Veep joins House of Cards as another season of television begins in which a person who should never be president has suddenly risen to the highest office in the land (not by election of course). The cast looks as funny as ever, as Julia Louis-Dreyfus's deeply incompetent, Palin-level Selina Meyer ascends to the podium. Shudder. Veep comes back April 12th.
TRAILER: "Orphan Black" Season 3
A new trailer for Orphan Black dropped today! Tatiana Maslany returns as all versions of herself, and now there's a new clone villain in town, this time a boy. The new season starts April 12th- can't wait.
RECAP: SNL 2/28 "Dakota Johnson"
So after the SNL 40 celebration left me feeling nostalgic and a little more affectionate towards the show than I have in a while, it's time to get back to the actual season at hand, where we have one of the most no name hosts in many years, hosting what basically amounts to another mediocre, middling entry in a bad season overall. Yeah, that sounds about right, doesn't it?
COLD OPEN: So we start off with a Rudy Giuliani skit mocking his "Obama doesn't love America" comments (boy does that seem like an old story now), but it quickly turns into a BIrdman parody (with Taran mixing his Giuliani and Michael Keaton facial expressions quite nicely). Ok, so this is the third time in a week that I've seen this exact same Birdman spoof (the Indie Spirits, the Oscars, and now this), but I guess that speaks to how unique the movie was. What it doesn't speak to is the creativity of the SNL writers, but then again what does?
MONOLOGUE: Dakota Johnson comes out onstage, solely because of who her parents are- if you didn't know, they're Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and they're both in the audience tonight to watch their kid try to be a celebrity like them. Yes, Dakota's in 50 Shades of Grey, but since that movie came out two weeks ago now, and it's the only thing she's ever really done, this an entirely self-promoting, make me more famous stint here tonight, so I kind of resent that.
ISIS: An ad that starts off about a dad (Taran) ostensibly dropping his daughter off at college, only to show that he's actually dropping her off to join an ISIS recruitment truck. It hits the mark.
CINDERELLA: Ugh- Cecily's horrible Cathy Ann character sucks the life out of every sketch she's in, and here she shows up to ruin an already bad Cinderella skit. Seriously, does anyone like this character? Anyone?
SAY WHAT U WANT: A video about the women of SNL foregoing niceties to say what they really feel to annoying co-workers and acquaintances they don't really like. It's okay.
50 SHADES PRESS TOUR: Dakota sits for junket interviews about the movie, but is interviewed by Kyle's Peter, an awkward middle-schooler who saw the movie for his school newspaper. This isn't really funny, it's just kind of lame.
I CAN'T: Cecily (in her annoying teenage voice), Dakota and Bobby mock hipsters who continually use the words "I can't" and "literally" all the time. It eventually bothers fellow worker Aidy so much she falls out the window- you do hear those words a lot, but again, this is bad. Just not funny.
UPDATE: Colin and Michael do some ISIS jokes and of course comment on "the dress" controversy that seems to have engulfed the entire world in the last two days (for the record, all I see is white and gold), but this is actually the first time I've cottoned to the observation that these guys might actually hate each other. I don't know what it is, but I'm starting to notice it blatantly now. Weird. Kate comes on as Ruth Bader Ginsberg and is funny as usual, while Jay shows up as Kanye to sing his apology song to all the people he's dissed. Finally, Riblet shows up again to briefly do Update better than either of the actual anchors (and I don't think Riblet is that hilarious, but seriously, Bobby can do this gig better than Jost or Che).
WORF: A bit of a random skit that sees Kenan in a Star Trek: Next Gen Worf costume come in as a doctor supposed to save a patient, but his cosplaying distracts the nurses and patient's relatives. Ok, so this isn't funny at all, but I assume they did this as some kind of Leonard Nimoy tribute? Yeah, it ends with a still of Nimoy and his Vulcan salute. Well, that's nice, but maybe, I don't know, do some kind of skit that had something to do with the show that Spock was actually on? Just a suggestion.
NET NEUTRALITY: Sasheer hosts a panel of nerds supposed to explain net neutrality and none of them can do it. Very long, very boring and very stupid.
BULLYING: Great, we end with a Kyle and Beck thing. Why do they keep doing these? They're the hipster guys who try to do some anti-bullying PSA's- eh. Don't care. Every time I see Beck now I desperately want him to be tried out on Weekend Update. I can't stop thinking that he'd be a perfect anchor if they just tried. C'mon Lorne!
So, that was it tonight. Pretty mild overall, but you may notice I barely mentioned Dakota all night long, and that was because she was one of those hosts who I kept forgetting was actually hosting. She was mainly shoved to the side and faded into the background of the skits, so I'm guessing she doesn't have a whole lot of comedic chops. But hey, at least she's got famous parents. Next week it's Chris Hemsworth (expect a Thor sketch), so come back for that one. Tonight gets a C-. See you later everyone!
RECAP: "SNL 40"
Okay, so I'm a little late on this SNL 40th anniversary recap, but hey, better late than never, right? It was a long show (3 and a half hours plus an hour long red carpet special), and it was bloated, messy, funny, not funny, sometimes pointless, sometimes touching, lots of technical difficulties...all in all, it represented Saturday Night Live at its best and worst, and simply seeing so many former cast members there on the same stage again made the whole thing worth it, even if some of them (ahem, Eddie Murphy) refused to do anything worthwhile with their appearance. And you know what? There were several sketches that were actually some of the funniest stuff they've done in years, so it may be worth it just for that.
COLD OPEN: Jimmy Fallon and five-time host Justin Timberlake open the show with a rap incorporating every SNL catchphrase you can think of. I wasn't totally nuts about this, but I guess it's a nice little homage. Plus there's cameos from all stars Rachel Dratch and Molly Shannon (superstar!).
MONOLOGUE: Epic host Steve Martin comes down to do a pretty funny monologue (he is a pro), and right away we know that this show is essentially going to be an All Star SNL episode, rather than a clip show (although there's plenty of those tossed in). More cameos here, unfortunately from people I'd rather not see, like Miley Cyrus, who actually performs later (seriously, Miley, no one cares about you, get the hell off the stage).
SUPER BASS-O-MATIC: Dan Aykroyd redoes his classic sketch word for word, with a pop-up by fellow original cast member Lorraine Newman, but it's actually not that good anymore, sadly. Still nice to see them though.
CELEBRITY JEOPARDY: Okay, so when I said earlier they did some of the funniest stuff they've done in years? I was mainly referring to this, which was AWESOME. Will Ferrell is back as Trebek of course, but along with Darrell Hammond's Sean Connery, Norm MacDonald's Burt Reynolds and Kate McKinnon's Justin Bieber- loved ever second of it! I found out later it was actually written by Norm and some of the original writers of the skit, and boy could the new crew learn a few lessons from the pros about what makes sketch comedy funny. This was an A+.
THE CALIFORNIANS: Nooooo! Just like SNL to go from a classic high to a rapid low, as they inexplicably bring back one of the worst sketches in the show's history, right after revisiting one of the best. Ugh. My theory about this now is that everyone who actually acts in this sketch enjoys doing it so much more than anyone actually likes watching it. We of course get Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig and Fred Armisen, but also Lorraine Newman, Taylor Swift (who really, really sucked in this and got no laughs from the audience, lol), and then for the big punchline, Bradley Cooper comes in and makes out with Betty White. Yeah, ok. The best part was Betty White's flat out refusal to do the stupid Californian voice. A final bit is tossed in when David Spade's flight attendant "buh-bye" guy comes on to shoo everybody out of the room, with Cecily along as his new partner, but they get about four seconds of airtime, so...short and sweet for David Spade fans.
WEEKEND UPDATE: This is pretty good- Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtin (!) anchor an all female Update desk and do a pretty great job as former hosts come on to pay tribute to some of the deceased cast member's classic characters. So, we get Emma Stone as Gilda Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna, Melissa McCarthy as Chris Farley's Matt Foley, and Edward Norton as Stefon, who's quickly joined by the real Stefon, as he had to be, since Hader is there and all. We also get the old Jaws shark at the door. Probably my favorite Update segment all year long.
CHEVY CHASE: We're still not done with the Update tribute, as former male hosts Seth Meyers, Kevin Nealon, Norm MacDonald and Colin Quinn do a bit of an awkward introduction to original Update anchor Chevy Chase, who comes out and just kinda basks in the spotlight, I guess, although there's a quick shout out from his old cohort Garrett Morris.
MUSICAL MEDLEY: This isn't really a medley- what it is is a long segment that sees single season champ Martin Short come out and together with Maya Rudolph's Beyonce, intro famous SNL musical characters, who all redo a brief bit onstage, so look out for your faves here. We see Kristen and Fred's Garth & Kat, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer's The Culps (yay!), Joe Piscopo's Frank Sinatra (who's now clearly morphed into the real guy), Dana Carvey's Derek Stevens, Adam Sandler's Opera Man, Kenan's DeAndre Cole, Steve Martin's King Tut, Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer, and Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi as of course, The Blues Brothers. Best part of this seemingly interminable segment is Bill Murray, who sings the theme from Jaws, and it's the best, as is he (still got it, unlike Chase and Aykroyd, sorry to say).
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS: Jerry Seinfeld comes out and fields questions from the audience, which is mostly made up of celebrities and various crew members tonight and not fans (which is kinda weird, actually). The questions are all staged of course, and come from Michael Douglas, John Goodman, James Franco, Tim Meadows, Sarah Palin (wtf is she doing there?) and Larry David, who has by far the funniest exchange with him in what's also a really long and unnecessary bit here.
EDDIE MURPHY: Chris Rock does an epic, fawning (but totally accurate) introduction to the savior of the show in the early 1980's, Eddie Murphy, describing all his classic sketches and characters and how important he was to the institution during the non-Lorne Michaels era, and then Murphy comes out to an immediate standing ovation as he graces the SNL stage for the first time in thirty years and does...nothing. Seriously, he goes on about how glad he is to be back and how great everyone's been, and then there's a tech glitch as they don't cut to a commercial on time and that's it. Um, Eddie, if you didn't want to do anything, not even tell a joke, why show up at all? Trust me, all anybody wanted to see here was for him to do one call back of anything to his years on the show, but clearly he's not into it enough to even try, so maybe he just shouldn't have even shown up.
DIGITAL SHORT: Andy Samberg teams up with Adam Sandler for a new song called "That's When You Break" about all the times people broke on the air (as you can imagine, lots of Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz in this).
IN MEMORIAM: Billy Murray intros the montage of cast and crew members no longer there, and daringly, at the end of it there's an actual joke to the passing of Jon Lovitz (who is not dead, is actually in the audience, and who Steve Martin joked about as being dead in the monologue too). Ha! Bill ends it with an awesome "Generalissimo Franco is still dead" joke.
WAYNE'S WORLD: At this point the show is really starting to feel long, but it does end on a high note, as Mike Myers and Dana Carvey reprise Wayne and Garth to do an SNL Top 10 list that's pretty damn funny and sweet, as they list all the best things about the show...and manage to continually get in some repeated jabs at Kanye West for being the interrupting, stage storming asshole that he is. What's even better is that he's in the audience to be mocked to his face. Love it.
I have to admit, seeing all these guys together for an all star episode like this is pretty cool, especially because you have to imagine some of them may not be around for a 50th anniversary in ten years. It wasn't a perfect show, and it was filled with extraneous musical performances that did NOT need to be there (Miley Cyrus and Kanye West randomly performing was totally unnecessary), but then tonight was a chance to see almost as many stars as will grace the Oscar stage next week. Jack Nicholson came on apropos of nothing, Mick Jagger introduced Paul McCartney singing "Maybe I'm Amazed" (is it me or has Macca been at every single live event/awards show recently?), and then Paul Simon singing "Still Crazy After All These Years" was maybe the one song that could have stayed in. But all in all, clip montages included, it was a heartfelt tribute to the legacy of the show that's been on for so long now, and given us the careers of so many legendary comedians and stars. That's quite a thing to behold. I'll abstain from grading the episode itself- for SNL fans of any kind, of any era, you know this was worth checking out. See you guys next time!
TEASER: "Mad Men" Season 7
Mad Men's coming back!! I don't care what anyone says, it's still my favorite show and I'm excited and sad that this is the end, for good this time (although it should have ended last year instead of the ridiculous splitting the season in two parts). Check out everybody's horrendous and hilarious late 1969 fashion- and it looks like we're not quite done with Megan yet, even though she and Don finally broke up at the end of last season. Mad Men is starting the second half of its final season on April 5th.
Satellite TV Winners Include 'The Knick,' 'Transparent'
The Satellites feted TV as well as film last night, and seemed to really like The Knick, Olive Kitteridge and Transparent. Actually, I kinda liked a bunch of these picks, at least they weren't the same old, same old- and The Knick was one of my favorite shows last year, so it's nice to see that getting recognized (I feel like it's been shafted at the guild awards). I also love that Keri Russell win for The Americans, another show that seems like it's being unduly ignored by the TV industry. I can't really say the same for Olive Kitteridge, a show that I must admit, I was planning to review but simply couldn't make it past the first two episodes. Which is really bad, considering there were only four. Sorry- I know Frances McDormand is great, but that show was just dull as rocks. When I can't even make it to the Bill Murray appearance, you know it's bad.
- Miniseries: Olive Kitteridge
- TV Movie: Return to Zero
- Movie/Mini Actor: Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
- Movie/Mini Actress: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
- Supporting Actress: Sarah Paulsen, American Horror Story
- Supporting Actor: Rory Kinnear, Penny Dreadful
- Genre Series: Penny Dreadful
- Drama Actor: Clive Owen, The Knick
- Drama Actress: Keri Russell, The Americans
- Drama Series: The Knick
- Comedy Actress: Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project
- Comedy Actor: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
- Comedy Series: Transparent
- Ensemble: The Knick
'True Detective' and 'Louie' Pull Off TV Wins at WGA Awards
Lots of prizes were given out for TV writing tonight, with True Detective winning in both Drama and New Series, while Louie dominated on the Comedy side. But my favorite is the win for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which so deserves it for its stellar debut year.
Comedy Series: Louie
Comedy Episode: "So Did the Fat Lady," Louie
Drama Series: True Detective
Drama Episode: "The Last Call," The Good Wife
Animated Episode: "Brick Like Me," The Simpsons
Game Show: Hollywood Game Night
New Series: True Detective
Long Form Adapted: Olive Kitteridge
Long Form Original: Deliverance Creek
Documentary: League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis
Comedy/Variety Special: 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards
Comedy/Variety Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Videogame: The Last of Us: Left Behind
Women Sweep the DGA-TV Awards
I'm a bit late on the curve for this, but it is worth mentioning that at last weekend's DGA awards, while the big press was focused on the film side, with Alejandro Inarritu winning for Birdman, over on the TV side, women swept the categories for directing in television for episodes of Transparent, Homeland and Olive Kitteridge.
- DRAMA: Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland
- COMEDY: Jill Soloway, Transparent
- MOVIE/MINISERIES: Lisa Cholodenko, Olive Kitteridge
This is very cool, and very significant. I noticed back at the Golden Globes, when Soloway's Transparent and Sarah Tream's The Affair won the top prizes for television, that both shows were created and run by women as well, further speaking to the notion of women's increasing power behind the scenes in television. Of course, none of that translates to film, where women are routinely snubbed for their work, the biggest this year being the exclusion of Ava DuVernay for directing Selma, and even more shockingly, Gillian Flynn's screenplay for Gone Girl, which had won dozens of critics prizes. Some would say you could throw Angelina Jolie in there too for Unbroken's shutout, but in that case the movie sucked, so we're talking about talented people producing quality here, and going ignored for it. It's a shame that women's increased recognition and power in television isn't translating over to film, but it's a good thing for everyone who appreciates good TV- you could include the powerhouse that is Shonda Rimes, and Jenji Kohan's Orange is the New Black and it's clear that TV's moving into what could be a golden age for female storytellers.
Jon Stewart to Leave 'The Daily Show' After 17 Years
Wow. I have to admit, I haven't watched The Daily Show religiously in the last two years (more like once a week or so), but having watched it nightly for about eight straight years before that, I'm sort of gutpunched by this news today. When Stewart left for a months long break a couple years ago to film his movie Rosewater, I had a feeling that signaled his imminent departure. But given the fact that Colbert just signed off, I was kind of counting on Jon to make it through the next election, and had in fact, started to get back into watching it on a daily basis just recently. I really didn't think he'd bow out before the 2016 election. And now that it's really happening, it's sinking in what a dramatic "end of an era" this really is. Jon Stewart is the one who changed the format for late night television, for political satire, and his show (and the comedians and spin-offs he helped launch) set a new kind of standard for comedy and politics. It was a necessary and absolutely essential service that he provided (and it still is). I don't know what he's leaving to do, but I know that with him, and presumably the show gone (I don't honestly see how they replace him at the desk, given how associated with him the brand has become), it's going to leave a massive gap in the landscape of television comedy and frankly, news media itself. You've heard it before, but it was true- he was better news than the actual news, and he changed everything.
TEASER: "Happyish"
Showtime's new dramedy series was originally supposed to star Philip Seymour Hoffman- they had even filmed a well received pilot with him in the lead, but obviously the show was put on hold following his death. Steve Coogan now takes it on, sans an American accent, which I find refreshing. With all the British actors invading American TV shows lately, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting to the point where I can always tell if the person is American or not by the way they speak. Does everyone have to fake the accent? Especially if they suck at it- why not just be a Brit living in America? They do exist, right?
