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Saturday Night Live Season 35 Episode 8

Blake Lively/Rihanna

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AIRED: 12/5/09

Live from New York, it's... Fred Armisen, Bobby Moynihan, and Kristen Wiig!

Sketches include "Obama and the Salahis," "Carter 'n Sons," "Vagisil Superstars of Bowling Tournament 1989," "The Situation Room," "Shy Ronnie" (Digital Short), "Gossip Girl: Staten Island," "10th Annual Kickspit Underground Rock Festival," "Virginaca Hastings at Barney's," "UPS" (two parts), "Late Night with Chris Hansen," and "NASA Recruitment Office."

Rihanna performed "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" (featuring Young Jeezy).moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

The pits just keep on comin'...

3.0

By dovajorth, Jun 23, 2011

Cold Opening: Clever, cute, and timely. Just a bit too long.

Monologue: Has Andy Samberg ever seen The Swedish Chef? Or did someone just tell him to say smorg-a-borg-a over and over? Kind of an insult to The Chef. And to all the muppets. Stupid.

Vagisil Bowling Championship on ESPN Classic: Not too bad-- one of the few characters JS does fairly decently. WF is funny and I enjoy this character, but the whole thing was yet another rehash.

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: Again, too much JS in this show, although his Wolf wasn't horrible. Blake Lively was wasted in this sketch, and Kenan makes a poor Tiger.

SNL Digital Short: Andy raps... what a surprise. And he wets himself... potty humor again. What a surprise. Gossip Girl Staten Island: This meant absolutely nothing to me since I had no clue who Blake Lively was. Do SNL watchers follow "Gossip Girl?" I was a little surprised that at no time did Ms. Lively explain who the hell she is that she has earned the right to host SNL. At any rate, this sketch was fairly empty, too. Under Under Ground: this was the perfect length and it made me laugh several times. Off-beat and silly, but it worked for me. Weekend Update: meh. Kenan's Bill Cosby was decent.

Virginiaca and daughter: this is another rehash of something that wasn't that funny to begin with. This Virginiaca character just doesn't have any spark for us to want to see her again. Late Night with Chris Hansen: this would have worked if JS had talent or AS could really do a good Keanu. However, both fell flat and an otherwise good concept (I enjoy BH more and more) bombed.

UPS Commercials: clever, if not up-to-the-minute in relevance. Potato Chip Thief: this may be the all-time worst sketch I have ever seen on this show. Everything about it was bad... the performances, the characters, the writing, the concept, the gross-out factor. Absolutely abominable.

SNL is sad. Pathetic. Awful.moreless
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Blake Lively hosts.

6.5

By thefanof, Jun 23, 2011

What is becoming a disappointing pattern is that the hosts are not really being the central point of these episodes. I can understand with some people (cough, January Jones, cough) making them crucial to every sketch could have disastrous results, but Blake Lively brought nothing to this show that could not have been done by Nasim Pedrad or Abby Elliot.

Just think, when Steve Martin hosted did you ever forget that he was the host? No. But you may have tonight with Blake Lively.

--

Cold Opening: If you're a fan of humor that goes on in the background of stuff, an often used device on sitcoms such as Newsradio, then this segment was for you.They essentially mocked the President's White House party crashers, climaxing with Barack Obama himself taking a picture of them and Biden style.

Monologue: The Muppets seem to be in right now. Why? Who knows. Luckily this was short.

Swine Fever: Another Swine Fever commercial. I hope this doesn't become an every episode thing like that edible Pampers thang. Vagisil Bowling Championship on ESPN Classic: This was funnier than the billiards one, and I'd like to see more of Forte and Sudeikis together, outside of just those stupid Jon Bovi segments during Weekend Update. Nice, fairly average-length sketch.

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: Funny parody of coverage of Tiger Woods and his crazy wife. Another solid segment that smartly just used Blake Lively as a backdrop.

SNL Digital Short: Another parody, this time mocking the way Rihanna uses words in her songs by having them actually be dialogue used to motivate Shy Randy. Wish there would have been an actual song here, but the chorus sung by Rihanna was admittedly catchy, just like the majority of her music. Gossip Girl Staten Island: A combination of mocking Gossip Girl and how CBS does so how many spinoffs with just a different location. The segment was a good concept, but grew old quickly. Under Under Ground: Somebody must be a wrestling fan at SNL. Last time it Jake The Snake Roberts in What's Up With That and now Iron Sheik got a shout-out. Some funny stuff, but glad it was done quickly. Weekend Update: Two and a half episodes...lol. Probably not too far from the truth either. Some good lines and Abby Elliot actually got to appear in a sketch, doing a somewhat amusing Brittany Murphy impression. Kenan actually showed some promise with his Bill Cosby impression, doing a different voice than his own for probably the second time in his near 7 year run on the show.

Loud Mother and daughter: Kenan as the overweight, loud-mouthed woman shopping with her daughter, much like the same sketch from the Ellen Page episode. Unfortunately that had Andy Samberg playing off them well, and was actually kind of funny. Late Night with Chris Hansen: A talk show where Chris "sneaks up" on people and their intentions. About as dumb as it sounds. Also don't know why they brought back Andy's Keanu impression when it's pretty bad.

UPS Commercials: They're a bit late on this (they were more prevalent a year or two ago). But Bill Hader has been stealing the show this season and was able to make this funny. Potato Chip Thief: I've never seen a sketch fail so miserably. It wasn't that dumb, but honestly, this is what 12:55 is all about.moreless
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Let's go to the (mumble mumble mumble)

6.5

By whoaitsconner, Dec 13, 2009

Ok, so tonight's host is Blake Lively and musical guest is Rihanna. Blake appeared as a cameo on the JAmes Franco show a year ago, so nothing is showing yet on how she'll do. I kind of Wish Rihanna showed up for her last album, Good Girl Gone Bad, because I just liked that album better, I guess. Maybe I'll find a different perspective on this album later.

A Message From The President: This opening was a hilarious opening, and Kristen and Bobby did great with this. They could have ween farther with this, but it was fine overall.

Monologue: I'm sorry, as much as I like the impressions of the muppets by the cast, this went no where.

Swine Fever: This commercial was funnier the second time to me. I missed out on a lot of good jokes.

Bowling Tournament: I enjoyed this better this time than during the Drew Barrymore episode, but, still, all of these seem like jokes that have been put away for a while by the writers up until tonight...

The Situation Room: I thought Darrell was going to be back in this during the introduction. I wasn a big fan of this sketch the last time they did it (even though it was back in 2007), so I was excited to see this one. Some of the punches were kind of funny.

Shy Ronnie: This kinda made me laugh. I'm surprised they got Rihanna to do this. I laughed when he started singing aloud when she left, but, yeah, not as good as Reba.

Gossip Girl: Staten Island: The Staten Island stereotype is kinda not funny at times, but i laughed. The cast and Blake did a good job at this.

Underground Band Concert: This was kinda funny. Wasn't it cut a while ago? I'm liking Nasim... I know I keep saying that, but I'm liking her.

Musical Performance: Rihanna performs "Russian Roullette". This was a rather boring performance, and the throne thing was kind of weird.

Weekend Update: The jokes tonight weren't all too good like usual, but I liked Kenan's Bill Cosby. Abby's Brittney Murphey really made me laugh but the actual commentary wasn't all that funny.

Skirt Shopping: No... Just No.... It's virginica... what else do I have to say?

UPS: This one was pretty funny. Bill did a good job at this.

Late Night With Chris Hansen: It's a little late to do this, since this series was around 2005 when it was at it's height, but it was still a good premise. But, it really got old after the first guest. Blake made me laugh as Cher.

UPS: This one was really funny. When he drew the stick as the erection, it was kind of those "I'm surprised they did that, so its really funny."

Musical Performance: Rihanna performs "Hard". This was a better performance than her first, and she's really good live.

Potato Chip Thief: This was probably the funniest sketch of the night. It was just so different for SNL that it was a nice breath of fresh air. The energy was great.

Tonight's episode was above average and I was really impressed by Blake. Blake was a great host, and I want her back for next season if she can. Some of the ideas were questionable, but the show all in all was pretty decent. Rihanna was okay, I guess.

I'm sorry, but this cast isn't gelling together like I thought they would. It's the women. While Kristen and Nasim are doing good, Abby, even though a great impressionist, is doing her own thing most of the time never appearing with the cast, and Jenny is never to be seen. It's getting annoying, and I really am regretting the firing of Michaela. Jenny hasn't made anything new yet, and I'm not really seeing the point.

Next week (or in 2 hours, since I'm late posting this review), Taylor Lautner hosts with musical guest Bon Jovi....moreless
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Episode number 666 wraps without incident.

6.0

By FarleyRules, Dec 10, 2009

Obama cold open - The Obama addresses are getting a bit old as a cold open. Fortunately, this one was a bit different. It was a one-note joke where the Salahis crash Obama's address and pose for photos. Lots of photos. Probably too many photos. It was funny at first, but managed to stretch a bit thin by the end. Having Obama actually confront the weasels rather than obligingly operate the camera would have been more satisfying, if not more funny. Grade: B

Monologue - Man, I must be really getting old. Outside of Drew Barrymore and a slight recognition of Taylor Swift, I have no idea who has been hosting this season. Is the show getting too hip (read young) for me or too passe for A-list hosts? Another unfamiliar face. This time the writers decided to save the pretty young thing from drowning in a sea of poorly-delivered jokes by bringing out the Muppets to sing a Christmas carol. 'Tis a pity as it only creates a larger casualty list. The previous times the Muppets have appeared have worked fairly well, but this just went nowhere. Schmorgy borg borg. Grade: C ESPN Bowling Tournament 1989 - I am more than a little befuddled as to why powers that be thought it would be a good idea to regurgitate this sketch. Swap the pool cues for bowling balls, change a few words in the script and voila: a new sketch. Not! Why all the Vagisil jokes? Methinks the pee-pee/farty writer has found a new realm to flex his wit. Private parts jokes only go so far except for those of limited imagination/intelligence. Grade: D

Tiger Woods Press Conference - The hot topic of the week was addressed in a rather predictable and utterly forgettable manner. Why not have some of the bimbos confront Tiger? Anything would have been better than the slapped-together effort presented to us. Grade: C-

Shy Ronnie digital short - I cringed at the thought of another Andy white boy rap. Although it was slightly different this time with Andy playing the part of a shy rapper. Not terribly funny, but not annoying either. Grade: C+

Gossip Girl: Staten Island - What is this? A parody of some show? Whatever the source material, the Jersey-style attitudes weren't enough to carry the weak writing. I guess all hosts now get to do a parody of their show or movie regardless of how obscure it is. Promotion at its worst. Grade: D

10th Annual Kickspit Underground Rock Festival - Another reference completely lost on me. I get the point of the joke, but failed to find the humor. Must be me. Grade: C-

Weekend Update - A very good outing by Seth and a decent appearance by Kenan as Cosby. I also like the shortened format. Any WU less than 10 minutes is good by me. Grade: A

Virginaca at Barney's - Why lord, why?!? Grade: F

UPS commercials - Hader is really the true talent on the show now. His deadpan manner recalls the likes of Chevy and Aykroyd, yet is still original. Both of the commercials were well short and sweet and to the point. Grade: A

Late Night with Chris Hansen - Inspired genius! Ha, finally something this season that had me rolling on the floor. Seeing a clueless Suds as Hoffman wander about the studio oblivious to what was about to happen was hilarious as were the different camera angles and confrontational interview by Hansen. Hader is truly great! Andy was less enjoyable as Keanu and Lively had all of about 5 seconds on screen. But man, oh man, the interplay between Suds and Hader was priceless and goes down as my favorite moment of the 2009-10 season thus far. And I also realized how little we see Fred these days outside of his Obama. Too bad. Grade: A+

NASA Recruitment Office - I have no aversion to gross-out sketches and the Bird family with Julianna Margulies remains as one of my favorites. But this sketch did not have a very good build-up to get to the big gross-out joke. The Bird family story had Kattan lacking some enzymes necessary to digest food. So the family would chew his food for him and his new date is expected to follow suit. This sketch lacked a good back story, and instead relied on the eccentricities of both characters. Well played by Will and Suds, but still didn't have the juice necessary to take it to the next level. Grade: B-

Overall - Certainly not a great episode and I credit Hader from saving it from being close to terrible. Grade: Cmoreless
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You don't take people's potato chip

6.5

By bry456, Dec 07, 2009

Gossip Girl star Blake Lively hosts, while pop chanteuse Rihanna performs

Cold Open- As President Obama (Fred) gives his speech in Allentown, the couple who snuck into last week's White House dinner (Bobby, Kristin) appear on stage, mug for the camera and take pictures with secret service and Vice President Biden (Jason); the best way to handle this particular story. So, it worked.

Monologue- Blake talks about getting a text message from the Swedish Chef (Andy), then sings "Hark the Herald Angel" with the rest of the Muppets. Okay, I guess.

Carter and Sons (rerun from Taylor Swift 11/7/09) – Gave my thoughts on this commercial last month. Vagasil Superstars of Bowling Championship- Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink (Jason, Will) moderate yet another sports tournament, this time bowling between Donna Saint Louis (Kristin) and the Jackhammer (Blake), and unload more snappy use of the corporate sponsor. I liked this in the Drew Barrymore episode and still do; although, I wonder if they can keep up the momentum with a different sponsor each time.

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer- Tiger Woods (unrealistically portrayed by Kenan) is injured at various press conferences by his wife (Blake) as more information about his affairs is leaked. Despite the fact Kenan looked and sounded nothing like Eldrick, the sketch worked even if the joke was obvious.

Rihanna and Shy Ronnie (Digital Short) – Before a class of children about to learn about knowledge, Rihanna's appearance intimidates the bejesus out of her whispery, bashful singing partner Ronnie (Andy). I liked that this was a spoof (if one was needed) of current hip hop videos down to the slow motion effect. Also, Rihanna's singing question-response of Ronnie was funny as well. Gossip Girl Staten Island- In New York City's much put-a-upon borough, dramatic Guido action takes place. The joke has been done to death, but the performances seem to carry the whole thing.

Kickspit Underground Rock Festival- Two people (Jason, Nasim) showcase their underground rock festival featuring various bizarre activities including a funeral for a hardcore fan. I'm so glad after being cut after dress rehearsal twice that this has finally appeared. It was funny too, especially the references to Dan character and his funeral.

Rihanna decked out in some type of Monty Python-esqe garb performs "Wait Your Turn"

Weekend Update with Seth Meyers- Great jokes all around for Seth, especially the Tiger Woods jokes and the Aretha Franklin jokes; Bill Cosby (Kenan) stops by to talk about his new hip hop album; Brittany Murphy (Abby) comes by to say nothing. Strong Update

Virginaca- The frumpy loud mouthed mother (Kenan) shops for clothing with her equally obnoxious daughter (Blake). This character last appeared a year and a half in the Ellen Page broadcast. It hasn't been missed.

Late Night with Chris Hansen- The pervert investigator (Bill) somehow gets his own talk show, where he treats guests Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jason), Keanu Reeves (Andy) and Cher (Blake) with the same inquisitive investigating; Clever take off on that idea. I especially the enjoyed Cher being tackled seconds into song.

UPS (2 parts) – A man with a "lady haircut" (Bill) talks about what the company with its famous brown uniform can do for you. Apparently, this is a take-off on a real commercial; great all around. I'll never think of stick figures the same way again.

Rihanna and Young Jeezy perform the braggadocios "Hard"

Potato Chip- at NASA, a Colonel Sanders look-alike (Jason) has his dream of being an astronaut destroyed after he consumes one of his recruiter's (Will) potato chips. This sketch was cut after dress rehearsal several shows ago and am glad to finally see it. It has a clever non-sequiter feel that I like. It's also great to see Will give 150% in his performance with this. All performances were good here. Even though Ms. Lively didn't get many appearances, she showed she can fit in with the cast. Good show 6.5/10moreless
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Rihanna	Musical Guest	Guest Star
Blake Lively	Herself	Guest Star

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NOTES (3)
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- Sketches not shown in the 60 minute version: the Brittany Murphy segment on Weekend Update, "The Situation Room," "Ms. Hastings Skirt Shopping," "Carter 'N Sons BBQ" (rerun 11/7/09), the first "UPS" ad, "Late Night with Chris Hansen," and Rihanna and Young Jeezy's performance of "Hard."
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- International airdates:
  -Latin America: July 3, 2010 on Sony Entertainment Television (a.k.a. Canal Sony).
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- Sketches cut after dress: UPS #1, where the spokesman
  (Bill Hader) says everyone will wear lady wigs; a newsman (Fred Armisen) doesn't want to cooperate during promo shoot; the Norwegian actors perform more scenes, this time at a restaurant; relatives (Fred Armisen, Bill Hader) do photos of family paparazzi style; on Weekend Update, a couple (Jason Sudiekis, Nasim Pedrad) cheat on each other until gay marriage legislation is mentioned.
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- The "Kickspit Underground Rock Festival" sketch is a fairly obscure parody of commercials for the Gathering of the Juggalos, a yearly four-day "horror-core" rap/rock festival held by Psychopathic Records. Like the fake festival in the sketch, the Gathering also had its 10th festival earlier this summer. Along with musical acts such as GWAR, Kottonmouth Kings, Vanilla Ice (and Insane Clown Posse, whose fans make up the majority of the audience), the festival features many of the things parodied in the sketch: helicopter rides, motocross, "Oddball" wrestling matches, and stand-up comedy by Jimmie "J.J." Walker and Pauly Shore.
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