Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Barack Obama (JAP) loses focus during first debate with Mitt Romney (JAS)
— Well, here we go, the first debate sketch of this election season. The political satire in this election season doesn’t seem to be all that remembered among SNL fans, especially compared to the election season that preceded this (the 2008 one). However, I recall this season’s second Obama/Romney debate sketch being solid, and I recall absolutely LOVING this season’s VP debate sketch between Jason’s Joe Biden and Taran’s Paul Ryan, which airs in the following episode.
— Much like in the 2008 election season, SNL brings Chris Parnell back to reprise his Jim Lehrer impression.
— Jay continues his streak of having the lead or co-lead role in every cold opening so far this season.
— A funny split-screen shot of Jason’s stone-faced Mitt Romney staring coldly at Jay’s President Obama.
— A laugh from Jay’s Obama having a “whatever”-type reaction to being told Jason’s Romney claimed to have killed Osama Bin Laden.
— The conceit of us hearing Jay-as-Obama’s various inner thoughts is a somewhat interesting and unique angle for a presidential debate sketch, and an okay spoof of how uncharacteristically distracted and uninterested Obama acted at the real debate. This isn’t exactly biting political satire, nor is it memorable in regards to SNL’s presidential debate sketches over the years, but it’s decent enough.
— A fairly funny turn with us now hearing Chris-as-Lehrer’s inner thoughts.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— This season’s new theme music is being played at a faster tempo tonight than it was in this season’s previous episodes. This faster tempo will remain for the rest of this theme song’s run (2012-2014).
MONOLOGUE
host plays In Memoriam reel of the people he’s killed in the movies
— At the end of Daniel Craig’s entrance, after the camera shows the usual brief shot of the host from behind while we see the audience applauding, we get a change of pace tonight with the camera showing a brief side shot of Daniel from the angle of the floor seats (screencap below).
This new camera angle shot becomes a regular thing at the beginning of hosts’ monologues for the remainder of the 2012 half of this season, then stops for some unknown reason in the 2013 half of this season.
— A fun concept of showing an In Memoriam reel for characters that Daniel killed in his movies. The result is only average, though.
— I like Daniel’s side comment asking to Shazam the song that’s playing during the In Memoriam reel.
— The “The Dog Who Saw Too Much” bit was a decent ending of the In Memoriam reel.
STARS: ***
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
unlike the other construction workers, (host) isn’t very good at catcalls
— Pretty funny delivery from Kenan during his catcalls throughout this sketch.
— The premise isn’t all that great, but Daniel’s execution of it is decent and likable.
— A funny sleazy “If You See Something, Say Something” reference from Bobby.
— A big laugh during the flashback scene where Bill’s character gets shot out of nowhere by the woman he catcalled.
STARS: ***
BOND 50
DVD collection has forgotten, unsexy Bond girls like Diane Keaton (VAB)
— Fun premise, and a decent excuse for the female cast to do celebrity impressions.
— A solid Diane Keaton scene with Vanessa.
— For some reason, I had no memory of the portion with Vanessa’s Molly Ringwald, even though I remember everything else in this.
— A lot of funny fictional Bond movie titles.
— Kate is stealing this whole thing with her respective scenes as Jodie Foster and Ellen DeGeneres, the latter scene of which is particularly funny.
STARS: ***½
THREE DAYS LATER: A LOOK BACK AT THE OBAMA DEBATE DISASTER
Rachel Maddow (CES) & MSNBC pundits assess Obama’s weak debate showing
— Cecily takes over the Rachel Maddow impression that the no-longer-on-the-show Abby Elliott used to do. I’m finding Cecily’s Maddow impression to be much better than Abby’s. Cecily’s nailing both the facial mannerisms and the voice well enough.
— Speaking of taking over former cast members’ impressions, we get Jason playing Chris Matthews. Feels odd seeing Jason in this role. Also, this doesn’t end up being the only time this season where Jason takes over an impression that Darrell Hammond used to frequently do. In what I’m sure a lot of SNL fans don’t remember (hell, I myself didn’t remember it until just now), Jason plays Donald Trump in a sketch later this season. I kid you not.
— While Jason isn’t exactly dethroning Darrell as SNL’s most accurate Chris Matthews impersonator, I’m absolutely loving Jason’s impression. His performance and delivery are SLAYING me in this.
— Kate gets a laugh from her “gloating” as S.E. Cupp.
— Some funny insane theories from Kenan’s Al Sharpton throughout this sketch.
STARS: ***½
LONG ISLAND MEDIUM
Theresa Caputo (KAM) reads fellow Italian-Americans
— A funny exaggerated crying outburst from Taran.
— We get our very first onscreen interaction between Kate and Aidy, who would later go on to be inseparable castmates. Their interaction here is very brief, though.
— Another standout Kate McKinnon performance. She’s been killing it these past two episodes.
— I love Cecily’s mere facial expressions and demeanor as a supermarket customer who accepts Kate’s Theresa Caputo just randomly coming up to her and immediately giving her a psychic prediction.
— Bobby steals the supermarket scene with his perfectly-delivered “Hey, f(*bleep*)k you!”
STARS: ***½
MARS MISSION
Mars-bound, baby-talking Kirby (BOM) goes on about missing his kitty cat
— Oh, I forgot all about this “I miss my little kitty cat” character of Bobby’s. From what I remember, I pretty much hated these sketches when they originally aired, but I get the feeling I’ll have a bit of a different reaction during these re-watches.
— So far, such an odd, one-note character from Bobby, and I can see why I and certain others were annoyed by him, but in my current viewing, I’m finding Bobby’s portrayal of this character to be somewhat entertaining and strangely endearing in the way that only Bobby can make it. Also, I’m oddly getting a bit of a Chris Farley vibe from Bobby’s characterization and look here.
— Daniel is rather stumbly with his lines throughout this sketch.
— Bobby’s emotional screaming outburst (another Farley-esque trait) when thinking his cat got destroyed in the duffel bag is making me simultaneously laugh and, strangely, almost shed a sad tear. Bobby is such a lovable performer in general that he has the strange ability to tap into my emotions sometimes.
— For some reason, the fact that Bobby, while still under the impression that his cat got destroyed, yells “I hate this trip! I hate it so much!” is cracking me up.
— An actual cute ending.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Madness”
WEEKEND UPDATE
SEM groups those affected by presidential debate into Winners & Losers
political football Big Bird (Caroll Spinney) reacts to recent attention
unrepentant Ecce Homo defacer Cecilia Gimenez (KAM) wants her money
— Another edition of the Winners/Losers segment, a segment that’s usually hit-and-miss.
— Seth manages to work his spot-on Hugh Grant impression from back in the day into one portion of tonight’s Winners/Losers segment.
— Tonight’s overall Winners/Losers was easily the best edition of that segment. Seth had a lot of great quips in tonight’s edition.
— A noteworthy moment right now, as we get a Big Bird appearance on SNL, in response to Mitt Romney’s infamous “Don’t get me wrong, I like PBS, I like Big Bird” remark at that week’s presidential debate. Seeing Big Bird on SNL feels special, and actually warms my heart.
— This Big Bird commentary has a lot of tame, lighthearted humor, but that’s very understandable for this particular character (obviously, SNL’s not going to have him do dirty late-night-worthy humor or make a politically-divisive statement in regards to Mitt Romney), and he’s making it lovably charming instead of corny or cringeworthy.
— After having her breakout SNL moment in her very first Update commentary just one episode prior, Kate already appears in her second Update commentary.
— Kate’s solid night continues, as she’s cracking me up all throughout her Update commentary tonight. And the goofiness and looseness of her performance is coming off fresh in this early stage of her SNL tenure. As I said in my last episode review, the stage presence Kate has is very impressive for someone so new on SNL.
STARS: ***½
A SORRY LOT WE ARE
sad sack working-class Brits commiserate at the pub
— A promising idea of such a British-centric sketch. Good casting of Bill in this, as he always nails British-centric roles.
— A decent spoof of depressing British tropes.
— Ugh, Fred’s appearance as a guy who’s eager to see the “poofter convention” is cringeworthy. And SNL’s casting of Fred in this particular homoerotic role is sadly so on-brand for him in his later seasons.
— Aidy gets the most noteworthy role she’s had up to this point of her SNL tenure, and that’s still not saying much. (It takes a while this season before Aidy starts getting really good parts that showcase her talents well. She definitely has a slower start than her two fellow newbies Cecily and Tim.) I remember, when this originally aired, I was bothered by the fact that the first noteworthy role SNL gave to their very first plus-sized female cast member was a disgusting, unappealing character, which was exactly the type of role that I remember I and some other online SNL fans were worried SNL would typecast Aidy in when we first learned of her hiring and found out she’s plus-sized. In my current viewing of this sketch, I’m not bothered anymore by the decision to cast Aidy in this role, probably because I’m now aware that Aidy doesn’t go on to be typecast in disgusting roles. Aidy’s making this amusing enough, and in fact, I’m not even finding this character all that disgusting in my current viewing, which may be a testament to Aidy’s likability as a performer.
STARS: ***
LOVING COUPLE
at a dinner party, (host)’s girlfriend Regine (FRA) is sensual & smug
— Uggggggghhhhh. Not only is this Fred’s second drag role of tonight’s episode alone, but it’s the debut of a character of his who I absolutely DESPISE. (*Insert my typical, overdone rant here about how Fred has gotten so unbearably annoying in his later seasons and should’ve left years ago*)
— I’m also tired seeing Fred spoof pretentious people like this. He did that so much better in his earlier seasons when he was in his prime.
— Oh god at all of the “Watch her face while I (insert sensual action here)” bits throughout this sketch, which are just an excuse for Fred to mug in the most exaggerated, hammiest way possible.
— I finally got one laugh in this sketch, when the camera did a cutaway to Bill’s stone-faced angry look in response to Fred’s Regine refusing the drink Bill’s giving her, because “I wanted it then, not now.”
— Oh, now this sketch somehow gets even MORE unwatchable, with Fred now spreading his legs apart and letting us see up his skirt.
— Our first of what I recall many instances this season of Fred and Bill causing each other to break, basically becoming SNL’s new-age Fallon & Sanz. However, it turns out Bill is actually doing an okay job in his attempt to keep a straight face here. It’s mostly Fred who’s breaking at this moment.
— And now, after starting to break, Fred has gotten too loose in his performance and has taken to practically screaming the remainder of his lines in an exaggerated manner. (*groan*)
STARS: *
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Panic Station”
LOW-INFORMATION VOTERS OF AMERICA
— Rerun from 9/22/12…which was just ONE EPISODE AGO. Is this the first time in SNL history where a commercial was re-aired just one episode after its debut? Even that Will Forte/Amy Poehler-starring Morgan Stanley commercial from season 31, which was re-aired an insane amount of times in the first half of that season, wasn’t re-aired in the episode that followed its debut. I get the feeling I did once review an episode that re-aired a commercial just one episode after its debut, but I’m blanking on it right now.
GOODNIGHTS
— Such a sweet visual of an eager, starstruck Bobby slowly giving Big Bird a hearty hug.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very average episode. So much so, that the episode feels forgettable. There wasn’t a single segment that I gave a rating over three-and-a-half stars to. On the other hand, there was only one segment I gave a rating below three stars to, so I can’t complain too much. At least this season continues its impressive streak of having episodes that contain almost no bad segments. I recall online SNL fans considering Daniel Craig to be a dud of a host in this episode, but I never understood that, as I had no problems with him as a host, aside from his stumbliness in the Mars Mission sketch. He was an adequate host, though nothing memorable. I’m a little curious to see how he does in his season 45 hosting stint, which aired during my ongoing hiatus from watching new episodes.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Long Island Medium
Bond 50
Three Days Later: A Look Back At The Obama Debate Disaster
Weekend Update
First Presidential Debate
Monologue
A Sorry Lot We Are
Mars Mission
Construction Workers
Loving Couple
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
a step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Christina Applegate
Not a fantastic episode, but much better than Craig’s 2020 episode, which was just pure nonsense and a large factor in me not watching new episodes live anymore.
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Regina but I remember finding it weirdly uncomfortable to watch. I like Fred and I like Portlandia, but it’s such a fine line with him because in a way, his whole shtick has always been playing annoying and/or self-indulgent characters, even when he’s at his best.
I Like The 2020 Monologue Where They Were In The Casino ! That Was Back In March Which Is Kind OF A Long Time After ALL These Months So I Can Not Remember The Rest OF The Show AT The Moment ! IF I Read What The Sketches Are, Then, I Would Probably Remember Them Then, AT This Moment, I Just Remembered Daniel And Heidi Playing Charades And I Enjoyed That So I Think He Was Better Than I Thought He Would Be ! I Say That Because I Did NOT Like The Idea When He First Became The New James Bond Because He Was Blond And Not As Handsome As The Other James Bonds Were ! I Did Not Know Him So I Wasn’t too Thrilled With Having Him As A Host, But I Thought He Did Pretty Good ! This Was In 2020 ! I Did Not Know Him AT All In 2012 !
Construction Workers is so stupid, but is one of my favorites from this season. “She’s like sexy times five, plus her boobies, carry the boner, equals yubba dub dub!”
I like Jason’s Chris Matthews a lot more than Darrell’s. Darrell is obviously more technically accurate, but it portrays him as a normal guy, which is nuts because Matthews is BANANAS. (Great Matthews moment: I once saw him interview Jost & Che, and at one point he asked Che the non sequitur question, “funniest black guy?”) Technically fine but boring describes a lot of Darrell’s impressions though, to be fair.
I believe this is sadly Parnell’s final SNL appearance to date.
I can’t say I agree on the kitty cat sketch, though at least we both agree Regine is far worse. God, I fucking hate that character.
I thought Seth’s ad lib during Update was “Big Bird left” not “Big Bird laughed”.
This is one of the less remarkable episode this season from what I remember. I preferred Craig’s 2020 episode, which was one of the highlights of last season to me (and he came off more likable there).
I think that Daniel Craig’s season 45 episode is great. It has such a fun atmosphere, Craig proves a game host who enjoys every bit of it, and there’s a perfect mix of fresh ideas and returning favorites. Kenan said in an interview over the summer that he felt everyone was really in sync for that episode, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Yea, shitty political cold open aside that was one of the episodes that showed this era leaning furthest into its dorky theater nerd side, which is where this cast shines the most.
And even the cold open I thought was one of the better ones from that season. It used some of their strongest political characters of this era (as well as a pleasant surprise from another era) and made what could have been an overly cringy cameo into something enjoyable (and just slightly cringy).
Also, since we’ve now met Regine, I will say that the best of the three Regine sketches is the one from Fred’s hosting stint. By far the most chaotic. And it’s only partly because of Fred. I’ll leave it at that, for those who have yet to experience it…
Coincidentally, Jason takes over of Darrell’s Chris Matthews impersonation; meanwhile, Darrell would play Chris Matthews in the cold open of the recent Daniel Craig-episode.
R.I.P. Caroll Spinney. He passed away last year at the age of 85.
I’m trying to remember — is Ian Rubbish the only worthwhile thing Fred does this season? It sure ain’t Regine.
Oh, wait a minute, there’s also “HBO First Look” in the Ben Affleck episode.
not a great episode by any stretch. but definitely took notice of kate here with her second straight WU commentary — she went semi-viral the previous week with the ann romeny commentary, but it’s her line-read of the phrase “enormous round monkey face” here that made it clear to me that she was going to be the next big SNL thing.
the political sketches in the 2012 election season are pretty meh in general (although there is one bit of biting satire in the upcoming town hall debate sketch that actually ends up being pretty prescient), and this cold open hits that level and goes no further.
the bond impression-off is a highlight — nasim as lea michele is a guaranteed laugh-getter for me.
it is odd watching this in retrospect, as daniel craig ends up hosting a pretty decent episode years later that turns out to be the last “normal” episode of SNL before the world shuts down. he certainly seemed more comfortable in 2020 than in 2012, at least.
Interestingly enough, Nasim would later costar with Lea Michele on “Scream Queens”!
I’ll stand by the belief that Mars Mission is a near classic! Stooge’s description mostly sums up what makes it so appealing. And since I have a cat, it has been quoted a lot over the years.
I have to agree with the comments the enjoyed Craig’s return episode, I found him enjoyable as a host and thought the hit to miss ratio wa a pretty solid. Also, because it contains a final pre tape that is so bizarre that the audience doesn’t really know what to make of it.
Mr Meaner
Are you talking about Salad? That was one of my favorites of last season.
A competent yet unexceptional episode across the board. Daniel Craig is known to be stoic and difficult, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him let loose. Regine is a mediocre sketch idea executed exactly as you’d expect from Army, but I don’t hate this sketch as much as some of you do.
I forgot Aidy was given next to nothing to do until “Girlfriends Talk Show.” Her first sketch interaction with Kate was short, but its already apparent they have chemistry.
“I miss my little kitty cat.” When I think about Bobby Moynihan, that is the first thing that comes to mind. I LOVE that sketch.
Nothing else from this episode stood out to me as much, although I thought the cold open was better than some are saying, and Big Bird appearing on Update was just precious.
I don’t remember Regine too well but just from the looks of it, I feel like I’d hate it. Not sure if I want to go and confirm that.
Daniel’s season 45 episode is much more up-and-down than this one, but it’s more fun (for me, anyway) and what I enjoy I really do enjoy – which includes one of the few soap parodies of any relative value SNL has done (96-00 are SNL’s sweet spot for soap parodies but this is still a good one), a terrific Update, a fun monologue, one of the better cold opens of the season, and two great pre-tapes, the last one being one of the show’s more compelling glimpses into “weird” in ages. Even some of the parts that don’t work as well have their moments (like the Debbie Downer return), and it’s one of the rare themed episodes of modern seasons (even if it took a pandemic to create a themed episode). He is still somewhat awkward in that episode, but in a looser, more entertaining way.
There are a few similarities between those episodes. There’s Chris Matthews making a return from mothballs, but the biggest for me is one of the later sketches in both episodes – there’s a game night sketch in the 2020 episode which mostly turns into a Kate corpsing moment, while Regine is there as a Fred vanity piece. In many ways Kate has become what Fred was in his later seasons, between the self-indulgent performances, doing an increasingly broad version of the same stuff they started out with (you could have this exact Kate commentary on Update today, just with various applause breaks and Kate laughing a lot), the partnership that takes up too much focus and can feel extremely suffocating (Kate/Aidy – Kristen/Fred [albeit not quite as tiresome]), and the “Are they going to leave or not?” vibes.
Seth’s debate piece comes off like he chugged too many energy drinks right before he got oncamera. It’s jarring. The lighting is also oddly harsh (I’m not sure if this will be a “thing” for the season or if it was just a one-off). Having the lovely Big Bird appearance right after is also jarring, but still, that appearance is very sweet, and classy, and is a reminder of what drew many viewers to a precious and valuable program before Elmo ate it alive.
As you said, Bobby’s performance in the “kitty” sketch is nothing short of superb. Bobby has a gift that only a limited amount of SNL performers have in that he can go all out without seeming to be hammy or self-absorbed.
There are some funny lines in the catcalling sketch, but it’s memorable mostly for the surprise of such a premiere, and women walking around just to be ogled, getting on in 2012. I suppose the ending (nice to see Bill get one last chance at his “doiii!!!” exit line) was meant to be the payoff for the misogynist setup.
The pre-tapes are probably the main strength of the night; the Bond is a good use of the comic talents of the ladies in the cast (Kate’s Jodie Foster steals it), and Long Island Medium is hilarious (and I’ve never even watched the show). One of Kate’s best showcases, and also one of the best examples of John Mulaney’s claim that Nasim can do so much with one line (her “MY WHOLE FAMILY DIED ROCK-CLIMBING” cracks me up – I love it).
The British misery movie sketch is a real bummer…partly because it’s not very good (the idea was fine enough, with better execution) but mostly because you can see just how much the cast splits are still prominent and how much they will continue to hobble any chance of cohesion in the show. You have Bill there already doing his old Prince Philip accent, well-practiced, and you have Fred killing the whole room with his tired gay mugging, then you have new cast members who are thrown in at the deep end. I think the part that makes me cringe most is poor Tim Robinson having to go on and on, in a very weak attempt at an accent, complete with weird camera choices that either show him in random closeup or an odd side profile. Aidy is not served much better, although her appearance does give the one line that amused me – when, after she leaves, Daniel opines, “And I still love her.”
Fun promos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqNS-KT4Jpo
John,
For as much as Kate’s fallen off, she’s still pretty far from being as useless or annoying as Armisen was in his last couple seasons (I’d say she’s still better than late era Wiig too). Also, as much as Kate ends up breaking in that game night sketch you mentioned, it’s very clearly a Heidi showcase, so I wouldn’t say its comparable to Regine.
It was meant as a Heidi showcase, true, but doesn’t quite end up that way.
I do agree Kate is better than Fred, overall, in their last seasons. I just think they’re a good comparison in how their tenures have gone.
The Daniel Craig episode in Season 45 was pretty bad from what I recall
My review of Daniel’s Season 45 episode:
https://jessessnlreviews.wordpress.com/2022/03/21/march-7-2020-daniel-craig-the-weeknd-s45-e15-throwback-review/