Original airdates: December 14, 1991; December 12, 1998; December 16, 2006 Santa? Yes
Other holidays mentioned: Hanukkah and Kwanza
Availability: Netflix and Hulu Plus
Unique Christmas story: Narrator's Note: Because Blogger sucks (or more likely because I'm slightly inept with this interface) I can only embed one video in a post. However, I have hyperlinked to a ton of sketches I talk about in here.
The problem with SNL is that no matter who the host is or during which cast an episode airs, there is rarely an episode that is solid all the way through. Lorne Michels has said that the night they do every sketch perfectly is the night he retires. Even more rare is an SNL Christmas episode that has all of its sketches focus entirely on the Christmas season. SNL is meant to be topical, and that often means that Christmas sketches are mixed in with political ones during these Christmas episodes.
That is why instead of choosing just one SNL Christmas episode, I have choosen three from the past twenty or so years featuring three of the most popular hosts during that time. Each episode has its own highlights and lowlights that illustrate that talents and limitations of the cast and writers at the time.
Starting with the Steve Martin episode from 1991, this Christmas episode, has very few actual Christmas themed sketches. It does however have one of the most spectacular cold opens I think the show has ever done. SNL is notorious for having their hosts sing or walk around backstage during monologues, but in this instance the show starts backstage with a overwhelmed Chris Farley talking to a care free Steve Martin.
Martin's persona on the show has grown into it's own recurring character with Martin taking on the demeanor of a man who can barely be bothered to learn the names of the new members. But in the start of this episode, Martin makes a declaration not to phone it in, leading to a cold open, which features not only the most impressive cast SNL has ever had at one time, but also gives some lines to the people behind the scenes, something I have rarely ever seen SNL do.
The cold open turns into a commentary on the show itself. At the time SNL was a bit lost, but working its way into the famed early 90's that brought about a number of memorable sketches. Martin takes viewers through the backstage while collecting the rest of the cast who each have their own comments on what they contribute (or fail to contribute) to the show. The opening acts not only as a way for the show to kick itself into gear, but proclaims a message of working together to produce something great.
From their the show has some choice sketches, including Adam Sandlers and Farley's Schmitt's Gay beer commercial, and Kevin Nealon showing his strength as a Weekend Update anchor by throwing out some choice jokes about the end of the Soviet Union. The end of SNL has become home to the oddball sketch of the night, one which is either delightfully strange, or simply doesn't work. This episode is no different, with Kevin Nealon and Rob Schneider playing door men outside an apartment making some off the wall comments about the residents of their building.
Fast-forward nine years to Alec Baldwin and an SNL that was trying to balance the Monica Lewinsky scandal with the joys of Christmas. This episode got some attention last year because it famously predicted Jimmy Fallon would host the SNL Christmas episode in 2011 during Baldwin's monologue. The monologue plays on Dicken's Christmas Carol, with John Goodman popping up as the Ghost of SNL hosts present, and Fallon coming on later as the ghost of SNL host's future. Like Martin's cold open, this monologue emphasizes the importance of putting in an effort for the Christmas episode, because a great host brings great things out of the cast.
The rest of the episode features many SNL tropes, like a fake talk show segment and a fake commercial, but even if they feel familiar, its still fun to watch the chemistry between this cast which features Will Ferrel, Jimmy Fallon and Cheri Oteri. The big dud in this episode is Colin Quinn's Weekend Update. I had never seen much of Quinn's work on Update, but this was just truly awful. He grinds the show to halt with bad jokes, and over reliance on talking back to the audience reactions. While Martin may play like he has a big ego, Quinn's is no joke, and it almost wrecks the episode. Thankfully, Tim Meadows (who, fun fact, is the only cast member to appear in both this episode and Martin's) comes in with a soulful Kwanza song that helps repiar some of the damage.
This episode also features one of the most beautiful and unique performances I have ever seen from an SNL musical guest: opera great Luciano Pavorotti and Vanessa Williams along with the Philadelphia Boys Choir singing "Adeste Fideles." While you won't see this if you stream the episode on Netflix, the clip is available online, and can be viewed below:
Finally, there is Justin Timberlake, who along with Jon Hamm, has become of the most loved SNL hosts of the modern era. Timberlake's episode gets off to a strong start with the help of SNL's only female cast members at the time, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig, singing a song about
their new boyfriend, Santa.
Timeberlake's monologue and musical performances are cut out on Netflix, but most of the sketches included make this the strongest episode overall of the three I've listed. The ringer of this episode though is the classic Digital Short, "D*ck in a Box." It stills packs a good number of laughs and it's fun to listen to the audience reaction hearing it the first time. Timberlake is a talented host and brings along hi staples, like the singing guy in a food costume, and teaming up with Jimmy Fallon for the Barry Gibb Talk show.
SNL is never going to be perfect but the Christmas episodes always manage to bring out at least one memorable sketch that's worth taking another look at during the holidays.
Unique Christmas Message:
Sometimes you need to take the good with the bad. Tomorrow:
A bit of an unorthodox Christmas celebration.
In the summer of 2010 Adam Sandler got together a bunch of his friends from "Saturday Night Live" (plus Kevin James filling in for dead Chris Farley) and made a film called "Grown Ups."
Despite solid numbers at the box office, this film, as with most of Sandler's more recent films, was a critical failure.
I saw the film with my dad, and while it was by no means a good film, it wasn't as terrible as everyone wanted me to believe.
I'm a big believer that people should make up their own minds. They shouldn't believe something is good or bad just because someone else tells them it is. That is why I hesitate to recommend movies to people, because the merits I judge a movie on are most likely not the same things they will judge a movie on.
But I have one reason that this movie is better than most of Sandler's other recent efforts: This movie is much grounded in reality. It doesn't have a wacky premise that drives the plot forward, or an odd gimmick to try and draw people into seeing it. The movie is based on five friends getting together over a weekend with their families to honor their dead basketball coach. The film's climax is the equivalent of a pick-up game is someone's backyard. In this way, it is a much more modest film than some of Sandler's other films.
The movie includes the exaggerated moments and crude childish humor that have come to define Sandler's films, but they are placed in a more relatable context.
This movie is free of funny voices, fake gay fire fighters and magic remote controls. It also doesn't try and convince the viewer to take Sandler as a serious actor.
What it does, however, is recapture, in a small way, the magic chemistry that existed between Sandler and his fellow "SNL" cast mates in the early 90's.
In my mind, everyone wants to be famous. I don't mean everyone wants to be a movie star, I just mean everyone wants recognition for what they do. Not just a pat on the back from their boss either, they want full fledged hey-everyone-look-and-admire-me-for-the-great-things-I-do fame.
This is actually becoming easier to do than it was ten or twelve (because I will always think of ten years ago as being 2000) years ago. The internet, social media, YouTube and reality television have made becoming famous more of a reality for the average Joe than ever before. We are quickly coming to the day when every occupation in America is represented with its own reality television program. Remember when fishing was something hidden away on early Sunday morning television? Now people wait eagerly for each new season of "Deadliest Catch." Through blogs, Twitter feeds and YouTube channels we have become a generation of self starters who express our talents on the internet instead of the high school talent show.
However, to become truly famous there are three things person must do (can be completed in any order):
1. Guest-voice on "The Simpsons"
All of the items on this list are related to American media institutions. "The Simpsons" has been on the air for about as log as I have been alive, and there is no end in sight. In fact, as someone elsewhere on the internet pointed out yesterday, there is currently a race going on to see if the world will end before "The Simpsons" gets cancelled. Another common factor about this list is that none of these media institutions solely target music, movie, television or athletic stars. "The Simpsons" has had a wide array of guest voices during its 23-season run from business men to politicians to scientists and authors. A person who is able to make their mark on the world in some capacity has a good chance of being able to say a few lines in an episode. Plus, even if "The Simpsons" does get cancelled eventually the show will forever in syndication, and in turn, all those who have lent their voices in episodes.
2. Host "Saturday Night Live"
This is where the list gets a little more exclusive. "SNL" has produced over 700 episodes, but when you take into account many celebrities have hosted more than once, the number of actual hosts is smaller than that. That's less than 700 people out of 6 billion. That is a very exclusive club to belong to, and unlike "The Simpsons," "SNL" is a timely show. If someone only has 15 minutes of fame, part of that fifteen minutes can be hosting "SNL." Like "The Simpsons," "SNL" has had a wide variety of hosts, from prominent politicians to people who have had affairs with prominent politicians. they even held a contest one year with the grand prize being for an average American to come on and host the show. That contest is no longer held making the honor of hosting all that more hard to achieve.
3. Be on the cover of "Rolling Stone"
"Rolling Stone" magazine covers the music scene but sometimes a pop-culture event or icon comes along that is just too big to ignore. The magazine is an American media staple. It has in depth cover stories and often features surprisingly insightful political commentary. Being on the cover of any magazine is a feat in and of itself, but Rolling Stone carries a certain respect of finally "making it" when people appear on the cover. People who aren't part of the music scene that make it on the cover convey the message that what they are doing right now is more important than anything that is going on in the music world at that time.
Consolation Top Three:
1. Be mentioned on an episode of "The Simpsons."
2. Cameo on "SNL" either on a Weekend Update segment, Digital Short, or in some capacity in the opening monologue.
3. Appear somewhere inside an issue of Rolling Stone.
Bonus International Fame Item:
So you accomplish all three milestones set out above. You have achieved fame in America. But you aren't satisfied. No America isn't enough, you want the world. Luckily there is only one program that you need to appear on, unluckily it might be the most difficult one to get a spot on. "Top Gear," the car show that is produced by the BBC claims to reach an audience of 350 million viewers worldwide. That is a sizable audience. However, the show only produces six to twelve episodes per year. On top of that the show is produced by the BBC meaning guests are almost always British, and when they aren't, they are big name American stars like Tom Cruise and Mark Wahlberg. Making it on "Top Gear" means that regardless of your knowledge of cars, your name is big enough to draw an audience.
Over the weekend there was an exciting announcement. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin congressman, would be Mitt Romney's running mate for the upcoming election.
I wasn't excited about the fact that a politician from Wisconsin had the opportunity to become Vice-President of the United States (ok, maybe a little, I love anything that will boost Wisco recognition). I wasn't excited because I'm a huge fan of Paul Ryan's (I don't know enough about politics to have those kind of opinions), and I wasn't excited because I felt he could help (or hurt) Romeny's chances of winning the election.
No, I was excited because there was a new player that had just been thrown into the political comedy game. A new target with a history that was ripe for picking through. That's what I like most about the election season, the comedy that comes out of it. My immediate question when Ryan was announced wasn't: Why he had been chosen? It was: Who is going to impersonate him on Saturday Night Live this season?
That's where my priorities are. Politics is such a circus between the media coverage and the attack ads, that it's good to see the candidates be bought down to earth a little by comedians. However, since SNL won't start its new season until September, I was looking forward to new episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
Before I dive into that I feel obligated to mention that there is another source of political comedy (there are actually many, but this is the only one I am going to mention) that takes politicians to task: late-night comedy talk shows. The difference between late-night talk shows and the other three shows I mentioned though, is that the late-night talk show hosts rely on singular jokes told in their monologues. It's pretty standard fair with a setup and a punchline. But that's the problem, it's a one off.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report allow for a longer running commentary on what is going on in the world of politics. It's a more focused and critical approach. That's why I was excited to see what John Stewart, Stephen Colbert and their staff of writers had come up with to analyze the new VP pick.
The issue was that both shows had other obligations that distracted from being able to fully dive into Paul Ryan. The Daily Show focused more on the fact they had Robert Pattinson's first television interview since Kristen Stewart admitted to cheating on him. The Colbert Report on the other hand had to contend with its own weeklong musical festival, so it couldn't commit more than five minutes to Ryan. This was admittedly disappointing. Both seemed directionless and half-hearted in their attempts to find comedy in Ryan, but I think I know why.
The longer I watched last night the more I began to determine the difficulty they were running into, and it came down to one factor. Nothing had happened yet. Sure Ryan had been chosen, but there wasn't anything inherently funny about choosing a nominee, especially one like Ryan. And, while he has conservative views, simply pointing them out isn't enough material to do a show on without coming across as overly liberal (which they do most of the time anyway, but the point I am trying to make is that they just couldn't come out and call the guy crazy). The comedians were trying to familiarize themselves with Ryan just like the rest of the country was.
Stewart had a pretty good bit in the second half of his show deconstructing why the things that conservatives believed made Ryan a strong pick were the exact same things the liberals believed made him an awful one. The best part of this was the fact he was able to move away from Twilight jokes and get into some of the absurdity that was going to come out of this pick.
Colbert was able to have a little more fun with the pick since he plays off the conservative bent, but as a I mentioned, he was hindered by the time he needed to devote to the music being featured on his show.
Both shows will benefit from the passing of time as Ryan really begins to campaign and interview. I call this post Vol. 1 because there will certainly be more to come, specifically when SNL starts up again, if not sooner.
Until then, I'll keep watching, because now that all the players are in place, the fun really begins.
It's been a while, but here I am still alive and kicking. It's been about three months since my last post, and many of you may be wondering:
Where has he been, what has he been doing, what secrets is he hiding, etc, etc.
To answer the first: College, the whole time, minus a brief jaunt to Madison and Minneapolis which we may or may not get to.
To answer the second: A lot. Two words I wished were one, and hoped that by simply spelling them as such for most of my life, someone would finally give up correcting me. (A failed experiment to say the least.) You see that little slogan on the right there that says " Just an average guy with too much time on his hands"? Turns out that second part isn't as true as I had envisioned.Again we can get into specifics later but for now let's just say I have been very busy, and also there has been very little striking my interest to write about. Writing emails and press releases and taking notes and correcting papers all day is exhausting, but I feel I am on the mend, or at least sucking it up a little. So we'll try and start this again. I won't make any promises on what I'll write about because I never seem to come through, but I will tell you what I'd like to write about and then we can see if I follow through on any of it.
As for the third: Many, and someday I might share them.
And as for the etc., etc.: you're just going to need to be more specific.
Here's what I'd like to write about:
1. Despite having taken the trip 8 months ago, I'd really like to finish up my Pittsburgh posts especially since my blog partner in crime: Raymond, writer of The Hot and Bothered Effect (see sidebar) has made a claim that he would like to contrast my opinions of the city with his own. (Although he has also seemed to take a hiatus from his writing as well.)
2. I'd like to do a little halfway followup to my SNL Wishlist I posted back in May, specifically how I'm doing on my host predictions (spoiler: not well).
3. I'd also like to followup on what I've been watching on Netflix, because I know that's what you're really here for.
4. Might profile another one of my friends again, although that was kind of lame I think.
We'll see what else happens, the posting of the pop-culture stuff got a little dull, but I'm certainly not going to stop. However I got some more positive feedback when I do more personal posts so I'll probably throw out a couple of those too.
It's all about "feeling it". You get that writing bug and then you spew it out. That's what I'm doing, spewing. We'll see how long it lasts.
Come along with me, hit the comments tell me what you want me to say, I just might listen.
In my second "What's the deal with..." post, I will be examining last night's puzzling South Park episode.
South Park is currently in its fifteenth season. It was recently voted the greatest animated program of all time by the reader's of Entertainment Weekly, beating out Family Guy and The Simpsons. South Park has done what few shows can, which is maintain an audience, stay relevant, and stay fresh for fifteen seasons. A feat, few (if any), other television shows have ever achieved.
I'm a fan of South Park. As a kid without cable I remember only being able to watch when I was on vacation. One of the first episodes I ever saw was the classic Thanksgiving episode featuring Timmy and Gobbles in a Helen Keller musical. Coming to college, I enjoyed being able to watch new episodes each week with the rest of the guys I was living with. It was a quintessential college experience.
But in the first episodes of this season, South Park didn't quite seem to be hitting the mark as well as it once had. South Park has always been known for it's biting social satire, mixed with incredibly outlandish, childish, and grotesque humor. It was a balance that no other show has even tried to achieve. What other show wold dare combine the ideas of battling the growing popularity of Jersey Shore by asking for help from Al-Qaeda? I think what few people realize is that South Park became Saturday Night Live. I mean this in the best possible way. For years SNL used absurdist humor to comment on what was happening in the world. South Park was able to do the same, without celebrity guest stars or musical guests. As SNL wandered into a dangerous level of mediocrity in the past decade South Park executed brilliant social commentary in ways SNL could only dream of.
This season though the marks have been weak and the humor uneven. The South Park team is also famous for their ability to make an episode in a short amount of time, and some might argue they missed an opportunity to capitalize on the death of Osama Bin Laden, and this past week's Anthony Weiner scandal. Take last week's episode for example, where Butter's was mistaken for having multiple personalities, it's not really a topic on the American minds. And while the first half of the show had been laughing constantly, but in the second half the jokes just didn't seem to click.
Which us to last night's midseason finale, titled "You're Getting Old". Stan turned 10 and became a victim of cynicism. A condition diagnosed by his doctor as: everything he sees, hears, and eats will seem like shit. It was episode where half of the noise was simply farts. They also seemed to take a shot at something called Tween Wave music, which I still don't fully understand (if you know please explain in the comments). A crappy brand of kids music that Randy, desperate to reclaim his youth, insisted that he enjoyed. This in turn caused a riff between him and his wife Sharon.
Awww yeeeaaaah! O-BA-MA!
The episode as whole was pretty terrible. I kept waiting for the plot to turn around, or to suddenly reveal itself to be something else, as it so often does. However this episode just seemed to be missing the mark. South Park has thrived on potty humor in the past (Mr. Hanky anyone?), but this episode was as shitty as the music it was making fun of.
And as I watched the clock slowly tick down, and it seemed the episode would not be salvaged, something happened. Sharon confronted Randy about his wild behavior, not just in this episode, but in past episodes that have focused on Randy's desire to be young again. Watching this was extremely odd, because even when characters in South Park take on a serious tone, they rarely have anything serious to say. I kept watching thinking I had to be missing something, that there was some grand joke staring me in the face that I just couldn't see. But what was really happening was a serious conversation between to people, and the startling realization from Randy and Sharon that they were both unhappy about their lives. That they weren't enjoying themselves any more. And suddenly it became more than a conversation between Randy and Sharon. It became a conversation between South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and their fans.
As the show ended with Stevie Nick's "Landslide" playing in the background. We watched as Stan's friends deserted him because they didn't want to be around someone who thought everything was shit, and Sharon and Randy separated. This was another moment about this episode that caught me off guard. South Park can often make you forget that you actually care about these characters. It was an oddly touching and sad moment that reminded me of the shockingly violent end to the Somali Pirates episode a few years ago.
So what does this ambiguous ending mean? Is South Park on it's last leg, and this is Stone and Parker's way of letting us know? Or is it simply a set-up for a new direction the show will take? It's hard to say. Stone and Parker are notorious for pulling the rug out from under their fans. On the other hand they are finding success elsewhere with their Broadway Musical The Book of Mormon. Perhaps they really do want to move on and avoid becoming like the shows they have lambasted in the past.
If South Park does end, expect them to pull out all the stops, maybe even trying to get one last crack and Mohammed, before leaving our favorite third graders behind. Regardless, South Park will live on in reruns on Comedy Central for eternity, and if Parker and Stone come back a few years down the line with fresh ideas, I'm sure they'll be welcomed back with open arms.
What do you think? Time to move on from South Park? Or do you never want it to end?
Saturday Night Live ended a fairly boring season last week on a high note with all-star host Justin Timberlake. Saturday Night Live will be back again next year as it always is, but there are some things that I would love to see next season that probably will not happen. SNL will probably be better next season than it was this season if only for the fact that America will be gearing up for another election which always provides ample opportunities for satire. However, SNL needs to do a lot more than make a few political jibes next year to hang onto peoples attention. This season especially highlighted some of SNL's glaring weaknesses when it comes to comedy. From having absolutely no idea how to incorporate a host (cough Ed Helms cough), to the general lack of diversity in the current cast. So here are some things that I think would improve SNL for next season.
The Sketches
Now, I can't simply say that sketches should be funnier, its unrealistic that every sketch for every show would be a homerun. However, the place to work on improvement is the cold open. There hasn't been a funny cold open since Will Ferrel left the cast in 2001, and took his Bush impression with him. That was ten years ago. Think about that, ten years without a memorable way to open the show. There hasn't been a drought that bad since the original cast left SNL in 1980, and didn't get revitalized until the cast of the early 90's came along. The cold open needs to be the thing that gets people talking about the show. You want people saying, "Did you SNL the other night? Oh man it started with this great sketch about..." What people have been saying is, oh I heard there was a good digital short the other night let me check it out on Hulu.The cold open should be relevant, it should NOT be something featuring Lawrence Welk. It should comment on an event that has happened in the past week. Or it should find a way to combine two events in a way that the audience might not expect. SNL did that a few times this year with WikiLeaks, and some Obama stuff, but again nothing that really stood out. The event itself is not enough to carry the humor, they need to satirize it.
If the cold open can be fixed, the next thing on the list needs to be the monologues. Nothing was more dreadful than Ed Helms monologue a few weeks. SNL can often be painful to sit through at times, but listening to Helms struggle through some made-up story about how he wanted to be a baton twirler was excruciating. The monologues have become obscenely formulaic, they either have the host sing, go backstage, take questions from the audience, or have a cast member interrupt them. They need more variety, or I guess less variety. What I mean is, let the host come on, and be who the audience expects them to be. let them be loose, and natural, and for godsake let them have fun. Too often they take a host and put them in a box or take them outside of what the audience know them for. After 36 seasons even this approach has become stale. It's too often that the host seems to be rehearsing a story rather than telling one. As much as Lorne Michels hates ad libbing, it may be time to switch to a less scripted format and give the host a little more control over that aspect of the show.
Finally, SNL needs to ditch any sketches that take place between 1930 and 1995. They just aren't funny in any way shape or form. The only exception to this rule would be if they can make it a parody for something going on in the world today. All of these lame brain game show sketches featuring celebrities that no one is familiar with isn't appealing to anyone. It's the same with impressions, non one cares if you can impersonate someone the audience has never heard of. Keep impressions familiar, this s where new cast members Jay Pharoah and Taram Killam have really broken out this season. Relatable impressions like Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Eminem, and Lil' Wayne. This more of what SNL needs, taking people down a peg or two who really deserve it, rather than trying to simply be funny by copying mannerisms from a certain time period.
The Cast
The SNL cast is in serious need of an overhaul. As I mentioned earlier the biggest problem is diversity. It is a predominantly white cast, and really has only one standout female performer. The cast members who get the most screen time are also the ones that have been their the longest. and these are the members that need to move on. Of the current cast members over half have been on the show for five years or longer. Seth Meyers is currently tied for third place for the cast member with the longest tenure on the show. Fred Armisen is right behind him with nine years, and Kenan Thompson follows with eight. Bill Hader has six, as does Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis. Compare that to some of the more successful cast members SNL has seen. The original cast only lasted for five years, if not less (Chevy Chase only lasted a year and a half before moving onto motion pictures). Adam Sandler was on for roughly four seasons, and Mike Meyers was on for six. The reason this is that cast members know after three or four seasons whether or not their career is going to go somewhere. The people who stick around for longer than five or six seasons are simply biding their time to figure out what they are going to o with their career. SNL is a launchpad for a film career. Fifteen years after Adam Sandler left and began making films, he is still making movies that easily gross $100 million when they are released. That wouldn't be possible if he hadn't had SNL to get his name out there and build up a fan base that have now aged along with him, and still flock to see him.
Out of all the current cast members I listed above, three have a future in film. Sudeikis is slowly gaining a foothold with work is last spring's Hall Pass, and this summer's Horrible Bosses. I don't know that he will ever be a strong box office draw, but I think he will find plenty of side kick roles head his way in the years to come. As will Bill Hader who also has a established foothold in film with parts in Superbad, Adventureland, Hotrod, and this spring's Paul. He will continue to find roles as the sidekick as well, as well as scene stealing cameos, like in next summer's Men in Black III (reportedly playing Andy Warhol). The one who has a chance to be the big draw is Kristin Wiig. In all honestly I hate most everything Wiig does on SNL. I find her characters abrasive and her presence on screen over bearing. I mean what is funny about this sketch? (Seriously tell why this is supposed to be funny)
That being said I do enjoy her work in film where she plays more down to earth characters. With the recent success of bridesmaids, Wiig may begin to succeed where few other female SNL cast members have as a major film star.There have been many successful and popular females on SNL but few (if any) have serious weight when it comes to the box office. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are more known for their television work then their film work.
What I would like to see is for the three of them to move on this summer, and pursue their film careers.
As for the other four, I think Samberg could use one more year to make a little more of a mark in live sketches. While eveyone loves the Digital Shorts, He also has a movie coming out with Adam Sandler at some point in 2012, so if that's successful, he could potentially also become a box office draw.
Meyers, Armisen, and Kenan all need to leave. While I've enjoyed Seth Meyers solo run on Weekend Update it's time to go back to the co-anchor format. In addition as head writer, Meyers carries most of the blame for the poor sketches, and as I mentioned above, his limited vision on how to handle the monologues is a detriment to the show. The show needs some fresh blood to take over and shake things up, otherwise viewers are only going to get more of the same when the next season roles around.
As for Armisen, his contributions to the show have always given more credit than he really deserves. His Obama impression is weak, and his seniority on the show has let him keep that gig when Jay Pharoah really should have gotten a shot at it. Other than that he never really any strong recurring characters to call back too. He was a good supporting player but for some reason got more of the spotlight than he should have. He has a show on IFC called Portlandia that I have not seen, but got renewed for a second season. Stop splitting your time Armisen, and let someone else have a chance to shine.
Finally is Kenan Thompson. When I first saw that Kenan had joined the cast in 2003 I thought, wow that guy from Nickelodeon made it. Eight years later and I've come to realize. Kenan Thompson's charatcters are all the same. Literally every single one is simply a variation on the other. All he does is tweak his voice slightly from normal, but he tweaks it the same way, for every character. He puts on the same goofy grin, for every character. He doesn't have any range, and outside of "What's Up With That?" rarely makes a significant contribution to a show. I don't know how Kenan has survived on the show this long, contributing as little as he does, outside of the fact that he was, until this season, the only black cast member. I'd like to think Lorne Michels is better than that, but I'm not sure his track record supports that.
So that's who I would vote off the island, what about who should stay.
As I said, Samberg should stay on for one more season. I also would like to see Bobby Moynihan come back. I think Moynihan has potential that has yet to be tapped. If some of the veteran players get out of the way, Moynihan may be able to step into the spotlight. He has a very cartoonish quality to him that has only been unleashed on the rare occasion. That leaves us with Abby Elliot as the only cast member. Again because so many of the female parts go to Kristen Wiig, it's hard to judge the other females from this past season. However Elliot does have talent when she's allowed to show what she's got such as playing a girl Justin Timberlake slept with in last week's episode.
That brings us to this year's featured players. Perhaps I should explain for those who do not understand how SNL works. Every season there are Repertory players, those listed above, and featured players. You can tell the difference of who is who at the beginning of each episode during the theme song. You know the tune "It's Saturday night live with ... " and then the Repertory players are listed, then there is a break where they say "featuring..." and then lists the Featured players. The featured players are often the newest members of the cast, the ones that get tried out before becoming fulltime members. This try often rests on their shoulders thy need to prove themself to Lorne Michels and the audience that they have what it takes to draw people in. To have people coming back each week to see what they will do next.This was especially difficult this season, since there were five featured players competing for airtime with established cast members. That being said many of the featured players had at least one or sketches this season that they owned, but there chances of coming back are really up in the air. Let's go alphabetically.
Vanessa Bayer has perhaps been the the most successful at finding a niche in the SNL framework with her recurring Miley Cyrus Show Sketches.
Hard to believe those just started this season right? Beyond that she played one of the Karadashian sisters, and had a few pop up roles else where. Since most of her work has been impressions this seasons it's hard to say how well she would fit in more of a character role, but it will be interesting to see if she comes back next year.
Paul Brittain had a rough season in terms of getting screen time. When he did though he brought a certain whimsical insanity that might make him a good replacement for Samberg. He has at least one good impression of James Franco, and snuck this little bit of crazy onto the end of a show a few weeks ago.
I'd love to see Brittain come back next season and get some more screen time, and inject some more of that crazy into what has become kind of a stale show.
Last summer when I heard Taram Killam was joining the cast I got pretty excited. SNL is not Killam's first TV job. His first job was as Jimmy the overly touchy orderly on the eighth season of scrubs. While he had a few funny parts on that show it wasn't until he unleashed his dazzling array of impressions that he truly got to show his talents. (Jump to :55 second mark)
Killam got to unleash a few of those impressions this year with varying degrees of success. However I think one of his better sketches came at the end of this season as a creepy automated robot.
If he comes back next season I would like to see him achieve a good balance of impressions (and actually do something effective with them) and more off the wall stuff like this.
Now Nasim Pedrad is the most senior of the featured players joining the cast in 2009. This will either be a make it or break it summer for Pedrad as she will either be promoted to a repertory player, or be cut from the cast. Pedrad hasn't done a lot to make her mark. She also has been one of the Kardashian sisters, otherwise she's just kind of had bit parts. The one exception is the Under-Underground music festival commercials she does with Jason Sudeikis.
While these are fun she needs to show she has more to offer to become a well rounded cast member, and as a significant part of the show.
Finally, there is Jay Pharaoh. As I said above, he rally should have at least had a shot to take over Obama from Fred Armisen. Many people complained that all Jay Pharaoh got to do was impressions this year, but hell at least he was good at them. He was a sorely underused talent, and could easily become the next Chris Rock (at least in terms of SNL).
For the most part I would like to see each of these five come back next year and take over the show. SNL needs some fresh faces in a desperate way, and these people are talented they just need some room to spread their wings.
The Hosts
The problem with the hosts SNL brings in is two fold:
1. They bring in people that they don't know what to do with.
2. A serious lack of diversity, this season there was not one African-American host.
The one thing SNL did do a good job of this season was trying to even out the amount of male and female hosts (9 females to 11 males). However not being able to find one African-American to come in and host inexcusable, there are plenty of talented people out there that could come on and do a great job.
As for my other point there have been too many cases in the last few seasons where hosts have come on and either been absent from a number of sketches, or are simply put into roles that they should not be in (e.g. Bryan Cranston, Ed Helms, and January Jones just to name a few).
So I'm going to do SNL a favor and pick out their hosts for the next year. I'm going to include some favorites, so newbies, and try and split the females and males evenly, and throw in some diversity. I'll also give some reasoning as to why. Also I'm not going to try and guess musical guests because that's just too difficult to predict. Here's my wishlist:
(All dates subject to change) Sept. 24 (Season Premiere) Aziz Ansari - Season needs to get off to an energized start and for that they need an energized host. Last season started with Amy Poehler, which was a mistake. I like Poehler but she isn't the right person person to start the season, especially since it was her first time as host. Aziz Ansari is bursting with energy, he seems game for anything, he sings, he dance, and he does stand-up. He has a movie coming out this summer with Jesse Eisenberg that looks like it could be pretty funny, combine that with his work on Parks and Recreation, and you have something who has something to promote as well as someone who will work well with the younger cast I'm hoping will be more prevalent next season.
Oct. 1 Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a movie coming out on Sept. 30 with Seth Rogen. Gordon-Levitt has hosted once before and did a pretty good job even if he wasn't given the best material to work with. He brought a strong, positive energy to the show that would be fun to see again. In addition it gives him a chance to promote his film outside of the trailers, which are emphasizing the fact that it is a cancer-comedy.
Oct. 8 Zooey Deschanel would be a fun follow-up to Gordon-Levitt. If you've read my previous post about Fall TV, you'll know I'm pretty excited for her new show on FOX this fall. If it proves to be a hit, as I'm hoping it will be, she would be a great person to have host. Also, as Julie Roberts begins to noticeably age, the title for America's Sweetheart is pretty much up for grabs, and I see Deschanel putting it in her sights. She could even pull double duty as musical guest with her band She & Him.
Oct. 22 Rihanna has been slowly building an acting resume. She's proven she can do funny with her work with The Lonely Island. She has been a musical guest twice, and the third time has sometimes been the charm for musical performers to pull double duty as host and musical guest.
Oct. 29 Kal Penn will be out promoting the third Harold & Kumar movie during this time, so what better place to stop by than SNL. Penn has been keeping pretty quiet since leaving House a few years ago to go work for Obama. The one to punch of a new film for his most recognizable character, and an appearance on SNL will help put his name back on the map.
Nov. 12 Amy Adams hosted SNL back in 2008. She will be starring with Jason Segel in the new Muppet movie around this time, and it would be fun for her to ring a few of her felt friends along for her hosting gig. The Muppets and SNL have a long history together, from Jim Henson's adult Muppet sketches during the first season of the show, to Cookie Monster's appearance this past season with Jeff Bridges. So it would make sense to bring her on.
Nov. 19 Morgan Freeman wouldn't really be promoting anything at this time, his next film will be The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, but that didn't stop Dana Carvey from coming on and hostign this year. Morgan has never hosted SNL although he did appear back in October on a "What's Up With That" sketch. This would technically be the Thanksgiving episode, and I think Freeman's soothing vocals would set the perfect tone for this show.
Dec. 3 Tina Fey has hosted 3 times in the last four seasons. She pretty much can come on whenever she wants, so why not on this one? Fey has been pretty consistent during her hosting stints, except this last one which was a bit of a snooze. If the cast members that are more familiar with her don't come back next season, it could be refreshing to see her do something new with a cast that wasn't there while she was a cast member.
Dec. 10 Daniel Craig will be headlining a new potential franchise as the Hollywood version of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest comes out around this time. Craig would be only the second actor to play James Bond to host SNL after Pierce Brosnan. Craig has shown he can be charming and witty through his Bond role, but a stint on SNL would allow him to let loose and show his comedy chops (if he has any).
Dec. 17 (Christmas Episode) Steve Martin is always a great host, and again while he might not have anything to promote at this time, he would be a good way to end the first half of the season. Also Steve Martin has been around to revitalize SNL when it was in desperate need of it. From being hosting multiple times during the shows first five years to this amazing monologue from an early 90's Christmas episode.
Martin could bring some of that juice back to the show, and bring SNL back to prominence as it heads into election season.
Plus she's hot
Jan. 7 Olivia Munn had the poor fortune of being stuck in a mediocre sitcom this past spring, but recently signed onto Aaron Sorkin's new show for HBO. While the show has no official start date, let's assume it will air sometime in 2012. Munn has a proven track record as an up and coming funny woman from her work on G4's Attack of the Show to becoming a correspondent for The Daily Show. In addition the craziness she was put through during her time on Attack of the Show has shown she is really up for anything, and has garnered her a large fanbase.
Jan. 14 Donald Glover has put up a strong showing on Community, as well kicking off a stand-up and rap career. Glover has a unique brand of humor that resides mostly in his persona being naive. However anyone who has heard his rapping alter ego "Childish Gambino" know that Glover is anything but. It would be fun to see what Glover's energy could bring to a show that doesn't normally cater to his brand of humor.And if you need more convincing, just watch this:
Jan. 28 Dwayne Johnson has hosted SNL three times in the past all with verying degrees of success, his most recent time her broke out a new character called "The Rock" Obama.
He will be out promoting his new film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island around this time as well as gearing up for his return to the wrestling ring as he takes on John Cena at next years Wrestlemania. He would be the most logical choice to host during this time.
Feb. 4 Mindy Kaling hasn't had much of chance to break out beyond her time at The Office minus a few small film roles. However she does have a good amount of comedy chops and has written some of the best episodes of The Office. Not only would she be a fun host, but she would also be a great asset to the writing staff, being able to work with them to fine tune sketches.
Feb. 11 Nicolas Cage getting in the cage with Nicolas Cage. Imagine the possibilities. If Samberg stays on for another season like I hope he will, imagine the insanity that would occur if he unleashed his Nic Cage impressions on the man himself. Cage has never hosted SNL before, but with Ghost Rider 2 (yep they're making it) hitting theaters around this time, this would be the perfect time for Cage to give it a go. Besides has Nicolas Cage ever turned down a role?
March 3 Peyton Manning is one of the few sports figures that have hosted SNL that have actually done a good job with their hosting duties. Remember this gem?
Manning did his one and only hosting gig in 2007, and with the football season ending around this time, this would be the perfect time for him to return.
March 10 Jennifer Lawrence is quickly becoming a household name after her work on the critically acclaimed Winter's Bone and this summer's X-Men: First Class. Expect that trend to continue when she headlines the first adaptation of the widely popular Hunger Games trilogy, as the heronine Katniss. What better way to celebrate her rising stardom then by getting her first hosting gig.
April 7 Eugene Levy is another person you might be surprised to find out has never hosted SNL before. The fourth (that's right fourth) American Pie film will be out in theaters around this time, and while it's more likely we'll see someone who from the cast of those films who has hosted SNL before return, like Sean William Scott (where does the hyphen go in his name? Anyone?), I'd like to start the online campaign for Levy to host right here.
April 14 Elizabeth Banks has now projects around this time, but I needed another woman for this list, and Banks is certainly funny and recognizable and would be a fun host.
May 5 Lady Gaga proved she's got what it takes to steal the spotlight away from the likes of Justin Timberlake. I don't know what else you need to do to prove you can host SNL. The writer's certainly seemed excited to have her, as they wrote her into more sketches that any other musical guest in recent SNL history, I'd be interested to see if she has what it takes to carry a whole show.
May 12 Zoe Saldana is another actress who is making a name for herself. The last couple of episodes of any SNL season are usually reserved for celebrities looking to promote big summer films. Perhaps its more likely we would see someone from the new Avengers film hosting during this time, but I'll pull for Saldana in the hopes that Star Trek 2 will be able to meet its release date.
May 19 (Season Finale) Jon Hamm, there's not much more I think I need to say about this. SNL made the appropriate decision in the last few seasons to ensure the season ends on a high note by bringing in ringer hosts. Hamm has never hosted the season finale of SNL and I think next year would be a good year to have that honor. Really all I want is another sketch in this vein:
So there it is my extensive wishlist for the the 37th season of Saturday Night Live. Agree? Disagree? Got some other people you would like to see host next season? Hit the comments and let me know. I might do a follow-up post.
