Snarknado

When Bill Hader left SNL this past spring we lost all of his great characters, including Stefon, whose presence always made for a great Weekend Update. It appears that the void left by him has for the time being been filled by Jebidiah Atkinson, played by Taran Killam. Atkinson is 19th century critic who panned the Gettysburg address and apparently hates everything else he sees as well. The character has already made two great appearances this season. If you haven't seen them yet, check them out below.

Reinforcement troupe

There have been a lot of news coming from 30 Rockafeller these days. Below are links to a couple of stories about what we can expect to see on Saturday Night Live this season. Both stories come from EW.com.

'Saturday Night Live' officially adds six new cast members: Meet them here (Fun fact: One of my best friends is named Kyle Mooney, but sadly it's not the same one who has been added to the cast)

'SNL': Seth Meyers' new 'Weekend Update' co-anchor is ... (I really like Cecily Strong and she may do fine in this role, but I personally think that new hire Beck Bennett (aka the AT&T It's Not Complicated guy) would be a perfect replacement for Seth Meyers).

Night cap

For one reason or another, certain sketches on Saturday Night Live are created and rehearsed, but ultimately never make it onto the live broadcast. Here are a pair of sketches cut after dress rehearsal that I felt deserved a look thanks to NBC actually posting them on their website. The first was cut from when Zach Galifianakis hosted. I'll have to assume it was timing reasons because this seems to be too funny not to have included in the show.




The second is even more fascinating. It comes from the Justin Bieber episode. Instead of trying to explain why this didn't work, I'll let Bill Hader and a pair of SNL writers do it as they commentate on the sketch and explain why it became the "greatest trainwreck" ever.

Bill of goods

So this past Saturday marked Bill Hader's last show on Saturday Night Live. This is truly a great loss for the SNL cast. Unlike the also departing Fred Armisen, who overstayed his welcome on the show and clearly was only interested in doing skits that amuse him and spoke to his unfunny sense of humor. Anyway, back to Hader and his leaving. During his tenure, he certainly created a number of memorable characters (Stefon! Vinnie Vidici! Herb Welch!). But perhaps more impressive was his ability to impersonate several varied characters. He was really a go-to guy that instantly elevated every sketch that he was in. Hopefully he'll be able to make that difficult transition from being a not-ready-for-prime-time-player to a big star on the mainstream stage. To honor all his great work, here's a video compilation of every single one of the impressions he did on SNL.

Watch Every Impression Bill Hader Did on SNL

2013 Fall Television Schedule Announcement (NBC)

NBC has announced a new lineup of primetime shows for the 2013-14 season that includes popular returning series, fresh new comedies, compelling new dramas and the latest season of "The Voice."

Highlights of the year-round schedule - which will be bolstered in February on the heels of the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia - include "Believe," a new drama from J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron; the return of three-time Emmy winner James Spader in action thriller "The Blacklist"; and a comedy lineup that includes new series from "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood" executive producer Jason Katims, Will Ferrell, Bill Lawrence, Sean P. Hayes, and a return to NBC of one of the biggest TV stars of any generation, Michael J. Fox.

The new comedy additions are "Welcome to the Family," "Sean Saves the World," and "The Michael J. Fox Show" as well as midseason comedies "The Family Guide," and "About A Boy."

The new dramas are "The Blacklist," "Ironside," and "Dracula," plus mid-season dramas "Believe," "Crisis" and "Crossbones."

NBC has also ordered dramas "Chicago PD" and "The Night Shift" and comedy "Undateable" as unscheduled midseason series.

New alternative series premiering during the 2013-14 season include "The Million Second Quiz" and "American Dream Builders." Returning to the schedule are "The Biggest Loser" and "The Sing-Off." "Food Fighters" has been ordered as an unscheduled midseason show.

Scripted series returning include "Grimm," "Parenthood," "Law & Order: SVU," "Revolution," "Chicago Fire," "Parks and Recreation" and "Community."

Pick-up decisions on "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Hannibal" are still to be made in the next few weeks.

"The Voice" will kick off its fifth season in September on Mondays (8-10 pm. ET). The current cycle of "The Voice" has been primetime's #1 show of the week on the Big Four networks, excluding sports, for four of six weeks thus far in adults 18-49.

The announcements were made by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.

"The overriding strategy this year was to develop enough strong comedies and dramas to take advantage of the promotional heft of the Winter Olympics and devise two schedules for the upcoming season: one for fall and a slightly different one for midseason. I'm pleased to say that our development groups - headed by Jennifer Salke (scripted) and Paul Telegdy (alternative/reality) - really delivered," Greenblatt said. "This is the most robust and highest-testing slate of new shows we have had in years."

Greenblatt continued, "And aside from our Olympics planning, we also wanted to create better flow and compatibility on each night, and deploy our strongest lead-in ('The Voice') to maximum effect.

"Sunday in the fall remains the night to beat with 'Sunday Night Football.' After football and the Olympics are over, we will launch two classy, attention-getting dramas in February: 'Believe' from J.J. Abrams, and 'Crisis' starring Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson. We think it's time for big dramas again on Sunday nights. And leading into these dramas at 8 p.m. will be an exciting home renovation competition hosted by Nate Berkus called 'American Dream Builders.'

"Monday and Tuesday will again dominate with 'The Voice.' Our highly anticipated new James Spader drama 'The Blacklist' deserves to go into the 10 p.m. slot on Monday, and we're moving 'Chicago Fire,' a show we really believe in, to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays to benefit from 'The Voice' lead-in that will be at 9 p.m. in the fall. "

After the Olympics, however, 'The Voice' moves back to 8 p.m. on Tuesday so that we can launch two of our strongest new family comedies in the 9 p.m. hour: 'About a Boy' and 'The Family Guide.' Landing more comedy on the schedule is important and using 'The Voice' as a lead-in after the Olympics is the strongest way to do that.

"I believe we'll have a more compatible Wednesday line-up with three dramas: 'Revolution,' 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'Ironside,' starring Blair Underwood, which is another new show we've very high on.

"Thursday will have a family theme, starting with a two-hour comedy block from 8-10 p.m. anchored by strong stars: Amy Poehler in 'Parks and Recreation,' Mike O'Malley in 'Welcome to the Family,' Sean Hayes in 'Sean Saves the World' and the new 'Michael J. Fox Show.' Then at 10 p.m. 'Parenthood' moves in to top off the night with what I know is the best family drama on television.

"On Fridays, anchored by 'Grimm' at 9 p.m., we will have a more fun genre night with the limited-series 'Dracula,' starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers at 10 p.m. In the spring, 'Crossbones' - with John Malkovich as the infamous pirate Blackbeard - replaces 'Dracula,'" said Greenblatt.

Jordan Wertlieb, President of Hearst Television and Chair of the NBC Affiliate Board, commented, "This schedule is another example of NBC's continued commitment to restoring prime time to its traditional leadership position. I am sure the investment in partnering with some of the most recognizable names in television will be obvious and exciting to the affiliates."

NBC Fall 2013-14 schedule (New shows in ALL CAPS)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. - "The Voice"
10-11 p.m. - "THE BLACKLIST"

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. - "The Biggest Loser" (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. - "The Voice" (New time)
10-11 p.m. - "Chicago Fire" (New Day and Time)

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. - "Revolution" (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. - "Law & Order: SVU"
10-11 p.m. - "IRONSIDE"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. - "Parks and Recreation" (New time)
8:30-9 p.m. - "WELCOME TO THE FAMILY"
9-9:30 p.m. - "SEAN SAVES THE WORLD"
9:30-10 p.m. - "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW"
10-11 p.m. - "Parenthood" (New Day and Time)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. - "Dateline NBC"
9-10 p.m. - "Grimm"
10-11 p.m. - "DRACULA"

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY
7:00-8:15 p.m. - "Football Night in America"
8:15-11:30 p.m. - "NBC Sunday Night Football"

NBC MIDSEASON 2013-14 SCHEDULE (New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. - "The Voice"
10-11 p.m. - "THE BLACKLIST"

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. - "The Voice"
9-9:30 p.m. - "THE FAMILY GUIDE"
9:30-10 p.m. - "ABOUT A BOY"
10-11 p.m. - "Chicago Fire"

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. - "Revolution"
9-10 p.m. - "Law & Order: SVU"
10-11 p.m. - "IRONSIDE"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. - "Parks and Recreation"
8:30-9 p.m. - "WELCOME TO THE FAMILY"
9-9:30 p.m. - "SEAN SAVES THE WORLD"
9:30-10 p.m. - "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW"
10-11 p.m. - "Parenthood"

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. - "Dateline NBC"
9-10 p.m. - "Grimm"
10-11 p.m. - "CROSSBONES"

SATURDAY
8-10 p.m. - Encore and specials programming
10-11 p.m. - "Saturday Night Live" (Encore)

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. - "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m. - "AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS"
9-10 p.m. - "BELIEVE"
10-11 p.m. - "CRISIS"

For information on NBC new shows, click here.

Don't Cross the boss

I know I'm a little late to the game in posting this, but it was too good to ignore completely. A couple weeks ago on Saturday Night Live, they did a movie parody of Tarantino-esque revenge films, called "Djesus Uncrossed". The subject matter is so irreverant that I'm probably going to hell for enjoying it, but it's also so spot-on and hilarious, that it deserves the recognition. Since many of you have likely seen the original skit anyway, I've posted the web-exclusive director's cut version of the trailer below instead.

Stand up guy

One of my favorite comics right now, Louis CK, hosted Saturday Night Live. As usual, the show was a mixed bag of duds and highspots. But the clear winner of the night was the parody of Louie, CK's hilarious show on FX, with the comic playing Abraham Lincoln instead of himself. If you didn't see it, check it out below and if you did see it last night, still watch the video because this is the special director's cut version of the skit.

Harry Squatter

In case you missed it, here's a funny Harry Potter skit from last night's Saturday Night Live hosted by the boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe. This is probably a more realistic look at what happened in the future of the Potterverse.

Flying high

I mentioned in my review of the SNL premiere that there was a very funny skit involving fake screen tests for the movie Top Gun. Well NBC has posted a video of some of the screen takes that didn't get included in what aired on the show. Even the stuff left on the cutting room floor is good. Check it out below.

Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites pt. 3)

Fringe: The best drama you're not watching returned in fine form for their fourth season. While on the surface, things appeared to be normal (the central case was a typically creepy one involving a translucent man attacking people) we all know that something is very wrong with the world that currently exists. The big problem is the absence of Peter Bishop who after operating the machine last season vanished, erasing himself from the memories of all the other characters. This has produced some changes in the Fringe team. Walter has a fear of leaving the lab, Astrid now occasionally goes out into the field and Lincoln Lee has been brought on as a new member. Of course, each of the actors have done a tremendous job conveying their new role, but it still doesn't help us who are desperate to see Peter return. Thankfully we got glimpses of him throughout the episode, suggesting that he'll find a way to return to our world sooner rather than later. And I haven't even touched upon the 'Other World' members who lurked in the background in this first episode. That's how jam-packed this premiere was, nothing new for this terrific show. In just one episode, they've set into motion a number of different storylines that I can't wait to see how they play out. Grade: A- Saturday Night Live: The stalwart sketch comedy returned for another season and opened on a notable moment as host Alec Baldwin broke the hosting record with his 16th (!) effort. Of course, previous record holder Steve Martin couldn't resist showing up to rain on Baldwin's parade. The rest of the episode was a mixed bag as it related to the humor. The cold open involving a Republican primary debate set the foundation of which cast members would be parodying the key political figures for the next year and a skit involving footage of actors auditioning for the film Top Gun highlighted the talented cast's strengths at mimicking a lot of famous people (Bill Hader's Alan Alda impression is scary good). As usual, some skits fell very flat - in particular a one about a couple on a date dealing with one of the dater's obnoxious child didn't do anything for me. The one impressive thing about this opener though was that it relied almost predominantly on original skit ideas. In recent years, the show had become too reliant on its recurring sketches running them into the ground before they had a chance to peak in popularity. Let's hope that's a trend that continues throughout the year. Grade: B+ The Amazing Race: The Emmy-award winning reality show got started in just about the opposite direction as this year's edition of Survivor did. Watching the opening episode, I found myself struggling to care or root for any of the contestant. Even the one team which features a pair of former Survivor winners (Ethan and Jenna) did very little to make me want to see them win another million dollars. Most of the teams felt like they featured stereotypes we had seen too many times before on the Race. Perhaps as the teams move forward my opinions will change. But even if they don't, I can still enjoy all of the gorgeous locations (the first episode saw teams heading to Taipei, Taiwan) that the show travels to as well as the wacky challenges they come up with for the contestants to endure. This may have gotten off to a rocky road, but this show has proven time and again that they always find a way to right the ship. Grade: B-

May the farce be with you

This came out a few days ago, but I've just now had an opportunity to post it. It's a short video featuring a lot of funny people (including SNL's Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Emma Stone) reenacting some famous scenes from the Star Wars trilogy. Their efforts are also meant to be for a good cause as they are trying to raise awareness for the Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign. If it moves you to help with the cause, great. If it simply makes you laugh, that's cool too.