Cold Opening – 95th Annual Christmas Awards
(HEG) & (BOY) present Christmas Awards for exceptional holiday foibles
- Are Bowen, Heidi and Ego going to be the hosts in every single one of these types of sketches? Guess I should be happy we are not getting a political cold open this time, considering the backlash over the last one.
- The whole bit with Mikey was more cute than funny to me. Actually, a lot of this sketch is more relatable humor than being actually funny, but it’s decent enough to work just fine.
- Ok, the Sarah/Devon acceptance speech being cut off by a worried Devon was pretty funny.
- As usual, fantastic vocals from Chloe Troast. I guess the writers are really happy getting a performer with such an incredible voice in the cast.
- Marcello isn’t even attempting a Mario Lopez impression. Then again, outside of James and maybe Devon, the male cast in general is very weak when it comes to impressions.
- An overall alright way to open the show.
Rating: ***
Monologue
KAM, KRW, MAR sing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” variant at SNL homecoming
- Wonderful visual of Kate standing on the homebase stage. I love her genuine happiness to be finally hosting the show.
- I’m enjoying Kate’s deadpan talk about what she’s doing since leaving SNL; her line about assembling a human personality was funny.
- Is Jim Parsons considered hot? Not to be mean or anything, but it felt bizarre seeing him next to actual hot stars, like Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. By the way, seeing that photo of Kate as Maggie Smith reminds me of how much I loved the Martin Freeman episode from season 40.
- The whole sequence with Kate singing while miming playing the tiny piano is so charming, yet with enough good jokes to not make it too cute.
- Maya & Kristen Wiig cameos? And Kate calling them old friends when they almost never shared any episodes? I full-on expected Aidy and Cecily to show up as soon as Kate said that, so it feels bizarre seeing these two instead of them.
- Ah, Kristen’s deadpan is always very funny and charming. Speaking of Kristen, she looks pretty unrecognizable here. I guess it is due to the new hair dye she’s sporting.
- I could’ve done it without these two cameos, but this was a harmless, warm monologue that contained enough jokes and funny moments to make it worthwhile.
Rating: ***1/2
North Pole News
disgruntled elf witness (KAM) describes orca attack on Santa’s workshop
- Wait, we’re getting a sequel to the classic sketch with Eddie Murphy, four seasons later?
- Fun performance from Kate as always; her vomiting turning out to be skittles gave me my biggest laugh of the episode so far.
- Typical Seiday laziness with the repetition of the social media reactions gag from the first instalment. Not even the Grinch joke worked for me; not helping it is the beyond overused Michael Jackson gif.
- Bowen Yang playing a typical Bowen Yang role I see. Long live our versatile star!
- Kate is the only thing keeping this sketch together; her whale hunting obsession is funny and she’s coming off a lot more energetic than the lethargy displayed by Mikey and (as always) Bowen.
Rating: *** (mostly for Kate’s performance)
Pongo!
at Christmas, (SRS) regrets buying creepy Pongo as artificial family pet
- Much like Chloe Troast singing in practically every single episode of her tenure so far (not that I complain), I assume JAJ is now the go-to for voiceovers from this current cast. Well-deserved, as he has been nothing short of strong in such a capacity so far.
- I get the strong feeling I’m in for a pretaped patented Sarah Sherman piece; pieces that I’m always a huge sucker for.
- I love the subtle darkness here as the commercial goes along with the seemingly perfect Pongo turning more and more creepy. The intentionally long sequence with Andrew trying to let Pongo give him a paw is hilarious.
- Nice seeing Kate blending in seamlessly into this commercial and she’s as funny and believable as ever playing old ladies.
- I love how much of a twist this piece is coming off. Instead of ending it with a commercial after a strong piece (like some segments last episode), it starts as typical commercial and goes through a different route.
- Sarah’s increasing terror throughout this commercial is excellent, especially the scene with Kate and Pongo peeking through the window towards her.
- Love the transition between Sarah in the hallway to her digging a hole to bury Pongo and especially Kate holding Sarah at shotgun point for Pongo.
- Solid ending with Pongo putting his paw on Sarah’s hand to change her opinion.
Rating: ****
ABBA Christmas
ABBA (BOY), (KAM), (KRW), (MAR) reworked their hits for a Christmas album
- Nice seeing James in another announcer role; he’s so perfect for these “glue” roles. I only wish the show would cast him a lot more often in them.
- Maya & Kristen, and then Bowen being Bowen and not even attempting much a different characterization as members of ABBA? In 2023 of all years? I’m seeing a big ol’ ham-off between the four performers already.
- James is holding this sketch so much and is the best thing in it. See SNL, this is your glue moving forward. If only the show would realize James’ versatility and talents a lot more often.
- Ugh, of course Kate and Kristen are smirking their way through this piece; it feels there’s something too “inside” us viewers back home are not aware of.
- At least Maya is committing completely here and is bringing her usual brand of professionalism, even as she’s going full-on Hammy Maya mode here.
- Ok, some of Maya’s facial expressions are cracking me in spite of myself, but this whole piece feels pulled straight out of the mid ‘00s SNL and feels, once again, too inside for me to fully enjoy. Solid use of JAJ, at least.
Rating: **
Gifts from Mom
self-critical mom (KAM) passes out Christmas gifts at family get-together
- Nice seeing lots of James so far tonight, even when his role here seems mostly non-comedic. I did love his response to Marcello calling him on a first name basis.
- This seems to be a variation of those seasons 45/46 sketches with Kate as a frustrated mom. I enjoyed those, especially the lovely one in the Will Ferrell-hosted episode from season 45.
- Loved the whole moment between James and Marcello after gifting the latter a book on how to pick up women. Nice seeing that James is actually getting more than just one funny moment here.
- The close-up to Kate as she tries her best not to apologize is too goofy, but Kate made it work for me.
- I do like the ending with Kate doing Chloe’s whole routine about needing the gift she’s given even when it’s an exact copy of the sweater she’s wearing; a nice full-circle way for this sketch to end on.
Rating: ***1/2
Tampon Farm
tampon farm is celebrated; Paula Pell & Greta Gerwig [real] cameos
- I’m sorry, but why are Maya and Kristen slowly taking over a Kate McKinnon-hosted episode? I sure hope Kate insisted on them being in this pretape, as they, while fine, feel jarring to see in an episode from this new era.
- An alright reveal of the song’s conceit being about a tampon farm. This is a decent oddball concept and it being presented in a folksy fashion is a good way of displaying it.
- At least we get cute Paula Pell and Greta Gerwig cameos. The latter making her second prataped cameo, after The Race pretape from season 43.
- The singing about tampons isn’t anything that funny, but this short is very well-shot, Kate’s performance is strong, and it is nice to see a mostly female-led short this season for a change.
Rating: ***
Musical Performance – “What I was Made For?”
- A very sweet visual of Greta Gerwig & Kate holding hands while introducing Billie’s musical performance.
Weekend Update
the holiday season is fun for rich auntie with no kids Veronda (EGN)
MIC torments COJ during Christmas joke swap again
- The Rudy Giuliani rant at the beginning made me realize we were thankfully spared the return of Kate’s Rudy. With that being said, there’s a cut seemingly deathly Newsmax sketch featuring Kate’s Rudy alongside JAJ’s Trump in some sort of a party or something. Not sad seeing that sketch cut.
- The Harvard president/Urkel punchline is so stupid, but seeing Colin, out of the whole cast, doing his famous catchphrase made me laugh.
- Ok, I loved the missing finger/Meghan Markle joke; my favorite of the jokes so far in this Update edition.
- Ego back at the desk for the second time this season. Ego’s desk pieces worked for me in the past, so I’m interested in where this one will go.
- As usual, Ego is coming off fantastic and relatable here. I especially like how her look in this desk piece is clearly inspired by those Real Housewives personalities.
- As this piece goes on, I’m enjoying it and finding some good moments here and there, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel too different from the pieces Ego did behind the desk in the past, and this is not certainly a bad thing – Ego realizing where her strengths are is a testament to her intelligence. It is to me a sign that we’ve probably seen all that Ego could do on the show by this point.
- Joke swap time! I know a lot of us are expecting Che and Jost to leave, but them having the joke swap tradition back and no news of them going out in press, makes it clear they are probably here till at least May.
- Ooh, I love the escalation to Che’s cruelty towards Colin with him bringing out a distinguished civil rights activist to witness Colin reading those racist jokes for the first time. This is going to be hilarious.
- While it feels tired seeing Colin reading offensive jokes by this point, due to how insanely long this era of Update has been going on, the break from doing this joke swap tradition is making the routine come off fresh again. Helping also that we are actually getting some hilarious jokes, such as the Dodo/Obama one.
- Colin trying to get a fist bump from the civil rights activist and her not being into it had me in stitches; this is hands down one of the standout funniest moments of the season so far.
- Ah, we are of course getting the obligatory Scarlett Johansson jokes; the alcohol drinking in theatres one was already very funny, but it was topped by that priceless Black Widow/Coretta Scott King joke; easily the best Update joke of the season for me.
- All-in-all, while this should (and could) be the end of this Update era, the joke swap routine here shows why this era has lasted for so long. These are some of the funniest jokes I’ve heard in a long while. An overall pretty strong Update.
Rating: ****
Boogie Woogie Santa
at office Yankee swap, (KET) picks boogying Santa over sickle cell cure
- Wow, this is Kenan’s very first appearance since his brief part in the cold opening. In fact, Kenan in general seems to be phased-out of the show this season. Seeing how solid he’s mostly been this year with the decreased airtime, I’m not complaining.
- The Boogie Woogie Santa initial reveal and song for some reason made me laugh out loud.
- Oh, I absolutely love the turn after Kate, emotionally and with background music to boot, gives Kenan the cure for Sickle Cell as a Christmas gift and then he casually swaps it with the Boogie Woogie Santa. Kenan is just perfect for this type of a moment.
- Such offbeat, creative, unique sketch concepts such as this and many others in prior episodes this season show why season 49 has been a lot better to me than the flop sweat pandering that was sadly heavily shoved down our throats back in season 48.
- Heh, the cue cards make a rare cameo (eighth screencap above).
- Great part with Andrew’s reaction to getting the Sickle Cell cure being dismay, as he doesn’t need it due to not having any black relatives.
- I love the escalation with Punkie swapping the tortilla blanket with the Boogie Woogie Santa, after she also delivers a dramatic monologue. This has been a quietly solid, consistent year for Punkie, though I always want more of her.
- I would’ve preferred a better ending, but everybody dancing to the Boogie Woogie Santa song oddly caps off this offbeat sketch in a way that feels fitting.
Rating: ****
Musical Performance – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Cinema Classics – Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me In St. Louis shoot traumatizes kid actress (KAM)
- The Kate McKinnon Nostalgia Tour surprisingly is just now beginning with the return of this staple from her tenure.
- Considering that fucking horrible Cinema Classics sketch with Will Forte, I’m going to get into this one with caution.
- Kenan’s pronunciation of his character’s surname is even funnier than usual, though his usually-funny wife joke isn’t as good this time, unfortunately.
- I do not know if I said this about her before, but it is very impressive how Chloe Troast is coming off like a veteran not even half a season into her tenure. Chloe has been displaying great versatility, likability and strength. It’s no wonder the show trusted her to the point of having her performing this sketch of Kate’s next to her.
- Chloe’s vocals remain amazing and she looks here absolutely from the Old Hollywood era. I guess this is another evidence of her versatility as a performer.
- Also, coming as a no surprise to anyone paying attention this season, Chloe’s vocal imitation of Judy Garland, both in speaking and singing, is very uncanny and impressive.
- Kate’s meltdown after being falsely told her dog died made me laugh out loud. Kate, much like Kenan, is one of the few who can still make me laugh when going hammy.
- James is as good in old-timey roles as always, though I hoped they would give him more to do here.
- This sketch is so stupid and repetitive but is making me laugh with its intentional repetitive nature. I can see some hating on this sketch, but the combination of sprinkled funny lines here and there (Kate’s “Wizard of Oz was mid!” line made me burst out laughing), Kate’s hilarious performance and the general pacing is making this work perfectly fine for me.
- The ending with Kate chainsawing the snow man, as blood spurts out on James made me laugh and ended this very silly sketch perfectly.
Rating: ***1/2
Whiskers R We
estranged mother (KAM) & daughter (musical guest) reunite
- The Kate McKinnon Nostalgia Tour continues with the return of this staple from her tenure.
- I was never that big on nor disliked this sketch, as it is mostly cute kittens and Kate goofing with the host. There’s usually charm in these that makes the scant material tolerable.
- Nice to see Billie starring in a sketch tonight; she’s a natural playing off Kate, as we saw when she hosted in season 47.
- I like the hints that Billie’s similarly-traited character is actually Kate’s estranged daughter from birth; this sketch’s turn this time fits the holidays.
- Aww, an actual cute ending between Kate and Billie.
Rating: ***
Cut For Time: Paperless Post
Paperless Post to take care of those who refuse to respond to you
- I’m not only surprised we are getting another cut piece so soon, but one that is hostless, as those could be used as emergency backup later in the season.
- Very solid commercial spokesman performance from Heidi. I think the only other time I can recall her playing such a role was in that great Wing Pit short from the previous season.
- Very funny concept with a company specializing in various ways to grab the attention of those ignoring your invitations, with any means available.
- Punkie’s whole part is excellent. I especially love her look as soon as the brick post crashes through the window behind her.
- The other products aren’t as funny and make this piece longer than needed, but the conclusion with James being attacked by wild dogs and his scream ended this decently for me.
- An overall solid piece.
Rating: ***1/2
Cut For Time: Weekend Update – Molly Kearney
MOK talks visiting their family during the holidays
- Unless I’m forgetting something, this is the first desk piece to be uploaded onto YouTube since the early season 47 desk pieces. It is also nice reviewing one by a severely underused cast member such as Molly.
- A good, fitting topic for Molly’s piece; they’re, as usual, coming off quite likable and relatable here.
- The clips and photos being shared aren’t anything too special or (from my experience) as bizarre as I excepted, but there’s some charm to be found.
- The ending with Molly drinking the milk was a solid way to end a decent desk piece that relied on their charm and relatability.
Rating: N/A (individual desk pieces are not rated by me)
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Boogie Woogie Santa
Weekend Update
Pongo!
Cinema Classics – Meet Me in St. Louis
Gifts from Mom
CFT: Paperless Post
Monologue
Whiskers R We
Tampon Farm
North Pole News
95th Annual Christmas Awards
ABBA Christmas
Final Thoughts:
- A pretty solid, consistent episode with barely any flops and enjoyable highlights throughout the night. A good way to end what’s been an overall strong first half of the season on. This episode didn’t sadly have the joyful, warm vibes the Austin Butler-hosted Christmas episode from last season had (which is the only thing the previous season did better than this much-better current one), but it was still quite enjoyable, and Kate McKinnon was a fun host who blended into the show once again and didn’t overshadow the cast. I’m also glad we didn’t get some of the worst elements of her run back this time, such as drag roles and tepid political impressions. I wouldn’t mind seeing Kate come back and host soon, which I’m sure she’ll do eventually. Also, adding to this episode, are the musical performance by Billie Eilish, as they were fantastic (particularly the second performance) and are near the very top of this season’s musical performances so far.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Jacob Elordi / Reneé Rapp is the lineup for January 20th, but first my season 44 reviews return, after a good while.
My Full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Excellent review as usual Blood! I agree that this was a fairly strong episode with plenty of highlights and a fun atmosphere.
I was not as hot on the North Pole News Report rehash as you. To me, it was just a pale imitation of the Eddie Murphy one and not nearly as funny. Kate did okay, but nothing that her character did was all that funny outside of the vomiting. Believe it or not though, I actually found Bowen fine in this. Maybe I need to rewatch it, but I thought he was actually fairly restrained which worked for me. He didn’t really have any funny moments, but as this point, I’m just glad to see Bowen reined in a little.
Pongo was another great patented Sarah piece and I LOVED Sarah’s acting in it. I really think this is one of her best performances so far. She was able to ride the line between frustrated straight man and unhinged psycho really really well. Perfect example of her versatility, which I think many people underrate.
While I fully understand your take on the ABBA sketch, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Yes, you can tell it was inside joke stuff and an excuse to ham it up, but for some reason it worked for me. Maybe it’s because I like ABBA, maybe it’s because of the holiday season, but regardless I thought it was okay enough.
Weekend Update was truly fantastic and easily the highlight of the whole episode. I was psyched to see Ego get another desk piece and she killed it once again. While I agree it wasn’t too different from other Ego pieces, she’s always great with these characters and this was no exception. The joke swap might have been the best one yet. I’m surprised that you didn’t mention how the civil rights activist wasn’t actually real! It was an actress that Michael gave a fake backstory to in order to mess with Colin. To me, that added yet another layer to the joke. Colin really stepped up his game on this one with the “y’all need Jesus” joke. Still, I think Michael just barely walked away with it with the Black Widow joke. Regardless, this was probably the closest Colin has ever come to beating Che.
I’m much much lower on the Cinema Classics sketch than you are. In fact, I think this is easily one of the worst sketches of the season so far. It was your typical hammy Kate performance, and while she can be hilarious in those type of roles, this wasn’t one of them imho. The blood spurting part was the only part that really made me laugh. Other than that, this felt awkward and aimless, especially when both of the takes ended, as it felt like they cut back to Kenan later than they should have. Chloe Troast at least looked lovely in this and her singing, as usual, was fantastic. Between this and the cold open, I’m a bit worried she’s becoming pigeonholed in these singing roles though, especially after the backlash from last week’s cold open. Hopefully, she’ll be given more chances to show her range, though even despite this, she’s already having a fantastic debut season.
It’s a shame that Paperless Post sketch was cut. Despite it not having Kate, I’d gladly swap the Cinema Classics or North Pole News Report sketches out for it. Heidi was great as the spokeswoman (one of her best performances this season) and Punkie’s role was hilarious.
All in all, this was a strong episode and, as you said, I’m glad the show mostly shied away from showcasing Kate’s more annoying tendencies as a cast member (aside from that wretched Cinema Classics sketch). She was a good host and blended in fairly well. Even though I could have done without Maya and Kristen’s cameos, they were fine enough and I’m glad Cecily and/or Aidy didn’t cameo as they would have completely overshadowed the whole episode and stolen Kate’s thunder. Billie Eilish was also a fantastic musical guest. I’m not a fan of hers in general, but she killed it in both performances and was fun in the Whiskers R We sketch.
While I don’t disagree with the order, much, I do diagree with the overall strength of the episode. I was pretty underwhelmed through out, apart form 3 or 4 exceptons.
The exceptions…
1. Weekend Update – It was strong, but I like how the joke swap has added a little prologue to each joke. The jokes seemed especially cutting this time round, a fair amount of righteous anger on Twitter.
2. The Boogie Woogie Santa Swap. The joke reveal was sweet. Didn’t see it coming, took a while to build to it. Great setup.
3. Billie. She and Kate have had great partner chemistry in the past, and the Whiskers R We worked well here, especially because of Billie playing perfectly of Kate. Also, I enjoyed both songs, and I don’t know that I knew the first song, but Billie has this was of making you think you’ve known the tune forever (See No Time to Die)
4. It was just 3. Sorry,
Kate had many highlights in her tenure at 8H, but it got to a point where SNL just thought that putting her in a sketch wold be a winner, without making it funny. Kate is at her best when she’s Weird. The Scottish Elf was a great character, but in a lazily written sketch. But the rest of the show felt way too Kent Sublettey. Didn’t pop with the energy of Adam Driver. Far too much Maya and Wiig.
Thanks as ever, Blood. Love reading your reviews. Have a great Holiday Period.
Have a great Holiday as well, Nic! Thanks as always for your comments and support; much appreciated.
Back from sleep deprivation of my new job to give a review the day after this episode!
I will say that this Kate hosted episode was thankfully the best of Kate during her tenure yet the worst half was the worst of Maya and Wiig.
I do wonder if Kate was hesitant to host to and asked for them to come in to help with her nerves in the monologue early on; only for them to influence the rewritings
This is just my observation; but in some irony, as shown in the Britney Spears sketch a few weeks bacm; other than the two Chloes, it seems that none of the female cast members are strong on impressions, either.
The Yankee Swap sketch is something that I think went for goofy surrealism (everyone liking the Boogie Woogie Santa) more than the potentially dark humor of people screwing Kenan out of the sickle cell cure, but I did appreciate that it took its time and told a coherent enough story. I give shit to Kate a lot for being a poor straight woman but she did perfectly fine here and allowed the other cast members to be funny.
Thanks as always.
I did not even realize Greta Gerwig was in the tampon pre-tape (I watched it twice and still found it very hazy, if nicely filmed). There are a number of sketches in this episode I needed a rewatch or two to connect with and was somewhat harsher about on first watch, like Pongo and Ego’s Update appearance.
I too enjoyed Billie’s performances, with “Have Yourself…” being my favorite of the season so far. She brings such a warmth to SNL that I appreciate.
I was surprised to see some claims that this was the worst cold open of the season. It was very genial at most (I think your comments say everything that needs to be said) but nowhere near the worst. The political takes that some cling to need to be broken away, and I’m glad that happened here, even if I’m not happy about the likely reason. I was somewhat dreading the inevitable Rudy appearance and I’m thrilled we didn’t get one. I appreciate that Kate avoided politics altogether because to me that was what marred her run and a big reason the midpart of her run is the most difficult to watch.
This is an episode I had a mixed opinion on, but it does seem to have gotten a positive reception from a number of fans who haven’t enjoyed recent episodes (I don’t mean Blood’s reviews). It reminds me of how important Kate still is to many fans as a touchstone.
I felt like the Maya and Kristen returns were part of that same comfort blanket aspect, but also an attempt to take the show back to where it was for fans who were so upset over the previous week’s cold open. I’m not sure if Aidy and Cecily just weren’t interested in returning (I seriously wonder if we will ever see Cecily on the show again), but the attempt to retrofit Kate, Maya and Kristen as being from the same era was very surreal. The only thing SNL loves more than its own history is rewriting its own history.
Have you noticed that almost no one (I have seen no comments along these lines but I am being cautious) was asking why Maya didn’t reprise her Kamala impression? Hard to believe the speed with which so many people, and the show itself, decided to just pretend that never happened.
I still wish Jost and Che had left but this was at least a fun way to close out what has been a very rocky first half of the season for the desk. They both seemed very checked in for that joke swap, and the inclusion of Hatty Davis was absolute brilliance, and a much more effective trolling of viewers than we often get from the show.
And for your last season 49 review for the year – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all your loyal readers.
Thanks so much John for your wonderful, detailed comments and reviews; greatly appreciate them. And Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to you and all reading these reviews of mine!
John. I’m genuinely curious, what other examples do you have of the show rewriting it’s history, besides this one? (Though I would’ve liked to see Cecily, and at least Aidy, as well).
I can’t speak for John, but some examples I can think of are–
a. Generally not willing to acknowledge any season from 1980-1986 aside from Eddie Murphy and a smattering of 84-85
b. Overemphasizing the contributions of a few people who became more famous post SNL (and are still “friends of the show”), Chris Rock is probably the one that jumps to mind
c. The subtle retconning to include 1979-1980 but not acknowledge that it was very different, cast-wise than the other original seasons
The opening was fine to me. It was obviously a sketch taken from later in the show, but that actually made it more palatable. It’s nice to see everyone at least get some chance to be funny, and for an awards sketch, it was fast paced enough. For a Christmas sketch, it was fine. I would 1000x times take that over a political thing or some pop culture du jour of the week. I was expecting more of a meta opening, but seeing how the monologue kind of did that anyway, that’s fine.
@Michael Cheyne Ah, okay. Yeah, I have noticed those things a lot. Very interesting.
I am not fans of Wiig or Bowen, and I love ABBA, So I’ll let you guess what my opinions are on that sketch.
Moving On; Pongo was pretty funny
Glad the Joke Swap was brought back.
Paperless Post should’ve aired. I’d have replaced Whiskers R We or the first Presents sketch.
One more thing, I wonder between Tweedle Dee Dot and Cinema Classics being brought back after long hiatus’ imply Kenan might be leaving soon?
@Justin That would too bad. He’s one of the few cast members I thought would stay through the 50th. But, oh well. Maybe it would give some wiggle room for some of the male cast members.
Someone got their eyebrows done before their big cameo…
Wait. Who, are you talking about, Carson? Lol
https://bloodsnlreviews.com/2023/12/17/december-16-2023-kate-mckinnon-billie-eilish-s48-e8/#jp-carousel-50217
So I had the interesting experience of watching the episode on the Global streaming platform, which cuts all pieces with music rights issues. That means I didn’t get to see the cold open, monologue and the Cinema Classics sketches on first watch (I have since watched the first two). I actually think those omissions may have effectively saved the episode for me. By kicking off with the North Pole News piece, I got to see Kate work hard to save middling material. She isn’t quite the force that Eddie Murphy is, but Kate gives that nothingburger of a sketch some professional verve, which I have to appreciate.
Likewise, the Gifts From Mom sketch gives us the best of Kate – concept and performance working in lockstep. I think I like Kate most when she’s playing people who are self-loathing. Not sure what that says about me, but Kate has always been able to hit those lines out of the park.
The gift exchange was a big surprise in that it allowed Kate to work in the straight man role. I think one of the benefits former cast members get to experience when they host is that they get to play a more dynamic range of roles. Kate’s semi-serious turn in this sketch was a great contrast for the silliness that ensued and also something new for the audience to see from Kate.
Hell, the ABBA thing was just giddy fun even if it was not much on paper (this episode seemed very high on song parodies for some reason). Kate’s performance was subdued next to her cameo compatriots. Maya, in particular, made a meal out of the sketch, which was, frankly, the correct approach. Look at me, not being annoyed by a Maya Rudolph cameo! (Reminder, I hadn’t seen the monologue until later).
Whiskers R We was, I think, the right sketch to re-hash. It was always light and joke-forward, which helped prevent it from bottoming out. Of everything that Kate did on the show, even if the ceiling wasn’t quite as high, these had the highest degree of repeatability. If we’re going to do nostalgia, this one was foolproof.
As for the rest, Pongo was another good Sherman showcase. Her acting is improving and Kate was utilized in a non-distracting way. I’m still waiting for a classic Sherman sketch, but there are certainly some worthy entries into her canon. This is one of them.
The tampon thing was a wash. I can’t tell if it was good or bad. It had a bunch of needless cameos and it was relatively short. It filled the time agreeably enough, I guess, but I’ll never think about it again.
Update was a hoot. Possibly their strongest joke swap yet. I find it funny that people are always trying to predict when castmembers are leaving or not. It’s such a odd, pointless endeavor. My wish is that everyone would leave after eight years. There are precious few castmembers who found a second life on SNL (Tim Meadows, Seth Meyers) and so many more who just kind of outstayed their welcome. But nobody ever really leaves anymore, so why keep anticipating it?
As for the pieces I missed the first time around. The cold open was pleasingly flaccid, a forgettable dinner mint of a sketch that does its level best to dodge the fake outrage from the previous week. Mission accomplished, I guess.
The monologue I hated more. Part of it is this season’s trend to grab bag ideas into a single monologue (the Chalamet episode being the most egregious example). The other thing is, of course, the cameos – particularly presenting the triumvirate of Kate, Kristen and Maya as some kind of group. I don’t really associate these people together. Why is this happening? The last thing, and the meanest thing (and why it was helpful to actually miss the monologue in my first viewing), is that I just. Don’t. Like. Kate McKinnon. Not the actress and comedian, but the person. It’s awful, I know. But when I see Kate as “Kate” all I see are tics and affectations. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt in that she acknowledges her struggles to be herself in the monologue. But it feels like every miniscule head movement and hand gesture just feels false and disingenuous and basically impossible for me to root for.
That said, you take that away and the show really mitigated the worst of Kate and highlighted why people (including me) fell in love with her in the first place. That’s a pretty major success, even if the episode didn’t yield an all-timer.
Forgot to mention on the ABBA parody…SCTV did the Swedish avant garde camera angle parody thing first…and best.
I was able to watch this episode for the first time today.
I wasn’t as high on this one as you were but I still think this episode was fine overall.
There were more subpar segments than I would’ve liked, and only two segments stood out as above average to me (Pongo and Update).
The segments I didn’t care for tonight had a theme where they had the “Christmas, jolly” vibe make up for the lack of comedy and/or good comedy. A perfect example is Gifts for Mom, which as my least favorite sketch from this episode. The whole joke with Kate putting down her own gifts wasn’t funny to me, but the sketch did have a “jolly, Christmas” vibe. Same can be said for Whiskers R We.
But I don’t think this episode is bad, there were still some okay stuff throughout the night. That stuff does make me consider this episode enjoyable, but I wanted it to be way better than it was.
One more thing, and this is just a nitpick. I wanted this episode to have a warm, cozy vibe like last year’s Christmas episode had, but that’s just a matter of my opinion and others can disagree.
Overall, a fine episode, but I wanted it to be better.
Rating: 5.8/10