Charli XCX (11.16.2024)

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Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)

Long Brewing Pre Show Thoughts

Hi, everyone. I know it's been a rough week, but if you found yourself in the right headspace to read this review as a bit of distraction, I'm glad you're here.

I'd like to start this review by copying and pasting an actual Facebook status I posted eight years ago around this time. I feel the message is still relevant this week.

"Wow.

I'm stunned. Crushed under the weight of the world and completely at a loss for words right now.

Still, I can't even imagine the things that are racing through the minds of my friends who, unlike me, are NOT straight white cisgendered men.

We, as humans, will somehow make it through this just as we have made it through other disastrous events before.

We just need to find the reserves of courage and strength within ourselves (and MOST importantly) EACH OTHER to get to that light at the end of the tunnel, no matter what happens.

So, if ANY of you out there (especially those women and those POC/LGBTQ individuals out there) like ME need to reach out to another human being and feel less alone in this world...

I'd like to be here for all of you. PLEASE reach out to me if you have any feelings of anxiety or general panic you would like to express. 

I feel for you and can empathize with all of you while I process this. We are all human and we will all find our way."

Yes, that was a depressing time for me as well. Eight years later, I mostly feel a numbness more than an outright depression. 

Maybe I'm just older and a bit more jaded or maybe the fact that he got elected and served a four year term once already helped me absorb some of the shock of this but I'm grateful for two things I have now that I did not have then; a job and a steady income. 

Yes, at least I do have a schedule to adhere to and more structure in my life to help distract me and get me through the next few weeks and months.

So, if you're struggling right now just know that I'm here for you and I care about you. Take some time for self care and to do what you need to do in your own life and whenever you're ready come back ready to fight. We'll figure out a way to fight back against this thing once we know more about what's actually going to happen.

Now, on to the show...

Plea To Trump

- Like many of you, I was also wondering what this week's cold open would be and how they would address the week's events striking the appropriate balance between "appropriately maudlin" and "appropriately funny". Part of me was hoping they would do something more original than...what we got eight and four years ago around this time.

- Well, I'm glad they didn't go full on "Hallelujah/somber musical number" mode (not sure that was warranted this time and the moment when Kate did it is usually looked on derisively now...even if it probably "met the moment" better than most of the material in this episode did). They actually tried to give us something with a hint of satire to cut the treacle. It's always nice to see SNL buck even the most basic expectations with it's cold opens. Bowens' "breathalyzer" line made me chuckle and if they had to throw the newest cast members under the bus, I'm glad this turned out to be FAR from the only screen time they would get.

- This gave me strong flashbacks to the cold open to the Shelly Winters episode of Friday's from January 1981 shortly after Reagan got elected (look it up on YouTube kids) or the monologue Jon Keister did on Almost Live shortly after the Republicans took congress in 1994. This is more in line with what the show should be aiming for in terms of political sketches.

- JAJ (boy, he must be going through a range of emotions, right now, huh?) as Rambo Trump (I think the Weird Al/UHF fan in me helped me appreciate that one) and especially Carveys' Elon Musk were my favorite parts of this. Well, I liked Carveys' Elon better than his Biden anyway. 

- Sure, I've seen more accurate Elon impressions than Carveys' warmed over Hans but I just generally approve of any portrayal of Elon Musk that makes him out to look like the big fuckin' dumbass he really is. B+

Monologue 

- Huh...well, the flu/plane/foot stuff didn't do much for me but the "God made this guy" bit got this off to a decent start. I laughed at Bill calling Kamala a "real estate agent who speaks through her nose". I also liked the "Trump goes to McDonald's" stuff and his Shaquille O'Neal impression was fun and genuinely not dicey at all. 

- Speaking of "not meeting the moment correctly" the "pantsuit" rant is gonna make pretty much all of social media insufferable for a day or two...but then again Bill Burr complained about a lack of "empathy" so...as always, you can at least tell his heart's in the right place. 

- Does Bill Burr seriously think that the first assassination attempt WASN'T...ah, never mind, let's not go there right now. C+

Firefighters

- I liked how Bill played off the sheer deranged absurdity of this like it was nothing. 

- I'm not surprised at all that Steven Castillo came back to write this. Anything with homemade cartoon porn seems like it would be right up his alley. Nice use of JAJ & Emil Wakim, though. B-

Buffalo Wild Wings

- Ok, it took me all of three seconds to figure out that this would be the obligatory "Mikey adjacent Boston Masshole" pretape. Still, he and Burrs' wildly off topic rants and their hockey fight at the end made this funny. B-

The Best Of Snakeskin

- Good to see another JAJ/Dismukes musical pairing (with an assist from Sarah) that actually works after "Remember Lizards" fell flat.

- I remember, in his last season (possibly the 47 premiere?) when Pete Davidson did a Weekend Update commentary deconstructing 80s hair/glam metal. This basically felt like that was thrown in a blender with "Best Of T.T. & Mario" and "Chucky Lee Byrd" but the way this was performed and written really helped save this. 

- My only complaint would be that the "molestation" references were a little overdone. B-

The Janitor

- I can see how this seemed a little too silly, overlong and unfocused for some but the performances from Burr, Dismukes, JAJ and Thompson were what put it over for me. 

- I have grown some appreciation for the "genius mathematician/dumbest Janitor ever" duality that was secretly a secret theme in this.

- JAJ as Robin Williams whole character was nice even if his whole beats felt a bit too telegraphed. C+

Calling Dad

- It's nice to settle down a bit and focus on something that has a point. Still, it feels like it might have been a little much this far into a Bill Burr hosted episode to have another piece focused on how older men communicate and/or stifle their emotions. I mean, it kinda feels like we may have covered that territory in "Buffalo Wild Wings" and "Snakeskin" but it's nice to see something with sharper and more grounded writing than those. B-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Jesus, it's called "reading the room", Colin. Look into it.

- Even Che seemed focused tonight. He even bought back his "guy who's no longer hiding his drinking problem" character. That was fun during the pandemic. Hell, he only got one sexist joke and one "it's the 90s" reference in tonight. Good on Che for finally showing some restraint.

- Nice to see another high concept character from Ego at the desk. I especially like the gun and ballot stuff. The ending was a nice micro format break from Update.

- I was never all that crazy about Kenans' "Willie" character but I did like the "hide" and "hitting Lorne" bits. C-

We Are Bald Men

- I like the sudden appearance of a silly 1950s MST3K style marching band song coming out of nowhere. Something about this made it feel timeless, like it could've been done in any previous era of the show (mainly the 80s and early 90s, give or take some specific "famous bald man" references). Even though it didn't go anywhere, it was a nice bit of near blackout silliness. B-

Trauma Support Group

- Weirdly, the biggest laugh I got out of this was probably at the Tubi jokes. Otherwise, it felt like another Bowen vanity piece, but toned down and edited take away focus from him. This ended up being my least favorite sketch of the night.

- Burr gave an odd performance in this. It felt like he was trying to play against type in a way that didn't quite land. 

- Nice use of Jane (who's taken a bit of a hit tonight but at least she's already established herself by this point and this leaves room for other newbies to get some airtime).

- I like that Ashley Padilla got a substantial role in this but again, I'd like to see her more in the show outside of straight support roles. C-

Funniest Table

- Wow. Spoke too soon, huh? I feel like I've seen elements of this sketch elsewhere, but I like that Ashley is finally getting something big. Not crazy about how repetitive her part is or how she's giving off strong "female Kyle Mooney" vibes, but she is giving it her all. C+

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
4. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
5. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
6. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Overall Thoughts

- This may have been the most divisive episode of the season, but for some reason I enjoyed it.

- It was another uneven episode but it was uneven in a good way. The writers felt like they had to take some wild swings through most of the middle of this episode.

- Comparing this one to Bill Burrs' 2020 episode, that one was filled with reoccurring or reused premises and even hackier political material so, really aside from the monologue, most of this episode was better than his last one.

- Most of these choices paid off when they were focused on just giving us some non-topical silliness, but the stuff at the top of the show (y'know what most of America ACTUALLY pays attention to) is guaranteed to rub some people the wrong way, so...no real difference there except that most of the pressure was off so they felt more free to do whatever the hell they wanted.

- Cast use is still pretty even. Everyone made an appearance tonight (except Chloe, but no big loss there). Jane Wickline took a bit of a hit this week but at least that left room for the other newbies to fill the void. Emil Wakim in particular had an unusually outstanding night for a first year featured player. Ashley Padilla really made her presence known, but I still feel like I haven't gotten a bead on her real personality as a performer yet.

- Also having strong nights tonight were Ego, JAJ, Dismukes, Bowen (for better or worse). Marcello, Sarah, Devon, Heidi and Kenan were reliable background presences.

- I do like how they minimized JAJs' Trump impression this week and let him mostly pop up on smaller roles he could really score in. JAJ is a likable performer, so the audience should get plenty of chances to see what else he can do so they don't get sick of him for one of the main reasons they turned on Alec Baldwin years ago.

Closing Thoughts 

- Well, that was that. Next week, two time musical guest Charli XCX makes her double duty hosting debut just in time for Thanksgiving.

- This is one I am cautiously optimistic about (emphasis on "cautiously" there). While I certainly like seeing her on the show, I could never tell whether she had any real comedic chops or not. Dua Lipa seemed like she did but her episode was disappointing for reasons that mostly had to do with the writing.

- I'd say we might be past the era where female pop stars host SNL and can produce solid episodes, but Ariana Grande did just that a month ago (and she managed to do it without bringing out the worst of Bowen either

- Then again, the shows closest to Thanksgiving tend to be disappointingly weak anyway, so...who knows? Anyway, stay safe and warm out there everyone!

John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)

 Sudden Pre-Show Thoughts

- Ok, when I heard Kamala Harris was actually appearing on the show tonight, I had some... mixed feelings. For one thing, I've been feeling that we may be past the point where it would be considered appropriate let alone hip, cool or media savvy for an active presidential candidate to make an appearance on this show since...well, since the time one of THIS race's candidates actually hosted nine years ago at the start of his first campaign but that's also the least of my worries at the moment.

- I mean, as heavily skewed as the polls seem to be right now (at least not counting the ones you somehow see from Elon Musk on that damn former "bird" site he's been running into the cold, cold ground), all signs point to her gaining significantly on Trump in recent weeks. I certainly don't want for her or the show to accidentally jinx that. I mean, I think she's definitely held her own in recent "hostile" interviews and not taken any reporters bait or anything, so...she's not in any SERIOUS danger of losing at this point, riiiiiiiight?

- I immediately flashed back to John McCains' appearance on the last pre-election episode of 2008. It was pretty obvious that he was there to loosen up and have fun as even HE was aware he was likely going to lose that election. I certainly didn’t want anyone heading into a potential Kamala Harris cameo with that mindset (after all, if I were a supporter of TFG I wouldn't still be watching the show closely enough to be able to maintain this intensely detailed blog about it, would I? I mean, HE hasn't even TWEETED about it in at least five years). Speaking of...

Last Campaign Stops

- JAJs' Trump ramble seems a bit sharper, more biting and focused than normal. Getting their potential last possible jabs in before the show goes off the air, I see?

- ...and the Dem Ticket Cameo Crew comes in to lay on the schmaltz and slow the momentum a bit, I see. I liked Carveys' "riff" line and Sambergs' "Doug" lawsuit joke, but that was it. Also, it's strange to hear just the word "Twitch" alone get a round of applause, but...OK.

- I see the Kamala cameo is amounting to...literally just the Clinton/Poehler cameo of March '08 but just done 3 Coolidges 3 mirror style. I was a little disappointed at this being the conceit of Kamalas' cameola...yeah, Ok, I'm not gonna try to riff on that part but I will say that the real Kamala did make that "open doors" line land better than it had any right too.

- Still, for something that was obviously written and conceptualized at the last possible minute after the cameo appearance was arranged like, a day or two earlier, this was a nice sincere moment that I ultimately can't get too mad at in the moment (and I don't really see too much for Twitter to get mad at right now either). 

- I know there is a real sense of mutual love and respect for one another between Maya and the current vice president. I can see this as the real Kamala just wanting to unwind for a night and have fun before possibly the most tense moment of her entire life next week. 

- Depending on what happens on Tuesday night, we could turn a more critical eye to this later on, but for right now, I'm not gonna be too hard on it. C+

Monologue 

- Gee, I feel a bit worse for Mulaney having to follow that than I should've. Him starting off with a riff on "descending height asians" didn't exactly put me at ease.

- While this one didn't exactly charm me as much as Mulaneys' previous five SNL host monologues, I did genuinely laugh at his "hand bandaid/traditional catholics/118 year old grandpa jokes." His "physical therapy" bit was charming as well. C+

What's That Name? Election Edition

- Ok, the way they used this as the framework for the actual Tim Kaine cameo and Squirms' Margaret Atwood in service of stinging jabs at the emptiest, most overly performative kind of liberalism makes up for the "Longfellow filling in for Hader" thing.

- Don't get me wrong, I like seeing Lomgfellow get the game show host roles for as long as he can get them. He just may not have the timing or the stage presence that Hader bought to these sketches. This dragged in some spots, but that's not necessarily a dig at ol' Mikey Longs here. I'm still just as glad to be in the Longfellow business as anyone. 

- Jon Schneider raised an interesting point I hadn't considered in his latest SNN hot take show for this episode that the placement of this sketch right after a sincere emotional moment with the actual democratic party candidate currently running makes the jokes hit harder. B+

Midnight Matinee: Beppo Goes Home

- This was a long journey, but I really appreciated the focus on thoroughly unexpected sweetness over cheap gore and shock value. This is what the Squirm/Dua Lipa Elephant Man short from May should have aspired to be. 

- I think "Midnight Matinee" has more than earned its place in the SNL pretape pantheon with this short. I just hope if Dan Bulla keeps making "it's about the journey, not the destination" style comedy his WHOLE thing he branches out a little more in terms of how to pull off exposition. B+

Port Authority Duane Reade Milk Medley

- Ah, I should've figured another NYC centric musical medley would be what Pete Davidson cameos for.

- This was as much of an unfocused mess as most of the rest of these, but I still liked it better than "Subway Churro". 

- Kenan struggling not to break through parts of the Possum Lion King number was perhaps the best part of...that number. I wasn’t crazy about the "bum fights" joke.

- Sadly, Marcello as singing shampoo was my least favorite part of this. Pete and John calling each other by their real names were the funniest part of that one. 

- Bowen singing "Master Of The Bus" to "Master Of The House" was...well performed but not something I knew what to make of right away. Was that Pete who giggled loudly upon Bowens' entrance.

- Chloe singing "Chalamet" to "Cabaret" is something that probably should've been more hated if it weren't the best possible use of her Timothee Chalamet character (I can hardly call it an impression)

- I liked seeing Devons' Eric Adams again, but the "Prince Of Turkey" number was lost on me.

- Andy Samberg singing "Baby Bear Carcass" to "Alexander Hamilton" was the best possible way to end this. Too bad the lyrics to that closing Grease parody were swallowed up by audience applause. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- I liked Josts' "audited" joke but wish he could've gone a little darker with it. His "Yankees fans stealing" joke was solid. Plus, he addressed that Kill Tony/Puerto Rico controversy in the classiest way the show possibly could (for better or worse). Che's "MSG rally" jokes were...serviceable but his "popsicle" joke was possibly the most soul crushing thing I've ever witnessed on a 21st century Weekend Update.

- Heidi's Reba commentary was a mess, but she had decent lines in it. That impression was way the hell off (her voice ain't that deep) but I liked the Gwen Stefani/methodist-athiest/papa Pennywise jokes.

- The Marcello/Jane pairing was stronger than it had any right to be. I mean, I probably laughed more than I should have at what amounted to "Marcello turns your eardrums to fine powder while Jane is ten times mousier than normal" but somehow they both pulled their weight to put this over for me.

- I see that Pete didn't appear on Weekend Update at all...and I didn't see Jost during the goodnights at first glance. Hmm, doesn't do much to squash those rumors of beef between the two, does it? B-

Sitcom Pioneers: Family Bonds 

- Ah, a "Switcheroo" retread? OK, let's see where this goes.

- Speaking of performers putting things over way more than they had any right to be put over, Kenans' Little Richard was quite fun here. I mean, I've seen better Little Richard impressions in sketch comedy, but Kenans' was very unique to him, and it livened up this sketch quite a bit.

- The only real complaint I have about this is that the Bowen/Mulaney scenes dragged a bit and hurt the pacing. I thought this was a fine "Switcheroo" sequel even if it didn't quite measure up to the densely packed writing of the original. B+

Harvey Epstein For City Council

- This comes across as a direct cross between Jon Hamms "Pat Finger/Deldeaux" and Will Ferrels' local candidate who had his genitals burned off in a fire from season 24. I liked those sketches, and I liked this too.

- Mulaney really sold the hell out of this (and I say this not having seen any footage of the actual Harvey Episode Mulaney is impersonating here) with some assists from Heidi, Sarah, Andrew & (thankfully) Ashley. They didn't have to do too much heavy lifting here as the writing behind this was strong enough to support it. B+

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
4. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
5. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Ranking Each John Mulaney Episode (Best To Worst)

1. John Mulaney/Thomas Rhett (03.02.2019)
2. John Mulaney/Jack White (03.14.2018)
3. John Mulaney/LCD Soundsystem (02.26.2022)
4. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
5. John Mulaney/David Byrne (02.29.2020)
6. John Mulaney/The Strokes (10.31.2020)

Overall Thoughts 

- For better or for worse, this IS the first time that SNL season 50 felt like the exact type of "event" it deserved to be in 2024. The show was still a bit uneven writing wise but the energy in the studio was the highest it's been all season at this point (even as much as that's due to Mulaney being hyped up as host and certain other cameos).

- John Mulaney did a fine job hosting as expected (as seriously "hands off" as he felt this time), but this episode is better viewed through the lens of season 50 and the history of elections playing out on the show than among the all time pantheon of John Mulaney hosted episodes. It's definitely going to be better remembered as a big "of the moment" episode for its time (like his 2020 episodes were but in a much less dire way) since it lacks some of the more unique comedic experiences that made Mulaneys' early episodes (and his second to last one) stand out as well as they did. 

- The few attempts to call back to the recurring sketches he first helmed as a host mostly fell flat and came up empty. Still, the few highs were decently high this week (again, mostly energy more than writing) and the lows were merely "mid".

- Cast airtime feels slightly imbalanced but this week, but that's mostly due to Mulaney and outside cameos dominating the show paired with Ashley and (now sadly) Emils complete underuse in live sketches (at lesst Ashley delivered one of the better standalone lines in the back half of the show). 

Closing Thoughts

- Well, that was the energy and enthusiasm boost this show needed to help push season 50 over. SNL may have just earned it's keep.

- Next week, Bill Burr hosts for his second time, and I know I'm not alone in stating that I'm so relieved that they didn't make a worse choice here.

- I may have to reevaluate Burrs season 46 episode. I remember liking what Burr bought to the show, but I also remember still having ranked it at the bottom of my rankings list from that season while othersI know ranked it at the top. Keep in mind, this was still the second episode ever from that season so that just may be me not being used to the far less electric, much more muted vibes that a limited, masked socially distanced Covid era audience bought to the show. 

- Maybe THAT audience just didn't know how to react to him in sketches. Oh, well. Maybe a full audience will elevate him and help him push through some potentially awkward and REALLY dead energy to come (God forbid it comes to that). See you then!

Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)

 FOX News Roundup

- Baldwin over Longfellow as Brett Baier? Come on! Already not getting this episode off to a great start.

- I figured they would do something on Kamala Harris' Fox News interview and Trumps' very strange rallies turned impromptu dance parties. That story dominated the news this week.

- Now, we're back to "viral meme queen" Kamala. Great.

- Well, at least the JAJ/Trump (hey, at least HE'S still playing Trump), Ego/Faulkner & Carvey/Biden segments are a nice, much needed pallet cleanser inbetween the disappointingly hollow Baldwin/Rudolph segments.

- At least the "abortion" call & response is kinda funny & this Univision part is a nice use of Marcello. This cold open came pretty close to balancing itself out. D+

Monologue 

- This monologue was pretty fun in sort of a "dancing around the obvious" way. Keaton even sold that "puppets & cocaine" joke in a way no one else could.

- Strange that he's promoting "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" which has been out for a full month at this point instead of that new movie he has coming out THIS month (whose title escapes me at the moment and I obviously don't care to Google it but I know it involves Mila Kunis playing his estranged daughter) but hey, Halloween and nostalgia are a...non-potent combination.

- I see Mikeys' filling the Taran/Bobby void this decade. Makes sense. I mean, if he didn't write that season 40 monologue he still wrote with Taran & Bobby a lot. Too bad they sucked all the music out of the season 40 monologue when they decided to just do it again.

- I did like the meta jokes with Samberg & Sherman, though. If only they could've worked in some kind of explanation for Gaffigans' absence. I mean, was that Al Smith dinner NOT held in New York?

- All in all, a nice low key monologue...even if it seems like one Jim Breuer and Tracy Morgan would've done in season 23. C+

Shop TV

- I'm already mentally preparing myself for a string of obvious strained visual double entendres.

- Who the hell was that in the minion costume? Part of me hopes it was Emil but it looks and sounds a bit more like Marcello (EDIT: I have since found out it was a camera operator named Paul).

- Ah, the cookie looks like a boob. I get it. I was expecting an anus for some reason but I guess that's harder to get past the censors (which must be where 97% of this week's creative efforts went into just for this sketch alone). They must've realized they shouldn't be pushing their luck.

- Good to see Rosebud Baker is still earning a paycheck. I liked Michael Longfellows' phone in question, the pixelated frosting gag and the sudden TV-MA bug. 

- Kudos to them for not dragging this out quite as much as I thought they would. C-

PDD: Skydiving

- Good to see the Destroy boys back and as characters and as far away from the office as they can get.

- Nice use of Emil and Keaton in a low-key...morbid depression/suicidal ideation themed short? 

- This may hit a little too "close to home" for some but, me personally? I like it! Oddly appropriate for late October. The ending was fun. B-

Forbidden Romance

- Guess Who's Suddenly Covering Trains' "Hey Soul Sister"? (Spoiler Alert: It's Andrew Dismukes)

- Ego might have just set a record for "earliest break in a sketch".

- I liked the incongruous oddness of this. It felt like something Melissa Villaseñor would've done five years ago...and that's never a bad thing. B-

Good Grief! Even More TikTok Scrolling!

- Huh, haven't seen one of these in a while. I guess Billie Eilish being in the building this week was meant to signify we were overdue for a third one.

- I usually liked these back in season 47. Kenan, Devon and Marcello were great. I liked Kenans' junk food reviewer, Devons' "trapped" black man and Marcellos fireworks guy/Trump Podcaster. Michaels' "black wife effect" guy was OK, but still felt like it was canceled out by Devons' character. Not sure how I felt about the whole metaness of Emil using the clip of last weeks' "Espresso/Domingo/Marcello" song clip in his.

- One thing I didn't care that much for was Chloe just straight up recreating Bethany Frenkel, Call Her Daddy and the Costco guys (boy, those were some haunting visuals but seriously, what the hell is that whole Costco familys' deal anyway?) while barely adding anything in terms of jokes to either one but I guess since Pete's gone for good now SOMEONE'S gotta do it!

- I did like Bowens' character who just suddenly sings to a semi-captive JAJ/Trump, Maya/Kamala and Billie (as unambitious as that whole bit was). Dies anyone know for sure if that's based on a real TikToker? Heidi's character was very "Heidi" but she actually managed to sneak in some real biting humor into this one. Speaking of, they did a decent job of sneaking Carveys' Biden into this too.

- I did like Ashley, Emil and Jane's contributions to this. Kudos to Ashley for finally getting some lines in something. I guess one of those people quite literally building their following off TikTok before coming on the show was another indication we were due for another one of these, huh? B+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- I liked Che's Trump Univision/therapy/deep fryer jokes along with his KKKandle and Josts' IVF/civil war jokes but that's about it.

- Emil Wakim had a strong Update debut. His segment was a little long but I liked the way he seamlessly segued through many different aspects of his own background he covered with boundless confidence. His "Colin wrote that joke for me" comment when one of his lines nearly bombed was great. That had to have been the biggest reaction I have seen anyone get out of Colin.

- Nice to see Sarah back at the desk as just "Sarah". It's especially nice to see chose to lovingly roast herself by way of Victoria's Secret instead of roasting Jost. I liked how she limited her few "Jost roast" lines to just ones that allowed her set him up to look like some weird ass perv. B-

Think About It

- Strange how this is Bowens' first live appearance all night, but hey...I'm not complaining. He had some of the best lines in this anyway.

- I'm usually not a huge fan of Ego playing men but her performance really suited this sketch well and I'll admit I chuckled a bit at the "Kamala Cabello" lines

- I liked the strange semi-original concept behind this in spite of it's "we have Cash Cab at home" vibe and how this didn't seem to quite be landing with the audience.

- Sarah being the one who automatically gets each question right felt a little too telegraphed for me but at least they didn't belabor it.

- Michael Keaton felt a little too awkwardly shoehorned into this and I feel like they didn't quite enough with this. In fact, the real rushed ending seems to suggest a lot of this got cut between dress and air. Still, it was one of the better live sketches of the night, flaws and all. C+

Halloween Rises

- I don't know about you guys, but I've gotten my fill of TikTok dancing...during the TikTok sketch. Anyone else?

- This sketch didn't really land for me at all and I don't think Michael Keaton made playing "stereotypical gay coreographer" work, but at least we got to see a more physical side of Mikey we don't always see.

- Another rushed non ending that felt heavily edited between dress and air, I see. Very good. D+

Tableside

- This feels like a cut for time sketch from season 40 or 45 but kudos to Ashley for FINALLY getting some substantial dialogue in a sketch (even if she wasn't the main focus). Other than that, I have absolutely nothing to say about this sketch because it went absolutely nowhere. D-

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
3. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
4. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Overall Thoughts 

- This would sadly be the second worst show of the season for me. I'd place it on the same shelf as Ariana Grandes' episode from last week as both episodes were quite uneven and rocky but the highs weren't quite as high with this one (and sadly the lows felt a bit lower).

- Writing wise, I felt like they leaned a bit too much on season 47 throwbacks, which is something I have some real mixed feelings about. I don't really feel enough time has passed since season 47 that we could really judge anything from that year to be a "classic". 

- Keaton was fine as a host but this episode didn't quite feel like the "big event" that his last one was from season 40. He felt underused compared to his previous two episodes bur not as much as his season 8 episode obviously. He felt like he appeared in every other sketch rather than just two in the whole show, but I'd be lying if I said this episode didn't feel like he had a slightly similar presence to season 8 tonight.

- Yeah, I usually rank buig name 3 or 4 time hosts individual episodes when they come back like this but I neither had the time nor the motivation to watch them all in order to do that this week. Out of respect and deference to the good folks over at That Week In SNL I decided to wait until they streamed the Michael Keaton season 8 episode on Twitch to watch it again (which might be either tonight or next week...so if you're reading this from a link I dropped in said Twitch chat instead of fully watching that episode yourself...respect).

- Cast airtime still feels balanced enough. Bowen and Jane took a bit of a back seat obviously but Sarah and Emil really got a chance to step up (plus Mikey and Dismukes to a lesser extent) and everyone else felt visible. We're now two for three on "New featured players who've gotten the chance to introduce themselves on Weekend Update this season." Don't worry, Ashley. You're closer than you've ever been at this point.

Closing Thoughts

- Well, there is still hope for SNL can continue in the right direction for season 50. In two weeks, John Mulaney returns for his sixth time hosting. Mulaney can still be a bit of a wild card but hopefully, he can inspire some more creativity in the writer's room much like Nate Bargatze did two weeks ago (since, y'know...they're both standups and creative joke writers and all). Yeah, I'm sure they'll have no trouble shoehorning Samberg back into the show. Mulaney will have that covered. See you then!

Saturday Night (2024): Mini Review

Well, I just recently got to see Jason Reitman & Gil Kenans' "Saturday Night" at my local theater the weekend it was released, and I enjoyed it very much. 

I'll warn you ahead of time when any potential spoilers are coming up, but I will start by saying it was very well acted. Everyone really nailed who they were portraying (much more so than either trailer let on). 

The thing I appreciated the most about the film from a structural standpoint was that it struck the exact right balance between fan service moments and Hollywood biopic embellishments as far as padding out the overall narrative went.

Obviously, this is not going to be a 100% factual recreation of the backstage antics on night of SNLs' series premiere. If you're a fan of this shows' real history. The few small creative liberties this film takes don't ask you to suspend your disbelief too much. 

It does have a typical "scrappy underdogs win happy Hollywood ending" that seems like a bit of a stretch but you will be having too much fun to care by that point (especially since you'll likely already KNOW the exact ending of this picture before you even go in).

(Warning: potential spoilers ahead)

While the films' main focus is Gabriel Labelle's Lorne Michaels' trying to keep his show (and himself) from completely unraveling, there seem to be some small side quests that are hastily resolved by the end by everyone coming together to do their parts on getting this show on the air. The strange thing is that these are all the mens' side quests that the women are very peripheral to. Rachel Sennots' Rosie Schuster has a strongly visible support role but it was almost like Kim Matulas' Jane Curtin, Emily Fairns' Laraine Newman and Ella's Hunts' Gilda Radner were only there to show more camaraderie than the guys and individually guide the men along the way on their own mini hero's journeys.

Dylan O'Briens' Dan Aykroyd must learn the error of his womanizing ways by rehearsing his part in the girls' construction worker sketch. Cory Michael Smiths' Chevy Chase must learn not to be such a cocky, smart-ass prick by walking in on J.K. Simmons' Milton Berle flashed his "anaconda" to his then fiance (Kaia Gerbers' Jacqueline Carlin) and then put him down as the nobody he really was in that moment. Lamorne Morris' Garrett Morris wanders around asking everyone what his purpose on this show is until he is convinced he should show off his natural singing talent.

Matt Woods' John Belushi is, again, well performed but is perhaps the most muddied characterization of all. The filmmakers seemed to only capture one element of Belushis' personality and that is that he hates the show, hates television and resents having to even be there (and of course having to work with Chevy doesn't help things their either). This might be due to the films' commitment to depicting a young, idealistic, overly principled pre-fame Belushi, but it still feels a bit too boxed in. Belushi is depicted as walking off the show entirely and as Lorne and others are seen frantically looking for him, he is found on the famous 30 Rockefeller Plaza ice skating rink with a loose goosey free spirited Gilda cheering him on to do a triple axel. 

Lorne finds him as he falls flat on his back doing this and gives him an inspirational speech invoking the famous 30 Rock Prometheus statue in an effort to convince Belushi to start following his dreams (which are presumably dramatic leading man film roles) by signing his contract so he can legally go on the air to do the show.

That was one of the few minor problems I had with this movie from a narrative standpoint, but as I said previously, none of that was enough to take me out of the movie or keep me from enjoying it overall.

You'll have a real fun time if you go in expecting just a fun, dizzying ride of a film loosely pulling from several different accounts of the same real showbiz story. Just put the comedy nerd part of your brain in sleep mode for two hours, and it'll be great!

Anyway, That Week In SNL and The Saturday Night Network are two SNL themed podcasts who have promised their own separate reviews of this film soon. If you read and liked any of my writing on this, I would advise you to check those two podcast reviews when they're released because I know their takes are going to be much more in depth and well informed than mine. Still, I hope you enjoyed reading this special bonus format breaking blog entry from me.

Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)

 Family Feud Election Showdown

- Huh, I certainly wasn't expecting them to dig this template out of mothballs. They were always the strongest use of Kenans' Steve Harvey impression. That "Diddy parties" joke made me laugh. I always liked...some of these, but I'm not sure the current cast/visiting cameos can really pull these off. 

- This wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's not completely inappropriate. I wouldn't have made it the cold open, though...but OK.

- All this season's big cameos still work in this format, I guess. It's not the most ambitious thing they've done, but I haven't been expecting much from this season's election material going in.

- I guess it was real slim pickings this week for the cold open. They didn't have much else to choose from besides "wow, Kamala Harris sure did a lot of interviews this week, didn't she?" and yeah, I can see how hard it would be to stretch that alone into a cold open, so they just had Maya acknowledge that quickly and...move on?

- When Carveys' Biden gets more laughs out of me than Gaffigans' Walz, something may be wrong.

- JAJ as Trump has gotten a bit more...visually jarring. Hope he's not wearing out his voice too much doing this. I liked the brief "where's Melania?" fakeout here but other than that, the writing for the republican side if this was just...a whole lotta nothing. At least this ended much quicker than I was expecting and at least this was more watchable than the Game Of Thrones vs Avengers Family Feud Cold Open they did a few years back (but not that much better than the Trump vs Hillary Family Feud from a few years before that). C-

Monologue 

- So, she's basically singing Justin Timberlakes' 2011 monologue to the tune of Jean Smarts' monologue from...last month?

- Oh, I see. It's now a medley including "Baby One More Time" and "Don't Speak". The Miley impression was...fine.

- It's like they suddenly remembered Arianas' Tidal sketch from 2016 was a viral semi-hit and thought on Thursday "oh wait, we forgot to write another one of these for her...ah, screw it, we'll just make that her monologue this time."

- Bowen in drag. Should've expected that.

- Meh. Not a great start so far, but the hardest part may be out if the way. Let's see what else they got. D+

Singing Bridesmaids

- Ok, now she IS singing...again. Now, it's a purposely bad, off key parody of "Espresso".

- The lyrics are just as jumbled as the original but at least I can sense that the point of this song seems to be to humiliate Andrew Dismukes' groom character. He might be the strongest part if this sketch, so...good for him. I liked his "rhyme scheme" line.

- I'm starting to think this may just be just his "island castaway" sketch with Jason Momoa from last year...just set to pop music and set arcade wedding.

- Now, Marcello shows up as the guy they were singing about. Not crazy that the ending was so rushed here, but at least it did end. I was starting to think it never would. D+

SNL Midnight Matinee: My Best Friend's House

- Hmm...new title card? Possible new branding for pretapes?

- Nice use of Pee Wees' Playhouse style puppetry in this. 

- This was obviously more "cute" than "funny" until the insane sudden reveal if Mikeys ' dad being a serial killer.

- Sarah appears as a severed head in a fridge. Honestly, a bit surprised she didn't have a much bigger part in this. Still, this one of the more successful outings of the "sudden explosive, near vomit inducing gore" pretapes she's been involved with in the past couple of years.

- A Dan Bulla Short? Good for him getting to branch out into directing from *just* writing. Since his ending vanity card indicates he also wrote/directed/produced "Tiny Horse", "Shrimp Tower", "Meatballs" and "Pongo", it looks like they might have been grooming him to take the Smigel/PDD/TLI mantle since...season 49 or 46 at the earliest? B-

Charades

- Jane and (especially) Emil are featured prominently in this. Let's see where this goes. (Spoiler alert: no where for Jane and Emil sadly).

- Bowen seems to be playing a more low key grounded role here and his chemistry with Ariana actually works for me here. I like the idea of them sniping at each other. 

- Arianas' Judy Garland-esque 40s actress voice is a strong choice (is that her "big theater kid energy" coming out or...has it really been that long since she acted?) but it works well with the antagonistic energy of this.

- Dummy fight!

- This might have been my favorite live sketch of the episode. Well done. B-

Celine for UFC

- This may not be the first time Ariana has done her Celine Dion impression on SNL, but the sheer strangeness of this was enough to pique my interest. I didn't laugh a whole lot at it but, still...not bad. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Josts' "subway series/livestreamed car crash jokes" and Che's "R. Kelly" jokes were the only things from them that rose above the level of "white noise" for me. Che almost had something there with his his "78% of black voters" rant but...he didn't quite put that over for me.

- Hey, another wonderfully deranged, manic one-off Ego Update character! This was the exact type of performance I've always liked seeing from her! I especially liked the "drone/STD/USB" joke. Makes me feel a bit guilty about those new earbuds I ordered from Amazon on Wednesday, but...oh well.

- JAJ/Squirm is a pairing we have yet to have seen. Their Gallagher bros commentary may have been goofy and juvenile but...it certainly felt unique to their voices so it was easy for them to make this fun. C-

Sounds Of The Italian Renaissance 

- More JAJMukes nonsense leading into some Samberg/Rudolph nonsense mixed into a white sauce and drizzled over some pizza pasta to reveal that...Ariana is playing a castrati?

- This may seem quite juvenile but once we got to "opium induced coma" this had a "slightly writerly feel" to it. The thousand yard stare from Ariana added a likable oddness to this. It's at least nice to see Maya and Andy being used in the odd non political sketch deep in the show (like Maya was early on in season 46) as long as they're hanging around. Maybe they could get Gaffigan and Carvey in on this? Wouldn't hurt, imo.

- Once again, this sketch had not even a trace of an ending. They just took the longest way possible to there "how do we even follow THAT?" point of the sketch and just slammed on the brakes there, as if they had to make some abrupt sudden cuts out of nowhere. That was the only thing this had really going against it. C+

3 Jennifer Coolidge(s) 3 For Maybelline 

- I didn't mind either Chloes' or Arianas' Coolidge impressions. I certainly wasn't expecting them to have both of them do their impressions together Fallon/Jagger style. I mean, it's not great that this is mostly making me wonder why the actual Jennifer Coolidge hasn't hosted yet, but it's not taking anything away from this episode at this point.

- Carvey as Coolidge was a nice (if not jarring) addition to this. (Careful what I wish for, huh?) Thankfully, he kept this from getting too monotonous (even if all his impressions sound like they're running together now). 

- I wonder if this was originally a pitch Chloe was saving for the real Jennifer Coolidge if the last writer's strike didn't happen and she got to host the season 48 finale? C+

Hotel Detective

- Wow, helluva quick change for Ariana there. They really slammed into this one. (*someone whispers in Caseys' ear*) What's that? Oh, there WAS no quick change? Oh, this sketch is actually a pretape of a live sketch that was originally cut from dress rehearsal suddenly tossed in because the soundboard froze for a like a full minute before Stevie performed "Edge Of Seventeen" and thus the entire shows' timing was thrown out if whack so a planned Reese De'What sketch about The Blob had to be cut? OK, then. 

- They haven't put any live looking non commercial pretapes into the show since at least 2002 so this felt like an interesting throwback in multiple ways.

- One good thing to come out of this episode was the opportunity for JAJ to do another old timey, fast talking 40s G-man voice. Nice of them to let Dismukes get in on this action. Ariana already did one of these but at least this sketch actually called for it. Plus, this also had a writerly feel to it, so...while I can see why this would've gotten cut (redundancy) it's nice to actually see it because it actually grows on you after multiple viewings. I have a feeling this would've gotten thrown up on YouTube either way.

- Ariana does Judy Garland and Dismukes does...either Charles Bronson or Rod Steiger? Either way, Andrew's enunciation was certainly...a strong choice.

- Wow, sudden Rod Serlongfellow! OK, that may have been the best ending to anything this entire episode could've asked for. I mean, I've seen better Rod Serling impressions on SNL but it was a breath of fresh air in this episode. B+

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
3. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Overall Thoughts

- This was far from the worst show of the season so far, but not quite the best. It was wildly uneven. 

- It got off to a rough start but it took a lot more chances than either of this season's previous episodes. For the most part, they paid off and the episode grew on me.

- Ariana Grande turned out to be a strong host who worked well with any cast. She really elevated the material and the cast and writers really knew how to play to her strengths. 

- Bowen didn't quite have the big night I was expecting him to have in an Ariana Grande episode. Fortunately, JAJ and Dismukes had surprisingly strong nights. Chloe, Kenan and Longfellow did well, too.

- Jane and Emil continue to barely earn a paycheck while Ashley Padillas' conspicuous absence continues. I heard she had her own Update piece cut, so...progress? Keep at it, Ashley. You'll get some lines on screen at some point.

Closing Thoughts 

- Well, this season continues to show unexpected signs of promise. Next week, Michael Keaton hosts for his fourth time with Billie Eilish as musical guest. SNL has pulled off successfully good episodes with both of these people at the helm before, so I've been looking forward to this episode the most out of any others that have been announced so far. Hope they don't let me down! See you next week!

(Oh, and soon I will be publishing a blog I wrote reviewing the new film Saturday Night. Keep an eye out for that!)

Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)

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