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2 Clips -- Al Franken's A Senator! Coleman Conceeds, Finally!

First SNL cast member to make it to the US Senate. Jane Curtin*, I'm surprised at you, letting Al get there before you.

(* I have no idea if Jane Curtin has political aspirations, I just know that I'd enjoy seeing her on Meet the Press.)

Thanks to ThinkProgress.org for the YouTube clip below. As you watch, listen to what Coleman says about disinfranchised voters. I can't find it, but do you think he was singing the same tune in 2000 re Bush v. Gore?

Congrats to Al, Frannie, Andy Barr and the whole Franken team. Finally Bess Lindstrom (seen with her mother Phyllis, above left) has two Senators in Washington.

Two clips after the jump. Coleman conceeds in clip one. Clip two has Al playingformer Presidential candidate and host of The 700 Club, Pat Robertson, in a Church Chat segment with Dana Carvey.

(The other guest, the incomparable Phil Hartman as Jimmy Swaggart. Phil was the best. Absolutely the best.)

SNL Photog Mary Ellen Matthews on Her Musician Portraits at Spinner.com

You might remember last month (I think) I posted a link and a little remembrance of the SNL portrait work from Edie Baskin and now Mary Ellen Matthews.

Reached out to M.E.M. (thank you, Facebook) and got a lovely note back today.

That's not her above, BTW, that's Feist, just in case you're not cool enough to recognize her.

Mary Ellen did point out a feature that she did with Spinner.com with notes from her on the music personalities that she's shot for the show, I thought you might be interested in clicking over and giving the pics and her comments at this link.

And thank you, Mary Ellen. And of course (oh so hackneyed but true) "I love your work."

Are SNL's New Jersey Gay Couple the Impetus for The Gathering Storm Ad?

Great Weekend Update segment with Seth and their Jersey same-sex male couple (Hader, Armisen) on the Vermont marriage decision, and how they had a hand in its passage by "whacking a guy?"

Seth: Kill a guy?

New Jersey Gay Couple's Joe Sr.: No, we whacked him. Know what I'm talkin' about?

I'm kidding, of course.

My post on the Jersey-based National Organization for Marriage Gathering Storm farce at this link.

Yes, farce, because it's almost all a lie. The only thing I could find in the original ad that was true was the names of the people on camera.

Even the "gathering storm" in the ad was just a greenscreen effect, we know that because the Human Rights Campaign got their hands on the auditions.

Read about that at GayWired.com, at this link.

HRC site End The Lies is at this link.

Storm? only in these bigots' heads. How is my getting married gonna affect the way that woman doctor in their ad treats her patients. Someone tell me how that could possibly happen.

It can't.

Mary Ellen Matthews' SNL Host Portraits Now Up at NBC.com

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, as I don't click over all the time, but the gallery is at this link and I love these images when they cross my screen each weekend.

Paul Rudd is above,  Neil Patrick Harris below, and the rest are at the link provided.

I just adore this picture of Neil.

For years this job was the domain of the statuesque Edie Baskin. In college I had a bunch of her images on my wall as posters, including the Coneheads and my dear Gilda (who named her dog after my mom) as Roseanne Roseannadanna. In fact, it was the image below.

I used to toke up (this was years ago, remember I'm old) and sit in front of it and do my impression of her. And to answer your question? No, I didn't date a lot in college.

Edie Baskin's dad is the famous ice cream guy, her brother is a composer for TV and film.

About Ms. Matthews, from her agency's site, JedRoot.com:

For the past decade and a half, Mary Ellen has been a top entertainment portrait photographer, creating colorful, iconic images of every well-known personality of the age. Her work documents the uber-famous in myriad fields, from pop stars (Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson) to politicians (Al Gore, George Bush, John McCain), sports legends (Tom Brady, Derek Jeter) to rock gods (Mick Jagger, U2, Neil Young). Her experience includes film and television stills and publicity, advertising campaigns, celebrity weddings, and rock tours.

Since 1999, she has been the photographer for Saturday Night Live, where she has been responsible for creating (and recreating each season) the distinctive look of the show’s still images. Through creative and playful styling and a demeanor that puts her subjects at ease-as well as intense post-production work-she produces unique and recognizable portraits under the manic deadlines of live television.

I've just contacted Ms. Matthews at Facebook. If she has any upcoming shows of her work, I'll add dates and locations here.

Yes, I'm suggesting you leave your TV for a while. It will be there when you get back. And, you should have a DVR by now anyway.

30 Rock Video -- Liz Lemon's "Hi, I'm Bijou, Call Me" Gig (the full unexpurgated version)

People might also remember another commercial parody starring Tina from the SNL days. Does the word nerfherder mean anything to you? I would post the clip after the jump, but their embed code scares me (looks sketchy, might be a browser hijack or something malicious), so you can click over there to watch it at your leisure, at this link.

For those of you who haven't seen it it includes Paris Hilton as Tom Baker's Doctor (see photo).

That may either amuse you or sicken you.

If it sickens you, I can do nothing but suggest you swallow that in favor of Tina, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler. 

I'm kind of surprised that no one has bought the domain name 1-900OKFACE.com yet.

At least they haven't so far. 

Hey, speaking of Amy, did you read the article in the NY Times on Parks & Recreation? It's at this link. Show starts a week from Thursday, NBC giving it a big launch with a wraparound of two new episodes of The Office.

Speaking of Paris, she was in a barfight yesterday. Seriously. (SOURCE)

Speaking of Rachel Dratch, she has a movie with Amy and Parker Posey coming out, but alas it's straight to DVD ... The Smoking Gun has a mugshot of the real-life Debbie Downer (or a reasonable facsimile, anyway).

And I got nothing else. Click over the jump for the clip.

Patty & Selma Rejoice, MacGyver Set for Movie Return Hopefully With Paper Clips

I think Selma and Patty Bouvier (you know, Marge Simpson's sisters) should thank Will Forte and SNL for this. Just a hunch, but do you really think this movie happens without MacGruber?

I don't.

Yes, there's a sweet spot in this heart for Will, but seriously the conversation would not even have started without the MacGruber Super Bowl ads, which as you'll remember pissed me off.

I guess New Line figured if the character was hot enough for parody and a commercial or two it could be brought back to the teeming masses without them saying, "MacWhoNow?"

TV.com:

MacGyver aired on ABC from 1985 to 1992, and entered television legend after creating one of the most badass dudes ever to grace the small screen. MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1), was a secret agent who preferred the use of brains over brawn; using his knowledge of science, MacGyver avoided sticky situations by creating extraordinary things out of ordinary objects (think Mr. Wizard meets James Bond).

New Line is reportedly looking to make the film more on the family-friendly and fun side, so don't expect to see the new MacGyver turn terrorist threats into a bloody mess with a few coat hangers and a case of rubber bands.

After the jump, watch Richard Dean Anderson fix the world with the aforementioned paper clip.

Video -- My SNL Crush, Will Forte, on Anytime with Bob Kushell

I guess the reason I was so disappointed that MacGruber became a Pepsi commercial for the Super Bowl is that ... a) I hate product placement, and b) I loves me some Will Forte.

For you body shaving aficianados, Will gives up the goods on his unique shaving technique.

Let's watch this together, shall we?

Ready, set, go. It's after the jump.

ABC News Story on Ad Tricks During Down Times Misses the Big One, the Under-the-Radar Cell Ring

Don't get me wrong, they were pretty thorough. And I wouldn't really call them ad tricks, I suggest all this stuff falls under the umbrella of innovation.

The first thing mentioned is the Super Bowl weekend MacGruber-fest on NBC's Saturday Night Live and the next day during the game. I am so hoping that the addition of Richard Dean Anderson in this latest series is a sign that the sketch series is over and they decided to burn it out with a bang.

ABCNews.com:

In each of the three versions of the ad -- which is a spoof on the 1980s' special agent McGyver -- "SNL" actor Will Forte constantly touts Pepsi products as he and two friends (one of them played by original "McGyver" actor Richard Dean Anderson) try to escape from a building that is about to explode. In the third version of the ad, Forte's obsession with Pepsi has grown and he is no longer making sense when he speaks. He just repeats "Pepsi" over and over again.

"Everyone does product placement, but this was way over the top," said Hall. "The ads illustrated how insanely insane product placement has become."

"This is definitely a result of the poor economy," he said. "Advertisers are finding ways to hold up their products and say their names as much as possible."

Like I said, I'm hoping this is the last time. It was way over the top, I'm not the only one who said so.

The other stuff, all interesting ideas ... those Vegas ads with the entire population of that small Texas town visiting, McDonalds and Starbucks in a coffee price war, Spirit Airlines plastering ads on their flight attendants ... all interesting, all of it seen before.

The thing they don't mention? The "lets put a cell phone ringing in the middle of this ad so that you look up from your TV advertising distraction," whether it be your TV listings or your sandwich or martini or the paper or your screaming child.

Have you noticed this? It's the most evil insidious thing. Usually hidden in a musical section of a commercial and for products that have nothing to do with electronics.

Now that's an ad trick. Tricky little bastards.

Think I'm crazy? Listen to some commercials today on the tube, tell me it's not happening.

"I'm onto you people!"

I love my DVR, sometimes I don't have to see more than the last five seconds of any commercial.

And you know what I also hate? Even when I adjust all the settings on the TV and the cable box, the commercials are still way frickin' louder than the show I'm watching.

They claim this isn't true. They lie.

SNL Video -- Watch Canteen Boy & the Scoutmaster Before Alec Baldwin Hosts Tonight

The musical guests are the Jonas Brothers. No clip from them as this is not a space for kids, but do watch this below, which is legendary and features what I think is Adam Sandler's only decent performance on the show, ever.

Not really a fan of Sandler, not at all.

But I do love my Alec Baldwin. Not just 'cause he's a Long Island boy and not just because he's the co-host of TCM's The Essentials this season.

And, speaking of Alec and SNL, there was a sketch that Alec did with Molly Shannon back in the day where Alec plays, get this, a little girl that has some sort of disease that has made her look like a handsome, virile man. Molly plays the children's ward hospital clown who does untoward things with this patient.

Can't find it or even a mention of it anywhere on the web.

This isn't one ofthose things that just happened in my brain and not in actual existence, is it?

Clip after the jump, watch the show tonight at 11:29 (why 11:29 anyway?) on NBC.

(I'm actually quite sure that the Baldwin-Shannon sketch that I described really happened. I just think it was maybe too over the top of the show at the time and it never ran in the shortened version for syndication and cable. A shame, too, because it remains one of the funniest sketches the show has ever done.)

I've Just Read 95 Questions For Joss Whedon

They are at this link at NYTimes.com.

I recommended many, especially the Doctor Who/Torchwood questions. You can always count on me for that.

Joss will be answering them, evidently, later in the week (betcha it's Friday) at some NYT link.

I'll try to clue you in.

The New York Times? They like-a the Joss, too.

The guys after the jump? They like-a the juice.