I thought Betty White was terrific last night. Really game for anything, and she is so at ease on live TV -- shows how you can read off cue cards but not have your eyes obviously glued to them. Great show.
There were two sketches that didn't make the broadcast (at least according to the NY Times). I'm not sure when they actually did those sketches -- maybe the closing is "fake" and the audience sticks around?
Those are the sketches that J. Bowan pointed out are from Dress Rehearsal (which is during the day of the show, and from which Lorne picks the final sketches). There are actually four or so Dress Rehearsal sketches from yesterday on Hulu.
When I first heard about the mini-reunion with the former female players, I was concerned that they didn't think Betty could handle it on her own, or that they didn't want to "waste" a whole show on either just Betty White or only one of the guest alumni so they combined them all together. But the true takeaway of the episode was that they brought back some of their best alumni in order to raise the show a little closer to Betty's level.
I thought it worked really well--each of the alums got to do one or two nostalgia characters, while still keeping the show pretty firmly Betty-focused, and having such a rich supporting cast of female comedians for Betty was fitting for someone who is not only one of the great comedy actresses, but who spent her career surrounded by all the other funniest women of television on some of the funniest shows ever that were also some of the most female-centric shows ever.
A lot of very funny stuff, but the Manuel Ortiz Show was just such a blatant misfire that I don't understand why it keeps on being brought back for more attempts. If you're going to go with that premise, why not "What Up With That," though that gives even less room for host appearances, but would have allowed Jesse Tyler Ferguson to make an appearance (he was apparently in the studio).
Agreed. Also from the dress rehearsal clips, the Bronx Beat one is definitely funnier than the Oritz one, with some shortening (which I assume they do on most sketches between dress and show). Even Debbie Downer might have worked, if they'd done it with less normal Debbie and more child Debbie with Betty White as Original Recipe Downer.
Maybe they thought they had enough nostalgia sketches and wanted a current one instead. But as you say, "What Up With That" would have been a better choice. I kind of like "What Up With That" actually, I think mainly because it seems like they have so much fun doing it.
Did anyone else think that the last sketch was the funniest? This was classic Rose Nylund, what older Betty does best. Just her saying her name over and over, even if it was a Monty Python rip-off, was hilarious. "And don't skimp on the rum." Really.
There hasn't been a recurring sketch in a LONG time that I've enjoyed nearly as much as "What Up with That" -- the song is catchy and the Sudekis b-boying and escalating randomness has yet to get old.
The census sketch with Tina Fey and Betty White was largely the same as the hilarious Christopher Walken/Tim Meadows version from 10 years ago http://snltranscripts.jt.org/99/99pcensus.phtml
It's not online, but the Digital Short cracked me up more than any other part of the show.
Andrew, I had the same reaction (not that they were the same but that White's was clearly an homage to Walken's -- and hers was probably better, though I've always loved Walken's). I found this grainy video of the Walken/Meadows sketch: http://videosift.com/video/Christoper-Walken-Takes-a-Census
A local radio station played most of "Delicious Dish" this morning... hearing the audio actually on the radio made it exponentially funnier. That one was tops for me.
Paul, keep in mind that Michaels has been asking White to host for decades, and she kept saying no. According to one interview, though she loves live TV, she hates cue cards, and the last-minute-change nature of SNL means she'd have to use cue cards a lot. After the FB thing, her agent told her sne *had* to do it and she finally agreed. FB didn't convince Michaels to ask her to host - but it did convince her to say yes!
There's now a campaign for Carol Burnett, which would be another episode I'd TiVo.
I thought I'd stayed up for the whole thing, but there were at least two sketches I didn't remember (plus the two "Dress Rehearsal" sketches).
ReplyDeleteI thought Betty White was terrific last night. Really game for anything, and she is so at ease on live TV -- shows how you can read off cue cards but not have your eyes obviously glued to them. Great show.
ReplyDeleteBlight of the Pelicans, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThere were two sketches that didn't make the broadcast (at least according to the NY Times). I'm not sure when they actually did those sketches -- maybe the closing is "fake" and the audience sticks around?
ReplyDeletek,
ReplyDeleteThose are the sketches that J. Bowan pointed out are from Dress Rehearsal (which is during the day of the show, and from which Lorne picks the final sketches). There are actually four or so Dress Rehearsal sketches from yesterday on Hulu.
It was great! She was so at ease, and wow...so much energy at 88 AND a half. Good times.
ReplyDeleteLove it. Loooooooved it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the mini-reunion with the former female players, I was concerned that they didn't think Betty could handle it on her own, or that they didn't want to "waste" a whole show on either just Betty White or only one of the guest alumni so they combined them all together. But the true takeaway of the episode was that they brought back some of their best alumni in order to raise the show a little closer to Betty's level.
I thought it worked really well--each of the alums got to do one or two nostalgia characters, while still keeping the show pretty firmly Betty-focused, and having such a rich supporting cast of female comedians for Betty was fitting for someone who is not only one of the great comedy actresses, but who spent her career surrounded by all the other funniest women of television on some of the funniest shows ever that were also some of the most female-centric shows ever.
So great. And she's fearless. And hilarious.
A lot of very funny stuff, but the Manuel Ortiz Show was just such a blatant misfire that I don't understand why it keeps on being brought back for more attempts. If you're going to go with that premise, why not "What Up With That," though that gives even less room for host appearances, but would have allowed Jesse Tyler Ferguson to make an appearance (he was apparently in the studio).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Also from the dress rehearsal clips, the Bronx Beat one is definitely funnier than the Oritz one, with some shortening (which I assume they do on most sketches between dress and show). Even Debbie Downer might have worked, if they'd done it with less normal Debbie and more child Debbie with Betty White as Original Recipe Downer.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they thought they had enough nostalgia sketches and wanted a current one instead. But as you say, "What Up With That" would have been a better choice. I kind of like "What Up With That" actually, I think mainly because it seems like they have so much fun doing it.
I think Manuel Ortiz made it in because it was basically the only sketch that didn't include Betty White making some sort of sexual reference.
ReplyDelete"Wizard of ASS!"
Did anyone else think that the last sketch was the funniest? This was classic Rose Nylund, what older Betty does best. Just her saying her name over and over, even if it was a Monty Python rip-off, was hilarious. "And don't skimp on the rum." Really.
ReplyDeleteThere hasn't been a recurring sketch in a LONG time that I've enjoyed nearly as much as "What Up with That" -- the song is catchy and the Sudekis b-boying and escalating randomness has yet to get old.
ReplyDeleteThe census sketch with Tina Fey and Betty White was largely the same as the hilarious Christopher Walken/Tim Meadows version from 10 years ago http://snltranscripts.jt.org/99/99pcensus.phtml
It's not online, but the Digital Short cracked me up more than any other part of the show.
Andrew, I had the same reaction (not that they were the same but that White's was clearly an homage to Walken's -- and hers was probably better, though I've always loved Walken's). I found this grainy video of the Walken/Meadows sketch: http://videosift.com/video/Christoper-Walken-Takes-a-Census
ReplyDeleteThe digital short had me weeping with laughter and I watched three times in a row thanks to tivo!!
ReplyDeleteA local radio station played most of "Delicious Dish" this morning... hearing the audio actually on the radio made it exponentially funnier. That one was tops for me.
ReplyDeleteKudos have to go to Tina Fey's Greek economy section of "Really?" That had me rolling hard.
ReplyDeleteI'm over Fred Armisen but they keep giving him prime spots.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the show- maybe they'll start bringing on real actors and not the flash-in-the-pans-who-are-pushing-their-stupid-movie.
Definitely- anything Fey was, as usual, several notches above the rest.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely classic episode. Hopefully more hosts will be chosen by the public in the future!
ReplyDeletePaul, keep in mind that Michaels has been asking White to host for decades, and she kept saying no. According to one interview, though she loves live TV, she hates cue cards, and the last-minute-change nature of SNL means she'd have to use cue cards a lot. After the FB thing, her agent told her sne *had* to do it and she finally agreed. FB didn't convince Michaels to ask her to host - but it did convince her to say yes!
ReplyDeleteThere's now a campaign for Carol Burnett, which would be another episode I'd TiVo.