Hello Class!

30 Rock Alludes to Problems with Live Tapings

Last week 30 Rock did another live episode. It was phenom. Anyways, Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon, is worried the entire time about whether or not they should keep TGS live or not. This has been a problem with Saturday Night Live as well. There have been injuries, unbleeped curse words and other controversies that have occurred in the live tapings of SNL.
1976-John Belushi's Samurai Delicatessen cut Buck Henry's head with his sword by mistake.
1992-Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II after her musical performance in probably the eeriest way possible.

War - Sinéad O'CONNOR ( a cappella) on TV in 1992 by Petite-Pince-Sans-Rire
1996-The band, Rage Against the Machine hung the American Flag upside down from their apparel.
2009-Then new cast member, Jenny Slate dropped the F-bomb on her first show and the first show of the season. It was an honest mistake but it cost her SNL career. Poor girl, she was funny too.
I also remember when Kanye West was performing on the show post George Bush/Hurricane Katrina fiasco they made a skit out of it. After all, Yeezy is a loose cannon as we all know.
At the end of the episode, the TGS crew decides to keep the show live. But the best part was when one of the NBC Page's played by comedian Kristen Schaal rips up a picture of Sinead O'Connor on the live show. Nice touch.

Holy similar.
More banned SNL hosts can be seen here.

WHCD SNL star sightings and Portlandia

This weekend I had the chance to go to D.C in time for the White House Correspondents Dinner. I was not able to attend but I was able to watch everyone arrive and leave the event and see guests of the Vanity Fair/Bloomberg after-party arrive and/or leave. As if I wasn't geeking out enough already, I saw Fred Armisen arrive to both the Dinner and the After-Party. I was not close enough but I did yell some sort of something at him but I don't remember because I was too excited.
With him was Carrie Brownstein, his Portlandia co-star. Portlandia is one of my favorite new shows. And one of my favorite things to come out of a SNL cast member. The show is a reflection on the people and eclectic goings on in Portland, Oregon. It is so offbeat and weird yet familiar. "The dream of the nineties is alive in Portland..."  
"Like Gore won and the Bush Administration never happened"
The show is on IFC and just finished up its second season but episodes can be found online. 
Fred Armisen is still a part of the current SNL cast but he continues to co-write and co-star in Portlandia with Carrie Brownstein. 
Here is my all-time favorite scene from the show. "In Portland you can put a bird on something and call it art!"

No New Episode this Weekend

Repeat this Saturday of the Channing Tatum/Bon Iver episode. If you like Channing Tatum (shirtless) you will like this episode if you haven't already seen it.






However, the show returns on May 5th with Eli Manning and Rihanna!
His brother Peyton is a welcomed guest to the show but it will be interesting to see what his little bro can do.
Rihanna has performed two other times on the show and has been in the SNL Digital Short both times. The 'Shy Ronnie' sketch will likely reappear for her return to the show. Here is a clip of Andy Samberg and Rihanna  in their second installment of the 'Shy Ronnie' sketch. The song from this can also be found on The Lonely Island's, "Turtle Neck and Chain" album that came out last year.

My Obligation To Let the World Know About Mike O'Brien

Okay, as soon as I saw his videos on YouTube, I knew he was the perfect comedian. He's committed, quirky, dorky, uncomfortable and funny (obviously). My friend showed me his series of videos on YouTube called, "Seven Minutes in Heaven", where he stands in a closet with a celebrity and asks them weird questions and makes them improv short scenes. And of course, at the end, the guest and Mike share an awkward kiss.
The reason why this fits into my blog is that he is currently a writer for Saturday Night Live (started in 2009). Mike, 35, has previously performed and graduated from Second City and Improv Olympic in Chicago. These are the prime improv institutions in our nation. Sounds stupid but it's a pretty big deal. He has since worked on some of my favorite sketches like "Smash Mouth Closet" for SNL. I am so mad I could not find a video online of this sketch but it was so funny. I can't even try to explain it, you would just have to see it. Also, like Sarah Schneider, he can be seen as an extra in numerous scenes.
He is slowly becoming more famous because of his great online success, Yahoo! has recently started linking his videos on their homepage. Odd choice, but I'm happy for him. Also, the Chicago Tribune did an interesting piece on him for their Arts and Entertainment section. Click here to read and read Mike's Guide to Making Out with Famous People.
I strongly recommend as well that you look around his website. As first I thought I was on the wrong site, but then I realized, that's the joke. Click here to see it.

Here is Mike with Jack McBrayer from '30 Rock'. As awkward and awkward gets.

From College Humor to SNL

I was watching the show's credits one night and I always spit out my drink when I saw the name "Sarah Schneider" scroll across the screen. For the past few years she has been the backbone of the popular website, College Humor. I'm sure you've seen her if you are anywhere on the internet.
So naturally I felt like a proud mother when I saw her name in the credits. She went from being a successful comedy writer and actress on the internet to going where every comedy writers only wish they could go. A lot of famous comedians started off as writers on SNL first. For example, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers (Current Head Writer), Steve Higgins, Conan O'Brien, Larry David, Stephen Colbert and Adam McKay.
So far Sarah has co-written a few sketches and has been seen as an extra in a few sketches. I always feel cool when I notice her in the background. I hope to see a bright future for her since she has worked her way up the ranks to make it where she is now.
Even The Huffington Post took notice of her new job position! Click here to read the article!
Watch Sarah in my favorite College Humor video series, Hardly Working, where she beats all the boys at Freeze Tag.

2012 TIME 100 Most Influential People Includes Kristen Wiig

Yayyy! I am so proud of  her. She definitely deserves it and TIME thinks so too.

"Her first screenplay — insightful, brave, groundbreaking and also hilarious. Kristen and her wonderful partner Annie Mumolo are nominated for an Academy Award. She never thought she was making a statement about women in comedy."

Click here to read the whole article written by Judd Apatow