[TV orNotTV] Maya SNL [Was Linsanity Follow-up...]

[PGage]

On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 3:01 PM, Doug Eastick <eas...@mcd.on.ca> wrote:

go watch the cold open for SNL last night.
5 minutes of so many cultural stereotypes it was kinda actually funny.

Speaking of which...(see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ryan/snl-scorecard-maya-rudolph-linsanity_b_1287587.html?ref=entertainmvent&ir=Entertainment for a round up in case you are one of those who is surprised SNL is still on the air, or is convinced it hasn't been funny since Belushi (or Farley) died, or Murphy (or Rock) left, or whatever, and missed it).

I am not ashamed to say that I love Maya Rudolph - I really do. Even when she is in things that are not all that funny (the female Hangover film, the current sitcom with Wil Arnett, every other SNL skit she was in) I still enjoy her - I am not exactly sure why. So I liked last night's episode a lot. Unlike the HuffPost reviewer linked to above, I always dig the Bronx Beat, and I thought the Maya Angelou skit, and especially the How's He Doing skit, were both first rate. Even so the HuffPost guy had this as tied for the 3rd best episode of the season. The low point for me was the one with Wig breaking so much - I didn't think the skit itself, or the breaking, was particularly funny in any way.

But, back to Doug's point, the Lin Cold Open was very good, and here I do agree with the HuffPost guy that SNL almost always is better when they come up with a Cold Open that stands on its own, and is not just 2 minutes of someone invoking a news or political persona and pretending to be topical without really saying anything (much less attempting to be funny).

[Dave Sikula]

Speaking for myself, I agreed with Mr. Ryan more than I disagreed with
him. That said, having the unholy trio of Rudolph, Poehler, and Wiig
on one show was almost guaranteed TV poison, and so it was -- except
for the fine cold open and the always-delightful "What Up With That."
And what was the point of the monologue? That Rudolph and everyone
connected with the show is a slut? That's rich comedy fodder.
(Although, compared to "Bronx Beat" or whatever the hell that thing
was called, it was.)

I will agree that Wiig was the low point of the show, but she usually
is ...

--Dave Sikula

On Feb 19, 11:20 pm, PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 3:01 PM, Doug Eastick <east...@mcd.on.ca> wrote:
> > go watch the cold open for SNL last night.
> > 5 minutes of so many cultural stereotypes it was kinda actually funny.
>

> Speaking of which...(seehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ryan/snl-scorecard-maya-rudolph-li...

[JW]

> ... the always-delightful "What Up With That."

Chacon a son gout. To me, it's a one-joke sketch (duh) that doesn't
improve with repetition. Is there any difference between Saturday's
version and any of the others they've done? (I guess the one exception
was bringing out the real Lindsay Buckingham.)

[M-D November]

I'm not a fan of WUWT?, but the sketch had two things going for it - Keenan Thompson's "leaving it all out there" performance and Bill O'Reilly's "WTF?!?" reactions.