SNL Reviews: Bill Burr/Mk.gee (11/9/24)

No retro quote this time. We need to get right into this…

 Cold Open

The cast pretends that they’ve been supportive of Donald Trump all along.

• Here we go, folks…

• It’s obvious that everyone is trying not to cry here. From what I’ve heard, they actually did when Trump won the first time, which sounds hilarious. I wish there was footage of that.

• Lame turn when Kenan announces that everyone has been supporting him the whole time.

• This was uncomfortable to watch when it first aired, and I find it even more uncomfortable now.

• The smug looks on everyone’s faces are what make me really angry. You know how Colin has a book called “A Very Punchable Face”? That’s how everyone looks right now.

• Actually, scratch that. The thing that makes me the most angry here is the part where Sarah introduces the three newbies, and calls them all “disgusting”. Why do they keep doing this??? Did Tina Fey write that part? I now expect all three of these guys to be fired at the end of the season.

• JAJ comes out as Trump, but this time, he’s RIIIIIPPPPED! I have no idea why, besides “lol funny”.

• If you thought that was bad, then here comes Dana once again. He’s playing Elon Musk, who’s bouncing around like he did at that one Trump rally…two months ago! SNL! Behind the times yet again!!!

•  Not gonna lie, this is one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to sit through for this blog. I got through the Elon Musk episode for Christ’s sake, yet this is the moment that nearly broke me. But, it could have been MUCH worse. At least we didn’t have Maya sitting at the piano singing “Hallelujah”. TLDR: this is one of the worst cold opens ever. Fuck it, let’s move on.

Monologue

Bill Burr does standup about the election, catching the flu, and Shaq’s credibility.

• I’m liking his routine about getting the flu.

• “Alright, ladies, you’re 0-2 against this guy!”

• I sure hope Jimmy Kimmel’s wife didn’t hear the jokes about pantsuits. She hates “minimizing women” to their clothes! No, I’m not making that up.

• I’m surprised they allowed the joke about feminists being ugly. 

• Great material about how the assassination attempt helped Trump win.

• My favorite part is the whole run of jokes at the end about Shaquille O’Neal infomercials. 

• What a huge turnaround from the horrible cold open!

Sketch: Rorschach Test

A deeply-disturbed firefighter keeps seeing cartoon characters engaging in naughty business in his inkblot test.

• Heidi flubs one of her lines pretty badly when talking about the inkblot tests. I was surprised to not see this fixed for the online version.

• James’ delivery of “Don’t be a wiseass, okay?” is hilarious. Have I ever told you how much I love JAJ and I want him to make my babies?

• Uh-oh, I don’t like the turn this is taking with Bill seeing naughty pictures of cartoon characters.

• That one image of a buff Snoopy walking Charlie Brown on a leash (I can’t believe I just wrote that) made me really uncomfortable.

• Is this sketch supposed to be someone’s sexual fantasy? I thought for sure it was a Jimmy Fowlie sketch, but I recently found the writer’s guide, and it says that the Please Don’t Destroy guys wrote this in collaboration with Dan Bulla. You know, the same Dan Bulla who wrote that heartwarming short about the monkey last week. I have a hard time believing this is his work.

Fake Ad: Buffalo Wild Wings

A Bostonian gets angry during a commercial shoot for Buffalo Wild Wings.

• Kind of ironic that they’re using this particular restaurant, because in their real commercials, they’ve been using an anthropomorphic buffalo voiced by our old friend Beck Bennett.

• A sequel to the Samuel Adams ad from Bill’s last episode, which was itself a variation of a Dunkin’ Donuts ad with Casey Affleck in Season 42.

• More great voiceover work from James.

• Figures they would cast Heidi as a Chiefs fan.

• Bill is giving it his all yet again.

• I love how Bill and Mikey’s fight scene is captioned “Real Patriots Fans”. From what my brother tells me, that’s fairly accurate!

• While not as memorable as the Samuel Adams one (which I regret giving a bad score in my original review), it’s still lots of fun.

Sketch: The Best of Snake Skin

Snake Skin’s Greatest Hits are all about sex.

• I love all the airtime Emil’s been getting so far!

• When I heard the name of the first song, “Nah-Nah Train”, I knew this would be an amazing sketch.

• Amazing performances from Andrew, Sarah, and James! Their drummer is played by writer Will Stephen, who looks like he’s actually playing the drums here and not miming to a recording.

• Emil, after hearing that song: “Wow, uh, that…sucked.”

• A laugh from Bill’s description of the band being made up of three forty year old Jews from Long Island.

• Andrew: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down…YOUR PANTIES, GIIIIIIRL!!!!”

• An absolutely hilarious pastiche of 80’s hair metal. They deserve an Emmy for this!

Film: The Janitor

In a parody of Dead Poet’s Society, a janitor’s genius is overshadowed by barf.

• Great to see another lead role for Longfellow.

• I’ve never seen Dead Poet’s Society, but Andrew’s character is cracking me up.

• Great shot of the Roomba spraying vomit all over the place after Michael picks it up.

• I even like Kenan’s appearance as the Dean. He’s playing his part surprisingly restrained.

• Shocking absolutely nobody, James’ Robin Williams impression is spot on and hilarious.

• Great ending where a JAJ stunt double slips on the vomit.

• For a sketch about something as juvenile as vomit, this was really funny.

Sketch: Calling Dad

Parents mistake emotional phone calls for trivial matters.

• Why does somebody in the audience go “Woo!” when Bill’s character is about to answer the phone?

• There aren’t many laughs here, but that’s the point. I like the slice-of-life nature of this sketch, which is something we rarely get from modern SNL.

• Bill does get a pretty funny line in at the end with his nonsense about his car having polyps in its ass.

Musical Performance: “Rockman”

• “Rockman”? You mean like Mega Man?

• *sees song and it turns out to not be about what I thought* What is this?!??? This song sucks!!!!

Weekend Update (featuring Willie and A Woman Who Can’t Find Something In Her Purse)

• *sigh* Prepare for pain…

• If you know me, then you know that I absolutely hated the altar boy joke.

• Hmm, these jokes aren’t as bad as I remembered. But here comes Ego to change all that with a specifically named character commentary.

• Ego is performing as well as she usually does, but she can’t save this tepid prop comedy routine.

• What does Donald Trump have to do with a joke about a women’s baseball league?

• I kinda liked the joke about Gladiator and Wicked combining to make “Glad-Dicked”.

• Oh, wow, Che just made a joke implying that all police officers are racist! Never seen that before!

• Che follows that with a pretty solid Diddy joke, which he then ruins by doing his stupid “It’s the 90’s” catchphrase again. Why does he keep saying that????

• I’m surprised at how much I’m laughing at some of these jokes. That one about the death of the AOL “You’ve got mail” guy was really funny.

• Kenan brings back his Willie character for the first time since 2020.

• He won me over as soon as he mentioned that he can’t be Che’s neighbor anymore because he lives near a school.

• A particularly funny line about running over Lorne Michaels.

• The only thing I don’t like is Che’s constant laughter at this. Has he been possessed by Seth Myers?

• Overall, a surprisingly strong Update once we got past all the Trump stuff.

Sketch: Bald Men

A romantic date gets interrupted by bald men singing about how wonderful it is to be bald.

• I feel like we’ve barely seen Mikey this season. It’s obvious that his time is up now that he’s had the Biden impression taken away from him.

• He’s wasted no time in bringing out his trademark explaining and reacting routine!

• Thankfully, that isn’t the focus, because we are then treated to a fantastic song about bald people.

• There are certain times where I see something on this show that leaves me absolutely speechless, and this is one of those moments. This has to be the largest amount of bald people on stage at once.

• I urge you to go watch this amazing piece of music for yourself, because my words can’t do it justice. 

Sketch: Trauma Support Group

A traumatized man isn’t very good at sharing his trauma with others.

• The look of Bill’s character is hilarious!

• I like Bowen’s douchebag character. It’s like he’s trying to channel Beck Bennett.

• Funny part where Bowen says he’s upset that his vote didn’t count, only to reveal that this is because he was watching an old episode of The Voice.

• Emil has been all over this episode! Sadly, this increase in airtime doesn’t last, because he goes back to his usual underuse next week.

• The part about Tubi was another really funny scene.

• Is this even Bowen Yang I’m watching right now? Why is he not annoying me? Am I in an alternate reality?

• You can see Bowen trying to hold back his laughter after he puts out his cigarette on Ashley’s leg.

• The hits just keep on coming in this episode! This is definitely one of Bowen’s best performances!

Musical Performance: “Alesis”

Sketch: I Got One

Linda isn’t good at telling jokes.

• Ashley Padilla’s first lead role! Apparently this is a character she used to play at The Groundlings.

• I can tell this is a character she’s been playing for years. She is coming off as a natural when telling her awful dog joke.

• A particularly funny reaction face from Kenan when Ashley is telling the same joke again.

• I got a big laugh from the mention of Ashley collapsing at Marshalls.

• A heartwarming ending where they all admit that Ashley was actually kind of funny.

Note: A memorial for Quincy Jones appears before the goodnights.

Final thoughts: With the exception of the cold open, this was one of the strongest episodes in a long time! Bill Burr was an amazing host yet again! Why can’t he be in the Five-Timer’s Club instead of Mulaney?

Best sketches: Monologue, Snake Skin, Willie’s commentary, Bald Men

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Rorschach Test

Next review: Charli XCX

SNL Reviews: John Mulaney/Chappell Roan (11/2/24)

 Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…

“Kyle: “I don’t need to listen to you, you jealous n****r!” LOL!!!” (from Jake Gyllenhaal/Camilla Cabello)

Cold Open

Kamala gets a pep talk from…ugh…herself.

• *groan* More annoying Maya shenanigans. At least this is the last time we’ll be seeing her Godawful Kamala impression…I hope!

• Did Trump just make a “grab ‘em by the pussy” joke? What year is this?? I know he says “Remember that?”, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is an old-ass reference.

• The audience doesn’t respond to Jim Gaffigan and Andy Samberg making another cameo. I guess even they’re tired of the constant member berries. 

• That stupid fucking laugh Maya does gets more annoying every time I hear it.

• You have no idea how tired I am of seeing Dana Carvey and his dopey mugging face at this point. I was about to say that this is his final appearance as Biden, but then I remembered he has one more a couple episodes from now. Yay for me...

• Then…something horrible happens. Something I can’t believe they would even have the gall to do. Maya looks in a mirror and sees…the real Kamala Harris. To quote my reaction when this first aired, WHAT THE FUCK?!??

• The audience, unsurprisingly, goes nuts for this horrible attempt at affecting the votes. They’re so loud that you can’t even hear the real Kamala’s first line of dialogue.

• Is this even a comedy show anymore? Why am I watching Kamala Harris give a motivational speech to her impersonator? This is a fine example of clapter at its worst.

• On the plus side, this thankfully ended up backfiring on SNL, because she went on to lose, and we never have to see Maya’s stupid impression again!!!!

• Overall, definitely the low point of these horrible election sketches. Satire is fucking dead, and it was killed by liberals and the Fun Police.

Monologue 

Mulaney does standup about his family.

• What is this hairstyle supposed to be?

• Apart from that, he looks a lot better than he has in quite a while.

• I suppose it’s kind of heartwarming hearing him do standup about his family, but I’m not exactly laughing.

• It seems like every monologue of his gets progressively blander. 

Sketch: What’s That Name?

A special Political Edition!!!

• Ooh, What’s That Name? is back? C’mon out, Bill Hader!!!

• *sees Michael Longfellow come out as the host* What the Hell is this??? You’re not Bill Hader!!!! They really couldn’t have asked him to come back? I’ve heard several other fans say that Bill might be done with SNL for good, and I used to laugh at those suggestions. But, given that he hasn’t appeared since that Hal Willner tribute in Season 45, I’m starting to see what they’re talking about. This sketch just confirmed it for me. 

• Despite my apprehension, I am happy to see Longfellow with a lead role. He deserves it. And, hey, at least it’s better than seeing Kenan in this role for the millionth time.

• Not sure if a Political Edition is the best way to go.

• More Democrat dick-sucking when they have Doug Emhoff as the first question, and they say that he’s definitely going to become the first “First Gentleman”.

• I laughed at Mulaney’s cheesy “Resistance” type quote about heroes not wearing capes.

• Mulaney suddenly going into a speech about how important this election is kinda rubs me the wrong way. I’m sure you could excuse it by saying it’s just part of his character, but the applause that follows his speech makes me think otherwise.

• Random appearance from Tim Kaine. Who? You know, the guy who was going to be Hillary’s Vice President? What’s that? You don’t remember him? Yeah, I forgot all about him, too.

• Unique detail of Mulaney’s profile picture being from the last installment of this sketch.

• I laughed at his inaccurate guess of “Tamika Nawlins” being one of twelve black people he tweeted the names of.

• Bizarre twist where Sarah’s character is revealed to be the author of A Handmaid’s Tale.

• Overall, this is probably the worst installment of this sketch. I still got some laughs, but the whole political slant didn’t work for me.

Midnight Matinee: Beppo 

Beppo the astronaut chimp has trouble during a mission.

• Another “Midnight Matinee” film? Let’s see where this goes…

• JAJ’s first appearance since the cold open. Why do they keep sidelining him???

• When I first saw this, I thought that “Beppo” was a real chimp, but I recently saw a picture of Sarah posing with him that showed he was actually a puppet.

• Apparently that’s James doing Beppo’s computer voice, which further proves how talented he is. Why SNL doesn’t seem to understand that, I don’t know.

• Mulaney: “Beppo no go home. Beppo die.”

• I’m actually getting tears in my eyes. That Dan Bulla is a genius, I tell you.

• The audience going “Awww” when it looks like Beppo won’t make it home is really charming.

• Funny random reveal that Beppo is actually a Communist.

• Heartwarming ending where he makes it back home. Awwww….

• We get the same “A Film by Dan Bulla” card at the end, except the shrimp has been replaced by one of those singing pillows from “My Best Friend’s House”.

• Another great Dan Bulla short. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Unfortunately, as of this writing, we haven’t had another one of these Midnight Matinee shorts make it on the air.

Sketch: Port Authority Duane Reade

A man learns why you shouldn’t buy organic milk from Duane Reade.

• UGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Guess what time it is!!! Another one of those overrated, Godawful Mulaney Musical sketches!

• Because of that, we get an unwelcome cameo from Pete Davidson. I don’t know why, considering he was replaced by Andrew the last time they did this, so they could have just chosen someone else to replace him here. But SNL just looooooves their cameos!

• Something about Kenan and Ego’s possum costumes looks really cheap, like a fourth grader made them for art class. Compare it to Kenan’s costume from the original Lobster version, and it’s like night and day.

• Another thing I’ve noticed about the various installments of these is just how long they’ve gotten. Diner Lobster was only about five and a half minutes, but this Duane Reade version is EIGHT and a half minutes. It also doesn’t help that they’ve devolved into a confusing mishmash of parodies from many different musicals, while the original kept its focus on Les Miserables. Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually singing the praises of Diner Lobster, a sketch that I also really hate. But at least that one had actual focus!

• Here, we have “parodies” of songs from The Lion King, The Sound of Music, Wonka, and some others I don’t know, because I’m not a theater kid.

• Wow, the part where Mulaney slaps Andrew is so sloppy. His hand comes nowhere near him!

• Bowen’s voice in this sketch is so horrible. 

• Chloe’s shitty impression of Timothee Chalamet returns for no reason.

• Another pointless appearance from Samberg, this time as a rapping bear.

• A lot of fans were also upset that Chappell Roan wasn’t included here, as she would have fit in well. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less, as this would have sucked even with her involvement.

• Definitely the worst of these musical sketches. Their novelty has worn off by now, so it would probably be a good idea to stop doing them.

Musical Performance: “Pink Pony Club”

Weekend Update (featuring Reba MacEntire and The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together)

• Still doing “seen here” jokes.

• Let’s see…Trump clips, reacting to Trump clips, jokes calling Trump a rapist, masturbation jokes, all of the usual Jost/Che “hits” are here!

• Heidi has a commentary as Reba MacEntire. It’s just her usual Southern accent but with a ridiculous wig.

• She’s going heavy on the mugging, but she is playing Reba, so that’s to be expected.

• I laughed at the Armie Hammer joke.

• Wise move from Che to skip the story about the Dodgers’ World Series win.

• Che’s lame “Pop-sicle” joke was funny.

• Che being the image of a “cheating man” was the best part of this Update.

• Marcello and Jane Wickline are here as “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together”. Ugh, with a title like that, I’m sure it’s gonna suck.

• Unsurprisingly, Marcello is going full ham here, screaming every single one of his words. Jane is doing better and has funnier dialogue.

• Marcello mentioning Steven Universe is something I never wanted to happen on this show.

Sketch: Family Bonds

An old sitcom starring Little Richard.

• Oh, FUCK YOU, SNL!!!! How dare you try to make a sequel to the amazing Switcheroo sketch from Mulaney’s first episode!!! That’s right, Jay Paultodd is back, and this time…he’s not portrayed as a crazy person who needs to be locked up.

• Making things worse is the presence of Bowen as the interviewer. Cecily was so perfect in this role in the original sketch, and this is just a huge downgrade.

• The bit about showing a brutal car crash in the very first episode is the only thing that would fit in well with the original sketch.

• It’s a shame, because there are moments in here that could work if this wasn’t a lame retread. I genuinely like the bad sitcom acting from Heidi, Mikey, and Marcello.

• Then this sketch gets hijacked by Kenan doing his ancient mugging shtick as Little Richard. This doesn’t even feel like a sequel to Switcheroo anymore.

• Bowen: “You don’t have to have a guest star in every episode.” Someone should tell that to SNL!!!

• Just like I feared, this was a sorry follow up to one of my favorite sketches of all time. 

Musical Performance: “The Giver”

Fake Ad: Harvey Epstein For City Council

Harvey Epstein tries to distance himself from the other Harvey and the other Epstein.

• Ah, now here’s something I was actually looking forward to seeing again!

• After I first saw this episode, I eventually found out that this is a real person. Hard to believe, but it’s true!

• The various clips of Epstein’s name inconveniencing him are all hilarious.

• “Tell ‘em Harvey Epstein gave you something good to eat!”

• Great line from Andrew about how even Hillary couldn’t kill him.

• There’s so many good lines here that I don’t know which ones to choose, but I think my favorite one of all is the very end, when Heidi’s voiceover tells us that, together, we can turn Manhattan into “Epstein’s Island”!

• As it turns out, the real Harvey Epstein is a big SNL fan, and he loved this sketch!

Note: Nice tribute in memory of Teri Garr, who passed away the week of this episode.

Final thoughts: Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Our very first horrible Mulaney episode. Half of the sketches were shitty rewrites of past Mulaney material, and don’t even get me started on that awful cameo from Kamala Harris at the beginning. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both of the sketches I liked here are ones that weren’t retreads.

Best sketches: Beppo, Harvey Epstein

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Port Authority Duane Reade, Family Bonds

Next review: Bill Burr/Mk.gee

SNL Reviews: Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10/19/24)

 Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…

“Well, here we are, folks. The final (vocal) appearance of Alec Baldwin as Trump…and it’s just one line about him wanting a hamburger. Get it?!?? He’s fat!!!!” (From Dave Chappelle/Foo Fighters, Season 46)

Why did I choose that particular quote? Well…

Cold Open: The Kamala Interview

Fox News interviews Kamala, and constantly interrupts her.

• UGGGGHHHHH!!!! An unwelcome return from Alec fucking Baldwin. Now do you see why I had that retro quote up there?

• Anyway, in this one, he’s playing some Fox News guy named Brett Baier who I’ve never heard of. Just as long as he’s not Trumpwin again, then I’m okay with it.

• Unfortunately, Maya is back yet again. Is she living under the stage or something? Nobody wants you here, Maya! Just go away!!!

• As expected, Baldwin’s performance is just horrible. He’s coming off a little…rusty, if you see what I did there…

• Ugh, more cringey social media shit with Kamala. Aaaand it’s making fun of something she did several months ago. Typical SNL!

• Seeing JAJ’s excellent Trump impression in the same sketch as Alec Baldwin makes you realize just how bad Trumpwin was.

• I did get a bit of a chuckle from Trump dancing to the Village People, even if it is just a lame reenactment of something that he did in real life. But that’s SNL’s idea of satire these days: just have him do something he already did in real life, and that’ll be good enough!!!

• I am beyond sick of Maya saying “J’Biden”. It was never funny, and it never will be funny.

• Speaking of Biden, Dana Carvey is still playing him. What “wacky” shenanigans is he up to now? He’s talking about…the new Joker movie. You see, the joke is that he’s old and doesn’t know what he’s talking about!

• We haven’t had a single good cold open this entire season. Would you believe that the next one is even worse???

Monologue

Mikey and Andy Samberg celebrate our host’s career.

• Nice to hear him give a shout out to his early days working with Mr. Rogers.

• Dead on Beetlejuice impression from Mikey.

• Andy Samberg again??!!?? Is he also hiding under the stage or something?

• I never expected Sarah of all people to have such a good impression of him as well.

Sketch: ShopTV

“The Cookie Guy” shows off his new cookies that bear a strong resemblance to private parts.

• Not this shit again.

• Pretty amusing sight of camera operator Paul Cangialosi dressed as a Minion.

• *sigh* It’s the same old routine with this sketch. Someone comes on and shows off their latest treat, which happens to look like someone’s dick or whatever. Oh, but this time, they switch it up a bit. Now they look like boobs!!!! So progressive!!!

• After this episode aired, I was browsing Twitter and I noticed a viral post featuring cookies that looked almost exactly like the ones in this sketch. That’s right! SNL is once again trying to poorly cash in on a popular Internet trend!

Please Don’t Destroy: Skydiving

Chaos occurs as the boys go skydiving for the first time.

• Surprisingly the first appearance of these guys all season. Up until now, we were all assuming that they were gone for good. 

• Nice change of setting.

• Big role for Emil Wakim as the pilot. He has another big showcase coming up later.

• Keaton’s character is so bizarre and unlike anything else in one of these shorts.

• I love the goofy selfie Ben takes of himself, complete with his grandfather’s ghost randomly appearing in the background.

• Amazing gory ending where John and Ben get cut in half by the plane’s rear wing. 

Sketch: Forbidden Romance

A man makes a black family increasingly uncomfortable by singing “Hey, Soul Sister”.

• “Detroit, Michigan 1955”? How long is it gonna take for them to drop that premise?

• Aaaaaaaand now we get a random performance of that shitty Train song “Hey, Soul Sister”. 

• I feel really old now. I remember when this was still a new and relevant song. 

• The best part of this entire sketch is the guy in the audience who shouted “DISMUKES!!!!” for no apparent reason.

• The joke of this sketch doesn’t quite make sense to me. Are they trying to imply that this song is racist? Last I checked, people hate this song because it sucks, not because of any possible “racism”.

Film: TikTok

More unfunny TikTok shenanigans.

• Ugh, we’re doing this again? Thankfully, this will probably be the last time they ever do it if the TikTok ban goes through.

• That Domingo song from last episode can be heard during a video of Emil dancing with a cat. I guess they’re making light of how popular this song became on TikTok?

• Devon has a pretty good performance as some preacher.

• UGGHHHHHH!!! Another unwelcome appearance from Maya as Kamala during one scene where some really gay guy (played by Bowen, naturally) is singing to her.

• A genuine laugh from Marcello’s scene with all the fireworks going off.

• JAJ’s Trump also makes an appearance here.

• Now we have TWO Kamala appearances?!??? PLEASE GO AWAY!!!!!!!

Musical Performance: “Birds Of A Feather”

Weekend Update (featuring Emil Wakim and Sarah Sherman)

• Once again, the Trump clips are funnier than the actual “jokes” about them.

• Che follows a horrible anti-Catholic joke by saying “It’s the 90’s!” once again. Why does he keep doing that?

• Ah, now we get a commentary from Emil Wakim.

• So he’s an Arab Christian? I thought Danny Thomas was the only one!

• Unfortunately, he goes on to talk about how his father is a Republican, and, therefore, a racist. He also tries to say that the Middle East was normal before America started bombing them, which is just fucking stupid.

• Again with the 90’s??? That’s twice in one episode!

• As tired as I am of the jokes about Colin secretly being racist, I did laugh at the one about the Klansmen looking candles having his face.

• Another funny joke about a man with three penises getting surgery to add a third hand.

• For the first time in forever, Sarah does a commentary as herself.

• Not much to say about this one, but it is refreshing not to see Sarah wearing some stupid costume. This is more along the lines of the commentaries from her first season that I loved so much. It also helps that she’s not entirely focused on the Jost Roasting for once.

Sketch: Think About It

An Uber ride turns into a conspiracy-themed game show.

• Ego in drag yet again. I hate how this has become a trend. 

• Was Ego’s introduction to the game show (“Live from this Chevy Malibu, it’s Think About It!”) supposed to be a meta-reference?

• I sure love how Bowen and Sarah are explaining everything to us!

• This “Jiggylane Maxwell” running gag is so hacky.

• Keaton’s character is kind of amusing. I’m just looking for something to like here!

• It would have been funny if the sketch ended with them all driving off a cliff, Toonces style.

Musical Performance: “Wildflower”

Sketch: Horror Choreographer

A flamboyant actor keeps screwing up his takes.

• They showed a preview of this sketch during that night’s college football game. I can’t remember if SNL has ever done this before.

• I love seeing Andrew get a big role!

• The look of Keaton’s character has me extremely worried.

• Sorry, I don’t buy Mikey as a Michael Myers type.

• Yeah, this was pretty much the same joke over and over. Unsurprisingly, Jimmy Fowlie was one of the writers.

Sketch: Tableside

A restaurant patron confuses his server with a woman from his past.

• I believe this same Mexican restaurant set was also used in the Jessica Chastain episode, albeit heavily repainted.

• Heidi’s character says she would’ve been two years old in 1987, which isn’t too far off. In real life, she would have been four.

• Ashley Padilla is almost unrecognizable as the wife character.

• I’m finding this to have some charm to it that a lot of sketches are missing these days. Also, I really love the sappy synth music that plays whenever Keaton and Heidi’s characters go into their dramatic monologues.

• Nice angry outburst from Heidi at the end.

Cut for Time: Two Guys Dressed as Doctors

In this cut Update commentary, two random guys offer up some Halloween costume suggestions.

• Unusual pairing of Marcello and Michael Longfellow. Despite joining the show in the same season, that’s surprisingly rare.

• Nice bit with them being confused for the Menendez brothers.

• Okay, the Menendez talk is going on a little too long.

• I like the part with the Saturday Night Fever costume being called “Guy On His Way To A Diddy White Party”.

• Great with the E.T. costume being referred to as “Kamala’s Border Policy”.

• While this was pretty funny, I can see why it was cut.

Final thoughts: A huge downgrade from the last episode. While Michael Keaton was his usual professional self, the writing had a very “been there, done that” feeling. Believe it or not, we still haven’t seen the worst of this season yet.

Best sketches: Skydiving, Tableside, Sarah’s commentary 

Worst sketches: The Kamala Interview, ShopTV, TikTok, Horror Choreographer

Next review: John Mulaney/Chappell Roan

SNL Reviews: Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10/12/24)

 Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…

“Michael Che is wearing a Madea shirt for some reason. I can’t believe that’s a sentence I just typed.” (From At Home 2, Season 45)

And all these years later, I still can’t believe it. Why was he wearing that??? Oh well, on with the show!

Cold Open: Family Feud

SNL trots out a tired old format again.

• First appearance of Kenan’s Steve Harvey since 2019.

• Ugh, it’s Maya again. Please go away.

• That laugh she does is really annoying.

• All of the other member berries on the Democrat side are back too. Yaaaay…

• Steve Harvey: “Tim, when black comedians make jokes about white people, they talkin’ about you!” Okay, I did chuckle at this line.

• Ha ha, Biden thinks that he’s talking to Regis!!! You see, it’s funny because he’s old!

• What’s the deal with not including Melania? Could Cecily not make it or something? If so, then thank God, because we don’t need her making this worse. It also makes me wonder why they couldn’t just recast her. Was Cecily’s take just that irreplaceable?

• Return of Mikey as Don Jr. I know I keep saying this, but it’s still sad that they continue to have him show up without Alex Moffat.

• Bowen’s non-impression of J.D. Vance has also returned, but who cares about him?

• Now Biden thinks he’s on Wheel of Fortune!!! Isn’t that just wacky???

• These political sketches continue to flop. I haven’t seen a series of election sketches so awful since…well, the last election!!!

Monologue

Ariana talks about her role in Wicked before singing a song about keeping things low-key.

• It feels so surreal seeing Ariana Grande on SNL. I used to watch her on Nickelodeon as a kid all the time.

• Not a big fan of her election comment.

• I was expecting a musical monologue because of who’s hosting, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve had to review like 27 of them in the last few days.

• Horrifying sight of Bowen in a dress.

Sketch: Bridesmaids

Some ladies reveal secrets about a bride.

• I love the dumb voice James has at the beginning, along with the ridiculous things he’s saying.

• Another musical number??? I don’t like where this is going…

• At least Andrew is pretty good in the straight man role.

• There seems to be a microphone malfunction when Sarah sings “The next day…” No, they didn’t fix this for the online version. Why would they?

• For whatever reason, this bland, laughless sketch really blew up on TikTok, specifically the part at the end with Marcello appearing as “Domingo”. It got to the point where people started harassing Marcello IRL to do the Domingo routine. As much as I hate the route he’s been going down lately, I feel sorry for him. Nobody deserves to have that happen!

Film: My Best Friend’s House

Ariana discovers that her friend’s house is a murder site.

• Ooh, a new title card for a “Saturday Night Live Movie Matinee”!

• When I first saw this, I didn’t know what to think of the furniture and other household items randomly talking. Now I think it’s really funny, and there is a reason for it…

• Despite being our third consecutive musical sketch tonight, I’m not hating this at all.

• And now we get a big twist, where it’s revealed that this is actually the home of the “Crossword Killer”, which they subtly set up earlier when we saw Mikey doing a crossword puzzle. I didn’t catch that the first time!

• No comment on the “kinda sus” line.

• I love the shot of Sarah’s frozen head.

• Mikey’s angry ranting as he’s being taken away is one of his best performances in a long time. 

• And now we see that this is the work of Dan Bulla, who has his own title card at the end featuring Tiny Horse, a Meatball (from that weird Season 47 film), Pongo (love that little guy!), and part of the Shrimp Tower.

Sketch: Charades with Mom

A mom gets tense with her son’s boyfriend.

• Big roles for Wickline and Emil Wakim in this sketch!

• Never thought I’d hear a reference to Totoro on this show. 

• Bowen is also really surprising me here. This is the stuff I want to see from him.

• I never thought I’d hear Ariana Grande insult somebody’s penis size. 

• You have no idea how cathartic it is to see Bowen get put in his place for once.

• Andrew: “Hey! Hey! Don’t you dare show my wife your pecker!!!”

• I love the brief use of an Ariana dummy when Bowen’s assaulting her.

• It must have really hurt Bowen inside to have to kiss Ariana. The audience goes nuts when this happens.

• Definitely one of the best sketches we’ve had so far this season. Tonight’s episode is on a roll with these last two sketches!

Fake Ad: UFC 308

Celine Dion advertises the UFC.

• Ariana reprises her Celine Dion impression from the last time she hosted. It’s nowhere near as funny or iconic as Ana Gasteyer’s, but it’s decent.

• I love the juxtaposition of Celine Dion singing one of her ballads over footage of people getting beaten up.

• Short and simple.

Musical Performance: “The Lighthouse”

Weekend Update (featuring Monica and Noel and Liam Gallagher)

• I really wish they’d stop focusing on reacting to Trump clips. This isn’t The Daily Show.

• Nice to hear the audience’s reaction to the possibility of a “Subway Series”. If they only knew how it ended…

• Ego’s first commentary in quite a while. This time, she’s playing an Amazon employee named Monica, who’s secretly not happy with her life.

• While this is a typical Ego character, something about her performance is making it come off as fresher this time. I love her freaky wide eyes!

• The “STD/USB” joke was lame, but I still laughed.

• Overall, one of Ego’s best commentaries in a long time.

• Che’s fruit fly joke was just dumb, and he follows it up with that stupid “It’s the 90’s” quote again.

• I did laugh at his R. Kelly joke, though.

• Now we get an appearance from Noel and Liam Gallagher from Oasis, played by James and Sarah, respectively.

• Sarah feels a little miscast here, but I’m okay with it as long as it’s not about her roasting Colin again.

• James, on the other hand, is spot on and hilarious as Noel!

• Despite my initial misgivings, this commentary is a lot of fun. The sight of the guys from Oasis arguing like toddlers is an amazing thing to witness.

• Never mind. Even in this setting, Sarah can’t resist getting in at least one shot at Colin! Thankfully, it’s just for a few seconds.

• The Update jokes were as bland as usual, but for the first time in forever, I actually liked both commentaries! 

Sketch: Castrati

A boy singer’s genitals are removed.

• Again with the shitty Italian accents? What’s with all of the Italian stereotypes on this show lately? Kenan’s in particular is really bad.

• Now we have a pointless appearance from Maya and Andy again. I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

• As if it couldn’t get any more suspicious, now we have Ariana in drag as a little boy. WTF??? I’ve heard rumors that she’s into age play, and this certainly isn’t helping.

• Another WTF from me at the reveal that Ariana’s character has been castrated to preserve his high voice.

•. This sketch seems to be very popular with a number of other fans. I’m afraid I don’t agree with them. I thought this was way too long, full of bad stereotypes, and unnecessary cameos.

Musical Performance: “Edge of Seventeen”

Note: Okay, there’s something I really need to address here, because it’s symptomatic of how bad SNL’s technical standards have gotten. Just before this performance was scheduled to start, there was an issue with the sound board. As a result, viewers at home were treated to an overly long bumper photo of Nicks while they tried to get it fixed. This also led to a Cinema Classics sketch getting cut (Yay!!!!) which would have had Ariana reprising her Judy Garland impression from the last time she hosted.

Sketch: Maybelline

Jennifer Coolidge advertises Maybelline with various clones.

• Meh, I’ve seen enough of Chloe’s Jennifer Coolidge impression.

• Interesting twist with Ariana appearing in the mirror as a second Coolidge. They’ve done several sketches like this before (most notably the Mick Jagger one in Season 27).

• Ugh, Dana makes another appearance, this time as a third Coolidge.

Sketch: The Hotel Detective

Detective Sam Stanley trades fast-paced wordplay with a femme fatale.

• Whoa, two live sketches in a row??? Not quite. Due to the mishap with the sound board earlier, it left time open for another sketch, so they hastily inserted this one from dress rehearsal. I’m not complaining, though, because more JAJ is always welcome.

• This reminds me of that noir sketch he did with Sharon Stone a couple seasons ago. I remember that one being really good.

• Already a big laugh from that Jimmy Stewart-esque “aw shucks” voice James is using, which he expertly switches out of once he reveals that he is actually a detective.

• Ariana is also a natural for this sketch. I had no idea she was able to talk that fast.

• Brief glimpse of the cue cards when Andrew’s character reveals that he is also a detective.

• Another priceless reveal that James’ character is not Sam Stanley, he’s actually “Stam Sanley”.

• Random appearance from Longfellow as Rod Serling at the end.

• This feels like a sketch that the late 80’s cast would have done. I absolutely love it! Thank God for those technical difficulties!

Final thoughts: At last we get a solid episode! While not perfect, there seemed to be a lot more effort in the writing this week. It should also go without saying that I adored Ariana’s work as well. She’s welcome to come back any time!

Best sketches: My Best Friend’s House, Charades with Mom, Oasis commentary, The Hotel Detective

Worst sketches: Family Feud, Maybelline

Next review: Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish

SNL Reviews: Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10/5/24)

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SNL Reviews: Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (9/28/24)

 I hope you guys enjoy my Season 50 reviews…because this will be my last season as a reviewer!

To commemorate the occasion, in each review, I’ll be posting a random quote from one of my older posts.

“The only time I laughed was when Pete Davidson was told to shut up.” (From Adam Driver/Kanye West, Season 44)

Cold Open: World News Tonight

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have feuding rallies.

• *sigh* This is going to be a loooooong season. Remember during the last election cycle when SNL got a bunch of criticism for relying too much on celebrity cameos to play their political figures? Well, we’re back to doing that again for this election cycle!!!

• Absolutely great to see Andrew Dismukes front and center at the beginning of the season’s first sketch! He doesn’t look a thing like David Muir, but that’s not our biggest problem. Do you know what is? Maya fucking Rudolph is back as Kamala Harris! UGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

• The first words out of her mouth already make me want to die. We get more outdated “fun aunt” jokes that don’t match how Kamala is now, and Maya is still portraying her as a saintly figure who can do no wrong.

• That Sabrina Carpenter joke was particularly bad.

• “You see, Donald Trump is stuck in the past.” You mean like the SNL writing staff?

• Jim Gaffigan isn’t really my cup of tea, but I’m sure there was a better role SNL could have given him. Was anybody really clamoring to see him do a shitty Tim Walz impression?

• Speaking of unnecessary cameos, now we have Andy Samberg playing Doug Emhoff. As much as I love Andy, he’s so bland in this role, and his dialogue sucks. I mean, comparing himself to Charlie Brown if he were grown up? What???

• The live airing had a bizarre error where they briefly cut back to Maya dancing when Trump is introduced. The online version corrects this error.

• Thankfully, JAJ is still Trump, and not some random celebrity. Has he gotten any funnier? Not really. A lot of his “funny” dialogue is taken verbatim from the actual debate that was held that week. This is why he’s talking about immigrants eating pets, because that’s a thing that he said in real life, so let’s just copy it since we have no original ideas!!! Hooray!!!

• We also get a look at who they chose to play J.D. Vance. Fortunately, it’s a cast member, but unfortunately, it’s fucking Bowen Yang. Because Vance is well known for being Asian. Why not somebody like Michael Longfellow? Oh wait, he isn’t a “star” like Bowen is, so he might as well not exist to Lorne.

• But nothing could have prepared me for what was about to come next. Out of nowhere, we inexplicably have yet another new portrayal of Biden. This time, it’s the withered corpse of Dana Carvey. While not as Godawful as Fire Marshall Biden, it leaves a lot to be desired. He sounds more like Dana Carvey than Joe Biden. Also, Dana goes waaaaay overboard with the mugging here, which is a problem he’s had for a while now.

• If the cold open was this bad, then the rest of the show must be pure gold!!!

We have some new cast members, namely Jane Wickline, Emil Wakim, and Ashley Padilla. I have no idea who any of these people are, but Wickline’s father is apparently an old friend of Lorne Michaels. Yup, it’s nepotism time!!!!!! Wakim’s hiring is notable because he’s the first person of Muslim descent on the show since Nasim Pedrad left. Padilla is a member of The Groundlings, which means she’s probably going to be doing a lot of work with James Anderson, Jr. (aka Jimmy Fowlie).

There’s also a brand-new intro, and I have to say, it looks really good. I hope this isn’t just a temporary intro for this season only!

Monologue

Jean Smart sings “I Happen To Like New York”.

• My only point of reference for who Jean is comes from this cartoon called “The Oblongs” (where Will Ferrell played her husband).

• This turns into a musical monologue after only a minute. That’s like the third episode in a row!

• The Eric Adams joke was pretty lame.

• So far, we’re just getting a bunch of jokes about how filthy New York is.

• “Lesbians are obsessed with me.” Ummmm….okay?

• This wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t paint a good picture for the rest of the show.

Sketch: The $100,000 Pyramid

“Wacky” shenanigans happen on the game show.

• “You must be in the lobby at the dentist’s office, because you’re watching the Game Show Network!” UGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! This is the material we’re starting the show with? A hacky, overused joke that was never funny?

• I got an unintentional laugh from some lady in the audience going “Yeeaaaah” when Devon as Michael Strahan introduces himself.

• Double UGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Chloe’s playing that “Hawk Tuah” girl!!! I was afraid this was going to happen, but thankfully, she’s just a part of this sketch instead of getting her own.

• Marcello is playing Bad Bunny, and he sounds nothing like him. You’d think that he would know how to do the voice after having done several sketches with him last year, but I guess not. It’s just his normal voice but with a thicker accent.

• And we’ve now gotten to the point that every single thing Marcello does is accompanied by cheers from the girls in the audience.

• I got a laugh from Kenan’s Mark Robinson saying that cheating on your wife is what you do in the club.

• Is that a real monkey with Jean? Or is it a puppet? I honestly can’t tell.

• Oh, the monkey just facepalmed. Now I know it’s a puppet.

• No comment on the scene where it starts breastfeeding Jean.

• Emil makes his first appearance as that Turkish sharpshooter that I completely forgot about till now.

• One of the worst lead off sketches I’ve ever seen. This episode is already looking pretty bad.

Fake Ad: Spirit Halloween

An ad for the one store that will always be there for you…Spirit Halloween!

• Jane and Ashley make their first appearances in this one…aaaaaand they have no dialogue.

• Unusual twist where this turns out to be a Spirit Halloween commercial. 

• Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it’s a little too late for them to be making Spirit Halloween jokes. Other people have been making jokes about Spirit taking over old stores for years, and SNL doesn’t really have anything new to add. 

• I did get a laugh from the legally distinct Oompa-Loompa and Minion costumes.

• Surprisingly, this is the first time we’ve seen Mikey all night. He must be crying in his dressing room after getting the Biden impression taken away from him for no reason. 

• I love the “Blonde Singing Woman” costume which is supposed to be Taylor Swift. When the girl who orders it complains that it isn’t Taylor Swift, I like Chloe’s condescending delivery of “And neither are you.”

• This wasn’t too bad, but I think it would have worked better if Spirit Halloween jokes weren’t so overdone. Hilariously, Spirit themselves responded to this sketch, posting an image of a costume for an “irrelevant 50-year old TV show”.

Sketch: Textbook Writer

A math textbook writer has unusual methods.

• Not really caring for the main joke of this sketch.

• Mikey’s reacting routine is so old hat by this point.

• In the live airing, Jean screwed up when she was supposed to show the cover of the math book. For some reason, she held it at an odd angle where only the back was visible. This error was corrected in reruns by using the flawless dress rehearsal take. I thought I would bring this up because it was much more interesting than the actual material.

Musical Performance: “Liar”

Weekend Update (featuring Eric Adams and Moo Deng)

• *groan* Yet another year of these two bozos at the desk.

• Nothing has changed. They’re still doing awful Trump jokes, and they’re still cracking up at themselves.

• Che has a pretty funny joke about Andrew Cuomo moving “faster than COVID through a nursing home”.

• For some reason, after telling a lame Asian driver joke, Che says, “It’s the 90’s, man!” Not very funny, but that doesn’t stop him from constantly bringing this line back in later episodes!

• You can never go wrong with a “Hoda Kotb loves to drink” joke.

• Our first commentary of the season comes from Devon, who is taking over as Eric Adams. Hey, remember when SNL tried to make Eric Adams seem like a cool guy when he was really a creep??? That was awesome.

• This isn’t Devon’s best work, but he’s giving it his all. By default, this is the most tolerable commentary we’ve had since…I don’t know, Devon’s previous commentary.

• But now we’re in for some real shit, because we have a Bowen commentary, this time wearing a retarded hippo costume. 

• Bowen, for whatever reason, is playing this hippo as if it was Chappell Roan, saying shit like “I’m your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo”. I don’t get it either, and it led to a lot of Chappell’s fans criticizing the show for making a mockery of her struggles.

• Absolutely horrible bit where Bowen gets sprayed with water. This feels like something out of All That.

• This is so fucking long. I know the season just started, but this is definitely going in my worst sketches list!

Sketch: I Love Lucy

The original choice for Lucy was much brasher.

• What’s with all the Bowen in this episode? He’s not as versatile as you think he is, guys.

• Marcello’s playing Ricky exactly the same as his other roles. 

• Jean is trying her best, but not even she can save this material.

• What’s with that pose Marcello keeps doing at the end of each scene? I don’t recall Ricky ever doing that. Have these people even seen the show???

• Sheesh, this is the first we’ve seen of James since the cold open. His impression of Fred is probably the best thing about this awful sketch, even if he only has like two lines. Chloe, on the other hand, couldn’t sound any less like Vivian Vance if she tried.

• Horrible ending where Lucy shoots Ricky. 

• I gotta be honest, I really hate it when SNL parodies classic TV shows/movies and makes them “hip” by swearing all over the place. This is also part of the reason I hate those shitty Cinema Classics sketches.

Sketch: Talk Talk

Charli XCX hosts a talk show.

• AUUUGHHHHH!!!!!! MY FUCKING EYES!!!!!! Jesus fucking Christ, now we have Bowen in drag playing Charli XCX!! 

• This is the first appearance of Sarah all night. Unfortunately, she’s also in drag, playing Troye Sivan. Why is she so obsessed with Troye Sivan??? 

• The whole “Brat or Nat” section is just painful. Never have thirty seconds felt more like thirty minutes.

• How could they even let something like this on the air? It just shows you how much SNL treats Bowen like he’s the greatest thing in the world. If he wasn’t as popular, there’s no way this would have passed dress rehearsal.

• I’m not even going to discuss the rest of the sketch. It’s that bad. But, to sum it up, I really, really, REALLY HATE BOWEN YANG!!!!

Musical Performance: “Winning Streak”

Sketch: The Real Housewives of Santa Fe

Housewives feud over being businesswomen, which prevents their waiter from serving them.

• “You’re watching Bravo.” NOOOOOO!!!!!

• Is it just me, or has Heidi aged quite a bit since last season?

• I started having Vietnam flashbacks to that horrible “Hot Plates” sketch when Andrew entered with that giant steamy plate.

• Thankfully, we don’t have any scenes of Amy Poehler turning into a skeleton or Horatio Sanz screaming at the top of his lungs in this sketch. But that’s not saying much, because it’s still a flaming mess.

• This episode is fucking killing me, man. Why are these premieres always so awful?

Cut for Time: A Father’s Promise

A father is way too protective of his son.

• This is the type of role that Marcello is actually good at. 

• When Andrew showed up with a mustache, I knew I was going to like this.

• This is a really relatable premise that I’m sure we can all identify with.

• A big laugh from Andrew bluntly insulting a child. 

• Even the bizarre Mario Kart ending was pretty funny, complete with Andrew throwing a banana peel at a cop.

• How sad is it that the only sketch I actually liked was left out of the live show? They should have taken out that retarded Charli XCX sketch and put this in!

Final thoughts: What a way to start the 50th anniversary season, huh? This didn’t feel like the beginning of a milestone year at all. Everything I hated about last season is still here with little improvement. It’s been pointed out many times before that anniversary seasons tend to be really bad (especially Seasons 20, 30, 35, and 45), and it looks like this year is going to be another disaster.

Best sketches: A Father’s Promise (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, The $100,000 Pyramid, Moo Deng commentary, Talk Talk

Next review: Nate Bargatze/Coldplay

Season 49 overview

Well, that was certainly a bizarre season, huh? It started out pretty consistent, but after the Christmas break, it went downhill. We saw the rise of Andrew Dismukes, and the fall of Marcello Hernandez and Sarah Sherman. We saw an actual good Kristen Wiig episode, and a godawful Ryan Gosling episode. But the main problem with Season 49 is that it just felt unadventurous. A lot of sketches were lame rehashes of older ones, especially in the latter half of the season. There was also the problem with Weekend Update, but I’ll cover that when I get to the cast rundown.

Speaking of which, time for the cast rundown! I’ll also be adding a new section where I rank their best performance of the season!

Repertory Players

Mikey Day: As someone who used to be Mikey’s biggest fan, I think I might be over him. With all the talented newbies in the cast, it’s so bizarre to see him still relying on his tired reacting and explaining routine. I hope Season 50 ends up being his last, because I think he’s already done everything he can do. (Best moment: Masters of the Pen)

Andrew Dismukes: Talk about a major improvement!!! Andrew gets my pick for MVP! His airtime exploded this year, presumably thanks to JAJ, who he did a lot of great things with. He might actually be my favorite person in the cast now. (Best moment: Dad Has a Cookie)

Chloe Fineman: What else is there for me to say about her? She’s still annoying, and I really really want her to go. That being said, I can’t really remember anything she was super bad in this year. (Best moment: NONE!)

Heidi Gardner: I’m happy to say that Heidi had a much better season than she did last time. Yeah, sure, I know her Update appearances are still pretty bad, and she does do some annoying sketch work, but I feel like she was trying harder this season. Sadly, I’ve heard rumors that Season 50 might be her last. (Best moment: Paperless Post (Cut))

James Austin Johnson: A lot of my fellow reviewers have been calling him “The Glue” as of late, and I 100% agree! This man is so essential to SNL’s future. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that someone at SNL doesn’t like him, because there are still some episodes where he’s barely present. His Trump impression is also pretty annoying, but literally everything else he does is great! Can’t wait to see what he does in Season 50! (Best moment: This is really hard, but I think I’d have to say Lake Beach)

Punkie Johnson: Ho-hum. After such a promising start to the season, they just forgot she existed after the break. She was lucky to even appear in most episodes. I feel really bad for her, but I wish her luck in her future endeavors. (Best moment: AI)

Ego Nwodim: Ego also had a nice recovery from last year. With the exception of the unnecessary return of Lisa from Temecula and her Update commentaries, this is more of what I expected from her. (Best moment: La Maison Du Bang)

Sarah Sherman: Now here’s someone who really disappointed me. Sarah’s first two seasons were great! So what happened here? It’s like someone flipped a switch in her brain that made her act more annoying. She seems to be the new Kate McKinnon, as her drag roles have become much more frequent. That’s not even getting into her terrible Update commentaries that all followed the exact same formula of roasting Colin. However, the old Sarah wasn’t completely gone. I liked the film she did about the tennis player getting decapitated, and I want to see more of that next year. (Best moment: Pongo!)

Kenan Thompson: Kenan did not have much of an improvement in Season 49, sadly. His shouting routine is still outdated and overused, and I noticed a theme late in the season with him constantly doing a stereotypical Jamaican accent. I’m happy to say that it looks like Season 50 might be his last, so there may be hope for him yet. (Best moment: Lanzetti’s Lawn Care)

Bowen Yang: Unsurprisingly, Bowen was just as annoying as he was in Season 48. There were so many sketches that he ruined just by showing up. I’m sick of him constantly eating up airtime by mugging for the camera and talking slowly and acting like a diva!!! Please get rid of him after this season!!!!!! (Best moment: NONE!!!)

Repertory Players

Marcello Hernandez: Another cast member who I’ve grown to dislike. The first half of the season was great for him, but, like a lot of other things, he took a huge decline in the second half. We started to get a lot of aimless, muggy performances from him, almost as if he’s craving attention. He also started doing a lot of really bad Update commentaries in which he wore a goofy costume, none of which were funny. (Best moment: Age of Discovery)

Molly Kearney: Molly Kearney? Who’s that? SNL made such a big deal about hiring a non-binary cast member, only to do nothing with them in their first season except cast them as fat men. This season was even worse. Most of the time, they were lucky enough to even appear in an episode. Their only Update commentary was cut before airtime. And, of course, tons and tons of fat men! I was not surprised at all that they got fired after this. (Best moment: NONE!!!)

Michael Longfellow: What the fuck happened here? He got a lot of attention last year, including a bunch of awesome Update appearances, but this year, it was like they forgot he existed. He’s one of the most likable people in the current cast, and I hate that the writers don’t seem to understand his talents. Hopefully, Season 50 will be a lot better for him. (Best moment: Cigarette commentary)

Chloe Troast: She was a welcome new addition to the cast, with her likable personality and beautiful singing voice. Unfortunately, this will be the last time I ever get to talk about her, as she was unceremoniously fired over the summer. Part of me believes that the poor reaction to her awful Elise Stefanik sketch made SNL hesitant to use her, because her airtime took a nosedive after that. Hell, in her final sketch, we couldn’t even see her!!! Overall, the most pointless firing in SNL history since Luke Null. (Best moment: Make Your Own Kind Of Music)

Devon Walker: Once again, he generally only got focus when there was a black host. But I still see potential for him. When Kenan potentially leaves the show after Season 50, they’re probably going to rely on him a lot more! (Best moment: His impression of Tim Scott)

Michael Che and Colin Jost: *sigh* I’ve run out of things to say about these two. They’ve been on for way too long. Update as a whole was Godawful this year. Whether it’s the constant giggling from our two anchors, or the many, many, MANY unfunny costume commentaries in the last few episodes, this part of the show needs a serious overhaul.

Now it’s time to rank the episodes.

Best episodes: Bad Bunny, Adam Driver/Olivia Rodrigo, Shane Gillis/21 Savage, Kristen Wiig/RAYE, Jake Gyllenhaal/Sabrina Carpenter

Worst episodes: Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish, Dakota Johnson/Justin Timberlake, Ayo Edebiri/Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Gosling/Chris Stapleton, Dua Lipa

Now, time for my favorite part…ranking the sketches!!!

Best sketches: The Original Princes of Comedy (from Davidson), Roadhouse Bar (from Davidson), Age of Discovery (from Bad Bunny), Bad Bunny is Shrek (from Bad Bunny), Protective Mom (from Bad Bunny), Christopher Walken’s appearance (from Bargatze), Lake Beach (from Bargatze), Masters of the Pen (from Momoa), Remember Lizards commentary (from Momoa), Cast Away (from Momoa), AI (from Stone), Cigarette commentary (from Stone), Make Your Own Kind of Music (from Stone), Old Friends (from Driver), Beep Beep (from Driver), Airplane Baby (from Driver), Pongo! (from McKinnon), Boogie Woogie Santa (from McKinnon), Paperless Post (Cut), Bowling Pins (from Elordi), Roast (from Johnson), Monologue (from Gillis), White Men Can Trump (from Gillis), Fugliana (from Gillis), Gone Too Soon (from Sweeney), Loud Table (from Sweeney), Shrimp Tower (from Brolin), Sandwich King (from Brolin), Team Captain (from Youssef), Pilates (from Wiig), Retirement Party (from Wiig), Go-Karts (from Wiig), La Maison Du Bang! (from Wiig), Papyrus 2 (Cut), Jingle Pitch (from Dua Lipa), Mother’s Day (from Rudolph), Can You Pick Me Up? (from Rudolph), T.T. And Mario (Cut), Dad Has a Cookie (from Gyllenhaal), NYPD Press Conference (from Gyllenhaal)

Worst sketches: I’m Just Pete (from Davidson), Wired Autocomplete Interview (from Davidson), Spaceship (from Davidson), Cold Open (from Bad Bunny), Dawg Food (from Bargatze), Cold Open (from Chalamet), Sleep Study (from Chalamet), George Santos commentary (from Momoa), The Situation Room (from Stone), Fully Naked in New York (from Stone), What’s in the Kiln? (from Stone), Antisemitism Hearings (from Driver), ShopTV (from Driver), Monologue (from McKinnon), Tampon Farm (from McKinnon), ABBA Christmas (from McKinnon), Cinema Classics (from McKinnon), Lip Readers (from Elordi), Garrett from Hinge (from Elordi), Waiters (from Johnson), The Barry Gibb Talk Show (from Johnson), Ethan commentary (from Johnson), CNN Town Hall (from Edebiri), Dune Popcorn Bucket (from Edebiri), CJ Rossitano commentary (from Edebiri), The Elevator (from Edebiri), Hypnotist (from Edebiri), Frozen Embryo commentary (from Gillis), Big Bench (from Sweeney), Makeup Artists (from Sweeney), Bank Robbery (from Brolin), Moulin Rouge (from Brolin), Lisa from Temecula (from Brolin), We Just Got High (from Youssef), Weekend Update (from Youssef), Earthquake/Eclipse commentary (from Wiig), Close Encounter (from Gosling), Can’t Tonight (from Gosling), Beavis & Butt-Head (from Gosling), Doctors (from Gosling), Good Morning Greenville (from Dua Lipa), Sonny Angels (from Dua Lipa), Weekend Update (from Dua Lipa), OBGYN (from Dua Lipa), British Cavemen (from Rudolph), Brain Worm commentary (from Rudolph), Coffee Commercial (from Rudolph), Bike Trail (from Gyllenhaal), Weekend Update (from Gyllenhaal)