February 20, 2007

Be Sure To Laugh Your Asses Off

NOTE FROM YOUR UNCLE GRAMBO: For five years now, Jason Nummer has been covering the SNL beat for whatevs (dot org). In that time, both he and H-Bomb (who retired after the 2005-2006 season) have been lauded for their constructive critiques of the show, mainly because they refuse to fall into either of the two main divisions of SNL fans — those that blindly support all things Lorne vs. those that constantly have the show on Death Watch. Through a fortunate series of occurences, both Nummer and his fiancée Jenn were able to attend BOTH the dress rehearsal and live broadcast of Saturday Night Live’s 2/10/07 episode, featuring host Forest Whitaker and musical guest Keith Urban. What follows is a recounting of their experiences that evening … enjoy!

Be Sure to Laugh Your Asses Off!
by Jason Nummer

We arrived at Rockefeller Center around 6:30 PM on that legendary Saturday, as Dress Rehearsals begin promptly at 8pm. As you are taken up to Studio 8H, you wait in a long hallway littered with endless amounts of framed pictures featuring past hosts and classic SNL moments going back to Season 1. Waiting here also provides a glimpse into the working atmosphere of SNL. Andy Samberg darts by into a hallway where Seth Meyers’ dressing room is visible. Writers walk past carrying scripts marked with circles and arrows. SNL band leader Lenny Pickett escorts what I’m guessing was his family into the studio. I absorb it all in like a drug fiend.

Jumping ahead to the live show, we’re ushered into the studio around 10:50 PM. Walking into 8H and seeing all the sets, stage hands and Lorne Michaels (!!!) scurrying around below you is amazing. On the main stage where Whitaker will soon be giving his monologue, Pickett and the Saturday Night Live Band (with Christine Ohlman on vocals) begin a 20 minute set of bluesy warm-up music while the rest of the audience members find their seats.

Read the entire entry …

February 9, 2007

SNL Season 32 … REVEALED!

NUMMER’S PRE-SHOW COMMENTS

Episode 13: Forest Whitaker / Keith Urban (2/10/07)

When I first heard Forest “Ghost Dog” Whitaker was hosting SNL this weekend, I thought meh. Then Jenn and I revealed a showing of Kevin Macdonald’s “The Last King of Scotland”. Whoa. I knew going in that Whitaker’s take on Idi Amin had gotten him nominated for virturally every best acting award under the sun, but for once, the buzz was right. Whitaker’s performance can only be described with words like insane, funny, bizarre, playful or scary - and that could all come from the same scene. Whitaker has a wide acting range and if SNL capitalizes on it, look out. This episode has potential to be the next “out of nowhere” episode, similar to Ian McKellen, early apperances of Christopher Walken or more recently, Jeremy Piven.

Making the episode even more unique is the music selection. With Keith Urban booked, SNL gives us the first country act the show has seen in nearly four years (the last being the Dixie Chicks in 2003). It seems like Urban’s personal life (last fall’s Betty Ford Clinic check-in and the 2005 marriage to Nicole Kidman) gets more headlines than his recent music, so maybe he’ll use this National TV gig as a start to reversing that. Can’t say I’m a huge fan of the guy, but like last week’s Lily Allen appearance, I’m sure he’ll be better than some of the season’s weaker guests: AFI, Stefani and Akon.