General Television Thread

[Benji]

When did that scene happen? I was kind of distracted while watching but I don't remember seeing anything like that.

Edit: Never mind, just noticed GoGo's post.

[caucasianheat]

Mulaney episode 2 was so bad. It had one funny line from Martin Short and one from Elliot Gould.

Weird. We are way apart. I thought it was a much better, much funnier episode than last week and that Short and Gould are anchors just dragging everything down by needing so much screentime (especially Short).

[GoGo Yubari]

It was better than the first one, but I haven't finished it yet. Still not great.

Also I love Elliott Gould and all but his scene was one of the worst parts of the pilot because he seemed totally checked out and John Mulaney pretty much needs a scene partner who can elevate him as an actor.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh, Boardwalk. I'm just gonna lie down. For an hour.

[Beeker00Zero]

Bill Hader absolutely owned SNL on his return with lots of great, varied sketches.

[GoGo Yubari]

It was the best SNL in ages, so naturally the ratings sucked.

[Benjamin]

Mulaney episode 2 was so bad. It had one funny line from Martin Short and one from Elliot Gould.

Weird. We are way apart. I thought it was a much better, much funnier episode than last week and that Short and Gould are anchors just dragging everything down by needing so much screentime (especially Short).

Oh, I completely agree that Short and Gould are dragging it down, we don't really need many scenes of Short being whacky and Gould being Jewish and stoned, I think. They both just genuinely had the two lines I thought were really funny. Still hate it, though, it feels stuck in an early 90's comedy time loop.its like a horrible episode of Modern Family, where they know they're not being funny but they'll push the gag on you nevertheless.

[Mofoticon]

Bah. Terrible spoiler tagging.

They aired the first 2 episodes as the premiere in the US and I didn't even put two and two together that it wasn't in the "actual" premiere episode, my bad.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Mofoticon

[Benjamin]

So anyone dropped anything they had planned to follow this fall? Already dropped Mulaney and Blackish, and will probably have to choose between Gotham or Constantine, as the weak comic book inspired show I follow.

[TKz]

It was the best SNL in ages, so naturally the ratings sucked.

Wasn't it like an all time low? I mean, I expect SNL to never end because it's such a staple of american television, but people don't seem to be taking to the new cast all that much.

[Benji]

I quite liked the Homeland premier, it'll be interesting to see how they handle...

... 'the other side' going forward, since all we've really seen are somewhat cliché villains (not that they haven't worked in their own way for the most part) and Brody, rather than someone actually actively going through the change into something Homeland will inevitably have to deal with.

As for the spoiler about episode two...

... I have no issues with it. I've yet to see it, but Carrie's been established bipolar, didn't want the baby and got talked into it, and could well be suffering post-partum depression and some level of PTSD from all the stuff she's gone through, especially after the wedding failure. I don't think it's something I can dismiss as Homeland going for cheap shocks just from reading about it. Maybe the scene itself will change my mind, but for now I'm keeping an open mind.

[GoGo Yubari]

It was the best SNL in ages, so naturally the ratings sucked.

Wasn't it like an all time low? I mean, I expect SNL to never end because it's such a staple of american television, but people don't seem to be taking to the new cast all that much.

It's not the cast's fault, really. TV ratings are down all over, and SNL's so long and at such an inconvenient time slot that I'm pretty sure more and more people are just checking the highlights on Hulu or Youtube.

[Benjamin]

Was the Chris Pratt one a good episode?

[EddieG]

It was very meh, as was the Sarah Silverman one, Hader was a great episode, but that's because he just did his old bits from when he was a cast member, so his name didn't pull in any viewers, as it was more like "SNL with no real guest star"

[RPS]

It was the best SNL in ages, so naturally the ratings sucked.

Wasn't it like an all time low? I mean, I expect SNL to never end because it's such a staple of american television, but people don't seem to be taking to the new cast all that much.

It's not the cast's fault, really. TV ratings are down all over, and SNL's so long and at such an inconvenient time slot that I'm pretty sure more and more people are just checking the highlights on Hulu or Youtube.

Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson are probably the two most promising cast members. I don't think Davidson is my cup of tea, but McKinnon is pretty great.

[EddieG]

It was the best SNL in ages, so naturally the ratings sucked.

Wasn't it like an all time low? I mean, I expect SNL to never end because it's such a staple of american television, but people don't seem to be taking to the new cast all that much.

It's not the cast's fault, really. TV ratings are down all over, and SNL's so long and at such an inconvenient time slot that I'm pretty sure more and more people are just checking the highlights on Hulu or Youtube.

Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson are probably the two most promising cast members. I don't think Davidson is my cup of tea, but McKinnon is pretty great.

I love Davidson, been a fan of him since Wild 'n Out, his debut on Weekend Update was great, and him being in the first 2 sketches and the cold open pleased me greatly, he's got a great future I think, and him and Kate (and to an extent Cecily) should hopefully be the backbone of a new era of SNL.

[caucasianheat]

The "39 Cents" sketch from this week was brilliant stuff. I think adding Michael Che as a writer/performer has been a big boost to the season so far - he's much better suited for Update than Cecily Strong, too. Comedy nerds are very into the Good Neighbour stuff but I don't know how it translates to people who watch the show more casually.

There's good stuff going on but it gets really bogged down in all the lousy staples like talk and game show sketches or limp political cold opens.

[GoGo Yubari]

I can't stand Colin Jost, though. I don't think Che is really a huge improvement on Strong but he would have been on Jost. Good get either way for SNL, though.

[caucasianheat]

I don't think I've heard of one person who actually likes Jost. I'm indifferent at best, but he's head writer and was long groomed for the job so it will take something major to pry him out of the seat, I think.

Strong is way better at character acting than reading two-liners. I'm glad they got her away from anchoring for that reason.

[GhostMachine]

So anyone dropped anything they had planned to follow this fall? Already dropped Mulaney and Blackish, and will probably have to choose between Gotham or Constantine, as the weak comic book inspired show I follow.

Haven't dropped anything, but there's a few shows we DVR due to a few nights (especially Tuesdays) being packed that I'm taking my sweet time to watch instead of getting to asap.