Not sure a President Bush press conference cold opening is the most exciting way to start a new season. And given how extremely sick Ive gotten of Tina at the Update desk the last three seasons, Horatios presence is actually kind of a breath of fresh air (which is something I never thought Id say about Horatio at this point of his SNL tenure). Some decent interplay between Horatio and Amy throughout this Update. Really good energy from Finesse during his commentary here, but I wonder if this whole comedy routine about him trying to find out if his date is a cross-dresser wont go over well with a lot of people in todays age. Its a pretty good season premiere too. LOM & shell shocked MIM fear what might come out of musical guests mouth, A decent way to address Mayas pregnancy.

It really shows the focus shouldnt just be on celebrities and what others find funny on MTV or MadTv, but creating actual charcters and changing formats. Amy has nine appearances in this episode while Steve Carell only has six. For something that had had a break, this one feels a bit flat to me, aside from some fun breaks like the baseball fight. The part I remember the most about this ep is Mike Myers awkward reunion with Kanye West especially the Party on, Wayne line. Thank you. Andy did have a hell of a time until the Jack Black show. Wasnt this the first season where Seth joined Tina as co-head writer? Unfortunately, SNL would eventually go on to re-air the living shit out of this solid commercial over the course of the first half of this season.

The turtleneck sweater sketch that appeared in Dane Cooks episode later in the season was also originally in the dress rehearsal to this. The woman in this sketch isnt Cackowski; shes actually SNLs choreographer Danielle Flora, whos made a lot of onscreen appearances over the years in many sketches involving dancing (her most prominent and noteworthy appearance is probably in the Ladies Man Christmas musical piece from season 25s Danny DeVito episode). -Carell really hasnt had the best material (for himself) in the episodes hes hostedeven here (a good episode) hes AWOL or in small roles or straight men some of the time. At least we only had one show with two women until Tina was rushed out of maternity leave. The title sequence for these characters has been altered a bit, and their theme song is COMPLETELY different from their last one. (Were seeing an early glimpse of how decent and tolerable Amy would regularly be as an anchor in the post-Tina Fey era of Update, where Amys co-anchor is Seth.) It made me pause a bit seeing him alongside Kanye as they both have some season 44 dumpster fires (even if nothing in Steves episode is on the level of Kanyes disaster that season). celebrities help with Katrina reconstruction, Right out of the gate, after the Anderson Cooper 360 opening title sequence, Seth seems stumbly and is throwing in lots of uhs, but I recall a poster on an SNL message board saying this is just part of Seths impression, as the real Anderson Cooper was known to talk like that back then. I remember seeing the early brilliance of Bill, yet he was so nervous when he appeared on talk shows around this time. Sort of a harbinger of his airtime struggles his first 2-3 seasons, I suppose. Mikes cameo is fun. -Sanz would seem a bad fit for Update and he doesnt seem completely comfortable, but hes also not a train wreck and does a decent job. Are these screencaps from legit HD rips or just a SD versions of them? I love how, while the audience is applauding at the end of Bill and Andys commentary, Andy cheers New guuuuyyyyys! Sketches include "Bush Addresses the Nation", "Morgan Stanley", "The JetBlue Crisis", "Anderson Cooper 360", "The Couple That Should Be Divorced", "Girls Gone Wild Katrina", "Kanye Backstage Sketches include "Bush Addresses the Nation", "Morgan Stanley", "The JetBlue Crisis", "Anderson Cooper 360", "The Couple That Should Be Divorced", "Girls Gone Wild Katrina", "Kanye Backstage", "The Lundford Twins Variety Hour", "Fun With Real Audio", and "Debbie Downer". Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Horatios Aaron Neville works better for me as a small part of a sketch like this, rather than starring in his own sketch like he did in that City Court sketch the preceding season. What makes it worse is knowing Finesse has such a frustrating tenure on the show if youre going to be degraded that way it should at least come with a happier ending. They had also previously all came to the consensus that Andy was the face of the Lonely Island in that he was putting himself out there more than the other two. I actually like Bob Bummers theme music (sung by Kenan) much better than Debbie Downers theme music. This is starting to feel more like modern day SNL. Knowing makes it, like, 10 times worse line, followed by him making a brief silly facial expression in a laid-back, carefree manner (the last above screencap for this sketch). I remember how, shortly before this season started, there was an article in which Finesse was interviewed, and he had SO much confidence about his then-upcoming third season on SNL. There comes Debbie Freakin Downer. As we know now, a certain pre-taped short in the aforementioned Jack Black episode from later this season would turn EVERYTHING around for Andy. Funnily enough, Lorne pulls the same Hey, look over there! move on Kanye West that Will Ferrell pulled on Lorne himself when Ferrell hosted in the preceding season. I chalk it up to this being their first episode in HD, and them not having all the HD kinks worked out yet. STARS: **, MORGAN STANLEY A very solid part with Wills Bush saying Im beginning to wonderwhos in charge of this situation? in regards to how hes been waiting and waiting for someone to take action on handling the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

I think I had a similar feel when I reviewed Phil Hartmans very first episode as a cast member earlier in this SNL project. Interesting seeing Horatio now doing an editorial. Even the writing of the Update jokes seems a little better tonight. The glitchiness isnt a local NBC affiliate issue; the problem is coming from SNLs end. Required fields are marked *. I love Seth requesting a splash of water and, like, 60 sleeping pills with his drink. Ha, I love the low-pitched boing sound effect that plays when Steves character looks into the zooming-in camera after his first depressing one-liner. I always appreciate when SNL breaks format like this. They all auditioned together and came to the agreement that they were a package deal. They repeat the turn from the first installment of this sketch, with an off-camera Seth and Amy having sex in the kitchen, which feels unnecessary, but Jason has a very funny line here when telling Steve and Rachel about the Needlers sex in the kitchen: The busboys are totally into it, but its, like, a huuuuge health code violation. Now Amy knows how Bill Murray felt having to carry the load of the lead male roles in season 5. Even in just a small scene here, his hilarious and dead-on Al Pacino impression steals the ENTIRE sketch. This season premiere was not only good and not only better than at least 60% of the episodes from season 30, but had a much fresher feel and look (the latter is obviously because of the new HD format). STARS: ***. After a mediocre Year 30, a lot about this show felt like a breath of fresh air, but you can still see some of last years wobbles. See production, box office & company info, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies, Studio 8H, NBC Studios - 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Also throw in an out-of-the-ordinary, refreshing, fun, and format-breaking backstage sketch right before Kanye Wests first musical performance, and things are looking promising for SNLs future. Interesting that Jet Blue was written by Colin Jost. STARS: ****, JET BLUE FLIGHT 292 Ugh at the song lyric calling Owen Wilson gay. In retrospect, its so sad to think back on that article and that VERY confident and determined attitude Finesse went into this season with (an attitude thats definitely been on display in his appearances throughout tonights season premiere) when youre aware of how this season would turn out for him. I agree, but thats part of why I mentioned coming into an established cast.

I remember how surprising and exciting it was to see this reunion on SNL back when this originally aired, and how good it was to see Mike getting some humor out of that uncomfortable telethon situation. So thats one of the reasons I give Bill credit for doing so well in this premiere (even though he will struggle for a while after this). I was in the audience for the dress rehearsal to this. Im glad they at least tried to give Finesse a chance; his piece being about going to clubs felt like one of many unintended foreshadowing moments, considering that debut Update correspondent Bill Haders most beloved character was known for all the time he spent in the hottest clubs. Funny facial expression from Steve as well. His frustration over his extreme under-utilization this season ends up getting to the degree where it manifests itself on the air at one point: in the very first Two A-Holes sketch later this season in the Jack Black-hosted Christmas episode, Finesse gives a very awkward and halting performance in which you can tell the poor guy was genuinely very upset and possibly even demeaned over the fact that his ONLY appearance in that entire episode, an episode that included some epic, show-stopping, legendary pieces, was at the very end of the final sketch of the night in a very small straight role in which he, as a fucking hot dog vendor, feeds set-up lines to the Two A-Holes. Ill be on the lookout for if theres a difference in blocking and direction for S32 compared to S31. I have a soft spot for Carol, but Id say Steve made the right choice. Having a new star in Steve and a new friend of SNL in Kanye alongside the debuts of Bill and Andy (and Colin Jost, whose Jet Blue sketch feels a lot like something we might get on the show now), is a definitive step toward the modern years of the show. Overall, not too crazy about this monologue as a whole, but Steve made the best of it, and there were a few laughs. -Haders Pacino impression is one of the greatest moments in the shows history, possibly the greatest first episode for a cast member moment (not counting things like complete reboot seasons). Meh, not excited about the idea of a season premieres monologue being a song-and-dance number. Everybody was SO excited for this new guy. Ive mentioned multiple times how Im never excited about Darrells appearances as Geraldo Rivera, but him suddenly crashing Anderson Coopers Hurricane Katrina coverage is funny. Steves Ray Romano is pretty funny, even if he doesnt sound THAT much like him. After the last two seasons where the media made Tina the putative star of the show, all this screen time quickly establishes Poehler as the shows new star. They made a pact that Lorne would have to hire all three of them or each of them would turn it down. Man i cant tell you how excited I was to see the show pop up in widescreen! Finesse has surprisingly been getting some good airtime as himself throughout tonights episode. Wow, the timing of the wah-wahhhhh zoom-ins are REALLY off during the early portion of Debbie Downer and Bob Bummers interaction with each other. And after all these years of TV Funhouse, the graphic sex scene lost any ability to shock. The Jet Blue sketch was written by Jost which I believe he pointed out on Late Night w/ Seth ahead of Steve Carells season 44 episode. He almost immediately connects with the audience. hurricane victims flash for bottled water on Girls Gone Wild Katrina tape, I recall this being a controversial piece among some SNL viewers back then, who felt this was in very poor taste.