Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
JEFF SESSIONS GUMP
not-so-naive Jeff Sessions (KAM) recounts his misdeeds a la Forrest Gump
— I do like the idea of a Jeff Sessions/Forrest Gump mash-up, and Kate’s Sessions impression is still new enough at this point that I’m enjoying it in this Gump format.
— A decent structure to this sketch.
— A laugh from Aidy’s scene beginning with Kate’s Sessions immediately disclosing to her, “I talked to the Russians”, after denying to Kyle at the end of the previous scene that he spoke to the Russians.
— A funny brief scene with Beck’s Vladimir Putin.
— A solid The Help reference with the pie that Octavia Spencer’s character from that movie gives Kate’s Sessions.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host has moved beyond nurse roles, but people misidentify Hidden Figures
— Nothing much to say about the material in this monologue so far. It’s nothing too noteworthy, but Octavia is coming off really well here. It’s also nice to see a real monologue at this point of SNL’s run.
STARS: ***
COURAGE, COMPASSION, COUNTRY: THE TBD STORY
biopic of Donald Trump challenger profiles a to-be-determined Republican
— All of the abrupt “TBD” disclaimers are making me chuckle, even if the novelty has worn off after a while.
— Funny line about Paul Ryan.
— A laugh from the “Starring Bradley Whitford, probably” line at the end.
STARS: ***
DRUG COMPANY HEARING
Merck swiped drug names from former employee’s (host) relatives & friends
— A hacky and cliched premise by this point in 2017. It was fresher when SNL did a similar idea in 1995, in that summer camp sketch with Damon Wayans and Ellen Cleghorne.
— I did laugh just now at Alex’s knowing and depressed “No, it’s terrible” response to the “You think it’s nice being associated with high cholesterol and erectile dysfunction?” question.
STARS: **
GIRL AT A BAR
male feminists call (CES) a bitch when she rebuffs them
— Beck’s delivery of “I wear this shirt, you won’t even let me nnnnuut?!?” has me laughing so much.
— This feels like the first noteworthy thing Kyle has done in a while, though maybe I’m forgetting a big role he got in the last few episodes prior to this.
— A good satire of so-called male “feminists”, though the constant repetition of the main gag is a little too one-note and predictable for my likes, much like the TBD ad earlier in this episode.
— The look of Alex’s character is very funny.
STARS: ***
PRE-COMMERCIAL SHOT
going to commercial, texting Kellyanne Conway (KAM) kneels on SNL set
— A creative way to spoof a famous then-recent Oval Office photo. When this episode originally aired, I remember thinking this initial shot of Kate was a technical error, as I wasn’t yet aware of what SNL was going for.
ZOO-OPOLIS VOICE ACTORS
(MEV), (ALM), (host) fill in for celebrities voicing cartoon characters
— This sketch’s concept is kinda blah and flimsy, but at the same time, it’s a welcome showcase for Melissa, Alex, and Octavia’s impression skills.
— A decent Tracy Morgan impression from Kenan.
— Holy hell, that Kristen Wiig impression from Melissa. Freakin’ AMAZING.
— Wow, and I thought it was impressive that Melissa did a Wiig impression. Now she nails an impression of KATE FREAKIN’ MCKINNON, Melissa’s own cast mate. Hell, before this sketch originally aired, I didn’t even know a Kate McKinnon impression was possible. Also when this sketch originally aired, I remember that it led me to the conclusion that, despite her struggles for airtime this season, Melissa’s Wiig and McKinnon impressions ALONE automatically secured her a second season.
STARS: ***½
YOUNGBLOOD
(KET)’s chess ineptitude foils his attempt to spread wisdom
— Great tone to this short.
— A big laugh from Kenan trying to pass off a Troll Doll as a chess piece.
— I love Octavia’s interjections, as well as Kenan’s frustration towards her.
— Very strong twist at the end.
STARS: ****
PRE-COMMERCIAL SHOT
going to commercial, texting Kellyanne Conway (KAM) kneels on SNL set
— Great to see this become a runner in this episode. Kinda reminds me of the “Will Ferrell as Kenneth Starr subpoenaing everyone” runner in the season 23 Julianne Moore episode.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Total Entertainment Forever”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Donald Jr. (MID) & Eric (ALM) claim pa Trump has left the family business
Laura Parsons is surprisingly well-informed about serious current events
going to commercial, texting Kellyanne Conway (KAM) kneels on SNL set
— The camera is further back on Michael and Colin than usual. I think I recall this becoming a regular thing from this point on.
— Michael, after Colin’s story about his Irish ancestors coming to America because God took their potatoes away: “At least they had a choice.”
— Not only nice to see Mikey and Alex’s Trump Brothers make their first of many Update appearances, but it’s also nice to see Mikey and Alex so prominent on Update within these last few episodes.
— Alex’s dimwitted interjections as Eric Trump are hilarious.
— I wonder if that was an ad-lib when Alex’s Eric resorted to drinking from the juice pack by just putting the hole to his mouth because it took Mikey too long to get the straw through the hole. If that was indeed an ad-lib, kudos to Alex.
— The interplay between Mikey and Alex’s Trump Brothers is great.
— This ends up being the final appearance of Vanessa’s Laura Parsons character.
— A big laugh from Vanessa-as-Laura-Parson’s delivery of “Why I oughtaaaaa…!”
— The usual solid commentary from Vanessa’s Parsons. I especially laughed at her line “You might wanna Google it…BEFORE NANA GETS RAPED!!!”
— The great Kneeling Kellyanne Conway runner now carries over into the end of this Update, which ends up being the conclusion of this runner. When this episode originally aired, I remember wishing the runner carried over into the goodnights by showing Kate’s Kellyanne kneeling on the side of the home base stage while everyone else is hugging. SNL would instead later do that with a similar runner in, I think, the following season’s finale, where Aidy occasionally pops up as a real-life woman who went viral for calling the cops on black people innocently barbecuing at a park.
STARS: ****
STICKY BUN
Sticky Bun trainees (MID), (host), (MEV) fail at customer interaction
— Beck’s playing a very Mikey-esque smiley and good-natured straight man character who tries to maintain his smiley, good-natured demeanor when reacting to weird things. I wonder if that means Mikey and Streeter Seidell wrote this sketch.
— Good to see the underused Melissa getting a few big comedic roles tonight.
— Some laughs from the inappropriate things being said by the trainees.
— A funny airport reveal at the end.
STARS: ***
BAR CENTRALE
weird friendship of (CES) & (host) works despite initial ulterior motives
— No idea what to make of this sketch so far, but I haven’t been enjoying it.
— I did laugh just now at Sasheer’s “What?!?” after Cecily said Sasheer must be thinking “The thirst is real.”
— I’ve noticed that Octavia’s been having a few line flubs throughout this episode.
— Overall…yeah, this sketch pretty much came and went with me barely getting any laughs and not caring for the premise.
STARS: *½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Pure Comedy”
THE CHOCOLATE MAN
fired (BEB) purveys chocolate in hopes his co-workers will forget gunplay
— (*sigh*) Yet another sad sign of how much Bobby’s airtime has been reduced this season, as he’s just now making his first (and only) appearance of the night, and it’s just a non-comedic straight man role.
— I remember this sketch bombing pretty hard and kind of having a trainwreck-y vibe.
— So far, I like the darkness and weirdness this sketch is going for, but it’s falling fairly flat for me in its execution. And yeah, something does feel trainwreck-y about this sketch, even if I don’t flat-out hate it.
— A rare instance of breaking from both Vanessa and Bobby. Something seems significant about that, knowing that they’re both leaving the show in two months.
— That…that’s the ending?!?
STARS: **
SPENCER’S GIFTS
employees of host’s Spencer’s gift store pitch her goofy product ideas
— Quite a number of sketches tonight have taken place in an office.
— When this sketch originally aired, I remember I didn’t understand it at all nor why Octavia was playing herself, as I had never even heard of Spencer’s gift store. After I found out, it made me appreciate the sketch.
— So far in my current viewing, I can’t find anything else to say about this sketch, except that Octavia is fun and is selling the material well.
STARS: ***½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very average episode where there weren’t many segments that stood out as a whole. Octavia Spencer was a likable host.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Weekend Update
Youngblood
Zoo-opolis Voice Actors / Spencer’s Gifts (tie)
Girl At A Bar
Sticky Bun
Jeff Sessions Gump
Monologue
Courage, Compassion, Country: The TBD Story
The Chocolate Man
Drug Company Hearing
Bar Centrale
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Alec Baldwin)
a slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Scarlett Johansson becomes a Five-Timer