Mid-Season Thoughts on the show:
- As usual, I’m going to list here a few of my thoughts regarding this season and some of the cast members.
- The cast member who’s been standing out to me the most this year has to be Andrew Dismukes, who’s been having an absolutely fantastic season – one so consistently strong from the beginning till this point. Having at least one great moment and/or a delightful oddball piece on a weekly basis. The season, as amazing it has been for him, is still a little below the phenomenal (and criminally underrated) year Andrew had last season, but I can definitely see it getting there by the March-to-May run of shows.
- After Andrew, I would say Heidi, JAJ and Ego come below him in terms of strong seasons. In the case of Heidi, that’s very refreshing, as she’s been quite hit-or-miss with me the two seasons prior to this season and it would be, if it continues to be this good, a great way to end her tenure.
- Ego is having a quietly strong season, despite much like Heidi, decreased airtime (though, much like Mikey, the show seems to be scared again of late & shoving the vets down our screens instead of natural phasing-out), especially a few desk pieces and quietly solid sketches, such as Think About It.
- As for JAJ, in my view the finest current cast member easily, he had a bit of a slow start with the first two episodes and the Michael Keaton episode, before having fantastic nights in the Ariana Grande and Bill Burr shows (not surprised both turned out to be the strongest shows in such a mediocre year thus far), before getting lost in the shuffle and beginning to hear his voice more than seeing him by the last two December shows. It is still as strong or a tad better a season for JAJ to me by this point in it as was the past season, which eventually turned out to be a fantastic season for him. Ideally, the show would soon utilize JAJ heavily the way they did the first two thirds of this past first half and let him shine again, in preparation for the potential exodus after this season from vets (where I would assume the gigantic 17 players cast would be reduced to 8 or 9 and most likely not passing 11 or 12 with new hires, seeing how much cost-cutting NBC been doing all over the place).
- The three newbies have been having typical newbie starts, though Ashley Padilla, after a slow start, has been an utterly delightful addition to the show. Ashley brings a real spark and quiet, actorly approach to her performances. In many ways, Ashley gives me strong Ana Gasteyer/Jan Hooks/Nora Dunn vibes in terms of both the type of roles she’s playing and how she plays them with layered, lived-in characterization. (And this is excluding the Joan Cusack/Laura Linney comparisons I and others made about her.) Ashley also has quiet confidence in her and a very comfortable and comforting presence in sketches. This is all very promising to me in a cast member, especially that the current female vets will most likely leave after this season, and we need a retooling of that side of the cast to a more memorable, versatile group.
- Emil also, despite mainly playing straight man roles, has been like Ashley, a comfortable, comforting presence in sketches. Frequent commenter Michael Cheyne mentioned both of them being able to play roles the more niche performers in this current cast cannot or will not play – a point I agree entirely with. I totally see Ashley & Emil bringing back the good, actorly chops the prior cast had that this overall more niche group of performers (which is a big reason this era has been a real auto-pilot) just do not possess, especially the S48 hires.
- As for Jane Wickline, I have said all that I need to say of her. She’s not working. The writers, unlike how they use her fellow rookies Ashley & Emil, don’t even bother casting her in their sketches, and her not being in anything of note in dress rehearsals tells me they see her as dud hire. The nepotism & ties seem to help her with the push behind the desk at least, but such things only get you to a certain place, unlike clicking with the writers and cast. I’ll be flabbergasted if she survives the budget cuts after this season ends, but SNL often kept its worst in the past.
- And finally, this season as a whole. A lot has been said of why this season of the show is coming off particularly lifeless and mediocre by so many, so many times. Even more so than the past two seasons, while uneven in themselves, still had highlights quite frequently that masked the auto-pilot mode of the show. Hell, even the more “positive” takes about this season just mention the bland nostalgia, the cameos, the “stars” we are supposed to feel “lucky” are hamming it up weekly, how it is going to “get better” or “could’ve been worse.” Accepting that this season is not for me moving forward, while trying to find highlights here and there to get me through it and hoping for an improved (and vastly different) SNL in S51 is for the best. With that said, knowing how the past two seasons had an up-and-down & good/solid halves, we might get an improved back half with this season, so we shall see.
Cold Open – MSNBC Special Report
MSNBC newcast is constantly interrupted by Trump-related news
- This reminds me of the Fox News cold opens the show did during the Kristen Wiig/Bill Hader years.
- The impressions here, so far, are nothing special, not funny nor that memorable. This just shows how very weak this cast (minus JAJ) are when it comes to impressions. They certainly cannot hold a candle to the Hader/Wiig cast nor the prior one – showing how very rough, bloated group of performers the show currently has.
- As much as I love him, Andrew is not a good fit for Chris Hayes. Where’s JAJ at?
- Sarah is also doing a weak Rachel Maddow. Makes me appreciate the dead-on ones by Abby Elliott and Cecily Strong even more. Another example of her limitations as a performer, despite the show clearly trying to make her a utility player before the trio of Heidi/Ego/Chloe leave most likely this coming May.
- My God, so far the writing is embarrassing, especially that DMX line. Way to ruin that classic hit for me, SNL. The cold open is also so far both sloppily-written and performed, particularly the awful lines given to Marcello as Ari Melber. This is another example of too many of how often the show just poorly uses this performer.
- The whole breaking news gag is fine, but the endless pop culture references in it is another example of how deathly online the show’s writing staff is, especially the awful, once again, parts with Marcello as Ari Melber.
- Chloe is actually one of the few good parts in this cold open, even when her playing sultry is a bit cliché, her parody of Stephanie Ruhle is cracking me up and is a rare fun impression from her in these latter years of her run.
- Sarah Sherman’s delivery is very sloppy, with an endless amount of line flubs. Not helping that the lines themselves are SNL’s usual tell-don’t-show dreck masquerading as political satire from recent decades.
- Ah, here’s JAJ playing Trump, as expected. And despite his fantastic impression, he is also given endless amount of pop culture references with Rizzler references and all, much like half of the lines written for this cold open. I did love his “too many people” line, which is so Trump-y that it’s funny. My first genuine laugh in this, besides being amused by Chloe as Ruhle.
- This ends up being JAJ’s only physical appearance tonight, not counting two instances of him doing voiceover work later tonight. Sigh. Lately, we have been hearing his voice more than actually seeing him. Considering the fantastic performer JAJ is, that just leaves me completely baffled. Hopefully, this is just a tough patch for him, airtime-wise, this season.
- Did we need Bowen playing George Santos once again? This makes the cold open even more bloated and messy than it is, with even more pop culture references.
- I am so tired by this group LFNY trend coming back. The last two seasons (especially the prior one) thankfully heavily cut them down. Not anymore, I guess.
- I actually felt this cold open had a promising concept behind it, but it had the usual bloated, endless runtime, way, way too many pop culture references, sloppy performances, and the show just seems, this season in general, unable to construct anything properly. Had this one been tighter-written and shorter by a few minutes, it probably would’ve been a harmless three stars cold open. Alas, the show just cannot construct anything cohesive anymore this season, without shoving down our throats as many references, confusing turns and filling the screen with as many performers as possible.
Rating: *1/2
Monologue
host talks Puffy parties, LA fires, Carter & Trump
- Considering how much I loved Dave’s previous monologues, I’m really excited going into this one most out of the many standup sets this season. While he is out-of-touch at times in recent years, I enjoyed his prior hosting stints and hope this holds true once more. This hosting stint, in the middle of a cultural shift caused by the Election, is more appropriate than having him host a few months back when feelings on both sides were understandably quite high.
- I am loving that Dave is in a suit and sitting on a stool so far – giving me vibes like I am watching Dave in a comedy club in NYC. Dave’s voice and delivery are both comfortable and comforting already, making me onboard with this set from the get-go.
- I am pretty sure the whole Lorne calling Dave to do the post-Election episode is true, and not just Dave doing a bit. The conversation itself is great, especially the excellent January 6th mention.
- I am loving Dave’s whole bit about doing jokes about Trump, the LA fires, and especially his wink about it.
- Loving Dave’s “that’s why I hate poor people” bit, especially how they can’t see past their pain. The whole “most expensive national disaster” portion and the comparison between LA and Mississippi burning and how vastly different the cost would be is great.
- Loved “how can you burn what’s already flaming” line about West Hollywood going scot-free from the fires as a response to “Sodomites” being punished by God for their lifestyle.
- Dave is a bit more sarcastic than usual in this set, but I am loving the chill vibes of the monologue so far. As I said, him sitting on the stool, smoking and having a good time, gives me the feeling of a comedy club special instead of an SNL standup set.
- We are now moving to the Trump portion of the set, and considering how great Dave is at tackling him, I’m excited.
- Loving the Haitians doing jobs Whites aren’t doing in Ohio while poor Whites being on drugs and sleeping on the streets. Dave always tackles the Ohio crisis in a fun way to me.
- Dave’s Puffy portion is fantastic, especially being caught in a RICO case by himself. I am also enjoying his imitation of his friends questioning why he wasn’t in any of those infamous parties and him realizing because he’s ugly and that’s why he is not invited to them.
- The random Carl Winslow from Family Matters being in those parties and Dave not line had me in stitches – Dave’s whole parties portion in general is completely killing me, especially when he shows us how he would act in those parties looking from afar (him stroking with that look is a hilarious visual).
- Dave’s Jimmy Carter portion is poignant and a wonderful tribute to a great man. Dave’s “the presidency is no place for petty people” line is also great, and his message to Trump is well-done and classy.
- All-in-all, yet another brilliant standup set from Dave. This felt more of a throwback to the Dave of the 2000s and early 2010s. The aforementioned warm vibes of Dave quietly sitting on the stool and smoking as he tells us both stories and jokes (always an outstanding storyteller) added to the special-feeling, comedy club, low-key vibes as well and were strangely comforting. Like some of my favorite standup sets on SNL, I know I’m going to love this even more on a rewatch.
Rating: *****
Immigrant Dad Talk Show 2
dads (host) & (MAH) have outdated perspectives
- Are we seriously bringing back this sketch from last season? This was overhyped and lazy the first time and I had my fill with these lazy talk show/show sketches SNL does. This so-called “era” really is pushing hard these recurring characters.
- I guess Marcello is our supposed star now, with him getting the leadoff sketch of the night, despite having nothing to show for it.
- I can see the slice-of-life vibes these sketches have, but Marcello’s OTT accent and delivery are harming this. Unlike those fantastic mom sketches with Pedro Pascal where he plays it low-key.
- I did get a good laugh from the black king line, at least.
- Mikey still looks dead in the eyes and the super tired routine of him reacting to others is even more tepid than usual.
- Dave is cracking me so much in this role, even when he’s playing basically himself. His lines aren’t anything special, but he is so damn funny naturally that it works.
- Ugh at the balls line from Marcello.
- Showing the utter laziness of this sequel, like almost all the “new” recurring characters of late, we now get the “outrageous” visual of both Mikey and Andrew kissing each other, complete with another “new” addition with Chloe as the mom. I have nothing against recurring characters/sketches in modern SNL, but do something new with them, not just reuse the first script without any changes or actual substance behind them.
- Poor, poor Devon Walker.
Rating: **
Evacuation Alert
dad’s (host) many secrets are revealed during LA fires evacuation
- Ah, considering the past sketch, I sure hope Ego Nwodim will give me the laughs I need.
- Another instance where we hear JAJ’s voice than actually seeing him. Sigh.
- Good relatable premise with a family having to evacuate due to the fires in LA. This is one where I definitely see the slice-of-life potential, which Dave and Ego are perfect for.
- A big laugh from Dave smashing the walls to get his hidden money. Ego’s straight man reactions to him are fantastic, as usual of her. Loving the premise of Dave hiding many items (and dark secrets) all around the house, to his family’s horror.
- At least this sketch is a better use of poor Devon than the prior sketch, even when having a black host is sadly a given it would give him airtime.
- LOL at the blood flying everywhere, which came out of nowhere.
- Holy shit at the “stick it in your cooch line.” Only Dave can get away with it. This sketch in general feels like a throwback to the typical brilliance on Chappelle’s Show. Practically every damn line so far is hilarious and very Chappelle-y.
- Even more blood squirting? I got a big laugh from it coming from the cute dog puppet, especially how Dave is showing too much experience opening the guts.
- Loving the unexplained recurring gag with Dave speaking different languages effortlessly.
- Great “should’ve stayed a lesbian like in college” line from Ego. One of those very Ego-y lines she always nails.
- Very fun sketch as a whole. One of the season’s best, with strong Chappelle’s Show vibes, too!
Rating: ****1/2
Musical Performance – “Yeah Glo!”
Weekend Update
MIL defends TikTok from impending US ban
the original Nosferatu (SAS) comments on the new movie
- I am loving the Trump riffing, especially the talks about his inauguration and absurd official portrait. The Vance portrait joke was also hilarious.
- Che’s Biden joke was fine, but I didn’t really need him to laugh through the punchline.
- I didn’t get the Dry January joke.
- Great Bill Clinton/semen joke from Che. One of his better moments this year. The jokes so far are some of the better ones this season of the desk for me.
- Ah, Michael! Nice to see this guy getting finally something to do. The audience’s response shows how loved he is – making me wish he got more airtime than he gets.
- Michael’s commentary being about TikTok is a good topic, especially that it fits his great deadpan style, unlike a certain other hire this season.
- Michael is cracking me the hell up so far, especially him admitting liking thick Latinas as counter-argument to TikTok stealing his information.
- As someone that never used TikTok (or Snapchat for that matter), I love Michael’s whole portion about how he cannot function without TikTok.
- An overall solid commentary from Michael, per usual
- That Shrek donkey/Diddy parties joke made me laugh more than it needed.
- The Hear Me Out segment being about Colin and AI-generated child porn is a better use of roasting him than tired mascots doing the same. Refreshing piece in fact and a throwback to Che & Jost’s better seasons behind the desk.
- Ugh at Sarah Sherman dressing up as Nosferatu. Pretty much doing her overdone cutesy mascot/roasting portion. I guess this so far-strong Update had to come to a screeching halt.
- Why is Sarah Sherman giggling through her commentary? I still remember when this cast member was impossible to break in the past, just as early as this season even.
- I don’t care for the black-and-white “gag” throughout this commentary. This whole desk piece feels like the type of overlong pieces Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig used to get in their latter seasons. This is somehow even worse than those. It is a shame how much this cast member has fallen on the show doing the most cutesy, audience-pandering humor when she started as so audience-testing and oddball. Oh well.
- When will this desk piece end?
- At least this Update ends on a classy note with links to donate for those affected by the LA fires.
- Despite the poor desk piece just now, I overall loved this Update. Strong jokes, fun “Hear Me Out” bit and a solid Michael Longfellow desk piece. One of the better Updates in an uneven year for the desk.
Rating: ****
Police Station
janitor (KET) gives tips to (DEW) during report
- What’s with the odd pause at the start of the sketch? Did Devon miss his cue?
- What’s with the odd (one more time…) use of Kenan, complete with closeups on him? I didn’t even think of him tonight till he showed up now. He is using a great character voice in this. I do not even recall him using said voice before.
- Bowen Yang is sitting here doing nothing till he just spoke now, doing his same exact delivery he always does.
- This sketch isn’t too bad so far, but something here isn’t clicking for me. I cannot really articulate what exactly.
- I got a big laugh from Kenan doing a fist gesture when Devon mentioned his missing girlfriend is black.
- Devon’s love relationship with the cue cards is so apparent here, but he is coming off fine and it is nice to see him getting some airtime tonight, considering how brutally underused he’s been.
- I didn’t care for the ending, and something about this whole sketch didn’t click for me, but I overall liked it, despite my bitching.
Rating: ***
Musical Performance – “WATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” & “LET HER COOK”
Pop The Balloon
Silky (host) & Beautiful (Donnell Rawlings) attend YouTube dating show
- Ego looks breathtaking in this piece already. Jane & Ashley (where were they tonight?) look gorgeous as well.
- A really fun ensemble piece for the girls in the cast and Ego’s leadership is always best to handle such pieces. Between this and that great evacuation sketch, nice to see Ego used and used well tonight.
- Great character voice from Devon. A big night for him in fact. Ashley is also very funny in her interactions with him.
- Hilarious brief part with Kenan. Jane struggling to pop the balloon was also priceless.
- The recurring gag with the balloons popping up is pretty funny.
- Silky! Beautiful! Great to see these classic characters back! I see that Dave & Donnell still got it to this day as their lines are hilarious as well as their general demeanor.
- The usual fantastic character work and delivery from Dave. Just watching his portion here makes me miss watching his brilliant sketch show years ago, when I became a huge comedy buff.
- A great “I don’t do traffic. I take helicopters, bitch!” line from Dave’s Silky.
- A nice way to have GloRilla in a piece. She is fitting easily in this. I really loved her interaction with Dave’s Silky, especially him handing her another balloon to pop.
- Fun ending with Donnell showing up playing Ashy Larry! Yet another fun throwback to my days watching these characters and laughing my ass off at their antics.
- Considering the sad streak of weak pretapes of late, glad to see a genuinely fun, funny and energetic piece to end the night. To be honest, surprised this wasn’t post-monologue, with Dave reprising one of his classic characters and Donnell coming back.
Rating: ****
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Monologue
Evacuation Alert
Pop The Balloon
Weekend Update
Police Station
Immigrant Dad Talk Show 2
MSNBC Special Report
Final Thoughts:
- As expected with a Dave Chappelle-hosted episode, this was an overall fairly enjoyable effort. Besides two segments (including the usual awful cold open), there was a good number of standout, fun segments, which is a great palate cleanser in a season with barely anything getting a rating above ***1/2 from me. This episode easily had some of the better pieces of the entire season and while the Chappelle’s Show vibes of Dave’s first & third episodes weren’t sadly as prominent this time around (and those vibes were in the three best segments of the night – wonder why?), his comfortable, comforting presence and always fun performances helped make this episode easily one of the entire season’s best.
- If I would rank this episode in comparison to Dave’s prior episodes, I would rank it last, although it remains fairly solid. With his S42 episode at the top, followed by the S48 show and then this one a tad below his S46 episode. (Fellow SNL reviewer Carson’s brilliant review of said episode made me come around it even more than before and appreciate its writing which I dismissed unfairly in my early reviews on this site.) The cast use tonight, besides JAJ barely being on and Emil sadly shut out, wasn’t too bad as well, though a certain cast member’s overlong, self-indulgent desk piece could’ve been cut to get one more segment on the air, but I guess that’s asking too much. I imagine with next week, hopefully the usage would return to be better than usual of late.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Coming to host for the third time, Timothée Chalamet pulls double duty, the first time in decades from a non-musician host.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Cold Open: ***
Monologue: ****1/2
Immigrant Dad Talk Show: ***1/2
Evacuation Alert: ****
Weekend Update: ***1/2
Police Station: ***1/2
Pop The Balloon: **1/2
Yeah, this was a weird one. There were only SEVEN segments, which is insane. There was only 1 pretape and that was the last thing of the night. Half of the cast just didn’t appear at all. So yeah, this was really weird.
But quality wise, it was fairly solid, but without a doubt a step down from Dave’s previous hosting stints.
I actually liked the cold open. It also helps that it’s the first political sketch in a long while that felt like it had a genuine conceit to it, and stuck with it. I got enough laughs from it, and Chloe was really good here.
To be honest, I was worried about the monologue. But it was great, particularly the Snitch-face bit which was HILARIOUS.
I actually loved the first installment of Immigrant Dad Talk Show, so I’m happy it was brought back. It helps that they waited a long time to bring it back, and also Dave brought some more fun energy here. But the Mikey dad thing was literally COPY PASTE from the first sketch. Couldn’t they think of something new? Chloe’s walk on as the mom did give me a good laugh, and well as Dave’s comment on the whole dynamic. But it doesn’t justify the laziness.
Evacuation Alert was FUCKING INSANE, but I thought it was great. Dave’s performance here was hilarious, so much so that Ego briefly broke.
The first half of Update was pretty fun, and Longfellow FINALLY got something to do. If I’m remembering correctly, this is his first showcase since the Waterslide sketch way back in OCTOBER. That is insane. Fun commentary from him as expected, it was fairly short and sweet.
The random “Hear Me Out” segment was crazy, but it made me die laughing in how insane and unexpected it was.
The first 30-45 seconds of Sarah’s commentary has me worried that I was gonna watch something ABYSMAL. But it thankfully wasn’t that bad. It still wasn’t good, but the general “Nosferatu” theme helped it. Also, Colin doing the Nosferatu pose was hilarious.
This Police sketch feels like the first thing Devon has done all season, he’s been VERY invisible so far this season. Hopefully he has a better second half. I really liked this sketch, it was very simple, borderlining on thin. But Kenan REALLY sells this one. It also helps that Devon and Kenan have great chemistry here. It makes me wish for more sketches with them teamed up.
Pop the Balloon was the only misstep of the night. It started off rough, with them basically just recreating one of these videos on YouTube, with no real jokes. I got a couple laughs from some of the walk-ons, but there was really NOTHING. Then Dave walked on with Donnell Rawlings and that’s when it got a LOT better. Apparently this is one of Dave’s characters from Chappelle Show, but I didn’t know that as I’ve never seen that show. But Dave was hilarious here and basically saved the sketch.
Overall, an interesting episode. Yeah thats basically it. Dave was his usual hilarious self.
I’m excited for Timothée to be back already. Him and Nate Bargatze might be in the middle of Mulaney-ing themselves to the 5 timers club. Who knows?
7.0/10
As always, another wonderful review from you Blood! Always look forward to your reviews and appreciate the work you put into them.
This episode was overall a nice palate cleanser from the beyond lazy and awful Martin Short episode. Dave always seems to bring creative and unique ideas to the show whenever he hosts, and this episode was another example of it. I loved how bonkers and over the top Evacuation Alert was. This kind of daring, dark, and crazy sketch feels oddly out of place in this era of pop culture pandering and security blankets, but it worked very well. I also loved how it didn’t fall into typical Seiday overexplaining the joke. Ego was a terrific straight man especially and this is one of her best moments this season easily.
Pop the Balloon was a great way to bring back some of the Chappelle’s Show characters. Dave and the rest of the gang have still got it and their characterizations and delivery were still as hilarious as ever. Great usage of the female cast as well and a fun way to end the show.
I can see your critiques of Police Station and, while it wasn’t a great sketch and the premise was rather thin, it was serviceable enough and Kenan’s facial expressions and characterization were a hoot. Odd that Dave was nowhere in sight, but this sketch was still decent enough even if it was nothing to write home about.
Update (barring one segment I’ll talk about later on) was very strong. It’s crazy how up and down Che and Jost have been this year, but this had a very solid and savage string of jokes that reminded me, once again, of just how strong these two can be at their best. I still think it’s beyond time for them to move on, but when I see stuff like this, I’m reminded of how, in a certain way, I’ll miss these two. Longfellow’s piece was terrific. His dry, sarcastic delivery was absolutely perfect and honestly helped elevate what was (on paper), a thin premise. He may not have the greatest range, but what he can do, he does very well. Another solid winner from him.
And then…there’s Sarah’s piece. Sigh. I have, in private conversations with you, defended her time and again and, while acknowledging that she has lost her edge, still see her as having value as a cast member. But this might very well have been the worst thing she’s done on the show (and yes, I’m including Waiters in that). I honestly have NEVER seen a cast member who is so closely tied their identity up with another fellow cast member. This roasting Colin routine has not just run it’s course, the horse has been beaten, buried, bombed, and nuked time and again. We GET IT. Colin is a racist, sexist pig who pervs on all the women and has a small penis. How many times are we gonna keep going to this well? Why has Sarah gotten SO lazy as to just ape the same routine of “wacky costume + roasting Colin” over and over and over and OVER again? She’s honestly become as bad as Bowen with the whole “wacky costume + sassy gay guy” routine he does on Update. All of the punchlines in this were predictable as hell and the constant mugging with the B&W camera was very annoying as was her constant giggling. What on Earth is she gonna do when Colin leaves? She has NO identity on Update now apart from roasting him. It’s honestly pathetic to watch.
Okay, sorry for the rant there, but it just so sad and depressing to watch a likable, fun, and very oddball (at one time at least) cast member spin her wheels again and again through a routine that stopped being funny ages ago. She can and has done SO much better than this.
Okay, sorry, I’m done now.
Anyways, despite that segment, the typical confused, muddled and pop culture pandering mess that was the cold open, and that boring listless Immigrant Dad Show retread (Marcello putting on a Hispanic accent and yelling…never seen that before!), this was a pretty good and enjoyable episode. Great monologue (if a little long), mostly solid sketches, decent cast usage (happy Devon finally got something to do), overall I’m happy. I’d hope that this marks the beginning of a turnaround for this season, but I know better. At least Timothée should be a game and committed host.
Great to have you back Blood! I love your reviews and always look forward to them.
I don’t what is going on with James Austin Johnson. He’s been shut out from the past three shows, and it’s such a bummer. You have a Phil Hartman level talent, and you’re not using him. To be fair, tonight was not a good night for cast usage, which is my biggest problem with Dave’s monologues. I enjoy them but not at the expense of cast airtime. Hopefully he gets more to do with Timmy next week.
As for Sarah, I am always a defender of her, but I did not like this Nosferatu segment at all. Nosferatu seems like a perfect fit for Sarah’s style, so to see it wasted on another Jost roast is frustrating. Her commentary on the Keaton episode is the last time it worked and that’s because the writing was more gross out humour with a few pot shots at Jost. Maybe Jost leaving will be the best thing for Sarah, as this seems like a crutch for her to get more airtime.
Very glad to see your reviews again. Happy New Year.
There’s so much I could say about that cold open, but you did a much better and more concise job of explaining just how bad it was. Going into a new episode, and a whole new (or new/old) era politically, the last thing you want to see with SNL is them shaking with visible terror at the thought of actually having a point of view. I’m still convinced they just padded out the old Cricket Wireless pre-tape. Seeing Sarah so visibly frightened that she missed line after line was not a great sign for the future. And while I have a great deal of respect for Ego, she reminded me very little of Joy Reid, who is ripe for parody. If the show didn’t want to go there, they should have just left the impression out and had Ashley on as Jen Psaki.
Sarah has a general warmth which allows me to still appreciate her presence in a way I can’t with the likes of Marcello, but when I watched the endless Nosferatu piece, I just kept thinking is this really what she joined SNL for? Is this the best anyone can come up with for her? I liked a few parts (mainly the B&W shots and the way Colin’s reaction to her saying his penis was out was realizing that his penis actually was out), but what a lot of nothing. Update should have just been kept to Michael (not fantastic but very good, and comfortable, unlike Michael’s last solo desk appearance), although I will take Sarah over that Marcello/Jane tedium that was cut at dress and will probably be back next week.
One of the aspects of Chappelle’s return I was hoping for was his bringing back sketches with a clear structure, and luckily, that’s what happened. If I remove the Marcello egofest, the sketches all worked well, with the LA fires sketch definitely qualifying for a season best. I appreciate you articulating some of why the Kenan and Devon sketch didn’t work for you. I liked it but something did not entirely click, and you get that across. The pop the balloon sketch could have easily gone haywire, bringing back memories of stuff like the NBA bubble sketch from the 46 premiere, but they mostly got it over, helped by the sheer fun and panache with Dave and Donnell.
The Marcello egofest is a great reminder of just how one-note recurring characters on modern SNL tend to be – there’s so much more that can be said here, especially with immigration raids likely starting in a few days, but instead we just had an even hackier take on ‘lol white people’ with Andrew and a completely exhausted Mikey than we had the first time. And as you said, Marcello does not have the right delivery for these types of pieces, because everything always has to be “on.”
I would be curious to what the 8 minute dress rehearsal monologue was but I did appreciate much of Dave’s monologue – the Diddy party jokes were genuinely very funny and a number of the comments about Jimmy Carter or Springfield were heartfelt without seeming cloying. He did seem to try to avoid controversy. You might say that’s a bare minimum, but Bill Burr just showed how easy it can be to step on rakes and overshadow the rest of your night. I could do without wishing Trump well, but I would take it over more of the ‘resistance’ which ultimately became about posturing.
I’m glad you’re always taking time in your reviews to ring the bells about JAJ, because I still don’t believe SNL appreciates his once-in-a-generation talents. When Trump won, JAJ wasn’t my first thought, but I did dread how much he would box JAJ in. And sadly that has been what we’ve gotten. Bowen moving him out of the cold open because his tired impression that was last relevant a year ago is easier for the show was demoralizing, as was him getting the Chris Parnell treatment of fleeting voiceover roles. JAJ deserves better than this show.
Finally, I love David Lynch, I miss him dearly, but his getting a card when he never appeared on SNL (even if there are a lot of SNL/Twin Peaks connections) while Bob Uecker, who HOSTED an episode, got no mention, sums up so much wrong with the revisionist and trend-based sense of history Lorne tends to have.
Bang on John. HATED that there was no card for Uecker.
Great review Blood, largely followed my general feelings about the episode as a whole.
I think you really nailed it on the cold open. I was initially pleased that it at least was operating with an overriding conceit (the dreaded Carson “at least it’s a functioning sketch” half-praise), but then the thread began to unravel. First, the performances stunk (Sherman is not a utility player). Then the jokes floundered (or at least Marcello’s bit). And finally they pivoted away from the core foundation of the sketch, undoing anything that was good about it. It was about 2/3s a nominally well-constructed sketch and I don’t ever really hate JAJ’s Trump impression, but the show’s lack of belief in delivering even a marginal piece of political satire probably earned it the pan. Ride with the concept you came with.
For the monologue…I am simultaneously not a Chappelle guy and also bordering on being a Chappelle apologist. His indulgences are grating (the whole Lenny Bruce posture), but he’s undeniably very very good at cultural critique that is also funny. This monologue went a good distance toward shutting up his very vocal haters. And John is right, if you step out of line in your monologue, it can fuck up the rest of the show. The Bill Burr episode is probably the best of the season, but that can’t be acknowledged because his monologue put people off so much. Anyway, Chappelle sat on a stool and went long, but at no point was I bored and his pleas for understanding were thematically consistent and avoided the naivety of his first monologue. I found his 2022 monologue funnier, but understand that he would want to avoid that shitstorm. I think on the whole, this might have been his best work.
And then Marcello does his thing! To be fair, I actually think Chappelle’s involvement spiced things up and I know we’re all worried about Devon’s screentime (except for tonight), but that walk on was great. The rest? Yeah. Lot of yelling Marcello. Dude doesn’t even have, like, a FUNNY yell. It’s not explosive like Farley’s or ironic like Ferrell’s. It’s just…a guy yelling.
The Fire Evacuation was a bit of a wild ride and I agree that I could see the argument that it is the best of the season (not for me, but yes, I see it). You don’t really see a lot of pieces that get that wild anymore and I admire the energy. Also, the performances were all terrific. Well done.
Update was a good indication that Che-Jost can meet the moment. Blood highlighted everything that worked well, with “Hear Me Out” being an especially fun piece. Also love seeing Longfellow. He really has a connection with the audience. I generally feel very assured when he’s on the screen.
But the thing that really makes Update sing? Costumes! Am I right, people??? Listen, the Sarah makes fun of Colin thing is a running bit. An unchanging one. Each iteration sort of pretends that it’s its own thing, but it really isn’t. Like Stefon. Like What’s Up With That? The joy in this thing is in the new ways it executes the same joke. Sometimes we like these things (Stefon) and sometimes we loathe it (Garth and Kat) and sometimes I alone dislike something (What’s Up With That?), but we can’t deny that these are just different forms of the same kind of indulgence. I think there’s the added weird thing of SO MANY Update pieces having to involve elaborate costumes (Yes Sarah, yes Bowen, but Michael too) and that feels so laborious it kind of hurts my brain. But the thing I try to figure out is why some repeated things work for me and other don’t. I think this Sarah bit has some juice in it thanks to the quality of the jokes at Colin’s expense, but the attempts make it something more reek of strain. This one possibly strained harder than every one before it. It will only get worse from here.
The cop sketch was good, fine, fun. A serviceable piece of work with Kenan putting in a fine fine performance. I liked what it was going for and I think it largely hit its target without really being a bullseye.
Pop The Balloon was an effective way to scratch some Chappelle Show nostalgia. I liked it well enough and I feel a little bit fortunate I saw a reference to the actual show on my socials just a couple days before watching the sketch.
Anyways, like all Chappelle episodes, the way too monologue kind of gave everything an odd pacing, but somehow I still think it flowed better than the Mulaney episode. The monologue was worth it, Update was generally strong and Fire Evacuation was a blast. That’s probably enough for what I would say is a definitively strong Season 50 episode.
Yeah, I can tell Dave didn’t want controversy with the monologue this time (though I still loved his S48 monologue and completely stand with that review), and agreed that a monologue controversy could overshadow a whole episode, like what happened with the strong & creative Bill Burr episode (another monologue I loved). And it cannot be said enough how tired I am regarding those voicing “outrage” over jokes on a silly sketch comedy show. Dave might’ve played it safe here, but I genuinely had great time watching him tell stories and felt he tied up so many of these topics together and ended it all in a great way that didn’t feel cloying or shoehorned.
Episodes like this, Burr and Shane last season is why I would love it if the show books more standups who aren’t celebrity-friendly, bland and can contribute to the show with their unique voice. (I know many liked that Bargatze show more than me, but again, I still stand with that review as well.) All those shows were very well-written and took chances. I definitely see all three coming back (Shane hopefully this season if possible), and would love other standups with real edge to host.
I’d be interested in what it would look like to have Shane return with the heat dialed back a bit.
And you’re right to stand by your Season 48 Chappelle monologue review. It’s a very funny monologue.
I could be wrong, but I think this episode holds the record for least amount of sketches/segments.
Yeah, I do not think you are wrong at all here, Doug. I can only think, off the top of my head, of very few other episodes with slightly higher number of sketches than this, including Dave’s prior show, a few S4-5 episodes and the recent John Mulaney show. Thankfully, most of the sketches were great and made it work, despite the low number of them.
This episode did air on NBC at the 10pm ET hour.
Edits: Immigrant Dad Talk Show 2 and Police Station were cut, alongside the 2 Update correspondents.
In fact, the Evacuation sketch was the only sketch they aired in the hour-long edit.