Tag Archives: Marty McFly

DOUBLE TIME TRAVEL!

Tonight is Daylight Savings, so obviously we’re linking to Pete & Pete‘s seminal “Time Tunnel“, as is our autumn tradition.  However, this year our night of Time Travel is special, because not only is tonight (well, 3am tomorrow morning) is the moment when we set our clocks back, but it’s also the date in 1955 to which Marty McFly travels back.  Yes, on this, the night of time travel, we also celebrate the 56th anniversary of the DeLorean’s arrival in 1955 Hill Valley.  Is it just coincidence that Daylight Savings falls on this very significant day?  Or does this mean that at 3am we’re going to go back more than just an hour?  A day?  A year?  A decade?  Who knows?  Just make sure to hold onto your smart phones.  They might be your only  means of checking this blog when you’re stuck in the past.

(thanks to Lourrine for the tip)

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Filed under Back to the Past, Conspiracy Theory, Freak Out Control, Krebstar, Lady Holiday

Halloween ‘SNL’ & Jon Hamm: Tricks, Treats and the Return of the Old Guard

Last week we hypothesized that the Halloween episode of SNL hosted by Jon Hamm would either be the best of the season or the laziest.  Hamm, making his third hosting appearance, has already proven to be a go-to, top-notch host, one that brings out the best in the cast and crew.  But, on the other hand, what often happens when the show is blessed with a skilled host is that they relax, relying too much on the host’s charm and natural comedic talents (see: Galifiankis, Zach).  However, what we were treated to this week was something in between, and something, in hindsight, typical of a third hosting go ’round.  During a debut performance the material can often be safe, figuring out if the host has what it takes, a bit of a feeling out process.   If that host succeeds, then when he or she comes back for a second stint the crew is energized, knowing that they have someone who will deliver.  You could see that confidence, motivation and excitement in Hamm’s second hosting job last winter.  But when a host comes back for the three-peat, the crew is now so comfortable and at ease that they’re willing to taking more chances, throwing more caution to the wind.  So what you receive is not mainstream yuks and recurring sketches, or weary, unmotivated punchlines and recurring sketches, but a sense of adventure laced with apathy for the viewer.  This is what happens when you have a host who no longer needs to prove himself, who has tenure, which is why so many of Alec Baldwin’s shows are peppered with offbeat sketches, some that delight (like last season’s bizarre “Timecrowave“) and some that crash and burn (like “Arizona Evenings” from the same episode).  Judging from this past weekend’s show, it seems that Hamm is now in that class.

More: Mustaches, kisses, Rihanna, Star Wars & Sam Kinison! Plus, WHOM did they rip off this week?

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Filed under Analysis, Lady Holiday, Makes You Think, Mancrush, Saturday Night Live

‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians’ – All Hantz On Deck AKA “What Just Happened?”

Not This WayWe we came home to an unexpected treat last night.  No, not the Rangers-Islanders game broadcast in 3D (because who besides Future Marty McFly owns a 3D TV? (although, I guess future Marty McFly would now be Present Marty McFly, but that’s there not here)).  We’re talking about a special Wednesday episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (moved up a night, as is the yearly tradition, to accommodate March Madness, or, as I think of it, Annual Exploitation of College Kids in Order to Line the Already Deep Pockets of Television Networks and Elite Universities While at the Same Time Deferring Attention From the Start of the Baseball Season Madness.  Wow, two sports references in the first paragraph.  We’ll stop, promise).  And boy, was it ever special.

After our hero Lt. Tom Westman was voted out two weeks ago we* were glad that the show had a mini-hiatus last week.  We needed the time to mourn, to come to terms, to learn to love again.  And honestly, when the show started last night we didn’t know if we still had the desire.  Perhaps the spark was gone.  And when it soon became clear that Colby, Tom’s deputy and the last remaining true hero, and Russell, the most entertaining and devious competitor, were on the chopping block our excitement for the rest of the season was diminished even further.  A show with no Tom, no Colby, no Russell (and no curmudgeonly Randy)?  Would that even be a show worth watching?  Why continue tuning in to see Rupert sacrifice his integrity for a weak alliance, to see James hobble his way through challenges and jackass his way through Tribal Councils, to see Courtney literally waste away, to see Sandra make it to the final three by doing absolutely nothing (and to begrudgingly see Boston Rob dominate physically and mentally).  I’m just not sure that’s a show I want to watch.

And after the combination reward/immunity challenge, and the promise of both tribes going to Council, the show tried to tease us into thinking that Russell would maybe outsmart Boston Rob, and that perhaps the Heroes tribe would (a week too late) vote out James if he couldn’t beat JT in a footrace.  But we knew better than that.  They were just trying to create false drama, a faint, feigned glimmer of hope that our white knight and our red devil wouldn’t be going home.  Sorry, Survivor, you can’t fool us that easily.

But wait.

No, not this way…

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Filed under Must See TV, Tribal Council