BLOGS
Tracy Morgan joked that he was in more sketches during this past weekend's guest hosting gig than he was in during his entire tenure on SNL. That may be true, but his recurring characters, which were dusted off and brought back just for the occasion, made for some of the brightest spots this week. His Brian Fellows and Astronaut Jones sketches were two of the few things that really made me laugh during the episode. Maybe it is just that both sketches have catchy theme songs. I'm a sucker for theme music. But I think the fact that they had little to do with any of the rest of the cast probably isn't a coincidence. Though Tracy on Big Love was a funny idea ... for a minute... had it not gone on so long. SNL's writing staff really needs to learn to edit down their stuff of late.... but that's another rant for another day. Some of their funniest things are just quick hit jokes. Like Astronaut Jones having a brief conversation with an alien species (in the form of Andy Samberg) made even that tired punchline more amusing because they didn't drag it out forever.
And it wasn't just the two Tracy sketches that took my mind away from Kelly Clarkson's super greasy looking hair (what did those hair people DO to her?), it was also his fabulous opening segment and snappy self-deprecating monologue. Now that the election is over, I'm tired of every single week opening with a long boring political segment. Seeing Tracy yell "Live from New York" was a treat, especially knowing how damned hard it is to get into the 30 Rock building without an ID. Seriously. The security here is no joke. And Tracy poking fun at himself and his fish tank fire, and his inability to recognize Lorne Michaels was great. It covered the multitude of boring stuff (including the dull digital short) that happened in the episode. And even his closing remarks were goofy, like he'd won an Academy Award.
I know he's probably busy at his day job on 30 Rock, but really... is he that busy? Maybe he could drop by once in a while (Tina made it work) and just show up as Brian Fellows now and again. A girl can dream... In the meantime, I can watch clips.
Brian Fellow's Safari Planet
Tracy's Breaking Back Into the Building Opening
What did you think of Tracy's return to SNL? Sound off below.
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I can't explain it, but one of my favorite Tracy bits is his barely audible and mostly unintelligible one and two-word utterances during the monologue performed by the Astronaut Jones alien. I don't know why I find it so funny, I think it has to do with the timing, the way he just fires off words the entire time. I was really happy to see Astronaut Jones again the other night.
This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but...it's Brian FELLOW, not Brian FELLOWS. It's Brian Fellow's Safari Planet, not Brian Fellows's Safari Planet. (You guys have it right in the video caption but wrong in the rest of the post.) Then again, I can't be bugged by it too much since Tracy can't keep it straight either -- he used to say Fellow, but now he says Fellows every time.
Anyway, I enjoyed the heck out of the show, and I agree that Tracy's mumblings during Astronaut Jones are inexplicably awesome. I always wonder how much of Tracy's persona is real (didn't Tina Fey say that she used to just follow him around and write down everything he said?) and how much of it is constructed -- either way, he is hi-lah-rious.
Once again I have to disagree. I always hated Tracy Morgan when he was on SNL as a cast member, and I think his spot as a host was terrible. But hey, TWOP having awful taste (Angel Cohn in particular) is just one of those things I've gotten used to.
I'm sorry, but Tracy Morgan wasn't funny. At all. He acts the same in every sketch and it's ridiculously stupid. The only highlight of SNL was the mildly funny digital short.
I'm sorry, but Tracy Morgan wasn't funny. At all. He acts the same in every sketch and it's ridiculously stupid. The only highlight of SNL was the mildly funny digital short.