This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2016.
Love It Pine Ridge Campground – You know you’ve got something special when the first post-monologue sketch has a nondescript setting. That is a promise of weirdness that you do not see coming. And boy, is that promise fulfilled, as the surprises just keeps piling up. Vanessa Bayer and Kyle Mooney are a pair of incestuous amateur singers with indefinable faux-European accents, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is the captive audience wise enough to stick around and see what happens next.
Michael and Colin just keep glorifying in all the material that Trump wraps up in a bow for them, and they really sell it with asides like Che’s quick take on the tic tac ad with the new Trump-inspired slogan…Netflix: Behind the Scenes reveals the one thing that Stranger Things was missing: racial consciousness! … LMM does a variation of “My Shot” in his monologue, but more importantly his love for SNL shines through in a way that clearly came from the heart as opposed to being written by committee.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Margot Robbie” Episode 1705 — Pictured: (l-r) Colin Jost, Michael Che, and Cecily Strong as Cathy Ann during Weekend Update on October 1, 2016 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2016.
Love It
Season 42 starts off satisfying enough, but with only occasional moments of sustained hilarity. For the sketch of the night, I am going with Family Feud: Political Edition, on the strength of two of the best SNL impressions of all time. Darrell Hammond’s take on Bill Clinton as the ultimate hedonist will never get old, while Larry David’s Bernie Sanders takes the inanities of the Feud (he passes, because playing seems like a hassle) and SNL parodies of the Feud (the whole thing is just hello’s) to task.
Michael and Colin have weeks’ worth of election news and athletic protests to motivate them for an on-fire Weekend Update…Cecily Strong’s recurring Cathy Anne character benefits from her migration from sketches to Update, as she drops by to present her take as an illuminating but frequently incoherent (“predator of Obamacare”?) undecided voter.
In this 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 – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – I actually love Atlanta. (Honorable Mention: that cursed health video segment on @midnight)
Wednesday – The Goldbergs
Thursday – Better Things
Friday – The Eric Andre Show
Saturday – An SNL season premiere actually gets by on the strength of its cameos.
In this 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 – Please tell me you saw The Emmys, too.
Monday – We all deserve to be in The Good Place.Tuesday – New Girl, New Season, New Joys
Wednesday – Documentary Now!
Thursday – RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
Friday – The Eric Andre Show
Saturday – There were a few cool college football plays.
In this 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 – Vice Principals
Monday – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Tuesday – Atlanta
Wednesday – What time is it? Documentary Now! Thursday – Better Things. Period.
Friday – The Eric Andre Show
Saturday – Creative Arts Emmys (particularly this acceptance speech)
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