Saturday Night Live Backstage (videos)

So SNL aired a special called "Saturday Night Live Backstage" to talk more about making SNL. It shows interviews (like a documentary), mixed with clips from the show.

An all-new 2 hour SNL special aired 2/20 at 9pm. SNL Backstage looks at what goes on behind the scenes to make SNL for the past 36 seasons.



This next bit shows Joe Piscopo talking about his Frank Sinatra skits. He had a deep respect for Frank, and so he wanted his skits to not offend him.



In this next video, Albert Brooks talks about his first SNL short experiences. He obviously didn't quite get what Lorne was after. (Lorne wanted short 3-minute pieces like The Lonely Island's shorts, where he can stick them in places when he needs more time for his cast to get ready.



In this next video, Pen and Teller talk about their magic trick they did for the show. This is pretty funny. This is a good trick, and the audience was obvioiusly involved in it, so they think it's funnier than the viewers would:



In this next video, Buck Henry talks about his interesting censorship experience:



This next bit is Victoria Jackson about singing her Bimbo song. Lorne is notorious for making his people wait two hours to meet with him. I'm putting this last, because it was relevant at the time, but it wasn't super funny, and her singing voice is a little annoying.



Enjoy!

Saturday Night Live Backstage (videos)

So SNL aired a special called "Saturday Night Live Backstage" to talk more about making SNL. It shows interviews (like a documentary), mixed with clips from the show.

An all-new 2 hour SNL special aired 2/20 at 9pm. SNL Backstage looks at what goes on behind the scenes to make SNL for the past 36 seasons.



This next bit shows Joe Piscopo talking about his Frank Sinatra skits. He had a deep respect for Frank, and so he wanted his skits to not offend him.



In this next video, Albert Brooks talks about his first SNL short experiences. He obviously didn't quite get what Lorne was after. (Lorne wanted short 3-minute pieces like The Lonely Island's shorts, where he can stick them in places when he needs more time for his cast to get ready.



In this next video, Pen and Teller talk about their magic trick they did for the show. This is pretty funny. This is a good trick, and the audience was obvioiusly involved in it, so they think it's funnier than the viewers would:



In this next video, Buck Henry talks about his interesting censorship experience:



This next bit is Victoria Jackson about singing her Bimbo song. Lorne is notorious for making his people wait two hours to meet with him. I'm putting this last, because it was relevant at the time, but it wasn't super funny, and her singing voice is a little annoying.



Enjoy!

SNL Review - 1/15/10 (Gwenyth Paltrow & Cee Lo Green)

Overall, this was a decent episode for Andy fans. Andy was in four skits. You got to see Andy naked and with Pee-Wee Herman. =^)

Unfortunately, Andy was also in one of the worst skits of the night, Record Meeting.

The links below will take you to the individual video clips.



Cold Opening - Fox News: Greta Van Susteren, "Embracing Civility"
Greta Van Susteren hosts a roundtable that truly embodies a balanced political views.

FOX NEWS COLD OPEN

Kristen Wiig - Greta
Bobby Moynihan
Nasim Pedrad
Jason Sudeikis - Glen Beck
Bill Hader - James Carville
Abby Elliott - Rachel Maddow

REVIEW: Kind of amusing. Kristen does a great job with Greta. I didn't feel like this one attacked Republicans as hard as past versions. It seemed to attack both sides a bit more equally (which is what they claim to do, but it doesn't often work out that way). This is Kristen's third appearance as Greta. Bill Hader's James Carville is always hilarious (along with Jason's Glen Beck).
Score: 3/5 - Amusing, but I guess I don't care too much about these political media wars.
Top players:
(1) Kristen Wiig
(2) Bill Hader
(3) Jason Sudeikis
(4) Bobby Moynihan


Monologue - Gweneth Paltrow
Time: It starts at 6:25 in the video above.

Gweneth plugs Country Song and her performance at the Country Music Awards. She seems to think she knows her country music. Which leads to a duet with...
Jason Sudeikis - Kenny Rogers
And of course she doesn't know the words.
Kristen Wiig - Dolly Parton
C Lo Green - Plays himself

REVIEW: Amusing. This will make you smile. Jason knocks his Kenny Rogers out of the park. This is Jason's first Kenny Rogers. This is Kristen's first time doing Dolly Parton. There aren't any huge laughs here, but it's fun and sweet. Could be much worse.
Score: 4/5 - No big laughs, but they keep it moving and enjoyable throughout.
Top players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow
2. Jason Sudeikis


Commercial - The Cape Spinoffs
If you like super heroes who get their powers from pieces of clothing, then you'll love these new NBC shows!

REVIEW: Kristen gets a laugh with the fist shot of her swinging her bolo tie. The gun shots from her tie fail to get a laugh. That's the problem with a taped piece like this... you can't cut jokes from the live show. You're sort of stuck with what you got when parts aren't funny.
It was funny at the beginning with the Scarf (Nasim Pedrad), Andy Samberg made it funny being naked with the Leg Warmer, and Jason Sudeikis was pretty funny as the Scrunchie. Other than that, the joke was getting old fast. Bobby bookends this piece as the Spanks hero. He doesn't really get a laugh. The joke had already stopped being funny.
This was genius on NBC's part, because making fun of their own show is a great way to advertise it and make it live potentially longer than the show itself. =^)
Score: 3/5 - Some hilarious bits, but there were even more dud bits here that helped push the score down.
Top players:
1. Andy Samberg
2. Nasim Pedrad
3. Jason Sudeikis


Game Show - Secret Word
Back to the game show where the contestants try to guess a word but the gusts never let them.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Titsie Bismarck Tumlinson
Bill Hader ... Lyle Round
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... contestant
Kenan Thompson ... contestant
Kristen Wiig ... Mindy Gracin

REVIEW: This is the sketch's fourth appearance (two this season and two last season)...
11.21.2009
03.13.2010
10.09.2010
I have to say that this one was the funniest (the last two appearances seemed more annoying than funny). Kristen's character made me laugh a few times in this version (I think she's getting better at crossing her Mindy Gracin character over from annoying to funny). Gwyneth and Kenan were funny together, but her phrases were a little annoying. Kenan's still the best straight man on the show, but I also loved Taran Killam's facial expressions in this skit. Bill was mostly annoying as the game show host here.
Score: 4/5 - Despite the shudders, Kristen and crew had some big laughs.
Top players:
1. Kristen Wiig
2. Kenan Thompson
3. Gweneth Paltrow


Digital Short - Shots!
An innocent shot kicks off a wild night for Andy and his friend, Pee-Wee Herman.

Featuring Andy Samberg, Pee Wee Herman, Anderson Cooper, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and Kenan Thompson.

REVIEW: Think of all the poor kids hearing Pee-Wee and his chair curse like that. =^)
Well, I laughed out loud at least once, and I'm a huge Pee-Wee fan. Pretty good for a non-musical digital short.
Little known fact... Pee-Wee started out at the Groundlings, in the same class as Phil Hartman and others in the mid 80s. In fact, Phil helped Andy get his show going and starred on Pee-Wee's Playhouse as the Fisherman friend. So that's Paul Reuben's connection to SNL.
What we have here is an enjoyable romp with several Pee Wee references. No appearance from Gweneth, but that's okay.
Score: 4/5 - Really good, but it's hard for a non-musical digital short to be perfect. Even this one could have mostly been done live.
Top players:
1. Andy Samberg
2. Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens)


Skit - Jacob's Bar Mitzvah
TIME: 21:35 (there is no clip of this one; you'll need to find it in the full episode above)

Taylor Swift and many other greats play at Jacob's rocking bar mitzvah.

Fred Armisen - Jacob's dad
Vanessa Bayer - Jacob
Gweneth Paltrow - Taylor Swift
Jay Pharoah - Jay-Z
Nasim Pedrad - Alicia Keys
Abby Elliott - Katie Perry
C. Lo Green - himself

REVIEW: A Jewish Taylor Swift song. Hilarious! Best skit of the night. C. Lo Green comes out to play himself (that's three skits C. Lo was in). This was another excuse to parade impressions, but it really works sometimes! Although Abby Elliott looks great as Katie Perry, the voice wasn't perfect and it wasn't overly funny. Still enjoyable to watch though. Despite the one blip and Fred thinking he's being funny (but isn't), so much amazingness happened here (especially with Gwyneth and Jay), so this one deserves...
Score: 5/5 - Gweneth's Taylor Swift was spot on and hilarious, and Jay Pharoah gives a mean Jay-Z (supported well by Nasim's Alicia Keys).
Top players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow
2. Jay Pharoah
3. Nasim Pedrad
4. C. Lo Green


Skit - Record Meeting
Cee Lo Green's hit song has some controversial lyrics that his record execs want to clear for television.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Karen Antonelli
Cee Lo Green
Paul Brittain ... Rodney
Andy Samberg ... Larry
Jason Sudeikis ... Keith

REVIEW: Worse skit of the night. This gag of using non-cuss words just isn't funny to me. I thought this was a waste of the talent in the skit. I also thought Gweneth was overacting too much. Plus it didn't even end with a joke.
Score: 1/5 - This one came dangerously close to a score of zero. I'm not sure how they let this one get on (unless they had nothing else). Taran needs to propose some skits. It shouldn't be too hard to lead a skit if stuff like this is getting on.
Top players: No one could save this skit.


Musical Performance "Forget You"
Cee Lo Green


Weekend Update
Garth and Kat return, and Vanessa Bayer interviews Christina Aguilera and Cher. And Former New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan (Kenan) talks about his run for president.

Seth Meyers
Bill Hader ... announcer (voice)
Kenan Thompson ... Jimmy McMillan
Vanessa Bayer
Nasim Pedrad ... Christina Aguilera
Bill Hader ... Cher
Bobby Moynihan ... Chaz Bono
Fred Armisen ... Garth
Kristen Wiig ... Kat
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Kim Castle

REVIEW: Fred and Kristen keep Garth and Kat fresh by mixing in Gwyneth Paltrow as their similar friend, Kim Castle. Vanessa Bayer amazingly writes herself into a straight-person role to interview Nasim's amazing Christina Aguilera. Bobby follows up with some funny transgender jokes. Bill's humorous as Cher, but not amazing by any means. Kenan's being himself again. Seth also does fairly well this week. Overall, the real winner was Nasim's impression of Christina Aguilera, which makes me want to see it more.
Overall Score: 3/5
Jimmy McMillan (Kenan): 2/5 (almost amusing)
Garth and Kat: 3/5 (good but mostly already done)
Vanessa's Interview: 4/5 (Vanessa is a bit wooden)
Top Players:
1. Nasim Pedrad
2. Bobby Moynihan
3. Seth Meyers


Skit - Globe Theatre
This skit is not available online and is not in the online full video. That probably means it had some music without permissions.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... actress
Fred Armisen ... actor
Vanessa Bayer ... audience member
Bill Hader ... actor
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... actor
Bobby Moynihan ... actor
Jay Pharoah ... audience member
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Jason Sudeikis ... audience member
Kenan Thompson ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... audience member


Commercial - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 20th Anniversary Collection
There were a few cut scene from Fresh Prince that were cut for good reasons.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... police officer
Paul Brittain ... announcer (voice)
Jay Pharoah ... Will Smith
Kenan Thompson ... Alfonso Ribeiro

REVIEW: Once again Jay breaks out his Will Smith impression. This time, instead of showing it off on Weekend Update (with current Will), he brings us to the old Fresh Prince Will. And he nails it, as usual. Jay Pharoah is definitely sticking around SNL and going places. Kenan supports well, but his obvious body-type difference distracts you from seeing him as anyone but Kenan.
Score: 5/5 (this is perfect, the best skit of the night)
Top Player:
1. Jay Pharoah


Show - ESPN Deportes
Even in Spanish, the ESPN sportscaster phrases are the same.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Sofia Cortez
Fred Armisen ... Esteban
Paul Brittain ... Ramon Zaragoza
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Paco
Bobby Moynihan ... clown
Nasim Pedrad ... girl
Jay Pharoah ... Kevin Garnett

REVIEW: My guess is Paul wrote this or came up with the idea. Otherwise, I'd imagine that Fred would be up there with Gwyneth (if it came from another writer). Regardless, Paul pulls out his second hilarious character in what will probably be a recurring sketch. Way to go, Paul! However, it's much more the concept that makes this skit funny than any one actor. Bobby is hilarious as the clown that comes in, and even Taran delivers an awesome look. Also, Jay plays a great straight man with his Kevin Garnett impression (I love how they put Jay up on a higher platform than Fred to create a bigger height difference).
Score: 4/5 (some slow parts, but it comes through)
Top Players:
1. Paul Brittain
2. Gwenyth Paltrow
3. Bobby Moynihan
4. Jay Pharoah
5. Taran Killam
6. Fred Armisen


Musical Performance "Bright Lights Bigger City"
Cee Lo Green


Sketch - Spitzer Auditions
Eliot Spitzer is having trouble finding a co-host.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Heidi Klum
Fred Armisen ... David Paterson
Bill Hader ... Eliot Spitzer
Taran Killam ... Skip
Nasim Pedrad ... Christiane Amanpour

REVIEW: This is amusing but not overly funny. Fred's brief appearance as David Paterson makes you want to see him instead of this. That said, Bill is fun to watch as Spitzer.
Score: 3/5
Top Players:
1. Bill Hader
2. Fred Armisen


OVERALL NIGHT:

Score: 3/5

Top Players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow - 17 pts (Monologue, Secret Word, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah, ESPN Deportes )
2. Nasim Pedrad - 12 pts (Weekend Update, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah, The Cape Spinoffs)
3. Jay Pharoah - 11 pts (Fresh Prince, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah)
4. Andy Samberg - 10 pts (Digital Short, The Cape Spinoffs)
4. Kristen Wiig - 10 pts (Cold Open, Secret Word)
4. Jason Sudeikis - 10 pts (Cold Open, Monologue, Cape Spinoffs)
5. Bobby Moynihan - 9 pts (Weekend Update, ESPN Deportes)
5. Bill Hader - 9 pts (Cold Open, Spitzer Auditions)
6. Paul Brittain - 5 pts (ESPN Deportes)
7. Fred Armisen - 4 pts
7. Pee-Wee Herman - 4 pts
7. Kenan Thompson - 4 pts
8. Seth Meyers - 3 pts
9. C. Lo Green - 2 pts
10. Taran Killam - 1 pt
11. Abby Elliott - 0 pts
11. Vanessa Bayer - 0 pts

So Andy came in fourth place this week behind Gweneth, Nasim, and Jay. Go featured players go!

Enjoy!

SNL Review - 1/15/10 (Gwenyth Paltrow & Cee Lo Green)

Overall, this was a decent episode for Andy fans. Andy was in four skits. You got to see Andy naked and with Pee-Wee Herman. =^)

Unfortunately, Andy was also in one of the worst skits of the night, Record Meeting.

The links below will take you to the individual video clips.



Cold Opening - Fox News: Greta Van Susteren, "Embracing Civility"
Greta Van Susteren hosts a roundtable that truly embodies a balanced political views.

FOX NEWS COLD OPEN

Kristen Wiig - Greta
Bobby Moynihan
Nasim Pedrad
Jason Sudeikis - Glen Beck
Bill Hader - James Carville
Abby Elliott - Rachel Maddow

REVIEW: Kind of amusing. Kristen does a great job with Greta. I didn't feel like this one attacked Republicans as hard as past versions. It seemed to attack both sides a bit more equally (which is what they claim to do, but it doesn't often work out that way). This is Kristen's third appearance as Greta. Bill Hader's James Carville is always hilarious (along with Jason's Glen Beck).
Score: 3/5 - Amusing, but I guess I don't care too much about these political media wars.
Top players:
(1) Kristen Wiig
(2) Bill Hader
(3) Jason Sudeikis
(4) Bobby Moynihan


Monologue - Gweneth Paltrow
Time: It starts at 6:25 in the video above.

Gweneth plugs Country Song and her performance at the Country Music Awards. She seems to think she knows her country music. Which leads to a duet with...
Jason Sudeikis - Kenny Rogers
And of course she doesn't know the words.
Kristen Wiig - Dolly Parton
C Lo Green - Plays himself

REVIEW: Amusing. This will make you smile. Jason knocks his Kenny Rogers out of the park. This is Jason's first Kenny Rogers. This is Kristen's first time doing Dolly Parton. There aren't any huge laughs here, but it's fun and sweet. Could be much worse.
Score: 4/5 - No big laughs, but they keep it moving and enjoyable throughout.
Top players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow
2. Jason Sudeikis


Commercial - The Cape Spinoffs
If you like super heroes who get their powers from pieces of clothing, then you'll love these new NBC shows!

REVIEW: Kristen gets a laugh with the fist shot of her swinging her bolo tie. The gun shots from her tie fail to get a laugh. That's the problem with a taped piece like this... you can't cut jokes from the live show. You're sort of stuck with what you got when parts aren't funny.
It was funny at the beginning with the Scarf (Nasim Pedrad), Andy Samberg made it funny being naked with the Leg Warmer, and Jason Sudeikis was pretty funny as the Scrunchie. Other than that, the joke was getting old fast. Bobby bookends this piece as the Spanks hero. He doesn't really get a laugh. The joke had already stopped being funny.
This was genius on NBC's part, because making fun of their own show is a great way to advertise it and make it live potentially longer than the show itself. =^)
Score: 3/5 - Some hilarious bits, but there were even more dud bits here that helped push the score down.
Top players:
1. Andy Samberg
2. Nasim Pedrad
3. Jason Sudeikis


Game Show - Secret Word
Back to the game show where the contestants try to guess a word but the gusts never let them.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Titsie Bismarck Tumlinson
Bill Hader ... Lyle Round
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... contestant
Kenan Thompson ... contestant
Kristen Wiig ... Mindy Gracin

REVIEW: This is the sketch's fourth appearance (two this season and two last season)...
11.21.2009
03.13.2010
10.09.2010
I have to say that this one was the funniest (the last two appearances seemed more annoying than funny). Kristen's character made me laugh a few times in this version (I think she's getting better at crossing her Mindy Gracin character over from annoying to funny). Gwyneth and Kenan were funny together, but her phrases were a little annoying. Kenan's still the best straight man on the show, but I also loved Taran Killam's facial expressions in this skit. Bill was mostly annoying as the game show host here.
Score: 4/5 - Despite the shudders, Kristen and crew had some big laughs.
Top players:
1. Kristen Wiig
2. Kenan Thompson
3. Gweneth Paltrow


Digital Short - Shots!
An innocent shot kicks off a wild night for Andy and his friend, Pee-Wee Herman.

Featuring Andy Samberg, Pee Wee Herman, Anderson Cooper, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and Kenan Thompson.

REVIEW: Think of all the poor kids hearing Pee-Wee and his chair curse like that. =^)
Well, I laughed out loud at least once, and I'm a huge Pee-Wee fan. Pretty good for a non-musical digital short.
Little known fact... Pee-Wee started out at the Groundlings, in the same class as Phil Hartman and others in the mid 80s. In fact, Phil helped Andy get his show going and starred on Pee-Wee's Playhouse as the Fisherman friend. So that's Paul Reuben's connection to SNL.
What we have here is an enjoyable romp with several Pee Wee references. No appearance from Gweneth, but that's okay.
Score: 4/5 - Really good, but it's hard for a non-musical digital short to be perfect. Even this one could have mostly been done live.
Top players:
1. Andy Samberg
2. Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens)


Skit - Jacob's Bar Mitzvah
TIME: 21:35 (there is no clip of this one; you'll need to find it in the full episode above)

Taylor Swift and many other greats play at Jacob's rocking bar mitzvah.

Fred Armisen - Jacob's dad
Vanessa Bayer - Jacob
Gweneth Paltrow - Taylor Swift
Jay Pharoah - Jay-Z
Nasim Pedrad - Alicia Keys
Abby Elliott - Katie Perry
C. Lo Green - himself

REVIEW: A Jewish Taylor Swift song. Hilarious! Best skit of the night. C. Lo Green comes out to play himself (that's three skits C. Lo was in). This was another excuse to parade impressions, but it really works sometimes! Although Abby Elliott looks great as Katie Perry, the voice wasn't perfect and it wasn't overly funny. Still enjoyable to watch though. Despite the one blip and Fred thinking he's being funny (but isn't), so much amazingness happened here (especially with Gwyneth and Jay), so this one deserves...
Score: 5/5 - Gweneth's Taylor Swift was spot on and hilarious, and Jay Pharoah gives a mean Jay-Z (supported well by Nasim's Alicia Keys).
Top players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow
2. Jay Pharoah
3. Nasim Pedrad
4. C. Lo Green


Skit - Record Meeting
Cee Lo Green's hit song has some controversial lyrics that his record execs want to clear for television.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Karen Antonelli
Cee Lo Green
Paul Brittain ... Rodney
Andy Samberg ... Larry
Jason Sudeikis ... Keith

REVIEW: Worse skit of the night. This gag of using non-cuss words just isn't funny to me. I thought this was a waste of the talent in the skit. I also thought Gweneth was overacting too much. Plus it didn't even end with a joke.
Score: 1/5 - This one came dangerously close to a score of zero. I'm not sure how they let this one get on (unless they had nothing else). Taran needs to propose some skits. It shouldn't be too hard to lead a skit if stuff like this is getting on.
Top players: No one could save this skit.


Musical Performance "Forget You"
Cee Lo Green


Weekend Update
Garth and Kat return, and Vanessa Bayer interviews Christina Aguilera and Cher. And Former New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan (Kenan) talks about his run for president.

Seth Meyers
Bill Hader ... announcer (voice)
Kenan Thompson ... Jimmy McMillan
Vanessa Bayer
Nasim Pedrad ... Christina Aguilera
Bill Hader ... Cher
Bobby Moynihan ... Chaz Bono
Fred Armisen ... Garth
Kristen Wiig ... Kat
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Kim Castle

REVIEW: Fred and Kristen keep Garth and Kat fresh by mixing in Gwyneth Paltrow as their similar friend, Kim Castle. Vanessa Bayer amazingly writes herself into a straight-person role to interview Nasim's amazing Christina Aguilera. Bobby follows up with some funny transgender jokes. Bill's humorous as Cher, but not amazing by any means. Kenan's being himself again. Seth also does fairly well this week. Overall, the real winner was Nasim's impression of Christina Aguilera, which makes me want to see it more.
Overall Score: 3/5
Jimmy McMillan (Kenan): 2/5 (almost amusing)
Garth and Kat: 3/5 (good but mostly already done)
Vanessa's Interview: 4/5 (Vanessa is a bit wooden)
Top Players:
1. Nasim Pedrad
2. Bobby Moynihan
3. Seth Meyers


Skit - Globe Theatre
This skit is not available online and is not in the online full video. That probably means it had some music without permissions.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... actress
Fred Armisen ... actor
Vanessa Bayer ... audience member
Bill Hader ... actor
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... actor
Bobby Moynihan ... actor
Jay Pharoah ... audience member
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Jason Sudeikis ... audience member
Kenan Thompson ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... audience member


Commercial - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 20th Anniversary Collection
There were a few cut scene from Fresh Prince that were cut for good reasons.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... police officer
Paul Brittain ... announcer (voice)
Jay Pharoah ... Will Smith
Kenan Thompson ... Alfonso Ribeiro

REVIEW: Once again Jay breaks out his Will Smith impression. This time, instead of showing it off on Weekend Update (with current Will), he brings us to the old Fresh Prince Will. And he nails it, as usual. Jay Pharoah is definitely sticking around SNL and going places. Kenan supports well, but his obvious body-type difference distracts you from seeing him as anyone but Kenan.
Score: 5/5 (this is perfect, the best skit of the night)
Top Player:
1. Jay Pharoah


Show - ESPN Deportes
Even in Spanish, the ESPN sportscaster phrases are the same.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Sofia Cortez
Fred Armisen ... Esteban
Paul Brittain ... Ramon Zaragoza
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Paco
Bobby Moynihan ... clown
Nasim Pedrad ... girl
Jay Pharoah ... Kevin Garnett

REVIEW: My guess is Paul wrote this or came up with the idea. Otherwise, I'd imagine that Fred would be up there with Gwyneth (if it came from another writer). Regardless, Paul pulls out his second hilarious character in what will probably be a recurring sketch. Way to go, Paul! However, it's much more the concept that makes this skit funny than any one actor. Bobby is hilarious as the clown that comes in, and even Taran delivers an awesome look. Also, Jay plays a great straight man with his Kevin Garnett impression (I love how they put Jay up on a higher platform than Fred to create a bigger height difference).
Score: 4/5 (some slow parts, but it comes through)
Top Players:
1. Paul Brittain
2. Gwenyth Paltrow
3. Bobby Moynihan
4. Jay Pharoah
5. Taran Killam
6. Fred Armisen


Musical Performance "Bright Lights Bigger City"
Cee Lo Green


Sketch - Spitzer Auditions
Eliot Spitzer is having trouble finding a co-host.

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Heidi Klum
Fred Armisen ... David Paterson
Bill Hader ... Eliot Spitzer
Taran Killam ... Skip
Nasim Pedrad ... Christiane Amanpour

REVIEW: This is amusing but not overly funny. Fred's brief appearance as David Paterson makes you want to see him instead of this. That said, Bill is fun to watch as Spitzer.
Score: 3/5
Top Players:
1. Bill Hader
2. Fred Armisen


OVERALL NIGHT:

Score: 3/5

Top Players:
1. Gweneth Paltrow - 17 pts (Monologue, Secret Word, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah, ESPN Deportes )
2. Nasim Pedrad - 12 pts (Weekend Update, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah, The Cape Spinoffs)
3. Jay Pharoah - 11 pts (Fresh Prince, Jacob's Bar Mitzvah)
4. Andy Samberg - 10 pts (Digital Short, The Cape Spinoffs)
4. Kristen Wiig - 10 pts (Cold Open, Secret Word)
4. Jason Sudeikis - 10 pts (Cold Open, Monologue, Cape Spinoffs)
5. Bobby Moynihan - 9 pts (Weekend Update, ESPN Deportes)
5. Bill Hader - 9 pts (Cold Open, Spitzer Auditions)
6. Paul Brittain - 5 pts (ESPN Deportes)
7. Fred Armisen - 4 pts
7. Pee-Wee Herman - 4 pts
7. Kenan Thompson - 4 pts
8. Seth Meyers - 3 pts
9. C. Lo Green - 2 pts
10. Taran Killam - 1 pt
11. Abby Elliott - 0 pts
11. Vanessa Bayer - 0 pts

So Andy came in fourth place this week behind Gweneth, Nasim, and Jay. Go featured players go!

Enjoy!

SNL Review: January 8, 2011 - Jim Carrey & The Black Keys

We're going to start this week with a basic review. Overall, Andy was in 4 skits. The highlights were his Cameron The Red-Winged Blackbird on Weekend Update (his third appearance as a bird in the news, so this is almost a sequel of sorts) and his contribution to the Soul Train skit, Gary St. Marvelous. Not bad, but not an Andy-heavy episode.

There was no digital short this week, but they often take a week off after a big success like "I Just Had Sex." But I would have loved to see Andy make a short with Jim Carrey. And now the reviews...


Click the linked titles to see the videos!



Cold Opening - A Message From The Mayor
Fred Armisen ... Mike Bloomberg
Kristen Wiig ... announcer (voice)

REVIEW: Watching Fred monologue at the camera in character just doesn't do it for me. Go back and watch Chevy Chase's Ford impressions (or Ferrell's or Dana Carvey's Bushes). Chevy was firing off hilarious jokes and ended with a hilarious prat fall. Even when Aykroyd's Carter came on, it was hilarious. Fred and writer Jim Downey need to go watch those old cold openings (especially since Jim probably wrote some of them).

This one was just a one gag by Fred about how disastrous snow is. It directly makes fun of something in the news, but they need to focus on funny first, not the details of what is being said. I heard courtesy laughs.


Monologue

Jim Carrey

REVIEW: A hilarious monologue from Jim completely makes up for Fred's opening. He ends super well by proposing to a woman in the audience (an obvious plant, but she plays it well, as if she isn't a plant) and to a large dude.


Commercial - Bosley Hair Restoration
Fred Armisen ... Mark H.
Bobby Moynihan ... client
Nasim Pedrad ... girlfriend
Jason Sudeikis ... spokesperson
Kristen Wiig ... Adelle K.

REVIEW: This is a rerun. Still funny. The basic idea is that the hair transplant comes from pubic regions. Sort of disgusting when they show the hair on Fred, Bobby, and Kristen, but still hilarious. A good one to rerun.


Sketch - Black Swan

Jim Carrey ... Lily
Bill Hader ... Thomas
Taran Killam ... David
Nasim Pedrad ... Nina
Kristen Wiig ... dancer

REVIEW: And then... BOOM! They air the best skit of the night, one that might get Jim an Emmy nomination (or the writers), one that make you feel GREAT about the show, that reminds you why Jim Carrey was once a super star, that makes you want Jim Carrey to be a superstar again, and finally a skit that makes you want Jim to permanently host this show (or his own show). He reveals here that he is the reason why this episode is so good, and that the one skit without him (Fred's cold opening) was probably the only skit (sans Weekend Update) that he didn't help write and that's why it was the only lacking skit.

So, what happened? Well, Jim did his ballerina character that he showed briefly in Ace Ventura, and he managed to use that to make fun of Natalie Portman's new Black Swan movie, with excellent supporting roles from Nasim Pedrad and Bill Hader. Jim was a female ballerina (Lily) who was competing with Nasim's Nina to do the Black Swan. (Not to mention Kristen Wiig's brief but hilarious appearance, and even Taran Killam coming on to "feed" Jim's swan was equally hilarious.) I would have loved to see one or two more original characters like this from Jim (his dojo instructor from his first SNL appearance would have been good). And then it ends with a Jim Carrey painted face gag that pays further homage to the Black Swan trailer. Overall, this was amazing. It's like Jim's presence makes the show 3 times better!


Show - Finding Your Power
Jim Carrey ... Garrett
Vanessa Bayer ... Jessica
Andy Samberg ... Ethan
Jason Sudeikis ... Zack Twinefeld

REVIEW: Jason hosts this show where Andy, Jim, and Vanessa take turns being lying cop outs. Amusing, but a little repetitive. It could have ended after Andy or just had the bit of Jim and would have been punchier and just as funny. They really needed a new gag after Andy's instead of repeating it two more times.


Commercial - Grady Wilson's Tantric 'n Tasty
Jim Carrey ... Leelicious
Kenan Thompson ... Grady Wilson

REVIEW: Amazingly, Jim Carrey takes one of my least favorite SNL and Kenan skits and turns into awesomeness! Jim's physical comedy once again just outdoes the original performer (he did this with the Night at the Roxbury Butabi brothers last time he hosted). Jim took this thing over (my favorite was the Baboon move).


Commercial - The Worst of Soul Train
Jim Carrey ... D'Versity
Paul Brittain ... Bro-Botix member
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Bro-Botix member
Bobby Moynihan ... Coughy Robinson
Nasim Pedrad ... Ricky
Jay Pharoah ... Shooting Starr
Andy Samberg ... Gary St. Marvelous
Jason Sudeikis ... Ocean Billy
Kenan Thompson ... Maxwell family member
Kenan Thompson ... announcer (voice)
Kristen Wiig ... Triangle Sally

REVIEW: Bobby drives this one home as the host of a show that features the performers' talents! Everybody was golden here, making it another gauntlet of hilarious bits (like the Back to the Future DVD commercials). Taran and Paul were funny (mostly Taran there), Jim was hilarious of course, and Nasim, Andy, Jason, and Kristen all gave important bits. My least favorite were from Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson.


Musical Performance "Howlin' For You"
The Black Keys


Weekend Update

Seth Meyers
Kristen Wiig ... Nancy Pelosi
Bill Hader ... John Boehner
Bobby Moynihan ... Anthony Crispino
Andy Samberg ... Cameron The Red-Winged Blackbird
Taran Killam ... Everett The Fish

REVIEW: Once again, Andy's third appearance as a bird in the news really sold well (sort of a series Andy has going), and Taran supported well as the fish. Kristen and Bill tore up their impressions! And of course, Bobby's Crispino does very well (but I would have taken out the second-to-last gag, because it slowed down before it picked up at the end). A great Weekend Update!


Sketch - Merryville Trolley Ride (Amusement Park)
Jim Carrey ... robot
Bill Hader ... robot
Taran Killam ... robot
Bobby Moynihan ... repairman
Kenan Thompson ... guy
Kristen Wiig ... girl

REVIEW: Oh my gosh! By far my second favorite skit of the night (behind Black Swan). This truly shows the talents of Taran Killam who actually out-performs Jim Carrey as an animatronic robot (is this even possible?). Another skit that Jim made gold with physical comedy, and it brings to life all our animatronic nightmares! Beautiful, and well played by Kenan as the victim.

My guess is that Jim was throwing out ideas, and a writer latched onto this one and turned it into a skit. And somewhere along the way Taran spoke up and said, "I can do a robot!" (Or perhaps the writer saw him do the Tin Man earlier this season or something else Taran has done and realized that Taran is an amazing robot... afterall, it's almost impossible to be better than Jim Carrey at any physical comedy like this.)


Sketch - Psychic Medium
Jim Carrey ... psychic
Vanessa Bayer ... customer
Nasim Pedrad ... customer
Jason Sudeikis ... customer

REVIEW: Jim gets a chance to do his Jimmy Stewart, Alan Thicke, and other fun impressions (although a little distracting when he's wearing that beard). Jason helps sell the gags. Vanessa and Nasim also help Jim out here.


Musical Performance "Tighten Up"
The Black Keys


Sketch - A Taste of New York

Jim Carrey ... musician
Fred Armisen ... musician
Vanessa Bayer ... audience member
Paul Brittain ... audience member
Abby Elliott ... audience member
Bill Hader ... emcee
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... musician

REVIEW: I don't know. I didn't get into this one. Fred and Kristen almost take turns doing these nightshow characters with weird music (my favorite was Kristen Wiig with Jon Hamm), and this one is merely amusing. Jim, Fred, and Kristen (no names?) come out and sing authentic New York songs that aren't very exciting (and seem to be from the perspective of the homeless or drug-addicted). Amusing, and the audience (including Andy) sell it well with facial expressions. I would have preferred ending with the Amusement Park sketch.


Thoughts on the skits this week?

Enjoy!

SNL Review: January 8, 2011 - Jim Carrey & The Black Keys

We're going to start this week with a basic review. Overall, Andy was in 4 skits. The highlights were his Cameron The Red-Winged Blackbird on Weekend Update (his third appearance as a bird in the news, so this is almost a sequel of sorts) and his contribution to the Soul Train skit, Gary St. Marvelous. Not bad, but not an Andy-heavy episode.

There was no digital short this week, but they often take a week off after a big success like "I Just Had Sex." But I would have loved to see Andy make a short with Jim Carrey. And now the reviews...


Click the linked titles to see the videos!



Cold Opening - A Message From The Mayor
Fred Armisen ... Mike Bloomberg
Kristen Wiig ... announcer (voice)

REVIEW: Watching Fred monologue at the camera in character just doesn't do it for me. Go back and watch Chevy Chase's Ford impressions (or Ferrell's or Dana Carvey's Bushes). Chevy was firing off hilarious jokes and ended with a hilarious prat fall. Even when Aykroyd's Carter came on, it was hilarious. Fred and writer Jim Downey need to go watch those old cold openings (especially since Jim probably wrote some of them).

This one was just a one gag by Fred about how disastrous snow is. It directly makes fun of something in the news, but they need to focus on funny first, not the details of what is being said. I heard courtesy laughs.


Monologue

Jim Carrey

REVIEW: A hilarious monologue from Jim completely makes up for Fred's opening. He ends super well by proposing to a woman in the audience (an obvious plant, but she plays it well, as if she isn't a plant) and to a large dude.


Commercial - Bosley Hair Restoration
Fred Armisen ... Mark H.
Bobby Moynihan ... client
Nasim Pedrad ... girlfriend
Jason Sudeikis ... spokesperson
Kristen Wiig ... Adelle K.

REVIEW: This is a rerun. Still funny. The basic idea is that the hair transplant comes from pubic regions. Sort of disgusting when they show the hair on Fred, Bobby, and Kristen, but still hilarious. A good one to rerun.


Sketch - Black Swan

Jim Carrey ... Lily
Bill Hader ... Thomas
Taran Killam ... David
Nasim Pedrad ... Nina
Kristen Wiig ... dancer

REVIEW: And then... BOOM! They air the best skit of the night, one that might get Jim an Emmy nomination (or the writers), one that make you feel GREAT about the show, that reminds you why Jim Carrey was once a super star, that makes you want Jim Carrey to be a superstar again, and finally a skit that makes you want Jim to permanently host this show (or his own show). He reveals here that he is the reason why this episode is so good, and that the one skit without him (Fred's cold opening) was probably the only skit (sans Weekend Update) that he didn't help write and that's why it was the only lacking skit.

So, what happened? Well, Jim did his ballerina character that he showed briefly in Ace Ventura, and he managed to use that to make fun of Natalie Portman's new Black Swan movie, with excellent supporting roles from Nasim Pedrad and Bill Hader. Jim was a female ballerina (Lily) who was competing with Nasim's Nina to do the Black Swan. (Not to mention Kristen Wiig's brief but hilarious appearance, and even Taran Killam coming on to "feed" Jim's swan was equally hilarious.) I would have loved to see one or two more original characters like this from Jim (his dojo instructor from his first SNL appearance would have been good). And then it ends with a Jim Carrey painted face gag that pays further homage to the Black Swan trailer. Overall, this was amazing. It's like Jim's presence makes the show 3 times better!


Show - Finding Your Power
Jim Carrey ... Garrett
Vanessa Bayer ... Jessica
Andy Samberg ... Ethan
Jason Sudeikis ... Zack Twinefeld

REVIEW: Jason hosts this show where Andy, Jim, and Vanessa take turns being lying cop outs. Amusing, but a little repetitive. It could have ended after Andy or just had the bit of Jim and would have been punchier and just as funny. They really needed a new gag after Andy's instead of repeating it two more times.


Commercial - Grady Wilson's Tantric 'n Tasty
Jim Carrey ... Leelicious
Kenan Thompson ... Grady Wilson

REVIEW: Amazingly, Jim Carrey takes one of my least favorite SNL and Kenan skits and turns into awesomeness! Jim's physical comedy once again just outdoes the original performer (he did this with the Night at the Roxbury Butabi brothers last time he hosted). Jim took this thing over (my favorite was the Baboon move).


Commercial - The Worst of Soul Train
Jim Carrey ... D'Versity
Paul Brittain ... Bro-Botix member
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Bro-Botix member
Bobby Moynihan ... Coughy Robinson
Nasim Pedrad ... Ricky
Jay Pharoah ... Shooting Starr
Andy Samberg ... Gary St. Marvelous
Jason Sudeikis ... Ocean Billy
Kenan Thompson ... Maxwell family member
Kenan Thompson ... announcer (voice)
Kristen Wiig ... Triangle Sally

REVIEW: Bobby drives this one home as the host of a show that features the performers' talents! Everybody was golden here, making it another gauntlet of hilarious bits (like the Back to the Future DVD commercials). Taran and Paul were funny (mostly Taran there), Jim was hilarious of course, and Nasim, Andy, Jason, and Kristen all gave important bits. My least favorite were from Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson.


Musical Performance "Howlin' For You"
The Black Keys


Weekend Update

Seth Meyers
Kristen Wiig ... Nancy Pelosi
Bill Hader ... John Boehner
Bobby Moynihan ... Anthony Crispino
Andy Samberg ... Cameron The Red-Winged Blackbird
Taran Killam ... Everett The Fish

REVIEW: Once again, Andy's third appearance as a bird in the news really sold well (sort of a series Andy has going), and Taran supported well as the fish. Kristen and Bill tore up their impressions! And of course, Bobby's Crispino does very well (but I would have taken out the second-to-last gag, because it slowed down before it picked up at the end). A great Weekend Update!


Sketch - Merryville Trolley Ride (Amusement Park)
Jim Carrey ... robot
Bill Hader ... robot
Taran Killam ... robot
Bobby Moynihan ... repairman
Kenan Thompson ... guy
Kristen Wiig ... girl

REVIEW: Oh my gosh! By far my second favorite skit of the night (behind Black Swan). This truly shows the talents of Taran Killam who actually out-performs Jim Carrey as an animatronic robot (is this even possible?). Another skit that Jim made gold with physical comedy, and it brings to life all our animatronic nightmares! Beautiful, and well played by Kenan as the victim.

My guess is that Jim was throwing out ideas, and a writer latched onto this one and turned it into a skit. And somewhere along the way Taran spoke up and said, "I can do a robot!" (Or perhaps the writer saw him do the Tin Man earlier this season or something else Taran has done and realized that Taran is an amazing robot... afterall, it's almost impossible to be better than Jim Carrey at any physical comedy like this.)


Sketch - Psychic Medium
Jim Carrey ... psychic
Vanessa Bayer ... customer
Nasim Pedrad ... customer
Jason Sudeikis ... customer

REVIEW: Jim gets a chance to do his Jimmy Stewart, Alan Thicke, and other fun impressions (although a little distracting when he's wearing that beard). Jason helps sell the gags. Vanessa and Nasim also help Jim out here.


Musical Performance "Tighten Up"
The Black Keys


Sketch - A Taste of New York

Jim Carrey ... musician
Fred Armisen ... musician
Vanessa Bayer ... audience member
Paul Brittain ... audience member
Abby Elliott ... audience member
Bill Hader ... emcee
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... musician

REVIEW: I don't know. I didn't get into this one. Fred and Kristen almost take turns doing these nightshow characters with weird music (my favorite was Kristen Wiig with Jon Hamm), and this one is merely amusing. Jim, Fred, and Kristen (no names?) come out and sing authentic New York songs that aren't very exciting (and seem to be from the perspective of the homeless or drug-addicted). Amusing, and the audience (including Andy) sell it well with facial expressions. I would have preferred ending with the Amusement Park sketch.


Thoughts on the skits this week?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg tops the SNL Power Rankings this week

1. Andy Samberg (49 points): Before this season began, there were tons of rumors swirling around Studio 8H that two-thirds of the Lonely Island trio –specifically, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer — would not be returning this season. However, cooler heads ultimately prevailed and the fellas made the wise decision to return to the show. This week, the guys made their first Digital Short impression of the season with Rescue Dogs 3D, which, along with the news cycle, helped to propel Samberg to the top of the pack this week. Our only question: Will this be the last we see of his admirable portrayals of both Rahm Emanuel and Cathy?

2. Kenan Thompson (39 points): Oooh, whee! After spending the first week of the show’s 36th season in Lorne’s dog house, Kenan returned to his winning 2009-2010 form this week. Specifically, he ignited the crowd when Deandre “What Up With That?” Cole made his first appearance of the season, much to “93 year-old sex machine” Ernest Borgnine’s delight.

3. Fred Armisen (28 points): “I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” Armisen proved himself to be the consummate pro with this winning number, especially when you consider that host Bryan Cranston nearly derailed this bit in the sketch’s opening seconds by singing the wrong line TWICE (!) in a row.

4. Bobby Moynihan (26 points): This was Moynihan’s second appearance as “second-hand news correspondent” Anthony Crespino. He was able to land a few decent sized laughs from the crowd this week, but nothing really stood out. Here’s hoping we get to see the return of Mark Payne this season.

5. Taran Killam (16 points): Killam benefitted from ubiquity in this week’s episode, as he played supporting roles in the monologue, Shanna and “What Up With That?” Regarding the latter, we were hoping he was going to bring something new to the announcer character that Will Forte pioneered, but sadly, it was just more of the same.

6 (tie). Bill Hader, Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad (14 points): Wow! Thanks to her “pretty cool” impression of Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Bayer has quickly established herself as the stand-out talent of the crop of SNL freshmen. Pedrad, meanwhile, struggled with her new character Henry, a nerd that seemed a bit too close to her Bedelia character for comfort.

9 (tie). Abby Elliott, Jay Pharoah (12 points): Not much to say about either one of these folks this week, although Pharoah’s portrayal of a Bootsy Collins-esque character was highly entertaining. Also, were those his voices in the i-Sleep Pro commercial that Kenan starred in? We think so, so we’re giving him the credit.

11. Jason Sudeikis (10 points): Not quite sure where Sudeikis was this week but, as always, his B-Boy moves in “What Up With That?” are nearly as essential to the ongoing success of that skit as Kenan’s work as Deandre Cole.

12. Paul Brittain (9 points): What a terrific Johnny Depp impression! Unfortunately, that was about it for him this week.

13. Kristin Wiig (8 points): Is Kristin Wiig over? Of course not, but we can’t help but feel like her schtick is starting to run thin, both with Lorne and audiences alike. Her portrayal of the sexy-yet-not Shanna was her only appearance on the show this weekend, which is very strange considering the heavy lifting she’s done as a castmember over the last seven-plus seasons. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.


SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE POWER RANKINGS: SEASON 36 TOTALS
1. ⇑ Andy Samberg (74 points; Last Week: #4)
2. ⇓ Fred Armisen (64 points; Last Week: #1)
3. ⇑ Kenan Thompson (53 points; Last Week: #10)
4. ⇓ Bill Hader (50 points; Last Week: #1)
5 (tie). ⇑ Bobby Moynihan (42 points; Last Week: #9)
⇓ Kristin Wiig (42 points; Last Week: #3)
7. ⇓ Jason Sudeikis (35 points; Last Week: #4)
8. ⇓ Abby Elliott (33 points; Last Week: #6)
9. ⇓ Vanessa Bayer (31 points; Last Week: #8)
10. ⇓ Jay Pharoah (30 points; Last Week: #7)
11. Taran Killam (29 points; Last Week: #11)
12. Nasim Pedrad (28 points; Last Week: #12)
13. Paul Brittain (20 points; Last Week: #13)


From:
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-10-04/saturday-night-live-power-rankings-vanessa-bayer-makes-her-mark/

========================

Thanks to Rai for the scoop!

This isn't bad, but I disagree with some. Here is where I'd rank them...

1. Andy Samberg - Agree. With Rescue Dogs being the highlight, with leads as Rahm Emanuel and Cathy (both almost farewell performances), and bits in another 5 skits, Andy definitely stole the show... ABOUT TIME!!!

2. Vanessa Bayer - This spot should NOT go to Kenan. I love his "What Up With That?" as well, but come on, he's doing it with less energy and he's giving it nothing new or creative (his random song bits weren't even funny this time). And the author had nothing but praise for Vanessa's breakout as Miley Cyrus... and then ranked her at #6? NO WAY! Vanessa's Miley was amazing!!! (I liken it to Jay Pharoah's breakout as Will last week.) And her performance really makes me want to keep an eye on her. She could be the next Poehler or Wiig. In fact, I like it so much, I want to share it again:



3. Fred Armisen - I agree, that "I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” song was amazing! Very good, especially in comparison to the rest of the show. =^) ... I don't think I'm normally this big of a fan of Fred. Here it is if you didn't catch it:



4. Bobby Moynihan - I agree. Bobby nailed the Cold Open (don't know why they didn't mention that) and his Weekend Update appearance. Plus he got shot in Rescue Dogs. Go Bobby Go!!!

5. Kristen Wiig - Like I said, Kristen's Shana had me in stitches, especially that whistle bit. =^) ... It's only the third time doing that skit! It's not old yet, and I'm not sick of it!

6. Kenan Thompson - A combination of "What's Up with That?", i-sleep Pro (but it wasn't funny because of him), and great supporting roles (he was especially good in Shana - "On what planet?").

7. Nasim Pedrad - None of this tie stuff, her Henry character fell flat, but she still was good in that and Pepto Bismo Ice.

8. Abby Elliott - She comes up a bit higher from her dance in What Up with That?

9. Jason Sudeikis - Supporting this week. Got to give him props just for his dancing. in "What Up with That?" His slow mo dancing is fantastic!

10. Taran Killam - Also supporting.

11. Bill Hader - Just supporting this week.

12. Jay Pharoah - That was his voice in the i-sleep Pro commercial. It was hilarious, but just a voice isn't enough.

13. Paul Brittain - I don't know if Paul's going to survive on the show. Too early to tell. His Johnny Depp was accurate, but it wasn't entertaining. He has yet to lead a skit. That might sound harsh after only two episodes, but Vanessa and Jay already led amazing bits and Taran is filling in all of Will Forte's roles fairly well (and Taran has the potential to be amazing). Paul has yet to delvier.



What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What would your ranked list look like?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg tops the SNL Power Rankings this week

1. Andy Samberg (49 points): Before this season began, there were tons of rumors swirling around Studio 8H that two-thirds of the Lonely Island trio –specifically, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer — would not be returning this season. However, cooler heads ultimately prevailed and the fellas made the wise decision to return to the show. This week, the guys made their first Digital Short impression of the season with Rescue Dogs 3D, which, along with the news cycle, helped to propel Samberg to the top of the pack this week. Our only question: Will this be the last we see of his admirable portrayals of both Rahm Emanuel and Cathy?

2. Kenan Thompson (39 points): Oooh, whee! After spending the first week of the show’s 36th season in Lorne’s dog house, Kenan returned to his winning 2009-2010 form this week. Specifically, he ignited the crowd when Deandre “What Up With That?” Cole made his first appearance of the season, much to “93 year-old sex machine” Ernest Borgnine’s delight.

3. Fred Armisen (28 points): “I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” Armisen proved himself to be the consummate pro with this winning number, especially when you consider that host Bryan Cranston nearly derailed this bit in the sketch’s opening seconds by singing the wrong line TWICE (!) in a row.

4. Bobby Moynihan (26 points): This was Moynihan’s second appearance as “second-hand news correspondent” Anthony Crespino. He was able to land a few decent sized laughs from the crowd this week, but nothing really stood out. Here’s hoping we get to see the return of Mark Payne this season.

5. Taran Killam (16 points): Killam benefitted from ubiquity in this week’s episode, as he played supporting roles in the monologue, Shanna and “What Up With That?” Regarding the latter, we were hoping he was going to bring something new to the announcer character that Will Forte pioneered, but sadly, it was just more of the same.

6 (tie). Bill Hader, Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad (14 points): Wow! Thanks to her “pretty cool” impression of Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Bayer has quickly established herself as the stand-out talent of the crop of SNL freshmen. Pedrad, meanwhile, struggled with her new character Henry, a nerd that seemed a bit too close to her Bedelia character for comfort.

9 (tie). Abby Elliott, Jay Pharoah (12 points): Not much to say about either one of these folks this week, although Pharoah’s portrayal of a Bootsy Collins-esque character was highly entertaining. Also, were those his voices in the i-Sleep Pro commercial that Kenan starred in? We think so, so we’re giving him the credit.

11. Jason Sudeikis (10 points): Not quite sure where Sudeikis was this week but, as always, his B-Boy moves in “What Up With That?” are nearly as essential to the ongoing success of that skit as Kenan’s work as Deandre Cole.

12. Paul Brittain (9 points): What a terrific Johnny Depp impression! Unfortunately, that was about it for him this week.

13. Kristin Wiig (8 points): Is Kristin Wiig over? Of course not, but we can’t help but feel like her schtick is starting to run thin, both with Lorne and audiences alike. Her portrayal of the sexy-yet-not Shanna was her only appearance on the show this weekend, which is very strange considering the heavy lifting she’s done as a castmember over the last seven-plus seasons. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.


SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE POWER RANKINGS: SEASON 36 TOTALS
1. ⇑ Andy Samberg (74 points; Last Week: #4)
2. ⇓ Fred Armisen (64 points; Last Week: #1)
3. ⇑ Kenan Thompson (53 points; Last Week: #10)
4. ⇓ Bill Hader (50 points; Last Week: #1)
5 (tie). ⇑ Bobby Moynihan (42 points; Last Week: #9)
⇓ Kristin Wiig (42 points; Last Week: #3)
7. ⇓ Jason Sudeikis (35 points; Last Week: #4)
8. ⇓ Abby Elliott (33 points; Last Week: #6)
9. ⇓ Vanessa Bayer (31 points; Last Week: #8)
10. ⇓ Jay Pharoah (30 points; Last Week: #7)
11. Taran Killam (29 points; Last Week: #11)
12. Nasim Pedrad (28 points; Last Week: #12)
13. Paul Brittain (20 points; Last Week: #13)


From:
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-10-04/saturday-night-live-power-rankings-vanessa-bayer-makes-her-mark/

========================

Thanks to Rai for the scoop!

This isn't bad, but I disagree with some. Here is where I'd rank them...

1. Andy Samberg - Agree. With Rescue Dogs being the highlight, with leads as Rahm Emanuel and Cathy (both almost farewell performances), and bits in another 5 skits, Andy definitely stole the show... ABOUT TIME!!!

2. Vanessa Bayer - This spot should NOT go to Kenan. I love his "What Up With That?" as well, but come on, he's doing it with less energy and he's giving it nothing new or creative (his random song bits weren't even funny this time). And the author had nothing but praise for Vanessa's breakout as Miley Cyrus... and then ranked her at #6? NO WAY! Vanessa's Miley was amazing!!! (I liken it to Jay Pharoah's breakout as Will last week.) And her performance really makes me want to keep an eye on her. She could be the next Poehler or Wiig. In fact, I like it so much, I want to share it again:



3. Fred Armisen - I agree, that "I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” song was amazing! Very good, especially in comparison to the rest of the show. =^) ... I don't think I'm normally this big of a fan of Fred. Here it is if you didn't catch it:



4. Bobby Moynihan - I agree. Bobby nailed the Cold Open (don't know why they didn't mention that) and his Weekend Update appearance. Plus he got shot in Rescue Dogs. Go Bobby Go!!!

5. Kristen Wiig - Like I said, Kristen's Shana had me in stitches, especially that whistle bit. =^) ... It's only the third time doing that skit! It's not old yet, and I'm not sick of it!

6. Kenan Thompson - A combination of "What's Up with That?", i-sleep Pro (but it wasn't funny because of him), and great supporting roles (he was especially good in Shana - "On what planet?").

7. Nasim Pedrad - None of this tie stuff, her Henry character fell flat, but she still was good in that and Pepto Bismo Ice.

8. Abby Elliott - She comes up a bit higher from her dance in What Up with That?

9. Jason Sudeikis - Supporting this week. Got to give him props just for his dancing. in "What Up with That?" His slow mo dancing is fantastic!

10. Taran Killam - Also supporting.

11. Bill Hader - Just supporting this week.

12. Jay Pharoah - That was his voice in the i-sleep Pro commercial. It was hilarious, but just a voice isn't enough.

13. Paul Brittain - I don't know if Paul's going to survive on the show. Too early to tell. His Johnny Depp was accurate, but it wasn't entertaining. He has yet to lead a skit. That might sound harsh after only two episodes, but Vanessa and Jay already led amazing bits and Taran is filling in all of Will Forte's roles fairly well (and Taran has the potential to be amazing). Paul has yet to delvier.



What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What would your ranked list look like?

Enjoy!