High School Musical heartthrob and star of the upcoming film 17 Again Zac Efron is hosting this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live for the first time ever. In order to try and convince viewers to tune in to watch the show, NBC films short commercial vids featuring the guest host, an SNL castmember (or two) and sometimes the musical guest in order to promote the show. Here is a HULU video of all three SNL commercial vids — that feature Zac Efron, SNL castmember Kristen Wiig and this week’s musical guest Yeah Yeah Yeahs — to promote tonight’s ep:

I sincerely hope that tonight’s ep of SNL will be funnier than these short clips. I’ll still be tuning in but … these vids do nothing to convince me that Zac is up to the task of carrying an entire episode of SNL. We shall see.

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Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!! I hope today is filled with love … and chocolates and flowers … and that other fun stuff that the Hallmark greeting card company has pounded into our collective psyches that we should expect, nay, demand today — February 14th :)

And, if there is that special someone that you prolly should be wishing a Happy VD but you find that you kinda, sorta forgot … then have no fear — Saturday Night Live to the rescue. The folks at SNL have taken their funniest commodity, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, and turned her a Valentine’s Day ecard that you can send to your special loved one … at the last minute since, you know, it’s already Valentine’s Day:

Click HERE to send this Sarah Palin VD card to someone in cyberspace or you can click HERE to see NBC‘s full array of ecards (from all of their TV programs) to send fun VD cheer to any and everyone you know! It’s not too late :)

PS: Just for yuks, click HERE to watch the now classic first Tina Fey as Sarah Palin SNL video :)

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Just like it was for music, 2008 wasn’t really a great year for movies or television … the Writer’s Strike at the start of the year really decimated Hollywood and severely hurt television programming. That said, there were a few really amazing films (highlighted by really amazing acting performances) and a select few TV shows that really brought the entertainment this year. Here is my list of my Fave Movies of 2008 … I think the #1 pick might surprise you.

At #10 is The Incredible Hulk:

This movie may not have been the best superhero film of all time but it beat the hell out of Ang Lee‘s Hulk and really did a service to both the comic book series and the TV series from the ’70s. This film really paid homage to the beloved TV series for the first half of the film and then represented the comic books very well in the second half of the film. All I know is that I had a really good time at the movies watching this film … and isn’t that what’s most important?

At #9 is W.:

Oliver Stone films are really hit or miss and this one was a pretty nice hit. Josh Brolin played a superb GWB and managed to put our soon-to-be ex-president in real context. I am no GWB fan by any stretch of the imagination but this film actually made him a sympathetic character. Props to Oliver Stone for actually doing the impossible.

In the #8 position is Doubt:

This film is all about the acting. And among the amazing acting performances, Meryl Streep far outshines everyone else in this film. She absolutely turned in the most powerful acting performance this year … she absolutely deserves all the Best Actress awards and, IMHO, the Best Actor awards as well — she is that good in this film. I feel bad for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, who both turned in exceptional performances, cuz Streep just steals the spotlight. She made this movie such a delight for me to watch.

At #7 is Milk:

At long last, the story of Harvey Milk‘s life made it to the big screen … and Sean Penn did his memory a great service. Milk may not have been a blockbuster but it is a very important story that is told so expertly that I wish it had made more money at the box office. Penn‘s cast of supporting actors were also pretty phenomenal … as a whole they told a tale that an entire generation of people were hearing for the first time — which was eerily similar to the events that were playing out on the streets of SoCal this past November.

At #6 is WALL•E:

OMG … what can I say about WALL•E that hasn’t been said a million times before? The movie is just cute as hell and actually caused kids and grown adults alike to fall in love with a sweet little animated trash compactor. I had my doubts about this film before I saw it for myself … but man, once I saw it — I was hooked. WALL•E is absolutely the Best Animated Film of 2008.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Films of 2008 as well as my list of my Fave TV Shows of the Year …

Justin Timberlake was not the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last night … nor was he the musical guest … but he did appear on last night’s ep not once but twice in a couple of SNL skits. In one appearance, JT showed up on the Weekend Update segment to explain to the audience how he had planned to host the upcoming Thanksgiving ep of SNL but “unfortunately” has to cancel … and then JT went into a pretty funny 2-minute monologue about what the entire episode would be like if he were there to host. Complete with explanations (and impersonations) of all the skits and musical performances he had planned, Justin performed the “entire ep” in about 2 minutes flat. Here are a few screencaps from this segment:

Justin threw in a bunch of funny SNL references and even gave a tiny shout-out to his girlfriend Jessica Biel. BUT … if these caps aren’t enough to pique your interest … check out this screencap from a skit that JT cameoed in with Beyoncé:

LOL! You know you want to see this. After the jump, check out both video SNL segments in full …

It is with a heavy and sad heart that I have to report that Tina Fey‘s impersonation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been retired. While I would be ecstatic if the real Sarah Palin retired from politics, I am very sad that Tina Fey has decided stop portraying the governor in her insanely hilarious way on Saturday Night Live. It is time to raise our glasses, pour one out for the faux (and IMHO superior) Sarah Palin and peace her the spork out:

Tina Fey’s hilarious turn as Sarah Palin put Saturday Night Live on the electoral map like nothing else in recent memory — viewership is up nearly 70 percent this season. But will Fey continue to moonlight as the gorgeous governor, who could be a parody-worthy public figure for years to come? “I have to retire just because I have to do my day job,” reveals the creator and star of NBC’s 30 Rock (which experienced a 20 percent ratings uptick for its Oct. 30 season premiere). “I think [Kristen] Wiig would do a really good job.” As for whether there’ll be an official Palin torch passing, she says, “Maybe we could get a real torch. Or I could give Wiig the Palin wig.”

While saddened by this news (I would *love* to see just one more SNL skit of Tina‘s Palin reacting to the election outcome this week) I can absolutely understand Tina‘s position. It prolly ate at her soul a bit every time she put that wig and those glasses on. And, to be honest, I’m really looking forward to not having to deal with anything Palin-related for a very long time or, you know, FOREVER. No offense to the fine folks in Alaska but, y’all can have that entire family. Please keep them up there … or sell them to the Russians, whatevs ;) Tina Fey is a genius … much love, props and kudos to her for giving us such comedic gold during this presidential campaign. I’d deffo vote Fey for VP once Obama completes his two terms in office. Wouldn’t a Hillary Clinton/Tina Fey 2016 campaign be awesome?!

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John McCain made a very funny appearance on Saturday Night Live last night where he participated in the show’s opening skit and later appeared during the Weekend Update. Spoofing Senator Barack Obama‘s half-hour infomercial which aired on 3 major networks earlier this week, McCain appeared with Tina Fey (as Sarah Palin) on a late-night program airing on QVC, the 24-hour cable shopping network:

LOL! Now this skit was hilarious! I gotta give McCain props for really getting in on the fun. While I thought Sarah Palin’s appearance on SNL a couple of weeks ago was pretty lame, I think John McCain really nailed this guest appearance. I totally died when Cindy McCain made her cameo … seriously, she could get a job on the real QVC should things not go McCain’s way on Tuesday. One of the best lines of the skit, “I’m a true maverick … a Republican without money.” I gotta say, I’m really impressed that he was such a good sport:

Well done! Tina Fey killed as Palin again. I loved it when she “went rogue” — LOL! I am very impressed with this week’s SNL performances :)

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NBC aired a new Thursday night edition of Saturday Night Live last night and offered a couple of really funny new politically-slanted skits. Last night’s ep featured a guest appearance by funnyman Will Ferrell reprising his role as George W. Bush offering a comedic official proclamation of endorsement for the campaign of John McCain (played by Darrell Hammond) and Sarah Palin (played by the amazing Tina Fey) for president and vice president respectively. Here is a group shot from the ep’s opening skit of the comics posing for a photo in the SNL Oval Office:

Appearing as President Bush on the primetime edition of “Saturday Night Live,” Will Ferrell offered his political “strategery” to Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. Ferrell reprised his famed impression of the president on the live “Weekend Update” special Thursday to give an “impromptu” evening address to the nation. He spoke about the election between John McCain and Barack Obama — both candidates, he said, that are “heavily patriotized” and “display much characterization.” He then gave his endorsement to McCain and Palin, something that they apparently didn’t want. Ferrell said he was unaware that his approval ratings were low because he had several months ago declared the Oval Office a “bummer free zone.” Speaking to Fey again appearing as Palin, Ferrell informed her that her role as vice president was “the most important in the land” and that the “president can do nothing without checking with the vice president.” Fey corrected him that he had it backward. Eventually Darrell Hammond as McCain turned up to reluctantly receive the endorsement. The sketch between Ferrell and Fey was the meeting of two of the most popular political impressions in the show’s history. It might have been complete only if Chevy Chase stopped by as Gerald Ford, Dana Carvey appeared as H.W. Bush and Amy Poehler joined as Hillary Rodham Clinton. An alum to the NBC comedy show, Ferrell was the latest guest star to make an appearance on “SNL,” which has seen its ratings soar this election season. Fey has become a virtual cast member again, thanks to the popularity of her Palin impression.

OMG … LOL … these SNL skits keep gettin’ better. I just love how they are pulling out all the stops to ensure that this year’s political satire is so brills. It has been ages since SNL has been so Must See. But, as funny as this explanation of the Ferrell/Fey/Hammond skit is, nothing beats watching the real thing. After the jump, check out the SNL skit titled Bush Endorsement in full …

Comedienne and former Saturday Night Live castmember, Tina Fey, returned to the SNL stage last night in the guise of Sarah Palin, VP nominee for the Republican party, for the 4th time but this time was joined on stage (altho only in passing) with the actual Sarah Palin herself. Word came out late Thursday night that Palin would be making an appearance on SNL to try and score points with voters (much like Hillary Clinton did earlier this year) but it was not revealed in what capacity she might appear. Speculation ran from guesses that she might do an entire skit with the cast to guesses that she might appear alongside Tina Fey for a duel of the Palins. It turns out that Palin’s appearance was really nothing more than a short cameo. She essentially stood by while other people were funny around her (including Tina Fey, who was HILARIOUS again) offering only a few unfunny lines. Here is video of the opening skit that featured Palin and Tina Fey:

Seriously, Tina was freakin’ hilarious. It’s a shame that Palin didn’t get in on the fun because I think it might’ve helped her immensely. I didn’t find her standing around to be very funny at all. Palin did come out and appear on the SNL stage one more time during the Weekend Update. After the jump, check out that video — trust me, it’s not to be missed. Amy Poehler raps, ’nuff said …

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NBC aired another Thursday night edition of Saturday Night Live last night which featured a skit on the third and final presidential debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain (which had a few funny moments but didn’t really deliver for me) and an extended version of Weekend Update. By far the funniest part of the whole Thursday night ep of SNL was Kristen Wiig‘s portrayal of that crazy lady at the McCain rally that was held last Friday. You may recall that a disheveled looking woman told McCain that she read that Obama was an “Arab” and he had to correct her to her face. While I found the exchange between this woman and McCain terribly upsetting, I’m glad that SNL was able to take the edge off her ignorance and find some humor in the whole situation:

Kristen Wiig is THE funniest castmember of Saturday Night Live right now (and, IMHO, has been for quite some time) so I’m glad that she was able to get in on some of the funny during this presidential campaign. She really did a great portrayal of this crazy lady in question (right down to her unkempt hair). After the jump, watch the Weekend Update video that features Kristen‘s performance of said crazy lady …

Last night, NBC aired a special half hour episode of Saturday Night Live in order to capitalize on the current election year. I’m not sure why but tomorrow night’s ep of SNL will be a repeat (they are reairing the season premiere with Michael Phelps as host) so last night’s new ep was a way for SNL to poke fun at the second Presidential Debate that took place earlier this week. Here is SNL‘s version of the second debate between Senator Barack Obama and John McCain:

LOLOLOL! If you watched the actual Presidential Debate then you know that this skit hits all the funny high points. I think the Tom Brokaw bits are the funniest but the impersonations of the two candidates are pretty dead-on. Last night’s ep of SNL only featured this skit and a Weekend Update with Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers (which was marginally funny but not amazing … as usual). I have loved the SNL versions of all the debates thus far … and you?

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