Starting this Thursday, Saturday Night Live will debut a limited edition summer run of Weekend Update, dubbed Weekend Update: Summer Edition. Similar to the Weekend Update Thursday specials that aired during the 2012 election, they will serve as bonus editions of the segment. This has been spurred on from the most recent season's above-average ratings and positive reviews.
Other cast members will most likely appear in guest segments, but it is currently unknown if the episodes will have cold openings. However, the episodes will still be live. To promote this special event, SNL's YouTube channel posted a promotional clip featuring jokes from the past season, along with handpicked Update segments from past decades.
Do you feel like watching classic bits from some of the first few seasons? Check out a surprisingly young Chevy Chase, along with the late Gilda Radner appearing as one of her most famous recurring characters, Ms. Emily Litella.
Alternately, a famous bit that has often been referenced in popular culture, Point/Counterpoint. A simple debate immediately turns ugly, perhaps providing the inspiration for almost anything from Fox News.
Finally, you could take a look at comedy legend Eddy Murphy in his television days or enjoy the comedy stylings of current senator Al Franken. I'm a fan of this, because it shows the different incarnations of SNL throughout history.
Weekend Update: Summer Edition airs live on Thursdays starting on August 10th, 2017. You can find it on NBC.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
There's still a couple of months until Saturday Night Live returns to the airwaves, but we have some new bits of information to tide us over. Firstly, despite the final episode of season forty-two implying that Alec Baldwin wouldn't be sticking around to play Trump, Alec himself revealed that he would be reprising his role in the upcoming season. It makes sense, as the show runs on current events, and they need to get someone to play the role. However, I have a feeling that Alec Baldwin won't be playing the role as often, based on previous statements declaring that he was getting tired of the role.
In more recent news, the nominations for the 2017 Emmy Awards have arrived, and some accolades have been given to NBC's prized sketch comedy show. For the award of "Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series", Alec Baldwin has been nominated for his portrayal of Donald Trump. I find it funny that he's nominated in that category, seeing as he's not actually a cast member in the show. Still, he's certainly made enough guest appearances in the season to count. Meanwhile, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, and Leslie Jones are all candidates for the "Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series" award.
Kate McKinnon has been playing almost every politician on the show recently, including a remarkable Kellyanne Conway impersonation, while Leslie's Weekend Update performances and prerecorded sketches have been increasingly well-received. Vanessa Bayer is no longer a member of the show, having left after the most recent season finale, but it would be a great way to cap off her last episode by winning an Emmy.
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Tom Hanks, Dave Chappelle, and Lin Manuel-Miranda have also been nominated for the respective categories of "Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy." I definitely approve of this, seeing as those episodes were some of the best of the season. By the power of 'Sean Spicer' and David S. Pumpkins, let any of them win! The show itself has also been nominated for the category of "Outstanding Variety Sketch Series."
Emily Blunt's episode of the show has been nominated for the "Outstanding Costumes For Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Programming " Award. The designers up for it are Tom Broecker and Eric Justian. Don Roy King has been nominated for "Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series " for Jimmy Fallon's episode of the show. That same episode has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Series. For "Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming", SNL's skit about Kellyanne Conway has been nominated. I don't know specifically which one, but I would suspect that it's the Fatal Attraction parody.
Next, the Dwayne Johnson-hosted season finale has been nominated for the "Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special" award. The specific crew members are Jodi Mancuso, Jennifer Serio, Inga Thrasher, Joe Whitmeyer, Cara Hannah Sullivan, and Christen Edwards. For a non-sketch award, the official app has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Interactive Program.
Additionally, the Alec Baldwin episode has been nominated for Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) and the category of Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Limited Series, Movie Or Special, in a Schrodinger's Cat situation. In a rather unexpected move, Chance the Rapper actually got nominated for "Jingle Barack", a song that he wrote with Kenan Thompson and Will Stephen last year. His category is the "Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics Award." It appeared in the Casey Affleck-hosted episode.
Next, I've been mentioning the Creating Saturday Night Liveshorts on the official YouTube channel. It turns out that the web series has been nominated for the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series award. For Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Comedy Series Or Variety Program, Brian Smyj has been nominated.
Finally, the show has been nominated for the Jimmy Fallon episode in terms of "Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series" and all of the writers as a whole have been nominated for "Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series." Best wishes to them all!
Wow, that was a long list. SNL has tied Westworld with twenty-two nominations, bringing the official total for the long-running sketch show to 231 nominations over approximately forty-two years.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
The time has finally come for this season to end. With it, we have seen many changes and milestones in the show. Firstly, Saturday Night Live began airing live across the coasts, finally letting everyone see the show as it's happening, instead of watching it the next day or on a tape delay. Next, Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy, and Dwayne Johnson have been inducted into the Five-Timers' Club, adding more credence to their hosting skills and comedic talent. Alec Baldwin also hosted the show for a record-demolishing seventeenth time, as well as being hired for a series of guest appearances as Donald Trump. Note that he was not hired for the task last season, but made a series of cameos. Larry David, on the other hand, was hired to play Bernie Sanders.
Due in part to Baldwin's casting and the show's ever-evolving satire to adapt to the uncertain new political times, the show has been earning its highest ratings in years, especially in the Baldwin and McCarthy-hosted episodes. Finally, the cast of comedians will change again, but not as dramatically as in past seasons. Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer will leave the show. Fun fact, Vanessa is/was the longest-serving female cast member on the show. A reason was not officially given for her departure. Bobby, on the other hand, is leaving to star in the recently-order CBS sitcom, Me, Myself, And I as a series regular. On a personal note, this does sadden me, because almost every cast member from the period where I officially started watching the show is no longer a part of it, with only Kenan Thompson remaining.
On the other hand, I should think positively. Many cast members have returned to host in the past, including recently-departed ones, such as Andy Samberg and Bill Hader. I wish Vanessa and Bobby all the best and hope that they have successful post-SNL careers. And, hey, don't forget to stop by Studio 8H for a visit. As shown in this week's promos, Dwayne Johnson gives piggyback rides. Here's a little BTS video, in case you want to know precisely how they filmed that.
Cold Opening: Back in the first post-election episode, SNL commemorated the shocking events of the election by having Kate McKinnon's Hillary Clinton sadly play the piano and sing Leonard Cohen's "Hallejulah", both as a tribute to him and as a message to the American people. In a brilliant act of poetic justice and self-parody, the final cold opening of the season has almost the entire Trump campaign, including Scarlett Johansson making a cameo as Ivanka Trump, mangling a parody of the song. It works as a hopeful declaration that this week's latest scandals will get Trump impeached, as well as a farewell to Trump's impression.
Monologue: Hanks/Johnson 2020! I'm kidding, but in this crazy world of completely unqualified people somehow becoming president, it seems like anything is possible. Why not have that guy from Moana and David S. Pumpkins run for office? From the Five-Timers' Club (with a jacket presented by Alec Baldwin) to the White House, and beyond!
Cartier Ad: Ah, fidget spinners. Is there anything you can't be misused for? In this case, a commercial parody shows the devices being appropriated and covered with diamonds for the purpose of distracting the main character's bad date. This has Vanessa at her very best, and I'm really going to miss her.
WWE Promo Shoot 2: I remember this from the last time Dwayne hosted. It's a simple excuse to fling a lot of jokes at the viewer. Dwayne's character will be incredibly mean during the promotions, and Bobby's character is pitied by all. I know next to nothing about Wrestlemania, but I really don't need to know a lot to enjoy the sketch. The contrast between their personas is good enough, especially when Dwayne's insults begin going into an incredibly elaborate backstory.
Rap Song: I love it when pretty much the full cast appears in a group during the sketch. Once again, this was pretty much just an excuse for a couple of jokes, but it worked. The weird names, my favorite being Li'l Nitwit, and increasingly crowded area worked to enhance the joke.
Scorpio: Dwayne's played Superman in the past, now it's time for him to play an original superhero on the show. Keeping up with the long tradition of applying realistic consequences to decidedly unrealistic scenarios, this sketch takes on the implausibility of superheroes managing to create remarkably efficient costumes overnight. Of course, Scorpio already happened to be a pro at sewing, getting superpowers was just a handy bonus.
Gemma w/ Dwayne Johnson 2: And so Gemma makes her second appearance of the season. She's not my favorite of Cecily's characters, but the sketch still managed to be serviceable. I appreciated the set design, especially the creepy dinosaur head. Additionally, Dwayne's snide comments did bring a few chuckles from me, despite their cruelty.
Zentrax: "Zentrax" is a medicine used by Dwayne Johnson's character for erectile dysfunction. Unfortunately, a doctor confirms that the product mostly contains the ingredients for meth, and isn't actually a licensed medical drug. I love weird humor, and the list of symptoms for the illegal substance definitely gets progressively weirder, definitely making the alleged success not worth it and outright negating it at times. My favorite moment was when Dwayne randomly blurted out, "Hail Satan." Careful, that'll hurt your 2020 campaign.
Katy Perry Musical Performance #1- "Swish Swish": I guess I liked it, but the background noises got really distracting. It sounded like someone kept shouting over and over.
Weekend Update: For the second time in a row, we get Dawn Lazarus, the official Weekend Update meteorologist. This pretty much shows that it's time for the SNL "Best Of" DVDs to return. I can think of plenty of sketches that would work for Vanessa and Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, he also had a special last appearance of one of his famous Update characters- Drunk Uncle! Personally, I would have preferred Anthony Crispino, but the nature of Drunk Uncle does provide more opportunities for satirizing Trump and his supporters. Although, I could contend that Anthony's secondhand reporting makes a great case for the existence of fake news.
RKO Movie Set: What's the best way to get the cast members of SNL to break character? The sound of flatulence, at least in this case. It's silly, but ever so fun to see Vanessa resist the urge to start laughing as the people in charge of the sound effects play the most ridiculous effects possible. Unleash your inner child and laugh!
World's Most Evil Invention: Wow...At first, I thought this was simply a sketch about select cast members getting to ham it up as mad scientists. I was completely wrong. It actually takes a disturbing twist when Roy (Dwayne Johnson) reveals that he built a child-molesting robot. I didn't expect the writers to go there. I thought they would just say something along the lines of building a robot to help Trump get into the White House. I honestly don't know how I feel about the sketch, so I'm just going to provide a link and let you talk about it in the comments.
Katy Perry Musical Performance #2- "Bon Appétit": Okay, apparently, this song was about equating food with sexual relations. I just find that kind of thing creepy.
Wingman: I didn't like this sketch as much as the other ones, but the creepy expression on Bobby's face amused me.
Senior Video: The short graduation skit perfectly captured awkward school performances, especially with the dated pop culture references. Although I believe it was too short, it was still packed with a lot of good jokes, such as Dwayne's character's awkward attempts at bantering with the graduates and Leslie Jones's reaction to having her meatloaf insulted. It's not the best use of having graduation sketches as a metaphor for cast members leaving the show, but it was sweet.
Final Thoughts: While not as laugh-out-loud as the last season finale, I was left feeling satisfied at the end of the episode. In sketch terms, it was mixed, taking on topics like superhero costume design and disturbingly conversations about the true nature of evil. (Okay, sorry, last time I'll mention the robot sketch,) In terms of the cast changes, I've said my piece on the subject and I can't think of anything else. Politically, the season has done very well and I'm excited to see what will arrive next fall. See you, then.
Update: According to various reports, it was also Sasheer Zamata's final episode of the show. I did not know this, and I wish her the best in her post-SNL comedy career.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 pm. It's now live in every time zone. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Cold Opening: As revealed last week, this is Alec Baldwin's first of his two final appearances as Trump on the show. Whether this is for the season or the series is not known as of now, but I can tell that the writers are putting their very best effort into the sketch. Seriously, if Trump is watching this, and he probably is, then he's going to be furious. That's a good thing, because if he's mad at the show, they're doing something right. On a minor note, I'm pretty sure that Mikey Day has taken over as Paul Ryan. I'll miss Taran Killam's impression, but he's already won me over with his cheerful "He feeds me dog food!" line.
Monologue: Okay, right off the bat, I'm predicting that this will be a question-and-answer session with the audience, but with a Sean Spicer-impersonating twist. Okay, note to self, maybe don't make predictions before the episode actually airs. It turns out that the monologue was actually a special Mother's Day edition. In recent years, the Mother's Day monologues have been especially sweet, often paying tribute to the mothers of the cast members. This one takes a different angle, but it's all the more charming for it. One lucky audience member, Joan, gets an exclusive tour of the backstage and even an introduction from Darrell Hammond.
Game Show: Is it bad that I could see this being a real game show in the future? This is as good as the "Beat The Bookworm" sketch from earlier in the season in the way that it plays to the host's strengths. Similar to how Aziz Anizari can play smarmy characters impeccably, one of Melissa's strongest comedic traits is her ability to pull off outrageous slapstick material. In this case, getting pied in the face multiple times, among other antics. It's refreshing to see a variety in the topic of the game show sketches. The writers get to experiment with different formats and it keeps the routine from getting stale.
Amazon Echo: I love the increasing frustration in the Echo Silver's voice, as played by a slightly electronically-modified Cecily Strong. She's a really good actress.
Sean Spicer Returns: I finally got my wish for Alec's Trump and Melissa's Spicer to meet, and my birthday isn't even for another two months! I don't think I'm alone in saying that this is the best Spicer sketch yet. Melissa expertly puts her acting talent to use by making fun of him but somehow also humanizing him. As easy as it is to laugh at the character, we also feel a small amount of pity for him, even when he seemingly murders a reporter.
HAIM Musical Performance #1- "Want You Back": The audience definitely liked the song, seeing as they were clapping in the background.
Weekend Update: I didn't like this edition as much as last week's. Colin and Michael's pieces were wonderful, but the guest commenters weren't as amusing this time. Still, this might be due to my own quirks. I like Cecily Strong's Cathy Anne character, but I have a hard time understanding her. As for Pete Davidson's commentary, I just don't find drug humor very funny. Even so, I would still give it a fair grade.
Film Panel: What's one way to one-up Kate McKinnon's Debette Goldry character? Introduce Melissa McCarthy's even older Hollywood actress character, Gaye Fontaine! Bonus points for actually sounding like a realistic name. As ever, the roundtable sketches are an excellent way to show the sexism in Hollywood by way of humorous exaggeration. The more ludicrous stories are clearly false, but women in the entertainment industry have to go through acts of sexism every day.
Kyle And Leslie: Forget the Weekend Update summer run, this is the spinoff we need! I would watch a mockumentary reality show full of Kyle Mooney and Leslie Jones's relationship issues.I love the touches of self-parody in the recurring Kyle and Leslie shorts, but the touch of human emotion makes them a winner every time.
HAIM Musical Performance #2- "Little Of Your Love": I liked it, despite the beginning getting cut off. As of now, it's not available on the YouTube channel or NBC's website, but I'll add a link if it does. First Birthday: ...That was a bizarre little sketch. Was it original slated for the ten-to-one air slot? I'm reminded of a movie that I read about called The Lobster, wherein humans had to avoid turning into animals. It seemed to be mocking the appropriation of spirit animals, but I can't really put my finger on precisely how. In any case, I liked it.
Production Logo: Hey, have you ever wondered precisely how the pitch meetings for film studio logos go? "Production Logo" didn't really teach me anything about that, but it has Melissa McCarthy popping a small child's balloon and threatening him with bodily harm. As a branded content piece, it was perfectly fine, and as a regular sketch, it was exceptional.
Final Thoughts: Welcome to the Five-Timers' Club, Melissa McCarthy! This might be the best episode of the season. From start to finish, we had powerful sketches full of satire and laughs. Whether it was Alec Baldwin doing his best Nixon/Trump fusion (There's a Steven Universe episode I wouldn't watch.) or Steven Martin making a surprise cameo at the end to induct Melissa into the Club, all of it was amazing.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 pm. It's now live in every time zone. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Melissa McCarthy's back to host SNL! Not only will this be her fourth time appearing in this season alone, but she's also going to make it into the Five-Timers' Club! Two entries in one season, that's not bad when you consider the range of newbies and regulars who host in the average span.
Of course, you can't have her appear without some reference to Sean Spicer, and the promo gets right down to it. Melissa happily dances and sings "I Feel Pretty" while being transformed into Sean Spicer's grimacing visage. How ironic. Considering that he outright walked out of a conferences last week and hid in the bushes this week, I'm sure that the writers are not lacking any comedic inspiration.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 pm. It's now live in every time zone. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Cold Opening: This week's cold opening tackled this week's increasingly ominous health care news with a parody of Morning Joe. The sketch is an odd duck in the way that part of it parodies the stereotypical reactions from both sides of the political spectrum, but the other half just has the two anchors awkwardly flirting with each other, much to the disgust of their guests. Adding in a vocal cameo from Baldwin's Trump mistaking Cinco De Mayo for a holiday where mayonnaise is eaten out of sinks, and you get a very mixed bag of a sketch. It would have been better to just focus on one topic, in my opinion.
Monologue: Hollywood has a lot of actors named Chris, Marvel in particular. In the monologue, almost everyone mistakes Chris Pine for other Marvel actors, leading to a song. I can't blame them, both Pratt and Pine starred in science fiction films, although I prefer Guardians Of The Galaxy. Really, all this taught me that Chris Pine is in Wonder Woman. I don't think he's here to promote it, but a commercial for the film did play right after the monologue, so you never know.
Where In The World Is Kellyanne Conway?: Nostalgia, AHOY! Admittedly, I've never actually seen the show, but as short as the sketch was, it did seem to be a fairly accurate recreation of the set and opening theme song. It even extended to actually having children in the sketch and not the usual cast playing kids. It also seems like a smart move, given Netflix's recent announcement of a new show. I also liked seeing Sasheer Zamata in a more prominent role. Maybe it'll lead to her being cast in the new program.
World Peace Rap: I didn't think this music video was very funny. Firstly, the general premise didn't amuse me. It's supposed to be a song about peace and healing the world, but the main character can't stop talking about his addition to lewd online videos. Maybe if it was done in a different way, it might be funny, but it felt offputting and confusing. Secondly, the actual singing was hard to understand. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Chris Pine sounded like Tommy Wiseau.
SWAT Recon: "So, the police are on a secret mission to find and catch their target. The two special operatives look inside the building and see two grown men having a cotton candy party." Someone had to pitch that. Time was spent writing this up into a sketch and finding the necessary props to have it air. Background sets were built for this. Not that the sketch was necessarily bad, it's just an odd concept for a comedy piece, even for SNL. I did like the sense of childlike whimsy that it inspired in the police officers, especially Kenan Thompson's character. Maybe this is actually Mister Mxyzptlk's idea of a prank.
Workplace Meeting: ...What the heck was that? I guess I understand what the sketch was about, but it was put together in such an odd manner. Why was it funny? What was the point of it? Was it put together simply as another excuse for Chris Pine to sing? At the moment, this is not available online, potentially due to music restrictions. When a link becomes available, I will place it in the review. The House W/ Chris Pine: What if real live had the backdrop of a reality show? From the mind of Kyle Mooney, we're gifted with another unique short film, satirizing the usual cliches of a show involving multiple people living together, but everything seems to work out for the best. Pieces like this continually make me happy that Kyle writes for the show. I like his sense of humor.
LCD Soundsystem Musical Performance #1- "Call The Police:" With a name like that, I expected their first song to be in the techno genre. I'm not actually sure if that strictly is a genre of music, but it sounds like one. In any case, it wasn't that bad.
Weekend Update: This edition felt fairly light on momentous political jokes, more focusing on the usual jokes from Colin and Michael than guest commenters. On that note, it did feature a brief tweak to the format, with Vanessa Bayer as Dana Lazarus, their new weather correspondent. I wonder if this is a test run of sorts for the upcoming Weekend Update summer run this August. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I don't mind this particular format change. I was actually watching the local news before the show tonight and, based on the weather segment, this was a pretty accurate representation of nonsensical banter in the news.
Auto Shop: I was afraid that the sketch would be obnoxious when it started, but it quickly (and thankfully) subverted my expectations. It could have been a sketch about some workers making offensive comments about Ru Paul's Drag Race, but the very fast reveal that all of them do genuinely enjoy the program vastly improves the quality. It also partially deconstructed some ideals of toxic masculinity by showing that it's perfectly fine for men to watch shows about drag queens. You can like what you like, as long as you're not hurting anyone else.
The Handmaid's Tale: This short film should have aired earlier in the episode. Not only is it on an important topic and an already-acclaimed adaption, but it's also amusing. I suspect that it might have been written by the same writing team behind short films that have delved into similar topics, such as Cecily Strong's character getting hit on by fake feminists at a bar or their excellent International Women's Day offering.
Star Trek Lost Episode: Once again, this also should have aired closer to the beginning of the episode. SNL has a long history with sketches based on Star Trek, going all the way back to William Shatner appearing in a convention-themed sketch where he called fans of the show nerds. (Fun fact, even though that was a comedy sketch, it still drew anger from the fans.) I don't think this sketch will cause nearly as much frustration. Personally, I thought it was really funny, mostly due to Kenan Thompson's Neil DeGrasse Tyson impression and Bobby Moynihan's amazing Vulcan character.
LCD Soundsystem Musical Performance #2- "American Dream:" I really liked the lyrics in this song. They were well-composed and fun to listen to. I might try listening to the band on my own at some point.
Couples Game Night: Another musical sketch? This is getting silly, and not in the fun way. We could have gotten a Wonder Woman-themed sketch to promote the movie.
Final Thoughts: This episode definitely felt like a mixed bag. On one hand, the little political comedy that we got was jumbled in with some awkward bits. On the other hand, a couple of the sketches were really good, but fairly short. The majority of the episode seemed like a mish-mash of various concepts pulled out of a hat. I guess your opinion on the show might depend on your taste.
If you want a lighter episode to escape from the horrors of the news, you might like it. If you want to see some vicious mockery of the current administration, maybe consider skipping this one. I personally thought this was one of the season's weaker episodes, but I have hope that next week's installment will be wonderful. If nothing else, Melissa McCarthy will host.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 pm. It's now live in every time zone. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Additionally, the musical guests for the final few episodes have been revealed. This week, LCD Soundsystem will take over the stage, followed by HAIM for Melissa's episode next week, and then Katy Perry will team up with Dwayne Johnson for the season finale after that. Okay, maybe he won't sing, but given the success of Moana, it's hard to imagine a situation where that won't happen.
Finally, the first promo for Chris Pine's episode calls back to the days where the Lonely Island made eclectic music videos for the show, starting a phenomenal trend of "SNL Digital Shorts."
Kate McKinnon and Chris play around in the studio, messing with the set, costumes, and makeup. Naturally, they're accompanied by a catchy beat and some special effects. I'm going to watch it; are you?
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC at 11:30 pm. It's now live in every time zone. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Cold Opening: Why wouldn't the first live episode everywhere have Alec Baldwin as Trump? His inclusion has massively boosted the show's ratings, as evidenced by the episode that he hosted, so it makes sense. I'm still happy that Bannon isn't getting a proper impression, as he doesn't deserve one. Portraying him as a minion of the underworld is pretty accurate, anyway, if you're going by morals. I appreciated the reality show parallels as well as Trump offhandedly mentioning catching Steve Bannon eating a live pig. Overall, it was much better than last week's cold opening.
Monologue: I knew Jimmy would be singing. After all, it's a celebration of the historic, coast-to-coast event! Starting now, the rest of the season will be live in all time zones. Why not have a dance party with a guest appearance from Nile Rogers? Jimmy was slightly hard to understand during the actual singing portion, but that might be because I think he was doing some kind of impression.
Celebrity Family Feud- Time Travel Edition: Pete Davidson kills it as David Blaine, if he was the creepy magician from an episode of iZombie. It's really weird seeing Jimmy Fallon playing John Travolta from the seventies and his 2017-incarnation, especially because the latter sounds oddly like Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump. Overall, I thought it was a cool twist on a familiar sketch, but it should have had more jokes on how times have changed. For example, the Carter/Trump comparison.
Before The Show: Just like in the Lin-Manuel Miranda-hosted episode, the cast parodies badly-performed school plays in a short film. It's equally as effective here, contrasting mock-serious interactions backstage with awful on-stage interactions. From mumble-ridden singing to broken scenery, whatever can go wrong will.
Take Me Back: I guess tonight is a night for time travel on the show, as this features an incompetent attempt from Doug (Jimmy) trying to win back Cecily while she's on a date. Said attempts extends to wearing something straight out of the disco era, getting backup dancers and even a special t-shirt with her face. I would count the singing, but Doug's no singer. The ending United Airlines punchline nailed the sketch, as did the Pepsi joke. Looks like Beck Bennett played the same character as he did in last week's Pepsi commercial sketch. Nice continuity!
Easter Message From Sean Spicer: YES, more Melissa McCarthy! I was wondering if SNL would try to cover Spicer's most recent blunder, with a healthy dose of uneasiness about how they would do it. It's a very tricky event to make fun of and even harder to appreciate, especially because I'm Jewish. The irony of using VeggieTales dolls to portray Passover is absolutely delicious. Overall, despite a couple of questionable lines, it actually went pretty well. The Easter egg podium zooming away was brilliant. Also, was it just me, or did this sketch look pre-recorded? It had that feel to me.
Harry Styles Musical Performance #1- "Sign Of The Times": At first, I didn't realize that was Harry singing. It sounded like someone else. Then again, I've never actually heard him sing before, so there you go.
Weekend Update: The joke about Trump developing an immunity to most diseases due to a lifetime of waiters spitting in his food wins the award for the best Weekend Update joke. I'm happy to see more of Vanessa Bayer as Jacob. Aside from being intensely funny and relatable, it's a great way to educate viewers about Judaism. Even so, no VeggieTales references, zero stars. Finally, the newest segment with poor, pathetic Bruce Chandling was very amusing.
Civil War Soldiers: Jimmy Fallon sings ananchronistic pop songs in the Civil War. That's the joke. Bobby Moynihan's all too brief appearance made me do a brief double-take because I thought he sounded like Will Forte. Oh, and Harry Styles makes yet another appearance in it. At least this one was thematically justified.
New Shirt: Let's be honest, we could all use a Turtle Shirt. Everyone has an awkward moment that they would like to hide from.
Sully & Denise: Pat Sullivan, Jimmy Fallon's crude Boston character, returns yet again, just like the first time he hosted. The "Boston Teens" sketch has never really been one of my favorites, but it's worth it just to see Rachel Dratch on the show again. It's interesting to actually see the continuity from the last sketch, as one of Pat's children, now inexplicably years older over the course of only a few years, returns. Here's a fun trivia fact, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch wrote it, according to this video from Jimmy Fallon.
Harry Styles Musical Performance #2- "Ever Since New York": I'm no music critic. I guess it was okay.
Basketball Scene: Once, again, we have a short film. This time, it focuses on the filming of a dramatic basketball scene in a film. Everything seems to be fine with Pete and Kenan's characters, but the background extras are notoriously incompetent.
Final Thoughts: So, that was the first-ever episode to air live for every single time zone! How was it? Well, there was still an issue with not seeing a lot of cast members. The double Jimmy Fallon appearance in the Family Feud sketch, having Melissa McCarthy put in a live appearance from Los Angeles- they were both suitably funny, but it creates less of a chance for other cast members to get screen time. For example, if this really is Bobby Moynihan's final season, then he's not getting a lot of chances to go out with a bang and deliver material that will be remembered for years to come. Other than that, the episode had a generally fun tone. Harry Styles also had a lot of performances
In other news, mildly awkward videos were posted to the official Twitter account after every sketch. They featured Jimmy either explaining the premise of the joke or explaining why he wanted to do that particular bit on the show. I think it could have been more efficiently utilized. If it was used to provide behind the scenes details about the making of the sketch, then that’s fine. But, most of the short videos didn’t do that, instead preferring to describe the joke. If the joke has to be explained, then it might not have been very funny in the first place. Additionally, if this is to help new viewers who can now watch it live, why ruin the surprise? Not knowing what's going to happen next is half the fun! The other half is actually seeing it, of course.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
The new promos for Saturday Night Live have arrived! Jimmy Fallon is known for having a sense of style on his show. Whether you like it or not, you do have to acknowledge that he knows how to have fun, both on his editions of Late Night and The Tonight Show. He brings some of that sense of playfulness to the promos, featuring him and Harry Styles having a fun dance party. And, yes, as can be expected, he does start laughing during the final segment.
In other news, the final hosts for the season have been announced. Jimmy Fallon will host next week and Harry Styles will make his debut as a solo musical guest. The next month will feature Melissa McCarthy officially become a member of the Five-Timer's Club and Dwayne Johnson will head the season finale.
This Saturday's episode will also be notable because it'll be the first episode to be broadcast live in all time zones. This is major for the show and most likely a result of this season's increased ratings and publicity. I'm excited to see what happens! I hope that, if it's successful, this will be extended to the next season.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC. You can check your local listings for the official time.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potterbooks.
Cold Opening: Baldwin's Trump returned for a question and answer session with citizens of Kentucky in this week's cold opening. Sadly, it wasn't very funny. To put it in serialized television terms, it felt like filler. The Trump character is slowly starting to realize that he's losing respect from some of his supporters and he doesn't know what to do. Some jokes were worth a chuckle, such as the chili reference, but most of it fell flat.
Monologue: Louis C.K. is a stand-up comedian, so he played to his strengths with a stand-up comedy monologue. I do have a weird relationship with his comedy. I like the way he goes from topic to topic and the segues that he uses to flow between segments. On occasion, I also like the different voices that he uses.
Even if I don't like what he's saying, I can appreciate the way he says it. Still, there's just something that rubs me the wrong way. I don't know precisely why. Still, his monologue had a few amusing bits, including the ending bit on white privilege and a brief riff on what it must be like to be a moose.
The Lawyer: I love Seinfeld-style observational humor, and this sketch had a lot of it. It takes place in a court case, where Louis's character distracts and manipulates the jury and the judge by batting his eyelashes. It's a great piece, filled with amusing visual gags. Based on the final punchline, it most likely also serves as another positive example of a branded content sketch, similar to the recent Olive Garden comedy sketch.
Thank You, Scott: Yes, you too can fix the world's issues simply by sharing something on social media. This felt like a classic Lonely Island music video, despite the fact that they had nothing to do with the video, as far as I know. Combining a catchy song and some potent satire, it's definitely one of the highlights of the episode.
Soda Shop: My God, it's the Riverdale effect, taking a happy environment and quickly revealing the horrors behind it. In this case, a nice gathering at the malt shop turns into a really creepy sketch. The soda jerk, played by Louis, hits on one of the teenagers, as played by Cecily Strong. It gets even weirder when she reveals that she knows about his crush and deliberately baits him into doing stupid things of that nature. Surprisingly, I actually really liked it.
Pepsi Commercial: You knew something would happen about this. However, instead of doing what you might expect and just making a flat-out parody or exaggeration of the trailer, the writers chose a more introspective approach. The backstory of the director was revealed, showing a surprisingly sympathetic point of view.
I really appreciate how instead of just making a blanket statement about everyone involved in the production, it shows the mindset of the main person in charge. He's so excited about the commercial and really hopes that it will change society, but an increasing amount of distressing phone calls prove otherwise. With nothing else to do, he sighs and begins work on the shoot again, knowing that he made a huge mistake.
The Chainsmokers Musical Performance #1- "Paris": I enjoyed the peacefulness of the song.
Weekend Update: I can't believe it, but Weekend Update made me slightly dislike The Three Stooges. Don't get me wrong, comparing the current political administration to the comedy trio was funny, but I'm not going to be able to forget that whenever I watch them. After that, Kate McKinnon appeared as her recurring loony artist character, this time commenting on a bizarre statue of a soccer player.
The O'Reilly Factor with Donald Trump: I actually didn't realize that Alec Baldwin was playing Bill O'Reilly in the sketch until I saw a comment about it a few minutes in. Personally, I prefer his O'Reilly impersonation to his Trump character. The absurdity of a live Baldwin-O'Reilly interacting with a pre-recorded Baldwin-as-Trump elevated the sketch and made it funnier. The absence of Louis C.K. was slightly off-putting, but maybe he needed to get some intensive makeup on for a sketch.
Birthday Clown: Wow, this is awkward. Judging from what I know of Louis's tv show, this could also easily appear as an episode. It doesn't end there, as Bobby Moynihan's birthday clown character nervously performs for his grossly age-inappropriate solo audience. It just doesn't go well, and the ending joke of Louis telling the clown that he's going to chop him up and put him in the fridge only slightly elevates the gloomy tone.
Sectionals: It's an incredibly theatrical infomercial for sectional couches. In between frenetic descriptions of the couches, Louis's character sadly talks about the loss of his family. That's really all you need to know. It's about as dark as the previous sketches in the episode, but as more of a twist at the end. Thankfully, it wasn't as draining as the previous short film.
The Chainsmokers Musical Performance #2- "Break Up Every Night": I enjoyed the visuals.
Tenement Museum: SNL mocks the romanticization of history by showing that people were just as racist in the past as they are now, if not more so. I think that Louis really liked the accent that he did in the sketch because he broke character a few times to giggle and even gave the standard thanks yous in it during the good nights. Personally, I didn't really like it.
Final Thoughts: I think that the episode needed more of the other cast members. It felt very focused on only a select few, and a little variety goes a long way. Next, the episode's increasingly morbid tone started to wear on me. Then again, I probably should have expected something like that, seeing as all things dark and disturbing seem to be Louis's bread and butter. I did appreciate the Don Rickles tribute at the end. Here's hoping that Jimmy Fallon can bring some of his trademark charm to the show next week!
Cold Opening: Ooh, this is a more cinematic cold opening than before. I like the way it's filmed. I also like seeing Alec's Trump in a more fictionalized scenario. The weirder it gets, the easier it is to briefly stop being terrified for the future of the nation. This sketch uses almost every member of the cast in a brilliant way. I could see it inspiring some Independence Day parodies in the future. My only complaint would be that I was left wanting more, and, really, that's just a compliment in disguise.
Monologue: Welcome to the Five-Timer's Club, Scarlett Johansson! I love it when they add to the mythology of the club. Jackets, songs, and special privileges. In some cases, the hosts even get to make the cast members fight to the death. Ironically, the monologue didn't really have Scarlett telling a lot of jokes, but it had some excellent moments from Kate McKinnon and a very ostentatious Kenan Thompson. Hail Kenan, he's been there for the longest amount of time out of the current cast!
Zoo Pornographer: Ah, brings back memories of Gilda Radner's Emily Litella. One accidental mistake leads to chaos. I don't normally like this kind of humor, but I'm amused by the way even the most innocuous statements are taken out of context. Fun fact: If you look up dannybangsanimals.com, it just leads to SNL's official website. Don't worry, I checked in an incognito window.
Fire Island: Ha, reality tv show parodies! Just remember, reality shows can never get too specific. Networks will try to produce them based on anything.
Translator: It's probably a good thing this didn't air after the zoo sketch. I'm calling it now, this is the sketch of the night. I had a hard time taking notes because I just kept laughing during the sketch. That was completely unexpected, but brilliant. Really, isn't it every dog owner's worst nightmare that your beloved pet would turn out to be a Trump supporter?
Olive Garden: Beck Bennett continues to be a boon to the cast. The sketch features him filming patrons for an Olive Garden commercial. Unfortunately for them, it quickly goes from normal requests to a Bugs Bunny-style session of screwing with them for kicks and giggles. It gets even worse (read: funnier) when he just starts outright being racist and sexist, making the costumers humiliate themselves for a chance at fame.
Complicit: This is wonderful. "Complicit" makes fun of Ivanka Trump by showing just how, well, complicit she is in perpetuating Donald Trump's horrific actions. I admit, at first, I thought it was a rerun of season thirty-seven's "Red Flag" sketch. They had similar writing formulas.
Lorde Musical Performance #1-"Green Light:" I enjoyed the visuals. You can watch it here. Weekend Update: I find this Senator Al Franken bit especially amusing because Al used to be a Saturday Night Live cast member and writer. Kate McKinnon's Jeff Sessions reminds me of a combination of Foghorn Leghorn Bill Hader impersonating James Carville. Therefore, seeing them bounce off of each other is perfect. CBS, consider retooling your The Odd Couple reboot with these two. Pete Davidson's piece felt like something out of the best of The Daily Show. Also, his statement about quitting drugs and alcohol wasn't a joke. He released a statement about it recently.
Shud The Mermaid: Hey, his situation is still better thanThe Wild Life. This is similar to something that's been done before, with Kate McKinnon reprising her role as a mer-blobfish. The formula also vaguely reminds me of the Lawrence Welk Show sketch with Kristen Wiig. I like the practical effects for Kate and Scarlett's costumes.
Shanice Goodwin Ninja-Rivals: It's the return of Leslie Jones as a ninja! I hope it goes better than the first time she played Shanice Goodwin. She actually hurt herself during the sketch, but kept performing. Also, HEY, Vanessa, haven't seen you in a while. It's good to see you in the episode. I like the buddy cop twist.
Lorde Musical Performance #2-"Liability:" Once again, I enjoyed the visuals. You can watch it here.
A Sketch For The Women: I completely forgot that SNL might be affected by the Day Without Women strike and march. As far as I know, it didn't hurt the episode's quality, but this sketch was produced about it. Fortunately, Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney stepped up to create a special sketch dedicated to women and feminism, with a special cameo from Lorde.
The joke is that the two talk about feminism, while Scarlett and Aidy do absolutely nothing, only getting to say a few words. What little they do get to say is just thanking Kyle and Beck for their words of wisdom. The rest of SNL's female cast members are shown at a different table, looking annoyed. It really just had one joke, but it wasn't bad.
Funeral Service: Once again, kind of a one-note sketch. Hearing death metal music and generally inappropriate songs at a funeral wasn't very funny, but it did elicit a few chuckles.
Closing Thoughts: That was a fantastic show. I'm not sure if Scarlett had any big parts in the second half of the show, but the sketches were funny enough to make that a moot point. This episode was particularly weird, but not to a point where it would be detriment. As someone on Twitter said, it felt like someone just took a lot of sketch ideas that would normally be used for the final sketch of the episode and spread them throughout the running time. I'm not complaining. It made me laugh and that's really all that I needed. Next Time: On April 8th, Louis C.K. will host for the fourth time and The Chainsmokers will perform as the musical guest. I haven't really enjoyed his episodes in the past, but that's mostly due to a weird incident happening in my family that paralleled to a joke in the monologue when he hosted for the first time. I'll try to get over my bias. Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.
