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This Interview Has Everything…
Bill Hader is one of the great comedic actors and impressionists around today (and tomorrow, too). He made millions laugh as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and he continues to do so by lending his voice to animated films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, movies like Superbad and The Skeleton Twins and just when he’s being himself during late night interviews. Although, we cannot neglect the brilliant writing from one of Bill’s primary partners while at SNL: John Mulaney. And, on occasion, pranks would be pulled right before the live performance on Weekend Update.
Speaking of which, here is a terrific clip of how Bill’s most revered SNL character was created and, perhaps, the surprise from Mulaney that threw him off his game the most.
FYI: I read about this club and it has everything…including a Spader.
What’s a Spader?
That’s when Spud Web dresses up as Bill Hader.
Mixing ID’s
Spoiler Alert: This post contains details from the season 2 premiere of The Goldbergs:
“Pick a name”
“James Bond”
“Taken”
“Barry Bonds”
“Also taken”
“Barry Goldberg”
“That’s your name!”
“Erica Goldberg”
“That is my name!”
Now that television’s “summer break” is officially over, families like The Goldbergs have re-entered our lives with their perfectly placed ’80s references (a Lost Boys t-shirt anyone?), along with their all too familiar bickering between siblings and between siblings and parents. Of course, nothing seems to pull a family closer together than the dedicated art of a mixture tape.
(FYI: Mixture Tape = Mix Tape)
Let the awkward hilarity rejoice and begin anew in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1980-something!
When young Adam had his first crush, feelings of love, excitement and nervousness seemed to paralyze him from communicating anything to Dana Caldwell beyond asking her if she wanted to poke a snake with a stick after school. Enter the glorious relationship gift called the “mix tape.” It was a certified gold gesture from the days of analog technology and the card game Uno. This way, Adam could let famous musicians express his true feelings for Dana instead of him.
Genius.
The only problem was that Adam left his romantic prize laying out for the one and only sMother (aka-his mom Beverly) to find it who obviously assumed it was meant for her. This led to the most delicious pancakes ever, Boo-Berry cereal and the public declaration that he was her favorite child…in front of her other two children.
Nothing could go wrong, right?
Meanwhile, Erica was teaching Barry how to obtain the coveted Fake ID. Naturally, with Barry involved, it led to one of the most amusing failed experiences of all-time. Plus, add in David Spade as the willing photo hut employee (for a double sitcom reunion, mind you) and you knew the laughs were coming. Please see the opening dialogue for a glimpse into this comedic exchange.
As Beverly convinced herself the mix tape was a loving tribute to her from her snuggle monster, this threw Adam’s universe into a tailspin. This relationship volcano erupted when Beverly gave Adam and his appreciative girlfriend Dana a ride home from a laser show. Beverly then proceeded to play “her” mix tape in the car and sing the title track, Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration.”
Yes, this happened. And then questions were asked from every direction.
Whose mix tape was it? Did Adam make the same mix tape for his girlfriend and his mom? Who was Adam’s true inspiration?
Some of you may even be asking, “what’s a mix tape?”
Bottom line: This created a disastrous conundrum for Adam. He had to fix his delicate relations with his girlfriend and his sMother. Like so many of the plot lines in these episodes, the season 2 premiere reminded me of a situation in my life. While there’s no single event that perfectly reflects what occurred in this episode, listening to my mom talk about her life and her experiences over the years has always made me really proud of what she’s accomplished and of who she is. Similar to Adam and Beverly, these feelings are usually expressed in actions rather than words, like when Beverly helped her snuggle monster win his girlfriend back with a spectacularly public laser redemption show starring Adam and Dana (and Beverly…). The point is that family will inevitably embarrass us at the most awkward times to be embarrassed, but they’ll also be there to bail us out when we need it the most.
Ask Barry, as he stood in front of the popular seniors with two bags of sandwiches gyro’s (sounds like) when his fully-clothed dad Murray came to the rescue whilst simultaneously busting his moron son for attempting to buy beer with a Fake ID.
Just Barry being Barry. Well, as Carlos Del Monaco actually.
Or ask me. After a girl I’d been dating for more than 2 months ended things with the devastating silent treatment, my mom responded by saying, “I think I’m going to have to go Beverly Goldberg on her ass.”
Mom, you’re an inspiration to me in so many ways!
Welcome back for your second season Goldbergs:
(Cinema Blend online)
Here’s to family!
A Stellar Soundtrack
Some days don’t require words. Sometimes, a sound can trigger such powerful emotions that the boundaries that surround us suddenly evaporate to become limitless.
This is one of those sounds:
While the trailer this music accompanies (Interstellar) is utterly fantastic in its intergalactic teasing prior to its November 7th release, the ever-building vibrations are inspirational enough on its own.
Hearing is believing.
TGIM
Spoiler Alert: Some content from last night’s television show premieres are revealed below
The Big Bang Theory
Gotham
Dallas
The Blacklist
These are just a few of the television shows that premiered for the 2013-2014 season last night. The Big Bang Theory was literally a big bang in the ratings with 17.9 million viewers, despite being temporarily moved to a new night. In the age of convenience/DVR watching, that is a damn impressive figure.
Here’s what we learned from The Big Bang Theory:
Penny got a pixie haircut!
Stuart and Mrs. Wolowitz/Deb-Deb are forging a strange, yet hilarious relationship that really can’t be labeled at this point. However, the attempts to do so with the frazzled friend and son Howard will make for some great comedy in the future
Howard is going for his PhD, which is freaking Sheldon out because Pasadena’s most famous NASA engineer may soon be on the same intellectual level as the self-proclaimed genius Dr. Cooper. It’s safe to say that Howard now has Sheldon’s full attention
Bernadette got Penny a job interview with her pharmaceutical company, she freaks out her boss and she continues to be the sweetest bully of all-time
Penny got a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative!
Sheldon traveled across the continental United States on trains and never left the train stations (FYI-did you know mustard and ketchup are popular condiments in train stations?), got everything stolen from him, wound up in the Chuck Lorre sitcom comedy-driven tightie whities and was arrested in Arizona for badgering random train goers for help. It was crazy I mean funny. Once fully clothed and back in southern California, he discovered he was promoted to a junior professor at Caltech. He attempted to teach Howard graduate level physics, but an epic spitball ended that.
Amy is now the popular girl in high school and it’s fantastic!
Oh, and Leonard got a new hoodie (and is owed some serious gas money)
The much-hyped Gotham had a noteworthy 8 million viewers. Not bad for a series premiere. When it comes to drama and/or action shows like The Blacklist and Gotham, the reins for what is deemed acceptable for a network television audience continues to be loosened. Perhaps this is partly due to the reality of having to compete for viewers who watch popular, PG-13 to R-rated shows on HBO, Netflix, FX and AMC.
What does this mean?
Ultimately, studios translate this to mean that the public still has a healthy appetite for rich stories and clever writing all played out in dramatically stunning sets with dynamic, conflicted characters. Plus, unlike going to the movies, television has to work harder to keep an audience throughout a half-hour or one-hour run time. Commercial breaks can offer too many opportunities to change channels. Next day viewing with a DVR has partially dealt with this perceived inconvenience. However, people have a thirst for great storytelling. It’s a universal and timeless truth. And judging by the season/series premieres alone, the teams behind The Blacklist and Gotham have given its audiences high-quality, suspenseful dramas with plenty of grit and imagination to sustain and entertain its viewers for this upcoming television season.
Unfortunately, Dallas is currently hanging out on this writer’s DVR. But it actually aired its season finale last night. It will be fascinating to see where South Fork and its famous residents and guests are after a host of Texas-sized scandals, secrets and seductions.
Monday, welcome to the cool table.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 