NormMacdonald-related stories
Posted Jun 9th 2009 3:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Reality-Free

Last month's triumphant return of the
"Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch to Saturday Night Live was a hilarious bit of celebrity snark genius. It is without a doubt the only sketch in the show's history that just gets better and better every time a new one is rolled out for the public to digest and enjoy.
The most recent incarnation of the sketch was no exception. In fact, it built on the solid foundation that lay before it by casting Tom Hanks as a clueless himself and bringing back Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds. MacDonald's appearance was funny not just because he does a scary good Reynolds, but I also like to think that every time he returns to the show, Don Ohlmeyer cries a little inside.
As much as there was to laugh at in the sketch, a tiny but hilarious joke seeped through the cracks and no one seemed to spot it -- until now. I have found the missing joke from last month's J
eopardy! sketch, thanks to my keen eyes, my intrepid nose and my ever-widening butt.
Continue reading The joke that everyone missed from SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy revival
Posted May 17th 2009 12:40PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S34E23) Wow. Way to go, Will Ferrell. Maybe they should just bring back
Saturday Night Live alumni for season finales from now on, because this episode was spectacular. Ferrell brought back some old favorites and a slew of famous faces, from the familiar to the inexplicable, including Amy Poehler, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway and Artie Lange. Here are some video highlights from the evening (Hulu vids are US only. Sorry, kids... you can also watch these videos
at NBC's website).
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: Will Ferell/Green Day (season finale)
Posted Dec 20th 2007 3:41PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Industry, Video, Commercials, Festivus, Celebrities
When you see the names Norm Macdonald and Steve Buscemi, what comes to mind? Perhaps funny or edgy or, in the case of Buscemi, a bit scary looking? I would tend to agree. How about gingerbread men? When you see those names does it elicit a vision of Macdonald and Buscemi as a father-son gingerbread duo? No, I didn't think so.
And yet here they are, in all of their gingerbreadiness, in a holiday commercial for AT&T's GoPhone. In the ad, Macdonald's character wants a cell phone, but all that Buscemi's gingerbread father wants to do is make sure that no one eats anymore of his house this season. In a touching moment the son gets the phone he wants.
Unfortunately, tragedy strikes as we see a human hand breaking off a piece of the gingerbread man's roof, exposing the lovely gingerbread mother in the bathtub. It's probably one of the funnier holiday ads this season (although the Verizon 'Pony' commercial is pretty good) and you can see it after the jump.
Continue reading Two of the unlikeliest gingerbread men you ever did see - VIDEO
Posted Sep 15th 2006 3:24PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, Comedy Central

"
Trial and Terror": During his interview with Matt Lauer, Bush seemed to express extreme interest in others murdering everyone that Lauer has ever known, seen, and loved. "These are people that want to come and kill your families!" Holy crap. Way to bring the terror, President Bush.
"John Oliver's Journey: Don't Stop Believing": John filed his first out-of-studio report, which was tremendously well done. He introduced the viewers to his difficult journey through America, a nation built on sepia-toned immigrants, as an immigrant. See, I'm sucker for this kind of thing... Awkard British guys, Benny Hill music (just the music, not the program), and exaggerated suffering... That's instant-funny to me. I'm really liking this John Oliver fellow. Keep it up, man! Oh, and would anyone care to share their funniest story about immigrants being dehumanized at work?
Continue reading The Daily Show: September 14, 2006
Posted Sep 14th 2006 2:58PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Talent, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities

On the Howard Stern show today, Artie Lange was talking about his buddy Norm MacDonald, who was supposed to be on the show this morning, but bailed (he was on Letterman last night, though). Lange mentioned a few items that were interesting: Firstly, he thought a specific "Weekend Update" joke about O.J. Simpson -- after O.J. was found not guilty, Norm said something along the lines of "Murder is now legal in Southern California." -- is what got him fired from
SNL. Then-NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer was friends with Simpson, and
rumors had always floated around that he was always pissed at Norm's O.J. jokes (even though Leno was doing plenty at the time, too). This is the first time, though, that I've heard that a specific joke got him fired.
The second item Artie let slip was that Norm loved doing "WU" so much, that he'd love to just do fake news until he retires. Because of this, Norm may be looking to do a show like that. Not a bad idea; I always liked him on "WU", even if his weridness didn't go over well with the audience, I always admired his "I don't give a shit what people think" attitude. Would you watch Norm do a fake news show? Let me know in the comments.