The following blog entry is a companion piece to last weeks’ episode of the Saturday Night Networks’ 50 Greatest Episode Countdown series. Give it a watch OR a listen, won't you?
These are excerpts from the original review of this SNL episode I posted back in the fall of 2016 with new comments from 2025. Excerpts from the original review are posted here in italics. New comments are presented in standard format text.
Hallelujah
This cold open set the most appropriate tone possible for this episode. I seriously considered whether this episode would open with something as somber as what they followed events like 9/11 and the Sandy Hook/Paris shootings with and I honestly think they made the right call here. Given the mood of the country, they eased us into the rest of the show well. The nods to Leonard Cohen (RIP) and Kates' message at the end were quite touching. (not going to assign a letter grade to this because, obviously…)
Yeah, people did poke fun at SNL for doing this type of cold open weeks and months after the fact. Even SNL poked fun at SNL for doing this in its own finale to this season with Baldwins’ Trump singing Hallelujah with the rest of the cast (and ScarJo) playing others in his orbit. I’m sure that was meant as just as much an act of catharsis/wishful thinking in the season finale as it was here.
Most people were only able to see how overly maudlin and navel gazing this seemed once Trumps’ first term in office actually started and we were far, far removed from the moment itself in time. The quickest to jump on and criticize the show for this were the Chapo Trap House “dirtbag leftist” DSA types…and SNL’s own Rob Schneider who used the opportunity to declare the show “dead” at one point.
Still, when you look at this IN the actual moment, you can see how the show came up with this out of desperation and necessity. The mood of most of the country at the time was indeed quite dark. People were certainly fearing for their livelihoods and wondering how life would go on. On a much less important scale, people were wondering if SNL itself would be legally allowed to continue. Of course, these feelings would be intensified in the next four to eight years for different reasons, but no one would know exactly what to expect all the same.
Part of me thinks that there were other song choices that would’ve made a bit more sense than Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (or even John Lennons’ “Imagine” which may have been their first choice according to The Hollywood Reporters’ oral history of this season's political coverage…which in my mind only makes sense as what they would’ve done had Hillary WON) but in the context of the week that was, Leonard Cohen had passed away that week and Lorne, being an old Canadian, was fan of his, so it had to have been one of those things that just came together in the moment and seemed appropriate to run with.
It’s hard to make an argument that SNL didn’t meet the moment here. As I wrote back then, the show has always known how to properly address the elephant in the room in times of national distress and tragedy in an emotionally sincere and heartfelt manner and provide a gentle segue into the show itself letting people know that it’s OK to laugh for a bit in order to move forward. Kate/Hillary’s line about “not giving up” was that segue.
Speaking of Kate as Hillary and “emotional sincerity”, our dear friend Stooge bought up a potentially hot take from around this time that Kate should have done this cold opening as herself instead of Hillary…which I think makes sense when you consider that this is the only one of those “somber” cold opens that has a character/impression in it rather than Lorne, a cast member or another special guest sincerely addressing the audience as themselves.
It is easy to sit back and wish SNL had the guts to be angrier in the moment (or at least as “cheeky” as they would be around this time eight years later) but we needed at least a couple weeks to get over the initial shock of what had just happened this week and see what would actually happen during this presidency in order to get to that point.
Monologue
That was the best monologue done on SNL in at least twenty years. Dave Chappelle is still a stand up legend and it's great to see he still hasn't lost his touch. The Obama and White protest bits cracked me up in particular (hell, he’s the only person to make a truly funny and worthwhile Harambe reference EVER) and I liked that he chose to end on something poignant and thoughtful. My only complaints would be that I thought the Pulse/ISIS allegiance and pussy grabbing references weren’t in the absolute best taste (okay, I chucked at the former even if it felt a little misguided to me…) but rather than split hairs on those two points I will leave well enough alone. A+
Hoo boy, um, well…I would still say this was the best monologue that Dave Chappelle has done on this show...ever...by default.
Keep in mind that in 2016, Chappelle wasn’t yet catching flak for punching down on any particular group yet because his infamous Netflix specials were still years away at this point. In fact, he was just starting to make his big comeback into the standup scene at this time so it wasn’t like he was doing a whole lot publicly.
It felt like a lot of people who used to like Chappelles’ stand up and sketches (or grew to like them at one time) were just pleased to see him on TV performing again. That, plus this obviously being a time when most of the world was looking for small pockets of calm, comfort and optimism wherever they could find it were what most likely led to this episode being as highly rated as it was (especially at the time).
After my experience of having to parse out all of his previous monologues for my reviews of his other SNL episodes (and thus re-parse this one a bit better), I can confidently say that this was Daves’ least offensive host monologue.
His bits about “knowing the whites” and America having “elected an internet troll as president” ring as true as ever…and I have to say the white riots, gorilla costumes and blue lives matter bits still hold up. The “gentrified Brooklyn/balloon basket” bit probably gave me my biggest laugh out of all of this. I stand by my original comments about the Pulse nightclub/ISIS and “Trump hotel” bits being in questionable taste (he did say “sorry, Lorne” after that last one. Was that supposed to be an adlib or dress cut that he just threw back in there just for the hell of it?). Sadly, his bit about wanting to get a tax break under Trump and then later imploring that we “give him a chance” seemed more like a subtle hint toward the unfortunate direction his standup was heading in than anything now.
The White House party/Frederick Douglass story was quite poignant and thought provoking I’ll admit (I do have to wonder which Roosevelt swore off inviting any black people to the white house? I’m sure it HAD to have been Teddy), but it points to a bigger problem I have with Chappelles’ stand up now where I feel he can get too preachy and self insistent for his own good.
He’s well versed in history, I’ll give him that. I can also see how this could be him wanting to provide a bit of positive hope for the future in his own way but when he does this, I feel it comes across as too sermonizing and self-indulgent in a way that interferes with him being all that funny and doesn’t quite gel with the more abrasive “punching down” humor he’s become more known for lately.
Thankfully, this seemed to be a point where he knew how to reign that in. He does mention Bradley Coopers’ name in the middle of this as a quick laugh line. I wonder if this would’ve been around the time they were working on the Gaga version of “A Star Is Born” together?
Speaking of self indulgence, I see that this monologue only clocked in at fairly reasonable for any stand up host length of 11 minutes rather than the 16-17 chunks that have become his trademark. Like I said, he DID know how to reign it in at one point and the show seemed to know how to reign HIM in at this stage as well rather than just letting him walk all over them.
Election Night
The election night sketch was extremely well done, too and had hints of that classic Chappelle's Show style to it. Most of all, it was dead on with the way it accurately captured the raw panic of white culturally liberal America and put it in a perspective of real historical racism. Chris Rock's appearance was icing on the cake. B+
Yeah, I’ll admit this still holds up. It really captured the creeping anxiety felt by many (including myself) on election night 2016 (and election night 2024 for that matter) and adds a different slightly more cynical perspective that many would gain some insight to in the ensuing years. I guess that joke about “undocumented immigrants…not going anywhere hasn’t aged well, huh?
I guess the “hints of that classic Chapelles’ Show style” I was referring to were just…frequent quick cuts to establishing shots and title cards whenever Dave would react to something? I know Neal Brennan and Bryan Tucker co-wrote this sketch (and probably the very next one), but it’s not quite dominated by their voices as it seemed quite a few of SNLs’ writers punched this up on Thursday (at least Beck, Cecily, Aidy and Vanessas’ parts)?. Chris Rocks’ appearance was nice even after his disastrous season 40 episode.
Chappelle’s Walking Dead Show
This was a great tip of the hat to all the old Chappelle's Show fans out there tuning into see one of their comedic idols. I appreciate how he worked in all his funniest and most memorable characters and even introduced the sketch in the same way he introduced every segment on his old show. Lil Jon seemed pointless but the Player Haters gave me a laugh and I love how they chose to work in Clayton Bigsby in reasonably good taste (although he's admittedly low hanging fruit at this point). My only real complaint was that the ending w/Tyrone Biggums was a little too outlandish and silly. A-
Okay, this is OBVIOUSLY much more in the old Chappelles’ Show style (what with Dave just introducing a pretaped sketch with all his characters on stage into a mic). It was fun seeing all these old characters again, even Lil Jon (WHAT?!?!), the ever pitiful Chuck Taylor and the mysterious Clayton Bigsby. Hell, Dave even impersonates Jeffrey Dean Morgan well. Nice of Donnell Rawlings to show up and reprise his “playa haters’ ball” character and I think I can be a bit more forgiving of the ending with Tyrone Biggums
As I have said in the past, I’ve always had a much easier time enjoying Chappelles’ SHOW than Chappelles’ stand up (in fact, I’d go as far as to say a lot of his comedy translates better to sketch anyway), so this will always hold up for me. Hell, it must hold up well for everyone if SNL still includes this in the same primetime Halloween compilations they run every single year.
I still much prefer this to the Chappelles’ Show crossovers the show would do with Game Of Thrones: House Of The Dragon and Pop The Balloon they would do in his most recent episodes.
A Tribe Called Quest Performs “We The People” and “The Space Program” ft. Busta Rhymes & Consequence
These were pretty powerful performances with a strong statement and pretty much the exact thing Americans needed at this moment.
This was a pretty significant booking because not only was this their first ever SNL appearance, it was also the group's first new album in nearly twenty years and also one of their first performances since founding member Phife Dawg passed away months earlier (whom they included a lovely tribute to).
Given SNLs’ previous history with booking rap and hip hop musical guests, I think this might have been the only time that A Tribe Called Quest COULD have been booked on the show. I liked Busta rhymes and Consequence joining in on their second performance
Weekend Update w/Jost & Che
Update may have taken a few extra seconds to get going but Jose and Che really did a great job addressing the ideological divide that ended up REALLY deciding the outcome of this election. Plus, the VERY loose vibe really added to this (especially when Che flubbed his Mexican/Puerto Rican) joke. If there was any time that we NEEDED a long form Update, it was this week. Kate made her best appearance yet as RBG and it's especially good to see HER of all people fired up right now. B+
The only jokes I liked were the ones comparing Democrats to the golden state warriors, Leslie Jones/addicted to white guys and Che’s flub.
I especially liked Josts’ “founder of ISIS/drain the swamp/Pence transition/Hillary Letterman retirement beard” run (as well as his “won’t take a bridge” ad lib after that). The Disney/Aladdin joke I could see from a mile away. It’s sad how well Che’s bit about Trump empowering white guys holds up today. Really sad.
I liked Kates’ “Emergen-C” bit and Pence jabs (even as rote and hack “lol Pence is secretly gay” jokes would soon become on this show). Pretty interesting to hear her make a joke about Rudy Guilliani being a vampire since she would wind up playing him a year and a half from now.
Jheri’s Place/Inside SNL
I didn't know where the Inside SNL piece was going when it first started out but I'm glad to see they were breaking the fourth wall. The press conference was very funny and Dave, Kenan, Aidy and Leslie had the best lines. B+
Ah, a nice little “TV verite joke” as Dennis Miller would say. This may not be the first parody of sulking post game sports press conferences I’ve seen (Conan did one around this time) but it still worked
Leslie was a great sport (no pun intended) for being able to poke fun at her very real problems with missed cues and flubbed lines around this time. Kyle and Mikey had funny bits. It’s funny how Mikey had to deal with not getting any questions seeing as he would become a much more respected and talked about player on the show later in his tenure.
Aidy and Kenans’ belligerence was funny and I cracked up at Daves’ line about thinking his Jheri curl wig would make him “the next David S Pumpkins”. Alex and Bobby did solid straight man work as the reporters.
Kids Talk Trump
This short film almost seemed like a direct ripoff of something Jimmy Kimmel would do (if he hadn't already) but went for something bigger with the addition of Dave and his daughter. Overall, its short length was its biggest drawback. It did get its intended laughs (albeit awkwardly) but it definitely felt like they could've done more with it because it already went to a couple of different places. C+
Gee, I don’t even remember what Jimmy Kimmell was doing around this time that made me compare this to him (boy, his show would sure change a lot during Trumps’ first term, huh?)
I don’t even remember why I said I thought this should be longer either. This was the ideal length for what it was and Daves’ real life daughter, Sanaa, really shined here.
Sheila Sovage
I didn't expect Dave Chappelle to be a host that warranted this sketch but if anything, his delivery really sold this one. Plus, all of Kenans' reactions really made this as well (although Bleach isn't supposed to be clear, last I checked). B+
I liked Kenans’ “yellow card” bit and his reaction to the “Bellagio”. I even liked the visual of him pouring bleach into his eyes even if its’ not the most original joke ever.
I liked Daves’ “A-Rod” line (can’t believe they got away with naming his character “Corey Dipships” but I liked Kates’ response to that being “I was banned from Chinatown”)
These all kind of blur together to me but this one was fun. Hell, this character kind of blurs together with her Colleen Rafferty but I liked this character better.
Love And Leslie
This short film was something that sure started out poignant and revealing but then took a turn for the silly when it was revealed that she is dating Kyle (who's quite jealous of Colin) and she plans to take his virginity. Overall, this worked well from a few angles and I think the segments featuring Beck, Alex, Lorne and the anonymous page really added to this. Dave's cameo at the end really made this for me. A-
This was a genuinely heartwarming and emotional start to a long running, layered meta gag that would carry over for three more seasons until Leslie left the show. Kyle would make meta backstage shorts like this on his own from time to time (and so would Leslie) but their dynamic together made for much more memorable pretapes. Daves’ cameo at the end still works for me.
Football Party
This sketch revolving (seemingly entirely) around adult breastfeeding was funny enough and ambitious for what it was but overall it stretched its main joke too thin to the point where everything felt too telegraphed. I will say they pulled out the exact right ending for this. I'm not totally against gross out humor or anything but this just felt too awkwardly executed. Plus, while I realize Leslie is one of the shows' biggest draws right now, it may be cause for concern when SNL has a prominent black host like Chappelle and Sasheer has only one appearance all night at the end of the show. C-
This also felt like a Chappelles’ Show sketch that got watered down for the network.
I liked Daves’ rant about not getting any diseases. Strange to see this be the first appearance of both Pete and Sasheer all night. Melissa was just starting out this season so it wasn’t THAT strange to see Kyle in the role she typically gets.
Yeah, the long silent stretch in the middle where they just cut back and forth between all the guys for no reason almost killed this. Good thing they did end this immediately after the “Visible prop” gaffe.
Overall Thoughts
The lineup for this episode alone was enough to put this episode on a fast track to becoming the best episode of the season, but the team effort and unprecedented historical context that it found itself in put it WAY over the top! Dave Chappelle and the cast all came together to prove they and SNL still have what it takes to reach us through the power of satire. Without missing a single comedic beat, they provided much needed relief, comfort and hope for tomorrow to a deeply divided nation that is frightened over an uncertain future. Once again in our lifetime, they showed us exactly why it’s okay to laugh in these types of moments in order to help get over such fear in the face of a national tragedy. Still, I don’t want to oversell it or anything so just judge for yourself. This episode was also consistently strong both in writing and performing even when the material wasn’t explicitly topical. The cast was a little uneven in terms of airtime tonight. We saw very little of Pete, Bobby, Cecily and Sasheer…We saw absolutely NONE of Melissa and for the first time Alex Moffat managed to get more screentime than Mikey Day (although they were still mostly in smaller, non-consequential roles that show very little of who he really is). Plus, I think we may have hit the absolute all time record for most uncensored N-bombs and GD-bombs dropped (hey, let’s make sure the rest of us don’t let them get too “normalized” now) as well as instances of the host being caught visibly smoking on camera (and inside a post Bloomberg era New York building no less) in a single episode.
Ok, yeah. I pretty much DID oversell this episode, but as I explained, I think I can be forgiven due to the events of the week. This episode has a few standout moments but is more uneven than I remembered looking back. It’s definitely one of those things that it best viewed as its own little time capsule given how much the world has changed since.
Closing Thoughts
Well, I have no idea what else I will be doing for this blog until October 5th but right now you can also read my new REreview of the first Tom Hanks episode from this season as well as my brand new “classic” review of the Christopher Walken episode from season 25. Have a great end of summer, everyone!
