Okay, here's my review. This show really felt like much more of the same but it was largely saved by Steve Carrells' general charm and likability as a host. Good to see he hasn't lost touch with his comedic side as he seemingly transitions toward full time dramatic acting. Still, I went into this show knowing it's likely not going to hold a candle to either of his previous episodes since, in a way, both of them marked SNL going into a brand new and bold era and transitioning away from the old guard. Most of the cast seemed to get their share of airtime but Kyle seemed entirely absent, Ego was only in one sketch and Chris only made one taped appearance all night. Let's get right to it.
The Ingraham Angle - This had some decent parts to it for something that was just a blatant by-the-numbers rewrite of the same cold open from two weeks ago. All of the jokes were to telegraphed that even the live studio audience seemed to have a hard time getting into this. Plus, Kate's list of "feel facts" felt a little too reminiscent of when Colbert introduced us to the meaning of "truthiness" on his very first "Report". It was nice to see they changed things up a little by including Moffat's Zuckerberg and Leslie's Marcia Fudge but they barely gave them any material to work with even though Leslie made the most out of what she was given. Pete's part could've been cut and it would've been no big loss. C-
Monologue - I could immediately tell where this was going as soon as that unidentifiable audience member (seriously, which writer was that? I could at least tell it was someone hired in the last two seasons and definitely wasn't Sudi Green or Anna Drezen since I know for sure what those women look like) asked about the possibility of an "Office" reboot. Well, at least this was still fun to watch just to see which former "Office" alum would be the next to cameo and try to badger Steve into doing a reboot. It was also nice to see Nancy Walls make her second cameo since being let go from the show 22 years ago. It was also a nice way to work in cameos from well loved Office cast members who never got their chances to host. I also liked how they both had Steve and Kenan call out the conceit of the fake-questions-from-fake-audience-members monologue (which, man, sure makes me realize what a tired ass trope even that is on the show by now) and had more material beyond that to keep this from being a carbon copy of Tina's monologue from the end of last season. B-
Disneyland - This sketch seemed like it was going to be a very basic, bare bones premise at first but I liked how much it unraveled as more and more outlandish details were revealed and how more and more shockingly clueless and oblivious Steve's character was revealed to be. Plus, Mikey really sold his part and was the most convincing at playing a kid. B+
A Message From Amazon's Jeff Bezos - This sketch felt more than a little tone deaf. Casting Steve Carell as Jeff Bezos was really the only thing this had going for it. He was able to add a necessary warmth to this that Kyle Mooney may not have. I'm a little disappointed that in 2018 SNL would do a sketch attempting to satirize Amazon and Jeff Bezos in particular and make Bezos trolling Trump (with plenty of done-to-death Trump jokes & observations sprinkled in for good measure) over his more obscene wealth the central premise whole making absolutely no mention of how he got that wealth by through Amazon's horrible businesses practices. Like I said, I AM disappointed in SNL for this...but knowing how corporate and sponsor friendly the show has to be now I am in NO WAY surprised. D+
Thanksgiving Song - At first, this seemed like it was going to be a very season 41/42 era run-of-the-mill-Cecily-opposite-attractive-male-host-showtune-song-and-dance type sketch. Plus, trying to rectify America's lack of Thanksgiving songs is a premise that SNL has definitely done before. Thankfully, the lyrics turned out to be so stupidly silly and immature that it became obvious that the rest of this sketch was going to be free of their trademarks. Plus, I did like the other cast joining in on their short song and the gradual reveals that someone's supposed "friend" (they can't even figure out who) left after stealing the TV and stabbing Beck. B+
RBG - While I appreciate Chris Redd attempting to write another music video that educates us on an issue that he cares about, this video felt wholly unnecessary. I mean, they're already just tripling down on the basic "image" of RBG that Kate projects when she portrays her on Update. I also get that the show may have wanted to do some kind of tribute to RBG after news broke that she fell and broke a rib but I would've appreciated something different. I will admit I liked Pete admitting he knew nothing about her record as a judge but that's about it. D-
NASA TV - While this took a bit too long to get started, the wait was worth it. I liked the premise of something going horribly wrong with animals in space while children are unwittingly subjected to it. Mikey and Leslie were also great additions to this and there was great prop work. My only other observations are that this didn't really escalate as far as I would have liked it to and Kate may not have really been selling the illusion that she was floating dead in space that well. She's not quite the same type of physical comedian that a cast member like Taran Kilam was. B-
Update was pretty uneven. Jost & Che open with some more frustratingly ignorant Amazon and voting jokes (seriously, does anyone at SNL know that you can actually vote by mail now?) but at least Jost followed that up with a decent Trump/Babe Ruth joke. The Denver Riggleman/bigfoot erotica piece felt weirdly out of place as it seemed to be based on a months old story. I seriously wonder if this had been getting cut from dress since the premiere. Good to see Mikey get another showcase but this didn't do much for me. It didn't really add anything to its' premise. At least Jost & Che followed this with all the best material they had for this week. I'm not sure we needed to see Kenans' Lavar Ball again since it felt like more of the same. I did like the "LaMorpheus" gag, though but that's about it. C+
Guardian Angel - While 2018 was a strange time to do a Grease "Beauty School Dropout" parody, I didn't necessarily hate this. Aidy and Steve are great scene partners for each other and this seemed to have come from a place of real human drama. Still, I didn't feel it went anywhere. C-
RV Couple - This sketch seems to mostly have been written as a showcase for Heidi and I don't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I liked how she was able to convincingly convey an emotional slow burn. On the other, I don't so much like how she played up some of her more grating tendencies as an actress. I did like how Kate had a cameo as a different type of character than what she's been playing lately. C-
Alien Corn - I did like seeing another sci-fi space sketch that appeared to have an actual plot at first. I did like seeing this attempt to go somewhere with what little allotted time it had left after establishing its main premise. I did like how the miscue/tech blooper with Pete just showed us how this was this type of sketch that would actually benefit from having cast members break in it. I didn't like how rushed the ending seemed. C+
GPYASS! - I'm glad this was as short as it was because it really didn't go anywhere either. Still, I'm left wondering who played the drag queen. Was it an SNL writer or an unknown real life drag performer? Also, who wrote this? Was it Anderlette or one of the other recently hired gay writers? - D+
Now, for my updated rankings of the season so far...
1. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon
2. Adam Driver/Kanye West
3. Steve Carrell/Ella Mai
4. Liev Schreiber/Lil Wayne
5 Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers
6. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
Well, they certainly wrapped up that show in time for Thanksgiving. In two weeks, Claire Foy makes her hosting debut. Another mostly dramatic actress, so this could go either way. Hopefully, she's at least as game of a host as Liev Schreiber was. I'm mostly just glad someone we tried to predict as a host on this board finally turned out to be right. See you soon!
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