Tom Hanks is a host that I've been looking forward to for years. His hosting gigs are almost always awesome. So without further ado, lets begin.
Cold Open:
This was another great sketch in a long line of great political cold opens. This one featured the Trump lines "Bad Hombres" and "Nasty Woman". But Hillary was the star of the show, again. She played Trump Bingo. And talked about her 30 years of public service, much to Chris Wallace(Tom Hanks)'s dismay. Overall, this was really good.
Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A
Tom Hanks Monologue:
This was the best monologue of the season. It was actually pretty funny, and Tom Hanks was great as always. It was a great way to kick off the show.
Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B
Black Jeopardy:
This was the best 'Black Jeopardy' sketch thus far. Tom Hanks as a Trump supporter that surprisingly had a lot in common with his fellow contestants (at least until the "Lives that Matter" question came up) was great. It was great to see a new take on an old sketch.
Score: 10/10
Grade: A+
Halloween Musical:
This was really strange. It was great, but weird as hell. Tom Hanks and Cecily Strong really wanted to put on that musical. And the faces of the audience members were priceless. Side note: Melissa Villaseñor has been really good this season. Why isn't she in more stuff?
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-
Broken on CBS
This is just so real. Transparent is not a comedy. This was funnier than Transparent. 30 minutes does not equal a comedy, Emmys! I felt like I was actually watching a trailer for a new show on Netflix or something.
Score: 10/10
Grade: A+
Haunted Elevator:
Going into this, I was scared. Not by the frights, but that it would ruin a near-perfect night. But it did the opposite. It made it even better. This sketch will remain a classic Halloween sketch forever. It may have been the best Halloween sketch SNL has ever done. It was certainly the best sketch they've done this season.
Score: 11/10
Grade: A+
Weekend Update:
The amazing thing is that Leslie Jones topped the 'Mr. Robot' sketch with her WU piece this year. She was really funny. A lot of the jokes landed this week, which was great. And the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With was back again, and was great. Overall, this was a great Update.
Grade: 9.5/10
Score: A
Sully:
This seems like it should have worked really well. It was still good, but not great. There weren't that many laughs with this one, but it was enjoyable to watch Sully have to be the co-pilot, instead of the main pilot.
Score: 7.5/10
Grade: B-
A Girls Halloween:
This was great. And a little weird. But I liked it. It was nice to see the girls getting ready and talking about their Halloween costumes, and then see how the costumes backfired on them.
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-
America's Funniest Pets:
I don't understand this sketch. Tom Hanks's Ron Howard was so random, but really good. And the French ladies that came on were great, as well. This sketch may not have been super original, but it was still good.
Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+
Wrap-Up
Tonight was absolutely fantastic. There were no bad moments, just sketches that weren't as good. I just want to know why the hell it's take a decade to get Tom Hanks back to host. He should host every season, if this is the kind of show we'll get. This was the best show of the season. And on of the best in a long time.
Grade: A
Pass or Fail: Pass (with flying colors).
MVP of the Week: Tom Hanks
The "Unsung Hero" Award: Cecily Strong
Sketch of the Night (and the year): David Pumpkins
Worst of the Night: Sully
Top 5 Hosts of the Season:
1) Tom Hanks
2) Margot Robbie
3) Lin-Manuel Miranda
4) Emily Blunt
SNL will be off next week, but join me in two weeks for SNL's Pre-Election Night episode.
