September 26, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mumford & Sons, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 38, SNL, SNL Season 38
Cold Opening – Live! with Kelly and Michael
That was a solid Michael Strahan. Is it true that every era of Live! gets the SNL parody it deserves? B-
Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Monologue
A Magic Mike-based routine is timely-ish, I suppose. I am a straight male, but I still find something worth admiring in the beefcake. B-
Low-Information Voters of America
Random Asian person sighting! No, but seriously, this commercial went into full-on Winning[!] territory when it embraced the silly with questions like “What is oil?” and “Where’s my power cord?” B+
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September 16, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Anthony Peter Coleman, Frank Ocean, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 38, Seth MacFarlane, SNL, SNL Season 38
I was saying TTYL to my innocence.
SNL returns for Season 38. It’s an election season (which should be good?). Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliott are out; Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong are in.
Cold Opening – Democratic Rally
Classy (and kind of funny) move from Fred handing off the Obama impression to Jay. (Let me just say I would love it if they both played Obama this season.) Jason has got to be thanking Mitt for providing him with all these gaffes to make up for the lack of an impressionable voice. The Paul Ryan numbers joke was so right on the money. B+
Montage
Still pictures?! I’ll have to get used to that. It was time for a change, and they do look cool.
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May 20, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Mick Jagger, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37
Cold Opening – The Lawrence Welk Show
I will usually make note – if not outright criticize – a recurring sketch when we know exactly where it is going, but I will often concede that there may be audience members who are seeing this sketch for the first time and will find it perfectly amusing, having no idea about the repetition. But the Lawrence Welk Show sketches are so popular by now that I think most viewers knew what was coming. Luckily, Jon Hamm was fully committed to his unusual character, and Wiig went even further than she usually does, getting a little too close for comfort with Hamm and that statue fountain. And it actually ended with Dooneese hooking up with the male singer, so that was different. B
Mick Jagger’s Monologue
It looks like Mick Jagger. Let’s not kick him to the curb. Simply put, Mick seemed to just be himself for the monologue. His answers to those FAQ’s weren’t hilarious, but they felt like a fun conversation. It’s nice to know that Mick’s cognitive faculties are still intact, as that has not always been clear during his performances the last few years. B+
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May 14, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37, Usher, Will Ferrell
Cold Opening – Biden’s Room
Biden’s presence in political sketches the past few seasons has generally worked in SNL‘s favor, as he brings a silly energy that tends to mix up the staid formula that has set in for most recent political sketches. Biden’s starring role – along with Will’s goofy-at-a-Hall-of-Fame-level Dubya – set the tone for an episode that was at its best when it was seriously silly. B+
Will Ferrell’s Monologue
The cue card gag was on a par with Steve Martin saying, “Line?” at the end of the Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight cold open. Will Ferrell and Mom = Will Ferrell and emotions, which is always a formula for at least some success. B
One-a-Day Extra Strength Nasaflu
Well, one doesn’t really need any reason to listen to Will Ferrell scream-sneeze, but it would have been nice to have more of a sketch built around it. B
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May 7, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Eli Manning, Rihanna, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37
Cold Opening – Fox and Friends
“Baseball is a land sport” was one of the corrections – I wonder what they claimed otherwise. As usual, the corrections were the best part, and they can only work in an age when pausing is easy. The bits with Bobby as Brian Kilmeade were also amusing, including the lines about pandas. B
Eli Manning’s Monologue
Monologues have gone to the well of “host claims to know New York, but gets it all wrong” plenty of times before, but they usually work, so that’s fine. I thought I fully knew where this was going at first, but there were some surprises, and Eli was sufficient. B
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April 15, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Gotye, Josh Brolin, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37, The Californians
We need beans, like, yesterday.
Republican Candidates at a Bar
It felt like this sketch could have been written months ago, and SNL was just waiting for everyone besides Romney to drop out before airing it. Humorously keen observations were made about each candidate. The digs at Rick Perry’s propensity for gaffes in this sketch were the best digs at him all season. B+
Josh Brolin’s Monologue
It was nice to see that Josh Brolin was comfortable enough to get through his monologue (mostly) by himself, despite not having much material. I got that he only said one word as Tommy Lee Jones because Tommy Lee isn’t a big talker, but it would have been nice to hear more of that impression, because based on the MIB3 trailer, he has his cadence down well. B-
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April 8, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
One Direction, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37, Sofia Vergara
eBay of Pigs!
Cold Opening – Road to the White House
The best part of all those cookie-cutter Mitt Romney sketches from this season has been Mitt attempting to sound like an actual human with actual human interests, so a compilation of those bits was an apt choice. B
Sofia Vergara’s Monologue
Rather lightweight, but the joke about how Hispanic people age fast initially and then stop aging completely was funny, despite being based on a very small portion of reality. B
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March 13, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Coolio, Coolio 1963-3162, Jonah Hill, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37, The Shins
Coolio: 1963-3162
Cold Opening – The Rush Limbaugh Show
The gag got old, but there was enough variety such that the laughs had no definitive endpoint. Taran’s Rush was solid; at first, I figured that Bobby would be playing him, and then for about a minute or so, I thought it was Jason. So what I’m saying is, Taran did a good job of playing what I imagine Jason Sudeikis playing Rush Limbaugh would be like. B
Jonah Hill’s Monologue
Jonah does a good job playing pompous. Now that he’s lost weight, maybe he should get fewer lovable schlub roles and more entitled jerks. B
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March 5, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Jack White, Lindsay Lohan, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, SNL, SNL Season 37
Kristen Wiig!
Cold Opening – Fox Report
After buttering us up for months with all this talk about Mitt Romney’s “human sons,” they finally get their day on screen! In this season’s batch of cookie-cutter Mitt Romney cold opens, the references to his sons have consistently been one of the best moments, so they all shined brightly, whereas Mitt didn’t have much else to talk about otherwise. There was some sort of joke waiting to happen with Kid Rock, but it never did. I must have been too generous to those other Romney cold opens, because this one was better, and I’m giving it about the same grade. B-
Lindsay Lohan’s Monologue
It was quite alarming (pun not initially intended, but accepted) when Lindsay stepped off the stage, and the sirens went off. I really did not know what that was at first. I thought it might have been a fire or a security alarm. Anyway, the references to Lindsay’s past were expected, but the ways in which they went down were surprising and witty. Jimmy’s cameo was expected, Jon Hamm’s was not – thanks for the surprises, and for making them meaningful. A-
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February 19, 2012
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 37, Sleigh Bells, SNL, SNL Season 37
As always, Worst in Show went to Ralph.
Cold Opening – New York Sports Now
If this was an accurate representation, then I didn’t realize how Lin-sane these puns have been. Instead of introducing the racial insensitivity aspect, I think I would have preferred if they would have just continued with the punning, which, while not particularly unique, would have been steadily goofy. Instead, it settled into a stale formula. B-
Maya Rudolph’s Monologue
Another singing monologue? Ah, well, I guess it’s Maya. B-
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