Month: November 2020

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September 22, 2012 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt / Mumford & Sons (S38 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

LIVE WITH KELLY & MICHAEL
Robert Pattinson (BIH) broods

— Wow, I’ve actually forgotten that “Live with Kelly & Michael” was a thing, even though it lasted several years.
— So far this season, Jay is 2-for-2 in starring in cold openings, which alone shows how much better his airtime has gotten this season.
— Some fun interplay between Jay’s Michael Strahan and Nasim’s Kelly Ripa, and some amusing comments from them about their incongruous pairing. I especially like the comment about how they look like the poster for The Blind Side.
— The interview with Bill’s Robert Pattinson is okay, but isn’t doing a whole lot for me.
STARS: ***


OPENING MONTAGE
— The SNL logo is displayed in a much smaller size tonight than it was in the debut of this opening montage in the preceding week’s season premiere.
— Much like in the preceding week’s season premiere, this season’s new theme music is still being played in a noticeably slower tempo than it would later go on to regularly be, but am I crazy, or is this opening montage being played in a much faster speed tonight than it was in the season premiere?
— Kate McKinnon’s photo from the season premiere’s opening montage (first screencap below) has been changed to a different photo tonight (second screencap below).

— The respective live-action background footage used for the musical guests’ photo and the hosts’ photo in the season premiere’s montage has been switched with each other tonight.
— Yet ANOTHER change to the montage tonight: the season premiere’s montage ended with a shot of the camera panning up an exterior shot of 30 Rock (first screencap below), whereas tonight, that final shot has been replaced with the camera showing a shot of the lights under the neon NBC Studios marquee (second screencap below).


MONOLOGUE
host, TAK, JAP, BOM do strip club routine inspired by Magic Mike

— Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a very tough act to follow after his absolutely epic monologue (the “Make ‘Em Laugh” musical one) from his previous hosting stint.
— Well…out of absolutely nowhere, this turns into Joseph re-enacting a stripping sequence from one of that summer’s hit movies, Magic Mike.
— I like the subtle joke with the overweight Bobby having a vest under his vest when he and the other guys remove their vests in unison to reveal their bare torsos.
— This whole Magic Mike thing is VERY random, and partly (if not fully) seems to be an excuse to pander to the ladies watching the show. Didn’t SNL already do that enough in Channing Tatum’s monologue from the preceding season?
— Nasim’s smiling-but-uncomfortable facial reaction to Joseph repeatedly thrusting his crotch towards her made me chuckle, at least.
— Overall, let’s just say Joseph’s “Make ‘Em Laugh” monologue has absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of competition from tonight’s monologue.
STARS: **


LOW-INFORMATION VOTERS OF AMERICA
undecided voters ask stupid questions about the presidential race

 

— When this originally aired, I remember initially kinda thinking Cecily’s lead role in this was randomly being played by an extra, because I wasn’t familiar with Cecily’s looks yet, and she looked so drastically different to me in each appearance she made in her early episodes (especially when playing Rachel Maddow in the following episode).
— Some good laughs from the idiotic voter-related questions being asked by citizens.
— Among the cast members each asking questions, we get a random Asian actor as one of them (who even gets a laugh from the audience at one point in response to a line of his), as if he’s a cast member.
STARS: ***½


TRES EQUIS
The Most Interesting Man In The World’s son (host) plugs Tres Equis beer

— Odd how this is the second pre-taped commercial airing back-to-back, though there was a commercial break between them. Even odder, though, how this pre-taped commercial is airing immediately after a commercial break, especially when there’s a live sketch that will be airing immediately after this. Maybe they needed an extra minute or two to finish getting that live sketch set up.
— We get another random Asian actor playing the type of role you’d sometimes expect a cast member to play.
— Pretty solid spoof of Dos Equis commercials.
— Even without speaking, Cecily’s mere airheaded, unfazed facial expressions while Joseph is speaking are making me laugh, showing how good she is even at non-speaking roles.
STARS: ***½


PRIVATE DETECTIVE
detective (BIH) offers caricatures as proof of (host)’s wife’s cheating

— As I always say, Bill is a complete natural at playing old-timey roles like this.
— Funny reveal of Bill’s “evidence” of Joseph’s wife cheating on him just turning out to be caricatures Bill made of Joseph’s wife doing innocent things.
— I love the “You’re a monster!” “I’m not a monster – that’s a monster!” exchange between Joseph and Bill, ending with Bill showing a drawing he made of a fictional monster.
— Uh, WTF at that ending??? Talk about a good sketch ending with a whimper.
STARS: ***½


TRES EQUIS
The Most Interesting Man In The World (JAS) is fed up with his loser son

— Joseph continues to be funny in the footage demonstrating his character’s typical immature actions.
— A very funny sudden turn with Jason as The Most Interesting Man In The World crashing this commercial and having a shouting match with Joseph as his son. This is hilarious, especially thanks to Jason’s great commitment during his furious outbursts. He’s always been one of SNL’s best angry yellers.
STARS: ****


HYPNOTIST
hammy audience member (TAK) pretends to have been hypnotized by (host)

— Oh, I remember loving this sketch so much when it originally aired. And it’s yet another example of how, back in these days, Taran excitedly had me convinced in his early seasons that he would go on to be SNL’s next Will Ferrell. Back then, I found Taran’s performance in this sketch to not only be a display of Ferrell-esque fearlessness and leadership, but even the little detail of how the fake mustache added to his comical look was a Ferrell-esque trait.
— I absolutely love Taran interspersing his crazy dinosaur sounds by cheesily and hammily mouthing things to the audience to let them know he’s faking his hypnotic trance.
— Taran shirtless for the second time tonight?
— Ha, now Taran disrobes even further, all the way down to just his tighty whities.
— Taran is going ALL OUT in this sketch, especially in his humping of Kenan while wearing nothing but briefs. Yep, I can definitely see why I got those fearless Ferrell-esque vibes from Taran when this originally aired.
— Wow, a great turn with Taran hypnotically revealing he’s having an affair, causing his now-distraught wife to walk out, only for it to turn out that this is a trick they’re both playing on the hypnotist.
— Very strong sketch overall. I found this to be pretty much just as great as I had remembered it, even when I’m now fully aware that Taran’s SNL tenure doesn’t end up taking a Will Ferrell-esque legendary trajectory like I had predicted at this time in 2012.
STARS: ****½


G.O.B. TAMPONS
(VAB) uses G.O.B., the tampon designed by old white male Republicans

— Solid spokesman performance from Vanessa.
— Good concept to this fake ad, and there are some amusing features of the advertised tampon.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Will Wait”


WEEKEND UPDATE
What Are You Doing?- SEM advises Obama not to interrupt Romney’s mistakes

Bashar al-Assad’s Two Best Friends From Growing Up (FRA) & (VAB) badmouth him via sotto voce

Beyonce fan Ann Romney (KAM) unapologetically defends her husband

name-dropping Stephen A. Smith (JAP) says Tim Tebow is a detrimental Jet

— Ha, a mention of the real-life incident in which Mitt Romney showed up to a Spanish TV broadcast seemingly in brownface. Even all these years later, thinking about that incident always cracks me up.
— I think this “What Are You Doing?” segment (basically one of many thinly-veiled variations of Seth’s “Really?!?” segment) was previously used for that lousy, completely laughless North Korea rant Seth did in an Update from towards the end of the preceding season. Oof. Hope the segment goes better this time.
— Ah, some good comments from Seth throughout tonight’s “What Are You Doing?” segment, especially the comment about the queen of England. A big improvement over the aforementioned North Korea edition of “What Are You Doing?”
— OHHHHH (*insert an insanely long, continuous, frustrated scream here*) Another appearance from those wretched, painfully unfunny, one-note Two Best Friends From Growing Up characters. By this point of tonight’s episode, I had actually forgotten Fred is even still in the cast. Shit like this Two Best Friends bit and that Rodger Brush reprisal in the preceding week’s season premiere, combined with Fred’s decreased airtime this season, shows that Fred had absolutely NO plausible reason to return this season (even moreso than the past few seasons, where Fred already should’ve been long gone) and should’ve went out the door with Wiig & company back in May. That being said, Fred actually does have some shining moments we’ll be seeing this season, but this sure as shit ain’t it.
— I admit to at least getting a laugh in spite of myself at Vanessa’s whispery delivery of “Screeewww. Yooouuu.” when her Two Best Friends character quotes something she said towards Bashar al-Assad.
— This Ann Romney commentary is something that ends up being an important moment for Kate in this early stage of her SNL tenure.
— It had been so long since Kate’s last big role that it feels like a novelty seeing her in her own Update commentary tonight, her very first of MANY Update commentaries over the years.
— Even early on in this Ann Romney commentary, Kate’s already having a lot of funny lines, which are being well-delivery by her.
— I love Kate-as-Romney’s oddly-accented, poignant delivery of Beyonce’s name throughout this commentary.
— For someone who’s so new on SNL, Kate is impressively leading this Update commentary with total ease and fantastic stage presence.
— Funny random appearance from Bill’s Rick Perry when Kate’s Romney summons him by saying his name three times.
— Kate’s Romney comically breaking out into some lyrics from a Beyonce song is priceless, especially her various gestures during it.
— Overall, even after years of getting used to Kate on SNL and eventually growing very tired of her after loving her on the show for several years (full disclosure: from about 2014-2017, she was my favorite current cast member), it’s not hard for me to see today in 2020 why this Ann Romney Update commentary was Kate’s breakout moment, why it was a great revelation about her as a performer after she was somewhat under the radar before this point, and how it led to her getting more and more noteworthy comedic roles. This Update commentary is fully deserving of the hype it received at the time, in my opinion, and it still holds up for me today.
— The on-air debut of Jay’s Stephen A. Smith impression, which ends up becoming a recurring Update bit. It actually debuted in the dress rehearsal of the preceding season’s Mick Jagger-hosted finale, but got cut from the live show. A video of it would be put up online by NBC.com and/or Hulu shortly after that episode’s original airing.
— Blah, I’m not caring at all for Jay’s Stephen A. Smith constantly going from praising a person he’s talking about to suddenly going on a heated rant against them. I also notice that, during those heated rants, Jay keeps occasionally raising the pitch of his voice in a comically-squeaky manner, which isn’t necessary and is just coming off desperate for laughs. Oh, and is it really true that Robert Smigel and Adam McKay, of all people, write these Stephen A. Smith commentaries? Please say it ain’t so. They are both SO much better than this material.
— I did at least get a laugh just now from Jay’s Stephen A. Smith saying “Tim Tebow’s throwin’ arm is proof that there is no God.”
STARS: **½


LONDON
“You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” stirs (host) & other icky reminiscers

— This Song Memories recurring sketch makes its first appearance in two seasons, and this ends up being its final appearance. Kenan replaces the no-longer-on-the-show Andy Samberg as one of the “icky reminiscers”, after Andy himself replaced the then-no-longer-on-the-show Will Forte as one of the “icky reminiscers”.
— An odd but fairly interesting choice to have the three new cast members, Aidy, Tim, and Cecily, as bar patrons in the background of this Song Memories sketch. Not sure why they’ve been cast in those background roles, given the fact that they have nothing to do or say in this sketch, but I kinda like that we’re seeing all of this season’s newbies paired together.
— Another interesting choice, with the music in this particular Song Memories installment being provided live in person by Mumford & Sons, playing a Beatles cover band. A very nice change of pace for this recurring sketch.
— Kenan is not only fitting in as one of the “icky reminiscers” better than you might’ve expected, but the “gold medal” that his “Michael Phelps” character displays is hilarious.
— As typical of some of the later installments of this recurring sketch, some of the punchlines to the guys’ stories tonight are meh, but their delivery and the general atmosphere of this particular installment of this recurring sketch are so damn likable, fun, and infectious that the meh punchlines are easily forgivable.
— Now this sketch gets even more fun at the end, with the fourth wall break of all the performers on the set (even the cue card guys!) taking their singing of “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” off of the sketch’s set and through SNL’s studio and audience. Reminiscent of the great ending of that Coolio sketch from the preceding season’s Jonah Hill episode, and a charming way to officially end the run of this recurring Song Memories sketch, whether the latter was SNL’s intention or not.
STARS: ***½


THE FINER THINGS
fashionistas (KET) & (JAP) epitomize hip-hop gone soft

— Jay’s stock continues to rise this season, with him getting his third lead role tonight.
— I got a laugh from Kenan and Jay’s fashion line being called Unstankable.
— Seeing Joseph playing an urban-speaking character is funny in itself. He’s committed to selling the hell out of it, in a comical way.
— Funny visual of Kenan’s over-excited, leg-kicking reaction to Joseph’s mention of a new line of “scar-digans”.
— As usual, fun supporting work from Bobby.
— This seems to be one of those talk show sketches that you can tell was probably set up to become recurring, only for us to end up never seeing it again after its debut. No big loss in this case, though this sketch isn’t bad.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Below My Feet”


MY DAUGHTER
(FRA) & (KAM) musically present flawed daughter (host) to suitor (TIR)

— When this originally aired, I remember thinking Kate was playing a role that Kristen Wiig definitely would’ve played if she were still on the show. Kate, in this early stage of her SNL tenure, comes off more fresh in this role than Kristen would’ve at this point in 2012.
— Something else I also remember thinking when this sketch originally aired is that the wig Tim wore strangely kinda made him resemble Bronson Pinchot.
— Pretty entertaining conceit of Fred and Kate singing an epic entrance song for their daughter while she does an interpretive dance. The song is also kinda catchy.
— Lots of amusing actions from Joseph during his interpretive dance.
— I love Kate’s “She was hiding inside meeeeee” lyric.
STARS: ***½


POWERS REALTY
butts & wieners are appearing on ads of married realtors (TIR) & (NAP)

— Great to see Tim in his second consecutive big role tonight.
— I’m liking the pathetic-sounding delivery Nasim’s using in this, especially when saying stuff like “First of all: nooo. Second of all: dooon’t.” Also, the character voice she’s using here sounds so much like the voice of her season 35 fellow newbie Jenny Slate.
— Good reveal of Joseph, as Tim and Nasim’s son, being the culprit of all the obscene things drawn on their ads.
— Due to the show running long, this sketch gets abruptly cut off mid-progress when Joseph starts writing an obscene message on the Tim/Nasim poster in the background. Aww, I kinda wanted to see whatever that was he was writing.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Two episodes in, and Season 38 remains solid and refreshing. Much like the season premiere, I enjoyed almost every single segment in tonight’s episode, though there weren’t as many standout great segments as the season premiere had. Still a lot of enjoyable stuff all throughout the show, though. The only low points of this episode for me were the monologue and Weekend Update (the latter of which was dragged down by two lousy guest commentaries).


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Hypnotist
Tres Equis (Part 2)
Tres Equis (Part 1)
Low-Information Voters Of America
G.O.B. Tampons
Private Detective
My Daughter
London
Powers Realty
Live with Kelly & Michael
The Finer Things
Weekend Update
Monologue


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Seth MacFarlane)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Daniel Craig

Posted on

September 15, 2012 – Seth MacFarlane / Frank Ocean (S38 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

DEMOCRATIC RALLY
campaigning Barack Obama (JAP) lets Mitt Romney (JAS) defeat himself

— Jay (rightfully) takes over the Barack Obama impression that Fred had been doing since 2008. Interesting idea to have Fred basically pass the torch to Jay on camera by playing a normal character who introduces Jay’s Obama and, at one point, asks the crowd a lighthearted “Wouldn’t want his job, right?” The latter is a nice meta, tongue-in-cheek moment, and shows Fred to be a good sport after SNL presumably took the Obama impression away from him.
— Huge audience applause for Jay’s entrance as President Obama. Nice to see.
— As expected, Jay’s doing a good Obama impression. And after how much he consistently struggled for airtime the preceding season and would have some moments his first two seasons in which he would come off rather green and stumbly, it feels good to see him leading a cold opening with total ease and poise. He’s come a long way.
— Good conceit with the “secret weapon” that Jay’s Obama has turning out to be him just letting his opponent, Mitt Romney, make a fool of himself.
— Pretty funny bit regarding the Sanford & Son theme song, though I’m always a sucker for references to that show.
— Taran’s Paul Ryan: “I’m just terrible with numbers. Now…let’s talk budget!”
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.

— The new theme music being used tonight is in a noticeably slower tempo than it would soon go on to regularly be.
— For the first time since all the way back in season 25, the opening montage has the cast members being shown in still photos instead of moving shots.
— Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah have been promoted from featured players to repertory players.
— Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong have been added to the cast.


MONOLOGUE
Family Guy creator host sings about how his head is filled with voices

— Some good dark humor right out of the gate with Seth MacFarlane fulfilling his childhood wish of what he always wanted to say in his SNL monologue: “Please go out with me, Farrah Fawcett!”
— Pretty fun seeing MacFarlane seamlessly transition between all of his main Family Guy voices.
— It’s a given that MacFarlane would do a musical monologue, but it helps that 1) MacFarlane built up so much goodwill earlier in this monologue that I don’t mind him breaking out into a song, and 2) the heavy reliance on musical monologues in these late 00s/early 10s years (particularly season 36) was greatly reduced in the season that I’ve just completed my coverage of yesterday (season 37), which I didn’t even realize until now.
— Some great celebrity voices MacFarlane breaks out into during the song, especially Michael J. Fox and Kermit.
STARS: ***½


OBAMA FOR AMERICA
anti-Romney ad documents dickish behavior toward laid-off (BIH) & (KET)

— Good to see tonight’s episode continue to make it known that Jay is SNL’s new Obama.
— This brings back memories of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth commercial spoof SNL did in 2004 about John Kerry, which, like this commercial, aired in the season premiere of an election year (season 30).
— Some great bits from Kenan.
— A laugh from the “Mitt Romney probably gave Dan’s wife herpes” disclaimer.
STARS: ***½


SEX AFTER 50
Rodger Brush doesn’t want to hear about seniors’ sex lives

— (*groan*) And here to remind me, after the shred of goodwill he earned from me at the beginning of this episode’s cold opening, how way-past-his-prime he is and how he should’ve left years prior is Fred with the return of THIS damn recurring sketch.
— Surprisingly, this is the first appearance this recurring sketch has made since the Paul Rudd episode from two seasons prior. It completely skipped season 37. Thankfully, tonight’s installment ends up being the final one.
— Ah, Cecily Strong. Much like what I said about Kate when covering her first episode towards the end of the preceding season, it feels interesting arriving at the first SNL appearance of the still-currently-on-SNL-in-2020 Cecily Strong, though her “appearance” in this sketch is just in still photos during the opening title sequence.
— Ugh, cue the tired, annoying regular gag with how Fred’s Rodger Brush can’t hear what the audience members ask him.
— Only one sketch in, and Tim Robinson’s lovably goofy natural demeanor that I fondly remember from when this season originally aired is already a welcome sight in my current viewing. It’s gonna be fun reviewing him in what (sadly) ends up being his sole season as a cast member.
STARS: **


EASTWOOD AND CHAIR
Clint Eastwood expands iffy political satire into a one-man show

— Very funny idea for a spoof of the Clint Eastwood/chair incident.
— I got a good laugh from how Jay’s testimonial just has him asking a deadpan “Man, what the f(*bleep*)k was that?”
— The third and final appearance of Taran’s sassy testimonial-giver character (who previously appeared in the Meryl Streep On Ice and Rock’s Way pre-tapes from the preceding two seasons), who always has a funny one-liner.
STARS: ****


LIDS
on-demand “Gangnam Style” performances enliven a hat store; Psy cameo

— Only two sketches in, and MacFarlane has been disappearing well into the characters he’s playing.
— Jason’s hairstyle in this sketch is reminiscent of the one he regularly had in his early seasons.
— Boy, a sketch based on the Psy/Gangnam Style sensation sweeping the nation at the time. Talk about a time capsule.
— Very funny addition of Taran and Bill.
— Good bit with Bobby’s Psy and Taran’s…uh…green suit guy not knowing where to exit.
— A very thin sketch, but it’s fun enough.
— Now we get a cameo from the real Psy, making this sketch even more of a time capsule in hindsight.
— Ha, look at how cocky Psy is coming off in response to all the huge applause the audience is giving his entrance. Enjoy your 15 minutes while it lasts, my friend.
STARS: ***


PUPPETRY CLASS
troubled vet Anthony Peter Coleman (BIH) darkens playful puppetry class

— Oh, hell yes! A legendary Bill Hader sketch.
— A priceless incongruous placement of this traumatized war veteran character in a puppetry class. And Bill is selling this to utter perfection.
— A particularly funny bit with Bill’s character, through his puppet, using typical internet lingo in a dark context when telling Vanessa’s Valley Girl-type puppet disturbing war details.
— Fantastic visual of Bill’s puppet smoking a cigarette and impressively even blowing smoke out of its mouth.
— Yet another standout bit, with Bill’s puppet strangling Kenan’s puppet to death when reminiscing about one war incident.
— Bill continues to be perfectly committed to this sketch, this time by going all fucking out when making out with Vanessa’s puppet.
— Overall, an absolute classic. Great way to kick off what ends up being Bill’s final season. This sketch is a prime example of how, even in his final season, Bill hasn’t lost a step in the strength he’s always had as a performer.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Thinkin Bout You”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Honey Boo Boo (VAB) & Mama (BOM) weigh in on the presidential election

dumb & hunky Ryan Lochte (host) mumbles about the fall TV schedule

Latina teenager Mimi Morales (CES) wants to increase voter turnout

— SNL gets in their required spoof of the then-inescapable Honey Boo Boo and Mama June. I remember online SNL fans made predictions shortly before the original airing of this episode that if SNL spoofed Honey Boo Boo and Mama June, new cast member Aidy Bryant would play Mama June. SNL ended up throwing SNL fans for a loop by casting Bobby in the role instead. I think I can see why they refrained from giving Aidy that role. Given the fact that Aidy is SNL’s very first plus-sized female cast member, having her play the heavyset Mama June in her very first episode might’ve been considered a little unfortunate and too on-the-nose.
— Feels rare seeing Vanessa playing this type of sassy, over-confident role. It’s fun seeing her do this.
— I like the bit with the subtitles translating Honey Boo Boo and Mama June’s mumbly conversation to each other.
— A fairly short and sweet Bobby/Vanessa commentary.
— Ha, I love the audience’s loud gasp in reaction to the Meyers’ un-PC “Say hello to my little friend” joke regarding Al Pacino playing Joe Paterno.
— Always a nice rarity to see a host doing an Update commentary.
— MacFarlane’s Ryan Lochte: “I was…America in ‘lympics.”
— MacFarlane’s moronic portrayal of Ryan Lochte is absolutely killer.
— Very memorable part of the Lochte commentary, where he mistakes the title “Go On” for “Goon”.
— MacFarlane’s Lochte: “Oh, man, it feels so weird to be dry.”
— An overall fantastic Ryan Lochte commentary.
— Cecily Strong making her live SNL debut playing a Hispanic character. Back at this time, I and some other online SNL fans were under the incorrect assumption that Cecily herself was Hispanic, based on how she looks. I’m also the same guy who, two years later, incorrectly assumed Pete Davidson was half-black when I initially saw a photo of him doing standup with a really short hairstyle in an article announcing SNL’s hiring of him.
— A likable and believable performance from Cecily here. Her lines themselves are only okay, but she’s selling them.
— Jay doing funny character work without even uttering a word.
— When this originally aired, I remember thinking SNL was setting up Cecily’s Mimi Morales to become a recurring Update character. We end up never seeing her again after this episode. Cecily’s first breakout Update character actually ends up being a certain conversational character who makes her debut just two weeks after tonight’s episode, in a Weekend Update Thursday special.
STARS: ***


DRILL SERGEANT
army privates contend with drill sergeant’s (host) speech impediment

— MacFarlane continues to do solid character work tonight.
— Funny bit with Tim Robinson’s confused answer to MacFarlane’s unclearly-worded question.
— Great bit with MacFarlane trying to get out of a stuttering block by softly singing his “How’d you learn to dress yourself?” question, then getting angry at Bobby for playfully singing his response to that question.
— Fred’s hair looks like it’s starting to gray by this point of his SNL tenure, which, combined with how his face is also starting to look older, really drove home to me back in 2012 how long he had been on SNL. I remember feeling the same way about Meyers in tonight’s Update, as his hair also looked to me back then like it was starting to gray.
— Great ending regarding the push-ups MacFarlane’s character tries ordering his men to do.
— An overall original, simple, and strong sketch.
STARS: ****


STEVE HARVEY
it suits Steve Harvey (KET) to make over (host) in his own image

— Lots of airtime for Vanessa in tonight’s season premiere. When this originally aired, with this being the first post-Kristen Wiig episode (and boy, do I remember how weird and refreshing it felt back in 2012 to see a new episode without Kristen in it, after having gotten so used to her dominant presence for so many years), some online SNL fans assumed that Vanessa’s heavy utilization in this episode meant she would take over Kristen’s spot as SNL’s lead female who gets cast in a majority of the main female roles. Funny to think back on that assumption in hindsight, given the fact that it’s absolutely NOT how the remainder of Vanessa’s tenure ends up playing out.
— Very funny initial visual of MacFarlane entering in his Steve Harvey-looking makeover.
— MacFarlane, regarding his new look: “I feel like an Iranian DJ.”
— Funny mention of an Earth, Wind & Fire cover band named Dirt, Water & Heat.
— I absolutely love Kenan-as-Steve-Harvey’s amused delivery of “Ain’t no white guy in Boyz II Men!”
— MacFarlane, when asked how he feels about the very unexciting prize he won: “I’m not gonna say no on TV in front of everybody!”
— Overall, it’s amazing how SNL was able to wring a good amount of laughs out of what initially seemed like a very thin and unexciting concept.
STARS: ***½


FIRST DATE
on a blind date, (host) & (NAP) vocalize their emotions with funny voices

— A nice use of Nasim, who has seemed really invisible tonight before this sketch appeared. Also a fitting use of MacFarlane’s famous knack for doing voices.
— Hilarious part with MacFarlane, after starting to do a stereotypical black guy voice, immediately cutting himself off and self-consciously saying “No, I’m not gonna do that.”
— Oh, wow. By this point of tonight’s episode, I actually had forgotten all about new cast member Aidy Bryant until now, given the fact that she’s making her first and only appearance of the night in such a late-in-the-show sketch. When she showed up in this just now, I was initially taken aback, basically wondering “Wait, what’s 2020 cast member Aidy Bryant doing so early in my SNL project???”, before remembering this is her first episode.
— A brief but funny appearance from Aidy. Wish she got more to do for her first episode, though.
— Kenan (who’s been having a strong night in general) delivering the goods with his various displeased reactions to Nasim and MacFarlane’s constant voices.
— This sketch has a cute, funny, and very well-executed premise that feels timeless, like it would fit well into any SNL era. Come to think of it, you could also say that about the Drill Sergeant sketch from earlier tonight.
— I love the audience’s gasping laughter when Nasim lightheartedly reveals that her sister is dead.
— Bill steals this already-solid sketch with his walk-on.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pyramids”


WOODEN SPOON WAREHOUSE
Amish (host) & (TIR) spell out the URL of their wooden spoon company

— Great to see Tim Robinson front-and-center in his first episode, again being lovably goofy in a natural, subtle way.
— I absolutely love the letter-by-letter breakdown of the Amish-themed symbol that each letter in Wooden Spoon Warehouse’s website URL stands for. Fantastic.
— The “The river what took my son” bit, complete with MacFarlane lowering his head in a mourning, respectful manner, is the standout moment of this great piece.
— And already, we’re out. Short and absolutely sweet. I found this to be an overall perfect and unique little sketch. I heard that the dress rehearsal version of it was actually longer, with MacFarlane and Tim following their letter-by-letter breakdown of the URL by doing a number-by-number breakdown of, I think, their company’s phone number. I guess the show was running long, forcing SNL at the last minute to do away with the phone number portion of this sketch. Probably for the best, actually, because I think this sketch worked better in its live brevity. Having an extra scene at the end of it might’ve been pushing things a bit.
STARS: *****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong season premiere. Aside from the Sex After 50 sketch, I enjoyed every single segment, and found several of them to be particularly strong, including two all-time favorites of mine (Puppetry Class and Wooden Spoon Warehouse). In addition, there was a certain vibe and flow to this episode that I absolutely loved, especially in the post-Weekend Update half of the show. Part of that could be because of all the solid original premises we saw throughout the night, which feels refreshing coming immediately after the recurring sketch-heavy Kristen Wiig era. A promising sign for SNL’s future. Seth MacFarlane fit in perfectly as a host and added to the episode’s strength, not exactly by being a show-y host with lots of flashiness like some great hosts are, but by doing lots of quiet but solid character work and displaying lots of range.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Puppetry Class
Wooden Spoon Warehouse
First Date / Drill Sergeant (tie)
Eastwood And Chair
Democratic Rally
Monologue
Obama For America
Steve Harvey
Weekend Update
Lids
Sex After 50


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2011-12)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Posted on

May 19, 2012 – Mick Jagger with Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and Jeff Beck (S37 E22)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW
Dooneese pursues Italian singer (Jon Hamm)

— Tonight’s Kristen Wiig Farewell Tour begins with the return of this recurring sketch.
— Ugh, I am so tired of the dumb sexual-related finger jokes this recurring sketch always has Fred’s Lawrence Welk do.
— When this episode originally aired, it wasn’t publicly confirmed beforehand that this was Kristen and Andy’s final episode. We only had rumors to go by. But as soon as I saw Jon Hamm show up as Kristen’s love interest in this cold opening (making this the second consecutive episode he’s cameod in), I knew for certain that this was indeed Kristen’s final episode.
— A funny brief appearance from Kate.
— The woman of the hour, Kristen Wiig, makes her first appearance of the night, to a huge round of applause from the audience.
— Same-old, same-old Dooneese stuff. Jon is at least fun in his performance, though.
— Hmm, Dooneese’s sisters leave early, before the conclusion of the musical number? That’s actually different.
— And now we get another change of pace, with Dooneese actually getting her man for once. For all of my criticisms of this recurring sketch in general, Dooneese getting her man was actually a nice, fitting way to officially end it (before SNL, of course, fails to resist reviving this sketch in Kristen’s season 38 hosting stint and, for some asinine reason, Paul Rudd’s season 39 hosting stint).
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
host answers questions that he is frequently asked about his career

— A lot of charm from Mick Jagger in this nicely simplistic, old-school-feeling monologue.
— A nice bit of a variation of the usual “Stick around, we’ll be right back” tagline.
STARS: ***½


SECRET WORD
Mindy Grayson & fey tough-guy actor (host) blab the answers

— Tonight’s Kristen Wiig Farewell Tour continues with another recurring sketch that I will absolutely not miss seeing on a regular basis anymore.
— Bill seems to be giving his Secret Word game show host character a bit of a sillier tone in these past few Secret Word installments, mainly that goofy laugh that he’s added.
— Meh at writers James Anderson & Kent Sublette’s (or is it just Anderson who writes these sketches?) on-brand decision to have Mick’s character be a “closeted” gay actor.
— Ugh, cue all of Kristen-as-Mindy-Grayson’s constant musical numbers.
— Wait, the sketch is already over? Wow, I’m glad they actually kept this installment fairly short, and we only got one musical number from Kristen’s Grayson. Too bad they didn’t attempt to do anything different and special with Grayson to end this final Secret Word installment (before SNL, of course, brings it back in Kristen’s season 42 hosting stint), like they did with Dooneese at the end of the cold opening.
STARS: *½


KARAOKE
Mick Jagger karaoke mimicry wows all insurance conventioneers but (host)

— Well, it’s certainly nice to see an actual original sketch for once tonight.
— A pretty fun Mick Jagger imitation from Fred.
— An obvious conceit with Mick playing against type in this particular sketch about people imitating Mick Jagger’s singing style. There’s at least a pretty fun charm to the execution of this.
— Funny turn with Bobby’s horrible Mick Jagger impression still wowing the crowd.
— Good ending with Mick, while alone in the room, sadly singing a very somber version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. Also a nice touch with the screen doing an iris out on him.
STARS: ***½


LAZY SUNDAY 2
CHP & ANS rap about a trip to see the Sister Act musical

— Ah, our final Digital Short during Andy’s SNL tenure.
— The audience goes absolutely WILD when the “Lazy Sunday 2” title shows up onscreen.
— Much like how the Jon Hamm cameo in the cold opening made it official to me back at this time in 2012 that this was indeed Kristen’s final episode, I realized back in 2012 that this was indeed Andy’s final episode right from the decision to have tonight’s Digital Short be a Lazy Sunday sequel.
— Parns!
— This sequel will obviously never top or even match the original Lazy Sunday, but it’s still a fucking blast so far. Much like the original, I am absolutely loving the combo of Andy and Chris’ furious hardcore rapping, the catchy beat, the ridiculous things Andy and Chris are rapping about, and the onscreen graphics & text.
— Ooh, an awesome sudden turn halfway through this short, in which Andy and Chris stop the song and update its beat to sound more 2012-ish.
— Andy, in one lyric: “Still waitin’ on a f(*bleep*)kin’ YouTube check!”
— The final lyric of this short, delivered mostly by Andy: “On these New York streets, I honed my fake rap penmanship, that’s how it began, and that’s how I’mma finish it! (*thrusts arms at the camera before the screen cuts to black while a gunshot sound effect plays*)” I cannot think of a more perfect, epic, and poignant way to close out Andy’s final Digital Short as a cast member. This overall Lazy Sunday sequel was absolutely great, and doubles as a fantastic send-off for Andy.
STARS: ****½


POLITICS NATION WITH AL SHARPTON
Al Sharpton (KET) muddles coverage of economic issues

— Boy, I don’t envy Kenan having such a tough act to follow. Seems like an odd choice to place this Politics Nation sketch IMMEDIATELY after that epic Lazy Sunday 2 short with nothing in between, not even a commercial break.
— More of the same from the previous installment of this sketch earlier this season, with Kenan-as-Al-Sharpton’s constant misreadings and mispronunciations, but it’s still working.
— Some decent back-and-forths between Kenan and Jason.
— A very funny random emphysema line from Kenan’s Sharpton at the end of this.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL GUEST INTRO


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host & Arcade Fire perform “The Last Time”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Stefon’s summer entertainment advice is characteristically off-the-mark

— Stefon’s popularity has now gotten to the point where, while Seth is in the middle of introducing Stefon’s commentary, the audience (who have been very lively all throughout this episode) starts cheering enthusiastically well before Seth even utters Stefon’s name, as they can tell Stefon’s about to appear just by what Seth’s saying early on in the intro.
— This ends up being Stefon’s final appearance before his writer, John Mulaney, leaves SNL. Stefon does continue making appearances the following season (Bill’s final season), but it’s a noticeably much smaller number of appearances, all of which require Mulaney to come back to SNL to guest write.
— Stefon: “The whole thing is hosted by crossdressing founding father Ginjamin Franklin.” Didn’t I once hear that Ginjamin Franklin was a cut-after-dress-rehearsal Will Forte-starring piece from Will’s SNL tenure?
— Funniest bits in tonight’s Stefon commentary are his explanation of what Roaming Draggers are, his “I went to prom with her” addendum to his mention of a deep-voiced female bodybuilder, and his demonstration of Jewish Fireworks.
— Wow, not only has tonight’s Update already ended, but Seth didn’t even say his usual sign-off (“For Weekend Update, I’m Seth Meyers”), and instead simply said to us, right after Stefon’s commentary ended, “That’s Stefon! Have a great summer!” I like that change of pace.
— Another reason I’m shocked at how soon tonight’s Update ended is because I misremembered it having a Garth & Kat commentary as part of tonight’s Kristen Wiig Farewell Tour. (Maybe I was getting this Update confused with the one from the episode Kristen hosts the following season.) Thank god this didn’t have a Garth & Kat commentary, plus it would’ve really dragged down what was Seth’s first decent Update in a while, after his Updates had been in a slump lately.
STARS: ***


SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AT AN OUTDOOR MUSIC FESTIVAL
grungies groove at a competition

— This is Abby’s last of many celebrity impressions over her four-year tenure, as this ends up being the last episode before her firing. At least she’s going out doing one of the more amusing impressions she’s gotten to do in a while (Jewel). Certainly better than the weak Ke$ha impression she did in a then-recent reality show sketch (America’s Next Top Empire State Of Mind Parody Artist) in which she, much like in this sketch, played one of three celebrity judges.
— Fitting casting of Mick as Steven Tyler, and he’s giving a funny performance.
— I got a good laugh from the “Hey, YOU tell me another one of my songs” bit regarding Fred’s Santana always relying on the same song.
— Bill’s Dave Matthews impression is coming off even more fun than it usually does.
— Despite all the praise I’ve been giving to Bill and the performers playing the celebrity judges, the actual main comedic body of this sketch (the dance sequences from the contestants) isn’t making me laugh at all. These dances aren’t remotely funny. Hell, not even Taran can get a laugh from me, and I’m usually always a sucker for getting to see him comically dance.
— Good gag with Fred-as-Santana’s mustache turning out to be a removable one that’s attached to his hat when he tips it. Between Fred’s pretty fun Mick Jagger imitation in the Karaoke sketch and some solid moments he’s having in this So You Think You Can Dance sketch, why oh why couldn’t this be Fred’s final episode??? He would’ve went out on an actual good note with the funny moments he’s been having in this episode, after being so badly past his prime these past few seasons. Can’t believe I still have another season to put up with him. (Then again, he does end up going out on a good note with some highlights in his actual final episode.)
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host & Foo Fighters perform “19th Nervous Breakdown”

host & Foo Fighters perform “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll”

— I just realized an interesting coincidence: Foo Fighters have been the musical guest of Kristen’s first AND last episode as a cast member. As far as I know, the only two other cast members in SNL history who’s respective SNL tenures are bookended by the same musical guest are, coincidentally, members of this season’s (37) cast: Bill and Vanessa. (The musical guest of Bill’s first and last episode is Kanye West, and Vanessa’s is Katy Perry.) And I’m not counting one-episode-only cast members, so don’t any of you point out that Emily Prager and Laurie Metcalf technically count as cast members who’s respective SNL tenures are bookended by the same musical guest, you smart alecks. 😉


THE CALIFORNIANS
long-lost father (host) & amnesiac (Steve Martin) slur

— This sketch has officially become recurring, joining what I call “The (*groan*) Club” (which is a large group of this era’s dreadful recurring sketches that make me type out “*groan*” at the beginning of my review of each installment.) Hopefully, the number of sketches in “The (*groan*) Club” will decrease significantly now that Kristen’s leaving, as I recall SNL cutting back big-time on recurring sketches the following season (which is just one of the things that makes that season so refreshing).
— Feels odd seeing a Californians sketch buried towards the end of an episode.
— Far less breaking in tonight’s Californians installment than the first one.
— Ugh, the usual painfully unfunny parade of “comical” California accents, mock-dramatic close-ups of performers mugging into the camera, characters crowding around a mirror to stare at themselves, and bad soap opera cliches.
— I didn’t want to laugh at Bill’s exaggerated Californian delivery of “I’m your broooooooooo, bro”, but I giggled in spite of myself.
— It’s at least nice to see Abby get her own bit in this sketch, as this ends up being her final actual sketch role.
— I got a laugh from Vanessa’s “Ay, no!” during the mock-dramatic close-up of each character saying “No way!” into the camera.
— Steve Martin out of absolutely nowhere.
— Hmm, hate to say it, but it’s kinda cringey seeing Steve do the obligatory goofy Californian accent, which is coming off way too tryhard when he does it, at least at his then-current age. (I could see 1970s Steve Martin making it somewhat funny, or at least natural.) He’s doing absolutely nothing to save this sketch, unfortunately.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Tea Party” with Jeff Beck & SNL Band


SHE’S A RAINBOW / GOODNIGHTS
cast members & LOM dance with departing KRW to “She’s a Rainbow”

CHK, AMP, RAD, CHP, WLF sing “Ruby Tuesday” with cast members & others

— Well, folks…….this is it. The very special send-off of Kristen Wiig.
— You can tell from the look on Kristen’s face as soon as she joins Mick onstage how emotional it’s going to be for her to get through this piece. Man, just looking at her genuinely emotional facial expression is putting a lump in my throat right now. As I said in some earlier episode reviews, a byproduct of doing this SNL project on a daily basis is that it causes me to develop a certain attachment and a (albeit one-sided) connection to the respective casts I review, even casts and individual cast members who I have some issues with. And Lord knows I’ve had my share of issues with Kristen during the later years of her SNL tenure, though my issues are far more with how SNL mis-utilized and over-utilized her.
— Interesting visual of Kristen dancing with each of her castmates. It’s a novelty seeing what Kristen’s real-life dynamic with her castmates is like, since it feels like we’ve rarely seen Kristen act as herself on camera during her SNL tenure. It’s always been hard for me to get a bead on what her real-life personality is during her SNL tenure.
— Aww, Bobby. Talk about putting a lump in my throat. Poor Bobby is clearly fighting back a lot of tears during and after his dance with Kristen.
— The decision to have Kristen’s generally-overshadowed and often-reduced-to-playing-second-fiddle-to-her female castmates grouped together (instead of each having their own moment with Kristen one-by-one, like each of Kristen’s male castmates are getting) and circling around Kristen all feels sadly fitting in a (bad) way. Seeing Kate among those women just feels odd, though, for various obvious reasons. Seeing Abby among those women just feels depressing, given what we now know of her SNL future (or lack thereof).
— A fun silly dance that Kristen and Seth do together, again showing the different dynamic Kristen has with each of her individual castmates.
— Much like Bobby, Jason is visibly choked up during and after his dance with Kristen. I remember some SNL fans at the time wondered if Jason’s emotions here were partly due to the fact that he himself may possibly be leaving the show, which was rumored at the time. (He ends up returning one more season, though it apparently took him a long time to come to that decision.) There was also a lot of disappointment among those SNL fans over the possibility of this being Jason’s last episode, because he got next-to-nothing to do tonight, and his only actual sketch appearance had him in a dull, completely forgettable straight man role. Even when introducing Mick Jagger’s second musical performance, Jason did it in such an overly serious, almost somber manner, as if he wasn’t in a very good mood, or was dreading how tough and emotional he knew it would be for him to get through the Wiig farewell piece coming up later in the show. I’m sure I’m looking too much into that, though.
— As more apparent signs that Andy’s leaving with Kristen, 1) he gets the special honor of playing the piano (no idea if he’s actually playing or not, though) next to Mick and Arcade Fire during this Wiig farewell piece instead of playing one of Kristen’s fellow “graduates” like the rest of the cast is, and 2) he gets the honor of being the final cast member who Kristen dances with here.
— Wow, when the “She’s a Rainbow” song transitions into the more upbeat “Ruby Tuesday”, former cast members Chris Kattan (who, with that hairstyle, I initially thought was future cast member Beck Bennett, until I realized that would be impossible), Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, and Chris Parnell can suddenly be seen joining the celebration. I could swear I had remembered Will Forte (who would’ve been making a cameo for the second consecutive episode, much like Jon Hamm) being among those former cast members who show up here, but during my current viewing, I can’t spot Will anywhere. Was I misremembering his appearance, or is he there and I’m just having a hard time finding him onstage?
— Interesting segue into Mick giving the goodnights speech that hosts typically give, while this special Kristen Wiig celebration is still going on.
— I love that the Wiig celebration and singing of “Ruby Tuesday” continues as the ending credits roll. I’m always a sucker for special goodnights where SNL does something out of the ordinary for it.
— Overall, well, what a farewell. I feel like I should take some issues with it, like I’ve seen some online SNL fans take over how overly sentimental it was and how it (especially the decision to have Lorne himself come out and dance with Kristen) supposedly overinflated the importance that Kristen had to SNL. Maybe I’m starting to become a softy at my ripe old current age of 36, or maybe it’s because of that aforementioned attachment that doing this SNL project makes me develop towards cast members I have to watch and review on a daily basis, even cast members I have issues with, or maybe I’m just always biased towards whenever SNL does something special and meta for the final segment of a season finale, but, aside from the part with Kristen’s female castmates, I actually liked this Wiig farewell. That’s all I can really say, as simplistic as it sounds. I can’t find any detailed, persuasive ways to defend this Wiig farewell piece more than all the stuff I said above, but, yep, I…I liked it.
STARS: N/A (not sure this warrants a rating, and even if it does, I wouldn’t quite know what to give it)

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Definitely a special-feeling episode, particularly the two big sendoff pieces (Lazy Sunday 2 and She’s a Rainbow) for our departing veterans. Having the usual show-stealing Stefon commentary on Weekend Update also added to the episode’s big atmosphere. And I love how the special musical performances Mick Jagger did with various famous groups/artists added even further to the big, unique, exciting feel of this episode. A lot of the normal live sketches, however, including the cold opening, were weak, with the only exceptions being Karaoke and Politics Nation. Mick Jagger was a fun and likable host in this episode. Makes it kinda hard for me to believe John Mulaney’s claim that Mick was a grouch behind the scenes all week, but I guess maybe that was something Mick was able to switch off whenever he was on camera.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Lazy Sunday 2
Monologue
Karaoke
Weekend Update
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton
So You Think You Can Dance At An Outdoor Music Festival
The Lawrence Welk Show
Secret Word
The Californians


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Will Ferrell)
about the same


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

 


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2010-11)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 38 begins, with host Seth MacFarlane and three new additions to the cast

Posted on

May 12, 2012 – Will Ferrell / Usher (S37 E21)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

BIDEN’S ROOM
petulant Joe Biden (JAS) commiserates with his buddy George W. Bush (WIF)

— Not only is this merely the third and final appearance Fred’s Obama has made all season, but it’s the final appearance his Obama ever makes. At the very beginning of the following season, the Obama impression would (rightfully) be handed off to the then-newly-promoted-to-repertory-player Jay Pharoah. Good fucking riddance to Fredbama. Four-and-a-half damn seasons I had to suffer through that lousy impression.
— Good conceit with the “sympathetic father/angsty adolescent son” dynamic between Fred’s Obama and Jason’s Joe Biden. An interesting and fun new angle on Jason’s Biden impression, and he’s pulling this new take on Biden off well.
— Fred’s Obama: “You’re a great vice president.” Jason’s Biden, in an aggravated manner: “Well, you know, some people say I’d make a great president!” In hindsight, it feels quite significant hearing that in 2020, for obvious reasons.
— The very welcome return of Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush. HUGE applause from the audience in response to him appearing in this.
— I like this pairing of Jason and Will, as well as the concept of Bush being Biden’s imaginary friend. Lots of very fun interplay between them here.
— Will’s Bush impression actually seems more accurate than usual tonight, with him imitating Bush’s distinct hand mannerisms, something Will never did in previous Bush appearances.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
for Mother’s Day, WIF goes script-free to express love for his mom [real]

— I’ve been noticing that Will’s voice seems hoarse throughout this episode. I think I recall it later being revealed that he was a bit under the weather the week of this episode, but I can’t remember for sure.
— Will’s mother, Kay, makes her third SNL appearance. The previous two were: 1) in SNL’s Mother’s Day Special from 2001, back when Will was still a current cast member, and 2) during the goodnights of Will’s season 30 hosting stint, where Will’s mother, father, and wife were shown seated together in the audience.
— I remember, when this originally aired, an online SNL fan pointed out that Will looks as old as his mother. Heh, I hate to say it, but it’s true. Will has always looked older than his actual age, even when he was an SNL cast member (rather hard to believe he was only 28 when he first joined), but I’ve noticed he’s especially seemed to age A LOT in recent years, starting somewhere around this time in 2012. Hell, he’s a year younger than then-current cast member Fred Armisen, yet you sure couldn’t tell from looking at them in this episode.
— Funny bit with Will’s supposedly off-the-cuff “Wally, lower the cue cards!” being seen on the cue cards that Wally lowers.
— A very funny topical reference to the Time Magazine breastfeeding cover photo controversy.
— Some pretty good laughs from Will’s clumsy, awkward Mother’s Day speech.
— A genuinely sweet ending between Will and his mom.
STARS: ***½


ONE-A-DAY EXTRA STRENGTH NASAFLU
(KRW) hopes Nasaflu will put an end her husband’s (WIF) sneeze-yells

— At least Will’s naturally-hoarse voice this week is fitting for a commercial where he plays someone with a cold. Is that why they wrote this?
— Will’s odd-sounding sneeze is hilarious.
— Kristen’s playing a good straight man here. Feels interesting, by the way, seeing this particular pairing of her and Will, especially in the homestretch of her SNL tenure.
— Okay, this is starting to get a little old, despite Will’s amusing sneeze-yells. The writing is VERY thin.
— Good ending.
STARS: **½


ALTERNATIVE PROM
Marty & Bobbi perform a medley at an LGBT prom

— A surprise return of The Culps AND Ana Gasteyer! I’m glad we’re seeing these solid Culps characters again, 10 years after their last appearance.
— Given how heavily associated these characters are with the late 90s and early 00s, it’s an interesting novelty hearing them make mention of modern technology like WiFi and mobile devices.
— It’s also an interesting and fun novelty seeing The Culps cover popular 2010s songs during their usual medley.
— Even after a 10-year hiatus from playing these characters, Will and Ana are just as great at playing them as they’ve always been.
— Overall, the usual quality entertainment from these Culps sketches, further heightened by how refreshing it felt seeing these characters after such a long absence.
STARS: ****


STAY FREE MAXI PADS LADIES LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP 1994
Pete Twinkle & Greg Stink cover female golfers during O.J. Simpson chase

— Another surprise return of a recurring sketch co-starring a former cast member. Feels very random seeing the return of both this sketch and Will Forte tonight of all episodes, but I would certainly never NOT welcome a Forte cameo with open arms. I also love that we’re getting a cameo from him in a Will Ferrell-hosted episode, as it gives us a gathering of the two legendary Wills of SNL history. Too bad we don’t get any direct interaction between them tonight, though.
— Speaking of Forte, it’s great hearing his cameo actually receive the audience applause it deserves, unlike his cameo in the preceding season’s Elton John episode, which was frustratingly met with dead silence from the audience.
— Interesting change of pace with this recurring sketch suddenly turning into a breaking news special report of the O.J. Simpson car chase, complete with SNL showing the famous footage of the White Ford Bronco speeding down the highway. Footage of that being used in a comedic context always automatically cracks me up.
— Interesting seeing then-writer Mike O’Brien in such a visible, front-and-center (albeit brief and silent) appearance.
— Decent way to work Ferrell into this sketch. I’m glad they didn’t resort to just lazily having him dress in drag to play Kristen’s female opponent.
— Jason: “When your uterine lining looks like the elevator from The Shining!…………(*long pause*)………..Stay Free Maxi Pads!” Other than that great one-liner, the feminine hygiene slogan one-liners from Jason aren’t quite as strong or standout as they usually are in this recurring sketch.
STARS: ***½


THE 100TH DIGITAL SHORT
ANS, Jorma Taccone & Justin Bieber [real] celebrate greatest hits of 100 Digital Shorts

— Ah, a celebration of this being the 100th Digital Short.
— Speaking of which, SNL Archives claims this is actually the 101st Digital Short (see here). Which short are they including that Lonely Island themselves aren’t? Not everything that SNL Archives and Lonely Island count as a Digital Short was actually billed on the air as a Digital Short (e.g. the Peyton Manning-starring United Way ad, and at least one of the Virgania Horsen pieces), which further adds to the confusion over what does and doesn’t count as a Digital Short.
— WHAT THE FUCK??!?? Are you kidding me, SNL?!? Justin Motherfucking Bie– oh, forget it. Bieber’s not worth me tainting my review of this wonderful celebratory 100th Digital Short by launching into another one of my anti-Bieber bitchfests.
— Great throughline, with the “Tonight, we’re going to suck our own (*bleep*)” gag.
— Reba! Shy Ronnie! Punched Before Eating! Ras Trent! Laser Cats! Threw It On The Ground! And many more! I am absolutely LOVING all of these returns and callbacks, and I also love how it’s reminding me of when I reviewed each of those shorts.
— Speaking of Reba, I kinda mentioned this in my review of the preceding episode, but I think Kenan’s Reba appearance in this short ends up being his final drag role on SNL before he would publicly take a stand in 2013 against dressing in drag on SNL. We’ll see, though.
— Lots of hilarious fast-moving gags and callbacks all throughout this. So fast-moving, that it’s hard for me to catch them all in one straight viewing.
— Fantastic cameos from several celebrities who starred in an iconic Digital Short in the past.
— Hilarious bit with Will crashing this short to “suck his own dong”.
— Will: “Three Best Ofs – count ’em, bitch!”
— Ah, there’s Akiva, showing up with Andy and Jorma during the conclusion of the song. Where the heck was he before that? I guess he wasn’t able to make it to the filming of those portions of this short. At least his replacement, Bieber, managed not to ruin this short.
— Overall, wow. An absolutely phenomenal and epic celebration. Knowing in hindsight that this ends up being the second-to-last Digital Short before Andy’s departure from SNL also adds to the meaningful feel. Speaking of which, Lazy Sunday, the short that the following episode’s Digital Short will be a special sequel to, wasn’t mentioned AT ALL in this 100th Digital Short celebration. This omission baffled SNL fans at the time, given Lazy Sunday’s popularity and huge importance in how it was the first Digital Short to become an online sensation, but knowing in hindsight about the following episode’s short, I guess that’s why they intentionally left out a Lazy Sunday mention in this 100th short.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Scream”


WEEKEND UPDATE
incredulous SEM says “Really!?!” to Time Magazine breastfeeding cover

Nicolas Cage (ANS) pictures himself in Liam Neeson’s [real] movie roles

— Another solo-Seth-helmed edition of “Really?!?”, though unlike the other solo Seth ones, the title screen of this one doesn’t have the words “with Seth” under the word “Really?!?”. It looks naked without it.
— Meh, some of Seth’s quips during tonight’s “Really” segment are pretty corny. His delivery is fairly on-point here, at least.
— Hmm, is it really necessary to continue the Get In The Cage segment AFTER the epic one with the real Nicolas Cage? That one seemed like the logical time to retire this segment. (Then again, SNL is the same show that continued the Joe Pesci Show and Judge Judy recurring sketches from the late 90s AFTER the respective cameos from the real Joe Pesci and Judge Judy.)
— Ugh, there goes Seth’s annoying habit of loudly giggling off-camera during guest commentaries, this time during the Get In The Cage bit.
— Andy-as-Cage’s “Puerto Rican Beetlejuice” line was particularly funny. The rest of this commentary, on the other hand? Meh. Old hat. It’s washing right over me.
— Hmm, another Germany joke from Seth? Are we in for another instance of Seth working in a fun German accent after the punchline?
— Yep, there it is.
STARS: **½


THE 2012 FUNKYTOWN DEBATE
groovy mayoral candidates (KET) & (WIF) face off

— Certainly a fun-seeming and unusual premise.
— I mentioned before that it feels odd in hindsight seeing the SNL tenure of the then-new Kate overlap with that of the on-her-way-out Kristen, but the same goes for seeing Kate paired with the also-on-her-way-out-whether-she-knows-it-or-not Abby.
— Fitting use of Usher.
— I’m not exactly finding myself laughing at this sketch so far.
— Holy hell at that…that…that voice Fred’s doing.
— Yeah, I’m currently three minutes into this sketch, and I’m still patiently waiting for the actual humor or entertainment to finally start.
— I remember, when this originally aired, a number of online SNL fans were bothered by the goofy, bug-eyed camera-mugging Kate kept doing when she and Abby were seen dancing in the background throughout this sketch whenever Taran was shown speaking. There’s been one or two other sketches in this early stage of Kate’s SNL tenure where I’ve also noticed her making unnecessary “funny” faces at the camera when somebody else is speaking. Kinda disheartening to see that her habit of mugging the camera for attention and audience approval, which is something I see modern-day online SNL fans complain about Kate often doing in 2020 as if that’s a new habit she recently developed due to staying at SNL too long, was actually a habit of hers right from the very beginning.
— Yet another Kristen Wiig entrance that receives automatic applause from the audience.
— Jay making his entrance in a diaper and pacifier kinda made me chuckle, at least, but that’s probably just me being desperate for an actual laugh by this point of the sketch. And I can’t help but feel kinda bad that making a non-speaking walk-on in a diaper and pacifier is the ONLY thing Jay does in this entire episode. After his huge upswing in airtime in the Josh Brolin episode, Jay’s airtime has unfortunately gone right back in the crapper. He does almost NOTHING in the final three episodes of this season.
— Overall, what a colossal disappointment. Sure, this sketch’s atmosphere, performances, and costumes were fun on the surface, but that got extremely old once you realized this sketch had absolutely NOTHING ELSE going for it. Not sure why that works for What Up With That, but not this sketch. Then again, What Up With That has actual JOKES.
STARS: *


BROADWAY SIZZLE
(WIF) accidentally sings women’s parts on cable access

— Hmm, SNL debuting a potentially-recurring Kristen Wiig-co-starring TV show sketch in Kristen’s second-to-last episode as a cast member? A questionable decision, to say the least.
— Speaking of which, SNL later does try to bring this sketch back in the following season’s Martin Short-hosted episode, but the sketch doesn’t make it past dress rehearsal that night. In that version, Kristen’s co-host character is replaced by a new co-host character played by Kate.
— Once again, as I’ve said in some past episode reviews, I know it ain’t right to judge a non-recurring sketch by its first 30 seconds, but my god, I’m already getting the horrible feeling that I’m going to be bored to death by this Broadway-themed sketch. The mixture of James Anderson and/or Kent Sublette’s typical style of writing (I can’t remember if this was written by both of them or just Anderson when I once saw the writing credits for this sketch long ago) and the Broadway-centric humor is a deadly combo for my comedic tastes.
— I just realized that this sketch is surprisingly Bill’s first appearance all night. Geez. Really, SNL? And unfortunately, his first appearance of the night has to be in this laughless, dull tripe. Hell, knowing Anderson and/or Sublette, I’m surprised they didn’t have Fred in Bill’s role in this sketch, as that casting choice would’ve been completely on-brand for them, for various reasons.
— Oof. Not even Will’s comical delivery can save this dull-as-hell material.
— Overall, not a single fucking laugh from me at any point during this sketch. Man, what the hell has happened to tonight’s episode ever since Update ended?
STARS: *


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Climax”


ANNIVERSARY TOAST
Hamilton & other unwanted toasters mar a 25th wedding anniversary party

— A random return of the “wedding/funeral speeches” sketches from all the way back in season 34, last done in that season’s finale that Will hosted, though he’s playing a different character in tonight’s installment of the sketch than the one he played in the installment from the season 34 finale.
— Will: “You loaned me money for chef’s school. Fast-forward 3 months, now I’m a professional psychic.”
— Bobby’s “WHAAAAAAAAT?!? (*mic drop*)” routine in this recurring sketch manages to get me every time.
— Great to see the return of Will Forte’s Hamilton character. As usual, his lines are killer.
— Didn’t care for Kristen’s ending line, “There’s a finger in my salad!”, as it felt like a very inferior variation of her funnier “There’s a body in the bathroom!” ending line from the first installment of this sketch.
— Overall, this sketch as a whole was okay, but paled in comparison to the two previous installments of this sketch.
STARS: ***


ALMOST PIZZA
Rerun from 4/7/12


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A certainly fine pre-Weekend Update half, including some really strong stuff, but the episode was never the same once Update ended. Hell, even Update itself was kinda meh, but Update’s been in a slump these last few episodes in general. Reminiscent of this season’s Lindsay Lohan and Jonah Hill episodes, this episode suddenly crashed-and-burned HARD with two horrible segments that immediately followed Update. And even the rebound the show experienced afterwards with the 10-to-1 sketch was only mild and that sketch wasn’t quite as funny as previous installments of it were. Despite reportedly being a bit under the weather, Will Ferrell provided plenty of laughs in this episode and was as strong as ever when stepping into his old characters/impressions (Marty Culp, George W. Bush), but not even he could do anything for the aforementioned doomed first two post-Update sketches.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The 100th Digital Short
Biden’s Room
Alternative Prom
Stay Free Maxi Pads Ladies Long Drive Championship 1994
Monologue
Anniversary Toast
One-A-Day Extra Strength Nasaflu
Weekend Update
The 2012 Funkytown Debate
Broadway Sizzle


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Eli Manning)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 37 comes to an end, with host Mick Jagger. It’s the final episode for veterans Andy Samberg & Kristen Wiig, as well as four-season cast member Abby Elliott.

Posted on

May 5, 2012 – Eli Manning / Rihanna (S37 E20)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

FOX & FRIENDS
Obama is criticized while Rupert Murdoch (FRA) is defended

— Good to see this new-ish recurring sketch now being used as a cold opening for the first time.
— The usual funny idiotic statements from the three hosts, especially Bobby’s Brian Kilmeade.
— A particularly hilarious line from Bobby’s Kilmeade, during the discussion of a hologram Tupac Shakur: “But if Tupac was a hologram, the bullet would’ve gone right through him.”
— Good bit regarding the whole “What’s black and white and lies?” joke.
— The rapidly-scrolled list of fact corrections seemed shorter than they usually are in these Fox & Friends sketches.
— I like Taran playfully messing with Vanessa during his, her, and Bobby’s group LFNY.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host gives audience members bad advice regarding authentic NYC culture

— For an athlete, Eli Manning’s delivery is coming off well here.
— Corny premise, but Eli’s likability and execution of the material is making it come off decent.
STARS: ***


AMAZON.COM
the most-desired Mother’s Day gift from Amazon is Fifty Shades Of Grey

— A rare SNL sighting of Jason’s natural beard.
— A hilarious conceit with various moms each being walking in on while pleasuring themselves to Fifty Shades Of Gray. Feels like an interesting novelty seeing a comedy piece do this type of “somebody getting walked in on masturbating” humor with women instead of men.
— Some great laugh-out-loud moments, such as Kristen’s daughter innocently mistaking Kristen’s vibrator for a microphone, a masturbating-in-the-bathtub Vanessa immediately following her family’s cheerful greeting of “Happy Mother’s Day!” by angrily saying “Get the f(*bleep*)k out of here!”, the reveal of Vanessa wearing a dish-washing glove under the bathwater during her self-pleasure, and Taran noticing Nasim happens to have a photo of Joel McHale next to her during her washing machine humping.
STARS: ****½


MOTION CAPTURE
host tries out victory moves during Madden NFL motion capture session

 

— Taran’s Tim Tebow, when asked if he’s ready: “Thy will be done.” Jason: “Let’s leave it at the door, Tim, alright?”
— What the heck was that sound glitch with the music after Jay’s Victor Cruz stops dancing?
— Much like the monologue, the main premise is pretty dumb, but Eli’s execution is making it work.
— A huge laugh from Kenan’s Ray Lewis saying, in regards to the motion capture suit, “I’m not wearin’ them funky-ass pajamas.”
— I love Eli’s delivery during the following exchange between Jason and Eli in regards to the grenade-throwing bit Eli mimed: “You’re a quarterback; that’s how you throw?!?” “That’s how I throw a grenade.”
— Hilarious bit with Eli eating the sandwich that he mimed making and dropping onto the floor.
— Andy doing his usual good work in his usual scene-stealing goofy walk-on, one of the last instances we’ll ever get to see of him doing that as a cast member.
STARS: ****


TEXT MESSAGE EVIDENCE
embarrassing flirty texts exonerate defendant (host) in murder trial

— Some laughs from the increasingly embarrassing texts that Eli explains and re-enacts in a very straightforward manner. Part of why that’s working is because it’s Eli Manning, of all people, doing that.
— I absolutely howled at Bill’s amused delivery of “I was gonna say……..” after Eli explains that the banana in the photo is larger than his actual penis.
— Jason’s straitlaced, deadpan readings of texts like “You out?” “You up?” “Who dis?” “Sup?” is very funny, and an example of the type of thing Jason always has the great ability to easily mine laughs out of.
— Bill’s eagerness to hear the rest of Eli’s embarrassing internet search history is pretty funny.
STARS: ***½


LITTLE BROTHERS
host participates in Little Brothers program to avenge fraternal bullying

— Ah, doing an Eli Manning-starring variation of the classic Peyton Manning-starring United Way ad, I see.
— A priceless turn with Eli’s horrible, brutal treatment of the first big brother shown in this commercial.
— A particularly dark and hilarious archery bit.
— Strong reveal that Eli’s only doing all of this to get even with how his own big brother, Peyton, treated him.
— While this commercial, for me personally, doesn’t quite reach the classic status that the aforementioned Peyton Manning-starring United Way ad did, it’s still VERY strong.
STARS: ****½


WXPD NEWS NEW YORK
ancient Herb Welch holds no truck with Occupy Wall Street protesters

— Jason has been all over tonight’s episode so far. Very nice to see that after how invisible and on-his-way-out he came off in the preceding episode. I also find it interesting how tonight’s episode is heavily utilizing him in the type of “glue” roles that Phil Hartman was regularly utilized in during the second half of his SNL tenure.
— I’m glad we got a bit of a break from this recurring sketch until this episode, as the formula was showing slight signs of weariness in the last installment prior to tonight’s. Tonight’s installment also ends up being the final one during Bill’s tenure as a cast member, despite the fact that Bill still has one season remaining as a cast member. I’m surprised that this is the final installment of this sketch (not counting the one that would later appear in Bill’s season 40 hosting stint) after only two seasons and five installments, because it feels to me like it appeared more often. I guess SNL wanted to end this recurring sketch before it got completely stale. If only they could show that self-awareness with recurring sketches more often.
— A particularly funny un-PC comment from Herb Welch when Nasim’s Hispanic news anchor character is speaking to him: “I’m trying to press 2 for English.”
— A change of pace with the Herb Welch-made Occupy Wall Street video package.
— The ending of the Herb Welch report (before Jason’s character asked the crew to cut away from Herb) felt kinda weak.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Talk That Talk”


WEEKEND UPDATE
tanning mom Patricia Krentcil (KRW) overestimates her attractiveness

Admiral General Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) & Martin Scorsese [real] plug

— I remember, back at this time in May 2012, I desperately wanted the “Tanning Mom” who was in the news at the time to be played on SNL by the then-new Kate McKinnon, as I felt she looked very fitting for that particular role. I ended up being disappointed to see that SNL went the easy route of just casting the popular veteran Kristen Wiig in the role. The funny thing about that is, if that Tanning Mom lady was in the news in, say, 2018 instead of 2012, I can picture some SNL fans wanting Tanning Mom to be played on SNL by one of the newer women in the cast at that time, like, say, Heidi Gardner, only to end up getting disappointed that SNL ended up going the easy route by casting the popular veteran Kate McKinnon in that role.
— Not caring for the gasping-for-air thing Kristen’s Tanning Mom keeps doing throughout this commentary. The rest of this commentary isn’t doing much for me either, for that matter. The writing is meh, and Kristen’s performance is coming off strangely kinda bland, like she’s kinda going through the motions or something. Perhaps a sign that she’s counting down the days until her final episode.
— I know Seth has an annoying habit of sometimes being heard giggling off-camera while an Update correspondent is doing their bit, but even for his standards, he’s giggling WAY too loudly and openly off-camera during one portion of the Tanning Mom commentary right now.
— Quite a number of Seth’s jokes tonight are getting a bit of a tepid reaction from the audience. I can’t blame the audience much, though. Tonight’s jokes ain’t that great. Between the preceding episode and this one, Update’s been in kind of a slump lately.
— Ah, a Sacha Baron Cohen cameo as The Dictator, much like how we got a Sacha Baron Cohen cameo as Borat when the first Borat movie came out in 2006. (Why didn’t Cohen make an SNL appearance in 2009 when his Bruno movie came out? Then again, come to think of it, Bruno was a summer movie, IIRC.)
— I’m getting my expected laughs from Cohen’s Dictator shtick, though I liked his Borat cameo from 2006 better.
— An even bigger surprise to this Sacha Baron Cohen cameo is a Martin Scorsese cameo within it. Scorsese’s a good sport to do this.
STARS: **½


IN MEMORIAM
a clip of Adam Yauch on SNL marks his passing


WHAT IS THIS?
game show emcee (ABE) quizzes (host) on their relationship

 

— A true shocker, as we get Abby in a starring role in a live sketch as an original, non-celebrity character, for the first time in all four years she had been on the show. (That Deidra Wurtz: Downsizing Expert piece from the preceding season also starred Abby as an original, non-celebrity character, but that was pre-taped, not live.) I wonder if that’s a record for the longest a cast member was on the show before they got to lead a live sketch in a non-celebrity-impression role.
— Ah, Vanessa’s always solid at getting laughs out making cheesy, light-hearted statements, like her opening statement here.
— Good turn with how the “What is this?” that Abby asks Eli is a serious, emotional question about their relationship, unlike the far-more innocent “What is this?” questions she asked the other two contestants.
— Abby is executing this well, making me wish we got to see her get non-impression lead roles like this more often during her SNL tenure. When this episode originally aired, I saw this sketch as a sign that Abby was suddenly trying to prove her worth because she was aware there was a possibility she might get fired over the approaching summer. Sadly, despite her pretty solid effort, this sketch still doesn’t prevent her from getting fired that summer. (Then again, I’ve heard some conflicting stories regarding the circumstances of her departure, so please correct me if she wasn’t fired.) She got a raw deal getting fired just when she FINALLY started slowly but surely finding her niche on the show with some pretty well-done stuff in the second half of this season (this sketch and the Bein’ Quirky With Zooey Deschanel sketches). Plus, it’s possible that her airtime could’ve increased the following season with Kristen no longer there to hog up all the female roles. (Then again, if they kept Abby that season, either Cecily Strong or Aidy Bryant might not have gotten hired.)
— I like the running gag with Bill’s odd names for simple things (e.g. referring to the moon as a “nighttime sun”).
— For some odd reason, the audience seemed to completely stop laughing during the entire final minute of this sketch. I feel bad for Abby in that regard.
STARS: ***½


HELGA LATELY
Swedish version of Chelsea Handler, Helga (KAM), is a boozy floozy

Catch Up Mit Du Khlardashians- (NAP), (VAB), (ABE) mirror USA’s Kardashians

— Second consecutive sketch starring a female cast member who’s either new or underused. Great to see the then-new Kate already starring in her second sketch in only her third episode.
— A fairly fun and out-of-the-ordinary way to do a Chelsea Lately parody. I’m glad they’re taking this approach instead of just generically doing a direct parody.
— Taran playing yet another sassy gay role.
— For obvious reasons, it feels so weird seeing Kristen playing a supporting character in a Kate McKinnon-starring sketch.
— Showing how new she is, Kate accidentally started saying her “We’ll be right back… etc.” line too early when Fred was supposed to speak. Knowing what a pro Kate would later go on to be, it’s actually kinda charming in hindsight to see this display of early-era greenness from her.
— Pretty fun to see Kate start really getting loose in the second half of this sketch, during her one-on-one interview with Eli. In particular, her casually sitting with her legs spread comically apart is something that would later go on to be a recognizable Kate McKinnon trait.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Where Have You Been”


MISS DRAG WORLD
tall queen (host) is upset about not winning Miss Drag World 2012 title

— James Anderson strikes once again, I see.
— Fred in drag strikes once again, I also see.
— At least there’s no Kenan in his usual drag. Speaking of which, is it safe to say we’re officially past the point where Kenan’s final drag role appeared on SNL? I don’t think he’s played a woman all season. I think we can pinpoint that Disney Channel School Of Acting commercial from the preceding season’s Miley Cyrus episode as containing Kenan’s final drag role.
— Wait, I just remembered, the very next episode has Kenan reprising his Reba McEntire role, in the special 100th Digital Short.
— I’m only a minute into this sketch so far, and it’s already coming off PAINFUL. Is SNL fucking kidding me putting this on the air?
— I know it’s usually considered fun seeing athletes do ridiculous, silly things on SNL, but I just feel embarrassed for Eli in this sketch. The material he’s been given here is WRETCHED and is doing him no favors.
— Ugh, there’s Fred doing that damn Paul Lynde-esque laugh that he does way too often when playing gay men (which itself is something he does way too often on SNL, though Taran’s slowly been taking that away from him lately, as I’ve been noting).
— WTF at the casting of Kristen in this particular role?
— Overall, yeah, this sketch was a straight-up disaster.
STARS: *


THE ESSENTIALS WITH ROBERT OSBORNE
square (host) didn’t mesh with Cheech (FRA) & Chong (BIH)

 

— That first Cheech & Chong clip with Eli’s Richard character came and went without a single laugh from me. How is this supposed to be funny?
— Yeah, as this sketch continues to go on, it’s continuing to not work AT ALL. The humor of the incongruity between Eli’s Richard and Fred & Bill’s Cheech & Chong is coming off lame as hell. Boy, did tonight’s pretty solid episode die off horribly ever since that Miss Drag World sketch reared its ugly head.
— I did kinda get a chuckle just now from Eli’s cheesy smile as the camera zooms in on him at the end of the moon scene (the fifth above screencap for this sketch).
— Fun delivery from Jason at the end when his Robert Osborne gets high from smoking weed. Leave it to good ol’ Jason to add some much-needed life to this boring-as-hell sketch.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Minus Weekend Update, this episode was consistently good until the show suddenly bottomed out with the terrible last two sketches. Several really strong pieces in this episode.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Little Brothers
amazon.com
Fox & Friends
Motion Capture
Text Message Evidence
What Is This?
WXPD News New York
Helga Lately
Monologue
Weekend Update
The Essentials with Robert Osborne
Miss Drag World


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Josh Brolin)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Will Ferrell

Posted on

April 14, 2012 – Josh Brolin / Gotye (S37 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

BAR
in a bar, Mitt Romney (JAS) says “Good Riddance” to vanquished GOP foes

— Bill’s Rick Perry, regarding once being the frontrunner in the republican primaries: “I might’ve won the darn thing if I didn’t take a deuce every time I opened my mouth.”
— Kristen’s entrance as Michele Bachmann actually gets pretty big applause from the audience. Another thing that reminds me we’re in the homestretch of Kristen’s SNL tenure, and that her popularity among the audience is getting a little too big for the show, which tends to happen to some beloved SNL veterans towards the end of their tenure.
— Okay, I’m seeing that some of the other cast members’ walk-ons as republican presidential candidates are also getting some audience applause, though not as much as Kristen’s entrance, so I still maintain that the big applause she received has partly to do with her popularity as a cast member.
— A fun and out-of-the-ordinary setting for a cold opening centered around the republican presidential candidates, and I like how this is summing up all the things each losing candidate infamously did wrong during their campaign. In hindsight, something about the mock-melancholy, reminiscent, end-of-an-era atmosphere of this cold opening involving key members of this SNL cast also feels fitting for what ends up being near the end of the Kristen Wiig/Andy Samberg era.
— A nice group LFNY at the end, back in the days when group LFNYs were actually rare, and thus, were more meaningful when they occurred. From what I hear, group LFNYs have become a weekly thing in SNL’s most recent seasons, which is something I’m not looking forward to when I reach those seasons in this SNL project of mine. It annoyed me enough when group LFNYs became a regular thing for one year in season 39.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host presents live clip from Men In Black III with JAP as Will Smith

— Believe it or not, this is Jay’s first live speaking role in FOUR EPISODES. Unfortunately, it’s just him doing his overplayed Will Smith impression. Still, at least they threw Jay a bone after how horrible his airtime had gotten lately.
— Nothing much to say about this overall monologue at all. It wasn’t awful, but it pretty much just came and went for me.
STARS: **


HBO FIRST LOOK
13 year-old boy (ANS) makes sure there’s enough sex in Game Of Thrones

— I’m not 100% sure, but I think I heard that this was written by Kumail Nanjiani, during a guest writing stint he had at SNL this week.
— Pretty funny concept with Game Of Thrones’ creative consultant being a typical immature 13-year-old boy. Andy can play roles like this to perfection in his sleep by this late stage of his SNL tenure.
— Another example of how odd it feels hearing the audience be hesitant to laugh at the then-new Kate McKinnon, when you’re aware in hindsight of what a huge audience favorite she’d later go on to be. In this Game Of Thrones piece, the brief bit with Kate saying “Adam says this is my good side” while having her arms above and below her breasts barely got a single laugh from the audience, when it would’ve gotten an easy laugh from them had Kate done that in her subsequent seasons.
STARS: ***


THE CALIFORNIANS
Angeleno soap opera drama centers on driving directions

   

— Hoooooooooooooooooo, boy. The debut of not only one of my absolute least favorite recurring sketches of this SNL era, but one of my absolute least favorite recurring sketches of SNL history. As if this SNL era needed yet another bad recurring sketch that’s going to regularly make me state “(*groan*)” at the beginning of my review of each installment. (I’ve long ago lost count of how many of this era’s recurring sketches make me do that, though I get the feeling a huge majority of them are recurring sketches that happen to star Fred and/or Kristen, or are recurring sketches written by James Anderson and/or Kent Sublette. And yes, I realize there’s plenty of overlap between the list of this era’s bad Armisen/Wiig-starring recurring sketches and the list of this era’s bad Anderson/Sublette-written recurring sketches.)
— Given how Kristen is one of the performers heavily associated with the Californians sketches (at least to me), it’s easy to forget that it actually debuted in the homestretch of her SNL tenure. After the two Californians sketches this season, Kristen’s only appearances in any subsequent Californians installments are when she hosts in season 38 and when a Californians sketch is performed in SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special.
— After Fred’s first comically-unintelligible delivery of “What are you doing here?”, the performers lose their composure and start breaking for the remainder of the first scene within this sketch. I have mixed reactions to that. The breaking is kinda making me chuckle, but at the same time, I feel too left-out, as something about this particular instance of breaking feels way too inside joke-y and self-indulgent for my likes, which is certainly nothing new for Fred’s later seasons.
— Ugh at the running gag with each character giving elaborate California-specific driving directions. Not remotely funny to me.
— Also not funny to me is the other running gag of this sketch, where we get various mock-dramatic sequences of the camera showing a close-up of each character mugging into the camera while a music sting plays. That’s also starting to give me vibes of another recurring sketch that spoofed soap operas, Besos Y Lagrimas, which makes sense, as one of the co-writers of these Californians sketches, James Anderson, also wrote Besos Y Lagrimas. At least Besos Y Lagrimas worked for me in its debut (and only in its debut). I can’t say the same for this Californians debut so far.
— And YET ANOTHER thing not funny to me is yet another running gag of this sketch, with how each scene within this sketch ends with the characters crowding around a mirror to admire their own looks. Yep, it’s safe to say this Californians debut is a big ol’ bust for me. And, from what I remember of subsequent installments of this sketch, it only gets even worse from here.
— A few minutes after the aforementioned bit with the performers starting to break, and Kristen’s still fighting her case of the giggles.
— At least I’m finding Kenan’s characterization somewhat funny and likable.
STARS: *½


AMERICA’S NEXT TOP EMPIRE STATE OF MIND PARODY ARTIST
Jay-Z (JAP) selects the show’s winner

— ls SNL aware that Weird Al Yankovic dropped the mustache and glasses many years before this point? Who knows, maybe SNL just felt that Andy portraying Weird Al with the mustache and glasses would be more comical-looking and more recognizable to viewers.
— Yikes, Kenan’s impression of the Chocolate Rain guy, Tay Zonday, is fucking wretched. He’s not putting any effort into imitating Zonday’s trademark deep voice.
— Speaking of bad impressions, I never liked Abby’s Ke$ha impression either. It’s surprisingly off for a performer who’s skilled at impressions.
— Okay, we at least get Jay’s always-dead-on Jay-Z impression, but, much like Jay’s Will Smith, SNL has done this impression of Jay’s to death by this point.
— I like Bobby’s dancing in the background during Vanessa’s singing of the chorus.
— I got a mild laugh from the bit with Fred’s redundant song getting impatiently cut off by Andy’s Weird Al.
— Meh, the concept of this sketch is starting to get a little old, despite the somewhat fun atmosphere. And there’s nothing I’m finding all that funny about how Jay’s Jay-Z gives each performance a perfect score.
STARS: **


LASER CATS 7
feline sci-fi mines Steven Spielberg’s [real] filmography

— Our seventh and final Laser Cats short, given the fact that this is Andy’s seventh and final season, and it’s been a tradition to do one Laser Cats short per year ever since Andy and Bill’s first season.
— A great evil villain accent from Josh.
— I love how this Laser Cats short is a comedic homage to Steven Spielberg’s filmography. And they way they’re executing it is fun.
— Bill, to an about-to-depart-from-Earth Andy: “What about your wife and kids?!?” Andy, after a long, pensive, dramatic pause: “F(*bleep*)k ’em.”
— The way this Laser Cats film ends with Andy’s character parting ways with Bill’s character by taking off in a spaceship is a fitting conclusion to this whole Laser Cats series. I wonder if this shows that Andy must’ve known at the time that he was leaving SNL.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Kimbra [real] perform “Somebody That I Used To Know”


WEEKEND UPDATE
SEM asks North Korea “What Are You Doing?” regarding failed rocket launch

Garth & Kat throw together some echoic songs celebrating spring

— We get another variation of “Really?!?”, with Seth introducing a new segment titled “What Are You Doing?”
— Meh, Seth’s overall “What Are You Doing?” segment completely washed right over me. I didn’t get a single laugh. Very bland humor there.
— I always like Seth breaking out a comical German accent during a joke about Germany. You can tell he always has fun doing that accent.
— (*Garth & Kat appear, Stooge grabs the laptop he’s watching this episode on and chucks it straight through his closed bedroom window while the Garth & Kat commentary is still playing on the laptop screen*)
— Also, didn’t we already get enough self-indulgent Armisen/Wiig breaking during that Californians mess earlier tonight? Oh, geez, and now I just realized this episode contains TWO of my least favorite recurring pieces of both this era and SNL history: The Californians and Garth & Kat. (*Stooge regathers his now-smashed laptop from outside, brings it back into his bedroom, and re-chucks it out of the already-smashed bedroom window*) All we need next is a Vogelchecks sketch to make the Trifecta Of Suck complete. (My reaction to that would be me throwing myself out of my already-smashed bedroom window.)
— 40 minutes later, this Garth & Kat commentary is STILL going on. Fucking hell.
— This is the second consecutive episode with a short Update that only contained one guest commentary. Well, a relatively short Update in this particular case. I can never call a Weekend Update with Garth & Kat all that short, because of the insane amount of airtime Garth & Kat’s commentaries freely eat up.
STARS: **


PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT
Ice-T (FRA), Ozzie Guillen (host) & others speak out

— Jason has been fairly invisible in tonight’s episode. I remember, when this episode originally aired, I felt Jason came off like he was so ready to leave SNL. There were rumors heavily circulating at the time that he, Andy, and Kristen were going to be leaving at the end of this season. As we know now, out of those three, only Kristen and Andy leave at the end of this season. Jason returns for one more season, and we had to wait until literally just three or four days before that season’s premiere to find that out (I kid you not). He must’ve reeeeaaaaaalllly been on the fence regarding whether he wanted to stay at SNL or not.
— I love Jason’s reaction to finding out that Casey Anthony has not gotten thrown in jail for the rest of her life like he incorrectly assumed.
— The return of Fred’s Ice-T impression. I liked it the first time, but his impression has really slipped tonight. I keep hearing too much of Fred’s natural voice in there.
— Jay’s thankfully getting a lot of airtime tonight, and for once in this episode, we’re getting an impression of his that SNL hasn’t run into the ground yet.
— I got a really good laugh from Nasim-as-Kim-Kardashian’s upbeat delivery of “I’m a zero threat!”
— Why are we seeing the return of Andy as the Super Bowl Wire Dancer guy? It made sense to have him in the previous Piers Morgan Tonight sketch, as that was just a week after that year’s Super Bowl, but by tonight’s episode, two months after that Super Bowl, wasn’t the Wire Dancer’s 15 minutes of fame already over?
— Did Andy unintentionally cut off Taran’s line just now? Sure seemed like it, as Taran was in the middle of doing his usual “Wha…wha…wha…” stammering routine that he often does as Piers Morgan, before Andy suddenly started speaking over him.
— Kind of a meh sketch overall, especially compared to the first Piers Morgan Tonight installment from earlier this season.
STARS: **


WOODRIDGE HIGH
in one hallway of a high school, everything happens in slow motion

— Some good and convincing slow motion acting and effects during Taran and Nasim’s entrance, and I like the concept of this sketch.
— When this originally aired, I remember that song that kept playing throughout this sketch got stuck in my head for the longest time.
— Fantastic execution from Bill when demonstrating where the hallway’s slow motion zone begins and ends.
STARS: ***½


GOTYE BACKSTAGE
ANS & TAK reenact “Somebody That I Used To Know” music video for musical guest

 

— Not only do we get a second billed Digital Short in the same episode, which is a rarity, but the usual opening “An SNL Digital Short” title screen is modified this time to state “Another SNL Digital Short”, with the word “Another” being displayed via special effect and in a special font.
— I’m really enjoying Andy and Taran’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” spoof/homage. Andy and Taran are a blast here. I also like how this feels kinda like a passing of the torch between the about-to-leave-the-show Andy and up-and-comer Taran. I remember that, back in these days when this originally aired, stuff like this made me so excited for Taran’s future on SNL. There were even some points during these days where I was 100% convinced Taran was going to be SNL’s next Will Ferrell.
— Gotye’s a good sport here.
— I laughed so much at Taran, in that wig and painted face, suddenly interrupting Gotye’s reading of a newspaper by popping into the shot and lip-syncing the “Used to knoooooowww!” lyric into Gotye’s face.
— Speaking of Taran in that wig and painted face, it’s making him look VERY Mark McKinney (screencap below).

— Overall, given the greatly diminished general quality of this season’s Digital Shorts, it’s nice to see that this episode was able to produce TWO strong shorts. This Gotye short can also be considered the final “normal” Digital Short during Andy’s tenure as a cast member. The only two remaining Digital Shorts before Andy leaves are special shorts, as one is a retrospective and the other is a special sequel to the first breakout Digital Short.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Eyes Wide Open”


PROM
Principal Frye & student-loving teacher (host) address prom attendees

— Jay’s surprisingly big night continues, with this being his FOURTH major live role tonight. A huge leap from him going three consecutive episodes without uttering a single word in any of his live appearances.
— This sketch has become recurring an entire year-and-a-half after its debut in the season 36 Paul Rudd episode.
— A laugh from Vanessa’s cheesy disclosure of how her high school prom consisted of her parents taking her to Arby’s.
— I’m glad Jay ditched this character’s trait of making a sharp inhale sound between each sentence, which got on my last nerves in the first installment of this sketch. This character comes off funnier without that trait.
— Much like his first time hosting, Josh, despite giving performances that are just fine, hasn’t been standing out much in tonight’s sketches, but that’s an exception in this sketch. He’s really solid and funny here.
— Jay starts helplessly cracking up during his report about the iguana.
— The audience is really into this sketch. Actually, they’ve been lively all night, come to think of it, but especially so in this sketch.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very up-and-down first half, which also contained a few wretched recurring or soon-to-be-recurring things, but the show mostly improved in the second half.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Laser Cats 7
Gotye Backstage
Bar
Woodridge High
HBO First Look
Prom
Weekend Update
Piers Morgan Tonight
Monologue
America’s Next Top Empire State Of Mind Parody Artist
The Californians


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sofia Vergara)
a very slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Eli Manning

Posted on

April 7, 2012 – Sofia Vergara / One Direction (S37 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Mitt Romney’s (JAS) pandering fails to sway special interest audiences

— A fairly fun format with Jason’s Mitt Romney being shown giving a campaign speech at various, increasingly out-of-place events that he unconvincingly tries pandering to.
— I like Kenan’s delivery of “Are you crazy? This is a hell hole!”
— Kate McKinnon makes her very first SNL appearance, as this is her first episode as a cast member. Knowing what a hugely popular cast member she’d later become, I find it kinda amusing (though certainly understandable) to see in hindsight that her very first SNL appearance has her as a non-speaking, non-comedic background extra (seen to Jason’s left in the sixth above screencap for this cold opening).
— The scene with Jason’s Romney at a piercing convention is particularly funny, especially him disclosing the fact that he had his taint pierced.
— Ooh, a meta turn, with Jason-as-Romney’s next campaign stop being at SNL.
— A very nice, welcome, and funny way to shake up the usual LFNY routine. Kinda reminds me of the way SNL’s McLaughlin Group cold openings with Dana Carvey would always shake up the LFNYs.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— As I mentioned above in my review of the cold opening, Kate McKinnon has been added to the cast tonight.

Without checking, I think I implied in my review of the monologue from Kenan Thompson’s very first episode as a cast member (which was way back in season 29) that it’s going to feel odd when I eventually reach the debut of the second longest-tenured member of SNL’s current (as of 2020) cast: Kate McKinnon. And now that I’m finally at that point, yep, I was correct in that it indeed feels odd arriving at the tenure of a non-Kenan cast member who’s still on the show today. Not only does it feel odd, but it feels major in a way. It’s making me realize how closer and closer I’m getting to officially completing this SNL project of mine. I imagine that aforementioned odd, major feel I’m getting from reaching Kate’s debut will double when I reach the debuts of the also-still-currently-on-the-show-in-2020 Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong just a small handful of episodes from now.
— On another note about Kate, it also feels kinda odd in hindsight seeing her in the homestretch of the Kristen Wiig era. I often forget that Kate and Kristen’s SNL tenures overlapped for a few episodes.


MONOLOGUE
host relishes her success in America & introduces her son Manolo [real]

— Sofia Vergara’s accent is a little hard to understand at times here, but I find it kinda charming seeing a host with such a natural heavy foreign accent.
— Sofia gets a good laugh demonstrating how her accent can make the most un-sexiest words (e.g. gonorrhea) sound sexy.
— A pretty nice surprise to see that this ends up being a real monologue, with no involvement from the cast or anyone else but the host (not counting the non-speaking shots of Sofia’s family in the audience).
STARS: ***


JUST FRIENDS BOOTY SHORTS
Just Friends booty shorts belie guys’ protestations of heterosexuality

— A gay-themed premise that initially seems kinda cheap, but the visuals of a carefree Jason and Andy in the “Just Friends” booty shorts are goofy and jolly enough to make this commercial pretty fun. I especially like shot of Jason and Andy happily spinning each other around in a circle in Times Square. (IIRC, that shot would later be shown in SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special during the highlight reel of SNL’s most New York City-centric moments.)
— Lately, Taran seems to be slowly taking over Fred’s place as SNL’s go-to performer for gay male roles.
— During the bit with Jason and Andy’s “Not” “Gay” matching tanktops, I got a laugh from the gag with Andy being approached by two gay guys at a bar when he’s left alone with just his “Gay” tanktop.
STARS: ***½


BEIN’ QUIRKY WITH ZOOEY DESCHANEL
Zooey Deschanel (ABE), Drew Barrymore (KRW) & Fran Drescher (host) are eccentric

Mayim Bialik (ANS) & Joey Lawrence (FRA) promote Old Navy

— The second and final appearance of this sketch.
— Like last time, the various random mini-segments within this talk show are fun.
— Also like last time, I’m enjoying all of Taran-as-Michael-Cera’s meek little interjections.
— Hmm, even Sofia Vergara can do a Fran Drescher impression?
— A good initially-disappointed reaction shot from Taran’s Cera when Abby’s Zooey Deschanel tells him, as a compliment, “You’re like a sister to me!”
STARS: ***½


ALMOST PIZZA
(BIH) is suspicious of pseudofood hyped by his wife (KRW)

— The premise reminds me a little of SNL’s That’s Not Yogurt commercial from season 18, but this is still good in its own right so far.
— A particularly funny gag with Kristen unconvincingly pretending to eat the pizza while having her face in a profile angle.
— Bill’s increasing frustration is solid.
— Good ending.
STARS: ***½


NEWS TEAM PROMO
moronic (FRA) can’t execute simple turn during TV news team promo shoot

— Ugh. Like I said in a previous episode review, I know it’s not right to judge a non-recurring sketch from its first 15 seconds, but I can already tell from the early reveal of Fred as a slow-witted, dopey-voiced lead character that I am in for a looooooooong sketch.
— Fred’s character’s failure to do the simple task of turning towards the camera during the news team promo filming is not only unfunny, but it’s reminiscent of that really dumb sketch with Peyton Manning where Manning was an actor who kept failing throw a boulder that he was supposed to during the filming of a scene from the movie 300.
— Was that non-sequitur line from Sofia’s character about her boobs even necessary? They only seemed to throw in that line because this character is played by Sofia Vergara.
— I finally got one laugh, thanks to good ol’ Bill, with his delivery of “Don’t give me your wallet!” The line itself was nothing special; it was just something about the way Bill said it that tickled me.
— What an awful, awful ending.
STARS: *½


GILLY
Gilly antagonizes sex ed teacher (host) & foresees her own demise

— The first Gilly sketch in a year-and-a-half, and this ends up being the final Gilly sketch, not counting a brief pre-taped appearance she makes in Kristen’s monologue from the season 38 episode that Kristen hosts.
— Abby, who’s Paula character was introduced in the third-to-last Gilly sketch, continues to remind me of Melanie Hutsell with the open-mouthed mugging facial expression she makes at the end of every one of her lines as this Paula character.
— As I sheepishly admitted in my review of the Drew Barrymore installment of this recurring sketch, Gilly has begun to slightly grow on me after her first few sketches. I still don’t find her all that funny, but I do now find her tolerable and harmless enough. Call me crazy.
— What was with the random long pause from Sofia in the middle of her line after the Gilly theme song ended?
— It was weird enough to see Jason do Will Forte’s old “Gilllllyyyyyyyy” routine in the Gilly/Glee mash-up sketch, but it’s even weirder seeing Sofia Vergara do that “Gilllllyyyyyyyy” routine.
— Very funny visual gag of Bobby popping a boner under the books resting on his crotch, in response to a suggestive statement Sofia makes.
— Ooh, we get a big change of pace all of a sudden, with a fantasy sequence of an elderly Gilly on her deathbed. I’m really liking this.
— We get another change of pace at the very end of this sketch, where, after offending EVERYBODY in the classroom by going too far in telling Sofia, “Suck it, bitch”, Gilly uncharacteristically gives a very sincere apology many times in a row as the camera zooms in on her while her ending theme music plays. All of these changes of pace in tonight’s Gilly sketch have not only resulted in what is, IMO, easily the best Gilly sketch (not that that’s a high bar), but have offered nice closure to this recurring sketch. When this originally aired, all of these signs that this sketch was Gilly’s official retirement, along with rumors circulating at the time about upcoming departures of certain cast members (Kristen, Jason, and Andy), made some online SNL fans at the time, including myself (as seen here in my old 2012 review of this episode), speculate if this sketch was a sign that Kristen would be leaving at the end of this season. Also adding to that speculation was the late-in-the-season cast addition of Kate McKinnon, given the fact that some people who checked out Kate’s pre-SNL online comedy videos noted some Kristen Wiig similarities in Kate’s performance style, and this made those people wonder if SNL’s hiring of Kate was their way of preparing for Kristen’s upcoming departure.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What Makes You Beautiful”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Drunk Uncle isn’t looking forward to spending Easter with his family

— We get a glimpse of the voice that Seth likely would’ve used if he, instead of Jason, ever played Mitt Romney on SNL.
— The already-funny Drunk Uncle is getting even better and better with each passing appearance. My biggest laughs in his commentary tonight are from him exclaiming an annoyed “eBay of Pigs!” out of nowhere, him mistaking the then-upcoming Easter holiday for St. Patrick’s Day, and him saying, as a complete non-sequitur, “He’s still Cassius Clay to me, Seth.”
— Wow, Update’s over already? Surprised this had only one guest commentary, but it’s a nice contrast to how much space Update took up in the preceding episode.
STARS: ***


THE MANUEL ORTIZ SHOW
Latin rhythm engulfs (host)’s family reunion

— (*groan*) Figures they’d resort to bringing this sketch back tonight just because we have a Hispanic host. It’s like how SNL used to lazily resort to digging up the old Besos Y Lagrimas recurring sketch (which I think is from the same writer(s) of these Manuel Ortiz Show sketches) when they would have a Hispanic host. At least this ends up being the final Manuel Ortiz Show installment.
— I kinda chuckled at Taran’s intense delivery of “Si way!” after Sofia says “No way!”
— Is it just me, or does Bill wear that EXACT SAME wig and outfit in every single Manuel Ortiz Show sketch he appears in, despite playing a different character each time?
— When this originally aired, I and some other online SNL fans noted the fact that one of the One Direction guys looked eerily like Terry Sweeney in this sketch, with the fake mustache and the hammy facial expressions he was making (the guy second from the left in the last above screencap for this sketch). I don’t see the Sweeney resemblance quite as much anymore, but it’s still there a little bit.
STARS: *½


LIL POUNDCAKE
— Rerun from 10/1/11.
— Some major audio glitches at the beginning of this repeated ad.


WATCH WHAT HAPPENS: LIVE
Andy Cohen (TAK) chats with Desmond Tutu (KET) & others

— We get a Seth voice-over at the beginning, during the usual “You’re watching (insert TV network here)” bit that a lot of SNL’s TV show sketches in this era (including the Manuel Ortiz sketch that preceded this) open with.
— I’ve only seen a few glimpses of Andy Cohen, and thus, I can’t judge the accuracy of Taran’s impression of him, but Taran’s performance is pretty fun. However, it does further prove my earlier point about Taran playing more and more gay roles lately.
— I like the incongruity of Desmond Tutu appearing on a show like this.
— Kate McKinnon gets her very first SNL comedic role, in a small scene within this sketch in which she’s the only cast member present. I love the idea of that, but unfortunately, despite a decent performance from her, Kate’s scene itself isn’t doing much for me, maybe because I’ve never seen the Tabatha Takes Over show that Kate’s scene is spoofing.
— I feel crazy for saying this, but Kate somehow looks older to me in her first episode than she looks today, 8 years later.
— Kenan’s giddy portrayal of Desmond Tutu is amusing me throughout this sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “One Thing”


PANTENE COMMERCIAL
Penelope Cruz (KAM) is given tricky words in Pantene commercial with host

— Ah, after getting a sample of Kate in a comedic role during one portion of the preceding sketch, we now get to see Kate lead an entire sketch, in her first episode!
— Given what a very popular crowd favorite Kate would later go on to become, it feels bizarre hearing dead silence from the studio audience (who’s probably wondering, “Who is this woman??? Why aren’t we seeing Kristen Wiig out there instead???”) in response to Kate entering this sketch and saying her comical greetings to Sofia and Jason while playing directly to the audience (a Cheri Oteri-esque trait). That’s the kind of thing that would easily get automatic laughs (and maybe even some applause) from the studio audience if Kate did that in more recent years, where she has the audience wrapped around her finger.
— Kate’s accent as Penelope Cruz is amusing, and she wins the initially-hesitant audience over with her-as-Cruz’s constant mispronunciations of increasingly-hard-to-pronounce shampoo ingredients. Kate’s executing this pretty well, and is already coming off like an experienced SNL cast member.
— I’m noticing that Kate looks much more her age here than she did in her previous appearances tonight.
— A standout funny part with Kate’s Cruz mispronouncing one particularly long shampoo ingredient as “refrigerator”. I also like the bit afterwards where Sofia, when misunderstanding what the director wants her to clarify for Kate’s Cruz, clarifies to Kate’s Cruz how to pronounce “refrigerator” instead of the ingredient she was supposed to say.
— I just now realized how strange it is that this is the second sketch tonight where the basic concept is a promo or commercial being filmed and one actor keeps messing up the filming by having an inability to do a certain something in the script. (News Team Promo being the first of those sketches tonight.) Both sketches even end with us seeing the heavily-altered finished product of the promo/commercial, after the director of that promo/commercial gave up out of frustration. This Pantene sketch is definitely the superior of those two sketches, though.
STARS: ***


74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
reporter (host) interviews Katniss (ABE) & other Hunger Games tributes

— Oh, Jay Pharoah is still in the cast apparently. Could’ve fooled me. He makes his ONLY appearance of this entire episode in this 10-to-1 sketch, briefly popping up onscreen in a non-speaking, one-second little “cameo”. Yeesh. The poor guy’s airtime has been particularly rough lately. In fact, this is the THIRD consecutive episode in which he hasn’t had a single live speaking role.
— Bill’s slogan for one of the Hunger Games’ sponsors, Tylenol, is hilarious: “Got a spear in your head? Tylenooollllll!”
— Sofia is fun and likable as the reporter, and I got a laugh from her nonchalant delivery of “Okay, I’m dying now” after eating poisonous berries.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— While nothing in this episode got a rating over three-and-a-half stars from me, the episode had a fairly comfortable consistency, with almost everything working for me except the News Team Promo and Manuel Ortiz Show sketches.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Almost Pizza
Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel
Just Friends Booty Shorts
Road To The White House
Gilly
Pantene Commercial
Weekend Update
74th Annual Hunger Games
Monologue
Watch What Happens: Live
The Manuel Ortiz Show
News Team Promo


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jonah Hill)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Josh Brolin

Posted on

March 10, 2012 – Jonah Hill / The Shins (S37 E17)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW
marginal backers replace Rush Limbaugh’s (TAK) deserting sponsors

— Great to see featured player Taran starring in a solo cold opening for a change.
— The “motto” for Syria Tourism Board being “Aah! No! There’s nowhere to hide!” is hilarious.
— Some good laughs from the strange, low-budget companies that don’t exist in real life being the only sponsors Taran’s Rush Limbaugh has left. Also, am I correct in remembering SNL would later use this same concept of “Controversial right-wing TV/radio host lists off their show’s strange, low-budget, non-existent-in-real-life new sponsors, after losing most of their big-name sponsors due to recently saying something offensive” in a Laura Ingraham cold opening? In fact, I think it was in one of the last new SNL episodes I ever watched before starting my (still ongoing) hiatus from watching new episodes. So that would pinpoint the Laura Ingraham cold opening in question as being from about November 2018. In fact, coincidentally, it may have even been in that season’s (season 44) Jonah Hill episode. (For the record, the final new episode I watched before starting my hiatus was season 44’s Steve Carell episode. And, yes, the quality, or lack thereof, of that episode played a part in my decision to go on a long break from watching new episodes, though the main reason was my increasing dissatisfaction with SNL’s quality in general at the time.)
— I got a big “Oh, so wrong” laugh from the bit with the Fake Rape Whistles sponsor.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
Tom Hanks [real] puts an end to Oscar nominee host’s week of pomposity

— A fairly fun monologue premise, with a video chronicling Jonah’s week at SNL.
— Interesting seeing SNL’s wardrobe room, which I don’t think we’ve seen all that often over the years, surprisingly.
— A particularly funny comment from Bobby pointing out Jonah’s glasses keep getting smaller while his scarves keep getting bigger.
— TOM HANKS!
— As always, Tom is reliably funny here, especially when he cruelly fakes Jonah out by acting like he was going to let Jonah have one of his Oscars.
STARS: ***½


SIX YEAR OLD
back at Benihana, 6 year-old Adam teases his dad’s (BIH) girlfriend (VAB)

— This character from Jonah’s first hosting stint has officially become recurring.
— This sketch of Jonah’s was solid the first time, and I don’t mind seeing it become recurring, but boy, is it lazy on SNL’s part to place this character in the EXACT SAME Benihana setting from his first sketch. There are so many settings you can place this character, so why keep him confined to the Benihana setting from his debut?
— At least we get a nice new addition to this sketch with Vanessa as Bill’s new girlfriend.
— It turns out that Jonah continues to do a solid job as this character, and, like last time, I’m getting good laughs from his Borscht Belt-esque one-liners, helping me overlook my frustration with SNL lazily reusing the Benihana’s setting.
— I notice that Jonah’s occasionally causing himself to break out into brief giggles in the middle of some of his lines, but it’s not detracting from the quality of this sketch or anything.
STARS: ****


SCIENCE FINDERS
tennis balls to the groin put stress on (host)’s heart; John MacEnroe cameo

— Not too sure about this concept. And after how bad a lot of this season’s Digital Shorts have been, I have a right to be wary of this short.
— The endless replaying of Jonah’s yell from the initial groin hit he suffers has a “So dumb, it’s funny” quality.
— A pretty good laugh from Jonah immediately getting hit in the groin a second time as soon as he removes the ice pack from his injured groin.
— John MacEnroe makes yet another SNL cameo.
— While the concept of this short remains a little questionable, the execution isn’t bad. Again, there’s a “So dumb, it’s funny” quality to this short, further helped by how it’s being presented in such a mock-serious way.
STARS: ***


J-POP AMERICA FUN TIME NOW!
samurai-wannabe (host) has bad swordsmanship

— A funny visual of the exams that Taran and Vanessa turned in, shown by Jason.
— For the first time, the guest in this recurring sketch is male.
— Holy hell at that samurai voice Jonah’s attempting.
— I love the photo of Taran and Vanessa hosting a Rastafarian version of this show. I actually would like to see them do that version of this sketch.
— All of a sudden, Jonah has begun helplessly laughing his way through his lines, for no visible reason. He would later reveal in an interview that the reason for his laughing in this sketch is because (and this is from my admittedly faulty memory, so some details may be a little off) he spotted a friend of his in the floor seats of SNL’s audience, and remembering the odd laugh that friend has induced a laughing fit from Jonah himself.
— No idea how to react to the song Jonah’s doing, but I can see a “So bad, it’s good” quality (which is probably what they’re going for).
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Simple Song”


WEEKEND UPDATE
diabetic Paula Deen (KRW) responds to family problems & charges of racism

ANS doesn’t realize how bad his Sarah Palin impersonation is

Stefon’s St. Patrick’s Day plans involve a long kiss with SEM

— Meh, not sure I need a second appearance from Kristen’s Paula Deen, after her first appearance in a sketch from the preceding season’s Scarlett Johansson episode. I was okay-ish with that sketch back then (probably only because I had just suffered through that St. Kat’s Middle sketch and was desperate for a laugh), but this impression of Kristen’s, and, more specifically, that voice she uses, are all better left in small doses. I didn’t even remember until now that this impression of Kristen’s ever made a second appearance.
— Well, just now, Kristen’s Deen made a passing mention of the Three Stooges (or, as she calls, “a three stooge”), so that’s something, at least (for me, anyway).
— What the hell was with that ending of Kristen’s Deen commentary??? Was that even an ending???
— Ha, Andy showing up doing Tina Fey’s trademark impression, Sarah Palin.
— I like the meta, self-aware direction this Palin commentary has gone, with a sotto voce Seth calling Andy out on all the inaccurate things he’s doing in his Palin impression, and how he should just leave this impression to Tina.
— Ha, speaking of meta, I love Andy quoting “Daaa Bears!” as one of Palin’s alleged catchphrases.
— Here’s our Stefon commentary. This particular one is fairly important, as a special moment happens at one point during it.
— Funniest comments from Stefon tonight are the mention of an old Pakistani woman that looks like a California Raisin, the trivia game “Shaun White or Bonnie Raitt?”, one of the clubs mentioned having the name “…………..(*looks around in a concerned manner*)…………Kevin????”, the mention of black Irish comedian Sinbad O’Connor (I wonder if the latter is writer John Mulaney making an intentional nod to a memorable line from SNL’s classic The Sinatra Group sketch), and Stefon’s explanation of what a Human Roomba is (the latter of which makes Bill bust up in particularly hard laughter, even moreso than he usually does in these Stefon commentaries whenever he reads a newly-rewritten line on the cue cards).
— And there’s the aforementioned special moment of tonight’s Stefon commentary, with him following his “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” button gift to Seth by suddenly giving the unsuspecting Seth a big, long kiss on the lips, complete with playful slaps to his face during the kiss. Certainly much more acceptable than most of SNL’s “men kissing each other for an unnecessary cheap laugh” moments from the late 90s to the early 10s, and it’s also yet another thing that continues the growth of the great story arc between Stefon and Seth.
STARS: ***½


PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER
(host) is outed as a racist zoophile by the ape he taught to speak (FRA)

— Good make-up on Fred, rendering him downright unrecognizable.
— A quintessential example of a “Jonah Hill as a character who gets humiliated by something personal about himself getting exposed” sketch that seems to be his SNL trademark (aside from the Six Year Old sketches), as this type of sketch (often involving Jonah getting called out on clogging a toilet) appears at least once in a lot of his hosting stints.
— I’m not enjoying this sketch. Even for “immature, crude humor” standards, it feels below par and isn’t remotely funny to me. Also not helping is Fred’s delivery. Something about the VERY slow-paced, beast-like, slightly-hard-to-understand delivery Fred’s deliberately using as the ape when disclosing all of Jonah’s deviant actions is getting on my nerves.
— Overall, oof. Didn’t care for this AT ALL.
STARS: *


LIZA MINNELLI TRIES TO TURN OFF A LAMP
on Cats’ opening night, Liza Minnelli (KRW) does what the title above says

— A variation of Kristen’s Ann-Margret Tries To Throw Away A Wad Of Paper Into A Trashcan sketch. I liked that one, but yeah, I did NOT need a follow-up.
— This version seems to be more well-known among people than the Ann-Margret version, which is odd to me, because I’m finding this one to be FAR inferior to the Ann-Margret one. Also, the concept of “Celebrity has a difficult time doing a simple task” was far more fitting & fun with the Ann-Marget dancing routine. Compared to that, this Minnelli sketch is doing too much by having Kristen’s Minnelli wandering around aimlessly and rambling about random things, and it’s not funny AT ALL to me. And at the risk of sounding redundant after what I just said about Fred’s voice in the preceding Primate Research Center sketch, adding to my lack of enjoyment of this Minnelli sketch is the annoying delivery Kristen’s using. I know she’s just trying to sound like Minnelli, but her attempt at it is annoying as hell to my ears.
STARS: *


SIDE NOTE: The mid-commercial break shot of SNL’s studio shows the set for a SportsCenter sketch finished being assembled on the home base stage while Jonah and Jay, both dressed in character (complete with wigs), can be seen among the performers taking their place for the sketch (screencap below).

However, when SNL comes back from the (very long) commercial break afterwards, what do we see? Jonah dressed as himself and standing by the audience while introducing The Shins again, who proceed to launch into their second musical performance. So…what the hell?!? What happened??? Why’d SNL decide at LITERALLY the last minute to cut the SportsCenter sketch, after going through all the trouble of getting the set assembled and getting all the performers into costume? I guess they realized during the commercial break that there’s not enough time to do that sketch AND the 10-to-1 sketch that we’ll be seeing after the second Shins performance. And, knowing in hindsight what the ending of the 10-to-1 sketch has in store for us, I assume SNL didn’t want to risk the ending of that 10-to-1 sketch getting cut off due to the show running long, so they decided to scrap the about-to-air SportsCenter sketch.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “It’s Only Life”


ANNIVERSARY SONG
(host)’s anniversary surprise for (KRW) turns into “C U When U Get There”

— A funny unexpected turn with the soft, classical music suddenly turning into upbeat hip-hop music, and Jonah breaking out into a singing of Coolio’s “C U When U Get There”, all to Kristen’s utter confusion. All the absurdity here is pretty fun.
— Now this has gotten even more fun with Kristen having a change of heart and deciding to happily go along with the “C U When U Get There” musical number, after Jonah wins her over with his big explanation for why he’s using that as their anniversary song.
— Oh, hell yeah. Now this has gotten EVEN MORE fun with all of the performers dancing their way off the set and, while still dancing and singing “C U When U Get There”, going through SNL’s studio and interacting with the audience.
— I like how, while the performers are going through SNL’s studio, Kristen and Jonah are starting to comically exaggerate their singing to each other, in a manner that you can tell they’re having so much fun with each other. They’ve both been having strong chemistry all throughout tonight’s episode. Even at the end of that Liza Minnelli sketch that I absolutely hated, we got to see Kristen and Jonah having fun together with the goofy dance they were doing while hamming it up in each other’s faces.
— Ha, an absolutely perfect ending, with the In Memoriam graphic of Coolio, which, as soon as it showed up, initially made some viewers back in 2012 (including myself) think “Wait, WTF? Coolio DIED?!? When did this happen? How come I’m just now hearing about this, in an SNL sketch of all things?”, until you notice the year they put for his death: 3162. Absolutely hilarious and awesome.
STARS: ****½ (the entire last minute of this sketch was great enough to bump the rating up)


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The first half of this episode was absolutely fine, but once Weekend Update ended, the show crashed-and-burned hard with the first two post-Update sketches (which worryingly seems to be becoming a trend for this season lately, given the fact that the post-Update half of the preceding Lindsay Lohan episode also fell horribly apart), only for the show to thankfully rebound nicely with the very enjoyable 10-to-1 sketch.
— This episode seemed to have a lower-than-usual number of sketches, which is odd, because nothing felt particularly long in this episode, aside from Weekend Update. Update must’ve been even longer than I thought if it took up THAT much of the show to the degree that it left a shorter-than-usual amount of time for sketches.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Anniversary Song
Six Year Old
The Rush Limbaugh Show
Monologue
Weekend Update
Science Finders
J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Liza Minnelli Tries To Turn Off A Lamp
Primate Research Center


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Lindsay Lohan)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Sofia Vergara hosts. We also get a new female addition to the cast, a certain female who’s still in the cast today in 2020.

Posted on

March 3, 2012 – Lindsay Lohan / Jack White (S37 E16)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

FOX REPORT W/ SHEPARD SMITH
Shepard Smith (BIH) checks in with Mitt Romney (JAS) & sons

— Feels a bit odd in hindsight seeing Kristen playing Ann Romney (which I forgot she ever did), given the fact that a certain upcoming new female cast member (joining the show two episodes from now) would have a breakout moment doing a well-received take on Ann Romney in a Weekend Update commentary the following season.
— The joke about America indifferently opting to vote for Mitt Romney “…….I guess” was already made on Weekend Update in a previous episode this season.
— Ha, for once in SNL history, there’s a shortage of white guys in the cast, to the degree that they’re forced to cast the Weekend-Update-only Seth Meyers and writer Mike O’Brien as two of Mitt Romney’s five sons in this cold opening.
— Bobby, as one of Romney’s five sons: “I’m the rebel…(*whispers into the camera*) because I eat sugar!”
— The disturbing back-and-forths that Bill’s Shepard Smith occasionally has with his mother’s skeleton are very funny.
— Bill’s Shepard Smith, after his interview with Romney’s five sons: “My thanks to Stephen King for creating those boys!”
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
despite JIF’s reassurance of trust in host, Jon Hamm [real] is on standby

— Long before the audience has stopped their opening applause, Lindsay Lohan oddly chooses to begin saying her lines (the lines after the usual “Thank you”s), causing the applause to drown out her lines a little bit at first. Is she that out of practice with SNL? Then again, it HAS been 6 years since she last hosted prior to this.
— Lindsay, regarding Kenan checking her eyes: “You know, I should be checking your eyes.” Kenan: “Oh, I’ll save you the trouble. I’ve been stoned since Good Burger.”
— As Kristen makes her exit, a woman in the audience can be heard maniacally shrieking at the top of her lungs in an excited manner, “KRISTEN WIIIIIIIG!!!!”
— Jimmy Fallon cameo.
— This monologue has been featuring lots of SNL desperately trying to remind us of the positive aspects from the earlier career of the troubled Lindsay Lohan. I mean, I get why SNL’s doing that, but I don’t like how it feels like they’re trying too hard, and something about that feels a little depressing to me. I wonder if the latter is also caused by me knowing in hindsight that, despite SNL’s efforts, this episode doesn’t end up jumpstarting a big comeback in Lindsay’s career that SNL intended.
— Ha, now we get Jon Hamm, a cameo I’m more happy to see (nothing against Jimmy, though). We also get a comical mention of him being on standby as tonight’s backup host, though sadly, that also reminds me of the real-life situation with SNL having Chris Rock on standby as a backup host for the season 23 Chris Farley-hosted episode, due to the horrible state Farley’s health was in at the time.
STARS: **


THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DISNEY
Belle (ABE) & other Disney princesses misbehave

— A very fun and solid concept.
— A good laugh from the bit with Nasim’s Jasmine disclosing the fact that she unknowingly had sex with Iago, the parrot.
— I absolutely love the bit with the dwarves’ hands being seen high-fiving Vanessa’s Snow White in response to a witty remark she made in her confessional.
STARS: ****


2012 PSYCHIC AWARDS
In Memoriam reel at Psychic Awards honors not-yet-deceased clarivoyants

— Funny bit with the psychic nominees in one award category being shown reacting in disappointment over losing long before the winner is actually announced.
— Some amusing corny awards show-esque quips from Andy throughout this sketch.
— Odd how this is the second awards show sketch this season centered around an In Memoriam montage (the first sketch being the Adult Video Awards sketch from the Charles Barkley episode). However, there’s an original twist to this In Memoriam montage, with it being for the psychics and magicians we’re going to lose in the coming year.
— Some pretty solid gags during the In Memoriam part, such as the bird flu bit with Abby, and the diabetes bit with Bobby. Odd coincidence, though, that that’s the second sugar-eating joke with Bobby in tonight’s episode alone (the first was mentioned in my review of the cold opening).
STARS: ***½


SCARED STRAIGHT
Lorenzo McIntosh & host present teens with unpleasant prison scenarios

— This recurring sketch makes its first appearance in a year, and this ends up being its final appearance.
— A funny eventual reveal that Lindsay’s playing herself.
— Geez, Lindsay botched the punchline to that Tweety joke by pausing for an absurdly long time before delivering it.
— The usual laughs from this recurring sketch’s movie references and prison rape mentions, even if it’s old hat by now.
— More sloppiness from Lindsay, as she’s stumbling like crazy over her stretch of dialogue right now.
— Holy hell, I’m a bit surprised that AIDS joke was allowed to get through. Even Jason’s character expresses complete disbelief over hearing that (I know he usually does that in response to the crude prison rape mentions in these sketches, but it seemed especially believable when he did it this time).
— Yeah, the more this sketch is going on, the more Lindsay is killing the momentum of it for me. Her delivery here is so off.
— Ha, the usual bit at the end of this recurring sketch where Jason intentionally cracks the other performers up by hopping up in a sitting position onto the desk is even funnier than usual this time, with the performers laughing particularly hard, even Jason himself. That alone makes up for any shortcomings in tonight’s overall Scared Straight installment, and is actually a good and fitting note to officially end this recurring sketch’s run on.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Love Interruption”


WEEKEND UPDATE
James Carville (BIH) disparages Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich

Snooki (BOM) may have been impregnated by Jon Hamm [real]

— Good to see Bill’s always-fun James Carville impression back. I recently learned that there was supposed to be a James Carville commentary on Update in the then-recent Zooey Deschanel episode, but due to an eye infection causing Bill to have to drop out from appearing on the show that weekend, the intended James Carville commentary was repurposed as an Arianna Huffington commentary for Nasim.
— I laughed more than I probably should’ve at Bill-as-Carville’s only-mildly-funny explanation for why he refers to his penis as his “Harry Connick Jr.”.
— A huge laugh from Bill’s Carville imitating what his penis looks like.
— I’m a bit surprised this is the first Update commentary Bobby’s Snooki has done in a somewhat long time.
— As I mentioned in previous episode reviews, Bobby’s one of the few people in recent SNL years who can make the hacky “man in drag” trope enjoyable.
— When discussing what the name of Bobby-as-Snooki’s baby might be, I loved Bobby’s Snooki responding to Seth’s “And if it’s a girl?” question by just saying “God help us all” in a deadpan voice.
STARS: ***


DELINQUENT GIRL TEEN GANG
in a movie, delinquent girl (FRA) dances in the street & gets hit by cars

— Those awful “funny” names during the opening title sequence, especially the name Skipper St. Junt (the type of name that’s one of James Anderson’s many horrible trademarks as an SNL writer) are already making me worried about this sketch.
— And here to make me even MORE worried about this sketch is the fact that the main role features Fred in drag. (*groooooaaaaaaan*) I said earlier in this review that Bobby has the ability to overcome the hackiness of the “man in drag” trope. Well, Fred, on the other hand, epitomizes the hackiness of the “man in drag” trope (in his later seasons, at least).
— Not even a mere chuckle from me in response to a dummy of Fred’s body being thrown into the shot after Fred’s character first gets hit by a car off-camera.
— Aaaaaaaaaaand the already-bad Fred-gets-hit-by-a-car-off-camera-followed-by-a-dummy-of-his-body-being-thrown-into-the-shot gag gets repeated over and over as the main joke of this sketch. Not only is this painfully unfunny, but it’s not even the first time SNL used this premise. The premise was previously done in that awful Nascarettes sketch (which was also written by James Anderson, IIRC) from the season 32 Jaime Pressly episode.
— Ugh at that ending with the camera showing a close-up of Fred exaggeratedly saying an angry “Yooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” at Bill, a quintessential annoying Fred Armisen moment in these later seasons of his SNL tenure.
STARS: *


AFROS
a couple (ANS) & (KRW) shares large hair & wedding announcement

— First Digital Short we’ve gotten in two whole months, which is a shockingly long gap compared to the frequency these Lonely Island shorts typically appear. Yet another sign that the glory days of the Digital Shorts are sadly far behind us this season.
— WHAT IN THE…??? What am I watching?!? I feel like I should at least give credit for creativity, but the alleged creativity of this short ain’t exactly entertaining me.
— Kenan’s hammily-delivered interjections are providing the only thing close to amusement that I’m getting from this short so far.
— WTF at that “Save the date” reveal?
— A poor excuse for an ending.
— Overall, aside from Kenan, this short was wretched. The Digital Shorts continue to have a depressingly rough season. And, man, this short made for a terrible one-two punch with that Delinquent Girl Teen Gang sketch that preceded this.
STARS: *½


B108 FM
morning deejays Richard (TAK) & Buffalo (BOM) mask pathos with enthusiasm

— Bobby and Taran are fun in these roles.
— So far, the sketch’s humor is nothing particularly great, but it’s passable (especially compared to the two unwatchable segments that preceded this), and is helped by the non-Lindsay performers. (Lindsay’s not awful here, but she’s not adding anything for me.)
STARS: ***


CHANTIX
Rerun from 1/7/12


HOUSE SITTING
the mysterious phone calls terrorizing (KRW) are coming from her own butt

— When a neckbrace-wearing Kristen explains to Lindsay what happened to her neck, I kinda like the fake-out with her initially asking “You know what Wesson Oil is?”, and then saying “Yeah, I was on my way to buy some and I got hit by a car.”
— OH, NO. After an upswing (as mild as it was) that the dire quality of this episode’s post-Weekend Update half took with the B108 FM sketch and even the Chantix rerun, it looks like we’re back to awfulness, as Kristen’s tense, suspenseful phone calls throughout this sketch aren’t remotely funny, and are annoyingly repetitive, not helped by how irritating Kristen’s intentional mock-dramatic overacting is.
— A lame butt-dialing reveal.
— Ugh, terrible ending, and something about the execution of it seemed off.
STARS: *


VERIZON
Another repeated commercial (this time from 2/11/12), and so soon after the first repeated commercial tonight? Man, between how horrible most of the last few sketches/shorts have been, and now all of these repeated commercials, this episode has fallen off a cliff HARD in the post-Weekend Update half.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sixteen Saltines”


RUDE BUDDHA!
Rude Buddha (ANS) insults & harasses his disciples behind their backs

— Ah, good ol’ Andy, here to hopefully save the dire back half of this episode with his reliable goofiness. (Then again, he was responsible for that dreadful Digital Short earlier tonight, so…)
— Okay, even though I’m still enjoying Andy’s performance here, it turns out that the material of this sketch itself is kind of a wash. Just generic, cliched, ho-hum, “guy acts like an immature jackass” humor, but luckily for SNL, Andy is good at pulling that kind of humor off. In hindsight, knowing this ends up being Andy’s final season, I kinda see certain things about this sketch as a sign that Andy’s on his way out at SNL.
— The “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” ending had me howling.
STARS: ***


70’S ALBUM
Weird Guy By A Fire (JAS) yearns for a collection of music from the ’70s

— Hilarious fake-out with Jason, in the setting of a typical “person advertises an album of musical hits from a past decade” commercial, asking us “Wouldn’t it be great to get songs from the 70s on one 8-disc set?”, and then he just turns away from the camera and casually tends to the fire in his fireplace for a long time, before turning back to the camera and simply asking us, “That’d be great, right?”
— A funny “This has been a weird guy by a fire” ending title reveal. Rather Jack Handey-ish, which I love.
STARS: ****


70’S ALBUM
Weird Guy By A Fire burns his hand when the fireplace flares up

— Ooooookay, so a follow-up to the first 70s Album ad is airing IMMEDIATELY after it, with nothing separating them (not even a real-life commercial break, like what separated Kristen’s first two Glenda Okones For Mayor ads from this season’s Daniel Radcliffe episode)??? Apparently, that wasn’t originally planned, judging by the fact that a simple black screen with the words “70s Album #2” (which was apparently some kind of cue screen for the crew in SNL’s control room) accidentally flashes onscreen for a nanosecond right before this second 70s Album ad plays. Judging from this sloppiness, SNL must be scrambling to fill extra airtime at this point of the show. (I think I recall hearing that these two 70s Album ads originally got cut after dress rehearsal from a then-recent episode.)
— Jason, to us: “Remember that thing I was saying about the 70s music?” Uh, of course we remember, because we literally saw the first 70s Album ad just a few seconds ago. Yeah, more and more, it’s becoming clear that SNL intended these two ads to be separated farther apart in the show. A shame they had to bunch these two ads together in a last-minute mad rush to fill in extra airtime.
— Another funny ending title reveal (“This has been that same guy burning his hand”) after Jason’s reaction to burning his hand (which was funny in itself).
— This overall second 70s Album ad was somewhat marred by it being aired right after the first one, but it still worked well enough for me. I’ve never seen the rerun version of this episode, and I’m a little curious if SNL altered the lineup in it by placing the two 70s Album ads farther apart than they aired in the live show. Thanks in advance if anyone answers.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The first half of this episode was fine, aside from the monologue, but man, did that post-Weekend Update half have a lot of big problems. Even the sloppiness of SNL airing those two funny 70s Album ads back-to-back instead of spread apart like they were intended to added to the very “off” feel of the post-Update half. (That, combined with SNL airing two repeated commercials fairly close together in the back half, makes me wonder if something went wrong at the show that threw the episode’s scheduled timing off.) Thinking back, the post-Update half actually had as many (if not more than) good segments as it had bad segments, but 1) most of the good segments were nothing special at all and didn’t rise above an average level, and 2) all of the bad segments were so bad that they overshadow the good in that half of the show. Some of the worst segments of this entire season aired in the back half of this episode. As a host, Lindsay Lohan had a really rough go in the Scared Straight sketch, but otherwise, she didn’t hurt this episode. However, she didn’t help it either, and I didn’t get a single laugh from her all night, aside from her “And I’m Lindsay Lohan” reveal in the aforementioned Scared Straight sketch. (Then again, it’s not like she was known to be a laugh riot in her previous hosting stints either.)


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
70’s Album (Part 1)
The Real Housewives Of Disney
2012 Psychic Awards
70’s Album (Part 2)
Weekend Update
Fox Report w/ Shepard Smith
B108 FM
Scared Straight
Rude Buddha!
Monologue
Afros
House Sitting
Delinquent Girl Teen Gang


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Maya Rudolph)
a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Jonah Hill

Posted on

February 18, 2012 – Maya Rudolph / Sleigh Bells (S37 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NEW YORK SPORTS NOW
Asian stereotype puns inspired by Jeremy Lin are OK

— The format of this reminds me of the Inside The NBA sketch from earlier this season, and even has most of the same cast members in the sports anchor roles, including Bill as the lead anchor.
— A good spoof of the “Lin-sanity” craze going on at the time, and the guys’ performances as the anchors are a lot of fun.
— Funny running bit with Jay and Kenan’s characters hypocritically calling Taran’s character out on his inappropriate black stereotype jokes, after Jay and Kenan’s characters themselves made plenty of Asian stereotype jokes about Jeremy Lin.
— I love Bill’s throwaway line at the end about how their next discussion about Jeremy Lin will be with Don Rickles and a crotchety WWII veteran.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
MAR sings “Do You Want To Funk?” to conquests including Paul Simon [real]

— To me, it feels kinda odd seeing Maya Rudolph hosting, though not odd in a bad way.
— Seems to be a thing for SNL to have some former female cast members jokingly mention in their monologue that their SNL tenure was filled with lots of behind-the-scenes sex, as Molly Shannon did the same thing in her season 32 monologue. The difference is that the sex thing was just a small portion of Molly’s monologue, whereas it’s the main premise of this Maya Rudolph monologue.
— It’s a given that Maya would do a musical monologue, but at least it has a fun vibe.
— A rare non-Update appearance for Seth.
— Speaking of rare non-Update appearances, we get freakin’ Stefon hanging out with Lorne and Paul Simon.
— I always like monologues like this where the host sings around the entire studio & backstage, especially when the host doing that is a former cast member (Mike Myers, Jimmy Fallon, etc.).
STARS: ***½


BRONX BEAT WITH BETTY AND JODI
crew members (ANS) & (Justin Timberlake) reciprocate flirting

— Much like Maya making a cameo in the preceding season’s Amy Poehler-hosted episode to do a Bronx Beat reprisal, we get Amy making a cameo in this Maya Rudolph-hosted episode to do a Bronx Beat reprisal.
— The usual funny banter from Amy and Maya in the pre-interview portion of this recurring sketch.
— Great ad-libs from Amy and Maya when Maya unintentionally starts literally getting choked-up when doing the crying routine she usually does in these sketches.
— Random Justin Timberlake out of nowhere.
— We actually get a change of pace in this recurring sketch, with the guests played by Justin and Andy basically being male versions of Amy and Maya’s characters, and hitting on them in the same manner that Amy and Maya’s characters usually do to their guests. I’m finding this to be very solid.
— Hilarious comment from a horny Amy about putting her phone on vibrate and calling herself over and over again.
STARS: ****


MAYA ANGELOU’S: I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD LAUGHS!
Maya Angelou (MAR) has a prank show

— Maya is playing Maya Angelou to utter perfection here.
— It took SNL three tries, but they FINALLY got a strong sketch out of the “prankster has friendly conversations with their victim after pranking them” concept. (The previous two instances of this concept was with Tim McGraw and Jeff Bridges.)
— A big laugh from the following exchange between Kenan’s Cornel West and Maya’s Maya Angelou, delivered in their usual noble, poignant, slow-paced manner: “Sister Maya, was this an act of malice?” “No, Brother West, it was an act of whimsy.”
— Bill was born to play Stephen King, given their natural facial resemblance to each other.
STARS: ****½


BABY BLUE IVY
Prince (FRA) & other celebs visit new parents Jay-Z (JAP) & Beyonce (MAR)

— A pretty good laugh from Maya’s Beyonce casually telling Andy, “Thank you, white butler.”
— Feels kinda weird seeing a reprisal of the “Prince whispers his statements into Beyonce’s ear” running gag from the old Prince Show sketches being done in THIS sketch.
— Nasim as Nicki Minaj?!?!?!? I…I have no idea what to say.
— Taran’s goofy “Bdaaaah!” portrayal of Brad Pitt is growing on me.
— Kristen’s speechless, humble portrayal of Taylor Swift always makes me laugh, especially in this particular context.
— The Bon Iver part is going on awfully long (gotta milk that sweet Timberlake airtime, I guess), but there are a few funny jokes within it.
— Not sure what happened, but somebody seemed to miss a cue at the end of this sketch, as Maya was forced to say “Byeee!” to us in a goofy voice TWICE, the second instance coming after a long stretch of silence, all the while Fred and Kristen’s Prince and Taylor Swift popped up in the background outside the window. Then, right before the screen fades to black while the audience is applauding, Maya laughs out of character at the awkwardness of what just happened. Again, not sure what went wrong, but this whole gaffe amused me.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Comeback Kid”


WEEKEND UPDATE
incredulous SEM & AMP say “Really!?!” to reactionary birth control talk

— The return of the Seth-and-Amy-helmed version of the recurring “Really?!?” segment.
— The funny Transvaginal/Lady Business bit from Amy during the “Really?!?” segment feels kinda Tina Fey-esque.
— Tonight’s overall “Really?!?” segment wasn’t all that memorable as a whole. It was carried by Seth and Amy’s always-fun chemistry with each other.
— A pretty funny transition regarding Seth “making” Amy stick around to tell Update jokes.
— Wow, a rarity, with tonight’s overall Update having no actual guest commentaries at all. As far as I know, as of November 2020, this is the last Update to feature no guest commentaries.
STARS: ***


WHAT UP WITH THAT? PRESIDENTS’ DAY EDITION
Bill O’Reilly & Kate Upton [real] for Presidents’ Day

 

— After retiring this recurring sketch with the special installment that appeared in the preceding season’s Ed Helms episode, SNL already brings it out of retirement. As I explained in my review of the Ed Helms installment, the reason for SNL un-retiring this recurring sketch so soon is because when Maya came in this week, she reeeaaaaallly wanted to do a What Up With That, so they brought it back, despite all the closure they gave it in the Ed Helms installment.
— Uh, what the hell happened during Taran’s intro of the three guests? He stumbled over a word at the beginning of it, then awkwardly paused for a long time while just staring at the camera, before finally continuing. Very odd. Did the cue cards accidentally get dropped on the floor during this part or something?
— No comment from me regarding Bill Fucking O’Reilly being one of the guests in this.
— A fairly fun and fitting character for Maya to play in this recurring sketch.
— Overall, as a whole, this What Up With That installment was fine and, as always, certainly fun, but it was just a standard installment, which feels a little forgettable compared to 1) all the special things they did in the last installment prior to this, and 2) the noteworthy things that happen in the next (and final) installment from the following season’s Martin Short episode.
STARS: ***½


SUPER SHOWCASE
game show models (KRW) & (MAR) present prizes not won

— A sketch well-known for featuring a laughing meltdown among the performers.
— Aaaaand there’s the point where things famously start going off the rails, when Maya and Kristen make a delayed entrance in a golf cart.
— Despite what a mess this sketch has unintentionally become, it’s a pretty fun mess. I’m not always forgiving of when sketches go off the rails (especially not when, say, Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz are involved), but I have no issues with this instance. While this laughing meltdown is no Debbie Downer-level classic for me personally, it’s infectious.
— Props to Vanessa for being the only performer managing to stay in character the whole time.
STARS: ***½


THE OBAMA SHOW
Barack (FRA) & Michelle (MAR) Obama copy The Cosby Show to fight obesity

— A great concept, doing a hybrid of the Obamas and the Huxtables.
— The recreation of the Cosby Show opening credits is absolutely spot-on and a lot of fun, right down to the very funny detail of Jason’s Joe Biden being credited as “Joe Jamal-Biden”.
— This is only the second of a mere THREE appearances that Fred’s Obama makes all season, and it’s easily one of Fred’s better Obama performances. He’s doing a solid mixture of Obama and Cosby’s voices.
— I always love Maya’s spot-on imitation of Clair Huxtable’s patented rants, which we previously saw Maya do in a Weekend Update commentary from season 30 where she and Kenan played Clair and Cliff Huxtable.
— Jason’s Biden entering in that trendy 90s outfit is hilarious.
— I like Maya’s ad-lib about eating the rice cake that’s unintentionally on the floor.
— Fun use of Amy’s Hillary Clinton at the end.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “End Of The Line”


HOW’S HE DOING?
black voters will unconditionally support Barack Obama

— The debut of this occasionally-appearing recurring sketch.
— Good to see Jay getting a lot of airtime tonight, which is rare for him this season.
— The “What Would It Take?” segment is particularly solid.
— I like how stumped the guests initially are over the question of if Obama would lose their vote if he was arrested for the 1996 shooting of Tupac Shakur.
— The black-centric humor in this sketch feels refreshing and much-needed for this SNL era, and this sketch is succeeding at that type of humor more than the White People Problems sketch (from this season’s Charles Barkley episode) did for me. This How’s He Doing sketch feels a bit like a precursor to the black-centric humor that SNL’s current era (mid-2010s to present) is really good at doing.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty solid, fun, and very consistent episode. There were no segments I disliked, and several segments stood out as strong. Maya Rudolph’s performances added to the fun atmosphere of this episode.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Maya Angelou’s: I Know Why The Caged Bird Laughs!
The Obama Show
Bronx Beat with Betty and Jodi
How’s He Doing?
New York Sports Now
Monologue
Super Showcase
What Up With That? Presidents’ Day Edition
Weekend Update
Baby Blue Ivy


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Zooey Deschanel)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Lindsay Lohan