November 9, 2024 – Bill Burr / Mk.gee (S50 E6)

Cold Opening – A Message from the Saturday Night Live Cast

cast pretends they’ve been supportive of President-elect Trump all along

• Already from the start of this, I can tell this could be a “somber” cold opening, about how “we’re all in this together” and such. I sure hope it is a fakeout at the start. As that tone is so patronizing, out-of-touch with the rest of the country and just plain unfunny.
• I got a big laugh from the turn, after an intentionally-somber start about President-elect Trump’s return to the White House, with the revelation that the cast have always been supportive of him. The lines from the cast are good, though the audience is not as much into the cold open as I expected. I am laughing though.
• OK, the audience is now more lively as Colin, in a rare sketch appearance, is being his usual very funny self speaking of the “lamestream media” and how it covered Trump.
• A nice way to include the newbies into the cold open.
• Very funny appearance of a now-jacked Trump, with JAJ keeping up his hot streak this season, which is adding nicely to the silly, self-deprecating feel of the cold open.
• This solid cold opening comes to a halt as we get Dana taking over another impression from Mikey: Elon Musk. I heard some fans showing concerns the show might be scared of parodying the mogul, but I guess this answers said concerns.
• A good turn with YMCA leading into the LFNY.

Rating: ***1/2

Monologue

host talks Trump victory, women in politics, Shaq

• Not only is it awesome to get two standup sets back-to-back, by two of my favorite comedians working today, but that we didn’t get You Know Who as the “voice of wisdom” after an election, for reasons I don’t need to share. Burr, with his usual style, is the perfect choice to tear into both sides post-Election.
• The part about people not wearing shoelaces on airplanes and the evil pharmaceutical companies is solid, in a typical funny & relatable Bill Burr fashion.
• This monologue is priceless so far. Bill is having me in stitches in every turn. A much better way to address the Election to both sides, instead of those patronizing, self-absorbed “monologues” the late-night hosts made after the President-elect’s victory. Looking into the mirror a hard, long look, opening the light in your room and seeing how vastly different it is, and in turn, large swaths of this country is, and thus, how it votes, is better than throwing around all sorts of isms, assumptions and conspiracies about why we are now in this place (and this is the last time I’ll get this political in my reviews).
• The whole women losing against Trump part is having me howling! Bill’s whole bit about “enough with the pantsuit” is practically having me on the floor by now. I know some might find the crass turn here, with “whore it up” line offensive, but I am finding it funny, especially as Bill is relating it to rural voters the Dems consistently lost to Trump these past few elections.
• The audience isn’t giving this standup set the love it deserves, which is about what happened the first time when Bill hosted, but I’m loving this, even more than his first.
• Bill is making strong points about both sides and addressing the reality of what happened, and in a clever, solid way, instead of going the bland, emotional appeal. Bill’s talk about how people cannot even decide between two very polar opposite candidates is well-done (and in this part you can tell he isn’t on the Trump side), especially his talk about Trump’s failed assassination attempt. This part is thankfully getting the audience into the set, especially the very funny McDonald’s jokes and the very solid Grinch comparison.
• I can tell, like the Shane Gillis and Dave Chappelle monologues the past two seasons, this will be divisive (as Burr often is), but I overall loved this. Got my share of laughs and found a lot of it to be very funny. And, like I said before: the more a comedian steers away from my own ethos in their comedy and still makes me laugh, like these three monologues did, the more I enjoy them.

Rating: ****

Rorschach Test

fighter (host) sees crude imagery during Rorschach Test

• Heidi always has that warmth and maturity in these “Glue” roles she’s been consistently cast in ever since Season 48. With this probably being her final season, I feel she’s been a criminally underrated utility player these past few seasons.
• Each time I see JAJ in one of these “Glue” roles I just get flashbacks to late ‘80s SNL or even the OG Era. He even looks like Dan a bit in that mustache and wig.
• Nice way to use two of our newer players, and Emil, much like Ashley, has been a rather comforting presence in sketches already.
• As someone fascinated with the Rorschach Test, I am already interested in this sketch, even when I can tell it’ll get crass, per usual of SNL of late.
• OK, I admit getting a big laugh from the visual of Mike Wazowski wearing THAT. Bill’s explanation of the visual is priceless, especially how Mike is presenting himself during the night.
• This sketch’s getting a bit repetitive, though Heidi (continuing a quietly solid year) and Bill are making it work for me. The whole wife from Up part made me laugh especially.

Rating: ***

Buffalo Wild Wings

Bostonian (host) gets angry during Buffalo Wild Wings shoot

• Nice to see the return of this Bostonian character of Bill’s from his first episode. And, while a typical Bill Burr moment, I freakin’ howled at his initial angered reaction to the game.
• Good detail with Heidi wearing a Chiefs costume, considering she’s from KC and a massive fan of the team.
• Love Bill’s talk about how he “brings tension” in the house and thus watching the game in a bar, him interrupting the commercial in the background was also solid.
• Love the turn with Bill and Mikey beating each other up, especially the “Real Patriots Fans” disclaimer.

Rating: ****

The Best Of Snake Skin

Snake Skin (AND), (JAJ), (SAS) Greatest Hits are all about sex

• Emil Wakim has been in every single sketch so far into tonight’s episode. He is coming off his very likable self in this already.
• Awesome to see another JAJMukes sketch! They always do a killer job together, especially doing yet another musical-based piece. A great addition of Sarah, too. The first time all three been paired together.
• The sudden musical performance was pretty awesome, especially loving the vocals from Sarah and Andrew – JAJ’s finishing vocals on the first track gave me a big laugh.
• A good laugh from Emil’s “that sucked” line.
• Wow, that second vocal performance by JAJ was freakin’ fantastic! He’s easily one of the best singers the show had in ages. Is there anything this guy cannot do?!
• Bill’s been somewhat stumbly with his lines so far into the sketch, but the parts with him and Emil are likable and performed decently.
• Sarah’s bug-eyed expression during her high notes is killing me. Great little character detail from her.
• I am loving all these 80’s references in these songs, while remaining very catchy and fun, especially the famed Berlin Wall quote turning about asking a girl to tear her panties up.
• An overall very fun, solid sketch. JAJ & Andrew were especially fantastic in this. These two, with Sarah, are the future of SNL.

Rating: ****

The Janitor

janitor’s genius (MAL) gets overshadowed by barf

• Wow, there’s Emil once again tonight. Pretty dope to see a newbie doing so well so early into his run.
• Cool to see Michael getting good airtime in this piece, considering the rare big showing he had last week. He’s fitting well into the show’s new, refreshing approach to shorts this season.
• I imagine this soundtrack is not from SNL. It sounds like the typical great, emotional soundtrack you’d hear from James Horner back in the years when he was alive.
• Very funny part with Andrew interrupting Michael’s solving of the equation by pointing out the barf he was sent to actually clean. Andrew going loud always makes me laugh – he’s having a great season in general.
• Very solid dramatic acting from Bowen throughout the short, instead of playing a predictable over-the-top role. This short is a good example of the strengths Bowen has as a performer, even when he at times doesn’t seem to utilize them more often.
• Solid escalation with the constant reactions towards the barf on the floor.
• JAJ, keeping his strong season and episode, is doing an absolutely flawless imitation of Robin Williams. I said it before, but outside of his Trump, I don’t think JAJ gets enough credit for being such a strong impressionist in general. Between JAJ’s performance here and Beppo (doing also that impressive robotic voice), nice to see this season keeping JAJ’s great streak in delivering standout pretaped performances.
• The recreation of the classic Good Will Hunting scene with JAJ is excellent and he brings both warmth and subtle menace in the context of this short.
• Loved the whole bit with JAJ, especially as we realize he’s been living in the closet and was the one who barfed on the carpet. Him running and tripping from his barf was priceless. A solid way to end this short as a whole

Rating: ***1/2

Calling Dad

parents (host) & (KET) mistake emotional phone calls for trivial matters

• Wow, a slice-of-life sketch? And in this day and age? my 70s/80s SNL lover is living in heaven by now.
• Nice to see Devon showing some of his underrated dramatic chops in a piece, especially when talking with his character’s dad, as played wonderfully by Kenan. Kenan’s emotional turn mistaking his son’s call asking about him to have him speaking about the football game emotionally is hilarious.
• A hilarious part with Bill’s character immediately shutting the phone in the face of his son. This hits with me, as my mom often shuts the phone in my face and others just after a quick exchange. This makes me laugh and kinda making me miss my mom at the moment TBH. (She’s fine, you guys, don’t worry.)
• I can tell Kenan is cracking up as we switch between his scenes to Andrew/Bill, but it isn’t really distracting from the sketch or anything.
• The contrast between the Eagles game and the cars between Kenan and Bill are very funny and well-done, especially Bill’s line about their cars getting together and going to Ireland to see their ancestors.
• An overall perfect slice-of-life sketch. One that combined emotions and genuine silliness effortlessly. This will easily be one of my favorite sketches of this season by its end.

Rating: *****

Musical Performance – “ROCKMAN”

Weekend Update

COJ & MIC talk Trump victory, Kamala Harris, Dems

Woman Who Can’t Find Something in Her Purse (EGN) is too distracted

Willie (KET) offers his thoughts on the 2024 Election

• Despite my frustrations with this Update era of late, I can tell this post-Election edition of the desk will deliver strongly.
• Strong start from Colin already, especially the opening about Dems not actually rigging elections, Trump being a GTA character and the part about the Dems probably running Biden again in 2028. The latter was not only funny, but sadly is something I won’t be shocked if Dems do.
• Loved Colin’s whole bit about VP-elect Vance not being a real Catholic, due to not surviving being an altar boy, where we get a great self-deprecating joke from Colin about disguising himself as a lesbian.
• Heh, I see Che is already drinking in this edition of the desk. The R. Kelly mention was funnier than it had any right to be, especially that it didn’t go desperate.
• Nice to see another Ego Nwodim desk piece, considering her decreased airtime this season in general. Her constantly searching her purse, calling Colin girl and general demeanor is already making me laugh.
• The usual strong Ego Nwodim performance, though Colin is a bit of a flat straight man towards her. Ego’s performance in general is keeping me laughing consistently, especially loving the dark-humored parts with the dead fish and the ballot (from Pennsylvania) being in the purse.
• A good, funny turn with what Ego’s searching being a smaller purse inside the purse. Loved how Ego also ended her desk piece, making her 2-for-2 so far into the season with solid desk pieces.
• A great Dunkin’ divorce joke from Colin. Being followed by a so-dumb-but-funny Glad-Dicked joke.
• Very funny joke from Che about officers finding out which one of them sent the racist text messages to black and brown students. Not even it was ruined by Che’s typical “reacting” to the crowd. The Diddy prison joke following was no slouch either.
• This Update is on absolute fire so far. Easily some of the best jokes & commentary in quite a long while. That AOL joke is a standout in particular.
• Willie! Kenan is having a strong showing tonight between this desk piece and the slice-of-life gem preceding it.
• The contrast between Willie’s cheerful delivery and the darkness of his jokes is as fantastic as always, and Kenan is so damn good at this type of a role.
• The usual strong dark humor from Willie, with some of my favorites the whole Hide-and-Seek part, the Lorne bit and the priceless genes/drop your jeans wordplay.
• An overall very strong edition of the desk. Strong jokes, commentaries and some of my favorite moments since probably a few seasons back with these two.

Rating: ****1/2

Bald Guys

bald men sing joyfully about their baldness

• Like many vets, Mikey barely feels in this season so far. I’m assuming it is a subtle phasing-out of him and other vets in the cast, while the likes of JAJ, Andrew and Sarah are being utilized even more. And, it goes without saying, seeing Mikey and Sarah paired as a couple is so surreal for reasons I do not need to address
• Right from the get-go, I’m getting a strong early ‘80s feel from this sketch. Not just SNL’s Ebersol era, but also Fridays. In fact, strangely, this sketch feels like the typical brilliance that show used to churn out, such as the classic monks sketch.
• The oddball visual of everyone in the restaurant being bald is hilarious, especially as the sketch now gets musical. Bowen especially looks hilarious in that wig.
• Nice seeing lots of JAJ singing this season. He’s one of the show’s best singers in a long time.
• Love the visual of the overhead shot of Bill, which reminds me of the memorable visual from the Beautiful Boys sketch from last season’s finale (side-by-side comparison below):

• This sketch is freakin hilarious! Not only very funny, but also silly, strangely endearing and a blast to watch – the JAJ/Bowen singing part with the visual of various bald celebs is a classic. The recurring “bum bum bum” part is also so fun and catchy.
• Michael is cracking me up so much as the bald monk, even when it’s really a silent role.
• And we are out! I just loved this piece so, so much as short-and-sweet as it was. Not only a fun throwback to classic times in sketch comedy, but a genuinely silly, well-written and performed piece of absurdist humor. Like my other favorite sketches of late (including that slice-of-life gem earlier in the night), I know this one will have such a tremendous replay value for me in the future.

Rating: *****

Trauma Support Group

traumatized (BOY) cannot share his trauma well

• There’s Emil and JAJ once again tonight. This is easily the biggest night both cast members had, especially JAJ showing tons of range, stabilizing presence and stellar “Glue” qualities, keeping up his strong year in general.
• This era seems to love doing so many of these group meeting sketches. Between this, AA Meeting and People Pleaser Support Group, amongst others.
• Bill is cracking me up as the typical support group leader, especially his dead-on imitation of how they typically speak.
• The portions with Jane Wickline in them in my copy of the episode are clearly taken from dress (side-by-side comparison below):

• I assume they felt she delivered her lines better in dress, which seems to be quite an issue with Jane, compared to how effortlessly Emil and Ashley fit into live sketches. (Credit goes to Shawn for the live version screencap above.)
• Ashley Padilla’s natural resemblance to Nancy Walls is coming off really noticeable to me in this sketch. She also kinda resembles Laura Linney strangely.
• Bowen’s faux-dramatic delivery is perfect for such a sketch. His typical style of performance fits this sketch so well.
• Strong delivery and performance from Ashley, and despite being a newbie, she isn’t even looking at the cue cards and coming off a complete natural.
• Ashley breaking Bowen with her scream is hilarious and easily one of the standout funniest moments from this episode and season. And really raised an already-good sketch to a higher tier.
• A very endearing visual of Bowen cracking up after the sketch ended. He’s been having some really solid moments in tonight’s episode (and season).

Rating: ***

Musical Performance – “Alesis”

I Got One

Linda (ASP) isn’t good at telling jokes

• Finally, after a few invisible weeks, Ashley Padilla gets her first major solo showcase. Considering all the glowing things I’ve heard about Ashley from her Groundlings years, I’m excited to see her in this.
• Very good, layered character work from Ashley, much like how she was so convincing playing Michael Keaton’s wife two episodes ago. Between this sketch and the standout, hilarious moment she had in the prior one, Ashley is having a strong showing and it is about damn time frankly.
• I have seen some Joan Cusack comparisons towards Ashley in this sketch in particular, and yeah, I definitely am getting those vibes from her, and that’s a promising thing for a newbie to give off. (Reminds me of the Phil/Dan vibes JAJ gave me years ago, and seeing the so-far amazing tenure he’s had, they’ve been proven correct with his output in both lead and support work.)
• I can clearly tell this piece is from Ashley’s Groundlings work, seeing some of her very few sketches online. Like her other roles, Ashley is showing some strong acting, especially considering this is a silly, dumb sketch comedy show we are talking about.
• Ashley’s awkward jokes, with them being long-winded, starting also with “four gorgeous dogs” is pretty funny, with good disturbing undertones to them.
• Strong turn with Ashley giving up on the dinner and wanting to leave, her asking Bill why he is even with her is great.
• The turn with the rest of the attendants saying the punchline to Ashley’s long-winded joke to her was solid. Impressive first showing for Ashley Padilla and cannot wait to see more of what she’s capeable of.

Rating: ***1/2

Goodnights

• Wow, I just noticed Chloe wasn’t in any sketches tonight. That’s a big surprise. I imagine all sketches that had her got cut after dress.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Bald Guys

Calling Dad

Weekend Update

The Best Of Snake Skin

Monologue

Buffalo Wild Wings

I Got One

A Message from the Saturday Night Live Cast

The Janitor

Rorschach Test

Trauma Support Group

Final Thoughts:

• A very strong episode. One of the best in quite some time (and certainly of this so-far average season). Some really inspired, original pieces tonight – being silly, solid and creative, with a few killer, season’s best material (which is a breath of fresh air, considering the many OK/average sketches the past few shows) and a great host in Bill Burr. This episode was also helped by what seems to be a trend this season: great musical performances, this time by Mk.gee.
• So much of this episode felt “on” with the aforementioned writing, Burr’s monologue, standout cast moments and Update. A fitting return to the show post-election, in a way that doesn’t really pander to any side. And, while I can see those expecting a security blanket episode, with their “favorites” all over the night from the show post-election being disappointed, the daring, inspired path this episode took is what I want SNL to be more of. Not only in the upcoming Trump 2.0 era, but in general. This is a very strong return to form for SNL this season and I had a blast watching & reviewing this episode.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• Continuing the season’s killer set of hosts and musical guests, this time in both: Charli XCX will both host and perform music on November 16.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here