Merryville!

Maybe it's just because I will be going to the Greatest Amusement Park Ever at the end of the month, but this sketch on SNL last night made me laugh. A lot.

All I Want For Christmas Is Paul Rudd

Just stuff him in my stocking, OK Santa?

SANTAH!

Cry Cry Cry

On "SNL" this week, there was a sketch called "I Didn't Ask For This," which included an epic crying jag from host Jon Hamm. Watch the full bit below.



Of course, it was inspired by a real viral video, taken from the A&E show "Intervention." So in the interest of completion, you can watch it here too!



And auto-tuned!



You're welcome!

It's a Berlin Ballad!

This week's Tube Tops is now up on the SFGate Culture Blog!

Jon Hamm was pretty good on SNL last night--who knew he could whip out an awesome James Mason impersonation? Of course my favorite bits were the "Mad Men" take-offs, but especially the second one in the show...



And don't forget, the season finale of "Mad Men" is tonight at ten on AMC!

It's the Dam at Boulder!

This week's Tube Tops is now up on the SFGate Culture Blog!

Last night's "Saturday Night Live" was filled with some pretty bad skits, and the one below can probably be listed with them. But I thought it was hilarious. If you know me, it's not hard to figure out why I love it.

Googly Eyes

YouTube removed the link someone posted in my comments, so here's the Hulu version.

Going to go make some dirt eyes now.

It's Napoleon Brandy!

This week's Tube Tops is now up on the SFGate Culture Blog!

In other news, there was a new SNL last night, hosted by Christopher Walken. Some of it was really good, some of it was really bad. Walken doesn't even try to hide the fact that he's reading cue cards the entire time. Sometimes that's fine, but sometimes it kind of ruins a skit. I thought the funniest sketch was "Indoor Gardening Tips From a Man Who's Very Scared of House Plants," but I can't the find a clip on Hulu or anywhere else, so for now, here's Amy Poehler's Christopher Walken impression from the sketch about a Walken family reunion.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Bill Hader!



And an honorary award goes to Conan O'Brien, for this "No Country For Old Men" bit.




Edited to add: NBC took down the YouTube clips for both of these, so I had to go with Hulu. Sorry about the annoying ads in the clips.

No, You May Not Have a Flexy the Pocket Monkey!

The complete first season of "Saturday Night Live" is going to be released on DVD. Finally! I realize that much of the first season is painful to watch. But parts of it are brilliant, and a lot of it never made it to syndicated reruns because those reruns are only an hour long.

Personally, I'm holding out for season two (I think), when Bill Murray joined the cast, so I can finally see his "Santa's Trap Door" sketch again. For whatever reason, they decided not to include that bit in the reruns of the episode, and I remember it making quite the impression on me as a kid. In a good way.

And in "How the Hell Did I Not Know This?" News

According to this article SNL's Maya Rudolph is having director P.T. Anderson's baby. I had been wondering what he's been doing recently, and realize now it wasn't "what" but "who."

OH! Snap!

Anyway, the article also talks about how he's been hanging around the set of the new Robert Altman movie and might come in to pinch-hit if Altman should collapse from a heart attack or something. He IS 80 after all.

By the Time You're Through, You'll All Be Wearing Gold Diapers

The Washington Post knows what its been lacking, and that's More Cowbell.

It Ain't Whiskers On Kittens

If you'd like to watch housewives' heads explode, and spontaneously start speaking in tongues, then be sure to tune in to her show today for Oprah's Favorite Things 2004. Believe me, that SNL sketch doesn't do the real thing justice. [warning: link opens QuickTime movie]

Pieces of Eminem....Mmmmmm

Glad to see I wasn't the only one wondering about Eminem's "live performance" on SNL this weekend. At first I thought he was doing it as a joke. I didn't think there'd be any way he'd do the show without commenting on the Ashlee snafu. But unless it was a very SUBTLE jab, I think he just did the same damn thing. Oh well. I guess it's just too many lyrics for one little rapper to remember. I kind of like the video, though.

Yeah, It Was Embarrassing, But at Least "60 Minutes" Wasn't There Catching It All on Tape....What's That?...Uh-oh

Indeed, 60 Minutes WAS there last Saturday, and they caught Ashlee's backstage embarrassment, and the reaction of the "Saturday Night Live" crew, on tape. Seems they were coincidentally at the show that week doing a piece about the long-running series. Lucky for them--and for us! The piece airs this Sunday at 7:00pm.

Also, Her Shoe Was Untied. And the Sun Was In Her Eyes.

By now everyone has heard about Ashlee-gate. She was lip synching. What a shocker. And now she's blaming it on her drummer, acid reflux disease, and her voice going out. However, the real scandal is that viewers on the West coast didn't get to see the full effect of the screw-up. We didn't get to hear those vocals start up while her mic was at her side. Instead we just heard the band, we saw her bop around, and then slink off stage, which made it look like yeah, the band started to play the wrong song and she didn't know what to do. Thankfully, clips of the actual event are available online. But I curse NBC for not allowing me to keep that moment forever available on my TiVo. I CURSE YOU!

Here's What She Brought to Weekend Update: Hypoglycemia and ONE Leg. Jealous?

I was happy to see Amy Poehler at the Update Desk with Tina Fey in the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live." Let's hope she doesn't get a swelled head and start making bad movies with Queen Latifah.