Tag: 2011-12

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January 14, 2012 – Daniel Radcliffe / Lana Del Rey (S37 E12)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ROMNEY: BELIEVE IN AMERICA
one-percenter Mitt Romney (JAS) can’t lay off the unemployment metaphors

— Meh, the second episode in a row with a “politician speaks dryly to the camera” camera cold opening, one of my least favorite cold opening tropes. Jason’s Mitt Romney is at least usually a little more amusing than Andy’s boring portrayal of Rick Santorum in the preceding episode’s cold opening.
— I love Jason-as-Romney’s mention of “my five human sons” when trying to come off relatable to normal Americans.
— I’m not caring at all for Jason-as-Romney’s unemployment metaphor-filled food questions to Abby.
— That’s it? The cold opening is over? Blah, aside from the aforementioned “my five human sons” line, this was pretty much just as bad as the preceding episode’s cold opening.
STARS: *½


MONOLOGUE
host is glad that lame Harry Potter skit ideas won’t be seen tonight

— Right out of the gate, Daniel Radcliffe and his English accent are coming off likable and charming.
— I like how they’re showing screenshots of all of the people who impersonated Daniel over the years on SNL: Bill, Hugh Jackman, and Rachel Dratch.
— Some funny walk-ons from the cast as rejected Harry Potter spoof characters. Even the Jersey Shore bit worked. (It helps that we haven’t seen Bobby’s Snooki in a long while.)
STARS: ***


GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
after the Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais (JAS) will emcee more awards shows

— Boy, this SNL era never stops getting mileage out of that “Brendan Fraser laughing weirdly at an awards show” clip. I lost count of the number of sketches this SNL era used that clip in.
— Pretty fun format with Jason’s Ricky Gervais being shown making his usual snarky comments at increasingly out-of-place award shows.
— The BET Awards scene at the end got a good laugh out of me.
STARS: ***½


TARGET
Target manager (BIH) likes Target stock boy (host) who likes Target Lady

— Much like Judy Grimes and Nicholas Fehn then-recently, we get a surprising return of a recurring character who hadn’t appeared in years. And much like those surprise returns of Grimes and Fehn, this ends up being Target Lady’s final appearance during Kristen’s tenure as a cast member. The character would be brought back in the season 38 episode that Kristen hosts.
— As I said in my review of the last Target Lady sketch prior to tonight’s (all the way back in season 34’s Justin Timberlake episode), I’ve surprisingly started coming around on Target Lady after spending the longest time not being able to stand her.
— Hmm, we get a random new addition to this already-established recurring sketch, with Bill as Target Lady’s odd, stern, hotdog-chomping boss. Despite the decision to make this character act unsettlingly predatory towards Daniel’s character, which feels unnecessary and strangely old hat (not old hat for this recurring sketch, but for SNL in general), Bill’s portrayal of this character is very funny.
— What the hell are they going for with Kenan’s character?
— Despite how I’ve come around on Target Lady, I still don’t like the regular gag with her always walking away from her cash register to get an item while she was in the middle of ringing up a customer. I don’t know why this recurring sketch STILL expects me to laugh at that same-old same-old gag after the umpteenth installment of this sketch, when I didn’t laugh at that gag the first time.
— Pretty funny bit regarding Taran’s character looking mad both in his ID photo and in person currently.
STARS: ***


YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!
uncriticized millennials show Dunning-Kruger effect

— Much like the Comments Section sketch from the Melissa McCarthy episode earlier this season, we get a similarly-formatted sketch featuring a timely spoof of internet culture.
— Some good sarcastic-but-affably-delivered comments from Vanessa and Bill towards their guests.
— Very funny how Daniel’s whole gimmick is combining Irish dancing and Chinese calligraphy. The dancing we see him doing is particularly hilarious.
STARS: ***½


SPIN THE BOTTLE
unlucky teen (host) has to kiss hobos at a party

— Feels kinda odd seeing this SNL era air a short like this that’s NOT a Lonely Island Digital Short.
— A cheap but amusing conceit with the randomly-appearing hobos who Daniel has to kiss.
— A laugh from how Fred’s character’s idea of “freshening up” is putting deodorant on his tongue.
— I love the cutaway to Bill as a “dead” hobo.
STARS: ***


DELAWARE FELLAS
Jersey Boys knockoff is rooted in the Blue Hen State

— Kenan’s intentionally-bad attempt at an Italian accent is very funny.
— The Jersey Guys knockoff details in this play are providing some laughs.
— Ha, if you pay attention to the portion of the sketch where Daniel announces the Delaware Fellas are breaking up, Taran can be seen starting to exclaim “Capisce!” too early (he’s supposed to say it in unison with his scene partners), and then, when realizing his mistake, he stops himself mid-sentence in an amusing way with a hilarious look on his face (screencap below).

— A funny “three-and-a-half trains” sound Jason’s Joe Biden makes.
STARS: ***


HOGWARTS ACADEMY
at Hogwarts in 2020, Harry Potter (host) can’t let go of his glory days

— Interestingly, this set-in-the-future Harry Potter parody takes place in our now-current year, 2020.
— Like in most of tonight’s sketches so far, Daniel’s delivery is very solid throughout this, and is making this sketch entertaining. That’s especially helpful for me, as I’ve never been into Harry Potter, and was naturally at risk for being bored by this sketch, before Daniel’s performance held my interest.
— A good laugh from Vanessa’s delivery of “He’s huuuuuge!” regarding her husband Hagrid.
— A funny Professor Snape appearance from Bill.
— A very well-delivered “Still got it” line from Daniel’s Harry Potter before he exits at the very end of this sketch.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Video Games”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Kim Jong Un’s Two Best Friends From Growing Up (FRA) & (VAB) badmouth him via sotto voce

Casey Anthony’s recently-adopted dog (host) is disturbed by his new owner

— (*Two Best Friends From Growing Up appear, Stooge buries his face in his hands in an aggravated manner for three minutes straight*)
— A very rare instance of an SNL host (especially a first-time host) appearing on Update as a character. I love this rarity, and it’s fun seeing Daniel as Casey Anthony’s dog.
— Daniel is giving yet another solid performance tonight, and he has some great lines here. Even his little way of saying, in his dignified English accent, “a booty-shaking contest in Fort Lauderdale”, cracked me up.
STARS: ***


X27B THEATER
in 2112, theatergoers laugh at dramatization of 21st-century ignorance

 

— (*sigh*) Paul Brittain’s final appearance as a cast member. As a complete shock to SNL fans at the time, it would be announced the week of the following new episode that Paul has left the show, for reasons undisclosed to us. In fact, eight years later, the reasons still haven’t been disclosed. I heard recently that one rumor is that SNL fired Paul to make room for a certain female cast member who we’ll be seeing joining later this season, but I find that rumor to be dubious for many reasons that I won’t get into right now. Whatever the reason for Paul’s departure is, and whether he was fired or left on his own, it’s a damn shame. After being under the radar for his entire first season (though showing some promise when given the chance), he was slowly but surely making good progress in this second season of his, and had an especially solid night just an episode prior to tonight’s (Charles Barkley). The abruptness and mysteriousness of this mid-season departure of his is also eerily similar to that of Jeff Richards eight years prior. I also think I recall hearing that, much like Jeff’s departure, Paul’s departure coincided with the firing of an SNL writer (I forget who, but I believe it was a female writer), which supports people’s theory that Paul was fired and didn’t leave on his own (the latter of which the press wanted us to believe when they originally made the announcement of Paul’s departure). Also possibly supporting the “He was fired” theory is the fact that he would go on to be seemingly uncomfortable talking about his SNL stint. I remember reading an interview with him a few years after his SNL departure, where he was being interviewed about a current project of his, and when asked at one point about his SNL experience, he quickly tried to change the subject, though not in a rude manner (his answer was something like “I had fun at SNL, but I also had fun doing my current project, and THAT’S what I’d rather discuss right now”, and the person interviewing him got the hint and immediately changed the subject.)
— Speaking of changing the subject, let’s get back to this actual sketch I’m supposed to be reviewing.
— I love the concept of a sketch set in 2112 presenting a play set in 2012, exaggerating things that were the norm in 2012, and making some historical generalizations along the way (e.g. bizarrely using the 2003 song “Hey Ya” to represent the year 2012). Not only am I finding this concept pretty fun, but it’s an accurate spoof of the manner in how older time periods tend to be presented in contemporary dramatizations.
— Has half of Nasim’s roles this season been as old ladies?
— A particularly funny part with the characters in the 2012 play being exaggeratedly overconfident that Taylor Swift will never assassinate anyone, which slyly implies she really does end up assassinating someone later on in her life. Reminds me of how it feels looking back at certain pre-1994 stuff in which O.J. Simpson was innocently looked at by people as lovable and wholesome.
— I like how the levels of laughter from the individual fake audience members varies each time we’re shown them.
STARS: ***½


GLENDA OKONES FOR MAYOR 2012
mayoral candidate Glenda Okones (KRW) runs an attack ad against herself

— A good concept of Kristen as a politician doing an attack ad on herself, and the execution of it is decent.
STARS: ***


GLENDA OKONES FOR MAYOR 2012
for transparency’s sake, Glenda Okones reveals more character flaws

— Hmm, not only is this a runner, which I can understand, but did we need two of these airing back-to-back? Granted, there was a real commercial break separating them, but the copy I’m currently watching of this episode edits out all the commercial breaks, and thus, we see these two Glenda Okones pieces back-to-back, separated only by SNL bumpers.
— Funny line from Kristen’s Okones regarding loving her youngest daughter more than her oldest.
STARS: ***


THE JAY PHAROAH SHOW
JAP leans on impersonations in interview with host

— Hmm, a sketch with Jay, as himself, hosting his own talk show and interviewing tonight’s SNL host, seemingly in the tradition of stuff like The Chris Farley Show, Talking To The Stars With Rachel & Tracy, and The Julia Show.
— Turns out I’m not caring for where this sketch has been going so far. There doesn’t seem to be much of a joke besides Jay habitually breaking out into celebrity impressions (impressions that we’ve already seen him do before, no less) and displaying no interviewing skills. And that’s not even much of a joke. Am I missing some kind of clever, sharp satire this sketch is attempting in what they’re implying about Jay’s lack of range? Or am I correct that this is just a weak sketch?
— At least we now get a new impression from Jay, with him doing a Tracy Morgan voice. Not one of Jay’s better impressions, though.
— An actual pretty funny joke right now, albeit a quick throwaway one, with the ridiculously tall glass of water that Daniel is shown with.
— Aaaaand the sketch is over. Well…….THAT was a whole lot of nothing.
STARS: *½


GLENDA OKONES FOR MAYOR 2012
Glenda Okones isn’t ashamed to admit that she terrorized her own mother

— Briefer than the last two, but this contained a funny revelation from Okones about a physical attack she once made on her mother.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Blue Jeans”


EXIT POLL
(KRW)’s exit poll of New Hampshire voter (host) extends beyond politics

— I like how this sketch feels like a throwback to Kristen’s earlier seasons, where SNL often utilized her in subtly-funny, saying-humorous-or-oddball-things-in-a-straitlaced-deadpan-manner roles, which is the type of role where Kristen’s true strength has always lied, rather than over-the-top, wacky, hammy, annoying roles that SNL has often been typecasting her in starting around 2008. The solid Audition sketch that appeared in a Jon Hamm-hosted episode a season prior to tonight’s episode similarly gave us a throwback to Kristen’s early-era saying-humorous-or-oddball-things-in-a-straitlaced-deadpan-manner roles.
— Good ending line from a now-unhappy Kristen to a walking-away Daniel, in regards to the exit poll: “I’m switching you to gay!….robot!”
STARS: ****


HEADZ UP
World-Tel’s Headz Up service alerts engrossed texters to meatspace perils

— Oddly, this pre-taped commercial, which was previously cut after dress rehearsal from many episodes this season, is Andy’s ONLY appearance all night. He apparently wasn’t at SNL at all this week (Daniel Radcliffe said at one point of a talk show interview just two or three days before the live show, “I still haven’t met Andy Samberg”). I can’t remember the reason for his absence (if we ever even found out what it was), but I think it might’ve had something to do with promotion for his movie Celeste & Jesse Forever. (I remember he was interviewed for that movie at some kind of film festival the following week or so, and at one point, the interviewer asked him about the backlash Lana Del Rey was facing over her poorly-received musical performances in this episode, and Andy defended her before admitting, with a nervous smile, that he hasn’t actually watched her performances.) In hindsight, this is probably one of the earliest hints that he’s on his way out as an SNL cast member.
— A fairly funny slow-motion shot of Bobby falling off a mechanical bull while still glued to his phone, but I think I’m just desperate for a laugh by this point.
— Overall, while this wasn’t awful, it was forgettable and came off too generic.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A (mostly) consistently decent episode, though barely any segments stood out as strong. Daniel Radcliffe exceeded my expectations by being a solid and likable host.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Exit Poll
X27B Theater
You Can Do Anything!
Golden Globe Awards
Hogwarts Academy
Glenda Okones For Mayor 2012 (all three parts)
Spin The Bottle
Monologue
Delaware Fellas
Weekend Update
Target
Headz Up
Romney: Believe In America
The Jay Pharoah Show


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Charles Barkley)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Channing Tatum

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January 7, 2012 – Charles Barkley / Kelly Clarkson (S37 E11)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

A MESSAGE FROM RICK SANTORUM
Rick Santorum (ANS) vows to bravely campaign in every county in the USA

— I’m currently two-and-a-half minutes into this, and I’m very bored. The dialogue from Andy’s Rick Santorum is a snoozefest. Typical overly-talky, dry-without-actually-being-funny writing from Jim Downey in his later, past-his-prime years. I don’t know why SNL, in this era, constantly thinks it’s a good idea to open the show with a dull cold opening that deals with one politician dryly speaking straight to the camera, with barely any (if any at all) actual amusing dialogue.
— I also don’t like how Andy changed his portrayal of Santorum. Prior to this, he always portrayed Santorum as panicky. That angle was working much better than the straitlaced, non-comedic way he’s portraying Santorum in tonight’s cold opening.
— A cheap attempt at a laugh with Andy-as-Santorum’s line about San Francisco being home to thousands of “angry pillow-biters and donut-bumpers”, though I know that’s just a dig at the real Rick Santorum’s homophobic views.
STARS: *½


MONOLOGUE
host is endorsing female-skewing brands like Weight Watchers & Ann Taylor

— Charles Barkley noticeably looking more lean here than he usually is in these years, as this is during his Weight Watchers stint, which he eventually mentions in this monologue.
— The usual laughs from Charles’ inherently-funny monotone, deadpan delivery, even with his constant stumbles over words.
— Funny ending with how Charles’ mention that the audience looks like turkey legs to him in his hungry state carries over into the “(insert musical guest’s name here) is here” tagline that SNL monologues typically end with. The monologue from Charles’ season 35 episode also ended with him changing up the usual monologue tagline.
STARS: ***½


CHANTIX
Chantix side effects make smoker (KRW) think about killing husband (BIH)

— A lot of very funny unsettling disclaimers of dangerous side-effects from the Chantix medication. Also some great worried, shifty-eyed looks from Kristen and Bill in response to those disclaimers.
— Good sequence with Kristen displaying each of the symptoms (e.g. droopy lip, Robert DeNiro face) in rapid succession.
— No idea who the woman is that’s doing the voice-over of this commercial (it doesn’t sound like Paula Pell, who’s done a number of voice-overs during these years), but she’s great, and she’s adding a lot to the humor here.
— A great ending tagline to this commercial: “Chantix: Just keep smoking”.
STARS: ****


INSIDE THE NBA
Charles Barkley (KET) & Shaquille O’Neal (host) goof off

 

— The mere visual of Charles as a thick-bearded, stone-faced, emotionless Shaq is hilarious, made even funnier by his simplistic dialogue.
— An accurate and funny spoof of the fun banter that typically occurs on the real Inside The NBA.
— When Charles as Shaq suddenly starts doing a Nostradamus bit, complete with a wizard hat and crystal ball, I love Bill’s Ernie Johnson asking, in an annoyed manner, “Who’s giving him all these props?!?”
— Charles as Shaq, during his Nostradamus bit: “I will predict…that Charles Barkley gonna be fat again.” As we know now, that actually ended up being an accurate prediction.
— Great comeback from Kenan’s Charles Barkley to Charles as Shaq: “Yeah, well, I’d rather be in Free Willy 2 than Kazaam 1.”
— A good laugh from Bill’s Ernie Johnson happily saying, in regards to him and his co-hosts, “We’re all black friends!” I remember someone on the now-defunct saturday-night-live.com message board had a theory that the other performers in this sketch weren’t expecting that line, because it causes them all (including Bill himself eventually) to break.
STARS: ***½


WHITE PEOPLE PROBLEMS
host shakes his head at complaining Caucasians

— A funny unexpected reveal of the “White People Problems” title of the show, after the serious, straitlaced beginning.
— Something about the approach to this sketch’s humor feels kinda cliched, but it’s coming off passable enough.
— Charles: “To those of you at home, ‘awkward’ is a white people word that can be applied to every situation.”
— Charles has some good lines to the WASP-y couple played by Kristen and Taran.
— I didn’t like the ending.
STARS: ***


ESPN BOWL MADNESS
corporate sponsors present oddball college football bowl games on ESPN

— The escalation to the odd brand/bowl name combos is reminiscent of that great Chicken Of The Sea/DynaCorp sketch from the season 29 Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey episode, only nowhere near as clever. This is still decent enough, thanks to the amusing nature of the increasingly random brand/bowl name combos.
STARS: ***


JOANN’S ANNOUNCEMENT
(host)’s fiance (PAB) & friends find it hard to believe she’s a lesbian

— The fact that it’s the inherently-funny-and-deadpan Charles Barkley in drag makes it more tolerable than the typical hacky “man in drag” trope.
— I like the randomness of Charles telling Kristen they’ve known each other for 200 days.
— Even more funny randomness, with Paul suddenly popping up from behind the couch in a casual manner, which none of the characters treat as odd.
— Great to see Paul in the spotlight here.
— The incongruous pairing of the tiny Paul Brittain and the huge Charles Barkley is very amusing.
— The oddball approach this whole sketch is taking is a little hard to figure, even for my oddball humor-loving self, but it’s still working well for me, especially with how all the silliness is being played so straight.
STARS: ***½


CHARLES BARKLEY POST GAME TRANSLATOR APP
host’s translator app reveals coaches’ & players’ true thoughts

— Tonight’s episode continues to get good mileage out of Charles’s inherently-funny personality, as this commercial is a great concept for him.
— I particularly love Charles’ translation for Dwyane Wade’s talk about Miami Heat’s famous “YES. WE. DID.” celebration: “I should shut my damn mouth. We haven’t actually won ANYTHING yet.”
— Good self-deprecating turn with Charles translating an old post-game clip of himself from the 90s.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Stronger”


WEEKEND UPDATE
with her presidential bid ended, Michele Bachmann (KRW) can finally blink

a series of disclaimers precedes Nicholas Fehn’s planned critique of SEM

Drunk Uncle’s chosen New Year’s resolution is to lament cultural change

— Hmm, I strangely have no memory of Kristen ever doing an Update commentary as Michele Bachmann.
— I’m currently about a minute-and-a-half into Kristen’s Bachmann commentary, and yeah, none of this is ringing a bell for me so far. I can see why, though. The material that Kristen’s been given here is a whole lot of nothing. Centering most of an Update commentary on Bachmann being relieved to be able to blink again after her presidential bid is too thin a concept, and Kristen’s execution of it isn’t elevating it for me.
— I did get a laugh just now from Kristen-as-Bachmann’s final line, but otherwise, her overall commentary was pure “Meh”.
— Whoa, Nicholas Fehn making his first appearance in a long time. I forgot all about this character until now. He hasn’t appeared since 2009.
— Blah, even with the long hiatus, it turns out that I’m still burned out on Nicholas Fehn’s same-old same-old shtick, thanks to how quickly SNL previously ran it into the ground with Fehn’s way-too-frequent appearances back in 2008. I’m finding myself not having the ability to even so much as chuckle at Fehn’s typical routine tonight. His typical routine also feels a little out-of-place in a 2012 episode, for some reason.
— Quickly checking SNL Archives right now, I see this ends up being the final Nicholas Fehn appearance. Thank god.
— Drunk Uncle has officially become recurring.
— So far tonight, Drunk Uncle is coming off as hilarious as he did last time.
— Solid little bit regarding Drunk Uncle’s incorrect attempt to light a cigarette.
— I like the little detail of Drunk Uncle calling Seth “Amy” at one point while repeatedly asking him “Pull my finger.”
STARS: ***


LORD WYNDEMERE
Cecil’s girlfriend’s father (JAS) prefers impish frolics to football game

— The second and final appearance of this sketch.
— Paul has gotten TWO big roles tonight, continuing the slow-but-sure progress he’s been showing lately. Unfortunately, that’s very bittersweet in hindsight, given the fact that these end up being Paul’s final two big roles on SNL. He has only one episode remaining (and, IIRC, he has no big roles in it) before he suffers a similar fate to Jeff Richards.
— Good continuity with Jason’s character already being familiar with Lord Wyndemere after having met him in the previous installment of this sketch. Most recurring sketches in this era annoyingly lack this type of continuity, and instead feature stuff like each installment having their straight man characters act like they’ve never been through the oddness they’re experiencing from the lead character, despite the fact that EVERY SINGLE INSTALLMENT of that particular recurring sketch features those exact same straight man characters going through that exact experience (e.g. Andy’s Blizzard Man sketches, Kristen’s Sexy Shana sketches).
— Hilarious visual of Jason playfully chasing Lord Wyndemere around the room in an attempt to pinch his bottom so he’ll tell the riddle he promised.
— A nice change of pace with Charles being just as into Lord Wyndemere’s antics as Jason is, unlike the other straight man characters in this sketch.
— The visual of Charles happily carrying Lord Wyndemere in his arms is both funny and very charming. Tonight’s episode continues to get great mileage out of the huge size difference between Paul and Charles.
— Overall, even better than the first installment of this sketch. This was perfect, and was also a great unintentional swan song for Paul, which leaves us sadly wondering what could’ve been had his SNL tenure continued after the following episode.
STARS: *****


THE 17TH ANNUAL ADULT VIDEO AWARDS
In Memoriam reel at Adult Video Awards honors deceased porn practitioners

— Very funny sleazy line from Bobby’s Ron Jeremy about measuring “from the nuts”.
— The In Memoriam porn montage is getting increasingly hilarious, with great bits such as a photo of Seth(!) as a glory hole designer, a chronological video montage showing Nasim as a long-time pornstar working in porn from when she was young to when she was very elderly, a photo of a frowning Kenan as a clean-up crew member, and the whole porn scene with Charles in the woods (his facial expressions are priceless).
STARS: ****


CONVOLUTED JERRY
Convoluted Jerry’s (ANS) album contains songs with complicated syntax

— Boy, this short is just plain BAD so far, making this yet another example of how the magic of the Digital Shorts is sadly gone this season (with a few exceptions, of course) with the lack of involvement from Jorma and/or Akiva.
— Not even the Inception part (“It was a dream inside a dream inside a dream!”) could get a laugh out of me.
— Marvin “Gay” Jackson. I hate myself for chuckling at that name, but hey, at least SOMETHING in this short finally got a chuckle out of me.
— Leave it to Charles Barkley to provide what I consider to be the only actual legitimately funny moment of this entire short: him responding to Andy’s ghetto-glorifying song by asking him a taken-aback “Maaan, what the f(*bleep*)k are you talkin’ about?!?”
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Mr. Know It All”


THE MAYAN CALENDAR
Mayan chief (host) takes issue with work of calendar makers (FRA) & (BIH)

— I like how the first SNL episode of the year 2012 is doing a historical sketch based on the Mayan calendar, given the well-known ancient Mayan apocalypse prediction.
— The humor here so far is rather mild, but there are some laughs from the low-key comedy. There’s a bit too much of a dead atmosphere to this, though.
— Didn’t care too much for the “talking calendar” ending, but I kinda liked the wiseass voice Paul used as the talking calendar.
STARS: **½


GOODNIGHTS

— A very classy, sweet, and amusing way that Charles gives the SNL cast their props for all their hard work.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly good episode. The quality ranged from decent to great for almost the entire show, minus the dull-as-hell cold opening and the drop in quality during the last 15 minutes. Charles Barkley continues to be a strangely reliable host, and by this point, the show seems to have fully realized all the right ways to utilize his distinct personality. I like how it seemed to be becoming a tradition around this time for Charles to host the first episode of a calendar year every two years (2010, 2012). Unfortunately, that tradition stops after this episode, and we don’t see Charles host again until years later in a March episode from 2018 (and, for some reason, I’m having a very hard time remembering most of that episode’s content, but that might be because, back at that time in early 2018, I was growing increasingly checked-out during my viewing of new SNL episodes, due to my dissatisfaction with SNL’s then-current quality, which would eventually lead me to flat-out go on a hiatus from watching new episodes starting in December of that year, a hiatus that’s still ongoing.)


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Lord Wyndemere
Chantix
The 17th Annual Adult Video Awards
Charles Barkley Post Game Translator App
Inside The NBA
Monologue
Joann’s Announcement
ESPN Bowl Madness
White People Problems
Weekend Update
The Mayan Calendar
Convoluted Jerry
A Message From Rick Santorum


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jimmy Fallon)
a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Daniel Radcliffe hosts. It’s also the abrupt end of Paul Brittain’s SNL tenure, after only one-and-a-half seasons as a featured player.

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December 17, 2011 – Jimmy Fallon / Michael Bublé (S37 E10)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

WINTER FORMAL
Sully & Denise see friend (AMP) while crashing old high school’s formal

— Good to see both the return of the Boston Teens and (especially) Rachel Dratch.
— Ah, Rachel-as-Denise’s fake ID has the name Evelyn Chang, which is actually a callback to the fake ID Denise used in some of the previous Boston Teens sketches from back in the day. Nice continuity, which is one of the things I’ve always liked about this recurring sketch. The continuity these Boston Teens sketches typically contain also add to their realistic, almost-slice-of-life-ish atmosphere.
— I like that SNL has appropriately aged these characters tonight instead of keeping them the same age they used to be.
— These characters are coming off as funny as ever tonight, and the fun vibe of this revival of them is so infectious, which is raising the quality of the sketch.
— Amy Poehler cameo. Now it’s truly starting to feel like the early 2000s again.
— We even get a “Nomaaahhh!” callback.
— An excellent energetic LFNY delivery from Jimmy.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
JIF sings “Christmas Baby Please Come Home” variant to mark return to SNL

— You can tell how much it genuinely means to Jimmy that he’s standing on this home base stage as the host. Again, much like with the cold opening, there’s a very infectious feel here.
— Jimmy: “So many memories: Barry Gibb Talk Show…Debbie Downer…Cowbell. (a beat) I laughed and ruined all of those sketches.” A great self-deprecating line, though to nitpick, he never laughed during any of the Barry Gibb Talk Show sketches. He gets so deep into character in those sketches that he refrains from his usual habit of cracking up.
— The infectious fun feel continues as Jimmy takes his Christmas song backstage. A rare instance of me being fine with this era doing a musical monologue.
— I love Jimmy calling attention to the still shots of two SNL Christmas classics on the monitors: Merry Christmas Dammit and Schwetty Balls.
— After Andy and Vanessa’s scene, there’s an unintentional laugh and charm from seeing Andy and Vanessa in the background quickly rushing past the camera in hopes that we can’t see them, as they get into place for their next bit in this monologue.
— Good gift exchange bit with Lorne, or, as Jimmy calls, “the white-haired gentleman”.
— Oh, as if this couldn’t get any more fun, now this ends with the entire cast energetically dancing onstage behind Jimmy.
STARS: ****½


TODAY
Regis Philbin (JIF) walks on set to join Kathie Lee Gifford (KRW)

— Surprisingly, this is the first appearance this recurring sketch has made in two seasons. This also ends up being its final appearance.
— Nasim takes over the seemingly-cursed Hoda Kotb role, and breaks the curse by not getting fired after this season like the previous two Hoda impersonators, Michaela Watkins and Jenny Slate, got after their respective one season on the show.
— Hoda, regarding the fake applause that Kathie Lee played from a tape recorder: “Okay, that was fake.” Kathie Lee: “So was your boyfriend.” Hoda: “No, I mean it was an electronic device.” Kathie Lee: “So was your boyfriend.”
— Nasim is fine in the Hoda role, but I still feel that Michaela did it the best.
— Interesting seeing Jimmy doing a Regis Philbin impression. He’s doing a solid job, as no surprise, as I’ve always found him to be a good impressionist.
STARS: ***


MICHAEL BUBLÉ CHRISTMAS DUETS
musical guest performs Christmas duets with Sting (JIF) & other artists

— Hilarious turn during the Bublé/M.I.A. duet, with Nasim’s M.I.A. suddenly pulling out a gun and firing gunshots in the air in time to the music.
— I love that Jimmy’s doing impressions of various celebrities in this. His Russell Brand impression is particularly spot-on.
— Fred’s Thom Yorke impression is easily one of the funnier things he’s done in this rough season of his.
— Such a fun impression showcase, and a big improvement over both of the impression showcase sketches from the preceding episode.
STARS: ****


DRESSING ROOM
JIF mulls upcoming onstage moves while talking to self (ANS) in mirror

— A sketch in the vein of the Mick Jagger mirror sketch that Jimmy and Mick Jagger once did 10 years prior.
— I think I recall hearing that Andy did this Jimmy Fallon impression in his SNL audition. I recall hearing that Taran also did a Fallon impression in his audition, but we end up never seeing it on SNL.
— Andy’s impression of Jimmy is far from spot-on, but it’s still acceptable, and it’s helped by Jimmy exaggerating his own voice to sound like Andy’s impression. I wonder if Jimmy learned that move from what Jerry Seinfeld did with him when they did a Point/Counterpoint together, with Jimmy doing his Seinfeld impression. As I mentioned in my review of it (seen here), Jerry let Jimmy know beforehand that he would exaggerate his own voice during the Point/Counterpoint to match Jimmy’s over-the-top impression of him.
— Speaking of Seinfeld, I like the bit with Andy’s Jimmy not being able to do the Jerry Seinfeld voice that Jimmy just did.
— Andy’s Jimmy: “We’re not doing [The Barry Gibb Talk Show], ’cause Timberlake couldn’t make it.” PRAISE THE LORD.
STARS: ***½


1920’S HOLIDAY PARTY
at a 1928 party, (JIF) is as reluctant to dance as Lilia is to sing

— Our first speed bump that tonight’s great episode hits, as we get the unnecessary return of the weak Don’t Make Me Sing sketch from two seasons prior. Did Jimmy request this sketch when he came in earlier this week, because I can’t think of any other reason why they’d randomly bring this one-off sketch back after a two-year absence.
— As a strange coincidence, the only two episodes this sketch has appeared in (the season 35 Jon Hamm episode and this) both happen to be episodes that Michael Bublé is SNL’s musical guest in.
— Jimmy’s performance is fun here, at least, though I don’t care for the “Don’t make me dance” conceit of his character, much like how I’ve never cared for the “Don’t make me sing” conceit of Kristen’s character.
STARS: **


HALF JEWISH HALF ITALIAN COMPLETELY NEUROTIC
Tommy Palmese’s (FRA) amateurish one-man show is self-centered

 

— Fred previously did a fantastic one-man-show bit in the Morning Announcements sketch from the season 31 Dane Cook episode, and even wore what appears to be the same wig he’s wearing in this commercial (screencap of him in the Morning Announcements sketch below), but that Morning Announcements sketch was years prior, back when Fred was still in his prime, long before he became stale. We’ll see how tonight’s one-man-show bit goes.

— The interaction between Fred and an uncomfortable Bill is making me laugh.
— Spot-on bit regarding Fred’s character opening his play in a corny manner by casually pretending to be a janitor onstage.
— Good bit regarding the bathroom behind the stage.
— I love the brief part with Fred inappropriately pointing a fake gun at the audience and yelling a threatening, psychotic “You think I’m losin’ my mind NOOOOOOWWWWW?!?!?!”
— Overall, for late-era Fred Armisen standards, I found this to be surprisingly pretty good. Between the Thom Yorke bit and this, Fred’s having one of his better nights in these later seasons of his SNL tenure.
STARS: ***½


SEASON’S GREETINGS
upon returning to SNL, HOS, CHK, TRM, JIF perform a happy Christmas ditty

— Hell yeah! I absolutely love seeing the return of this. If you remember my reviews of the early 2000s era, I was always a sucker for these bits.
— Tracy! Chris! A thin Horatio! Speaking of Horatio’s leanness, boy, does it feel weird to now see him 1) as thin as his good friend Jimmy, and 2) thinner than both Tracy and Chris are at this point.
— I was going to say it feels a little odd seeing this bit being performed on SNL’s 2003-present home base stage for the first time, after all of the previous appearances of this bit were performed on SNL’s 1998-2003 home base stage, but then I remembered we previously saw them do this bit on SNL’s 2003-present home base once, in the season 29 Janet Jackson episode. (Twice if you count the installment of this bit that Horatio did with the Muppets in the season 30 Robert DeNiro episode).
— Overall, this was just as much of a blast as this bit always was, especially after such a long absence.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Holly Jolly Christmas”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Jude Law [real] learns Nicolas Cage (ANS) isn’t selective regarding roles

Weekend Update Joke-Off- JIF & TIF battle SEM & AMP on lap dance topic

 

— Kinda interesting seeing Andy’s Nicolas Cage impression tonight, given the fact that, earlier tonight in the Dressing Room sketch, both Andy and Jimmy were doing some of the same celebrity impressions in unison. If it weren’t for this Get In The Cage segment, Nicolas Cage might’ve been one of the impressions Andy and Jimmy did together in the Dressing Room sketch, given the fact that Jimmy previously did a Nicolas Cage impression in a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch.
— Funny reveal from Andy’s Cage that he never reads the scripts of his movies beforehand, and thus, he finds out about the surprises in his movies at the same time as the audience.
— The return of the Weekend Update Joke Off segment, and with it, we get Jimmy, Amy, AND Tina Fey returning to their old Update stomping grounds.
— The WU Joke Off segment between the Fallon/Fey & Poehler/Meyers duos is so fun. I even love the little detail of Seth, Amy, Jimmy, and Tina each making various fake buzzer sounds whenever they ring in.
STARS: ***½


BEETHOVEN
Beethoven (JIF) introduces orchestra members at Ninth Symphony premiere

— A very fun and solid premise of Jimmy’s Beethoven introducing his orchestra the way a hip, more modern singer would introduce their band.
— Great bit with Paul as a Hitler ancestor.
— Jimmy’s Beethoven, on one of his orchestra members: “Funny story – his mother was killed by an ox.”
— Jimmy is navigating this sketch so well.
— There’s our obligatory Fallon/Sanz interaction, of course resulting in a little bit of giggling from Jimmy. Even that feels surprisingly nice to see again after a long absence.
— Ha, Triangle Sally out of nowhere.
— A solid inclusion of Kenan as B.B. King.
STARS: ****


WAR HORSE
low-budget War Horse (JIF) production confuses theatergoers (BIH) & (KRW)

— A promising concept with Jimmy ridiculously having to act out the part of a horse during a War Horse play.
— Jason’s old-timey song is hilarious, made even funnier by Jimmy incongruously doing The Robot in the background during it.
— I love the voice Bill’s using.
— Now this sketch has gotten even funnier with the boy in the play now being played by a hand puppet.
— A delightfully stupid sketch so far.
— A very funny little bit with Taran making his voice exaggeratedly fade as he walks away while saying “Good luck, English booooyyyyyy…”
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”


LOCKER ROOM
Jesus (JAS) accepts Tim Tebow’s (TAK) credit for the Broncos’ win streak

— Good premise, even if it feels a little derivative of the premise of the sketch where Phil Hartman as Jesus visited a constantly-praying housewife played by Sally Field.
— Something about the deep voice Kenan’s using is tickling me.
— Andy’s Matt Prater, to Jesus: “Wow, you pray to me? I didn’t know that.” Jesus: “Well, yeah…that’s ’cause I’m not in everyone’s face about it. (*stares down Taran’s Tim Tebow*)”
— Jason’s casual, laid-back portrayal of Jesus is absolutely top-notch.
— I like Taran-as-Tebow’s various overexcited reactions to Jesus.
— A funny parting line from Jesus: “By the way…uh, Mormonism: all true, every single word.”
— It’s fairly rare to see a host-less live sketch like this in this era. I think I recall hearing Jimmy was originally supposed to play Jesus in this sketch, but at some point during the week, he stepped down from the role for reasons I can’t remember. I can’t picture Jimmy making this Casual Jesus characterization anywhere NEAR as great as Jason did. Jason was just perfect for this characterization.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS
JIF, musical guest, special guests & cast members end the show from Rockefeller Center skating rink

— Ice skating goodnights, for the first time in several years! Always fun to see.
— I absolutely love how Jimmy’s wearing a bee costume, as an homage to the original SNL era. Given the scope of this SNL project of mine, I love whenever something on the show gives me a throwback to when I reviewed the original era, back when my SNL project first started. It makes me realize just how far I’ve come within this project. At this exact same time two Novembers ago, I was reviewing the original era, and now, in what feels like no time, I’m already reviewing episodes from as recent as 2011. Wow.
— This is actually the second time Jimmy closed an episode by wearing a bee costume, as an original SNL era homage. The first time was not during a regular episode, but rather a Fallon & Fey-hosted John Belushi tribute special that aired sometime in March 2002 (back when Jimmy and Tina were current SNL cast members), around the 20th anniversary of John’s death.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fantastic episode, and is one of the most consistently solid episodes I’ve ever reviewed. Even though no segments in this episode got a perfect five-star rating from me, a lot of segments got an impressive high rating, particularly in the post-Weekend Update half of the show, where nothing got a rating below four stars. And there was only one segment all night that I didn’t like (1920’s Holiday Party). Adding to the strength of most of the segments was the infectiously fun, Christmas-y, feel-good vibe running all throughout the night, helped a lot by Jimmy Fallon’s very energetic presence. Even Michael Bublé’s musical performances went along nicely with that fun, Christmas-y, feel-good vibe, with the traditional Christmas classics he performed.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monologue
Locker Room
Beethoven
Winter Formal
Michael Bublé Christmas Duets
War Horse
Season’s Greetings
Dressing Room
Weekend Update
Half Jewish Half Italian Completely Neurotic
Today
1920’s Holiday Party


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Katy Perry)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
We enter the year 2012, with host Charles Barkley

Posted on

December 10, 2011 – Katy Perry / Robyn (S37 E9)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

ON THE RECORD W/ GRETA VAN SUSTEREN
Donald Trump (DAH) attaches superlatives to his GOP debate

— Another Darrell Hammond cameo as Donald Trump. Meh. Maybe it’s because of more modern times, but for some reason, it’s hard for me to laugh at Darrell’s Trump when looking back at these cameos he makes in this early 2010s era.
— Whaaaaa??? In real life, Trump moderated a GOP debate around this time?!? I can’t even imagine what that must’ve been like. Why the hell don’t I remember that happening?
— They need to stop with the tired gag that Kristen’s Greta Van Susteren always does where she switches from talking out of one corner of her mouth to the other. We don’t need to see that EVERY time Kristen plays Susteren.
— Wow, and this cold opening has ended, without me getting a single laugh during the entire thing. Flat-out bad writing, plain and simple.
STARS: *


MONOLOGUE
sartorial inspirations for host’s music videos like “I Kissed A Girl”

— Decent but somewhat generic humor here with cast members coming out as characters/outfits from Katy Perry’s music videos. At least Bill’s walk-on as a fireworks-burned man is slightly inspired.
— Hmm, an unexpected turn with the homoerotic tension and singing between Kristen’s character and Katy.
STARS: ***


J-POP AMERICA FUN TIME NOW!
(host) heads Hello Kitty appreciation club

— During the opening “Coming up next on Michigan State Campus TV” bit, I got a cheap laugh from the mention of an acapella group being bluntly named The Dickheads.
— This sketch has officially become recurring. It’s also gone from appearing towards the end of the show in its first appearance to now suddenly appearing in the lead-off spot.
— Taran and Vanessa continue to be solid in these roles, and I find the recurring sketch itself to be okay. Like I said last time, I’m not quite as big on this recurring sketch as a lot of people seem to be.
— As usual for this recurring sketch, my biggest laughs in tonight’s installment are coming from Jason’s straight man character. I especially like him being heard yelling an off-camera “He’s Chinese!” when Taran and Vanessa say Yao Ming is Japanese.
— Another good line from Jason: “If there’s such a thing as a loving version of racism, I think you found it.”
STARS: ***


THE APOCALYPSE
eschatological movie is a star-studded romantic comedy

— Some fairly fun returns of good impressions we’ve seen this cast do before, such as Kristen’s Drew Barrymore and Taran’s Ashton Kutcher.
— Funny sudden turn with this jolly New Years Eve-themed movie trailer being revealed as a celebration of the apocalypse.
— Ugh, Fred in drag for the SECOND consecutive segment tonight, even if his Penny Marshall is usually good for a chuckle.
— I got a good laugh from how, during the listing of additional celebrities who will be appearing in this movie, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges is immediately followed by a mention of Kris “Ludacris” Kristofferson.
— I like how some performers are doing multiple celebrity impressions in this.
— A solid Kim Cattrall impression from Kristen.
— During the ending shot of this movie’s actors all being shown saying the movie’s title in unison, Seth, playing himself in a rare non-Weekend Update appearance, can be seen as one of the actors (seen in the bottom right square in the last above screencap). The reason for his appearance is seemingly because he’s in the actual New Years Eve movie that this commercial is spoofing.
— In the aforementioned ending shot of this movie’s actors, you can also see Paul as Osama Bin Laden (seen in the top right square in the last above screencap), despite him not appearing earlier in this movie trailer during any of the actual scenes shown. (Not to mention the fact that Osama’s been dead for half a year by this point.) I don’t know if perhaps a scene with Paul’s Osama got cut from an earlier portion of this commercial, or if him being shown in one of the squares at the end of this commercial was just thrown in as a random joke. Probably the latter.
STARS: ***


KALLE
Kalle’s (KRW) Finnish talk show features extensive clips of host

— Since Katy’s playing herself in this, why in the world is she wearing a wig of her former hairstyle, back when her hair was longer and darker?
— Funny escalation to the absurdity of the clips that Kristen’s Kalle keeps throwing to, and I like how it renders Katy increasingly unsettled. There’s a particularly funny part where, after Katy just says a taken-aback “I…” when she’s at a loss for words, Kalle throws to a quick clip of an eye (Katy’s eye, I’m assuming).
— I wonder if SNL intended this Kalle sketch to become recurring. Whether they did or not, we end up never seeing it return. Probably a good thing, as it seems best left as a funny one-and-done sketch.
STARS: ***½


BEST FRIENDS
ANS & host & addict (Matt Damon) & lunatic (Val Kilmer) & others sing about being besties

— Matt Damon is great as a mentally-disturbed homeless guy suddenly joining Andy and Katy’s jolly Best Friends song, and adding a dark flavor to it. Damon always does a solid job every time I’ve seen him on SNL. (I’ve yet to see the 2018 episode he hosted, though.)
— Now we get a Val Kilmer cameo.
— The sudden and rapid-fire Russian Roulette bit with Damon’s character instantly killing himself was absolutely hilarious, as was Katy responding to that by immediately saying “Okay, f(*bleep*)k this, I’m outta here” and leaving.
— A very funny crazy escalation to the type of people joining in on the Best Friends song, thanks to Kilmer’s time machine.
STARS: ****


DOGGIE DUTY
star-laden soundtrack sidelines canine courtroom movie

— The final appearance of this series of “famous singers do songs for the soundtrack of a fictional animated animal movie” sketches (Bunny Business, Horse Play, and now this). Also, this is the only installment in that series of sketches to NOT air in the 10-to-1 slot. I kinda prefer these sketches in that 10-to-1 slot.
— Also, do we really need two impression showcases tonight and airing so close to each other, with the Apocalypse commercial and now this?
— Why do these always begin with Fred as Randy Newman singing the first song? By this point, that’s beyond played-out.
— Always nice seeing Kristen do a great impression of different 90s singers in each installment of this recurring sketch, though we’ve already seen her play Gwen Stefani elsewhere on SNL.
— Pretty fun dancing from Jason’s Meat Loaf at the end of his scene.
— Meh at the “Remember Spin Doctors?” ending of Andy’s scene as Chris Barron.
— Ha, Bill’s Clint Eastwood!
— A very strong Florence Welch impression from Katy, and I especially like how we’re seeing it just two episodes after Florence + The Machine were a musical guest on SNL. Too bad the writers seemingly forgot to throw any actual JOKES into the song Katy’s Florence is singing here. And that’s how they chose to end this sketch?!?
— Overall, the weakest installment of this recurring sketch. I’m not sorry to see this recurring sketch be retired.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Call Your Girlfriend”


WEEKEND UPDATE
flirting expert Rebecca Larue (KRW) admits to SEM that she’s just a slut

Alec Baldwin [real] excuses his plane event by posing as a penitent pilot

Stefon offers multiple unsuitable diversions for NYC holiday visitors

— Another new one-off Kristen Wiig Weekend Update character. Sure hope this is better than that god-awful pancake bit Kristen did on Update earlier this season.
— An obvious and simplistic conceit to Kristen’s commentary so far, with her flirting expert character acting very flirtatious towards Seth. However, Kristen’s execution of this is decent enough.
— Kristen’s commentary is getting better as it goes along. The bit she’s doing right now with her legs is particularly funny.
— An Alec Baldwin cameo, spoofing a then-recent incident where he was kicked off a flight for refusing to stop playing Words With Friends on his phone. Ha, something about that incident always tickles me. Something about that incident also seems so on-brand for Alec, given his reputation for having anger issues and an attitude problem. (At least he seems to keep those things in check whenever he’s at SNL.)
— Decent turn with Seth openly calling Alec out on desperately trying to do damage control by posing as the pilot who kicked him off the flight. Alec’s performance is making this pretty fun.
— Stefon continues to grow in popularity, as the cheers his entrance receives from the audience gets wilder with each passing episode he appears in.
— Greatest bits in tonight’s Stefon commentary (and there are even more great bits than usual) are him saying the club password “Diabeetus” in a Wilford Brimley voice, his mention of A Fish Called Kwanzaa, his callback to the club name “SPIIIIICY!” from one of his previous Update commentaries, his mention of Hanukkah cartoon character Menorah the Explorer, and his mention of flaccid outreach group Doctors Without Boners.
— The semi-serious sentimental turn (complete with soft Christmas background music) with Stefon trying to cheer Seth up by promising him a Christmas gift continues the great story arc of the growing dynamic between Seth and Stefon.
STARS: ***


PIPPA VISITS THE QUEEN
Queen Elizabeth (FRA) and Prince Philip (BIH) take liking to similarly-traited Pippa Middleton (host)

— The third and final appearance of this recurring sketch.
— Fred in drag for the THIRD separate segment tonight?!? Are you fucking kidding me?!? Shit like this just adds further fuel to my “Fred needs to finally get his tired self off of SNL” viewpoint. Also, I wonder if this is a record for most times a performer dressed in drag in separate sketches in a single episode.
— The turn in these Royal Family sketches with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip suddenly speaking brashly and threateningly in crude accents towards their guest has gotten old by this point. However, given the fact that their guest is played by Abby and not SNL’s host (who has yet to appear in this sketch so far), you can tell this sketch must have something new in store for us.
— Bill’s way of saying “Hello, Pip-pa!” in a staccato manner with a high-pitched British accent made me laugh.
— Ugh at Fred hiking up his skirt so high.
— And there’s the new thing this sketch has in store for us, with Katy’s Pippa Middleton actually bonding with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip by speaking in the same brash, threatening manner with a crude accent. An okay turn, and Katy’s pretty fun here in her performance, but I’m still kinda burned out on this recurring sketch in general.
— Like the last installment of this sketch prior to tonight, the characters do a musical performance at the end of this. I liked it last time, but it’s not as fun this time.
STARS: **½


POLITICS NATION WITH AL SHARPTON
Al Sharpton (KET) butchers words toward the wrong camera

— Kenan’s Al Sharpton impression has improved from the last time he played him, which was surprisingly way back in season 33.
— The premise of Kenan’s Sharpton misreading names, facing the wrong camera, etc. feels kinda cheap (though, reportedly, the actual Politics Nation show that this sketch is spoofing really was gaffe-filled), but I admit that all of these Sharpton gaffes are making me laugh. Kenan’s executing this decently.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Dancing On My Own”


ONE MAGICAL NIGHT
at a piano bar, lonely (host) falls hard after meeting her soulmate (BOM)

— Ah, a display of Jason’s great singing voice. That happens astonishingly little during his SNL tenure.
— I’m absolutely loving the structure of this sketch, between all the bizarre interplay between Katy and Bobby, and the interstitial songs from the Jason/Kenan/Fred band. And the execution of this sketch is great.
— I like how increasingly odd the lyrics that Jason’s singing are subtly becoming over the course of this sketch. The song is also VERY catchy.
— Bobby’s reaction to Katy falling down the elevator shaft is absolutely hilarious.
— Overall, an underrated and forgotten gem. This sketch felt so different from the typical style of sketches in this era. I’d love to know who wrote this. Thanks in advance if anyone answers.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very average episode. Not much stood out as great, but most of the show stayed in the passable “just decent” range.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
One Magical Night
Best Friends
Kalle
Weekend Update
The Apocalypse
J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton
Monologue
Pippa Visits The Queen
Doggie Duty
On The Record w/ Greta Van Susteren


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Steve Buscemi)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Jimmy Fallon hosts the Christmas episode

Posted on

December 3, 2011 – Steve Buscemi / The Black Keys (S37 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OBAMA IN ONE
Barack Obama (FRA) is number 11 on his list of America’s Most Powerful

— Surprisingly, this is the first time Fred has played Obama all season. Even more surprising, it’s the first of only THREE times this entire season that Fred plays Obama, before the Obama impression gets handed to Jay the following season. I wonder if they were intentionally phasing Fred’s Obama out this season while waiting for Jay to get promoted to repertory player the following season (they presumably didn’t feel comfortable giving the Obama impression to a featured player, especially not one as green a live performer as Jay sometimes tends to be in his early seasons). The lack of appearances from Fred’s Obama this season could also do with the fact that a lot of this season’s cold openings focus on the republican presidential candidates.
— An actual amusing line from Fred’s Obama regarding consumer confidence and people pepper-spraying each other for an Xbox on Black Friday.
— At least we get a bit of a change of pace from the usual boring-as-hell Fredbama-speaks-straight-to-the-camera-from-behind-the-desk cold openings, with Fred’s Obama breaking down an “America’s Most Powerful” list with a Wayne’s World-esque Top 13 board.
— Another surprisingly amusing line from Fred’s Obama, with him sarcastically asking us “How many of you out there have a Fantasy Congress League?” and then proudly saying “Thank you for that joke, Joe Biden!”
STARS: **½


MONOLOGUE
supporting characters ask host how he made the leap to a leading role

— A laugh from the way Steve Buscemi points out that he tends to get typecast in movies as creepy characters.
— Second consecutive episode with Jay dressing in drag. I remember someone on the now-defunct saturday-night-live.com message board asking, back when this episode originally aired, “Is putting Jay in drag some kind of hazing process?”
— Some fun character work from the cast as cliched supporting character archetypes from movies. My favorites are Kenan as the magical African-American and Bill as the guy in war movies who “you just KNOW is gonna die!” All that being said, it kinda bugs me that they’re wasting Steve Buscemi on a monologue like this. How do you give a man as reliably funny and lovably offbeat as him a monologue where he plays a non-comedic straight man to a whole bunch of comedic characters?
— There’s our obligatory Kristen Wiig hammy camera-hogging moment at the end of this monologue (the last above screencap for this monologue).
STARS: ***½


FROZEN MEXICAN DINNER
Frozen Mexican Dinner instantly cures musician’s (PAB) constipation

— Good to see the underused Paul having the lead role in a commercial.
— A pretty solid reveal that the constipation medication that Fred suggests Paul take is a frozen Mexican dinner. The way such a silly and somewhat juvenile concept is being played so tenderly and dramatically is adding to the humor.
— Very funny shot of Paul shaking maracas in an over-excited manner during band practice after he’s finally cured of his constipation.
STARS: ***½


THE MILEY CYRUS SHOW
Whitney Houston (MAR) is a cautionary drug tale to Miley Cyrus (VAB)

— The weed-smoking angle is at least adding a bit of a different flavor to the overly-formulaic Miley Cyrus Show sketches.
— Right before the camera cuts away from a laughing Jason-as-Billy-Ray-Cyrus after he tells Vanessa’s Miley “You’re like a funny little Cheech Marin, baby!”, Jason, still seemingly acting in character, suddenly stops laughing and looks forward with an overly serious, almost-mesmerized look on his face, as if he had an epiphany. What was THAT all about? Was that implying Jason’s Billy Ray suddenly started having second thoughts about being okay with his daughter smoking weed?
— Speaking of oddities in Jason’s performance, he’s added a new mannerism to his Billy Ray Cyrus impression tonight, where he takes the time to toss his head and hair back in a mock-poignant manner before delivering certain lines. Not sure why he’s doing that, as it’s not really adding to the comedy of this sketch.
— A funny and pretty fitting character for Steve to play.
— Some pretty good laughs from the trippy music video.
— Out of absolutely nowhere, we suddenly get a Maya Rudolph cameo (which, as I said in a recent episode review, is something modern-day SNL viewers in 2020 are all too familiar with seeing), reprising her Whitney Houston impression.
— In a somewhat similar vein to the infamously unfortunate timing of Abby once doing a Brittany Murphy spoof in what ended up being two weeks before Murphy’s untimely death, Whitney Houston would end up dying just two months after the original airing of this sketch, a sketch that makes fun of Whitney’s drug use. Yikes. IIRC, this episode would end up never getting an NBC rerun, and people have speculated that it’s because of Whitney’s death. However, couldn’t SNL have just replaced this Miley Cyrus Show sketch with something else in reruns, perhaps a sketch cut after this episode’s dress rehearsal?
— Blah, I don’t like how Maya’s one-note, somewhat-played-out Whitney shtick has completely taken over this sketch, nor do I like how it’s completely sidelined Steve Buscemi, who barely got to say anything before Maya’s Whitney suddenly hijacked this sketch. Between the monologue and this sketch, tonight’s episode so far hasn’t exactly been utilizing Steve to his full potential.
— This ends up being the last Miley Cyrus Show sketch we’ll be seeing for quite a long while. The next one, which also ends up being the final one, doesn’t appear until well over a year later, and it spoofs Miley’s then-new, more-adult image and hairstyle.
STARS: **


BATMAN
commissioner’s (host) privacy is sneakily invaded by Batman (ANS)

— Some chuckles, but the “An Andy Samberg character keeps unexpectedly popping up wherever a certain person goes” concept is too “old hat” for Lonely Island, and was done better in some of their previous shorts.
— I did get a pretty good laugh from Andy’s Batman taking a photo of Steve’s prostate exam, complete with Jason as a doctor cheerfully posing for the photo.
— A very meh and half-assed ending.
STARS: **½


DATELINE
Keith Morrison (BIH) gets off on murderer’s (host) deeds

— The final Dateline sketch with Bill’s Keith Morrison.
— As usual, this is using the same basic concept from the previous Dateline/Keith Morrison sketches, but Bill’s Morrison and his delighted, creepy vocalizations never fail to crack me up.
— Funny line from Bill’s Morrison about how they have to stretch out this murder story because Dateline’s an hour-long show, and how they only have one photo of the murderer, which they keep showing repeatedly.
— A memorable visual of Bill’s Morrison snacking on popcorn while eagerly listening to grisly details of a murder. I’ve often seen that visual used as a GIF on Twitter.
— Bill-as-Morrison’s reactions to Kristen’s “I would let him stick his dong right up in my dumphole” confession is hilarious, with him first reacting with a frozen, speechless face, then saying a poignantly-delivered “I must paint you”, then proceeding to create a painting of Kristen. Even funnier about that last part is that, before the camera cuts away from Bill’s Morrison beginning to paint Kristen, we see that he’s just painting a simple circle for the head and a bigger simple circle for the body (the sixth-to-last above screencap for this sketch).
— Even though the part with Steve joining Bill’s Morrison in his usual delighted, creepy vocalizations is just a copy of what Tracy Morgan did in a previous Dateline sketch, it’s still making me laugh.
— A good offbeat, random ending with Bill’s Morrison imitating a drowning clown in a pool.
STARS: ****


COACH BERT
investigation clears creepy college coach (host) of pedophilia suspicions

— Ah, an all-time classic, and one of the ballsier things SNL has done in this era.
— A lot of priceless taken-aback reactions from Steve’s Coach Bert when Jason says Coach Bert came to mind when wondering if anyone at this college could potentially be a sexual predator.
— I love Jason’s “I know, I’m as surprised as you are!” when reporters are in disbelief upon being told that no evidence of Coach Bert being a pedophile could be found.
— Coach Bert, when wondering why he’s suspected of being a pedophile: “Is it the mustache?!? ‘Cause I can shave the mustache!”
— A great violent outburst from Kenan towards Coach Bert when Kenan expresses disgust over Coach Bert never being seen washing his hands at any point during the investigation of him.
— The escalation to this sketch is fantastic, with us now getting an appearance from Bill as a NAMBLA member, an appearance that’s hilarious right from his opening line about how great it is to be back in a school.
— When the reporters applaud Bill’s NAMBLA character as he leaves, I love an outraged Coach Bert saying “You’re clapping for him?!? Don’t clap for him!”
— Jay, after revealing that the only bad thing Coach Bert did to him during their private meeting was make him listen to a tape of the horrible Bert Man song: “He never molested me…but at times, I would’ve preferred if he had.”
— Excellent ending with the Coach Bert flyer Jason holds up.
— Overall, this sketch was just as incredible as I had remembered.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lonely Boy”


WEEKEND UPDATE
aura of adultery surrounds suspension of Herman Cain’s (KET) campaign

the holidays find Drunk Uncle (BOM) unhappy with the direction of society

— Kenan’s Herman Cain telling Seth, immediately after handing him money, “Now, you know that money ain’t free”, made me laugh just due to Kenan’s delivery.
— A predictable but amusing “Why don’t you bend over for Herman Cain?” motto that Kenan’s Cain leads up to.
— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut!
— Right out of the gate in his debut, Drunk Uncle is coming off very funny in his griping about modern societal and technological norms, and his sloppy use of popular slogans. Bobby already has a solid handle on this character.
— I got a particularly big laugh from Drunk Uncle randomly growling the word “iiiimmigrants!” into his drink.
STARS: ***


SURPRISE
co-worker’s (VAB) pending promotion overstimulates surprise-loving Sue

— (*groan*) The return of Surprise Sue. At least we got a long break from her. Her last appearance prior to tonight was as far back as two seasons ago. I’m not 100% sure, but I think I recall Kristen announcing sometime during that two-year gap that she retired Surprise Sue along with another character or two, because she was sick of playing them. No idea why they un-retired Sue tonight, but this ends up being her final appearance during Kristen’s tenure as a cast member. (Sue gets brought back many years later in a season 42 episode hosted by Kristen.)
— I hate myself for chuckling at the fact that Steve’s character is named Artie Anal, especially since I usually hate when the regular writer(s) of this sketch (either Kent Sublette and/or James Anderson) throws gag names like that into sketches as a random non-sequitur that’s unrelated to the sketch’s premise (a HORRIBLE trademark of many of the sketches that Sublette and/or Anderson are known to have written). I think the only reason this particular Artie Anal name made me laugh was just because of Steve’s affable delivery of it.
— Now Steve has a genuinely funny line, where he says a shocked “God, Sue, you’ve got some knockers!” when seeing Surprise Sue in her bra.
— I saw it coming from a mile away that Sue would eventually end up inside that vending machine in the background.
STARS: **


“SEX” ED VINCENT’S COUPLES WORKSHOP SEX INTENSIVE
erotic chef (host) contributes to Ed Vincent’s tepid Couples Workshop

— Yet another sketch/character tonight that’s making its final appearance, as this is our second and final edition of Paul’s Sex Ed Vincent bit. Good to see this back, and I’m happy that this is the second lead role that the underused Paul has gotten in tonight’s episode alone.
— Like last time, Paul’s giving a strong performance as this character.
— Ha, Steve Buscemi as a character called “The Erotic Chef”. You can already tell this is gonna kill.
— As expected, Steve’s overly-simplistic erotic food routine is great.
— Some very funny sex moves that Paul demonstrates for same-sex couples.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Gold on the Ceiling”


ORNAMENTS
(host) unpacks & comments on Christmas ornaments for Sheila (KRW) to hang

— The first of an occasionally-appearing recurring holiday piece. I love all the ones I’ve seen (I’ve yet to watch the cut-after-dress-rehearsal-but-posted-online Kristen Wiig-starring one from the season 42 episode that Kristen hosts), but to me, none of the follow-ups top this original one.
— I love Steve’s affably-delivered “I’m fully kidding” comment after claiming the snowman ornament had just bit him.
— Every single comment from Steve about each ornament is absolutely slaying me.
— Steve, leaning discreetly into the camera after a loopy moment from Kristen’s side character: “This broad is tryin’ to gaslight me!”
— Steve, regarding one particular ornament: “This one’s been up my butt. Not just a little bit…all the way.”
— All the random and offbeat side actions from Kristen’s tree-decorating character are adding to the humor for me, especially when the tree she’s decorating has inexplicably disappeared out of nowhere.
— After Kristen repeats Steve’s “Merry Christmas, Sheila”, we get a great reveal from the ending title screen that Steve’s character is indeed named Sheila.
STARS: *****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A bit of an up-and-down episode, but the highs made it worth it. In particular, we got TWO all-time favorites of mine (and certain other SNL fans): Coach Bert and Ornaments. The poor utilization of Steve Buscemi in his first two appearances tonight was worrisome, but his utilization got better as this episode progressed.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Coach Bert
Ornaments
Dateline / “Sex” Ed Vincent’s Couples Workshop Sex Intensive (tie)
Frozen Mexican Dinner
Monologue
Weekend Update
Batman
Obama In One
The Miley Cyrus Show
Surprise


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jason Segel)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Katy Perry

Posted on

November 19, 2011 – Jason Segel / Florence + The Machine (S37 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

MITT ROMNEY RAW & UNLEASHED
even the “raw & unleashed” Mitt Romney (JAS) is stiff & uncontroversial

— Good premise with Sudeikis’ Mitt Romney desperately trying to shed his reputation as someone boring by unsuccessfully coming off “raw & unleashed”.
— During his interaction with Kristen’s character, I like Sudeikis’ Romney saying to the camera in a monotone voice, “I’m a real dog – bark, bark.”
— The head-shaking facial expression that Taran and Jay each make at the camera at the end of their respective scene got a laugh from me.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host tells Muppets that, despite their SNL heritage, this is his solo gig

— Almost right out of the gate, Jason Segel’s already letting us know we’re in for (yet another) musical monologue. At least they’re open about it.
— It goes without saying that it’s very fun seeing the Muppets.
— Funny how clear it’s gradually becoming that the Muppets are under the wrong impression that they’re hosting SNL with Segel.
— A solid turn with the Muppets bitterly acting sarcastic towards Segel after he breaks the news to them that he’s hosting the show alone.
— Funny bit with Kermit’s “impression” of Ray Romano.
— Ooh, I love the fact that they actually mention that the Muppets were part of SNL since 1975, accompanied by a photo of forgotten SNL Muppet Scred, in a bee costume, with Gilda Radner. I love how seeing this photo takes me back to when I was reviewing season 1 all the way back at the beginning of this SNL project of mine.
— And now we have a Statler and Waldorf cameo at the end to put this over the top.
STARS: ****


RED FLAG
Rerun from 9/24/11


KELLY AUDITIONS
Kelly Ripa (NAP) auditions potential replacements for Regis Philbin

— A successor to the Regis Auditions sketch from many years earlier, in a season 25 episode hosted by Joshua Jackson.
— I like how Kenan’s Charles Barkley, when finding out the show starts at 9 a.m., immediately says “Okay, bye” and leaves.
— Garrison Keillor is a nice, out-of-the-ordinary choice for an SNL impression, and Bill is killing it in his impression of him.
— I love Bobby’s jolly Rosie O’Donnell suddenly telling Nasim’s Kelly Ripa a threatening “I will absorb you!”
— The debut of Abby’s Zooey Deschanel impression, which SNL will be getting some mileage out of this season in general.
— Taran’s Ashton Kutcher impression is absolutely hilarious.
— Jay’s mere facial expressions as Denzel Washington are slaying the audience.
— An overall fun impression showcase, much like the original Regis Auditions sketch.
STARS: ****


KEMPER-PEDIC ME TIME MATTRESS
(host)’s Kemper-Pedic mattress is for isolation of masturbation vibration

— A lot of laughs from the various masturbation-like innocent actions that Segel is demonstrating on the mattress being advertised. Segel is executing this really well.
STARS: ****


AFFECTIONATE FAMILY
Austin Vogelcheck joins his brother (host) & family for Thanksgiving

— (*groooooooaaaaaaaaaaan*)
— Did SNL forget that Vanessa already played the outsider girlfriend role in the last Vogelchecks sketch prior to this?
— At least we get a little something right now that’s kinda different for this recurring sketch, albeit brief, where Jay comes in as a second homeless guy and, upon realizing he’s at the Vogelchecks’ house, immediately reacts negatively and exits. One of the very few (if not the ONLY) laughs I ever got from a Vogelchecks sketch.
— Boy, do I hate the increasingly exaggerated mock-sentimental way Fred says “I guess we’re just….Vogelcheks” in each passing installment of this sketch.
— Paul Rudd cameo, where he and Segel IMMEDIATELY go all out and suck face with each other in the most exaggerated way possible.
— We end with a family photo of the Vogelchecks, which includes every SNL host who previously played a Vogelcheck son.
— On the bright side, this ends up being the final Vogelchecks sketch, not counting the revival that appears a few years later when Andy hosts the season 39 finale.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Shake It Out”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Jon Huntsman [real] butters up voters from New Hampshire, like SEM

incredulous SEM & Kermit say “Really!?!” to school pizza as a vegetable

— Jon Hunstman cameo. And with it, we get an odd technical gaffe during his entrance.
— Huntsman’s commentary is just generic “Politician tries to prove they have a sense of humor” comedy.
— A “Really?!?” segment with Kermit joining Seth.
— Mm, it turns out that the material in tonight’s “Really?!?” is very blah, but Kermit is at least adding fun energy.
STARS: ***


RETIREMENT PARTY
at (FRA)’s retirement party, (host) hints at a big secret to be revealed

— Even in just a silent cutaway, Vanessa’s so good at comically playing a shy character.
— Ugh, Kristen’s various “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants are unfunny and annoying as all hell.
— Segel’s been given nothing material in this, but he’s selling it as best as he can.
— I finally got an actual big laugh just now, from the cutaway to a handlebar mustache-having Bobby making a shocked face into the camera.
— What the hell is this sketch going for?!? And what’s with all the bizarre, unfunny, random turns?
— Oh, are you kidding me?!? They end this sketch with YET ANOTHER one of Kristen’s unbearable “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants. Get the fuck outta here with that. Even the easy-to-please audience had no idea how to react to it, as there’s a very awkward stretch of silence between the end of Kristen’s rant and the sketch-ending audience applause.
— An overall mostly awful sketch.
STARS: *½


A NEW JACK THANKSGIVING
obscure artists fuse hip-hop with R&B

— A sketch in the vein of the preceding season’s The Worst Of Soul Train sketch.
— Meh, so far, this is nowhere near as funny as the aforementioned Soul Train sketch. Most of the scenes here aren’t doing much for me.
— When this originally aired, some online SNL fans bashed Vanessa for how extremely stiff she came off in her singing and dancing during the TLC-esque scene she’s in with Nasim and Abby. Just one of several examples of how heavily criticized and disliked Vanessa was among some online SNL fans when this season originally aired, which is worth pointing out given how well-liked she’d later go on to become, particularly in her final two seasons.
— Kenan’s song right now is at least one part of this sketch I’m finally liking.
— While I’m not caring much for the lyrics to Florence Welch’s song, she’s singing the hell out of them.
— A chuckle from the photo of the “Toni, Tone, Tony Shaloub” singing group.
— There’s Triangle Sally to give me some much-needed amusement after how much this sketch has been falling a little flat for me.
STARS: **


SEDUCING WOMEN THROUGH CHESS
(Olivia Wilde) & other women prove (ANS) has no game

— Another Digital Short that does a good job making the video look like it genuinely comes from an old, worn-out 1980s VHS tape.
— Very funny how the first scene abruptly ends with the rapid-fire “Checkmate!” “DAMMIT!” exchange between Nasim and Andy.
— I like Kristen’s little “Hey!” and raised-eyebrows facial expression when Andy rudely gives her a light shove.
— An Olivia Wilde cameo out of nowhere. Is this how she and her future hubby Jason Sudeikis met?
— I’m really enjoying the escalation to Andy’s character’s desperation, especially how he’s resorting to simpler and simpler games in his attempts to beat his female opponents. The glass-eating scene is particularly funny.
— Very good ending.
— Overall, a strong short, and a huge turnaround for the Digital Shorts the week after they had their absolute worst Digital Short up to this point (Wish It Would Rain).
STARS: ****


ANDRÉ THE GIANT CHOOSES AN ICE CREAM FLAVOR
in an ice cream parlor, André The Giant (host) does what the title above says

— A sketch in the tradition of “Celebrity performs a very simple task” sketches that these late 2000s/early 2010 seasons like occasionally doing.
— Fantastic André The Giant voice from Segel.
— Wow, and it’s over already. Short and very sweet. Segel did a great job in his execution of this.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “No Light, No Light”


THE BLUE JEAN COMMITTEE
local band charms townsfolk with rendition of “Massachusetts Afternoon”

— I’m usually not a fan of these “Fred as the lead singer of a band” sketches from Fred’s later seasons, but I’m liking this sketch so far. It has an enjoyable, laid-back, charming, feel-good atmosphere, which is a very fitting way to close an episode.
— Did I just see Paul Rudd in the background sneaking into the scene during a close-up of Fred?
— Yep, there’s Rudd now seen sitting at the bar, enjoying the band’s performance.
— Now more and more of SNL’s guests from tonight’s episode are popping up at the bar, jamming out to the band. This is only adding to the fun, entertaining vibe to this sketch. I’m also starting to find the band’s song really damn catchy.
— A great over-the-top excited look on Bill’s face while bopping back and forth behind the Muppets.
— More and more, I am absolutely loving this sketch. I really underrated this in my past viewing of it back when it originally aired.
— Ah, there’s a shot of Taran dancing wildly, a little Taran Killam trademark that’s always a comedy favorite of mine.
— Overall, probably one of the most pure, feel-good things this era has ever done.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A much better episode than I remembered it being. I’m pleasantly surprised by the impressive number of segments I gave a high rating to in this episode. The really bad segments that were hard for me to get through (Affectionate Family and Retirement Party, I’m lookin’ at you) will hurt this great episode’s rating average a little bit, but not too much, given the high number of strong segments.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Blue Jean Committee
Seducing Women Through Chess
André The Giant Chooses An Ice Cream Flavor
Kemper-Pedic Me Time Mattress
Monologue
Kelly Auditions
Mitt Romney Raw & Unleashed
Weekend Update
A New Jack Thanksgiving
Retirement Party
Affectionate Family


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Emma Stone)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Steve Buscemi

Posted on

November 12, 2011 – Emma Stone / Coldplay (S37 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
during a GOP debate, fellow candidates pity forgetful Rick Perry (BIH)

— Another funny loopy portrayal of Rick Perry from Bill, and it’s an interesting change of pace having this GOP debate sketch mainly focus on him.
— Some funny unsettled reactions from the other candidates to Bill-as-Rick-Perry’s endless screw-ups and embarrassments.
— Another example of Paul sounding very Will Forte-esque as Ron Paul, this time when exclaiming “All his cards are BLANK!”
— A hilarious visual of Bill’s Perry seen wearing a dickey when he removes his suit jacket.
— As I’ve disclosed before, Of Mice And Men is my favorite book of all time, and I’m always a sucker for parodies of it. Thus, I love the Of Mice And Men turn this cold opening takes towards the end.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
ANS wishes he & not Andrew Garfield [real] were host’s Spider-Man co-star

— I see Andy’s apparently doing a variation of the upside-down Spider-Man commentary he did on Weekend Update the preceding season.
— A laugh from Andy’s sloppy attempt at passing off silly string as a web shooter.
— A meta, self-aware part with Emma pointing out that Andy’s just re-doing the same monologue Kirsten Dunst did in 2002.
— Andy, when learning that the surname of Spider-Man’s new actor is Garfield: “How’s he gonna fight crime when he’s busy eating lasagna and tworking Nermal, amirite?!?” Assuming “tworking” means “fucking”, it’s funny how many people, including Andy, are under the incorrect assumption that Nermal is a girl. I used to think so myself when I was a kid.
— I love Andy’s “HE’S BRITISH?!?” line when hearing Andrew Garfield’s accent.
STARS: ***½


SECRET WORD
oblivious Mindy Grayson & Miss America (host) are worthless

— (*groan*) (By the way, I wonder how many recurring sketches in this era always immediately induce a *groan* reaction from me in my reviews. Whatever the number is, it must be close to the double-digits by this point, if not already there, which just goes to show how many bad recurring sketches this era has).
— I guess they’re running out of cast members to play the straight man contestants in this recurring sketch, as this is Paul’s second time getting stuck in this role in a Secret Word sketch.
— Funny bit regarding Emma disclosing the fact that she was disqualified from a pageant because “they could see my puss”.
— Like most SNL hosts in this recurring sketch, Emma continues to be the only real saving grace of this installment (aside from a few funny reliable lines from Bill). The Mindy Elise Grayson (once again, I hate the fact that they randomly and pointlessly added a middle name to this Mindy Grayson character starting last season) portions, on the other hand, are as painful as ever. In fact, I don’t know if it’s just me, but this character seems to be getting more and more annoying with each passing installment of this sketch lately, especially her songs that these sketches seem to be relying on more and more.
STARS: *½


WXPD NEWS NEW YORK
journalistic fossil Herb Welch flubs reporting on falling ice story

— Makes sense seeing Emma Stone in a Herb Welch sketch and being the victim of Herb’s typical microphone face-hits, given the fact that, reportedly, Bill inadvertently came up with the Herb Welch character during rehearsals of the news sketch from Emma’s previous episode, where Bill, while playing a normal reporter character, kept ad-libbing by hitting Emma and others in the face with his microphone while interviewing them.
— A good laugh from Herb randomly asking Emma “You think this Belafonte kid oughta…pipe down?”
— A decent twist to the usual microphone face-hitting gag at one point, with Emma using her purse as a shield when Herb’s about to hit her in the face with his microphone once again, causing him to unintentionally hit himself with the microphone.
— Good job from Kristen on perfectly keeping a straight face during Bill’s VERY extended tapping of his microphone onto her crotch, which (unsurprisingly) cracks himself up at one point.
— Maybe I’m slowly starting to get a little tired of the usual formula of this recurring sketch, because, while I still enjoyed tonight’s overall installment, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as previous installments.
STARS: ***½


WISH IT WOULD RAIN
lack of precipitation hampers singer’s (ANS) video

 

— Oh, no. I recall this short being HORRIBLE. When it originally aired, I was absolutely floored by how bad it was. It was the point where I slowly started realizing that the Digital Shorts had officially “lost it” this season.
— The bit with the “rain” turning out to be Jason peeing on Andy got a laugh from me. Otherwise, yeah, this short is dire so far.
— Jesus Christ, the appearance of Emma with an exaggeratedly big butt is SO desperate. Just sad. The fact that they felt the need to randomly throw that gag into this is a huge sign of the general lack of inspiration in this season’s Digital Shorts.
— Yikes, that Andy-getting-struck-by-lightning-and-then-disappearing ending was AWFUL, and, again, reeked of sad desperation and lack of inspiration.
— Overall, oof. Yeah, this mostly lived up to my horrible memory of it, though I did get one actual laugh this time (the aforementioned bit with the rain turning out to be Jason peeing), which was more than I got during my first viewing of this back when it originally aired. Still one of the worst Digital Shorts of all time, though.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Paradise”


WEEKEND UPDATE
the nature of the Penn State scandal is too much for The Devil to take

Garth & Kat add a backup singer (Chris Martin) for Thanksgiving tunes

— Ah, this Penn State commentary from The Devil is the commentary that I’ve remembered the most out of all of his appearances. This also ends up being his final Update commentary. His only remaining appearance is just a non-speaking background appearance with various other Update characters during the epic “Stefon’s Wedding” bit in Bill’s final episode.
— I absolute love The Devil’s various reactions to certain horrifying details about the Penn State scandal. Given this VERY heavy subject matter, this is a fine line for SNL to tread, but Jason’s execution of it is perfect.
— After The Devil says, in an aghast manner in response to one of the Penn State scandal details about the child sexual abuse, “This is college football, not the catholic church!” and the audience gasps at that, I love The Devil then asking the audience “Are you sorry that it happened or that I reminded you of it?”
— After The Devil learns of one PARTICULARLY horrifying fact about the Penn State scandal, Jason gets such a huge laugh out of me from him getting out of his seat and yelling at the Weekend Update map “ARE YOU HEARING THIS?!? ARE YOU HEARING THIS…MAP?!?” Jason is absolutely slaying me in this whole commentary.
— The Devil ending his commentary by officially retiring from his job is perfect closure for this recurring character.
— Aaaaaaand, after my very positive reception to The Devil commentary, Garth and motherfucking Kat are here to give me one of the biggest mood whiplashes I’ve EVER gotten during SNL.
— Much like Gwyneth Paltrow in the preceding season, her then-hubby Chris Martin plays a third member of Garth & Kat. I’m guessing Chris Martin previously watched Gwyneth doing this and liked it so much that, when he showed up at SNL this week, he asked if he could do a Garth & Kat bit. So I see I have him to thank for having to suffer through these characters once again.
STARS: **½ (as usual, Garth & Kat’s painful and overlong commentary docked half a star from the rating)


LES JEUNES DE PARIS
teens dance & get married to “A Cause Des Garcons”

— This episode is going really heavy on recurring characters, though I’m not complaining about seeing this particular sketch.
— Emma reprises the character she played in the very first installment of this sketch.
— I kinda don’t like how the French songs played in these sketches seem to get less and less bizarre with each passing installment of this sketch, but that’s a minor gripe about this always-very-fun recurring sketch.
— Great bit with a little person appearing from under Emma’s wedding dress.
— Some fun walk-ons and passersby at the end.
— While I didn’t feel this overall installment of this recurring sketch was quite as great as previous installments (which I also said about Herb Welch earlier in this episode review), this was still strong and enjoyable.
STARS: ****


BRIDAL SHOWER GIFTS
(host)’s X-rated gifts are inappropriate for (KRW)’s bridal shower

— An actual original, non-recurring sketch tonight.
— The odd, very deep voice Emma’s using here is immediately cracking me up.
— So far, good job from Emma as this off-beat character, and her inappropriate bridal shower gifts are pretty funny.
— I know it’s cliched for me to say this at this point of Fred’s SNL tenure, but ugh, I hate Fred’s performance in this otherwise good sketch. I find him unlikable when he plays characters like this in his later seasons, and not unlikable in the intentional, comedic way.
— Decent bit with Emma’s reactions to the “cops”.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”


SAD SONG
depressed (NAP) & co-workers have a good cry to “Someone Like You”

— A laugh from Nasim, after initially hiding her true emotions from her co-workers, immediately following her co-workers’ exit by playing Adele’s “Someone Like You” on her computer and instantly breaking out into tears.
— Very funny visual of Nasim and Emma simultaneously pigging out on ice cream while crying to the song.
— Amusing how Kristen’s reason for wanting to cry to the song is because her parakeets have been fighting all week.
— Hilarious actions and facial expressions from Emma, Nasim, and Kristen right now during their emotional “Someone Like You” crying together.
— Great escalation to this sketch.
— I love the gag with Bill randomly having mascara running from his eyes during his crying.
— An excellent meta turn with us now even seeing Coldplay, as themselves, falling victim to the chain reaction of emotional “Someone Like You” crying while watching this sketch backstage at SNL.
STARS: ****½


WE’RE GOING TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY HUMP
handheld devices perform porno plots

— Well, this is certainly an out-of-left-field premise. I’m onboard, though.
— Jay makes his ONLY appearance of the entire night in something that’s 1) pre-taped, and 2) can hardly even be called an “appearance”, as we only hear his voice and see his hand during one of the technology sex scenes.
— Why are Andy and Emma’s portions of this sketch pre-taped? One could say it’s because Andy gets bleeped out at one point when jovially saying “I hear that shit!”, but it’s not like this era hasn’t had bleeped-out scripted swearing in live sketches (e.g. the Paula Deen sketch from the season 36 Scarlett Johansson episode).
— Some good and inspired gags during the technology sex scenes, like the camera’s penis being its extended lens, the iPad turning around to receive anal sex, and the curling iron’s plug being used as a whip.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A decent episode. The first half was kinda bumpy, but things got better and more consistent in the second half (which was also the case with Emma Stone’s previous episode).


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Sad Song
Les Jeunes de Paris
We’re Going To Make Technology Hump
The Republican Presidential Debate
WXPD News New York
Monologue
Bridal Shower Gifts
Weekend Update
Secret Word
Wish It Would Rain


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Charlie Day)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Jason Segel

Posted on

November 5, 2011 – Charlie Day / Maroon 5 (S37 E5)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE GHOST OF KADDAFI
the ghost of Muammer Kaddafi (FRA) says his final farewells from Hell

— Ugh. Much like the first cold opening SNL did after Osama Bin Laden’s death the preceding season, we open the show with a post-death address to the nation from Fred as a recently-killed Muammer Kaddafi (how many damn spellings of the man’s name are there?). So lazy and uncreative, which is sadly on-brand for a lot of SNL’s writing in 2009-2012. Not to mention SNL’s overuse of Fred’s unfunny Kaddafi impression the preceding season (appearing FOUR EPISODES IN A ROW at one point) made me permanently sick of it. At least the fact that Kaddafi is dead by this point means I don’t have to suffer through this impression anymore, but I’m sure Fred will find another Middle Eastern leader to play ad-nauseam.
— I do at least kinda like the line about how hell looks like Libya.
— Boy, that joke from Fred’s Kaddafi about his face being melty got a very forced, tedious “Ehhh…” laugh from the audience.
— Overall, most of this was just as painful to get through as I was worried.
STARS: *½


MONOLOGUE
relaxed host puts out by playing piano & harmonica; Danny DeVito cameo

— Charlie Day already bringing lots of fun energy right out of the gate in this.
— Danny DeVito! In his first SNL appearance in years!
— So much fun interplay between Charlie and Danny in this.
— Charlie Day is one of the very few hosts who can make me forgive SNL for doing yet another musical monologue in this era.
— Charlie, to Danny: “(*in an aggravated manner*) It’s called a monologue ’cause one person does it!” Ha, tell that to SNL’s writers.
— Great piano/harmonica song from Charlie, especially the lyric about it being “Charlie Day day”.
STARS: ****½


KIM’S FAIRYTALE DIVORCE
Kardashians make a spectacle of Kim’s (NAP) separation

— I remember this being really solid and fun.
— A hilarious facial expression from Taran’s Bruce Jenner.
— I love Charlie as the divorce attorney.
— Andy’s caveman-like portrayal of Kris Humphries is very funny.
— I like the running gag with Kristen’s Kris Jenner desperately trying to pass herself off as a young, fourth Kardashian sister.
— Overall, this lived up to my positive memories. Easily my favorite of SNL’s many Kardashian spoofs in this era. I think the fact that this one was pre-taped played a part in it coming off more fun than SNL’s typical Kardashian parodies in this era.
STARS: ****


THE DR. OZ SHOW
(host)’s dead rectum isn’t treated discreetly by Dr. Oz (BIH)

— A spot-on Dr. Oz impression from Bill.
— I’m currently about two minutes into this sketch, and I’m not too crazy about it so far.
— This sketch is over already??? This was a big ol’ pile of “meh”, despite some chuckles I got towards the end.
STARS: **


GREEK GODS
on Mount Olympus, Greek gods dodge blame for Hellenic economic woes

— I always love these fun ensemble sketches that utilize the entire cast and give each of them their own bit.
— Andy’s disgusting suggestion is very funny, especially with his various “hear me out”s throughout it.
— Jason is excellent as the leader here, and he has so many funny reactions to the other gods.
— A laugh from Adam Levine’s failure in his attempts to brush the long windblown hair out of his face.
— Bobby’s delivery of “Hahahaha SHUT UP” was great.
— Some fun interplay between Charlie and Jason here (a precursor to lots of fun interplay we’ll be seeing between Charlie and Jason in a certain sketch airing later in this episode).
— Meh, a newspaper headline ending, usually a lazy resort.
STARS: ****


IT’S GETTING FREAKY WITH CEE LO GREEN!
Cee Lo Green (KET) helps (ANS) & (ABE) enliven marriage

— Speaking of lazy resorts SNL loves relying on, we get the debut of another celebrity-hosted talk show sketch.
— A good vocal imitation of Cee Lo Green from Kenan.
— For a celebrity-hosted talk show sketch, this actually has a very fun atmosphere and approach. In fact, the fun atmosphere and approach is quite What Up With That-esque, such as the look of the band, and Charlie’s Freakasaurus character. Given the fact, at this time, What Up With That was retired (it would be un-retired later this season), perhaps SNL intended this sketch to become WUWT’s replacement.
— Some funny lines from Kenan’s Cee Lo throughout this, especially “Well, much like my arms and legs, this is a stumper.”
— Now we get another WUWT-esque fun aspect of this sketch, with Bill entering as “Colonel Nasty”, featuring Bill doing his ol’ reliable “70s pimp” voice.
STARS: ***½


THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF CATCHPHRASE COMEDY VOLUME 2
more hack stand-ups are along for the second Kings Of Catchphrase tour

— The second and final installment of this piece, though there’s a third one that gets cut after dress rehearsal from this season’s finale and would be posted online.
— An absolutely spot-on and funny Dane Cook spoof from Charlie.
— Nasim’s “my vagina” routine is a particularly accurate and funny spoof of some female stand-ups.
— I love the randomness of Adam Levine’s whole stand-up gimmick being him suddenly getting attacked by a hawk in the middle of his act.
— Bill’s bit particularly stands out as absolutely priceless.
— Unlike the first installment of this piece, tonight’s installment is using the entire cast, making this the second full-cast segment tonight that gives each cast member their own moment to shine. I absolutely love that, and for me, that puts this one over the top as my favorite of the two Kings Of Catchphrase Comedy pieces.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Moves Like Jagger”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Rick Perry (BIH) is as loopy as he seemed during his New Hampshire speech

A Closer Look At Europe- SEM summarizes the continental financial crisis

eternally-nervous Judy Grimes free-associates quickly & peripatetically

— Bill is very fun here as Rick Perry, so much so that even he and Seth are visibly having a lot of unscripted, infectious fun here, particularly with Bill’s hilarious “Hola!” ad-lib during the Hawaiian doll bit.
— Holy hell, Seth is doing a segment called “A Closer Look at Europe”. Can this be considered a direct precursor to his famous “A Closer Look” regular segment from his current Late Night show? I’ve never actually watched his Late Night show, so I don’t know how similar the actual content of this “Closer Look at Europe” segment has to the content of his “Closer Look” segments on Late Night.
— An overall decent “Closer Look at Europe” segment.
— I completely forgot about Kristen’s Judy Grimes character until this point. She hadn’t appeared in quite a long while. I didn’t even realize until now that she completely skipped season 36.
— Checking SNL Archives right now, this actually ends up being Judy Grimes’ final appearance. I keep forgetting this is Kristen’s final season on SNL.
— Wow, tonight’s Judy Grimes commentary contains what has got to be her longest run-on “Just kidding” spiel of all time. That’s not a complaint, though, as I’m still getting my usual laughs from this character. And given the fact that this ends up being her final appearance, it’s very fitting that this contains her longest-ever run-on “Just kidding” spiel, whether that’s intentional on SNL’s part or not. I’m glad that, contrary to my initial worries when I covered Judy Grimes’ debut, I somehow ended up never getting sick of this character, despite her shtick always being the same.
STARS: ***½


BECAUSE OF ONE DOLPHIN
on a movie set, actor (host) has trouble during a scene with a dolphin

— For some reason, it feels a little odd seeing Kristen playing a director in a movie filming sketch. As frequently utilized as she is, I can’t think of any other time she played this specific type of role.
— Some laughs from Taran’s dolphin command sounds and gestures.
— I’m being somewhat amused by Kenan’s stern “I do my job” catchphrase throughout this sketch.
— Pretty funny turn with Kenan immediately ripping off his clothes to reveal he’s wearing the same costume that Charlie’s wearing for the movie, and then proceeding to seamlessly step into Charlie’s movie role.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Travie McCoy [real] perform “Stereo Hearts”


CRIME SCENE
(host) belies ignorance while investigating murder in Seinfeld apartment lookalike

— Ah, an all-time favorite of mine, and I know that a number of other SNL fans love it as well.
— A genuine and relatable big laugh from the simple moment of Jason finally pointing out what we all noticed right from the start of this sketch: this apartment looks like the famous Seinfeld apartment.
— Charlie’s increasingly ridiculous and inexplicable lack of knowledge about certain TV shows and historical events is great.
— Charlie, when Jason brings up the name Adolf Hitler: “What’s he, another one of your Fieldstein characters?”
— Now this is getting even funnier with Charlie’s character unwittingly making references to the exact TV shows and historical events that he claimed to have no knowledge of.
— Jason and Charlie are making an AMAZING comedy team in this. They are an absolute blast together here, and the way they’re selling this sketch is nothing short of phenomenal.
— Even Jason’s mere delivery of “What the hell?!?” when Charlie’s character intentionally makes a CSI reference killed me and has been one of the parts of this sketch that has stuck in my memory over the years.
STARS: *****


LIL POUNDCAKE
Rerun from 10/1/11


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— I called the preceding Anna Faris-hosted episode pretty fun, but THIS episode takes the cake. This episode was the textbook definition of fun, with stuff like the monologue, Greek Gods, It’s Getting Freaky, Kings Of Catchphrase Comedy, Bill Hader’s Rick Perry commentary on Weekend Update, and (especially) Crime Scene. Charlie Day’s performances also added a lot to the fun vibe of this episode. There was so much of this episode that I loved. The number of segments that didn’t work for me were thankfully kept to a very small minimum, and are easy to ignore with how strong a lot of this episode was. And even as awful and derivative as the cold opening was, at least Fred Armisen brought a lot of energy in it, which, thinking about it in hindsight, fits the fun, energetic feel of this episode in general.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Crime Scene
The Original Kings Of Catchphrase Comedy Volume 2
Monologue
Greek Gods
Kim’s Fairytale Divorce
It’s Getting Freaky with Cee Lo Green!
Weekend Update
Because Of One Dolphin
The Dr. Oz Show
The Ghost of Kaddafi


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Anna Faris)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Emma Stone

Posted on

October 15, 2011 – Anna Faris / Drake (S37 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
one-percenter Michael Bloomberg (FRA) ducks Occupy Wall Street protesters

— I liked the previous Fred-as-Michael-Bloomberg-addressing-the-nation cold opening from the preceding season, but I can’t say I’m crazy about seeing another one. Then again, I’m rarely eager to see ANY cold opening involving a politician sitting behind a desk (or standing behind a podium, in this case) and delivering an address to the nation.
— Funny line regarding New York supposedly being a trendsetter.
— Aside from a few okay lines, this cold opening is droning on and on for me. Fred might as well be playing Obama here, because this cold opening is almost as boring as a typical Obama-addresses-the-nation cold opening.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
in Hanna Garis (ABE), host finds a familiar face in the audience

— An okay-ish conceit with the overly-intelligent, complicated questions audience members ask the ditzy Anna Faris.
— Hmm, playing a Jeff Montgomery-esque character, right down to the clothing choices, are we, Bill? Then again, maybe we can consider this to possibly be the same character Bill previously played in the MySpace Seminar sketch from season 31, just like my personal theory that Will Forte’s character in that MySpace Seminar sketch could possibly be a then-unnamed Jeff Montgomery.
— A fairly fun way to work Abby’s Anna Faris impression into this, and I like how Anna is exaggerating her own voice and mannerisms to match Abby’s over-the-top impression. This is probably more cute than funny, but I’m still enjoying it.
STARS: ***


THE MANUEL ORTIZ SHOW
Latin beats saturate philandering sting operation

— (*groooooaaaaaaaaaaan*)
— What was with that mic’ed gravelly throat-clearing sound I heard from someone at the very beginning of this?
— Is it me, or have they shortened the usual music they always dance to in this recurring sketch? If so, thank god.
— Ha, I actually laughed at the hidden camera scene, even how it ended with this sketch’s usual dance routine.
STARS: **


WHAT’S WRONG WITH TANYA?!
game show tests Lifetime Original Movie moms

— A solid premise for a Lifetime game show sketch.
— There’s Bill’s omnipresent Vince Blight character hosting yet another new game show sketch.
— A funny detail of the first prize being “a Volvo full of groceries!”
— A good running bit with all the contestants talking over each other when initially asking each Tanya what’s wrong.
— I love how the losing contestants have to pretend to rake leaves slowly while the rest of the game goes on.
— A hilarious tense, dramatic “Ow, you’re hurting my arm!” “WHO’S GONNA BELIEVE YOU?!?” exchange between Anna and Bill.
STARS: ****


DRAKE INTERVIEW
ANS gets brief, close, sarcastic, racist, seductive, sweater-matching, horribly dubbed, and dark with musical guest

— Girls in the audience are excitedly screaming at the top of their lungs at 1) the mere appearance of Drake’s name in the opening title of this short, and 2) the initial appearance of Drake himself. Rather reminiscent of how the audience usually is whenever Justin Timberlake is on the show.
— An interesting and out-of-the-ordinary structure to this Digital Short, with it being comprised of various different-themed mini interviews of Drake.
— Drake immediately shutting down the racist-themed interview before Andy actually said anything bad was particularly funny.
— A good silly atmosphere to this whole short.
— Meh, I didn’t care for the extremely random and off-topic “Happy Halloween” ending, which gave off the desperation and fatigue that a lot of Digital Shorts this season in general reek of. Aside from that, though, this was a good short, and was the first Digital Short all season that I actually liked.
STARS: ***½


YET ANOTHER GOP DEBATE
debating GOP presidential hopefuls are realistically cynical about future

— Bill takes over the Rick Perry impression that Alec Baldwin previously did in the season premiere. Hmm, an actual cast member taking over a politician role that was previously played by a non-cast member. Hear that, 2020 SNL?
— I like the very loose, silly, experimental approach to this debate sketch, especially with the increasingly odd location each GOP candidate is placed in. I’m finding this fun. Hmm, an actual fun and loose debate sketch. Again I ask, hear that, 2020 SNL?
— “Jon Huntsman couldn’t be here tonight”? You’d think Taran (who previously played Huntsman earlier this season) was out sick tonight, especially since we’ve yet to see him appear in any sketches so far tonight. However, we’ll finally be seeing him towards the end of this episode.
— Jason-as-Mitt-Romney’s Forrest Gump analogy is pretty funny.
— Love the whole bit with Paul’s Ron Paul being kidnapped in a van, then immediately defending himself from his kidnappers in a badass manner.
— From my past viewing of this sketch when it originally aired, I had remembered Vanessa being really stumbly in her delivery throughout this sketch as the moderator, and I recall that ended up setting off a lot of somewhat harsh criticisms of Vanessa in general from some online SNL fans for the remainder of this season (until she won a lot of those people back over the following season). In my current viewing, however, I’m seeing that she hasn’t flubbed anything in this sketch, aside from her opening line. (And, yes, I’m watching the live version of this episode, not a rerun version that might’ve fixed any flubs.) However, she is coming off rather stiff here, but not to the detriment of the sketch or anything.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Headlines”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Anthony Crispino spreads falsehoods about Walgreens, Courteney Cox, more

teens (JAP) & (musical guest) do a rap about jacking kids’ Halloween candy bags

— Bobby’s Anthony Crispino mentions that he got one of his false news scoops from a Nazi friend named Pee-Wee German. That sounds like that could easily be a name of a club owner mentioned by Stefon, given how the club owner names that Stefon usually mentions are malaprops of celebrity names (e.g. Jew Diamond Phillips, Tranny Oakley, Snoozin Lucci).
— Tonight’s Crispino commentary is slaying me as usual, even if there’s nothing specific I can single out in tonight’s commentary.
— Hmm, interesting use of tonight’s musical guest, Drake. Also good to see Jay finally getting his first big live role of this season, after how badly he had been struggling for airtime this season.
— During the pre-song portion of the Jay/Drake commentary, Drake is coming off as a natural in his delivery. An early sign of what a good host he’ll make a few years later.
— Cue the screaming girls in the audience again during certain things Drake does in this commentary, including thrusting his hips in a suggestive manner at one point.
— A decent Halloween song from Jay and Drake, made better by Drake’s fun performance.
STARS: ***


TELL HIM
(VAB)’s friends advocate lying for dating success with “Tell Him” variant

 

— While I’m often not too crazy about musical sketches, I really like how “old school SNL” this particular sketch feels. This sketch would’ve came off right at home in the 70s or the Dick Ebersol era, and it comes off as a very refreshing novelty in this early 2010s era.
— This is also a great ensemble sketch for the female cast, which feels rare in these later years of Kristen’s SNL tenure. The usually-underused Abby even gets a big solo at one point of this song!
— There’s Andy doing his usual funny brief walk-on work.
— A fun and great ending to the song.
STARS: ****


J-POP AMERICA FUN TIME NOW!
Midwestern weeaboos (TAK) & (VAB) love Japan

— This soon-to-be-recurring sketch makes its debut.
— There’s Taran, finally making his first (and only) appearance tonight.
— I like how the two lead characters in this are played by second-season featured players Taran and Vanessa, the future of SNL.
— Jason doing great straight man work as the teacher.
— Why is Vanessa facing the wrong camera right now while intending to speak into the camera?
— Ugh, cue the cutaway to Fred in drag as Taran’s Japanese girlfriend. And even more unfortunate, that ends up becoming a regular part of this soon-to-be-recurring sketch.
— I’m enjoying this sketch, even if I’ve never been quite as crazy about these sketches as some people are. Maybe it’s because I’m not too familiar with Japanese culture tropes and people who are obsessed with them like Taran and Vanessa’s characters.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Nicki Minaj [real] perform “Make Me Proud”


LORD WYNDEMERE
cavalier dandy Cecil (PAB) meets his girlfriend’s (host) family

— After he had been so under the radar in all his prior appearances this season, Paul finally gets an actual showcase!
— Right out of the gate, this character of Paul’s and the comedic dissonance of him in a modern-day setting is fantastic.
— Equally (or maybe even moreso) fantastic is Jason’s performance, between his overjoyed reactions to everything Paul’s character is doing, and his sudden loud, angry outbursts at Andy. Jason’s ability to seamlessly switch from “jolly” mode to “viciously angry” mode at the drop of a hat rivals that of Will Ferrell’s.
— Even Bill in a mostly silent role is adding to the greatness of this sketch with his creepy frozen smile in the brief cutaway to a close-up of him. I’m loving pretty much everything about this sketch.
STARS: ****½


FERRARI CALENDAR
(KRW) & (host) ogle untraditionally-handsome Ferrari calendar models

— A somewhat amusing conceit with Kristen and Anna inexplicably lusting after grotesque Ferrari calendar models, especially Anna with her initial “Ohh!” facial reactions to each model.
— Ehh, the descriptions of each grotesque model are getting less and less funny, even if I’m still liking Kristen and Anna’s delivery.
— What’s with the random running gag with Bill’s character wording some of his sentences awkwardly, then expressing frustration with himself because of that? Speaking of random running gags, I’m also not caring for the one with Kristen and Anna occasionally saying “…or our asses are gonna explode”.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A pretty fun episode. While certainly not without its faults, this overall episode was entertaining due to a few great highlights and the fun atmosphere of many of the segments.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Lord Wyndemere
Tell Him
What’s Wrong With Tanya?!
Yet Another GOP Debate
Drake Interview
J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Weekend Update
Monologue
A Message From The Mayor
The Manuel Ortiz Show
Ferrari Calendar


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ben Stiller)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Charlie Day

Posted on

October 8, 2011 – Ben Stiller / Foster The People (S37 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

PRESS CONFERENCE
GOP fundraisers wish Chris Christie (BOM) would obviate Mitt Romney (JAS)

— Heh, while Paul as a reporter is asking a question, Vanessa as a fellow reporter can be seen with a huge, gleeful, frozen, open-mouthed smile on her face, a definitive Vanessa Bayer facial expression (seen towards the lower left corner of the below screencap).

— Funny line from Jason’s Mitt Romney about how his voice sounds like a black comedian doing a white guy voice.
— When Bobby’s Chris Christie is listing off the reasons why he can never be president, I got a particularly big laugh from him pointing to his body and saying “This…this can’t go national.”
— The dynamic between Bobby’s Christie and the crowd of reporters who love him is decently funny.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
BES visits Jewish Willy Wonka’s (ANS) kosher wonderland during Yom Kippur

— Andy: “I’m Jewish Willy Wonka!” Ben Stiller: “So you’re Gene Wilder?” Andy: “Yeah, basically.”
— A nice-looking Jewish food-filled wonderland set.
— The Jewish stereotypes humor is coming off decent here.
STARS: ***


LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
(JAS) will have sex with his future self (JAS)

— I like the unsettling reveal of Jason’s future self wanting to have sex with his present-day self. The calm, smug smile on Future Jason’s face during all of this is adding to the humor for me.
— An overall fairly dumb ad, but one that worked for me.
STARS: ***½


FOX & FRIENDS
Hank Williams Jr. (JAS) won’t apologize for Obama remarks

— Good to see this solid sketch become recurring.
— Hmm, I didn’t recall from my previous viewings of this era that Fred’s doddering old fact-checker character from the first installment of this sketch got brought back. He eventually gets dropped from these sketches, but I’m not sure when.
— Vanessa: “[Hank Williams Jr.] compared President Obama to Hitler, and we just don’t say that on this show.” Bobby: “We imply it.”
— I love Jason’s mere look as Hank Williams Jr., as well as his portrayal of him.
— Funny bit with Jason’s HWJ going off-book during his apology song, and launching into another “Obama is Hitler” rant.
STARS: ****


LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
(BIH) meets his fat & suicidal future self (BIH)

— This seems like an odd choice for a runner to me.
— The deep “fat guy” voice Bill’s using is absolutely fantastic.
— I love the dark bit with Future Bill jovially implying that he’s flying to Hawaii just so he can commit suicide.
STARS: ***½


THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS WITH HUGH JACKMAN
manly Daniel Radcliffe (Hugh Jackman) is musical

— The second and final appearance of this sketch. This is also the second consecutive live sketch tonight that’s being brought back from the preceding season’s Helen Mirren episode.
— Hmm, much like how I didn’t recall Fred’s fact-checker character from the first Fox & Friends installment being brought back in tonight’s Fox & Friends installment, I completely forgot that SNL made Abby’s Nancy Grace impression recurring. I had always remembered it only appearing in that So You Think You Can Dance parody from the season 35 Ryan Reynolds episode.
— The musical knife fight between Andy’s Hugh Jackman and Ben’s Mandy Patinkin is very funny.
— The debut of Bill’s memorable and very funny Clint Eastwood impression.
— They’re speeding through all the guests in this installment, it seems. The first installment of this sketch took its time with each guest.
— A cameo from Hugh Jackman himself, playing Daniel Radcliffe. The audience seems to take a while to recognize it’s Jackman under that get-up.
— A decent meta turn with Jackman, in character as Radcliffe, desperately refuting all the ridiculous claims that Andy’s Jackman makes about himself.
— Though I feel very wrong for this, I laughed at Andy’s Jackman saying, during his claim that he was born a girl, “The doctor turned me kangaroo pouch into a didgeridoo!”
— Why is it always Bobby who’s cast as the stage manager who gets gruesomely killed by the guests in these sketches?
STARS: ***


V-NECKS
(ANS) & (BES) show their chests in a clothing store showdown

— I wonder if Ben appreciates starring in a Digital Short, given the fact that, back when he was a short-lived cast member in season 14, SNL’s refusal to let him do short films that season was reportedly the reason for his very early exit.
— A laugh from the second V-Neck shirt Andy walks out in, where the “V” goes all the way down to his belly button.
— The escalation to the V-Necks is a little meh for me, despite some chuckles I’m occasionally getting.
— Not sure what the point is of Ben suddenly speaking in a goofy high-pitched voice when he’s being arrested by the cops.
— The diminished quality of this season’s Digital Shorts continues, though I found this overall V-Necks short a little better than the Stomp short from the preceding episode.
STARS: **½


BAND SHOT
going to commercial, Hank Williams Jr. (JAS) asks “Are you ready?” through song

— Oh, hell yeah! This is a great change of pace for this era, letting a cast member do a brief going-to-commercial musical number with the SNL Band, and it’s also a great way for Jason to reprise his Hank Williams Jr. impression from earlier tonight. This whole thing feels like a throwback to earlier SNL eras, which weren’t afraid to try different things like this.


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pumped Up Kicks”


WEEKEND UPDATE
event planner Nan Washingtom’s (KRW) lone party theme idea is “pancakes”

look no further than the party held by Derek Zoolander (BES) & Stefon

— Odd how Seth starts his intro of the first guest commentary in tonight’s Update by saying “My first guest is a– etc.”, which is something Seth’s never done before in his Update guest intros. (Neither has any other Update anchorperson, as far as I know.)
— Another quirky one-off Wiig Update character. Ever since somewhere around March of the preceding season, it feels like Update is the only place Kristen does new characters anymore.
— This so-called new character of Kristen’s feels too much like an amalgamation of various quirky characters Kristen previously played, right down to the detail of her holding the microphone too close to her mouth the whole time.
— I’m not caring at all for where Kristen’s pancakes commentary has been going, nor do I like how EXTREMELY slow and drawn-out it is. This feels like a lame, failed attempt at both absurdist humor and patience-testing humor, mixed with tired “Wacky Wiig” character tropes. I remember how, when this originally aired, some online SNL fans defended this commentary of Kristen’s from people like me who bashed it, but yeah, 9 years later, I’m still not seeing the appeal of Kristen’s commentary at all.
— I love the audience reaction to Seth’s first Pet Costumes joke.
— I like how Stefon’s commentary begins with a callback to the summer vacation we previously saw him and Seth heading on their way to in the preceding season’s finale.
— A particularly memorable and hilarious Stefon moment right now, with his description of what a Human Fire Extinguisher is.
— An interesting change of pace in this Stefon commentary, with his new friend showing up, who turns out to be Ben’s Zoolander character. Good to see this, and seeing Stefon and Zoolander teamed up is a pretty fun pairing.
— I got a big laugh from Zoolander’s explanation of what the complicated SoWoHoNoBoHeWo abbreviation stands for.
STARS: ***


HALLOWEEN PARTY
at a Halloween party, sexy & foul Shana mixes her co-workers’ emotions

— This ends up being the final Shana sketch.
— How is Shana always “the new girl” in every single one of her sketches, when her co-workers are always the same people (aside from the character played by the host)?
— Yeesh, that “man from the 90s”/“Oh, I’m not wearing a costume” gag between Abby and Ben fell horribly flat.
— Speaking of Abby, she has officially broken the curse of cast members getting fired after playing the “ignored girl” role in just one Shana sketch.
— For most of this Shana character’s run, I’ve been a lot more tolerant of her sketches than some SNL fans appear to be, but I seemed to finally get tired of her sketches halfway through the last one prior to this (the basketball court one with Bryan Cranston). My newfound tiredness towards these sketches has been continuing in tonight’s installment, as I’m not all that entertained by what I’m currently watching.
— Ugh. Aaaaaaaaaaaand there goes the unnecessary, loud, long fart sound effect, something that this sketch had thankfully refrained from using in previous installments. The fact that this occurs at the climax of this sketch is sadly a fitting final nail in the coffin for this past-its-prime recurring sketch. Good riddance.
STARS: *½


LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
(BES) is drawn to his female future self (BES)

— Short but not sweet. Just a cheap man-in-drag punchline, even with the initial fake-out involving Abby being mistaken for Ben’s future self.
— Oh, and this makes another sex change joke tonight.
STARS: *½


COLUMBUS DAY ASSBLAST
Under-Underground Columbus Day festival features Eckhart Tolle (BES)

— This is the third recurring piece tonight that last appeared in the preceding season’s Helen Mirren episode.
— Love the fake band name Crucifying Kudrow.
— I didn’t even realize that Jay hadn’t appeared in tonight’s episode until this point. And, of course, keeping in the theme of Jay having a rough go this season, not only is his first appearance of tonight’s episode so late in the show, but it’s a pre-taped appearance.
— Speaking of Jay, I fucking hate that high-pitched sound his character in these Under-Underground pieces always makes.
— A particularly funny event, with a party featuring the cast of the 90s show Dinosaurs, without their costumes.
— A funny change of the usual tone to these Under-Underground pieces, with Ben’s tender, soft-spoken speech as a spiritual advisor.
STARS: ****


BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: JUST THE STORIES
DVDs have Bruce Springsteen’s (BES) between-song tales

— Pretty funny premise, and a decent execution of it.
— I like the unintelligible “Hunh hunh hainh hunh!” countdowns Ben’s Bruce Springsteen keeps doing before each song, and how each DVD clip abruptly ends with him about to start the song.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Kenny G [real] perform “Houdini”

— Ha, Kenny Motherfuckin’ G out of nowhere!


TINYBALLS
Moneyball follow-up dramatizes role of steroids in baseball

— Seems to be a lot of pre-taped segments in the post-Weekend Update half of this episode.
— Hmm, we’re seeing a different version of Taran’s Brad Pitt impression, with no yells of “Bdaaaah!” this time.
— Jay continues to make his only appearances tonight in pre-taped form, making this the second of the three episodes that have aired so far this season that Jay hasn’t made any live appearances in.
— Funny moment with Taran’s character’s daughter proudly smiling at him when he tells her, in a poignant manner, “We’re cheating, honey.”
— The steroid-fueled wild, insane celebration in the locker room is hilarious.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A decent episode. A tad unmemorable as a whole (at least to me), but still decent. So much so, that there’s nothing else I can find to say about it.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Columbus Day Assblast
Fox & Friends
Tinyballs
Lincoln Financial Group (Part 2)
Lincoln Financial Group (Part 1)
The Best Of Both Worlds with Hugh Jackman
Press Conference / Monologue (tie)
Bruce Springsteen: Just The Stories
Weekend Update
V-Necks
Lincoln Financial Group (Part 3)
Halloween Party


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Melissa McCarthy)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Anna Faris