Saturday Night Live: Comedy Daycare

I like to think of Saturday Night Live as a daycare for comedians with Lorne Michaels as the overruling nanny for all the little kids who don't know any better. After 40 years on air, it's a proven staple on our television line up. It's popularity has only risen in recent years because of Internet video sharing, and sites like YouTube, in which 4-6 minute videos are all anyone's attention can handle. Not only that, but we've seen the success of past SNL comedians and the all the brilliant work they've done after leaving the show. With people like Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy and countless more, the potential for success after leaving the show is very high. So like I said, it's a daycare. Young, talented comedians come in and play around with their funny and creative ideas. They grow and step into their comedic talent, mastering impressions and nailing their punchline timing. It's very obvious which cast members are brand new and which are the veterans. All the while, Lorne Michaels watches over with an insightful eye and approves or disapproves of whatever skit is being pitched. He turns these no name youngsters into show runners and head writers. It's a given that some skits will work and others will completely miss the mark, but that's part of the growing process for all these comedians.
 After leaving daycare, many of these talented jokesters have gone on to write and/or star in our favorite television shows. Most recently, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have finished their long running shows, 30 Rock and Parks and Rec. In addition, many of SNL's recent departures are now putting their footprint on the industry. Fred Armisen, who was on SNL for 13 years, is now in his 6th season of Portlandia, which he created. Last Man on Earth, Fox's new hit comedy, stars Will Forte who spent 10 years at SNL. Andy Samberg, digital short genius and 8 year cast member, is now the star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and recently hosted the Emmys. Kristen Wiig gifted the world with Bridesmaids, and Seth Meyers is the host of Late Night. These recent SNL grads are only at the beginning of their post-SNL career and have a lot of room to grow. 

All in all, we should thank Lorne Michaels for creating such a program to help these comedians grow. Who knows if Tina Fey would have ever written Mean Girls or if Will Ferrell would have starred in dozens of hilarious comedies. Maybe? Probably not. So for all those new cast members who are awkward and mess up their lines, you may have your own show in 5-10 years. Hell, you may even host The Tonight Show.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

After tearfully finishing the series finale of Parks and Recreation, I needed to immediately watch another show to pick me up out of the post-finale sadness. I turned to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a sitcom co-created by Daniel Goor and Michael Shur (Shur co-produced Parks and Rec in addition to The Office). So I figured this would be a good choice. As far as pilots go, it definitely caught my interest.

The sitcom follows smart but immature NYPD Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and his fellow detectives plus conflict with the new commanding officer Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). The pilot opens with a very close up & melodramatic monologue from Peralta. Even though the opening is meant to be comical on Peralta's part, it still drew me in because there was dramatic music, a close-up shot to show intense emotion, and even some slow-motion movement. It was a quote from another movie, but nonetheless it made me want to keep watching. Peralta's monologue is cut off by his partner Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) trying to solve the crime, and changes to a single-camera shooting method with many fast zooms. (very similar to The Office and Parks and Recreation styles). Throughout the episode, Peralta finds that all of his work methods are under scrutiny by Holt, including, but not limited to, his lack of cooperation to wear a tie, slightly offensive comments, and method of capturing criminals.

The secondary characters (the other detectives) are introduced by the Sergeant; there is b-roll of the character doing something ridiculous while he narrates the basic characteristics of their character. They include Detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Detective Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti). They are all very funny, have great chemistry with the main characters, and contribute a lot to the story.

The seeds of other funny storylines have also been planted, such as the rivalry between Peralta and Santiago. They have a bet for who can make more arrests; if she makes more arrests then he has to give her his nice car, and if he makes more arrests then she must go on a date with him. There is clearly a lot of sexual tension between them, so I suspect some sort of relationship will develop. It was also revealed later in the episode that the new captain is gay, so future episodes will probably lean on that fact heavily. 

I really enjoyed the pilot, and will most likely watch more episodes in the near future. (Especially since Andy Samberg is one of my favorite comedy actors).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been a hit so far and has recieved very positive reviews and awards! At the 2014 Golden Globes it won for Best Television Series (Comedy) and for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Andy Samberg). It has also just been renewed for a third season! 

You can catch episodes of the series on Hulu.