SNL Season 29 – REVEALED!
Episode 5: Andy
Roddick/Dave Matthews (11/8/03)
The Rating System:
4 Coneys – Best Ever
0 Coneys – Worst Ever
Totals:
0-10 Coneys – Garbage
11-20 Coneys – Needs Improvement
21-30 Coneys – Average
31-45 Coneys – Above Average
46-55 Coneys - Instant Classic
55+ Coneys - Unparalleled SNL Genius
Pre-show Comments (11/7/03):
Jason: Buzz x 3. Even though
I'm not up to speed on the world of tennis, I'm pretty sure this Roddick
character will "serve" up a fine show. Why do I say this? With the
exception of Derek Jeter, the sports hosts over the last few years have been
pretty good (namely Mosely and Gordon). I'm also told he is dating Mandy Moore
which more than likely equals a cameo. Could be hot (hot heat).
As for possible sketches....maybe Maya Rudolph's shockingly
good "Tennis Talk with Time Travelin' Scott Joplin" will make another
appearance. When it showed up last season in the Brittany Murphy episode, it
sort of forced me to lower my Rudolph hatred for at least a few minutes.
Another guess would be Jarrett's Room due to the Dave Matthews/marijuana
connections.
As for Dave Matthews, call me a "white hat", but I
really like his new solo album. I'm also hoping the same backing band from the
album shows up for the SNL gig as well. Seeing Matthews, Trey Anastasio and The
Dirty Dozen Brass Band on the SNL musical stage won't have me complaining come
1:00 AM post show.
Heather: I'm sort of at a loss as far as comments go for this week's
SNL.
Other than he's a tennis player and that he's dating Mandy
Moore, I know next to nothing about Roddick. But he's a young guy and he's
pretty damn hot, so I'm gonna lean towards a decent show. A potential Mandy
Moore appearance will only be a bonus.
Dave Matthews. I have no idea what his new album sounds like, but I'm sure his performances will be toe-tappin.
1. 20/20:
Barbara Walters and Martha Stewart
Premise: Parody of the interview show
Jason: Hmm. Odd choice for a cold opener. I’m guessing the sheer lack of humor from Hammond’s Bush last week left Lorne with little choice.
Dratch and Poehler did a good job with this. Although Poehler’s Stewart impression was pretty much the same as her Ann Coulter bit from the Timberlake episode, overall this short opener was laughable. Dratch’s “C. U. Next Tuesday” got a ton of laughs as did Poehler being so naïve as to what all the negative press was.
2 Coneys
Heather: I must say that this was a rather odd choice for the cold opener. And unfortunately, not that funny. Dratch and Poehler did respectable jobs as Walters and Stewart, but this just didn’t appear to click well, especially when Dratch shouts out “Live from New York….” at the most random of moments.
1 Coney
Jason: This was a very strange monologue. Right off the bat, Roddick establishes himself as a horrible speaker with no stage presence. At first I got a little concerned when it looked like the only distraction would be the same comedian/writer “audience” team that bailed our Ripa last week. However, once McEnroe showed up, it looked like there was at least something else in store.
The strangest part came next when Finesse and the female SNL cast members basically shoved Roddick offstage and recreated Outkast’s performance from last week. Very strange for the host to not even appear in his own monologue!
However, through all this craziness, I found myself with a consistent smile. I guess this was the best we could have expected with Roddick’s comedy skills the way they are.
3 Coneys
Heather: Ok, first of all, why is that arguing couple back AGAIN, for the second week in a row?! Second of all, what was with the Outkast reenactment taking up nearly ALL of Roddick’s monologue time?! I know he’s “green” at the whole live show acting thing, but give him a chance at least!!
That aside, the Outkast spoof was pretty funny. I gotta give it up for Fey’s dancing! She was so into it!! John McEnroe’s appearance got some chuckles as well.
3 Coneys
Premise: Procedure to freeze yourself until various cures become
available
Jason: This was pretty good. The thought of people willing to “freeze”
themselves until there is a cure for lactose-intolerance or baldness was pretty
funny. Much better than last week’s
Tressant Supreme commercial.
3 Coneys
Heather: Okay idea for a commercial parody, but it did seem kind of old. Poehler’s creepy smile was hilarious.
2 Coneys
4. Sketch: Z-105 Morning Show
Premise: Fallon plays obnoxious characters on a one-man morning drive radio show
Jason: Whoa! It has been over a year since this sketch made it’s first (and only since) appearance. I did not like this when it debuted last November in the Erik McCormack episode, but it sort of grew on me over the summer. I’m ready to watch this again with slightly less bias…
I was not surprised to see Roddick’s first acting duty simply requiring him to play himself. I thought it was pretty funny that he was hardly even convincing in this capacity though.
Still, Fallon’s constant “Man in the Box”, Andrea and the new African American weather man bits kept me laughing. The crazy “We’re BAAA-AACK” talk set beginnings were pretty funny too. I am not saying this should become recurring by any means, but it did fit well into the episode.
3 Coneys
Heather: Throughout this whole sketch, I kept trying to figure out where I had heard that voice that Fallon was using for the main DJ. Sure enough, it’s his Pat O’Brien voice! Don’t work too hard there at coming up with new shit Fallon.
I sort of found this funny the last time it aired, but this time it went on WAY too long. There were some funny bits though, specifically with the newest addition of Tyrone the weatherman. But Fallon’s progressively louder, “WE’RE BAAACK’s” were also increasingly annoying, especially on the last one where he went so far as to glance at Roddick, as if to see if he could contain his laughter at Fallon’s comic wit. That might’ve been a little harsh, but I couldn’t help but feel Fallon thought he was funniest shit out there during this sketch.
1 Coney
5. Sketch: Battle of the Sexes 2
Premise: Billy Jean King challenges Andy Roddick to a tennis match
Jason: Finally Season 29 gives us what appears to be an Armisen penned sketch. Although Roddick took the easy way out and played himself again, Armisen’s portrayal of “B.J. King” was hilarious!
This sketch was good because it stood out as something different. Hammond as Bud Collins and McEnroe (again?) doing the commentary kept the pace going at first, but the sketch did get a little mediocre as it went on. How many tennis jokes have there been about the ball going through the racket? Or the opponent being so under-matched that he simply doesn’t need to try? I feel like I’ve seen material like this before, but I’m having trouble putting my finger on it.
In light of all this, Armisen’s enthusiasm as King was very fun to watch and managed to outweigh some of the negatives.
3 Coneys
Heather: At first, I found Armisen hilarious as B.J. King, with his skinny legs and HUGE glasses. But this sketch really seemed to lose it’s steam towards the end. It was nice to see Armisen though.
I just hope that they can get off the tennis theme and give Roddick a chance to do something a little different. I know he’s not anywhere near being a great comic, but that’s not surprising when all he’s been doing is playing himself!! One more thing…is McEnroe going to be in this whole show?!
2 Coneys
6. Sketch: Mary Poppins Spoof
Premise: A British maid looks after an American teenager
Jason: Hey, Roddick is finally playing a character.
This sketch was pretty forgettable. Dratch has done her rolling British accent one too many times for me to still consider it effective. The musical numbers she worked in were clever, but not enough to save the sketch as a whole.
I would like to point out all the Michigan/Pistons stuff that decorated the bedroom set though. Someone on the show has to be from Michigan after all the MI jokes last season and now this.
1 Coney
Heather: Well, when I said to give Roddick an original sketch, this isn’t quite what I meant!! Although, he did seem to do okay given a different character. The bad thing about this skit was it just wasn’t funny. I laughed briefly at Dratch’s wide-eyed, psycho-smiling face but that was about it.
½ Coney
Premise: The two give updates on how the show is progressing
Jason: I’m beginning to think that Roddick and
McEnroe should have co-hosted the show.
This is the third time the guy has shown up! At least he has been somewhat funny each time. His “Here’s Johnny” impression here were
pretty good, but I’m not liking the running gag (also used in the monologue)
about how he has never hosted the show.
He then made the second Roddick/Sean William Scott comparison of the
night too. However, it was a good way
to get attention back after the drabby Dratch sketch.
2 Coneys
Heather: McEnroe AGAIN?! This was somewhat amusing, especially given the last sketch, but rather unnecessary. How many times are we going to hear about him never having hosted the show?? He practically is now!!!
1 Coney
8. Sketch: Anderson Miller Communications Party
Premise: Hall and Oates play a corporate party
Jason: This was great! Hall and Oates are a comedy staple in my personal world of humor, so seeing Forte and Armisen portray these two was something I would not have predicted in a thousand years.
They both did great jobs accurately depicting how lame corporate parties can be. Working all the IT department employee names into the lyrics was hilarious. I also loved how upset they were when they found out they had to hand out plaques instead of doing their normal set.
This sketch made me think a little about Forte though. I’m starting to get nervous that he is relying too much on his high-pitched singing voice - it pretty much shows up in every sketch he does now. Oh well, I guess it is better than doing The Falconer every week.
3 Coneys
Heather: Talk about a real nice surprise!! Forte and Armisen as Hall and Oates!! I just absolutely love these two together. Probably the best thing I’m going to see all night. Their “shout-out” song to the IT department was GREAT, specifically when they kept adding in employee names after every line. “Holy crap!! Give yourself a hand!!” Best.
4 Coneys
Jason: This started out OK, but got a little boring by the end. Keenan’s range seems to be pretty limited. I’ve been noticing every character he does relies on the same type of body movements and facial expressions. This is precisely the reason I don’t care much for Rudolph. The only thing that really made me laugh here was Keenan’s shirt and his line about “sass mouth”.
1 Coney
Heather: Yeah, yeah, yeah….we know Roddick is the #1 tennis player in the world for crying out loud!!! Let’s move onto the sketches WITHOUT the tennis undertones!!
0 Coneys
10. Music #1: Dave Matthews “Save Me”
Jason: Yes! He did not come right out and do the current single “Gravedigger” - which I think is the weakest on the album. And who is that on guitar? Trey! Totally best.
4 Coneys
Heather: This was actually a pretty good song. It’s not quite my type of music as of late, but I liked it. I was glad to see Trey on guitar for Nummer!
3 Coneys
11. Weekend Update
Jason: Not a bad WU. It totally makes up for last week’s rather dull installment. Good joke this time were the headache machine hosting “The View” and Fey’s bit about looking at female genitalia.
Forte’s Tim Calhoun was also a nice treat. This time we learned that when he’s drunk, he drives like “cra-ap”.
The Fallon/Sanz Rosie O’ Donnell bit got a little trite though. I’m surprised they got to do another skit together so soon after last week’s very long Jimmy Buffet joke. Fallon couldn’t help from laughing basically from start to finish this time. So annoying.
3 Coneys
Heather: A fairly entertaining Weekend Update this time around. Fey’s vagina joke and Fallon’s bit on the gun-shooting dog were probably the funniest.
The highlight for me, of course, was Forte as presidential candidate Tim Calhoun. His desire to breed “Shetland midgets” was hilarious. “ There are times when I’m not gay at all.”
Sanz as the two-sided Rosie O’Donnell was briefly amusing, but these Sanz/Fallon couplings on WU are getting out of hand. All they do is laugh at each other! Can’t they do that without subjecting us to watching it?!
3 Coneys
12. Sketch: Tennis Talk with Time Travelin’ Scott Joplin
Premise: Scott Joplin travels
through time to talk tennis
Jason: I called it in my pre-show comments! Much like the Z-105 Morning Show, this sketch made it’s debut (and only appearance) last Fall. A few changes were made this time around though. Notably, the shift from “Women’s Tennis” to just tennis. I loved the line last time about the one thing Scott Joplin learning in all of his time traveling, was that he loves women’s tennis. The Jack Daniels bottle from atop the piano was missing this time around as well.
This installation was pretty clever in that all three guests on the show were different version of Andre Aggasi. There was 1992 Andre, present day Andre and 2008 Andre. Forte’s “RODDICK” and space racquet got chuckles too, as did Seth’s wig.
2.5 Coneys
Heather: This is not one of my favorite sketches, but it’s guaranteed for at least a few laughs, those most notably being the sound effects on Forte’s space racket and his “RODDIIIIIICK!!”
2 Coneys
Premise: Parnell plays a pervert in a gynecologist’s office
Jason: Weird! Another one-off sketch has returned from last season. I’m starting to wonder if they are trying to map out potential recurring sketches for the rest of the season or something.
This sketch made its debut in the horrible Gellar episode from Season 28. The idea was pretty funny last time, but Parnell was basically acting as if he were Will Ferrell while doing the character.
In this new installment, Parnell wasn’t acting like Ferrell as much as before, but the jokes he kept using were very predictable. Roddick was horrible as the gynecologist too. I’m hoping we don’t see this one again.
1 Coney (simply for Poehler’s cute haircut)
Heather: What the hell is this?! They decided to make this mediocre sketch into a full-blown “show”, complete with opening credits?! Does this mean we’re going to keep seeing this in the future?? It was decent last season as a one time sketch, but I for one never want to see this again. Totally uninspired.
0 Coneys
Jason: Another solid performance from the new solo album. Besides Outkast’s first song last weekend, we finally have Season 29’s first standout musical performance.
4 Coneys
Heather: Another great song!! I think I may need to check out this album.
3 Coneys
Jason: “Fire it up”. This was best! Richards has added yet another solid character to his lineup. He had every aspect of a jock down perfectly – the speech, hair, clothes and attitude were all done flawlessly.
McEnroe again makes a sketch appearance (this time as Richard’s Dad) and in the process delivers his most memorable moments of the night. Richards calling to check up on his girlfriend was great too. Unlike Merv the Perv, I would not mind seeing this again.
3.5 Coneys
Heather: This was good, but Richard’s somewhat slurred speech kept reminding me of Drunk Girl. I guess that kind of ruined it for me. I got a kick out of the bench-pressing though.
1 Coney
16.
Sketch: Action News 13
Jason: This was good, but it was a little too reminiscent of an older news sketch where the overabundance of graphics kept interrupting.
Forte, Maya and Roddick did manage to make this one stand out just a little bit though. I loved the four screen split with bars and tone and the B.T.O. performance all competing with the reporters. Not a bad way to end a good episode.
2.5 Coneys
Heather: This sketch, with all of the overlapping music, was just too ridiculous not to laugh at. Loved Forte’s freaky smile at the beginning. Decent closing skit.
2 Coneys
Closing Comments:
Jason: Well. I think this is the closest I have ever come to getting all my preshow comment wishes. Not only did we get Trey sitting in with Dave Matthews, but Tennis Talk also made a comeback.
This was a pretty good show – considering who they had to work with as a host. It is abundantly clear that Roddick must stick to tennis. I haven’t seen a host this uncomfortable and wooden since Bernie Mac. To compensate, this episode showed how the cast members can sometimes bind together and pick up the host’s slack. No doubt this was the reason behind three random Season 28 sketches making a return.
This episode also demonstrated how a good musical guest can help make or break a show. Without Dave Matthews, this episode would have earned 8 less coneys.
41.5 out of 64 Coneys
Heather: I’m happy to see that this show was way better than I expected it to be. Roddick is far from a comic genius, but I think he tried. Luckily he had a lot of good sketches to support him.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Dave Matthews. I haven’t listened to him in years, but I think I may need to reconsider that decision.
28.5 our of 64 Coneys