Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
one-percenter Michael Bloomberg (FRA) ducks Occupy Wall Street protesters
— I liked the previous Fred-as-Michael-Bloomberg-addressing-the-nation cold opening from the preceding season, but I can’t say I’m crazy about seeing another one. Then again, I’m rarely eager to see ANY cold opening involving a politician sitting behind a desk (or standing behind a podium, in this case) and delivering an address to the nation.
— Funny line regarding New York supposedly being a trendsetter.
— Aside from a few okay lines, this cold opening is droning on and on for me. Fred might as well be playing Obama here, because this cold opening is almost as boring as a typical Obama-addresses-the-nation cold opening.
STARS: **
MONOLOGUE
in Hanna Garis (ABE), host finds a familiar face in the audience
— An okay-ish conceit with the overly-intelligent, complicated questions audience members ask the ditzy Anna Faris.
— Hmm, playing a Jeff Montgomery-esque character, right down to the clothing choices, are we, Bill? Then again, maybe we can consider this to possibly be the same character Bill previously played in the MySpace Seminar sketch from season 31, just like my personal theory that Will Forte’s character in that MySpace Seminar sketch could possibly be a then-unnamed Jeff Montgomery.
— A fairly fun way to work Abby’s Anna Faris impression into this, and I like how Anna is exaggerating her own voice and mannerisms to match Abby’s over-the-top impression. This is probably more cute than funny, but I’m still enjoying it.
STARS: ***
THE MANUEL ORTIZ SHOW
Latin beats saturate philandering sting operation
— (*groooooaaaaaaaaaaan*)
— What was with that mic’ed gravelly throat-clearing sound I heard from someone at the very beginning of this?
— Is it me, or have they shortened the usual music they always dance to in this recurring sketch? If so, thank god.
— Ha, I actually laughed at the hidden camera scene, even how it ended with this sketch’s usual dance routine.
STARS: **
WHAT’S WRONG WITH TANYA?!
game show tests Lifetime Original Movie moms
— A solid premise for a Lifetime game show sketch.
— There’s Bill’s omnipresent Vince Blight character hosting yet another new game show sketch.
— A funny detail of the first prize being “a Volvo full of groceries!”
— A good running bit with all the contestants talking over each other when initially asking each Tanya what’s wrong.
— I love how the losing contestants have to pretend to rake leaves slowly while the rest of the game goes on.
— A hilarious tense, dramatic “Ow, you’re hurting my arm!” “WHO’S GONNA BELIEVE YOU?!?” exchange between Anna and Bill.
STARS: ****
DRAKE INTERVIEW
ANS gets brief, close, sarcastic, racist, seductive, sweater-matching, horribly dubbed, and dark with musical guest
— Girls in the audience are excitedly screaming at the top of their lungs at 1) the mere appearance of Drake’s name in the opening title of this short, and 2) the initial appearance of Drake himself. Rather reminiscent of how the audience usually is whenever Justin Timberlake is on the show.
— An interesting and out-of-the-ordinary structure to this Digital Short, with it being comprised of various different-themed mini interviews of Drake.
— Drake immediately shutting down the racist-themed interview before Andy actually said anything bad was particularly funny.
— A good silly atmosphere to this whole short.
— Meh, I didn’t care for the extremely random and off-topic “Happy Halloween” ending, which gave off the desperation and fatigue that a lot of Digital Shorts this season in general reek of. Aside from that, though, this was a good short, and was the first Digital Short all season that I actually liked.
STARS: ***½
YET ANOTHER GOP DEBATE
debating GOP presidential hopefuls are realistically cynical about future
— Bill takes over the Rick Perry impression that Alec Baldwin previously did in the season premiere. Hmm, an actual cast member taking over a politician role that was previously played by a non-cast member. Hear that, 2020 SNL?
— I like the very loose, silly, experimental approach to this debate sketch, especially with the increasingly odd location each GOP candidate is placed in. I’m finding this fun. Hmm, an actual fun and loose debate sketch. Again I ask, hear that, 2020 SNL?
— “Jon Huntsman couldn’t be here tonight”? You’d think Taran (who previously played Huntsman earlier this season) was out sick tonight, especially since we’ve yet to see him appear in any sketches so far tonight. However, we’ll finally be seeing him towards the end of this episode.
— Jason-as-Mitt-Romney’s Forrest Gump analogy is pretty funny.
— Love the whole bit with Paul’s Ron Paul being kidnapped in a van, then immediately defending himself from his kidnappers in a badass manner.
— From my past viewing of this sketch when it originally aired, I had remembered Vanessa being really stumbly in her delivery throughout this sketch as the moderator, and I recall that ended up setting off a lot of somewhat harsh criticisms of Vanessa in general from some online SNL fans for the remainder of this season (until she won a lot of those people back over the following season). In my current viewing, however, I’m seeing that she hasn’t flubbed anything in this sketch, aside from her opening line. (And, yes, I’m watching the live version of this episode, not a rerun version that might’ve fixed any flubs.) However, she is coming off rather stiff here, but not to the detriment of the sketch or anything.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Headlines”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Anthony Crispino spreads falsehoods about Walgreens, Courteney Cox, more
teens (JAP) & (musical guest) do a rap about jacking kids’ Halloween candy bags
— Bobby’s Anthony Crispino mentions that he got one of his false news scoops from a Nazi friend named Pee-Wee German. That sounds like that could easily be a name of a club owner mentioned by Stefon, given how the club owner names that Stefon usually mentions are malaprops of celebrity names (e.g. Jew Diamond Phillips, Tranny Oakley, Snoozin Lucci).
— Tonight’s Crispino commentary is slaying me as usual, even if there’s nothing specific I can single out in tonight’s commentary.
— Hmm, interesting use of tonight’s musical guest, Drake. Also good to see Jay finally getting his first big live role of this season, after how badly he had been struggling for airtime this season.
— During the pre-song portion of the Jay/Drake commentary, Drake is coming off as a natural in his delivery. An early sign of what a good host he’ll make a few years later.
— Cue the screaming girls in the audience again during certain things Drake does in this commentary, including thrusting his hips in a suggestive manner at one point.
— A decent Halloween song from Jay and Drake, made better by Drake’s fun performance.
STARS: ***
TELL HIM
(VAB)’s friends advocate lying for dating success with “Tell Him” variant
— While I’m often not too crazy about musical sketches, I really like how “old school SNL” this particular sketch feels. This sketch would’ve came off right at home in the 70s or the Dick Ebersol era, and it comes off as a very refreshing novelty in this early 2010s era.
— This is also a great ensemble sketch for the female cast, which feels rare in these later years of Kristen’s SNL tenure. The usually-underused Abby even gets a big solo at one point of this song!
— There’s Andy doing his usual funny brief walk-on work.
— A fun and great ending to the song.
STARS: ****
J-POP AMERICA FUN TIME NOW!
Midwestern weeaboos (TAK) & (VAB) love Japan
— This soon-to-be-recurring sketch makes its debut.
— There’s Taran, finally making his first (and only) appearance tonight.
— I like how the two lead characters in this are played by second-season featured players Taran and Vanessa, the future of SNL.
— Jason doing great straight man work as the teacher.
— Why is Vanessa facing the wrong camera right now while intending to speak into the camera?
— Ugh, cue the cutaway to Fred in drag as Taran’s Japanese girlfriend. And even more unfortunate, that ends up becoming a regular part of this soon-to-be-recurring sketch.
— I’m enjoying this sketch, even if I’ve never been quite as crazy about these sketches as some people are. Maybe it’s because I’m not too familiar with Japanese culture tropes and people who are obsessed with them like Taran and Vanessa’s characters.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Nicki Minaj [real] perform “Make Me Proud”
LORD WYNDEMERE
cavalier dandy Cecil (PAB) meets his girlfriend’s (host) family
— After he had been so under the radar in all his prior appearances this season, Paul finally gets an actual showcase!
— Right out of the gate, this character of Paul’s and the comedic dissonance of him in a modern-day setting is fantastic.
— Equally (or maybe even moreso) fantastic is Jason’s performance, between his overjoyed reactions to everything Paul’s character is doing, and his sudden loud, angry outbursts at Andy. Jason’s ability to seamlessly switch from “jolly” mode to “viciously angry” mode at the drop of a hat rivals that of Will Ferrell’s.
— Even Bill in a mostly silent role is adding to the greatness of this sketch with his creepy frozen smile in the brief cutaway to a close-up of him. I’m loving pretty much everything about this sketch.
STARS: ****½
FERRARI CALENDAR
(KRW) & (host) ogle untraditionally-handsome Ferrari calendar models
— A somewhat amusing conceit with Kristen and Anna inexplicably lusting after grotesque Ferrari calendar models, especially Anna with her initial “Ohh!” facial reactions to each model.
— Ehh, the descriptions of each grotesque model are getting less and less funny, even if I’m still liking Kristen and Anna’s delivery.
— What’s with the random running gag with Bill’s character wording some of his sentences awkwardly, then expressing frustration with himself because of that? Speaking of random running gags, I’m also not caring for the one with Kristen and Anna occasionally saying “…or our asses are gonna explode”.
STARS: **
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty fun episode. While certainly not without its faults, this overall episode was entertaining due to a few great highlights and the fun atmosphere of many of the segments.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Lord Wyndemere
Tell Him
What’s Wrong With Tanya?!
Yet Another GOP Debate
Drake Interview
J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Weekend Update
Monologue
A Message From The Mayor
The Manuel Ortiz Show
Ferrari Calendar
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ben Stiller)
a mild step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Charlie Day
An episode where what I don’t like, I really don’t like (I hated that last sketch, the opening is lazy, and I had forgotten Manuel Ortiz was in this episode)…but what I do like I love. Tell Him, J-Pop, Tanya, and Lord Wyndemere are best of season-type sketches for me. I also really like that this episode shares the wealth a lot, and almost every cast member has a really nice moment to shine (note that the best sketches feature a diverse array of people in the leads).
I agree that while the basic premise of Tell Him is kind of hacky and obvious (men and women are different), it’s done with such offbeat charm and energy, it’s a very fun sketch and atypical for this period. It’s nice to see Abby get a lead portion of the song, and Anna in particular seems to be having a lot of fun (as the sketch ends, she seems downright giddy).
@Michael Cheyne, Anna was indeed very happy with the Tell Him sketch (she said she got more responses about it afterward than anything else she did on the show), and how glad she was to get to work so much with the female cast this time as she felt she mostly worked with male cast members the first time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/arts/television/anna-faris-and-other-female-hosts-on-saturday-night-live.html
Due to rights issues, or what have you, Tell Him mostly seems to have forgotten now, with What’s Wrong With Tanya? (which I always think was called What’s The Matter With Tanya?) now just about the only thing people seem to know from either of her hosting gigs. It’s a very strong sketch though. and she certainly does well in it.
Tell Him is a hit and a really refreshing change of pace for the show. The one benefit of the Seth Meyers comedy factory era is that one something skews outside the norm (Closet Organizer, Les Jeunes De Paris, Darrell’s Room, Crisis Of Conformity) you can really feel the impact. Tell Him may not be a knockout, but by having a slightly different vibe, it really finds a way to stand out.
Lord Wyndemere is just a wonderful little miracle that somehow gets even better in its second installment.
I remember really liking Tell Him when it aired. Such a change of pace for the show.
Honestly never liked the J Pop sketches that much. Whole bunch of them are coming up
All the Vince Blight game shows are classics to me. Mulaney was such a gift to this show at a time when most of its writing was depressingly bland, so glad he’s almost a five-timer already.
He’s going to kill it this weekend.
I Don’t Know IF You Are Talking About 2020 OR 2011 ! I Don’t Think John Mulaney Was Ever Host Back In 2011 OR AT That Time For A Few More Years ! I KNOW He Did Not Have That Lobster Which Was Kenan And He Certainly Did NOT Have Pete Davidson Ordering The Lobster ! Also, John Mulaney Did NOT Do The Cha Cha Slide Because They Had Ego Who He Was Talking To And She Absolutely Was NOT On In 2011 ! IF You Were Talking About 2011, Then, NO, John Mulaney Was NOT Close To Being A Five Timer !
Also, to your comment about 2020 SNL: I will say I actually thought the Dueling Town Halls cold open was pretty good and a step in the direction. Their take on the fly thing was also kind of interesting, even if it ended up not working. Unfortunately, you are that the 2 debate sketches themselves have been awful.
@Anthony Coleman, I did think the town hall cold open a few weeks ago was decent (until the Kamala crash anyway)…at least you saw more people and some funny moments here and there.
The main problem with the debate sketches is there are too damn many of them and they are too long. In an ideal world, if cast members were starring in them, that would help, but the 2004 debate sketches were just about as bad as anything with them in the last two seasons, so while the glut of cameos is tiresome, it really is down to overload of these pieces. I actually DID find a few of the debate sketches in S45 to be fun (mainly the town hall forum from David Harbour’s episode, and parts of the premiere, etc.) but when you have to watch 6 or 7 of those suckers, how much can you really enjoy?
I often find the timing choices made with these sketches befuddling – why does this episode have a political cold open AND a debate sketch? Was anyone crying out to see Fred Armisen’s uber-generic Bloomberg impression? It reminds me of Will Ferrell’s last episode, which had some pretty strong moments but was badly hobbled by having a political cold open and a debate sketch later in the episode.
Two takeaways i’ll add for the Town Hall and 2020 debate sketches:
1. The Town Halls are ostensibly in two different locations, but of course, everyone involved huddlea togethee for the group LFNY! at the end. I think Stooge has expressed annoyance at that trend. I certainly find it cloying.
2. The debate sketch featured zero cast members. Even the role of the moderator was farmed out to Maya Rudolph. If I was a cast member, I would have long ago complained about this and been fired for it. And then its followed by about 5 minutes of opening credits featuring a group of people I barely recognize because they have to take a back seat to underwritten ratings grabbers for the first hour. If you hold out, you’ll probably get a pretty good 10-to-1 with beck-kyle or day-moffet.
@Bill, I’d guess the main reason the moderator role went to Maya is because the show still has no biracial women in the cast and SNL has, with a few exceptions, become much more cautious about Rachel Dolezal type casting in recent years. With that said, it’s still not a good thing when the only cast member on display was Kate McKinnon doing that unbearable Rudy impression. I actually don’t think the current show does a horrible job of using much of the cast (a few a week miss out, but that’s typical even with smaller casts – admittedly it’s not the full picture now because 2 leading ladies are on break), but I do hate the cameo glut. And if not for COVID I imagine it would be worse than it is now in terms of cameo overload. Hopefully after the election this might trim down a little…
@ I agree about Ego. (oddly I don’t mind Maya’s appearances as much as I probably should, but I just can’t really take the Kamala meme type writing) As for Paul, I have also wondered that myself. Sad to say that knowing his fate on the show makes it a bit harder for me to fully get involved with his material – it just feels wrong somehow that he left the way he did. It’s easier with, say, Jeff Richards, because I didn’t really think his SNL stuff quite clicked, but Paul had some genuinely great bits on the show and was just getting started.
John,
To be honest, going into last week’s episode, I fully expected to see Adele playing the moderator, just because that serms to be par for the course. And i tuned in late, so i didnt know Kate did the Rudy cameo. Yikes.
@John & Bill
UGH at Kate’s Rudy. Its almost as lazy at this point as Baldwin’s Trump. I actually loved her as Sessions, but WHY did Lorne decide that Trump’s cabinet should only be played by celebrities or her? Especially when the only two people in Trump’s circle they let the cast play are Donald Jr. & Eric, which most people I know (myself included) would call their best Trump bit.
I Don’t Think They Really Do An Hour With The New People OR People Besides The Cast Members That You Know ! Also, They Do Not Have Mikey And Alex For The Last Sketch ! They Often DO Have Kyle And Beck For The Last Sketch !
Stooge, I think you mentioned being from NY. Have you been to an SNL?
@wnyxmcneal, I haven’t been to an SNL. As big a fan of the show I am, I’ve never really had much of an interest in seeing it in person. Shortly after I moved back to New York in 2005, I did kinda consider doing standby for the season 31 Dane Cook episode, but I never went through with the idea.
I definitely think it’s cool seeing it once, but standby is just not worth it. And take it from someone who did standby a lot.
Drake and Lorne Michaels grew up in the same neighborhood in Toronto.
So they *both* started at the bottom?
Kidding aside, this was a fun, albeit imperfect episode. All four featured players had a moment, which we can’t say was the case for most of Year 36. Even Pauly B scored a recurring character, even though he was six episodes from getting axed. I forgot about that Drizzy interview Digital Short; between that and “Two Best Friends,” perhaps this Jorma- and Akiva-free year is more scattershot than awful.
@John yea Kamala was unnecessary, but at least Ego was hilarious (to me at least) as the girl trying to be Trumps new token black supporter. (Speaking of Maya, I love her, but she needs to be in wayyyy less of the new season. In fact, can we please just stop every celebrity impression that isn’t Larry David as Bernie Sanders?).
I Don’t Think You Will Get Any More Political Impressions Except Who Ever Wins The Election IF Donald Trump Will Accept The Results IF Joe Biden Wins !
I love Andy’s crying face as Boy Tonya.
Does anyone know Paul didn’t even finish out the season? He’s obviously great in Lord Wyndemere and that actually made a good recurring sketch (I remember him getting a decent reaction from the audience next time he shows up). I think I like the follow up even more, Charles Barkley surprisingly made a great addition (though I always think Bobby’s character is a little unnecessary every time I rewatch it).
It was mentioned in another thread that Paul was only picked up for a half-season option, but was not picked up for the other half. He was likely dropped to make room for Kate McKinnon.
I mainly remember the J-Pop America Fun Time Now! for its first time on air. I think I remember liking it…
Hello Stooge. They Had Too Many People Running For President In 2020 So They Did Not Have Enough People That Were Like Who Was Running To Only Have The Cast Members Be In The Debates OF Who Was Running For President ! Besides, They DID Have Kate Being Elizabeth Warren AND Bowen Being Andrew Yang ! ! Also, Colin Joist Playing Mayor Pete ! Also, I Think The Actual Debates Were In A Certain Place Each Time With Actual Moderators ! ! I Don’t Remember Whether IF The Debates For 2012 Were In Actual Cities And IF They Had A Moderator In Each OF Those Debates ! !
I love the J-Pop sketches, it’s clear that Jason is what holds the sketch together. Luckily they didn’t continue them after he left the show.
Stooge, I am as big a Vanessa stan as anyone–I think she is criminally underrated, I think she performed with a lot of nuance, something often sorely lacking in the current SNL, and she is on my all-time SNL All-Star team. That said, she has at least three flubs in the version of the Debate sketch on YouTube, and two of them are pretty glaring. It’s shocking for someone who is SUCH a pro and so good at not breaking or messing up, and I think it affected her performance. She became so intent, I think, on not botching any more lines that she didn’t give some of the line readings the necessary snark. that was baked into them.
“Hmm, an actual cast member taking over a politician role that was previously played by a non-cast member. Hear that, 2020 SNL?” Well, I got good news for you, then.
Lifetime did have game shows, quite a few. That’s why I watched it in the 1990s. There were Rodeo Drive, Supermarket Sweep 1990, Shop ‘Til You Drop, Born Lucky (though that one wasn’t so great) and Debt (the last show Wink Martindale hosted until Instant Recall).
I like Paul, but it says a lot that his big breakthrough character is only the fourth best thing in the sketch, after Jason, Bill, and Andy.