(S32E06) Some of you weren't so happy that we stopped reviewing Saturday Night Live, so I'm going to give this another go, just so that everyone at least as a place to discuss. And I will try and resist saying "ehh, it was okay, I guess" for every single review, but, let me warn you, it's going to be tough. That said, this particular episode was... well... ehh, it was okay, I guess. Surprisingly, Ludacris did a much better job than many other musician hosts (and some "real actor" guests, actually), but it was nothing spectacular.Cold Open: All right, opening with a Bush speech is nothing out of the ordinary, but seeing Jason Sudeikis take on Dubya was a little weird. His impression wasn't that much better than Will Forte's, so I don't understand why they made the switch. And it wasn't like Forte wasn't around to do it, because he definitely performed that night. Anyway, it was strange. I'm not sure how I liked it.
Monologue: Heh, Don Pardo effed up Ludacris' name... twice. Lu-day-cris? I mean, even if Pardo has never heard of the guest and/or musical guest, shouldn't he check the pronunciation before going live? Anyway, the monologue was fairly funny and Luda did quite well. Y'know, he's a cool guy. I'm not a fan of the genre, but I can tolerate his music more than that of his fellow rappers. Plus, he did one of the nicest things I have ever heard any celebrity do... He took one of his fans to her prom. Yeah. Didn't hear about it? That's the best part. It wasn't some big, publicized "Hey! Look at me! I'm interacting with the unwashed masses!" to-do. Ever since I read about that, I've had a certain respect for Luda and am willing to ignore his excessive use of the word "bitch". Okay. Um. Moving on...
"Young Douglas: Hypin' the Classics": This seemed like a weak starter... It felt more like one of those 12:50 sketches. However, I quite liked "The Way We Were (Get Ya Damn Hands Up)" because Young Douglas somehow made the word "recollectin'" sound really cool.
"The Bitchslap Method": Although "Archibald Bitchslap" may be the best name ever, this sketch was still fairly weak. Usually the strongest pieces come the earliest, so this got me worried about the rest of the episode.
"The O'Reilly Factor": They should have cut the Def Jam bit and cut straight to Luda. I don't know. I thought it dragged a bit.
"Booty Bidness Workwear": I found this piece to be absolutely hilarious, because A) I freaking hate those shirts and B) I can probably name a few people that would actually buy that workwear if it existed. Sad? Probably. Funny? Definitely.
"The Blizzard Man": A sketch that was based around one stupid voice by Andy Samberg. It shouldn't have worked, but it did, and I laughed a lot. "They shake their booties and my thingy gets excited!" Oh, how I laughed. I am a simple, simple girl.
"Weekend Update": The highlight of this was definitely Bill Hader as John Mark Karr ("I shot 50 Cent!", "I killed Bambi's mom!", etc). I also liked the audience's reaction the very mention of "room-temperature oysters". Actually, "Weekend Update" was pretty solid.
"Poolwatch": Um... Luda's trunks were tenting a bit. I'm sorry, that's all I could focus on.
"Hair Transplant": How predictable! I mean, not the Elton John bit, but the fact that Will's character got the doctor's hair. His new look kind of reminded me of Venturestein's, from The Venture Bros.
"Lesbian Cruise": One joke stretched way too long... Guy becomes captain of a lesbian cruise in hopes of getting it on with two chicks at once. The end.
"Luda is old and Darrell Hammond has a floppy moustache": I found it funny how seasoned veteran Hammond couldn't keep a straight face as his moustache started falling off, but Luda stayed totally in-character. Ironic, no?
Musical performances: Lots of booty-shaking (moneymaker-shaking, rather) and a special appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was alright, if you're into that sort of thing.
The next live episode comes in a few weeks, and will feature Matthew Fox and Tenacious D.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-19-2006 @ 2:45PM
Mark said...
Ludacris = already the next Will Smith. The guy's a natural. While the show wasn't very funny, I think Luda made it funnier than it should have been.
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11-19-2006 @ 3:24PM
Danny Cohen said...
The performers need to make eye contact with each other more, when they are looking at the cards, it takes me out of the EXPERIENCE.
Last night was not as good as Hugh Laurie or Baldwin... and where was Armisen!?
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11-19-2006 @ 6:58PM
Derek said...
I'm glad you folks here at TV Squad have decided to start reviewing SNL episodes again, but why did you have to pick the worse episode for the comeback?
I thought this weeks SNL was a good time for reflecting on the fact that Rappers have replaced all other performers/entertainers at the top of the meida whore pile. Of course this has been going on for decades now, so while it's not a turning point in rapper/ego domination, I think it will be heralded as a milestone.
Maybe someone could enlighten me as to wether or not other SNL hosts have appearead in every single sketch and musical performance of the evening. Actually I'm guessing others have done this, but I'm sure none of them sucked as hard at hosting as Ludacris did.
Even though I couldn't stand the ego stroking, "tee-hee" self-referential humor, and general stiffness of the host, I thought there were some pretty good moments by the cast. Bill Hader as John Mark Karr, Andy Samberg's Blizzard guy, Amy Pohler's lesbian character. The problem was that the cast didn't get a chance to do too much because they had to serve up the good lines/action to Ludacris, who just wasted them anyways.
Otherwise I'm happy with the Sudekis switch to Bush and disappointed with Weekend Update again. Does anyone else think that the punchlines delivered by Seth Meyer's were kind of single note.
I've been really enjoying SNL's growth this season (all though you may not be able to tell from this post), but they really need to start booking hosts and musical guests that don't try to make the show about them. SNL should be SNL, not the Ludacris show
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11-19-2006 @ 9:56PM
Dwacon said...
I am still pissed that TIVO refused to record the previous week episode with Christina Aguilera. Well, I will have to wait for the rerun.
The Ludacris episode had some funny moments. Not howling laughter but just "heh, heh."
--
dwacon
http://dwacon.blogspot.com
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11-20-2006 @ 12:31AM
MissPinkKate said...
I really enjoyed the "Weekend Update" rip on the magazine editor. Not everyone knows, but they were making fun of a real person- Atoosa Rubenstein, the editor of Seventeen magazine. I was shocked, but it was FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY. I love skits that are funnier if you get the inside joke.
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11-20-2006 @ 12:37AM
JW said...
I think Don Pardo is just losing it. A few weeks back he said MONDAY instead of SATURDAY when announcing the upcoming episode's host and musical guest. How could he forget that? I had to click the TiVo seven second button several time to make sure I heard it correctly. And then I had to check to the TiVo guide to see if they were running a primetime special episode.
On another note, Keenan must have been pretty happy to be the only black male cast member last night. He got a ton of screen time.
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11-20-2006 @ 1:39AM
Diego said...
This was an attempt to lure the young people, Luda was pretty funny. I love his music and he was pretty good in Crash. Young Douglas, Blizzard and W.U. were the highlights on the thing. and I went over the TIVO over and over again and i still heard lu-day-cris. He killed it...
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11-20-2006 @ 6:47AM
Jim said...
I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. I didn't care for Ludacris' "songs," but I thought he did a good job acting. Some general observations:
* The open was WEAK. I also spent the whole time wondering why Forte lost the Bush gig, but ultimately, it was the writing, not Sudekis, that made it suck.
* Hammond HAS TO GO. The O'Reilly skit bombed. Jeff Richards' O'Reilly was 10 times better -- six years ago.
* What was up with Kenan and the pregnant pauses?
* Amy's manatee joke gave me the best laugh of the night. (Ludacris' comment about Dolly Parton was a close second.)
* Not enough Forte! I don't think he was in a skit before Update.
* Amy plays a great lesbian, but I always liked Tina's better.
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11-20-2006 @ 1:50PM
JW said...
dwacon -- I keep noticing that the TiVo guide keeps listing new SNL eps as Repeats. Maybe that was your problem.
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