SNL 40

Visiting 30 Rock and 8-H in 2013.

I am a huge nerd, I have admitted it in the past and I will continue to admit it into the future. One of the things that gets my nerd juices flowing the fastest is Saturday Night Live. Last night was SNL40, the highlight of my storm-stayed holiday long weekend at home. I have been waiting for the huge special that aired last night since I first caught wind of it and believe me, it did not disappoint. After over a year of hard work the special was absolutely magical to me.

My Highlights:

-Bradley Cooper making out with Betty White.

-The auditions feature during the show with clips of SNL favourites auditions back in the day.

-Chris Rock’s tribute to Eddie Murphy.

-The montages, all of em’.

-Tributes to my hero Lorne Michaels throughout the night, my favourite one had to be during Adam

Sandler and Andy’s Samberg’s Digital Short. 

My Forgettable Moments:

-Miley Cyrus’s performance, it was good but had everyone in my house scratching their heads.

-Eddie Murphy’s 73-second appearance.

This morning I woke up and re-watched most of the special again and there are honestly very few things I would cut. I thought Jerry Seinfeld’s question and answer segment was great but would have been better without Dakota Johnson’s awkward plug for her upcoming episode and a throw to the uncomfortable antics of Ellen Cleghorne. Also, the Californians went a too long. It was an absolute treat to see Wayne and Garth back together and impersonating Lorne.

My favourite moment is a hard one to judge, but it would have to be Celebrity Jeopardy.

I could go on and on about the magic of SNL 40 last night, unfortunately some people failed to see it. The internet is a-buzz today with feedback about the special but I think the most important thing to remember about SNL is something that I was told when touring NBC and visiting the SNL set.

Studio 8-H is tiny, it truly is. The crew does an incredible job making it look WAY bigger than it really is. That is one of the reasons it is so hard to get tickets to the show. During the tour they tell you that the show is not created each Saturday night for the people in the audience, it is made to watch at home. Last night’s Sunday night special was a change in format, I watched it as a performance for the incredible cast and crew that has made SNL over the past 40 years. From the comfort of my home I felt like I was peeping into a window watching something special created by and for some of the most talented comedians to ever live. It is hard to articulate exactly how I feel about last night’s show, but I feel privileged to say that I watched it and that I visited 8-H a place where magic truly does happen.

Last night it was exciting to see the incredible casts of the past work with the contemporary SNL night crew. I have mourned many people leaving the show in the past few years only to be blown away by the incredible new talent that joins the cast. It was wonderful to see them all working together.

If you have not watched SNL40 yet make sure you watch it all soon, do not just watch the clips online you will not get the incredible impact of the entire show as it was meant to be seen.

One final note, THANK YOU to everyone who has worked at SNL in the past and continues to provide laughs for the future. As I type this there are three people on screen in the TV show that I am watching (not SNL) that were once on SNL working together with other talented comedians to produce one of the funniest shows on television right now. Saturday Night Live has made the world a funnier, better place.

Also, props to Global TV here in Canada for live streaming SNL 40 for FREE online. Now SNL start letting Canadians view your YouTube videos, common' Lorne I know you have the power!

A Proud Moment Thanks to a Childhood Watching Oprah

Both Dane and Oprah are visibly proud of me.

Time has been flying away; it is hard to believe I used to have time to write everyday! 

Yes, my blog used to be part of my job and now that I have branched out into the world of marketing, finance and banking I really do not have time to write my humble thoughts in a trivial blog daily. But, I do miss it. 

Today at work I was challenged by weaving my fine radio skills with the art of ad writing for radio. Normally this is not so much a challenge, but an almost fun creative writing exercise. Over the past week it has not been, it has been a learning experience just to get through all the material I need to know before writing an ad for products that I am still rather naive about. I know have the first drafts of both spots done and I am about to start the editing process and mark up all the beautiful white paper I can. So, I thought I would share the inspiration for the second of the two ads I have just penned because it is a moment from my childhood I will never forget. 

I was 15 when this Oprah episode aired and I remember thinking to myself, "no way Oprah would ever drive one of those cars, she is a better actress than everyone gives her credit for". Today, I called up this moment in television history and twisted it for my own purposes for a radio ad. I will share it when the time comes for it to be produced, if it is ever produced. There is still a chance that it will end up in a paper ball on my floor at home or in a recycling bin in my boss's office. Regardless, nothing can take away the happiness I feel right now as I check this item off my to-do list. 

Here it is: 

I think anyone who enjoys a laugh can watch that without thinking about Dane Cook's bit on the same episode. Honestly, my inspiration was about 1/3 Oprah and 2/3 Dane Cook for the ad so here is that moment as well:

1/3 Oprah, 2/3 Dane Cook not a bad combination right? 

Just in case you are wondering what my inspiration was for the straight ad I wrote, the one I am much less proud of well it was $$$. Dolla-dolla bills. 

Sarah Siverman’s “The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee”

I just finished Sarah Silverman’s book “The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee”.  I never used to be a Sarah Silverman fan but seeing her nail the role of Vanellope von Schweetz in Disney’s “Wreck-It-Ralph” was like a gateway drug. I am now a huge fan and I absolutely loved her book.

The main thing I am going to take from the book is her “make it a treat” philosophy. I think this will help me conquer my addiction to Chinese food and penny candy.  Seriously, I’m fighting the urges right now…

Her stories are so comforting for anyone who grew up not feeling 100% normal.

I love that she doesn’t hold anything back and is just as raunchy as a writer. Expect vulgar language; talk about farts and doody and lots of Silverman family features. I think Sarah’s family is just as entertaining as she is. Even if they aren’t she is a good enough writer to make them seem like a barrel of laughs.

I love that Sarah Silverman is ballsy enough to write her own foreword and even an afterward by God.

If you a looking for a fun and quick read, Sarah Siverman’s “The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee”.

And, Sarah is 100% right... Pee is a better word for the title than Pee Pee. 

Drake Hosts and Performs on SNL this Saturday Night!

Toronto’s Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) will host and be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this Degrassi: The Next Generation acting roots… Yes, we Canadians will remember that before Drake was on the scene rapping he was put through the perils of life at Degrassi from around 2001 to 2009, he was in 138 episodes as Jimmy Brooks.

weekend. As a huge SNL fan I am always apprehensive when acts double up, but this little video of Drake takes us Canadians back to his

Sometimes I forget about Drake’s time on Degrassi, to be honest with you I do it willfully. I was not allowed to watch the original groundbreaking series when it was in its rerun phase on CBC, meaning I tried to watch it whenever I could just to defy authority; no one could tell Young Kate what to do with her preteen pre-evening time. We only had two channels and it would always be between CBC’s old reruns and whatever was on Oprah that day; both were equally as scarring some days to my young psyche (but, I liked it). I never really did get into the revamp of Degrassi, but my roommate in university forced me into watching them… she loved the old and the new. So, let’s just say I have had my fill of Degrassi.

Back to the point, this is what happens when I write blogs late in the day at my desk. Drake will be hosting Saturday Night Live this Saturday Night (January 18^th)!

Josh Hutcherson and HAIM on Saturday Night Live

         I am a massive Saturday Night Live fan, honestly if I am home alone I re-watch old episodes, when I am at home in Nova Scotia I drive my family crazy trying to make them laugh by showing them old clips from episodes I know they have not watched (they never find them as funny as I do) and I have no problem spending my Saturday nights at home waiting for ‘SNL’ to come on.

         Last night’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ was by far my favourite episode of the season, with one of my current favourite bands HAIM and Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson it was an incredible episode. I think this episode was great for multiple reasons:

1.   There was no shortage of jokes about host Josh Hutcherson’s height, he is 5’5 and as you can see next to his Hunger Game’s co-stars quite small. This was taken in stride, in one sketch Hutcherson is a character names ‘lil’ peanut’. Adorable.

2.   The host and band are still pretty unknown. Yes, Hutcherson is in one of the biggest movies of the year; but I bet you wouldn’t recognize him (unless you are a 14 year old girl) on the streets though! HAIM is blowing up, but still unknown to most people. I think this is a magical combination for SNL; it is harder for the episode to get overhyped and it lets the stars and cast shine without as much pressure.

3.   The sketches did not rely too much on recurring sketches from the past this episode. There was a free flow to the episode with great sketches that incorporated some of the new cast members.

I am no SNL expert, but I thought this week’s episode was brilliant. Here is my favourite sketch which incorporates two 80s songs we play on Mountain FM and HAIM’s ‘Don’t Save Me’.

Josh Hutcherson - Josie Sketch (Your Love... by IdolxMuzic
[HD] Haim - Don't Save Me - SNL 11-23-13 by IdolxMuzic

Click here to see the music video for HAIM’s ‘The Wire’ it was the song they opened with last night on SNL.

Jimmy Kimmel's Halloween Candy Challenge

Jimmy Kimmel puts new meaning in the phrase taking candy from a baby… in his annual Halloween prank he has easily convinced the parents who watch his show to mess with their children by telling their kids that they have eaten all of their spoils from Halloween. I love this video; I always tried to maintain my candy stock as a child by giving my parents all the candy I didn't like and then some of their favourites. Every year as soon as we got home we would dump our bags and trade candy until there was only non-name brand candy and Oh Henry bars left. This video has gone viral for good reason today, it is so funny. 

Thank goodness my parents never did this to me!

Netflix Classic: World's Greatest Dad

Netflix Classic: World's Greatest Dad

Have you ever watched a movie so bad you wondered what were those people thinking? I do this all the time. In fact you can read my previous blog about ‘Sharknado’ it was the worst movie I have ever seen. Which has inspired me to start a log of all the movies I watch that are just down-right horrible, most of them are F-list horror movies with cooky titles found on Netflix, hence the label “Neflix Classics”.  Every Saturday you can find my latest “Netflix Classic” review right here on my Mountain FM Blog.

World's Greatest Dad (2009)

In one word this movie is dysfunctional. 

To give this movie credit it is bold. I never imagined the dark places this movie goes. Honestly, I picked it for this week’s Netflix Classic because I had a jones-ing for a Robin Williams family movie; World’s Greatest Dad was definitely not what I had in mind. Seriously, don't watch this movie based on it’s poster!

I found this movie really hard to watch. The topics were uncomfortable and the characters were all very hard to like. It is a twisted movie, even though I like raunchy comedy parts in this movie are too much.

The movie drags along too, character development happens quickly in the beginning and then you are waiting for the movies climax. World’s Greatest Dad then plateaus on the action for a while and eventually wraps up quickly.

I won’t be watching this one again. I’m not sure who I would recommend this movie to  I have a feeling it would make pretty much anyone feel uncomfortable and confused. Even for some dark comedy I don’t think this movie is funny enough to balance its grimness.

Sharknado: The Worst Movie I Have EVER Seen

Sharknado (2013) is officially the worst movie I have ever seen and I have seen some pretty horrible movies. I usually love cheesy, made for TV movies but the SyFy network totally took advantage of my weakness; exploiting it with Sharknado. 

I had to check Sharknado out, it was all everyone was talking about online. I thought it would be a fun summer thriller, instead it was pretty much comedy. Even though the story kept me asking, "what is going to happen?" I never forgot I was watching a D-list TV movie that even Netflix would call bad. I honestly think none of the actors in Sharknado will never get jobs again, even Tara Reid. 

The movie focuses on a storm system bringing a tornado full of sharks to parts of California, which is all you really need to know. 

I know I need to chill out a little bit about how much I disliked Sharknado, it is supposed to be a silly summer movie; but I honestly think Downton Abbey is more thrilling than this piece of turd of a movie. The worst part of all of it is that Sharknado's second airing brought in 38% more viewers than the premiere. And, it will be hitting select theaters in a limited release because there has been SO much buzz about it.

I am really sorry if you loved Sharknado, we can still be friends. Here's a tip if you are a Sharknado fan, get ready SyFy will be releasing their next shark themed gem on August 22. Ghost Shark is another shark movie with a title that explains exactly what the movie is about perfectly, I hope you enjoy it!