December 21, 2019 – Eddie Murphy / Lizzo (S45 E10)

by Carson

SIXTH DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
Joe Biden (JAS) challenges debate-crasher Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin)

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— To introduce each of the candidates, we get extended audience applause breaks and a standard issue one-liner, which is about the most stilted way to kick this off. We’ve already had 37 of these sketches this season (give or take), the formula has worn completely thin.
— These complaints have been made before and made more eloquently, but the cavalcade of cameos is a bug, not a feature. I don’t care how good Larry David is as Bernie Sanders or how wonderful Dratch, Rudolph, Armisen, Sudeikis and Baldwin have been on SNL in the past. I take no pleasure in seeing them gobble up this much airtime, especially when this is preventing me from seeing the SNL great of all SNL greats.
— Maya Rudolph’s appearance, more than anyone else’s, is exceedingly insufferable. Like, Dratch is always fun and Sudeikis still pitches a fastball, but Rudolph’s Yas Kween routine is absolute death. Also, I don’t actually HATE Rudolph. She was great on The Good Place, Forever was pretty decent, and she had a couple really strong years as an SNL cast member (01-2 and 06-07 for those keeping score), but this approach to her Kamala Harris gives me unceasing waves of second-hand embarrassment.
— Baldwin’s Trump shows up and references Delirious and Raw, making me even more impatient for this sketch to end so we can finally start the comedy show.
— Kate does a quick change to appear as Nancy Pelosi and we’re an awkward group “LFNY” away from a blackout on the “Awful SNL Political Satire” Bingo card.
— Fuck me, Kate even does the stupid “Pelosi clap.”
— You’ll notice I did not reference any of the one-liners here. There’s a reason for that. None of them popped in any way.
— And there’s the Bingo card blackout.
— In a word: deplorable.
STARS: *

MONOLOGUE
EDM declines to use sketch ideas of TRM, CSR, Dave Chappelle [real]

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— Absolutely huge chants of “EDDIE!” when Eddie comes out. People know this is a special evening.
— Eddie: “This is the last episode of 2019, but if you’re black, this is the first episode since I left back in 1984.” Wild to think that this is 35 years to the week that Eddie last appeared on the show.
— Eddie feels completely in his element riffing off jokes.
— The Bill Cosby joke was great, but it was Eddie’s jump into his Cosby impression that confirms that this will not be the aloof, low-energy Eddie Murphy that appeared at the 40^th Anniversary Special. The real Eddie Murphy is HERE!
— Tracy Morgan cameo! I mean, Eddie doesn’t need the help, but I’m always happy to see Tracy.
— Chris Rock now! And now Chappelle. This is all very “modern SNL” to pile on unneeded cameos, but at least there’s a bit of a conceit with all these icons pitching Eddie sketch ideas.
— I especially love Eddie’s clearly facetious exclamation of “What a moment we’re having!” Goddamn, I forgot how effortlessly funny Eddie is.
— Chappelle: “Right now you’re looking at half of Netflix’s budget right here on this stage.” Tracy gets the topper though, saying he got all his millions getting hit by a truck.
— Beck makes a very “Beck” entrance (Tracy says it’s Joe Piscopo in the most “Tracy Morgan” voice he’s ever used) only to be quickly be supplanted by Kenan, who gets to stand shoulder to shoulder with giants. I’d say Kenan’s status is more of a result of attrition than genius. No offense.
— Great way to get the energy up after a completely tedious cold open. The cameos were not needed to make Eddie’s return seem any more special, but it was a ton of fun nonetheless. You can already tell Eddie is in his element.
STARS: ****½

MISTER ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
gentrification has provided opportunities

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— Here we go! The return of a classic character.
— Already love the conceit of Mister Robinson now living in a gentrified neighborhood.
— Honestly, other than Eddie being beefier than he was 35 years ago, it’s like he didn’t miss a beat. This is as keyed in as any of Eddie’s performances in the early 80s.
— The classic “WHO IS IT?” gag.
— “Damian and Nika are my new neighbors. They paid $1.2 million for an apartment where Mr. Robinson’s friend Frankie used to cook crack.”
— I love Eddie’s hard stares to the camera.
— Funny seeing Mikey and Heidi playing roles that, decades earlier, would have likely belonged to Tim Kazurinsky and Robin Duke. Mikey and Heidi are strong performers, but it already feels like Eddie renders the other performers kind of useless. His charisma and magnetism are really strong. It just confirms how hard it must have been for the talented performers of the 80s to compete with Eddie’s confidence and irrepressible energy.
— I know some critics, namely AVClub scold Dennis Perkins, expressed hesitancy for this sketch, noting that it “continues to suggest that a black, inner city Mister Rogers would be a shifty, no-account petty crook and deadbeat” and that Murphy didn’t seem that into it. I would debate the validity of the first comment – Mr. Robinson is a composite of a very rough and dangerous early 80s New York – and absolutely scoff at the suggestion of the second – Murphy is clearly having a blast here.
— Great reveal of Mr. Robinson having the big screen TV after all, especially with him using it to call his neighbors racist.
— Classic turn to the camera when Chris Redd tells Eddie he’s his long-lost son.
— I love that this sketch followed the classic structure while seamlessly incorporating all the necessary updates. It didn’t feel like a relic at all (the way a lot of “bringing the classics out of the mothballs” sketches can). Fabulous job by the writers and more proof that Eddie hasn’t lost a thing.
STARS: *****

HOLIDAY BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP
bad cakes are based on characters kids love

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— A return of the Nailed It! parody from the Don Cheadle episode. I found the original sloppy, but hilarious. This doesn’t seem like an ideal use of Eddie Murphy, but we will see.
— Is it just me, or does Cecily’s botched Elsa cake look like Donatella Versace? Too mean?
— I love Eddie’s corny delivery of “Hi guys, I can’t believe I’m here.” It’s really an amazing feat to be able to extract a sense of actual silliness from the show’s humorless exposition dialogue.
— Nice reveal of Eddie’s Sonic The Hedgehog cake. Of course, this is following the exact template of the previous installment, but I can forgive it.
— Aidy: “Why is it brown, Mitch?” Eddie: “I don’t know. Why is anything brown?”
— I do still get a kick out of the judges totally glossing over Heidi’s completely sufficient cake design.
— Kyle’s wig, tiny head shake and line (“My favorite Christmas memory is Cinderella”) make for a hilarious combination.
— The reveal of Kyle’s penis cake is the one element of this sketch that lacks the impact of the original..
— Eddie says “We can still win this shit” and then covers his mouth. Pretty funny way to wrap up the sketch.
— It’s still a scattershot sketch with a lot to laugh at. I don’t begrudge SNL returning to this well, but it did suffer without the element of surprise.
STARS: ***½

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
(EDM)’s dinner toast leaves out family conflicts

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— Another instance of SNL returning to the well. These pieces always play out predictably, but effectively. In fact, the last time this sketch format was used was in the previous season’s Matt Damon episode, which, weirdly, was the SNL Vintage the night this episode aired. 
— Basically this is everything you would expect this to be, but the added elements of Kenan’s grandpa character and Mikey’s fiance character are a nice touch.
— Ego: “Why can’t I marry him? Because he’s white?” Eddie: “YES!”
— Ah, the hell of sleeping on an air mattress.
— Really enjoy the montage of Kenan sleeping (and then farting and giggling) through the festivities.
— Eddie’s wince when Mikey calls him dad… so perfect.
— Of course, there’s the needlessly treacly Hallmark ending that always kills the buzz of a solid piece of normie comedy.
STARS: ****

THE MASKED SINGER
after his identity is revealed, Buckwheat sings

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— I can already tell that Bowen does a rock solid Ken Jeong.
— Immediately we know that it’s Buckwheat under the corn on the cob costume. I enjoy that they’re bringing him back in what is basically his original context. But this character went on to become one of the richest recurring pieces in SNL history. It would be nice if they would have tapped into that richness. I mean, my God, at least acknowledge Buckwheat’s assassination.
— Not unlike his Mister Robinson, Eddie still has a strong handle on the Buckwheat. His medley is terrific.
— Melissa’s short, sincere speech to Buckwheat was actually quite moving.
— It’s a delight to see Eddie in his most iconic role again and he was as delightful as expected. I just wish the writers had given him more to work with. I enjoyed it, but it was undeniably undercooked.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Truth Hurts”

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— Blue: Cool tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe right at the start of this performance—Lizzo’s guitarist is dressed to resemble her.
— Right away, from Lizzo’s eye roll and laugh after delivering the first line a cappella, it’s obvious that she’s having fun.
— Good choice to add some space to the song by having the guitar and drum hits on the first beat of the first couple measures.
— Not loving the dancer’s outfits, but their choreography is well-done and compliments Lizzo without getting in her way.
— I like the string accents on the verse—it almost sounds like a violin being plucked along to the main synth riff. Of course, the violin itself is probably a synth.
— Every time I watch Lizzo perform, I’m blown away by her sheer positive energy and confidence, and this time is no different.
— The keyboard is definitely mixed too loudly, as the synth hits are now slightly drowning out Lizzo’s voice.
— Love when Lizzo adds that grunt/growl to her voice. Not sure if she’s had professional vocal training but I wouldn’t be surprised—she’s staying on pitch and conserving her breath remarkably well.
— Seeing Lizzo and her guitarist cut loose with huge smiles on their faces brings a huge smile to my own face.
— Very impressive vocal run from Lizzo at the end, where she drops from her head voice into a lower chest voice, before belting out the last note in her mixed register and staying perfectly in tune. Even more impressive considering that Lizzo was supposedly ill with a sore throat the week of this performance. Great recovery on her part!
STARS: ****

WEEKEND UPDATE
Gumby is upset that he hasn’t been given proper credit for saving SNL

PED compares the public’s perception of his life with how COJ is viewed

surprising news items cause drunk Jeanine Pirro (CES) to spew wine on COJ

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— The use of video footage is a far more effective way of skewering Trump.
— Oh shit, early on, Gumby interrupts the proceedings (like Colin was literally mid-joke)!
— Overwhelming energy from Murphy as he rants about how he saved SNL.
— I love that Eddie calls Colin “trailer boy” and Michael a “black bastard.”
— Classic moment when Eddie temporarily breaks and then sternly shouts down the audience for laughing at him. Shades of his George Washington Carver rant from 35 years earlier.
— Ha, now he called Colin “head shot.”
— This is loose as hell, but it’s a riot.
— It gets even better with Eddie refusing to leave when his segment wraps. Colin and Michael seemed really tickled by this. I am too.
— Michael’s pronoun joke was very in keeping with his online persona. It wasn’t a laugh riot, but in terms of palatable jokes about gender pronouns, I think it remained a fair ball.
— I like the fake out of Pete saying he’s going to do a political commentary.
— Pete points out that it’s hard to follow Gumby: “I can’t believe you guys let me do this during the Eddie Murphy episode. So many fans being reminded why they stopped watching.”
— Colin points out that Pete is the youngest cast member to join the cast since Eddie Murphy. I will not stand for this Anthony Michael Hall erasure.
— Pete’s dig at Daniel Tosh wasn’t hilarious, but I like that Pete is willing to say “I don’t like that guy.”
— A rambling, yet amiable commentary from Pete.
— Wow, we’re already transitioning to the joke swap. They’re not wasting time here.
— A funny series of joke swap gags, but probably the least memorable this duo has done. The absurd cue card thing was pretty wild, however (“Merry Christmas homeboy. You’re fired.”).
— Cecily’s Jeanine Pirro is *possibly* her finest character. Always happy to see her show up.
— Cecily: “To my Christian friends, I wanna say ‘Merry Christmas!’ And to all you Jewish and Muslim folks out there: I SAID ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS!’”
— Ha, hilarious twist on Jeanine throwing wine on Colin by having her puke the wine instead. In the history of sketch comedy guilty pleasures, the puke hose is my all-time favorite. No apologies.
— Colin: “It’s in my mouth.”
— The opening run of jokes were OK and Pete’s commentary was just fine, but between Gumby, the always-reliable (if more subdued this time) joke swap and Cecily’s always riotous Pirro, this was a highly memorable Update.
STARS: ****½

BLACK JEOPARDY
Velvet Jones’ ho tutorials vie with modern sensibilities

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— Now it’s Velvet Jones’ turn for a modern update. This is not necessarily a favorite Eddie Murphy of many, but I always enjoyed well enough.
— Weird delay from Kenan when introducing the categories.
— Eddie is a little sloppier here, but he’s still doing a good job with this classic character.
— The fact that Velvet Jones is sort of a man out of time is a pretty good concept, though I’m not sure Black Jeopardy is the right format for this to thrive.
— Kenan: “Velvet, you know about #MeToo, right?” Eddie: “Of course! You like hos? Me too!”
— The fake sponsor for “Put Some Water In It” is really funny, but that doesn’t strike me as a particularly black stereotype. My family does that shit all the time.
— The “How To Be An Instagram Ho” seems like a decent out for this sketch.
— Unlike the Buckwheat sketch from earlier tonight, I appreciate that the writers were able to effectively frame this character within a measurable comedic concept. I’m not sure if they completely pulled it off the way they did with Mister Robinson, but it was an enjoyable attempt nonetheless.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Good As Hell”

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— Blue: I really love the backup dancers’ outfits here, made to look like ribbons on wrapped Christmas presents.
— Incredible how close Lizzo’s vocals sound to the recorded version of this song.
— Oh yesss, the backup dancers are swinging on candy-cane-striped poles—so fun to watch!
— The synth’s entrance on the second verse is overwhelmingly loud.
— This dance breakdown is awesome, especially seeing Lizzo join the choreography.
— WOW, that glittery backless suit reveal! The sound engineer must have turned the audience’s mics off, because I can’t imagine no one cheered for that.
— Flawless held note from Lizzo—the transition between registers was seamless.
— Precious to see Lizzo jumping up and down in excitement at the end.
STARS: ****

NORTH POLE NEWS REPORT
manic elf witness (EDM) describes polar bear attack on Santa’s workshop

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— A kind of middling setup is completely saved by a full throttle Eddie Murphy.
— “It don’t matter what my name is!!”
— A classic scream by Eddie as he exits his first scene.
— Great bit with Eddie explaining that the polar bear situation has gotten so bad that a white teenage elf girl would approach an older black elf in sweatpants for help.
— Ha, Eddie about the Tooth Fairy’s “Thoughts & Prayers” Instagram post: “That bitch sounds crazy!”
— “Listen to this sexy-ass elf right here!”
— Honestly, this sketch is a 90/10 performance to writing split. There’s almost nothing on the page here, but Eddie proves that he still has a superhuman ability to elevate the material he is given. That is the hallmark of a star. Most performers are confined by the material they’re given. Eddie absolutely explodes through the screen and throttles the audience into laughter.
STARS: ****½

GOODNIGHTS

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CUT FOR TIME: HOLIDAY GIG
keytarist (EDM)’s medical condition derails Treece Henderson holiday gig

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— Ah, one of those “Kenan is a silly scatman who becomes obsessed with some embarrassing minutiae, thus derailing his band’s performance” sketches.
— Kenan’s Jergen’s request is not quite “delightfully odd,” but more “discursively mirth-ish.”
— Watching Eddie have to pantomime a key-tar solo while Kenan kind of vamps and giggles is like having Jimi Hendrix stuck playing rhythm guitar (or some similar reference but more, you know… contemporary!).
— Kyle is a secular humanist, Eddie is Kenan’s roommate – so many details in search of a joke!
— Finally we get to the comedic meat of the sketch: Eddie’s character has some weird disease or discharge issue that Kenan repeatedly tries to discuss on stage to everyone else’s chagrin (it finally comes over two minutes into the sketch). When I meant “comedic meat,” I was referring to tofurkey.
— There are so many nearly funny lines being delivered here. The rhythm of everything seems about right, but I’m not hearing any discernible laugh lines.
— Eddie forgoes pantomiming one of his solos in favor of tucking his cell phone back in his pocket. I figure if this sketch would have made the cut (which would have been a baffling decision), that would have been a detail Lorne would have sniffed out.
— It’s one thing that this sketch is so poorly written (if adequately performed), but the real reason this one never made it to air is because it underserves Eddie. I think the dress rehearsal edits are largely made with deference to the host. Eddie is present and active here, but with very little to work with. Classic “Cut For Time” fodder. Absolute filler.
STARS: **

AIDY BIZZO & LIZZO
empowered (AIB) imitates new bestie (musical guest)

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— A sequel to the Aidy B sketch from the Chadwick Boseman episode. Kabir dug that one, let’s see how this one goes.
— Kate: “Lizzo (embraces her raw sexual power) because she knows she’s 100% that bitch.” Just an absolutely chill-inducing line.
— Beck, looking beefier than I remember him and oozing with white boy smugness: “You girls talking about Lizzo again? Why can’t we just talk about rock n’ roll?”
— As the music kicks in and Aidy begins to do her hyper-sexualized rap lady whatever, it dawns on me that there is no audience track here. It’s really glaring.
— An interesting backstage with Aidy, Bowen and Eddie. It’s interesting to see Bowen being utilized in the “modest newcomer” role, but that’s all that I can really say about this portion. But Eddie sincerely thanking God for Aidy’s ass was a funny little bit.
— Aidy: “I’m going to sit on your dick so hard that you die.” Gadzooks!
— The smash cut from Aidy and Lizzo grinding in a music video to Aidy quietly humping on top of the NBC page’s desk is probably the comedic conceit that would have best held this sketch up over its four minutes.
— Chloe’s playing herself in a backstage segment. Worth noting if only for the fact that I don’t think I know what Chloe’s personality is.
— I’m not offended by the overabundance of the word “bitch” in this sketch. I just find it supremely cheesy.
— Aidy: “Is it me or are we best friends?” Lizzo: “Yeah… I mean, I’m definitely your best friend.”
— Aidy walking out of Lizzo’s dressing room bare-assed caught me by surprise. Kudos.
— Tactically speaking, giving a feature spot to the musical guest is a pretty surefire bet to make it to air. But this isn’t just any episode. Another sketch to largely overlook such a powerhouse host leaves this one destined for the scrap heap. And I’m not sure it deserved to be in the show on merit either. Eye-rolling at Yas Kween sketches is maybe becoming a cliche in its own right, but this one seemed to revel in all the most tedious elements of that vibe. Some funny moments though.
STARS: **½

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A rising tide lifts all boats and Eddie Murphy is exactly that rising tide. He was on fire from the jump and brought his infectious energy to every live performance just in case anyone thought he wasn’t a master. A fabulous episode of SNL, even if the show was largely committed to bringing back Eddie’s classic bits and plunking him into some pre-fabbed sketches as well. Shame the show couldn’t get out of its own way with the cold open. In another era (in ANY other era), the show would have likely done a meta bit about Eddie’s return to the show. A lack of creativity on the writers’ part probably prevented what could have been a perfect episode.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood
North Pole News Report
Weekend Update
Monologue
Home For The Holidays
Holiday Baking Championship
Black Jeopardy
The Masked Singer
(CFT: Aidy Bizzo & Lizzo)
(CFT: Holiday Gig)
Sixth Democratic Debate

Want more Eddie Murphy content? Check out our breakdown of his Best Of special here.

TOMORROW
The Eddie Murphy of SNL reviewers, Matt, takes on our first episode of 2020 with Adam Driver/Halsey.

December 14, 2019 – Scarlett Johansson / Niall Horan (S45 E9)

by Vax Novier

AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS
Trump drives family dinner talk in San Francisco, Charleston, Atlanta

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— A nice change of pace from the usual cold opens of this era, even if it’s still centered around politics.
— Interesting concept with the difference in Trump discussion between different families.
— A funny line about Michael Jackson music not being considered okay to play, only for Jackson 5 to be acceptable.
— The execution is a bit clumsy for the most part, but there’s some decent bits scattered throughout, like when Cecily starts commenting on her Tweet before the sound effect comes in, which causes her to break.
— This would actually work as the opening for the upcoming Christmas show, but there’s a presidential debate that week, meaning the show will have to cover it, of course, and make it yet another cameo-fest.
— The wraparounds with Aidy are pretty unnecessary, as if they thought the audience wouldn’t connect with the material unless a familiar face in a wacky costume was there to explain everything, though I did like her speech about how none of it matters in the end.
— Kate’s walk-on as Greta Thunberg is very forced and disconnected from the rest of the sketch. Apparently we can’t go a week this season without getting a dose of Kate and Aidy dicking around.
STARS: ***

MONOLOGUE
host finds PED using the Infinity Gauntlet to snap away SNL castmembers

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— A quick change for Aidy into an Elf on the Shelf bit that appears to be their way of addressing numerous controversies tied to Scarlett. Thankfully, this hacky lead-in is only a set-up for the actual premise.
— Always nice to have a backstage monologue, especially when it involves meta jokes such as pointing out how some people (like myself several times during their first half-season in the fall of 2016) can’t tell Mikey and Alex apart.
— Some funny mentions of how out-of-date spoofing Infinity War is, with Beck asking if it was a backup from the last time she hosted.
— Beck, as he gets dusted: “You need me! Who’s going to play the dumb idioooooot??”
— Funny scene with Bowen.
— Kenan’s Nick Fury voice sounds nothing like the character, but that just may be part of the bit about how poorly the Avengers parody is put together.
— Pete, in his only appearance of the night, makes a blatant, tongue-in-cheek promotion for Peacock. What is this, the 30 Rock quarantine special?
— Interesting details for Pete’s “dressing room” such as the Update cue card on his bulletin board and the desk with liquor bottles on it.
— What just happened during the un-snapping bit? If that was meant to be a masturbation joke, it didn’t come across very well. And whatever it was causes Pete and Scarlett to break for the rest of their scene.
— An amusing exchange between Kenan and Pete, with Pete explaining how he can skip a couple episodes because of how long he’s been on, followed by Kenan’s exasperated response of “that’s GOOD TO KNOW!”, alluding to his own longevity on the show. This statement becomes less funny nowadays since it basically describes Lorne’s business model for the senior cast members. Pete would also go on to share, in his controversial Charlamagne interview, how these types of jokes contributed to his dissolution with the show during this period.
— Melissa can be seen in the background with the rest of the cast when everyone is on stage. She actually had a scene in dress rehearsal, doing her impression of last week’s host, Jennifer Lopez, before getting dusted. This is evident by released photos that show her in costume at the end. At least they felt the need to still include Melissa, even if she didn’t get to do anything.
— Speaking of, the only cast member absent from this monologue is Kate, who doesn’t make another live appearance until near the end of the night.
— A lot of fans going in were probably wondering how they were going to address her relationship with Colin Jost, I think they ended up providing a decent balance of Colin bashing and loving moments, to satisfy the masses.
STARS: ****

SINGING ELVES
at a mall, dance music done by (KET) & (host) has naughty holiday lyrics

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— So this is the sketch that will most likely appear on the next edition of the Kenan/Scarlett highlights. Not too sure having this as the leadoff is a good decision.
— Getting some of the usual Anderson quirks like the intentionally funny-sounding names and emphasis of phrases such as “enterTAINTers”.
— Normally, the “straight guy explaining how weird the concept is” part of these sketches backtracks the material, though Beck has some funny moments with being into the performance and naming artists his character wouldn’t appear to know about.
— Heidi: “We know all the same people.” Beck (smugly): “Maybe you do.”
— This ended up being a little better than I remembered, it still shouldn’t have been in the lead-off spot.
STARS: **½

MACY’S
Macy’s has uncomfortable & vexing holiday clothes your kids will hate

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— I like how this has the look of a real clothing commercial, which gives this a more authentic touch.
— A good turn with the kids complaining about their outfits.
— Mikey’s son makes an appearance as one of the kids in a scene with his dad.
— Kid: “My shoes hurt.” Kate: “Welcome to being a woman.”
— Loving the cuts to the domestic strife between Mikey and Heidi, halting the commercial in the process.
— Funny rundown of the specific types of clothes the kids will hate, complete with a perfect Bowen reaction to the smelly diaper of Aidy’s kid from a few feet away.
— A fun ad that captures different engaging sensibilities.
STARS: *****

OFFICE APOLOGY
co-worker reaction to inappropriate (host) & ribald Charlie diverges

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— A sequel to the “Sexual Harassment Charlie” sketch back in season 43 when James Franco hosted, an episode I previously covered (I swear, this was not intentional). We even have all the same actors playing their characters from last time, apart from Leslie who is replaced by Bowen.
— Kenan has been all over the episode so far, though this ends up being his last appearance of the night.
— An odd decision to bring this back considering the original aged poorly afterwards due to Franco’s involvement. Although Carson has pointed out that putting a woman in the role of the easily-offendable employee gives the premise a more satirical edge than before.
— It won’t do any good dissecting the logic of this sketch, but the workplace rehired Charlie only for him to commit the same offenses and get fired again?
— They’re really overdoing Charlie’s “Do a little dance.” remarks.
— A funny line from Beck on how he tried everything to “Just fire Linda” followed by Scarlett’s reaction.
— Even the reasons Charlie gets fired are just a retread of last time.
STARS: **½

A CONWAY MARRIAGE STORY
George (BEB) & Kellyanne (KAM) are at odds

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— The obligatory Marriage Story spoof, in the form of a movie parody starring Kate’s Kelleyanne Conway. This is the first appearance of these films in a long while.
— Beck takes over the role of Kellyanne’s husband after a brief appearance played by Alex in the “A Day Off” short.
— It feels like we’ve seen the “Kellyanne Babble” routine plenty of times by now, but Alex manages to make it refreshing, as he sheepishly tries to interject and get a word in edgewise.
— I like the detail with the critic awards, of the film not only winning at TIFF, but also the Breitbart Film Festival and the Deep State Medal of Freedom.
— The portrayal of Kellyanne is coming off a bit more nuanced than usual, while retaining the psychotic characterization that defines these pieces.
— A funny turn with George and Kellyanne revealing they were under the impression that the therapy session was an interview.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Nice To Meet Ya”

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— Blue: If I didn’t know anything about Niall Horan, I would have guessed he’s American from his singing style. He’s got a nice alt-rock sensibility.
— Strong piano chords to open the song. 
— I like the slow build, adding in the drums and bass one by one, and then the guitar on the chorus.
— Really appreciate the random French in the second verse (“j’adore la mer”).
— The switch from the piano into the electronic synth to signal the chorus’ approach is so good. It’s the kind of little thing that my mind is prone to latch onto and replay over and over.
— I can’t see the keyboardist or the guitarist during the “I’m gonna love you” part, so they could be singing along, but if not, that’s a painfully glaring instance of “why not sing the pre-recorded vocals?,” especially since four of the five musicians have vocal mics…
— Clever songwriting choice to expand on the “Nice to meet ya” part that followed the first verse, and having all but the rhythm section drop out during it.
— Really strong bridge, especially when the piano kicks back in.
— Okay, I see now that the “I’m gonna love you” part is pre-recorded, to which I ask… why… 
— Wow, clearly Niall was wasted on One Direction. I can definitely see myself replaying this song. There was nothing overly special about the performance, but what a great tune.
STARS: ****

WEEKEND UPDATE
Chen Biao is confident China is winning its trade war with the USA

streetwise Baby Yoda (KYM) is capitalizing on his moment in the spotlight

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— One thing you notice during the item about yet another Trump tweet that made headlines, the way so many have over the years, is how the tone of Weekend Update has really changed in regards to Trump, with the usual pandering, “Resistance” clapter-bait diminished in favor of a justified, cynical outlook. Calling out the inevitable decline of the impeachment hearings is one of the rare instances of SNL making the correct call on a Trump story. Even when the eventual outcome turns out to be positive at times, the hopeless resignation usually holds up a lot better.
— A standout line about Trump reclassifying Judiasim as a race so he can claim that Ivanka and Jared Kushner are an interracial marriage.
— Hilarious bit with Che commenting on the Washington/Trump comparison by comparing Colin to Bill Cosby, even pushing to show a split-screen graphic in order to make it sink in.
— Bowen’s breakout character, Chen Biao, has become recurring.
— I like the back-and-forth with him specifically targeting Ainsley.
— The material is lacking for the most part, but Bowen carries it with his performance.
— A good string of jokes between the commentaries.
— The debut of Kyle’s Baby Yoda characterization, after being cut from last week’s Update.
— I will say the makeup job is impressive, even if it peters toward the uncanny valley, and the douchebag persona is an interesting, yet cliched angle to take.
— This worked as an oddball one-off, but it definitely didn’t need to become recurring.
STARS: ***½

HOT TUB CHRISTMAS
strip club ghosts (host), (CES), (musical guest) sing about hot tub tomb

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— A good turn with the stripper ghosts singing about their deaths.
— I’m liking the soft rock, Carpenter-esque vibe to the song. The tune is very catchy and Cecily and Scarlett’s vocals provide a good harmony.
— And now Niall gets involved, as the aforementioned Big Jim.
— The chroma key used is visibly off-center in the wide shots when it’s clear only their top half is being covered.
— Funny reveal that they’re all rotting in Hell, their dense attitude throughout the sketch helps the bit.
— A sweet ending. It may be a little corny, but the feel-good vibes going on make it work.
— A nice low-key sketch, overall, even with the outrageous inclusions, and a much better Cecily/Scarlett pairing than their previous team-up (Dino Bones).
STARS: ****½

A WINTER BOYFRIEND FOR HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS
single (host) faces holiday marriage tropes on Hallmark Channel game show

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— Feels a bit late in the night for a gameshow sketch. Maybe this should’ve been switched out with Singing Elves. Then again, changing the rundown to have three musical sketches in a row could have lessened the effect of the two pieces in the back half.
— A fun conceit of a dating game show based entirely around traits of a typical Hallmark movie.
— Aidy, when introducing Scarlett: “She’s a New York 6 and a Buffalo 10…”
— Funny bit with Chris as the Hallmark black guy who doesn’t have any defined character traits.
— Another standout Aidy line: “If you haven’t chosen someone to marry by [Christmas], Christmas is canceled and the killer goes free.” which barely got a reaction from the audience.
— An odd blooper just now, when Scarlett asks the contestants what the Menorah is, as Alex guesses “Santa’s trident” only to get a correct answer ding. You can briefly see a look of confusion from Alex while this happens.
— I loved Beck’s spot-on douchebag delivery as he says “I won! I won.”
— This has begun to die down by the end, but Aidy’s line about how “The true reason for Christmas is husband.” was a fitting capper.
— Aidy signs off by saying, “You stay straight out there.”, a subtle reference to the recent controversy over Hallmark pulling a lesbian-themed ad.
STARS: ***½

I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS
the song expands into a cuckold fantasy scenario

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— Oh, this one is a classic!
— Cecily is perfect for this type of role. In fact, the entire wholesome “Rockwellian” aesthetic of the sketch really works to its advantage.
— The turn of the dad actually sitting in the corner is executed well, complete with a priceless shot of Mikey getting turned on while watching the two of them kiss.
— Good reveal with the situation turning out to be kinky foreplay between Santa and the parents.
— I like the minor specific details throughout the piece, such as the ad posted on Craigslist and the fact that Santa came in a Nissan (complete with a callback at the end).
— I’m loving all the visuals throughout of Cecily spying, especially the last one.
— A nice final beat where Cecily ends up learning something about herself from the experience.
— A fantastic piece that I’ve always enjoyed! Definitely one of, if not the highlight of Cecily’s later years. Probably the only musical short from this era, in my opinion, that has ever reached the greatness of Twin Bed. It’s such a standout that I go back and listen to it all year round.
STARS: *****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Put A Little Love On Me”

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— Blue: Let me guess, this is going to be a ballad.
— I was right.
— The Christmassy lights onstage are very nice.
— This sounds more typical of what I’d expect from Niall Horan than the first song did. Sounds like a song to drive his fangirls wild.
— That shift from the major chord to the minor at the end of the chorus is really cool and keeps the song interesting.
— Niall is in fine voice. I can’t decide if I prefer hearing him sing in this style or in the alt-rock style from the first song. He seems a bit more adept at singing ballads, though.
— Pretty charming song. Nothing more to say here.
STARS: ***

CELEBRITY SIGHTING
kitchen workers are big fans of models (BOY) & (host) from choking poster

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— Lots of Bowen tonight, which is great to see considering his appearances are usually only limited to standout pieces or niche roles most of the time.
— Good reveal that Scarlett and Bowen are the models of a choking poster seen on the wall. This character was actually part of Bowen’s SNL audition so it’s nice to see him get it on-air.
— I like the attitude of overestimating their celebrity status, only to show they really are famous to the waitstaff.
— Funny bit with Bowen recording a voicemail for Mikey that includes choking sounds.
— Some questionable camera blocking right now with the bar counter taking up the foreground and most of the castmembers mixed in with the crowd being barely visible. I’d have to guess this sketch got cut down for the live show and they had bigger parts in dress.
— A semi-predictable turn with Bowen starting to choke and Kate having to save him because he and Scarlett are only models.
STARS: ****

PET TRANSLATOR
Trump impeachment hasn’t swayed thoughts-vocalizing device creator’s dog

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— Another unnecessary sequel to a one-off sketch as we get the return of the dog translator sketch from the last time Scarlett hosted.
— On a side note, I have to mention how incredibly lazy the online titles for these direct sequels are; Another Translator, Another Brothers, Another Close Encounter, Another Uncle Meme, etc.
— The problem with bringing back a standalone premise and giving it little to no variety is that it can’t work again if you already know the concept going in.
— At least there’s continuity this time around as they mention the previous failed test and supposedly fixing all the glitches.
— Last time, the thing that made it stand out was the unintentional mishap with the dog removing the helmet and Scarlett quickly covering up the mishap. There’s nothing to find in this edition that makes it stand out.
— A slight deviation to the end with a pig being used as the test subject, explaining the squealing noise that was heard earlier.
STARS: **

GOODNIGHTS

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— During her closing speech, Scarlett makes an out-of-left-field shoutout to the “men and women of the armed forces who risk their lives every day so we don’t have to.”

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— We finally got a Scarjo-hosted episode that can be considered above-average (6th time the charm, I guess), continuing the on-off result for recent seasons of the pre-Christmas show being an unexpected pleasure! The week provided several classics and there was an all-around cohesive feeling for this cast-only show.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Macy’s
Hot Tub Christmas
Monologue
Celebrity Sighting
A Winter Boyfriend For Holiday Christmas
A Conway Marriage Story
Weekend Update
American Households
Office Apology
Singing Elves
Pet Translator

TOMORROW:
Eddie Murphy’s long-awaited return to SNL after 35 years, reviewed by the one and only Carson!

December 7, 2019 – Jennifer Lopez / DaBaby (S45 E8)

by Anthony

NATO CAFETERIA 
Justin Trudeau (JIF) & others bully Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) at NATO

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— For those wondering, this open lasts 42 seconds before Fallon and Rudd walk in. Next week the cast might get a whole minute up top before some celebrity comes in to scoop up the spotlight.
— It’s somewhat ironic to have Rudd, a guy I’ve seen be funny but never really on SNL, paired with Fallon, a guy I’ve only seen be funny on SNL. 
— And then we get James Corden. I know the proper internet response here would be some mouth-foaming, Doug Walker-esque all-caps rant, but honestly Corden’s a guy I always found more simply lame than infuriating. Him and Fallon represent a whole lot of what I hate about current late night, but outside their talk shows the most they tend to inspire out of me is generally indifference. I did also like Corden in Doctor Who and Gavin & Stacey, which helps. 
— It should also be noted Corden actually acquits himself to the material pretty well here as well, coming off the most natural of the three. I particularly like when he tries to imitate Rudd and Fallon’s hair tussle. 
— Liked Mikey’s lame compliment of “I love your economies”.  
— Corden telling Mikey to “Brexit out of here” and Fallon responding by saying he’s being “so cringe” are both meant to be lame, and shit do they achieve that. 
— Trump comes in with a big tray of hamberders, cus hur hur hur.
— So the joke here is that Trump is like the loser kid in high school. Not the worst premise, but certainly not the best. Let’s see if we get some decent one liners at least, like these pieces can be occasionally good for.
— I like Alex’s quirky Latvian president.
— There’s a side bit going on here with Boris just barely fitting into the cool group. Normally I’d complain this feels like a hat on a hat, but honestly the Boris bits are all funnier than the Trump ones.
— Boy if that ain’t fitting that Kate gets to sit at the “cool kids’ table” with the celebrity cameos.  
— Kate’s Merkel is pretty much giving us the same shtick as always, down to the Obama crush 3 years after he left office. At least this isn’t one of her more insufferable political impressions (though your mileage may vary there). 
— Big fuckin’ eye roll at the “Impeach Me” sign gag (complete with 3 exclamation points to really hammer the desperation home).
— So this whole thing turns out to be an anti-bullying PSA from Melania, which in turn turns out to be a parody of a Peloton Ad? What are you trying to say, show?!
— Yea, we got a lot of the worst Trumpwin offenders here. Hack punchlines, pointless cameos, incoherent satire and “activism” that amounted to going “hey, isn’t this guy bad? Applaud us!!” Not a great sign when the highlight of your sketch is James Corden.
— Looking at my scheduled reviews for the next 2 seasons, this is actually my final episode with an appearance from Trumpwin. I can’t say I’m too sad to see him go. Baldwin was involved in a lot of iconic material from the show over the years, and was always a host who gave 100%, so its definitely unfortunate to see his time with the show end (I have to assume he’s not coming back any time soon, do to recent tragedies that neither I nor anyone in the comments are gonna talk about) with him giving such routinely lazy performances in service of such routinely lazy material. I don’t mean to harp on it too much in these reviews, but my beef with Trumpwin is basically my beef with Trump himself, just on a much smaller scale. For four years he was the face of an institution that, although deeply flawed, is one I care deeply about, and he spent that whole time making it look bad. Good riddance to both.
STARS: *½ 

MONOLOGUE
50 year-old host kicks with The Rockettes & wears her green Versace dress

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— Jennifer Lopez is hot. You can pretty much skip the next 4 pieces since that’s about all they’ll give you (okay, that’s unfair to one of them, though we’ll get to that). 
— Obligatory mention of how the host is no longer with the person they mention to be their significant other in their monologue, which is so awkward since we’re all 16.
— There’s no real conceit to this other than J Lo bragging about how well things are going for her. The show tries to turn that into a comedic conceit, culminating in that dumbass moment where Beck’s head explodes because J Lo says she’s 50, but it just feels like the show blowing smoke up her ass (which I’m sure she’d want me to mention is a very famous ass) under the thin veil of irony. 
— Also, I’m sure I’m not the first to say this, but J Lo’s insistence on mentioning that she’s 50 makes her sound like some kinda Sexy Sally O’Malley.
— Now Lopez kicks off a rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, complete with Rockette backing, building to a grand finale where it’s revealed she’s been wearing her iconic green Grammy’s dress under her tuxedo. It’s decent fluff, I suppose—certainly more tolerable than the first half of her monologue. 
STARS: **

SURPRISE HOME MAKEOVER 
home makeover program visits Matt Schatt & out-of-his-league wife (host)

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— Here we get a return of a sketch from Mikey’s very first episode. I enjoyed that sketch, especially as an intro to Mikey, but it’s not one I needed to see returned to all these years later. It’s also never a good sign when the first real sketch of the night is a repeat of a one off from three years ago….
— Kenan’s character is named Becker Cheeks. Either commit to a joke name or don’t, guys.
— Bit of confusing chronology here as well, as Kenan is playing a different reporter than he did in the last sketch, and Mikey, while playing the same character, makes no mention of his previous marriage (other details, such as him having no penis and only testicles in the last sketch, are contradicted here as well).
— Thanks to John and Matt (not Schatt) for letting me know we did find out what happened to Margot Robbie’s character, but only in the form of a tweet from Mikey.
— Mikey: “I can not believe this is happening, I never get lucky like this”. Audience laughs. Kenan: “Oh, I’d say you get very lucky.” Audience murmurs. See Seiday, even the crowd is telling you you don’t need to explain these jokes to them! 
— Matt being really into Smurfs is kinda funny, though it feels like it could have been any random beat in the last sketch but it meant to be one of the bigger jokes of this piece.
— One thing I do prefer about this to the first sketch is the lack of a character like Cecily was playing in that one. She got some good straight man reactions there, but the fun of this piece is in everyone’s outsized reactions to the couple, so it doesn’t feel necessary to include a character who’s there to try and keep everyone on track. 
—  I did like the small joke of Mikey calling his rollerblades his “sports stuff”.
— Continuing my point from earlier, the Smurf Life tattoo feels like it’s meant to be the centerpiece gag of the sketch, and that just feels to me like it has so much less weight than his wife being a Kennedy or him having no genitalia. 
— Luckily we get Bowen here to add some excitement. Bowen can’t quite bring the energy as high as Leslie did in her fantastic intro from the first piece (“I got TWO THEORIES”) but he makes the proceedings a lot more fun, for sure.
— Bowen lunging at Mikey’s dick is certainly exciting, though as mentioned “average sized penis” just doesn’t feel like as consequential a beat as “no penis”.
— Like a lot of Seiday sketches from the past couple years this is hard to grade as it was a functional, well performed piece with some solid laugh lines that nevertheless gave off a very tired and frankly lazy feel. I’m just gonna stick the grade at the halfway point and call it a day.
STARS: **½ 

CHAD & JLO
host is unfathomably drawn toward pool boy Chad; Alex Rodriguez cameo

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— Our first Chad of the season. I don’t hate this character (though I certainly never need to see him again) but I recall really not caring for his two Season 45 appearances. Let’s see if I’m warmer to this this time around. 
— Seiday get a lot of shit in certain fan circles, and while I think some of it is unfair, episodes like this, where they get the two sketches up top to repackage old sketches of theirs in slightly different colored wrapping, remind you those complaints do come from somewhere.
— This is giving me very little to talk about. Sometimes bad sketches can be fun to bash but this is just bad in such an uninteresting way. J Lo & especially Pete seem to be sleepwalking here, and the writing isn’t anything we haven’t already seen a million times in these Chads before.
— Amazing how unnatural A Rod can make only 5 words sound.
— The weakest Chad in my opinion. This one took the exact approach you’d expect out of this character and only got more predictable the longer it went on.
STARS: *½ 

THE CORPORAL 
knockout’s (host) sisters’ (KAM) & (AIB) schemes backfire in a 1955 movie

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— Ah yes! This is easily one of my favorite sketches the team of Drezen/Gates/McKinnon/Bryant would ever do. 
— Great bit right off the bat as Kate and Aidy shout down J Lo to return to the attic. 
— At first glance, this is just another “isn’t J Lo hot??” sketch, but the writing is sharp enough here that I can look past that. 
— Similarly, these are the type of broad, chummy Kate and Aidy performances I tend to really not care for, but for whatever reason they work for me here. I guess the sort of vaudevillian nature of this piece allows them to go broader without it annoying me.  
— Love the runner with Kate and Aidy trying to kill each other with poorly disguised weapons (“Why, that’s a shotgun!” “Oh! So it is, I thought it was a Q-tip.”)
— The runner with Kate and Aidy trying and failing to make J Lo look ugly isn’t quite as strong but is still really fun.
— Nice little twist on the usual Kate shtick with Aidy being the one to get the “tee hee, this character is secretly into girls!” line.
— The lobster part is a nice bit of absurdity. Especially love Kate’s line to J Lo explaining this is how men look: “Yes, they’re small and they’re lobsters.”
— Another great bit of absurdity with Kate’s gunshots only succeeding in making J Lo’s dress strapless. 
— Beck comes in at the end here, getting what has to be one of the all-time great one-word roles on the show.  
— A very fun sketch that has always stood as one my favorite Kate/Aidy pairings. This isn’t high art by any means but it does exactly what it wants to do and does it with infectious energy. 
STARS: *****

THEM TRUMPS: RALLY 
at a rally, white audience turns on black First Family

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— Continuing tonight’s trend of “shit we didn’t need to come back”, we get our third and final Them Trumps. 
— This one especially feels pointless to bring back—not only because it’s such a one-note sketch but also because Leslie, one of the sketch’s major players, isn’t even on the show anymore. 
— The background music for the intro is pretty well produced; I especially like the Travis Scott style autotuned “ooooh, them Trumps”. 
— Kenan’s Trump is acting all cocky in the face of danger, but ol’ Tony suspects there’s a big sneaky stinky subversion coming our way. Something in my gut.
— These sketches always feel halfway caught between being an Empire parody and a genuine attempt at satire, and never end up feeling like they hit their marks with either. The first one still managed to work since it had the element of surprise on its side, but by this third sketch, as alluded to above, I know the tricks. Rotely repeating them in a slightly different setting ain’t gonna cut it.
— I will say Kenan is always really fun in this role, at least. Also enjoy Chris as the Don Jr stand-in.
— “Make America Swag Again”—yeef.
— I thought we’d maybe get some kind of subversion of the subversion, but no—it was just the same sketch we saw the last 2 times.
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “BOP”

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— Anthony: Oh DaBaby, you truly ended up being as dumb as your name. I actually didn’t mind this guy for a while, as at least he’s one of the modern pop rappers who doesn’t sound like he’s falling asleep on the mic. Throw him on in the gym or the car and close your eyes (always advisable when driving) and you’ve got a decent B-tier Ludacris. Luckily, that type of raving endorsement makes it easy to dispose of the guy when he turns out to be a total shithead. 
— Blue: A couple bars in, and I can say…I don’t think I’m going to like this.
— I feel so thrown off listening to the hype man while the camera is on DaBaby. Wish they’d pan out to show who’s talking.
— Not a fan of DaBaby’s deep, raspy voice. 
— “My girl got good kitty.” …No comment.
— DaBaby pretending to grab a phone from one of his backup dancers and then throwing it while saying “what the—” made me laugh.
— Speaking of the backup dancers, they’re doing a great job!
— Unexpected backflip and handsprings from one of the dancers! I think I can hear an audience member shouting “whoa!” at that (or it could be part of the recorded track).
— Now here comes a backup dancer walking on her hands… and twerking up a storm. Gotta admit… I genuinely find this impressive (not that I particularly enjoy seeing it).
— “What’s that? DaBaby brought the Jabbawockeez?” Yes, I guess he did bring the Jabbawockeez. Not that I’m familiar with them.
— The Jabbawockeez are not adding much to the choreography besides an interesting visual aesthetic, but I appreciate the hype man’s enthusiasm for them.
— Abrupt ending.
— Lol @ the big smiles on DaBaby and his hype man’s faces.
STARS: *½ (the song did nothing for me but the choreography was enjoyable)

WEEKEND UPDATE
Nancy Pelosi (KAM) offers passive-aggressive prayers for Donald Trump

when it comes to the holidays, Jules (BEB) sees things a little differently

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— Nice, biting Catholic Church line from Jost. Pedophile priest jokes are so tacky at this point, but a good hearty “fuck you” to the church is always appreciated.
— Che’s food stamps rant was strong, and is one of those nice moments from him where you feel like he’s bringing something you’d wouldn’t have seen with any previous anchor.
— Kate does a bit as her Pelosi. She calls Jost “Breitbart Ryan Seacrest”, talks about how bad Trump is, makes a pee tape joke, and hopes Linday Graham has a black, gay baby. It was truly a revolutionary moment in comedy.
— Jules is a fun enough character, though it feels like a shade of Beck I’ve seen enough of that I’m not exactly going to praise him.
— Okay, Jules’ Black Friday/Friday line made me laugh more than it should have.
— The usual from Jules, but this character can at least provide enough solid lines that that’s not the worst thing.
— A good enough update overall, though I wasn’t exactly blown away by the correspondents—Pelosi particularly.
STARS: ***

HIP HOP CAROLERS 
(host) & other hip-hop carolers distract while musical guest robs family

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— Hmm, the premise of a bunch of adults who do hip-hop carols doesn’t sound like it’ll do much for me, but let’s see.
— Ha, that has to be the first City High reference on network TV in about 20 years.
— Haha, wait, they’re taking the City High reference further with a full on Christmas themed parody of “What Would You Do?”?? I’ve always liked that song, so I appreciate this on some level, but no one remembers it.
— Ok, so the premise is they’re carolers who sing rap songs, and also the rap songs have had their lyrics changed to be about Christmas themed movies? This doesn’t even sound like the basis for a good Tweet, let alone a sketch. 
— Our next song parody is Pras’ “Ghetto Superstar”, which does feel more remembered than the City High song, at least. Too bad these lyrics are still doing nothing for me.
— Oh wait, the raps are just about Christmas now, not Christmas movies. Although we still get a throwaway mention of Home Alone, which the last song was a parody of. Not entirely sure what’s happening right now, to be honest.
— Ending with “Tha Crossroads”, a song I’d genuinely call one people remember. What a journey to get there. Once again though, the lyrics/performance do nothing for me. The joke with this one is how sloppy the performance itself gets, but at that point it just feels like what are we even doing here?
— Also, I know it’s not my job to pitch on these things, but I feel like replacing the “bone bone bone” intro with “ho ho ho” would work better than “pole pole pole”. I mean maybe the joke is meant to be how little the whole thing works, but then again I ask: what are we even doing here?
— The “I miss my Uncle Charles” part is so specific it makes me think that was just a backstage bit Kenan and Chris would do that’s been made into a sketch.
— DaBaby shows up to reveal he’s been robbing the family the whole time, a reveal that did a whole lotta nothing for me! And woof at that Robin Hood line.
— Speaking of “whole lotta nothing”, that would be a fitting subtitle for that sketch. Next. 
STARS: *

HOOPS 
(host) & (MEV) hawk large, round, golden, versatile earrings

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— Yay, a rare Melissa showcase!
— Ha, these women’s names being “Gino’s Girlfriend” and “Her Cousin” are good ways of identifying their values.  
— As is typical for Drezgate affairs, lot of great one-liners here. Even in the initial spiel you get “made from 100% metal” and “will turn your ears the color of money”.
— Would cut out the part where they show all the words you can get inside your hoops. We just got a long list and that one had funnier details. 
— Enjoy Alex’s sleazy mob character. 
— This role isn’t exactly a stretch for Lopez, which is perhaps why this feels the most committed we’ve seen her all night. 
— Like Lopez describing babies as “very grabby people”. 
— Melissa co-wrote this with the Drezgate team, now responsible for my second above-average rating of the night. This feels typical of a lot of the two-hander, direct-to-camera sketches Kate & Aidy would do with that team around this time period. However, working with different performers here not only allows for fresher feeling central performances, it also allows Drezgate’s typically strong one-liners to pop even more since they’re not being held down by the weight of McKinnant’s indulgence.
STARS: ****½

POTTY PM
device lets (KYM) pee from bed, but female urination is a mystery

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— My proud tradition of reviewing Kyle sketches with “potty” in their title continues. 
— Kyle’s voice is already naturally funny in a TV spokesman setting.
— Pretty fun visuals showing how the PottyPM will work. 
— Great turn with Kyle awkwardly unsure how his product would work with women, and gradually revealing he’s not very sure how women work in general.
— J Lo is really selling her increasing levels of discomfort well. I’d say this pre-tape and the live sketch before this stand as some of her best work on SNL.
— The visual of the PottyPM trying and failing to find an entry way into a woman’s body is really funny. I would have cut the visual off there though, before getting into the “Filipino tube” stuff. 
— J Lo’s smiley but stilted delivery of “yea, it’s fine” is especially strong.
— This feels a bit typical for Kyle, but it was well written enough, and really elevated by the work from Kyle and especially J Lo.
STARS: ****

WISCONSIN WOMEN
wild child (CLF) battles a bear outside a Wisconsin hardware store

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— I remember absolutely hating this when it aired, but I feel like my SNL tastes have changed significantly since then and the stuff I end up hating the most now is the excessively bland stuff rather than the excessively weird, so we’ll see how I feel this time around.
— Bit of a direction mishap, as the camera awkwardly zooms in on Cecily, Kate & J Lo when Heidi is first talking at the top of the scene.
— Someone from Wisconsin or the general Midwest can attest to the strength of the ladies’ Wisconsin accents, but they don’t sound great to me.
— Hmm, about a minute in and this is doing very little for me. The audience seems to agree. There isn’t really a premise so far, other than Kate and Cecily (and J Lo) getting to be “weird”.
— Really not sure what to make of Chloe’s character.
— Chloe’s character is now getting tossed around the stage like a doll (and in fact, is literally now a doll), which feels less like a culmination of anything that happened in the sketch and more like something crazy happening because The Big Book of How To Make Air said that’s what you need at the end of a sketch.
— Another total dud tonight. That just felt like watching these 3 ladies fuck around for 3 minutes before a Chloe doll got slammed into a wall in a desperate attempt to make it seem like any of this had a point.
STARS: *

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Suge”

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— Blue: This track sounds more exciting than the one from the first performance.
— Already I’m thinking “why not sing the pre-recorded vocals?” but the vocals that DaBaby isn’t covering sound live… hm…
— Ahh, and now DaBaby’s hype man has appeared to show that he’s the one doing the vocals.
— Watching two of the Jabbawockeez mess around with the dude behind DaBaby while he’s rapping, is proving to be 1. Very distracting and 2. More entertaining than DaBaby’s rapping.
— Really, they had to bring the twerking hand-stander back only for DaBaby to do the EXACT SAME clapping gestures around her?
— It looks like DaBaby might be having trouble getting his headset mic to stay on.
— I like the dance-off that’s now occurring to the side of the stage. Looks like a bunch of friends hanging out..
— As for the song: forgettable. At least the dancing was slightly entertaining, although not as much as in the first performance.
STARS: *

BARRY’S BOOTCAMP
hyper (BOY), (host), (CES), (BEB), (HEG) try out to be boot camp trainers

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— Interesting to see this brought back so soon after the Harbour episode. Considering, however, that these are co-written by Bowen, it makes sense he’d want to capitalize on something from his first set of episodes that did so well.
— There’s also another connection here to the Harbour sketch, as his SoulCycle instructor there mentions he was cut out of Hustlers. 
— These are one of those line-arama sketches that I could never describe in glowing terms but are always a chance for some memorable quotes and performances.
— Bowen makes an OJ joke, surely making Norm proud. 
— I like J Lo’s “obstacles” she had to overcome just being that she was once a baby.
— Ego is playing them well, but not sure if I need these asides with her being disgusted with Mikey’s character. It seems like yet another case of modern SNL trying to cram jokes into every corner of a sketch, which always just makes them seem less confident in their core idea. 
— Apparently Mikey had the role opposite Ego in the first installment of this, but it went to Alex when he lost his voice. Considering Alex and Ego’s chemistry I’d have kept him in this installment over Mikey. 
— Cecily’s performance here is another case of “this is fine, but I’ve seen you do it so many times”. Same for Beck. 
— Lame dyslexia joke.
— I do kinda like Heidi as a woman fully ok with her lack of agency. 
— Bowen’s fun here, but nowhere is he stealing the scene for me like he did with “gay racism” rant last time.
— Just like last time I didn’t really care for the ending. 
STARS: ***

GOODNIGHTS

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— DaBaby being such a goober here would be appreciated if he wasn’t such a genuine goober. 

IMMEDIATE POST SHOW THOUGHTS
— While not without its highlights, this was a week that found the show mostly spinning its wheels and delivering a series of sketches that looked a whole lot like a bunch of other sketches we’ve gotten over the years. While that isn’t inherently a bad thing (the beats of The Corporal and PottyPM both felt familiar to their leads and managed to make things work), so much of the material tonight just ended up feeling warmed over and tired (think of how often I used a variation on the phrase “we’ve seen this before”). Don’t be fooled by the rocks that it got, this is the same SNL from the block (that block being Rockefeller Plaza).

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Corporal 
Hoops
PottyPM
Weekend Update
Barry’s Bootcamp
Surprise Home Makeover
Them Trumps
Monologue 
NATO Cafeteria 
Chad & JLO
Wisconsin Women
Hip Hop Carolers 

TOMORROW
From J Lo to ScarJo, as Vax Novier covers what I’d consider Scarlett Johansson’s best episode (not that it had much competition).

November 23, 2019 – Will Ferrell / King Princess (S45 E7)

by Anthony (& John)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally slated to be written by John. However, after a high stakes Parcheesi match didn’t go his way, John ceded the review rights for this episode to Anthony. Anthony will now review/rate the episode, with some input from John still included. Are we experimenting with collaborative reviews? Or will we never do anything like this again? Only time will tell…

IMPEACHMENT PRESS CONFERENCE
Gordon Sondland (WIF) doesn’t aid Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) exoneration

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— Yayy, Trumpwin! Boy I sure hope Alec makes that silly “O” face (that the real Trump never even really does).
— Trump just said he wants “no quid pro quo, bro”, which feels like a real “Yoko’s loco about my cocoa” kind of joke. 
— One of these extras keeps flashing a notepad with the phrase “Live Like a Lost Boy” written on it (fourth screencap above). This apparently turned out to be some kind of guerrilla marketing stunt to promote his clothing company, which is both extremely douchey and kinda admirable in its boldness. Either way, I’m sure Lorne was thrilled. 
— By the way, the way that dude is milking his reactions is way more annoying to me than him trying to promote his business in a somewhat sketchy fashion. 
— I think their intention is for Trump’s antsiness and eagerness to leave to be more of an anchoring joke here, because they keep going back to it, but there’s really not enough escalation to it if that’s the case. He just keeps repeating that he’s really gotta leave, and that’s all we get.
— Will walks out to big applause and immediate botched cues, as Baldwin seems to skip ahead a couple lines, causing Will to just sort of awkwardly stand there while Baldwin breaks character and fumbles for the right line. Then, when Baldwin does finally say his original intended line (“Oh, it’s you, Ambassador Sondland”) he gets stepped over by both Will and Heidi, both probably unsure of what to do and trying to just move ahead with the scene. It’s an incredibly awkward moment that also leaves those in the audience who weren’t sharp enough listeners to pick out Baldwin’s line over the two other ones simultaneously going on clueless as to who Will is supposed to be. Now, is this another case of modern SNL’s poor direction/card placement, is it a byproduct of these cold opens often being written the day of air without much time for rehearsal, or is it just another indication of how little dedication Baldwin has to the role at this point? Why, dear reader, would you be shocked to find out it’s all three? (Maybe I’m being too hard on Baldwin. I’m a real rude, thoughtless little pig that way.)
— Will’s inclusion in the sketch is also unfortunate, because you hope he’s going to breathe some life into this thing and instead he spits a couple nothingball lines about how there was in fact a quid pro quo and the sketch is over. 
— This was mercifully short (less than 4 minutes) which acts as both a positive and negative. On the one hand, yes, I’m glad this didn’t drag on as long as some of these opens do, but “hey, this could sucked for twice as long as it does!” is also such a lame thing to give a piece points for. And while I don’t necessarily want more of this trash, it does have to be acknowledged just how ridiculously undercooked this piece is. It never gets anywhere substantial and really just feels like pure time filler, and yet it’s what’s placed up top. I know I can be pretty negative about these opens, but this is the stuff they’re giving us to kick things off and set a mood for the show and it’s always such weak sauce shit. 
— This is also one of those pieces that never gets past feeling like it was only written out of obligation, like the show “had to” cover this huge news story despite having nothing of note to say about it. We get no new insights into Trump’s behavior during this time that social media wasn’t already all over and there’s no real skewering of the media or the rest of the government’s reaction to the impeachment, so what are we doing here? As per usual, it basically amounts to watching Baldwin make silly faces and doing that dumb voice that sounds more like he’s imitating a coworker he hates than Trump while delivering lines you won’t remember tomorrow, except for maybe one or two particularly egregious ones. And if that still does it for you, God bless ya. But boy howdy am I done with it.
— John: I can’t even comment on the quality of this cold open (as these brilliant comments above already do so well) because I was, and am, genuinely befuddled by what happened. I can’t imagine they intended a 4-5 minute cold open, given their modern track record. Was the debate sketch meant to be the cold open? Did someone just… collapse and have to be rushed away in the final stages of this being put together?  What the hell was going on? Where are the oral histories when we need them? 
STARS: *

MONOLOGUE
WIF is flattered & flustered by Ryan Reynolds’ [real] presence; TRM cameo

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— In lieu of any Five Timers Club members (or even references to this being Will’s fifth time hosting, which honestly I’m fine with—the Five Timers stuff can be fun but I also don’t need it to be a whole thing that someone’s been there 5 times) we get a Ryan Reynolds cameo to center this monologue around. I don’t believe Reynolds and Ferrell had worked together on anything up to this point, so his presence feels kind of random here. It’s not like he has much of a connection to SNL either, having only hosted once in 2009. I wonder if he was already in the building (for something we’ll get to in a bit), and, in typical SNL fashion, they wrangled him into this monologue last minute because they didn’t have anything else. Which I guess would make sense on a normal week, but really guys? You have nothing else—for Will Ferrell??
— Will’s at least playing his nervous schoolgirl crush reaction well, as he typically does in that kind of earnest childlike role. I got a big kick out of his giddy little laugh when learning Blake Lively is a fan of his, as well as him starting to speak in a little British accent afterwards and going “well, that’s not too shabby.”
— Also enjoyed Will staring down and eventually straight up pointing at Ryan after a joke.
— “Will, just do the monologue!” “The monologue is terrible.”
— Tracy Morgan! Making his second consecutive appearance in a Ferrell hosted episode! This feels like a cameo that makes more sense for Will than Reynolds at least.
— Tracy gets a couple distinctly odd Tracy lines (and calls Will “Pharrell”), so I can’t complain about his appearance, even if it does feel too brief.
— I don’t know. This felt pretty cobbled together and hollow, but it also had Tracy talking about suckling from Will’s bosom. Half marks.
— John:  I know some people who had a viscerally negative reaction to this monologue, which I get, but Will Ferrell saying “The PROPHECY” in Tracy’s voice has been stuck in my head ever since this aired. It’s probably my favorite Tracy cameo of recent years. 
STARS: **½

HEINZ
Heinz Relax Ketchup bottle emits orgasmic sighs instead of fart noises

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— Here’s a fun, silly little pre tape that’s rightfully popped up in recent Thanksgiving specials.
— Ferrell’s stone-faced, distraught reaction to his family thinking he farted is hilarious.
— The gag of a ketchup bottle making pornographic noises is so dumb, and I mean that purely as a compliment. 
— As per usual with these modern fake ads they break the reality of the ad more than I’d like, but this gets in and gets out with its joke so quick that I have no real complaints.
— Not entirely sure how to feel about Kyle’s teenage boy character wanting to sneak off with the ketchup to masturbate, though.
— With the exception of a disappointing return for MacGruber, this is, to date, the last pre tape we’ve gotten directly after the monologue before commercial break. It’s definitely an aspect of the show I’ve missed these last few seasons.
— John: I love this. A hilariously stupid idea, executed properly, terrific voiceover work from Cecily, and, amazingly, not padded and padded the way many pre-tapes now are. I have watched it probably a dozen times and could probably watch a dozen more. Aidy’s reaction to Kyle wanting to go to his room with the ketchup bottle makes me laugh every time—perfect performances from both of them. At the time I saw more focus on how people don’t use ketchup at Thanksgiving than I did on the comedic material, because I guess the show where space aliens claim to be from France and have giant cones on their heads is known for its realism. Anyway, this is one of my favorite pre-tapes of modern SNL, and a great example of Will’s talents used right.
STARS: ****½ 

2020 DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
Democratic debaters include Amy Klobuchar (RAD) & Michael Bloomberg (FRA)

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— Yayy, a debate sketch. I feel like this was likely the original cold open before the impeachment became the big story of the week. That means we get the gift of basically having two cold opens. Again: yayyyy.
— Kate’s Warren describing herself as having “mom hosting Thanksgiving energy” is kinda funny, though it still feels like they aren’t sure what to do with that impression, as evident by that “maize” half joke.
— I already thought “funt” was a dumb joke, and Maya’s Kamala straight up spelling out the gag by almost calling herself the c-word definitely didn’t sway me towards it.
— Maya gets some painful material to work with in this sketch, as Kamala’s supposed desire to go viral has her reenacting a bunch of dumb internet memes. I get that these things can be funny online, and maybe at the ripe old age of 24 I’m just a fuddy duddy who doesn’t ‘get it’, but this is just Epic Movie level parody. There’s no joke other than “OMG, she’s doing the ‘ermahgerd gersberms’ meme!! I recognize that!” Not to mention how embarrassing it looks on the show’s part to engage in this sort of desperate clickbaiting under the thin guise of mocking Kamala. To reference another meme, this is the show in pure “how do you do, fellow kids” mode.
— Now Larry’s Bernie comes in, with a reference so dumb (talking about how he had a “heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack”) I have to smile. Am curious in the venn diagram of how many people got that Billy Joel reference and how many know all the memes Maya’s Kamala’s referencing (though I guess I’m that circle).
— Woody Harrelson returns as Biden. It’s an okay impression, certainly a fine enough one for when he was a host, but not one I’d call strong enough to bring it back in someone else’s episode. This would be the last time we’d see Woody’s Biden, though don’t go thinking we’re finding a permanent face for that role anytime soon.
— Chris has fun energy as Cory Booker, though, like everyone else here, he isn’t given much to work with (also he stumbles over one of his only lines pretty badly).
— Now Biden is telling us the plot to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. I don’t know that I have a comment for that, I just wanted to let you know what’s happening in this debate sketch. 
— Biden referring to weed as “sticky icky kush” got a big eye roll out of me. I tend to not like those jokes that basically amount to “LMAO that person doesn’t talk like that!”
— Oh hey, my first time getting to review Bowen! I usually love his energy, but he feels a little too Bowen Yang and not enough Andrew Yang here.
— Will’s got a fun guarded, skittish energy as Tom Steyer, a man who apparently at one point existed.
— Fred pops up as Bloomberg here. Despite him being such a love-him-or-hate-him cast member, I’ve always been pretty in the middle on Fred, but it’s definitely hard to get excited for him when he only just cameoed 3 episodes back in the wretched Trump rally open from the Chance episode, doing his stock Middle Eastern voice. I’ll take Bloomberg over that, but again: hard to get too excited. 
— I liked David’s Sanders’ little aside about the extra button in a little baggy that comes with some pants. 
— These meme segments are seriously hard to watch (“cringe”, as the kids might say). They really love to saddle Maya with some of the lamest material they can muster when she’s Kamala.
— Continuing what I said earlier about them not having much of a take on Warren, they’re really pushing the “black people will never vote for Mayor Pete” narrative, but didn’t she have just as much trouble with getting African American votes? 
— Some of these impressions I haven’t mentioned, like Cecily’s Tulsi Gabbard or Rachel Dratch’s Klobuchar. They’re fine.
— Kate’s Warren just referred to November as “cuffing season”. Haha, she doesn’t talk like that!
— Bit of a mess of a debate sketch (I know, what’s new?) While some of the individual performances remained fun, this one provided very little in the way of memorable lines or (as if I should even ask for this at this point) biting material. Not to mention the Kamala bits, which were just straight up embarrassing. 
— John: This is the only chance this season I’ll have to say this, so I’m going to say it: by the time they had the COVID shutdown, I no longer had any idea whether Rachel Dratch or Pete Davidson had appeared in more episodes this season. I am guessing it’s Pete, even if several of his episodes just amounted to walk-on roles…but I’m just going to count Rachel as an honorary cast member anyway. (Seriously, I was happy to see Rachel, even if the material they gave her this season was never up to much…same as it ever was for Rachel, sadly.)
STARS: **

FIRST THANKSGIVING
on Thanksgiving, Pocahontas’ (MEV) grandfather (WIF) lambastes immigrants

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— Oh man, they really front loaded this ep with its most frustrating material. I remember finding this sketch to be a total mess when I first watched it, but as always I’ll try and go in with an open mind.
— This sketch is walking a bit of a tight rope conceptually, and I don’t think it’s doing it very gracefully. Ostensibly the joke is that we’re taking the way racist white people talk about immigrants and mapping it to how the Native Americans would talk about Pilgrims. So, I do see the intention of “haha, see, these very people were once the persecuted immigrants themselves!” But if we keep mapping this out, doesn’t it suggest the fears of the people it’s mocking are correct, and they are going to be wiped out and replaced? And I’m not even trying to hold that against the show in a “oh, how irresponsible of them” kind of way, but it does mean that the central metaphor this piece is going for is inherently flawed. 
— To my previous point, if the sketch was going for a more mean-spirited “haha, see, you will be replaced!” tone (all satirical sketch premises for me start with the phrase “haha, see”, e.g. “haha, see, Ford is dumb!”) I could see this working better, though even then the Richard Pryor episode already did a perfect version of that 50 years ago.
— We get a random moment where it’s revealed Beck’s character is a pedophile and then everyone just kind of moves on. It got some shock laughs from the crowd, but I don’t know, it felt kind of out of nowhere and cheap.
— Will’s character gets his news from a fox. God, this is such thin mapping why not just have the fox’s name be Tucker? 
— Oh, I guess I should mention Fred and Maya are in this. Just shows the level of excitement they drum up at this point that I forgot until now. 
— Again, I have to point out how off the joke feels when Will’s racist stand in character is correct about all the stuff he’s worried about.
— Now Beck and the family are getting along after bonding over poop. That’s a sentence this sketch just made me type.
— As if this wasn’t enough of a mess, we now get Will delivering some sort of on-air apology for the sketch we just watched. I did like the line “white actors playing Native Americans? What is this, 2014?” (apparently Fred and Maya’s roles were originally played by white cast members in dress rehearsal, which would have made this line make more sense—though if anything making sense in this sketch might have just made it stand out more) but this both feels tonally confused and a classic example of SNL wanting to have their cake and eat it too. It’s just a baffling note to end the sketch on, truthfully.
— Both this and the cold open were written by Che (this one co-written with Bryan Tucker and Pete Schultz). I love him behind the desk but as a sketch writer, especially when penning political pieces like tonight, he often turns in stuff that’s either lazy like that open or incomprehensible like this sketch. This one in particular I really doubt would have made the show, especially slotted so early, if it wasn’t written by a head writer (having roles for two well-liked alums obviously doesn’t hurt either). It’s really not the best sign when my two lowest-rated pieces of the night were the work of one of the guys in charge. In fact, Kent Sublette, another head writer, co-wrote the Debate sketch, my next lowest of the night. Way to lead by example, guys. 
STARS: * 

PARTY SONG
teacher’s (WIF) presence at their house party fazes teens (MID) & (CES)

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— Can’t say Cecily sounds super natural saying stuff like “hella lit” and “big ass blunt”.
— A funny reveal of Will’s English teacher attending this high school party.
— I like that they avoid the obvious joke of Will being a creep and instead have him doing innocuous stuff like watching The Shawshank Redemption. 
— Not that I need the melodies on my SNL joke songs to blow me away, but it should be pointed out how nothing this song is musically. 
— There’s a slightly dark, uneasy tone to this I appreciate, though they don’t dig in on it quite enough. Stuff like the long gap where the beat plays in the background while Ferrell downs a beer is pretty effective, and I’d like to see a couple more moments like that in here.
— While this didn’t keel me over with laughter, it was an interesting character piece for Ferrell and had an admirably uncomfortable and dramatic tone at times. 
— John: I really like this pre-tape. So many pieces work for me—the (intended or not) unreality of Cecily and Mikey as teenagers, Mikey and Cecily slowly letting obsessing over their teacher’s behavior take over their party mood (and not in the leaden Mikey explains/recaps way), the mind-numbing beat and nasally vocal performance that match how hollowed out Will’s character is, and most of all, Will’s absolutely fabulous performance, which relies so much on just his expressions. The part where he breaks up the detailed rhyme scheme that built through the whole song because he is too broken to be bothered is wonderful. Heidi also does strong work as one of the many, many harried wives she plays in pre-tapes. (was this the first?) There’s absolutely nothing new for pre-tapes on men having midlife crises (I think Beck alone played about 4 or 5…), but there’s a real care in the inescapable hellishness of this one that always stays with me. There’s a certain commitment to the theme in the best season 45 pre-tapes that I miss.
STARS: ***½

PIZZA AD
emotional parents (WIF) & (KAM) derail a pizza parlor commercial shoot

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— Let’s see if I enjoy this “Kate and Will attempt to shoot a local commercial and it goes poorly” sketch more than the one they did in his last episode. 
— I get that Kate’s “horny dance” bit is meant to be awkward and lame, but it still didn’t work for me. Kate’s little passive-aggressive routine after being shut down however does work for me and feels more true to life. 
— For the most part I’m over this type of exasperated straight man role for Mikey, but for whatever reason it’s working for me here. 
— Will’s dad basically having no idea how to interact with the kids without the mom around is another funny and true-to-life bit, though the Bobby bit from the Mother’s Day Game Show sketch from Charlize Theron’s Season 39 episode covered that idea more succinctly and funnier (though I did laugh pretty hard at Will demanding “son, fight me!”). 
— Oh I guess they’re taking this a step farther and having the idea be that Will can’t even function in any capacity without Kate, not just in interacting with the kids. That’s a slightly different and interesting angle. This piece was originally written for the preceding week’s Harry Styles’ episode, and rewritten this week with a father role added for Will. I’m glad this had to wait that extra week; not only does the father role really add to the sketch, it’s a great role for Will. 
— “I hired a prostitute to show me how the oven works.”
— Eh, after somewhat praising Mikey earlier his lines are starting to get into that “explaining the joke” territory with him I really don’t care for.
— Pretty funny bit with Will and Kate both having going into full on emotional breakdown mode.
— Despite some misgivings, this was a solid piece, and a huge improvement over the last Ferrell/McKinnon commercial piece. 
— John: For some reason, Will and Kate work well together for me in a way that Kate often does not with other hosts (or even cast members). I think it is because Will is so sure of his own comic instincts that she can’t really overwhelm him. They’re a great match here. I also want to say that Heidi always feels like Bailey Gismert to me in this, and kudos to Kyle for getting to wear both of his teenager wigs in this episode. Oh, and they sort of remake this sketch (or Kate’s mother part, anyway) in the Daniel Kaluuya episode, which doesn’t really work for me. 
STARS: ***½ 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “1950”

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— Anthony: I was going to comment on this being the last time SNL spotlighted an under the radar artist, but then I looked them up on Spotify and this song literally has about half a billion streams, so I’m just a dummy who missed it somehow. 
— Out of curiosity, I did some digging to see who the last musical guest was with less than a million monthly Spotify listeners. Since Season 40 there’s only been two: Margo Price in Season 41 and David Byrne later this season (which sounds crazy, but then you remember all his most notable stuff was with Talking Heads. Still, if you’d like to raise those numbers, check out this song, which was one of my top 10 most played last year.) Anyway, dig deeper for your guests, SNL! 
— Blue: I 100% concur with the above. Dig deeper, SNL… and stream Love This Giant.
— That being said… I’ve never heard of King Princess, and they are in no way what I expected. 
— Sounds like the lead vocals are mixed too low.
— King Princess’ guitar tone sounds great.
— Not crazy about all the effects-heavy backing vocals doubling King Princess on the pre-chorus and chorus.
— Also not crazy about the laid-back feel of this song. I feel like it needs a little more energy.
— Aw yeah, the final chorus made everything worth it, with the second guitarist’s heavy tone coming in under the vocals.
— Kind of wish King Princess’ vocals on the last chorus were even raspier and harsher.
— Whoa, King Princess is rocking the solo! Where was all that energy before?
— I would have found this performance more exciting if they’d stripped some of the pop elements from this song and leaned into the rockier aspects that they brought out towards the end. 
STARS: ***

WEEKEND UPDATE
Guy Who Just Bought A Boat & frat brother (Ryan Reynolds) ply dating tips

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— Audience gives an applause break for a “Pence is gay” joke, because SNL/late night in general has conditioned them to believe this is the height of comedy.
— Funny line from Che about lying to the police and saying he’s Kenan.
— Che’s stop and frisk material was fine, though I’d have expected something a bit more biting coming from him. In general the Update jokes tonight have seemed a little soft.
— Guy Who Just Bought a Boat! This has never been my favorite character, but it’s always nice to see more Alex on the show, and this role allows him to show off his Aykroyd-style ability to rapidly rattle off tongue twisting dialogue. 
— Yea, the usual takeaway so far for this character with me: I’m impressed with Alex’s delivery, more mixed on the dirty wordplay, and rolling my eyes at all the tiny penis jokes. 
— We get a change of pace here with Ryan Reynolds coming in as Guy Who Knows the Owner. Reynolds has a smarmy yet affable presence so I can see why they paired him with this character. 
— I like Alex’s enthusiastic “ha ha, yes!” when Reynolds comes out and immediately does a dirty play on words.
— Reynolds is doing fine here, though he can’t spit out the one-liners as quick-fire as Alex, which makes them lose their bite a bit. Also they lean into the tiny penis stuff even harder than usual with him, though I will admit to enjoying his description of it as a “skin Slinky”. 
— The M&M’s joke was okay, though I didn’t need the Arby’s tag. 
— They probably go to the “Jost is out of touch and possibly racist” well a little too much, but damn if I don’t giggle almost every time, as I did with tonight’s joke about him debuting “ultra black material” at the Apollo. 
— Jost and Che both seem aware that Vagina Museum joke was a pretty weak one to end things on. 
— A decent, if unremarkable Update. Some solid lines but outside of Reynolds popping up I doubt I’ll remember anything from this tomorrow even.
STARS: ***

CINEMA CLASSICS: THE WIZARD OF OZ
Munchkin muses bristle in Wizard Of Oz outtake

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— Ah, Cinema Classics. I don’t usually love these but they do tend to be one of the more reliable Anderlette pieces, for whatever that’s worth.
— As always Kenan is making the Reese De’WHAT scenes funny through sheer will of performance.
— A funny and kind of cute reveal of Will and several other cast members as the little people who inspired the Munchkins. 
— This has some decent lines, but this doesn’t feel like it’s getting mean enough to leave much of a mark. It feels like one of those sketches that struggles to justify its existence past the initial reveal. There’s just a second gear it never really finds, though it’s pleasant enough. I’ve certainly seen worse Wizard of Oz material on SNL, at least (thinks of Sarah Jessica Parker, shudders in horror). 
— Pretty abrupt, weak ending (yea yea, I know, what else is new?).
— John: Kate’s usual mannered performance-style is a logical fit for Judy Garland, and she again works very well with Will, without whom lines like, “I wish that tornado had killed you!” wouldn’t have clicked (the way he says, “To make you laugh?” is also a highlight). The premise is very obvious, but that’s basically the case for all Wizard of Oz sketches. The reactions from Will, Bowen and Kyle when they realize she dreamt of them being Munchkins sell the sketch; the shoulder shimmies right after are the epitome of guilty laughs. I like Bowen’s reaction when Kate says the Munchkins were a “noble race.” Kyle’s work is strong throughout. And Chloe is, for once, well-cast. This is one of my favorite Cinema Classics sketches, a series that, outside of the wonderful Kenan intros, often feels like it should be better than it is. This one, even if it flabs a bit and needs a slightly stronger ending, is among the handful that don’t just rest on a vaguely interesting premise and a lot of vamping.
STARS: *** 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hit The Back”

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— Blue: Enjoying King Princess’ smooth vocal tone at the start of the song.
— Very cool synth sounds on the first verse.
— There’s that vocal raspiness that I wish King Princess had utilized more in the first song!
— Sudden shift into a dance beat! Yes!
— The pre-recorded voice bits, which sound like people chattering throughout the performance, are very distracting to me.
— Oof, there’s a few lower notes on the second verse that King Princess failed to hit.
— I like how natural King Princess’ dancing appears to be. Reminds me of Maggie Rogers from the previous season. There’s no choreography here, just a young person having fun onstage.
— As with the first song, I find the backing vocals unnecessary. In fact, they might take away from the song. 
— I love the surprise tag at the end! Especially the second guitarist’s part.
STARS: ****

VENTRILOQUIST
ventriloquist’s (WIF) dummy claims their relationship is nonconsensual

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— Pretty funny twist to have the old gag of a puppet complaining about its ventriloquist’s hand being up its back and taking it to its logical darkest conclusion. I mean, centering a sketch around, to put it delicately, nonconsenual anal puppet fisting (put as delicately as I know how) is certainly a big swing, but so much of tonight has been a whiff why not take it? 
— They could be doing more with this past the initial reveal, but Will’s performance is fun at least. 
— The scenes with Cecily and Kenan as particularly concerned audience members feel pretty superfluous to me in the way these audience bits usually do. I really think this would have worked better, and played more into the awkwardness they’re trying to mine, if it was just a solo piece from Will. 
— Alright, Kenan screaming “get your hand out the little man’s butt!” in a particularly Kenan-y voice made me smile. And I’ll give Cecily credit that she’s committed here as well. Plus they’re actually interacting with Will at least a little, so these don’t feel quite as expendable as a lot of these audience cutaway scenes do, but I still think a solo piece would have been the better and more interesting way to go. 
— The pained screams Will makes as he shoves his (lubed up!) hand back in the puppet are funny in a “I guess I’m still 12” way. 
— The song at the end felt like it should have gone on longer.
— I don’t love sketches ending in reveals they were ads the whole time, but the idea of there being a “People for the Equal Treatment of Puppets” is funny.
— This is one a lot of people really didn’t care for, and I can totally see someone being put off by a sketch where the joke is basically “puppet molestation”. But this one surprisingly works for me. It’s not a classic or anything, but I got some solid laughs out of this. Though it did feel like it could have leaned harder into either the awkwardness or the chaos, since it instead landed somewhere in between. Still, a somewhat guilty passing grade.
— John: Of all Will’s various hosting stints, this sketch is very much in Will’s wheelhouse from his last 3-4 years in the cast, where some of what he is playing is legitimately horrible but he twists it into very dark comedy (I believe it was penned by Dennis McNicholas, one of the writers of that era, which helps). The way he switches from his normal ventriloquist voice to the wailing puppet (wringing laughs out of “my insides are pulp” is not an easy task), the puppet accusing the audience of being “complicit,” the closing joke with the lube, Cecily’s appalled reaction (I think she was trying not to break, but it works, somehow). Not a perfect sketch by any means, but pure Will Ferrell, and a strong way to wind down the night. 
STARS: ***½ 

GOODNIGHTS

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CUT FOR TIME: DATE IN MEXICO
(WIF) becomes an emotional wreck when his girlfriend dumps him

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— Good unnerving energy from Will here. 
— Some solid lines and work from Will in the opening part of this but it takes us over 2 minutes to get the initial reveal of him being dumped, which feels like a lot of padding before the meat of the sketch.
— YouTube comments are telling me this is based on something from 90 Day Fiance, though I refuse to look into it and see what that could be.
— Something about Melissa’s performance feels kind of off here. Maybe she’d have corrected it by the time she got to the live show, but she feels weirdly subdued here.
— Speaking of performances that I hope would have tightened up by air time, lot of breaking from Cecily here.
— Will housing down lobster chunks by hand is pretty funny.
— This does seem to be having trouble nailing down its goal beyond “Will acting weird in front of Cecily and Chris”. It’s got enough solid gags that it stays watchable, but it never feels like we’ve truly locked into something. Another piece from this episode that feels like it needed to kick into a second gear it never found. 
— Heidi and Alex are fun in their little bit over the phone as Will’s would-be Moldavian lover and her actual lover (who Will assumes to be her brother). 
— Decent if somewhat predictable ending.
STARS: **½ 

CUT FOR TIME: JEANS COMMERCIAL
ad for fun and flirty new style of jeans for men

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— Written by Alex with Will Stephen.
— A fairly whatever reveal of the men’s jeans being cut to show off some cheek meat. This doesn’t do much beyond give us a few quick beats of its one joke, but it also gets in and out quick enough to get too mad at, disposable as it may be.
— I do also like that we’re avoiding the easy jokes of women being disgusted by the jeans or the guys being overt creeps. That helps this go down easier.
STARS: **½

CUT FOR TIME: CAST LIST
a group of drama students (BEB, HEG, AIB, MID, ALM, CES, KYM, BOY) eagerly await their drama teacher (WIF)’s cast list for a show

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— A Seiday sketch. They seem to go out of their way to write ensemble pieces, which is always something I appreciate, especially with a cast as oversized as this one. 
— Lots of laughs from the level of satisfaction Will derives from withholding the cast list from his group of wannabe thespians. Especially enjoy the absurdity of him watching them from behind the drama masks on his door.
— That door bit got an especially solid reaction from the crowd, which begs the question: why exactly did this get cut? Not only is it a strong enough piece on its own right that it deserved to be on the live show on any week, but it appeared on a night where so much of what made it to air was sub par, so its lack of inclusion is truly baffling.
— I do think Mikey is a tad restrained for what’s supposed to be such a flamboyant role. This is one of those roles that would have been played by Taran a few seasons back, which would have been a blessing, since he would have committed more, and a curse, since he would have committed hard to some choices you maybe shouldn’t commit hard to. 
— Everyone else is doing great work here. This cast’s theater kid energy has been noted many times, so of course they’re going to crush a piece like this. 
— Not sure we needed the bit with Will telling Cecily and Beck to “bang each other’s brains out.” 
— Hilarious work from Bowen as he’s consigned to a bit part against his wishes.
— Ferrell’s having a lot of fun holding the students off as he brings out the cast list.
— Kenan and Kate popping in for some very Kenan and Kate roles. Not sure Kate was needed, but Kenan’s simple “I’m sorry” to Heidi was a great moment. 
— A very fun, funny, lived-in piece. There’s a couple moments I would have shaved off, but otherwise this was pretty much perfect. 
— John: Probably one of the most well-received cut-for-time pieces, and deservedly so. There is something of a full-circle moment here due to the character Will is playing; Phil Hartman played a very similar character in his two hosting stints, sketches that both included Will. 
STARS: ***** 

CUT FOR TIME: HARRY STYLES SKETCH
teenage girls (AIB, CES, KAM) fawn over hot English transfer student Harry Styles (WIF)

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— Both this and Date In Mexico had writing input from Jost (with this one being co-written with lil baby Dismukes!), which makes their exclusion from the live show interesting.
— Too long opening text crawl.
— A fun concept of Will taking over a role meant for Harry Styles the previous week.
— Some obvious jokes about Ferrell playing a dreamboat character, but he and the girls are both giving fun performances.
— Kate, when learning Ferrell’s character is 17: “which means he’s legal, jackpot.” Hmm, okay, sketch.
— Lol at Ferrell dicking around with an ice cream cone.
— Kate now just made a comment about how Gwenyth Paltrow must have a website in her pants, because of all the goop in there. She also said earlier “clean up on aisle me”. So, yea…. not loving a lot of Kate’s dialogue in this one.
— Ferrell, describing his tattoos: “this one’s a dolphin, which is a friendly shark.”
— Aidy just got a forced horny joke as well, but she can at least sell that type of thing more than Kate.
— Another dress sketch with some very loose performances in terms of breaking.
— A fun piece overall, even if the writing wasn’t the sharpest in the world.
— John: This was the last of the Ferrell CFT pieces to be uploaded onto Youtube, and is no longer available there. Given how well-received Harry Styles was as a host not long before this, a part of me wonders if this went up just for that reason (even if it didn’t make the live airing). It’s a very goofy piece that I can’t see ever making it out of dress, but some of the absurdity of Dismukes is well-channeled in Will’s performance, and his wispy, deliberately bad attempt at Harry’s accent is funny in of itself. At the time, getting all of the sketches and pre-tapes cut from this episode, released in staggered form, felt like an apology for the live episode not getting the best reaction—something similar happens with the Will Forte episode, where several pieces are released over a week after the original airing.
STARS: ***

IMMEDIATE POST SHOW THOUGHTS
— Another pretty weak Ferrell outing. I appreciate the emphasis on original ideas over taking a nostalgia trip his last 2 efforts have gone for (in fact tonight was Ferrell’s first time as host where he brought back none of his recurring characters or impressions from his tenure) but more often than not those “original ideas” ended up feeling like warmed-over retreads of things we’ve already gotten or stuff that just isn’t very fully formed. 
— This was an especially frustrating episode considering how much stronger a lot of the available cut material was than a lot of what made it into the proper show, especially the three unfunny political pieces. It’s the type of move that doesn’t just hurt the episode but your overall faith in the team making decisions for the show. After all, how many “Cast List”s have we lost in favor of a “First Thanksgiving”?
— John: Modern SNL is crippled by running order failures, and this episode is one of the strongest examples of those failures. I remember comments about how much better this episode was in dress, and that would not surprise me. With that said, as someone who is not a huge devotee of any of Will’s hosting episodes (I have not seen his 2012 episode yet, and am not in a huge rush to do so), this is the one I enjoy most. Once we get past the generally terrible first three live sketches, we enter into a lot of good-to-very-good material that allows Will to feel at home and taps into his unique comic talents. The lack of five-timers material and recurring material was also a good thing for me. Too bad about that first half… 

RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
(CFT: Cast List)
Heinz
Party Song
Pizza Ad
Ventriloquist
Weekend Update
(CFT: Harry Styles Sketch)
Cinema Classics: The Wizard of Oz
(CFT: Date In Mexico)
Monologue
(CFT: Jeans Commercial)
2020 Democratic Debate
First Thanksgiving
Impeachment Press Conference 

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

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Want more Will Ferrell content? Check out our breakdown of his Best Of special here.

TOMORROW
In an example of totally-not-wonky scheduling, I’m back again! Join me in looking at Jennifer Lopez’s third hosting stint.

November 16, 2019 – Harry Styles (S45 E6)

by Kabir

DAYS OF OUR IMPEACHMENT
soap opera has Bill Taylor (Jon Hamm) & others

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— Wonderful to hear Steve Higgins’ mock-serious voiceover to start this off.
— And we get “Days of Our Impeachment”?  Is this a leftover sketch from Sonny & Cher? And yes, I’m aware that I’m mocking a dated reference with a different dated reference.
— Okay, some decent lines from the players, though the audience is giving only polite chuckles.
— Jon Hamm, where have you been? He fits into SNL magnificently. I wish he was more involved and we had less Robert De Niro cameos.
— Mikey is doing well as Jim Jordan.
— Man, this is surreal… but also kind of spot-on to reality.
— Nice fainting from Heidi. So broad and silly, which is perfect here.
— This has become blah. Like they simply took a bullet point of facts and tried writing dialogue around it.
— Decent lines regarding “not so fast,” but the audience is silent.
— Good Lord, some bad camera switches on top of the disjointed dialogue.
— Pete bringing a tiny bit of energy, killed immediately by the constant unsurprising revelations about President Trump’s affair.
— Even the attempt at absurdity with Kenan playing Myles Garrett isn’t getting any laughs.
STARS: *½

MONOLOGUE
host talks about life as a solo artist while pretending to play the piano

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— Nice energy from Harry Styles.
— The way he says “hosting for the first time” is almost as though he expects to become a regular. Yet he hasn’t appeared on the show since this episode.
— Nothing can top Zach Galifianakis’ 2010 monologue, which this feels very similar to, but Styles is doing well.
— Nice jokes revolving around whether Styles is actually playing or not.
— Wow, the cocaine bit seemed like it was going to be hacky but then was pretty good.
— This was far better than I would have expected, and Styles did a great job.
STARS: ***½

POPEYE’S
intern (host) unwisely plans to try buying 15 Popeyes chicken sandwiches

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— The twist about the Popeye’s chicken sandwiches was quite good. Twenty years from now, when Stooge, Jr., is reviewing “the McKinnon years,” I’m sure this reference will be baffling. But it’s a nice time capsule moment for me (something I can’t say about the numerous other “history lessons” we’ve gotten from 2010’s SNL).
— The escalating overconfidence from Harry—combined with the increasing horror from Kenan and Ego—is really selling this.
— This felt short, though I liked the added joke at the end about the intern’s name. Still, I wanted to see him actually try to get the sandwiches, or to have a very dark ending.
STARS: ***½

JOAN
dog owner (AIB) imagines chat with anthropomorphized pooch (host)

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— Excellent production design in this.
— Aidy’s restrained performance is a side of her I feel like we don’t see enough.
— This is very sweet so far, though not saccharine, thanks to some funny lines (such as Aidy reassuring us she’s not sleeping with the dog).
— I thought this was about to end and then there’s the twist with the dog turning into Harry Styles.
— “Who said that?” “God, and his friends.”
— Aidy’s singing voice is perfect for this, too.
— What a sweet ending. I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this, too, but I felt this was very well done and just the right length.
STARS: ****½

CHILDBIRTH CLASS
In childbirth class, Icelandic (HEG) & (host) evince smooth sailing

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— I’m getting a season-20-combined-with-season 30 vibe. Not good.
— I was right: here’s basically a couple knock-offs of the Fred Armisen/Maya Rudolph Nuni characters.
— The line about the lip-synching visas was good.
— I feel like this is a showcase for Heidi, and she’s giving it a good effort, but the material is letting her down.
— This is getting desperate.
— Weak. The best parts of this were Harry briefly breaking, Ego’s various looks of annoyance, and the announcement of next week’s show following the sketch… which I mis-heard as having musical guest “King Crimson” and got super excited. (It was King Princess, by the way).
STARS: *½

JETBLUE INTERCOM
sloppy intercom use of pilots (host) & (MID) offends & alarms passengers

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— Nice use of the “pilot voice” from Mikey and especially Harry. It’s kind of a standard trope about pilots, but they’re pulling it off well.
— The joke of them leaving the intercom on is decent, but the visual cut to the cabin made it funnier.
— Ha—”a very old plane.”
— This sketch is somewhat low energy, but Bowen is stealing it. “I am an air liaison.”
— Aidy’s “not as much as me” was lame. Is this an ’80s sitcom with a sassy granny?
— This is trying to escalate, but it’s just laying there.
— Wow, a lot of this (like Kenan’s comments) are also seemingly from a lame sitcom.
— Okay, these last comments from Harry and Mikey are improving a little.
— And then it just ended. Wasted potential.
STARS: **½

THAT’S THE GAME
drug empire usurper (CRR) is unprepared to manage

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— Excellent production design for this, too.
— Wow, Kenan dropping a “goddam.” Norm Macdonald would be proud.
— Chris is selling this really well, but the joke is wearing out.
— Kenan is doing well as the straight man.  His and Chris’s performances are making the most of some thin material.
— Okay, the entire financial section was quite good.
— This teetered on the edge of being lame, but came out well.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Lights On”

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— Blue: Lovely piano intro to this song.
— Love to see a man in a glittery suit.
— I’m enjoying the reverb on the backing vocalists’ voices, and how perfectly their harmonies support Harry’s lead vocals. They’re almost showing him up…
— Very interesting melody. I wasn’t expecting each phrase on the chorus (“lights up and you know who you are”) to end on a major chord that’s out of the key.
— Love the addition of a trumpet on the bridge! Harry’s singing well here too.
— Lol @ Harry’s awkward dancing on the break.
— Well, that was a nice song but a little underwhelming for the first song of the night.
STARS: ***½

WEEKEND UPDATE
U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Sessions (KAM) grovels for Trump approval

upset milk industry exec (KYM) spreads fake news about non-dairy drinks

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— As usual, this is a history lesson, but the jokes are still pretty good.
— Che’s editorial on Trump being guilty didn’t quite land with the audience, maybe because he had such an unusual delivery—which was actually a more natural delivery than we usually see from him. Or maybe the audience of Harry Styles fans wasn’t interested.
— Che did better with the also-unusual riff on Colin’s appearance relative to Stephen Miller.
— Kate as Jeff Sessions. I hope this is not an excuse for a string of countrified one-liners.
— This commentary is better than usual, but still not great. Kate is giving a fine performance, though.
— Some lackluster jokes after the commentary.
— This will sound strange, but Kyle’s appearance and delivery are reminding me a lot of Richard Kline, today. (That’s right: I recently saw a clip from a 2014 interview with Larry from Three’s Company.)
— Kyle’s increasing desperation is good, and the material is decent, but this just isn’t landing for me.
— This ended better than I expected as Kyle’s dialogue gets more insane/paranoid. I think that bumped this WU up by one star.
STARS: ***

IN MEMORIAM
a photo of NBC executive Rick Ludwin marks his passing

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— A card in memory of NBC executive Rick Ludwin comes up after the applause. He helped make NBC’s late night programs dominant from the mid-1990s until he left in 2012 (following the Leno/Conan debacle, in which he backed Conan). He was also key in the development of Seinfeld, and even appeared on SNL in the season 25 premiere (in the “…And a Pizza Place” sketch).

SARA LEE INSTAGRAM
account manager (host) is posting about his sex life

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— This has a nice, low-key, bizarre energy.
— Oh, it’s just sexy instagram comments. Still good.
— Cecily’s got the cranky HR voice down pat.
— The format here is very similar to the “Barbie Instagram” sketches, co-written by Julio Torres (who guest-wrote here). This was originally cut from last season’s John Mulaney episode; Torres is also the “random fashion twink” from the second round of Sara Lee comments.
— Nice twist with Bowen also posting.
STARS: ***½

BABY FAYE
stage act of 45 year-old former child star (CES) & her dancers is pitiful

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— Nice production design and Steve Higgins voiceover.
— I think Mikey missed a line but impressively jumped in with the last word.
— Funny lines as they reintroduce Baby Faye. “The woman we’re all looking at…”
— Is this a reference to something I’m unfamiliar with? Or maybe parodying Rose Marie (who maintained a respectable career)?
— This is just kind of falling apart after Aidy entered. Matt reminds me that this is similar to the HSN sketch from Claire Foy’s episode, which is from the same writers. And I should have remembered that, since I wrote the review (which all of you LOVED, admit it)!
— This isn’t bad enough to be good; it’s just bad.
— Abrupt ending. I guess they needed to get to Harry’s second song.
STARS: *½

MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
Jon Hamm [real] introduces host

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MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Watermelon Sugar”

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— Hey, I know this one! I’m surprised to now learn that “Lights Up” was the lead single from the album Harry’s promoting here, since I’d never heard that and “Watermelon Sugar” seems to have made more of an impact.
— Harry’s flat on the line “breathe me in.” It sounded like he was straining for that note. The next time he hit that note, he sounded more relaxed.
— Love that the horn parts are being played live!
— The acoustic guitarist in Harry’s band looks like she’s having so much fun. I can’t take my eyes off her. Shame I can hardly hear what she’s playing, though…
— Harry sounds stronger using his higher register the second time the pre-chorus comes around.
— This whole time, Harry has seemed sort of checked out, not registering much emotion on his face. This worked for the first song since that was on the slower, more introspective side, but it’s not serving this song very well.
— The return of the awkward dance moves… I guess Harry is feeling the song, but it was hard to tell from his blank stare.
STARS: ***

DJ CASKET TWINS
deejays (host) & (CRR) brashly perform at funeral of (BEB)’s elderly mom

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— This is so dumb but it’s making me laugh. Harry and Chris’ energy (essentially LMFAO) is outstanding.
— Chris is killing it with his delivery and lines.
— “She’s in heaven smoking blunts.”
— Another great line: “Do these guys look like liars?”
— I should mention that Beck’s doing a great job here, too.
— Great twists at the end with the tearaway pants as well as Beck’s last line.
STARS: ****

GOODNIGHTS

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CUT FOR TIME: JASON
bullied older brother (KYM) raps about his much cooler younger brother, Jason (host)

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— A 1990s-looking high school plus Kyle? I think we’re in for a treat.  Which, of course, is why it was cut for time (eye roll).
— This has great production design and it’s well-written, but it’s not different enough from “Dad” in the season premiere with Woody Harrelson. Pretty much everything I said about that would also apply here. 
— This has even taken the same turn as “Dad,” with Chris Redd breaking it down, and then the target of the rap (host) transporting into the video.
— Okay, nice little twist with Chris Redd coming back and then the milkshake.
STARS: ***

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I was expecting a Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey-style disaster going into this, but I was pleasantly surprised. They played well to Harry Styles’ strengths and, while there were several weak sketches, none of that was his fault.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Joan
DJ Casket Twins
Sara Lee Instagram
Popeye’s
Monologue
That’s the Game
Weekend Update
Jetblue Intercom
Childbirth Class
Baby Faye
Days of Our Impeachment

TOMORROW
Will Ferrell joins the Five-Timers Club, as reviewed by Tony and a special guest

November 2, 2019 – Kristen Stewart / Coldplay (S45 E5)

by John

ELIZABETH WARREN TOWN HALL
at an Iowa rally, Elizabeth Warren (KAM) gives healthcare policy details

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— Written by Will Stephen and Anna Drezen.
— This cold open received a great deal of criticism, both from devotees of several other candidates (one or two in particular…) and also from fans who felt it was pure propaganda with minimal humor.
— For the most part, I would say this cold open does lean very heavily in Warren’s favor—the main person who asks questions (Cecily) is presented as an irritant from an opposing camp, and while there is a nod to how unlikely Warren’s plans are to pass in Congress, this is not put on her in a negative way. There are also plenty of reminders of how she has to be the mom and gets none of the praise or support other candidates get. 
— This is the peak period of Kate McKinnon being a security blanket to many fans, rather than a comedic performer. Her Warren impression is almost all comfort, little satire, built in by possible regrets of the effect that some of the mild jibes about Hillary had on her Presidential run. 
— With that said, I do think Kate had a natural ease in this impression which is often missing from much of her other political work, although this cold open mostly being a one-woman show for 8 minutes pushes my good will.
— The end back-and-forth with Kate and Chloe is very overextended, and is only interesting because it’s another moment in this season which feels like a passing-of-the-torch that never fully materialized. 
— Other than the end, this is one of the more consistent and relatively watchable cold opens of this season, if you are in the right mood, but that says as much about the quality of many cold opens this season as it does about the merits of this one.
STARS: **

MONOLOGUE
host turns tables by asking questions of audience members, including PED

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— Right from the get-go, Kristen has a very ill-at-ease energy. Unlike some other hosts (like Jason Patric or Jonathan Majors), it works for me, but I can understand why many did not feel the same way. 
— From a dress report, this was meant to start with Kristen talking about her swearing in her first monologue, and having a fake-out swear this time around. No big loss cutting that…
— The host interviewing the audience members is a very clever idea, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen SNL do this more often. 
— We have another relative rarity here, for modern SNL: writers in the monologue. 
— Alison Gates doesn’t really get enough to do to make me wonder how she might have been as a cast member, but she’s fine.
— Andrew Dismukes gets a bit more to do, and he’s genuinely very funny, with a delivery similar to his current style. If this was used as a trial balloon for his joining the cast, he definitely aced it. He also suffers the Tina Fey-esque fate of having much worse hair here than he will as a cast member.
— I like the bizarre little detail of Kristen offering to make out with him to impress his co-workers, and his saying he’s cool with not doing it.
— In dress, there was a third writer (going by the description, I’m guessing Gary Richardson) who has an “awkward” exchange with Kristen when she thinks the woman sitting next to him is his wife.
— Apparently Kristen would also remove some articles of clothing after audience questions (like her jacket and a shoe). OK…? I can see why this part was cut, but I would have been fascinated seeing how that would have played out for viewers.
— Pete’s insertion into the monologue, and the somewhat hesitant round of applause for him, halts any momentum, both due to how half-assed the performance is, and how hypocritical the show always looks for “joking” about the heavy publicity he gets when they are so happy to exploit it.
— This will be Pete’s sole live appearance of the night. Shocking, I know…
— Much as I enjoy one of our last chances to get pure Beck-and-Kyle weirdness, their inclusion comes out of nowhere, and leads to a very noticeable dead spot as the monologue winds down.
— This is a very incoherent monologue, even with the changes from dress. That type of material helps put the night off on a weird foot, but I will always prefer a weird approach over, say, Kate Mckinnon mugging for 2 minutes while the host watches from the side. 
STARS: **½ 

ROSIE THE RIVETER
 (CLF) wins poster gig over crass (AIB), (host), (KAM)

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— Another early supporting role for Chloe, in the usual earn-your-keep role for new featured players. Chloe DOES get a lead role this week, but it has a very strange route of getting to the public, as I will mention at the end of this review.
— Oddly, the title of the sketch and the Youtube thumbnail for the sketch would leave you thinking Chloe is the star. 
— You know what you are getting here. Crudity, face-pulling, and noise-making from Kate-n-Aidy. This is, I assume, still meant to be seen as daring or exciting by someone, and many likely do feel that way. I do not.
— The best I can say is that Kristen fits in well with Kate and Aidy.
— Mikey’s fey role is played up a bit too much, to the point of irritation.
— The “nein” joke is the only one that got a reaction from me. 
— After a lot of padding to fill up 4 and a half minutes, we get a rushed wrap-up followed by a “joke” where our heroes cause Mikey to severely burn his hand because he isn’t as patriotic as they are.
— I have no idea who wrote this, and I’m not surprised they kept quiet. I had forgotten just how bad this was. I could use this as an opportunity to reiterate why I am not a big fan of this duo, but the truth is many of their sketches together are made with more care than what we get here, so I wonder if their hearts were in it either. 
— This is a trash sketch that leaves you with a sour feeling and has no business being the leadoff to the episode, or even making it out of dress. One of the worst of the season. 
STARS: * 

DUOLINGO FOR TALKING TO CHILDREN
Duolingo has an app for adults who don’t know how to talk to children

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— Written by Anna Drezen.
— Kristen is absolutely perfect for this role. Right from her painfully awkward delivery of, “Do you wear your clothes to school?” you know you are in for a good time.
— I also like the extremely queasy nods and grunts of affirmation when replying to Cecily (faultless as the narrator, yet again).
— I have my share of criticism of the that’s-so-relatable concept heavy in Drezen’s writing, and on SNL in general in recent years, but that is more when a piece just states something relatable and does nothing else with the concept. Here we have an idea you can relate to, but wrapped in a piece that has a good energy and escalation, anchored by a terrific lead performance.
— Great understated work from Heidi, always so reliable in pre-tapes, as Kristen’s boss watches Kristen struggle to talk to her child. 
— The scene with Kristen talking to the kid with the “long, meandering story” is a smart way to keep the idea going without feeling like repeating the obvious.
— The completely random throwing in of Child Wearing Big Pink Dress makes me laugh. 
— I love the ending when Kyle, the king of awkward pre-tape material, pops up and he and Kristen bond over their Duolingo usage, while mother Aidy looks on very uneasily. Flawless work from all actors involved, and a very very strong closer. 
— Easily one of SNL’s best commercial pre-tapes. Succinct, well-executed, easy to watch over and over. I’m sure this got the usual product placement complaints (and Duolingo did respond to the pre-tape, I believe), but it’s still fantastic to me, and the first lift to the night. 
STARS: *****

NEW PAINT
 (AIB)’s use of expensive Farrow & Ball paint foments family rancour

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— Written by Kent Sublette.
— This was cut from dress in Emma Stone’s season 44 episode. 
— Similar to Duolingo, this sketch led to grumbling about product placement. However, Farrow & Ball were, according to them anyway, very pleasantly surprised by the sketch, enough to quickly capitalize on it. 
— I could do without Kristen having to explain to us that Aidy is pronouncing “colour” with a “u” in it.
— There’s a specific type of vamping Aidy partakes in that lures me in—the L’Eggs sketch being another example. A deeply delusional figure who is so confident in her delusion that you want to be part of that delusion, even when you start to sense she herself doesn’t fully believe it.
— I know that a glossy commercial fading to the ugly reality is nothing original, but the work from Aidy and Beck really sells this aspect for me. They nail the escalating hysteria. You don’t usually see Beck and Aidy play off each other this way.
— The part where Aidy and Beck argue over whether she still has any of the money their parents left her is surprisingly ‘real’ for a silly sketch.
— I know it’s a bit of a cheap gag but the way Aidy says “squalor” amuses me.
— Boom mic! 
— The inclusion of a very broad Kyle as Aidy’s lover works better than you’d expect, and Aidy’s delivery of “Of course!” when asked if she’s sleeping with him is great.
— I know some felt the shift to Kristen’s character having an affair wasn’t needed, but it works for me.
— I’m not usually a big fan of fake profanity in a sketch—you are just taken right out of the material—but Aidy’s way of saying ”effing” works here.
— Aidy’s “YES!!!” when Beck asks if she’s drunk is another gem. 
— “LOOK AT THE COLOUR OF HIS EYES!!” is a fine way to wind down the pretentious pronunciation gag. 
— While most of Kristen’s underplaying here is not a detriment, and I think serves as a good contrast to the boisterous Aidy and Beck, she is a bit too weak in the closing argument and physical confrontation with Aidy. As a result, the sketch doesn’t end with as much of a pop as it should. I think Emma would have played that part better.
— I enjoyed this quite a bit at the time, and I still do. It’s an example of something from a cast member and a writer I can often feel frustrated with, but in this case done right.
STARS: ****½ 

HERO DOG PRESS CONFERENCE
(CES) serves as translator for hero dog Conan during press conference

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— I completely forgot that Kate’s Kellyanne Conway was in this.
— I got a guilty smile out of her referencing The Ring. 
— Bit of an awkward moment when one person in the audience applauds Kellyanne mentioning an ISIS leader being killed while no one else reacts. 
— Thanks to Matt for pointing out that the font on the chyron for Conan’s name is the same font used for Conan O’Brien on his talk show. Strangely ironic, given the dog’s name is Conan.
— Kristen is not in this sketch. It’s very rare for hosts to not appear in all sketches (not counting cold opens) these days. I’m half-surprised she wasn’t just thrown in as a reporter. At least it gives Melissa and Heidi a chance.
— Of course Cecily is playing the dog wrangler.
— If you are reading this review, then by now you’ve heard plenty of complaining about the overuse of dogs in the first months of season 45. I will say that this sketch is poor even by those standards. 
— The dog repeatedly tries to get away, there are piped in sound effects for the dog, the dog barks at random times, over the cast, and when Cecily is not breaking up or trying to keep the dog from running off, she has to just try to make her way through a sea of lines. This is all very stilted, and when something is so stilted, any of the unpredictability or joy meant to be found in having a sketch all about a dog tends to dissipate. 
— Per the dress report, they spent more time trying to get the dog to bark, which is likely why the live version has the distracting growling effects being piped in.
— A part of me wants to say this feels like something that should be on a kids show, but then, many kids shows are better written than adult fare, and many of the lines are very adult in nature. There’s just something very juvenile in the concept. I understand the appeal (over 3 million views on Youtube), and I don’t intend to get on a high horse—SNL has rarely been intended as some kind of high-standard fare—but this is not only very juvenile, it’s also very poorly put together, which is what bothers me most. Cecily + dog seems to be as far as the planning went. That’s not good enough.
— I do like a few of the lines (like “we need to find the whistleblower because that noise is driving him crazy,” the dog complaining about getting a paw necklace [“would you give a human a foot?”] and “I don’t see color, I’m literally color blind”). I also like the ending, with the human soldier appearing and no one caring about talking to him. That is the reason why I’m ranking this above the Riveter sketch, which has no redeeming qualities.
STARS: *½ 

CORPORATE NIGHTMARE
in music video, young office rebels (KYM), (host), (MID), (PED) sell out

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— Written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell.
— Perfect casting of Mikey, Pete and Kyle with Kristen. As some said at the time, you didn’t even have to do anything with Pete in terms of makeup…
— At the time I saw various fans suggesting the song in this is based on “Fat Lip” by Sum 41.
— Kristen’s look is likely based on Paramore’s Hayley WIlliams, who responded positively to the homage.
— Beck played father figures/authority figures in so many pre-tapes I think fans took for granted just how good his work was. He never just hides behind prosthetics and wigs, instead embodying the parts with a believable, lived-in quality. That’s crucial to this type of piece, where you have to understand why the rebels respond to him.
— Wonderful, natural progression starting with Kristen succumbing to corporate culture. Some great moments to make that clear, from her adding in her own pro-boss lyrics to (my favorite part) picking up the filing cabinets and files in the ransacked office she had knocked down earlier on.
— I like that we get Kyle struggling to finish the song as he sees Pete and Mikey also being sucked in.
— Another fantastic visual touch that, as each of the quartet is brought into the fold, the other employees go from just sitting there, not involved, to being in crowd shots, to, by the end, taking center stage in the “punk” antics. The choice to have the most prominent extras being older and white and mostly male stands out without being too heavy-handed. 
— Perfect, depressing conclusion with the empty corporate-speak and Kyle’s character ripping out his lip piercing for the sake of Beck’s approval. 
— Both of the pre-tapes in this episode are utterly tailored to Kristen Stewart’s talents, possibly more so than any other host in the heavy pre-tape era. You could argue about whether or not a pre-tape should be so suited for a host, or if the host should just take an ordinary role (which I think has happened more in the last few seasons), but this works both as a use of her gifts as well as for various cast members. 
— This is an absolutely superb short, not only a season highlight, but a pre-tape highlight for any season. The pre-tapes get into more of a rough patch as season 45 progresses, but the best of them are truly first-rate and hold up extremely well on multiple viewings. I’ve said this before, but, outside of PDD (who are their own little world, which I’m fine with), I miss this standard of care with the pre-tapes in the last few years. Again, I know that 45 as a whole was not as strong in this department, but Stewart, Ferrell, and Harbour all spoiled me into having higher expectations, and I still do.
STARS: *****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Orphans”

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— John: Chris Martin will return for an at-home episode, making him one of the rare musical guests to appear twice in one season.
— Blue: Oh great, I get to review something from my least favorite album of 2019? Man, I used to love Coldplay… used to… 
— The song starts with Chris Martin playing guitar from backstage. Well that’s certainly different.
— I always enjoy seeing SNL’s backstage area. More than I enjoy hearing this song.
— I’m… assuming that the band is playing onstage? At least I want to believe they are?
— This whole backstage section reminds me a bit of Coldplay’s own video for “A Sky Full of Stars,” and the video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 (a band Coldplay is, incidentally, occasionally accused of ripping off).
— I don’t know if it’s more self-indulgent for Chris to sit in the audience, or for it to be revealed that the members of the audience surrounding him are all backup dancers for this performance.
— Chris’ microphone could stand to be turned up a bit.
— Really, Coldplay, that’s the line you’re going to build your chorus around? “I wanna know when I can go back and get drunk with my friends?” Shows that you can sing even the most insipid of lyrics to an upbeat melody, and it will go over well. 
— Ah, there are Chris’ bandmates Jonny Buckland (guitar)  and Guy Berryman (bass). Assuming they’re actually plugged in, they sound really good, so at least the engineer got the mixing right for the instruments.
— I will say, the dancers are really bringing a fun, energetic vibe to this performance. I just can’t get over how cheesy the song is.
— Ohh, that was a nice touch to have the dancers block the screen so that it looks like all of Coldplay just suddenly appeared onstage! They must have had to rush up there from the audience! (Was Will Champion [the drummer] onstage the whole time?)
— Love the chalk-drawing visuals on the screen behind Coldplay. The visual element of their live shows has always appealed to me.
— Now the dancers have joined the band onstage. I really like how their movements seem spontaneous, but synchronized—you can tell it’s heavily choreographed, but at first glance it seems like it isn’t.
— Chris’ falsetto notes at the end are pretty strong.
— Very mixed feelings on this. I don’t like the song at all, and it was easy to make fun of a few aspects of the performance, but at the same time… it was a really fun concept and the energy was infectious.
STARS: **½

WEEKEND UPDATE
kid genius Riley Jenson’s (MEV) mom (HEG) berates her for imperfection

Starkie sisters’ meat & seafood is solely sourced from unlovable fauna

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— Che’s way with a line reading is helping to sell the stuff about Trump moving to Florida, particularly the joke about Trump being booed everywhere in New York, while even Bill Cosby can play a show in Philly.
— Obvious as the joke may be, I liked the bit about Rudy being locked out of his phone because even that didn’t recognize the man he’s become.
— The “two parties come together” joke with Katie Hill is the type Che would usually tell, so having Jost say it was a pleasant surprise. 
— Up next we have an exceedingly rare collab between Melissa and Andrew Dismukes, who tend to operate in very different spheres as cast members. I wonder if Andrew was involved in this one due to his writing partnership with Heidi.
— Melissa is doing a voice she doesn’t usually try on SNL, and is very much getting into this character part. She’s genuinely very impressive here.
— Heidi and Melissa are close friends; this is one of the rare times you get to see that bond on camera. 
— While there’s nothing new about the stage mother routine, the dark edge of Heidi’s work mixed with the increasing desperation of child prodigy Melissa serves as something very out of the norm for Update desk pieces. Andrew also tends to have desk pieces out of the norm, so it makes sense. I wish we got to see these three together more often.
— There are many fans who are very vocal about how underused Melissa is. Yet, for some reason, I felt like this segment came and went compared to a few of her other notably received desk pieces (like White Male Rage, or the Dolly Parton impression). To be honest, I can see why—I feel like this does not reach another gear it could have reached—but it’s still very good, and deserves more attention.
— An addition from Matt: “When I was in New York in late February 2020, I remember this being the SNL clip they would play on taxi cab televisions along with like five other two minute clips of random, family-friendly programming. I’ve never liked this piece much but I do think it’s interesting how accessible it feels; it might as well be an All That bit.”
— I liked Jost’s joke about the Joker steps.
— Fantastic riff from Che about the jokes he could not tell (and proceeds to tell) on the 67-year old giving birth.
— This Update has had great momentum so far, not as bogged down in Trump fatigue as some others by this point. 
— Here are Kate and Aidy, reprising their well-received turn from John Mulaney’s second episode.
— This Kate-n-Aidy reprisal isn’t bad (they are not as break-heavy as I remembered—I may have been confusing this with the third installment [which I mostly zoned out of]), but there’s no way they can top the first, where Kate and Aidy teasing Jost, and Jost’s disgust at the smell, felt fresh. Even the “big fish licker” line feels rehearsed compared to the original “meat” line. 
— As mentioned in the dress report, Ego has a cut piece as Every Black Conservative on Fox News. This would make the second episode in a row with Ego cut from Update, which must have been very demoralizing for her. I’m glad she has found more of a central place on the canvas since this time.
STARS: ****

HUNGRY JURY
growling stomachs of deadlocked jury perform “Pony” by Ginuwine

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— This is the other sketch that was excavated from the Emma Stone episode.
— This is not on Youtube anymore, presumably due to music rights.
— Always glad to see sketches that show most of the cast, especially all just there, interacting, rather than being in a turn-based format.
— Kristen looks a lot like the late, great Margot Kidder here. 
— For those who wonder how many supporting sketch roles Kate has played in recent years—here’s one.
— I liked the joke of Kate’s character telling people to take Tums and then not actually having any Tums when asked, but I didn’t need Kenan’s character to ask her why she said it. 
— Fun bit with the black characters recognizing “Pony,” while of the white characters, only Kyle does… and he promptly reveals he knows it from Magic Mike. 
— The sketch repeatedly hints at racially-motivated conflicts, similar to some other acclaimed sketches around this time (like Mid-Day News), but that thread never goes anywhere.
— I wonder if Leslie originally played the bailiff role Bowen has here. Bowen’s use is a good example of how he managed to make himself stand out to viewers in those crucial early months as a cast member, without heading into overkill.
— I know this isn’t the most popular sketch, but I like it, and the goofy energy it generates—I just think it suffers from never properly building to anything.
STARS: ***

A PROPOSITION
pansexual (host) tries for a threesome with middle-aged (KET) & (EGN)

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— Written by Kenan Thompson and Bryan Tucker.
— This is also not on Youtube… also presumably due to music rights.
— This is one of Ego’s first chances at a broad character part, which she is more known for outside of her SNL work.
— Easy chemistry between Ego and Kenan, who tend to appear in a lot of the same sketches, but don’t ever truly interact as often as you might think.
— Good bit from Ego when Kenan wants to beg off Wednesday church: “Do you think the devil sleeps on Tuesday?”
— One of the fan criticisms I saw at the time was that Kristen did not have the right energy for her role. Rewatching this, I would tend to agree.
— I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but Kristen’s look here reminds me a bit of Harry Styles.
— The reveal that the Kenan and Ego characters have a “pig boy” (a memorable, committed turn from Bowen) and are not just the conservative older couple works fine, but needed more room to breathe—one more conversation after Kristen left and before Bowen arrived, at least.
— In general this sketch feels much more thrown together than you would expect from Kenan and Tucker. I wonder how much this was cut down to get on air.
— While this is, overall, a sketch that I can admire for its weirdness, the timing issues clamp down on the humor, and lowers my rating by at least a half-star.
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Everyday Life”

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— Blue: A classic “one upbeat song and one ballad” adherent, I see. Wouldn’t have expected anything less from Coldplay.
— Nice to see Chris behind a piano, as I do tend to enjoy Coldplay’s piano ballads.
— The holes in Chris’ shirt are really distracting me. Whatever look he’s going for with that, I’m not sure it’s working.
— I like Jonny Buckland’s fluid guitar tone.
— The lyrics to this song are pretty predictable.
— I have nothing to say about this song other than “it’s pretty.”
STARS: ***

STARGAZING
to stargazing (BEB) & (host), constellations are depictions of oral sex

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— Written by Andrew Dismukes.
— Always fun to see Beck getting a character part. The voice reminds me a bit of one of my favorite Beck roles. 
— Kristen looks like some of the old lady Kate characters.
— Not a big deal, but I’m somewhat surprised we just have a few random extras here that aren’t really needed with a small group. Did they not want to have a few cast members on just to stand in the background, mute? Or just focus on those with speaking parts?
— The initial crude drawings, and the music cue, are kind of fun.
— I know I say this a lot with SNL, but this sketch would be funnier if they did not keep explaining the details to us and have the characters telling us how repulsed they are. 
— The sketch also feels too long (also something I say a lot…).
— Aidy’s role in particular is very leaden.
— Some parts remind me so much of the Love-ahs that I had expected the amorous conclusion to have Beck screaming that he pulled out his back. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
— I want to rate this a little higher, and give into the weirdness, but I can’t find a way. It’s just too clunky for me to be able to let loose.
STARS: *½ 

GOODNIGHTS

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CUT FOR TIME: OPEN MIC
young privileged artists (host, KAM, BOY, HEG, MEV, KYM, BEB) perform at open mic

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— Written by Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Kyle Mooney, Bowen Yang.
— As Vax Novier mentioned in the last review, Chance’s role in the initial version of this sketch was saying that due to reading an article about feminism he now knows everything. He then performs a rap about women, and later, one about poor people.
— “My mom is a Koch and my dad is a Wayans brother.”
— “Get ready to see the stars of tomorrow, and the Lyft drivers of today.”
— I got a laugh out of the line from the Kate and Kristen characters about Ryan Murphy owning their life story.
— If you think these two are similar to Tegan and Sara…so did they! 
— I like the little touch with Bowen and Heidi’s affected clapping. 
— Good comic turn from Melissa with the shameless 9/11 song. Hearing the audience groan at that line is a jolt, as modern SNL is often too staid to get those reactions.
— “Betty, I made your death all about me!”
— “His bio says he’s got John Mayer’s face, and Carrot Top’s ‘gutters.’”
— A very good take from Kyle as an incredibly vacuous man who thinks he is edgy because he watches Pixar and loves black and white photography.
— A part of me wonders if Beck, who is also very good as a deluded, bellowing DJ, switched roles with Kyle. 
— “We used to have hair down to our holes” is one of my favorite dumb-brilliant Kate lines. 
— Their song (“The Fence”) is oddly catchy.
— This is a teeny bit sluggish, and suffers a little from how often this era of the cast made fun of self-absorbed artistes, but this is still very worth watching. You rarely see some of these players in this type of piece together, there is some very sharp dialogue (which this era often used as a crutch, but that I find interesting to look back on now) and the sketch captures a certain voice of many people involved that they have since phased out of their show repertoire—Bowen in particular. I wish this had been in the episode, but I’m just glad we got to see it at all.
STARS: ****½ 

CUT FOR TIME: OOLI’S FASHION VLOG
Ooli (CLF) takes her fashion vlog to the streets of New York City where she tries to spot the latest in American trends

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— This has one of the strangest journeys of any CFT piece. I believe this was uploaded on Instagram several days after the episode aired, then on Twitter a week later… and finally, to Youtube nearly a full month later. This is likely one of the main reasons the view count is so much lower than that of most new content. 
— I am not familiar with Chloe’s pre-SNL work, but I believe Ooli is a character she had previously debuted on her Instagram or elsewhere.
— It’s surreal to see Chloe running through packed New York streets, knowing what would be on the way several months later. 
— While there have been some fairly recent on-the-street pre-tapes, whether it be Kyle’s solo bits, or Tourists from the 2014 Charlie Theron episode, there is a rawness and a hint of danger to Chloe’s piece that feels closer in spirit to the first 5-10 years of the show’s run. 
— Case in point, the moment when “Ooli” talks with some young guys, only for Chloe to exit quickly once they start mentioning how well-endowed they are.
— In general, I think Chloe is a very glossy performer, very aware of her style and poise and how that can be utilized for a mainstream appeal. That has served her well in various media appearances, but I think has hindered her somewhat on SNL. The unpolished feel contrasting her polished persona works well here.
— This is very short—under two minutes—which I appreciate compared to the noticeable bloat of many modern pre-tapes. 
— This is, up to time of writing, my favorite thing Chloe has done on the show, and for me, represents a sort of path not taken in terms of her work.
— Ooli will appear a few more times, in very different settings—an at-home mandated pre tape with Chloe in a dual role, and a bizarre sketch (in a bizarre episode) that, if you only added some homophobia and an Iraq invasion reference, could have been lifted from a 2003 episode.
STARS: ****

OTHER DRESS REHEARSAL SKETCHES
— Thank you again to the Reddit poster who wrote up the dress report. These are invaluable documents in the show’s history and I always appreciate finding them.
— Beck/Aidy, Chris/Ego, and Kenan are parents at a preschool (Kenan is Ego’s ex), Mikey is the principal, and Kristen is the teacher. The kids arrive to sing the ABC song, but do so without singing “LMNOP” in the usual fashion. This upsets the parents and leads them to accuse Kristen of teaching the kids Satanic chants. From what a commenter said it may have been based on this version of the song, which went viral around this time.
— Kate runs a drinking establishment where Kristen and Ego dance on the bar, and Beck and Chris are excited businessmen. Cecily is another waitress, who is in a full body cast, yet still tries to be sexy. 
— Heidi, Cecily and Kate are drinking at a bar and complaining about their kids. Beck walks up to them, revealing that he was recently fired from his teaching job and that his kids “canceled” him. He then makes racist jokes that make the women uncomfortable. 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— It should be mentioned that, along with Scarlett Johansson’s episode, this is the only season 45 episode with no cameos. While some may argue this episode proves why cameos aren’t a bad thing, I would still say having a break from the endless parade of guests was a positive for the night. 
— This is the last episode I will be reviewing that has a special promo. While I know COVID made these impossible to continue, and even now that we are meant to be “over” COVID I know why they are unlikely to return, I dearly miss them. They were often clever, made good use of the host, and in a number of cases, were better than the episodes they were promoting. 
— I’m disappointed that Chris Martin did not appear in any comedy roles. I know how polarizing Coldplay are, but Martin is a lot of fun in these parts—he even made me enjoy Garth and Kat!
— A number of fans have criticized the running order of recent years, with some episodes from this season, like Will Ferrell’s, being particularly singled out. I see that in places here as well (like the leadoff sketch), but from the dress reports it’s a big question how much could have been improved.
— I think there are some hosts who have a natural, unexplainable quality that makes them click with the show. I would count Kristen Stewart among those, which is why I don’t agree with the people who felt her first episode just worked because of other elements like Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer (which I had zero interest in). With that said, although I think she was, overall, fine here, she was a bit guarded and off in a way that makes me assume we won’t be seeing her host again. 
— One of the reasons I wanted to review this episode is down to the flawless pre-tapes, but the other is that strange jumbles like what we get here fascinate me. That’s why the assembly line of late ‘00s/early ‘10s SNL, now seen as the ideal by some fans, often leaves me cold, in spite of the wonderful cast. This episode is one I turn over in my head a lot, and I want to talk about it. Do I think the show could be better than what we got here? Yes. Do I think this still has a lot to offer, more than some “good” episodes? Absolutely.  

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Corporate Nightmare
Duolingo For Children
New Paint
(CFT: Open Mic)
Weekend Update
(CFT: Ooli’s Fashion Vlog)
Hungry Jury
Monologue
A Proposition
Elizabeth Warren Town Hall
Stargazing
Dog Hero Press Conference 
Rosie the Riveter

TOMORROW
The one of a kind Kabir talks about the much talked about Harry Styles episode.

October 26, 2019 – Chance the Rapper (S45 E4)

by Vax Novier

TRUMP RALLY
impeached Bill Clinton (DAH) speaks at Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) rally

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— A lousy start so far with yet another lame Trumpwin malaproper.
— Even though it’s just a sketch, it still feels a bit disturbing to have all those extras in the background portraying proud Trump supporters.
— Relating to the point above, the response to Aidy’s “white lord” line got a bigger reaction than it really should’ve.
— Pete’s walk-on gets a round of applause, which is slightly justified considering it’s only the second episode he’s appeared in this season.
— A lot of this is reminding me of the season 39 premiere cold open where different speakers got the spotlight during an Obama press conference. The problem with reusing that premise here is that having Trump as the straight man is a misguided approach.
— Darrell Hammond makes his first onscreen appearance in years. Interesting to see him next to Baldwin’s Trump considering his bitterness over losing the role.
— Fred Armisen makes his 10 millionth unnecessary cameo, and the first of MANY in this season alone!
STARS: *½

MONOLOGUE
KYM & Chicago native host rap how they like things deemed second-best

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— Chance brings up the Chicago teacher’s strike going on at the time (the union is referenced on his shirt), and addresses his support.
— Good premise with Chance giving praise to the second best of different things.
— Funny aside between Chance and Kyle over justifying the inclusion of an isthmus as the second best to islands.
— Although it’s just a silent, background part, Heidi and Melissa are making the most of their role.
— An energetic monologue carried by Chance, making it a slight step up from his first one.
STARS: ***½

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
befuddled Lazlo Holmes doesn’t know what to make of an esports tournament

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— The return of Chance’s clueless sports correspondent, Lazlo Holmes, who appeared the last time he hosted, even getting moved up from post-Update to the opening sketch. Around the same time, Chance had recorded multiple interviews with NHL players that were shown throughout the month during intermissions of hockey games. 
— Future cast member-Andrew Dismukes makes a photographic cameo as the event’s regular correspondent (third screencap above).
— Chance makes himself break as he delivers the line about “white and Asian kids doing [E-Sports] while black kids were inventing hip-hop.”
— Some funny comments from Chance when trying to decipher the game clip.
— Chance, in response to an online chat comment: “That means nothing to me.”
— This is following the same beats as the last installment (confusion over the sport, refusing to pronounce a player’s name), but Chance is still carrying the material.
— Good bit with Chance’s stunned reaction and response to all the fangirls for Bowen’s character.
STARS: ***

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COURT
(host) summarily judges (Jason Momoa) & others

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— The concept of Chance as a decisive judge has some good potential.
— So far, while the content may be entertaining on paper, it’s almost coming across as “Haha, isn’t it funny that black people who dress bizarrely are criminals?!”
— Okay, now this sketch is starting to take off with Kyle as the plaintiff immediately ruled guilty for bringing on a puppet, as it prevents the material from feeling too repetitive and diminishes any racial undertones that were present.
— Another break from Chance during Bowen’s walk-on.
— Kate gets some scattered applause just for entering the scene, which is immediately followed by a random Jason Momoa cameo to keep the crowd going.
— A bit of a troubling start, but this ended up working just as well as the execution could make it.
STARS: ***

TASTY TOASTER TARTS
(host) & fellow kids can eat Tasty Toaster Tarts thanks to his parricide

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— I like the natural buildup with the long list of snacks Chance has in the pantry.
— A good twist when it’s revealed Chance seemingly murdered his strict parents.
— Tons of standout moments between Chance’s excessive denial over his missing parents, coupled with the drawn out rattling of all the snack names.
— Great ending with the mood turning sinister when it appears the ruse is up, only to become cheerful again after presenting the toaster tarts.
— A short and sweet piece that managed to pack a lot in!
STARS: ****½

GRAVEYARD GHOSTS
on Halloween, ghost (host) reluctantly shares embarrassing cause of death

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— This is definitely a patented Day/Seidell concept, as it feels reminiscent to the graveyard sketch from Jim Carrey’s season 40 episode (Paul and Phil), but there’s still potential to go in a different direction.
— Funny shift with Chance simply going “We can skip me!” when it’s his turn to share his death.
— I’m liking the different ways Chance attempts to avoid talking about his death by leaving out details during his song, then claiming, “A ghost never tells.”
— Some well-timed chyron effects in the background while the stories are presented. Same goes for the animatronic owl and skeleton.
— And now the reveal of Chance’s death being that he stuck a pole up his ass and got struck by lightning for a reaction. What makes this tale land is Chance feeling compelled to justify his actions and explain certain aspects along with the details on how he was torn apart by the strike.
— Chance, while justifying his humiliating death: “I was a kid. Kids do weird stuff.” Aidy: “You died in your 20s.”
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
host introduces himself as Kensli Bennett [real] sings “Impossible”

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MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host introduces himself as Kensli Bennett [real] sings “Impossible”

host performs “Zanies & Fools”

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— Blue: Haha, Chance’s self-introduction was hilarious.
— Very cute home video of Chance’s daughter singing a song from Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The strings in the background are giving it a major old-school Disney vibe.
— Right off the bat, excellent rapping from Chance.
— Love the drumline in the background, especially the glitter flying up from their drum heads! Very cool visual effect, and their sound is satisfyingly heavy..
— Also love that the string parts are being performed live.
— Tasteful black and pink color scheme from the performers..
— Love how much the dancers are adding to the performance instead of being the sole thing that keeps it interesting.
— Chance is stumbling a bit on the higher notes in the second chorus/break.
— Very impressed by Chance’s rapping on the long phrase that opens the third verse.
— The pre-recorded backing vocals sound so heavenly on the third verse.
— Oof, that last “it’s possible!” was painfully flat.
— That was a very joyous, uplifting performance. So great!
STARS: ****½

WEEKEND UPDATE
Donald Jr. (MID) & Eric (ALM) back pa Trump’s Biden nepotism allegation

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— This week’s appearance comparison refers to Matt Gaetz as “live action Quagmire”. What was once a cheap burn, became more relevant by the time Pete would go on to play Gaetz in one of the Britney Spears cold opens next season and incorporate some forced Quagmire traits into the impression.
— A technical gaffe just now, as an intended film clip that doesn’t start right away, causing extended silence. Colin makes a noticeable reaction to the delay just as the clip finally begins. This is fixed in reruns.
— A good breakdown from Michael over the downfall of Giuliani. I especially like his line about how he “went from the mayor of 9/11 to the 9/11 of mayors!”
— Che’s Bernie joke gets some applause at the mention of his endorsement and then a ton of groans after the punchline.
— The Trump brothers return to Update for the first time in over a year. After frequent appearances at the desk, these commentaries have become an annual offering for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.
— Mikey’s Don starts out by making reference to the last couple of Bernie jokes saying, “Can you believe they made fun of a Democrat?” in what sounds like a thinly-veiled response towards criticism of the show’s political content being too biased. Having it come out of a reviled Trump family member has to be their (potentially) misguided way of claiming the upper hand.
— A barely audible fart noise can be heard while Colin is talking. The fact that no one commented on it has me to believe it wasn’t intentional.
— We get the usual funny bits from Alex, such as awkwardly holding Mikey’s hand when he reaches over, and this edition’s distraction as he plays with a pin toy.
— Che has a solid tangent about the state of Kanye, followed by Colin’s reaction when he ends it shortly after comparing him to Bruce Jenner.
— A funny line about how Kavanaugh is the best known Supreme Court justice, the same way Jared Fogle is the best known sandwich mascot. Che‘s follow-up response is just icing on the cake.
— Colin’s last joke causes him to crack up during their sign off.
— Two commentaries were cut from this Update after dress rehearsal. One featuring Ego as Che’s intrusive aunt, and the other with Cecily as Faye Dunaway that involved an antsy monkey puppet and a walk-on from Bowen as her assistant. Ego would probably have a better chance of getting her character on air in the present day, and Cecily’s seemed to go off the rails based off the description. If it meant a certain sketch later in the night got cut for time (though they probably would’ve cut a different one since it stars Kate and Aidy), I wouldn’t have minded seeing either of these pieces make it to the episode.
STARS: ***½

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
love-at-first-sight leads (host) & (CES) to literally float on air

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— Off to an amusing start with Chance’s stilted delivery of “I’m nice, but I’m also shy.” when introducing himself.
— Cecily: “Do they have dancing here?” Chance: “I don’t care. If they don’t like it, they can kill us.”
— Beck is only now making his first appearance, in the post-Update half of the night. (He did have a part in the cold open as a Giuliani associate that got cut after dress.) I remember at the time it felt like he was being phased out during the first couple months of this season while people like Alex were getting a bit more to do. This only lasted until December, unfortunately, as the established hierarchy was put back into place. Unless we hear otherwise in an interview down the line, it’s likely that Beck was planning on leaving after this season until the pandemic delayed his departure to the following year.
— Now they’re starting to say Chance’s character is a psycho, yet the progression of the sketch hasn’t really warranted the need for that detail.
— This already charming sketch is raised (no pun intended) by the two flying, or “low hovering”, with the use of wires to display their love.
— I’m loving the exchanges between Chance and Cecily, respectively, such as “They’re just jealous of me.” “And me, too.” “Sure.” followed by “Have you ever had champagne?” “No, what is it?”
— Yet another segment with a lot of breaking. In this case, though, it adds to the delight I’m having watching this.
— I like Chloe’s deadpan response after they mess up her seafood platter.
— Great turn with Chance immediately rejecting Cecily, sinking to the ground after they kiss, and her subsequently begging him to “come back up here where all the love is.”
— Yes! I’m getting the live version where it took a while to apply the wires onto Beck and they’re forced to extend the bit with Cecily grabbing her purse in midair as Heidi and Ego try to console her. The three of them are doing a good job stalling for time with their little ad-libs. Even though this bit is removed in reruns, it doesn’t detract from the quality of this sketch. 
— A fantastic sketch, overall, that I loved just about every bit of! Written by James Anderson and Kent Sublette along with Cecily, this is one of the better outputs of the duo.
STARS: *****

SPACE MISTAKES
fatal flubs doom astronauts (host), (BEB), (KYM) in film

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— It feels a bit odd seeing something like this so late in the night, compared to when these types of pre-tapes are usually placed.
— This is a funny take on the trope of disasters in space movies.
— I enjoyed Kyle dramatically addressing his mistake before bursting on impact.
— A great rapid montage of different mistakes taking place, especially Bowen spilling a coffee cup in the control room and exclaiming “No, a mistake!”
— The scenes with Ego really standout, as she’s providing an exceptional performance.
STARS: ***½

DAZZLE DESIGNS
(AIB) & (KAM) peddle unattractive show choir attire

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— Has every episode this season so far featured a sketch starring Kate and Aidy that gives them free rein to do whatever the hell they want!?
— This one, in particular, feels too similar to their Apple Picking sketch from only three episodes ago.
— The only laughs I’m getting out of this are the cutaways to Chance, Chris, and Pete as the choir boy models.
— I’ve got nothing else to say about the piece. It’s all just template Kaidy material by this point.
STARS: **

MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
Jason Momoa (real) introduces host

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MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Jason Momoa (real) introduces host

host & Megan Thee Stallion [real] perform “Handsome”

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— Blue: Jason Momoa! Hello!
— The opening to this song sounds more rooted in R&B than Chance’s previous offering.
— I like the stage’s blue lighting.
— Mildly amused by Chance skipping a word to take a very noticeable breath.
— I find Chance’s singing less interesting than his rapping, but his energy makes up for it.
— Digging this song’s rhythm section. The melodic bass runs are particularly great.
— Megan Thee Stallion! Yessss! Nice to see her make a sort of cameo before she went on to perform in the opening episode of season 46.
— Megan’s rap is so sick, I love it. So much power in her voice.
STARS: ***½

DANCE REHEARSAL
in a dance studio, instructor (KET) poorly hides werewolf transformation

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— According to Matt, this was cut from the Jennifer Lopez episode way back in S35 with J-Lo playing the instructor. I can only imagine what that version of this sketch looked like, knowing in retrospect that they could’ve waited four more episodes and revived it with her.
— There’s Kenan’s first utterance of “OHHH THE MOON!!!” He makes it work so well, I just can’t help but laugh.
— It looks like the wrong camera was cut to just now since we get a profile shot of Chance while he’s talking.
— A hilarious response from Heidi towards Chance mentioning he got a fax, playing with the 90’s setting of the piece.
— This has a similar premise (I’m saying that about a lot in this review. After 45 years, you’re bound to have frequently repeated material) to the werewolf sketch with Christan Slater when he hosted in 1991. In fact, this episode aired exactly 28 years later to the day as that one (October 26).
— I know some people may despise the repetition, but for me, the execution, carried by Kenan’s commitment, is so dumb that it works. Between this and the flying sketch, Anderlette is providing rare, strong material tonight.
— And Chance is breaking yet again. At this point, it would be easier to list the segments where he doesn’t break.
— Chris is supplying a couple of excellent straight man moments.
— Interesting delivery from Chloe for her one line.
— A funny beat to end on. Not only because of the final bit, but for the detail of both Chance and Chris staying behind after the incident.
STARS: ****

GOODNIGHTS

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— Chicago residents in the cast can be seen wearing Chance’s shirt from the monologue, showing their support towards the teachers’ strike.

CUT FOR TIME: 80’S DRUG PSA
an anti-drug public service announcement goes off the rails

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— I’m getting some laughs from the presentation for the intentionally cheesy PSA.
— A good turn with Kenan going against their anti-drug message and getting hooked after being told some of the advantages.
— Parts of this almost feel like a precursor to That’s The Game, and other similar shorts starring Chris Redd, where the straightlaced character slowly reveals their lack of insight and devolves into incompetency.
— The premise was pretty one-note and predictable for the most part, but the performances were likeable.
STARS: ***

OTHER DRESS REHEARSAL SKETCHES
— Shoutout to the Reddit poster for putting together these dress rehearsal reports, and to Matt for sharing the links to them.
— Bowen, Heidi, Melissa, Kyle, and Chance perform at a hipster coffee house for an open mic. Chance come on and mentions reading an article about feminism so now he knows everything. He performs a rap about women and one about poor people later in the sketch. This would be cut from dress during Kristen Stewart’s episode the following week with that version being posted online. John will go into more detail about the sketch, but Chance’s character is replaced by Kate and Kristen as a singing duo.
— Beck, Aidy, Chance, and Kate are parents in the bleachers of a high school football game who comment on the game they’re watching and engage in small talk between each other. Ego makes a walk-on as Chance’s girlfriend after it’s revealed he’s cheating on his wife. 

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— Another standout episode hosted by Chance! There was a lot to like throughout the night, including the endearing breaking. Getting him back for a second time during the outskirts of his peak turned out to be perfect timing, although it would be nice if he ever returned to host in the future.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Love At First Sight
Tasty Toaster Tarts
Dance Rehearsal
Monologue
Graveyard Ghosts
Weekend Update
Space Mistakes
CFT: 80’s Drug PSA
First Impressions Court
League of Legends World Championship
Dazzle Designs
Trump Rally

TOMORROW:
John takes a look at Kristen Stewart’s return to the show, disproving the notion that dropping the f-bomb is an instant ban.

October 12, 2019 – David Harbour / Camila Cabello (S45 E3)

by John 

EQUALITY TOWN HALL
Julian Castro (Lin-Manuel Miranda) at LGBTQ town hall; Billy Porter cameo

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— Written by Fran Gillespie and Sudi Green. One of the few cold opens this season we know the credits for.
— Nice to see Alex Moffat in a key role as Anderson Cooper, even if there is little for him to work with beyond his own charm. Given the backlash Jon Rudnitsky got for playing Cooper as if he were from The Birdcage, I’m not surprised the show has since been so straitlaced with the portrayal.
— Right out of the gate, Billy Porter (who in another universe likely had a hosting stint under his belt) makes himself known. He’s a tad grating, but still adds some energy in a period when cold opens feel consistently lifeless. 
— Kenan played Billy’s role in dress rehearsal.
— Interesting to see Chris Redd as Cory Booker after recently watching his turn as Eric Adams, which got a much more positive audience response. Chris’ performance skills in live sketch have come on leaps and bounds from where he is here, but the negative response he got from some overinvested Twitter quarters (and an op-ed, since I guess political impressions still mean that much, or generate clicks…) was out of proportion to a forgettable impression. 
— Colin Jost in his second appearance as Pete Buttigieg. Jost bore a resemblance to him, and as mentioned at the time, went to Harvard with him. As Jost would later tell Buttigieg, it was Lorne who suggested he play the role. These are still the early stages of an impression I am guessing no one at SNL thought would last as long as it did. Otherwise Jost, clearly not a sketch comic or an impressionist, likely would not have been cast in the role (insert de Niro Mueller joke here). 
— The highlight of this appearance is Buttigieg asking why he isn’t winning, less because of comedic brilliance and more because it sums up how the show never quite seemed to know how to tackle his portrayal. I would say they were trying to drum up viewer support for him, but the writing tended to lean more toward a few other candidates, like…
— I’m going to have more to say about Kate’s take on Elizabeth Warren in my next review, so I will just leave it at this: I understand the complaints about this impression (mainly that it’s much more about preaching than having an incisive comedic portrayal), but I still think it’s one of Kate’s stronger takes in what has been, frankly, a terrible political run from her over the last 5 years. 
— Kate’s whole routine here is based on real comments from Warren at the equality town hall, although the wig-ripping was added on as a reference to a Drag Race moment with Sasha Velour. I had no idea what the reference was, but I still thought this was a fun bit. 
— Next up is Lin-Manuel Miranda, and another anguished backstory. The show had gotten—yet again—Twitter backlash over Julian Castro not appearing in the first debate cold open, with Miranda tweeting that he would be happy to play the role. Usually these Twitter begs don’t go anywhere (ask Rosie O’Donnell and Zach Braff… or don’t), but given that Miranda had a recent relationship with the show and has a high-profile career, I’m not surprised they took him up on the offer. 
— You might ask yourself, why didn’t they just have Melissa Villasenor dress as Castro, since they love to do this with Aidy, Kate, and Cecily? Oh wait, you wouldn’t, because if you are reading this, you know they don’t care about Melissa. Instead, she gets thrown a bone in yet another straight role, asking a question. The image of her appearing in a non-role right after Miranda gets several comic moments makes me a bit sad, honestly.
— The (funny) moment where Castro apologizes for being straight reminds me of the comments that SNL’s writers are more comfortable skewering the left, possibly because many of them are on the left so they know what works. 
— Miranda is an appropriate fit for ‘10s SNL (a theater kid, overly earnest, hated by some for being ‘neoliberal’ for being tone deaf on racial matters), and he does fine with what he has here. Not great writing, but the quality picks up as it goes along, especially when Cooper calls him out just as he’s about to break into a Hamilton number. 
— Now we’re up to Biden, reprised by Woody Harrelson.
— While the writing is just a warmed-over version of what was already done with Biden in the premiere, and also suffers from the I’m-telling-you-the-joke disease of modern SNL, I do enjoy this overall, particularly when he asks the audience who is scared about what he’s going to say, and everyone, including Cooper, raises their hand. 
— Of the 6 (!) actors who have played Biden since 2019, I still enjoy Woody’s portrayal the most. Woody brings a sense of glee to the impression, but unlike the affability of Jason Sudeikis’ portrayal, there is a genuine unease built into Woody’s take. You never know what you’re going to get—you just know you don’t want any of it. The wistful, muted take on Biden from several impersonators since Woody is probably more accurate, but SNL political impressions have never been popular due to accuracy. 
— Another awkward group LFNY—looked like Jost didn’t finish at the right time as everyone else and was swallowing gum or something at the end.
— While this certainly has its flaws, it gets the night off on a good, energetic start, and is my favorite cold open of the season—faint as that praise may be.
STARS: ***

MONOLOGUE
Stranger Things star (host) enters SNL’s Upside Down, where KET bosses LOM

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— Physically, David Harbour reminds me of Joaquin Phoenix in this period. That will come in handy later in the episode…
— Right off the bat, Harbour is very natural, especially for a first-time host. His reaction to some of the audience applauding his recent flop Hellboy is absolutely perfect. 
— Per a dress report, David had a line describing Stranger Things as being about “a middle-aged single man trying to find love.”
— When I first watched this episode, the moment the monologue went backstage felt like such a nostalgic surprise. I believe this was their first since season 42 (Melissa McCarthy).
— How much can Kate mug in just one quick appearance? 
— The design team does a great job of making the “Upside Down” look atmospheric, without going so far that all you notice is the high quality work (which often happened in season 20).
— Beck, showing up for his usual turn as the prick, is fun, but this encounter is more memorable for me now because of Beck playing Harbour in that tedious theme songs pre-tape a season later. 
— Nice to see that the llama, always a staple of these sequences, managed to make the trip to the Upside Down.
— Pete, back from a two-episode absence for filming Suicide Squad, gets a big response for… showing up to work. This is the start of a very odd, demoralizing, and highly-publicized pattern for Pete this season.
— The exchange between Pete and Harbour starts to get very leaden when they try to talk about the Stranger Things cliffhanger. The audience also doesn’t seem to be into it. 
— Lorne cameo! For a long time I thought this might be his last live cameo, but he pops up again in the Will Forte episode. 
— As is often the case with modern SNL, the scene with Harbour, Kenan and Lorne is poorly blocked—the first two keep staring away from Lorne to read their lines, even though they are supposed to be having a conversation with him. 
— I have mixed feelings about the Kenan-secretly-runs-the-show jokes, because I think they play up unrealistic expectations about Kenan taking over when Lorne retires, and I think Lorne has just become far too powerful in the industry for this type of coyness, but there is some humor involved, and Lorne’s comic timing is still in good form.
— I enjoyed this monologue more the first time I watched, but it’s still a decent way to keep momentum going through the rest of the night. 
STARS: **½

LITTLE MISS TEACHER’S FRIEND
pageant contestants are student suck-ups

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— Written by Aidy Bryant, Anna Drezen, and Alison Gates. 
— David is great as the principal. Sometimes you can feel hosts trying too hard in their performances, but he fits right in.
— Bowen is perfectly used in his small role as the student whose cheers infuriate the principal. David bellowing “NOO!!!!” cracks me up every time I watch this.
— I don’t always love Aidy in these cutesy child roles, but one benefit of her being in them is she often plays them with a certain off-kilter energy.
— I feel like Leslie might have had the teacher role if she hadn’t left the previous season. Ego plays the part with a resigned, yet still pleading response to the antics of her students, which helps make this sketch feel less stilted.
— Kate, Melissa and Chloe have the usual roles in these that live or die based on how you feel about Drezen’s oh-so-quirky-and-relatable details. There are a number of bits I like here, especially Kate’s anecdote of jumping out of a moving bus to tattle, and the mention that Melissa “knows a lot of saints.” 
— This is one of the first major roles Chloe has on the show. At the time I watched and wondered where it would lead her. Now I can say… not very far (at least not on SNL). 
— The conclusion, with Ego announcing her maternity leave and the girls sobbing, followed by one last outburst from Bowen and David, manages to get the tone just right. 
— This type of sketch is more difficult to put together than it seems, because one wrong line reading or clunky piece of dialogue can tank the whole thing (not even getting into the usual haphazard direction). None of that really happens here, fortunately—this is, overall, a lot of fun, with few of the issues that tend to pop up with Kate/Aidy/Drezen material. 
STARS: ****

GROUCH
film depicts origin of Oscar (host), the Joker of Sesame Street

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— Written by Streeter Seidell and Mikey Day, based on an idea from Harbour and his partner, Lily Allen. (I’d say that is the second most surprising Lily Allen trivia note—the first being this Game of Thrones-related moment of cringe) 
— This has the last behind-the-scenes feature on a sketch before COVID made those much more difficult to put together, and, sadly, what may also be the final on-camera appearance of the wonderful Hal Willner.
— As they mention in the video, the moment where the audience clicks in with the concept is exciting—really adds to the atmosphere.
— Atmosphere is the key word here. I don’t think anyone would claim edgy takes on Sesame Street or Joker parodies were anything new, but SNL manages to make it their own, and, more importantly, not fall into the dreaded doing-this-because-it’s-a-current-story trap they so often fall into. 
— Something else I appreciate is how they manage to spoof two different properties, yet both are naturally woven together. Again, this isn’t something modern SNL is great at doing. The best is when they have Bowen as Guy Smiley at station ABCDEFG, reporting on the dangerous streets of Sesame.
— Some great individual moments here, like Heidi as a loopy, dirty Big Bird. Mikey and Alex as Bert and Ernie are the standouts. 
— As is often the case with pre-tapes of recent years, I think several moments should have been trimmed (namely, the bits with Melissa as Elmo and Beck as Count Count), but they don’t seriously hurt the other material.
— Some fans used to claim that Seiday were better at pre-tapes than live sketches. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but this pre-tape is certainly one of their writing peaks. 
— You have to be impressed not only at how good and charismatic Harbour’s performance is, but also how he dominates this pre-tape even though he is a first-time host. And this was a brand new role for him, unlike, say, Adam Driver’s superb work in the Kylo Ren pre-tapes. One of the only other hosts I can think of to be this integral to a pre-tape is Emma Stone in “The Actress”, and that was on her fourth hosting stint.
— I’m not as big a fan of this piece as some people are, but I have to appreciate the design, the commitment, and above all else, the ability to make this seem like more than just a corporate husk—the more recent Urkel pre-tape from Ariana DeBose’s episode has reminded me how difficult that can be. So this will be a mix of my personal taste grade (which would probably be a half-star or star lower) and what was accomplished.
STARS: *****

SOULCYCLE 
hyper (BOY), (host), (HEG), (KAM) audition to be SoulCycle instructors

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— Written by Gillespie, Green, Bowen Yang.
— At this point, Mikey was dominant enough as a cast member that it was a surprise to not see him pop up somewhere (beyond his brief role in the pre-tape). As it turns out, he lost his voice not long before the live show, and appears in no live material. Alex takes his role here. 
— Bowen is fantastic. This was only his third episode as a cast member, and on top of that, he had to deal with so much pressure most new players don’t face, yet he is effortless here—a smooth, very funny performance, with some classic lines (“My name is Flint—like the water.”). This is also a great commentary on a specific brand of idiot which I feel like Bowen has lost along the way, as his tenure has become more and more about camp (which isn’t always a bad thing… but never great when it’s all you have).
— David is also just right for his role—energy, physical aggression, and good comic timing. “I have an addiction to pushing myself… and cocaine,” alone gets me. 
— At the time this sketch aired, there was some fan praise for the rapport between Alex and Ego, even suggestions for them to take over Update at a point when there was a belief Che and Jost were leaving. While I would have been fine with that (then or now), the Alex and Ego portion doesn’t work for me. They are simultaneously reacting to the crazy instructors as she reacts to him hitting on her. This could have made sense with more fine-tuning, but the result here is overwritten and distracting.
— Heidi is wonderful as yet another delusional instructor. What I appreciate the most in her work is that she actually does slow down her performance along with the music and the cooldown aspect of this part of the sketch. And, again, some great lines—the “They called me ‘Model Girl’ or ‘Hey, model.’ But I wasn’t a model… yet.” This is all a sendup on the then-controversial Netflix romcom Tall Girl, but is also funny in its own right.
— I do like the part where, when Heidi asks, “How do you think that makes me feel?” Alex confusedly replies, “…Good?” 
— David going out into the crowd with Ego and Alex doesn’t quite work, although his delivery of, “You have sad eyes,” is a keeper.
— The entire part with Kate could have been cut. I tend to wonder if this would have gotten on the air if Kate did not have a role in it…
— After another fun appearance by Bowen (“I Googled racism and it bummed me out… I Googled gay racism and that was even worse.”), we get to another peak with David, where he just nonsensically shouts about how he lost a leg and grew it back. 
— The ending doesn’t really work… not that that’s unusual for SNL.
— SoulCycle will return twice over the season, which is unusual for modern SNL, although one was pandemic-induced. 
— I am not sure how to rank this sketch. There are parts I love, but this is also the epitome of what some fans have criticized this period for—good dialogue being used to paper over a shakily-constructed piece. Seeing just how shaky this one gets at times reminds me that I do feel the structure issue has improved (somewhat) over the last few years, yet I also can’t deny that I still go back to the good parts of this sketch more often than I do some pieces that are better put together. 
STARS: ***½ 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Cry For Me”

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— Blue: Wow, really interesting staging with the French nobility outfits. This feels a lot more like I’m watching a Broadway play than an SNL musical performance.
— Camila’s vocals are strong from the start, and her facial expressions are involved and engaging.
— Another performance that I’m seriously questioning whether it’s live or lip-synced. Camila is KILLING IT with her vocals and effortlessly nailing the choreography.
— I really appreciate the extras/backup dancers for all that they’re doing to make this performance look as good as it does (moving the table out of the way, etc.)
— Great moment in the second verse when a synth blast comes out of nowhere, then Camila sings the next line unaccompanied.
— Camila’s vocal run on “you’re probably sleeping…” is incredible! All while the dancers are moving her around, too.
— I really like the choreography with the fans.
— Great impassioned vocals on the bridge, which utilize Camila’s higher register. Capping it off with a high A sung in her head voice is a great choice.
— The staging at the end, with everyone holding their poses while Camila is reaching out towards the couple on stage right, is a very fitting and showy way to end the performance.
— I’ll admit, the costumes didn’t do much for me here. Maybe it’s just not an aesthetic that appeals to me. But I love the way this performance was conceptualized, and how it felt like watching a scene in a play, or like watching a whole music video. It reminds me of a more focused version of what Halsey and G-Eazy were doing two seasons prior.
— Also, outstanding vocal performance from Camila. I don’t know if it was lip-synced or not (knowing SNL, I’d assume it wasn’t), but either way, she killed it.
STARS: ****

WEEKEND UPDATE
movie reviews reveal that Bailey Gismert has a thing for the Joker

PED doesn’t think sexually-transmitted diseases are worth worrying about

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— Oh boy, impeachment time… such memories…
— “It’s definitely about to get worse for Trump because—” Hahahaha. Who said Trump comedy wasn’t funny?
— The use of “The Boys Are Back In Town” for a Trump-related montage has left this part of the news segment off Youtube, which is probably a kindness for people who don’t want to relive this particular hellscape.
— “I know these are easy jokes…” No kidding.
— I’m not trying to single Jost and Che or their writers out here; it just so happens that I am reviewing this show, and not (thank goodness) Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, the Daily Show and its equally hollow spinoffs, etc. The material was slightly more passable at the time because we were living through it, but, even though we are still living through it, there’s no real nostalgia value… the only positive to find is that Che and Jost have a smooth, sincere delivery and never become too serious.
— I like Jost using the bit about a Trump rally to lampshade his earlier cold open appearance.
— Che’s rambling about wanting a year’s break from a President is a good palate cleanser between all of the Trump material. 
— Rough trio of jokes (Trump = Nazi, Biden dementia, gay Lincoln), although at least the first is framed well. 
— Time for Bailey Gismert.
— I’m just going to get this out of the way quickly. Bailey only worked for me as a one-time character. While most recurring Update features are guilty of beating the same points and catchphrases into the ground, some can still keep their charm over multiple appearances. Bailey, on the other hand, feels increasingly forced to me each time. Heidi retired her other two Update recurrers during season 44, and I wish she’d done the same with Bailey. I know that a big point of these is that they are intentionally performative, because she’s a parody of a teenage girl, but I still think this had more impact with only one use.
— With that said, Bailey has only made two appearances since this episode, one of which was an At Home appearance which had no choice but to change format, and is probably my favorite. 
— The most interesting part of this commentary is Bailey’s brief mention of Leslie Jones no longer being on the show. This is, I believe, the only mention of Leslie since her departure, and I’m guessing it will remain the only one for quite some time.
— The next set of jokes aren’t worth focusing on, but I did laugh more than I should have at “Crocodile Cosby” and the accompanying graphic. 
— Time for Pete. 
— Pete’s material is often sold based on his demeanor. This appearance, unfortunately, is very lethargic, giving the vibe of the show only wanting him to do a commentary because he was actually back in the building for the week. 
— Pete’s rapport with Jost is always enjoyable, and there are a few good passages (like his bringing up that gonorrhea and Rambo returned in the same year), but I don’t enjoy watching this; to be honest I just feel kind of uncomfortable sitting through it. I’m glad Pete has come a long way since this period.
STARS: ** (probably the lowest I will ever be giving a Jost/Che Update) 

PETER, PAULA & MURRAY
 in 1962, trio (host), (KAM), (AIB) quantifies pathos

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— Written by Bryant, Drezen, Gates, Kate McKinnon.
— Very smooth intro from Alex as a vintage host. Many times I feel like Alex, who has so much natural talent and poise, seems to veer more toward a default smug role which limits his capabilities. This is a good example of him managing to thread the needle with a more subtle take. 
— Good harmonies with David, Kate and Aidy. They all seem very believable as a long-running, psychologically scarred folk duo.
— Normally I have some problems with period pieces that are framed in a perspective of much more modern times, but I’m fine with it here. One of the reasons is probably because this sketch has none of the winking and nodding or artificial nostalgia you often get in these instances. 
— You can always count on Drezen sketches for fast, witty wordplay, and this sketch is no exception. There are so many, it’s almost difficult to keep track. 
— One I enjoy is when Kate and Aidy talk about how often they think of the kiss they shared, and, after a beat, David adds, “Me too.” 
— This sketch is around 5 minutes long, which is often well past the point of dragging, but the shifts and pauses tend to make this flow well for me. The sketch reminds me at times of something from SCTV (just more “inside”), which often did a good job at longer sketches and at getting the mood for a period piece right.
— Similarly, there are many tics for Aidy and particularly Kate that annoy me elsewhere, but fit in fine in this format. 
— The aside from David about how many members of the group have left for cults amuses me.
— I also like the awkward pause from everyone after David sings about wanting a threesome with his bandmates. 
— David has a few slips, but he does a phenomenal job in this sketch—honestly, I’d say better than a number of cast members would have managed. Not only does he keep up with Aidy and Kate, he also effortlessly delivers some of the more poignant and jarring moments, like when he sings about contemplating suicide. This is one of my favorite host performances in SNL’s 47 seasons. 
— I had a very high opinion of this sketch the first time I watched it. I haven’t gone back a lot since, as I didn’t want to ruin my positive memories. Fortunately, my opinion has not changed. 
— I often feel like, intentionally or not, the impression given with many Aidy and Kate sketches, and particularly their collabs with Drezen in their last 3-4-5 years as cast members, is that we are meant to be honored to get to watch them and the hosts are meant to be honored to even participate; there is less effort to meet us halfway, get us to invest. That is not the case here. I feel like everyone involved is making a genuine effort at getting each beat and layer right, in a sketch that runs the gamut between sweet, sleazy, weird, and oddly touching.
— It’s difficult sometimes to talk about a sketch you enjoy compared to one you don’t—it’s easier to rip something up than to praise what is more special to you. So I feel like I may not have adequately gotten across why I think so highly of the sketch. All I can say is that it takes so many stylized moments and pairings of cast and writers that I normally have limited patience for, and makes them sing—literally and figuratively. If I ever had to make a Best Of for Aidy or Kate, this would be near the top.
STARS: *****

FATHER-SON PODCASTING MICROPHONE
the Father-Son Podcasting Microphone brings (host) & (KYM) together

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— No writing credit for this one, but I’d be surprised if Kyle was not heavily involved.
— David looks eerily like Peter Krause here.
— Something I appreciate here is that while we are told the premise, we are also shown the premise, through the terrific work of Kyle and David, and judicious filming choices. The hesitant conversations, the glances away from each other… all are done just right.
— I also appreciate the restraint in this piece. They could have easily gone OTT with voiceovers, or with shouting and hysterics. More subdued moments like the “family secrets” segment on a vasectomy that didn’t take are far more successful.
— The solemn pause forced into an awkward Squarespace plug is a hoot. 
— I’m reminded while watching this of how underrated Beck was as a voiceover artist. 
— Kyle gets a lot of stick for being one-note, but, as I’ve said in previous reviews, I do not care as much about being one note as long as you are able to excel in that range. Both this and the “Dad” pre-tape from the Woody Harrelson premiere could be lumped into “daddy issues,” but they both hit their marks in very different, very effective ways. 
— The ending, watching Kyle grow up, good-naturedly saying HGH is why he’s now nearly as tall as his father, and the father trying to hide his pride, is oddly affecting. 
— From the very popular “Serial” pre-tape to The Poddys to this, you can sense a certain respect and genuine interest in podcasts from the various writers. As if I didn’t need yet another indication of how so much has become even more polarized and diminished in the last few years, I can’t help comparing these to the recent John Mulaney pre-tape, which has its moments, but is so much cruder, and full of rage about what the genre is now identified with. 
— Comparing now and then reminds me of how I feel the pre-tapes have lost their way in the last few seasons (especially last season, before the arrival of Please Don’t Destroy). They weren’t perfect then either, but this episode, Kristen Stewart, and Will Ferrell all have flawless pre-tapes that I have gone back to watch a number of times. There’s just a professionalism and clarity and a quiet confidence and intelligence in pieces like this one that I miss.
STARS: *****

SAUCE
amatory (host) & (KAM) creep out their grandkids while making pasta sauce

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— Written by James Anderson and Alison Gates. You can see how adept Gates was by this point in shaping her skills around different writers. 
— Cecily makes her first appearance of the night—another example of how unique this episode was at the time for heavy-hitters being sidelined. (Cecily was ill.)
— When I first saw this sketch, I compared it to something from ‘90s SNL, due to the goofy physical comedy and a man being in drag. This was the first time in a while—and, I believe, the last—that a male cast member or host has played a female role, aside from RuPaul, who, of course, has some experience with drag. 
— David’s wig and glasses remind me of Barry Humphries/Dame Edna Everage, though Edna would never be caught dead in that apron.
— If we are going to get more of the oh-so-daring-if-this-were-1933 imagery of Kate in drag, it’s a fun idea to contrast her by having a man in drag as her partner. Unfortunately, we get far more focus on Kate mugging than we should, which undercuts everyone else in the sketch.
— It’s rare to see Cecily, Kyle and Melissa grouped together. Melissa’s flat line readings are nothing new, but Kyle’s are more difficult to gauge—I actually think some of them are good, but they feel out of step with his scene partners. Cecily is the best of the three, possibly because she has always been better at picking up Anderson’s voice than most others in the cast who aren’t named Kenan. 
— I’m torn on Kate trying to make hosts break. Sometimes I think it’s unprofessional. In sketches like this, which don’t rely on staying in character, it doesn’t bother me as much. 
— At first I thought she surprised David by trying to stick her finger in his mouth during the live show, but apparently they also did this in dress. 
— Once we get to the part where there’s a lot of horsing around with Kate and David, with David’s physicality put to good use, the sketch is much more entertaining, and seems to have a reason for existing. I wish it had not taken so long to get there. This sketch is about 5 minutes long when 3 or 3 and a half would have been fine.
— I do like the ending (Kate’s character, after all that buildup, saying he still can’t get hard). 
STARS: ** (I want to rate this a little higher, and I might have done so on the high of the original airing, but I think this is about right.)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Easy”

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— Blue: I like this song’s rhythm, though it didn’t really come together for me until the drummer started playing.
— Once again, Camila’s vocals sound great. I would love to know all about her vocal training. 
— Ah, now the stage is lightening up to show that Camila isn’t so alone after all.
— The rhythm changes slightly on the chorus and I’m not sure I’m digging it.
— Also not sure I’m digging the back half of the chorus, with the sudden rushing of the lyrics, and the way it goes back into the verse feels abrupt.
— Camila sounds so beautiful when she sings in head voice.
— Speaking of abrupt, I felt like the ending could have gone on for another few bars.
STARS: ***

DOG COURT
(CES) adjudicates disputes involving canines & their owners

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— Written by Gillespie, Green, and Kent Sublette. 
— If you were around for early season 45 (and, most likely, you were), you will remember the heavy focus on dogs, and the discourse over how cheap it is to rely on dogs in lieu of proper writing. I have somewhat mixed feelings—I don’t mind dog sketches as long as I don’t have to see dogs in close-up, cowering in fear (which is the whole basis of at least one recurring sketch in SNL’s past). I do, however, think they can keep more experimental material from getting on the air, and certain brands of pandering do bother me.
— I am not one of those fans who gets much out of intros for sketches—sometimes they work, but this one just feels like padding. 
— This sketch’s appeal may rest on how much you enjoy Kate and Cecily wheeling out each of their stock ‘comedy voices.’ Kate’s voice in particular feels overly familiar—just a few steps away from Guiliani. I would have liked seeing someone else given a shot in this part. 
— The only part of the dog use here that annoys me is when they have a close-up of one dog, with glasses no less, as we hear a “huh???” type noise on the soundtrack. Just too far into the realm of corniness. 
— I got a laugh out of the dog looking away from the camera before we could see his “dead eyes,” which means we end up focusing on a shot of David’s crotch.
— The moment where Cecily is barely able to keep the pug in place reminds me of the story and dress clip she shared—that she had been sick most of the week, and the pug licking her face and being excited felt like it was trying to show her love and telling her to feel better. This feels even more touching in retrospect knowing some of what Cecily was going through. 
— I like Cecily responding to the drawing looking very little like her (oddly, it looks more like Heidi) by saying what can you expect with a dog drawing it.
— Good to see Melissa in a rare character part. 
— The end of this sketch, as we watch a dog jury condemn a man to death, is the type of ridiculousness I would have enjoyed more of, with a bit less of the part with Kate and David. 
STARS: **

GOODNIGHTS

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— One of the parts of this episode I remember most is the little celebratory dance David and Camila Cabello do after he says his goodbyes to the camera. At this time, I often felt like the show was choking from political expectations it would never be able to meet (made worse by the 50000 debate sketches) as well as an increasingly fatigued cast lineup. This moment of pure joy, knowing SNL was still capable of making the people involved—and us—feel that joy,  is exactly what I wanted and needed.

CUT FOR TIME: GIULIANI & ASSOCIATES
A commercial advertises the legal services of Giuliani (KAM) & Associates (host) (BEB)

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— Written by Colin Jost.
— Given the show’s love for Kate, and for her Rudy impression, I’m still amazed this was cut. 
— A big night for Barry Humphries, as Beck looks like his non-Edna central character, the shameful, shameful Sir Les Patterson. (The clip is from 1982, so… be warned) 
— Not for the first time tonight, David, looking like a cousin to Charles Grodin and a certain I Think You Should Leave character, is providing most of my enjoyment, even with silly lines like calling Rudy, “Googlyiani.”
— Probably Kate’s best-ever line as Rudy: “We may not have passed the bar, but we definitely lowered it!” 
— The more this goes on the more any humor drains away, although Chloe does a good job with her part (and is not just doing her Ooli accent). 
— The part with Kenan is especially aimless. 
— As someone who grew up on those Sally Struthers commercials, the TV/VCR repair line amused me.
— As this deservedly excised piece peters away, David’s energy provides me with one last happy moment: “If you don’t…I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
STARS: *½

OTHER DRESS REHEARSAL SKETCHES
— Thank you to the writer of the dress rehearsal report I’m summarizing, as well as another writer, who goes into a bit more detail.
— The movie quote game sketch that would go through Adam Driver and finally make it to air with Daniel Craig.
— An NBA press conference regarding Daryl Morey’s tweets about China, with Melissa and Chloe as reporters, Alex as Adam Silver, David as Morey, Ego as James Harden, Bowen (on stilts) as Yao Ming.
— A Beck and Kyle-centric sketch where they ruin a lunch meeting between David and two Harley Davidson reps (Kenan and Chloe), ending in a shirtless Kyle holding a pizza and having coffee thrown at him. 
— An engagement dinner sketch with Chris and Chloe as the couple, and David as her father, who looks racist because he does a Powerpoint presentation with the wrong men (like Gary Coleman) in place of Chris.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— When I first watched this episode, I described it as reminding me of episodes I grew up watching in the early ‘90s. I would still say that is true. The main reason for the comparison is because I thought this was a consistently solid installment, with no real dead spots, no cold open to dread, no real need to chop the episode into pieces and wring my hands over what should have worked and why it didn’t. The Grouch pre-tape also had the same knack for tapping into pop culture that SNL was so much better at in the early ‘90s.
— This episode also serves as an example of how much season 45 tended to rest on the strength of the host. Similar to another season with a very large, clearly in flux cast (20), a charismatic lead is needed to carry the burden. When a host struggles with that burden, the episode is more likely to fall apart, because the writing and use of cast aren’t strong enough on their own. 
— I would absolutely love to see David host again, but as of two and a half years later, he hasn’t even made a cameo. We’ll live in hope.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Father-Son Podcasting Microphone
Peter, Paula & Murray
Grouch
Little Miss Teacher’s Friend
SoulCycle
Equality Forum
Monologue
Dog Court
Sauce
Weekend Update
(CFT: Giuliani & Associates)

TOMORROW
The always-sterling Vax Novier takes a chance on Chance the Rapper, the first double-duty host of the season.

October 5, 2019 – Phoebe Waller-Bridge / Taylor Swift (S45 E2)

by Matt

IMPEACHMENT STRATEGY
Mike Pompeo (Matthew Broderick) & others plot impeachment strategy

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— A lot of my peers don’t like how cold opens always begin with an applause break, and while I’m pretty ambivalent to it, that concept plays off very awkwardly here considering that the first line of the sketch is very long. Feels like Beck didn’t stop talking at the right time for it, as he pauses mid-line and ad-libs a facepalm while he waits for it to pass.
— Kate’s Giuliani continues to be an irritating presence shuffling through the same lame jokes as always.
— Beck’s Pence: “I’m supposed to be seeing the new Judy Garland movie with mother!” Did you guys know that Mike Pence is gay?! Hahahahahaha.
— Matthew Broderick is here as Mike Pompeo for… reasons. Look, I have nothing against the guy, and he’s certainly a more capable performer than De Niro, but there is literally no reason for him to be a part of this sketch. What cultural cache does he even have by this point? Seriously, who is this for?
— Ah, so apparently he was here to assist in the delivery of a limply-executed Ferris Bueller joke. The visual of that mannequin is haunting, if that’s at all to this cold open’s credit.
— Kenan debuts his seldom-seen Ben Carson impression. It’s nowhere near as memorable as Jay’s, but he’s trying.
— Oh, and he’s already gone. That was some pointless padding.
— Beck’s Pence makes a conversion therapy joke that Matthew’s Pompeo doesn’t even respond to. Solid writing as always with these cold opens.
— Another Ferris Bueller line from Matthew. Sorry, I can’t really find the will to actually say things about this sketch beyond what’s happening, which I already barely have the will for.
— Stephen Miller being represented by a snake puppet in a basket?? Is SNL actively trying to disrupt the illusion that it’s satirical?
— Oh my god, Kate’s Guliani is back in Joker make-up. I’m so tired.
— In a word: no.
STARS: *

MONOLOGUE
host explores how Fleabag & Killing Eve reflect her personal life

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— I wanna get out of the way now that my God, I love Phoebe Waller-Bridge. As someone who was a huge fan of Fleabag, I was super excited when she got announced to host the show; it feels so rare to see a proper British comedian hosting the show rather than just whatever actor is attached to some big project, and her comedic/writerly instincts are on fine display here. She’s owning this monologue effortlessly.
— A fantastic run of jokes about how much psychopaths are “having a moment” right now.
— I love how quiet the room gets when Phoebe is talking about her and Andrew Scott’s efforts to find out why his “Hot Priest” character created “such a horn-storm.” While dead silence during monologues usually feels uneasy, there’s this outstanding sense that she has the entire audience’s full attention, which speaks to how compelling of a story-teller she is. I suppose this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though, given that Fleabag started as a one-woman show and was, in effect, a very long monologue piece.
— “Back in the day, horny women were to be feared, and now they’re given Emmys.”
— Phoebe’s entire bit about how genitals are often just patiently sitting around and not being interacted with is absolutely perfect. (“Think about how many of them are in this room right now. Just think about all the genitals, all across America, sat on couches, right now.”)
— Overall, a fantastic monologue. Phoebe must’ve written this. I have to wonder how many new fans she made based off of this segment alone.
STARS: *****

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
What’s Wrong With This Picture- contestants impute absurd backstories

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— The return of this game show sketch from last season’s finale. While I can never give these sketches too much credit for originality, there’s something about their premise that feels very reliable; it’s the ideal sort of recurring sketch for this concept-driven era in that you can change all the variables while maintaining the same framework and the jokes can still land very effectively. (I get similar vibes from another recurring sketch in tonight’s show… but we’ll get to that.)
— Aidy and Kyle’s character intros are great; I especially like Kyle saying that he’s “armed and ready to play,” causing Kenan to deliver a very Kenan-esque, “Armed?”
— Another charming thing about the host being a British comedian without classical acting training? Phoebe’s American accent is, uh, not great. 
— All of the contestant’s responses are providing me with good laughs. This era’s always been good with one-liners.
— For some reason, the image with the saw in the fridge features another mistake: the bacon package is labelled “Bacoan.”
— Kyle: “Someone’s talking to her about evolution, so she’s closing her ears. I didn’t come from no chimp! I’m God’s little guy!”
— Funny little ending callback to Phoebe thinking that this is a dating show with Kyle.
STARS: ***½

LOVE ISLAND
Love Island- United Kingdom reality show oddballs feud & hook up

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— Phoebe hosting in the midst of the Love Island craze feels like it pencils such a sketch into the show a bit, doesn’t it?
— All of the character intros are great, as they tend to be with these sorts of sketches. Some of my favorites: Phoebe saying her dad is a boxer and her mother is a pub, Alex being from “Murder-Suicide, England,” and Chloe being “from the part of Ireland where the soil is bones.”
— Oh, this sketch is also our first chance to see Chloe doing some fun accent work, which she always excels at. The audience is a bit hesitant to laugh, but she’s making a nice splash as the sketch’s newbie player.
— “You’ve heard an English accent! You’ve heard an Irish accent! Now hear all the little weirdies in between!”
— The strange visual of Aidy’s character being a thumb with googly eyes when she wipes her make-up off is maybe a bit too absurd for this sketch, but y’know, points for unpredictability I suppose.
— Man, there are a lot of cast members in this, and while I’m having my fun with the piece, it feels like a lot of them are being rather ill-served. Both Chris and especially Alex feel like they’re barely in this.
— This sketch was pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to be, but I always enjoy this era skewering trash reality television.
STARS: ***½

MID-DAY NEWS
anchors keep a racial scorecard of crimes reported during their newscast

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— A legendary sketch right here, folks! 
— After the very professional set-up, Kenan and Ego celebrating the suspect in an armed robbery story being white gets a big laugh. 
— Ego, someone who’s been by and large floating in the ether up to this point in her tenure, is absolutely killing it here with her funny interjections while Alex details a Ponzi scheme-related arrest. She and him have a great rapport, which is nice to see given how infrequently we’ve gotten to see either of them getting a chance at meaty work from the show at this point.
— The structure of this sketch is particularly great. I love the sort of domino effect at play with the news anchors slowly becoming more and more invested in treating their news stories as something of a competition in hopes that their race will end up with less reported crimes in the daily stories. Phoebe and Alex play comparatively straight roles here by design, but we already get a nice, early crack from Alex’s character here with his restrained cockiness over the reveal that a white-collar criminal was Black. With that, the game gets cookin’.
— Great inclusion from Chris as the weatherman, declaring that the incoming “Hurricane Chet” has a white name.
— I have no idea why Alex has become the cast member that the show seems intent on getting to dab or floss, but he sure knows how to accentuate his whiteness when he does it.
— The audience is getting really into this, and how could they not? This sketch really felt like a classic as it was airing, which is just about the most intoxicating buzz an SNL episode can give.
— A solid bait and switch when Phoebe’s story about a woman complaining about her welfare card turns out to be white, causing her to yell “Dammit!”
— Another classic bit where Alex and Ego mutually decide to veto a story about a Latino man.
— Kenan, exasperated by a news story: “A LaQuan?? Rock-climbing?? In Utah??”
— The ending bit with the last criminal being arrested “dressed as the Joker” is a bit aged by now, but given how evergreen everything else about this sketch is, I can’t complain. Also a great touch with everyone shaking hands amidst Kenan and Ego’s celebration; as incisive as this sketch is, I like how much it also prioritizes a sense of sportsmanship. There’s a nice, fun-loving energy that keeps things electric.
— One of the best sketches of this era, and a crucial turning point for Ego’s tenure.
STARS: *****

THE WAR IN WORDS
The War In Words- wife’s (host) cryptic letters concern WWII pilot (MID)

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— Perhaps a controversial take, but as with “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”, I’ve found “The War in Words” to be an incredibly reliable recurring piece. It’s also the perfect sort of premise for Mikey’s exasperated straight man performance.
— While the first beat of these sketches is always the same by design, I still got a good laugh out of Phoebe’s brief “Thank you” letter to Mikey.
— A funny, dumb gag of Phoebe sending Mikey a “vast amount” of her hair when he asked for a lock. I also love how she spends the rest of the sketch with a very short, crudely-cut wig.
— Phoebe, after Mikey writes to her about a nurse tending to his deceased friend: “William: So who’s this French bitch you’re talkin’ to?! Your wife, Lydia.”
— Another great reveal when Phoebe sends Mikey a film of her hanging out with Adolf Hitler “as if [she’s] one of the gang.”
— An even better bit with Phoebe letting slip that Mikey’s father has passed away. Holy hell, this sketch is on a roll.
— And NOW it’s revealed that his father died from a broken heart due to the death of his mother! So fucking good.
— A cute touch with Mikey featuring his actual son as his character’s son that Phoebe sent to him.
— Of all the hosts to do this sketch so far (Claire Foy before her, and Carey Mulligan after), Phoebe is the most natural; it’s great to see this sketch handed to someone with defined comic instincts. That’s always made me feel like this was the definitive “The War in Words” installment.
STARS: ****½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lover”

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— Matt: By default, the better of this season’s two musical performances performed against an inconspicuously green backdrop.
— Blue: I really like said green backdrop, and Taylor’s complementary outfit.
— Always an interesting choice to start the set with a ballad.
— The occasional breathiness of Taylor’s voice is irritating me a little.
— …Yeah, I had zero thoughts on that. Despite the unnecessary breathy delivery of some notes, Taylor was in fine voice. Her pitch was fine and she engaged well with the audience. Her playing was fine as well. The song itself was a decent love ballad, nothing that I find too memorable.
STARS: ***

WEEKEND UPDATE
Elizabeth Warren (KAM) highlights fundraising success & personal outreach

China government official Chen Biao (BOY) revels in his trade war role

Mort Fellner’s feel-good elderly stories turn out to be obituaries

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— Colin takes a dunk on Trump suggesting he’ll be forced to leave the office. We know how that paid off, of course—always makes watching these Updates weird once you exit the vacuum they were created in.
— A classic Che bit asking if, in light of his proposal to add a crocodile moat to the border wall, it’s okay to make fun of Trump: “You ever read Of Mice and Men? Remember how Lennie was really… strong? What if Trump is really strong?” (Of course, the idea that he’d withhold from making an edgy joke on a topic he has no place to talk about is laughable in and of itself… but we can pretend.)
— Also love how when Colin talks about how Twitter deleted a Biden Nickelback meme that Trump posted, Che interjects, “See? He’s strong!” to keep the bit going.
— Seeing Kate as Elizabeth Warren on Update is making me realize how strange it is that she’s only popped up so far here and up top the show to do political impressions. She feels very much displaced from the rest of the show despite often being seen as SNL’s big “star.” Given how successful this episode has been without her presence, it’s making me wish that we could see more of what SNL looks like without Kate altogether (which we at least got a nice taste of in the first half of S47)—not that she hasn’t done good work, but I want to see the show relinquished to people like Ego, or Alex, or Chris, all of whom have really made their presences known across the episode in ways that don’t feel common enough even now.
— Either way, Kate’s Elizabeth Warren is fine. It’s probably one of her most tolerable, well-performed characters; I like how the impression encourages her to be more soft-spoken, which adds a nice bit of dimensionality that we don’t often get when she’s playing the likes of Jeff Sessions or Rudy.
— I can’t tell if Warren saying that she likes BDSM—“bank destroyin’ and savin’ Medicare”—is supposed to be earnestly funny or deliberately lame, but it did tickle me.
— Alright, Che getting a call from Warren for donating $10,000 because he liked the story that she just deconstructed across her Update piece of having kinky sex with a young marine was pretty good. Always love those sorts of meta breaks on Update.
— Colin: “A new study finds that cats actually bond with people like dogs do, but they’re too aloof to show it, which is why I named my cat ‘Dad.’”
— The debut of Bowen’s Chen Biao trade daddy character!
— The fact that Bowen can start off this segment speaking fluent Chinese as a casual flex/power move shows how valuable it is to finally have an Asian cast member. It’s a minor thing, but man, that feels good.
— Bowen has already fully won over the audience less than a minute into his Update piece. How often do you see a cast member so fully-formed right out the gate, and with the crowd eating up everything they’re doing?
— Chen Biao: “We just waved our tariff on American soybeans, so save some of your tempeh for us, McKenzie.” Che: “Who’s McKenzie?” Chen: “I dunno, probably some sophomore at Vassar who, like, drinks out of a metal straw and it’s such a performance.”
— And just like that, Bowen became the show’s next big star. 
— Colin makes a joke referencing Pete’s absence from the show these first two weeks, which wouldn’t be notable if not for Pete going on-record about how betrayed he felt by the show making cracks at his expense. Pretty benign stuff though, really.
— Mikey’s supercentenarian character returns, having last appeared in the Don Cheadle episode.
— While this bit didn’t work that well for me on its first go-around, I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying it this time. The joke is always the same, so it stops being about surprise and moreso the ingenuity with which Mikey can find distinct ways of reiterating the same joke, and he’s surprisingly great at that here. There’s a nice tug and pull with him and the audience in the direction of his jokes; it feels like he’s letting the spirit of Kazurinsky course his veins, and while he’s perhaps not that vicious, Mikey leans into it well. We rarely see him perform like this, so it’s a treat.
— Some fun physical comedy from Mikey’s random, delicate jabs at Colin.
— A particularly great joke run from Mikey regarding a supercentenarian who played with the Angels… baseball team, threw out a pitch and the umpire called… 911, but he’s alive and well… in our hearts. Whip ‘em around, Mikey!
— Another jab at Pete’s absence from Mikey as Update closes.
STARS: ****

ROYAL ROMANCE
Royal Romance- duchess (host) & Thunderstick (KET) were a ’70s odd couple

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— This sketch feels very similar to the “Wild Wild Country” sketch from S43’s Mulaney episode, what with Kenan’s skeevy character.
— Kate’s performance feels unnecessarily hammy.
— I got a guilty laugh out of Kenan’s blaxploitation movie poster for “Bitch, I Will Shoot You Right in the Face.” It’s also fun seeing Kenan do shitty karate a la a blaxploitation film.
— I’m not finding too much of the written material to be neither overwhelmingly good nor bad. It’s offering some laughs with its visuals and pretape content, and it’s certainly a more interesting vehicle for royal-related humor than those Prince Harry home video pieces, but I’m finding it to be merely okay with sparks of intrigue.
— Another funny clip of Kenan demonstrating how he would have sex with the women in the royal family on an ottoman.
— I suppose this sketch was too good of an opportunity not to make the joke of Kenan knighting Sir Mix-a-Lot.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Lenny Pickett [real] perform “False God”

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— Matt: Lenny Pickett! Hell yeah!
— Blue: Lenny Pickett providing an intro on saxophone! Awesome. 
— Lenny’s little additions throughout are adding a lot to this song. The beat, though basic, is nice too. (And surprisingly, it’s being played by a real drummer.)
— Once again, Taylor’s singing is spot-on.
— Another performance which I have very little to say about, except that this song feels atypical of Taylor Swift, and I didn’t really care for it.
STARS: ***

STATE LINE BAR
tough-acting barflies (KAM), (AIB), (CES), (host) still pine for (BEB)

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— Seems like we’re ending the night with a piece firmly built around the show’s veteran female cast, which I suppose is fair enough; even if I can be worn rather thin easily by late-stage Kate, Aidy, and Cecily, they’re the women that run the show, and it was a bit overdue for them to get a more indulgent piece with someone like Phoebe hosting.
— To answer the question, “Can Phoebe do a white trash accent better than a proper American one?”—absolutely not, lol.
— Cecily’s voice sounds very similar to her Cathy Anne characterization.
— Up until Beck’s entrance as all of their exes, this sketch has been incredibly meandering, but I like the direction it’s taking with all of them approaching him to secretly plea for his love in between aggressive actions.
— Great delivery from Aidy, anxiously asking Beck if he’s checked her emails.
— I feel like this sketch shouldn’t be working for me, and indeed, some of my fellow writers expressed skepticism about my enjoyment of this piece…which I think is totally fair. But even if it’s not a sketch that’s super tightly-written, I think there’s a lot of fun in the loose, chaotic energy of it all; I’m usually not too big on Kate, Aidy, and Cecily chewing scenery, but this is so silly that it starts to gel for me.
— I got a big, guilty laugh out of Cecily sloppily smacking that guitar into Beck. Screw it, this one’s fun.
STARS: ***

GOODNIGHTS

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— Continuing the tradition of cast members pointing out featured players who get their big, breakthrough moment, Mikey points at Bowen during the goodnights. Aw.

CUT FOR TIME: TAMPAX SECRETS
Tampax: Secrets hide (host) from the embarrassing reality of female hygiene

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— There’s a pretty good satirical element to this piece—the idea that being caught with any array of gross or controversial items is better than being seen with a Tampon—but for some reason the delivery isn’t quite selling it for me.
— Oh look, it’s Melissa in a nothing role! Good to know that even in cut material she’s given very little to do…
— For some reason, a lot of the best gags in this sketch are blink-it-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of moments. I suppose that means it’s better to see it online where you can pause the sketch more easily rather than being broadcast on television, but it still feels like a strange decision not to highlight them further.
— I did get a laugh from Phoebe’s character announcing, “I better take this piece of dog poop to the bathroom!”
— Speaking of good, barely-visible gags: Aidy holding a box set of The Cosby Show.
— An alright ending with Phoebe asking why the unmasked Tampon was blurred in the commercial.
— This sketch was fine, and it wouldn’t have hurt the show to include, but it wasn’t anything too special. Feels like it could’ve popped with a bit more revision, or dare I say over-explanation.
STARS: ***

CUT FOR TIME: NEW PLAY
(KYM)’s new play is derailed by British (CES) and (host’s) performances

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— Mm, not sure about Kenan’s unnecessarily hostile reaction to Kyle’s enthusiasm towards the project that he’s explicitly there doing auditions for. I think John spoke on SNL’s tendency to do this sort of thing in his Sam Rockwell review regarding that episode’s “dog head guy” sketch; it’s a strange diversion in hopes of getting a cheap laugh apropos of whatever else the sketch has going on.
— Cecily and Phoebe seem like a fun duo, so I can see how this sketch would’ve come together, but uh, the content itself… not doing it for me much. Silly accents are good for a quick laugh but this whole sketch being built around it smacks of the expectation that wacky performance can override shoddy writing, which is pretty much never the case. It just brings to my attention the dichotomy between how much fun something can be to make or perform, but how that doesn’t necessarily transfer to an audience that doesn’t exist within that vacuum.
— Alright, fine, I was tickled by Phoebe’s delivery of “You even remember that day or were you too hee-igh on meth?”
— Kenan’s lines make it clear that this sketch is supposed to be skewering how British actors sometimes have unconvincing American accents, perhaps something of an inside joke at Phoebe, but you can’t explore that concept entirely through a sketch that’s just silly talking. Even though I’m not finding it to be tortuous, it’s just… not strong, either. This piece deserved to be cut.
STARS: **

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A rather strong episode that I’ve always been very partial to! Aside from the dreadful cold open, I liked everything on display. Phoebe acquits herself nicely to the show, and you can tell that she’s having a great time, providing a lot of confident performances and excellent comedic timing. This episode is also heavily bolstered by how much it invites the show’s more underused or new cast members in on the fun: Alex, Chris, Ego, and Bowen all get some fantastic highlights here. It feels like an episode that points towards the success of a new era of the show, if only the old guard could finally let it go…

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

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And last but not least,

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Mid Day News
Monologue
The War In Words
Weekend Update
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Love Island
Royal Romance
State Line Bar
(CFT: Tampax Secrets)
(CFT: New Play)
Impeachment Strategy

TOMORROW
John takes on some stranger things, with David Harbour

September 28, 2019 – Woody Harrelson / Billie Eilish (S45 E1)

by Kabir

IMPEACHMENT
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) phones for Ukraine help; Liev Schreiber cameo

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— Seeing Alec Baldwin’s sour grimace is not how I wanted a new season of SNL to start, but the audience doesn’t seem to mind.
— Nice reveal that Kate’s Giuliani is actually on CNN as he takes the call from the president.
— This is just a bunch of quick hits through all of SNL’s Trump administration imitations, and it’s working fine if that’s what you want. Kind of like a refresher course for the new season.  Any longer, and this would be another slog.
— Nice hand for Bowen Yang making his debut as a castmember; he played Kim Jong-un once before, in season 44’s Sandra Oh episode, when he was a writer.
— Pleasantly surprised to see Chris’ Kanye.
— Good exchange between Kenan as Don King and Trump. “We were having an emergency meeting of the black whackadoos.” “I need my urbans.”
— Liev Schrieber cameo—nice!  Many commenters feel I was tough on Schrieber’s episode from last season. While I stand by the review, I should have made it clearer that I thought he himself did a good job.
STARS: **

OPENING MONTAGE

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— Pete is still in the open despite not being in this episode or the next, due to filming for The Suicide Squad.
— Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd now in the main cast. I may have sensed a bit of extra “oomph” from Darrell Hammond when announcing them.
— Bowen Yang’s visuals were pretty cool.  He and Chloe Fineman make their featured player debuts.

MONOLOGUE
verbal faux pas by pajama-clad fashionista host risk offending viewers

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— Woody in a tuxedo, very classy. Nice to see him back in 8H.
— Some great pics of Woody from the past.
— He seemed to have a bit of trouble with the tearaway pants.
— “I usually player murderers, or the people they murder.”
— This has been meandering between his fashion comments and poor word choices, but then lands with some decent jokes, such as the one about Melania Trump.
STARS: **½

TOWN HALL DEBATE
Bernie Sanders (Larry David) & Kamala Harris (MAR)

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— Just as the cold open was kind of a roll call of political figures on the right, this is now the same for the left—and in yet another format that SNL has run into the ground (a debate).
— Chloe as Marianne Williamson was a decent impression, but less than three years later, it feels like something which people probably don’t remember.
— Larry David! So far, the best part of this sketch.
— Harrelson doing a good job as Biden, which we’ll see again later in the season.
— Feels strange seeing Harris running against Biden, for obvious reasons. Not unlike the season 5 sketches with George Bush running for president (before becoming Reagan’s running mate).
— Decent lines from Maya Rudolph as Harris saying she’s the fun aunt: “I call that a ‘funt.'”
— Funny little rant from Sanders about people calling 9-1-1 for him.
— Nice retorts to Biden’s story from Sanders and Harris.
— Surprisingly little time for Kate’s Elizabeth Warren, likely due to the cameos.
— Another Melania joke?  This needs to wrap up.
— This is petering out fast with clapter and callbacks.
— Weak ending, which makes me suspect that this was written as a cold open.
STARS: **½

SUN’S OUT NEVADA
World’s Biggest Cheeto attraction becomes orange dust

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— Nice laid-back voiceover from Melissa.
— Minor yikes: they mispronounced Dav Pilkey’s name—it’s pronounced “Dave,” despite the spelling.
— Aidy under-playing, which I like. So far, her short bit has been the funniest.
— This is getting sillier and staying interesting despite no humongous laughs.
— But there’s a humongous laugh now, at the Cheeto’s fate.
— Mikey and Aidy with some good closing lines.
— Short, sweet, and ridiculous. Nicely done.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bad Guy”

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— Blue: Despite having probably played it on a synth on the original recording, Finneas is rendering this song’s killer bassline very well. It sounds thick and heavy.
— I like Billie’s outfit and how her band is coordinated. Her image suits her unconventional brand of pop music.
— Interesting stage setup… almost like a mock-up of the usual stage.
— This is the kind of performance that I would assume is lip-synced if I didn’t know much about SNL, because the vocals sound too good to be live, and there’s pre-recorded harmonies. Then again, it’s not like this is a vocally-challenging song…
— Whoa! Billie is now walking up the wall! I knew something was off about the stage set. Very convincing optical illusion.
— Nice visual choice with the lights flashing every time Billie sings “I’m the bad guy… duh!”
— At the end, the camera pulls out to reveal Billie standing in a boxy mock-up of the set, much like the one used to a similar effect in the film Inception.
— Aw, Billie looks proud of herself at the end of the song, and Finneas is applauding for her. Very sweet.
— I feel like I can’t give much feedback on the performance, since it sounded just like the recording and my notes would just be discussing my thoughts on the recording. I loved the visuals, though! A great choice for the season opener.
STARS: **** (for the visuals—I always thought the song was overhyped)

WEEKEND UPDATE
recovering gunshot victim David Ortiz (KET) is still doing commercials

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— Some great jokes right out of the gate.
— Nice riff on President Trump’s “liddle” controversy. “I’m sorry to be a grammar Nazi. I know you hate one of those things.”
— Kenan back as Big Papi (David Ortiz). His performance is good, and I don’t exactly dislike these, it just seems like the same joke every time: mangling language, or saying vaguely foreign-sounding words.
— It’s probably me being wistful, but there were some nice, absurd Norm Macdonald-esque jokes near the end of this.
— Kind of short, but some very strong jokes.  Big Papi slowed things down a bit, though.
STARS: ***½

HALF-TIME LOCKEROOM
high school football team learns their coach’s (host) thing is broken

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— This is kind of a mess—is the sketch about how dumb Heidi’s character is, or something with the coach’s privates?
— The constant use of “thing” is tiresome. This show is on at 11:30 p.m.—can they really not use the proper medical name, or a much funnier slang than “thing?” Reviewer Tony suggested “pillypacker,” which would make one-time-and-never-again host Martin Lawrence proud.
— Heidi’s Donald Duck voice is mildly amusing but not enough to save this.
— Weak. Make this sketch either absurd or gross—this tried to do both and failed.
STARS: **

INSIDE THE BELTWAY
flashbacks validate (KET)’s impeachment cynicism

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— Yet another political sketch? Maybe the numerous scandals over the past six years have just numbed me, but this seems totally inconsequential.
— Kenan’s attitude is essentially what the audience is thinking, it seems. And turns out to be correct.
— The long pauses between clips (for costume changes) are growing tiresome.
— The line “I’m the host” was probably intended to get a bigger response.
— Just now, Aidy and a stagehand were caught on-camera with the costume change. This has caused the audience to roar, and the cast to break. So, this “history lesson” is finally making me laugh.
STARS: **½

DOWNTON ABBEY
movie features white people not doing much of anything

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— This has nailed the look of Downton. Even before the reveal, I knew what it was (and I’ve never watched the show).
— Given the high production values, I expected a bigger central joke, but it’s not bad.
— Side note: that is NOT how deep dish pizza is supposed to look. That looks like a DQ ice-cream cake that’s been made up to look like a pizza.
— Some good lines here and there, but the twist at the end seemed unnecessary.  Still, it didn’t detract.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Love You”

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— Blue: The stage here looks beautiful, with its celestial backdrop.
— “Bad Guy” isn’t exactly an upbeat song, but all the same, I’d say Billie is currently aiming for the “one upbeat song and one ballad” format.
— It’s also a good choice for Billie to perform a more melodic song, to prove to those who might only be familiar with her whisper-type vocals that she really can sing.
— Finneas is providing some nice harmonies.
— The synth pad is a nice sonic addition to the song.
— Beautiful buildup to the second chorus with the strings and piano.
— Love the final wordless a cappella harmonizing.
STARS: ***

DAD
(host) and son (KYM) laments parental aloofness in retro rap video

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— The ’90s look of this is spot-on, which means we are likely in for some great Kyle Mooney lunacy. This reminds me of the many videos we had to watch in school back then. Matt points out that this may be loosely based on a Saved By the Bell episode.
— Maybe this is referencing something with which I’m unfamiliar, but the Colby section seems superfluous.
— Nice dance break.
— This never really took off for me. Still enjoyable.
STARS: ***

CHICKHAM’S APPLE FARM
sisters (AIB) & (KAM) enable unfun fruit picking

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— “Located in the part of New York State that has Confederate flags.”
— Woody’s look is very “Lil’ Abner.”
— Chris’ sections aren’t bad.
— The off-camera donkey bray is causing Aidy and Kate to break—the funniest part so far.
— This does not seem bizarre enough for a 10-to-1 sketch. Honestly, I wish the animals had gotten more out-of-hand to provide some laughs.
STARS: **½

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Everyone seemed to be having a ball with this, and Woody was a game host. But this pales in comparison to his three previous hosting stints. Far too many long political sketches here, and not enough absurdity. Only Weekend Update and a couple other pieces succeeded.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Weekend Update
Sun’s Out Nevada
Downton Abbey
Dad
Monologue
Chickham’s Apple Farm
Town Hall Debate
Inside The Beltway
Half-Time Locker Room
Impeachment

TOMORROW
Matt looks at Phoebe Waller-Bridge hosting with frequent musical guest, Taylor Swift.