Daniel Craig/The Weeknd (3.7.2020)

Okay, here's my review. This episode wasn't exactly an easy one for me to get excited about because I remembered how disappointing Daniel Craig's first show in October 2012 was. Daniel gave it his all both now and then and, despite being a tad uneven in small spots this episode turned out much better. I guess Daniel had weaker writing last time or they were all just a bit overworked from doing another early start heavily frontloaded election season where they had to write the regular show and the Weekend Update Thursday specials simultaneously. Also, John Mulaney hosted an alarmingly run of the mill show last week compared to the two previous episodes he hosted in the recent past which both felt unique for this era so at least with expectations being much lower first this show we weren't being near deliberately set up for crushing disappointment (much like how J.Lo's episode was followed up by ScarJo and then Eddie). It's nice to see they're steadily giving Chloe and Ego more parts. As far as the rest of the cast, airtime seemed pretty evenly distributed but Pete was invisible once again and I legitimately can't wait to find out what his excuse for missing THIS show was. Anyway, let's break it down.

Ingraham Angle - Well, after all the cameo loaded debate cold opens they've done recently I was pleasantly surprised that they were thinking a little outside of the box this week. Then, I realized how underwhelming this specific cold open template was the two times they did it last season. They started out hitting pretty much all the same beats as those ones with Pirro and the fake sponsors (which I did like along with the list of things to worry about) and I did like the gag with Eric Trumps' fever (the Trump bros are best used sparingly at this point). I'd have to say the highlight of this sketch for me was Darrell Hammonds' return as Chris Matthews doing some of the most pointed criticism of Matthews they've ever done. I also appreciate that they bought Darrell back for an impression that's a little outside the usual trifecta of "greatest hits" he's been known for (Clinton, Connery, Trump) and surprisingly none of the new knowledge I have about Chris Matthews has made this impression any less funny to me now than it was 15-20 years ago. As for Senator Warren, at least I can say I genuinely didn't see this one coming (even though I definitely should've given how Kate appeared in a sketch alongside Hillary Clinton during the same election cycle where she played her). Still, Warren being there just felt like a throwback to a previous era when active (or recently active) politicians and presidential candidates making cameos on the show (or even commenting on the shows' representations of them) was seen as fun and safe and not at all damaging to our democracy or political discourse. Perhaps I'm wrong and reading a bit too much into this but that's the only reason I can think of that Bernie was among the last three presidential candidates to appear on the show (not too recently obviously, I mean the last time he ran in early 2016). I will say I appreciate seeing her on the show at the exact point when she has nothing to lose even though none of the material they gave her really stood out to me. It's also good to see Kate is still the queen of the cold open quick change even if we didn't really need to see her in dual roles here.

Monologue - I'm glad they decided to insert a pretape in the middle of this monologue more for the format breaking than for the fact that the live portions of the monologue didn't quite work for me. Plus, I was a little disappointed that the PWB mention wasn't just a call for Melissa do come on stage and do her impression of her. Gradually turning James Bond into a trashy, Vegas tourist type of gambler seemed like such a simple premise I was surprised I hadn't remembered seeing it on SNL or anywhere else previously (although this did remind me a bit of the James Bond sketch they did in 2008 when Tim McGraw hosted). They pulled this off well and I did appreciate the twist at the end, too. B-

The Sands Of Modesto - This also felt like it was plugged into a template for a specific type of sketch the show has done before but updated for a current health scare. Still, it felt a little labored and telegraphed but I did like the prop heavy romance scenes between Kate and Daniel. Cecily's sneeze was a little predictable but it was the perfect note to end this sketch in terms of length. C+

On The Couch - This felt like the simplest of premises, but the only thing the show had done before that was reminiscent of this was "Jizz In My Pants" and possibly the inverse of "Slow" from Adam Drivers episode. The Weeknd really added to this sketch and I'm glad they used him in a sketch outside of Update. The sketch really picked up once he got the increasingly instant quick jumps to the couch going. Plus, this was another rare moment where the show actually made some use of Melissa's singing skills. B+

The Deirdre Show - I'm glad they keep giving Ego her own showcases. This was all right, but it took a little long to get going for me. Fortunately, that's my only real complaint about it because Ego really saved it with some assists from Kenan and Heidi. Craig really held his own here and there were some shades of the absurdist hyperfocused Comedy Bang! Bang! style of humor from Ego's pre-SNL background. B-

Debbie Downer - I feel like I should've been one of the people expecting this given how frequently Rachel Dratch has been making cameos this season (in fact I do have to wonder if this was deliberately kept in the live rundown to make up for a possible Amy Klobuchar sketch being scrapped at the last minute) but this actually caught my by a pleasant surprise. I was never crazy about this flagship character of hers but I guess it just suddenly grew on me here since her performance here is stronger than I remember. Sure, it also seemed to hit on all the same beats that the previous ones did but the "removed for trespassing" and Trump jokes really made this for me. B-

Update was serviceable but not much to write home about. Josts' only jokes that stood out to me were the Biden/Michigan/brain disease ones. I also liked the brief callback to Ches' "drinking problem" from last week but I didn't like how he didn't commit to it as much. After reading about how Bowens' "Bottle Boi" got cut from dress last week, I'm glad to see this got on because it seems like quite a departure for him. He was pretty funny and again, I liked his commitment, but I couldn't get past how this character seemed like a direct cross between Tracy Morgan's "Woodrow", Kenan Thompsons' "Willie" and Beck Bennett's "Bayou Benny" with a little dash of Bowen Yang's "Chen Biao" sprinkled in for good measure. I'm not totally sure we needed to see "TheWeeknd Update" once more but I appreciate the commitment to the continuity there. Normally, I could go either way on Cecily's party girl but it's been a good long while since we've seen her and this may start  providing me some closure on this possibly being Cecily's farewell season. The Joaquin Phoenix joke, Colin sunglasses and illness reveals were the only things that stood out to me. C+

Southern Accent Coach - I wanted to like this sketch more but it didn't quite seem to know what it wanted to be. At times it seemed too subtle when it called for absolutely zero subtlety and there was just too much buildup to whatever little payoff there was. I do appreciate Beck and Daniel really giving it their all and that they chose to end this with completely unexpected vomit tubes. C+

Movie Quotes - Good to see that Heidi was finally able to get this on the air the third time she submitted it. I'm also glad to see that Heidi's character was a lot more low-key than I was picturing based on the dress description I read. Other than that, it's basically exactly what I was expecting so even though I feel like I can barely judge this fairly I'll say everyone played well off of each other. B-

Overnight Salad - I did like this just for the sheer absurdity of it that made it feel far outside of the realm of what SNL would even attempt now. I also liked how it felt like the closest thing this era could've had to a "blackout" sketch that they would do in the first season. This got in, got it's fairly obvious joke out there and got right out. B-

Now, for my updated rankings of this entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Adam Driver/Halsey
8. Daniel Craig/The Weeknd
9. John Mulaney/David Byrne
10. RuPaul/Justin Bieber
11. J.J. Watt/Luke Combs
12. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
13. Will Ferrell/King Princess
14. Harry Styles
15. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, that episode delivered better than I expected given that I barely expected anything. At the end of the month, John Krasinski makes his hosting debut. It's nice that we're getting a first time host who feels like a natural fit for the show. Plus, it's good for him to finally get this in before he fully completed his ongoing transition from low key funny man to high key action hero and people's general perception of him fully changes. I mean, it would've been nice if he'd done the show when he was still on The Office but at least we're getting this now. See you in a few weeks!

John Mulaney/David Byrne (2.29.2020)

Okay, here's my review. This struck me as the type of episode that looks better in comparison to the rest of this season but not so much when compared to Mulaney's previous episodes. He was still a welcome premise and a solid host but it felt like a typical modern episode of the show with Mulaney just dragged-and-dropped in as host (Mulaney having to further postpone a standup gig in Canada he had tonight to host at Lornes' possibly last minute request probably has a lot to do with that). The fact that I can't immediately point to something as being a possible dress cut Mulaney dug up from his time as a staff writer or a piece he championed as a showcase for this season's most underused featured player (which would obviously be Chloe at this point but at least she got her own showcase in the previous episode) indicates that there's barely enough of Mulaney's comedic tone of voice throughout the show for it to hold a candle to his previous episodes (I also know that specific singular unilateral quality is what some people dislike about Mulaney's episodes but hey, to each their own). Plus, looking back over some of the sketches they did it just seems like they just plopped him into a lot of this season's recurring premises he had nothing to do with writing or conceiving thus wasting his talents. Aside from that, cast airtime was pretty uneven. Mikey, Heidi, Alex, Bowen and Ego were barely in anything while Melissa was shut out of the show entirely (gee, Mulaney wasn't THAT hurt by the impression she did of him on social media this week, was he?) Chloe only had a couple of small speaking parts but hey, I'm sure that's a major step up for her. Everyone seemed to dominate the show to different degrees, but let's break it down, shall we?

Coronavirus Press Conference - Well, what this cold pen says to me (besides just "Baldwin and Sudekis weren't available this week) is that the cast and writers must've had so much fun writing original sketches with Mulaney that writing this weeks obligatory political cold open felt like even more of a slog than usual so they really had to rush this one. I do like how they went slightly outside of the box with this one by just assembling almost all the cameos regular viewers might be expecting for a Democratic Debate sketch at this point but placing them in a sketch parodying last night's White House Press Conference instead. They sprung those cameos on us at the exact moment when we would expect them the least. Speaking of the things I least expected, I'm not sure Mulaney as Biden worked for me but thankfully he had some decent lines and his part in the sketch was fairly small. Plus, I could tell adding anyone as Biden was a VERY last minute addition since they heavily referenced his victory in the South Carolina primary from hours ago that same night. As much as I tire of seeing Fred Armisen on SNL, I know I have to get used to it seeing as the looming inane face of Mike Bloomberg is still watching over this election. Plus, with Mulaney hosting it feels somewhat appropriate since he seemed to really like writing for both him and Hader during his time on the show. Of course, it's always nice to see Rachel Dratch and Larry David again even if they don't have much that stays with you after their sketch is over. Honestly, the true highlight of this sketch was Kenan as Ben Carson. Sure, his impression wasn't as strong as that of Jay Pharaoh or Sterling K. Brown but Kenan injected some of the fun and loose yet restrained just the right amount type of silliness that he has mastered by this point in his SNL tenure. While I still don't quite know what to make of this sketch, I will say it worked in spite of itself because everyone seemed to have better dialogue than we usually get in these modern day political cold opens. Plus, it was a lot more entertaining and watchable than what we usually get when they try to cram in all of the big tentpole political headlines of the past two weeks that they took off into a single cold open. C+

Monologue - It's good to see Mulaney is still in the prime of his standup career. I liked this much better than I liked the bull of his standup monologue from last season. I especially liked the comparisons he made between himself and Louis Farrakhan, the Founding Father's and the '92 Chicago Bulls as well as all the constitution material. I also liked how he really broke down the general concept of "dad jokes" just enough to make them seem fresh and how he managed to make a story about him fulfilling a sick child's Make-A-Wish request funny in a self deprecating type of way. Also, I like that he just admitted he was promoting nothing but I was a bit surprised. I guess his "Sack Lunch Bunch" special on Netflix didn't come out recently enough for him to still be promoting but I guess he can't just be "promoting" his own standup whether he's on tour or just releasing a new album or Netflix special for some reason. B+

The Sound Of Music - This had to have been at least cowritten by Mulaney as it's so much in his voice that it immediately reminded me of the bit from his second album/special where he just lays out how conceptually fucked up "Back To The Future" had to have been even as a pitch to a studio. Well, at least I hope it was since that would be the best thing this had going for it. Between doing at least their fourth or fifth "Sound Of Music" parody this century and at least their third or fourth sketch with this cast pointing out how baby boomer era pop culture just flaunts inappropriate age differences and power dynamics in romantic relationships compared to how we tiptoe around such things today, they really hit us with the one-two punch of "tired SNL sketch premises in the 21st century". I don't know if it actually was too long or if all of those things I just mentioned made it feel much longer than it actually was but it just didn't feel necessary. D+

When Your Uncle Finds Out You've Been Memeing Him - Seeing Chloe being prominently featured in the commercial bumper showing this sketches' setup made me think this could've been her big sketch if not Heidi's third attempt at getting that sexy movie quotes game night sketch of hers on the air. What this ended up being was Mulaney's obligatory collaboration with Pete but it ended up being much funnier than I expected (that's probably because I just found out before posting this that Dan Licata and Stephen Castillo wrote this instead of John and Pete). Meme humor on SNL is another thing that is starting to feel played out but thankfully it was another thing that only someone like John Mulaney (with the occasional assist from Chris Redd) has the comedic ability to feel fresh and funny in 2020. Mulaney pretty much carried this whole sketch on his back but everyone else played straight men off of him well. B+

Kyle Gets Swole - It sure feels nice to see another one of these soft focus "The Problem With Kyle" type shorts (especially since they can still pull these off after Leslie left thus making this one the first of these types of shorts they have done all year). I do like how drastically against type Kyle played himself here and how they added a lot of different elements to make this different from the one from last season's premiere where Kyle just tried to gain everyone's respect just by emulating Pete. I also liked the two covers of SNL magazine as well as how they underplayed such an outlandish premise by having it reach such an anticlimactic conclusion. The only negative thing I can really say about this is how needlessly and gratuitously tacked on the Justin Theroux cameo felt (or was that Alex Moffat or Taylor Swuft in heavy makeup?) B+

Say, Those Two Don't Seem To Loke Each Other - Okay, this pretty much killed all the momentum the show had been building up to this point. I liked Kate and Aidy presenting each other with various deadly weapons. Thankfully, they weren't the focus of the rest of this. Sadly, it's not saying much that Mulaney ended up being the main focus or that they barely changed the premise of this from the J.Lo installment. This one was honestly worse and seeing Becks' character (and not even he could save this one either) suddenly turn gay at the mere sight of Mulaney's character is a bit of a stretch (maybe not as big as seeing bullets from a tommy gun do absolutely no other collateral damage to Mulaney's character besides blasting off his sleeves and pant legs but still). Oh, well. I'm sure this still had a lot more value to that small but vocal hardcore segment of Mulaney's fanbase who, like he said in his monologue, views him as their Farrakhan. D+

Update was really only worth watching for the drastic format breaking. Che's Coronavirus breakdown and Josts' Eric Trump joke were the only things from them I was really feeling (and yeah, I am getting the subtle hint here that this is at least their last full length season on the show if not their last episode). Redds' black history month commentary was the highlight of Update for me. I like that they finally let Chris Redd just do some of his own standup on Update. I am just wondering why this didn't happen two seasons ago when Redd was still a mere featured player. That's honestly the only bad thing I can say about Redds' piece. B+

Phantom of LaGuardia - Okay, I can immediately tell what this was based on seeing the commercial setup. I'm still left wondering if this was another one of Mulaney's lost dress cuts or if it was something he wanted to write AFTER Diner Lobster (and to a lesser extent Bodega Bathroom) became viral hits. Still, this was enjoyable despite feeling a little overstuffed with possibly one or two Broadway showtime parodies too many (and maybe those "Sack Lunch Bunch" fan service cameos from Byrne and Gyllenhaal could've been cut) but I guess I could understand Mulaney wanting each of these to feel bigger and more spectacular than the one that preceded it (and besides, at least this ensured Alex and Bowen each got a few seconds of airtime this week so they wouldn't be totally shut out like poor Melissa putting on a brave face during the goodnights). Also, I don't think they really NEEDED to explain the Sully Goose Phantom joke but I'm sure there would be some viewers out there who would've missed it otherwise. B-

Forgotten Figures Of Black History - This was something I wanted to like for how creative if a premise it seemed but it ended up being so muddled and unfocused in execution (in a way that screams "only Che could've written this") that I could barely get a handle on it. I think the main problem is that Kenans' character was given much more detailed and intricate backstory than was necessary. The payoff was okay, but the buildup didn't quite seem worth it. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Adam Driver/Halsey
8. John Mulaney/David Byrne
9. RuPaul/Justin Bieber
10. J.J. Watt/Luke Combs
11. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
12. Will Ferrell/King Princess
13. Harry Styles
14. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, just for fun, I think I'll rank all of Mulaney's episodes from best to worst...

1. John Mulaney/Thomas Rhett (3.2.2019)
2. John Mulaney/Jack White (4.14.2018)
3. John Mulaney/David Byrne (2.29.2020)

Well, that pretty much met my kost realistic expectations for a Mulaney hosted episode in a heavy election primary season. Next week, Daniel Craig makes his hosting return after an eight year absence from SNL. I think it'll be a little hard for a lot if people (myself included) to get genuinely excited for that one. That's certainly not just because it's the week after Mulaney hosted. It's mostly because his 2012 episode was looked upon as being pretty weak at that time. In fact, it was one of the few minor weak spots in the middle of the otherwise solid season 38. I may have to go back and reread my old review of that one or see some clips from it to see if that general consensus still holds up but I feel like it still should given how little I remember of his first episode. Oh, well. See you then!

RuPaul/Justin Bieber (2.8.2020)

Okay, here's my review. This may actually have been the second best new SNL episode to air in 2020 so far. It felt like a real step up from last week mostly because Rupaul's infectious energy kept the show going. He seemed happy to be there, certainly. While he didn't deliver as much outright "campiness" as I was expecting, he still seemed well within his comfort zone. The show managed to maintain just the right balance between appealing to Rupaul's fans while being inclusive toward SNLs' regular audience so it wasn't an issue how much RuPaul just played slight variations of himself the whole night. Cecily wasn't in as much as we thought she'd be but nonetheless the women dominated the show as expected (especially the newer women which is exciting) and for some odd reason Pete got the most airtime he'd gotten all season tonight. Everyone else was practically invisible (especially Alex and Melissa who were in next to nothing tonight). Anyway, let's break this down, shall we?

ABC Democratic Debate - Well, between this, the Trump acquittal news and the Iowa Caucus snafu I guess they went with the easiest and safest option for a cold open this week. Good to see they seem to have matched my prediction of Mikey as Stephanopoulos, Ego (in a surprisingly prominent role) as Lyndsey Davis and Alex (in his only appearance of the night sadly) as David Muir (I was guessing either him or Beck). I'm at least glad that they've gotten to the point where they could manage to do a 2020 dem debate sketch with cast members (current and former with only one outside cameo) portraying ONLY the candidates who were in the actual race and hadn't yet dropped out. Since they decided NOT to use any excuse they could to sneak in Maya's Kamala, Cecilys' Tulsi and Freds' Bloomberg (in studio rather than in prerecorded form) this one felt the least bloated and overly long of all this season's debate sketches. Still, it was actually as long as those previous ones. They just tried to trick me into thinking it was going to be shorter than it ended up being because the "closing statements" that Mikey announced were longer than they really needed to be. Oh well, at least they were able to prove my theory that the debate sketches would feel more focused with less "candidates" on stage. The applause breaks and the "y'all ready for this?" entrances were the things that hurt this sketchs' timing the most. It's great to be reminded how Jason's "fun" first Obama term '08-'13 era Biden can still work if they just give him the same writing as they gave Woody's 2019 wea Biden in his absence. Larry was a distant second but I liked how he and Kate's Warren chose to finally address the "Bernie Bro" issue (although the 4Chan reference seemed a little out of line). It's also nice to see they're giving Bowen more lines in these even though they're having him hit the exact same beats each time still. Rachel Dratch is still getting more lines and I do like how the show still seems to have a very specific take on Amy Klobuchar. Pete would've probably been my last choice to play Tom Steyer (I would've gone with Kyle myself) but I guess it makes sense given that the real Tom Steyer contributes about as much to the team debates as Pete has left to contribute to SNL at this point. C+

Monologue - Well, that was a lot more sincere and personal and less flamboyant than I was expecting. I was glad to see RuPaul just decided to take this time to endear himself to the segment of the SNL audience that may not watch "Drag Race" religiously and give us some insight on what makes him tick. Part of me wishes it could be a little longer, but I appreciate that they wanted to at least keep up the illusion of a tightly paced show after yet another 10+ minute debate sketch. B+

Charades - At first, I thought we were getting another attempt at that "quotes" game show sketch from Heidi that kept getting cut from make hosts' dress rehearsals. Then, I realized how odd of a fit RuPaul would be for that and that whatever this was RuPaul and the show's black cast were going to be the main focus here instead of Heidi. I did like how they established a different gag for each character in the Ru/Ego/Redd/Kenan family rather than just relying on one way to misunderstand how charades work. I also liked how the humor in this sketch was mostly nonverbal and relied on sort of a black cultural shorthand that was carried by several of the strongest black cast members SNL has had in recent memory. Honestly, it was the funniest live sketch of the night for me. A-

RuPaul's Drag Chad - As tired of a character as Chad is by this point, (hell, as tired as Pete's general presence on the show feels at this point) this may be my favorite "Chad" installment of all time just for how drastically different it was. Granted, RuPaul did most of the heavy lifting on this one but Ru really did a lot to stop this from hitting all the same beats as all the previous Chad's. Hell, even Pete himself just being in full on drag rendered him damn near unrecognizable. I'll admit I laughed a little more than I should've at the "gist/jizz" line. B-

Birthday Dinner - Well, I'm shocked that this was Cecily's first appearance in the entire RuPaul show (doing what I thought was just a dry and sober Judge Pirro but it turned out she's apparently just doing a specific "Designing Women" scene) but this was something I enjoyed much more than I thought I would once I realized the entire premise of this sketch was just "Cecily and RuPaul just backhandely stand up for and humiliate Heidi in the most elaborate and dramatic way possible for three straight minutes". I'm guessing Cecily may have cowritten this with her favorite non Anderson & Sublette writing partners as this felt too specifically focused on one pop culture moment for James and Kent to have been directly involved. B-

Boop-It - Beck pretty much sprinted away with this for me. Parodies of "Bop-It" and dads becoming pathetically obsessed with their kids hobbies or beating their kids at their favorite hames have definitely been done to death so much that they can't not feel dated but somehow Beck and Heidi made even this feel fresh. It was pretty much the perfect length for what it was, too. B+

Reading For Kids - I guess with RuPaul as host we should've expected some kind of parody of the recent trend of "drag queen storytimes" at kids' libraries. I guess this was the first thing written by and specifically aimed at hardcore "Drag Race" fans because I didn't start to find it funny or amusing until they stopped mid sketch to let Ru basically explain the concept of "reading" just being code for "throwing shade". It picked up some steam from there despite a minor line flub seemingly causing everyone to lose their timing. C+

Update started off with some of what seemed like the least cringeworthy Trump acquittal and SOTU material they could muster. If any Update proved definitively that Update is the only optimal spot in the show for Trump related material (or really any type of political material really) this was it. I hadn't actually seen any of the Trump speech Che showed the clip of so I was actually just a bit stunned that it was real (I know I probably shouldn't be since it's not 2015 anymore and he's actually facing reelection now but still). Besides that, Josts' Guiliani/yarn made from human skin jokes and Che's jokes about the black history doll display, nothing else stood out to me. Honestly, the high point of this Update was Chloe's commentary. She started it off in a very standup like fashion to the point where I wondered if Chloe actually did do standup before SNL or of she just did improv and Instagram impressions. I'm surprised it took as long as it did for her to get into specific impressions (I'm even more surprised that Chloe got to do this on Update before Melissa did since they both seemed to have been hired for this specific purpose) but when she did get to her celebrity impressions she really did deliver. I'm proud of her and proud of the show just for giving us Ego and Chloe's breakout Update features back to back. Chloe and the audience are pretty lucky too that they let her establish herself firmly by just cutting right to the chase with her and skipping way ahead to her doing her impressions as herself straight to camera as if to say "I'm Chloe and these are my impressions." We haven't seen Cathy Anne in what seems like an entire year but given that it's Cecily's birthday and Cathy Anne is one of her favorite characters in what is possibly her final season, it seems like the optimal time to bring her back. The only thing I can say about it is this was the least focused Cathy Anne commentary ever. B+

Thirstier Cops - After Leslie's departure and the actual Baltimore Police Department very loudly and publicly tsk-tsk-ing Ego, this was the last sketch I expected the show to bring back. Still, I appreciate seeing Ego get to reprise her first real character on the show after Chloe's breakout moment (and seeing her get to rebel against authority in some way). I also appreciate how this had something creative to differentiate it from the first installment with Rupaul's queer element added in. Kate's Pittsburgh Dad accent made this for me. C+

The Old New York Show w/Madge & Dickie - Well, this was better than I expected. I realize some people are getting sick of these Kate and Aidy two handers, but there were a few differences between this one and those ones that set this one apart. For instance, this was a talk show instead of an overlong local commercial and they kept the self indulgent breaking to a minimum. Also, despite clearly playing a couple of old spinster Kate and Aidy clearly expressed a fondness for 1994 Guiliani era New York. I liked that odd little detail. Plus, this one had RuPaul playing the character who clearly had all the best lines that I feel can best described as "black Charles Nelson Reilly" and the prank call and oddly specific sound effects made this for me. Incidentally, I happened to be watching this sketch with my dad whole told me it reminded me of "the two Jewish" chicks" and I genuinely couldn't tell if he was referring to "Coffee Talk" or "Bronx Beat". B+

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Adam Driver/Halsey
8. RuPaul/Justin Bieber
9. J.J. Watt/Luke Combs
10. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
11. Will Ferrell/King Princess
12. Harry Styles
13. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, that delivered more surprises than I was expecting. Next week, John Mulaney returns for his third time hosting. I guess he's deservedly becoming the show's new "go to" winter/spring male standup host now? Anyway, I usually like Mulaney's presence affects the writers' room when he hosts. I just hope he can throw something a little different in there to keep it fresh and differentiate it from his previous two hosting stints. At least we may be able to count on getting a sketch featuring Chloe in a lead role given how much Mulaney likes to champion criminally underused featured players like Ego and Luke Null. See you then!

J.J. Watt/Luke Combs (2.1.2020)

Okay, here's my review. I'd say at best this episode was on the same level as Driver (and that might feel generous to some of you, I know). At worst, I'd say it was just a step down and was just forgetably mediocre. Both of the first two new SNL episodes felt kind of the same to me but the highs in this one weren't nearly as high. It got off to a shaky start, but aside from one sketch near the end it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. J.J. Watt as a host was pretty much the best I could've hoped for for him. He varied from sketch to sketch. Sometimes, he was well within his comfort zone and other times he was a bit stiff and reliant on cue cards (if he wasn't just flat out playing himself). Still, at least he always came across like he enjoyed being there as much as he could. Pretty much the entire cast got decent airtime (except for Alex and Chloe who were practically invisible). Let's break it down, shall we?

The Impeachment Trial You Wish Happened - This was certainly more promising than the "Days Of Our Impeachment" cold open from the Harry Styles episode, but some things were sorely lacking in execution. I'm guessing Jost and Che wrote this since Kenan as Judge Mathis just screams "this is Che's biggest contribution to this week's cold open". Good to see that Becks' portrayal of Mitch McConnell is more subtle, grounded and refreshingly unreptilian compared to Kate's even more cartoonishly flamboyant characterization of Lindesy Graham as a foppish Southern dandy. Honestly, the most interesting thing about this was Cecilys' choice to portray John Bolton as basically Jeneane Pirro on steroids (even if it still smacks of the "petty nrocon war hawk baiting/ 'lightning doesn't strike twice' denial" mentality that gave us Kate's Sessions, Aidys' AG Barr and Mathhew Broderick of all people as Mike Pompeo in the wake of McCarthy's Spicer). Hell, I remember when Carvey played a real over the top John Bolton on Colbert a while ago but as much fun as it would've been to see him again on SNL, his portrayal would've clashed with this sketch. On the plus side, I thought Pete as himself as Hunter Biden kinda worked (especially when comparing "himself" to Trump). Even Baldwin's Trump didn't seem as obnoxious here because it was the only outside cameo in this sketch (hey, great job on getting through one of these political cold opens without any new cameos, guys!) and his Trump coming clean about everything was an angle we haven't quite seen before. Kyles' impression of Joe Pesci in "My Cousin Vinny" was the only laugh I really got out of this. Thankfully, the "Send In The Clowns" number was something they decided to go light on as it leaned into SNLs' worst political tendencies. Also, for the first time in what feels like ages, Kenan delivers a solo LFNY. C+

Monologue - JJ Watt came off just a little stiff at first but he quickly gained his footing when he started talking about his family and whether he (definitely) would trade hosting SNL for the Super Bowl. Plus, he showed some real class and sportsmanship when congratulating those who DID make it to the SuperBowl. Cool to see that Watt and the writers had faith that he could handle a straight to camera solo monologue himself. B-

Frozen II Outtakes - Man, this seems WAY out of place as the lead off sketch in JJ Watts' episode, huh? At first, I thought it might have been cut from previous table reads until I realized Frozen II came out too recently for that to be the case (and they probably thought JJ Watt was the perfect host to play Prince Hans). This was all over the place and seemed like the most bloated, drawn out (no pun intended) and unfocused segment of the night. Kate and Aidy speculating on Elsa's sexuality really felt like fan service but for a specific group of fans not nearly cynical or overly critical about this show or Disney enough to even know the meaning of the term "fan service". I didn't really have any problems with the Kyle/Beck/Kenan segment but it still felt like it should've been its' own separate sketch entirely. Mikey's "Olafs' new carrot" gag felt like the only attempt at a genuine joke in this, sadly. C+

Robbie - This was when the show really started to get on the right track. It was the strongest pretape of the night. JJs' profanity and Kenans' demotivational speeches really made the whole thing for me and Chris acted off of them very well. I'm also glad they gave us more than just a one note repetitive buildup to Chris getting gruesomely mutilated after getting the chance to prove himself on the field. B+

The Talk - Kyle and JJ got this off to a funny start but Aidy kind of bought this to a slow stop for me. Still, good for Aidy for getting this part as I was expecting Cecily or Heidi to get it. For an obvious example of the type of strong "bro" humor that would attract JJ Watt's type of crowd, this was actually pretty engaging. I just think they maybe could've come up with a different ending than Aidy explaining how she "turned out" JJs' character and both of them lauding Kyle for coming out as bisexual as they seemed too tacked on and only confused the sketch. B-

Oil Of BrOlay - This was perfectly executed and felt fresh for the type of "needlessly heavily gendered/unusual athletic product that has nothing to do with athletics" genre of commercial parody SNL seems to have been doing quite frequently in recent years. It got in, established its main joke and got right out before said joke got too belabored. B+

Update was really only worth watching for the commentaries. Jost had a couple of good lines about White House emergencies not needing to be books and comparisons between himself and Jared Kushner. Hell, that segment was also notable for being one of the few times footage of Jaredd Kushner speaking in his real voice has actually been shown (instead of him with Gilbert Gottfrieds' voice dubbed over his like John Oliver was fond of doing). Still, that Trump/Can't Touch This felt a little too Trevor Noah-ish for me. If they're going to make Chen Biao a recurring character, I'm glad they made substantial changes to his character. Mainly, he is now a medical official instead of an economic figure (and he even acknowledged this change) and he is on the defensive rather than just being flamboyantly gay. The jabs at American Airlines also worked for me. Mostly, this Update was notable for giving Ego her first solo showcase and finally letting her get her own character on after a year and a half. She was very funny and her piece was creative so if she hadn't yet secured her place in this cast, she has now. B-

Pilot Hunk - It's nice to see SNL keep their continuous streak of yearly "Not!Bachelor" sketches going six years strong. I was wondering if they were going to do this with either Driver or Watt and since they didn't do this with Driver I figured we should expect this with Watt. They must've figured it would be an easier template to just drop Watt into and they must've wanted to do other things with Driver. I guess it was either that or the regular writers of these sketches aren't really able to get their "hook" on this year's Bachelor season until their second show of the new calendar year but it took quicker than that for them to realize Watt more closely resembled this seasons Male contestant than Driver did. I figured after last year's "Virgin Hunk" with James McAvoy they try to make the male characters in these sketches resemble the real life Bachelors as closely as they can. I spent most of this sketch waiting to see how they would use Chloe. Thankfully, her vestigial twin and the implied beheading of Melissa's character were the only things that stood out here to me. Also, this sketch has the distinction of being the only of these sketches to air in February instead of January. I am left wondering why the hell it aired as late in the show as it did? C+

EA Madden '21 Voiceover Session - This was honestly the funniest live piece of the night to me. I liked seeing JJ Watt shouting phrases that increasingly made him look real bad. Mikey and Ego were well used here. B+

Food Dudes - After hearing that this got cut from the previous week's show, I was one of the first to predict that we would see this make it to air in a future episode as there was no host to be seen in it. I'm glad to see that actually happen. It seemed a little more detail oriented and like more of a "writer's sketch" than was described but it was still well executed and Kenan made the whole thing for me. B+

My Fair Bigfoot - This and the cold open felt like the opposite of a lot of what we saw tonight. This was another premise that seemed interesting on paper but was severely bought down in its' execution. It could've really been something if they didn't decide to make the one central punchline of this piece "Bigfoot took a massive shit in the bathroom and everyone is very slow to catch on." Plus, Cecily's character falling in love with Bigfoot after he admits to everything and pledges to leave with her and a harp felt too tacked on for my liking. D+

Big Willie's Pizza - Well, I'm glad that this wasn't just a reprisal of Aidy's "child who obliviously ends up in an porno setting" character. They got me with the faux aged camera affect but the fact that this didn't have a faux title should've tipped me off. Instead, we got a breakdown of the most tired trope that comedy shows fall back on when they parody the general concept of porno films. It was nice to see a premise that was actually SAVED in it's writing and execution for once. I don't think I've ever seen this done elsewhere in comedy before but it felt fresh for something that seemed like it could've been cut from a few dress rehearsals in the past. Also, this was a testament to Kenan now being "the glue" of the show and seeing Heidi basically reprise her Kristen Schaal impression didn't hurt either. B+

Now, here are my updated rankings of this entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Adam Driver/Halsey
8. J.J. Watt/Luke Combs
9. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
10. Will Ferrell/King Princess
11. Harry Styles
12. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Well, that well exceeded my tempered expectations. Next week, RuPaul hosts for the first time. Well, it makes sense as the shows' big birthday (and possibly "going away") present to Cecily and "Drag Race" remains quite popular after nearly a decade. Still, it should be an energetic show with strong performances in spite of how "out of left field" it seems. See you then!

Adam Driver/Halsey (1.25.2020)

Okay, here's my review. This was the most woldly uneven episode in some time. Adam Driver as host may have been the best thing it had going for it. The show was front loaded with by-the-numbers recurring premises but at least the post-Update half of the show had plenty of original material. Even then, it seemed like the writers were going for tryhard edgelord moments too often (especially judging by some of the over the top reactions from the audience). I don't know if the show actually was trying to push the envelope or just having a mix of both Adam Driver's fans and Halseys' fans created a weird energy in the studio. I mean, this review was pretty easy for me to write as I found it so hard to get invested in most of the first half of the show I actually typed this while some sketches were being performed. I decided I wasn't going to give these recurring sketches my full undivided attention, but I didn't have this reaction to much of the second half of the show. Still, one positive is that the cast was balanced as far as airtime in a way that I could tell they were focusing more attention on the newer featured players (Ego, Heidi, Chloe, Bowen) and other cast members who only joined after season 41 (Mikey, Heidi, Melissa). When people like them are more visible on screen than veteran cast members like Kate, Cecily, Aidy and Alex you can tell there will be at least some change on the horizon. Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

Dershowitz In Hell - Boy, isn't it always when you think you've had it with the overload of outside cameos in political roles that they bring in a former cast member that you're actually pleasantly surprised to see on the show for the first time on nearly a decade? Jon Lovitz seemed to enjoy just playing himself again rather than even attempt to do an actual Alan Dershowitz impression. Hell, I was half-expecting Mulaney as he's the last person we saw playing Alan Dershowitz on SNL but people were saying he'd be too busy to host in the second half of this season so how the hell could he even cameo? Still, Jon Lovitz was the best thing about this. I chuckled myself at the same time he did, honestly. In spite of some of the more questionable choices they made here, I did like how they REALLY went outside the box for this one. I mean, they pretty much had no other choice seeing as these initial proceedings in the Trump Impeachment trial turned out to be so dull that I'm not even sure what kind of hook SNL could find for it. Hell, if anything about it really stuck out in anyone's mind I don't know if Alan Dershowitz being one of Trump's defense attorneys was it. I'm not sure what to make of Kate basically just playing a gender swapped version of Sudeikis' Devil but it didn't really detract from the sketch at all. The only thing I genuinely liked about Adam's role was hearing him get such big applause and having that turn into such shock as soon as Lovitz told us all just who he was playing. Yeah, I barely see any resemblance between Driver and Epstein (even if Lorne had made Adam shave before the show I still don't think I'd be able to see it) but now I kinda feel bad for him just imagining the ration of shit he must be getting on Twitter right now. Say what you will about the current state of SNL, but I at least thought they would've had too much class to start relying on the cheap "Epstein Didn't Kill Himself" jokes that have plagued David David Spade's new Comedy Central show as well as some of the darker corners of the internet but at least it's still interesting to watch when the show takes SOME chances even if they don't pay off. For instance, it was fun to watch Adam stand there and relish the audience's reaction to his "women my own age" joke while Beck and Jon just awkwardly avoided eye contact. Speaking of Beck, it was nice to see they went with some more realistic looking prosthetics for his Mitch McConnell. I also liked how he chose to pronounce the word "hoax" as "hoe-axe". I also didn't mind seeing Cecily's Susan Collins once more even if it's starting to blend together with her Janeane Pirro. The rest of the walk ons in this sketch just felt too needlessly tacked on for my liking but at least it was intriguing to see how much of a dead ringer Heidi Gardner is for Stephanie "Flo" Courtney. C+

Monologue - It's funny how the hosts of the "That Week In SNL" podcast just covered the Peter Saarsgard episode from 2006 because this monologue felt a lot like that one with shades of Jonah Hill '08, Vince Vaughn '13 and Jim Parsons '14 with Ryan Gosling '17 playing in the background. I'm sure there's more that I couldn't think of but Adam Driver really elevated this. He had several great lines (too many to list here) and was able to handle self deprecation well. It's really a testament to Driver's abilities as host that he can so easily make several played out SNL host monologue tropes this much fun. B-

Slumber Party - When I saw this being set up during the commercial, I thought it was a retread of those Ryan Gosling & Drake hot dad/ slumber party sketches just from seeing Aidy dressed as a teen in a basement with other similarly dressed female cast members. I mean, I could totally see this cast wanting to do another one of those with Driver for some reason but I was wrong. It turned out to be a retread of the "Couples Quiz" sketch from Jonah Hill's '14 episode. I'm sure there were other sketches SNL has done in the past where someone denies something they very obviously did but for some reason I can't vote a specific example. Maybe other sketch shows have done this more than SNL has (I'm thinking Key & Peele, maybe?) but it just feels like something I've seen before somewhere in sketch comedy. As much as I feel like Kate in general has given us all she can on the show at this point, her decidedly non-teenlike character choices in this really stood out to me. I also like Driver's description of exactly how badly his bathroom got wrecked followed by his even more outlandishly over the top description of how they tried to cover it up. B+

Undercover Ren - Well, if they were going to repeat this once viral basic premise beat by beat (and I totally see why they would given that Mikey cowrote the last one and he's still on the show) I'm glad to see that they had Kylo Ren play a different character than Matt, the Radar Technician. Still, the rest of it did play out exactly like the first one  and for some reason I just don't see this one becoming a mega viral meme the way the first one did. I mean, I still enjoyed just as much. It had its moments it but at times it came across as trying a little too hard. I could easily see people who made the first one such a viral hit just comparing this one too unfavorably to it. C+

Del Taco Shoot - This sketch got pretty repetitive and grating to me quickly but Drivers' performance and the sheer physicality of it helped save it. Also, it was well paced for what it was. Really, the worst thing I can say about it is that it was a huge waste of Chloe. C+

The Science Room - Well, I don't think I'd ever see this becoming one of this era's many recurring premises (and not just for the seemingly most obvious reason). Still, I have to admit this sketch seemed to be a more natural fit for Adam Driver's image and acting abilities than those of Sam Rockwell so if we had to see this again I'm glad they did this with a host like Adam. Other than that, it was the second unnecessary recurring piece in a row that hit the exact same beats as the first one. The only thing about this one that stood out to me were the "guy comes first" jokes which seem to fit in with tonight's theme. C+

Slow - This is the most basic sketch I've seen on SNL in a very long time. It's also one of the most insanely yet very subtly meta ones as it was a very "slow" build up to an insanely fast and quick punchline. Adam's inhumanely low baritone provided my only real laughs here but Halsey, Heidi and Ego played off the guys expertly. C+

Update felt largely unremarkable tonight as a whole. As I suspected, most of the material they could muster on the impeachment trial was how boring it turned out to be so far and somehow it could only be saved by Josts' jabs at Trump's lack of focus and Jeters' hall of fame induction followed Che's jabs at American destabilization of foreign countries (oddly the third thing they bought back from Sam Rockwell's episode it seems). Speaking of which, Che seemed to have quite a few try hard edgy jokes tonight but I'm quite surprised his black naval carrier and Mr. Peanut jokes got stronger reactions than his equal pay one. I don't think even the show itself thought we needed to see Aidy's seventh grade travel correspondent again (and this wasn't much different from previous installments either) but maybe this is another hint that this is Aidys' last season? Obviously, Melissa's commentary was the sole genuine highlight of tonight's Update mostly because the show seems to have finally figured out how to fully showcase her unique voice and let her be herself for once (showing that they may have actually hired her for more than just female impressions after all). I especially liked how she made Colin buckle at reading lines of his cur cards that make him seem way more unlikable than some people already percieve him to be. I mean, it's pretty much a watered down version of what he and Che do whenever they exchange unseen jokes at the end or midpoint of the season but if her material can get even that close to the same reaction, she must have always been doing something right. I was kinda expecting each "song" to be different but I still liked the overall point she tried to make about this year's Oscar's and if anything is going to get me to actually check out Melissa's actual music she's been putting out, this would likely be it. C+

Medieval Times - This felt at once unique to this era of the show and like something the show could've done in the past. Thankfully, it seems like they were holding onto this and decided to wait to do it until they had just the right host and just the right twist on such a premise. Needlessly, Adam and Mikey really carried this. C+

Cheer - I didn't know this show was a big enough deal that it had earned an SNL parody but somehow this worked for me. I liked the fact that nobody was cut from the team despite everyone having cartoonishly grave injuries. I also liked how you barely had to be familiar with just the general concept of cheerleading in general let alone this specific show to be able to get this. I also liked how well this used Chloe, Ego and Halsey. I thought Anderson and Sublette might have been behind this until I realized that Cecily was nowhere to be seen in it and that they rarely ever write any parodies of specific things in current pop culture. So, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that either Bowen wrote this or whoever was behind this season's "Love Island" parody. B+

Ketchup Affair - Okay, there's a better chance that Anderson and Sublette wrote this. I say this not just because Cecily was the female lead but also because it was just as over the top as some of their stuff tends to be. If it wasn't them, then it could've been Jost or Moffat as they seem to like the types of cheap puns that this sketch gave us. The cast really elevated this and the small assists from Kyle, Aidy and Heidi really made this for me. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of this entire season...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Adam Driver/Halsey
7. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
8. Will Ferrell/King Princess
9. Harry Styles
10. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, just for fun, I'd like to rank each of Driver's episodes from best to worst.

1. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton (1.16.2016)
2. Adam Driver/Halsey (1.25.2020)
3. Adam Driver/Kanye West (9.29.2018)

Well, that was certainly one way SNL could've entered its fifth decade on the air. Next week, football's J.J. Watt makes his hosting debut. Well, I suppose we were due for another jock host but at least I can be thankful it was one who was a guest star on "The League" at one point in his career. See you then!

Eddie Murphy/Lizzo (12.21.2019)

Okay, here's my review. This was the shoe that seemed to make the biggest promises of the entire season and it certainly delivered on the great things it promised as well as it's not so great obligations. It was without a doubt the strongest episode of the season so far and viewers couldn't have possibly asked for a better season. It was to season 45 what Sandler's episode was to season 44 times ten and at a point in this new season when it was almost desperately needed. Some of you might argue that David Harbours' or Scarlett Johansson' episode were the true best if this season but I personally think it's this one since the highs of this episode were stronger and more consistent than the previous two. Yep, the highs were higher and the lows were practically nonexistent. Eddie proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's still got it and that he's still on his way to a successful comeback (coming hot off the success of "Dolemite Is My Name"). His sheer presence was enough to make the viewer forget that we were inundated with another string of special guest cameos before he even got a chance to take the stage. He managed to dominate the entire show without making us forget that this show does indeed have a cast and each member of said cast got to appear in something. Anyway, there's a LOT to unpack with this episode so let's just get right to it. Shall, we?

PBS Democratic Debate - Well, at least this is the SECOND worst way the could've opened Eddie's episode. At the very least, it seemed like they were really racing through this one compared to how bloated the last two were until I noticed that this one was also ten minutes long. I guess it just seemed that way because I was just anxious to see Eddie (which is kind of the same way I watch a lot of recent episodes hosted by former alums). As much of a mess as it started to seem like toward the end, at least they made an effort to combine this with the inevitable non-Update Trump impeachment material they had to come up with so the rest of the episode. Plus, this was a decent way to tease the audience who just wanted to see Eddie. Nice to see they cast Heidi as Judy Woodruff as expected but did they even think about casting Lizzo as Yamiche Alcondor or Melissa as Amna Nawaz or even Alex or Mikey as that guy from Politico? I gave my divided attention to the debate and they covered the "wine cave" stuff decently. I'm still not crazy about how Jost is exaggeratedly portraying Buttigieg as a child but at least he is only doing so through his written lines on these skrtched rather than being on his knees at the podium. Rachel had some of the best Klobuchar material they've ever given her. Larry had some of the second best Bernie material they gave him. Fred and Maya's cameos felt unnecessary (Fred was the real low point of this sketch but at least he only had two lines. I guess Ferrell couldn't make it) but Maya's still somehow appropriate given who the host was. Those were two of the cameos I was looking forward to NOT having to see any more due to their respective candidates having dropped out just before this debate or just not qualifying for it somehow (so much for my "tighter and more focused debate sketch" theory). I do appreciate how they keep switching up their takes on Kamala even if they've never managed to have an appropriate one. It was fun seeing her as some sort of Beyonce/Ariana/Nicki/Lizzo (I'm sure she appreciated the shoutout) but I still could've done without it (ditto Cecily's Tulsi as much fun as it is to see Cecily anywhere in any capacity even if the candidate she plays is no longer running but made a strange impeachment vote). Now, Sudekis is always a welcome cameo (as is Woody whenever he's available which I guess he wasn't this week). Although I was a bit surprised to see SNL switch horse teeth midstream here, I was pleasantly surprised to see they can still make Jason's Biden work just as well in 2019 as he did from 2008-2013. Plus, Sudekis making a cameo in Eddie's episode makes some sense if you're aware of Sudekis' rather urban background. He had said in an interview that he "basically became a black kid" who played basketball and watched Arsenio and In Living Color from 1984-1992. I'd imagine getting to be on the same show as Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle was as big a thrill for him as anybody. I do also like how their take on Andrew Yang seems to be evolving to the point where he is becoming a more cartoonish caricature of a Silicon Valley "tech bro" (either that or they're just confusing him with Elon Musk?) Kate was put to better use here as Pelosi than as Warren. C+

Monologue - Well, THAT was a lot of fun! I was hoping for Eddie just doing his solo standup on stage but I guess he's still working on that and saving that for the road as he hasn't even gotten to do that much work on "Beverly Hills Cop 4" yet. I guess that one "Who's Americas' Dad Now?" joke was the "Bill Cosby thing" that Eddie teased in that Al Roker interview? I guess a one liner every few years is as much addressing the Cosby situation as Eddie can take? That's alright with me because both times he did it he really hit those jokes out of the park. I know we were all a bit worried about this show being overloaded with unnecessary cameos but I think we can all agree that THESE cameos in particular were quite appropriate. Not all of the jokes Eddie, Tracy, Chris and Dave told sounded like they wrote them themselves but they sure as hell elevated their material they were given! Beck and Kenans' cameos were also a welcome addition but I am a bit surprised that Leslie Jones didn't show up to "pitch" a sketch of her own. A-

Mr. Robinson's (Newly Gentrified) Neighborhood - Seeing just how much Eddie has aged in the past 35 years immediately took a bit of getting used to (did anyone else think the salt and pepper wig wasn't that necessary?) but despite stumbling over his theme song a bit judy before getting back into his groove, Eddie sure hits all the same comedic beats just as perfectly as he did back then once he shook those last bits of rust and cobwebs off. I guess I should've expected a simple gentrification premise over a Tom Hanks parody but this still fits 2019 perfectly. I'm guessing Che collaborated with Blaustein and Sheffield on this one (or at least pitched the whole "gentrification" concept to them seeing as that was a staple of Ches' pre SNL standup). The highlights were "Squatters' Rights" and "Racist" as shown on a new Samsung TV were among the highlights here. Mikey, Heidi and Chris (in semi-absentia) fit into this sketch well and had perfect chemistry with Eddie. This was definitely the strongest "fan service" sketch of the entire show. A-

Holiday Baking Challenge - See, this is an example of when a recurring sketch in this era hits all the same beats as the previous installments but in a bad and slightly frustrating way instead of a good fun way. Still, I didn't mind seeing this again as it was the strongest live piece in Don Cheadles' episode and Eddie didn't feel wasted or out of place at all here. I didn't like that they didn't seem to be able to make it as outrageous or disturbing as the first one felt since again, everything felt so telegraphed. I also didn't think it was a great sign that the only thing that made this stand out from the previous one was Eddie's seemingly accidental "shit" slip (which unfortunately got muted out during both of my local affiliates' airings of this episode and is still muted out on YouTube). C+

Home For The Holidays - It was odd seeing this again as well considering this has been a recurring template for the past three seasons rather than just the previous one or two and last year's Christmas episode (that they aired a one hour version of right before this one) had a one of these that wasn't entirely set at the dinner table. Still, Eddie, Maya and Ego were welcome additions to this template and the fact that it was pretaped and followed by a much shorter live piece really helped make the episode as a whole feel that much tighter at a point where it could've used that. Does anyone know if any of Eddie's actual children were in this? B-

The Masked Singer - HOLY SHIT! I PREDICTED (more or less) THAT SNL WOULD DO THIS EXACT THING!!! I mean, I was picturing all the judges being too clueless to actually guess who Buckwheat was but yeah, that would've dragged this out unnecessarily and it was the exact right length to begin with. Plus, they were obviously going for sweetness and heart first and foremost which is absolutely necessary when you're dealing with a character like Buckwheat in any era. I was also thinking recently about how one of the few other things they could've possibly done with this character would be to do a sketch showing preparations for a Buckwheat hologram tour and dealing with social media criticisms of Buckwheats' potentially problematic nature. Still, I can certainly see why they didn't think it would've been appropriate to bring up the fact that Buckwheat has supposedly been assassinated twice and is supposed to have been long dead according to his own canon. Then again, that was 35 years ago under a different executive producer. Plus, continuity rarely has a place in sketch comedy anyway. I liked how he did some more classic songs (although there might have been a slight technical miscue with "R-E-S-P-T-T-D") and then threw us a bone with something more modern (the Beyonce "Tinga Nadies" cover). This was a great way to inject the live portion of the show with some much needed heart and it made a great back-to-back companion piece to the Christmas dinner short. This is a close second to "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" for best "fan service" sketch. A+

Update was a REAL rollercoaster but I guess that's the best we could've hoped for given what the rest of the show has been like. Jost and Che had some pretty clunky jokes but that was gonna be the case anyway as this was not gonna be the main focus of the show (or at least it seemed that way early on). Gumbys' appearance was the true highlight, obviously. I'd say this is the second thing I "predicted" all night just because after seeing how the show was going so far and mentally ticking off my "Eddie's recurring characters" checklist I thought this might be how they ended up having to use Gumby. I figured we would either get this or an updated 2019 "Merry Christmas, Dammit" special where Gumby just yells at modern day celebrities being impersonated by this cast. He may have crossed a line with (especially with that "coon boy" remark and meta humor just came off as a little confusing here) I have no idea what was being censored on his entrance) but he was just as brilliant as ever (especially when he started berating Jost & Che). I guess this might have been Blaustein & Sheffields' way of getting Eddie to do the "Gumby roasts celebrities" bit they didn't get the chance to pitch to him at SNL40 four-and-a-half years ago? Still, I'd have to say this takes third place in my personal "fan service" rankings. I'm glad I'm far from the only one surprised they decided to follow Gumby with Pete (hell, I'm shocked Larry could stand being even in the same building as Pete even once this season seeing as he stayed for the good nights but I guess any bond he might have formed with Eddie 35 years ago supercedes any animosity Larry may have with Pete) but I am glad to see he chose to use this time to get meta about his and Colins' public perceptions, admit when he may need another rehab stint and publicly kiss up to Sandler to possibly boost his own potential movie career. Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is aware that Anthony Michael Hall was younger than both Eddie AND Pete when he joined the show but I am however surprised that Lorne would rather us fondly remember characters from years he didn't even work at the show than literally any tidbits about his first year back. I do have to wonder if those tweets they read about each other were real or not (regardless, I'm sure Jimmy Kimmels' attorneys may like to have a word with them). I thought the new tradition of Jost & Ches' end of the year Christmas gift joke exchange would be the best thing for them to end on (but previous year's versions of this have been much better) but then they busted out Cecily's Jeneane Pirro (she even shouted my name! Yeah, I know it's it's nothing more than a meaningless coincidence, but still) and fitted her with an expertly hidden vomit sleeve hose (although they really should've brushed up on how to use those properly rather than figuring out how to make them invisible to the naked eye). Good to see Norms' lesson about never following vomit spewers with jokes really stuck with the current Update team (which reminds me that this is oddly the second time in the show's 40 year history in which Update has ended with a white male anchor getting a castmates fake vomit inside their own mouth whether intentionally or not and causing the show to run long enough for material to have to get cut). A-

Black Jeopardy VI - Well, I guess this was inevitable. It's nice to see that the character of Eddie's that arguably needed to be confronted with his own status as an outdated, problematic sketch comedy relic in 2019 (if they even found a way they could get away with bringing him back) had that exact thing happen to him. I was surprised it was this late in the show but then I remembered that Drakes' Black Jeopardy installment was this late in his 2016 show (and is fortunately still the absolute weakest of them all conceptually so far). I wanted to like this as much as Eddie's previous recurring characters but something felt a little off about it. At one point in the middle of this sketch, it seemed like every body seemed to lose their timing all at once (those "Idris Elba in Cats" jokes were pretty well written and seemed like they should've gotten much bigger laughs than that so maybe it was just the audience?) I was gonna say that it seemed like Update ran just long enough for them to have to cut something from this but then again this seemed like it was the ideal length based on how it followed the same pattern of the previous "Black Jeopardy" installment. Just like Black Panther suddenly became truly "black" after two wrong answers, Velvet Jones suddenly became "woke" and respectful of women's sexual autonomy (and suddenly knew what Instagram was) after two wrong answers. Still, Eddie got the audience back with his "Ass For Cash" and "You Like Hoes? #MeToo" lines. Still, this was the weakest "fan service" segment of the whole show. Also, is it just me or does it seem like the hair and wardrobe departments specifically went out of their way to make Ego Nwodim resemble Sasheer Zamata as closely as possible? C+

North Pole News Update - Even though parodies of over excitable black eye witnesses on the local news seems like a very dated comedy trope, Eddie was really the glue of this. Good to see Chloe get some face time right next to Eddie (even if it was at the very end of the show). Cecily, Alex and Mikey all played their parts very well. B-

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo
2. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
3. Chance The Rapper
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
5. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
6. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
7. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
8. Will Ferrell/King Princess
9. Harry Styles
10. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, just for fun, I think I'll go ahead and rank all three episodes Eddie hosted so far...

1. Eddie Murphy/Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers (12.15.1984)
2. Eddie Murphy/Lizzo (12.21.2019)
3. Eddie Murphy/Lionel Richie (12.11.1982)

Well, that was an episode that certainly delivered on its biggest promises AND expectations (both good and not as good but still inevitable). In a little over a month, Adam Driver returns for his third hosting gig with Halsey as his musical guest. I realize he's a string host and the cast loves working with him but it does feel a little soon as he just hosted last season's premiere. Hell, this will he the second time he hosts the first show back after a long break. He should at least keep up some if the morale that Eddie just bought to the show and make people's wish that this is a turning point for season 45 come true. Also, I do hope they mix things up a little more by having Halsey participate in sketches as she was such a fun host last season (and yeah, I'm calling this now since they do this exact thing every year in January...they're gonna do another Bachelor parody that involves both Driver AND Halsey). See you next decade! Happy Holidays!

Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan (12.14.19)

Okay, here's my review. I went into this show with pretty low expectations, so I was more than pleasantly surprised at how this show turned out. Scarlett Johansson may be a polarizing celebrity now but at least she gets along quite well with the SNL cast and crew. There must be something about her behind the scenes that makes everybody at SNL love working with her so much to get her to keep getting asked back. She's obviously more fun to work with than she is to watch in most things (especially SNL these days) but having her around studio 8H obviously boosts morale somehow because they turned out one if the most solidly well written episodes in recent memory. Some say she blended in very well with the cast but I think the was just underused. Thankfully, her presence wasn't just diminished by an onslaught of guest cameos that would've easily washed most other hosts off the screen. Plus, by taking a backseat throughout most of the show she really let the cast shine. Everybody got an amount of airtime that was beneficial to them. Chloe, Bowen and Ego especially had really strong nights. They finally figured out how to use their cast to the show's full potential. There were far less recurring characters and premises than there were last week but what recurring sketches and premises there were did feel earned or justified. They also seemed to touch on comedy tropes that seemed to have been referenced elsewhere but they delivered fresh takes on each of them. Anyway, let's break it down, shall we?

Three American Households - Well, first off, thank God for Kenan Thompson. If his performance here didn't convince you he really is the heart and should of current day SNL, nothing will. Part of me is glad they got this out of the way before Eddie comes back next week but then another part of me wondered if there was a possibility that adding Eddie to the Kenan/Redd/Ego scenes would have improved this or not. I suspect this was another Che/Tucker joint. Whoever wrote it, it was smart of them to spend the bulk of this sketch focusing on him while minimizing Cecily, Beck and everyone else's parts. The only laugh I got from Beck was his mentioning he was somehow made a federal judge just because Trump retweeted him. Good to see Chloe (two weeks in a row) and Bowen get visible supporting parts in a cold open. Seeing Aidy as the snowman narrator from Rudolph was a bit of am oddity. I guess it was inevitable that Kate would portray Greta and somehow her being named Times' "Person Of The Year" somehow made it appropriate for them to do this. Anyway, it was pretty much the same standard boilerplate Kate European accent stuff that one would come to expect. C-

Monologue - Well, this monologue is certainly better appreciated on repeat viewings. It definitely helped ger the show off to a better start than that cold open. It's nice to see SNL get meta about something other than the overabundance of random "well outside of the current cast" cameos they keep foisting upon us every damn week (except for this one, thankfully). I liked the first part of this monologue a lot more for how ambitious and packed with jokes and an actual through line it seemed but after Che and Jost made their first walk ons it seemed like an unfocused scattershot mess that they struggled to write an ending for. I have to say the things I liked most about Pete's apperance were the background details in his office (namely, the cue card and Machine Gun Kelly posters pinned to the wall). Still, that random peacock promo felt out of place and I wasn't exactly crazy about how they chose to acknowledge the romantic elephant in the studio either. I mean, it was still sweet there at the very end but that doesn't make up for how awkward and tacked on it felt (especially when Che first walked on). Also, it bugged me that they placed Cecily and Heidi against a green screen when they obviously survived the snap until I noticed that the backstage llama didn't. B-

Santa Land - Here was something I ended up liking exactly as much as I wanted to (and felt this sketch deserved). Good to see Chloe get another noticable (but again, still supporting) role in something. I like to think of this as Kenan and Scarletts' characters from the Deep House Dish sketch they did the first time she hosted back in '06 went through a rough patch after MTV4 cancelled their show and her career didn't take off. Beck and Heidi's reactions and back-and-forth was what made this for me and Bowen's entrance gave me my first laugh of the night. He obviously wrote this as it has too many Todrick Hall references and isn't nearly campy enough for James Anderson to have been involved. Speaking of, the way Beck referenced Todrick Hall makes me think Bowen may only appreciate him ironically. B-

Macy's Uncomfortable Winter Wear For Children - Speaking of who wrote what, at first I was sure Anna Drezen must have written this one if she was the one who wrote the "Duolingo For Talking To Children" ad from Kristen Stewart's episode. Then, my second suspicion that Mikey wrote this was confirmed by his frequent writing collaborator Streeter Siedell on Twitter (since we now know Mikey has a five year old son of his own who probably made a "blink and you'll miss it" appearance in this). I have to commend Mikey for pulling off the once thought impossible feat of writing a pretape that is at once longer than it needed to be and funny throughout without belaboring the point at all. This could've used a trim, but didn't absolutely NEED one. Then again, a lot of his sketches feel exactly like that. Chris, Mikey, Heidi and Kenan all had the best lines in this. B+

Charlie (Inexplicably) Returns - I'm actually a little surprised they would make this Kenan character recurring, but I don't mind that they did since I did like the first version of this sketch and it obviously workd much better with Scarlett Johansson placed in (ugh, yes, really) James Franco's role. This sketch arguably needed a do-over and they thankfully didn't do it too soon. Still, it pretty much reached season 35 levels of cut and paste/by the numbers recurring script rewriting. Bowen's presence kind of made up for this sketch lacking some of the same rapid fire energy and tightness that the Franco version of this sketch had. I even liked that they still ended it with Beck rattling off a brief laundry list of outrageous unrelated reasons Kenans' character was really getting fired for but even that felt a little sluggish compared to last time. B-

A Conway Marriage Story - This was one of SNLs' most (if not THE most) unexpected "obligatory host sketches" in recent memory. This is mainly because a) what's now commonly known as "film Twitter" is really the only place making the Netflix release of "A Marriage Story" into a big deal and b) while they're parodying something the host had one of the lead roles in, they place Kate in her role here while swapping her out in the supporting therapist role here. Also, I don't think Kellyanne Conway or her husband and their ongoing public social media spats have been in the news THIS week and it feels like SNL finally referenced this LONG after every other late night political comedy show did (y'know, BEFORE George Conway and his tweets reached their news cycle "sell by date). Still, at least this being taped allowed this to have the right, fast pace it needed to be watchable and they went the extra mile by parodying more than just the wall punching fight scene that the aforementioned "film Twitter" just made into their latest recurring meme. C+

Update was the most uneven it's been all season so far. As far as jokes, I only really liked Josts' Joe Manchin and Ches' Kamala/"rob a bank" line and his Jost/Cosby comparison (just for how Che put their real chemistry on display) at first but after the first commentary every other joke seemed to work (mostly Josts' spelling bee/IHOP and Che's Hallmark channel ones). I'm surprised they thought Bowen's Chinese trade daddy Chen Biao was more than a one off bit but I still liked and laughed at this one despite this suffering from diminishing returns and lacking the same energy as the first one. I really liked his Chinese social media "cleanse" and "CBD oil/Ainsley/pick a lane" lines. After that, it seemed like they were just checking off a list of Twitter memes that haven't been referenced on SNL yet. I'm glad we finally got to see Kyle's cut Baby Yoda from last week (although I wished they'd stuck with the green screen effect they reportedly used to pull this off then rather than this jarring green prosthetic frenzy). I wanted to like this more but Kyle just wasn't as funny as he usually is here. It reminded me of one of Kyle's old pre-SNL era YouTube characters that obviously could never make it on the show (namely, the ten year old boy who gives viewers tips on how to get laid and caused a big controversy at something called "VidCon" by presenting a list of what different candies pussy tastes like) if he had a bastard abomination love child with Sambergs' Total Recall Kuato from season 32. Thankfully, they didn't keep this going on too long. C+

Ghosts of '70s Hot Tub Drowned Strippers Past - This was another thing I wanted to like more if not for some of the little things that bugged me. First off, the green screen ghost effect was very badly botched. Cecily's face disappeared way before Ego's hand even reached it. I'm glad they fixed this in the YouTube version, though. Plus, the song itself dragged a little too much for me. I guess I did like how they worked Niall Horan into this sketch. Honestly, he seemed to be a more natural sketch performer than his former bandmate Harry Styles was and Harry's the one we just had to sit through a whole episode of. Chris and Ego pretty much made this sketch for me. Chris had the best lines and Ego entered the hot tub wearing a swimsuit. Seriously, I try to avoid writing comments like these into my reviews now, but they at least consider putting Ego and Cecily in swimsuits much more in sketches than they are currently. Oh, that reminds me, did anyone else get strong "Bless The Hearts" vibes off their Southern accents? C+

Hallmark Dating Game - Hallmark movies are definitely something that have been broken down and dissected for their tropes more than outright comedically parodied over and over before. I was about to give SNL credit for being the first ones to turn them into a game show until I realized that even this is the second time they have done that exact thing (see "What's Wrong With Tanya?" from the Anna Faris/Drake episode from October 2011). Still, I guess I should give them credit for their apparent realization that Hallmarks' Christmas movies are an entirely different genre from their regular "every other time of the year" movies and should this be treated differently. Among the highlights were Scarlett saying she lives in "stock footage of New York that still has the twin towers in it", Chris having a mental breakdown once Scarlett questions any part of his character and Mikey as Scarletts' dad reminding her that her mom exploded. The ending seemed like a jumbled, confusing, disjointed mess but I guess all Hallmark movies (Christmas or otherwise) are jumbled, confusing, disjointed messes and naturally, SNL had to reflect this in their parody. C-

I Saw Daddy Cucked By Santa Claus - I feel like this song has also been parodied and or comedically referenced before elsewhere but I enjoyed the sheer level of committment that went into this one. I liked how well the incongruity of the skeeviness of a rough Craigslist hookup between Santa and a married couple worked when pitted directly against the sheer adorableness and charm of Cecily singing (and quite well I might add) an faithfully early '60s styled novelty Christmas jingle about it and then going on a deep dive into the uncomfortable parts of her own psyche and coming to terms with herself. I also thought both Mikey and Scarletts' lines in their own voices in the middle of the song as themselves were funny. I also liked how they just happened to mention that "Santa" just happened to drive the exact make and model if a car my dad once had. B+

Heimlich Models' Night Out - This was one of the more creative premises of the night. It felt vaguely like something that had been done before somewhere in comedy on general but I can't quite put my finger on where. I didn't love it or hate it. I liked the low key vibe they were going for with this much more than I liked whatever they were going for with that hot tub sketch. The zombie like ending was the real highlight of this piece to me. C+

MAGA Mind Pug (much MUCH less inexplicably, let's face it) Also Returns - This is the third vaguely topical thing that the show did previously that I expected to remain a one off (and the second one that made sure to hit the exact same beats by the numbers as the first one while lacking the same energy) but given this seasons' penchant for placing Cecily in live sketches that heavily involve live dogs, I definitely should've seen this one coming (but at least this one had a sweeter ending than the first). Still, I appreciate them establishing continuity from the first one. I do have to say though, as far as potential political material for this week goes, I would've certainly rather taken this and "A Conway Marriage Story" over another Ivanka sketch. I'm glad they had the restraint to at least avoid that. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of the entire season so far...

1. David Harbour/Camilla Cabello
2. Chance The Rapper
3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift
4. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish
5. Scarlett Johansson/Niall Horan
6. Jennifer Lopez/DaBaby
7. Will Ferrell/King Princess
8. Harry Styles
9. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay

Now, time to update my rankings of each of Scarletts' previous episodes...

1. Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (1.14.2006)
2. Scarlet Johansson/Niall Horan (12.14.2019)
2. Scarlett Johansson/Bjork (4.21.2007)
3. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde (3.11.2017)
4. Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa (5.2.2015)
5. Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire (11.14.2010)

Well, that was the first episode all season that delivered beyond expectations. Next week, for the last episode of both the year AND the decade, Eddie Murphy makes his long anticipated return to Studio 8H to host the show for his third time (but his first under Lorne Michaels as the show's executive producer). I don't know what's left to say about this one except that I'm glad season 45 (and Eddie's career now if the reviews for "Dolemite Is My Name" are to be believed) are now in enough of an upward trajectory that there's a better chance for this to be the best episode of the season. Let's hope Eddie brings some of his old writers and takes some creative control when necessary while ingratiating himself with the current cast and crew. I'm just glad Scarlett could tee up the show for Eddie to potentially knock way out of the park. See you then!