Steve Carell/Kanye West (10.01.2005)

White House Press Briefing

Tim Russert (Hammond) throws to President George W. Bush (Forte) insisting that the Hurricane Katrina devastation in New Orleans was "getting better" as he has been there "seven times". He gives evasive answers on the federal budget, the war in Iraq and the investigations into other prominent Republicans to Terry Moran (Sudeikis) Wolf Blitzer (Parnell) and Nora O'Donnell (Poehler).

- Fortes' George W. Bush may not have been as technically accurate or as crowd pleasing as Ferrells' but his whiny defensiveness works here. Still, he doesn't do a whole lot to liven up this dry ass late period Downey material.

- Parnells' Wolf Blitzer gets sudden unexpected laughter. Fortes' FEMA rant gets unexpected clapter with the line "who's in charge of this situation?" The "wake up calls" ramble was a solid way to end this. C+

Montage 

Same as season 30 but in wide-screen with Bill Hader, Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis credited as featured players (Sudekis officially joined the cast in May of 2005).

Monologue

Steve Carell, coming hot off the critical and commercial success of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (which just made $100,000,000 at the box office) and the first season of The Office, sings of his greatness (compared to other "frat pack" comedic film stars of this time).

- Steve Carell mentions this is the first SNL episode filmed entirely in high definition. He then claims he auditioned for SNL in 1995 but lost to Will Ferrell. Ten years later, Carell would tweet that this was an untrue joke. That tweet has since disappeared along with Carells' entire Twitter feed. Funny that he would still name check Ferrell twice in this monologue.

- This felt like a cute, quaint throwback to the years when an R-rated comedy was seen as a viable box office success by most studios. Amy, Kenan and Horatio made decent cameos.

- I did like the the "Stillers' a big kiss ass and Owen Wilson is gay" line as well as the repetition of "money falls from my ass". C+

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley insurance agent (Forte) is tougher on a high school girl (Poehler) and her friend (Samberg) than her own dorky, eager to please, push over father (Armisen)

- I remember this being one of the better non-Digital Short commercial pretapes of this season. Unfortunately, the show having repeated one too many times throughout the season lessened its impact.

- Sambergs' first appearance on the show (well, his first pretaped appearance but still...)

- Fortes' line to Armisen "Dammit, Frank. Grow a pair!" was the perfect button to end this on. Already, this episode feels worlds away from the doldrums of season 30. B+

Jet Blue Flight 292

A passenger (Poehler) on a Jet Blue Flight watches a CNN report on the very same plane she's on having malfunctioning landing gear which will cause an emergency landing in Los Angeles. She is much more frightened than her oblivious ignorant husband (Carell) and even the plane's pilot (Parnell V/O) about their situation as she watches anchorman Aaron Brown (Hammond) discuss their doomed, sealed, fate with aerodynamics expert Greg Benedetto (Meyers) and psychologist Dr. Daniel Lane (Hader). She is extremely relieved that this plane has landed safely.

- This feels like the type of specifically hyper topical sketch that the show could've only pulled off in mid to late 2005.

- Steve played the dumb husband well and his "three weeks in Burbank" line got a laugh out of me.

- Haders' first ever live appearance on SNL. He does a great job of switching between "stuffy professor" voice and "casual slightly freaked out regular guy" voice between his two lines in this sketch. Still, he doesn't quite compare to Amy Poehler playing "existential terror" perfectly. 

- Not only is this Bill Haders' first ever appearance on the show, it's also a young Colin Josts' first sketch as a writer that made it to air. Impressive for two different newbies!

- Seth's part was fun with the computer models of the exploding plane and fire trucks. Darrell was great at displaying a callous, morbid detachment as he strung this sketch together. B-

Anderson Cooper 360

Anderson Cooper (Meyers) reports live on the scene from the damaged site of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (Mitchell) thanks those who turned out to support the cause, including big name Hollywood Celebrities who showed up in person. We see Tony Danza (Armisen), Sharon Stone (Poehler), Al Pacino (Hader) and Aaron Neville (Sanz) very ineptly help build a house for displaced Hurricane victims Mamie Thibodaux (Rudolph) and her son Gartrell (Thompson). Ray Romano (Carell) has even showed up to calm down an angry, gun toting Sean Penn. Suddenly, Geraldo Rivera (Hammond) shows up to steal the focus before being scared away himself by errant gunfire.

- Seths' not exactly known for his impressions but you can tell he's trying to hit some really specific beats and tics with his Anderson Cooper and that works well enough for me. He did a fine job anchoring this sketch (no pun intended). Maya and Kenan as mother and costumed son were a nice touch and set up a nice callback later. Finesse as Mayor Ray Nagin didn't add a whole lot but I liked his rant about Sean Penn and his boat full of guns.

- It's a bit strange to think that SNL could mine this much comedy out of a natural disaster that got the attention of the entire country, but it was after roughly six weeks and it's more satirizing self serving media coverage than anything.

- Not only that, but this sketch somehow got four different mini applause breaks for four different impressions. 

- Speaking of, Hader has his first real breakout moment and nearly runs away with this sketch with his DEAD ON Scent Of A Woman/Frank Slade era Al Pacino impression. Seriously, he pretty much nails it! That was the first big applause break of this sketch and got him a lot of buzz on SNL message boards at the time (even around Conans' offices that time as well as you can see from his first appearance).

- The second big applause break comes from Steve Carells' Ray Romano. Maybe not as good as Haders' Pacino but...it's serviceable even if it feels more like Carell affecting a generic goofy voice than anything. It's at least good for a callback to "Sean Penns' boat full of guns" gag.

- The third applause break came from Horatios' Aaron Neville. Oof. Well, in spite of the strange use of makeup and prosthetics and the general "oopsie doo" nature of it all, it's a little less awkward than it was as the focus of it's own sketch last season (see "Aaron Nevilles' City Court" from season 30s Hilary Swank/50 Cent episode). At least it makes Armisens' Tony Danza seem much less awkward than it really is.

- The fourth applause break was from Darrell Hammonds Geraldo Rivera suddenly running scared from gunfire. I've always liked this impression of Darrells and this was definitely the best use of it. I'll say the same about Amys' Sharon Stone even if I was always pretty ambivalent about that one. The callback here to the three costumed sons was a nice touch.

- Overall, this was a real, multifaceted time capsule of a sketch but it was still the real highlight of the episode and they were wise to make it feel like the real centerpiece of the night. B+

The Needlers

Neil & Karen (Carell & Dratch) come to regret their decision to announce their engagement to intensely bickering Sally & Dan Needler (Poehler & Meyers)

- This is now a recurring sketch as it was the followup to a very similar sketch from the previous seasons' Johnny Knoxville/System Of A Down episode from May of 2005. The main difference is that the names of Amy & Seth's characters were changed from "Henderson" to "Neddler".

- This feels like something only Seth & Amy have the right chemistry to pull off and put over. 

- The combination of Amy and Seths' natural warmth mixed with their penchant for snark helps keep this from becoming too offputting.

- Steve and Rachel play uncomfortable bystanders real well. Sudeikis had possibly his best lines in the entire show as the waiter. B-

Girls Gone Wild Katrina

Doug Stanhope (Sudeikis) swims through the wreckage of Katrina offering fresh water and shelter to women who will flash their breasts on camera.

- Wow. This wasn't quite as tasteless as I remembered (in fact, it's a little more grating and repetitive with all the censored flashing and screeching) but still, the audience is pretty much stunned into near silence as if the barely knew how to react. 

- It serves as a scathing indictment of the culture that gave us "Girls Gone Wild" in the first place, that's for sure.

- I'll also say that I liked the cheap digital camera feel of this. This also looks and feels different than any pretape SNL has done in the past. I wonder if Jorma and Akiva were involved in filming this seeing as it would be their first show as writers, too? C+

Backstage

Lorne convinces Maya her eighth month of pregnancy is unnoticeable on camera and asks Finesse to make sure Kanye isn't going to say anything too crazy on live TV. An immediately suspicious Kanye walks out for his performance of "Gold Digger" and "Touch The Sky" and has an awkward reunion with Mike Myers (Himself).

- After appearing in this episode, Maya would go on maternity leave and miss quite a great deal of this season up until the Steve Martin/Prince episode in February of 2006.

- It's amazing that Kanye once had the ability to convince America he had something resembling a sense of humor about himself. I genuinely have to wonder what really happened to Kanye over the years that made him increasingly self absorbed.

- Mike Myers was fine here. He did a fine job of mining his own awkward discomfort...six weeks later.

- Even Maya was charming here but Finesse and Lornes' parts felt like something that could've been cut from this (especially Mayas' "he still works here?" line). 

- Maybe this wasn't the best "meta/backstage" sketch the show has ever done, but hey...I'll take it. C+

Weekend Update w/Amy Poehler & Tina Fey Horatio Sanz

Amy Poehler immediately announces Tina is on "assisgment" maternity leave as she has just had her first child. 

Horatio Sanz is filling in the anchor chair and delivers an editorial explaining why President Bushs' increasingly damaging scandals make him look like "a genius".

Finesse Mitchells' report on the New York club scene turns into a story about his accidentally picking up a cross dresser.

Featured players Bill Hader and Andy Samberg introduce themselves with a "friendly new guy impression off".

- Horatio Sanz delivering Weekend Update jokes is truly a sight to behold. He's not necessarily bad, but you can sense an awkward stilted discomfort in his delivery...kind of like Aykroyd in season 3 but worse. His panda bear mating joke has aged particularly poorly given certain personal revelations about him that came out in more recent years. His Bush editorial was fine though. He seemed more in his element there.

- As far as Amys' jokes went, her first one (about what was "hurting the nations' image" at that time) was the only one that hit for me. All her others just slid right out of my brain.

- Finesses' stand up bit is...pretty embarassing at this point. This is definitely something that would NOT have flown at any point in the last ten years or so. Still, he debuted his catchphrase "snap famous" with this one which he would use as the title of a future standup special, so...at least HE got something out of it.

- At least they already have a new cast member who could deliver MUCH better commentaries on the NYC club scene five years down the road...

- Obviously, Bill and Andys' debut was the true highlight of this Weekend Update. According to The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast, this was mostly written by Andy Samberg. Bill Hader may have helped as he and Andy had been bonding and becoming friends at this time.

- According to him and Seth, all of Andys' attempts at writing original weird sketches were bombing at table reads and getting cut so they took someone's suggestion to write an Update feature since it's typically much easier for new cast members to break into the show that way.

- It expertly showcases Bills' talent for mimicry with Andys' penchant for silly abstract goofiness. You can see how these two guys would be major players in making the show feel fresh and relevant to a new generation again. 

- Speaking of, even though all of Bills' impressions in this episode have been strictly apolitical and of movie stars (only two of which were still alive at the time and one of which was still somewhat relevant to modern audiences in 2005) it didn't hurt him or this episode at all seeing as he and Andy were just the type of fresh blood the show needed to move it into a new direction at this time. C+

Lundford Twins Feel Good Variety Hour

The Lunford Twins (Armisen and Carell) emcee an old timey Hee Haw/Smothers Brothers type musical variety show from 1967 with special guests Canadian singer Connie Brenda (Rudolph), the Lunford Dancers (Forte, Parnell, Dratch, Danielle Flora) "cry song" king Dimothy Daniels (Thompson) and of course Dorothy Winkster as "Granny Crabtree".

- This was a sequel to a sketch that originated with the Paul Giamatti episode from the previous season. I do have to wonder if Tina and Maya had a hand in writing the first one? It definitely feels like something that would be well within their wheelhouse especially since they both did lowkey one woman tributes to 70s variety shows on Mayas' short lived 2016 sketch show with Martin Short.

- This was fine. It might have felt a little dry years ago but it wasn't too self indulgent for a musical sketch that Fred Armisen was front and center for.

- It's the type of sketch that grows on you over time. I might not really have been able to appreciate this at all today without having seen the various 70s variety offerings the That Week In SNL Twitch stream occasionally provides (especially on "weird nights").

- Fred and Steve did a fine job anchoring this. Maya performed her song well (I liked how much of an obvious "I Am Woman, Here Me Roar" knock off it was) and Kenans song may have been the funniest part of this.

- The dance number was fun. Longtime SNL coreographer Danielle Flora was obviously filling in for Tina this week as she was one of the dancers in the last installment. That was NOT writer Liz Cackowski as some people had originally thought. B-

TV Funhouse: Fun With Real Audio

Supreme Court Chief Justice Nominee gives long winded, evasive legalese filled answers to questions in everyday situations to even the simplest of questions.

- I liked the visual gags of Judge Roberts having sex with his wife (very toned down by Smigel standards) in the McDonalds' drive thru, discovering a Janitor is Chuck Schumer in disguise, at a Rolling Stones concert and getting beat up as a Referee at his kids Little League game. 

- Otherwise, this was another political piece that felt too tied to one very specific point in history and partly confirmed my suspicion from this time that Smigel was losing his edge a bit and TV Funhouse was starting to run out of steam with political "Real Audio" stuff. C+

Debbie Downer

Debbie (Dratch) is immediately smitten with similarly minded Bob Bummer (Carell)

- Wow, between this, Nick Burns, Merv The Perv and The Needlers the early to mid 2000s turned out to be a real underrated golden era for "recurring characters that have their own opening montage and theme songs", didn't they? Boy, those made comebacks in a big way!

- I was never that big on Debbie Downer (the revival in Daniel Craigs' season 45 episode was just fine) but this might have been my favorite. Carells' facial expressions, "boing" sound effect and his theme song really added something to this. B-

Overall Thoughts

- This had to have been one of the stronger season premieres SNL has seen in some time (especially coming off the downward spiral that lead into one of the most historically weak SNL seasons of all time). 

- There was a lot of promising stuff that hinted toward a newer, brighter era for the show that would lead to it producing more creative and formative humor for my generation and beyond. Maybe Seth filling in for Tina as head writer this week helped give this episode a fresher feel?

Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)

 Five Timers Club Cold Open

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monologue 

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

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

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

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

Parking Lot

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

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

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

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

An Act Of Kindness 

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

Christmas Week Airport Parade

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

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

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

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

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sabado Gigante

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

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

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

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

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

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

Charlie Brown Christmas 

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

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

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

CUT FOR TIME: How The Grinch Stole Christmas 

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

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

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

Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)

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

Ranking Each Of Martin Shorts' Episodes From Best To Worst

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

Overall Thoughts 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Closing Thoughts 

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

Long, Extended Plug

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)

Crime Stories w/Nancy Grace

- Well, I've never cared much for any of the shows' previous takes on Nancy Grace (they haven't aged all that well)...but I like Sarah Sherman enough that I am willing to give this a chance...and I do like what Sarah's giving us so far. 

- She's making the absolute most out of this material. If anyone can make a sketch where the entire take on the UHC shooter story seems to be "lol he's a sex symbol in some corners of social media", it's Sarah.

- I especially liked the Jonbenets' ghost "YOU USED ME" joke as well as Marcellos' SCREAMIMG YOUTUBE AD!!!

- Kenans' the only one who can elevate those "lol McDonalds is bad for you" jokes that probably could've been cut. Ashley and Emil made the absolute most out of their own small parts.

- Overall, a lighter, sillier take on Nancy Grace's media presence in her YouTube era than Amy Poehler used to give us in her cable news era really saved this. I for sure like Sarahs' characterization which is exaggerated just the right amount over Amys' portrayal which was far too drawled and drawn out. 

- This turned out to be one of the better frameworks for the evergreen "three random guests on some news pundit show" cold opens they've used. Nice to have a sudden segue into LFNY for once though. B+

Monologue 

- Welp, here we go.

- So far, I liked that "50th anniversary/25 great years" joke at SNL & Lornes' expense. Reminded me a lot of his "25 years and only four funny" jokes from his 25th anniversary monologue.

- That "Baby oil sniffing dogs" joke and the Jake Paul stuff didn't do anything for me (I mean, I don't like Jake Paul either but that just felt pointless to me) but weirdly, the bit about how "it's all about looks" aged better in 2024 when applied between Luigi Mangione and Jonah Hill than it did in 1996 when applied between Clarence Thomas and Denzel Washington (but that just speaks more to how the rise of social media has degraded our society in general than anything else).

- I wasn’t crazy about him seemingly taking the UHC CEOs' side and humanizing him until that "sometimes drug dealers get shot" comment. He turned that around nicely.

- His Trump stuff was...well, it wasn't too muddled per se. I mean, he had a valid take on the "dignity" of America's history and all but I personally could've done without it. I did like the line "it COULD happen to a NICER guy".

- As far as his Elon adjacent material goes...well, it was better than what he said about Elon in "Selective Outrage" (and that's a very low bar to clear since he blatantly just kissed Elons' ass there). At least his Joe & Hunter Biden jokes were a sensible enough take to end this on.

- Well, that was FAR from Chris Rocks' worst SNL host monologue I've ever seen. Maybe it wasn't his best because it felt like he was going all over the place but that story about him storming out of that unnamed billionaires' party in a huff over an unauthorized recording (apparently of the same Elon/deportation jokes he told on this show tonight which had me a bit worried) had me guarding my expectations so, I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. C+

Santa's Village

- Hmm..."white Santas be like this but black Santas be like that" seems like almost too basic of a premise but I'm hoping Devon and JAJ can add something to it.

- Seems like they're making Rock do most of the heavy lifting which isn't doing this any favors. I did like Dismukes line "we just remembered we're Jewish". 

- Finally, Chloe...gives Devon and surprise Jane something to work with. Nice of them to work Emil into this too.

- Overall, not a bad sketch for what it was. Too bad it took about a full minute too long to get going. C-

Simpsons Christmas Boogie Gift

- Hmm, judging from the commercial bumper...this seemed like it's going to be done in the same vein as that "Yankee swap" sketch from last year's Kate McKinnon episode. Thankfully, this turned out quite a bit different. The brief back and forth between Sarah & Emil was funny.

- Rocks' enthusiasm at his "Simpsoified" portrait is a charming way to string this along. The back and forth between Dismukes and Heidi was funny. Chloes' "tampons" line was funny enough. 

- I gotta admit, Chris Rock suddenly free associating his own dark Simpsons fanfic with slight assists from everyone else is really winning me over. I know a lot of people have said they don't see how Chris Rock even makes sense as the right host for this but personally, I had an easier time picturing him starting on a tangent in his standup act about Homer drinking and strangling Bart. I would agree that he may not be the right host to go off on a fantasy about sleeping with Marge though.

- Maybe it's my longtime Simpsons fandom that's making me appreciate the string of fan service character references here, (I mean, hey...I ASKED for a couple of specific Simpsons themed items for Xmas this year, let's see if i actually get either one) but this might have been my second favorite live sketch of the night. I don't even mind that this feels pretty par for the course of any era of SNL where Mikey Day is involved in the creative processes. Chloes' Marge didn't do too much for me, though.

- By the way, is it more than just a coincidence that Chris was wearing the exact same outfit as Carl Carlsson here? B+

Grandpas' Magic Car

- Ok, the gag of "lol boomers and Gen Silent are racist misogynists" may not be enough to fully sustain this but the "living car" gags were executed well and this piece did have its own rustic cinematic charm to it. 

- The ending seemed kind of rushed (I wasn't even mad at that Lyft button at the end even though those are never ideal) but I didn't hate that slam on the brakes either (if you'll pardon the expression). C-

Sexual Harassment Charlie III

- I could immediately tell where this was headed the moment I saw how everyone was arranged, and I honestly didn't mind too much. 

- I mean, we did just have an overload of sketch retreads from 2019 a month ago with Charli XCX, but I honestly didn't mind another one of these. Kenans' silliness usually puts these over for me (even if there's very little variation to his lines), and it helps that they've only ever done three of these in seven years. 

- Plus, this sketch does make sense in a Chris Rock hosted episode. The only real hard demerits against this were that it was a little too long, it lacked a crackling energy the first two had and Dismukes isn't really believable in a office boss type role as Beck Bennet was. C+

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Josts' opening UHC CEO shooter rant was shockingly milquetoast but I like his Time magazine/RFK Polio/whale meat vaccine jokes

- Che's drone joke was unsurprisingly try hard but his Trump/Amazon joke was OK. Too bad it was immediately followed by his first "it's the 90s" joke.

- The rest of Colin and Michaels' jokes were pure white noise to me. Thankfully, the guest commentaries ended up greatly elevating this Update. 

- Dismukes as "a bald man"? OK, let's see where this actually goes. 

- His energy is putting this over and the bit with the turtleneck and "jury duty/eyebrows/lotion" jokes were pretty funny. The "Marvel money/impotence/DON'T LAUGH" joke was the exact right note to end this on.

- I had heard this was something that Beck Bennet tried to get on air in season 44. It's funny to see him believably pull off something Beck did after I just talked about a sketch where he...didn't just do that.

- Jane Wickline on/as Sabrina Carpenter? Let's see where THIS goes...

- Well, I can't say I've ever seen anything as "high concept yet stripped bare and straightforward about what it's going for" as Jane Wicklines' second ever Update song.

- This had the odd feeling of being "not aimed at me" but not in an off-putting way. Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm all in on the current pop girlie scene (I mean, I mostly some of the names mentioned here and some of the songs attached to those names) but let's just say I sometimes gloss over the right corners of Twitter enough to know what Janes' going for here. B-

Botched Surgery

- Another sketch where Sarah is the main character. Chris Rock is the only one defending here because he's not completely keyed in to Sarahs' extreme self-consciousness.

- Gee, I hope something else happens in this sketch because i don't think I can take much more of this Sarah charct...WHAT'S THIS?!?SUDDEN SANDLER!!! What a pleasant surprise! He played off the sudden blood tube malfunction well and transitioned that quite flawlessly into the meta moments between him, Ego, Bowen, Emil and Rock to keep this sketch at JUST the right level of "charmingly falling completely apart." Kudos to Sarah for being the one to step in and officially jumpstart the sketch again at that point to keep it going.

- This may have been my actual favorite live sketch of the night. Seeing a Gracie Abrams bumper as I type this makes me think she and Sandler each might have something to do with getting the other on this week. 

- I have a feeling Sandlers' daughters might be fans/friends of Gracies' and that may be why Adam agreed to at least cameo tonight? If that's the case, was Sandler originally scheduled to host tonight but had to drop out suddenly, resulting in Chris Rock being a last-minute replacement? That might explain why it felt like they took a little extra time in announcing this and next week's lineup. B+

Your Office Christmas Party

- Ok, so now we're bringing back a Pete Davidson/Jay Pharroh rap from ten years ago but stripping it of any music whatsoever and executing it more like the Christmas day church service pretape...also from ten years ago and the graduation pretape from...five and a half years ago. Is that it? Oh, I see. They did leave in the "one guy is still trying to finish his days' work as the party gets started" joke but gave that role to Emil. Ok.

- Well, the only real weak parts of this were when I suddenly realized how absent Michael Longfellow was the entire show and how often they felt the need to cut back to the cleaning crew getting drunk. I didn't care much for JAJs screeching son here either. 

- Jane, Heidi, and Ashleys' parts were fine but not my favorites. Jane's character reminded me too much of her and Marcellos' Update commentary from Mulaneys' episode last month (and Amy Adams' character from the now decade old sketch that clearly inspired this). Mikey and Marcellos' bit felt like something they could've done a teeny bit more with. I did appreciate the Easter egg of that Penne Ala Vodka callback, though. The Chris, Ego & Sarah scenes were definitely my favorite. C-

Blind Date

- Chris Rock blatantly lies to Ego Nwodim about being her blind date in order to get her to have sex with him in her car. Well, I can't say I've seen this exact sketch premise before on SNL, and I do like the very quiet, low-key, subtle nature of this.

- Marcello enters as the real blind date, which turns out to be a low-key suave skeeze. His performance made me realize how much I liked this whole sketch being underplayed so much. 

- Suddenly, Rocks' Character doesn't look so bad after all. I kinda saw that ending coming, but I'm not mad about it at all. I'm less enthused about how underused Longfellow, Wickline, and Wakim were here (and really the whole show in Longfellows case). B-

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. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
5. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
6. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
7. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
8. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
9. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Ranking Each Of Chris Rocks' Episodes From Best To Worst

1. Chris Rock/The Wallflowers (11.02.1996)
2. Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
3. Chris Rock/Megan Thee Stallion (10.03.2020)
4. Chris Rock/Prince (11.01.2014)

Overall Thoughts

- Well, my expectations were pretty low for this episode, considering how Chris Rocks' previous two hosting stints went down. Still, there were a few small surprises here and there that made this episode one of his better ones for me, personally.

- I would place this one slightly above last weeks' episode with Pedro Pascal simply because the highs were higher even if the lows were about the same. While this episode was still far from the best of this season, obviously, it was far from the worst. Still, the fact that I somehow included both this weeks' and last week's episodes in my personal top five rankings is more just a damning indictment of this season than anything. Hopefully, Paul Mescals' episode gets pushed into the top of my bottom five in a week.

- Cast balance remains about the same. The newbies are still making strides while Mikey, Chloe, Devon, Bowen, Longfellow and (sadly) JAJ are still being cut back on. Sarah, Ego and Kenan had strong nights at least.

Closing Thoughts 

- Well, that was a nice little escape. Next week, Martin Short returns to host the big Christmas show of season 50!

- This is one I am cautiously excited for as Shorts' always been a strong comedic performer who I've never seen host even a remotely bad episode on the whole.

- Plus, Martys' officially getting to join the five timers' club at this point! By that, I just mean he should be getting to graduate from being a mere waiter/busboy to being a full time member! Gee, I sure hope the monologue involves someone explaining to him how it DOES count if he cohosts with Steve and/or Chevy as they officially induct him!

- SNL usually pulls out all the big stops for Christmas. It's not like they've never had a lackluster or just outright bad Christmas show in the past but a Christmas episode hosted by Martin Short of all people should be the big boost season 50 needs right about now as they head straight into their big anniversary show two months from now. If they manage to biff this one even slightly, I will be stunned. See you then!

...and by the way, the official trailer of the We Heart Hader Podcast is officially out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music right now. It contains a sneak preview of our first episode where we discuss Bill Hader and Andy Sambergs' impression off from the season 31 premiere. Me and Deej will be recording the second episode on Tuesday and we will be recording and releasing new episodes every two weeks starting early in the new year.

Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)

 Church Chat

- Ah, now THIS is more of what I wanted to see from Carveys' sudden return in season 50! (even if Dana seems to have completely lost the voice by this point).

- Too bad the circle of SNLs' online fandom that I roll with has already figured out that Church Chat only works if at least Robert Smigel and/or Jim Downey are writing for Dana (and part of me kinda hopes he wasn't this time because whoever did write this...it wasn't their best work).

- Already off to a half assed feeling start with the seemingly obligatory "Hawk Tuah/Wicked references". 2024, ladies and gentlemen.

- Well, who didn't see those Sabrina Carpenter/Jesus jokes coming from two towns over? I will admit I did chuckle at "He's working late, cuz he's a savior".

- More Matt Gaetz! This is LESS of what I wanted to see from Sarah Sherman on the show in any capacity.

- David Spade as Hunter Biden? Okay, I...kinda see it? Hell, it's kinda nice to see Spade pop up on SNL anyway since he usually only cameos very sporadically. It kinda felt the same as seeing Sandler or Eddie Murphy host in the modern era, but...y'know on a much smaller scale.

- Sadly, the "podcast/pardon me" jokes may have been the absolute laziest part of this long sleepwalk of a sketch.

- Seriously though, was Spade involved with the writing of this at all? This feels like it was mainly written just because Spade just had some Hunter Biden jokes of his own he wanted to get out there on the show.

- Still though, it's a nice break from Carveys' Joe Biden. This was definitely one of the weaker Church Chats, but it was still at least preferable to another lame white house cold open with Carvey & Spade as father & son Biden.

- Marcello as Juan Soto? Sure, whatever. Too bad he didn't bring the energy to this.

- The song seemed like it was going to be a decent way to end this but it ended up feeling the most like they "gave up" on the whole thing here.

- Yeah, this definitely came off feeling like it would have been better off getting rewritten and split off into a couple of Update commentaries than a cold open (even though tonight's Update felt like it was as close to the ideal length as possible) but this whole thing felt like it was written way too late in the week for that to be considered an option. D+

Monologue

- Well, based on this weeks' promos I was really hoping Paul Mescal would deliver some strong performances in the show. I was glad to see he has as much love and reverence for the show as I do.

- This monologue didn’t exactly perk up the energy level as much as I had hoped, but he had enough laid back charm to make a montage of his own crying scenes funny. Plus, he handled that "Irish stereotypes" portion of the monologue like a pro.

- More Marcello in short shorts didn't do much for me but overall the monologue made me feel a little bit better about the rest of the shows' potential. C+

Earring

- Glad to see Emil get a lead comedic role (and Ashley get even a heavily physical supporting part near the end).

- Even Heidi and Paul turned in funny restrained performances (by Heidi's standards, anyway...up until she had a spatula hanging off her bleeding earlobe). I actually chuckled at the "Gummo/Metallica" lines.

- Longfellows entrance as Pauls' Trent Reznor like lil bro was a nice button on this. I liked how fairly grounded this felt. Decent post monologue sketch. C+

Gladiator Twosical

- This was another example of SNLs' writers making the absolute most out of the most nothing of premises.

- Kenan and Bowens' song was a cute way to open this. I liked how well the mild fake gore was coreographed in Pauls' first solo number and I liked the Hamilton style rap battle between him and Mikeys' emperor.

- Good use of Jane's musical talents. That number of hers might have been better than her song from Nate Bargatzes' Update. JAJ had a fun role in this, too.

- I definitely liked how accessible this felt. I liked that it wasn't too steeped in the lore of either "Gladiator", "Moana", "Wicked" or even "Hamilton".

- Maybe this wasn't my favorite SNL pretape of all time, but it fit the vibe of this episode well. B-

Capanellis' Shoot

- Ooh, an actressy Ashley part. This looks promising.

- Ok, so Paul Mescal is going to be the aggrieved one and Ashley mostly plays a chipper straight woman. Not a bad concept.

- I liked the ending to this sketch but Kenans' strong choice of an accent was about as jarring as Pauls' non-choice to stick with his actual Irish accent (since he did a decent American non-accent in the previous sketch) but I can't say either choice really hurt this sketch. B-

PDD Loves Mescal

- Huh...at least this was played a little too subtly and romanticized to count as your run of the mill "lolgay" sketch. In fact, this might have been played TOO subtly and low key for it's own good.

- I mean, if this has to be the "obligatory host is hot" sketch that the show seems to have no problem returning to in 2024, I can live with it.

- This wasn't doing much for me...until the townspeople showed up. Still, I can't say this was one of my favorite PDD shorts.

- Was anyone else distracted ny what sounded like...accidentally mic'ed crew members moving scenery or was that just me?

- Oh, apparently it IS just me because it sure as hell sounds like they didn't bother editing those same moments out of the YouTube upload. C-

Swashbucklers All Male Revue

- For a brief second, I was on "high Domingo alert" until I noticed Chloe was sitting with the other girls in the audience instead of just Dismukes...who himself was onstage with the other guys. Also, I thought to myself "yeah, c'mon...back to back episodes, I mean, we all know they haven't been THAT nakedly desperate with a recurring new character since Jon Lovitz debuted the pathological liar back in season 11."

- This took a bit too long to get going in general but the writerly, detailed nature of this sketch kept me intrigued enough.

- I didn't know what to make of them suddenly switching from Heidi to Ego being the in the designated Melissa Villaseñor "odd one out who's weirdly into this whole thing" role. On second viewing, Ego put this over for me.

- Sudden mop headed Longfellow made me chuckle.

- Marcello being thrown off the boat after revealing he has scurvy was a moment that worked for me. Didn't care too much for Emils' peg legs though. Glad they didn't do too much with that.

- Heidi being thrown off the boat was a predictable but fitting (if not slightly visually and possibly physically botched) gag and I did like the ending where the guys only start actually stripping once the four main women leave. C-

Weekend Update w/Jost & Che

- Of the opening CEO shooting ramble, I liked Jost & Che's "Christmas Tree/Port Authority/ Lucky S Bechalive" lines.

- I also liked Che's "Billy Long" and "National Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day" jokes. I think the setup to that last one actually made it for me. That one ALMOST made up for those cheap ass Kash Patel jokes. Other than those, absolutely nothing else worked for me.

- Heidi's new character definitely had that "all over the place feeling" to it but at least Marcellos' dead eyed straight man performance saved this for me (even his dumbest lines and during his visible struggle not to break) just when Heidi and her horny Shaboozey puns were getting to be a bit much for me.

- The brief, unexpected cutaway to Colin was a nice format break for this Heidi/Marcello two-hander. The "dookie" puns (did it even occur to them to spell it "D-U-K-E-Y" as to not totally belabor the joke?) were pretty much the ideal note to end this entire Update on. C-

Brilliant Lawyer

- Already Pauls' outfit and Dismukes as a lawyer has me intrigued. The Devo hat alone is a nice touch.

- The dozen and a half other shuffling extras dressed identically to Paul made me chuckle.

- I'm sure I'm not the only one who got "we are bald men" vibes from this sketches big reveal but am I the only one who got slight Jack Harlow vibes from...seeing Paul Mescal with a much thicker beard?

- Bowen as the angry judge really served this well and it ended on the exact right beat.

- I also liked how the preceding band shot was timed just right as to not give away the joke immediately. This was definitely my second favorite live sketch of the night. B+

Spotify Wrapped

- The strange, detail heavy nature of this sketch had me intrigued, but the reveal of this being another Bowen vanity piece had me almost struggling to not tune out.

- Wow. Good thing they covered for Paul not even bothering to attempt another accent besides his own just by having Ego shout "you're Irish" at him.

- Hmm...some live audience members seem to be cheering prematurely at something or someone we cannot see on camera yet. Wonder if it's another surprise cameo? Well, Gee, if it is, I sure hope it's somebody truly worthy of such a thing!

- The random Trisha Paytas cameo (don't ask me how or why I know that name or face because I sure as hell can't tell you) made me hit my wall with the niche terminally online pop culture pandering in this episode but thankfully Pauls' speech signaled the sketch was almost over anyway.

- Hey, real quick. I have not been able to get my own Spotify Wrapped this year. Is it because I only use the free version of Spotify to sporadically listen to three or four different podcasts instead of music? C-

Buzzfeed

- Ok, JAJ may have just ran away with this entire show here. No one could've inhabited the role of present day Bob Dylan on SNL more perfectly than him. His sudden "what?" was my first genuine laugh of the night.

- Dismukes doesn't really do a strong Springsteen but his line "like all my stories, that's not true" was my second biggest laugh of this sketch.

- Paul did a strong Bono. No real surprise there. He may not have had the best material in this sketch but he got it to the finish line.

- Thank God the show realized that Chloes' Chalamet can't sustain an entire live sketch and had her exit early (I mean, that impression of hers barely sustained any of the pretapes it was in). I did like her "these guys love appetizers" line. Heidi as the reporter was fine. B+

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. Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
5. Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
6. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
7. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
8. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)

Overall Thoughts

- As I had hoped, this episode sort of restabilized SNL after the hype surrounding the Charli XCX episode. The focus on a more mainstream host with more mass appeal certainly helped (and also that they kept the social media/pop culture clout chasing sketches to a more restrained minimum).

- Paul Mescal was a decent, committed host even if he didn't give as super strong of a performance as he did in that taped promo from earlier in the week. He met my expectations of him as a host that the show set when Charli was on in that they both turned in strong enough performances that the their episodes' weaknesses couldn't possibly be blamed on them specifically.

- Overall, this episode wasn't exactly my favorite of the season so far, but I didn't actively hate it. It got off to a slow, disappointing start at first, but it had a strong middle and closed with a bit of a banger. It was very "mid" by present-day SNL standards, a real necessary pallette cleanser.

- As far as cast airtime goes, there appeared to be more of a balance. I mean, it didn't seem like any specific cast members "dominated" the show. Heidi and Marcello came close, but they really only had a couple of big parts each.

- Emil also came close, but he is a first year featured player who the show is displaying much more confidence in. JAJ and Dismukes each hit a couple of their own bits out of the park.

- Mikey seemed relegated to only one pretape and a dress cut. Ashley seems to be getting more substantial roles. Kenan, Sarah, Longfellow, Ego, Jane, Chloe, Devon and Bowen seemed to take small hits.

Closing Thoughts

- Well, SNL is in a somewhat safe place once again, but for how long? Next week, Chris Rock hosts for his fourth time...and I gotta say I have some pretty mixed feelings about that. I mean, the guy may only be 2 for 3 on hosting decent episodes.

- I only say "2 for 3" because his 2014 episode had a few still memorable black clouds hovering over it (if you'll pardon the expression) but looking back at my review of Rocks' 2020 episode, I feel I may have graded it on the curve of it being the first episode of the "COVID season" where it really felt like a miracle that the show was being produced live in studio at all without as much as a single positive rapid swap test shutting the show down. Man, they really dodged a bullet with Morgan Wallen that first month, huh? I mean, they could've dodged a second one, but still.

- I remember liking Chris Rocks' 2020 monologue the most out of that episode. I apparently thought that was one of the better parts of that episode along with Chloes' Drew Barrymore and (maybe?) Kyles' video game sketch. I may have to watch that one again some time in the next week just to see how it holds up. I just remember that one being one of the more "mid" episodes from a VERY "mid" season. (While we're on the subject of season 46, I just went over my Elon Musk review and I personally don't think I was too easy on that one and have absolutely zero desire to go back and watch it, I may not have heard enough backstage stories from that week to be sure yet. Also, looking back at any old reviews I did sure does make me as  thankful as i assume you all are that I decided to make these format changes this season).

...and also, I'd like to announce that I will be cohosting my own podcast with Deej Barens (who you might have seen recently on the same SNN Patron Feedback shows as me). We have already recorded the trailer and the first episode. In fact, she has sent me a rough edit of that first episode (but as of this writing/publishing I have not had the time to listen to the whole thing because I've been too busy trying to get this blog entry you're reading finished in a timely manner, you see). I'll give you more information when closer to when the podcast is released (possibly in the new year?)

See you next week.

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!