S41.E03: Tracy Morgan / Demi Lovato

[cpcathy]

I can only hope that Larry has agreed to return as Bernie for as long as they need him, just like Tina kept coming back as Sarah Palin.

 

Overall, really enjoyed the show, I was hoping the entire time we would see Astronaut Jones!

 

Wondering if Mike O'Brien wrote the Tango, or is he gone for good?

 

WU gets better and better, the key is to have Che and Jost interact, who'd have thunk it!

[peeayebee]

I wasn't watching SNL when Tracy was a cast member, but I loved Brian Fellow's Safari Planet. That character is off-kilter and just plain funny. The whole thing with the camel was hilarious. The Astronaut Jones sketch was terrific, too. It was really sweet seeing that old clip. BTW, what was the final line that Tracy apparently messed up?

 

Larry David as Bernie Sanders was fantastic. Not just a great impression, but a very funny performance. Hilarious lines, too. "Go to Bernie Sanders, dot com! Check it out! It's a mess!" I loved when Taran, as Martin O'Malley, was called on by Anderson Cooper, and he said, "Really?" BTW, the new guy was really bad at being Anderson Cooper. 

 

I thought the 30 Rock sketch was ok, though it seemed like the audience didn't like it very much. 

 

The Family Feud sketch didn't quite work for me. Worse than that was The Loveliest Kingdom. Taran's character suddenly saying he was having sex with the young man was uncomfortable. First of all, it seemed like they were implying that other guy was underage, so that was a big EW, but then they said he was 18, so are we supposed to be alarmed that these two men were having sex? Anyway, the sketch was funnier when Tracy's character was just saying random stuff.

 

I thought the Fake Cocaine ad was ok. 

 

I listened to part of Lovato's songs but then FF'd. I'm not a fan.

 

I usually like Willie in WU, but this time it was way too creepy and dark. Question: Is Woodrow a recurring character of Tracy's? I liked the bit that Tina did with her arm butt.

 

The Standoff was good. Funny and sweet.

 

I LOVED Yo! Where Jackie Chan At Right Now? That was so weird and funny. Who thought that up?

 

I noticed at the end when Tracy was thanking everybody, he mispronounced Jane Krakowski's name, and Tina, Jane, and Jack all cracked up.

Edited October 18, 2015 by peeayebee

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 30 Rock there was an entire plot centred around the character of Tracy Jordan continuing to mispronounce (Jane's character) Jenna Maroney's name in promos after dozens of rehearsals.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

I was pleasantly surprised that Tracy handled the show on his own. I figured with the first cameo by Alec Baldwin, and then the rest of the 30 Rock crew showing up, that they'd be supporting hosts, but Tracy was on fire last night. So glad to see he's doing well.

 

The Jackie Chan sketch was one of the funniest sketches this show's had in years. I died when they took out their notebook to take down Leslie Jone's 18 year old clue.

[DrivingSideways]

I was never a huge Tracy fan, but this was the most consistently funny episode in a while.  And I forgot how much I loved his characters.  Demi was great as well!

[mtlchick]

So he flubbed a few lines and may have missed a mark or two.  But I still got teary eyed at Tracy's return and how damn happy he was being there with some of the people he loves and clearly love him back.  I cheesed up that 30 Rock was trending on Twitter overnight!  Also his daughter is ADORABLE.

 

Just like on Amazing Race, you add a camel, you're asking for a good time.  Though I was thankful it didn't spit.

 

 

WU gets better and better, the key is to have Che and Jost interact, who'd have thunk it!

 

I have to agree.  When they go off on these weird tangents and seemed to be more ad libbed, there seems to be more of a spark to the segment.  That said, I did laugh hard at the Blade Runner joke.  

[jjj]

"Do you want a President with one pair of underwear on the radiator, or one of those guys with three, four pair?"  LOVED this, because I could totally see him as someone who thinks one pair and a radiator is great. (Hey, I've been there!)  And whose view of a high roller is someone with three/four sets of underwear. 

[Kromm]

I have to admit to having not seen an SNL for years but watching this because of Tracy.

 

The verdict?  Tracy proved himself. He did really well.  But the WRITING of the show was about as bad as I ever recall it over it's whole lifetime. Tracy was good DESPITE that.  

 

There was the classic SNL problem of skits going on way too long, but also there was a distinct problem that this writing seems to feel they have to explain jokes rather than just roll with them.  An example (one of many) is how we had to actually have fake Steve Harvey realize the relationship between the two families, SAY it, and then just to put the rancid cherry on top, have the families acknowledge his realization.  This is bad comedy writing AND plain bad writing period. The natural joke there is for them to talk AROUND Harvey and have him be the dumb unwitting one in the middle. But these writers are too dreadful to realize that.  But to be clear, the bad writing is more than just conceptual stuff like this. The jokes for the most part weren't funny either. The only laughs were performance based ones--which Tracy or Alec Baldwin or Tina Fey or Larry David forced a laugh out of material that wouldn't have deserved a laugh otherwise (of the regular cast, Kenan Thompson seemed to be the only one able to do it).

 

Then there was Weekend Update. Not the most dreadful part of the broadcast, but bad for a totally different reason than the rest of the broadcast. I'd actually say the jokes were marginally less awful than the rest of the show. But the performances were even worse. I don't know if the WU anchors still write a lot of their own material, but if so we've got this weird situation where they write better than they perform.  These two are just BORING. Lines that could be very funny being lukewarm amusing at best.  Tina Fey being there just showed the problem even more. She was kind of back to the rest of the episode's problem of bad writing (no idea if she wrote her part herself, but probably not), but with her skill at delivery elevating it perhaps a bit.  She showed up the other two simply by delivering worse jokes but with a better performance than both of them put together.

 

Of the rest, the skit I liked the most was surprisingly the "Where Jackie Chan At" one. Or maybe not so surprisingly since it was Tracy and Kenan basically running the whole thing. So it kind of circumvented bad writing because it was pretty much 100% over the top performance--no real writing necessary.

I noticed at the end when Tracy was thanking everybody, he mispronounced Jane Krakowski's name, and Tina, Jane, and Jack all cracked up.

I'm sure this is about the 2,172nd time he's mispronounced her name. Edited October 19, 2015 by Kromm

[Trick Question]

Sasheer playing the Chief from Carmen Sandiego....well, that's it SNL, you have officially won me over for life.  You were already about 95% there but even if I'd been 9.5% there, this still would've put it over the top with room to spare.

[Ottis]

OK, so I'll say it: Did Tracy used to lock on to the cue cards/teleprompter and read all his lines? Because he was doing it so much in this show, it was distracting. Also, his open, when I guess he acted like he was affected by his accident and then joked how he wasn't, was weird because I didn't see/hear a big difference from how he acted and then how he kept going.

 

That is all said within the context that his recovery, and then hosting the show, was amazing.

 

He was best when things started to go wrong, like the camel. And there was a deft bit there where he started a line early, and then did it three times total as part of the joke. Not sure if that was planned, or he screwed it up and then covered magnificently.

 

On a show as liberal PC as SNL, that last line in the singing kingdom skit was just bizarre. It went against everything SNL speaks to. How in the world did it get approved and used? A closing joke about how two gay men are weird? Ugh.

[kassa]

On a show as liberal PC as SNL, that last line in the singing kingdom skit was just bizarre. It went against everything SNL speaks to. How in the world did it get approved and used? A closing joke about how two gay men are weird? Ugh.

 

 

I don't find SNL the least bit progressive when it comes to gay men -- they've played two guys kissing for "eeew, gross!" laughs for years.  Even last year it seems like they went to it multiple times -- no punch line?  Have two guys go at it!  I forget specifics but I do remember commenting about it last year after it just kept happening.  

 

All in all I thought this was easily the weakest this year.  When your weakest Weekend Update of the season (so far) is the highlight, it's not a great show.  I liked Family Feud, but Michael Che for the win with the Cat Fancy joke.   

[Dev F]

But Tracy refers to himself as Brian Fellows and wears red lipstick.  All wonderful elements that conclude to the amazingness that is that character.   It's NOT a result of the accident.  Tracy has always done this and I've always loved it.

 

If I remember correctly, the character referred to himself as "Brian Fellow" in his first few appearances but then began calling himself "Brian Fellows" in later iterations. The former is still clearly his actual name; not only does the opening sequence still say "Brian Fellow's Safari Planet," but Pete Davidson's character also used the correct name in the most recent sketch.

 

I guess the joke is supposed to be that Brian is so delusional he doesn't even remember how to pronounce his own name? I don't really get why that's funny, so I just find it an irritating inconsistency.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Dev F

[A Boston Gal]

Re: Jost and Che...

 

Why do we never see a two shot of them together? It's now clear that WU works best when they toss lines back and forth, but it's as if the director is willfully preventing us from seeing them in the same shot, except for the very opening.  Yes, we can hear them talk to each other, but we can't simultaniously watch their reactions. It's almost as if someone's trying to make their tenuous chemistry even less noticible.

 

From Dan Ackroyd and Jane Curtain to Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, and then Tina and Amy...the news teams with the funniest partnerships have always been the ones that we can see interacting, liked a finely honed comedy duo.

Edited October 19, 2015 by A Boston Gal

[Ottis]

I don't find SNL the least bit progressive when it comes to gay men -- they've played two guys kissing for "eeew, gross!" laughs for years.

 

 

Perhaps. But the show is all over race relations, and women's issues, and economic inequality. I'm pretty sure there have been some more enlightened gay-themed skits, and of course when Hilary was on last week, the cast member who played her and "interviewed" the real Hilary tending bar made a point about HRC being late in supporting gay rights. That was my point ... that the closing punch line to the happy kingdom sketch was just so opposite what the show normally preaches. 

Edited October 19, 2015 by Ottis

[Kromm]

OK, so I'll say it: Did Tracy used to lock on to the cue cards/teleprompter and read all his lines? Because he was doing it so much in this show, it was distracting. 

Not as such (if you actually saw him looking and aren't just intuiting it from the sounds of his delivery), but he's always had a kind of rolling delivery style that often sounded like he was doing that. Don't believe me?  Go back and watch some of his longer rants on 30 Rock (which may be easier to find than really old SNL material). I think he made it funny DESPITE that habit though, not because of it.

 

I always wondered if it would be different if he wrote his own skits, but I think he's in that Chris Farley group of cast members who didn't. 

Sasheer playing the Chief from Carmen Sandiego....well, that's it SNL, you have officially won me over for life.  You were already about 95% there but even if I'd been 9.5% there, this still would've put it over the top with room to spare.

Hah, promising devotion to SNL for life is a dangerous thing, seeing as how there's the massive turnover on the show, and yet also the likelihood it will always be propped up by the network and never die. Unless they allow it to die eventually when Loren retires, but I'm not convinced that will happen.

[vb68]

I wondered if Tina had a hand in helping write some of the stuff for Tracy.  That wouldn't surprise me in the least.

 

I would love to know who wrote the cold open because that was the sharpest political sketch in some time.  I wonder if Jim Downey came back for that.  It actually felt very much like something Seth would write.  I know he loves debate pieces (as I do too), but I would be totally shocked there.   He wouldn't have the time with his own show.

 

After I got a tip, I did look at the end credits and saw that Colin is no longer listed as one of the head writers.  Interesting. 

[Kromm]

I would love to know who wrote the cold open because that was the sharpest political sketch in some time. 

Ack. If so, then the bar has gotten really low. I mean parts WERE fairly good, but it was also a total kitchen sink approach at the same time. It shouldn't have been any longer than 5 minutes, IMO, and probably even less. You only needed to represent a few questions (for example, they didn't need to be introduced, but rather the skit could have just pretended it was joining the debate in progress), and the "nobody's heard of me" folks didn't need more than a single joke to represent them all. The meat of the skit was Bernie Sanders, and a LITTLE bit of Hillary (less her than him), and just the general (quickly addressed) IDEA that the others didn't matter. 

[Former Nun]

John Rudnisky is one of the new cast members.  I think he played Anderson Cooper during the debate skit.  I thought his portrayal was insulting. Anderson Cooper is gay...but he's not effeminate.   The portrayal was a little swishy and just off.  I apologize to Anderson even if he thinks it's not warranted. 

[lovinbob]

Rudnisky bugs me because thus far, anyway, he doesn't feel needed. Beck can do everything he's doing.

[vb68]

I agree, and it feels like Beck is being underused.  Besides his taped part in the fake cocaine ad, was he even in the live show?     I don't think so, and that would be two weeks in a row.   I would have much preferred him doing Anderson Cooper.  I'm sure it would have been better.

[Ottis]

Not as such (if you actually saw him looking and aren't just intuiting it from the sounds of his delivery), but he's always had a kind of rolling delivery style that often sounded like he was doing that.

 

 

I meant more the direction he was looking. He would focus off to the side, not looking at the other actor, and read his lines. There were a few times when he had to improvise a bit and he did fine. I just found his stare distracting. You see that with some non-comedy guest hosts.

 

I would love to know who wrote the cold open because that was the sharpest political sketch in some time.

 

 

Here's the funny thing about that skit: A number of content sites, as well as reviewers, have introduced it as essentially an accurate representation of what was said at the debate. I can't decide whether that makes it brilliant or pedestrian. My gut says it was subtle on a few levels, such as pointing out how ridiculous Bernie's stance is in the real world, and how Hilary knows it, but I'm not sure a lot of people perceived it that way.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Ottis

[Ms Blue Jay]

Where are we getting the idea that Tracy doesn't write his own material?  

 

At the end of every Astronaut Jones sketch:

 

Written by Tracy Morgan

Directed by Tracy Morgan

Hair and Makeup by Tracy Morgan

Produced by Tracy Morgan and Marvin Goldfarb

 

Are those not real credits?  

[vb68]

 

My gut says it was subtle on a few levels

 

 

I think it was a really good mix.  Some of it was indeed quite subtle.  Yet there were still heightened parts of it, like Hillary smoking a cigarette. I  thought it was brilliant with the glaring exception of the Anderson Cooper impression.

[nowandlater]

John Rudnisky is one of the new cast members.  I think he played Anderson Cooper during the debate skit.  I thought his portrayal was insulting. Anderson Cooper is gay...but he's not effeminate.   The portrayal was a little swishy and just off.  I apologize to Anderson even if he thinks it's not warranted. 

 

Rudnitsky trafficking in offending stereotypes? No way!!!

 

[izabella]

I must be the only person who doesn't get the appeal of Tracy Morgan.  I'm touched by his recovery, but I never found him funny in the first place, so this show wasn't a winner for me.  The cold open was my favorite part, and then it all went downhill.

[wmdekooning]

It wasn't until the show started that I realized how much I'd been holding my breath, hoping Tracy was going to do okay. 

I wasn't aware of how much recovery Tracy had made. When I first heard he was going to host, my first thought was of the Franken and Davis routine  “The Brain Tumor Comedian,” in which Mr. Franken, his head bandaged, tried to tell jokes but kept forgetting the punch line. Mr. Davis fought tears as he implored the audience to applaud.

The punch line "He only took tips" was on my mind a lot.

[theatremouse]

On a show as liberal PC as SNL, that last line in the singing kingdom skit was just bizarre. It went against everything SNL speaks to. How in the world did it get approved and used? A closing joke about how two gay men are weird? Ugh.

I don't think the point of that sketch was "ew gay men". I didn't like the sketch; I thought it unfunny and was in poor taste, but I didn't think the punchline was "gay guys are icky". The punchline was "this guy is singing about implied pedophilia and then it's awkward for everyone." I think Taran's character was supposed to be basically his real age, at least certainly, an adult, but then they went off about waiting for the other guy to be 18. That's the problem.

Not saying SNL isn't very guilty of frequently using vaguely homophobic jokes that amount to "look they're gay men and you didn't know before we said so!" But this one was worse than just that.

[JTMacc99]

Family Feud was so wrong yet so funny. Leslie and Tracy do go well together.

 

Yes they did.

 

But my favorite part was Michael Che switching families and explaining it as "These people are happy!"

[Ottis]

I don't think the point of that sketch was "ew gay men". I didn't like the sketch; I thought it unfunny and was in poor taste, but I didn't think the punchline was "gay guys are icky". The punchline was "this guy is singing about implied pedophilia and then it's awkward for everyone."

 

 

Except if being underage was the issue, they could have used a male-female pairing. And more importantly, if I remember correctly they have the younger character state he is 18, so he clearly is of age (by the standards of the viewing audience), so what does that leave us with?

 

I don't disagree that the punchline was trying for something more than "ew-gay men." However, even allowing for the possibility of that interpretation was in such violent contrast with what the show usually bends over backwards to do. 

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't think the point of that sketch was "ew gay men". I didn't like the sketch; I thought it unfunny and was in poor taste, but I didn't think the punchline was "gay guys are icky". The punchline was "this guy is singing about implied pedophilia and then it's awkward for everyone." I think Taran's character was supposed to be basically his real age, at least certainly, an adult, but then they went off about waiting for the other guy to be 18. That's the problem.

Not saying SNL isn't very guilty of frequently using vaguely homophobic jokes that amount to "look they're gay men and you didn't know before we said so!" But this one was worse than just that.

Yeah, I thought it was more about the age, there was a line where he was, "I waited till he was 18..." or something like that. Don't get me wrong, I feel like that skirt was the weak one of the night, but a lot of them are misses towards the back half of this show. I'm impressed with Tracey, he was in a lot of skits, lately on this show the host disappears for the most part after the second performance. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

Yeah, I thought it was more about the age, there was a line where he was, "I waited till he was 18..." or something like that. Don't get me wrong, I feel like that skirt was the weak one of the night, but a lot of them are misses towards the back half of this show. I'm impressed with Tracey, he was in a lot of skits, lately on this show the host disappears for the most part after the second performance.

I thought that the relationship was supposed to be incongruous because of the setting (Disneyish/historical) but it didn't work because it didn't make a clear choice between "creepy in any setting" and "no big deal for most viewers in 2015, but scandalous in this setting".