It wasn’t enough for The Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo to terrify us during the Super Bowl half-time show (which was on the whole a terrifying experience), but he had to then go ahead and come on Today and terrify us even more. Another request we never wanted to hear from Kathie Lee or Hoda: “Show us some moves!’
We’d like to make a joke here that Kathie Lee was wasted, but we know that was actually the case because it was after 10am on a Tuesday.
Fun Taboo Fact: Not only is he part Shoshone, but he also has albinism (or so Wikipedia said three days ago, with that reference now removed).
Continuing our tradition of quickly recapping the last Top Chef just before the new episode airs, here are a few quick thoughts on last week’s Italian-themed entry:
– Angelo has a crush on guest judge Issac Mizrahi and literally says “Two of my most passionate things are definitely food, first and foremost, and then fashion.”
– Everyone definitely thinks Angelo is a joke (including Issac Mizrahi)
You're a joke
– Carla finally gets to mention how she used to be a model and got to go to France. Good for you, Carla!
– We get it, Dale. You have a girlfriend.
– Professor Ricky Blaise wins the quick fire! For making black ice cream! Looks good enough to eat!
– The elimination challenge is to cook one of the three main courses at the legendary NYC Italian restaurant Rao’s.
– Mike Isabella, who’s an Italian from New Jersey is like, “I got this.”
– Antonia, who’s an Italian from Los Angeles is like, “No, I got this.”
– Fabio, who’s an Italian from Italy is like, “Um, guys, I’m from Italy. Is this even fair? It is? Really? Okay, well I’ll just make this chicken dish that’s my grandmother’s recipe and is on the menu on my restaurant and I probably make it a dozen times a night.”
– Lorraine Bracco is a guest judge, because of course she is.
– Then the food is served. The antipasti is loved by all. But the pasta course is a disaster:
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!
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.
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:
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, 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!
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:
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.
Jumped The Snark 
