REReview Plus: Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga (10.22.2016)

 The following blog entry is a companion piece to last weeks’ episode of the Saturday Night Networks’ 50 Greatest Episode Countdown series. Give it a watch OR a listen, won't you?

These are excerpts from the original review of this SNL episode I posted back in the fall of 2016 with new comments from 2025.The original review is posted in italics. New comments are presented in standard format text

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+

Geez, I feel like I was a little generous to this one at the time that it aired. This could probably be chalked up to being in the mindset that most of America was in at the time that, well…HE had no chance at winning this thing, right? Even Baldwin thought this would just be a fun little way to pick up some extra money on the side since a movie he was supposed to be doing at this time got cancelled and there’s no way he’d be stuck doing this for four years.

I do remember the appeal of Baldwins’ impression during this time being that he captured Trump's sheer manic adderall fueled essence from his first campaign more than Darrell Hammonds’ low energy “stuck in the Apprentice era” Trump (which was actually funnier in hindsight because there was less at stake and less weight that Darrell had to carry with a Donald Trump impression from that time). Other than that, it’s obviously not that accurate of a Trump impression, physically or vocally. Time would prove this just as time would show Baldwin getting more and more burnt out on having to do this impression even if it was once a month at most rather than every week as it was during this season.

…which leads me to my next point. This debate sketch had the feeling of it being hampered by the exact type of toothless, empty, meandering low-effort #Resistance political humor that would sadly come to define SNL (and mainstream political comedy in general) during Trump's first term in office (you know, when pretty much every news channel really DID become Trump TV and we all really did hate it?). Perhaps the most glaring example of this would be the “settle down, entire planet” montage and the “nasty hombres/bingo card” bit from Kate.

Speaking of Kate, she does do a really solid Hillary. She sells the hell out of that “last 30 years” rant and the “nasty woman mug” pitch does sadly hold up as a reflection of the DNCs’ true colors better than you would expect. It is easy to see at the time why Lorne thought she could hold her own next to heavy hitters like Hanks and Baldwin.

Also speaking of, Hanks was a solid straight man here but his presence made this feel a bit like they had to pull back a bit more than normal with this debate sketch because they were trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible with one of the biggest A list movie stars ever. Quite a bit of the jokes in the first half of this really did feel like low hanging fruit. That could also be attributed to this episode and presidential campaign taking place during the era of peak social media where pretty much everyone on Twitter in addition to all the other late night hosts could get in their best jokes about the debates in real time. 

Plus, this being one of the most absurdly ridiculous presidential elections in recent history meant that there was very little left for SNL to explore comedically during these debates. I hinted at this in my actual review of this episode and I think I must’ve labeled this as the best of the three 2016 presidential debate sketches because it didn’t have that “badly beaten to all possible punches by random peoples’ tweets” feeling as the one from the Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars episode (which I think was the one directly before this) nor did it absolutely reek of “too much overconfidence in the moment that Hillary would definitely 100% win” that the first debate from the Margot Robbie/The Weeknd episode did or the cold open from the Lin Manuel-Miranda/Twenty One Pilots episode (aside from the ending where Hanks tells Baldwin that he’s “probably going to lose this election…which wouldn’t happen for another four years…and sadly, when that DID happen we WOULD see exactly what Trump meant when he outright said that he would only accept the results of an election if he wins)

For all its flaws and all its feeling of comfort food viewing for baby boomers who still cling to SNL out of familiarity, who expect this exact kind of thing from the show and would probably turn the TV off and go to bed immediately when this ends if not by Update if they can’t just figure out how to watch or stream Sunday morning, this sketch would probably be the safest choice if the show HAD to pick its best representation of this particular election cycle. (Gee, I sure hope I wasn't spinning out of control too hard with that entire paragraph!)

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-

This still hits about the same as it aired. Too bad it didn't quite pay off with America “making the right decision”. Somehow, this is even more touching and heartwarming than it was nearly a decade ago.

I especially liked how this was written with a “timeless” feel to it that touches on general topics that (for better or worse) concerned Americans both then and now (gun control, immigration, national debt).

I laughed at the “t-shirt cannon/stuffed pizza crust” jokes as well as how quaint it was to hear the last time anyone ever used the words “trill” or “fleek” (or actually “on fleek”, as it were).

Fun fact: This monologue was written by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher of the sketch group “BriTANick”. They both wrote for SNL for only this season. Wonder what ever happened to them?

Black Jeopardy

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-

Yeah, I still stand by my above assessment nine years later. Hanks has still got it and has proven he can always get any audience on his side. You can tell because the crowd was particularly hot for this one giving Hanks specifically two applause breaks. Sasheer, Leslie and Kenan turned in strong performances as well.

I don’t know why I complained about the “buildup” though. I must have decided that the Final Jeopardy category being “Lives That Matter” was the payoff because if the payoff was the very funny Tyler Perry jokes followed by the “handshake”...yeah, that was definitely there. I can say that with confidence after having seen them attempt that “payoff” at the SNL50 Black Jeopardy sketch without ANY of the “buildup” play to near silence from a much older, more distinguished crowd.

I know Bryan Tucker wrote on these but didn’t Michael Che write on these as well? I feel like he had to because I have noticed from Che’s early standup that one of his go to comedy tricks is to create unexpected parallels between two disparate groups of people (mostly black people and white republicans) so he HAD to have contributed something to this.

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-

I…guess I stand by this too? I could mostly tell this was just more James Anderson/Kent Sublette written nonsense where Cecily and a male host confuse the shit out of a group of people that included Beck and Kate as a couple with an unexpected bad song (except this time it’s a song they’re supposed to know because it’s a reworking of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and also Melissa is here too?)

Speaking of, I really did like Cecily and Melissas’ performances here. Melissa was pretty underrated during her entire run on the show (but that may go without saying)

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+

I would go as far as to say this holds up even better nine years later now that we are living in an era where a show like “The Bear” can keep getting nominated for awards for “best comedy”.

Plus, unique comedies and dramadies like this keep popping up all over streaming services and premium cable at such a rate that this could easily be an Apple TV + or HBO Max show. It may not work as a satire of TV since more and more new shows are a lot like this, but it still works at some level

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+

Yes, Casey. Mikey Day did indeed co-write this.

Yes, this also became another “classic” sketch that nearly everyone who knows about SNL knows. Still, I wouldn't put it up there with “Cowbell” or “Dick In A Box” since I couldn’t tell at that moment that I was watching a future classic or anything. 

It didn’t feel all that unique or different from what the show was doing at the time since we’ve already seen Mikey Day/Streeter Seidell sketches that follow this exact template (see “Kevin Roberts” or “Space Pants”). 

I think a big reason this became a classic is because Tom Hanks performed the absolute hell out of such a ridiculously absurd, nonsensical character at a time when America really needed something silly, goofy and fun to latch onto and distract ourselves from how the upcoming election made us fear for the state of the country we live in.

Plus, it was something spooky to obsess over just in time for Halloween. This was the perfect distraction for the time! 

I may have been a little unfair to this sketch when I first reviewed it, but it has grown on me a bit the more it gets hyped up online…and nowadays, that it the true measure of a “classic” SNL sketch (along with not doing more than two or three times, tops)

Lady Gaga Performs “A-Yo” and “Million Reasons”

Girls’ got some pipes on her. 

I don’t remember being that into Gaga in this era of her career but she sure can sing.

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

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's latest “Girl...Party” retread but I will say the timing of it is just about right. B-

Yeah, not much stood out to me from Che and Jost (mostly because we’ve seen them talk about all different eras of Trump for the past ten years and as of this writing we may still be stuck with them).

It was great to see Leslie owning her own hacking/trolling scandal (although I don’t know how well her messaging about her own nudes being leaked holds up today).

This was a good edition of Cecily’s “Girl…at a party”. Great chemistry and interplay between Che and Strong here. Hey, “sheeple”! There’s another quaint little word I haven’t heard in at least a decade (hell, people might have stopped saying “sheeple” way before the time people started saying “trill” and “on fleek”).

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-

Yeah, at the time this aired I felt like I was watching a lost season 21/22 sketch (with all the focus on dialogue in a cockpit) but now I see how this fits into a more recent SNL trope of the host reprising one of their old movie hero roles as a pathetic has been who can’t seem to let go of their glory days (see Val Kilmer in season 26, Daniel Radcliffe in season 37) except the only twist on this is Hanks was stealth promoting his newest movie role as an old real life hero. Honestly, the only line that doesn’t hold up here is Hanks’ “I know Ellen…Degeneres. Sweet gal. Funny.”

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+

Boy, this really kicked off a trend with SNL pretapes that lasted until at least 2022.

This was a nice showcase of the dynamic between the mid-2010s female cast and Bobby was fun in it.

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-

This may not be one of the all time classics from this show that EVERYONE remembers but it certainly hit just right for me so I’ll always remember it for cracking me up at pretty much every moment.

Sure, it may be buoyed by silly voices (Hanks’ goofy Ron Howard, Cecily and Kates’ absurdly thick French accents and wacky sound effects played to sudden sex & murder mysteries) but damn if those things didn’t fit this premise like a glove.

Overall Thoughts

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.

I’d say that this one DOES truly deserve its’ status as an all time classic. Hanks is an all time great host and this was a very consistently strong episode that he elevated a lot of. 

This episode did a lot more than just coast on good vibes. There’s really two big pieces everyone remembers from this episode but everything else from this episode is definitely worth remembering as well.

Closing Thoughts

Well, I have no idea what else I will be doing for this blog until October 5th but right now you can also read my new REreview of the first Dave Chappelle episode from this season as well as my brand new “classic” review of the Christopher Walken episode from season 25. Have a great end of summer, everyone!

Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)

 Five Timers Club Cold Open

- Tom Hanks! Wow! They're getting this out of the way early, huh? Paul Rudd! I guess they're not quite done making up for his five timer episode being all but literally canceled, are they? Liked his little fourth wall break at the top and his "Martini/Ant Man powers" jokes.

- Having Marty show up in a cold open of an episode he hosts is a nice touch. That's something they've never done before. Tina's here. Liked her "loud man/sabotaged scripts" jokes.

- Baldwin and Scarjo are here. That's just great. Wiigs' here. That's much nicer. Her five timers episode was as fun as was her back-and-forth with Marty. I think I may finally be starting to come around on ol' Kristen.

- Emma Stones' here. No need for Wiig to repeat the same joke she just did with Marty a minute ago but OK. Nice to see McCarthy again. She always had a great presence on the show when she used to host. Her physical bit was fun.

- Mulaney's here. His jokes were the real high point of this. Even Fallon got in some good jabs at himself right afterwards.

- That was a little long and a little...rote for a cold open but it was fun. Even though people like to say that the five timers club means less and less as it actually gets less and less exclusive over the years, that was certainly much more preferable to anything even remotely political right now.

- That bought up so much necessary high energy at the top of the show that I didn't even mind how much it felt like they were slowly ticking off boxes on a checklist of "expected beats each modern five timers club sketch absolutely needs to hit now." Still, I liked the semi-unexpected format break of having this take up the cold open rather than the monologue.

- That's it. I don't have much else of substance to say about this one. After all, it wasn't a cold open that had much substance anyway. Seriously, its' not a great sign for this cold open when upon rewatch (yes, I did somehow find that necessary for most of this episode) I found myself distracted by trying to see how many initials I could make out and identify on each of the tiny stockings in the background. C+

Monologue 

- Marty certainly keept the energy from the cold open going. I liked the snappier pace of his opening standup here. I liked that Lorne impression and "ten sketches where I play an elf" joke. I wasn’t crazy about how he cheaply repurposed an old Will Smith joke he told on Kimmel two and a half years ago to be about Matt Gaetz.

- I figured we got the five timers thing right up top to make room for another sprawling musical number...and what do you know, I was right! I liked how they got Sarah, Heidi, Kenan, Ego and Bowen to help him tee this up. Speaking of, it's nice to see Sarah giggle a little after seeing clips on one of the writers' Instagram of her sulking and pouting during this week's "garbage party" (and while reheasring the first Domingo sketch with Ariana Grande). I might be sulking and pouting myself if I were also in the building witnessing how these past two seasons have been progressing in real time.

- I appreciated certain visuals in this (like what we saw with JAJs' Freud and Mikeys' Santa backstage) I overall preferred the 2012 version of this monologue. I'm not too crazy about the fact that this is the second time in exactly ten years that they've written a parody of that "Need A Little Christmas" song for the Christmas Show monologue either. Didn't care much for Jimmys' part or that random ice skating extra in the background but I liked his brief interaction with Lorne.

- While I liked the second chorus and the Jackie Rogers' Jr callback at the end AND while I can certainly relate to the theme of Christmas time anxiety (especially this year), the "prescription medication" theme felt a little odd and offputting to me (Marty himself seemed to stumble in that second verse) and not a great fit for a Christmas show in any era. B-

Parking Lot

- Well, it was certainly smart of them to bring this sketch back from the highly successful Quinta Brunson episode from two seasons ago. 

- At first, I thought Marty would be an odd fit for this one but then I realized that Marty does well with strong physical humor. I did like the "blind/braille/you wish" bits.

- Say what you will about Chloe, she did a fine job of keeping this from feeling so devoid of risqué innuendo that there would be no point in bringing it back (and just when I was starting to appreciate some of the subtle facial acting Mikey and Marty were bringing to this one, too! Fantastic!)

- Melissas' part really made this sketch for me. I don't know if anyone else ever made Chloe or Mikey come as close to breaking like that as she did. B-

An Act Of Kindness 

- Ok, I did like the sweet vibe that started this off. I also liked how this didn't drag itself out too much or get quite as outlandish with the big reveal as some of these types of pretapes have in the past. I guess my biggest criticism of this is (besides the build up to the Fox News button at the end) how odd it felt to have two sketches in a row with Mikey as an aggrieved husband/father type character (as genuinely funny as he was in both parts). C+

Christmas Week Airport Parade

- I was initially skeptical of them bringing this sketch back from Jason Momoas' extremely underwhelming episode from last year, but thankfully they gave Marty a character more suited to his performance style than just "drunk horny pilot".

- I liked the brief appearances by Dismukes, Walker, Padilla and Longfellow. Kenans whole character gave me pause as I came to a slightly saddening realization of how similar my actual current job is (and how quickly every, like, tenth or twelfth person who comes into my place of work is to remind me of that).

- The rest of the five timers club cameos from the cold open (well, minus Rudd) really saved this (even if Melissas' part mostly amounted to something they probably would've given to Robert Deniro 20 or 22 years ago). 

- The only part of this I didn't really like was the ending. Marcellos' part felt real cheap and the dance number from Marty, Hanks, Ego & Bowen felt too out of step and unnecessary. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Wow, Jost handled some inappropriate applause expertly and Che came out swinging with the darkest jab at Matt Gaetz the show has done. Update is getting off to an interesting start for once. Jost even covered for Che flubbing an Eric Trump joke. The RFK/Bluey jokes were all right and that about covers the worthwhile standard joke portions of Update.

- I see the show has firmly placed Bowen back on it's bullshit once again with this "drone" commentary. Great. I see this zig zagged it's way to a "Defying Gravity" parody. At least that kept the crowd hyped again.

- I see they're bringing back the "traditional joke swap" which is something I have some mixed feelings about this one given how the last one from May went, but the crowd could help elevate this.

- Jost being forced to read all his jokes in a "black voice" is an interesting new wrinkle here (as was having to see ScarJos' reactions in real time and I understand both of these things were added at dress rehearsal) . I definitely giggled (less than he did but more than i should have, I'm sure) at him punctuating each joke with the catchphrase "Shizzzz, I ain't afraid of you mofos!"

- ...and just as Che handles that Jay-Z/Diddy joke like a total pro, Jost hits that "roast beef" joke out of the park. That might have been my biggest laugh of the night because it's genuinely something I never thought I would hear on SNL.

- The fact that this was the absolute high point of this episode and possibly Jost & Che's entire Update run at this point (well, for ME at least) is probably the most damning indictment of this episode (hell, this season, really) possible. B-

Sabado Gigante

- Well, this sketch was a hit that debuted in Nate Bargatzes' episode from two months ago so, I'd say it was a smart idea to bring this back in a big Christmas episode.

- Marcello once again scored some home runs and Paul Rudd certainly plays the "confused out of place white guy" role much better than Short would've. 

- I mean, the first sketch played a bit better because Nate Bargatze underplayed the confusion just right but at least this one made up for that shortcoming by...being not as long as the previous one? 

- I'm guessing some last minute cuts had to be made to this one for time after the Update joke swap undoubtedly made the show run long and that's why this one didn't quite take it's sweet time?

- Short would've made a decent addition as one of the wild, flashy side characters in this but I guess he couldn't be in everything since he is...getting up there in age at this point and as we saw with Smart and Keaton they are scaling back the older hosts, so he must've needed an small break. 

- Dana Carvey as Matthew Leskos' non-union Mexican equivalent made a fine replacement (even if, again, Short could've handled this just as well) and I liked the "Miami Frosty" gag. C+

Charlie Brown Christmas 

- Hmm, a new live action take on Charlie Browns' Christmas seemed intriguing enough (as much as nothing could hold a candle to the last one from a Martin Short hosted Christmas episode...and CERTAINLY not a Brendan Fraser hosted Valentines Day episode). Good way to some of the cast to get some much needed airtime (as long as you don't blink).

- I thought maybe good ol' Charlies' unexplained absence was supposed to be a cover for them just saying "nah, fuck it" to anymore nightmarish roundheaded prosthetics for any future Peanuts parodies but then I noticed Marcello had a normal looking wig on to play Linus, so...yeah, this is exactly as thrown together as I thought it was.

- Adding Short as an undeniably Jiminy Glick like modern theater director with Bowen as his assistant/lover seemingly for the purpose of bouncing explicitly gay innuendo wasn't the best twist, but I did like Kenan as Snoopy. Otherwise, this just felt too wildly unfocused for it's own good. C-

CUT FOR TIME: How The Grinch Stole Christmas 

- Ok, normally I don't go out of my way to comment on these but, what the hell? I felt I should say something here.

- I gotta say Martys' performance and Lucy Lius' guest appearance were the only things that really saved this. (Interesting timing with the That Week Twitch streams, btw. Did they purposely cut this to throw their own scent off their own trail there?) Besides that, it was just another cheap lazy gorefest in the same tired vein as "Christmas Carol", "Battle Of The Sexes" and "Scooby Doo". After about two of these, you start to get sick of even the basic idea of them as they're mostly each executed in the same way each time.

- While I'm kinda glad the decision was made to cut this (and the additional Treece Henderson sketch that they wrote which was cut), I'm actually pretty bummed to have heard that an Irving Cohen sketch was also cut from dress. Now, THERE'S something I really hope gets put up on YouTube soon! I mean, hey...they put up all the dress cuts from Charlis' episode in time for Thanksgiving, why not put up all the dress cuts from Martys' episode in time for Christmas? C-

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
4. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
5. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
6. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
7. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
8. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
9. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
10. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Ranking Each Of Martin Shorts' Episodes From Best To Worst

1. Martin Short/Paul McCartney (12.15.2012)
2. Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile (12.10.2022)
3. Martin Short/No Doubt (12.07.1996)
4. Chevy Chase, Steve Martin & Martin Short/Randy Newman (12.06.1986)
5. Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

- Well, there's no denying this episode had the sheer audience energy to...carry this show to the top five of the season. Too bad the material and just overall writing kept if from placing higher than fourth. 

- I would put this one up there with Mulaneys' episode from this season in that they both had very hot energetic audiences (perhaps "stans" of each host and/or MG?) scheduled on the exact right week with the exact right combination of guest cameos to make it FEEL like a big "event" worthy of the shows' 50th anniversary. 

- However, when you look closer at both episodes you see that the writings' not quite up to snuff as (especially this week) a lot of recurring characters and premises were bought back to buoy the show beyond outside guests.

- Now, in Mulaney's case I didn't mind the recurring stuff because they were just staples from his previous episodes that he made work to varying degrees of success. In this episodes' case, bringing back old sketch templates from just a season or two ago is borderline inexcusable.

- Still, Short himself was far from this episodes biggest problem. He's a legendary performer who always improves whatever he's in when he hosts (as he did this week). It's not even so much the fact that they barely used him as a host (or when they did he might have gotten lost in the shuffle between cameos) but again, considering the fact that Martin Short is pushing 80 at this point, it's understandable that he might need an extended break between sketches or two.

- The biggest problem with this episode is that it just felt like a big flashy, vaguely holiday themed assortment of smoke and mirrors to cover for how tired and burnt out the show feels as it lurches towards its big 50th anniversary party in two months. 

- Cast airtime may seem like an irrelevant moot point tonight (again, cameos and all) but at least no one was visually shut out of the show entirely. It's just that the featured players along with JAJ & Longfellow took the biggest hits tonight. Mikey had what felt like his first big night in a while, so...good for him. Bowen, Ego and Kenan felt like they were being pushed heavily tonight because of course they were.

- Actually, after reading about how Blake Lively had to drop out of hosting this season's premiere, I'm starting to think three other people did that as well in the past few months. This and Mulaney's episode both feel like they were last minute replacements for someone (and they must still be looking for a last minute replacement for whoever is hosting the first episode in January). 

- I say this, of course, because both of their episodes this season really paled in comparison to some of their previous hosting episodes in other seasons which actually felt uniquely tailored to each of their comedic strengths. These episodes just felt like generic borderline hostless episodes of SNL that would be best viewed through the lens of season 50 than against previous Mulaney/Short episodes (which again, doesn't make this season look great but I don't want to sound like a broken record).

Closing Thoughts 

- Well, we may not have any fucking clue who will be hosting in the new year at this point, but at least I personally still have some fucking clue what my next blog entry is going to be! With that in mind, I'd like to give you a little update on another project I'm working on. Since it looks like this episode is being received a bit poorly, I just thought I'd distract you guys a bit and give you a little something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Long, Extended Plug

- My next blog post will be a classic/retro review of the Steve Carell/Kanye West episode from season 31. I know, I haven't done any of these types of reviews in 11 years (well after Stooge himself started the "retro review" craze of the early 2010s on those two old defunct message boards you guys remember me from) but I recently watched this episode for my upcoming new podcast that I figured I could cobble them together into a review for this ol' blog and release it as a companion piece to the first podcast episode.

- This review of the season 31 premiere will be posted on the blog on January 2nd, 2025 (my 34th birthday, incidentally) to coincide with the release of the premiere episode of the "We Heart Hader" podcast. In the first episode, we will talk about how Bill got on SNL and just essentially review his first episode as a cast member, and then we will discuss his first appearance on Conan from around that same time.

- My cohost Deej Barens and I have already recorded the second episode earlier this week and she is in the process of editing it as of this writing. In that episode, we discuss Bills' latest public appearance (as a guest on the "Christmas With A Z!" live show at the Dynasty Typewriter theater in Los Angeles which was just livestreamed to YouTube last week) and review Bills small bit part film roles from early in his career and evaluate whether each movie is worth seeing just for Bills' role or if you should just find Bills' clip on YouTube or TikTok or some such place and call it a day. Trust us, you will be surprised by some of our answers. This episode will be released on January 16th.

- The third episode we haven't recorded yet but the plan is to do our first SNL character spotlight on Haders' Italian Talk Show host Vinny Vedecci. That episode will be released on January 30th.

- So to recap; new podcast (We Heart Hader) debuts January 2nd with new episodes every two weeks afterwards and I will publish a new blog post that ties into the first episodes subject matter. I hope you'll all at least give the first podcast episode a listen because there's nothing more I wanted for my birthday this year than to just be able to legitimately call myself a podcaster and say "oh yeah, I have a podcast now."

Till then, have a happy holiday and a joyous new year everyone!

Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)

Okay, here's my review. When your expectations for an SNL episode pretty much start at the floor, there's nothing they can do BUT pleasantly surprise you. Sure, it was an episode buoyed by surprise cameos (in a good way for the first time since at least 2012) but Jack Harlow certainly did his part by being a surprisingly likable and easy going host. The worst thing I can really say about this episode is that it was still a little uneven but then again so were all of this seasons' episodes. Thankfully, this week's episode was more uneven on the level of Brendon Gleesons' where the highs were very high and the lows were just somewhere in the middle.This was a big night for Andrew, Punkie, Ego (the back half anyway) and all the newbies along with Cecily (as expected) and Kenan. Sarah and JAJ got some small parts that are showing they can stretch and continue to be used as utility cast members. Even with one returning veteran, no one really felt shut out. Anyway, let’s unpack this, shall we?

PBS News Hour - Well, I guess we were due for one if these, too. I guess it's more watchable than a C-SPAN opening...and at least PBS is a more unique framing device for these? It made me feel more like I was watching a mellow Norm MacDonald era cold open than a Mikey Day/Heidi Gardner era cold open, so...thats' nice? Shockingly, Cecily had the only worthwhile performance in this  (and her shot in the montage was so seamless you wouldn't even think she missed each of the previous four episodes so far). C+

Monologue - While I think it's good that Jack Harlow showed right away that he can poke light fun at himself but that was a little too light for me. I get the sense that Harlow wanted to do one of Jimmy Kimmels "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" segments more than he wanted to host SNL but he just decided to say "fuck it" and tell Lorne and the writers "can you guys jusy make my monologue this?" (loved that possibly unintentional Mr. Subliminal shout out, though). The Lil Nas X jokes just confused me at first becsuse they mostly left me wondering whether or not Harlow had come out recently or not. I appreciate that he tried something different in speaking to an audience member who turned out to NOT be a plant but it was so brief it was pointless and it wemt nowhere. Overall, thr best thing about this monologue wss that Harlow didn’t seem ill at ease with being on the show. C+
Wedding Like Joker - Only Andrew Dismukes could make such a paper thin, repetitive premise watchable much less funny (with some assists from Sarah Sherman who we get to see stretch and grow as an actress and from Jack Harlow who thankfully showed he was more into doing the show here than he did during his monologue). The surprise Jeff Probst cameo was a nice touch but it hardly did anything for me. It was nice to see JAJ keep getting used in non-impression roles. C+

A Message From Skechers - I didn’t completely hate the idea behind this, but I couldn't help but get uneasy "Steve Carrell IS Jeff Bezos" bad take vibes. They didn’t even come close to striking the right balance between making Skechers look lame and pointlessly kissing up to Kanye to me. Marcello had a good line about how Skechers could be thrown in the washer but it wasn’t really worth this sketch existing. The ending was pretty weak. JAJ does a solid Mike Lindell but...is that really an impression the show needs right now? D+

Post Halloween Red Carpet Special - Thie felt a little long, but it was worth it to see Kenan, Bowen, Harlow and all the featured players really get to score here. Cecilys' character being named "Tina LaFaye" was an interesting choice. Kudos to the show for successfully pulling off what they attempted with "The Grabbies" in Charles Barkleys' last episode. B-

Pixar AA Pitch - By far, this was the best live sketch of the night. I loved how immediately everyone was comitted to the rapidly increasing silliness of this. I didn’t even mind that they tried to sneak in another "everyone starts singing along with Cecily as soon as they realize that...wait a minute, they DO know the song she is singing" sketch on us because that was a very small part of it. Tom Hanks is always such a welcome presence that you can't get hung up for too long on why he isn't hosting when he makes an unexpected cameo. I do love that they ended with suitcase puppets on us and pulled out to show us who was operating them. A-

2020 Part 2: 2024 - Well, it's nice that they let this air just in time for Halloween. While this may seem like another hacky tired SNL trope on the surface, I have to say I found it...somewhat relatable given what the last two years have been like, so...I can't even work up the energy to be disappointed by it (and I can't really imagine anyone else doing it). C+

Best Bartenders In The World - This was honestly the worst sketch of the night. At first, it just seemed like an incoherent mess. Then, the twist ending came and it felt to me like someone found crumpled up pages from the first draft of John Mulaneys' drag brunch sketch from his 2018 episode and just said "fuck it, let’s just see if we can get this on the air". D-

Update felt kinda all over the place this week. The only notable jokes were Josts' breakdown of the Oz/Fetterman debate and Ches' portion of the whole Kanye rant. It was very nice to see Bobby Moynihan back in any capacity. He is a sorely missed presence. Good to see he's not entirely "done" with the show and has made like Sandler and Murhpy and put whatever issues he had with the end of his tenure behind him. Kudos to him for giving us the Covid era update on Drunk Uncle that we didn't know we needed (and pulling it off better than Forte did w/MacGruber). B-

2 David 2 S. 2 Pumpkins - Suddenly, the presence of both Tom Hanks AND Bobby Moynihan in the same episode makes a lot more sense. I'm guessing we could all immediately tell where this was headed when Kenan showed up? While this was a pleasant (and genuinely unexpected) surprise, it was too much like the original. I didn't mind seeing this again (and I do appreciate the reveal that his is from Ibiza), but it needed some tightening up because Dismukes and Ego didn’t quite have the same timing that Beck and Kate did that made the original work. Normally, I'm a fan of Ego and Dismukes but this felt too much like something that the show left behind in the previous era for them to make it work without making it their own (and Harlow didn’t really work for me in the Melissa Villaseñor role either). I’m guessing the whole reason that they did this tonight was that either Jack Harlow just wanted to be a part of it or this may be Mikeys' last season with the show. As we all know, he cowrote the original w/Streeter Siedell and may have wanted to bookend his time on the show with a reprisal of the biggest hit from his first season in the cast. Kudos to the makeup department (especially on either JAJ or Marcello who I'm guessing played Freddy Kreuger and Longfellow who I'm 99% sure played Pennywise). C+

The View - You know, if I didn’t know any better I'd think Jack Harlow wrote this hinself. I was gonna say if they absolutely had to still be doing View parodies now that they should’ve at least had Ego and Punkie switch roles until I realized that wouldn't work because Ego Nwodim was basically playing Whoopi Goldberg as Ego Nwodim and Punkie Johnson wouldn't have been able to pull that off. Otherwise, this seemed only worth putting on air for the undeniable fact thst Joy Behar is the role Sarah Sherman was born to play. At least this was placed appropriately in the show. D+

Now, I'm finally ready to deliver my first real ranking of the season so far...

1. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
2. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
3. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
4. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, I certainly learned how not to judge a book by its cover. Next week, Amy Schumer marks her third time hosting and the less said about her, the better. Schumer bring placed into the context of this season as host gives a whole new meaning to the term "diminishing returns" which is starting to become a running theme of this season (and yes, I'm also starting to wonder about the troubles they are having booking hosts this season). See you then!