Dwayne Johnson/Katy Perry (5.20.2017)

Okay, here’s my review. This was overall one of the more enjoyable season finales in recent memory. Dwayne Johnson certainly continues to deliver as a dependable host. In fact, it may have been the strongest of all the live coast-to-coast shows to air this season. It did feel like the show was the least dependent on topical humor it’s been in recent memory but its’ easy to see why. They were obviously aiming for a feel good show with a fun host for the finale and if the writers’ weren’t just plain burnt out on having to keep up with the past few weeks’ worth of political news then they were finally just glad to be freed from the pressures of having to constantly mine comedy out of all of the insanity for at least the next couple of months. As far as cast screentime, it was widely reported in the hours leading up to the live show that this would be both Bobby and Vanessas' last but you might not have known it just from watching since they are used Vanessa way more than they used Bobby. Hell, this might have been the most she was ever used in her entire seven year tenure on the show. This reminded me quite a bit of five years ago when Mick Jagger hosted what was both Wiig AND Sambergs' final show. Besides them, Cecily, Beck and Kyle felt the least underused tonight. Sasheer didn’t seem to be in much tonight but I have quite a bit more to say on that so I’ll be saving those comments for near the end. Most of the rest of the cast seemed overshadowed by big name cameos (among other things) but in the case of this week I think we can forgive them for that. Anyway, let’s break it down.

Hallelujah Part II - This cold open was an appropriate way to close out the season and tie everything together in a neat little package. It pretty much retroactively justified having Kate as Hillary sing Hallelujah when Chappelle hosted. Also, did anyone else notice that when Baldwin tries to sing as Trump, he almost sounds exactly like Darrell Hammond doing Trump? B-

Monologue - This was all right. It wasn't quite what I was expecting from a Rock hosted episode but it was much more enjoyable than his singing and dancing monologues. I could kind of tell where the gag with Baldwin was headed before Hanks came out but they were both charming and gave the show its most enjoyable political discourse in ages. B-

Cartier Fidget Spinners - This reminded me a lot of Wiigs' Red Flag perfume from her own final season but it was the perfect piece for Vanessa to go out on. I don't know much about fidget spinners to take a side in the ongoing debate on them (hell, I don't even think I've seen one in real life yet) but whoever wrote this clearly does and has. It didn't seem like too hot a take but I could still see this putting off some pro-fidget spinner people. B-

Koko Watchout Vs Trashyard Mutt: Payback - I had a feeling they might bring back the Koko Watchout vs Trashyard Mutt WWE promos. I don't think it really holds much of a candle to the first one but I did like the California Girls reenactment and the long lost twins bit. I’m a little surprised the Katy Perry mention didn’t setup a cameo. C+

Rappers On The Track - This film seemed a lot like something MAD TV would've done 14 years ago but this turned out to be funnier than it had any right to be. Kenan really carried this even though people like Beck, Kyle, Melissa, Vanessa, Cecily and even Jost and Che each added their own silly touches to this. If anything, this really shows you what the cast and crew are talking about when they say they value Kenan as an onstage director. The Katy Perry cameo felt a little forced but I suppose it was to be expected. It was nice to see they found a way to sneak in David S. Pimpkins. B-

Scorpio - This sketch was a little predictable. Still, the girls were likable in it and the Rock played a decent straight man. C-

Jurassic Gemma IV: The Lost World - I didn't expect this but we are past the point of no return with this sketch. Plus, it is Vanessas' last show and The Rock was the only host that made this sketch work. I'll also admit that taking these characters outside of a bar and grill setting really improves this sketch. Also, was the background screen supposed to look as cheap as it did? C+

Xentrex - This sketch was another example of sketches getting funnier the more they escalate in absurdity and danger. The visual of Dwayne manhandling Kyle around his office was great. I also liked how this sketch felt like someone threw Happy Fun Ball and the Hartman/Roseanne MetroCard sketch in a blender (which SNL archives now shows me were both in the same episode oddly enough). B+

Update was actually a decent way to close out this season. Both Che and Jost had their fair share of great jokes tonight. It was a little soon to bring back Dawn Lazarus considering she just debuted this character two weeks ago this month...but then again we may definitely never see her again after tonight. It was inevitable that we would also see Drunk Uncle one final time and he certainly went out with a bang...pun intended. Seriously, the "shots" bit was my favorite even though I may have preferred they end on some more Jost & Che material. B-

RKO Movie Set – This sketch gave me bad flashbacks to the infamous January Jones episode but at least this was different since it was less one note and built up to something resembling an actual ending. D+

Worlds’ Most Evil Invention Exchange - The reveal of a child molesting robot was funny for its immediate shift in tone alone. I thought Dwayne acted his part really well since I could hardly tell if his unease giving his presentation was real or not. Beck, Kyle, Bobby and Sasheer played very well off of him. The White Castle plug at the end was a nice touch. I've already seen some of the reaction to this sketch posted online and let me tell you...it's exactly what you would expect. B+

Wingman - This sketch was all right if not a little inconsistent. I kept expecting it to go a bit further than where it actually ended up going. Bobby cameos were funny though and kudos to Beck and The Rock for selling this. Although, I have to say, I think the very idea that someone of the Rocks' stature being bad at approaching women may have been the most ridiculous thing about this sketch. C-

Senior Class Of 2017 – This was cute. It wasn't the Bobby/Vanessa send off or final closing sketch of the season I was expecting but it was still funny and enjoyable and a decent way to close out the season. The reactions of Alex, Melissa, Pete and Leslie (especially Pete and Leslies' back and forth) made this for me and Dwaynes' general inappropriateness was a nice touch. Still, I wish this had more of an ending rather than being cut off so abruptly. B-

Goodnights – I usually don’t comment on these but I feel like I just have to say a few things here. I’m a little disappointed they cut these off as early as they did and deprived us of some final shots of Bobby and Vanessa together with their cast. The Rock gave us a nice speech but the very end of the show (or what we saw on television anyway) felt pretty lacking. I just recently started following some girls on Twitter who are fans of the show and have made it out to New York to catch the last few weeks’ worth of shows at 30 Rock live in studio 8H. They have told me that Bobby (!), Vanessa and Sasheer were all CARRIED off the stage at the end of the show (there is a photo somewhere on Twitter of Vanessa being carried) and that a security guard at studio 8H had revealed to at least one of them that Sasheer was also leaving at the end of this season. The only thing that really surprises me about this is how it was not announced beforehand ala Bobby and Vanessa but I suppose it would be tricky for Sasheer and the show to navigate her exit in the first place. Also, unlike Bobby and Vanessa (or Taran Killam or Jay Pharroh for that matter) it would seem Sasheer is deciding to leave the show without any future television or film projects in the works. This is what actually makes me a little bit sad about her leaving so quietly and abruptly but Sasheer is also a stand up who can go on tour and continue to do her weekly “party time” showcases in New York in between lining up possible on screen gigs. Personally, I wouldn’t mind paying to go see her do live stand up in Denver if she ever decides to tour again. Jay Pharroh was in a similar situation about a year ago and seems to be doing well for himself. Then again, this is all just speculation I am hearing second-or-third hand from somebody who was there so I think we should take this with a grain of salt until we hear something from either Sasheer herself on social media or from an official source like Deadline or Variety as we did with Bobby and Vanessa. At any rate, I wish the three of them the absolute best of luck in all their endeavors.

Now, for the final time, here are my final rankings of SNLs’ 42^nd season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara

4. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

5. Louis C.K./The Chainsmokers

6. Dwayne Johnson/Katy Perry

7. Jimmy Fallon/Harry Styles

8. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

9. Chris Pine/LCD Soundsystem

10. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran

11. Melissa McCarthy/Haim

12. John Cena/Maren Morris

13. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde

14. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson

15. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

16. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty

17. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

18. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

19. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

20. Kristen Wiig/The xx

21. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Now, I’d like to do something a little special and rank all of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsons’ episodes in a similar manner from best to worst. This was as much of a challenge as when I did this for the other five timers that hosted recently (and maybe a near five timer). What made this a challenge is the fact that Dwayne has hosted the show in various completely different eras of quality in its history. Hell, he’s been billed ad both “The Rock” AND “Dwayne Johnson”. What does that tell you? Anyway, since I’ve now only reviewed three of his five shows and had only been able to locate the one most recent previous one prior to this (but big thanks to Stooge and The Doc on posting their reviews of his ’09 and ’15 shows respectively on the Voy board before this one) I had to rely partly on memory for the sketches I didn’t feel I needed to watch again or haven’t seen in recent enough memory until it all came falling into place. Here goes…

1. The Rock/AC/DC (3.18.2000)

2. Dwayne Johnson/Katy Perry (5.20.2017)

3. Dwayne Johnson/George Ezra (3.28.2015)

4. Dwayne Johnson/Ray LaMontange (3.7.2009)

5. The Rock/Andrew W.K. (4.13.2002)

Well, that season was a wild ride and what a way to cap it off! See you in the fall! Have a great summer!

Melissa McCarthy/Haim (5.13.2017)

Okay, here’s my review. This weeks’ episode had its moments but it felt like a very strange show given that Melissa McCarthy was hosting and there was certainly NO shortage of political news this past week. I would expect both of these things to have really lit a fire under the writers’ asses but sadly there was no evidence of that here tonight. This wasn’t exactly the weakest show of the entire season but it was definitely the weakest of all the shows that went out live coast to coast so far. Hell, I barely felt like I was watching a truly “live” show and it wasn’t because of the hockey game going into overtime that may have at least delayed it on the east coast. Melissa officially joined the famed five timers’ club tonight which means that Lorne, the cast and the writing staff OBVIOUSLY loved working with her each and every time she has hosted. You’d think they’d jump at the chance to do so again and would make an effort to give her as much screen time as possible but she sadly (and STRANGELY I reiterate) felt way underutilized tonight. It’s not that she was overshadowed by anyone at all; she just seemed all but hidden in plain sight tonight. The strange thing about this was that Melissa McCarthy is usually a larger than life presence at SNL but none of that presence was felt in studio 8H this week. Maybe it was because she was noticeably less focused on broad physical humor as much as she has been in past SNL outings. Maybe the pressure on the staff of having to keep up with this weeks’ rapid fire deluge of jaw dropping political news at possibly break neck speed almost broke everyone. Maybe the staff knew they were going to narrow their focus to one particular part of the show from the very start of the week because it did certainly feel that way. Any number of these factors could’ve led to such an underwhelming show. I’ll let you decide which one(s) as we break down this weeks’ show together once again.

NBC News Trump/Holt Interview - This was enjoyable if not a little uneven. It didn't really get going until the Nixon/Kelly Anne jabs and the Melania/prime the pump line in the middle. Still, it was well acted and I liked the "did I get him/nothing matters" bit at the beginning. Mikey did well as Paul Ryan. It's about time he inevitably took over that role. I also liked the brief return of Alex as Anderson "Eye Roll 360" Cooper. B-

Monologue - This was entertaining enough once Melissa took that woman from the audience backstage. I liked that Kyles' appearance as well as the fact that they finally acknowledged the running gag of the backstage Llama. Why were the cameos from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds necessary? I was hoping this was the monologue because they were so focused on making sure this show was caught up on all this weeks' insane political news that they only suddenly remembered it was mothers' day after realizing they forgot to write out a monologue this week. Sadly, much of the rest of the show didn't seem to confirm that suspicion for me. C-

Just Desserts – This REALLY stretched out one simple punchline for all it was worth. Honestly, it felt like a leftover dress rehearsal sketch from McCarthys' first show in 2011...that had previously been cut from several dress rehearsals...the last two seasons in a row. This was completely the wrong choice to lead off the show. D-

Amazon Echo Silver - This sketch seemed to have been suffering from the same fate as Just Desserts at first but the cast really did all they could to save this one. Kenan, Kyle, Kate and Leslie performed it well and made it more watchable than it had any right to be. C-

Sean Spicer Press Briefing IV - The requisite Spicer sketch left a little to be desired. It seems like it will compare better to the rest of this episode than it will to previous Spicer sketches, but at the same time I did like how they at least tried to imply the existence of a running arc or through line with the other Spicer sketches that was being concluded here tonight. It reminded me a bit of the Seth/Stefan wedding in Haders' final episode but drained of any and all emotional impact. I also liked how the pretaped footage from the other day turned out and how they incorporated it in between the live portions of the sketch as well as Aidys' performance as Sarah Huckabee-Sanders. The only real demerit on this sketch is that the ending felt a little rushed and incomplete. B-

Update was better than its' been in recent weeks. As far as jokes, the only ones that really stood out were the Trump/Comey/record scratch jabs (I pretty much knew exactly where Colins' Spicer/Bushes joke was headed before he even finished it). Petes' post-rehab commentary was the funniest thing he's done on (or off) the show in quite some time but it did really have a strong feeling like he was working out some new stand up material at the worst possible time setting. I did like Cecilys' latest Cathy-Anne appearance for the building absurdity and the glimpses of her back story we got. B-

Debette Goldry Does The Lincoln Center - Aside from adding Melissa as a clone of Kates' character, this was just a blatant by-the-numbers rewrite of the first one (right down to casting Cecily and Sasheer as Marion Cotillard and Lupita N'Yongo respectively). Thankfully, the outlandish Stefon-like quality of the writing of these is still present. Kates' "grip" joke had another punchline I saw coming from two towns over and I wish Melissa had put a little more effort into her character. It seemed like she was just trying to imitate the voices of Seth Greens' extremely nerdy characters from "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken". I guess if nothing else this sketch just did more to confirm that Vanessa, Cecily and Sasheer are the best at not breaking. C+

Kyle And Leslie On The Rocks - I like that they chose to not only keep going down the road with Leslie and Kyles' relationship but also keep them grounded by giving them problems down the line to face. I also thought it was sweet of the cast to indulge their wedding and kids' recital in the studio. Also, naming their apparently rapidly aging kid "little Lorne" gave me flashbacks to when Jimmy and Tina did a "dramatic play" on Update 12 years ago when Cameron Diaz hosted. Lorne walked away with this simply by having the most psychologically removed reaction to Kyle shooting Josh right on the leg. B-

Mothers And Their Spirit Animals - This sketch was another blatant rewrite of the mom haircut sketch from last mothers’ day when Brie Larson hosted. Still, this one was a bit funnier by virtue of being more outlandish. I did like Vanessas' speech and McCarthy's line about choosing to call her son before a big meeting. Still, the only thing this sketch really had going against it was how out of place Villasenor seemed here. She stuck out like a sore thumb but oh well. I guess this was sort of a rite of passage for her as SNLs' newest female cast member. I understand that Sasheer wrote the Brie Larson edition of this sketch with her most frequent collaborators on the writing staff. I would assume she also got to write this as well so good on her for being able to get her own material on the air. C-

Lighthouse Pictures - This was the funniest live sketch of the night. I really liked how McCarthy and Bennett each really built up the strange silliness of this in their own different ways and how well Bobby and Cecily played off of them. B+

Goodnights - Having Steve Martin come out during the good nights to present Melissa with her own smoking jacket was a nice touch. I was wondering if they were going to make as big of a deal of McCarthy joining the five timers club when it actually happened as they did BEFORE it happened. B+

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara

4. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

5. Louis C.K./The Chainsmokers

6. Jimmy Fallon/Harry Styles

7. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

8. Chris Pine/LCD Soundsystem

9. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran

10. Melissa McCarthy/Haim

11. John Cena/Maren Morris

12. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde

13. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson

14. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

15. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty

16. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

17. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

18. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

19. Kristen Wiig/The xx

20. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Now, I’d like to give you my ranking of all of Melissa McCarthy’s episodes so far form best to worst (much like my ranking of this season above). Now, this was a considerable challenge. Unlike Justin Timberlake, Melissa McCarthy doesn’t seem to rely on a specific set of characters and by-the-numbers scripts. While her characterizations can be varied, there tends to be a common theme among her performances. She has a gift for fearless physical comedy and, in some cases, a knack for Wiig-like awkward interactions. She’s had memorable sketches from each of her specific episodes, but nothing much stands out at an “above all else” level. This is what really makes her episodes run together in my mind. Since I knew I couldn’t rely solely on memory on this one, I decided to reread some of my archived reviews of her old shows and rewatch some of her old sketches on YouTube and the SNL app. Frankly, I was surprised to see what still holds up and what doesn’t. Anyway, without further ado…here are my rankings of the shows hosted by the five timers clubs’ newest female inductee.

1. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West (2.13.2016)

2. Melissa McCarthy/Imagine Dragons (2.1.2014)

3. Melissa McCarthy/Haim (5.13.2017)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Lady Antebellum (10.1.2011)

5. Melissa McCarthy/Phoenix (4.13.2013)

Well, that was a slight disappointment considering I’ve never had my expectations that high for a Melissa McCarthy episode until now. Next week, the season draws to a close as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Katy Perry bring us all home. Now, there’s the host that’s going to end this tumultuous year with a bang! While Dwayne and Melissa are two very different hosts who’ve done the show in vastly different eras of its history (and surprisingly the former started relying less on physical comedy earlier) I do have the same expectations for both hosts whenever they appear as it’s obvious they both bring the same drive, energy and work ethic to the show. Still, let’s hope we’re not let down as hard next week as we were after this Saturday. See you then!

Chris Pine/LCD Soundsystem (5.6.2017)

Okay, here’s my review. From what I’ve seen in the promos for this weeks’ shows and SNLs most recent social media feeds, Chris Pine seemed like he was going to be a fun host who would be game for anything. He certainly tried to engage the shows audience as well as he engaged the shows’ cast and brand throughout the week. He also gave off the impression that he loved being at SNL the whole week and a lot of the cast had fun with him. I can see them inviting him back and I would not mind if they did in a few years’ time. Yes, Chris Pine had some impressive sketch comedy chops after all. Unfortunately, he couldn’t translate his skills into making the show all that memorable. He was a fine host who I could eventually see becoming a five timer (if hosts Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy and Louis CK can join the club) but he didn’t exactly blow us away with his first time performance as hosts like Timberlake, Hamm, Baldwin and Hathaway have in the past. One other thing this show had going for it is that much like CKs’ recent episode, the writers and cast seemed to be willing to take more creative risks (although not to the extent that CK was willing to). At the same time, this show felt seriously lacking in topical material given what was in the news this week. I would’ve liked to see something on the Fyre festival but I understand why that would’ve seemed like old news by Thursday when news broke of the ACA repeal/house passing of AHCA but even that seemed like it was barely touched. Still, I am quite grateful that the WGA and AMPTP were able to make a deal to avoid the writers’ strike so these last three shows could even happen. Good to see the cast is pretty evenly balanced (aside from Pete and Melissa) and that they are using plenty of Bobby and Vanessa in what may be their third to last episode.

Morning Joe - I liked this cold open despite its minor flaws. I can't really gauge the accuracy of the Joe and Mika impressions but I did like how Alex and Kate played off each other. Kudos to Alex on scoring another political impression in a cold open and getting his first LFNY. Bobby, Beck and Mikeys' uncomfortable reactions were all right. It seems like they captured the vibe of this show well enough from what little I've seen of it. Overall, it reminded me a little too much of the sketch from Eric McCormacks' 2002 episode where he and Tina were CNN anchors who were falling in love with each other right on air to Parnells' and Dratchs’ delights and Poehlers' disgust at their unprofessionalism. Also, I saw Baldwin on Ellen and Conan this week* and wondered if he would be able to fly back out to 30 Rock in time for this weeks' show. His literally phone in cameo this week makes in abundantly clear that he wasn't. I did like how they worked in a reference to Trump posing as his own publicist over the phone years ago even if it seems very dated now. I also liked how they worked in the LFNY line. C+

*Speaking of which, Baldwin mentioned on Ellen that they actually asked Trump to make a cameo in the episode he hosted in February. Quite frankly, I was stunned to hear that they apparently learned nothing from having him host while he was actively campaigning for president. Thankfully, he didn't agree to be on the show again so I'may grateful we at least dodged that bullet.

Monologue - This was okay despite its weak spots. I'm glad they addressed the Pratt/Evans/Hemsworth confusion right off the bat. Pine has a decent voice but the singing wasn't totally necessary. I did like, Kate, Pete and Leslies' walkons but this could've been cut down a bit. C+

Where In The World Is Kellyanne Conway? - This seemed pretty dated (seeing as Conway has made far fewer public/TV appearances in recent weeks) until they revealed that was the entire point and cut right to the end. Good to see Pine got over his singing jitters right away. Overall, as brief as this was it was a strong choice to lead off the post-monologue/pre-Update portion of the show. B+

Slavic World Peace Rap – This was pretty funny considering I was very familiar with the real life video they were parodying. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and Google “Speak Stop The War” and prepare to be blown away. Beck nailed the guys' voice and it was nice to see Kyle got to sneak in his real Dutch hip hop character. Pines' singing didn't hurt one bit. It didn't seem to go anywhere and they leaned a little heavily on the porn addiction jokes, but that didn't bother me too much. B-

SWAT Recon Party - This sketch was just as gleefully, stupidly silly as all get out but strangely that was what made it work. Kenan and Beck seriously commenting on Mikey, Chris and Leslies' activities seems to be what was selling this even before they and Bobby joined them. It was pretty obvious that Mikey wrote this. B+

The Boy Is Mine - This seemed to be the most one note sketch of the show so far but it was fun to watch as Aidy and Vanessa did their damndest to sell this. Pine played well off them and he sold the ending as well, but by this point it was starting to look like they were leaning a little too heavily on having him sing to the point where this show was eerily reminiscent of Forrest Whitakers' episode from ten years ago (which, IIRC, was one of the few large weak spots of that largely great season). I have a feeling that Aidy and Vanessa collaborated to write this. C+

The House: Seattle: Season 6,000 - I liked seeing Beck and Kyles' Good Neighbor style humor after what felt like an interminable long drought of their filmed pieces on the show. Chris' acting really added to this and I liked the cameos from Pete as the robber and the random Asian guy who wasn't even in their house. I liked how the interviews/confessionals were meant to hype up the inane, nonexistent “drama” on the show. Still, there wasn't a lot besides that that stood out here from the last time they did these reality elimination show parodies but this one does hold up better on repeat viewings. C+

Update was serviceable. It's obvious Che continues to get the Lion’s share of better jokes but this week the only ones that stood out were the ones near the end that got near unanimous hate groans from the audience. I'm not sure if Vanessas' meteorologist was based on any real newscasters but it's pretty much exactly what we've come to expect as a bare minimum from Vanessa. Leslie's commentary was nice if not a little subdued given what we've seen from her as recently as this season but I am glad to see she apparently found her Mr. Right. C+

Auto Shops’ Drag Race - This was fun to watch. Bobby, Beck and Chris walked away with it but it reminded me a bit too much of a similar mechanic sketch with Bill Hader and Paul Rudd from the end of Rudds' first episode in '08. B-

The Handmaids' Tale - This was unfortunately the biggest bomb of the night. Even the live studio audience had no idea what to make of this and their resulting silence was deafening. This had to have been a female written sketch and while I can kind of see what they were going for (kudos to Chris, Mikey, Alex and Kyle for holding their own) it felt way too underdeveloped and underwritten for something that was supposed to have that much substance to it. D-

Star Trek: Spocko Lives – This was much funnier than it had any right to be. Kenan' Neil Degrasse Tyson seems to be an atrophy in impression but plays him so gleefully smug and geeky you can't help but laugh. Chris Pine, Beck Bennett and Alex Moffat do fine impressions of young Shatner, Doohan and Koenig respectively. Kudos to the staff for keeping the "Akira-Yoshimura-as-Sulu" running gag going 41 years strong! Bobby clearly stole this whole sketch and really made the most out of a very simple and straightforward premise. If I had to guess who wrote this, I would say Kent Sublette and possibly Colin Jost. B-

Couples Game Night - This sketch had the hammy showtune stink of Anderlette all over it. Strangely, it was the second sketch of the night that reminded me of something else from Eric McCormacks’ episode. This was clearly a rewrite of a group singing sketch they did last Christmas with Chris Hemsworth. Just when you thought you had enough of Chris Pine singing, he gives us one final encode (although I will say his singing voice suited this particular sketch just fine). Well, at least this was buried at the end of the show and the ladies all looked damn fine here. C-

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara

4. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

5. Louis C.K./The Chainsmokers

6. Jimmy Fallon/Harry Styles

7. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

8. Chris Pine/LCD Soundsystem

9. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran

10. John Cena/Maren Morris

11. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde

12. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson

13. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

14. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty

15. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

16. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

17. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

18. Kristen Wiig/The xx

19. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, everyone gave it their all to put on one heckuva show. Still, I think it’s safe to say at this point that the novelty of SNL going out live coast to coast to close out a historic season has officially worn off before the second of four shows where they planned to do this even started. That’s really no fault of the staff, though. Let’s hope the next two hosts can turn that around. Melissa McCarthy will be in studio 8H next week followed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to finish the season proper. While you can easily point to what the latter has to promote, the same may not be able to be said for the former but she is a welcome presence and a friend of the show. Plus, she is another game host and talented physical comedienne who the cast loves working with. Her performances seem to age well and she certainly has a valid reason to be on the show THIS season. I’m curious as to how they will work that into the show with her hosting. See you then!