Sunday Morning Quarterback – Tracy Morgan & Demi Lovato

I’m glad Tracy Morgan is host SNL.  I’m glad he’s well enough to perform and that he’s getting the chance to.  I’ve been rotting for him since he first started on SNL. 

But I’m also terrified about Tracy Morgan hosting Saturday Night Live.  Is he going to mess up and drop the ball?  Can he still perform?  Mind you, his baseline wasn’t all that great to begin with, but now post accident what’s he going to be like? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Amy Schumer & The Weeknd

Amy Schumer is on top of the world.  She’s probably the biggest female star in comedy at the moment and coming off a win at the Emmys for her Comedy Central show.  She also starred in a movie this summer.  Naturally she’s going to host Saturday Night Live. 

Will Schumer live up to the hype?  Will The Weeknd have any surprise guests?  Will Sasheer Zamata show up before the final sketch of the night? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback - Miley Cyrus

Welcome back to the Sunday Morning Quarterback; it’s been a long summer.  But fortunately SNL has returned!  And with it we have our first host pulling double duty; Miley Cyrus. 

Obviously this isn’t Miley’s first rodeo; she’s been on Saturday Night Live many other times both as host and as musical guest.  The only question is what the writers will throw at her.  Will the season premiere of SNL show signs of summer rust or will they catch fire right out the gate? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Louis C.K. & Rihanna

I unintentionally spend the afternoon catching up on Louie.  Which is to say that I didn’t binge the current season because he was hosting Saturday Night Live, I was just looking to fill some time. 

Louis C.K. episodes of SNL are always worth watching, if only for the monologue.  Plus Rihanna as the musical guest?  This show has the potential to be a phenomenal finale. 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Reese Witherspoon & Florence + the Machine

I find Reese fascinating.  She had that pretty high profile run in with police, which has proved to be little more than hiccup in her career.  She seems to have a carefully cultivated public image, almost Cruise-esque.  I’m curious what she’ll bring to SNL. 

I’m equally curious to see what Saturday Night Live’s writers are going to bring to the table.  The finish line is within sight.  Will they coast to the finish or cross it with a final burst of energy? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Taraji P. Henson & Mumford & Sons

I’m definitely happy for Taraji P. Henson.  She’s been Black A List for awhile, but now she’s graduated to Hollywood B list, a step up.  She seems genuinely grateful that her hard work as paid off.  And now she’s hosting Saturday Night Live. 

I’ve never seen Henson do comedy, so I’m looking forward to what she brings to the table and what the SNL writers write for her.  I’m also looking forward to hearing Mumford & Son’s new sound. 

Was my curiosity paid off or punished?  

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Michael Keaton & Carly Rae Jepsen

I pretend like I’m a Michael Keaton fan, but that’s mostly because I can remember him before he was Batman (and was excited that he was going to be Batman).  But honestly, I haven’t really followed his career and I appreciated Birdman more than I enjoyed it.  Still, I’m looking forward to Keaton hosting Saturday Night Live. 

Hopefully SNL’s writers will give him some material to work with.  They did a pretty good job last week with Dwayne Johnson and here’s hoping they keep the streak alive.

Did they?   

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Dwayne Johnson & George Ezra

Dwayne Johnson is an odd pop culture figure.  He’s huge star, but he’s never launched his own franchise.  He’s transcended professional wrestling, but still has a huge wrestling presence.  He’s also a very solid SNL host.

It’s why we’ve got some expectations for him as a host.  And Saturday Night Live could really use a homerun, right about now, with some relatively weak episodes so far this year.  Did Johnson deliver?  

Monday Munchies – Ben & Jerry’s Wayne’Swirled

Anticipation can be a tricky thing.  Sometimes that expectation can lead to disappointment.  Tons of kids have stories about less than stellar Xmas the result of not getting what they thought they were going to get. 

But the other side of the coin is anticipating the worst and being relieved when it doesn’t come to pass.  There have definitely been times I anticipated getting caught and was relieved when I wasn’t.  So, anticipation can go both ways. 

Which brings us to Ben & Jerry’s final SNL Batch; Wayne’Swirled

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Chris Hemsworth & Zac Brown Band

I can’t front; I’ve got zero interest in either Zack Brown Band or Chris Hemsworth.  I’m watching this episode because I like SNL. 

I am sort of curious to see what Hemsworth’s skill set is like.  He’s an action star, which typically means he’s not really an actor.  But he’s also Australian, which tends to indicate he’s a good actor.  How will he do as Saturday Night Live host? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Dakota Johnson & Alabama Shakes

I’ll admit to still being on a nostalgia high for SNL.  The 40^th Anniversary special was pretty dope, despite all of the people who tried to make it out to be disappointing.  It was a very dope celebration of a very influential show. 

I’ll also admit to be slightly excited for Dakota Johnson hosting.  I’ve not seen Fifty Shades of Grey and I probably never will, but I’m always up for an unknown quantity hosting SNL, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a quantity more unknown than Johnson. 

I’m kind of expecting to be slayed. 

Resolutions – The Resume

Since it’s a new year, I figured it was finally time to get some resolutions on the books.  Because really, is there anyone who can’t use some self-improvement? 

Of course I’m limited in my vision.  I’ve got to build up momentum before I attempt any meaningful change.  So this first resolution is really about doing some queue-cleaning; I need to figure out if I’m going to keep watching some shows. 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – J.K. Simmons & D’angelo

Clearly we at Fission Spaghetti are fans of J.K. Simmons.  Most of it stems from his role on Oz, but we’ve pretty much enjoyed in him everything he’s ever done.  It’s why we were so happy he got nominated for an Oscar and why we were worried about him hosting Saturday Night Live.

See, we hold him in such high esteem that we’re worried that a subpar episode of SNL could conceivably tarnish him in our eyes.  And no one likes to see their acting gods tarnished. 

So…was there cause for worry? 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Blake Shelton

I know very little about Blake Shelton.  I know he’s one of the judges on The Voice, he’s a Country singer and he’s married to another Country singer Miranda Lambert.  I also know that his brand of crossing over is to play the kinda goofy backwoods guy as opposed to the uber patriotic redneck that many Country singers choose. 

Apparently NBC loves him.  He even had his own Holiday Special a few years back, which was rerun last year.  Despite my misgivings about him as a performer, I was pretty optimistic that SNL’s writers would write to his strengths and that’d he’d follow their lead. 

So, how was the episode? 

Amazon Prime – The Man in the High Castle

I dig high concepts.  There’s something designed to make you think is something that’s right up my alley.  It’s the reason why I like shows like Fringe or even Game of Thrones. 

The Man in the High Castle seemed like the most ambitious Amazon pilot in the batch.  Sadly that didn’t work out too well for The After.  That said, it’s based on a book, just like Bosch. 

Amazon Prime – Point of Honor

At this point, The Civil War can be summed up in by a series of clichés; North vs South, Brother vs Brother, States Rights vs Human Rights.  Also, by this point is there any reason to cover the Civil War if you aren’t saying anything new? 

Point of Honor would say “yes.” 

Amazon Prime - Down Dog

Amazon only has two half hour comedy pilots this pilot season.  It’s kind of disappointing that neither offering has the ambition of Transparent, which has easily become Amazon’s most successful show to date, in every regard. 

That said, does Down Dog offer up enough potential to get picked up by Amazon? 

Amazon Prime – Mad Dogs

You know how sometimes something looks too good to be true?  That’s how felt about Mad Dogs. 

It’s a show from the creator of The Shield, Shawn Ryan, and stars Steve Zahn, Romany Malco and Michael Imperioli.  That’s a pretty good pedigree of talent. 

So, was Mad Dogs too good to be true? 

Amazon Prime – Salem Rogers

One of the cool things about the explosion of “new media” is that it allows for the discovery of new voices and allows for success outside of the traditional means.  Also, because they’re less entrenched in the old ways, Amazon and Netflix are more willing to takes risks. 

Amazon Studios in particular accepts submissions, which presents a huge opportunity for aspiring creators.  Salem Rogers is a show that that was submitted to Amazon Studios and has now become a pilot. 

Amazon Prime – Cocked

I applaud Amazon’s resilience.   They are constantly churning out pilots for public consumption.  I missed out of the first batch, which produced Alpha House and Betas, but I was all in for the last two offerings. 

This time around Amazon has 13 different pilots up review, including six kid shows and one based on the New York Times.  It’s pretty ambitious.  

Adventures with Peanut Butter

Last December I fell ill.  It wasn’t life threatening, it was just a bug, but it wiped me out.  I couldn’t get warm or comfortable, it was a pretty miserable five days. 

But while I was sick, I bought some peanut butter. 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Kevin Hart & Sia

Happy New Year  It’s been a long time since SNL was new and I’ve genuinely missed it.  Sure things have been pretty rocky so far this season, but I believe it’s going to get better.

Kevin Hart is Saturday Night Live’s first host of 2015 and he’s a star who seems to continually be on the rise.  His last hosting effort didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I’m looking forward to what he’s going to bring to the table this time.