It's finally here- the premiere of Outlander's second season is Saturday, April 9th on Starz. Mark your calendars everyone. The new trailer includes a pretty massive spoiler for non-book fans, so be warned:
RECAP: SNL 2/06 "Larry David"
Larry David hosts SNL, guys! How cool is this? Pretty, pretty, pretty cool, I'd say. Still, it is SNL, so the skits were hit and miss as always, but there were some definite real hits, and for some reason just seeing him there doing it was fun and exciting in a way most hosts aren't.
COLD OPEN: It opens with Taran as Ted Cruz, delivering a message to us following his Iowa caucus victory. It's a pretty savage slam on the rat-faced senator everyone hates, even his own daughter according to the video that went viral this week. It's not hilarious though, even though I agree with the jabs at Cruz in general.
MONOLOGUE: Larry's here! And we are treated to some old school Larry David stand-up, which is funnier than 90% of what they do on SNL every season. He's pure Larry David all the way, from the constant self-deprecating to the promising of an "okay" show at best.
KEVIN ROGERS: A weird skit with FBI trainees being taught to shoot and getting confused at whether they should target Larry's "Kevin Rogers," an 80's dressed cliche with a portable phone in his hand. This is a very random skit that gets slightly more amusing as it goes on, with the inexplicable joke becoming kinda funny just for that reason due to Larry's efforts. But it's mostly a dud.
BERN YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Okay, here's the one everyone will be talking about. Yep, it's a spoof of Curb with Larry as Bernie Sanders trying and failing to procure enough votes in Iowa. It's awesome, and of course it's a dead on parody of Curb, as it should be, considering Larry's involvement. A+ for this one.
SINKING SHIP: Some kind of Titanic-esque sinking in the 1900's is happening, with Larry mocking the "women and children first" requirement and yelling at the people in the boats. It's kinda ok, but then the real Bernie Sanders cameos to lecture about not just saving the 1% and it's what everyone's been waiting for, of course. People just like Bernie, but I think I prefer Larry's version of him, to be honest.
PIZZA ROLLS: Vanessa's Super Bowl housewife is back to talk about making food for her "hungry guys" watching the game again, but then they become like alien pod people and it turns into some kind of X-Files ad. Um, ok? Weird. At least it was short.
UPDATE: For the first time in a long time, I feel like Update more or less works tonight, but mostly thanks to the can't-make-this-up comic fodder provided once more by Republican candidates in their last debate. Seriously, all Colin has to do is show the real life footage to get laughs here. Then Kate comes on as her new character of "Barb," the butch Barbie not put on the shelf this week, while new guy John comes out to do a Dirty Dancing spoof of Patrick Swayze (not that funny but he does seriously commit to a lengthy dance/mime number). Finally, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson show up as Derek Zoolander and Hansel to talk politics, and pretty much nail the whole thing, because those guys were always basically an SNL skit unto themselves. Love it.
SONGWRITING: This one's a flop, with Pete trying to teach songwriting lessons to a class and Larry keeps screwing up the words- not funny, but Larry gives it his all anyway. I love him, you guys.
SUPER BOWL GREETING: Kenan and Taran play "Ebony & Ivory" on the piano together as quarterbacks Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, while they mock the media's very different coverage of the two of them and wonder what the reasons could be. Premise is solid and the skit is short, so I'd say it works.
SHEILA: Kate's late night bar sketch is back, with her this time trying to hook up with Larry as they gross out Kenan the ever present bartender trying to kick them out. These have gotten progressively less funny the more they do them, until it gets to the makeout portion, which is always amusing as Kate goes for it with each and every guy who's willing. But my favorite of these remains the Louis CK one.
So that was it, guys- we got Larry, Bernie Sanders, and at least a couple good skits, so I give this one a B. I don't know what made Larry David have this sudden turnaround on the idea of doing SNL after thirty years, but I'm sure glad he's had this change of heart. It was very cool to see him here. Next week we got Melissa McCarthy for what I think is her third hosting stint (or maybe fourth?), so we'll see how that goes. Until then, go Broncos!
'Empire' and 'Black-ish' Win Big at NAACP Image Awards
The Image Awards honored Black-ish and Empire with the most awards for television last night, with most of each show's actors receiving recognition as well in top categories.
2016 NAACP Image Awards for TV
- Best Comedy Series: Black-ish
- Best Actor in Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
- Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Tracee Ellis-Ross, Black-ish
- Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Mike Epps, Survivor's Remorse
- Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Marsai Martin, Black-ish
- Best Directing in a Comedy Series: House of Lies
- Best Writing in a Comedy Series: Black-ish
- Best Drama Series: Empire
- Best Actor in a Drama Series: Terence Howard, Empire
- Best Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, Empire
- Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Joe Morton, Scandal
- Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Regina King, American Crime
- Best Directing in a Drama Series: American Crime
- Best Writing in a Drama Series: Being Mary Jane
- Best TV Movie/Miniseries/Special: The Wiz Live
- Best Actor in a TV Movie/Mini/Special: David Alan Grier, The Wiz Live
- Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini/Special: Queen Latifah, Bessie
- Best Directing in a TV Movie: Bessie
- Best Writing in a Movie/Mini/Special: The Book of Negroes
- Best News/Information: Unsung
- Best Talk Series: The Talk
- Best Variety Series: Family Feud
- Best Host: Steve Harvey
- Best Reality Program: Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
- Best Children's Program: Doc McStuffins
- Best Performance by a Youth: Marcus Scribner, Black-ish
Repeat Winners Dominate SAG on the TV Side
The big story on the TV side was that quite a few of the wins went to actors of color, including Elba, who went 2 for 2 in nominations, Latifah, Davis and Aduba, while Orange is the New Black repeated as ensemble winner, and unbelievably, Downton Abbey did for the third time as well. I have NO idea what's going on with that award for Downton or how on earth they keep winning it. It's the only thing they win over and over again, and I'm at a total loss to explain it. They have a huge cast, but not the biggest, that's Game of Thrones, so that's not it. It's a mystery. The only person to win tonight for series was Tambor, who feels like he's won before, because he's won so many other awards. I didn't fare too well with my picks though- just three right, with three of my alternates winning.
- BEST DRAMA SERIES ENSEMBLE: Downton Abbey
- BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA: Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
- BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA: Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
- BEST COMEDY SERIES ENSEMBLE: Orange is the New Black
- BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
- BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
- BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE/MINISERIES: Idris Elba, Luther
- BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE/MINISERIES: Queen Latifah, Bessie
2016 SAG TV Predictions
Time now for the SAG predictions on the TV side. I make no claims to be an expert on this one though. From what I can tell, SAG likes to reward veterans above all else (the Downton Abbey cast has won ensemble the last two years in a row), so my picks here are mostly going to reflect that.
BEST COMEDY ENSEMBLE
- The Big Bang Theory
- Key & Peele
- Modern Family
- Orange is the New Black
- Transparent
- Veep
My best guess here would be the cast of Veep, since it's been on a roll with industry awards in the last year, and with four seasons under its belt, I suppose they ought to count as being a veteran cast by now. But Modern Family could always win again, or Orange as well. I would say it's a three-way toss-up in this category.
Winner: Veep
Alternate: Modern Family
Dark Horse: Orange is the New Black
BEST COMEDY ACTOR
- Ty Burrell, Modern Family
- Louis C.K., Louie
- William H. Macy, Shameless
- Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
- Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Everyone in this category can rightfully be described as a veteran, so it's kind of another toss-up. But Tambor has won so many of these lately, so I'd say it's SAG's turn to pick him.
Winner: Jeffrey Tambor
Alternate: Ty Burrell
Dark Horse: William H. Macy
BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
- Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
- Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
- Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
- Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
I really have no clue on this one. Julia's won it, Uzo won it last year- could it be Amy's turn, as her last chance to win for Parks? It's just as likely one of those other two repeats, frankly.
Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Alternate: Uzo Aduba
Dark Horse: Amy Poehler
BEST DRAMA ENSEMBLE
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- Homeland
- House of Cards
- Mad Men
I'm going with Game of Thrones after its Emmy wins, but don't count out Downton Abbey or even Mad Men for its last season.
Winner: Game of Thrones
Alternate: Downton Abbey
Dark Horse: Mad Men
BEST DRAMA ACTOR
- Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
- Jon Hamm, Mad Men
- Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
- Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
- Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
After his Emmy and Globe wins, I think Jon Hamm completes the trifecta for the final season of Mad Men with a SAG win here.
Winner: Jon Hamm
Alternate: Kevin Spacey
Dark Horse: Peter Dinklage
BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
- Claire Danes, Homeland
- Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
- Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
- Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
- Robin Wright, House of Cards
Viola won it last year, so I'm gonna go with Maggie Smith, believe it or not. One more for the grand dame of Downton.
Winner: Maggie Smith
Alternate: Viola Davis
Dark Horse: Claire Danes
BEST MOVIE/MINISERIES ACTOR
- Idris Elba, Luther
- Ben Kingsley, Tut
- Ray Liotta, Texas Rising
- Bill Murray, A Very Murray Christmas
- Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
I'm picking Elba, since he won't win for Beasts of No Nation on the film side. But Rylance has a shot here too.
Winner: Idris Elba
Alternate: Mark Rylance
Dark Horse: Bill Murray
BEST MOVIE/MINISERIES ACTRESS
- Nicole Kidman, Grace of Monaco
- Queen Latifah, Bessie
- Christina Ricci, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
- Susan Sarandon, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
- Kristen Wiig, The Spoils Before Dying
Based on the buzz for these movies/series alone, I would think Latifah would take this, so there you go.
Winner: Queen Latifah
Alternate: Kristen Wiig
Abe Vigoda 1921-2016
Abe Vigoda, longtime veteran actor best known for his role as Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the 1970's sitcom Barney Miller, passed away at 94. Vigoda was also known as Tessio in the Godfather movies, but often as the subject of a decades long running gag regarding mistaken reports of his death that first surfaced in the early 1980's. Vigoda made fun of it himself, often showing up on late night shows like Letterman and Conan to poke fun at his not yet dead status, and one of his more recent credits was a Super Bowl ad from 2010 with Betty White that mocked both actors' advanced ages. To me he's most known, strangely enough, as John Travolta's grumpy grandfather in the first Look Who's Talking, which I happened to have seen by sheer circumstance enough times to note it as my own personal connection to the actor everyone seemed to recognize from something.
Betty White/Abe Vigoda Snickers ad:
RECAP: SNL 1/23 "Ronda Rousey"
This week's SNL was a pretty mediocre affair, even if everyone braved Winter Storm Jonas to show up at the studio in the middle of the blizzard. But athletes rarely deliver in terms of performance, and Ronda Rousey was no exception. In fact, she was hidden most of the night, given just one or two lines per sketch. The rest was plagued by the usual subpar writing, although it wasn't as downright bizarre as last week.
COLD OPEN: Tina Fey returns as Sarah Palin to mock her rambling, nonsensical endorsement of Trump this week. This should have been really easy, but they kinda muck it up by having Trump (Darrell) constantly turn to the camera to give a lame running commentary on her craziness. What's funny is that like many of Fey's past caricatures of Palin, the send-up fails in comparison the batshit insanity that was the real thing. Seriously, check it out. The woman must be permanently high.
MONOLOGUE: Ronda Rousey bounds out to mock the blizzard and gets help from the cast as commentators who rate her monologue like one of her fights. It's pretty meh.
SAG: The best thing they did all night, as a spoof of an awards show that nominated all white actors from movies made about important black stories. It's pointed and pretty hilarious when "all the white guys" win Best Actor, although I can't help but note how SNL itself was being regularly slammed for the non-diversity in its ranks just two years ago. How fast things can change when you finally make the moves, right?
HIGH SCHOOL: A strange, pre-taped bit where Beck as a popular high school jock takes Ronda to the gym where Vanessa and her popular girl clique tries to humiliate her. But of course Ronda beats her to a pulp. This isn't that funny though, it's just weird and off.
BLAND MAN: The Bachelor parody that they've done before, with all the girls mimicking the crazy contestants for the show's 25th season. This one has the same problem it did the first time, with it going on way, way too long. The only funny line is when Sasheer comes on and says she's "the black one," and Taran responds with "let me walk you out." Lol.
UPDATE: Colin and Michael chime in with more jokes about Trump, the blizzard and the Oscars, and then Leslie comes on to joke about wanting to hook up with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kenan comes on as Willie with blizzard tips for winter. I only half-smiled at Willie, everything else sucked as usual.
HLN: Ugh. Another repeat of a sketch where Pete is on the stand testifying in the case where two teachers (Cecily and Ronda) are being sued by his mom for having a threesome with her teenage son. I just can't stand this premise- if it would be horrifying with a girl as the victim it's no less creepy because it's a boy. Total double standard.
SUPER CREW: A weird skit with a group of useless superheroes who show up to save the city even though only one of them can do anything to actually help. It's a Mystery Men kind of joke, but it's stupid and pointless.
BAR: A rap-off in a bar with Jay, Taran and Beck bragging about their junk to Ronda and her friends, but the joke is Beck's embarrassed about his and will only go down on her instead. Okay, another super lame skit. Getting real tired of this episode.
CITIZEN'S FORUM: Why do they keep bringing back lame sketches that bombed the first time? This is the one with nutty citizens complaining about random shit, but again, nothing memorable here.
LOSERS: Final one of the night is Ronda inviting co-workers Beck and Kyle to a party, but they've never been to one so they keep asking what they should do, bring, etc. It's as dumb and unfunny as it sounds.
Whew! We're finally done with that mess. The back half of the show was more painful than the first part, but that was just bad. I give it a D (I guess the SAG sketch made up for a lot, since that will surely get the most attention). SNL comes back in two weeks with newfound friend of the show Larry David (!) hosting, so here's hoping Bernie Sanders will still be in the news, right? (I'm sure he will). See you guys then!
PGA TV Winners Include 'Game of Thrones,' 'Transparent'
The awards for television as well as film were handed out tonight by the PGA, and it wasn't too much to write home about, as the winners were pretty expected, and probably all deserving as well.
2015 PGA TV WINNERS:
- Drama Series: Game of Thrones
- Comedy Series: Transparent
- Long-Form Television Series: Fargo
- Live Entertainment/Talk Series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
- Competitive Series: The Voice
- Non-Fiction Series: The Jinx
- Sports Program: Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
- Children's Program: Sesame Street
- Digital Series: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
RECAP: SNL 1/16 "Adam Driver"
Adam Driver hosted the first episode of SNL in 2016, but unfortunately much of it was a dud. That's not due to him though, as he showed quite a range and really went for it, but too many of the skits were weird tonight and bizarrely unmemorable.
COLD OPEN: We get yet another Republican debate that skewers the whole field, but this one's a lot less funny than the last. The jokes are lame and nobody stands out, except for Jay's Ben Carson, who can't not be funny, apparently. It's a meh start to the show.
MONOLOGUE: Oof- this monologue was truncated and it seemed like they just didn't have any ideas for it. Adam comes out and is accosted by rabid Star Wars fans, but the the whole thing lasts like two minutes and then we're done. Um, okay?
NFL: Adam and Beck are announcers in a skit that targets the NFL's tendency to show excruciating replays of major injuries- Pete is a player who gets his legs bent backwards- this is an old joke that could have been done 20 years ago. Seriously, guys? How about some effort here?
UNDERCOVER BOSS: Ok, this one's better. A pre-taped bit that spoofs the reality show with Adam as Kylo Ren going undercover as "Matt" at Star Killer Base. Adam makes this work, as he zeroes in on his character's whiny brat personality who gets offended by everything his employees do. It's actually kind of amusing, especially on rewatch (goes on a little too long though).
ALADDIN: Adam and Cecily sing "A Whole New World" on the magic carpet while stuff keeps falling on Cecily's (as Jasmine) head from the sky- yeah, this is terrible. The joke loses itself and the sketch has no idea how to end and turns into a bizarre, surreal finish with Leslie and Beck as random air control people all of a sudden.
AMERICA'S FUNNIEST CATS: Adam is the uptight host of a cat clip show (and he really commits to this bit, funnily enough), while Cecily and Kate come on as French people who can't comment right on the cat videos. Another oddity and really not funny at all- they've almost all been like this, with only Adam's efforts to appreciate here.
UPDATE: Colin and Michael diss the GOP contenders again and the Oscars diversity controversy (although Michael advocates for them nominating box office hits only- an argument that makes me want to tear my hair out; money does NOT equal quality, people!); Pete comes on and does some rambling stand-up bit (not funny), and then Vanessa appears as her child correspondent to read inappropriate stories again- that one's kind of amusing, but I'm distracted by the fact that she's played that exact character in past sketches.
SOCIAL PUPPETEERING: Cecily and Adam lecture students on not playing elaborate pranks on other kids- you got it, another pointless and unfunny skit here. Man, are we getting to the end yet?
BOWIE: Fred Armisen comes out and introduces a clip of David Bowie performing on SNL in 1979, but they don't even play the whole performance! Dude, if you guys are going to do a tribute, play the whole damn thing.
GOLDEN GLOBES: A pre-taped bit about Kyle and Kate as kids whose parents Adam and Vanessa win Golden Globes on TV and tell them to "go to bed" from the stage, while they go out and start partying like crazy. The bit goes into surreal territory at the end when Liev Schreiber shows up as himself- this one's kinda bizarre but actually better than most the skits tonight.
PORN VIDEO: That terrible Aidy sketch ends the night where she's the naive, unknowing student who keeps interrupting 70's style porn video activities, this time between Adam as a doctor "examining" athlete Beck. I hated this one before and I still hate it.
So it ends on a low note, and the two mildly amusing skits were the pre-taped stuff, but on the other hand, Adam was an above average host I'd say. Too bad the writing wasn't on par with his skills. I give it a D. I don't have a lot of hope for next week with Rhonda Rousey coming on (athletes are notoriously awful SNL hosts anyway), but I'll be there, tuned in as always. See you guys then!
'Master of None' cast wins Best Comedy Series
'Mr. Robot' and 'Master of None' Win Big at Critics Choice Awards
'Master of None' cast wins Best Comedy Series
The Critics Choice awards did slightly better on the TV side, although I don't know why Christian Slater is suddenly winning awards for his role on Mr. Robot. The show fine, Malek fine, but Slater? No. Trust me, he could sleepwalk through that part. I didn't realize there was this type of "veteran actor" appreciation for him. Other things I like here are the Fargo love, and Constance Zimmer's win for Unreal.
CRITICS CHOICE TV WINNERS
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES -- Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent, Amazon
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES -- Rami Malek, Mr. Robot, USA
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES -- Idris Elba, Luther, BBC America
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES -- Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The CW
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES -- Carrie Coon, The Leftovers, HBO
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES -- Kirsten Dunst, Fargo, FX Networks
BEST COMEDY SERIES -- Master of None, Netflix
BEST DRAMA SERIES -- Mr. Robot, USA
BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES -- Timothy Olyphant, The Grinder, Fox
BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES -- Margo Martindale, The Good Wife, CBS
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES -- Fargo, FX Networks
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES -- Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fox
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES -- Christian Slater, Mr. Robot, USA
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES -- Jesse Plemons, Fargo, FX Networks
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES -- Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory, CBS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES -- Constance Zimmer, UnREAL, Lifetime
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES -- Jean Smart, Fargo, FX Networks
BEST ANIMATION SERIES -- BoJack Horseman, Netflix
BEST REALITY SHOW -- COMPETITION -- The Voice, NBC
BEST REALITY SHOW HOST -- James Lipton, Inside the Actors Studio, Bravo
BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SHOW -- Shark Tank, ABC
BEST TALK SHOW -- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO
BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SHOW -- Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, CNN
Rami Malek wins his first acting award for 'Mr. Robot'
