Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
CHARLIE ROSE
torture consultants (BOM) & (KYM) take pride in evils
— Some funny opening lines from Taran, who’s doing a decent Charlie Rose impression.
— Great bit from Bobby and Kyle’s torture consultants about them being Time Warner Cable’s customer service.
— Very solid performances from Bobby and Kyle throughout this.
— We get a lot of other hilarious reveals of famous annoyances that Bobby and Kyle’s torture consultants are the ones behind.
— I love Bobby’s “It sure ducking was” comment about him and Kyle being the creators of autocorrect.
— For what initially seemed like an unexciting setting for a cold opening, this has turned out to not only be very funny, but have a great flow and a fun spirit.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
fellow British celebs Maggie Smith (KAM) & Alan Rickman (TAK) know host
— Right out the gate in this monologue, Martin Freeman’s delivery and comedic style has that refreshing, fast-paced, and charming English wit, which is encouraging.
— Good laughs from Taran’s Alan Rickman voice.
— A short and sweet monologue.
STARS: ***½
SUMP’N CLAUS
Sump’n Claus (KET) has cash for those on Santa’s (BOM) naughty list
— A very fun concept for a music video, and a perfect use of Kenan, who’s selling this material to absolute perfection.
— Good bit with Martin losing his temper in his office.
— I love the increasingly drawn-out pauses right before each time Kenan’s Sump’n Claus sings “Everybody gettin’ sump’n!”
— Throughout this short, Martin’s looking quite like another famous Martin: Martin Short.
STARS: ****½
WEDDING OBJECTIONS
everyone at the wedding of odd couple (host) & (LEJ) raises objections
— A good use of the extreme size difference between Martin and Leslie, having them play a loving couple being wed. I’m also loving the extreme differences between their personalities and backgrounds.
— Great reveal of Vanessa being Martin’s wife.
— Kenan’s “He just adopted the Wu-Tang Clan!” line was very funny.
— Solid line from Taran comparing the fragility of Martin’s reconstructed penis to a late-stage Jenga tower.
— Kate is killing it in this sketch, especially her disclosing that she has no idea who the bride or groom are – she just happened to be walking by this church, caught a brief glimpse of the couple getting married, and something told her “GET IN THERE AND SHUT! IT! DOWN!”
STARS: ****
THE OFFICE: MIDDLE EARTH
Bilbo (host) & Gollum (TAK) are paper salesmen
— A very promising concept, doing a hybrid of the two things Martin’s most famous for.
— I am loving Bobby’s performance as a Gandalf/Ricky Gervais hybrid. He’s hilarious here. Even the little detail of that beard stroke he did in one of his confessional shots had me in stitches.
— Yet another very funny vocal impression from Taran, this time of Gollum. His voice is absolutely slaying me.
— Such a spot-on and fantastic spoof of the The Office’s style.
— The little pratfall that Bobby (playing dual roles here) does at the end cracked me up.
— Overall, simply perfect.
STARS: *****
RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED WITH GRACELYNN AND CORY
(host) endures endless morning show segment teases
— Ohho, no. I completely forgot that this episode featured the debut of this, a recurring sketch that I’ve never liked. (*sigh*) For the second time this season, leave it to writers James Anderson & Kent Sublette to ruin an episode’s perfect streak of segments ranging pretty solid to excellent.
— An early display of SNL’s habit of randomly casting Kate as male celebrities/politicians for no apparent reason. (Her two drag roles in the preceding week’s James Franco episode, Justin Bieber and Kevin McAllister, at least made sense, as she was playing a short young adult and a prepubescent boy, respectively).
— Closest to a laugh I’ve gotten from this entire thing was from Martin awkwardly being made to dance next to Aidy, who has just disclosed very sad personal news about herself.
STARS: *½
ST. JOSEPH’S CHRISTMAS MASS SPECTACULAR
Christmas mass spectacular features liturgical tropes
— I think this counts as the first of a few of these occasionally-appearing pre-tapes presenting tropes from a boring traditional event in a specific upbeat style.
— This spoof is not only very true to life and relatable, but it’s hilarious, and every performer is nailing their respective roles.
— Nice to see tonight’s strong-so-far episode rebound very well after a slight setback with the Right Side of the Bed sketch.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Boom Clap”
WEEKEND UPDATE
lacking African-American emojis, SAZ creatively employs other symbols
A One Dimensional Female Character From A Male Driven Comedy (CES) follows comedy arc
Jacob talks about Hanukkah & thanks Derek Jeter for his service
— Some very strong jokes from Michael early on in tonight’s Update.
— Wow. Sasheer with her own Update commentary? As HERSELF??? Well, this is new. And it’s certainly nice to see her getting a big showcase as herself, given how very underused she is.
— Oh, now I remember this emoji commentary of Sasheer’s. I used to mis-remember this as happening later in Sasheer’s SNL tenure.
— Sasheer’s overall commentary was very good, had some solid racial commentary, and refreshingly felt very different for an Update commentary.
— Michael’s ballsy “foot race” joke about FDR had me howling.
— The first appearance of Cecily’s A One Dimensional Female Character From A Male Driven Comedy, making this the second long-named character Cecily has played on Update.
— A spot-on characterization from Cecily here, being an accurate and funny spoof of this archetype. Her interaction with a confused Colin, however, reminds me a little too much of Vanessa’s interaction with a confused Michael in Vanessa’s romantic comedy commentary from earlier this season.
— Our first of, I think, multiple instances of Colin mining laughs out of his own childhood photo. I also love Michael’s very loud off-camera laugh while that photo is shown.
— Blah, another Jacob commentary. However, at least 1) Jacob’s last commentary prior to this shook a few things up, and 2) this is his first appearance in this new Update era.
— Unfortunately, it turns out that tonight’s Jacob commentary is going in the same-old same-old direction these Jacob commentaries always go, with no shake-ups this time. I also feel that, despite his efforts, Michael is too bland a straight man to Jacob, and isn’t bringing the fun and endearing chemistry that Cecily previously had with Jacob in his last commentary prior to this episode (probably the ONLY time you’ll hear me say Cecily was better at something as an Update anchor than Michael is).
STARS: ***½
ASSEMBLY LINE
Gordon (TAK) is slow to grasp simple duties of a ketchup assembly line
— Interesting characterization from Taran.
— An oddly charming gaffe when Martin initially uses the British pronunciation of “lever”, before correcting himself by re-stating the word in the American accent he’s supposed to be speaking in.
— A simple premise, but simple in a refreshing way, as it’s giving this sketch an old-school feel.
— A silly but decent ending.
STARS: ***½
HOLIDAY GIG
sax player’s (host) conflict with (TAK) leaks into Treece Henderson’s (KET) gig
— The first installment of these occasionally-appearing Treece Henderson sketches (so occasional, that the second installment isn’t until THREE YEARS after this).
— Kenan’s increasingly over-the-top, crazed “Tweedle-do-twee! Tweedle-do-twow!” singing (the most identifiable aspect of this soon-to-be recurring Treece Henderson character) is cracking me up.
— Where the heck is this sketch going? This has that bad, questionable, hard-to-figure feel that a lot of James Anderson/Kent Sublette sketches suffer from. Leave it to TWO Anderson/Sublette sketches to ruin the otherwise perfect flow of an episode.
— There’s Kenan killing it with another funny delivery in this sketch, with the way he pronounces “Red boooootssss”
— A very amusing scene-stealing appearance from Taran, and I like his silly dancing at the end.
— An overall baffling sketch, but with a decent amount of redeeming factors that almost made this sketch passable.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Break the Rules”
WATERBED WAREHOUSE
Waterbed Warehouse owner’s (host) wife (AIB) embraces company mascot role
— I remember an online SNL fan pointing out that Martin looked and acted very Buck Henry-esque in this sketch. I definitely see it, and I love that, given what an excellent host Buck always was, and how much I miss getting to review his hosting stints.
— I absolutely love Aidy’s occasional singing of the lyric “Our waterbeds are the beeeeeeeeest!”, which has stuck in my memory over the years.
— This is the type of questionable sketch concept that Aidy is probably one of the very few people who can sell. I try to imagine Kristen Wiig doing this same sketch in her later seasons, and I groan, as it would’ve come off way too typical of the annoying, hammy, badly-written, “Look at me!”-type of sketches the writers stuck Kristen with way too often. But when this sketch is given to a certain performer like Aidy who we’re not overly used to seeing do this type of material, it absolutely works and comes off very fun and charming.
— Speaking of imagining other cast members playing Aidy’s role in this sketch, the Martin Freeman/Buck Henry comparison mentioned earlier makes me imagine that, if this sketch were done in SNL’s original era and Buck had appeared in Martin’s role, I can easily picture Gilda Radner in Aidy’s role.
— Taran has had an EXTREMELY busy night, appearing in practically every single sketch, rather reminiscent of Will Ferrell at his most dominant. Jay, on the other hand, makes his ONLY live appearance of the entire night here, in a brief, shirtless walk-on in which he has no lines. I remember thinking, when this originally aired, that he looked visibly upset in this sketch over the fact that this was the only live role he got all night, but I’m not getting an upset vibe from him in my current viewing.
STARS: ****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong episode, almost rivaling the incredible Woody Harrelson episode from earlier this season. SNL was firing on pretty much all cylinders in tonight’s episode, minus two James Anderson/Kent Sublette-written missteps (one of which still had its moments).
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Office: Middle Earth
St. Joseph’s Christmas Mass Spectacular
Sump’n Claus
Wedding Objections
Charlie Rose
Waterbed Warehouse
Assembly Line
Monologue
Weekend Update
Holiday Gig
Right Side of the Bed with Gracelynn and Cory
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (James Franco)
a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Amy Adams hosts the Christmas episode
Jost era episodes where Anderlette have the only bad sketch: 2 (may have to come up with a better name for that).
I’ve always loved this episode. Partly due to my love of Freeman and the UK Office, but there are just so many killer sketches here.
Kate’s “SHUT. IT. DOWN.” is one of my favorite moments here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL21l5gGFKE&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnfxf-SnkcI&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive
Blooper and behind the scenes info for Hobbit Office (a favorite of mine). Mikey, Streeter & Bobby wrote it, and I believe that same trio would later write a similar pitch perfect geek parody in the very famous Adam Driver Undercover Boss sketch.
I meant to say “SHUT. IT. DOWN” is one of my favorite moments of HER’S. That’s always been one of my favorite Kate bits.
Another error: I meant bonus footage, not bloopers. I definitely recommend the behind the scenes video to anyone who hasn’t seen it. Lots of fun info, like the fact that Taran for real bit into a raw dead fish for the sketch and got a bit of bone stuck in his lip.
Here are some name suggestions, Anthony, with acronyms to go along with ’em:
Great episodes with a bad Anderlette sketch – GEWABAS
Modern masterpieces blemished by Anderlette – MMBBA
Modern episodes with one stinker, courtesy of Anderlette – MEWOSCOA
Great show, bad Anderlette (sketch) – GSBA(S)
Modern episodes that would have been perfect if not for one bad Anderlette sketch – METWHBPINFOBAS
Okay, that last one is a bit long-winded. But I hope that helps.
Also back on the subject, this episode looks like a pretty strong one. I’d have sworn Sump’n Claus would have a five-star rating, it’s kind of a modern SNL Christmas classic. But I’m not complaining. Can’t wait to see what you think of the Christmas episode with Amy Adams as host, five UK boys as musical guest, and three random alums stopping by (which includes the resurrection of Stooge’s favorite band…)
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve decided to go with Jost Era Anderlettedowns.
@Anthony Peter Coleman Yes!!! That name is a thousand times catchier than any of my options. Well done!!
St. Joseph’s Christmas Mass Spectacular is one of my favorite Christmas sketches. The accuracy of it is just incredible.
A near-classic that seems to have gone under the radar for the most part.
The three pre-tapes are the highlights of the show. Sump’n Claus is catchy and carried by Kenan as he becomes a reliable utility player. Christmas Mas Spectacular becomes hilarious by how accurate every piece is. The Office: Middle Earth works no matter how familiar you are with the source material.
The cold open is lifted by the pairing of Bobby and Kyle that should’ve been utilized a lot more than it was during their tenures.
Wedding Objections has a unique premise and gives everyone a chance to shine, while Assembly Line executes its simple Python-esque premise to a tee.
The central premise of this Right Side of the Bed with Martin being constantly shafted works enough that it doesn’t bring down the episode too much.
I used to despise the sequels to Treece Henderson, since I felt it worked perfectly as just a one-off, but watching all of them back-to-back showed they are all serviceable on the same level.
The Jacob commentaries were a bit of a rollercoaster in humor. I found some installments to be funnier than others even though they were all basically the same. This happened to be one of those somehow, as I found myself laughing throughout. In addition, Cecily nails the character trope making it enjoyable with her performance.
That leaves Waterbed Warehouse which is a strong early showcase for Aidy that contributes to the timeless feel of the episode that is rarely seen anymore going forward.
Martin serves his role well, being able to mesh with the cast in a low-key fashion presented throughout the show and in this Cut For Time piece:
https://youtu.be/CtfPwoOYbuk
Although I feel Season 40 is overhyped to an extent (IMO there are only 1 or 2 more episodes this year that standout and S41 is an improvement), this one was a delight boosted by having zero expectations going in. Include two stellar performances from Charli XCX and you have a show that misses very little.
Yeah, I didn’t realize this season was so highly regarded. As I’ve mentioned a few times the s-n-l.com board was not exactly kind to these shows. Nor the ones in the next few seasons iirc
Not sure any season gets a fair shake when it’s on anymore, really, at least from a certain section of the internet.
That message board hated almost everything. A lot of users kept trying to predict which season was going to be the next S20 and was desperate to see certain people leave.
I do remember certain people nitpicking this episode from the host mentioning who he was repeatedly to him staring at the cue cards in the Assembly Line sketch. It was those posts that can prevent people and themselves from enjoying SNL.
Generally most seasons are marked down when they air and, other than the seasons that become known for infamy, are seen more positively years later. For instance, you see a lot of praise for season 42 now, but at the time it seemed to have been derided in many quarters, outside of the Tom Hanks episode.
*Another* episode where the filmed pieces shine, but the live sketches are no slouch, either. I have to disagree insofar that I don’t think there was an outright bad sketch all night. I would give “Gracelynn and Cory” two, maybe 2 1/2 stars; the selling point for me is the odd nuance underneath Taran and Cecily’s characters. It’s very clear Gracelynn knows she married a flamboyant (albeit closeted) gay man but she’s made peace with it.
Also, the wedding sketch is not only my favorite Leslie sketch, it’s in my top five for this era.
Agreed about the Gracelynn and Cory sketch. The characterizations are so strong that I think it easily moves beyond a mere mincing gay stereotype. This is a tricky balance since the show has a pretty brutal history of playing effeminate as a gag in and of itself. But I think by around 2013 the show was safely beyond that point. Sometimes doing a specific characterization is not inherently bad.
@Anthony Peter Coleman I burst out laughing from Anderlettedowns.
Haha, thanks. That was definitely a ‘eureka!’ moment when I thought of that.
Was James Anderson back tonight? We got ANOTHER one of those terrible “person sings a song that doesn’t exist they claim is a well known song” sketches. Not sure if they had the twist before that everyone does in fact remember the song, though.
Also I meant to leave this comment on the Woody Harrelson episode, since that contains the “Apples” sketch that started the trope.
Anderson was not listed as a writer in the end credits unless I missed it
Sublette just dusting off an oldie but a shitty I see.
I saw Julio Torres name in the credits, which was nice to see. Assuming he wrote the “It Gets Better” piece.
Dan Bulla on the writing staff. He was Sandler’s writing partner on his Netflix special. Sandler recommended him to Lorne when
Sandler hosted in season 44
The first half sucked, but after that you could start to see some real differences between this one and the old “what’s that song” sketches (namely most of the cast participating in a full dance routine); sadly bad direction and overuse of “Kenan reacts” let that aspect down.
This sounds stupid, but I never realized until recently Treece Henderson was a recurring sketch–they go in one ear and out the other for me. This proto-Treece sketch doesn’t have all of the paint-by-numbers tics that the later ones have, like Treece constantly asking for some sort of medicine.
While these are not comedy gems, what typically endears them and makes them less intolerable than some similar pieces, is that the audience members do get more to do frequently than in other sketches, and the particular dynamic of each sketch is slightly different. They are also very loopy, usually containing like four plot threads.
Something I’ve noticed throughout the goodnights this season is the high jump that Taran does in sync to the beginning of the goodnights theme. I now have a new favorite thing from him!