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Alec Baldwin and Paul McCartney SNL Promo Shoot: 1993

I do not expect this video to remain online much longer, so enjoy it while you can.

SNL 11-11-06: Alec Baldwin / Christina Aguilera

I always have high hopes when Alec Baldwin hosts, and here's what I want out of this episode.  I want Donald Rumsfeld on Baldwin's "Tony Bennett Show" sketch.  I want Steve Martin to show up and continue the gag between the two hosts about who hosts SNL more.  And I want expect the cast of 30 Rock to have cameos.

Cold Open: Kristen Wiig as new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  They really stick it to the democrats here... welcome back to power blue team.  I believe this'll be Kristen's first "Live from New York..."  Good for her.   Good open too. 

Monologue: Well, I'll be damned, it's Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan to help Baldwin with his monologue.  And well it's basically a big plug for 30 Rock. 

Commercial Parody: Holy crap it's a commerical parody!  I remember those!  This is for a dating website called e-zdate.com that's really an escort service.  See?  You can do these every week Lorne.  That was just filmed in front of a green screen and it looks like any other commerical you see on the air today.  Oh yeah, it was good too. 

Britney Spears Divorce: Amy Poehler is Britney, talking to her lawyer about her divorce.  The sketch is predictable, but it's shot in a bizarre way that I've noticed a lot of this season where Poehler is staring straight at the camera (where the cue cards are) and never looks at the other character in the scene. 

Saddam's Back: Baldwin reprises Saddam Hussein, which both the crowd and I enjoy.  The joke here is that Saddam makes a lot of American pop culture references.  Short but sweet.   

Commerical Parody: Holy crow, another one!  This one is for Valtrex (you know, for your genital herpes).  Awesome. 

Next Week: Ludicris as both host and musical guest.  Seriously, this'll be the low point of the entire season.  Maybe the decade.

Carpool: Baldwin and Wiig are in top form as new carpool friends who keep accidentally offending each other.  "Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother."  I laughed for five minutes at that line. 

Saturday TV Funhouse: An anime of the Japanese hot dog eating guy Kobayashi.  William Perry is in there too for some reason.  I liked this just fine, but South Park already did the best anime parody I've ever seen so this felt a little too "me too!" for my taste. 

The Platinum Lounge: The place where 12 time + hosts of SNL get to hang out.  Alec brings Maya in, but she's quickly bounced for only being a member of the "working cast".  Hooray!  Steve Martin is waiting inside the Platinum Lounge!  Hey, Martin Short is the bartender!  Yay!  They get involved in a Princess Bride-ish routine of trying to poison each other's drinks.  Then, holy hell, Paul McCartney shows up (which seems to totally shock Baldwin, as I think they were expecting Paul Simon).  Wow.  While it wasn't exactly hilarious, THAT'S how you take full advantage of being a live show.  That was fun.

Christina Aguilera performs: I am not a fan of hers, and she looks utterly ridiculous.  I'm not entirely convinced that she's actually singing either.  My mom used to have yarn that looks like this woman's head.

Weekend Update: I just noticed that Seth Meyers' head bobbles around all the time during Update.  Someone should point this out to him.  Meyers interviews Donald Rumsfeld (damn!), but the segment goes nowhere.  That was sad, considering what promise it had.  Amy's Aunt Linda (Wiig) is the new Culture Correspondent and sadly I know people just like her character who just don't get "it".  Andy Samberg plays a waiter who served Tom Cruise recently.  It's such a simple gag but it kinda works. 

The Tony Bennett Show: Hooray!  Tony's guest is Kevin Federline (Samberg).  Haha, he's quickly bounced off the show.  Whoa, his next guest is the real Tony Bennett!  It's fun to have these two talking to one another, as it shows how dead on Baldwin's impression is.  I was going to say it was a pity they already blew the Rumsfeld potential in Update, but screw that... Tony Bennett! 

Rick Corman, Brazil Guy: Baldwin's a dude who moved to Brazil 20 years ago and now he hits on ladies, badly.  Simple.  Decent. 

Christina Aguilera performs again: What era does this person think she's in?

A Moment with the Out-Of-Breath Jogger from 1992:  Ugh, please do not make this a recurring character.  He's 10 years in the future now (although he nearly blows the premise by almost saying 1982 instead of 1992 at one point), and I think he only exists for when the show runs long and they need a sketch that only runs 30 seconds. 

Christina Aguilera performs again (but with Tony Bennett this time): One of these things is not like the other...

What a freakin' show!  Paul McCartney, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Tony Bennett... great sketches... big laughs... surprises... this one had it all.  Also, the photos used as bumpers throughout were all putting Baldwin into famous photographs from the past.  Just really cool.  Top notch folks, well done.  Too bad next week is Ludicris.

Waiters Who Are Nauseated By Food

This clip is from the criminally underrated and short-lived Dana Carvey Show, which along with Carvey featured several former and future Saturday Night Live writers on staff, including Robert Smigel and Stephen Colbert.

This is an absolutely pinpoint example of what sketch comedy should be.  It has a clever premise, brilliantly executed by Colbert and Steve Carell, and is the perfect length.

MSNBC: Studio 60 doesn't take comedy seriously

MSNBC commentator Linda Holmes has an excellent article about the problems with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and it's not for any of the reasons that you might think.

Holmes' take is that the show doesn't take its comedy seriously enough, and that the whole point of the series (putting on a weekly comedy show) is hardly even a blip on the radar.  She believes the focus on issues should take a backseat to, you know, writers and performers trying to create ways to be funny.

Despite my love of this show, I can't say that I disagree.

Continue reading "Studio 60 doesn't take comedy seriously"...

NBC Launches 'DotComedy' Website

On Thursday, NBC Universal launched a new comedy broadband channel, Dotcomedy, that will host original Web shows as well as video from TV programs including Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Other made-for-TV comedy shows that will air on Dotcomedy include Leave it to Beaver, The Munsters, Coach, and Significant Others, and the HBO series Dream On.

Wow, where to start with all this?  First off, I've checked out the site (www.dotcomedy.com) and there's not much there yet.  And much of what is there is just embedded YouTube clips.  Also, Leave it to Beaver?  The Munsters?  Dream On?  I thought this was a comedy website.  I know there's nothing emo hacker MySpace punks like more than dialing up their internets and checking out hot Brian Benben clips from Dream On...

My only hope for this site is that they include a slew of SNL clips, and not just the ones that are available on every DVD they've released but really great stuff that rarely sees the light of day.  That's going to make my job of showcasing that stuff much easier.

Former SNL Writer Bob Odenkirk Becomes Busy Director

Former Saturday Night Live writer (and Mr. Show co-creator/genius) Bob Odenkirk has directed a new movie called Let's Go To Prison, which opens on November 22nd.  Along with an appearance by Odenkirk it also features former SNL alumni David Koechner and Jerry Minor.

Odenkirk is already at work directing his next film called The Brothers Solomon, written by and co-starring SNL's Will Forte.  Also appearing with Forte are fellow SNL cast members Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader.

Solomon is currently scheduled for release in August 2007.  VH1.com has a feature article about the making of the film which is a highly entertaining read.

Continue reading "SNL, Arrested Development Stars Refine Lewd Humor On Solomon Set"...

Studio 60 Gets Full Season Order

TVGuide.com reports that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has received a full season order.  Take that, Fox News.

Finally.  Now, people need to discover this show, as it's one of the best on television.

But What Does Victoria Jackson Think of Studio 60?

Terry Mattingly of kitsapsun.com caught up with former Saturday Night Live cast member Victoria Jackson recently and asked for her thoughts on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Jackson, the blonde, female, singing, born-again Christian comedian was intrigued by a character on Studio 60.  Her attention was drawn to Harriet (played by Sarah Paulson), a blonde, female, singing comedian who is a born-again Christian.

Surprised at the similarities, she was then intrigued by the fuss over Studio 60's fictional sketch Crazy Christians.  From the article:

That was the name Jackson assigned to a sketch she was asked to perform, leading her to plead for relief from executive director Lorne Michaels. He heard her out and assigned another actress to do the part. The sketch bombed in dress rehearsal and vanished.

"It was a legitimate sketch that was making fun of what they called extreme Christians," said Jackson. "You know, there are Christians out there that make life rather embarrassing for other Christians. ...Now I can make fun of people who have a Jesus toaster and Jesus salt and pepper shakers and Jesus napkin holders. That's fair. But this time they wanted me to kneel down in a comedy show and pretend to pray - to get a laugh. I just couldn't do it. I told Lorne that I thought I'd start crying or shaking. Prayer is real. I think prayer is talking to God."

Continue reading "Victoria Jackson sees her reflection on Studio 60"...

But What Does Jim Belushi Think of Studio 60?

NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Saturday Night Live alum James Belushi says he is a fan of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a TV drama set behind the scenes of an "SNL-type show."

The According to Jim star wrote for and performed in the fabled NBC sketch comedy show from 1983 to 1985. He is also the brother of late SNL legend, John Belushi.

"I like Studio 60," Belushi told UPI, amid reports the critically-acclaimed show is about to be canceled.

"It's pretty real. The pressure is real; time clicking away while you're trying to get scenes on the air. The drama between the men and the women, that's just soap opera. Saturday Night Live is all about the show. I think (the people behind Studio 60 are) doing a great job."

Belushi admitted watching the Studio 60 brings back lots of memories.

"That was a tough time, Saturday Night Live, a lot of pressure," he recalled. "It's like sending a doctor to a war zone. You come out very well-prepared. ... Everything has been easy since -- even divorce."

Full Season for Studio 60 to Come Soon?

Ray Richmond of the Hollywood Reporter spoke with Studio 60 creator Aaron Sorkin recently, and the buzz is that NBC is merely days away from making a full season committment to the excellent yet struggling series.

"Hopefully soon people will start paying attention to the show instead of who's making it," Sorkin said. "I really look at it as just the cost of doing business. I knew the reaction to the show was going to be a little bit noisier than I'd prefer. But hopefully, we're finally settling in and the audience is seeing the amazing cast and acknowledges the great, committed group of people who are behind this show."

Continue reading "Cancel the Funeral: 'Studio 60' Isn't Heading Off Into the Sunset Just Yet"...