SNL Season 39 (2013-2014) Recap

October 1, 2014

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Saturday Night Live, SNL Season Recaps, Television Leave a comment

Saturday Night Live Season 40 has already begun, but let’s not forget about the best of last season.  The full breakdown of my SNL Season 39 recap can be found at the following links:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/20/best_saturday_night_live_cast_members_
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/21/the_10_best_best_saturday_night_live_s
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/21/every_snl_good_neighbor_comedy_skit_sh
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/22/the_best_saturday_night_live_episodes_
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/23/the_best_saturday_night_live_guests_of
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/24/the_best_saturday_night_live_weekend_u
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/26/the_best_of_saturday_night_live_season

Most Valuable Cast Members
1. Aidy Bryant
2. Kate McKinnon
Rookies of the Year:
1. Kyle Mooney
2. Beck Bennett

Best Sketches
1. We Did Stop (the Government)
2. Super Champions with Kyle
3. The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders
4. Hip Hop Classics: Before They Were Stars
5. Guess That Phrase
6. (Do It on My) Twin Bed
7. Ice Cream
8. Blue River Dog Food
9. Josie
T10. (TIE) Flirty/dancing/A Very Smoky 420/Chris Fitzpatrick for President

Best 10-to-1 Sketches
1. Super Champions
2. Tourists
3. Herman & Sons Sperm
4. Halloween Candy

Best Host
1. Drake
2. Louis C.K.
3. Charlize Theron

Best Monologue
1. Anna Kendrick
2. Louis C.K.
3. Andy Samberg

Best Musical Guests
1. The Black Keys
2. Sam Smith
3. St. Vincent

Best Commercial Parody
The Bird Bible

Best Weekend Update Segment
1. Jebediah Atkinson
2. Olya Povlatsky
3. Drunk Uncle and Drunker Uncle

Every Good Neighbor Short Ranked
1. Wing
2. Super Champions with Kyle
3. Ice Cream
4. Flirty
5. Dancing
6. A Very Smoky 420
7. Chris Fitzpatrick
8. Tourists
9. Miley Sex Tape
10. Inside SoCal
11. Sigma
12. Will Smith Concert
13. i know

Best Episode
1. Miley Cyrus (10/5/13)
2. Jonah Hill/Bastille (1/25/14)
3. Drake (1/18/14)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Imagine Dragons (2/1/14)
5. Louis C.K./Sam Smith (3/29/14)

Best Dress Rehearsal Cuts That Were Posted Online
1. Wing
2. Viper

Best Quote
“If someone was like, ‘Hey, come live in this house, there’s only nine of us,’ I would say, ‘You got it dude!'” – Olya Pavlotsky (Kate McKinnon), on Weekend Update

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 9/30/14

October 1, 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. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
2. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
3. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
4. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
5. Tove Lo – “Habits”
6. Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
7. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
8. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
9. Sia – “Chandelier”
10. Ariana Grande – “Break Free”
11. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
12. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
13. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
14. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”
15. Katy Perry – “This Is How We Do”
16. Magic! – “Rude”
17. 5 Seconds of Summer – “Amnesia”
18. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, and Sean Paul – “Bailando”
19. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
20. Chris Brown ft. Usher and Rick Ross – “New Flame”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Break Free
3. Bang Bang
4. Black Widow
5. Blame
6. Shake It Off
7. Stay With Me
8. Rather Be
9. Cool Kids
10. Don’t
11. Habits
12. This Is How We Do
13. Anaconda
14. Rude
15. Maps
16. All About That Bass
17. Trumpets
18. Bailando
19. New Flame
20. Amnesia

What Won TV? – September 21-September 27, 2014

September 29, 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 – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – New Girl
Wednesday – The Goldbergs (though the Gay Marriage Advice sketch from Key & Peele was the best scene of the night)
Thursday – Parenthood (though toes plopping out of Bob Odenkirk’s stomach deserves special mention)
Friday – Jeopardy!, playing for the tie
Saturday – Saturday Night Live, both vintage and new

SNL Season 40 Premiere Recap September 27, 2014: Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande

September 29, 2014

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

SNL: Ariana Grande, Chris Pratt (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in September 2014.

To kick off its milestone 40th season, “SNL” entrusted the premiere to first-time guests Chris Pratt and Ariana Grande.  Pratt proved to be the perfect utility player host, comfortably slotting into all his roles without overshadowing the cast.  His trademark goofy energy could have been put to greater use, but this was an episode of “SNL” that wanted to try out new material and cover some of the most pressing news stories.  New cast members Michael Che and Pete Davidson looked perfectly comfortable as they made auspicious debuts.  Overall, this was an episode that was not entirely focused but was overall more interesting and more experimental than “SNL” usually allows itself to be.  Let’s take a closer look at each of the sketches:

State of the Union with Candy Crowley – This is one of those typical “SNL” cold openings: a news talk show parody that allows multiple stories to be covered with minimal connective tissue.  At least in this case, the various stories were all under the same umbrella of “NFL in Crisis.”  While Roger Goodell and former Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis and Shannon Sharpe all had their funny moments, this sketch did not make much of a point beyond “Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are not the only NFL players who have had legal troubles.” Lewis’s hook of constantly changing the subject to kids going to school made up for the fact that this was yet another non-impression from Kenan Thompson, while Sharpe continued to be one of Jay Pharoah’s best impressions, with a particularly Eddie Murphy-esque laugh. B-

More

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 9/27/14

September 27, 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. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
2. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
3. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
4. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
5. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
6. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
7. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
8. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
9. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
10. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
11. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
12. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
13. Sia – “Chandelier”
14. Katy Perry – “This Is How We Do”
15. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
16. Train – “Angel in Blue Jeans”
17. Tove Lo – “Habits”
18. American Authors – “Believer”
19. The Script – “Superheroes”
20. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Bang Bang
3. Black Widow
4. Shake It Off
5. Stay With Me
6. Hideaway
7. Rather Be
8. Cool Kids
9. Boom Clap
10. Don’t
11. Habits
12. This Is How We Do
13. Really Don’t Care
14. Maps
15. A Sky Full of Stars
16. Trumpets
17. All About That Bass
18. Angel in Blue Jeans
19. Superheroes
20. Believer

Jeffrey Malone Announces New Writing Gig

September 26, 2014

jmunney Announcements, Bob's Burgers, Cinema, Mulaney, Music, New Girl, Saturday Night Live, Television, The Middle 1 Comment

Dear Readers,

After 4+ years of writing on this blog, I have been hired as a contributing writer at Starpulse.com, where I have been tasked with TV episode reviews and general blogging entertainment.  Some of the features that I have been covering here will be migrating to Starpulse.  I will still be maintaining this blog to get the word out on all my professional writing and to cover any topics that I do not get to on Starpulse, or other future ventures.

The shows I am covering for the 2014-15 season are Bob’s Burgers, The Middle, Mulaney, New Girl, and Saturday Night Live.  Here are my reviews of the first two episodes of this season’s New Girl:

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/17/new_girl_season_4_episode_1_sex_fist

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/24/new_girl_season_4_episode_2_winston_to

and my review of the season 6 premiere of The Middle:

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/09/25/the_middle_season_6_premiere_review_ye

Thank you for reading as I enter this new stage of my writing journey.

With fondness,

Jeffrey “jmunney” Malone

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 9/23/14

September 24, 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. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
2. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
3. Iggy Azalea ft. Nicki Minaj – “Black Widow”
4. Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
5. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
6. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
7. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – “Break Free”
8. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
9. Sia – “Chandelier”
10. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
11. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
12. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
13. Tove Lo – “Habits”
14. Magic! – “Rude”
15. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
16. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, and Sean Paul – “Bailando”
17. 5 Seconds of Summer – “Amnesia”
18. Katy Perry – “This Is How We Do”
19. Jason Derulo – “Trumpets”
20. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Break Free
3. Black Widow
4. Shake It Off
5. Stay With Me
6. Bang Bang
7. Rather Be
8. Cool Kids
9. Boom Clap
10. Don’t
11. Habits
12. This Is How We Do
13. Anaconda
14. Rude
15. Maps
16. A Sky Full of Stars
17. All About That Bass
18. Trumpets
19. Bailando
20. Amnesia

Jmunney’s Fall 2014 TV Viewing Schedule

September 23, 2014

jmunney Television Leave a comment

New shows are in ALL CAPS. Shows that I will sample but might not stick with are in (parentheses). Old shows that I’m adding are in [brackets].

SUNDAY
Bob’s Burgers
The Simpsons
Family Guy
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
MULANEY
[The Good Wife]
MR. PICKLES

MONDAY-THURSDAY
Conan

MONDAY-FRIDAY
Jeopardy!

MONDAY
GOTHAM
The Big Bang Theory
Gravity Falls
American Dad!

TUESDAY
THE FLASH
New Girl
The Mindy Project
MARRY ME
(SELFIE)

WEDNESDAY
Arrow
The Middle
[The Goldbergs]
Modern Family
BLACK-ISH
The League
Key & Peele

THURSDAY
Scandal
Parenthood
TIM & ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES

FRIDAY
GIRL MEETS WORLD

SATURDAY
VH1 Top 20 Countdown
Doctor Who
Saturday Night Live

What Won TV? – September 14-September 20, 2014

September 21, 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 – American Dad! (the 2nd episode of the night)
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – New Girl
Wednesday – The Meltdown Show with Jonah and Kumail
Thursday – You’re the Worst is (one of) the best (new shows of the year).
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – Doctor Who

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 9/20/14

September 21, 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. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
2. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
3. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
4. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
5. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
6. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
7. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
8. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
9. Sia – “Chandelier”
10. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
11. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
12. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
13. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
14. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
15. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
16. Train – “Angel in Blue Jeans”
17. Katy Perry – “This Is How We Do”
18. Magic! – “Rude”
19. American Authors – “Believer”
20. Tove Lo – “Habits”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Latch
3. Black Widow
4. Shake It Off
5. Hideaway
6. Stay With Me
7. Bang Bang
8. Rather Be
9. Cool Kids
10. Boom Clap
11. Don’t
12. Habits
13. This Is How We Do
14. Really Don’t Care
15. Rude
16. Maps
17. A Sky Full of Stars
18. All About That Bass
19. Angel in Blue Jeans
20. Believer

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