SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Tom Hanks” Episode 1708 — Pictured: (l-r) Kenan Thompson, Beck Bennett, Tom Hanks as David Pumpkins, and Kate McKinnon during the “Haunted Elevator” sketch on October 22, 2016 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2016.
Love It
Black Jeopardy – If memory serves me correctly, Tom Hanks is the first guest to appear on both Celebrity Jeopardy and Black Jeopardy. I thought this concept had been played out, as it has already explored well-meaning white people who don’t mean to be offensive, and black people who defy easy categorization. But I had not considered a possible appearance from the “Make America Great Again” crowd, which at first seems like an easy target for meanness, but instead there is a pivot towards common ground like conspiracy theories, that one guy who fixes everything, and Tyler Perry. Race and class are both big factors in this country.
100 Floors of Frights – SNL enters a late, compelling entry for the most popular Halloween costume of 2016: David S. Pumpkins. Any questions? At first, Hanks’ Mr. Pumpkins gives off a Paul and Phil vibe of “goofy ruining spooky.” He and his skeleton pals are certainly delightfully out-there, but there is a lingering sense that this sketch may have blown its load too early with a too-soon reveal of the main attraction, but then it takes it to another level by doubling (or 73-ing) down on Pumpkins and saying, “We knew just how to scare you the whole time.”
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – Jen Kirkman’s Prince dream, as recounted on The Meltdown Show with Jonah and Kumail
Wednesday – You’re the Worst
Thursday – Better Things
Friday – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Saturday – David S. Pumpkins: Any questions?
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2016.
Love It
Ann Arbor Short Film Festival – This is the sort of satire that really nails a particular piece of culture. This is not the first time amateur filmmaking has been lampooned, but it feels like it is, because it is so incisive, and so cleanly produced. It effectively uses exaggeration and reversal to make its points. Dozens of people work on a one-minute film featuring only one actor, and that feels oddly plausible. And unlike many screenings, in which the wave of questioners overwhelms the panelist, everyone on stage dwarfs the lone audience member. The Holocaust/makeup/“at the end of the day, it’s also a comedy” explanation is one for the ages.
The Hummer party limo’s visit to the Burger King Drive-Thru could have been random for the sake of randomness, but instead, each outré character is sharply defined.
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Tuesday – Most people don’t realize Atlanta‘s quality is another universe. Don’t be dumb.
Wednesday – The Goldbergs
Thursday – Better Things
Friday – Time to a deliver an Eric Andre Show finale! (Time to a deliver an Eric Andre Show finale!)
Saturday – That part in the Ann Arbor Short Film Festival (SNL) when everyone in the crowd stood up to get on the stage
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Milo Murphy’s Law
Tuesday – The Flash
Wednesday – The Goldbergs
Thursday – Better Things, and its gooey heartwarming ending (Honorable Mention: the classiest exit on Drag Race All Stars)
Friday – The Eric Andre Show, featuring David Alan Thicke
Saturday – Saturday Night Live, especially the power duo of Vanessa Bayer and Kyle Mooney
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2016.
Love It Pine Ridge Campground – You know you’ve got something special when the first post-monologue sketch has a nondescript setting. That is a promise of weirdness that you do not see coming. And boy, is that promise fulfilled, as the surprises just keeps piling up. Vanessa Bayer and Kyle Mooney are a pair of incestuous amateur singers with indefinable faux-European accents, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is the captive audience wise enough to stick around and see what happens next.
Michael and Colin just keep glorifying in all the material that Trump wraps up in a bow for them, and they really sell it with asides like Che’s quick take on the tic tac ad with the new Trump-inspired slogan…Netflix: Behind the Scenes reveals the one thing that Stranger Things was missing: racial consciousness! … LMM does a variation of “My Shot” in his monologue, but more importantly his love for SNL shines through in a way that clearly came from the heart as opposed to being written by committee.
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