Seth Rogen/Spoon (10.06.2007)

The following blog post is a companion piece to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Give us a listen, won't you?

A Message From Kevin Federline

Having just been awarded legal custody of the children he fathered by ex-wife Britney Spears, Kevin Federline (Samberg) shares his own expert parenting tips such as feeding them twice a day, using them to attract women in public parks and dealing with poison control.

• Kenan's semi-goofy voice over to start this amused me. A little odd that this cold open was so light on applause up front, though but I guess this was before the era when that was made mandatory.

• This feels like something that was originally supposed to be an Update commentary at dress rehearsal but was hastily moved to the top of the show to replace a scrapped cold open...but on my research on this particular episode, I'm not finding anything indicating this to be the case, so I'm left to assume this was always planned to be this episode's cold open.

• Still, I had no problems with this at all in spite of the subject matter being lost to the time fog...and it is nice to get a break from strictly political cold opens on SNL every once in a while (even as strange as it may seem to some that THIS would be the biggest news story in America that week).

• I guess Lazy Sunday alone would make Samberg over qualified for the role of K-Fed but he actually does less of a "generic dumb white guy acting black" and more of a focused and reigned in impression.

• There wasn't much to this writing-wise, but Andy certainly had the charisma to put this over in a way only he could (which is especially evident when he sings the Chillis' jingle)

• I got a kick out of Andy listing various ways he was "rockin' it right now" (especially his album debuting last year, dancing in his living room, suing FedEx for stealing his name).

• I liked his line about how it has now been legally declared that "Kevin Federline is slightly more responsible than Britney Spears" and that he thinks his lawyers put it in the constitution.

• One line I really liked was the one about how walking two babies in a park will get you laid "faster than you can say 'hey, can someone watch these kids while I hang out with this strange lady I just met?'"

• ...and of course, I liked his inclusion of "bartending", "baloon animals" and mentioning poison control three separate times in three different contexts among his qualifications as a baby sitter.

• Unfortunately, this had to end on the line that absolutely ages like fine milk not even a full decade after this aired: "I'm like the new Bill Cosby; I'm really funny, I'm good with kids and I'm black". C+

Monologue 

Seth Rogen reads the fantasy SNL monologue he wrote for himself around the same time he and Evan Goldberg started co-writing the screenplay for "Superbad"...at age 13. Rogens' "best friend" Steven Segal (Hader) makes a cameo.

• I got a kick out if Seth saying he was a huge comedy nerd as a kid and following that up with "I know...I don't look like that now."

• I loved how Seth just blatantly read his old monologue off of some crappy, loose leaf notebook paper for about 90% of this and how the Wayne's World reference instantly dates this.

• There wasn't a whole lot to this either, material wise...but there is a geeky, pathetic charm to Seth just outlining every single beat of the impossible dream life he had envisioned for himself in middle school (including driving a Lamorghini that talks to him, marrying his crush who fell in love with him after hearing him tell "a hilarious sex joke" in the hallway, being asked personally to join and lead the Wu-Tang clan by RZA and Ghostface Killa in ninth grade, suddenly having a two foot growth spurt and becoming incredibly muscular in eighth grade).

• I also loved how he just casually skipped over several pages of this monologue that were about the 2000 "Zarkon space wars" where he served as galactic army general that never happened as well as his ideas for new Magic The Gathering cards and how his old bully was blown up in the space wars because the army now prizes video game skills over any athletic ability.

• Finally, we end on a cameo from Bill as Steven Segal simply declaring Seth to "not be a virgin". Of course, Haders' Segal is solid and I loved how he broke character when Seth thanked him just to geek out over him hosting for a sec.

• Even though I find it a bit odd that a 13 year old SNL nerd like Seth would still look up to Steven Segal after having presumably seen his infamous 1991 episode (let alone anyone liking Segal on general now knowing what we know about him), I enjoyed this monologue now as much as I did then. B-

Veritas Ultrasound HD

With the latest in high tech ultrasound video technology, expecting fathers (Sudeikis) can now enjoy the sharpest, most high resolution images of the unborn baby currently in their wife's (Wiig) womb at the doctor's office while watching simultaneously watching a movie with the picture-in-picture setting. They can also see what their fetus looks like wearing the helmet of their favorite football team.

• This felt like a rather unique "of its time" premise (I guess this was still inbetween the eras of plasma screens being prized and the "HD DVD/Blu Rat wars" starting up and "smart TVs" becoming a thing?) that the writing and performances really helped put over.

• Of course, Bills' second appearance in this episode was as the pitchman of this product (and Freds' first was as the very peripheral doctor). I liked how Bills' very first line in this was "Ultrasound, ugghhhh."

• One line from Bill I liked in this was "We live in a high definition world. If you could see an NFL linemans' breath in a January playoff game, you shouldn't have to ask a doctor where you're baby's eyes are."

• The details of 1080p display resolution and a "flat panel liquid crystal screen" tickled me.

• Obviously, Jasons' standout line here was "Now, THAT’S a penis!" I liked the running theme of him being more concerned/impressed with these minor details than his baby's actual health or that they're visiting an actual good doctor. 

• Kristen gave a solid, underrated performance here contrasting Jason's misplaced excitability with her genuine concern over the baby's health and suppressed frustration with her husbands' sheer incompetence/gleeful detachment.

• I loved how she tensely responded "no one said that" to Jason's rhetorical question of "who said having a baby couldn't be exciting"? B-

2007 National Douchebag Championship

Blaine Savage (Sudeikis) hosts this...uh, "talent" competition where contestants Jake Hawkins (Hader), a nightclub manager from New Jersey, Todd "The Deetch" Deaton (Rogen) and Christopher Spanks (Forte), an activist and street juggler from California (Forte) must face celebrity guest judges Sharon Osborne (Poehler) and last years' winner Gerard (Samberg) to determine which of them will take home "the commemorative Jared Leto trophy" and a guest spot on "Entourage". 

• Having been around in 2007 to see that this was pretty much where a large part of male culture was at...this sketch just tickles me.

• Jason played a great host but at the same time he hit certain beats in his dialogue a bit hard in a way that made this feel a teeny bit underwritten and hamfisted...but I guess for some portions of the audience, the writers thought this may have been seen as a basic introduction to the idea of "douchebag" culture so it didn't bother me that much. 

• I especially liked Jason refusing to return "fist bumps" to Bill and Seth's characters and telling Wills' character to "shut up" and "cool it" when singing Jamiroquais' "Virtual Insanity".

• Ooh, Bills' character in this is a nightclub manager? That's some...interesting if unintentional foreshadowing. If Bill knew John Mulaney in their pre-SNL days, maybe he drew on an email John forwarded to him? Anyway, Bills' goofy facial expressions and hacky impressions were charming enough that I could see why his character placed third here.

• Jason noted that Bill's character sang "California Girls" as Borat, Austin Powers and Ace Ventura? Now, I know Katy Perry wasn't famous yet at this time so I guess that leads me to believe that he would've been singing David Lee Roths' cover of the Beach Boys original?

• Seth fit this sketch well enough as a charmless, misogynistic tool, complete with sunglasses, Ed Hardy truckers' cap and "Big Johnson" T-shirt straight outta 1996. Will wasn't featured too much in this, but his goofy look (hippie-ish hoodie, frosted tips) got some chuckles out of me too.

• This sketch may have been the best use of Amy's Sharon Osbourne impression I've seen on this show (certainly better than any of the generic "Osbournes" parodies the show did before this or the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch we got in season thirty when Will Ferrell first hosted).

• I especially liked every way she described Seth's character (except mentioning his "date rape" charges) and when she stumbled over the word "doucherty" (I'd really like to see what that cue card said).

• Fred's Gene Simmons really only works on a visual/visceral level in that he just looks like Gene Simmons and says things that are only a tiny bit more disgusting than what I'd believe the real Gene Simmons actually says. Other than that, something about the voice just seems off to me.

• Andy Sambergs character was delightful. I wouldn't say his various distractions were particularly "douchey" (certainly not "jamming on his P'Zone...I remember personally liking those things quite a bit during that brief window of time right before Covid when Pizza Hut actually bought them back) but they felt more unique to Andy and his sense of humor. The single beaded hair braid in particular fells very Ras Trent.

• I know this was written by Colin Jost & Rob Klein but some of Sambergs' whole character makes me feel like this was at least partially punched up by Jorma & Akiva that Thursday. B+

Macgruber (1/3)

Macgrubers' (Forte) vanity and fear of aging distract him from diffusing the bomb as he can't bear to let Casey (Rudolph) or Caleb (Rogen) see his huge bald spot once his bandana falls off.

• This is the third ever MacGruber. At this point we've only seen him become a Hasselhoff level alcoholic after failing to secure the dog turds, public hair and bum semen needed to get out of his previous jams. Now, he appears to be in full blown mid-life life crisis mode.

• MacGruber in that bandana gives off slight "Rock Of Love" era Bret Michaels vibes. Between this, the cold open and the "douchebag" sketch...I'm starting to sense a bit of a theme to this episode.

• All of that aside, this seemed goofily dumb enough to work for me...as most MacGrubers are. B-

Big Kids

Mr. & Mrs. Triggs (Hader & Poehler) overindulge their grotesquely large and unattractive twins Jeremy (Rogen) and Stacia (Wiig) need to "perform" and show off the the disgust of their own adult friends (Armisen, Forte, Rudolph, Sudeikis)

• This got off to a fine start with Maya, Will, Fred & Jason reacting in stunned shock at the photo. Those same people reacting in stunned confusion to everything else Seth & Kristen did almost got old but I did like Wills' line "That was, uh...that just, was".

• Seth was great in this and so was Kristen (even if she was a little stiff and "I SAID WE!!!" wasn't a great catchphrase). Bill and Amy played cheery ineffectual parents off of them very well.

• I didn't have a huge problem with this sketch or Kristens' performance in it, but it feels like the start of a dangerous trend in this era of Wiig playing a string of loud, spazzy characters that would plague the show for the next few seasons...so, it was hard to fully get that into it.

• My second biggest laugh of this was the visual of Kristen wearing a giant three piece drum set over her shoulders, tapping them with a complete lack of rhythm like she was practicing some kind of Native American war chant while Seth badly mangles the words to Amy Winehouses' rehab into a tiny pink Barbie-ish microphone attached to an oddly shaped boom-box/tape player. The playing of the absurd Harry Potter reenactment on tape is a close third. The robot scene was all right but didn't stand out much for me.

• My actual biggest laugh was probably Wills' line of "I'm well aware of that" before jumping out the window as Amy tells him they are on the 15th floor. B-

Macgruber (2/3)

Macgruber (Forte) appears to be in full blown mid-life crisis mode after having noticeable plastic surgery and starting a relationship with much younger Taylor (Wiig) whom he is trying to convince is 25 and that Casey (Rudolph) and Caleb (Rogen) are his parents.

• Wills puffy collagen lips and chiseled chin/jawbone contrasting against his visible band spot were pretty funny, but not as funny as him whispering "I'm 25. Just go with it" to Seth and Maya after introducing them to Kristen but before referring to them as "mom" and "dad" when asking them to hand him random items. Their glum responses got me, too.

• The detail of Will and Kristen having met "in a hookah bar in Marina Del Rey" tickled me as someone who has been to both hookah bars that existed in Boulder during my sophomore year in college.

• Wills' repeated use of the word "tight" is the type of repetition I like in a sketch (well, it's MacGruber so it's short enough that there's no room for harmful repetition anyway) and thr Dave Matthews reference was pretty funny too. B-

A Message From Fred Thompson 

A decidedly unenthused Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (Hammond) draws upon his experience working with stand ins and stunt doubles on movie and TV sets announces his old "Law & Order" co-star Sam Watterson (Armisen) as his stunt president who will do all his campaigning while he sleeps in his trailer.

• OK, so I don't remember much from Fred Thompsons' 2008 Presidential Campaign (obviously it was very short lived and unsuccessful) but from this and other political material in this episode I gathered that he was lazy, didn't seem to really wanted to be president...or be anywhere in public around strangers, really...and must've had his own Jeb Bush "please clap" moment where he found himself having to literally beg his audience at an event for applause...and there's no doubt in my mind that all of these things contributed to the demise of his campaign 

• Still, whether you knew any of this going in or not...there's not much to find funny here but at least it's an interesting use of Darrell in a non-Dick Cheney/non-Chris Matthews political role just before they would stop having trouble using him this way all together.

• There's Fred with his bizarre off base Sam Watterson impression once again that only worked the last two times he did it in the previous season. As he's not depicting this character as either mentally unstable or just weirdly out of place, this doesn't do anything for me here.

• Anyway, writing about this sketch (and really this whole episode now has me feeling like Fred Thompson circa 2007 myself, so since I don't have a trailer to head back to, I'll just move on. C-

MacGruber (3/3)

After being handed a mirror, MacGruber (Forte) decides his jarring new look from an unlicensed south of the border plastic surgeon is "not so bad".

• I liked the creepy Marathon Man-esque tone this took with a gruff, corner facing MacGruber demanding a mirror, only showing his new, slightly weird non-deformed look in the mere nanosecond before the explosion.

• The control room they're all trapped on being in a monastery was a nice touch as the haunting, ambient choir music helped sell the odd horror vibes of this.

• I also liked how this was a complete 180 degree turn from your standard "mid-life crisis" MacGruber but again, these tend to be so short there's very little to say about them individually, so I'll just move on. B-

Spoon Performs "The Underdog" & "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"

• I don't have too much to say about this band or these performances. Their sound is pleasant enough but if you listen closely, you can hear the origins of that whole indie pop folk/stomp clap hey trend of music that would become omnipresent in about three more years and go on to plague major prescription drug commercials to this day, so...what would basically morph into this over time but still with a little indie/alt hipness to it

Weekend Update w/Poehler & Meyers

CNNs' resident anti-immigration pundit Lou Dobbs (Hammond) delivers an editorial on Canadian entertainers and producers like Seth Rogen and Lorne Michaels take money, film roles and valuable SNL hosting gigs away from deserving American performers

Seth & Amy deliver their third ever "Really?!?" on Senator Larry Craig's airport mens' room sex scandal

Mets Manager Willie Randolph (Thompson) and General Manager Omar Minaya (Armisen) struggle to form any coherent words, let alone come up with anything they would actually do to differently to have gotten their team to the playoffs this year

Senior Political Correspondent Chevy Chase (Himself) delivers an election report on the Democratic and Republican primary campaigns

• Seth's Best Jokes: Bush vetoes child health insurance, war on science, merit badges, nun convent fight, NY Knicks harassment suit

• Amy's Best Jokes: Hannah Montana/Yoda Minnesota, virtual colonoscopies, Ikea homes, MTA cell service

• Darrels' Lou Dobbs commentary was wonderfully deranged and I loved how he played the sheer outrageousness of it completely straight. I liked how he seemed momentarily distracted by a rogue audience member without letting that throw off his timing and performance.

• Highlights for this for me include his naming "Tom Hanks and Jonny Mosely" as fine upstanding American SNL hosts, naming long dead or irrelevant celebrities as potential American hosts such as David Brenner, Hal Holbrook, Jill Eikenberry and George Peppard and quoting his own "red faced" hotel bar rant that ended with him calling Seth Rogen "an economic Bin Laden".

• Seth and Amy go pretty harder in the paint than Smigel did on Larry Craig in their "Really!?!" segment and the audience is pretty hot for it. What stood out to me were the "wide stance/Republican who likes dudes but hates capitalism" comments from Amy and Seth inadvertently tying this back to the first ever "Really!?!" from January (and the "Angry Dog" ad from last weeks' episode) by mentioning that Sen. Craig got Michael Vicks' lawyer to defend him in court.

• The Mets segment had some good fumfering from Fred and Kenan but...you would've had to have been following New York sports for quite some time or at least the 2007 baseball season to really get this. Plus, coming from Fred this really seems reminiscent of his Nicholas Fehn character (who we might be seeing real soon, kids) and that's not necessarily a good thing considering that particular characters' trajectory on the show. Kenan's growling with a cross eyed expression reminded me of his O.J. commentary from the previous week. I can't say anything else about this because there was literally nothing here.

• OK, say what you will about Chevy Chase but behind his old grey/off white Update set complete with phone and all, he seemed the most in his element and the least ill at ease he's been on the show since season one here. 

• I'd say he was downright charming by Chevy Chase standards and it was quite a fun novelty just to see a full 1975/76 style Update nestled within a modern 2007/08 Update.

• Most of his jokes actually got laughs and worked (except for the Fred Thompson "pigs in a blanket" joke with was just a random nonsequitir and a couple of his lines about Guilliani which bombed...especially that last joke comparing his and Hillarys' poll numbers)

• I actually heard that at one point the plan for these Chevy Update election features was to make them a recurring segment throughout this season. I'm sure the WGA strike and probably just Chevy being Chevy at some point put the kibosh on that but I don't think I or the SNL audience in general needed to see more of these that badly. B+

America's First Colonists: Stonetown

This History Channel series tells the story of town founder John Stone (Rogen) and how the special, almost magical "crop"  he was introduced to by the natives (Armisen) brightens the mood when smoked. Morale is boosted among all but one (Wiig) of his fellow settlers (Forte, Hader, Poehler, Thompson) in spite of their dwindling food supply and lack of defense or winter preparation which may have led to tht towns' demise.

• Steve Higgins' opening voice over was cute: "You're watching the History Channel...which means you're probably not too happy with the present."

• Bill not only narrates this but has the first line in the sketch after his opening narration and is later seen with Sudeikis licking corn on the cob the long way and trying to "spark" a musket bong with two actual stones that ends up firing a hole through his own hat. Those moments were fun.

• As for the rest of this sketch...it's called "Stonetown" because their all a bunch of stoners...and they've been smoking pot this whole time...get it?

• I guess this was the obligatory sketch they had to do this week to play up our hosts big pothead image. As expected, Seth played his part well as did Will and Kristen as a great stern voice of sober reason and concern. The various peripheral shots of Amy dancing and handing Kristen a flower were cute. I also liked the invention of the hacky sack and the "air lute".

• I didn't much care for Kenan popping in out of nowhere just to ask Seth for a "dime bag" nor did I care for the shot of Fred as a native DoorDasher (but I will admit the gag name "Constance Lee Stroking" did get me. C+

Rowlf & The Swedish Chef

Swedish Chef (Samberg) convinces Rowlf The Dog (Rogen) to sing a duet of "Beyond The Sea" after revealing that "Rainbow Connection" now has "too many painful memories" he associates with a night in a Vegas hotel room with Celine Dion. Of course, they're backed by fellow Muppets Janice (Rudolph) on tambourine, Zoot (Armisen) on saxophone and Animal (Hader) on drums.

• This is only the second appearance of Andy's Swedish chef character (which he apparently auditioned with). The first was during the brief commercial break advertising his cover of "Axel F" as a ringtone in the season 31 sketch "Smorgasbord" from Scarlett Johanssons' first episode where she and Seth played ennui riddled Bergman-esque niche Food Network hosts and Bill played her comatose husband. Considering that was Bills' only other role in that episode aside from "Fly High Duluth" and he had no lines in either, it should be obvious why Deej and I didn't cover that one at all when we went through season 31 on the podcast.

• I like how this one establishes a sort of mini SNLMSU (SNL Muppet Show Universe) with other cast members being incorporated as various Muppet Show characters that would continue into Seths' second episode next season and Blake Livelys' monologue the season after that.

• I also like this being the rare non-monologue sketch that only takes place on home base stage with no additional set. It really continues the seasons 1 & 2 1975/76 throwback vibes from the Chevy portion of Weekend Update.

• The cast pulled this off well. Seth, Bill and Andy all had great natural Muppet voices and Muppet energy to pull this off. Bill crushed it with that wild drum solo. Maya even gave off Laraine Newman vibes.

• It had been several years since I had ever watched an actual rerun of the original Muppet Show (and that's still the case really) but the Muppets are so universal that you didn't have to have seen them recently to appreciate this. Maybe it's just their omnipresent cultural osmosis or maybe it's just one of those pop culture things people my age pick up from seeing parodies of it on other, more contemporary comedy shows of our own time, but it's nice to have such a comforting sketch near the end of the show like this. 

• It's also kind of funny how Disney has apparently been planning an an actual revival of The Muppet Show here in 2026 that Seth Rogen is involved in which will supposedly air on ABC and Hulu just a few days after this blog post is published and the podcast that we talk about this on is put out into the world. B- 

Mad Joe Dixon

Delilah (Rudolph) and Abigail (Wiig) discuss Delilahs' true feelings toward Mad Joe Dixon (Rogen) until he shows up and they discuss their own likes and dislikes before deciding they were destined for each other

• I got slight Judy Grimes vibes from Wiigs' performance (look at me up here, referencing a character who wouldn't appear chronologically yet) and from Seths' performance I got the vibe that this sketch may have been (rightfully) cut from John C. Reillys' episode from the previous season.

• Other than that, I have no idea what the hell this even was. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. This started out like a more Southern version of "Tales Of Ribaldry" but once Seth started talking about wrapping his balls in hot/cold washcloths (depending on the temperature) it felt like this seriously got away from whoever was writing this or (more likely) punching it up on Thursday night.

• I'll admit that Maya talking about pooping in random mens' thermoses got me a bit but the origin of the name "Mad Joe" (short for JoAnn, he likes to kill people) was just too dumb. This definitely felt like it was going for a bit of a "random" vibe but non "lol silly absurd wacky" random as much as just "pointlessly and irritatingly dumb" random (not the kind of "random" people like. D+

Ranking Season 33 From Best To Worst

1. Lebron James/Kanye West (09.29.2007)
2. Seth Rogen/Spoon (10.06.2007)

Overall Thoughts 

• While this episode may not have been quite as strong as Lebrons' season premiere from the previous week, it was mostly a pleasant surprise to go and review.

• Seth Rogen was a fine host who could've easily been a cast member in some alternate universe (maybe not one with a lot of range, but still) and Bill had a great night (as did Will, Andy, Kristen and Fred which is no surprise in this era).

• The only thing really bringing this episode down is that...a lot of it just doesn't go anywhere. The cast and host elevate a lot of this episode but the writing kind of just...lays flat. This aspect made it a more challenging episode to review as a lot of these sketches really left me with almost nothing unique to say about them. 

• I'm sure the fact that I have been working a new job with later hours and a longer commute didn't help but I think these are all the main contributing factors to me having to watch and write about this episode in shifts rather than all at once. Having to almost struggle to come up with something to say about such...plain and structurally bland sketches really drained what little mental energy I had when I tried to get through it. 

• Again, this isn't to say I didn't like this episode. It got off to a fairly strong start but a lack of creative energy started creeping in and settled in more toward the end of the show.

Closing Thoughts 

• The next entry on this blog is likely going to be my review of SNL season 51s' upcoming Alexander Skarsgard/Cardi B episode (which will be the shows' 1000th strangely enough) which should be posted two days from now if all is going according to plan.

• After that, it looks like SNL may be going on an extended break due to NBCs' Winter Olympic coverage but while that's going on, Deej and I will continue working on the We Heart Hader podcast.

• Our next episode will be a review of episode two of Documentary Now followed by a review of SNLs' Jon Bon Jovi/Foo Fighters episode. I remember that one being on the weaker side of season 33 but I think since then Deej and I have found the brighter spots in that one, so maybe this one might be easier to review.

• See you then!

Teyana Taylor/Geese (01.24.2026)

The First Annual Trumps

• Huh, OK. This is framed a bit differently. This seems like the type of thing that could've been a season 48/49 cold open in an alternate universe (and if it were, it would be the last SNL cold open everyone on Earth would live to see). Let's see where this one goes.

• JAJ had some good lines in his opening rant. I did like the one about his "dead purple hands...exploding with blood" if he claps and his "brain tumor" joke while accepting his award. At least this strayed from the typical "Trump talks directly to camera" cold opens by bringing in various others throughout.

• They're still sticking with Jeremy as Vance. It still works.

• I liked the way they framed the four way split screen of JAJs Trump waiting to win this award.

• Marcello in the role of Argentinas' President works for me.

• I liked Andrew and Sarah as Lady Gaga as Aunt Gladys from Weapons and Stephen Miller presenting the "Best Kiss (Of Trumps' Ass) award.

• Ugh, I knew JAJs' Trump was gonna drop some sort of Kanye/Taylor 2009 VMAs reference when Ashleys' Kristi Noem won an award.

• Personally, I could've done without the cutaway to Ben as Loki (which was his only appearance in the whole show which, given the fact that he apparently wrote "Heated Wizardy" last week is...understandable.

• Hey, Mike Meyers is back as Elon Musk! Legalize comedy indeed.

• Boy, Tommy Brennan really disappeared into the role of The Village People's construction worker, didn't he?

• Even though Carrie Underwood herself is now seen as kind of a joke, it's the perfect role for Veronika to show off her singing abilities.

• I had heard via The Saturday Night Network that this was originally 10 minutes long in dress rehearsal and what was cut from this was Chloe as Sydney Sweeney and Mikey as Greg Bovino.

• So, yeah...cuts had to be made and they definitely made the right choices there but that Mikey/Bovino impression sounds like something that they should only bring back if they have some really scathing, biting material about this guy, but let's face it, that's probably never going to happen.

• Some people were upset over SNL doing this comparatively evergreen cold open (or any cold open really) instead of a somber, single person direct to camera opening addressing that mornings' lethal ICE shooting. Personally, I would say I understand how difficult it would probably be to address something like this that happened the day of at the last possible minute.

• I've only seen SNL do those types of somber, serious cold opens for deadly tragedies that occurred at least the Friday before the show or earlier than that. I'm not saying whether I think SNL doing this opening was in questionable taste or not. I'm just saying I wasn't going in to this episode with any expectations on how (if at all) the show would address this at the very top because from what I've seen, they know their limitations. Hell, they didn't even directly address the previous ICE shooting in Minnesota from two and a half weeks ago, so why WOULD they address this outside of Update? C+

Monologue

• Anyone else get Keke Palmer/Megan Thee Stallion vibes here?

• I liked her comments about finding our she was nominated for an Oscar while "getting fitted for a bald cap next to Mikey Day" and getting "eight hours of sleep a week" as a mom. 

• Other than that, it was a typical modern "host gives a quick rundown of their entire career while plugging/making self effacing jokes about their latest project" SNL monologue where not a lot stood out. C+

Airport Delay

• I some how knew that this premise would involve Kenan and Teyana singing, but somehow they left a little more to be desired. 

• I will admit that they "accept deez nuts" gag got me as did Teyana ambushing Dismukes phone call.

• ...and suddenly out if nowhere JAJ comes in to save this just in time. Boy, him singing "Blame It" really continues the "2009 nostalgia" theme of the night, huh? C+

OBAA Action Figures 

• I was pleased that they'd bring back this mid-90s ass pretape template and it was executed well for sure...but at the same time I feel like the premise of "toys marketed TO kids based on a movie that is NOT made for kids" is something that feels like it's been done before.

• Maybe one of the scenes of Ashley and Mikeys parents reacting to their kids inappropriately quoting the movie to them could've been cut. Otherwise, this was just fine. B-

NFL on ESPN/Quefs

• Well, as a Coloradan, I'm pleased that tomorrow night's Broncos game was the setting for this sketch. I'm not even bothered by Teyana and Tommys' negging of the team because...c'mon. I live here. I'm well aware the Broncos have their flaws.

• The rest of this seemed to be a condensed version of a sketch JAJ did in his first episode almost five years ago...which I think they improved on a bit (namely with flashier, more professional looking graphics for "Quefs" and Dismukes sounding like he stepped up his impression game with his Troy Aikman). C+

Confidence Class

• Even though this was an Ashley led sketch, I wasn't so sure about it at first until the sketch collectively moved on from Ashley's character simply being ASKED about her disastrous interview to when we actually got to see her prepared powerpoint and her ridiculous resume/Michelle Obama speech writing sample.

• It's obvious that they uploaded the dress rehearsal take of this as it contains Ashley's character doing a purposely bad Yoda impression that wasn't in the aired live sketch to replace Ashley's line about not being able to do Dolly because she "doesn't have her boobs with her...and those are a big part of it." This seems to be a trend with the official SNL YouTube account uploading Ashleys' sketches from disappointing episodes.

• The part where Ashley was describing her boyfriend could've been cut because it didn't go anywhere and they could've just got right to the part where she races through the rest of her slides without it. Plus, it could only really save the sketch if we actually SEE her boyfriend (I'm sure they had enough prosthetics to pull off the NYC goblin look).

• The ending with the Dolly impression barely put this over but really, that just speaks to the power of Ashley Padilla. C+

Geese performs "Au Pays du Cocaine" and "Trinidad"

• OK, since I have a feeling that some of you reading this may be wondering where I stand on this band...I think they're just fine.

• I've listened to quite a few of their songs and I haven't been able to form my own opinion on whether they're "good" or "bad". I like then OK but I just can't get hugely into then right now. 

• I'm guessing "Cocaine" may be the song that JAJ was parodying with his portrayal of Cameron Winter last month? (Sorry Andy, I did see you tweet that their first song wouldn't be a great introduction to them but I really liked that Bee Gees cover they did that someone posted in your Discord server. Do they have anymore original sings like that or with that energy?)

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Che's best jokes: ICE/are we dicks? (as sad as it is that this could be the strongest anti-ICE statement we would get tonight...especially on such short urgent notice), merit badges/most molested boy (just for Colins' reaction), Dorito shaped aircraft

• Josts' best jokes: female crash test dummies, suicide pods

• I don't know what to make of Marcellos' commentary. It's fairly subdued by Marcello standards but it's just another Jost roast...but Marcellos' ONLY roasting him for being old?

• Aside from that, I'm glad he explained what "chopped" meant...and then proceeded to use a string of buzzwords to describe WWII that I weirdly didn't need explained to me somehow?

• I guess I DON’T need to go back and rewatch both "Snack Homiez" sketched in a brand new context after seeing this after all, do I? This would not have helped me "get" what little there was to "get" there.

• Colins' "clap back" at Marcello was probably his highlight of this whole Update but the excessive use of tombstones followed by a "nooo!" reaction made this feel like just a slight variation in Aidy and Bowens' "trend forecasters"

• Hey, they're finally letting Jeremy debut an Update character that turned out to be one of the funniest things of the night!

• This was the exact type of gleeful, flashy go nowhere stupidity that I could get into and it was just what this episode needed at this point. I love how Jeremy just leaned into his "Mr. On Blast" shtick giving off full Beck & Kyle vibes and even let Colin get in on it. C+

Grandpa Jackson

• Well, I guess I should've expected some kind of sketch drawing on Teyanas' background as a dancer/coreographer (hell, that's primarily what I knew her as before I found out she was in OBAA anyway) but...that's literally ALL this was.

• I mean, the way Ashley introduced Teyanas' character made me think this might be going in a more bizarre direction, but...apparently she just wanted to show off her moves in old man drag with the most hastily applied bald cap ever?

• I did get a chuckle out of Kenan telling Mikeys' DJ to "stop playing Earth, Wind and Fire, dude."

• There was no escalation or other gag or even any explanation as to what the hell was going on here (aside from JAJs line about Grandpa Jacksons' bones breaking and turning into powder all at once) but hey, this sketch served its purpose of showcasing the specific talent of the host that they told everyone they wanted to build an entire sketch around this week and I was a fool to expect anything more from it. C-

Backstab Island 

• OK, this went on WAY too long for what it was. I mean, a reality show where only one contestant IS there to make friends feels like it should've been done by any non-SNL cable sketch show about 10-15 years ago (and it barely has the potential to be stretched out into full sketch length).

• Marcello, Chloe, Mikey and Kam each had a few decent lines and I liked the gag of Jane repeatedly having guava juice thrown on her but beyond that there was absolutely nothing here. C-

Beyond The Headlines

• I went into this half expecting another "Mid Day News" but got something more akin to "Inside The Beltway" mixed with Dave Chappelles' "Election Night 2016" with little dashes of "Linderholm & Bates", "Stop That" and "The Christopher Lowell Show" thrown in for good measure (kudos to anyone out there who recognizes all of those deep SNL pulls).

• Other than that, this went on WAY too long for my liking as it pretty much belabored its main point immediately.

• I did get a kick out of the Allen Iverson joke at the end. Hey, he used to be a Denver Nugget. The Denver Sports Theme continues! D+

Blowing It

• OK, this Martin Herlihy short gave me my biggest laughs of the night.

• I laughed my ass off right from Martin brutally mocking Jeremys' southern accent.

• I loved the reveal of the central conceit of this being that he was plugging a book with a hilariously long title aimed at cowardly men who are looking to trick their girlfriends into breaking up with them (even after she does or says some very small thing that gives you "the ick" at one point).

• Each and every "highly charged moment" killed me (gifting her a box of 100 tampons, showing up to a family funeral dressed as a member of The Lumineers, another Denver based group, and ordering Doordarsh while there, responding to a tender emotional moment with an impression of Harry Potters' sorting hat, talking about how your fireskin is killing you).

• The "man who believes women" T-shirt was just OK until he turned around to reveal the back said "and Kevin Spacey" followed by an inset of a very real clip of Kevin Spacey introducing Nelly Furtado in the season 31 finale which killed me.

• I also got a kick out of Martin proposing to Sarah in front of her parents...that they open up their relationship followed by the botched Leno chin implant at the wedding.

• Anyway, it felt like such a nice breath of fresh air to end such an odd and dispiriting episode on such a fun pretape. A-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
4. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
5. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
6. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
7. Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)
8. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
9. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
10. Teyana Taylor/Geese (01.24.2026)
11. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Well, this was a hard one to review. I initially thought of having this tie with Finn Wolfhards' episode from last week. I thought they were very similarly uneven shows except this week's brief highs were higher and lows were lower.

• Even though this week, the show has the advantage of not having to deal with a host with a weird fan base, I ranked this episode lower because more consistently bad episodes had brief moments that have grown on me by now.

• Plus, this episode had the disadvantage of having a host they seemingly didn't know how to use outside of two sketches at the end of the show.

• I didn't have much of a problem with Teyana herself but performance-wise she bought this weird, tightly wound low energy to most sketches that felt like they could've been done by almost any host. She didn't have that strong a presence and was used to the point that after Update age just disappeared from the show for a long stretch.

• Yes, I think putting aside that mornings breaking news this episode would've bombed no matter what on a fundamental level.

• Sarah and Ben were the only near shut outs tonight, but on the bright side this was another episode where Ashley and JAJ (in a variety of different roles) dominated the show. Everyone else was just...there. Kenan had such a surprisingly lightly night that I'm wondering if he is phasing himself out of the show because he knows it's his last season at this point.

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, for SNLs' 1000th episode, Alexander Skarsgard makes his hosting debut with Cardi B as musical guest. He's another wild card host I'm not terribly familiar with and barely know what to expect from. 

• Still, it looks like we got our weakest of this run of three in a row out of the way so I can't imagine how that episode would be any worse than this one.

• Before my review of that episode hits this blog, you'll probably be getting my review of the Seth Rogen/Spoon episode from season 33 dropping here as Deej and I continue reviewing that entire season for the We Heart Hader Podcast. We just recorded that episode on Saturday just before this episode I just reviewed aired and we hope to have it out this coming Friday.

• After that, we'll continue our alternating episode by episode schedule of reviewing the first two seasons of Documentary Now by reviewing the "Dronez" episode (that'll be a fun one I am looking forward to!)

• See you then!

Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)

Trump Cabinet Meeting

• Of course...

• Yeah, just get us all caught up on January real quick...

• There's Marcellos' Rubio...

• The "don't read this note out loud thing" was unexpectedly lame.

• Hey, THERE’S Jeremy as J.D. Vance! Calling attention to the new guy, I see.

• I at least like how Jeremy's Vance is much more grounded and less gimmicky than the idea of casting Bowen in that role was.

• Hey, THERE’S the window thing!

• Padilla as Noem. I already like this more than Tina and Heidi's portrayals.

• Hey, THERE’S Josts' Hegseth here to save this! Already loving the big creatine jar and kettlebell.

• This cold open gave me pretty much what I was expecting with a couple of pleasant surprises tossed in so I can't be mad at it. B-

Monologue

• Well, the use of clips, backing music and cameos from Finns' now former costars gave this monologue about 100x more energy that I was expecting.

• Even though I saw the alcohol spit take coming from two towns over and the timing of Gatens' "former child star" joke is a bit...diffie, this was an enjoyable monologue. B-

Snack Homiez II

• Aw, fuck...I had a feeling they'd make this recurring given this host. 

• I genuinely was NOT expecting them to actually bring back Sabrina for this (I figured Finn would just be her replacement not the guest they bring on) but hey, January show. They may need all the help they can get.

• Yeah, I was pretty rough on this sketch back in October when it debuted, but I'll admit...it became a guilty pleasure of mine.

• Finn as a guest who's an expert on "facial structure" is an interesting idea they should have explored a bit more but really, this didn't work.

• Going into this with an open mind, it seems to be less a meaningless collection of GenZ buzzwords than the first one. I'll admit, the Mrs. Indcredible/Pirates' Booty jokes got me.

• OK, I guess A$AP Rocky (who's musical performances were high points of this episode if I'm being honest) being a guest in this makes the most sense out if anything here. Having him just shamelessly plug his own brand of "rap snacks" kinda bummed me out. C+

Heated Wizardry

• OK, part of me was wondering how a network show like SNL even COULD parody a show as ribald and steamy as "Heated Rivalry" (heard of it, haven't seen it, don't plan to, it's just not for me) but...replacing hockey with Quidditch? In 2026?

• To quote the actual star of the Harry Potter franchise in his 2012 monologue on this very show "how lazy can you get?"

• I will say that the fake J.K. Rowling "I'm not a part of this" review got me and some of the less obvious casting choices in this worked well for me (JAJ/Snape, Ashley/McGonagall, Tommy/Malfoy, Chloe/Hermione...and as for Dobby, I guess Jeremy has a real knack for picking up Bowens' old roles).

• Boy, this went on WAY too long, am I right? Personally, I could've done without Kenan as Mad Eye Moody or Jason Momoa as Hagrid.

• Seriously, what the hell was Jason Momoa of all people doing in this...and how the hell is he not gonna get canceled for...THAT line?

• Honestly, this felt more it was littered with the exact type of shameless GenZ pandering I was expecting from the "Snack Homiez" sequel. 

• Oh, well. I'm sure Ben Marshall has plenty of female fans going crazy over this one, so as it'll be nice to see them happy. D+

Indie/Boy Bands

• I could immediately tell where this was going from the beginning but once JAJ entered the scene in a goofy 98°/NSYNC inspired get up playing it completely straight inbetween dance numbers, I immediately got on board.

• Still, I feel like this sketch had some serious pacing and energy problems that pretty much everyone can share the blame for here. 

• Everyone gave it there all and yet still it's like Finns timing was off in a specific enough way to lead to a minor chain reaction that led every other moment play for a beat too long, letting a tiny bit of energy fly out of the scene each time.

• This had a very pleasant ending, but maybe I was a fool to expect more palpable tension and heightened drama out of this. C+

Stranger Spinoffs

• "Strangerous Minds" was delightful and I got a kick out of how Jeremy dragged out Wills' coming out scene

• "The Wheeler Report" just feels like whatever potential to be had there was squandered.

• So...Finn, Gaten and Caleb are just doing...Sex And The City For Dudes?

• "Mike In Manhattan" was a little too long for my liking, but I liked the subsequent scene with them basically just trolling the "conformitygate" conspiracy nuts.

• Mikey as "Mike's Dad" was OK but something I could've done without. JAJ did great voiceover narration here.

• Other than that, I feel this was another pretape that went on too long. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

• Josts' Best Jokes: Greenland/Puerto Rico, Trump/Retribution, RFK/War On Protein,Zaldana/Scarjo, Staten Island/Public Bathroom

• Che Best Jokes: ICE/invasion, RFK/Trump/slight breeze, Nose picking leads to Alzheimers

• I liked the sassiness Jost injected into his Trump/relationship and Exxon "playing too cute" jokes (but not as much as I liked Che calling him out on it with that "algorithm" comment).

• Kam Patterson as Michael Irvin may be the only thing I legitimately laughed at all night...and sadly, a lot of this episode's material (especially the pretapes) made his recent KillTony comments about the show...so eerily prescient it's like the show set out to troll him directly (ditto JAJ re:his recent Vulture interview, now that i think about it)...and then gave him this Update piece as a prize for winning their little test of endurance.

• Boy, this Update really fell off a cliff joke wise at this point, didn't it?

• OK, who DIDN’T see the punchline to that Autistic Barbie joke coming a mile away?

• While it's nice to see Jane get to play a character that isn't herself, this felt like too much of an abstract inside joke for me to fully get on board with since I have NOT seen whatever TikTok clip this was based on. C+

Space Emporer

• OK, this was pretty much the roman emperor sketch from Ashton Kutchers' notorious season 35 episode where he kept feeding Will Forte grapes...but also, Dune?

• I do like the "I'm going to go past making my cast mates break and just see how badly I am going to derail this sketch" vibe that Mikey is giving off. Hell, that's literally the only redeeming quality this had. 

• Hell, even the intro to this acknowledges they needed to update how they frame their TV parody sketches in the streaming age. They haven't quite realized how they should do away with the "you're watching (blank) on (blank)" intros but hey...baby steps. C+

Guy's Girl

• While I am pleased to see Veronika get her own showcase sketch where she plays off Ben and Jeremy in a semi-dramatic moment, I was disappointed to see this gradually turn into a cross the Kyle Mooney "killed the bit" pretape from season 46 and the "random" Sam Crap museum sketch from ScarJos' season 40 episode. 

• Also, is it just me or does this seem to be another sketch where whatever ending it may have had was heavily trimmed down for time between dress and air?

• Anyway, Veronika Slowikowska seems like a promising talent who I believe has the potential to be one of the new leads of the female cast along with Ashley. I just hope they don't misuse her. C-

Free Solo

• Normally, I'd say it's very odd for this to be Kenan's only live appearance all night...but given Chris Redds' recent revelation and given Kenans' rather muted appearance on Kelly Clarksons' show recently...and given how he apparently didn't do this week's warmup between dress and air, I think I can guess what his mental state might be.

• Other than that, he and Finn were actually pretty funny in this. I don't have much else to say about this except that it definitely felt like the type of sketch we might have gotten in 2015. 

• Hey Finn, taking an Uber to a bus stop might just make sure you don't MISS a bus. Did you ever think if THAT, buddy? B-

Ranking The 51st Season From Best To Worst

1. Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11.08.2025)
2. Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean (11.15.2025)
3. Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12.06.2025)
4. Ariana Grande/Cher (12.20.2025)
5. Amy Poehler/Role Model (10.11.2025)
6. Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile (11.01.2025)
7. Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (01.17.2026)
8. Josh O'Connor/Lily Allen (12.13.2025)
9. Sabrina Carpenter (10.18.2025) 
10. Bad Bunny/Doja Cat (10.04.2025)

Overall Thoughts 

• Well, it's the first show of the new year...which means it's a January show so all bets were off to begin with.

• The whole show felt awkward what with Finn pretty much a disappearing non-enitity as host. 

• Outside of one or two things, I didn't have much of a problem with the writing or performances but the show still felt wildly uneven...and a bit divisive.

• Maybe this is the result of having a young host and the show feeling the need to play to his...rabid young fan base in such a tryhard way (and it mostly backfiring on them if the reaction on Twitter is to be believed).

• Still, this was far from the worst of the season. One thing I do like in this episode is that the show seems to genuinely be trying to give airtime to previously underused cast members.

• I have to admit, I am actually seeing one thing I said I was hoping for on my last SNN appearance in that they are giving JAJ a lot more airtime to play more non-Trump role and unique characters so, it's nice to see they actually DID continue that trend and I hope to see more of it.

• They're even giving Kam, Veronika and Jane more chances to showcase their own original character pieces and find their voice on the show...which I also find encouraging.

• While I wasn't too crazy about most of this episode, one thing I did like seeing was the noticeable seismic shift in how SNL is using the rest of its cast now that Bowen is out of the picture.

• Of course, we didn't see too much of Tommy, Kenan, Sarah or Andrew and Marcello felt scaled back a bit, but it's good to see their time being given to newer, less established cast members to develop their presence.

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, Teyana Taylor makes her hosting debut. She seems like she would be a good host, but not having seen as much of her acting I don't have any expectations going into this episode so it will be interesting going into another new SNL with that mindset.

• One thing I could see happening after next week is Teyana does such a great job on the show and gets such rave reviews in the press that the discourse surrounding the show becomes "see, THIS is why SNL needs another black female cast member now that Egos' gone"...because I have seen this exact scenario play out already more than a decade ago when Kerry Washington hosted.

• Oh well, either way I'm sure that episode will be miles better than this one and you'll be able to read my review of that episode on this blog around this time a week from now.

• One other review I am working on right now is a review of the Seth Rogen/Spoon episode from season 33. As you may have heard me mention before, Deej and I are reviewing both that whole season of SNL (since it's so short, we figured...why the hell not?) as well as the entire* first two seasons of Documentary Now for our podcast We Heart Hader.

• In fact, we just released our first Documentary Now review the other day. Feel free to listen to it!

• I gotta go finish my Seth Rogen/Spoon review before Tuesday night because I THINK that's when Deej and I are going to record that one. 

• Obviously, I'm working under a slightly less strict self imposed deadline than I am on this one but I think the demands of another new job have been draining my energy and focus for that one a bit...which may be affecting both that review and this one, but anyway you should hopefully see that review posted on this blog by the end of the month (hopefully right before my review of SNL Season 51s' upcoming Aleksander Skarsgard/Cardi B episode is posted).

• See you soon!

*Yeah, something tells me we might be skipping over "A Town, A Gangster, A Festival"

Lebron James/Kanye West (09.29.2007)

The following blog post is a companion piece to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Give us a listen, won't you?

A Message From The All-But-Certain-To-Be- Next-President Of The United States

Hillary Clinton (Poehler) gives a premature, shockingly petty and extremely condescending farewell speech with a brief appearance from Bill (Hammond) to her fellow 2008 Democratic Primary candidates under the assumption that she will win in both 2008 and 2012.

• Well, let's just start at the beginning with this one, shall we?

• First of all, I can't begin to tell you how strange it was for Darrell Hammond to be the first person you see in this cold opening. It's one of those things you may have had to have been around and regularly watching SNL at the time to know.

• See, at some point in November 2006, NBC actually aired a "Best Of Darrell Hammond" compilation...while Darrell was still in the cast. This was the first time this had ever been done for a still active current cast member before, so naturally...most people who saw this at the time assumed season 32 would be Darrell's last season.  Then again, most people who watched the previous live episode before this one (the Zach Braff/Maroon 5 season finale) assumed that would be Mayas' last and she's in this episode, so who knows just what the hell was going on at SNL/NBC around this time?

• Now, you may not remember or even be aware of any Best Of Darrell Hammond compilation because it only aired once on NBC and was never released on DVD. Hell, it's not even streaming on Peacock with the rest of the "Best Ofs" that actually DID get a proper home video release when they came out. As it turned out, this was at the request of Darrell himself as he didn't believe this compilation truly represented his "best" work. As far as I know, this is also the first and only time this has happened with a Best of as well.

• Anyway, on to the rest of this...MAN, this...oof. Well, I don't want to overstate the obvious, but...yeah. Considering how Hillarys' real life political career would go (and considering who the two real life Democratic presidential "hopefuls" mentioned by name in this were that she actually WOULD go on to talk to and interact with regularly are) this one has held up pretty poorly since...hell, since before this season even ended in real time. Just hearing her mentioning the year 2016 (even as much as that one turned out to be Hillarys' own "second, this-time-more- realistic bid for the White House") makes me cringe a little.

• Still, if memory serves, the shows' writers must've seen this coming and tried to overcompensate in the post strike half of the season by playing up Amys' Hillary as being extremely entitled, arrogant and nakedly scheming in the wake of the news media's sudden love affair with Fred Armisens' Barack Obama (ugh) so FOR NOW they kind of balance themselves out here but really who in the hell could've predicted what would've happened in eight years?

• Actually, you can hear me talk more about Amy's Hillary in this podcast guest appearance of mine from the summer of 2023...well before I even met or reached out to Deej, before We Heart Hader was even a gleam in my eye (or possibly even hers).

• Anyway, the only real highlights of this were Amy as Hillarys' comments directed at Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, John Edwards and Mike Gravel. Hair plugs and all, it's amazing to see how strikingly different Joe Biden looked 18 years ago. C+

Montage 

Don Pardo is pretty much inaudible until he gets to Darrell & Seth's names in the credits due to mic troubles. Right before he gets to Mayas' name, you can hear a crew member or audio technician comment that his mic is going out. Wow.

Monologue

Lebron James gives a shout out to his "family", the Lebrons, watching back in Akron.

• Lebrons' dancing to the theme music was a nice touch. His obligatory mention of the Cavaliers sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in that years NBA finals didn't do much for me.

• This is a partially pre-taped monologue that mostly turns out to be a continuation of the smooth, Klumps-style Nike ad campaign Lebron was involved in around this time which I do vaguely remember. The old/pops Lebron was funny and I got a kick our of his "pretty boy" version telling his girl on the phone he was watching SNL and then commenting "I thought they canceled that after Eddie Murphy, too."

• Although the transition to this pre-taped portion of the monologue lasted a couple of beats too long (even if it was meant to elicit a questionable necessary "awwwww" from the audience when he mentions his family wishes they could be here tonight, I got a kick out of the cut back being Lebrons' detailed chalkboard illustration on how to fix Americas' broken Healthcare System.

• This was a short monologue that got in, got its laughs and got out (which, considering the fact that this episode has an athlete host with mid-tier acting abilities, is probably for the best). C+

Angry Dog

Michael Vicks' new brand of dog food laced with synthetic testosterone and 7 psychoactive drugs makes all breeds of dog, big or small violent and aggressive enough to stand up to both real and perceived bullies.

• Yes, this was when Michael Vicks' dogfighting scandal dominated the late summer news cycle. No, he is not played by Kenan or even verbally mentioned by name in this. The only direct reference to Michael Vick is his face being on the front of the label of the dog food bag.

• Still, that alone gets a long and sustained "oooooooohhhhh" reaction from the audience mixed in with some slick shock laughter that suggests a knowingly subtle "are they really doing this?" reaction with just a hint of "if they are, then...we'll give 'em a chance and see how they handle it."

• Forte was definitely the right pitchman for this as he would be the most trusted member of this cast to put this one over. I especially loved his whole "don't you fuck with me" rant up top. Wiig as the mom was a nice counter to that.

• I also liked Armisens' aggressive seeing eye German shepherd (he may be the only other cast member besides Forte that could've put this over) as well as the aggressive circus poodles.

• Oddly, Hader as the hunter didn't do much for me in this but I did get a twisted kick out of seeing the bitten a d scratched/scarred up kids bringing the dog back at the end. 

• ...and to think, the last time SNL made fun of or even referenced Michael Vick was at the beginning of 2007 in the first ever "REALLY?!?" segment on Seth & Amys' Update when he was arrested for possession of weed at an airport. Oh, how easily time makes fools of us all. B-

Childrens' Hope Auction

Penelope (Wiig) shamelessly tries to one up everyone and draw attention to herself at a children's charity auction including fellow bidders (Poehler, Rudolph), event organizers (Armisen, Hader) and even guest of honor Lebron James (Himself) as he offers himself up for a bachelor auction.

• This is the third overall appearance of Kristens' Penelope character, so naturally she gets a brief smattering of recognition applause upon entering the scene. 

• This was never my favorite Kristen Wiig character, but she would go on to debut characters I liked much less than this one over the course of the next two seasons so I didn't have much of a problem with Kristen yet at this point.

• This sketch really wouldn't start to pick up until Lebron showed up and Kristen got to play off him. The highlights for me were Wiigs' line about having written the song "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" for Aretha Franklin and the whole "Crazypants/long beard" back and forth from when Lebron decided to get in on Wiigs' one-upmanship. B-

High School Musical 3: Return Of The Seniors

East Highs' newest student (James) isn't so sure he wants to try out for Zac Efron/Troy (Samberg) and Corbin Bleu/Chad's (Armisen) all singing, all dancing basketball team...until Vanessa Hudgens/Gabriella (Rudolph) tells him he might miss his chance at seeing her naked breasts and possibly hooking up with her.

• Well, I...don't quite know where to start with this one. IIRC, this may be the first full parody of the "High School Musical" craze SNL did around this time period. The two we would get in the following season ("Night School Musical" and the HSM sketch from when Zac Efron would actually host) would be better, but it's not exactly a good sign that both MADtv and SNL had done separate HSM sketches by this point...and MADtv ended up having the better, more creative one a full year earlier right out of the gate.

• Worse still, this sketch signals the start of a dangerous trend in SNL season premieres (that thankfully wouldn't seem to plague the show as much for at least another fifteen years or so) of sketches that parody something from the summer news/pop culture cycles just to acknowledge that these things occurred rather than comment on them with an actual take (especially with things that appeal to or are geared toward a younger audience)

• For example, this sketch only serves the purpose of acknowledging that High School Musical 2 had just recently premiered on The Disney Channel and that shortly afterwards, one of it's female leads just had her private nude photos leaked on the internet. Beyond that, it doesn't offer up much in the way of commentary or a comedic take than that. It's just...kind of explaining this thing that happened to SNLs' older, less "terminally online" viewers.

• Hey, at least Mayas' not playing her part in a way that slut shames Vanessa for having her nudes leaked (her part is so small she doesn't quite have enough room to do that) and at least Andy & Fred don't play their parts in a way that plays up any "lolgay" vibes (again, the sketch is mostly too short for them to get that in anyway aside from maybe a slight lisp from Samberg during his first song). For 2007, that's sadly pretty progressive.

• As wrong as it seems on paper for Fred to be playing the Corbin Bleu part (like they would ever let that stop them anyway) I did get a pretty big kick out of him chirping "you tell 'em, Troy" out of nowhere. I also got a kick out of the two basketball players throwing that one guy up in the air like they were male cheerleaders in the background.

• I also liked how off key Andy and Lebrons' singing were at the start of their songs and Bill did a fine job as the announcer here. C-

Digital Short: Iran So Far

Andy Samberg confesses his deep, undying love for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad (Armisen) through a soft romantic rap ballad with some help from Adam Levine and Jake Gyllenhaal (themselves)

• This would be one of two segments tonight in response to Ahmedinejads' then recent "there are no gays in Iran" comment in a speech he had given at Columbia University earlier that month. Somewhat surprisingly, this one would age better and come off a lot classier.

• Yes, it does play up a bit on the tired comedy trope of "all outspoken homophobes in politics must be either secretly gay or too afraid to confront their own latent homosexuality" trope in modern comedy but they take the same tasteful and tactful approach to it that the entire Lonely Island would with their "Spring Breakers" Anthem on "The Wack Album" so I have to give them credit for that.

• Yeah, this may be a little heavy on subtle (again, for 2007) gay jokes and innuendo but ending it with Andy saying "I know you say there's no gays in Iran...but you're in New York now, baby" gives this that feeling of "overly long and complex set up to a quick and simple punchline that hits you just right". 

• Plus, even that's proceeded by an even more biting line "You can deny the holocaust all you want, but you can't deny there's something between us" so there's some good old fashioned antisemite bashing in there, too that gives this a double message.

• Ok, even though Fred Armisen playing middle easterners (or any ethnicity outside of his own, really) on SNL has become a tiresome trope that would show a serious lack of awareness on both his and the shows' parts...I gotta say Fred does look just enough like Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in particular with the right hair and makeup (emphasis more on hair than makeup here) that him being in this role makes whatever commentary they had on him that week worth putting in the air in this case because the material he is given puts it over (which...I don't know if I can say the same about for the second time Fred will pop up in this role tonight).

• Fred's goofy smile as Mahmoud works for me as does the brief sight gags of him slowly licking an ice cream cone, wearing an S&M harness over his business casual suit and later wearing a long, formal red gown sitting on top of Andy's piano. I especially like how that's absolutely as far as this goes with the homoeroticism.

• On top of all that, this is beautifully shot for a Digital Short and the song is...still pretty catchy and well composed (in spite if the Adam Levine and Jake Gyllenhaal of it all...at this point, I don't even mind that Adams' been in two back to back full length SNL episodes from this time period I've reviewed for this blog and podcast or that Mr. Gyllenhaal has come very close to doing the same).

• For some strange reason, I've always had some sort of nostalgic fondness for this SNL episode and this particular Digital Short in general that I haven't been able to let go of. I'm glad to see that these both just barely hold up enough for me to not have to (given what a real "late summer/early fall of 2007" time capsule/period piece this us turning out to be. Maybe I just have some sort of nostalgic fondness for this time in my life in general and haven't been able to figure out why I shouldn't have yet? Oh well...) B+

Read To Achieve PSA Shoot

Director Mike Underballs (Hader) must navigate a conflict between Lebron and stagehand Jeff (Sudeikis) which gets settled at the hoop.

• Ah, yes. The return of these guys!

• They've changed up plenty from the JLD edition of this sketch to make it feel fresh and not like a carbon copy of the previous one. 

• For example, Sudeikis' "JYYEEEFFFF!!!" is no longer a boom mic operator but rather, he is tasked with hitting his cue to toss a ball to Lebron for him to dunk. He goes from aiming too high to throwing too early to hitting his head to simply tossing a book at him since this is a literacy PSA which all played out great.

• In fact, I would say they improved on this formula since the last one. 

• Hader feels like he's doing a bit more than just playing straight man (especially when he backs up Jasons' "check ball" request) but this is another Jason showcase where he really gets to shine.

• Knowing Jasons' actual real life passion for basketball going back to his youth, you can tell this was probably written especially for him to showcase his skills on the court. I especially liked him bragging to Lebron that he "played high school ball", all his moves being immediately blocked by Lebron and him getting up with a bloody nose after "Bron-Bron" knocked the wind out of him and he fell to the ground. 

• This was definitely the best live sketch of the night. A+

The Lyle Kane Show

Dweeby former valedictorian Lyle Kane (Forte) stumbles through the first ever episode of his own inexplicable BET talk show as he interviews random bank teller Tim (James) and his own flute player/sole "band" member Daniel (Hader)

• Ah yes, the return of Wills' Lyle Kane character from the previous season's finale! This time, he is leading his own sketch!

• I loved seeing this obscure Forte character return from the Prom Committee sketch from the previous episode (last season's finale).

• I loved every absurd detail of this sketch from every person in the scene talking exactly like Lyle to the botched attempt to tell a joke to the awkward stage direction Lyle gives. 

• I also loved Lebrons character playing circles around Bills on the flute, giving a jazzy Ron Burgundy like solo and the sole explanation for Lyle even having a show being his straightforward, factual answer to Lebrons' "who did he have to give a BJ to" question (yeah, another gay joke that I can let slide for how absurd and out of left field it was).

• Even though I'm currently cohosting a podcast that's all about Bill Hader, I have to say I love how much the show gives us these patented oddball Will Forte sketches throughout season's 33 & 34. It almost makes up for him his lack of use and sudden departure (even if it may have been for personal reasons) by the end of 35. This is definitely my second favorite live sketch of the night. B+

Kanye West Performs A Medley Of "Stronger" And "Good Life" And Then Later On Performs Another Seperate Medley Of "Champion" And "Everything I Am"

• Let me just take this opportunity to say that it was certainly NOT mine or Deejs' intention to collect and review all the SNL episodes with this man as musical guest for our podcast (or mine for this blog).

• At this point, I suspect that there will only be one other episode his is as a musical guest that Deej and I would have any reason to talk about.

• As for these songs...eh, they're all right I guess. This was still at a point where I still disliked Kanye as a person more than I disliked his music.

• His performance of "Everything I Am" sounded like it might have been a freestyle but that's something I'm having a hard time seeing Lorne let fly (although if he did for just this week I could see this being the reason the final sketch of the show gets edited down so suddenly).

• Hey, at least now whenever I hear of think of the song "Stronger" I can always be reminded of this tweet.

• Thankfully, this is the last SNL episode he ever makes and legitimate sketch appearances in.

• Fun fact: it turns out that Kanye West was a last minute replacement for this episode's originally schedule musical guest, Amy Winehouse, who couldn't get a passport in time, so the show pushed her back to November 10, 2007 for an episode that was supposed to be hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Unfortunately, this was the first of several planned episodes this season that had to be canceled due to the WGA strike of 07/08 and Amy Winehouse never got to appear in the show. This would be the first of two times that Kanye was apparently available to replace a female musical guest who had to back out of a season premiere that aired on September 29th (the second being Ariana Grande in 2018 which would be the final time Kanye was ever welcome on the show as a guest...which I won't go into any further because if you're reading this you're probably already as familiar with SNLs' 44th season as I am or as anyone else would ever need to be).

Weekend Update w/Poehler and Meyers

O.J. Simpson (Thompson) struggles to sufficiently explain his rationale for committing an armed robbery to get back sports memorabilia that he had previously sold.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad (Armisen) clarifies his "no gays in Iran" comment and his views on women through a translator (Rudolph)

• Seth's best jokes: Marcel Marceau obituary, Rudy Guilliani, Human Chimpanzee, Nickelodeon Day Of Play, Benadryl 

• Amy's best jokes: Crossword proposal,  Zara Handbag Recalled

• Kenan's O.J. commentary didn't do much for me. Sure, this may be the debut of his O.J. impression but he clearly hadn't found the right "hook" yet and was playing him like a typical Kenan character from this time. There wasn't much writing-wise here either, but I suppose this served its purpose of highlighting the sheer absurdity of O.J.s situation at the time.

• ...and here's Armisens second appearance as Mahmoud Ahmedinejad of the night

• ...and the entire joke here IS only that "he's a politician who's very publicly homophobic so he must be a closeted gay man lol"

• ...and that's it. There's no extra layer added to it like the fucking Lonely Island managed to add to their thing. Just naked gay humor (pun unintended, yet avoidable...but still used for some reason).

• This paired with the fact that it is basically just a foreign political leader speaking through a soft spoken translator makes me feel like I'm watching a lost season 30 cold open. 

• Speaking of which, why didn't Maya as the translator attempt to interpret Amy's questions to Fred's Mahmoud just to sell us on the illusion?

• At least it felt like a rare format break for this era to put it on Update instead of making this the cold open (especially with Amys' "Inches Magazine" joke at the end (even if the pause/sudden inexplicable applause break is probably what really made this episode run long)

• ...and at least this Update was worth it for most of Seth's jokes. 

• It's pretty eerie that I find myself reviewing an Update that ends with Amy Poehler telling another vagina joke about a woman who gave birth to a 17lb baby just two months after Amy came back and hosted and ended THAT episodes' Update with a "joke-off" between her, Tina and Seth vs Jost & Che based on...pretty much the exact same thing happening elsewhere in the world. C+

Best Of Solid Gold

Solid Gold Superfan C. Micah Kring (Thompson) enthusiastically pitches the Time-Life DVD Collection of all the best moments from the Solid Gold Dancers (Forte, James, Poehler, Rudolph, Wiig)

• Kenan really made a meal out of his part. Even though his character is named "C. Micah Kring" (and yes, he does pronounce it in a way that spells out the joke but still let's it get by the censors) he was actually pretty enjoyable to watch. I do like the various little moments in between his diatribes on his deep love of Solid Gold that briefly yet subtly allude to how pathetic his life has been.

• Most of the parts with the dancers were a bit dull and stiff despite the cast giving it their all. I did get a kick out the dance routines set to the Miami Vice theme and Jefferson Starship, though. The interview part worked better than it had any right to because the cast put that over.

• Usually, with male athlete hosts SNL finds itself faced with its own compulsion to do at least one "huge masculine guy plays against type" sketch and oftentimes has a hard time resisting the temptation to just straight up put them in drag. Between this and the Lyle Kane sketch, SNL at least found two rather creative "non-drag" roles where he could play against type (even if he seems a little stiff here).

• While this, much like the HSM sketch earlier in the show worked better than expected without playing up the "lolgay" angles too blatantly (although this sketch does do that in a couple of spots), the parts that didn't work were the parts that relied on a specific type of physical comedy that not everyone in this cast showed they could pull off successfully. C+

TV Funhouse: Ambiguously Gay Duo in "First Served, First Come"

Bigheads' (Robert Smigel V/O) latest poorly conceived plan to "out" Ace (Stephen Colbert V/O) and Gary (Steve Carrell V/O) involves inviting them to a Mexican/Indian barbecue with only two connecting porta potties, one if which is being used for a sting operation by Minnesota PD Sgt. Karsnia (Robert Smigel V/O)

• Here we go, folks. One of the last three Smigeltoons to have ever aired on SNL. Truly, we're reaching the end of an era...and this being in the same episode as such a notable early Digital Short makes this feel even more like a true "passing of the torch" moment.

• In case you can't tell or don't remember, this was based on Minnesota Senator Larry Craig's recent scandal where he was arrested for soliciting gay sex in an airport mens' room. I guess even Smigel himself thought he was done with these two (since at this point it had been five years since the last one) until he saw the Larry Craig story all over the new and was just STRUCK with the inspiration to write something super topical

• Surprisingly, Bill Hader does have small but noticeable voices roles as three of the obscure one off villains at the barbecue. He plays, Flame-eye, Flatside and, of course, Lizardo.

• Frankly, I don't have all that much more to say about this except that it cemented in my mind how much I fobd the later editions of these funnier when Smigel & Company decided to put "seeing how many outlandish visual suggestions of gay/anal sex they could get past standards" on the back burner in favor of highlighting how Bigheads' plans became more focused on "outing" Ace & Gary and less about world domination and general destruction (you know, like a NOT totally shitty supervillain?)

• Speaking of supervillains, I always liked Dr. Brainio as the sane voice of reason in these. That's gotta be Colbert voicing him too, right? Also, what purpose does "Orbitrox" serve other than just being a...floating green robotic jack-o-lantern who beeps and makes vulgar wisecracks?

• The one gag that actually got me was Ace & Gary playing charades by just gyrating around like male strippers and somehow being able to guess "All About Eve" & "Letters From Iwo Jima" just based on that alone.

• Other than that, I at least appreciated how the gags in this were more verbal than visual...even at the expense of more scatological humor being sprinkled in. I wasn't too crazy about the ending reveal of Lizardo and the police officer (who apparently just blew his cover for no reason) seemingly about to...um, have an encounter. Seemed a little rushed and too easy of an out for me. B-

BETs 106 & Park Top Ten Live

Kanye West (Himself) offers up a weak, piss poor defense of his recent string of meltdowns and tantrums to hosts Rocsi (Rudolph) and Terrence (Thompson) after being denied wins at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, The Nobel Prize Ceremony and a pumpkin contest at a local county fair (not to mention being denied the hosting spot for tonight that ultimately went to Lebron).

• Ok, yeah...in order to review this I am going to have to put 2020s Kanye out of my mind for just a few minutes and remind myself that this is 2007 Kanye we're talking about...and this was still well before he went completely off the deep end.

• Seeing as he apparently asked to be in a sketch his week and accepted Seth's pitch (according to his own 2018 monologue), this was a time when Kanye was known to be an ass, but at least managed to convince the general public (myself included) he had enough of a sense of humor to be able to poke fun at himself for these antics.

• As I mentioned earlier, I was not a huge Kanye fan even back then...but I will admit that he earned a begrudging amount of respect from me AT THIS TIME for doing this sketch (even though it wouldn't last for very long, but still...)

• Plus, it does help that Kanye is basically making fun of his own penchant for interrupting other people's acceptance speeches at awards shows two full years BEFORE his most infamous and damaging example of doing just that would occur at the MTV VMAs.

• Speaking of, that kind of ruins that last part of Seth's 2018 hosting monologue for me, too. It's not that I watched his era of SNL closely enough in real time to know exactly what sketch he was talking about and when it aired, but I was also very young and attuned to pop culture of the time as well. 

• I do remember Taylor getting quite a bit of sympathy from that at the time and Kanye getting a lot of bad press for coming down on a white female artist who much younger than him (which this sketch oddly foreshadows, like, twice) so even the show realized that 2009 would've probably been the wrong time to humanize Kanye and make him seem relatable funny over this (especially since they would have both Taylor and her then boyfriend host separately from each other not too long after this had happened).

• Still, I gotta say the power of Seth's writing (if he did in fact write this) helps this sketch hold up better than you'd think it would...given how badly and irreversibly Kanye has damaged his image and legacy by 2025.

• The KCAs scene was decent. Even without lines, Forte and Sudeikis just visually make a decent Drake & Josh. Nice restrained use of Amy's Dakota Fanning here, too (one of three instances of IRL foreshadowing).

• Bill makes an appearance in the Nobel scene presenting the prize for physics to John C. Mather (Bryan Tucker) and George F. Smoot (John Lutz). The line "no disrespect, I ain't heard none of y'all theories" but what was with him suddenly yelling (what sounded like) "credit...fuck the Nobel" at the end? Did he really botch a line THAT badly?

• The county fair scene was fun. I got a kick out of Kanye pulling a champagne bottle out of his million dollar pumpkin (instance two of three of IRL Kanye foreshadowing).

• Of course, the scene with Kanye imploding backstage at SNL was the best possible capper with the "give a short black man a chance" line (as eerily as this seemed to foreshadow/predict Kanyes' actual backstage meltdown during his 2016 musical guest appearance over the crew tearing his own stage lighting without his permission...where he threatened to walk off the show entirely until Lorne had to step in and talk him out of it. This wouldn't even go on to be the most notorious thing Kanye said or did in the SNL studio that didn't make it to air. B-

Great Moments In Guidance Counseling 

In January 2003, St. Vincent St. Mary's High School Guidance Counselor Larry Baines (Sudeikis) tells a young Lebron James (Himself) to declare with the NBA and become their #1 draft pick and avoid college at all costs. Basically, Mr. Baines tells Lebron to abandon his dream of getting a diploma and pursue a life of immense wealth as an NBA player because graduating college doesn't guarantee you much other than a life and career of short sleeve shirts with your ties, sack lunches and sharing a dingy office with Glenn (Forte) and dealing with garage mechanics who didn't go to college making more money off you than you can ever dream of.

• The basic premise of this sketch might be a little top "Inside Basketball" for some but the performance from Sudeikis and the detail heavy writing of this sketch make it accessible to everyone (take it from me, I DID go to college...and look where I am today).

• I liked Sudeikis quietly berating Forte for now reason, telling Lebron to "dunk" on future teammates who DID go to college and his attempt to "sell" Lebron his own diploma for a million dollars (even though in the live version of this sketch there's this weird technical gaffe where the camera cuts too...the control room? Or another poorly lit part of the studio? Anyway, that does end up being fixed in reruns and in the Peacock edit along with several other camera miscues).

• Truly, the highlight of this sketch was Jasons speech about how the glove compartment pops open on his '93 Corolla every time he goes above 50 MPH and having to pay $400 to get THAT fixed.

• Another part of this sketch that was cut for time from the live airing was a "next week's show" preview where Kenan plays Kanyes' Guidance Counselor telling him to "go to college for a year, drop out and write songs about it". This is added into the Peacock edit and the repeats but somehow doesn't feel completely necessary. B+

Overall Thoughts

• This is an episode I've always had a certain nostalgic fondness for and I'm glad to say, WITHOUT looking at this episode entirely through rose tinted glasses, that it's still a quietly solid season premiere that still mostly holds up in the right places.

• Yes, there are a lot of very topical pieces in this based on politics and pop culture that may or may not be lost to the time fog nearly two decades later, but that's' pretty common for most SNL episodes from many different eras (especially season premieres).

• There's only a few things here that just flat out don't work and what doesn't hold up isn't too egregious or problematic to still be able to enjoy now.

• It does seem like Andy and Jason are emerging as the new "stars" of the breakout cast with Forte and Poehler holding down the fort as the established vets (I'd say Maya here too, but we already know she has one foot out the door as this point) but Bill Hader looks like he's going to emerge as the next breakout utility man he'll show himself to be in roughly a years' time.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, that's it for now, I guess. As of this publishing, we now know that SNLs' current season will resume on January 17th, 2026 with host Finn Wolfhard and musical guest A$AP Rocky, so right now I can confirm that my next blog post will be a review of that episode.

• Beyond that, Deej and I have not yet fully planned out what we are doing next on the podcast at this point but once the holidays are over and I've gotten everything figured out with my new job I'm sure we'll at least have plotted out what the next SNL related thing is we'll cover on the podcast.

• Speaking of the holidays, I hope you all enjoyed listening to the previous We Heart Hader episode we did covering the Disney+ film Noelle that Deej and I both agreed we needed had no excuses NOT to suddenly rush out in time for Christmas (because in the end, isn't THAT what the entire holiday season is all about?)

• ...and as I'm sure you heard us mention on the newest episode on We Heart Hader (if you listened to it before you read this blog post) it is very gratifying for me to be able to release this episode on what's not just my 35th birthday but also the exact to-the-day one year anniversary of this podcasts' debut. 

• I'm sure Deej will agree with me when I say if you ever had listened to our podcast (or read this blog or listened to Deejs' other podcast for that matter) we're extremely grateful for al if your support. It means the world to us that we can find an audience somewhere for something we both made.

• Happy New Year!