Re: yesterday’s Dana Carvey/Jason Sudeikis conundrum:
Vodpod videos no longer available.Monthly Archives: February 2011
‘Saved by the Bell’ Season IV Update
We’re off and running on Season 4, which such classics as “Palm Springs Weekend,” “No Hope with Dope” and, of course, “Rockumentary.” Should be, like, totally awesome!
Filed under Impatience, Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell Project
Was That Special? Dana Carvey Returns to ‘SNL’ And Our Childhood Officially Ends
We’re going to warn you right off the bat that this is probably going to be the most subjective SNL recap we’ve yet written. So if you like your SNL analysis free of emotional attachment, well, then you should look somewhere else (we’re sure the web might offer one, maybe two, other options), because, unfortunately, as we watched this last SNL, hosted by legendary cast member Dana Carvey, our reaction was intrinsically bound up in how we’ve watched this show since childhood, and how the this particular episode made us reexamine and reassess our feelings about the show, Dana Carvey and his SNL era. So, at the extreme risk of being self-indulgent, here we go.
Read on: We mourn our youth and ask the question: who is Dana Carvey?
Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: WTF Took Us So Long to Listen to WTF?
Last Monday on the WTF podcast host Marc Maron presented his riveting interview with comedy legend Gallagher, which finally gave us the impetus to listen to the much buzzed about podcast. The interview, which ended early when Gallagher took offense to Maron’s “douchey” tone (as Gallagher’s manager later described it) and stormed off, was truly a fascinating discussion about comedy, even with Gallagher’s digressions about photons and electrons. We enjoyed the interview so much that we wrote about it here last week (we also basically report on any half-way relevant Gallagher news), which is why today’s search term is “gallagher wtf.”
But the best part about that interview is that it introduced us to the world of the WTF podcasts, the archives of which are packed with even more interesting, enlightening, insightful interviews about comedy. We soon downloaded the WTF app to our Droid and while spending 2 hours in traffic one day and an 1 1/2 hours the next we consumed Maron’s discussions with the likes of Dave Foley, A.D. Miles, Rob Corddry, and Ken Jeong. They were all no holds barred interviews that touched as much on the principles of comedy as much as they did on personal foibles, psychological defects and inner demons. Basically, comedians are fucked up. But on WTF they’re completely open and honest about it, simultaneously making the world of comedy both appealing and repulsive. But, like the podcast, there never seems to be a dull moment.
We could also sing the praises of Maron, but we’ll leave that to this New York Times profile. So instead we’ll add that we’re psyched to listen to his interviews with Judd Apatow, David Cross, Adam McKay, Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia. Meanwhile, you should go to the WTF website or iTunes and subscribe to the podcast immediately. AND if you still need some convincing, here’s a few recent interviews that we really enjoyed:
Dave Foley:
Ken Jeong
Tom Lennon
We FINALLY Weigh-In On the Super Bowl XLV Commercials
Boy, are we glad we bailed out the auto industry. So they could spend money on helicopters, Greek gods, aliens and ancient civilizations. All in one commercial!
Also, what? That’s not cool, right?
Also, why does Coca-Cola even bother coming up with ideas to fill 30 seconds. Their worldwide brand awareness is 110%. Just have a single title card that says “Why waste any more money on this commercial? You know who we are and nothing we do here will make you more likely to drink Coke. So for the next 25 seconds here are some puppies.’ Now that’s a commercial!
We did really like this one:
But this was our favorite:
Did ‘The King’s Speech’ Poster Rip-Off Mirah’s ‘You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This’ Cover Art?
Here’s the poster for Best Picture front-runner The King’s Speech:
And here’s the cover art for Mirah’s 2000 album You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This:
Makes you think, right?
Probably just a coincidence.
But just for fun:
Or:
Hmmmmmm….
YOU DECIDE
Parting Shot: Courtside
“I LOVED ‘Jungle Fever.'”
Filed under Participation Award, Parting Shot, The Bieb
Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: Dungeons & Pegasuses
Today’s search term is “snl pegasus mural,” which means that someone was looking for this middling, often painful, somewhat baffling Saturday Night Live sketch:
Vodpod videos no longer available.But it’s not our job to just give you what you asked for. No, our job is give you what you didn’t even know you wanted. To show you something better. To light up the path towards brilliance. And with that in mind here’s a far superior Pegasus-related clip from last night’s phenomenal Dungeons & Dragons-themed Community:
Vodpod videos no longer available.[And see what happened next here]
From the first ten seconds of this episode you could tell it was going to be special, and it was just another example, in what has become a long line of examples, of how Community is totally redefining what it means to be a television comedy. The way they play with genre while still keeping the characters consistent is a marvel, their ability to reinvent themselves without sacrificing the greater story arcs truly remarkable. Basically, they’ve gone ahead and blown up our conception of a network sitcom, truly breaking new ground, blazing a trail. Freeing Draconis and shining a light on brilliance.
Perhaps there hasn’t been a show that has mixed this much deft comedy with as much genuine heart since Freaks and Geeks. Which is why we would be remiss not to bring you that one of a kind show’s own Dungeons & Dragons-centric moments. In many ways, these stories are two sides of the same coin:
Now if we could only see a showdown between Carlos the Dwarf and Hector the Well-Endowed.
Super Bowl Just Because: The Real Big Game
We need to find way more excuses to post these. And, more importantly, Anheuser-Busch needs to bring these back.
Filed under Just because., Matt Christopher Books, Nostalgia Corner
Reginald VelJohnson in Uniform Moment of the Week: Turner and Sutton
Okay, fine, we’re cheating this week. In this clip Reginald VelJohnson isn’t dressed in what you’d typically call a uniform. But he’s still playing a cop, and when we first conceived of this weekly feature it was under the moniker “Reginald VelJohnson as a Cop Moment of the Week,” so this one still sorta counts. Plus, you could totally argue that a brown sport coat is a police detective’s uniform. It’s a stretch, but we won’t fight you on it.
But, most importantly, this is a clip from the seminal 80s canine-crime-comedy classic Turner and Hooch, which means that Reggie VelJ carries his shield alongside Jumped the Snark favorite Tom Hanks. And any collaboration with Hanks needs to be acknowledged, traditional uniform or not (plus this gives us an excuse to link tomhanksimals). So, ladies and gentlemen, complete with the requisite coffee mug, here’s Detective David Sutton, learning the ins and outs of precinct paperwork from fellow Detective Scott Turner:
We do have one bone to pick with the YouTube user who was kind enough to post this video, Platypus Robot. He (or she) remarked in the description that “going from Bruce Willis to Tom Hanks is a hell of a demotion.” Well, we would be remiss if we did not fervently disagree. If you want to restrict this argument to whom would you want to save you in a ridiculous hostage situation, John McClane or Scott Turner, of course we’d take Willis’ McClane every time. But if we’re talking strictly Willis or Hanks, c’mon. Hanks all the way, no contest. The man is one of the best actors of his generation, and by many accounts one of the funniest. Now, as far as we know, Hanks doesn’t front any blues bands, but we shouldn’t hold that against him. He’s too busy educating the American public about the lunar missions and World War II (and pranking Julia Roberts).
So, Reginald VelJohnson, consider yourself Hanxed. We have no doubt you appreciate the significance.
Filed under Hanx, Reginald VelJohnson, What? Too fabulous?
Jumped The Snark 
