Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
SUMMERTIME
Hillary Clinton’s (KAM) focus on presidency leaves no time for summer fun
— I recall it being pointed out in an online article that, when Leslie says “And I’m going to Spain” in this cold opening, someone onscreen can be heard farting if you listen carefully, and the article went into a very deep analysis trying to figure out which cast member in question was the culprit (I kid you not). Understandably, I have no desire to chime in on that analysis, I just wanted to put the story out there for anyone reading this.
— Pretty fun concept of Kate’s Hillary Clinton desperately trying to relate to random beach-goers. She has a lot of great bits here.
— I love how this is using the whole cast, especially given how this is the season finale. I prefer my season finale full-cast sketches to be at the very end of the episode, but I’m not complaining at all about the placement of this particular one.
— Solid walk-on from Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton.
— A particularly good line from Kate’s Hillary detailing how her final day as president will go.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about mild racism, Middle East strife, child molesters
— A piece of confetti can be seen falling from above when Louis C.K. enters the front of the stage. The confetti must be for a sketch later tonight.
— A good laugh from how Louis’ random “I grew up in the 70s, so…I’m not racist” statement is immediately followed by him saying a “HOWEVER…”.
— Huge laughs from the examples Louis gives of mild racism.
— I love Louis’ “Cuz I like this one a little more” aside to us when using an even worse mock-y gibberish voice for one of his two daughters over the other.
— Great analogy Louis makes between himself/his fighting two daughters and America/Israel/Palentstine.
— Oh, here’s the famous child molester bit in this monologue.
— Man, this whole child molester routine is not only EXTREMELY risky (easily one of the riskiest things aired on SNL in recent years), but pays off by being absolutely freakin’ priceless, particularly the “molesting children must be REALLY good…….from the child molester’s point of view, for them to risk so much” bit, and the Mounds bar analogy Louis makes to child molesting. This whole segment puts this monologue over the top as my favorite of Louis’ SNL monologues, which is saying something, as I’ve loved all of the monologues he’s done up to this point.
STARS: *****
THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES
masochistic elves (KET) & (VAB) goad shoemaker (host) into punishing them
— Oh, no. The debut of a recurring sketch that I never liked.
— Even when currently watching this with a more open mind, I’m still finding myself not enjoying it. And something about Kenan’s delivery is somehow making this material even worse, which is rare at this point of Kenan’s run, where his delivery usually salvages sketches for me.
— At least Aidy has a fairly funny brief walk-on.
— Odd turn at the end with Louis’ character asking us viewers who he should pick between his wife and the elves, and telling us to give our answer via text. That whole bit is obviously fake, but if this was the Dick Ebersol era, that call-in phone number would’ve actually been real, and we’d have gotten the voting results at the end of the show. This Elves sketch ain’t worth all of that effort, though.
STARS: *½
SPRINT STORE
to avoid angering boss (LEJ), (host) is stuck with a sassy black accent
— An awkward brief moment with Leslie accidentally saying one of her lines too early while Louis is still speaking, resulting in Leslie making an “Oops” gesture and dropping character to tell Louis “I’m sorry, go ahead”, which is completely out of place for the mean, rude character Leslie’s supposed to be playing in this sketch.
— Despite how dodgy this “Louis talking in a mocking, stereotypical black voice” premise initially seems, it actually ends up turning hilarious with Louis’ character claiming that’s his real voice and having to keep up that facade to prevent Leslie from finding out he was initially mocking her. Louis is slaying me here, and is selling this concept so well.
— Love the “One year later” screen being shown immediately after Louis worriedly asks how long is he going to have to keep up his “black voice” facade.
— A priceless twist at the end with Louis getting busted on faking his “black” voice all these years. I absolutely love Leslie’s angry lines to him after that.
STARS: ****½
THE WOODWORKERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
diners’ failure to use toothpicks jeopardizes lumberjack’s (host) future
— A hilarious random twist ending to this short-but-sweet commercial.
— The ending mock-dramatic close-up of Louis with a tear rolling down his cheek is great.
— Also funny work from Beck as the passionate jingle singer in the background.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bitch Better Have My Money”
WEEKEND UPDATE
TV show credits place blame for ISIS with George W. Bush & Dick Cheney
Tom Brady (TAK) uses charm & platitudes to dodge blame for Deflategate
PED is losing interest in Harry Potter & is amazed that he’s on SNL
Riblet once again steals the spotlight from MIC with his news delivery
— Funny bit with the sitcom-esque closing credits for ISIS. I especially love the “Sit, Ubu, sit”-esque Halliburton Productions vanity logo.
— Taran at least seems to be attempting more of an impression of Tom Brady’s voice here than he did the previous time he played him. His Brady voice here still doesn’t sound very accurate, but then again, Brady doesn’t have an easily-imitable voice.
— A pretty funny novelty to see Colin displaying some acting, in the shots of him being charmed by Taran’s Brady.
— Good ad-lib (“That was a rare Brady flub there, huh, Michael?”) from Taran after flubbing a line.
— Nice to see this season of Update be bookended by a commentary from Pete.
— A very funny comment from Pete in regards to how he and his high school friends would’ve used and ruined Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.
— A meta, self-deprecating end to Pete’s commentary, with him pointing out his lack of range as a cast member, and asking “How did I get on this show, Colin??? Did my mom seen an NBC executive hit a kid and drive off?”
— Ooh, I like this special segment for this season finale Update, where Colin and Michael each tell an Update joke that was cut after dress rehearsal earlier this season.
— A good intentionally-groanworthy “…if your boyfriend was jalapeno business” punchline from Colin in the cut-after-dress joke he tells here.
— I love this particular way Bobby’s Riblet character suddenly pops up, though I’m surprised it interrupted Michael from doing a cut-after-dress joke.
— The usual laughs from Riblet, even if this is just treading the same ground as always and they’ll never top him stripping down to a suit and removing the sides of his hair during his previous commentary.
— Ha, another Mikey Day walk-on in a Riblet commentary (the last above screencap for this Weekend Update), back when Mikey was just a writer.
— An overall strong final Update of the season, and a perfect example of the growth this new Jost/Che era experienced over the course of this inaugural season of theirs.
STARS: ****
COUPLES RETREAT
Gemma & her new overbearing boyfriend (host) order champagne & shrimp
— Hmm, I had absolutely no prior memory of a Gemma sketch appearing in this episode. Louis seems like he’s an odd fit for this particular role of Gemma’s obnoxious bro-type boyfriend, which Dwayne Johnson previously played to perfection.
— Blah, even Gemma’s song here is in the EXACT SAME melody of her bananas song from the first installment of this sketch. Lazy.
— This sketch in general is just repeating the EXACT SAME beats from the first installment, and I already wasn’t crazy about it the first time.
— I do kinda like the way Louis is playing this role, but he’s got nothing on Dwayne Johnson in that department.
STARS: *½
ACTOR LINE-UP
actors suspected of mugging treat police line-up as audition opportunity
— An interesting rarity of Kyle being seen with his natural stubble all throughout this episode’s live sketches. Did he say to himself, “Ehh, fuck it – it’s the season finale. Why bother shaving?”
— Fun concept of a police line-up of actors, each of whom humorously treats this line-up as an audition. The execution of this is great.
— I love how Taran, Kyle, Beck, and Louis are each giving their actor characterization its own individual flavor, each of which is so spot-on.
— All of the interplay between the actor characters is not only funny, but it’s actually very charming.
STARS: ****½
THE WOODWORKERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
switch from physical to virtual books threatens lumberjack’s livelihood
— The twist at the end is a very funny and unexpected continuation of the Woodworkers Association ad from earlier tonight.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “American Oxygen”
FORGOTTEN TV GEMS WITH REESE DE’WHAT
lesbian housewife (KAM) is vehicle for sitcom hijinks
— Feels like we just saw Reese De’What, as he appeared only three episodes prior to this.
— Tonight’s Reese De’What anecdote about a rude thing he once told his wife is an improvement over the not-as-funny-as-usual one from the last installment of this sketch three episodes prior.
— A questionable premise, but the performances in the sitcom scenes are pretty fun. Not the best sketch to end a season on, though.
— Reese De’What’s “body surf” line cracked me up.
STARS: **½
GOODNIGHTS
— Some actually funny antics from Rihanna during Louis’ goodnights speech, with her playfully goofing around behind his back.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Yet another strong Louis C.K.-hosted episode, making him 3-for-3 in that department by this point of SNL’s run. While this episode did have a few misfires and a questionable choice for a 10-to-1 season-closing sketch (all of which just so happen to have been written by James Anderson and Kent Sublette, unsurprisingly), literally all of the other segments in this episode were great and received a rating from me in the 4-5 star range. Damn impressive. This overall episode was a very nice way to end the season, which is a refreshing turnaround from how insanely frustrating and underwhelming the preceding season’s tired-cameo-filled finale was. (In fact, come to think of it, this Louis C.K. season finale I just reviewed featured no cameos AT ALL, which makes this episode even more refreshing in comparison to the preceding season’s finale.)
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monologue
Sprint Store / Actor Line-Up (tie)
The Woodworkers Association Of America (both parts)
Summertime
Weekend Update
Forgotten TV Gems with Reese De’What
Couples Retreat
The Shoemaker And The Elves
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Reese Witherspoon)
a big step up
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (Note: The 40th Anniversary Special is not included in this)
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2013-14)
a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 41 begins, with host Miley Cyrus, and one new addition to the cast
I recall the monologue getting a lot of bad press and mixed reaction. Not to mention those who defeated it going after those who hated it. Personally, I didn’t care for it. It’s more unwatchable now after Louis’ scandals.
The sketch right after the monologue was also in poor taste. Its placement didn’t help.
I basically tuned out after the Sprint Store sketch. Leslie was good in it. The cold open was meh. The applause weakens it.
^ Somebody named SNLLover not only didn’t like the first 20 minutes, they completely tuned out altogether?
I thought this was a good episode to finish a rebound season of SNL. The woodworker sketch was really the only thing I didn’t like. I loved Rihanna’s visuals.
Here is a ranking of the season ending sketches.
*****
– Backstage Fire (S11)
– So Long, Farewell (S19)
– Jimmy Tango (S21)
– Summer Break (S29)
– Goodnight Saigon (S34)
**** ½
– The Polar Bear Cage (S20)
****
– O’Donoghue Performance (S2)
– Karate School (S9)
– The Pirates (S13)
– Have A Bitchin’ Summer (S14)
– The Sunrise Show (S16)
– Bad Expectant Mother (S17)
– Criminal Encounter (S18)
– Larry King (S22)
– Memorial Day Greetings (S26)
– Bear City (S30)
– Bless This Child (S33)
– It’s A Lovely Day (S38)
*** ½
– The Franken And Davis Show (S3)
– Mommy Beer (S5)
– ^The Clams (S7)
– The Sweeney Sisters (S12)
– Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet (S24)
– The Diggers (S25)
***
– Not For Transsexuals Only (S4)
– The Red Guys (S10)
– The Boss (S15)
– Dr. Deacon’s Haunch Crack Powder (S28)
**½
– The Birthday (S8)
– Forgotten TV Gems with Reese De’What (S40)
**
– Waiting For Pardo (S1)
– Neil Young’s New Album (S31)
– The Barry Gibb Talk Show (S36)
– The Ex-Porn Stars (S39)
*½
– The Bag Lady (S6)
– Snipers (S35)
*
– The Receptionist (S32)
N/A Rating
– The Lost Deep Thoughts of Jack Handey (S23)
– Will’s Last Show (S27)
– She’s A Rainbow (S37)
^ Repeat Airing
I really hate Gemma as a recurring character–I found her first appearance kind of palatable, especially because The Rock turned in an excellent performance as her chucklehead boyfriend. But I don’t know who thought the character had the chops to become recurring.
What I do like if I recall is that the sketches do act like the people have met before, unlike most SNL recurring things in which everyone always acts like they’re meeting for the first time. I don’t know if this is the sketch, but in one of them, Vanessa remembers that Gemma sings.
Wasn’t there a trope in Anderlette sketches that frequently Vanessa’s character was irrationally disliked by everyone else?
I could see the ending to the Sprint store sketch coming, but I appreciated the shaggy dog style to the sketch, in which Leslie’s revelation and fakeout doesn’t happen for five whole years. Louis also does a funny job at like seeming more “man, I can’t believe I fell for that” than like actually shocked.
Yeah, it’s obvious now- that surprising lightness on cameos is absolutely jarring, especially how the next seasons play out.
I also remember that BBHMM song because that summer, I heard that playing A LOT. Then almost as soon as September hit, it just disappeared. What the hell happened?
Think it was intended as the lead single for an album that got delayed (and the song cut from the album), so the record company was probably promoting it a lot less.
Anderlettedowns (Jost era episodes where Anderlette have the only sub-par material): 5
I’m somewhere between SNLLover and Stooge. I loved the monologue when it aired, but the final bit makes me a bit too queasy now in light of Louis’s scandals.
DRESS CUTS
Good Neighbor – The Truth About Louie
~ Bruce Chandling confronts Louis ** used to be online; sadly cannot find anywhere now ** web changed title to “Bruce & Louie”
Rooftop Party
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/cut-for-time-rooftop-party/2866704
Buy Wood Products: paper bags (3 of 3)
~ shorter than the others, but performed live for some reason. When Louis entered as the lumberjack to get into place, crowd got really excited, hoping for an actual sketch to finish the trilogy; instead this was the weakest of the 3
~ grocery store: cashier (Kate) asks customer (Taran) if he wants paper or plastic bags. He chooses plastic. Pan over to crying lumberjack (C.K.) as singer (Beck) sings again. Still curious why they went through the trouble to do this in front of a crowd with no real payoff
Elf voting results
~ back on the set, Shoemaker is disappointed that nobody voted. He calls everyone a “bunch of dickheads” & walks off
Hugh Gets A New Desk
~ cartoon written by Zach Kanin, Rob Klein, Tim Robinson ** Tim & Cecily do the voices
~ Hugh shows his wife Karen a new standing desk, which is ridiculously high. He injures himself several times trying the desk out in different ways: desk collapses on him from above, falls out of a really high chair onto a cactus, uses treadmill instead of a chair but turns it up too fast & thrown through window
~ lovely to see Lorne letting Tim try different things, but the writing in this was pretty basic. Audience laughed quite a lot, but this was probably only put in as a bridge between Elf segments
Tantrum Boy
~ Board room: Hesseman company CEO (C.K.) introduces new employee, Jeremy Hesseman (Killam). CEO stresses that Jeremy wasn’t hired just because he’s his son. During brainstorming session, Jeremy offers up an idea, which Bobby likes but adds onto. CEO likes Bobby’s version. Jeremy screams “Then why don’t you adopt him!” & storms out of the room. 2 more employees (Vanessa, Pharoah) endure his tantrums (each with Jeremy offering an apology), so Leslie takes him across her lap, spanking him while screaming “You’re a grown-ass man! Stop acting like a bitch!”
Update – John Diehl text messages
~ Missouri House Speaker John Diehl sent sexual texts to a young intern. Weekend Update has obtained these texts. Che & Jost do the voices. Diehl: “Do u wanna see a pizza?” Intern: “What? No.” Diehl: “Damn autocorrect. Do u wanna see my penis?” Intern: “Eww no.” Diehl: “Damn autocorrect. Do u wanna see some pants?” Intern: “Um, no.” Diehl sends pic of slacks
TIDS & BITS
C.K.’s monologue last season was twice as long as the live version; this time all material was in both ** after the child molester routine, Louis jus’ stood back as the audience calmed down; beautiful mix of disgust, shock, laughter, screaming laughter. “I guess we’ll see if that makes it to air”
TV Gems: Kenan played Tyreese De’What, filling in for his identical twin brother. Reese has gone missing, so Tyreese urges the public to call collect if they have any information. He still did the whole “not a good guesser” bit but was telling the story as heard from his brother. During an interlude, Tyreese is on the phone: “You found his body? But it’s too late? There’s nothing you can do? Well, thanks anyway.” Without missing a beat, he resumes the show ** shame they’ve never used this in the many De’What sketches since (still time cuz they’re still goin’)
Shoemaker rescued Elves from magical tree stump, not windowless cottage ** Shoemaker told everyone to text their votes to Saturday Night Live, & phone number was different
Gemma cut running bit: Louis repeatedly talks about his “hog” & how we boys need to “do our hogs right now”. Kenan calls Vanessa a “hog” at one point
Update: Killam-Brady screwed up a line (not as badly as on air), with the same recovery (“A rare Brady flub”); seemed like a true ad-lib in dress, so maybe Taran screwed up on purpose for air to keep the line ** at the end, Jost wore a #12 Patriots jersey & shouted “We still love you!” He stepped over Che’s line but still a funny quick-change sight gag ** Cut Jost Joke: “Stevie Wonder celebrated his 65th birthday this week, continuing his streak of going 0 for 65 on birthday wishes.” Huge groans, but should’ve replaced “jalapeño business” in the Cut Jokes segment. Che then told a joke I sadly don’t remember, but Colin laughed because “We followed a Stevie Wonder joke with a joke about paying your bills by reading.” Che: “Jesus, Colin!” ** “Jalapeño business” was cut from Keaton ep; the corniness worked then because it was saved by the “Lorne calls to complain” bit ** Che never finished his Malaysia Airlines punchline in dress, either ** Riblet: no Mikey Day at the end. Rather the microphone appears on a pedestal. Riblet dons Indiana Jones hat & waits to grab it like in the movie. He fends off a cobra puppet, then drops the mic in front of Che
DRESS RUNDOWN
Hillary
monologue
tantrums (CUT)
Gemma
ROOFTOP PARTY (CUT)
Whoops! I Married A Lesbian
Rihanna #1
Update
Tom Brady
John Diehl texts (CUT)
Pete Davidson
cut jokes >> Riblet
actor line-up
BRUCE/LOUIE (CUT)
LUMBERJACK #1
how I talk
LUMBERJACK #2
Rihanna #2
Shoemaker & Elves
NEW DESK (CUT)
Elf voting results (CUT)
Lumberjack #3 (CUT)
goodnights
I’m surprised you didn’t mention that Louis wishes Letterman a happy retirement during the goodnights, as he his last show was either that week or the next.
Next season was considered (and still considered) my favorite season. I’m sure it’s mostly due to nostalgia and having a close affinity to the cast, but I still recall there being some excellent sketches. I started watching these episodes along with Stooge and giving percentages (# of sketches I thought were good / total # of sketches; then at the end of the season finding the average percentage of an episode) to find which season is the best, in my opinion. I’m going to try to be as open-minded as I can and watch it as a regular viewer. Hope it still holds up.
Here’s my rankings for the episodes of season 40 (some segments, such as repeated commercials like the “Save the Lumberjacks”, were conjoined as one sketch; based on my own criteria, some WU stuff was included or excluded as a sketch, so that may be the reason my total # of sketches might not add up to Stooge’s):
C.K. (83%)
HADER (73%)
DWAYNE J. (67%)
ROCK (50%)
HARRELSON/DIAZ – tie (46%)
SIMMONS (45%)
PRATT (43%)
CARREY (42%)
FRANCO/KEATON – tie (36%)
SILVERMAN/ADAMS – tie (31%)
HART/SHELTON – tie (27%)
FREEMAN/DAKOTA J./WITHERSPOON – tie (23%)
HEMSWORTH (21%)
HENSON (14%)
JOHANSSON (8%)
______________________________
AVG = 38%
This season compared to the previous season (39): 33%
Like more in the Rock episode than Keaton or Freeman? That’s certainly a take.
This is a very cold take…but the ending of The Shoemaker and the Elves made me laugh my ass off to the point where it saved the sketch for me. It was the power of Louis CK being irreverent, before…that became his undoing in a sense. But yeah, it may be generalized Anderlette trash, but man did that ending kill me.
also, lol at Louie going “how do you think I feel, this is my last show probably” in the monologue. Close. Very close.
Here are the average ratings for Season 40:
*may not represent review’s perception*
4001: 5.3 (Chris Pratt)
4002: 6.4 (Sarah Silverman)
4003: 6.4 (Bill Hader)
4004: 7.1 (Jim Carrey)
4005: 6.4 (Chris Rock)
4006: 8.0 (Woody Harrelson)
4007: 5.7 (Cameron Diaz)
4008: 5.1 (James Franco)
4009: 7.4 (Martin Freeman)
4010: 6.0 (Amy Adams)
4011: 5.8 (Kevin Hart)
4012: 6.1 (Blake Shelton)
4013: 7.5 (J.K. Simmons)
4014: 5.1 (Dakota Johnson)
4015: 6.3 (Chris Hemsworth)
4016: 7.5 (Dwayne Johnson)
4017: 7.8 (Michael Keaton)
4018: 5.9 (Taraji P. Henson)
4019: 5.6 (Scarlett Johansson)
4020: 5.2 (Reese Witherspoon)
4021: 7.1 (Louis C.K.)
Best Episode: 4006 (Woody Harrelson)- 8.0
Worst Episode: 4008 (James Franco) + 4014 (Dakota Johnson)- 5.1 (tie)
Season Average: 6.4
Season Averages Ranked:
#14 – 7.2
#15 – 7.1
#18 – 7.1
#17 – 7.0
#21 – 7.0
#22 – 7.0
#24 – 7.0
#16 – 6.9
#23 – 6.9
#26 – 6.8
#13 – 6.7
#25 – 6.7
#34 – 6.7
#3 – 6.6
#4 – 6.6
#27 – 6.6
#2 – 6.5
#12 – 6.5
#33 – 6.5
#38 – 6.5
—> #40 – 6.4 <—
#1 – 6.3
#10 – 6.3
#32 – 6.3
#37 – 6.3
#5 – 6.2
#39 – 6.2
#9 – 6.1
#28 – 6.1
#31 – 6.1
#35 – 6.1
#8 – 6.0
#19 – 6.0
#36 – 6.0
#7 – 5.8
#11 – 5.7
#29 – 5.7
#20 – 5.6
#6 – 5.3
#30 – 5.3
Best and Worst Episode Ranking
8.9 – Jerry Seinfeld (17.18)
8.8 – Alec Baldwin (15.18)
8.8 – Christopher Walken (18.04)
8.5 – Tom Hanks (14.01)
8.4 – Tom Hanks (16.08)
8.3 – Christopher Walken (15.11)
8.1 – David Alan Grier (21.08)
8.1 – Jim Carrey (21.20)
8.0 – Steve Martin (3.18)
8.0 – Chris Evert (15.05)
8.0 – Robert Wagner (15.08)
8.0 – Kyle MacLachlan (16.01)
8.0 – Ray Romano (24.15)
8.0 – Christopher Walken (25.16)
8.0 – Jon Hamm (34.06)
8.0 – Martin Short (38.10)
—> 8.0 – Woody Harrelson (40.06)
7.9 – Tom Hanks (17.19)
7.9 – Sinbad (18.07)
7.9 – Kevin Spacey (22.10)
7.9 – Steve Buscemi (23.17)
7.9 – Christopher Walken (28.13)
7.9 – Jamie Foxx (38.09)
7.8 – Candice Bergen (2.10)
7.8 – Gary Busey (4.14)
7.8 – Paul Simon (13.08)
7.8 – John Larroquette (14.03)
7.8 – Rick Moranis (15.02)
7.8 – Patrick Swayze (16.04)
7.8 – Miranda Richardson (18.16)
7.8 – John Goodman (21.15)
7.8 – Martin Short (22.08)
7.8 – Alec Baldwin (24.09)
7.8 – Calista Flockhart (26.05)
7.8 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus (31.18)
7.8 – Anne Hathaway (34.04)
7.8 – John Malkovich (34.10)
7.8 – Michael Keaton (40.17)
7.7 – Robin Williams (12.05)
7.7 – William Shatner (12.08)
7.7 – Steve Martin (14.20)
7.7 – Michael Jordan (17.01)
7.7 – Kirstie Alley (17.03)
7.7 – Kiefer Sutherland (17.05)
7.7 – Joe Pesci (18.03)
7.7 – Harvey Keitel (18.11)
7.7 – Alec Baldwin (18.13)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (21.10)
7.7 – Rob Lowe (22.17)
7.7 – John Goodman (23.12)
7.7 – Garth Brooks (23.14)
7.7 – Conan O’Brien (26.14)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (26.20)
7.7 – Jon Stewart (27.14)
7.7 – Louis C.K. (38.06)
–
4.9 – Steven Seagal (16.18)
4.9 – Steve Martin (20.01)
4.9 – Colin Farrell (30.07)
4.9 – Cameron Diaz (30.16)
4.9 – Eva Longoria (31.06)
4.9 – Taylor Lautner (35.09)
4.9 – Justin Bieber (38.13)
4.9 – Andy Samberg (39.21)
4.8 – Frank Zappa (4.03)
4.8 – Jamie Lee Curtis (6.04)
4.8 – Robert Culp (7.18)
4.8 – Jerry Hall (11.10)
4.8 – Christian Slater (19.05)
4.8 – Jennifer Aniston (29.09)
4.8 – Lance Armstrong (31.04)
4.8 – Gabourey Sidibe (35.20)
4.8 – Scarlett Johansson (36.06)
4.7 – Sally Kellerman (6.09)
4.7 – Teri Garr (11.06)
4.7 – Johnny Knoxville (30.18)
4.7 – Lindsay Lohan (30.20)
4.7 – Scarlett Johansson (32.18)
4.6 – Malcolm McDowell (6.02)
4.6 – Charlene Tilton (6.11)
4.6 – Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (29.10)
4.6 – Ashton Kutcher (30.15)
4.5 – Nancy Kerrigan (19.15)
4.5 – Bob Saget (20.19)
4.5 – Halle Berry (29.03)
4.4 – Tom Green (26.06)
4.3 – Robert Hays (6.08)
4.3 – Kate Winslet (30.04)
4.2 – Milton Berle (4.17)
4.2 – Deborah Harry (6.10)
4.2 – Matthew McConaughey (28.11)
4.1 – George Foreman (20.09)
4.1 – John C. Reilly (32.03)
3.7 – Donald Trump (29.16)
3.6 – Deion Sanders (20.13)
3.6 – Hilary Swank (30.13)
3.4 – Sarah Jessica Parker (20.05)
2.9 – Paul Reiser (20.15)
Wasn’t there some sort of controversy over the millennial sketch coming up in the Miley season premiere? I remember people having a problem with it.
I can’t say I recall any public pushback, though I know I personally wasn’t a fan, not because I found anything in it offensive (are far as I remember, it was pretty much just making fun of the spoiled rich type of millennial, so who cares?) but because I thought the jokes were the same type of jokes I’d already seen all over Twitter for months at that point (a new type of bad sketch in this era, by the way). We’ll see tomorrow, I guess.
Here are the five star sketches from the 2014-15 season:
Monologue (Sarah Silverman)
Whites (Sarah Silverman)
Helpfund (Bill Hader)
Allstate/Lincoln (Jim Carrey)
Office Costume Contest (Jim Carrey)
Match’d (Woody Harrelson)
New Marijuana Policy (Woody Harrelson)
Grow-A-Guy (James Franco)
The Office: Middle Earth (Martin Freeman)
Asian American Doll (Amy Adams)
Serial (Amy Adams)
Bushwick, Brooklyn 2015 (Kevin Hart)
Totino’s Super Bowl Activity Pack For Women! (JK Simmons)
The Jay-Z Story (JK Simmons)
Bambi (Dwayne Johnson)
Monologue (Michael Keaton)
Prom Queen (Michael Keaton)
Neurotology (Michael Keaton)
Monologue (Reese Witherspoon)
Monologue (Louis CK)
20 Sketches! Holy crap! That’s double the previous season and our most since (checks notes), holy shit, 92-93! What in the world??? I would say there are some generous selections on this list, but then again, I’d vouch for The Dudleys, Career Day, Tad Rankin (that’s right) and some Beck and Kyle pieces among others, so maybe it’s all a wash. A couple interesting things to note: as has been widely discussed, pre-tapes dominate with 14 of the 20 selections being from the film crew. Also, this season’s four monologue selections have to be some sort of record. Interestingly, only two live sketches made the list, which maybe is indicative of why this season is not generally regarded as one of the best ever. I don’t know, by this metric, it certainly looks like an all-timer, but I do not have a huge amount of affection for this season. Weird.
Holy shit, I had a feeling the numbers would be high when it felt like every other day a pre-tape would get *****, but the most since S18 is truly remarkable. What’s crazier is I think the next 2 (especially 42) will top it, since they were just as strong in the pre-tape department and much stronger with live sketches. With that being said, here are the sketches that came in under 2 stars.
*1/2:
Cialis Turnt (Chris Pratt)
Booty Rap (Chris Pratt)
Kim Jong Un (Bill Hader)
The Couple (Chris Rock)
Monologue (Cameron Diaz)
Night Murmurs (Cameron Diaz)
Monologue (James Franco)
Peter Pan (James Franco)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (James Franco)
Right Side of the Bed With Gracelynn and Cory (Martin Freeman)
Monologue (Amy Adams)
A Very Cuban Christmas (Amy Adams)
Nancy (Kevin Hart)
The Journey (Kevin Hart)
I Can’t (Dakota Johnson)
Emergency Room (Dakota Johnson)
The Iggy Azalea Show (Chris Hemsworth)
Monologue (Scarlett Johansson)
Be Scene In L.A. (Reese Witherspoon)
The Shoemaker and the Elves (Louis C.K.)
Couples Retreat (Louis C.K.)
*:
Animal Hospital (Chris Pratt)
River Cruise (Sarah Silverman)
Shark Tank (Chris Rock)
Magic Bridge (James Franco)
Cinderella (Dakota Johnson)
QVC (Taraji P Henson)
Dino Bones (Scarlett Johansson)
28 sketches, 7 receiving only a single star. Up 7 from the previous season (with one additional single star sketch), but still better off than the 09-12 seasons. My personal pick for worst sketch of the season is definitely Dino Bones, which represents the nadir of Anderlette’s collaborations with Cecily and most reminiscent of their very worst material with Wiig. I’d also personally swap out QVC with Kim Jong Un and maybe The Couple too. It speaks to this season’s shakiness that 4 monologues showed up both here and the 5 star list. Although next season is a little less shaky, I expect one particular episode is going to fuck up the curve with like 6 or 7 sketches.
And now the ****½ sketches:
Bad Boys (Chris Pratt)
Monologue (Chris Rock)
Swiftamine (Chris Rock)
The Dudleys (Woody Harrelson)
Last Call (Woody Harrelson)
Sump’n Claus (Martin Freeman)
St. Joseph’s Christmas Mass Spectacular (Martin Freeman)
Cinema Classics (J.K. Simmons)
Career Day (J.K. Simmons)
*That’s When You Break (40th Anniversary Special)*
Weekend Update (Chris Hemsworth)
WrestleMania Promo (Dwayne Johnson)
The Circus with Kyle (Dwayne Johnson)
An Easter Message (Michael Keaton)
Blazer (Scarlett Johansson)
Sprint Store (Louis C.K.)
Actor Line-Up (Louis C.K.)
Plus some additional sketches under two stars:
SMART HOME (Michael Keaton) *1/2
PICTURE PERFECT (Reese Witherspoon) *
Aw nuts, can’t believe I missed Smart Home. In my defense with Picture Perfect, though, last time I looked it still had no rating. So that makes 30 sketches under 2 stars, with 8 receiving the dreaded single star, which has it one sketch shy of season 37, with both seasons tying for single star sketches.
Was curious how the first and last episodes rank. Thank you Vax! Here’s the ranking:
Season Premiere:
8.5 – Tom Hanks (S14)
8.0 – Kyle McLachlan (S16)
7.7 – Michael Jordan (S17)
7.6 – Rob Lowe (S26)
7.4 – Alec Baldwin (S37)
7.3 – Steve Martin (S3)
7.3 – Cameron Diaz (S24)
7.3 – Jerry Seinfeld (S25)
7.3 – Dane Cook (S32)
7.3 – Seth MacFarlane (S38)
7.1 – Sylvester Stallone (S23)
7.0 – Steve Martin (S13)
7.0 – Nicholas Cage (S18)
7.0 – Mariel Hemingway (S21)
7.0 – LeBron James (S33)
7.0 – Tina Fey (S39)
6.8 – Rolling Stones (S4)
6.8 – Chevy Chase (S8)
6.7 – George Carlin (S1)
6.7 – (no host) (S10)
6.6 – Tom Hanks (S22)
6.6 – Matt Damon (S28)
6.5 – Lily Tomlin (S2)
6.5 – Steve Martin (S5)
6.5 – Bruce Willis (S15)
6.5 – Michael Phelps (S34)
6.4 – (no host) (S7)
6.4 – Sigourney Weaver (S12)
6.3 – Steve Carell (S31)
6.1 – Brandon Tartikoff (S9)
6.1 – Amy Poehler (S36)
6.0 – Charles Barkley (S19)
5.8 – Madonna (S11)
5.8 – Reese Witherspoon (S27)
5.8 – Jack Black (S29)
5.5 – Elliott Gould (S6)
5.3 – Ben Affleck (S30)
5.3 – Megan Fox (S35)
—> 5.3 – Chris Pratt (S40)
4.9 – Steve Martin (S20)
Season Finale:
8.1 – Jim Carrey (S21)
7.7 – Steve Martin (S14)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (S26)
7.5 – George Wendt (S16)
7.3 – Will Ferrell (S34)
7.1 – Ben Affleck (S38)
—> 7.1 – Louis C.K. (S40)
6.9 – Buck Henry (S2)
6.9 – Buck Henry (S5)
6.9 – Heather Locklear (S19)
6.9 – Sarah Michelle Gellar (S24)
6.9 – Dan Aykroyd (S28)
6.8 – Jeff Goldblum (S22)
6.7 – Billy Crystal & Others (S9)
6.6 – Woody Harrelson (S17)
6.6 – David Duchovny (S23)
6.6 – Winona Ryder (S27)
6.5 – Howard Cosell (S10)
6.5 – Kevin Kline (S18)
6.4 – Buck Henry (S4)
6.4 – Judge Reinhold (S13)
6.4 – Candice Bergen (S15)
6.1 – David Duchovny (S20)
6.1 – Kevin Spacey (S31)
6.1 – Steve Carell (S33)
6.1 – Justin Timberlake (S36)
5.9 – Kris Kristofferson (S1)
5.9 – Olivia Newton-John (S7)
5.9 – Dennis Hopper (S12)
5.9 – Alec Baldwin (S35)
5.8 – Olsen Twins (S29)
5.7 – Mick Jagger (S37)
5.6 – (no host) (S6)
5.5 – Jackie Chan (S25)
5.5 – Zach Braff (S32)
5.3 – Buck Henry (S3)
5.3 – Ed Koch (S8)
5.3 – Anjelica Huston (S11)
4.9 – Andy Samberg (S39)
4.7 – Lindsay Lohan (S30)
Here’s the Weakest Link Rankings of the first 40 years (how all the seasons rank according to their respective lowest-scoring episodes) best to worst:
1. 1988-89: Geena Davis (6.5)
2. 1998-99: Bill Murray (6.4)
3. 1992-93: Tim Robbins (6.2)
4. 1997-98: [tie] Samuel L. Jackson & Roma Downey (6.1)
5. 1996-97: [tie] Chevy Chase & Pamela Lee (5.9)
6. 1991-92: Steve Martin (5.8)
7. 1987-88: Justine Bateman (5.7)
8. 1986-87: Bronson Pinchot (5.6)
9. 1989-90: [tie] Quincy Jones & Andrew Dice Clay (5.6)
10. 2001-02: Josh Harnett (5.6)
11. 2007-08: Ellen Page (5.6)
12. 1999-2K: Jackie Chan (5.5)
13. 2011-12: [tie] Melissa McCarthey & Lindsey Lohan (5.5)
14. 1976-77: Dick Cavett (5.4)
15. 1983-84: [tie] DeVito/Perlman & John Candy (5.4)
16. 2008-09: Rosario Dawson (5.4)
17. 1977-78: 2nd Buck Henry (5.3)
18. 1984-85: Pamela Sue Martin (5.3)
19. 1979-80: Burt Reynolds (5.2)
20. 1975-76: Louise Lasser (5.1)
21. 1995-96: Tom Arnold (5.1)
22. 2014-15: [tie] James Franco & Dakota Johnson (5.1)
23. 1982-83: Beau & Jeff Bridges (5.0)
24. 1990-91: Steven Seagal (4.9)
25. 2012-13: Justin Beiber (4.9)
26. 2013-14: Andy Samberg (4.9)
27. 1981-82: Robert Culp (4.8)
28. 2005-06: Lance Armstrong (4.8)
29. 2009-10: Gabourey Sidibe (4.8)
30. 2010-11: Scarlett Johanson (4.8)
31. 1985-86: Teri Garr (4.7)
32. 1993-94: Nancy Kerrigan (4.5)
33. 2000-01: Tom Green (4.4)
34.1978-79: Milton Berle (4.2)
35. 1980-81: Deborah Harry (4.2)
36. 2002-03: Matthew McConaughey (4.2)
37. 2006-07: John C. Reilly (4.1)
38. 2003-04: Don The Appeaser (3.7)
39. 2004-05: Hillary Swank (3.6)
40. 1994-95: Paul Reiser (2.7)
Five Timers Overall Rank
8.8 – Alec Baldwin (15.18)
8.8 – Christopher Walken (18.04)
8.5 – Tom Hanks (14.01)
8.4 – Tom Hanks (16.08)
8.3 – Christopher Walken (15.11)
8.0 – Steve Martin (3.18)
8.0 – Christopher Walken (25.16)
7.9 – Tom Hanks (17.19)
7.9 – Christopher Walken (28.13)
7.8 – Candice Bergen (2.10)
7.8 – Paul Simon (13.08)
7.8 – John Goodman (21.15)
7.8 – Alec Baldwin (24.09)
7.7 – Steve Martin (14.20)
7.7 – Alec Baldwin (18.13)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (21.10)
7.7 – John Goodman (23.12)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (26.20)
7.6 – Bill Murray (12.14)
7.6 – John Goodman (15.07)
7.6 – John Goodman (16.07)
7.6 – Tina Fey (33.05)
—> 7.5 – Dwayne Johnson (40.16)
7.4 – John Goodman (22.19)
7.4 – Ben Affleck (29.15)
7.4 – Dwayne Johnson (34.17)
7.4 – Alec Baldwin (37.01)
7.3 – Paul Simon (2.08)
7.3 – Steve Martin (3.01)
7.3 – Tom Hanks (13.12)
7.3 – John Goodman (24.17)
7.3 – John Goodman (27.04)
7.3 – Ben Affleck (34.07)
7.3 – Will Ferrell (34.22)
7.2 – Buck Henry (2.06)
7.1 – Steve Martin (4.04)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin (20.08)
7.1 – Justin Timberlake (29.02)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin (26.16)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin (32.05)
7.1 – Ben Affleck (38.21)
7.0 – Steve Martin (2.05)
7.0 – Elliott Gould (2.19)
7.0 – Steve Martin (13.01)
7.0 – Danny DeVito (14.07)
7.0 – Alec Baldwin (21.11)
7.0 – Tina Fey (39.01)
6.9 – Buck Henry (1.21)
6.9 – Buck Henry (2.22)
6.9 – Buck Henry (5.04)
6.9 – Buck Henry (5.20)
6.9 – Tom Hanks (15.13)
6.9 – John Goodman (17.15)
6.9 – Bill Murray (18.14)
6.9 – Alec Baldwin (22.14)
6.9 – Ben Affleck (25.13)
6.9 – Dwayne Johnson (25.15)
6.8 – Elliott Gould (1.09)
6.8 – Chevy Chase (8.01)
6.8 – Three Amigos (12.06)
6.8 – Alec Baldwin (16.14)
6.8 – Danny DeVito (18.10)
6.8 – Drew Barrymore (24.16)
6.8 – Christopher Walken (33.09)
6.7 – Bill Murray (6.12)
6.7 – Tom Hanks (11.05)
6.7 – John Goodman (20.16)
6.7 – Alec Baldwin (27.18)
6.7 – Justin Timberlake (34.21)
6.6 – Buck Henry (1.10)
6.6 – Chevy Chase (3.11)
6.6 – Tom Hanks (22.01)
6.6 – Will Ferrell (30.19)
6.6 – Drew Barrymore (32.12)
6.5 – Candice Bergen (1.04)
6.5 – Steve Martin (5.01)
6.5 – Candice Bergen (13.05)
6.5 – Chevy Chase (21.02)
6.5 – Dwayne Johnson (27.17)
6.4 – Eliott Gould (1.22)
6.4 – Steve Martin (2.14)
6.4 – Buck Henry (3.06)
6.4 – Buck Henry (4.20)
6.4 – Danny DeVito (13.06)
6.4 – Candice Bergen (15.20)
6.4 – Bill Murray (24.14)
6.4 – Scarlett Johansson (31.10)
6.4 – Jonah Hill (39.12)
6.3 – Candice Bergen (1.08)
6.3 – Danny DeVito (7.09)
6.3 – John Goodman (18.15)
6.3 – Jonah Hill (33.08)
6.2 – Buck Henry (4.05)
6.2 – Elliott Gould (4.09)
6.2 – Bill Murray (7.08)
6.1 – Steve Martin (3.09)
6.1 – Chevy Chase (17.11)
6.1 – Danny DeVito (25.08)
6.1 – Steve Martin (31.12)
6.1 – Justin Timberlake (36.22)
6.0 – John Goodman (19.19)
6.0 – John Goodman (25.18)
6.0 – Justin Timberlake (32.09)
6.0 – Drew Barrymore (35.03)
6.0 – Will Ferrell (37.21)
6.0 – Jonah Hill (37.17)
6.0 – Justin Timberlake (38.16)
6.0 – Melissa McCarthy (39.13)
5.9 – Chevy Chase (5.10)
5.9 – Chevy Chase (22.13)
5.9 – Alec Baldwin (31.08)
5.9 – Alec Baldwin (35.22)
5.8 – Paul Simon (5.14)
5.8 – Steve Martin (5.19)
5.8 – Steve Martin (17.09)
5.8 – Drew Barrymore (27.03)
5.8 – Tom Hanks (31.17)
5.8 – Steve Martin (34.14)
5.8 – Tina Fey (35.18)
5.8 – Tina Fey (36.20)
5.7 – Melissa McCarthy (38.17)
5.6 – Paul Simon (1.02)
5.6 – Alec Baldwin (34.16)
—> 5.6 – Scarlett Johansson (40.19)
5.5 – Elliott Gould (6.01)
5.5 – Chevy Chase (11.02)
5.5 – Paul Simon (11.16)
5.5 – Alec Baldwin (29.06)
5.5 – Melissa McCarthy (37.02)
5.4 – Danny DeVito & RP (9.02)
5.3 – Buck Henry (3.20)
5.3 – Elliott Gould (5.3)
5.3 – Drew Barrymore (8.07)
5.3 – Alec Baldwin & KB (19.13)
5.3 – Ben Affleck (30.01)
5.2 – John Goodman (39.09)
5.0 – Drew Barrymore (29.12)
4.9 – Steve Martin (20.01)
4.8 – Scarlett Johansson (36.06)
4.7 – Scarlett Johansson (32.18)