#season 20 snl

[snlbumpers]

John Mulaney, 2024.

[syd-vixious]

“I Need a Big Boy!!”

(Picture credit to @akavendeta on twitter)

Pairing: König x gn!reader; “Simon “Ghost” Riley x gn!reader; König x gn!reader x Simon “Ghost” Riley

Warnings: Groping, language, strong men being strong (not proofread)

2nd Person POV

A/N: Hey everyone! I’m so, SO sorry that this took so long. I’ve been having a lot of stuff going on and haven’t gotten the chance to finish this. Sorry if this sucks too. Also I was thinking about instead of doing just the biggest, sweetest boy, I figure I’d add the other big boy. This is definitely gonna be cringe but whatever, I need to get this out of my brain. My apologies if there’s any spelling mistakes, it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything lol. Also this is going based off of my personal headcannons for these guys, which I do plan on posting in the future. For now just a heads up König is Pansexual and goes by he/him pronouns. Simon is Bi and goes by both he/him and they/them pronouns. Obviously they’re in a poly! relationship with the reader. I’m going to try my best with making it gender neutral and not have it just be non-binary!afab!reader, which is fine on my end but I’m trying to be as inclusive as possible.

Anyway, enough of my ranting, I hope you enjoy!

(Btw italicized words is anyone thinking unless it’s in quotations.)

It’s been about two weeks since your partners have come home from deployment. Simon was out running errands for the house while König was getting the kitchen set up for dinner. Thankful for both of them letting you relax on your day off, you were watching the most recent episode of SNL that you missed last weekend on the sofa in the main living area. The episode had Keke Palmer as the host and SZA as the musical guest. After watching the episode for about 20 minutes, SZA and the other actors that were a part of the SNL crew began singing a song about wanting a “big boy,” or “big girl,” for the holidays. A brilliant idea popped up in your mind while you were reaching for your phone during the commercial break.

If I recall my bluetooth speaker should still be in the kitchen from this morning. Hm, let me check.

You went to the settings on your phone to see of the speaker was on to connect, even though it was on the charger.

It was.

You smirked, hitting the button to connect your phone to the speaker. König was still preparing everything when he heard the noise from the device. 

“Schatz?”

Shit... “Yeah..?”

“Were you connecting to the speaker?”

You quickly turned down the volume on your phone in case it accidentally played anything. “Uh no, why?”

“It just made an odd.. boodoop noise? I guess you could call it...? I’m not really sure.”

You smiled softly at the curiosity in his voice, even though he couldn’t see your face from the other room, “It just makes that noise sometimes when it’s charging, babe.”

He shrugged and continued prepping any veggies that he wanted to add to dinner.

You sighed in relief and quickly pulled up Youtube on your phone and found the video within typing the artist’s name in the search bar. You turned your volume back up and began playing the song. 

He jumped from the sudden song playing on the device, startled by the heavy beat it was erupting. 

“Uhh... Schatz...?” He asked as he heard voices and heavy bass coming from the speaker.

You walked into the kitchen on the beat of the song singing out loud, “It’s cuffing season and now we got a reason,

To get a big boy,

I need a big boy,

Gimme a big boy!~”

You slowly made your way towards him while pointing at him whenever you lip-synced “big boy.”

Meanwhile König froze and looked at you with wide eyes. You could begin to see red spread across his face as he started to get flustered. “(Y-y/n)... w-what’s happening...?”

You smirked and continued “singing” the song,

“It’s cuffing season and all the girls are leaving to get a big boy, I need a big boy, gimme a big boy.~”

You couldn’t really remember the rest of the lyrics but kept on dancing as you made your way to him on the other side of the kitchen. He was flustered and began stammering, “W-What’s all this about..?”

You pulled a cheshire cat grin and simply hugged him, resting your head on his torso with your arms around his slutty waist. “Just singin’ about one of my big boys is all,” you slowly slid your hands down to grab his ass, causing him to yelp and jump slightly in your arms. 

You could hear his heartbeat racing, it began pumping even faster when you two heard the front door open, signaling Simon was home. “Ohhh Siiii.~” You sang from the kitchen. 

He heard you call and walked into the kitchen, not really paying any mind to the music, until you pointed it out...

“It’s cuffing season and everyone is leaving to get a big boy, I need a big boy, give me a big boy.~”

Needless to say he was confused, “how and where did they find a song like this?” he thought to himself as you sauntered over to him, once again wrapping your hands around his waist and slowly moving them down. He glanced up at König for some sort of answer, but the gentle giant only shrugged, red still tinting his cheeks.

“Love, have you been drinking? Are you horny? If so, it’ll have to wait because we haven’t even had dinner yet.” He asked, pulling off his face mask from running to the store earlier. 

You sighed and smirked a little, pinching one of Simon’s cheeks, “No, it’s just a song that I heard on a show and it reminded me of you guys.”

He quickly snatched your hands off his ass, “Oi!”

He quickly picked you up and placed you on an empty part of the island countertop. He leaned over to your ear, “Love, you better watch it, or you’re just gonna have to watch us eat dessert tonight...”

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

1 trope in Zutara fics that I find absolutely delusional is how Katara's family and friends react when she runs away from Abusive Aang into Zuko Marx's arms.

It's so common to see some variation of, "Oh Katara, you lost yourself and your identity because of your abusive relationship with that misogynistic Aang. I'm so happy you seem like yourself again, Zuko is so good for you, he really understands you, you seem happier now"...etc etc.

And. It's just so transparently malicious and audacious.

Zuko literally manhandles Gran Gran in ep.1 and his family is responsible for Kya's murder.

Sokka has loved Aang as a brother for 3 seasons. Aang has brought joy and hope and a chance to end this terrible war. Sokka has literally protected Aang with his life multiple times in the show.

Aang was Toph's first friend. He immediately empathises with her when she speaks of how she was abused by her parents. Aang is the reason Toph felt free for the first time in her life.

Hakoda probably suffers PTSD because of the Fire Nation. They are the reason his beloved wife is dead. And then there is Aang, who sacrificed his freedom for Sokka and Katara in the first episode. And saved their lives many times over.

I could go on and on.

Any NORMAL reaction to Katara even liking Zuko from Katara's friends and family would probably be shock. Hakoda and Gran Gran would be deeply suspicious and disturbed. To be fair, let's say Toph and Sokka would actively try to be neutral, and make sure Aang AND Katara are okay.

But no. Instantly, all of Katara's friends and family turn on Aang, and begin to praise Zuko. Why? Because the author hates Aang, and loves Zuko. That's it.

I wouldn't even mind that, really IF the author was transparent about the fact that hey, this is OOC, I just don't like Aang and wanted catharsis.

But no. Instead it's "fixing canon" and "giving Katara agency" and "I'm a real Katara fan and wanted better for her." God.

Not only do they ignore canon, they also act self-righteous about it and say they're better than canon. You couldn't make it up if you tried. It's an SNL skit for 20 years.

Thanks for the blog, this was very cathartic to write.

I wouldn't necessarely say they'd all be disturbed by Katara liking Zuko - at least post-redemption Zuko, aka the only one Katara wouldn't hate - but rather that, unlike Zutarians, these people know Katara and thus know it would have no future.

They know Katara loves her tribe, they know she didn't really care about having political power, they know she longs to be a kid again, and they know that her temper is as bad as Zuko's and thus they would clash all the time.

They would be worried about this relationship hurting her, not because they believe Zuko is still a horrible person (they canonically believe he changed) but because these two are incompatible and trying to force a DOA relationship to work is pointless, exhausting, and could lead to a lot of resentment when things inevitably went wrong - they don't want Katara to be heartbroken over a miserable relationship, messy break up, and potential end of a good friendship.

And yeah, that bullshit "They always knew was bad for her and are encouraging her to run into the arms of the guy she doesn't even like" is already bad... but I'd say it's still better than the "Brave Fire Nation Savior (that gets written like a White Savior because Americans Be Like That) is going to save this Helpless Brown Girl that is being abused by everyone that is part of any culture other the Fire Nation because she needs to learn that The Fire Nation Was Totally Not That Bad Despite The Genocide"

[pedge-stuff]

trailer reunion (pedro pascal x gn/m!reader)

a/n: same vague universe as “marked," as always. this one skews a little more m! and a little less gn!, apologies if that puts anyone off.

thanks, as always, for everything.

summary: 5 weeks is a long, long time.

——————————————————————————

Your leg won’t stop bouncing. It’s not your fault, really— it’s the Edmonton Airport’s, for having such a conveniently located Tim Hortons, right outside the baggage claim. After the 7-hour red eye from JFK, with the connection through Toronto, the coffee was necessary.

The caffeine isn’t entirely to blame, though. If the taxi wouldn’t stop going so fucking slow, maybe you’d settle down. But the traffic is unyielding, so the 20 minute drive to your heartfelt reunion is looking more like 45. Apparently, shutting part of the city down to film a TV show really screws up peoples’ commutes. You’d waited long enough (a month and six days, but who’s counting?), surely an extra half-hour won’t kill you. But in the taxi, the minutes seem to stretch into years.

The filming schedule for The Last of Us has been brutal. From what Pedro has told you, there was apparently a strain to film both the first and second episode back-to-back; something about using the same locations and exterior shots. For him, it has meant a marathon of shooting… the only downside to being the star of the show.

SNL’s new season was in full swing anyways, so you’d had plenty to keep you busy. Spent enough late nights at 30 Rock, after many a panicked call to the dog walker, that you barely had to inhabit his otherwise vacant condo. You talked every night, usually Facetiming before bed, but the distance was wearing on you both.

Now, the only thing in between you and your man is this fucking traffic jam.

Though this wasn’t a surprise visit— you’d booked the flight as soon as you’d realized the SNL hiatus week lined up with The Last of Us breaking to change locations for the next episode— you did have one trick up your sleeve. Or, more accurately, under your mask.

You’d been attempting to grow facial hair well before meeting Pedro, but it had been a sparse and largely unsuccessful endeavor until very recently. Your jawline had filled in between your sideburn and chin, albeit slightly patchy. You’d been hiding it over Facetime, opting for regular calls a bit more and hoping he wouldn’t notice. Not the craziest surprise, but still, your heart thrums at the prospect of finally sharing it with him.

Of course, once you arrive to set, the obstacles multiply.

Some college kid in a neon yellow vest stops you before you’ve even managed to remove your duffle from the trunk of the cab.

“Covid testing is this way, please follow me,” he insists tersely. Self-consciously, you adjust the KN95 strap around your ear.

The kid leads you to a tent, where two people in full white hazmat suits, complete with gloves and face shields, ask your name and instruct you to pull down your mask. (There’s a joke in there somewhere, about infection at a show about infected, but you get the sense it might be inappropriate to fool around here.)

Once swabbed and registered, you move to leave, scanning the exit for anyone who might be able to help you navigate onto set. But you are immediately blocked by a hazmat woman.

“You need to wait for the rapid to clear,” she insists, pointing to a row of folding chairs. “Fifteen minutes.”

Fifteen minutes, after 5 weeks. Just fifteen minutes. You resign yourself to a seat by the door.

It’s 4pm. You were supposed to have arrived during a stop down between shots— timed so that Pedro would be in his trailer, and accessible, when you arrived. It feels like that window is physically, tangibly closing as you watch the second-hand tick slowly. 

 Initially, you’d been hesitant to join him on set at all, but he’d insisted you come meet his “second family.” You’d met several of his colleagues via Facetime, when he’d called you from his trailer. Bella, in particular, you’ve taken a liking to— they pepper you with whispered questions about transitioning and gripes about the gender binary when Pedro has been forced to hand over the phone.

You check your phone. Nothing from Pedro, although his little blue dot looks stationary when you pull up FindMyFriends. The clock ticks. There is a burning sting each time you blink— that third cup of coffee is wearing off, and the 5am wake-up this morning is starting to catch up to you. Really, all you want to do is go back to your partner’s hotel room, said partner in tow, curl up on the king-sized and fall asleep watching some West Wing rerun. (Maybe also shower together, and then some. You can keep yourself awake for that.)

Finally, finally, finally, the hazmat woman returns. “You’re clear,” she announces, handing you a green sticker to adhere on your jacket. You make it through the tent flap, heart in your throat with anticipation— 

But you have no fucking idea where to go.

A sea of white tents lays before you, stations with people doing things of varying levels of importance. A neon slip of paper points you towards set, but that’s not where you’re headed. Finally, past a corralled group of extras in some really disgusting mushroom prosthetics, and a tent full of picked-over lunch offerings, you spot some trailers in the distance.

And apparently, a stranger with a duffle bag walking quickly towards actors’ trailers, yields a quick security intervention.

In their defense, you definitely look like a crazy person. 

“Do you have a clearance list, or anything?” You beg, discretely craning your neck to see over the guard’s neck. The trailers are right there. There are only a few, it shouldn’t take any time at all to find Pedro. He’s within arm’s reach and yet he couldn’t possibly feel further away as the guard talks code into a very official-looking walkie talkie.

“Roger.” He looks down at you. “Listen, you gotta go man. It’s a clearance-only set, and they’ve got strict covid rules, so—”

The green sticker may or may not get shoved in the man’s face. There may or may not be angry tears threatening to ruin your cool.  “I got covid tested! I’m clean, they let me through. They had me on their list. I’m—”

From behind you, a familiar voice cuts you off. “With me, Robbie.”

You whip around.

Jaw? On the floor.

Pedro looks… really fucking old. His hair has been sprayed gray, wily and wind-swept; the beard, too, is much grayer than normal. It’s all part of a dirty-looking, artificially stained, mostly denim-based costume. You file away for later, how attracted you are to seeing him like this. Jesus Christ.

He looks old, but he is here, and he is grinning at you, and he’s here.

“Aw, shit.” The guard talks into the radio again. “86. Sorry about that.”

Easy to ignore him, though, as you’re preoccupied with staring at your man.

Before you can move to pounce on him, close the final four feet of distance between you, a well-manicure hand splays menacingly out at you.

“Don’t even think about it,” Coco warns. “We have fifteen minutes for touch-ups and I do not have time to fix everything.”

Pedro’s nose twitches, frowning at you. You reach down to hold his hand, but it is… apparently also covered in make-up, looking red, nasty and broken.

Sorry, he mouths dejectedly.

The inside of his trailer is familiar, though it looks a little smaller in-person than it appears on Facetime. A mirror and counter, a decently sized couch, a bathroom, a desk in the corner. Pedro settles in the make-up chair, smiling backwards at you in the mirror.

“Drop your stuff,” he insists.

Little touches of your life together pepper the room in a way that grips your heart a little. A framed picture on the desk, which you recognize from last summer; a particularly nice day in Prospect Park with the dogs, captured in a Polaroid snapped candid by a total stranger. You’d declined it, at first, assuming it was a weird fan thing. But they had insisted, leaving the picture behind and walking away. It was too lovely to leave.

The sweatshirt draped over the arm of the sofa is yours— an old NYU hoodie Pedro usually travels with. He claims it’s a ‘security blanket,’ and honestly, he might only be half-joking. A note you’d recently sent in a package (he’d accidentally left his whole box of contacts at home), taped up on the mirror, alongside a photo strip with Sarah from some gala a couple years back.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Pedro says quietly, watching you look around. “Take your mask off, baby, I’m assuming you cleared testing if you made it through the front.”

In your excitement to reunite, you almost forgot the little surprise. His jaw drops, into an awed smile. With the un-fake-injured hand, he reaches up to palm your cheek. Runs a hand up and down your jaw, scratching lightly along the new hair.

You turn enough to plant a kiss on the pulse point of Pedro’s wrist. Capture his hand with yours, against your face, to feel him for the first time in over a month.

“Oh! The oil is working,” Coco has paused, midway through spraying something silvery and chemical-smelling to Pedro’s temples. She had suggested it surreptitiously a few months back, off-handedly, and you’d been religiously using it since. The woman knows her shit.

Pedro continues to thumb at the new scruff, transfixed. His jaw muscle twitches.

“I’ve uh—” He stalls out. “Uh. Sorry. Dinner. Craig—”

You step backwards, pulling your hand down to hold in his lap, instead. He huffs.

“Craig wants to go to dinner tonight, since we’re wrapping in Edmonton. I guess there’s this restaurant he is insisting we have to try, it’s a whole thing. Big group. I didn’t give him an answer, in case you’re tired and wanna just head back to the hotel? But we can go, either way it’s fine, I figured…”

“Pedge,” you interrupt. “It’s all good. I’d be happy to go, it sounds fun.”

He exhales. “Thank god, because it’s like a spouse-thing, Neil and Craig’s wives are here.”

Your eyebrow quirks. “Spouse?”

Just to get a blush out of the man. You’d discussed it, of course, but had yet to make moves. Being marked soothed any sense of urgency— you were committed by flesh and blood, and that was ultimately more binding than a ring or ceremony. But, still.

“Joking, love." Despite the coffee, a yawn sneaks up on you. "I might crash on the couch for a bit, when you go back."

He glances at his phone. "We only have one more shot to get alts on. Neil swears we have a hard-out in an hour. Close your eyes, and I'll be right back."

— — — 

You didn't mean to actually fall asleep. Just lay there on your phone and zone out for a bit. But suddenly, you're waking up, to the feeling of a mouth on your own.

A familiar mouth. Warm, scruffy around the edges, a little pepperminty.

"We're done," Pedro whispers. "Coco says I can fuck up my makeup now."

When you open your eyes, he is hovering above you, grinning like a wolf. He's still in costume, though the denim overshirt is already half-unbuttoned.

"Are you done being gross?"

Sitting up, you find Bella in the doorway. They waste no time flinging themselves at the couch.

"In the flesh!" You both laugh.

"Shorter in person, huh?" Pedro is rewarded by a hearty shove from his costar, as he scrubs a makeup wipe across his face.

Wiping sleep from your eyes, you can tell it's gotten dark outside in the time that you've been asleep. "Craig still insisting on dinner?"

"Mm. It's like fancy Mediterranean, I think."

"Fetaaaaa," Bella pumps the air. "Nice."

The evening stretches out before you— a few more obstacles between you and the hotel bed. But Pedro is here, in the flesh, and he's smiling at you in a way that forms the little crinkles beside his eyes, and you think maybe you can sit through a few hours of fancy dinner and small talk.

You've waited this long, anyways.

[jonbutter]

snl time! season 50 yall! i've been watching this show regularly for almost 20 yrs lol

[shrimpscocktail]

tom petty & david spade on snl season 20

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

October 2023 - part 2

October 16 - Travis and Jason attend Game 1 of NCLS in Philadelphia

People Magazine release an article (x)

"Taylor's unlike anyone Travis has dated before," 

"It was very unexpected for his friends, but he's so into her and very, very happy."

The insider continues, "Some people thought he was just joking around about the bracelet and having a crush on her earlier this summer, but he was serious about it," referring to Travis' attempt to give Taylor a friendship bracelet with his number on it at her Eras Tour in KC

They are "having a great time getting to know one another"

"They make a very cute couple."

Another People article is released the same day (x)

"They've been texting and talking on the phone between the pockets of time they get to spend with each other,"

"[Travis] knows what he signed up for with this attention, but they've spent time under the radar too. They're giving things a real try,"

Rumours circulate that Travis and Taylor have looked at a house up for sale together (x) as reported by Jenna Bush Hagar on the NBC talk show; Today with Hoda & Jenna.

“A friend from Kansas City texted me there might be news they’re buying a house,”

October 18 - New Heights Podcast episode 59 (x)

Travis & Jason talk about security (timestamp 5:30)

Jason Kelce asks his brother Travis "Have you had to enact any security of your own? Do you feel like you're a security guard when you are with Taylor?"

Travis responded, "I feel like whenever I'm on a date, I'm always having the sense that I'm a man in the situation. I'm protective, yeah, for sure. You always have to have that feeling or self-awareness, I guess."

Travis is trolled by intern Brandon (see photo below)

Travis and Jason have a laugh about Taylor meeting their dad Ed and wondering what he would talk to her about? (45:10)

Travis reveals that he and Taylor’s cameos on SNL were not planned. They had attended the recording of Season 49’s premiere episode in support of good friend and feature musical guest Ice Spice. (1:14:05)

Taylor releases "The Cruelest Summer" playlist which includes Cruel Summer live from the the Era's Tour and Cruel Summer - The LP Giobbi Remix in a bid for Number 1. (x)

ET publishes an article (x)

"They have a lot of fun together and [Taylor] loves how chivalrous [Travis] is," the source says. "Taylor feels at ease with Travis and they are already very comfortable around each other."

ET's source notes that "it's been easy" for Taylor and Travis "to connect because they have similar values and goals when it comes to their personal lives and careers."

Rumours continue to circulate that Travis has bought a $6 million home in Kansas City that provides more privacy and security and that he took Taylor to view the property. (x)(x)

October 19 - ET is informed that the duo is fully committed to their relationship and the future (x)

"Travis and Taylor are all in. The two are very into each other and are enjoying their time together but are also planning for the future. Taylor starts her international tour in November, and Travis is planning to be there to spend time with her," the source says. "Travis and Taylor are very serious about their careers, and the two bond over that and want to show support for each other whenever they can."

During week 10 of the NFL season, Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs enjoy a bye week, providing him with a brief respite. Coincidentally, during this very week, Taylor is set to take the stage for three consecutive nights in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from Nov. 9 to 11, marking her debut international Era Tour performances. This fortunate scheduling overlap grants Travis the opportunity to be in attendance.

Taylor papped in LA dining at a sushi restaurant with Zoë Kravitz, Selena Gomez & Keleigh Teller

October 20 - Travis Kelce answers questions at the Chiefs press conference (x 3:50)

When asked about his appearance on SNL Travis replied (8:00)

"it was funny, obviously I didn't know what was going to go down and just decided to hit SNL last second and they asked if I wanted to end the skit that was about me and Taylor's take over of the NFL games which was hilarious, I loved every bit of it and I was laughing my tail off during the skit, to be honest I don't even remember saying anything..."

Travis was also asked what he recommended people wear to dress up like him as a halloween costume, he suggests a moustache, 87 chiefs jersey and a friendship bracelet. (8:44)

Travis reveals

"I had [a moustache] when I first met Taylor"

US Weekly article (x) a source says about Travis and Taylor

“They’re really happy. They’re not saying they’re in love yet. But it’s obvious to her friends they’re heading in that direction,” noting that their loved ones see Swift, 33, and Kelce’s strong connection when they are together. “Friends think they’re in love.”

“He’s going to see her when she’s back on tour. That’s already planned. And when she gets a break, she’ll see him,” the source adds. “It’s going so well because it’s easy and nothing is complicated.”

“Taylor is really happy and excited about Travis. She’s at the relationship stage where she looks forward to seeing him, getting calls from him, spending time with him,” the source continues. “She has butterflies in her stomach and she hasn’t had that in a while. She feels safe and comfortable around him physically and emotionally.”

The insider notes that Kelce has surprised Swift with how “in tune” he is with her needs. The athlete has also been “a gentleman” toward Swift since he revealed in July his attempt to make a move on Swift while attending her Eras tour concert. “Travis is someone who is so different for her. With him it’s easy. She doesn’t have to worry about anything,”

He has his own career and money. So he’s not with her for the wrong reasons. He has his own successful career and understands the demands,” the insider concludes. “There’s no drama and they’re happy. He’ll visit, she’ll visit. It’s working for them.”

October 22 - Chiefs v Chargers, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Taylor flies into KC to cheer on Travis and the Chiefs as they take on the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.

Taylor is photographed with Bernie Kosar at Travis home pregame (x).

Taylor appears to have had a brilliant time supporting Travis at the Sunday afternoon game joining Brittany Mahomes and others. The Chiefs defeated the LA Chargers 31- 17 with Travis scoring a touch down to cement the win. Taylor wore a "87" friendship bracelet in support of Travis.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid addresses the press commenting on the Chiefs win (x 2:16)

"Kelce keeps getting better with time, Taylor can stay around all she wants"

Taylor and Travis leave Arrowhead Stadium together in Travis' Rolls Royce (x)

tay and trav in the getaway cart

Taylor and Travis celebrate the win at Travis KC home photographed with Chiefs teammate Mecole Hardman Jr. and Chariah Gordon (x)

Taylor changed shoes to be part of a group of teammates, WAGs and close friends of the KC Chiefs wearing custom red nikes. It's so nice to see Taylor be included in this way! (via @taylorswiftstyle and Aric Jones on instagram)

The Messenger reports (x)

" [Travis and Taylor] are both smitten and can't keep their hands off one another when they are together," the source said. "They aren't scared to be affectionate in public."

October 23 - Cruel Summer hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100! Cruel Summer hits this milestone 5 years after it was released from the 2019 Lover album. Taylor and Jack Antonoff (who helped produce the song and long time friend) celebrate with a post (x). Notice they are in a recording studio in LA (last week) and are being way too cryptic holding up 11 fingers... TS 11 anyone?

People speak with Ed Kelce, Travis' dad (x)

Ed tells PEOPLE that the “Karma” singer is “a very, very sweet, very charming, down-to-earth young woman."

His initial impression that Swift is “very genuine" was proven right upon his first meeting with the singer.

“I’ll tell you something very special that I noticed about Taylor the first time I met her,” Ed shares. “We're sitting in the suite, she gets up and in the front room, she gets up to go get a drink or something and she starts picking up empty bottles, cans, plates that are scattered around. Because in the suites everybody gets stuff and you empty it down wherever you can.” Ed continues, “And I'm just thinking, I don't think she got the diva memo. She didn't get the spoiled musician. She doesn't know how to pull that off. And that really to me said a whole lot.”

Travis and Taylor are papped hand in hand heading out for dinner Monday evening at Piropos, an Argentine Steak House. Travis is seen opening the car door for Taylor. (x)

Victor Oladipo believes Taylor Swift makes Travis Kelce better (x)

October 25 - Ed Kelce speaks with ET (x)

"I think they are two very, very driven professional individuals," he says. "I think they're very supportive of each other, which is key. This is a rough time for either one of them to have a relationship. She's in the middle of this ginormous tour, he's knee deep [in the NFL season]. At least he takes his just as serious as she takes hers as far as commitment to their craft."

Ed believes that Taylor's pre-concert ritual of preserving her voice -- which Travis claims is the reason he was unable to present her with a friendship bracelet -- shows how dedicated and understanding she is when it comes to her career. 

"I think she's very committed to that," he says of the "Anti-Hero" songstress. "And I think Travis supports that. And I think she realises how committed Travis is to sleep, 10 hours a day, when your body is going through this kind of thing. So I think they're both very supportive."

And should the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl...

"Without a doubt," he says about saving a seat for Tay. "She'll be in the middle of the Eras Tour so..."

And if Ed himself should ever make it to the Eras Tour, he'll be singing "You Belong With Me," as he revealed that it's his favorite song of hers.

"Being genuine with your feelings," he tells ET of the dating advice he gave Travis and Jason. "Being respectful of a woman, and that's taught from a young age. Be yourself, be honest with someone's emotions. But these are all things that they've understood growing up just being the norm."

Episode 60 of New Heights airs, part of the episode title is "Travis Reacts to “Swift Stats"" (x 56:20)

In response to whether National Tight End day is a real holiday, Jason tweets

October 26 - Taylor is seen out in NYC. She is at Bradley Cooper's apartment with Shawn Levy, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. That night, Taylor goes out for dinner with Alana and Danielle Haim at Holiday Bar, NYC (x)

Patrick Mahomes says that he wants to have a secret handshake with Travis after his wife Brittany and Taylor went viral for theirs (x)

“I need to talk to Travis, because me and Travis don’t even have a handshake yet,” Patrick, 28 said during a radio interview with Kansas City’s KCSP (610 AM) on Thursday, October 26. “So I mean, they’re ahead of the game on us. So we’re gonna have to get on the whiteboard, and we’re gonna figure out a handshake so that we can try to one up theirs.”

Go to previous update -> October 2023 Part 1

Go to next update -> October 2023 Part 3

Return to timeline

[allamericansbitch]

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series (november 13 - november 20)! For info about the series, I explained it in the first post here, but generally, it’s to show appreciate to editors and their creations that i love from the past week. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts. Have a great week everyone!

the nanny: top 10 rated episodes gifset by @msjessicaday​

taylor swift: 2023 grammy nominations gifset by @melodramas

brooklyn nine nine gifset by @chrrispine

taylor swift: the great war graphic by @thisisustrying

schitt’s creek: alexis rose gifset by @brooksdavis

taylor swift: 2023 grammy nominations gifset by @felicitysmoak

the princess diaries gifset by @nowadayz

taylor swift: midnights graphic by @cellphonehippie

hercules: pantone gifset by @jodiewhittakerr

taylor swift: labyrinth graphic by @sadbeautifutragic

severance gifset by @hiphiphelly

taylor swift: lavender haze gifset by @starsbythepcketful

stranger things: high school alignments gifset by @yenvengerberg

taylor swift: glitch vs lover parallel gifset by @onmidnights

beyonce: 2023 grammy nominations gifset by @melodramas

taylor swift: all too well 10 minute version snl performance gifset by @tayloralison

ready or not: daniel le domas gifset by @kitherondale

taylor swift: lover gifset by @rogerhealey

stranger things: mike and elle gifset by @hopper-wheeler

taylor swift: midnights vintage postcards edit by @buylookwhatyoumademedo

succession: roman roy in season 1 gifset by @ferrisbuellers

taylor swift: midnights (2022) graphics by @phanchester

stranger things: blue gifset by @padme-amidala

taylor swift: you’re on your own kid graphic by @regular-another

anya taylor joy: jimmy fallon gifset by @zen-coleman

taylor swift: paris graphic by @piecesintoplaces

watcher: the professor art by @theghostofwilburtheworm

schitt’s creek: alexis and david gifset by @alexisrose

taylor swift: all too well the short film gifset by @hannahgrose

succession gifset by @sdktrs12

taylor swift: albums of postcards gifset by @midnightsdeluxe

the 1975: robbers vs about you gifset by @petersevan

taylor swift: shimmer gifset by @nessa007

schitt’s creek: alexis and ted gifset by @alexisrose

taylor swift: lyric parallel gifset by @treacherous

watcher: puppet history gifset by @devilmns

taylor swift: midnights design concept by @stood-onthecliffside

schitt’s creek: alexis rose + biggest growth episodes gifset by @brooksdavis

taylor swift: maroon gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

knives out gifset by @duchessofhastings​

taylor swift graphic by @andtosaturn​

brooklyn nine nine: gina linette gifset by @sapphic-girls

taylor swift: karma gifset by @este

taylor swift graphic by @taylorswiftsweedalbum​​

[popculturebuffet]

Monthly Muppets Madness: The Land of Gorch (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

It's Monthly Muppet Madness with our special review topic, The Land of Gorch, yayyyyyyy! Courtsey of viewers like you and WeirdKev27.

I give Kev full credit for the idea of this one: after my previous looks at the muppets earliest days, Kev was curious about this odd chapter in their history and having wanted to watch these shorts at some point anyway, I was more than happy to oblige.

For those less familiar, the Land of Gorch was a recurring sketch on Saturday Night LIve during it's first season, just before the Muppet Show's own first season. Yes folks the muppets were live from new york every saturday night for most of it's first season but a combination of the muppet show finally taking off and the writers actively resenting the Land of Gorch's very existance sunk it. So what was this weird experiment and how did it become a milestone in muppet history but a footnote in snls? Join me under the cut to find out!

From the Bubbling Tarpits to the Sulfurous Wasteland…

Henson came to SNL from a place of desperation. What jim had feared from doing Seasame Street was coming true as most in hollywood had no intrest in a show for kids AND adults from the muppets and wrote him off as "kids stuff"

Thankfully Jim had backup from Bernie Brillstien, his agent who looked for more adult venues.. and Bernie just happened to also be the agent for one Lorne MIcheals , as well as Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Gilda Radner, and loving the idea of performing to an adult audience and the chance to shake the Seasame Stigma, Henson jumped to it, getting Frank Oz and Micheal K Frith's help crafting the characters. And Lorne Micheals genuinely loved the idea and was convinced it'd be a massive hit, as he should be: the set design was marvelous, creating a horrifying otherworldly swamp and the muppets were awesomely detailed.

So with all that going for it, what went wrong? Why aren't we seeing a land of Gorch Series on peacock or convention halls filled iwth gorchheads? Simple: the writing. See Jim wasn't ALLOWED to actually write the sketches, as WGA rules meant the SNL staff had to. And their response?

The SNL staff were in clinical terms, snotty little dicks about having to write for the muppets, drawing straws for the job and with Writer MIcheal O'Donahuge being paticuarly childish saying "I don't write for felt" and calling them "Mucking fuppets" and "hairy facecloths" in an interview. Or to sum it up in a line

It was that 'i'm an adult" sensiblity that was at the heart of the conflict: you had in one corner a bunch of 20 year olds who, having read the book Live From New York it's Saturday Night, I can confirm were powered by cocaine to get through the crazy deadlines (somethign that thankfully stopped after the tragedy of JOhn Belushi), and were likely focused on trying to be the most clever and a bunch of more settled middle aged men (jim had FIVE kids by then. Holy shit), who knew what they wanted but couldn't actually execute it. It likely didn't help Jim was exact about what scripts he wanted and thus struggled to find a writer who actually gave a damn. Neither side was bad at what they did, iv'e seen a few early snl sketches, it's not bad stuff and the muppets speak for themselves.. it's just they didn't mesh creatively AT ALL. You can't make good work forcing someone to do something they don't want to do. It's why while i'll review just about anything on comission I will talk to my clients if I feel I just can't give a good review of something. I'd rather change gears and see what else they want than push something out i'm not proud of and I suspect the throw it at the wall and see what sticks nature of SNL, a part of it tha'ts essential, just didn't mesh with the well prepared and throughly thought out muppets. The Land of Gorch only lasted for season 1, with a combo of these issues and Jim FINALLY getting the Muppet Show Greenlit ending it, though they returned for one sketch in season 2 to see the characters off. Despite not really ever taking off though and the Gorch muppets only showing up in cameos after this, it ended up being an important piece of muppet history: Henson may not have made many friends in the writers room, but he made plenty of show biz contacts with at least 7 muppet show guest stars having also appeared during the time LOG was on SNL. He also realized he liked creating a weird fantasy world without humans around, and took the grungy creative part of LOG to create the Dark Crystal.

So now we've seen the messy road to it's creation let's see the messy results!

Episode Guide!

Nothing But Flowers

There aren't any offical titles for these sketches, so i'm just making up my own. You've been warned. If your curious you can find all but one on THIS FACEBOOK PAGE. You can also find them if you have peacock but given i'm on the tier with ads, it was just easier to use the facebook apart from the one episode they didn't have. I"ll mention it when we get here.

So the first episode is….

It introduces most of the cast: King Ploobis (Jim himself), the tyranical ruler of the land and selfish bastard, his nagging wife Queen Peuta (Alice Tweedle), his creepy assitant/viser/wife fucker Scred (Jerry Nelson), his mistress Vazh (Ronda Handsome here, Fran Brill after0 and the Mighty Favog, their god they go to once an episode for advice (Frank Oz). It's easily the slowest paced muppet production i've seen, mostly just stopping to introduce someone else then moving on. It only really gets funny once we get to the Mighty Favog. Oz does a terrific job as usual and the puppet for favog is weirdly expressive despite it's size and the fozzy voice fits a huckster god really well, helped by it sounding just deep enough from fozzy. I just love the concept of him: a god who really offers no helpful advice but will gladly take your money now, with the great catchphrases of "talk to me" and "it'll cost ya". He feels like the only character to actually have a personality, as well as fit BOTH crews style well.

It's the Money or Stop

The kingdom is broke and our heroes need money. Ploobis sells Scred to Favog by shoving him down his hole. I"m not doing the phrasing or goodnight everybody gags here on the grounds that they knew exactly what they were doing. i'm 95% sure scred was into it.

Sunshine Supermuppet

We meet Wiss, Ploobis stoner son played by Richard Hunt. He's high.

So is Favog. That's also the joke. NEXT

Eat It

This one's a bit funnier as Ploobis has eaten his faviorite food to extnction. It's ideas like this I feel got later filtered into the concept for Dinosaurs, another one on my to do list. Maybe later this year. But the idea works well enough as does the solution: Favog asks for a Glig as his payment and then give sit back when he's told the actual problem.

Out of My Headache

Ploobis has a headache. If your wondreing why these are so short it's that most of the cast is REALLY thin. Favog is your standard asshole, Peuta is his nagging wife, Vazh fanservice etc. While Scred isn't much deeper, Nelson really gives the little shit a lot of character and Ploobis annoyance with him and frequent homer simpson esque stranglings are a delight. But otherwise there just isn't a lot to latch onto in these early sketches, which likely didn't help either sides agrivation.

I Got You Babe

This one feels like night and day from the others non favog scenes as it has an interesting premise: Scred has a crush on lily tomlin and has gone to see her: Ploobis and Peuta going thorugh his stuff is fun, and we get a nice rendition of I got you babe from the two. Weirdly Tomlin never did Muppet Show, though she did do seasame street a few times, but she's great at this. She still is: Just look at Grace and Frankie. She's a fucking national treasure. It's also a sign things DO get better.

Everybody's Drunk

This one is fun even if it's VERY low effort: basically Ploobis gets very drunk, forces Scred to get very junk and they go to the Mighty Favog absolutely shitfaced. That's the episode. But unlike the others where I didn't have a lot to say the performances of the two are so hilarious and the sight of a muppet absolutely blotto so rare it carries the episode. It helps this is one of the shorter ones so the thin premise dosen't outstay it's welcome: it's just pure fun.

Christmas Time (Do Let the Bells End)

Another highlight of the series, as King Ploobis throws a Christmas party no one goes to as everyone's at the Killer Bee's party. Fun Fact: I've never seen Killer Bee's sketch. So there's that. It's fun enough especially with the sketch ending with Skred and guest Candice Bergen ditching the party for the Bee's party. It helps these sketches start to zero in more on what worked, i.e. the main duo of ploobis and skred, and their simple but effective act of Ploobis doing the setups, Skred saying something funny, and ploobis threatening to murder him for it.

Sex Lawz

So as set up in a previous episode, Skred is having an affair with the queen who after a few decades of this has decided to have Skred come clean before they get dirty again. Ploobis being who he is is a hypocrite and plans to murder anyone who sleeps with his wife, while Peuta is laso a hypocrite as she's mad her husband's cheating on her while she's doing the same. What i'ms aying is Skred is the most likeable person in the cast next to Favog, who advises Skred to exercise self love.. preferably with some magazines. THere's also a nice joy of sex runner.

Buy Me Toys Skred buys Peuta a sex toy. He struggles to put it together. The episode mercifully ends after it blows up. You know with what Jim can do with his imagination I expected WAY more and way weirder from a muppet sex toy. When I heard the premise of this one I was excited.. which says a lot about me I haven't fully processed, but this one's fully on Jim and Co for not making a better prop.

Honey Queen

A shorter sketcha nd the beginging of the end. For this last batch, the bits get experimental and thankfully get to a place where BOTH creative teams thrive: backstage shenangians. You can see a lot of the muppet show wraparoudns in these bits as the land of gorch muppets, mostly skred, try to get back on the sohw. In this case, Skred shows up as a bee to be in a sketch, only for Gilda Radner to tell him it was canceled. Gilda plays off him VERY well and it's no shock she went on to be on the muppet show. She's great at playing off them. It's also clear alongside Favog Skred was the breakout, and thus gets the most to do in this last stretch. It likely helps his puppet was easier to work in.

Look What I Did To My Id

This one is just .. bad. It's chevy chase dicking around with his hands because ostensibly our heroes are at the grammys. It's clear he didn't really respect what they did. The IDEA isn't bad, having an episode done just with hands, but instead of having Chevy act out a sketch or a parody, he just.. renacts a porn about the milkman because he and the writers coudln't be assed ot come up with actual jokes.

Eeee Eeee Eee Eeeeee DUN DUN DUN DUN dooo.. do do.. do do..

Is this question me and my dad, or Skred and Anthony Perkins? The World will never know

Anthony Perkins, aka Norman Bates, shows up and he's REALLY good. I had no idea he was this funny. He also wrote a murder mystery film, the last of shiela based on parties he threw. Yes really. YOur life is better for knowing that. And this sketch is one of the best, if not my faviorite as the muppets beg for work, with Anthony understandably annoyed as he dosen't actually run the show so he can't help. Skred also cratshes the ensuing sketch, with a great entrance. Easily the highlight.

Don't Start Now

Raquel Welch rebuffs Skred and Plobis hitting on her because there's nothing bellow the waste, possibly the first muppet dick joke and certainly not the last. I also got paid good money to type "muppet dick joke"

Chevy shoes them away then tells Raquel to take her shirt off.

Can't Buy Me Love

Another high point. It's clear these show biz bits just fit better. Favog claims to know the beetles and tries to bullshit our heroes way back onto the show. Not much else to sya, which is a habit here: the sketches can be funny but there just.. isn't a lot to disect. The good oens are just fast paced comedy and the not so good ones are just

Don't Leave Me This Way The ending sketch is my second favioroite and a good exit. The Land of Gorch Crew finds themselves in storage, beomaning how their jobless and how the muppet show has started without them. Lily Tomlin TRIES to find them work, but it's ultaimtely fruitless. IT's kind of a sad ending, but the fun of seeing them LITERALLY ins torage and coming out of cabinets (inclduing Ploobis shoving his way out despite his wife's discomfort given she's just bellow him), and the fact most of them aren't tha tlikeable help. And the muppets all TRYING to whistle is just.. comedy gold. It's clear Jim likely wrote this one or at least got to help more since he was on his way out.

So that was the land of gorch. and it's just kinda there. It has cool loooking muppets, but the clash between both creative teams and the lack of direction leave us with a series of shorts that's mostly filler and then Favog shows up. The last few are pretty damn great and really feel like they came right out of the muppet show, so it's clear Jim was getting his groove.. but it just wasn't built to last. SNL's side bits are better when they have a creative force behind it like Mr. Bill being indy films (with the writer being hired later), or the lovely chaos I need to explore at some point of saturday tv funhouse. and later groups like The Lonely Island and Please Do Not Destroy being built in house, still creatively experimenting, but in a way that fit sthe style of the show more. As it stands the Land of Gorch is just a weird evolutionarly step for the muppets that didn't quite land. Like the wartortle to Muppet Show and Dark Crystla's Blastoise: kinda there but not really.

Next Month: For the first time since I started this BRAND. NEW. MUPPETS. CONTENT. It's Muppets Mayhem baby! Need I say more?

[snlbumpers]

Travis Kelce, 2023.

[greensparty]

Thoughts on the 2024 Oscars

Just the other day I posted my Best Movies of 2023 list, so you pretty much know what I was rooting for! But here are some thoughts on tonight's awards, telecast and winners:

Best Director: Christopher Nolan - he deserved this award, but he easily should've won for Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception or Dunkirk too.

Best Actress: Emma Stone - really Academy? Lilly Gladstone should've won for Killers of the Flower Moon. That was a performance where she leaned into the silences and it was all in the eyes. While Emma Stone gave a powerhouse performance in Poor Things (an uneven movie IMHO) it was more of a showy "hey, look at me" performance. It's hard to compare both performances since they were so different but Gladstone should've won (and made history).

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. - Congrats to the first SNL cast member (he was in the 1985-86 season) to win an Acting Oscar. So cool to see the supporting actor from Weird Science, Back to School and A Scanner Darkly win! He probably should've won for Tropic Thunder, but he is worthy of this award for this performance!

Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph - I named The Holdovers my Best Movie of 2023 so I'm thrilled they did the right thing and at least rewarded Randolph!

Best Documentary Feature Film: 20 Days in Mariupol - I named this my Best Documentary of 2023. Big Congrats to GBH, Frontline and everyone involved with this powerful doc!

Best Animated Short Film: War Is Over - In my recent guide to the Oscar Nominated Short Films I predicted this. But big congrats to co-writer / executive producer Sean Ono Lennon. The son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono oversaw the short animated film inspired by John and Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)". I met Mr. Sean Ono Lennon when he did an in-store performance at Other Music in NYC in 2010. In Feb. 2015, I named his band Ghost of the Saber Tooth Tiger's album Midnight Sun my #1 Album of 2014. Then both The GOASTT and their leader Sean Lennon retweeted it and thanked me! I've also gotten to cover his band The Claypool Lennon Delirium here as well.

Best Live Action Short Film: The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar - another short film I predicted would win. Wes Anderson has been nominated in a lot of other categories, but it's nice to see him finally win, even if he should've won for Bottle Rocket or Rushmore!

Very cool to see Slash doing a guitar solo during "I'm Just Ken". Yes the Barbie song lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell's "What Was I Made For" also from that film, but how cool was it to see the GNR guitarist ripping it up at the Oscars?!

[magentagalaxies]

Writing an Essay on Brooklyn 99 So Maybe I Can Stop Thinking About It Every Day:

i can't wait for like 20 years from now when we'll be able to have thoroughly researched academic articles about what the fuck happened with brooklyn 99 and its place in the culture bc even tho i haven't cared to rewatch a single episode since it ended i still think about the show at least once a day because of how fucking surreal that situation was. and ik we already have some (very good!) video essays about the copaganda aspect of it but i feel like we're not gonna be able to understand the full scope of what this sitcom means until decades from now

like it's just so bizarre when you think about it, bc while police and the broader "justice" system have always been viewed as inherently cruel and biased to target minorities and uphold the rich white cishet status quo by many people, this view wasn't quite as mainstream when the show started. the show being set at a police department likely carried none of this baggage to the people working on it when it was first pitched. the thought process was (likely) more like well, we already have sitcoms that take place at all these generic jobs, so "cop" is a natural continuation of that list, as well as well, police dramas have been huge for the past twenty years, so having a sitcom set at a police department allows us to spoof that and get some cool action sequences, and let's be real andy samberg needs something to do after snl. like not excusing the glorification of cops by any means, but imagine if you were the creator of "the office" and then around season 6 it became impossible to ignore that paper companies were inherently racist and killing people and there was a movement to defund them??? again, it's not a perfect analogy bc there are just inherent parts of being a cop that should have tipped people off that maybe this isn't the best for a goofy comedy, but i don't think this show was made with any malicious intent, it was just very bad luck

but the "goofy sitcom about cops comes out when cops are still seen (by the mainstream) as normal guys and stays on the air long enough to have an existential crisis in 2020" thing honestly isn't the only reason this show fascinates me. i think this aspect has been covered by other people a fair amount, and honestly it's not even unique to brooklyn 99 (there are still a TON of cop shows on the air rn, even cop comedies! none of them have reached the same heights as brooklyn 99 but yeah unfortunately the "defund the police" movement did not kill cop shows). the real reason brooklyn 99 has retained such a bizarre place in sitcom history, and why it even had this identity crisis to begin with, is in its tone.

if i had to guess the three things brooklyn 99 is most remembered for are:

being a copaganda sitcom that tried not to be and imploded on itself

the cold open bits that were such widespread memes that even if you've never watched the show you can probably quote at least two

the diversity of its characters

we're going to focus on number three. brooklyn 99 was a groundbreakingly diverse show from the very beginning. the number of people of color in its cast was beyond most sitcoms at the time, and captain holt being openly gay was a plot point from the pilot episode. however, i don't think the show really embraced its status as "the woke sitcom" until around season 2 or 3 (i don't remember exactly when the shift happened and i don't want to rewatch it to find out) in the earliest episodes, the tone is more focused on typical sitcom tropes combined with parodies of police drama tropes. this is also a very egregious era for people to look back on like "hm the behavior of these cops isn't entirely ethical even tho they're the supposed good guys," but again other people have covered this topic way better than i can

however, in seasons 3-5 brooklyn 99 started to take off in liberal circles because of its "progressive" politics. the show's female characters were badass and had actual personalities! the show had characters who were people of color and acknowledged racism existed! the show even started having episodes that acknowledged these issues, and its cast pushed for advocacy as well. as someone who was deep in the "brooklyn 99 is out unproblematic fave" culture of that era, i specifically remember rosa's coming out episode as a huge moment for queer representation, and i remember how much people applauded the episode where terry is racially profiled by another officer for shedding light on the issue. the characters on brooklyn 99 weren't just seen as "the good guys," they were seen as an ideal diverse friend group. the retort whenever someone pointed out the copaganda was to point out the depiction of other cops on the show being "the bad guys," and explain "brooklyn 99 isn't saying all cops are good, it's saying that our main characters are an example of what police should be like, and we can work together to make the system better!" i'll dissect this take more later, but for not this is just a snapshot of what the culture was like.

the main thing i remember from being on tumblr during the heyday of brooklyn 99 was this phrase being repeated over. and over. and over. again:

"this is proof that you can be funny without being offensive!"

sure, brooklyn 99 wasn't the only show to be given this tag line by its fan base, but i associate this take with brooklyn 99 more than any other show that was popular during that time. especially when it comes to the cold open bits, like "now number five", or "the full bullpen!" or "hot damn!" it would also be applied to bits about queerness like "bye rosa!" or "BONE???" which is understandable, since most sitcom audiences were used to queerness constantly being the butt of the joke and it was nice to just hear bisexuality used as a non-judgmental pun for once.

this was also during an era where "offensive comedy" was very heavily taken over by the right wing, especially trump supporters. in the minds of many, "offensive comedy" just meant a conservative saying slurs and getting butthurt when people stopped laughing. the right was offensive and grotesque, so the left would take the high road and be tolerant of everything. we don't want to offend people, but we still want comedy, so brooklyn 99 is a nice way to reassure ourselves that we can still laugh while being as inoffensive as possible. the ironic thing is i'm sure someone can find a reason to find any one of these brooklyn 99 cold opens offensive. i'm not going to make a callout post for every single potentially offensive thing in these bits bc that just feels like making up a guy to get mad at, but my point is "offensiveness" is subjective and not the deadly sin we thought it was.

(to detour slightly, this idea of "proof that you can be funny without being offensive" was so internalized in me that i ended up self-censoring my own works so much. it actually wasn't until i discovered scott thompson's comedy that i realized being "offensive" in the overt queerness of your work is actually so much more powerful than trying to look unproblematic. homophobes are gonna find you disgusting no matter what you do, so don't censor yourself to seem better than them because at best they won't care and at worst they'll see you as the death of comedy)

season five was the peak of brooklyn 99 imo. the show was diverse. the fandom was everywhere. the comedy was iconic. then it was cancelled. not the social-media-version of cancelled, that will come much later. fox, the network brooklyn 99 aired on, pulled the plug on the show after season five, leading to a massive uproar on twitter in defense of the show. major celebrities were tweeting about how they watched it every week, people were petitioning other networks to pick it up, and eventually someone did!! brooklyn 99 was brought back on nbc through season 8 and we all lived happily ever after

just kidding but can you imagine?

whenever brooklyn 99 pops into my brain these days, i keep coming back to the same theory, which is that the show would be remembered much more fondly if it was just cancelled after season five. i would've been sad, sure, but think about it. it's 2018. this show is still viewed as the pinnacle of positive representation by so many people. its fan base is vast and passionate, and it even ended on the classic wedding episode for the will-they/won't-they couple. yeah it's a shame to let all that momentum go to waste and not have a proper sendoff for everyone, but we move on and fans fill in the gaps themselves through their own creativity. a few years down the line, our nation finally experiences a reckoning with police brutality and the defund the police movement gains traction. this of course taints the legacy of our beloved cop sitcom, but we didn't know back then (even though we really should've), and since the show is done we can just enjoy it as escapism while also being firm in our beliefs irl. this system isn't perfect, but the question of how do we remember brooklyn 99? is a lot easier when brooklyn 99 is not currently airing

but brooklyn 99 was airing, and seasons 6-8 were a mess. even beyond the copaganda conversation, things just felt a bit off. the shorter seasons definitely didn't help, since they took away a fan favorite aspect of the show (the halloween heist episodes, which honestly are the only things i'm ever tempted to rewatch anymore) and gave us less and less time in the world of our characters. jake and amy had a kid, because that's what sitcom couples are supposed to do. we saw rosa's girlfriend. and rosa's girlfriend. and rosa's girlfriend. the show dealt with mass shootings, the #metoo movement, and other topical issues.

then the world shut down, and middle class white people finally had to reckon with the realities of police brutality since they couldn't look away. brooklyn 99 of course was swept up in this conversation, and since they were always known as the most progressive sitcom on television, they had to do something. but it was looking more and more like despite all their efforts "progressive cop show" was an oxymoron, and all they could do was try and minimize the damage while making a swift exit.

there have already been several essays on how brooklyn 99 handled its identity as a "cop show" in its final season, and this essay is already long enough so I won't get into the weeds even more here. some aspects were a good step towards important conversations (rosa quitting, jake's realization that everyone sees themselves as one of the good ones, etc.). some were... trying their best? but also vague enough that there was no substance beyond just saying "this is a thing" (amy's arc about submitting a proposal defunding some police programs? i don't even remember if that's what it was about since it was so vague). and others were just kind of baffling??? like. the show ends with jake quitting being a cop, which is good. and his decision is framed as entirely about wanting to spend more time with his son... but also the whole reason he got to spend more time with his son was because he got suspended for intimidating a suspect and being super unethical??? and that's never brought up again or cited as a reason for jake quitting. like, they already had rosa quit because she realized being a cop was just contributing to a corrupt system, and jake has just had the dark realization that no matter how golden-retriever-husband he is, he's still a corrupt cop??? but they fully ignore that and make the finale about family??? idk it just feels like they wrote the finale before everything went down and never bothered to rewrite it.

but the important thing is that brooklyn 99 finally ended, and rather than being met with the standing ovation of its almost-finale in season five, it was met with... still a moderate amount of applause, but mostly people looking away and awkwardly asking what to do with it now. in the years since, i have barely seen anything about brooklyn 99 on the internet. idk if it's just because of who i surround myself with, but to contrast, i still see things about the office, parks and rec, community, scrubs, 30 rock, etc. years after they ended. i didn't even like the office! and these shows certainly had problematic elements as well (even my favorites on this list, community and scrubs, have some jokes that really don't hold up), but even tho i couldn't scroll past 5 posts on tumblr in 2015 without seeing a fandom redraw of "and i know that if i run at terry he will catch me" "JAKE I'M HOLDING COFFEE!", brooklyn 99 has kind of... vanished?

the only times i'm forced to think about brooklyn 99 now (outside of this essay bouncing around my brain every 24 hours) are when i see a post where it is the butt of the joke or a piece of discourse that we all know the right side of. a netflix synopsis of the show prioritizes saying it's "full of memeable moments" but never uses the word "cop." that's obviously bad, but also, that's accurate to how we thought of the show back in 2015. the cop thing was easily ignorable by its fans. or, more potently, on a post about how cops shouldn't be allowed at pride, some clueless steven universe blog pipes up "what about captain holt?" and is treated to a barrage of "HE'S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER STOP BEING A BOOTLICKER." and maybe that's evidence of the more damning legacy of brooklyn 99, that for all its progressive storytelling, it's still a cop show. and even if you're a fan who knows most cops aren't like our main characters and they're just an example of how the system should be, that still makes you idolize the idea that there could be people like these characters who made you feel seen, and that they're working in the police force. that if you say "ACAB" you could make captain holt sad, because even though the show and fandom tried so hard to make the police identity secondary to their mission of diversity, the police identity has to come first in order for any real change to be made.

that's all i have for now. i'm sure i didn't explain things entirely perfectly and that there's major aspects to this conversation that i missed, but that's why i'm excited to read someone else's analysis in 20 years. i'm very curious to see what brooklyn 99's legacy will be like then.

[jerseyluck]

Just finished Season 20 of SNL, and that was a rough experience overall. I wish was I warned about how much Jay Mohr was on during the back-half. The Bad Boys were shaky and (in Farley's and Spade's case) did not want to be there. IT was a lot of Tim Meadow, Norm MacDs, and Chris Elliot holding the season up.

[adultswim2021]

The Boondocks #21: “Attack of the Killer Kung-Fu Wolf-Bitch” | November 19, 2007 - 11:30PM | S02E06

In this episode, Granddad winds up on a blind internet date with a beautiful woman voiced by Aisha Tyler. What a wonderful turn of events for him; especially because he’s been on a string of dates with some DISHONEST WOMEN, who have shown up to dates not looking like their significantly more wankable myspace profile photograph. Could it be too good to be true?

Yes, it could. It turns out that the woman, Luna, is a deadly kung-fu martial artist with an affinity for wolves (hence the title). She spooks the entire family so bad that they feign an emergency trip out of town in order to ghost her. When she finds out she reacts poorly, mostly because of her bitchy-sounding friend who eggs her on to do some Kill Bill shit to them over the phone.

This is sort of a goofier one. Not really much hard-hitting satire to speak of, just a wacky plot about love gone wrong. There’s flashbacks to the woman’s past, including her time at a kumite, the underground tournament to the death from the motion picture Bloodsport. She won, in scenes that resemble the high video game Mortal Kombat. But will she bestow a Mortal Kombat 2 style “Friendship” on the Freeman family?

The goofiness of the episode is really essential. The main problem one might have with this episode is the way the family reacts to Luna’s confession that she is a deadly fighter. There doesn’t seem to be much of a downside to just accepting her and her past, especially since the alternative to that plays out so poorly for our favorite non-yellow family. The fact that this confrontation results in her undoing (spoilers: she dies at the end) is bothersome, because she’s a pretty likable character. She’s misguided in a way that shouldn’t be fatal, and yet she is. But the goofy tone sorta does away with that. I was genuinely curious if this episode was particularly disliked for this reason, but it gets fairly above average marks on IMDB, so I guess they succeeded. Speaking of yellow families, this almost works as a companion piece to “Homer’s Enemy” (aka the Frank Grimes episode). It’s comparable! I’ve compared the two, goddamn it.

I’m just glad this one didn’t have a bunch of rap references to read up on. Thank you, Boondocks.

EPHEMERA CORNER

MAIL BAG

I started my post two nights ago (sorry for missing a night I GOT UNEXPECTEDLY BUSY YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME) by telling you about my gastrointestinal distress. I am going to use this space to tell you that today I brought a bottle of astroglide to work with me because I did not shit all day yesterday, and I could tell that it was going to be an ordeal. I lubed my canal while in a clandestine public bathroom on my workroute. I let out an enormously long one, very sturdy I’m pleased to say. But then I dumped so much mud on top of it that it crested the surface of the water in the toilet. When I looked down, the solid log was laying across the hole, and the mud dump on top caused the resulting mess to look uncannily like a banana split. I’m pleased to say there was no strawberry sauce. I had to flush three times to get it all down.

Speaking of shit, here’s some letters I got reacting to yesterday’s Tim & Eric post:

90s SNL is just as bad as any other era of SNL. Mike Meyers and Rob Schneider just did straight up retarded shit every week, it just had cooler bands.

Oh, I think the SNL renaissance is real. But the quality is more negligible than most people realize. Watching full episodes of all but a few episodes of the show is a chore, always.

The John Landis remark on your absolutely scathing takedown of Vacation is astounding. I've seen nitpicking but that's a nit no one can scratch. Also theres like 20 incidents of that kind of pull way in Tom Goes To The Mayor.

Tom Goes to the Mayor is an inferior product compared to Awesome Show, and deserves a more critical eye. Especially since season one of Awesome Show dazzled this TV-obsessed Weldon.

yer vacation thing is nuts. some real hater/cinema sins shit. raz is funny!

I think I ultimately like the episode, I am pretty disappointed that the wraparound bits weren’t as strong. Season premiere, guys. Look alive. I yelled at a woman for you (one of the people who came over was a sexually active woman!)

[tomwambscunts]

Based on che show notes (tysm @andydismukes) and the entire season 47 I believe with my whole heart that we only need 6 feature players, dismukes, pdd, ego, rosebud, jake, deetch, bulla, jost, yim, alex, stephen. All due respect to other people but these people are the future. I know you’ll agree lol

I’ve been saying the exact same thing for months but also this is a vision of a younger audience. It’s only natural for us to connect with Dismukes more than Tucker’s writing or Heidi for example. But snl has a wider audience than that, it’s different for a 50 year old who has been watching Kenan for 20 years. Someone has to resonate with them, so I get why they lean into keeping these people around but I believe it’s more about wanting their presence, and less about their comedy. I think with the newer hires it’s the reverse situation (well mostly). But yes, of course I agree with this.