whatevs.org presents...

"SNL - SEASON 31 REVEALED"

by Nummer and H-Bomb

Episode 11: Peter Sarsgaard / The Strokes (1/21/06)

CONEY RATING SYSTEM
= John Belushi
= Amy Poehler
= Tim Meadows
= Melanie Hutzel
= Charles Rocket
= Self-Explanatory

0-10 Coneys – Garbage
11-20 Coneys – Needs Improvement
21-30 Coneys – Average
31-40 Coneys – Above Average
41-50 Coneys - Instant Classic
51+ Coneys - Unparalleled Comic Genius

OAD = Original Air Date*

(*To be fair, coneys will be awarded the same as they were the first time they aired)

SNL Digital Shorts score again! Tonight’s installment featured Sudeikis and Samberg in a video about the origins of Chuck Norris. Although it included a few retreads of what made “Lazy Sunday” such a hit (mainly an abundance of on-screen catchphrases), it didn’t feel like a complete sequel. Some say funny enough to watch two or three times come Sunday morning.

Other highlights included the welcome return of Kristin Wiig’s Target Cashier sketch (“A metallic tote? Do we have more of these?"), Forte’s Pirate Convention and the Cat Fancy Scandal. All three of these can comfortably reside next to the other quality sketches from the past few episodes showing that the writers and cast still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

As predicted, The Strokes easily added 8 coneys to the order with performances of “Juicebox” and “You Only Live Once”. With all the mixed reviews plaguing their latest album, let’s hope this isn’t their last SNL appearance.

: While, sketch-wise, this Saturday’s show with host Peter Sarsgaard wasn’t quite on par with last week’s Johansson episode, there was still enough good material to make it enjoyable, with a few skits even being rather memorable. Among the sketches that really stood out for me were Nelson’s Baby Toupees, Target Cashiers and, of course, #4 Young Chuck Norris from the continuing saga of the now infamous SNL Digital Shorts. Nelson’s Baby Toupees finally provided some long overdue airtime to Hader, whereas the Target skit marked the much welcomed return of Wiig’s kooky cashier employee, who just loves the store’s latest “hewlidaay” merchandise, which happens to be Valentine’s Day this time around. Whether she’s encouraging customer’s to buy their gifts now because “Valentine’s Day is just around the kerner,” or asking if they “have more of these?”, Wiig can always be counted on for laughs with this character.

SNL’s Digital Shorts continued it’s hot streak this week with #4 Young Chuck Norris, a video highlighting how Chuck Norris came to be the amazing man he is today. I was a little hesitant about seeing Samberg play the lead so short on the heels of Lazy Sunday, but he did a great job as the man who “kicked and punched with his hands and his feet,” and whose “last name was Norris and first name was Chuck.” In my opinion, though, it was really Sudeikis who stole the show as the singer, Doug Brogar. From his appearance to facial expressions, he was every bit the epitome of the all American rocker singing about the all American idol, “a man among other men.”

Finally, Julian and company definitely held up their end of the bargain by delivering two perfect performances, which undoubtedly helped the show to achieve its high coney rating. Let’s face it, you just can’t go wrong with The Strokes.

Rounding off the rest of the show was a significant drop off in the sketch quality we’ve gotten used to over the last few months. Starting with the weak cold opening, an unnecessary appearance of Horatio’s Carol sketch and another mediocre Update, the show just continued to spiral beyond control. Segments like Gays in Space, Fairmont Suites Inn, NSA Phone Monitoring and SARS guards all averaged 1 coney or below. Just to single one of them out, Fairmount Suites Inn was probably the worst sketch since Finesse’s “R Kelly Trapped in the Closet” sketch back on the Longoria episode. NEXT!

Sarsgaard also bordered the Bad category. He flubbed more lines than Jon Heder and seemed to have trouble recovering a few times (this was most evident in the Cat Fancy sketch). I’m not willing to write him off just yet, but for somebody who supposedly formed a comedy improv team prior to his Hollywood career, he didn’t seem completely comfortable in a live environment.

Another weak point of tonight’s episode was an onslaught of arguably outdated “topical” material. Did we really need multiple references about SARS or Al Gore & John Kerry complaining about losing to Bush?

The continuity of this week’s show definitely left a lot to be desired and, sadly, much of that was courtesy of Sarsgaard. Not only did he barely have a hold on any of his lines, but several of the skits he was in just seemed to flat out fall apart (i.e. Fairmont Suites Inn). Maybe he’s better off playing the creepy roles, after all.

I was also disappointed in what I hope was just a brief detour back to SNL’s bad recurring sketch land. They might’ve been able to get away with another Gays In Space (which actually seemed a bit more tolerable with Forte at the realm of the tacky theme song instead of Rudolph), but did we really need to see another Carol sketch? Ok, we get it, the guy is unwittingly charmed by a fat, obnoxious chick whose idea of a good time is “toking a splify and pushing one out in the handicap bathroom.” Let’s give it a rest, shall we?

And seriously, Peter Sarsgaard’s SARS Guards? I might’ve expected that crap from Season 30 or early 31, but I thought we were rounding that unoriginal corner, SNL?! Again, let’s just hope it was another momentary lapse in judgment by Lorne and the gang.

Despite a great Digital Short and the other sketches mentioned in The Good section, without the Strokes, this episode would have ranked towards the bottom in terms of season quality. Luckily, SNL legend Steve Martin is due to host next, so the sting from portions of tonight’s episode shouldn’t last long.

A decent show, but mainly only due to another high ranking SNL Digital Short, a good recurring sketch and a fantastic musical guest. Hopefully veteran SNL host, Steve Martin, and the promise of a long Olympics-prompted break will once again spark the momentum that seemed to have lost a bit of its steam with Sarsgaard when the show returns live in two weeks.

CONEY COUNT

1. Cold Opening: Anderson Coooper 360
Premise: Spoof of the CNN news show

2. Monologue: Sarsgaard

3. Commercial Parody: Nelson’s Baby Toupees

4. Sketch: Target Cashiers
Premise: Recurring sketch about Target employees interacting with customers

5. Sketch: Pirate Convention
Premise: A group of pirates search for words containing “arr”

6. Sketch: Carol!
Premise: Recurring sketch about an obnoxious woman

7. SNL Digital Short: “#4 Young Chuck Norris”
Premise: Song about the origins of Chuck Norris

8. Sketch: Scandal at Cat Fancy
Premise: A Cat Fancy reporter is charged with fabricating the news

9. Music: The Strokes “Juicebox”

10. Weekend Update
Cameo: Drew Barrymore
Guests: Hammond, Meyers

11. Sketch: Gays in Space
Premise: See sketch title

12. Sketch: Fairmont Suites Inn
Premise: A hotel guest has trouble with his in-room TV

13. Sketch: NSA Phone Monitoring
Premise: The government taps the phone call of two elderly women

14. The Strokes “You Only Live Once”

15. Sketch: Peter Sarsgaard’s SARS Guards
Premise: Peter sells a SARS filter

TOTALS

34 / 60 Coneys

31 / 60 Coneys