saturday night live

[modage]

The writing has been especially weak this season.  There are a lot of talented performers but they're not given much to do.  

Nasim is ready to breakout but this new character is too similar to her "my dad is the best" girl.

It may be time for Kristen Wiig to leave the show.  Her re-occuring characters are starting to run together and they are all annoying.  Sad face.

And can I just say how fucking sick to death I am of the game show/talk show format.  I would rather an ambitious failure like French dancing any day of the week rather than suffer through another lazy reoccuring character or fake show.  Can sketches ever be situational anymore without having to reference some celebrity?

[polkablues]

Mulaney's been doing brilliant standup for a while now. The more they use him on the show, the better.

[tpfkabi]

what do you think of What's Up With That?

our cable channel pans and scans, so i think half of the background dancing people are always cut off. it didn't used to be that way. Weekend Update sucks when there are 3 people - you'll see half of the people on both sides.

[pete]

http://www.wkamaubell.com/archives/1240

my friend's blog.

[polkablues]

Your friend seems like kind of a dick.

[pete]

sometimes you're witty, other times your condescension's just a total bummer.
though I can't debate with your points from the article 'cause I don't watch that show anymore.

[polkablues]

sometimes you're witty, other times your condescension's just a total bummer.

That pretty much sums up my view of his blog post.  I'm sure he's a perfectly nice guy, but his whole premise is based on the notion that if you don't dislike the same things he dislikes, or interpret them in the same way as he did, you're wrong and have bad taste.  It left a bad impression on me.

[ono]

Nice dismount!

Your friend, while not a dick, seems fairly ignorant, not just re: his comments on What Up With That?, but his take on who's relevant at SNL anyway.

What Up With That?, in its first installment, was a breath of fresh air, a celebration of pop culture, and one of SNL's finest new endeavors in a while.  I admit that they are running it into the ground with its current incarnations (though the back-to-school edition did help to change things up a tiny bit).  It was a teeny bit derivative of "Fly High, Duluth," a sketch from an earlier Scarlett Johansson episode, but its things like this that keep SNL innovative.  Nowhere in the title of the show does it say comedy.  It was originally a variety show that used to sport multiple musical guests, unfunny short films by Albert Brooks, and even guest appearances by "felt" (the Muppets).  Funny is important, yes. But entertaining, invigorating?  Those two qualities are much more important.  Les Jeunes de Paris wasn't a failure.  It injected life into a show that's needed a kick, and has rightfully flown over the heads of those too cynical to get it.

[RegularKarate]

I like W. Kamaul Bell... he's got a really good personality and is a funny dude whenever he shows up on the many podcasts I listen to.  He's smart and doesn't seem at all like a dick. 
Polka, I think maybe you didn't read the whole thing.  He even comes out and says there's nothing wrong with you if you laughed at it.  He's just stating an opinion about SNL.

I think he's about half right in that blog post.  I think he just went about it the wrong way. 
"What's Up With That" knows exactly what it is and it's still pretty funny (I still laugh at it, though less and less each time) and to me isn't a good example of what he's talking about.

[modage]

It's like, yes, the show underuses black comedians.  But that's not the reason the show is not funny.

[abuck1220]

if that guy really thinks morgan freeman was uncomfortable during that sketch, it's kinda hard for me to take anything he says seriously.

[MacGuffin]

Robert De Niro, Paul Rudd to Host 'SNL' in December
Source: THR

Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, Paul McCartney and Eminem also slated to appear on the live sketch comedy show.
Robert De Niro, Paul Rudd and Jeff Bridges are set to host Saturday Night Live in December, NBC announced Thursday.

De Niro, who can next be seen in Little Fockers (out Dec. 22), leads off the month on Dec. 4 with musical guest Diddy-Dirty Money. This would mark the Oscar winner's third time as host. Diddy-Dirty Money is Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' latest musical project.

Rudd returns as host the following week with musician Paul McCartney, who has appeared on the show twice before. Rudd will be promoting his latest project, How Do You Know (in theaters Dec. 17), co-starring Jack Nicholson and Reese Witherspoon.

Bridges returns to lead the show Dec. 18. He next stars in Tron: Legacy alongside Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund, which opens the day before. Eminem is scheduled to perform "No Love" from the album Recovery with Lil Wayne.

Love and Other Drugs star Anne Hathaway hosts SNL on Nov. 20.

Previous hosts this season include: Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm, Jane Lynch, Amy Poehler, Bryan Cranston and Emma Stone.

[jerome]

can't wait to hear de niro say "ladies and gentlemen, diddy-dirty money!"

[Pubrick]

i can't wait to see de niro be awkwardly disappointed in himself for a whole hour.

YET AGAIN......

[polkablues]

God, De Niro was the worst host ever. Worse than Michael Phelps. I'm amazed they're bringing him back.