Live from New Yawk, its SNL

[montyburnz]

I missed SNL on saturday. Was it any good in this post-WTC world? I'm sad Will Ferrell isn't going to clown Bush anymore, although I understand at the same time. I just think its lame if we overly censor ourselves.

[Ryan]

hmm...well i think snl stopped being funny YEARS ago.. although will has his moments..

[amboy]

will could probably do a pretty good osama bin laden. who would do giuliani? i dont see how you could make anything funny out of the WTC disaster. Maybe they could have a retrospective of past shows, just for laughs, and recognize that you can't touch anything these days with humour.

i wonder if rob schneider's 'making copy' (or was it coffee?) guy made it out alive.

[5.92]

I saw the end at a bar. I was wondering about that too.

[Salami Swami]

Will Ferrell was so funny.
Him and that chick who do the junior high music teachers were singing H.O.V.A. and Get Your Freak On and Bootylicious.
I lost it when Ferrell was like "fo shnizzle my nizzle".
Also the Jeopardy skit was pretty funny, Chris Tucker, Anne Heche, and Sean Connery (of course). One of the categories was Famous Horsemen, and Connery was all "I'll take whore semen for 500." Almost as good as "The Rapists" (Therapists)
and "Swords" (S words).
Alicia Keys (is that her name?) was really good as the musical guest, too.

[SweetArse]

It was a stinker. They couldn't decide whether to be sentimental or funny. The bit at the beginning with Guiliani was nice, though. The writers must have been very distracted. Weekend update is awful with Jimmy "Golly-Gee, I'm on TV!" Fallon and Tina Fey. Even Jeopardy was tepid. They need to put Horatio Sanz in every skit.

[35ft6]

Two new very very very promising cast members on SNL elevated the show last night. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Hader is one of those guys who's funny because he's strange in a good way, sort of a combination of Will Farrell and Dan Akroyd. Kristen does dead on impersonation, skipping the laughing inappropriately and making stupid faces for laughs, using real acting skillz. Her Judy Garland last night was a hoot.

[Kyo003]

I never could understand the appeal of SNL.

I always felt that the cast skated on the reputation for being funny and threw out any old silly crap hoping to get a laugh.

[35ft6]

^ No, you're right. They usually suck these days. I'm not really sure why I watch it but I do semi-religiously. Some of the sketches are SOOOO fucking awful that they're stupefying. They have a full practice show at 6 pm where they see which sketches get good responses, which makes it even more amazing. In theory, only the "best" sketches make it on air. Yikes.

But seriously, as long as I've been watching SNL, it's never been balls out funny from beginning to end. A good episode has maybe 2 or 3 really solid sketches. But too often lately there's been many episodes with zero or only 1 decent sketch.

A go-to member like Will Farrell, Chris Farley, or Phil Hartman is key. They're almost more important than the writers. Right now they don't have a franchise player. Many good role players, but no superstar.

[SweetArse]

I would like to recall my post above. Horatio Sanz is not SNL funny. I think comedy has just changed and Lorne Michaels has been picking up the wrong talent for this format. Improv comedy is not the same as sketch comedy. All their sketches now rely on self-referential irony instead of good characters or satire. All the good writers are probably doing their own projects for other networks, like Comedy Central. I think Mad TV has actually [finally] surpassed SNL. Their cast is just way more talented.

[qringe]

Originally posted by SweetArse
They need to put Horatio Sanz in every skit. yeah, so he can break character and crack up during every single skit. that's the only way he can get a laugh.

[stinky]

will forte should not be doing george bush. his version is horrible and seriously lacks. i like horatio, he does a good elton john. rachel dretch is probably my favorite but the writers do not utilize her enough.

[AddictProne]

Originally posted by qringe
yeah, so he can break character and crack up during every single skit. that's the only way he can get a laugh.

i'm sorry i don't think you've seen the episode where he's Rico Sauve but fat and the judge asks him what the hell happened and he says,

"Chocolaaaaaate. Doughnuuuuuuuts."

[qringe]

don't get me wrong, Horatio's not all that bad. i just think his reputation for cracking during skits has preceded his actual comedic ability.

i did see that. apology accepted. :)

[35ft6]

I can't stand the way Horatio goes for the cheap laugh all the time, trying to make his cast mates laugh by staring at them, trying to do on purpose, illegitimately, what Chris Farley did unintentionally -- make his fellow castmates break character because Chris was so damn funny. See motivational sketch with Christina Applegate for prime example.

The one character I really like from Horatio is his Turkish talk show host. Wish they'd do more of that.

Rachel isn't as bad as Horatio, but she too relies on gimmicks that sort of get old after a while. She does this thing where her eyes roll around all nervously no matter what character she's playing.

Sketches that have to disappear:
- The Falconer
- their political openers, they suck
- ones where Rachel Dratch plays an old man

And why's Maya Rudolph still a cast member. She doesn't do shit. You know who's pretty funny is Keenan. He's the most consistent laugh getter of the bunch.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by 35ft6
Sketches that have to disappear:
- The Falconer
- their political openers, they suck
- ones where Rachel Dratch plays an old man


-will forte needs to go, period. whenever he does a sketch everything he does seems forced. he's a horrible Dubya and the falconer skit is old - they're beating a dead horse with that one.

-rachel dratch needs to show more boobs. yes, big bodacious funbags.

-i've always found fred armisan to be consistently funny. the prince show is great.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Mech1

-i've always found fred armisan to be consistently funny. the prince show is great. Fred is damn good. Their cast is actually pretty strong right now, I blame the writing.

[magicboy]

i think will forte is alright in small doses. his voice work as abe lincoln on the long-gone mtv cartoon "clone high" is quite good.

if nothing else, i think "weekend update" is pretty consistently funny.

[stinky]

weekend update needs talent though. tina fey is awful with her delivery and amy poehler hams it up way too much. i agree that fred is pretty solid. maya just had a baby so she is taking a break. her donatella versace is pretty funny.

[AddictProne]

noOO!OO!O!O!!! Poehler is hilarious!

I like Maya. Especially in that high school skit she does. Donatella Versace is really funny too.
I liked Dratch when she was from Boston and always making out with that guy I don't remember his name and I'm pretty happy I don't remember it. You know what I'm talking about.

"Waht ar you reetaaaaded?"

[35ft6]

I just watched it again, and I think the Vincent Price Thanksgiving Special sketch was one of the best high concept, ambitious ones they've performed in a long time.

I must repeat: Kristen Wiig is great! She doesn't bring any cheap gimmicks to the table (see Adam Samberg), just great execution with a touch of something demented, just enough to make her sparkle comedically.

[stinky]

i didn't care for the vincent price special. it felt like a sketch that was done before; throw a bunch of random impressions together and keep the gag going too long. and why are they repeating all the commercials? i have seen that investment commercial three times now. poehler is a camera hog. for awhile she was in just about every damn sketch. too much exposure for me.

[FDM]

Originally posted by AddictProne

I liked Dratch when she was from Boston and always making out with that guy I don't remember his name and I'm pretty happy I don't remember it. You know what I'm talking about.

"Waht ar you reetaaaaded?"

"YOU AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

her and jimmy fallon doing the boston kids was okay.

i can't remember a really good snl that i've stayed on for say, more than 5 minutes though. it doesn't help that like, most of the people on the show now are completely generic. eh well.

[AddictProne]

"no you ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

::commence making out with funky::

[kaihentai]

I liked the Vincent Price sketch. I agree that the Wiig girl (where have I seen her before?) was good.

Come on Eva, how could you screw up a Lucille Ball impression?

As for Fred, he's my fave, especially his stand up characters (the indian comic, the blind prop comic, and so on).

[Denstradamus]

<------------- Huge Fred Armisen fan right here.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by stinky
i didn't care for the vincent price special. it felt like a sketch that was done before; throw a bunch of random impressions together and keep the gag going too long. and why are they repeating all the commercials? i have seen that investment commercial three times now. poehler is a camera hog. for awhile she was in just about every damn sketch. too much exposure for me. They are showing the same commercials over and over an awful lot. As for the Vincent Price sketch, it grew on me. I wasn't really paying attention to it the first time but wanted to see it again because Kristen Wiig was good in it. The second time I actually watched the whole thing and I really appreciated Bill Hader's commitment to his Vincent Price character. Not ONCE did he try the "I'm going to smile to get a cheap laugh" trick. He stayed in character 100% and that's what I really like about him and Kristen. I'm really sick of Horatio, Rachel, and the a lot of the other cast members continuously breaking character on purpose.

The third time I watched it was to enjoy the whole sketch. Eva's Lucy wasn't the greatest, but the rest of it was cool. Again, I really enjoyed Bill Hader's professional attitude and the third time was when I realized he was doing a damn fine Vincent Price imitation.

[Denstradamus]

Originally posted by 35ft6
Not ONCE did he try the "I'm going to smile to get a cheap laugh" trick. He stayed in character 100% and that's what I really like about him and Kristen. I'm really sick of Horatio, Rachel, and the a lot of the other cast members continuously breaking character on purpose.


Oh man, Horatio is notorious for doing that. I think I watched an snl were he did it on consecutive skits. I thought I even detected him almost breaking character in one or two skits in this snl. It's a shame because I like the dude.


Considering Eva's not a comedic veteran compared to the other snl regulars, I cut her some slack on the Lucy gig. I thought it was decent.

The Vincent Price dude is a professional impressionist. I can't wait to see what more tricks he has to pull.

Did I mention that I'm a huge Fred Armisen fan?

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Denstradamus


Oh man, Horatio is notorious for doing that. I think I watched an snl were he did it on consecutive skits. Yeah, it's rare when he DOESN'T do it. The worst is when you can see that he's trying to make his castmates crack up by suddenly just starting at them with a grin on his face. At least Jim Fallon isn't there any more to indulge him. When those two were together it was like watching high school theater.

I don't really think Horatio's that funny. He seems like a really nice guy, and I bet getting drunk with him would be amusing, but I've seen that fat pony's one trick too many times. In NYC at the UCB Theater I saw him once at a Sunday improv show, along with Dratch, Fey, and Poehler, and he couldn't come up with shit.

I'm really glad they don't do that Fallon talk show from his dorm sketch any more, because Horatio as a pothead was really annoying.

[FDM]

http://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpghttp://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpghttp://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpg

[Denstradamus]

Dane Cook hosting the next SNL. I got high hopes since it's an actual comedian hosting the show.

[AddictProne]

Dane Cook is usually really funny but there are times when he's obnoxious and I want him to have an aneurism on screen.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by AddictProne
Dane Cook is usually really funny but there are times when he's obnoxious and I want him to have an aneurism on screen.

saw him on Leno a couple of times - he's very annoying.

[35ft6]

^ I read an article about him on EW. His jokes sounded like garbage. Seems like a total hack to me but, hey, I guess America loves mediocrity (see: Bush).

That Bill Hader continues to impress. I know it was a re-run, but his Pacino imitation yesterday was nuts.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by 35ft6

That Bill Hader continues to impress. I know it was a re-run, but his Pacino imitation yesterday was nuts.

yup, loved the Pacino impression. I wonder if he'll be able to 1up darrel hammond in the impressions department?

[35ft6]

^ Tough call. Darrel is more like a really good drummer, like an in-the-pocket impersonator. He gives the scene credibility by being the dead on straight man more times than not. Hader seems to have the potential to completely dominate the scene.

Again, I love Hader's dedication to the scene, not breaking character.

If you still have last night's episode on tape, Horatio has one of his finer moments than annoyingly reminds me/us why he's a hack. He's playing Aaron Neville, doing a very good imitation, and then at the end he looks at Seth with that stupid smirk on his face, the "I'm trying to make you laugh" smirk. Asshole.

[35ft6]

And I don't know what they're going to do with Samberg. It seems like they're trying to manufacture a new Adam Sandler, a kind of goofy heartthrob, but the boy's got no discernible talent. Aside from looking like Travolta circa Kotter that is.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by 35ft6
If you still have last night's episode on tape, Horatio has one of his finer moments than annoyingly reminds me/us why he's a hack. He's playing Aaron Neville, doing a very good imitation, and then at the end he looks at Seth with that stupid smirk on his face, the "I'm trying to make you laugh" smirk. Asshole.

i'm wearing too much cocoa butter.

And I don't know what they're going to do with Samberg. It seems like they're trying to manufacture a new Adam Sandler, a kind of goofy heartthrob, but the boy's got no discernible talent. Aside from looking like Travolta circa Kotter that is.

saw him in a few sketches and didn't quite get why he was on the show - didn't find him funny at all.

[AddictProne]

i have to say i really like Poehler.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Mech1
saw him in a few sketches and didn't quite get why he was on the show - didn't find him funny at all. He's one of the dudes from The Lonely Island (http://www.thelonelyisland.com/). I guess two of the other guys got writing jobs with SNL, all based on their web exposure. The Bu supposedly was one of the most popular shows on Channel 101, a weekly thing in LA where people have their short comedic films viewed, then voted on, the most popular shows keep "airing," the unpopular ones are "cancelled," not invited back.

Here's Andy's standup (http://www.thelonelyisland.com/premiumblend.mp4) act from the site. He sucks. He's like the annoying guy at the party who thinks he's funny but is not, just loud. People like him is the reason why I can be so antisocial. Who wants to be confronted by interaction with somebody like that?

[35ft6]

Originally posted by AddictProne
i have to say i really like Poehler. The Needler's are actually growing on me, which is amazing since I consider Seth Meyers to be arguably the most perplexingly untalented and unfunny person to ever be a cast member. He's like the white Tim Meadows but even lamer. I just don't get it.

Amy is great. I've seen her perform live a few times at the UCB theater in New York, and she's an incredibly quick witted and very generous improviser. By generous, I mean she was perfectly fine with letting the other performers shine when on at least one night it was crystal clear that she could completely take over if she wanted to. Maybe she was being a gracious host. Whenever an idea started dragging, or had hit a dead end, she would step in and introduce something interesting that would immediately bring the performance back to life again. She's very short, too.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by AddictProne
i have to say i really like Poehler.

hard to believe she used to be a writer on conan o'brian.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Mech1


hard to believe she used to be a writer on conan o'brian. I don't think she was ever a writer on Conan, although she was a reoccurring character on the show, a young girl with braces who was in love with Conan.

And don't forget her husband plays Gob on Arrested Development.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by 35ft6
I don't think she was ever a writer on Conan, although she was a reoccurring character on the show, a young girl with braces who was in love with Conan.


are you sure? it seems most of conan's writers appear in some form as characters on the show - seems pointless to cast an on again off again character for the show when they can use in-house talent.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Mech1


are you sure? it seems most of conan's writers appear in some form as characters on the show - seems pointless to cast an on again off again character for the show when they can use in-house talent. Yeah, I'm sure. Not all of their actors are writer/actors. But aside from that, look up her IMDB profile.

[35ft6]

Oh my god. Dana Cook is not funny. Dear sweet jesus.

[stinky]

haven't seen it yet but snl is not his area of expertise. i love his stand up but i can't imagine him doing sketch comedy.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

he had a couple of funny jokes during his monologue but I didn't find any of the sketches particularly amusing. i'm still trying to figure out how I got to host SNL in the first place. is SNL down in ratings or something? is this their attempt at boosting ratings by trying to bring on a standup comedian?

[35ft6]

They've had standups hosting before, right?

A very energetic episode, probably due to the high volume of Cook fans in the audience, but not as funny as the Corrolla episode. Dana Cook tries way too hard. Really, to me he's that loud guy at the party who's simply not funny but keeps making noises with his pie hole anyway. Just my opinion.

The highlight of the episode was Fred A's one man show, Gossip. That was fucking funny.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

^
I found Dane Cook's performance so dull I didn't bother watching the rest of the show, instead I ended up watching David Carradine do Tai Chi on PBS. how sad is that?

[35ft6]

^ You made the right choice, my friend. Dane is a fucking hack. And his whole enunciation thing is annoying.

He was on Conan the other day and you could see that Conan was sort of just not really finding him funny. You could just tell Dane was saying shit that was scripted, nothing funny was coming off the top of his head. Sharp contrast to Richard Lewis who was on a few days earlier. I was never a huge fan of Lewis' standup, but no denying he's a genuinely smart/funny guy. Just ranting and raving.

Dane is the standup equivalent of George Bush. America's love affair with mediocrity continues.

[Willie D]

The Fred Armisen characterization of the drama nerd was fucking spot-on.

[35ft6]

^ Fuck yeah. I could watch him do that shit for 20 minutes. More one-man show pretentious drama nerd!

[stinky]

man that was a bad episode. fred was great and it was good to see the taco commercial...AGAIN! can't wait to see shakira next week!

[35ft6]

^ That Fred A Gossip one man show thing was great. I wish I had watched if one more time before deleting it from my Tivo.

[stinky]

i thought the target sketch had potential. it got stale way too quick. too bad.

[YelloKitty]

anyone have a clip of the chronicles of narnia skit? i missed it and heard it was hilarious!

[kamenriderv3]

the chronic....les of narnia?

it was pretty good. the rest of the show was meh.

[FDM]

actually that was one of the things that actually made me laugh too. also one of the few skits i stayed for. parnell can rap like a muhfucka.

i have the clip of him rapping about britney spears from a few years ago.

i don't like andy samberg though. he's a little too..........."indie kid with moppy hair who makes ironic funny joke" for me.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

I got angry when Tracy Morgan showed up for the Skull Island Tourism bit on Weekend Update. Tracy Morgan wasn't funny when he was on SNL and he wasn't funny making a cameo.

[shawgirl74]

The Chronicles of Narnia rap was awesome. Chris Parnell is actually really talented. I thought Andy Samburg or whatever his name is complemented him really well.

[Malosi]

Originally posted by Mech1
I got angry when Tracy Morgan showed up for the Skull Island Tourism bit on Weekend Update. Tracy Morgan wasn't funny when he was on SNL and he wasn't funny making a cameo.

oh fuck that, tracy morgan rules, and he was hilarious in that bit too. and his tv show was dope.



LIES!

[35ft6]

I saw Tracey Morgan at Tuesday Karaoke at the Saddle Ranch. He looked skinny, drugged out, and he wailed With or Without You. I think SNL never figured out how to properly utilize him. Behind the scenes, I heard he cracked everybody up and was also their drug connection.

[Salami Swami]

Originally posted by YelloKitty
anyone have a clip of the chronicles of narnia skit? i missed it and heard it was hilarious!
Saw that shit, one of the funnier sketches in awhile, which ain't saying much I know but still, it was fucking classic.
I'd like to find a link to it as well.
"MOVIE TRIVIA IS THE ILLEST!"
They were thuggin' it out so hard it was great.

[FDM]

BAKER'S DOZEN!

samberg mounging the fucking cupcake with his gollum like face and teeth was pretty fucking awesome.

that looked like a lot of fun to shoot.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by Malosi


oh fuck that, tracy morgan rules, and he was hilarious in that bit too. and his tv show was dope.



LIES!

tracy morgan did a couple of funny skits during his days on SNL but it felt like most of his bits were forced. "oooh, look at me, i'm making a funny face and i'm using ghetto slang to get a cheap laugh", yet he continuously flubbed his lines. he reminds me of Tim Meadows, he was one of the unfunny black cast members you felt sorry for but secretly wanted off the show. Lorne Michaels must've been desperate when he hired him. Tracy Morgan gets the gas face.

[FDM]

tim meadows was okay for the straight man role though.

tracy morgan's shtick was just mugging for the cheap laugh, i agree. the Brian Fellows bit was pretty funny though.

http://www.clutterofechoes.com/BrianFellow/hebetternotbite.jpg
"dat goat is reading my mind!"

[Hyde]

Originally posted by YelloKitty
anyone have a clip of the chronicles of narnia skit? i missed it and heard it was hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=zLElfJ9YCh0

[AddictProne]

"Bitch! Go get me a soda!"

[stinky]

damn that was pretty dope.

regarding tracy morgan. i believe he was not utilized to his fullest as 35 stated. my favorite character he did was the homeless guy woodrow who lived in the sewer. the episode with britney spears was classic as he sang to her. i never really understood the brian fellows character.

[FDM]

what is there to understand? brian fellows is simply a 34 year old man with a 4th grade education and an abiding love for all god's creatures.

[stinky]

brian fellows fell into the snl trap of just repeating the same sketch with nothing new other than a different animal. *yawn*

[FDM]

it's th' CHRONIC(what!?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=zLElfJ9YCh0)CLES OF NARNIA!

[35ft6]

I forgot to mention this earlier: I'm pretty sure Shakira was lip-synching on SNL. Pretty sad.

[stinky]

i was too busy watching her hips to notice.

[qringe]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
it's th' CHRONIC(what!?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=zLElfJ9YCh0)CLES OF NARNIA! the gunshot at the end is the icing on the cake!

[35ft6]

Back in LA, finally got to see the Jack Black SNL. Black Sunday was great. Chris Parnell is good at that shit and Adam Samberg finally seemed not completely worthless.

Jack Black won me over. I'm still not a big fan but I'm softening up on him. I couldn't stand him before King Kong. I liked the way he gave it 100% in each skit, his performances were nuanced compared to just about every other guest who's been on in the last few years.

[35ft6]

Lazy Sunday (http://www.Break.com/articles/snlnarnia.html?t=4458), aka Chronicles of Narnia Rap, on Break.com.

http://media1.Break.com/content/snlnarnia.wmv

^ for easy download

[35ft6]

I love how the black chick at the theater ticket booth is laughing. Reminds me of the earliest rap videos when you would see "mistakes" like that.

[YelloKitty]

https://secure.bluecollardistro.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/bcd-ss-021-full.jpg
https://secure.bluecollardistro.com/crazydelicious/

[stinky]

that was pretty quick.

[35ft6]

I almost want to get one.

[ocd]

Originally posted by 35ft6
I almost want to get one. At a mere $10, it's more than a little tempting.

[HK's Nosferatu]

You can call me Aaron Burr for the way I'm droppin Hamiltons....for this dope shirt no doubt!

[Shaftoe]

avatars:

http://homepage.mac.com/ianmeyer/PhotoAlbum31.html

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Shaftoe
avatars:

http://homepage.mac.com/ianmeyer/PhotoAlbum31.html Doper than dope on a rope.

[FDM]

word, that's where i got my parnell macking on cupcake av.

[YelloKitty]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/27/arts/snl.span.jpg
Nerds in the Hood, Stars on the Web (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/27/arts/television/27samb.html)
For most aspiring rappers, the fastest route to having material circulated around the World Wide Web is to produce a work that is radical, cutting-edge and, in a word, cool. But now a pair of "Saturday Night Live" performers turned unexpected hip-hop icons are discovering that Internet stardom may be more easily achieved by being as nerdy as possible.

In "Lazy Sunday," a music video that had its debut on the Dec. 17 broadcast of "SNL," two cast members, Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg, adopt the brash personas of head-bopping, hand-waving rappers. But as they make their way around Manhattan's West Village, they rhyme with conviction about subjects that are anything but hard-core: they boast about eating cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, searching for travel directions on MapQuest and achieving their ultimate goal of attending a matinee of the fantasy movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

It is their obliviousness to their total lack of menace - or maybe the ostentatious way they pay for convenience-store candy with $10 bills - that makes the video so funny, but it is the Internet that has made it a hit. Since it was originally broadcast on NBC, "Lazy Sunday" has been downloaded more than 1.2 million times from the video-sharing Web site YouTube.com; it has cracked the upper echelons of the video charts at NBC.com and the iTunes Music Store; and it has even inspired a line of T-shirts, available at Teetastic.com.

"I've been recognized more times since the Saturday it aired than since I started on the show," said Mr. Samberg, 27, a featured player in his first season on "SNL." "It definitely felt like something changed overnight."

But Mr. Samberg is already well aware of the Internet's power to transform relative unknowns into superstars. In 2000, when he and his childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, both 28, who wrote "Lazy Sunday" with Mr. Samberg and Mr. Parnell, were still struggling comedy writers living together in Los Angeles, they created a Web site, the Lonely Island, to house their self-produced skits and video experiments.

"Honestly, almost every single one of the films was done at like 4 in the morning, kind of drunk," Mr. Taccone said. But the short movies they posted on thelonelyisland.com - everything from cartoons assembled from clips of old Nintendo video games to satirical rap videos performed in the styles of their favorite hip-hop artists - also gave the three a place to develop their comic voices without the pressure of having to deliver professionally polished work.

"The Internet allowed us to show people much faster, in a way that you don't embarrass yourself," Mr. Taccone said. "You don't have to hand someone a VHS. It's just on their computer."

These videos also provided the Lonely Island team with careers: through their Internet work, they landed an agent, pilot deals with Comedy Central and Fox, and writing jobs for the MTV Movie Awards. In 2005, they joined "SNL," Mr. Samberg as a performer and Mr. Taccone and Mr. Schaffer as writers.

At "SNL" they found a kind of kindred spirit in Mr. Parnell, who has used the program's "Weekend Update" segment to deliver highly inappropriate rap tributes to some of the show's comelier female guest hosts. "I don't think I ever heard from Britney Spears," said Mr. Parnell, 38, who has been with the show since 1998. "But Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Garner seemed to really enjoy it, and thankfully not be creeped out by it."

On the evening of Dec. 12, the four wrote a song about "two guys rapping about very lame, sensitive stuff," as Mr. Samberg described it. They recorded it the following night in the office Mr. Samberg shares with Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Taccone at "SNL," using a laptop computer that Mr. Taccone bought on Craigslist.

Then, while their colleagues were rehearsing and rewriting that Saturday's show, the group spent the morning of Dec. 15 shooting their video with a borrowed camera, using the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Chelsea to stand in for a multiplex cinema and Mr. Taccone's girlfriend's sister to play a convenience-store clerk. Mr. Schaffer spent the next night - and morning - editing the video and working with technicians to bring it up to broadcast standards. Finally, at about 11 p.m. on Dec. 17, the four learned from Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of "SNL," that "Lazy Sunday" would be shown on that night's show.

By the next morning, the video had burrowed its way into the nation's cultural consciousness. "It brought a breath of fresh air to the show," Mr. Parnell said, adding that he received a congratulatory phone call soon after "Lazy Sunday" was shown from his co-star Maya Rudolph, who is on maternity leave, and her boyfriend, the filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. "It's something the likes of which we haven't seen on 'SNL' anytime recently."

Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Taccone were also contacted by friends who heard the rap played on radio stations and in bars. And Mr. Samberg found himself in the delicate position of having to explain to his mother that the song's chorus is a play on words involving the name "Chronicles of Narnia" and the word chronic, a slang term for marijuana. "She's like, 'So is it actually about weed?' " Mr. Samberg said. "It makes you think it's going to be about weed, but then it's actually just about 'Narnia.' She's like, 'Oh, I think I get it.' "

While Mr. Parnell anticipates that the buzz surrounding "Lazy Sunday" will eventually die down, he said the video's success would continue to pay dividends for his young collaborators.

"It will have whatever life people are interested in it having, and then it'll pass out of being the thing of the moment," he said. "But it encourages Lorne and everybody involved with the show to trust them more, and to put their stuff out there."

Mr. Schaffer, who has written just two live sketches with Mr. Taccone that have survived the Darwinian "SNL" dress rehearsal process and made it onto the air, said he appreciated the attention "Lazy Sunday" has received. But he also said he expected no special treatment when the show's staff resumes work in January.

"The thing about 'SNL,' " Mr. Schaffer said, "is that all of this could happen, and we could still come in on Monday morning with zero ideas. No matter what, that's intimidating. We could use all the help we can get."

[35ft6]

^ Great article. My respect for these guys is growing. The stuff I saw on Lonely Island was blegh, and Samberg's stand up was horrible. But the production of this video is great. It shows that you don't need great equipment if you have a great idea. I always hear people talking about putting off making their masterpiece until they have enough money for film, this camera, that camera, this or that...

[Shaftoe]

http://www.slate.com/id/2133316/

The Chronicles of Narnia Rap
It won't save Saturday Night Live, but it could save hip hop.
By Josh Levin
Posted Friday, Dec. 23, 2005, at 7:17 PM ET

Parns and Samberg

If you haven't seen Saturday Night Live's Chronicles of Narnia rap, then you don't have any friends. Or at least any friends with Internet access. The two-minute video, which debuted on SNL last Saturday before resurfacing as a much-forwarded "digital short," has accomplished what seemed impossible a week ago—making Saturday Night Live a cultural touchstone for the first time since Christopher Walken pleaded for "more cowbell." The popularity of the Narnia rap might augur a reawakening at SNL—in fact, there are already T-shirts that parrot the song's catchphrases. It's more significant, though, for what it says about the state of rap.

The video, officially titled "Lazy Sunday," depicts a day in the life of a pair of dorky New Yorkers. Andy Samberg (aka Samberg) calls up Chris Parnell (aka Parns) "just to see how he's doin'." Soon enough, they "mack on some cupcakes" from the West Village's Magnolia Bakery and debate which online map service will reveal the "dopest route" to an Upper West Side screening of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Then the chorus kicks in: "We love that Chronic—what?—cles of Narnia / Pass that Chronic—what?—cles of Narnia."

Some of the humor here derives from the fact that these whitebread guys—Samberg is wearing a John Muir T-shirt; Parnell looks like a 12-year-old accountant—are moonlighting in what's traditionally been a black medium. Sure, white rappers aren't a novelty anymore. But guys this white, rhyming about getting "taken to a dreamworld of magic"? It's the nerdy, white-boy version of Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day."

This racial switcheroo is the schtick behind Parnell's "Weekend Update" rap routines, in which he pines for hotties like Kirsten Dunst and Britney Spears while bragging about gangsta gunplay. But these earlier bits are funny only because of the racial juxtaposition therein. (Sample lyric: "Yo it's a west-side hit, I got my Mac-10 lit / Britney get down, you don't wanna see this ****.") The Narnia rap doesn't use the MCs' extraordinary whiteness as a comedy crutch. Rather than invite easy laughs by reciting a tired checklist of ghetto stereotypes, Samberg and Parnell ditch the bling and Cristal to riff enthusiastically about the stuff they like—Magnolia Bakery's "bomb frostings." Instead of clichéd images of cars and yachts, there's a pop-up graphic of the phrase "Double True" in the iconic Google font. The most conspicuous consumption is that of Mr. Pibb. (The one rap convention that does get mocked, to no great effect, is gunplay. When they answer a movie trivia question "so fast it was scary," there's machine gun fire in the background.)

Rather than lampoon today's artists, Samberg and Parnell evoke old-school rap. The whole presentation—the lyrics, the flow, and the aesthetic—owes more to New York rappers from the '80s than to anything that's getting made today. The way they trade rhymes and enunciate the end of each line—"You can call us Aaron Burr / From the way we're droppin' HAM-IL-TONS"—recalls the delivery of 1980s artists like Run-DMC. The production values, New York street scenes, and silly similes call to mind early Beastie Boys tracks. Really, is "I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew" any less ridiculous than "I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling"?

Of course, part of what Samberg and Parnell are sending up is nerdy white nostalgia for the Beasties' heyday. Still, it's notable that these moments of goofiness and whimsy are what make "Lazy Sunday" work as a rap song, not just a comedy sketch. It's hard to think of a Top 40 hip-hop track that's similarly playful. Eminem's subgenre of silly songs ("The Real Slim Shady," "Ass Like That") all feel calculated—the references to MTV ensure that his videos get a ton of airplay on MTV. Sure, Ludacris co-starred in a video with Mini-Me. But for the most part, whimsy gets buried. The highlight of 50 Cent's oeuvre, for instance, is a sidelong lyric from "21 Questions": "I love you like a fat kid loves cake."

People aren't forwarding this video because it's a parody of what's bad about rap; they're sending it around because it's an ode to what can be great about it. Instead of auguring a new day for SNL, maybe it points up what's missing in mainstream rap—an awareness that it's OK to be goofy. Who needs Biz Markie and Tone-Loc? We've got Samberg and Parns.

[35ft6]

The camera work and editing isn't being given enough credit. Brett Rattner could have made a video that would have ensured that nobody ever talked about this "great rap song."

[Shaftoe]

Double true.

[ocd]

I've got the free iTunes DL, and I :heart: it.

[static]

i ordered a couple shirts, it says the proceeds are going to eff which is cool.

[35ft6]

I don't dislike Scarlett as much as I used to. She was decent on SNL. Not a lot of really funny stuff but she was unabashed, which is usually what separates the good hosts from the bad ones IMO.

[FDM]

that narnia rap has pretty much run its funny course. to bring it up any further would cement it in the annals of annoying catchphrase immortality, alongside the chappelle's show rick james quotes, lil jon impersonations, and pretty much everything said in napoleon dynamite.

[qringe]

^i think you're right... http://www.waxy.org/archive/2006/01/17/nick_and.shtml

[cordani]

^^ double true

[650lex]

that's like when you find knockoff ugg boots at Kohl's
or something...

[35ft6]

Their parents need to spank them and make sure they never ever ever rap again.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

I have to admit that the Pirate skit and the baby wig skit lastnight were funnier than shit. "Mr. Saaaaarsgaaaard!".

[35ft6]

A spoof of that lettuce commercial. It's actually pretty decent.

http://www.break.com/index/lettucespoof.html

[kamenriderv3]

natalie portman rap

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tQ7bJQGlfJY&search=natalie%20portman

lots of censored swearing

[fmstlr]

publicity stunt to promote V for Vandetta. morons will be all falling for it, buzzin 'round the Entertainment Tonight circuits.

[kingka]

natalie.... what have you done?

[FDM]

this one's still pretty decent.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NEF-3PiQdq0

[kingka]

ahahah

[35ft6]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
this one's still pretty decent.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NEF-3PiQdq0 Look at Samberg trying so hard, so desperately to be funny. And failing. He sucks. I'm over lazy sunday, he fucking sucks. He makes Seth Meyers look like Phil Hartman.

[sumtinsumtin]

http://www.nbc.com/Video/videos/snl_1439_natalieraps.shtml

this one works now

[Denstradamus]

I can't confirm this with an article but I heard Rachel Dratch, Finesse Mitchell, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz were fired.

And supposedly Seth Myers is taking over Tina Fey's weekend update spot.

[ocd]

I didn't hear that Dratch was gone, but I heard the other three were fired as well.

[Denstradamus]

My news might be inaccurate, esquar. My source was the radio and I was only half awake so you may be right.

I'll miss Finnesse believe it or not. He was a one trick pony, but that one trick he always did (MY NAME IS STARQUISHA. IT IS MY BIRTHDAY) always cracked me up.

[ocd]

My news is similar, I saw it scroll across on one of those news banners on some site as I was waiting for something to print, but didn't click a link.

Let's ask Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/09/21/ap3036733.html

Dratch is going with Fey to 30 Rock, and the rest got the gas face.

[montyburnz]

This is the second time Chris Parnell got axed for budget issues.
He's really talented so it's SNL's loss.


Dratch is going to 30 Rock, but her role got recast because she's ugly. Ouch. They put in the secretary from Ally McBeal. Dratch is going to have a reoccuring role as an animal handler.

[Denstradamus]

Originally posted by montyburnz


Dratch is going to 30 Rock, but her role got recast because she's ugly. Ouch. They put in the secretary from Ally McBeal. Dratch is going to have a reoccuring role as an animal handler.


Ouch. That is so wrong.

[Charlie]

Seth Meyers sucks. I can't believe he's been on the show for so long. Rachel Dratch was one of my favorite cast members from the recent seasons. Finesse Mitchell didn't get much shine but he was funny from few times I saw him. Horatio Sanz definitely needed to go. I guess Adam Sandberg and Fred Armisten are gonna carry that show now.

[montyburnz]

Horatio Sanz had his moments, but I can't stand it when he laughs during a bit.

I've seen him in the improv Upright Citizens show in NYC. He doesn't have an improv bone in his body. I realize different types of funny people make it on to SNL. For example, Will Ferrell has never done stand up. Sanz just came across as a guy they picked off the street.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

SNL probably needed a token fat guy so this is why Sanz was probably picked.

I think Bill Hader is gonna take off soon.

[kamenriderv3]

Originally posted by montyburnz
This is the second time Chris Parnell got axed for budget issues.
He's really talented so it's SNL's loss.


parnell has another gig. a tv pilot, i think. the other two, i don't know.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Charlie
Seth Meyers sucks. Word. Arguably the most worthless cast member ever. And I just found out he's been co-head writer for a while now. And now that Tina's gone, the title is all his.I guess Adam Sandberg and Fred Armisten are gonna carry that show now. Sandberg sucks, too. He might be funny when he's your friend, and you're really stoned, but not when he's some douchebag on TV. It's all about Armisen, Hader, and Sudeikis.Originally posted by montyburnz
Horatio Sanz had his moments, but I can't stand it when he laughs during a bit.

I've seen him in the improv Upright Citizens show in NYC. He doesn't have an improv bone in his body. I realize different types of funny people make it on to SNL. For example, Will Ferrell has never done stand up. Sanz just came across as a guy they picked off the street. I've seen him at UCB in New York, too. He just stood there like a big piece of shit while Tina, Dratch, and, especially, Amy was tearing it up. I totally agree, not an improv bone in his body. But I did like his Turkish talk show TV host character. "That's bulljive man, man!"

[35ft6]

BTW, in case you didn't know, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is loosely based on SNL, or they use a show similar to it as its homebase, and it's a damn good show. Watch it!

[filmglee]

Originally posted by 35ft6
BTW, in case you didn't know, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is loosely based on SNL, or they use a show similar to it as its homebase, and it's a damn good show. Watch it!

Great show, Amanda Peet is the bee's knees:heart:

My favorite SNL sketch, the landshark.
http://www.jewlicious.com/wp-content/uploads/landshark_bw.jpg
candygram.

[montyburnz]

I borrowed Jay Mohr's Gasping for Airtime audiobook from the library. It's the best way to get through his story since he does impressions.

It's a behind-the-scenes look at SNL from a (somewhat whiney) second string player. He gets a phone booth sized dressing room and deals with massive panic attacks.

At the beginning of each week, the cast and writers stand in a semi-circle around Lorne Michaels. Going one after the other, they pitch sketches or ideas which live or die right there. No one wanted to show up empty handed. Mohr eventually figured out that cast members would claim to be developing a sketch with a writer or other cast member so they wouldn't get caught.

It's the first thing I thought during last night's STUDIO 60. The exec producer talks to the cast and one cast member says he's working on a sketch with another. I thought they were trying to keep their jobs.

[35ft6]

^ Okay, the second episode wasn't as good as the first. Still, a damn fine show. Some random gripes:

- I can't stand the woman who plays Harriet. I don't believe her for a second as a gifted comedic actor. She says a lot of things that I'm sure Aaron Sorkin intended as being examples of her biting wit, but no teeth whatsoever.
- None of the cast members are funny. I'm sure the cast of SNL are probably a bunch of depressed, grumpy, paranoid fucks offstage, but god damn I'm sure they're strange or funny SOMETIMES. During that opening song sketch, they all looked like a bunch of Hollywood actors imitating what it means to be funny. Having seen a lot of bad sketch comedy, on stage and on tape, in LA, I know people pretending to be funny when I see it.
- Aaron Sorkin isn't good at "haha", hard jokes funny. When the writers were riffing at the table, that was just brutal. An exceptional writer in so many ways but having read at least one of his plays, I'm not sure he's up for aping comedy writers. He can definitely write funny shit, but for a show like this, he seems like he's faking it.

So, basically, I guess I'm saying it's great drama, but when they're supposed to be funny, it's weak. You know you're SUPPOSED to think they're being funny, and witty, but I bet even the writers of SNL in real life are way funnier than these guys. Still a good show. Mathew Perry and that dude from West Wing are very good. Amanda Peet is okay, but sometimes I can see that she's acting. I see that blank look in her eyes, like she's going over her lines just one more time in her mind as she waits for her scene partner to finish.

[montyburnz]

Originally posted by 35ft6
[B]^ Okay, the second episode wasn't as good as the first. Still, a damn fine show.

I love Danny and Matt's characters and how they play off each other.

The Amanda Peet corporate battles are fun.



Some random gripes:

- I can't stand the woman who plays Harriet. I don't believe her for a second as a gifted comedic actor. She says a lot of things that I'm sure Aaron Sorkin intended as being examples of her biting wit, but no teeth whatsoever.


I find Harriet annoying. I don't know if it's her acting or the character Sorkin gave her. She's a born again Christian singer and
mainstream comedian? (Actually Victoria Jackson on SNL pulled that off and she was hilarious.)

Sorkin keeps beating us over the head with her alleged comedic skills. The line from her hot co-worker Jeannie "I wish I had your talent" was so fucking awful.




- None of the cast members are funny. I'm sure the cast of SNL are probably a bunch of depressed, grumpy, paranoid fucks offstage, but god damn I'm sure they're strange or funny SOMETIMES. During that opening song sketch, they all looked like a bunch of Hollywood actors imitating what it means to be funny. Having seen a lot of bad sketch comedy, on stage and on tape, in LA, I know people pretending to be funny when I see it.
- Aaron Sorkin isn't good at "haha", hard jokes funny. When the writers were riffing at the table, that was just brutal. An exceptional writer in so many ways but having read at least one of his plays, I'm not sure he's up for aping comedy writers. He can definitely write funny shit, but for a show like this, he seems like he's faking it.

I agree with all of the above.

The cast of Studio 60 look and act like actors. The women are too hot for comedy if that makes any sense.

The writer's table was sooooo fucking awful. I think Sorkin should hire some sketch comedy writers to come up with the bits. Or just get permission from Lorne Michaels to root around the recycle bin.

I can see the SNL concept being the Achilles Heel of the show. In Deep Space Nine or The Office you can skate by showing people "working"...

[AddictProne]

wut the... a star trek reference?

[35ft6]

Originally posted by montyburnz
Sorkin keeps beating us over the head with her alleged comedic skills. The line from her hot co-worker Jeannie "I wish I had your talent" was so fucking awful. Yeah, that was just embarrassing. I remember people saying similar stuff about Finding Forester, about how we keep being told over and over, in various ways, that that dude from the ghetto was a literary prodigy. And they keep saying it and saying it instead of ever showing it.

Yeah, that comment about her talent said it all. Her character is hella annoying.

I think there were two comments about cast members making or getting paid a lot of money for what they do, etc. From what I've heard, SNL is notorious for underpaying its staff. Will Farrell at one point became its highest paid cast member ever and I think he was "only" getting about 250 thousand for that season.

[ocd]

The Harriet character is fucking irritating. I don't buy her being a comedian in the slightest. And the writers round table session had me cringing. Aside from that, for the most part it's an entertaining show.

[35ft6]

^ I wonder if everybody watches this show agrees with us. I mean, are there people out there that like Harriet and think she seems like a gifted comic actress on that show?

[35ft6]

First episode of SNL was terrible. Seth Meyers was useless as usual. Plus, I don't like Dane Cook so it just sucked all around.

[AddictProne]

on Madtv they made fun of Dane Cook 3 seperate times.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

dang. last night's SNL would've been dope if sasha baron cohen had hosted - why'd they have to tease me with the opening Borat sketch?

thanks for reminding me how fucking dreadful Seth Meyers is. he's so unfunny it's funny.

[FDM]

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6035/vanwilderke5.jpg + http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4336/willfarrelloh8.jpg = http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6827/danecookaj1.jpg

[35ft6]

Originally posted by Mech1
dang. last night's SNL would've been dope if sasha baron cohen had hosted - why'd they have to tease me with the opening Borat sketch?

thanks for reminding me how fucking dreadful Seth Meyers is. he's so unfunny it's funny. He's the most unfunny person who's ever been on that show.

Another thing that's unfunny is the fictional SNL-like show on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It's worse than SNL.

[wnoodle]

Studio 60 isn't supposed to be funny; sometimes humourous but not all-out funny.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by wnoodle
Studio 60 isn't supposed to be funny; sometimes humourous but not all-out funny. I'm not talking about the show itself, I'm talking about the show within the show, the one on NBS. Like when they show the skits in the show within a show. Lame, lame, lame. Terrible.

As for the NBC show, Studio 60, the only funny people on that show are the ones who AREN'T comedians. Amanda and Jeff Weber are funny sometimes, but everybody who's SUPPOSED to be funny, are totally not funny. And the dialogue is so bizarre. Everybody talks the same way, super fast. It's like how old Hollywood shows were, like in Dragnet, where the rhythm of the way people talk is so strange. It's like they're finishing each others thoughts.

[35ft6]

There's been a few really good episodes lately. This past episode was pretty strong with lots of good character work.

One sketch in particular was especially good considering SNL's recent track record, and I'm not so sure they've ever aired a sketch this... uh... I don't know. It was pretty long, it all took place in an elevator, and every character had a distinctive voice, it was like a solid playwright wrote it, and not some sketch comedy hack. Seems pretty risky considering how execution driven it was, no gimmicks, relied on good performances and great timing.

I wonder what's going on over there?

[FDM]

^ would the elevator one be the one with matthew fox and they're all talking about lost? it's okay i guess.....i suppose if you actually know what LOST is about. which i don't.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Jason Sudeikis = worst Dubya impersonation ever.

[shawgirl74]

^^ you got that right. I feel sorry for him!

I"ve got to say, I loved the Apocalypto "trailer". heehee

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by shawgirl74
I"ve got to say, I loved the Apocalypto "trailer". heehee

yeah, that was pretty funny.

"I smell bagels"

[Charlie]

Tonight's Digital Short cracked me up. I loved the whole Color Me Bad parody.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

Originally posted by Charlie
Tonight's Digital Short cracked me up. I loved the whole Color Me Bad parody.

haha, yes! the "dick in a box" bit had me chuckling.

seth myers, you're still not funny.

[35ft6]

Seth Meyers is officially the most unfunny cast member in SNL history. Tim Meadows is Eddie Murphy compared to Seth.

[Charlie]

Dick in a Box (http://youtube.com/watch?v=S-5grqhj1b8)

[wnoodle]

^ IMO, right up there with Lazy Sunday. This is officially my new favourite Christmas song.

[FDM]

ehh. that was good, but i think it was just the culmination of the color me badd/shai/silk/boyz ii men/bell biv devoe etc. homage along with JT being in the video as well. it was a little one-note.

lazy sunday was better simply because all the references came out of nowhere.

[charlie bucket]

what is lazy sunday

[FDM]

that chronicles of narnia rap thing that was super-popular a few months ago

[wnoodle]

According to the web, it's been almost exactly 12 months since the Chronic(what!)cles of Narnia.

[Denstradamus]

when bill hader and adam samberg first came on i thought hader was gonna rule at skits while samberg was gonna suck. while samberg isn't great at skits he fucking found his niche in the SNL Digital Shorts/musical video parody schtick.

[35ft6]

^ I don't think they're using Hader to his full potential yet. Samberg isn't a very talented guy, but, you're right, he's much better in those digital shorts, which I think are mostly produced by the comedy group he was in before SNL, The Lonely Island.

I'm glad to see more of Kristen Wiig. She pretty much won me over early when she did Judy Garland in the Vincent Price Christmas Special sketch. Not sure if SNL ever had a woman quite like her, maybe Jan Hooks, a straight woman with some real acting chops.

[650lex]

Originally posted by 35ft6
Not sure if SNL ever had a woman quite like her, maybe Jan Hooks, a straight woman with some real acting chops.

i love me some Jan Hooks!

"there's no basement in the ALAMO!"

[fygar]

What about Nora Dunn?

[650lex]

i miss them both! (http://snl.jt.org/char.php?i=85)

[feralmuppet]

The Alvin and the Chipmunks opener was funny. I haven't thought about those duys in years.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by 650lex
i miss them both! (http://snl.jt.org/char.php?i=85) I forgot about Nora Dunn. Kristen Wiig is the first female SNL player who seems so low key when she's not performing, like she's almost a reluctant kick ass performer. She's almost like a female Darrell Hammond, Phil Hartman, or Will Forte.

Lex, next time you come down, if you're here on a Sunday night, a bunch of us should go to the ASCAAT improv show put on by the Upright Citizen's Brigade. Last time I was there three of the four TV members, including Amy Poehler, was there. It's cheap and it's hilarious, and it's right next to Bird's, a very decent chicken joint. We can have drinks and stare at the Scientology Celebrity Center across the street.

[650lex]

Originally posted by 35ft6

Lex, next time you come down, if you're here on a Sunday night, a bunch of us should go to the ASCAAT improv show put on by the Upright Citizen's Brigade. Last time I was there three of the four TV members, including Amy Poehler, was there. It's cheap and it's hilarious, and it's right next to Bird's, a very decent chicken joint. We can have drinks and stare at the Scientology Celebrity Center across the street.

I'm down!
the scientology scares me, however!

[stinky]

Originally posted by 35ft6
She's almost like a female Darrell Hammond, Phil Hartman, or Will Forte.

Will Forte? Come on! Don't give him that much credit by naming him with those two guys. :)

[35ft6]

Originally posted by stinky


Will Forte? Come on! Don't give him that much credit by naming him with those two guys. :) No, I should have been more clear. It's not that he's as good as them, it's that those dudes were so mild-mannered when not performing, but they can really turn it on. Most of the people seem equally zany on and off the stage.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by 650lex


I'm down!
the scientology scares me, however! It really is scary. Truly. The center across the street looks like it was once a swanky hotel or something. It's very creepy looking. And the Scientology security are regular young Hollywood types in black slacks, white shirt, and ties.

[650lex]

Originally posted by 35ft6
It really is scary. Truly. The center across the street looks like it was once a swanky hotel or something. It's very creepy looking. And the Scientology security are regular young Hollywood types in black slacks, white shirt, and ties.
i heard it looks like a compound
and they also have their own Navy!

[Shaftoe]

Dick in a Box ftw.

[ocd]

Put your junk in that box!

[Ryan]

how long before that phrase is on a poorly designed tshirt...

which i will consider buying?

[ocd]

Or someone starts marketing pre-holed boxes?

[FDM]

kwanzaa?







http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5539/kwanzaagp3.gif
dick in a box.

[DOOM!]

busted tees already has a "dick in a box" tee.

[wnoodle]

I've already decided "Kwanzaa Dick in a Box" is next year's Hallowe'en costume.

[FDM]

is anybody even gonna remember this in a year?

[Shaftoe]

I will. I'm going to find the song and burn it on a Christmas CD full of standards, and then play it at parties with conservative people and watch what happens. Truly a great Christmas song.

[FDM]

classic. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me_g4B9-jjo)

[ocd]

Originally posted by funkydrunknmonk
classic. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me_g4B9-jjo) Son of a vondruke, that was hilarious.

[ocd]

Originally posted by wnoodle
I've already decided "Kwanzaa Dick in a Box" is next year's Hallowe'en costume. Haha, I may have to join you in this. I may do the Channukkah one.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

for the love of god, would jason sudeikis please stop with the dubya impersonations already.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

last night's SNL was aight. the McGruber skits were pretty funny.

[35ft6]

God. Every week I'm amazed by how talentless Seth Meyers is.

This season there's been a certain type of sketch that's been coming up and I bet they're all written by the same guy or girl. They're more layered than the usual fare, less high concept, really, but better executed, the unicorn sketch being the latest, the elevator sketch another, and I know I've seen 1 or 3 more but can't remember right now.

[35ft6]

I really like the Bronx Beat skit.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=l2CITvRzTw8

For a while I forgot how good Maya Rudolph can be, I was really getting sick of her always singing or being a black grandmother.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by 35ft6

One sketch in particular was especially good considering SNL's recent track record, and I'm not so sure they've ever aired a sketch this... uh... I don't know. It was pretty long, it all took place in an elevator, and every character had a distinctive voice, it was like a solid playwright wrote it, and not some sketch comedy hack. Seems pretty risky considering how execution driven it was, no gimmicks, relied on good performances and great timing. Here's the elevator sketch (http://youtube.com/watch?v=IWKPbQbs6EU).

[Charlie]

This sketch cracked me up last night. Fred Armisen rules!

Marble Columns (http://youtube.com/watch?v=bZcba7CUaCE)

[35ft6]

I'm officially on the Scarlett J bandwagon after years of holding a grudge for her awful performance in Ghost World, and not ever really understanding why people pretended she was so dang hot... After seeing her personality a bit on SNL, she is hot to me. Loved her on the show, one of the best SNL's of the season. Top 3 fo sho.

[ocd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDn3fpkBLV8&NR=1

[35ft6]

So they were back on the air last night, first new episode since the strike, with Tina Fey hosting. It was okay. A lot of celebrity impersonations throughout the episode, and some of the jokes were dated because of the strike (the "I Drink Your Milkshake" skit).

The weird thing is they had trailer for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's upcoming movie Baby Mama Drama, and it took a while for me to realize it was real and not a skit making fun of dumb movie ideas.

The new cast member, some chick, seems kind of promising, didn't have the same immediate impact as Kristin Wiig, but she really needs to stop looking at the audience during everything she does.

[Rosita]

I have been under house arrest for one week with flu and when they did that spoof about the pill that makes your period come around once a year I laughed for the first time in seven days.
Not that anyone cares.

[35ft6]

^ Grab your fucking hat? Is that what they kept saying. Lots of poop jokes last night. I liked it when Kirsten Wiig said "and a bear on the toilet." Tina Fey was so awesome in her Woman's News segment. She really is one of the best comedic actors working today, like top 5 or something.

[kimchi_girl]

Originally posted by 35ft6
So they were back on the air last night, first new episode since the strike, with Tina Fey hosting. It was okay. A lot of celebrity impersonations throughout the episode, and some of the jokes were dated because of the strike (the "I Drink Your Milkshake" skit).

The weird thing is they had trailer for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's upcoming movie Baby Mama Drama, and it took a while for me to realize it was real and not a skit making fun of dumb movie ideas.

The new cast member, some chick, seems kind of promising, didn't have the same immediate impact as Kristin Wiig, but she really needs to stop looking at the audience during everything she does.

My boss got a letter from the production team of "Baby Mama" informing us that they would be filming in front of our office building. I remember they had lights, trailers, cameras and a whole mess of people right in our front door for a week. A group of them came in one day and asked us which Vietnamese restaurant was the best in Chinatown. My boss wanted to go out and ask them if they needed any accounting services but we stopped him! Lol!

[35ft6]

^ Did you see Tina or Amy? I saw them both performing at ASCAAT at the UCB theater. Gotta say, Tina Fey just keeps getting better looking as she gets older.

[kimchi_girl]

Originally posted by 35ft6
^ Did you see Tina or Amy? I saw them both performing at ASCAAT at the UCB theater. Gotta say, Tina Fey just keeps getting better looking as she gets older.

Hey 35ft6!
No I didn't see them! Unfortunately I had no idea this was a Tina Fey film until after they had already left. The letter only stated the title of the film but didn't mention who the film's director or stars were. We had a feeling it was a big production though. My boss knew that someone with the last name "Fey" was involved in this film but that's all he knew so he kept telling us it was a Chinese film! Lol!

[feralmuppet]

The fake ad for the edited DVDs was hilarious. If the product was real, I'd buy them for my parents, who seem to have problems watching movies these days.

[35ft6]

Originally posted by kimchi_girl
My boss knew that someone with the last name "Fey" was involved in this film but that's all he knew so he kept telling us it was a Chinese film! Lol! Hahaha. Some chinese parents should name their daughter Tina Fei.

[vacation]

Originally posted by Rosita
I have been under house arrest for one week with flu and when they did that spoof about the pill that makes your period come around once a year I laughed for the first time in seven days.
Not that anyone cares.

Annualle. That shit was hilarious.

[feralmuppet]

I think Kenan Thompson is funny, but I don't like his impressions. I've noticed that he whenever he imitates someone, he looks aways from the camera and gets this blank expression in his eyes that wreaks the illusion. His other work is great, though.

[kingka]

are there any youtube links to those skits?

[35ft6]

It's on Hulu, but I don't see it on Youtube right now. Maybe it's at Daily Motion.

Here's the Hulu link but I don't think it'll work unless you're registered.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/10234/saturday-night-live-annuale

[AddictProne]

Originally posted by 35ft6

The new cast member, some chick, seems kind of promising, didn't have the same immediate impact as Kristin Wiig, but she really needs to stop looking at the audience during everything she does.

I'll be honest with you I thought the new girl was awful in everything she did. She might have been nervous or something but it was really bad.

But I learned to love Kristin Wiig even more.

[vacation]

Wiig reminds me a lot of Colleen Camp from Policy Academy and Clue. Camp is a lot older now though.

[stinky]

Finally caught the show. Wiig was great. That was about it. I always say this, but I don't know why I watch the show. I just keep hoping it will be funny someday. Seth Myers really bugs me; he does a sneer while doing the news, after each punchline. He needs to find a better face.

[Denstradamus]

really really strong episode tonight with doogie howser as the host.


really really enjoyed it.

[Goner]

Wiig is the only reason I even watch the show. Favorite sketches so far with her in it would have to be the ones with the Target lady and the Lawrence Welk one where she was the freak of nature amongst her family singing group.

[Sid]

Originally posted by Denstradamus
really really strong episode tonight with doogie howser as the host.


really really enjoyed it.

NPH killed it.

[wnoodle]

WWNPHD?

[ocd]

Originally posted by Denstradamus
really really strong episode tonight with doogie howser as the host.


really really enjoyed it. Oh damn, if I knew he was on, I'd have totally watched this week.

[Goner]

Wouldn't NBC's website have the whole episode or do they break this show by sketch?

I totally LOL'd on the digital short w/ the Doogie Howser theme.

[Shaftoe]

Originally posted by Goner
Wouldn't NBC's website have the whole episode or do they break this show by sketch?

I totally LOL'd on the digital short w/ the Doogie Howser theme.

DITTO. The tear at the end wuz pryceless. Gotta love NPH.

[35ft6]

Fuck. Lately my Time Warner's channel guide has been 50 percent "to be announced." Totally missed this one. Lucky for me it'll repeat in three weeks most likely.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/CaseyWilson1DanaEdelson.jpg

I kind of have a boner for casey wilson

[AddictProne]

in the first episode of the season i really didn't like her. she's ok now.

[FDM]

chris elliott has a 20 year old daughter who's not only really cute, but is on SNL as well...

http://daveandthomas.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/abby-elliott-snl.jpghttp://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/13/snlelliott.jpg

i love a good smirk.

[35ft6]

^ So far I've seen zero comic talent from her. Usually she's like an extra, the cute young girl. Casey Wilson tries too hard but she seems to have some potential.

[CaptainPajamaShark]

either way they both have smashing tits

[Willie D]

Originally posted by CaptainPajamaShark
http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/CaseyWilson1DanaEdelson.jpg

I kind of have a boner for casey wilson

I have two boners for her.

[Denstradamus]

Phoenix was on tonight with Seth Rogen. The show was meh.

Phoenix performed their old hit "Too Young" while the credits rolled down the screen.

It was a nice touch. I didn't expect them to play their old hit just the new stuff.