The Friday Link for 2/21/25

Howdy all!

The Friday Link starts with the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary show. It was pretty good! I missed the first part but when I saw Twitter blowing up with how horrible it was, I knew it had to be great, so I turned it on. 

It's hard to peg which cast was best, and although I do believe there is a lot of merit to showing respect for the first one, the 10th season cast was insanely funny. Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Julia Louise Dreyfus, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, an underrated Rich Hall...heck, even Jim Belushi had his moments.

I also think the seasons between 2000 and 2014 were really solid. Those casts were packed, and I think the reason the cast cracking up became a thing was due to how funny some of those people were, particularly Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and Bill Hader (but many others on those casts, too).

The best bit from the 50th was Black Jeopardy.  Eddie Murphy doing a Tracy Morgan impression of Tracy Morgan's face was great.  And Tom Hanks shows up as the character which sends MAGA into a fury! 

The monologue was also really good.  This set the tone nicely!

I also loved the Andy Samberg digital short Anxiety.  Yes, it does have a little bit of crudeness to it, but I'll be damned if Samberg didn't write the most 80s-sounding 80s song ever.  And when he dances with his hand in his pockets...chef's kiss! 

Good fun.

And for something completely different.  Someone took a very crude AI, took the Council of Elrond scene from Lord of the Rings, and made it into a rock opera.  I have no idea what Gandolf is doing with the ice cream, but this video is like a car crash.  You can't help but slow down and watch. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Please be safe with all the illnesses out there! 

America doesn't have a king...