Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
MORNING JOE
Joe Scarborough’s (ALM) romance with Mika Brzezinski (KAM) flummoxes panelists
— Good to not see a Trumpwin cold opening for the first time in a while.
— Fun interplay between Kate and Alex.
— Spoke too soon about this not being a Trumpwin cold opening, though his involvement is thankfully just a small voice-over, and it’s not hurting this cold opening for me.
— The cutaways to the panelists reacting to Kate and Alex’s romance is starting to get old for me after a while.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host sings “Uptown Girl” variant to differentiate Chris hunks’ identities
— Blah, there’s yet another usage that tired, old “I did such a good job on the show (insert big number here) years ago that they couldn’t wait to have me back” joke.
— Good fake-out with Chris Pine getting the audience to applaud his mention of him being in Guardians Of The Galaxy, only for him to reveal that it was Chris Pratt who was in that movie.
— A decent visual of the poster of all the famous Chris hunks.
— Our first of what will end up being MANY song-and/or-dance numbers in tonight’s episode.
— The musical number here isn’t anything special, but it’s passable enough.
STARS: ***
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KELLYANNE CONWAY?
nobody cares to find Kellyanne Conway (KAM)
— As a 90s kid, I love how this Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego spoof is bringing me back to my childhood. Even the “Corporation For Public Broadcasting / Viewers Like You” intro that this sketch opens with is such a blast of nostalgia for me.
— A creative topical concept for a WitWiCS spoof.
— The guys are very funny as Rockapella.
— Sasheer is doing a good job in her impression of The Chief from WitWiCS, playing this role for the second time (after the Yo Where Jackie Chan At Right Now sketch from the preceding season).
— A very funny twist and comically-abrupt conclusion. I also like how that makes this the second consecutive episode with a quick blackout gag sketch (after the Take Me Back sketch).
STARS: ****
SONG FOR PEACE
slavic Stav D (BEB) bemoans crises, particularly porn
— Beck is absolutely hilarious in this.
— Solid supporting work from Kyle and (especially) Chris.
— The look of Kyle’s character is very similar to that of his character MC Strategy from those town hall sketches from season 41 (the Amy Schumer and Ronda Rousey episodes). He also reminds me of how Mikey looked in the Thank You Scott short from this season’s Louis C.K. episode.
— The porn turn in the song is so damn funny. Beck’s “Softcore is da best!” lyric in particular has stuck in my memory over the years.
STARS: ****½
SWAT RECON
stakeout stumbles upon innocent sugar-fueled glee of (host) & (MID)
— The shots of Mikey and Chris’ adult characters engaging in various childish activities are both very funny and very charming. Mikey in particular is fantastic at channeling his inner child. Also adding to the sketch for me is the way Mikey and Chris’ actions are being humorously described in a very straitlaced manner by Kenan and Beck’s cop characters.
— Leslie in a zoot suit is a riot.
— I like Kenan occasionally reflecting wistfully on why he doesn’t have this kind of childish fun anymore.
STARS: ****½
THE BOY IS MINE
boss (AIB) & personnel rep (VAB) fight over (host) via “The Boy Is Mine”
— Hmm. This “The Boy Is Mine” musical number that Aidy and Vanessa have broken out into towards Chris seems like the type of thing I might get tired of fast, as this type of humor usually isn’t my bag. I’ll try to be open-minded towards this sketch, though.
— It’s now two minutes later, and, while Aidy and Vanessa are both fun here, and Vanessa had a particularly funny and well-written line describing herself as “a childless MILF with an eye for design”, I’m not crazy about the musical number.
— This really died for me at the end.
STARS: **
THE HOUSE
reality show roommates (host), (KYM), (BEB) are overdramatic
— Great to see a second installment of this, after a two-season gap (the first installment of which, funnily enough, was done with one of the other famous Chris hunks: Chris Hemsworth).
— Also great to see our SECOND Beck/Kyle pre-tape in tonight’s episode alone, both airing in the pre-Update half to boot.
— Like last time, I’m loving the random reality show-esque treatment of such a mundane situation, perfectly nailing just about every reality show trope.
— A hilarious cutaway to a completely random, previously-unseen guy saying in his confessional, in regards to a dramatic confrontation currently happening, “I’m staying out of this.”
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Call the Police”
WEEKEND UPDATE
nervous contest winner Dawn Lazarus (VAB) double-talks weather forecast
LEJ met someone & got her groove back during a vacation in Jamaica
— Ah, the debut of Vanessa’s Dawn Lazarus character.
— Vanessa’s delivery of these nonsense-filled sentences is utter perfection, and this character’s whole routine is priceless. Her occasional utterances of “Hap” are particularly classic.
— It’s easy to see why Dawn Lazarus would go on to be one of Vanessa’s most beloved recurring characters. On that subject, not only is it odd and interesting to realize that one of Vanessa’s most beloved recurring characters debuted in the homestretch of her tenure, but also that we never would’ve gotten this character at all if this year’s potential writers strike had happened and cut this season off after the Jimmy Fallon-hosted episode.
— Ah, great to see a random continuation of Vanessa’s Lazarus commentary a few minutes later, in a “Break’n Hnews” segment.
— Leslie beginning one sentence by just saying, in regards to her new boyfriend, “For what he did to me in that shower…….” is already slaying me.
— A good laugh from Leslie’s imitation of a crab watching her have sex.
— The usual strong Leslie Update commentary overall.
STARS: ****
AUTO SHOP
auto mechanics lip-sync after owning their love of RuPaul’s Drag Race
— This reminds me a little of that sketch from Paul Rudd’s season 34 episode where he and Bill Hader played manly parking lot workers who dismissively discussed the topic of same-sex marriage while being in denial of the fact that they’re in love with each other.
— There’s a nice charm to this sketch, especially with how much all of the guys are into the “Lip-sync for your life” sequence. Bobby is especially fun in the latter.
STARS: ***½
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
bros barely noticed society’s misogynistic shift
— Cecily makes her first appearance all night, and it’s not even a live appearance.
— Blah, I have not been caring for the comedy of this piece so far.
— Overall, yeah, this came and went without me caring for it AT ALL.
STARS: *
TV LAND FUTURE CLASSICS
(BOM) played a wild Vulcan in unaired Star Trek episode
— This feels like a variation of the Cinema Classic sketches, right down to having Kenan play the host.
— Akira Yoshimura! Keeping alive an SNL Sulu tradition that’s been going on for 40+ years!
— Fun performance from Bobby. This may end up being our last display of his great ability to sell the type of character that probably would’ve come off lame from other performers.
— Akira’s one speaking moment here steals this sketch and gets a good reaction from the audience.
— Ha, even THIS sketch includes a song-and-dance number, much like most of the rest of this episode.
— Kenan is fun as Neil deGrasse Tyson, and has good lines here.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “American Dream”
COUPLES GAME NIGHT
(host) & (CES) derail couples’ game night with Joe Frazier musical theme
— (*groan*) Our latest of writers James Anderson and Kent Sublette’s interminable, interchangeable “Come on, join in, you know this song!” sketches, none of which I’ve ever liked.
— This even feels like a blatant remake of one particular “Come on, join in, you know this song!” sketch: Debra’s Time.
— Speaking of remakes and rehashing, this sketch even reuses the “character smashes his hand through glass and now has a bloody hand” gag from another Anderson/Sublette-written sketch from just a few episodes prior: the Soda Fountain sketch with Louis C.K.
— Even some of the straight man performances are bugging me, especially Kate’s.
— Ugh, aaaaaaaand there’s the usual “The other characters DO know the song after all!!1!!11!!!” twist, though this time, it happens with a different song than the main one that’s sung in this sketch.
STARS: *
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode that, much like the preceding episode, had a fun, feel-good vibe, though I’d give this episode the edge in terms of quality because there was a good number of standout strong pieces in the pre-Weekend Update half.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Song For Peace
The House
SWAT Recon
Weekend Update
Where In The World Is Kellyanne Conway?
TV Land Future Classics
Auto Shop
Morning Joe
Monologue
The Boy Is Mine
The Handmaid’s Tale
Couples Game Night
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jimmy Fallon)
a mild step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Melissa McCarthy becomes a Five-Timer
Saturday Night Taped (Episodes from S39 on where the top 2 or more highest ranked sketches are pre-taped): 20
I thought Handmaid’s Tale was a pretty decent parody of bros who feign ignorance at oppression. Certainly didn’t think there was anything hateful enough in there for a single star, but that’s the nature of these things. Shrugs.
“I gotta torture you or whatever, but after we were all gonna meet up for tipsy putt putt.”
Worth hating, I should say, rather than hateful.
That Probably is Just Not Stooges Kind OF Sketch ! He Probably Thought IT Was Boring !
It’s nice that you feel nostalgia for seeing something with “Corporation for Public Broadcasting/Viewers Like You”, as I do too, but for a totally different era of PBS, since I was born in 2004.
I think I like that Boy Is Mine sketch more than you do. I’m not sure why.
I do like Dawn Lazarus, although I do find it weird that that was the character Vanessa chose to go out on, given the fact that this character was still new. She does get one final appearance in the Sterling K. Brown episode. Not sure if it was necessary, but it’s nice to know that, unlike her “Class of 2010” members Taran and Jay, she’s actually willing to make another appearance after leaving. I do feel it was the right time for her to leave, since she likely would’ve overstayed her welcome and gone on a bit of a downfall if she was still on (looking at you, Aidy, Kate, and Cecily).
Oh, so Couples Game Night WAS written by Anderson and Sublette. It would’ve been nice if you credited me for my previous comments about that (like in the Scarlett Johansson episode), but hey, you get what you get. I will say, though, that this isn’t entirely like those other “You don’t know this song?” sketches.
Especially considering it’s very easy to tell that’s an Anderlette sketch.
The back-to-back shots of ‘NOWWWWW DAT’S A STAR TREK’ and Kenan desperately trying to keep from laughing make the Spocko one a highlight for me, even if in other circumstances it probably wouldn’t work.
Chris Pine was listed as a potential host as early as 2013, so finally getting him was a satisfying success. He should host again one of these days, he brought a lot to this show.
Handmaids Tale sketch is brilliant and scary.
Like Stooge, I was a huge fan of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? in the 90s. I lost it when I saw that Saturday Night Live did a spoof of this, even if the sketch was short.
They really got the set and the contestant’s jackets down to a T.
Fun fact:
This episode marked Vanessa’s 147th episode, which placed her at the top of most episodes by a female cast member. Now, she’s in third, as Kate is in 1st while Cecily and Aidy are tied for 2nd.
There are so many well-delivered lines and moments here that have never left my brain. To list a few: “She once saw a lizard at the zoo; she loves computers and lunch!”, “Today’s winner gets a trip for you and your mom to SACRAMENTO!”, “Martin Luther King…he did da march”, “You gotta remember: I’m just playing my video game”, “Now THAT’s a Star Trek!”, “Oh no there’s sand on my pizza! Welcome to Pizza Beach!”, and of course “Hap.”
I could be wrong but wasn’t it Colin Jost who got LCD Soundsystem on the show? Like the same way the writers and cast got to pick some of the guests in season 5. I thought their performances were kinda whelming, but if they had been on when either the self-titled album or This Is Happening came out that would’ve been absolutely killer.
I liked the general dopey, feel-good vibe to a lot of this episode, particularly in the first half. Stuff like the dancing surveillance sketch and the Star Trek sketch are stupid/silly, but at least for me, don’t cross the line into becoming too stupid. I quote “NOW THAT’S A STAR TREK!” a lot.
Chris eerily resembles Tom Brady inn the dancing surveillance sketch.
The Drag Race sketch kind of has the same framework of a familiar trope in this era–tough, manly guys seem to deny being into an incongruous song or pop culture thing but soon obviously get into that and things escalate. In recent years, there’s been (good) sketches in this vein, like the Don Cheadle/MIKA sketch and the recent Rege Jean Page/Driver’s License sketch.
I think especially post-2016 or so, Kate becomes horrible as a straight woman (no pun intended). I don’t know if she was ever really great in such roles due to her tendency to mug, but in some recent episodes she almost ruins sketches (the Daniel Craig movie quote sketch, for example).
Ha, I can’t wait for Stooge to review that movie quote sketch. Feel like he’s gonna get so pissed at Kate.
I will say though I don’t think that movie sketch is particularly bad for Kate’s standards, it just hurts that sketch so much because it stands in such contrast to Heidi and Craig, both of whom are very committed (both even clearly memorized their lines), and then Kate comes in and smirks her way through her whole straight man performance.
I remember there was a sketch that took place in a diner from either season 43 or 44 where Kate was bizarrely cast as the waiter in a brief, non-comedic role and she flubbed her one line hard. That was the moment clueing me in that Kate is at the point in her tenure where she physically can’t be in small straight roles anymore, and that movie quote sketch just fully confirmed it.
I have very mixed feelings about Kate in that movie quote sketch. On the one hand, Heidi tried hard to get it on the air (this was the third attempt, if not more), and she deserved a showcase. So, yes, it is unprofessional of Kate to not completely be on her game, considering this was a chance for Heidi and Kate staying on had made those chances less common in the first place.
Yet, Kate does try not to break, rather than making it into a spectacle or trying to get other people to break, and she does contain herself most of the time. It’s also a very awkward sketch in general, one where breaking doesn’t really ruin the atmosphere as long as it’s kept under control- but again, it is a shame to see Heidi upstaged, even though that was not Kate’s intent.
Kate reminds me a lot of Mike Myers, who also sort of managed to be a supporting player in his earlier seasons even though he was not suited for those types of roles. By the last few years of his tenure, he was completely unsuited, and was much more at home in his vanity pieces, of which there were many. But there is no marking line to where I can say oh look Mike did this and then became that. Kate is closer to that than she is to, say, Bill Hader, who did fit supporting roles fine but slowly began to get sloppier for a variety of reasons and was with a group of close friends who were in the exact same boat and all happy to cut loose.
Even in season 42, Kate is so clearly marketed as being above the rest, to the point where she just strolls out on stage to talk about her experiences at the Oscars. That’s very last season behavior, so staying around for 4 more seasons after that (admittedly I think she would have left last season if not for the pandemic, but still…) just sets up a whole universe outside of the rest of the show, as do Aidy and Cecily, to a lesser degree.
I think John gets to the heart of the issue with Kate. Super Senior status is not the best look, but it’s a common look. Belushi had it in 78-79, Eddie had it in his final half season, you can see a zonked out Kevin Nealon in 94-95 and a biding his time Spade in 95-96. What those people have in common is that they kept their indulgent phase within a season or less (Mike Myers is the only one who may have pushed, depending on how you view his 93-94 season). Kate has had that Super Senior vibe for roughly four or five seasons now. It works because it ensures that you’re always the biggest star in the room and the casual fans eat it up. But in terms of sketch quality…eh.
This season is shaping up to be ranked pretty high in the overall standings. I think someone mentioned last week that .Lorne thinks very highly of this season comparing to the original cast years.
But like .Bronwyn mentioned yesterday I think there is a pretty dip in quality starting next season
The Drag Race sketch was also a accented by them lip syncing to a song by Erica Jayne, famous for being on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. If you’re a fan of both shows, the sketch is absolute perfection, but I can’t be objective about it if you’re not.
To me the Spocko sketch is a classic. It’s silly and stupid but oh so quotable. Probably one of my favourite performances of Bobby AND Kenan’s. My friend and I quote “Now THAT’S a Star Trek” and “…alot to unpack there” on a weekly basis.
Funny, my main fond memory of Vanessa’s Dawn Lazarus is from after she left the show…
Cecily to me reminds me of an athlete who has stayed on too long instead of retiring at the top of her game. If I were judging Cecily, say, at the end of season 43 (a standout season for her), she would be in my all-time top 10. Now, she is slipping into Kate/Aidy Super Senior status, as Carson mentioned. And I was never an Aidy fan to begin with, and Kate’s mugging wore on me by 2015, so…yeah. I know some will disagree, but I feel Cecily’s performances have become much broader in the last two seasons, as opposed to more nuanced. She’s going for the YouTube/social media trending moments, as is the show itself.
As Jesse said, I’m kinda glad Vanessa left when she did–I probably would’ve been tired of BMB and Laura Parsons by now.
I first got back into SNL on a more regular basis around seasons 43 and 44, and thought Cecily was a real standout (I am not that much of a fan of Kate or Aidy, although they can be very good at times). I was happy to hear she had signed on for one more season (now turning out to be two). I still think season 44 was a strong season for her, but the last two seasons have been strained. Part of it is her performances, but the other part is it feels like she is a STAR but without quite being an active part of the show. That isn’t her fault – in season 45 she missed or cut back on some episodes due to not feeling well, she had family problems, and this season she had other filming commitments for the first half of 46, She has also said she would step back as she left, which I think she has been doing this season. But it means she never quite has a presence onscreen I can connect with now. It feels like cameos rather than cast. It doesn’t help that she keeps playing people I just don’t find any comedy in and don’t want to watch (like Marjorie Taylor Greene).
Very good points about Cecily. Also, it feels like we’ve discussed the women to death (reflective of the era to be fair) but it’s remarkable how much quicker it took for me to get sick of Mickey and Pete than the main 3 women (though I’ve come back around a bit on Pete this season). Similarly, though I love them, I’m feeling like now would a good time for Beck and Kyle to bow out. They brought a lot of great things to the show, but I’m starting to feel like I’ve seen just about everything they can do, even if they can still surprise me every once in a while like with Kyle’s Scorcese.
His Name Is MIKEY !
I was referring to Mickey Rooney. He was the biggest star in the world!
I would have to agree with @Anthony Peter Coleman and @Brendan Wahl about the Handmaid’s Tale pre-tape. I actually did not even want to like this one, as I find that show and much of the discourse surrounding it to be hollow “resistance” corporatism, but I think this piece is surprisingly sound and well-paced. One of the letdowns of Girl in a Bar from a few episodes earlier is it starts to feel flabby and repetitive (until the good surprise ending, anyway) – this one manages to maintain all the way through.
(I’m also a bit biased because Mikey probably looks his most attractive here)
When I saw him in those empty Star Trek reboots I never would have thought Chris Pine would be such a strong host. He throws himself into pretty much everything and sparks off the screen – his work in that Stop the War parody is especially good, on both a singing and acting front.
(here is the original video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqk4pWnVN5w
Considering how plugged-in the show was to constant political material at this time, it’s a surprise – and a relief – that they just went out for an episode that is so carefree. I was looking back at some reviews of the time and they were the usual mixed bag, but I think this one has aged much better than a lot of what surrounds it.
The House is such a solid parody of all the overwrought and badly over-edited reality shows of the last decade; it’s never a big laugh-getter, so I’m pleasantly surprised they managed three installments.
The Drag Race and Star Trek sketches are a fine sendoff for Bobby and serves as a reminder of how much infectious fun he brought to SNL, in a way many other cast members never could. I also enjoy Dawn Lazarus, but I’m glad she debuted so late in Vanessa’s run (the only comparable surprise late hit recurrer would be Jane Curtin’s Iris Flaminio, or whatever her last name was), as the character works best in limited doses.
The stakeout sketch is probably the best use of those specific Seidell/Day talents. It’s complete and total joy, no labored, depleted feeling.
The monologue has an overfamiliar format but has enough energy that it still works (it helps that this is before the “Chris debate” was done to death and mostly just became people talking about hating Chris Pratt). Pine suggested this monologue himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPLMPFU354E
The Kellyanne sketch doesn’t work as well without the element of surprise, but it’s still a lot of fun, and such a creative idea. Chris also recovers pretty well from a flub. They did a Carmen Sandiego sketch in season 20 (yes, those 20-42 comparisons just keep coming!), but I’d give this one the tip of the hat. And yes, it’s great to see Sasheer honoring the wonderful Lynne Thigpen.
Happy as I am to see Alex, I get little out of the Mika/Joe pieces. I can’t stand either of them, so unless they are going to get a good skewering, not interested. The joke about their being overly affectionate (which is stretched out for years…) is not enough.
A great promo:
https://twitter.com/KMcKinnonFans/status/859855998814744576
Sasheer as Rachel Lindsay (back in the news again recently…). This is probably her biggest showcase (the vlogger sketches might be close, but were usually as much about the host as her). So naturally it was cut. At least they uploaded it.
Co-signed that Mikey’s weirdly hot playing douchy bro types.
Interesting this episode has 2 Kyle/Beck pieces make it to pre-Udpate. That ever happen again (or before)?
This is probably the last time we will ever see Akira Yoshimura as Spock, not just because of his age, but there was also a “controversy” over the fact that they had to use him because they didn’t have any Asian cast members yet.
This will be the Vintage repeat on March 25th.
Rundown:
First 5 segments
LCD #1
Update (minus Leslie)
Auto Shop
TV Land Future Classics