I was very ambivalent about this show going in, and pretty sure I was going to not like it. I would up feeling pretty good about it, for many of the reasons noted in this thread. I like that they were being self-congratulatory, and kind of owned it.
I don't understand why so many people hate The Californians; it probably would not have been my choice to feature so prominently (I absolutely love The Prince Show, and could have gone with 5 minutes of that plus 5 minutes of "What's Up With That"), but there are plenty of things on SNL over the years that I hate more. On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 6:57 PM, Dave Sikula <[email protected]> wrote: > I mostly agree with your sentiments. I was ready to give them all the > credit in the world for not giving in to the temptation of having Simon > sing "Still Crazy" when it started. Oh, well ... > > --Dave Sikula > > > On Monday, February 16, 2015, M-D November <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Personally, I was happy to see that they didn't go with the standard clip >> show format that previous SNL anniversary specials have favored. In a >> nutshell, here's what I thought of the non-retread/non-musical performances: >> >> - Fallon/Timberlake cold open: I appreciate the fact that they did a >> song & dance to work in other cast members (like Drach & her "Debbie >> Downer"), I feel like the open was more reminiscent of their 'history of >> rap' segments from LNWJF than anything either did on SNL. I would have >> much rather had them do "Barry Gibb Talk Show", since it's a sketch that >> only gets done every 3 years, and it would have allowed past & current >> cast >> members to do some political impersonations. >> - Steve Martin & friends monologue: spot on, except Miley Cyrus had >> no business being on stage with 5+ timers. >> - Super Bass-O-Matic 2150: Almost perfect, and I like how Ackroyd >> handled the blender's failure at the end of the sketch. (Could the props >> department not afford a VitaMix? It's the SBOM2150, not the BOM76, for >> chrissake.) >> - Celebrity Jeopardy: YES. ALL OF THE YES. (And I'm kicking myself >> for missing the jokes in the category names.) >> - The Californians: Betty White saves the sketch. Godddamn that >> woman is game for just about anything. Complete waste of time otherwise. >> (Although a decent idea to have David Spades' snarky flight attendant >> kill >> the sketch, Graham Chapman style.) >> - Weekend Update: I would have liked more of this and less of the >> Californians. >> - Marty Short/Maya Rudolph: Loved this except for the aforementioned >> Garth/Kat appearance. G&K were redeemed by Murray as Nick Ocean (with >> Paul >> Schaffer!) and, as much as I hate to say it, "What's Up With That?" >> (Sudekis in the tracksuit FTW.) Again, the lack of Fallon & Timberlake as >> Barry & Robin Gibb was a big oversight here, if you're not going to do >> BGTS. >> - Digital Short ("That's When You Break"): a nice way to use both >> Sandler & Samberg that highlights the challenges of live TV. Also, an >> entire verse of "Here's another one of Fallon & Sanz" - yep. >> - Wayne's World: it was good to see Wayne & Garth again, but I wish >> they'd done more than just a top 10 list. (Again, swap this for the >> Californians in both placement & timing.) Would have preferred to see W&G >> interact with some other SNL talk show hosts - the "Girlfriends Talk Show" >> girls, Jarret & Gobi, Dieter (oh, wait - never mind), Barry & Robin Gibb >> (damn it!), Steve Harvey, Fernando...well, you get the picture. I did >> like >> the shout-out to the crew at the very end of the sketch. >> >> I also really liked that the band got to have a moment of their own as he >> introduced the memorial reel, which also featured cast, crew & band alike. >> And seeing Nora, Phil & Chris all in a row during memorial reel was like >> three hard shots to the gut. That was the one that got me. >> >> Musical performances? Sir Paul needs some Ricola (and probably should >> have been scratched in favor of another performer/sketch), Miley actually >> did a nice job with 50 Ways, Kanye & his 'genius' can eat a bag of dicks, >> and Paul Simon was great, but I was disappointed that Lorne didn't have >> Paul perform "Still Crazy After All These Years" in the turkey costume for >> old times' sake. >> >> On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 7:00:58 AM UTC-5, Michael wrote: >>> >>> Even a (sometime) Wiig fan like me cannot abide Garth & Kat -- recurring >>> characters that are so reliably awful and tedious that they make "The >>> Californians" seem like G.B. Shaw..Would I have preferred more Kanye >>> indulgence instead of Garth & Kat? Absolutely not. But a Garth & Kat/Garth >>> & Wayne tag-team match to the death -- one that Garth & Wayne win? Sure. >>> >>> On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 3:10:00 AM UTC-8, Dave Sikula wrote: >>>> >>>> My takeaway was that Rock's eulogy was the price Lorne agreed to to >>>> guarantee Murphy's appearance. Personally, I'd have preferred more Martin >>>> Short or Lovitz. At least She Who Will Not Be Named didn't get own segment >>>> - though having her show up with Armisen was poison enough. >>>> >>>> Dave Sikula >>> >>> -- >> -- >> TV or Not TV .... 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