Last night's Justin Timberlake -- excuse me, Paul Rudd/Beyoncé -- episode of Saturday Night Live featured a French-kissing family, gratuitous zoom-ins of pixelated pubes, a vibrating anal cell phone, a song about prison sex, and Snagglepuss. Unofficially a giant middle finger to California's Proposition 8, this was officially the series' gayest installment ever. (The over-the-top I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry brand of gay, that is. Next time SNL wants to be so deliberate, why not deliberately acknowledge the existence of lesbians?) Watch the Spanxiest of Timberlake's three segments, below.
New featured players Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins popped up a few times -- each more than Casey Wilson, though all three showed terrific commitment to faux vomiting and bleeding from the eyes.
While you fill out the presidential transition team's nosy job application, scrounge for Inaugural Ball tickets, or get one of those creepy coins indulging your Obamania, Saturday Night Live seems determined to sit this new administration out.
Three weeks after resorting to dragging Maya Rudolph out of sketch-comedy retirement to play Michelle Obama (and with Fred Armisen still struggling to nail his impersonation of the president-elect), NBC announced that SNL has two fresh recruits: white women. Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins, who'll join the cast this weekend, come to the gig with solid comedy resumes. They're both Groundlings vets, and Elliott is the daughter of comedian Chris Elliott, and granddaughter of Bob Elliott.
What the pair aren't, however, are particularly topical picks. Let's put aside the fact that SNL often has trouble figuring out what to do with its black actors (Eddie Murphy famously hovered in the background of his first sketch) and rarely hires black actresses (only Rudolph, Danitra Vance, Yvonne Hudson, and Ellen Cleghorne made it to the cast in the show's 33-year history). Are we really supposed to believe that in the two years the Obamas have been in the national spotlight SNL hasn't been able to find actors of color who can portray them—in addition to being funny and versatile on the rest of the show?
Maybe all of this eye-rolling is premature. Maybe there's an announcement coming soon from Studio 8H that they've discovered this apparently rarest of species: funny black people. We sure hope so. Otherwise, it's going to be a long, dry four years.
With new mom Amy Poehler out (and Maya Rudolph only showing up in the lamest sketches), Saturday Night Live has added two new female cast members: Michaela Watkins, who has done spots on The New Adventures of Old Christine and Californication, and Abby Elliot, whose part in the Upright Citizens Brigade is grossly overshadowed by the fact that she is the daughter of Chris Elliot. Seeing how most of us know very little of the work these two have done, I'm gonna just hold out hope that Elliot is half as good as her old man (see him at his finest in the clip below from the ill-fated Get a Life series). If you are one of the many (okay, probably the majority) of SNL fans who worry that Chris Elliot genes will mean she'll be annoying, creepy, and unfunny, then please just move on. Nothing to see here.
Anyone know anything about the new cast members they can share? Is there any way SNL can fill the void left by Poehler and Tina Fey's Sarah Palin?
Hard to believe, but the divinely deadpan Paul Rudd has never hosted Saturday Night Live. He's finally getting his shot on Nov. 15, so when I interviewed him recently for his hit comedy Role Models, I ran an idea by him: With new mom Amy Poehler now gone from SNL, I think he should cohost "Weekend Update" with Seth Meyers this Saturday! It makes sense: He and Meyers are pals, and he did star in a movie called Anchorman, after all. Check out Paul's priceless response to my pitch at the end of this clip. And let us know who you think should fill Poehler's seat at the news desk.
There's been a lot of hand-wringing over the past few days about whether comedy will suffer under an Obama presidency because comics (especially the all-white corps of late-night hosts) will feel squeamish making jokes about the new president. I find such talk irksome; it assumes that the president-elect lacks the capacity to make or enjoy jokes at his own expense (clearly not true, given his recent remark that his daughters' new puppy should be "a mutt, like me"), and that his presidency will usher in an era of no-fun-allowed political correctness in which dissenting voices will be silenced. I think fears of comedic censorship (or self-censorship) are overblown and unrealistic, but it will be tricky to make Obama jokes, though maybe not for the reasons the hand-wringers expect.
Granted, we've not heard a lot of Obama jokes so far; the ones floating around since the election, as this Gawker post points out, have mostly been about assassination fears. (Of course, that's more a joke about pervasive American racial paranoia than about Obama specifically; in fact, Eddie Murphy was making similar jokes about Jesse Jackson 25 years ago, and Gawker has found the NSFW clip to prove it.) The reason, however, isn't political correctness but rather the difficulty of finding something in Obama himself to make fun of. He hasn't done anything yet, so he can't be lampooned for his gaffes in office, and he hasn't revealed the personal idiosyncracies that would be easy for comics to caricature. (Poor Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live, pictured, has successfully mimicked some of Obama's oratorical tics, but beyond that, his Obama has been the straight man in sketches about other politicians with traits that are easier to ridicule.) If there's one positive effect that an Obama presidency will have on comedy, as Gawker suggests, it's that it'll force comics to be more creative and clever in order to find something spoof-worthy about Obama; they won't be able to rely, as they have for the past 30 years, on cheap and easy jokes about, say, Reagan's dottiness or Clinton's libido or W.'s dimwittedness.
Who else thought the opening sketch was weak? It probably didn't help that the senator — busy trying to get, you know, elected — wasn't given much time to prepare. We got lame gags based on talking points from his recent speeches. We got a lame McCain-Feingold joke. Even Tina Fey/Sarah Palin was uninspiring. Let's just place the blame for this mess on the writer's room. (His 'Weekend Update' bit was marginally more amusing — and in both bits, McCain showed a genuine, if wooden, capacity for self-deprecation.) What were your thoughts on his appearance? And what do we take away from the fact that a late-night comedy show became a strangely significant campaign-trail stop in the most important presidential election of our time?
UPDATE 1: Two quick things. First: Let's please keep the comments free from personal attacks on either candidate. Second: Of course I don't mean to suggest that John McCain lacks a sense of humor: I thought Barack Obama's SNL performance was similarly stiff and clumsy. And that's totally fine with me. What I really want from the next person who sits in the Oval Office is an ability to govern and lead and, hopefully, inspire. I'd rank "brilliant sense of comic timing" somewhere around No. 473 in a list of qualities I'd most want in a president. Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox. Back to your thoughts on the show. And I agree with some of you: the View bit was unfunny and way too long.
UPDATE 2: It seems that politics and comedy make for comfy bedfellows: Lynette Rice reports on the show's string of landslide ratings wins. We're betting that Lorne Michaels isn't the only one who wishes the campaign were extended for a few more weeks.
We don't know what the contents of Barack Obama's half-hour prime-time special tomorrow night at 8 p.m. will be (though we can only hope it's as entertaining as what SNL came up with, below). But we do know that it will air on almost all of the four major broadcast networks. (Even Malia Obama was worried that her dad's cross-network airtime buy would preempt her favorite shows, according to mama Michelle, who says she reassured her daughter that her favorite Nickelodeon and Disney Channel programs were safe.) The only one of the four not airing the program will be ABC, which will have to make do with a new episode of its struggling second-year series Pushing Daisies. It's not clear why the senator's campaign didn't buy airtime on ABC as well as NBC, CBS, and Fox; maybe they figured ABC was already airing a show about a young, inexperienced guy who's accompanied by a blunt-speaking older fellow, whose mere touch frightens people, and whose cheery, twinkly, flower-power style many viewers find annoying and weirdly creepy. Or, for the sake of fairness, how about this: Maybe they wanted to give equal time to a show about a guy who wants to grow the pie bigger, whose female companions are a pretty young brunette he can never touch and a brittle blonde with a pasted-on smile, and who is constantly surrounded by death and corruption.
By the way, The CW will be airing America's Next Top Model. Insert your own joke about a show featuring a contest whose fiercely ambitious aspirants must meet arbitrary media-imposed standards that no healthy and sane person could live up to.
Amy Poehler and husband Will Arnett welcomed their first child, son Archie Arnett, Saturday, her publicist confirms. "He is 8 lbs. 1 oz.," rep Lewis Kay said in a statement. "Amy, Will and Archie are all healthy and resting comfortably."
Seth Meyers, Poehler's coanchor on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," broke the news to viewers, announcing that Poehler's chair was empty because she was "having a baby." Special guest Maya Rudolph and current cast member Kenan Thompson then serenaded Poehler with a custom rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."
Poehler is expected to leave SNL after this season to star in her own NBC sitcom. While SNL fans ponder whether the show can survive without her, fans of the 2007 film Blades of Glory, in which Poehler and Arnett costarred as a pairs figure skating team, might have an idea what the couple is wondering: Asked in one of the DVD bonus features (below, at three minutes) if they were ever to have a baby, would it be the funniest child in the world, they broke character, giggled, and gave a genuine answer:
Poehler: We think we might have the most unfunniest child.
Arnett: We have always imagined that we'd have a Sean Penn-like child.
Poehler: A little baby Sean Penn.
Arnett: Real brooding, Method-y actor.
Poehler: Smokin' all the time....I hope my baby doesn't smoke. I don't know what kind of baby we're gonna have. I really should get on this.
Saturday Night Live gave Tina Fey the night off yesterday, but Mad Men's Jon Hamm stepped in as host and gave us a couple of decent Hulu clips (cuz let's face it: although SNL has manged to become culturally relevant again this election season, the worthwhile material each week can still be summed up with a clip or two). His James Mason was pretty funny (great drunken British accent!), but the funniest moment of the night was "Don Draper's Guide" where Hamm's Mad Men character shares tips on picking up women. My favorite? "Drink and smoke constantly."
And despite what Judd Apatow's gang may think of me for saying so, I also dug Coldplay rocking it old-school with "Yellow" last night.
Oh, and congrats to Amy Poehler, who wasn't at the Weekend Update desk because she was having her baby. We'll miss the funny pregnant lady sketches, but all good things must come to an end, I suppose.
Much to the gentleman from Arizona's dismay, Will Ferrell's President Bush "super publicly" endorsed the McCain-Palin ticket on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Thursday. With Will Ferrell and W.'s Josh Brolin both begging the national audience to "think of this face," I almost forgot what the real president looks like!
How much did you miss Ferrell's Bush impersonation? And who else just declared their own office a "bummer-free zone"?
Wondering why ratings for your favorite TV shows are down this fall? Election coverage -- not to mention the newspapers, magazines, and Palin Bingo cards piled atop your lonely remote control -- could help explain why. A new Entertainment Weekly survey found that Americans age 18-34 spend 34% of their TV time watching election-related programming, and half of all Americans said they are watching fewer primetime shows as a result. As for the recent flux of popular political spoofs, 80% of pollers said they'd watched the spoofs on TV, compared with 15% online. (Here on PopWatch, I'd bet that online percentage is a lot higher. What's a 'TV'?)
• Sarah Palin vs. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin It’s a tie when Americans were asked who they like better: Tina Fey’s Palin (37.4%) or Governor Palin herself (37%). Among women (39%), Americans age 18-34 (45%) and Democrats (66%), Tina Fey’s Palin is the clear winner. • Late-Night Talk Shows May Lose Viewers Post-Election Of the Americans whose favorite spoofs are courtesy of SNL, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or Real Time with Bill Maher, 3 in 10 say they will watch less of these shows after the election. • Election Coverage More Exciting Than 90210 and Reality TV? Among the 18-34 set, 31% said they are watching more election coverage because “it’s a heck of a lot more entertaining than the new 90210.” In addition, one out of five Americans are watching more election coverage to escape their dissatisfaction with reality TV. • Talk Show Influence More than 40% of Americans feel that the candidates’ appearances on talk shows have some influence on their opinion of the candidates. • Celebrity Influence More than half of Americans (53%) feel celebrity endorsements can have some influence on the candidates’ appeal. Those 25-34 (59%) and Democrats (64%) are more likely to feel that celebrity endorsement has influence on the candidates’ appeal. • Celebrity AppealDecreases When Voters Dislike Celebrity’s Candidate Choice Overall, more than half of Americans said that celebrity endorsements do not impact their perception of the celebrity whether they like or dislike the candidate the celebrity endorsed. However, 32% of Americans age 18-24 said they like a celebrity more when that celebrity endorses their preferred candidate, and 41% of Americans overall feel they like celebrities less when that celebrity endorses a candidate they dislike (50% among Republicans).
Here at PopWatch, we're staunch supporters of thoughful debate, citizen activism, rocking the vote, and all such democratic ideals. So when we heard that Twilight fans have organized a petition to nominate their patron vampire saint Edward Cullen (also known as actor Robert Pattinson) for a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, we felt it was our duty to bring this matter to the people. And since the best voter is a well-informed voter, we've put together the top three reasons why Pattinson should appear on the sketch show stage: 1. It would be good for the economy: In these lean times, everyone's looking to save a buck or two -- even big networks like NBC -- and in Rob you get not only a host, but a musical guest to boot. And after my exclusive preview of the Twilight soundtrack, which includes Pattinson's song "Never Think," I can whole-heartedly endorse the vamp's vocal prowess.
2. The inevitable Twilight parody: Pregnant Amy Poehler (as Bella Swan) + Rob = Breaking Dawn fabulousity. I wonder if Amy can vomit blood on cue?
3. He's just plain fun to look at
So, PopWatchers, are you going to add your John Hancock to the Rob-on-SNL petition? If he does land the gig, got any sketch suggestions?
For two months now, I've been casually listening to Adele's album 19 -- it makes excellent background music while writing TV Watches. But it took two powerhouse performances on this week's Sarah Palin Presents: Saturday Night Live to make me truly appreciate this cheeky (yet quite stage-frighty) pile of cuteness. The striped dress, the cardigan, the Day-Glo nails, the fact that unlike many female pop stars these days, she appeared to have eaten in the last 24 hours -- suffice it to say that now I love Adele even more. Check out the video for her second single, "Cold Shoulder," below.
The 20-year-old Londoner, who has "always been a size 14-16, and been fine with it," saw 19 go platinum in the UK. After the double appearance on an SNL that received record ratings, I can't imagine U.S. buyers will give her the cold shoulder. Will you be giving her some love? And can she crack the notoriously unforgiving U.S. radio market?
Popular TV personality Sarah Palin pageant-walked onto last night's Saturday Night Live to watch Tina Fey impersonate her during a press conference and (I can't believe I'm about to type this) "raise the roof" during a "Weekend Update" rap that blatantly made fun of her. Watch the opener, below.
Palin and Fey really were the media queens this weekend -- to be clear, that's "the liberal elite media as well as the liberal regular media." You betcha! Watch more of this weekend's Palin-related funnies -- from Letterman, Bill Maher, and more -- over at Sound Bites.
Oh my God are you serious!?! You missed Weekend Update Thursday on NBC? REALLY?! No worries. Watch the funniest Seth & Amy part (below), or the full episode (on Hulu). And don't miss McCain's adorable new pet name for Obama on EW.com's daily Sound Bites!
I like this. Take away the "Will this week's celebrity host be a total disaster?" fear and it turns out SNL fits right in as a 22-minute sitcom. All the next two Thursday installments need is some Tina Fey guest spot action, to tide us over until we can finally belt out, "Please welcome...Liz LEH-MONNNNNN," Oprah-style, when30 Rock premieres October 30.
After watching last week's debate, I couldn't help but wonder how much more awesome the VP verbal tango would have been if the real Alaskan governor had been replaced by everyone's favorite funny lady Tina Fey. Well, I sure didn't have to wait long to find out. Saturday Night Live answered my prayers this weekend, sending up the debate in its opening sketch, which featured Fey, Jason Sudeikis as Joe Biden, and Queen Latifah as debate moderator Gwen Ifill. My favorite part of the clip below? When Fey whips out a flute and asks, "Are we not doing the talent portion?" (And that's not just because I'm a former flautist.)
Fey’s obviously hit comedic paydirt with her spot-on impersonation of the pol, but as much as I love me some updoed, skirt-suited Tina, I can’t help but pine for the days when Will Ferrell brought down the White house on SNL as a bumbling version of our current Commander in Chief. I’ll always remember those squinty eyes, that Texas drawl, and all of that well-thunk strategery. SNL has had its fair share of great (Fey as Palin, Ferrell as both Bush and Janet Reno, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton) and not so-great (Fred Armisen as Barack Obama) political impersonators. Time for you to cast your vote, PopWatchers. What's your favorite political impersonation in SNL history? (And what did you think of this weekend's opening sketch?)
Welcome to a new PopWatch feature called "Winner of the Week," where we'll decide each Friday which entertainer had the most successful week. Our inaugural winner is Tina Fey. Her three acceptance speeches were highlights of an otherwise lackluster Emmy telecast. Her show 30 Rock got a much needed buzz boost by winning seven Emmys (more than any other comedy or drama series this year), including the top prize, Best Comedy Series, for the second straight year. (Even the loss of her purse at the Emmys earned her some additional sympathetic publicity.) Meanwhile, pundits started talking about the "Tina Fey" effect on Sarah Palin's poll numbers, citing a correlation between Fey's celebrated impression of her on Saturday Night Live on Sept. 13 and a decline since then in the vice presidential candidate's popularity. We even laughed again at Fey's updated American Express ad with Martin Scorsese, So congratulations, Tina Fey, on being PopWatch's first ever Winner of the Week!
Keep an eye out next Friday for the next Winner of the Week award. And if you have nominations, feel free to send them our way over the course of the week. (Oh, and if you disagree with this week's choice, go ahead and tell us who had a better week this week than Fey.) Meanwhile, enjoy Michael Ausiello's interview with Fey on the Emmy red carpet.
This is basically just Us Weekly sensationalizing old news, but the master impersonator of such esteemed figures as Hillary Clinton, Christian Siriano, and an ADHD-addled preteen garbed exclusively in jammies will officially depart Saturday Night Live after this season. She's still signed on for that mysterious NBC Office spinoff series, though nothing's yet confirmed, including the accuracy of both "Office" and "spinoff." Anyway, next year, she'll have a baby and a TV show, just like Sarah Palin, I mean Tina Fey! So Poehler, and her fans, are all set.
What this means for SNL, though, is another story. Saturday's season premiere got good ratings and great buzz off of Poehler and Fey's spot-on satirical opener. (Fellow funnylady Vanessa 'L Yeah!' Williams even gushed about its brilliance in today's installment of 'Ausiello TV'!) But the rest of the show slid downhill into an expansive wasteland littered with slow skits, way-too-lengthy spurts of dialogue, a Cathy spoof Fey had already done the same way (except better) on 30 Rock months ago, and the (admittedly delish) scraps of the Michael Phelps bizarro diet. Can SNL survive the rest of the year, let alone after Poehler's exit? Hard to say -- for me, it depends on how long some of the other recurring mainstays -- like Kristen Wiig's bevy of twitchy/bitchy characters and the digital video realizations of whatever Andy Samberg thinks about when he's (seemingly!) exceedingly stoned -- will become tired. And it might have already happened. What do you think? Could a new wave do SNL some good, or have Amy and the showrunners -- to borrow a catchphrase from baby daddy Will Arnett as G.O.B. Bluth -- "made a huge mistake"?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome was the Tina Fey-as-Palin, Amy Poehler-as-Clinton opening of Saturday Night Live's season premiere, embedded below? (10.)
How awesome was the rest of the show? (You tell me. I found myself fast-forwarding. A lot.)
How worried were you that Lil Wayne's pants were going to fall down? (7. It was, however, a 10 at the MTV Video Music Awards.)
For more on Tina Fey, check out EW's April '08 cover story, then vote for her — and 30 Rock — in our Emmy pool. (You can also vote for SNL's Kristen Wiig in our first annual EWwy Awards, which honor the shows and performers snubbed in the Emmy nominating process.)
For the latest 30 Rock casting scoop, crack open The Ausiello Files.
Want to know how Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Jason Sudeikis have been spending their summer? Waiting in line for an imaginary sci-fi movie sequel at a Brooklyn cinema, that's how. That's the plot of The Line, a seven-minisode online series directed by Meyers, co-written by Hader and SNL scribe Simon Rich, and featuring Hader and Sudeikis (and several comic actors you'll recognize from smaller roles on shows like 30 Rock). The show (which you can learn more about here) is a lot like waiting in a real fanboy movie line (or, for that matter, a typical SNL sketch): moments of hilarity, long stretches of monotony, and an ending only dimly in sight. Best of the seven installments is episode 2, below.
You can watch the whole series at Crackle; let us know if The Line makes the wait until the October season premiere of Saturday Night Live more bearable, or if it fails to tide you over.
Bernie Brillstein wasn't a household name like Bernie Mac or Isaac Hayes -- as a talent manager and producer, his work was all strictly behind the scenes -- but his vast impact on entertainment shouldn't be forgotten amid this weekend's tragic showbiz losses. Brillstein, who died Thursday night at 77, had a hand in countless classic TV and film projects, from Sesame Street to Saturday Night Live to The Sopranos, and he guided the careers of numerous top stars and scriptwriters.
Brillstein helped launch the Muppets on TV when Jim Henson became his client. As a manager for Lorne Michaels and many of the early SNL players, he was also instrumental in launching SNL and many of its stars' early movies, from Animal House to The Blues Brothers to Ghostbusters. He was an early exemplar of the automatic "executive producer" credit, which he would earn not for his creative input on the set, but for setting up the deals that made a movie or TV series possible by putting his writing and acting clients together in a project. At one time or another, he represented such actors as Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Geena Davis, Nicolas Cage, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Falk, George Wendt, David Spade, and Rob Lowe, as well as such writers as SNL's Alan Zwiebel and The Bob Newhart Show's Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses. Among the works he produced or got off the ground were Hee Haw, Alf, It's Garry Shandling's Show, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Dangerous Liaisons, The Steve Harvey Show, Happy Gilmore, The Cable Guy, Mr. Show with Bob and David, Politically Incorrect, Just Shoot Me, and Newsradio. His company, Brillstein-Grey (his partner was future Paramount chief Brad Grey) was behind such series as The Larry Sanders Show and The Sopranos.
Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily has a nice tribute to Brillstein here. The best, tribute, however, may be in his own memoir/Hollywood advice tome, Where Did I Go Right?: You're No One in
Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead. Musing on who could play him in a movie version of the book, the beefy, white-bearded Brillstein told EW, "It could be anyone from Johnny Candy if he was
still alive to Kenny Rogers if he were a little fatter. Though I
might hold out for Robert Redford."
It all started on the night of May 17. Usher was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, rapper Young Jeezy performed his verse on Ush's "Love in This Club" — and, as the fates would have it, that was the very evening that John McCain dropped by 30 Rock for a few attempted SNLOLs himself. Next thing you know, the Republican presidential nominee and the cocaine-obsessed "Thug Motivation" expert were spotted sharing a friendly chat as the show wrapped at 1 AM. Explained an effusive Jeezy in an interview heard 'round the world: "No disrespect to my man Barack, but I f--- with John McCain." As in, the angry Atlanta snowman thinks the conservative Arizona senator is... cool. Wha?
I was pretty confused, until Jeezy's rep sent out a press release today reassuring us that "YOUNG JEEZY SUPPORTS OBAMA — NOT MCCAIN." Jeezy just posted a viral clip where he goes into more detail on that — check it out below (occasional NSFW language) — and he's been correcting the record to every journalist in earshot. He's got some pretty sharp talking points, as a matter of fact: "John McCain... looks like a fraud to me," he told MTV. "My mama is about to have surgery that I gotta pay for out of my pocket because she can't get insurance." And his new album's called The Recession! Keith Olbermann's guest bookers, are you paying attention?
But there's another story here. You see, the love goes both ways: McCain's been telling people that he dug the music he saw Usher and Jeezy rehearsing on SNL that night. "Very talented. Very good," he's said. "I was very impressed." The song that impressed him so deeply, of course, was none other than "Love in This Club" — a smooth, catchy ode to having sex in public spaces. Scandal! So it's time to come clean. Does Sen. McCain now want, or has he ever wanted, to make love in this club? Moreover, has he ever made love, to a thug, in a club, with his ice on? The people want answers. (If you're in a more serious mood, here's an open question suggested by PW's Gary Susman: Is there anyone in hip-hop who isn't an ardent Obama supporter at this point? I won't count the time when confirmed Audacity of Hoper Jay-Z joked that he "felt like a black Republican.")
Am I the only one whose initial reaction to the news that Jimmy Fallon will take over Conan O'Brien's chair in 2009 was... why?
I mean, I think Fallon is charming and funny — or, at least he was the last time I saw him* — but I don't know that I want to watch him giggle his way through interviews night after night. (Who watches late, late night TV for the interviews, you ask? Good point.)
I know, everyone notes how much Jonah Hill looks like his Superbad/Knocked Up costar Seth Rogen. But after watching Hill on Conan on Tuesday night, I think the person he really looks like is a certain Saturday Night Live character some of you may remember. Check out the Late Night clip below, then see Jonah's SNL lookalike, after the jump.
There seems to be no end in sight of the brouhaha caused by Saturday Night Live's recent run of Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton sketches. I spent last week embedded at SNL for our new cover feature and, unsurprisingly, the media furor caused by the skits — and Hillary Clinton's appearance on the show a couple of weeks back — was much discussed in 30 Rock's hallowed corridors of comedy.
One funny story concerns cast member Andy Samberg, who happened to bump into Clinton when she appeared on the show. She was dressed in sober politician's garb. He, on the other hand, was dressed as Diablo Cody for a bit that involved him impersonating the Oscar-winning screenwriter (and EW columnist) during host Ellen Page's monologue. "I was in full Diablo Cody dress waiting on the side of the stage," Samberg recalled. "So [Clinton] came off and that's how I looked for the first time meeting her. I was, like 'Heeeeey!' And she was, like, 'Oh, nice to see you.' She didn't even blink. I have NO idea if she knew who I was. I think there's a chance she might have thought I was actually Diablo Cody. She may have been thinking, 'Diablo Cody, you let yourself go FAST'."
It’s been almost two months since the theatrical release of There Will Be Blood, and we’ve all heard enough "milkshake" jokes to make even the most hardcore of Daniel Day-Lewis (or Kelis) fans want to bang his or her head against the wall. But right when I was ready to file away the incredibly over-quoted “I drink your milkshake!” line (along with Brokeback’s “I wish I could quit you,” Titanic’s “I’m the king of the world!” and “This is pretty good watermelon” — ten points to whoever can name where that one’s from), Saturday Night Live had to air a brilliant sketch parodying the Oscar-nominated film and its infamous line.
The writing of the skit, however, isn’t what makes it insanely entertaining, as the script mostly borrows its lines from the film. The genius behind it is under-appreciated cast member Bill Hader, who delivers an uncanny impersonation of DDL’s Daniel Plainview (and, of course, I have to give props to Amy Poehler for her silent, semi-creepy portrayal of H.W.). Seriously, you could sub Hader into any scene from the film, and it would be difficult to tell the difference between him and the Oscar-winning actor. (Plus, it would be a good addition to grandpa’s grandchildren-infused movies — available at the store!)
Tell me, PopWatchers, do you want to see more from Bill Hader? And while we’re on the subject, what SNL celebrity impersonation do you prefer to the real deal (I, for one, would watch Fred Armisen’s Gene Simmons over the disturbing Kiss frontman and Family Jewels star any day)?
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 30 Rock writer Donald Glover may play the crucial role of Sen. Barack Obama on the first post-strike Saturday Night Live episode. (It was previously reported that SNL's Kenan Thompson was a lock for this; good thing that changed, considering that the very talented and funny Kenan looks and sounds nothing whatsoever like Obama.) We'll have to wait 'til this weekend to see how Glover fares, if he does indeed play the candidate. In the meantime, check out this (NSFW) web skit he did last spring and see for yourself. Does Donald Glover have what it takes to turn this late-night-comedy nation around? I know it filled me with the audacity of LOL...
Score one for Brian Williams (sort of). As network news broadcasts hemorrhage viewers, the anchor got a little bit of good news this week. With an average 9.2 million viewers tuning in, his NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams beat ABC's World News with Charles Gibson and CBS' Evening News with Katie Couric in the November ratings race. Nielsen also reports that Williams is tops (albeit barely—Gibson lagged by only one tenth of a ratings point) with the ever-desirable 25-54 demographic.
Pop-culture junkies might think that Williams’ surprisingly funny Nov. 3 stint hosting Saturday Night Live is what pushed him into first place (it certainly won me over, and here I'd written him off as insufferable soon after he inherited Brokaw’s chair). That said, the numbers show that Williams actually lost total viewers in the year since the sweeps period of November 2006.
Now, here's the thing: Do you know anyone who tunes in, with any regularity, to the evening news to catch up on current events? I don’t. Who can wait till dinnertime to digest the news of the day? That's what bookmarks on your browser are for! Which makes me wonder: How long before network news broadcasts can no longer measure viewership in the millions and decide to just throw in the towel (to the mournful wails of traditionalist news junkies)?
And far be it from me to be glib about the format's grim future (much respect, ghost of Edward R. Murrow), but Williams really should keep those comedy chops honed. You never know when an Anchorman sequel will start shooting—could there be any more perfect casting than NBC's newsman as Will Ferrell's next gravitas-gifted nemesis?
I won't lie: When I saw the Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 DVD on sale at Starbucks a few weeks back, my first thought was, "Must be a short DVD." The best moments from last year's generally weak season had already made the online rounds ad infinitum, and why spend hard-earned cash to own "D--k in a Box" (pictured) when I can see it on NBC.com (link leads to the uncensored, NSFW version) for free whenever I want?
That was before EW's Jason Adams alerted me to the presence of a particular bonus feature on the disc: "Five O'Clock," a dress-rehearsal sketch from Justin Timberlake's episode that got cut from the broadcast. I've made no secret of my appreciation for JT's work, but I still had my doubts — given some of the awful material that made it to the air last season, how funny could a rejected skit be? Well, I finally got around to watching "Five O'Clock" a couple days ago, and I gotta admit, this thing is positively hi-larious.
Ever have one of those moments where someone you haven't thought about in years is suddenly everywhere you turn? I'm feeling that way lately about my man Chevy Chase. I haven't been too excited by his output as a movie star since... uh... let's just say, "a while." But two recent TV developments reminded me that he can still rule the small screen when he wants to.
First, he made a surprise appearance on last weekend's Saturday Night Live, commandeering his old post on "Weekend Update" for an all-too-brief political-news segment (pictured). It took me a second to realize how much I'd missed his presence. He was as witheringly sarcastic as he ever was in SNL's '70s prime, meting out equal-opportunity barbs to the current crop of presidential hopefuls. (Where would Stephen Colbert be without the original smarmy fake-news know-it-all?) And woe betide the person who tries to play his co-anchor: Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler are hit-or-miss "Update" hosts even at their best, but they looked like flat-out amateurs next to the master of comedic condescension. Meanwhile, today's news that Chase is joining ABC primetime soap Brothers & Sisters for a multi-episode role as Sally Field's high school boyfriend (!) was even more of a surprise at first. Chevy Chase, a conflicted love interest in a weepy drama? But then I remembered how great he was playing a thinly-veiled Mel Gibson type on a serious Law & Order ep last fall. Humor may come more naturally, but he can do heavy, too. Let's face it, Chevy Chase is a TV icon.
Is "icon" too strong a word for Chevy? Well, let's say a TV icon is someone whose place in TV history is assured, someone who transcends mere acting skill and commands the medium, someone whose very appearance on a show evokes warm memories of time you've spent in front of the tube. In my book, Chase qualifies as a top television icon; in your book, maybe it's someone else. So let's hear it: Who, living or dead, are your top TV icons?
How many of you caught funnyguy Seth Rogen hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend? I thought one of the funniest skits was the "2007 National Douchebag Championships" (featuring SNL MVP Andy Samberg, pictured) but when I asked my colleague Nicholas Fonseca about it, he revealed he has major issues with the d-word. Here's how our conversation went down over e-mail:
Lindsay: Dude, did you see the douchebag awards SNL sketch this past weekend — so so funny! Nicholas: Oh! No, I haven't had a chance to get through the show on my TiVo yet. Busy weekend. But hang on a second... did I just read that correctly? Lindsay, the d-word makes me break out in hives. It's so uncomfortable. Did they really use it on Saturday night's show? Oy, I might have to sit this one out, lest I require being hosed down with some industrial-strength calamine lotion. I can already feel my hands getting itchy as I type. Lindsay: Really, itchy? It's so commonplace on TV nowadays, I'm surprised you're not used to it by now! Nicholas: But when did this become acceptable? It's used on SNL, it's been heard on My Boys, and it's a favorite on Family Guy. Like it or not, there are young kids watching all of those shows. Can you imagine being the parent who has to explain its meaning to an 8-year-old? Where do you even begin? Aughgh... see? I'm starting to feel not-so-fresh just typing about it.
After this past weekend's announcement that "D--k in a
Box" has already won an Emmy, it seems that the digital age is well and truly upon
us. After all, if it wasn't for the massive viral success of the unbleeped YouTube
version of the song, the clip might have been another forgettable
Saturday Night Live skit in the archives. But with
all the big questions about whether online video will really make TV obsolete
and how the networks will survive, Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake's raunchy
R&B spoof has now exposed a more practical concern — what happens when an
uncensored Web video with an inappropriate name wins an Emmy, and then journalists
have to figure out a way to report it?
The resourceful folks at the New York Times came up with one solution, referring to the winning
video as "A Special Christmas Box." (Disturbingly, that sounds like
something I would present to my grandmother.) Meanwhile, the Associated Press just calls it
"(Blank) in a Box." Slightly less inspired. For our part, we would
like to suggest "Holiday Genital Container" as an acceptable
substitute for the NSFW title. Too bad there is no Pulitzer for "Most
Creative Euphemism for an Emmy-Winning Song"!
Got any other suggestions for "The Video That Shall Not
Be Named," PopWatchers? Journalistic integrity depends upon it...
Now that testosterone-drenched movie comedies featuring the Judd Apatow gang (Seth Rogen in Knocked Up, Jonah Hill in Superbad) and the Frat Pack (Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Luke and Owen Wilson, et al) are ubiquitous, it's worth asking: where are the comedies built around funny women? (Warning: link contains some NSFW language.) That's the question posed by this article in SirensMag (an online women's magazine co-edited by EW's own Jennifer Armstrong), which lists Wanda Sykes, Amy Sedaris, Amy Poehler, Bonnie Hunt, Judy Greer, and Aisha Tyler (pictured) as women who should be starring in their own movie and TV comedies. I agree on all counts, especially Tyler, who seems to be the most underutilized of the bunch. (Greer, the article acknowledges, actually is getting her own TV vehicle, Miss/Guided, during the coming season.) Poehler does get to shine as one of SNL's MVPs, and Sedaris starred in both the TV and film versions of Strangers With Candy (though it's surely time for her to retire Jerri Blank), but the others are often stuck in second-banana land. I'd add Sarah Silverman and Poehler's SNL costar Kristin Wiig to the SirensMag list, though at least Silverman got her own series on Comedy Central earlier this year. Which other funny females belong on the list, and what sort of projects would you like to see them take on?
For the past 24 hours I've been reading the "Who got snubbed?" stories about the Emmys, and I can't figure out why more people aren't sad that Tracy Morgan (pictured) didn't get a supporting-actor nod for 30 Rock. Mandi's PopWatch post yesterday on "the biggest Emmy snubs" has elicited about 300 comments from you so far, but only, like, two posters mentioned Morgan by name. There's gotta be more of you out there than that who love this guy, right?
Morgan kills on that show. Some weeks he's funnier than Alec Baldwin — even just the way he says "Liz Lemon" is great. Morgan won me over in the very first episode, when he's sitting down to lunch at a fancy restaurant with his crew, and the waiter asks him what he'd like to drink, and Tracy says apple juice, and the waiter says they don't have apple juice, and then Tracy pauses a sec and says, "Okay I'll take a vodka tonic!" I've been in love with the show ever since. Somebody put together 10 great Morgan moments here (the best: "It only looks like I'm walking out of a Starbucks, when actually I'm doing the Robot going backwards into a Starbucks!"), and a minute ago my friend Karen was in my office, and she showed me this old clip of Morgan acting nuts during a live TV interview; I haven't laughed so hard since 30 Rock finished its season a few months ago.
So what do you think about Tracy Morgan? And after the jump, we have two more curious little Emmy oddities for you.
Neil Diamond (Will Ferrell) and Christina Aguilera (Kate Hudson) in a "never before aired" clip from Saturday Night Live. It's kinda all over the place, made watchable by the way Ferrell launches his non sequiturs. And we know what you're thinking: How can you have an unaired sketch from a live show?
Attention, Potterphiles: EW needs your help. We're looking for examples of Harry Potter's influence on pop culture. That is, we're seeking references to the boy wizard and his world that have cropped up outside the Potter books and films themselves. Example: the time on Friends that Ross wished he had an invisibility cloak like Harry's, or the allusion in Love Actually, where British prime minister Hugh Grant includes Harry Potter on a list of things that have made England great (also on his list: Shakespeare, the Beatles, and David Beckham's legs).
Spoofs count, too, like Daniel Radcliffe's self-parodying guest spot on Extras or J.K. Rowling's incisive cameo on The Simpsons, as well as the more extensive Potter parody from one of The Simpsons' Halloween specials. What other citations can you think of? As a reward for your suggestions, you get to watch the clip below of the famous Saturday Night Live Hogwarts sketch, featuring a certain unlikely SNL-er as Harry and Lindsay Lohan as a distractingly voluptuous Hermione. Oh, and we'll also award 50 points to Gryffindor.
Not satisfied with this list we linked to recently of the most important important moments in pop music history? Help build a better one. University of Pennsylvania public radio station WXPN is compiling a list of the 885 Most Memorable Musical Moments. (Why 885? 'Cause they're at 88.5 on the FM dial.) That should be an expansive enough list to keep anybody from feeling that their favorite moment got slighted — especially if you help out by answering their call for suggestions.
To start you off, they've cited Elvis Costello's notorious 1977 Saturday Night Live performance, the one that got him banned from the show for the next 12 years. According to legend, Elvis' label wanted the then-brand-new rocker to play his single, "Less Than Zero," but as you can see from the clip below, he aborted the song just seconds into it, then launched into a blistering version of a newer, less-familiar song, "Radio Radio," with lyrics blasting the timidity of corporate media — which then went ahead and proved his point for him. Enjoy the clip and suggest other memorable musical moments below.
If you, like me and my friend Eva, occassionally stop and wonder what happened to Jeff Richards, look below. You might remember him from Saturday Night Live — he was Drunk Girl (incoherently flirting with Jimmy Fallon during "Weekend Update") and Baby K (an infant rapper who liked to show off his crib). You might also know him from MADtv, but I've never watched that show, so you're on your own there.
Looks like he's been keeping busy doing standup and blogging. Nice to see you again, Jeff. Don't be a stranger.
While you fill out the presidential transition team's nosy job application, scrounge for Inaugural Ball tickets, or get one of those creepy 
There's been a lot of hand-wringing over the past few days about whether comedy will suffer under an Obama presidency because comics (especially the all-white corps of late-night hosts) will feel squeamish making jokes about the new president. I find such talk irksome; it assumes that the president-elect lacks the capacity to make or enjoy jokes at his own expense (clearly not true, given his recent remark that his daughters' new puppy should be "
We don't know what the contents of Barack Obama's half-hour prime-time special tomorrow night at 8 p.m. will be (though we can only hope it's as entertaining as what SNL came up with, below). But we do know that it will air on almost all of the four major broadcast networks. (Even Malia Obama was worried that her dad's cross-network airtime buy would preempt her favorite shows, 
Wondering why 
Here at PopWatch, we're staunch supporters of 
After watching 
Welcome to a new PopWatch feature called "Winner of the Week," where we'll decide each Friday which entertainer had the most successful week. Our inaugural winner is Tina Fey. Her three acceptance speeches were 
This is basically just 
Bernie Brillstein wasn't a household name like Bernie Mac or Isaac Hayes -- as a talent manager and producer, his work was all strictly behind the scenes -- but his vast impact on entertainment shouldn't be forgotten amid this weekend's tragic showbiz losses. Brillstein, who 
It all started on the night of May 17. Usher was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, rapper 
Am I the only one whose initial reaction to 
There seems to be no end in sight of the brouhaha caused by Saturday Night Live's recent run of Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton sketches. I spent last week embedded at SNL for our new cover feature and, unsurprisingly, the media furor caused by the skits — and Hillary Clinton's appearance on the show a couple of weeks back — was much discussed in 30 Rock's hallowed corridors of comedy. 
It’s been almost two months since the theatrical release of There Will Be Blood, and we’ve all heard enough "milkshake" jokes to make even the most hardcore of Daniel Day-Lewis (or Kelis) fans want to bang his or her head against the wall. But right when I was ready to file away the incredibly over-quoted “I drink your milkshake!” line (along with Brokeback’s “I wish I could quit you,” Titanic’s “I’m the king of the world!” and “This is pretty good watermelon” — ten points to whoever can name where that one’s from), Saturday Night Live had to air a 
Score one for Brian Williams (sort of). As network news broadcasts hemorrhage viewers, the anchor got a little bit of good news this week. With an average 9.2 million viewers tuning in, his NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams beat ABC's World News with Charles Gibson and CBS' Evening News with Katie Couric in the November ratings race. Nielsen also reports that Williams is tops (albeit barely—Gibson lagged by only one tenth of a ratings point) with the ever-desirable 25-54 demographic. 
I won't lie: When I saw the 
Ever have one of those moments where someone you haven't thought about in years is suddenly everywhere you turn? I'm feeling that way lately about my man 
How many of you caught funnyguy Seth Rogen hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend? I thought one of the funniest skits was the 
After this past weekend's announcement that "D--k in a
Box" has already won an Emmy, it seems that the digital age is well and truly upon
us. After all, if it wasn't for the massive viral success of the unbleeped YouTube
version of the song, the clip might have been another forgettable
Saturday Night Live skit in the archives. But with
all the big questions about whether online video will really make TV obsolete
and how the networks will survive, Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake's raunchy
R&B spoof has now exposed a more practical concern — what happens when an
uncensored Web video with an inappropriate name wins an Emmy, and then journalists
have to figure out a way to report it? 
Now that testosterone-drenched movie comedies featuring the Judd Apatow gang (Seth Rogen in Knocked Up, Jonah Hill in Superbad) and the Frat Pack (Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Luke and Owen Wilson, et al) are ubiquitous, it's worth asking: 
For the past 24 hours I've been reading the "Who got snubbed?" stories about the Emmys, and I can't figure out why more people aren't sad that Tracy Morgan (pictured) didn't get a supporting-actor nod for 30 Rock. 
I'm not going to lie, I spent any free time I had yesterday looking up all of the bad video phone images of