Sometimes they don't always work, folks. This is free entertainment. Unscripted. Experimental.
You're probably watching this while driving.
No refunds.
1980s yadda yadda you get it
The Norm entrance jokes on Cheers were famously tough to write.
George Wendt delivered 200+ of them over 11 seasons. As the show’s popularity grew, so did expectations. Writers said the real genius wasn’t always on the page; it was Wendt’s physical comedy, delivery, and timing.
The "I believe women... and Kevin Spacey" shirt almost killed me, but shouting "GRYFFINDOR!" into the soul of a crying partner grieving her grandmother's dementia is genuinely the most deranged relationship suicide maneuver I’ve ever witnessed.
Men really will invent a 50-step self-sabotage masterclass just to avoid saying "I don't think this is working out". What's the fastest non-verbal breakup trap you've ever seen someone pull in real life?
BREAKING: JACK SMITH UNDER OATH: “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation.”
THE SNL SKETCH THAT STARTED WHILE EVERYONE WAS WAITING FOR LORNE MICHAELS
“The Californians” looks like the kind of ridiculous idea that must have taken an entire writers’ room to invent.
It didn't.
The basic joke began much more casually.
During SNL table reads, cast members would sometimes be sitting around waiting for Lorne Michaels to arrive.
Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson and others had recently been spending time in Los Angeles.
So they started talking about something completely ordinary:
How they had driven around Los Angeles.
One person would ask where someone had gone.
The answer would become increasingly specific.
“I took Sunset…”
“Then I got on the 405…”
“Then I took La Cienega…”
But the way they said it was the joke.
The cast exaggerated the California accent until ordinary directions sounded like the most important information anyone had ever received.
It was basically an inside joke.
Andy Samberg particularly loved it.
Nobody was sitting there thinking:
“Someday this will become one of SNL's most recognizable recurring sketches.”
At that point, it was simply something funny the cast did around the table.
Then something happened that changed the entire idea.
The joke was about directions.
But someone realized it could be about something much bigger.
And suddenly, those ridiculous freeway conversations had the potential to become a soap opera.
This series has about 5 episodes left before I move on.
Andy Warhol once said there's a limited number of shots of big naturals one director can shoot. I've reached the limit.
That, and I saw Resident Evil and was re-inspired to finish my features.