Lord have mercy for what I’m about to walk into.
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FORUM
Bernie Sanders (Larry David) is irascible at Democratic candidates forum
— Interesting seeing Cecily reprise her Rachel Maddow impression for the first time since her third-ever episode on SNL.
— A funny comically very brief, pointless interview of Taran’s Martin O’Malley.
— Kate’s Hillary Clinton getting her usual good laughs from me and the audience.
— A pretty fun format and atmosphere to this cold opening.
— Kate’s Hillary, when asked whether she’s an extrovert or introvert: “I would say I’m a little bit of both. I’m an extrovert because I love meeting people and connecting with them and smiling with them. But I’m an introvert because no I don’t.”
— Larry David’s Bernie Sanders impression has officially become recurring.
— Like last time, Larry’s Bernie has an endless amount of very funny lines, such as his ridiculous vacuum pennies spiel.
— I love the running gag with this debate occasionally cutting to very tight shots of black people in the audience to remind viewers that this takes place in South Carolina. The “Bitch, please” look Leslie gives the camera in her tight close-up after Larry’s Bernie says his “crush” is every black person in America is particularly hilarious.
— A great LFNY subversion, with Larry’s Bernie delivering a perfectly Bernie-esque “Live from New York…aaaaaah, you get it.”
STARS: ****
OPENING MONTAGE
— Oddly, Darrell Hammond forgets to precede the featured players portion of his announcements by saying “Featuring”. He just launches into the featured players’ names right after announcing all of the repertory players’ names.
MONOLOGUE
Larry David [real] yells “Trump’s a racist!” at host & doppelgangers (TAK) & (DAH)
— (*deepest of all deep sighs*) Oh, God, here we go.
— Only a minute into this, and, similar to what I said in my review of his season 29 monologue, Donald Trump’s typical bragging bullshit is INSUFFERABLE, especially his “hilarious” talk about Rosie O’Donnell.
— Aidy at least gets a laugh from me and the audience with her delivery of her response to Trump introducing her as Rosie O’Donnell: “Sir, as I told you many times, my name is Aidy Bryant, I’m a cast member on the show.”
— The return of Taran’s Trump impression. Again, I definitely see what he’s going for in the impression, but something about the voice just isn’t working for me.
— I see this monologue is going a similar route to Trump’s season 29 monologue, where he was paired with a doppelganger/stand-in, played by Darrell. I already didn’t care for this premise then.
— Seeing Darrell’s Trump impression in tonight’s monologue kind of puts Taran’s to shame, even if Darrell’s impression is still stuck in 2004, being more accurate to Apprentice-era Trump than presidential candidate-era Trump.
— Larry David saves the day! He provides easily the biggest laugh of this dire monologue in the bit with him heckling Trump, as a reference to some kind of money-involved dare that a website offered towards any audience member to heckle Trump during this episode. Also, for those keeping count, this is actually the second time Larry David heckled a host as part of a scripted comedy bit in the host’s monologue. The first time was in Michael McKean’s season 10 monologue (“Hey, Lenny, how’s your short friend Squiggy?!?”), back when Larry was an SNL writer.
STARS: *½
WHITE HOUSE 2018
in 2018, host’s presidency is the best of all time (because fuck common sense); Ivanka Trump cameo
— Note: the “(because fuck common sense)” I added to the above synopsis for this sketch was suggested to me by Vax Novier, a frequent commenter on this site. Thanks, Vax.
— Oh, are you fucking kidding me with this sketch, SNL? (*sigh*) I see the Trump ass-kissing is out in full-force tonight.
— Even the mere atmosphere of this “hypothetical great Trump presidency” sketch feels very dead and depressing.
— Further proving my point about how incredibly dead and depressing the atmosphere of this sketch is, Ivanka Trump’s cameo is welcomed with a hearty round of ABSOLUTE DEAD SILENCE from the audience. That will probably end up being my biggest laugh all night from something involving a Trump.
— Ugh at the part with Taran’s worried status report turning out to be that the Trump presidency is going TOO well and has just been endless winning for Americans.
— A horrible ending with Trump’s speech into the camera confirming how great his presidency would go. The soul of whoever wrote this Trump dick-sucking sketch has got to be long dead by our current point in 2021.
— Overall, yep, fuck every single thing about this sketch. One of the absolute worst, most miserable (if not THE absolute worst, most miserable) things I have ever sat through in all 41 seasons I’ve reviewed in this SNL project of mine.
STARS: * (and even that’s being far too generous)
BAD GIRLS
women oversell the naughtiness of their delinquencies
— As I implied in my review of the Say What You Wanna Say short from the preceding season’s Dakota Johnson episode, the format and basic premise of this Bad Girls short feel like a companion piece to that Say What You Wanna Say short.
— Vanessa’s leaving-ice-cream-by-the-bread-section-of-the-supermarket bit is particularly funny to me.
— Glad to see I’m not the only one who does that trash bin trick that Aidy did here.
— Good ending to the bathroom scene with Kate.
— Pretty solid conclusion to this short, with Aidy and the rest of the “bad girls” changing their tune when Aidy’s worried husband, Beck, shows up.
STARS: ***½
LIVE TWEETING
host’s defamatory live-tweeting distracts cast members during sketch
— Trump: “I hate to break it to you guys, but I’m not gonna be in the next sketch.” Me: “YAAAAAAY!” Trump: “Since I can’t do it and can’t be in it, I’ll live-tweet it.” Me: “BOOOOOOO!”
— The comedic premise of a host negatively live-tweeting a sketch is actually very promising, but you can’t get laughs from them being Trump tweets, as the tweets featured in this sketch are TOO close to the kind of mean-spirited bullshit Trump would tweet in real life (and it ain’t funny then), without having the comedic slant needed for a sketch like this. And thus, instead of coming off funny, the mean-spirited insults in this sketch just come off…mean-spirited.
— Yep, just as I was afraid of, this sketch has been DREADFUL so far. Not only are these mean-spirited Trump tweets TOO realistically mean-spirited as I noted above, but comedy-wise, they’re lame and painfully unfunny as all hell. “Kate McKinnon was born stupid”? That’s the type of comedic one-liner that third-graders would consider high comedy.
— Very awkward execution of the ending “I love the blacks” tweet. Not even Leslie’s angry reaction to that tweet could save it.
— Overall, not too far behind that White House 2018 sketch from earlier tonight as a contender for the absolute worst, most miserable sketch I have ever sat through for my SNL project.
STARS: *
HOTLINE BLING
Drake (JAP) defends Ed Grimley-inspired “Hotline Bling” dorky dance moves
— A fairly fun atmosphere to this Hotline Bling parody, even if I’ve yet to laugh out loud at anything so far. It’s amusing enough, though.
— Ed Grimley out of absolutely NOWHERE. I would normally be welcoming of a Martin Short cameo, but I just feel bad for him appearing in this of all episodes. Martin deserves better than that. He’s adding nice life to this short, though.
— Aaaaaand here comes Trump to hijack this fairly fun piece. Does the show really expect me to just sit back and laugh at this jackass comically and lightheartedly potentially dancing his way into voters’ hearts?
STARS: **½ (Trump’s awful involvement lowered my rating)
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Alive”
WEEKEND UPDATE
COJ & MIC marvel at Ben Carson’s string of outrageous utterings
LEJ sees man-bitches’ texts to her as evidence of changing gender roles
Drunk Uncle is thrilled to have host representing his point of view
— Colin and Michael, save me from this episode!
— An awkward beginning with Michael being VERY late on his cue to say his “And I’m Michael Che” sign-on. As amusing as this awkward gaffe was, I can’t help but feel it also adds to the off, unfortunate vibe of this episode in general (including even little things like Darrell forgetting to announce the featured players as “Featuring” in the opening montage).
— Michael, regarding Jeb Bush saying he can fix things: “Which is true if the problem being fixed is the threat of ANOTHER Bush presidency.” Really? You’re really gonna say that in this of all episodes? Yeesh, this episode is even starting to make me a bit salty towards Jost and Che for once. I gotta check that saltiness at the door for this Update.
— Ha, a very Norm Macdonald-esque O.J.-is-a-murderer joke from Michael.
— Oh, I know at least Leslie’s gonna take my mind off of the misery of this episode.
— Great line from Leslie, regarding being sent suggestive eggplant emojis: “Don’t send me vestibles! Send me some MEAT!” And yes, “vestibles” is indeed how she pronounced “vegetables”.
— Michael, regarding the Kansas City Royals beating the New York Mets in the then-recent World Series: “(said in a professional-but-braggart manner) This week, Colin Jost spent three days in his dressing room crying like a bitch!” Colin: “……..Then I found out the Mets lost!”
— We get a reference to the people outside 30 Rock protesting Trump’s hosting of this SNL episode. I’m sure a large number of cast members in this episode wish they could join those protesters, but they probably refrained due to what happened to Nora Dunn after she boycotted a host.
— Two decent anti-Trump jokes from Michael (including him doing a takedown of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan) that I’m surprised Trump didn’t throw a fit about earlier in this week.
— Drunk Uncle seems to be appearing less and less lately.
— It at least makes sense to have Drunk Uncle be a Trump fan. However, I am so oversaturated on Trump in this episode that all of the Trump talk in this Drunk Uncle commentary is souring me a little on it. Only a little, though, because this commentary is still funny, and at least the Trump theme of it is offering a bit of a shake-up to the usual formula of Drunk Uncle’s commentaries.
— I remember an SNL reviewer saying they had a problem with the audience actually applauding during their laughter at Drunk Uncle’s one-liner about Caitlyn Jenner: “HIS NAME IS BRUCE!”
— A good laugh from Drunk Uncle being handed a new glass of alcohol after angrily crushing his first one in his hand when being asked his thoughts on Hillary Clinton.
— At least Colin refrained from uttering the beyond-tired “That’s not anyone!” line that he (and formerly, Seth Meyers) usually responds to Drunk Uncle’s “That’s not me!” line with in every Drunk Uncle commentary. It looks like it took Colin everything in him to refrain from saying it, though.
STARS: ***½
ROCK BAND
laser harp player (host) is bitter that his bandmates hog the spotlight
— Good “bass face” from Beck.
— The already-worrying first minute of this sketch, with several bad James Anderson/Kent Sublette-isms (such as every character having stupid “comical” last names), is followed by an even worse reveal of Trump’s character and the conceit of his appearance.
— I’m now a few minutes into this sketch, and man, what the hell IS this whole laser harp bit with Trump that this sketch is centered around? It’s going nowhere and is both baffling and painfully unfunny.
— Overall, oof. Yet another “One of the the absolute worst, most miserable sketches I’ve ever reviewed” contender in tonight’s episode.
STARS: *
MR. CROCKER
Mr. Crocker (BEB) embarrasses family with his karaoke fixation
— A great sudden angry outburst from Beck.
— Beck’s performance in this lead role is absolutely great, and I really like how off-kilter this material feels.
— (*groan*) Another pre-tape that Trump stops dead in its tracks. Why this of all pre-taped pieces? This was going so damn well.
— And to top it off, as if Trump’s mere appearance in this wasn’t bad enough, they end this short by having Trump do a goofy and unfunny mugging-into-the-camera bit. Way to have the entire Trump-involved portion of this short leave a very sour taste in my mouth and make me completely forget why I was loving this short in the first place. The fact that Trump’s appearance in this short came after he ALREADY ruined so much of the show makes me even more salty on this than I probably should be.
STARS: ***½ (Trump’s awful takeover of this and the obnoxious ending with him mugging was bad enough to bring my rating of this short down a full star, which is a damn shame, as it was a VERY strong Beck Bennett showcase prior to Trump’s takeover, and would’ve gotten the highest rating out of anything in this episode so far)
MUSICAL GUEST INTRO
11 years after they did SNL together, Toots Hibbert (KET) & host catch up
— Ah, a big format break for a musical guest intro, and an interesting idea to have a callback to a host’s episode from 11 years prior. Again, though, this is another idea that would have infinite more potential had it been done with any host other than DONALD FUCKING TRUMP.
— Most of this material is absolutely nothing to write home about so far, but Kenan is at least pretty fun in his performance as Toots, and I got a good laugh from his line about eating some deep-fried parrot.
STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bird Set Free”
TRUMP 2016
host doesn’t approve of vacuous ex-porn stars’ endorsement
— This ends up being the final installment of this recurring sketch.
— Showing how past-its-prime this recurring sketch is, Vanessa and Cecily’s comical one-liners tonight are only mildly chuckleworthy at best, and feel WAY too formulaic and old hat by this point. I’ve become too numb to this humor by now. A shame, given how fantastic this recurring sketch used to be in its heyday.
— There’s usually at least two very quotable great lines in each installment of this sketch, but so far in this particular installment, I can’t even find ONE.
— Bobby’s imitation of Trump is surprisingly not bad. I kinda want to say it’s better than Taran’s.
— Okay, we finally got a good line just now, from Cecily: “Yeah, maybe we’ll visit the White House. I haven’t been there since the 90s.”
— (*sigh*) Another Trump walk-on to ruin the progress of a sketch and bring down my rating of it, even though my rating of this sketch was already going to be low even before he appeared. Wasn’t all of Vanessa and Cecily’s talk about him in this sketch enough without us having to actually see him in person here? I was hoping the equal-time rule announced prior to this episode’s airing would fully keep Trump out of at least ONE live sketch tonight, but nope. And even when he’s absent for the majority of a live sketch, the sketch still has to be aaaaallllll about him, as this sketch and that fucking dreadful Live Tweeting sketch showed.
STARS: *½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Simply put, 1) soul-sucking misery wrapped in a 90-minute package, 2) THE biggest mistake made in SNL history, and 3) absolutely deserving of its horrible reputation. That’s all that can be said here, after everything I’ve already said earlier in the review.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Democratic Candidates Forum
Weekend Update
Mr. Crocker
Bad Girls
Hotline Bling
Ex-Porn Stars
Monologue
Rock Band
Live Tweeting
White House 2018
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tracy Morgan)
a gargantuan step down of unmeasurable proportions
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
(*first let me breathe a sigh of relief and happily tell myself “I did it!” after getting through the nightmarish task of having to review this Trump episode, which was by far the episode I was most dreading having to review ever since I launched this project*)
Elizabeth Banks, a.k.a. Not-Donald-Trump
Thank you for your sacrifice.
More than five years later, this episode still angers very much. SNL at its absolute trashiest.
Maybe the “forever cast” of players that’s been on the show since season 40 (Kenan/Kate/Aidy/Cecily/Beck/Kyle/Colin/Michael/Pete) have stayed so long because they’re doing penance for this.
Good ep!
A stain on Lorne & the show’s legacy, one that it will unfortunately never be able to wash away. I know multiple people who jumped ship after this (Trumpwin didn’t help) and will likely never come back, and the worst part is I can’t even blame them. Any debate for now until the rest of time about whether or not this show is hacky and past it’s prime has this (literal) Trump card. Lorne especially walked away looking like an out of touch millionaire who no longer gave a shit about anything but money and ratings (notice any similarities?)
A few solid sketches will keep this away from beating Paul Reiser (its 5 sketches under 2 stars is actually 2 LESS than Trump’s 04 appearance) which is a bit unfortunate because I think we can all agree the worst from this episode is possibly the worst the show ever did.
This shit gets me too mad to even talk about. I have a bit of a ‘forgive, but never forget’ feeling about this episode. I still love the show and will watch every week, but it’s just never going to feel as pure as before.
In the words of the musical guest, “”Grrrrrrrr. Fuckity fuck.”
I’ve never been able to sit through this episode without having to pause every 30 seconds, so thanks for being able to do so. Nonstop cringe. This episode really puts into perspective how much of a bizarre fever dream it was that this miserable doofus ever became president. The Hotline Bling parody was the moment where I went “this can’t be fucking real.”
In my opinion, not the worst episode ever comedy-wise (Paul Reiser takes that title) but no doubt the worst in terms of principle.
Has anyone fessed up to writing “White House 2018,” or is the shame still too overpowering?
Jimmy Fallon never seemed to recover from playing with Trump’s hair yet SNL seems to have gotten a pass for this one.
Has it? I feel like I see Trump hosting brought up at least once a week (though I frequent place that talk about SNL).
I mean ratings and media coverage wise. But I find it ridiculous SNL did the Hallelujah skit and the Thank You Obama song after allowing this trash to air.
The first time I saw this ep, I remember being mildly amused by the wayTrump was used in sketches but, yeah, four years of his overexposure is enough for one to declare “No More!” concerning his constant TV exposure (If he never gets on Twitter ever again, that’s perfectly fine with me!) And let me declare I’ll always prefer Darrell Hammond’s Trump to Alec Baldwin’s though Baldwin’s captures The Donald’s childishness more perfectly!
Trump’s hosting in 2015 was a lowlight. That and seasons 6 onward.
This episode was definitely a chore to get through, and there will be more of those yet as you get closer to finishing. Good on you for getting through this in one piece, Stooge!! All I can say is thank goodness for DVRs and fast forward!!
I was on hiatus during this time, and probably prone to just bitching about the show in comment sections more than ever thinking of watching. Needless to say, hearing of his hosting (because he had already become a deeply repulsive figure well by this point, which makes the whole “we didn’t think he would win” type of defense ring hollow) did not improve my opinion.
For me, SNL is like the old cliche about your lifelong friend. You can make some jabs about him, but if anybody else does, then you will defend them, because they’ve been a major part of so much of who you are for such a long time.
When it comes to this particular host, and this choice, I break that rule. I don’t believe that Trump won because of SNL, or because of Jimmy Fallon ruffling his hair. He had decades of often sycophantic press, and the media (especially NBC) had a great deal invested in his getting as much attention as possible. Yet that does not matter in this case. Even if he had crashed out in the Iowa primary in January 2016 and returned to doing Apprentice for 20 years, I would still completely and totally understand why some people will never forgive SNL or Lorne for having him host.
If this were some kind of movie, then the natural ending to this arc would have been a big ratings crash, or some kind of righteous speech on a news show that would lead to SNL being canceled as random extras clap and some guy in a gray wig shakes his head and walks away. People wanted SNL, and Lorne, to face that comeuppance.
That didn’t happen, because life never really works that way – the gamble from Lorne and NBC paid off, with a big ratings boost and renewed attention to a show that had mostly been on a decline since the heights of Palinpalooza. The show will always be tarnished by this episode, with many never forgiving or forgetting. And soon, when the pendulum swings and they begin to put out some strong anti-Trump pieces (along with the not-so-strong, and frankly, embarrassing Trumpwin saga), they also alienated many of the fans who were devoted to Trump and felt he was the first President to ever be belittled by SNL, and all that garbage. Two very different camps, not so different in forever hating and dogging whatever the show does. Even if SNL wasn’t so flawed, even if they took a big jump in quality and stayed that way to the very last episode, many will hate the show in a way that goes beyond “it hasn’t been funny since ____.”
The fact that more don’t is testament to how wonderful and easy to connect to many of the cast have been over the years, and that SNL is a show, possibly more than just about any other TV show ever, that you can make your own and make special to you, sometimes in spite of itself. (that’s ultimately why I eventually started watching again – I just have so much tied to SNL, from when I was a kid, that I would never let a heinous decision like this take away from me). In that sense, the show survived in spite of Lorne, in spite of this disgusting hosting choice, and just makes it all the more saddening that Lorne (and NBC, who of course likely had a huge hand in pushing this) did not have more respect for viewers.
It would be delusional beyond belief to claim Lorne ‘lost’ anything by having Trump on – he is more successful than ever as he closes out his final years in the industry. Yet, this decision will always hang over not just SNL’s legacy, but his own. And considering how very seriously Lorne takes his legacy, sometimes I wonder how much that stays with him.
This is way after the fact, but I always love reading your comments.
If that was meant for me, thanks, that’s very kind, and it makes me feel less bad about writing all the walls of words I know many people probably cringe at. This is such a great place because you can really talk about the show here and not have to worry about whether you are too into the weeds. So many of us have spent a lot of our lives with SNL, and it’s difficult to articulate just what that means.
If you didn’t mean me…never mind.
John I always enjoy reading your comments as well, even though we at times have diametrically opposed views about certain sketches and cast members. There’s no other place on the Internet to get detailed, organized thoughts about individual SNL episodes from all over the show’s eras.
Also, one more thing. The coffin of what SNL was back in 1975 was already well nailed shut, but this feels like the absolutely last one to be driven in.
I don’t remember SHIT from this episode. And I know that’s by choice. I’ll probably even forget commenting on this, and with the host, who could blame me?
I commend you for sitting through this. I rewatched it as well, and it is pure unadulterated garbage. White House 2018 is one of the most disgusting pieces of material to ever be put on this show. I agree with others that this did not win him the election, but it does not lessen how horrible it is to watch him portrayed as some lovable scamp who just happens to be running for president. If he appeared in a cameo, ala McCain, Obama, et al, it would be much easier to forgive SNL’s ignorance. But giving him a 90 minute informercial was a bridge too far for many, and inspires PTSD in those of us that still support the show.
Larry David’s “They told me if I yelled that, I get $5000” is in reference to DeportRacism.com, a Latino Rights PAC, publicizing that anyone heard saying either Deport Racism or Trump Is A Racist would get 5k and reportedly they paid Larry.
https://twitter.com/DeportRacism/status/663216360030277632
I did get an unintentional laugh from Taran saying “He likes me though, right?” in the live tweeting sketch given how Taran has been the most vocal about Trump’s (completely in character) shitty behavior and the events of this week.
Weird to think that his two SNL hosting gigs are almost literally the only times he’s appeared in tv shows or movies over the last forty years with a character name and not as Donald Trump in some sketches. During an appearance on Access Hollywood (not THAT appearance on Access Hollywood) he told Billy Bush that he always appears as himself because “People expect it, they like to see me as me. They like to hear the name Donald Trump. I don’t know what to say, I’m just that popular.” The Screen Actors Guild, which has recently revoked Trump’s membership, used to list that he was best known as himself. There’s nothing you can do to combat that level of narcissism.
Hey Stooge. Is That Sketch in 2015 where Donald Trump was in the White House And Every Body Was Kissing Up To Him Worse Than That Father And Son Sketch in 2004 OR That 9-11 Hearing Sketch in 2004 ? ?
Very good point, Jody. SNL does kiss the ass of the host (or musical guest, looking at you, Kanye) pretty much every week. From Milton Berle, Steven Seagal & Roseanne to having James Franco (Season 43), and Casey Affleck host even though there were sexual harrassment allegations about them at the time of their episodes. Even since Chevy was unofficially banned from hosting in ’97, he has still made half a dozen cameos so while the show has never claimed the moral high ground, judging from the comments section in the Amy Schumer episode talking about a completely unrelated episode, Trump hosting hasn’t stopped any of you from actually watching SNL.
Let’s just not assume the motives of other commenters. Stooge has been very clear about the guidelines around here.
“Hey Stooge. Is That Sketch in 2015 where Donald Trump was in the White House And Every Body Was Kissing Up To Him Worse Than That Father And Son Sketch in 2004 OR That 9-11 Hearing Sketch in 2004 ? ?”
Absolutely. No question.
That has to be in the running for worst sketch of all time, right? Like I could see arguments for “Commie Hunting Season”, or the weird rapey Chris Elliott babysitter sketch, or the Knoxville alien sketch but honestly this is more reprehensible than any of those to me.
FUCK Lorne Michaels for inviting him to host the show. FUCK NBC for keeping suck Trump’s ass. This episode is the start of the downfall of SNL legacy. I’m sorry but the fact that this show started to lampooning Trump, Kate’s Hillary singing “Hallelujah”, and the Obama tribute AFTER Trump’s hosting makes this show a hypocrite! Same about Fallon (which is coincidentally also produced by Lorne). Why they cannot listen to the protesters outside? UGH!
I feel so bad for the cast for participating this bullshit. Shame on Lorne Michaels! Shame on NBC! SHAME on their friendship with Trump! FUCK THEM! FUCK THEM for helping and made the entire America in shambles partly!
Excuse my foul languages but my goodness, I cannot express my anger towards them because of this bullshit episode!
*my god
This auto-correction sucks. LOL
One thing I remember about the good nights: none of the women wanted to be near Mr. Trump.
I really like the Bad Girls parody, especially because I’m a big fan of the song. That’s what makes it even worse that they did it for this DOG SHIT of an episode. No that isn’t quite right. This episode was like accidentally stepping in dog shit, and unknowingly tracking it into the house and all over SNL’s legacy. Wait, scratch that, it’s still not right. Having DONALD FUCKING TRUMP host, of all people, was KNOWINGLY stepping in dog shit. Just because Lorne/SNL/NBC could. And THEN “unknowingly” tracking it all over the house. And when their mother asked what happened, they decided they never meant for it to happen, but instead of just cleaning it up, they half-hazardly tried to cover it up with a rug, and become completely anti-Trump, as if that was their position the entire time.
With Florida Man’s second impeachment trial at the Senate starts today, Stooge is once again being impeccable timing by reviewing this episode. First the episode with musical guest The Weeknd in time of his Super Bowl halftime show performance, now this. What a clever.
Hopefully they convict his ass!!!!
I’m just gonna repeat what I said on my Podcast about not just his Two hosting gigs, but about his TV “Acting” appearances on the Whole (*Bear with me as I stand on a Soapbox*):
Both of his appearances on the show may as well be placed inside a lead-lined container and labeled “Biohazard”. When deciding which one is the worse appearance; The easy answer would be to say that 2015 was especially bad because he recently announced that he was running for President; versus his 2004 appearance to shill for “The Apprentice”…but no matter what it was that he was there to promote, the universal fact remained that his presence there was as much a ratings stunt to the nth degree as it was incredibly uncomfortable for the casts and the viewers of each era to endure…though not so much that This particular episode wound up the highest rated one of the season.
A boost that had some (possibly including Lorne Michaels) wondering if such a gambit was worth it in both the short and long term if it only meant amplifying DT’s platform and his base of increasingly rabid followers…On the surface, considering how little he appeared on the show (18 minutes on camera, I believe), it really shouldn’t have been that big a deal…and yet, as much as I don’t want to believe it, this episode was a Turning point—for better or Far, FAR worse. Not just for his campaign, but for the fact that SNL had to feel Something for opening up Pandora’s Box; which would probably explain the glut of Liberal leaning sketches they wound up pumping out afterwards. It almost feels like their way of getting on their knees and begging the viewers for their forgiveness…But alas, the damage was done, and they pretty much sold their soul in order to get it.
Yeah, if you take away the underlying tone of the whole thing, the episode was “average”—but average at a price…Considering the 5 years of penance cures the show has tried to accomplish since that appearance; up to and including 4 years of Alec Baldwin sticking it to him until the audience was sick of it, to Kate’s singing of “Hallelujah”, The show continues to realize what a horrible, horrible mistake it made in 2015…and yet, the show will never feel 100% “clean” ever again no matter how hard it tries…
This show was the textbook definition of how Television can not only be used as much as a tool, but it can also be used as a weapon. If the wrong thing is sent out for millions to see, one of two things can happen…either people will wind up leeching themselves onto that message and take it as the gospel, or people will be wise enough to change the channel so they could avoid being corrupted by that message…Even more so when the highest office in the land is up for grabs. Fortunately for the sake of Ebb and Flow, there’s only so much of one thing that human beings can take over a period of time (I hope); whether it be instantaneous, or in this guy’s case, a long, slow, decades long slog in front of a TV camera, all in the hopes of trying to win over any kind of an audience because; Hell forbid, he was never hugged growing up—And yet, at the same time, you ALMOST, KINDA, SORTA have to admire the man for using the medium of television in a way that not even Chauncey Gardner (Peter Sellers in “Being There”) could’ve envisioned—He treated the TV camera like it was an American flag destined to be groped; he made himself present every time the lights were on–but what he lacked in charisma and basic human language/posture/reading skills, he more than made up for that in carving out an inexplicable mystique for himself and his brand that (somehow) nearly 75 million people keep managing to fall for; and in spite of EVERYTHING he’s put us through over the years, political or otherwise, he knew how to play the game and play half the country for fools at the same time, all thanks to Television…even if it meant bending the rules a little bit……OK, a LOT.
On the plus side, Thank GOD for Larry David (*Steps off of Soapbox*).
Good comment, Doc. I agree with this take. Qualitywise, this episode is merely average – SNL attempting to give Trump the George Steinbrenner/Rob Lowe treatment, but biting off significantly more than it could chew. When Trump isn’t on the screen, the show chugs along as you’d anticipate, but long-term the price was simply too dear for the show and the spent the next five years overcompensating to no one’s benefit. I think the last two live episodes suggest a new recalibration, but we shall see. The damage might be permanent.
“Not just for his campaign, but for the fact that SNL had to feel Something for opening up Pandora’s Box; which would probably explain the glut of Liberal leaning sketches they wound up pumping out afterwards. ”
They did become more blatant with anti-Trump material in the pre-tapes (the live sketches in 15-16 continue to give Trump something of a pass, if I remember correctly – there is one with Hammond’s Trump and Fey as Palin that I especially dislike), but I feel like a lot of that is embracing the inevitable rather than anything else (surface liberal “resistance” points to get clicks and satisfy the core audience). I don’t get the sense anyone at SNL these days craves politics the way Al Franken or Jim Downey did.
The closest approximations of guilt and shame over the last 4 years might be the horribly maudlin Hallelujah cold open and the even more maudlin To Sir With Love piece that makes me shudder. Beyond that, I’d say the closest would be Jost endorsing Biden on Update, which is a world away from what most anchors/headwriters ever would have done (especially Jost’s predecessor, who only became so outspokenly political, like many people, in the Trump times).
“I remember an SNL reviewer saying they had a problem with the audience actually applauding during their laughter at Drunk Uncle’s one-liner about Caitlyn Jenner: “HIS NAME IS BRUCE!”
Well it would make sense if the audience that night was more conservative than usual.
Let this episode always serve as a reminder that the entirety of the US media gave this man free airtime for decades despite all the very clear issues he has always had. Now they want us believe that anyone who voted for him is irredeemable. While I am gravely disappointed that so many Americans voted for Trump (both in 2016 and 2020), a single one of his voters has miniscule responsibility for his political success compared to the media companies — NBC first among them — who slavishly kissed his ass for decades.
It was the US media who MANUFACTURED and massively PROFITED from Trump’s stardom. His fame was always a top-down phenomenon, not a grassroots one; he was shoved in the faces of Americans for years and years for no good reason, starting in the 1980s. It shouldn’t be surprising that some assumed that he must be qualified because he was constantly on TV for all those years. His election, more than anything, is the ultimate indictment of the vacuous US celebrity culture that elevates people who are famous for being famous. And it’s still a culture that the media eagerly profits from. They’ll never learn unless all of us demand more substance from them, and less empty spectacle.
Bobby Moynihan had a recent interview where he talked some about his experiences with Trump.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/snls-bobby-moynihan-says-trump-loved-his-racist-drunk-uncle-character
I know Taran has had a lot of things to say about that episode as well. Jost also talks about it in his autobiography (and goes with the “he wasn’t so bad in person” type of defense).
Ugh, of course Colin “believe it or not it’s fun to vacation in the Hamptons” Jost goes with that defense. I like the guy enough because I think he’s a great writer and has some likable Update moments, but I can totally see why he (and Che for that matter) rubs some people completely the wrong way.
If any of the cast members were to go out and protest instead of participating in this show, it should’ve been Taran. Not only would it reflect his vocal attitude about the experience and be preferable to sucking up to that lunatic, it would’ve been a better way to end his tenure instead of going out with a whimper like it did for the rest of the season.
I wonder if they just didn’t want to deal with the fallout.
Jay’s face in the first screen-cap of the goodnights says it all
I was on vacation in Montreal when this episode originally aired. (Very cool city to visit, BTW.)
Thankfully, I wasn’t really following/watching SNL at the time. I think I only watched the Larry David episode from that season when it aired.
This episode and the legacy hit from it is why I’m sure there won’t be an “SNL In the 2010’s” documentary as long as Lorne is alive. Even the 40th Anniversary would have to be reckoned with in that documentary, given what Taran accurately noted about how it set SNL off into the cameo hell that it took a once in a century PANDEMIC to end that trajectory for the show.
Also, I watched the porn stars sketch recently, and you can tell just how uncomfortable Cecily especially is at using this sketch to legitimize Trump and his behaviour. The fact that they let him end the sketch with “Didn’t you used to be blonde?” accurately sums up the state of politics and the show at this time. No wonder they retired this sketch after this.
* brunette. But either way that line couldn’t have been a more fitting capper to this shitshow of an episode.
I was thinking about that this afternoon, Tim, and how a third edition of LFNY would have plenty of material to justify its existence.
Ugh the beginning of some of the worst things about snl in recent years. The constant easy jokes about trump being bad without having the guts to actually make a statement about real issues that they could be using. There is a huge difference between having a controversial celeb and a controversial political figure hosting as the politician has a large influence over the country, not that we should be giving a platform to awful people anyway. What was this episode just a ratings grab? Sighhhh
Yep, it was the highest rated episode in four years when it aired. It averaged at 6.6 household rating and nearly 10 million viewers. It was the most watched episode since the Charles Barkley/Kelly Clarkson episode from 2012 (it benefited from the the nfl as a lead in). It was also the most watched episode since 2013 when Jimmy Fallon hosted.
Probably wasn’t different from when then-candidate Richard Nixon appeared on “Laugh-In” saying “Sock it to me?”
I was thinking about that this afternoon, Tim, and how a third edition of LFNY would have plenty of material to justify its existence.
If you want Stooge, you could always lower the rating of White House 2018 to ½. You gave that rating before to Charlene Tilton’s Submissive Sugar Daddies (even if that was probably accidental).
“If you want Stooge, you could always lower the rating of White House 2018 to ½. You gave that rating before to Charlene Tilton’s Submissive Sugar Daddies (even if that was probably accidental).”
If I could, I’d give that White House 2018 sketch negative stars. But I have to stay consistent with the ratings system that I’ve been using for all 41 seasons of this project so far, and thus, I refuse to ever give a sketch a rating under one star. The ½ rating for the Submissive Sugar Daddies sketch was indeed a gaffe I surprisingly never noticed in all this time since I originally posted that review. I’ll edit it right now.
Thanks for taking one for the team and reviewing this episode so folks like me can know exactly what we’re not missing. Sorry you and everyone who caught it when it aired had to watch it, though. Just reading the review pisses me off so I doubt I would make it through the episode.
For whatever it’s worth: “Mr. Crocker” is most certainly a Robinson/Kanin piece; they’re listed in the episode credits, and it definitely has the same insane energy as Tim’s sketches on “I Think You Should Leave.” It’s sad that Trump’s presence permanently tarnishes it, because I feel like the sketch is a bit of a forgotten gem tucked away in SNL’s greatest disaster.
Reading the review for this episode, I keep thinking about Nora Dunn boycotting the Andrew Dice Clay episode. It may seem almost quaint, now, to risk one’s career over an offensive comedian, but it really took guts.
I wonder how many cast & crew entertained the idea of sitting out this episode?
I’d imagine a number of them did.
Nora’s choice caused blowback not just with Lorne or NBC, but also with the cast, who felt that she left them hanging out to dry. I guess this type of turmoil would have been at play here as well.
The incredibly ugly way that Nora was referenced in that episode, complete with “jokes” about her being killed, probably didn’t help.
I did like some Bernie Lines from the Cold Open:
“I won 50% of the black vote, His name was Marcus”
“I have the cutest grandson, He just turned 40”
I think the Trump White House sketch is trying for a style of comedy that would be like pleasing to Trump/his fans on a literal level but perhaps cause Trump haters to chuckle at the absurdity of the premise. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work–it might have worked if Trump wasn’t literally in the sketch as the host (if it was Taran-as-Trump). The same is true for the Trump live tweeting sketch. In both cases, you know the show can’t truly be satirical or incisive because Trump is right there.
To be honest, I think a lot of the sketch premises in this episode are better, far better than Trump’s first hosting gig, but the distasteful nature of Trump as the host when he’s running for office just drags things down too much.
Sia’s reputation has also taken a hit since this episode (But obviously for different reasons).
Shamefully, I gave this episode a good review back on the old forum. At the time the prospect of Trump going the distance and winning the whole enchilada was farcical enough that I just looked at as similar to when Forbes or McCain hosted, or when Huckabee (whom I also despise) cameo’d.
In hindsight, the episode totally deserves its reputation; it’s not the absolute nadir in terms of quality (even with Trump’s presence, I think Hotline Bling and Mr. Crocker succeed further than Stooge gives them credit for), but no episode leaves you with quite a feeling of sheer disgust, except for the Musk show 6 years later.
Obviously I’m a little “late to the game” here, but I’d like to thank Stooge for taking the bullet on this one.
I remember my wife and I watching the Tracy Morgan show live, and when Darrell announced the following week’s host, I think we both simultaneously said “Are you fucking kidding me?” to each other.
We did NOT watch the following week. I figured I might watch it once the primaries were winding down and he’d dropped out of the race. He didn’t, and I didn’t.
I thought maybe I’d watch it once Hillary was in the White House. She wasn’t, and I didn’t.
I couldn’t bring myself to watch it after the first impeachment, Biden’s inauguration, the second impeachment, or any of the indictments.
This will likely be the ONLY show I will end up never watching.
If this and the previous Trump ep never gets rerun again, America and the World would be ever so thankful!
I just finished listening to Kenan Thompson’s book When I Was Your Age on CD, and he talks about this episode. Apparently Trump was a dick (Kenan’s words, not mine) to everyone in the cast, taking calls during the table read and rejecting sketch after sketch. He also offered all the women in the cast shoes from his daughter Ivanka’s wardrobe. So as much as we all had to suffer watching the episode, it was much worse for the cast.
Two fun moments in this horrible episode:
Taran doing his Trump impression during the monologue. Of course it’s not the greatest impression, but I enjoyed how much hate you could feel coming through it. The face he makes when real Trump mentions how good looking he is. The couple times towards the end where he mimicks Trump’s hand movements in real time. Knowing how much he didn’t want Trump to host the show, I’m happy for Taran that he got to do that live. Of course Larry David yelling “Trump’s a racist” is also great.
Second is the entire goodnights. Larry David being physically held in place by Leslie Jones & Sia while he looks disgusted to be standing next to Trump. And then everybody looking like they’re doing their best to ignore Donny once all the hugging begins.
What a huge mess of an episode.