S40.E02: Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5

[Joimiaroxeu]

Something strange is going on. On Hulu+, Sarah's episode is shown as being 55 minutes long, whereas Chris Pratt's full-length episode is the standard 1 hour 4 minutes. Missing are three sketches: Proud Mary/River Sisters, Cruise Ship/Rachel, and Good Neighbors.

The so-called "full episode" on NBC's SNL page doesn't include the Proud Mary/River Sisters or Cruise Ship/Rachel sketches. I wonder why not? (And why they bother putting it online as a full episode if it really isn't.)

Edited October 5, 2014 by Joimiaroxeu

[Rahul]

This episode was a mixed bag with pretty clear hits and misses.

 

The Fault in Our Stars parody sequel was quite well done, especially Taran's reactionary bits. I came here specifically to ask if anyone knows the song playing in the background during very last part after Keenan shows up as the guidance counselor. I would be very grateful if someone could PM me if they recognize the tune.

 

Not sure why others found the return from the airport drive sketch to be funny. The whole second half seemed like a long winded Pizza Hut commercial will a strange macabre tone.

[Miss Scarlet]

The so-called "full episode" on NBC's SNL page doesn't include the Proud Mary/River Sisters or Cruise Ship/Rachel sketches. I wonder why not? (And why they bother putting it online as a full episode if it really isn't.)

I think it's because they don't have the rights to the music used in those sketches.

[helenamonster]

Does anyone know which bit/sketch Smigel helped out with? Or did it maybe not make it past dress?

[GarageQueen]

I think it's because they don't have the rights to the music used in those sketches.

That's exactly the answer I got from @HuluPlus on twitter when I whined about it. The "Airport" ("Cheating") sketch was linked by Daily Motion and had 2 or 3 song snippets that played during the sketch. So, guess I'll have to fire up the TiVo once again to record SNL. 

[theatremouse]

One thing that has recently started bothering me a ton about SNL is how every.single.effing monologue is "gee it's soo weird/great/amazing/dream come true" to host SNL for the "first/fifth/twelve thousandth time". Followed by one or two faux self deprecating remarks, then burst into song about it. Then tell us you have a great show for us tonight. I am so absolutely over that formula. And my annoyance has been exacerbated by watching the "classic" episodes beforehand, since those reminded me that the monologues used to actually be monologues and not just that formula.

 

So, because of that recent dread build up I have about the damn monologues, Sarah Silverman basically had me at "actually I'm a pretty big comic" (paraphrasing here) and then completely avoided the "wow, I'm hosting SNL" spiel and dissed the concept in the process.

[Racj82]

Wow,the overwhelming support for this episode is shocking. That episode was hot garbage. Whole skits where I didn't even crack a smile. No good. I don't ever want to see anything from this episode again.

[nowandlater]

I remember reading an interview with somebody talking about how if you use a copyrighted song in a sketch, you have to really think hard about it, because it's likely going to be lost to history.

 

Seth Meyers wanted to show a famous Peyton Manning dancing sketch to his wife, but couldn't find it the conventional way ...until he found it on a Japanese website.

[possibilities]

I liked it, but then I've liked most shows lately. I really think that since Wiig left, the show has been a thousand times more interesting and creative and funny, because they don't pack it full of the same character over and over again under different names. And, though I do notice they're relying more on pre-taped material, I don't care as long as it's funny. SNL is supposed to be live, but I wouldn't care if they taped the entire show if it meant I laughed more.

 

There was nothing on tonight's show that I thought would become a classic (like Twin Bed), but no two sketches were alike, the work was spread around the ensemble, the mood changed a lot from sketch to sketch, and they had very few repeat concepts or characters. I like it when they try new things, even when they don't all hit out of the park. It keeps me awake and it keeps the show from being stale. I want them to take risks, even though I know it means some will be better than others. The early shows had that experimental feel to them, and I think it's much more fun that way than when they play it safe.

Edited October 6, 2014 by possibilities

[Princess Sparkle]

I'll be honest, I think I might have pulled something laughing at Bobby screaming "DONT YOU YELL AT ADAM LEVINE; HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG!" It wasn't what he said, but how he said it that killed me.

As someone mentioned above, I recognized the first half of Sarah Silverman's monologue as something she does during her Oddball Fest set, but that didn't make it any less funny to me now - part of the hilarity comes from how the person in the audience handles it. I also really liked "What is this, pretty girl in the audience night?"

Taran's long "Ooooooooohhhhhhh" in the Ebola sketch had me dying. And supportive women I freaking loved, because it hit just the right note of skewering how the general public (speaking broadly here) would rather see women fight than help each other - Taran's disappointed face that Aidy and Sarah Silverman weren't going to fight was fantastic.

Also, I will take this opportunity to out myself - I own a Vitamix blender. In my defense, it wasn't $650 (only the top-of-the-line professional ones are that expensive), and it's lasted for 10 years without any wear and tear. My parents have had one for 30 years. And I do make nut butters in it : )

Edited October 7, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[ChromaKelly]

The Joan Rivers sketch did not work for me at all. Maybe if the cast members had done more impressions instead of just sitting there. Bobby as Ben Franklin was funny with him laughing and not getting the jokes, that was it though. I felt the Kardashian joke was in really poor taste. We get it, they go for black guys. IDK how many times SNL has done that joke. Sarah Silverman fumbling the lines was bad.

What did work was the Vitamix, WU was much better, and the uncomfortable airport ride home was funny. Again, it was Bobby who made that work.
I'm so over the Good Neighbor bits. The only thing that was funny in this one was the dummy getting hit by a car.

[Lakewood27]

Bobby's everlasting bitchface, while holding the ring box cracked me up so hard. I do love the absurd sketches. One of my favourite sketches of all time is Will Ferrell's 'Crazy Doctor'.

 

Count me as another who will miss Kenan's reaction faces. Hell, I used to laugh every time one of his characters said "Cecily" during Update.

[Traveller519]

This episode really felt like a throwback to me. It seemed pretty obvious that Sarah had a big hand in the writing. The sketches just worked as things that didn't feel safe, but risks that people wanted to take. I was glad to not see Girlfriends Talk Show or Porn Stars, but just some bits that revolved around a premise and not overdone characters.

 

The execution on the Joan Rivers Sketch unfortunately fell flat being the first after the monologue. Sarah cites Joan as a lot of inspiration for her, so this was as much her tribute as anything. I liked the concept, but was bummed with how it turned out. I may be one of the few, but I actually quite liked the Riverboat sketch. Last year that skit would have been 90 seconds longer and painful. This year, they made the joke got in-got out and tied it off with Keenan's character. Something different that I could have imagined Maya, Ana, and Cheri doing. Again a throwback!

 

Very glad to see O'brien in the Whites skit. Those were his forte, and he can keep doing them as far as I'm concerned.

[xander874]

 

I think it's because they don't have the rights to the music used in those sketches.

I complained about this before on TWoP back in the day, but in this day and age, this is inexcusable. I understand not being able to show clips made pre-Internet because rights weren't established and it's a murky area, but airing shows online is par for the course now and this shouldn't be an issue.

 

I bitch because I don't have cable and can only watch online, but it's stupid when I watch many other shows with music clips just fine on the computer. This just screams cheap to me. I liked the airport sketch after I found it hidden in the depths on darkness online and it's sad a lot of people won't ever get to see it.

[helenamonster]

And unfortunately, most of the sketches that use music are ones that I want to watch again. Recent examples would be the Little Mermaid sketch from Anna Kendrick's episode, the Old Lady Gaga sketch (they actually had Lady Gaga there! are you really telling me they couldn't work out something with her to get the rights?) and the sketch from Emma Stone's 2011 episode where everyone in the office starts crying to Adele's "Someone Like You." It's weird that they get the rights to the songs from the musical guests' performances, but not for the ones they use in sketches. Anyone with knowledge on this who wants to clear it up?

[nowandlater]

Thoughts on this?

http://defamer.gawker.com/did-saturday-night-live-rip-off-this-sketch-from-the-gr-1642875996/

[cpcathy]

I really like that Someone Like You sketch too, mostly because Coldplay is in it!

[editorgrrl]

The so-called "full episode" on NBC's SNL page doesn't include the Proud Mary/River Sisters or Cruise Ship/Rachel sketches. I wonder why not? (And why they bother putting it online as a full episode if it really isn't.)

 

The "Proud Mary" riverboat sketch is not online because SNL has been accused of plagiarism.

After Saturday Night Live aired a sketch in which Cecily Strong, Sasheer Zamata, and host Sarah Silverman donned Turner-style wigs and flashy red dresses, two comedians from improv company the Groundlings [Kimberly Condict and Vanessa Ragland] took to Twitter to point out that the SNL sketch was strikingly similar to one of their own.

 

Here's Kimberly Condict and Vanessa Ragland:

 

Edited to add that nowandlater posted a Gawker link above which has the SNL sketch embedded.

Edited October 6, 2014 by editorgrrl

[opus]

And ironically, that seemed to be one sketch a lot of people didn't really like.

[nowandlater]

The "Proud Mary" riverboat sketch is not online because SNL has been accused of plagiarism.

 

The plagiarism accusations just hit the media a few hours ago...SNL didn't put the sketch online Saturday night/Sunday morning.

[helenamonster]

Oh. Oh well this is just not good. Maybe it's because I'm currently an undergrad and every professor I've ever had has put the fear of God in me re: plagiarism, but ugh. UGH. What the hell goes on in the writers' room? I'm guessing whoever wrote the sketch was a Groundling and didn't think anyone would notice? I mean, it was a post-Update sketch, and it had copyrighted music so people who wanted to see it online would have to go digging for it. If I were Lorne, I'd be fuming. Curious about what other Groundling sketches have been plagiarized.

 

And, I'm just saying...if I'm found to have plagiarized at school, I get expelled. So I wonder if someone will be told not to let the door hit them on the way out sometime soon.

[cpcathy]

I'd like to know who wrote it, unless that person got permission to redo the sketch, then that's reaaallllly bad. That makes Lorne look bad, as well.

[theatremouse]

Here's the thing though, just to be Devil's Advocate, it might not have been intentional. Especially in situations with writer's rooms, group-writing, what not, it's entirely possible to have something pop into your head "Tina Turner wigs, rolling on a river, sad stories about why they're on the boat", you pitch the basic idea, thinking you really thought of it, not realizing you'd actually seen it elsewhere. It happens sometimes. I mean, I don't know how recent that bit was, how likely it is someone did it as a genuine mistake, but, it happens. Doesn't necessarily mean they were trying to get away with something.

[peeayebee]

I don't think the SNL skit is a rip-off of the Groundlings one. I'm not even convinced that the writer of the SNL skit had seen the Groundlings one. It's possible that a writer had, like theatremouse said, connected Proud Mary to performing on an actual river boat. The wigs made sense -- Those are classic Tina Turner wigs, so no plagiarism there -- and the choice of red for the dresses seems like a no-brainer -- Something bold that will show well on TV. 

[editorgrrl]

I mean, I don't know how recent that bit was, how likely it is someone did it as a genuine mistake, but, it happens. Doesn't necessarily mean they were trying to get away with something.

According to the Gawker link nowandlater posted http://defamer.gawker.com/did-saturday-night-live-rip-off-this-sketch-from-the-gr-1642875996/, Kimberly Condict posted to Facebook (emphasis added):

If you liked the sketch SNL did last night about a Tina Turner tribute band musing and singing to "Rollin' on a River," then you'll LOVE this sketch Vanessa Bruiser Ragland and I wrote and performed for six weeks this summer at Groundlings about a Tina Turner tribute band musing and singing to "Rollin' on a River!"

Edited October 7, 2014 by editorgrrl

[Milburn Stone]

We'll find out in about 15 hours, but I kind of think Sarah is going to shake up SNL tonight. I just can't imagine she'll stand for any of the safe, tried-and-true formulas the show allows itself to rely on. That may result in disaster, but it also may result in something wonderful.

 

Watched it tonight. I was right. The show's sketches actually had ideas behind them. Not one sketch was a "recurring" one. Much of it worked like gangbusters. And even the stuff that didn't, at least was trying. And the difference was clearly Sarah Silverman.

 

Ironically, the one sketch that was the exception to the above was the riverboat one--but not because it was plagiarized. It felt tired not because it borrowed ideas from outside, but because it cannibalized ideas from old SNL sketches. They've done the "untalented lounge act" bit for nearly forty years now, going back to Bill Murray, and along the way the Sweeney Sisters, that awful duo with Will Ferrell and somebody, etc. etc. Why, SNL, why? Other than that, Sarah really shook things up, and made it one the best SNLs in a really, really long time.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Milburn Stone

[opus]

River Boat sketches----Litigation and firings, or mutual agreement that neither one is all that great?

(SNL had better singing).

[helenamonster]

Here's the thing though, just to be Devil's Advocate, it might not have been intentional. Especially in situations with writer's rooms, group-writing, what not, it's entirely possible to have something pop into your head "Tina Turner wigs, rolling on a river, sad stories about why they're on the boat", you pitch the basic idea, thinking you really thought of it, not realizing you'd actually seen it elsewhere. It happens sometimes. I mean, I don't know how recent that bit was, how likely it is someone did it as a genuine mistake, but, it happens. Doesn't necessarily mean they were trying to get away with something.

 

I thought of this too. There's this concept called the multiple discovery theory that is usually used when talking about scientific discoveries or technological innovations. Basically, multiple, non-connected people come up with a similar idea around the same time, but only one person or group of people gets the credit. I think the invention of the telephone was a multiple discovery situation. You also see it a lot in movies: No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits, White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen, and there's a new movie about technology coming out soon that looks like a carbon copy of a movie called Disconnect that came out a couple years ago.

 

What I think the issue is here is that a) SNL has strong ties to the Groundlings, and b) this alleged plagiarism has happened more than once (though I really wish some more concrete receipts would be put forward; it's hard to work off just one sketch). I think Lorne, or somebody, should definitely look into it. Firing someone right away would be rash (at my school, and probably most universities, you go through the disciplinary board no matter how blatant the plagiarism is), but it would be really bad publicity for the show if this became a pattern (which it might already be; again, receipts please!).

[Blakeston]

I could buy two different people coming up with sketches about Tina Turner-esque girl groups.

 

But two sketches about Tina Turner-esque girl groups singing Proud Mary, and stopping between lyrics to talk about their miserable careers, and make jokes about Nebraska riverboats? In 2014?

 

That would be an enormous coincidence. Especially with it coming from a group that SNL has been accused of stealing from many times before.

 

That said, I can't imagine the plagiarism hubbub has anything to do with the SNL sketch not being online. It was never going to be available online, what with the music rights issue.

[cpcathy]

So, Seth Myers tweeted that Mike O'Brien wrote "Whites." I guess that means he can still be in something that he writes?

[vb68]

 

 

But two sketches about Tina Turner-esque girl groups singing Proud Mary, and stopping between lyrics to talk about their miserable careers, and make jokes about Nebraska riverboats? In 2014?

That would be an enormous coincidence. Especially with it coming from a group that SNL has been accused of stealing from many times before.

 

I don't know.  I wouldn't say it's an enormous coincidence.  People have been mining the comic potential of Proud Mary for years and years.  I remember Whoopi Goldberg doing something years ago on Comic Relief very similar to this sketch.  So even if the idea for the sketch came from the Groundlings (and that's still an "if" in my mind), I really don't think it's a very original idea in the first place.

 

And I think it's very easy to say SNL has stolen from them many times, and it's very hard for SNL to defend against it.   If they have actually stolen things word for word like the article said, let's see the proof of that.  I just think it's an awful  accusation to make so casually.  

Edited October 7, 2014 by vb68

[Bruinsfan]

For the Joan Rivers roast I'd have liked them to have a black-clad Liz Taylor appear in a flash of brimstone to crash the party like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.

[helenamonster]

Sarah Silverman posted this on Instagram today. It looks like they had written another cat shelter sketch with Kate like the one that Charlize Theron did last season but it got cut after dress. Kind of mad they didn't at least post the video as a web exclusive. I absolutely loved the original.

Edited November 5, 2014 by helenamonster