SNL Video Recap October 12, 2013: Bruce Willis/Katy Perry

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SNL Recap October 12, 2013: Bruce Willis/Katy Perry

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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-

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SNL Video Recap October 5, 2013: Miley Cyrus

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SNL Recap October 5, 2013: Miley Cyrus

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VMA’s Backstage
Some of the lines were perfectly obvious, but the apocalyptic framing device added cleverness. And, boy oh boy, do Vanessa!Miley and Real Miley have quite a nice rapport. B+

Miley Cyrus’s  Monologue
Thank GOD that promise of no twerking turned out to be false. B-

50 Shades of Grey Screen Tests
It looks like Noël Wells is already well on our way to inheriting the prolific impressionist mantle from Phil Hartman and Bill Hader.  But Taran’s Christoph Waltz won this round.  Not as good as the Back to the Future screen tests, but better than Top Gun. B+

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SNL Season Premiere Video Recap September 28, 2013: Tina Fey/Arcade Fire

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SNL Season Premiere Recap September 28, 2013: Tina Fey/Arcade Fire

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They’re all just twerkin’ 9 to 5.

Obama Press Conference
With  all the guests that Obama was bringing on to tell their stories, I thought this was going to be one of those every-cast-member-appears sketches, what with the huge cast and all.  But it ended up only covering about 60%.  There seemed to be a fair amount of applause for Beck Bennett – did people recognize him from the AT&T commercials?  Or was that just premature applause for Aaron Paul?  I had heard speculation that the cold opening would cover Ted Cruz, or maybe Breaking Bad – what do you know, they were both right!  Cecily’s appearance here was the first of several times this episode I was upset we’ll never see her again as a guest on the Update desk, with the complaint of a broken iPhone 5S a rather Girl at a Party-esque problem. B-

Tina Fey’s Monologue
I like a well-crafted pun, delivered with conviction (or a terrible pun delivered with conviction), so Tina’s fake recurring characters were a quick delight.  And I also like deconstruction, so Tina explaining that new cast members have to pay their dues as backup dancers to the host was better than just another plain old song and dance monologue.  And those outfits made it clear that we are living in a post-Magic Mike world. B+

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SNL Season Finale Video Recap May 18, 2013: Ben Affleck/Kanye West

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SNL Season Finale Recap May 18, 2013: Ben Affleck/Kanye West

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Cold Opening – Politics Nation
As far as I know, Al Sharpton has had only one recent major verbal gaffe, but that one gaffe has been enough to inspire a steady stream of malapropisms from Kenan Thompson’s Al Sharpton.  That graph (or “grapha”) was ridiculous, but it was also kind of meaningful.  Also, that Tea Party fellow deserved to be called out that way – the Founding Fathers don’t need people to dress up like them to honor them. B

Ben Affleck’s Monologue
The five-timers bit was essentially clever, but rather disappointing (for Ben’s sake).  Ben and Jen really seem to love each other. B-

HBO First Look: Bengo F#*@ Yourself
“Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” – this is all so silly. B

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SNL Video Recap May 11, 2013: Kristen Wiig/Vampire Weekend

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SNL Recap May 11, 2013: Kristen Wiig/Vampire Weekend

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Who the hell this Chinese dude?

Cold Opening – Benghazi Hearing
This may have been the most esoteric SNL sketch ever.  Definitely the most esoteric in a good long while. B-

Kristen Wiig’s Monologue
I got the jokes, but I didn’t get the point. B-

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