by Matt Dunbar
“SNL? You still watch that? SNL hasn’t been funny since Farley and Sandler left….Dude have you listened to the Verve yet?”
– My older brother, 1997.
“SNL? You still watch that? Even you admit SNL hasn’t been funny since Ferrell left…..Dude, start watching LOST. I have no idea how they’re going to end this thing, but it’s going to be awesome.”
– My best friend from high school, 2004.
“SNL? You still watch that? SNL hasn’t been funny since Fallon and Fey left….No, Matt, I’m not going to disconnect the Wii so we can play Mario Kart on Super Nintendo. You’re 26, not 80. What the hell is a Genesis?”
– My younger, ignorant sister, 2011.
As roughly 30,000 hours of DVD box sets and VH1 retrospectives can attest, Saturday Night Live occupies a truly unique space in the American comedic landscape. Since the show debuted in 1975 with John Belushi offering to boil wolverines, SNL has served as a generational touchstone with a comedic staying power unlike anything else of its kind.
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by Aaron Colter
So, last week’s post sucked. You know it, I know it. Let’s move on. This week’s isn’t much better, but it’s still better. A simple list of some cool stuff you should check out.
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by Secretary
This last weekend Europe united for the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual event which a whole continent loves to hate, yet, like a car crash, is compelled to watch. For anyone who hasn’t had their lives touched by the force of nature that is Eurovision, allow me to explain. Founded in 1956, it was supposed to bring post-war Europe together in the spirit of friendly competition, but has since become a leviathan of campery, one-upmanship, tactical/political/block voting, ludicrous gimmicks, and people taking themselves far, far too seriously. It’s a yearly televisual event which serves as an excuse for the whole of Europe to sit down in front of the TV for one colossal drinking game (see rules), and is probably the best indicator of contemporary European politics we have.
Forty-three countries entered this year, and were whittled down to 25 finalists during two semi-final rounds ahead of Saturday night’s main competition. The winners were selected using a combination of televotes and jury votes. Ostentatiously, people were voting for the best song in Europe, but the entrants tend to be remembered for the spectacle rather than for their musical chops. From Britain’s Buck’s Fizz, who memorably ripped the skirts off their female members in 1981, to 2006 when Finnish rock band Lordi managed to temporarily unite the whole of Europe behind latex monster costumes, it’s the visuals that make Eurovision. I had planned to write this as the show was broadcast, but the mandatory Eurovision drinking game was particularly brutal this year, and all I’d managed to type by the next morning was “bbbbbbbbRRRRRRRRRRRRRR,” which I’m sure made a lot of sense at the time.
Anyway, now my hangover has finally subsided, I give you the Dedicated Follower of Fashion’s guide to the critical style moments of Eurovision 2011.
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by A.J. Focht
On May 13, the longest running superhero based television series, Smallville, came to a close. The final episode brought back many of the past characters, including Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. Avoiding other major spoilers, we’ll just say there is both flight and tights action involved.
That wasn’t the only action stirring in the world of superheroes this past week though. Rob Williams, author of the new Ghost Rider series, announced that the next Ghost Rider will be a female. Johnny Blaze, the current Ghost Rider, will be offered a chance to pass his curse on to someone else, and while Blaze will no longer be the Rider, he’ll remain a part of the series.
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by Bob Suicide
It’s official: NBC told Wonder Woman to grab her redesigned hooker boots and take the walk of shame off their network. But what does that mean for comic-based television programming as a whole, as well as the more niche super heroine-led titles?
The realistic answer: not much.
With the level of backlash this show has received at every turn, from both die-hard fans as well as general network audiences, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Wonder Woman re-boot didn’t last long. The real surprise is how many people don’t seem to remember how poorly the original show did. It was only on for three seasons, and the first performed so badly that they had to completely re-vamp the entire premise, moving it from the ’40s to the ’70s. So from the outset, a big-budget reboot of a mediocre show from the ’70s didn’t seem like the best idea. And yet, everyone seemed to take the news that Wonder Woman was cut before she even had a chance to take flight with great confusion: “Woaaaa? Where are we to find our strong female heroine now?” they bemoaned.
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by Gerry Duggan
“My first reaction was that Ron Moore must have gone crazy.”
– Bear McCreary
Composer Bear McCreary is the composer of the best show on TV: Battlestar Galactica. In addition to his superb work on that program he somehow has found the time to compose excellent music for Eureka, the forthcoming Sarah Connor Chronicles, and the feature soundtrack to Wrong Turn 2.
Bear made some time in his hectic schedule to discuss his upcoming projects. All of Bear’s soundtracks are available (usually signed) from La La Land Records. One word of caution: care has been taken not to spoil anythig huge about BSG, however those not wanting to know anything about events through season 3 should stop reading right now.
Read our exclusive interview with Bear McCreary on SuicideGirls.com.
by Erin Broadley
“Christian groups are holding candlelight vigils outside the network headquarters”
– Tom Kapinos
Hank Moody eases his convertible sports car onto the long and twisting road that snakes through Hollywood Forever Cemetary, making his way past the ponds, tombs and exotic birds that roam the grounds. A cigarette dangles from his lips and it looks like he might have had one too many drinks the night before and perhaps, just moments ago, kicked some strange woman-child out of his bed. He pulls up to a church and promptly douses his cigarette in holy water.
Hank is having what he calls a crisis of faith and thinks perhaps God can help ease his writers block. No such luck. Instead of uttering the usual Our Fathers or Hail Marys, Hank gets a blowjob from a nun. Sweet baby Jesus, he says. Hank is going to Hell. Welcome to Hanks world. Welcome to Californication, Showtime’s hit series.
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