I will say that Jim Parsons, who was hosted for his first time, turned in a solid performance. Right when he appeared in the cold opening-- a parody of Ellen DeGenerous' talk show, I could tell he would be a good host. Parsons played American Figure Skater Johnny Weir; who was gabbing with Ellen DeGenerous, portrayed by "Saturday Night Live" Castmember Kate McKinnon, about the Winter Olympics. Parsons turned in an energetic performance and he possessed good comedic chemistry with McKinnon throughout his time on screen. Meanwhile, McKinnon spoofed the talk show host flawlessly; humorously jesting that her show's writers were basically one woman, played by fellow castmember Aidy Bryant, and her dogs. I also loved how McKinnon's DeGenerous considering Outkast's "Hey Ya" to be the "hardest rap song" her DJ knows as well as how she wished she had never danced on her first show. In short terms, the opening was probably the best part of the show.
Image of Jim Parsons as Johnny Weir taken from http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/saturday-night-live-host-jim-parsons-portrays-figure-skater-johnny-weir-opener-video-201423
For his monologue, Jim Parsons performed a musical number about how he is nothing like his character "Sheldon Cooper" on "The Big Bang Theory." I had a feeling the writers would come up with a song-and-dance routine for Jim Parsons; considering that he has had theater experience. While Jim Parsons' overall performance was solid, the monologue was basically relying on the joke that his television persona is a geek and that he isn't. I did get a few laughs as the monologue went on; particularly from some of the "Saturday Night Live" castmembers appearing as characters from sitcoms. My biggest chuckles came from seeing Bobby Moynihan dressed as Jason Alexander's character "George Costanza" from "Seinfeld" and Jay Pharoah as well as Jay Pharoah dressing up as the character "Steve Urkel", who was played by Jaleel White, from the sitcom "Family Matters." The performances were good despite the weak material, thus making the monologue enjoyable.
Image of (from left to right) Jay Pharoah as Jaleel White as "Steve Urkel", Bobby Moynihan as Jason Alexander as "George Costanza", Jim parsons, Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby as "Dr. Heathcliff
'Cliff' Huxtable", and Taran Killam as Henry Winkler as "Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli" taken from http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5312c79f69bedd863bf07871/jim-parsons-mocks-classic-tv-characters-in-snl-opening-monologue.jpg
Unfortunately, the show went downhill from there. The first sketch of the night was a follow-up to the classic children's story "Peter Pan"; which featured Jim Parsons as the character visiting The Darling Children-- Wendy, John, and Michael (played by Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and John Milhisr). Unfortunately, Parsons' Peter Pan was accompanied by "Tonker-Bell" (Aidy Bryant"), the druken and obnoxious half-sister of his regular associate Tinkerball. The writing for Bryant's character was just plain bad-- with her acting unnecessarily rude and lazy. The ending of the sketch proved to be a bad one-- with Bryant's character about to have intercourse with one of the mice, played by Bobby Moynihan, from Disney's animated adaptation of the story of "Cinderella." The sketch's wirting was bad, but Jim Parsons gave a good performance. However, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and John Milhiser were practically given nothing to work with.
The show went on with more mediocre sketches. One sketch, a legal show called "The Killer Files", consisted of Featured Player Beck Bennett playing the host and discussing activities of a serial killer, played by Jim Parsons, who would appear on 1970s'-era dance shows. Parsons gave a good performance as the creepy killer-- maintaining the same creepy facial expression for a majority of the sketch. The joke that the police finally arrested Parsons' character when he was given his own show was amusing; though that was probably the best writing of the sketch. Jim Parsons was good throughout the sketch. Though I feel the premise could have been a little better.
The next comedic piece that took place on the show was the evening's installment of "Weekend Update"; which featured Cecily Strong working with her new co-anchor- Featured Player Colin Jost. Jost is the replacement for Seth Meyers; who is now hosting NBC's "Late Night" every weekday beginning at 12:35am. Colin Jost did alright with his first appearance as Strong's new co-anchor; though his delivery of the jokes appeared a bit bland. In addition, he did not seem to have great comedic chemistry with Cecily Strong throughout the segment, though I will give him time to adjust to his new position on the show. Hopefully, his performance improves. as for the featured segments, I liked seeing Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah portraying retired basketball players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal respectfully.Both performers had good lines and I always get a laugh out of Pharoah's constant eye-crossing and head-bobbing. However, my biggest laughs came from seeing Taran Killam turn to the "Update" desk as 178th Century Critic "Jebidiah Atkinson." I always get a laugh out of Killam's performance as this character; particularly as he keeps getting more and more angry every-time he says the word "Next" as he goes from one harsh review to the next. In this particular installment, Killam's character was reviewing Academy-Award Nominated films-- each one he hated. Killam had good lines as his character; though it was his overall performance that made me laugh. Taran Killam's "Jebidiah Atkinson" seems to be the only reoccurring character nowadays that actually interacts with the audience. And, I love how Taran Killam stays so much in character throughout the segment. In short terms, Taran Killam's "Jebidiah Atkinson" might very well be the most interesting "Saturday Night Live" reoccurring character right now. All in all, not a bad edition of "Weekend Update", though I hope that Colin Jost gets better as the season progresses.
Image of Taran Killam as "Jebidiah Atkinson" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13nupdate.phtml
As the night went on, the remaining sketches just weren't very funny. One such piece featured Jim Parsons as a company's boss who was taking the elevator in an attempt to get out of the building quickly after defecating in his pants when a loud explosion took place at a construction site nearby. Throughout the sketch, Parsons' character was holding a plastic bag containing his soiled undergarments while his employees, all played by "Saturday Night Live" castmembers, arrived in the elevator and started complaining about the terrible smell. The whole sketch was just a lazy and pathetic attempt to get laughs from the audience as well as a desperate attempt to fill time. I feel bad for Jim Parsons to have been given such a bad sketch. Though it should be mentioned that the following sketch was also poor; as it centered on Jim Parsons playing a cowboy , named "Dwayne,"who believed that the best birthday gift for one of his fellow wranglers was for him to paint himself the color of the dirt, bury himself without any clothes, and jump out screaming "Surprise"! While his friends all suggested other gifts, Parsons' character consistently claimed that his idea was the best one. The whole sketch left a bad taste in my mouth and I stared at my television with complete dissatisfaction.
Image of Jim Parsons as "Dwayne" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13ncowboys.phtml
All in all, I feel really bad for Jim Parsons to have been given such weak material. He was a good host who turned in a solid effort. He gave good performances and he possessed good comedic chemistry with the cast. Unfortunately, the writing truly suffered for this episode; and with seven shows left, I worry about how the rest of the season will go.
So, that is my review. Thank you all for following my blog. I will be posting an article by Friday night at the latest.My review of this past weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live" will hopefully be up by the end of the weekend.
Thank you all once again and stay tuned for more Nater-Tainment!!!
Image of (from left to right) Jay Pharoah as Jaleel White as "Steve Urkel", Bobby Moynihan as Jason Alexander as "George Costanza", Jim parsons, Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby as "Dr. Heathcliff
'Cliff' Huxtable", and Taran Killam as Henry Winkler as "Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli" taken from http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5312c79f69bedd863bf07871/jim-parsons-mocks-classic-tv-characters-in-snl-opening-monologue.jpg
Unfortunately, the show went downhill from there. The first sketch of the night was a follow-up to the classic children's story "Peter Pan"; which featured Jim Parsons as the character visiting The Darling Children-- Wendy, John, and Michael (played by Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and John Milhisr). Unfortunately, Parsons' Peter Pan was accompanied by "Tonker-Bell" (Aidy Bryant"), the druken and obnoxious half-sister of his regular associate Tinkerball. The writing for Bryant's character was just plain bad-- with her acting unnecessarily rude and lazy. The ending of the sketch proved to be a bad one-- with Bryant's character about to have intercourse with one of the mice, played by Bobby Moynihan, from Disney's animated adaptation of the story of "Cinderella." The sketch's wirting was bad, but Jim Parsons gave a good performance. However, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney, and John Milhiser were practically given nothing to work with.
The show went on with more mediocre sketches. One sketch, a legal show called "The Killer Files", consisted of Featured Player Beck Bennett playing the host and discussing activities of a serial killer, played by Jim Parsons, who would appear on 1970s'-era dance shows. Parsons gave a good performance as the creepy killer-- maintaining the same creepy facial expression for a majority of the sketch. The joke that the police finally arrested Parsons' character when he was given his own show was amusing; though that was probably the best writing of the sketch. Jim Parsons was good throughout the sketch. Though I feel the premise could have been a little better.
The next comedic piece that took place on the show was the evening's installment of "Weekend Update"; which featured Cecily Strong working with her new co-anchor- Featured Player Colin Jost. Jost is the replacement for Seth Meyers; who is now hosting NBC's "Late Night" every weekday beginning at 12:35am. Colin Jost did alright with his first appearance as Strong's new co-anchor; though his delivery of the jokes appeared a bit bland. In addition, he did not seem to have great comedic chemistry with Cecily Strong throughout the segment, though I will give him time to adjust to his new position on the show. Hopefully, his performance improves. as for the featured segments, I liked seeing Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah portraying retired basketball players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal respectfully.Both performers had good lines and I always get a laugh out of Pharoah's constant eye-crossing and head-bobbing. However, my biggest laughs came from seeing Taran Killam turn to the "Update" desk as 178th Century Critic "Jebidiah Atkinson." I always get a laugh out of Killam's performance as this character; particularly as he keeps getting more and more angry every-time he says the word "Next" as he goes from one harsh review to the next. In this particular installment, Killam's character was reviewing Academy-Award Nominated films-- each one he hated. Killam had good lines as his character; though it was his overall performance that made me laugh. Taran Killam's "Jebidiah Atkinson" seems to be the only reoccurring character nowadays that actually interacts with the audience. And, I love how Taran Killam stays so much in character throughout the segment. In short terms, Taran Killam's "Jebidiah Atkinson" might very well be the most interesting "Saturday Night Live" reoccurring character right now. All in all, not a bad edition of "Weekend Update", though I hope that Colin Jost gets better as the season progresses.
Image of Taran Killam as "Jebidiah Atkinson" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13nupdate.phtml
As the night went on, the remaining sketches just weren't very funny. One such piece featured Jim Parsons as a company's boss who was taking the elevator in an attempt to get out of the building quickly after defecating in his pants when a loud explosion took place at a construction site nearby. Throughout the sketch, Parsons' character was holding a plastic bag containing his soiled undergarments while his employees, all played by "Saturday Night Live" castmembers, arrived in the elevator and started complaining about the terrible smell. The whole sketch was just a lazy and pathetic attempt to get laughs from the audience as well as a desperate attempt to fill time. I feel bad for Jim Parsons to have been given such a bad sketch. Though it should be mentioned that the following sketch was also poor; as it centered on Jim Parsons playing a cowboy , named "Dwayne,"who believed that the best birthday gift for one of his fellow wranglers was for him to paint himself the color of the dirt, bury himself without any clothes, and jump out screaming "Surprise"! While his friends all suggested other gifts, Parsons' character consistently claimed that his idea was the best one. The whole sketch left a bad taste in my mouth and I stared at my television with complete dissatisfaction.
Image of Jim Parsons as "Dwayne" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13ncowboys.phtml
All in all, I feel really bad for Jim Parsons to have been given such weak material. He was a good host who turned in a solid effort. He gave good performances and he possessed good comedic chemistry with the cast. Unfortunately, the writing truly suffered for this episode; and with seven shows left, I worry about how the rest of the season will go.
So, that is my review. Thank you all for following my blog. I will be posting an article by Friday night at the latest.My review of this past weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live" will hopefully be up by the end of the weekend.
Thank you all once again and stay tuned for more Nater-Tainment!!!
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