UPDATE: Found SNL Sketch

It’s still not on Hulu, but a bootleg YouTube video that can be taken down at any moment is good enough for the time being. While I was searching for the “Les Jeunes de Paris” sketch, it was pointed out to me that Emma Stone was hosting when the first version of the sketch aired. It was considered funnier when she did it because it was the first time it was performed. I disagree, but both are included here for the sake of discussion.

Saturday Night Live sketch: 404 Not Found

The most recent Saturday Night Live featuring Miley Cyrus was not groundbreaking by any stretch. The current season has been fairly consistent in that the sketches are hits and misses, period. After watching the SNL Backstage special a couple weeks ago, I have a better understanding of why that is. Lorne Michaels says that the show is a variety hour of comedy, and hopefully there is something for everybody. Cyrus’ episode featured a few things for me.

Early in the show there was a sketch about Black Eyed Peas members apl.de.ap and Taboo, who were hosting a talk show about being second fiddles (or less). Then there was the expected Miley Cyrus Show sketch, but it featured a subversion of the SNL trope in which cultural entities confront their impersonators. Miley showed up as Justin Bieber opposite Vanessa Bayer’s Cyrus. What was really surprising about this sketch was the fact that Cyrus’s impersonation was spot-on. Scary accurate.

Why am I not linking video this time? I always link video. Well, there was a third sketch I really enjoyed that parodied odd French, avant garde television show. Honestly, I’m not sure what it was attempting to parody outright, but it was fun. It began with a guy making moves on a woman, then presumably his partner walks in and catches them in the middle of the club. They banter in French, and then the music starts. Everyone starts dancing, the guy gets drinks thrown in his face, and Andy Samberg is a mime. It seemed like a step away from the usual, dialog-focused fare on the show. I really liked it. But Hulu and NBC feature reduced versions of the SNL episode. The coveted sketch was missing. So screw Hulu this time around.

SNL has something for everyone, but not the Hulu repeats. That’s a shame, too. It probably would have caught on online.

Is SNL getting good again?

Saturday Night Live used to be a cultural phenomenon. It was a relatively high praised series in the 70′s shortly after its atrocious second episode featuring nothing but Paul Simon playing music. (This is what I get for trying to watch the series in order.) It became forgettable for a time until the days of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. It fell into relative obscurity again until the late 90′s with casts featuring Will Ferell, Cheri Oteri, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and a handful of others. Since members of that cast trickled out for more profitable ventures, people have been asking when SNL will become good again.