Overall Thoughts on the Season: Season 40, in general, was a great season for SNL, not only as a milestone year for the comedy institution, but as a great year to start the modern era with a bang. What made this season stand out in comparison the mostly-dull previous season, is the new direction its …
May 16, 2015 – Louis C.K. / Rihanna (S40 E21)
Cold Opening - Summertime Always good to see Kate’s Hillary Clinton back, and her writing in this season & the next is much better than most of the political material that will be thrown at Kate halfway through her tenure. Good laughs from the various ways Kate’s Hillary is desperately trying to relate to normal, …
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May 9, 2015 – Reese Witherspoon / Florence + The Machine (S40 E20)
Cold opening - The Southern Republican Leadership Conference! MEH, a lazy & blatant variation of the Coachella cold open from the previous season. Similar to Bobby’s Cruz, I didn’t know that Kenan played Ben Carson for a while, he certainly doesn’t look the part, and knowing Jay’s definitive and hilarious take on the impression next …
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May 2, 2015 – Scarlett Johansson / Wiz Khalifa (S40 E19)
Cold Opening - Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight Some funny lines early on from the Steve Higgins-read text crawl. Ah, back in the days when Aidy playing men wasn’t so cliched & desperate. This is quite an oddly structured cold open, with mostly voice-over by Higgins, yet his deadpan, professional explanation of this open is cracking me up …
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April 11, 2015 – Taraji P. Henson / Mumford & Sons (S40 E18)
Cold Opening - Election Video Good to see Kate’s Hillary back. And that laugh of hers will get me every single time. Kinda interesting to see Vanessa here, as she played Hillary Clinton before Kate took over the role starting with this season. A big laugh from Kate’s Hillary threatening message to the American people. …
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April 4, 2015 – Michael Keaton / Carly Rae Jepsen (S40 E17)
Cold Opening - Road to the Final Four Yet another sports-related cold open this season. I’m not complaining, as I know in hindsight the horrors that await me from the cold opens in two seasons from now. Bobby’s yet again steals another cold open with his very funny performance here. Kenan’s Barkley is always reliable …
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March 28, 2015 – Dwayne Johnson / George Ezra (S40 E16)
Cold Opening - The Rock Obama Ah, great to see another installment of this memorable bit. Never knew that Bobby played Ted Cruz before, his voice here & particularly his facial expressions are hilarious. And here comes the memorable transformation sequence. The physical actions here are pulled off rather well, considering the live aspect of …
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March 7, 2015 – Chris Hemsworth / Zac Brown Band (S40 E15)
Cold Opening - A Message From Hillary Clinton Ah, a HUGE moment right now: the official debut of Kate’s Hillary Clinton. THIS is the moment where Kate’s trajectory begins to lead to her now-legendary superstar status on the show. Pretty good Hillary Clinton voice from Kate, but it will get even more accurate as she …
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February 28, 2015 – Dakota Johnson / Alabama Shakes (S40 E14)
Cold Opening - Giuliani Birdman Boy, Taran is not even putting any effort in sounding like Giuliani, although the eventual replacement is not in any way better… Oh, I LOVE the twist with this turning into a Birdman parody, a very creative premise for a political cold open. A very solid Michael Keaton impression from …
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January 31, 2015 – J.K. Simmons / D’Angelo (S40 E13)
Cold Opening - Super Bowl Shut Down Great Richard Sherman voice from Jay, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to any. Kenan is hilarious as Marshawn Lynch too. Jay’s pretty solid in this open, and is carrying himself very well, showing tons of energy and charisma. For a sports-related open, I’m enjoying this one, even …
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