Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
MORNING JOE
Joe Scarborough’s (ALM) romance with Mika Brzezinski (KAM) flummoxes panelists
— Good to not see a Trumpwin cold opening for the first time in a while.
— Fun interplay between Kate and Alex.
— Spoke too soon about this not being a Trumpwin cold opening, though his involvement is thankfully just a small voice-over, and it’s not hurting this cold opening for me.
— The cutaways to the panelists reacting to Kate and Alex’s romance is starting to get old for me after a while.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host sings “Uptown Girl” variant to differentiate Chris hunks’ identities
— Blah, there’s yet another usage that tired, old “I did such a good job on the show (insert big number here) years ago that they couldn’t wait to have me back” joke.
— Good fake-out with Chris Pine getting the audience to applaud his mention of him being in Guardians Of The Galaxy, only for him to reveal that it was Chris Pratt who was in that movie.
— A decent visual of the poster of all the famous Chris hunks.
— Our first of what will end up being MANY song-and/or-dance numbers in tonight’s episode.
— The musical number here isn’t anything special, but it’s passable enough.
STARS: ***
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KELLYANNE CONWAY?
nobody cares to find Kellyanne Conway (KAM)
— As a 90s kid, I love how this Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego spoof is bringing me back to my childhood. Even the “Corporation For Public Broadcasting / Viewers Like You” intro that this sketch opens with is such a blast of nostalgia for me.
— A creative topical concept for a WitWiCS spoof.
— The guys are very funny as Rockapella.
— Sasheer is doing a good job in her impression of The Chief from WitWiCS, playing this role for the second time (after the Yo Where Jackie Chan At Right Now sketch from the preceding season).
— A very funny twist and comically-abrupt conclusion. I also like how that makes this the second consecutive episode with a quick blackout gag sketch (after the Take Me Back sketch).
STARS: ****
SONG FOR PEACE
slavic Stav D (BEB) bemoans crises, particularly porn
— Beck is absolutely hilarious in this.
— Solid supporting work from Kyle and (especially) Chris.
— The look of Kyle’s character is very similar to that of his character MC Strategy from those town hall sketches from season 41 (the Amy Schumer and Ronda Rousey episodes). He also reminds me of how Mikey looked in the Thank You Scott short from this season’s Louis C.K. episode.
— The porn turn in the song is so damn funny. Beck’s “Softcore is da best!” lyric in particular has stuck in my memory over the years.
STARS: ****½
SWAT RECON
stakeout stumbles upon innocent sugar-fueled glee of (host) & (MID)
— The shots of Mikey and Chris’ adult characters engaging in various childish activities are both very funny and very charming. Mikey in particular is fantastic at channeling his inner child. Also adding to the sketch for me is the way Mikey and Chris’ actions are being humorously described in a very straitlaced manner by Kenan and Beck’s cop characters.
— Leslie in a zoot suit is a riot.
— I like Kenan occasionally reflecting wistfully on why he doesn’t have this kind of childish fun anymore.
STARS: ****½
THE BOY IS MINE
boss (AIB) & personnel rep (VAB) fight over (host) via “The Boy Is Mine”
— Hmm. This “The Boy Is Mine” musical number that Aidy and Vanessa have broken out into towards Chris seems like the type of thing I might get tired of fast, as this type of humor usually isn’t my bag. I’ll try to be open-minded towards this sketch, though.
— It’s now two minutes later, and, while Aidy and Vanessa are both fun here, and Vanessa had a particularly funny and well-written line describing herself as “a childless MILF with an eye for design”, I’m not crazy about the musical number.
— This really died for me at the end.
STARS: **
THE HOUSE
reality show roommates (host), (KYM), (BEB) are overdramatic
— Great to see a second installment of this, after a two-season gap (the first installment of which, funnily enough, was done with one of the other famous Chris hunks: Chris Hemsworth).
— Also great to see our SECOND Beck/Kyle pre-tape in tonight’s episode alone, both airing in the pre-Update half to boot.
— Like last time, I’m loving the random reality show-esque treatment of such a mundane situation, perfectly nailing just about every reality show trope.
— A hilarious cutaway to a completely random, previously-unseen guy saying in his confessional, in regards to a dramatic confrontation currently happening, “I’m staying out of this.”
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Call the Police”
WEEKEND UPDATE
nervous contest winner Dawn Lazarus (VAB) double-talks weather forecast
LEJ met someone & got her groove back during a vacation in Jamaica
— Ah, the debut of Vanessa’s Dawn Lazarus character.
— Vanessa’s delivery of these nonsense-filled sentences is utter perfection, and this character’s whole routine is priceless. Her occasional utterances of “Hap” are particularly classic.
— It’s easy to see why Dawn Lazarus would go on to be one of Vanessa’s most beloved recurring characters. On that subject, not only is it odd and interesting to realize that one of Vanessa’s most beloved recurring characters debuted in the homestretch of her tenure, but also that we never would’ve gotten this character at all if this year’s potential writers strike had happened and cut this season off after the Jimmy Fallon-hosted episode.
— Ah, great to see a random continuation of Vanessa’s Lazarus commentary a few minutes later, in a “Break’n Hnews” segment.
— Leslie beginning one sentence by just saying, in regards to her new boyfriend, “For what he did to me in that shower…….” is already slaying me.
— A good laugh from Leslie’s imitation of a crab watching her have sex.
— The usual strong Leslie Update commentary overall.
STARS: ****
AUTO SHOP
auto mechanics lip-sync after owning their love of RuPaul’s Drag Race
— This reminds me a little of that sketch from Paul Rudd’s season 34 episode where he and Bill Hader played manly parking lot workers who dismissively discussed the topic of same-sex marriage while being in denial of the fact that they’re in love with each other.
— There’s a nice charm to this sketch, especially with how much all of the guys are into the “Lip-sync for your life” sequence. Bobby is especially fun in the latter.
STARS: ***½
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
bros barely noticed society’s misogynistic shift
— Cecily makes her first appearance all night, and it’s not even a live appearance.
— Blah, I have not been caring for the comedy of this piece so far.
— Overall, yeah, this came and went without me caring for it AT ALL.
STARS: *
TV LAND FUTURE CLASSICS
(BOM) played a wild Vulcan in unaired Star Trek episode
— This feels like a variation of the Cinema Classic sketches, right down to having Kenan play the host.
— Akira Yoshimura! Keeping alive an SNL Sulu tradition that’s been going on for 40+ years!
— Fun performance from Bobby. This may end up being our last display of his great ability to sell the type of character that probably would’ve come off lame from other performers.
— Akira’s one speaking moment here steals this sketch and gets a good reaction from the audience.
— Ha, even THIS sketch includes a song-and-dance number, much like most of the rest of this episode.
— Kenan is fun as Neil deGrasse Tyson, and has good lines here.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “American Dream”
COUPLES GAME NIGHT
(host) & (CES) derail couples’ game night with Joe Frazier musical theme
— (*groan*) Our latest of writers James Anderson and Kent Sublette’s interminable, interchangeable “Come on, join in, you know this song!” sketches, none of which I’ve ever liked.
— This even feels like a blatant remake of one particular “Come on, join in, you know this song!” sketch: Debra’s Time.
— Speaking of remakes and rehashing, this sketch even reuses the “character smashes his hand through glass and now has a bloody hand” gag from another Anderson/Sublette-written sketch from just a few episodes prior: the Soda Fountain sketch with Louis C.K.
— Even some of the straight man performances are bugging me, especially Kate’s.
— Ugh, aaaaaaaand there’s the usual “The other characters DO know the song after all!!1!!11!!!” twist, though this time, it happens with a different song than the main one that’s sung in this sketch.
STARS: *
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode that, much like the preceding episode, had a fun, feel-good vibe, though I’d give this episode the edge in terms of quality because there was a good number of standout strong pieces in the pre-Weekend Update half.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Song For Peace
The House
SWAT Recon
Weekend Update
Where In The World Is Kellyanne Conway?
TV Land Future Classics
Auto Shop
Morning Joe
Monologue
The Boy Is Mine
The Handmaid’s Tale
Couples Game Night
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jimmy Fallon)
a mild step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Melissa McCarthy becomes a Five-Timer