Showing posts with label snl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snl. Show all posts
Zach Galifianakis on SNL
After the jump: Conan / Andy Richter (with Special Guest!) on Between Two Ferns. How did I miss this?
SNL: Back in the Saddle (for one night, at least)
SNL was very funny last night. As has happened before, the show had a week off and then came back with a top-notch host, both of which seemed to charge up the talents of the cast. Jon Hamm has quickly entered the pantheon of outstanding SNL hosts. Everybody's favorite Mad Man returned to the brilliant heights of last year's episode (John Hamm's "john ham") and maybe broke new ground with fastest-reoccurring bizarre character in SNL history (watch the three clips in order).
SNL--It's been a bad year, but even a stopped clock...
SNL has been garbage this year. It really was a good season last year, grinding out the last of the comedic juices from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, while catapulting supporting cast members to moderate heights.
But this year, the show just feels like its running on fumes (Kenan Thompson, interestingly enough, has emerged as the best player on this 35th SNL season). NBC's inflated expectations, after the success of last year's prime time specials and Tina Fey's brilliant Sarah Palin, led the network to air repeated back-to-back-to-back live shows as well as several live primetime specials....all of which have drained the talents of the writers and players. Furthermore, the hosts have been unimpressive. The January Jones-hosted episode last weekend has become a universally mocked episode: lots of squinty line reading, uninspired monologue, loads of fart jokes, and because the comedic content was missing, 3 songs by the Black Eyed Peas to fill up the episode's 90 minutes.
Which is why I enjoyed the absurdity of last night's Andy Samberg/Kenan Thompson sketch. original, absurd, and funny, it is what SNL can do best and why it can fill a very different spot in the late night hierarchy than The Daily Show or Conan O'Brien. Here's to more of that in 2010.
Late Shift II
The Late Shift, a mid-1990s HBO movie chronicling the Leno/Letterman "war" over the Tonight Show, is an underrated classic. We're currently in the midst of the Late Shift II, a cold war. Conan O'Brien is supplanting his friend and coworker, Jay Leno, as host of the Tonight Show.
Tonight (Friday) is Jay Leno’s final show as host of The Tonight Show, his 3,776 (not including guest-hosting stints when he filled in for his predecessor, Johnny Carson). On Monday, June 1, Conan O’Brien replaces Jay Leno at the helm of the Tonight Show. Starting in September, Leno will appear on NBC at 10 pm as host of the new “The Jay Leno Show” (five nights a week for an hour, in a format that will strongly resemble his “Tonight Show”). The move fulfills NBC’s contractual obligation to Conan, made in 2004, when NBC promised the “Tonight Show” to Conan in order to keep him from competing with Leno.The Tonight Show remains the gold standard for late night television. It regularly trounces its closest competitor (David Letterman’s “The Late Show” on CBS) and represents the national sentiment better than its more trendy peers, such as Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” Indeed, when President Obama recently wanted to sit down with a late night host, he chose Leno. During the campaign trail, Obama went on other shows that skew younger, wealthier, or hipper; Leno is middle America.
The Tonight Show shuffle isn’t the only interesting development in late night talk shows. Jimmy Fallon has swooped into Conan’s old gig at 12:30, and has already garnered attention for his approach to hosting, which resembles a more mellowed version of his impish SNL characters crossed with Leno’s broad appeal. Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel’s show (“Jimmy Kimmel Live”) has grown into a worthy competitor for late night eyeballs. Finally, Craig Ferguson on CBS is terrific and unique and hilarious, trying to stay within the general conventions of the format (desk, couch, monologue, band) while stretching them beyond their normal boundaries (e.g. his efforts to produce completely original opening sequences every night). The emergence of Kimmel, Fallon, and Ferguson, coupled with the moves of Conan and Leno, and combined with the consistent Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and the perennial Letterman, plus the much-discussed Saturday Night Live renaissance, means that the late night television is more interesting than it has been since Leno and Letterman were in their primes 16 years ago.
Late night television matters in America, and these moves will lead to serious ramifications in television, and in what you will get to watch in the next ten years. The New York Times Sunday Magazine published a strong piece on the subject, hitting the high notes of the issue and getting O’Brien and Leno to speak (on-the-record) more frankly about the issue than either host had before; the Times followed it up with another article mid-week, focusing on Fallon’s early success. Drawing from those articles, as well as from a few others (and, notably, from some Bill Simmons podcasts, since Simmons is a former talk show staff writer and good friend of Jimmy Kimmel), I’d like to show why this late shift will change tv in very obvious and tangible ways. Some of the significant impacts:
1-Leno moves to 10 pm on NBC and he gets all the good guests, instead of Conan. Both shows will film in LA. If you were Angelina Jolie, and had a new movie out this weekend, and you can go on one late night tv show on Thursday night before your new flick opens, you go on “Leno” instead of “Conan” because Leno is in primetime (more eyeballs) and his track record is more proven than Conan. This undermines Conan, possibly causing his “Tonight Show” to falter.
2-Scripted dramas will deteriorate. This is significant because for the last 20 years, at least, NBC has shown scripted dramas at that hour: ER, Law and Order, etc. 10 pm is the hour for nittier-grittier tv. Leno brings topical humor to that time slot, an hour ahead of John Stewart doing the same thing. 10 pm will become a haven for Leno, and Leno-esque shows. NBC already tried to get Oprah to do a similar show. Fox and American Idol (I know, 9 pm) could easily spin off Ryan Seacrest into a nightly, hour-long program. There are probably only a handful of other talents who could sustain five hours of prime-time every week (Oprah, Leno, Scos), but that’s all that the public needs to be sated.
Some might suggest that that conclusion was inevitable. In This Economic Climate, expensive dramas (such as ER or CSI) are already less desirable. A decade ago, when broadcast television began to realize the end was nigh (HBO was surging, ESPN began buying up cheaply produced sports programming, and the internet began occupying more and more eyeballs), reality tv emerged (Who Wants to Be a Survivor/Mole/Apprentice). The Networks produced “high quality” programming at low costs. Public interest in reality TV, while waning, has not entirely dissipated (god I hate Howie Mandel and everything he stands for). Leno’s inevitable success (and it is inevitable) will mean that dramas will be rarer and rarer, because every night on NBC, the old ER/Law&Order slots are filled by the big-chinned funnyman.
3-This new Late Shift (Late Shift II) will hurt The Daily Show and its popular influence. The Daily Show is hilarious, but will no longer be the first-out-of-the-gate talk show; in turn, this also hurts the Colbert Report. Leno will be the first guy making topical and fresh jokes every night. That’s the Daily Show’s brand and butter. I recognize that Stewart et al. rely on the high quality of their comedy, too.
4-Craig Ferguson and David Letterman will benefit. Second-tier guests on the Conan-helmed L.A.-based Tonight Show will only benefit the New York-based CBS shows.
In conclusion, I predict that Leno at 10 pm will be a success, and lead to imitations. Fewer dramas on the networks will result. Conan will suffer by comparison. Enjoy watching the Leno finale on Hulu tomorrow over your Saturday waffles…
Tonight (Friday) is Jay Leno’s final show as host of The Tonight Show, his 3,776 (not including guest-hosting stints when he filled in for his predecessor, Johnny Carson). On Monday, June 1, Conan O’Brien replaces Jay Leno at the helm of the Tonight Show. Starting in September, Leno will appear on NBC at 10 pm as host of the new “The Jay Leno Show” (five nights a week for an hour, in a format that will strongly resemble his “Tonight Show”). The move fulfills NBC’s contractual obligation to Conan, made in 2004, when NBC promised the “Tonight Show” to Conan in order to keep him from competing with Leno.The Tonight Show remains the gold standard for late night television. It regularly trounces its closest competitor (David Letterman’s “The Late Show” on CBS) and represents the national sentiment better than its more trendy peers, such as Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” Indeed, when President Obama recently wanted to sit down with a late night host, he chose Leno. During the campaign trail, Obama went on other shows that skew younger, wealthier, or hipper; Leno is middle America.
The Tonight Show shuffle isn’t the only interesting development in late night talk shows. Jimmy Fallon has swooped into Conan’s old gig at 12:30, and has already garnered attention for his approach to hosting, which resembles a more mellowed version of his impish SNL characters crossed with Leno’s broad appeal. Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel’s show (“Jimmy Kimmel Live”) has grown into a worthy competitor for late night eyeballs. Finally, Craig Ferguson on CBS is terrific and unique and hilarious, trying to stay within the general conventions of the format (desk, couch, monologue, band) while stretching them beyond their normal boundaries (e.g. his efforts to produce completely original opening sequences every night). The emergence of Kimmel, Fallon, and Ferguson, coupled with the moves of Conan and Leno, and combined with the consistent Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and the perennial Letterman, plus the much-discussed Saturday Night Live renaissance, means that the late night television is more interesting than it has been since Leno and Letterman were in their primes 16 years ago.Late night television matters in America, and these moves will lead to serious ramifications in television, and in what you will get to watch in the next ten years. The New York Times Sunday Magazine published a strong piece on the subject, hitting the high notes of the issue and getting O’Brien and Leno to speak (on-the-record) more frankly about the issue than either host had before; the Times followed it up with another article mid-week, focusing on Fallon’s early success. Drawing from those articles, as well as from a few others (and, notably, from some Bill Simmons podcasts, since Simmons is a former talk show staff writer and good friend of Jimmy Kimmel), I’d like to show why this late shift will change tv in very obvious and tangible ways. Some of the significant impacts:
1-Leno moves to 10 pm on NBC and he gets all the good guests, instead of Conan. Both shows will film in LA. If you were Angelina Jolie, and had a new movie out this weekend, and you can go on one late night tv show on Thursday night before your new flick opens, you go on “Leno” instead of “Conan” because Leno is in primetime (more eyeballs) and his track record is more proven than Conan. This undermines Conan, possibly causing his “Tonight Show” to falter.
2-Scripted dramas will deteriorate. This is significant because for the last 20 years, at least, NBC has shown scripted dramas at that hour: ER, Law and Order, etc. 10 pm is the hour for nittier-grittier tv. Leno brings topical humor to that time slot, an hour ahead of John Stewart doing the same thing. 10 pm will become a haven for Leno, and Leno-esque shows. NBC already tried to get Oprah to do a similar show. Fox and American Idol (I know, 9 pm) could easily spin off Ryan Seacrest into a nightly, hour-long program. There are probably only a handful of other talents who could sustain five hours of prime-time every week (Oprah, Leno, Scos), but that’s all that the public needs to be sated.
Some might suggest that that conclusion was inevitable. In This Economic Climate, expensive dramas (such as ER or CSI) are already less desirable. A decade ago, when broadcast television began to realize the end was nigh (HBO was surging, ESPN began buying up cheaply produced sports programming, and the internet began occupying more and more eyeballs), reality tv emerged (Who Wants to Be a Survivor/Mole/Apprentice). The Networks produced “high quality” programming at low costs. Public interest in reality TV, while waning, has not entirely dissipated (god I hate Howie Mandel and everything he stands for). Leno’s inevitable success (and it is inevitable) will mean that dramas will be rarer and rarer, because every night on NBC, the old ER/Law&Order slots are filled by the big-chinned funnyman.
3-This new Late Shift (Late Shift II) will hurt The Daily Show and its popular influence. The Daily Show is hilarious, but will no longer be the first-out-of-the-gate talk show; in turn, this also hurts the Colbert Report. Leno will be the first guy making topical and fresh jokes every night. That’s the Daily Show’s brand and butter. I recognize that Stewart et al. rely on the high quality of their comedy, too.
4-Craig Ferguson and David Letterman will benefit. Second-tier guests on the Conan-helmed L.A.-based Tonight Show will only benefit the New York-based CBS shows.
In conclusion, I predict that Leno at 10 pm will be a success, and lead to imitations. Fewer dramas on the networks will result. Conan will suffer by comparison. Enjoy watching the Leno finale on Hulu tomorrow over your Saturday waffles…
