…two clips from MTV’s The Jon Stewart Show:
One of a 4-year-old science expert AND a goateed Stewart…
…and the other of Stewart and a 13-year-old Natalie Portman. Or should we say Natalie Hershlag? Double Jew action for night #2!
Tag Archives: MTV
Scarlett Johansson Leaves for the Prom, Ends Up at ‘SNL’
Two weeks back we talked in-depth about Jon Hamm’s third hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live and how in the third go-round we often see a distinct sense of adventure, how the host is now comfortable with the cast, the cast is at ease with the host, they’re all on the same page and are willing to try something that might be hit or miss, but is often still entertaining in the attempt. We also mentioned that this past weekend would be Scarlett Johansson’s third hosting turn, so it’d be interesting to see if she took the same kind of leap as Hamm, or if she settled into a more predictable role, functional, competent but not exceptionally ambitious or outrageous, more along the lines of Drew Barrymore’s SNL resume. Well, it certainly wasn’t the former, but not so much the latter either. We’re kind of confused actually. Cause, really, more than anything, it seemed like a showcase for Johansson’s hair, her sense of style, her brassy broad persona and her variations on NY-NJ accents.
Filed under Analysis, Makes You Think, Saturday Night Live, Yasmine Bleeth
The Original ‘Jersey Shore’?????
A lot of television programs can take credit for somewhat inspiring MTVs STD-documentary The Jersey Shore – The Real World: Las Vegas, The Sopranos, The Real Housewives of NJ, Jon Bon Jovi, and, most notably, True Life: I Have a Summer Share – but is it possible that the show owes its greatest debt to an early 90s Fox sitcom? Is Jersey Shore really just a reality show rip-off of Down the Shore? Take a look and you decide:
Pretty open and shut case if you ask us.
Filed under Century 21 Reality, Flashback!, Makes You Think
The State Continues Its March Towards Dominating All Forms Of Media, Just 14 Years Later
From 1993 – 1995 The State was the premiere sketch comedy show on MTV, if not of all of cable. In the fall of ’95 they crossed over to network television into the pantheon of classic variety shows with the well received if little-seen one-off “The State’s 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special.” They then followed up their assault on television with the release of their somewhat legendary, thoroughly inaccurate and mildly successful travel guide State by State with The State.
And then, like that, they were gone.
Sure, members of the troupe would soon pop up in things like Ed, Men Behaving Badly, and Game Boy commercials. And then, of course, they all basically found various degrees of success with other efforts, such as Stella, Reno 911, Party Down, and, in the case of Joe Lo Truglio, playing the creepy guy in Judd Apatowian films, and now they have wallets made out of money. But, with the exception of a somewhat recent appearance at Sketchfest, there have been no projects featuring the whole team, just our grainy VHS tapes, our oft-removed YouTube clips, our creased paperbacks, and, after what seemed like an interminable wait, our glorious DVDs to sate our appetetite. But, even with the DVDs, and their extensive special features and informative commentaries, there remained a void, a void created by a long-rumored, never been heard State comedy album.
Well, that myth is now a reality. Fourteen years later Comedy for Gracious Living will finally see the light of day.
Sketch comedy, variety shows, travel literature and now, after many years, The State officially enters the hallowed ground of comedy albums. What’s next? Who knows? But if I were you, Broadway, I’d watch out.
To celebrate, let’s go to the zoo and watch the monkeys do it.
Vodpod videos no longer available.Filed under Freak Out Control, Good Humor, The State
In Memorium
I always liked Ken Ober. I also always liked this show because the contestants got to eat popcorn.
But weren’t late 80s game show prizes the worst? They just don’t hold up. A video word processor? They were so close to a computer! And between Remote Control and Double Dare I think Casio gave away more keyboards in the 1980s than they actually sold.
Anyway, it’s a shame. Hope John Sencio‘s doing okay.
(And yet all those insipid wastecases on the Real World-Road Rules Challenge continue to live happy, healthy lives. And Jesse Camp, I assume)
Filed under Match Games, TV Killed the Music Video Star
My Favorite VMA Moment: 15-Year Old Defends Taylor Swift, Starts Beef?
I returned home late last night after absorbing a brutal pub trivia loss, compounded (or alleviated) by the fact that the winning team included Thom Yorke. Yes, that Thom Yorke. I mean, I don’t see how we could have won when out of three categories one was a music round and we were competing against a team with Thom Yorke. Yes, that Thom Yorke. From Radiohead. And another round centered on world geography, and everyone knows Americans have no concept of the world outside of the US (and not much within it). And Thom Yorke has probably been to more countries than I can name. So yeah, it was unfair. Cause they had Thom Yorke. You know. Kid A. OK Computer. Hail to the Thief. In Rainbows. The Eraser. Yes! That Thom Yorke (not to be confused with Theodoric of York).
ANYWAY, I came among to find the blogosphere aflutter with talk of Kanye West and his villainous deeds. I had remembered that the NFL started yesterday, but totally forgot about the VMAs. But, apparently, by ripping the microphone from a frozen Taylor Swift, Kanye made the show relevant again. After reading the litany of comments on Facebook and Twitter, I decided to turn on MTV to see if I could catch the replay. Luckily I tuned in just in time to see Lada Gaga’s brilliant?/tramautizing/bloody/WTF? performance.
However, it was after the next commercial break when my favorite moment arrived. Coming out to introduce Taylor Swift’s defiant musical performance were Miranda Cosgrove and a previously unknown to me adolescent Canadian singer named Justin Bieber (Dylan and/or Cole Sprouse must have been busy). What I didn’t know was that Bieber, with the sleeves of his Members Only jacket pushed up past his elbows, was about to defend the honor of Miss Swift:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Got to give the kid credit, he demonstrated some courage, calling out Kanye like that. I just fear that this will start a beef, and it’s only a matter of time before Kanye strikes back in rap form, backed by fellow stage crasher Lil’ Mama (then again, maybe they’ll bond over the way they both like to wear their circa 1980s jackets). Something tells me that young Master Bieber is hoping his chivalry will pay off with a kiss from the damsel in distress. Or at least an opening slot on her sold out next tour.
And then Swift, still no doubt trying to figure out what the hell happened earlier in the show, belted out her VMA winning song in an F line subway car. After riding that train to and from Manhattan for 3 years I can tell you that never happens. To be honest, it was kind of a cool performance, but you just know there was some guy at the 57th Street Station wondering where the F was the F train.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Oh, and Lady Gaga and Kermit the Frog on the red carpet. I honestly don’t know what to make of this.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Oh, I guess the joke is “Who is more fake?”
I’ll let you decide.
Filed under Analysis, Muppets, Tyranasaurus Sex
Jumped The Snark 