Best of SNL 40

Saturday Night Live celebrated 40 Years with a Sunday Night special...live from New York, of course. Overall it was an enjoyable show, and quite amazing to the crew that pulled it all together in what was probably a pretty crazy week. The show was big on nostalgia with plenty of clips from 1975 to the present.

My one gripe is that there weren't quite enough sketches, yet there were three musical performances. And one of them was Kanye West and his Auto-Tune...yawn. So if you tuned in expecting to see 3 hours full of new versions of your favorite sketches from the 1970's to now, you were kind of out of luck. Here are the best moments:

1. Wayne's World. Possibly the most famous recurring sketch was thankfully brought back to life towards the end of the special to deliver one of their always fun Top 10 lists. The best was when they ran through the list of musical performers. Three of The Beatles, U2, Nirvana, Beyonce & Beck were some named. And of course, Garth mentioned how he thought Beck was a better performer than Beyonce. Cue Kanye West jokes, which he was in on, having "security" hold him down.

2. Weekend Update. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler & Jane Curtin came together for a funny and entertaining version of the SNL staple. It featured some tributes to classic SNL characters portrayed by former stars who have since passed away (such as Emma Stone playing Gilda Radner's "Roseanne Roseannadanna"). Stefon made an appearance, and he and Seth Meyers are parents now! But the highlight goes to Curtin: "I used to be the only pretty blonde reading fake news. Now there's a whole network devoted to that." Then the Fox News logo pops up.

3. Jim Carrey. This was technically before the show, but Carrey asked Matt Lauer & Savannah Guthrie if he could ask them something. His question: "Where are you hiding Brian Williams?" Lauer awkwardly responded, "Oh, look at the time." Carrey followed with, "In his defense, if the helicopter in front of me gets hit, I'm taking the story." Perfect!

 

4. Celebrity Jeopardy. Will Ferrell & Darrell Hammond did battle again as Alex Trebek & Sean Connery and it was just as good as it always was. Kate McKinnon also did her perfect Justin Bieber impression, and Norm Macdonald brought back Burt Reynolds.

5. Martin Short & Maya Rudolph (as Beyonce). They paid tribute to the musical sketches of SNL, with perfect use of a fan on Maya-Beyonce. It featured Will Ferrell & Ana Gasteyer as their desperately trying to be hip church singers, The Culps. Adam Sandler brought back Operaman and the Blues Brothers showed up.

6. Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon Opening. The dynamic duo did a musical rundown of the most memorable characters in SNL history. Molly Shannon showed up as Mary Katherine Gallagher and then Rachel Dratch appeared as Debbie Downer to bring down the mood just a little bit as only she can. Always remember - Feline Aids is the number one killer of domestic cats.

7. Ellen Cleghorne. Jerry Seinfeld did a segment which we see a lot of on SNL, taking questions from cast members & others sitting in the audience. He called Sarah Palin Tina which provided an amusing skit between the two. But, Larry David and former cast member Cleghorne were the best, with it going something like this:
Cleghorne - "Why aren't there more black women?"
Seinfeld - "On the show?"
Cleghorne - "No just in general. There should be black women popping out of drawers." Jerry agreed that there should be more, and then she asked where they were on his show Seinfeld. Burn!

8. Betty White & Bradley Cooper Kiss. The Californians went way too long, and there were so many other sketches they probably could have done instead. It did however feature a fun performance from original cast member, Laraine Newman. And it also had a long kiss between Betty White and Bradley Cooper, which wasn't just a peck on the lips. That's something you might never see again!

Sarah Palin "Wrote" a Christmas Book

It's been ignored for far too long by the lame-stream media, as we've all been too preoccupied with the Iraq War and terrorism. Another war waged right here in America from sea to shining sea. It's the War on Christmas, and thankfully Sarah Palin-Kardashian wrote a book about it.

I was right in the middle of this war, member of the Sugar Plum Battalion, where I lost 3 of my toes before returning home. I also now have a glass eye from when my squadron was assaulted during the infamous Candy Cane Offensive. I fought alongside some brave men and women, and there are also stories of heroism, which I hope Ms. Palin will touch upon.

One morning we woke up to see a swarm of turtle doves above us, what must have been hundreds. This was odd, but nobody thought much of it. Then it happened. Out from the clouds came an explosion of gingerbread, crashing down towards the Earth (which was littered with gingerbread and gum drops as far as the eye could see.) The atheists had struck at the very heart of us. It could have been disaster if not for the brave souls who quickly moved us into a forest of Douglas Firs, which softened much of the blow to leave us with some scrapes but nothing more. The nazi's who dare say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" may have knocked us down a few times, but we just got back up time and again.

Speaking of Sarah Palin, of course she would give her two cents on the whole Phil Robertson/Duck Dynasty-A&E thing. Why can't people mind their own business? This whole thing about "Stomping all over our freedom of speech!" is entirely misguided, and for people like Palin just an attention seeking moment to keep her name in the press. The first Amendment protects us from being persecuted by the US Government...it doesn't protect anyone from being criticized by people who disagree. It also doesn't protect reality TV stars, who are locked under contracts that basically makes them owned by the network. A&E is not the government, they are allowed to do what they want as well. And I may completely disagree with Robertson, but I don't think he should be fired. The over-reactions to these situations from both sides can be quite annoying.

I'm just wondering where all this uproar was when Martin Bashir was fired by CNN for his lewd & controversial comments about Sarah Palin? And then Bristol Palin comes out and says the gay community and its supporters are hypocritical. Wow, really? What's hypocritical is the convenience the Palins have of acting like they are this high and mighty holy family that lives by the Bible and is better than everyone because of it. Apparently the part about having pre-marital sex and getting knocked up as an unwed teenager, then forced to get engaged and put on a fake smile with Levi Johnston to try and save face during her mothers failed Vice Presidential run is okay? Talk about hypocrisy... And hey, did you know that there are 29 states where it is technically legal for a person to be fired for being gay? If the Palins are all about "Freedom for all", I find it curious they aren't working to change those laws. You know, since they are so concerned with freedom. Or maybe that's only when it suits their interests and beliefs? Mhm, though so.

Sarah Palin has another reality show on the horizon for 2014 as the Palins continue their battle with the Kardashians for most overexposed reality tv personalities.

Send Pitbull to the Kodiak, Alaska Walmart

This is what the internet is truly good for. A new campaign has been launched to send Pitbull to perform at a Walmart in Kodiak, Alaska. I'm not even sure Sarah Palin knows where that is and she lives there. Though that may not be saying much.

Walmart has decided to run a contest where they will send Pitbull to perform at whichever local Walmart gets the most likes on Facebook. So a bunch of funny people have decided to rally others using social media to go and "Like" the Walmart page of Kodiak, Alaska, which is the most remote Walmart in America. Click here to head to the Kodiak Walmart Facebook page and Like it!

There are currently 40,872 likes of the Kodiak Walmart, which is five times the population of Kodiak. For comparison, the Atlanta Walmart with the most likes is at 6,686. Walmart Los Angeles has 990 likes.

Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak, Alaska is suddenly the hottest spot in America. Pitbull is actually being a good sport about it all. He posted this joke on his Twitter: I hear there's bear repellant at Kodiak, Alaska @walmartspecials @sheets #exilepitbull daleeeeeee! Looks like he actually will be going to Kodiak, and they won't disregard the obvious joke of it all. To be honest, this is the best press they could ask for.

Tina Fey on SNL

Anytime Tina Fey returns to host Saturday Night Live you're bound for some great laughs. Her latest hosting gig was no different. I know you don't want to read about them, so here are some clips, featuring her always great and spot on impersonation of Sarah Palin. Another is of Bill Hader playing his original character, Stefon. If you've never seen Stefon you really are missing out. He shared his must see Mother's Day tips! In the political sketch a host of possible Republican candidates get spoofed. Darrell Hammond was back and playing Donald Trump, which he has many times in the past.

If these YouTube versions get taken down I'll post the Hulu ones.