The SNL Thread

[StevenRichardsRules]

I think we need one. Maybe it's just my love for Andy Samburg in general but I really think it's improved in quality. The digital shorts the Lonely Island guys have made are fantastic. So, anyone else watching? I can't be the only one. Share your insights on the most recent episode.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Whispering Eye

[GoGo Yubari]

I only watch some skits on Hulu these days, more often than not. The Hawaiian theme restaurant sketch with The Rock was absolutely brilliant, especially the long-deserved burial of the fucking braindead "I JUST GOT LEI'D LOL" joke.

[Your Mom]

I caught The Muppets sketch last night. Was that a new episode?

[Mr Evil Guy]

Yeah, it was new.

I watched it(LIKE A BAWS), the short wasn't as funny considering I had already listened to the song from the album. :/

[StevenRichardsRules]

I thought it was kind of funny. Still think the Space Olympics sketch has been the best though.

Also, Hulu is stupid. Just because I'm not from the States doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to watch clips. Fuck them. I'm still looking for a clip of the Party Guys sketch done a little while back.

[caucasianheat]

I think I might be the only person on earth that just doesn't like the Lonely Island or the Digital Shorts. The ones that don't get a huge buzz are frequently terrible, so the segment is largely inconsistent. The ones that do get people talking are all exactly the same: white guys acting like black guys. Lazy Sunday, I'm On a Boat, Like A Boss, etc. are all the same one-note joke.

[GoGo Yubari]

I think I might be the only person on earth that just doesn't like the Lonely Island or the Digital Shorts. The ones that don't get a huge buzz are frequently terrible, so the segment is largely inconsistent. The ones that do get people talking are all exactly the same: white guys acting like black guys. Lazy Sunday, I'm On a Boat, Like A Boss, etc. are all the same one-note joke.

See, the funny thing is this morning I thought I was the only person on earth who finds the Lonely Island songs to be intensely overrated. Lazy Sunday was awesome and everything since then aside from like... Iran So Far and maybe Dick in a Box hasn't worked for me at all. I'm On a Boat was funny for about thirty seconds and then it was just the same joke with various profanities interspersed because cursing is hilarious.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I'm glad you agree it is, GoGo.

[caucasianheat]

I think I might be the only person on earth that just doesn't like the Lonely Island or the Digital Shorts. The ones that don't get a huge buzz are frequently terrible, so the segment is largely inconsistent. The ones that do get people talking are all exactly the same: white guys acting like black guys. Lazy Sunday, I'm On a Boat, Like A Boss, etc. are all the same one-note joke.

See, the funny thing is this morning I thought I was the only person on earth who finds the Lonely Island songs to be intensely overrated. Lazy Sunday was awesome and everything since then aside from like... Iran So Far and maybe Dick in a Box hasn't worked for me at all. I'm On a Boat was funny for about thirty seconds and then it was just the same joke with various profanities interspersed because cursing is hilarious.

Credit where it's due, Iran So Far was really good (though mainly because of awesome sampling of Aphex Twin). Dick in a Box was also funny, but more in that it visually looked like a poorly advised late 90's boyband offering filmed on the cheap with someone's Handicam. Presenting a woman with your junk in a box isn't a premise that has me rolling on the floor. The way it was executed is what made it work. Stuff like I'm On a Boat or Jizz In My Pants I just find grating.

</curmudgeon>

On the plus side, anything that can make the increasingly worn-out, irrelevant show a cultural hot topic can't be considered all bad.

[GRIFT]

Bill Hader is utterly brilliant. His skits hearken back to some classic SNL. Between Dateline and Vinnie Verdecci he has put himself head and shoulders above Samburg for me-- and I really like Samburg. Also, I think that Will Forte and Kristen Wig have both really come into their own as of late.

The show as a whole is definitely on one of its upswings again.

[GoGo Yubari]

I love Bill Hader and Will Forte but I cannot fucking stand Kristen Wiig's characters. They feel like cast-off Mo Collins characters from MADtv circa 1999, and I hated most of what Mo Collins did too.

[StevenRichardsRules]

Eh, I take the Lonely Island's stuff as what it is. It's inane, random, kind of pointless but it's just plain fun. Andy has a ridiculous energy that he can be totally idiotic but unaware of it.

[RazorsEdge]

Bill Hader is utterly brilliant. His skits hearken back to some classic SNL. Between Dateline and Vinnie Verdecci he has put himself head and shoulders above Samburg for me-- and I really like Samburg. Also, I think that Will Forte and Kristen Wig have both really come into their own as of late.

The show as a whole is definitely on one of its upswings again.

Bill Hader reminds me of Dan Aykroyd which is incredibly awesome. He's brilliant in everything he does. Samburg is great too and is one of my favourites but he seems to be a little bland at times. Will Forte is another favourite.

I love Bill Hader and Will Forte but I cannot fucking stand Kristen Wiig's characters. They feel like cast-off Mo Collins characters from MADtv circa 1999, and I hated most of what Mo Collins did too.

Kristen Wiig pisses me off because she is capable of being really funny at times but she seems to want to just do stupid characters like the lady that gets over excited at everything.

[GoGo Yubari]

Eh, I take the Lonely Island's stuff as what it is. It's inane, random, kind of pointless but it's just plain fun. Andy has a ridiculous energy that he can be totally idiotic but unaware of it.

Oh, right, your sig reminded me that I did enjoy the Space Olympics once I adjusted to it. Andy Samberg is odd; he definitely mostly gets by on energy, decent impressions, and having a perfect outlet for his style of humor in the Digital Shorts because he sure as hell isn't a good actor. I imagine he's going to be this generation of SNL's Dana Carvey, where he's a big deal while he's still on the show and once he's not on the show anymore he'll just sort of drift off into relative obscurity.

[stiffkick80]

I pretty much only watch SNL for the political parodies and Weekend Update. I watch the beginning of other skits and just get this "I'm embarrassed to be watching this" feeling.

[BiggN]

I keep doing this at work, talking to the other guys and saying whilst Will Forte is fucking awesome, the whole show is great.

I think i've watched every episode of this season from start to finish (except Steve Martin, although I did love his Laser Cats part where they did the Star Wars bit at the end... and his whole oh you wasn't talking to me part... genius). The series has been damn good.

[the machine]

I cannot believe anybody can dislike the digital shorts. They're catchy, multi-layered parodies. Reducing it to "white guys acting black" is missing all kinds of humor, not to mention it ignores the fact that these bits are just FUN. Take this week's "Like a Boss." Why is it funny? Well, it's an over-the-top parody of an over-the-top song, but it's also a parody of corporate culture (Promote Synergy... LIKE A BOSS!), combined with some funny sight gags (the fish) and a great build of increasing insanity plus the recognition at the end ("that's an average day? You cut off your balls and die?!), makes it a solid 2 minutes. Compare that to a 4 minute "Kristen Wiig talks fast" sketch. And Like a Boss isn't even a great short, just a good one. The videos add great sight gags, and a number of the songs are legitimately catchy.

Also, agreed 100% on Hader. He's ridiculously talented, and his Vinny Vedici character is great. I really don't know if he can ever be a star of his own projects or if, like Ackeroyd, the best he can do is being the normal guy in duo projects (Ackeroyd/Belushi, Murray, and even Murray). Ackeroyd rules though, so I think it'd be great if Hader could be in something even half as great as Blues Brothers or Ghostbusters.

I also think Fred Armisen has improved 100% since his start with the show. His impressions and timing have gotten really good, and I love his stare and his Woody Allen-ish characters. His Obama impression has improved, too.

Casey Wilson is another pretty solid talent that hasn't been totally overexposed yet. I liked Forte but now I'm ready for him to move on to some show where he plays a character with a silly mustache.

[TheBusinessman]

They really need to put some else with Seth on weekend update... I hate his delivery about 80% of the time...

The muppets sketch was good but a lot of the rest of the episode was just ok.

I was VERY happy to see Phoenix do Too Young at the end of the show

[caucasianheat]

I cannot believe anybody can dislike the digital shorts. They're catchy, multi-layered parodies. Reducing it to "white guys acting black" is missing all kinds of humor, not to mention it ignores the fact that these bits are just FUN.

I'm not reducing it, I'm pointing out that the basic premise of a number of the shorts is exactly the same. It's people rapping aggressively about a scenario or as a character that isn't congruous to that style of music. Tee hee. It's funny once, but it's really a one-note joke that they've recycled a number of times (off the top of my head: Lazy Sunday, Natalie Raps, I'm On a Boat, and Like a Boss) to rave reviews every time. I don't understand.

Take this week's "Like a Boss." Why is it funny? Well, it's an over-the-top parody of an over-the-top song, but it's also a parody of corporate culture (Promote Synergy... LIKE A BOSS!), combined with some funny sight gags (the fish) and a great build of increasing insanity plus the recognition at the end ("that's an average day? You cut off your balls and die?!), makes it a solid 2 minutes.

So weird. Pretty much everything you liked bothered me. I thought the increasing insanity was increasingly stupid and the fish sight gag was really lame. That basically sums up my general distaste for the shorts in that I find the 'wackiness' to be incredibly forced.

Compare that to a 4 minute "Kristen Wiig talks fast" sketch.

I didn't express love for those either. Like I said earlier, I'll give credit to the Digital Shorts for trying to change up a show format that hasn't altered much in 30+ years. People like it and if it also thrusts attention on performers I do like on the show (Hader, Forte, Wiig and Sudeikis at times), so much the better.

Edited April 8, 2009 by caucasianheat

[the machine]

I'm not reducing it, I'm pointing out that the basic premise of a number of the shorts is exactly the same. It's people rapping aggressively about a scenario or as a character that isn't congruous to that style of music. Tee hee. It's funny once, but it's really a one-note joke that they've recycled a number of times (off the top of my head: Lazy Sunday, Natalie Raps, I'm On a Boat, and Like a Boss) to rave reviews every time. I don't understand.

Because it works for different reasons and consistently has amusing pay-offs? Natalie Portman rapping about drinking and fucking is funny because of her image, while Dick in a Box is funny because it's basically a 90's boy band parody featuring a 90's boy band guy. You are reducing the concept when you lead off with "the basic premise is the same" because as has been mentioned, it's more then that. The Rastafarian song is "basically" the same as I'm on a Boat, because they're both about posers, right? But the way they're shot, the style of music, and even the style of humor is extremely different. Of course, both have awesome lyrics: "Me toil part time at ja coldstone creamery" vs. "I'm King of the World, on a boat like Leo, if you're on the shore, then you're sure not me-o."

So weird. Pretty much everything you liked bothered me. I thought the increasing insanity was increasingly stupid and the fish sight gag was really lame. That basically sums up my general distaste for the shorts in that I find the 'wackiness' to be incredibly forced.

I didn't say what I liked, I just summed up how the bit worked. I can't help it if you apparently have some problem with giant puppet fish and/or zany humor.