Tag: 2009-10

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October 3, 2009 – Ryan Reynolds / Lady Gaga (S35 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OBAMA’S CHECKLIST
Barack Obama (FRA) defends himself by pointing to lack of accomplishments

— Wow, Fred’s already-mediocre President Obama impression has somehow gotten EVEN WORSE. Aside from a few occasional (very occasional) vocal mannerisms, Fred’s not even ATTEMPTING to sound like Obama tonight. He’s basically just speaking in his normal voice and pitch. Usually when he plays Obama, he at least deepens his vocal pitch somewhat (but nowhere near enough to match the real Obama’s deep voice).
— When this originally aired, there was a huge shock among online SNL fans that SNL, after long being accused of coming off way too supportive of and easygoing on Obama in their sketches about him, was actually taking a lot of shots at Obama and criticizing his presidency in this cold opening. This decision of SNL’s got good praise among those shocked SNL fans.
— This cold opening’s jabs at Obama are coming off funny and well-executed. Good enough for me to now even ignore the non-attempt Fred is making at sounding like Obama. In fact, something about Fred’s non-impression is actually strangely working for me in this context. It fits the laid-back tone of this cold opening’s conceit.
— Pretty funny bit with the “Chicago 2016” shirts.
— Fred’s Obama, during his discussion of his accomplishments as president: “I’m seeing two big accomplishments: jack and squat.”
— Overall, I feel this was EASILY one of the better Fredbama sketches. Too bad this new angle SNL found on Obama would not last, and the show would soon go back to their usual soft, boring, non-comical take on him.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Two changes have been made to the new opening montage that was introduced in the preceding episode: 1) the single shot shown of Kristen Wiig in the preceding episode’s montage is now bookended by two shots of her in a hallway, the first shot of which she’s posing for the camera in a model-like manner, and the other shot of which she’s leaning against the hallway walls while laughing. 2) The way the musical guest and host’s respective photo is displayed has been changed from being displayed as a full-screen photo to being displayed as a smaller photo in front of a live-action NYC backdrop.


MONOLOGUE
host shows the difference between romantic comedies & superhero movies

— I’m really liking Ryan Reynolds’ delivery here.
— Some okay laughs from Ryan demonstrating the various differences between superhero movies and rom-com movies.
STARS: ***


MOSTLY GARBAGE DOG FOOD
(JAS) figures Mostly Garbage dog food is good enough for his pet pooch

— Funny concept.
— As usual, very strong spokesman performance from Jason, who’s perfect for the concept of this particular ad. I can also imagine Will Ferrell pulling this off, probably because he starred in a few dog commercials kinda like this back in the day, such as Petchow Rat Poison.
— Funny story from Jason regarding his reaction to once finding his dog eating cat poop out of the litter box.
STARS: ***½


CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD
incest subtext affects John (BIH) & Mackenzie (KRW) Phillips

— Feels a little odd in hindsight seeing a Celebrity Family Feud sketch that’s set in the past and is hosted by someone OTHER THAN Kenan’s Steve Harvey, given the recurring Celebrity Family Feud sketches SNL would later do in more recent years.
— During the opening “Next on the Game Show Network…” bumper sequence, the “Feud” in “Celebrity Family Feud” is misspelled “Fued” (screencap below). Kinda surprised a noticeable typo like that got past SNL’s editors.

— When this originally aired, I remember how surprising a lot of SNL fans, including myself, found it that SNL had the guts to spoof such a touchy and controversial topical news story.
— The casting of Kristen as Mackenzie Phillips and Nasim Pedrad as the mother of Mackenzie, Genevieve Phillips, feels like it should’ve been the other way around, because in this sketch, Kristen looks noticeably a lot older than Nasim, and it’s hard for me to buy Kristen as Nasim’s daughter in this, and thus, also makes it a little hard for me to buy Kristen as Bill’s daughter. Back when this originally aired, I recall taking this miscasting as both a sign of SNL’s continued Wiig favoritism and a sign that they probably didn’t want to give this sketch’s important role of Mackenzie Phillips to a mere featured player (which all of Kristen’s female castmates this season are). 11 years later, I’m now questioning if that assumption of mine was fair or not.
— A huge laugh from Bill-as-John-Phillips immediately answering, in a wide-eyed manner, “Secrets!”, during the “Things you keep for a long time” question.
— I’m not too familiar with Richard Dawson, but Jason seems to be doing a very specific impression in his portrayal of Dawson. Whether it’s accurate or not, I’m loving Jason’s performance. Nice to see him fairly prominent so far in tonight’s episode, by the way, given how ridiculously underused he surprisingly was in the preceding week’s season premiere.
— When Jason’s Dawson gives Kristen’s Mackenzie a kiss on the cheek, I love Bill’s John reacting to that with a lighthearted “Heeeyyyy, careful now.”
— When Jason’s Dawson asks Abby’s Marie Osmond and Kristen’s Mackenzie the topic “Things you do with your father”, the cutaway to Bill-as-John’s silent facial reaction is very funny.
— I can see and understand why some people might be bothered by this sketch, but the sketch is definitely working for me.
— Great tense response from Jason’s Dawson, when finally catching on to what’s going on between John and Mackenzie Phillips: “Ohhhhh. Okay, I got it. Okay, this episode’s over.”
STARS: ****


ON THE GROUND
misguided rebel (ANS) smashes objects; Elijah Wood cameo

— Yet another all-time memorable music video Digital Short from Lonely Island.
— Hilarious comedic conceit to this song, made even funnier by Andy’s angry singing and his over-the-top facial expressions when throwing things to the ground in slow-motion.
— I love Andy’s whiny constant delivery of “Maaaaaaaaaan!” throughout this.
— This is getting increasingly hilarious. The “My dad’s not a phone!” part in particular is having me practically rolling on the floor.
— Andy, regarding a kid offering him a piece of birthday cake: “Whatchu want me to do with this cake, eat it?!? HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROUND!”
— Man, this short is so damn epic.
— A huge laugh from Andy, OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE, flipping over the restaurant table that “phonies” Ryan Reynolds and Elijah Wood are eating at.
STARS: *****


MIKE’S FOUNTAINRY
Mike’s Fountainry extends classy brand of Lexi’s dad’s Chandelier Galaxy

— Our third installment of this series of sketches.
— A sudden-but-plausible Scarlett Johansson walk-on, reprising her character from all previous installments of this sketch. At this time, she and Ryan Reynolds were either dating or married (I forget which, much like Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green’s relationship that I mentioned being unsure about in my last episode review), which explains her cameo (and the special flattering mention Ryan gives her during the goodnights at the end of this episode). This season is now 2-for-2 in the host bringing along their celebrity boyfriend/girlfriend in a cameo.
— I will say that Scarlett always sells her character in this recurring sketch well.
— I really like Ryan’s performance here. There’s something strangely kinda Will Ferrell-esque about his performance, especially the big, out-of-breath gasp he does when he’s finished with his speech.
STARS: ***


DEEP HOUSE DISH
musical guest & Madonna [real] get in a cat fight

— The first appearance this recurring sketch has made in a year…and even THAT appearance from a year ago was the sketch’s first appearance in over a year. This sketch is clearly being phased out. In fact, tonight’s installment ends up being the final one.
— For once, Andy’s T-Shane is already on the set while Kenan’s D.J. Dynasty Handbag is delivering his usual opening intro of the show into the camera.
— The echo mic bit with T-Shane made me laugh.
— Catchy melody to Kristen’s song.
— Speaking of catchy, I like the chorus part of Ryan’s “Danny McCooz Is…” Facebook song.
— I gotta say, I’m very surprised by how much I’m actually enjoying this Deep House Dish installment so far, given how I usually dislike these sketches. Maybe the year-long absences this sketch has been taking lately has done it some good.
— Not only do we have our obligatory Lady Gaga appearance, who’s obviously the reason why this recurring sketch was brought out of the mothballs tonight, but we surprisingly get a Madonna cameo with her.
— Despite the novelty of seeing Lady Gaga and Madonna interact with each other, I’m not caring much for the whole rivalry bit they’re doing in this sketch.
— Well, because of this sketch, Kenan Thompson can say he got the honor of being kissed by Madonna and Lady Gaga simultaneously, on opposite sides of his face. This Madonna/Lady Gaga/D.J. Dynasty Handbag kissing orgy eventually gets joined by T-Shane, closing out this sketch. What a wild and amusing way to end this recurring sketch’s run.
STARS: *** (I’m just as surprised as you are)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Paparazzi”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Arnold Schwarzenegger (DAH) will not defend Roman Polanski’s actions

Charles Barkley (KET) offers skewed observations on China’s 60th birthday

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s (FRA) fiesty wife (NAP) makes fun of him in English

— The recently-departed-from-SNL Darrell Hammond makes his first of several regular-episode cameos this season. He previously cameod in all three Weekend Update Thursday specials that aired earlier this season. With all of these cameos Darrell had been making around this time, I remember joking to myself back then that Darrell’s appearing more than he did in his final season as an actual cast member! (Actually, that’s probably not an exaggeration.)
— Never liked Darrell’s Ahnuld impression.
— While I’m not caring all that much for some of his dialogue in this Ahnuld commentary, Darrell’s big energy is making it fun, which is something I’m not used to saying these past few seasons, given Darrell’s perpetual sluggish, low-energy performances in his later seasons as a cast member.
— I like how Kenan’s Charles Barkley is constantly referring to Seth as “Screech”.
— The usual hilarious absurd dialogue from Kenan’s Barkley all throughout his commentary.
— The Barkley commentary is an early display of Seth laughing his way through a guest’s commentary, which, IIRC, would go on to be a semi-regular thing when he interacts with certain Update guests.
— Seth’s “Eeyore finally did it” joke is one of his most memorable Update jokes of all time.
— Seth has some really strong jokes tonight in general.
— After spending her (official) first episode the preceding week being practically invisible and having no lines whatsoever, Nasim Pedrad gets her first big showcase.
— Nasim is immediately coming off so well in this first showcase of hers. Very strong and fun performance from her.
— This Mr. & Mrs. Ahmadinejad commentary is utilizing Fred’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad much better than that weak Update commentary he and Maya Rudolph (as Mahmoud’s translator) did two seasons prior.
— Very solid Update overall. Best one in a while, in my opinion.
STARS: ****


SO YOU COMMITTED A CRIME & YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
cons do reality show

— Interesting concept for a So You Think You Can Dance parody.
— Boy, that scowl Abby’s making as Nancy Grace is almost downright scary-looking.
— Hilarious visual of Bill as Phil Spector.
— Will makes his ONLY appearance of this entire episode in a non-speaking role in a post-Weekend Update sketch. A sad sign of things to come for his airtime in this final season of his. That being said, even in a silent role, he’s killing it in this sketch, fittingly playing a character who we’re told looks like a sex offender.
— In hindsight, it feels kinda odd seeing Will and Nasim interacting with each other, knowing this is Will’s final season and Nasim’s first. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many other interactions between them this season.
— Some good laughs from Fred’s constant attempts to escape during his and Kristen’s dance rehearsal.
— I love the visual of Jason as a cop handcuffed to Fred and sternly staring him down during his and Kristen’s dance sequence.
— Then-new SNL writer and future cast member Mike O’Brien (credited at this time in SNL’s writing credits as Michael Patrick O’Brien) makes his first onscreen SNL appearance, playing a stage manager whispering into Andy-as-Kevin-Federline’s ear (the ninth above screencap for this sketch).
— Jenny Slate makes her first live sketch appearance since her notorious accidental F-bomb in the preceding episode…and, as no surprise, she has NO dialogue here, nor anywhere else in tonight’s episode. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
— Kenan’s mentally disturbed character is very funny. I also love Ryan’s various reactions to him.
— An overall fun sketch with a lot of laughs.
STARS: ****


INTERNATIONAL MASTERWORKS
Norway doesn’t capture spirit of USA cop drama

— Bill’s a tad stumbly in his opening intro.
— Funny concept with Norwegian actors’ bad attempts at casual English speaking and American accents.
— For some reason, Andy’s “Do you want me to strike him with a knuckle sandwich?” line has stuck with me over the years.
— I can see why some people would find this to be another typical “Fred does an annoying voice” sketch, but, despite the sketch’s thinness, I’m finding it to be decent enough.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs a medley of her hits


BACKSTAGE
backstage, ANS & musical guest are wearing the same bubble outfit

— Nice to see a non-monologue backstage sketch, which feels rare to me at this point of SNL’s run.
— Big night for Andy. He’s been all over this episode, especially the post-Weekend Update half.
— Amusing visual of Andy and Lady Gaga both wearing the same bubble dress.
— Fun gag with Gaga and Andy’s constant failed attempts to kiss each other over the bubbles on their costumes.
— Funny ending with Lorne’s bubble tie.
— Overall, short and sweet.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid episode with a smooth-sailing feel, a huge improvement over the mediocre season premiere. This episode flowed really well, with absolutely no segments I disliked. Hell, this episode was so good that, for once, even a Fredbama cold opening and freakin’ Deep House Dish worked for me. I’m not an avid listener of Lady Gaga’s music, but even her special medley during her second musical performance in this episode caught my attention and fascinated me, especially in how much it felt like a mini-concert.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
On The Ground
Celebrity Family Feud
So You Committed A Crime & You Think You Can Dance
Weekend Update
Obama’s Checklist
Mostly Garbage Dog Food
Backstage
Mike’s Fountainry
Deep House Dish
Monologue
International Masterworks


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Megan Fox)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Drew Barrymore hosts for her sixth and, as of 2020, final time

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September 26, 2009 – Megan Fox / U2 (S35 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Moammar Gadhafi (FRA) blames rambling United Nations speech on jet lag

— Odd how the typical opening C-SPAN announcer isn’t being played by Jim Downey for once. It sounds like new cast member Nasim Pedrad who’s doing the voice of the announcer.
— Oh, god. SNL opens this season with a freakin’ translator cold opening? Really, SNL?
— Ugh. I’m only a minute-and-a-half into this, and I’m already tired of this. So far, this has been featuring the usual tepid, rambly (even if the rambling is the point of this particular opening), overly-wordy material that Jim Downey-written translator opening cold openings in the 2000s feature.
— I admit, some of Fred’s exaggerated facial expressions are making me laugh in spite of myself.
— Overall, a poor way to kick off the new season. In hindsight, knowing how this season goes (hint: not well), I guess this was a fitting way to open it.
STARS: *½


OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.

— Right after the SNL logo is shown, it’s followed by a “35 years” graphic, commemorating the show’s milestone 35th season. This milestone would also be commemorated in some of this season’s going-to-commercial and coming-back-from-commercial bumpers, showing an “SNL 35” logo.
— When this season premiere originally aired, I remember how jarring Will Forte’s new buzzcut hairstyle was. That took some getting used to. I recall hearing that the reason for this buzzcut of Will’s was because, when filming the MacGruber movie in a very hot location in the desert over the summer, Will constantly got so sweaty that he eventually just shaved off all of his hair to reduce his sweating. We’ll be seeing his hair gradually grow back over the course of this season. By the way, seeing Will’s buzzcut always reminds me that this ends up being his final season as a cast member. I recall his airtime sadly being scarce this season compared to his prior seasons.
— A lot of fun and memorable shots of the cast in this opening montage, such as a laughing Andy Samberg celebrating with a group of Asian businessmen, Jason Sudeikis playing basketball with friends and throwing a towel at the camera, Kenan Thompson (with his trademark big smile) high-fiving a passing-by bicyclist, and Bobby Moynihan touching a police officer’s badge in an overly fascinated manner.
— Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate have been added to the cast tonight.


MONOLOGUE
host assumes her naked headswap photos must be legit since they’re online

— Some meh and lazy “dumb bimbo” humor with Megan Fox’s reactions to “real” nude pictures of her.
— Ah, here comes Bobby. He seems like he’s going to salvage this monologue.
— I love the sly look Bobby gives into the camera when mentioning his home scanner.
— A funny centaur poster Bobby has of Megan.
— I kinda wanted Bobby’s scene to last longer, as I was surprised by how soon he exited. However, at least SNL got this overall monologue over with quickly, given the scant premise.
STARS: **½


BLADDIVAN
Bladdivan cures shy bladder with a mix of diuretic & anti-anxiety drugs

— A questionable premise for a season-opening commercial, especially since it feels like SNL has already gone to this particular “urine medication commercial” well several times before (including the Urigro commercial from just three seasons prior to this, which has a premise almost completely identical to this one).
— I love Bill’s delivery in his testimonial.
— Very funny testimonial from Jason.
— Didn’t care for the sharing-a-urinal gag with Fred and Will at the end, but I did like them both cheesily laughing into the camera while sharing the urinal.
STARS: **½


FLIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT
stewardesses’ (KRW) & (host) increasingly-dire announcements induce panic

— I like how the lead-off sketch of this season is actually an original, non-recurring, and non-TV show sketch.
— Hannibal Burress, hired as a new SNL writer this season, can be seen all throughout this sketch seated next to Bobby (he’s behind Andy and Abby in the third above screencap for this sketch).
— Kristen and Megan’s overly calm announcements of VERY worrisome things about this flight are getting increasingly funny.
— The bit regarding the Monk nickname Kristen gives Megan is cracking me up.
STARS: ***½


RUSSIAN BRIDES
(WLF) weighs pretty (host) & ugly (FRA) Russian mail-order brides’ merits

— Oh, no. Yet another damn Fred-in-drag showcase. This also serves as an unfortunate reminder that, with the start of this season, we’ve entered what are known by a number of online SNL fans as Fred’s official bad years: seasons 35-38. (The number of annoying things Fred did in the preceding season, season 34, almost has me wondering if we should count THAT as the official start of Fred’s bad years.)
— At least Will’s character is acknowledging how unattractive Fred’s character is. I was worried this sketch would go for the obvious, cliched joke by having Will feel that Fred’s character is just as attractive as Megan’s character.
— Odd how not only is this the second sketch tonight with Fred playing a foreign-speaking person having his speech translated, but it’s Bill translating his speech in both sketches.
— (*groan*) Now Fred’s character is singing.
STARS: *


THE DATE
nebbishy SWAT leader (WLF) rejects (host)’s marriage proposal

— I can’t help but feel bad for laughing at Will’s performance, because he’s kinda coming off like he’s portraying a realistically mentally challenged person, though I don’t think that’s intentional. But screw it, Will is damn funny in this.
— A good laugh from Will’s “No (*bleep*)in’ way” response to Megan’s marriage proposal to him, after all of that build-up prior to this.
STARS: ***½


GRADY WILSON’S BURNING UP THE BEDSHEETS
(host) joins Grady Wilson for his Burning Up The Bedsheets sex DVD

— This Grady Wilson bit has officially become recurring.
— The “Speaking in Tongues” sex move made me laugh out loud.
— Most of tonight’s Grady Wilson sex moves aren’t making me laugh nearly as hard as the ones from the first installment of this sketch did, but they’re still fairly funny.
— Decent addition of Megan to help Kenan’s Grady Wilson demonstrate his sex techniques (and to help keep this sketch fresh), though part of me can’t help but wonder if this sketch is just a thinly-veiled excuse for Kenan to get to do a whole bunch of sex moves with Megan Fox. (If so, hey, I can’t blame Kenan.)
— I don’t like how this is the second sketch tonight with a Megan Fox-played character responding to someone’s simple joke by saying a clueless “I don’t get it.” SNL is leaning way too heavily into the lazy “attractive female host plays a dumb bimbo” trope tonight. I know Megan Fox isn’t exactly known for her acting range or comedic skills, but come on.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Breathe”


WEEKEND UPDATE
the G-20 Summit prompts Jean K. Jean to make a few comedic observations

nervous-as-usual Judy Grimes still fails to relay any travel advice

— Some minor changes have been made to the Weekend Update set. The Update desk’s top is now brown instead of blue, the words “Weekend Update” on the front of the desk are now in light-up letters, and the brown wooden panel on the lower half of the background wall has been removed, making the blue map background now cover the entire wall. (side-by-side comparison below between how the Update set looked previously and how it looks tonight)

— As usual for Jean K. Jean’s commentaries, I like the jokes and Kenan’s fun performance, but could really do without those formulaic dance interludes.
— A particularly funny line from Jean K. Jean about how, with those Jheri curls, Moammar Gadhafi’s name should be Moammar DeBarge.
— Now we get a Judy Grimes commentary. While I like both Jean K. Jean and Judy Grimes (much more than I liked them back when this SNL era originally aired), these are extremely formulaic characters who do the same basic bit in each appearance. I understand SNL wants to display some audience favorites in the Weekend Update of tonight’s season premiere, but can I get at least ONE new Update guest tonight?
— Hmm, an interesting change of pace with Judy Grimes actually bringing out a chart.
— Meh, even with the change of pace with Grimes bringing out a chart, it goes in the direction you’d expect it to, with her saying nothing but several “Just kidding”s when explaining the chart.
STARS: ***


LIVE LOUNGE
Live Lounge phone chat line is populated by all sorts of unsexy oddballs

— Funny opening line from Megan about how, despite her hair and clothes, this commercial is meant to air in 2009.
— Nasim Pedrad makes her second of only two appearances tonight, both of which were non-speaking roles, one in which she was barely onscreen (in the Flight Announcement sketch, in which she sat next to an also-silent Jenny Slate), and the other (this sketch) in which she’s shown for a mere two seconds listening to someone on her phone while having a big cheesy smile on her face. Yeesh, an extremely quiet way to make an SNL debut. (Then again, after a certain infamous thing that Nasim’s fellow newbie Jenny Slate does later tonight that would get so much unwanted attention, maybe Nasim breathed a sigh of relief that she went under the radar with just a quiet, invisible debut.) Then again, Nasim technically already made her very first SNL appearance prior to this episode. You see, in a Weekend Update Thursday special that aired two days before this season premiere, Nasim made a small appearance in that special’s cold opening, in a scene in which she, as Kathy Griffin, is interviewing Fred’s President Obama. (My memory of that cold opening is very fuzzy, so I’m not sure if my details are fully accurate.) When the camera first showed Nasim in that cold opening, I remember confusedly asking myself “Who the heck is THAT???” before realizing that must be one of the two new girls who SNL hired for this season. I find it kinda odd how SNL would have Nasim make her (unofficial, I guess) SNL debut in a Weekend Update Thursday special, before audiences got an introduction to her by seeing her and her name in the opening montage of a regular SNL episode. (SNL’s Weekend Update Thursday specials don’t have cast credits in the opening montage.)
— Jason makes his ONLY live appearance of this entire episode in a non-speaking, two-second role in which he, similar to Nasim, is shown listening to someone on his phone while having a cheesy cross-eyed look on his face. The hell? Having that be your biggest live appearance of the night makes sense for a new featured player like Nasim, but for a reliable, well-liked SNL veteran like Jason?!? And in a season premiere, of all episodes?!?
— Very funny how, after we’re shown “Women who want to be murdered” as an example of a chat line user, the next example of a chat line user is “Murderers”.
— Bill’s frozen facial expression in his shot is pure comedy gold.
— Funny mention of David Duchovny at the end.
— Amusing ending disclaimer.
— A surprisingly short overall sketch.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Moment Of Surrender”


BIKER CHICK CHAT
tough broad Dawn (JES) expresses strong emotions

— Hooooooo, boy. Welp, here we are, folks. The sketch that contains the notorious moment of both this episode and Jenny Slate’s entire short-lived SNL tenure.
— Pretending that I don’t know what notorious thing is soon going to happen, it’s nice to see Jenny getting her own lead role in her very first episode. Too bad it has to be a talk show sketch, such a lazy, tired, and overused SNL format.
— OHHH, NO. There’s the notorious moment, just a minute into this sketch: at one point during her delivery of a spiel that constantly uses the word “frickin’” as a substitute for “fuckin’” (a running theme among all the characters’ dialogue in this sketch), Jenny accidentally lets an actual “fuckin’” slip in. (Very similar to a gaffe Paul Shaffer made when doing a season 5 sketch in which he was constantly supposed to use the word “floggin’” in place of “fuckin’”.) Jenny immediately realizes this error, and, right before the camera cuts to a close-up of Kristen, Jenny follows that botched line of hers by making an “Uh-oh!” face that involves her puffing out her cheeks (the fifth above screencap for this sketch), a visual that would gain unwanted immortal fame, as screencaps and GIFs of Jenny making that face would be frequently used over the following few weeks on online message board threads (including on some non-SNL message boards) that discussed this F-bomb of Jenny’s.
— When I watched this episode when it originally aired, I actually didn’t catch the F-bomb. I did, however, notice Jenny making that aforementioned cheeks-puffed-out face right before the camera cut to a close-up of Kristen, and I was very puzzled over why the hell Jenny randomly made that face, then I figured that must’ve just been her mugging the camera in a desperate attempt to be funny. It wasn’t until right after this sketch ended and I went onto the now-defunct saturday-night-live.com message board to read what people were saying about this just-aired sketch that I found out Jenny let an F-bomb slip out. (Speaking of that message board’s live discussion of Jenny’s F-bomb, as I mentioned in my review of the notorious Ashlee Simpson incident from the season 30 Jude Law episode, there were so many people who simultaneously flocked to that message board immediately after Jenny’s F-bomb that it eventually caused the board to crash for a short while.) Literally as soon as I read about the F-bomb, I immediately grabbed my remote control, rewound my live DVR to see where the F-bomb happened in this sketch, and when I saw it, you can probably imagine how much I was absolutely floored.
— Man, to have a gaffe like this happen in your first big showcase in your FIRST EPISODE? Yikes! When Jenny, in character, is speaking into the camera several seconds after the infamous moment, you can tell she’s gotten REALLY thrown off by her F-bomb, because she’s suddenly speaking awkwardly and haltingly during this part. I can just hear the poor girl panicking inside her head during this portion of the sketch, thinking stuff to herself such as “I am soooooo getting fired after this sketch!”
— The comedic conceit of this sketch itself, with all the generic badass attitudes, all the “frickin’”s, and all the ashtray-throwings, has gotten REALLY old. The unscripted F-bomb is sadly the only interesting thing about this sketch.
— Finally a funny line, when Kristen mentions her “front bum”.
— A few minutes into this sketch, and I’m noticing that Kristen’s the ONLY thing in this sketch getting any big reactions from the audience. This sketch is a whole lot of nothing.
— Overall……..so, THAT’S over, mercifully. Yeesh. I hate to say it, but Jenny’s F-bomb may have been a blessing in disguise, as it’s probably what prevented SNL from ever turning this waste of time into a recurring talk show sketch (if the lack of audience reaction didn’t already do that). And, F-bomb aside, I didn’t find this material to be a promising first showcase for Jenny at all, sad to say.
— After this episode’s original airing, during the MANY online discussions of Jenny’s F-bomb, a lot of people wondered if SNL would immediately fire her after just one episode. There was even one person in those online discussions who displayed a comical self-made t-shirt that had the words “Jennifer Slate: 2009-2009” (insinuating that her SNL tenure would not last beyond her first episode) under a photo of Jenny making the aforementioned cheeks-puffed-out face. As we know now, Jenny would keep her job after this (if only for one season). Even today, 11 years later, I still see people online ignorantly assuming Jenny got fired after one season just because of her F-bomb from her first episode.
STARS: *½


MEGAN’S ROOMMATE
Optimus Prime (BOM) & Bumblebee (Brian Austin Green) hang out

— Two officially-billed Digital Shorts tonight. I always love the rare times that happens in an episode.
— A good laugh from Andy and Megan walking in on Bobby’s Optimus Prime sitting completely bottomless on the couch.
— Despite some laughs I’m getting, something about this short feels kinda underwhelming to me. It has a fairly forgettable feel for Lonely Island standards. I do like Andy’s straight man performance, though.
— I like the use of the original Transformers theme song during the ending credits sequence, as it brings back childhood memories of watching the original Transformers series.
— During the aforementioned ending credits sequence, the mysterious performer playing Bumblebee removes his mask and reveals that he’s the one and only Brian Austin Green, who Megan was either dating or married to (I forget which) at this time. To quote my reaction to finding out the guy behind the Bumblebee mask was Brian Austin Green when I originally reviewed this episode back in 2009: “Ugh. He should’ve kept the mask *on*.” Also, the previous time Brian Austin Green cameod on SNL before this (a laughably bad and pointless cameo that initially received DEAD SILENCE from the audience) in an O.J. Simpson Trial sketch, not only was it ALSO a season premiere just like tonight’s episode happens to be, but it was the premiere of a very notorious season (1994-95). And, wouldn’t you know it, season 35, while certainly not notorious, ends up being a season of pretty poor quality. So, I have to ask, is there some kind of Brian Austin Green SNL curse? Does SNL have a bad season every time he cameos in a season premiere? We’d better hope he doesn’t make any more cameos in any future season premieres. (Not that I see any reason why he would anyway, if his career has gone as south as I think it has.)
STARS: **½


YOUR MOM TALKS TO MEGAN FOX WHILE YOU GET READY
host’s friend’s mom (KRW) engages her in small talk while folding laundry

— Hmm. Interesting concept.
— When this originally aired, I dismissed this as a typical Wiig showcase that proved even further that SNL was pushing Kristen as their designated star, but during my current viewing, I can see more what this this sketch is going for, and I’m enjoying it. In fact, there’s actually a slice-of-life aspect to this that I really appreciate, as it’s VERY rare to see slice-of-life pieces by this point of SNL’s run.
— Solid and reliable delivery from Kristen throughout this.
— Actually a sweet bit of advice Kristen cornily gives Megan at the end.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
musical guest performs “Ultraviolet”

— At the beginning of these goodnights, before U2’s show-closing musical performance starts, we get a fairly memorable visual of Seth tightly hugging Jenny in the background (seen in the first above screencap for these goodnights), obviously consoling her after her huge gaffe earlier tonight. I shudder to imagine what poor Jenny’s reaction to her gaffe must’ve been when she was backstage after the Biker Chick Chat sketch.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty mediocre season premiere, and already a sign of the quality that I’m aware in hindsight this season will have (though I know a season premiere is rarely an accurate sign of how the rest of a season will turn out). The first half of this episode in particular was dominated by a lot of laziness, with another bad translator cold opening, a “dumb bimbo” monologue, another urine medication commercial, and another bad Fred-Armisen-in-drag sketch. The second half of the episode wasn’t too hot, either. There were still some good things in this overall episode, but nothing received a rating over a mere three-and-a-half stars from me.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

 


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Date
Your Mom Talks To Megan Fox While You Get Ready
Live Lounge
Flight Announcement
Grady Wilson’s Burning Up The Bedsheets
Weekend Update
Megan’s Roommate
Bladdivan
Monologue
United Nations General Assembly
Biker Chick Chat
Russian Brides


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2008-09)
a big step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Ryan Reynolds