Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
AMERICAN IDOL
Mary Katherine Gallagher crashes American Idol & sings “Brass In Pocket”
— For whatever reason, Bill has replaced Seth as SNL’s Ryan Seacrest impersonator, despite the fact that Seth had last played Seacrest just earlier this same season in a rare non-Weekend Update appearance.
— Funny constant fake-outs and mind games from Bill’s Seacrest to Maya’s Melinda Doolittle, regarding whether she’s safe or eliminated.
— Feels interesting reviewing a Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch for the first time in many seasons.
— This is a good setting for MKG.
— I love the cutaway shot of Amy’s Paula Abdul after MKG mentions that Paula’s never drunk, just naturally drowsy.
— Molly’s hitting all the familiar MKG beats here, but she’s doing it well, and it’s coming off particularly fun and infectious tonight, possibly because of Molly’s return to the show and the fact that we hadn’t seen MKG in so long.
— Particularly strong delivery from Molly during her Jackson Five movie monologue.
— Kinda odd how all of the pratfalls in this MKG sketch are being done by other performers instead of Molly. I doubt she’s not up to the physical task of doing pratfalls anymore by this point.
— Solid “Live from New York…” delivery from Molly.
STARS: ****
OPENING MONTAGE
— Don Pardo accidentally bills Linkin Park as “special guest” instead of “musical guest”.
MONOLOGUE
’90s flashback shows MOS’s crush on LOM ending with a broken heart
— Molly’s expressed excitement for getting to host is very endearing.
— Some fun talk from Molly about her days as a cast member.
— I’m loving the pre-taped flashback scene between Molly and Lorne, complete with lots of fun 90s references.
— Great background details in Lorne’s office to make it convincingly look like 90s SNL, such as having individual photos of late 90s cast members on the wall behind Molly, a collage of bumper photos of 90s hosts seen next to Lorne (one minor nitpick though: the Charlie Sheen and Mena Suvari bumpers are from after the 90s), and the index cards on the corkboard of host/musical guest line-ups being episodes from season 24.
— I only wish the overall pre-taped flashback scene worked in a brief appearance from Darrell, since he’s the only 90s cast member who’s still on the show at this point in 2007. Having him in a 90s wig briefly interrupt Lorne and Molly’s conversation to tell Molly they need her for the rehearsal of a sketch would’ve been fun and a nice nod to Darrell’s longevity in the cast.
STARS: ****
URIGRO
Rerun from 1/20/07
TENANT MEETING
Penelope’s competitive behavior alienates her neighbors at tenant meeting
— I’m starting to notice how interesting it feels seeing Molly interacting with cast members she never worked with during her years as a cast member.
— Penelope’s entrance already gets some faint recognition applause, despite this being only her second sketch.
— Good gag with Penelope suddenly appearing opposite of the side of Jason she was standing in a few seconds prior.
— The Penelope routine continues to work for me so far in these early Peneople sketches, despite it’s one-note nature.
— A particularly funny line from Penelope about her recently-deceased cat being her baby who she gave birth to.
— They managed to top the Peyton-Manning-imitates-Penelope’s-habit-to-show-her-how-annoying-she-is bit from the first installment of this sketch by having Molly actually imitating Penelope’s voice and mannerisms while imitating her habit.
— An interesting otherworldly bit at the end with Penelope actually turning invisible like she claimed she could earlier in the sketch. IIRC, SNL would go on to do variations of that at the end of subsequent Penelope sketches.
STARS: ***½
THE FRINGE CANDIDATES DEBATE
Dan Rather (DAH) moderates debate of fringe presidential candidates
— A promising and fun-seeming idea.
— Will perfectly playing yet another creepy, boundaries-pushing child predator character, this time a NAMBLA member. I absolutely love the seedy casual look on his face.
— Yet another sketch featuring hilarious dancing from Jason.
— Poor timing from Andy, accidentally delivering his opening line too early when Darrell’s Dan Rather hadn’t finished introducing him yet, leading to awkward dead air after Darrell does finish introducing him.
— I like Darrell-as-Dan-Rather’s facial reaction to Molly’s Jews line.
— Boy, have I gotten sick of Fred frequently playing stock middle-eastern stereotype roles, which, by this point of his SNL tenure, he can do in his sleep.
— Maya’s loud laugh-speaking right now is really annoying, though it does cause Darrell to break.
— The mechanical devices in Maya’s wig are resulting in occasional distracting whirring noises being heard in the background while some of the other cast members are speaking. It’s particularly noticeable during Bill’s speech as Tony Blair.
STARS: ***½
THE SOPRANOS
Sally O’Malley auditions for dancer job at Bada Bing! Club
— Jason’s mannerisms at the beginning of this sketch are cracking me up.
— Another interesting instance tonight of a Molly Shannon recurring character being placed in a TV show spoof. I’m liking this use of her characters tonight.
— Watching and reviewing this Sally O’Malley sketch makes me feel like it’s 2000 or 2001 again. I love that nostalgic feeling, and it’s making me feel strangely kinda giddy, despite me never having been a fan of this character back when she regularly appeared. It’s funny how nostalgia works sometimes.
— A particularly boundary-pushing visual of Sally O’Malley’s camel toe right now, completely topping the cameo toe visuals from previous Sally O’Malley sketches. A funny moment, and I love the reaction to it from the audience and the Sopranos characters.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What I’ve Done”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Comedy Cul-De-Sac- Jeannie Darcy does stand-up on her relationship woes
disorientation thwarts demonstration by blind barbecue expert Pep Walters
What’s in a Word?- SEM & AMP debate the propriety of “panties” & “nipple”
— Great to see the return of Jeannie Darcy, one of Molly’s best recurring characters, despite her 1) not being as universally well-known as some of her other recurring characters (I’m assuming), and 2) debuting towards the very end of her SNL tenure, which was at a time when she was seemingly past her prime on SNL and giving a lot of weak performances.
— I like Seth’s exaggerated amusement over Jeannie Darcy’s bad, stiff jokes.
— Funny how we’re getting TWO intentionally bad stand-up comics in tonight’s Update, with us now getting Fred’s blind comedian character, Pep Walters.
— A laugh from Pep Walters accidentally flinging his steak off-camera.
— There’s the obligatory instance of the “a blind Fred Armisen blocks the camera after his Update commentary” gag. It’s still working for me by this point of Fred’s SNL tenure.
— Seth never did finish that Iran soccer joke of his that Pep Walters interrupted by blocking the camera. I’m surprised they didn’t just have Seth do the traditional tree frog joke that always gets interrupted.
— An interesting “What’s In A Word” segment, and I like Seth’s lines during it.
STARS: ***½
KAITLIN ENTERTAINS
Kaitlin’s equally-hyper mom (MOS) misses performance at an old-folks home
— Feels a little odd to see the return tonight of a non-Molly Shannon recurring character who’s been on a hiatus.
— It also feels odd seeing a Rick-less Kaitlin sketch; the only one in SNL history, as this ends up being the final Kaitlin sketch. SNL writes Rick out of this sketch by explaining he’s waiting outside in the car.
— I love Kaitlin quickly going through each decade from the 1920s to then-present day during her “This is your life” presentation to the senior citizens.
— I’m a little surprised this sketch is still working for me without the Rick character.
— I had been wondering where Molly was. Interesting use of her as Kaitlin’s similar-traited mother. It’s odd, though, that Molly didn’t appear until the end of this sketch, but at the same time, I kinda like that, as it makes it feel like she’s just a cast member again instead of a host.
— Speaking of it feeling like Molly’s a cast member again, the shirt she’s wearing in this sketch is the same one she once wore over a decade earlier in the Russell & Tate sketch from the season 22 episode hosted by another former cast member, interestingly enough: Dana Carvey (side-by-side comparison below).
STARS: ***
MACGRUBER
dirty bomb threat is eclipsed by MacGruber’s urge to make a Bloody Mary
— MacGruber has officially become recurring.
— Feels rare to see a MacGruber sketch with the non-Maya Rudolph/Kristen Wiig assistant role being played by a female host instead of a male one. The only other instance of that I can think of is with Betty White, but maybe I’m forgetting something.
— Funny reveal of MacGruber making a drink right before the explosion happens.
STARS: ***½
TV FUNHOUSE
“Tales From The Greatest Generation” by RBS- big-boobed Einstein is ogled
— A questionable premise to base a TV Funhouse on.
— The Franklin D. Roosevelt scene is actually very funny.
— Feels a little odd hearing Bill Hader’s voice in a TV Funhouse, I guess because it’s easy to forget that Bill’s SNL tenure overlapped with TV Funhouse’s tenure for a while. Speaking of which, is Bill doing the voice of practically ALL the characters in tonight’s cartoon? Sure sounds like it. What happened? Could Robert Smigel not afford to pay a lot of voice actors for this particular cartoon, so he had to resort to using a single SNL cast member to do almost all of the voices? If so, this is yet ANOTHER sign that TV Funhouse is dying.
— Overall, meh. Some individual laughs from the silliness of this, but as a whole, no. This continues the limping that Smigel has been making towards the finish line of his TV Funhouse tenure. A shame to see this happen to such a formerly-reliable SNL segment.
STARS: **
THE OAK ROOM
Charli Coffee shares the stage with fellow boozehound Toni Carlisle (MOS)
— The very random return of a forgotten one-time sketch Maya did two years prior in the season 30 Tom Brady episode. I hated this sketch the first time, but maybe I’ll be more lenient on it this time, because, unlike the first installment of this sketch, tonight’s installment is thankfully airing outside of a season where Maya did annoying, hammy singing sketches like this on a weekly basis.
— Maya’s delivery during her stories reminds me a lot of Alec Baldwin’s Tony Bennett. I’m kinda liking that.
— Molly’s delivery is fitting for this type of role and sketch, and I like the way she and Maya are playing off of each other.
— Not too many laughs here, but it doesn’t seem to be attempting them, aside from the occasional comedic lines from/about Kenan’s character. I like how this sketch is going for a more low-key, realistic, slice-of-life feel, as opposed to the first installment, which made a lot of bad attempts at wacky humor (especially the running bit with Maya’s pratfalls over tables and pianos). Tonight’s installment is a big improvement.
STARS: ***
MACGRUBER
MacGruber’s drunken guitar playing takes precedence over hydrogen crisis
— I like how tonight’s episode is introducing the concept of each MacGruber short having new theme song lyrics that pertain to the plot of that night’s MacGruber’s shorts, instead of just using the same generic theme song for each short.
— A solid progression to tonight’s MacGruber shorts, with MacGruber’s increasingly drunk state.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bleed It Out”
TRUMP STEAKS
Donald (DAH) & Melania (MOS) Trump pitch co-branded Sharper Image steaks
— Darrell seems much more prominent than usual in tonight’s episode. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that his former cast mate Molly Shannon is hosting.
— A lot of steaks in tonight’s episode, between the Pep Walters bit on Weekend Update and now this.
— A laugh from Darrell-as-Trump’s “black anus beef” malaprop.
— Overall, not bad. Short and harmless enough, especially compared to some other Trump sketches from around this time that haven’t aged well.
STARS: ***
MACGRUBER
MacGruber’s shirtless hamburger-eating stupor mirrors David Hasselhoff
— Particularly hilarious theme song lyrics in this.
— A very funny, spot-on, and timely spoof of the then-new viral video of a drunken David Hasselhoff.
— I strangely love Molly’s off-camera delivery of the line “The bomb you made when you were DRUNK!”
— Very funny how the obligatory explosion of this MacGruber short happens out of nowhere when MacGruber is quietly in the middle of eating his burger.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty solid and fun episode, with almost nothing I disliked. Molly Shannon played a big part in the fun vibe this episode had, and it was nice to see her back on SNL, doing good work. Despite being surrounded by a mostly-different cast than the one from her SNL tenure, Molly blended back into the show really well tonight. The energy and nostalgia in the air during this episode made some of Molly’s recurring characters come off even better than usual, particularly Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Scarlett Johansson)
a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 32 comes to an end, with host Zach Braff
The monologue is one of my favorite Lorne moments. So good.
It’s fun how this episode has all the women in particular pulling out their recurring characters. I wonder if that was something Molly wanted, since Kaitlin and Charli Coffee were kinda strange ones to bring back at this point.
The only two sketches that aren’t recurring, Fringe Candidates Debate and the TV Funhouse, are the only two segments that really didn’t work for me, though at least the debate wasn’t the cold open. And I’m usually indifferent to MacGruber, but I loved the escalation of this one with the Hasselhoff parody and Molly yelling at MacGruber off-camera.
This was a great episode–I remember beforehand, I commented that “this episode will be like going to a comeback concert for a band you don’t like–you don’t really LIKE their hit songs, but you’d be disappointed if they don’t play them.” But the show made some clever and funny decisions about where to put Molly’s recurring characters (unlike for some returning hosts). I also think the MacGruber runner and the fringe candidate debate were very funny as well.
Is Molly the only non-Cecily person to play Melania on SNL?
Actually no. The person who played Melania initially was Paris Hilton, but we tend not to acknowledge that episode. It was the only impression she ever did on the show and she was competent enough, mostly because she didn’t have many lines.
Molly looks like Vanessa Bayer in this episode. Just a random observation.
I’m glad I was on a hiatus from SNL at this time as I might not have been very forgiving of this episode – while I never hated Molly’s run as a whole, I did dislike certain characters and performances and I resented how much hype she got compared to past ladies like Jan Hooks or Nora Dunn, who were mostly forgotten in SNL lore by this point.
Watching the episode now, I appreciate it – it’s a mostly well-crafted return for Molly which holds up (I’ve seen it a few times) and manages to showcase her while giving the cast their chance to shine. And I appreciate how Molly has handled her tenure – she had her cast experience, had her hosting experience, then returned to honor Betty White and Hal Willner, but otherwise has moved on. I don’t mind cast coming back, but recent years have shown just how easy it is to abuse that privilege.
Lorne is hilarious in the monologue – a part of me wishes this and his bit in Rainn Wilson’s monologue had been his last oncamera appearances (aside from finishing out Laser Cats) to go out on a high.
I’d love to know what was cut from dress, or if there were ever any plans for some of the more overexposed Molly characters, like Helen Madden, to return.
Of the returns, I enjoy Jeannie Darcy most, as it is one of my favorite Molly characters. She translates well to Update. I was never an MKG fan but this is a good return for her, and easily the best use of the Idol format. There are some funny lines (like her congratulating Randy on his “gastric bypass and partial regain”). Sally O’Malley, a character I do enjoy, doesn’t work quite as well for me this time around – I think the change in format is so severe and Darrell plays the sketch so seriously that the humor is somewhat lost. (my main amusement was that in an episode with such terrific makeup work [Jason and Fred in this sketch, Amy in the debate sketch] they just stick a bald cap on Will Forte and give up).
Fred’s “lol he’s blind, blind people are funny!” bit on Update is just more of the same shtick that will be appearing many times (this one is tolerable enough), but the panties commentary between Seth and Amy is a good use of their chemistry. Seth’s gay panic joke with Freud is amusing in hindsight with the Stefon/Seth storyline looming on the horizon.
I was very tired of Kailtin by the last appearance, but the change in format works – not only seeing her mother, but also in seeing the real extras in the nursing home set enjoying themselves. I’m glad that Molly got some real airtime with both Seth and Amy considering they only missed her by half a season – it’s like a baton being passed, in a way.
Bill and Smigel are another ships in the night moment (considering Bill’s successful voiceover career I wish he’d been able to have more overlap), but otherwise, this TV Funhouse feels phoned in. I do like the end bit, where we learn Einstein and Churchill had a good working relationship with Truman because he was a leg man.
I normally love full cast sketches but the debate sketch would have been better off significantly cut down – I’d say just leaving it to Amy, Darrell, Molly and Will, maybe with Jason for some easy laughs. There’s some real potential here (Molly’s character in particular is very current) but it’s drowned out. Maya gives possibly her WORST performance as a cast member, and most of the others (especially Kenan and Andy) are just too bitty to have an impact.
Penelope is pretty much the norm for these sketches, but seeing the host again reduced to just one small comedy outburst is an interesting, unintended contrast to Molly’s recurrers, who (not always, of course) often allowed for some kind of comedy moment from the hosts and other cast members.
I don’t care for Maya’s lounge character (normally I can enjoy this type but there’s just something a bit too…much and too warmed over for me in this case), but this is much better than the last sketch. Molly (wearing Amy’s Sharon Osbourne wig, presumably) helps. I think in your old review, Stooge, you suggested this was reprised because Maya was leaving. The finale has 3 or 4 moments that have that vibe too. Makes sense, I suppose, as she nearly didn’t return at all for the next season.
I don’t hate the finale, but this probably would have served as a better closer for S32.
Promos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_RwUu43NrY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evfLAkGqb9U
It’s funny, by the end of her tenure, I had pegged Molly Shannon as being my least favorite long-serving cast member of all time. I despised nearly everything she did and refused to see her value as a performer. While I’m still generally grateful when she left (it’s always a good thing when a cast member leaves the show, even if the show suffers short-term losses), time has been really kind to her.
I think it starts with Wet Hot American Summer, where she was terrific, but this episode was also a major part of her rehabilitation in my eyes. I am just so utterly charmed by her throughout this episode – from a stunningly strong MKG opening to her integrating seamlessly with cast in the almost-great debate sketch to her taking a secondary role in that lovely and bright Kaitlin sketch.
I think, at the time, I couldn’t see the innate charm and sweetness in Molly’s performances during her cast seasons. And frankly, maybe it hadn’t totally developed at that time. But it absolutely radiates out of her throughout this episode (and particularly in the monologue) and from here on out I found myself totally won over by her. Some smart, subtle film roles in the ensuing years didn’t hurt either.
Also, this MacGruber is a masterpiece. Surprised to see it kind of get undersold by Stooge here.
Hey Carson. Stooge gave McGruber eating a Hamburger FOUR STARS ! I thought Stooge seemed to really like ALL the McGruber Sketches in this episode !
I get what you’re saying Carson. As someone who didn’t watch her tenure as it happened, I only knew and liked her from outside projects. I’m watching her era now and it’s clear that she was overused as a physical comedian. Her innate sweetness and strong acting ability was never fully utilized or realized, so we got the same loud characters over and over. The less said about Pretty Living or Dog Show the better. That said you can see it a little it in Mary Catherine Gallagher, The Delicious Dish host and Jeannie Darcy.
Molly pushed for more physical comedy and seemed to lean more and more into that aspect as the years passed. I remember her early episodes, she had no real defined role (as this was, to me, the second worst season for women [93-94 being the worst], it was enough battle for any woman to even get oncamera, let alone have a role), then she had that teacher piece on Update where she let loose and woke up the slumbering audience. Then when she was somewhat overshadowed by Cheri in 95-96, MKG helped her stand out. That became a crutch. With a few exceptions, like Delicious Dish and Jeannie Darcy, this remained her crutch.
Unless you were typecast in a more serious role, like Ana, Molly’s era rarely allowed for more nuance – screaming, shouting and mugging were a way to get more attention and airtime. And even Ana didn’t really get the best showcases of her talent many times, and Ana succumbed to having more shouty, muggy roles by her last few seasons.
Material that Molly could have excelled in – and has done well with after leaving SNL – like Schiller’s Reel, like Marilyn Suzanne Miller’s sketches, were no longer a part of SNL by the time she arrived. It’s similar to Kristen Wiig, who has also done much better in layered roles she didn’t get on SNL, and who also generated a great deal of hostility in her last years as a cast member.
Ben Douwsma has a slice-of-life sketch with Will and Molly (I think on an airport blind date) in his deep cuts for 95-00. Even if it’s not my favorite type of piece, it’s a rare glimpse at what might have been, along with other scattered, flawed moments like her Liza Minelli talk show.
I haven’t seen this ep. but I agree that Molly can very funny & charming during her more low-key moments, whether she’s playing sad, angry or happy. She inhabits her roles very well and is a very convincing actress.
I thought Molly was really good in a season 2 episode of Scrubs where she played an overly friendly and eager paramedic. Then later in an episode of Hannibal, a few years later, she played, I think a sociopath who kidnaps children and nailed the part.
I liked this episode when aired and I still do. I also really enjoyed the enthusiastic applause she received in the monologue.
I wonder how many “recurring characters appearing for the first time in years are surprise contestants on a reality show involving singing” sketches can be produced, seeing as how Eddie Murphy’s Buckwheat showed up on The Masked Singer when he hosted. Will Stefon pop up on The Voice?
Hey Michael. I think Stephon is All Wrong for The Voice ! Stephon is Too Shy And even with his Lower Voice That Is Yelled Out, I don’t think Stephon would get A Four Chair Turn !
I shrugged at this episode when it first aired, but besides the Trump sketch its aged well. Molly really did fit in well with this cast; its too bad she hasn’t had anything major to promote since “Year of the Dog” (an indie film that made little to no impact).
I barely remember watching this ep though the one I mainly may have been remembering the most is the entire “Penelope” sketch with that character disappering after Molly tried to do her! I also remember part of that monologue with Lorne in the ’90s. It’s possible I mainly enjoyed the whole thing when it originally aired. By the way, I saw Year of the Dog later that summer on the day that particular theatre was closing. I enjoyed that as well as a foreign film called Black Book at that same place afterwards…
Great to see Molly back.
And, all due respect to Julia-Louis Dreyfus (who is of course the first female SNL alumni to return as host) – this episode feels A LOT more like the true first-female SNL cast member to host the show. 🙂
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (due to Molly returning, as of September 12, 2021)
a huge step up
Happy Birthday to Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler!
This is the vintage SNL. I also dug up my review and discovered I hated it
Molly is hosting the April 8th episode of the current season. Pretty surprised.
Very much looking forward to Molly’s episode. Her 2007 episode was great, IMO, and she’s always been among my favorites of the 1995-2002 group.
As a side note, this is the first time the show has had FOUR consecutive female hosts I believe (Jenna Ortega, Quinta Brunson, Molly, Ana De Armas).
I think it’s only the second time, although I may have missed one – season 29 had 5 female hosts in a row (one co-hosting with a man).
Thanks for that, John, probably should’ve done my research before posting. I did forget about season 29 (the season I started watching regularly, incidentally). I’m looking forward to the upcoming shows – the strongest episodes this season have all been hosted by women IMO.