(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).
Those that have even half-paid attention to my Saturday Night Live posts know that I am not a huge fan of featured player Casey Wilson. In fact, I would go so far as to say I actually kind of dislike her on the show. I feel a great deal of familiarity when I watch her on SNL, because she acts the way I probably would if I ever made it onto the program.
Due to my intense, psychologically and emotionally crippling levels of self-loathing, this makes Wilson extra-painful for me to watch. Oh, those poorly timed glances at the camera, they are Casey Wilson's as much as they are mine.
Oh, Justin Timberlake. You know what your audience wants and you give it to them ... uncensored-style. Hot.
In the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg gave everyone and their mom a real treat in the form of the "Motherlover" Digital Short. The video was quickly uploaded onto NBC.com and promptly exploded all over the Internet in a mildly graphic and suggestive way. It was from the actual live airing, though, so audience laughter, bleeped words, and less-than-superb sound quality were inevitable.
(S34E22) Justin Timberlake returned for his third turn as host and it was tough not to keep expectations pretty high. I mean, if an vengeful warlock were to suddenly put a crippling curse on his music career (like they do), Timberlake could definitely fall back on being a professional SNL host. Yes, this would become a real profession, just for him.
As usual, some sketches fell a bit flat, but Timberlake's over-confident, hammy swagger made things a little more interesting. This particular episode also gave us another legendary musical Digital Short with Timberlake and Andy Samberg and a couple of all-around MILFs. It's tough to top a surprise appearance by Leonard effin' Nimoy, but "Motherlover" was certainly the highlight of the evening. Here are some other notable video moments!
J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek has sparked a huge controversy in the Trekkie universe, a controversy that in the real world amounts to a drunken debate in a dive border town bar over which Darren on Bewitched was more "boneable."
My sneak preview review sparked a wave of supportive and angry comments that I have never seen in my history with TV Squad, which amounts to six months depending on which of my accountants you talk to. My former accountant can be reached at the Tennessee Colony State Prison, Tennessee Colony, Texas.
It seems the angrier of the Treksters are getting their head gear in a bunch because Abrams chose to work Leonard Nimoy into the picture via a time travel plot that completely alters the original history and lore of the original series. As one commentor put it, "instead of obliterating a few minutes of exposition about 20 years we didn't watch, this has obliterated [forty three plus] years of storytelling that we did watch."
Suffice it to say, the number of women who became famous on Saturday Night Live before graduating to solo success is few and far between. Sure, Gilda Radner can be considered a pioneer in the art of sketch comedy. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus undoubtedly honed her comedic skills before becoming a sitcom icon on Seinfeld. And, yes, Tina Fey can easily be considered a heroine to comedy nerds everywhere who have witnessed her climb from Weekend Updateanchor to Mean Girls scribe to single-handedly decimating the vice presidential chances of one certain gun-wieldin', six-pack-totin' Alaskan governor.
But, sadly, the number of men who left Studio 8 for the superstardom of Planet Hollywood (not the theme restaurant) easily outnumbers the ladies. For every Amy Poehler, there's a Will Ferrell. And a Bill Murray. And a Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler (although, to be fair, there's also a David Gary Kroeger, A. Whitney Brown, and Charles Rocket for every Melanie Hutsell, too). (And for the record, no, you shouldn't recognize those names.)
It looks like NBC is going to expandSaturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment with more half-hour specials, most likely on Thursday nights. Judging by the success of SNL and its Thursday night election specials during the campaign season, this move isn't too surprising. Plus, this is a progressive step in reaching the network's ultimate goal, which seems to be filling the airwaves with as many former SNL employees as possible. Actually, the next season of Celebrity Apprentice is probably just going to be all the early-90s players that aren't doing movies right now. And Rob Schneider. That guy isn't doing anything.
Saturday Night Live head writer/Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers stopped by Jimmy Fallon's show last night and explains why he thinks that he's smarter than Amy Poehler's new baby. Fallon also shows a clip of an SNL rehearsal. The joke doesn't go over too well, but I think it's actually pretty damn clever.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has been breathlessly anticipating Sit Down, Shut Up(premiering on FOX Sunday at 8:30 PM ET), the newest series from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz. SDSU is an animated series based on a live-action Australian show by the same name. It follows a group of under-performing teachers at a Florida high school.
The teachers are all flaky, disinterested in their students, and with the exception of Larry Littlejunk (Jason Bateman), highly under-qualified for their positions. An example? Miracle Grohe (Kristen Chenoweth), the science teacher, beat Larry out of the job by stripping off all her clothes and yelling, "I ain't come from no monkey!"
The humor manages to be both broad and subtle at the same time, much in the way Arrested Development managed to be. However, though Bateman himself calls this show an animated version of AD, that's overstating it a bit. Sit Down, Shut Up, is more like Arrested Development's annoying younger brother.
Believe it or not (and like it or not), there are only two episodes left in the 34th season of Saturday Night Live. It looks like no one from my "Nine people who must host SNL next season" wish list actually did it, but that's okay because there were some great stand-outs anyway, including Anne Hathaway and Jon Hamm.
The show seems determined to end with a bang, bringing in two sure-to-deliver performers. May 9th will bring in Justin Timberlake (and musical guest Ciara) and season finale duties will be left up to former SNL player Will Ferrell.
As a kid, my parents were totally cool with my television viewing habits, as long as it never became excessive or kept my face from being kissed by the light of day every once in a while. Not that they had anything to be worried about, of course, considering that all I was watching was Nickelodeon.
While my fellow prepubescents were slowly but surely migrating to more grown-up programming on MTV (and Playboy, if you had a cable box), I spent the bulk of my time between 1992 and 1996 fully devoted to Roundhouse, a 30-minute sketch show sandwiched between the more popular Clarissa Explains It All and Are You Afraid Of The Dark? on SNICK, Nickelodeon's Saturday night programming block.
At one point or another during this latest season of Saturday Night Live, every viewer has wondered, "Who is this new guy, and why does he wear so many giant cat costumes?"
While I can't answer the second part of this question (it will remain one of the great mysteries of the late night universe), I can offer a little more information on SNL's resident new guy and rising star, Bobby Moynihan. Despite appearing as a featured player in only twenty episodes so far, Moynihan is fast becoming one of my favorite cast members on the show, right up there with Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.
Fellow Moynihan fans, prepare to love him even more!
At 8, FOX has two new episodes of Cops, followed by a new America's Most Wanted.
Those that have even half-paid attention to my Saturday Night Live posts know that I am not a huge fan of featured player Casey Wilson. In fact, I would go so far as to say I actually kind of dislike her on the show. I feel a great deal of familiarity when I watch her on SNL, because she acts the way I probably would if I ever made it onto the program. 
J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek has sparked a huge controversy in the Trekkie universe, a controversy that in the real world amounts to a drunken debate in a dive border town bar over which Darren on Bewitched was more "boneable." 
FOX has the Sprint Cup: Southern 500 race all night.
Suffice it to say, the number of women who became famous on Saturday Night Live before graduating to solo success is few and far between. Sure, Gilda Radner can be considered a pioneer in the art of sketch comedy. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus undoubtedly honed her comedic skills before becoming a sitcom icon on Seinfeld. And, yes, Tina Fey can easily be considered a heroine to comedy nerds everywhere who have witnessed her climb from Weekend Update anchor to Mean Girls scribe to single-handedly decimating the vice presidential chances of one certain gun-wieldin', six-pack-totin' Alaskan governor. 
Food Network has a Chopped marathon all night.
Believe it or not (and like it or not), there are only two episodes left in the 34th season of Saturday Night Live. It looks like no one from my "Nine people who must host SNL next season" wish list actually did it, but that's okay because there were some great stand-outs anyway, including Anne Hathaway and Jon Hamm.
As a kid, my parents were totally cool with my television viewing habits, as long as it never became excessive or kept my face from being kissed by the light of day every once in a while. Not that they had anything to be worried about, of course, considering that all I was watching was Nickelodeon. 
At one point or another during this latest season of Saturday Night Live, every viewer has wondered, "Who is this new guy, and why does he wear so many giant cat costumes?" 
Have any questions for Rich Sommer of Mad Men? Ask them here!
Syfy's Alice -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Surprising shows, decade-end lists, and the Commenter of the Week!
