whatevs.org presents...

"SNL - SEASON 32 REVEALED"

by Jason Nummer

Episode 14 - Rainn Wilson / Arcade Fire (2/22/07)

CONEY RATING SYSTEM
= John Belushi
= Amy Poehler
= Tim Meadows
= Melanie Hutzel
= Charles Rocket
= Self-Explanatory

0-10 Coneys – Garbage
11-20 Coneys – Needs Improvement
21-30 Coneys – Average
31-40 Coneys – Above Average
41-50 Coneys - Instant Classic
51+ Coneys - Unparalleled Comic Genius

OAD = Original Air Date*

(*To be fair, coneys will be awarded the same as they were the first time they aired)

In preshow comments for recent episodes like Jake Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker, I talked about how their proven acting range would be a great asset on a show like SNL. With this week's host, 39-year-old Rainn Wilson, this label may not apply - but that might not be a bad thing.

I know Wilson from only two things: Bill Hudley (aka Fish Boy) from Rob Zombie's "House of 1,000 Corpses" and as Dwight Schrute in "The Office". Wilson demonstrated in both that he can play a laughable geek with the best of 'em. Does this mean we'll get six segments with Wilson as a dork for hire? Probably not, but given his comedy roots, I'm expecting a funny episode.

Can't wait for The Arcade Fire on the musical side of things. I'm still thanking MacKenzie for turning me on to their debut album back in 2004 and I absolutely love "Black Mirror", from the upcoming album in March. Despite having tons of indie buzz, I'm still a bit surprised they'll be on SNL. Anyone want to debate if they were NBC's first choice.

Finally, I was slightly shocked we didn't get a "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketch earlier this month when the Chicago Bears landed themselves in the Super Bowl. Turns out, SNL produced one after all! Why didn't it show up on TV? Because NBC positioned it as a web exclusive on the new dotcomedy.com. Although no SNL cast members appear, Wendt, Smigel and Mantegna all reprise their roles. Click thru to see the Superfans meet Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri. Who knew Ditka's hair cures Malaria. Best.

Arcade Fire! As far as Season 32 musical acts go, I thought nobody would top Beck's two performances back in October, but Arcade Fire seriously gave him a run for his money. Both songs were absolutely perfect and it was great seeing so many musicians on that tiny stage totally nailing live versions of fairly complex arrangements. By Sunday afternoon, Wikipedia had revealed a bit more about the band's SNL stop: after the goodnights, Arcade Fire played some additional songs for the audience and crew…a privilege usually reserved for U2! "My Body Is a Cage" from the upcoming album as well as "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Wake Up" from 2004's Funeral were all performed. Apparently, Meyers, Poehler, Armisen, Hader and Samberg are all fans of the band – perhaps Samberg's fandom is what landed them in tonight's Digital Short?

As for Win Butler smashing his guitar after “Intervention”? Grambo said it best, it turned them into “legit superstars”. Gothamist posted some elaboration on the smashed guitar – the phrase written in tape was a Haitian proverb that said: "Sak vid pa kanpe", which translates to "An empty sack can not stand" - which is used to describe the children struggling to survive in a country of mass starvation. They also added that Butler's wife, an Arcade Fire member herself, was born in Haiti. Is Arcade Fire smashing out mass starvation one guitar at a time? Related: SNL writer dances backstage to Arcade Fire in front of Arcade Fire and Bill Hader!

This season has had a barrage of great first timer hosts: Jeremy Piven and Jamie Pressley come first to my mind, but now we can add Rainn Wilson to the list. Starting with a rare appearance from a host in the cold opening segment, Wilson went on to show up in six sketches and a Digital Short…not to mention the creative Office spoof in his monologue. He fit in perfectly with Hader, Sudeikis and Armisen during the “Danny's Song” sketch (which itself was reminiscent of this season's great “Cider in the Fall” from Pressley's episode and even Baldwin's “Carpool” segment), played a creepy Peeping Tom that put Adam Sandler's comedy album Peeper character to shame, and he was also a solid addition to Forte and Wiig's recurring “Co-Workers” sketches. Said Forte, “Jean, that's the lord's message!”

When Forest Whitaker hosted two days after Anna Nicole Smith died, I was a bit surprised SNL didn't have more jabs at it. Apparently, all they needed was time. Tonight's cold opening “Situation Room” parody was great satire about Iraq war coverage taking a backseat to make room for nonstop Smith coverage. The sight gags, news scroll and correspondence reporting all worked which made this the best cold opening since Maya, Poehler and Wiig sang “Santa's My Boyfriend” back in December. A good cold opening these days is rare. When they hit, it's amazing how fast your prospect of the upcoming 90 minutes can change to optimism.

The Art Dealers made their first appearance in nearly a year (with little change, save the absence of Parnell's character), and the ol' good premise/underdeveloped writing trap plagued at least two sketches.

Starting with White Possum Scream, I was really surprised this didn't come off better than it did. A sketch about movies based on movie trailers = great premise! The result being Rainn Wilson in a half shirt and Keenan drinking Dr. Pepper = underdeveloped writing. They should have just re cut the Black Snake Moan trailer (ala December's Apocalypto Digital Short) and called it a day.

River Bliss recording session also wasn't all it could be. These new age spoofs show up seemingly every season, remember last year's “Inner Harmony Relaxation recording session” from the Dillon episode? At their best, you can count on a few funny jabs at hippies – then you remember its 2007. Who cares about hippie jokes? Tonight even took it a step further and added a few fart jokes.

Finally, it is worth noting that Britney Spears and her recent rehab/head shaving fiasco got a free pass this weekend. Sure there was a quick joke in Weekend Update about her shaved head, but the punch line ended up going after K-Fed instead. Why wasn't Britney bashed as much as one would have thought? Could it be the reported friendly/fatherly relationship she has with Lorne (ala Lohan)? Regardless of the reason, Britney jokes were strangely missing. I'd hate to think Seth and Amy were told to hold off.

Rainn Wilson proved he is one of the funniest on NBC's payroll. He didn't rely much on cue-cards and he absolutely fell into each character he played – especially The Peeper. As for Arcade Fire, they delivered two performances that won't soon be forgotten. I genuinely hope to see both Wilson and Arcade Fire back at SNL.

CONEY COUNT

1. Cold Opening: The Situation Room
Premise: Spoof of the CNN talk show

2. Monologue: Wilson
Cameo: Rashida Leah Jones

3. Sketch: Danny's Song
Premise: Four friends reminisce over an old Loggins & Messina song

4. SNL Digital Short: Cutting Corporate Costs
Premise: Employees are drilled for money-saving ideas

5. Sketch: Art Dealers
Premise: Noony and Nuni welcome Architectural Digest into their home

6. Sketch: Peeping Tom
Premise: A peeper tries to help a police investigation

7. Music: Arcade Fire “Intervention”

8. Weekend Update
Guests: Armisen, Wiig, Samberg

9. Sketch: Co-Workers at Work
Premise: Co-Workers introduce a new employee to the office

10. Sketch: White Possum Scream
Premise: Parody of the “Black Snake Moan” trailer

11. Sketch: River Bliss Recording Session
Premise: New age musicians struggle in the studio

12. Music: Arcade Fire “Keep the Car Running”

TOTALS

34 / 48 Coneys