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'Saturday Night Live': Ed Helms joined by Chris Colfer, Jon Hamm, Jimmy Fallon surprise appearances
We love a good surprise, especially in the form of live celebrity appearances. When we settled in to watch Ed Helms helm the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live," we wondered whether it he would bring epic hilarity or crash and burn. What we didn't expect, was for the "Hangover" star to be upstaged so quickly by unannounced guest stars.
During Kenan Thompson's regular "What up with that" segment, musical guest Paul Simon was joined by Bill Hader's Lindsey Buckingham and "Glee" fan favorite, Chris Colfer. While "SNL" regulars filtered in and out throughout the segment, Helms made just a small appearance as "Captain Sexy Banjo." Simon got most of the speaking privileges (aside from Thompson, of course) shortly followed by the real Lindsey Buckingham, who also made an unexpected cameo. Sadly, Colfer had next to no speaking time.
We only wish that he and Simon had switched places in the skit, but it stands to reason that the scheduled musical guest would get some preferential treatment. Watch the sketch below.
There are certain "SNL" features that just remind us of childhood -- The Ambiguously Gay Duo is one of those features. Don't judge.
We could not be more thrilled to see the retro Robert Smigel cartoon making a comeback. Just when the nostalgic magic was starting to wear off, bam! Jon Hamm and Jimmy Fallon jump on the screen as the live action versions of Ace and Gary. Ironic, because back in 2006 the animated duo revealed an undying obsession with Fallon during a "Best of TV Funhouse" special.
Technically, we could also say that Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell made special appearances as well. Together, they provide the voices for the animated Ace and Gary. We should also make mention of the fact that Hamm and Fallon weren't actually on set for the live broadcast, as their cameos were prerecorded.
[Update:] Thanks to our readers for pointing out that Carell and Colbert actually did appear in the live version as well. We found them barely recognizable as Bighead and Dr. Braino, but looking back a second time it just makes it that much more funny! Watch the clip below.
All in all, we'd classify the rest of the episode as mostly forgettable with a few hearty chuckles sprinkled in. "Weekend Update" featured two of our favorite guests, second hand news correspondent Anthony Crispino (Bobby Moynihan) and the hysteric inducing Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen as musical couple Garth and Kat.
Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but we imagine this episode will be all but forgotten once Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga hit the stage next week.
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Photo/Video credit: NBC
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Ummm, Colbert, Carrell and Helms were all in the AGD live-action sketch. Paying attention is a key aspect of reviewing. Remember that.
Carell & Colbert were the live action villains as well, so even more star power las night!
The episode was 'meh' for me. I find it strange that shows which are hosted by comedians or comic actors are usually the least funny. Nothing in particular had me laughing and while it was good to see the show pull 'The Ambiguously Gay Duo' out of the closet (so to speak), it also relied too much of too many recurring characters again, including the fake High Fructose Sugar ad which has been seen multiple times already.
LOVED Bobby Moynihan's Second-hand News sketch! That's one I wish they'd do more often. I agree that the high-fructose ad has been done to death and I'm tired of Garth & Kat--it's the same stuff over and over. It was great seeing the AGD cartoon brought to life--and yes, those other guys were in the live portion, too.
How does SNL determine when a skit is completely used up? Hard to believe people can still sit through "What's Up With That" and "Garth and Kat" and be more amused than annoyed.
Robert Smigel is back! It's better than have Digital Shorts every week.
Now that the real Lindsay Buckingham appeared on the "What Up With That" sketch maybe this series of sketches should retire. Another series of skteches that should retire are "Kat and Garth" (ENOUGH!! NO MORE KAT AND GARTH SKETCHES ON "UPDATE"!!!) and the ones where the guys sing the chorus to popular songs of the past. The Cat Stevens (Yuesff Islam) song "Wild World" wasn't a bad choice of song, but the concept of the sketch is old and stale.
Worst SNL in a long time. I was very disappointed! Ed Helms was barely used until the last half hour. I know not every sketch is going to funny, but wow I laughed about twice.
I really wanted to hear chris colfer talk, but i loved his facial expressions hahaha love him
Ed Helms came off as extremely nervous to me. I think thats probably why they decided not to use him much. Doing taped shows and live TV or too different things. Some people just can't pull it off.
Wasted use of Chris Colfer. They could have used him better (Love your Chris!)