Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
BENGHAZI HEARINGS
Jodi Arias (NAP) testifies at Benghazi hearings as a ratings stunt
— A fairly amusing concept of having Jodi Arias testify at the Benghazi hearings.
— Wait, what the hell? Why are the names that are displayed for the representatives on their respective desk nameplates completely different from 1) the names that Bill refers to them as, and 2) the names that are displayed for them respectively on a chyron on the bottom of the screen?
— I got a pretty good laugh from the lack of an answer when Nasim’s Jodi Arias asks why they’re holding these Benghazi hearings if we already know who the culprit of the Benghazi attack was.
— Nasim-as-Arias’ “You and the jury” line was kinda funny, but I didn’t find it to be anywhere near as clever as SNL wanted me to.
— I remember some online SNL fans considering it ballsy for SNL to spoof Ariel Castro. Too bad what SNL does with it here is absolutely nothing to write home about.
— What the fuck?!? Why in the world does Bill refer to Bobby’s Ariel Castro as “Mr. Ramsey”?!? Man, what is HAPPENING to this cold opening?
— Overall, aside from a laugh here and there, this cold opening didn’t work, the various attempts at topical satire felt tepid, and things were way too sloppy with the aforementioned confusing gaffes. Felt like this was thrown together a half-hour before airtime or something.
STARS: **
MONOLOGUE
KRW goes backstage & sings “I’m So Excited” variant; Jonah Hill & MAR cameos
— I’ve said this about some other former cast members when reviewing their monologues, but it sure feels odd to see Kristen Wiig standing on that home base stage as the host. Perhaps one of the reasons this feels odd is because a full season hasn’t even passed since Kristen left the cast. Practically yesterday, I was still reviewing her as a cast member.
— Meh, didn’t care for the very random joke with a photo of David Spade being shown as a younger version of Kristen.
— Ugh, several cast members playing backup singers, a known pet peeve of mine regarding musical monologues.
— I know I said in previous reviews that I’m always a sucker for former cast members doing monologues where they go around the studio and backstage while singing, but damn, does it have to become a requirement for EVERY former cast member to do that in their monologue in these early 2010s years? In just a year-and-a-half, we’ve had that type of monologue from Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and now Kristen Wiig. The novelty has completely worn off by this Wiig episode, sad to say.
— Yeah, so far, I’m finding that this monologue is lacking the fun and exciting feel that former-cast-member-goes-around-the-studio-and-backstage-while-singing monologues typically have. Aside from maybe one or two things, I’m not all that crazy about anything that’s been going on in tonight’s monologue so far.
— Hmm, a rare instance of someone actually interacting with the Abraham Lincoln who’s traditionally seen in the background of SNL’s backstage pieces.
— Fred’s entrance as himself receives a big applause break from the audience, despite the fact that he’s, you know, STILL IN THE CAST.
— At least tonight’s Gilly appearance isn’t in a full-fledged sketch, even if I’ve surprisingly developed a modicum of tolerance towards Gilly in her last few appearances prior to this episode. (The actual final full-fledged Gilly sketch, from the preceding season’s Sofia Vergara episode, was actually perfect closure for that character.)
— I do at least like seeing the entire cast dancing together onstage at the end of this monologue (Taran in particular is doing some absolutely priceless dancing in the background), even though it’s a knock-off of the ending of Jimmy Fallon’s far-superior aforementioned monologue.
STARS: **
1-800-FLOWERS
1-800-Flowers mediates love-hate relationship between (KRW) & mom (KAM)
— Interesting pairing of Kristen and Kate, especially given the constant comparisons people made between them in Kate’s early days. Also interesting is seeing Kristen playing straight man to Kate.
— This commercial is showing how woefully underrated Kristen’s straight man skills are, and how much better she generally is at performing low-key stuff like this.
— Kate: “God, I wish I was a lesbian so I didn’t have to carry a purse.” An ironic line, given the performer who delivered it.
STARS: ***½
THE CALIFORNIANS
back-from-the-dead Karina (KRW) meets pregnant (MAR)
— (*groooooaaaaaaaan*) The first of what I’m sure will be various instances of me groaning at the return of a Wiig-involved terrible recurring sketch.
— Aaaaaand there goes the obligatory breaking, with Bill setting off a giggling fit for Kristen. Come to think of it, Kristen never could get through these Californians sketches without laughing her way through them, which I almost forgot until now, given the fact that Kristen previously only appeared in the first two installments of this sketch.
— Aaaaaaaaand we end with an extremely hammy, over-the-top, and unfunny mug-off between Maya Rudolph and Kristen. Ugh
— Overall, not a single redeeming factor to be found. Usually, I can find ONE very mild highlight in each Californians installment. No such luck here.
STARS: *
AW NUTS! MOM’S A GHOST!
Korean horror meets Disney Channel sitcom
— The basic style of this is a spot-on spoof of typical Disney Channel shows.
— The Korean water ghost thing is an interesting and unusual concept that I’m onboard for.
— Pretty funny how the very disturbing things Kristen’s Korean water ghost mom character is doing are being presented in such a lighthearted, corny-sitcom manner.
STARS: ***½
THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW
Dooneese goes after (JAS) on the beach
— (*groooooaaaaaaaan*)
— I think this is the latest slot in an episode that a Lawrence Welk Show sketch has ever aired. IIRC, all previous installments of this sketch were either the first post-monologue live sketch or the cold opening.
— Ugh, there goes the obligatory lame, juvenile finger joke from Fred’s Lawrence Welk.
— Yeah, as usual, I have absolutely NOTHING to say about the same-old same-old Dooneese portion of this sketch, except that it somehow feels even more tired than usual.
— The bit with Dooneese’s arm appearing on the opposite side of the screen feels like a knock-off of a gag used in a few Herb Welch sketches.
STARS: *½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Diane Young”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Anthony Crispino raises his voice while propagating incorrect information
Garth & Kat offer characteristically-extemporaneous Mother’s Day songs
— Yikes, Seth’s voice sounding VERY hoarse tonight.
— I like the fun exchanges Bobby’s Anthony Crispino and Seth are having regarding Crispino always asking “Did you hear about this one?”
— Hmm, now they’ve begun using a vocal modulator on Crispino’s constant “I’m pretty sure”s, which would become a running gag in his subsequent Update commentaries. While I love the silliness of these Crispino commentaries in general, the vocal modulator gag may be a little TOO cartoonish for my likes.
— Tonight’s overall Crispino commentary was okay, but nowhere near as strong as usual. None of his false stories tonight stood out to me.
— Seth, when delivering a sincere Mother’s Day message towards his mother while looking into the straight-ahead camera: “Mom, I just wanted to let you know……..THAT GARTH AND KAT ARE HERE!!!” Oh, damn you, Seth. DAMN YOU. You might as well have introduced this Garth and Kat commentary by just saying, “Hey, happy Mother’s Day, mom, hope ya like crap!”
— Oh, and to continue the theme of this episode review of mine, let me greet tonight’s Garth and Kat commentary with a (*groooooaaaaaaaan*), with a side of (*Stooge grabs a blowtorch and burns the laptop he’s watching this on to ashes*)
STARS: **
TARGET
Target Lady takes pleasure in processing cash register transactions
— Yet another Wiig-involved recurring sketch tonight, but I won’t greet this particular one with a “(*groooooaaaaaaaan*)”, because, as I’ve previously disclosed, Target Lady has surprisingly grown on me towards the end of her original run, and, underneath her overly-broad and cartoonish voice, tics, and catchphrases, I’m finding a strangely endearing and human quality to her (which a lot of Kristen’s recurring characters lack big-time). But, damn, we’re more than halfway through this episode and Kristen has yet to do a single live sketch tonight where she plays an original character. The specific recurring characters this episode has been filled with are exactly some SNL fans’ worst nightmare on what a Kristen Wiig-hosted episode would look like.
— At least we get a change of pace at the beginning of this, regarding Target Lady starting her shift.
— No matter how much I come around on Target Lady, I’ll NEVER like that regular gag where she walks away from her cash register to get something while in the middle of ringing up a customer.
— Another change of pace in tonight’s Target Lady sketch, with her actually telling a customer, “Void” for once, instead of her usual “Approved!”
— Funny bit with Target Lady explaining why she cuts out the eyes from photos of models in issues of Sassy Magazine.
— Vanessa, when Kenan suggests they go to Kohl’s: “Kohl’s??? Who are you, Donald Trump???”
STARS: ***
ACUPUNCTURE
acupuncturists (KRW) & (AIB) cause blood to gush from (JAS)’s back
— Finally, a non-recurring live sketch tonight.
— Ah, a sketch in the tradition of SNL’s projectile bleeding sketches.
— Jason’s overly-calm, unaware reactions while bleeding profusely are very funny, as are Kristen, Aidy, and Kate’s various panicked reactions and resorts.
— I love Bobby’s off-camera yell of “Who’s blood is this?!?”, as well as Aidy passing it off to Jason as being cool street talk, “You know, like, ‘What’s up, blood?’”
— Absolutely hilarious how Kristen’s character is now desperately resorting to making Jason unwittingly drink a vase of his own blood to keep him from getting suspicious.
— I got a good laugh from how, when asked “Anything you’d like to contribute?” while he’s seeing the madness that Kristen and Aidy have created, Fred just grabs his hat & suitcase and casually dives out of the window.
— Another funny line from an off-camera Bobby: “Yo, man, who the hell this Chinese dude?!?”
— Aidy’s character attempting to deliver the term Shamwow in a fancy manner is very funny.
— Solid visual of a flesh bubble inflating out of Jason’s back, then exploding a spurt of blood. Man, this sketch is a riot.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
— Very nice and rare how the end of the preceding Acupuncture sketch carries over into this musical guest intro, with Kristen and Aidy still being in their wigs and blood-drenched costumes. It’s also a rarity to see a current cast member in a musical guest intro, not counting episodes where the musical guest is also that night’s host. Rather significant that the cast member in this particular musical guest intro is a first-year featured player. I remember some online SNL fans who, at the time, felt Aidy might end up a one-season wonder took her appearance in this musical guest intro as a sign that perhaps she might make it to a second season after all. As I mentioned in a previous episode review, those concerns some online SNL fans had at the time about Aidy supposedly not doing too well in her first season and having a chance of getting fired over the summer don’t hold up well, as I’m finding in my re-watch of this season that Aidy actually had a low-key impressive first season.
— This season’s been having some creative fun with a few of their musical guest intros, between Stefon introducing one of Bruno Mars’ performances, Justin Timberlake introducing one of his own performances, the Three Amigos introducing the other Timberlake performance that same night, and now this.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Unbelievers”
DOUBLE DATE
on a double date, (KRW) & (CES) flirt with sixth graders (BOM) & (TIR)
— Hmm, not too excited about this premise.
— Bobby and Tim are at least convincing and cute in their portrayal of little boys.
— A laugh from Kristen’s out-of-nowhere dickhead line about her husband.
— Cecily is really solid here.
— I’m starting to love the voice Tim’s using. Sadly, this ends up being the final lead role he would ever get as a cast member.
— After my iffiness towards this sketch in the first minute-and-a-half or so, this sketch has really been growing on me. There’s actually an interesting tone to this sketch. Almost slice-of-life-ish, in fact, though nowhere near as low-key as SNL’s slice-of-life sketches typically are. All the performances are adding to the refreshing realism of this sketch, Cecily’s performance in particular.
— Pretty funny exaggerated laughter from Taran’s character in reaction to a very mild anecdote from Bobby.
STARS: ***½
CLASSY SEXY ELEGNACE
CD features autotuned reality show housewives
— Another sketch this season with a whole bunch of unfortunate James Anderson-isms jumping out in your face right from the start. Kristen’s first musical number in this sketch even feels a little reminiscent of typical musical performances in Deep House Dish (complete with two model-looking men as backup dancers), a recurring sketch written by James Anderson. I swear I recall there also being another sketch Anderson wrote that had someone saying, as one of the lyrics of a song they’re singing, “Did I already say (insert word here that they already said)?”, like Kristen does here.
— Aidy’s performance is at least funny (which, once again, continues this quietly solid first season of hers), though the actual lines/lyrics she’s been given here aren’t funny in the slightest.
— Overall, way too much of this sketch went by without a single laugh from me. Aidy’s performance and delivery during her solo number provided the only amusement I got from this whole thing.
STARS: *½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— One of this season’s lesser episodes. As feared, quite a large chunk of this episode was filled with tired returning Kristen Wiig favorites (certainly not my favorites), most of them lousy as always. Some of the non-recurring stuff in the pre-Weekend Update half didn’t work, either, such as the cold opening and monologue. Thankfully, after this episode finally got all of the recurring stuff out of the way, there was a big upswing in quality towards the end of the show, with the funny and original Acupuncture and Double Date sketches, but that upswing in quality was short-lived, as things unfortunately bottomed-out again with the final sketch of the night.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Acupuncture
Double Date
1-800-Flowers
Aw Nuts! Mom’s A Ghost!
Target
Monologue
Weekend Update
Benghazi Hearings
Classy Sexy Elegnace
The Lawrence Welk Show
The Californians
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Zach Galifianakis)
a big step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 38 comes to an end, with host Ben Affleck. It’s the final episode for veterans Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Jason Sudeikis, as well as the final episode that newbie Tim Robinson spends in the cast before moving to the writers’ room.
So I know Seth wasn’t exactly the best Update anchor. And I know that it would be weird for him to get Update’s first five star rating.
But goddammit does tomorrow’s deserve it.
If Norm and Dennis didn’t get one, Seth doesn’t get one.
I understand that, but outside of possibly Phil its the best goodbye a cast member ever got (possibly Fred too, both goodbyes in the next show are epic. Still a shame Jason didn’t really get one.)
Some interesting potential “passing the torch” moments as Wiig gets sketches pairing her with Kate, Cecily, and Aidy (all of which are good, interestingly). This episode again shows the paradox of Kristen Wiig–she’s a very talented performer and cast member, and in the aforementioned original sketches, is very funny and works well with the cast. But the vast majority of everything else is just rewarmed recurring stuff. This can work, I guess, if you’re appealing to some nostalgic good vibes, but Wiig had just barely left. We had seen all of these things last year (not that I guess I would have wanted to see them in 2020–HINT HINT).
Classy Sexy Elegnace was actually Cecily, Chris Kelly, and Marika Sawyer. Kelly also co-wrote 1-800-Flowers with Sarah Schneider.
Aidy and Jost wrote the acupuncture sketch.
I think my Wiig tolerance is higher than most, but this pushes it by having none of her characters that I actually enjoy. Since this episode had The Californians, The Lawrence Welk Show, Target Lady, and Garth & Kat, and her 2016 one had Secret Word and Surprise Sue, then hopefully the show she hosts in two weeks rounds it all out with Shana, Trina, and a full Gilly sketch. /s
Yeah, this was a “Best Of” show without actually being a “Best Of” show. Nostalgia trips can be nice, but having character after character is just toooooo much.
As for Wiig characters I would *like* to see when she hosts next week, I think any combo of Penelope, Judy Grimes, and/or Triangle Sally would be a refreshing return.
@Thatchos I wouldn’t mind seeing Penelope again. Since the show post-2016 is very de-emphasized on the recurring characters (recurring premises: yes; non-Update recurring characters: no) I’m wondering if we’ll even get any old Wiig ones at all.
To be honest, I have a perverse interest in seeing something of Wiig’s recurring characters in a COVID universe. How is Target Lady’s store handling the pandemic? Is Gilly the same doing virtual learning? If one doesn’t drive anywhere during a lockdown, how do the Californians interact?
I’m also wondering if we’ll get any Wiig recurring characters but for a different reason. The big reason to bring them back is because they’re guaranteed audience favorites, but the audience is so fucking dead this year what’s the point.
Michael Cheyne, agreed this might be the perfect opportunity to bring back the Target Lady if they’re going to bring back any of Wiig’s characters. So much potential in how her store is handling the pandemic.
Also really interested in Carson’s post tomorrow. I imagine this season must have more than doubled the number of 5 star pieces from 37.
It’s odd to think that when Kristen hosts soon (unless COVID shuts it down), she will be reuniting with 4 people she appeared with in this episode (Kenan, Aidy, Cecily, Kate), seven and a half years ago. (if she has an Update piece we can bump that up to 5, via Jost).
This episode was heavily panned at the time, and is likely one of the reasons her cameos for the next several years would get some visceral reactions (some of those to her cameos in Bill Hader’s episode can make you wince a bit when you read them back). I get the idea of having her host while two of the three she joined the cast with were still there, but as she had little real interaction with Bill or Jason in this, it doesn’t feel special. Instead we get more of that Garth and Kat wankfest. Sad to say the only time we get an on-air acknowledgment of the special chemistry between Bill/Kristen/Andy/Jason is on a T-shirt Jason wears in a goodnights 6 years later.
Beyond any usual complaints I have about these things, the timing is WAY off in parts of the Doonneese sketch – I can say Jason didn’t do those types of roles very often, or Kristen had gotten rusty, but part of it is the same weird messed-up issues that have plagued a number of SNL’s musical pieces over the last decade.
This Target Lady sketch has about the same ending as most of the Target Lady sketches, but something about the slow pan out on this one felt particularly final to me. I wouldn’t be too unhappy to see this again, although this was a decent final sketch (much better than the one with Daniel Radcliffe).
The 1-800-Flowers has such a passing-the-torch vibe, similar to the times the last two seasons Kate has played mother to Chloe Fineman (who is already starting to get a lot of the hype/publicity Kristen and then Kate got). The winks and nods to Kate being a lesbian (I know she’s out, I just mean the way it’s referenced on the show) have continued for much of her tenure – in a way it’s amusing, but I do see why some of her fans wish she had played more out characters rather than just the winks.
The show is in a unique position this time to not even have to bring any of Kristen’s characters back, considering the quieter audiences (much as I’d love to see Triangle Sally again, there won’t be much reaction if that is the goal), and to instead just focus more on the more subtle pieces Kristen had in her first few seasons as a cast member, but realistically I know that isn’t likely to happen. Her second episode was decent enough, so hopefully this will be the same.
So, only one episode away from the end of the end (with Kristen and Andy being the beginning of the end). It’s going to be sad to see Bill and Jason go, but only natural. Less natural is getting into the transition period that caused real damage to the show (damage that has never quite gone away); I have some serious problems with how the show handled the new cast in 13-14 (no wonder several of them seem to be very bitter to this day).
Promos: (this is more fun than most of what Kristen and Fred did together on the show).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg9FKp_hOVQ
Kristen Wiig holds the record for shortest gap between leaving the show as a cast member and returning to host for the FIRST time with 357 days between.
Notice the emphasis on first because Eddie Murphy technically holds the record with 294 days, but he had already hosted while being a cast member.
Since Target Lady hasn’t been seen since 2013, it’s almost certain we’re getting that sketch when Wiig hosts the Christmas show next Saturday.
@Jamal Jenkins I assume you got that information from Wikipedia where it forgets to mention that Bill Murray hosted 287 days after his departure from the cast
I used Wikipedia. Guilty.
*Jordan shrug*
Ha years ago at another board I made the same mistake thinking Kristen had the shortest amount of time between leaving and hosting and being corrected that it was Murray. I guess it’s a common mistake.
Next show is also Downey’s last show. He had a weak ending to his run for sure but still an all time great.
I can remember people being happy that Kelly and Schneider would be taking over the political humor on the show,
I use Wikipedia for a lot of information, but I usually make it’s backed up a source beforehand.
I made the mistake of assuming that a high profile page would not have such inaccurate information on there.
I get it, since the information about the show on there is usually sourced. But for some reason the site insists that Kristen holds the record, even if you try to fix it.
And yes, John, Chloe is starting to get some mainstream attention. She was on Fallon tonight. Her Drew Barrymore stuff got her on the real Drew’s show and she hosted the Legally Blonde reunion recently.
I’ve been waiting for this review of the Californians sketch specifically, because I’ve been trying to figure out which version is from the live airing and which is from dress rehearsal. In one, Kristen’s hat falls off when she and Bill are kissing, and she makes a comment about it. In the other, she grabs her hat to keep it on. I’ve seen the latter version more than the first (I think I only saw the first in a compilation of Californians sketches uploaded on YouTube), so I’m assuming that was the live version, but not knowing for sure bugs me.
Crazy that Kristen was brought back so soon. This episode only has one of her characters that I’m specifically fond of (Target Lady) so it feels underwhelming, reading back through the review. I don’t remember the last two sketches at all. The strongest parts for me are probably the pre-tapes- I love seeing Kate & Kristen paired up in “1-800 Flowers,” and the Disney channel parody is great.
Wish I could enjoy “Acupuncture” as many seem to, but large amounts of blood= me having to look away from the screen.
@Blue I can’t really watch the blood stuff either (even the epic Julia Child sketch I could only watch once).
Regarding returning Wiig material, I do wonder if she may do what Will Ferrell did in his fourth episode and decide to bring back an old Update character in lieu of anything else. I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy another Judy Grimes. (Aunt Linda would be very 2020…not really a compliment though…)
The one where her hat falls off is the dress rehearsal.
There should be at least a full season buffer before a cast member comes back to host or at least a major cast overhaul. Give the audience a little time to take a breath. I thought it was weird seeing Tina host in ’08 considering she was in the cast with the same people (minus Casey). This had to be a Lorne move to have Kristen back. I don’t think even the die-hard Wiig fans were chomping at the bit to see her back in 8H.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Jason come back and host. He’s the only one of the four new cast members in ’05 who hasn’t hosted yet. He would do great.
I would definitely prefer a Jason or Forte episode to another Wiig episode. Definitely would have picked either of them to host over Seth (though I liked his episode enough.)
It’s Interesting Mulaney’s now hosted more than any of the cast from his years.
Hello SNL Lover. That was a great post ! You should do more posts like this !
Thanks Jody! Appreciate the kind words. Don’t ever stop posting as well!
Quick question about this Target Lady: so Target Lady’s never had her period? Either way, her thinking the thing a woman does once a month is “drive to Florida real quick just to look at Florida” got a big laugh out of me.
@Marty: gotcha, thanks!
I’m looking forward to seeing Kristen Wiig host again but I think it’s a little soon considering she technically “hosted” the last SNL At Home episode… which was several months ago but it doesn’t feel like that long. Would love a Forte or Sudeikis hosted episode. Jason Sudeikis’ current show would give him a good excuse…
In reference to Jamal’s earlier post.
Gap Of Return:
– Bill Murray – 9 months 14 days
– Kristen Wiig – 11 months 23 days
– Chevy Chase – 1 year 3 months 19 days
– Norm Macdonald – 1 year 7 months 9 days
– Martin Short – 1 year 7 months 23 days
– Dana Carvey – 1 year 8 months 16 days
– Tina Fey – 1 year 9 months 3 days
– Amy Poehler – 1 year 9 months 12 days
– Phil Hartman – 1 year 10 months 9 days
– Mike Myers – 2 years 2 months 1 day
– Chris Farley – 2 years 5 months 12 days
– David Spade – 2 years 5 months 20 days
– Will Ferrell – 2 years 11 months 27 days
– Chris Rock – 3 years 5 months 18 days
– Maya Rudolph – 4 years 3 months 15 days
– Tracy Morgan – 5 years 9 months 28 days
– Molly Shannon – 6 years 2 months 25 days
– Paul Shaffer – 6 years 8 months 7 days
– Jon Lovitz – 7 years 5 months 20 days
– Jimmy Fallon – 7 years 7 months 2 days
– Damon Wayans – 9 years 24 days
– Ben Stiller – 9 years 5 months 4 days
– Robert Downey Jr – 10 years 5 months 23 days
– Julia Louis-Dreyfus – 20 years 11 months
– Dan Aykroyd – 23 years 11 months 22 days
Excluded:
– Billy Crystal
– Michael McKean
– Eddie Murphy
I’m going into tonight’s episode with an open mind but man… the worst monologue of the season followed by fucking Secret Word?? Also this is CLEARLY Kate’s last night, right? 3 big showcases in a row.
I guess not, given the goodnights.
Well, I was wrong. Kate disappeared after the post monologue sketch and didn’t get any visible send off. I know she’s leaving for a while to shoot the Tiger King show, guess she wanted to wait until May to come back and officially leave with Aidy and Cecily.
I don’t know why they brought back the exact same 2 characters as Wiig’s last episode, especially when they’re both bottom 5 for her, which is saying something. Unfortunately tonight was tied with Adele for worst of the season, with this losing by a hair because Adele’s had that hilarious Fortune Teller sketch. This had a very fun Update, a couple good pre tapes, and easily the best Open of the season (so a ***, maybe ***1/2) but that was about it.
I didn’t mind the monologue, but then I think those wordplay singing monologues are a good use of Kristen. I do wish this one had had the whole cast. I guess they put Maya in because she was out of the rest of the show (there was a “super showcase” reprisal in dress, I believe).
I actually don’t mind Secret Word or Surprise Sue, compared to a lot of Kristen pieces, but they did both feel somewhat phoned in tonight.
The live sketches were middling, and suffered from some weird flow problems and direction problems (especially the last two), and Kristen seemed somewhat out of place with the cast; it didn’t help, I suppose, that a lot of the people she normally would have worked with weren’t there. I did like the pre-tapes and the Home Alone sketch (the other sketches were…alright, but just didn’t really stand out), and I thought Kristen was very game in everything (I was confused when I went to Reddit and saw some people talking about how much better that dogshit Dooneese sketch from Rudd’s episode was).
My rankings would probably be, give or take:
Rae > Burr > Chalamet > Mulaney > Wiig > Chappelle > Adele > Bateman > Rock
I’d go Burr > Chappelle > Chalamet > Mulaney > Rae > Bateman > Rock >Wiig > Adele, though honestly you’re going from a *** average on the best episode to a **1/2 average on the worst. This has been one of the most bland seasons in memory. Occasionally there will be something great (All State, 5 Hour Empathy, Fortune Teller, the Dione Warwick Show), occasionally something will be awful (most of the political stuff, everything post Update from Adele’s episode) and everything else just kind of blows by like wind.
Mulaney has entered rehab for cocaine and alcohol abuse. Yeesh. Wish him all the best.
Mulaney’s one of my all time favorite comics, definitely hope he gets the help he needs.
@Anthony Peter Coleman, that’s a fair assessment (although for me the late ’00s/early ’10s are the blandest period). The Chris Rock episode left a bad taste in my mouth as the cold open was so long and so badly written, and much of the rest of the show had a strange and very lethargic feel, so I’ve just been somewhat glad everything since then has at least had more energy and more committed performances. I am probably being too generous to the current product, but as long as there aren’t lengthy Kate showcases and lengthy political cold opens from hell I often am just glad to get to see the cast and the 2-3 moments of good stuff (sometimes more, sometimes less) a week. (I also really enjoyed “Strollin,” to add to your list). I have a feeling this is going to be a season that will be interesting to go back and study on a psychological level, maybe more than love at the time.
Sorry to hear about Mulaney. I was a little worried about him during his episode as he seemed somewhat ‘off’ in his personality and delivery (especially in his monologue), but had no idea about his relapse. This pandemic has been hell for so many people for so many reasons…this is a reminder to never take anyone for granted.
I’m also sorry to hear about Mulaney. I do wish him well. I don’t have any other words to say.
I did like the Gun Purse Joke.
No offense Women
Hello from the future Jason has hosted
Double Date was written by Cecily Strong and Mike O’Brien per Cecily on Fly on the Wall.
Too soon for Kristen to come back at least wait a few years