Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
April 3, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Archer, Better Call Saul, Childrens Hospital, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Space Pants, The Carmichael Show, The Chris Gethard Show, The People vs. O.J. Simpson 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 Carmichael Show
Monday – Better Call Saul
Tuesday – The People vs. OJ Simpson
Wednesday – Quit your job, so that you can watch The Chris Gethard Show full time.
Thursday – Archer
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – SPACE PANTS!
March 27, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, Childrens Hospital, Jane the Virgin, Last Week Tonight, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The Goldbergs, The People vs. O.J. Simpson 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 – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – The People vs OJ Simpson (also, Martin vs. Seinfeld)
Wednesday – The Goldbergs
Thursday – Baskets, wrapping up an undefeated Season 1
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – The Meet the Press sketch from the Vintage SNL with John McCain
March 13, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Ariana Grande, Ariana Grande Impressions, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4115, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41 1 Comment
SNL Promo: Taran Killam, Ariana Grande (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in March 2016.
Musical guests may have limited range compared to most “SNL” hosts, but they are still entertainers. On top of that, Ariana Grande is also a veteran of Nickelodeon, which – while excessively hacky – tends to make professionals out of its kid stars. If Grande is given good material, she will know how to hit her marks. So it should not be considered shocking that her hosting debut is mostly a success. But who would have guessed that in the pantheon of great “SNL” hosts, she would be most similar to Kevin Spacey?
CNN America’s Choice 2016 – Once again, the cold opening is a political catchall, but this one works better than most thanks to a more streamlined focus, with only the best impressions of the season (sans Hillary, though her moment comes later). Darrell Hammond and Jay Pharoah have sufficiently creepy chemistry as Trump and Carson, but the real twist is Larry David’s latest Bern-ing cameo. He rants delightfully on and on about the latest foibles of the primary, reserving special disdain for superdelegates (“I’ve met some of these superdelegates. They’re not that super”). B
March 13, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Ariana Grande, Baskets, Childrens Hospital, Jane the Virgin, Last Week Tonight, Man Seeking Woman, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, VICE 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 – Can Last Week Tonight with John Oliver be its own special-purpose district?
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – The People vs OJ Simpson
Wednesday – Man Seeking Woman fulfilled its promise in Season 2.
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – TIE: VICE and Childrens Hospital met very different TV needs.
Saturday – Ariana Grande made quite the impression on SNL.
March 6, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Future, Jonah Hill, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4114, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41, The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party Leave a comment
SNL: Future, Jonah Hill, Future (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in March 2016.
Jonah Hill does not proclaim “I’m six!” during any part of his fourth stint on “SNL.” This is not the sort of episode that relies completely on steady favorites, nor is it the sort of episode in which the host is clearly promoting something. (Hill’s last movie was “Hail, Caesar!,” which he appeared in for all of five minutes.) Also, Future is the musical guest. He is one of those artists who is really hot right now even though a significant portion of the “SNL” viewership have surely never heard of him.
CNN America’s Choice 2016 – After a few weeks off, “SNL” gets back in the groove of cold openings that run down the latest electoral goings-on. This is a low ceiling/high floor venture: it is too scattered to have a real selling point, but nothing lasts long enough to stink up the joint and the individual parts are all decent. The highlight, such as there is one, is a returning favorite: Jason Sudeikis’ reprisal of his Mitt Romney. The material is predictable (he’s a vanilla Mormon milquetoast), but refreshing, as there are only so many incisive jokes that can be squeezed out of the current candidates. B-
February 14, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, Childrens Hospital, Jane the Virgin, Man Seeking Woman, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Super Bowl Babies, The People vs. O.J. Simpson 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 – Super Bowl Babies
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Wednesday – Man Seeking Woman, Jesus Edition
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – Kanye vs. Kyle rap battle on SNL
February 7, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television bern your enthusiasm, Bernie Sanders, Can a bitch get a donut, Kevin Roberts, Larry David, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4112, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41, The 1975 1 Comment
SNL: Larry David, The 1975, Kate McKinnon
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in February 2016.
If you want to enjoy life, it is best to keep complaining to a minimum. But if you want to put on a good comedy show, you’re going to want to have some complaints. That is why Larry David is an ideal “SNL” host, even though he is the type of guy who hates hosting anything. That tension of constantly being bothered by the things that he is best at is the stuff that dreams, and memorable television, are made of. The fact that he also looks and sounds exactly like one of the major presidential candidates is just a bonus.
A Message from Ted Cruz – The show kicks off with “SNL” showing perhaps its strongest bite yet in this election cycle, with Taran Killam pulling no punches in his portrayal of Ted Cruz as the most odious human being ever. While this is admirably fearless, it is not the freshest angle. It kind of writes itself, honestly, what with his daughter refusing to hug him and tricking voters into believing that an opponent has dropped out of the race. Framing the greatest challenge of his campaign as overcoming the handicap of “Being Ted Cruz” is a neat enough trick, making for a cold opening that is more clever than surprising. B-
February 7, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, bern your enthusiasm, Childrens Hospital, Man Seeking Woman, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The Good Wife, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, The X-Files 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 – The X-Files, with Rhys Darby astutely observing the ridiculousness of ties
Tuesday – The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Wednesday – Man Seeking Woman
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – bern your enthusiasm, and all of SNL really
January 24, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Ronda Rousey, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4111, Saturday Night Live Season 41, Selena Gomez, SNL, SNL Season 41 1 Comment
SNL: Selena Gomez, Ronda Rousey, Cecily Strong (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2016.
With a few exceptions, athletes tend to be rather limited in their usefulness on “SNL.” Just having the host play him or herself or some variation in every sketch can solve this problem. But Ronda Rousey and/or the writers concede this point and give her very little to do throughout the night. Thus, she does not really affect the overall quality of the episode one way or the other. There are a few great sketches, a few okay ones, and some recurring sketches that seem to be hiding their recurring status.
Trump Rally – With Sarah Palin’s typically loopy endorsement of the Donald dominating this week’s election coverage, it felt like a no-brainer to bring Tina Fey back home (so long as she could make it through the snow). Back in 2008, there was the sketch parodying the Katie Couric interview of Palin, which was basically just a recreation of the original. The same approach could have easily been employed again this time around, but it ends up just being the jumping off point; she mentions the “bitter clinging” and adds some new rhymes and free associations (“Mom, 2 Broke Girls, and Three Men and a Baby” is a highlight). In addition, the asides from Trump serve as an astute, though not especially deep, commentary. B
January 24, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, Childrens Hospital, Jeopardy!, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The Grinder, The Middle 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 – Mike Tyson Mysteries
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – The Grinder
Wednesday – The Middle, which is best appreciated not from a distance, but intimately
Thursday – Baskets is the best show of 2016.
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – “The Screen Guild Awards,” as seen on SNL
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