SNL Reviews: Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky (1/17/26)

 Cold Open: Cabinet Meeting

President Trump introduces his cabinet during a conference.

• Trump again??? Jeez, not even Trumpwin was this overused.

• Please stop trying to make Marco Rubio a nice person.

• On the bright side, Jeremy has taken over as JD Vance, replacing Bowen’s awful, baffling take from last season.

• The line about Stephen Miller reacting in horror to a Bible is pointless and hacky. Get it? Because he’s evil or something!

• Marcello gets in a bit of his usual Spanish babbling routine before Trump cuts him off. Because Trump hates Hispanic people!!!

• Trump explains what he’s about to do during Vance’s speech, once again ruining the joke.

• Sure enough, that’s what he does! Yay! I love when they explain the jokes!!!!

• Ashley takes over the Kristi Noem impression from Tina Fey. Unsurprisingly, she does a much better job.

• I know that the “Noem, I don’t” pun was supposed to be corny, but I still groaned.

• Uggghhhh, Colin’s baffling Pete Hegseth is back again. The amount of time Colin has gotten outside of Update these past couple of seasons is insane.

Monologue

Finn talks about growing up on the Stranger Things set.

• As I have said before, I have never watched a single episode of Stranger Things, nor do I plan to, so there’s probably going to be a lot of jokes going over my head.

• We get shown a clip from the series, and I guess it’s supposed to be funny that they dubbed over his voice, but I’m just scratching my head.

• Ha-ha, the monster looks like a vagina!!! Aren’t you just shitting your pants with laughter?

• Now they’re doing spit-takes? Am I watching an episode of Carol Burnett and Friends?

• Random appearances from two of his co-stars, neither of whom I know the names of. Sorry.

Sketch: Snack Homiez

Teen podcasters discuss looksmaxxing. 

• Not this shit again. SNL really is that desperate for recurring characters, I guess. 

• Ugh, they even brought back Sabrina Carpenter just so they could do this. Why is this show constantly blowing smoke up Sabrina Carpenter’s ass? She’s not even a good singer.

• At least Finn is actually a boy. Maybe he can help salvage this.

• You can just about hear the show’s middle-aged writers’ brain cells exploding while writing such stellar dialogue as “gooning” and “looksmaxxing”.

• I’m being completely serious when I say that watching this sketch makes me feel nauseous. Every single line of dialogue fills me with bile. In fact, I think I’d better move on to the next sketch before I vomit all over the screen.

Film: Heated Wizardry

Harry Potter goes GAY!!!!

• I like Harry Potter, but I have no idea what this other show is supposed to be.

• The moment Finn and Ben touched each other’s hands, I knew this was gonna suck.

• Nice, now they have the teachers openly lusting over children. And JAJ’s Snape impression is surprisingly lousy.

• That scene where they have sex under the Invisibility Cloak is the definition of super hacky. 

• Pointless scene with Kenan as Mad-Eye Moody. No, he doesn’t bother with the accent, why do you even need to ask?

• Unsurprisingly, they throw a bit of shade at J.K. Rowling too, by way of a fake review from her that says she had nothing to do with this.

• Jason Momoa is wasted with a pointless cameo as Hagrid. This only makes me sadder that Robbie Coltrane never got to appear on the show.

• I’m sure Momoa was really happy that he got to deliver the wonderful line, “You’re a homo, Harry”.

• It baffles me that in our current, open-minded society, we still get homophobic shit like this, straight out of Season 30. 

Sketch: Boy Band

The star of a boy band wants his indie rock loving son to follow in his footsteps.

• A big laugh from JAJ’s ridiculous outfit.

• Boy, this sketch just started and it’s already miles better than what I just sat through.

• Finn: “Who cares, Dad? Billboard sucks!!!”

• I love the line from Ashley about how she caused this to happen by introducing her son to Pixies.

• Nice detail with how all of the members of this boy band are clearly middle-aged.

• Great insensitive 9/11 joke from James. The audience clearly isn’t having any of that. 

• I also love the running gag with Ashley knowing the other band members on a first name basis. She even does this with someone in her son’s band.

• The difference in quality between the previous sketch and this one couldn’t be more stark. One was a pathetic attempt at clicks, while this one is just a pretty damn funny piece of comedy.

Film: Stranger Things

Potential spinoffs of Stranger Things all focus on trivial details.

• I remember they did a similar sketch around the time the final episode of Game of Thrones aired. 

• The cheering from the audience whenever they mention a character from the show is pretty tiresome. It happened in the monologue, too.

• OJ Simpson jokes are so overdone at this point. The bit with Chloe in the back of the Bronco sucked. 

• Yay, more gay jokes!!!

• I seem to recall SNL getting some criticism for making fun of the infamous coming-out scene in the penultimate Stranger Things episode, but I personally think it wasn’t too much to scream about. In case you’re wondering, the “joke” here is that the scene is so long!!!!

• I always dread whenever an episode is hosted by someone from a Netflix show I’ve never watched, because they inevitably end up doing sketches based on that show, and then I get confused because all of the specific references are going over my head. That’s very much the case with this one, too. I don’t even remember the Game of Thrones spinoff sketch being this bland.

Musical Performance: “Punk Rocky”

Weekend Update (featuring Michael Irvin and Tamara)

• Now we’re getting into material about those ICE attacks in Minneapolis. I’m sure they’ll handle this with as much respect as they can…nah, just kidding, the jokes are all unfunny.

• Wow, we get Che openly wishing that Trump had been assassinated in 2024.

• Second episode in a row for Kam on Update. This time he’s playing some football dude I’ve never heard of.

• All I can say about this one is that I like the voice he’s doing, and it’s a much better use of him than that pathetic display he put on in the premiere.

• Ugh at the loud applause when Colin mentions Harry Styles. This reminds me that he has a horrendous hosting stint coming up in a few episodes, where the audience acts much the same way.

• Whenever Michael Che says something, I automatically tune out. You have no idea how sick I am of this smug douche and his stale bag of anti-white jokes.

• What’s this? Jane as an actual character and not herself? This could be interesting…

• Am I going crazy? I’m actually enjoying this! Something about the voice and the robotic way of speaking is cracking me up.

• Even Che has some good subtle moments here, like his reaction to Jane saying that she understands why he was made an anchor.

• Wow! Make that two Updates this season where I enjoyed both commentaries!

Sketch: Space Emperor

A servant can’t stop feeding the space emperor delightful snacks.

• Amazing makeup work here.

• I won’t lie, those “jelly food balls” look delicious.

• This sketch is really, really dumb, but…I’m kinda enjoying it.

• Stop laughing, Chloe! You’re ruining my enjoyment!

• I honestly thought that Finn spitting the drink out was an ad-lib at first.

• This is honestly Mikey’s best performance all season. In a year where he’s often been out of place, it’s nice to know that he still has it occasionally.

• Is Mikey feeding him paint now?? That’s nasty!

• Great ending with Ben offering to eat the beast leg.

Sketch: Guy’s Girl

Boy’s Day is ruined when one guy invites his girlfriend to take part.

• I laughed as soon as Veronika entered the sketch speaking gibberish. This is a character she’s apparently been trying get on for a while now.

• She’s doing a great job mimicking typical dudebro behavior.

• I can see some other people finding this sketch annoying, but I’m having a blast.

• That “awwww” reaction from the audience sounded really fake. It’s a shame, too, because it kind of ruins the heartwarming speech from Veronika that follows.

• Man, this episode sure has a lot of delightfully bizarre sketches! 

Musical Performance: “Don’t Be Dumb”/“Helicopter”

• For some reason, Danny Elfman is playing with the band tonight.

Sketch: Free Solo

Alex Honnold gets ready to climb Taipei 101 live on Netflix.

• Ugh, don’t tell me this is a Kenan showcase…

• Just like the Black Santa thing from last time, I am totally stone faced through this entire sketch. Kenan reeeeeealllly needs to leave.

Note: A memorial for Bob Weir is shown before the goodnights.

Cut for Time: Euphoria Writer

A new writer for Euphoria pitches some bizarre concepts.

• Initially, I was gonna complain again that they’re doing another sketch based on a show I’ve never seen. But then I saw JAJ in a mustache and I got interested…

• Amazing voice from JAJ. I can only describe it as sounding like a gay hillbilly.

• James is immediately making this sketch come to life. If anyone else had been cast in this role, I wouldn’t have liked it as much. I mean, can you imagine Bowen playing this role??? Yuck!!!!

• Again with the random breaking from Chloe?

• I love how all of his pitches end with a character saying, “Can we not?”

• Great running gag with him referring to Sydney Sweeney as “the chesty one”.

• I even liked the newspaper article ending. 

• How in the world did this not make the live show? 

Final thoughts: A pretty fun episode, to be honest. There was some garbage in the first half, but not as wretched as some of the shit we’ve seen for the last few episodes. I also really liked Finn Wolfhard as a host and I hope he comes back again in the future.

MVP: James Austin Johnson

Best sketches: Boy Band, Tamara commentary, Space Emperor, Guy’s Girl, Euphoria Writer

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Snack Homiez, Heated Wizardry, Free Solo

Next review: Teyana Taylor/Geese

SNL Reviews: Ariana Grande/Cher (12/20/25)

 Cold Open: A Holiday Message From The President

Trump talks about the Epstein Files and Patriot Games.

• They’re still making jokes about Trump hugging the American flag? That was a million years ago!

• JAJ’s Trump has gotten to the point where he’s now speaking improper grammar. That don’t make no sense at all.

• Ugh at the “no homo” line.

• I think my least favorite Trump cold opens are the ones where it’s just him rambling to the camera by himself. And that is exactly what we get here.

Monologue

Ariana sings about all the gifts she’s bought for her friends.

• Yikes! Look at how unhealthily skinny she looks now! 

• I kinda expected a musical monologue. 

• Bowen unsurprisingly has a lot of focus in this monologue, as it had been announced that day that this was his final episode.

Sketch: Elf on the Shelf Support Group

Elves share their traumatic experiences.

• Who is the narrator at the beginning? It doesn’t sound like anyone in the cast.

• At least the storybook opening isn’t done with AI like it was last episode.

• Attempting to do another Elf on the Shelf sketch is treading dangerous territory, as there’s no way they can top the one with Jason Momoa (“Scrabby, you spelled flashlight wrong!”).

• Ugh, again with the “silly” elf names??? Where did this stereotype come from??????

• Some laughs from how squeaky everyone sounds.

• I love the giant Cheez-It stuck to Jeremy’s character.

• Wonder who was stuck operating Ariana’s severed legs.

• Andrew: “This isn’t Santa’s Workshop, you’re allowed to cry here.”

• Nice picture of an elf snorting a line of coke.

• Kind of an easy joke with Kam’s character getting some pleasure from the picture of an elf getting humped by a Ken doll.

• I love Andrew giving the Sign of the Cross after Kam explodes.

• Kenan’s delivery helped sell the otherwise crass joke about coming out of a dog’s “Hershey-hole”.

• This wasn’t too bad for what it was, but it could have been cutdown by a couple minutes.

Film: Home Alone

Kevin’s traps malfunction on his family.

• Ashley is a perfect choice to play Catherine O’Hara, who sadly died only a month after this aired.

• There’s some immediate red flags being flown once we see that Kevin is being played by…Ariana????? What the fuck??!!?? This is just more evidence that she has a weird age play kink!

• I love how well they captured the feel of the original movie’s cinematography and sets.

• Why is Colin in this sketch? What’s the point of trying to push him as a star when he’s 800 years into his tenure??? At least he’s a good fit to play Kevin’s asshole brother.

• *heavy sigh* All of a sudden, this turns into another one of those gory death sequences. Are they gonna do this in every Christmas show now??? Because nothing says Christmas like people dying!

• I remember how funny the Scrooge one was because it came out of literally nowhere. But now, I’m just rolling my eyes whenever one of Kevin’s relatives falls victim to his traps. Also, wouldn’t Kevin have cleaned everything up after the Wet Bandits got arrested?

• At least it was satisfying seeing Bowen lose his arms.

• Aw man, did they really have to kill Old Man Marley?

• Wait, this was all just a dream??? UGGGGHHHH!!!!

• Overall, an unnecessary retread of a format that I wish they’d stop going back to.

Sketch: Dancing 101

Two choreographers offer unique dancing lessons.

• Even when he’s not the focus, Bowen can’t resist acting like a queen.

• I am not liking this at all. I thought for sure it was another Jimmy Fowlie “masterpiece”, but apparently it was written by Marcello in collaboration with three other people nobody cares about.

• I love how Ariana says that she and Marcello are responsible for the dancers in those awful Jardiance commercials. Or, in Marcello’s words, “We made diabetes look like something ya want!”

• Other than that, though, this sketch is a total snooze. Not even JAJ dancing can save it.

Fake Ad: Random Duet Christmas Spectacular

Your favorite Christmas songs sung by unlikely duos.

• I like the tribute to David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s iconic Christmas duet at the beginning.

• Nice to see JAJ’s funny Bob Dylan impression again. Also, Ariana does a better Katy Perry impression than I expected.

• Ugh, please stop trying to make Marcello as Bad Bunny a thing.

• Sarah doesn’t sound anything like Kate Bush, so I don’t know why the writers bothered.

• Did you know Yoko Ono loves shouting and screaming? That’s the joke!!! Also, no comment on the fact that it’s Bowen playing the role.

• Kenan as Stevie Wonder??? Sorry, not buying it.

• Is that Veronika playing Post Malone? Why??????

• They’re even shoehorning Jane’s Update routine into this sketch. It still isn’t funny.

• The key to a successful Lil Jon impression: just shout “WHAT?” and that’ll be good enough.

• No idea who Cameron Winter is, but JAJ’s impression is pretty good, as usual.

• What’s with the weird Benson Boone running gag where he keeps destroying instruments? 

• Ariana reprises her role as Celine Dion from her last episode, while JAJ debuts an amazing take on Andrea Bocelli. Who knew JAJ was so good at opera?

• While this was a lot better than the last impression showcase, I still hated most of them. Why won’t SNL hire more impressionists?

Sketch: Black Santa

A criminal claims to be Santa.

• A sketch with Kenan as the lead only spells disaster at this point of his tenure.

• Great, now he’s ruining my favorite Cher song! I don’t think I need to say anymore.

Musical Performance: “DJ Play A Christmas Song”

Weekend Update (featuring Che’s nephew Tyson and the Trend Forecasters)

• The jab at Kevin Spacey was pretty good. 

• Horrible “joke” referring to Michael Jackson as a “white woman”.

• Kam gets another chance on Update. Hopefully this is better than his last one.

• Something about his delivery reminds me of Tracy Morgan.

• I love how Che says that Santa is probably watching the show because he’s over 100 years old and white.

• While repetitive, this was much better than Kam’s last Update appearance, particularly the line about how he’s gonna “Polar Express” Mrs. Claus.

• Aw no, not another Joke Swap. I am SO sick of these!

• I had to turn this one off as soon as Colin got to a joke about Catholic priests. Not that any of the jokes were funny, either.

• To “celebrate” Bowen’s last episode, we get the return of those awful Trend Forecasters he used to play with Aidy Bryant. While it is nice to see Aidy again, I wish it were under better circumstances than this.

Sketch: Love Is Blind: The Reunion

The Grinch is reunited with his lover. 

• Mikey plays the Grinch for the second week in a row.

• What the fuck am I even watching? 

• Mikey is still likable as always, but what was even the thought process behind this sketch?

• Now the Grinch is talking about his dick! Isn’t that just hilarious???

• STOP. EXPLAINING. THE. JOKES. PLEASE.

• What an embarrassing misfire of a sketch. 

Musical Performance: “Run Rudolph Run”

• Ariana introduces this sketch in-character as that castrated boy she played in that overrated sketch last from last season.

Sketch: Delta Lounge

Ed’s last shift has him remembering what he made in the past.

• Well, here we go. Time for Bowen’s farewell.

• So far, this is just a bunch of campiness and unfunny meta jokes.

• Ugh, now he’s singing…

• I hate to be a Scrooge, but I feel absolutely nothing here. If they were trying to make me cry, then I’m afraid they failed. I could barely make it through Cecily’s farewell without crying, but now, I’m just rolling my eyes and waiting for them to get it over with. Goodbye and good riddance.

Note: A memorial for Rob Reiner is shown before the goodnights, as this was right after he and his wife were killed by their own son.

Cut for Time: Last Stop Christmas Shop

Weird Christmas trees are advertised.

• UGGGHHHHHH!!!! Both Sarah and Ariana are in drag!!! This is gonna be a looooooong sketch!

• Yep, so far, I haven’t cracked so much as a smile.

• Is this the same set as the famous Two A-Holes Christmas tree sketch? I seem to recall another sketch from that period using it as well.

• No comment on the “bush” joke. Did Beavis and Butt-head write that?

• Now we get a pathetic attempt from Sarah to make Chloe break.

• This is quickly devolving into nothing but breaking.

• Someone wasted a lot of money just so they could make a tree urinate. Think about that for a second.

• The only laugh I got from this was the cactus that looks like Verne Troyer.

• Is it any wonder why this shit was left on the cutting room floor?

Final thoughts: While not as wretched as last year’s Christmas show, it was still pretty bad. I don’t think I would give anything higher than three and a half stars.

As for Bowen Yang, thank God that this is the last time I have to talk about him! I hated him from the moment he first joined the show. While there were some occasions he did something I liked, for the most part he was just a campy annoyance. Good fucking riddance!

MVP: James Austin Johnson 

Best sketches: Elf on the Shelf Support Group, Cher’s musical performances 

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Home Alone, Black Santa, Trend Forecasters commentary, Love Is Blind: The Reunion

Next review: Finn Wolfhard/A$AP Rocky

SNL Reviews: Josh O’Connor/Lily Allen (12/13/25)

Cold Open: Air Force One

President Trump hosts a press conference on Air Force One.

• Is this storybook intro made with AI?

• The visual of Trump hiding behind the curtain is pretty funny.

• Hey, did you guys know that Donald Trump hates women? That’s the joke!

• The video with Santa getting shot down was more sad than funny. 

• I’m getting really sick of these cold opens which are just Trump rambling for 20 minutes. But then, what else is new?

Monologue

Josh discusses why he doesn’t want a live-action version of Ratatouille.

• As I usually say whenever we have a British host, I love this guy’s accent.

• Nice bit where he compares himself to the main character of Flushed Away. Man, that movie is so underrated.

• Speaking of movies about rats, now he’s talking about Ratatouille for some reason.

• Not a fan of how this monologue shifted focus to Ratatouille, but at least this was pretty short.

Sketch: Let’s Find Love

An old lady is a contestant on a romantic game show.

• “Garth Vader”????? Ugh, please STOP IT!!!!!

• I like the contestants’ cheesy one-liners when they introduce themselves. For example, “I’m a swim instructor, and I’m looking to cannonball right into your heart.” This is followed by nervous laughter from Josh.

• A big groan from the reveal of Ashley’s character. This is gonna be a loooooong sketch…

• Josh’s American accent is surprisingly convincing.

• Boy, Ashley’s rambling is starting to reach Trump levels of rambling.

• This is the kind of material I was afraid that Ashley would mostly rely on when she first joined the cast a year ago. The fact that she hasn’t done any of that until now just shows you how great she’s been.

• “That’s a great idear”? Uh-oh, Josh’s accent is slipping!

• Overall, a rare miss for Ashley.

Fake Ad: Uber Eats Wrapped

Embarrassing details are revealed by Uber Eats.

• Andrew: “Steely Dan? Yeah, that tracks…”

• I love the look on Ben’s face when he realizes what this sketch is about.

• This sketch kinda hits home for me, as I have the same poor eating habits as these guys do.

• JAJ has a good scene where he pokes his wife like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

• Despite not knowing a lot about Spotify Wrapped or Uber Eats, I thought this was really funny. This season has been on a roll with its pretapes.

Sketch: Teaching Hospital

Dr. Please examines another patient.

• *Bowen enters as that awful doctor character from the Ryan Gosling episode* Fuck no. I am not going to touch this one.

Sketch: Bachelorette Party Strippers

Strippers are too sensitive.

• I really like the set of this sketch.

• Ben: “Before we get started, mind if I finish my book? It was written by this…brilliant woman of color.”

• Stop explaining everything that happens!!!! We can see!!!!

• I like the idea of this sketch (making fun of those dweebs who pretend to be progressive so other people will like them and/or go out with them), but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

• The dialogue is atrocious, by the way. I like some of Ben and Josh’s lines, but everyone else’s sound like they were taken from a rejected Diablo Cody script.

• Mikey suddenly shows up just so we can have a scene where two guys kiss each other. Gays sure are funny, am I right?

Musical Performance: “Sleepwalking”

Weekend Update (featuring Marcello Hernandez and Jane Wickline)

• As usual, the Trump clips are funnier than the “jokes” about them, including some that are clearly taken out of context in order to portray him as a pedophile.

• Some of these “funny” pictures are clearly AI-generated. For a show that advocates against AI all the time, they don’t seem to have a problem using it themselves!

• No comment on the Kristi Noem Exorcist video.

• More K-Pop Demon Hunters shilling.

• Marcello finally has a commentary as himself for the first time in a while.

• This commentary has been replaced with the dress rehearsal version for the online upload I’m watching. I have no idea why.

• So far this isn’t so bad. I like it when Marcello is just himself and not doing his racial stereotype characters.

• Whoops, I spoke too soon! Now he’s pretending to be Hispanic versions of Santa Claus and Spider-Man.

• This phone call routine is going on way too long.

• Also not helping is Colin reacting to and explaining everything. Colin, can you please shut up for once?

• This commentary started out decent, but quickly fell apart once Marcello realized, “Uh-oh, my TikTok fangirls are getting bored. Time for my cartoony accents!”

• The OnlyFans joke was pretty good, as was the fake Madea poster with Che on it.

• I don’t get the joke about the “human swastika” being the result of a skydiving accident.

• *sigh* Another boring Jane Wickline song, this time about Stranger Things? I’ll pass…

Sketch: The Wizard of Oz

The Cowardly Lion asks the Wizard for a larger penis. I’m not joking.

• Yippee, more Wicked shilling!!!

• Sarah couldn’t pull off Judy Garland even if she tried. Why not someone like Veronika?

• JAJ would have made a great Wizard, but he’s barely in this episode, so we get Bowen instead. I had no idea the Wizard was Asian.

• Ha, the dog playing Toto is trying to get away!

• What’s with the Tin Man’s weird “yokel” accent? Jack Haley had more of a Boston twang.

• A huge groan from the reveal that the Lion wants “a big ol’ thang”.

• Many others have pointed out that SNL seems to struggle with parodying The Wizard of Oz, most infamously a sketch in Season 20 where the Munchkins want nothing to do with Dorothy.

• The image macro with Toto at the end was just pure cringe.

Cartoon: Brad and His Dad

Brad accompanies his father to buy a Christmas tree.

• Good to see this back again.

• Like before, there’s some nice relatable humor here.

• I like how the one kid Brad seems to be on friendly terms with is an asthmatic girl who’s just as awkward as him.

• This sketch somehow made me laugh at a “6-7” joke, which is unbelievable.

• Heartwarming ending with Brad being able to see his Dad for Christmas after all, which is then made funny when we see that Dad has a hooker in bed with him.

• I think that was even better than the first one. It’s a shame there haven’t been any more as of my writing this.

Sketch: Study Group

A boy genius acts like a diva in college.

• I hated this from the moment Bowen started talking. His departure cannot come soon enough.

• Ashley is wasted with an unfunny running gag where Bowen screams at her.

• Oh, SNL and your endless ball jokes…

• I kinda chuckled at Ben reacting to Bowen’s disturbing story with “That’s awesome, man.”

• Predictable turn with Josh yelling at his own mom.

• Overall, no, just…no.

Musical Performance: “Madeline”

Sketch: Characters on Characters

Christmas characters chat about their roles.

• What the fuck is this???

• Some impressive makeup here, but it feels a bit too inside baseball to me.

• JAJ’s narration is probably the best thing about this, especially when he randomly spazzes out while introducing the scene with Scrooge and The Grinch.

• I kind of laughed at the Drummer Boy clarifying that his name is now “Drum Daddy”.

• Okay, the scene at the very end with Ashley as the grandma who got run over by a reindeer was genuinely funny. A much better use of her talents than that awful game show thing we saw earlier.

Sketch: Lily Allen Brunch

Patrons sing their true feelings to the camera.

• Take a shot!

• Jane immediately stumbles over her first line. What a great cast member.

• Now they’re kissing Lily Allen’s ass??? Save that for after the show, guys!

• Wait…this is a musical sketch???? I’m done with this one.

Cut for Time: Mochi

A heroic sled dog helps his research team during a nasty blizzard.

• Finally, another Dan Bulla Midnight Matinee sketch! Where’s he been?

• I like the set design and costumes here. 

• As with Bulla’s other masterpieces like “Beppo” and “Pip”, the use of a puppet for the titular character gives this a warm, nostalgic feeling.

• Funny bit with everyone breaking their femurs for no apparent reason.

• I love the design of the giant monster they meet on their journey (whose baby also has a broken femur).

• I won’t lie, I almost teared up when it looked like Mochi wasn’t gonna make it.

• Why in the world was this cut from the episode? It was miles better than everything else!

Final thoughts: Hoo boy, that was a rough one. While Josh O’Connor was a great host, it feels like the show didn’t know how to use him, so they just gave him random crap they had lying around and went from there. What does it tell you that the best sketch of the episode didn’t even make the final cut?

MVP: James Austin Johnson

Best sketches: Brad and His Dad, Mochi (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Teaching Hospital, Wizard of Oz, Study Group, Lily Allen Brunch

Next review: Ariana Grande/Cher. We also finally get to say farewell to Bowen Yang.

SNL Reviews: Melissa McCarthy/Dijon (12/6/25)

 Cold Open: Pentagon Press Conference

Pete Hegseth addresses the military situation in Venezuela. 

“You’re watching C-SPAN. Hey Netflix, we’re for sale too.” Two episodes in a row with this unfunny running gag? UGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

• The return of Colin’s unfunny Pete Hegseth impression.

• All of these homophobic lines are just awful. I know it’s part of the sketch, but still.

• GYAAAAH!!!!! Not Sarah as Matt Gaetz again!!!! His scene is completely unnecessary.

• Hacky part where he sings the Nations of the World song from Animaniacs. Yeah, don’t ask.

• The shot of Trump sleeping mirrors how I feel watching this sketch. 

• Overall, another slog of a cold open. And I still have 8 (!) more Hegseth appearances left to cover this season!

Monologue

Six-timer Melissa McCarthy talks about Christmas in New York and plays the mouth horn before going into one of her favorite songs.

• Am I crazy or does she look a little different?

• Nice bit with the “mouth horn”.

• Memorable visual of Melissa getting a bunch of snow poured on her.

• Can Kenan go a single episode without speaking in that faux-British accent? It’s getting old.

• No comment on the musical number at the end, complete with the cast as backup dancers.

Sketch: Free Sample

A woman doesn’t know how to react when offered a free sample by a friendly clerk.

• I can’t believe I’m only just realizing how tall Ben is.

• This sketch has a really nice slice-of-life feeling so far.

• Jeremy and Melissa are carrying this sketch extremely well. Melissa totally could have played her character over the top and annoying like she usually does, but not this time. And Jeremy, man. He’s really starting to grow on me.

• Even the bits with Melissa pushing other shoppers’ carts away so she can keep talking to Jeremy are restrained. She could have violently swatted them away, but she doesn’t!

• I love how the audience goes “aww” when it’s mentioned that one of Melissa’s dogs bit a Salvation Army bell ringer.

• Really sweet ending where the two fall in love and embrace each other.

• That was such a good sketch, and not what I was expecting from Melissa at all.

Film: A Helping Hand

An old lady is a protective angel towards her neighbor’s young son.

• I love the douchey bit of Marcello punching a snowman’s head off. Reminds me of the jock he played in the “Pip” short film last season.

• Great quick shot of Marcello tied up with a target on his chest.

• I love the scene with Mikey confusing his son’s “present” for a Nerf gun, only to be surprised when he fires it and bullets come out. Did he really have to point out that it was a real gun, though? We can see that with our eyes!

• Really good performance from the child actor, by the way. His expressions say so much without actually saying anything.

• This sketch is actually reminding me of one with Kate McKinnon as an old lady mugging for the camera back in Season 47, except that one sucked.

• A bit of a tasteless joke for a film like this, but I still laughed at the prostitutes showing up at the house.

• Kenan as the pimp wasn’t really necessary, and kind of brought the sketch to a halt for a little bit.

• Bizarre ending where the old lady turns out to be a murderer, and the kid covers for her by sending police off in the opposite direction. But, you know what? I still thought it was pretty sweet.

Sketch: UPS Delivery Driver

A UPS driver discusses complaints with her managers.

• A good laugh from the porchcam video of Melissa throwing packages at the house. 

• After a couple of surprisingly low-key performances, this is more of what I was expecting Melissa would do.

• You’ve got to admire the commitment here. That one part with Melissa body slamming the packages takes real skill! I definitely know I couldn’t pull that off without hurting my back.

• I like how she tries to excuse throwing a live bat in the house by saying it was a bat rescue place.

• Isn’t it funny how these videos are all from different days,  yet the weather doesn’t seem to have changed at all?

• A bit of lowbrow humor with Melissa taking a dump on the porch. I could’ve done without that. However, I do like how she criticizes her bosses for “shaming” people with UTIs.

• While not the worst, this went on for a little too long.

Musical Performance: “Higher!”

Weekend Update (featuring A Redhead Who Just Went On Vacation and a Drunk Raccoon)

• There’s only so much I can say about these two chuckleheads before I start repeating myself. I’ve seen, and heard, all of these jokes before. 

• You know, there are ways of making sexual abuse funny, but these guys just don’t have it. I’m cringing more than I’m laughing at most of the Epstein stuff.

• Ben makes his first appearance at the desk. 

• As much as I love what Ben’s brought to the show so far, this isn’t doing it for me. It feels like a slightly less shitty version of The Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, complete with the wacky malapropisms.

• The only laugh I’ve gotten is from Colin’s random “DURRP!” when talking about how shorter videos ruin mental cognition.

• Really? Comparing the Washington Monument to an erect penis? That’s something a high schooler would find funny.

• UGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! Yet another mascot commentary from Sarah Sherman, this time as a drunk raccoon. No further comment necessary.

Sketch: Truth or Dare

A group of moms’ game occasionally turns sexual.

• Southern accented women? I sense Jimmy Fowlie or Kent Sublette at work again.

• Jane looks way too young to be playing a mother. But hey, nepotism sure is fun!

• Where is this even going???

• Great, now we got some Wicked: For Good shilling. There’s more to come in the next couple episodes.

• I’ve got nothing else to say here. This episode is very quickly falling apart.

Sketch: Sunday Supper

Mark expects his guests to have constant Sunday suppers with him.

• I don’t know what’s gotten into Andrew lately, but I am not liking his character in this sketch.

• Kam certainly earned his paycheck for the week by showing up in this sketch only.

• It should also go without saying that I don’t like the characters explaining everything that happens. 

• Ashley’s mic doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t blame it.

• So this is two episodes in a row that Andrew’s sketch failed to work for me. I hope he’s not losing his touch.

Musical Performance: “Another Baby”

Film: Cousin Planet

Where do our cousins go when they’re not visiting us?

• I like the obvious Getty Images watermark in the first shot of Jane and Veronika.

• This is apparently a parody of some music group called 100 gecs, which I have never heard of, but the cheesy visual style reminds me more of those videos Kyle Mooney used to make where he “poorly” interviewed various people.

• Surprisingly, I’m not hating this at all. The song is kinda catchy and the low-quality visuals are giving me some laughs.

• Why does Jane look more at home in this than she has in every single one of her songs on Update? Speaking of which, we’ve got another one of those next time…

• Color me shocked, that was actually pretty good! It may not be for everyone, but I personally thought it was an interesting change of pace for these musical short films.

Sketch: Homes For The Holidays

A couple displays their odd Christmas village.

• As soon as Bowen and Melissa first appeared on screen, I hated this. 

• Ugh at the Minions Nativity part.

• Ha ha! Tommy just mistook them for being gay! Gays sure are funny, right?

• No comment on the newscaster’s “funny” name, which I am not writing down here because I value my sanity.

• *sigh* Only two episodes to go before Bowen leaves….

Final thoughts: This episode started out pretty well enough, with two heartwarming sketches in a row, but it died a horrible death after that. By default, this is the most tolerable Melissa McCarthy has ever been on SNL. Bonus points for not bringing back her awful Sean Spicer “impression”.

MVP: Jeremy Culhane

Best sketches: Free Sample, A Helping Hand, Cousin Planet

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Drunk Raccoon commentary, Truth or Dare, Homes For The Holidays

Next review: Josh O’Connor/Lily Allen

SNL Reviews: Glen Powell/Olivia Dean (11/15/25)

 Cold Open: Epstein Files

President Trump tries to distract from the Epstein Files.

• “You’re watching C-SPAN. Thank you.” UGGGGGHHH!!!!!!!

• I love how the first person we see in this sketch is Ashley!

• Geez, this dialogue is so on-the-nose and unfunny. Trump’s Press Secretary hates the media, so let’s have her openly state this every chance she gets! Brilliant writing, guys!

• Thousands of photos of Trump and Epstein pointing at things? How come the only one I’ve seen of this happening is that constantly passed around video of the two of them at a party?

• If you didn’t laugh at this sketch, don’t worry! There’s only a million more Epstein Files sketches in this episode!

Monologue

Glen talks about his cancelled hosting stint and shows an old student film he made.

• Did he just do a “your mom” joke? How old is he? Ten?

• I like the brief glimpse we get of his old student film.

• Interesting story about how he was supposed to host a Christmas episode, but his invitation was cancelled when Top Gun: Maverick was delayed. I don’t know what year this would have been because that film got moved so many times.

• Sweet ending where he brings out the UPS guy he took a selfie with in the past.

Sketch: AI Photos

Grandma is terrified of artificially generated photos on social media.

• I love Marcello’s insensitive comment to his grandmother about how she probably doesn’t have a lot of time left.

• Great idea for a sketch. I just wish they didn’t have to explain everything for the slower people in the audience.

• The reveal of the dog having a tail at both ends is both hilarious and creepy.

• Bizarre scene with Mikey revealing he has no genitals.

• Great performance from Ashley, by the way.

• All the crazy shit going on in the last photo they bring to life is amazing. My favorite detail: Baby Ashley being used as an accordion.

• Nice callback at the end to Marcello’s comment from earlier.

• This episode is off to a good start!

Film: I Miss My Ex’s Dad

A song about missing your exes’ dads.

• Pretty catchy song so far.

• For some reason, the shot of mustachioed Kenan sitting in his chair made me laugh.

• I love the look of Glen’s character.

• The lyric about meeting Steely Dan was pretty funny.

• Glen’s dinner table freakout was a little too long, but still amusing.

• I can’t remember the last musical short film on the show that I actually liked. But this one was pretty good!

Sketch: Bachelor Weekend

Sebastian Maniscalco entertains during a bachelor’s retreat.

• Tommy has been in pretty much every sketch so far.

• I’m only vaguely familiar with Sebastian Maniscalco, but I know enough that I’m finding Marcello’s impression pretty funny and accurate.

• How in the world is Marcello pulling off some of these moves? The pose he’s in while he’s talking about playing Twister is particularly impressive.

• You can clearly see the rest of the cast trying not to laugh at Marcello’s antics throughout the sketch. For once, I don’t blame them.

• Ugh, they had to ruin it at the end with Chloe’s annoying Jennifer Coolidge impression. Other than that, I really enjoyed this sketch.

Sketch: Scent of a Marriage

Scandinavian actors go from serious to upbeat during takes.

• Great, now they’re ripping off SCTV’s classic “Whispers of the Wolf” sketch!

• Unsurprisingly, most of the Nordic accents are abysmal. Chloe is basically just doing the voice of that annoying Ooli character she used to play.

• Wow, what a shock. Kent Sublette was one of the writers of this. As if I needed to guess with the campy tone and silly voices.

• I can’t put my finger on what Jane’s “accent” reminds me of, but it certainly isn’t Norwegian.

• This is going for way too long. How many times are we supposed to laugh at them screwing up the lines?

• Not even JAJ’s spot-on Stellan Skårsgard impression is enough to save this garbage.

MacGruber (Part 1)

MacGruber attempts to distance himself from the Epstein Files.

• Well, this is a surprise! The world could use more Will Forte guest appearances. 

• The character that Kristen Wiig usually plays is replaced with a different character played by Chloe.

• When Glen said he has a document he wants to leak to the press, I knew exactly what he was referring to…yep, more Epstein jokes. 

• Will does a great job as always, but I’m upset that we’re using MacGruber to comment on current events again. Remember those awful COVID sketches he appeared in last time?

Sketch: Bob Army

Military factions show off their “bobs” for a new recruit.

• Andrew’s character is named “Sublette”. Hmm, I wonder who that could be a reference to???

• As soon as Bowen, Glen, and Sarah entered the room in those awful wigs, I knew I was in for a rough sketch.

• Oh, it turns out all of the characters in this sketch are named after writers! That’s pretty clever. Also, it figures that Bowen would be cast as “Fowlie”. 

• Speaking of Jimmy Fowlie, could it be more obvious that he was behind this one?

• I haven’t laughed at all so far. This is the kind of garbage that made me want to retire my blog initially.

• Such a shame to see JAJ lowered to performing this rubbish. 

• No comment on the “bob-sniffing dog”. Please laugh at the cute doggy, you guys!!!!

• Overall, blah.

Musical Performance: “Man I Need”

Weekend Update

• I got a genuine laugh from the joke about “blowing Bubba”.

• After that, it’s just a long set of easy Trump/Epstein jokes that everyone else had already made.

• Finally, another laugh from the Bill Cosby joke.

• Che: “The U.S. Mint this week stopped producing new pennies. Doesn’t make sense…” *audience slowly realizes the pun and begins to laugh* Sadly, he decides to ruin this joke by sharing an alternate punchline about how it’s “one last blow to Lincoln’s head”.

• As much as I’ve gotten tired of “Colin Jost is a white supremacist”, I did laugh at the joke about him being Hitler’s secret grandson.

• Wow, no commentaries for the first time since Season 49!

Sketch: Taken

A woman reunites with her ex-husband, and ends up cucking her current one in the process.

• “Awkwardsauce”? I’m getting that bad feeling once again…

• So this is a Taken parody, huh? I like Glen’s poor attempt at a Liam Neeson impression.

• Not gonna lie, Glen looks pretty good in that outfit…forget I said anything.

• I do not like where this is going so far. Can SNL please move on from the whole “guy gets cucked” formula?

• Aaaaaaand we just got a huge fart. It’s official: this sketch blows.

• It really hurts me to criticize a sketch that involves Andrew Dismukes taking off his shirt, but what else can I do? This sketch was a rare failure from him.

MacGruber (Part 2)

MacGruber continues to distract from the Epstein Files.

• “Toss me that radical left-wing hoax list!” Oh boy, here we go again…

• Now we have characters explaining the jokes in MacGruber sketches too???? Please stop it!!!

• I do like how the bomb doesn’t go off when the timer runs out, so MacGruber has to smash it against the wall to get it to detonate.

• This was just more of the same from the first part. I’m betting that the third part will be even worse.

Musical Performance: “Let Alone The One You Love”

Sketch: Haircut

A new haircut causes awkward tension among friends.

• Take a shot!

• Already a laugh from Ashley’s weird haircut. This is a character she tried to get on Update twice last season.

• Ashley’s odd mood swings are cracking me up. You can tell this is a character she brought along from The Groundlings.

• Mikey: “Can I get y’all started with some…I HATE IT!!!!!”

• Something about Ashley’s delivery reminds me of Kristen Wiig, but actually funny.

• Ashley, describing a favorite band: “Let’s just say that, if you see four guys with this haircut singing about killing kids, you’re at one of their concerts.”

• Nice reveal of the “skin-square” on the back of Ashley’s head.

• Even the ending with Kenan revealing he has the same “skin-square” was pretty good.

MacGruber (Part 3)

MacGruber casually reveals Epstein trip secrets.

• I like how this last one takes place in a monastery for some reason. What monastery do you of that has a control room? 

• By default, this is the best of the three parts because it has MacGruber singing a beatbox version of “Amazing Grace”. I also liked the ending where he’s about to reveal who saw on the island, only to make a bizarre noise before the monastery blows up.

• Overall, wow. I can’t believe they ruined MacGruber again. While not as painful as the 2022 installments, it still hurts to see him reduced to this. Fellow SNL reviewer Anthony summed it up best: “MacGruber’s always been a sleazebag, but in that classic Forte way where you relish in his hyped-up brand of assholery. Where’s the fun in watching him rotely repeat talking points from the real-life assholes of the world?”

Final thoughts: This was a bit more mixed than the last episode. While there was a lot of really good stuff here, there were also some atrocious piles of shit like the MacGruber sketches and that nonsense about “bobs”. Special credit should also go to Glen Powell for doing a pretty good job as host. A few months after this, he played Fox McCloud in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and I really loved him in that role too. He should come back to host again.

MVP: Glen Powell

Best sketches: AI Photos, I Miss My Ex’s Dad, Bachelor Weekend, Haircut

Worst sketches: Scent of a Marriage, Bob Army, Taken

Next review: Aw shit, it’s Melissa McCarthy.

SNL Reviews: Nikki Glaser/Sombr (11/8/25)

Cold Open: Press Conference

Someone collapses in the Oval Office during a press conference, and the President takes the opportunity to ramble on about dumb stuff.

• Andrew’s RFK Jr. wig is hilarious.

• And now the focus suddenly switches to more Trump rambling???? 

• Trump: “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Dr. Oz is on the case!”

• He has some funny lines in here (I like the part about Mamdani converting), but I can’t stress how tired I am of this same format. But, as always, I don’t fault how amazing JAJ’s performance is.

Monologue

Nikki does standup about spray tans, beauty treatments, and her boyfriend.

• I have no familiarity with this woman at all.

• A big groan right away from her line about how Manhattan is “Epstein’s original island”.

• What’s with the applause when she says she got a spray tan? 

• Lame jokes about Donald Trump’s skin color.

• There’s nothing worse than a female standup, and this woman, while not the worst I’ve seen, is just so bland. 

• Now we’re getting into jokes about sex trafficking? 

• This did NOT need to be nine minutes long. At least when Chappelle does long monologues, he makes them…you know, funny.

Sketch: Karaoke Night

Incestuous undertones ruin a family gathering.

• Take a shot!

• Sweet! Another pairing between Andrew and Ashley!

• *sigh* This whole incest routine is making me uncomfortable. As soon as they got on stage, I knew exactly where this sketch was headed.

• Making things worse is Sarah reacting to everything and explaining it because the audience is apparently made up of morons.

• Not even Andrew’s dorky dad character can save this.

• Nikki and Tommy are definitely game for performing this, but they should have just left this in dress rehearsal.

Fake Ad: Hudsacillin

The new anxiety medication that keeps you from having to go through the Jennifer Hudson “spirit tunnel”.

• I don’t watch celebrity-hosted talk shows, so I have no idea what this whole Jennifer Hudson tunnel thing is all about.

• Some laughs from the usual slow-motion montages that we get in these ad parodies.

• I like the brief shot of Marcello going through the tunnel. This is the last time we see him tonight, by the way.

• I wish I had more to say about this, but what else am I supposed to do when I come across a parody of a show I had no idea even existed?

Sketch: Beauty and MrBeast

A modern retelling of the classic tale with Internet superstar MrBeast as the Beast.

• How do you do, fellow kids?

• I’m proud to say I have never watched a single one of MrBeast’s videos, so I have no idea how accurate Ben’s impression of him is.

• Most of the costumes in this sketch are recycled from that Beauty and the Beast sketch in the Willem Dafoe episode. Kenan plays Cogsworth here, as he did in that sketch.

• For somebody who grew up in Canada, Bowen’s French accent is shockingly poor. 

• The only laugh I’ve gotten so far is how one of the critic “reviews” is just MrBeast saying how he’s going to build the world’s largest LEGO tower.

• The sumo wrestler bit at the end also made me chuckle. Other than those two bits, though, I found this sketch very baffling.

Fake Ad: American Girl XL

The new life-size doll attracts a ton of creeps.

• Okay, what’s with all of the American Girl product placement on SNL within the last ten years? This is the fourth time I’ve reviewed a sketch involving them.

• The dolls’ creepy vacant stares are great.

• Amazing juxtaposition of the women innocently showing off their new dolls with the perverted men taking pleasure from them.

• Nice closeup of Ben lovingly stroking his doll’s feet. Dan Schneider would be proud.

• Andrew: “I made up my own backstory for Jessica. She’s from Lithuania!” Nikki: “No! She’s American!” Andrew: “Well she is now!” *camera zooms in on their wedding ring*

• The “churning butter” bit is so gross, but so funny.

• JAJ finally gets to play a sexual predator. He brings the sketch to a perfect conclusion with a scene involving a hot dog.

Sketch: Mechanical Bull

Two girls travel through time and space on a mechanical bull.

• Already a big laugh from Jane’s odd drunk character.

• Kenan’s overused voice was actually pretty good in this sketch.

• Ah yes, we finally get another JAJ musical number! 

• This is the kind of absurdity I love to see on this show, but we unfortunately don’t get to see it very often for some dumb reason.

• I love the bit where the military tries to kill them with missiles. 

• Kenan and James start breaking when they sing the last line of the song. 

• My words cannot do this song justice. Go out and seek it for yourself.

Musical Performance: “12 to 12”

Weekend Update (featuring Pete Davidson)

• Another “This is fine” reference? Still behind the times, I see.

• Ugh at the loud applause from the audience when Colin announces that Mamdani has won the mayoral election.

• I laughed at the Cuomo joke, as well as the one implying that he groped the Mexican president.

• Colin and Michael have actually had some good jokes tonight. Hopefully this Update will only get better.

• *Pete Davidson shows up for no reason* Welp, guess I spoke too soon.

• So what the Hell is he doing here? He’s here to swap inside jokes with Colin about that stupid ferry he owns. Barf!

• On the plus side, Pete looks like he’s in a much better place now than he was when he left the show. 

• Surprisingly short Update. I’m glad we didn’t get any stupid mascot commentaries for once.

Sketch: Sorority Meeting

A sorority group has been infiltrated by a boy.

• I like how one of the girls has “her” head facing down in the first shot of the sketch to prepare us for what’s to come.

• Amazing reveal of Mikey wearing “hyper-realistic” makeup to look like a woman.

• I like the minor detail of Mikey’s girl voice eventually devolving into what’s basically a Slimer impression.

• Mikey, while stuffing food in his mouth: “Girl power!”

• How did they do the effect of the vape smoke coming out of Mikey’s eye holes? It didn’t even work in the live show, so the online version replaces it with footage from dress rehearsal.

• Funny “girly” items in Mikey’s bag: maxi-pads, a Beanie Baby, and a Hillary Clinton photo.

• Jane sounds terribly hoarse when she says her single line. Is that why she’s barely been in this episode?

• Great twist at the end where it’s revealed that Nikki’s character was actually just Andrew in disguise the whole time. The shot of him taking off the mask appears to be pretaped, as there is a pretty noticeable cut before it happens.

Cartoon: Brad And His Dad

Brad and his father spend an afternoon together.

• Still trying to do these animated shorts, huh? I hated every single one they did last year, so what’s going to make this one any different?

• Once again, the art style is hideous.

• That’s apparently Mikey doing the voice of Brad. He’s been all over this episode.

• Dad: “First of all, you never call someone that word! Second of all, it makes no sense, cuz I’m white!”

• I’m actually kind of enjoying the slice-of-life humor this time around.

• I particularly like the scene of Brad getting stuck in the kiddie slide. Very relatable situation. And yes, I’m speaking from experience there.

• I also love the drone scene where Brad’s dad says he bought it himself, and quickly removes a message saying that it’s from Grandma.

• I’m surprised how much I enjoyed that sketch this time. I look forward to covering the next one a few episodes from now.

Sketch: Pilot Announcement

A pilot reads texts out loud and requests dating advice during a flight.

• I like the brief swipe Nikki takes at Mamdani during her opening spiel.

• Surprising absolutely no one, JAJ’s pilot voice is spot on and funny.

• Sarah: “Look at me, I’m a little naked lady! I hope I don’t get bubbles on my boobies!” Something about her delivery of this line made me smile for some reason.

• I like the subtle implication that the hold up is being caused by another pilot threatening to jump off the control tower.

• Sarah and Andrew’s reactions to JAJ’s shenanigans are actually kind of funny.

• Nice silent reactions from Bowen and Kenan when JAJ unintentionally insults them.

• Damn, this episode is on a roll! 

Musical Performance: “Back To Friends”

Sketch: Pinwheel

Anna makes one final visit to the Make-Believe Meadow before she grows up.

• Here comes a pretty popular sketch.

• Beautiful set design.

• Already a big laugh from Ben’s character being named “Beebin”.

• I can see some people being annoyed by Jeremy and Mikey’s characters, but I’m finding a silly charm to their performance. 

• I also love how Bowen just gets a simple drawing, while all the others get special gifts.

• Speaking of Bowen, his outburst towards Mikey and Jeremy is impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him so angry before,

• “And it was on that day Anna decided never to have children.”

• Make that another sketch that enjoyed much more than I did when I first saw it!

Final thoughts: This episode started out kind of slow, but after the American Girl sketch, it just kept getting better. As solid of a host as Nikki Glaser was, I have to say I’m actually more impressed with how great Mikey was in this episode. Will this upswing in quality last? I guess we’ll have to see…

MVP: Mikey Day/James Austin Johnson 

Best sketches: American Girl XL, Mechanical Bull, Sorority Meeting, Pilot Announcement. Pinwheel

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Karaoke Night

Next review: Glen Powell/Olivia Dean

An in-depth analysis of BM Korea’s Baby Einstein

 In 1999, a company called BM Korea released their own versions of Baby Einstein and Baby Mozart. As you can imagine, they did not actually have the rights to the franchise, and when Julie Aigner-Clark discovered these releases, she promptly sued them for ripping her off. BM’s unofficial releases were taken off the market, and they released ripoff videos called “Baby Genius” (which has yet to surface online) and “New Baby Mozart”.

While the BM Korea release of Mozart has few edits, mostly limited to on-screen text identifying the classical music, their release of the first video is totally different. Let’s go over it, scene by scene…

Intro: The video tutorial seen on the early releases of Baby Einstein is here, but it’s been overdubbed by some kind of Korean song. Pictures of flags corresponding to the different languages have also been inserted.

Hello!: The first Bear-in-the-Box clip has been shortened a bit, but remains in English. Following that is the intro, where BM Korea have inserted their own card with a translation of the video’s title.

Fish: Unchanged

Machine Ball Factory: What’s this doing here?!? Yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that a bunch of clips from Baby Bach have been added to this version of the video. The audio during this scene is of Julie’s rendition of Humpty Dumpty that’s supposed to be later in the video.

Patterns: “Leise, Peterle, Leise” has been replaced by what sounds like someone counting in Korean.

Roly Poly Cow: Unchanged

New Scene: Instead of the Rock-a-Stack, we get new footage of someone placing magnetic blocks on the screen. I have no idea what’s being said here.

Train segue: Unchanged

Aiueo: Unchanged

Jack and Jill: Unchanged

Fruit: This scene replaces “Numi, Numi”, and instead of flowers, we have pictures of fruit. The audio during this scene is “J’avais”, which is supposed to be later in the video.

After this comes three more scenes from Baby Bach, namely a fire truck, Sierra Clark playing with a rattle, and a toy piano.

Backe, Backe, Kuchen: Dubbed over by a Korean version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. At least the lady remembered to clap her hands.

Hola!: Instead of Spanish, we hear someone greeting us in Chinese.

Cardboard Bricks: Unchanged

Candles: The Russian lullaby that normally comes here has been dubbed into Korean, though it has the same tune as the original. 

New Scene: We now get, I kid you not, footage of naked babies. This scene in general was one thing that made Julie Aigner-Clark particularly upset when she found out about this video.

After that, we get a picture of a Korean drum, and Baby Bach footage of a mouse eating cheese.

Edo no Komori Uta: Normally, there should be pictures of dolls here, but BM Korea replaced them with the wind chime that’s supposed to come near the end of the video. They also fade to black and start the wind chime footage over again so it doesn’t transition to the metronome that normally follows it.

New Scene: Pictures of various things, like a monkey plush, fruit, a still shot of the train that appears throughout the video, and a toy plane.

Spiral Bead Lamp: Instead of counting in German, we hear someone counting in Chinese.

After this, we get more Baby Bach footage of Sierra playing with a trumpet, a trumpet toy, and a flipping dog (Flipsie?), complete with awkward cuts in the audio.

Fun Links: “Habi, Beybi” is replaced by some kind of wacky Korean song.

Foam Blocks: The Hebrew alphabet is replaced by someone who is not Julie Aigner-Clark singing the Alphabet Song in English, although the sound of the blocks falling at the end is left intact.

Malenki’ye Gusi: Redubbed with a Korean version of “Frere Jacques”. The backing track is the music that plays during the “Jack and Jill” scene, albeit awkwardly cut around Julie’s voice.

More Baby Bach footage of a toy trumpet, Sierra playing peek-a-boo, and a toy truck being loaded with coins follows this.

Musical Clock: Unchanged

Konnichiwa!: Unchanged

Bo Peep: Unchanged

Xylophone: Unchanged

New Scene: Korean flash cards with pictures of various things on them are displayed. This is then followed by a mechanical duck toy waddling around. Ironically, this duck later appeared in an actual Baby Einstein video (Neighborhood Animals).

Candles/Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: Unchanged. However, a scene from Baby Bach with a barnyard toy is inserted between it and the next scene.

Patterns/Japanese 1-20: Unchanged

“New” Scene: A bubble-blowing bear from Baby Bach is accompanied by a Korean poem.

Bonjour!: Unchanged

“New” Scene: Baby Bach footage of a cat toy is accompanied by a Chinese version of “Frere Jacques”.

French 1-20: Instead of a mobile, this plays over Baby Bach footage of various carnival related toys.

Metronome: Unchanged

Rattle: The Spanish audio is replaced by a Korean poem.

Little Miss Muffet: Unchanged, but is then followed by more Baby Bach footage of a dinosaur hatching from an egg, an accordion, and a chicken.

Sakura: Instead of vegetables, this plays over pictures of flowers.

Duck Rattle: Instead of German, the duck greets us in Korean.

Niji: This plays over footage of the rings on the Rock-a-Stack appearing.

Then, we get the entire Brandenberg Concerto sequence from Baby Bach for some reason, complete with the balloons that pop up at the beginning.

After that, there’s some promos for other shows BM Korea likely illegally distributed, including Plonsters and another show I don’t recognize. Then, finally, we get the credit sequence, which has been translated into Korean.