Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
WHITE HOUSE CALL
Al Gore’s (DAH) phone call interrupts George W. Bush’s (WIF) meeting
— Aside from the special 9/11 tribute cold opening from the season premiere, this is the first cold opening all season that doesn’t have a political figure either giving an address to the nation or a press conference. However, this cold opening is still political, still stars several political figures, and still doesn’t stop the ENDLESS streak of Darrell and Will being the ONLY people in the entire cast who get to say “Live from New York…” this season so far. This endless Hammond/Ferrell LFNY cycle is getting ridiculous.
— Ha, Seth Meyers fittingly being cast as General Myers (yes, that’s a real person).
— Good make-up job on Dean as Colin Powell, but geez, they end up not even giving Dean ANY lines whatsoever during this cold opening. He just silently sits there the whole time. And this ends up being his only appearance all night (yeah, I know, no surprise there).
— I like Will-as-President-Bush’s sarcastic, bitter delivery of “Thanks, Dad!” after mentioning that he has to deal with the Saddam Hussein situation that should’ve been resolved 10 years ago.
— So far, we get dual roles from Darrell in this cold opening, playing both Dick Cheney and Al Gore, the latter impression making its first appearance since the 2000 elections.
— Darrell’s Gore droning on and on over the phone to Will’s Bush is okay and is providing consistent chuckles, though isn’t anything hilarious.
— Something about Darrell-as-Cheney’s whispery, angry way of saying “Mr. President, I am BEGGING you – Get. Off. The. Phone!” cracked me up.
— Kinda unusual how serious and bland Will’s Bush is coming off in this cold opening, playing the normal straight man to Darrell’s Gore without any of the usual Bush-isms or anything. Perhaps SNL is still experimenting with appropriate ways to portray Bush in a post-9/11 world.
— Now we get THREE Darrell Hammond roles in this sketch, with him now appearing as Donald Rumsfeld. Wow. At this point, I can’t even tell which Darrell impression is live and which ones are pre-taped. You’d guess that Darrell’s Gore is live, since he does, by far, most of the speaking and also says “Live from New York…” at the end, but I think I recall once hearing from someone who was in the audience for this episode that it was actually Darrell’s Rumsfeld that was live.
STARS: ***
OPENING MONTAGE
— A Cartoon By Robert Smigel is credited, but no cartoon ends up airing tonight, presumably due to the show running long.
MONOLOGUE
host sings “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
— The “gently hold Rachel Dratch” segment with Rachel tightly hugging Hugh Jackman is actually a reference to an SNL promo that Hugh and Rachel did earlier that week, in which she tightly hugged him the entire time, IIRC (I haven’t seen the promo since 2001, so my details may be a little off).
— Tracy’s walk-on is priceless. I also like the random little pose he holds for the camera right before walking off.
— Hugh is coming off charming, fun, and loose here, even making good ad-libs in reaction to some of the particularly loud audience members.
— A decent Christmas musical number with Hugh and the female cast members (minus Tina). I typically excuse joke-less singing in monologues when it’s a Christmas song like this.
STARS: ***½
LOOSE BEAR
hallucinogenic laxative literally scares the crap out of you
— Good premise with replacing the use of a laxative with a hallucinogen.
— Great visual look to the hallucination sequence with Amy in the woods.
— A pretty good laugh from Amy waking up with her hair standing on end while proudly telling her husband “I just got the crap scared out of me!”
— I like how the professional voice-over at the end says “Get scared sh(*bleep*)less” and “Side effects may include uncontrollable pissing and heart failure.”
STARS: ***½
JARRET’S ROOM
spycamera footage reveals (JER)’s embarrassing behavior
— A fairly funny “2001: A Space Odyssey”-esque entrance from Gobi and his bong. Probably his most memorable gimmicky entrance in these Jarret’s Room sketches.
— Geez, Horatio is particularly over-the-top here (even moreso than usual in these Jarret’s Room sketches), and Jimmy is particularly giggly in response to Horatio’s over-the-top antics. Granted, these antics from Horatio and Jimmy fit their stoner characters in this sketch well, but still…
— This sketch has gotten a lot better once Hugh has entered. He’s very funny in this, and is even making Horatio and Jimmy’s usual unprofessional antics come off tolerable.
— The spy cam footage of Jeff is providing lots of laughs.
— Overall, this recurring sketch, which started out poor in the preceding season, continues to show a lot of signs of improvement this season, but I’m still wary on how long these improvements will last.
STARS: ***½
THE ROBERT GOULET ALL HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Robert Goulet’s (WIF) All-Holiday Special embraces all seasonal aspects
— Goulet!
— This sketch was cut after dress rehearsal from the preceding two episodes.
— I love Will-as-Robert-Goulet’s line “There’ll be some Jewish stuff too”, and him proceeding to demonstrate that with half-assed singing of a small portion of “The Dreidel Song”.
— Okay, I have a lot of confusion in regards to the (hilarious) Sherlock Holmes / “It’s Monica Lewinsky’s underwear” scene. Is this scene live or taped? Is Will and Darrell’s laughing genuine or part of the script? Why is this portion of the sketch shown in the “dress rehearsal outtakes” bonus feature in Will’s first “Best Of” DVD, considering this scene is from the live version, not the dress rehearsal version? Was this scene originally taped at dress rehearsal and then aired during the live show? Even if so, it still doesn’t make sense why they would put this scene in a collection of “dress rehearsal outtakes” on a DVD.
— Considering this sketch got cut from the preceding two episodes, I wonder if the Phantom Of The Opera scene was a new addition this week to utilize Hugh’s singing talent. If this scene was in the version of this sketch that got cut from the last two episodes, I wonder who played Hugh’s role. I don’t know if Billy Bob Thornton can sing or not, but Derek Jeter? Ha! It’s certainly amusing to picture him playing a singing Phantom of the Opera.
— I got a laugh from Goulet telling his old friend, the Big-Horned Sheep, “Oh, boy, this special is doomed.”
STARS: ***½
SEARS PHOTOGRAPHERS
artsy photographers (host) & (SEM) shoot family at Sears portrait studio
— So far, I’m having mixed feelings about these characters of Seth and Hugh’s, though Hugh is fun here (once again tonight).
— Did Chris almost lose his voice just now?
— Funny part with Rachel’s old lady character asking if she should take off her sweater as well, after Ana was told to remove her sweater.
— I like the “Get rid of the ugly one!” line in regards to the twin boys.
— Overall, this was a little better than I expected it to be. Not bad overall. Seth continues to do well as a newbie this season. At what point in his SNL tenure does he start becoming the bland, milquetoast, disappointing sketch performer that I had always remembered him being? Or did I just underrate his sketch-performing skills in the past? I’ve been surprised in this SNL project of mine to see how much I’ve actually been liking his sketch-performing skills so far.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “God Gave Me Everything”
WEEKEND UPDATE
in a terrible re-enactment, Geraldo Rivera (CHK) dodges a bullet
Drunk Girl (JER) undergoes mood swings while talking to JIF
— While I’ve gotten tired of Chris’ Terrible Reenactment routine, I admit to laughing in spite of myself at his goofy, cartoonish, over-the-top delivery of “FEETS, DON’T FAIL ME NOW!”
— We get the debut of Drunk Girl. Good to see the underused-so-far-in-his-tenure Jeff Richards get a big showcase.
— I remember back at this time in 2001, one online SNL fan’s first impression of this then-new Drunk Girl character was that Jeff was just doing a rip-off of Chris Farley’s Gap Girls character. I can see the similarities (especially in the voice), but those similarities are clearly just a coincidence, as Jeff is going more for a caricature of actual drunk girls. And he’s doing an absolutely spot-on and funny imitation.
— Drunk Girl’s overall debut tonight was good. Too bad that, from what I remember when this SNL era originally aired, I eventually ended up getting tired of Drunk Girl pretty fast in her subsequent appearances.
— Short Update overall.
STARS: ***½
HELLO DOLLY
doll designer (host) thinks he should be getting more action
— This recurring sketch makes its final appearance.
— I like the spelling of “Bwowin’ Bubboos”.
— Interesting revelation about Ana’s character when she and Hugh mention how they believe that dolls shouldn’t be played with by children.
— A hilarious Jist Discoverin’ doll (which, until recently, I had always misremembered as being in the Sean Hayes installment of this sketch). While the broadness of the humor of this particular doll feels a little out of place for this usually subtle, low-key sketch, it’s making me laugh a lot. Also, something about this bit feels appropriate for the final doll to ever be displayed in this series of Hello Dolly sketches, even if it may not have been intended at the time for this to be the final installment of this sketch.
— Overall, although I had slowly been getting tired of this recurring sketch during the last few preceding installments, tonight’s wasn’t bad overall.
STARS: ***
DRESSING ROOM
musical guest mulls onstage moves while talking to self (JIF) in mirror
— Mick Jagger’s opening line about how he’s made an appearance on SNL in every decade up to that point makes me realize that that tradition would continue in the following decade, as he hosts in 2012. I wonder how many other people can say they’ve appeared on SNL in each decade (not counting the 2020s yet, obviously), either as a host, musical guest, or cameo. Paul Simon and Steve Martin are the only other ones who come to mind at this point. Are there any others?
— Fun premise, and the whole mirror thing is a good setting for Jimmy to do a Mick Jagger impression alongside the real thing.
–I love the whole “Pointin’ at you” bit.
— Jimmy and Mick are playing off of each other very well here, and I’m liking all the wordplay between them.
STARS: ****
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
from his Fortress of Solitude, Superman (host) phones home to Krypton
— Funny awkward turn during Superman and Jor-El’s conversation, with them running out of things to say, accurately emulating a realistic conversation between a father and son. Will is particularly funny at pulling this off, and I especially like the part where he asks “You need any money?”
— A good laugh from the visual of Jor-El and his wife angrily whispering to each other when she forces him to talk to Superman again.
— Odd how this is the second sketch tonight with Rachel playing a grandmother.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Visions Of Paradise”
VERSACE
male model (host) pays a visit to Donatella Versace’s (MAR) bathroom
— This sketch has officially become recurring.
— Donatella Versace: “I do my show from the bathroom because I need to be near the toilet.”
— The return of Mr. Pantyhose Leg, Versace’s hand puppet.
— Maya’s characterization of Versace is a little funnier tonight than it was in it’s debut (I especially like the new addition of her occasionally crossing her eyes at random times), and she has some good lines throughout this sketch.
— Good to see Mick Jagger in another sketch tonight.
— Decent bit with Versace getting electrocuted in the bathtub.
STARS: ***
CHRISTMAS KANGAROO
host remembers his father’s (WIF) traditional Christmas kangaroo fights
— (*sigh*) Well… THIS sketch is going to be difficult to approach. On one hand, I’ve absolutely loved this sketch in the past and basically considered it to be a Will Ferrell classic. On the other hand, while reviewing this era during this project of mine, I’ve been disheartened to discover how heavy this era is on hacky “lol gay stereotypes = funny” humor that does not hold up (especially after SNL themselves would permanently burn me out on that type of humor during the original run of season 30, a season that is particularly rife with terrible gay stereotype sketches; the same goes for seasons 35 and 36, though to a lesser extent), which worries me that this sketch will now come off to me as yet another example of hacky “lol gay stereotypes = funny” humor. Plus, I’ve recently seen some online comments making a point about how bad and offensive this sketch is in that it presents the conceit of “rape turning a man into a lisping, flamboyant gay stereotype = funny”. I’ve been so unsure and torn in how I should approach this sketch for my review, but ultimately, I’ve decided to just go into the sketch with a blank slate, and, well, I’ll react how I’ll react.
— I love the scene with Will violently fighting the Christmas Kangaroo.
— Funny detail with a six-pack of beer being among the presents that Will is seen pulling out of the Christmas Kangaroo’s bag of gifts.
— The visual of Will being… er, sodomized by someone in a cheap kangaroo costume makes me laugh out loud in spite of myself, I’m not gonna lie.
— Ehhh, there goes the turn with Will having turned into a gay stereotype who welcomes being raped by the kangaroo.
— Hugh is great as the narrator.
— I do find it amusing how Will named the kangaroo Freckles.
— Hugh’s line about “a giant marsupial taking their old man to Browntown” still slays me, I gotta admit. Not only a killer line, but great delivery from Hugh on it too.
— Overall, yes, I can see why some people have a big problem with this sketch, but, despite certain aspects that indeed don’t hold up, I was able to get a lot of enjoyment from other aspects of this sketch for its fun silliness and for what Hugh brought to this.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Although not quite as strong as I had remembered it to be, this was a consistently good episode that was entertaining. While there was barely anything that stood out as particularly great to me, there weren’t any sketches I disliked either. Even recurring sketches that I’m usually iffy on or I had been getting tired of had good installments tonight (Jarret’s Room, Hello Dolly, Versace). Hugh Jackman was a great host and added a lot to every role he played.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Derek Jeter)
a slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Ellen DeGeneres hosts the Christmas episode
I should preface this by saying I don’t think anyone at SNL at this time was homophobic in the sense of having any animus. But the kangaroo sketch is one I tend to see as the face of the homophobia these years were so happy to exude, and not even in an “ironic” or “dark” way, like you got with pieces like that X-Police in the Cecily Tyson episode (which is a pretty bad sketch, admittedly) or the bit with Franken and Davis and suicide, etc. Or even the bro-ish, unpleasant material of the bad boy era. The main difference is this era of SNL so frequently capitalized on the idea of being gay as weird, and sick, and pathetic, with little to no effort made at any sort of balance. There was never anything to where we would be in on the joke, like Hader and Mulaney later gave with Stefon. It’s just nonstop jeering and leering, because that’s what they thought the cheap seats wanted.
I had misremembered the sketch for a long time (I thought it was a bear, not a kangaroo), and I had made it even worse in my head than it actually is onscreen (I remembered Will having makeup and so on by the end). Looking back I can see why someone enjoyed it just for the writing and performances and not because of homophobia. I also know my expectations for these years were too high because I still hadn’t let go of the late ’80s and early ’90s as the ideal SNL. But this sketch remains one of those moments that told me, clearly, SNL no longer had any use for me as a viewer.
I really appreciate you taking the time to be so fair in your reviews – these are your reviews, your blog, and you don’t have to do so. I hope none of the comments ever discourage your own viewing experiences. I come here to relive the episodes and see what you have to say about them, and many times your views help me reshape my own opinions. With all the awful stuff going on today, your blog is more important than ever. Thank you.
Anyway, as for Seth, I don’t think he was ever meant to be a lead on this show, but I never thought he was a bad performer, even if he thinks he is. I remember he left a reply in a tweet about the prank show sketch with Walken, to the effect that even his mediocre skills couldn’t get in the way. It’s not very fair to himself – he was a great foil to Walken in that. He wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t have to be. He knew his range in a way few cast members or writers have and he very effectively managed that range for most of his run.
“I had misremembered the sketch for a long time (I thought it was a bear, not a kangaroo)–”
You’re probably getting this sketch mixed up with the Radioactive Bear sketch from the following season’s Robert DeNiro episode, in which, at one point in the sketch, Will Forte gets sodomized by a bear. Yep, there’s a SECOND animal-raping-a-man sketch in this era, but it’s only a minor part of the Radioactive Bear sketch and I don’t recall it having any troubling homophobic under/overtones, plus it’s a solid sketch from what I remember, featuring a nice escalating absurdity.
Also, thank you very much, both John and Bill K, for your kind words about my blog.
Regarding the commenters answering my question on who appeared in every SNL decade, thanks for all the answers. I actually only meant people who appeared in every decade as either a host, musical guest, or cameo, excluding anyone who was ever a cast member or writer, but that’s okay.
Funny enough, I believe both sketches (“Christmas Kangaroo” and the Radioactive Bear sketch) were written by the same writer, T. Sean Shannon.
I’m gonna guess it’s around S29/30 that Seth becomes what you remember him being. A lot of his bits from that time (Pranksters, Zinger…) feel more like ‘Seth Meyers playing a character’ rather than ‘a Seth Meyers character’ if that makes any sense.
The was the last episode shown in the 2AM NBC All Night time slot. It was also the most current episode and the only season 27 show to run in that slot.
I think with .Seth it was the expectation levels. As Stooge has mentioned a lot of fans were very optimistic about Seth after his strong rookie season and then the next three seasons are pretty big disappointments (well at least 29 and especially 30).
I remember an interview with Samberg where he said the kangaroo sketch was one his favorite Will sketches. This was like 2012ish though
I thought Seth was fine as like a niche performer–he strikes me as similar to Alex Moffat now–absolutely nails some roles, particularly straight roles or more smarmy types, but isn’t built to be like a Hader/Ferrell MVP type (not a swipe, nobody is).
I never really hated Seth until he became Update anchor–not sure why.
My SNL viewing became very very sporadic after 2003 or 2004 but I remember tuning back in some around the time of the 2008 election and finding him very smug and offputting on Update (he’d never really bothered me as a cast member). From later stuff I’ve since seen he was more likeable at the desk by the time he left, but generally I’m not a huge fan of anyone at the desk in the ’00s.
The Superman sketch was written by rookie SNL writer Max Brooks (son of Mel).
Regarding the Kangaroo scene: SNL and gay-related humor has always had a rocky relationship. As late as the early 2010s we still had sketches like Vogelchecks that operate on the idea that “men kissing = inherently funny.” It’s only just now, like the past five years, that they’ve finally gotten out of that hole. They’re able to do sketches now involving gay sex as comedy that work a lot better and don’t feel sneering and cheap (Marcus Comes to Dinner from the Sam Rockwell episode and The Actress from the Emma Stone’s 2019 episode come to mind.)
I don’t really give these old sketches much leeway in that regard, because even when I realize that it was a different time and so on, it doesn’t take away from the fact that gay kissing/gay rape has always been such a lazy comedic crutch. I mean, Will gives a good performance, but…blah.
I believe Drunk Girl was something that came about organically on-stage from some female hecklers when Jeff started doing it back them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwfeO08TzH8
Here seen telling the story on Conan. Pretty spot-on impression if you go to enough stand-up shows, there’s a good chance there’ll be at least one drunk girl like that in every crowd and they always sound exactly like Jeff’s impression when yelling incoherent heckles at the comics.
Regarding Mick appearing in every one of the show’s decades… I think Chevy has also appeared in every decade in some fashion? Cast/host in the 70s, host/cameos in the 80s and 90s, and then a cameo in ’07 (WU, Seth Rogen) and ’13 (5ers w/Timberlake).
A few folks I assumed made the cut, till I investigated…
Tom Petty and Bill Murray both missed the 2000s, and Paul McCartney just missed the ’70s, ironically.
Wasn’t Christmas Kangaroo almost unanimously considered the best sketch of this show when it first aired or am I misremembering that?
Stooge you’re better at this than I am but I remember hearing that this was the first time Seth & Amy tried to make Lil Sleuths recurring and it got cut. I heard there was also a Harry Caray piece that got cut and the Smigel cartoon was supposedly about Britney Spears.
I’m willing to put Bill Murray in the every decade club since he did a cameo on Weekend Update Thursday in ’08. If Paul Simon can be a five-timer on a technicality then Bill Murray can be an every decade member on a technicality.
Dan Akroyd would also make the all-decade club- ’70s cast, ’88 cameo, ’90s multiple, ’03 host, ’13 cameo. In the close but no cigar club, Candice missed the ’00s, and Franken missed the ’10s.
I also wanted to echo John and thank you for this important diversion from the real world. Re-watching the episode you’re reviewing and reading your thoughts are the most pleasant part of the day.
Martin Short just misses out on the 70s.
80s: cast/host
90s: host
2000s: cameo in Baldwin’s S 32 episode
2010s: host/cameo
Thinking about it I believe James Downey has appeared on camera in every decade as well if you count the Martin Short episode in 2012 episode where a short film he was in was cut but aired online
I only realized Mick Jagger was Karl Lagerfeld in the Versace sketch because of the fan, and in a later episode (where he hosts?) he plays a hilariously cranky Yves St. Laurent. Or it could just be this one time and the fan is throwing me off?
So we’ve got Paul Simon, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase and Mick Jagger
And on the technicalities list: Bill Murray (appeared on Weekend Update Thursday) Jim Downey (Online Cut for time sketch), Garrett Morris (All 3 Anniversary shows) G.E Smith (40th Anniversary)
If we’re counting anniversary shows then Jane, Laraine and Paul Shaffer only missed the 00’s
^ Likewise with Billy Crystal
70s: cameo
80s: cast/host/cameo
90s: cameo (anniversary special)
00s: n/a
2010s: cameo
Can we add Lorne to the list? He’s appeared on screen each decade.
Darrell has a new podcast out called The Third Person and he talks briefly about the Versace sketch. In the first Versace sketch from the season premiere, Darrell played Karl Lagerfeld so they wrote him in as Lagerfeld again and then seemingly in the middle of the live show someone told him that they were giving the Lagerfeld part to Mick Jagger.
This was the first live SNL I saw well, live. I sat near Rob Thomas.
Kangaroo Christmas is probably one of my favorite SNL skits of all time, though I haven’t watched to see if it holds up.