SNL 2/4 and 2/11 Guest Announcements: Reactions

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I will henceforth be posting reactions to NBC’s press releases regarding upcoming hosts and musical guests on SNL.  My thoughts will have to do with my expectations of the quality of these guests and whether or not I included these choices on my guest prediction list at the beginning of the season.  The lineups for the first two shows in February were the most recently annouced.

2/4/12: Channing Tatum/Bon Iver: I know a lot of ladies like Channing for his face (I guess) and his abs, but I’ve never known him to have much charisma.  He made an interesting face during one part of the Haywire trailer, so hopefully he can capitalize on that.
I am familiar with Bon Iver, but I am not that familiar with their songs.  Justin Vernon’s band seems like just the sort of indie act that ought to be on SNL, and I correctly thought that that might happen this year.

2/11/12: Zooey Deschanel/Karmin: I almost included Zooey on my predictions, but she was the one of the last to miss the cut.  I figured that stars of hit TV shows don’t host SNL until at least the second season of their shows.  The last TV star to host during the first season of his/her hit show was Julia Louis-Dreyfus in 2006 during the first year of The New Adventures of Old Christine, and that could be considered an exception since she was a returning cast member.  Anyway, Zooey’s unmistakably singular quirkiness could lead to a good show, or it could be like Abby Elliott’s impression of Zooey, which makes the mistake of announcing how awesome it is.
And I’m still trying to figure out what to say about Karmin.  Their one “hit” song is the middle-school anti-hater anthem “Crash Your Party.”  They are an engaged couple who seem to actually be musically talented and somewhat intelligent, but are using their musical ability for the purpose of issues that are exclusively the concerns of people much younger than them.  It’s like Michael Jackson singing the songs of Aaron Carter or Willow Smith.

SNL Video Recap January 7, 2012 Charles Barkley/Kelly Clarkson

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SNL Recap January 7, 2012: Charles Barkley/Kelly Clarkson

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Is there pomegranate in this soy milk?

Cold Opening – A Message from Rick Santorum
SNL seems to have decided that there is no need for a real impression of Rick Santorum, probably because – well, how many people know about Santorum?  Apparently, though, he might make some noise in the primary, so Andy might have to do a bit of work eventually.  For now, though, this opening proves that there is enough material to overcome that lack of an impression, namely, Santorum’s relentless campaigning and how that may go up against his personality, particularly with that money line about San Francisco. B-

Charles Barkley’s Monologue
Not so much a monologue as much as it was Sir Charles saying a few funny things and hoping to be done with it relatively quickly.  The (admittedly dated) Muggsy Bogues line got a chuckle out of me and reminded me of his cameo during Barkley’s first hosting appearance in ’93. B-

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Remembrance of SNL Cast Members Past

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The folks at TopOnlineColleges.com are up to it again: posting articles about Saturday Night Live (that have some tangential relation to online colleges?).  Their latest list is “10 Saturday Night Live Cast Members You Forgot.”  Their choices are a mix of folks that you forgot were ever even on SNL, and those that you may have remembered from their time on the show, but have since not had much of a career.
Here’s who they picked:

1. Colin Quinn
2. Victoria Jackson
3. Charles Rocket
4. Pamela Stephenson
5. Chris Parnell
6. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
7. Tim Kazurinsky
8. Joan Cusack
9. Robert Downey, Jr.
10. Melanie Hutsell

Anybody know what Ellen Cleghorne is up to?

SNL Video Recap December 17, 2011 Jimmy Fallon/Michael Bublé

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SNL Recap December 17, 2011: Jimmy Fallon/Michael Bublé

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Cold Opening – Sully and Denise
I’ve never been a fan of Sully and Denise, but I’ve never hated them either.  It was fun to see them several years graduated from their old stomping grounds.  Amy’s character saying that her “case of mono” is now 15 years old was the most clever moment of the sketch. B-

Jimmy Fallon’s Monologue
When Jimmy sang some of his jokes, the volume of the music seemed to throw off the laughter cues, which affected the rhythm of this routine a bit. But his interactions with everybody were fun and gratifying, which was no surprise, as monologues in which the host traipses around backstage doing a musical number almost always work. B

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SNL Video Recap December 10, 2011 Katy Perry/Robyn

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SNL Recap December 10, 2011: Katy Perry/Robyn

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We have a clip.

Cold Opening – On the Record with Greta van Susteren
This was a distressingly bad cold open.  Kristen’s Greta van Susteren has never really been that amusing, but Darrell’s Donald always has been.  The Donald may be one of his three best impressions, but this time it hardly was.  He seemed out of practice.  He couldn’t even consistently say “hyuge” in that patented Donald style. C

Katy Perry’s Monologue
There were a few “jokes” about Katy Perry’s persona, but no real premise built around them.  This monologue was a mess, but a hot mess. C+

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SNL Video Recap December 3, 2011 Steve Buscemi/The Black Keys

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SNL Recap December 3, 2011: Steve Buscemi/The Black Keys

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Cold Opening – A Message from the President of the United States
Interestingly enough, while I did think that this was one of the better message from the president cold opens in a while, I noticed what a lot of viewers have been saying lately: Fred’s Obama is getting worse.  This had the feel of a Wayne’s World top ten countdown.  Obama didn’t quite have the energy that Wayne and Garth have, but he did have something.  And points are deserved for all of the comments being right on target. B

Steve Buscemi’s Monologue
The problem with this monologue wasn’t so much that it was it was one of those “I’m going to explain to the audience my most notable characteristic, even though they already know that about me” monologues, it was that the character actors who were asking Steve for advice were playing too-specific characters.  Steve’s oeuvre of creepy roles show a greater range than a series of sassy black judges, or rapping grandmas, or even clumsy best friends from romantic comedies, and that dissonance was too great to overcome. C+

Frozen Mexican Dinner
Fish can help with constipation? B-

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