SNL Recap November 22, 2014: Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

November 24, 2014

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

SNL: Mark Ronson, Cameron Diaz, Bruno Mars (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in November 2014.

When people look back through the annals of “SNL,” this episode may go down as the one when the Season 40 cast fully discovered its confidence.  But since episodes are usually cataloged by the guests, this one might be hard to identify, because the guests did not do anything spectacular.  Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars came in and performed a couple of songs, while host Cameron Diaz did not have any showcase performances.  She gamely slotted in to whatever role she was needed in, but this episode was about the likes of Leslie Jones, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, and Beck Bennett asserting themselves in an ideal mix of original and recurring material.  The energy was high, with everyone coming in hard, making their comedic point, and moving on to the next sketch before wearing out their welcome.  The show may have petered out a little bit at the end, but it was still strong enough to set a new high watermark for the season.

Schoolhouse Rock – After a seasons-long rut of unimaginative, cookie-cutter political cold opens, “SNL” went silly and retro.  The result was a “Schoolhouse Rock” parody that was the show’s most pointed take on the current state of affairs in D.C. in years.  All it took to make it happen was Bobby Moynihan’s matter-of-fact delivery of “I’m an executive order, and I pretty much just happen.”  Then it ended abruptly when it seemed like it had plenty more to say, though its point was a simple one, and no more needed to be said. B+

More

What Won TV? – November 16-November 22, 2014

November 23, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

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 – The Good Wife
Monday – American Dad!
Tuesday – New Girl
Wednesday – The Middle had the best episode of the night, but Key & Peele‘s “Aerobics Meltdown” was 4 minutes of sketch comedy bliss.
Thursday – One of Jeopardy!‘s most competitive Tournament of Champions matches ever.
Friday – The Birthday Boys
Saturday – The new SNL was great, and there was also a classic vintage SNL, but Hello Ladies: The Movie successfully concluded its story.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 11/22/14

November 22, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown 1 Comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Tove Lo – “Habits”
2. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
3. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
4. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
5. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
6. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
7. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
8. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
9. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
10. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
11. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”
12. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
13. Nico & Vinz – “In Your Arms”
14. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
15. Mary Lambert – “Secrets”
16. One Direction – “Steal My Girl”
17. Vance Joy – “Riptide”
18. Gwen Stefani – “Baby Don’t Lie”
19. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
20. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Take Me to Church
2. Bang Bang
3. Black Widow
4. Jealous
5. Riptide
6. Shake It Off
7. Blame
8. Waves
9. Baby Don’t Lie
10. Habits
11. Secrets
12. Cool Kids
13. Don’t
14. I’m Not the Only One
15. Heroes (We Could Be)
16. All About That Bass
17. Animals
18. Steal My Girl
19. In Your Arms
20. Trumpets

The Middle 6.7: “Thanksgiving VI”

November 20, 2014

jmunney Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Leave a comment

I hope guest star Gia Mantegna returns to future episodes: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/11/20/the-middle-season-6-episode-7-review-t

New Girl 4.8: “Teachers”

November 19, 2014

jmunney New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television Leave a comment

New Girl taught us how to be a teacher, how to do the laundry, how to use a ruler, and how to love: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/11/19/new-girl-season-4-episode-8-review-why

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 11/18/14

November 19, 2014

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Tove Lo – “Habits (Stay High)”
2. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
3. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
4. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
5. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
6. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
7. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
8. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
9. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
10. Ariana Grande – “Break Free”
11. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
12. Chris Brown ft. Usher and Rick Ross – “New Flame”
13. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”
14. One Direction – “Steal My Girl”
15. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
16. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
17. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
18. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
19. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
20. Pitbull ft. John Ryan – “Fireball”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Break Free
3. Take Me to Church
4. Bang Bang
5. Black Widow
6. Jealous
7. Shake It Off
8. Blame
9. Waves
10. Habits (Stay High)
11. Cool Kids
12. Don’t
13. I’m Not the Only One
14. All About That Bass
15. Animals
16. A Sky Full of Stars
17. Steal My Girl
18. Trumpets
19. Fireball
20. New Flame

What Won TV? – November 9-November 15, 2014

November 17, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

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 – Mr. Pickles
Monday – Gravity Falls
Tuesday – Selfie
Wednesday – The Middle
Thursday – I disagree with Lauren Conrad; I say “yep” to The Eric Andre Show.
Friday – “I can’t even begin” to explain what made Whose Line is it Anyway? so funny.
Saturday – Vintage SNL, with 5-timer Drew Barrymore and Body Fuzion. Woody on new SNL was also great.

Bob’s Burgers 5.3: “Friends with Burger-fits”

November 17, 2014

jmunney Bob's Burgers, Bob's Burgers Episode Reviews, Television Leave a comment

The Belcher kids invented a new trope: Chekhov’s fart. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/11/17/bobs_burgers_season_5_episode_3_review

SNL Recap November 15, 2014: Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar

November 17, 2014

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

SNL: Kendrick Lamar, Woody Harrelson, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in November 2014.

Season 40 of “Saturday Night Live” has been notably light on recurring material; this episode, with the exception of one sketch and one Weekend Update segment, was completely devoid of anything recurring.  While it is nice to have a tendency towards original material, the best “SNL” seasons have always had a decent mix of new and repeating characters.  It is time for the cast and writers to really figure out what they do best and focus on that. If the show was relying on the host to kick itself into gear in this way, then Woody Harrelson was never going to be the man for that job.  Instead, he was happy to ride along with whatever he was asked to do, a style that worked just fine but would have worked better if this season had a better sense of its identity.  Kendrick Lamar definitely brought it, though.

Barack Obama and Mitch McConnell – It can work comedically to have politicians appear laid-back in an atypical setting, but it requires playing off or playing against their known personas.  This sketch did play off Obama’s enmity with the GOP Congress, but it was not specific enough to have anything to do with Mitch McConnell.  Overall, this felt like an impression of the format of this type of gradual time-lapse sketch, but there was hardly any rhyme or reason to its pacing (the subtitles of what number drink the guys were on were meaningless). C

More

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 11/15/14

November 15, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Tove Lo – “Habits”
2. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
3. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
4. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
5. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
6. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
7. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
8. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
9. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
10. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
11. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”
12. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
13. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
14. Nico & Vinz – “In Your Arms”
15. Mary Lambert – “Secrets”
16. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
17. The Script – “Superheroes”
18. Vance Joy – “Riptide”
19. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
20. Gwen Stefani – “Baby Don’t Lie”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Bang Bang
2. Black Widow
3. Jealous
4. Riptide
5. Shake It Off
6. Blame
7. Waves
8. Habits
9. Baby Don’t Lie
10. Secrets
11. Cool Kids
12. Don’t
13. I’m Not the Only One
14. All About That Bass
15. Heroes (We Could Be)
16. Animals
17. A Sky Full of Stars
18. In Your Arms
19. Trumpets
20. Superheroes

Older Entries Newer Entries