whatevs.org presents...

"SNL - SEASON 33 REVEALED"

by Nummer and H-Bomb

Episode 2: Seth Rogen / Spoon (10/6/07)

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)

If you know anybody who questions why people still watch SNL in 2007, just show them this episode. Tonight Seth Rogen and Spoon delivered one of my favorite episodes since I started reviews in 2002. Nearly everything fell into place during the show’s 90 minute duration: confident host, great band, truly funny sketches and even a surprise cameo.

Picking a favorite moment tonight is pretty tough. Does one go with the excellent new trilogy of Forte’s MacGruber segments? How about Wiig and Rogen’s dysfunctional, Amy Winehouse singing twins “Jeremy and Sasha”? Picking either of those two would be understandable, but then you’d be overlooking “The 2007 Douchebag Championship” with Samberg’s hilarious one-liner machine Gerard character (who was introduced while “straight up jamming” on a Pizza Hut P’Zone).

The biggest surprise of the night had to be Chevy Chase’s appearance during Weekend Update. Chase, who supposedly is only welcome in cameo capacity after being banned in ‘97 from hosting the show again, slipped right back into his ’75-’76 news anchor routine as Update’s Senior Political Correspondent. Despite coming off a little rusty and even nervous at first, by the time he took a “close look” at the ’08 Republican Candidates, Chase was back to doing what he always did best – dead pan delivery. I’ve long thought Chase, along with Dennis Miller, Norm MacDonald and Kevin Nealon were the best Update News anchors SNL has ever had, so having Chase back tonight even for a few minutes was wonderful.

Speaking of Weekend Update, tonight’s installment was definitely the best of the troubled Seth and Amy era. In addition to Chase’s cameo, a wonderful bit by Hammond as Lou Dobbs as well as Kenan and Armisen’s turn as confused New York Mets upper-management helped WU gets its biggest laughs since Seth introduced Molly Shannon as a resurrected Jeannine Marcy back in May. Still, when WU has to rely on guest spots for 90% of its humor, an overhaul behind the desk may be needed.

Finally, Austin rockers Spoon, backed by a brass trio, belted out two energetic performances from their latest album “GA GA GA GA GA”. Although in my opinion they’ve never topped their 2001 album “Girls Can Tell”, Spoon consistently puts out good music and shows. Can’t wait to see them again later this month in Detroit.

Not surprisingly, this week’s episode with host Seth Rogen was nothing short of amazing. Fresh off of hit movies, Knocked Up and Superbad, Rogen breezed through the 90 minute show with ease. It’s always a nice treat when a host already has a background in comedic acting, but Rogen also posed a double threat with his writing experience, which definitely paid off. I have no doubt Rogen was just as involved in the sketch writing process as the rest of the cast and writers.

The highlights of the show were undeniably Jeremy and Sasha, 2007 National Douchebag Championships and the latest MacGruber series. Rogen and Wiig stole the show with their take on obnoxious and less than attractive twins, Jeremy and Sasha. From Rogen’s way-too-small shirt to Wiig’s now infamous, “I said WE-EH!”, this skit was the epitome of a completely creative and hilarious idea, which was so refreshing to see. As for the 2007 National Douchebag Championships, I was a little worried when I first saw the opening credits that we would have another lame reality show / judging bit on our hands. However, I pleasantly surprised with how entertaining this sketch was. Rogen, Hader and Forte were perfect as the douchebag contestants and judges Sharon Osbourne (Poehler), Gene Simmons (Armisen) and 2006 Reigning Douchebag Champion, Gerard (Samberg), were absolutely hilarious. Who knew that Gene Simmons was the First Douchebag of Rock & Roll? Finally, Forte’s always amusing MacGruber installments brought huge laughs to the show. This time around finds MacGruber feeling uncomfortable with growing older, such that he decides to seek solace in the world of plastic surgery, all while trying to defuse bombs. His final, “Not so bad!”, remark has me rolling. It’s bits like these that make it easy to see why Forte is one of my favorite SNL cast members.

Lastly, as we all know, in addition to a remarkable host, the other major component of a successful show is a great musical act. Luckily for us, Spoon really delivered with two fantastic songs. I’ve only really started to listen to these guys recently and was very happy to see them perform on live television. Good stuff.

Not since the out-of-the-blue Jeremy Piven episode back in January have I had so little to complain about. Still, even for an episode with a coney score of 50, not everything was perfect. Namely, the “America’s First Colonists” and “Mad Joe Dixon” sketches felt a bit recycled. While I liked the premise behind John Stone in the Colonial segment, its uninspired drug humor execution reminded me too much of Jack Black’s 2002 stoner “Russell Putnam, Investigative Reporter” character or even “Good Morning Meth” from Jason Lee’s 11/5/05 episode. Ditto for the sexual innuendo turned raunchy talk in Rogen and Maya’s “Mad Joe Dixon”. Dixon felt nothing more than a last minute mix of the old “Colonel Angus” and Wiig’s “Cider in the Fall” and/or “Coffee in the Spring” sketches. The only difference being, in Wiig’s sketch she’d reveal how she “peed in the cider”, where in Dixon, Maya announces she enjoys pooping in people’s lunch Thermos’.

My one outstanding complaint, besides a couple of mediocre skits like Mad Joe Dixon and the 2008 Fred Thompson Message, is, of course, Darrel Hammond (I’ll actually give Maya Rudolph a break this week). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, why is he still on the show? I feel like the only reason they roll him out for skits like Fred Thompson is simply to justify having him on the SNL payroll. Don’t get me wrong, Hammond can still be pretty funny, but as far as SNL goes, he is D-O-N-E, done.

Also, what was up with Weekend Update being like 15 minutes long? Yeah, they had some good guest spots, but that is way too long, especially if a potential Robert Smigel cartoon was cut because of it. And speaking of guest spots, I’m going to have to respectively disagree with Nummer about Chevy Chase. Now, I LOVE Chevy Chase, but his Senior Political Correspondent bit came off as nothing short of senile. I felt like he was barely coherent and definitely not laughable, unless we’re talking about that uncomfortable laugh you have when you can’t understand someone really old but feel the need to be polite. I don’t know, I guess I just expected a little bit more from such a legend.

After a so-so season premiere, Lorne and company proved they can still be very funny. Rogen demonstrated he can easily work in a live comedy environment without Judd Apatow feeding him dialogue, and Spoon simply added the icing to an already great episode’s cake.

Glad to see the technical gaffes were nearly absent tonight, unless you count the opening credits stating a new Robert Smigel cartoon was schedule for tonight’s show. Nevertheless, if a Smigel cartoon was actually on the bill, it was likely cut by Lorne for time and can’t be blamed on director Don King.

Well, the coneys don’t lie. This week’s SNL with Rogen and Spoon has positively proven itself to be an instant classic. I have to say, it’s great to have a recent episode to fall back on for truly funny sketches and quotes and, undoubtedly, this show will be played over and over for years to come.

CONEY COUNT

1. Cold Opening: A Message From Kevin Federline
Premise: K-Fed gives parental advice

2. Monologue: Rogen

3. Commercial Parody: Veritas Ultrasound HD
Premise: High Definition Ultrasound Monitors with special features

4. Sketch: 2007 National Douchebag Championship
Premise: Annual award show to select biggest loser

5. Filmed Segment: MacGruber #1
Premise: Recurring parody of MacGyver

6. Sketch: Jeremy and Sasha
Premise: Parents show off their twin children

7. Filmed Segment: MacGruber #2
Premise: Recurring parody of MacGyver

8. Sketch: A Message from Fred Thompson
Premise: Update from the ’08 Republican Presidential Candidate

9. Filmed Segment: MacGruber #3
Premise: Recurring parody of MacGyver

10. Spoon “The Underdog”

11. Weekend Update
Guests: Hammond, Kenan and Armisen
Cameo: Chevy Chase

12. Sketch: America’s First Colonists
Premise: The history of colonist John Stone

13. Sketch: Rowlf and the Swedish Chef
Premise: Spoof of Jim Henson’s Muppets

14. Spoon “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”

15. Sketch: Mad Joe Dixon
Premise: A colonial-time couple flirts

TOTALS

50 / 60 Coneys

43 / 60 Coneys