Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
DEMOCRATIC RALLY
campaigning Barack Obama (JAP) lets Mitt Romney (JAS) defeat himself
— Jay (rightfully) takes over the Barack Obama impression that Fred had been doing since 2008. Interesting idea to have Fred basically pass the torch to Jay on camera by playing a normal character who introduces Jay’s Obama and, at one point, asks the crowd a lighthearted “Wouldn’t want his job, right?” The latter is a nice meta, tongue-in-cheek moment, and shows Fred to be a good sport after SNL presumably took the Obama impression away from him.
— Huge audience applause for Jay’s entrance as President Obama. Nice to see.
— As expected, Jay’s doing a good Obama impression. And after how much he consistently struggled for airtime the preceding season and would have some moments his first two seasons in which he would come off rather green and stumbly, it feels good to see him leading a cold opening with total ease and poise. He’s come a long way.
— Good conceit with the “secret weapon” that Jay’s Obama has turning out to be him just letting his opponent, Mitt Romney, make a fool of himself.
— Pretty funny bit regarding the Sanford & Son theme song, though I’m always a sucker for references to that show.
— Taran’s Paul Ryan: “I’m just terrible with numbers. Now…let’s talk budget!”
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.
— The new theme music being used tonight is in a noticeably slower tempo than it would soon go on to regularly be.
— For the first time since all the way back in season 25, the opening montage has the cast members being shown in still photos instead of moving shots.
— Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah have been promoted from featured players to repertory players.
— Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong have been added to the cast.
MONOLOGUE
Family Guy creator host sings about how his head is filled with voices
— Some good dark humor right out of the gate with Seth MacFarlane fulfilling his childhood wish of what he always wanted to say in his SNL monologue: “Please go out with me, Farrah Fawcett!”
— Pretty fun seeing MacFarlane seamlessly transition between all of his main Family Guy voices.
— It’s a given that MacFarlane would do a musical monologue, but it helps that 1) MacFarlane built up so much goodwill earlier in this monologue that I don’t mind him breaking out into a song, and 2) the heavy reliance on musical monologues in these late 00s/early 10s years (particularly season 36) was greatly reduced in the season that I’ve just completed my coverage of yesterday (season 37), which I didn’t even realize until now.
— Some great celebrity voices MacFarlane breaks out into during the song, especially Michael J. Fox and Kermit.
STARS: ***½
OBAMA FOR AMERICA
anti-Romney ad documents dickish behavior toward laid-off (BIH) & (KET)
— Good to see tonight’s episode continue to make it known that Jay is SNL’s new Obama.
— This brings back memories of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth commercial spoof SNL did in 2004 about John Kerry, which, like this commercial, aired in the season premiere of an election year (season 30).
— Some great bits from Kenan.
— A laugh from the “Mitt Romney probably gave Dan’s wife herpes” disclaimer.
STARS: ***½
SEX AFTER 50
Rodger Brush doesn’t want to hear about seniors’ sex lives
— (*groan*) And here to remind me, after the shred of goodwill he earned from me at the beginning of this episode’s cold opening, how way-past-his-prime he is and how he should’ve left years prior is Fred with the return of THIS damn recurring sketch.
— Surprisingly, this is the first appearance this recurring sketch has made since the Paul Rudd episode from two seasons prior. It completely skipped season 37. Thankfully, tonight’s installment ends up being the final one.
— Ah, Cecily Strong. Much like what I said about Kate when covering her first episode towards the end of the preceding season, it feels interesting arriving at the first SNL appearance of the still-currently-on-SNL-in-2020 Cecily Strong, though her “appearance” in this sketch is just in still photos during the opening title sequence.
— Ugh, cue the tired, annoying regular gag with how Fred’s Rodger Brush can’t hear what the audience members ask him.
— Only one sketch in, and Tim Robinson’s lovably goofy natural demeanor that I fondly remember from when this season originally aired is already a welcome sight in my current viewing. It’s gonna be fun reviewing him in what (sadly) ends up being his sole season as a cast member.
STARS: **
EASTWOOD AND CHAIR
Clint Eastwood expands iffy political satire into a one-man show
— Very funny idea for a spoof of the Clint Eastwood/chair incident.
— I got a good laugh from how Jay’s testimonial just has him asking a deadpan “Man, what the f(*bleep*)k was that?”
— The third and final appearance of Taran’s sassy testimonial-giver character (who previously appeared in the Meryl Streep On Ice and Rock’s Way pre-tapes from the preceding two seasons), who always has a funny one-liner.
STARS: ****
LIDS
on-demand “Gangnam Style” performances enliven a hat store; Psy cameo
— Only two sketches in, and MacFarlane has been disappearing well into the characters he’s playing.
— Jason’s hairstyle in this sketch is reminiscent of the one he regularly had in his early seasons.
— Boy, a sketch based on the Psy/Gangnam Style sensation sweeping the nation at the time. Talk about a time capsule.
— Very funny addition of Taran and Bill.
— Good bit with Bobby’s Psy and Taran’s…uh…green suit guy not knowing where to exit.
— A very thin sketch, but it’s fun enough.
— Now we get a cameo from the real Psy, making this sketch even more of a time capsule in hindsight.
— Ha, look at how cocky Psy is coming off in response to all the huge applause the audience is giving his entrance. Enjoy your 15 minutes while it lasts, my friend.
STARS: ***
PUPPETRY CLASS
troubled vet Anthony Peter Coleman (BIH) darkens playful puppetry class
— Oh, hell yes! A legendary Bill Hader sketch.
— A priceless incongruous placement of this traumatized war veteran character in a puppetry class. And Bill is selling this to utter perfection.
— A particularly funny bit with Bill’s character, through his puppet, using typical internet lingo in a dark context when telling Vanessa’s Valley Girl-type puppet disturbing war details.
— Fantastic visual of Bill’s puppet smoking a cigarette and impressively even blowing smoke out of its mouth.
— Yet another standout bit, with Bill’s puppet strangling Kenan’s puppet to death when reminiscing about one war incident.
— Bill continues to be perfectly committed to this sketch, this time by going all fucking out when making out with Vanessa’s puppet.
— Overall, an absolute classic. Great way to kick off what ends up being Bill’s final season. This sketch is a prime example of how, even in his final season, Bill hasn’t lost a step in the strength he’s always had as a performer.
STARS: *****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Thinkin Bout You”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Honey Boo Boo (VAB) & Mama (BOM) weigh in on the presidential election
dumb & hunky Ryan Lochte (host) mumbles about the fall TV schedule
Latina teenager Mimi Morales (CES) wants to increase voter turnout
— SNL gets in their required spoof of the then-inescapable Honey Boo Boo and Mama June. I remember online SNL fans made predictions shortly before the original airing of this episode that if SNL spoofed Honey Boo Boo and Mama June, new cast member Aidy Bryant would play Mama June. SNL ended up throwing SNL fans for a loop by casting Bobby in the role instead. I think I can see why they refrained from giving Aidy that role. Given the fact that Aidy is SNL’s very first plus-sized female cast member, having her play the heavyset Mama June in her very first episode might’ve been considered a little unfortunate and too on-the-nose.
— Feels rare seeing Vanessa playing this type of sassy, over-confident role. It’s fun seeing her do this.
— I like the bit with the subtitles translating Honey Boo Boo and Mama June’s mumbly conversation to each other.
— A fairly short and sweet Bobby/Vanessa commentary.
— Ha, I love the audience’s loud gasp in reaction to the Meyers’ un-PC “Say hello to my little friend” joke regarding Al Pacino playing Joe Paterno.
— Always a nice rarity to see a host doing an Update commentary.
— MacFarlane’s Ryan Lochte: “I was…America in ‘lympics.”
— MacFarlane’s moronic portrayal of Ryan Lochte is absolutely killer.
— Very memorable part of the Lochte commentary, where he mistakes the title “Go On” for “Goon”.
— MacFarlane’s Lochte: “Oh, man, it feels so weird to be dry.”
— An overall fantastic Ryan Lochte commentary.
— Cecily Strong making her live SNL debut playing a Hispanic character. Back at this time, I and some other online SNL fans were under the incorrect assumption that Cecily herself was Hispanic, based on how she looks. I’m also the same guy who, two years later, incorrectly assumed Pete Davidson was half-black when I initially saw a photo of him doing standup with a really short hairstyle in an article announcing SNL’s hiring of him.
— A likable and believable performance from Cecily here. Her lines themselves are only okay, but she’s selling them.
— Jay doing funny character work without even uttering a word.
— When this originally aired, I remember thinking SNL was setting up Cecily’s Mimi Morales to become a recurring Update character. We end up never seeing her again after this episode. Cecily’s first breakout Update character actually ends up being a certain conversational character who makes her debut just two weeks after tonight’s episode, in a Weekend Update Thursday special.
STARS: ***
DRILL SERGEANT
army privates contend with drill sergeant’s (host) speech impediment
— MacFarlane continues to do solid character work tonight.
— Funny bit with Tim Robinson’s confused answer to MacFarlane’s unclearly-worded question.
— Great bit with MacFarlane trying to get out of a stuttering block by softly singing his “How’d you learn to dress yourself?” question, then getting angry at Bobby for playfully singing his response to that question.
— Fred’s hair looks like it’s starting to gray by this point of his SNL tenure, which, combined with how his face is also starting to look older, really drove home to me back in 2012 how long he had been on SNL. I remember feeling the same way about Meyers in tonight’s Update, as his hair also looked to me back then like it was starting to gray.
— Great ending regarding the push-ups MacFarlane’s character tries ordering his men to do.
— An overall original, simple, and strong sketch.
STARS: ****
STEVE HARVEY
it suits Steve Harvey (KET) to make over (host) in his own image
— Lots of airtime for Vanessa in tonight’s season premiere. When this originally aired, with this being the first post-Kristen Wiig episode (and boy, do I remember how weird and refreshing it felt back in 2012 to see a new episode without Kristen in it, after having gotten so used to her dominant presence for so many years), some online SNL fans assumed that Vanessa’s heavy utilization in this episode meant she would take over Kristen’s spot as SNL’s lead female who gets cast in a majority of the main female roles. Funny to think back on that assumption in hindsight, given the fact that it’s absolutely NOT how the remainder of Vanessa’s tenure ends up playing out.
— Very funny initial visual of MacFarlane entering in his Steve Harvey-looking makeover.
— MacFarlane, regarding his new look: “I feel like an Iranian DJ.”
— Funny mention of an Earth, Wind & Fire cover band named Dirt, Water & Heat.
— I absolutely love Kenan-as-Steve-Harvey’s amused delivery of “Ain’t no white guy in Boyz II Men!”
— MacFarlane, when asked how he feels about the very unexciting prize he won: “I’m not gonna say no on TV in front of everybody!”
— Overall, it’s amazing how SNL was able to wring a good amount of laughs out of what initially seemed like a very thin and unexciting concept.
STARS: ***½
FIRST DATE
on a blind date, (host) & (NAP) vocalize their emotions with funny voices
— A nice use of Nasim, who has seemed really invisible tonight before this sketch appeared. Also a fitting use of MacFarlane’s famous knack for doing voices.
— Hilarious part with MacFarlane, after starting to do a stereotypical black guy voice, immediately cutting himself off and self-consciously saying “No, I’m not gonna do that.”
— Oh, wow. By this point of tonight’s episode, I actually had forgotten all about new cast member Aidy Bryant until now, given the fact that she’s making her first and only appearance of the night in such a late-in-the-show sketch. When she showed up in this just now, I was initially taken aback, basically wondering “Wait, what’s 2020 cast member Aidy Bryant doing so early in my SNL project???”, before remembering this is her first episode.
— A brief but funny appearance from Aidy. Wish she got more to do for her first episode, though.
— Kenan (who’s been having a strong night in general) delivering the goods with his various displeased reactions to Nasim and MacFarlane’s constant voices.
— This sketch has a cute, funny, and very well-executed premise that feels timeless, like it would fit well into any SNL era. Come to think of it, you could also say that about the Drill Sergeant sketch from earlier tonight.
— I love the audience’s gasping laughter when Nasim lightheartedly reveals that her sister is dead.
— Bill steals this already-solid sketch with his walk-on.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pyramids”
WOODEN SPOON WAREHOUSE
Amish (host) & (TIR) spell out the URL of their wooden spoon company
— Great to see Tim Robinson front-and-center in his first episode, again being lovably goofy in a natural, subtle way.
— I absolutely love the letter-by-letter breakdown of the Amish-themed symbol that each letter in Wooden Spoon Warehouse’s website URL stands for. Fantastic.
— The “The river what took my son” bit, complete with MacFarlane lowering his head in a mourning, respectful manner, is the standout moment of this great piece.
— And already, we’re out. Short and absolutely sweet. I found this to be an overall perfect and unique little sketch. I heard that the dress rehearsal version of it was actually longer, with MacFarlane and Tim following their letter-by-letter breakdown of the URL by doing a number-by-number breakdown of, I think, their company’s phone number. I guess the show was running long, forcing SNL at the last minute to do away with the phone number portion of this sketch. Probably for the best, actually, because I think this sketch worked better in its live brevity. Having an extra scene at the end of it might’ve been pushing things a bit.
STARS: *****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong season premiere. Aside from the Sex After 50 sketch, I enjoyed every single segment, and found several of them to be particularly strong, including two all-time favorites of mine (Puppetry Class and Wooden Spoon Warehouse). In addition, there was a certain vibe and flow to this episode that I absolutely loved, especially in the post-Weekend Update half of the show. Part of that could be because of all the solid original premises we saw throughout the night, which feels refreshing coming immediately after the recurring sketch-heavy Kristen Wiig era. A promising sign for SNL’s future. Seth MacFarlane fit in perfectly as a host and added to the episode’s strength, not exactly by being a show-y host with lots of flashiness like some great hosts are, but by doing lots of quiet but solid character work and displaying lots of range.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Puppetry Class
Wooden Spoon Warehouse
First Date / Drill Sergeant (tie)
Eastwood And Chair
Democratic Rally
Monologue
Obama For America
Steve Harvey
Weekend Update
Lids
Sex After 50
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2011-12)
a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Joseph Gordon-Levitt