Saturday Night Live (SNL) 2013-2014 Season thread

I have said this before in this thread but you can tell there is a divide now between the writers who say "Let's do another game show sketch" and some of the new talent and writers who say "Let's go outside and interview bugs on the sidewalk". I know if they went completely in the latter direction it would probably hurt in the ratings but I think I might actually enjoy the show more just watching something totally original.

 

I don't really care about how they do a sketch...gameshow, which I guess I like still, or whatever....I just want to laugh and they can do that under just about any premise if the writing is good. Last week showed a bit of promise in that regard. I am guessing a lot of the writers are also new and it looks to me like they are kind of struggling with fleshing out their scripts in such a short time, but that can improve over time.

 

Next up - Seth Rogen with musical guest Ed Sheeran.

Anyone know who is after that? I had to look up Sheeran as I hadn't heard of him.

 

I was surprised just how unfunny the Dongs song was..

 

He's a big deal in Britain and I hate to say it Ed, but I don't think you are happening here in the U.S. after several high profile attempts (opening for Taylor Swift on her last tour, performance at The Grammy Salute To The Beatles, etc.).

 

Wow, the cold open for Seth Rogen's hosting gig was both stridently party-partisan and poorly written! I'm so very full of optimism.

 

That falsetto-funk number tonight ain't gonna help.

 

Yeah, the open was lame. And the monologue wasn't great, though I did like the reference to James Franco meeting young girls in a hotel. But after that, pretty solid. I was wondering when SNL would get around to commenting on CNN's relentless Malaysia Flight 370 coverage. The "breaking news: pregnancy alert" sketch wasn't great (Jon Stewart's recent segment on CNN's coverage was much better), but at least they finally said something about it. I thought "Monster Pals" was really funny, and I also liked the sketch with Aidy Bryant having the broken arms at the birthday dinner. "Blue River Dog Food" was very funny. That seems like the type they would normally do taped, but I liked that they did it live. I thought Keenan's "Big Papi" during WU was very funny.

 

Aidy telling Seth Rogen to "Cut it!" is a definite high mark that future generations of SNL writers will struggle to reach.

 

I will admit, for all to see, I'm in love with Aidy Bryant. I think she's an incredible talent that's still under development. I hope she finds a really good recurring character that isn't relegated to second string.

 

I didn't see the whole episode, as I dozed off a bit during Weekend Update and went to bed before the final sketch, but it's safe to say that this was another lame episode in a transitional season that's likely to go down in SNL infamy along with seasons 6, 11, and 20. I think the only time I chuckled was during Franco's appearance in the monologue, and the "Moster Pals" bit was kind of clever. Otherwise, it seemed like a lot of wasted effort to prop up weak material with shouting and mess-making.

 

That show was dreadful!

 

I've been tellin' ya! Aidy is awesome. I'm officially a fan. I also see something rather fragile and subtle under the laughs, a quality that could very well turn into a solid dramatic/comedic acting career in the future. She's awesome.

dan c

 

Good moments on Saturday, but overall a pretty poor episode.

 

Kenan Thompson's David Ortiz was one of the funniest things I've seen on SNL in a while.

 

Agree about Aidy. She's one of the better cast members.
They need to scratch out almost all of the new people. They don't add much.

 

I've noticed that every episode now features a shot of Lorne standing there looking important during one of the "here we are getting ready for the next sketch" things they show for a few seconds during commercials. I wonder if it's his way of saying "I'm still here running SNL even though I now run all of NBC's late night TV during the week as well."?

 

It's been like that for years.

 

Sadly a lot of them remind me of so-so SNL players of the past, Rich Hall, Brad Hall, Gary Kroger, Danita Vance, really the only ones I'd probably keep are Beck Bennett and Mike O' Brien. Too bad they didn't sign on Darmirra Brunson....

 

Hey, watch it! I won't have a word spoken against Gary Kroger! If for no other reason, he'll always have a place in my heart just for the "My Name is Needleman" video...

http://www.frequency.com/video/needleman-dentist-saturday-night-live/152154317/-/5-97250

 

Heh, that was funny. I liked the sketch too, it was SNL and looked "good" in a way a lot of SNL of present day, doesn't.

 

Never seen that before, but that pretty good.

 

Best episode in awhile for me. "Monster Pals" was exactly the type of sketch I was referring to up page. Highly original but probably too far out there for the mainstream audience. "Blue River Dog Food" was hilarious, too, and featured some strong acting from Cecily. However, I do think the show should not feature her in the skit before and after "Weekend Update". Let some others carry the workload.

 

I'm starting to think that is a seal of a guarantee that the show will suck! How he can watch some of the dreck going on and think its funny...I dont know. But as I have also said, others here like it. Maybe that speaks to how well Lorne can read current trends.

 

That was an instant classic. The impression I get of Kroger is that he was very talented but way too nice for the SNL backroom and didn't have the fight in him to get stuff on the air. There's a story in one of the SNL books about Robert Blake treating him like crap.