In light of Alec Baldwin’s recent ejection from an American Airline flight for causing a disturbance, he took to SNL over the weekend to declare himself a National Treasure.
Baldwin was removed from the flight for refusing to turn off his phone while playing the game “Words with friends”.
The timing was perfect - and Baldwin, no stranger to Saturday Night Live, took to the Weekend Update desk alongside Seth Meyers to parody his problems.
Kind of cool that within 24 hours of the incident Baldwin could call in a favor from Lorne Michaels and be on SNL for a comedy spot.
SNL returned last night with its first new show of the season, and it was … just okay.
You just knew that with the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the blabbering mouth of Donald Trump in the news, that there would be some golden nuggets of comedy.
But there really wasn’t.
A pregnant Tina Fey hosted with musical guest Ellie Goulding, and things got off to a mild start with a cold open parody of Osama Bin Laden reading his last will and testament. Watch Osama Bin Laden Read his Will on SNL
The best part of the evening was Tina Fey’s return as Sarah Palin during a sketch about the 2012 Undeclared Candidates GOP Debate. Palin appreciated FOX News hosting the debate since the both paid her and showed her the all the questions ahead of time.
The debate also featured big mouth and bad haired Donald Trump and was the best sketch of the night.
Watch Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin and Donald Trump on SNL Debate
I have to say, Saturday Night Live has really lost their edge over the last ten years. They seem to get so close to greatness but always fall flat.
Between the death of Osama Bin Laden and Donald Trump running his mouth, there were so many fantastic opportunities for some great cutting edge comedy that 90 minutes should not have been enough time to cover it all.
Take the Osama reading his will sketch – writers really had time to make it epic but it just never pulled the laughs. It’s almost like if they get the set, costume, and impersonation down then whatever they say is funny.
And then there was the musical guest Ellie Goulding. She covered Elton Johns “Your Song” and was quite uninspiring. Maybe it’s her voice or the fact that she stood perfectly still during her performances.
If this was American Idol, Ellie Goulding never would have made it through the initial screening. She was bad.
Saturday Night Live has fallen flat and last night was no exception. So many great possibilities but so many lame jokes and sketched.
Weekend Update used to be parody about the week’s top news, but today it’s just a chance to profile weird characters that have nothing to do with the day’s current events. Loose the characters and get back to your roots of spoofing the news.
Sorry Lorne Michaels, but I’m glad I have a DVR.
But maybe I have just fallen out of the shows demographic. I like saying that rather then I’m getting old.
Lorne Michaels and the gang at Saturday Night Live once again put together a Thursday Night mini-version that nailed it.
The opening sketch included a visit from our friend Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, and a surprise visit by ex SNL veteran Will Ferrell as George W. Bush.
The president used a prime time television appearance to publicly give the republican presidential ticket his person endorsement. It was a classic, and good to see Ferrell back in the role of Bush.
The weekend update portion once again featured financial consultant Oscar Rodgers giving his now famous advice on the worldwide financial crisis - FIX IT! And Fred Armisen had fun playing with his new mega pixel touch screen election map.
After last Saturdays disappointing showing it was good to see things back on track. However, the Adam Samberg digital short - while funny, grew old after the fifth time he threw up on a stranger. Puke and comedy can only go so far together.
Saturday Night Life introduced their first Thursday Night Live half hour prime time show with a political spoof of the presidential debate.
And they nailed it. The skit welcomed back Chris Parnell as Tom Brokaw playing the moderator.
SNL is really getting good at this, and there was even a cameo by SNL alum Bill Murray during the Obama and McCain debate skit.
We missed not seeing Tina Fey as Sarah Palin but suspect she will return again - head writer Seth Myers admitted in an interview about the new Thursday format that Fey would likely return.
The remaining segment included an expanded version of the popular SNL Weekend Update with Seth Myers and Amy Poehler. The highlight was the "Really?" skit.
It highlighted much of the absurd events of the last week, and took a particularly hard jab at the insurance company AIG, who just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at a spa immediately following their government bailout.
We think by taking out the musical guest, and reducing the number of "not so funny" skits, and focusing on the issues in the news, Lorne Michaels and his group at Saturday Night Live have a smash hit on their hands.
