Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springstien & E Street Band (12.19.2015)

Okay, here’s my review. This episode was a lot of fun, inconsistencies and all, and was certainly the least disappointing Christmas episode in at least three years. Aside from most of the cameos we were predicting, this episode delivered exactly what it promised in a way consistent with the quality of the rest of this current season. Tina and Amy really carried the show as hosts and they both sweetly bought back many fond memories of what we liked about them as cast members and why they were so beloved during their time on the show. The cast is still uneven in terms of airtime but that’s okay as we pretty much expected Tina and Amy to dominate the show with their combined force. Having Springsteen perform Santas' Coming To Town was a great and fun way to close the show. Anyway, let’s get into it.

CNN GOP Debate - This cold open was great. Through sheer dumb luck, Jons' failed Anderson Cooper turned out to be a serviceable Wolf Blitzer. Good to see Darrells' Trump back in the spotlight as well as Becks' very animated Jeb Bush. Their back and forth was great. Tarans' Ted Cruz is still pretty underwhelming but he had some good lines about being the most hateable human being ever. Bobby and Jay hit it out of the park with their Carson and Christie. Pete as Marco Rubio was serviceable casting. His impression wasn’t quite there but he made up for it by delivering several funny lines. The only real dud here was Cecilys' Carly Fiorina when Kate could easily do better there. Kyle as Rand Paul was funny being briefly confused with an audience member. The only other thing that really disappointed me was casting Jost as Kasich with no lines rather than placing Chris Parnell in this role. B+

Monologue - This was just okay. It felt more like unused Golden Globe banter than a true SNL monologue. For once, a music number was enjoyable here as much as they ran it into the ground. C+

Ghost of Hillary Past And Present – This sketch was an instant classic and with Tinas' Palin shoehorned in was just the icing on the cake. The ladies played very well off each other and almost every line was pure gold. I also liked the dance party at the end. A+

Meet Your Second Wife – This game show was one of their more ambitious and dark game show sketches in recent memory. Only Tina and Amy could make this premise work as well as it did. Taran, Kenan, and Bobby did great reacting in horror at being confronted with children and Vanessa, Aidy and Leslie did a great job at reacting with a mix of disgust and bewilderment. Kudos to Bobby as well for playing off the huge technical error at the beginning like a pro. B-

Hoverboard - This ad was very funny. The sheer unfiltered cheesiness of Kyle and Pete reacting to minor catastrophes really made this for me. B+

Movie Set - I can't believe they bought back that acting coach sketch from Chris Hemsworths' first episode (and only one week after he inexplicably hosted again) but this was another instance where Amy and Tina are the only people who could make this watchable. C-

Update is still going strong. Even if this was a little inconsistent, I loved the slams at the GOP candidates as well as Maher and O'Reilly. Jays Kwanzaa mini rant was the funniest part of Update. While I appreciate Jost going after Martin Shkreli, his jokes fell a little flat there. Kates' mom character seemed to be another derivative go-nowhere bit, but her and Josh managed to somewhat salvage it with their breaking. It was very gracious of them to let Tina and Amy read the last two Update jokes of 2015. They both reminded of what SNL fans actually LIKED about them as Update anchors. B-

Chad And Mrs. Douglas Show DVD - This sketch worked well live even if Mayas' bit got it off to an obnoxious start and needed some serious editing but Amy, Tina and especially Kenan really saved it. Kenan Cosby really cracked me up here as did Taran and Vanessa odd interactions. C+

Dope Squad - This short was also quite fun. It was a dead on Bad Blood parody (albeit months too late but still FAR better than the original). Schumers' cameo was funny even if it was a bit too long and Aidy played quite well off them. C+

Bronx Beat IX - It's quite odd seeing this as the very last sketch of the night, but Tinas' Philly accent automatically made this the best Bronx Beat ever. I cracked up at her describing the absurd violence going on in her city. B-

Now, for my update rankings for the season…

1. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato

2. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure with Lorde & Sam Smith

3. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

4. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

5. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

6. Donald Trump/Sia

7. Miley Cyrus

8. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

9. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, that was a fine way to end a year and bring this season to an intermission. Next month, Adam Driver of “Girls” and just recently “Star Wars” fame makes his hosting debut. Well, if they had to get someone hot off the Star Wars promotion train I’d rather see them get Daisy Ridley or John Boyega. Still, I can’t say I know what to expect from him comedically so he could go either way as a host at this point. Can’t wait to see who they will have booked as the first musical guest of 2015! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper (12.12.2015)

Okay, here’s my review. While this episode was much better than Chris Hemsworths’ last episode, it was pretty much on the same level as Goslings’ show from last week in terms of quality (except less consistent but not nearly as uneven). The host seemed more likable and showcased some charisma that seemed to evade him from his first outing. While airtime was still unbalanced in terms of the cast and it was one of the rare shows that started out strong but started to crumble around Update without really picking up from there, it still maintained the continued strong effort this season has been showing us. Anyway, here it is.

A Message from Our 43^rd President – This George W Bush opening was great! I loved all the slams at the current GOP candidates (especially Trump and Jeb!). If Ferrell couldn't find it in his schedule to actually host tonight, this is an excellent way to make it up to us. B-

Monologue - This was quite fun. I liked seeing Hemsworth interact with Beck, Pete, Jost/Che and the female cast. This episode is already miles better than his first. B-

Star Wars Action Figures – This commercial was a little one note and down the beaten path but the male cast members really sold it. C+

On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren  - This sketch was better than it had any right to be. Tarans' Ted Cruz is pretty lack luster compared to the sheer dopiness of Bobbys' but thankfully Bobby was there to hit it out of the park with his Chris Christie and Jay was there to pick up all the extra slack with his Ben Carson. Plus, Kates' Greta is much stronger than Wiigs. B-

Time To Bleed - This was one of the best short films this season. I loved the surreal darkness of this and Sasheer did very well with what had to be her biggest role on SNL to date. A-

Brother 2 Brother 2…Brother - I can't believe they tried to make Brother 2 Brother recurring but this was a little better than the first one. I did like Beck as the wrestling coach, the end with Tarans' "created by/not written by" credits (given Tarans' previous experience as a child actor it wouldn't surprise me to find out he had a hand in writing this) and I did like the small blooper of Hemsworth accidentally letting the door hit him on the way in. Also, I’m quite shocked to find out that a Taran Kilam has a chest tattoo and a Chris Hemsworth doesn’t C+

Debras' Song - This definitely killed any momentum this episode may have still had as Brother 2 Brother was still progressing. If Anderlette didn't write this, I'll be genuinely surprised. Plus, while I like seeing them give Sasheer more airtime, it feels strange that this was Cecily's first appearance of the night. D+

Update did beat some life back into the show with some great Trump slams right off the bat. Che and Josh several more great jokes. As expected, Kate bought out her Angela Merkel and it was fine and they even took more jabs at Trump. Leslie Jones also returned. Her commentary was just okay and worked best as a conceptual piece but the Breaking Bad references would’ve dated it somewhat if we hadn’t known she was binge watching and live tweeting the series very recently. B-

Brunch – This sketch featuring Hemsworth in drag surprisingly worked only because the female cast did more to sell it than Chris did. While the sketch lacked some structure, I did like the ending.

Fun Pirate Ship - This sketch felt odd. I don't quite know what to make of it. It was nice to see Jon Rudnitsky finally get a lead role in a sketch, but this doesn't exactly give us a sense of who he is as a comedian or a performer. Plus, in spite of itself, it wasn't as "fun" as it appeared to be. I gotta say Kenan and Taran seemed to be the only ones not phoning in their performances.

Hunk Junction - This sketch was another odd one that I wasn't too sure about. I could kind of see where it was going after about a millisecond and it seemed like it was cut too short abruptly. Still, Kenan was all right and I liked how the guys really sold us on the sheer cheesiness of it. The funniest parts were the “racist” portion of the guys routine and the ladies confused reactions with Leslie bring the most into it out of them. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato

2. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure

3. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

4. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

4. Donald Trump/Sia

5. Miley Cyrus

6. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

7. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, that was certainly a pleasant surprise. Next week is the big Christmas show with Tina and Amy returning as cohosts. This is the show we have all been looking forward to the most on paper since this month’s lineup was announced and I really hope they don’t disappoint. For my review of that one, I was thinking of doing a similar kind of ranking of all the shows Tina has hosted over the years, but looking back over them on the SNL archives, they all seem to run together quality wise so it might be kind of pointless. Oh well, maybe I can actually rewatch them again on Seeso since I did sign up for that free beta test and am thinking of keeping it just to see KITH/UCB Show and Funny As Hell. See you soon!

Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges (12.5.2015)

Okay, here’s my review. I can’t exactly pinpoint what made this such an enjoyable episode, but it was greater than the sum of its parts. Everything that sounded like it shouldn’t have worked on paper actually worked more than it had any right to. On the surface, Ryan Gosling seemed like another in a long string of recent bland, forgettable Hollywood pretty boy actor hosts but as the show went on it became more obvious that he really gelled well with the whole cast all week (well, the whole female cast, anyway) and allowed everyone to bring the best performances out of each other. I would say bringing this cast together in that way was really the only thing he contributed to this show. It was almost enough to make you forget just how unbalanced the male cast was in terms of airtime. Anyway, let’s get right to it.

A Christmas Message From Donald And Melania Trump - The cold open was pretty mediocre and Tarans’ Trump seems to be getting worse, but still better than the Trump open from the season premiere. I did like the naughty/nice list concept and the “send me your names/banged a seven Hillary Clinton” lines and how they kept this shorter than the last one. C+

Monologue – This was too long but the Mike Meyers cameo was its saving grace. I did like how Ryan tried to poke fun at himself and broke the fourth wall but he seemed visibly nervous and just a little out of his comfort zone. He didn't exactly fill me with confidence that he would be a great host and the musical number was a bit gratuitous. Still, thankfully Mike Meyers was there to inject a little charisma into it. This was definitely better than the last shows' monologue. B+

Settl - This ad was a decent premise on paper and the cast did fine with it. The date between Kyle and Leslie was good but other than that something was lacking in execution. B-

Close Encounters - This sketch was worth watching just for Kate. Her character was a little one not but the sheer strangeness of her performance made me chuckle. I didn't even mind the blatant breaking from the cast because for once it seemed like it added something to the sketch especially since it's been such a rare sight since Fallon/Sanz and Hader/Armisen left the cast. C+

Santa Baby - At first glance, this sketch was something else that ran too long and meandered with little to no structure. On second glance, I discovered that Ryan and Vanessas’ intensity and commitment really made this. Still, the payoff was satisfying enough. I like Becks' exasperated reactions as Santa as well as the "real" Santa peering in through the window was funny. B-

Birthday Party - I never expected them to rehash the dad sketch from Drakes' episode but this was much better shockingly due to several of Aidy's lines (such as the ones about bathing, ringworm and carseats) and her Farleyesque tumble over the table at the end. Again, I didn't even mind Gosling visibly breaking because it seems to be the only non-dull as dishwasher thing he had done in this whole sketch. C+

Update was good tonight. I did love most of the jokes from Jost and Che. I especially loved "ISIS Cosby" and Ches' slams at Kobe and Kylie Jenner. The commentary on gun control/defunding planned parenthood wasn’t their best rant as a duo this season but it still worked and was poignant and funny like their other rants this season regardless. Even though Cecily's commentary seemed to (consciously or not) be a straight up rip off of a Kristen Wiig piece circa 2011, I enjoyed it on a strictly male level (WAY more so than the Wiig piece she lifted this from) and I also laughed out loud at the shot of Che rocking headphones and the popsicle jar. I thought Anthony Crispino should've stayed in mothballs but for some reason, I enjoyed seeing him interact with Colin Jost and Ryan Gosling more than an overly enthusiastic Seth. I also enjoyed the “slippery Gary” line and the Charlie Sheen/Adele/Star Wars Jabs. B-

Hometown Bar - This sketch was quite oddly structured but Kyles' bar trash Emo Phillips character made me laugh (especially when he took his shirt off) and Gosling song and dance talents (no doubt left over from his Mikey Mouse Club days) really added to this sketch as they countered Kyles character well. B-

Nespresso – This ad was well pulled off. It did seem a little too strange at first until I realized that the point was to highlight the sheer strangeness of the original ad this was parodying (which I have seen just barely enough times to be familiar with) I was expecting Gosling to play Clooney, but as I should've expected, Taran pulled it off quite well (and with barely any lines I might add) and Bobbys' Debit was finally utilized to its full comedic potential here. B+

The Wiz Live: Cut For Time - I was expecting SNL to do something on The Wiz Live (which from what I've heard was shockingly good) and I have to say this was much stronger than the previous two live NBC musical parodies they did the past two Decembers. Kudos to the makeup team as it must have taken me a full minute to realize Che was the scarecrow and Pharroh was the tin man. Kenan also channeled David Alan Grier quite well but I couldn't help but wonder who else would be better in the Ray Bolger scarecrow role than Ryan Gosling. Still, it was Gosling most committed performance of the night. B-

Santa’s Workshop - I never thought they would (or should have) recurred the BDSM elves from the Louis CK finale last season but I suppose it does make more sense to do this sketch at Christmas and place it in a Santas' workshop setting. Still, Aidy and Ryan didn't add much. C-

Now, for my update rankings for this season…

1. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato

2. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure

3. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

4. Donald Trump/Sia

5. Miley Cyrus

6. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

7. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, they really came back strong from Thanksgiving break. Next week, Chris Hemsworth returns to host and given how his episode from last season turned out, I could not be less excited. Still, this season has made some great improvements over the previous season so maybe it will turn out better. Who knows? I think it all depends more on the writing than Chris’ ability as a host. See you guys then!