Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
MICHAEL JACKSON IN NEVERLAND RANCH
in bed with the flu, loopy Michael Jackson (AMP) incriminates himself
— OH, NO. We’re already starting off very rough, with yet another “Michael Jackson In A Tree” variation, which I never like, and starring Amy’s baffling Michael Jackson impression, which I also never like.
— Ugh, the return of Maya’s annoying Latoya Jackson impression from that awful Latoya Jackson Show sketch in the preceding season’s Al Sharpton episode. And for some reason, Maya’s Latoya is using a more staccato voice in tonight’s sketch.
— Ugh again, there goes Maya’s Latoya mentioning that she’s “gig-a-ling” (giggling), which is something she kept saying throughout the aforementioned sketch in the Al Sharpton episode, and drove me nuts. Why does Maya’s Latoya always DO that bizarre “I’m gig-a-ling” thing as Latoya? Is it based on something the real Latoya was known for saying?
— I admit to getting a laugh from Will’s entrance as an adult Macaulay Culkin, just because of how he looks.
— Not caring much for all the various celebrity walk-ons.
— Ugh, yet another celebrity impression I never liked: Darrell’s Geraldo Rivera, which is actually an accurate impression, but SNL’s material for him never makes me laugh.
STARS: *½
MONOLOGUE
host goes backstage to show how cast members prepare for the show
— Interesting seeing a backstage monologue at this point of the show’s run.
— I did not like Maya and Will’s scene at all.
— Kenan In A Dress alert.
— I absolutely love Rachel’s scene, with her drunkenly and angrily telling off a photo of Tina.
— I was about to say how odd and random it is that Seth and Amy are said to be rehearsing a Little Sleuths sketch (a sketch that hasn’t made it to air since its first installment way back when Seth and Amy were only in their fourth episode), but then Hilary Swank tells us “They like to study their old scripts and go over them again and again.”
— Wow, Seth and Amy’s scene was pretty wild. Not sure it was all that funny, though. Seemed too desperate for my likes.
— While I like the format of this monologue, the execution of this is very hit-and-miss with me, with a few more misses than hits.
STARS: **½
GRAYSON MOORHEAD INVESTMENTS
the Grayson Moorhead investment philosophy produces uniquely bad results
— Wow. A very random revival of SNL’s excellent Grayson Moorhead Securities ads from 10 years earlier.
— Jim Downey is playing his role just as well as he did in ’95.
— Overall, this sadly turned out a little on the meh side. There were some laughs, and there was Downey’s typically-funny dry delivery, but this commercial as a whole couldn’t hold a freakin’ CANDLE to the fantastic original Grayson Moorhead ads. The humor here came off kinda desperate (there’s that word again in this review) and a lot less funny compared to the original ads.
STARS: **½
SHEILA CHOAD’S LOS ANGELES FACE
botoxed women have frozen features
— Judging from the random use of the last name Choad (if you don’t know what that word means, Google it, as I don’t feel like explaining it here, and you’ll see why) for Maya’s character, I take it this is a James Anderson-written sketch. IIRC, Anderson would later use the last name Choad for a character played by Kenan in a sketch from more recent years (I can’t remember the sketch, but it might’ve been a game show sketch). Plus, Anderson’s known for using random goofy and sometimes sexually-dirty last names for characters in many of his sketches in general.
— An okay-seeming premise spoofing how overboard women around this time were going with Botox injections.
— I’m now starting to get pretty bored with this sketch, despite amusing performances from everyone. The concept is just too thin to sustain a full 4-minute sketch.
STARS: **
GRAYSON MOORHEAD INVESTMENTS
Grayson Moorhead takes pride in its high risk, low reward track record
— Once again, funny dry delivery from Downey, but the dialogue itself isn’t very funny, especially in comparison to Downey’s hilariously absurd dialogue in the original Grayson Moorhead ads.
— This ad is going on too long for something so meandering and not all that funny.
— Overall, this was even more disappointing than the last one. There’s a reason tonight’s Grayson Moorhead ads aren’t remembered like the original ones are.
STARS: **
HOT PLATES
restaurant patrons are flustered by their unreasonably hot plates
— Ohhho, boy. I recall this being a notorious sketch among online SNL fans back when this era originally aired, as it was considered a nadir of this troubled season. I’ve seen some people come to this sketch’s defense, but I’ve always been on the side that absolutely HATES this sketch.
— One minute into this so far, and all I’ve being seeing is Horatio doing lots of hammy and unfunny bellowing of “HOT PLATES!” in an increasingly goofy-ass voice.
— I see SNL’s wasting Rob Riggle in a poor role as usual, relegating him to playing second fiddle to Horatio Fucking Sanz.
— This sketch needed to cast someone other than Horatio as the main waiter. He is playing this role the absolute WRONG way.
— Not liking any of the characters’ bad “comical” dramatics over how hot their plates are, nor am I liking any of the various special effects of the hot plates.
— Aaaaaand there goes our obligatory instance of Horatio cracking up at himself as usual. Fucking ugh.
— Blah. This sketch is SO dumb, and not the fun kind of dumb (like, say, the Monkeys Throwing Poop At Celebrities sketch I recently reviewed). More like “something that belongs on a lame kids show” kind of dumb.
— I particularly hate the gag right now with Amy being replaced by a skeleton, and Seth’s over-the-top screaming when seeing that. This already-terrible sketch has officially hit rock-bottom for me with that gag.
— Not even the reliable Will Forte could save this wretched sketch with his walk-on at the end as the devil. That devil bit was just as much of a lame cartoonish gag as the rest of the sketch was.
STARS: *
DEBBIE DOWNER
host’s former babysitter Debbie Downer sits next to her at the Oscars
— (*sigh*) As if the preceding Hot Plates sketch didn’t destroy me enough in its overt lameness, now we get FUCKING DEBBIE DOWNER. You guys know how I feel about this character.
— As always, I am absolutely STONE-FACED during Debbie Downer’s usual routine tonight, and continue to be befuddled over what a lot of SNL fans see in this character.
— What was with the lack of a “wah-wahhhhh” sound effect as the camera did a hesitant, half-assed zoom-in on Debbie Downer after her comment about how most of the deaths in the In Memoriam montage were preventable? That seemed like a blooper, but I’m not sure.
— Overall, wow. Even for a Debbie Downer sketch, this was fucking horrible. Not a single highlight to be found. At least the last two Debbie Downer sketches, which I hated, each had ONE highlight that I pointed out in my reviews.
STARS: *
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Olivia [real] perform “Candy Shop”
WEEKEND UPDATE
in Central Park, Tom Jankeloff (FRA) surveys opinions regarding The Gates
tired of being typecast, Morgan Freeman (FIM) is ready to do a love scene
— Lame opening joke from Tina about Michael Jackson.
— Another fun new Update character from Fred, and another one that ends up never becoming recurring.
— I love Fred’s way of shouting the words “The Gates” as “THE GYYYAAAAAATES!” That has stuck in my memory over the years ever since this episode originally aired.
— Another pre-taped man-on-the-street bit with Fred that feels like a nice throwback to the man-on-the-street bits Fred was known for doing in his early comedy days before he joined SNL.
— A funny inexplicable In Memoriam montage for Fred’s not-dead character.
— Fred continues to be a rare consistent highlight in this troubled season.
— Not a bad Michael Bloomberg/George Pataki/Harlem joke, but I hated Amy’s delivery of it. It was all wrong for this type of joke.
— Okay, I did like Amy’s on-point delivery of “Ugh, who cares?” during her Britney Spears joke just now.
— I love how the beginning of Finesse’s Morgan Freeman commentary is deviating from the normal format of Update commentaries, with an off-camera Finesse-as-Freeman narrating his own entrance.
— Solid turn in Finesse’s Morgan Freeman commentary, with him expressing a desire to finally do a love scene. I especially love his delivery of “I don’t wanna be Drivin’ Miss Daisy – I wanna be Ridin’ Miss Daisy.”
STARS: **
SEASONS OF LOVE
soap opera actress (host) receives crying lessons from coach (RAD)
— Chris is always perfect at humorously imitating the typical acting in soap operas. Yet another positive Phil Hartman-type trait that Chris possesses.
— Hilary’s first two crying attempts cracked me up, especially her gasping during the second crying attempt.
— Rachel is fantastic as the crying coach, and is stealing this whole sketch.
— This sketch is getting too reliant on mugging for my likes, but Hilary’s giving it her all, and I got a laugh from her random snorting during her finger-biting crying attempt just now.
— Yeesh, the successful crying take Hilary finally does was really dumb and fell completely flat.
— Very weak ending, though, again, Hilary showed commitment to it.
STARS: **½
CITY COURT WITH AARON NEVILLE
Aaron Neville (HOS) warbles more than he adjudicates
— A good imitation of Aaron Neville’s singing by Horatio.
— I like Chris’ voice in this.
— I recall thinking the bit with the gavel slipping twice out of Horatio-as-Aaron-Neville’s buttery hands was a genuine blooper when I first saw this sketch during its original airing, but I now see that it appears to be an intentional gag. The awkward way Horatio executed it and the fact that it resulted in YET ANOTHER obligatory instance of breaking from him (fucking ugh) is probably what made me think it was a real gaffe.
— The Seth/Finesse bit shown during the commercial break fell completely flat.
— Overall, despite a good Aaron Neville impression from Horatio, a funny juxtaposition of Neville as a judge, and some chuckles here and there, this sketch as a whole didn’t do all that much for me. Not awful, just kinda flat. I’m glad this never became a recurring sketch. (I remember thinking at the time this sketch originally aired that this was a poor man’s attempt at a Barry Gibb Talk Show-type of hit in the post-Jimmy Fallon era. Not sure I agree with that assessment of mine anymore, though.)
STARS: **
AFTER THE GRAMMYS
Marc Anthony (FRA) & Jennifer Lopez (MAR) redo their Grammys duet at home
— Oh, I am not liking Maya’s J.Lo impression AT ALL. It’s annoying as hell, and not in a funny or satirical way. Oh, and will someone please tell me why the HOLY FUCK Maya’s speaking in a very heavy Puerto Rican accent? Since when does J.Lo speak like that? If Maya’s only adding the Puerto Rican accent to make her J.Lo impression “funny” and “satirical”, it is absolutely not working. I also remember this being around the point where Maya’s constant singing on the show this season started increasingly getting on my and some others’ last nerve. (Maya sings at least once in literally EVERY SINGLE EPISODE in the second half of this season starting with the Paul Giamatti episode, I kid you not. I remember how much that irked the living hell out of me and a number of other online posters on an SNL message board back when this season originally aired.)
— This Marc Anthony role is a complete waste of Fred’s talents.
— Has Hilary been showing cleavage in every single sketch tonight?
— Hilary’s performance as Loretta Lynn is pretty fun, but I’m not caring for the material she’s been given at all.
— Yikes. What in the world happened when Hilary came running back into the room just now? She started saying a line, then suddenly stopped mid-sentence VERY awkwardly and then paused for an uncomfortably long time while looking at something off-camera (the last above screencap for this sketch; is she looking at the cue cards, perhaps?), then finally finished her line. WTF?!? Did she lose her place on the cue card or something? Whatever the hell happened, that was a PAINFUL moment. I’ve seen some people say they find this blooper funny and kinda charming, but this blooper just makes me cringe hard.
— That’s the end of the sketch?!?
— And the sketch is over, without me laughing a single time during it, nor understanding what the hell the premise or comedic conceit of it was even supposed to be. This overall sketch was fucking AWFUL, especially Maya’s very annoying and cringeworthy take on J.Lo, and Hilary’s also-cringeworthy blooper.
STARS: *
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Disco Inferno”
PROJECT RUNWAY
Heidi Klum (host) gives designers their latest assignment
— (*groan*) Now we get a parody of a reality show I have no familiarity with, which means I probably won’t get this spoof of it. We’ll see, though.
— Another pretty fun performance from Hilary.
— Maya’s bit as one of the Project Runway contestants got absolute SILENCE from the audience, while all the other cast members playing Project Runway contestants have gotten a big recognition laugh from the audience.
— As no surprise, I have no idea who any of these contestants being impersonated are, and they’re being impersonated in a way that seems to be mocking very specific things they’re known for doing/saying on Project Runway. Just as I was afraid of, this sketch is going completely over my head as an outsider to Project Runway.
— Hilary’s portrayal of Heidi Klum continues to give me my ONLY amusement in this sketch.
STARS: *½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— In a word: yikes. Not a good episode. AT. ALL. In fact, I don’t think I gave a passing rating to ANY segments tonight, which is a rarity in my reviews. In fact, it may be a first. (Hell, even in my notoriously low-rated reviews of infamous episodes like Paul Reiser and Deion Sanders from season 20, I at least gave a passing rating to Norm Macdonald’s Weekend Update.) And the absolute worst sketches of the night weren’t just bad; they were particularly and painfully awful (Hot Plates, an even-less-funnier-than-usual Debbie Downer, and After The Grammys). This may possibly be not only my least favorite episode of this season, but may also possibly be one of the worst episodes I’ve ever reviewed, even though it’s CERTAINLY not anywhere near as disastrous as the aforementioned Paul Reiser and Deion Sanders episodes. If I have to say anything positive about this episode as a whole, it’s that Hilary Swank, despite some faults, was a pretty fun and energetic host (much better than I remember finding her when this episode originally aired), who was unfortunately saddled with lots of poor material.
— As I hinted at the end of my last episode review, this episode pretty much BROKE me the night it originally aired, and caused me to reach my absolute boiling point with season 30’s poor quality. I had absolutely HAD IT with this season by that point. After suffering through this episode the night it originally aired, I basically threw my hands up in the air and gave up on this season. Oh, I continued to watch the rest of the season, but I had absolutely NO enthusiasm for the show anymore and would watch the remainder of season 30 with a very sour and miserable attitude (for example, going into every episode basically saying to myself “[*sigh*] Let’s get this over with”, which is never a good way to watch SNL), expecting everything in the show to suck. (I wonder if all of this is the same approach loyal SNL viewers took after reaching their respective boiling point with the notorious season 20 back when it was originally airing.) That negative way of viewing those episodes carried over into the episode reviews I did back then (link here), as most of my reviews for the post-Hilary Swank episodes of this season got more and more half-assed to the degree that, starting with the Cameron Diaz episode in April, I officially gave up on doing full sketch-by-sketch reviews that season, opting instead to just do extremely short “reviews” that only consisted of me quickly summing up each episode as a whole by listing the episode’s highlights and lowlights, and listing the sketches that each cast member appeared in that night (the latter of which was something I regularly did in my old reviews). That just goes to show you how much I hated this season when it originally aired – I, a dedicated SNL fan who had loyally been doing episode reviews for five seasons by that point, couldn’t even be bothered to do full reviews anymore during season 30’s final two months. Going back to me officially reaching my boiling point with this season after this Hilary Swank episode originally aired, what made my boiling point towards this season even worse is that, the day after this Swank episode originally aired, NBC premiered an “SNL: The First Five Years” documentary (the first of a chronological series of famous Kenneth Bowser-made SNL documentaries that each cover a decade of the show). Until this documentary aired, I hadn’t had much exposure to the original SNL era. Watching the documentary and discovering just how funny, fresh, innovative, and intriguing SNL was in the 70s made the then-current season 30 look EVEN WORSE to me than it already did, and made me FULLY realize the low effort SNL was putting into season 30, which furthered my frustration towards it.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jason Bateman)
a big step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
David Spade
It’s a super small nitpick, but I don’t like the way Anderson always gives his characters goofy or gross names. It always makes me think of how Lorne told Chevy to just use his own name when anchoring Update, saying that giving your character a jokey name was “sloppy comedy” or something. I think he tells that anecdote in the A&E documentary.
I didn’t care for this episode either. The Aaron Neville sketch is probably the moment my opinion on Horatio (just on SNL) turned for the worst.
I remember Carol Leifer (who wrote for season 11) once told a similar anecdote about Lorne dissuading writers from the “funny name” gag.
That obviously didn’t do much good because “funny name sketches” are all the rage on SNL these days, mostly from James Anderson. I mean, seriously, “Danny Bangs”? “Mark Peanus”? How old is this guy?
And more recently we’ve had “Leonard Pants” or whatever his first name is, from the What’s Wrong With The Picture? sketches, although I am ashamed to admit I enjoyed two of those.
Finesse’s Update commentary reminds me of the “Ridin’ Miss Daisy” sketch from In Living Color.
Me too!
The sketch you’re thinking of is Secret Word from Kristen Wiig / The xx from Season 42. Kenan’s character Grant Choad is the new host replacing Bill Hader’s Lyle Round. Could’ve sworn that Secret Word was a Mulaney sketch though.
Secret Word was Anderson and Kent Sublette.
Season 30 was my second season watching SNL and THIS episode almost made me quit. It was my boiling point too. I was so frustrated and didn’t laugh once. I was a teenager and even I knew I could write something better than whatever that Hot Plates sketch was supposed to be. I basically kept watching and eventually became a super fan because Forte was my favourite (followed by Fred and Amy) and I was always excited to see what weird, amazing sketches he’d come up with. To this day, Will Forte is still my favorite castmember. Sadly, this season didn’t even do him any favors. Thank God for Season 31!
Thanks!
At this rate this season’s average rating will be less than season 20!
I could see Hot Plates working with different actors, probably the ’86-’90 cast. One of its big problems is how off every performance is. Like you mentioned, Horatio is dreadful in it, with a bunch of awkward pauses and dumb articulations and not knowing when to yell or when to talk normally. And Kenan, Seth, Hilary, and Amy’s performances don’t work together at all because they’re all at varying levels of intensity. Seth in particular seems like he’s in a completely different sketch (the way he went “God-DAMN THESE PLATES!” and his insane shriek at the end.)
Not saying this season is as bad as 20 but it seems at this point a bunch of performers seem to have free reign to do whatever the hell they want. Farley and Sandler -esque. Horatio and Maya immediately come to mind
Luke Null had a character in a sketch named “Brody Choad”. Guessing Anderson wrote that one, too.
I think that one was Day/Seidell. The difference with that one is that the name was revealed in the context of Null’s character being cut back down to size. Anderson just seems to put his jokey names in as a non-sequitur.
This has been a bad bad season so far. Everything has gone to hell. This is the worst season since season 20. The sooner we get to season 31 and the sooner we’re introduced to the digital shorts, the better.
How did Anderson all of a sudden get special treatment, and started to more free reign compared to that of the other writers?
I know those on the that forum thought that he was the worse, and that he and Sublette were dreadful together. A lot of people on the forum seem to really want those two gone.
As for this episode, this was not good, and Hot Plates was bad. Hilary was a good host and deserved better material and writing.
Tina Fey never should have been the head writer for SNL. She absolutely murdered this era. And it raises my hackles every time I hear someone say she should take over again after Lorne leaves. No thank you, I’ll pass.
There’s a few sketches in this episode that are what I call the “Mad Libs” approach to SNL writing:
*Character X is unable to perform simple task Y, with the task usually being something in the context of acting or performing (can’t read a line, can’t cry, can’t walk normally, can’t remember something, etc.).
*The concept of “what if X was a judge on his or her own TV show.”
There are certainly funny sketches made from these Mad Libs, but there’s also a fair share of stinkers.
Those retrospective looks at SNL’s five year periods are really good and interesting–I sometimes wish they would focus on different things, but I’ve always enjoyed how they would use musical guest performances to thematically set up and address segments.
“…it’s CERTAINLY not anywhere near as disastrous as the aforementioned Paul Reiser and Deion Sanders episodes…”
This show rated a 3.58. Paul Reiser is a 2.9 and Sarah Jessica Parker is a 3.4, making this s30 episode the third worst in SNL history up to this point. Deion Sanders got a 3.6.
This episode really depressed me bitd; Hilary Swank perhaps the most dissappointing host for me in the whole history!
My first impression of the “After the Grammys” sketch was that it wasn’t really about anything. It was just a bunch of impressions in a room. Update as a whole was okay, but this was just a boring episode.
Man, Hot Plates sounds like an idea that could be executed very well–I think everyone’s wondered, at least once, why they were served a scalding hot plate. Really sad that that they botched that.
Having not seen it, that Grnmay sketch mistake with Hillary sounds exactly like the blooper Leslie Jones made in the Chris Rock episode of season 40. The fact that some people thought it was cute when Hillary did it, but an absolutely unforgivable mistake that would follow Leslie for years (to the point of SNL satirizing it in season 42) tells me just about all I need to know to solidify my opinion about why Leslie was so heavily trashed by people.
You giving up on this season is basically how I felt in the second half of season 39 and for the majority of this past season (even though this season was just drastically uneven, not straight awful). Ending every episode saying to yourself, “I’m done–not doing this to myself anymore,” then continuing to watch, out of loyalty to the show.
I do agree that racism played a large part in the way Leslie was treated by some people, but in that particular sketch I think what made matters worse was both she and Chris go so off track that the whole thing is in tatters. Hilary’s blooper happens toward the end of the sketch, and it’s difficult to tell who is to blame as there are weird issues throughout the episode.
Something I’ve noticed in interviews with cast or writers is how often I see something like “we wrote a first draft and then showed it to James Anderson” or “We were at the rewrite table and James suggested something” and it got me to thinking that maybe Anderson’s value. as a writer is an editor and punch up guy. Like how Darrell’s Geraldo impression is really good on a technical skill level but not a big laugh better. Anderson can’t seem to write a sketch by himself but he has the technical skills that help the writers room as a whole.
It’s funny because a lot of Anderson’s sketches aren’t very structured or writerly. A lot of them are “people sing in a hammy way” and then it just ends. There’s no progression or escalation or anything.
Anderson always writes this really strange type of sketch nowadays where it’s like, one character sings a weird song for no reason while everyone just stares and watches, but at the end of the sketch it turns out everyone knew the song all along? They’ve done it multiple times (Steve Carell’s S44 episode, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s S42 episode, Paul Rudd’s S44 episode…) and it NEVER works.
Don’t forget about Debra’s Time from season 41.
Just saw this almost a year later–and also Woody Harrelson’s S40 episode. And yes, it NEVER works.
I feel like I’m being contrary, but I’m going to have to sheepishly admit to enjoying the Hot Plates sketch. Well, enjoy isn’t entirely the right word – it’s too long, unable to sustain what it’s trying to be. Sanz’s mugging here is the Carol variety of mugging that goes so far into badness I somehow end up being amused. There’s also something bizarrely amusing to me about hearing Rob bellow “HOT PLATES!” and Horatio yelp “HOPLATES!” Seth’s mania also fits the tone just right. And Hilary’s hand sticking to the plate is the type of visual gag that I can get a cheap laugh at. The Hell ending does not work , no matter how Forte tries (I also wonder if Forte wasn’t thrilled with his tight outfit as he covers himself just about immediately) .
SNL did Hilary dirty with their Youtube uploads – until recently the only two sketches I’d seen from this episode were the terrible Debbie Downer reprisal, and the umpteenth lame-ass soap opera parody, which Hilary is pretty annoying in with Rachel doing almost all the heavy lifting. While she clearly is not a natural comedian, she tries very hard, and she is fun in what I’d pick as the best sketch of the night (the Botox talk show). At times (especially as Loretta Lynn) she reminds me of Gilda Radner, in performance style if not comic gifts.
This cold open is absolute GARBAGE, so bad that even Rachel Dratch, who is one of the most consistent performers SNL has ever had, gives an awful performance. Amy Poehler, who has done some good work throughout these shaky episodes, is also terrible. And Maya Rudolph’s Latoya impression is also terrible (I keep using that word…), sounding nothing like her (the JLo impression is even worse – I guess at this point Maya and the show felt doing “generic Maya funny voice #9483” was enough). One or two people in the audience were clearly whooping it up – I guess they were the type of audience this piece was meant for, but I just detest it, and the material has dated beyond comprehension.
This episode is similar to Paris Hilton’s with blocking and technical problems – beyond the gaffe with Hilary, there are also strange angles on Update, including Tina being shown at the wrong time and crowding out Amy’s shot. The Project Runway sketch (I watched the show and it wasn’t funny to me either) feels off as well, and the Neville’s Court sketch has such awkward, rushed cuts to reaction shots. Between the sloppy direction and the hammy performances, I can see why you were so dispirited. (speaking of the Neville’s Court sketch, does Chris remind anyone else of Rob Schneider?)
Another similarity with Paris and Hilary is both episodes relied on half-naked Chris Parnell to get through shaky material. Well, it’s not the worst idea, I guess. Beck Bennett ends up being put in this type of role later on.
The audience for this Update is bizarrely combative. Why couldn’t they have been this way in the horrific installment the week earlier? Tina reacting to the unusually harsh response for this period is interesting – she does a lot of cutesiness, seemingly rattled. Another example of what a bubble this era was in.
Fred’s Update piece is alright but feels oddly slight, or half-finished. I’m not sure how to explain.
Was there some kind of financial crisis around early 2005 to warrant the Grayson Moorehead ads returning? Or was this was quick filler with Alison Jackson not working out and waiting to make more Bear City installments? Jim Downey is fine, but the writing is, as you mention, simply not there. The only amusing moment for me was the mention of Rosie Magazine. Such a waste of Downey’s onscreen presence. Oh well.
I completely forgot that this was the episode with the “Hot Plates” routine. A low point of the show’s 45 year run, though there are a lot of sketches worse than that.
That would make sense, that Anderson is a great person in the writer’s room but not so good at doing his own stuff. I actually like his silly/campy aesthetic but he has a formula and he’s been doing it for over a decade.
Hilary Swank really gave it her all – I don’t blame her for the error (I don’t blame Leslie either, having new lines on the cue cards during the live show has got to be difficult for anyone). I wish she could have come back for a better episode but she mostly does smaller indie stuff now.
Bad seasons seem to have lots of technical problems – I recall season 20 having quite a bit of sloppiness.
I thought I missed this ep when it originally aired, then City Court with Aaron Neville came up and you just mentioning it was never recurring and I at least remember that one which I thought was pretty amusing. I know I watched “Saturday Night Live: The First Five Years” the next night which I very much enjoyed. When it came to the end of that last ep with the cast leaving one last time and that “on air” sign going off, well, I don’t remember that part but I know I watched it when that last Original cast show originally aired mainly because of that last Uncle Roy sketch in which Buck Henry did his aside to the audience…
I agree about how bad this one was.
That cold opening was definitely stunning. I was speechless at how bad it was. The Michael Jackson ‘impression’ isn’t funny at all. It’s just shocking that they would even attempt that. They must not have had rehearsals before they did it.
I don’t know why, but parts of the first Grayson and Moorhead sketch made me laugh pretty hard. It was the only good part of the show, but even within that sketch the funny moments were very fleeting.
The botox talk show was funny for about 30 seconds. It’s one of those sketches that relies entirely on novelty. So you look at the shocking botox faces, but beyond that it’s not really funny at all and I think it would be really hard to make a sketch like that funny for more than a minute.
Did I miss something with that atrocious dinner plate sketch? Why does the devil suddenly parachute in at the end? That sketch is only funny when you imagine how high the writers and cast must have been when they came up with it.
Yea that’s about it. This episode really had me rubbing my eyes in disbelief. SNL is often hit and miss and it’s always extremes. When it’s bad it’s really bad, when it’s good it’s really good, but this one was beyond the usual awfulness. I feel that the whole staff just said “Screw it, we can get away with a bad show here and there”
I’ll say that I also thought Hot Plate was fairly enjoyable. *somersaults away to avoid any backlash*
Kenan as Emmanuel Lewis wore a different shirt in dress: https://www.gettyimages.at/detail/nachrichtenfoto/episode-13-aired-pictured-amy-poehler-as-michael-nachrichtenfoto/138424969
I’ve never been able to watch this episode all the way through in one sitting. The farthest I went was to the first minute of After The Grammys, and then I had to turn it off.
Reiterating what others have said, I think Hot Plates could have worked in a different era where the flow of the scene could have been executed naturally. What really ruins it is Horatio as the anchor, who keeps taking those stupid pauses in his dialogue. Replacing him with someone like Parnell would have made the sketch a tad more tolerable.