Blog

One of the things I love most about having this website is that it gives me an excuse to celebrate the people who have brought me an enormous amount of joy over the years. Sure, I use this space to review new movies, talk about television, recommend books, rant about pop culture, and occasionally climb up on one of my many soapboxes But sometimes it's just nice to say, "Hey, here's somebody I absolutely love," and spend a little time talking about why. Usually there's somethi

Jon Hamm …man, I gotta tell you, this guy is one of those performers that kind of sneaks up on you, and then before you know it, he’s everywhere, and he’s great in everything, and you’re like, “Wait a minute…how the hell did this happen?” And then you go back and you look at the career and you go, “Oh, okay…yeah, that makes sense. This guy’s the real deal.” Jonathan Daniel Hamm, born March 10, 1971, in St. Louis, Missouri…Midwestern guy, Cardinals fan, which, as a Cubs fan,

With the release of the new Jordan Peele produced horror/satire Him this week (which, unfortunately, is one of the year's very worst movies), I thought I would go back to the origin of Peele's unique and special sensibilities, his work on the groundbreaking sketch comedy show, Key & Peele . Let's remember the much happier times, before Peele started producing terrible horror movies. I love sketch comedy. Always have, always will. And when you talk about the great sketch sho

I have been an SNL fan since the first episode with George Carlin in October 1975 when I was ten years old, and I haven't missed an episode since. As an expert and historian for Saturday Night Live , who graduated from Second City and prides himself on being an expert on Saturday Night Live , let me say that I absolutely loved this special. And it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. The Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special was a three-and-a-half-hour

A Fascinating Look At an Underrated Comedy Pioneer Certain comedians, performers, and personalities don't just make a mark in entertainment—they change the game. Tom Green is one of those people. Whether you love him, hate him, or just vaguely remember him painting naked ladies on his dad's car and calling it the "Slutmobile," there is no denying that Tom Green was ahead of his time. "This Is the Tom Green Documentary," directed by Green himself, is a fascinating, deeply pe

"Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music" : A Landmark Celebration of Comedy and Sound As you probably know, I am an SNL fanatic and have been since the first episode aired in October 1975. I also host a podcast called "That Show Hasn't Been Funny in Years: An SNL Podcast" on the Radio Misfits Podcast Network . This is a very special year for us "Saturday Night Live" fans because it is the show's 50th anniversary. Several special events and shows are part of the season-