SNL: 38.9- Martin Short/Paul McCartney

Whatever your feelings on Saturday Night Live (although I assume if you are here reading a review of SNL you are indeed a fan), there is no denying that it is a part of our culture, both entertainment and current events wise. Very often those two worlds collide and it falls on the shoulders of SNL to toe the line of sensitivity and recognizing that messed up things have happened while still doing their job as a late night variety show. Already this season they’d dealt with “Superstorm” Sandy and then this week, had the unenviable task of being funny the night after a national tragedy. I think we can all agree that the cold open of the New York Children’s Choir singing “Silent Night” was gut wrenchingly simple and perfect.
New York Children's Choir SNL

When Martin Short was announced as host there were plenty of people who pissed and moaned like littleTom Hanks SNL babies that SNL had to have an episode that appealed to “old people”. Well call me an old lady if you want, but I loved it. He started off the show in fine fashion, walking through the halls of the studio meeting up with old cast members and hosts, and even a random llama. One does have to wonder if Tom Hanks has a second home next door and just pops on over when he’s bored or something. No complaining from me! Of course when you see all those former cast members it’s easy to get your hopes up that they’ll pop up in the rest of the episode. Sadly, this was not the case but it was still a great episode.

That being said, one of the sketches with a cameo was right off the bat and it was one of the worst of the night. This has happened enough this season that I’m wondering if they’ve made a conscious decision to put weaker sketches up front to see if they perform better. If it is, listen to me now SNL- it’s not working. Even though Alec Baldwin’s Tony Bennett is frighteningly good, and Martin Short as his younger brother, Picadilly CervixJerry was funny, the sketch as a whole just fell flat. There was a few laughs but there’s only so many times you can laugh at the same poop joke.

Apparently I’m able to laugh repeatedly at vagina jokes however, because the “Royal Family Doctor” sketch had me rolling. Of course “Her Downton Abbey” started off the chuckle but by the time they got to “Church of Taint Andrews” I was a goner. I had to pause the show to give myself a moment to try and gather my senses and be able to move on. Of course they would put Bill Hader in this one because he is so well known in his ability to keep his composure and not break character. Such an admirable trait he has. Of course who could blame him though? Best sketch of the night, bar none.

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This week was yet another slam dunk on the pre-filmed short. I know there were people who were really nervous about what the show would look like without Andy Samberg’s digital shorts but I’ll admit it, I haven’t really missed them. That’s not true, I have missed them but I don’t feel like the show is lacking because they are no longer there. “You’re a Rat Bastard Charlie Brown” was spot on. While Bill Hader’s Al Pacino was fantastic, Martin Short’s Larry David was downright eerie. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Martin Short do Larry David but I’m hoping this wasn’t the last time because damn, that was perfect. I wonder if he’s available for parties?

Hillary Clinton Weekend Update SNL

I was so looking forward to Weekend Update because I thought for sure there would be a Stefon sighting and if not Stefon than surely Drunk Uncle. Nope, it was “Girl you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party”. That’s a fun character with some great lines but I was disappointed. Between that and Vanessa Bayer’s “recently Bar Mitzvah’d boy”, Weekend Update was a bit of a let down minus a few shining spots in the “news” stories.

Samuel Jackson SNL

Of course the sketch that everyone was talking about afterwards (and during for that matter) was “What’s Up With That”. It’s a sketch that if I’m not really liking the host, I’ll usually fast forward through but being Martin Short and a Christmas episode, plus having Carrie Brownstein there, and Samuel L. Jackson… I watched, and I am so glad I did. Of all the Martin Short characters to show up, I was least expecting Jackie Rogers, Jr. A pleasant surprise! I think we can all agree though, Samuel Jackson dropping the f-bomb and Keenan Thompson’s quick “hey now, that costs money” was the highlight. It’s by far the most I’ve ever laughed at that sketch. Well Jason Sudeikis and his red track suit usually illicit a laugh or two but nothing like ill-timed profanity.Paul McCartney and Nirvana

Paul McCartney with the guys of Nirvana. That could be one of the coolest statements I’ve written in a long time.

I think the Restoration Hardware sketch was only funny because I know those people. Hell, I’ve been those people. And I can not tell you how badly I’ve coveted that big ass plane propeller they’ve got. Completely impractical and serves zero purpose, but I still want it.

Caleb and Monty were my second favorite sketch of the night. There is nothing not funny about Martin Short screaming in Paul McCartney’s face. Doesn’t matter what he says, it’s going to be funny. When the sketch started I had said to myself “huh, usually they have the big name acts perform three times” so I wasn’t too surprised when the set opened up to the New York Children’s Choir again. It was a great way to end the show.

Speaking of the end of the show, I really wish the local affiliates would just watch the end of SNL and choose to delay their next show a few minutes so we could see the entire goodnights. It’s one of my favorite parts of SNL and there is nothing on Inside Edition that is more interesting. It’s the middle of the night people, cut off the end of an episode of Knight Rider or something. Overall? Easily the best episode of the season. Maybe it’s just because I like when the alumni come back to play, but seriously it was quite enjoyable. A great way to cap off the fall season. Jennifer LawrenceThe show will return on January 19th with Jennifer Lawrence and The Lumineers and I’ll see you then. Have a great holiday SNL fans!

Review of E4’s Misfits – 4.08, Season Finale

Welcome back to Misfits and you join us at the season finale. After a pretty dull episode last week where the main plot points included Rudy meeting a nun and Alex finding his penis, I was hoping to see something a little bit more entertaining, or at least something that would stop me falling to sleep in front of the telly. Well I got what I asked for, but not as much as I would have liked.

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Arrow: 1.09, “Year’s End”

Sorry for the lateness of this review Arrow fans, had a bit of technical difficulties but all is resolved now so let’s discuss the mid-season finale!

Last week was a good episode- had good progression of b plots, Huntress was further established and given an open door to return, and Diggle provided the voice of reason yet again. Oliver needs to listen to him more often. This week’s episode, ‘Year’s End’, felt like a see-saw between ridiculous and “holy shit!”

Arrow Year's End
Laurel as a “plus one”

Might as well start with the ridiculous. Oliver finds out his family hasn’t celebrated Christmas since he and his father disappeared and he takes it upon himself to bring back their annual Christmas party. What a guy. However, later on there was this whole thing with Tommy and Laurel and Tommy asking Laurel to be his plus one… why wasn’t Laurel invited in the first place? I get that there was some awkwardness after the horrible double date but to not invite her at all? Seems rather douchey Oliver.

Arrow Year's End
You two need something new to talk about.

Or perhaps he was just too busy trying to fend off the creepy advances of his sister. WTF is going on with Thea? I don’t know if it’s the actresses playing it that way or if it’s the way it’s written but it seems as if Thea is really wanting to get into Oliver’s pants. It makes me feel dirty just watching that last scene with Oliver in the hospital and them talking (again) about how they just need to accept where each other is at and blah blah blah. It seems as if they’ve just had the same discussion over and over and over again. Find something new to talk about Queen siblings and for the love of all that’s holy, stop undressing each other with your eyes! Blech.

Arrow Year's End

Most of the episode was right in the middle of the see-saw however. We finally returned to the island in which we learned that Edward Fryers set up an ambush to capture Yao Fei (noooo!!!!) and I assume let Deathstroke torture him like he did Oliver. I’m really hoping that they don’t wait so long to return next time because I’m really curious as to what is going on there. Is Yao Fei really a Chinese criminal? What on earth is Fryers doing there in the first place and when are they going to return to that shot in the eye mask we saw in the pilot?

Arrow Year's End
Damn you two, playing with my emotions!

Dark Archer

Do we know what role Moira has in this evil empire? At first it sounded like she was working under Malcolm Merlyn but then when she was talking to him and later Walter, I get the impression that they are more equals than nefarious boss and lackey. Especially when Moira tells Walter, “I am the bad people” a la Walter White. What do you mean Moira? Then after we find out who the Dark Archer is and see Walter get drugged in the elevator? She didn’t know that was going to happen? Much like the island, I hope they don’t drag this out because there are questions that need answers. Not to mention, six months without Walter? Come on, that’s just mean. Who knows when we’ll see the happy Steele/Queen family all together again?

I’m really glad that the Dark Archer has been introduced. I think the show needs a constant adversary that isn’t just “The List”. Yea there’s the Triad and China White, but they are just a cog in different storylines whereas the Dark Archer stands on his own and plays into the subplots as well.

When Adam Hunt showed up, I feared that lawyer Laurel was going to appear but thank the gods for a Christmas miracle because she did not. Instead Adam Hunt ended up being the first guy we’ve seen shot by the Dark Archer. He then goes on to take out more of Ollie’s list which prompts the unusual teaming up of Detective Lance and Oliver.

Arrow Year's End

Ollie gets the black arrows, looks at them for a few seconds and figures out what it was made of. Please remember that this is the guy who can’t google anything so he returns to Felicity Smoak. Thank you baby Jesus! That entire exchange between Oliver and Felicity was like a Christmas gift wrapped up just for me. The look on Oliver’s face when she tell him she’s Jewish? Perfect. This show needs more Felicity. Of course I said the show needs more Walter and look what happened there so perhaps I should just be okay with the amount of Felicity we’ve already got.

Arrow Year's End

Of course the biggest part of the episode was the showdown between the Dark Archer and Oliver aka “The Hood Guy”. Nothing like two guys running around in the dark shooting each other with bows and arrows. Best fight scene of the season so far, without a doubt. It’s easier to buy the dude shooting a crossbow missing Oliver rather than the guys shooting machine guns. Of course the dude with the crossbow ends up shooting Oliver so I’m wondering if the guys using machine guns so far have actually been blind. Would explain a lot.

Arrow Year's End

Even though I had a strong feeling as to who the Dark Archer was, Malcolm threw me off when he referred to him as “OUR associate” when talking to Moira. Thanks to that little seed of doubt, I was surprised when the Dark Archer removed his mask. Malcolm you evil but still beautiful man going around threatening people and then doing your own dirty work. I approve. It seems as if John Barrowman also approves because even though he couldn’t give away his identity, he did tell the LA Times that he would love to be a regular on the show. Here’s hoping the writers listen because I have a feeling there are a lot of people who would like to see the same.

Best part of the episode? The exchange between Oliver and Malcolm while at dinner. Who would haveArrow Year's End guessed that it would be Merlyn to suggest the “Green Arrow” moniker? Even if they don’t use Green Arrow, I’m hoping that conversation means they are actually going to give “The Hood/The Hood Guy/The Vigilante” a proper name. Especially for people like myself who write about the show as it’s sometimes a bit difficult to distinguish who I’m talking about. If nothing else, I want to find a way to make Stephen Amell saying “The Hood Guy” as my ringtone. That cracked me up.

I loved this episode and even though there was ridiculous (Thea) moments I think they balanced out the big moments quite well. Diggle further cemented his role as the love child between Jiminy Cricket and Alfred. Hopefully he’ll get a bigger chunk of airtime in the new year. Ratings were down unfortunately, but hopefully people will catch up over the hiatus and come back in big numbers for episode ten on January 16th. As for episode nine, another 4 out of five.

grizzly rating 4of5

I hope all you Arrow fans have a happy holiday season and I’ll see you back here in January. Until then!

Join the SuperF*ckers

“We’re doomed again — all the toilets are ruined, so Grotessa is peeing in the sink!” — Jack Krack, SuperF*ckers

On the latest episode of InkStuds, Simon Hanselmann (whom GB interviewed in brief a couple months ago) shared with host Robin McConnell that Frederator has invited him to pitch a show (which, curiously, he categorized as a kid’s show. Joke? True? Whatevs). That’s exciting, because (a) we’re big fans of Hanselmann, (b) big fans of Frederator’s shows, including Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors, and (c) especially tickled at the results of Frederator’s latest show, SuperF*ckers, based on James Kochalka’s comic book of the same name.

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Doctor Who Returns in the New Christmas Special Trailer

Here is a treat for all you Doctor Who fans who have struggled through the mid-season break. Uproxx have put up the trailer for the Christmas special called The Snowmen. So without further a due here it is!

Now I have to be brutally honest here. Most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials I felt suffered because they were a bit rubbish. Some people may hate me for saying it, but I just felt they all lack a decent story and feel like padding for the new series. But this trailer has some interesting elements in it which I hope proves me wrong. For a start it is great to see Richard E. Grant playing a sinister character. The killer snowmen look great, even though they do remind me of the horror movie Jack Frost . Obviously the big talking point of this is the fact that Jenna-Louise Coleman is back.

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So the big question is how is she back in this? First off, *SPOILERS AHEAD* for those who haven’t fully caught up on Doctor Who because there are still quite a few of you not yet on the bandwagon. I can think of three ways she could return. She could have come back in time (obviously thanks to the Doctors help) like River Song in the previous series, she could have survived her death (highly doubtful as she seems human here and the planet she was on exploded, a tough thing to come back from) or she is a new character and we are meant to forget she was in an episode. This seems silly I know but it has happened before, most famously with Colin Baker who was a villain in one episode and then later on became the Doctor him. Actress Freema Agyeman played companion Martha Jones but also played a character called Adeola in Army of Ghosts. The writers made out that Adeola was Martha’s cousin. So there are quite a few options the writers could have used to bring her back. The fun part will be seeing which one they use. She has such a great chemistry with Matt Smith and this is all from the one episode they were in, I think she will make a great companion. One final note, at the very start of the episode did anyone else notice the snowman voice over? It is Gandalf himself, Sir Ian Mckellen, who is voicing the evil snowman.

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Finally, as a special Christmas gift for all you Who fans out there, here is the short Doctor Who special that was filmed for Children in Need reintroducing us to a now very bah humbug Doctor.

 

Showtime Looks to have a Happy New Year: Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Masters of Sex

After a rather good showing this past awards season, Showtime is looking to add a few more statues to their collection. With three trailers released recently, two new shows and one returning, their chances are looking quite good.

Season-3-Promotional-Poster-shamelessFor awhile, I thought I was the only person watching Shameless. Then I couldn’t decide if the show was actually good or if my adoration for William H. Macy was influencing my decision. Thankfully I’ve had some third-party input to cement my idea that it really is a good show. The Gallagher’s are sad and depressing and you just want to take them all up in a big hug, but they are also smart and funny and that is what makes me turn in each week. Not surprisingly, this season 3 trailer looks promising.

So pretty much the same as the previous two seasons. As Lip so eloquently put it, they need to “steal or scrap” to get by and it seems as if they are going to do plenty of both in season 3. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it I suppose. Although I do have to disagree wholeheartedly with Veronica (Shanola Hampton)- a man with a mop is extremely sexy and the sooner men learn this, the happier we will all be.

Continue reading Showtime Looks to have a Happy New Year: Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Masters of Sex