Larry David/The 1975 (2.6.2016)

Okay, here’s me review. This is, hands down, the strongest show of the season. Larry David pretty much delivered exactly what we expected from him as host and the writers knew exactly how to play to his strengths. He was the second host who bought the best out of the cast and inspired everyone to put on the best show they could. Anyway, lets’ get to it.

A Message From Ted Cruz - Tarans' Ted Cruz had improved a bit but Kates' appearance as his daughter and the Far Side jab were the two real highlights. I did like the angle of Cruz admitting to his many, MANY faults. He also seemed to be channeling Bill Haders’ Shepard Smith there toward the end. Otherwise, it was a little too reminiscent of those Sudekis/Romney cold opens from early 2012. C-

Monologue – This was of the best in a long time. They were smart to let Larry just walk out on stage and be himself. I especially liked the "poor schmuck/rich pick" and dating/great show/broken masturbation record routines. A-

FBI Simulator - This quickly proved itself to be more than a Merryville Toole retread. The cast members who played the decoys all had the right physicality for it and Larry and his radical '80s personal clearly walked away with this. Kenan had great baffled reactions to him as well. This was definitely the best live piece of the night. A-

Bern Your Enthusiasm - This was definitely the best taped piece of this season so far and a brilliant way to give the audience everything they wanted with Larry hosting. I would put this right up there with "Lincoln from Louis CKs' show. The cast all did great impersonations (especially Cecily and Jay although I can't say I've watched enough "Curb" to recognize who Taran was playing) and they did a great job capturing the look and feel of the real show. A+

Steam Ship – This sketch was a simple premise that reminded me of something they would've done in the late '90s but Larry made it funny and this was a pretty creative way to sneak in the real Bernie and have him poke fun at himself. B+

Totinos/X-Files Promo - I'm really glad this year's Totinos' ad parody took a much darker more surreal turn and wasn't a carbon copy of last year's version. B-

Update was a little uneven but still really solid. I enjoyed Colins' sheer delight in the awkward GOP debate open. There was a string of great jokes after the first commentary and this was the best interaction we've seen between them so far. Speaking of the commentaries, Kates was odd. The only thing I really liked was her goofy Philly/Pittsburgh accent. I mean glad they finally gave Jon an update spot all too himself (finally) and while his bit didn't totally work and the SNL audience still doesn't get a sense of who Jon really is, I do appreciate the risks they took in putting something this different on the air. The Zoolander cameo was quite unexpected but Stiller and Wilson turned out to be funnier than they had any right to be. I did like the OJ/Hillary and Kims/Bernie/Trump jabs. B-

Songwriting Class - This sketch was definitely the weakest thing of the night so far. This must've been an Anderlette joint. Larry was OK in it but overall it seemed like a waste of his talents. C-

Ebony and Ivory - This Super Bowl number was pretty fun. The new lyrics were great and Taran did a fine job as Peyton (although I would've liked to have seen how Beck would've handled that impression but his and Bobby cop walk on at the end was a nice touch). C+

Sheila Sovage V- This was a strange sketch to bring back but Larry fit into it perfectly and they clearly went a while without doing it and the show has been pretty light on recurring material up to this point. I did also like Kenans’ use of crime tape and face blinds. B-

Now, for my updated rankings for this season…

1. Larry David/The 1975

2. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato

3. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure with Lorde & Sam Smith

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

5. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

6. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

7. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

8. Donald Trump/Sia

9. Miley Cyrus

10. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

11. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

12. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, that was a helluva lot of fun. Next week, Melissa McCarthy returns for her fourth time with Kanye West as musical guest. Well, I don’t know what else I can say about this booking other than is just SCREAMS “sweeps month” to me. See you then!