32b
Douglas North
But I'm sick today, so I might as well do something productive.
Overall I thought it was a really good, strong, snappy episode...
("snappy" in the sense of moving along at a nice pace and sketches not
dragging on incessantly).
Cold: This, like last week's cold opening, was merely mediocre. Hammond
does a decent Hastert. But I wish the political/topical stuff could have
a bit of satirical edge to it (like showing footage of Nancy Pelosi
marching with NAMBLA presidents) rather than just a sort of snide
recitation of the week's talking points in the guise of an impression.
B-
New Montage: I like it. I like the "no featured players" idea. The cast
is stronger for being pared down.. though I still wish Parnell could
have stayed. 8/10
Mono: This was funny. They managed to work every southern stereotype in
there. Andy's banjo-miming malfunction notwithstanding. Three stars
(***)
Nancy Grace: Amy's impression is better than Ana Gasteyer's. She always
deserved to be skewered in the same way O'Reilly is. Loved the neurotic
chair comments and interview with the janitor (Kenan). Resolution 620...
it *is* grotesque. A
New York Stories 1: Silly, silly, stuff. Amy's Perez voice was almost as
annoying as the real thing. 8/10
Jon Bovi: This struck me as hilarious because I actually used to do that
(change song lyrics to the opposite of what they are) with my sister's
(ex)boyfriend. I can see how many people could legitimately call this
sketch "pointless". But IMO, sketches having "points" are sometimes
overrated. A+
-----
Interlude
(They weren't screaming,
"Hi, Hi, Mr. Canadian Cake"
Pushed your Ford to the lake
But the lake wasn't wet
The bad young girls weren't eating
grape juice and pumpernickel
Screaming, "That won't be the night that I live.")
-----
Around the Town: Wonderful. Skecthes based upon the inherent awkwardness
of characters and situations are sorely needed. Played with astonishing
realism by Ms. Wiig, this is another sketch that will have people
scratching their heads and asking, "What was the point?" No point...
just an absurd situation. Sudekis is excellent as a straight man, which
might be why they elected (unfairly) to get rid of Parnell. Three and a
half stars (*** 1/2)
New York Stories 2: Just the fact that they did impressions of Lou Reed
and Patti Smith earns bonus points. I don't care if half the SNL
audience (the under 20s) has never heard of them. SNL can be educational
too. Amy's Smith was accurate (though Patti is quite lucid and "normal"
these days when being interviewed) and Fred's LOU was believable.
Mentions of Television and Dee Dee Ramone were appreciated, though a nod
to Wayne County would also have been nice (due to the recent release of
his/her 1974 Bowie-inspiring "Wayne At The Trucks" show on CD/LP). A
The New Mrs. Hastings: Inspired exploitation and reversal of stereotypes
by Kenan and Ms. Pressly. 8.5/10
Song #1: Pretty. Non-offensive. A
Update: Bill Hader shows us why he was hired and why he deserves to be,
as Buno has said, the new Dan Aykroyd. I didn't have any problems with
Fugly Betty and Charo. As for the rest of the news, so-so at best...
Seth has good delivery, but the Terry Shiavo joke went over about as
well as Charlie Rocket's joke about Reagan aborting female babies from
1981. Overall rating 7.5/10
NASCAR Dancers: Inspired nonsense. Flying dummies is a staple of SNL,
even moreso than the vomit hose, IMO. Best of the bunch was White
Keyanna (sp). I wonder if she knows Black Richard Mulligan? Three stars
(***)
New York Stories 3: This one was cute. I appreciated the Yoko
impression, being a fan of hers... people tend to overdo the Japanese
accent (which isn't that pronounced in reality) as opposed to her spacey
monologues. Amy did fine and Fred's Lebowitz was eerily accurate as
well. A
Big Wigs: Childish goofiness along the lines of the Widettes. Pointless
and absurd one-off sketch which, like wine, will improve with age.
8.5/10
Quad-o: Stupid pop-culture based vulgarity. Nothing wrong with that. I
liked the fact that "Quaids" became some sort of derrogatory term (known
only to Quado, apparently). Three stars (***)
Song 2: As with the other song. A
Cider: Clever reversal of expectations played flawlessly straight by
Wiig and Pressly. A perfect 12:50 sketch. 9/10
A Moment with the Out-Of-Breath Jogger from 1982: Absolutely pointless
and stupid, but with a unique enough premise to be stupid and clever at
the same time. And when it takes longer to type out the name of the
sketch than the actual sketch itself lasts, you can't really complain
much. B
In summary, I enjoyed the show a lot, on the whole. There were some weak
bits, but as I said above, they didn't last long and the show moved
along nice and quickly. Many different types of humor here, something
for everybody. This season has promise.
End of review.
Jim Roberts
> Seth has good delivery, but the Terry Shiavo joke went over about as
> well as Charlie Rocket's joke about Reagan aborting female babies from
> 1981.
My impression was that people weren't offended so much as they didn't
know (or remember) who Terry Schiavo was. I have to admit, it took me a
minute to jog my memory.
I agree, though, Seth's delivery has been very good so far.
> Cider: Clever reversal of expectations played flawlessly straight by
> Wiig and Pressly. A perfect 12:50 sketch. 9/10
Michael O'Donoghue probably would have liked this one.
> A Moment with the Out-Of-Breath Jogger from 1982: Absolutely pointless
> and stupid, but with a unique enough premise to be stupid and clever at
> the same time. And when it takes longer to type out the name of the
> sketch than the actual sketch itself lasts, you can't really complain
> much. B
I thought this was a clever time-filler. It beats the hell out of "Bear
City."
funnyboy88
like a weird 12:50 skit. But it was not a terrible show. It was an
improvement over the Dane Cook episode, but so far this season is
proving to just be lots of bizarre sketches. It's an interesting
style. Not sure if I can take a whole season of it though.
Steve Worek
laughed and the other half groaned in disgust...
That's right, kids - jokes about abortion get more laughs than Gail
Matthius. :-)
"Jim Roberts" <jim.r...@cavtel.net> wrote in message
news:1160424095....@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Douglas North
Matthius. :-)>>
Ha!
I've always had the theory that Gail Matthius was the original Colin
Quinn. At least in terms of Update. Three examples from the Charlene
Tilton episode:
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Gail: Bob Hope is already practicing how to say 'Merry Christmas' in
Spanish...
(chilling silence from the audience)
Gail: Uhhh... in Spanish..
(mild laughter)
------
Gail: .. and out popped Jimmy Hoffa's pinky ring
(silence)
Gail: It's true!
(mild laughter)
----
Gail: That means now you'll get the wrong mail faster.
(absolute silence)
Gail: (sharp intake of breath, embarrassed) Okay
(generous laughter)
-----
Notice how, after the utter failure of the lame jokes quoted above, she
appeals to the audience, or at least lets them know that she realizes
how lame they were... usually scoring at least a small chuckle. I think
she (and Charlie for that matter) actually had good delivery and a good
personality for WU... it's just that the writing sucked.
I always have a soft spot for that cast, as I think they were unfairly
(but inevitably) the sacrificial lambs due to the fact that they were
the very first "new" cast in SNL history. Of course this is all in
detail in the "Eighties" special (which I hope comes out on DVD with
extra material). Although, I think that season really deserves its own
feature-length documentary. Maybe they could find Yvonne Hudson and
convince Ann (or Anna as she is now) Risley to be interviewed.
(Note: the above transcripts are from memory since, being the only full
length show I have from 80-81, I have watched the Charlene Tilton
episode probably 50 times)