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Posts Tagged 'TV'

Headline Acts: Musicians Who Host “Saturday Night Live”

November 6th, 2009 by Rebecca Harper Editor

This weekend, Taylor Swift joins a long list of artists who have pulled double-duty on the Saturday Night Live set, performing not only as a musical guest, but also hosting the show and acting in several sketches. Time will tell how well the country/pop star will do — though perhaps she picked up a few things while filming Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend, Twilight: New Moon star Taylor Lautner. (Oh, we can imagine the jokes already.) As Swift preps her monologue and braces herself for a cavalcade of Kanye West jokes, the Hulu team took a look back at some of the other musical artists who gave hosting a try — sometimes with mixed results. — Rebecca Harper (), Editor

Justin Timberlake: Host with the Most
Few artists from the Billboard charts have managed to resonate with the SNL crowd as well as the guy who brought sexy back. Whether he’s wearing a Chess King button-down in digital shorts like “Motherlover” or rocking a white leisure suit as Robin Gibb in the hilarious “Barry Gibb Talk Show” sketches, Justin Timberlake is gold as far as SNL is concerned. Here, he shares some family history in a little sketch called “Immigrant Tale.”

Paul Simon: The Original
Long before Justin Timberlake was born, singer-songwriter Paul Simon paved the way for generations of musical guests looking for hosting duties. His monologue was self-effacing, good-spirited — and still funny after all these years.

Sting: The Rocker
Promoting his 1991 release “Soul Cages,” Sting put on a punk rock wig to channel his inner Billy Idol for this classic sketch featuring the who’s-who of 1990s SNL. In the end, the sketch served as a vehicle for the late, great Phil Hartman to deliver his belligerent Frank Sinatra impression, but Sting did a respectable job as the snarling rocker.



Queen Latifah: Crossover Artist
Though her 2004 movie Taxi — also starring Jimmy Fallon from SNL — bombed in the box office, Queen Latifah is one of the few music artists who can hold her own in front of the camera. In this fake commercial, she played up the stresses of being one of the only two black women in her office. Fortunately, she had just the cure.



Ludacris: Sharing the Spotlight
In November 2006, actor-rapper Ludacris stepped aside for the debut of the much more talented Blizzard Man (Andy Samberg at his dorkiest), whom ‘Cris lauded as “Marvin Gaye mixed with a little Stevie Wonder.” And though Samberg is definitely the scene stealer here, Ludacris’ performance proves that the SNL writers can’t go wrong when they ask their double-duty hosts to just play themselves.

Janet Jackson: Tongue-Tied
Granted, when Janet Jackson — that’s Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty — hosted, she was no stranger to acting. After all, she starred in “Good Times” in the 1970. Her “SNL” gig was nearly 30 years later, though, so it’s no wonder she tripped up in this tongue-twister of sketch that was full of innuendo.

Jon Bon Jovi: ’80s Flashback
While Amy Poehler is the true star of this ’80s flashback sketch, a cloud of Aqua Net fumes brought a bandana-clad Jon Bon Jovi to life, straight from the “Slippery When Wet” era. For those of us old enough to remember “You Give Love a Bad Name,” it’s a delight to hear that the young Jon Francis Bon Jovi, Jr., was just another fat kid who played the French horn.

Steve Martin: Role Reversal
SNL alum Steve Martin was no stranger to hosting duties when he headlined the late night show last January — after all, it was his 15th time delivering a monologue — but this time, things were different. Martin also performed “Late for School” as musical guest. In addition to his folksy banjo ditty, he presented one cool digital short: “Laser Cats 4.”



Garth Brooks: Alter-Egos
In November 1999, the second time country singer Garth Brooks hosted SNL, his alter ego, Chris Gaines performed as the musical guest. The writers played up this peculiar lineup with an ongoing gag about a bizarre love triangle between Brooks, Gaines and Chris Kattan’s “Mango” character.

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Crash Course: “Greek”

November 3rd, 2009 by Rebecca Harper Editor

Drama abounds at Cyprus Rhodes University, the fictional college campus where ABC Family’s Greek takes place. Pledges steal their big sisters’ boyfriends, sororities try to pay their way to the top of the Pan-Hellenic rankings, and best friends come to blows over girls and fraternity allegiances. (Missed any of this drama? Catch up on Hulu — we have Seasons 1, 2 and most of 3.) So far on Season 3, roommates Rusty and Dale — the resident science geeks — are struggling for a research grant, and it’s costing them their friendship; Zeta Beta Zeta queen bee Casey poured her heart out to her ex-boyfriend Cappie, only to be rejected; and bitter rivals Evan and Cappie — former best friends who’ve both dated Casey — are friends again, thanks to a secret underground society. In last night’s episode, “Friend or Foe,” the fall semester is winding down, and the mid-season finale (the show returns in 2010) is full of fraternity pranks, romance, singing and dancing, and — we’re not making this up — a BattleBots showdown between Rusty and Dale.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on. Some of the scenes near the end of the episode were really fun to shoot. It’s an action-packed episode with a lot of drama. It’s actually kind of sad, too,” Scott Michael Foster (who plays Cappie) told us. “There’s a lot of stuff going and emotions are high. It’s always cool to shoot scenes like that, because we always want to make sure we have good finales for the audience.”

Now that Cappie’s back together with Casey, he has to break the news to a possibly less-than-supportive Evan. “When we were reading the scripts and finding out where they were going to go with this storyline, we wanted for them to all stay friends and be happy,” he said, “but drama has to come from somewhere, so it’s definitely hard for the three of them to have a relationship. You’re going to see how it all affects them in the finale.”

Ready to see what happens? Here’s the full episode.

Rebecca Harper ()
Hulu’s ZBZ Wannabe

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New Series: Martin Yan’s Hong Kong

November 2nd, 2009 by Rebecca Harper Editor

Looking for a quick international getaway that doesn’t require a trip to the airport? Check out Martin Yan’s Hong Kong and get to know the flavors of this world-class island city. In each episode, the congenial “Yan Can Cook” chef shares some of his favorite places in Hong Kong with the Hulu audience — and along the way, he and his chef friends share their favorite recipes. Best of all, cooking demonstrations and travel tips are served with a healthy amount of Chef Yan’s trademark wit. We had the opportunity to speak to Yan about his Hong Kong adventures by phone last week; check out our conversation below. — Rebecca Harper (), Editor

Hulu: First, can you tell us why you decided to do a series about Hong Kong?
Chef Yan: Well, if anybody has traveled to Hong Kong, it’s a city that not only never sleeps, but it never slows down. Hong Kong has always been considered the gourmet paradise and the Mecca of great foods. Being an international city and colonized by the British for over 100 years, Hong Kong is the crossroads of all the great foods. You have some of the best Western restaurants, French restaurants, Italian restaurants, Russian restaurants, Southeast Asian restaurants, and you also have the best Chinese restaurants. They actually refer to Hong Kong as the “fragrant harbor.” There are more restaurants per capita in Hong Kong than anywhere else in the world.

How did you decide which dishes and which parts of Hong Kong to focus on for this series, since Hong Kong is such a diverse large city?
I actually trained in Hong Kong. When I left Guangzhou, China when I was 13, I actually spent six years in Hong Kong working in restaurants. And after I graduated from college, I went back to Hong Kong to work. I worked for a food magazine, so I have a lot of fond memories, and I have some favorites of Hong Kong. Normally what I do in the Hong Kong Series, basically, is to feature the uniqueness of Hong Kong and what makes Hong Kong so different. Each show actually has a theme — for instance, bamboo. In Hong Kong, when they build high rises, they don’t use steel racks. They use bamboo scaffolding, all the way up to the 30th or 40th floor, so it’s very, very unique. You see people climbing up and down the bamboo scaffolding. And then the whole theme is on bamboo, talking about the use of bamboo in China and Southeast Asia. We talk about using bamboo shoots, cooking bamboo shoots, when whole bamboo is used, and when the bamboo leaf is used to wrap Chinese tamales in dim sum restaurants. Each one is about what makes Hong Kong so unique.

In another program, we talk about water. Hong Kong is an island, a peninsula island that is all surrounded by water. You water everywhere: you see deep water, you see the bay, the harbor, and then you see seafood restaurants everywhere. There’s an abundance of seafood from all over the world, not only the surrounding area. The whole series is about life, food, lifestyle, arts and the excitement, and what makes Hong Kong so unique.

Which episodes are your favorites?
They’re all my favorites. Otherwise, I wouldn’t put them in the series. I’m a world traveler. Normally my focus is not just on featuring one subject matter and one theme, but also to give people a broad understanding and an introduction to a great city. You see London, Paris, Tokyo, and New York and Los Angeles… Hong Kong is probably if not the most, then one of the most exciting cities in the world. You ask anybody who has visited Hong Kong, and they never forget all the excitement, all the energy. You go to New York – -and I love New York, I love London — but you only see part of New York, or part of London. You only see the theater district or Times Square, a certain area that never sleeps. But in Hong Kong, the entire city never sleeps. If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong, you’ll notice that it’s not just part of Hong Kong, but the entire city of Hong Kong is always bustling. There’s 7 to 8 million people living in a place that’s smaller than Chicago.

How often do you travel to Hong Kong?
I go there eight times years. I just landed, and I’m going back there in November and December. I do shows in China and Hong Kong, and I bring a lot professional chefs. I bring a leisure, gourmet tour as well as professional chefs to Hong Kong and China.

And why did you decide to put this series on Hulu?
Hulu is a great medium to reach a good audience. People who are interested in information, interested in entertainment would be browsing around Hulu and watch the programs. It’s also a new medium and excited. I’m very excited to partner with Hulu, and hopefully this is not the end, but the beginning.

I read that you’ve hosted over 3,000 cooking shows …
Yeah, I’ve done more cooking shows than most people. Not necessarily all people, but most people. I started doing the cooking show in 1978, 1979, for 30 years now.

How do you keep finding new ideas?
Well, I travel a great deal. I’m passionate about food and I love to eat, and I have a lot of friends everywhere. Everywhere I go, people always give me the best. Because of that, they inspire me. Being a guy that loves to eat — some people love tennis, some people love hiking, some people love swimming or surfing. I happen to love to eat and love to cook. Also, when you eat different food, like Cuban food, or Russian food, or Burmese food, you also understand the culture and the backdrop of the people. It’s a fascinating thing, a study of anthropology, of history and lifestyle when you go to a restaurant. Like when you go to an Indian restaurant, you see the decor. You go to a Thai restaurant and you see the wood carvings and the embroidery. You go to a Vietnamese or Cambodian restaurant, you see something. So the restaurant is a reflection of the culture and heritage. Just like people collecting stamps, you can study a lot about the people and their history. Food and restaurants are the same. Food is an expression of the chef and the owner. It’s how they want to present themselves and what kind of target audience they want to reach. For me, it’s always a cultural and culinary journey when you go into a restaurant, and it’s the same thing when I travel and when bring the program to people. I constantly learn from the chef, from the people, from home cooks. You cannot possibly know all the cuisine and the culture in the world, so by traveling, I bring all my memories and all my experiences with the people to the audience. I hope Hulu will continue to be in the forefront of bringing all this information and excitement and entertainment to people.

And when you’re at home, are you the one that cooks?
I always cook for myself. People always ask my wife, “Who cooks at home?” My wife always points her finger to me. When I’m home, I cook. I have three refrigerators and two sinks, and a big counter and a professional cooktop in my house. Everything is given to me by GE Monogram, so I can cook at home. I entertain a lot at home. When I’m home, I invite all my friends and neighbors to come and have dinner. A lot of times, I ask everybody to get involved, though. I normally cook one or two items, and they bring the dessert and salad and everything. Food and cooking brings everyone together. I hope my program on Hulu will bring more excitement and fun to the people that love food and travel, because all my programs are a combination of traveling and food and cooking.

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Subtle Sexuality Drops Its First Track

October 29th, 2009 by Rebecca Harper Editor

If The Office’s Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) could star in her own music video, you know it’d be fun, sparkly and full of not-so-subtle references to her workplace lover, Ryan the temp (BJ Novak). And that’s just what her girl group’s first music video is all about. “Male Prima Donna” features an awesome amount of gold spandex and a healthy dose of T-Pain-style auto-tune, but — besides all the awkward dancing by Kelly and her receptionist-friend Erin (Ellie Kemper) — our favorite things about Subtle Sexuality’s video may have to be the appearances of the Nard Dog and Mr. Understood. What can we say? Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) can really sing a bridge and Ryan can rap as well as anyone straight outta Lackawanna County. Here’s a look at the “Subtle Sexuality” webisodes from The Office. — Rebecca Harper ()

Creative Differences
Kelly may never officially reveal the inspiration behind “Male Prima Donna,” but she’s more than happy to let “The Office” cameras follow her around as she produces her first music video. The Dunder Mifflin break room is converted into wardrobe — as Oscar’s trying to eat lunch, naturally — so Kelly can do Ryan’s makeup (he likes a lot of blush and eyeliner), and the parking lot serves as an impromptu set for a scene involving a priest and a smoking bride.

The Replacement
While the SubSex girls may have lost one of their video extras, they soon set their sights on a replacement: Andy, a former member of Cornell’s “Hear Comes Treble” a cappella group. What can we say? He had us with his ode to a vending machine.

The Music Video
In the end, the video had room for all the key players: Ryan in a white top hat and cane as Mr. Understood, while the Nard Dog puts on quite the show in the Dunder-Mifflin warehouse. Meanwhile, Kelly and Erin tear it up as they get down to the chorus: “But I can’t help but want ‘cha / I’m an independent diva / But I still kinda need ya” in gold spandex, wedding clothes and pirate garb. Need a last-minute Halloween costume? We think you’ve found your inspiration.

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Awkward “Family” Moments

October 28th, 2009 by Rebecca Harper Editor

One of the undisputed breakout hits of the fall TV season has been ABC’s Modern Family, a mockumentary-style comedy that skewers the all-American sitcom family. For starters, patriarch Jay (played by Ed O’Neill from Married … with Children) is a divorcee recently remarried to Gloria (Sofia Vergara), the hot Colombian mother of Manny, a smarter-than-his-years 10-year-old. Jay’s daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), is a no-nonsense mother of three whose husband, Phil (Ty Burrell), is desperate to be cool. Meanwhile, Jay’s son, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) just adopted a Vietnamese baby with his partner, Cameron (Eric Songstreet). The Pritchett-Dunphys are not your typical TV family, but their quirks and idiosyncrasies make us feel right at home. Below, we share some of the most awkward moments we’ve seen on Modern Family. — Rebecca Harper () for the Yahoo! TV Blog

Good Parents Always Offer Their Two Cents
In the season opener, Mitchell and Cameron have a daunting task ahead of them: the gay couple needs to tell the rest of the family about their newly adopted baby. But Mitchell’s family isn’t known for keeping their opinions to themselves. As he’s about to break the news, Jay interrupts to share his thoughts on the subject of Mitchell and Cameron’s relationship. As a result, Cameron misses his cue and makes his dramatic entrance — with baby in tow — a few beats too soon.

Good Parents Teach Life Lessons
When Claire and Phil’s son, Luke, shoots his sister with a BB gun, they decide it’s time to teach Luke an important lesson: retaliation. As punishment for his actions, Luke must get shot with a BB gun himself, and so Phil takes his son to the backyard, where (as expected) nothing seems to go according to plan. Lesson learned? Who knows, but we’re sure Phil will never look at a gun the same.

Good Parents Give Older Boyfriends a Chance
Claire’s eldest daughter, Haley has a new boyfriend — a high school senior — and mom and dad aren’t so sure about their daughter dating an older boy. But when Dylan shows surprising insight during a volatile family moment, they decide to give him a chance. All that changes, though, when he performs a completely inappropriate but surprisingly catchy song he wrote for his sweetheart in front of the entire family.

Good Parents Want their Kids to Excel
Some of our favorite “Family” moments involve Mitchell and Cameron. In this scene, Mitchell shows his competitive side at baby play group, while Cameron — the diva of the bunch — shows off his dance moves.

Good Dads Enjoy Time with the Family
Hapless son-in-law Phil is always trying to bond with Claire’s dad, but Jay isn’t so tolerant of Phil. That said, Phil convinces his father-in-law to take him out to fly his model plane, and Jay reluctantly agrees — but never gives Phil the chance to take the controls. Instead, he decides to show Phil one of his favorite tricks, one that requires Phil to cross the air field and stand far, far away from Jay.

Good Parents are “Cool”
“Modern Family” fans know that Phil’s desperate to seem cool to his kids, and he goes to great lengths to show his kids how “with it” he can be. Unfortunately for Phil, his attempts at being hip usually miss the mark, as seen here, when he tries to impress — and intimidate — Haley’s boyfriend Dylan.

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