Posted on by mattalamode

May 18, 2019 – Paul Rudd / DJ Khaled (S44 E21)

by Vax Novier

DON’T STOP ME NOW
enablers back Donald Trump’s (Alec Baldwin) “Don’t Stop Me Now” directive

— This opening is the closest, I believe, we ever got to having an address to the nation from the oval office with Trumpwin.
— An odd turn with the Trump cabinet singing a variation of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. Apparently continuing the show’s recent tradition of trying to make the season finale cold open feel special by adding a musical touch.
— This ends up being the last appearance of Aidy’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She had one of the more tolerable impressions of the Trump administration, and I always felt that it was the thing that raised her profile towards becoming one of the show’s leading players.
— We get an appearance from Kate’s Giuliani. Oh I’m sorry, Wilbur Ross! Kate’s male politicians are so damn interchangeable that it doesn’t matter who she’s playing.
— They’ve really gone back and forth over the years on how Cecily’s Melania is portrayed, going between a hapless victim and proudly supporting Trump (the latter of which is on display here). You could argue the shift came after wearing her “I Really Don’t Care, Do U” jacket several months earlier, but earlier sketches, like the Trump pieces with Taran, presented Melania as completely supportive.
— I finally got a good laugh from Alex’s reliable Eric Trump joining in, only to sing The Muppet Show theme song.
— Robert De Niro appears yet again, and it might be his best appearance by default since it was short enough that he couldn’t butcher any of his lines. Thankfully, this ends up being his last Mueller cameo. The same can’t be said for Trumpwin, unfortunately, as Alec, once again, boasted over the summer that he was retiring the role only to return after claiming that Lorne convinced him the audience demands his impression!?!
— The musical number is coming off very stiff and restrained, instead of the epic performance the show wants it to be.
— And we end on the first of many references tonight that this is, in fact, the season finale as Trumpwin implores the viewers to “tune in next season to see who lives and who dies.” This also serves as a reference to both the general finale trope and Season 11’s infamous closer.
STARS: **

MONOLOGUE
host describes his history with SNL in the form of a best man’s speech

— Paul shares that he’s thrilled to be hosting “the most anticipated finale of this weekend”. A reference to the upcoming Game of Thrones finale that did not age too well. Even with an unmemorable musical guest this time around, the tradition of Paul being overshadowed finds a way to continue.
— Good conceit of Paul giving SNL a best man speech.
— Probably the best use of the Vogelchecks as Paul discusses how he and the show made out a couple times.
— Funny story about Paul witnessing the first show in ‘75.
— A charming monologue that Paul handled pretty well.
STARS: ***½

A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Ms. Rafferty was beset by hominids when she traveled back in time

— Not a great sign of confidence, and a waste of Paul, to start off with this retread. It’s a chore to get through these since nothing will top the classic first instalment.
— It felt like they were attempting to reveal Ms. Rafferty by staying on that two shot for a while, even though it’s obvious what sketch this is by having the same exact setup every time. 
— You can really decipher the copy-and-paste template by this point, only replacing the event that occurred, the euphemisms Kate uses, and Mikey in Bobby Moynihan’s role midway through. 
— This is so by the numbers, I’ve spent my time watching it thinking about a hypothetical sketch that explores the dynamic between Ms. Rafferty and Cecily’s character after they’ve experienced multiple supernatural events together. It would actually mix things up for once.
— Anyway, this completely washed over me. Good riddance to the character!
STARS: *

GRACE AND FRANKIE RAP
PED & host rap about favorite show Grace & Frankie; Jacob Anderson cameo

— Pete makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to the past year he’s had, saying “I really don’t like to talk about my personal life. I don’t like that attention.”, followed by Kenan giving a dirty look.
— I liked Kenan going “You know nothing Pete Davidson.” when it’s clear Pete’s Game of Thrones knowledge is limited.
— Great turn with the rap becoming about Grace and Frankie.
— DJ Khaled’s presence is very unnecessary (heh, you could say that about the musical performances too).
— Funny inside reference with Paul’s favorite Grace and Frankie season being the 4th when Lisa Kudrow guest starred.
— Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda make a cameo in a separate insert. It’s wild that this is Lily’s first appearance on the show in over 35 years, and this is what it took to get her on again.
STARS: ***

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE
dim contestants make erroneous guesses

— The debut of this recurring gameshow.
— Pete: “I didn’t come here to make friends, but I’d like it to happen.”
— I laughed at Paul bluntly stating love was missing from the picture.
— An oh so wrong laugh from Pete’s guess for the mirror picture.
— Kenan’s mic starts to give feedback when he breaks after Aidy refers to the desk calendar as a “date tent”.
— Paul finally getting an answer right received applause from the audience for some reason.
— A decent ending to a consistently funny string of one-liners. It worked best as a one-off, but there’s still some entertainment found in the sequels.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest hypes performances

Lil Wayne & Big Sean [real] perform “Jealous”

Jeremih & Meek Mill & Lil Baby & J Balvin [real] perform “You Stay”

— Blue: “They said I would never do SNL!” I wish they’d been right.
— Welcome back, Lil Wayne. Certainly weren’t missing you after your earlier performance this season. Still, this could be interesting. Like a round of SNL All Stars: Musical Guest Edition.
— The way DJ Khaled keeps interjecting random call-outs while Lil Wayne is performing reminds me of a guy who always needs to have the last word in a conversation. His presence is so unnecessary.
— Oh my god, that enthusiastic shout of “IPAD!!” I haven’t seen a performance this unintentionally hilarious since Kanye’s season opener. I guess it’s a fitting bookend…?
— Our soon-to-be-final instance this season of “why not sing the pre-recorded vocals?”
— Here comes Big Sean to sing his verse of “Jealous.” As little as the song has been doing for me, I do have to say I like his voice a lot.
— “Another one!” How ‘bout we don’t and say we did?
— Here comes Jeremih, who has a decent voice. Too bad DJ Khaled’s aggressive call-outs are destroying any amount of interest I might have had in the song.
— Hello, Meek Mill! Another familiar face from earlier this season
— Wish I had the isolated vocals from DJ Khaled’s mic; they’re rife for memetic purposes. “WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? ROLLS ROYCE!”
— I actually don’t think I’d mind this song if it weren’t for DJ Khaled. Meek Mill’s verse is pleasant enough, if nothing special.
— Here comes ANOTHER ONE in the form of Lil Baby.
— Because I’m lost for words regarding the actual performance, I gotta point out that I like the way the stage looks. The lighting is great and I like the elevated X shape that the performers are standing on.
— Yet ANOTHER ONE in the form of J Balvin? That’s a lot of guest performers.
— Oh god, DJ Khaled repeating “Summer starts now!” at the end… he really did need to have the last word.
STARS: *

WEEKEND UPDATE
surprise about subpoenas causes Jeanine Pirro (CES) to repeatedly wet COJ

upset about Alabama’s abortion law, LEJ asserts control over her body

— The opening cheers go on longer than usual, causing Colin to jokingly chide the audience as Michael laughs it off.
— For the recurring bit of commenting on the appearance of political figures, we get John Bolton as the “Islamaphobic Lorax” plus Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller having “resting evil face”. I get that it’s an endless outlet for jokes to keep coming back to, but it can feel thin and lazy when it’s done nearly every week.
— The return of Cecily’s Jeanine Pirro after her noteworthy piece two months prior.
— A good way to top Pirro’s overreactions from the tumbles by introducing the wine element.
— I’m loving the escalation to the bit with Pirro initially doing a spit take, then spilling the rest of the drink over “Colin Jessica Jost!” after he waits for her to finish the sip, and finally, Michael giving Pirro an extra drink so she can spill it on Colin, to which she replies, “Thank you Kenan!”
— A terrific final beat of Colin holding Pirro’s arm, only for her to soak him with the other glass that was refilled under the desk.
— And now Colin is completely drenched for the rest of this Update. It’s funny to think, in retrospect, that this could be the reason he had a different suit jacket for Season 45.
— Michael cracks himself up over that Saw/Seent joke.
— The bi-anuual joke swap officially becomes a staple, replacing the former tradition of reading their favorite jokes that were cut.
— Hilarious bit with Colin cowering after a particularly touchy joke on “Chimpanzee Culture” followed by Michael innocently responding “I wouldn’t have said that.”
— Classic part with Colin instantly aware that his next joke was going to be racist based on the accompanying MLK graphic.
— An excellent ending to another standout joke swap with a defeated Colin responding “You’re gonna get me murdered!” to that last joke, then lampshading the terrible transition into the following abortion commentary.
— Leslie Jones is just now appearing in what ends up being her final episode.
— A very powerful speech being given about the Alabama abortion ban, and Leslie is commanding the stage! It may feel like clapter on the surface, but it was something that really needed to be addressed in the moment.
— Funny interjection with Colin attempting to ally only for Leslie to call him a “flat white privileged latte!”
— A fantastic commentary from Leslie, that becomes more poignant as her last one.
STARS: ****½

MUSIC BOX
shopkeeper (host) helps (KYM) & (CES) recall song about a farty ballerina

— Starting off with a throwaway bit about Kyle having a drinking problem.
— Kyle’s comments to the daughter on how she’s bad at ballet are working better than they would by having an actual child in the role.
— Yet another rendition of the tired “What’s this song?! Oh wait, I know it!” concept. You could argue that there’s some comedy to be found in the weird, obscure song, but this is just dumb, and not in the ‘so stupid, it’s ironic” kind of way they’re going for.
— Kenan’s walk-on as Jordan Peele (?) feels forced since the lack of setup combined with his vague, yet familiar look makes it too ambiguous to resonate.
— And we end on a random twist of this being an episode of The Twilight Zone.
— Apart from some funny lines in the beginning, this felt like time filler using a repetitive format that rarely ever works.
STARS: *½

THE VIEW
panelists fawn over Pete Buttigieg (host) & his husband (BEB)

— The second and final sketch for this new edition of The View (a.k.a. View 3.0) due to Leslie’s departure.
— Funny how one of the topics in the first instalment was about Paul Rudd turning 50, and then they bring it back in the episode he hosts.
— Cecily-as-Abby-Huntsman, after being misnamed Amy “Thanks [Whoopi]! It’s Abby, but I can change it.”
— Interesting to see Paul as Pete Butteigieg here before Colin Jost’s portrayal the following season This doesn’t stop him from making a political impression cameo that year, however.
— Paul’s Butteigieg getting asked if he’s gay followed by a chyron on the screen with just the word “Gay” provided a light chuckle.
— A couple technical gaffes throughout this sketch such as an awkward silence before cutting to Aidy reacting, and the music cue of LeAnn Rimes “I Need You” starting late causing the fawning over Biden sequence to be mistimed. 
STARS: **½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest hypes more performances

SZA [real] performs “Just Us”

Meek Mill [real] performs “Weather The Storm”

John Legend [real] performs “Higher”

— Blue: Interesting chatter heard in the background of Paul’s introduction. Sounds like someone forgot to turn their mic off.
— What the hell happened at the start? After DJ Khaled’s “Another one!” cue, it sounded like the sound engineer started rolling the track from the previous song, only for DJ Khaled to cut it off again, and only then did the OTHER ONE actually start.. That seemed like some sort of pre-planned bit that fell totally flat.
— The piano onstage rolls around to reveal SZA! Having enjoyed her performance last season, I’m hoping her presence will outweigh DJ Khaled’s.
— “SING IT GIRL!” What do you think she’s trying to do?
— Feel like I should be playing a drinking game and have ANOTHER ONE every time I hear ANOTHER ONE. Maybe it would make this more bearable.
— “You sing like an angel!” Y’know, that’s the first thing DJ Khaled has said that I can get down with. SZA was awesome. I loved her energy and she actually made an effort to acknowledge DJ Khaled onstage, as if they were singing a duet.
— After an all-too-brief verse, Meek Mill comes in to replace SZA.
— This… isn’t bad. I’m really liking Meek’s rap, and the callouts from DJ Khaled actually fit in here.
— And who did they save for the grand finale of SNL’s All Stars: Musical Guest Edition? John Legend! (Who had actually never been on SNL before.)
— John is in fine voice, which is unfortunately making DJ Khaled’s call-outs sound even more out of place.
— Cool moment at the end where all the guest performers gather onstage while DJ Khaled makes a tribute to Nipsey Hussle (who had died three months prior to this performance).
STARS: ***

LESLIE & KYLE
host joins KYM & LEJ after they consummate their relationship for real

— The return of the Leslie+Kyle saga.
— We get a new angle to the piece, as it’s revealed their ongoing storyline really was just a series of sketches.
— A fun turn with them falling in love for real after rewatching the videos.
— Lorne’s traditional appearance in these pre-tapes comes this time in the form of a digital insert on a moon during Kyle and Leslie’s fantasy montage. Not too different from Al Gore’s “cameo” earlier in the season.
— Funny reveal that they “were just having sex for a few hours” in Paul’s dressing room.
— Paul: “I just want the finale to go well…” Oh, is it the finale? I had no idea after everything but the live sketches referred to that information!
— Aaaand we’re ending on a hacky gay joke.
— A good conclusion to the Leslie+Kyle arc! It works as a sendoff for Leslie too, whether or not that was intended.
STARS: ****

OUIJA BOARD
at a slumber party, summoned demon (MEV) wants to join the girl squad

— This was cut from last week’s Emma Thompson episode with Emma in Melissa’s role.
— Heidi and Ego make their first appearance in the last sketch of the night. Between this, Chris and Alex only appearing in the cold open, even Beck and Mikey in nothing but small, supporting roles, it’s been a quiet night for a lot of the cast.
— Great to Melissa leading the final sketch of the season!
— Some good laughs from Melissa’s demon awkwardly trying to fit in with the rest of the girls.
— Very interesting to see Kate in a non-specific role as part of the ensemble, considering she’s been at the level, since around 2016, where all of her roles are either the lead or a notable bit part (having a “funny accent” in the National School Walkout sketch, for example). This is especially noticeable due to Kate’s popularity with the audience, being recognized as the show’s biggest star right now. She even got Eddie Murphy levels of applause during the Biden cold open from Kit Harington’s episode just for walking on as a general character.
— Funny ending with Paul eagerly wanting to find out how he’s gonna die.
— I remember when this first aired, seeing Melissa carry the sketch and Kate/Cecily/Aidy in minor roles made it feel like a passing of the torch was coming and they would step down (or you know, leave) and let the newer players take the forefront. This never happened, of course, as the senior members continue to dominate while Melissa’s airtime only got worse, to the point where she’s lucky to even appear at all most of the time!
STARS: ***½

GOODNIGHTS


CUT FOR TIME: RETIREMENT PARTY
IT guys (host) (BEB) have a musical surprise for their co-worker’s (KET) retirement party

— A funny song from Beck and Paul glorifying computers, which eventually devolves into singing about making love to them.
— I got a big laugh from Alex’s delivery of “Hey! Are you threatening us?”.
— Kenan starts to really lose it after revealing that he enjoys the musical numbers.
— The ending felt very rushed as Beck and Paul beginning their next song, Kenan suddenly having a heart attack, and the duo being asked to leave all happen at the same time before cutting to the establishing shot.
— There wasn’t much else that stood out here, but I felt the execution worked well enough, even if everyone got a little too loose by the end. It’s almost fitting how the sketch that uses Paul in the best way is the one that gets cut.
STARS: ***

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— A disappointing outing, overall, which is usually on par for the finale. Paul was wasted as a host, somehow even more this time around despite not having a musical guest that truly overshadowed him. The constant references throughout the show to it being the season finale dates the material to a certain timeframe.
— Farewell to Leslie Jones. She certainly had one of the more unique trajectories for a cast member due to having a breakout moment before ever joining the cast, which allowed her to take on a couple of leading roles early on that most cast members would have to wait for. This early success (combined with having projects lined-up outside of the show) certainly contributed to Leslie being able to leave when she did, considering that a five-season tenure today appears to be treated the same as staying on for only three seasons 20 years ago.
— Although it may have seemed like she didn’t get much to do here, we got a final Update piece, her best impression (Whoopi Goldberg), and one last Leslie+Kyle film for the road. Not a bad way to go out and pretty on par with her screentime for most nights. The fact that Leslie was able to go out while she was still on top makes her tenure better to look back on, especially compared to everyone who’s still on the show and refuses to leave.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Weekend Update
Leslie & Kyle
What’s Wrong With This Picture
Ouija Demon
Monologue
Grace and Frankie Rap
The View
Don’t Stop Me Now
Music Box
A Journey Through Time

TOMORROW:
“Can a bitch get a beef bowl?!? CAN A BITCH GET A BEEF BOWL?!?” We salute an SNL great with The Best Of Leslie Jones!

47 Replies to “May 18, 2019 – Paul Rudd / DJ Khaled (S44 E21)”

  1. How this episode stacks up against the preceding one (Emma Thompson):
    About the same

    How this season stacks up against the preceding (Season 43):
    A step up

    My ratings for the episode

    Cold Open ***
    Monologue ***
    A Journey Through Time **
    Grace and Frankie Rap ****
    What’s Wrong With This Picture *****
    Weekend Update ***½
    Music Box ***½
    The View ***
    Leslie and Kyle ****
    Ouija Board **
    Cut For Time: Retirement Party ****½

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  2. A subpar finale to a subpar season, how fitting indeed. While I don’t know what the fuck ANYBODY or SNL sees in Paul Rudd, or for that matter Jonah Hill, he was wasted here as you said Vax. Also, even when he was used he was making out or toning other male cast members, in a very cheap homoerotic bordering on homophobic trickery. Sadly, he will be hosting soon, I just don’t get it, why the fuck is everybody in love with this guy???!! Is it his looks? Or the mediocre talent? He was always, like John Goodman or Jonah Hill very subpar host, at least to me. I never got it, never saw his garbage MCU roles, nor his romcoms, saw him in Ferrell’s Anchorman, and was decent enough, with one or two good laughs, and that’s about it. I’ll have many things to say about this season, a season that ANGERS me with how much wasted potential in it. Thankfully, I remember the next season being a step up. @Blue loved seeing you ripping apart DJ Khaled’s AWFUL 1st performance, made spit out my coffee with your first comment! My favorite musical performance review by you this whole season, which is saying A LOT. As you basically killed it, in both praise and criticism. @Vax great review man to a disappointing finale, probably my favorite of yours after the Halsey review, keep up the great work!

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    1. Hating Paul Rudd is certainly a spicy take.

      I don’t know. How bad is this episode really? What do we expect from a finale? I see four good to great segments (I count Update, Kyle and Leslie, Ouija Board and What’s Wrong With This Picture). What else are we even asking for? We all need to remember – this is SNL. One season in five has a higher than average batting average. This isn’t that season. It’s just another clunky season with enough worthy highlights to keep people coming back.

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      1. @Carson I certainly get your point regarding this being a finale and what we would expect. Also, Rudd always struck me as very bland actor & host. Nothing against him personally, as I’m certain that he’s a nice guy. I could understand what some people might see in Gosling or Pratt, two of the internet’s biggest boyfriends. As both of them have actual personalities, other than that Gosling is 2-for-2 for great hosting stints. As for the season, I’m certain that the wrap-up post will be posted soon enough, as I’ve already prepared my final thoughts on this season as a whole. Spoilers, I now see it as even worse than I remember.

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    1. @Anthony I think it’s his own mini-review or sorts. This season was mostly unwatchable to me personally, finding it even WORSE than I remember. Even 43, a season I hated when I first saw it, I know would call a good year, yet a harbinger to a big decline. Which sadly year 44 further proved it. I do remember 45 being better, at least to me personally.

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  4. I know people shit on Leslie and I know she’s not the strongest sketch player of all time but I liked her tenure. She was a burst of personality and someone who was willing to put their heart on their sleeve for the sake of comedy. In a way, I have always found that her and Pete were a throwback to the Bad Boys Era. Stand ups who aren’t the best sketch actors but are naturally funny and have an identifiable personality and style.

    I don’t know why they get shit on but Sandler, Rock and Spade are so revered?

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    1. Well, Leslie sadly suffered from racist & sexist troll attacks while on the show. Yet, that doesn’t mean that those of us who critique her harshly are like said trolls. I do find her pretty limited performer, yet likable and energetic. Pete on the other hand, has to be amongst SNL’s worst cast members. I said what I had to in regards to him. A self-amused jackass with an incredibly limited range & below even mediocre talent, talentless & frankly the nadir of this era. well, beside the pathetic stunt-casting, YAS KWEEN, and “How do you do, fellow kids?”.

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    2. Are Sandler, Rock and Spade revered though? I mean, we just had a whole thread where Blood was talking about how horrible a person Sandler was. No one is really clamoring for Rock’s SNL performances, it’s just that his imperial phase as a standup in the 90s puts him among the top 5 to ever do it. Spade gets shit on all the time despite always being a funny, amiable presence.

      I’ll go into it more in tomorrow’s post, but the one thing that those guys had that Leslie wasn’t afforded was a slow, steady integration into the flow of the show. Leslie hit before she was even a cast member and the show never looked back despite her still being a distinct voice (where too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing) and raw as hell as a sketch performer. Those other guys were niche players, no doubt, but they were allowed to organically grow. Leslie shot out of a cannon and never had time to develop her sea legs.

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      1. All excellent points Carson! I think by a casual fan/all-time list standards those three do get pointed out where as die hards like us wouldn’t rank them so highly. Probably like you said, it’s based purely on their post show success.

        Also very true point about Leslie not being given the time to grow. It should also be noted that this was the time when the show was being heavily criticized for not hiring or utilizing black women properly. With that context you can see how Leslie rose so quickly when she could have used a slower learning curve. Thankfully they seem to be getting it right with Ego.

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  5. I haven’t seen this episode yet, but seeing as how Paul will be hosting soon, I just gotta.

    I think I liked What’s Wrong With This Picture at first, but I wasn’t too crazy about the recent Carey Mulligan installment. Then again, that whole episode (as well as Carey) was terrible.

    By the way, it’ll be nice to see this site doing a tribute to a cast member. I was gonna say this is the first time we’ve seen that happen, but then I remembered you guys made that whole post saying farewell to Beck and Lauren, the latter of which I (and I’m pretty everyone else) don’t miss.

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    1. I actually really liked the last What’s Wrong With This Picture, if only because of Chris Redd being absolutely priceless as one of the dumb contestants. The guy just elevates that sketch so well.

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    2. @Jesse Ugh, I remember cringing HARD at that gen z star trek skit, despite Mikey nearly saving it. I thought Carey was adorable in that episode, maybe because of my massive crush on her I didn’t realize the dire quality. Funny enough, I always thought that she and Michelle Williams were the same person, clearly they were not. Boy, you’re sure pretty harsh grader, I love that and I thought your quick post S46 were eloquent and perfectly illustrated. Man, that year’s newbies sucked hard, beside Andrew’s likable presence and above-average talent. Yet, they’re NOTHING when compared to Sarah or Aristotle’s talent and massive comedic potential. JAJ is already starting to feel like a cast veteran. As for Lauren, Sarah is about a thousand times funnier and with much more stage presence, got big laughs very easily early on , blended well into the cast, and frankly she’s my favorite of the featured players. Hopefully, Punkie gets cut and replaced. I’m hoping for another talented black female and the first Asian female cast member, it’s about damn time.

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  6. I thought this first What’s Wrong With This Picture installment was just okay, but do they really have to keep bringing it back?

    Season 44 is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it holds a lot of nostalgia for me as it was the first season I live-blogged my reactions to on Facebook. On the other hand, the political stuff is still insufferable, and we get a bit of a sneak preview of the lame cookie-cutter sex jokes that will come to dominate 45-47.

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    1. @Jared I frankly won’t call the seasons that I didn’t like bad, as it is a pretty big word. I would call 44,46 subpar mostly nearing trainwreck status. 43, on the other hand, was frustratingly horrible at times, but it had so many fantastic highlights that would make me & many others consider decent, yet a step down from 41,42. The last seasons that were mostly bad were 35,36, with parts of 37,39. Yet, at the end this is my own view on the matter.

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  7. Love all of the posts here over the last weeks; I’m an avid reader although I don’t comment much (my personal rewatch is still in season 16). I’m very excited for Season 45! Hope it comes soon.

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  9. I also wanted to commend all the great writing from all the contributors. It must be such work so I can’t thank you enough. I always look forward to reading your posts every day and can’t wait for season 45. Excited to see you tackle the At Home episodes.

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  10. Hi Jesse,

    I removed your posts giving the star ratings of our sketches this season and the review averages for every episode because you posting that invalidates a significant portion of our wrap-up posts, and I find that to be very annoying and inconsiderate. They also don’t feed into discussion pertaining to this episode, for which the comments section has been barely related to.

    In general, I’ve taken a lot of umbrage with the quality of these comment sections, so I would like to ask you to refrain from publicizing this sort of information on our behalf. Thanks.

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      1. Seriously, though, please don’t do that. I take no issue with you categorizing this stuff for yourself but sharing it takes away the fun of us being able to manage our own data, and any conversation you may be trying to incite is conversation that can happen on that post.

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  11. Paul Rudd seems like a nice guy and decent actor, but he also seems the prototypical “easy host”–someone who won’t cause a fuss and can appear in a lot of leftover sketches since he has no obvious comedic persona. Sometimes this works, sometimes, like this episode, you just get a blah feel. (The funniest thing Rudd has ever done in my opinion is is running joke on Conan where he shows the Mac & Me clip.)

    I liked the Ouija sketch in this episode, although it isn’t THAT great. The conceptual premise stands out, though, amid an episode of very obvious or stupid premises. Something about the sketch also reminds me of that great Devil/Garth Brooks sketch.

    Leslie Jones is a fun personality, not particularly one of great range but a fun personality. You need people like that on SNL. Most of the time in her lead roles, she was terrific. She also could squeeze a lot of humor out of quick lines or brief appearances (my biggest laugh of her time on the show is the ending of the Bill Hader sketch where he is asking for money for Africa). She sometimes was rough as a live performer, but I guess that’s what you get on SNL, right? I think she was on the show for just the right amount of time.

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  12. Sounds harsh, but I honestly really hate What’s Wrong with This Picture and wish it wasn’t one of the few actual recurring sketches of this era.

    It’s hard to put my finger on it but everything about it justs feel “off” to me. From Kenan’s straight host performance to the contestants’ answers, everything comes off both super tryhard and like it’s not fully elevating to where it should go. IIRC most of the joke answers verge into pedophilia and incest gags too? Which I just found really odd and again, super tryhard.

    It feels like something the Meyers-as-headwriter era would’ve executed better, though they also would’ve done it like ten times a season.

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    1. Yeah, I could see What’s Wrong With This Picture being a perfect sketch for Hader as host (or Sudeikis could also work). Wiig would probably frequently appear as a contestant. I think the sketch offers some cheap laughs, but yeah, it is a curiously atypical type of sketch for the period, just a series of tryhard nonsequiturs, like if Celebrity Jeopardy sketches were just regular Jeopardy sketches and the only joke was the contestants being stupid.

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    2. I agree. I think the sketches would be funnier if the contestants’ answers were about small, minute details in the pictures (like, for example, “That lady’s wearing a red shirt”, when the real problem is that it has misspelled words on it) instead of unrelated bullshit that has nothing to do with the pictures.

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  14. Geez, what a stick in the mud. I’ve always appreciated people tabulating and posting the average ratings for the episodes and season, and look forward to the comments section of each season finale, since I like to keep track of this data in my own spreadsheet. Maybe I’m not the right audience for this, since I’m currently only in Season 18 of my watch/read through, but I don’t think Jesse kindly doing that work and sharing it will detract in any way from the wrap up post. It’s publicly available data, it’s not like he’s sharing trade secrets.

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    1. These sentiments are echoed by a lot of the people who I work on the project with, all of whom find it disrespectful. This is indeed knowledge that anyone can assemble on their own, but I don’t see how having to wait longer for us to officially post it as at the detriment of your own spreadsheet-compiling.

      We work incredibly hard on everything we put together for this site, so the least you could do is indulge us and allow us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Bickering in the comments section, as it is, has greatly reduced that joy for a lot of us.

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    2. We had also politely asked commenters at several points throughout the season to keep comments related to the reviews/episodes and not averages. Also, the deleted comment started something to the effect of “I know this will be in the wrap up post, but fuck it” so I’m not sure how kindly the work was being presented…

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      2. Why can’t you wait any longer? Why do you have to be the one to break this information? These are not rhetorical or mean-spirited questions, I’m just wondering why you have that desperate urge.

        (Also, your comment said “fuck it, my gut’s telling me to do it,” despite the fact that we have told you several times that we don’t appreciate it.)

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  15. I’m not sure. I think what it is is that sometimes, I have all this information and I feel the need to let it all out. I’ll be honest, this break between episodes has been driving me a little insane, so I think that’s why I’ve been having an impatient feel throughout those days.

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  17. When will the new reviews be out? The thing is that you guys are so strong & sharp when it comes to reviewing these episodes that it makes me very impatient for them to come out, it’s been nearly three full months. Do you need new contributors? I can gladly help with writing two or so reviews these next two seasons? By the way, what will happen once you’re done with 45,46?? Will you guys cover 47 and the upcoming seasons? I can help on that front too, and I’m sure some others do too. Thanks in advance.

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    1. I’m not really involved with any of the internal conversations, but it would seem that the reviews are starting to trickle in. I think there are five left that need to arrive. I can’t speak for anyone, but I’m hopeful it won’t be too much longer. I’d love to light a fire under a couple asses. Maybe I’ll send the group an email now.

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  19. Thank you for picking up where Stooge left off with this project. Maybe you addressed this already, but I noticed that your screencaps don’t include the bumpers with the host and musical guest. Is there a reason why?

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