Favorite Sitcoms and Why

Now, I usually look down upon situation comedies, being a theatre snob, but I do have a list of guilty pleasures/favorites. All of these shows don't require laugh tracks--they are that good.

Three's Company is the essence of the situational comedy. There is a distinct, and defined situation. Jack Tripper needs a place to stay, and is living with two girls, who tell the landlord that he is gay for him to stay there. This is hard, because now Jack has to keep up appearances, has the landlords feeling uncomfortable around him, and can't date around the landlords either. Then you have the smart brunette, dumb blonde. Some of the stuff Chrissy, the dumb blonde, says are hilarious. Janet, the smart brunette, is the sane one who holds the house together. Sadly, Suzanne Sommers developed a big head, and ended up quitting, and was replaced by younger actress, as her sister who was a Chrissy clone, and was then replaced with smart, blonde nurse Terry, played by Priscilla Barnes, who was very professional.

The comedy of the show came from the formulaic plots, revolving around a comedic misunderstanding, that gradually keeps getting worse and worse, ending with a hilarious climax. The show pulls it off, and it works nicely.

Along with the three roommates, we have Larry, the womanizing neighbor, and the landlords. Originally, Mr. and Mrs. Roeper were the landlords, and the show sometimes dealt with their marriage, which was kind of hard to watch, because it would be resolved, and next episode, same problems. Mr. Roeper was very uncomfortable around Jack. Then the Roepers got their own spin-off, and the leisure suit wearing Mr. Furley replaced him. Mr. Furley was played by the wonderful Don Knotts, probably one of my favorite comedic actors. It was nice to see a seasoned veteran on the show. Even when drama was going on regarding Suzannne Sommers, the show fell back on Don Knotts and John Ritter, who is once again possibly one of the best comedic actors ever. It was formulaic, but they pulled it off.

Three Words: Neil Patrick Harris. His Barney Stinson is the best part of this show, slick womanizer, calculating flirt, who works for a mysterious company, yet has some redeemable qualities as well. He was the break-out character of the show. Okay, now I can rant about how a grown man can become Bob Saget in the near future, but I won't. Because Bob Saget's good as a narrator. My favorite things about this show would be the Canadian jokes, the flashbacks (good use of flashbacks), Robin Sparkles, celebrity appearances, some of the physical gags (mainly Marshall's freakishly tall family, among other stuff), and the anticipation of who the mother is. Also, the actors are all great, but clearly NPH's character stands out the most, but the characters do have their own quirky qualities.

In the pilot episode, Bill Cosby's character, Dr. Cliff Huxtable, has a stern talking to with son Theo (played by Malcolm Jamal Warner, who is awesome), who is slacking off in school. Basically, it ends with Cliff berating him and calling him an idiot. Then in the series finale, there is a flashback (this show doesn't use flashbacks) to that exact same moment, as Theo miraculously graduates college. This set the tone for the whole show. Great cast, great actors. Rudy's actress, Keisha Knight Pulliam, is one of those rare child actresses who doesn't get by on just cuteness and saying catchphrases. Sadly, when her character became a preteen, enter Raven Symone as the precocious Olivia, the new cute child. Now why fix something that isn't broken. I like Raven Symone, but this was one of the jumping the shark moments of the show. This show has some hilarious moments that I cannot list, but for the majority of the show, before Lisa Bonet left for good, was great. Also, Cliff and Claire had an large amount of libido for a tv couple. Oh, and what kind of parents let their son hang out with a kid named Cockroach.

Great actors, great storylines, until Donna became blond and Topher Grace left. Pretty much every other line was hilarious. Great fantasy sequences, and of course, to top it all off, "The Circle." Watching this show makes me want to travel back in time and hang out in Point Place. Also, it doesn't hurt that pretty much everyone in this cast is eye candy (Kurtwood Smith is kind of sexy... kind of...). Oh, and it was nice to see Tanya Roberts, a former Charlie's Angel act in a comedic role. This show gave rise to Ashton Kutcher, and Golden Globe nominee Mila Kunis. And the guest stars. It's hard to name them all. Actually, Larry's actor from Three's Company appeared with Cindy (blonde 2 on Three's Company) in an episode together. Possibly one of my favorite guest stars would have to be in the last season, when Barry Willaims and Christopher Knight (Greg and Peter Brady) appeared as an openly gay couple. Red (the protagonist, Eric's, father, played by Kurtwood Smith) is surprisingly accepting of them, but then throws them out of the house when they preferred another football team over the Packers. Oh, and how could I forget Tommy Chong as washed out stoner Leo. Everything he says is hilarious. He's at the church and says that the guy onstage tells a few stories, they sing songs, it's like a religious experience, man. The best description of Leo's character can be told by Ashton Kutcher's character, Kelso in a circle sequence. One time, Leo made me a grilled cheese sandwich. And he put butter on the bread, and on the crusts, and grilled it, so it was all nice, but he forgot the cheese. If you want a funny episode, I suggest the garage sale episode. The adults accidently ingest some of Hyde (the paranoid philosophical, non-conformist, 70s antithesis bad boy)'s "special" brownies, and you see a role reversal of Eric being the parent when Red sells his car. And you get to see the adults in the circle.

Up next, sitcoms that either use a laughing track, or are holding an audience captive and using torture devices to get them to laugh.

Unintentional Comedy: Why Rebecca Black's Friday is Funny

We've touched upon several genres of modern comedy: satire, rant, stand-up, absurdist/surrealist, alternative, and anti-comedy. But there's another genre that some people consider comedy: Unintentional Comedy.

You see unintentional comedy everyday:

Your niece's school's deplorable performance of Annie

American Idol Auditions

The latest internet trainwreck video your aunt forwards to you

And that golden moment where someone lets out gas that's perfect for the situation.

This is stuff that wasn't meant to be funny, but it's so bad, it's hilarious. If it's a comedy, but poorly done, the reason why you're laughing is because you're not laughing with them, you're laughing at them.

Bad movies are a source for unintentional comedy. Tommy Wiseau's The Room is the most modern example, although this can date back to Ed Woods.



The Room was intended to be a serious drama, but due to a bunch of stuff I won't go into, because I'm focusing on Rebecca Black, the film has become a cult hit, and has a Rock Horror following. Although Tommy Wiseau (the guy with the long hair and the weird accent that makes him sound like a drunk guy trying to do an impersonation of that foreign kid down the hall), denies that it was a drama gone bad, and instead says that he intended it to be that way--a comedy, it was a movie gone wrong. And you know what? Even though people are laughing at him, he's making money from people buying DVDs of The Room to laugh at. And at least people are having fun when they watch it, which is what he wants.

Moving onto Friday, I know, I'm hopping on the bandwagon late. This video became popular last month, and I watched it last week, and now the song's stuck in my head, and because the video cracks me up, whenever I hear the song in my head, I start laughing, and everyone's like, "who's that crazy chick, laughing to herself?" See, it's insanity inducing. But more and more people are still watching it for the first time, the comments on its youtube page have to be updated every thirty seconds because new comments keep coming in.

Some background: Rebecca Black is a thirteen-year-old girl who likes to sing and wants to be famous. And her parents happened to have four thousand dollars that they could allocate for her dreams. She found out about the Ark Music Factory, a new record label whose goal is to find new, young, tween and teen artists. And if you pay them four thousand dollars, you can record a pre-written song with them, and they can make a music video with you. It reminds me of those stores you could go to and spend ten dollars to make an amateur CD or a music video. Only for four thousand dollars? You can make one yourself if you have friends who are good with a camera and final cut.

Anyway, the company released the video onto youtube, so Rebecca could show her friends and family, and be like her idol, Justin Bieber. And it became viral. So many dislikes. Next thing you know, poor Rebecca is on Good Morning America, Leno, and many other shows. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Taylor Hicks teamed up to sing their own version on Jimmy's show. But the comments on her video are possibly the meanest things ever. People are saying that this is the worst song ever professional critics and youtubers alike. But she's being a good sport about it. But why is this video so bad and so funny? Let's watch.



The beginning of the video looks like the kind of stuff they make for Bar Mitzvah montage, the flip book, and the bad editing in.

Her voice: It isn't bad, it's not good. The annoying part is how nasal it is. I took voice lessons, and this was the stuff I was told not to do. Poor girl needs real voice lessons. It sounds like whoever her teacher is, if she has one, is part Kardashian and part Wisconsin yooper.

Okay, are those thirteen year olds driving a car? I know kids are pathetically trying to act like miniature adults now, but driving a car? Don't get in the back seat, or the front seat! It's not safe!

The banality of the lyrics, debating if she should get the front seat or the back seat. I don't blame Rebecca, I blame the writers of the song!

The lyrics get worse. We we we so excited? Do people talk like that now? Is that the hip way to talk?

When she was in the car, driving through the streets during daytime, it looked realistic, but now they're in front of a backdrop of a nighttime scene. Bad transition.


Yesterday was Thursday. Today was Friday. Really?

Oh, remember when in every pop music video they'd have a guy come and rap in the bridge (the middle)? This is like that only worse, because this isn't some talented rapper. This is one of the founders of Ark Music trying to get famous himself. This is your client's video. Not yours! And he's rapping about passing a school bus. Oh, and cut to him during the coda, bopping his head.


Fun fun fun fun.


This video has every bad pop music video cliche.


Poor, poor Rebecca, a better song, some voice lessons, and not having your record label's head doing a creepy, redundant rap during the bridge would have made your video subpar. And Rebecca's under police protection because she's getting death threats. Okay, these threats aren't viable, these are usually losers on the internet, on 4-chan, or pre-teen or teen kids who would think this is fun to do. Don't threaten Rebecca. If there's anything really wrong about this, it's the travesty of a song written.

Now, comedians themselves can be targets of unintentional comedy. I think it's every comedian's worse fear to have people laughing at you and not with you. Since I started doing stand-up in high school, it's always been a fear. Because I was one of the outcasts--I was Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed (okay, that was middle school, but in high school I was still one of the girls to make fun of, but then I became somewhat cool after I actually started really writing). This is one of my weak stand-up acts. See for yourself.

Keanu Reeves Reads Chekhov

I know, I actually like Keanu Reeves. In the spirit of his latest movie, I recorded a new video of him reading from The Cherry Orchard. My voice is too high, so it doesn't exactly sound like him.

Fred Ain't Funny

Most of my posts have been me praising several comedians, close to the point of worship.

Well, I have a mean side too.

Earlier in my posts I mentioned a youtube comedian named Fred. And I've said he's not funny. And now I'll explain why.

Let me give you some background info. Fred Figglehorn (haha, his name sounds funny, that's real funny) was created by Lucas Cruikshank, a teenage boy from Ohio. Since then, Fred's received one million subscribers, and became the most subscribe channel, before falling to Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi as the most subscribed (at least they are funny).

A typical Fred video




As we can see, all Fred does is speak in a high-pitched voice, which is edited, and crosses his eyes, and says weird stuff. If Fred spoke with a normal voice, he wouldn't be as funny. This shows that practically anyone can make a Fred style video and have people find it funny. In order to illustrate, I have made this video below. I did a monologue from a play, and sped up my voice.



Fred is part of what I call OMG SO RANDOM! Humor that is dominating the younger generation today. Some may call it surreal or absurdist. The thing is, surreal and absurdist humor is thoughtfully planned out. OMG SO RANDOM! Humor are kids just throwing inside jokes and things they find funny into a comedy melting pot. And other kids enjoy it. And they will become belligerent if others point out the flaws. Now, these kids will make up the next generation of comedians, and will create stuff that will make Aristophanes roll in his grave.

As well, let's look at Fred's subscribers: Kids and tweens. His target audience is kids and tweens. Try to debate them on how Fred isn't worth subscribing to and they'll freak out, and bombard you with hateful comments. And like I have said, these kids are the next generation.

So, what can we do? Well, Fred is already becoming capitalized, with several sponsorships. As well, Lucas has made appearances on both Disney and Nickelodeon. So now he's more famous than ever. But he might get old soon, and his fans might grow up.

And don't think I'm the only one who is ranting on Fred.

Here is Peter Chao, and yes, the accent is part of his persona, impersonating Fred, who he has stated in a few videos that he dislikes.



And here is another youtube user, popking, who points out funnier comedians, such as Jay Pharoah--yes that's the new guy on SNL.






So, youth of today who want to be comedians. Quit watching Fred or iCarly. For the love of all that is funny, watch some classic SNL. You know what's funny? Bassomatic! Bag of Glass! Jon Belushi as a Samurai! Then work your way up to some Python, but you must understand, it's not funny because it's random, in fact, it's not random.

Look Around You Series Two Review

This isn’t from Look Around You. This is the show, Tomorrow’s World, upon which Look Around You, Series 2 is based off of. This time it aired in 2005. Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper were behind this series as well. I have talked about them in my last blog post, so read it.

The format of the series changed quite a bit. The series now took place in the 1980s, whereas in the first series, it took place late 70s early 80s-ish. The series no longer supposedly aired on as part of a cable in the classroom broadcast, but instead aired on the standard BBC. Instead of ten minute modules, we have half an hour episodes. We no longer have experiments, but instead, we have segments, such as “Inventor of the Week” and interviews. The narrator was forgone, and instead, we have four presenters. Jack Morgan, played by Robert Popper, reprising his character from the first series (the music episode), Peter Packard, played by Peter Serafinowicz, Pam Bachelor played by Oliva Colman, and Pealy Maghti played by Josie D’Arby.

But what hasn’t changed is the absurdism, the warped reality, the awkwardness, the humor, and the authenticity.

The authenticity is shown through the colors and camera filters, and the clothing and hairstyles. Pealy and Pam often wear stereotypical eighties outfits, that look hilarious, along with their big eighties hair.

To capitalize on the awkwardness level, we now have four presenters all interacting with not only one another and the audience back home, but other British comedic actors, such as Simon Pegg, Edger Wright, Sarah Alexander, and Nick Frost.

This time the series is focused on upcoming technology—well, what is seen as upcoming from the 1980s. According to the show, by the year 2010, people will live to be 400, reaching puberty when they’re eighty. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

As well, the show uses horrible technical errors. An example can be seen in this clip here:

The show still uses some of its elements from the previous series, such as a recurring motif in each episode, and the use of portmanteau. Like in the previous series, there are also unpronounceable words, probably the best example being the inventor of the hilariously stereotypical computer for women, whose last name is silent.

As well, this series has a subplot that reaches its climax in the series finale. Throughout each episode, there is an invention of the week, which showcases a bizarre invention that has to do with the theme of the episode, and the equally bizarre inventor (one of them was a horse). The first episode introduces us to Leonard Hatred, who invented Psilence, a spray you put on your ears to keep sound from getting in. Hatred is so beautifully portrayed by Mark Heap, who supposedly improvised the funny walk he does. Hatred, hmm… that last name should signify something.

All of the inventors appear in a “live” series finale, in which Prince Charles will choose the inventor of the year, and present them with a trophy. Prince Charles actually appears, and using amazing effects (I’m not joking) he joins them in their live studio in the ten minutes of the show. He’s beautifully edited in, and his dialogue is dubbed by Serafinowicz who does another dead-on impersonation.

While Jack and Pealy await the Prince outside the studio with a cheering crowd, Peter and Pam interview each of the inventors and give the audience a recap and demonstration of their invention. The cap of Hatred’s Psilence can falls off, his demonstration  is cut short, he starts having outbursts throughout the episode, culminating in him spraying a can of psilence in Prince Charles’s face, the program being delayed for a few minutes along with technical difficulties, the scary picture from the video above being shown, and a few minutes of “Birds of Britain,” and Jack ending up inside the winning invention: the sex change machine.

This series has a few more strengths than the earlier series with regards to actors. The hosts all show off their comedic abilities. They all maintain a level of awkwardness. Some hilarious moments for Robert Popper’s character include his character Jack Morgan’s newest song: Reggae Man.

A demonstration for a toilet sterilizer which ends with Jack splashing toilet water in his mouth. This deleted scene:

Note: In the original scene aired Jack loves his newly disfigured face. And finally, Jack emerging from the sex change machine in the series finale, once again giving proof that Robert Popper might be a castrati or a eunuch. The fact that Popper’s character was a chart topper for a while with “Little Mouse” and went back to presenting a second-rate science show is funny enough.

Peter Serafinowicz is funny, period. It’s hard to find a specific example. A good example would be the Leonard Hatred clip I showed above, where he interrupts Jack's monologue by screaming since he can't hear. He also does the announcements and voiceovers on the show.

He kind of plays the straight man in kind of the leader of the presenters. But the way he reads some of the ridiculous lines such as “a bee sting to the anus” in a straight tone is just hilarious. (Just so you know, Clive Pounds was brought back alive at the end of the episode).

Olivia Colman’s funniest moment had to be when she played Pam from the future, at age 90, in the food episode when it was Pam’s birthday. She wore old age make-up and had a robotic, laser eye. As well, in the health episode, the scene with her driving the car while sleeping at the end of the episode was funny as well.

Josie D’arby’s character represented the token black character that TV shows would try to include in the 70s and 80s onward—at least that what’s I think. Also, Josie’s interpretation of Pealy is hilarious, so she obviously is great on the show regardless. She has this perky, yet at the same time awkward energy that is hilarious, along with her enthusiasm and smiling towards the camera, making her look like the only presenter who might be happy to be there.

The guests are funny as well. An example would be Synthesizer Patel, a man who loves Synthesizers so much that he changed his name to Synthesizer. (another man changed his first name to “Computer” because he loved computers so much) Synthesizer Patel is plain funny. He then reappears in the series finale and guess what? All of his synthesizers but one are stolen!

All and all, it was a hilarious series.

Look Around You First Series Review

Robert's the one holding the test tube, Peter's the one with the clipboard

I previous listed this British Comedy Series as an anti-comedy. Keep in mind anti-comedy is comedy without being presented as comedy. Look Around You's First series (series in britspeak=season in americanese) is a sharp, absurd satire of old 1970s and early 1980s educational films that were shown in British schools for either educational purpose, or on rainy days during recess. However, even in America we have the same kind of educational filmstrips as well, so it is just as relatable.

The show was created and written by Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper. They also play the guys in lab coats conducting experiments throughout the season.

Serafinowicz is a wellknown comedic writer and actor. He is an amazing impersonator, and most of the comedy on his 2007 TV series, the Peter Serafinowicz show is based on it, as well as some great original characters. He can be seen in American television on Running Wilde and was in Couples Retreat. A little-known fact is that he voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One. He can be seen in a number of Simon Pegg films. He voiced Darth Chef on South Park as well. His Paul McCartney impersonation is infamous and spot-on, winning him the role of Paul in Disney's remake of Yellow Submarine (this is the only reason I'm going to see it, other than being a Beatles fan).

Popper is more known for his writing, editing, and music, but can act just as well as Serafinowicz. Popper is known for his alter-ego, Robin Cooper. As Cooper, he wrote the Timewaster Letters, sending a large number of associations and hobby groups asking for absurd, bizarre stuff. As Cooper, he also releases "Timewaster Phone Calls" on his youtube channel Vanillapod. He will call venues, TV shows, and radio shows, reporting ridiculous things (he reported PM Gordon Brown throwing a tangerine at a lamination machine to a radio call-in show, resulting in "Tangerinegate"). Popper made a series of prank phone calls with Tim Heidecker from Tim and Eric, and as well as working with Trey Parker and Matt Stone for their most recent season of South Park.

In order to have the series have some authenticity, Nigel Lambert, a seasoned narrator narrates the first series.

Here are two examples:






The first series (season) aired in 2002. Nine episodes were produced. Each episode was ten minutes long, in the spirit of the actual source material. Like I said, the source material were educational videos shown to the creators in schools. The specific source was the ITV Schools (the English version of Cable in the Classroom) Experiment Series

Here is a typical episode or module.


What makes the series funny?

Comedy is within the truth. The truth is comedy. We've all had to watch these educational videos back in school. The part the immediately made me crack up was the fact that the narrator repeatedly told you to write answers down in your copybook. You get to watch a movie, but wait, it's an educational movie, but it's still a movie--but then you have to take notes. That makes it just as tedious as a regular boring science class. Didn't you hate that? And didn't you hate that you couldn't find the answers to some of the questions within the film? Well, the stuff the audience are expected to write down while watching "Look Around You" is even worse than that.

As well, both Popper and Serafinowicz will commonly play with words, using portmanteaux, and often words that are physically impossible to pronounce, such as cDonald's theorem.

Also, in this world, what is logical is illogical. As we can see, illogical and impossible things happen during experiments, almost to hilarious extents, such as the giant scissors appearing in the sky. As well, some of the experiments are unethical, such as the lab assistant injesting sulphane, and then being shot.

The authenticity makes it funny as well. The random notes played on a synthesizer were composed by Serafinowicz, often improvised. The filter makes it 70s-ish and dated as well, and the clothes and hairstyles worn make it look dated too. This contributes the the anti-comedy genre as well. The authenticity makes it look realistic.

The look on the "scientists'" faces are hilarious as well,  as if they don't want to be there.

Finally, the repetitive motifs in each episode make it funny. In the sulfur episode, the scientist repetively violently disposes of the items in the experiment, to the point of him using a gun. In the iron episode, whenever iron is put on a table, the camera shakes and there is a loud noise.

This series is easy to watch, as each module is ten minutes long. However, it leaves the audience wanting more. As well, depending on the audience, some people might not get it and think it is an actual science series, and be kind of pissed. However, this is not unique to this specific series, as any series that attempts an alternative or anti-comedy format risks this.

I find this series hillarious, and many other people do--Matt Groening, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tim and Eric, and many more.

I suggest watching it.

In a few days, I will cover the second series, which is somewhat different than the first series.

So remember to look around you. I leave you with probably the best song in the world that originated from this series:

Miley Cyrus Hosting SNL? And Worst SNL Hosts

On Saturday, March 5, 2011, I am going to do something I have never done before. I am going to purposely miss an episode of Saturday Night Live. Why you ask. Because after a strong season, Lorne Michaels has decided to appeal to a younger crowd, many of which SNL is past their bedtime. Yes, Miley Cyrus is hosting Saturday Night Live. As I was watching the most recent episode, hosted beautifully by Russell Brand, Don Pardo announced that Miley Cyrus would be hosting on March 5. I then dramatically held my arms out and asked “WHY?” Yes, I’m biased, I don’t like most of the stars Disney has crapped out in the past ten years, but, as a guilty pleasure, I enjoy watching it. However, I extremely doubt Miley Cyrus has the chops to host SNL, and she will likely bring it down from its strong season.

If you don’t know who Miley Cyrus is, she is the meal ticket—I mean daughter of one-hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus. Miley is infamous for starring in Disney’s messed up version of the 1980s animated series Jem, Hannah Montana. Miley is responsible for ushering in Disney’s non-progressive, purity, subliminally conservative and Christian values, and wearing a bad wig. She is also infamous for her off set controversy including dating a 25 year old man while she was still underage, being photographed naked by decorated and talented photographer Annie Leibovitz amidst controversy, and then shifting the blame to Ann herself, reported diva behavior, an infamous racist photograph, performing on a stripper pole at the Teen Choice Awards, and most recently, smoking salvia and immediately experiencing a placebo effect in which she started talking like a gerbil. Most recently, her father has regretted his decision of allowing Miley to go Hollywood, and regrets his permissive parenting style, claiming the whole Hannah Montana experience ruined his family.

Miley’s tenure at Disney is officially over. This means she is trying to be a grown-up and shed her Disney image. While this has worked beautifully for Shia LeBeouf, Hillary Duff, and most recently Zack Efron (who beautifully hosted SNL in 2009). However, Cyrus is choosing the blatantly easier route, attempting to act like a grown-up, and trying to get parts that, no offence, are a little bit out of her league.

Miley’s performance on Hannah Montana as a fictionalized version of herself is average, with some attempts to be funny. Some working, others not. But can she do this live, after a grueling work and rehearsal week, in a performance lasting an hour and a half?

Her appearance is not without controversy, and this will lead probably to a tension-filled and awkward night. As well, this will coincide with increasingly strong performance of new featured performer Vanessa Bayer, who is becoming known for her spot-on impersonation of Cyrus. This appearance is too soon, and it is usually better for it to go on for another season before Cyrus’s appearance.

The performance will likely go either one of these ways.

1. Miley is surprisingly good.

2. Miley is reported acting like a diva behind the scenes (a la Lindsay Lohan)

3. Miley attempts to preach to the audience about her own beliefs, causing an extremely wholesome show.

4. The show will rely on the talents of the castmembers, instead of Miley.

5. There will be a large number of musical sketches in which Miley will sing.

6. Miley will ruin SNL’s momentum.

Now, I might be surprised, but I am not taking any chances. SNL is a big kids’ show, not for the Disney crowd. I can’t watch an attempt at trying to appeal for a younger audience, and as well a performance for a star famous for being on a second-rated kids’ show, and who is poorly attempting to shed her Disney image.

I started watching SNL in 2003, and in the spirit of bracing myself for Cyrus’s hosting SNL, I am reminded of the other horrible hosts I have endured. Who knows? Miley may surprise me—but I’m not taking any chances.

Worst snl hosts from 2003 onwards.

2003 was when I started watching SNL.

Donald Trump-okay, we get it, the apprentice is popular, but you have no stage presence and play yourself in almost every sketch. SNL was riding on Apprentice fever. As well, Trump mainly played himself, which is usually a sign of a less than versatile host.

Paris Hilton-Her appearance in the 2003 season was great. She appeared in the Al Sharpton episode during Update, after the sex tape scandal when Jimmy Fallon asked her if he could get into the “Paris Hilton”. That was funny, but hosting a whole show, for someone who has had little stage experience, nor talent, that’s a pretty hard task. Some have pulled it off, but Paris hasn’t. The sketches were mainly derived off of Paris’s looks and status, and Hilton’s wooden performance didn’t help those weak sketches at all.

Lindsay Lohan-This wasn’t her performance during the 2003-2004 season. That was hilarious. This is her burn-out performance during the 2004-2005 season, and the 2005-2006 season. By the last time she hosted, she had a smoker’s voice, and really wasn’t there. What’s funny, is that she didn’t get the irony about her during her last two hosting gigs. During her last hosting gig, there was behind the scenes drama as Lohan was repeatedly late for rehearsals. This evidently rubbed off into the performance of the actual show.

LeBron James-this became a trend in bad season premiere guests. He hosted the 2007 season premire, and his performance was wooden.

Michael Phelps-Bad season premire host, round 2. You should start your season up with a bang, not a host who couldn’t read his lines with emotion. Once again, wooden performance.

The Jonas Brothers-Okay, they weren’t hosting the 2009 Valentine’s day episode with Alec Baldwin, but they were the musical guests. And they took this as a chance to get on their soapbox, and talk about their whole wholesome lifestyle. SNL is a big kids’ show, Jo-Bros, and the only people who are allowed to be preachy are when politicians come on during elections, which is a great PR stunt. Last time I checked, you were a wannabe rock band. Also no one upstages one of SNLs go-to hosts unless you are an extremely successful musician, like Paul McCartney in the early 90s, or a special guest. And if they were going to do a sketch, it would have been better to do it later into the show, as the first post-monologue sketch usually cements the host’s performance for the evening, and introduces them into the sketches.

Megan Fox: One of my friends, who is a huge Megan Fox fan is going to kill me for this. In the 2009 season opener, Megan Fox surprised many, despite her sultry looks and sex appeal, she couldn’t generate any comedic appeal, although most of the sketches she was in capitalized on her sexiness.

January Jones- You’re on an Emmy Award winning TV show, yet your performance reminded me of those speakable items on old macs, where you would type stuff in and it would say it. Once again, the sketches revolved around January’s looks, and really had no substance. But, like Fox, she didn’t truly get in the spirit and satire of those sketches.

The people are mostly on this list for a wooden performance, and relying too much on the cast, and not being in the true SNL spirit.

So brace yourself for a hit or miss episode of SNL this Saturday. Me? Well, it is Unofficial.