Well, that concludes Saturday Night Live's three week run of "Weekend Update Thursday." There were some good jokes here and there, including tonight's especially strong cold open, but looking back, we really could have done without these three episodes. Most of this material, election-related and otherwise, could have been bumped to the regular Saturday program without any problem. I'm sure we could come up with a list of sketches in the past few SNLs that deserved to be replaced. Someone fix my time machine and let's get this job done. I don't want to hear any of that "There's no such thing as a flux capacitor" bullcrap.
Cold Open (George W. Bush endorsement): It's been a while since I've seen a Will Ferrell movie that I've liked, so I was tremendously excited for his return as Bush. Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis are both super-funny guys, but neither of them have quite nailed Bush the way Ferrell has. Sure, his impression isn't spot-on, but Ferrell embraced the character enough for the audience to overlook that, unlike the performances of Forte and Sudeikis. Anyway, the combination of Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and Ferrell's Dubya was absolutely amazing. This whole cold open was strong.
"Weekend Update": I'm not sure if anyone that doesn't watch 24-hour news networks got Fred Armisen's map thing. Personally, I got the joke, because I've often fantasized about geeking out over a giant touchscreen. I guess the folks at SNL felt the same way and wheeled in one from, like, MSNBC or something. Kenan Thompson brought back his "FIX IT!" guy, who wasn't as funny the second time. The first time was just barely okay anyway.
I'll laugh at people talking about throwing up, but I didn't think Andy Samberg's "Jam the Vote" was quite as funny as it could have been. The real beauty of vomit jokes lies in the moment before it actually happens. Just check out this super-old clip of Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell from The Dana Carvey Show, in a sketch called "Waiters Who Are Nauseated By Food." In other news, giant cell phones are hilarious.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-24-2008 @ 11:15AM
dt3 said...
mediocre SNL >>> old repeats and/or half hour deal or no deals
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10-24-2008 @ 11:24AM
scott said...
yeah, plus working on building up the 30 rock audience in that time slot can't hurt. It was great seeing ferrell doing his bush, and that map bit was KILLING me...
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10-24-2008 @ 12:13PM
Drex said...
This was the best of the SNL updates so far... I love Kenans' "fix guy", but I work in a large office so this hits home really well for me.. I also LMAO at Fred and that board.. "and look, I can make Michigan bounce!" great stuff.. Andy was Andy, another great skit that gets better everytime you watch it..
unfunny Danna Carvey show is unfunny
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10-24-2008 @ 12:20PM
Emily said...
The "Jam the Vote" skit was painfully unfunny. The only good moment was when Andy was given another hot dog at the end.
This was my least favorite of the three Thursday updates. The first one, with the "Seriously?" skit, was definitely the best.
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10-24-2008 @ 12:24PM
Bob said...
tina's got great legs. we need more shows with tina in them. did i mention she's got great legs?
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10-24-2008 @ 7:07PM
Jamie said...
Or you could just watch 30 Rock when it premieres next week at the same time as Weekend Update Thursday on NBC.
10-24-2008 @ 1:21PM
mikedt said...
"I'm sure we could come up with a list of sketches in the past few SNLs that deserved to be replaced"
Often times after watching a really bad SNL sketch I wonder how bad the ones are that they decided weren't TV worthy. They must have been truly putrid.
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10-24-2008 @ 2:22PM
Elf said...
The "Jam the Vote" bit went on far too long for my taste, as does most every SNL skit these days, The writers need to review some old Mr. Show or Monty Python to learn how to end a skit on a funny note before the joke is beaten to death. I saw the 'registration deadline has passed' punchline a mile away, and the repetitive puking just got tired quickly. The whole bit seemed to revolve around Samberg saying he wanted to film a bit where he pukes a lot, then figuring out what situation they can put him in to do just that.
And Kenan's "Fix It" guy was broken beyond repair the first time out. I don't want to say anything nasty about Kenan Thompson, because for all I know he's a great man who takes care of his family, respects his elders, support charities volunteers in local soup kitchens and still has nice things to say about his former partner on Nickolodeon whose biggest recent credit was in "Mystery Men," but I think it's time for him to move on. "Fat Albert 2" anyone?
However, Fred Armisen at the Magic Wall was brilliant. At first I thought it was a pre-made video behind him and he just had to touch the screen at the right place at the right time until I realized it was an actual functional working model. It's going to be difficult to watch any election returns without hoping the anchor will draw a kitty on the screen and send Oregon out into the ocean.
One thing that annoys the crap out of me is when regular cast members in non-topical (i.e. non-last minute) sketches have to rely on cue cards. You're professionals people, memorize the damn scripts and stop looking offstage for your lines. Anything non-topical should be frozen by Thursday and not tinkered with afterward so they can be delivered less awkwardly than a third-grade production of Peter Pan.
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10-24-2008 @ 2:51PM
Jimmy said...
Interactive map: funny.
Jam The Vote: not funny.
Kenan: not funny.
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10-24-2008 @ 3:00PM
Arnold said...
When are the producers going to realize that Kenan Thompson is not that funny. Sure he was funny when he was on Nickelodeon but we were also 12 years old and thought it was hilarious for a person to eat nothing but chocolate. His audience has grown up but his humor hasnt. As of right now, he is taking up spot for a more talented newcomer.
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10-24-2008 @ 5:42PM
ac said...
Man I forgot how funny Will Ferrel playing Bush was. Will and Tina were hilarious together.
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10-24-2008 @ 6:03PM
Dan said...
The current people on SNL are simply pathetic. SNL hasn't been very good in a long time, but these awful writers and actors are definitely a new low. The "Fix It" skit was not only stupid, but it was a repeat of the previous week. The vomiting sketch was not only disgusting, but as per the usual SNL issue, it went on WAY too long!
Really? Is this REALLY the best they can come up with?
Palin, McCain and Bush are easy to make fun of...and so are Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Joe Scarborough and many other news commentators. Wouldn't it be funnier if they did a round table of those people than some of these awful skits?
To think, SNL was the starting point for so many great comedians, where did they all go? How has the Daily Show replaced it?
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10-24-2008 @ 9:20PM
Elf said...
I don't think the prosthetics team at SNL would be able to make any cast member's head as large as Olbermann's as would be required for a decent impression. Though considering Olbermann does have a sense of humor about himself, I'd like to see him host and do his Bill O'Reilly impression while someone else plays Olbermann. (Actually Olbermann has the same problem that Patrick Stewart does when either does comedy. They raise their voice as if to imply "I'm being funny now!" Seriously, check out Stewart on American Dad or Family Guy or Jimmy Neutron.)
Seriously, while it is certainly time that Olbermann and others got their due on the show, I'd prefer they waited a bit. The last few seasons they relied on Darrell Hammond's Chris Matthews impression to open seemingly half the episodes. It's time they break the same cycle of skits and try something new.
10-24-2008 @ 7:14PM
Jussup said...
For some reason I'm having a hard time posting a comment on this topic.
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10-24-2008 @ 7:26PM
Jussup said...
I guess it worked this time... who knows.
I have no problem with satire or SNL giving the candidates a hard time, they've been doing it well for years, I understand. And I realize SNL isn't trying to go for equitable, but give me a break. Not one joke about Obama? Nothing on Biden? Seriously??? Ol' Joe creates enough comic fodder to fill hours of television, yet SNL instead turns a blind eye and chooses to ram a new one up the McCain-Palin ticket's rear. When did SNL stop being a comedy show and start becoming a propaganda arm of the democratic nominee? Seriously, if Palin had stated that her running mate wasn't ready to lead or focused on the three letter word "jobs" then she would have been ridiculed from here to eternity. We would be as familiar with her gaffes as we are of Quayle's potatoE. But nothing on Joe, or Obama's questionable associations. Anyone who is being honest (please step up well-intentioned, truthful Democrats, I know you are out there and you know I'm right!) has to admit that the media bias against McCain and Palin is incredible.
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10-25-2008 @ 12:29AM
Mike said...
Put some hose on for goodness sake. in fact the pic would be funnier if wearing garters
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