Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
REID RALLY
at a rally, Harry Reid (PAB) distances himself from Barack Obama (FRA)
— Feels a little odd seeing Jay standing in the background right behind Fred’s President Obama, knowing the far-better Obama impression Jay had in his back pocket at the time and would later regularly do on the show starting in his third season.
— The timing during Fred and Paul’s discreet conversation with each other seems off, with too many long pauses between lines. Not sure if that’s Paul’s fault or not. He is noticeably staring at the cue cards during this portion of the sketch. Speaking of which, Paul’s cue card-staring habit in tonight’s episode in general was something that some online SNL fans unfairly tore Paul apart for at the time. I guess those fans didn’t consider the fact that it takes some new cast members a little while to get the hang of how to read off cue cards without making it look too noticeable. Bobby’s a perfect example, as he blatantly stared at the cue cards all throughout the Of Mice And Men sketch from his second episode (and, yes, some online SNL fans tore him apart for that), but it’s not like that went on to become a habit of his.
— Speaking of Paul, it’s surprising to see a new featured player like him co-starring in a cold opening, especially given how underused he was prior to this and hadn’t been given any lead roles until this point.
— The brief interjections that Fred’s Obama keeps making throughout Paul-as-Harry-Reid’s speech are doing very little for me. Unfortunately, that’s the only comedic conceit of most of this cold opening. Typical snooze-worthy political writing from Jim Downey’s later years.
— Wow, Paul even gets to say LFNY! In only his fourth episode as a featured player! I wonder if this is a record for the fastest that a featured player has ever said LFNY in SNL history. Abby comes close, as she said LFNY in her fifth episode as a featured player. [ADDENDUM: I just remembered that Eddie Murphy said LFNY in only his third episode as a credited featured player, so I guess he holds the record.]
STARS: *½
MONOLOGUE
audience nerds (KET), (BIH), (ANS) ask host if she’ll make out with them
— This monologue ALREADY seems to be going the same route as Natalie Portman’s season 31 monologue, with the female host taking questions from male nerds in the audience.
— Taran’s Michael Cera impression is very funny, and is almost singlehandedly saving this monologue for me. On the other hand, I don’t know what Bobby’s going for in his Jonah Hill impression, but it’s harmless enough.
— I’m tired of all the “I thank you for your time” lines from the audience nerds.
STARS: **
BABY SPANX
foundation garment hides chubby infants’ embarrassing fat
— Very funny delivery from spokesperson Jason of his first line to us upon his entrance: “Do you have a fat baby?”
— Blah, a commercial in the tradition of bland “babies wearing adult things” SNL commercials like Huggies Thong and Baby Toupees. A tired SNL trope.
— Overall, Jason’s great delivery was the only big thing this otherwise-bland commercial had going for it.
STARS: **
DREAM HOME EXTREME
contest winner’s (host) phlegmatism stymies Cheryl
— A very random and unnecessary reprisal of a one-off sketch from a Brian Williams-hosted episode THREE YEARS PRIOR. Why make this sketch recurring after such a long time?
— Kristen’s excited vocalizations and gestures amused me enough in the first installment of this sketch, but in tonight’s installment, they’re just plain ANNOYING to me. Absolutely grating.
— This sketch is following the exact same pattern as the first installment, and it worked far better with Brian Williams in the “unexcited winner” role.
— I’ve finally gotten a laugh, from Bill, Nasim, and Jay’s over-excited reactions in clips of past winners.
— Speaking of Bill, Nasim, and Jay’s parts, do you know what their character names are? Rudy Plank, Laverne Terms, and Syd Awnit. Yeesh, I see I don’t have to ask which writer penned this sketch.
— Even the ending is the same as the first installment, with the unexcited winner finally having an excited reaction when receiving an unrelated mundane gift from someone. Again, it was much funnier seeing Brian Williams do that.
— We’re four segments into tonight’s episode, and I haven’t cared for ANY of them so far.
STARS: *½
WXPD CHANNEL 9 NEWS
local news reporter’s (BIH) made-up stories scare teen’s (host) mom (KRW)
— When talking about the bad “Souping” trend, I love Bill’s line “Mmm-mmm dead”, spoofing the Campbell Soup slogan “Mmm-mmm good”.
— Oddly, Kristen’s acting seems forced in this sketch, and I could do without her over-the-top reactions, especially coming RIGHT AFTER a sketch where she just played an over-the-top character.
— A very funny escalation to all of the ridiculous teen fads covered in this sketch, especially the “Trampolining” fad.
— Very amusing delivery from Bill’s reporter character throughout this.
— Overall, finally, this episode had something I enjoyed.
STARS: ****
I BROKE MY ARM
(host)’s injuries move her classmates from envy to pity
— A good use of Emma, and she’s pulling off her character’s sudden slips on the floor humorously.
— Hilarious escalation to the gag, with Emma now entering in a wheelchair and a Stephen Hawking-esque computerized device she has to speak though.
— WTF at Andy taking over the short as a rapping jelly stain?!? Even for Lonely Island Digital Short standards, I’m finding this very questionable.
— And that rapping jelly stain bit is how this short ends??? Yeah, this ending did not work for me. Too bad, given how enjoyable this short was before then.
STARS: ***½
THE VIEW
panel considers bullies, Halloween, Lindsay Lohan (host)
— The final View sketch of this era. I will not miss these sketches’ presence. They got nothing on the original View sketches from the late 90s era. I have yet to see the newer View sketches from SNL’s present-day era, but I hope they’re better than these 2008-2010 View sketches.
— Kristen-as-Elisabeth-Hasselbeck’s dialogue is even more one-note than it usually is in these sketches.
— Fitting casting of Emma as Lindsay Lohan.
— Meh, as it turns out, they ended up not doing much with Emma’s Lohan in this overall sketch.
STARS: **
WRANGLER OPEN FLY JEANS
Wrangler Open Fly Jeans abet exhibitionists like Brett Favre (JAS)
— A pretty funny concept for a spoof of the Brett Favre sexting scandal.
— Great sleazy performance from Jason as Favre.
— Jason’s Brett Favre: “Look, I put my pants on just like anyone else: one leg at a time. Then…I pull muh penis out.”
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Radioactive”
WEEKEND UPDATE
SEM comments on Virginia Thomas’ exhumation of the Anita Hill controversy
New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan (KET) evinces innumeracy
John Mulaney [real] does stand-up with the theme of “I Love It”
Stefon’s nightclub suggestions for NYC tourists are not family-friendly
— Oof. The audience’s laughter during Seth’s Virginia Thomas/Anita Hill rant is VERY tepid. They are not into this.
— Wow, I had forgotten all about that “The Rent Is Too Damn High” guy. Kenan’s impression of him is good.
— Kenan’s lines and delivery are cracking me up, even though he’s just saying variations of what the real “The Rent Is Too Damn High” guy famously said in the viral video of him, and it’s hard to do a spoof of something that’s already comical enough on its own.
— I swear Seth (or maybe his former co-anchor Amy Poehler) already used that “fried chicken as bread” joke in a previous Update, but I can’t say for sure.
— John Mulaney in his second and final Update commentary during his tenure as an SNL writer.
— The “I Love It” motif to tonight’s Mulaney commentary is a good way to connect his various thoughts into one theme, and is very fitting for his distinct stand-up delivery.
— I love John’s comments about animals not knowing when they’re in a movie.
— Good ending to tonight’s Mulaney commentary, with him riffing on the style of Mad Men’s next-episode previews.
— Much like John’s previous Update commentary, he went through tonight’s commentary without Seth making any of the usual interjections he typically makes during guest commentaries on Update. I wish this was far more common. I don’t know when nor why it became a regular thing for Update anchors to always play a big part in a guest’s commentary, but it definitely started sometime in the 2000s.
— When this SNL era originally aired, I remember how I and several other online SNL fans took John Mulaney’s Update commentaries as a hopeful sign that this was SNL’s way of trying John out as a potential replacement for Seth as Update anchor. I and those aforementioned online fans were absolutely sick of Seth as Update anchor at that point (I’m finding him a lot more tolerable on re-watch, even if he’s still nothing particularly special), and we felt that John as an Update anchor would’ve been a refreshing and much-needed change from Seth. Fast-forward to today, 10 years later, when I’ve become more familiar with John and his comedic style, and it’s a little hard for me to imagine him as an Update anchor, and I’m now kinda thinking he might not have been as great in that role as we thought back in 2010.
— Our first Stefon appearance of the season. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the only two Updates he’s appeared in by this point also happen to be Updates that Stefon writer John Mulaney did a commentary of his own in.
— Funniest bits in tonight’s Stefon commentary are the Cosby Face bit, a fat kid on a slip-and-slide being confused for Mick Jagger, and Furkels (a.k.a. Fat Urkels).
STARS: **½
LES JEUNES DE PARIS
in a bistro, “Ta Douleur” inspires youth dance-off
— This soon-to-be-recurring sketch makes its debut.
— After Paul has finally gotten his first SNL lead role earlier tonight, now it’s Taran’s turn. Taran’s been having a good night, between his Michael Cera impression and this.
— I absolutely LOVE the part where all the characters suddenly start dancing in unison to the bizarre portion of the French song that’s playing.
— Great gag with Taran imitating Emma’s bra removal by removing his own bra, which we then find out belongs to Abby.
— I love that the only cast members in this sketch’s main roles are newer players (Taran, Nasim, Abby, Paul, and Bobby, plus Vanessa in a brief walk-on).
— The combo of the odd French music being played and all the very funny actions happening during it is giving this sketch an epic, fun feel.
— Was that Jason as the older gentleman passing by with a cane who the main characters briefly stop dancing for? SNL Archives claims it is (link here), but I’m skeptical. It’s hard for me to tell if that’s really Jason, as we can only see his face from the side as he’s walking past the camera (screencap below).
If that is Jason, it’s very odd they would give a seven-season SNL veteran like him such a tiny, non-speaking role like that (though it did happen to him then-recently in the Bryan Cranston episode), especially in a sketch where the main roles are all played by new or new-ish cast members. Also, if that is Jason in this sketch, then it’s his ONLY live appearance all night. Aside from the Jane Lynch episode, Jason’s strangely been getting very little airtime this season, and it continues for quite a lot of the remainder of this season, IIRC. What’s the reason for this? Is he busy filming a movie this season? Horrible Bosses, perhaps?
— Such a strong and fun sketch overall.
STARS: ****½
MY BROTHER KNOWS EVERYTHING
annoyed (ANS) is little sister’s (NAP) hero
— Nice to see two consecutive sketches tonight starring a featured player(s).
— Nasim playing yet another child character, I see.
— In response to Emma saying Nasim’s brother is a hunk, Nasim says a well-delivered “Eww! Gross!….but yeah.”
— Emma’s comments about each of the “hot” posters from Andy’s room are pretty funny.
— Some decent in-show segments that Nasim and Emma’s characters do throughout this.
STARS: ***
“SEX” ED VINCENT’S SEX SYMPOSIUM
Ed Vincent’s (PAB) amateur lecture seminar opens minds
— Wow, the THIRD consecutive segment tonight starring a featured player. And it’s Paul’s SECOND lead role tonight.
— Right out of the gate, this already seems like a very promising character from Paul, and I love the format of this piece.
— Excellent performance and characterization from Paul. You can tell this is a character he had been doing before SNL.
— The “side of the penis/top of the penis” bit is particularly funny.
— I’m enjoying the “Tim & Eric”-esque vibe of this short.
— Great piece overall.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pyro”
GOOGIE RENE’S PARTIALLY DAMAGED HALLOWEEN COSTUME DISCOUNT BASEMENT
Googie Rene’s Halloween costumes are cheap but marred
— Another instance tonight of SNL randomly bringing back a one-off sketch from two or more years prior.
— Paul continues to get lots of airtime tonight.
— A cheap laugh from the “Stank Basket” that’s displayed.
— Kenan’s offbeat portrayal of this Googie Rene character continues to amuse me, but I can definitely see why it would annoy some people.
— Good portion of this sketch with the examples of things you can hide the stain on your costume with.
— Abby’s extremely brief, non-speaking walk-on might as well have been played by an extra.
STARS: ***
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A rough and worrisome start with the first four segments of this episode, but things got better as the show went along, especially when they started letting the featured players take over the show in the first few post-Weekend Update segments, which backs up my viewpoint that this season’s four new hires are breathing some much-needed new life into the show.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Les Jeunes De Paris
“Sex” Ed Vincent’s Sex Symposium
WXPD Channel 9 News
Wrangler Open Fly Jeans
I Broke My Arm
My Brother Knows Everything
Weekend Update
Monologue
Baby Spanx
The View
Dream Home Extreme
Reid Rally
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jane Lynch)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Jon Hamm hosts for his third and, as of 2020, final time
Did anyone else feel like Fred’s Obama voice was slightly better in than normal in this episode? Might just be me.
Emma Stone is one of my favorite newer recurring hosts. I wish she would become a five-timer already. Outside of the stuff involving Andy, the featured players carry this one by far. Taran’s dancing in Les Jeunes de Paris always get me.
Even as an apologist for Wiig’s most polarizing characters, I agree that Cheryl is tepid and doesn’t work. And this is probably a hot take, but I don’t really like Stefon.
Yes! Even if this might be her weakest episode, I want a DVD of her sketches. She has some legendary ones coming up.
Wow, I totally forgot about Sex Ed. I’d have to check that character out again.
Les Jeunes de Paris is part of what got me to love the new lot. Don’t feel like we’ve had many recurring sketches that are a bit unorthodox, since this one, but the general lack of recurring sketches right now could be the reason for that.
I believe there were only two View sketches from the current era. The first was hilarious, but I seem to recall it was referencing a very specific episode of the show. You may want to watch that first. The second one was a bad retread.
I don’t know what became of Paul Britain, but that Sex Ed sketch is real funny stuff.
Seth’s Virginia Hill jokes were part of a full Really!? with Seth segment at dress rehearsal. This is also the other episode that Griff Banks, Sensitive Bully appears at dress.
Herb Welch, who we’ll be seeing in a few episodes is birthed from Peter de Santos. Bill gave an interview to Splitsider in 2012 and talked about how he was goofing around during rehearsal and “kept pretending to hit Kristen and Emma in the face with a microphone. And that’s how we came up with Herb Welch. “
I remember watching the opening sketch, and just as they zoomed in on Paul’s LFNY, my immediate thought was “Damn! He Really Does look like his Uncle” (Bob Newhart)
I’m excited to have Taran Killam and Vanessa Bayer featured in these reviews. I find both of them very underrated and both bring a fresh sensibility to the show. Taran’s firing is one of the most baffling decision the show’s ever made…
Taran had a schedule conflict with a movie shoot in Summer 2016, and Lorne wouldn’t give him time off, so he walked. Taran has stated in interviews that he was unhappy during those last two seasons he was on the show, partially because of Lorne.
Excise those first 25 minutes and this episode is a gem. “Les Jeunes de Paris” is such an underrated recurring sketch. I remember seeing ads for the “Sex Ed” Vincent” sketch show that ran in Chicago in 2009-10; this sketch was a truncated, TV-friendly version of the revue.
Did Paul ever explain why he left the show? To have him leave in the middle of S37 was bizarre.
Nothing has ever been said about Paul…there’s speculation, but that’s about it.
Taran and Jay both seemed to have conflicts with the show (a number of Jay’s bubbling around the time the lack-of-a-black-female-cast-member issue blew up in the press). I think Taran joined SNL at a real sweet spot moment – not only was he brought in during a time when the main headwriter and guiding voice (who per Taran was willing to go back and forth with Lorne) was Seth, who seems to be universally beloved by cast and crew, but unlike the S33-35 arrivals, he also joined at a time when the older cast were phasing out and there was a lot of room to step in. This period is actually pretty rare for a new cast member to come into – usually there is less of a void oncamera to step into and usually the backstage situation is not so harmonious. So then we get to the rude awakening, where not only did Seth leave and get replaced by someone who is per Taran less willing to stand up to Lorne, but the cast ballooned massively, with new hires like Leslie Jones and Pete Davidson becoming very prominent very quickly, which meant there never was that “junior becomes a senior” moment for Taran in terms of importance. It was a very unique and unfortunate situation. I’m just glad he still seems to have some happy memories of his time at SNL.
I was always mad about the Paul Brittain situation – cut down just as he was finding a groove. The Lord Wyndemere sketches are GREAT, especially that last one with Barkley. His work with Killam on Comedy Bang Bang is terrific. I always heard that they were eager to snatch up Mackinnon as a free agent with Wiig heading out the door, but to bring her in early, they needed to shack someone loose. The picked the wrong person, I’d say. Especially with Elliott soon heading out the door.
This episode is very significant for me as it’s the first time I remember actually watching (part of) an SNL episode while it was airing! That is, I can never be 100% sure because my memory of it is so hazy, but looking back on it, I’m convinced it had to have been this episode. I was coming back home from some kind of party or school dance or something and my parents were watching Weekend Update, and Stefon was on. I remember sitting there loving it, while my parents sat in baffled silence. And that was the last I saw of SNL until the next season. That Stefon commentary is one of my favorites now.
I recently read in an old interview with Emma Stone that one of her lifelong dreams was to be in the cast of SNL. Knowing that makes me enjoy the episodes she’s hosted even more. I really like her and I like her work on the show.
The news sketch about teen fads is probably my favorite from this episode. I always get it mixed up with the Herb Welch sketch that Emma Stone was in later, since they have a similar premise, but I prefer this. Didn’t know Dream Home Extreme was a repeat, I’ll have to look up the original sketch. I thought this version was great. Speaking of sketches that I didn’t know repeated later… man I had no idea what to make of that French dancing sketch. It’s fun… but I feel like I’m missing something with what it’s supposed to be, exactly.
The Digital Short was good until the last bit with the jelly getting his own verse. That kind of killed it for me, but it is a catchy song and a relatable premise.
Haha, it’s fun to see a sketch where Andy and Nasim are playing brother and sister, as years later she would guest star on Brooklyn Nine Nine as Andy’s character’s half sister
I first saw this episode in a stream last year – it was somewhat better than I would have expected, although another example of the real lack of chemistry and connection between a lot of the cast by this point (the newer cast also seem to be in their own bubble, with brief intersections like Andy with Nasim). It’s also not a very good use of Emma Stone – she seems to be put into one version and another of “edgy” or “bad girl” roles. Later episodes would give her some chances to actually perform.
The lack of connection may be best shown in this last gasp of late ’00s View crew – every cast member just does a “turn,” with little to no interaction. Fred’s facial expressions and performance is so tuned to what he thinks will get the laugh that any character is completely gone. I guess I can say these are “better” than the two sketches they do in ’19 (although those at least have a memorable technical gaffe and Paul Rudd being charming), but that’s like if I said Trina is better than Dooneese.
I think my favorite part of this episode is the Sex Ed piece. The seriousness with which the humor is taken just adds to the whole thing, and Paul is absolutely brilliant in what he does here. I’m aware this wasn’t a big innovation for the comedy world, but it’s a needed departure from a lot of what you tend to get on SNL. The contrast between this and that Googie sketch (which Kenan does what he can with [although putting it in the same episode as Kenan’s much more entertaining yellathon on Update was not a great idea]) is glaring – it’s actually a little embarrassing to watch when Kenan screws up his face and pops his eyes in closeup. SNL did this ending again last season with Pete Davidson…it doesn’t get any less embarrassing.
Some SNL performers, like Amy, tended to play child characters as excessively “cute” to remind us when we are meant to laugh or to find them endearing. Nasim does have some OTT child characters, but she balances them out with the more grounded portrayals like Bedelia or this character. With an obnoxious performance this sketch would be hard to take, but Nasim plays it just right (and Andy’s involvement is also fun).
Les Jeunes De Paris is one of those sketches I want to love more than I do. I go back and forth with Taran’s SNL tenure (I think SNL ultimately wasn’t the best use of his talents and particular energy), but I do truly appreciate the ingenuity and the physicality and the willingness to try something very different and something that could have easily bombed. Unfortunately, I don’t think he and Emma really click in this – I would have liked to have seen how another female host may have fared.
@John I find Les Jeunes De Paris with Miley Cyrus to be a MUCH better version. I personally love these sketches because they are so different and not necessarily going for big laughs. They are just a lot of fun and in the case of later editions impressively performed.
@Shawn, thanks – I’ll keep an eye out for that one. Not to criticize Emma Stone too much – she certainly did much better than I ever would have – but I am looking forward to seeing a different host, as certain other aspects I did enjoy quite a bit (like the part where they had to mold items out of clay and Taran ended up making another version of the bra he’d pulled out of his jeans).
This episode doesn’t seem to have a good idea what to do with Emma Stone, which thankfully is much improved on in her later hosting gigs.
As many have noted, there is a stark difference between the first half of the episode (dominated by the retread-heavy, somewhat hacky humor of the old guard) and the second half, in which the featured players get to make their mark. It’s interesting that while Les Jeunes de Paris, Nasim’s sketch, and Sex Ed are not my favorite sketches by these performers, they seem a bit of fresh air compared to the rest of the show, featuring some enjoyable energy. I think the brother sketch would be better minus the rather tired talk show format–Nasim does better in more slice of life type sketches.
I’m glad I’m not the only person who watches “I Broke My Arm” and just stops before the grape jelly part. The song is really pretty catchy, and the central idea is funny; the ending seems an attempt at getting really weird and shoehorning Andy into the sketch, but that doesn’t work.
I mainly remember Seth’s Virginia Thomas/Anita Hill commentary, John Mulaney’s commentary, and that Les Jeunes De Paris sketch, all of which I remember enjoying…
Hey Stooge. AT Least, Fred Did NOT Say Live From New York, It’s Saturday Night !
Hey Stooge. I Don’t Know IF Seth And Amy Did That Before With The Chicken Sandwich With NO Bread, but I Remember Where People Were Doing That And I Couldn’t Imagine What That Was Like ! ! I Wondered What That Tasted Like ! Stooge, They Have ALWAYS Had The Week End Update Anchor Participate In The Commentary ! Not Only Did Kevin Nealon Sing With Adam Sandler, But Jane Curtain Would Try to Calm John Belushi And Jane Curtain Would Do Things With Emily Litella AND Point Counter Point With Dan Aykroyd ! ! ! Jane, You Ignorant Slut !
Hello Stooge. I Would Have Made This A Slight Step Down ! Even Though There Are FIVE Good Sketches, There ARE About FIVE Bad Sketches And There Were Only TWO Bad Sketches With Jane Lynch ! Also, While Paul Had A Big Night, You LOVED Jay’s Denzel Washington’s Impression ! While They Did Have The New People In This Show, You DID Have Jason Had A Big Night With Jane Lynch And Bill Had A Big Night With Jane Lynch ! ! You STILL Did Not Tell Me Why You Said The Episode Three Weeks Ago AND Jane Lynch Were About The Same !
I’m someone who’s very much in the “SNL is dead and should have ended years ago” category, I remember watching the Rent Is Too Damn High sketch within one year of its airing, and I decided to consider the show dead and over at that point. No, SNL has never stopped completely making good sketches, but Stooge said it best himself in this episode’s review: why make comedy about something that was comedic enough to begin with? Even if they did decide to make comedy of it, there were better ways to do it. They could have had Jimmy McMillan facing off in a debate with a landlord, representing the “Rent Is Too Damn Low Party”. They could have made a joke like “I represent the Jimmy McMillan Is Too Damn High Party. We are a single-issue party devoted to getting Jimmy McMillan appropriate drug rehab and counselling, because as you can plainly see from his debate performance, Jimmy McMillan is TOO DAMN HIGH.” Instead they just have Kenan deliver slightly exaggerated variations on McMillan’s actual words. It’s about as lame as it gets.
As for when I think the show should have ended, my choice is Season 34, with the Will Ferrell-hosted season finale being the last episode ever made, aside from reunions or anniversary specials.