SNL Season Opener: If Lovin' Ahmadinejad's A Crime, Then You Probably Are Actually In Iran

For a devoted fan, there are many takeaways from last night's kickoff to the 33rd season of "Saturday Night Live," but for the media and the internet there will be only one: Last night's digital short featuring Andy Samberg singing a love song to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, played with bearded brilliance by Fred Armisen, and featuring Maroon 5's Adam Levine plus a cameo from Jake Gyllenhaal. That's what's going to go viral, and NBC has finally learned how to help it along by posting the video to its YouTube page by 9am this morning. Just because the video will be the biggest takeaway, though, does not mean it will be the only takeaway — not by a long shot in a show that included a great hosting turn by LeBron James, surprise self-mocking cameo by Kanye West and the kickoff to SNL's take on the presidential campaign. But first, because we know you're straight trippin', boo, the vid — and lines like this: "You can deny the Holocaust all you want, but you can't deny that there's something between us." Aw. Who says romance is dead?

Those of you who are interested in musings on SNL from a self-appointed expert on the subject can remain.

Before getting into the individual sketches, a note on the show in general: More than anything else, it seemed like a continuation of last season. Which is a good thing, and, I think, exactly what Lorne Michaels intended when he expressed to me last year that the show was in a "rebuilding" phase. Last year the season kicked off after a budget cut and a downsizing, with an unevenly-known cast and the usual dark talk about how SNL just wasn't what it used to be in the good old days of Will Ferrell/Chevy Chase/Eddie Murphy/Joe Piscopo. They spent the season consolidating, growing the show and the characters, and this season the exact same cast has taken the stage (after some Hamlet-style soul-searching for Maya Rudolph, who decided at the last minute that she'd come back for another season). But now, the cast on the stage is more familiar. Audiences already knew Amy Poehler and Darrell Hammond — now in his 13th season, he's the show's longest-running cast member — but now they know the other guys, too: There's Samberg, obviously, famous for lazy Sundays and body parts in boxes but also from the summer flick "Hot Rod"; Will Forte, who starred with Poehler-hubby Will Arnett in the recent "The Brothers Solomon"; Kirsten Wiig, who stole scenes in the summer blockbuster "Knocked Up", which also featured airtime for fellow cast member Bill Hader who had turns in "Hot Rod," "Solomon" and "Superbad" as well; and Jason Sudeikis, who enjoyed a recurring prime-time role as Tina Fey's nerdily perfect lawyer boyfriend on the Emmy-winning "30 Rock" (who's the blando now, Ken Tucker?). Okay fine, these are not household names — there is a certain amount of comedy-nerdery that goes along with knowing this — but still. This is not the newbie cast that critics were fretting about a year ago.

Okay! On to the show. Full disclosure: I didn't know much about LeBron James going in, so I totally didn't get that opening monologue (or his joke about the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or that there was a team called the Cleveland Cavaliers). I knew enough to be wary of sport-star hosts — bold choice for a season opener; last year they had Steve Carrell — but he was great, a full team player, gamely going for it in all the scenes, most memorably singing in the "High School Musical" sketch ("On second thought, I think I'll stick around/Play a little ball and have sex with your girlfriend"). Not all that tuneful, but funny. (NB: Going to the Vanessa Hudgens nudie shot was funny, but why telegraph the joke with a set-up beforehand? It dulled the reveal. Making the joke was predictible; Maya Rudolph's tan lines were not, so why steal your own thunder?)

Some other notes: Thanks to a strong opening lineup (LeBronalogue; High School Musical; Armisenejad), you almost forgot that the opening credits totally screwed up. I've never seen that before, except on Capitol Hill during the Petraeus hearings: Don Pardo was totally micless, and for the first show of the season, there was no voice saying "It's Saturday Night Live!" Cast members flitted by unannounced until Seth Myers, though if you strained you could hear the faintest calls of "Bill Hader!" and "Darrell Hammond" in the distance. Even worse, just before they got to Maya Rudolph, you could actually hear rustling, and a man's voice, as they tried to get Pardo to a working mic. Oh well. That's what's fun about live TV, right, Kanye?

Some fun nuggetry: In the sketch where he trash-talks LeBron, Jason Sudeikis talks about playing high school ball ("Shawnee Mission West Vikings...point guard. I led the team in assists") and being a "lefty from Kansas" — it happens to be true. Sudeikis did indeed play ball for Shawnee Mission and then went to Kansas University on a basketball scholarship. Funfact! Also, if you thought Kenan Thompson was looking slimmer, you are correct: He's been on a diet all summer so he can play Barack Obama. Not quite there yet, but that's okay, Maya Rudolph as Time Travelling Scott Joplin is actually a pretty decent facsimile in a pinch. Wow, it's a good thing Maya stayed, otherwise the cast would have lost one-half of its visible minorities and one-third of its women. Hmm. A black and female candidate (can Amy Poehler play Hillary AND Kucinich?) plus a bunch of prominent political wives also part of the story...casting might be trickier than your usual presidential leadership contest. This may be a year when the SNL diversity debate looms large — or maybe Lorne will hearken unto Kanye's plea to "give a short black man a chance." (Related: This promo for the show.)

A note on cameos: Lotsa bonding goes on in Studio 8H, so it's not surprising that last year's penultimate musical guest Levine cropped up in the "Iran So Far" video, as well as last January's host Gyllenhaal (he of manly arms and sequined gown). Today's cameos are tomorrow's Five Timer's club members (Timberlake is well on his way; we'll see him again this year), so watch for these and other Friends of SNL to pop up this season (this includes friends from movies, and now goes double for 30 Rock — we predict more cross-pollination). And if you think I'm exaggerating, well, I just gave birth to seven baby cows today.

Related in Your Trusty ETP Editor's Musings On This Topic:
That 70's Show: Saturday Night Live in the Post-Tina Fey, YouTube Unknown [Village Voice]
The Obsessive's Guide To SNL [Village Voice]
Live From New York, It's [The Outtakes From My Village Voice Article About] Saturday Night [Live]! [ETP]

Related In Coverage From The Year Before, Even:
Media-riffic highlights from Saturday Night Live Season Opener, 2005 [FishbowlNY]

Comments

[mdanz]

The "Mahmoud" Digital Short is brilliant. Levity...levity is absolutely needed in the country right now where Iran is concerned. Iran is currently and quite literally surrounded by U.S. nuclear subs, battle ships, satellite radar, air craft carrier groups, U.S. infantry and supporting personnel, and most importantly an aggressive/rabid PR push by the White House.

But SNL humanized the face of Iran.

If anyone knows anything about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they should know that he's written numerous "Dear American Citizens" letters and has done T.V. interviews with everyone from Mike Wallace to Brian Williams to Christian Amanpour to Jiminy Glick.

He's practically family.

And all in all, the kind of sweet and charming NYC afternoon date with Adam Samberg EVERY world leader should experience.

("You're in New York now baby!")

Bravo! Ambassador, SNL Digital Short!

Give Peace A Chance!

[ClubGitmo]

It is really amazing how many Jew haters there are that post to HuffPo. If you really think the Holocaust is not a historical fact, the DailyKos would love to hear from you.

[neomonkey]

It's sad that SNL used the Zionist-MSM lie about the holocaust, which Ahmdinejad never denied happened. Comedy doesn't work if it's based on lies. SNL hasn't had good writing in years. Can anybody think of any good characters currently, like the Church Lady, Wayne's World, Sprockets etc?

In Portland, SNL is up against The Shield and DaVinci's Inquest, two very well written shows, so it never gets watched in my house.

[MrWhiskers]

Are you high? Really, are you high? "The Zionist-MSM lie about the Holocaust"? Really?

Can you get me some?

[DoctorDonut]

some do think that he's cute

http://www.theweeklydonut.org/index.php/2007/09/25/ahahaahahahahahahahahahahamadinejad-dahd/

[sisko199]

The problem with Brothers Solomon was that it wasn't funny. I sat in an empty theater to watch it and the jokes were cliche and have already been done. I was promised that Bill Hader was in it and he made a less then a 10 second cameo in the movie.

To get a good review on the SNL season premiere, head over to my site:

http://billhaderonline.com

[Maila]

It"s a group off Jews ridiculing others. It happens often so maybe there should be a name for this. Maybe we can call it Semitism. Imagine the fallout if Moslems or even Christians for that matter did a sketch ridiculing Jews. The horror.

[misskarina]

Samberg and Forte's expanded IMDb profiles really aren't legit evidence of their expanding star power. I write about movies for a living, and I had to check Box Office Mojo to make sure that THE BROTHERS SOLOMON had even made it theaters (in three weeks in release, it has grossed barely $900,000, or about half what SUPERBAD made last alone, in its 7th week of release). HOT ROD performed almost as dismally, after a much more expensive marketing campaign. No one in the current cast is yet bankable as anything other than a cameo player on 30 Rock. Maybe if NBC continues to make the digital shorts available on YouTube, they'll have a chance at creating real stars, but right now pointing out how they collectively spent their summer vacations only goes to show how far they have to go.

[Stockholm]

Well, it can't be easy topping 60 minutes' interview with the "I'm a dinner jacket" guy.

- Is there anything about President Bush you admire?

Priceless!

[thgy]

Ahmadinejad's - isn't this the wrong case? do you mean ...Ahmadinejad is...?

[Tiggy]

How disturbing this is to see. I am the first to wave the flag in defense of Freedom of Speech, but this is very disrespective on a religious and cultural level. Religion in many parts of the world, especially the middle east, is the basis for law and certainly a cultural life style. We as American's should not inject our humor into their religion and culture, in doing so we deminish future relations.

[HamletsMill]

Tiggy,

You need to get into some deep esoteric insight. All religions are encoded Astronomy on time cycles of what Spiritual Archetypes live and die in the Heart of Man from World Age to World Age. Read the book "Hamlet's Mill" and then maybe follow up with the "The Temple of Man". Good stuff.

The two Archetype biggies this time around the Cosmic Wheel are the "Nebuchadnezzar Cosmic Space" and the "Chief Priests, Scribes, and Pharisees Cosmic Space".

All bets are now off.

Ahmadinejad and the dim bulb Muslims AND King George and the dim bulb Christians are ALL Cosmic Toast. Divine Cosmic Judgment is an equal opportunity employer. But Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, and the Writers for SNL will ALL sit on the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty in this newly born Cosmic Cycle.

In the 7th Century Islam was the equivalent of a photograph of a Galaxy for the Bedouin cultures of the Arabian Peninsula who had achieved zippo in cultural levels compared to everyone else around them at that time. It was profound stuff for the Era and from it came an advance in civilization. Nobody disputes that. But now we actually *HAVE* photographs of Galaxies. The people who run with the insights of quantum physics and ACTUALLY DO STUFF to bring progress in the world will write the future now.

Have you ever lived in a Muslim country? Islamic countries are right up there with the Castro District of San Francisco in colliding beams of gay dar all over the place. These cultures have sex on the brain 24/7. Even worse than us if that is possible.

So maybe people should just laugh more on this planet of dip shit spiritually illiterate morons who are both individually and collectively dumber than a bag of Depleted Uranium hammers and just try to encourage people to kill a little less people in the name of their "tribal God". Both us and them. Maybe just try having a good laugh instead.

I loved the SNL sketch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhBQxbxAcLg

[StopThePlanet]

SNL sux and has for many years. Surprised it still is on the air.

[SouthpawSass]

Goes to show the stupidity and complete arrogance of the American media. Sadly, another SNL skit gone flat.

It does do one thing, however, it plays into the hands of those who would villify the man in order to make invading his country easier to take.

Will you do a skit on killing Iranians?

[ArtandSoul]

Andy Samberg's digital shorts are the best part of SNL, and are the main reason I tune in.
"Roy Rulz" (look it up, it's worth it) from a few weeks ago had me almost rolling on the floor in laughter.

[sisko199]

I'm a huge fan of SNL and I thought the season premiere was underwhelming. The show fell flat and even the Digital Short seemed not to connect with the audience.

I also thought that Lebron James ruined the opening monologue (its not that you didn't get the monologue, it just didn't make sense nor was it funny). Not to mention he ruined the Penelope sketch with his bad acting. My favorite cast member, Bill Hader, barely got any air-time and he has been the most successful this summer.

Also, Steve Carrell didn't do the premiere last year, it was Dane Cook.

Hopefully Seth Rogen will shine where Lebron James feel flat.

Check out my Bill Hader site:

Bill Hader Online
http://billhaderonline.com

[MarkInIrvine]

It looks like SNL is off to a great start this season! The sports stars are a fun idea - Payton Manning was good (last season), Lebron James was good - they're both confident guys who aren't afraid to play a silly role. As for spoofing Republicans - they are already such f***ing (dangerous) jokes without any spoofs, that it'd be a waste of precious air time trying to make fun of them. Let's let an impeachment committee or criminal court take them on - now THAT'D be entertaining. LONG LIVE SNL!!!