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!

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!