Andy Samberg & Rihanna in Shy Ronnie 2 (SNL Digital Short)

So of course we called the obvious... with Shy Ronnie getting an Emmy nom-nom last year, Andy needed to do another music video with Rihanna. I was kind of hoping it was something other than Shy Ronnie, but it's still good and now it's a recurring Andy character. Yay!



Shy Ronnie and Rihanna team up again, and this time they're getting gangster. Literally.

SNL Digital Short - Ronnie and Clyde

Jon Hamm ... customer
Rihanna
Vanessa Bayer ... customer
Paul Brittain ... teller
Bill Hader ... police officer (voice)
Taran Killam ... teller
Bobby Moynihan ... police officer
Nasim Pedrad ... teller
Andy Samberg ... Shy Ronnie



Enjoy!

SNL Featured Player Update: Paul Brittain finally leads a few skits

It's the fourth episode of the season, and Paul Brittain finally gets to lead a skit... he leads two skits and he gets to say the coveted, "Live from New York..." bit. I think it took Andy a few seasons to get in on that, and often it takes over 1 season to do that solo. So this is quite an accomplishment.

First, Paul was in the Cold Open, playing Harry Reid:

Fred Armisen ... Barack Obama
Vanessa Bayer ... supporter
Paul Brittain ... Harry Reid
Jim Downey ... announcer (voice)
Jay Pharoah ... supporter



Jim writes most of these political cold opens (makes sense that he's the announcer). I found it smile-worthy, but the joke didn't go anywhere, and the impressions weren't very funny on their own.

What do you think?

Near the end of the episode, Paul got to lead with his first original character:


Commercial - "Sex" Ed Vincent's Sex Symposium

Emma Stone ... girl
Paul Brittain ... Ed Vincent
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)

Sign up for the three day Sex Symposium to broaden your sexual horizon.



Wow. I think he finally had me near the end with Emma Stone's bit. This actually reminds me of the kind of stuff that Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey used to do.

It's hard to compete against the other SNL Featured Players, but here's how I think they're stacking up...

1. Nasim Pedrad... In this 4th episode, she follows up her Bedilia character (and great impressions like Kim Kardashian) with her Morgan and Erik characters in "My Brother Knows Everything" (teaming with Andy Samberg... any excuse to see more Andy is a great one). I think Nasim is going to graduate as a regular next season.

2. Jay Pharoah... Jay hit hard his very first episode this season with his amazing Will Smith impression. He followed it up in the third episode with his Denzel Washington. We need to see an original character, and I'm waiting for his Eddie Murphy (and he's being primed to take over Obama). If Jay can continue to lead a skit every two episodes, there's a good chance that he'll graduate as a regular next season. That would be only one season as a featured player, a trick that was last done in the 05-06 season by Kristen Wiig (less than a full season), Andy Samberg, and Bill Hader.

3. Vanessa Bayer... Vanessa strikes in her second episode with an amazing Miley Cyrus impression. Let's see what else she's got coming. Vanessa is definitely coming back next season, but at this rate she'll probably have two years as a featured player.

4. Paul Brittain... Paul finally strikes with a good impression, but it's not funny. Similarly, Paul had a good impression of Johnny Depp in the Miley Cyrus bit during the second season, but it also wasn't funny. Paul needs to up his game and make his impressions funny. The clencher that got Paul in the #4 spot is his Sex Ed original character. Not hilarious, but it's funny and original enough to bump him up. He still hasn't proven that he'll be back next season.

5. Taran Killam... Taran has lost no time in filling Will Forte's shoes and becoming a normal face in many skits. However, he has yet to headline a skit, and he isn't living up to his potential of his Scrub work. That said, his Michael Cera impression was spot on. He should lead a skit with that impression or one of his many other impressions and characters. Time is ticking, Taran. He still hasn't proven that he'll be back next season.


Based on this episode alone, I would stack it like this...

1. Nasim Pedrad (loved My Brother Knows Everything)

2. Paul Brittain (got to give him props for Sex Ed)

3. Taran Killam (great Michael Cera impression)

4. Tie to Vanessa Bayer and Jay Pharoah (5 appearances by Vanessa and 4 by Jay, but nothing noteworthy)


What do you think? Do you disagree?

Enjoy!

New John Hamm SNL promo for tonight's show (with Rihanna & Sudeikis)

Jon Hamm hosts SNL this week with musical guest Rihanna.



Just a straight forward gag. Make sure to tune in!

What do you want to see?

Enjoy!

The Women of SNL - promos from Maya Rudolph and Cheri Oteri

Maya's thrilled to part of the reunion of SNL's amazing alumnae.



The SNL grad is thrilled to reunite with the show's legendary ladies.



Enjoy!

Andy Samberg is an audience nerd in Emma Stone's Monologue (SNL)

Monologue - Emma Stone

Bill Hader ... audience member
Taran Killam ... Michael Cera
Bobby Moynihan ... Jonah Hill
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Kenan Thompson ... audience member

Roles in 'Superbad' and 'Zombieland' have nerds gravitating towards Emma.



I love Andy's audience nerds! This one and the Natalie Portman 2006 one were priceless! He needs to do that more often! Adam Sandler had a recurring audience nerd named Audience Mcgee.

Did you think Andy's nerd was the best?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg and TLI - new album (song guesses)

You may be asking yourself “Hollywood.com, why are you reporting on an announcement of a rap album, let alone a fake rap album?” Well I’ll tell you why, fictional person who talks to computers: banana hemorrhoids. Yes, that answer doesn’t make any sense, but neither does talking to a computer and asking it stupid questions.

No, we’re reporting on it because this album will be the basis of most of the SNL Digital Shorts next year and those are always awesome. For those unaware, Andy Samberg and his friends Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer started the Lonely Island prior to joining SNL (Taccone and Schaffer as writers), where they created short digital videos that were precursors to the "SNL Digital Short" of today. Both Schaffer and Taccone have branched out into directing as well. Schaffer handled the Lonely Island’s first feature Hot Rod while Taccone directed the masterpiece MacGruber. So yes, we’re excited.

And we’re also reporting on it because their last album, Incredibad, is actually a good album and worth listening to as it’s actual music and not a collection of jokes. These guys actually know how to rap and have good taste. Along with their great sense of fun and star studded guest MCs and singers, their next album should be straight up ballin’. Which I’m pretty sure is a term popularly used for expressing one’s appreciation in someone else’s work of art.

From:
http://www.hollywood.com/news/New_Lonely_Island_Album_From_Andy_Samberg_And_Gang/7723940
===================================


Thanks to Anony for finding this article!

So let's take a moment to guess / wish about some of the songs (in addition to their original songs which we aren't going to guess about; these are in order of how likely I think they are to make it in the album)...

1.  Mother Lover
2.  On the Ground
3.  Shy Ronnie
4.  Grape Jelly
5.  The Tizzle Wizzle Show
6.  Roy Rules
7.  Iran So Far (they couldn't get the rights to include this on Incredibad)

8.  Young Chuck Norris
9.  Ariel & Efrim / My Testicles
10 Awesometown
11 Two World's Collide
12 Harpoon Man
13 Hero Song
14 Bing Bong Brothers
15 Kablamo
16 Just 2 Guyz
17 I Think I Might Have Killed the President (Listen)
18 Heist (remade as Lazy Sunday; Listen)
19 Zanzibar: http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2008/12/andy-samberg-sings-zanzabar-incredibad.html

Judging how they recently released a version of their Awesometown theme song to their TLI YT channel, I think they might actually call the next album "Awesometown," which of course would make that song a give-in to appear on their second album.

In Incredibad, they only included 5 older songs, and none of them were from pre-SNL, so they might only include a few of these songs, and not #14-19, since those are all pre-SNL.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - gives Paul the Octopus a Eulogy

Celebrities know they've made it big when they're mocked by a Saturday Night Live cast member, and Paul the Psychic Octopus was no exception.

Andy Samberg, who dressed up as an octopus and portrayed Paul as a boozy, cocky creature on the ESPY Awards, says it was his growing fame that contributed to Paul's demise this week.

"I'm greatly saddened by this news, but must quote Paul himself when he said, 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems,'" a deadpan Samberg, who is an SNL cast member, tells PEOPLE. "In this case, the 'problem' is death."

Samberg, however, points out: "To be fair, he predicted it would happen. R.I.P."

Paul gained global fame during this summer's World Cup soccer tournament when he maintained a perfect record in correctly predicting all of Germany's results before picking Spain to beat Netherlands in the final. He died Monday at the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre in Germany.

From People:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20437088,00.html

Andy Samberg as Paul the Octopus at the 2010 ESPN ESPY Awards Show:



Thanks to Becky F. for the scoop! You rock your socks!

Enjoy!

Jorma Taccone left SNL (will Akiva follow?)

So Jorma Taccone has left SNL? It isn't official yet, but he's absent from the credits of all four episodes this season:

Amy Poehler: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1722275/fullcredits#writers
Bryan Cranston: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1729475/fullcredits#writers
Jane Lynch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1731028/fullcredits#writers
Emma Stone: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1729476/fullcredits#writers

What's Jorma up to now? Probably working on the album. What about Akiva?

Here's a lame speculation about Akiva:

People are speculating about The Lonely Island's presence at SNL. Jorma seems to be gone (whether permanently or not, I don't think it's been confirmed), and people have been wondering if Akiva was going to leave too since he was just announced as producer of Wilmer Valderrama's new variety show. I would look out for Akiva's name to *not* be in the credits this weekend since I saw him leaving 30 Rock yesterday at 4:30pm with a box. It didn't look like a "I'm carrying cool props to a film shoot" kind of box as much as a "I just cleaned out my desk and here are all my personal things" box. Again--purely speculative. No proof. But given the timing of it (why would he leave 30 Rock with a box right when the week's sketch writing is supposed to begin?) and the online speculation regarding his producer role on the Valderrama show, I'm inclined to believe he's left SNL for the time being. I guess we'll only know for sure after they roll the credits this weekend, so be on the look out for it.

From: http://www.theapiary.org/the-apiary/2010/10/20/has-the-lonely-island-drifted-away-from-snl.html

Thanks to Anony for the scoop!

And here's info about Akiva joining on to produce and direct the pilot:



A comedy starring Wilmer Valderrama has landed at ABC. American Dad co-executive producers Murray and Judah Miller created the project, a live-action comedy with a musical component. They will write the script and serve as showrunners. Saturday Night Live writer Akiva Schaffer, who directs, co-writes and edits the majority of the late-night sketch show's digital shorts, developed the untitled comedy with the Miller brothers and is on board to direct the potential pilot. Valderrama, Murray Miller, Judah Miller and Schaffer will all executive produce. 20th Century Fox TV, where Valderrama is under a talent holding deal, is producing the project, which has landed a script commitment plus penalty.



That '70s Show alum Valderrama has 3 upcoming films: From Prada To Nada, Tom Hanks’ Larry Crowne and the Spike Lee-produced The Girl Is In Trouble. On the feature side, Schaffer has The Adventurer's Handbook in development at Universal with Jonah Hill and Working Title, and Henchmen at MRC with Bill Hader, which Shawn Levy is producing. Valderrama, the Millers and Schaffer and are repped by UTA. Schaffer is managed by Mosaic.

From:
http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/abc-nabs-comedy-with-wilmer-valderrama/

So I hope Akiva doesn't leave to direct a pilot, because pilots don't tend to get picked up all that often. Let's hope he wasn't leaving SNL when he left with that box.

Enjoy!

“The Women of SNL” special on November 1

Saturday Night Live will air a two-hour tribute to its female cast members Nov. 1. “The Women of SNL” special will include clips (duh), but also new material from Rachel Dratch, Nora Dunn, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laraine Newman, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, and Kristen Wiig. Um, Jane Curtin and Julia Sweeney, call your agents!

This special is obviously a follow-up to last year’s hit Betty White episode, and who knows? Maybe the sustained interest in SNL‘s female performers will lead to there being more of them.

From:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/07/women-of-snl/
==================

Join some of SNL's most beloved cast for a look back special on Monday night.



What? Laraine Newman? That's awesome! Yeah, I agree at least that Jane Curtin should be in on this (she has a clip in the commercial; so there's hope). She was an original (with Laraine) and the first female Weekend Update host! She did it right after Chevy Chase and kept doing it (usually with a co-anchor like Dan or Bill) until she left!

Truly an honor for Kristen to be the only one on this list who is currently on the show. That said, it's sort of by default. Abby just got regular status, Nasim is a featured player for her second year now, and it's Vanessa's first year.

Also note that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the only one on this list who was on the show when Lorne wasn't.

I think I'm most excited about Cheri Oteri! =^)

Enjoy!

Jon Hamm hosting this week (SNL Promo with Kenan)

Jon Hamm hosts SNL Oct 30 with musical guest Rihanna. Jon's third time and Rihanna's second.



Ouch. Those jokes made me groan. "Kenan's sometimes funny on SNL." That's what I keep telling myself. =^)

Anyway, Rihanna's back! Rihanna and Andy got an Emmy nom-nom for their Shy Ronnie last season. I hope she does another musical short with Andy (maybe they can get Hamm involved). Of course, they would have already written it and are recording the music today if they were going to do a song (songs do take more work).

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island - new album!!!

NEW ALBUM COMING IN 2011!!!!



Thanks to Janey for the scoop!

Regarding the rumors that Andy won't be in it (mostly because he isn't in this video):

Not likely. He's probably just too busy to film this bit cuz he's on SNL now. I know he isn't split with TLI because the dudes helped him write and make his Emma Stone promos and the Grape Jelly digital short. They aren't split.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg at the American Jewish World Service on October 28

NEW YORK, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, will celebrate 25 years of empowering marginalized communities throughout the developing world at a benefit on Thursday, October 28, at 6 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St.



Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up," "Funny People," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," among other phenomenal hits) and starring Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Carell, Mike Meyers, John Mayer, Sarah Silverman, Susan Sarandon, Denis Leary, Andy Samberg, Ben Jong, Ed Helms, Helen Hunt, Aziz Ansari, Gilbert Gottfried, Brian Williams and Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog, will also premiere.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/15/2317630/american-jewish-world-service.html#ixzz13FANogAX

What do you think that video is going to be like?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg in My Brother Knows Everything (SNL)

Show - My Brother Knows Everything

Emma Stone ... Meredith
Nasim Pedrad ... Morgan
Andy Samberg ... Erik

Morgan obsesses over her brother, Erik, with her friend, Meredith.



Hahahaha. So this actually reminds me of my older brother. Anybody else get that?

Ah, so it looks like Nasim wrote this for her and Andy to do their thing. Nasim is cute. She's hoping for another recurring sketch. Is it worthy of another go?

Did you like this?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - I Broke My Arm (SNL Digital Short)

Film - SNL Digital Short

Emma Stone ... student
Vanessa Bayer ... student
Paul Brittain ... student
Abby Elliott ... student
Taran Killam ... student
Bobby Moynihan ... student
Jay Pharoah ... student
Andy Samberg ... jelly

The cool girl in school is having a run of bad luck in the cafeteria.



It's also Andy's voice singing the chorus before he comes on as Jelly! I loved it!

Did you like it?

Enjoy!

The Lonely Island - close to the camera

Enjoy!

Review of Andy Samberg & Jane Lynch digital short

The short kind of reminded me of the painting short Andy did with Paul Rudd (called "Everyone's a Critic"). Here's the review:

Jane Lynch Messes With Andy Samberg's Mind In 'SNL' Digital Short (VIDEO)

Jane Lynch did not disappoint as [a] host of "Saturday Night Live," portraying everything from her "Glee" character Sue Sylvester to a promiscuous mom and more.

Her most notable performance was definitely in the weekly digital short, where she played a therapist guiding Andy Samberg through a relaxation exercise. Within minutes, she invades Samberg's psyche and makes him imagine things he never wanted to, particularly herself dressed as a sexy ice cream man force-feeding him popsicles in a meadow.

Yeah, it gets pretty weird.

From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/10/jane-lynch-snl-digital-short_n_757119.html

Here's the Jane Lynch short again:



And here's the Paul Rudd short for comparison:



What do you think? Is the weirdness of the two shorts in a similar style?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg attended the Yankees/Rangers game

This was on Wednesday.

Martha Stewart:



Big celeb night, half the cast of Saturday Night Live in the front row (Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson, Jay Pharoah, producer Lorne Michaels and that could've easily been this week's host Emma Stone). Across the aisle from Martha: Mark Cuban. Upstairs, Michael Jordan and Jay-Z.

From:
http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/

Thanks to Michelle for the scoop!

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg and Emma Stone - SNL Promo (Andy loses his virginity)

Emma Stone hosts SNL October 23 with musical guest Kings of Leon.



Hahahaha. Love the special effects! Ben Affleck and the Poultry Geist were soooo awesome! Plus, Andy loses his virginity! "It hurt."

It's great to see TLI in full form, helping Andy come up with these jokes and effects!


What did you think of Andy's shenanigans here?

Enjoy!

Cool Beans! (image)

Enjoy!

Taran Killam - New SNL Player

Here is Taran doing standup with the Groundlings:



Here is Taran's YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/THEM1246

Taran is hilarious on Scrubs, but he hasn't headlined a skit on SNL yet. Is he the next Will Ferrell or is he not ready for SNL?

More on Taran later...

Enjoy!

Question: Why didn't they have an SNL Weekend Update Thursdays this year?

Because the ratings weren't all that great last year. Two years ago, they were taking turns parodying Sarah Palin, Obama, Hilary Clinton, and they brought on Will Ferrell as George Bush. It was literally a gauntlet of political satire. Check it out:



They just didn't have the ammo last year or this year. Maybe next election year. =^)

What do you think they could do to pull off good ratings on another SNL Weekend Update Thursdays season?

- TAE

Andy Samberg is a Monkey - Monkey VS Robot

Eternal struggle between ape and automaton documented for the ages.



Speed forward to about 2:16 to see Andy's name in the credits as the monkey!

The story is that Andy isn't in TLI's earliest videos, because he left the West Coast to finish college in New York. In film school, he made two movies with his friend Nate Pommer.

Nate Pommer also directed Nature of the Beast, which also featured Andy Samberg:

http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2007/12/andy-samberg-gets-chased-by-pink-walrus.html

Enjoy!

How's Jay Pharoah doing on SNL?

Jay's one skit this week, and he KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK by busting out his Denzel impression.

Sketch - Returns & Exchanges

Jane Lynch ... customer
Vanessa Bayer ... customer
Bobby Moynihan ... employee
Jay Pharoah ... Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington takes a job at a department store to prepare for his next role.



Jay Pharoah is amazing and Bobby supports him well!

I can see this as a recurring skit as Denzel does research in all sorts of jobs (like a taxi driver for example).

Also, Jay has gotten to headline two skits in his first three episodes, and he has busted out his perfect Denzel and Will Smith impressions. Next he's gotta bust out his Eddie Murphy impression. After that, he needs to come up with new impressions (he'll eventually take over Obama) and some original characters before he can be the next Eddie Murphy. So far Eddie's the only #1 breakout black SNL star (SNL has always had black stars, but he was the only one to break out like that).

Also, this clearly puts Jay into the second MVP spot for Featured Players. I think it currently stands...

(1) Nasim Pedrad - only because she's had a full season on Jay and has a few characters (like Bedelia) in addition to impressions like Kim Kardashian.

(2) Jay Pharoah - perfect Will Smith and Denzel Washington.

(3) Vanessa Bayer - perfect Miley Cyrus.

(4) Taran Killam - nothing yet, but he's filling in Will Forte's roles as the every-man. Taran needs a reason to come back next season. I'm a little disappointed that he hasn't headlined anything yet (especially after his hilarious gags and impressions in Scrubs), but we'll see.

(5) Paul Brittain - nothing that would bring him back next season.



Enjoy!

SNL at New Yorker Festival 2010

When asked if he feels rivalrous with "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, host of SNL's "Weekend Update," jokes that Brian Williams is actually his rival. "All I want to be is the most trusted name at NBC," he says with a smile.

-----

This excerpt is taken from a program titled "Live from New York: It's Sunday Afternoon!," featuring Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, and Kristen Wiig. Moderated by New Yorker editor David Remnick.

Seth Meyers is entering his tenth season on "Saturday Night Live," which premiered in 1975 and has won twenty-one Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. This is his fifth season as head writer, and his fifth as an anchor of "Weekend Update." He began his career at ImprovOlympic, in Chicago, and the Boom Chicago Theatre, in Amsterdam, and toured Europe with his show "Pick-Ups and Hiccups." In July, he hosted the ESPY Awards.

===========

Thanks to Anony for the scoop! Sorry no Andy in this clip.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg is Mark Zuckerberg on Weekend Update (SNL)

The founder of Facebook stops by to talk about his concerns over 'The Social Network.'



More Facebook humor. Hmmm. Andy has been their major player in MySpace and now Facebook jokes. My guess is that these are coming from regular members of the writing team and not the TLI dudes.

Did you like it?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg's the kid on The New Boyfriend Talk Show (SNL)

Show - The New Boyfriend Talk Show

Andy always plays the kids on SNL, cuz his face looks so young!

Jane Lynch ... Mom
Fred Armisen ... Gene Simmons
Bobby Moynihan ... Verne Troyer
Andy Samberg ... Zach
Jason Sudeikis ... Mike
Kenan Thompson ... Magic Johnson

Zach grills the latest overnight visitor while his mom cooks breakfast.



Did you like this one?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg NAKED in "Mom's on Facebook" (SNL)

Another Andy heavy epiosode!

New SNL commercial parody - Screwed because your mom joined Facebook? Just install the '*** it, my mom is on Facebook' filter.



Commercial = my mom is on facebook filter

Jane Lynch ... Susan Miller
Bill Hader ... spokesperson
Taran Killam ... friend
Andy Samberg ... Tom Miller



Andy's naked again! The ladies rejoice!

What's your favorite joke in this one?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg in Relaxation Therapy with Jane Lynch - SNL Digital Short

Andy undergoes therapy with questionable techniques.



So far, I think it's my #2 favorite digital short of the season, second behind last week's Rescue Dogs awesomeness.

Did you like it? Why?

Enjoy!

SNL News - Nasim Pedrad's new character Henry

This is just super interesting to us. From 10/2/10.

Nasim busted out this nerdy white boy character.



What do you think? Is this funny or did it fall short?

I think it fell flat. Good try though. I'm still interested in what else she's got in that crazy head of hers.

Hard to believe the girl from the Pepto commercial and this boy is the same person.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg on the Miley Cyrus Show (SNL)

Show - The Miley Cyrus Show

Bryan Cranston ... Billy Ray Cyrus
Vanessa Bayer ... Miley Cyrus
Paul Brittain ... Johnny Depp
Bobby Moynihan ... drummer
Andy Samberg ... actor

On the first episode of Miley's new show, Johnny Depp drops by.



So we get to see here why Vanessa Bayer got picked up for the show (meaning that this was probably in her audition). Andy helps support her gags. Not impressed with Paul's Depp, even though he actually did a decent job. His Depp impression just wasn't funny, even if it was accurate.

Did you like this Miley Show? I'm curious to see what else Vanessa has up her sleeves. I wonder if she has any interesting characters.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg doesn't find Shana sexy (with Bryan Cranston)

Sketch - Basketball Game

Bryan Cranston ... Mr. Kearns
Abby Elliott ... Beth
Taran Killam ... player
Andy Samberg ... player
Kenan Thompson ... player
Kristen Wiig ... Shana



The new girl has the basketball coach very excited.

Hahahaha. Kristen Wiig busts out Shana, the character who is almost sexy. The whistle bit had me in stitches.

What did you think?

Enjoy!

SNL Promo: Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch hosts SNL October 9 with musical guest Bruno Mars.



The last bit was funny, but not the first three.

What do you think of these gags?

Are you excited about this week's episodes?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg on Kid Smartz (SNL)

Gameshow - Kid Smartz

A game show where the host gets a little too friendly with the young contestants



Bryan Cranston ... Bobby Poth
Vanessa Bayer ... Vickie
Abby Elliott ... Sandy
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Andy Samberg ... Roger
Kenan Thompson ... Janelle

Andy's face is pretty funny here as Roger. One joke over and over, but it's still amusing.

What do you think? Vanessa shows more of her range here. Great they're making use of her already!

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg tops the SNL Power Rankings this week

1. Andy Samberg (49 points): Before this season began, there were tons of rumors swirling around Studio 8H that two-thirds of the Lonely Island trio –specifically, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer — would not be returning this season. However, cooler heads ultimately prevailed and the fellas made the wise decision to return to the show. This week, the guys made their first Digital Short impression of the season with Rescue Dogs 3D, which, along with the news cycle, helped to propel Samberg to the top of the pack this week. Our only question: Will this be the last we see of his admirable portrayals of both Rahm Emanuel and Cathy?

2. Kenan Thompson (39 points): Oooh, whee! After spending the first week of the show’s 36th season in Lorne’s dog house, Kenan returned to his winning 2009-2010 form this week. Specifically, he ignited the crowd when Deandre “What Up With That?” Cole made his first appearance of the season, much to “93 year-old sex machine” Ernest Borgnine’s delight.

3. Fred Armisen (28 points): “I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” Armisen proved himself to be the consummate pro with this winning number, especially when you consider that host Bryan Cranston nearly derailed this bit in the sketch’s opening seconds by singing the wrong line TWICE (!) in a row.

4. Bobby Moynihan (26 points): This was Moynihan’s second appearance as “second-hand news correspondent” Anthony Crespino. He was able to land a few decent sized laughs from the crowd this week, but nothing really stood out. Here’s hoping we get to see the return of Mark Payne this season.

5. Taran Killam (16 points): Killam benefitted from ubiquity in this week’s episode, as he played supporting roles in the monologue, Shanna and “What Up With That?” Regarding the latter, we were hoping he was going to bring something new to the announcer character that Will Forte pioneered, but sadly, it was just more of the same.

6 (tie). Bill Hader, Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad (14 points): Wow! Thanks to her “pretty cool” impression of Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Bayer has quickly established herself as the stand-out talent of the crop of SNL freshmen. Pedrad, meanwhile, struggled with her new character Henry, a nerd that seemed a bit too close to her Bedelia character for comfort.

9 (tie). Abby Elliott, Jay Pharoah (12 points): Not much to say about either one of these folks this week, although Pharoah’s portrayal of a Bootsy Collins-esque character was highly entertaining. Also, were those his voices in the i-Sleep Pro commercial that Kenan starred in? We think so, so we’re giving him the credit.

11. Jason Sudeikis (10 points): Not quite sure where Sudeikis was this week but, as always, his B-Boy moves in “What Up With That?” are nearly as essential to the ongoing success of that skit as Kenan’s work as Deandre Cole.

12. Paul Brittain (9 points): What a terrific Johnny Depp impression! Unfortunately, that was about it for him this week.

13. Kristin Wiig (8 points): Is Kristin Wiig over? Of course not, but we can’t help but feel like her schtick is starting to run thin, both with Lorne and audiences alike. Her portrayal of the sexy-yet-not Shanna was her only appearance on the show this weekend, which is very strange considering the heavy lifting she’s done as a castmember over the last seven-plus seasons. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.


SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE POWER RANKINGS: SEASON 36 TOTALS
1. ⇑ Andy Samberg (74 points; Last Week: #4)
2. ⇓ Fred Armisen (64 points; Last Week: #1)
3. ⇑ Kenan Thompson (53 points; Last Week: #10)
4. ⇓ Bill Hader (50 points; Last Week: #1)
5 (tie). ⇑ Bobby Moynihan (42 points; Last Week: #9)
⇓ Kristin Wiig (42 points; Last Week: #3)
7. ⇓ Jason Sudeikis (35 points; Last Week: #4)
8. ⇓ Abby Elliott (33 points; Last Week: #6)
9. ⇓ Vanessa Bayer (31 points; Last Week: #8)
10. ⇓ Jay Pharoah (30 points; Last Week: #7)
11. Taran Killam (29 points; Last Week: #11)
12. Nasim Pedrad (28 points; Last Week: #12)
13. Paul Brittain (20 points; Last Week: #13)


From:
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-10-04/saturday-night-live-power-rankings-vanessa-bayer-makes-her-mark/

========================

Thanks to Rai for the scoop!

This isn't bad, but I disagree with some. Here is where I'd rank them...

1. Andy Samberg - Agree. With Rescue Dogs being the highlight, with leads as Rahm Emanuel and Cathy (both almost farewell performances), and bits in another 5 skits, Andy definitely stole the show... ABOUT TIME!!!

2. Vanessa Bayer - This spot should NOT go to Kenan. I love his "What Up With That?" as well, but come on, he's doing it with less energy and he's giving it nothing new or creative (his random song bits weren't even funny this time). And the author had nothing but praise for Vanessa's breakout as Miley Cyrus... and then ranked her at #6? NO WAY! Vanessa's Miley was amazing!!! (I liken it to Jay Pharoah's breakout as Will last week.) And her performance really makes me want to keep an eye on her. She could be the next Poehler or Wiig. In fact, I like it so much, I want to share it again:



3. Fred Armisen - I agree, that "I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?” song was amazing! Very good, especially in comparison to the rest of the show. =^) ... I don't think I'm normally this big of a fan of Fred. Here it is if you didn't catch it:



4. Bobby Moynihan - I agree. Bobby nailed the Cold Open (don't know why they didn't mention that) and his Weekend Update appearance. Plus he got shot in Rescue Dogs. Go Bobby Go!!!

5. Kristen Wiig - Like I said, Kristen's Shana had me in stitches, especially that whistle bit. =^) ... It's only the third time doing that skit! It's not old yet, and I'm not sick of it!

6. Kenan Thompson - A combination of "What's Up with That?", i-sleep Pro (but it wasn't funny because of him), and great supporting roles (he was especially good in Shana - "On what planet?").

7. Nasim Pedrad - None of this tie stuff, her Henry character fell flat, but she still was good in that and Pepto Bismo Ice.

8. Abby Elliott - She comes up a bit higher from her dance in What Up with That?

9. Jason Sudeikis - Supporting this week. Got to give him props just for his dancing. in "What Up with That?" His slow mo dancing is fantastic!

10. Taran Killam - Also supporting.

11. Bill Hader - Just supporting this week.

12. Jay Pharoah - That was his voice in the i-sleep Pro commercial. It was hilarious, but just a voice isn't enough.

13. Paul Brittain - I don't know if Paul's going to survive on the show. Too early to tell. His Johnny Depp was accurate, but it wasn't entertaining. He has yet to lead a skit. That might sound harsh after only two episodes, but Vanessa and Jay already led amazing bits and Taran is filling in all of Will Forte's roles fairly well (and Taran has the potential to be amazing). Paul has yet to delvier.



What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What would your ranked list look like?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - 2010 New Yorker Festival

The 2010 New Yorker Festival: "Saturday Afternoon Live" with the Cast of SNL



In This Photo: Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis

(L-R) Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg and Fred Armisen during the 2010 New Yorker Festival at Acura at SIR Stage37 on October 3, 2010 in New York City.

And Kristen Wiig sat next to Jason:











See more photos here:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/Hn6qVXwKexJ/2010+New+Yorker+Festival+Saturday+Afternoon/9mNNRXk0LL5/Andy+Samberg

Thanks to Anony for the scoop!

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg makes out with Nasim Pedrad (Pepto Bismo Ice on SNL)

Don't let stomach issues get in the way of the party.

Commercial - Pepto-Bismol Ice

Bill Hader ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... waiter
Nasim Pedrad ... girl
Andy Samberg ... guy



Keep the party out of your pants!

The biggest laugh is when Andy makes out with Nasim! Go Andy!

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg in Rescue Dogs - SNL Digital Short

Film SNL Digital Short - Rescue Dogs 911 App

Helen Mirren
Fred Armisen ... robber
Bill Hader ... movie announcer (voice)
Bobby Moynihan ... delivery man
Nasim Pedrad ... Pizza Hub announcer (voice)
Andy Samberg ... Dave
Kenan Thompson ... robber
Kristen Wiig ... operator (voice)



This new phone app has few kinks, but it's still useful.

Wow. Helen's on a video in it and is on and off so quickly that you barely notice her cameo.

Oh, my gosh! I was a LITTLE surprised by this. I thought it was going to be lame. But it looks like they might have spent a little time on it because Bryan Cranston isn't even in it, so they probably didn't just thrown it together; and THAT's why it's so well written and AWESOME!

This was like a blast back to the older TLI shorts on SNL (Dear Sister comes to mind, even though this is obviously different).

So funny! Did you love it?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg is Cathy (SNL Weekend Update)

'Cathy' talks about the end of the 34-year run for the cartoon.



Cute, but I'd expect them to bite the bullet and drop the sweat drops and animated hearts over the live video instead! I think that would have been funnier. What do you think?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg is Rahm Emanuel in the SNL Cold Open

Barack Obama says goodbye to his White House Chief of Staff.

Cold Opening - Press Conference

Fred Armisen ... Barack Obama
Jim Downey ... announcer (voice)
Bobby Moynihan ... Pete Rouse
Andy Samberg ... Rahm Emanuel



Andy does perhaps his last Rahm impression. Pretty funny. Bobby and Andy are great together.

What did you think?

Enjoy!

SNL Promo - Jason Sudeikis, Bryan Cranston, and Kanye West

Bryan Cranston hosts SNL October 2, with musical guest Kanye West.



Check it out! Jason's second joke is hilarious!!!

And special shout out to Kanye West for still coming out and doing SNL. In the past he was willing to make fun of himself with Mike Meyers for a previous interruption. And then he has forgiven SNL for having Taylor and Jacob come on to host last season and make fun of him for interrupting Taylor's speech. Now he's willing to come on again and let Jason make fun of him like this. That's awesome!

Kudos to Kanye (but this wouldn't be a problem if he stopped interrupting speeches).

Enjoy!

The real Governor Paterson

Update: Fred and Gov. Paterson



No Andy, but this is big SNL news to have the real Governor Paterson on. Fred includes more blind jokes than usual to set up the real Paterson.

Enjoy!

Studio News: New animated FARMVILLE Parody

Check it out, and let us know if you laughed out loud!



Enjoy!