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| Left to right: Justin Timberlake, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
I know that most people are familiar with Saturday Night Live nowadays. You either watch it or you don't. You either think it is a solid example of sketch comedy or a clone of its better days. This piece is not really written with the decision to sway anyone towards the show, but to just share what is possibly a great example of nostalgia that the show seems to pull out every now and then. However, instead of saving it for prime time clip shows, they made a whole episode that seemed to be based around this very concept, and for those that just enjoy reveling in the show's legacy, this was quite a week.
Justin Timberlake returned pulling duties as host and musical performance. For somebody who has been on the scene since the mid-90's, he has slowly went from pop star to a charismatic man who can do anything that is thrown his way. That is what makes him an ingenious host, especially since his comedic skills are better than the likes of recent host Mick Jagger, whose performances seemed more self involved. Timberlake can play it modest when he wants to and therefore almost makes him prime to be one of the better modern SNL hosts.
I am not a week-to-week watcher, but I do pop in every other month when a host's name grabs my fancy. Over the past few years, I have felt something that may come off as controversial, but I feel like this season has been better than the last. Why is that? I feel like the absence of the show's biggest names Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, allowed the show to just grow. While I don't hate either of them, they had a formula that seemed to hit all of the familiar beats and leave other cast members to compete for space. With those two absent, I have felt like the show has started to develop a new sense of self. True, it may still have the same hit-and-miss ratio that the show always has, but it doesn't feel like there is one dominant star in the cast, which may be a great thing.
In this episode, we open up with something spectacular. After the cold opening in which Timberlake, garbed as Elton John, performs "Candle in the Wind" with parodied lyrics "That is if a candle brought two guns to a press conference" in a eulogy for Hugo Chavez. From there, it cuts to the traditional opening monologue in which Timberlake claims that he has hosted FIVE times. While it since has become talk of the town, it almost felt expected that what happened next would be one of those highlights you only dream about.
In a re-enactment of the Five Timers Club, Timberlake cuts from his monologue and walks into a room, wearing a smoking jacket. The room is very posh. Suddenly, he meets all of the people who have hosted at least five times (well, most of them. John Goodman didn't make it, though he was referenced). For anyone who loves SNL history, this was a treat, as they slowly revealed themselves. There was Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Paul Simon, Chevy Chase, Alec Baldwin Candice Bergen as well as cameos by Dan Aykroyd and Martin Short as servants. The jokes aren't exactly the point of the skit as it is to hear Timberlake say "I can't believe I'm in a room with Tom Hanks!" However, there is a nice nod to Django Unchained thrown in in which Bobby Moynihan fights a cast member to be on the show.
It is a gimmick, sure. Depending on your love for history, this may just come across as self-serving. However, for me, it was a sheer delight that only continued on in the next skit:
Yes, it seems like this episode was all about insulting Bobby Moynihan, but continuing the nostalgic trip is "It's a Date," which is hailed as the only dating show left on TV. For those that can predict things, the slow reveal of each of the cast members should imply that some familiar characters are coming back. Sure enough, Martin and Aykroyd's Festrunk Brothers make a cameo and save for Aykroyd's out of shape body, it was another fine, if creepy, touch. Add in a cameo by Andy Samberg reprising his "Dick in a Box" persona with Timberlake, and it almost felt like a chance to ask the audience "which do you think is better?" Again, Moynihan is somehow told to shut up through the entire thing, which seems unfair.
The show never quite picks up the cameo-to-skit ratio for the rest of the show, but it continues to prove why Timberlake has hosted five times. Skits like "Sober Caligula" show him presenting absurd concepts and adding a human touch to them. He also does some lame "Veganville" sketch (I may be alone in disliking the costumed promoter gag) that again takes down Moynihan and almost makes it par that I sympathize with this cast member to a ridiculous degree. Also, for some reason, everyone dances wildly to terrible synth music at the end of the clip. I have no idea why, but so far, it is on par with the solid Christoph Waltz episode from a few weeks back.
Add in a cameo by Jay-Z during the musical performance as well as an introduction by Chase, Short, and Martin as the Three Amigos, this was a solid show. There may have not been much in the realm of great original programming, but for some reason, Timberlake hosting five times was enough reason to remember why modern SNL isn't nearly as bad as people remember it. As I said, cutting out Wiig and Samberg just made the show better.
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| Short, Martin, and Chase |
Will I continue to watch? As I always do, I tune in sporadically. I know that this came off more as a review, but there isn't much to really say besides it was very much enjoyable. While it is sad to see the cast from the 70's old and out of shape, it is nice to see them still packed with energy and ready for anything. Here's hoping that when Timberlake comes back around for his sixth time, that he'll give us a vision of the future instead of the past.
Did you enjoy it? I'm sorry for putting a big show into the Channel Surfing column, which is more a highlight of smaller shows that need recognition. However, I couldn't resist the chance to talk about essentially an episode of memories and proof that while I may not be wild about Timberlake the artist, there is little to deny he is great at captivating an audience.
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