Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran (2.11.2017)

Okay, here’s my review. This show came very close to being just on the same level of quality as last weeks’ show. However, this show felt jam packed with material of wildly varying quality making it feel like the most un even show in recent memory. Still, this show had plenty of genuinely enjoyable moments among what worked and what didn’t. This week, the highs were high and the lows were only just low enough to stand out among the highs. Alec was pretty much what you would expect him to be like as a host. If you’ve seen one 2000s era Baldwin episode, you’ve pretty much seen them all. As far as the cast goes, it feels like pretty much everyone was got a lot of screentime (even Pete, Sasheer and the new featured players) but there was a lot less of Beck, Bobby and Kenan this week. Anyway, we have a lot to get to so let’s break it down here.

Sean Spicers’ Second Press Conference – This was an appropriate choice to open this episode and it hit on all the same comedic beats as the last weeks’ Spicer sketch did. Still, “last week” is the key phrase here as it did have an inescapable “more of the same” feel and didn’t quite vary enough from last week but I guess that’s par for this seasons course with the way they’ve been relying on celebrity cameos lately. That’s not to say it didn’t have its moments. For one thing, Kate as Jeff Sessions got the biggest laughs here. Mispronouncing foreign names seemed derivative, but only Melissa McCarthy cold sell that. I also enjoyed Melissas’ back-and-forth with Bobby’s Glenn Thrush, the sudden Ivanka infomercial, the Segway podium chase and the snowblower (Oh Cecily, you don’t know what you do to me). B+

Monologue – This left a lot to be desired as it feels like reminiscing on his previous hosting experience is all Baldwin has been doing with his SNL monologues since they released his “Best Of” DVD back in ’03. Plus, Pete did sort of stick out like a sore thumb here and the “millennial” jokes at his expense grew a little tiresome. Still, if you can look past that it’s nice to be briefly reminded of the things that made Alec Baldwin such a beloved returning host B-

Russell Stover Black History Month – This premise was okay but it felt very much like something the show had already done. It just seemed a little one note to me, but the acting really saved it. Sasheer and Leslie played very well off of Alec and Alex and I did appreciate the various faces of prominent black figures molded out of chocolate. Otherwise, this maybe should’ve been fleshed out a little more. I have a strong feeling either Che or Sasheer cowrote this one with one of the new writers. C+

Cheetos Pitch Meeting – I really appreciated the idea behind this but it also felt a little one note and belabored. I liked the idea of poking fun at the seeming onslaught of recent commercials with seemingly innocuous yet uplifting themes that (even if it’s quite a stretch and only because it’s 2017 and this is the world we must live in and face now) can be easily or in some cases not so easily be interpreted as a slam at President Trump. I also appreciated that it at least attempted to build to something. I just wish there was a little less repetition and a little more variance to this. B-

Fatal Attraction – This has to be my favorite portrayal of Kellyanne Conway by Kate McKinnon yet. I actually enjoyed the dark and disturbing angle they went for here, probably more than most of you, I’m guessing and this definitely benefitted from being pretaped. Still, I can see some reasonable criticism of this being sexist as Kellyanne is being portrayed as mentally unstable while holding a high government position, but hey…that didn’t ruin it for me. A-

Drill Sergeant – This made me think I was a little hard on the Cheetos sketch and the first pre-taped ad. Still, Alec Baldwin is the only host that could’ve kept this even mildly watchable. Sadly, his line flub was the only real laugh I got out of this but I did like the gag with the fan. D-

Update made a major comeback from last week. Both Jost and Che came out swinging and it’s nice to see they found a way to return to the traditional short form joke heavy Update format in a way that still allows them to get in their best jabs at the Trump administration. Still, Che’s Harambe joke really toed the line. I’m starting to see some criticisms of him being too obtuse in expressing his more unique social viewpoints. Kates’ Elizabeth Warren was brilliant. She handled the impression masterfully and I liked the whole meta angle of her investigating SNL. Kudos to the show for finally calling themselves out on having Trump host. Alex’s character should not have worked but I couldn’t help but chuckled at the sheer cheesiness of it. The S&M couple seemed like a simple premise that fortunately had some really strong writing behind it. Mikey and Leslie were really the only two cast members who could effectively pull this one off. It was very gracious of Leslie to let Mikey do most of the comedic heavy lifting here. A-

Peoples’ Court – Well, I’m glad they restricted Baldwin to only one Trump sketch and built up to it throughout the course of the show. Given that it takes seven minutes for Baldwin to get made up as Trump, it makes perfect sense that this sketch would be right after Ed Sheeran’s first song and Update. They did a pretty solid job of covering perhaps Trumps biggest news story this week outside of Update. I likened Baldwin hosting this episode to Larry David hosting last year but I guess I was pretty naïve to think there wasn’t as obvious a pop culture parallel to Baldwins’ Trump as there was between Bernie and CYE. Overall, this was a pretty solid live sketch with decent writing behind it. Baldwins’ performance here was pretty much nothing we haven’t seen before but Cecily really stood out here as they gave her all the best lines. I can confidently say now that this sketch did a better job of condemning Trump than it did The Peoples’ Court. However, even this wasn’t without its small flaws. Mikey and Alex were pretty much wasted in their small parts as Don Jr and Eric. The Grim Bannon and Putin cameos were unnecessary and Pete playing a judge only makes sense after you notice most of the male cast (besides Jost) were stuck in these thankless supporting roles. That being said, this was still an enjoyable sketch. B-

Beyonce Ultrasound – The thing I liked most about this sketch was seeing how small they were able to make this typical Sasheer role while also effectively allowing her to show us how HER Beyonce impression is actually MILES better and more accurate than Maya Rudolphs’. Of course I’d MUCH rather see her break out than continue to be used in minimal parts if SNL is going to keep her around. Nothing against Sasheer, I just wanted to point this out. Anyway, this was an interesting place for a Tracy Morgan cameo but his and Kenans’ parts wore thin real quick and Baldwin was saddled with some very lame dad jokes that not even he could salvage. C+

Leslie Wants To Play Trump – This was a great response to all the bloggers suggesting an all-female cast impersonating Trumps’ cabinet in the wake of Melissa’s success on the show. Sure, even they must realize some of their more outlandish casting suggestions are never going to happen but I’d hope they see that the show acknowledging them in this way must make up for it. The confrontations with Lorne, Vanessa and “Melania” alogn with seeing Leslie forming her impression were among the many highlights. I also liked how they worked Melissa and Sasheer in there. B-

Gym Class – Gee, maybe I was a little harsh on that drill sergeant sketch from earlier. At least this was just the right length and at just the right spot in the show. Kudos to Alec and Mikey for fully committing to it. I’m guessing the latter of whom wrote this one. D+

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest
2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga
3. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara
4. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots
5. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean
6. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran
7. John Cena/Maren Morris
8. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson
9. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper
10. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd
11. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
12. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes
13. Kristen Wiig/The xx
14. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Now, since this was a somewhat special occasion I thought I’d add something a little different to this review. I thought I would rank all of Baldwins’ episodes from best to worst much like I do with each current season and I did with Justin Timberlakes’ episodes in my review of his 2013 episode. This isn’t going to be very precise, though. I’ll be going by memory on most here since I’ve seen all of his episodes but I haven’t rewatched any of them recently (aside from his ’91 episode which was just on SNL Vintage right before this show aired). I’ve only reviewed his last four (counting this one, and those first three of my reviews are now pretty hard to come by). Feel free to voice any disagreements you may have, but I feel this list would please everyone. Here we go…

1. Alec Baldwin/Paul McCartney (2.13.1993)
2. Alec Baldwin/Whitney Houston (2.23.1991)
3. Alec Baldwin/The B-52s (4.21.1990)
4. Alec Baldwin/Tori Amos (1.20.1996)
5. Alec Baldwin/Tina Turner (2.22.1997)
6. Alec Baldwin/Luciano Pavorotti & Vanessa Williams (12.12.1998)
7. Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera (11.11.2006)
8. Alec Baldwin/Shakira (12.11.2005)
9. Alec Baldwin/Coldplay (4.7.2001)
10. Alec Baldwin/P.O.D (4.20.2002)
11. Alec Baldwin/Missy Elliott (4.7.2001)
12. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran (2.11.2017)
13. Alec Baldwin/Radiohead (9.24.2011)
14. Alec Baldwin/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (5.15.2010)
15. Alec Baldwin/Beastie Boys (12.10.1994)
16. Alec Baldwin/Jonas Brothers (2.14.2009)
17. Alec Baldwin & Kim Basinger/UB-40 (2.12.1994)

Well, that certainly delivered almost everything it promised to the general public. Next month, SNL returns with Octavia Spencer as host. I have no doubt she will adapt well to the show and I really like them continuing the trend of booking non-white and non-male hosts after this show. See you then.

Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara (2.4.2017)

Okay, here's my review. Despite our collective lowered expectations going into this show, it turned out to be the best episode of 2017 so far. Kristen Stewart played WAY against type the entire night as someone who was actually excited to be on the show and had chemistry with her coworkers. Obviously, some of her unbridled "awkwardness" from her Twilight days still carries over to her performances to this day, but that didn't hinder her too much here. All things considered, I wouldn't mind seeing her back on the show if she has something to promote and Lorne/NBC agree let her back on the air kmore on that in just a moment). Solid writing and a major unexpected cameo were two other factors in this shows' success. Aside from Sasheer and maybe Cecily, the whole cast got plenty of airtime tonight (even Alex and Melissa are finding their niches and things are looking up for them on the show now) so there was a real sense of balance. Anyway, let me break it down for you.

Oval Office - This cold open was a lot of fun even if it might be overkill to trot Baldwin back out a week before he is due back to host. They sure did cram in all of Trump's fuck ups since the inauguration well. I did like the return of Grim Bannon. Beck as Turnbull and Alex as Pena Nieto were Allright (although they probably should've placed Melissa in that role). Kenan really walked away with this as the dictator of Zimbabwe. During tbe desk switching scene, did anyone else get major flashbacks to tye second of the two Fey/Fallon era Weekend Update Thursday night specials from 2001? B+

Monologue - This started out well but kinda lost momentum. Still, it showed Kristen had much, MUCH more potential as a host than we first thought. She didn't seem like she was difficult to work with at all. It kinda felt like they had two ideas for the monologue and couldn't decide which ONE to use. I'll admit that her referencing Trumps' tweets on her relationship w/Pattinson were very clever. Kate was all right but throwing in Aidy really didn't make any sense. They handled the f-bomb well and I genuinely wonder if they will actually "ban" Kristen or if Lorne will just pay the FCC fine and that will be the end of it. Still, I can already see the uproar over this. B-

Immigration Welcome Film - This was clever, if not a little underwritten. Beck was the real highlight but if have to wonder how hastily they had to edit in his line about the judge block at the end since it just happened the morning of this show. C+

UCONN Dry Fridays - This sketch was all rght but they didn't go far enough with it. I liked the idea of Kristen spouting a series of insane Braskyesque drunken stories but it was pretty one note. They should've had it build to something more. I didn't hate it, but at the same time I was waiting for it to end. I couldn't help but think how any other host might have handled Kristens, role after she and Pete both stepped on the same line. C+

Totino - I should've expected then to do another one of these ads rght before the Super Bowl. The twist here was clever but I still liked the Larry David one better. This could'be also been edited down and it obviously has Julio Torres' fingerprints all over it. B-

Sean Spicer Press Conference - I'm usually not a huge fan of Melissa McCarthys' performances on this show but casting her as Sean Spicer was brilliant. I thought they might just cast Beck or Bobby but they couldn't really capture Spicers' high pitch whine. Mikey or Alex certainly could but they're both too skinny for this part. Jason Sudekis would've been the next best thing if his connection to the show weren't so tennuous. Anyway, Melissa made the most of this role. Kudos to the hair and makeup department. She played well off the rest of the cast and made great use of all her "props". Bobby, Kate, Mikey and Kyle also had very funny supporting partz in this as well. I actually wouldn't mind if this impression became really urging much like LD/Bernie or Baldwin/Trump. A+

Update was pretty forgettable aside from what had to be some of the biggest gaffes in the shows history. Colin really saved Ches' ass after he screwed up his Trump/O'Reilly/dog joke. Che and Kenan really did the same for him after he mistakenly tried to bring it all home after the latter's forced Papi Ortiz commentary. Honestly, that was for the better because Ches' super bowl mini rant was a much better thing to end on anyway. C+

Family Feud VII - I'm actually kinda impressed they managed to keep findimg excuses to do Celebrity Family Feud. Kenans' Steve Harvey is getting better. Sadly, no impressions really stood out (put of the ones we haven't seen before. Leslie as Sam Jackson was another bit of clever stunt casting that didn't quite work out. Kates' Bieber really seemed tacked on needlessly. Alex as Casey Affleck seemed more like an in joke between the staff and us superfans who watch the show with alarming regularity. You would have had to see him host to really find that funny. Melissa was okay as Lady Gaga but I have a feeling it's not one of her well known impressions from her pre-SNL period for a reason. Still, that's okay because that was a pretty small role that she couldn't really add much to. Everyone else was just sreviceable in their roles, but WOW Kristen Stewarts' hoy some legs on her! (and there's REALLY nothing else I can say about this sketch as the introductions are still too much of the bulk of these.) C-

Meet Cute -This was a simple premise that they really mined the hell out of. It was one of the better written short films on recent memory. Pete Davidson really turned in his funniest performance on the show to date. If I had to venture a guess as to who wrote this, I'd have to say that the Britanick guys did. This seems pretty close to their style to me. B-

Willy Wonka - This was the first real dud of the night. It felt like the only true filler sketch of the whole show. Thankfully, it was in the PERFECT time slot. Pete and Kristen were terribly miscast in their parts (Pete more so that Keisten) and Petes' singing was quite weak. Thankfully, Mikey and Kate were able to add something different to it. Plus, Vanessa repeating her only line twice was really pointless. C-

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

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara

5. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

6. John Cena/Maren Morris

7. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson

8. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

9. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

10. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

11. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

12. Kristen Wiig/The xx

13. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, that was a lot of fun. Next week, Alec Baldwin returns to host for a 17th time. Well, I honestly can't say I didn't see this coming from two towns over but if there were any justice in this world he would've hosted on November 5th of last year and that would be the last week he is urgently needed at Studio 8H for quite a while. I liken this to Bernie Sanders hosting last year around this time (both beloved guest stars/friends of the show who played fringe presidential candidates hosting during a sweeps month). Hopefully, they will handle this the same way they handled Larry's Bernie Sanders impression then, too and have Baldwin only play Trump ONCE in a pre-filmed segment (which may be a necessity seeing as it takes him 7 minutes to get made up as Trump) that is if they don't end up having him host the WHOLE show in character as Trump in every sketch or do something else that's that creative or out of the box with him. Still, if they do use his Trump impression sparingly I'm sure Baldwin will do well with the other (hopefully) non political sketches that are sure to fill up the rest of the show. I do agree that having Baldwin guest star nearly every week this season does ruin any sense of excitement for this show but it's just a matter of finding the right balance with Baldwin. See you then.

Aziz Ansari/Big Sean (1.21.2017)

Okay, here's my review. This show was fairly inconsistent. Overall it was a bit of a let down from last week. There were great moments to be had but they were scattered to far and few in between. Still, what landed really hit. Aziz Ansari proved to be a capable (if not a little overbearing) host who effortlessly ingratiated himself with this cast. He would prove to be a welcoming presence on the show at this point in human history The fact that he was hosting with absolutely nothing to promote from within the past year felt strange, but him being SNLs' first host after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president is at least somewhat encouraging. The cast was pretty even as far as airtime goes but Kyle, Pete, and Aid could've used more exposure. Sadly, the writing may be on the wall for Alex Moffat more than anyone right now. Anyway, let's break it down.

A Paid Message From The Russian Federation - This cold open was pretty solid, if not something that seemed like it was going to be forgettable. The only things that really stood out were thow Kates' Olya was finslly used outdide of Update and he inauguration/women's March jokes that were addressed directly to Trump. Beck is usually reliable as Putin, but does he ALWAYS have to be shirtless? Also, it was nice to get a bit of a break from Baldwin as Trump (even if it turns out to only be for this week). I assumed he wasn't going to be able to do the show anyway after I read about how he was involved in a protest at Trump Tower with Deniro, Moore, Ruffalo and others. B-

Monologue - This was definitely the third strongest portion of the show. Aziz is just as sharp of a stand up as he ever was. I definitely liked his shade at Trump, Bush and the "lower case KKK". Overall, this monologue was actually better than most of his last Netflix special. Even though this wasn't quite as good as Chappelle, it was nice to have another stand up monologue from another first time host this season. B-

Bear The Bookworm - This was a sketch that telegraphed it's main joke less than ten seconds in but thankfully they knew exactly where to end it. It seemed to be playing to Azizs' weaknesses as an actor. I couldn't help but wonder how much more enjoyable this sketch would be if Azizs' part were written for another host. C-

Interrogation - This felt like it was stretched WAY to thin. Maybe it's because La La  Land criticism in general has been done to death in the press and on social media but it just didn't quite land with me. It was one of the shows weaker attempts to relate to current poo culture in a long time. Beck couldn't save it but at least he tried. Kenan walking was the closest thing to a laugh as I got out of this sketch. Otherwise, it just felt as if either Kelly/Schneider or Torres were having an off night. D-

The Kelly Anne number just confused me and didn't go anywhere. I'm guessing "Chicago" was the thing they were referencing here and that Anderson and Sublette were the ones that wrote this. Well, at least they are trying to give Kate something different to use as Kellyanne. I was wondering what prevented this from being done live until I noticed Beck was in the previous sketch, Kate was in the next one and Beck played both Jake Tapper and a backup dancer in this. C-

Broderick And Ganz Attorneys At Law - This was definitely the second strongest piece of the night. I definitely got a lot of laughs from Azizs' delivery and the intricate way this was written. Bobby's performance was great, too. A-

Update was definitely the strongest portion of tonight's show. Che and Josh really hit the Inauguration/R. Spencer/S. Spicer material out of the park (and I wonder if Che's feminism/women's March speech will win over some of his critics). Leslie's Hidden Figures Commentary was probably her second funniest commentary this season. Mikeys' Friend Zone report was something a bit different for this Era if Update and it could've been shortened as he kind of be labored the point with it but ultimately it worked. A-

Bedroom Dirty Talk - This was okay. It was good to finally see Melissa showcased in something. Even though she only got to sneak in two of her impressions, at least this piece let us see more of who Melissa is as a comedian (outside of her affinity for impressions). Now, if only she could get more of her impressions on the show, she should be set. Other than that, this felt a little rushed and derivative of something MAD TV would have done (not a commentary on their level of humor necessarily, just me pointing out that they tend to do a lot of bedroom scenes is all) it was nice to see the audience respond so well to something she got on. C+

Uber Rating - This short worked well. It got quite a few genuine laughs out of me. I did appreciate how subtle and grounded the humor was in this given how far it escalated. Bobby and Aziz definitely played well off of each other and had good chemistry. B+

Pizza Town - This sketch worked just because it was so well performed. Bobby, Aziz, Aid and Mikey were convincing as anamatronic robots. Kenan played well off of his surroundings. Beck and Kyle did a great job of providing a stark contrast as a cop and criminal in a tense standoff. I'm guessing Mikey wrote part of this. If so, at least he's been good at spacing out these types of sketches lately. This was another time I couldn't help but wonder how this sketch might be different with another host placed in Azizs' role. C+

To Sir With Love - This musical Obama tribute at the end was slightly awkward in execution but ultimately was definitely very sweet and definitely warranted. I can tell this meant a lot to Cecily and Sasheer. They must've been at least a little emotional about it. They're not bad singers either. I would like to see more of Cecily and Sasheer showcase their full singing abilities on the show. The one thing that could've improved this would've been if Kate, Vanessa and Aidy each gradually joined them on stage. I could tell from Vanessa and Aidy's social media that it would've meant the world to them if having to do a live show this week wasn't preventing them from joining the women's March in NYC today (at least it's probably still going to be going on tomorrow). C+

Now, for my updated rankings for this week...

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. John Cena/Maren  Morris

5. Felicity Jones/Sturgill Simpson

6. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

7. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

8. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

9. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

10. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

11. Kristen Wiig/The xx

12. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

In two weeks, Kristen Stewart inexplicably makes her hosting debut. Wow. I mean, she isn't even known for her DRAMATIC acting chops. She would normally stand out as just a questionable hosting choice any other time of year, but during a SWEEPS month you have to REALLY wonder what the hell is going on! Oh well, there's a chance she could still surprise us...as long as she at least attempts to LOOK like she's having reasonable fun doing this show. See you then!

Felicity Jones/Sturgill Simpson (1.14.2017)

Okay, here's my review. This show may not have stood out compared to the rest of this season as a whole but it sure did stand out in terms of previous January premieres as it was one of the stronger January shows in recent memory. Outside of a few weak spots it was a fairly consistent show in terms of what landed writing wise. Felicity Jones was a bit unpolished, but she was a real professional who I wouldn't mind getting to see host again. Good to see Pete make a comeback. Beck seems to have established himself as the shows' male lead judging by the amount of airtime he has been getting this week. Good to see Melissa being used more even though the bulk of her parts were straight non-impression roles (although this was the extent to which Jon Rudnitsky was being used by this time last year and we saw how well that turned out for him. While t hi is episode was unsurprisingly light on Sasheer and Alex it was surprisingly light on Cecily, Bobby and Kyle. Anyway, let's just break this thing down, shall we?

Trump Press Conference - This cold open was pretty strong (except for all the blatantly tacked on urine/pee pee jokes). Baldwins' Trump may need some fine tuning and Beck as shirtless Putin is teetering very precariously into "played out" territory. Was the title card at the beginning all that necessary? B-

Monologue - This was a lot more enjoyable than it had any right to be. Kenan was used well and Tina made a worthwhile contribution (despite it being unclear why she was there in the first place). At this point in the show, it was too early to get a good read on Felicity as a host. While she looked quite nervous and near Krazy Glued to the cue cards, she seemed focused and committed. B-

Beard Hunk - I don't think they needed to do three of the knockoff Bachelor sketches but I appreciated how they kept the changes to the formula they introduced in last years' Ronda Rousey episode. Beck Bennet doesn't seem like the best fit for this sketch but Felicity fit right in despite losing her American accent quite quickly. Other than that, nothing else stood put aside from a few of Kate and Aidys' lines. C+

Shondra And Malik - This short film was strange as it felt pretty one note after it established the conflict between Kenan and Leslie and didn't quite go anywhere. Leslies' sudden heart attack stuck out like a sore thumb right before a rather predictable (but still funny) ending. C+

Theater Donor - This seemed like it either needed some more variation to it or just needed to be cut short. Either way, I did like how it escalated wildly to such a quick punchline. Plus, I appreciated how committed the whole cast was to it. C+

The Princess and the Curse - This sketch was okay. While I legitimately wonder what prevented this from being done live I did appreciate the level of production value. I also appreciated how they didn't drag out the main joke too long and even if the ending was a little predictable, the way it was acted made it funnier. B+

Susan B Anthony House - This  sketch felt like a huge wasted opportunity and needed to be edited WAY down. Although I did like how Kate delivered her "abortion is murder" line, it might have made for much more worthwhile sketch if they played THAT up a bit more instead of what they gave us. Oh well, at least by this point in the show Felicity had already established herself as a host that gelled well with the cast. D+

Update made a very strong comeback. Jost got a head start but it didn't take long for Che to catch up with him. I liked both Beck and Petes commentaries even if they made me feel a bit bad for Melissa as it sounded like they were both being set up for her. Becks' commentary particularly stood out since I appreciated seeing some classic Good Neighbor style comedy being bought back to the show after what felt like a half season absence of their shorts. Plus, it was nice to see a cast member who ISN'T Pete or Leslie deliver a commentary just as themselves on Update. Beck made this feel like a throwback to something we haven't seen on the show in 10-15 years. B+

Hot Robot 3 Fandango Junket - This wasn't the the funniest thing ever, but I could appreciate it for its sublty in the face of sheer silliness. I did like how everyone treated the raunchy stupidity of the movie they discussed with utter seriousness as it was high art or nuanced social commentary. C-

Corporate Retreat - This sketch really rewarded you for sitting through it. At first it looked like we were just seeing a leftover Kristen Wiig sketch from 2010-11 but then it escalated to something much bigger. Kate and Beck acted the hell out of their parts and it paid off. Felicity handled her role well and I did like how Melissa was at least use her odd natural speaking voice to her own advantage for once. B-

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

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. John Cena/Maren  Morris

5. Felicity Jones/Sturgill Simpson

6. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

7. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

8. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

9. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

10. Kristen Wiig/The xx

11. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, that was a strong way to kick off a new year for SNL. Next week, Aziz Ansari will make his hosting debut As a fan of Aziz, I would say this is well deserved. Sure, maybe I'd be more excited about this if it were happening maybe four or five years ago, but I'm still looking forward to it. Aziz has previous acting and sketch comedy experience that will serve him well and it will be nice to see another stand up monologue on the show. Sure, Aziz may not have anything to promote currently but who cares? SNL could use some more actual comedians as hosts right now. See you then!

Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper (12.17.2016)

Okay, here's my review. This show well exceeded my expectations and I got more out of it than I was expecting to. Casey Affleck was an enjoyable host despite only being known for dramatic roles and projects. He gelled well with the cast and the writers actually seemed to know how and when he could've been best used best. Sure, the writing was a little uneven and a lot of recurring premises got dug out of mothballs when they shouldn't have been, but hey...there have been worse Christmas shows in recent memory. Aside from Pete (who I hope is doing well if he isn't in rehab), Melissa (who is most likely not going to make it to the end of the season at this point), plus Leslie, Cecily and Mikey (which is very unusual for both of them at this point) the cast was pretty evenly balanced for airtime. Let's break it down shall we?

Another Trump Christmas - This was probably their strongest post election Trump piece. Kate and Alec were fine but really didn't give us anything new and weren't really the focus of the sketch. Beck put his Putin impression to his best use yet here. It was nice to see SNL finally start to get a firm grasp on tbe Russian hacking/interference scandal. Goodman as Rex Tillerson was a bit of out-of-the-box stunt casting and he was great here as well. It's alsk encouraging to see SNL start to go after Trumps' cabinet more and more each week rather than focusing all their energy on making Trump and KellyAnne look even more clownish (as if they needed SNL's help in that regard). Still, seeing Goodman make a cameo I couldn't help but wonder why HE wasn't hosting instead of Casey Affleck. Yeah, his last hosting stint wasn't all the great, but come on! He certainly deserves another chance! B-

Monologue - This didn't instill a ton of confidence in me for Casey Affleck as a host at firstt. He handled it well enough, but he seemed a little out of his element and the material meandered quite a bit. The true highlights were the Baldwin/Goodman walk ons and his stomping on the musical numbers. Kenan as Black Santa felt too tacked on for my liking. Also, I couldn't help but wonder why Casey had a full beard when every other (male) host in recent memory has had to be clean shaven. Did he actually need this for another live action film he is shooting currently and work it out with Lorne? Something tells me he may not be used much in this episode and this is going to be another episode that is densely packed with cameos. C+

Dunkin Donuts - This ad was funnier than it had any right to be mostly due to the efforts of Casey and this season's male featured players. Sure, it must've been the obligatory attempt at Boston humor considering the host is named "Affleck", but it worked nonetheless. B+

Robotic Worker Presentation - Was there a point to Armisen being a part of this sketch? I guess he's got a new penultimate season of Portlandia coming out next month to promote. Plus, Seth Meyers still has a show and still employs him and I guess SNL was lucky enough to catch him when he wasn't taking time off from it. I guess his presence here was appropriate enough since this whole sketch felt like a throwback to his Era of prominence as a cast member as it was blatant gay humor run into the cold, cold ground withour taking a second to think of what more they could trim fron this. If they were trying to make a statement on political correctness, they failed. I have to give credit to Casey, Kenan and Aidy here as they really played off of their surroundings well. Beck looked like he just walked off the set of a 1994 Duracell commercial and Kyles' wig looked like it was applied in too big of a hurry. C-

Jingle Barack - While this was clever, something felt strange about its execution. I realize it's a riff on Run DMCs' "Christmas in Hollis, Queens" but was it really that necessary to give a very 1986 aesthetic to something so obviously set in 2016? Anyway, a lot of individual jokes worked in spite of this. Plus, this was a decent use of Chance The Rapper outside of the musical guest slot but he didn't really seem like he was giving it his all. Adding Leslie as a Salt-N-Pepa-alike MC was an inspired touch. C+

Christmas Miracle - I don't see why they needed to recur this a third time in only two seasons but at least this, much like a lot of Kates' recurring sketches has a great streak of absurdist writing to it and is performed as reliably well as always. Plus, it's not totally a bad thing that the law of diminishing returns really helps reduce the corpsing. I'm tempted to say this sketch is becoming the next Debbie Downer but this sketch warrants return installments much more than Debbie Downer ever did. By this point in the show, it became pretty obvious that Casey's beard wasn't a big if an issue as Lorne may make it out to be with other hosts either because they wrote his parts around it or it was just incidental to every sketch he was in.  C+

Update is improving ever so slightly. They still have plenty of good material. Jost is still on a bit of a hot streak and Che is making the best of what he is given. The lone commentary really killed this one. We didn't need to see Fred and Vanesas' "friends from growing up" bit anymore but they were both in the building during a week when Russia was in the news again so we should've seen this coming. I thought that they might have been planning to take this in a different direction when they mentioned Putin being a fan of Che but I spoke too soon. C+

New York Now - This Long Island nativity scene was possibly the weakest live segment of the night. It had Anderlette written all over it and it felt very derivative. It felt like a pinch of Coffee Talk, a teaspoon of Bronx Beat and a dash of Affleck chanelling Kroll and Mulaney in "Oh Hello" baked into a thin bare Nativity sketch premise crust with other attempts at lame regional NY type humor. Chance The Rapper didn't quite fit into this sketch at first but then having him drop a Hammer reference seemed oddly appropriate. . Plus, it felt like this was Cecily's first appearance of the night (which is strange at this point in the show) and if Mikey's part was what this was building up to, it was too weak of a payoff.  D+

Hillary, Actually - This really pulled it's weight. The electoral college angle was topical enough to justify writing it (speaking of which, I'd be shocked if this wasn't a Kelly/Schnieder joint) and enough bizarro-Zuckeresque sight gags with the fold out cards and giant check to justify filming it rather than doing it live (they did this exact same thing in a live sketch with Pete and Amy Adams that got cut from dress two years ago). This was surprisingly enjoyable with what they added to it. B-

Christmas Bar - This sketch was a little repetitive and predictable and shticky for my liking but it was more watchable than it really had any right to be. I liked how they kept upping the stakes and adding to this. Normally, you could only see this type of "wild building on a trope" sketch on the recently departed Comedy Bang! Bang! IFC series but it worked surprisingly well in this setting. Casey performed his part well even if it wasn't too much of a stretch from the Boston role he played earlier. C-

Mrs. Claus And The Elves - I'm sure this is a bad sign, but I saw where this sketch was going the very second it started. I was hoping that it would be a little different since "Mrs. Claus" was the focus but I ended up hating myself for being right. This was definitely the most unwelcome recurring segment of the night and Casey Affleck was the host who added the least to it. It dragged on, but at least the ending was swift and abrupt.  D-

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

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

5. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

6. John Cena/Maren Morris

7. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

8. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

9. Kristen Wiig/The xx

10. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, that was as good a note to end 2016 on as any. Next month, SNL rings in the new year with Felicity Jones as their first new host. I can't say I've seen her in anything big just yet, I've heard good things about her acting and can say with some confidence that I am looking forward to this episode. See you then!

John Cena/Maren Morris (12. 10.16)

Okay, here's my review. In spite of itself, this show is definitely the strongest out of all the episodes that have aired since Chappelle hosted last month. John Cena performed exactly as well as I had expected as a host. He showed a lot of commitment and strong comedic energy. He was obviously psyched just to be there and gelled well with the cast but at the same time, he didn't always make his presence known. Obviously, this was through no fault of his own. It seems the writers only used him in the two ways they knew how; in either hunky guy roles or big dumb athlete roles. Unfortunately, not every sketch calls for that role and Cena felt out of place in those types of sketches when he was placed in them to fill a straight man role that any other male cast member or host could've easily handled. Cena was just shoved into the background in sketches that didn't call for him getting to play himself. Of course, this was on top of the fluctuations in this episode's writing quality. Cena was one of the seasons better hosts when he was visible He met my expectations more than the writers did. Aside from Pete, Sasheeer Alex and Melissa the cast was pretty evenly balanced tonight. Anyway, let's break this down.

The Lead w/Jake Tapper - This was very well executed despite being a slight variation on the commonly observed theme among Trumps' cabinet picks. Becks' Jake Tapper was serviceable here but Kate may have to find a new angle on KellyAnne Conway. The Bryan Cranston cameo was great and they wrote great lines for him. I especially liked the retconned Mr. Whites' death on the series into a faked suicide just for this sketch and worked in the LFNY rather than just tacking it on like they have been doing. B-

Monologue - This was a lot of fun despite being a little predictable. Bobby, Kenan and Leslie were great at cutting promos. Cena gelled really well with them and set a great tone for the rest of the show. B-

Hook A Hunk - This MTV dating game sketch was a little uneven, but overall I liked how they handled it. They could've played down Cena and Cecily's parts, but they knew exactly when to embellish Mikey, Beck and Kyles' parts and end the sketch there. C+

The Karate Nerd - This parody was another uneven piece that worked despite it's flaws. Cena played his role so big that it became obnoxious by the end. Kenan played his role well, but they could've trimmed down the penny training flashback. I kept waiting through the buildup of what I expected to be a bloody, Farewell, Mr Bunting/Wake Up And Smile type payoff but seeing Mikey get knocked out of his pants Charlie Brown style through five walls was just cute and cartoonish enough to work. C+

U. of Alabama Science Class - This sketch was funny despite feeling like it tread on a slightly overdone trope for SNL. Cena had the best lines with his dopey banana speech and his delivery really sold them. Beck, Aidy and Kenan played theit roles well. Mikey, Bobby and Vanessa were competent straight foils but mostly felt like furniture here. B-

Dyke and Fats Save Christmas - This seemed like the ultimate "worked-best-as-a-one-off" sketch. Aside from the Christmas theme and the "broads" line near the end, they may not have changed enough to justify a retread. C-

Update was pretty weak tonight. I was a little disappointed with the way they handled this weeks' Trump/CIA/Russia news. I don't know if it's because I've seen too many other takes on this story or if it's because it's one of those stories that has implications so scary that they're beyond satire. The only jokes from Jost and Che that landed were the short form and Black Santa material. It was nice to see Kates' Angela Merkel again even though it felt like too much more of the same. Shockingly, the strongest part of Update was Cecilys' return as Cathy-Anne as this character dovetailed nicely with her topic. This is why I think the writing really justified this as she had some strong "alt-right" slams and the only jab at Trumps' SNL tweets. Possibly the weakest Update of the season so far. D+

Where'd Your Money Go? - This was genuinely the funniest piece of the night to me. It was definitely the thing I genuinely laughed the most at, but it could've been shorter. It also had the strongest writing (at least dialogue and viewpoint wise) and they really played to the cast strengths impression-wise. It was nice to see Kenans' Charles Barkley make a return although something seems different about that impression. It seems like he has reverted it back to whem he first debuted this impression in the 07-08 Bon Jovi episode opposite Kristen Wiig as Bjork mixed with a little of his Steve Harvey for goid measure (since it is a game show sketch after all). Cena was cast well as Gronk. Physically, he was perfect for the role but I can't really judge the accuracy of the impression beyond that. Bobby was perfect as Jon Daly and Alex was serviceable as Connor McGregor. Kudos to him for getting a third notable impression on the show (which is sadly more than the show can say for Melissa Villasenor who SPECIALIZES in impressions). Sadly, at this point it might just spell the end for both of them after this season. If I had to guess who may have written this, I'd have to guess that it was Micheal Che for a couple of reasons. First of all, this does seem like the closest thing to his style out of everything live that aired tonight. Secondly, I have to think Che must've been pretty excited to write something for John Cena this week. Before he deactivated his Twitter for a second time, he was pretty good at responding to people. When I asked him who HE may want to see as SNL host, he responded "I think John Cena would be dope." Since Che got his wish, I'm guessing if they collaborated on something that aired, this has to be it (if Jost or someone else didn't write this).

B+

Through Trumps' Eyes - This was a clever filmed piece. They actually improved upon common complaints on Trumps behavior. It was strongly reminiscent of the "Reagan Directs" sketches from the Ebersol years. My only real complaint was that the ending seemed a little rushed. This had to be another Julio Torres piece because it was a short film that resembled Melania Moments from earlier this season (which we now know he wrote) and it's just surreal enough to be his. They did make decent use of Cena dressed up as Trump in this, so kudos to whoever predicted that. B-

Joanne and the Christmas Tree - This sketch felt like it ran out of steam at too pivotal of a moment. It started out seeming like it was going to be fairly ambitious in terms of writing and staging for what it was but it felt pretty one note in the middle and Cena felt almost wasted here. Thankfully, they were able to bring it to it's logical conclusion even if this also felt a little rushed. C-

Erotic Bookstore - This sketch seemed to go on without any real point. Sure, it was Cena's part was written to his physical strengths, but aside from Kenans' clumsy exposition it just seemed to go nowhere. Beck and Vanessa were a welcime addition but Melissa was wasted in a small straight tole that didn't require her to draw on her repetiore of impressions. Maybe it was another one of those more female oriented sketches that will receive a lot of female praise online but to me it was the weakest segment of the night. D-

United States Of Talent - This sketch was just a mess (both literally and figuratively). The bulk of it felt like an overly long and elaborate buildup to a very season 20-ish punchline. The only thing this had going for it was Kenans lines at the end criticizing the owl. C-

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

5. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

6. John Cena/Maren Morris

7. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

8. Kristen Wiig/The xx

9. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, that was that. Next week, Casey Affleck makes his hitting debut. Given the choice between the two Affleck brothers, Casey would not be my first choice to host the Christmas 2016 episode of SNL. In fact, given the choice for musical guest, this may be the most inappropriate lineup for a Christmas show since Jeff Bridges/Eminem, Lil Wayne episode from 2010. Still, I go into it with an open mind since knowing he could surprise us and turn out to be adept at sketch comedy despite seeming to have more of an affinity for dramatic acting and directing. See you soon!

Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes (12.3.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. This episode was completely indistinguishable from either of Emma Stones’ previous two shows in terms of quality. Sure, she still gives it her all and she’s still a talented sketch performer in her own right, but something still seems missing. I don’t know if it’s just the lack of energy, but it’s almost as if they still don’t know how to use Emma to her full potential. Granted, she may be working with a different cast and a different writing staff this time (each with their own different sensibilities) but I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. Still, it was considerably better than the previous live show since it relied less on unwelcome recurring material. The cast seemed balanced tonight, but things may not be looking so great for Melissa Villasenor as it’s two weeks until the Christmas show and we have yet to see anything of genuine substance from her. Anyway, let’s just get right into it…

Trump Tweets – This cold open felt a sort of unfocused, derivative and just slightly toothless. Maybe it's because I'm not completely up on the Trump/16yrold/Twitter story or maybe it's because jokes about Trumps' miniscule attention span feel a little down the beaten path (or maybe it's because it was a little too close to their last cold open) but this one wasn't without it's redeeming moments. Kate and Bobbys' parts were the funniest. Alec had great “build the swamp/drain the wall” lines. Kenan and Alex had good inauguration lines and I liked the Grim Bannon the most. C+

Monologue - This have been her best out of the three she's done so far. It was subtle, revealing and poignant. It didn't blatantly retread any other monologue and it took us backstage for a bit and made us wonder a bit more about whether Leslie's relationship with Kyle us as real as her “relationship” with  Jost. Vanessa, Aidy and Bobby had the best lines and Becks' barely missed hug was funny. B-

Woodbridge High School Theater Showcase V - The high school theater showcase may have felt like lather/rinse/repeat by this point but Emma Stone really added something to this. Plus, Kenan and Vanessa had their best comebacks yet. C+

Christmas Candle – This short was pretty unremarkable. It just felt like they put "Wishin' Boot" and "Neurotology" in a blender with a tiny pinch of Sump'n Claus and Egg Nog for good measure and poured it through a strainer to remove "Wishin' Boot"s' air of mystique. D+

Posters - This was a big waste. It felt too much like a jokeless '09-'12 Era sketch for my liking. Everyone pulled their weight but Emmas' Character was too obnoxious and shouldn't have been the focus of the sketch. She played a role that would be WAY better suited for Wiig, Abby, Vanessa or Nassim. In fact, it was like every single one of all of their performances smashed together. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this got cut from the previous shows’ dress rehearsal. The payoff was all right but just wasn't worth the buildup. D-

The Hunt For Hill – This was a little underwhelming. Essentially, it was a joke that social media had beaten to death by the time SNL had come back from Thanksgiving break but fleshing it out and executing it as a sketch didn't do them a tone of favors. They kinda stretched themselves too thin with this one and showed that it wasn't totally worth the effort of the execution. C-

Update felt a little lopsided tonight. Either Che was having a real off night or Jost just happened to get all the best material. Leslie's commentary was pretty middle of the road for her but the mascot riffs and mirror instructions were worth a few laughs. The Rachel commentary served its purpose of drum rolling the Aniston cameo. While it went down like almost every other impersonator-meets-subject cameo in SNL history, it was one of the least wasted cameos in recent memory. B-

Cleaning Crew - This was better than it had any right to be. I did appreciate the strangely oversexualized nature of the Santa songs and the scattershot nature of the reactions. Also, it seemed strange that this sketch was Cecily's first live appearance so late in the show. If this was obligatory Anderlette sketch of the night, I have to give them props because it was less loathsome than everything else they've ever written. C+

Paley Center Screening - I could certainly tell where this was headed right away. While I'm still not all that into this new Kate character I have to say I liked this installment much better than the original from the season premiere as she had much better material. It's good to see the same level of acerbic writing is here. Also, while Kate was the main focus of this sketch it was a wasted opportunity as far as Leslie self-cameos are concerned. B-

Fischer-Price Wells For Boys - The well sketch was quite enjoyable despite not being "ha-ha" funny. I'm willing to bet that Julio Torres wrote this. It smacks of his style even though it's more coherent and straight forward than the rest of his work. B-

Nativity Scene – While this wasn’t the most inventive premise in the world or anything, Kyle played his part very well as did Emma. Also, Emma played her part EXACTLY like Cecily would have. It's almost like this sketch was originally written for her but was cut from previous seasons' dress rehearsals. It makes me wonder if this was just resubmitted for Emma or why couldn't Cecily have just done it instead. C+

Now, for my updated rankings of this season…

1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest

2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga

3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots

4. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

5. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

6. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

7. Kristen Wiig/The xx

8. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Well, that met my minimum expectations. Next week, John Cena makes his hosting debut. I know Cena has had the necessary acting and comedy experience (in both film and TV) to make a great host (much like The Rock who also successfully graduated from wrestling to do what Cena has been doing). Plus, I have no doubt he will bring a fresh, much needed energy to the show. Given this months’ SNL lineup, I’m predicting this will be the strongest show of the two remaining this calendar year. See you then!