I’m still into Paramore, but I’m not really that into “Still Into You.” (FUSE-VH1 #1 Agreement Alert)
Original Version
1. Lorde – “Royals”
2. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”
3. Katy Perry – “Roar”
4. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
5. Paramore – “Still Into You”
6. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
7. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
8. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness (Remix)”
9. Emeli Sandé – “My Kind of Love”
10. Robin Thicke ft. Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz – “Give It 2 U”
11. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
12. Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran – “Everything Has Changed”
13. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
14. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
15. Haim – “The Wire”
16. Tegan and Sara – “Closer”
17. Gavin DeGraw – “Best I Ever Had”
18. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
19. P!nk ft. Lily Allen – “True Love”
20. Britney Spears – “Work Bitch”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Wake Me Up
2. Royals
3. Closer
4. The Wire
5. Give It 2 U
6. Demons
7. Work Bitch
8. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
9. Sweater Weather
10. Wrecking Ball
11. Applause
12. Roar
13. Still Into You
14. Let Her Go
15. My Kind of Love
16. True Love
17. Counting Stars
18. Best I Ever Had
19. Everything Has Changed
20. Marry Me
Original Version
1. Lorde – “Royals”
2. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
3. Katy Perry – “Roar”
4. Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
5. Drake ft. Majid Jordan – “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
6. Eminem – “Berzerk”
7. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
8. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
9. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
10. Britney Spears – “Work Bitch”
11. Mike Will Made ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, and Juicy J – “23”
12. Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”
13. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness”
14. AWOLNATION – “Sail”
15. Paramore – “Still Into You”
16. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
17. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
18. Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran – “Everything Has Changed”
19. Selena Gomez – “Slow Down”
20. Robin Thicke ft. 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Give It 2 U”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Sail
2. Wake Me Up
3. Royals
4. Give It 2 U
5. Demons
6. Berzerk
7. Work Bitch
8. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
9. Sweater Weather
10. Wrecking Ball
11. Hold On, We’re Going Home
12. Safe and Sound
13. Applause
14. Roar
15. Slow Down
16. Still Into You
17. 23
18. Counting Stars
19. Marry Me
20. Everything Has Changed
“I’m a Manson man.”
“Kool-Aid is delicious, I don’t know.”
Mystery Boxes
“All right, don’t be fucking cool about it, man.”
I was in attendance at this episode, and I was really hoping Bethany would cut my hair. It’s getting a little long, and I’m easy (just a buzz all around), so I’m sure it would have worked out. Oh well. This was quite the efficient segment (a statement rarely applied to The Chris Gethard Show), making for a fun, frenetic time. B+
God Is Real And Will Make Us Rich And Also Please Kill Me Right Now, I Beg You! Promo
Any unexpected mention of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a big plus in my book. B+
Scrapbook Sundays Promo
The Writer Who Was Fired From the New Yorker For Being Too Pretentious is one of my favorite TCGS characters, but unfortunately here I found her a little shouty. But fortunately, the Malcolm Gladwell scrapbook was a delightfully pretentious idea, and the tipping point bit was an excellent turn of phrase, pretentious or no. B+
The Unlovables perform “Today’s the Day”
In general, I’m not a huge fan of pop punk, but when you hit on a solid pop punk anthem, it works out for everybody.
Cold Opening – A Message From the Presidents of the United States
I was worried that this was going to your typical staid political cold open, but then the horse and bee puns were delivered with a glory worthy of the presidency. Highlights included “the Gallup poll,” “black, white, Kentucky Derby,” and the one-two punch of “honeycomb laude” and “one equestrian on everyone’s mind.” A-
Opening Montage
Daivd Alan Grier was credited but did not appear.
Griffin Newman’s Monologue
The “cast members walk out to the stage and give the host a (fake) hard time” is quite the played-out monologue routine, but you can’t pass it up when gifted with a host with a name like “Griffin” “Newman.” B+
War Ship
Chris was more enamored with the audience than would typically be a good idea for a sketch show, but that girl was sound asleep. B
Beekend Uphorse
-The Jokes: Beekend Uphorse served as the best evidence of the night that Horse and Bee have enough material to do this on a regular basis. Bee’s highlights included “yellow jack-it” and Buzz Aldrin. Horse’s highlights included “thorough bread company” and the football medley. A-
-Andrew “Hot Dog” Parrish: I didn’t have a good view of this segment live at the studio, so it was much better re-watching at home, when I could see the tension between Hot Dog and Horse and Bee boiling over. B+
The Unlovables perform “Dance Party for 2 (Your Room, 3 A.M.)”
This wasn’t quite as anthemic as “Today’s the Day,” but it still had us dancing.
For Bee-ter or For Horse
“I really do like you and I think you’re the glue of this show.”
This started as your typical SNL-esque game show parody, but then it took a turn, and it was a twist I should have seen coming, but somehow it caught me by surprise, and it was of course the perfect way to end the episode. B+
Overall
Despite Chris’s constant warnings, the Horse and Bee special was far from a clusterfuck. In fact, I would have loved to have seen another half hour of Saddlebee Neigh-t Hive. And indeed, I would have also loved another half hour of Mystery Boxes. This is easily one of the best episodes of the year.
In a new feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Hello Ladies, thanks to increased screen time for Kyle Mooney
Monday – How I Met Your Mother, by default
Tuesday – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Wednesday* – Key & Peele, thanks particularly to the Usual Suspects sketch (Honorable Mention: American Horror Story: Coven, for confirming that, yes, Stevie Nicks is a witch)
Thursday – Childrens Hospital, taking on Werner Herzog
Friday – Comedy Bang! Bang!
Saturday – Nothing, or college football
(Note on Wednesday – The Chris Gethard Show will not be included for consideration on Wednesday, because of preexisting bias.)
Original Version
1. Katy Perry – “Roar”
2. Lorde – “Royals”
3. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”
4. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
5. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
6. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness (Remix)”
7. Paramore – “Still Into You”
8. Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran – “Everything Has Changed”
9. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
10. Emeli Sandé – “My Kind of Love”
11. Robin Thicke ft. 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Give It 2 U”
12. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
13. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
14. Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”
15. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
16. Gavin DeGraw – “Best I Ever Had”
17. Haim – “The Wire”
18. P!nk ft. Lily Allen – “True Love”
19. Tegan and Sara – “Closer”
20. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
Jmunney’s Revsion
1. Wake Me Up
2. Royals
3. Closer
4. The Wire
5. Give It 2 U
6. Demons
7. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
8. Sweater Weather
9. Wrecking Ball
10. Safe and Sound
11. Applause
12. Roar
13. Still Into You
14. Let Her Go
15. My Kind of Love
16. True Love
17. Counting Stars
18. Best I Ever Had
19. Everything Has Changed
20. Marry Me
Original Version
1. Katy Perry – “Roar”
2. Lorde – “Royals”
3. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
4. Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
5. Drake ft. Majid Jordan – “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
6. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
7. Eminem – “Berzerk”
8. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
9. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell – “Blurred Lines”
10. Mike Will Made It ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, and Juicy J – “23”
11. AWOLNATION – “Sail”
12. Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”
13. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness (Remix)”
14. Justin Timberlake – “Take Back the Night”
15. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
16. Britney Spears – “Work Bitch”
17. Paramore – “Still Into You”
18. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
19. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
20. Selena Gomez – “Slow Down”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Sail
2. Wake Me Up
3. Royals
4. Demons
5. Berzerk
6. Blurred Lines
7. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
8. Work Bitch
9. Sweater Weather
10. Wrecking Ball
11. Hold On, We’re Going Home
12. Safe and Sound
13. Roar
14. Slow Down
15. Applause
16. Take Back the Night
17. Still Into You
18. 23
19. Counting Stars
20. Marry Me
NASA Shutdown
Clever and timely, on two counts. It unfortunately pales in comparison to last week’s “We Did Stop,” but that is a lofty standard. This solid track record so far suggests there will be plenty of laughs for SNL to wring out of the government shutdown. B+
Bruce Willis’ Monologue
Bizarrely unmemorable. I guess Bruce REALLY didn’t want to do anything else except play the harmonica, or Bobby REALLY wanted to play with him. C
24-Hour Energy for Dating Actresses
And with an absolutely (purposefully) awful gag, Kyle Mooney sneaks in the best line! B-
“Roar” does not deserve to be #1 three weeks in a row, but Katy’s on SNL tonight, so I’ll allow it.
Original Version
1. Katy Perry – “Roar”
2. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
3. Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”
4. Lorde – “Royals”
5. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness (Remix)”
6. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
7. Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran – “Everything Has Changed”
8. Paramore – “Still Into You”
9. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
10. Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”
11. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
12. Robin Thicke ft. 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – “Give It 2 U”
13. Emeli Sandé – “My Kind of Love”
14. Gavin DeGraw – “Best I Ever Had”
15. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
16. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
17. P!nk ft. Lily Allen – “True Love”
18. Haim – “The Wire”
19. Zedd ft. Foxes – “Clarity”
20. Tegan and Sara – “Closer”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Clarity
2. Wake Me Up
3. Royals
4. Closer
5. The Wire
6. Demons
7. Give It 2 U
8. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
9. Sweater Weather
10. Wrecking Ball
11. Safe and Sound
12. Applause
13. Roar
14. Still Into You
15. Let Her Go
16. My Kind of Love
17. True Love
18. Counting Stars
19. Best I Ever Had
20. Everything Has Changed
Original Version
1. Lorde – “Royals”
2. Katy Perry – “Roar”
3. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
4. Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
5. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
6. Drake ft. Majid Jordan – “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
7. Eminem – “Berzerk”
8. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell – “Blurred Lines”
9. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
10. AWOLNATION – “Sail”
11. Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – “Summertime Sadness (Remix)”
12. Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”
13. Paramore – “Still Into You”
14. Justin Timberlake – “Take Back the Night”
15. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Mary Lambert – “Same Love”
16. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
17. Miley Cyrus – “We Can’t Stop”
18. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
19. Selena Gomez – “Slow Down”
20. One Direction – “Best Song Ever”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. We Can’t Stop
2. Sail
3. Wake Me Up
4. Royals
5. Demons
6. Berzerk
7. Blurred Lines
8. Summertime Sadness (Remix)
9. Wrecking Ball
10. Same Love
11. Hold On, We’re Going Home
12. Safe and Sound
13. Roar
14. Slow Down
15. Stay the Night
16. Applause
17. Take Back the Night
18. Still Into You
19. Counting Stars
20. Best Song Ever
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