Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THE CHAOS PRESIDENT
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) renews relationship with Jeff Sessions (KAM)
— Ugh. Trumpwin is NOT a sight I want to see right out of the gate at the beginning of a season premiere’s cold opening, but I knew to expect it.
— I did get a laugh from Aidy-as-Sarah-Huckabee-Sanders’ delivery of her line about people listening to her because she’s “no nonsense, but ALL nonsense.”
— Yeah, I’m at the point where my decreasing tolerance towards Kate’s Jeff Sessions impression has officially reached 0%.
— Though it’s just a small appearance at the end of this cold opening, I’m liking Alex’s take on Chuck Schumer, and it’s nice that, instead of giving a political role like this to a non-cast member celebrity, it’s been given to a newer, underused cast member, a choice that’s going to feel increasingly rare as the Trump era progresses.
STARS: *½
OPENING MONTAGE
— Same opening montage from the preceding three seasons, making this the first time since season 19 where an opening montage was used for a fourth consecutive season.
— Heidi Gardner, Luke Null, and Chris Redd have been added to the cast.
MONOLOGUE
host takes credit for having saved jazz in La La Land; Emma Stone cameo
— The “I saved jazz” concept isn’t anything great in itself, but Ryan Gosling is executing it well, especially his “smooth” talk into the camera while playing the piano.
— There’s our first display tonight of Giggling Gosling, a common sight in Ryan’s preceding episode.
— Nice to see the SNL Band get some focus here.
— The “We saved jazz” turn from Emma Stone is pretty funny.
STARS: ***½
ANOTHER CLOSE ENCOUNTER
Ms. Rafferty’s second close encounter wasn’t much of an improvement
— (*groan*) And they obviously only brought this sketch back in this particular episode because of how much Ryan memorably giggled in the first installment of it.
— Mikey has taken over the basic role that the recently-departed-from-the-show Bobby Moynihan used to play in these sketches.
— You know how my comments about this recurring sketch goes: it should’ve stayed a one-and-done classic, it doesn’t work as a recurring sketch, Kate’s delivery as this character remains on-point but still doesn’t stop the template of her lines from feeling increasingly and tiredly by-the-numbers (particularly her anal/vaginal rhyming euphemisms).
— The part with Kate demonstrating on Ryan’s butt while making goofy vocalizations is such a blatant attempt to get more giggling out of Ryan. It’s nowhere near as endearing to me this time because this attempt at getting Kate to make Ryan laugh feels way too forced and try-hard on SNL’s part.
— Okay, Kate finally got one big laugh out of me just now, with the “He’s never gonna forget his 12th birthday” bit towards the end.
STARS: **
LEVI’S WOKES
unoffensively indeterminate Levi’s Wokes jeans are universally wearable
— A spot-on, timely, and well-filmed spoof of both woke culture and the typical style of jeans commercial.
— The statements that the Woke Jeans wearers are saying are priceless.
— Parts I particularly love are “Pockets sold separately”, the 180-degree “uni-fly” zipper, and the proudly-made announcement that, instead of being made by Indonesian kids, these jeans were made by white kids.
— Chris Redd is coming off really well and very amusing in his first role.
STARS: *****
THE FLIPLETS
dark (host) dispirits his brothers’ home renovation show
— A fairly simple format for a sketch placed so early in the show, but Ryan is solid as the brother who throws off the rhythm of this light-hearted commercial by saying dark, deep, disturbing, spiritual things. He has plenty of great lines here.
— I like the charmingly cheesy brotherly rapport between Mikey and Alex.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Damian Marley [real] perform “Bam”
WEEKEND UPDATE
newly-reelected Angela Merkel (KAM) still pines for an Obama alliance
Guy Who Just Bought A Boat & cousin (host) offer oily dating advice
— An awful lot of clapter in this Update so far, even if some of Colin and Michael’s points that induced that clapter are good points.
— Some aspects of Kate’s Angela Merkel commentaries kinda blend together with her Olya Povlatsky commentaries, and I prefer Olya Povlatsky, but Kate’s Merkel commentaries still have some spark left in them by this point.
— As usual, this Merkel commentary is getting good mileage out of the running storyline of her pining for Barack Obama.
— After Michael says, in regards to healthcare horror movies, that he’s worried because we all know who dies first in healthcare horror movies, Colin hilariously ad-libs a quick “Not me!” in response.
— Colin’s joke about White Fudge Ding Dongs also being the name of what Jost/Che Weekend Updates are called in China is absolutely classic. Also great is Michael saying about it afterwards, “I don’t know who that’s more racist to.”
— Colin’s kinda overdoing it tonight with the “That’s a great transition” ad-libs whenever the audience laughs as he begins introducing a commentary right after an outrageous joke of Michael’s.
— Alex’s Guy Who Just Bought A Boat character has officially become recurring.
— Like the previous time this Guy Who Just Bought A Boat character appeared, I’m really liking Alex’s impressively-delivered rapid-fire run of abbreviated slang words, but I run hot-and-cold on the running gag with him subliminally making comments about his small penis.
— Ryan is 2-for-2 in making an Update appearance as a similar counterpart to a preexisting Update character whenever he hosts. (Bobby Moynihan’s Anthony Crispino character being the previous character who Ryan played a counterpart to.)
— Ryan’s a decent addition here, though I found him more fun as Anthony Crispino’s counterpart.
STARS: ***½
HENRIETTA & THE FUGITIVE
in a barn, fugitive (host) opts to remain loyal to fowl Henrietta (AIB)
— When this sketch originally aired, I spent most of it unamused, not knowing what to make of it, and repeatedly asking myself “What the hell am I watching???”, before eventually being won over by it towards the end, making me love this sketch as a whole when thinking back on it. Because of that, it’ll be interesting to watch this again for the first time since that original airing.
— I’m loving the unconventional tone of this sketch, as well as the way this silliness is being played so straight.
— Aidy is giving what I feel is one of her best performances ever.
— A funny gaffe with Aidy having trouble grabbing the gun out of Ryan’s pocket, resulting in yet another display of Giggling Gosling.
— I got a good laugh from Kenan’s delivery of “AAH! HENRIETTA, WHY?!?” after getting shot.
— I know some people feel that the “20 years later” scene at the end was unneeded, but I strongly disagree, as that was the part that won me over on this overall sketch during its original airing. Back then, the initial cutaway to Aidy’s scarf-and-sunglasses-clad Henrietta waiting outside of the prison with a suitcase was both very funny and (especially) very charming to me.
— Another funny gaffe with Aidy’s scarf and sunglasses falling off right as she delivers her final line, which was a great way to end this sketch.
STARS: ****½
ITALIAN RESTAURANT
(host) & (CES) feel betrayed by Pizza Hut commercial’s pasta switcheroo
— Even though the concept of Ryan having a very angry overreaction to the mere reveal of his food being switched with another brand is bringing Chris Farley’s classic Hidden Camera Commercials short to mind (right down to a slowly-delivered “You son of a bitch” being the first words out of Ryan’s mouth when standing up after the reveal), this is still standing up on its own legs as a funny sketch.
— Even in just a small role, Chris Redd is cracking me up with 1) his delivery of his worried response to a threatening line Ryan said to him, and 2) him muttering in regret, “I wish I hadn’t told you my name.”
— Ryan’s performance is starting to remind me of his very intense performance in the fantastic Santa Baby short from his previous episode.
— Cecily: “Is this wine even real?!?” Mikey: “You ordered a Diet Coke.” Cecily: “(worried) Then why am I buzzed???”
— Ryan: “I oughta beat the death out of you!”
— Ryan breaking out into his usual giggling fit right now is why I’m so happy the aforementioned Santa Baby short was pre-taped (as I said in my review of that short), though his giggliness in this Italian Restaurant sketch is both brief and late-into-the-sketch enough that it’s not hurting it for me.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “4:44”
PAPYRUS
lazy font choice for Avatar logo obsesses & infuriates (host)
— Ah, yet another Julio Torres classic.
— A priceless reveal of what’s bothering Ryan so much: the movie Avatar using the papyrus font for its logo.
— I love Ryan getting up and flipping over the table in response to Kate revealing that the font used for the Avatar sequel’s logo looks similar to the papyrus font.
— Chris, on the possibility of Avatar using the papyrus font: “Maybe that was the starting point, but they clearly modified this.” Ryan: “Well, whatever they did…IT WASN’T…ENOUGH!!! (*smashes a glass in anger*)”
— Chris, on the papyrus font: “Where else do you even see this font?!?” Ryan: “Hookah bars…Shakira merch…off-brand teas.”
— Ryan, while looking at Kyle through a window in Kyle’s house: “I know what you did. I KNOW WHAT YOU DIIIIIIID!!!”
— An absolutely perfect ending with a simple screen of the word “papyrus” being displayed in the comic sans font.
— Overall, such a masterpiece. And Ryan is now 2-for-2 in giving an absolutely fantastic intense performance in a pre-taped short in an episode he hosts, after the aforementioned Santa Baby short from his previous episode.
STARS: *****
DIVE BAR
flautist’s (host) mysterious personal drama leaks into Treece Henderson’s gig
— The Treece Henderson sketch (a.k.a. the “Tweedle-do-twee! Tweedle-do-twow!” Kenan singing sketch) has officially become recurring after THREE YEARS, believe it or not. Its previous appearance was in the Martin Freeman episode from season 40.
— Ryan’s usual giggliness (which he isn’t even trying to hide in this sketch) is apparently contagious here, as Kenan is quite giggly himself throughout this sketch.
— The formula of this recurring sketch is so copy-and-paste that SNL has even plugged new cast member Heidi Gardner into the same role that the recently-departed-from-the-show Vanessa Bayer played in the first installment of this sketch, and they even keep Beck as the husband.
— Speaking of new cast members, let me just take the time right now to mention this: poooooor Luke Null. It’s the man’s first episode, and he has made NO APPEARANCES in it at all. AT. ALL. My goodness. You really gotta feel sorry for him. The writing is already on the wall for the poor guy’s SNL future.
— Kyle’s delivery of his one-liners is great. Much like with the first installment of this sketch, I’m torn. Kyle and Kenan’s delivery of their lines (especially Kenan’s occasional mentions of his “good jeans”, and his yell of “Durtricia! It was yooouuuuu!”) are making me laugh, but I’m not caring much for the actual material in this sketch.
— Another amusing gaffe, this time Leslie’s difficulty in tearing Kenan’s “good jeans”.
STARS: **½
IN MEMORIAM
a photo of Hugh Hefner marks his passing
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good season premiere. When this season originally aired, I noticed worrying signs of a big decline for this SNL era right from the first three episodes of this season, but in my rewatch just now, I found this episode to be fine. Two five-star segments (Levi’s Wokes and Papyrus) and a lot of other good segments. Certainly not much to complain about.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Papyrus
Levi’s Wokes
Henrietta & The Fugitive
Italian Restaurant / The Fliplets (tie)
Weekend Update
Monologue
Dive Bar
Another Close Encounter
The Chaos President
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2016-17)
about the same
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Gal Gadot
Saturday Night Taped (Episodes from S39 on where the top 2 or more highest ranked sketches are pre-taped): 22
Funny, I remember being disappointed in this premier too. Probably the bad taste from opening with Trumpwin.
Not sure I’d give Levi’s the full 5 myself, but agree Papyrus is a classic. Especially love Kyle in that one.
As someone who was working on a bachelor’s in graphic design at the time, I remember getting a pretty big kick out of “Papyrus.”
Another memory I have of this episode’s airing was seeing long-absent veteran SNL forum poster “jojo” make a surprise return on the Voy board to give his thoughts.
And yes, poooor Luke…
I don’t have too much to say about this episode, but for those of you who haven’t read my comment on the previous review, of the three newbies who were hired this season, Luke is the one I liked the most. Unlike the Season 42 newbies, I was easily able to recognize these three newbies and their names. I find Luke to be really talented and, unlike one-season wonder Jon Rudnitsky, very likable.
Going back to this episode, the only thing I’ll say is that your descriptions of Papyrus had me laughing so hard.
Poor Luke Null. Going through this season it will that the writers just didn’t know what do with him. And it doesn’t help that his fellow newbies find niches for themselves in the first 4 episodes, (Chris in supporting roles/filmed bits and Heidi with her Weekend Update/awkward-feeling characters.) Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance.
(If I had to guess the show saw Luke has a person who was awkward losers like Kyle. The problem being that the show is had the point where Kyle is lucky if his stuff makes the air, so Luke is kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place.)
I generally like Heidi, though a few too many of her Update characters are just “girl with vocal fry pretends she’s Earthy when she isn’t”. Definitely like weirder stuff for her, like the Freddy Krueger bit she did recently.
I feel Heidi’s Update Characters tend to be either:
Movie Based Character
Internet Based Character
I did like the first Pretty Mandy with James Franco though and her role in Corgi’s Coach and quoting with Daniel Craig
I’m surprised that you’re a Henrietta and the Fugitive apologist as well. I remember loving that one [especially for Kenan’s Nickelodeon-esque WHYYYYY in there], and being so disheartened when the rest of the internet didn’t. I also thought the ending flash-forward was a reference to that summer’s Baby Driver, though maybe I’m giving it too much credit.
Yeah, I’m not sure why this seemed worse on the first airing, but the majority of this show really works. It’s just the early stumbles that led people astray, I think.
Andrew Dismukes wrote the fliplets sketch in his first episode as a writer.
It’s difficult to tell just what Dismukes’ voice is as a writer – this is a pretty decent intro, and he has a few others that I enjoy. Now that he’s a cast member and not on the writing staff, he is mostly limited to being the twink who shows up sometimes to look cute or give a satisfying Mulaney-esque reaction. I hope we will get to hear more of his voice before the season is out.
He has gotten the most screen time out of all of the three new hires this season. Since the John Kransiski episode, he’s been seen more and more IMO. I think he’s good to be back for next season. Of course he, Lauren and punkie are overshadowed by the veteran cast members but i see some of the veterans leaving that way they’ll get more time IMO. But Andrew has been good in every sketch he has been in.
Oh I wasn’t really complaining about his airtime, I just meant I wish we could see him in a sketch he’s written. I agree that, barring something surprising, he will be back next season.
Well he did appear in a sketch he wrote, the loser with host John Kransinski.
Thanks. I keep forgetting that wasn’t Day/Seidell. It reminded me of their old pre-tapes.
Seidell co wrote it with Dismukes.
On the subject of Luke Null, here’s a non-SNL clip that further proves my disappointment in his tenure.
Trump as Baldwin is so good!
*Baldwin as Trump
I have a personal history with Luke Null. I would get to know Luke has time progressed shortly thereafter he left and we met a few times. Very nice, midwestern, Conan-esque humor, innocent-faced guy.
I think what sets him apart from your Rudnitskys and Milhisers is that he doesn’t have a general area to use his talents. He’s not a physical comedian, his off-brand humor would only work in the ten-to-one slot. His musical capabilities, while somewhat in line with what they probably wanted, is hard to get on the air when you’re competing against ten theater kids and the majority of viewers would rather see a parody of a musical than a Sandler-Update style bit. The one thing that really works for him on the show is the cut-for-time Wedding sketch from Mulaney’s show. If it made the show, I definitely would give it *****.
I think he could get another break if he were to join Conan’s new variety show in November in some way. It fits like a glove for him and a good way for him to bounce back into show business.
You know, when you put it like that, that just makes me wish Luke did Update songs like Will Forte and Jimmy Fallon used to do. (My apologies if the facts are wrong)
I believe that sketch with the rapping flight attendants from this season’s Will Ferrell episode was cut from dress here, and that was supposed to be Luke Null’s debut.
Apparently the deal with Luke Null was that they thought he was going to be a Shane Gillis-esque douchey dudebro when they hired him, but once they realized he wasn’t they got cold feet. Some of the things he did in his audition made him come off that way.
i think season 42 is the peak of this modern era of SNL, but i will always consider this first third of S43 (up to and including the franco episode) as part of that peak, at least for me. every one of the first 8 episodes of this season has either a memorably classic sketch (“papyrus” in this episode) or a whole bunch of guilty pleasures that i could watch on repeat (“new wife” in larry david’s episode, “boo boo jeffries” in tiffany haddish’s, “the race” and the chad auction sketch in saoirse ronan’s).
i don’t care too much for ryan gosling on SNL but i can’t argue that he’s great in the pretapes, and the henrietta sketch is an improbable triumph. though i do prefer the adam driver version of the “couple angry that they’re in a commercial” premise. solid episode, though, and agree with stooge on the ratings almost across the board.
I remember all the complimentary eulogies for Hugh Hefner at the time. Hef had impeccable timing… passing away three weeks before the Time’s Up gate crashing down.
I mainly remember the monologue with Emma Stone. I don’t remember Luke Null AT ALL!
Speaking of Chuck Schumer, here he is doing a LFNY for the Jewish National Conference, also featuring a recreation of SNL credits (even including the “woman who looks frightened while coming out of the subway” classic…):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avuhih9htDI
And here are Schumer and Alex, together at last:
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1338193722954182657
It’s always nice to see Alex, but his Schumer impression is too generic for me to have an opinion on. I remember some people claiming it is anti-Semitic, which I don’t really agree with.
Heidi and Chris both have strong debut seasons, so much so that they struggle quite a bit in their sophomore years. I’d say Chris rebounded – it’s taken Heidi longer (not helped by three women blocking her path, intentionally or not), but she has managed to carve out a unique place for herself, especially after the At Home shows relied so much on her talents.
I didn’t realize Luke didn’t even appear in this episode. Geez. He really never had a chance.
I hope Ryan Gosling hosts again sometime. If he was on every season, the giggling would start to become irritating, but in limited doses, the breaking just adds to the fun, and doesn’t have the ain’t-I-cute vibes of Timberlake’s appearances. His breaking comes is an asset to the Henrietta sketch – it’s actually a fun piece in its own right, but having the Aidy and Ryan laughing through while still trying to keep the whole thing going gives an extra layer.
My only complaint about Woke Jeans is it feels too long, but it’s mostly a well-made take which doesn’t have too much of the “old man yells at cloud” vibe these pieces sometimes have. I think Ryan Gosling’s performance goes a long way (I love the way he says, “That’s offensive”), but Mikey also nails the pandering reminder of racism in America. I also enjoy the nonsensical, irritating clapping. Probably one of the few pieces of this era that has aged well.
The restaurant sketch is alright, but would work more for me if everyone in the sketch was not a straight man to Cecily and Ryan (this annoys me over and over with these types of sketches). Cecily is the best part for me, especially when she the misuse of “literally.”
Gosling promo:
https://twitter.com/IAmMissTLC/status/1327108116010442752
I forgot to say that the best part about Papyrus is they did change the font after this came out – whether it’s down to how popular the short was, I don’t know.
My favorite part is when Ryan gets upset and flips over the table when he learns about the sequels. Just such a funny little touch. There’s something about Julio Torres and how he manages to create such specific and layered worlds in his pre-tapes, but without seeming too self-involved to alienate the audience. I feel like the show as a whole tended to be better when he was there – the parts of the seasons he missed, you could feel a decrease in quality and creativity.
Like Curly Joe, I have a personal connection to the Year 43 newbies. Redd is a friend through Chicago improv. As I mentioned a month ago, Redd was supposed to join the cast a year prior, but he and Broadway Video couldn’t agree to terms. When they finally dud, he was reportedly given the most expensive contact ever for a first-year featured player. Lorne wanted him that bad.
I met Luke Null once in passing, also in Chicago. He introduced my improv duo in a show at iO Chicago. He’s funny, but he has this weird energy about him that just wasn’t right for the show. He said the following summer that he pitched all these musical sketch ideas that were cut by Thursday each week.
I don’t know Heidi personally, but she’s from the Kansas City suburbs, not far from where my dad grew up. Plus KC has treated SNL well (Suds, Riggle, Paul Rudd).
Out of curiosity, what is (or was since iO closed) your improv group called? I’ve performed there many times as a guest performer, become close with some of the people there, and even practiced standup and sketch there. I even met Lorne and some producers there too, but I’m saving that for later.
Hello, Curly Joe! My duo is called Flower Shop Bangers. We were not a house team, but we did perform in the Kingsbury space a handful of times.
That’s cool! I was more active in the Chicago standup community but friends with a lot of improvisers. Though I would usually spend every other summer night I had free at iO, Second City, or Annoyance. Hopefully, if the improv community gets back up again soon, I’d love to see you perform! Also, I’d probably be welcomed into more spaces since I finally become an adult in two months. Perhaps you have some cool SNL audition stories I haven’t heard of?
As far as i remember, James Cameron may have taken the Papyrus sketch personally, considering he eventually made a new logo for the sequels.
Stooge, excellent point about Redd. When he absolutely nailed those two straight-man laugh lines he got in the restaurant sketch, I said, ‘Man, this guy is hitting the ground running. He is good!!’ And it speaks to a larger point, I think. Chris obviously also has serious standup chops, and I think the show needs more of that type of energy. Lorne used to recruit a lot of people who could do standup. He doesn’t do that much anymore and I think the show has suffered because of it.
I think a fair amount of the current cast has done standup (Dismukes, Punkie Johnson, Aidy, Pete, Mikey, Chris), although some seem to have more experience than others. The same goes for the writing staff. I think it may also be down to the tone of the standups they’ve picked being different than the energy of the most well-known standups in the cast (the early ’90s crew). The main ones who have come close to recapturing that energy are Pete and Leslie.
The repetition of Heidi’s Update characters also wears on my viewing experience – to me, Bailey Gimsert is more suited to sketch (the at home segment with Bailey is a breath of fresh air), and Angel and Baskin Johns were best left to one-offs (Angel does have a great ending though). I’m just glad she has retired most of her early set and is now trying more experimental characters (like the Freddy Krueger woman). I think Heidi is more suited to dramatic acting and slice-of-life material, rather than the wacky or dim or broad comedy she tries. Of that grouping the main characters of hers I liked is the woman who with her husband constantly annoys their friends by talking about the various exotic locales they have trashed up (and been robbed or assaulted in).
As for Heidi, I think she is a tremendous actress in terms of range and in terms of exploring the tics and nuances of every character she does, but sometimes, especially on Update, they aren’t all that funny. Goop girl and Gismert, etc., are more cringey and annoying sometimes than outright hilarious, IMO, even though Gardner is pouring everything she has into these characters. I mean, maybe she’s going for cringe, but I personally am not someone who finds cringe intrinsically funny.
I really wonder sometimes if she could use some help in finding a different way to go in making these characters pop in a funnier way. As Stooge and many commenters have said, the formulaic writing gets in the way. For instance, I like Angel, but I remember the second time she was on, they got to the ‘taking the kids to my sistah’s’ catch phrase within about 30-35 seconds, IIRC. I mean, could you build up to it a little?
Similarly, I always enjoyed the Ex-Porn Stars sketches, but as you noted, Stooge, they became laborious by the end because you could set a timer to exactly how they would go, and where certain types of phrases would be inserted. It makes the comedy feel rote. It’s weird, as much as that bit is supposed to be ‘dangerous’ with the naughty words, it doesn’t feel dangerous at all because it’s so formulaic. Again, it’s fake danger in place of real danger.
I think it’s safe to say that Luke Null is probably in the top 5 least visible cast members of all time. At least they have Jon Rudnitzky some leading roles and let him moderate debates. I remember Luke got one leading role (in a sketch he wrote too) and the reaction from the audience was ABSOLUTE SILENCE. He never stood a chance.
If you’re talking about “yarmulke dot comica”, Mikey and Streeter wrote that, not Luke.
Season Opening Sketches Ranked
*****
– First Bush/Gore Debate (S26)
– A Nonpartisan Message (S34)
****½
– The Wolverines (S1)
****
– Lily Tomlin’s Arrival (S2)
– Relatives Of The Rich And Famous (S10)
– Bush Address (S15)
– Wayne’s World (S17)
– Woody Allen At The Theater (S18)
– Clinton Auditions (S20)
– O.J. Today (S21)
– Oprah (S23)
– First Clinton/Trump Debate (S42)
***½
– I Love You (S4)
– Bush Address (S16)
– Clinton Address (S19)
– Oprah 2002 (S24)
– Bush Briefing (S31)
– GOP Debate (S37)
– Democratic Rally (S38)
– Obamacare Rally (S39)
***
– In The Oval Office (S3)
– The Pope (S5)
– Our Age Is Showing (S7)
– Live From Burbank (S8)
– Tartikoff’s Office (S9)
– White House Dinner (S13)
– Hanz & Franz (S14)
– Election Coverage (S22)
– Reform Party Headquarters (S25)
– Schwarzenegger Address (S29)
– Bush Rally (S32)
– A Message From Hillary Clinton (S33)
– RNC Headquarters (S36)
**½
– Drug Testing (S11)
– Cheney And The Bomb (S28)
– State Of The Union (S40)
– Message From The Trumps (S41)
**
– In Bed With Elliott Gould (S6)
*½
– First Bush/Kerry Debate (S30)
– Gadhafi Speech (S35)
– In The Oval Office (S43)
N/A Rating
– It Was All A Dream (S12)
– 9/11 Tribute (S27)
In the screenshots of the opening credits, the woman standing to the right of Luke Null is almost certainly actress & comedian Patti Harrison. IMDB doesn’t list any credits for SNL, so I’m not sure how she popped up as an extra. Maybe her connections to Julio Torres & Bowen Yang?
It appears they may have dated at the time, a quick google tells me they appeared on a podcast where comic couples come on together a couple years ago (link couplestherapypod.libsyn.com/zainab-johnson-and-sydnee-washington-patti-harrison-and-luke-null-nick-turner-and-nick-vatterott) . I know cast members have said they’re allowed to invite their friends or family members to appear in their montage sequences. Aidy has Connor O’Malley in one of hers from a few years ago, and I think Vanessa was sitting at the table with her brother in one of her early ones.
Stooge,
I guess that Season 49 has an opening montage was used for a fourth consecutive season, the first since Season 43. Did you agree with that?
We haven’t even gotten there yet.