Laura Ingraham discusses the coronavirus with her guests before interviewing Elizabeth Warren (played by herself).
• More of the same Ingraham bullshit that got old a long time ago. I can’t believe I actually praised this impression the first time I saw it, but that’s only because I didn’t know who she was.
• Please stop with the fake sponsor plugs. If I wanted to see fake sponsor plugs in a sketch, I’d watch something written by Jack Handey.
• I did get a chuckle out of Bernie’s running mate being the ghost of Fidel Castro.
• I’ve already told you how much I hate Cecily as Jeanine Pirro, and the awfulness of Alex Moffat’s Eric Trump, so I won’t say anything further.
• Darrell Hammond returns as Chris Matthews! Now here’s a celebrity cameo I can actually get behind! It’s nice that they let Darrell play him one last time.
• Already, Matthews’ lines are better than anything else in this cold open. I love that laugh he keeps doing.
• But then, something horrible happens. We get a cameo from the REAL Elizabeth Warren. Would they ever let a Republican candidate on the show these days? I don’t think so! The last one I can think of is that Dan Crenshaw guy, and that was only because they were salty that he criticized them.
0.5/5 (the .5 is for Matthews’ appearance)
Monologue
Daniel Craig shares a deleted scene from No Time To Die.
• Craig starts off pretty promising, but then he throws it to a “deleted scene” from the newest Bond film that lasts FOREVER. And, of course, it has aged extremely poorly given that the film’s release date was delayed for over a year not long after this, but that certainly isn’t SNL’s fault.
• Since Darrell was in the building, they should have let him do his Sean Connery and interrupt the monologue like he did when Pierce Brosnan hosted. That would have been miles better than this “deleted scene” bullshit.
• Not to mention, the “joke” that they’re trying to tell in this (“HURR DURR LAS VEGAS CASINOS ARE ROWDY!!!”) was something that the Bond series already addressed in Diamonds are Forever, where a specific point is made about how Bond’s style makes him stand out in a casino.
1/5
Sketch: The Sands of Modesto
A soap opera must take precautions in order to prevent its actors from catching the coronavirus.
• This was kind of a lame and one-joke sketch. Everyone and their grandma had made these jokes by then.
• Kenan’s character voice was amusing.
• The only laughs I got were when Daniel used a fake arm to stroke his wife’s hair, and the use of dolls during a fight scene.
2/5
Short Film: On the Couch
An R&B song about men sleeping on the couch instead of in bed with their lovers.
• ANOTHER FUCKING MUSICAL SHORT FILM?!!?? I think I’ll pass on this one.
1/5
Sketch: The Deirdre Show
Two guests clash on a daytime talk show.
• This was cut from the previous episode. I’m assuming Mulaney played Craig’s role.
• You know, I think I’m starting to see why they cut this in the first place. The only joke is that they don’t want to eat the cooking utensils.
• Apparently, this is based off of an incident on The Tyra Banks Show where Patti LaBelle didn’t want to eat a paper plate. The only way you are going to enjoy this sketch is if you’ve seen what it’s parodying. Since I haven’t seen it, I found this extremely dull. They definitely should have left this in dress.
1/5
Sketch: Debbie Downer
Debbie Downer appears at a wedding to express her grievances about 2020.
• This was a huge surprise. I was totally not expecting to see Debbie Downer again, especially since it’s been 14 years since she last appeared (not counting her cameo at the 40th Anniversary Special).
• Playing the original Debbie Downer theme song shows just how much Rachel has aged since she was on the show. She looks like she’s almost sixty years old.
• Maybe the long absence did this character some good, because I found this to be the best sketch of the night. For once, they make it through a Debbie Downer sketch without breaking.
• I like how they shook things up a bit by playing the “wah-wah” sound effects over the other party guests’ reactions to Debbie asking what their thoughts are about Trump. They even threw in a twist when they instead played a “sexy” variation over a shot of Aidy’s character raising her eyebrows up and down with a big grin on her face.
5/5
Musical Performance: “Blinding Lights”
Weekend Update (featuring Bottle Boi and The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party)
• We start with a painful deluge of “haha Trump and Biden are old” jokes.
• Then we get a joke suggesting Trump has brain disease. Stay classy, guys.
• Bowen Yang debuts a character called “Bottle Boi”, who’s here to talk about NYC’s plastic ban. Forgive me if I sound a little harsh, but this character is FUCKING AWFUL. Not only is it Yang’s 8,000th gay character in a row, but he also speaks in a severely annoying voice that induces suicide to those who hear it. I haven’t visited the Reddit thread about this episode, but I’m sure those morons gushed about it like they do with all of his shitty characters.
• Another anti-white joke from Che. Is that he ever does?
• That annoying Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party character is back. Not even gonna bother talking about this one.
-5/5
Sketch: Accent Coach
Daniel Craig brings his vocal coach with him to a rehearsal for Knives Out.
• Now we get another “funny accent” sketch.
• Like most funny accent sketches, this one completely sucks. The majority of this one is just Beck Bennett talking in annoying Southern accents.
• It randomly turns into a “fake vomit” sketch at the end.
0/5
Sketch: Deep Quote Game Night
Game night goes off the rails when two players (Craig, Heidi Gardner) play a new game.
• Any attempt by SNL to do a “game night” setting will automatically pale in comparison to the amazing sketch from Season 28 with Rachel Dratch’s sore loser character destroying the house in a fit of rage. This one definitely pales in comparison to that classic sketch.
1/5
Sketch: The Sands of Modesto
A soap opera must take precautions in order to prevent its actors from catching the coronavirus.
• This was kind of a lame and one-joke sketch. Everyone and their grandma had made these jokes by then.
• Kenan’s character voice was amusing.
• The only laughs I got were when Daniel used a fake arm to stroke his wife’s hair, and the use of dolls during a fight scene.
2/5
Short Film: On the Couch
An R&B song about men sleeping on the couch instead of in bed with their lovers.
• ANOTHER FUCKING MUSICAL SHORT FILM?!!?? I think I’ll pass on this one.
1/5
Sketch: The Deirdre Show
Two guests clash on a daytime talk show.
• This was cut from the previous episode. I’m assuming Mulaney played Craig’s role.
• You know, I think I’m starting to see why they cut this in the first place. The only joke is that they don’t want to eat the cooking utensils.
• Apparently, this is based off of an incident on The Tyra Banks Show where Patti LaBelle didn’t want to eat a paper plate. The only way you are going to enjoy this sketch is if you’ve seen what it’s parodying. Since I haven’t seen it, I found this extremely dull. They definitely should have left this in dress.
1/5
Sketch: Debbie Downer
Debbie Downer appears at a wedding to express her grievances about 2020.
• This was a huge surprise. I was totally not expecting to see Debbie Downer again, especially since it’s been 14 years since she last appeared (not counting her cameo at the 40th Anniversary Special).
• Playing the original Debbie Downer theme song shows just how much Rachel has aged since she was on the show. She looks like she’s almost sixty years old.
• Maybe the long absence did this character some good, because I found this to be the best sketch of the night. For once, they make it through a Debbie Downer sketch without breaking.
• I like how they shook things up a bit by playing the “wah-wah” sound effects over the other party guests’ reactions to Debbie asking what their thoughts are about Trump. They even threw in a twist when they instead played a “sexy” variation over a shot of Aidy’s character raising her eyebrows up and down with a big grin on her face.
5/5
Musical Performance: “Blinding Lights”
Weekend Update (featuring Bottle Boi and The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party)
• We start with a painful deluge of “haha Trump and Biden are old” jokes.
• Then we get a joke suggesting Trump has brain disease. Stay classy, guys.
• Bowen Yang debuts a character called “Bottle Boi”, who’s here to talk about NYC’s plastic ban. Forgive me if I sound a little harsh, but this character is FUCKING AWFUL. Not only is it Yang’s 8,000th gay character in a row, but he also speaks in a severely annoying voice that induces suicide to those who hear it. I haven’t visited the Reddit thread about this episode, but I’m sure those morons gushed about it like they do with all of his shitty characters.
• Another anti-white joke from Che. Is that he ever does?
• That annoying Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party character is back. Not even gonna bother talking about this one.
-5/5
Sketch: Accent Coach
Daniel Craig brings his vocal coach with him to a rehearsal for Knives Out.
• Now we get another “funny accent” sketch.
• Like most funny accent sketches, this one completely sucks. The majority of this one is just Beck Bennett talking in annoying Southern accents.
• It randomly turns into a “fake vomit” sketch at the end.
0/5
Sketch: Deep Quote Game Night
Game night goes off the rails when two players (Craig, Heidi Gardner) play a new game.
• Any attempt by SNL to do a “game night” setting will automatically pale in comparison to the amazing sketch from Season 28 with Rachel Dratch’s sore loser character destroying the house in a fit of rage. This one definitely pales in comparison to that classic sketch.
• It feels like the concept for this one was based on some kind of backstage joke. Does Heidi Gardner (assuming she wrote this) have some kind of talent for quoting movies that she just had to write into a sketch? If so, then I’m not laughing.
• That being said, I did laugh at the part where Daniel coughed, and Heidi correctly guessing it was from Philadelphia.
2/5
Musical Performance: “Scared to Live”
Short Film: Overnight Salad
Aidy Bryant sings about making an “overnight salad” for her husband (Craig).
• Yet another damn musical short, but this one was actually pretty good. The set design and props were great, as well as the visual of the salad that Aidy makes.
• The song itself is pretty catchy. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but Aidy has a really nice singing voice.
• Great twist ending where it’s revealed that she died after eating the salad.
4/5
Final thoughts: Another mediocre outing. Daniel Craig was a good host, but he didn’t have much to work with. Unfortunately, he turns out to be the last regular host of Season 45. A few days after this episode aired, it was announced that SNL would be halting production due to the coronavirus. The cast went on to make three special “At Home” editions of SNL to finish out the season.
Best sketches: Debbie Downer, Overnight Salad, Darrell as Chris Matthews
Worst sketches: Elizabeth Warren’s cameo, Bottle Boi, Accent Coach
Before I look at the At Home specials, I’m going back to the beginning of the season to cover the episodes I skipped. So, my next review will be of the season premiere, hosted by Woody Harrelson.
• That being said, I did laugh at the part where Daniel coughed, and Heidi correctly guessing it was from Philadelphia.
2/5
Musical Performance: “Scared to Live”
Short Film: Overnight Salad
Aidy Bryant sings about making an “overnight salad” for her husband (Craig).
• Yet another damn musical short, but this one was actually pretty good. The set design and props were great, as well as the visual of the salad that Aidy makes.
• The song itself is pretty catchy. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but Aidy has a really nice singing voice.
• Great twist ending where it’s revealed that she died after eating the salad.
4/5
Final thoughts: Another mediocre outing. Daniel Craig was a good host, but he didn’t have much to work with. Unfortunately, he turns out to be the last regular host of Season 45. A few days after this episode aired, it was announced that SNL would be halting production due to the coronavirus. The cast went on to make three special “At Home” editions of SNL to finish out the season.
Best sketches: Debbie Downer, Overnight Salad, Darrell as Chris Matthews
Worst sketches: Elizabeth Warren’s cameo, Bottle Boi, Accent Coach
Before I look at the At Home specials, I’m going back to the beginning of the season to cover the episodes I skipped. So, my next review will be of the season premiere, hosted by Woody Harrelson.
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