Chris Rock/Prince November 1, 2014

Last week, there was a weirdly funny Halloween episode hosted by Jim Carrey with musical guest Iggy Azalea. To get in the Halloween spirit, as well as to celebrate the fortieth season of SNL, the anchors of Today dressed up as some iconic SNL characters. Willie Geist and Tamron Hall were the Spartan Cheerleaders, Natalie Morales was Mary Katherine Gallagher, Lester Holt and Al Roker were the Blues Brothers, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb were Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World; Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager, and former anchor Meredith Vieira parodied the “Mom Jeans” commercial, and Matt Lauer was Pat along with a special guest appearance from Julia Sweeney dressed as her iconic character. The costumes were complete with a cold open featuring Kenan Thompson as Al Roker, a full SNL intro featuring the anchors, and the anchors acting out the iconic sketches dressed as their respective characters.

Some highlights from last week’s SNL episode include:

            -Jim Carrey dressed as a devil and Elvis hybrid called “Helvis”

            -Cast members did their best impressions of past Jim Carrey characters

            -A predictable yet fun cameo from Jeff Daniels

            -Kate and Jim dancing around the studio to Sia’s “Chandelier” both dressed as the dancer from the music video

For this week’s episode, I wasn’t expecting a lot from Chris Rock. I’m familiar with his style of comedy but not enough to know what he would do while hosting. That being said, I did expect for countless articles about specific sketches and Rock’s monologue causing a little bit of controversy.

Sketch Rundown:

Kelly File Cold Open:

Out of all the cold opens that have aired so far, this had to be one of the stronger cold opens. Cecily’s impression of Megyn Kelly was a great impression. One of the opening lines about how “Blacula was in fact white” was a great opener. Bobby’s Chris Christie was also a great impression with great jokes and one liners. Kate’s impression of Kaci Hickox was also really funny with a lot of great jokes and one liners.

Chris Rock Monologue:

Overall, I thought the monologue was funny, even though at first I felt a little uneasy about some of the jokes. Knowing that it was Chris Rock hosting, I knew some things he said would cause some controversy. That being said, I wasn’t surprised he pushed the envelope a little during his monologue. Rock did have a lot of great jokes in his monologue. Some of the memorable quotes included “no sacred days because we commercialize everything”, “these Toyotas are practically free at last, free at last”, “Madea’s Got a Dream”, and “no bling on Jesus”.

Vlog:

I thought this sketch was good but it wasn’t necessarily my favorite sketch. Chris Rock, though, was great in this sketch. Jay and Kyle were great in this sketch, too, along with Sasheer. This sketch was pretty relatable along the lines of trying to show one of my parents how to use something like YouTube.

GoProbe:

I thought this short was hilarious. The old-time footage of “your grandpa’s colonoscopy” was a great comedic touch. A parody like this does beg the question, is there anything a GoPro can’t do?

How’s He Doing?:

Out of all the times they’ve done this sketch, this one had to be my favorite. Since there are more African American cast members this season, this is a great way to use them in a sketch and to show off their talent. This sketch always has some great jokes and I can always get a laugh out of them.

Prince Performance:

I thought it was really cool to witness history with Prince’s uninterrupted, eight-minute-long performance. When Prince was transitioning from his first song to his second song, I didn’t notice at first that his guitar was unplugged. Overall, I’m not a huge fan of Prince but his set was good.

Weekend Update:

This week’s Weekend Update started off strong but some jokes fell flat on both parts. One of my favorite parts of Update was seeing Pete Davidson again. I’m really starting to like his segments on Update. One of my favorite jokes of the night was the last joke that was said by Colin Jost. The joke was about some kind of a dance ban in St. George, Utah and the joke was that Kevin Bacon was on it, in regards to the popular movie, Footloose. I wasn’t a fan of the very end of the Katt Williams and Suge Knight segment at the end. Overall, Weekend Update was good but it wasn’t my favorite.

Shark Tank:

I thought this sketch was a great sketch to show after Update. SNL took a really big risk with joking about ISIS but they really made the joke work. I thought this Shark Tank sketch was better than the Shark Tank sketch when Kevin Hart hosted back in season 38. I thought Homeland Security coming out at the end was funny. I watch Shark Tank a lot and the impressions of the investors were very on point. This was definitely one of my favorite sketches of the night.

Swiftamine:

As a huge fan of Taylor Swift, I absolutely loved this ad parody. This was definitely one of the best parodies I’ve seen in a long time. Leslie Jones was absolutely hilarious, as usual, especially at the end when she was dressed in a tutu. This ad parody shows that it is impossible to not love Taylor Swift.

The Couple:

Normally, I don’t like saying that I absolutely hate a sketch. This sketch, however, was so painful to watch. This is a sketch that was probably executed better during rehearsals. I don’t think anything could have saved this sketch. I did feel really bad for Leslie with the blocking flub. Even though the dress rehearsal version was released online instead of the live version, this sketch was still the weakest sketch of the night.

Bank Robbery:

If you read the blog regularly, then you would notice that I always say that the Good Neighbor shorts are not my favorite sketches. This one, however, I actually liked. This short made me wonder if all bank robberies would end this way. This sketch was funny and definitely took the comedic turn I wasn’t expecting. The little musical number at the end was a great touch. This sketch was one of the better sketches after Weekend Update as well as one of the better sketches during the entire show.

Women in the Workplace:

Honestly, I didn’t think this sketch would be a reoccurring sketch. This was the typical sketch to save for the end of the show. Although I love Kate and Cecily, this sketch was just okay. The only memorable line from this sketch was when Kate said to “put this diversity truck in reversity”.

Overall, this episode started out strong but fell flat halfway through the show. To me, it seemed like everyone was having an off week. Whether or not it had anything to do with all the controversy surrounding Michael Che and his comments about the catcalling video, I have no idea. Luckily, they have a week off before the next episode with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Kendrick Lamar.

This has been my take on SNL hosted by Chris Rock and musical guest Prince. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Woody Harrelson and musical guest Kendrick Lamar. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @snlblogger. I live tweet new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Jim Carrey/Iggy Azalea October 25, 2014

Another week and another anticipated episode of Saturday Night Live. This most recent episode, with host Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea, was anticipated episode due to the fact that this was Carrey’s third time hosting. After several appearances on Weekend Update and in sketches, writer Leslie Jones was also upgraded to a featured player the Monday before the episode. Two weeks ago, SNL alum Bill Hader made his hosting debut along with first time musical guest, Hozier. Some highlights from this episode include:

-         - The return of several of Hader’s beloved characters, such as Herb Welch and, of course, Stefon.

-          -A beautiful tribute to deceased former cast member, Jan Hooks.

-          -Former cast member Kristen Wiig made several appearances throughout the episode

-          -Hozier’s great musical debut on the show.

I didn’t have many expectations for this episode. I knew this would be a funny episode even though I’m not the biggest fan of Jim Carrey. This was definitely one of the stronger episodes of the season both in sketches and in the ratings.

                                                                                                                         

Show Rundown:

Ebola Czar Cold Open:

With Ebola constantly in the news, I wasn’t surprised this was the topic for the cold open. One thing I loved about the monologue was the jokes about past scandals during Obama’s presidency. Some of the quotes said during the monologue, both said by Taran Killam as the Ebola czar, included that “everything will be 100% cool as hell” and “Latinos in red states have immunity”. A few other memorable quotes came from Kenan Thompson as the Reverend Al Sharpton which were “Ebola Caesar” and “all of New York is contaminated all the time”. I thought this was a good cold open but it wasn’t a strong cold open.

Jim Carrey Monologue:

When Carrey first stepped onto the stage in his costume, I definitely thought it was strange despite this being the Halloween episode and that it’s Jim Carrey. Carrey states in his monologue that he likes Halloween because it’s “the one day a year I actually blend in”. His hybrid costume “Helvis” was a bit strange and I figured a musical number would be coming up. I loved the involvement of the band with their howling and the addition of the devil choir, as well as the “Helvis” marquis. Bobby and his facial expressions were also a great comedic touch to the number. My favorite line would have to be the last line of the monologue, “Helvis has left the building”. The musical number was very catchy and I still can’t get the song out of my head.

Lincoln Commercial 1:

When I first saw this ad parody, I thought it was an actual commercial due to the production quality and that Jim Carrey does a very convincing Matthew McConaughey. Out of the three commercial parodies, I thought this wasn’t the strongest one although it was pretty funny.

Carrey Family Reunion:

This sketch was one of the best sketches of the night. I loved how the cast poked fun at a lot of Jim Carrey’s past characters. Even though I haven’t seen a lot of Jim Carrey’s movies, the impressions were still hilarious. The Jeff Daniels cameo was expected because of the sequel to Dumb and Dumber but it was still a fun cameo. Pete Davidson jumping in at the end of the sketch as The Riddler was also very funny. This sketch was weird but a funny kind of weird.

Lincoln Commercial 2:

I thought this was better than the first commercial. The kids in the back seat were a great touch, especially with the line, “Whose kids are these?”

Graveyard Song:

This sketch was also a really strong sketch. Taran Killam and Jim Carrey as Paul and Phil was great, even though the joke might have dragged on a little too long. Bobby and Kenan definitely made the sketch when yelling at Paul and Phil. One of my favorite lines of the sketch was toward the end when Pete handed Phil a beer and Phil said that the “beer went right through me”. This sketch was one of my favorite sketches of the night.

Lincoln Commercial 3:

Out of all the commercials, this had to be my favorite one. I loved how it started out as an Allstate parody. Kenan getting hit and dragged by the car was a good transition into the Lincoln ad.

Iggy Azalea “Fancy/Black Widow” Performance:

I was pretty excited that Iggy Azalea was the musical guest since I like her music. I wasn’t surprised she would perform “Fancy” but I wasn’t expecting the medley of “Fancy” and “Black Widow”. Also seeing Rita Ora perform “Black Widow” along with Iggy wasn’t much of a surprise since her vocals are featured heavily in the song. I thought this was a good performance overall.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Update was good but not as strong as the previous episode. I felt like some of the jokes on both parts fell flat. Jost seemed to do better this week even though he had a little bit of a flyaway hair problem that drove me a little crazy. I loved Vanessa Bayer’s romantic comedy character. The character was funny and Vanessa looked really pretty as this character, as she is beautiful without the costume, too. I loved the bit between Michael Che and Vanessa turning Update into a rom-com for a couple minutes. I loved getting to see Drunk Uncle again as he is one of my favorite Weekend Update characters. To see Drunk Uncle roll from Che to Jost was expected because of the character’s personality. I also love how this character is full of a ton of one-liners, like other Weekend Update characters.

Secret Billionaire:

This sketch seemed to be the typical sketch to show after Weekend Update. It was pretty weak and a little weird but with a few good jokes here and there. The best part about this sketch was the puppy in a suit.

Ghost Chasers:

I thought this sketch was awesome. It was so funny and perfect for the Halloween episode. No kidding, if this were real life I know I would be Leslie Jones’ character. This short was so funny with the right amount of creepy, especially with the dolls.

Zombie Apocalypse:

I thought this sketch was also weak with a few good jokes here and there. I felt like this was a mediocre parody of “The Walking Dead”. I did feel bad for Pete Davidson’s zombie character for being hit with a bat all the time, even if it was a prop and he wore a ton of padding.

Halloween Party:

First of all, it was good to see Kate and Aidy in a sketch again. Second of all, this was hands-down one of the best sketches of the night. Seeing Kate and Jim dance to Sia’s “Chandelier” dressed as the dancer in the music video was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I loved seeing the entire studio being used and the fourth wall being broken. It was great to see cameos by both Iggy Azalea and Lorne. I was praying that Jim didn’t drop Kate while swinging her around. Aidy’s character in this sketch with her one-liners were a great comedic touch to this sketch.

Iggy Azalea “Beg For It” Performance:

I didn’t expect this song to be performed and I thought this performance was just okay. The other singer in this performance, Mø, was good but had the unfortunate downside of performing with technical difficulties.

Geoff’s Halloween Emporium:

I thought this sketch was funny but also a little weird, especially Jim Carrey’s character. Seeing both Cecily and Vanessa in this sketch looked like their former porn star characters moved to Wisconsin, donned the accent, and got jobs at a Halloween store. This sketch did seem like the kind of sketch that would be shown at the end of the show.

Overall, this episode was one of the strongest of the season both in content and in the ratings. There were several strong sketches throughout the episode and also a lot of good comedy. Since I’m not a big Jim Carrey fan I wasn’t expecting a lot from this episode. Luckily, Carrey was able to prove me wrong. I definitely enjoyed this episode more than I thought I would. In other SNL news, Taran Killam and his wife, actress Cobie Smulders, are expecting their second child! Congratulations to the couple on this wonderful news!

This has been my take on SNL hosted by Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea. I’ll be back next week with a review of SNL hosted by former cast member Chris Rock and musical guest Prince. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @snlblogger. I live tweet new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Bill Hader/Hozier October 11, 2014

We’ve reached the episode of Saturday Night Live I think everyone had been waiting for. Bill Hader came home to Studio 8H to host SNL with musical guest, Hozier. This episode also marks the 39^th anniversary of the premiere of Saturday Night Live. Last week, former cast member and writer Sarah Silverman came to host with musical guest, Maroon 5. Some highlights of last week included:

-          -A tribute sketch to the late Joan Rivers

-         - A sequel to The Fault in Our Stars about Ebola

-          -Current writer and former cast member Mike O’Brien appears in the “Whites” commercial, his first appearance since leaving the cast over the summer

-          -Cecily Strong, Sasheer Zamata, and Sarah Silverman as the “River Sisters”, which led to controversy with a troupe from The Groundlings claiming SNL stole their sketch

Although I said I enjoyed the episode, which I did enjoy the episode very much, I was really excited for Bill Hader to host because there would be a lot of his characters coming back. Although this episode didn’t do so great with the ratings, this episode was hands-down one of the best of season so far.

Show Rundown:

Kim Jong-Un Cold Open:

Although the topic was expected, this had to be one of the stronger cold opens of the season so far. I love Bobby’s Kim Jong-Un impression and he plays it really well. The tap dancing routine was also a nice touch. Some of my favorite quotes included: “The movie Space Jam is about me! We all know that!” and “I have the same haircut as Brad Pitt in the movie Fury!”

Bill Hader Monologue:

I thought Bill Hader gave a great monologue. He seemed excited to be back in Studio 8H and you could tell throughout the monologue. I loved how Hader joked that he wasn’t supposed to be on SNL because he “grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma like some idiot in a book.” It was nice to see Kristen Wiig in the monologue, even though it was expected due to their movie The Skeleton Twins being recently released. Harvey Fierstein was unexpected and I guess it had something to do with Bill Hader saying his singing voice sounded like Fierstein. Something else I thought was funny about Fierstein’s appearance is the way Kristen and Bill responded to his appearance. It sounded like something out of a Scooby-Doo episode. The song during the monologue was unexpected but I liked how Hader was being self-deprecating and the song went to the tune of the Journey song “Any Way You Want It”. One of the best parts of the monologue had to be when Bill mentioned to Kristen that she could do anything, though Kristen mentioned that she can’t play the saxophone but she can do everything else. Another good part was the mention of #HaderSinging and that it was already trending so Bill had to sing.

Herb Welch:

This has been one of my favorite Bill Hader impressions and I’m so glad they brought back this character. This sketch always seems to have the best one liners and I love seeing Herb Welch essentially hitting everything and everybody with his microphone. The sketch also features Pete Davidson, who was absent last episode due to his segment on Weekend Update being cut at dress, and he seemed like he was very happy to be in the sketch. I was so glad they brought back this character and this was a great sketch.

The Group Hopper Short:

As a fan of Young Adult fiction novels, this short was one of my favorites. I thought it was a good move in using Pete Davidson in this short and it was a perfect blend of the Young Adult novels. I also thought Bill Hader as an Effie Trinket kind of character was hilarious. This trailer showed that the movie is from “the director of Maze Runner, the producer of Divergent, and a casual fan of The Giver” and “adapted from a YA novel written entirely in the comments section of a Hunger Games trailer.” If this was an actual movie, I would totally go see it.

Hollywood Game Night:

It’s about time they had a Hollywood Game Night sketch, especially since Kate McKinnon does a scary accurate impression of Jane Lynch. I loved seeing Kristen Wiig’s impression of Kathie Lee Gifford return and everyone else’s impressions seemed to be on point. I thought it was good that they used actual games from the show even though the show does air on NBC. Some even say that this may be the new “Celebrity Jeopardy!” Overall, I hope this sketch is a recurring sketch.

39 Cents Short:

When I first watched this short, I actually thought it was a real PSA since the production quality was so good. I thought it was funny how the villagers wanted more money and how they couldn’t do the math in their heads since Charles Daniels was asking for thirty-nine cents and not a dollar. I thought adding Leslie Jones for this short was good since she added a lot of humor to this short. I loved at the end they told people to send two hundred dollars in cash if anyone ever wanted to see Charles Daniels alive. I thought this short was one of the stronger ones I’ve seen.

Jan Hooks Tribute:

It’s always sad when someone affiliated with the show passes away, especially when they’re so young. If anyone reading hasn’t heard already, former cast member Jan Hooks passed away on October 9, 2014 supposedly of cancer, though no details of that were made official. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig introduced the sketch “Love is a Dream” from 1988 which costarred fellow deceased cast member Phil Hartman. It was very emotional to watch this sketch with the two former cast members who died way too soon. I wasn’t familiar with Jan Hooks but regardless it was a beautiful tribute.

Hozier “Take Me to Church” Performance:

I had never heard of Hozier before it was announced that he would be the musical guest for this episode. Needless to say, I was very impressed with his performance on the show. This song was so beautiful and Hozier’s vocals were very entrancing. Overall, it was a great performance.

Weekend Update:

One thing I noticed within the first few moments of Update was that Colin did a much better job this week. I was laughing at his jokes and was thinking, “Wait, is Jost actually making me laugh?” I felt that this season Jost is finding his own voice and not trying to come off as a Seth Meyers wannabe. Michael Che was also great and seemed to be more comfortable at the desk. Pete Davidson was back at the desk doing a commentary piece on rap music and gold chains. I’ve been becoming a fan of Pete Davidson since he appeared on SNL and I feel like he’s really proving himself and proving that he belongs on SNL. Stefon, one of my favorite Update characters, made his triumphant return to the desk. I loved his reaction to seeing Colin and Michael at the desk with asking “How long have I been on anesthesia?” Also Stefon saying both “Hmm, one of each” and “Barack, Mitt” to the anchors was absolutely perfect. It was a little weird seeing Stefon without Seth but it was still just as funny. Stefon was able to talk about New New York’s hottest clubs, which included clubs like “Whimsy” and “Jan’s New Backpack”. The way that Bill kept breaking when saying Dan Cortese while talking about all the clubs proves that John Mulaney, the former SNL writer who co-created Stefon with Hader, is an absolute genius.

Puppet Class:

To be honest, I didn’t expect this sketch would become recurring. I did like the sketch and I thought it was funny. I loved how Taran laughed at just about everything his puppet was saying. I also loved the joke about Bobby’s puppet being a hippie without any hair. I felt the jokes in this sketch were very funny and on point.

Inside SoCal:

I’ve stated in previous posts that I’m not a huge fan of the Good Neighbor sketches but I happened to like this one. The first time “Inside SoCal” appeared was last season when Jonah Hill hosted. I liked this one better than the first because I felt more cast members were used in this short. I’m still not a big fan of these sketches but this sketch shows promise that I can actually appreciate these sketches more than I do now.

Hozier “Angel of Small Death & the Codiene Scene” Performance:

After watching both of Hozier’s performances, I have become a fan of him and his music. I fell in love with his voice and his performing style. I also thought it was cool to see Kristen introduce his second performance.

Cat in the Hat:

The “Cat in the Hat” sketch was one of my favorite sketches of the night. This sketch was a strong sketch and wasn’t the typical sketch that would be saved for the end of the show. It certainly was a topic that was unexpected. I loved the plot twist of the Cat and Cecily’s character, Linda, were previously in a relationship and that Aidy’s character was the daughter of the Cat and not Linda’s husband Thing 2 a.k.a. Johnathing. One of my favorite quotes from the sketch was the last line which was “And oh, the places she let me go.” A part of my childhood took a deep and dark left turn after watching this sketch.

Overall, this episode will go down as being one of the best of the season. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard all the way through an episode. There wasn’t really a weak sketch during the episode, which is always a good thing. I loved during the goodnights how Bill was emotional about coming home to SNL. Bill Hader definitely needs to come back and host. This is definitely one of my favorite episodes of the season and of SNL as a whole. To paraphrase the words of Stefon, this episode had everything.

That’s been my take on SNL hosted by beloved former cast member Bill Hader and musical guest Hozier. SNL’s taking a week off but they’ll be back October 25^th with a new episode with host Jim Carrey and musical guest Iggy Azalea. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @snlblogger. I live tweet new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

"River Sisters" Sketch Controversy

So if you watched the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, you may have seen a sketch that aired after Weekend Update about a group of Tina Turner impersonators performing on a river boat. SNL is now coming under fire with claims from a comedy troupe from the Groundlings, a popular theatre and comedy school in Los Angeles, that the show ripped off their sketch. I stated in my last post that the “River Sisters” sketch was a favorite of mine and I still stand by my opinion despite the plagiarism allegations. While writing this post, however, I’m trying to keep my SNL bias out of this post and focus on the similarities and differences between the two sketches. I’ve read just about every article that talks about the controversy and I’ve also watched both sketches a number of times. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only thing people are concerned about is that the concept of both sketches are similar, the costumes are very similar and the same song is used in both sketches. The jokes are different and the length of the sketches are different. The only thing I would accuse these sketches of doing is causing “Proud Mary” to be stuck in my head all day. SNL’s focused more on the production while The Groundlings focused, I think, more on the voices of the characters more than anything.

I did notice that some of the facts were different throughout all the articles. For example, the time period when the comedy troupe performed the sketch in question. Some articles said this sketch was performed over the summer while other articles said this sketch was performed in September. Something else I thought was sketchy (pun intended) was that the comediennes and their teacher at The Groundlings posted about the sketch one to two days after the episode aired. Regardless of whether or not they watched the episode in real time, this makes them look like they want their fifteen minutes of fame. Ian Gary, a teacher at The Groundlings, has stated in several interviews that he likes SNL but states that they’re always stealing jokes and sketches from other comedians. Gary also states that this “isn't an attack on SNL.” I think if you’re going to make a big deal out of the show allegedly ripping off a sketch done by a couple of your students, you pretty much are attacking the show. Though most of the articles I’ve read have pointed the finger at SNL, I want to know why both groups wanted to do this kind of sketch in the first place. I do want to hear SNL’s side of the story and how the idea for this sketch was pitched.

Overall, I think this controversy was blown a little out of proportion. I think that everyone’s making a big deal over nothing. Sketch ideas are going to be recycled over and over again and this group at The Groundlings wasn’t the first group to do this kind of sketch. This kind of sketch has probably been performed by other comedians at other theatres like iO, UCB, and Second City. SNL also did a sketch like this about twenty years ago when Jan Hooks and Nora Dunn played their characters, jazz singers the Sweeney Sisters. Regarding the sketch in question, SNL did not copy the sketch word for word. The two sketches were similar and there’s no denying that fact. If SNL did completely rip off the sketch word for word, then that would be a different story. In my opinion, I think this was pure coincidence and I don’t think anybody at SNL would deliberately steal material from another comedian.

I’ve included links to both sketches. What do you think of the controversy? Is SNL guilty of plagiarism? Not guilty? You can be the judge of that.

SNL:

http://telly.com/1OVN1DB

The Groundlings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kITXNxLSAOg#t=174

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5 October 4, 2014

Hey readers and fellow SNL fans!

We’re one episode into the new season and it’s off to a decent start. Last week, the season started off with first time host Chris Pratt and first time musical guest Ariana Grande. Some memorable moments from last week include:

·         1) The return of Cecily Strong’s popular Weekend Update character “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party.”

·         2) The NFL scandals being a popular target with both a sketch and the cold open.

·         3) Pete Davidson and Michael Che making their SNL debuts.

This week, SNL included first time host and former cast member and writer Sarah Silverman and fifth time musical guest Maroon 5. I knew this episode would be funny but I didn’t know what to expect since I’m not familiar with Sarah Silverman’s comedic work. Needless to say, I was impressed with what I saw Saturday night.

Show Rundown

60 Minutes Cold Open:

The cold open this week was pretty good as it seemed to accurately portray the current situation with President Obama. I had a feeling the cold open would either be about ISIS, Ebola, or the White House security breech. It was a good cold open but I don’t think it was a very strong cold open.

Sarah Silverman Monologue:

As I mentioned before I know who Sarah Silverman is but I’m not familiar with her brand of comedy. That being said, I thought her monologue was funny. I loved how she was a little self-deprecating when talking about some of her jokes being censored. I think she definitely “kept it real” when she sat on the lap of an audience member. I thought when Silverman did the Q & A with old footage of when she was on the show was a nice touch. It was almost as if she was trying to pay tribute to what she used to do as a writer and featured player by asking fake questions to the host. Overall, Sarah Silverman had a great monologue.

The Fault in Our Stars Trailer:

Like every other person, I’ve read The Fault in Our Stars and loved the book. I’m working on seeing the movie. I thought this parody trailer was one of the funniest pre-taped segments I’ve seen on the show so far. I think having Sarah’s character be diagnosed with Ebola was a great comedic touch and was a little unexpected. Taran Killam’s performance as an Augustus Waters kind of character was amazing. His dramatic performance was so beautiful it almost had me in tears. Also, the part in the trailer where he was dressed in the haz-mat suit and mask when he and Sarah Silverman’s character were about to have sex was one of the funniest moments of the trailer. Since I love the storyline of The Fault in Our Stars, this had to be one of my favorite sketches of the night.

Joan Rivers in Heaven:

This sketch was one I felt was unexpected but was bound to happen eventually. It was really daring because it felt almost too soon since Joan Rivers passed away. I thought Sarah Silverman did a great impression of Rivers and I felt Silverman really captured her personality. After watching the sketch a few times, I think Silverman was a little nervous about impersonating Rivers since Rivers was one of her greatest mentors. I think this sketch could’ve gone a lot worse if a person who didn’t know Rivers were to play her. This sketch, along with the picture shown at the end of the sketch, made for a great tribute to one of the greatest legends in comedy. Also, Adam Levine playing Freddie Mercury was a great addition to the sketch.

Whites Commercial:

I felt like this pre-taped bit accurately portrayed the white dominance that goes on today. Mike O’Brien makes his first appearance since going back to the writer’s room after last season, which was an awesome surprise. This short wasn’t my favorite but it wasn’t terrible either.

Forgotten TV Gems:

I feel this sketch accurately portrayed what soap operas would be like if the women weren’t always backstabbing and bitchslapping everybody left and right. It was funny but it was a weird kind of funny. Also, Kenan’s performance as Reese De’What was probably one of my favorite parts of the sketch. 

Maroon 5 “Animals” Performance:

I’m a big Maroon 5 fan but I’m not a big fan of this song since it basically promotes stalking. Regardless, it was a good performance. I figured they would play this song since “Animals” is one of their newer singles and the music video for this song was recently released.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s installment of Weekend Update was better than last week’s, thought nothing can top the return of “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party” last week. Michael Che seemed to be a little more comfortable at the desk despite a few line flubs, which can happen to anyone. Colin Jost’s performance was better than last week, though there’s always room for improvement. Although I’m loving Michael Che, it’s still tough for me to get used to not seeing Cecily at the desk but I can’t wait to see if she brings new characters to the Update desk. Kenan always does a great impression of the Reverend Al Sharpton though one line in particular made me think of one of his past characters. When Kenan as Al Sharpton asked Colin if his name was Kevin or Colin, it reminded me of Colin’s Update debut when Kenan appeared as Charles Barkley, along with Jay Pharoh’s Shaquille O’Neal, and asked about the pronunciation of Colin’s name. Though I said that I liked this Update better, I still think I’ve never face-palmed myself as much as I did this week. This has to do with Colin Jost asking Michael Che what he could and couldn’t say. I agree with Che that Jost completely ruined the word “cray-cray” for everyone. This proves that Michael Che can say just about anything and Colin Jost can say almost anything and ruin it for everybody. The last guests at the desk for the night were Kate McKinnon and Sarah Silverman as the feminist girl group “Garage and Her,” respectively, and their song that proves just about anything can be a woman. These characters seemed like the opposite version of Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig’s group, “Garth and Kat,” and we were able to see Kate’s musical abilities expanded with these characters. If this were a real group, I would buy their CDs and go to their shows.

River Cruise:

This easily had to be one of my favorite sketches of the night. In my opinion, sketches like these prove that the women of SNL can do anything and everything. This sketch also proves that there should be more musical sketches and it’s a great way to combine music and comedy. I mean, what song other than “Proud Mary” would be perfect for the girls wearing Tina Turner-style wigs and dresses? Sarah, Sasheer, Cecily, and Kenan all did a great job with this sketch.

Stuck in Traffic:

Along with the River Cruise sketch, this sketch was another one of my favorite sketches of the night. The sketch included the second Adam Levine cameo of the night. The sketch also included this advice: if you travel, don’t cheat on your boyfriend because he might be in the back of your brother’s car with an engagement ring and your parents, which is the most awkward situation when you’re stuck in a traffic jam. This sketch also proves that pizza can make anything better and Adam Levine can do nothing wrong.

Poem:

Like I stated last week, the “Good Neighbor” shorts aren't exactly my favorite. While watching this short, you almost feel bad for Kyle’s character when he’s shoved around and hit by a car while inside a trash can. Again, these shorts aren’t my favorite and this short was just okay.

Maroon 5 “Maps” Performance:

Out of both performances, “Maps” had to be my favorite performance of the night. I thought Maroon 5 would’ve performed this song first since “Maps” has had a lot of radio play and they would’ve chose a newer song during the second half of the show. Regarding the song, I like how Maroon 5 performs this song live by starting off slow and then going full tempo until the end of the song. It’s almost as if they are trying to distance themselves from playing the exact recording live. I loved this performance by Maroon 5 and I would love to see them on the show again.

Vitamix:

I felt that this sketch was the type of sketch that was saved for the end of the show. I think if they were trying to make an infomercial out of the sketch, it should’ve been done as a pre-taped bit.

Overall, I thought this episode was a lot better than last week. This episode proves that Sarah Silverman should host more often and it’s surprising that this was her first time hosting. Also, I was able to hear Darrell Hammond better during the opening. I think nerves might have gotten to him last week since he wasn’t impersonating Don Pardo and he was doing the opening as himself. One thing about this episode that surprise me but also didn’t surprise me was not seeing Pete Davidson in a single sketch. I know that new cast members aren’t featured in a majority of the sketches but I’m thinking he was most likely in a sketch that got cut for time at dress rehearsal.

This has been my take on SNL hosted by Sarah Silverman with musical guest Maroon 5. I’ll be back next week with a review of what will probably become my favorite episode of the season. Next week’s episode will be hosted by SNL alum Bill Hader with musical guest Hozier. Please subscribe to the blog and tell everyone you know about the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @snlblogger. Also, feel free to leave comments in the comments section and try to keep them clean. Again, please feel free to leave me some constructive criticism so I can make the blog more enjoyable.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande September 27, 2014

Hey readers and fellow Saturday Night Live fans!

Welcome to Season 40! I know you’re probably just as excited as me for the start of a new SNL season. Even with the reruns of episodes from last season and past seasons along with a Word document full of old sketches and monologues, I still crave for new episodes and new material. Over the summer, I was constantly checking for any SNL-related news regarding cast changes and possible hosts. Along the lines of cast changes, I even went as far as to list predictions of which cast members would stay and which would go. My predictions were so accurate, it was scary. Those changes include:

·        1)  Nasim Pedrad leaving after five years to focus on the Fox sitcom Mulaney which is produced by Lorne Michaels.

·        2)  John Milhiser, Noël Wells, Brooks Wheelan, and Mike O’Brien leave the cast after one season (though the latter will return as a writer).

·       3)  Michael Che replaces Cecily Strong at Weekend Update though Strong will remain in the cast. Colin Jost and Michael Che are the first male Weekend Update duo and Che is the first African American anchor.

·        4)  Former cast member Darrell Hammond returns as the show’s new announcer after the death of longtime announcer Don Pardo, who passed away in August at the age of 96.

·        5)  Pete Davidson joins the cast and is the first cast member born in the 1990s

Show Rundown

State of the Union Cold Open:

I thought the cold open was pretty good. One of the best moves I think was made was putting Aidy in the cold open since she’s been a little underused since joining the show. By the cheers of the audience, you could tell the audience was excited for the start of the new season. The use of the NFL scandal in the cold open was a little expected since this is one of the top stories in the news. Kenan and Jay both played very funny impressions of Ray Lewis and Shannon Sharpe, respectively. I don’t know much about Ray Lewis or Shannon Sharpe but the impressions were very funny. Aidy did a great job despite some line flubs but I think she played them off pretty well. The use of the host in the cold open is kind of unusual but I feel in this case it felt necessary. After seeing Chris Pratt play a seemingly accurate role of the NFL Commissioner, I don’t know if I could see one of the other cast members in that role. At the end of the sketch, I felt that Aidy shared in the excitement for the new season when saying the famous line “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

Opening Credits:

I’m not going to mention the opening credits every time, only because it’s the first episode of the season.  I thought they were better than the last season because I like seeing the cast members out and about the city instead of only seeing a still picture. The updated logo in the beginning looked nice against the New York City background. Something else that I found nice about the opening credits came when Cecily Strong was introduced in the credits. After new announcer Darrell Hammond introduced Cecily, the opening cut to Cecily holding her dog, Lucy, and Cecily giving her a kiss. A tender moment between a dog and her owner. As mentioned earlier, Darrell Hammond became the new announcer for SNL. He did a good job but it felt like the music was overpowering and made it difficult to hear Hammond. Although I thought Hammond did a good job, it will be very difficult, if impossible, to replace Don Pardo.

Chris Pratt Monologue:

I thought the monologue was okay. Something I loved about it was the Chris Farley reference with Pratt saying at one time in his life he “lived in a van down by the river.” I’m not very familiar with Chris Pratt so I didn’t know what to expect from his monologue. That being said, I wasn’t expecting a musical monologue. Also, I thought his wife, Anna Faris, showing up in the monologue was expected. I do think Chris Pratt is a funny guy but I wasn’t a huge fan of the monologue.

Cialis Turnt Commercial:

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to say about this parody. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a commercial parody after the monologue since that hasn’t happened for a few seasons. Some of the highlights of this sketch involved Aidy just being Aidy and Cecily and Taran with a stripper pole. To me, this parody was a weird kind of funny. It was good but it wasn’t one of my favorites of the night.

He-Man and Lion-O:

This was a sketch that I thought was just okay. I wasn’t a big fan of the humor of this sketch. In the beginning, I almost felt bad for Kyle Mooney’s character, Danny. I felt his character had some similarities to his character in the “Camp Wicawabe” sketch from the finale last season. I felt like this sketch was an over sexualized version of Toy Story, especially with the crotch-patting parts of the sketch. Two parts of the sketch I liked: Ariana Grande’s cameo and Cecily Strong’s accurate portrayal of an overdramatic sister.  

Animal Hospital:

I didn’t this would ever be a recurring sketch. This time around, I felt the sketch was a little redundant. Though when Kate’s character said the bird was “bird-ered” and the turtle was “turt-ered,” they were probably the highlights of the sketch. Basically, Kate made the entire sketch.

“Marvel” Trailer:

Although I haven’t seen many of the Marvel superhero movies, I would actually pay to see these movies if they were ever made. This short seems to fit a lot of stereotypes with superhero movies.

Ariana Grande “Break Free” performance:

I thought this performance was really great. I loved how Ariana started the song at the piano and then at the start of the second verse the song went to full speed as a high-energized song.

Weekend Update:

As we say goodbye to Cecily Strong as an anchor, we welcome Michael Che to the desk. Che does a great job at his first show as anchor, even playing off well some line flubs that may have well been from nerves. Also, Colin Jost seems to be better this time around than last season but there is always some room for improvement. For this installment of Weekend Update, it really should have been renamed “The Return of ‘The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party.’” Of course I’m sad to see Cecily leave the Update desk but I’m so happy her popular character is back. I love this character but I felt she was a little nervous getting back into character after having not doing it for a season. Nevertheless, it’s still the same character that we have all come to know and love. I was also excited to see the return of SNL writer Leslie Jones. I really hope she’ll be on a couple more episodes on Update. I think she’s been a great addition to SNL altogether. New cast member Pete Davidson did great in his SNL debut. Davidson shows that he’s a funny guy and there will be more to come from him. The “Cheer Up, President Obama” segment at the end has now become the new “Really?! With Seth and Amy.” Kenan singing “Ooh Child” was a good addition for this segment to go along with the jokes. Overall, Weekend Update was good and I can’t wait to see more from Che and Jost. The new set and new intro were also a nice touch to the sketch. SNL also paid a tribute to the late announcer Don Pardo at the end of the sketch with a picture of Pardo shown in silence.

Booty Rap:

I still don’t know how I feel about this sketch after seeing this sketch about three times. Seeing Chris Pratt rap with Aidy Bryant was pretty funny but I guess I didn’t get some of the humor in this sketch. Though seeing all the girls together in a sketch was a nice touch.

Bad Boys:

I like the “Good Neighbor” sketches but they’re not my favorite. I thought this sketch was good at portraying the stereotypical 90s sitcom. One complaint I had about the sketch was the music was overpowering and some of the lines weren’t able to be heard very well. Another thing I didn’t like about the sketch is that one of the little kids had a gun. I mean, what’s up with that?

NFL Intros:

This had to be one of the funniest sketches of the night. I was surprised to see Jost in a sketch and Che and Jones were a good surprise. Pete Davidson also had some funny characters in this sketch. Jay Pharoh’s impression of the actor who played the Somali pirate in Captain Phillips made a return as an NFL player which was also another good surprise.

Ariana Grande “Love Me Harder” performance ft. The Weeknd:

I felt the song choice was interesting since it’s a song many people don’t know well along with a group many people don’t know. I feel like this song is a new single or a lesser known track on her new album. Overall, I think Ariana Grande was a good choice as a musical guest.

Video Game:

This sketches wasn’t one of my favorites and it seems like the typical sketch saved for the second half of the show. The sketch starts off good with a focus group for a new video game and three kids testing out the game. I wasn’t a huge fan at the full make out session between Chris Pratt and Vanessa Bayer. Seriously, I had the same reaction as Bobby, Sasheer, and Pete. I felt like I saw too much “hot tension.” Although, I did find the reference to Ghost pretty funny and also Taran holding the bucket of popcorn.

Overall, I thought this episode wasn’t one of the best episodes I’ve seen but I’m giving SNL the benefit of the doubt since it’s the first episode of the season. If it was me making the host choice I probably wouldn’t have gone with Chris Pratt for the season premiere, though he did a good job hosting. I think that the next two episode, respectively hosted by Sarah Silverman and Bill Hader, will bring in more viewers. I thought that Michael Che and Pete Davidson did a great job in their SNL debut and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do in future episodes.

This has been my take on the season opener of Saturday Night Live. I’ll be back next week with my take on the episode hosted by SNL alum and first time host Sarah Silverman and musical guest Maroon Five. I would love to hear what you guys have to say about the episode, what you hope to see this season, and anything else regarding SNL. Please feel free to leave comments but please keep the comments clean. Basically, if you wouldn’t want your parents to read it then don’t post it in the comments section. Since this is my first time blogging, feel free to leave me some constructive criticism so I can improve the blog to make it more enjoyable. I do apologize for this post being a little lengthy. There’s a lot to write about since it’s the beginning of a new season. Lastly, please subscribe to the blog and tell everyone you know to come check it out.

Thanks so much for reading!

Lauren