Bill Hader had the same feeling when he joined).


Edit: Sidenote, look at the cast of SNL (http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/about/). Once Seth leaves, its going to be barebones, less than a dozen good cast members, and 1 "recognizable" face (Keenan) outside of SNL.

[Sainters7]

Ya, its insane how many have left en masse the past couple seasons. That's gotta be a frightening thought for Michaels. Though I guess you never really know how things could play out, or what hidden gems they actually have with the newbies.

Way back when I first got into SNL, it was in the early-mid 90's, during the Farley/Sandler/Rock, etc etc years. When they basically completely cleaned house in around 1995, I figured it would be the death knell of the show. Whenever I tuned in, I didn't recognize anyone, which I hated, and stopped watching for awhile. Funny who those nobodies turned out to be though (Ferrell, Shannon, Hammond, McDonald, Oteri, Breuer, Kattan...). As long as they keep bringing in strong talent, they should be ok.

Me immediately brushing off eventual big names as nobodies in the 90's has always kinda stuck with me since, when it comes to first impressions of green SNL members. Now I always wonder if that new face I'm looking at is going to be one of the biggest comedy movie stars in a few years. They usually seem to come from SNL anyway..

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

I really enjoyed the show last night. Loved it. The "baby its cold outside". Hilarious, cute, and heart warming. I loved the Family Fued too but was really disappointed we didnt get more Ice Tea.

I was kind of hoping they would do a couple more sketches from the Feud. Have them go into the single round and everything. Thought Thompson was great as Harvey.

[MRCboicgy]

My one big disappointment with the episode was then ending JT song. I jut felt that there should have been a Christmas musical number to end it - maybe one of his songs followed by something more seasonal. I dunno, it just felt like it was lacking an ending.

I guess Martin Short and Sir Paul spoiled us last year.

[GGG]

The baby its cold outside and do it in my twin bed will be Christmas classics forever.