The Amanda Show Reviews: Episode 9

 Cold Open

Drake wants some fan mail, but the only one he gets is a request for the Dancing Lobsters’ autographs.

• Raquel appears to be reading an issue of Fever Beat.

• Kind of funny in retrospect that Drake is complaining about his lack of fan mail, given how popular he went on to be.

TV Clip: A guy in a tree says “Look at this tree!”

Intro

Amanda’s magic trick goes wrong, so she goes backstage to learn a spell for it. Then Penelope pops out of the magic hat, which is taken away by security.

• The effect of Penelope coming out of the hat is very well done. Too bad her appearance is somewhat spoiled by the fact that her theme is playing while Amanda is doing the magic trick.

• Penelope’s head is replaced by a hilariously obvious dummy when the security guards come to take the hat away.

Fake Ad: Sick Popples

The new popsicles that make you ill, so you won’t have to take a test!

• Another classic ad with a great concept. I wonder how exactly they came up with it?

• As usual with these ads, the intentionally poor acting and obnoxious editing is hilarious.

• The various flavors are all great, but my personal favorite is “Bleeding Gums Berry”.

• Great slogan: “They’re icy cool, and they’ll get you out of school!”

• Nice ending, too, where a kid faints after trying the “Measles Mango” flavor.

Judge Trudy 

A boy named Alex (Drake) has a dinner date with Judge Trudy, which then turns into a case when she finds out that his parents have grounded him for driving their car through the mall.

• I like how the audience knows what’s about to happen as soon as Alex mentions his date is a judge.

• Last time we had a Judge Trudy sketch, I complained that they’re too formulaic. As if to prove otherwise, now we get one that’s a nice change from the norm.

• You have to love how Trudy apparently brings her podium and bailiff along whenever she goes out to dinner.

• I love the gag with the group of kids randomly running in to throw garbage at Alex’s parents.

• I think this is the sketch where The Bailiff finally comes into his own! Every single line he says in this one is funny!

• The mom’s punishment is hilarious. What is it? The Bailiff just screams at her!

Mr. Oldman

The old geezer receives a prank call about winning a cordless pig.

• First time we’ve seen this in a while. Amanda’s character now has her usual hairstyle.

• Not too much to say about these sketches, since they’re so short, but Dan’s performance is great as usual.

When Cheerleaders Attack

Amanda warns us about attacks perpetrated by cheerleaders.

• First appearance of the “When (X) Attack” sketch, based on the many sensationalist specials that were airing on FOX in the late 90s.

• Amanda always introduces these sketches by saying we might remember her from some other role. In this case, she says we might know her as Amanda.

• The first attack video is shot on the same set as Souper Dooper. It’s worth noting that the girl who gets attacked here is the same actress as Tammy from The Girls’ Room.

• My favorite parts of these sketches are the interview segments, where the victims have extremely brutal injuries that don’t really suit the kind of attack they’ve been through.

• Even in this first installment, Amanda has no sympathy for any of the victims.

• The second attack video appears to be shot on Paramount’s New York Street set. I’m pretty sure it’ll appear again in a later installment of this series.

• Out of all the recurring bits we’ve seen so far, this one seems to be the most fully formed. All of the usual bits are here; the interviews, the hotline we need to call, and the ending where the attackers show up in the studio and assault the cameraman.

Hillbilly Moment 

Eenis gets hit with a steering wheel.

Stop-Motion Amanda

Penelope has a dream where she wins the Best Website in the World Award. Also, Whoopi Goldberg is there.

• Now it’s Penelope’s turn to star in a stop-motion sketch! I like how they made her own special figure instead of just recycling Amanda’s.

• The voice of the Whoopi caricature is so obviously not her that it’s hilarious.

• This week’s video clip is Amanda rinsing her mouth out. Yeah…

Totally Kyle

Kyle talks about a movie he saw with a big lizard in it.

• Another classic Kyle story. You really have to question his taste in movies if the movie he saw is supposed to be the 1998 Godzilla film.

The Castaways

A family washes up on a beach that turns out to be populated.

• The setting reminds me of the Island Girls sketches from All That.

• I’ve never been a big fan of this one, mostly because the family is just too stupid. How dumb are these people if they can’t tell a surfer apart from a fish?

• The only part I like is when a police car drives up and the officer slaps the dad in the face.

Closing

Amanda tries another trick: sawing Johnny in half. 

• Another instance of Johnny getting humiliated. This time, after getting “cut in half”, a kid from the audience gets to take his lower half home with him. And the episode ends with them just leaving him there. I like how he doesn’t even question Penelope when she runs by, he just cares about getting his socks back.

Final thoughts: A slight step back from the previous episode. That dumb Castaways sketch just dragged it down for me.

The Amanda Show Reviews: Episode 8

 NOTE: The only copy of this episode online is a shitty TV rip that’s out of sync and missing the theme song. It’s never been released on DVD due to the appearance of LFO as musical guests.

Cold Open

Penelope gets a visit from a special guest from The Amanda Show…Cameraman Joe!

• We get to meet Penelope’s parents for the first (and only) time. They say “please” just as much as she does!

• A hilarious twist where the special guest from the show turns out to just be a cameraman.

TV Clip: Not featured in my copy

Intro

Amanda brings out LFO for an audience member who can’t listen to their CD.

• As mentioned earlier, this episode has never been released on DVD due to LFO’s presence in the episode. It’s a shame, too, because this was a sweet moment.

Fake Ad: Pedestrian Air Bag (repeat from Episode 1)

Mr. Gullible 

Mr. Gullible comes to teach a science class and gets tricked into doing more crazy things.

• The best of the Mr. Gullible sketches, bar none.

• Amazing physical work from Kassir when he has to run into the closet.

• I like how Mr. Gullible shows some self-awareness for once when he initially doesn’t believe that there was a bear in the classroom. Not to worry, though, because the kids manage to convince him when they say the bear was from Wisconsin (another favorite target of Dan’s), “home of the flying bear”.

• Memorable ending where Mr. Gullible floats away after inhaling gas fumes. And then the students make him give them his car keys!

Stop-Motion Amanda

Amanda makes fudge brownies, and gets an unexpected visitor.

• The hits just keep on coming in this episode. Here’s probably the most memorable of all the stop-motion bits.

• I particularly love the gag with the “chocolate cow” that produces chocolate milk. Even as a kid I thought that was really creative.

• But the most famous thing about this sketch is the special guest appearance at the end. When the brownies are done, out pops Amanda’s All That co-star Danny Tamberelli! Why is he there? As he explains, “I’m on every Nick show!” And then she ties him to a balloon, sending him into space. 

Hillbilly Moment

Eenis gets hit in the head with a bowling pin.

Penelope Taynt

Penelope shows the members of LFO her website.

• It’s kind of sad in retrospect to see the LFO guys enjoying themselves, seeing as two of the three members have since passed away.

• I like the part where she cuts off one of them when he’s about to plug their own website.

• Today’s video clip is Amanda jumping on trampoline while holding a lamp.

• Not too much to say about this one, but the LFO guys have some great reactions to Penelope’s nonsense.

Totally Kyle

Kyle talks about seeing a shooting star that was actually an airplane.

• Amanda’s voiceover is now the one that will be used for the rest of the season.

• Not one of Kyle’s better stories, but I like how he says he waved to the plane after finding out it wasn’t a shooting star.

Musical Performance: “Girl on TV”

• It’s a shame this episode can no longer be shown again, because this is a genuinely good performance. 

• The intro with the Dancing Lobsters was cute. I can’t get enough of those guys!

The Procrastinator

An extremely lazy superhero promises to help various citizens with their problems…eventually.

• I wonder where they got the footage of the fire at the beginning from.

• This was kind of a one-joke sketch, and not as funny as I remembered. It also didn’t help that the sync in my copy was really bad here, like I’m watching a Bruce Lee movie.

Closing

The Lobsters invite Amanda and LFO to a party.

• A really sweet way to end the show, and, once again, you gotta love those Dancing Lobsters!

Final thoughts: This is definitely a Top 5 episode for me. It helps that this was an episode I saw a lot as a kid, so I’m probably a little biased towards it.

The Amanda Show Reviews: Episode 7

 Man, it’s been a while since I did one of these. But I’m in a Nickelodeon mood, so let’s do it.

Cold Open

Penelope tries to win a dinner with Amanda.

• One of the more memorable Penelope storylines. The visual of 50 phones in her room is amazing.

TV Clips: A man says “Honey, this is great coffee!”

Introduction 

Amanda teaches an audience member how to do karate.

• A bizarre concept, but it works due to the commitment of Amanda and the audience member. I love his over-the-top karate noises as he does the moves.

Fake Ad: Meatloaf Crunch (repeat from Episode 2)

Judge Trudy

Jason Fima (Drake) sues his parents for cutting his allowance. The parents are then beaten up by pro wrestlers. Next, Amy Drummel sues her mother for sending her to her room for refusing to kiss her Aunt Sophie. Mrs. Drummel is sentenced to confinement in a box with sick children.

• The Bailiff finally has his usual over-the-top personality that we all remember him for.

• Johnny’s wig as the father is great.

• As much as I hate to admit it, I’m finding these Judge Trudy sketches kind of formulaic looking back at them. While there will be some occasional changes from the norm, we almost always get the same thing with these sketches.

Stop-Motion Amanda

The adventures of Amanda…IN SPAAAAAACE!!!!!!

• One of my favorite stop-motion bits. 

• The voice of the guy communicating with Amanda is hilarious, and not immediately recognizable as Dan Schneider.

• I’m not entirely sure, but I think a lot of Amanda’s dialogue in these shorts is ad-libbed. It adds a lot of personality to her character, like when she’s singing that song about flying in space.

• Another staple of Schneider’s shows makes its appearance here: a bra joke. One of the things Amanda’s ship runs into is a giant bra.

The Girls’ Room

Amber tries to become School President.

• The sketch now has its usual voiceover from Amanda.

• Debbie seems to have gotten dumber since the last sketch, and is more like how she usually is. Though I guess we have an explanation in this one, as she says she was dropped on the head as a baby.

• Sheila: “You better check the date on your brain, cuz I think it’s expired!”

• Debbie, numerous times throughout this sketch: “Happy Hanukkah!”

• This is the first time we hear about Amber’s rival, the nefarious Danielle Spencer, who would later become a recurring character in these sketches.

• Bizarrely, the sketch ends with Amber and Danielle teaming up to assault a pretty boy named Jamie Bradford. Kind of strange to see given how much they hate each other later on.

Penelope Taynt

Penelope tries to direct all the radio’s calls to her house.

• A follow up to the cold open, we get to see Penelope’s continued attempts to win the contest.

• The feature on her website this week is an interview with Amanda’s mother (which I’m sure she had to pull a lot of strings to get). I like how Penelope has to point out the obvious fact that this is indeed Amanda’s mother’s head.

• One of the questions asked is “Did you do anything special when you were pregnant to make Amanda so talented?”

• This week’s video clip is one of my favorites: Amanda names a tree “Herman”.

Totally Kyle

Kyle tells of the time he asked a girl out on a date.

• Another really relatable story from Kyle about asking a girl out, even if you can already guess what the punchline is.

Souper Dooper

Doreen and her dad now sell disgusting soups.

• Right off the bat, we get Raquel asking if this place used to sell ice cream. I like how continuity-heavy these Dooper sketches are.

• First appearance of the “We’re (insert food here) people” catchphrase.

• Foot Joke #5: One of the soups is “Foot Fungus Chowder”, and we even get a gross close-up of Johnny’s foot.

• I like when Raquel takes home the poodle that they use to make “Noodles and Poodles”, and Doreen’s dad says that she must want to go home and make it herself.

• A pretty memorable scene where Nancy’s soup is revealed to have underwear in it. Why? Because it’s “Underwear Chowder”, of course! Doreen’s dad cheerfully admits that the underwear used to be his.

• Doreen: “Aren’t they cute?” Nancy: “No! They’re disturbing!”

• I’m totally shocked that they were able to get away with the “Pee Soup”.

• Another appearance from Andrew Hill Newman. This time, he plays an irate customer who’s returning a soup filled with hair.

• We get introduced to Doreen’s grandfather for the first time, as the hair in the soup comes from him. Grandpa will go on to become a recurring character in these.

• My favorite part of this sketch is the ending, where the customer enjoys a soup called “Lincoln Punch”, and Abe Lincoln randomly shows up to punch him.

Closing

Penelope wins the contest, but can’t figure which of her phones to answer.

• The Penelope plot concludes in a great way. She actually wins the contest, but because she has all of those phones, she doesn’t know which one to answer. I’d say this was unfair if she didn’t try to cheat.

Final thoughts: Yet another great episode. Next time, we get what might be my favorite one of all…

SNL Reviews: Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10/1/22)

 I’m back with another season of reviews! This time, we’re taking a look at Season 48.  

Cold Open

Peyton and Eli Manning break down the cold open of the season premiere.

• A rare appearance of the host in a cold open. He looks almost exactly like Peyton Manning! And it’s great to see Andrew get a lead role right off the bat.

• I was initially excited to see a non-political cold open for once, but then it cut to a view of Mar-a-Lago and I knew exactly what we were in for. Apparently SNL thought they could spice up their usual Trump nonsense by having sports guys comment on it.

• Our first look at one of the new cast members! I’m sure Michael Longfellow was thrilled to have his only line be “Right this way, ma’am.”

• Andrew as Eli: “And, you know, that might be the only time we see him tonight.” That line is kind of unfortunate in retrospect given how they’ve been treating Michael so far. At least it isn’t the only time he appears in this episode.

• Heidi as the South Dakota governor is literally portrayed as a vampire. This is the level of satire we’re at these days.

• Some meta-commentary where they point out how all of the “fun” impressions such as Fauci, Lindsey Graham, and Rudy Giuliani can’t be in this sketch because they were all played by Kate McKinnon.

• They make an attempt at “mocking” the show’s lack of political balance by having Peyton say that they spend too much time on Trump jokes while Joe Biden is losing his mind. So, let me get this straight. They know what the problem is, yet they’re not going to do anything to fix it???

• Another appearance of Mikey as Don Jr. While I hated those bits with him and Eric, it does feel a little sad seeing him doing this all by himself now that Alex Moffat is gone.

• Super random cameo from Jon Hamm for no reason. 

• I have no idea who the hell “Corn Kid” is, but it’s a terrible way for Devon Walker to make his debut.

• Marcello Hernandez and Molly Kearney make their first appearances by doing a stupid dance, which I’m going to assume is more TikTok bullshit. 

• We get another random guest appearance, this time from Shaun White. Oh, but they point out how random it is, so that makes it okay, right??? No, it doesn’t.

• I like how all of the new guys get to join in on the LFNY at the end.

• Jeez, that was such a chore to get through. It was just seven minutes of SNL acknowledging all of their problems, but laughing them off so they can keep doing them.

Notes: Not only do we have four newbies, but we also have a new logo for the first time since Season 39! Another important thing to note is that Cecily Strong is absent from the first few episodes of this season.

Monologue 

Our host talks about his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and growing up as a fan of SNL.

• The photo comparing him to Rachel Maddow was hilarious.

• After a slow start, he shows us a video he made as a child where he and his sister reenact a Spartan Cheerleaders sketch. As I said in my review of the Oscar Isaac episode, I love it when we get glimpses of our hosts as children.

• Funny twist where he says that his sister is playing Will Ferrell’s character. There’s also a glimpse of their other sister in the background, who he claims is supposed to be Lorne Michaels.

• I wonder what that is on the TV in the background.

• Overall, Miles pretty much won me over with this sweet little monologue.

Sketch: Send Something Normal

Celebrities are challenged to respond to their DMs in a normal way.

• Great, another game show…

• I’m guessing the host’s name (“Halen Hardy”) is some kind of dirty innuendo, because these game show sketches have become extremely predictable.

• Mikey doesn’t look or sound a thing like Adam Levine, who he gives a bizarre feminine voice. The reason Levine is even in this sketch is because he was in some kind of scandal that week related to messages. I’ve completely forgotten what it was.

• I’m not that familiar with what Armie Hammer sounds like, but I’m sure JAJ is doing a good job.

• Kenan is still on this show, and his impressions are just as bad as ever. Whose idea was it to cast him as Neil DeGrasse Tyson? Oh, and just to prove how out of place he is, he immediately stumbles over his lines.

• Bowen is also one of the contestants, and he gets in a pretty funny line about how he’s been able to do so well on this show because he’s gay. As a side note, I’ve decided to stop calling him “Asian Terry Sweeney” that much, because it was getting kind of old.

• This sketch is just washing right over me. Was this really a good choice for a lead off sketch?

Film: BeReal

Two bank robbers have their heist interrupted by BeReal.

• Mikey was born to play a bank robber.

• This looks like it was shot at an actual bank. 

• After a promising start, this suddenly takes an unwelcome turn where it’s revealed to be an advertisement for something called BeReal. I have no idea what that is.

Sketch: Charmin Bears

A Charmin bear comes clean to his family after getting accepted into Toilet Paper College.

• Ugggghhhh!!! For the millionth season premiere in a row, we have a sketch that’s meant to shill for someone else’s products.

• Punkie Johnson (who somehow got promoted this season) has a surprisingly big role in this sketch as the daughter bear. She looks upset at having to be in this.

• If you wanted to know just how bad this sketch is, Kent Sublette is credited as a writer for it. 

• These toilet puns are atrocious. But once again, they think that pointing it out will excuse it. 

• Yet another sketch that just ends with a random dance party. Seems to be a theme that I’ve been running into lately.

• If you thought this couldn’t get any shittier, well, guess what? This sketch is also plagiarized!!! A YouTuber named Joel Haver released a sketch a couple months prior to this which also revolves around a Charmin bear wanting to pursue a career in dancing. Even though Haver said this was probably just a coincidence, I have my doubts, especially considering that Sublette’s former writing partner James Anderson has been known to plagiarize material before.

Sketch: Rooftop Bar

Two finance bros try to make conversation at a bar.

• I think I see writer Gary Richardson as an extra in the background.

• Mikey and Miles have great chemistry as these annoying frat boys.

• Special props go to Mikey for all of those voices he’s doing. 

• I would rate this a little higher if it didn’t end so abruptly. But still, I find this sketch a little better than I did the first time I saw it.

Fake Ad: AMC Theaters

Nicole Kidman (Fineman) enjoys her time at the theater.

• Ugh, another Chloe Fineman vanity piece.

• Is this a parody of a real ad?

• For once, Kenan has some good moments here with his befuddled reactions to Kidman’s monologuing.

• I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t get a chuckle from the audience members all standing up and saluting the movie screen.

• A bizarre twist where Kidman suddenly displays demonic powers and starts speaking in a creepy voice. I don’t know why this is happening, but I think I like it.

• Punkie gets a great role as an usher who takes a look inside while all of this is going on, only to become terrified of Chloe Kidman’s powers.

• Kenan: “Da [bleep] just happened?!?” I guess Kenan’s shouting routine can still get me to laugh every now and then!

• Overall, this started out kind of slow, but the demonic finale saved this from being the usual annoying Chloe sketch.

• A weird note is that the bumper that follows this sketch still has the previous logo.

Musical Performance: “Rich Spirit”, “N95”

Weekend Update (featuring Mitch McConnell, Herschel Walker, and A Spotted Lanternfly)

• Despite the show’s new logo and identity, Weekend Update has not been updated (see what I did there?) to match.

• Sick joke about Carl DeSantis not wanting to teach children about Hurricane Ian in schools. 

• I did get a chuckle from Colin’s joke about Biden forgetting that Kamala Harris is still alive.

• JAJ takes over the Mitch McConnell impression here, while Kenan debuts one of Herschel Walker, which we’ll be seeing a lot in these next few episodes. By the way, this is apparently the first time James has ever appeared on Update, and thankfully not the last.

• McConnell’s voice needs some work, but JAJ looks almost identical to him. A hell of a lot better than Beck’s impression, though. I’m not that familiar with Walker, but I know for a fact that Kenan sounds absolutely nothing like him. This is just the first step towards the awful season Kenan will end up having.

• Newbie Michael Longfellow gets a commentary in only his first episode! He’s here to talk about his conservative family members.

• I liked the brief joke about how the anti-vax articles his father tries sending him keep giving his computer a virus. 

• Right off the bat, Longfellow is coming off as an extremely likeable person. And while I’m sure there’s some sarcasm sprinkled in there, he has a good point that we shouldn’t distance ourselves from family members that have differing opinions than us.

• Great dig at Bill Maher.

• Sadly, all the goodwill from that last commentary gets ruined by Bowen Yang dressed up as a bug. It’s just your typical showboating Bowen commentary and little else.

Sketch: Grimace

Grimace from McDonald’s shocks his fellow mascots with a new look.

• What’s with all the product placement in this episode? This is the third sketch to have some kind of real brand in it.

• Mikey is a perfect choice to play Ronald McDonald. I like all the airtime he’s been getting in this episode.

• Then Miles shows up as Grimace in the most disturbing makeup ever. The voice he’s using is great, but that makeup…UGH!!!!

• I have no idea what the joke with Grimace revealing himself to be bisexual is all about. It just seems like a random thing that someone came up with when they were bored.

• Awful tagline at the end: “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, I’m lovin’ both.”

Musical Performance: “Father Time”

Sketch: Caribbean Queens

Two talk show hosts on a Caribbean vacation interview all of the guys at their hotel.

• Ugh, another talk show sketch.

• The use of the actual “Caribbean Queen” made me think that this sketch wouldn’t be uploaded online, but it was, and all they did was lower the pitch on the song.

• Punkie is totally wasted with a bit role where she has to speak in a stereotypical Jamaican accent.

• Kenan’s wearing his old Kenan and Kel hairstyle again.

• Yet another sketch that just ends with a random dance party. Why are there so many of these lately???

Final thoughts: I have no idea what to say about this episode. While there were some bright spots (namely the lack of Cecily), it has a feeling of “been there, done that”. Miles Teller was an okay host, but not too memorable.

Best sketches: Monologue, AMC Theaters, Longfellow’s commentary

Worst sketches: Charmin Bears, Grimace, Caribbean Queens

Next review: Brendan Gleeson/Willow

Season 47 overview

Let’s take a look at the cast of Season 47 and see how they fared this year…

Repertory Players

Aidy Bryant: In her final season, Aidy was more out of place than ever. You have younger guys like Dismukes and Sherman doing creative new stuff, while Bryant is still doing her same old shtick that grew old years ago.

Pete Davidson: It’s hard to judge Pete’s season. The first half of the year saw him with a lot of airtime, but it quickly dropped off after the Dafoe episode, as he was away filming a movie. And now, with this being his last year in the cast, I can safely say that I won’t be missing him.

Mikey Day: While he’s still my favorite member of the cast, I understand that he can be very hit and miss. His “Mikey explains” roles are still very much a thing, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be going away.

Chloe Fineman: Good lord, my least favorite cast member. Every time she gets a lead role, I immediately cringe. She was also reponsible for the worst commentary this season, maybe of all time.

Heidi Gardner: I feel so sorry for criticizing her before. Once I looked past all of her annoying roles, I realized how solid she actually is. I’m glad she decided to stay for Season 48.

Kate McKinnon: THANK GOD I’VE FINALLY REACHED THE END OF HER TENURE!!!! Those few episodes at the beginning of this season that she missed were some of the best in years, simply because she wasn’t there mugging up a storm. Once she came back, however, things started to suffer a bit. Still, I’m glad I won’t have to talk about her anymore.

Alex Moffat: Hoo boy, this season was awful for Alex. Not only did they barely use him, but he suddenly decides to leave during the summer break. It’s a shame, too, because I was finally warming up to him.

Kyle Mooney: You know how I said last year that I was glad Kyle was returning, right? Well, guess what happened? He goes on to have a pretty lousy season! It doesn’t surprise me at all that he decided to call it quits.

Ego Nwodim: My favorite female cast member just continues to get better. I’m really eager to see what she does going forward.

Chris Redd: Out of all the departing cast members, Redd is the one I’ll miss the most. Almost everything he did this season was funny, and it’s going to be hard to get used to not hearing his distinctive voice anymore.

Cecily Strong: Now that Kate and Aidy are leaving, she’s probably going to be the one who I focus most of my anger on. She got the third-largest amount of airtime this season, and not a single one of it was funny. If she doesn’t leave after the next season, then expect me to be even angrier in my next overview.

Kenan Thompson: Sorry, Kenan, but I’m just not feeling it anymore. You’ve been on for way too long, and, more importantly, I’ve seen everything you have to offer by this point. That being said, every once in a while, we still get a glimmer of hope from him, like that amazing noise he made in that Amazon commercial parody.

Melissa Villaseñor: Poor Melissa. I know it’s been a joke for years to comment on her lack of airtime, but it really became a problem this season. Somehow, despite missing several episodes, Pete Davidson had more screentime than she did. Thankfully, Melissa also left at the end of the season. Hopefully she ends up somewhere that values her talents a lot more.

Bowen Yang: His first year as a repertory player wasn’t too bad. I think he might be growing on me, as hard as that is for me to admit. As long as he stays away from any more iceberg commentaries, then he’s okay in my book!

Featured Players

Aristotle Athari: Jeez, I have never seen a cast member used as little as this guy. His one showcase character, Angelo, kept getting cut after dress, and he was left out of several episodes. It did not surprise me at all to find out that he wasn’t returning.

Andrew Dismukes: After a fairly decent first season, this guy quickly became one of my favorites this year. With Pete and Kyle out of the way for good, next season might be his time to shine!

James Austin Johnson: My favorite of the three newbies. He made an impression (no pun intended) almost immediately by taking over as Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as doing a lot of solid character work. 

Punkie Johnson: Oh, that’s right, there’s two black girls on this show. Man, Punkie just can’t catch a break. It’s so sad that they keep underusing her, because, when she does appear in live sketches, she always does a good job. How in the world did she get a third season?

Sarah Sherman: She got on my good side for how wonderfully bizarre some of her sketches can be. I get a Tina Fey/Will Forte vibe from her, and I’m eager to see what she does in the future.

Here’s the part where I rank the episodes. This one’s a lot harder for me, considering how most of this season was consistent at best.

Best episodes: Jason Sudeikis/Brandi Carlisle, Kieran Culkin/Ed Sheeran, Simu Liu/Saweetie, Willem Dafoe/Katy Perry, Oscar Isaac/Charli XCX

Worst episodes: Ariana DeBose/Bleachers, Will Forte/Maneskin, Selena Gomez/Post Malone

And lastly, we have the sketches…

Best sketches: Funeral Song (from Wilson), The Switch (from Kardashian), Hard Seltzers (from Kardashian), Celeb School (from Malek), Rami Wants A Treat (Cut), The Ghost Of Biden Past (from Sudeikis), Devil commentary (from Sudeikis), What Up With That? (from Sudeikis), The Heist (from Culkin), Dionne Warwick’s cameo (from Culkin), Wake Up Rhode Island (from Culkin), Calling Angie (from Culkin), Audacity in Advertising Awards (from Majors), Man Park (from Majors), Laughintosh 3000 commentary (from Majors), Monologue (from Liu), Karaoke Recap (from Liu), Thanksgiving Baking Championship (from Liu), Touch Up (Cut), Kyle’s Holiday (from Eilish), Future Selves (Cut), NBA on TNT (from DeBose), Urkel (from DeBose), Kid Klash (from Forte), Clancy T. Bacheleratt and Jackie Snead (from Forte), ESPN’s First Take (Cut), Tenant Meeting (from Dafoe), Now I’m Up (from Dafoe), The Mirror (from Dafoe), Martin’s Friend (from Dafoe), Nice Jail (Cut),  Cold Open (from Mulaney), Good Variant (from Mulaney), Five-Timer’s Club (from Mulaney), Podcast Set for White Guys (Cut), Monologue (from Isaac), Meatballs (from Isaac), Pauline commentary (from Isaac), Aidy’s Dream (from Isaac), Fiction Workshop (from Isaac), Aerotoilet (Cut), We Got Her A Cat (from Kravitz), Old Home Movies (from Kravitz), Terry Fink commentary (from Kravitz), Scattering Remains (from Carmichael), Three Normal Goths (Cut), Flowers (from Gyllenhaal), Chucky (from Gyllenhaal), Couples Counselor (from Gyllenhaal),  Lizzo Has Writer’s Block (from Lizzo), Beanie Babies (from Lizzo), Blue Bunny (from Cumberbatch), Chain Gang (from Cumberbatch), ReKhline (from Cumberbatch), Chuck E. Cheese (from Cumberbatch), American Inventors (from Gomez), Stupid People (from Lyonne), The Places We’ll Go (from Lyonne), Forgot About Lorne (Cut)

Worst sketches: Mail-In Testing Service (from Wilson), Aladdin (from Kardashian), Lotto Drawing (from Kardashian), The Bug Assembly (from Malek), Squid Game (from Malek), Parent-Teacher Conference (from Sudeikis), Both Judge Jeanine cold opens, Goober commentary (from Culkin), Cruz Street (from Majors), Strange Kid Tales (from Majors), Republican or Not? (from Liu), both Baby Yoda commentaries, Fauci cold open (from Eilish), both TikTok sketches, Hip-Hop Nativity (from Eilish), Lonely Christmas (from Eilish), HomeGoods (from Rudd), Elmo commentary (from DeBose), Sappho (from DeBose), The Ingraham Angle (from Forte), MacGruber (from Forte), Cinema Classics (from Forte), Chen Biao commentary (from Forte), Nugenix (from Dafoe), every Trend Forecaster commentary, Good Morning Columbus (from Dafoe), Subway Churro (from Mulaney), Cold Open (from Isaac), Inventing Chloe (from Isaac), Maid of Honor (from Kravitz), Study Buddies (from Kravitz), The Princess and the Frog (from Kravitz), FOX and Friends (from Carmichael), ShopTV (from Carmichael), Story (from Carmichael), Cold Open (from Gyllenhaal), Dream Home Cousins (from Gyllenhaal), Lights! Camera! Achoo! (from Gyllenhaal), Orchestra (from Lizzo), Roe vs. Wade (from Cumberbatch), Landsdowne House (from Cumberbatch), Johnny Depp Trial (from Gomez), A Peek At Pico (from Gomez), Irish Play (from Gomez), 9:15 to 5:10 (from Lyonne), Grey Adult Pigtails (from Lyonne)

Stay tuned for a closer look at the other Cut for Time sketches that I didn’t already review!

SNL Reviews: Natasha Lyonne/Japanese Breakfast (5/21/22)

 Cold Open: Final Encounter

Three people are once again grilled by the government after getting abducted by aliens.

• Well, we’re finally here at Kate’s final episode. And I immediately worry about which annoying characters of hers I have to endure one last time, starting with this annoying Colleen Rafferty character.

• At least they waited a while to bring this shit back. It hasn’t appeared since Season 44.

• It turns out that not even the long absence did this sketch any favors. It’s just as unfunny as ever, and Kate’s over-the-top performance is still terrible.

• You know what else doesn’t help? This sketch is eight minutes long! Sheesh, talk about overkill!

• At least this ends in a somewhat unique way, where we actually get to see the alien spaceship.

• Kate looks genuinely sad as she says “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” I almost feel sorry for her, but then I remember that this is Kate, and I’m not going to be sad to see her go.

Monologue

Natasha Lyonne reflects back on her career.

• Man, her voice is NOT healthy! Did she smoke a six pack before the show?

• Some applause when she mentions that she co-created her Netflix show with Amy Poehler.

• UGGGHHHHH!!! Another Fred Armisen cameo, and he’s brought Maya with him. 

• This is surprisingly the first time Maya has appeared since her hosting stint last season. Thank goodness for that!

• I want to laugh at their impressions of our host, but I can’t, because I’m so tired of seeing them hog up screentime that underused cast members need to stay on the show.

• Aaaaand…their cameo is over already. Well, that was a waste of time.

• John Mulaney apparently came back to help write the monologue. I sure hope it wasn’t his idea to have those two make a cameo!

• I love the clip Natasha showed of her on Pee-wee’s Playhouse when she was a child.

• Another laugh from the photo of Fabio.

• Despite the second half of this monologue improving things, that first half with the gratuitous cameos ruined it. Fred needs to stop coming back every year.

Film: Stupid People

A reminder for stupid people to go out and vote.

• First time in quite a long while that we’ve had something right after the monologue without a commercial break.

• I love the part with Cecily speaking with an electrolarynx, only to reveal that she’s just using it to sound cool.

• Random turn where this becomes a political ad.

• Kenan’s cat drawing that says “HORSE” on it was good for a laugh.

• Aidy: “The computer screen said, ‘prove you’re not a robot’. So I cut myself.”

• Another surprisingly funny short film. Thank goodness Kate wasn’t there to ruin it!

Sketch: Baseball Broadcast

Yankees announcer Dizz Newsom (Lyonne) goes crazy after taking new medicine.

• Mikey’s voice is perfect for a 50s radio announcer.

• Random casting of Natasha in drag, but her smoker’s voice really fits this character.

• Is that a modern Yankees poster I see in the background?

• Another “retro” role for James. As expected, he is also perfect for this type of role.

• I’m a little cautious about the turn this has suddenly taken where Dizz Newsom reveals that the new medicine he’s been taking is methamphetamine. 

• Some laughs from Newsom making rowdy comments about Joe DiMaggio.

• Natasha: “You know he’s Italian, right? They’re not even white!”

• Boy, Natasha is really giving this her all! This sketch wouldn’t be nearly as funny if, say, Kate was playing her role.

• Even if it gets a little less funny as it goes on, this wasn’t too bad for a Seiday sketch. I appreciate that they didn’t resort to their usual “Mikey explains” routine.

Sketch: Summer Gig

Treece Henderson’s latest performance is interrupted by internal squabbling.

• First appearance of this character since the Seth Meyers episode in Season 44. Everyone’s “favorite” writer James Anderson came back to help write this.

• Not a big fan of his rant about Nasonex.

• Unnecessary appearance from Cecily as a “WACKY” character, in case you needed proof that these Treece Henderson sketches are the work of Anderson and Sublette.

• Bowen, after Kenan calls him and Chloe a couple: “Oh, we’re not a couple. I’m gay, and she’s my sidekick.”

• Kenan: “So there is an ‘R’ in your life?!? Is it R. Kelly?”

• Now I’m starting to see why this character hasn’t appeared in a while. He isn’t as funny as usual tonight.

• Natasha: “But Treece, it’s just clothes!” Kenan: “You’re just clothes!!!”

• Overall, quite a step down from this character’s usual appearances. Maybe they should have kept him retired.

Film: The Places We’ll Go

A man (Andrew Dismukes) looks at what his classmates are up to now.

• This looks like it’s going to be a variation of the classic Neurotology short. I remember they did another one just like it in the Adam Driver episode from 2018, but that one really sucked.

• Nice to see Andrew get the lead role. An early sign of how good he’s going to be in Season 48.

• Funny twist where it’s said that Chris’s character made it to the pros…professional pornography.

• “Billy Wendell followed his dreams. Unfortunately, he only dreamed about killing his grandparents.”

• A particularly funny reveal that two of the characters lost their virginity to the prom DJ.

• Aristotle Athari makes his final appearance as a cast member…and his character is revealed to have been murdered. A sad summary of his time on the show.

• Not a big fan of Cecily’s character ending up at the Capitol riots.

• I am howling at Bowen’s character being revealed to have jumped off the roof of the Winter Garden theater.

• Solid ending where it is revealed that our narrator was dead the entire time.

• A worthy successor to the aforementioned Neurotology film. I like how almost the entire cast got involved!

Musical Performance: “Be Sweet”

Weekend Update (featuring The Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, Trend Forecasters, and Pete Davidson)

• Here we go, our final Update of the season…

• None of these jokes are landing for me so far.

• Alex Moffat’s final desk appearance, and it’s as that stupid Boat guy again! Ugh, at least it’s the last time we’ll be seeing this unfunny routine. Even worse, this is the last time Moffat appears in this entire episode! I don’t think he knew he was leaving at the time, but that was a horrible way to go out.

• We get more unfunny reprisals of characters, as those god-awful Trend Forecasters make their third and final appearance. What is even the joke with these people?

• That whole Arby’s “pee-pee shakes” bit was just awful.

• And now, it’s time to say farewell to Pete Davidson. This is his first appearance in months, and, call me crazy, I think I’m actually gonna miss him.

• He shows a picture from his first episode, back when, according to him, “no one knew what race I was.”

• Pete: “And Colin still looks like the only Kennedy who doesn’t drink!”

• And he just keeps going after Colin, including an implication that his father is Tucker Carlson.

• Even his joke about the Oscars slap was pretty funny, because of his comments about how he isn’t the only SNL alumnus to make a joke about someone’s medical condition.

• His Lorne impression was dead on!

• Unfortunately, they don’t do their usual end of season joke trade-off this time. But they didn’t need to, because Pete’s commentary was pretty good.

Sketch: 9:15 to 5:10

Three co-workers try to cover up the fact that they killed their boss.

• Ugh, there’s another “We now return to” intro. I’m in for some pain…

• Another drag role for Natasha? The first one was okay, but I’m not sure it’ll work a second time.

• Wow, her reaction to being “shot” was so bad, it was funny.

• No comment on the tickling scene.

• Dear God, Fred’s back. Why is he even here? There’s nobody in the cast who needs airtime, right?

• Okay, I did get a guilty laugh from Fred randomly saying that women aren’t funny.

• This sketch just gets worse as it goes on. Who even wrote this nonsense? *looks it up* Ah, it was Kent Sublette. That explains it.

Musical Performance: “Paprika”

Sketch: Grey Adult Pigtails

A hair product that helps women look as young as they feel.

• Seriously? This is how we end the season? Another lame McKinnon/Bryant commercial? Thankfully, it’s the last one I ever have to review.

• It really pains me to see Melissa in this, especially knowing in hindsight that this ends up being her farewell sketch.

• I know this won’t come as a surprise to any of you, but Kate and Aidy have degenerated into complete cartoon characters by this point. Every single sketch that stars them immediately falls apart.

• We also get to say goodbye to Kyle here, and he’s playing a thankless role as usual this season, though he does have a funny gaffe where he saves one of his sculptures from falling off the rack.

• Overall, a terrible way to end this season, and a fitting conclusion to Bryant and McKinnon’s tenures. And by that, I mean it’s fitting that their time on the show ended by them annoying me.

Cut for Time: Forgot About Lorne

Pete pays tribute to Lorne Michaels in the style of Eminem.

• Yeesh, Natasha sounds even raspier here. Go see a doctor about that, girl!

• You know how I mentioned Pete’s Lorne impression earlier? Well, now he gets to RAP in that voice!

• Some great jabs at Lorne in this song, including his overreliance on Paul Simon appearances.

• The parts where he “deepfakes” Lorne’s face over his own are kind of creepy, but funny as well.

• Great to see the iconic clip of Lorne’s Beatles offer in this!

• Oh, and I absolutely LOVE this part where he raps the names of several great cast members, such as Farley, Belushi, Carvey, Ferrell, Forte, Radner, and *sniffle* Norm. You don’t know how happy I was that the clip they used for Ferrell was his Harry Caray impression.

• He even takes the time to shout out the cast members that are leaving with him, which I thought was really nice.

• This film has put me in such a good mood that not even the predictable cameo from Eminem at the end can ruin it. But at least with that, we get him calling all of Pete’s raps terrible.

• I cannot understand for the life of me why they would cut this out of the live show. It would have made a great final sketch of the season!

Final thoughts: Overall, another mixed episode, but what was good in this episode was really good. Lyonne made for a game host, even if her raspy voice made me a little worried. 

This is also the point where we have to say goodbye to EIGHT members of the cast, the largest exodus since Season 20, I think. I’ll expand more on this when we get to my end of season overview, but for now, let me just say that I am SO GLAD that I don’t have to deal with Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant anymore!!!!!

Best sketches: Stupid People, Baseball Broadcast, The Places We’ll Go, Pete’s commentary, Forgot About Lorne (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Fred and Maya’s cameo, Trend Forecasters commentary, 9:15 to 5:10, Grey Adult Pigtails

Next: Stay tuned for my end of season overview!

SNL Reviews: Selena Gomez/Post Malone (5/14/22)

 Cold Open

In which the Johnny Depp trial is poorly re-enacted.

• Oh, that’s right. I forgot all about this joke of a legal battle. For those who don’t know, Depp ended up winning.

• Kyle Mooney is not the greatest impressionist, as his take on Johnny Depp is proving. 

• Ugh, don’t tell me this going to be nothing but poop jokes…

• Kenan: “Smell like poopoo in here!” Okay, I admittedly did get a chuckle from that line.

• Another genuine laugh from Ego saying that the poop came from “a dehydrated adult”. 

• Yep, a few minutes later, and all they’re doing is making juvenile poopoo jokes. Oh, wait, I’m sorry. They’re actually saying “booboo” for some reason. How old are these writers? Did the censors not allow them to say “poop”?

• Poor Melissa is stuck playing a stereotypical Latina maid. I find it odd how she never used to be typecast as Hispanic characters, but that’s basically all she’s played in these last few episodes.

• Overall, this may possibly be one of the worst cold opens of the entire season.

Monologue

Selena Gomez talks about her new show with Steve Martin and Martin Short, and the fact that she is single.

• Gomez is one of those people that I’m surprised has never hosted this show before.

• A huge laugh from the photo of her with Barney the Dinosaur back in her days as a child actress.

• She gets in a good dig at Steve Martin’s love of the banjo.

• Why does her voice sound like she’s pinching her nose?

• I got a laugh out of her (intentionally?) poor impression of Miley Cyrus.

• Ha, she pronounces Colin’s name as “Colon Jost”! You can hear a lady in the audience giggle after she does that.

• I like the fakeout where it seems like Selena’s about to say that SNL is where Pete met Ariana Grande, only to say Machine Gun Kelly’s name instead.

• Kyle plays a pathetic loser for the 1,000th time. I love you, Kyle, but that shtick is starting to get a little old.

• It feels weird seeing James as himself. I also like Selena introducing him as “Jeff”.

• Punkie exists! Hearing the audience applaud her entrance is so satisfying.

• Overall, surprisingly strong for a Selena Gomez monologue.

Sketch: Bratz Dolls

A girl (Sarah Sherman) copes with her parents’ divorce by consulting her Bratz dolls.

• I’m rather ashamed to admit that I owned Bratz “Boyz” dolls when I was four years old. What? Why are you giving me those funny looks? 

• Amusing unintentional grammar fail (“whose parents gets divorced”) from Selena.

• Bowen is PERFECT for this role.

• Something about Selena’s delivery in this sketch is really sloppy.

• Not a big fan of Aidy’s character, but I love the detail of her thick doll lips.

• I got an unintentional laugh from the use of the same whip crack sound effect from the Haunted Elevator sketch with David S. Pumpkins (man, I wish I could be watching that right now).

• As I was expecting, this sketch was a whole lot of nothing. The only thing I liked was Sarah. She’s really believable as a young girl.

Film: Old Enough! Longterm Boyfriends!

The hit show that follows boyfriends as they run errands by themselves.

• This is based on some Japanese Netflix show that I’ve never seen, so I’m already weary of this premise.

• How many of these films does Cecily have to narrate?

• Hmm, overexplanation of jokes? Yep, this is a Seidell/Day sketch!

• I do like the fact that there’s some location filming in this. They’ve rarely done that since the outbreak of COVID.

• I could do without the onscreen subtitles. I’m sure that’s something from the show this is parodying, but they need to let the dialogue speak for itself.

• Yeah, this is way too reliant on the source material for me to find it funny.

Sketch: A Peek at Pico

Hispanic talk show people have funny voices and that’s pretty much the whole joke.

• My description up there says it all. Not only do we have another cliche talk show sketch, but it’s also a funny accent sketch where the hosts talk like Speedy Gonzales.

• Second Hispanic role for Melissa tonight. Again, I ask, why are we suddenly typecasting her when it’s clear by this point that she’s not coming back?

• Okay, why is the camera suddenly moving around like that? This wasn’t fixed in the online version.

• I like the name of Chris’s character: “Li’l Hubcap”

• Overall, yet another horrid talk show sketch.

Sketch: Irish Play

Understudies attempt to perform an Irish play.

• Kenan’s intro where he explains the conceit of this sketch already has me worried. Also, he makes a gratuitous penis joke for no reason.

• That intro goes on for fifty-eight seconds. I kid you not.

• ANOTHER funny accent sketch? Jesus, show us some mercy!

• Please stop bringing up the penis! It would have been funny if Kenan just mentioned it once during his intro, but they keep going back to it!

• As if you guys needed further proof that this sketch sucks balls, it was written by Kent Sublette. Couldn’t you tell by the accents?

• “Oh my God, this is horrible.” Don’t rub it in, Mikey. This sketch is bad enough without your explanations.

• No comment on the random inclusion of live animals.

• The ending with Bowen unzipping his pants and showing off his penis was just horrible. Definitely a contender for the worst sketch of the season.

Film: American Inventors

We take a look back at when Archie Gizmo (Steve Martin) invented the whoopee cushion.

• Ah, for once I’m glad to see a gratuitous cameo. Hopefully Steve can save this rapidly-deteriorating episode.

• Not caring for the montage of fart sounds.

• Perfect casting of JAJ as a retro newscaster.

• For some reason, the “retro” scenes in this remind me of a Schiller’s Reel.

• I laughed harder than I should have at Aidy randomly getting struck by lightning.

• Even the constant repeats of the lightning gag are working for me because of Aidy’s surprisingly strong performance.

• I like how the fake retro magazine covers use actual pictures of Steve from the 70s.

• The picture of Aidy getting zapped while Sammy Davis Jr. looks on was hilarious.

• A great finale where we see how ragged she looks in the present day, followed by one more zap from the joy buzzer.

• Wow, somehow we managed to follow up the worst sketch ever with one of the best of this entire season! Steve, you’ve worked your magic again!

Musical Performance: “Cooped Up”

Weekend Update (featuring Baby Yoda and Sarah Sherman)

• Great, jokes about trying to feed babies things they shouldn’t eat. /sarcasm

• They’re still doing the Mitch McConnell “seen here” jokes. Please stop it.

• Nice ballsy joke from Che about how the iPod Touch has been around longer than “the kids who make them”.

• FUUUUCK!!!! Baby Yoda once again!!! Thankfully, this is the last time we ever see him before Kyle leaves!

• I’m amazed that this character has made six fucking appearances without being funny in a single one of them. It takes some special talent to do that. Just ask Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig!

• Whew, here comes Sarah to save this Update. This time, she’s doing something a little different by taking us backstage.

• Speaking of Wiig, I groaned a little when Sarah brings her up as a “legend” on the same level as Will Ferrell.

• Her typical Update routine of insulting Colin is a little fresher here.

• Was Sarah’s “Daily Affirmations” reference intentional? I can’t imagine she would be familiar with those sketches.

• I love the Post-it note on Colin’s mirror that reminds him about his alleged upcoming dinner with Giuliani.

• Another laugh from the Sarah shrine that she obviously put in there.

• I wonder who the guy in the “intern cage” is.

• The fake newspaper headline was a great way to end this. Sarah continues to impress me.

Sketch: The Three Daughters

A prince (Mikey Day) must choose which princess to make his bride.

• It’s become a running gag among fans to note how bad Mikey is at British accents. As we see in this sketch, that is totally the case.

• Kate isn’t annoying me so far, but I’m sure that’s not going to last.

• The thing that IS annoying me in this sketch is Kenan. I am so tired of that hammy voice he keeps doing. No matter how many new cast members come through, he’ll still be there doing his same old shtick for the rest of time.

• Super obvious ending where it turns out that Kate‘s character really is weird.

Film: Intuition

A couple’s relationship gets influenced by their intuition.

• Sweet! A lead role for Punkie! And she gets to rap!

• The lyrics could be better, but she’s making this work.

• Fun twist where it turns out that Chris’s character has an “intuition” too (played by Post Malone).

• Despite my initial misgivings regarding the lyrics, this was okay.

Sketch: Guidance Counselors

Guidance counselors give students advice.

• I like how the high school is randomly named after Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

• Selena looks really sexy in that dress.

• I laughed at Ego asking a student if he wants to live in Paris or Syracuse, though that may be because I have grandparents who used to live in Syracuse.

• This is more of an unintentional laugh, but Sarah is wearing a sweater that says “SATURDAY” on it, and the only letters visible for much of the sketch are “TURD”.

• Another sketch that just ends with a random dance party.

Musical Performance: “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol”

Sketch: Baby Monitor

Babies keep interrupting a rowdy group of teenagers trying to party.

• This sketch gives us a somewhat creepy visual of Sarah and Bowen dressed like babies. Is this SNL or Children of the Damned?

• Selena’s delivery in this sketch is so awful. What the hell is wrong with her voice tonight? The part where she asks her friends if they want to have some beer was particularly hard to listen to.

• Yikes, and now the babies are staring at the camera with blank, empty eyes.

• This just gets more and more disturbing as it goes on. And yet I can’t keep my eyes off of it.

• Fairly funny part where Baby Bowen swings a Baby Sarah dummy around.

• Um, now there’s a Baby Post Malone in there with them. He’s clearly having a good time, because he can’t stop laughing!

• The ending where it turns out that the babies are actually watching them was kind of lame.

• This was slightly below the usual standards of Sarah’s sketches, but I admire how bizarre it is.

Final thoughts: This is a hard episode for me to figure out. On one hand, we have some of the worst material of the entire season, yet we also have that great Inventor short film. Selena Gomez herself seemed to be out of it for the whole episode. Something about her was a little sloppy, and I don’t know why.

Best sketches: Monologue, American Inventors, Sarah’s commentary, Intuition

Worst sketches: Cold Open, A Peek at Pico, Irish Play, Baby Yoda commentary 

Next review: Natasha Lyonne/Japanese Breakfast. We also bid farewell to Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and a fuck-ton of other cast members.