Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Joe Biden (JAS) thinks we should emulate Chilean miners’ good attitudes
— A coincidence I’ve noticed: every single episode hosted by one of the main stars of Mad Men (Jon Hamm in each of his three hosting stints, and January Jones in her one hosting stint) has had Jason’s Joe Biden appear in the cold opening.
— A big laugh from the “Are you above ground?” question in the Joe Biden Checklist, and how that’s the ONLY question.
— Jason’s Biden is getting his usual laughs here.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host improvises ad slogans for products suggested by audience members
— Two consecutive monologues that rely on audience interaction? Are we in the 1993-94 season again?
— Why’d SNL officially stop using their writers as fake audience members ever since the late 2000s? It used to always be pretty fun seeing writers in these audience monologues.
— Jon Hamm is fantastic in his “on-the-spot” ad slogans that he comes up with after each audience suggestion.
— Andy’s always funny as this type of smarmy, smug character.
— Great sly delivery from Bill of the line “I mean, hey…it’s Jon Hamm.”
STARS: ****
RONNIE AND CLYDE
Shy Ronnie & musical guest are 1930s bank robbers
— This Bonnie & Clyde setting is an interesting and creative concept for a Shy Ronnie sequel.
— The usual laughs from Andy’s Shy Ronnie routine, and his “Ha-HAAAAA!”s in particular always slay me.
— Funny bit with Rihanna briefly returning to the bank just to bring a random Jon Hamm with her to have sex.
STARS: ****
VINCENT PRICE’S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
in 1960, Liberace (FRA) taints Vincent Price’s (BIH) Halloween special
— This ends up being the final Vincent Price Special sketch. I recall this installment being VERY disappointing. We’ll see how I’ll feel about it now.
— This must be by far the earliest spot a Vincent Price Special sketch has ever aired in an episode. These usually air much later in an episode.
— As an unintentional full-circle aspect of these Vincent Price Special sketches, Kristen plays the same celebrity in tonight’s installment that she played in the very first installment: Judy Garland.
— Jon reprises the John F. Kennedy impression he did in the Barack Obama Variety Half Hour sketch from Jon’s first hosting stint.
— This sketch is going particularly heavy on the sexual innuendos, more than previous installments of this sketch did.
— Even for this sketch’s standards, the running gag with Kristen’s Garland popping pills seems too touchy. It’s rubbing me the wrong way.
— I did get a cheap laugh from the “sausage” gag at the end.
— Overall, meh. My recollection of this installment being disappointing was sadly right, though I don’t dislike it quite as much as I did when it originally aired. But between the still-good-but-not-as-strong-as-usual penultimate installment of this sketch from the preceding season’s James Franco episode and now tonight’s fairly mediocre installment, it’s probably for the best that they stopped doing this sketch after tonight’s episode.
STARS: **½
BACK TO THE FUTURE 25TH ANNIVERSARY DVD
unsuccessful screen tests on Back To The Future anniversary DVD
— Ah, a piece in the tradition of SNL’s legendary Star Wars Screen Tests from the season 22 Kevin Spacey episode.
— A nice way to work Jay’s great Eddie Murphy impression into the show.
— Lots of Colin Jost sightings all throughout this, as he plays the marker (as seen in the third above screencap for this segment).
— I’m surprised at how strong Jon’s Robin Williams impression is, even though Robin Williams impressions are probably very common.
— As expected, a fun piece, even if it doesn’t measure up to the quality of the aforementioned Star Wars Screen Tests.
STARS: ****
AUDITION
at an audition, (KRW) specifies what she is willing to do for a part
— A lot of laughs from the absurd things a deadpan Kristen lists off that she is and isn’t comfortable doing in the role she’s auditioning for.
— Ooh, even though it’s just a very small and minor part of an otherwise solid sketch, I did NOT like Kristen’s sudden loud, angry, over-the-top “NOOOOOOOO!!! GIVE IT TO MEEEEEEEEE!!!” outburst when she’s told she didn’t get the part. Her delivery of that outburst felt strangely forced and too out-of-place for the tone of this sketch. This is the second consecutive episode that I noted Kristen coming off too forced in her execution of an over-the-top bit. I wonder if this is a sign that she’s become very tired of the loud, over-the-top things the writers keep having her do in sketches, when, as most of this sketch is proving, she’s far better at lower-key, deadpan stuff.
— Jon’s absurd rant is very funny.
— Love the whole ending gag with Jason jumping out the window, revealing they’re on the first floor as he lands safely on his feet right outside the window, dusts himself off, then nonchalantly walks away.
STARS: ****
BACK TO THE FUTURE 25TH ANNIVERSARY DVD
more Back To The Future screen tests have actors not chosen for the film
— The debut of Bill’s freakin’ SPOT-ON Alan Alda impression. That voice is so damn impressive, almost eerily so. The voice also makes his already-humorous dialogue even funnier.
— The vibe of this second Back To The Future screen test piece feels even more fun than the first one. I also love how many SNL cast members from the 80s are being impersonated in these two BTTF pieces: Eddie Murphy, Gilbert Gottfried, and Joan Cusack.
— A decent Gottfried impression from Taran (Jimmy Fallon did a better one on SNL in the past, though), but it’s his Pee-Wee Herman at the end of this piece that’s far more dead-on and impressive.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What’s My Name?”
WEEKEND UPDATE
James Carville (BIH) assesses Tea Party’s impact on midterm elections
SEM groans as Garth & Kat think up & perform disjointed Halloween songs
— The usual laughs from Bill’s James Carville.
— (*sigh*) Get this Garth & Kat mess the fuck off my screen.
— I probably said this before, but I cannot believe the freedom Fred and Kristen are given to waste airtime doing this lousy and self-indulgent improv bit on live TV. And not just mere airtime, but LOTS OF airtime. Tonight’s Garth & Kat commentary feels like it’s going on forever.
— While I’m still ranting about this Garth & Kat trash, let me just disclose the pure, genuine joy it brought me to see these two characters absolutely BOMB with the audience when they would later perform in SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special. Unlike SNL’s usual easy-to-please studio audiences filled with regular people, SNL’s celebrity-and-alum-filled studio audience in that 40th Anniversary Special was NOT having this Garth & Kat shit, and their un-amusement towards it brought such a perverse smile to my face. I had the same delighted reaction when that Californians recurring sketch also bombed (to a lesser extent) with the audience in that same anniversary special. So happy to see that it’s not just internet nerds like me who can’t stand such frustrating, self-pleasing Fred Armisen/James Anderson-written nonsense like Garth & Kat and The Californians, as I was always baffled by their popularity.
STARS: **½ (that overlong and unbearable Garth & Kat segment alone made me dock half a star from this otherwise-extremely-average Update)
I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS
viral video victims don’t like being laughed at
— For someone who got promoted to a repertory player at the beginning of this season, it feels like we haven’t been seeing much of Bobby this season. Because of this, it’s refreshing seeing him star in this sketch.
— Bobby’s reaction to the screamer video is freakin’ priceless.
— So many laughs from Jon’s ridiculous stretched-out cry, spoofing a real-life viral video from the reality show Intervention.
— The clip of Jon crying has gotten even funnier when an autotuned version of it is playing on the screen behind him while he’s sincerely pouring his heart out in a message he’s delivering into the “Serious Cam”.
— All of the other characters trying to stifle their amusement after the autotuned clip of Jon was shown is very funny.
STARS: ****
HIGHWAY COPS
motorcycle-sharing (JAS) & (host) prefer gayety to policing
— Where is this sketch GOING?!? I’m currently over two minutes into this sketch, and the closest to a “comedic” conceit I can find is homoerotic implications with Jason and Jon’s friendship, and lots of hamminess from Kenan. (*groan*) I admit, though, that some of Kenan’s lines regarding his dead wife are making me chuckle.
— Why does it sound like Jon and Jason are cracking up off-camera during the close-up of Kenan in one of his many phone conversations right now?
— What’s with the use of Nasim in every photo of Kenan’s various love interests? Is it because Nasim’s the only non-white female cast member this season?
— Aaaaaaaaaaand now we have a “hilarious” man-on-man kiss between Jason and Jon, as a cheap attempt at a “funny” punchline. THAT’S what all of this was leading up to? Fucking oof.
STARS: *½
DARLIQUE & BARNEY
the lounge act of Darlique (KRW) & Barney (host) comprises fake arguments
— I don’t like how this sketch is immediately reminding me of the bad lounge singer sketches that Maya Rudolph often starred in back in season 30, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.
— Jon’s performance is at least fun, as is the interplay between him and Kristen.
— Overall, a little meh, but I didn’t hate the overall sketch as much as I was worried I would.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Only Girl (In The World)”
AMERICAN AMERICA PRESENTS: DOG IN PURSE WITH DAVID SPADE
by FRW- in a club, an irked chihuahua (DAS) dishes on celebrities
— Wow, I had forgotten all about this until now. SNL starts what ends up being a short-lived attempt at a new run of cartoons, American America Presents, years after Robert Smigel’s long and successful run of TV Funhouse cartoons on SNL. These American America cartoons are made by former SNL writer (and short-lived featured player) Fred Wolf (listed as “FRW” in the above synopsis for this cartoon). Only two of these American America cartoons end up making it on the air; there are others that would never make it past dress rehearsal.
— The American America cartoons also usually feature the voice of a former SNL cast member as the main character. In tonight’s case, it’s David Spade.
— Some funny snarky and sleazy comments from the Spade-voiced dog, and it’s certainly nice hearing David’s voice on SNL again.
— Overall, not a bad debut for this American America series.
STARS: ***
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty good episode as a whole, though as a Jon Hamm episode, this did not live up to the phenomenal quality of Jon’s previous two episodes. He was still a great host tonight as usual, however. A damn shame this ends up being his final hosting stint, as of 2020. It makes no sense why he suddenly stopped hosting, especially after his first three hosting stints were all in back-to-back seasons. He seemed to be quickly on the way to becoming a five-timer.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Back To The Future 25th Anniversary DVD (Part 2)
Monologue
Ronnie And Clyde
I Didn’t Ask For This
Back To The Future 25th Anniversary DVD (Part 1)
Audition
A Message From The Vice President
American America Presents: Dog In Purse with David Spade
Weekend Update
Vincent Price’s Halloween Special
Darlique & Barney
Highway Cops
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Emma Stone)
a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Scarlett Johansson
Writers again play audience members in DeNiro’s monologue a few shows from this one. I think “writers as audience members” has also made a little bit of a comeback in recent years from what I’ve seen.
“Highway Cops” was a James Anderson/Mike O’Brien collaboration. I think Jost wrote the screen test sketches.
It really is amazing how they thought Garth and Kat was worth putting on the air even ONCE, let alone multiple times.
Tomorrow: the Kenan/wheelchair sketch!
Also tomorrow, the debut of my 2nd favorite Vanessa Bayer character Laura Parsons!
I think Jon said that they couldn’t work out scheduling when they tried to get him to host again.
I remember people hating Audition, stating it was more same-old, same-old from Wiig. I felt like a voice in the wilderness at the time, defending the sketch. If this had been in Kristen’s first two seasons, I think it would have been viewed far more favorably. It’s been a few years since I watched it, but I remember being kind of stunned by it. The Back To The Future pieces are easy wins, but for this one to win over my cynicism spoke even more strongly to its quality.
GARTH AND FUCKING KAT!!!!!! >:(
What an absolute waste! Cringeworthy from the first to last installment. I TOTALLY agree with you Stooge that I found some solace that they got no response during the 40th Anniversary special. The only reason The Californians didn’t work during the same said special was Taylor Swift’s overacting in that sketch. Ugggghgghhhhhhh!
Oh my god, the Bobby Moynihan screamer video might’ve been the first thing I ever saw of the show when I was like 6 (at the time, I was obsessed with those Scary Maze Game clips)
Jon and his history with SNL is one of those reminders that we can’t control the narratives, even if they make no sense to us – he’s such a natural as a host and he clearly still enjoys making appearances, not even the clean break that some frequent hosts or people who hosted a lot in a fairly short window of time often make. I guess the most to say is I hope he hosts again someday, but if he’s happier not doing so, good for him.
That 40th anniversary audience was certainly very discerning, even at times when I wish they had been more receptive. They were mostly stonefaced through Emma Stone’s (no pun intended) Roseanne Rosannadanna (which I could understand as I think a lot of people got tired of that character and her being one of the main things people remember about Gilda, but I felt a little bad for Emma), and also for a lot of the Tina/Amy/Jane Curtin trio on Update, which disappointed me a little because I thought Jane was just terrific and she was back after 35 years, in a place no one thought she’d be back in, and which she is likely to never be in again. Anyway, I’m 100% with them on shutting out the sketches and characters you mention…
So this is basically the return of the pre-tape format of the impression parades, last seen in the late ’90s. Given that we get so many impression parades from this cast, who, honestly, do little to endear me with said impressions – we have another live one coming up soon with Dana Carvey that dies such a death with the studio audience, Phil Hymes just flat out pans it to a demoralized John Mulaney – it makes sense. And they have, for the most part, stuck with this format, which is a good idea.
There’s an interesting contrast here between impressions that are technically accurate or meant to be accurate even if they don’t have a lot of laughs (like Abby as Joan Cusack or Jay as Eddie) and impressions that are not accurate at all but are meant to just be fun (like Andy as Nic Cage), and then the easier, crowd-pleasing impressions (Robin Williams, Pee Wee – Mikey Day, who replaced Taran on the show, also took this over, but Taran is better at capturing the zaniness I think). Bill is by far the best for me because he not only has the impressions, he also has the writing, which is something that others like Abby or Jay (or more recently, Melissa Villasenor) could struggle with in their impressions. There’s some genuinely funny stuff as Pacino thinks “great Scott” is a real person or as Alan Alda blathers on amiably before abruptly asking who he has to fuck to get the part.
If I were ranking (which I’m not of course) I would have flipped the ratings for two of your sketches.
I’m just going to say it – I loathe this Vincent Price sketch. It feels like it was written by a perverted computer program and is nothing but crass, lazy, lowest-common denominator material. If I had to point to a single sketch to use as an example of the wasted potential of the 2006-2010 era cast it would be this – shameless mugging and hamming from Fred and Kristen (I could swear she was better the first time she played Judy) and a crude rehash of bad gay jokes and sex jokes. Bill’s work in this role was very special and in another world, he would have had an all-time classic recurring piece here, rather than so many of them being in the gutter. I am aware I am speaking just for myself, I know he and Mulaney and Fred probably loved all these, but I feel, silly as it sounds, sad about what they ended up being.
In contrast, I can’t help liking the cops sketch. No, it’s not great, yes, there is no apparent joke most of the time, but it works for me as a straight sendup of dumb ’70s cop shows, especially because we don’t ever have a moment where anyone says “Can you believe this?” or anything along those lines. The absurdity with Kenan (to the point of having Nasim play both his love interests, dead and alive) and the relationship between Jason and Jon just slowly build throughout the 5 minutes. And then when that relationship happens, to complete the moment, we just get, essentially – yeah that happened, this is cool, let’s tell our wives, which fits into the world they’re parodying much more than a bad gay joke would have. It’s not a very comedic choice, but I also appreciate that Jon and Jason chose not to do the predictable “lol they are smashing they’re faces together and their tongues are sticking out IT IS SO FUNNEEE” route for their kiss. That it’s just a simple kiss means that the weird reality created in those moments can just reach a natural conclusion.
Here is Jason talking about how they wanted to NOT be like the kissing family sketches.
https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2011/02/07/sudeikis-and-tell
What was the big catchphrase from the Darlique and Barney? Was it Hamm constantly saying “OR is it?” or was it something else equally dumb but on par with the Bjelland’s “Can you dig it?” (or was that itself ripped from the Jazz Man himself?)
Been years since I’ve seen it, but I definitely remember it being “Or IS/WAS it? *keyboard sting*”
The scene of Bobby reacting to the screamer used to be clipped out of context and uploaded to Facebook and YouTube as if it was a real reaction. I think I saw it in a “Scary Maze Game Reactions” compilation years ago.
I was reminded of Darlique and Barney when I saw the Jingle bells sketch with Matt Damon & Cecily in the Christmas show two years ago. Same basic premise, an older lounge singer paired with a keyboardist with snappy asides. Jon Hamm & Matt Damon seem to be wearing very similar jackets if not the same.
This episode would’ve had Will Forte’s first return cameo (5 episodes after his departure) bringing back Jeff Montgomery with Hamm as his first foil. According to Hamm (on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast, “Suicide Is Painless” #126, released Oct 10 2011), the sketch killed during dress, Jon was getting into his costume for it as last sketch on air, then someone told him ‘there wasn’t enough time’ and it was cut. (** My anger/frustration of not seeing it aired is selectively directed toward the waste that is ‘Darlique & Barney’)
Hamm also mentioned on the same CBB that he enjoyed the “Audition” sketch (to which I agree).
Damn. Can we go ahead and blame the ultimate waste that is Garth and Kat for that?
I mainly remember the end of Ronnie and Clyde with Rhianna taking Jon Hamm with her. I only remember part of the Back to the Future (my favorite ’80s movie) auditions though I think I was mostly amused by them. And then there’s Garth and Kat, two characters that weren’t worth it even the first time around…
Hey Stooge. Now, You Have Got Seth Groaning About Kat And Garth ! I Think That IS Funny Because Seth Doesn’t Know You !
I’m Convinced: Jody Is Actually Fred Armisen’s Mother, The Inventor Of Caps Lock
Is it just me, or did “I Didn’t Ask For This” have the potential to be a recurring sketch?
I’m surprised Jon Hamm stopped hosted after this. He’s actually made more guest appearances in recent years than he has hosting. He was even a guest this previous season, twice.
I hope SNL gets the hint and lets him come back. He’s always been one of my personal favorite host.
I think someone said that he had scheduling issues or something.