Jmunney's Blog

CREDIT: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

All season long, I’ve been reviewing each SNL episode in a self-professed “wacky” manner. So I decided to keep that up for the season recap by alternating the text color for each of my selections. (And make sure you don’t miss my wacky list of the Best Sketches of the Season that I posted yesterday!)

Most Valuable Cast Member
21-Tie for First Place!

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CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot

In the interest of keeping it wacky, I’ve come up with a food pairing for each of my favorite sketches of Saturday Night Live Season 47. Bon appétit!

The Jockey: For Kieran Culkin’s turn as an unlikely jockey, I think we’re going to have to go with a Carrot. As well as some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos garnished with Azaleas!

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CREDIT: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

Oh my god, Saturday Night Live Season 46 is already complete?! It’s already late May 2021?! Okay then, I guess it’s time to let you know what I liked the most about the past year of Studio 8H’s offerings in various categories. If you want to know my absolute favorite hosts, musical guests, episodes, etc., then get with it and keep reading! The number of entrants varies by category, because that’s just what I felt like doing, lol.
(My favorite ketches get their own post, which can be found here.)

Most Valuable Cast Member
I don’t think I’ve ever picked Pete Davidson as the MVCM of a season, so I’m going to go ahead and do that now. Why not! After all, he appeared in several of my favorite sketches this year. Can you believe he just finished his seventh season?
Pete Davidson
Runners-Up:
Kenan Thompson
Kate McKinnon

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CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots

What makes a good comedy sketch? Oh jeez, there are so many ways to answer that, but one thing’s for sure: we’d better be laughing! So with that in mind, I decided to discuss my favorite sketches of SNL Season 46 by describing how they made me LAUGH.
(As per usual, both sketches that aired live and cut-for-time sketches that were posted online were deemed eligible.)

15. New Choreographers: I laughed WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT I WAS IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS because legends were talking to each other.

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CREDIT: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

At the end of Season 45, we’ve got some seasoned veterans in this here SNL cast. Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Aidy Bryant have all just completed their eighth full seasons, while Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney aren’t too far behind at seven each. Those are some healthy runs, and under normal circumstances, I would be encouraging them to look towards a future beyond Studio 8H. (Kenan Thompson, meanwhile, continues to defy all SNL tenure logic as he creeps ever closer to a previously-unheard of 20 seasons.)

But these aren’t normal circumstances, of course, as the last three episodes of this season weren’t exactly live. So if those veterans want to return for at least part of Season 46 for a proper send-off, they’d be justified in doing so. As for what they and their castmates accomplished in the past year, I would like to celebrate that, as I usually do. So here’s what happened on SNL between September 2019 and May 2020 that made me go, “Good, good.” (My thoughts on the best sketches of the season can be found here.)

Most Valuable Cast Member
The veterans delivered veteran-quality work. Cecily stands out on the very top for her consistently capable canine corralling.
Cecily Strong
Runners-Up:
Kenan Thompson
Kate McKinnon

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CREDIT: NBC/YouTube Screenshots

If you are a human being who watched every minute of Saturday Night Live Season 45 and didn’t laugh at least 15 times, I would be surprised. HERE ARE MY RANKINGS OF THE BEST SKETCHES OF THE SEASON! (All sketches from the 2019-20 season were eligible, whether they were from regular episodes, or from stay-at-home episodes, or posted online after being cut for time. New cut-for-time sketches have continued to steadily trickle in since the season finale; with that in mind, this list will be regularly updated accordingly if necessary.)

15. Food Dudes: Ingenuity can take people far if they’re sufficiently motivated.

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CREDIT: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

Saturday Night Live Season 44 is over, and somehow we survived! I’ve got my rundown below of what I thought was the best in various categories. As for the top sketches, my in-depth ranking can be found here. If you have your own rankings or other SNL-related thoughts and concerns, please let me know!

Most Valuable Cast Member
The longest-tenured cast member of all time felt perhaps the most essential he ever has, and a trio of ladies consistently delivered lived-in character work.
Kenan Thompson
Runners-Up:
Cecily Strong
Heidi Gardner
Kate McKinnon

Best Hosts
What took so long for the Sandman to return? And for Dame Emma to debut for that matter?
1. Adam Sandler
2. Liev Schreiber
3. John Mulaney
4. Kit Harington
5. Emma Thompson

Best Monologues
SNL has almost completely given up on the monologue, so thank the comedy gods that stand-ups still sometimes stop by.
1. John Mulaney
2. Paul Rudd
3. Seth Meyers
4. Jonah Hill

Best Musical Guests
Guitar skills go a long way.
1. Gary Clark Jr.
2. Tame Impala
3. Paul Simon
4. Maggie Rogers

Best Weekend Update Segments
Drug culture never went away at SNL, it just got weirder.
1. Terry Fink
2. Colin and Michael Swap Jokes
3. Elizabeth Warren

Best Episodes
Early May is often a sweet spot.
1. Adam Sandler/Shawn Mendes
2. Kit Harington/Sara Bareilles
3. Liev Schreiber/Lil Wayne
4. John Mulaney/Thomas Rhett

Best Quotes
Both courtesy of Heidi Gardner.
1. “Pikachu can get it.”
2. “I’m so horny I could cry.”

CREDIT: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

Best Sketches
(For my detailed thoughts on the best sketches, click here.)
10. Za
9. Diner Lobster
8. Cookout
7. Undercover Office Potty
6. Hollywood Update
5. The Race
4. Jurassic World Trial
3. Raz P. Berry
2. Beers
1. Barbie Instagram

Most Valuable Cast Member
Cecily Strong
Runners-Up:
Kate McKinnon
Kenan Thompson

Rookie of the Year
Heidi Gardner (Best Debut Season Since Cecily’s)

Best Hosts
1. Donald Glover
2. John Mulaney
3. Will Ferrell

Best Monologues
1. Will Ferrell
2. John Mulaney
3. Kumail Nanjiani

Best Musical Guests
1. Childish Gambino
2. Troye Sivan
3. Jack White

Best Weekend Update Segments
1. Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend From Every Movie Ever
2. Stefon
3. Jacob Silj
4. Kyle Mooney on the Oscars

Best Episodes
1. Donald Glover/Childish Gambino
2. John Mulaney/Jack White
3. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton

CREDIT: NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in May 2018.

A lot of websites post their lists of the best SNL sketches of the season. What is unique about this particular list is that it is not the same as any of those other lists. If you love SNL, and you love reading about SNL, chances are this is not the only best sketch list you have read and are going to read, because you just love consuming a full range of opinions about a show that always inspires a full range of opinions. So without further ado, here is a thoughtful, passionate, well-researched ranking of the 10 best sketches of SNL Season 43, with honorable mentions of 20-11 as well. (Please note: dress rehearsal cuts that were posted online were considered alongside sketches that made it to air, in consideration of how much online viewing plays a part in this current SNL era.)

20. Family Dinner
19. The Dolphin Who Learned to Speak
18. New Wife
17. Fighter Pilots
16. Dying Mrs. Gomez
15. Ad Council Awards Dinner
14. James Madison High School Graduation
13. Black Jeopardy!
12. Office Break Room
11. The Last Fry

10. Za

A lawyer’s (James Franco) argument rests upon his insistence that nicknames are based on pronunciation, not spelling, and he has never been more convinced of anything in the world. The writing on this one is actually paper-thin, but Franco propels it to classic territory with his ferocious delivery of “lasagna: za, pizza: suh.”

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