Cold Opening – Trump Making Calls
President Trump (JAJ) catches up with friends & cabinet
- Been quite a while since Ashley last played Karoline Leavitt. I always love this impression of hers.
- A meta comment about Ashley playing all the women in his cabinet. While maybe funny on paper, it is a sad reminder of how poor/limited most of the other women in the cast are next to Ashley Padilla.
- This cold open’s format reminds me of those awful Trumpwin (shudder) cold opens, complete with phone calls and split screens. JAJ is doing his best to elevate this as always, however. Not sure if it is working for me as much as I want it to.
- This whole Kenan portion as Tiger Woods was utterly forgettable. Just a checking name off a list moment. I thought we moved on from these Trumpwin-style cold opens?
- The obligatory appearance of Chloe’s Melania.
- Hmm, not sure if it is the live format or her not doing the voice in months, but Chloe’s Melania voice isn’t as dead-on as it was in White House Makeover. I’m probably also spoiled by Emma Sidi’s strong take on the UK counterpart hours before this episode aired.
- A dull cold open so far. The performances are fine, but this take on the week’s news is so…. dull. Uninspired. I’m not expecting some incredible cold opens as most are written just the day of the show, but change up the format once in a while.
- And now Colin gets a big applause break for showing up as Hegseth? Am I watching an 80s sitcom?
- Sick and tired of this impression and its frat boy routine. It started off amusing enough, but it has now, in typical SNL fashion, run into the ground.
- Ugh at the whole lame rapping part. I know it is supposed to be corny, but it makes no sense in this era of Trump opens.
- Are they going to let Colin say the LFNY every single time he is in a cold open nowadays? I’m not a fan of that.
- An overall poor cold open. Felt like a leftover from season 44 or something.
Rating: **
Monologue
host gets the vibes going
- Colman is coming off as likable and comfortable as expected.
- Typical standard host jokes, but Colman is so damn charismatic he is making them come off better than they are.
- The whole “getting a vibe” premise is alright, not what I expected, but Colman feels ideal for it.
- Interesting they are using Jeremy in this and not a “star” cast member. His mogging of the camera cracked me up.
- Feels rare to see writers in the monologue nowadays, with Ceara O’Sullivan being the one Colman speaks to.
- Not sure what to make of those two extras making out. Guess it works with the vibes.
Rating: ***
Fashion District Robbery
poorly-dressed criminal is wanted
- Feels rare seeing JAJ playing this type of anchor, as he often plays sports anchors.
- Colman is very fun and solid as expected in this role. I especially love all the details he is adding to his oddball character.
- I’m not exactly into this sketch, as a queer person myself, most of these types of sketches just aren’t for me, despite how damn good Colman is in this role. Maybe because I was never a fan of designing shows where you would see characters like Colman’s.
- The interludes with Mikey…. not sure what the hell that was about.
- Ashley is a solid straight man as expected.
- This sketch is really going far longer than it needed. Colman has some funny slams, but some are more miss than hit. No need for this sketch to be as long as it is.
- I never understood the hype with crocs. They both never looked good nor comfortable to wear.
- An actual funny ending with JAJ wearing a costume similar to Colman’s.
Rating: **1/2
Uneek Kutz Barbershop
black barbershop is alternative therapy to marital problems
- Not exactly a unique or promising premise for a pretaped commercial. With that said, I can see some sweet slice-of-life potential in this.
- Seeing Ben and Tommy in this, you would think they wrote this, but it is apparently Che & Tart. Not shocked the former had a hand in this, with the messy feeling so far.
- Mikey is, unsurprisingly, out of place in this. No idea why they had him instead of a JAJ or an Andrew. He looks like Ben & Tommy’s dad instead of being in their age group.
- Colman is fantastic in this short. He sounds so unrecognizable and showing tons of charisma.
- Ugh at the whole gay accusations part with Ben. Sick and tired of the queerbaiting & pandering with this performer.
- No idea why we are supposed to not like Tommy’s hairstyle in this. He looks perfectly fine to me.
- Kam/Kenan/Colman are likable in their barbershop portions, adding to the slice-of-life feeling, but his whole thing feels messy, especially the random shooting outside of the barbershop. The hell was that all about?
Rating: **1/2
Artemis II
crew members disrupt live feed with antics
- Continuing those 2018 vibes (gotta love this new era, amirite?), we now get a remake of that Steve Carell sketch.
- While I have been positive enough on him, I’m very tired with the amount of Mikey Day in tonight’s episode already. And now we are getting a “duo” between him and Marcello? Who is half his age? Will this man ever leave?
- This is a very tired Seiday format with the interruption of a normal event. Between this and the dull, formulaic pieces prior to it, it really sheds light at the dated, poorly structured writing of the show by now. Not to say a word about the cast use which really fell off through this back half.
- They are absolutely wasting Colman in this sketch. However, showing how damn good he is, he is making his straight man role convincing and avoiding the typical Seiday tropes.
- I guess those into “duos” and would suck up anything Mikey or Marcello would do, will eat this up. But, this is standard Seiday, complete with Mikey screaming and hamming it up for what feels like the billionth sketch this season. Just formulaic, dull, lazy sketch writing that has been done to death by this point.
- Now we get a “grossout” moment with Mikey’s giant booger. Yep, this sketch was written for kindergarten kids. Hope they enjoy it.
- A poor use of Colman Domingo’s talents, overall.
Rating: *1/2
The Knowledge Hour
Henry Debris (host) breaks down after furniture gag doesn’t work
- Ah, this seems to be an actual showcase of Colman’s talents.
- This is a spot-on recreation of these science shows. Gets me back to my childhood memories.
- A good laugh from the reveal of Ben as a table.
- The way Colman is handling this sketch is amazing. Just effortlessly cool and with tons of charisma.
- I really love the constant “what if I told you”-s from Colman that get more and more ridiculous.
- A great visual of all the props people leaving the set after Colman just gives up.
- Loving how Colman is getting loose and speaking about his lost love, complete with lighting a cigarette.
- The addition of Andrew as the missing councilman is very funny, especially how he and Colman are speaking to each other in “what if I told you”-s, complete with touching music.
- A sweet turn with Colman and Andrew getting together.
- An overall very solid sketch. A strong first hit for the night.
Rating: ****1/2
Musical Performance – “Choka Choka”
Weekend Update
Two Kids from the Back of the Bus (MAH) & (KAP) fight and chat
Gen-Z sexpert (JAW) clearly didn’t have sex
- Rough jokes starting this edition of the desk.
- SNL continues to remind us who the “stars” are tonight, as we now get a desk piece that was cut ages ago back.
- I can see a slice-of-life potential in this, as a teacher myself, I recognize these archetypes well, but this execution, as usual of this era, is playing for cheap seats (as usual, too, of Marcello), and is loud without much to back it up.
- Says so much they brought a desk piece from a month ago, for “stars” Kam and Marcello instead of showcasing some of those who barely showed up on Update this season (too many of this cast). It is clear the desk has been basically for pets and the rest can… fuck off I guess? I am sure those craving “energy” and “duos” are loving this.
- Now, with the show’s desperation and complete lack of trust in new male hires, they’re involving Colin Jost in this desk piece, as often has been the case of late. With all those hyping up a “new era” this season, gaslighting any criticism of the show and cast, why then would they bother hire more younger talent and not bother using them almost ever? For example, Veronika has yet to appear so far tonight and I am certain several others barely showed up besides brief moments.
- A lot of poor jokes this week. Considering that I’ve enjoyed the desk these past few months, I hope they are not in a slump.
- Considering that I liked the prior desk piece Jane did, and that she’s been on a winning streak with me for months, I hope I like this commentary. This edition of the desk is also in dire need for laughs.
- Really fun interplay with Jane and Che, much like last time. I also really like her delivery. She is doing a spot-on job imitating those public educators.
- I got a huge laugh from the “no raping” rule about sex.
- Sad seeing this much-better, less formulaic desk piece getting on after a string of dull jokes and ham-and-scream desk piece earlier on. Jane has been such a consistent highlight through this back half. Her growth has been tremendous.
Rating: **
Grandpa’s Wake’s
deceased grandfather was a loyal customer
- Ashley & Marcello have been all over this episode so far. Ashley mainly in playing utility roles and Marcello… Well…
- Kenan showing up as a pimp is a sure laugh getter in a prior season or two, but here it feels tired.
- Oh, love that raspy New York accent Veronika is using. She sounds like a cartoon character here; very unrecognizable.
- I can tell the whole Veronika moment with the grandpa was supposed to be a “whoo!”-type, but it felt just as awkward and off-putting as it would be in real-life.
- I hope Colman will get this sketch back on track. I love that pimp look on him.
- OK, sadly, Colman couldn’t help this much. He at least was committed, but again, the material wasn’t there.
- An unfunny and off-putting sketch so far. No real escalation here. And, while I’m no prude, this whole premise is genuinely uncomfortable to me. I’m all in for doing any type of humor, making fun of everything, but the writing is severely lacking here, despite decent work by most (I ain’t buying Marcelo as a straight man, but he isn’t exactly derailing this).
- Another aspect that is off-putting (boy, have I been using this word a lot in this review) to me in this sketch is the whole “hazing” of Jeremy with him constantly belittled and insulted while Marcello’s looks are praised. I notice some meta commentary in there, more of SNL being “clever” I guess. It ain’t funny, done with a newbie or a veteran.
- We now get another Colin Jost walk-on to an applause break while most of the men in cast sit backstage. Delightful.
- Overall: as you can tell by my review, this whole thing was just not for me. I am not sure if it deserves a dreaded one-star rating, but I did not enjoy this. Once again: purely off-putting.
Rating: *1/2
Musical Performance – “Várias Quejas”
Prep School
math teacher (host) advocates an alternative teaching method
- Ah, this looks like a Dead Poets Society parody. One of my favorite films of all-time.
- Colman has been so fantastic tonight that even his mere entrance into the sketch gets a laugh.
- Marcello’s giddy reaction regarding throwing his pencil is hilarious.
- I love the reveal that this class is a math class instead of a poetry or English one.
- Colman’s faux-philosophical treatment of the classroom, while being pushed back from Andrew in particular is solid. I can tell this sketch is written by new writers, I believe McFadden/Gay/Flodman, and it shows.
- Andrew is a solid straight man with all of his befuddled reactions to Colman’s math talk. I love the aforementioned film, but this is doing a great job making fun of it.
- Kenan randomly showing up as the janitor is pretty funny. Colman’s demand someone buys him a beer is hilarious.
- Kam’s whole attraction to the number 8 is priceless.
- The whole ending with Kenan was an OK way to end this whole thing. Solid, fun sketch.
Rating: ****
Beastomorphs
girl (SAS) remains in half-beast mode
- This opening sequence is an absolutely dead-on recreation of these types of teen sci-fi/fantasy shows.
- Tommy’s general style and looks fit perfectly into this sketch’s period setting. The guy looks uncanny to those late ‘80s/early ‘90s TV heartthrobs. By the way, nice to see him used decently of late. He always has such a sincere, likable presence, much like fellow newbie Jeremy.
- A laugh from Sarah remaining in half transformation. I really like the visual effects on her.
- Oh, God. This whole thing leading to a farting gag? Seriously? This must have cost a fortune with the effects and all, and this is the best you got? I’m not even sure if this is a Sarah piece, but she is beyond wasted in such a role, despite her decent performance.
- I love Veronika’s cheesy acting and postures to the camera.
- Feels odd to say, but I’m kinda distracted by how good Tommy looks in this.
- A dull back-and-forth between the characters.
- I admit I got a laugh from Colman’s “it smells like shit in here!” His great delivery helped there.
- An interesting turn, I guess, with Colman’s character interest in Sarah’s. Otherwise, this was just forgettable.
- While I appreciated what this short was going for, Sarah’s performance and the rest of the performers, the result was a poorer version than what I am sure who wrote this thought they made. I appreciate the attempt once more.
Rating: **1/2
Cut For Time: Jack Harlow on His New Album
Jack Harlow (BEM) talks new album
- John: Thank you to Blood Meridian for kindly letting me review this cut piece.
- Very fitting for this season that Che starts laughing before the commentary even begins.
- I remember looking forward to Ben’s Update debut, which feels like a million years ago, only to find it unfocused and underwhelming.
- I suppose it tells you that SNL doesn’t see Jack Harlow as a returning host or musical guest if they are willing to make fun of him, even if this isn’t very tough stuff.
- I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but Ben reminds me of Andy Samberg’s Jack Johnson impression. The biggest difference is that Andy had more screen presence.
- The part about why the album is called Monica is very strained.
- I did like the joke that R&B stands for Raised Near But Not With Black People.
- There’s not much to say here. This certainly isn’t bad – I would have included it over the “star” piece with Marcello endlessly mugging and shouting and Kam…being there – but that’s the best I can say. I don’t exactly want to see a show which has a long history of racism and is currently the most regressive and culturally irrelevant it has been in many years trying to take a moral high ground on Jack Harlow, but if you’re going to try for a commentary along these lines, at least try harder.
- If Tommy, who is basically an amiable standup, had been playing Jack Harlow, I think I’d take more time to praise him, but given Ben’s years in improv, I come away feeling, as I have so often this season, that he should be better than he is.
- The funniest part of this commentary is that from what various articles have said, Jack’s aunt saw this and thought it was actually him. I’d like to see her join the show. They need all the help they can get.
Rating: **
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
The Knowledge Hour
Prep School
Monologue
Fashion District Robbery
Uneek Cutz Barbershop
Beastomorphs
Trump Making Calls
Weekend Update
Artemis II
Grandpa’s Wake
Final Thoughts:
- It feels hard for me to assess this episode, considering how much I loved Colman Domingo as host and how likable, energetic and game he was in all of his roles tonight. But, when looking back on it more critically, unfortunately, a lot of the material tonight was poor. Much like the last episode. The poor writing structure was exposed badly, even more than usual, especially due to the lack of enough strong highs to mask it properly. I wasn’t also crazy about the Mikey/Marcello “duo” being pushed down our throats and the less said about the usual cycle of the same old guests behind the desk, the better. The writing of late…. just fucking terrible. No better way to put it, honestly.
- Colman Domingo was simply a delightful host. Far better than the show is, and while I still feel they wasted him in a few roles, the segments he was front-and-center in, he nailed. In particular I loved two of the sketches as shown above. It is only the writing at fault here with the problems I had with this episode, as Colman was easily one of the season’s strongest hosts, if not its best.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
liked the Science show sketch and Dead Poets Parody but that was about it. And both of those could have been better with some trimming and tighter writing
Tons of Mikey tonight
Colin in the funeral sketch was… something I guess. Very random
we close with a farting sketch. Crowd was pretty quiet for this
at least Jane has improved
This episode was…honestly just another episode. Not any different from most of what we got tonight. There’s not really much to say that hasn’t already been said in this review. It’s just a damn shame that there are still the same four senior cast members every season. Like, ever since Cecily’s mid-season departure in S48, these guys have consistently refused to leave, while at the same time, the show is perfectly fine firing anyone promising. It’s like the show thinks good is bad and bad is good. Eh, whatever. At least Colman was good.
Also, why would they do a pretape spoofing a 90s show that I’m sure most people who watch this show haven’t heard of? I guess I’m lucky I’ve heard of it.
Great review as always Blood!!
Colman Domingo was a fantastic host and elevated everything he was in. He might be my fave of the season. Comfortable, charismatic, and committed. I hope they invite him back. It’s too bad the writing did not meet his talent. A lot of sophomoric and lame humour throughout. The two pieces with Andrew were my fave and I feel like he had a hand in writing them and you can tell Domingo enjoyed the silly and surreal vibe of both of these sketches. More Andrew please.
I did enjoy the barbershop sketch though. I think again because of Colman’s performance mostly.
I hated the cold open. Just lazy, and by the numbers. I usually am fine with the Trump opens but what the hell was that? They clearly had nothing.
The animorphs sketch was so disappointing! I thought they were going to let Sarah cook again and instead it’s all a stupid fart joke. Uggghhh. Veronika was excellent in her role though.
Also I know you don’t have time to review SNL UK but how are you liking it? I admit I enjoy it more than SNL US. Feels more fresh and willing to take chances. It’s not perfect as SNL rarely ever is but God I wish SNL US would take notes.
“Also I know you don’t have time to review SNL UK but how are you liking it?”
Oh, I’ve been LOVING it. Truth be told, while this SNL era of the show has been pretty mediocre in general, the fresh, unique UK version, as sadly expected, makes the quality pale even more in comparison.
The past two episodes have been a bit shakier than the impressive consistency of the first two (Dornan’s I thought was fantastic), they still had more good than bad. More experimentation, interesting sketch concepts, a VARIETY of material, you know. Overall, it’s been a winner so far.
The standouts, for me, in order, have been: George, Emma and Annabel. George in particular just leaves constantly in an utter state of awe with his voices and impressions, his impeccable delivery and charisma. He is like a mix of Dan Aykroyd and the Pythons, which is obviously a HUGE compliment. Helps that show, unlike here, seems to realize who their best are and constantly use them the most.
Thanks as always for your comments and support. Much appreciated.
While I can’t any of your points are really *wrong*, I did enjoy this episode a lot more than you. As you correctly pointed out, Colman was a superb host, and there was a fun, silly vibe to most of the sketches. Even the formulaic ones–like the astronaut sketch and the fashion school sketch–at least to me, had a nice amount of energy and fun moments (and were buoyed by Colman’s good work).
The best sketches to me were the science PBS show and the Dead Poets Society parody–as you said, these were creative, well performed, and very funny.
I have two points of disagreement (well, one is more of a thought I’m not sure you really expressed, but I’m sure you agree to some extent). First, I thought this episode was actually rather good on cast usage–Veronika was barely used, which was annoying, but I don’t know the context and she’s had episodes where she was on a ton. But this episode really had a lot of Kam, Jeremy, Tommy, Jane, and, to be honest, Marcello used reasonably well. The funeral sketch–while not exactly A+ comedy (and the ending brought back bad memories of S20 by using that newspaper gag)–was not really off-putting to me. The “hazing” of Jeremy felt like the same sort of gags every cast member gets from time to time (Taran, who was good looking, got this all the time, as does Sarah). Jost showing up, while dumb, didn’t to me freeze out any male cast members, who were all over the rest of the episode.
Secondly, the episode really exposed the lack of both diverse and strong female cast members. I’ve grown to like more of them–Jane’s really cooking lately, Veronika has been great, and Ashley has been a MVP (although struggling to avoid samey-ness due to overuse). But aside from Ashley, almost all female cast members are vaguely “niche” type performers (Jane/Sarah/Veronika) or, er, bad (Chloe). You pointed this out in the review, and I agree, but I think they also really need a more diverse presence or two–there were sketches that just obviously needed such faces, a role that in the past would have easily been played by Ego (or while not “racially diverse,” more varied performers like Aidy or Heidi).
You didn’t really like the last two episodes and found them disappointing. I agreed last week, even though I liked it slightly better than you, but this week, in spite of the problems, I found it pretty enjoyable and an easy watch. I do think they need to solve some problems by easing out the older faces, bringing in fresh and diverse blood, and escaping the traps.
I missed last week’s episode owing to tech issues so I felt I had to atone for it by watching this one live. I think I walked away from it with a higher impression than you did. Not a great episode, but an adequate/slightly above average one. That’s not saying much, but given how shaky this overall era is, I’ll take it.
I too absolutely LOVED The Knowledge Hour and consider it to be another terrific absurdist gem this season. One thing I love about these types of sketches is that you’re never truly sure what’s going to happen next or where they’re going to go. Dan Bulla and Martin Herlihy’s short films are in the same vein. Colman was FANTASTIC in this (easily his best performance of the night) and came off as a total pro. He even handled that flub with the clock with such ease that I actually thought it was part of the script at first.
Prep School was also a lot of fun and it was great to see Dismukes front and center. He can be rather hit and miss as a straight man, but he was great here and was a perfect counterpart to Colman’s eccentric teacher character (another terrific performance from him btw).
And now the differences. I’ll go to bat a bit for the Beastomorphs sketch. Yes, it was juvenile and crude, but the dead on look and feel of the short along with the performances was enough to overcome the shortcomings for me. Fart and shit jokes aren’t usually my brand of humor, but as with any type of humor, they can be done well. This wasn’t any kind of a masterpiece, but the juxtaposition of the humor with the earnestness of the performances worked for me.
Likewise, the Black Barber sketch was your typical SNL pretape where you get the premise within 10 seconds and it goes pretty much how you expect. But predictableness and messiness aside, I enjoyed it for what it was. Not a winner, and not a sketch I’ll remember in a month, but a pleasant distraction.
Aside from that AWFUL Kam and Marcello piece (I’ve seriously run out of ways to express how much I’m done with the latter), I found Update to pretty solid. Jane’s piece was great, continuing her remarkable rise, and I found the jokes to mostly be solid and have a nice edge.
And now for the bad: WAY too much Marcello, Mikey, and Jost for my liking. I saw a comment on the sub that struck me about Mikey, basically wondering if he’s having some sort of midlife crisis. I don’t know if he is, but it’s coming across that way on screen, between all of his pairings with the youthful cast members pretending like he’s still one of them and all the “how do you do, fellow kids” vibes with his appearances in stuff like the Fashion District Robbery sketch.
I’ve officially reached total burnout with Colin’s Hegseth and really Colin in general. Virtually all of his stuff both on and off Update now is just self-indulgent meta winking to the audience. His breaking in that pimp sketch felt totally calculated. “Lol, guys, I’m a Harvard graduate married to an A lister. Isn’t it so gosh darn goofy that I’m playing this role?” Fuck that nonsense. I actually think he’s the vet I most want to leave. There is ZERO reason why a 12 year vet and 20 year writing vet should be pushed this much. What’s next? Are we gonna get Kenan in a dress sketches again?
Anyways, Colman was a truly phenomenal host. Probably the best first timer along with Glen Powell. And while some of the material he was given was rather rough, he did the best he could and elevated it as much as he could. On to the final three shows. I’m excited for all three hosts and I think they’ll all do a really good job.
The show is 2 for 2 in Dead Poet’s Society sketches. Farewell Mr Bunting is 5 stars and this one was four plus
The anti Wizard of Oz
They could have utilized Che in the barbershop sketch.
I generally agree with your reviews, and I certainly can’t believe the criminally dull astronaut sketch made the cut, but this otherwise seems pretty harsh on what I thought was one of the better episodes of the season.
Maybe it’s just because I hung out with too many theater kids in undergrad, but I adored the opening sketch and was cackling almost the entire time. The barbershop sketch was solid enough that even Kam got a laugh. Funeral sketch could’ve been trimmed a little, but it had a level of energy and joke-density that more sketches should aspire to. (Not sure it’s hazing either: Sherman, Jost, and plenty of others get jokes about their appearance all the time, and the idea of being repeatedly told you’re too ugly for something you previously had less than zero interest in anyway seems objectively quite funny)
I seem to be in the minority of online SNL fans still enjoying the cold opens and WU news. Much better to laugh at this unprecedentedly cruel, stupid, and decadent administration than to bury our heads in the sand, and I think WU especially has found its feet in calling the president what he is (i.e. a pedophile rapist, war criminal, and general moron). I understand that their tenure is reaching the length where there will always be a demand for change among diehard fans, but imo Jost and Che might be the show’s most consistent performers of the last few years.
Speaking of WU, Jane is keeping up her great run and has quickly become one of my three or four favorite cast members. The Hernandez/Patterson appearance was whatever. Didn’t love it, but didn’t find it offensively bad either.
I could’ve used a lot more Slowikowska, but otherwise thought this was a well-used cast episode with a really top-notch host.
Mikey seems like a real nice guy but he does not have a “coolness” factor about him in aging like someone like Sandler/Spade/Rock or even Fallon/Seth I know those guys weren’t on the show as long as Mikey (other than Seth) but they still were able to write and perform comedy that appeals to young people while in their 50s/60s. I guess you can call it a lack of “edge” but Mikey comes across as a dad at a little league game.
For a hot second, I thought Day was gracefully becoming more of a supporting player who took roles that for whatever reason other cast members couldn’t, or did what he still does very well–provide a jolt of physical comedy (he was so good in that WU as the guy who got a bee in his shirt). That didn’t last, and he is taking up too many roles that are just bog-standard “react” parts or quirky overreaction parts that could be taken by others. I could kind of get if the men’s side was like the women’s side in which Ashley is the only “glue” type performer, but Jeremy, Andrew, Tommy, even Ben can easily play those parts.
Jane’s delivery of the line “You disagree, Che?” was one of her best all year. What a turnaround this season. Honestly, dropping the tiresome (to me, anyway) keyboard desk pieces and really leaning in to her deadpan, off-kilter delivery has been great.
I saw an interview with Susan Morrison, author of the Lorne book, and she said Lorne is very high on Jane as a performer so I would look to see her pushed even stronger next season
Lorne gets a lot of flack for a lot of things and deservedly so but I will never doubt his ability to recognize talent. He clearly saw in Jane what many of us did not. I always thought Jane was a solid writer but I’m blown away by her improvement as a performer. Her deadpan and delivery have really developed into quite the comedic weapon.
I recall the SNN guys mentioning that too and that Lorne initially liked Jane because her personality reminded him of Gilda, which I found fascinating because that’s a comparison I would never make. I’m assuming maybe he means as a person and not as a performer, because they seem like completely different types of cast members.
Thank you, Blood Meridian, for your review – I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, these are really at a quality peak.
From SNN, here is the dress rehearsal info:
In dress Jeremy appeared as Tucker in the cold open. Kenan as Tiger calls Jost at the end of the cold open. LFNY is just James (I think).
In the pimp sketch dress, Tommy opened it as an elderly man. Andrew and Kam were delivery men. Chloe was in the casket. There was a totally different ending. Colman returns and then there’s the season 20 spinning newspaper.
For Update dress, Jane pulled out a notebook and asked Che if various scenarios were sex. The JD Vance mascara joke was added after dress. There was a segment called Eff Off where Jost complained about American Girl Dolls.
Cut from Update: Ben Marshall as Jack Harlow, trying very hard to be black – Black Harlow. Che calls out the album name. (this is currently on Youtube)
Other cut sketches:
OFFICE AI: At Buzzfeed’s offices, Colman claims he can write an article or create a graphic faster than AI. Ben is the boss. Sarah, Chloe and Andrew employees, JAJ musician.
HERE WE COME: Talk show hosted by Kenan and Colman. JAJ is a guest. They talk about their outfits.
BRAD AND HIS DAD: Sleepover.
FOUR CHATTY LADIES TRYING TO PLACE AN ORDER BEFORE THE KITCHEN CLOSES: JAJ, Andrew, Colman in drag, with Sarah. Jane as a waitress. The clock is counting down from 4 minutes to 0 seconds as they go through the cue cards to place orders, share confessions with each other, etc.
This episode I felt had a very interesting tale of to halves. First half was of a very boring, not much to note, lackluster first half and a surprisingly solid enough second half with great sketch concepts that tickled me.
Completely with you on the cold open that didn’t do anything at all, but glad it went in and out with it. I did get some sort of amusements at Chloe’s Melania and the Ashley fact at the beginning, but that’s all I can really point out bad or good about this. It reminded me of that Glover cold open in the season 43 episode in the season 45 Premiere cold open from the Woody show. Also, I think even if it still doesn’t make any sense people applaud at a Colin just because he doesn’t always appear in sketches, even if the season is certainly proving otherwise.
I have nothing new to add towards your comment on the Uneek Cutz pre-tape but to your point about Mikey, I think the show still looks at him as kind of a young guy, even though I feel he kinda always been an older guy from the very start of his time at the show has a cast member, but I guess he has that baby face look that they think is still there which I see.
The PBS show sketch I also enjoyed, but you definitely seem a bit higher on it than myself. I felt this was such great random humor that really worked for me and the slip up at the start with Colman he handled amazingly and I appreciate the goofy ending.
I strongly but respectfully, of course disagree on your take for the Grandpa’s Wake sketch. I thought this was a very nice and small piece that everyone got to do something goofy and had a good escalation that I felt definitely work with the context. The one thing I will say that I didn’t necessarily love was the side part of them dragging on Jeremy, which I feel is an approach the show uses too often and wasn’t necessary at all for this. I also felt this was while very common a great use of Colin.
Overall, a very wonky episode, but one that I will still give thumbs up to thanks to the sketch premises that really worked for me in Colman being a very dandy host who I would love to see brought back.
Fantastic review from you as always, and excited to see what Olivia Rodrigo will bring to Saturday Night Live in May!
This guy was a really good host though I’ve never heard of him, shame he was wasted on a lot of MEH material. Seemed like moreso than usual a lot of sketches had that we got the joke 20 seconds in and then proceed to stretch that one joke to 5 minutes.
Also damn… Was kam on coke? Dude was sweating like crazy on weekend update!
Believe it or not Blood, I like the show less than you did.
Literally the only good-ish part was Jane Wickline and even that I’m on the fence with.
The Cut Jack Harlow bit was better than Marcello/Kam but that’s not a high bar.
Nobody can convince me Squirm didn’t write that farting sketch.
What a curious episode. We are probably looking at the best host of the season so far, but I couldn’t imagine anyone putting this episode in the top 10 of the season. That said, as ever, I probably walked away from this thing feeling more positive than our host. In fact, after reading so much about this season’s supposed issues (a bit from Blood, but a lot from some others), I just generally think I’m in a better headspace for this current show than others. Maybe it’s just because I’m a dumb guy with annoying hot takes, but I think, while not having a single spectacular episode for the show to hang its hat on this year, the show is in a very healthy and promising place.
Yes, I, like everyone else, have issues with individual castmembers, but I don’t feel quite as hung up worrying about “stars” or “Lorne’s favorites.” Yes, some people get more airtime than others, but generally I find that everyone acquits themself reasonably well. There are those I get more annoyed with (Marcello, Chloe) or bored with (Mikey, Kenan), but everyone has enjoyed a highlight this year.
Back to the host, Colman really went to work this episode and, I think, went some lengths to bolster less promising pieces. The fashion thing was a sketch type that I loathe and was not really served by Mikey, Marcello and Chloe’s support roles, but Colman was fabulous and dragged this thing across the finish line in a really impressive way. It takes a lot to really sell these kinds of pieces, but he was spectacularly locked in.
He was also a ton of fun in the night’s best sketches – the science show and the Dead Poets piece – where his weirdo energy added a loopy unpredictability. Probably my biggest laugh of the episode was Colman walking into the classroom and subtly using his banana as a phone to indicate his free spiritedness to the class.
It’s also no coincidence that these two pieces heavily featured Dismukes, who has been working overtime to salvage a quiet (but not bad) season. Actually, I’ll credit everyone in that classroom sketch – everyone was really chipping in, even typical whipping boys like Marcello and Ben.
Back to Marcello – I agree that the space thing was a soft miss, but I think he had some positive moments too. Heck, I didn’t even hate the Update commentary At all actually. It was loose and silly, but the familiarity of the trope was good fun.
I also didn’t hate Grandpa’s Wake – a bad taste sketch that kind of tickled me with its willingness to be uncouth. Sure, it was a little S20. But those kinds of pieces can be fun if used sparingly. Actually, I’ll even cop to snickering at the Beastomorphs thing. I don’t need to act like I’m above fart jokes. I liked that Ashley piece from earlier in the year. I liked last year’s Reviving Grandma sketch. Clearly I have a higher threshold for this stuff. Like I said, I’m a dumb guy with annoying hot takes.
Quick hits:
– The Cold Open held promise based on the week’s scattered madness, but it really did descend in Trumpwin era grab bag stuff. Still, I think Chloe’s Melania is some of her better work. The Colin/Hegseth stuff is played out.
– Update is a sort of Rorschach Test. I found this one loose and light with some great zingers amid a few “we’ve been here before” gags. But even some of the predictability feels fine to me.
– Jane’s emergence really is something to behold. She seems to be coming into her own in all facets of the show. This Update commentary was just another in a series of increasingly inevitable wins. Good for her!
– I had no real issue with the barbershop thing and Colman was great in it, but it really did have something missing. Can’t quite place what it was.
Havent had a chance to watch this yet, but they posted a “Cut for Time” Weekend Update spot with Ben as Jack Harlow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qw7DgRSgbU
I’ll second that Carson, I actually thought the black barbershop was really good, maybe one of the most well done pre-tapes of the season. Maybe went a little longer than it needed to, but it was fine.
And yes, I’m really loving what Jane’s bringing to the show this season, she’s become one of the cast members I always look forward to whenever she gets something big to do on the show, which has been more frequent in recent shows.
Would also agree with those saying Colin’s appearances in sketches are starting to get a bit played out, like it used to be a funny surprise when he’d show up in a sketch going against the Colin Jost persona, but now it’s getting old because they’re doing it way too much as a cheap laugh.
T, I feel the exact same way regarding Colin. It feels like the Jost roasting has become way too front and center on the show. His first couple of Hegseth appearances were fine, but it seems like they’re REALLY trying to make it into this viral thing. But the thing is, half the humor comes from knowing who Colin is and how this is (supposedly) a big departure from his real life personality. And if you keep relying on that as a crutch, two parallel things happen: the joke goes over the heads of people who aren’t regular viewers or know who Colin is, and the joke itself becomes predictable and tired.
It’s sort of like the Chris Farley problem, where the joke becomes less about Farley being an absurd oaf in a mundane situation (ex. Coffee Crystals or the first Matt Foley sketch) and more along the lines of “eh, just send Farley out there yelling cause people eat that shit up” like what happened often in S20.
The Jost roasting is already feeling tired and predictable on Update (and the recent attempts to have Colin be more involved in the commentaries just underscore that). Having it bleed into the rest of the show is thoroughly unnecessary. I sincerely hope this is a sign that Colin is departing the show soon, but after I was so certain that would happen at the end of last season, I’m not getting my hopes up.
I thought it was possible Jost or Che might be leaving this season, but then remembered that recent article about some upcoming Peacock show he’s doing said “it wouldn’t effect him appearing in the upcoming season of SNL”. I guess at this point Jost/Che are the forever hosts of WU? Seems kind of crazy at the thought of another full decade of Jost and Che on update, with late night tv shows dying (the thing most WU anchors used to leave SNL for) I guess they don’t see any reason to leave now.
Now I know you’re not black, because the barbershop sketch is putting up numbers in the black community.
The only sketch that was an outright miss for me was the astronaut sketch. I love Colman Domingo, but if anything, I think he was too dry in that one.