Monthly Archives: March 2010

2010/03/08 · 11:32 am

“Presidential Reunion”; Or Will Funny or Die Kill ‘SNL’?

By now you’ve all seen this Funny or Die sketch (because it was uploaded almost a week ago, which this day in age classifies it as old) that brings together the all time team of SNL presidential imitators.  It’s great, right?  Totally awesome (especially Chevy, doing what Chevy does best).

Vodpod videos no longer available.

However, what concerns me is what this video, and videos of its ilk, means to SNL.  Why I am so concerned about a show that has basically been skating by since 1993, if not earlier, and has never really faced any real competition, I don’t know (and no, MADtv doesn’t count).  But the more I see the Funny or Die videos featuring both SNL and non-SNL talent I wonder how long the show will be able to compete (especially now that Funny or Die has its own show on HBO, although the one episode I saw was rather underwhelming).  And this Presidential Reunion, directed by Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard, really caused me pause.

Keep reading: Does this spell the end for ‘SNL’?

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Filed under Analysis, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live, Virulent

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2010/03/05 · 1:57 pm

Muppet Friday (Somewhat Nostalgic Too): The Muppet Man Lives?

Vulture reports that Disney is in talks with The Jim Henson Company to produce The Muppet Man, a Jim Henson bioipic that made last year’s “Black List,” the compendium of Hollywood’s “hottest” unproduced screenplays.  Yay!  With the new Jason Segel-penned Muppet movie seemingly on the horizon, could it be that we’ll soon be treated to two Muppet-related movies?  Maybe!

Burning question?  Who will play Kermit in the biopic? (Tina Fey?)  And, for the record, I am available to play the Swedish Chef.

The film will undoubtedly touch on Henson’s personal life and his non-Muppet ventures, so with that in mind, here’s a clip from Time Piece, Henson’s trippy, experimental Oscar-nominated short film from 1966:

Vulture Exclusive: Disney Planning a Jim Henson Biopic

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Filed under Mickey Mouse Club, Muppets, Nostalgia Corner

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2010/03/05 · 1:13 pm

The Office: Labor Pains

Back in October The Office invited us to Pam and Jim’s wedding, an hour-long special event that had been hyped on NBC and in our hearts, and against unlikely odds that episode actually mostly succeeded.  It wasn’t a runaway success, but considering the expectations and the level of difficulty, it was generally a victory.  That episode was really the first part of a Pam/Jim seminal event season, with the bookend to their wedding being the birth of their first child.  However, since the wedding The Office has kind of skid off the tracks.  So then with last night’s episode, another hour-long affair, I was hoping that this would be the moment that they right the ship.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.  And whereas the wedding was a modest achievement, this felt like an unsettling disappointment.  What should have been a special, moving episode, and a return to form, turned out to be a case study of the show’s recent flaws.  Everything that has been frustrating as of late was front and center in “The Delivery.”

Read on: Who are these people and what have they done with Dunder Mifflin Scranton?

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Filed under Analysis, Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam, Must See TV

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2010/03/04 · 4:57 pm

Aaaaaaand We’re Back!

We had a temporary return last week with the unfortunate memoriam for the late Andrew Koenig, but as you can see with the new header, you can now consider Jumped the Snark officially back in action, NY Style!  Coming soon will be short thoughts on SNL, Funny or Die, The Office, Michael & Michael Have Issues, American Idol (BOWERSOX!) and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.  See you then (you, specifically)!

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Filed under Count Bleh, Muppets

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