My Review of Martin Freeman on SNL

So the wonderful Martin Freeman was on Saturday Night Live (SNL) last night.  I absolutely love Martin as an actor, I've seen him in Sherlock (of course), The Hobbit trilogy and the British version of The Office, and I've loved him in them all.  Overall I'll say I was very disappointed in this episode of SNL but it really had nothing to do with Martin himself.

 First of all, a disclaimer:  I don't watch TV.  I have the internet and Netflix, so the cable TV format is something I am not used to.  One of the biggest turn offs that SNL had for me was just how many ads there were!  They would do one skit, then go to a few minutes of ads.  I think if you timed it, it was 50/50 content to ads.  (At least it felt that way!)  My second huge complaint overall was the fact that I felt Martin just wasn't used very much.  They had one spectacular skit (more on that in a moment) and then for the most part he either wasn't present or he was a character with few lines.  I would have liked to have Martin well.. act more.  Also, the lack of Sherlock jokes was a disappointment as well, but I honestly didn't expect too much to be done there.  I don't think Sherlock is popular in the States (or Canada for that matter) and any reference to it probably would have gone over a lot of people's heads.

The best skit of the night bar none was the Hobbit/Office crossover.  The inclusion of Gollum and some of the best known gags from the Office (like the stapler in the jello) really worked very well.  I truly enjoyed this skit, however I wish it wasn't the first one I saw, as it really gave me hope for the rest of the show, which was misplaced.  Worst skit of the night went to a parody of a morning show.  The whole skit was the two hosts making sexual and homosexual innuendos at each other, with brief cuts to Martin being awkward.  It just really didn't work for me.

As I said, overall I was really disappointed in the show.  Martin Freeman is a funny guy, I laugh more watching interviews with him than I did during SNL last night, and I just wish they had let that shine through more.