The TV Zone

Much, much to choose from "SNL's" Will-Ferrell-stuffed finale - thanks to Hulu - but here's the opener(s) for starters, if you happened to miss. On the jump, Trebek...

Continue reading ""SNL:" The Closer on Monday Morning" »

And now this, announced over the weekend and currently visible in my in-box - with a mantle of weekend-accumulated dust still over it: Zac Efron will host this Saturday's "Saturday Night Live" this weekend...Yes, a first for both. Yes, his movie, "17 Again" is out mid-month too.

Also: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will perform... A first-time appearance for the band too.

Here's how the press works, sometimes.

A famous person is spotted having an intense conversation with another famous person at a famous restaurant, and the next thing you know, this meeting is in a million papers and on a million websites. And because the press has no idea what these famous people were talking about, the story has no legs, or a "nut" graph. So, they make something up.

That's what happened recently with Caroline Kennedy and Lorne Michaels. On Jan. 29, they were spotted at Morandi's on Waverley Place. One of the few facts: That they were in "intense conversation" to the exclusion of the other guests at the table.

The resulting nut graph in countless stories - that they were plotting an appearance on "SNL" to rehabilitate her image.

That nut graph was a complete fabrication. No one really knows if she's going to go on the show, or why she would use this venue to "rehabilitate" her image. Or whether her very famous image even needed "rehabilitating." Honestly, it doesn't.

So, two can play at this game. And here's MY nut graph: What if they were meeting that night to plot revenge? To go after a governor who had betrayed her, humiliated her - publicly.

What if this meeting was about...payback?

Do I have your attention? Good, then head on to the jump, if you want to read more of MY theory… Meanwhile, I've gotta run to watch "Oprah." Love ya..!

Continue reading "Did "SNL" Attack Paterson as Payback for Caroline? " »

This just in: Alec Baldwin, "SNL" regular, Lorne buddy, and star of some other NBC whose name I can't think of right at the moment, will host "SNL's" Valentine's Day show - his fourteenth turn, which I believe was just eclipsed by Steve Martin, who's done fifteen.

But perhaps of greater note: The Jonas Bros. will be on that night too. That's a first.

Bradley Cooper and TV on the Radio this Saturday. That's already been out there.

TV on the Radio? "Letterman" fans may or may not remember their memorable performance on "Late Show" last fall, when they decamped above the Hello Deli. Here's the clip...

When was it? Mid-December when "SNL" offended Albany and the "sight-challenged" guy who lives at the Executive Mansion? Yes - mid-December, and when Gov. Paterson responded with some outrage over the Fred Armisen skit, the show instantly knew it was on to a good thing.

And so, the Gov was back last night. Check out his putative discussion of the Gillibrand appointment on "Weekend Update," though it's more of a deeper exploration of his profound distaste for New Jersey.

Pretty amusing.

I wonder what the Gov will say this time?

(And, as soon as I find Steve Martin's monologue, will post that too.)

Is it Okay to laugh about Flight 1549?

I guess so - a happy and heroic outcome. The only creatures not celebrating are those creatures that foul the fields at John J. Burns Park. And then, deed done, fly away to other ball fields.

The geese.

Here's the skit from last night's "SNL." I do believe THIS goose is Andy Samberg, in goose disguise...

Yeah, "SNL" returned last night with Neil Patrick Harris - very good guest host, BTW - and I'm thinking: Now what? All that noise last year, all that "buzz," and all that Tina. Amy Poehler's gone as well, and I'm left with this surly question in mind: Well, what have you done for us LATELY, "SNL?"

In answer to that to that question, check out this clip from last night. It's a pretty funny rip on "The Today Show's Fourth Hour" - Michaela Watkins as Hoda, and Kristen Wiig as KLG.

Kristen Wiig as the Next Tina/Amy? As I've said before, methinks so...

Not the Real David Paterson (But You Knew That)

Check this out: The Guv (that is Gov. David Paterson who was...well, just check out the clip...) was not happy with last night's skits.

Now...normally, most politicos just let the various slings and arrows on "Late Show," "Daily Show," "Tonight," "SNL," and on and on and on, sail over their heads like so many free commercial plugs.

Not Paterson. Here's his statement, released a few hours ago:

"The Governor engages in humor all the time, and he can certainly take a joke. However, this particular Saturday Night Live skit unfortunately chose to ridicule people with physical disabilities and imply that disabled people are incapable of having jobs with serious responsibilities. The Governor is sure that Saturday Night Live, with all of its talent, can find a way to be funny without being offensive. Knowing the Governor, he might even have some suggestions himself."

My read? The guy's under ENORMOUS stress! Huge budget shortfall! No money to pay for ANYTHING! MTA increases up the wazoo! Government crisis alert! And out of the blue, the "SNL" slam.

Advice to the Guv? It's a great honor to get the Full Treatment on "SNL" (unless of course, you're Blag'o...or portrayed as a bumbling wackjob with a drug problem.)

And - even though this IS/WAS Amy Poehler's last "SNL" ever, and because this IS/WAS the last episode of one of the most memorable seasons in its long history - attention must be paid for one more reason.

In all the excitement over Amy (below), forgot all about Fred Armisen's David Paterson.

I'm not sure who will be more bugged by this - Paterson or New Jersey?

And by the way, if you don't know already, the Guv was bugged. I've got another post on this, just above this one!

Meanwhile, I've got calls out to New Jersey to get a statement from the Garden state......

This, or rather that, was it: Last night show's was the final one for Amy Poehler, one of the greats of the most recent generation, and a future star on the network - once NBC gets that new show cued up for her. (Plus, there's the baby - Archibald "Archie" William Emerson Arnett - precedence must be taken.)

Here's the short, sweet clip from last night's show. Plus, check out Amy and Seth's very last "Really" together; it's nice to leave with comic gold (and of course we're talkin' about Blag'o - really.)

In a bit, I'll post some more memorable Poehler moments, and head on down to the jump for those...

As you know....Poehler joined right after Nine Eleven (and I believe her first show may have even been the first one on the air afterwards). She was co-"Weekend Update" anchor with pal Tina Fey; there were a couple of famous movies along the way (wrote "Mean Girls," for example), and finally the famous "Hillary" impression...

And so much more.

And the last - sob - "Really" with Seth Meyers (grade? A).

Continue reading ""Saturday Night Live: "Amy Poehler, Goodbye" »

...like the South, vampires, and Britney Spears - they're back! ("SNL's" line with this skit from Saturday's open.) "SNL": No dummies they. They know how invaluable Obama's embrace of Hillbill is for the show. The classics are back. Meanwhile, check out Fred Armisen's "Joe Cool Obama" from Saturday. One of Armisen's better outings...

(Ah, nothing better than watching "SNL" on Monday morning...who needs live?)

Oh for the days when "Saturday Night Live" did politics - at least ONE guaranteed post per day for this blog. But without an election, "SNL" is back to competing with "MADtv." So I'm wondering: Why did this pretty funny sketch of Andy Samberg's impression of Rahm Emanuel NOT make Saturday's show? (But instead go straight to on-online?) Bleeped profanities? Hardly - it's not like "SNL" or any live show has not had those before. Would this somehow be painful to sensitive ears in the audience? Gimme a BREAK!!!!!

Or...was "SNL" afraid to snap a towel on the butt of the powerful new soon-to-be chief of staff? Too bad, because what's so good about this impression is just how good it is - certainly equal to his recent animal-whisperer Wahlberg.

I wonder...I wonder...I wonder....

This morning, I looked high and I looked low for this sketch from last night's "SNL Prez Bash," but it took the intrepid TVtattle.com to locate it instead.

This was Sarah's last "SNL" appearance of the season, appearing just after ten last night, in the midst of rewinds and golden oldies - and it's a fitting end to this historic day and historic election, made historic in some measure by an interesting lady from Wasilla who drops her 'gs" and says "you betcha" and almost single-handedly helped make "Saturday Night Live" front and center during the last stretch of this political season.

Imagine: a 33-year-old institution rides to victory on something so unexpected, so fortuitous as Sarah Sixpack? Lorne Michaels owes her.