Ariana Grande (3.12.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. This episode somehow felt like a breath of fresh air despite delivering a lot of recurring premises and derivative writing. This might have been because Ariana Grande delivered some charming performances as host (like many pop stars have in the past) and the cast really delivered in their performances as well. It was a very fun and enjoyable show, but still a ways away from the absolute best of the season.

CNN Election Coverage – This cold open was fun and Larry clearly ran away with it. It was nice to see Jays' Ben Carson again and I did like the bit about Trumps' racist supporters. Still, Larry's lines about youth support were the only thing that stood out to me. B+

Monologue – This was all over the place. Having Ariana sing about finally getting caught in her own "adult scandal" was a decent concept but it felt pretty derivative (Mileys' 2011 monologue immediately comes to mind) and while Ariana isn't a terrible singer and this was executed just fine, something still felt missing. I did like Petes' appearance and Kenans' "Where's Kel?" line, though. It's unlikely Ariana will be invited back after her flub, but TV has been a little more lenient on "shit" lately (well, cable at least) and Gaga got to come back two more times so really, who's to say? C-

Feel The Bern For Hillary - This ad was based on a rather tired observation but this was well executed and I liked the way that Kates' transition from Hillary to Bernie was handled. B-

Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Orange Carpet  - This took a little while to prove itself as more than a cheap hodgepodge of references to things teens like but even when it got there something still felt lacking. Bobby role was really the only thing here worth any laughs and the rest of it fell pretty flat. Toward the end it really just turned into a really, really, really lame version of "Wake Up And Smile". This was nowhere near as funny or entertaining as the Kids Choice Awards sketch from Sarah Michelle Gellars' 98-99 show. C-

This Is Not A Feminist Song - This music video was really the first well written piece of the night. It was definitely written in the same vein as "The Dudleys" from Woodys' show last season and is a great companion piece to any "think piece on any pop song released in the past six years. B+

True Tales Of The Sea - This kind of telegraphed each joke but it was still a great Kate piece. The "kiss" with her and Beck was great. Props to the makeup department because I actually thought Kate was Kyle until she got her first line out. B-

If Larry is anything like me he probably flubbed that intro because he was wondering what the hell he was doing in the same building as Ariana Grande.

Update had a lot of strong jokes, but the commentaries left something to be desired. The jokes that stood out the most were the Trump/Carson jabs and the Womens' History Month joke from Che (which he had visible reservations about but he handled like a pro and I'm sure I'm not the only one who got serious Norm flashbacks there). Cecily Bachelor commentary was cute but it seems like either Cecily or Colin just wrote it for themselves and no one else. Since I don't watch The Bachelor, the humor was lost on me. Riblet seems like it was beaten to death but I did like the graphics and this was worth it just to see how well the remote segment was pulled off. B-

Tidal - This sketch just seemed like a blatant rewritten and underperformed version of the Bruno Mars Pandora sketch, but Ariana did all her impressions well and the supporting cast had good lines. C+

Family Feud V – This is another thing that seems done to death but this was also done surprisingly well and the whole cast did great impressions (save for Kyle whose Woody Allen was a little disappointing). Tarans' Tarantino and Bobbys' Kevin Smith were very funny. Kudos to Jon Rudnitsky for finding the one impression (Scorcese) which he could do reasonably well. Ariana Jennifer Lawrence really stood out to me since it seemed to be her only dead on impression that wasn't a singer she hadn't previously done on Fallon. B-

Sound Of Music - This sketch was something that was far more entertaining than it has any right to be. This was a good showcase for Ariana as an actress in a role that, ironically didn't seem to be much of a stretch for her. It worked well as a piece that played off of the diva/bitchiness rumors surrounding her. Sure, this dragged a bit and the Sound Of Music is a tired parody target but this was a good piece to end the show on. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of the 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. Ariana Grande

7. Jonah Hill/Future

8. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West

9. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

10. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

11. Donald Trump/Sia

12. Miley Cyrus

13. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

14. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

15. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Next month, Peter Dinklage comes to host SNL making Ariana and Jonah look much less like baffling choices for host. I know a lot of people have wanted to see Peter or any of his Game Of Thrones castmates host and I’m sure he’ll be a fine performer in sketches, but I still wonder how they are logistically going to pull off this show with him in a host role. I’m sure they’ll find a way as the writers and staff have really been at the top of their game this season. See you then!

Jonah Hill/Future (3.5.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. This show delivered better than I expected considering I had lowered my expectations a bit. Jonah Hill hasn’t changed at all in regards to hosting abilities but luckily, neither has this seasons writing. Jonah had much lamer writing (and an actual reason to host) the last two times he had hosted so luckily everyone working with and around Jonah made him look much better than he really was. Aside from Jon or Sasheer, the cast was pretty balanced, too. Now, let’s get to it.

CNN Election Center – This was pretty strong. They really did well with the goldmine of election material they had been given over the past two weeks and pretty effectively covered everything in a short amount of time. Jason fucking Sudekis clearly walked away with this. Good to see him back in only his second cameo in his three years since leaving (not counting SNL40, unheard of in this day and age). Darrell had some great lines and Bobby came in a close third here. Kate, Beck and Taran were good but they kinda got buried here. B+

Monologue - This fell apart fairly quickly. It was pretty reminiscent of Goodmans' 99-00 monologue and I liked his back and forth with Kyle but the performance with Future seemed a little too self-indulgent for my liking. Thankfully, it wasn't the whole song. C-

Racists For Trump – This ad was pretty much all in the execution. Kind of a tired Trump joke by this point but the build up was great. B+

Fond Du Lac Action News - This Wisconsin local newscast was also inconsistent. This seemed like it was trying hard to be a more Midwestern "Californians" or a less funny version of Kroll Showsv "Pawnsylvania". If nothing else, this just goes to prove that none of the cast can hold a candle to Cecilys' voice talents (love her or hate her). Still, I did like how she and Jonah as the two anchors pretty much small talked over the other reports. I especially liked Beck talking about his "troubled son" and Taran mistaking a 2 for a 69 in his Lotto drawing. C+

The Champ - This short was another thing that was all about the buildup but this time the payoff was less satisfying and more drawn out. It reminded me more of the type of short that Mike O'Brien would do over the past two years. Kenan was the best thing about it. Otherwise, it was good but not great. C-

High School Auction – This sketch was surprisingly funny. Jonah looked like he was struggling a bit with the Arabic accent but he and Taran really sold the hell out of their characters. Pete was pretty funny here too. Overall, it was a pretty good take on viral culture. B+

Update was pretty much in line with the quality of this episode. I did like most of the jokes especially the OJ/Carson/Republican debate rants, Jose jab at Ches' PornHub searches and the "Cimpanzees/but why tho?" Joke from Che. It was nice to see Cecilys' girl from the party again but this felt like more of the same. I only really liked the "labia everything" line. Having Kate portray Floss Bassey (sp???) must'be seemed like a better idea on paper than in execution but this kinda dragged. It felt a little flat and predictable. Jays' bit seemed like a cheap excuse for him to roll out his impressions but he did nail all of them and I did like the Chappelle/Hannibal ones the most as I haven't seen him do those ones before. B+

Murder Mystery – This sketch is the biggest dud of the night to me. This had to be written by whoever wrote the couples game show sketch from his 2014 episode (which I'm guessing was Che/Robinson given his affinity for writing sketches just like this throughout 2013-14). D+

Inside SoCal III - I'm actually shocked that Beck and Kyle could get this on three times in two years so far buy although I liked the back and forth between Jonah and Cecily, I didn't like this as a whole as much as I liked the first one or any of the pre-SNL versions of this Beck and Kyle did. C-

Silver Star Catering - This sketch seemed like something that was initially written by Anderlette by Fred Armisen (or really any other performer BUT Jonah) that kept getting cut. Still, as unsuited for this role as Jonah was and as one note as this whole sketch was, Jonah still made me laugh the more over the top he became. C+

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. Jonah Hill/Future

7. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West

8. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

9. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

10. Donald Trump/Sia

11. Miley Cyrus

12. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

13. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

14. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, that was reasonably fun. Next week, Ariana Grande makes her hosting debut. I can’t tell whether this or Jonah is a stranger hosting choice. While Ariana at least has a new album to promote, Jonah is more known as an actor than she is but people do seem to forget that she has some acting experience going into this show thanks to Nickelodeon and “Scream Queens”. Still, pop stars have usually turned out to be fun and capable hosts in the past no matter what material they’re actually given and the writing this season has been good at a fairly consistent level so as long as it doesn’t start to really decline next week, she should be fine and this should turn out to be a decent show. See you then.