Author Archive

HOWARD MEGDAL: This one leaves me unimpressed. Pretty scattershot, and Gibbs wouldn’t appear on that panel, plus that isn’t remotely like Robert Gibbs. This one is overdone. Look, they show that Fox News is unbalanced. I already knew that. Even the Glenn Beck, by virtue of being material-free, wastes a good effort from Jason Sudeikis.

STEVE MURPHY: Not their worst… but not funny, either. Although I did enjoy looking at Abby Elliot.

ZOË RICE: The best thing about this open was Attractive Blonde Lady, which made me chuckle. Unfortunately the overall affect was slow, with a couple decent moments but not enough.

STEVE MURPHY: Record companies sue fans because record companies are stupid. That’s all I can think of. They have to be stupid. I could end this article right there, but I suppose I should explain why the RIAA is stupid.

DAVE TOMAR: Even before Napster and the lawsuits, the RIAA and the record companies had a serious problem on their hands. But it wasn’t just about changing technology. This was a problem of product. Let’s call it the Mouseketeer Syndrome.

ZOË RICE: I had been looking forward to what SNL would do with the State of the Union! Every time I see Biden and Pelosi behind the President, I immediately think of Sudeikis and Wiig, and here yet again they’re just funny there in the background, gesticulating. I thought it was a solid open, with good use of senator reaction shots to enhance the laughs. Of course the healthcare bit at the end was kind of depressing, but the Martha Coakley jokes and the gags about how the Bushes left the White House were chucklers.
STEVE MURPHY: I agree with Zoe, this was a “chuckler.” A couple little jokes, a couple funny reaction shots… but nothing got knocked out of the park in this sketch. I was ready for it to end long before it did.

HOWARD MEGDAL: Awfully scattershot. When Al Franken wrote SNL political sketches, they had clear targets and an underlying understanding of political realities. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to shake my fist at some children on my front lawn.

AKIE BERMISS: I’ve never been on a cruise. Never in my life even set foot on a cruise boat. But every time I get a brochure from Princess Cruises in my mailbox I give it considerable thought. The thing is, to someone like me, cruises seem like a really extravagant affair. You pack your bag, you go to the docks, and you basically check in to a floating hotel room for a week. And all your food is paid for. You’re waited on hand and foot. You sail around where its beautiful and sunny and warm. I could be wrong about all this, of course, as my knowledge of cruises is pretty much informed by what I’ve seen in movies.

STEVE MURPHY: I have been on roughly 7 kabillion cruises. Or at least that’s what it feels like. I’ve been to just about every island in the Caribbean, some multiple times, plus a number of other exotic locales. Or, that’s what the cruise lines would have me believe.

STEVE MURPHY: Websites have been trying to recommend things to me for years based on my prior activity, but they’ve never really been any good at it. Finally, Netflix and iTunes are stepping up their game. Finally, some recommendation engines that actually help me find things I’m going to enjoy… and warn me off those I won’t.

AKIE BERMISS: Read your science fiction, people. If there’s nothing else we’ve learned from various sci-fi doomsday scenarios, we should certainly know that you should never trust the machines. Machines are out to get you. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday — those machines are going to take you down, man! And so, while I love gadgets and devices and artificial intelligences, I have a healthy cynicism for computer-to-humanity relations. And so I don’t trust any computer or program or algorithm to tell me what I like or may like or won’t like. I have good friends that’ve known me for years and still couldn’t really guess what I like or don’t like.

MOLLY SCHOEMANN: It has recently come to my attention that the New York Times is planning on charging for access to its online content in the near future. Although I am a big fan of free, learning this filled me with relief.

STEVE MURPHY: Lots of people agree with Molly, and believe that high-quality content is so valuable, it shouldn’t be given out for free. But that assumes that value can only be set by the end user of the content.

HOWARD MEGDAL: A bit meandering, but just fantastic Larry King and Jay Leno impressions by Fred Armisen and Darrell Hammond, respectively. Surprised Letterman was so one-dimensional.

ZOË RICE: Sigourney Weaver looked gorgeous and elegant, unlike her hilarious 1986 self. Who knew her father was president of NBC? The monologue was rather an odd mish-mash, but Weaver is likeable enough that it doesn’t much matter.

STEVE MURPHY: It always amazes me when solid actors can’t do their thing live. Weaver looked nervous, awkward and unsettled, and her lack of jokes really didn’t help very much. It was essentially two pictures of her and a memo. Plus a joke about peeing.

ZOË RICE: I expected little from Charles Barkley’s monologue, and so it surpassed my slim expectations. I give him a B; it picked up with “Pretty, in a kinda Jewish way” but of course then took a dip again with Kenan Thompson (although I like “Well, some of it’s great. And some of it we’re gonna do anyway.”) And it’s true, SNL, where are the black hosts? And also more talented black sketch comics?

STEVE MURPHY: I also loved the “pretty, in a kinda Jewish way” joke, but the rest of this suffered from Barkley’s signature speech impediment. It’s like he’s trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles. But agreed, they need some more diversity in this cast. Let’s get rid of Kenan and replace him with someone funny. Wait, did that make sense? Regardless, let’s replace Kenan.

HOWARD MEGDAL: It was really amusing at the end when Kenan Thompson did that voice that sounds like Kenan Thompson.

ZOE RICE: I see so few movies, but no one wants to see Avatar with me! I’m sure I’ll get one of my friends to change his/her mind, but the previews do kinda look silly. And yet the buzz from people who’ve seen it sounds amazing, no?

AKIE BERMISS: Yeah I’ve tried to gear myself up for Avatar. But every time I see a
poster or preview it looks so ridiculous!

ZOE RICE: That’s the whole problem! i see a preview, and I’m like…so it’s bad acting and weird floppy blue people? But then the people who’ve seen it call it ground breaking and a whole new chapter in film making….

ZOË RICE: SNL rarely opens with this type of recurring sketch–the Lawrence Welk show, with those 4 singing sisters–and the host, James Franco appeared in it, another rarity. I get the sense this skit might not have been the original opener, but I don’t care. I loved it. I laughed heartily. Eunice is so friggin’ funny. With those little mutant hands and all their hilarious antics! James Franco held his own and made me psyched for the rest of the show.

HOWARD MEGDAL: I have to say, I do enjoy this skit. Obviously, skewering Lawrence Welk isn’t particularly timely, and it does play oddly as the opener- but I’m glad for it, and James Franco announced his presence with authority.

STEVE MURPHY: I think the only reason this was so jarring is because the cold open is usually political and usually sucks. Overall this one was a success for me. I don’t understand why this needs sketch even needs a Lawrence Welk reference, really. I’m with Howard, the Lawrence Welk Show isn’t topical enough to lampoon. Luckily James Franco was fantastic, and Kristen Wiig was intensely creepy as usual as the mutant fourth sister (even if her lines weren’t as funny as usual). Franco’s gonna be a great host, I can feel it!