Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
ENDORSEMENT ADS
Rudolph Giuliani (DAH) grinds out ads for GOP candidates he barely knows
— I like the little detail of how the sentimental background music in these endorsement ads always keeps abruptly stopping to a halt whenever Darrell’s Rudy Giuliani starts going off-script by questioning what he just read.
— The whole part with a reluctant Giuliani being forced to talk about how much he supports Heinrich Himmler is hilarious. However, I gotta say, the concept of the real Rudy Giuliani supporting Heinrich Himmler doesn’t come off so far-fetched nowadays. (And that’s about as political as you’ll ever see me get in these reviews.)
— Funny bit with how one political ad Darrell’s Giuliani reads off turns out to be an answering machine message for some random family, which catches him off-guard.
— The bit with Giuliani being made to read off a list of syllables so they can be dubbed in to make their own messages reminds me of how some SNL fans used to suggest (jokingly or not, I don’t know) that SNL should make Don Pardo (back when he was still alive) do the same thing, so his voice will live on forever after his death.
— A pretty funny ending ad with Darrell’s Giuliani mouthing along to badly dubbed-in, mechanical-sounding syllables of his own voice.
— Very awkward silence after Darrell’s pre-taped “Live from New York…”. No audience applause or theme music follows his LFNY at first; just uncomfortable dead silence. Geez.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host has trouble convincing audience members that he’s not gay
— A nice bouncy and energetic entrance from Eric McCormack, and I love how he asks the SNL Band to play the ending note again, which he proceeds to jump in time to.
— This monologue is basically just a gender-flipped version of Lucy Lawless’ monologue from season 24, where lesbian audience members (and some straight male audience members) kept asking Lawless lesbian-related questions.
— Boy, this one unseen guy in the audience has a VERY loud laugh that keeps standing out over the rest of the audience’s only-medium-level laughter throughout this monologue.
— Steve Higgins’ bit made me laugh out loud.
— Kattan shows up, addressing the famous gay rumors about himself while wearing his Mango clothes. I remember when this monologue originally aired, Kattan being dressed like that scared me into thinking we were getting a Mango sketch tonight. Thankfully, I was wrong.
— Pretty funny photo of Kattan with his wife, played by a scowling Paula Pell.
— At least Eric’s “manly” song is taking this into a different direction from Lucy Lawless’ monologue, but I’m not caring at all for this song.
STARS: **
THE BACHELOR
The Bachelor (host) picks ditzy hottie (MAR) instead of one-legged Amber
John Ritter, JIB, Bonnie Hunt inhabit Last-Chance Tuesdays on ABC
— The visual of Rachel in a hot tub while holding a plate of cooked meat up to Eric has shades of The Luvahs.
— Maya, to one-legged Amber: “At least I have two legs.” Amber: “At least I have two self-respects!”
— Maya’s ditziness is pretty funny.
— A laugh from Amber suddenly passing out unconscious right in the middle of bragging about how “hot” her hypoglycemia is.
— The brief “Last Chance Tuesdays” ABC commercial was absolutely hilarious, skewering the attempts at new sitcoms by Bonnie Hunt, John Ritter, and SNL’s own Jim Belushi. Who would’ve guessed at this time that According To Jim would end up lasting so many damn seasons?
— The Bachelor portions of this sketch are getting old. This sketch peaked so much with the unrelated “Last Chance Tuesdays” ad that it makes the remainder of this sketch pale in comparison. And I think Amy’s Amber character has finally reached that inevitable point where I’m starting to get kinda tired of her shtick, especially the farting nonsense.
STARS: **½
GAME NIGHT
losing at a party game causes ultra-competitive (RAD) to go on a rampage
— After such a serious set-up with a straightforward, joke-less first minute-and-a-half, we get a great turn with Rachel’s unexpected angry outburst.
— Rachel’s increasingly maniacal competitive attitude is very funny.
— Rachel: “Who the balls put Felix Mendelssohn?!?”
— We now get an epic and hilarious meltdown from Rachel, tearing the house apart, crashing through the wall (and leaving a human-shaped hole in the wall), and going insane outdoors while screaming and running around.
— Great detail of a now-frightened Eric rocking back and forth when Rachel speechlessly returns to the house after her meltdown.
— Overall, a very strong sketch and one of Rachel’s all-time best performances.
STARS: ****½
TALARICO FOR CONGRESS
Andrew Talarico (CHK) to voters- “tell Ellen Frankel (RAD) to stop lying”
— Uh… okay. I went through this whole mock attack ad without laughing a single time. There’s “spoofing something while using understated, low-key humor”, and then there’s “being so close to the source material it’s spoofing that you can’t find the joke”.
STARS: *
FRANKEL FOR CONGRESS
Ellen Frankel retaliates by asking voters to call Andrew Talarico
— Two of these attack ads in a row?
— The footage of Kattan’s character is actually from the cold opening of season 26’s Val Kilmer episode, in which Kattan played Al Gore’s lawyer.
— I get what this ad is going for, but ehhh, it’s not working too well for me. I am liking this second ad a little better than the first, though.
— I’m getting unwanted flashbacks to this season’s Sarah Michelle Gellar episode with how dead the audience is during these attack ads.
STARS: **
AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN
Paula Zahn (TIF) & new co-anchor (host) fall in love
— I believe this is the very first instance of Tina starring in a sketch as either a character or a celebrity impression, instead of as herself. I remember what a shocking sight this was at the time.
— Wow, Rachel has been everywhere so far in tonight’s episode, which is nice to see.
— A good laugh from the sudden “Are we in love?” turn from out of nowhere.
— Okay, after the initially-funny “Are we in love?” turn, I don’t like where this sketch is going.
— Yeah, it’s now two minutes later, and I haven’t been laughing at all. This sketch is pure blah.
— Ugh, enough with Tina and Eric passionately kissing each other. If SNL is expecting these kisses to get a whole bunch of “Woo!”s from the audience, it’s not working, as the audience is DEAD SILENT during these kissing sessions, which just makes it uncomfortable to me. By the way, some of the audience members from the aforementioned Sarah Michelle Gellar episode must’ve returned tonight, as there have been a few things in tonight’s episode that have been met with eerie silence, including Darrell’s pre-taped “Live from New York” at the end of the cold opening. Actually, as I said in my review of this season’s first episode, sketches and certain moments receiving uncomfortable silence from the audience is a bit of a theme this season, which adds to the “off” feeling of this season. While silence from audiences this season would never again get as bad as it was in the Sarah Michelle Gellar episode, I do remember the Jeff Gordon episode that’s coming up later this season having a somewhat tough audience.
STARS: *½
FAIRNESS IN NEGATIVE ATTACK ADS
Andrew Talarico’s follow-up anti-Frankel ad reaches new level of negation
— The increasingly convoluted messages of these attack ads (e.g. “Call Ellen Frankel to tell her to stop asking voters to call Andy Talarico to tell him to stop asking them to call her… etc.”) are not working much for me. They’re eliciting a minor smirk at best.
— I got one actual laugh just now, from the non-sequitur gag of a “J.Lo: I want Ben’s babies” headline being shown as a newspaper snippet example.
STARS: **
SIDE NOTE: The “torn edges” border used in some of this season’s bumper photos of hosts and musical guests reminds me so much of the bumper photo format from the early 90s. (some side-by-side comparisons below)
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Lenny Kravitz [real] perform “Guns & Roses”
WEEKEND UPDATE
belabored puns in Gene Shalit’s (HOS) movie reviews make no sense
atop the newsdesk, toddler rapper Baby K (JER) gets the party started
— Hmm, New York was then-recently chosen to host the 2012 Olympics? What ever happened to that? Didn’t the 2012 Olympics end up being held in London?
— Meh, another Gene Shalit Update commentary.
— Horatio-as-Shalit’s barrage of corny puns are doing NOTHING for me, not even in a “So bad, it’s good” way.
— Okay, I’m starting to get some chuckles from Shalit’s puns.
— Aaaaaand there goes the obligatory Fallon/Sanz gigglefest, where Horatio makes himself and Jimmy laugh far more than he makes me laugh. As bad as this is, the dress rehearsal version of this Gene Shalit commentary that’s shown in reruns features even worse Fallon/Sanz giggling.
— Tina, in an ad-libbed aside after the Gene Shalit gigglefest commentary has ended: “We’ve lost complete control.” Truer words have never been spoken.
— A very odd Phil Collins bit between Jimmy and Tina, but I kinda liked it, even though I feel like it might be spoofing something I’m not familiar with.
— What was with the very brief accidental cut to Tina when Jimmy was about to start the next joke? That gaffe receives extended laughter from the audience.
— Jeff attempts a new character, Baby K. And, hoo boy, this is absolutely not working for me. AT. ALL. The “comedy” here is fucking cringeworthy, and this is coming off like a rejected character from Nickelodeon’s “All That” or some shit. (Not to diss All That too much. Like most 90s kids, that show is a huge part of my childhood.) Hell, the occasional technical glitches with the superimposing effect on Jeff are more interesting than anything in the actual bit itself.
— And THAT’S how this Update ends? With that mind-numbingly god-awful Baby K bit? Boy, this overall Update was kind of a mess, which sadly continues the decline in quality that this season’s Updates have been taking.
STARS: **
BULLHORN
lax judge (WLF) is slow to yank contemptuous defendant’s (host) bullhorn
— Great to see Will having another big showcase after breaking out in the last episode with his Tim Calhoun debut.
— The absurdity of this sketch is really working for me. I’d like to think Will wrote this sketch himself. Not only because he has a co-starring role in it, but because the oddball writing and dialogue is very much in his wheelhouse and has a specific Forte-type feel.
— All of Will’s various responses to Eric’s ruthless bullhorn sounds are freakin’ hilarious, made even funnier by the grim, sluggish delivery Will’s using. He has me practically on the floor throughout this sketch.
— Funny turn with Eric now playing musical tones on his bullhorn instead of just generic horn sounds.
— Yeah, the more I listen to this dialogue, the more I’m convinced that Will had to have written this. Or at the very least, perhaps the writing team of Slovin & Allen wrote this, as they would prove to have a knack for tapping into Will’s oddball qualities and utilizing them perfectly (the soon-to-debut Falconer sketches).
— Very funny turn with Will surprisingly ruling Eric “not guilty” just because, as he tells Eric, “I like the cut of your jib.” Such a priceless line.
— I love the ending, with Eric IMMEDIATELY following Will’s generous “not guilty” ruling of him by playing the annoying bullhorn sounds once again, quickly diminishing Will’s goodwill towards him, leading to him sternly telling Eric during the sketch-ending audience applause, “Mr. Marshall, I’m trying to HELP you.”
— Overall, such a great absurd sketch that’s probably forgotten by most SNL fans after all these years. Only four episodes into his SNL tenure, and only two big roles for him so far, and Will is ALREADY emerging as a champion and a dependable performer in this shaky season.
STARS: ****½
VERIZON
Ellen Frankel encourages voters to call Andrew Talarico’s home phone
— Aaaaaaand these have officially gotten old. Enough of these, before they go the route of those insufferable Corona ads from earlier this season, where I have to contemplate giving out negative stars in my rating.
STARS: *
Z105
voiceplay of morning deejay Joey Mack (JIF) victimizes politician (host)
— Meh, the debut of these Z105 sketches, which I am NOT eager about revisiting. All I remember from these is nothing but idiotic, juvenile bathroom humor.
— So far in tonight’s installment, Jimmy is at least showcasing a nice and fun range of different voices that he’s constantly going back and forth between.
— Aaaaaand there’s all that idiotic, juvenile humor I mentioned earlier. Not caring for this.
— Ugh, and there goes the “He pooped his pants” routine, the bane of these Z105 sketches, and the main thing I’ve always remembered about hating in these.
STARS: **
JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE
alarmist scenario demonstrates need for coverage
— At least we’re getting a different pre-taped commercial from those tedious and unfunny political attack ads.
— Yet another role for Rachel tonight. I’m very happy to see her being so heavily utilized in this episode, after how underused she’s been for most of this season.
— Rachel and Eric’s dead-serious discussion of absurd things like knife-wielding hobos and sex in a Waffle House parking lot is pretty funny, as is the accompanying disclaimers on screen about such things.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Beyonce [real] perform “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”
JACKASS THE MUSICAL
stunts meet songs when show-offs perform showtunes
— Funny concept of a musical for the then-recently-released Jackass The Movie, of all things.
— The unintentional delayed timing from the guy in the panda bear costume tackling Seth gets a laugh from the audience (and Eric). I can’t help but wonder if it’s a giggling Horatio Sanz inside that panda bear costume. That would certainly explain some things.
— Parnell’s ending voice-over, regarding Jackass The Musical: “Just like your favorite musicals of the past… only with puking.”
— This overall sketch kinda fizzled out towards the end a bit, despite the fun nature of the whole sketch.
STARS: ***
STORIES
(MAR) embarrasses bar patron (TRM) by debunking his braggadocio
— Another Tracy/Maya semi-dramatic slice-of-life sketch.
— I’m surprised that Tracy is just NOW making his first and only appearance all night, all the way at the very end of the show. His airtime had been doing well this season. Oh, well, at least his appearance here is still a lead role, one that utilizes his distinct performance style well.
— Tracy’s embellished stories and Maya subsequently setting the record straight on what really went down in Tracy’s stories are pretty solid. And I love the general atmosphere of this sketch. It makes this feel like a scene from a movie or something.
— A good cheap laugh from Maya’s line about Tracy leaving “serious streaks in his drawers”.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mediocre episode. While there were two truly great things tonight, one being a strong Rachel Dratch showcase and the other being a forgotten-but-delightful early-era Will Forte piece, they were surrounded by a lot of meh and a few outright terrible things.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (John McCain)
a big step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Nia Vardalos