SNL Reviews: Dave Chappelle/Black Star (11/12/22)

 Cold Open: Fox and Friends

The hosts interview various candidates about the midterm elections.

• Not this again. These sketches just aren’t as funny as the ones from the early 2010s.

• Bizarre casting of Bowen as Brian Kilmeade. Mikey played him the last time they did this, but now he’s playing Steve Doocy.

• To be fair, I did get a chuckle from Ainsley Earhardt and Doocy saying “Wakanda Forever”, and Kilmeade warning them that he doesn’t think they’re allowed to say it.

• It feels so wrong hearing them mention Eric Trump without Alex Moffat being there. 

• Cecily returns as Kari Lake, and we get more “jokes” about how she uses camera filters. 

• Trump returns for the second episode in a row. Ugh!!! Just give him a break already, SNL!

• Random and unfunny twist at the end where Lake suddenly appears in the studio. Just another tick on a checklist at this point.

Monologue

Our host does stand-up about Kanye, Trump, and the midterms.

• There was a lot of controversy from idiots on Twitter about Chappelle being asked to host, thanks to his “offensive” statements about trans people. SNL did not listen to any of these complaints and let Chappelle go on the show.

• Funny slam at Kanye at the beginning.

• l launched into a series of great Jew jokes, such as asking them about why they dress like Run-DMC and calling one of their holidays “Sha Na Na”.

• He drops an n-bomb when talking about Adidas. This then leads to a comment about how Adidas was founded by Nazis. I was very surprised to discover that this was not a joke, and that Adidas actually was founded by a member of the Nazi Party.

• I’m surprised they let him get away with his “Jews run Hollywood” jokes. Unsurprisingly, Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League complained about them.

• His non-verbal impression of Herschel Walker is miles better than Kenan’s impression that actually has dialogue. That just shows you how awful Kenan has gotten this year.

• Even the Trump material is making me laugh.

• Overall, despite lasting over 15 minutes, this was a killer monologue.

Sketch: Potato Hole

Morning show hosts try to figure out the meaning of a musician’s new album title.

• Andrew’s great season continues as he gets a lead role in this sketch.

• Ugh, another sketch where the only joke is the repetition of “hole” over and over again?!? Wasn’t that awful “momhole” sketch enough?

• Chappelle single-handedly saves this sketch from being a total waste with his long and disturbing explanation of what a “potato hole” actually is. Thank God for Dave Chappelle!

Film: House of the Dragon

The Game of Thrones spin-off suddenly gets invaded by Chappelle’s Show characters.

• As with the awful Aunt Jemima sketch from his last appearance, this sketch starts with a Chappelle’s Show-style intro where Dave tells the audience what the next sketch is going to be about.

• Mikey STILL can’t do a British accent.

• Kenan looks like he’s got a mop on his head.

• Some amazing makeup on James’ character, complete with decaying skin.

• This suddenly turns into a sequel to that Walking Dead Chappelle’s Show sketch from his first episode, with characters from the show randomly appearing here. I’ve still never seen an episode, so all of these appearances are kind of confusing to me.

• Oh, hey, look! It’s Ice-T, everybody! No idea why he’s here.

• No comment on the scene where JAJ’s dick falls off.

• I like the brief shot of Tyrone Biggums using a dragon to light his cigarette.

• Even Rick James makes an appearance! 

• The best part is the ending, where the three Chappelles fly away, only for the police to somehow pull them over.

• Overall, despite not understanding all of the specific show-related jokes, I enjoyed this quite a lot.

Sketch: Barber Shop

A group of barbers discuss current events.

• The setting of this reminds me of Coming to America. Maybe that was intentional?

• Nice to see all of our black cast members in this, including Punkie and Devon!

• I like the sudden reveal of Longfellow as one of the barbers in this shop, which we had previously only seen occupied by black people. Even better is when it turns out that he isn’t even cutting anyone’s hair.

• Who’s the guy getting his hair cut by Kenan?

• This sketch has a nice slice of life feel to it that I wish more of this era’s sketches had.

• Every single time they cut to that shot of the empty chair next to Michael, I laugh even harder.

• Great twist ending where they all confirm that Michael’s character was actually a police agent.

Musical Performance: “So Be It”

Weekend Update (featuring Jose Suarez and Sarah Sherman)

• Colin, actually being honest for once: “I don’t know if that’s really official, but, we’re not a real news program…”

• These Herschel Walker jokes are growing tiresome.

• Another great child labor joke from Che.

• Marcello debuts a new character named Jose Suarez, who’s trying to become the first Latino president.

• This character is great! I’m getting a strong Fericito vibe from his voice and mannerisms, even if he doesn’t have a catchphrase that he keeps repeating every few seconds.

• Sarah makes her first Update appearance of the season as the host of “Sarah News”. It comes with a bizarre intro that I can’t even describe here without sounding like a crazy person.

• I agree with Sarah that the current Update set is ugly. They’ve been using that same one since Che joined the desk back in 2014.

• It felt so heartwarming to hear the audience applaud her as she started reading her headlines.

• Sarah’s first joke was about a tunnel, and I immediately knew it was going to be a joke about sex. I still laughed, though.

• Great picture of Sarah in bed with John Fetterman.

• Can we have Sarah do the news every week? This is so refreshing to see after a million years with those two bozos behind the desk!

Sketch: Black Heaven

Mikey fills in for Chappelle in a sketch about Black Heaven.

• Funny initial reveal of Mikey dressed like a pimp and talking in the most bland “black” voice ever.

• Ego: “This is Black Heaven, where your Jordans never have a crease!”

• Punkie’s been having a good night. I like the characterization of her “Auntie” character, who gets mad when Devon says he doesn’t like mac and cheese.

• I got a big laugh from Mikey randomly saying “World Star!”

• Dave’s occasional comments are great, too.

• Mikey gets to show off some range when he freaks out about Dave putting him in this sketch just to torture him. Then he gets even more upset when he has to avoid reading the n-word in his script.

• Great ending, where Dave makes Mikey fill in for him again…in a sketch about the Underground Railroad.

Musical Performance: “The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing”

Please Don’t Destroy: Election Night

Molly needs help preparing a speech after the midterms.

• I honestly didn’t remember this episode having one of these.

• Molly gets their only role of the night in this, where it turns out that they won an election in Ohio.

• MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki makes a cameo in a scene where he shows us how Molly got elected.

• A good joke about the lack of Molly’s screentime.

• Molly, upon being forced to dress like a politician: “I look like a LEGO guy!”

• I love the brief shot of Ben swearing at a little boy.

• The Molly attack ad is hilarious. It somehow has audio of a quote that Molly said literally only a minute ago and describes them as an SNL stagehand.

• The text crawl ending wasn’t necessary.

• I liked this film a lot. The only thing that would’ve made it even better is if Chappelle were involved somehow.

Final thoughts: What a great turnaround from the last episode. With the exception of the cold open and the potato hole thing, almost every sketch here worked for me. Chappelle did a great job as host once again, and I’m glad SNL decided not to cave in to pressure and drop him.

Best sketches: Monologue, House of the Dragon, Barber Shop, Sarah News, Black Heaven, Election Night

Worst sketches: Cold Open

Next review: Keke Palmer/SZA

SNL Reviews: Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11/5/22)

 Cold Open: New Democratic Candidates

President Biden announces his new team of advisors.

• First time we’ve seen JAJ as Biden in a while. If you can believe it, this ends up being the ONLY time we see his Biden impression all season!

• You won’t believe how hard I grimaced when Biden made an Among Us joke.

• We then get a parade of impressions, starting with Chloe as Marianne Williamson, who she previously played back in her first episode. Something about the voice reminds me of Kate McKinnon, which is the last person I want to be reminded of.

• Molly introduces a Guy Fieri impression. This marks the start of a troubling trend with Molly being typecast as fat male celebrities. The impression itself is nowhere near as good as Bobby Moynihan’s take.

• Marcello as Tekashi 6ix9ine was so bad it was funny.

• An unwelcome return of Cecily’s Stormy Daniels impression. Can you please leave already?

• I did get a laugh from Ego as Azelia Banks and her ridiculous outfit.

• Kenan couldn’t sound a thing like Tracy Morgan if he tried. 

• Wow, that was awful. It might be even worse than the one from two episodes ago.

Monologue 

Schumer does stand-up about pregnant women and being intimate with her husband.

• That midterm abortion/election joke was terrible.

• Right off the bat, we’re getting vagina jokes. I knew she couldn’t resist.

• At least the vagina jokes were brief, but now she spends most of the rest of this monologue talking about fucking her husband.

• As if I couldn't hate her any more, she does a "joke" about Aspergers' syndrome having Nazi ties.

• TLDR: not a fan.

Sketch: Soup

Lunch gets interrupted by some shocking news.

• So far, absolutely nothing funny is happening. 

• What’s the point of that scene where Amy glares at Marcello and Sarah? Is it a reference to something?

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, Kenan randomly appears in a bubble and starts singing for no reason. Did I mention that this was written by Kent Sublette?

• Overall, this sketch was extremely weak and confusing. This episode is already making me cringe.

Fake Ad: COVID

The best way to get a 10-day break.

• A pretty good concept of people intentionally getting COVID to keep others from bothering them.

• I like the logo a lot (it’s a COVID spore with a little happy face). For some reason it reminds me of the National Science Foundation logo.

• Nice to see Michael get a big role here. I like how he says he’s been “quadruple vaxxed”, if you count his shot for HPV.

• The scenes of Sarah jumping on the bed and coughing are great.

• I like how one of the things you can get out of doing is “friend’s improv show”.

• Even the random reference to the Capitol riots was funny.

• Overall, a surprisingly funny and sharp satire, especially with the advanced knowledge that COVID is no longer a national health emergency.

Sketch: Jurors

Three jury members struggle to keep their excitement under control during a trial.

• This sketch was originally cut from last season’s Jerrod Carmichael episode.

• Marcello gets another big role here as the defendant.

• As soon as I saw that shot of Amy, Bowen, and Sarah in the jury, standing out from everyone else, I knew we were in for a rough sketch.

• Sure enough, the only joke of this sketch is the three of them overreacting to everything.

• I cringed at Bowen asking the sketch artist to “yassify” him.

• Making matters worse is Judge Kenan delivering all of his lines extremely over the top as usual. Have I made it clear that I absolutely hate Kenan now?

• That open mouthed face Sarah keeps making is very distracting and so unlike her. Who does she think she is? Chloe Fineman?

• Predictable ending where the three jurors end up solving the crime. We then get the sketch of them that they requested earlier, complete with a “yassified” Bowen.

• A rare miss for a Sarah Sherman sketch. I can’t believe she would go along with this crap.

Sketch: Twitter Council

Twitter’s Content Moderation Council tries to decide whether or not to unban several previously-banned accounts.

• Our latest variation of those town hall/meeting sketches. The last one from the Willem Dafoe episode was pretty good, so I had some high hopes for this one…hopes which were immediately shattered by the overused text crawl opening.

• Cecily has played way too many of these right-wing conspiracy nuts in her career. I think it’s supposed to be the same one she played in an earlier installment of these.

• Funny twist how Bowen’s “veteran” character is actually a veteran in Call of Duty. The reason he got banned (he doxxed a middle-schooler) was also pretty good.

• I actually thought Amy’s character was one of the better ones here. I especially love how she almost seduces Kenan into revealing his Social Security number before Chloe cuts him off. 

• Speaking of Kenan, he actually isn’t doing too bad in this one. These low-key performances are the ones he excels at.

• Punkie still exists! She tells everyone that she and her buddies from Black Twitter are going over to revive MySpace, to which Kenan responds with a perfect, “I’ll see you there!”

• Unfortunately, this sketch comes to a screeching halt with the unwelcome return of JAJ’s Trump. I guess I should have seen it coming with the premise being people getting banned from Twitter.

• Super lame and predictable ending where Chloe and Kenan’s characters get fired.

• This sketch was actually somewhat okay for the first half, but the part with Trump just ruined it. SNL needs to just let Trump go and focus on other Republican idiots.

Film: The Looker

A family receives a strange letter after moving into a new home.

• Marcello with another big role!! Good for him!!!!

• I like the creepy vibe this has. There’s also some unique camera angles that you hardly ever see on SNL, like the POV shot from the bushes.

• Great shot of Amy creepily staring out the window as her husband (JAJ) leaves for his jog.

• I got a big laugh from Amy jerking off to an episode of The Property Brothers.

• Stalker: “Why is she so aroused by that show? Is it the brothers? Or is it the property?”

• And they just keep going back to the Property Brothers after this! 

• All of Amy’s attempts to cover up her weird habits are great, like how she tries to excuse her downloading every episode of the show by saying someone broke into their house and did it.

• I absolutely love the ending where Amy makes the rest of the family stay in a hotel for the night while she stays behind in case the stalker comes back. How does she spend that time? By staying in her room and watching Property Brothers with her pants open!

• Overall, this was a great short film. I can’t believe Amy fucking Schumer made me laugh so much.

Musical Performance: “Bad Habit”

Weekend Update (featuring Tammy the Trucker)

• I got a chuckle from Che’s “Hebrews II Negroes” joke.

• Another great Che joke about China sending children into space to assemble their space station.

• *sigh* I totally forgot that the following commentary was in this episode. Anyway, remember that awful clown commentary that Cecily did last season? Well, now she’s dressed as “Tammy the Trucker, who’s here to talk about gas prices and definitely not abortion”. I kid you not. After the horrible reception that last one received, you’d think she wouldn’t try this again. But I guess not!

• Just listen to the dead silence from the audience for most of this. Even they’re not impressed with this awful, showboating performance from a hack who’s way past her prime.

• As bad as the Goober the Clown commentary was, I think this one might be worse. Definitely a low point of Cecily’s career, and, believe me, that’s saying something, considering all of the shit she’s appeared in.

Note: After Update, a dedication appears for someone named “Take Off” Ball.

Sketch: Jets Fans

Rowdy Jets fans annoy everyone (including me).

• Ugggh, I forgot all about this sketch. I remember it being extremely awful.

• Yep, here comes a shouting festival from Cecily (man, this has not been a good episode for her).

• Longfellow appears just so he can get mocked for being a Bills fan. What a waste.

• After having such a good season so far, this is only the first time we’ve seen Mikey in this episode. This was a sketch he wrote, by the way.

• The scene where they all yell at a bunch of children makes me feel uncomfortable.

• Awful, awful scene where Amy assaults a guy in a wheelchair. 

• Wow, that was extremely painful. I can’t believe how rapidly this episode is falling apart.

Fake Ad: Pinx Period Underwear

A new option for women having their periods.

• More vagina jokes? I’m surprised this entire episode hasn’t been nothing but that.

• I’m not quite sure I understand the “gag” with all of the animals being attracted to Amy’s underwear. Is there something in them that attracts animals? Gee, it sure would have been nice if they established that!

• Ugh, this episode just continues to die.

Sketch: WKTVN News

Victims of a fire are interviewed.

• Uh-oh, a news intro. I’m getting worried…

• Michael’s name is “Chance Harmstrong”? Gee, I WONDER who wrote this?!!?? (*sees Kent Sublette’s name*) What a shock.

• Another sign that this is a Sublette sketch is when Cecily shows up and starts talking in a cartoony Southern accent.

• This sketch is just nothing but bad accents and “wacky” characters. In other words, a typical Kent Sublette sketch.

• Not even the fact that Molly gets a second appearance tonight is enough to make me smile.

• No comment on the scene where Cecily and Amy flash the camera.

• What the fuck is happening to this episode? This is the third sketch in a row that made me want to puke.

Sketch: Big Penis Therapy

A discussion about the positive effects of destigmatizing therapy for men.

• I love all the airtime Andrew has gotten in this episode.

• Ugh at the reveal that the therapy Andrew has been going to is for his penis. We got a nice long reprieve from dick jokes for a while.

• I usually like Andrew’s sketches, but not even he can make a sketch where everyone keeps saying “penis” over and over a good idea.

Musical Performance: “Helmet”

Sketch: Big Dumb Hat

The new hat that’s perfect for any occasion.

• I’m sorry, am I watching a rejected Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant team up sketch? This is exactly like those awful ads they used to do. I’m guessing the reason is because this was written by Alison Gates, who wrote a lot of those sketches. Kent Sublette is also credited as a writer, which is another bad sign.

• Heidi’s voice in this is so annoying. This is just one of many annoying roles she will go on to play this season.

• Not even the pictures of them demonstrating the hats are making me laugh.

• I did get a surprise laugh from Heidi saying she made a baby while wearing that hat.

• The onscreen text that shows up when they say “Hat, Dumb, Big” is slightly delayed.

• Nice fake pizza you’re eating there, Heidi.

• The only other laugh I got was Chloe showing the crease on her forehead from the hat.

• I really wanted to appreciate this sketch for how much it’s trying to come off as intentionally cheesy, but it’s still just a throwback to an era of the show I’m glad we’re no longer in.

Final thoughts: Wow, that was one of the most bipolar episodes I’ve ever seen. While there was some good stuff in the first half, the show fell apart after Update and never recovered. While Amy Schumer wasn’t as annoying as I thought she was going to be, she didn’t help the show at all. I hope she never hosts again.

Best sketches: COVID, The Looker

Worst sketches: Monologue, Jurors, Tammy the Trucker commentary, Jets Fans, Pinx Period Underwear, WKTVN News

Next review: Dave Chappelle/Black Star

SNL Reviews: Jack Harlow (10/29/22)

 Cold Open: PBS NewsHour

Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz, and Kari Lake are interviewed.

• Nice to see Heidi with a lead role.

• Ugh, Kenan’s Herschel Walker is back. I immediately groaned when he called himself “Herschel Walker Texas Ranger”.

• Are these malapropisms something that Walker is known for doing in real life? 

• Mikey plays Dr. Oz here. It’s not very good, but he’s trying his best.

• Cecily makes her “triumphant” return to the show after missing the first three episodes of the season. Rather hilariously, she gets no applause when she shows up, as if the audience is tired of seeing her on the show as well. She’s playing Arizona candidate Kari Lake, who, coincidentally, used to be an anchor at my local NBC affiliate before she got into politics.

• Ha, they actually bring up the fact that she used to be a news anchor!

• All these Arizona jokes are falling flat for me. Did Michael Longfellow have a hand in writing these?

• The only mild chuckle I got was from Dr. Oz trying to shill one of his products.

• Overall, yet another messy, confused cold open.

Monologue

Our host talks about the big year he’s had with his music, his new film, and getting roasted online.

• Has the home base stage ever been decorated like this for Halloween before?

• If Pete was still on the show, you just know that they would have had him play Jack in a sketch.

• Something about his delivery here is really bizarre. Is he feeling okay?

• Wow, that interview with an audience member is awkward as fuck. At least she seems to have a good sense of humor about it, while Harlow is bumbling through his (presumably) scripted questions.

• Not a good sign for the rest of the episode if this is how our host is going to be all night.

Sketch: Joker

The best man shows up in costume at a wedding.

• Oh shit, I’ve been dreading this sketch…

• An immediate red flag when everyone starts speaking in obnoxious Southern accents. Oddly, Sublette had nothing to do with this one. Andrew Dismukes and Celeste Yim were the writers.

• Speaking of Andrew, the initial sight of him in Joker makeup made me chuckle a little.

• Unfortunately, the rest of this sketch is nothing but them saying “Joker” over and over again in annoying voices.

• Still going on…

• No comment on Chloe’s awful accent.

• Sarah is almost unrecognizable as an old lady.

• Then this suddenly turns into a Survivor episode, complete with a pointless Jeff Probst cameo. 

• Wow, this was just as painful and obnoxious as I remembered. Definitely a candidate for the worst sketch of the season.

Fake Ad: Skechers

Skechers responds to Kanye West.

• This aired around the time that Adidas dropped Kanye West for his racist statements about Jews. All these months later, when it’s mostly been forgotten, I’m sure this is going to be even less funny.

• Punkie actually gets a few lines here!

• Cecily surprisingly isn’t coming off too badly here. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll go back to being annoying next week.

• Was Cecily’s “Buh-bye” supposed to be a Total Bastard Airlines reference?

• Random appearance from JAJ as Mike Lindell at the end. While his impression is a lot better than Beck Bennett’s, it still isn’t that funny.

Sketch: The Post-Halloween Red Carpet Special

People are interviewed while in their Halloween costumes.

• Geez, another lead role for Cecily? I know she was gone for a while, but this is serious overkill.

• Also, no comment on her name being “Tina Lefaye”. 

• Chloe trying to speak in a “drunk” voice is painful to listen to. She’s also doing that staring at the camera thing I mentioned last time.

• I like Devon’s “Chris Rock getting slapped” costume. Too bad this is the only time we see him in this episode.

• Marcello’s “Patriarcky” shirt made me groan, as did Cecily explaining to us that it was misspelled, as if we couldn’t tell.

• It figures that Bowen would dress up as one of the Village People for Halloween. Ironically, the one he’s dressed as (the cop) was the only one of them that wasn’t gay.

• Molly’s brief appearance as a drunk Dora the Explorer was pretty good.

• Even in a small role, Kenan is annoying me. He is so out of place with all of the newer cast members in this sketch.

• Good ending with Longfellow dressed as a pedophile.

• Despite being a little too long, this wasn’t that bad. I especially like how all four newbies made an appearance in it.

Sketch: AA Meeting

An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting suddenly turns into a pitch for an animated film about suitcases.

• OMG at the wig Longfellow is wearing.

• Unexpected twist where Jack suddenly reveals an idea he has about a talking suitcase movie.

• Molly gets a second appearance tonight!

• I like how all of the ideas the fellow AA members are coming up with are ones that Jack has already written down.

• Kenan actually made me laugh with his drawing of a suitcase with boobs.

• Another funny Kenan moment with his response to the fact that one of the characters is French: “I hate that bag.” Then, when he gets involved in a heartwarming moment, his opinion shifts: “I love that bag now!”

• Cecily’s bizarre character was unnecessary. Even worse, this leads to an out-of-nowhere musical number.

• Tom Hanks shows up again. I wish I could be more excited, but I know what this is eventually going to lead to…

• Not sure we actually needed to see the suitcases at the end.

• This sketch was mostly pretty good, with the exception of the musical number.

Film: 2020 Part 2: 2024

A horror movie shows the scariest outcomes for the 2024 election.

• This was cut from the Brendan Gleeson episode. I’m guessing they wanted to air it closer to Halloween because of the horror theme?

• What’s with the random bit of applause after Mikey leaves to go get popcorn. Did someone just show up in the studio while this ad is playing?

• The editing in this is spot on, and just like a typical horror movie trailer.

• Punkie gets another role! Meanwhile, I haven’t seen Ego at all.

• I liked the jump scare with Cory Booker’s face.

• Despite liking how well made this was, I didn’t find it very funny. It was kind of confusing.

Sketch: Bartenders

Things go awry when two bartenders serve a group of businesspeople.

• I love how much airtime the newbies have been getting in this episode.

• Unfortunately the main joke of this sketch is Bowen and Jack doing a very stupid dance that I am going to assume was stolen from TikTok.

• The glass breaking sound effects were hilariously delayed.

• Overall, blah.

Musical Performance: “Li’l Secret”, “First Class”

• Tom Hanks introduces the performance.

Weekend Update (featuring Drunk Uncle)

• Colin gets in a good slam at Peloton for banning Kanye West’s music in their classes, while also trying to distract people from their dangerous bikes.

• Other than that one, it’s more of the same shit as usual with these two.

• Then, out of nowhere, Bobby Moynihan suddenly returns as Drunk Uncle! HELL YEAH!!! What makes this return especially welcome is that Bobby has wisely stayed away from cameos since he left. 

• Bobby hasn’t lost his charm as this character at all.

• Despite how good this commentary is, the only part that really sticks out to me is when he randomly starts singing “Take Me Home Tonight”, probably because I love that song.

• Did they really have to do the “That’s not me/That’s not anybody” routine again? That’s the only part of these commentaries that never works. But, in conclusion this commentary was a welcome return for Bobby. If only I knew what it was leading up to…

Sketch: Cellblock 666

A familiar face returns to scare the hell out of park goers once again.

• Ego, where have you been all night? This is only her first appearance in the episode.

• As soon as I saw this sketch being set up, I knew exactly who we were getting here, and I was like, “What are you doing, SNL? Are you even trying anymore?”

• Kenan’s Hell puns are doing nothing for me.

• I liked Ego’s reaction to seeing Annabelle: “I hate that little bitch!”

• Yep, there he is. David S. Pumpkins has returned. I guess I should have seen it coming earlier when both Tom Hanks and Bobby Moynihan made cameos, but I honestly wasn’t thinking about it.

• Rather hilariously, Bobby’s skeleton now has a beard.

• So far, this is just a basic rewrite of the first David Pumpkins sketch. The reason the first one worked so well was because it came out of nowhere. But now, we’ve seen it all before, so the impact is lost.

• Again with the Mario movie shilling? There’s this one part where the skeletons jump and they make the Mario jump noise. Why? I have no idea.

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, they actually have the balls to explain where David Pumpkins came from: apparently, he’s from Spain. You guys do realize that the whole point of the character was that his origin wasn’t important, right?

• JAJ has a pretty good Freddy Krueger voice. Too bad his scene is just a ripoff of Leslie Jones’ scene from the original sketch.

• Wow, I can’t believe it. They actually ruined David S. Pumpkins. What was once a memorable one-off is now a shitty recurring sketch. You just know that SNL is somehow going to bring this back in the future.

Musical Performance: “State Fair”

• Cecily introduces this one.

Sketch: The View

Jack Harlow pays a visit to the set.

• SNL’s latest attempt to recapture the magic of those late 90s The View sketches. 

• Ego takes over as Whoopi, despite not even sounding like her. Speaking of Ego, this is the 250th sketch she’s appeared in! Good for her!

• Sarah’s screechy Joy Behar voice isn’t very accurate, but it is making me laugh, and that’s the most important thing.

• I’m surprised at how much airtime Punkie has gotten in this episode. There isn’t even a black host, so I don’t know what made them decide to finally use her this week. Whatever the reason, I’m certainly not complaining!

• I like when Ego cuts off Chloe trying to bring up climate change by telling her that they’ve moved on to another topic.

• Most of this is just a whole lot of nothing. My only laughs came from Sarah, proving yet again that she’s got a crazy amount of talent.

Cut for Time: JNCO Longs

A shocking secret is revealed in this pants commercial.

• SNL hasn’t really released a lot of cut sketches from this  season.

• I wonder who the announcer is. It doesn’t sound like Steve Higgins or anyone in the cast.

• We get a sudden twist about halfway through when it’s revealed that Jack got surgery to make himself taller, while all of his friends thought it meant he was getting a sex change.

• Despite how odd this twist was, I actually thought it was pretty good, and they make it clear how awful it was for him to scam people just so he could get new jeans.

• The ending, where Sarah kicks him in the legs and breaks them, was a nice way to wrap it up.

Final thoughts: Another mixed bag. I’m not sure what was up, but Jack Harlow seemed kind of out of it. Cecily’s return went about as well as I expected, as we’re back to her ruining sketches with her out of place antics. Thankfully, we’ve only got five left before she leaves for good. 

Best sketches: The Post-Halloween Red Carpet Special, AA Meeting, Drunk Uncle commentary, JNCO Longs (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Joker, Bartenders, Cellblock 666, The View

Next review: Amy Schumer/Steve Lacey

SNL Reviews: Megan Thee Stallion (10/15/22)

Cold Open

“Funny” things happen during the final hearing about the January 6th riots.

• Aw shit, we’re back to political cold opens again.

• A huge groan from that intro line about C-SPAN standing for “cocker spaniel”.

• I don’t know who Kenan is supposed to be, but I’m sure he sounds nothing like that in real life.

• Longfellow debuts an impression of Adam Schiff. I absolutely love the creepy smile he’s doing as him.

• I fucking hate the type of humor where they try to make politicians come off as relatable, as seen here when Andrew (playing Adam Kinzinger) begs to have a cupcake before the hearing.

• Heidi takes over as Liz Cheney, the third different person to play her. They’re trying to characterize her as some sort of “brave freedom fighter” who’s taking on the rest of her party, which is all sorts of cringe.

• Chloe Fineman takes over from Kate McKinnon as Nancy Pelosi. Unsurprisingly, she looks and sounds nothing like Pelosi.

• Sarah Sherman joins the SNL Drag Club by taking over as Chuck Schumer. I was hoping that the drag roles would cease once Kate and Aidy left, but I’m sad to see that this isn’t the case. Alex Moffat’s Schumer wasn’t perfect, but at least it was a guy playing him. I’m guessing they just gave the role to Sarah because she happens to be Jewish.

• The “Trump conversation excerpts” are terrible and go on for way too long.

• Speaking of Trump, JAJ’s Trump makes his first appearance of the season. In case you were wondering if they decided to do something new with him…they did not.

• After two decidedly different cold opens, we’re back to basics with this one. It also doesn’t help that this one was 9 minutes long.

Monologue

Megan talks about her many names and her love of acting.

• This episode came out around the time she appeared in Disney Plus’s She-Hulk show, in which she taught everyone…how to twerk. I can’t exactly say I’m excited to see what she brings to the table.

• I’m all for enthusiastic hosts, but Megan here is a little too overexcited. 

• It also doesn’t help that I can barely understand what she’s saying.

• At least this was pretty short, only about three minutes.

Sketch: Hot Girl Hospital

A preview for a new medical drama starring “hot girls”.

• I groaned as soon as I saw the title, as it brought back unwanted memories of the Elon Musk episode and its horrid “Gen Z Hospital” sketch. Coincidentally, that sketch was also right after the monologue.

• Am I supposed to know what “The Shade Room” is and why it’s allegedly funny that their Instagram page helped create this series?

• Punkie is stuck in a thankless role as one of the “hot girls”.

• The critic “reviews” are all falling flat for me.

• While not quite as wretched as the Gen Z Hospital sketch, this is still pretty bad. At least this one doesn’t have Elon Musk in it.

Film: We Got Brought

Three strangers sing about being brought to the club by mutual friends.

• Punkie and Devon have gotten some significant airtime in this episode so far. Obviously it’s because a black woman is hosting, so we can expect them to go back to being underused in the next show.

• It’s hard for me to detect any jokes in this. The set design and effects are okay, and they’re performing it well, but it’s a little too bland to me.

Sketch: Deer

A father can’t spot a deer outside his window.

• I have a distinct memory of absolutely hating this sketch.

• Molly gets their first speaking role in a live sketch. Too bad this is their only appearance all night.

• Kenan’s horrible season continues as his character in this sketch is extremely annoying and stupid as fuck. How the hell does he not see a fucking deer out in the meadow right in front of him? I’d understand it if he was going blind, but that’s never established.

• You can see someone moving around in the bushes just before the deer puppet is supposed to pop up.

• When the deer shows up at the window, I totally predicted that it was going to vanish as soon as Kenan turns around to look.

• Would it surprise you at all if I said that Kent Sublette wrote this?

• I finally got a laugh when Kenan notices the deer threatening him with a knife and then punches it in the face.

• Overall, an extremely long and pointless sketch filled with predictable jokes and an overdose of Kenan yelling.

Sketch: Girl Talk

A talk show host gives out advice to her guests.

“Mo’nique Money Mo’nique Problems”? Who comes up with these awful names?

• Kind of odd how Kenan plays a character named Willie here, as he already has a recurring character by that name (the guy on Update who says disturbing things with a bright smile).

• The main joke of this sketch (Ego and her guests constantly saying “girl” to each other) got old extremely fast.

• Yet another appearance from Punkie. This has to be her largest amount of air time ever!

• Not even the subtitles routine is making me laugh.

• Now we get a twist where Andrew randomly appears as a guest.

• The live airing had this weird gaffe where Kenan’s voice could be heard talking over part of Andrew and Ego’s conversation. It has been fixed in the online upload.

• My only laugh from this sketch came from Andrew saying “girl” in a stereotypical black girl voice and then getting blowback from the other guests.

Please Don’t Destroy: Wellness

The guys talk about what they do to stay healthy.

• Thank God these guys are here to save this episode.

• I can identify with Ben Marshall spending an average of 23 hours a day on his cell phone.

• Funny part with Martin hallucinating his therapist. I wonder who that is playing her.

• A good laugh from Ben’s disgusting teeth.

• While it is kind of odd that this turns out to be a commercial for Oral-B at the end, it was worth it just to see that image of Ben’s teeth again.

• Overall, a slight step up from last week’s installment.

Musical Performance: “Anxiety”

• Since Megan is the musical guest as well, Bowen (who’s had a pretty quiet night so far) does the intro.

Weekend Update (featuring Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy, and Devon Walker)

• Yet another Mitch McConnell “seen here” joke. Can we please stop doing these stupid jokes already?

• Our first of many Kanye jokes within these next few episodes.

• “Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy”? These names just keep getting worse. Incidentally, Kent Sublette had nothing to do with this one. It was his new partner in crime, Jimmy Fowlie, a fellow Groundling who has a lot of the same annoying quirks as him.

• The commentary itself is absolutely terrible. Chloe and Heidi play these characters with annoying Southern accents that are here to complain about Hocus Pocus 2. Chloe’s character, in particular, won’t stop staring at the camera, which is a problem I’ve noticed that Chloe has in general.

• After that abortion is done with, we get a commentary from a newbie for the third episode in a row. This time, it’s Devon Walker’s turn, continuing the great episode he’s been having.

• A funny story about how people always apologize to him when they find out he’s from Texas.

• I love the part where he asks the audience if he looks like a cat caller. You can hear some people saying that he does.

• Another great audience reaction when he asks “Where all my straight boys at?” 

• Great ending to this commentary as he announces he’s going to kiss Che. It would have been funny if Update faded out on the two of them kissing each other.

• Overall, a nice way for Devon to introduce himself. Too bad this is the last of these introductory commentaries. Molly has to wait until halfway through the season to get one.

Sketch: Workout Class

A workout class is led by three different teachers, each with their own unique style.

• Ugh, another sketch where Chloe and Heidi play characters with gimmicky names (“Kaley” and “Keeley”, in case you’re wondering). Jimmy Fowlie strikes again!

• For some reason, there were a lot of camera slip-ups in the live airing, all of which seem to have been fixed in the online upload.

• Remember what I said earlier about twerking? Well, we get that from Megan in this sketch, complete with a wild crowd reaction.

• The scenes of Ego, Bowen, and Sarah (who looks kind of hot in this sketch, by the way) reacting to everything are straight out of a “Mikey Explains” type of sketch.

• Overall, what a terrible, terrible sketch. It’s almost as bad as that She-Hulk scene I mentioned before.

Musical Performance: “NDA”, “Plan B”

• Kenan has the honor of introducing the performance this time.

Film: St. Andrew’s Center for Shivering Girls

An ad about the hardships women must face during chilly weather.

• The scenes of Kenan singing “Hallelujah” are giving me bad memories of the infamous Hillary sketch from Season 42.

• So far, I’m not entirely sure what the joke is here. This film is extremely boring.

• My only laugh came from Kenan randomly singing “Gangsta’s Paradise”.

Sketch: Classroom

Things don’t go quite as expected when a substitute teacher takes over.

• After a long and boring speech, we suddenly get some actual jokes when the students start picking it apart.

• I love when Ego calls Megan’s character “La’quantisha”.

• A funny gag with Ego giving kids detention for pointing out the flaws in her second speech.

• The ending where Ego dismisses everyone by activating the fire alarm was a nice capper.

Final thoughts: As I expected given the host, this episode was a whole lot of blah. When she wasn’t showboating for her audience, Megan was trying to work her way through extremely repetitive material that even Kristen Wiig would have rejected. The only bright spot of this episode was the Please Don’t Destroy bit, as well as the increased airtime that Punkie and Devon received.

Best sketches: Wellness, Devon’s commentary

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Hot Girl Hospital, Deer, Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy commentary, Workout Class

Next review: Jack Harlow

SNL Reviews: Brendan Gleeson/Willow (10/8/22)

 Cold Open: So You Think You Won’t Snap!

Contestants try to see who can keep their cool the longest.

• An initial groan from Bowen’s host character being named “Morgan Freegirl”. Sure enough, Kent Sublette is credited as a writer for this.

• I feel sorry for Punkie. Her only contribution to this sketch is playing “Silent Wine-Pouring Lady”.

• Bowen is actually pretty good as the host. This is the kind of stuff I want to see him do more. 

• I like how he gets Heidi’s character to finally snap by playing a bizarre clip of Joe Biden trying to prove how solid his mental faculties are.

• Not a big fan of the corporate shilling for the upcoming Mario film, but I do like how it causes Chloe to snap upon hearing Mario’s voice.

• I like how Kenan immediately snaps upon hearing Elon Musk’s name. What I don’t like is the overly-shouty rant he goes on after this, because that’s all Kenan does these days.

• We get our first big showcase of Devon Walker here. His performance is really great, as he slowly loses his cool from all the things Bowen is talking about. This culminates in him pressing a hot iron against his head.

• This wasn’t too bad for a cold open. Probably the strongest one we’ve had in a while.

Monologue

Our host plays the mandolin and talks about reuniting with Colin Farrell.

• I was only vaguely familiar with this guy before this episode, but then he started talking and I fell in love with his accent.

• His mandolin skills are amazing!

• It’s nice to see Colin Farrell on the show again for the first time since his hosting gig in Season 30. He and Brendan have great chemistry together.

• The little song they sing was a great way to end this monologue.

Sketch: CNN Today

A live report gets interrupted by news about the “Try Guys”.

• Oh, shit, I forgot all about this sketch. No, I’m not sure who the hell the Try Guys are, and I bet most of the audience doesn’t know either.

• Kind of funny how Brendan’s news reporter is named Colin seeing as we just had a cameo from another Colin. And I guess the joke is supposed to be how “funny” it is to see such a distinguished Irish actor talking about random people on the internet? Well, it’s not.

• I don’t know how accurate these Try Guy impressions are, but I will say that it’s good to see Mikey get another lead role. 

• As much as I would like to say more about this sketch, it’s hard for me to do so when the subject is something I know next to nothing about. Whose bright idea was it to make this shit the first sketch of the night?!?

Film: New Cast Advice

The four newbies share the advice they’ve gotten since they joined the show.

• A sketch focusing entirely on the new guys? This could be interesting…

• Marcello Hernandez finally gets a speaking role. His only appearance in last week’s show was a silent role in the cold open.

• We also get our first showcase of Molly Kearney in this sketch. For those who don’t know, Molly is the show’s first non-binary cast member. Right away, I notice that they have a lot of energy. You know who Molly reminds me of? Chris Farley. Yeah, that’s pretty high praise for someone who just joined.

• Marcello tells us not to expect seeing him in a lot of sketches right away. Well, we don’t have to worry about that, because he still doesn’t appear in a lot of sketches!

• Not a big fan of the Vladimir Putin running gag in Molly’s scenes. Couldn’t they just let Molly share some advice like the other guys did? On the plus side, I enjoy that the show isn’t making a big deal out of Molly being non-binary in this sketch. They only bring it up once, and leave it at that.

• I like Michael’s story about getting congratulated by David Spade, who also happens to be from Arizona. Devon says that Kristen Wiig gave him flowers, which is really sweet too.

• You know what? I changed my mind. I’m actually kind of enjoying Molly’s scenes this time around. I like how the other guys are gradually starting to bring it up as well.

• Funny line from Michael about how he’s excited to play Kanye West in a sketch this week.

• The eventual conclusion to the Molly running gag is worth it: Lorne just tells them that he never lets anybody kill people.

• I could’ve done without that brief Kenan scene at the end, though.

• Overall, a nice way to introduce all the new cast members to the show. It was way better than that awful cold open from the last episode.

Sketch: Blonde

A scene from Netflix’s new movie about Marilyn Monroe which features her reading some fan mail.

• Judging from the text crawl at the beginning, I can tell I’m gonna hate this…

• It figures they would cast Chloe as Marilyn Monroe, even though she looks nothing like her. The voice sucks too, but that’s a given with Fineman’s impressions.

• JAJ is extremely fitting for these kinds of “retro” sketches.

• Is Brendan’s character in this sketch supposed to be a female? He’s got what appears to be fake boobs, and he’s referred to as a woman a few times, but he’s still got a beard and isn’t even trying to sound feminine. Very strange.

• Man, I wish Chloe would just shut up. That voice is getting on my last nerves.

• Some laughs from the negative fan mail, even though they get more repetitive as the sketch goes on.

• I got a laugh from Heidi saying that she can’t reveal who the gay people in Hollywood are before suddenly blurting out Rock Hudson’s name.

• Great ending with the drawing of Monroe behind bars.

• The funniest thing about this sketch is that the movie it’s a “parody” of went on to win Worst Picture at the Razzies.

Sketch: Headshots

A guy is overshadowed by his grandfather while trying to get his portrait taken.

• Nice to see Michael get a lead role here.

• As good as Gleeson is in this sketch, the real star is Andrew Dismukes as the rude photographer. I just love his voice.

• Andrew as the photographer: “You can move your HUGE ASS!!!”

• This sketch truly becomes a masterpiece when Farrell enters the room and the photographer makes him and Gleeson pose together.

• I love the Back to the Future reference at the end with “Marvin Tiger Beat Magazine”.

• Nice line from Longfellow to end this sketch: “Hey, is it my turn now?”

Please Don’t Destroy: Tommy

The guys’ friend Tommy (Gleeson) has a shocking secret…

• Our first Please Don’t Destroy film of the season. 

• It’s nice to see them in a different setting outside of the office for a change.

• Some nice low-key interactions at the start before the main joke is revealed: Gleeson’s character (who is obviously older than the rest of his friends) is actually 67.

• A good laugh from Brendan’s pixelated private parts in the locker room scene. The gleeful look on his face sells it.

• Then we get a nice heartwarming moment where Brendan convinces the others that he’s still their friend despite lying about his age. We then end on a great note as they all go for a joyride through a tunnel as they stand on the back of a truck spreading their arms out.

Musical Performance: “Curious/Furious”

Weekend Update (featuring Black Ariel and Marcello Hernandez)

• Some sick jokes about Dr. Oz killing dogs. I understand that he was accused of doing bad things to them, but you don’t have to make it worse!

• A laugh from that awkward Biden clip.

• Another Ego commentary, this time as the live-action Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She actually has quite a remarkable resemblance to the real actress.

• I usually like Ego’s commentaries, but this was somewhat below par for her. It doesn’t help that this was all just one long setup to a “crabs” joke.

• I kinda liked the joke about the burning port-a-potty.

• For the second week in a row, one of the new cast members has a commentary to introduce themselves to the audience. This week, Marcello Hernandez has the honors. He’s here to give his thoughts about the MLB playoffs.

• Thank goodness we didn’t get a Kenan appearance when he started talking about David Ortiz.

• Marcello is already proving how talented he is with all of his impressions of Dominican baseball players.

• Great point about how baseball announcers like to use Spanish accents when introducing Hispanic players.

• This wasn’t quite as funny as Longfellow’s commentary, but it was still a great introduction to Hernandez.

Sketch: Blood Oath

Two tribe leaders make a blood oath.

• This was cut from the previous episode.

• “You’re watching History Channel.” This sketch is going to suck.

• Why do all of these History Channel sketches have to mention a Hitler-related show in them? It hasn’t been “The Hitler Channel” in years. Now it’s the “Piece of Shit Channel”.

• Some nice costume designs in this sketch.

• Unfortunately, this suddenly turns into a “fake blood” sketch. It’s been a while since we had one of these. The last one I can think of is that gift wrapping sketch with James Franco.

• I must admit, with the exception of the classic Julia Child sketch, I’ve never been a big fan of these kinds of routines. This one is no different. Not only does it not make any sense how Gleeson cut his finger on that knife when he barely touched it, but it also has Kenan doing that annoying hammy voice he’s used in every sketch for the last few seasons. Overall, not a fan of this one.

Musical Performance: “Ur a Stranger”

Sketch: Eyes

A woman gets upset after her coworkers fail to notice a drastic change in her appearance.

• A second sketch for Michael Longfellow!

• Nice initial reveal of Sarah’s googly eyes. I still have no idea how they pulled this effect off.

• This is a…bizarre idea for a sketch, to say the least, but, man, Sarah is making it work.

• My biggest laugh came from Kenan entering the room, seeing Sarah’s eyes, and immediately leaving to go to church.

• I love Gleeson’s delivery of the line where he tells Sarah that the water cooler isn’t a person.

• Overall, Sarah somehow took a really dumb idea, and made it work. The best sketch in this entire episode, hands down.

Final thoughts: Call me surprised, this episode was better than I remembered. There were some duds here and there, but it was more consistent than last week. Brendan Gleeson brought some class to every sketch, and I’d love to see him host again.

Best sketches: Monologue, New Cast Ideas, Headshots, Marcello’s commentary, Eyes

Worst sketches: CNN Today, Blood Oath

Next review: Megan Thee Stallion

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.