Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga (10.22.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. As expected, this turned out to be the best show of the season up to this point and Tom Hanks’ mere presence played a big part in that. He really sold everything he was in and it was pretty obvious from watching him that he really kept everyone’s spirits up all week. I say this because there was less palpable burn out visible this week compared to last week. We saw a lot of the female cast get plenty of airtime tonight but Bobby, Mikey and Alex were barely visible. Other than that, it was pretty balanced. Anyway, let’s get right into it.

Third Presidential Debate – This has to be my second favorite of the 2016 campaign. I like how it was much more focused than the previous week (since it was meant to parody a debate that occurred four days ago rather than nearly a week). Tom Hanks as Chris Wallace was very much a welcome addition. Kates' highlights were the "birth control/nasty women" riffs and describing Hillarys' last 30 years. Baldwins' highlights were the spinning out of control/rigged riffs and Stephen Baldwin jabs. B+

Monologue - This has to be Hanks' strongest monologue since at least 1992. It may have been something simple on paper but the writing was what really made it. B-

Black Jeopardy IV - This may have been the strongest installment of the series by default. Hanks really fit the "odd white man out" role well and got the audience on his side early. Plus, there was some pretty creative writing behind this and it's good to see Leslie fits the void left by Jay Pharroh well. My only real complaint is that the buildup felt like an eternity and the payoff just wasn't quite there. B-

Halloween Block Party - This was only worth seeing for the middle-of-the-road musical number. Plus, Melissa showcased a surprisingly decent natural singing voice. C-

Broken - This was something I didn't quite know what to make of mostly because I'm not terribly familiar with every single facet of the genre of show this is deconstructing. Plus, the main premise being CBS throwing every acclaimed streaming trope at the wall in an effort to win some awards with their new show kind of narrows the appeal of this. The biggest thing this had going for it was how well acted this was. C+

David S. Pumpkins - This had its moments but it mostly seemed like an inferior Halloween themed Kevin Roberts remake. The highlights were Leslie's appearance, the final Bobby/Mikey/Hanks scene and Becks' increasing confusion/frustration. Speaking of Mikey, I will go out on a limb here and guess that he wrote this. C+

Update was exactly as strong as the rest of the show. It seems as if they're phasing out long-form Update already in favor of the more traditional format in time for the post-election season, but this may have been the most intricately written series of Trump jabs this season. Leslie's commentary may be the single funniest and strongest thing she has done on the show so far. She may have been a little late with it but it was a clever and refreshing take on her summer scandal. Nothing really stood out to me from Cecily latest “Girl...Party” retread but I will say the timing of it is just about right. B-

Sully - This was possibly the strongest live piece of the night. Something about it made it feel like a '90s Era sketch. I don't know if it was the Baldwin/Hanks pairing (nice to see Baldwin in his first non-Trump appearance this season, BTW) or the more low-key focused style of writing, but whatever it was made it work. My only real complaint would be that the scene with Kyle and Vanessa felt a little too predictable. A-

A Girls' Halloween - This was another piece written in a similar low-key vibe but with much more female-centric humor. The thing I liked most about this was the stark contrast created by the interspersed editing of the 8pm/4am scenes. C+

America’s Funniest Pets - I didn't mind that they decided to bring this back from Adam Drivers’ January episode as I genuinely liked it then, too. Even though it felt like something that worked best as a one-off sketch, Kate and Cecily managed to bring back everything that made it work the first time and Hanks goofing on his pal Ron Howard also worked as a stark contrast to the ladies professional ennui. B-

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

2. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

3. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

4. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

Well, that was a strong way to close out a months’ worth of SNL episodes. Next week, Comedy Central will be airing the debut of Pete Davidsons’ new standup special “SMD”. I plan to tune in to this just to see how much of this set he did last year around this time when I went to see him at the comedy works in Denver. Next month, Benedict Cumberbatch makes his hosting debut. Given that this will be their last show BEFORE the election is over, this is certainly a case of odd timing. However, I’m holding out hope that Cumberbatch (like several other British actors who have hosted the show in recent years) will turn out to be quick at adapting to sketch comedy and turn in a surprisingly funny performance. See you next time!