After yet another hiatus and minor comment section controversy, we’re back with a little present for y’all: our wrap-up extravaganza for Season 44! In case you missed our end-of-season post for S43, these are a chance for all of us to take turns sharing opinions and memories, some old and some new, and maybe even talk about what we might have done differently from each other! It’s a fun chance for us to just write brain-meltingly long-form, so I hope you enjoy that. We also have our episode and season averages and a curated Best Of at the bottom!
Happy holidays, or alternatively, we’re sorry.
ANTHONY:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: Writing and reading these has certainly been an interesting experience, because I remember so goddamn little about this season. I think I went on autopilot with the modern show around the same time the show itself did, so aside from a few pieces I really loved or hated, I picked up remarkably little from this season. I mean, let’s not forget this is the season so bad it murdered Stooge (as a reminder, none of his review stats count cus they’re ghost ratings). I do kind of get his impulse to abandon the show after spending time with the messy, chaotic, inventive original years. 44’s not quite one of the show’s worst seasons, but certainly among its most formulaic (along the lines of a S35). There were highlights as any SNL season is bound to have, and things rarely bottom out in too spectacular a fashion with some notable exceptions (the Carrell show, any number of cold opens, Crenshaw, Kanye), but overall this season just feels like the show in a place with very little to say or get excited about.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: In a season that so rarely aimed for more than affable mediocrity, the return of a beloved alum like Sandler after so long felt like a recipe for a parade of pointless cameos, old characters, bad Sandler impressions and lazy rehashes of premises we know sort of work, so why try something new? And while, sure, we got a little of all of those in his return ep (along with Sean Mendes for some reason?), it was really nice to see the show deliver a genuinely above average ep for such an important figure in the show’s history, even featuring one of the best performances Sandler ever gave on the show (Romano Tours). Even more, it was just gratifying to see the show feel so sweet for once. In a season that often felt really manufactured, there was a palpable energy in that ep of the cast pushing a slightly nervous performer they loved and respected to the finish line. (Continuing the S35 comparisons, it felt similar to Betty White ep in that regard—also a warm ep coming at the tail end of a season that feels too assembly line for its own good.)
Favorite sketches?: As I said, any season of SNL is still bound to have highlights, and this season I got to cover some sketches I really adore. In fact, I may or may not have chosen my 3 episodes to ensure three particular sketches got 5s (all are pretty popular among SNL fans though, so I maybe didn’t have to worry too much in that regard). Still, if I had to pick a favorite of that bunch, and indeed a favorite sketch of the season, it’s hard to top the sheer manic stupidity (“stupid” being used in the most complimentary fashion possible) that is “Weezer.” If you don’t like that sketch, say it with me: “Drink my blood!”
Favorite episode(s)?: Of the ones I covered: Sandler. Of the season: Mulaney.
Hot takes?: I’m not sure any particular cast member walked away with this season. And not in a “oh, the ensemble is so strong no one shines above the rest” kind of way, because there are definite air time discrepancies. The older guard who got all the screen time brought, generally, very little to this season that we hadn’t see them do before, and stronger (or at the very least, when it felt more fresh). I still like pretty much everyone in the cast, and several had strong seasons (Kyle, Heidi, Leslie) but no one in this cast, at this particular point in time, is doing much to truly earn that “star of the show” spot.
Here are a series of other things I slightly differed from my colleagues on. (As always, nothing personal, just doing what we all love to do and chucking my opinions into the void. We’re all just having a good time talking about some dumb shit, no one needs to gets genuinely salty):
— I would have been kinder to “Brothers” than Kabir, and meaner to “Charlie’s Grandparents.”
— I would have graded a good amount of the Halsey episode about a half to full star lower than it got.
— I didn’t feel as uneasy about the Pete/Mulaney Update segment as Carson did. Pete does seem a bit (understandably) squirmy, but for the most part I honestly still find that one pretty charming.
— Speaking of Mulaney, I’m a basic baby boy who would give the second musical sketch another 5.
— Speaking of music, my Greta Van Fleet review would have had a pinch more salt. My review of Crenshaw on Update would have had a couple extra gallons…
— Speaking of music again, it’s mean to say, but pretty much across the board I’d have graded the Pete raps lower. I’m sorry. I’ve gone back and rewatched these things. I’ve tried, and B-tier Lonely Island is still about the best they get for me, and the worst is…well I’ve avoided reviewing episodes with them, because momma said if you have nothing nice to say you zippa your lip.
— To conclude on a more positive note (and to speak once more of music), I’d have bumped Melissa’s “Hobbies” piece up about a star. Yea, it’s flabby as hell, and not particularly funny, so I can’t fault Matt for going with a more muted score, but man if that thing doesn’t just work for me on the sheer power of Melissa’s likability. I mean, I’ve heard of far worse things to hook a sketch around.
CARSON:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: I think the general tone from the commentariat on this season is negative and I get that, even if I don’t see the show as being in any more significant a slump as it was the season prior or it will be in the season to come. I remember the old Voy forum being pretty hostile to all new episodes at the time and feeling kind of alienated because, frankly, it’s still the same old SNL to me. That’s kind of carried over into these modern reviews. I don’t think the show’s really that significantly worse than any other season from the last 25 years. Each episode has one absolute keeper, one grower, one agreeably lame bit, one less agreeably lame bit and one total turd. I think the Trump fatigue and the Pete Davidson fiasco kind of clouds this whole era (and specifically this season vis a vis Pete), but in the end I still basically walk away with the same general vibes I do with every show during the forever cast era.
So what’s wrong with the show in 2018 and 2019? One observation I recently made is that the show is currently structured around the wrong kind of tension. The late 80s cast existed in the tension of standups (Miller, Nealon, Carvey, Jackson) and actors (Hartman, Hooks, Dunn, Lovitz) sharing the stage. As the show moved into the 90s, it was the tension of the generation gap. But even in that, the balance of power was pretty evenly distributed. These days, it’s a tension between the “haves” and the “have nots” with Mikey Day standing in the middle audibly observing it all. That’s an unhealthy, unnatural tension that does not serve the show well. Greatness can still emerge from all parties, but in between those more interesting moments is a show that is primarily serving a fraction of the cast, with everyone locked into their pre-fabbed roles.
That said, when individuals got to break out of those established modes, that’s when the show created moments with legs. Think Beck Bennett being allowed to go truly bonkers in scenes (Bayou Benny’s Liberal Lagniappe, Brothers, First Impression); Leslie Jones getting to go play in deadpan absurdism (House Hunters) or anchor a scene that plays against her persona (Weezer); Melissa Villaseñor getting to eschew shoe-horned impressions in favor of her sparkling personality (Hobbies, Ouija Board); or off-setting Kenan’s innate likability with severely dark undertones (Cosby, Willie, R. Kelly). Heck, even allowing Adam Sandler to play off to his melancholy as opposed to his mania resulted in the season’s best sketch (Romano Tours). The mileage varied for all of the different reviewers, but for me, those sketches, even when flawed, stuck with me in a way the boilerplate game show parodies and Kenan reacts/Mikey explains/Leslie yells/Kate mugs sketches never could.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: I didn’t exactly get the best of what the 2018-19 season had to offer, having to pick from the rubble that was the Jason Momoa, Rachel Brosnahan and Don Cheadle episodes. I doled out five stars to two pieces (First Impression, Extreme Baking Championship). As a Tim Robinson superfan, I think “First Impression” worked best for me, with Beck fitting in perfectly with Tim’s voice. It still makes me crazy, though, that the show actually had Tim Robinson as a performer and said “no thanks.”
While I was given a somewhat last minute assignment to take on the fresher Don Cheadle, I think I was a little jealous of others who got to take on some of those really big episodes. But I just had to wait my turn. I’ve got a couple fun ones coming up next season.
Favorite sketches?: As always, here is how I would structure a 2018-19 Best Of special:
COLD: The Gayle King Interview With R. Kelly (Idris Elba)
MONO: John Mulaney
COMM1: Rectix (Adam Sandler)
SKETCH 1: Brothers (Liev Schreiber)
SKETCH 2: The War In Words (Claire Foy)
SKETCH 3: Mr. H (James McAvoy)
SKETCH 4: Career Day (Adam Driver)
SKETCH 5: Extreme Baking Championship (Don Cheadle)
SKETCH 6: First Impression (Jason Momoa)
WU 1: Jeanine Pirro (Sandra Oh)
WU 2: Terry Fink (Kit Harington)
WU 3: Melissa as Gaga (Halsey)
SKETCH 7: Weezer (Matt Damon)
COMM 2: Cheques (Sandra Oh)
SKETCH 8: Cosby In Jail (Seth Meyers)
SKETCH 9: The Actress (Emma Stone)
SKETCH 10: Cha Cha Slide (John Mulaney)
SKETCH 11: Romano Tours (Adam Sandler)
SKETCH 12: House Hunters (Liev Schreiber)
Favorite episode(s)?: Sandler had one of the great “coming home” episodes of all time and Mulaney is everyone’s fave new perennial, but the Liev Schreiber episode was done dirty. That a hot take? We’ll never know.
Hot takes?: Y’know, opinions are like assholes; I feel like mine should be held in higher regard. C’mon folks!
I don’t get too hot under the collar if someone praises something I don’t adore. In fact, I kind of love it when that happens. I like looking at sketches from another person’s perspective. That’s the beauty of this whole project.
Then again, when someone trashes a personal favorite or, even worse, insufficiently praises a personal favorite, I fall into a blind rage. The audacity it takes to depart from my immaculate opinion truly astounds me.
So here’s my take: some of the trashed, dismissed or only mildly praised sketches from this season needed some more love.
OK no, you want a really brutal hot take? I don’t really blame SNL for fumbling the Trump stuff. They took a swing that worked for them in the short term in 2008 and got caught having to play the long game with a strategy with a three month shelf life. But when you observe the landscape of mainstream late night comedy, who really came out smelling like roses? Fallon flailed, Colbert pandered, Corden pandered harder (somehow), Kimmel cried, Bee Yas Kweened, Noah continued to not really exist. I guess John Oliver led the way with capital-I Important comedy, but to what end? Certainly not huge laughs. Same can be said for Seth, who has grown on me as a host, but not really been a comedic driver. This is all to say, SNL was completely lost, but so was everyone else. And at least Update generally delivered on the joke front. This season produced about three or four halfway decent to very good cold opens. That really doesn’t really seem that far off from even the show’s most celebrated seasons. I’m not saying De Niro as Mueller was good; I’m just saying it was not particularly worse than whatever the fuck Colbert thought counted as comedy.
JOHN:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: This season will always be a bit special for me just because it is the season where I began to regularly watch again, first through Youtube clips and then, by the time of the Emma Stone episode, live. That doesn’t mean I am blind to its faults, but I was at an advantage of barely knowing the performers some fans were already fatigued by at this point.
There are a number of mini-stories to track this season—44 being the last of the “before times,” with filmic promos (a positive) and many cameos (not a positive); being the final season for Leslie Jones, who truly does get to leave on a high in a way few cast members have since Jane Curtin; being the first season for Ego Nwodim, whose journey in that year would not prepare us for how vital she would become to the show only a few years later. This was also, I would argue, Cecily’s peak season, where she generated as much of the conversation as Kate and Aidy had up to that point, and where her lack of an Emmy nomination led to more than a little dismay. This is also the season where Beck and Kyle essentially go their separate ways, aside from a few pieces which struggled to make the main show. And of course Pete…
This season is also something of a crossroads for the show’s approach toward political material. A number of sketches were roasted on social media (namely the “hamberders” cold open and Democratic Women of Congress), which is not particularly unique (although these two continue to be brought up years later), but still stand out for a paralyzing inability to comment on the current moment. There is also the attempt—naive, crass, or both—to try to find a “bipartisan” moment in a climate that did not begin to call for it, leading to an episode which features the cloying “Unity Song” and the shameless PR exercise for Dan Crenshaw. They tried to go back to similar material from the gross political parade of the show’s ‘00s, where grimy politicians would grace Update with slimy smiles and wooden one-liners to show us how SNL was ‘a show for everybody,’ but that was never truly the case. Even if it had been, 2018 was not 2008—these were false memories of a dead world. After Season 44 I do think the show has given up the ghost on bipartisanship, which hasn’t always improved the writing, but I would still say is for the best.
I tend to share Carson’s view that the show itself has not undergone serious structural change in the last 20-25 years, which means my expectations focus more on minute changes, or changes caused by the show trying to escape that existing structure. The worst of season 44 stems from the latter—continuing to chase the faded glories of Trumpwin, embarrassing themselves by hitching to the Mueller wagon, and capitalizing on the personal life of a very troubled young cast member in a crass way that has aged worse than…well, you can list about 500 different things here that have aged worse, so never mind, but there is a specific tastelessness and level of exploitation to be found here which never should have taken place, and hopefully never will again.
SNL can never escape its past, which is sometimes a very bad thing, but in the case of Season 44, it was often more of a positive, a knitting of old and new in productive ways—Seth Meyers facing down the sketch comedy past he had escaped to make his own path, John Mulaney brushing off some old scripts and using his knowledge of the show’s nooks and crannies to help with what turned out to be the best show of the season, and Adam Sandler bringing healing, heart, and some genuine laughs as he navigated his old wounds while (veteran of bloated casts that he was) managing to fit right in with a sprawling ensemble. Even if this was not technically the season finale, the image of many cast members in tears at Sandler’s tribute to Chris Farley is the true closer of the season. The moment felt as if they—and we—were reminded that SNL was not just a show that existed for next-day write-ups on whether the latest 10 minute cold open was going to make Trump blather incoherently on Twitter. The show has a long, painful, enthralling history that they—and we—are still trying to grapple with. Understanding and unpacking that history as best we can is the only way to move forward, and Sandler’s episode—goofy and funny and pure in that very Sandler way— was that moment of healing needed to remind us why we were still there.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: I was going to joke at one point about my reviews this season being “Jonah Hill and the best of British beef,” which I decided not to because, among other reasons James is Scottish and may not love that joke (since he is searching out all reviews on his episode, I’m sure), but more seriously, I do appreciate that I (unintentionally) covered how three very different UK talents who have each made very different marks on America tackled the bewilderment that is SNL-style live sketch comedy.
Favorite sketches?: Only counting episodes I didn’t cover: “Cha Cha Slide” and “What’s That Name” (Mulaney), “Cheques” (Oh), “Romano Tours” (Sandler), “Cars” (Foy), “Rudolph” (Mamoa), “First Impression” (Mamoa), “Poddy Awards” (Schrieber), “Outside the Women’s Bathroom” (Schrieber), “Movie Talkback” (Meyers), “Ladies Room” (Stone), “Millennial Millions” (Brosnahan).
Favorite episode(s)?: Mulaney is pretty much impossible to top.
Hot takes?: I don’t really think “Career Day” translates that well outside of Driver’s superb performance, in large part because Pete, who does have some great moments this season, is just not suited for the key role of his son. I still think “RV Life” is one of Heidi’s most compelling pieces and deserves more study and praise, bad ending aside. I think “Etiquette Lesson” is an absolutely terrific sketch that allows Emma Thompson to break out of the prefab host roles and return to the knockabout comedy that helped establish her with UK viewers in the ‘80s. Leslie is also excellent in a role she co-wrote, one which turns the “strong black woman” stereotypes she often had to play on their head and allows her to play shockingly edgy, racially-charged material for modern SNL standards. The whole thing feels like something from the show’s early years, yet revelations about the toxicity in the Palace make it seem perfectly suited to today’s times. And above all else it’s just a riveting watch.
KABIR:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: I thought season 44 was a definite step down from 43 at the time, but in retrospect they both just seem like a shapeless mass of political sketches which are a chore to sit through today.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: I only covered three episodes, but the Emma Thompson episode had the most out-of-left-field host choice, and was also the most consistent.
Favorite sketches?: Within just the episodes I covered, “Chopped” from Emma Thompson. Overall, I’d say “Cha Cha Slide” from Mulaney. Honorable mention to Driver’s “Career Day,” and two pieces which weren’t really “sketches” from the Sandler episode: Opera Man, and the Chris Farley song.
Favorite episode(s)?: Of the ones I covered: Emma Thompson. Of the season: Adam Sandler.
Hot takes?: I write concisely BECAUSE.
MATT:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: As I expressed in my last write-up regarding S43, all of the aspects that enabled that season to reflect negatively in comparison to the season preceding it were traits that became deeply-ingrained in the boilerplate nature of this season which succeeded it. Questionable stunt casting and prolonged cold opens start the show off on a grueling tone that the rest of the night has to work overtime to rectify, but which so often it seems ill-equipped to do.
If we’re lucky, we get to see the fruits of S44’s conceptual approach to sketch-writing blossom into something legitimately cerebral or impressive, but much of the time, such content has to duke it out with vanity pieces for depleted and long-tenured cast members, material that seemingly just exists with the crossed-finger expectation of virality, or a devotion to being strictly amiable. Too often as well, we’ll get the odd sketch or joke thrown in that serves as a reminder that for all of this season’s attempted gains (Dan Crenshaw, or its Amazon jokes, or how much it banked on the Mueller Report), they wound up on the absolute wrong side of history.
It’s a power struggle that leaves most episodes feeling like a complete wash, even if the bright spots are something worth celebrating. With the hindsight of the next three seasons of the show, though, S44 merely comes across as the eye of the storm, a particularly lethargic year where things tend to at least be hard to hate, but even harder to love.
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: Picking a favorite review from this season for me is like picking a favorite child of your five children, when you really like four of them. I’m very happy with what I was able to pen for the site this season, so I thought I’d just go into each a little bit:
The obvious choice for favorite is the John Mulaney episode—a bona fide, modern classic episode and the best episode that I’ll ever get to cover until S46. Elon Musk gang rise up! (I’m fully kidding—sit down.) Being able to cover a Mulaney episode is a distinct treat, and I like that each one got to be covered by a different writer; I think that allows for a great variety of opinion over some of the era’s most beloved and polarizing hosting stints, and as in the case for both me and my review buddy John, it was a very personal experience…
… if perhaps not as personal an experience as me being able to attend the Awkwafina episode from this season in-person, which I then got the distinct privilege of being able to review! Does that make me more biased? Probably. But I’m glad I could speak to my appreciation of an episode that’s unremarkable in many ways, but as an Asian-American, deeply remarkable to me and others.
On that note of representation, although the Sandra Oh episode isn’t one in particularly hot demand, there’s a handful of sketches in it I was happy to get the chance to write about: a splendid Kenan showcase, and one of Julio’s final pieces in his tenure as the show’s resident wunderkind writer. Most importantly to that initial point, though, it also marks the debut of Bowen Yang, who single-handedly saves a dying political sketch with his killer Kim Jong-Un impression in the only way a Bowen Yang can. The guy is one of my favorite cast members to write about and I can’t wait for more chances as we get deeper into this project!
Lastly, in terms of what review was the most goddamn enjoyable to write… it’s absolutely Steve Carell. There’s nothing more fun and distinctly challenging than dissecting a trainwreck, and with a critically-wasted host, some icky corporate brown-nosing, and a 10-to-1 that falls apart at the seams, there’s almost too much to chew on. It’s easy to just lambast SNL for being shitty—just ask literally anyone online or offline, ever—but it’s more interesting to patiently deconstruct it and try to understand the headspace that it gets in. That’s what a website like this is for, right?
Favorite sketches?: As with my last season write-up, I’ll break them up into nice, digestible categories (in no particular order):
Favorite Live Sketches:
Career Day (Adam Driver)
Brothers (Liev Schreiber)
Weezer (Matt Damon)
Cha Cha Slide (John Mulaney)
Romano Tours (Adam Sandler)
Favorite Pretapes:
House Hunters (Liev Screiber)
First Impression (Jason Momoa)
Roach-Ex (Don Cheadle)
The Actress (Emma Stone)
Rectix (Adam Sandler)
Favorite Update Features:
Pete Davidson on Kanye West (Awkwafina)
Every Teen Girl Murder Suspect on Law & Order (Jonah Hill)
Melissa Villasenor (Halsey)
Jeanine Pirro (Sandra Oh)
Terry Fink (Kit Harington)
Favorite episode(s)?: As I said above, and as I’m sure everyone here will say, John Mulaney is the obvious #1. It becomes a bit of a crap-shoot after that, but some episodes emerged as more solid than others; I feel like the Liev Schreiber episode occupied a very strong, conceptual headspace (more on that in the hot takes section), while the Matt Damon and Halsey episodes offered appreciable consistency and charisma. If nothing else, this was a season where hosts were particularly game, and it became a matter of how well they were served week after week, never a fault of their own.
Hot takes?: I love Kabir, and I will defend Kabir to bits, but he did the Liev Schreiber episode dirty. I get where Kabir is coming from—Liev is a very low-key host who doesn’t have the conventional skillset that spells out success with this level of comedy performance—but I feel that’s almost quintessential to the episode’s intrigue. He enables the show to get weird and conceptual, especially once it shakes off its very pedestrian first half and the icky Dan Crenshaw Update segment.
This is one of those episodes that exists for the back-half, with the pièce de résistance of the evening being that anarchic, Dismukes-penned “Brothers” sketch. It’s pure slapstick and loud noise, but it thrives in its blending of chaos and specificity—those oversized rasta/gangster Looney Tunes shirts, the indoor hose—with the additional fun of Cecily breaking to the point of tears by the end. If you’re the kinda sucker for that nonsense, it’s a season highlight, and dammit if I’m not that person. (Not to be outdone, “House Hunters” is a classic, and both “Dave’s Outside the Women’s Bathroom” and “The Poddys” are wonderfully-realized pieces with great performances from Liev. I’m also a guilty sucker for Lil Wayne’s second performance. Argh, so much to like!)
VAX NOVIER:
What are your general thoughts on the season?: Season 44 was really a whirlwind of a year. Every week there was some kind of controversy popping up on Twitter, whether it was deserved or not, between Kanye West, Pete+Ari basing, offending Dan Crenshaw, suicide threats, how LARPing was portrayed, even the presence of BTS came with its share of backlash from both sides of the spectrum. Like every season of SNL, there were highlights to be found throughout, but it was just a typical year in the Trump era for the most part; bringing in cameos, manufacturing hype, focusing only on the same 6-7 cast members while everyone else gets the leftovers. Looking back a couple years later, it’s better to remember the good stuff that came out of it, considering this is the last complete “normal” season before…
On another note, this was the year where my opinion of Cecily Strong shifted from a back-and-forth journey of liking or disliking her into realizing that she is a great actress no matter how bad the material is (although the fact she is currently staying on the show beyond her natural ending point is shaking that belief).
What was your favorite thing that you covered this season?: The other main reason I joined this project was to cover the Halsey episode which ended up being a nice surprise when it first aired to the point where it’s probably in one of the top 5 shows I enjoyed watching live.
Favorite sketches?:
Live Sketches (in chronological order):
Career Day (Adam Driver)
Teacher Fell Down (Jonah Hill)
Dave Outside The Women’s Bathroom (Liev Schreiber)
The War In Words (Claire Foy)
Home Shopping Network (Claire Foy)
Virginia State Capitol (Halsey)
Extreme Baking Championship (Don Cheadle)
Lollipop (Don Cheadle)
What’s That Name? (John Mulaney)
Roots Of Rock (Sandra Oh)
Romano Tours (Adam Sandler)
Pre-Tapes:
Midterm Ad (Jonah Hill)
Divided We Stand (Jonah Hill)
House Hunters (Liev Schreiber)
Them Trumps (Jason Momoa)
First Impression (Jason Momoa)
Mr. H (James McAvoy)
Roach-Ex (Don Cheadle)
Toilet Death Ejector (John Mulaney)
CFT: New Cast Member (Idris Elba)
The Actress (Emma Stone)
Rectix (Adam Sandler)
Chopped (Emma Thompson)
Update pieces:
Jules (Claire Foy)
Pete and Mulaney (Rachel Brosnahan)
Melissa as Gaga (Halsey)
Instagram Couple (Halsey)
Jeanine Pirro (Sandra Oh)
Terry Fink (Kit Harington)
Opera Man (Adam Sandler)
Jeanine Pirro (Paul Rudd)
Joke Swap (Paul Rudd)
Favorite episode(s)?: Outside of the Halsey episode, Adam Sandler and John Mulaney.
Hot takes?: It turns out “Cosby in Jail” is more of a fan favorite than I thought. My review of that sketch was written under the belief that it was widely panned throughout the fanbase. So while I wouldn’t change anything about the review, two stars might’ve been a bit too critical for the piece.
BLUE:
What are your general thoughts on the season’s musical performances?: Fewer performances this season stood out to me, compared to season 43. This is evidenced by the number of reviews to which I gave an average score (3 stars for both songs). I find this to be more frustrating than reviewing something I dislike, because at least if I dislike something, I can explain what it is that didn’t work for me, whereas with an average rating, I struggle to offer feedback. I’ve said before how I love seeing artists go all-out for their SNL performances to really make an impression, and even though there were a lot of newcomers to the stage this season, I only felt that a couple of them (Anderson .Paak, BTS) really went the extra mile. The high points of season 44, though fewer, were still high enough for me to have an overall positive opinion of the musical choices this season, but the low points were very low, including my first two 1-star ratings during this project.
Fewer performances this season stood out to me, compared to season 43. This is evidenced by the number of reviews to which I gave an average score (3 stars for both songs). I find this to be more frustrating than reviewing something I dislike, because at least if I dislike something, I can explain what it is that didn’t work for me, whereas with an average rating, I struggle to offer feedback. I’ve said before how I love seeing artists go all-out for their SNL performances to really make an impression, and even though there were a lot of newcomers to the stage this season, I only felt that a couple of them (Anderson .Paak, BTS) really went the extra mile. The high points of season 44, though fewer, were still high enough for me to have an overall positive opinion of the musical choices this season, but the low points were very low, including my first two 1-star ratings during this project.
Favorite performances?: I acknowledge that there’s a lot of bias in my review, but I so loved Sara Bareilles. I also appreciate being introduced to Anderson .Paak and Gary Clark Jr. (the latter especially, as I hadn’t even heard his name before watching his performance), and while I’ll never be one of their rabid fangirls, I’m glad I finally got to see what all the fuss with BTS is about. From a pure performance standpoint—leaving aside my feelings on the actual music—theirs was the most memorable one for me this season.
Overall rankings:
1. Sara Bareilles
2. Tame Impala
3. Anderson .Paak
4. Gary Clark Jr.
5. BTS
6. Paul Simon
7. Ella Mai
8. Halsey
9. Mumford and Sons
10. Khalid
11. Meek Mill
12. Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus
13. Greta Van Fleet
14. Maggie Rogers
15. Lil Wayne
16. Jonas Brothers
17. Travis Scott
18. Shawn Mendes
19. Thomas Rhett
20. Kanye West
21. DJ Khaled
I realize that putting Kanye and DJ Khaled at the bottom is a bit skewed, given that I gave half of their sets passing grades (more than half, in Kanye’s case), but the weight of those 1’s really dragged them down… While last season’s rankings were a fairly obvious display of bias on my part, with rock artists closer to the top and pop/hip hop closer to the bottom, these rankings are more mixed, although there wasn’t much that specifically catered to my taste to begin with and therefore it had a lower chance of influencing my reviews.
AND NOW, SOME DATA!!
4401: 6.0 (Adam Driver) – Anthony
4402: 6.4 (Awkwafina) – Matt
4403: 5.5 (Seth Meyers) – Vax Novier
4404: 5.3 (Jonah Hill) – John
4405: 5.5 (Liev Schreiber) – Kabir
4406: 4.6 (Steve Carell) – Matt
4407: 5.2 (Claire Foy) – Kabir
4408: 6.0 (Jason Momoa) – Carson
4409: 6.0 (Matt Damon) – Anthony
4410: 5.3 (Rachel Brosnahan) – Carson
4411: 6.1 (James McAvoy) – John
4412: 7.0 (Halsey) – Vax Novier
4413: 6.8 (Don Cheadle) – Carson
4414: 8.0 (John Mulaney) – Matt
4415: 5.8 (Idris Elba) – John
4416: 6.3 (Sandra Oh) – Matt
4417: 5.4 (Kit Harington) – John
4418: 5.6 (Emma Stone) – Matt
4419: 7.1 (Adam Sandler) – Anthony
4420: 5.5 (Emma Thompson) – Kabir
4421: 5.8 (Paul Rudd) – Vax Novier
Best Episode: John Mulaney – 8.0 (Runner up: Adam Sandler – 7.1)
Worst Episode: Steve Carell – 4.6 (Runner up: Claire Foy – 5.2)
Season Average: 6.0
HIGHEST RATED SKETCHES
5 STARS:
Career Day (Driver; Anthony)
First Impression (Momoa; Carson)
Weezer (Damon; Anthony)
The UES (McAvoy; John)
Black History Month (Halsey; Vax)
Extreme Baking Championship (Cheadle; Carson)
Monologue (Mulaney; Matt)
What’s That Name? (Mulaney; Matt)
Cha Cha Slide (Mulaney; Matt)
Sky Sports (Elba; John)
CFT: New Cast Member (Elba; John)
The Actress (Stone; Matt)
Romano Tours (Sandler; Anthony)
4.5 STARS:
Kavanaugh Hearing (Driver; Anthony)
Divided We Stand (Hill; John)
NASA TV (Carell; Matt)
Virginia State Council (Halsey; Vax)
Lollipop (Cheadle; Carson)
Roach-Ex Plus (Cheadle; Carson)
Cinema Classics; (Mulaney; Matt)
Cheques (Oh; Matt)
Roots of Rock (Oh; Matt)
Fashion Coward (Stone; Matt)
Rectix (Sandler; Anthony)
Chopped (Thompson; Kabir)
Weekend Update (Rudd; Vax)
4 STARS:
Cricket Wireless (Awkwafina; Matt)
Weekend Update (Awkwafina; Matt)
Beta Force (Meyers; Vax)
House Hunters (Schreiber; Kabir)
The War In Words (Foy; Kabir)
CFT: Cars (Foy; John)
Elf On The Shelf (Momoa; Carson)
Them Trumps (Momoa; Carson)
Weekend Update (Momoa; Carson)
Westminster Daddy Show (Damon; Anthony)
Weekend Update (Damon; Anthony)
Millennial Millions (Brosnahan; Carson)
Kool Aid (Brosnahan; Carson)
Mr. H (McAvoy; John)
Weekend Update (McAvoy; John)
Parent’s Phone Call (Halsey; Vax)
Weekend Update (Halsey; Vax)
Riverdale (Hasley; Vax)
Toilet Death Ejector (Mulaney; Matt)
Big Nick’s Bodega (Mulaney; Matt)
CFT: Dianne Feinstein Message (Mulaney; Matt)
The Gayle King Interview With R. Kelly (Elba; John)
The Impossible Hulk (Elba; John)
Discover (Oh; Matt)
New Video Game (Harington; John)
Monologue (Sandler; Anthony)
Sandler Family Reunion (Sandler; Anthony)
Judge Court (Thompson; Kabir)
Leslie & Kyle (Rudd; Vax)
LOWEST RATED SKETCHES
2 STARS:
Monologue (Driver; Anthony)
Fortnite Squad (Driver; Anthony)
Coffee Shop (Driver; Anthony)
The Hidden Tales of Egypt (Awkwafina; Matt)
Cosby in Jail (Meyers; Vax)
Cuban Vacation (Meyers; Vax)
The Ingraham Angle (Hill; John)
Monologue (Hill; John)
KCR News (Hill; John)
America’s Got Talent: Wait, They’re Good? (Hill; John)
HuckaPM (Hill; John)
Pug Wigs (Hill; John)
Good Day Denver (Schreiber; Kabir)
Paranormal Encounter (Schreiber; Kabir)
Dumb Dad (Carell; Matt)
Thanksgiving Song (Carell; Matt)
RV Life (Carell; Matt)
Monologue (Foy; Kabir)
Dad Christmas (Foy; Kabir)
All I Want For Christmas (Foy; Kabir)
Mueller Visits Eric (Momoa; Carson)
Day of the Dorks (Momoa; Carson)
Sleigh Ride (Momoa; Carson)
Happy Christmas Britain (Damon; Anthony)
Action 9 News At Five (Brosnahan; Carson)
The Raunchiest Miss Rita (Brosnahan; Carson)
Virgin Hunk (McAvoy; John)
Another Brothers (McAvoy; John)
Monologue (Cheadle; Carson)
Shark Tank: Legal Edition (Mulaney; Matt)
Bok Bok’s (Elba; John)
Supportive Friend (Elba; John)
Empire Meeting (Oh; Matt)
Louise’s Birthday (Oh; Matt)
Biden Headquarters (Harington; John)
Jail Cell (Stone; Matt)
Royal Baby Video (Stone; Matt)
The Perfect Mother (Thompson; Kabir)
You Don’t Know Me (Thompson; Kabir)
Don’t Stop Me Now (Rudd; Vax)
1.5 STARS:
Kanye & Trump (Meyers; Vax)
Rowdy Brothers (Schreiber; Kabir)
Trump In Argentina (Foy; Kabir)
RBG (Carell; Matt)
Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo (Momoa; Carson)
A Christmas Carol (Momoa; Carson)
It’s a Wonderful Trump (Damon; Anthony)
Jingle Bells (Damon; Anthony)
Monologue (Brosnahan; Carson)
Celebrity Family Feud (Cheadle; Carson)
The Gold Diggers of the WNBA (Elba; John)
The Mueller Report (Oh; Matt)
Posters (Stone; Matt)
Chalmers Reserve Event Wine (Stone; Matt)
Family Feud (Sandler; Anthony)
Music Box (Rudd; Vax)
1 STARS:
A Message From Jeff Bezos (Carell; Matt)
Space Thanksgiving (Carell; Matt)
CFT: Glitter Litter Automatic Litter Factory (Damon; Anthony)
Magic Show (Elba; John)
Sinatra Impersonator (Harington; John)
A Day in the Life of Theresa May (Harington; John)
Etiquette Coach (Thompson; Kabir)
A Journey Through Time (Rudd; Vax)
OUR PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
COMING SOON
Season 45 kicks off with Kabir taking a look at Woody Harrelson hosting the premiere, joined by three two new cast members (and that’s all we need to say about that).
The “One SNL A Day” Project 2.0 