This season of SNL has not been its finest, but I'm hopeful it can turn itself around. If it'll ever turn itself around, this week's episode, featuring the hilarious Seth Meyers, will be the one to do it.
Cold Open: Kanye West Donald Trump:
After an episode cold open for the premiere and a solid one last week, this one was a big disappointment. While I had high hopes after seeing what the cold open would be about, it was just a misstep. This honestly wasn't any stranger or funnier than reality, so it didn't work as satire. It also just ran on too long, with no good jokes to justify even existing at all. They could have done a much better Kanye parody, but instead, we got this.
Score: 5/10
Seth Meyers Monologue:
I'm a big fan of Seth Meyers, so I really enjoyed seeing him deliver a monologue without help from any of the cast members. The monologue itself wasn't anything spectacular, but it was pretty solid and defintiely more interesting than most recent monologues.
Score: 7.5/10
Movie Talkback:
This sketch wasn't very clever, but I'm a sucker for any time that the cast members get to play a bunch of weirdos. And that was definitely this. Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones' turns were particularly funny moments, but most of these characters provided at least a few chuckles. The sketch didn't really go anywhere unexpected, but it was pure dumb fun.
Score: 6.5/10
Beta Force:
Even though I usually love commercial parodies, this one was just not very good. I was pretty bored with this a minute in, and it didn't really get better from that point on. There were only a few funny lines to be found in here, and the rest was just a snooze.
Score: 4.5/10
Traffic Stop:
Does SNL realize what year it is? I guess this might have been funny ten years ago, but it was not even remotely funny today. It was just offensive and stupid, even worse than the average SNL sketches that are just stupid.
Score: 4/10
A Frightening Story:
I can't quite put my finger on why I liked this so much, but I thought it was hilarious. The cast acting so terrified to something so fundamentally not scary was just hilarious, and this was a rare bright spot in a season that has been lagging on laughs.
Score: 8/10
Jail Cellmate:
It might just be because I love Kenan's impression of Bill Cosby so much, or it might be because I was desperate to love something from this episode, but I found this really funny. Kenan and Seth worked really well together, with Seth playing the straight man perfectly and Kenan playing the wacky character like he usually does. This was just really, really funny and was definitely my favorite sketch of the night. Also, I will never be able to not see Quincy Jones as a turtle from now on.
Score: 8.5/10
Weekend Update:
Heidi Gardner's newest wacky Update character was pretty great, as was the Amy Poehler-less Really? segment. But the rest of this just kinda happened. None of the other jokes were really that memorable, but they weren't really awful either. Also, there's a one-point deduction in my score for the absence of Stefon. Honestly, it should probably be more than that. That's just unforgivable.
Score: 7/10
Bayou Benny's Liberal Lagniappe:
Huh?
Score: 3.5/10
Cuban Vacation:
Was the strange pronunciation the funniest thing about this sketch? Absolutely. Did I still laugh a lot during it? Yep! Am I embarrassed to admit that? Incredibly so.
Score: 6.5/10
Trees:
Pete and Luke being so blissfully ignorant about how our environment works was truly hilarious, as were the repeated mentions of our almost-president Al Gore. Things went a little off track when straight-up kidnapped Beck Bennett's character and took him to the doctor, but they got back on track by the sketch's end.
Score: 7.5/10
Halloween Gig:
I find this bizarre recurring sketch delightful in a strange way. It always makes me chuckle, even though it's far from comedic genius. It's a nice way to close out any show, and it's not an overdone sketch, at least not yet. This entry was fine, nothing exceptional but definitely welcome.
Score: 6.5/10
Wrap-Up:
This was a tremendously disappointing episode. With a legacy castmember like Seth Meyers at the helm, they didn't really have an excuse to be so mediocre. He tried his best, but the writing was just lacking this week (as it has been all season). Even some of the highlights weren't anything that memorable, making for a forgettable episode. If I even remember anything about this episode at all in a few months, it'll be just how disappointing the episode was. They should have done better, and they easily could have, but they just didn't. The only positive I really have for it was that I guess it could somehow be described as the best episode of this season, which speaks only to how mediocre and disappointing this season has been so far. But Paul Simon was pretty fantastic tonight, so there's one plus. And there weren't any bizarre MAGA rants after the show, another plus.
Score: 6/10 Grade: C-
Pass or Fail: Pass? I guess I can say that. I don't know. MVP of the Week: Heidi Gardner Sketch of the Night: Jail Cellmate
Worst of the Night: Bayou Benny's Liberal Lagniappe Top 5 Hosts of the Season: 1) Seth Meyers 2) Adam Driver 3) Awkwafina
What did you think of this week's SNL? What was your favorite sketch this week? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll below!
Chadwick Boseman, star of 2018's highest-grossing film (no, not 7 Days in Entebbe), hosts SNL this week. Boseman is the second Black Panther actor to host the series this year, after Sterling K. Brown. I don't know Boseman's episode will be as strong as Brown's, but I hope it comes close.
Cold Open: Donald Trump Baltic States:
I've been critical of Baldwin's Trump this season, because it can get very tiring. But I will admit that I actually enjoyed this one. Yes, it was pretty much just more of the same, but I did really enjoy some of the jokes this week. It wasn't anything new, but I laughed out loud quite a few times and that's really what this is about.
Score: 8/10
Chadwick Boseman Monologue:
I actually had to go back and watch this sketch again. Not because it was good, but because it was so incredibly forgettable that I couldn't remember a single thing about it. But after watching it again, it was actually pretty funny. Things went off the rails a bit when Kenan showed up as a Thundercat, but the rest of it was really good and provided for one of the best monologues in awhile, even if I probably will forget about it by Sunday.
Score: 7.5/10
Nike Women's Ad:
This was just a hilarious sketch. I appreciate and love commercial parodies more than most people, so I was naturally gonna love this one. But it was more than that. This was really clever and made me laugh out loud quite a few times. The entire cast is great here, but Aidy Bryant was a true standout.
Score: 9/10
Black Jeopardy:
I usually love the Black Jeopardy sketches, and I still liked this one, but this was one of my least favorite in the series. I honestly didn't find it all that funny. It may be because I've never seen Black Panther, but this wasn't all that notable for me. It kinda just happened, and was certainly less memorable than previous Black Jeopardy.
Score: 8/10
Medical Breakthrough:
This was really weird. That's pretty much the only way to describe this. It wasn't really that good or bad, and it was really forgettable. However, it did deliver a few laughs, so I guess it accomplished its goal.
Score: 6/10
Aidy B & Cardi B:
This sketch has gotten a lot of attention, but I thought it was just good, not great. It certainly was fun to see Aidy Bryant act in a very non-Aidy way, but it wasn't exactly comedic genius. Of course, not everything has to be genius to be funny, or else nobody would like those Trump cold opens.
Score: 8/10
Weekend Update:
Angel's back!!! That's pretty much all that I remember liking of this edition of Update, but that's more than enough to make this a strong Update. While the Zuckerberg piece was terrible and the jokes from Che and Jost were just-okay, Angel saved this from being a rough one. Her return was just as good as the first appearance, and the Roseanne jokes were the best part by far. Now if you excuse me, I'm takin' the kids to my sisters!!!
Score: 8/10
Magic Mirror:
This was a pretty laughless sketch from start to finish. The whole premise is just really strange, and I really have no idea where it even came from. It had some funny-ish elements to it but it just never really gelled and it was incredibly mediocre.
Score: 5/10
Warehouse Fire:
This was rough. I think they may have forgotten to throw in some jokes here, because there jsut weren't any to be found. It was so boring, and that's truly one of the biggest crimes that an SNL sketch can be. Even if something doesn't land quite right, they should at least try to entertain the audience. They didn't try here.
Score: 3.5/10
Restaurant Complaint:
Okay, I will admit that this was a really weird sketch. These kind of sketches aren't really up my alley, like at all. I would usually rip something like this to pieces. But I found this weirdly delightful. I laughed quite a bit at it, and it even put me in the mood for a bit of singing. This was just what I needed to cleanse my palate after a rough couple of sketches.
Score: 8.5/10
The Game of Life: DACA Edition:
This was wonderful. I'm a big board game fan, and I especially love The Game of Life, so I was expecting this to just spoof a game night or something like that. It took a much different turn though, and somehow turned game night into political commentary. Melissa Villaseñor was great in this sketch, and is really starting to show her full potential. It's great to see her finally getting some starring roles.
Score: 9/10
Wakanda Forever:
This sketch was a great way to send the show out. Well, if their goal was to send it out on a whimper. Because that's what ended up happening. This was so boring and so dumb. I don't really expect much from the ten-to-one sketches, but this really was not good. It was really pointless and I can't recall laughing even once. Also, is this like the 400th Black Panther sketch this show has done or am I just miscounting?
Score: 4.5/10
Wrap-Up:
This was a pretty decent episode. There were quite a few sketches this week that I didn't care for, but there was also a lot of stuff that was really enjoyable. For a first-time host, Boseman did an admirable job, delivering a strong monologue (almost) solo, rocking out in a restaurant, and playing R. Kelly/a character from Mulan. Even though there were more than a few missteps and blunders along the way, I'd grade this episode of SNL as a successful one overall. Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B-
Pass or Fail: Pass MVP of the Week: Heidi Gardner Sketch of the Night: The Game of Life: DACA Edition
Worst of the Night: Warehouse Fire
Top 5 Hosts of the Season: 1) Chance the Rapper 2)Saoirse Ronan 3)Sterling K. Brown 4)Tiffany Haddish 5)Jessica Chastain
What did you think of this week's SNL? What was your favorite sketch this week? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll below!
StefonVincent PriceLindsey Buckingham Bill Hader returns to SNL this week for his second hosting gig since leaving the show. The return of an SNL alum is alum is always a momentous occasion, and this is ecertainly no exception.
Cold Open: Anderson Cooper White House Turmoil:
This was definitely one of my favorite cold opens of the season. It took another week off from Baldwin's Trump (good choice) and gave us some of the more interesting members of the Trump administration, Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci and Rex Tillerson (or as I call him, Rexxon Mobil). It also gave us the return of Fred Armisen as Michael Wolff, an impression that first appeared in a terrific Morning Joe cold open earlier this year. All of this made for a cold open that managed to make me laugh, which is actually a shakeup from the typical cold open. So that's nice.
Score: 9/10
Bill Hader Monologue:
This monologue felt really short, and that's probably because it was. That much was referenced in the monologue itself. But that doesn't mean it was bad! It was actually pretty good. There weren't that many jokes in it, but that honestly didn't matter that much. This was short, sweet, and one of SNL's better monologues this season.
Score: 7.5/10
The Californians: Replacing Rosa:
I'm not going to pretend that The Californians is some sort of comedic genius, it really is not. It's pretty much just an excuse to talk about California roads in "Californian" accents. But it just felt so good to have it back. I certainly missed Rosa and Karina, who were both great parts of the earlier Californians sketches, but their absences didn't really ruin my enjoyment of the sketch.
Score: 8/10
Irish Dating Show:
Game show sketches are overused on SNL, but maybe there's a reason. Despite the lack of creativity, I like these game show sketches. They're usually pretty fun and occasionally, they'll shake up the format (like the one from Jessica Chastain's episode). This one stuck to the status quo, but I still really enjoyed it. The look of pure shock and disgust on the face of Aidy Bryant's character was priceless.
Score: 8/10
Girlfriends Game Night:
This was something. And I don't really know if I loved it or hated it. I do know I was grossed out by it. It certainly was dirtier than I would expect from SNL, but that's not really a bad thing. I laughed at this sketch, but the concept of it was just kinda unappealing.
Score: 7.5/10
Jurassic Park Auditions:
I'm a sucker for SNL's audition sketches, because I am a big fan of just about any sketch that exists solely as a way for the SNL cast to show off impressions. And this has to have been one of the best sketches of that type this season. So many of these impressions were so great, with Bill Hader's in particular being very funny. I also loved Heidi Gardner's Drew Barrymore, as well Aidy Bryant's Roseanne and the reprise of Kenan's OJ Simpson.
Score: 10/10
Weekend Update:
There was just so much to love in this Update, with both the return of Stefon (along with guest John Mulaney!) and another piece by Pete Davidson. But my favorite part was the return of Kate McKinnon's Betsy DeVos, this time defending her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad interview with 60 Minutes. Her first, all-too-brief appearance as Secretary Betsy was thoroughly entertaining.
Score: 9/10
Sacred Rock:
This sketch was just incredibly bizarre. That's not at all unusual for this show, but the humor usually balances it out to make a sketch that's bizarrely funny. This was not that. The insane heavily outweighed the humor here. That said, Bill Hader acting like a weirdo for a few minutes is always fun to watch. So this wasn't all bad.
Score: 6/10
CBC Report:
This was going pretty well, with most of the jokes landing pretty well, until Arcade Fire showed up. That's when it took an ugly turn. It went from a funny little sketch about "Canadian Harvey Weinstein" to just "Hey, Arcade Fire is here." The sketch was short enough, and with nearly half of it being boring, that really drags down the score.
Score: 6/10
Undercover Office Potty:
This turned out a lot better than I expected. When it started, I expected it to be a really terrible sketch. After all, it is a sketch about pooping in lamps. But I actually really enjoyed it, despite being an odd concept. Some of SNL's best commercial parodies are really crazy, and this surely qualifies as crazy. This certainly wasn't one of SNL's best commercial parodies, but it was also far from its worst.
Score: 8.5/10
Wrap-Up:
This was a solid, if imperfect, episode. Bill Hader is a true SNL great, and it's always great to see him back in Studio 8H. This was no different. He was the MVP of nearly every thing he appeared in, and managed to make even the strangest of concepts work in some way. That's the hallmark of a host that needs to return again and again and again. But maybe, if he does return as host, he can bring Stefon's husband Seth Meyers along with him. That would be nice. Score: 8/10 Grade: B
Pass or Fail: Pass MVP of the Week: Bill Hader Sketch of the Night: Jurassic Park Auditions
Worst of the Night: CBC Report
Top 5 Hosts of the Season:
1) Chance the Rapper 2)Saoirse Ronan 3)Sterling K. Brown 4)Tiffany Haddish 5)Jessica Chastain
What did you think of this week's SNL? What was your favorite sketch this week? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll below!
Newly-crowned Emmy winner and star of broadcast TV's #1 drama This Is Us comes to Studio 8H this week for what will hopefully (God, please!) be a better show than last week's episode. I'm confident it will be, but I'm sure SNL could still find a way to screw things up.
Cold Open: Bachelor Finale:
This sketch is getting a lot of attention, but I was honestly too confused by it to find it all that funny. I get that it's comedy and it doesn't necessarily have to make sense, but my confusion was just too much to get around here. Kate McKinnon's Robert Mueller is a real hoot, though.
My Grade: 7/10
Sterling K. Brown Monologue:
I'm usually tough on monologues, but I actually thought this one was pretty good. There wasn't any real comedic content here, but Brown worked around that with his effortless charm and charisma (and emotion), making for an enjoyable, if not hilarious, 5 minutes.
My Grade: 7/10
Family Feud: Oscars Edition:
Like all of the sketches in this recurring series, this was just an excuse to show off impressions. But when the impressions are good (like here), is that really a bad thing? I don't think so, since the real purpose of this show is to entertain us and make us laugh, even if the sketches aren't all that original. As a fan of just about all of the Oscar-nominated films this year, I found this sketch incredibly satisfying and funny, particularly Kate McKinnon's second turn as Best Actress winner Frances McDormand, which was better the second time around.
Score: 9/10
This Is U.S.:
It was obvious coming into this episode that there would be a parody of This Is Us, but I wasn't expecting that parody to take a political turn. I'm very glad it did, though, because this is better than just about anything else they could have come up with. Kate McKinnon's Kellyanne Conway is (like always) the MVP here ("I have nothing in me!"), but Sterling K. Brown's Ben Carson managed to make it a close race.
Score: 10/10
I feel like I've seen this sketch at least 10 times before, but that doesn't mean I disliked it. I actually found it quite interesting and funny, despite being very similar. Mikey Day was hilarious as the sasquatch's hostage, making this sketch worth everyone's while.
Score: 8/10
Weekend Update:
VANESSA BAYER!!!!!!
Score: 8/10
Black Panther New Scene:
I didn't really like this one that much, but it wasn't bad either. It was just kinda there. I didn't laugh much at it, but there were a few chuckles here and there. Kenan was the only part of this sketch that I really cared about, though his character was actually pretty funny and would have probably worked better in another setting.
Score: 7/10
Doctor Love:
I didn't really care for this one. It had some okay lines, but other than that it went on for too long and had too few laughs. That makes for a very forgettable sketch, and one of the worst of the episode.
Score: 6/10
Movie Coverage:
Well this was a treat. Cecily Strong's character was absolutely hilarious, and made this sketch absolutely amazing. Her singing Hello was the most I've laughed at SNL is awhile, and that accent. Please bring this character back, SNL!
Score: 8.5/10
Rock vs Rap:
Score: 2/10
Dying Mrs. Gomes:
If you asked me why I thought this was so hilarious, I don't think I'd be able to tell you. All I know is that I was really into this. It's really strange, but I love strange. It even redeemed Nickelback for me a little bit! Sterling's power!
Score: 9.5/10
Wrap-Up:
I thought that this was a good episode and a huge improvement on last week's episode, but I was still a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting a top-notch episode for one of NBC's biggest stars, and it was just slightly above average. The best was was Sterling K. Brown, who was amazing all night long and was definitely one of the best hosts this season. He was down for just about anything (and seemed to enjoy it), whether it's jamming to Nickelback or trying to save his friend from a sasquatch, and that's appreciated. Score: 8.5/10 Grade: B+
Pass or Fail: Pass MVP of the Week: Sterling K. Brown Sketch of the Night: This Is U.S.
Worst of the Night: Rock vs Rap
Top 5 Hosts of the Season:
1) Chance the Rapper 2)Saoirse Ronan 3)Sterling K. Brown 4)Tiffany Haddish 5)Jessica Chastain
What did you think of this week's SNL? What was your favorite sketch this week? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll below!
