"Virginiaca Sketch" - Not this again. Why is Virginiaca a recurring character, anyway? Is Kenan Thompson obligated to be the focus of at least one sketch every week? Do people on Saturday Night Live actually find this character funny? The sketch presupposed that Thompson and Timberlake in drag would make for a funny sketch, that or SNL is trying to find a viable calling card for Thompson. Virginiaca is actually one of Thompson's stronger recurring characters, but I still don't want to see this again.
A Holiday Message from Nancy Grace - This was strange - a political sketch as last-sketch filler. I can see why that is, since her rant kind of bored me. It felt out of place amongst the other sketches and Grace threatening to pull someone's heart out of what she referred to as the "chestal cavity" wasn't different from Barry Gibb wanting to beat people up earlier in the show. Looks like Nancy Grace is Poehler's recurring character of note this year.
Justin Timberlake performs another song that isn't "SexyBack" - See my previous comments about Timberlake's musical performance.
SNL band awkwardly plays for a few seconds - That was weird. Was there a sketch cut for time or was this a botched attempt at featuring the band playing a Christmas song?
Goodnights - Timberlake and Fallon talk in bad British street urchin voices during the goodnights. They look more enthusiastic about being on SNL than the actual SNL cast. Strange that.
This wasn't a bad show overall. It was a little disappointing for a Christmas episode, but at least Schwetty Balls has some competition in the bad double-entendre department and there were some enjoyable moments.
Too bad there were so many bad recurring characters, though. If I never see Barry Gibb Talk Show or Virginiaca again it'll still be too soon. Recurring characters aren't the devil, but SNL really should do better than the Target Greatland clerk and the gay New Jersey couple. I'm actually watching SNL enough to recap it, of course, so I have no room to talk.
Article comments
1 - Al Barger
Brother Cameron, you're being a bit Grinch-like with your niggardly praise for this fine Christmas show. Dry eyes and the Target sketch were a little weak, but pretty much everything else was quite fine.
I particularly dug the Nancy Grace sketch. You didn't seem to pick up on her basic argument about the struggles and hardship of all those poor women making false rape accusations. She was riffing on that beautifully. Poehler's Nancy Grace will run right up or may even past Hammond's Chris Matthews- and that's high praise.
The Barry Gibb Talk Show is a particularly welcome reprise. It's not just Barry Gibb threatening to beat people up - though I did get special satisfaction from seeing him threatening to kick Sandra Day O'Connor's ass. But Fallon's creating a character, this old cokehead falsetto disco singer who's from the STREET!
Also, I'm not sure if it's an all-time SNL classic, but the Cock in a Box was excellent, and there was more than one joke to it. First off, it's actually a pretty good song, and a good parody of the really bad end of loverman r&b. Plus, they had, you know, a cock in a box.
2 - James Donaldson
Cameron Archer - You're just another SNL hater, huh? Do you have a sense of humor? Dick in a box is an instant classic. For you to say, "This is going to add more fuel to the "please cancel SNL" fire, being as it is a literal one-joke sketch centered around a literal penis in a box," is absurd. That sketch happens to be one of the greatest things ever to air on SNL. Have you seen old SNL sketches? A lot of the so-called "classic" sketches rely heavily on one-joke material. For instance, take a look at the sketch featuring Jon Lovitz and Tom Hanks at their 10 year reunion. Also, take a look at Wayne's World - Dick in a Box is 100 times funnier than Wayne's World. Wayne's World sketch is considered one of the greatest moments on SNL because of the success the feature film had. SNL is still hilarious and will always be hilarious. Happy Kwanza!
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
I've heard good things about dick-in-a-box.
...wait a sec...
4 - Cameron A.
I didn't say I hated "Dick in a Box," I should point that out. I realize I come across as sounding like I'm really down on it, but I was referring to people that would look at the sketch and figure that this is the only way SNL gets attention/a laugh nowadays.
Strangely enough, "dick in a box" on Google Blogsearch earns an overwhelmingly positive response. I'm really up on the zeitgeist, I am.
As for this week's Barger comment, I'll admit to not following the news story that the Nancy Grace sketch is based on. I still think the payoff to the sketch was essentially "DUKE LACROSSE PLAYERS SHOULD FRYYYY." Her monologue took a long time to get to that point.
5 - Colton
I think cock in a box was the funniest vvideo ever aired on SNL.
6 - Al Barger
Cameron, you don't seem to have gotten this Nancy Grace sketch. The main point was her call for sympathy for the especially difficult plight of women who make fake accusations of rape, such as the stripper in the Duke case. I'm tellin' ya, this one will reward your effort to follow the details of her rap when it re-runs.
Still though, I want to note that I appreciate your general approach of intending to be critical of the show, and not just gushing on like a cheesy fanboy every week like this new show is the greatest episode ever. I appreciate your general effort to hold this venerable show up to critical standards.
7 - HonestObserver
Will "Dick in a Box" be this season's "Lazy Sunday"? And have we, as a society, truly gone so downhill in little less than a year?
8 - Tonya
I thought the SNL Show sketch with Justin Timberlake, was down right hilarious! However, Carmen Archer has it wrong. The sketch was not "parodying R&B effectively". As a R&B listener, I know that there are variety of forms of R&B. Any informed music listener knows that one song cannot parody R&B (for it has too many forms styles and substyles). The sketch was just what it was: it was parodying two smarmy guys who wanted to give their women d****s in boxes. Carmeny, educate yourself about R&B before you offhandedly condemn R&B by your comments.
9 - Al Barger
Tonya, the Dick in a Box is certainly an r&b parody- though of course r&b is a big territory. It certainly has nothing to do with Ray Charles or Aretha Franklin. Brother Cameron was perhaps just not specific enough.
I wouldn't take it as intending "condemnation" but there's definitely an identifiable strain of modern boy group/loverman r&b being spoofed. The ridiculous faux romantic vulgarity of Pretty Ricky comes to mind.
10 - Cameron A.
Color Me Badd is the band "Dick in a Box" is being most compared to stylistically, but I'm not exactly sure what style of R&B is being parodied here. That's why I was being vague.
Interesting side note: there's a number of people claiming that "Dick in a Box" is essentially Three Times One Minus One's "Ronnie & Kayla's Love Song" from Run Ronnie Run redux. The Annette Bening episode also had a sketch at least one person on the SNL forums claims was taken from Night of Too Many Stars.
11 - tcandew
ehh, Dick in a Box is by far the best satire of early 90s R&B ever (even better than Dave Chappelle's "Piss On You"). They get so many things right, the spot on cheesy simple dance steps, the corny deep voiced spoken word breakdown. its Shai, H-Town, Jodeci, Color Me Badd, Boyz II Men, Bobby Brown, Jon B, and its done to perfection, the get the small nuances just right.
12 - bob
bill is great
13 - Evan
i hate Justin Timberlake his new cd future sex love sounds is only for mature aduiance i got Elton Johns new cd the captain and the kid
14 - Victoria
I hate Justin Timberlake so much because he is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo dirty but I think he is very sexy and dresses nicely.
15 - krista and paige
ummm first of All the barry gibb tALK SHOW WAS incredible!! JIMMY FALLON IS THE BEST CAST MEMBER SNL HAS EVER HAD AND YOU DON'T SEEM TO LIKE HIM (I DONT SEE WHY) AND this episode was HILARIOUS!! and dick in a box was a classic...sorry you dont understand comedy! by the way you are really missing out by not loving jimmy fallon and justin timberlake!!