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whatevs.org presents... by Nummer and H-Bomb Episode 14: Matt Dillon / Artic Monkeys (3/11/06) | ||
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CONEY RATING SYSTEM |
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0-10 Coneys – Garbage OAD = Original Air Date* (*To be fair, coneys will be awarded the same as they were the first time they aired) |
| NUMMER | H-BOMB |
| THE GOOD! | |
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Some of the earlier episodes this season like Jon Heder or Catherine Zeta-Jones were all about the featured players. They weren’t solid gold overall, but it allowed the young bloods to get comfortable in front of the camera while feeling out a live audience to see what worked. However, just when they were getting comfortable (somewhere around Baldwin’s December 2005 show), Lorne started giving them less screen time. Sure there have been exceptions like Samberg’s Digital Shorts and Sudeikis remaining an SNL everyman, but people like Hader and Wiig stopped getting their fair share.
Luckily, tonight’s show broke this mold and the result helped Dillon’s episode deliver some of the season’s strongest moments. Wiig showed up in five total segments (“I wanna go to Hogwarts” in A-Holes taking the cake) while Hader’s turns in “Vincent Price’s St. Patrick’s Day Special”, “Joplin : Alive! Podcast”** and “DiCicco Brothers Unicornery” were f’ing brilliant. I have to say the later, was the show’s best segment. Hearing Hader and Dillon refer to unicorns as “magical bastards”, “idiots”, “dumb-dumbs”, “freakshows”, “stupid things”, “bags of donuts” and “enchanted morons” made this bizarre sketch match the McNultys & Son Mustache Ridery (Jason Lee/Foo Fighters 11/12/05) commercial in terms of sheer absurdity. So much better than seeing more Debbie Downers.
Lastly, how could I not talk about Arctic Monkeys? There are already yards of Strokes/Franz Ferdinand/etc comparisons available to read online, but I couldn’t let the review go by without commenting on how much lead singer Alex Turner looks and acts like Julian Casablancas. Truly astonishing. That aside, the music speaks for itself and both performances were ridiculously contagious and fun to watch. The icing on the cake came during “A Certain Romance” when Turner broke lyrics to point out a man in the audience just yawned. This observation will go down in history as either commentary summing up the bands potential 15 minutes of fame, or if by some chance the Arctic Monkeys remain noteworthy for years to come, a guy who just didn’t get it at the beginning. Anyone want to take bets on which one comes true? **In its debut appearance, “Joplin : Alive! Podcast”, worked well but how obvious is it that Lorne is setting this up to be the next “Wayne’s World” or “Jarret’s Room”? |
I was glad to see that, as predicted, Dillon did a respectable job as SNL host this week and really seemed to have fun with the role. True, he was only in about half of the skits for the evening and more or less stuck to the aggressive “used car salesman” type character, but he still managed to get through his skits without a hitch.
The real standout of the show this week was unquestionably Mr. Bill Hader. Finally getting the air time he so desperately deserved, Hader turned out not one, not two, but three hilarious sketches including Joplin: Alive! Podcast, Vincent Price’s St. Patrick’s Day Special and DiCirro Brother’s Unicornery. We already knew that Hader could pull off an amusing impersonation of the king of creepsville from the Thanksgiving Special that aired during the Eva Longoria episode, but the Joplin and Unicornery skits allowed him to further develop his range of characters from a geeky Wisconsin hick doing a live broadcast from the back booth of a Bennigans to a Jersey-accented unicorn salesman. Undoubtedly, without the increased presence of Hader, this episode wouldn’t have been nearly as funny.
Once again, the Digital Short segment ranked as one of the best skits of the night with “Lookalikes.” This installment was short and sweet, throwing in a ridiculous twist of Forte shooting Samberg because he couldn’t tell the difference between him and his “lookalike” that made the sketch so humorous.
Finally, we have the musical guest, Arctic Monkeys. For the most part, they delivered two solid sets and definitely showed the audience their “Stroke-esque” traits. However, their inexperience also seemed to show through at times. While this could be looked at as a refreshing quality, it somewhat took away from the “next best thing” reputation that preceded them. Don’t get me wrong, Arctic Monkeys were certainly entertaining to watch, much more so than most of the other bands that have graced the SNL stage in the last few seasons. I’m just not sure all of the hype really did them justice. |
| NUMMER | H-BOMB |
| THE BAD! | |
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For awhile tonight, I was convinced this episode might become the season’s best. Then came crap like “Sportscenter” (Finesse, I know you’re really trying to make a name for yourself with this recurring Stuart Scott impression, but Tim Meadows did it so much better back in 1999), “Appalachian Emergency Room” and “How to Order Sushi Like a CEO”. Just like “Jamba Juice” and “Art Dealers” from Natalie Portman’s episode last week, these segments literally sucked the fun out of the broadcast for a few minutes. Luckily there was such an abundance of quality moments that the show managed to keep itself afloat. |
Finesse Mitchell. You seriously need to reconsider your calling as a live comedian. You are not funny, you are not original (Stuart Scott impression on SportsCenter, anyone?) and you actually make the skits that you’re in painful to watch. Come May, why don’t you do us all a favor and step aside so someone worthy of full cast member status, like Hader, can step in.
Mitchell aside, the sketch writers appeared to redeem themselves this week with the new material that was aired, but we were still subjected to duds like Appalachain Emergency Room. I really don’t see how anyone can continue to find those jokes funny at this point. Additionally, bits like Prisonmate.net and How to Order Sushi Like a CEO fell flat on their faces, mostly because they were recycled from countless past skits that, crazily enough, fell flat on their faces. I mean, how many dating service commercials can one come up with? Totally uninspired, you guys. |
| NUMMER | H-BOMB |
| THE BOTTOM LINE! | |
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Short of becoming an “SNL Instant Classic” by just two lousy coneys, Dillon’s episode was a blast. SNL now gets ANOTHER three weeks off before returning live on 4/8/06 with host Antonio Banderas (cue the Chris Kattan cameo now) and a yet to be named musical act. |
Overall, the Dillon / Arctic Monkeys episode was very watchable and memorable, even more so than I expected. Gems like the Unicornery will undeniably be replayed for many years to come. Keeping players like Hader and Wiig more in the game will only add to what looks like will be a successful end to this season in a couple of months. |
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CONEY COUNT |
| SKETCH | NUMMER | H-BOMB |
1. Cold Opening: Akron-Canton Airport |  |
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2. Monologue: Dillon |  |
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3. Commercial Parody: Prisonmate.net | |
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4. Sketch: Sportscenter | |
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5. SNL Digital Short: Lookalikes |  |
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6. Sketch: Two A-Holes at a Travel Agency | |
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7. Sketch: How to Order Sushi like a CEO | |
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8. Commercial Parody: JJ Casuals | |
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9. Sketch: Joplin : Alive! Podcast | |
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10. Music: Arctic Monkeys “I bet you Look Good on the Dance Floor” | |
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11. Weekend Update |  |
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12. Sketch: TV Land’s Variety Vault: Vincent Price’s St. Patrick’s Day Special | |
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13. Sketch: Inner Harmony Relaxation Recording Session | |
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14. Appalachian Emergency Room | |
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15. Music: Arctic Monkeys “A Certain Romance” | |
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16. DiCirro Brothers Unicornery | |
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TOTALS | 39 / 64 Coneys |
37.5 / 64 Coneys |
= John Belushi
= Amy Poehler
= Tim Meadows
= Melanie Hutzel
= Self-Explanatory