So while this isn’t really a clip from the vaults of SNL since it aired two years ago, I frequently quote bits from this sketch.
Everything – EVERYTHING – about this sketch is a study of the absurd.
Let’s start with a look at the items that the Zipco Closet Organizer is able to organize: shoes, sweaters, belts, hats, parkas, jeans, underwear, socks, scarves, dockers, water, blankets, lamps, trophies, marbles, phone books additional water, loose peanut butter, pie pie pie pie pie, pillows, tires, important papers, glassware, animal feathers, dirt, and cheese.
It is just such an utterly insane list of items, but yet it doesn’t seem to be completely random. It’s as if someone, somewhere would indeed have all these things in their closet. A mad person, to be sure, but it’s possible.
Then there’s the fact that all the above items are thrown at the Closet Organizer who, let’s face it, doesn’t really organize much of anything. In fact, he even pockets the underwear. Filthy.
And then there’s the testimonial. I don’t know why the testimonial has absolutely nothing to do with the closet organizer, but man oh man, it sure does make sense in the context of the commercial! This proves once again that Jon Hamm is willing to do and say absolutely anything in the name of comedy. Plus he plays stupid quite well.
To top it all off, you can get your Closet Organizer at….Bergdorf Goodman and the gift shop at the Vatican? Just genius.
But what really makes this sketch one of the more ridiculous that SNL has done is the call back later in the episode. This is something that SNL rarely does, unless it’s a call back a la Macgruber or Deep Thoughts. It grounds the earlier sketch in a reality where Jon Hamm aka Resdin Bonure is from Israel (go Jerusalem Tigers) and there is a real Closet Organizer who is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah.
The moment when the audience realizes where the bit is going is great.
Tarkey Fensington. Who knew.
Oh, part of the original closet organizer I frequently quote? Additional water and pie pie pie pie pie.
How could I not…
We all know that The Office should have ended when Michael Scott left, and it seems NBC has finally figured that out themselves.
This season, season 9, will be the final season of a show that has been barely treading water for the last couple of years. And remember, the British version on which this show was based was only 12 episodes and Christmas special!
Executive producer Greg Daniels announced this on a conference call with reporters. He added that all the questions will be answered. I wasn’t aware that there WERE questions about The Office that needed to be answered, but apparently they exist.
The final season which starts back up on September 20, is already limping towards the finish line as many of the cast members have already exited or have planned their escape. Mindy Kaling aka Kelly Kapoor will have her own show on Fox this season. Rainn Wilson aka Dwight Shrute has left for his on spin-off show based on Shrute Farms. Jim and Pam’s storyline has run its course. There aren’t that many people – or untold stories – left.
I’m glad to see that NBC is letting go and moving on to new things like a new show with Michael J. Fox. Maybe he can play a young Republican being raised by two former hippies…?
Just thinking about them saying goodbye brings tears to my eyes
I feel I can say that only because I went through the same thing when I was younger. My mother had taken me to see E.T. and like every other child who saw that film, after seeing E.T. go home and leave Elliot behind, I left the theater bawling my damned eyes out.
I was only 5 or so, but I remember walking out of the theater and thinking something along the lines of “Well, why can’t he just come home with me? Why does he have to leave? He doesn’t have to leave! He can stay with me!!” But of course I was expressing it through tears and snot and the verbal dexterity of a child. So not all that clearly.
As luck would have, down the block from the theater was a street fair with rides and candy (the cynic in me thinks this was intentional). To stop me from crying and to essentially make me shut up, my mother took me to said street fair and plied me with sugar. And like the child I was, my tears dried as I took my turns on the highly unsafe street fair rides. E.T and his plight forgotten amid the lure of blinking lights and cotton candy.
I have not see The Odd Life of Timothy Green, but given what I’ve heard, it does sound like a 5-hankie sort of film and a gentle way for children to learn about death and leaving behind loved ones. From the reaction of these two kids, everyone will leave sobbing.
If only there were a street fair nearby to help them through it.
EW reports that two more characters have been cast, both focusing on the Daenery part of the story:
Ed Skrein has been cast as Daario Naharis, leader of the Stormcrows who is initially contracted to defend Yunkai from Daenerys, but ends up coming over to her side. He is supposed to be exceedingly handsome and terribly dashing.
Skrein is a newcomer without much on his IMdB page.
Picture him with blue hair and a blue beard…dreamy
Jacob Anderson has been cast as Grey Worm, the leader of the Unsullied, a group of fierce eunuch warriors that Daenerys purchases for her war to regain the Iron Throne. For anyone who has read Storm of Swords, you must be very anxious to see the Unsullied in action.
Would he kill a puppy?
Are we done yet? Probably not as one of the major characters to develop in this upcoming season, Ramsay Bolton, or the Bastard, hasn’t been announced. I vaguely recall that at one point Sebastian Stan (Captain America‘s Bucky Barnes) had been cast in the role, but that doesn’t seem to be case at this point.
They just need to finish casting and start filming already. April 2013, like winter, is coming…
For anyone familiar with NPR and This American Life, Mike Birbiglia and his various tales in Sleepwalk with Me are nothing new. And now thanks to the great trailer released last month and a slew of fantastic video shorts from Birbiglia, TAL host Ira Glass, and Joss Whedon (yes, THAT Joss Whedon), the project is getting some great traction.
Let’s start with that trailer; the film is based on the Broadway (or was it Off-Broadway) show that is roughly based on his life:
Birbigs and Glass. Exactly the sort of decorum you’d expect from This American Life
This then inspired a grassroots appeal by Birbiglia and Glass (who is co-producing). Not only are they trying to get fans to request that their local theaters screen Sleepwalk with Me, but to entice then, Birbiglia and Glass promise to be at the screenings, doing EVERYTHING:
Too bad I won’t be in either NY or LA on those dates.
I would like Ira Glass to serve me popcorn.
Whedon aka Big Hollywood
Of course they woke the dragon in Joss Whedon, who when feeling that someone is threatening his box office domination with The Avengers, responds in kind by calling for a boycott. Don’t watch those little tiny movies that people really care about and work on for years! No, instead nurture corporate spectacle like good Americans. As Whedon urges, put a stop to the love:
Which of course threw down the gauntlet and it was on.
Birbiglia and Glass issued their response to Whedon, figuring out the math to see exactly how much each screening of Sleepwalk with Me will need to earn to beat The Avengers.
Needless to say, it’s a lofty, lofty goal.
Personally I can’t wait to see Sleepwalk with Me as many times as necessary to fulfill my quota and help the movie make $1,500,000,001 and kick the Hulk’s ass.
Thought for a new movie: The Hulk, Mike Birbiglia and Iron Man take on the guy from Car Talk… Hollywood, the ball is in your court.
As Dexter is trying to wrap up it’s very uneven series run, Showtime is lucky it has another massive hit on its hands with Homeland.
Last year’s first season was one of the best new show’s on television. Not only does it have a spectacular cast with Damien Lewis (Life, Band of Brothers, The Forsyte Saga), Claire Danes (My So-Called Life, Shopgirl), and Mandy Patinkin (Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die), but it had a carefully plotted season arc that allowed for some resolution, but still kept you on the hook.
We left off with Carrie (Danes) getting shock therapy and Brody (Lewis) trying and failing to accomplish his mission from Abu Nazir and having to go back to his family and life. From this trailer it looks like things get even more complicated as Carrie heads to the Middle East and Brody starts work in Congress.
I only hope that this sophomore season doesn’t waste all the good will we have towards the show, like so many other television series have done.
Now this is one I wouldn’t have guessed, but I suppose it works.
Your new King Beyond the Wall
EW has just reported that Ciarán Hinds will be playing the role of Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall. A wildling raised by the Night’s Watch, he then became a former member of the Night’s Watch himself. Rayder had been injured and then nursed back to health by a wildling woman. She has repaired his black cloak with red fabric and once he’d returned to the Wall, the Night’s Watch told him he had to get rid of it because it wasn’t black. This lack of freedom made him leave the Watch behind and join the Free Folk.
HBO loves to recast actors, don’t they?
Hinds is actually a bit older than I would have cast for Rayder, but he has the sense of gravitas and rebellion that I think Rayder needs. Hinds is probably best well known for his turn as Julius Caesar on HBO’s Rome. So clearly the man can wield a sword, ride a horse, and lead men.
EW has the skinny on Jon Hamm’s role in this upcoming season of Bob’s Burgers: a talking toilet.
The show’s creator Loren Bouchard told EW:
“It’s a kind of E.T. homage, but instead of an alien, it’s this high-end talking electronic toilet that falls off a truck and lands in the woods,” says Bouchard. “And Gene [Eugene Mirman] finds it, E.T.-style. It’s kind of a love story between a boy and a toilet.”
My mind cannot comprehend the absolute fabulousness of this. A love story between a boy and a toilet, voiced by Eugene Mirman and Jon Hamm.
Eugene “Gene Belcher” Mirman, as the boy
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Jon “Don Draper” Hamm, as the toilet
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One of the funniest cartoons on TV right now
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Amazeballs
(Sorry for the hyperbole, but this is some seriously awesome stuff here, folks)
Add to that another episode with Zach Galifianakis wherein
“He plays this guy who believes he used to be a mannequin,” Bouchard says. “It’s a Christmas episode that’s kind of a very strange take on, like, A Christmas Story meets Mannequin.”
AND guest appearances by Nick “Ron Swanson” Offerman, Bob “Better Call Saul” Odenkirk, Jeffrey “George Bluth Sr.” Tambor, and Will “The Falconer” Forte…I cannot wait for the new season which starts on September 30.
Watching Alan Ball justify this thing it’s not entirely bizarre. But I shudder to think of all the punny names the recipes will have. There really are only so many ways to joke about food having blood in it or have wordplay based around the concept of biting… And with the abundance of supernatural beings on this show, I am sure the pun-well will not run dry.
Personally I want to see a Fear Factor cookbook. Let’s see them try to make that palatable.
After a 2-week hiatus to avoid clashing with ratings quasi-juggernaut the “Olympics”, SYTYCD is back. With a tribute to … Mia Michaels?
According to Entertainment Weekly tonight’s SYTYCD will be all about Ms. Michaels, the emotional contemporary dance choreographer, showcasing 7 of her most popular numbers (note I am embedding the numbers I love, but you can go to EW for all the dances):
“Time” originated by Lacey and Neil in Season 3. This has been commonly known as the “dead daddy dance.” I appreciate the sentiment behind wanting to reunite with someone who has meant so much to you, but this has never been a dance number I liked. It seemed like emotional manipulation with not enough good dancing to back it up. Harsh to judge someone on something that clearly means so much to them, but it’s art, on a competition show and there to be judged.
“Hometown Glory” originated by Katee and Joshua in Season 4. I have always loved this number. There is artistry in the movement as well as emotion, and the music choice just hits home. Mia Michaels gives this long explanation about the dance that it’s about competition with a friend, or something like that. Personally, I never saw that, but I think like most art, the artist’s intention is all well and good until the public sees it and makes up their own minds on the piece’s intent.
“Mercy” aka “The Door” originated by Katee and Twitch in Season 4. Overall I’m not crazy about props. I think the a piece can become too dependent on it and that really happens here. First of all, they don’t really start dancing until 27 seconds into the number and then until 1 min 12 seconds into it, they’re really just banging around on the door. The number is a lot of fun, but there’s precious little actual dancing in it.
Even thought I don’t care for this piece, here it is so you can see what I’m talking about:
“Dreaming with a Broken Heart” or “The Bed” originated by Kherington and Twitch in Season 4 (yes there’s a lot of season 4 here). Again, over dependence on a prop and not a whole lot of actual movement. There’s a nice emotional pull every so often, but apart from the very kitschy flower throwing, there wasn’t much that made me remember this number.
“Calling You” or “The Bench” originated by Travis and Heidi in Season 2. This piece is an example of a dance with a prop done right. Heck, this piece has TWO props and both are used well. There’s a wonderful fluidity of movement with the dancers and they get across the underlying feelings behind the choreography without anything too showy. There is a reason this dance has remained in the forefront of people’s minds since season 2.
“Gravity” originated by Kayla and Kupono in Season 5. Now this is more like it. Kupono’s intensely malevolent expression combined with Kayla’s battle between fight and surrender was perfect. This dance required some very on-spot timing, especially with the hands, and they made it work. Just like with any addiction, they captured the way that sort of thing just clings to you, even as you struggle to free yourself. Just a very well choreographed – and executed – number.
“Koop Island Blues” or “The Butt Piece” originated by Randi and Evan in Season 5. Evan was my big disappointment in season 5. I loved how effortless his audition piece was, how smoothly he made all those jumps and turns. But once we got to the competition, that magic faded a bit. However, he and Randi captured some of that magic back with this dance which is wholly and completely centered around a sort-of prop: Randi’s butt. Mia Michaels says that she choreographed this because:
‘The Butt Piece’ was inspired by the fact that my butt was getting bigger, and instead of freaking out about it, I did this.
Works for me. The dance has a nice slinkiness to it as well as a lot of that bounce that keeps it fun and from becoming too salacious.
I’m really not all that sure WHY they are devoting an entire 2 hours to Mia Michaels. It’s not like she died or seems to be leaving the show for good. Could it be they are running out of ideas, or wanted to give the choreographers a 3-week vacation mid-season? Who knows.
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