Jmunney's Blog

The biggest struggle in putting together this season’s SNL recap came in the category of best episode.  There were several (maybe six or seven) episodes that were generally satisfying from beginning to end, but none in which every sketch was a winner.  Similarly, there was no episode in which there was no memorable sketch.  Even notorious hosting hacks like Scarlett Johansson and Robert De Niro provided us with winners like “Stars of Tomorrow” and “The Abacus Conundrum,” respectively.  There should be no doubt about the overall quality of this cast; the biggest issue, as is so often the case, is whether the job is being done at the writing stage.  And it frequently is, but not all the time, and that is because of the show’s unwieldy nature.  That is the word of the season: unwieldy.  The cast, with nine full-timers and five featured players, is too big, for one thing.  It is not quite as bloated as the early nineties and actually not that much higher than what it has been the past few seasons (the count was as high as 16 five years ago).  But for this particular casting mix, fourteen is too much.  Half the cast members just finished their sixth or later seasons, and with that many players that established, it is tricky for every featured player in a relatively large, unflashy featured group to break out.  So, as for the unwieldy 2010-2011, there was plenty to love, you just had to be patient to discover it.

Most Valuable Cast Member
Bill Hader
It is the rare bit from SNL that every casual fan is talking about and that diehard fans unanimously agree is a classic routine.  It didn’t quite happen with Kenan as DeAndre Cole last year (the zeitgeist factor was there, but not the unanimity), but it did happen with Bill as Stefon this year.  And this from a guy who was pegged as merely the new impressionist du jour his first season.  Hader was initially the ever-reliable supporting player, devoid of the sometimes annoying or weird tics that make Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Kenan Thompson, and Fred Armisen occasionally bothersome to some, but not regularly front and center.  But now, thanks mainly to Stefon but also thanks to an expanding repertoire of characters (highlighted by the goblin-like James Carville, the ever-sobbing John Boehner, the way-past-his-prime newsman Herb Welch, and, of course, Vincent Price), he has broken through with his agreeableness.

Runners-Up:
Kenan Thompson
Last year’s MVCM never came to dominate the show the way a Will Ferrell or an Eddie Murphy did.  But he did present several indelible moments, and he has tirelessly continued to do so with a string of moments in some of the season’s best sketches.  “What Up With That?” has lasted longer than anyone could have reasonably expected it to, and his Bill Cosby fulfilled what ought to be an at least once per season appearance quota.  And then how can we forget Jimmy McMillan, David “Beef Jelly” Winfield, Forest Whitaker, apl.de.ap, Raven Symoné, Blackenstein’s Monster, and even Googie Rene?

Andy Samberg
The digital short is as alive as ever.  Andy has of course been the main face of the digital shorts for as long as they have been around, and it seemed that this year he set aside the best digital material for himself (and often his Lonely Island buddies as well) – “What Was That,” “I Just Had Sex,” “The Creep.”  And for those who think he is only valuable when it comes to the shorts, re-watch his performance as the head of MTV’s programming in the Skins sketch to see how that is not the case.

Rookie of the Year: Vanessa Bayer

Best Sketch
Digital Short: What Was That?
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl-digital-short-what-was-that/1259995/
“What Was That?” was particularly amusing, and it would have been so if the source of that amusement were only such bons mots as, “The Middle East?  Quit goofing around!”; “Ethnic cleansing – talk to the hand!”; and, “All these oil spills?  Hit the showers!”  But of course, it was more than that.  The Model U.N. member played by Andy seemed to be making a mockery of his platform of addressing the actual U.N.  The delegates slunk back uncomfortably in their chairs, wondering, “Who is this fool?”  Indeed, he was a fool, but the sort of fool from King Lear.  He reduces various world tragedies as silly and simplistic, but there was a certain deep truth to such a representation that only a fool would be allowed to utter.  And after all, the Rwandan genocide was “real mature, guys.”

Runners-Up:
The Miley Cyrus Show (with guest Johnny Depp)
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/miley-cyrus-show/1261479/
When beholding Miley Cyrus, I have thought many times, “Now here is a celebrity who is begging to be made fun of.”  But nobody on SNL seemed interested in doing so, at least not so far as doing a full-blown impression, except until Vanessa Bayer came along and was happy to nail the y’all-sprinkled nasally Southern accent, the absurd word vomit-infused teenage girl-isms, and the cheesy sitcommy repartee.  The decision to place Vanessa’s Miley in the context of her own talk show was an inspired one, as it afforded her the opportunity to fail spectacularly (but entertainingly so) at a comedy monologue.  (Interestingly enough, the real Miley eventually proved adept with her own monologue when she appeared as host.)

Our Time with Taboo and apl.de.ap
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/our-time-with-taboo-and-apldeap/1311328/
When we look back at the early part of the 21^st century, we will wonder why we ever allowed Jaime “Taboo” Gómez and Allan “apl.de.ap” Lindo to become famous.  We may then wonder who exactly allowed their fame.  “Our Time” points out that even during the time of their fame, though, they were barely famous anyway.  Those who care enough to know anything about the two other members of the Black Eyed Peas have likely been tripped up by the baffling matters of their nonsensical nicknames and indistinct ethnicities.  For the record, apl.de.ap is in fact “Filiblino,” and Taboo, while perhaps vaguely Asian, is actually half-Mexican and half-Shoshone.  As for their stage names, Andy and Kenan’s explanations are a lot more edifying than the actual explanations.

Best Short Sketch
How short must a short sketch be to be eligible in this category?  I haven’t decided definitively, but the three sketches below were all 3:23 or shorter, so something like that.

The Original Kings of Catchphrase Comedy
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/comedy-tour/1313758/
David “Beef Jelly” Winfield, Goran “Funky Boy” Bogdan, Slappy Pappy, and Pete “Airhorn” Schultz are supposed to be comedians with dumb acts that rely on catchphrases that make no sense.  But in this sketch, they are hilarious, and not really because it is so funny that they, or anyone, could possibly think that are they funny.  They are plainly hilarious.  The fact of the matter is, comedy does not need to contain jokes (or apparently anything clever at all).  What it does require is a talented performer.  So while Kenan Thompson, Paul Brittain, Bobby Moynihan, and Zach Galifianakis were supposed to be playing hacky comics, they couldn’t help but be funny.

Runners-Up:
The Merryville Brothers Trolley Ride
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/amusement-park-ride/1268837/
“They Merryville Brothers Trolley Ride” provides a demonstration of the “uncanny valley” hypothesis, which posits that when facsimiles of humans appear almost, but not quite, like actual humans, they will produce a general reaction of revulsion, as opposed to less similar humanoid creatures, which engender more positive reactions.  When such too-close human facsimiles are presented sincerely, as in The Polar Express, it can be off-putting.  But when presented ironically, as in this sketch, it has the feel of humor that comes from a wild place.  There was a reverse humanoid situation going on in that the animatronic people were played by actual humans, thus adding another level to the revulsion and the humor.

Les Jeunes de Paris (from the Miley Cyrus episode)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ABxZM16p4
Visual wit does not get enough credit in comedy, probably because verbal humor is generally more respected than physical humor and many comedians are not willing to take the risk in appearing that they are only going for base, physical humor.  But that which can be properly called visual wit is more similar to wordplay than it is to slapstick.  “Les Jeunes de Paris” – with its in-time-with-the-music eating of a piece of bologna, splashing in the face with fake water from a mime, and pulling out a bottle of wine from behind a Playboy sleight-of-hand-style – is the pinnacle of visual wit on SNL.

Best Host
Jim Carrey
In his film career Jim Carrey has mostly foregone the manic, no-holds-barred performing style that made him famous.  But when he makes live appearances, it is still his bread and butter.  That strategy serves SNL well, as it elevates otherwise thin or drawn-out material like the Black Swan parody and the umpteenth Grady Wilson appearance, renders orgasmic strong material like the Merryville Trolley Ride and the psychic celebrity impressionist, and makes strange material like “A Taste of New York” something indelible.

Runners-Up:
Zach Galifianakis
In my initial review of the Zach Galifianakis episode from this season, I wrote that while Zach was great, several cast members “looked as if they do not know how to keep up with him.”  That can make for an episode that is uneven in parts, but in and of himself, Zach is too great to not consider him one of the best of the season and one of the best that SNL currently has at its disposal.  Hopefully, after a few more hosting stints, everyone will be able to catch up with him, and then maybe sketches like “Celebrity Scoop” will actually work. 

Jeff Bridges
A couple of SNL season recaps ago, I posited that the mark of a great host is the ability to imprint his personality on the show (at the time, it was John Malkovich who inspired that explanation).  Jeff Bridges succeeded as host with this imprinting ability the primary reason for his success.  His idiosyncratically cool, laid-back demeanor was the tone of the episode, with “Jeff’d” – Jeff Bridges’ absurdly good-natured eponymous prank show – serving as the exemplar of that tone.

Best Monologue
Zach Galifianakis
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/be5b3f3d57/zach-galifianakis-s-snl-monologue-and-annie-performance
Every once in a while, a talent emerges in the comedy world and makes us wonder how we ever could have thought anybody else was funny.  Such was the case when Zach Galifianakis broke though with The Hangover.  Thanks to that massive success, many more of us than before have now become familiar with Zach’s stand-up, where he shines even more crazily.  If his grandmother were still around to see him perform his monologue, she probably would have said, “What are you doing?”

Runners-Up:
Robert De Niro
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/robert-de-niro-monologue/1263453/
Sometimes, the monologue concept is so great that all that has to happen for it to succeed is the host just reading his lines.  De Niro has been inexplicably awful every time he has hosted SNL, but here all he had to do was get through the list of incorrect facts about his hometown of New York.  And that is what he did.

Miley Cyrus
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/miley-cyrus-monologue/1311321/
There was not much particularly hilarious about Miley Cyrus’s monologue, but there was a lot of truth.  The strongest element in making this monologue was not so much the fact that Miley was correct in claiming that her scandals have been of a lesser nature than most celebrity disasters, but the series of hand gestures and facial expressions that conveyed the message of “Yeah, I know what people are saying about me, but my life’s not so bad.”

Ed Helms
Ed Helms may have established a persona (always an underdog, but constantly fighting; moments of freaking out underneath that calm exterior), but he has not clearly established what his typical material is.  He is willing to try out a good amount of different comedic strategies.  And that can be a risk.  The story of how Rascal T. Peppercorn inspired him towards a life in show business had some elements of success, even though it could have failed horribly.  But Ed stood up on the stage confidently, and he delivered.

Best Musical Guest
In terms of musical guests, this was THE best season in SNL history, at least for as long as I’ve been a regular viewer.  There were nine stellar acts that would have easily made the top three in a normal year, six very good acts who would have had a chance to make the top three in a normal year, four good or solid acts, and three mediocre acts that all actually had one good performance.

Kanye West
“Power” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fxmQwLwrP0
“Runaway” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-jr8ft7br8
If you think that Kanye West is a jerk, then fine.  He may well be.  But don’t let that blind you of the immensity of his accomplishments, with his instantly classic SNL appearance near the top of what he has pulled off in the past year.  With the whitewashed stage and the cadre of backup ballerinas, Kanye pulled off what was once thought impossible: making the SNL stage his own.

Runners-Up:
Arcade Fire
“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab2DDmwYVQw
When in doubt, include eight members in your band.  That’ll fill up the stage mighty fine.  It is also nice to perform songs that invite every member to be constantly moving and that feature transcendent backing vocals and that go along nicely with whimsical pageantry.  When you are performing live, you want to be able to emote.

Kings of Leon
“Radioactive” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq0tMOpKmgs
“Pyro” – http://www.yinyuetai.com/video/106488
Sometimes a band is described as a great live band.  I often find such a compliment goofy, because to know that a band is great, one does not to see them.  Hearing should be enough, and the recorded version provides plenty to be heard.  That is not to say that bands cannot be great live, and Kings of Leon make that clear, because I when see them live, I truly understand what it means to be a great live band.

If the musical guests were judged based on their appearances in sketches along with their performances, here’s how the top would go:
1. Rihanna
2. Lady GaGa
3. Nicki Minaj
4. Arcade Fire

If they were judged only by their appearances in sketches, then it would be:
1. Katy Perry
2. Rihanna
3. Lady GaGa

Best Commercial Parody
The Mosque at Ground Zero
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/wedding-venue/1251410/
This is what all parties involved should really be afraid about regarding the proposed community center near Ground Zero: hucksterism promoting “classy” (cheap) values while only setting out to make a quick buck.

Runners-Up:
Crunkmas Karnival
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/underground-holiday-event/1265918/
DJ Supersoak and Lil’ Blaster’s strategy for promoting the Crunkmas Karnival is basically the same as the one they used last year for the Kickspit Underground Rock Festival, and it just goes to show you that there is no shortage of acts that suggest askew sexuality/scatology (Dump, Butt Snack) or surprising homoeroticism (Boyz II Dickz) and no lack of unusual ways for semi-celebrities to make guest appearances (comedy from Phil Spector, a mayonnaise fight with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop).

I-Sleep Pro
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/i-sleeppro/1252488/
I am all for humor that touches upon race, not necessarily because making humor out of racism weakens it (though that may be somewhat true), but because the vocabulary and philosophy of race are often just so silly.  Accordingly, the concept of this commercial parody was based on a pun: “black” noise instead of white noise, which is a type of noise that has nothing to do with skin color.  Also, Kenan is the king of making broad comedy that could be racist into something that is not racist and vaguely cerebral.

Best Digital Short
What Was That?
Like many other great digital shorts, “What Was That?” was notable for its music, and I’m not just talking about Andy’s white-boy rapping in this case.  That driving synth score provided by the rest of the model U.N. has really come to stick with me.  Arcade Fire’s appearance was appropriately complementary (and also more gratifying than another musical act coda to a recent classic SNL sketch – Tenacious D’s wrap-up song for the “Spelling Bee” sketch).

Runners-Up:
Ronnie and Clyde
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/digital-short-shy-ronnie-and-clyde/1257067/
It is not just that Ronnie is so comically inept in his appearances with Rihanna.  It is also that Rihanna’s rhymes are so tight, and the beat is so right.  These duets could pass for actual Rihanna songs.  RiRi is very cute in her thirties-meets-modern outfit, and she knows how to play to her audience of bank employees and customers.  Also, Ronnie’s getup was probably closer than Faye Dunaway’s to the real Bonnie Parker, who was notoriously ugly.

I Just Had Sex
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl-digital-short-i-just-had-sex/1265873
Like “I’m on a Boat,” the major aspect of the comedy of “I Just Had Sex” was not the lyrics in and of themselves, but the fact that it was not too different from some hip-hop songs that are sung sincerely.  Akon yelling out his own name and the names of his collaborators?  That happens all the time.  The beat was your standard hip-hop beat.  The bluntness of the lyrics was only a little bit blunter than normal.

Best Weekend Update Segment
Stefon
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-stefon/1255801/
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-stefon/1264555/
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-stefon/1291768/
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/update-stefon/1228189/
It has been a while since a recurring SNL routine has been unanimously and resoundingly embraced as Stefon’s appearances have been.  Celebrity Jeopardy! may have been the last.  Normally, when compiling my best-of picks, I choose particular appearances of recurring bits, instead of having every occurrence of that bit count as one selection.  If two (or more) renditions of the same bit are honored in a particular category, then so be it.  But if I were to stick with that rule this year, then Stefon would have filled all three spots in this category.  And that lack of variety would not have been too interesting.  So, for the sake of being able to mention other great Update segments from this season, Stefon’s win encompasses all of his appearances.

Runners-Up:
Secondhand News with Anthony Crispino
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-anthony-crispino/1311343/
The year in Weekend Update 2010-2011 was the year of Stefon and the year of the Secondhand News.  Anthony Crispino’s pun-based riffs on the news were the sort of SNL routines that SNL fans find themselves repeating verbatim to their friends and family whenever they can be snuck into a conversation.  There is a particularly American style to reporting the news incorrectly and yet being so confident in its accuracy.  His top appearance came in early March, when he reported that Arkansas Governor Huckleberry Hound was upset about Natalie Portman making a baby out of dreadlocks and that Charlie Rose had sent out millions of messages via Twizzlers (“there’s candy everywhere!”) after he was fired from his show Two Guys, A Girl, and Half a Pizza Place. 

The Rent is Too Damn High Party Candidate Jimmy McMillan
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-jimmy-mcmillan/1255800/
Too often in sketch comedy when parodying ridiculous people, performers make the mistake of simply repeating what those people have done and said.  Kenan’s portrayal of Jimmy McMillan worked because of the details that were absurd reworkings of McMillan’s shtick (an apartment that cost $7 million to rent) and the details that were just plain made up (“breakfast, lunch, and dinner”).

Best 10 to 1 Sketch (Last Sketch of the Night)
The Even More Expendables
http://vimeo.com/15334799
Not only did this sketch parody The Expendables and its strategy of throwing everything and the kitchen sink together to make a movie, it also had a very end-of-the-night feel to it in the same regard, as SNL threw all its best, most random leftover impressions into a stew whose parts did not go together.  And it all appeared to be more entertaining than the actual Expendables.

Runners-Up:
A Taste of New York
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/a-taste-of-new-york/1268803/
While last year’s best 10 to 1 sketches would have worked at any time of the night, this year’s best, especially “A Taste of New York,” could have ever only worked around 1:00 AM.  It was a bizarre and unsavory tale of rats, homelessness, and scabs that worked thanks to the dedication of Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and Jim Carrey in rendering themselves true New York characters.

Titanic
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/titanic/1313757/
By sheer force of will, Zach Galifianakis insisted that this sketch (that probably should have been twice as long as it was) about a reckless and selfish ship’s captain be memorable, in typical Galifianakian fashion.

Honorable Mention: Who Do I Have to Screw to Get a Drink Around Here?
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/its-a-living/1263416/
This sketch was not quite the last of the night, but it may very well have still aired at 12:50, as the one sketch that came afterwards was one of those super-short “American America” animated shorts.  Thus, it was close enough to being a 10 to 1 sketch, and deserves at least a mention (as I would have picked it at number one had it been a true 10 to 1).  Two guys wondered aloud the classic query, “Who do I have to screw to get a drink around here?”  And they actually got an answer, in the form of Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, decked out in homeless wizard-style chic.

Best Episode
Miley Cyrus/The Strokes (3/5/10)
This episode had all the elements of classic SNL: sharp topical riffs (Charlie’s Sheen fingerprints were all over the place), a willing host with plenty of baggage (the “I’m Sorry But I’m Not Perfect” monologue, the Miley Cyrus Show, the Disney Channel Acting School) and a load of weirdness (Our Time!, Richie Inez, Jr. in The Sound of Music, Les Jeunes de Paris).  And it goes without saying that the musical guest was great.

Runners-Up:
Jim Carrey/The Black Keys (1/8/10)
It took a little while, but by the middle of this episode, Jim Carrey had grabbed it by the throat and made it his own, inside and out (Merryville Trolley Ride, Medium Impressionist).  He is the sort of host with the power to make the show listen to him when he insists that it will be as he wants it to be.  And it goes without saying that the musical guest was great.

Ed Helms/Paul Simon (5/14/11)
There were several episodes contending for the top spots this year, all with a little of this, and a little of that.  The Ed Helms-hosted joint, solid from top to bottom, stood out thanks to its buzzworthy elements (the live action Ambiguously Gay Duo, the real Lindsey Buckingham on “What Up With That?”).  And it goes without saying that the musical guest was great.

Best Lines
1. “Where is your brain?!  In your butt?!” – Marvin (Kenan), from the St. Kat’s Middle School sketch
2. “Ethnic cleansing?  Talk to the hand!” – Model U.N. member (Andy), from “What Was That?”
3. “It combines time travel with screaming.” – Nic Cage (Andy), from “Get in the Cage,” with Jake Gyllenhaal
4. “Uh-oh.  Boner alert!” – Clyde (Rihanna), from “Ronnie and Clyde”
5. “I will not work with children, although I will dance with them.” – Sandall Barnes (Jon Hamm), from the Audition sketch
6. “Came popping out my momma like some kettle corn” – one of the creeps (Akiva), from “The Creep”
7. “Well, you know how will.i.am is a way of saying William?  apl.de.ap is a way of saying Apple-too-ul-pop.” – apl.de.ap (Kenan), from “Our Time!”
8. “The Middle East?  Quit goofing around!” – Model U.N. member (Andy), from “What Was That?”
9. “Iceberg up ahead.  Think I’ll blast through that sucker.” – Passenger (Kristen), reading from the captain’s (Zach Gal) journal, from the Titanic sketch
10. “As y’all probably heard, I’m sexy now.” – Miley Cyrus (Vanessa), from “The Miley Cyrus Show”
11. “I might tinkle in a fake sink.” – Lizette Barnes (Kristen), from the Audition sketch
12. “You’re on Jeff’d, so it doesn’t matter, it’s all staged!” – Jeff Bridges, from “Jeff’d”
13. “…when you stood up to urinate, everyone saw your pe-a-nis.”  “And, uh, how were the reviews?” – Passenger (Kristen)/Captain (Zach Gal), from the Titanic sketch
14. “And I am from the Matrix!” – Taboo (Andy), from “Our Time!”
15. “And all these oil spills?  Hit the showers!” – Model U.N. member (Andy), from “What Was That?”
16. “I’m allergic to guns.” – Eugene Levy (Fred), from “The Even More Expendables”

Furthermore:
The trend of underutilizing capable hosts continued: Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd (!), Helen Mirren … Most disappointing episode: Russell Brand/Chris Brown … Most surprising episode: Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire, but not because of ScarJo … Did I mention how great the music was this season?