NBC's “Saturday Night Live” is in a state of mediocrity. As the long-running variety series returns from its winter break, the current quality of writing is not good at all. The first ten episodes of the season have ranged from being just “alright to “downright bad.” The large cast, which consists of ten regular castmembers and six featured players, have been allotted many sketches that consist of poor premises. Juvenile humor, and predictable punchlines. As you've seen from my previous live-blogging sessions, I haven't been very happy with the a majority of sketches the writers have come up with. Returning hosts, like Former Castmember Tina Fey, who appeared on the season on September 28th, 2013 and celebrated her fourth time hosting, as well as John Goodman, who returned to emcee the program for the first time since November 3rd, 2001 and was was hosting for his thirteenth time, were given sketches that just weren't funny at all. The latter of the two hosted on December 14th and was “welcomed back” with an episode that consisted of terrible writing and barely any laugh-worthy moments at all. First time hosts like Edward Norton, who hosted on October 26th, and Kerry Washington, who emceed the program on November 2nd, were given only one or two legitimately sketches. Both hosts did perform well though; and Washington especially made the sketches better through her comedic timing and chemistry with the “Saturday Night Live” castmembers. Nevertheless, all four hosts were given weak material and thus appeared on some of the weakest episodes of the season. Though it should be mentioned that Miley Cyrus, who hosted on October 5th, 2013,
would host the absolute worst episode of the season so far; mostly due to her weak sketch acting skills and that she provided no humor whatsoever through her performances. But all that aside, many of this season's episodes haven't been very good at all.
Though I will say that there have been three episodes that have stood out the most this season so far. For instance, on December 7th, Paul Rudd hosted for his third time and brought along his “Anchorman 2” co-stars Will Ferrell, David koechner, and Steve Carell for a fun monologue where all four sang “Afternoon Delight” with One Direction; who was serving as the evening's musical guest. In addition, Rudd did quite well in the evening's sketches; particularly in a pre-filmed sketch where he played an adult fan of One Direction who was interacting with a crowd filled with young girls outside a concert building where the band was performing. Rudd was very funny interacting with the young fans; especially when he was challenging them to trivia questions about the band. My second favorite episode of the season aired on November 16th, 2013 and featured Lady Gaga; who was serving as both the host and musical guest. Lady Gaga proved to be a very good host and wasn't afraid to poke fun at herself in the sketches; especially in a commercial-parody for a DVD of musical performances containing bloopers. One of which featured the singer performing and dancing to Madonna's hit song “express Yourself” when she meant to be singing her own song “Born This Way”; thus basically poking fun at the fact that both songs sound similar. In addition, Lady Gaga proved to be very funny in a sketch where she played a washed-up version of herself in 2065; where she was trying to remind a building repairman, played by “Saturday Night Live” Castmember Kenan Thompson, who she was and what songs she was famous for. The sketch was fun to watch and I enjoyed Lady Gaga's endearing performance. But while Lady Gaga a very good host, it was Former “Saturday Night Live” Castmember Jimmy Fallon who hosted the best show of the season so far. Hosting on December 21st, 2013, Fallon was joined by Five-Time “Saturday Night Live” and his real-life good friend Justin Timberlake; who served as the evening's musical guest. It was great fun seeing Fallon and Timberlake interact in sketches together; as the show's opening, where both performers played dancing wrapping paper store mascots proved to be one of the best openings of the season due to their sheer energy and comedic timing. But the best sketch of the episode consisted a parody of the game show “Celebrity Family Feud”; during which Jimmy Fallon played Jim Parsons, who was the lead player in a team of celebrities from CBS comedies, all played by “Saturday Night Live” castmembers-- and the opposing team was NBC celebrities-- led by “Jimmy Fallon”-- played by Justin Timberlake-- who nailed the former “Saturday Night Live” castmember's enthusiastic way of speaking as well as his lively body movements. Timberlake's performance was so funny that he brought the real-life Jimmy Fallon to such a state of laughter that he had difficulty maintaining his celebrity impression for at least a minute. And even though the quality of the writing wasn't so great in the last half hour of the episode, Fallon's performances as the show's host were fun; especially during a musical sketch where he sang “Baby It's Cold Outside” with “Saturday Night Live” castmember Cecily Strong. The show was fun to watch and Fallon proved to be the best host of the season so far.
While the performances of the hosts of “Saturday Night Live”'s thirty-ninth season have been an important factor of the show's quality, the acting of the castmembers are also worth mentioning. Some castmembers have provided genuinely funny performances in sketches while others haven't been so great at all. Kenan Thompson, for instance, is someone that I haven't been very happy with this season. Now in his eleventh season on the show, Thompson, for some reason, has become the new go-to-guy for leading sketches. I have mentioned this in lots of my episode reviews already. In many of the episodes so far this season, it seems as if Kenan Thompson has appeared in more sketches than anyone. His constant overacting is very grating and his constant mugging at the camera is extremely tired. There have probably been only two or three sketches this season where he's been legitimately funny; one of which was the sketch from the November 16th episode where Lady Gaga played a future version of herself and Thompson played the hotel's handyman. Nevertheless, Kenan Thompson's over-exposure has been another reason why this season hasn't been very memorable so far. In addition, while she's been alright in some sketches, Cecily Strong hasn't been a very great co-anchor on “Weekend Update” for Fellow Castmember Seth Meyers; who will be leaving the variety show in the next few weeks so he can take over hosting “Late Night” on February 24th when Jimmy Fallon; who will be hosting “The Tonight Show” starting February 17th. Cecily Strong, who started co-anchoring “Weekend Update” at the start of the season hasn't done an impressive job co-anchoring the news segment; as her comic delivery has proven to be quite bland most of the time. In addition, I've noticed that she sometimes rushes from one joke to the next; thus not allowing enough time for the audience to fully get the punchlines. Once Meyers leaves, I'm a little worried about how Cecily Strong will do if she's the sole anchor of “Weekend Update”. Hopefully, she gets paired up with a fellow castmember-- like Kate McKinnon-- who has proven to be an adept comedic performer. I think the two would have keen comedic chemistry and together, they could make “Weekend Update” a lot of fun.
And speaking of Kate McKinnon, I have to say that she has definitely been one of my favorite “Saturday Night Live” castmember this season. She has been a very reliable performer in sketches and has great chemistry with her fellow castmembers. In addition, McKinnon has brought forward some very good impressions. For instance, I really enjoyed seeing McKinnon impersonate Kathleen Sebelius; the Secretary of Health under President Barack Obama. In a cold opening that took place on October 26th, McKinnon's portrayal of Kathleen Sebelius offered some tips meant to help people navigate around healthcare.gov such as advising people to select different languages in an attempt to work around the website as well as offering other similar websites that people can go on to get health advice. McKinnon has also done well on “Weekend Update” playing guest commentators such as portraying German Chancellor Angela Merkel; who, in a segment that aired on November 2nd, did not like the fact that the government was spying on her cell phone use, and was thus having to delete her search history; which included links to videos of cats playing as well as pictures of “Jason Segel with no shirt”. Henceforth, McKinnon has provided much laughs this season and has been a very good sketch comedy performer.
I have also been impressed with Taran Killam; who has proven to be a good sketch performer as well. I've noticed that even when the writing is weak, Killam's comedic performance has been able to improve the quality of sketches and “Weekend Update” segments. For instance, this past November, Killam has presented us with a new character-- 18th cetury speech critic “Jebidiah Atkinson”; a very cynical reviewer who fails to find pleasure in anything. In the character's two appearances so far this season, Killam has provides a biting commentary on different topics; wush as political speeches during his first time on November 16th and holiday specials during a segment that took place on December 7th. In his two appearances as “Jebidiah Atkinson”, Killam pokes fun at the segment while staying in character; such as poking fun at the poor writing of a review in his first appearance and later on jesting during his December 7th appearance over the fact that he only appeared on the show three weeks ago as well as saying to Set Meyers “Run things into the ground much?”-- thus riffing on “Saturday Night Live”'s habit of bringing back characters and sketches too quickly. The segments have been fun despite the weak writing of the jokes and Killam's performance makes the quality better. In addition, Taran Killam has been a good impressionist as well; as seen by his portrayal of Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz, during a pre-filmed commercial parody of “celebrity” screen tests for the upcoming “50 Shades of Gray” movie, as well as a funny impression of Ashton Kutcher in the “Celebrity Family Feud” sketch from the December 21st episode with Guest Host Jimmy Fallon. I have also been impressed with Jay Pharoah; whose impression of President Barack Obama has improved, as he's managed to get a tighter hold on mimicking his vocal mannerisms. In addition, Pharoah has brought forward a good impression of Shaquille; as he's managed to mimic the former basketball player's deep voice as well as the way his eyes appear to be crossed. I've also found Pharoah's sketch comedy performance to be better as well; as he appears to have gained more confidence on stage and is doing a much better job interacting with his fellow castmembers. Thus, the performances of the cast are very important to consider as the season is now in it's midseason point.
I will also say that it's important to bring up the fact that we have six new performers as well. Since the start of this season, we've had six new people on the cast-- Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Mike O'Brien, Noel Wells, and Brooks Wheelan, Of the six new castmembers, it should be said that Beck Bennett has proven to be the one who has been the most reliable of a performer. He has proven to be a good straightman in sketches, as seen in his performance as a confused army Sargent in a sketch that aired on the October 12th episode, in which Guest Host Bruce Willis; who played a soldier who was outlining his movie blockbuster-style for fighting terrorist soldiers during a military strike. In addition, Beck Bennett has probably starred in one of the season's best sketches, during which he played "Richard Patterson"; the boss of a major corporation; who, despite being very smart, had the body and mannerisms of a baby. Throughout the sketch, Bennett mimicked the actions of an infant perfectly- from sucking the thumb of a new employee, played by Guest Host Josh Hutcherson, to almost falling over in an attempt to walk upright. I am truly hoping that Beck Bennett gets to do more as the season progresses.
The other featured players have been okay so far; though they haven't done a lot on the show. Noel Wells has brought forward some good impressions; particularly one of “Girls” star Lena Dunham—as seen in a parody of her HBO series that featured Guest Host Tina Fey as a girl from Iran who had her share of complaints. In addition, John Milhiser has proven to be a good physical comedian; as seen from a sketch where he, along with Guest Host Lady Gaga, played two over-passionate parents who got so carried away coaching their young daughter during a school performance, that they started dancing and putting on a show of their own in the audience; thus making fools of themselves. The sketch was humorous; though Milhiser hasn't done a lot since that show on November 16th. The other featured players haven't done a lot of noteworthy stuff on the show so far; though hopefully they get to do more during the second half of the season. It should be mentioned that we are getting another featured player tonight-- Sasheer Zamata. She is joining the show as the seventh featured player as well as the show's first African-American castmember to be on the show since Ellen Cleghorn; who was a castmember from 1991 to 1995. With so may castmembers on the show, I'm a little worried that some castmembers won;t get to do that much on the show. Hopefully this isn't the case and everyone gets the chance to do something.
And here we are. “Saturday Night :Live" returns tonight with Drake; who will be serving as both the Guest Host and Musical Guest. I hope he gets good sketches and that he gets the opportunity to provide us with some good laughs.
I will be live-blogging “Saturday Night Live”; which will feature Drake as both the evening's host and musical gues. As usual, I will be commenting on the sketches, the performances, the writing, and anything else that comes to mind. I will be examining the chemistry between Drake and the castmembers as well as how he is doing with the sketches. I am curious to see what sketches Drake will get. Hopefully, the writers create good premises for him.
At 11:30pm, my blogging coverage will begin. Be sure to have your televisions set to NBC and have my blog on your computer screens. Be sure to keep refreshing your computer screens so you can see my latest comments. Feel free to share your own opinions by clicking the “comment” link underneath any of my posts. Your feedback means a lot and I look forward to seeing your opinions.
So thank you all for following my blog. Stay tuned and I'll see you at show time!
